It’s not until I ask Jason to tilt his head back so I could rinse the soap out of his hair that he wants to turn the cup on me. It was a few days before I discovered the solution. Instead of bringing bath time to an end because he wants to dump water on me, I give him a situation where its okay to dump water on me.  I hang my feet over the tub and he washes and pours water on them.  It was turned from a win-lose, one for team mom getting to pour water on Jason, into a win-win.

There are going to be meltdowns, but those moments are important to a little one because there are important messages being delivered in the way in which it is handled. Like if Jason is loved enough for his parents to care about meeting his needs in a nurturing way. Through empathy and reassurance, we can help him be cooperative. Often its easy enough to turn the dilemma into a game.  Anything can be turned into a game…it doesnt take much.  As soon as I start cooking dinner, Jason knows Dad is going to be home soon and generally starts to melt down if I try and ignore him while I cook. Today I asked for help cutting basil from the plant and chopping it, cleaning the pan we cooked the chicken in and setting the table.  He LOVED his jobs and actually took them very seriously.

There is a bigger task at hand than getting dinner on the table, in every interaction I have with Jason, Im laying the foundation for him to have a fulfilling life. The win-win situations that I help create is teaching Jason that love is what matters and that is he lovable…and, God, is he lovable.

I know from experience that achievement, success, and happiness are all directly related to love. Teaching Jason to have loving relationships with other people will bring him happiness. Its not his IQ, or the money he will obtain,  its being able to give and receive love, thats the ultimate win-win.

Okay, so the title should read Toasted Angel Hair with Sausage and Peppers, but Brian doesn’t care for sausage and chicken was on sale.  The toasted pasta was a total hit all around the table. This is another recipe from Pampered Chef’s 29 minutes to dinner cookbook.  I cant get enough of Pampered Chef, I was naive enough to resist a wedding registry from Pampered Chef and its the best thing ever! Well, other than marrying Brian. It is so nice to have good tools and cookware to use in the kitchen, add adding their fantastic recipes makes life that much easier.  Well, that and doing any prep work I can while Jason sleeps. Like today I grilled and chopped the chicken, pressed the garlic (which you don’t have to peel before placing in the Pampered Chef garlic press), and sliced the peppers while Jason slept. I also removed the bouillon cubes from their wrapper and placed enough to make 5 1/4 cups broth in a prep bowl for easy access.

Toasting the pasta provides a deliciously nutty flavor and a beautiful color contrast. Using a Red and a Yellow or an Orange pepper adds more color. I did notice that I had more pasta than chicken/veggies.  Next time I will maybe add mushrooms or whatever else is on sale! Toasting the pasta in the same pan as the meat will add more flavor and less cleanup. Adding warm broth to the pasta will cut down on the time it takes to reach a boil.

• 1 Ib bulk hot Italian sausage chicken
• 2 Medium red bell peppers
• 1 lb uncooked angel hair pasta
• 3 Garlic cloves, pressed
• 5′/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup fresh basil, divided
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese

Place sausage into (12-in./30-cm) Skillet. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles with Mix ‘N Chop; remove sausage from Skillet and set aside.

As sausage cooks, slice off tops and bottoms of bell peppers; remove and discard seeds and stems. Finely chop tops and bottoms using Food Chopper. Remove and discard seeds and ribs from sides of peppers; slice into thin julienne strips.

Add pasta to Skillet and toast 8-10 minutes, stirring after each 2-minute interval with Chef’s Tongs. Press garlic over pasta and add broth, all of the peppers and cooked sausage. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer vigorously 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.

As pasta simmers, chop basil, reserving half for garnish. When pasta is tender, remove from heat and stir in remaining basil. .

To serve, divide pasta mixture among serving bowls; grate cheese over pasta using DeLuxe Cheese Grater. Garnish with reserved basil.

Today I spoke with two girlfriends who were concerned with baby sleep patterns. Jason was born mid way through my first semester in Graduate school at Florida State.  He nursed every two hours, twenty four hours a day for eleven months. 11 months old is actually when Jason started eating…before then, solid food was something he would sort of appease me with, but didnt actually care for.  Who would when you have an all day all night buffet attached to Mom?  My first attempt to research baby sleep patterns came from a book called Babywise written by Gary Ezzon, which was quickly donated to goodwill. Babywise attempts to “manage” an infant my “parent directed feeding” that helps to control the baby’s feed/awake/sleep cycles.  The second book I picked up was the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, I though for sure this would be the answer to my “problem”. Somehow it was too much for me to implement. This quickly led to a child-led parenting style.  It wasn’t until Jason was 15 months old that I was ready to “sleep train” him and get him out of our bed. He was giving mt a 4 hour stretch in his bed, followed by two hour intervals in our bed. I was completely ready to go to battle with him, and as it turned out he was ready to sleep.  I’m pretty sure he was ready before then, but we had created this lovely routine that Jason was enjoying quite a bit.  Its pretty hard to do anything but rock and cuddle and bring him to the breast when he cried in the middle of the night.  I’d pick him up, he’d root for it and I’d give in.  I told myself

I have visions of being able to do things differently with my second child.  We’ll see if I have the strength to make him or her figure it out sooner on their own. The truth is that I enjoyed my night time parenting.  It felt like him and I were the only people in the entire universe and from the moment I held him in my arms we were communicating…and I quite enjoyed those late night talks. It was usually the next day when it hit me that my child-led parenting approach had led to a two ring circus that Jason was leading.

Below is a reminder of our futile attempts to wake Jason from his nap and get him on a more suitable routine for us.  It was just before dinner and I was hoping that he would go to bed before 11:30 p.m.  We picked him up and passed him around a bit, tried changing his diaper and undressed him completely with no avail. It just goes to show that sometimes kids have needs that are not exactly as we had hoped or planned for.  Hold on tight, it wont be like this for long.

I’m off to catch some sleep myself.  Do check out the links from my previous posts, who knew they needed to be activated? Im learning.  They are all worth looking at, which is actually why I posted them.

My husband’s parents recently brought him and I two fresh lobster tails, from the Florida Keys.  I had company and rather than freezing them, I was looking for a dish that I could make so we could all enjoy them. Food Network is the first place I go when I’m looking for a recipe.  As soon as I see Paula Deen’s recipe come up on something I’m looking for, I’m sold.  It was a total hit and has been repeated many times…just not with lobster. I’ve used imitation crab meat instead and its still quite tasty.

I have recently discovered a recipe from the Stoneware Inspirations cookbook by Pampered Chef that makes the best individual bread bowls that I have used for chili but would have gone great with this soup.

Bread Bowls

• 2 Packages (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
• 1tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove pizza crust dough from packages, do not unroll.  Cut each portion of dough crosswise into thirds to form six equal portions.  Place dough cut side down onto greased baking sheet, pres lightly to form 4-inch rounds. Brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with parmesean cheese. Bake 21-23 min or until deep golden brown. To serve slice off top of each round, carefully removecenters to form bowls.  Place bread bowls into serving bowls. (I bought these from Target)

Creole Shrimp and Lobster Bisque

• 2 steamed fresh lobster tails
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped ( I used a leek instead)
• 2 stalks celery  finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 pound steamed medium size fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

Remove lobster meat from shell; coarsely chop and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Add lobster meat and shrimp. Stir in half-and-half and Creole seasoning; cook for 10 minutes, or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

On a recent trip to Parents Magazine’s # 1 rated zoo in the country, Lowry Park, I dropped our Nikon D60 and the lens resembled the picture above.  Although it was still able to take great photos with no sign of the damage, it was dropped off today for repair.  I couldn’t show you the actual damage but I found this image on istockphoto.com. My first introduction to the world of photography was in a magnet program in middle school.  We learned to roll and develop our film, and process photographs in the darkroom.  I really enjoyed myself and for many years I had an enlarger/dark room on my christmas list. Yes, there was an actual list addressed to Santa until I left for college.  I would always end up removing the enlarger and replacing it with half a dozen other things.  In high school I always had a camera around my neck and if it was missing from my neck it was always near by.  I took a brief hiatus in college but always seem to have it in arms reach now that Jason is around.

After being reconnected with two old friends on facebook, and seeing their sucess with photography (Liz Lauren Photography & LH Photography) I too have considered venturing into the field of paid photography.  While photography is one of my passions, my true passion lies with child advocacy.  When I do decide to take a break from my day job and take on another role, its going to be a step in the direction of child advocacy….until then I will have to settle for being Jason’s advocate.  However, if I were going to start a photography business it would be called Cracked Lens Photography.

And finally, the segue to the point that I wanted to write about tonight.  I just finished the “about” section of my blog today and after reading it published am reminded of the Pollyanna world I live in.  It is a conscious decision I make everyday to ignore the evil and the negative influences and surroundings, and gravitate towards the positive ones.  I can’t watch a scary movie unless I go to themoviespoiler.com first and check the ending.  I quite often cry listening to country songs and watching Publix commercials(especially the holiday ones).  I prefer to avoid conflict, probably because I go just a little bit over the top once I am in it…all easily justified by the need to “stick up” for myself and loved ones.

The cracked lens on my camera reminds me of how perfect and how flawed Jason is at the same time.  Today as Jason kicked me because he didn’t get his way, I thought I needed to make a note on my blog that Im not completely lost in my Pollyanna world…and am aware of just how imperfect this family is. When Jason indulges in a little bad behavior or rebells through a little self expression, I want to try and make sure he has a safe outlet to do it. When Jason does find his voice as a young child and a grown man I want him to have the confidence to express it.  Thats my mission.

Thats enough expressing of my voice tonight. Goodnight.

It wasn’t until after making my one and a half year old son Jason’s third lunch that I realized I did not ask him what he would like to have. A homemade chicken and provolone quesadilla was followed by a ham and cheese sandwich which was then followed with the triumphant peanut butter and honey sandwich.  Had I asked, I could have possibly freed up some time by removing me from my post as a short order cook.  Although if I would have asked him what he wanted he would have replied (in sign language) milk…with a very large grin on his face. But we can’t always get what we want, if someone were to ask Mom what she wanted for lunch, it would have been a triple martini.

Often enough, before I can figure out the current challenge with Jason, a new one has made itself present and the old one is left in the dust.  The current task at hand is to get him eating more and nursing less.  Preferably eating healthy, but if I were to ask him he would ask for “cookies” aka Doritos.  Karen Cicero wrote an article for Parenting magazine called Teach Healthy Eating at Home and points out that kids are more likely to eat more if they can participate in the preparation.  I’ve noticed this with Jason – he is a GREAT cook! He has a fantastic Kitchen Helper from Guidecraft…and he absolutely loves being involved. Here he is using it:

Here is a pic from Jason’s first meal, reminding me just how far we’ve come…

Thats all for now, goodnight!