It's been a week!

It's been a whole week and Mia is *officially* off the bottle!  We are amazed and so happy!  It's been nice not to have fight over bottles anymore, have some more space in our cabinets, and feel like Mia is making one more step in her growth to maturity. Not that we want her to grow up too fast, but, the bottle thing had just been a struggle we weren't sure would go away anytime soon.
I've noticed she drinks about half as much milk these days without the bottle--both good & bad.  Her appetite has increased, which means I have to find more to feed this hungry growing girl.  The bad is that the coconut milk I make for her is extremely nourishing--so while I am enjoying not having to make it ALL the time, it was just one more good thing I knew I was doing for her body that she's now not getting as much of.  So even though it's hard with a two year old who is often tempted by the same things adults are tempted by, I need to make her calories count with good food!

We are getting ready to depart quite soon for a trip to the great North.  Well, not sure if Indiana qualifies as the great north, but now that I live in FL, and it touches Michigan, which touches Canada (somehow, right??), Indiana seems very northerly.  When I lived in MN I used to think Indiana was in the South.  Funny how perspective changes based on where you are.  Inspired thoughts, I tell ye.

Anyway, we will be celebrating Jackson's graduation from the great university of Purdue (that is, if he found enough tix for our whole fam!) and hanging at Fort Wiley before jaunting back down to Tennessee to visit with more family & friends, Ciampa style.
Mia has done pretty well with long road trips in the past, but lots has changed in the last year or so since we've traveled extensively on the road, so here's hoping a flipped carseat (finally facing forward, perhaps?), some good snacks, books, and maybe a video or two (no Spongebob, don't worry) will get us through, and that she'll take good naps!  Send out a prayer for all 3 of us.  We shall need it!

Why coconut milk?

Photo Credit:
Amazon.com

Occasionally I am asked why Mia drinks coconut milk.  In truth, I know I know the reasons, but I can't always spout them off lickety-split.  So, imagine my delight when The Nourished Kitchen (a neat new foodie blog I've been following) does an expose on how to make your own coconut milk, from a real coconut.  Not that I've ever done that, but maybe that will be just one of the things I try this year!




In other news, here's something new I started doing the last few months of 2010, and maybe it will be helpful for you too.

Do you always pick up the same items at the store, nearly in the same quantity?  Now that we're a family of 3 with a pretty regular schedule, it seems that we consistently go through the same food items from month to month.  Of course, I try to stock up and save when these items may be on sale at the local grocery or health food store, but I have found that sometimes an even better option is shopping online.

Mia guzzling down her "coco" & discovering her
Dyson vacuum cleaner on Christmas morning!

I follow Saving Naturally and from time to time, she'll post updates of deals on Amazon.com.  You can "subscribe & save" and save 15% more on those items if you subscribe to buying that particular item every month, two months, or so on.

So for us, because Mia is a little coconut milk drinker, we regularly "save" and receive a shipment of 12 cans of coconut milk per month, and Coombs Grade B Maple Syrup every 2 months.  These prices are just as good or better than what I can get at my local health food store with coupons. And shipping is free.  So why not do that?  I promise I'm not being paid by Amazon or these companies.  Just wanting to help a brotha or a sista out!!