Good Eaters-Raising a Child with a Diverse Palate

Katelyn is 7 1/2, loves Thai food and when asked what she wants for dinner often replies sushi, curry, Chinese, Mexican etc. I am often told "She's such a great eater, she'll eat anything" followed by "I wish my kids would eat that, or at least try it" "How did you get her to try all these foods?"

It's no secret that the Michel's are foodies, we love to eat out. We love to try new foods and I often try my hand at oriental cuisine at home. Honestly Katelyn was never given chicken nuggets and french fries as a young child. She ate what we ate, if we were at Thai Basil, she had Pad Thai with me, if we were at a Mexican restaurant she shared my enchilada, Brent's burrito or carne asada. I don't make a separate meal for her at dinner or lunch, I also never let her order off of a kids menu, at least not a burger and fries or chicken nuggets. If you go to Europe or South America they don't have kids menus with Americanized, bland, over processed, convenience foods. Instead children are expected to participate in the country's food culture and eat as adults do.

As a young mom, I never gave my style of parenting a second thought. I enjoy food and I wanted my daughter to enjoy food with me, I didn't want her to be narrow minded and turn her nose up at others food traditions without even trying it. I also don't try and influence her decisions, to be honest there are a few things I'm not wild about but I never suggest they are "gross" in front of her. Kids follow their parents examples, and I think our ideas of food are no different. Why would your kid try sushi if you say it's "gross, terrible or disgusting"? I've always wanted Katelyn to experience different cultures, and food is a great start. Her ability to be open minded in regards to food allows her to interact with others and especially adults at a dinner table, where traditions are rooted. I think she has learned through her many travel adventures across the world and through experiencing various foods here in Sin City the importance of respecting other ethnic groups, lifestyles and traditions.

I am aware that my views are not shared by all, and I do not judge those who raise their children differently. I however spend a great deal of time explaining why my daughter is "good eater" so I decided to write a brief blog about the issue. At some point I might dive into it further, also exploring why my daughter runs around her school telling people McDonald's isn't food, and how cows milk is the worst thing for kids to drink. She's the daughter of an environmental health major who's goal in life is to change the way people look at food, their environment, cosmetics, prescription drugs, their doctors, hospitals and household cleaners.

-Crys

Addie vs. the baby piano

After a fun filled day of mini photoshoots-one of baby Ezr and some of my own munchkins, some coffee and chat time with the best pal Addie decided to take on the piano. I'm not exactly sure what happened but Katelyn tried to hug her sister, she apparently resisted and the next thing I hear is Addie's face hitting the piano, I knew it was a hard it as the piano made a noise like all the keys had been hit, then the tears and screams started. Brent grabbed her and ran to the kitchen, I could see blood. Not good for me, I can't do blood on a kids face. It was everywhere, all over her face, on Brent's face, her hands, his shirt, the floor. It looked like a bloody dog fight. In the end she cut the inside of her mouth/between her top teeth and lip. I hope her teeth don't fall out or something crazy, she sure it hard. It was traumatic for all involved but especially Katelyn as she was the reason for the fall, it was a total accident but the girl felt terrible, I think she cried more than Adelaide :(

Cloth Diapers and Twins

They're cute, fluffy and somewhat addicting. In my husbands words my cloth diapering obsession is a hobby, something I do for fun. Well, he may be on to something, it's a science, I think I've read more about cloth diapering than I have in regards to my MPH.

It's comical really, why does cleaning poo out of colored poo catchers make me happy.....? Your guess is as good as mine. I honestly think I'm addicted to the cute prints, and those fluffy bums. Even the dear hubby comments on how cute they look strutting around with owls and hearts on their rumps.

When I became pregnant I knew I wanted to do things differently this time around, I guess some would call me a "hippie" I'm all about natural this and natural that, eat clean, organic, make my own cleaning supplies and if I can't I buy safe, non toxic products. When I learned how diapers are made, whats in them and how long they take to decompose in a landfill I knew I wanted something different.

I won't lie, my kids still wear disposable, just not often. When we travel and one for overnight, we try and stick with The Honest Company or Seventh Generation, but sometimes Costco wins. Either way I don't stress and I enjoy my little hobby of cloth diapering.

I bought all of my diapers second hand, and that saves a serious amount of cash. I love, love love, Rumparooz. They are my favorite so far, however I want to try Best Bottoms, we also use bumgenius. Hubby isn't opposed to changing a cloth diaper, he just won't wash them. And to be honest I wouldn't want him messing with my wash routine.

Washing; this is where it becomes a science. I never had a problem until I bought these beautiful Samsung frontloaders, my old washer was great. Used like 47 gallons to wash and always got them clean. Now, I've had some bouts of ammonia buildup, detergent buildup, you name it, all because frontloaders use so little water. Diapers need lots of water to get clean. Their job is to absorb, so if there is a tablespoon of water trying to get 16 insets clean we have a problem. My solution has been, a quick wash without detergent with no spin, this soaks them. I then do a delicate wash (as it uses the most amount of water) with detergent and finally 3 rinse and spins. Every other week I run them on a sanitize cycle as well.

Detergents are another thing, I used to use Rockin Green because every single cloth diaper resource says its the best, however after my bouts of detergent buildup I asked some cloth diapering pros and they assured me Tide free and gentle was best. We switched two weeks ago so I'll keep ya posted.

Also we decided to ditch the diaper sprayer for liners, they are flushable and catch the poo. So the liner goes in the toilet the diaper goes in the cloth diaper pail and I wash every 2-3 days. I'm a girl who HATES laundry but something about my cloth diapers is therapeutic, yes I know I'm crazy, but that's ok!