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Lately Isaac has been all about refusing things he normally enjoys eating or drinking, and it’s getting a bit out of hand.

For example, fresh raspberries have always been a winner in his book, so I go out and buy some every week despite the fact that I normally have to fight the elderly lady next to me to get a good box at the grocery store, and they are one of the most expensive fruits my son could have chosen.  Just like Jessica’s picky eater, Isaac shuns things like bananas, no idea why.

These cheerios look yucky...should I eat them?

“My boss” decided to say no thank you to all solid foods recently, and I was saving the raspberries as my ace in the hole.  I knew they were a sure fire food he could not deny, so when Isaac spit them out I was shocked.  Were they sour or maybe too cold?  Nope, I sampled one and it tasted delicious as usual.

I tried to tempt Isaac into eating a raspberry again, same result, except this time he spit it down the front of him and shoved the juicy red mess down his diaper.  Nice!

Isaac is not friends with any of his usual foods right now, such as cheesy scrambled eggs, baked beans, cheerios, graham crackers, and peas, to name a few of his previous crowd pleasers.

It seems he is going on some sort of baby strike, although I’m not sure what this child is protesting.  I have read about nursing strikes, but Isaac is still very interested the breast milk, so no issues there.

Water is another thing that is on the not-a-chance list, which I don’t get because it doesn’t really taste like anything so what’s not to like? And when I do occasionally give him juice, I water it down so much anyway that I’m sure it tastes close to plain water anyway.

Nope, no cheerios for me, yuck!

Apparently Isaac does not share my line of reasoning because even if the little guy is sweaty and red-faced from the playground, he won’t drink water.  What he does it take the cup, shoot me a suspicious look, take a sip, and then let it dribble down his chin when he realizes it is water and not juice while glaring baby daggers at me.

Perhaps he is sick of the same old thing and needs a bit more variety?  That is my next plan of attack, wish me luck!  What does your baby love to eat?  I need some new ideas, please!

Tigers are amazing creatures.  Not only are they beautiful and endangered, they are also ruthless hunters, they love the water, and their stripes are like fingerprints, as no two patterns are the same.  Oh, and their cubs chirp like birds to call their mother, so cute!

I have loved tigers for quite a while, and before Isaac came along, his nursery was the guest room/ “tiger sanctuary.”  It was full of posters, photos, toys, figurines, etc. of my favorite animal.  Ok, it may have been a tad obsessive, but it was a cool room while it lasted.

Isaac and his trusty steed

Apparently Isaac is a fan of tigers as well, because when I brought out my large stuffed tiger for him to check out, he pounced on it and tried to ride it like a little jockey!  Yee-haw!

Now this tiger is about 2-3 times Isaac’s size, so I’m sure you can imagine what fun my little boy had romping with it.  Of course he hit his head a couple times when he fell off his new friend, but that didn’t slow him down one bit.  He cried for about 5 seconds, then climbed right back up, and repeated this process several times until he realized how to hold onto the tiger’s ears while bouncing around on him.  Obviously a good life lesson to have (:

I think another draw of this big stuffed toy is that Isaac has always wanted to ride the dogs.  It’s his guilty little secret, because he knows he can’t ever do that, but oh how he pines for a doggy ride!  Isaac continues to try and to catch them, but they always manage to escape his clutches, apparently knowing what he is up to and opting out of it.

Hey, who wouldn’t want an energetic toddler screaming with joy jumping all over them while yanking their ears?  My 2 border collies may be too good for some cowboy fun with Isaac, but the stuffed tiger has no complaints.  Being as he has been in the closet for over a year, this guy isn’t picky!  Bring on the baby, I see him thinking, and let’s go for a ride!

I don’t know if any of you remember an old comic strip called Calvin and Hobbes, but it was about a boy and his stuffed tiger who was also his imaginary best friend.  These two had all sorts of crazy adventures and hilarious discussions, everything from the meaning of life to the best cookies ever made to why girls have cooties.

I wonder what Isaac and his new best friend will be up to next?  Or where they will go, or what they will discover?  Imagination…it’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

I was looking for a fitting quote for a friend about the beauty and strength of motherhood, and I stumbled across so many that I could hardly choose!  I wanted to share some of my favorites with my fellow mommy bloggers and mommy readers, enjoy (:

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.  ~Abraham Lincoln

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?  ~Milton Berle

What are Rafael’s Madonnas but the shadow of a mother’s love, fixed in permanent outline forever?  ~Thomas Wentworth Higginson

My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being.  I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.  ~Graycie Harmon

[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.  ~Emily Dickinson

Mother’s love is peace.  It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.  ~Erich Fromm

One of the very few reasons I had any respect for my mother when I was thirteen was because she would reach into the sink with her bare hands – bare hands – and pick up that lethal gunk and drop it into the garbage.  To top that, I saw her reach into the wet garbage bag and fish around in there looking for a lost teaspoon.  Bare hands – a kind of mad courage. ~Robert Fulghum

One lamp – thy mother’s love – amid the stars
Shall lift its pure flame changeless, and before
The throne of God, burn through eternity -
Holy – as it was lit and lent thee here.
~Nathaniel Parker Willis

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.  ~Oprah Winfrey

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

Do you have a favorite mommy quote to share?  Please do!

Back from vacation, going though the 2-weeks worth stack of mail…bill, bill, belated b-day card for Isaac, bill, coupon, credit card offer, bill–wait, what’s this?  Something important looking from the Department of Social Services.  Hoping it is Isaac’s yearly Medicaid card, I open it up and read:

Your Medicaid benefits have been terminated due to insufficient proof of income.  If you want to appeal this decision (yes please!) reply by August 10th. 

While trying to ward off a heart attack about Isaac not having any health insurance right now, I run over the calender and check the date.  August 16th.  Noooo!

I then call the caseworker, who does not answer, leave a detailed and somewhat frantic message on her voice mail, and then call my husband to figure if this is our mistake or theirs.  Of course I am ready to wring his neck if he is to blame!

However, Chris is as mystified as me, explaining that since he is self-employed he has to keep all sorts of records and receipts and maybe they misplaced some of these.  He claimed that he verified everything with our caseworker before he sent in his part of Isaac’s re-enrollment packet.

Ok, so now I need a new target to rage on, so it’s back to the caseworker.  I need someone to fix this problem asap, and someone to rage on as well!  Health coverage is a necessity for the kids, no ifs, ands or buts!

Keep in mind, I am not normally the squeaky wheel complaining about every little thing.  I am usually pretty laid back and can roll with the punches and stay optimistic, but when it concerns my child, it’s on!  Kelly, loan me those mommy claws asap!

This whole debacle was eventually sorted out, with a mistake on their end, and the result was a frazzled mommy, a high phone bill, and an insured baby, so all was good again.

Both Marissa and Isaac have been on Medicaid for the last 2 years or so, ever since my school closed down and my job went with it.  It’s a great government assistance program, and we definitely needed/still need it, but this recent run-in with Medicaid makes me anxious to get back on a good insurance plan that covers the whole family and does not require mountains of tedious paperwork.  We miss you Blue Cross!

What has been your experience with Medicaid, or any other health insurance companies?

While we were up North visiting my family, Isaac and I discovered a frightening and rather itchy occurrence:  For some reason, the Yankee mosquitoes seemed to prefer out sweet Southern blood as opposed to that of the local Northerner.

That’s right, my son and I became victims of the killer mosquitoes, but they didn’t appear as interested in my husband and stepdaughter…I wonder why?

The second we walked outside, regardless of the time of day or the weather, these vicious bloodsuckers zeroed in on us, formed a battle plan, circled, and attacked.

And you know how mosquitoes are; as soon as you notice one on you, it has already feasted and even if you manage to swat it or shoo it sway, you are left with an itchy red bump.

Or in our case, HUGE itchy red bumps, tons of them!  I don’t know why I didn’t think to take pictures, because we both looked like we had the measles or some kind of severe allergic reaction.

When I complained to my mom, she replied that she never noticed any mosquitoes, and maybe it was just me, since no one who lived there got attacked.  Weird…

Off I went in search of relief, or better yet, a way to repel these evil little beasts.  In the past I used any old bug spray without thinking twice; the more Deet the better!  But now that there is sensitive baby skin involved, I was on hunt for something safe, effective, and reasonably priced.

To my dismay, I found nothing that met all 3 requirements of my “mother-approved” criteria.

In the safe ingredient category we had citronella candles, which are obviously a no-no around toddlers, lavender and citrus oil, which smells nice but in my experience attracts more bugs than it repels, and some kind of insect zapper that clips into your belt, but of course the store was out of the inserts required for the thing to work!

In the beware category were a billion and one sprays and gels that contained unsafe chemicals, including Deet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET).  I know that Deet may not be deadly, but studies have shown that it can be toxic to humans as well as our environment, so I choose not to use it.

Come on now, anything that can dissolve plastic can’t be that safe, can it?

So basically I came home empty-handed but somewhat happy knowing I was not going to accidentally poison my son.  Then my sister mentioned West Nile Virus!  Arg!  Where is my stay safe baby bubble when I need it?!

How do you keep the bugs away from your little one?

While in MD we visited my great-grandma Brigitte (“Boomie” as I affectionately christened her as a child) who resides at a local nursing home.  She has a form of dementia and exhibits many of the same traits associated with Alzheimer’s, but our Boomie still has a lot of life left in her.  She has a sharp wit, likes to flirt with young men, and is cranky as can be, but in a cute way.  Her illness might make some people uncomfortable, but we are used to it, and love her just the same, even though it is hard when she doesn’t remember us at times.

I wasn’t sure how the visit would go this time, but Boomie was having a good day and seemed to be enjoying Isaac’s antics as he crawled around the living room, chirping and pulling up on the furniture, clapping, blowing kisses, etc.  It was the Isaac show!

I guess all the noise attracted some attention, because several other residents came in to see what the fuss was all about.  Once they saw the tiny performer, they decided to stay a while, and Isaac didn’t mind sharing at all.  He went over to each one and carefully checking them out, pulling up on them and patting their knees.  And when one person sang to him, Isaac rocked back and forth and sang back, it was almost too cute (:

My favorite part was when Isaac caught sight of an elderly gentleman’s walker and I could see him sizing it up, comparing it to his baby walker at the house.  After eyeballing this new walker for a minute or so, Isaac decided to try and take it for a spin, after inspecting all four wheels, safety first!

It was touching to see how a baby could affect these older folks; how perhaps he helped them remember the delights of their own children and grandchildren; how he brought some happiness to the nursing home.

Tell me about your child’s experiences with their great-grandparents (or grandparents)…