Poach 1 sirloin steak and 1-2 chicken breasts in chicken broth until fully cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cool and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Mix 1-2 cans of corn (rinsed)
1-2 cans of garbanzo beans (drained)
1.5 cups of chopped cilantro
1 medium-sized tomato, diced
1 small diced white onion

Toss all with meat mixture and squeeze 2 whole limes over the top. Toss and salt and pepper to taste.

Thanks to Megan from Washougal, WA

Did you know that purchasing a single Piggy Platter will feed a child for a week? How privileged are we to be able to help an awesome organization like Feed the Children do just that: feed kids.

While we feel it’s super-important for families to eat together, we know that’s not possible unless families have food to eat. We, like you, are very blessed to be able to feed our own kids such a wonderful variety of goodies.

Smarty Parents is committed to donating 10% of direct sales to FTC. Please help Feed The Children by making an extra donation during your purchase (just add a buck or two to your cart).

To learn more about Feed the Children, visit them here.

Bumkins bibs have done us well at the table and out at restaurants through the years and through the different stages of growth: baby to toddlers. They’re high quality, machine washable and just plain work!  We’ve also been amazed at how long they last.

Oh, and they also have some really fun Dr. Seuss versions available!  Check them out a www.bumkins.com.

We are very appreciative of the folks at Love & Logic. We’ve attended a couple seminars, read a few books and own at least one DVD. The advice and practical solutions for parents on raising responsible children has been sanity saving for us.

The removable front gutter of the Piggy Platter works great when you want you want your child to have the extra coverage (think crumbly cupcakes or cornbread!), or when your kiddos need a place to hold their crayons. Here are some quick tips for a snug fit:

1. Turn the Platter upside down on your counter
2. Wet your thumb/fingers with water
3. Place one end of the gutter into its slot
4. Push and slide your into thumb/fingers across the gutter length-wise

When you turn it over and place the Piggy Platter back on the table for use, be sure the part of the gutter that fits into the clear platter is on the table, while the rest of the gutter rests off the table between it and your child.

Most toddlers love to talk (all the time!), but as kids get older and begin to have new, perhaps not-so-friendly encounters at school or elsewhere, they may not want to share as much. One tradition our friends do is to have everyone at the table share a “high” point and a “low” point in their day. They say it gets the dinner discussion going and they learn about all kinds of interesting things from their kids.

Whether it’s at the table, in the store, or at a friends house, we want to get beyond theory and share some real tactics that have worked for us or our friends.

Please share your thoughts and ideas and what’s worked for you! Or if you have a great resource, let’s showcase that too. Send your tips to clever@smartyparents.com and we’ll post them here!

TOP TIP:

Consistency and follow-through: No matter what the situation, we’ve learned it’s important to follow through on our promises and threats. So while there may be protest and tears on the front end, there will be kids who learn quickly and people enjoy on the back end!

Plate/Spoon/Food-Tossing: We subscribe to the theorty that if a child wants to toss it or play with it, they don’t want to eat it. We remove the offending object (the food, fork, etc.), which often means protest and opportunity for further discussion and behavior change. If it persists, then we remove it for that mealtime and they are finished eating at the table. We’ve only needed to do this a couple times before they get the picture.

Crying or screaming at the table: Now that our toddler boys have the capacity to reason a bit, screaming in protest at the table is no longer acceptable. Meal time, especially dinner, is family time. And we want to enjoy each other’s company. Freaking out about something isn’t called for and, in our house, means a “time out” in the bathroom or mud room. (i.e. away from the rest of us.) We’ve been amazed how quickly our boys want to return to the table to “be nice and sweet.”

Sharing: If our boys are not sharing a toy, we ask them to consider trading or set the timer for a short time (2-5 minutes) and then give the treasure to their playmate or sibling. We find that they usually hand off the toy before the timer goes off.

Greeting others: Since our boys were young, we have encouraged them to say hello and good-bye to people who we’re around when arriving or leaving an event, whether in the grocery store, at the library, at church, etc. Before arriving someplace where we’d expect new meet new people (say at a wedding or out to dinner with friends), we’d talk to them about who they were going to meet to prepare them and encourage them not to be shy. Now that they’re older, we continue to expect them to warmly greet others and even shake a new friend’s hand.