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This is Z at Canadian Tire. He just woke up from his nap not long before I took this photo. I have always loved the puffy look on children after they wake up! But not on me!

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Somedays, I feel that Z is just in front of the tv or iPad all morning. Today was especially rough. I think the babywearing for nap time needs to stop because V is easily woken up by Z’s voice. So most days, Z eats his lunch while watching Sesame Street. (I feel guilty as I write this.)

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Despite the craziness with naps, I still managed to create. I came up with baked rice puffs that were actually yummy. Here is V enjoying them. Finally a savoury crunchy snack for my savoury girl. And they are pretty healthy.

Savoury Baby

You know how they say not to give baby fruits when starting then on solids first? Well that is a total myth because I did that and once V tasted savoury, she was hooked. She won’t even eat Minigo or most fruits.
Her favourite is old cheddar cheese. I cut it into little cubes and she just pops them into her mouth. Breakfasts are always rough because she doesn’t want to eat cereal unless it’s savoury. Most times ahe won’t even eat much for breakfast.
If you look in the grocery shelves for baby snacks all you will find are sweet things. Teething biscuits, rice puffs that are fruit flavored and that’s it.
So today I was on a mission to make my own spinach rice puffs. And it worked! Here’s how I did it.

Ingredients:
Cooked rice (white or brown)
Spinach, carrots or sweet potatoes (anything that would impart a nice subtle flavour and give lots of color)
Sharp cheese (old cheddar or Parmesan)
Salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to convection at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Purée the warmed leftover or fresh rice with a little water. Add enough to make a smooth but thick paste.
3. Add the vegetables, cheese and seasoning (if using) and puree with the rice till well blended.
4. The consistency should be a thick pipe able paste. If too runny, add more rice.
5. Fill a piping bag and using a small round or star tip.
6. Test a small batch by microwaving on parchment paper on High for 6-8 minutes. Start with 6 and check to see if it’s dry. You can tell it is dry when the puff comes off the parchment paper.
7. Go ahead and pipe onto a parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for at least 20 minutes.
8. Let cool and store in an airtight container. (Oh wait, let me rewind.) Let cool and give your little munchkin a handful to gobble up. He/she will love it, I guarantee.

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The day was so hot today that it was almost unbearable. After the kids afternoon nap, I filled the kiddie pool with some water, slathered on sunscreen and let them play. I even let V go in the water naked. Thank goodness she liked it because she usually cries a lot when I bathe her in the tub.

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We had beef noodle soup for lunch and V liked the soup a lot. So I put some in her sippy cup for her. She drank most of it. While on the couch playing and waiting for me, she had a spit up. It was a lot and all over her clothes, plus she pood and it leaked up so I had to strip her. The result is she is naked in the wrap.

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“Grrrr…I’m coming to get you!!!!”
V has discovered frozen treats – wild blueberries specifically. The small size makes it a perfect pickup-and-put-it-in-your-mouth food for her. You should see her eat them – she’s so serious.

At Uncle Ly and Auntie Rebelah’s house, they have a big brown bouncy couch that Z discovered. So for the first 20 min after we got there, he was jumping up and down on it. I took this shot after he got tired and laid down to rest.

Being Told by a Toddler

We went to visit our new niece, Lila, and Rebekah and Ly. She is gorgeous even at 11 days old. While we were there, it was inevitable that technology devices would come into Z’s hands. When you have kids, you need to have a schedule and stick to it.
Naturally, Z wanted to stay longer to play with the iPad and didn’t want to go just yet. So M started to countdown. Immediately, even without looking up from the iPad, Z says with strong conviction, “Don’t count!”
Gotta love being told by a toddler.

A Suspicion and a Failed Date

Tonight’s date WAS planned. In fact, we made arrangements with out former nanny last Friday. She was even sleeping over so we could stay out later. When Irene arrived, she came up to Z’s room to say ‘hi’. He had just gotten dressed from bath time and was caught off guard when he saw her. Z was expecting M to walk through his door instead he saw her I thought he was acting kinda funny. We had to tell him that she was sleeping over and will be having breakfast with us tomorrow morning.
We were going to seethe Avengers. Just to be sure, we waited till Z fell asleep before leaving. I prayed that everything will go smoothly. In fact, we were more worried that V will wake and cry more than Z will. We got as far as the previews with pop and popcorn when Irene texted M. “z is crying.” . Immediately, M and I froze and panicked. We asked Irene to wait a bit to see if he would go back to sleep. He cried and then got off his bed. Here is what went down, as we found out when we got home.
By the time Irene got upstairs, Z was in our room looking for us. “where’s mommy?”, he asked her. Z was crying so hard that he almost threw up. That would have been a bad thing. Thank goodness he didn’t. When we got to him, he was sitting in the dark with Irene on his couch and he immediately started crying and sobbing so hard when he saw us. I started to feel what he was feeling and felt terrible for not telling him the truth.
It took almost 20 minutes to resettle him. His face was puffy and he would not make eye contact for the first while. I hugged him tighter. He wouldn’t even go to M at first. He just wanted his mommy. When I asked him if it would make him feel better if we changed into our pjs, he replied with a yes. So, M went first and came back into his room. Then I did. I think that reassured him a little. I asked him what woke him up, he said his leg hurt. So we gave him medicine and tucked him back to bed.
All this time, V slept soundly.

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Is is a rare time seeing the three of us reading. I was with V and telling her about the different things in the book when Z said, “No, I wanna do it!”. So he joined us.

Our house is full of clutter and we have a basket on the side table by the couch that just magically has socks, a hat, Z’s NBA headband and wristbands and a pair of shoes. Everytime V sees the basket, she smiles as to say, “Mommy. I want that basket.”. It’s understandable because it’s orange. So I gave it to her and she had a fun time playing with the contents. I had fun putting on some of the head gear on her.

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I sometimes feel bad that Z is watching tv too much. But there are times when I literally cannot play with him and he does not have the patience to play on his own for an extended period of time. So last night, I did some research on craft activities and we made a Fruit Loops necklace which he enjoyed while watching tv. (btw, he only watches educational ones).

After the kids’ naps, we went outside to hang out. Here’s V on the lounger, so cute.