My Southern Boy!

A few weekends ago we were invited to a friend's house for a crawfish boil. We were excited to go hang out with friends, and the weather was perfect!

Aaron was excited about the crawfish. That boy loves seafood...he devours fish and shrimp any time I make it. He proclaims it is "one of his favorite foods". He has adventurous taste--he is almost always game for trying new food, especially if it is fun to eat.

What's more fun than food you can play with alive BEFORE it's even cooked?


Our friends had dinner of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for the kids, but Aaron only ate a little of that before he was ready to start trying the crawfish! Chris showed him how to peel them.


He let him try sucking a head! Aaron liked it okay but immediately wanted something to drink!


Before long Aaron was peeling his own. Who knows how many he ate! He peeled and ate for what seemed like forever!



At one point our hostess Tammy pointed out that Aaron was covered in crawfish juice and grape soda, and that had to be a sign of a good time!

I took lots of other pictures, too. Claire had a great time riding a bike in circles in the driveway, and they played with moon sand in the garage for a long time. When the crawfish boil portion of the evening was over, the kids were FILTHY so we gave them all baths and settled them in for a movie while the grownups played Cranium. What a fun day!

Thank You Captain Carlos--You Work for Me!

If your kids haven't seen Captain Carlos on Playhouse Disney, they are missing out on a nutritious treat! This is a short cartoon that comes on between main shows, and Aaron always pays rapt attention. The show usually has Carlos getting ready to go to an activity--school, karate class, soccer game--and he needs to fuel up before he leaves. He has a healthy snack in mind, but his sister suggests junk food instead. The narrator tells what will happen if Carlos chooses the junk food, so he always chooses the healthy food!

Watching this has Aaron saying such phrases as "Mom, that's loaded with sugar!" or "I want a healfy snack." A couple of days ago Captain Carlos chose spinach salad, and I just happened to have a spinach/spring mix in the fridge. For lunch I was having a nice salad with Craisins, salad crunchies (nuts and other stuff), croutons, and Raspberry Vinaigrette. Aaron wanted some (minus the Vinaigrette!) and he actually ate the leaves!! Since then he's requested spinach salad two more times, and who am I to deny him?

Last night I also made fried squash, one of my favorites! (Mmmm...greasy perfection!)


Aaron calls them fried pickles (pickles are one of his favorite foods!) and he gobbles them up. Since he was eating them, Claire wanted some too, and she dipped them in Ranch dressing. She probably ate 6 or more last night! Granted this isn't the most healthy veggie, with all that grease, but it counts in my book! (They do eat mostly healthy veggies, including green beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, peas, carrots, and corn.)

Aaron also loves fried okra. I'll never forget our trip to St Louis before Claire was born. Aaron was almost two. We stopped in Sikeston, MO at Lamberts, and they were bringing fried okra around to the tables. Aaron ate so much okra I thought he was going to bust! He is truly a southern boy!

Last night I told Chris that watching my kids eat veggies makes me feel like I am doing just a little something right. My philosophy is to keep putting it on their plate, and bribe them to take bites. ("Take one bite of that and you can have another grape!") Once they get used to taking bites, they start doing it without the bribe, and eventually like the food!

Works for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Oh how I love Nutella

Have you ever tried Nutella? I promise this entry is not at all sponsored by Nutella, but if someone from Nutella is reading and wants to send a lifetime supply my way, I won't object!

Nutella is a wonderful chocolate hazelnut spread. It's like peanut butter, but waaaaaaayyyyy better. Chocolate. Hazelnuts. Can you say YUM?? My kids love it too. We had some on toast today after lunch, so I felt inspired to share the Nutella love and list my top 10 ways to eat Nutella. These are really in no particular order.

10) On toasted whole wheat bread.
9) With a spoon.
8) On a toasted English muffin.
7) With sliced apples!
6) In a thin crepe with sliced bananas.
5) On a knife. Meaning, I lick it.
4) On a toasted bagel.
3) On bread with peanut butter. As in PB&N.
2) With a spoon. Did I mention that one already?
1) On strawberries.

I hope you will enjoy the Nutella goodness today!