How to Calm a Fussy Baby When Boobs Aren't the Answer

     Today marks 10 weeks since my son's birth. 10 weeks of uninterrupted one-on-one time with my sweet baby boy. I am so grateful to have been given this time with him, to get to know him, and to watch him grow. I have a few more weeks until I go back to work, and although nothing can replace time with my family, I think I'm ready to go back. I don't want to leave my son, but I am fortunate in that I love what I do, so if I have to be away from him, I'm glad it's to help people. 
     Little Monster will be staying home with his daddy, since J has the summer off from school. It makes me happy that my son won't have to go to daycare, but it terrifies me that my husband will be in charge. My husband is an amazing father, and I'm glad my kids will get extra daddy bonding time this summer, however my concern is based more in the knowledge that my husband's first response to any signs of discomfort from Monster leads him to unceremoniously dropping little Monster into my lap with the words, "he's hungry".  Although I've explained to my darling J several times that just because Monster fusses, doesn't automatically mean I need to feed him, I do understand J's sense of impending doom when our son does get fussy. After all, J sometimes feels helpless when Monster's hungry because, as he puts it's, "I'm not the one with the boobs".  So to help J in those moments when our son is so fussy he can't think straight and I'm not around, I've made a list of things he can try before force-feeding our son a bottle, when he may only be asking to be burped. 

Fussy Baby?  Have You Tried?

• Walking around? There are many times in which little Monster simply wants to be held while we walk around the house.  Doing so gives him new things to look at, and provides a distraction while Daddy gets the bottle ready or Mommy finds a comfy place to sit to nurse. 
• Bouncing/burping baby?  Most of Monster's fussiness comes from gas, so gently bouncing him or burping him helps alleviate the gas.
• Walking the stairs? This goes along with bouncing/burping.  Going up and down the stairs is an easy way to bounce him, and it gives me a slight workout.  So, if you have stairs in your house, give it a try.
• Gripe water/Mylicon drops?  Again: alleviate the gas, ease the fussing.
• Pacifier?  This one rarely works for us, but every now and then I can get my son to take the pacifier, but Monkey wouldn't go anywhere without one.  If you're for it, use it.
• Outside time?  It never fails, as soon as J steps outside with Monster, he quiets down. There's just so much to look at outside that he forgets he was fussy.  
• Play mat?  Little Monster has this play mat, and he loves it, but as with most of these tricks, it's hit or miss on if it'll calm him when he's fussy.  Still, it's worth a try.  
• Diaper change?  This is one that almost always works for us.  If we lay Monster down on his changing table, immediate calm ensues.  I don't know if he likes the vantage point to observe his surroundings better, or what, but I don't question it.  
• Bath time?  One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a new Mommy was when someone told me, "If they're crabby, put them in water".  This works for my 7-year-old Monkey as well as my newborn.
• Tummy time?  Although this typically causes the fussiness to start, not end, every now and then it works to calm my son down for a bit.  Again I think it's the new vantage point. 
• Swaddling?  Up to a certain age, this is a classic remedy for a fussy baby.  J argued with me that Monster hated to be confined, but then he got desperate.  Can I also just add that Swaddle Me's are the best thing ever?!
• Swing?  My sister is a life-saver; she lent us her baby swing, and it works wonders on little Monster when he's fussy.  Don't have an electric swing? Just cradle your LO and gently swing him.
• Shushing? Babies like white noise, so the "sh" sound is actually really soothing to them.  The trick is to make sure they are able to hear you over their own cries. 
• Running water?  Again with the white noise theory.  If I'm in the shower, J will sometimes bring Monster in if he's fussy, and a combination of the running water, shushing, and gentle bouncing will help calm him.  As long as he doesn't hear me, that is.
• Funny faces? Babies love studying faces, so I often sacrifice my dignity in the noble cause of calming my son.  He loves when I blow raspberries or stick my tongue out.  It makes him giggle.
• Rocking?  A time-honored tradition on soothing babies, rocking never gets old.  Whether you have a rocking chair, a glider, or just your arms, rocking can calm a grumpy infant.
• Singing?  This is one that I don't think of all the time, but it works.  Much to the distaste of everyone else in my house, Monster loves when I sing. 
• Toys/pictures/mirror?  Like looking at faces, babies love studying toys and mirrors.  They also find simple designs interesting.  I colored a few sheets of card stock with black and white stripes, stars, and swirls, and he'll study them for about 5-10 minutes each. 
• Wearing baby?  We recently bought a Tula, and that was the best money ever spent.  J loves to wear Monster when we go out to the library or other places.  Little Monster likes to be close to his Daddy, and gets the gently rocking motion as Daddy walks around without J having to sacrifice the use of his arms.
• Skin-to-skin? Stripping baby down to his diaper and laying him on your chest is not only soothing to baby, but it strengthens the bond between you and baby.  Plus, who needs an excuse for extra snuggles?
• Baby massage? I've used this method when Monster's been gassy, but I'll admit it's hit or miss.  I found the inspiration on Pinterest here.  There are other types of baby massage like these.  

     I hanged (hung?) this list in our living room as a reminder for myself as well.  After all, there are times when little Monster gets fussy after a long day, and I'm tired, and I feel like I've tried everything, but one look at this list reminds me that I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. So I thought I'd share.  Now, keep in mind that these are things that work for our family. They may not all apply to your little one, but hopefully it'll help get your ideas flowing when the baby's crying and you feel like you're all out of options. If you'd like to print the list for your own use, click here. 

While Mom's Away.....

     I am thoroughly enjoying work right now.  My first day was last Monday, and although I have yet to do any actual patient care (that starts tomorrow) I find myself so content to simply be working on a regular basis.  As cheesy as it may sound, I get a little thrill every morning when I clip my badge to my chest.  Something about seeing that red tag with those big, bold, white letters "RN" makes me get a surge of pride and excitement.  It's a daily reminder of all I set out to do and accomplished, but it's also a humbling reminder to earn the right to continue wearing the badge for as long as I am willing and able.  I know that a lot of these feelings are related to the newness of it all, and I'm sure they will fade with time.  I only hope they don't fade too quickly or completely.  

     All this time away has caused a bit of an upheaval on the home front.  Poor J has had to pick up my slack by taking charge of Monkey, which includes getting her to and from school, packing her lunches, overseeing homework, and intercepting all messages from school.  Not to mention he's now in charge of dinner and most of the housework while I'm gone most of the day.  He has received these new duties with as much grace s is humanly possible for him.  He even mopped for the second time in our entire marriage yesterday.  It's been interesting to watch as he navigates these mostly uncharted waters.  And it hasn't been without its funny moments.  Take lunch for example, y'all have seen the cute-sie lunches I usually prepare for Monkey.  Let's just say that J has a more simplistic approach.  Let me present my case this way:


How Mommy does lunch:
      Cute and coordinated themed lunches that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are nutritious.

How Daddy does lunch:
     I think they're supposed to be lips....

How Mommy does breakfast:
     Bakes yummy Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins the night before so no one is rushed or scrambling to find breakfast in the morning.

Recipe below

 How Daddy does breakfast:

J (yelling up the stairs):  Kid, if you want to eat this morning you better get down here now and grab some cereal! We leave in 5 minutes!!!

How Mommy does dinner:

Begins the process several hours in advance, making sure to enlist the help of Monkey so that she's engaged and occupied.  Presents a hearty, healthy, and filling meal to her family with pride.  

Recipe coming soon

How Daddy does dinner:    

J (walking up to my car as I arrive home from work):  Are you full of germs?
Me: No; I didn't take care of patients today.
J:  Cool, don't get out.  I forgot to defrost the chicken.  I'm taking y'all out to eat.  


     As much as I love poking fun at him, my husband has been a great help these days, and I have every confidence he'll find his own groove soon.  Or at least I hope he does ;-) Now, how about a recipe before you go?

Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from two twenty one blog
Makes 15 muffins 

1/2 canola oil
1 cup 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Combine oil, pumpkin, sugar, egg, and vanilla.  In a separate, small bowl combine milk and baking soda; add to pumpkin mixture.  Next add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and flour to pumpkin mixture.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Allow the batter to sit for 15 minutes.  Line muffin tin with paper liners.  Use a scoop to ladle batter into prepared muffin tins.  Bake 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes away clean.

I'm Trying to Be Productive Here

     It's September.  My last blog post was in July.  You may be asking, "What happened to August?".  Well, although my last post should have ushered in a new age of consistent, uninterrupted blog posts (the likes of which this blog hasn't seen since my days as a stay-at-home mommy), sadly that has not been the case.  Why?  Simply put: I've had a case of the "I don't wanna's" since graduating.  I obtained a BSN, followed by an RN, and then I even secured a job, so if I want to sit around my house and color adult coloring pages until I start working, I'm entitled to do that, right?  .....Right?

     *sigh*  I was supposed to run 8 miles today, but instead I crawled back into bed once I saw my daughter off to school from the bus stop.  I did not wake up again until 0900.  It was glorious.  However, in order to not feel like today was a total waste, I've decided to revisit this poor, neglected blog.  How about some fun lunches for your little one?

Charlotte's Web Bento

 After reading this classic tale to Monkey as a bedtime story, I surprised her with this Charlotte's Web-inspired lunch.  There's Wilbur made with these easy-to-use sandwich cutters.  Charlotte was cut from the wax of a Babybel.  Wilbur's "trough" is filled with yummy pretzels.  And you can see the goose with her seven eggs that will later hatch into goslings, while one egg was doomed to rot in Templeton's collection.  I threw in some snow peas and grapes for sides, and sent Monkey off to school, excited to eat her fun lunch.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For this lunch I prepared wheat rotini and turkey meatballs the night before.  I added some spaghetti sauce, black grapes, celery sticks, and a pepper jack cheese stick to complete this meal.

Under the Sea Bento

This one was fun to make, because it was the first time I got to use the egg molds an awesome friend bought for me.  I made the fish-shaped egg using the mold, and then I made a starfish sandwich.  Then I cut a fish out of the wax of a Babybel.  Next I made this cute sea-snail from a Halo orange by cutting away most of the peel. I added the Goldfish and grape tomatoes as sides and called it good.

DIY Pizza Bagels

I've made DIY Pizza lunches before, but I usually used my homemade English muffins as the pizza crust.  To save time, I decided to use store-bought bagels for this lunch.  I like bagels because they are super easy to write on, and Monkey loves them.  I put some pizza sauce in the little Cinderella box pictured, and I added some sliced ham and Mozzarella cheese for toppings.  For sides, I added grapes,   an orange, and a bit of broccoli.

Cars That Go Vroom Bento
(If you have that song in your head now, you're welcome.)

For this one, I used the other egg mold in the pack my friend bought for me, which makes the little car-shaped egg you see there.  I used cookie cutters to cut out the car-shaped sandwiches, and I decorated them using my food markers.  Next I designed a stop light on a Babybel using food markers.  Then I added a Go-Gurt and an orange for sides.

School Days Bento

This bento was Monkey's first-day-of-school lunch.  It features a pencil-shaped sandwich, complete with cheese to form the standard #2 pencil look, as well as a bit of lunch meat to form the pink eraser.  I then cut an A+ in a Babybel and added some carrot sticks.  I also packed a handful of Alphabet Cheezits and a few strawberries.

Snow White Bento

For this lunch I used a simple circle cookie cutter to form a circle sandwich to form Snow's face, which I then decorated with food markers.  I surrounded the sandwich with snow peas.  Then I cut a "bite" from an apple using a small cookie cutter.  Next using another small cookie cutter, I cut an apple in the wax of a Babybel.  This I put on a bed of pretzels.

Dino Bento

For this bento I cut two different dino sandwiches from two different dino cookie cutters.  I then used my handy food markers once again to draw cracks on the shell of a boiled egg.  This I laid on a "nest" of pretzels.  I added a pair of Halo oranges and a pepper jack cheese stick for sides.

Breakfast Bento

On Sundays, J and Monkey can usually convince me to make pancakes for breakfast, and every now and then I have enough foresight to make a few mini ones for Monday's lunch.  These pancakes are a slightly healthier version, made with Greek yogurt (for the recipe click here).  I packed a bit of syrup in the Cinderella box for dipping, and then I filled the remaining containers with strawberries, a cheese stick, and a boiled egg.

Breakfast for Lunch (Again)

For a different take on breakfast for lunch, I simply packed a bagel with cream cheese (in the Cinderella box), an egg, a bit of broccoli, and some grapes.

Puppy Bento 

This was another easy lunch to prepare.  I used a circle cookie cutter to cut the bread and meat for the sandwich, which I then decorated with food markers and candy eyes.  For the floppy ears, I simply used a bit of the crust and secured them in place with a dab of mustard.  Then I cut a bone shape from the wax of a Babybel.  I added grapes, and snow peas as sides, and called it a day.

     Hopefully these fun lunches will inspire you to jazz up your kiddos plain ol' PB&J with some fun new twists!

Miss Frizzle Goes to Kindergarten

     Yesterday was Dr. Seuss' birthday, and in celebration of that day, my daughter's school encouraged kids to dress up as their favorite book character.  Initially Monkey wanted to be Elsa or Ana (of course), but I tried to emphasize book characters.  Yes, I realize there are book versions of the movie now, but I really wanted to encourage something that was at least a book before it was a movie.  After many suggestions and vetoes we both decided on Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus series.  We both agreed on this idea because 1) Monkey LOVES the Magic School Bus 2) the costume would be pretty simple to execute 3) the outfit wouldn't be so outlandish as to be a distraction in class and 4) we actually have a few of these books and have read them before she saw the shows  (it's the principle, after all).

     Most of Miss Frizzle's outfits are collared dresses with outlandish patterns, so I decided to start simple and add on.  I began with a simple navy blue, collared dress I found at Gymboree for $10.  (You can buy them online from Old Navy Kids for less, but I didn't have time to wait for shipping.)  I  found some fun solar system fabric at Hobby Lobby and a couple packs of yellow star buttons at Hancock Fabric.  

My haul

     I cut out individual planets from the fabric, pinned them in place, and sewed them to the dress. 

I swear I'm studying

Pinning it all in place 

I literally had to dust my poor sewing machine off before I could use it.

  Next I added the buttons by hand stitching them in place.  Here's the finished product:

Front

Back

      Something seemed to be missing, so I gave Monkey her own "Liz" to keep her company, by attaching her Beanie Baby "Rainbow" to her shoulder using safety pins.  I made sure to warn Monkey not to rip Rainbow/Liz off her shoulder or it would make big holes in the dress and/or the stuffed animal.  I also made sure to let her teacher know how I attached it so she could remove him if the stuffed animal became a problem in class.  It's a good thing I did, because when I got home from clinical, I found this note from Monkey's teacher.  It's a good thing Monkey was in the other room, because I got the giggles after reading it.

     Finally to round out the look, I twisted Monkey's hair the night before while it was still wet so that it would be good and frizzy curly the next morning.  J pulled it all up into a loose clip yesterday morning while I was at school with strict instructions to snap multiple pictures for me.  He, unfortunately, did not get the memo, so I don't have any pictures of the full ensemble. (You had one job, J!) Oh, well.  I may just snap a couple myself next time she decides to play dress up.

     Monkey and I had a lot of fun hunting for the perfect dress, finding the add-ons together, and even giggling while I did her hair.  It's really fun having a little girl, especially when she lets you in on the dress up game.  She got many compliments at school about her outfit, and she really enjoyed the extra attention.  Now she's telling me she wants to be Miss Frizzle for Halloween and Daddy can be Liz.  We shall see if he's up for that, but lucky for him she has plenty of time to change her mind!

     Also to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, I made this special lunch for Monkey:

   I made the Cat in the Hat's hat by coloring red stripes on a white cheese stick.  Then I made green eggs and ham by dying an egg like you would an Easter egg, and threading a bit of rolled up ham on a toothpick.  I added in half of a banana, a GoGurt, and a bit of trail mix made up of Cheerios, cranberries, and yogurt-covered raisins.

     I had a lot of fun putting together all of this stuff so Monkey's usual Monday would be a tad more fun.  Now I'll leave you with these wonderful words of wisdom from Miss Frizzle herself :-)

It's Ime-tay Oo-tay Eak-Spay Ig-pay Atin-lay

     I'm in trouble.  I discovered that I can no longer get away with spelling things in my house when I don't want Monkey to know what I'm talking about.  I should have seen this coming.  I mean, she's known several small words for a while now, but she has come to that point where she is sounding words out and actively reading, so she's gotten even better at deciphering J's and my secret code.  Sunday we decided we would surprise her by taking her to see Big Hero 6, and when I asked J what time the m-o-v-i-e started, she perked up and said, "I wanna watch a movie!"  I guess it's time to break out the Pig Latin...

     Speaking of Monkey, I know it's only Tuesday, but I have never appreciated Kindergarten so much as I did yesterday afternoon by about 12:30.  I love my daughter, and I have been looking forward to spending extra time with her for weeks, but I forgot how much work it is to keep her busy all day.  I commend all you stay-at-home moms out there.  It's a full time job.  As I mentioned in my last post, we're working on a few projects to learn about properties of water, and yesterday we focused on reversible change, or more simply put, freezing and melting.  After breakfast, I let her watch this episode of Sid the Science Kid while I set up our experimenting station (aka while I cleared off the table).  After the show was over we talked about how water can change to ice and back to water again, and that's why it's called a reversible change.  Then we pulled out our frozen "Sink or Float" experiment, and she recorded her findings.  Next I asked her how she thought she could get her toys out of the ice, and she came up with some excellent ideas ranging from lighting a fire under them, to using the microwave, to sticking the whole thing in the oven to melt the water.  I gently steered her towards using hot water to melt the ice, after all it seemed the safest route.  

     After this experiment she decided clothes were over rated, declared it Pajama Day, and then came back downstairs for more experiments.  I was ready for her.  The night before I had filled three balloons with water.  I made them different sizes, one small, one medium, and one large.  I took them out and instructed Monkey to peel the balloon off and use the frozen balls to create a snowman.  Of course, I had to start singing "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" while she worked.

     I had Monkey sprinkle a bit of salt between each ball to help them hold together.

     Next, she decorated her snowman using some construction paper cut-outs and salt to help them stick.

     With the snowman finally assembled, I asked Monkey to hypothesize how long she thought it would take our snowman to melt.  She said until the next next, so I had her record her hypothesis of 24 hours and draw the experiment.  I set an alarm to sound every hour so we could record the progress, and every hour Monkey drew a picture of what was going on with our science snowman.  Her hypothesis was incorrect; it only took 7 hours and 26 minutes for our snowman to melt completely.  She recorded these results too before helping me clean him up.

    Now, this experiment was loosely based off of this experiment I found on Pinterest, but I just looked at the picture without reading the instructions (shame on me) so I didn't realize they made two snowmen, putting one outside and one inside to see which would melt faster.  I froze six more water-filled balloons so that we could do that version of the experiment today.  

    I realize that lately most of my blogs focus on kid crafts or kid lunches, and some of you are only here for the recipes (I'm onto you), so it's only fair that I give you what you came for, right?  Well here you go!  This is my favorite hamburger recipe from Paula Deen, and believe or not, no butter was harmed in the making of these burgers. ;-)

Paula Deen's Loaded Juicy Beef Burgers
3 lbs ground beef
1 (8 oz) package baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
2 TBS prepared horseradish
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Gently shape into 10 patties.  Spray grill rack with nonstick nonflammable cooking spray.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350-400 degrees).  Grill burgers, covered with grill lid, for 5-6 minutes per side or until thermometer inserted into the thickest portion reads 165 degrees.  Serve with homemade buns (recipe to follow), pickles, sliced tomatoes, slice onions, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, or any of your favorite hamburger toppings.

Homemade Hamburger Buns
from Taste of Home
2 TBS active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 TBS warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl dissolve yeast in water.  Add oil and sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Add egg, salt and flour to form a soft dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes.  Do not let rise; immediately divide into 12 pieces (for bigger rolls, divide into fewer pieces).  Shape each piece into a ball.  Place 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise for 10 minutes.  Bake at 425 for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

It's Turkey Time

     I am so happy to say that I am officially on break from school for 10 whole days!  Other than studying for a test we have when we go back, I plan on doing nothing school-related for a week.  That is, until I realize that I'll still have to pass boards before too long, hyperventilate, and start studying extra for the NCLEX.  Until that happens, though, my focus will be on many other things but school.  After today, Monkey will also be on break, so I have been planing a few projects to keep us both busy over the holiday.     We will be learning all about water and it's various properties.  Today we started with a project about why things sink or float.

    I started out by expelling to Monkey that to float means to stay on top of the water, and that to sink means to fall to the bottom of the water.  Then we pulled out a book that's been around since before I was born.  In fact, it was a hand-me-down from when I was a kid.  It's called "Why Does it Float?", and in spite of it's age, it explains displacement and buoyancy in a way that kids can understand.  I found a copy of it on Amazon for only a penny, if anyone is interested.

     Next I had Monkey run around the house to find items she wanted to experiment with.  Then she grouped them into the ones she thought would float versus those she thought would sink.  She got several miniature plastic toys, a leaf, and a cork.

 
    Next, I had her drop each item one-by-one into a bowl of water.  We used a glass bowl so she could see the bottom of the water.

     Next, I had her find differences between the items that floated versus those that sank.  She determined that heavy objects sink, and light object float.  We then tested a few more items, and she had to rethink her hypothesis when a pair of tiny Barbie shoes sank.  That's when we referred back to the book about buoyancy and displacement and determined that the Barbie shoes didn't have enough room in them for air in order to float.

"Weighing" floaters vs sinkers

     Finally, I had her record her findings in a journal.  And as a way to lead into the next set of experiments about freezing and melting, we put our bowl of water into the freezer to see which items will freeze on top, and which will freeze on the bottom.  Monkey also drew her hypothesis for that project.  Tomorrow we'll find out if her hypothesis was correct!

 
     Before she was out of school, I was getting Monkey ready for Thanksgiving by packing her a few festive lunches I'd like to share.  Let's start simple, shall we?


Turkey Sandwich...Literally

     This little guy was super easy to throw together.  He's a turkey sandwich that I cut into a circle.  For feathers I used pretzel sticks and bits of sliced carrots.  I cute out a little bowling-pinned-shaped body for the turkey, and I made a face using my food markers.

Turkey Taco

      This was another simple creation using a tortilla filled with turkey, lettuce, and cheese.  I folded it in half, quesidilla-style, and I drew a turkey using my food markers again.  I added some sides, including yogurt raisins, broccoli, and a "pumpkin" made from a bit of celery and a Halo orange.

Egg-cellent Pilgrims and Indians

      These little guys took a bit more work, but they were fun.  I started with two boiled eggs, cut in half.  I sprinkled a bit of paprika on two of the eggs (these would be my "indians").  Next, using sheets of Nori, I cut out the shape of eyes, noses, and mouths, and arranged them on the yolks.  Then I cut out the hats for the pilgrims, and the headbands for the indians.  Finally I added a "feather" for each indian's headband using a bit of celery leaf.  Then I cut the buckle of the pilgrims' hats out of ham.

Turkey Lunchables

     I decided to spruce up our usual DIY lunchables by making the crackers into a tiny turkey.  I cut out another body from ham, and this time I cut eyes, a beak, and a waddle from a sheet of Nori.  I then arrange some cut up carrots to resemble feathers.  I put the extra ham, cheese and crackers in another container for Monkey to assemble her own.

     Needless to say, I've had a lot of time getting ready for the week off, and I'm looking forward to all the fun I have planned for Monkey, J, and I.  Of course, I'm also looking forward to the whole no school thing.  Needless to say, I'm thankful it's turkey time :-)

Well, That Didn't End Well

     Does anyone remember when Monkey and I made an ecosystem back in June?  That thing has been growing ever since!  We lost the fish after about a month, so we opened it up to remove them, and then allowed everything else to keep growing.  It was doing great!  We had tons of grass, and the algae and water plants were thriving.  The crickets died out one by one, and we never really could see the earthworms, but overall it was a good project.  I had it placed in the window above the staircase, and I kept thinking I should take it down and take it apart, but honestly I forgot about it.  That is, until J would complain about it being in the way of the blinds every night when he would try to lower them as it got dark.  You see, the window on the staircase is in a rather awkward position.  It's almost too high for us to open and lower the blinds, yet I'm a sucker for sunlight, so every morning I lean forward over the steps and stretch out on my tip-toes to reach the cord that will raise the blinds and let the sunlight in.  Then every night, J has the hard task of stretching out over the staircase to slowly bring the blinds back down.  Since adding the ecosystem to the mix, you also have to be careful not to let the cord get wrapped around the bottle or let the blinds down too quickly to avoid knocking the ecosystem off the windowsill.  Every night I would hear J complain about the darn blinds being open, and how stupid it was for the people to design the stairs the way they did.  So, the other night to be nice (and to avoid hearing the complaints) I decided to lower the blinds myself.  I grabbed the cord, and stretched out over the staircase to begin lowering the blinds, but I forgot something.  I forgot the ecosystem.  So, as I tugged the cord and looked down to check that my feet weren't going to slip off of the stair I was standing on, I felt something rather heavy smack the top of my head. Next thing I knew I was covered in nasty, smelly, fishy water, and there by my feet was the ecosystem, leaking it's foul-smelling contents all over our staircase.  Needless to say, I'm very glad I didn't leave the dead fish in there so that Monkey could learn about decomposition.  Regardless, I immediately jumped in the shower after scrubbing the stairs to wash the dead fish remnants away.

     Not all of my attempts at doing something nice for someone else has ended in utter failure.  I think these Halloween-themed lunches I've been packing for Monkey have come out rather well.

Monday: Spider Sandwich with Monster Apples

      This box contains a ham and cheese sandwich shaped to look like a spider.  I used a round cookie cutter to cut circles out of two slices of bread, a slice of ham, and a slice of cheese.  Next I sliced 4 long pieces of carrot super thin.  When I assembled the sandwich I laid the carrot sliced across that sandwich before placing the bread on top.  I used sliced olives for the eyes, and voila!

     The second half of this was the monster apples.  I quartered and apple, and I cut wedges out of two of the quarters, and I soaked these slices in a mixture of 1TBS lemon juice and 3/4 cup water for 5 minutes to keep them from browning before lunch time.  After they had soaked, I wiped them dry, and added almond slivers for the teeth.  For the eyes, I used candy eyeballs "glued" on with Nutella.  (You could use any type of nut butter, but Nutella is the only kind my daughter will eat).

 Tuesday: Celery Mummies

      For this lunch I made my own Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese (recipe to follow), but you can use the pre-made kind.  I spread a little on each celery stick.  Next I took a slice of ham and cut it into thin strips lengthwise and wrapped those around the celery sticks.  I used bits of black olives for the eyes.  I sent these to school with some grape tomatoes, pretzels, and an orange.

Wednesday: Spooky Sandwich

      I took the easy route Wednesday by simply making a ham sandwich and then cutting it into a ghost shape with my spooky little ghost cookie cutter.  I made a little face for him using my food markers.  Next, I added a bit of celery, and a few orange "pumpkins" for dessert.  These are simply peeled Halo oranges with a bit of celery wedged in the top to resemble stems.

Thursday: Mummy Hotdogs

      Now, I normally don't do hotdogs, but every once in a while, I figure it's okay to let my kid be a kid.  This box took a bit more prep work, because you have to make the mummies the night before.  I followed the instructions on the Pillsbury website to make the mummies, adding eyes using my food markers, and then I served them with a bit of ketchup, celery, and a couple "pumpkins".

Friday: Gravestones and Ghosts Bento Box

     This box included two mini sandwiches cut to resemble gravestones (the RIP on the left headstone is spelled out with little strips of ham).  Next I added two banana "ghosts" to the box to make it look like they were coming out of the graves.  I threw in some grape tomatoes, celery, and some of that garden vegetable cream cheese for dipping, and sent Monkey on her merry little way.


 Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese  
8 oz block cream cheese
1 medium carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4-1/2 onion, minced (start with less and add more to taste)
1-2 cloves garlic, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a food processor, and blend until smooth.  Let sit in the refrigerator until flavors have melded.  Serve with crackers or veggies for dipping, or use as a spread.