Menus and Potties

Hi friends!  I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday weekend.  Our weekend was very nice, while we spent a lot of time together as a family and with some very good friends and did a little bit of work with photo shoots.  I love weekends like this last one....just surrounded with people you care for!

The best part of the week was the huge jump that Ayden made in his potty learning.  We have been introducing the potty to him since right before he turned two.  We didn't want to be too pushy with this or force anything on him.  I fully believe that a child should take his own path and as parents we are there to help and guide along the way, not force anything or be pushy.  As one of my past education teachers once said, "we need to be guides on the side."  And that is exactly what I want to be.  I want Ayden to take his own path and to be his own person.  So with that belief, we introduced the potty to him and let him discover it.  We took certain steps to allow him to discover what the potty was all about.  We bought a small potty chair and a potty seat (it sits on the big toilet).  We put the small potty chair in whatever room he is playing in and remind him that it is there.  We make sure that we put him in cloth diapers as much as possible so that he can actually experience his own body functions.  Disposable diapers are harmful to his body and dramatically slow down his natural interest in using the toilet.  We also started letting him wear "big boy" underwear.  This has been very messy but very helpful.  So all of these things combined has really helped him find his way through his potty learning.

I think this week it just clicked for Ayden.  He was ready to use the potty and was loving it.  He started actually taking off his diaper and telling me he had to go potty.  Then he walks straight to the potty chair and goes all by himself.  It is AWESOME!  I feel so proud of him!  Yes....we are still using diapers at night time....just in case!  And we still have accidents but we made it through a huge milestone.  My son learned how to use the potty and I couldn't be more happier! 

Well enough about potties, let's talk about food.  Ha!  Here is another weekly menu in our household, full of organic, local, and sustainable food!

MONDAY-  BBQ teriyaki shrimp and pineapple kebabs, grilled zucchini, and rice

TUESDAY-  Tuna Noodle Casserole (My husband's night to cook.  I will eat a salad at work.)

WEDNESDAY-  Vegetable & Polenta Bake

THURSDAY-  Vegan Chili and Cornbread...Celebrating my husband's best-friend's birthday. (I will add turnips from the Farmer's market and mustard green from our garden to the chili)  The recipe for the chili and the cornbread will be on my next post. 

FRIDAY-  Warm Salmon Salad with crispy potatoes (the recipe calls for canned salmon, I will use fresh baked salmon.)

SATURDAY-  Broccoli, olives, spinach in a olive oil garlic sauce served over whole wheat angel hair pasta.

SUNDAY-  Farm Day!  Veggie Sandwiches and Veggie Pasta Salad

For more meal planning inspirations, please visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Happy cooking & eating,
Alyson

"When the student is ready, the master appears."  ~Buddhist Proverb