Since I fancy myself as having been successful (all the while wondering what other people have done) I thought I’d share some of the tactics that have worked wonderfully for me. (So if this post encourages you to share any tips yourself, please leave a comment.)

1. Eat with them. They want what you have. In the beginning this was tricky. Taking a bite of your own food in between serving other people all of their bites is enough to make you not hungry. But if you fumble through it in the beginning it becomes much easier. And when you are serving something new make sure you take a bite or two before you offer any to the kids. They’ll get super anxious to try it and beg for a bite even if it’s ceasar salad with anchovies. (Yes. My kids will eat salad. Yes my kids will eat anchovies. Sometimes.)
2. Feast as close to the ground as possible. This is a good practice at any age until people become mature enough to not throw food. When my girls first began eating (7 months) we sat on the floor on a beach towel. They were in Bumbos. They could only fling the spoon about six inches. This made for the easiest clean-up.
3. Beach Towels. I still use a beach towel under the highchairs. It catches everything. After each meal I shake out the crumbs, and at the end of the day I get a new one. So I only have to mop as often as any normal human.
4. Let the kids throw food on the floor. Whenever my girls don’t want to eat, or just want to be sassy, they throw everything I put on their tray onto the floor. I will let this continue through the meal. Inevitably, when we are done eating, and I have finished cleaning them up, and I set them free on the floor, they crawl around the beach towel looking for abandoned food to eat. I call this activity street sweeping.
5. Let your kids hold the spoon. My girls held their spoon from day 1. A lot of people thought I was crazy. But I found that letting people have their own spoon gave them a smidge of empowerment and entertainment, and thus bought me a bit of time to get food on a spoon and give it to the other person. If someone would have to wait for a bite of food and not be occupied for 3 seconds they might get pissed.
6. Let them have cups and bowls. This began for us around 13 months. Prior to that I was only doing the spoon-or-tray-thing. The girls have always been good eaters but after they got their own bowls they ate more. Yes I did, and do, run into the occasional turning over of the bowl on top of the head. We didn’t do open cups with straws until 18 months. It was a real game changer. I can put just about anything in a milkshake.
7. Puree everything that you can. I have always made all of the girls’ food. I have a Vitamix. It’s amazing. I pureed greens and potatoes, rice and mushrooms, turkey, and beets. Literally anything and everything. They always ate it. And what they didn’t eat turned into early lessons in art.
8. Put vegetables in breakfast. This wasn’t part of my agenda until closer to 18 months. Breakfast is the girls’ best meal of the day. Dinner became the worst. I felt like I needed to make breakfast count. I put zucchini in oatmeal and serve carrot poridge. Another favorite is banana-black bean-coconut poridge. And now that we love straws you can be sure we sip kale smoothies.
9. Dippin’.The Vitamix isn’t just for pureeing because babies have no teeth. I taught my babes how to dip. They love it. I slice bread sticks, pita sticks, and pancake sticks. The girls dip these items into the puree of the day. We also take advantage of short pasta for this activity as well.
10. Splash bucket. In order to get my girls to wash their hands before and after they eat we fill a shallow bucket with soapy water. They splash and play and their hands get clean. Nina likes a grand finale. When I say OK bud, good splashing, that’s her cue that I am about to take the bowl of soap water away and she hammers in for one good splash before it’s over. We both frequently end up with wet pants after a meal.
11. Mealtime Challenges. Nina and Lila, and especially Lila, enjoy mealtime challenges. I ask things like who can climb into their chair? and who can snap their buckles? They love to show off. Another favorite I have is to start them out eating with their hands and then pull out the forks. I ask if anyone is up for the challenge of stabbing food with a fork. The girls are usually good for 3-10 rounds and then they give up and go back to hands. The amount of coordinated effort that goes into those 3-10 rounds however, is quite remarkable.

We’ve certainly come a long way since the days of solely nursing. I’m proud of us. This amount of attention and effort to eating takes a lot of energy. I’d gather to say it’s about a third of my day. This type of activity certainly may not appeal to every parent for every meal. But what I hope for myself is that this amount of attention and effort is cultivating good eaters. And look at those faces! If nothing else, we’ve at least been having fun.

This kind of person is always coming up with new ways to fit more art into their lives. This person might also be an athletic female. And she is having serious issues with her foot. The Doc just told her that she needs to wear a brace, all day everyday. The brace-boot is all leather. “Surely”, she says to herself, “I am not going to wear this obnoxious, ugly boot everyday. It’s too uninspiring. I need to find someone to draw or paint on it for me so I am happier about wearing it. And everyone I come into contact with will appreciate looking at it. I’ll ask Sarah if she can help.”

And help I did. I doodled all over that piece of equipment, making it fashionable and functional.

I would have to say that this is the most unique item I have ever put my stamp on. It has inspired me to go beyond. Get outside the four sided blank canvas. Step beyond the confines of fabric.

I’m inspired to do a pair of boots for myself. Not a boot-brace, but like, a real pair of boots.

Any opinions?

What do you think would be good to put art on?

Do tell.

Thank you (my readers) very much for allowing me the most intermittent of postings. I appreciate your continued interest in my life.

I find the holiday season very inspiring. So I encouraged myself to find the time to write about it.

I like Holiday Cards. I like giving them, and I love getting them. It’s certainly an effort to get them together and out (to the right place) on time. Holiday cards are a metaphor for life. It’s a pain in the ass to get everyone geared up to go out of the house. Inevitably someone poops while you’re fastening seatbelts. But if you get through it and push on, when you arrive at your destination everyone is very happy to see you. And you’re satisfied by your effort. Some years I send a basic card to everyone I know. Other years I just write to a select few. This year I really wanted to hand draw each of my cards. Ha ha ha ha ha…I settled for coloring cards. Close enough. (and took long enough)

The babes have seen Santa twice. They hated every second of it. If you’re like me your hoping you’ll sit your kid on Santa’s lap and they will have a meltdown. I’ve got one like that. It’s hilarious.

The decorations are one of my favorite details to the Holiday Season. I like to decorate nice and early so I have ample time to enjoy the fruits of my labor. In particular I’ve been enjoying the caroling clock we set out. It plays a different Christmas song every hour, on the hour. It’s lovely. And the girls find it charming as well.

As you can see, I’ve done my Holiday Photoshoot. These are some of my bloopers, but it went well. The girls are a good sport. It’s scary how early you can train your kid to know what to do when a camera comes out.

And Holiday Shopping. I wouldn’t normally claim to enjoy shopping. But it’s impressive how much dumb shit I am willing to buy during the holiday season. I truly let down my guard.

The dumbest thing I’ve bought so far? Dog squeaky chew toys as stocking stuffers for the babes. One is a hot dog and one is a hamburger. They are going to love them. The label says right on it that it is not intended for babies. This is how I know that my kids are sure to like them. I’m hoping that if a dog can’t chew them up, then my kids can’t either.

The smartest thing I’ve bought so far? Lottery tickets.

Happy Holidays to All. I genuinely hope you have as much fun these next two months as I plan on having.

See you on the other side.

Lincoln Park is an urban park located under the intersection of Interstate 10 and Highway 54. It is practically a secret spot; a vibrant gem nestled beneath concrete overgrowth in a forgotten neighborhood. It’s quiet, save for the sounds of traffic overhead and barking dogs behind chain link fences at your side. You’ve got to watch your step in Lincoln Park. Ways around the oasis are broken sidewalks and dirt paths trodden through grass. If you time your visit correctly the basketball court will be available and the picnic tables will be empty. High noon is great for shade.

The girls and I spent twenty or thirty minutes staring at all of the ethnic murals adorning each pilaster of the thoroughfare. They remained seated in their stroller, content, as I admired and photographed the beautiful and durable creations.

The neighborhood that is home to the park is the site of the first Mexican community north of the Río Grande. It was a flourishing community made of mostly adobe buildings from as early as the late 1800’s. In 1868 (until 1876) the area operated as a military base and was known as Camp Concordia. It was 1973 that the park was first created, designed by Nestor Valencia. In 1983, Bobby Aduato, the Lincoln Center director, asked Chicano artist Felipe Adame to paint murals on the pillars under the freeway interchange at the Lincoln Center building. (located at the edge of the park) Adame’s idea was to create a mural park similar to Chicano Park in San Diego. Adame had hoped to paint additional murals on freeway columns but due to a lack of funding he could not paint more. In 1999, Chicano Artist Carlos Callejo proposed and completed such a mural project for Lincoln Park. He worked with 5 other artists and 80 students from around the city. The artists included Cesar Inostroza, Fabian Arraiza, Steve Salazar. Inostroza and Callejo continued painting murals after funding for the project ended. Callejo said each row of columns were dedicated to various themes. One row was titled Memorial Walk and was dedicated to historical figures such as Cesar Chavez, Ruben Salazar, and Martin Luther King Jr. Another row was dedicated to the Natural Elements: Mother Earth, Father, and Son.

A great example of the love and pride that energized this project is the “El Corazón de El Paso” mural, painted in 2009. It’s a 30’x20’ T-shaped freeway column by Gabriel S. Gaytán. The idea for the mural came from David González a member of the Latin Pride Car Club, who sponsored the mural project and commissioned it. González gave a sketch to Gaytán. Gaytán added images of the Franklin Mountains, the star on the mountain, and Mexican pyramids. The pyramids symboliz El Paso’s strong Mexican-American heritage and population. The main image of the mural was that of a human heart with highways as arteries. This was to honor the physical location.

The art that can be viewed in this park, at any time of day or night, is a gift. It is a constant reminder of the culture on the block. We are here now, but we came from somewhere else. We learned to live and we grew together. It’s struggles and triumphs. The work is iconic and colorful. The images are commanding. During my visit I was moved by the quiet strength I felt the area possess.

Another diamond in the rough…In the heart of El Paso.

More information about Lincoln Park can be found here and here.