A Bath a Day Keeps the Dr. Away

Almost every time I venture out of my house, with my four little monkeys in tow, I get comments like " wow you have your hands full, I don't know how you do it" or " I could never handle more than my one two year old." Or my favorite,( please insert sarcastic tone) " were they having a 2 for the price of one sale at Costco." My answer is often a patient, "nope I did this on purpose" or " It's a learned skill". To me parenting is a honor, children are a gift from heaven. The bible says in James 1:17 that every good and perfect gift is from The Lord. I personally have several amazing woman in my life that have prayed and prayed for such an honor and were only allowed to love their babies for a short time before they were taken too soon.

That being said, it's hard work keeping 4 active boys alive and ending my day with even a shred of sanity. This is where a bath a day comes in. After the babies are tucked into their cribs, my husband ( totally a super hero if you ask me) grants me uninterrupted mom time. I sneak into a hot bubbly tub and embrace the sounds of daddy reading stories and speaking life into our little men as he tucks them into bed. No every night is this picture perfect. Some nights I have to sink my head into the water to drown out the bickering and complaining. I take comfort in knowing that I'm off duty until they are in bed. I spend my time relaxing, gaining perspective and allowing The Lord to speak to my heart. As the warm water soothes my tired feet and sore back, my heart is refreshed and ready for another day of being nurse, mommy, and maid to four little tornadoes of questions and complaints and even the occasional hug.  

We Don't eat lunch

It's confession time. I'm the mom that has coffee for breakfast, Dr. Pepper for lunch and then we eat dinner as a family. This lifestyle has it's advantages, one being that my pants fit great! However there is a few big disadvantages, the biggest being that I don't model healthy behavior for my children. This new year our family, like many other American families is taking advantage of the fresh start and trying to create a new healthy lifestyle for our family. First of all we try to exercise with our kids. It is so fun watching my little boys show me their leg lifts and push ups that they learned from daddy. As well as exercise we have started a new healthy eating plan. We eat a big full breakfast together. And the rest of the day, everyone eats when they are hungry. I am sure your thinking, how is this different from what we already do? Instead of me creating delicious full meals for lunch And dinner that my kids won't eat, producing the great food fight that anyone with toddlers has encountered. they get to chose anything they want from their basket in the fridge " the Monkey bin". 

The basket is usually full of a wide variety of healthy options. And the options change everyday. They only get to have one of each snack per day (so they don't go crazy and eat 6 yogurts)

 Items that can't be in the refrigerator or that need prepared are pictured and placed in the bin.

Our goal in creating the "monkey bin" is to eliminate the constant food fight, create healthy eating habits so they are eating tons of small meals and hopefully creating a lifestyle of healthy snacking.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about your own food bins 

Fresh fruit

Fresh veggies

Chips and bean dip

Wheat thins and hummus

Greek yogurt

Nuts and trail mixes

Peanut butter filled pretzels

Cheese sticks

Granola bars

Pepperoni

Chicken breast cut into sticks for dipping

Whole wheat bagels with peanut butter

Cracker sandwiches ( cheese, meat, crackers)

Baked potatoes

Baked corn dogs

Breakfast cookies

I'm sure you can thing of many more options for your picky eaters