Don't Ask, Do Tell

Parenting Tip of the Day: A Reminder for Myself

When dealing with a headstrong toddler such as my son, Don't ask, Do tell...

Example #1- We are currently pottytraining and saying "Evan, do you want to go potty?" is nowhere near as effective as saying, gently but firmly, "Evan, let's go sit on the potty. We can pick out a book to read while we're there." As far as pottytraining goes, he is only 21 months and we have been at it for a little less than two months. He has been doing a terrific job until we started underwear at home. So apparently we're not quite ready to move on from pull-ups even at home yet. (Insert music from 'The Apprentice" ... money, money, money, oooo yeah")

Example #2- The incident that sparked this thought tonight and this post... Evan was kneeling in the living room, spitting on the floor, which is unfortunately, the latest skill to be discovered. Several times, I said (okay, I yelled) "Evan, stop spitting!" but to no avail. Finally, I said "Do you want to sit in time out?" and he scrambled over a few feet and plopped himself down on the floor just like he was in time out. Except that there was no remorse or anything remotely close to it. Not even a tear. And he was back up, off and running probably 30 seconds later which brings me to one more parenting tip while I am on a roll...

Be consistent! Definitely hard on days like today. I should have been firm and put him in time out and set the timer for 90 seconds for the umpteenth time today. Evan was up at 4:20am, crying like he'd had a nightmare and he never really settled back down. Dan tried sleeping on his floor for a little bit, but he was up and ready for the day. Getting up early made Evan (and the rest of us) extra grouchy and Dan works both jobs today, so won't be home til late. SO all that to say, consistency is important, but even SuperMoms and SuperMom wannabees slip up sometimes. Just don't beat yourself up over it (are you listening, self?) and do a better job tomorrow.

Natural Rinse Aid

Ever look at the ingredient list for your rinse aid? My guess would be no- because most conventional rinse aids do not actually list their ingredients.

I didn't use rinse aid in the past, but now we have a new dishwasher and I really noticed the need, so I started buying it. I searched for a natural one, but couldn't find anything. I have seen several online, so I know they are out there, but I just did not see them locally. I ran out of rinse aid recently and I wasn't liking the way my dishes were coming out without any. And I wasn't really happy with the rinse aid either. I mean, I'm rinsing my dishes and glasses and SIPPY CUPS in who knows what chemicals!?!? So yesterday I searched online and found my solution.

Vinegar! I have recently come to really love vinegar for a number of cleaning solutions, which I am sure I will detail here later. It is so cheap and works wonders!

To use vinegar as your rinse aid, simply pour into your rinse aid compartment and let it do the rest! I was just marveling this morning at how truly clean my dishes felt. Cleaner than they did before- with or without conventional rinse aid. My only complaint is that it is difficult to know if the resevoir is full because vinegar is clear, but I can deal with that! No vinegar smell and no yucky chemical-laden dishes! Total success!

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you read the side bar, you can get an introduction of who I am and why I love allergy-free cooking, but for my first post, I felt that this recipe was more than worthy of the spotlight!





This recipe is from Clean Food by Terry Walters.

2 bananas, mashed
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. rolled oats
2/3 c. brown rice flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. shredded unsweetend dried coconut
pinch of sea salt
1/4 c. semi-sweet dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, combine bananas, oil, syrup, and vanilla. In separate medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, coconut, and salt. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and blend until just combined (do not overstir). Fold in chocolate chips. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop batter by the heaping teaspoon onto sheet. There is no need to roll, flatten, or shape the mounds. Place in oven and bake 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place directly on wire rack to cool. Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

The only changes I made were that I used sweetened shredded coconut because I couldn't find any unsweetened; I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips; and I used silicone liners instead of the parchment paper. My husband loved them, too- they really don't taste like an allergen-free cookie! I don't think that my son, Evan, likes chocolate very much, so he's not as excited about them as I was, but he's still eating them for the most part.