The Crud Divides and Conquers

If sharing is caring, then the big one must REALLY love the tiny one.

In this case, I think "sharing" involved licking every surface Mila touches because the cold that Alexis has been battling for a few days found its way to Mila. Which, BLURGH. I know it's an achievement everyone has to unlock, but I was cool with waiting to earn that "Baby's first cold" badge.

For the record, this is not daycare crud that they're battling. Shocking, I know. Rather, it is school crud. Half of third grade has it. If you believe Alexis' tale, there is a Patient Zero. Patient Zero's mother is a nurse who didn't believe her when she said she was sick and sent her to school. That kid then "won't stay out of my personal space" and "doesn't ever catch her cough" so there you have it. The instruction manual on how to spread germs.

(I kind of believe the tale of Patient Zero. I've met the kid and she really does have trouble with the whole STOP TOUCHING ME thing. Not that I've ever told her to stop touching me ... OK, I have. Multiple times.

ANYWAY.)

The thing about them having the exact same cold is that it's an excellent litmus test for just how different they are. Alexis takes after me when it comes to being sick. She rarely is, so she doesn't know how to handle it. That means it is now your problem that she's miserable. The misery must be shared! It's the only thing to do! So WAAAAAAAAAH!

Mila prefers the high road, it seems. She is downright pleasant while sick. It's ... weird. Delightful, but weird. Everything from her tiny, polite cough to the way she seems downright happy when I wipe goop off of her face screams I'M NOT FEELING GREAT, BUT I SO APPRECIATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DO!

Alexis used to rip my face off when she saw the snot sucker from across the room. Like, I could have been moving it from a shelf to a drawer in another room and she would give me a piece of her mind.

Mila, on the other hand, is all, "Hello! Thank you for the assistance!"

Alexis is just now is starting to be willing to allow a tissue to touch her face.

I can scrub Mila's face from top to bottom and she's all, "Thanks, friendly lady!"

Alexis has screamed at me multiple times in the past few days that she can't sleep because she can't stop coughing and IT'S NOT FAIR, MOM.

Mila is struggling to fall asleep, but she is choosing to quietly sit in her crib and smile as if to say, "It's OK! Don't worry about me!"

Here's to hoping they continue to be wildly different about how they handle The Sick. I can handle one miserable kid. Two is pushing it.

Slow Down, Please

This kid.

This is the kid is caught in the middle of a battle of wills.

I admit it. I admit that I am Team Stay Right There. I have no interest in having a mobile Mila any time soon. Nor do I want to feed her solids or allow do any of the other things that toddlers do. She can stay an infant for a loooooooong time as far as I'm concerned.

Alexis vehemently disagrees. She is the leader of Team Let's go. She tries daily to convince Mila to walk, roll, etc.

The sad thing (for me) is that Mila does a much better job of listening to Alexis than she does me.

Mila is in a hurry. Despite the fact that I don't ever put her on her belly, she has figured out how to roll to her belly and do little baby push-ups. I give it about ten minutes and she's going to be crawling. When that happens, LOOK OUT. This is the kid that is going to push me to the brink.

And Alexis stands there encouraging it.

Send duct tape, please. And super glue. Somehow I have to keep the little blue-eyed creature from getting around.

Fall Stir Fry

Just when I was starting to get my act together in terms of cooking real food for dinner, school started. With that came the kickoff of gymnastics, dance, and cheer, and what's that? Where do I live? Do I have a kitchen there?

I'm not sure if I remember.

Four nights per week Alexis has to be somewhere at 6:00, so we're a mess. I'm going to spend some time figuring out meals that can be prepared very, very quickly or that can be made ahead in the crockpot so that we break back out of the cereal for dinner mode soon. Very soon.

Digging this recipe out of the archives was step one of that process. I can prepare all the bits and pieces in advance so that it just has to be thrown in a skillet. I'm going to do exactly that once I figure out when I can make a trip to the grocery store ...

Fall Stir Fry

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
2 handfuls snow peas
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped and cored (no need to peel it)
1 small zucchini, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Prepared brown rice

(makes 4-6 servings)

Stir Fry is crazy easy to make. The only trick is figuring out what order to add everything to the skillet in so that you end up with all of the vegetables (and the apple!) cooked just the right amount. It stinks when you're zucchini ends up mushy but your carrots are still raw, you know? This is the order I work in and it turns out perfectly for us. We like our peppers and onions fully cooked, but don't you dare make our carrots mushy.

1. Wash all of the vegetables and the apple. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped red pepper. All through the steps below, keep an eye on your skillet and stir when necessary to prevent burning.

2. While the pepper is getting started, chop the carrots. Throw them in as soon as you're done.

3. While the pepper and carrots are getting their cook on, chop that onion. Add it to the skillet, along with the garlic.

4. Now it's the snow peas' turn. Cut off the ends if needed and toss them into the skillet.

5. Next up, it's Granny Smith's turn! Chop then add.

6. Zucchini. Do your thang.

7. When you're happy with the softness of the carrots, you're good to go. I personally like them to still have a little crisp to them.

8. Season with salt and pepper and whatever else makes you happy.

9. Serve over brown rice. Or white rice. Or all by itself. Or stuffed in a tortilla shell. Listen, do whatever you want. It's stir fry, so anything goes.