Genetically Modified Organics, Organic Food, and Diets

Boring Title Isn't It? Who wants to read another blog about this stuff? It's all the rage.... listening to snobs and hippies talk about how our food is being controlled by the government and Monsanto seed corporations... blah blah... just give me a cheeseburger while I drive my car.

Well.... I'm not really going to write about that boring stuff... but I am going to tell you a story about my family and how switching to a healthy diet changed us in as little as a month.

It's all very complicated to me- GMO's, and Organic foods. The USDA... all these labels to read, and the articles that constantly contradict themselves. I've decided to take it all with a grain of salt.

I was raised on McDonald's, Steak and Potatoes,  Celeste Frozen Pizza, and Cheese Dogs. Most of the year ,when I'm not hugely pregnant I am around 115-120 lbs and 5'4" tall. I have a consistent blood pressure of 120/60, and I will throw up easily after running an 8 minute mile. I don't work out. I don't sit on my ass either.

Extreme anything to me is what classifies someone as "nuts".... anything that is consistent is "anal" and anything that is done in moderation, or proportionally is "normal". The minute you try to stick to a schedule that is impossible- sets you up for failure. It's ok to slip up on exercise, food or substances- all in moderation right?. I think that is the best way to do things. Guilty pleasures are the best!

With that said....
I took my family from eating the cheapest generic food found in the supermarket and switched our grocery list to all organic generic food. The change increased our shopping bill to about $20 more, and took away most of our unhealthy options. For instance, there is no organic chef b'yourdee. (or however you spell that slop in a can).  My four year old was not happy. Yet, You can find Amy's organic mac and cheese, and let me point out that it tastes way better, but is about $1 more than craft mac and cheese. (The yellow color in the cheese is really bad for you in that stuff. I read an article on it, and talked to a neighbor that had a kid allergic to it. It's like Yellow number 5 in Mountain Dew. Bad stuff. Nasty)

This started because my husband started having stomach issues. I also just watched a quick video about a mom (who was a commercial nutritionist) made a video and petitioned against GMOS companies because  her child had an allergic reaction and almost died from eating Eggo Waffles- (poster child for GMO foods). I started to research Gmo's, which was trumped by Organic foods, because if it's Organic, then it can't have Gmo's in it. The government is also against labeling GMOs Food. So you don't really know what you are consuming. But, at least with organic you have a better idea of what is it, where it came from, and how it was grown or butchered.

Long story short. My husband has broken his femur, had knee surgery, passed kidney stones, and has even been punched in the face- and yet the stomach pain he was in was worse then all of these things. He went to the Emergency Room, and sat for three hours waiting...they never took him. He came home and wallowed in agony on and off for the next three weeks. The doctor blamed it on acid reflux. Which was wrong. This had something to do with his diet, and his stress levels. He had Irritable Bowel Syndrome like symptoms. Most of those are caused from diet, and apparently pesticides and chemicals in food will trigger this response in people with IBS.  I could fix the diet problems. It took about a week of eating all organic foods for him to start feeling better. Gradually his skin went from grey to pink. His energy levels went back to normal, and his stress went down after we moved. I know for a fact he is sensitive to chemicals and round up because if he eats fruit sprayed with weed and bug killer his lips swell up. The fruit has to be washed or peeled to avoid swelling.

Next are the kids. My four year old and two year old were hyper, had no attention span, and would easily crash off of any high fructose corn syrup... or foods that had abnormal amounts of colored die in it. We found that they sat down for longer periods of time when we went out to eat, they were better behaved, and would quietly play with each other for longer periods of time. They also had less stinky poops. You are welcome for that small fact. Gross I know... but you can tell a lot about your health from your poop. Did you know that a healthy poop should sink, not float? And you should poop at least once a day- (although it can be perfectly normal if you don't).

Then there is my health. I am 34 weeks pregnant, and my blood pressure is 120/60 I weigh 140 lbs and I'm all belly with some added love handle and butt. It is very hard to keep my cravings at bay. I want SUGAR and SALT all the time. I want strawberry ice cream, whip cream, and chocolate sauce at least three times a day. But Instead, I will eat an Amy's organic bean burrito. On Friday's we have pizza take out. Pizza is my all time favorite food. It is the only day of the week that we really go nuts on junk. On Saturday mornings we normally go out for breakfast at the diner. I will get French Toast and share it with James, and Watts will get Oatmeal and fruit. My husband will get eggs and sausage. I get the short stack being two pieces of toast. James eats most of it. Luckily I don't have much stomach space, so I can only eat half of a slice of french toast. I drink coffee, even though that is considered a no no. I don't care. A small cup won't kill us. About twice a week I will even indulge in one beer, or a glass of white wine. Again. I don't care, and really it is just hurting my soul since I want to drink the entire bottle, and the entire case of beer but can't... so it's just waving bacon in front of a dog, but it does take a stressful day and make it go away. I also have terrible urges to smoke... I just want a cigarette all the time. I know they will taste bad, and they are terrible... and I will stink from it....but I have nothing to release my stress... I haven't quite figured that out yet. I force my husband to wiggle my toes at night or massage my hands to release some of the hard day of raising two boys under the age of four while being very pregnant. The all organic diet has also helped with some of my terrible cravings, and mood swings. Did you know that pregnant ladies are full of hormones? Hormone rages come easily, but a healthy diet counteracts that.  I also lost weight... mostly bloat. The first week of the organic diet I went from 142lbs to 138. Now I am putting on a good pound a week in a healthier way.

Anyway, organic just means that no chemicals, or hormones were used, and maybe the animals were treated better. It depends. I don't know about you... but who wants to eat something that has been sprayed with round up weed killer? I don't. Who wants to eat a chicken that stood in it's own poop and was kept in a dark cage with a million other sick chickens? I don't. Who wants to eat a cow that was dragged through it's neighbors poop before being slaughtered? I don't. Who wants to eat animals that are pumped full of hormones and drugs? Nope not me.

Anyway, this is a long rant... would you expect anything less of my writings? Like I said I love my junk, and it took a long time to find foods that didn't suck. Kashi Cereal SUCKS. Don't buy it. I rather suck on chalk then eat that stuff. Cascadia Farms cereals are delightful. Here are a few other things I found on my explorations through the organic aisle of mystery food.

WONDERFUL HEALTHY FOODS TO TRY THAT TASTE AMAZING:

The best thing I have discovered in the organic section is COCONUT OIL!
Buy it.
Substitute it with Vegetable Oil whenever you can. It goes better in sweet stuff....
I broke down yesterday and made dark chocolate brownies with walnuts. The recipe called for 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons water and one egg. I used coconut oil instead, and added more water to get the texture correct. Best brownies ever! The coconut oil leaves a coconut taste to whatever you cook it with.

I tried sauteing my asparagus in it instead of olive oil... and it was weird. Asparagus shouldn't taste like a cookie.

Anyway, I am slowly discovering that healthy food doesn't have to suck.

I substitute sugar with organic honey. I like wild flower the best.
And I hate drinking water, so I drink seltzer. plain or tangerine... I also will add fresh grape fruit juice to plain seltzer or apple juice and it is lovely.

I like purple cabbage instead of shredded green cabbage. Add a teaspoon of Cole slaw dressing and it is delightful with any kind of meat.

I  found out that the darker the inside of a fruit or vegetable means that there is more nutritional content to it. So a pink grapefruit would have more content than an apple. Purple vegetables have more nutritional stuff in it than their paler counterparts. Of course.... I read this in an article, and you can't believe everything you read. I'm sure someone will counteract that topic in a few months.

I love Salmon. It has DHA in it, which makes you smart. I need as much of that as possible, plus it's great for Ava inside my belly. She will be smart too.

Morning Star Veggie Burgers, and fake ground beef are very tasty. A wonderful substitute for hormone meat.
The boys love Morning Star Corn Dogs. I hate corn dogs... so I can't be a good judge.

I also have started buying real loafs of bread that actually will go moldy after a week if not eaten. Mold... good indicator that your food is real. Take it as a compliment... don't be grossed out. If it went moldy, buy some more. That right there was real.

Leave a McDonald's cheeseburger in your car... it will look the same in 5 years.
Not real.

Ok that was my rant for the day. Feel free to tell me more about the stuff you love in organic land. I'm afraid of most of the stuff I see in there.

YUM! Morning Star Burgers and Products are my fast food. Pop it in the microwave and eat. 

Breakfast of Champions! 

My new "wheres waldo" game in the super market. Look for this label, and you are good to go. 

You can even put it on your skin, or eat it by the spoonful. This stuff is awesome! 

Tis the Season and I'm bored to death

2014 has been a very interesting year. I keep having positive spurts where I am very thankful to be old (33) Yes old. When I was young, I was bored... and I hated myself. Now I'm old and I'm listening to christmas music willingly. It is playing all day long, and I can't seem to get enough of it. I have sunshine spurting out of my butt, I have a skip to my step, and I am totally psyched that it has been raining and dreary for the last month. Even the weather has no affect on me. 

This is not me..... that I know of. 

Could be the pregnancy. The hormones are working in my favor. I feel great. I'm a having a girl. I think we are going to call her Ava, and I just want her now. I don't really feel like getting really fat and uncomfortable, I just want my baby. I'm so excited... and like I said, I could tell it was a girl, because I don't feel like there is an alien in my body destroying my soul.... boys... that's what they do to me- when I'm pregnant. 

My mom, aunt and uncle came over from England for a three week visit. I thought at first that it was going to blow chunks... I was ready to book a hotel room just in case.... I thought I was going to hate hosting them.... but surprise I didn't want them to go. 

Weird.... it must be the hormones. 

I cry a lot now... that they are gone. I really liked having adults around all the time. After they all left I realized that I talk to myself... and think mostly of my next meal, and bedtime. My life is boring at the moment. I can't ride horses, I can't drink alcohol, I can't do a lot of fun things. So I sit around eating.... and waiting for my baby to cook. 

Lots of waiting.....

I should be doing other things... like laundry, artwork for clients, vacuuming, baking, shopping, crafting, mucking out the run in shed, walking the dog.... lots of things I could be doing.... but my brain and body are in this happy little bubble of "nope not today" syndrome. 

Christmas is in a week. That seems crazy to me. Maybe it's because it's been 50 degrees and raining here for the past month. I need snow! 

I also really don't feel like christmas shopping for gifts... unless it's something great. I have no great gift ideas.... and I only like to give gifts to people I really like. 

Giving gifts sucks when your forced to do it on a certain day. I like to give gifts for no reason. That is the bestest! 

Like for example, I will come home and surprise my husband with a sandwich! "Surprise it's a sando!" and then he is happy. and I am happy too. Giving food is nice. Yup that's the pregnancy talking. I'm usually a food hater.... but not right now... nope. Food is my new favorite. 

I especially love pink grapefruit and salmon. 

hmmm.. both of those are pink.... maybe I'm just craving pink because I'm having a girl. 

When I was having the boys I craved cheese steaks.... brown... boys... poop.... yup. The color has something to do with it I'm sure. Boys are dirty.

Anyway, for christmas this year, I have painted a few wine glasses....some with flowers and horses and personalized names.... that was a great gift idea for some people. It was fun too! 

I plan on making my home made granola and putting it into jars with cute labels. 

And giving out soap in tins. 

Who knows... maybe I will do some cookies too. 

My husband likes prank gifts... I got over that in my twenties. Now I'm old... so I bake and make stuff. Woooo living on the edge! 

I have never been a good present giver.... I'm just going to keep that up so people don't expect too much out of me. I learned this in high school. I just failed my tests... and then the teachers weren't disappointed in me because they thought I was dumb.

In other news.... 

We got a puppy about a month or so ago. He is a chocolate labrador, his name is Henry, and he was the worst mistake of 2014. He is a good dog... but something about him makes me angry. It's his stupid face. He is really smart but does the same stuff over and over again... like he ate the shoelaces off of all of my shoes and boots. Just the shoelaces. He didn't eat anyone elses shoes. He did this on purpose. STUPID DOG.... ugh .... I can't even write about him he makes me so angry.... and I love being in my happy lazy warm bubble, and that dog is ruining it all!!!

Whatever, Watts needs to go poop. I have to go. I have to wipe his butt. My life is thrilling. 

Vegetable Lasagna

I love Vegetable Lasagna.... and tried to make it from scratch tonight. It turned out better then I could have ever imagined. Here is my recipe for it.
Serves about 4.
Prep time: about 25 minutes.

You will need:
A large Carrot
A handful of Broccoli florets
Peas
1 yellow onion
Whole leaf fresh spinach
Flour
Milk
Butter, or margarine
salt
Pepper
All in one all purpose seasoning
Garlic Powder or fresh garlic
Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Whole Wheat Pasta of your choosing (rotini, elbow, or lasagna noddles) I used about a cup and a half.

Step one:
1. Boil water for your noodles.
2.Cut up carrots and broccoli into little pieces. Add peas, ripped up spinach and any other vegetable you want. I filled a large cereal bowl with my cuttings.

3. Cut up onion, mince it

Step two:
Turn on the oven to 350 degrees
Start cooking your noodles.

In another pan....
Make your white sauce: I use this for lots of things. Like Chicken pot pie mixture, Creamed Spinach, and now my vegetable lasagna- it's great.
1. Heat up a spoonful of butter, and add in onion. Stir the onion around till it browns a little.
2. Add a handful of flour it will get all globby like thick glue.
3. Add about 1-2 cups of milk and stir around.

You will notice it start to bubble- you want it to be the consistency of salad dressing. Add milk or flour till you get the desired consistency.

Throw in the cereal bowl of veggies.
Put it on low heat and stir till it makes a yogurt like stew.
Add in salt, pepper, garlic and seasoning till it tastes really good.

Step Three:
Drain your noodles
Get a casserole dish or something to bake in.
Add a light layer of noodles
Spread your vegetable white sauce evenly over the noodles.
* Some people would add Rocotta cheese here- but I opted out because I didn't have it)
Sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese
Add a light layer of noodles
Add a light layer of mozzarella and sprinkle with parm cheese and garlic.

Cook for about 15- 20 minutes till cheese is firm and crusty.


I added a Spinach salad as a side dish with Avocado, tomatoes, and a squirt of lime juice... you can add a teaspoon of fat free dressing, or stir the avocado till it makes a nice dressing all over.

I didn't think to take a picture before we ate this.... but at least you can see what the inside looks like. Sorry for the ugly picture. 

My 5 Year Anniversary. A Story of a Saint.

Have you ever met someone that everyone likes? Looked into their eyes and see something wise, trustworthy, and loving? You know that when you are next to this person the world is small, easy and life has meaning?

I took him to my brothers summer cabin up in the Adirondack Mountains. This was a test. Most people can't hack it. I wanted to know if he could chop wood, relax, and go with the flow of no running water, no electricity, mosquito invasions and scary large wildlife at the back door.
He loved it, and with a single blow of an axe he was able to split large logs right down the middle. He looked relaxed for the first time in a long time, and his eyes went from stressed to peaceful. I knew right there and then that this was the man I wanted to spend my life with.

It was the perfect place for him to ask me…. and yet… nothing. So we drove home.

As I was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, he was looking at the real estate paper dreaming of buying a house there… (one of his favorite hobbies) and with one leg up on the dashboard he said….
"Will you marry me?"
"Ok"
"I'm serious"
"I know"

Silence…..
"Really? You asked me while I'm driving on the ugliest high way in the world?!"
"Well, I mean it…"

So he isn't one for romance….
but neither am I.
So with no money we got married on August 15 2009 at his fathers lake house in East Berlin.

He surprised me with a  honeymoon in Sodona Arizona…. in August. I never felt arid heat, witnessed red rock, purple skies, or walked through a ghost town. We had a fabulous time.

It wasn't long before I was expecting my first boy.
By this time after hard work, amazing grades, and an impressive resume of internships he landed the perfect job as a Financial Analyst. The corporate ladder was long and I knew that he would fly… he never makes a wrong step.

Not only does he provide for us, but he is an amazing father. The smartest thing he ever said was.
 "I refuse to wake up in the middle of the night to help, so don't rely on me"
Yet…. when I was sound asleep, out cold with exhaustion, he would get up and take care of my duties without waking me up.
He is the best partner I could ask for. When I'm lacking in something, he picks up the pieces, he is always there to support me in whatever crazy thing I'm doing, and he guides me through thickets of thorns painlessly. I'm eccentric, he's practical. I'm flamboyant, he's shy. I'm mouthy, he's sensible and quiet. He is calculating, I'm a dreamer.

Twenty one months later, I had another baby boy. We had little money, but with his savvy ways he bought us a house with enough land in New Jersey to have horses. He took a week off of work and spent hours of hard work fixing the interior for us to move in while I stayed with the babies.

You will never see this man sitting around. He is strong as an ox and has a work ethic of the Amish. At least once a month he will do something that takes me off guard.
For instance, he turned a crappy old shed into a livable room and office. The craftsmanship is well done and it took him less then a week to finish it. He also built me a round ring out of found wood for my horse and spent all night in freezing temperatures finishing it on time for my birthdays so I would see it in the morning. How many bankers do that on their days off?

When I was a little girl I wanted to run a riding academy or petting zoo…. I knew that I wanted horses and lots of animals. I also wanted to be an artist, painting in my studio on my time off from teaching. I envisioned blonde hair, blue eyed children in my life, and pictured myself living off the land away from cities, and hoards of people.

How many people have all their wants and needs come true? Well sure…. by the time most people are 50 they have their stuff figured out….
But I'm going to brag for a second.
A 26 year old man gave me all of my dreams in less then 5 years.
It's only up from here. He continues to outdo himself and trump people three times his age. Proud is an understatement. I'm in awe of his brilliance.

Sure, he may not be very romantic, he can't sing, or dance, or draw, he's allergic to poison ivy, apples, and cats, and has an addiction to sunglasses and hats which he never wears…
Both of us have strengths and weaknesses.
Put us together and you have an unstoppable force. He is the left side of my brain, my heart, my soul…. I lived life before him with two left shoes on… the minute I met him my life started to work right. I haven't taken a wrong move since.

Last night he came running into the house from work, grabbed the keys to the truck and yelled "I'll be back in half an hour"

What is he up to? Sure enough almost exactly a half hour later he had returned. "Get away don't look!" My mom is standing next to him, smiling and nodding, lifting something big out of the truck. I waited patiently…. hearing a bunch of commotion.

He appears from around the garage holding a bag.
"Here you go Scooter"
I look into the bag…. splinters of mulch and twigs are inside.
Wood is the theme for five years of marriage.

"Thanks!" He has a funny sense of humor too….there is always a gag attached to something surreal.
"Well do you want to see your real present?"
"Sure!"

He walks me into his new office. There…. stood a beautiful tack trunk. Shiny grains of wood, with brass latches and galloping horses engraved along the bottom.

"It looks new!"
"It is…. "
My jaw dropped.
I have always wanted a nice tack trunk… it's something that equestrians cherish to hold all their horsey needs.

Ok…. so this man can be romantic. He trumped me. I have nothing to give that could be this nice or thoughtful.

This is my gift… I can speak volumes about the things this man has done for me and my family. I admire him for his hard work, his devoted love to me and our children. There aren't many men out there that are this loyal to the simple things in life. Family and Love.

I know that if you threw us in the middle of the woods with nothing to live on, we would survive and still love each other as if we were millionaires.

I dropped my three year old off at Daycare this morning. I jumped into the truck and backed out of the parking lot, looked over and saw a Dove sitting on the stoop of the parking lot. Doves are love birds, you never just see one without the other. I looked closer for the other, and sure enough I saw the male sitting on the ground. I thought it was odd… is he sick? I made a noise to startle him… he ruffled his feathers… oh no he's sick… my heart dropped how horrible.
I pulled back into the space, and watched… he stood up, and underneath his body was a baby. The mother jumped down and fed her baby and the male walked around the parking lot guarding his family.  What a treat to see this family on our wedding anniversary.

Like love birds, I will never be far from my mans side, and will care for his offspring and for him till his dying days. I'm bound to him forever. I found my mate in life, and I can't see my world without him in it. Not many people can say that… I spent a lot of my life battling trivial things, countless hours struggling to find happiness, dealing with my lost world and letting it pull me down into a pit of depression. His strong hand grabbed mine and pulled me from my misery and handed me a life that I would hope most people find in heaven. His name is that of a Saint, and I truly feel he was put on this earth to save me. It's been the best five years of my life so far, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

The love birds…. Male on the bottom Female at the top. Just two birds. 

The male is moving on the bottom… something is under his butt! 

There you are! Mom jumps down and feeds baby, while the father walks around guarding his family. 

Old Art and Sketches.

I have been working on a webpage for my artwork, and realized that I don't have old work to show. I found all of my old sketchbooks, and some paintings hanging around and took photo's of them. Some of these are really old… from 1998 on up to 2005.  I was all over the place…I had no idea what to draw, or what a theme was. Everyone else had something… I don't know why it took me this long to just stick with animals and horses. It's all over my sketchbooks, but were awful! It took me a really long time to learn how to draw a horse. 

A picture taken of me at Tyler School of Art. Oh to be young and free with no idea what school debt was. This was my ignorant phase of life. 

A landscape sketch of the countryside in Burwash, England where I lived for a whole summer in high school. 1998.  

A homework assignment for Grad School. "Draw your room in perspective"  2006-2007.

A homework assignment for an Illustration class I took, first attempts of using a real fountain pen… what a mess that was. Ink on Paper. 2004.

An attempt to draw a baby. Pencil drawing in my sketchbook for high school. 1999. 

Another pen and charcoal attempt at drawing sheep. 2004

a pen and pencil drawing study I did in High School.  1998. 

A sketch I did of my Physics teacher in High School. Most boring man I have ever met.  1998.

First attempt at using illustration markers. I wanted to see if I could illustrate something scary. 2006.

A study of a model I did in High School. Pencil in a sketchbook. 1998.

A study of a dried up rose. Pencil in a sketch book. 1998.

A pen and ink drawing for an illustration class. 2006.

A pen and ink drawing I did of my dads dog Chelsea in high school when I was in my R.Crumb phase. 1998.

Tyler School of Art Painting. "The Asylum" Oil on Canvas. 2006.

Oil on Canvas painting I did in Art School. 2007.

Oil Paint on Canvas done in Art School when I was going through my Thomas Kincade phase. "The Day Dream" 2006.

Oil on Canvas painting of my Childhood summer home. "Toad Hall". 2007.

Horse Portraits and Equine Art

The cartoons are, and were all, well and good…but I was disappointed in my drawing style. I thought I would take some time out and get back to the basics of drawing by doing some studies of animals. I forgot that I could draw…. and was surprised that with age comes patiences. I never had that before… but now I have the time and my drawing style has greatly improved.

I have started to do animal and horse portraits. I am starting to receive some commissions. Each of these drawings take me about five hours, but I'm pleased with the way they have turned out.

"Loafie" was done using Watercolor, Marker, Pencil, and Pen. It is 8.5 x11. 

This is Loafie or "The Best Life" racing before he retired. The owner loves her champion horse and wanted a portrait done of him in his glory days.

Drawing from a photograph is very easy… so if you have a picture of a pet that you would like a drawing or painting of contact me.

 e.aaron.designs@gmail.com

Here is another commission I did for  Stephanie at SLM Dressage. She sent me a photo of her and her horse "Obilix". This was done using Watercolor, marker, pen and pencil. 8.5x11.

This is the photo I used to do the portrait above.

Here is a commission I did for a lady that wanted a sketch of her paint pony "Prince", she asked me to add his nameplate into the photo. It was done using Watercolor, Pencil and Pen. It is 8.5 x11 on card stock paper.

Here is the photo of Prince that was sent to me. 

A study of a pig wearing boots.

Study of a "Dales Pony"  face and hair.

Study of line, shading, and horse hair, foreshortening etc….


Pricing:
Option A: Drawing or light watercolor on archival paper
$50 for an 8 x10 drawing or water color like the ones above.
- send me a photo of what you want done
   -or-
- I will come to you and photograph your vision

Photography:
Local: free of charge
Long Distance: Gas charge only will be added to artwork.

Option B: Painting on Canvas or Board
$10 an hour for anything bigger requiring special mediums such as oils, watercolor, acrylic, pastels or pencil.

Option C: Prints and Framing
$25 for a print size 8x10 of any of the above.
Pricing varies:
Professional prints on archival paper going up to 24" x36" and framing also available.

"I hate you!"

My three year old son has decided that his favorite word is "hate". He uses it all the time, and each time it makes me cringe. The worst of all is when he tells me at least thirty times a day "I hate you mommy!" pointing his tiny finger at me and scowling like an evil gnome.

It takes every bit of my energy not to take it so personally. When he says these things to me I immediately envision myself picking him up by the back of his shirt and punt kicking his ass out the door for someone else to deal with. But instead, I calmly tell him not to use that word because it is hurtful to my feelings, and is not a nice thing to say.

This tactic has not worked, and it's been about two weeks of consistent hate words flying out of his nasty little toddler mouth every half hour. Enough is enough, I can't take it anymore.

So I resorted to a story, that got a wee bit weird and out of hand…. (even for me).

I had just finished taking the boys to the park, mcdonalds, and shopping, and they were good… until Watts saw the plane ride at the store was actually working with a child in it… "Mommy! look it works! You said it was broken! I want to go on it"

"nope- sorry. no time now, look at that kid, he is having no fun, it's still broken, the ride barely moves, you are having a better ride in this shopping cart- which is free, and doesn't make an irritating noise that makes mommies ears hurt"

So I put him in his car seat, with the little legs kicking…. the whining starts up…. and out comes the pointed finger… "I HATE YOU MOMMY!"

Right…. well… that was it.

So I calmly climbed into the drivers seat, and began my story, that went a little like this…..

"Wattsy…. I have told you not to say the word "hate". He cuts me off…. "Well I DO HATE YOU!"
Well…. that's fine. You can hate me… but there is a place for children that hate their mommies. It's called the Troll House.

"The Troll House?" "What is the troll house?"

"Well since you hate me, I suppose it would be best for you to go somewhere else to live…. somewhere that has no mommies… since you hate me and all. This is a place where children that hate their parents go. The troll house is right down that road there"…. and I point out the window at a street that I know Watts has never been on.

"I want to go to the troll house!"

"Oh..I chuckle... I don't think you will like it there…. you see- the trolls aren't like me or daddy who take you nice places, feed you your favorite foods, give you hugs and kisses, give you warm baths, and love you.... no no…. the trolls are different"

"Different?"

Watts is now very interested in my story, and I am trying desperately not to take this down a dark road, but I do make it as scary as possible without scaring him for life. I start thinking of all the things I know he hates….

"Well…. the trolls put children in cages, and leave them in the cages all day. They don't get to play, or watch cartoons… in fact they are forced to watch the NEWS. and…. they don't get snacks… they get the same meal every single day. Broccoli and Water. And…. it gets worse. They don't have diapers… so you will be forced to poop on the potty."

Watts looks thoughtful for a moment.

"I hate trolls! I will kill them with my sword!"

"but you won't have a sword, because you won't have anything… no toys, nothing to play with… nothing to kill the trolls with... Just a plate of broccoli and a cup of water… and a potty. which will sit in your cage"

He is still thinking about all of this…..
"I don't want to go to the troll house"

"Well that will be easy… you just have to stop saying the word "hate"… and be nice to me, daddy and James, we love you very much and wan't you to live with us forever, but only if you love us too"

"Ok, I will be nice to you mommy, I don't want to live at the troll house"

So since then…. we have gone all day without the word hate….and he has been much better to me.
Till about an hour ago… he told James (his little brother) that he hated him, and threw his favorite toy in the trash can.
So to remind Watts…. I drew him a picture of what the troll house looked like.
He watched me draw it… and as he asked questions like "Is there a phone to call home?" I would draw a phone…. "Is there a door to escape?" I would draw a door… but would put a lock on it… It was fun, and he was really into it.
He asked all sorts of questions, but was more interested in killing them…. with a sword.
He really hates the trolls. Which in my mind is ok.
The Troll House should be something to hate.
I drew all the things he actually hates in the world… and put them into one picture.
Now he knows what the word means.