Tag Archives: wednesday

Our Toddler’s Daily Blue Plate Special + WIAW

Our toddler is getting a little more sophisticated around here. Before, we could just use her high chair tray as a “plate” for her to eat off of, but now she insists on using a plate. And not just any plate, and blue plate!

Actually, as long as the plate is next to her, she will still accept eating from the tray, but her plate must be blue. Pink or purple is a surefire way to set her off like Katie Ka-Boom from the Animaniacs (please, someone tell me they know the reference), so she gets her blue plate every day for at least dinner. Then wash, rinse, repeat (literally).

It doesn’t stop with just her plate either, she insists on sitting in her blue chair, drinking green smoothies from her blue bottle, wearing a blue shirt, and favors her blue cloth diaper over the other colors. And I lost count of how many times we are told the sky is blue and she has blue eyes. I know she’s too young to call it official, but for the time being, blue is definitely her favorite color.

Back to the blue plate. I’ve enjoyed sharing our toddler’s eats for past What I Ate Wednesday’s, so I figured I’d share her blue plate fare (rhyming rocks!) for this week’s edition.

Breakfast – Banana, homemade chocolate protein pancake, homemade NuttZo Banana Bread, and sprouted raw pumpkin seeds.

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I’m always a bit worried about the pumpkin seeds since we’ve had several tipped plate experiences already, but lately, she’s been much better at putting her pincer grasp to use.

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Snack – Tiny But Mighty Heirloom Popcorn with more NuttZo Banana Bread.

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So it wasn’t a plate, but a blue lid seemed to pass her stringent color standards of….um…blue.

Lunch – Lots of slow-cooker veggies with black beans and a 50/50 mash of cauliflower and potatoes mixed with nutritional yeast, goat cheese, and several spices.

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Please note the blue fork. I found it on Amazon and had to buy it for the name alone; Air Fork One. She loves it too!

Big Girl Snack – hard boiled egg, diced apple, slow-cooker butternut squash, steamed veggies, and cut cherry tomatoes.

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I swear, she eats more than most adults! She’ll finish off a plate like this and simply look at us and say “more”.

Dinner – chicken thighs from a local farmer, baked apple, and more slow-cooker veggies.

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Dinner time is when she tends to get a little ornery, so we keep more food to the side or feed her from our own plate/bowl. This time, however, she was all about the chicken and the veg and used her Air Fork One very well.

Picking up the cargo..

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…dropping it off…

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…and then back out for another load. Or she’s threatening us, not sure.

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Who knows how long the blue plate phase will last, but I guess it could be something much, much worse, so as long as she keeps eating so well, blue plate it is!

Hope you have a great day, we’re getting over the hump now!

Does your kid have a particular item they must have at all times?

Ever see the Air Fork One or something like it?

Wordless Wednesday: Our Beach Ball Baby

Oops, I’m already breaking the expectations set by the title by writing….sorry.

There are times when I simply don’t have a lot to say or post about on the blog, but I feel compelled to post something. This, being one of those times, seems like a great opportunity for a “Wordless Wednesday” post.

I’ve seen many other bloggers do this, so why not me too? Today, the theme is Avery with a beach ball. You don’t need expensive gizmos and gadgets to keep kids entertained, and Avery proves it with this beach ball.

As a matter of fact, the ball blew into our yard one day so I took it in, washed it, and gave it to Avery. Going Mom and I have followed her around the house as she plays a form of soccer with the ball and loves every minute. We’re thinking the ball will be a great tool for G-ma while she watches her this weekend when Going Mom and I are gone for two nights.

Yep, a little scary but exciting to leave our daughter for two whole days, but we know (i.e. hope) G-Ma and Avery will be fine. A couple should still enjoy their anniversary, right? 7 years married on the 17th of this month! More on that later, but now, lets get to that baby with the beach ball!

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Not sure what I'm trying to accomplish here, but I'll act like I know what I'm doing.
Not sure what I’m trying to accomplish here, but I’ll act like I know what I’m doing.

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Yeah, that’s a lot of baby-ball pics, huh? I’d say it was a great front yard find and is here to stay!

Do you have any “free” things that your kids absolutely enjoy?

Going Dad’s New Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower

Yes, it’s here and I can’t wait to use this beautiful piece of equipment! The Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower is the Ferrari of reel mowers; sleek, quiet, and powerful.

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We like to do our part to make a smaller impact on the environment, and reel mowers are a perfect fit for this! Plus, there’s no spending money on oil and gas, and no engine maintenance! You never have to worry about your mower starting either!

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Since we needed a mower and loved what I read about the Fiskars Reel Mower, I wrote Fiskars and asked if they would be willing to send one for me to review. Oh boy, the excitement that ran through me when they kindly agreed could hardly be contained!

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And now it’s here! Assembly was a breeze and it was together in minutes. Of course, I did have a handy helper…

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We got this in the mail today….

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….but I promptly tossed it in the recycle bin! No gas-powered mowers on our lawn, thank you, and I’ll mow it myself using my own power!

The Fiskars StaySharp Max is loaded with features that actually make mowing your lawn, dare I say, fun! Here’s a list of features as provided on their website:

    • The smart design of our eco-friendly reel mower offers a cleaner cut without the hassles of gasoline, oil, battery charging, electrical cords or loud engine noise

    • Received Popular Mechanics 2010 Green Design Award and recommended by Consumer Reports over other reel mowers among other accolades

    • A combination of advanced technologies make the StaySharp™ Max Reel Mower 60% easier to push than other reel mowers

    • Patent-pending InertiaDrive™ Reel delivers twice the cutting power to blast through twigs, weeds and tough spots that would jam other reel mowers

    • Exclusive StaySharp™ Cutting System uses precision-ground, hardened steel blades to cut grass without touching, greatly reducing friction and blade wear for long-lasting performance without costly annual blade sharpening

    • Patent-pending VersaCut™ Technology offers cut height settings from 1″–4″ to provide best-in-class cutting, even when you’ve missed a week of mowing, plus one-touch height adjustment for comfortable use

    • Inset wheel design allows the blades to extend across the full width of the mower to eliminate uncut strips under the wheels and edge closer to foundations, fences and borders than other reel mowers

    • Unique grass discharge chute throws clippings forward cleanly, away from your feet

    • Cuts all grass types, even tough southern varieties like St. Augustine, Zoysia, Bahia and Bermuda

    • 18″ cut width

    • Limited three-year warranty

 

So, if you live in a typical neighborhood and don’t have acres of grass to mow, the Fiskars reel mower is a great choice to save you money and keep you in shape!

After taking pictures of it, I was ready to get out and use this elegant mower for the first time. Oh yeah, I have a baby to watch though….

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Being one who always looks for ways to challenge myself, I decided I would just wear Avery in our sporty Onya Baby Outback carrier; problem solved!

Ready to kick some grass! Okay, just cut it really....
Ready to kick some grass! Okay, just cut it really….

Notice how the Fiskars Reel Mower and the Onya have matching colors. Coincidence? I think not! Well, actually, yes, but pretty cool, huh? With Avery snug on my chest and the mower ready to go, I raised the garage door eager to get out and go.

I swear it's opening slower just to spite me!
I swear it’s opening slower just to spite me!

Where should I start first? What direction would be best? Did I hang the cloth diapers to dry? All of these questions running through my mind as the door took a seemingly longer time than usual to open. Oh no, wait a second, it looks like I won’t be mowing today!

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Stupid rain. But also not stupid because we don’t want a draught this year! Sorry, Avery, we’ll have to wait for another day. We can go work on you rolling over instead.

Sounds good, dad, I'm on it!!
Sounds good, dad, I’m on it!!

I didn’t really expect to have a review that quickly anyway. I want to go through a few mows to be able to experience it enough first. Aside from a full review, I also have more plans in store for this wonderful piece of equipment.

Look forward to a post on how I’m a baby wearing daddy, how reel mowing is beneficial to the environment and your wallet, and maybe even a lawn mowing sprint workout! Yep, I’m excited for all of these and I can’t thank Fiskars enough for providing me with the opportunity to use their reel mower!

The rain eventually died down and I was able to take Avery and Abby for our hour long walk. It was cold and windy today, and despite covering Avery in a hat and her Zippy, she was still bothered by the wind. Poor girl. But she powered through it and didn’t whine at all! So, total time in the Onya was one hour for the day.

Do you or have you used a reel mower before? If not, what’s keeping you from trying?

Disclosure: Fiskars sent me their StaySharp Max Reel Mower to review free of charge, but I was not compensated otherwise. All thoughts and opinions and strictly my own.