The Mommy Confessions- Nutritionally Deficient Mama

I haven't done a confession in awhile, so here goes nothing. I have been having a rough time with my husband being gone for 4 weeks at a time, and unfortunately my kids nutrition is suffering. I am depressed - I'm not going to lie. So instead of baking fresh bread and spending each day cooking some great masterpiece, I've been going the convieniece route. No not fast food but easily made processed food like spaghetti sauce from a jar and noodles or hot dogs and mac n cheese.

I feel so guilty.

It doesn't help that the 20 month old has completely sworn off veggies. I try and cut them in small pieces and hide them in things but to no avail. She can sniff out veggies faster than my dog pulls his antibiotics out of a meatball. My older daughter has great eating habits and will at least try everything put in front of her, so I have no worries she'll come down with scurvy.

That is my goal for the week up coming. Come up with simple healthy meals that I can make and freeze the extras for the days I'm feeling a little lazy. That and keeping the house on my level of clean, which it really hasn't been since before I got sick.

If anyone has recipes that their picky toddlers approve of send a link my way. I feel I can use all the help I can get now.

Mommy Confessions- The "your growing up" talk

My confession this week is: I don't want to have the "Your growing up..." talk with my daughter.

I am having a real hard time disciplining my eldest daughter. Although she is only 7 (well almost 8). I am starting to get some of that teenage like attitude from her. For awhile now I have been putting the blame for this on many things. I blamed having a baby, moving, and other such things. Lately its come to dawn on me that hormones probably have a lot to do with this.

I guess I am naive in thinking I still had a few years before I would have to discuss puberty and growing up. I guess I just wanted her to stay a kid longer. But with girls reaching puberty at frightingly early ages now I guess its time I get over my fears and broach the topic at hand. She is displaying the typical small rebellious attitudes that many girls have. She is trying to manifest her own ideas about things that don't mesh with my ideals.

So what do I do? I do exactly what my own mom did, I bought a book. It is directed at younger girls and how things change when you "grow up". This book is still hidden in my room. I don't have the strength to give it to her yet. I am dreading these discussions. I have always prided myself on being open about these topics but don't feel comfortable discussing them with my own daughter.

So thats my confession for the week...

I give my toddler cookies when she won't eat lunch...

Ok I feel bad but sometimes my 17 month old really isn't interested in eating whatever I'm serving for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I offer the food and give her plenty of time to eat it. Most of the time she will eat some but definately not enough to fill her little belly. Next I will try and give her some fruit or yogurt that she usually devours. But in the instance that even that is not working, I have been known to give her animal crackers or a cookie.

**Hides my face in shame**

I am always analyzing everything that goes in my baby's mouth. I breastfed for as long as she would take it, I fed her pumped milk for awhile after that, I made my own baby food. And here I am allowing my toddler to shove sugary substances in her face instead of a well balanced meal.

You may wonder what my reasoning is for this. It's simple I can't stand my children being hungry, especially when its time to lay down for a nap or go to sleep for the night. I know some would say if I left her hungry eventually she would eat what I made her but it just doesn't feel right when she's so little and can't actually tell me why she doesn't want to eat what was provided.

So as it goes today she wouldn't eat her tuna mac n' cheese casserole and right now she's happily chomping down on animal crackers....