Portions

I eat pretty well and with two children I don't get much of a chance to slow down yet the weight won't seem to go away! I was rapidly losing after I gave birth to Ryder and now at a standstill for too long! Soooooo I am going to blame it on portions! If I like something I am eating, I will eat until bursting point and even if its as healthy as can be that is still a bad thing. Time to employ Michelle Obama's portion plate for the family and eat the right portions (minus the meat for the boys!) of each type of food! Hope this helps you out too because I have many friends unsure of what and how much to feed their children!

Discipline

Discipline is something that has been lacking in our home as of late! In every area we are stumbling and failing a bit. One of the biggest is in our diet, whether it be shopping/couponing or what we put into our mouths. We were in the great habit of meal planning for two weeks ahead of time and couponing as well. This cut our costs at the grocery store drastically and helped us to save more as I could buy in bulk and divide as needed. We were eating some fantastic new meals and preparing them was so great for my sanity as well as all of our health. This routine has made its way out of our lives lately though and its paying not only in our wallet but on our waistline as well! Discipline needs to re-enter.

Another area we need to reinforce discipline in is our time management because that has slipped as well. We have a daily routine with the boys including flash cards, book time, bible time, scheduled meals, weekly "field trips" and it has gone down the drain! I don't know what has done it, maybe recent houseguests mixed with a bit of laziness??? It needs to return despite the reason it slipped away.

Most importantly in the topic of discipline though is disciplining our children. Rocklyn is now at the age of knowing right from wrong on many things he does and I have become the pushover. It's funny because before we had children we assumed I would be the strict one and Cory would be laid-back but the second I felt the love for my precious baby boys I became putty in their hands. It's not working though. Hitting, biting, screaming and fits of rage have become prevalant around here and I cannot let it get to the point where I am fixing it I just need to, from the beginning, lay the groundwork of discipline in my home. Time outs seem to do a bit of good. I spanked once and I ended up crying over it for a half hour hysterically so that is a no go. We do not spoil the kids with toys and other belongings because I do not want them to put an emphasis on things and become expectant of gifts. We got rid of cable in our homes and keep movie time at a minimum so they are not influenced by the disgusting junk that they could see on there. But I need advice on this! I want my boys to be well behaved children who are respectful of authority and stay out of dangerous situations so folks, what are your words of advice on disciplining young children????

Rocklyns Fave Foods

I have had a lot of moms ask me about what to feed their young children to keep them healthy because it seems chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are the easy way to fill em up but dont provide much nutrition. My oldest is 16 months old and as many of you know we do not feed him meat. I don't mind much if he spends life as a vegetarian but I would rather him begin life this way in order to enjoy the great fruits and vegetables the world has to offer. I myself do not eat meat unless I am pregnant or nursing. I may have a different point of view if we were in the financial position to buy organic, hormone free, grass fed only meat but until then I would rather do without all the dyes and hormones filling up my precious sons tummys. So what does Rocklyn enjoy??? Here is a list of some of his favorites for ideas to get your children beginning a healthy lifestyle or changing to a more healthy diet:

SWEET POTATOES! He loooves them and he has become a bit more picky so after baking and smashing them up I either put a tiny bit of jam that was locally grown and made or honey on them to add some flavor.

HONEY BANANA WRAPS: Whole wheat tortilla, honey, tiny bit of cream cheese and banana slices (or whatever fruit you prefer)! voila!

APPLE WALNUT PUREE: steam peeled apple slices and walnuts and process them into a mush. I enjoy this one myself. So tasty!

TOFU NUGGETS: posted this recipe a while back if you want it go to the archives!

HOMEMADE FRUIT OATMEAL: blend a mix of fruits and old fashioned cooked oats, easy enough.

STEAMED MINI CARROTS AND HONEY

HOMEMADE FLAVORED WATER: I give my son water most of the time and if I do give juice it is about 5 percent juice and the rest water but I once tried very liquified fresh fruit in with his water and he downed it.

So those are a few of his favorite foods over the past few months! Easy and simple enough. I personally do not think they take much more effort than making some macaroni and cheese and they definitely provide much more nutrition. It would break my heart to see my child struggling with their weight because of the eating habits I began them on and I hope that I can influence other parents to begin their children's lives giving them a preference for Earth's best foods for our bodies. In turn I truly believe we can see a lot less disease and other health issues.