Bagged Lunch

Eating outside the house can be an absolute disaster without preparing ahead of time. My husband falls prey to the super fast, super cheap McDonald's looming across the street from his office. I end up with over-priced coffee from Starbucks and something wilted and flavorless from Price Chopper's salad bar. Although school lunch has made some steps in the right direction, I don't want bug eating what they offer most days either.

I've found the only way to avoid these "quick fixes" is with food prep ahead of time. We are doing awesome with planning and packing the bug's lunches and making some definite progress with packing for ourselves too. Here are some of the lunches we've been enjoying this month...

TJ's chocolate almond spread on whole wheat bread, chips, carrot sticks, watermelon, and homemade mini M&M sugar cookies (This was the first week of school, so I let more junk food slip by)

TJ's chocolate almond spread on Back to Nature cracker rounds, carrot sticks, TJ's cheddar rockets, mandarin oranges in 100% juice, cantaloupe, and mini M&M sugar cookies (Still the first week of school...I sent a lot of options)

Ham and cheese pita bread roll-up, cooked and chilled green beans, carrot sticks, homemade applesauce, and homemade pumpkin snickerdoodle

One of my lunches! Homemade chicken salad (Chicken, walnuts, celery, with cranberry mayo) over TJ's herb spring mix, grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella drizzled with balsamic and cracker pepper, and raw cashews.

Second Child Syndrome

I know there are things we did the first time around that didn't happen for our second one. Poor bear doesn't have nearly as many baby pictures. Has no baby book. "Cried it out" earlier. Wears tons of hand-me-downs. Has always had to share our love and attention.

Of course there are good things about being second. Breast feeding was easier and lasted longer. We let her play more without hovering. She has a big sister to do everything with.

I like to think the good and bad balance most of the time. Sometimes it's obvious that it's just not though. Like this morning...

When bug was two we started the potty training process and it was A BIG DEAL. Bright pink Baby Bjorn potty chair. New big girl undies with Minnie Mouse on them. Princess pull-ups. The whole deal. We cheered and rewarded every success and stressed over every failure.

Flash forward to now and our bear. She isn't two yet. When we moved into the new house we happened to find the potty chair. Because we didn't want to have to look for it in a few months we haphazardly put it under the sink in the downstairs bathroom. It's been sitting there with no attention drawn to it. 

This morning I was trying to rush out of the house for gymnastics with bug when she decided she had to pee. Disgruntled, I dragged her into the bathroom. While we were in there I realized that the lonely (dusty) little pink potty was full of pee.

Without any prompting the bear had taken it upon herself to use the potty in the few minutes she was diaper-less between her morning change and getting dressed. And we had no idea. Amazing. And kind of sad.

Late Harvest Tomato Soup

I haven't forgotten my promise to post more. I've actually had so many things I wanted to share this week, but ended up putting them off because I didn't have enough time to sit still and write them down!

Fall colds and asthma are starting to kick in and the last second stragglers that need physicals for the new school year have been flooding the office leaving me with no time to blog during the day. At night I've been busy trying to cook and clean enough to make me feel OK about leaving my husband and girls while I travel to Maine for a conference on pediatric obesity. Now I'm back-logged with lots of things to share! Here's the first of what I hope will be many posts over the next few days...

Last Sunday was a perfect late summer/early fall day. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and the temperature was ideal. We didn't want to waste any time and were on our way to Indian Ladder Farms by 9 o'clock. We usually pick apples there, but weren't huge fans of the varieties that were out and decided to just visit the animals. The farm was offering late tomato picking for only $7 to fill a peck bag too, so we decided to go for it. We've never picked our own tomatoes and had a lot of fun checking out all the varieties.

My younger daughter loves eating tomatoes fresh off the vine, but the older one only likes them cooked. When we were in the car on the way home she asked if I could make her tomato soup with our harvest. I've never made fresh tomato soup before and was super motivated to try it out.

Making this soup confirmed my belief that I definitely need an immersion blender added to my kitchen gadget collection. Even with the extra mess (and near burns!) from transferring and pureeing in the blender this amazing soup was definitely worth the effort.

Fresh Tomato Basil Soup (based on a recipe from Back To Her Roots)

1 TBSP olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
3 cups broth (I used organic, free range chicken broth)
7 cups tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup milk
*optional garnish: fresh grated Parmesan cheese and fresh croutons*

1.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. 
2. Cook onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened.
3. Add butter. Once melted, whisk in flour and cook for approximately 1 minute until starting to brown.
4. Add all ingredients except milk and garnish. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until tomatoes are very soft - approximately 15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, add milk, and stir to combine.
6. Transfer to blender and puree until smooth (or save a step and use an immersion blender!).
7. Divide into serving bowls and garnish, if desired.
8. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

I think it's a major accomplishment that I've made it eleven days into September without posting anything about fall. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE fall. The cooler temperatures, the changing leaves, how the air smells...it's all amazing. One of the most amazing parts of fall is everything pumpkin.

Roasted pumpkin. Pumpkin cupcakes, Pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin carving. Pumpkin beer. Pumpkin scones. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin patch. Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin candles. Pumpkin EVERYTHING.

I've traditionally been a huge fan of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL for short), but as I've been trying to adopt a healthier diet recently I wondered if I could create something similar at home without any artificial ingredients. I searched Pinterest and read through many different recipes before giving it a try myself.

This does not taste like Starbucks. It tastes earthier, spicier, and less sweet. The ginger really gives it a punch and the pure maple syrup sweetens without giving you a sugar rush. I think I am going to be making this for breakfast throughout the fall (and probably into the winter!)

Pumpkin Spiced Latte
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract
3 TBSP pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk until smooth.
2. Bring the mixture just to the point of boiling (when you start to see bubbles form at the edges) and remove from heat.
3. Transfer the mixture to a blender and carefully turn on the blender*. 
4. Mix for two minutes to create the frothy foam topping. This step is optional and you can skip it if you don't want foam or would rather top with whipped cream.
5. Pour into individual glasses and enjoy!

Why I say, "I'm tired"

A few days ago I made a post resolving to stop saying, "I'm tired" as an excuse. I think recognizing the problem was all I needed. It doesn't mean I never skip out on a workout (like this morning...) or never say "no" to one of the girls' crazy requests, but I'm forcing myself to think about the real reason behind it.

That said, I still actually AM pretty tired by the end of the night even when it's a typical day without any extraordinary tasks. I was complaining to my husband about being so tired and that something must be wrong with me. He looked at me incredulously and went through my day pointing out everything we do to keep the family going. When we actually went through it, I'm impressed I'm not MORE tired.

Before I share my "to-do-list" from yesterday I want to add the disclaimer that I am NOT in any way implying that I am superwoman or any busier than any other mom out there today. I just think this is an interesting look at where many of us are at trying to balance motherhood, careers, school, maintaining a house, and tackling the complexities of nutrition.

Some notes about the list...

• I love iced coffee in the summer and have been using this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine to make an iced coffee concentrate. This method saves space in the fridge.
• Packing bug's lunch is like a really complex guessing game. I have to decide what food she might decide is acceptable to enter her stomach at the exact moment in time that she is sitting in the cafeteria. What she deems appropriate one day is not necessarily a winner the next day...
• Errands before work and during lunch have become the mainstay these days because it's too hard to drag the kids out in the small window between dinner and bedtime.
• Dinner last night was a roasted eggplant lasagna that I have made before and love. The girls refused to eat the eggplant this time so I gave in and made them spaghetti to toss with the ricotta/sauce mixture. I followed the recipe here from Peace, Love, and Low-carb. The meat sauce is amazing, but I was trying to save some time so I didn't make it. Instead, I used our favorite locally produced jarred marinara sauce.
• I like to utilize the delay start on my washer and wrinkle care cycle on my dryer to plan laundry around the girls' bedtime. If I put wash in when I get home on a one hour delay, it is usually finished right after dinner/dishes to switch to the dryer. I keep the dryer on the wrinkle setting so it keeps it from getting wrinkly if bedtime takes longer than usual or I get distracted starting another task and don't get to it right away.
• Homework has gone very well so far (it's only been two days...). We are using the kitchen table as our designated homework spot and I keep a bin of sharpened pencils and crayons/markers in the hall closet and bring them to the table for homework.
• The recipe I prepared for dinner tonight is based on the stuffed spaghetti squash recipe here from Closet Cooking. I made a lot of modifications. If it comes out well, I'll share the recipe soon.
• I'm not going to share the creamer recipes because they were not what I would consider a success. They are drinkable and add a pleasant fall flavor to coffee, but I really feel that the non-dairy milk alternatives created more of a flavoring than a creamer. They taste very "all natural" in a way that I am not entirely sure is desirable. I'm going to keep working on it...

Musings of a Five Year old (before 7 am)

This morning my monster children wonderful princesses were up around 6 am. This isn't really any earlier than usual, but it still doesn't make it my favorite time to get up. I had been up late last night catching up on laundry, making mini-muffin quiches for the bug's lunch, roasting eggplant, and putting together an eggplant lasagna to have for dinner tonight.

I obliged and rolled out of bed when bug asked for breakfast in typical dramatic five-year-old fashion - "Mommy! You have to get up! My tummy is so empty...listen, it's grumbling!" I trudged down the stairs carrying the baby bear and told them I would cook once I had a chance to go pee. As usual, this is never a private affair. The bug stood in the doorway urging me to go faster while the baby bear stood inches from me saying, "eww, poop!" and trying to shove toilet paper into the toilet behind me.

When the bear finished her job, she left the room. The bug continued to watch me as I washed my hands, but was quiet. Then, she tilted her head to one side contemplatively and said, "Why am I here?" I thought she meant in the bathroom watching me urinate and wanted to reply that I was wondering the same thing, but I took the good Mommy route and instead asked, "What do you mean?" And the answer I never saw coming was, "You know...why do I even exist?"

I really expected that she would be having this conversation in a dorm room over cheap vodka listening to Phish someday rather than at dawn while watching her mother pee, but I gave her the most honest and appropriate answer I could think of, "Because Mommy and Daddy wanted to have a baby, so we made you, and here you are."

But my ridiculous early morning pop quiz didn't end there. She thought about it for a few seconds and continued with, "How do babies even get out?" I believe in honesty when it comes to bodily functions so I told her, "Well, the baby can come out through the mommy's private parts or the doctor can make a cut in her belly and take the baby out." Again, she thought about it and with a mildly disgusted look on her face she declared, "When I have a baby, I definitely want it to come out my private parts," and walked away.

Her existential musings seemed to have ended as abruptly as they started and she went off to play with her sister while I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast (which they would go on to NOT eat, also typical). Alas, she had one more winner for me before the morning was up and came into the kitchen a few minutes later. Without introduction she said, "Well, I guess it's too late...I was really hoping I would be a twin," and walked away again.

Where do these things come from?!

Cakes on Parade

Decorating cakes is a skill I picked up from my mother. She always made us beautiful cakes in bright, fun colors for our birthdays. Some of my favorites were Rainbow Brite and the stand-up Care Bear - if I get super ambitious I'll find some old photos and insert them into this post at some point. When I was old enough, she would use a cup of extra cake batter to bake a small cake for me to decorate and give me her frosting bags when she was finished. Over the years I picked up most of her skills (I never really mastered the rose piping technique) and developed some new skills of my own. As my mom has been affected by arthritis and carpal tunnel in recent years I've taken over a lot of the family cake decorating. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was decided before he was even born that my nephew's first birthday cake would be made by his adoring Auntie M.

I thought it would be fun to showcase a few of my favorite cakes I've made recently culminating in my latest accomplishment - my little nephew's Jake and the Neverland Pirates 1st birthday cake!!

I'm tired

A few days ago I was driving with my daughter and she asked if we could play tag outside when we got home. Similarly to most people over the age of ten, tag doesn't really excite me that much. Sighing, I replied, "Mommy's really tired, maybe we can do it later." She made an exasperated noise and said, "You're always tired! When will you not be so tired??"

I realized that saying, " I'm tired" is just filler for dead conversation or (in my case) an excuse.

An excuse not to get up and jog. An excuse to eat junk food. An excuse to avoid exercise. An excuse to be sluggish and lazy. An excuse not to cook a healthy dinner. An excuse to let my girls watch the I-pad longer than they should. An excuse to avoid household tasks. Excuses, excuses, excuses!

So I'm trying to eliminate this phrase from my vocabulary and stop making it so easy put things off. Because it's a lot harder to admit saying I'm tired means, "I'm lazy and don't care enough about my kid to indulge her crazy game of tag" than to say, "I'm tired and deserve a rest so I'll let her watch the I-pad instead."

Kindergarten Blues

Two days ago my daughter started kindergarten. Logically, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. She's been in daycare since she was a baby and went to a full time pre-K program last year. We encourage her to be independent and she's great at making friends. I loved school as a kid and want her to have an even better experience than I did.

Knowing this, I was still on the verge of tears all summer every time I thought about her starting kindergarten.

Well, the big day has come and gone. I shed a few tears walking away from her on the first day, but kept my composure by focusing on how happy and excited she was. I've felt such a strange mixture of sadness and grief, I've had a hard time processing it.

Tonight, I figured it out in a completely accidental way. I went out to get a coffee to keep me going for a night of crafts and baking. On the way home I elected to drive by our old house. As soon as I saw the familiar street sign, I felt a sickening drop in my stomach and wave of grief wash over me.

In that moment it hit me why kindergarten was such a difficult thing to understand. Just like our old house, my "baby" was a thing of the past. They both represent so many wonderful memories, warm feelings, and "I want to remember this forever" moments that are never going to be repeated. And because it was so meaningful, letting go hurts a bit. But just as I kept driving, looking ahead to our new house, I am ready to embrace the new life my girl is beginning. 

As a book lover I like to think of it not as the closure of one chapter, but the opening lines of another just waiting to be written...

One Smart Cookie

Today was my older daughter's first day of kindergarten. It was a huge day in parenting and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it all. Maybe tomorrow I'll be ready to talk about it.

What I am ready to talk about now is the adorable gift I made for my daughter to give her teacher. I originally saw the idea on Pinterest (where else?!) and knew I had to recreate it.

Simple enough, but (hopefully) it made the teacher's hectic first day a little brighter. 

Glass jar for less than $5 at Marshall's.

Homemade cookies.

Ribbon from my craft leftovers.

Cute saying copied from Pinterest.

I also used the tag as an opportunity to write a note to the teacher (on the back) offering classroom help. Being proactive allowed me to tell her exactly what day/time is best for me and to offer my knowledge as a pediatrician for lessons related to health.

First Impressions

The old saying is that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. As I can be kind of a socially awkward person I've found myself overcompensating on the back-end for a less-than-stellar first impression more than once.

Today was the Teacher Welcome Brunch at my daughter's new school and I wanted to send something that wouldn't require any making up for later on. When I really want to knock a recipe out of the park I always turn to my favorite baking cookbook - Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. Enthusiastically I selected the recipe for her Cardamom Crumb Cake.

Then, I realized that I didn't have cardamom and that I shouldn't send nuts into a school without knowing if they are nut-free. Unperturbed, I sifted through my spices and discovered that my TJ's pumpkin pie spice blend contained cardamom (and smelled awesome!) I also omitted the nuts from the topping. Otherwise, I followed the recipe as listed here.

This cake filled the house with an amazing fall scent as it was baking and looks beautiful. I also received very high praise from one of the teachers who said everyone really enjoyed it and wanted to know who made it. I'd call that a successful first impression!

Happiness is...

an adorable miniature M&M cookie sandwich!

This evening we celebrated the start of the 2014 school year at our daughter's new school with a welcome back picnic. Pizza was available by pre-order and the PTA provided drinks and paper products. Parents were asked to bring a dessert to share. Those with last names at the beginning of the alphabet were requested to bring a fruit and those at the end were asked to bring a dessert. As I always strive to make a good first impression and baking is a strong point for me, I was very happy to be at the end of the alphabet. Although I'm pretty sure I could have come up with some super fun fruit kabobs if the tables were turned...

I did not alter the recipe at all from the original on Annie's Eats, so I'll direct you there if you want to re-create these awesome little cookies. 

***I warn you not to worry that they will be too small if you stick with her advice on how to size them. Remember, you will be sandwiching two cookies together with buttercream - small is perfect!***

September Post A Day

During my residency I tried to take on a "post a day" challenge and kind of...almost...not really at all succeeded. The issue isn't that I don't have things to say, recipes to share, or pictures to post. My problem is that I have a bit of an obsessive-compulsive personality and it takes me an ungodly amount of time to write each post. I write and revise so much that I sometimes lose track of what the inspiration behind the post even was and just delete it.

My goal in taking on this challenge is to post one picture each day (a recipe, a craft, a parenting moment, etc) and write a brief post - that I don't obsess over - to try and break my cycle of insanity.

Today was a very simple day. Time with my girls, errands, household chores. Nothing extraordinary. I took the picture above of my oldest daughter while we were playing together because it just felt like a moment I wanted to capture. There was something about the scene that made me want to cry. She is just a little girl in pigtails playing dress-up. But the intensity of her concentration represented her as a big kid ready for kindergarten. It felt like a big moment in parenting. A moment I both embrace with pride and turn away from with an acute sense of loss...