Otter tricked me. Yesterday he slept all night long, in his crib. I slept the deep and uninterrupted sleep of a non-parent. There was no nursing, no smacking in the face, just blissful sleep.

Then last night, he woke up, got moved into my bed, and nursed forever. All night. He wanted nothing to do with being put back in his crib, or with sleeping with me.
Finally, at about 5 in the morning, I put him back in the crib with his mobile, stuffed some earplugs into my ears, and then tried not to listen to him cry until he finally fell asleep again. For an hour.

The thing is, my body, which has been adapted to perform to the best of it’s ability on next to no sleep, was tainted by six and half solid hours. It broke me. Suddenly my brain remembered actual sleep. Today, I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I could barely drag myself out of bed. The unexpected treat of solid sleep has wrecked my coping mechanisms.

Yawn

It’s going to be a long day, with not nearly enough coffee in it.

My roomie found this and shared it with me this morning, it pleased me so much, I had to share it with you!

Change has been on everyone’s minds the past few months as the campaigning for the democratic nomination surges ahead. (But I don’t want to talk about that right now. It turns out I have a lot invested in this race, in a whole new way, and I have some not too rational feelings about it.)

So the change rhetoric got me thinking about changes that can be made at home, which got me thinking about my family’s diet.

I try really hard to cook with organic, healthy foods. I use whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low or lower fat dairy. I try to ensure my family has several servings of fresh or steamed fruits and veggies at each meal. I stock the “snack shelf” in both the pantry and the fridge with fruits, yogurt, and cheese. My kids don’t get chips and candy and other fatty snacks very often at all. We eat fast food and take out less than 5 times a month.

However, I realized we are still not eating very well. We still use meat as a staple, instead of a garnish, and we still eat less fiber and veggies than we should. This means more fat, and less nutrients. Therefore, yesterday marked the beginning of my new plan for feeding the family.

Last night I opened my Vegetarian Cookbook.
I baked an acorn squash sprinkled with cloves and cinnamon in 1/4 of orange juice and 1/4 of water. I made an Arugula salad with Pear slices, lemon juice, pepper and parmesean. I baked a Mushroom Pate, made with Portabella mushrooms, baby button mushrooms, red pepper, white wine, garlic, onion, red kidney beans and 12 grain bread crumbs. All told it took about an hour to prepare. However, I have pate leftovers galore, so it will make me a yummy lunch, and an excellent appetizer for dinner tonight.

Best of all, everyone loved it. Lee talked about how rich and creamy the pate was, and how filling the meal was. Even Monkey and Otter gobbled the pate up, lip smacking the whole way. I mean, my six year old ate something made with red peppers in it!!

My plan? I plan on buying a copy of the Enchanted Broccoli Forest and the Moosewood Cookbook. The I intend to base every dinner on a healthy vegetarian recipe, and to add a garnish of meat to it from time to time. If I can get my family to eat low fat, high fiber vegetarian dishes with just a touch of meat on them, then I will know I am doing my best to feed them healthy and wholesome foods.

I plan on making lots of leftovers, so the complicated dishes can last more than one meal. It will help this be less of a PITA (Pain in the …). Tonight I plan on preparing a wholesome and creamy chickpea based soup.

Num num.