Tree of Life Breastfeeding selfies

One of biggest passions is normalizing breastfeeding. I feel that too many moms are shamed into hiding one of the most beautiful parts of parenting. I came across a Facebook post many months ago that talked about tree of life selfies and decided to give it a shot. Here's my favorite picture of my newborn son breastfeeding.

 I made this picture using the picsart photo studio app. I want to encourage all breastfeeding moms to capture the beauty and not be ashamed! 

4 Great way to get your kids to eat veggies!

When my 5 year old daughter was around one and two she loved veggies. She would eat whole bell peppers as a snack! I was amazed and, obviously, pleased. So, when I had my next child I was determined to do everything the same. We introduced veggies first and made a big deal of loving them. Unfortunately, it didn't work and my 3 year old daughter hated vegetables. Now ,for some reason she LOVES canned asparaus, but that was it. Until recently. I've discovered some amazing ways to trick her into eating her veggies and now the fight is over. Here are 4 of my favorite ways of sneaking in those vegetables.

Cheesy Cauliflower Egg Muffins
  This is a fantastic recipe I borrowed from mykidslickthebowl.com. The first time I made this delicious breakfast I used Italian seasoning but my girls hated them. I tried again with no seasoning and the girls loved them. It's a good idea to crumble the egg muffin with melted cheese on top if you child is sceptical. My 3 year old was hesitant until I presented it as scrambled eggs. Get the recipe here: https://mykidslickthebowl.com/cauliflower-cheese-egg-muffins/

Veggie Meatloaf
  Chances are if your child hates veggies they love meat, right? Use your usual meatloaf recipe and sneak in some minced vegetables. Use veggies with a mild flavor like zucchini or yellow squash. One of my favorite variations uses okra and tomatoes. The tomato flavor cancels out the okra. Make sure the okra is really minced so it's not noticeable.

Pasta and sauce

If pasta, like spaghetti, is a family favorite then switch it up with veggie noodles and add vegetables to the sauce. The smaller the cut if the vegetables the less noticeable that are. I love to use Barilla veggie noodles because they are so affordable and taste like regular noodles. Using Italian sausage in your sauce helps to mask the veggie flavor.

Little White Lies
 Lying to your child is never good, but sometimes saying cauliflower is potatoes is not so bad. I love riced cauliflower. Steam it up with a little butter, salt, pepper, and garlic. Make it creamy and be sure you mention how DELICIOUS those mashed potatoes are!

The most important thing to remember is to be patient. Always offer an obvious veggie, even if your sneaking it in somewhere else. Don't get discouraged either. If you keep a positive attitude about it, your child may eventually come around. My 3 year old started to love veggies overnight and I believe it's because I wasn't forcing it. Smoothies are always a great way to get those vegetables if nothing else works.

Why I started a blog

There are tons of mom blogs all over the internet, so why did I feel the need to start one of my own? The reason is fairly simple. Mom blogs show the good, the bad, the pretty and the ugly of parenting. There's humor and sadness and advice galore. But too many moms still feel isolated and alone. Too many moms still feel they aren't doing a good enough job. I've found myself feeling that way quite often. I believe that there will never be to many people sharing their experiences and encouraging and learning from others. I wanted to be a part of that. I want to advocate for my beliefs and help other parents feel a little less alone in what can be a lonely and judgemental society.

Imperfect Mommy

Lets get real. How many moms out there are just plain ordinary? You want to be the fit mom who cooks 3 organic meals a dayand does yoga at 5 am. You wish you had the energy to care about you appearance or make masterpiece art projects. You'd kill for that designer house that is always clean. But in reality you're wearing yesterday's shirt and live off coffee and one cold meal a day. Your house is crap but your kids are clean and happy. I think we all long to be the perfect parent. We give it a shot. But we fall short. Parenting is hard and the judgment never ceases. Its okay to not be the Pinterest mom, because even they aren't flawless. Don't be so hard on yourself. Find what is truly important and do your best. Remember to pick your battles, have some fun and keep things humorus. Chances are, you're a better mom than you realize.