Vegan Goodness:
Today we ate:
- Breakfast: Cereal with soymilk and strawberries, a banana chocolate chip muffin and a soy hot chocolate for mom
- The usual smoothie for LP and dad, followed by toast and butter
- Lunch: Black bean quesodillas for LP and dad and a lunch special at Grasshopper for mom.
- A small bag of skittles for an at-work snack for mom
- Corn chips a snack for mom and dad when mom got home
- Crackers with toffutti cream cheese as as snack for LP
- Dinner: Caramelized onion and swiss chard (CSA) pizza on a homemade cornmeal pizza crust.
Money Matters:
During the month of June we have a bigger budget than we will in July. This is partially because I am still working, and there are costs that come with that (transportation, classroom materials, meeting co-workers for weekly Friday breakfast, etc.) So, rather than be completely limited by our “Year of Family” budget, we are simply trying to be more aware of our spending this month, and trying to cut down on “extras.”
- $4.44 for mom’s soy hot chocolate on the go
- $9.05 for lunch with some fabulous co-workers. This is the only time of year when teachers can occasionally go out for lunch, and it is a fun opportunity for me to hang out with people I won’t get to see much next year!
- $11.36 for a quick grocery trip (picking up soymilk, blueberries on sale and stocking up on the discounted diced fire-roasted tomatoes we love!)
- $116.00 for the Summer Session of Music Together (LP’s music class). It is a special activity for LP and mom, and we figure it is worth it even if we miss a class or two because of baby needs. Normally these music classes would be out of our budget for the “Year of Family,” but we have very generous family members who have given us money for LP’s education and enrichment. Those are the funds we use for his music classes, and without them LP wouldn’t get great opportunities like he did last week when he ran around the music room banging two halves of a coconut shell together and galloping (a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail)!
Tuesday Toddler Update:
It seems like every day now LP gets more and more independent. He puts on his own shoes, he gets his own hat, he carries his own snacks, and so on. LP is also getting better at playing more independently. Now we can be in the backyard and his dad can do some gardening while he runs around and entertains himself pretty well. Of course that also can result in problems. The other day I was on the phone and his dad was busy and he took a spill on our cement patio area that resulted in quite a good scrape on his head. He recovered with some cuddles, a cold pack, and a chance to race his mama up and down the block a couple times. Our little guy is quite durable!
LP is also getting a bit more used to the idea that we will have another little member of our family soon. He is starting to say “yes” when we ask if he is going to be a big brother, and today he also told me he would be helping me change the baby’s diaper. However, he said “no” when asked if he was going to hug and kiss the baby. I guess I can go with that if he is willing to deal with diaper duty!
We also had a moment when I thought he might kind of be practicing for the baby. We’ve been sort of doing pseudo-potty training (you know, the way you’re NOT supposed to do it) and he has been more interested in how the diaper/potty thing works. Tonight he took one of his stuffed animals, a shark, and turned it upside-down and proceeded to explain to us how the shark had pooped and needed to be cleaned. He cleaned the shark’s rear and then we got a diaper for him to put on the shark, which he did very thoughtfully and deliberately. We were left with a stuffed shark, holding a surfboard, and fully diapered. It was definitely a proud parenting moment for both the G-man and I – LP is now fully ready for big-brotherhood! Of course, he might be disappointing when he realizes the new baby isn’t a shark – we will just have to wait and see how that all turns out.
