Ponyo Night

This post is part of our "Theme Night" series. We watched a movie while enjoying a new food that even my picky little eaters enjoyed! We encourage you to do the same with your family to explore new things!

Ponyo

Ponyo is a movie by Hayao Miyazaki about a little goldfish princess, Ponyo, who longs to become human after she meets 5-yr-old Sosuke. Of course her father doesn't approve and tries to bring her home, but her determination and love prove too strong. 

Jareth is a big fan of Miyazaki's work as the stories are incredible but easily understood by the young. The artwork and characters are fantastic. And the tales grow with you. So I was not surprised when he came to me asking if this could be a "Theme Night". We decided to make the ramen noodles Sosuke's mother makes for the children on Ponyo's first night as a human. 

First, we had to figure out what all was in the ramen, which turned out to be simple enough! Ramen (we used chicken flavor), a few slices of thick cut ham, and a hard boiled egg (cut in half). The movie and some people put in chopped green onions as well, but we are not big fans.

   

We used eggs dyed for Easter to get them out of the fridge! While the water boiled it gave me time to show an eager Jareth how to peel the egg. 

We made the Ramen as usual. Boil two cups water, pour it into the bowl with the noodles, and cover it with a bowl for 3 minutes. 

The children closed their eyes like little Ponyo and Sosuke did, while I uncovered the noodles and poured in the flavor packet and gently stirred it in. Then I gently placed the egg halves and ham in the bowl and recovered it for 1 more minute. This allows the extras to soak up the flavor, making it so much more delicious!

Que up the movie!

And you have two happy kiddos! 

I have since learned that draining the juice and placing the noodles in the bowl by themselves is a much safer way to enjoy this dinner with the 2 year old! 

This was such a fun "Theme Night" and it has allowed us to discover a dinner I never would have thought to try on my son since he is such a picky eater. Now Ramen Noodles is a staple in our house! And the meat and eggs gives it a little more substance.

If you haven't seen the movie, we urge you to add it to the Must Watch list! It is loved by everyone in our house! Enjoy!

Discovery

I think one of the most amazing things about being a parent is discovering who these little people will become. You get to be the first to find out their likes and dislikes, the quirks on their attitudes, what makes them unique in every way! And to me that is one of the best parts of raising a child. Which is also one of my biggest problems with some advice from others. So many times I have had people tell me that if we push Jareth toward something he will learn to like it: food, certain sports, a TV show, or other interests. I have always been resistant to any type of "leading" behavior, instead going about my life as I normally would and just hoping that Jareth would see something that he liked. (The only exception being that I read to him every night when he was younger, picking books he would not have for himself to challenge him).

In this way I have discovered that Jareth prefers hockey to football, but he likes it much better in person. He loves bright upbeat music ("Count on Me" by Bruno Mars) but also loves anything by Imagine Dragons ("Radioactive" and "Demons" being his top two). He happens to like all the superheros I despise (Spiderman and Batman being his top two). His favorite food is grilled sandwiches, one of my least favorite to make.

By letting Jareth figure out things for himself he has developed one very unique person with some things he has in common with me and my husband and some things that are all his own. I love hearing him say that he loves something, reading for instance, and knowing that it is all him, something we have in common because he is drawn to it, not because I pushed it so heavily on him. (Yes I did read to him for a while at night, but once he got to the point where he could pick I would let him choose which book, if any, we would read.) It is a thrilling thing for me.

I see it also with Livia. She is a very special child, crazy is the best way I describe it. But there  are times amid the chaos (something I swear I never endured with Jareth) when I see bits of me. The way she dances around in circles. The way she just loves to run outside barefoot onto the grass (something Jareth also does). Or the way she curls up in a chair with a baby-doll and a book to read like Mommy. It was also astonishing that after trying five different types of sandwiches the one that she finally liked is peanut butter and honey, one that I have never had but watched my father make so often.

As parents we are responsible for making these little people into productive members of society. We are supposed to teach them manners, values, respect, and responsibility. So after pushing all that on them why do we have to make them eat a carrot three times a week until they "learn" to like it? Why not just realize that corn is the one veggie they will eat for a few years and one day they will discover something else and realized they missed out for so long. Why do they have to listen to Radio Disney when there are tons of awesome songs with a message on our stations? Just because society thinks that one is healthier? Or that parents are supposed to do certain things with their kids? No thank you. I am working on raising individuals.

So my seven year old has a zombie survival plan and my two year old thinks "Can't Hold Us" is awesome dance music. I am good with that. At least they know not to eat with their elbows on the table and would never dream of talking back! Yeah, I am good with that.

Picky Eaters

One of the biggest challenges in my house is dinner. Four nights a week my husband is at work so dinner is eaten by just me and my two little ones. My problems are two fold: making a meal small enough so that we don't have a ton of left overs that will more than likely not get eaten, and making something both the kids will like, I can enjoy, and is moderately healthy. This turns into a weekly event of sitting down, scouring Pinterest and Parenting magazine for recipes, coming up with a menu, figuring out the shopping list, and finally curling up with a book being thankful I have six days left before I have to do it all again!

We have done pretty good in my house of sticking to the menu, helping us control the money spent on groceries as well as preventing us from eating fast food more than once a month (which most of you know is getting harder these days). But it is still difficult to find new recipes so that we are not eating the same four meals every week!

So I have decided to share some of my recipes with all of you! I will list on here the ones that we have liked as well as some that didn't catch our fancy, because you may end up enjoying them. Welcome the new recipes section! Keep in mind that these are made for one adult, a growing, athletic seven year old, and a finicky two year old, I will tell you how much it made for us with the servings, but adjust to your needs.

Now, one thing I hate most is looking at a list of meal ideas for other people's "picky eaters", so I get that some of the stuff I make your child still might not like. Trust me! My main rule in the house is that my son has to try something at least once, chew and swallow, and if he doesn't like it than he doesn't have to eat it. But I try to always make something he will eat.
So among my recipes you will find:
*Dishes with veggies, but they will be cut into big enough chunks that he can pick them out because he doesn't like bell peppers but everyone else does.
*Mac'n'cheese that does not look like Kraft because he loves noodles and cheese but not together!
*Meals that can be modified for half, i.e. a pizza that you can put mushrooms on only half so he can have only cheese while you get veggie goodness.
*A lot of finger-type foods, things that would appeal to a toddler.

I hope some of these recipes will help other moms who think they have the only kid in the world that does NOT like french fries! (Jareth is the only one I have heard of that can't stand them or mac'n'cheese)!

And please, if you have an idea for a new recipe that your picky eater absolutely loves, feel free to share! I am always looking for new things!

My Son

I would like you to know a little about each of my kids. Naturally I will start with my son.

Jareth was a complete surprise to us. I had just turned 19 when I discovered I was 9 weeks pregnant. My boyfriend (now husband) could not have been more excited, but I will admit that I was less than pleased. When I first found out that I was in fact pregnant I slumped into one of my regular depressions. Laying in bed, not eating, nearly comatose, except for having to go to work every day which I could not back out of. I lost 15 pounds in that first week.

Then I went in to find out how far along I was and figure out doctor's visits and health care. I got to see my little "bean" on the screen above me and suddenly I was in love. The mother part of me, the one that had been there all along just waiting for an excuse to really shine, came out full force. I got excited!

On December 20th I hastily wrote out essays for final exams, laid down in the back seat of my mother's car, and headed home from Indiana, back to Texas to have the baby with family and friends. The plan was always to get through a semester with help and then go back to school in IN where my friends were all eagerly awaiting to help with the little person they watched grow on the sono pictures. That never happened, but I have remained friends with a lot of them and they have followed Jareth's life on Facebook as if they were a part of it.

On January 1st I woke up at 3 AM from Braxston-Hicks contractions, and being a first-time, young mother I woke my boyfriend and stepmother with the belief that it was time. After we walked the hospital three times and they realized I was just dehydrated, they sent us home. I was woken up from a nap with severe back pain that I tried to ignore. "G, either this is it or something is wrong." I told him and my father rushed us to the hospital to meet up with my stepmother who had just got off work.

Finally! At 11:30 that night, with a room full of people waiting for him, Jareth decided to go ahead and make an appearance. He had the cord wrapped around his neck, however, and was not breathing. G and I locked eyes and waited to hear something from the group of nurses huddled around our little boy. Finally, a little whimper made its way to our ears.
I will never forget the extreme feeling of calm that I felt as I waited for that sound. Blame it on the drugs if you want, but I felt my god and goddess there by my side, reassuring me that everything was going to be fine. And it was.

We got to hold him for all of two minutes before they took him to the NICU for the night. Where he defied every nurse by rolling onto his stomach in a stubborn insistence to sleep face down. They even brought G in to see it while I slept, showing him how special his son already was.

Well, Jareth never slept on his back, no matter how many times we turned him over. He was always very quiet, often playing in his crib for lengths of time until someone went to see if he was awake yet. He takes his time in figuring things out. He has always listened, picking up words and meaning long before most people think he should. I sometimes believe he has better grammar than most adults I know. We have always treated him like an adult, never lying to him when he asks a question.

Jareth is an old soul, I saw it the moment I held him in my arms and looked into those beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that now range from blue with flecks of brown to green depending on his mood. And he continues to amaze me and make my heart smile.

I always say that Jareth was never a mistake. He was a choice, we choose to keep him. It took us 3 years to get pregnant with our next one once we finally decided to try to have another baby. And I did the math, G and I were together for 3 years when we got pregnant with Jareth. So it was the same amount of time, we just didn't know we were trying yet. But the gods did. And I thank them everyday for that.

The Beginning

A Little About Me

My name is Christine. What do I say? My husband and I began dating when I was 16. We went to school together in a very small town in Texas. I stuck out like a sore thumb because I was the only pagan in town with the only lesbian as a sister. When we graduated, my boyfriend and I moved to Indiana so I could attend college. The summer after my freshman year I discovered I was pregnant. We came home to be with our families and to welcome Jareth into our lives on New Year's Day 2007. I tried attending more college but could never get back into the groove I had once had. So I gave it up to be a stay at home mom. I was given the chance to begin babysitting for others out of my home. I finally got married in 2009 to the incredible man I was, and had been, in love with. We have now been a couple for 10+ years! In 2011 we moved to a small apartment where I took on more kids, he got fulltime at his job, and we were finally able to have another child! We welcomed Livia to the family in April of 2012, after 3 years of trying for her. Add a dog in the mix, Brewster, our pitbull/lab mix, and we are one happy family.

But I am not your typical parent. I still practice polytheism while I take my son to church every Sunday. I never tell him lies, trying to be as honest about the world as I can. My husband and I do use spanking as a disciplinary tool, although not very often. We come from families with an extremely random mix of people. And most of what I believe, teach my kids, and support would get me more than a few frowns from others. But I think most of that is ok, because I love my children more than anything, I am trying very hard to raise them to be good members of society, and I try to make the world a happy place. 

So if you are looking for someone just as unique and special as you, or are just trying to what different parents are like and are willing to open your mind. Welcome! This is going to be a wild journey as I try to make life amazing for my children and try to make it a little better for those around me. I hope you have as much fun as I plan to!