Little Pitchers Have Big Ears

Little pitchers have big ears is a very old saying that refers to the fact that small pitchers often have handles that look like ears and are likely to be quite large for the small size of the pitcher. It means that even though a child may seem small or not appear to be listening, they may hear and understand more than you realize. We all know is as true today as it was in the 1500s when it was first recorded.

Yesterday, in the car, we were discussing, rather cryptically, the fact that some people in our family were not eating very much fruit lately. I remarked that the fridge was empty and not being replenished and yet certain people did not seem hungry. I said something to the effect that Christopher and I seemed to be the only fruitarians around lately. Christopher spoke up and said, "If Mommy and Aunt Zanne are eating restaurant food I am going to eat restaurant food too." We were surprised because he is so opposed to eating what he calls bug food. I reminded him of that and he said, if they were going to eat it he would too. I told him he would no longer be a fruitarian and he said, he would be a fruitarian with me and eat out with them. Because of his age and his own level of reasoning, he saw nothing inconsistent with this statement and the beliefs he often discusses with ease. I'm sure he trusts his mom and his aunt and his oma to keep him safe and not lead him astray. He wanted what they were having; he did not want to be left out. Copying the adults around them is how our children learn.

It is of primary importance that we give our children examples to follow. If they sense that we are not living the life we are teaching them they will smell the hypocrisy a mile away. Of course restaurants were no longer discussed and we were all reminded of the responsibility we have not only to our own children but to any and all children that are in our lives or observing our actions in any way.

If a small child were to follow you during the day, in your private as well as your public life, what values and ideals would she learn/see? Are you walking your talk? Are you living a life you would like children to emulate? Because they are watching us, in the grocery store, in the movie theatre, in your neighborhood, they are everywhere. We are each and every one responsible for the culture we hand to those coming behind us. This is not just about food, even though it is about food, it is about living a life that will give our children their best chance at health, happiness, and wholeness. Little pitchers have big ears, and they are listening and looking at us and taking in far more than we realize. Let's work together to give them their best shot.

What's on the menu?
Smoothies, apples, minus the peel which I cannot coax him to eat, mangoes, and almonds. We have grapes, bananas, pineapple, and citrus in the house but he is not interested in any of that. He has his definite likes and dislikes, though they do seem to change with the seasons.

A Christmas Calendar

I saw this calendar at the grocery store yesterday and bought it for Christopher. I hung it up and showed him how it worked.

We put the candy cane in the number 4 pocket and I told him that we would move it every day and when it got to the 24 it would be Christmas Eve and we would go to Grandma's the next day for Christmas. A little while later he called me to look at the calendar.

"Look," he said, "tomorrow is Christmas Eve!" I explained that it didn't work that way, that this was just a way of telling us how many days were left, just like the regular calendar which he is now intrigued with.

We moved the candy cane back and added stickers for Yule, the day Santa comes to our house, and the day Wendy comes to visit. Now he will just have to endure the long wait like generations of children before him. =D

What's on the menu?

Today he had at least 2 pitchers of berry banana smoothies. It's hard to know an exact amount because the babies drink them too. I made three full pitchers so I'm sure at least two of them went into Christopher's tummy. His mom came home from work with mangoes which are still available so he ate two of those and then later he ate some almonds.

A Holiday Visitor

Every year, shortly after Thanksgiving, a holiday visitor arrives at our house, quietly and secretly at night. He perches high above the reach of little hands and travels to the North Pole every night to have a chat with Santa. Every day he lands in a different place and must be searched for each morning. As soon as Christmas, or Yule, as we celebrate, is over, he leaves just as mysteriously as he arrived. Our elf's name is Jingle Bell and Christopher likes nothing better than looking for him each day and leaving little notes telling Santa he would really, really like a puppet stage for Christmas. We can't read Christopher's notes as he writes in a language understood only by Santa and himself, but that's OK because Jingle Bell is a faithful messenger who carries them directly to the Big Man himself each evening. =P

Read more about the elf and his creator here.

Santa Claus and Candy Canes

The neighborhood where Tasha works had an open house last night for all the businesses in the area. It was a first time endeavor and it didn't turn out well as it was pouring down rain and there were tornado warnings . But Christopher was excited and Santa was supposed to be there so he went to work with his mom so they could walk down the street and see what was going on. We talked about the fact that there would be bug food and he would not beg for it and he took his lunch box with a smoothie, apples, and almonds. He was perfect while Tasha finished up her clients then they went off in the rain to look for Santa. The Santa was very peculiar acting, according to Tasha, and I am wondering if he may have had a few glasses of wine? Anyway, he hoisted Christopher up in the air with one arm for a picture. We thought it was odd but Christopher was impressed that Santa was so strong.

Is this the oddest looking Santa picture you have ever seen?! lol! He's just dangling there! hahaha! I start laughing every time I see it! I'm glad I wasn't there because I would have been rolling on the ground! I didn't laugh in front of Christopher because he told me he had his very best smile on his face.

This one is better.

Anyway, Santa gave Christopher a candy cane which he brought home with him. He showed it to me and I said he could keep it and put it on the tree when we put it up. He announced he was going to eat it. It was rather large and I don't think he has ever had peppermint so I tried to talk him out of it. He was determined; he was going to eat it. Instead of arguing or being more persuasive I let him eat it. I think we have to pick our battles and one candy cane from Santa for a kid who regulates his own eating every day and never eats bug food because he knows it is bad for him is not a big deal. He enjoyed every bite/lick. It did not seem to affect him at all. He slept well and got up this morning asking for his smoothie. I guess it was a magic Christmas candy cane. =P

Fruit Sharing

Today's Menu:

Smoothies and more smoothies again. He is drinking so many I am using more bananas and less of the expensive frozen berries. So far no complaints. He did tell his mom as she left for work to please stop for mangoes on the way home. Hopefully they are still available as smoothies, apples, mangoes, and almonds are all he wants right now.

Thanksgiving at the Children's Table

Christopher was so excited about Thanksgiving he hopped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. He didn't have his strawberry tart, but he did have some small brownies with his berry smoothie. At lunch he put some cooked mashed potatoes, just blended potatoes and water with a small amount of olive oil, and some cooked green beans, which he didn't like or eat, with his pie and topping. He did go back for more potatoes later. Then he went out to play and food wasn't thought about again. He never asked for any other other food on the table. He had some left over brownies the next day.

Daily Menu:

He is drinking smoothies all day long and eating as many mangoes as we can buy. He also is enjoying several varieties of organic apples and berries whenever he can con us into buying them at extremely high prices. He is not eating many nuts though he did eat the cashews left over from holiday recipes.

Thanksgiving Excitement

Christopher doesn't know what a pilgrim is. He does know what a turkey is and he is terrified of them. He calls them scary turkey birds after a trip to a farm where they followed us around making strange sounds. He does not know why we celebrate Thanksgiving, and I admit to being a bit unclear on that myself, but he is counting the days to Thanksgiving anyway. This is the first year he has even realized the holiday was coming up. In the past we have simply packed him a lunch and taken him to my sister's house. He had fun playing and running around, but I don't think he associated it with food at all. This year he knows that Thanksgiving is a holiday that means food, special food, and he is looking forward to brownies and strawberry tart. Last night before he went to bed he said, " I can't wait for Thanksgiving Oma, I am going to have strawberry tart as soon as I wake up!"

There will be plenty of time for Christopher to learn about the religious origins of our nation. There will be plenty of time for him to puzzle over the deaths of turkeys and the national celebration and glorification of eating until you are stupefied. For right now Thanksgiving is about brownies and strawberry tart and for that he is thankful. I am off to the store to shop for our feast and I may even buy him a couple of packages of very expensive organic berries for his breakfast. Life is simple when you're 5.

On the Menu:
Christopher and the babies are eating lots of apples. Christopher and Paxton have been gobbling up mangoes that have been cheap lately, and Paxton and Gavin still ask for nanas, or go to the kitchen and grab one from the bins themselves, throughout the day. All three are drinking special recipe smoothies all day long. I am spending a fortune on organic frozen berries, but I love knowing that they are filling their little tummies with fruit. It seems like I am running the blender and pouring smoothies every hour on the hour!