Another long post, and the very first WFDW!

First lets talk about Zeke, because that was the origin of this blog and still its center. His sitting is going really well. It was as I suspected and he just finally did it when he felt like it. That or my constant nagging about how ridiculous he was being by crawling before he would sit up sunk it. But I'm putting my money on the prior. Either way yesterday he was crawling around and pulled himself into this position.
Its blury, I know, but it's hard to get a picture that isn't of that kid sometimes. And this is his first *true* time sitting up, i.e. no one is holding him steady and he isn't bracing himself with one hand on the ground. Finally.

On a less exciting note I have to admit that my son has become a verified, card carrying, fit-thrower. I didn't think it would begin this early and I'm actually a little lost as to what to do about it. I don't want to punish him for the behavior. He's too little to punish anyways. He wouldn't understand time-out and I don't even feel he is big enough to spank yet, not to mention the fact that I want to reserve spanking for much bigger offenses than this. My plan (albeit a plan formed before having children and we all know how those plans go) has always been to only spank for outright defiance in my children, you gotta nip THAT in the bud. So to get back on subject: What do I do? Punishing is out, because 1. I don't know how to properly punish an almost 6 month old and 2. I've always felt that tantrums (at least most tantrums) are just the child-that-doesnt-know-any-better's way of showing and releasing frustration and better then punishing them for it, really the only way to go about it is to let them know that THIS isn't going to get them anywhere and tell them what would be a better way of handling their emotion once they are calmed down.

So I suppose thats my answer isn't it? I let him know this isn't working? He's not even old enough to give new options to. So far I have been comforting him, but not giving him what he wants. Like when he get so very angry because daddy has to go to work or he cant have the scissors. Of course daddy isn't going to stay home, and I'm not going to give my baby scissors. So I hold him and tell him calmly that I'm very sorry but he cant have such and such. And he usually screams and throws his body around in my arms until he passes out asleep from the effort, then he cries in his sleep a while. It's so hard. Because he doesn't understand what I'm saying, of course, other than the "I'm not giving you what you want" part. And he's not old enough to give other options, or even to understand other options, to vent his emotions. So I just breath thru it.

Any thoughts, suggestions, empathy? Feel free to tell me I'm going about this all wrong, as long as you then tell me the right way to go about it of course ;)

Finally I want to introduce the first of a new weekly installment I am trying out, entitled What's For Dinner Wednesday?! (or WFDW) I've been thinking for a while now that though I LOVE to share pics of Zeke, and also to vent frustration and get advice on raising him, there is also a lot more to me. *gasp* I am more than Zeke's mother. And while this is Zeke's blog, it is also mine. So we are going to expand a bit. There will still be pictures of Ezekiel galore. I will still record every tiny detail of his little life, because that is a LOT of my life. But I'm also going to talk more about what's going on with me, my faith, and my opinions on being a wife and mother-of-a-small-boy.

And we will have, tentatively because this is a test, once a week, an installment of What's For Dinner Wednesday? Because I LOVE to cook, and I LOVE to eat. And who doesn't sometimes get in a dinner rut? You know what I mean, you don't have ANY more ideas for healthful dinners, you are bored, and it would be nice to know what so and so across the way is having for dinner. So I will post a dinner with directions every Wednesday. (It's what Josh and I had Tuesday, so I guess a more appropriate title would have been What Was for Dinner Teusday. But there's no alliteration there people. Give me some artistic wiggle room!)

Some caveats: I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to eat. I HATE to clean dishes. Especially pots and pans because you cant just throw them in the machine. So these meals use a minimal amount of pots and pans. Usually 1, maybe 2.

I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to eat. I have a short attention span. These meals are quick to make. Or at least quick to prepare and then sit unwatched for a while.

I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to eat. I NEVER follow a recipe. These are not recipes. These are directions. There are no measurements because how do I know how much you want to make? If you are feeding a lot, use a lot. If you are feeding a few, use a few. There are no ingredients because how do I know what you like? If you love chicken and hate broccoli use a lot of chicken and a little broccoli, or no broccoli, use carrots instead. It wont explode.

I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to eat. Especially veggies and cheeses! These meals have LOTS of veggies. And LOTS of cheeses. Because veggies and cheese are my favorite foods, so I know about quite a few of thse. But veggies and cheeses are fairly interchangeable. See above. None of these recipes explode. Even in you leave out the kale or the leek because you dont know what that is, even if you use Parmesan instead of Romano because that's what's in your fridge.

So without further ado...

Our first recipe is going to be Chicken Soup. There is a lot of sickness going around and it’s good for the soul people, so much better than nasty canned soup!

A disclaimer before we begin: Homemade stock is best. I realize this. And its not hard to make. I realize this as well. But I am lazy and like meals made FAST. So unless I’m feeling special, I buy chicken broth in the soup isle. Sue me.

So to begin put one of those handy boxes of chicken broth on the stove in a big ol pot to heat up.

Then chop up and add some celery, some carrot, some peas, some whatever veggies you like in your soup. Tomato (even canned diced tomato), onion, green bean, asparagus, leek, really whatever is in the house! Pictured is carrot, celery, tomato, and onion. Add a bay leaf or 2 if you’ve got them in the house, or even 3, heck why not?

Now in a perfect world you have some left-over cooked chicken just laying around. I wish I always had left-over chicken. Or even better you still have some left-over turkey from Thanksgiving. If you do, this is the time to shred it up and throw it in! If you don’t you will have to cook some before putting it in. Don’t worry, its not hard and you can boil or fry or bake it, it doesn’t really matter. Or just go buy a cooked chicken at the grocery store and shred that sucker up, no one has to know!

Let it all simmer until your veggies are nice and soft, then you need to add grain of some kind. I like to use wide egg noodles, or wild brown rice. If your feeding it to kids they might like some little stars or letters. Throw it in until they are done (check the package for a time), fish those bay leaves out if you added any, and enjoy!

And now I will leave you with some pictures of Zeke eating HIS dinner last night. If you can even call what happened eating, which I don't. There were peas on the tray, peas on the floor, peas on the wall, even peas between Zeke's little toes. Only God knows if there was a single pea in Zeke's tummy.