Post by Jessica R.

At some point last summer, someone gifted me the single most helpful kitchen tool I’ve ever owned. Considering the fact that I probably have the best stocked kitchen this side of the Mississippi, that’s actually saying a lot.

It’s not my blender, my chopper, my grater or even my stand mixer. And it wasn’t until I had children that this particular tool came in handy.

It’s the simplest tool possible, but having my kitchen shears at hand has really changed dinner time at our house. They make short work of chicken nuggets, pizza, even spaghetti! Freeing up my time to actually eat my own dinner instead of hacking away at everyone’s dinner with a dull knife.

I’m a pretty mellow mom. I don’t get upset if paint is spilled or marker somehow ends up on the couch cushions, but I’ve become nothing short of obsessed about my kitchen shears. If anyone even looks like they’re considering using them for an art project or to open a package I fly across the room and snatch them out of harms way.

What can I say? I’ve gotten a taste for eating a warm dinner and I refuse to go back to my pre-shears days!

Have any “little helpers” come to your rescue in the kitchen or at home since you had children?

Post by Jessica R.

There is much talk these days about fighting obesity and teaching our children about “real food” so that they learn to eat well. I’m all over doing just that, but it’s not always easy.

My daughters love fruits and vegetables, so I’m lucky, but like many children they hate to taste new things. My oldest rejects anything remotely new with a quick disgusted grimace, pushing it out of her sight as quickly as possible. The little one can at times be cajoled into at least putting the new item to her lips, but rarely does it ever pass into her mouth.

I don’t stop trying, but it is frustrating to have to throw out perfectly good food because my babes won’t relent and eat it.

I’ve tried getting them involved in the cooking process with limited results. I’ve tried getting them involved in the grocery shopping, with equally limited results. I’d try the popular “hiding healthy food in familiar food” technique, but my goal is to teach them to eat well, not trick them into doing it.

I’ll admit that recently I’ve fallen into a bit of a safe rut just for the sake of not having a fight on my hands every evening. But this morning I came across something that has given me new hope! The snack tray idea.

You can use muffin tins like these to prepare balanced meals for your kids. Use the cups to present a variation of veggies and proteins. One cup can be for dip, another for carrots, broccoli, or whatever other vegetable you want to try. Mix it up and present old favorites next to new offerings. The fun serving tray might be just what it takes to get your child to try something new, and if he doesn’t, that’s ok, you’ve only wasted a tiny portion of the new food, enabling you to serve up a whole new portion of it the next day! The tray above has more sweet stuff than I’d offer up for a dinner or a lunch, but this technique is perfect for sneaking healthy options into an afternoon snack or into a playdate tray.

The options are truly endless!

The best part of this technique is that it allows you all to see exactly how bright and fun a truly balanced meal can be. The more colors a meal has, the healthier it is, and this allows all of those colors to shine. It’s a lesson and a party all in one.

Posy by Jessica R.

My 4-year-old has decided that I am her dictionary. At all hours of the day I find myself quizzed on the spelling or the meaning of words. Even the little one has taken to asking me what certain things spell, which just cracks me up because she’s two, what does she know of spelling?

Now the older one does know because she’s trying hard to teach herself to read. She also happens to be terribly inquisitive and never misses anything. The spelling thing is challenging. I’ve never been a good speller and I’ll admit that I sometimes check spell check before answering her. Sadly it’s not always as easy to find the perfect 4-year-old appropriate definition for a word as it is to find the spelling.

I’m not one to use baby talk around them so my daughters are often exposed to “big” words. I usually try to put them in context so that they can infer the meaning from my sentence, but at times I fall short and she asks me to explain.

Recent words I’ve had to explain: Community, Church, Vehicle, and airborne.

Now, the issue doesn’t lie in explaining the word, the issue lies in figuring out how much to explain it. She doesn’t always want a theological lesson on places of worship and who people are worshipping. Sometimes she just wants the quick answer and frankly sometimes we just have time for the quick answer. But I never want to leave her without an answer so I have to find something succinct and complete that’s not over her head, but still answers the question.

Not always an easy task.

Have you turned into a walking mom-dictionary? What fun words have you found yourself trying to explain recently?