You would not believe how hard it is for people to understand why you refuse to give your baby or toddler sugar. I was shocked that I had to start fighting this battle before my son was even 6 months old. They act like I am locking him in a basement or depriving him of oxygen.

If you want to give your child sugar, that’s your choice. My choice stems from the belief that we’re raising a healthy eater for life and sugar is a drug. Go ahead, roll your eyes, but my kid is the one eating salmon, lentils, spinach and green beans like a boss. I didn’t breastfeed for 8 months, then make organic baby food from scratch for 6 months so I could ruin it all by giving him a substance that leads to major health problems. Don’t give in to the disapproving masses, get creative!

Here are some super healthy (and ridiculously easy) treats my son loves:

Banana “ice-cream.”  Peel and slice a ripe banana, freeze. Blend with a little milk (start with a splash, then continue adding as needed) until it reaches a soft-serve consistency. Top with some cut-up fresh blueberries as “sprinkles.” This is a great way to use up overly ripe bananas, don’t throw them away!

Smoothies, AKA “noisies.” Add any combination of frozen fruit (our favorite is frozen mixed berries), plain greek yogurt, and milk. Avoid the temptation to add fruit juice or honey, they will probably love it without additional sweetener if they aren’t used to sugar in the first place. Sneak in some kale or spinach if you’re feeling brave.

Popsicles, AKA “packles.” Anything in a popsicle mold is instantly more appealing. Freeze leftover smoothie, or go a little crazy and mix fresh-squeezed OJ with some cream and a drop of vanilla for a “creamsicle” type dessert. Tip: buy smaller molds to avoid a big mess. The larger the mold, the longer they will have to melt and get everywhere.

Cake. That’s right, I even made my kid a healthy banana cake on his birthday and will do it again this year! Such a mean mom, am I right? I used this recipe, which even includes icing: plain greek yogurt. You can add different colors of fruit and veggie puree for decoration (the ones in pouches work great, or make your own)! It worked beautifully for a cake smash and he loved it.

If all else fails, raisins and unsweetened applesauce are also his jam.

Sugar doesn’t buy love. The memories that typically accompany it do. Baking together, sitting in the summer sunshine on a porch swing with a sweet treat…you can still do these things without giving your child a higher risk of developing diabetes, obesity or heart disease.

Recently, I’ve become obsessed, OBSESSED, I tell you, with Summer Home Tours all over the blogs I read. I love seeing inside of other people’s houses, especially when they are all so clean and perfectly coordinated. I am of the mentality that I am looking for a “forever” design, so the idea that people switch out throw pillows, art and knick knacks to reflect the season or their mood sort of blows my mind. And people even have organized closets dedicated to holding all of the different items? Wow. Just wow. I clearly need more time, patience and money. HAHAHAHHAHAHA.

Anyway, reading all these blogs inspired me to take you on a summer tour of my home. Lucky you, occasional random reader of this blog! We built a house three years ago, and shortly afterwards had a baby, so it is pretty much exactly the same as when we moved in, except for a few rooms with crazy paint colors because I’m a bit spontaneous with color. I do however, have a list of ideas to complete “one day,” so here’s hoping.  

Here’s our master bedroom. As soon as I saw the tray ceiling, I thought that it needed to be this bizarre color of vivid green. I currently regret this decision and some day, I’m going to paint that some other color. Fuschia?

Also, note the fan without a cover for the light. I’ll save that whole story for another time, but let me tell you that it involves the globe crashing down in the middle of the night and is all Allen + Roth’s fault, so I’ll never buy that brand again.

My husband also has a flair for the creative and thought a nice set of ties would make to-die-for window accessories. He also enjoys using the throw pillows as pants-holders. I love his eye for detail!

Our outdoor living space is truly a delight.

You’ll notice our “grass” is actually clover and that we hate to mow. I’m sure the neighbors despise our “au naturale” look, but we have a lot of bees and butterflies, so I’ve started referring to it as our “pollinator habitat.” Doing our part to save the Earth, so you’re welcome.

My son enjoys instructing people to lay down on the patio so he can make a crime-scene style outline of their body.

Fun fact: this table top is glass and if you leave the umbrella up on a slightly breezy day, it will shatter completely. This is version 2.0 of this exact table.

You’ll also see two plants I very nearly killed. I brought them outside to let Mother Nature handle them. She is a plant healing genius.

Every year, I try to grow various herbs, and my cilantro immediately turns into coriander, which I hate, but repeat the same process year after year because I secretly enjoy the disappointment.

Here’s a raised vegetable garden I’m attempting. There are beans, peas (don’t ask me which is which…I have no clue), tomatoes and strawberries. All are flourishing. So far, I have harvested 1 strawberry.

Every now and then, I come across something on Pinterest that I NEED to do, like shibori some pillowcases or make some hanging planters out of jute. I subject our loft to these types of experiments since people generally don’t see it until they get to know us.

I have a soft spot for spider plants. I can’t let any of the new babies die so my house is full of spider plants and I’ve given them away to everyone I know. Enter the hanging planter. I have plenty of open ceiling space, so I’ll just continue to hang them until my ceiling resembles the canopy of a jungle. Also, we really like blankets.

Thus concludes our Summer Home Tour. Please join us in a few months for the Fall Home Tour (where everything will look exactly the same except all of the outdoor plants will be dead)!