Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Picky (but resourceful) eater, houseplant issues

Brandon is gradually turning into a picky eater. He used to eat everything. It was so wonderful. I'd hear other parents complain about their kids not eating, and I'd feel so grateful. Now I'm beginning to understand what they meant. It can be frustrating. He hasn't gone too far yet. He's not one of those kids who will only eat a handful of foods, but I'm afraid he might be heading that way.

Last night I tried a new recipe. I know, I know that's the first scary part to a kid--something they've never tried before. It was a dish with farfalle pasta, marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella. Whitney and I loved it. She even asked for seconds. Brandon took one look and said, "I don't like this." I made him at least taste it, but he still said he didn't like it. Well, I'm not one of those moms who is going to make a different meal for every person in the family, so I told him he didn't have to eat it, but I wasn't making anything else. He said, "Can I make myself a salad?" Uh...sure. So, that's exactly what he did. All by himself.

Here he is with his vegetarian dinner.
Hey, it could be worse, right?


Here's a close-up of the salad--
some leaf lettuce, ranch, and baby carrots.
And he really did eat the whole thing.
Maybe I should stop complaining.

Ok, now on to a question. Are any of you houseplant owners? How do you take care of them? When Grandpa Ranquist passed away, some of Andrew's co-workers sent him this really pretty plant. I've only had one houseplant that I didn't kill and I'm trying to make this #2. It's not going so well. This is what the plant looked like when we got it:

This is what it looked like last night:
It made me laugh out loud to see the 2 pictures together. Agggh! What have I done? I've heard that you can over-water plants. I don't think that's my problem. I've only watered it 2 or 3 times in the past month. I read on-line that all plants are different and will need different amounts of watering. How do you know? I normally water it when it starts looking like this, but I'm afraid I'm killing it.

This is how it looked this morning after soaking up some of the water I gave it last night:
It's perking up a little bit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Theatre directors know very little about house plants. But the third picture looks good to me. Find out what kind of plant it is, then ask a florist how to care for it re exposure to light, water, cold air, etc.
Shirley says she waters our house plants once a week and we've had one of them for YEARS.
(Unfortunately none will make the trip to SLC next week.)
Brandon, your salad looks great and probably tasted great, too.
But, hey, B-train, that dish your Mom made sounds delicious. Give it a try, you might like it. (But you'll never know unless you take at least one bite.)

Anonymous said...

Have a heart to heart talk with your plant. You may want to be alone when you do this. Find out it's hopes and dreams, it's fears and frustrations. After you have established a relationship, only then you will "know" when to water it -it will be sending little invisible, but happy and healthy, spores through the air that suggest to your subconscious pre-mortal one-with-the-universe mind "feed me!" . tee hee
actually, grandma Hiatt's plan is the best - once a week, unless the dirt is still moist when you check it after a week, then wait aa little longer - like every 10 days.
Loved B's salad! but no cucumbers :(

Love,
Grandma Sweat

Sandy said...

I totally laughed out loud when I saw your before and after pictures..I do NOT have a green thumb and have NEVER had a houseplant survive. Our garden actually did well this year - but that's the first time in 3 years since we've lived in WY. Maybe it needs some Miracle Grow or something??

Love the salad. If my kids made their own dinner, they would make corn dogs and/or chicken nuggets. Sprinkled with Halloween candy.

Anonymous said...

I think you had better call the Doctor ASAP, or maybe 911!!!!

Just kidding.

Give it some time, it should come around. Feel the soil, if it's dry give it a drink.

I guess others gave similar advice.

Good luck!

Dad

Laurie said...

I've kept a plant alive that was given to us when Clayton was born (from John's work of course) and that's been the key - water when the soil looks dry - about once a week. The leaves will start looking a bit parched (sorta sucked in) if it is really in need. If you follow this plan and get it near some indirect light, it should do well.

Ashli said...

I came across your blog via Sandy's comments, and thought that I'd try to offer some tips. This kind of plant is the one that is used in beta aquariums. It probably just needs watering more often. If they can live in only water, I believe this is just what it needs. I hope you don't mind me checking this blog out. Your children are beautiful. Good luck with the surgery.