returning to normal

Slowly I'm getting back into a routine...

The snow from the "Arctic Blast" has melted (except for the big piles you see in the parking lots) and the holiday madness has died down, so now I have no excuses but to get back into my normal way of living. That sounds so boring...it's really not that bad. I look forward to having a schedule again and feeling productive.

I'm crossing things off the list, getting housework done, and maintaining my organizing madness. However, I have yet to buy a 2009 calendar and am going crazy without one! Dates on sticky notes just don't work the same. You would think that if I was that desperate I would just start using my electronic PDA. There's just something about doing things the old-fashioned way sometimes.

To help trick my brain into setting up a normal weekly routine again, I thought I would start out the week with a muffin tin lunch we fixed last week to celebrate Muffin Tin Monday over at Her Cup Overfloweth. My last muffin tin consisted of goodies to decorate gingerbread men. Oh, I'm missing the Christmas season already!

I quickly realized after setting this heaping tin of food in front of my 2-year old that she was not going to manage eating it all. (I've got to get me a 6 cup muffin tin.)

Want to guess what got eaten first? Here's the order: pears, yogurt, one bite of cucumber, peaches, a "forced" bite of chicken nugget, 2 tator tots (she didn't even use the ketchup!), and the rest of the 15 minutes I was desperately trying to get her to finish her chicken. Since when do kids not like chicken nuggets? Truth be told, I only made her eat two because there's only so much a mom can take...nap time was in the horizon, you know?

I tried something new this time around and had a little treat hidden under a liner for when she was done with her lunch (after negotiation, of course). I found this idea a few months ago while blog browsing and thought it would be worth a shot. Her "surprise" was a piece of licorice broken into bits. Surprisingly, it didn't do much for the motivation factor, but I'll try it again.

top row: apple-water juice, the "surprise"
middle row: dino-shaped chicken nuggets, tator tots, ketchup
bottom row: peaches, pears, yogurt, cucumbers

Now, if I really was on top of things, I would have my menu planned for the week, as well. But that didn't happen yet again, so I'll be heading on over to Menu Plan Monday for some great meal ideas for the week! If only everything came so naturally.