Food Aversions

Just to stay balanced, I wanted to write about foods/drinks that I DON'T like.

1. Coffee! Yes, coffee. And, no I don't even like the smell of it. ICK. GAG. And if I smell it on your breath, that is just about the worst thing EVER.

2. Fishy fish. I'm really trying here. I think I've come a long way. I eat halibut, cod, scallops, sashimi.........I know I've got a long way to go but seriously if it smells fishy I just can't put it in my mouth.

3. Game-y meat. Deer, lamb, duck. I'm told I'm not a true meat lover since I generally eat red meat medium-well. To me, duck is oily and fatty and deer and lamb just have this funky taste. I also won't eat most meat when it's been reheated. GAG. It tastes like metal to me. And obviously organ meats are out of the question. I will try anything once though. It all deserves a chance. Haven't met a tasty organ yet!

4. Skin. I don't get it. I can't stand eating chicken skin. It's just so GROSS.

5. Fat. Once again, I don't get it. And it PISSES me off to no end when people say to me, "that's the best part!" or "that's what gives it flavor!" Great then....YOU EAT IT!

6. Jello & custards. Never liked jello. Gelatinous foods just don't do it for me. Any kind of creamy tarts, custards, flan, creme brulee, cream pies........no thanks.

7. Peanut butter or cherry flavored anything. I feel nauseous at the mere thought of Reeses Pieces. I must have had some weird experience with them when I was little.

I think that just about covers it. I'm sure there's more but I'm starting to feel a little sick just writing about it.

Food Obsessed

Okay. I LOVE food. No, really you don't understand. I. LOVE. FOOD. I'm hungry first thing in the morning. During breakfast I dream about what I'm going to eat for lunch and dinner.

My latest obsession is Trader Joe's cracked wheat sourdough bread. Oh my holy crap. It is that good. Yeah, I know it's not whole grain and is probably not particularly good for me but I don't care right now. I only eat about 2 slices/day. Mind you, I just rediscovered it after years and years of not having it. I used to buy it in college then I just sort of forgot about it. Anyhow, since I'm always thinking about food, I thought I'd make a little list of only SOME of the foods I love and could never get sick of (and while I wait for the pasta - yes, it's whole wheat - to boil for dinner):

Trader Joe's Cracked Wheat Sourdough
Apples (gala or honeycrisp) dipped in caramel
cucumbers
radishes
broccoli
pasta
strawberries
milk chocolate
french fries
artichokes
green olives
red grapes
hearts of palm
avocados
finadene (over beef and chicken)
rice
green beans
red onions - actually any onions
Mexican hot chocolate

There's probably a ton more. That list was just off the top of my head.

On a not-so-psycho note, I have given up soda! I used to order it only when we'd go out to dinner and never keep it at home (cuz I'd drink it). I have been soda free for a few weeks now. I'm pretty proud of myself - it ain't easy. I love that nasty stuff. I will have one every once in awhile - just not yet. I want to be a month or two "clean" until I enjoy one every now and again. Sheesh, you'd think I was talking about crack or something.

FREEZE!

I thought this was very cool:

Say What???

On two occasions this past week my daughter said the following:

"I go play piano bitch"
What she meant: I go play on the piano BENCH

"I see baby's ASS"
What she meant: I see Babies R Us

It was SO HARD not to laugh! Both times I knew what she meant but if anyone else was with us, you would have definitely thought otherwise.

She loves to play on the piano bench. There is storage in it and she loves to play with the study books and flash cards. When we go to Target (which is often) we drive by Babies R Us. Her sense of direction is phenomenal. She definitely did not get that from me. Next time I get lost, I'll just ask her where I am.

It's OFFICIAL......

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have hit the TERRIBLE TWO's. And yes, it did seem to happen overnight. Oh JOY.

I don't deal well with public tantrums. AT ALL. I let her have them and don't give in but I get very embarrassed. It sucks. Welcome to motherhood Samba Mama.

The Potty Party

Okaaaaayyyyy.....So we were up last night until about 10:45pm setting up for this ridicoulous sounding soiree. Of course when I went to make sure the potty doll could pee when I gave her a bottle, it did not work. After no less than 1.5 hours of tinkering, both minor and major doll surgery and some poking we decided it was defective and that we would still use it, but not have it pee. We would have to just somehow put the water and/or poop (chocolate chips - yummy!) in the potty chair unbeknownst to her. Also, I couldn't find doll undies so we are using some old baby washcloths and a rubber band for doll undies.

Since the star of the party is taking her nap, I thought I'd give a little briefing. We decided to alter the format slightly and have my daughter potty train the doll until 10:30am and then we'd start on her. We decided this since she normally naps from 1-4 and the book says to start the child's training after her nap however, she would only get about 2.5 hrs of "potty practice" with this method. So, we started pushing the drinks and and salty snacks. All healthy ideas go out the window for the party. She was drinking pineapple juice, grape juice, chocolate milk and eating salted peanuts, salt & vinegar potato chips, cream cheese stuffed olives, chicken nuggets, and french fries. Oh JOY! So when we put her on the potty for the first time, she POOPED! Yep! The book said not to expect it, but I know her poop schedule and thought we'd give it a try. She also peed on the potty 3 times so far. She's had 3 accidents as well. All pee accidents (no poop accidents, thank goodness). This party is EXHAUSTING and a lot of work. She is, however, doing a fantastic job. We are really yelling and clapping and hugging and kissing and singing her praises when she does pee and poop on the potty.

So far, the best part is seeing her cute little bottom in her big girl underwear. I bought her Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty themed undies and she seems to be thrilled with them. I hoping the afternoon goes just as well! I'm so glad it's a 3-day weekend. I think we picked a good time to do this. This evening after dinner, the grandparents and my aunt and uncle are coming by for some cake and a small celebration to congratulate the little one graduating to big girl undies. They all think we are ridiculous I'm sure - except for my husbands parent's who used this method on my husband and said it worked. I'm hoping his genetics play a key role in our success.

So I started this post two days ago. It's now Monday. We continued with the potty routine after daughter's nap. Overall, the day went well but........

I think I have to admit that she is just not ready. She would pee a little on the toilet and appeared to be trying to get some out which tells me that she understands what we want, but after she would pee just a little and we'd take her off the toilet, she would immediately have an accident. A FULL pee accident. Obviously she wasn't letting ALL of the pee out while on the toilet.

I'm not sure we'll do the party again as it was a lot of work. She had a blast with all the focus on her and she loves her little potty doll so much that she now wants to nap with her every day.

I was a tad annoyed with the realization that perhaps I jumped the gun on this, but that's okay, I'm in no hurry. So, all that to say..................

It was fun, a lot of work, but she is a still a bit too immature for such a step.

Milestones

So this weekend is my daughter's "potty party" where we will attempt (with much success I hope) to potty train her in one day. I've heard great things about it and I'm okay staying home all day for one weekend. It's really just Saturday but Sunday will likely be reinforcing her potty skills....heehee. Wish us/her luck!

She starts school in July and I'm beginning to freak a little. One of the other mom's in my daughter's gymnastics class was telling stories of her kids getting beat up in school and then a few other mom's chimed in with their $0.02 about how they pulled their child out of this preschool or that due to fighting. Is this normal? I might just go ape SHIT on anyone I see beating up my baby. I'm hoping it's a boy thing.

I know I'm weird but I've always found it weird to leave your child with a non-family member - even only for an hour. I know, I know. It's even hard for me to leave her with grandparents. Ugh. It sucks. I just hope the preschool transition isn't too traumatic. I really need to start some yoga and have some me time. On the flip side, I have really been enjoying my little precious a lot lately. She talks so much and is even quite affectionate at times. She now counts to 12, recognizes numbers 1-10, letters A-Z and can sing the ABC song. It's adorable. She also knows the colors yellow, red, blue, green, orange, black, brown and white.

The terrible two's have crept in slightly in the form of tantrums and a few battle of wills. They don't last long - thank GOD - but they do make me nervous and wonder just how bad it might get.

Am I the only one that thinks this is hilarious?