tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45402146592804239032012-01-17T19:30:03.113-05:00The trials and tribulations of raising a toddler in the 21st century. Includes true-life scenarios, parenting advice, humor (hopefully it's funny), and toddler recipes.MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-39911965320448445112012-01-17T19:24:00.001-05:002012-01-17T19:26:23.971-05:00

After a long, long time away, I've decided to republish the Taming the Toddler blog. I took the blog down for a while as I was going through some life changes, which came fortuitously as 'the Biscuit' was turning from toddler into a little boy. I'm happy to report that he's a happy, healthy 5-year old now, and he's doing great. I hope republishing the blog will keep the memories of the Biscuit

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-59614815246638744372009-04-24T19:57:00.006-04:002009-04-25T07:00:39.607-04:00

Easter Sunday was a busy day for all of this year. We started the day with the Biscuit's Easter basket... full of candy and toys. I knew it wasn't a great idea to let him have a little crunchy chocolate bunny before church, but how could I refuse it when I had just given it to him in his basket? So he ate the bunny.Then we all got dressed up and headed off to Easter Mass. Church started a little

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-5836070663872706112009-04-11T07:59:00.004-04:002009-04-11T08:19:38.515-04:00

I am NOT a morning person. I am fully capable of sleeping in until 3:00PM if left undisturbed. There is absolutely nothing finer in life to me than to sleep in on a Saturday until I just can't take it anymore and force myself to roll out of bed. I have not, however, slept in on a Saturday morning for the last 3 years (coincidentally, since the Biscuit was born).Now, when I decided to have a child

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-35341426742170693822009-03-20T21:46:00.007-04:002009-03-20T22:13:02.184-04:00

When I was pregnant with the Biscuit, obviously I had to give up a significant part of my body, that being my uterus-ish area. Of course I was oh so happy to do it, but as his stay in my belly got longer (and my waistline vanished) I was certainly ready to get my uterus back. He obliged (though he certainly left a path of destruction upon exit) and replaced my uterus with his crib.And just when I

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-68561287862513925452009-03-12T19:00:00.000-04:002009-03-12T19:28:44.032-04:00

The Biscuit can, at times, be quite the stubborn little boy and it doesn't help that he can overpower me pretty easily. Just the other day, the Biscuit and I had just finished up a 20-minute reading session in his cozy spot (his indoor, 3-ft tall playhouse where he goes to "calm down" or read with his stuffed animals)... or so I thought we had finished up.I told the Biscuit I was going to unload

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-38828386786342516922009-03-07T20:35:00.004-05:002009-03-07T20:56:19.187-05:00

Some of you may have already read my post on the many values of candy with toddlers, but my bribery technique goes far beyond candy these days. I learned early on that there are 3 main things that can be used to get just about ANYTHING you want from your toddler:jelly beansgoldfishM&MsNo need to retell the jelly bean uses so I'll skip to the other 2 winners for you. For the Biscuit, goldfish are

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-46785716856042822642009-03-01T13:39:00.004-05:002009-03-01T14:02:27.531-05:00

The Biscuit is, for the most part, a very well-behaved 2-year old. He's very laid back and doesn't often have tantrums. When he does have a tantrum, it is a marathon event.Last week, we were winding down the evening. The Biscuit already had his bath and his teeth brushing and we were just about to turn the TV off to head to the bedroom for story time (folks, please spare me any comments about how

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-57263484235879390912009-02-21T20:56:00.010-05:002009-02-21T21:52:10.466-05:00

"Daddy, let's go compost." What a proud mama I was to hear my 2 1/2-year old say those words for the first time today. Yes, I know I'm a green freak, a "crunchy" girl (as 1 of Biscuit's pediatricians called me), or perhaps a run-of-the-mill environmentally conscious 21st century realist. Truth is, we're living in a different world today from the 1 our parents raised us in and just as technology

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-53724790764509891782009-02-16T10:01:00.002-05:002009-02-16T10:10:40.050-05:00

Well folks, this post is a bit out of the norm of my postings (since I just posted on Friday and typically don't post until Wednesday), but I had some helpful mommy news I wanted to share. I stumbled upon (thank you Noggin) some fantastic access to renowned infant/toddler sleep guru, Dr. Marc Weissbluth's boot camp site on the Web.You can get started now with his 4-week sleep boot camp for your

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-21891095547943154792009-02-13T19:35:00.005-05:002009-02-13T20:14:10.430-05:00

"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." Well, not really, but I do play one every single day of my life as a mommy who is raising a toddler. For mommies of toddlers who are in daycare, it seems that every week during the wintertime (especially during these early months in the year), we are either fighting 1 virus or another or attempting to fend 1 off.Last Friday night, the Biscuit started

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-5529434002866374582009-02-04T19:46:00.006-05:002009-02-04T20:28:28.980-05:00

The Biscuit (and family) suffered a terrible loss over the last week. Sadly, our dear, sweet cat of over a decade was tragically killed following her getting out of the house, getting lost in the cold, and getting picked up by animal "control" officers. In the most horrific of circumstances, she was sheltered by a kind family for the night, taken by animal control (so she could be found by her

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-19710780870302206422009-01-22T20:39:00.006-05:002009-02-05T13:20:48.404-05:00

No doubt, you are all on pins and needles anxiously awaiting an update on the madness that I had been living in (and brought you all into) following last week's post. No doubt.Well folks, I am pleased to say that I managed to get the Biscuit's nighttime routine back into a pattern of normalcy. Okay. To be honest, that's a lie... a terrible, terrible lie. Truth is, the terrible 2s have hit home

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-66961119559318312502009-01-14T19:31:00.003-05:002009-01-14T20:05:44.378-05:00

Well, as usual, I am way too optimistic about the Biscuit and his early successes. It seems he's resorted back to his old ways and worse... we've now entered the phase of peeing for spite. I thought it would be fun tonight to blog during my current nighttime drama. So let me bring you up to speed.Using our typical toddler routine, we have given the Biscuit a bath, read 2 stories, pottied, and

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-89916852257751301612009-01-09T19:32:00.004-05:002009-01-09T20:17:38.531-05:00

This week, a trusted toddler mommy gave me some advice to ditch the easy-ups/pull-ups once and for all (in response to my continuing to struggle with potty training and the underpants gnomes). She was echoing the advice I'd been ignoring from the Biscuit's teachers at daycare who refused to allow pull-ups in the door. "You can either bring in diapers or go full-on and potty train with underwear

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-17575831761430195352008-12-31T08:52:00.002-05:002009-01-10T20:28:34.102-05:00

Over the past 2 weeks or so, the Biscuit's nighttime routine has taken a bit of an interesting curve. It all begins with the sounds of a screaming hyena coming from his room shortly after lights out. "MA!" "MA!" I hear echoing through the house via the baby monitor. If these cries go unanswered, eventually I hear "ma MEEEEN ka!" "ma MEEEEN ka!" over and over and over again. This is followed by an

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-10065483634136449502008-12-17T19:16:00.006-05:002008-12-19T10:28:50.365-05:00

I am notorious for ruining group pictures. For whatever reason, I lack that photogenic gene. I always end up with one (or both) eyes closed, with a mouth that is in an awkward position or, as evidenced in a recent national publication, I am the only person in the picture who is fuzzy.It seems that the Biscuit has inherited (or perhaps learned) some of this anti-photo behavior from me. The Biscuit

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-71921764324109302682008-12-13T20:24:00.005-05:002008-12-13T20:59:28.794-05:00

The Biscuit and I started a new game on the way home from school each night. When one of us sees Christmas lights or other holiday Griswoldy-ness outside we shout, "It's Christmas!" It's a silly little game I started to help us pass the time as I drive us home each night.On the way home on Friday, I was feeling particularly holly jolly. We had been seeing lots of Christmas everywhere, I had the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-89225478558212766992008-12-05T14:27:00.006-05:002008-12-05T15:01:54.409-05:00

10:45 last night: I was semi-awake on the couch with the Biscuit's baby monitor sitting on the floor beside me when I heard the sound no mother wants to hear:1 quick, dry cough followed by another quick, dry cough.I awakened from my sleepish state, grabbed 2 clean towels from the linen closet, and headed into the Biscuit's bedroom to confirm my suspicions. As I suspected, I was in for another one

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-7472311321538118892008-11-28T12:40:00.009-05:002008-11-28T13:43:56.711-05:00

With the Biscuit's Starenka recovering from her recent head injury, I had the honor of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. It was a great way to get the holiday season kicked off. The tree was up and lit, the house was clean (sort of), and the air was thick with the smells of rosemary, thyme, and cherry pie.As we all started digging in to all of the wonderful food, I thought I'd

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-20335756835468894452008-11-19T19:36:00.008-05:002008-11-19T20:45:09.887-05:00

Raising (and taming) a toddler can be hard work, especially when they really really want to be independent.When it's 30 minutes after the time you were supposed to leave in the morning (to make it to work on time) or 30 minutes past bedtime, I find that sometimes I give in (against my better judgment) to my very smart and crafty toddler's demands at the cost of many months of effort to develop

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-27614239875182697912008-11-12T19:26:00.004-05:002009-01-10T20:28:34.102-05:00

I had such a special treat this week. On Monday, when I arrived to pick up the Biscuit from daycare, I found a stack of diapers in his cubbie with a note from his teachers that read, "Yay!The Biscuit doesn't need these anymore."You all know how long we've been working on potty training the Biscuit. He can claim victory over the toilet (more or less) at last! The Biscuit isn't accident-free, but

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-7456378187449887892008-11-05T19:55:00.004-05:002008-11-11T20:03:07.834-05:00

We managed to make it through our first official trick-or-treating Halloween. The Biscuit sought treats at 3 houses (1 more than I thought we'd make it to) before we made the short trek back to the house. All in all, we walked away with a handful of candy, a runny nose (from the cool night air), 1 souped up red wagon (that served as a real-life Lightning McQueen), and the moment forever captured

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-16957884853096644322008-10-29T21:27:00.006-04:002008-10-29T21:57:35.556-04:00

Sorry all for the posting delay (just when I was getting back in the regular schedule again), but I really do have a good excuse. Last week, we made our first trip to the Urgent Care (the daytime ER as I like to call it) with the Biscuit.I got the call at the office around 10-ish from daycare. The Biscuit had slipped after getting off the slide and plunged into the wooden border that held the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-27966625160518707092008-10-25T12:36:00.001-04:002008-10-25T12:38:12.522-04:00

Hi everyone. My apologies for no Wednesday post this week. 1 trip to urgent care and 1 trip to the ER are my excuses. Stay tuned... back on track next Wednesday with details.

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-20760365158076894602008-10-15T19:29:00.005-04:002008-10-16T19:47:17.601-04:00

Well folks, I've mentioned the Biscuit's trip to the hospital a number of times in the blog, so I think it makes sense that I actually give the details on it. This'll be a long one, so tuck in. Here's how it all went down...When the Biscuit was about 6 months old, we took a trip across the country to visit some relatives. Biscuit had his first plane ride as part of the trip and caught one heck of

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-76397152986194749302008-10-08T20:56:00.006-04:002008-10-08T21:27:51.345-04:00

He takes a huge gulp from his glass, knocks it back, and exhales with an "Ahhhhhhh. This is the life." These are not words I expected to hear from my 2 1/2 year old following dinner tonight as he drains his sippy cup of milk. As always, the Biscuit amazes me with his mature verbal skills and continues to make his momma-linguist proud.He's growing up so fast, yet he's still my little baby. I don't

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-91556573483964465152008-10-01T20:09:00.007-04:002008-10-29T22:08:39.693-04:00

The Biscuit has had so many incidents of fever in his short life. From below average readings (96 - 98) all the way up to 105. I feel like a pro when it comes to fever management. I'm sure there are a few WOWZAs out there seeing the 105 (and yes, I'm probably the only 1 left who still says wowza), so I have to explain that the 105 fever was associated with a trip to the hospital via AMBULANCE (no

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-91984219914726854212008-09-26T19:29:00.004-04:002008-09-27T18:24:41.921-04:00

Another successful night, or so I think. I put the Biscuit to bed on time (dinner, bath, read 2 books, bed), turn off the light in his room with a 1...2...3... "light's out Biscuit" - "night, night" - "love you" - "see you in the morning."I steal off to the den to enjoy some time to myself, my mommy duties done for the evening. I turn the baby monitor on (yes, the Biscuit's 2+, but for some

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-7562071118849729592008-09-17T19:38:00.003-04:002008-09-17T20:05:56.901-04:00

The Biscuit has fat feet. Bless his heart, he inherited his grandpa's wide feet (grandpa is a EEE) and it makes shoe shopping quite miserable. Where some toddlers may be blessed with a plethora of shoes to choose from each day, the Biscuit has 2 pairs: New Balance tennis shoes and black Crocs (well, you all know me, ain't no way I'm paying $30 for Crocs... the Biscuit has "Krocs").We are always

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-35897435203362515522008-09-10T20:09:00.009-04:002008-12-28T19:14:22.456-05:00

Bunny rabbits are soooooo cute. For most of my life I have loved cute, furry little bunny rabbits; truly I have. When I was a little girl, living in the glorious foothills of the Ozarks in the middle of "nowhere town" (my address was actually Route 2 or something like that) my brothers and I stumbled upon an abandoned bunny (abandoned being a nice way of explaining that my cat, Isis, stole the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-60692603588799948462008-09-02T20:05:00.003-04:002008-09-02T20:26:46.447-04:00

Last week, the Biscuit came home after what seemed to be an exciting 2-day stay with his starenka and grandpa. I heard stories of fun dinners, endless stories read, walking around the garden outside, and picking tomatoes. All seemed harmless enough.The Biscuit seemed a bit groggy, not really a surprise, it had been an exciting visit for him. Then, I saw them... 2 huge cherry tomato-sized welts on

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-46239807439287245242008-08-27T19:50:00.004-04:002009-01-10T20:28:34.103-05:00

Oh loyal readers. After a 3-month hiatus I am, perhaps, back in the saddle again. Much has happened in 3 months, but I will be true to blog form and keep it short, sweet, and single-topic (yeah right). Well, I will do my best.Sadly (for me), I am still potty training the Biscuit. He's about 50/50 (in the potty/in the pull-up) right now. I've taken the stance of a low-pressure potty training

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-65806493804181744112008-06-04T08:00:00.004-04:002009-01-10T20:28:34.104-05:00

Well folks, I am on the eve of potty training with the Biscuit. Oh I can just smell it (or not smell it anymore I should say) -- no more stinky diaper pails. I think my diaper pail is pretty good at keeping the smells in, but as the Biscuit's digestive system develops, it becomes harder and harder to keep the smell in the pail. I dread flipping the lid to dump the diaper each time.Okay, so I

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-17634043326777464382008-06-01T21:26:00.002-04:002008-06-01T21:42:41.563-04:00

During one of the first nights that the Biscuit spent in the new house, he had a little bit of trouble sleeping through the night. I couldn't figure out why he kept waking up, but ended up in his room on a few occasions quieting him back to sleep.The next morning, I went in to wake him and did our usual morning routine. When I asked the Biscuit if he had a good night's sleep (as I ask every

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-23630314106155555442008-05-21T19:34:00.003-04:002008-05-21T19:50:05.865-04:00

I had enough sense to measure the windows in the Biscuit's room prior to our move so that we could purchase blinds for his window and have it ready to install on day 1. I assumed that the blinds would be enough to block out the light so that the Biscuit could get a good night's sleep.As pleased as I am to have a home with a front door that faces East, that also means that the morning sun shines

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-16838744537915740502008-05-13T19:30:00.003-04:002008-05-13T20:03:53.121-04:00

As promised, we're back in the bloggin' business again. My many apologies for the delay in posting. The move to the new house was quite consuming, but I have lots to share from the experience.Fortunately for us, we moved within the same general vicinity of our old house. We expected that the Biscuit would really only be forced to adapt to a new house with a new bedroom. One of the big changes

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-87649286980997310342008-04-21T19:39:00.003-04:002008-09-26T20:13:22.921-04:00

As inevitably happens, we outgrew the Biscuit's first home. My apologies for the hiatus over the past couple of weeks (and the next). We are in the process of selling, buying, and moving homes. The good news is... there will be lots to blog about as the Biscuit shows us how well he will adapt to the change (ha!).More to come...

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-76041015402132825302008-04-05T09:11:00.004-04:002008-04-05T09:29:47.761-04:00

The Biscuit had not been feeling well over the Easter holiday. He had a bit of a cold the week before and then a fever (101F, 102F or so) for a few days going into the holiday weekend (we can't seem to have a holiday where he doesn't have a fever). As sometimes happens when he's not feeling 100%, his eating slowed a bit. For the most part, he had stopped eating solid foods, but was still drinking

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-30507254571162003362008-03-25T18:11:00.004-04:002008-09-26T20:11:29.226-04:00

The Biscuit has been an avid listener of books since he was a wee one. I started reading to him as soon as he was born (or really close to it) as I was fortunate to have some friends with kids who were quick to offer me the must-have books for reading to your little ones. The Biscuit's taste in books has changed over time for sure. While I desperately want him to love Beatrix Potter's Peter

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-11758708630917971642008-03-18T04:10:00.003-04:002008-03-18T04:34:30.729-04:00

Call me old fashioned, but I truly believe that you should raise a young boy to be a young gentleman. As soon as the Biscuit was able to say the words "please" and "thank you" we began incorporating the words into our daily lexical diet. Now he can express his wants and pleadings (for food usually) to me by saying "More please." And at only 22-months old, I am quite proud of the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-8234921809737614712008-03-04T19:32:00.005-05:002008-09-26T20:11:02.892-04:00

As much as I love to hear myself rant (and those of you who know me know that I DO love to rant), I really would like to hear from some other toddler moms who blog (all: please resist the desire to make that into an acronym. I cannot. TMWB!).Part of the reason that I started this blog is because I couldn't find any other toddler mom blogs out there that were still active. Google sent me to a few

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-83297264385123772982008-03-04T19:21:00.004-05:002008-03-04T19:38:54.911-05:00

The Biscuit has always been a mama's boy, but lately it has been going to the extreme. His possessiveness of me has even transferred to protection of me from the Biscuit's daddy. When my husband comes home in the evening (well, when I come home I should say) my husband walks over and gives me a kiss. Lately when he's been doing this, the Biscuit comes running over and says, "No daddy!"This

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-12962565973535273602008-02-26T21:04:00.003-05:002008-02-26T21:30:07.385-05:00

It may be a bit off-topic for this blog, but I thought I'd add in my two cents on some ways to save $$$ as a toddler mom. So, my biggest suggestions for saving money... no for not WASTING money are:consignment storesonline auctionsWhen we were preparing for the arrival of the Biscuit I started exploring consignment stores. There are SO many out there in every community and there are SO many good

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-20681913850786204752008-02-20T17:30:00.003-05:002008-02-20T17:37:58.536-05:00

The other day, I noticed that the Biscuit was behaving rather strangely. He was walking backwards away from a wall and then forwards in a repeated motion. Thoughts of "uh-oh, we've got a crazy one on our hands" did occur to me.I realized, however, that the Biscuit had found his shadow. The husband and I were delighted! "He's your friend Biscuit!" we shouted to him. The Biscuit was amused with his

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-4699841581011986842008-02-11T20:46:00.001-05:002008-08-29T09:40:02.069-04:00

No, I'm not offering a list of things you can do at a 2-year old's party to entertain the kiddies, I'm talking about the horrible thing that some parents do: turn their toddlers into the entertainment. I'm quite guilty of this and the kharma wheel came back to bite me this weekend.Being a fan of the University of Arkansas (Go hogs!), it was only natural that one of the skills that the Biscuit

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-28603459885386598292008-02-03T21:09:00.001-05:002008-02-26T21:38:46.073-05:00

Last night at dinner I gave the Biscuit some broccoli on his tray for the 4th or 5th time. I assumed that he would refuse to eat it as he usually does. To my surprise, he picked it up and named it "bwokuhlee" and put it in his mouth for a moment. He then very promptly threw it on the floor.Usually I give him the business for throwing food, I do pick my battles with him and while I typically will

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-82589401954909797882008-01-28T17:00:00.000-05:002008-01-27T19:58:56.485-05:00

We live in a 1-story house that has these amazingly steep steps up the front to the porch. I always carry the Biscuit up the stairs when we go in the front door (we usually go in the back door). This past weekend, my husband put the Biscuit down at the bottom of the steps and said, "Mommy watch."My brilliant child walked up the 6 or so steps, holding on to the rail with both hands, with no

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-57680841328048429132008-01-22T19:54:00.001-05:002008-09-26T20:07:31.339-04:00

Everybody has their favorite recipe for spaghetti, so I thought I'd offer my favorite toddler (and baby) recipe for spaghetti. We've been feeding this to the Biscuit since he started on table food (I'm not kidding) and he has been lapping it up every time we have it since. (Oh, and the adults in my house eat this too!)Ingredients (sauce)2 cans organic diced tomatoes (non-organic tomatoes are the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-57339220411158424922008-01-21T16:38:00.000-05:002008-01-22T18:34:05.355-05:00

So a friend gave me Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious book to help with toddler recipes (b/c I am always asking friends for tips on what to feed the Biscuit). While I won't share the recipe here (buy the book!) I will share with you which recipes in it work for the Biscuit and which ones don't.So far we are 1 for 1. I made her Applesauce Muffins (which also contain pureed carrots) and the

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-70979495727829346402008-01-17T11:25:00.001-05:002008-09-26T20:08:30.397-04:00

A friend gave me a wonderful tip (that she read in the kids recipes book by Jerry Seinfeld's wife). She told me to start offering the Biscuit appetizers before dinner. The thinking is that you offer your child something healthy (veggies and such) before dinner when they are hungry as hippos so that dinnertime won't be as stressful (since you already know they've had something good to eat).The

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4540214659280423903.post-26113060997047609932008-01-12T13:26:00.003-05:002008-09-26T20:13:08.307-04:00

One early morning in May, my husband and I were blessed with the birth of our son who, for the purposes of this blog (and the public nature of the information and for privacy reasons), we'll call "The Biscuit." We actually do call him the Biscuit from time to time as a term of endearment. For the 30-somethings's out there, yes, this probably is carry over from the nutty character on Ally

MamaCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659691406345275999noreply@blogger.com0