Tips

I know a few posts ago I was quite down on myself after a really hard month at work. I wouldn't say I've fully rebounded from it yet, but now that I have a little bit of perspective I'd like to share a few things that I did keep up with that helped me stay (somewhat) afloat. Hopefully this will help some other working mommies/busy ladies out there...

Food
*Plan at least two meals that you can make on your day off and re-heat later in the week when time is short (my favs are Annie's Grandma's Mac and Cheese, Mom-in-law's Ham and Scalloped potatoes, Veggie chili, and/or any type of soup)
*Make packing breakfast easy by baking a loaf of banana/pumpkin/zucchini bread on your day off. Once it cools, slice and wrap pieces so it's ready to toss into your lunch bag
*Another easy breakfast option - fill little ziploc containers with granola or muesli and pair with a cup of yogurt (I chose Stoneyfield organics)
*Keep the freezer full of frozen vegetables (bug's favorite are Organic Mixed Veggies with carrots, corn, peas, and green beans)

Chores
*Pick one room every few days to "spot clean" (ie wipe down all the surfaces in the kitchen with a clorox wipe, run a sponge around the sink and bathtub, run the vaccuum through the living room) and plan a real hardcore clean-up when your schedule allows
*Do one load of laundry every few days so that it doesn't pile up and take all day on your day off (take advantage of your washer's delay timer if you are lucky enough to have one so you can have your clothes ready to move to the dryer when you get home)

Family time
*First tactic is to take advantage of "known" free time and plan something fun to do in advance (ie apple picking, pumpkin patch, out to dinner, picnic, local festivals, arts and crafts)
*Appreciate the smaller moments (read a book, run around in the backyard, finger paint, play some music and dance together)

You
*This is probably the area I fail most miserably, but the one thing I usually do to keep myself sane when life is getting out of hand is to treat myself a cup of coffee. In other words, find a small indulgence that helps and (this is the key) let yourself have it without guilt.

Pumpkin Bread

I love the fall. Like, really, really love the fall. And when it really gets down to it my favorite thing about fall is probably PUMPKIN. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin beer, the pumpkin patch, pumpkin scones, pumpkin spice coffee, roasted pumpkin seeds, carving pumpkins, etc!

In tribute to my favorite flavor of the fall, here is my recipe for pumpkin bread that I've twisted and tweaked into perfection:-)

Ingredients

• 15 oz of canned pumpkin
• 3 eggs (I use cage free, vegetarian fed, omega-3 eggs)
• 2/3 cup of oil (I use Smart Balance cooking oil)
• 1 cup of apple cider
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 3 1/2 cups flour (I use whole wheat white flour)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp+ ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp+ ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp+ ground nutmeg

*I put a "+" next to the spices because I tend to have a generous hand with them*

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two loaf pans or one loaf pan and 6 muffins.
• Mix first five ingredients together (I use my stand mixer).
• In a separate bowl, whisk all of your dry ingredients and spices together.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three allotments. Each time, blend just until incorporated.
• Divide your batter between the two loaf pans. If making muffins, add a heaping 1/2 cup of batter to each of 6 muffins and pour the rest of the batter into the loaf pan.
• Bake loaves for approximately 45-60 minutes. I usually set a timer for 45 minutes and see if a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes back clean. If not, I set a timer for 5 minutes and follow the same routine until it's done.

*You can make this recipe more exciting if you add mini-chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, and/or chopped walnuts*

Hard Times

I know, I posted something almost three weeks ago revealing all of these wonderful plans I had to "manage my time" and make glamorous posts about how awesome I am at just about everything there is to be awesome at in life. Well, guess what? Those posts never came. Not because I didn't do my best every single day to meet those lofty goals and objectives I set for myself, but because I have a serious problem. Despite trying really, really hard for the past month, I've done nothing but disappoint myself. Everything I've done feels sub-par and glossed over.

I'm upset about every piece of produce that spoiled in the veggie crisper because I simply forgot it was there. I'm annoyed about each time I forgot to update the NICU census with the newest feed schedule and was forced to admit, "It's really 25ml every 3 hours, not 20ml", and watch everyone scribble in the correction. I'm mocked by the misaligned pattern on the hat I knitted for my daughter that I just "let slide" because I was too tired to rip out the seam and start over. I'm sick over the nights that I fell asleep 15 minutes after the baby and lost the only alone time I had with my husband. And finally, I'm embarrassed that the one family function I had the time to attend was punctuated by my arrival with the simplest dessert known to man that I presented in Gladware.

To a normal person, none of those things would matter much. But to me, they all stand out in my mind the way my daugther stands out in a crowd when her Daddy dresses her (my attempt at humor in an otherwise depressing post).

No, this isn't a bid for people to reassure me that I "did a good job." Deep down I know I did everything I could to be the best mom, best wife, and best resident I could be, but it's just part of me to always be a little underwhelmed by myself. That's just how I am and I needed a place to vent my frustrations. Honestly, I think I feel a little bit better now.