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We got a lot of great tips on haircutting, which are going to be made into a new post next week, but given the disaster last time, I wasn’t eager to repeat the experience. So, late last night after he finally fell asleep in our bed, I cut his hair (yes, in the semi-darkness, and no, I don’t know how to cut hair). Thankfully, it turned out pretty well – I was prepared to have to use some clippers and cut it short if I messed it up though! The short hairs in front have always been there – he’s just finally growing hair there, I didn’t chop it off in the front .

Don’t forget to check out the brand-new Carnival of the Mundane today as well!

Good morning! It’s a cool, sunny morning here, finally cool enough to have the windows open, about 70ish right now. Lil’ Duck greeted me this morning with “clean, mama, all clean!” which meant that my lovely husband already took him in the shower before he left for a long day at work. The little one looks so grown up today, as I took the easy road with the haircut drama and cut it while he was sleeping in our bed last night (the only downside being that we are all a little hairy today, perhaps a sheet washing is in order). Photos are coming in a bit, I haven’t finished my coffee yet this morning.

Speaking of coffee, Folgers sent me a lovely package of their new gourmet coffee – I’m having the vanilla biscotti this morning, mmmm. I’ll be writing a post about all the flavors (and also about my new (free) Senseo machine – now that is a lovely creation) next week. That, with some milk, sugar, and whipped cream, is a lovely way to start the morning.

No big plans for the weekend – we are just glad to all be feeling healthy for once – I might take the little one to the park and such, then we will finally make it back to church on Sunday after a long sick leave. I suppose a good cleaning of the house is in order as well.

Anyway, leave a comment, tell me how your day is going, what great plans you have for the weekend! I’ve got plenty of coffee and the little guy might share some of his grits…..

We are always looking for more ideas around here, as Lil’ Duck’s ideas of fun usually involve the destruction of my house! Here’s some more activity ideas from moms of toddlers:

1. Get a small bag of dried beans or rice and dump it into a large (plastic) mixing bowl. Give them a few other plastic cups, a mixing spoon, some paper towel rolls and put everything on the floor. They love to dump the beans from container to container and you can show them how to dump the beans down the tubes. Just keep those beans stored in a seperate container and don’t use them for anything else. Put everything on a bath towel or blanket and clean up is pretty easy because the beans don’t roll far on a towel. Of course, if your toddler likes to put things in their mouth, don’t try this one….. always supervise them regardless, of course.
2. Climbing in empty boxes and “hiding” in them. Use a refrigerator box to build a “house”, smaller ones for sitting in, and stack up the really small ones to make a tower. Read more

• Leftovers from dinner!
• Sandwiches on whole grain wheat bread
  • Peanut butter and jelly if they are eating peanuts
  • Grilled cheese
  • Deli meat & cheese
  • Any sort of melt is especially good, since Lil’ Duck loves to disassemble his sandwiches.

  
  

• Fish sticks (especially with various dipping sauces, Lil’ Duck likes ketchup or bbq sauce but you can try anything you like, ranch dressing is a hit among many of his friends).
• French fries – we actually get the healthy potato wedges with the olive oil so it’s all real potatoes and not a ton of grease and sodium.
• Fruits – pretty much anything sliced up at this age is fine, barring allergies.
• Yogurt (we still mix pureed fruit in as Lil’ Duck isn’t a fan of plain fruit, also mix in cereals and vitamins).
• Crackers with cheese (melted in the microwave for a few seconds to keep them together) or cream cheese (you could do pasturized soft cheese, but I’m still wary personally).
• Rice cakes – Lil Duck would eat these all day if I let him. We get the unsalted ones and put anything on top or just let him eat it plain. I also showed him how to break off pieces and scoop up spinach dip and tuna.
• Low-sodium soups – veggie soup, chicken soups, etc – can be an easy way to get protein and veggies in. I usually offer the little guy the chunky parts and drain the liquid or eat it myself – if I want him to have broth, I put it in a cup with a straw. It’s just too messy otherwise, but it’s your house .
• Pasta and sauce is always a hit – I mix pureed veggies in spaghetti sauce, melt cheese (we use rice cheese for the dairy allergy) over top, mix in some shredded meat, etc. Mac and Cheese is a hit for many – we have to get the rice version, but there are a lot of healthy mac and cheese mixes out there now as well.
  • Lil’ Duck also likes the ravioli/tortellini from the pre-made store packages, with or without sauce. We get the chicken or pesto ones most of the time, but there are also cheese-filled ones for those without dairy issues.
• We also like the little microwavable meals from Gerber or the health food store – the adult meals like Chef Boyardee have too much sodium and junk, but the baby meals are pretty good.
• Tortillas – wraps, burritos, etc – an easy way to make leftovers interesting and can make for a wide variety of lunches.
• Speaking of burritos, we keep the frozen bean burritos in the freezer for a quick meal. Lil’ Duck likes them with chips and salsa .

Be sure to visit the rest of the Works For Me Wednesday tips for other great ideas as well.

We love this recipe, I need to make it again, in fact….

1 broiler chicken cooked and deboned (or 2-3 pounds of chicken breasts cooked and diced) – I just boil up the chicken breasts, but you can stick them in the crockpot too. Save the broth from cooking….
Mix together:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
(optional, veggies – I like to mix in corn/carrots/onions)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a greased 9×13 baking dish, place chicken in the bottom & pour the soup mixture over the top. Sprinkle 1 box of stuffing mix over the top. Pour the saved chicken broth over the top of everything, just enough to dampen the stuffing mix, not enough to make it runny. Bake for 40 minutes and enjoy!

Recipe Tuesday is hosted by Mama Bee of Tears-N-Tantrums – head on over there to read her recipe and join in the fun!