What Kind of Mom Am I?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlHLyHw47AU&list=SL

Tiger Moms: Is Tough Parenting Really the Answer?
I recently came across this story, which got me thinking:  what kind of mom am I? 

First and foremost, I'm new mom-I realize my parenting style will continue to evolve in the coming years.  We've a ways to go before dealing with academics, extracurricular activities, and the like but that doesn't mean I don't have ideals and a basic knowledge of how I (yeah, there's two of us but we're talking about moms here!) intend on raising my children. 

Obviously most-myself included-will not fit into any one category or label.  Right now, at Avery's age, I'm mostly Dolphin.  That being said, I actually like the ideas of the Tiger Mom.   I like that she pushes her children to do their best 100% of the time.  To excel in everything.  To not accept failure. 

"The tiger-mother approach isn't an ethnicity but a philosophy: expect the best from your children, and don't settle for anything less."

I think many kids nowadays (who am I?) have far too much codding and privileges and far too little discipline.   I don't buy into the "everyone wins/everyone makes the team/everyone gets a trophy" philosophy.  I believe this does a disservice to them in the long run because in the real world, everyone does not win. 

But in all reality, the hard-core, domineering aspects of the Tiger Mom are just not me.

No sleepovers?!  And who has time to construct AND hand-write 20 practice math tests every night?  Mommy needs wine.

In reality, I believe I'll be a Lion Mom.  Or maybe a Lion Tiger.  A Liger, if you will.  I want Avery (and any future chil'rens) to succeed.  I will push her.  She will be expected to perform both academically and extracurricular-ly (see, Tiger Moms don't make up words) to the best of her abilities. 

So a Liger who is part Dolphin.  Yeah, that's me. 

Baby Duck

The much anticipated "word explosion" has finally happened over the last couple of months.   If she's in the right mood, she'll repeat any and everything and she has an arsenal of words in her vocabulary.  Very recently she has started to occasionally put two words together, such as...baby duck!

Illness Lottery

Friday around lunchtime I got the dreaded call from daycare.


Avery has a fever.  She's not feeling well.

I wasn't too surprised as they'd told us a day or two before that a few kids in Avery's The Host's class were out with the flu or strep throat.  Great.

Friday afternoon she really didn't seem to be feeling well at all, but she perked up that evening after some ibuprofen.  Saturday morning, however, she was not good so we decided to take her to the urgent care near our house. 

The doctor heard her barking cough and immediately diagnosed her with croup.  He recommended a steroid shot for the croup and upper respiratory infection and she was tested for strep and the flu.  Being the overachiever that she is, she tested positive for both!   And home we went with antibiotics and baby Tamiflu.

Waiting on test results

 

When we got home I started popping leftover Tamiflu and antibiotics (yeah, I had leftover antibiotics).  Seeing as how my face had been coughed in approximately 84 times over the previous 24 hours, I figured my chances were pretty high of contracting something from The Host.  Sure enough I felt a little off Saturday night, and Sunday morning I woke feeling unwell.  Whatever I have is fairly mild compared to other cases of the flu or strep I've had in the past, so I know taking the medicine early definitely helped.

Needless to say our weekend was filled with sleeping, snuggling, Kleenex, soup, and staying inside.
Rob is home with her today and she seems to be feeling a lot better.  I'm sure she'll back back to normal tomorrow.

Edited to add: Avery did have a flu shot.  The doctor said the flu shot was a "miss" this year and lots of people who received the shot are getting the flu.  So there's that.

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

One word to describe these:

YUM

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 enchilada • Old Points: 4 • Points: 5
Calories: 230 • Fat: 7.3 g • Protein: 20.4 g • Carb: 28.7 g • Fiber: 12.2 g 


Chicken and White Bean Filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/3 can water
• 1 chicken bullion
• 1 tsp cumin

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 7 oz can chopped green chile
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (I used jarred)
• salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

• 3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 8 medium low carb tortillas
• chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!)

Preheat oven to 375°.


For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalepeños, and salt to tatse. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions. 

I followed the recipe exactly and these turned out great!!  Instead of using low-carb tortillas (which were like $5-um no) I used 98% fat free.  I know my cell phone pictures are extremely underwhelming but in real life they looked just like the photo on the website.  No, really, they did!  I made this black bean, avocado, cucumber, and tomato salad to go along with the enchiladas.  The salad was good as well, but it makes quite a bit and it wasn't as great leftover as the cucumbers get kind of mushy.  Rob thought the enchiladas were the best low-cal meal he'd ever had. 

Pigtails

Avery's hair is going through an...awkward phase.  You know, shorter on top.  Party in the back.   It's hard to do anything with it because it's so fine, not to mention she's 20 months old and doesn't want to sit still.  The ladies at daycare do perfect pigtails.  I don't know what their secret is.  I'm getting a little better though.

Playing Saturday morning, with Rob's boxers over her PJs

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

The first time I made this, it was super hot.  The second time, it wasn't.  It just depends on the jalapeno.   This is quick, easy, and tasty!

Guy Fieri's Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

• 16 ounces chickpeas
• 6 ounces roasted red bell peppers
• 1 jalapeno, seeded, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobo
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Toasted pita bread, for serving

Directions

Mix all ingredients, except olive oil and pita bread, in food processor until pureed, then slowly add in olive oil.

Let set up for 1 hour prior to serving.

Serve with toasted pita bread. 

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After

Garlic Shrimp and Cilantro Habanero Rice

I love Gina's Skinny Recipes.  This dish is good.  Really good.  And really simple.  We have made this a few times.   The rice is definitely too spicy for kids.  We used jalepenos in place of the habanero the first time or two we made it, but last time we did use a habanero.   It was extremely hot, too hot for me, but Rob loved it that way.  Also, I don't care for raw scallions, so we leave those out.




Garlic Shrimp
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Calories: 208 • Points: 4.5 pts

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp Spanish olive oil
• crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch paprika
• salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley
• Lime wedges for serving

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until golden, about 2 minutes being careful not to burn. Add shrimp and season with salt and paprika. Cook 2-3 minutes until shrimp is cooked through. Do not overcook or it will become tough and chewy. Add chopped fresh herbs and divide equally in 3 plates.

Scallion Cilantro Rice with Habaneros and Lime
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 3/4 cup • Calories: 192 • Points: 4 pts

• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 habanero pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 scallions, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

In a small heavy pot add oil and saute pepper on medium heat. Add rice, water and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce flame to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off stove and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped scallions, cilantro, lime juice, rice and toss until completely
 mixed. Makes approx 3 cups.

Awful phone picture

Holidays 2010

Hello, 2011!

Kind of crazy, huh?

Well, the Thomas household enjoyed a long vacation.  Where do I start?

Rob and myself had the two days prior to Christmas off and we used them to finish up shopping, wrap gifts, and cook.  Christmas Eve we headed to Claremore for a delicious dinner and gifts. 

Christmas morning we opened gifts at home.  We did not go overboard on gifts this year.  And might I add-good thing as it took her about an hour and a half to open approximately five gifts!  She received a couple toys and several books and a stocking filled with bubble bath, raisins, barrettes, stickers, etc.  I think the raisins were her favorite gift.  No kidding.

After gift opening we headed to my mom's for brunch where we coaxed Avery into opening more gifts. 

The following Wednesday we went to Claremore to have pizza with Grammer and Gramper who had been out of town on Christmas.  By then she was starting to get the hang of opening presents.

We had a wonderful holiday weekend.  I think all the pictures show just how much this girl is loved (and very, very spoiled).  She may not realize it just yet, she is very lucky to have such wonderful grand and great-grand parents.  And Rob and I consider ourselves pretty lucky as well.