Minimalist Mama?

Hardly so.  But, I did read an article written by a British mother of a 2-year-old and it got me thinking.  This mom, Hattie Garlick, lost her job around Christmastime and her son's 2nd birthday.  She did a little research and decided to give "Kiddie Consumerism" the middle finger by conducting an experiment on trying not spending any money on her toddler for a whole year.  To clarify- this child will still be fed, clothed, entertained, and otherwise well-cared for, but with parameters.  Such as, the food the child eats will be the food the parents also eat.  No special overpriced Gerber toddler meals.  All clothes, toys, and cloth diapers will be obtained for free either on Freecycle or from hand-me-downs.  She is blogging about her "experiment" at http://www.freeourkids.co.uk/.  I hope she is successful! 

Is she nuts?  I don't necessarily think so.  Could I do what she is doing?  Maybe.  But probably not.  I am the type of person who feels satisfied when clothes (that I've had for awhile) get holes in them, when old shoes finally fall apart, the fact that I've had my car for almost 10 years- I like things to be well-used.  Does that stop me from buying new things here and there when I don't necessarily need them?  Of course not.  Just look at all of my shoes.  Or purses.  Or kitchen gadgets (on that note, our whole entire kitchen in a month).  But I am pretty darn satisfied when they are so "loved" that I have to throw them away.  What has irked me for the past 19 months is how aside from the occasional onesie with a poop stain that I could not get out, CJ's clothes are NOT well-used.  He wears them for a few months at the most (it's slowing down now) but then need to be packed away.  A few nice outfits are never worn because who wants to wear a nice Gymboree sweater around the house?  Does my child, whose days entail playdates, Wegmans, and Target really need to be trendy?  Some of the millions of toys he has have never even caused him to give a smile.  Why are we spending so much money on our small children when (sorry for the cliche) they are happier with shoeboxes?  I've not been shy about accepting hand-me-down toys and clothes or shopping at consignment sales.  But, I occasionally have gone overboard- especially this past Christmas.  I fell victim to all of the cute toys available and now CJ has enough to entertain him for the next year or two.  The Easter Bunny may bring him a book or a puzzle (not that he knows any better anyway).  Thank God his birthday is not until June.  At least then we can get him outdoor toys.  Like a ball.  Or a glorified stick or something.

All this kid needs is a couch and some pillows.  That's entertaining enough! 

Anyways, I'm all for spending money on decent clothes and toys when I know they will be used for awhile or grow with the child.  Even his train table is sturdy, and can be converted to just an activity table once he is done with trains.  Should last 10+ years, right?  Food? I did try and make my own baby food last year.  I succumbed to the baby food grocery aisle.  It was only for a few months.  Now he pretty much eats what we eat.  Diapers?  Not against cloth diapers (although used?) but for whatever reason have no desire to venture into that world.  I'll keep Pampers in business.  Activities?  Yes, I have signed CJ up for some baby classes over the past year even though I could technically keep him entertained for free.  Oh well, change in the schedule is good.  What do you think?  Do you think you would be able to give up spending money on any of these things?

Switching gears (sort of) is this week's recipe.  We didn't have any plans for the Superbowl, so I knew I wouldn't be tempted to stuff my face with chips and Helluva Good Dip if I wasn't around it.  However, I still wanted to have something snacky and decided on a recipe I have seen on a few foodie blogs- Buffalo Cauliflower Bites.  Cauliflower florets battered, baked, and then topped with wing sauce.  Surprisingly good, and a lot healthier than actual chicken wings.  They probably won't actually satisfy a wing craving (talk to Kevin about that), but I was happy with them, especially with some light ranch dressing.

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites (adapted from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 22 oz (6 1/2 cups) cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
• 3/4 cup Anchor Original Wing Sauce (or you could just use Frank's Hot Sauce)
• 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil. Combine the water, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.  Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture and place on the baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes.  While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl.  Pour the hot sauce mixture over the baked cauliflower and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes.

The Dog Days of Winter

This has been the longest month EVAR.  With the flu circulating through the town and the bitter cold of the past week, CJ and I have not left the house as much as we would usually do.  It's not like I want to raise a wimpy kid towards the cold (especially with having a husband from Upstate New York), it's that I AM the wimp.  Our family room is probably the coldest room in the house, but CJ's toys are in there and he seems to have no issue with the temperature.  He'll even sit on the cold stone in front of the drafty fireplace and be perfectly fine.  I, however, have jacked up the temperature in the house and still just want to huddle under a quilt.  I have even started working out during CJ's naps here and there instead of first thing in the morning just so I have something warm to do.  Or, I cook.  I actually have two recipes that I'm including this week. 

That sliding glass door is sooo drafty

The first one is an old favorite- Pork and Peanut Noodle Salad from Cooking Light.  You roast a pork tenderloin (I always use whatever jelly or preserves I have on hand as a glaze) and mix it with soba noodles, some veggies, and a yummy peanut sauce.  And it's light!  The recipe says to serve it chilled- we always have it warm. 

The next one was a new recipe I tried off of the smittenkitchen blog- Carrot Soup with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas.  A little involved, and I was a bit worried about the final product because, well, it was carrot soup (and no cream was added!) However, when you swirled the tahini (sesame paste) into the soup it actually was quite excellent.  I also could just eat the crispy chickpeas plain.  I think now I would like to add to my cookbook hoarding problem with the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. 

Back to this never-ending month.  Like I said, we have not been getting out quite as much as usual.  I will say that I am blessed to have a son who for the most part can entertain himself quite well.  Even right now as I am writing this he just playing with his train.  He also really loves puzzles and throwing our cat's toy ball around.  And jibber jabbering to himself (so I am assuming he is pretending?)  Most days, he does get some TV time as well.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the TV (and other forms of a "screen" such as Ipads) should be avoided until a child is 2.  Well, apparently the AAP never had to cook dinner.  Or spend 12 hours all day cooped up in a house and have to find MULTIPLE ways of entertaining a child (that don't always create a mess.)  Now, I am not catching up on DVR'd episodes of American Horror Story with CJ in the room.  We stick to PBS, Disney Jr., and Nick Jr.  (and maybe if I'm folding laundry or something, an occasional Top Chef.  Sorry.)  I think the shows (at least the ones we watch) on these channels are actually pretty good, and educational.  I was cooking dinner one night and CJ was watching Super Why.  If you aren't current on children's shows, this one promotes reading.  I actually heard CJ repeating back letters as the cartoon characters were spelling out words!  Now, I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it by buying a letter puzzle and incessantly singing the alphabet song- but my point is, no more guilt about letting CJ watch a little bit of educational TV each day!  Now, if I could be a better parent and listen to more Choo Choo Soul and less Justin Timberlake in the car...

Kevin is out of town this weekend so that always means 3 things- earlier dinner, earlier bedtime, and catching up on my girly TV (love Downton Abbey!).  So, I must turn on Super Why for the Little Man and cook dinner.  And put on a pair of slippers. 

Hibernation, Appliances, and of Course Food

I am happy to inform you that so far this flu season, none of us have been affected... yet.  Well, no flu anyway.  We have had our share of colds, but nothing too debilitating.  It seemed like one out of every few posts on Facebook this past week have been about someone in a family (or whole families!) being bedridden for a few days.  So, needless to say, at the beginning of the week, I kept CJ home from the library.  I have seen him put a bunch of those toys they play with after singing in his mouth so who knows what germs lurk in that bin!  We have had a few playdates, but for the most part we have been holed up in the house.  Lesson learned- must put newspapers or plastic on floor when playing with Play-Doh.  That stuff is MESSY.  Who knew? (Well, apparently me who spent a good half hour Monday night scraping dried up Play-Doh out of the basement carpet with a butter knife). 

Our huge project this winter is getting the whole kitchen redone.  We were very happy with our kitchen when we first bought the house, but now we realize it is time for an upgrade.  So, we are getting all new cabinets, granite countertops, a backsplash, and appliances.  We are also changing the layout slightly so we can have more storage.  I am very excited about the whole thing, but can't wait until it is done.  The latest step in the process has had me picking out new appliances which is quite the headache.  Apparently nowadays everything breaks.  Quickly.  So, no brand has stellar reviews across the board.  I don't care if we get different brands for different appliances (we are keeping our Bosch dishwasher per recommendation) except that we need our refrigerator and wall oven to match because they will be right next to each other.  To find a brand that does both well- well let's just say I've been quite frustrated.  But, I think FINALLY we may have some winners- let's just hope that the oven won't explode when using the self-cleaning function (HA!  Cleaning the oven.)  Today we pick granite.

This week's favorite meal was inspired by trying to use up ingredients in our refrigerator before the renovation starts.  I decided to make a pizza using some leftover sausage, veggies, and a jar of pizza sauce I had on hand.  I like to make my own crust, and over the past year I have used this recipe.
Even though it comes out really crispy when using a pizza stone, it is not foolproof and there have been times when I'm about to call it quits when trying to press it into a circle.    So, I decided to try something new from a cookbook I received for Christmas. 

Jim Lahey's Perfect Pizza Crust from "Dinner: A Love Story"
3 3/4 cups flour (I substituted 2 cups of whole wheat flour for 2 cups A.P. flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or other active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cup room-temperature water

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds. The dough will be stiff, not wet and sticky. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Divide the dough in two and shape each into flattened balls. (Dough can be frozen at this point.)
When you are ready to make a pizza, preheat oven to 500°F roll out one ball of dough in a rectangular shape and place on an oiled cookie sheet.

Yeah, forgot to take a picture while still on cookie sheet

I topped the pizza with fresh mozzarella, pizza sauce from a jar (gasp), cooked turkey sausage, broccoli florets, and mushrooms.  Yes, you do have to knead it a bit and wait to let the dough rise, but it was so much easier to press it out into a cookie sheet!  And, you get two balls of dough so now I have one in the freezer!  The middle of the pizza may not have been as crispy as I would have liked, but overall me, Kevin, and CJ gobbled it right up.  Win!  By the way, check out the blog Dinner: A Love Story.  I like it so much I had to get the book. 

We still try to go out to eat once a week (thank God CJ is typically good at restaurants) and we're always all about a new restaurant opening in our area, especially if it's non-chain.  Last night we tried The V Brew House in Ashburn.  It used to be the Shenandoah Restaurant (loved their Krispy Kreme Doughnut bread pudding!) which was short-lived unfortunately.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese, avocado, and bacon with waffle fries, Kevin had a New York strip steak with a loaded baked potato, and CJ had the kids' fish plate with mashed potatoes.  Me and Kevin's meals were okay, not bad, but nothing to get excited about.  The waffle fries were really good, and you didn't get too large of a helping.  CJ liked his meal, especially the free scoop of ice cream at the end!  The beer list is pretty good, I'm assuming at some point they will have their own beer.  The ambiance is nice, a little dark, but not too intimate that I felt bad bringing a child.  The bar area seemed hopping.  I would probably go back for drinks, but if I'm in Ashburn for dinner the much better choice is Ford's Fish Shack. 

We are off on this cold (but at least sunny) day to pick some granite!  Let's hope we find something we will be happy with! 

Happy New Year!

Well, hello friends.  Again it's long time, no see.  I am finding that more and more things that I have enjoyed doing in my "free" time are getting pushed down the priority list to make room for toddler activities- one of those being continuing with the blog.  But more on that later. 

Yes, October-December was super busy with the holidays and all of the preparations, as well as keeping up with our day-to-day activities.  We traveled to Syracuse for Thanksgiving, I ran a 10-miler in VA Beach with my friend Kat from college, we saw many college friends and old co-workers at holiday parties, my parents and sister came up for Christmas for a week, and then Kevin's parents, brother, and his girlfriend came down for several days.  Not to mention hosting some extended family.  And all of the preparations for guests, Christmas shopping, cookie baking, etc.  Phew!  All of this is why I love the Holiday Season though, and New Year's Day is always so anti-climatic when either people are leaving our house or we are coming home.

Unexpected White Christmas!

Everybody's leaving!

CJ's big present this year was a train table.  We were trying to save that for last when opening presents Christmas morning, but he escaped the living room and found it.  Well, needless to say, we opened the rest of his presents for him.  I actually think we all went a little overboard, and am going to try my best to not repeat next year (but the toys are so darn cute!)

CJ also liked the puzzles that he received

Since October, CJ has developed immensely.  He FINALLY started to walk (by himself) right before Thanksgiving.  One night he just let go of our hands and started walking around the house like he was a pro.  And that was it.   Now he rarely holds our hands when we actually want him too!  He also has had a language explosion.  I left CJ's 15 month appointment thinking we may need early intervention if he didn't have 10 words by 18 months- but now he has far surpassed that goal.  In addition to actually knowing many words (and mostly using them correctly) he is just very vocal in general.  You can barely understand a thing CJ says, but he'll just talk and talk and talk.  Sound familiar?  (He has a very talkative Daddy). 

Putting on his "shooos" while he is holding his "cack" that goes "eeoww"

I have not made many resolutions this New Year, but do have some goals in mind (difference?  goals seem more attainable than I WILL lose 20 lbs or whatever your resolution happens to be).  I only have a few.  As always, I am trying to keep up with working out and losing weight.  This year may be the year for pregnancy #2 so I have a few (well, maybe 10) more pounds to lose before I gain it back again.  HA!!  I have started Insanity again so if you hear some yelling coming from the basement of my house at 7AM that would be me.  It's probably the hardest and best workout you can do at home though, and it's what really helped me begin to take off some of that baby-weight last year. 

As I mentioned above, I have let some of my hobbies get pushed down on the priority list in these past months.  CJ and I keep quite busy during the week with two formal playgroups, library storytimes and playgroups, and seeing other friends.  Now we are taking Parent-Toddler swim classes as well once a week.  The only time I really have to myself is naptime in the afternoon (CJ needs to take naps until kindergarten!) and then some evenings.  Most of the naptimes were taken up by holiday stuff, so now I can hopefully devote more time to blogging, organizing pictures and scrapbooking, and of course cooking.  I ended up starting another 365 Project because I found that having one really keeps me motivated to take pictures and experiment.  This time I am uploading them to a website- if you want to follow along check out this link. 

At the library

Finally, each time I post to this blog I am going to post my favorite recipe of the week that I made.  (Yes, one of my goals is to blog at least once a week).  This week, I made recipe that I got out of "Eating Well" Magazine last June to use some of the abundance of cherries that we received from our CSA.  We ended up having to freeze many of those cherries and now I'm finally getting around to using them.  Although when thawed they aren't as pretty as fresh, they still taste fine.  The base is quinoa (lots of protein for a grain!), wild rice, cherries (I used sweet), cheese (I used smoked gouda), pecans, olive oil and vinegar (I used balsalmic).  It's a great light lunch dish! Here is the recipe.  The picture on the Eating Well site is so much better than mine, I really need to start using white plates when taking pictures of my food! 

Have a good week!

What To Do With a One-Year-Old On a Rainy Day

Last Tuesday I woke up hearing rain hitting the roof.  I just wanted to crawl back under the covers, but of course the Little Man does not understand that rainy days = lazy.  So, we had breakfast, I drank a cup of coffee while CJ played in the family room.  We try to get out of the house every morning now that he is only taking the afternoon nap- even if it is just to go to Target to spend the obligatory $100.  However, this morning there were no plans, and no motivation to go anywhere as just getting CJ out of the carseat would have make me soaked.  And it rained like this ALL MORNING.  Well, at around 11 I figured that CJ needed some structured play (and to get out of his PJ's).

I guess his pants are a little too big. 

What to do with a One-Year-Old?  Here's where I actually revisited a pin on Pinterest that had activities for 1-2 Year Olds.  I follow a lot of blogs, many of them parenting (with ideas for kids) but CJ is just too young for most of the activities.  So, Pinterest it is.  I also needed to find something that I had all of the materials for- so I decided on "Sensory Tub with Shredded Paper."  Basically, you fill a bin with paper from the paper shredder and then add a few "surprises" (I put in some cars) and let the kid go to town.   Just a week ago I witnessed CJ be able to entertain himself for at least an hour just playing in sand- same thing, right?

I set the tub in our living room, where there wouldn't be any distractions (he's not into ceramic bowls or expensive coffee table books quite yet) and thought he would dig right in.  Nope.  The stairs were just too close and he hardly ever gets the opportunity to climb them on his own accord!

Then the Little Man decided we were going to play a game where he walks (on his knees of course) around the house in circles while I chase him.

Finally, he thought maybe it would be fun to take out all of the paper and put it back in the bin again.  This occupied him for about 10-15 minutes until it was time to do another circle.  The circles and actual time at the bin took us up to lunch- so success if you ask me!  Here is the website that provided the activity- http://www.icanteachmychild.com/1-2-years/

Fall(?) Beach Vacation

My parents own a condo in Nags Head, NC, which is AWESOME- but with one downside.  We can't use it in the summer so they can rent it out to paying vacationers and not freeloaders like us. ;)  We've taken CJ down there three times now- last September when he was about 3 months old, in April when he was about 10 months, and last week (15 months).  Of course last year the Little Man could have cared less about the beach and I tried my best to make sure absolutely NO sand got on him.  (What can I say, I was a new mom.)   However, it rained the majority of the week we were there so only one or two beach visits.

The next visit, in April, CJ was crawling and at that point it really didn't matter to me how sandy he got.  I was more anxious to see his reaction to a huge sandbox.  Turns out, he thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was a little chilly so he still didn't get too sandy since he wore pants and a jacket.

I was CRAVING the beach this summer but we didn't get to go until this past week.  However, while I could have been sweating under an umbrella in July, I was basking in sunny, mid- 70's temps at the end of September.  It was gorgeous!  Again, CJ entertained himself in the sand, and did even get his feet wet in the ocean one day.  Although still not walking by himself, he got lots of practice holding our hands on the beach.  We made a point to come down almost everyday, usually after his nap so we wouldn't have to deal with getting sand in the pack n play. 

I was so thankful for the great weather.  Last year, the gloomy, rainy days weren't all that bad- CJ was still taking 3 naps so we had to be inside a lot anyway.  This year, we have a one-nap-taking busy toddler who is not appreciated by my parents' cat Phoebe.  In the mornings, we took excursions to Manteo, the aquarium, Duck, or on the semi-chilly days down to the beach so CJ could play (but with enough clothes on so he wouldn't get too much sand on him). 

I also was thankful for Kevin, who stayed back at the condo while CJ napped a few of the days so I could go be my lazy-self at the beach and read/nap.  My parents were awesome as well, keeping CJ entertained for a few minutes on the beach so I could grab a quick snooze.  Kevin and I even had a date night.  It truly was a snap back to reality on Monday as Kev started a new role at work and I went back to my giant To Do List (and 45 degree nights! Brr!).  And don't forget CJ, who again just has to be happy with me and walks down the street listening to birds and airplanes and no ocean.  :)

By the way, for those of you who do travel down to that area, there is a new frozen yogurt place called "Surfin' Spoon" on Beach Road- probably at about MP 10 that is really cute.  Check it out!  http://www.surfinspoon.com/

Hey! Wake up!

This week through our CSA we got TONS of apples.  Aren't they beautiful?  Even though it is still 85-feels like 100-degrees outside I am ready for fall baking and comfort food in general.

Problem is, I have a pair of jeans.  Lucky Brand Jeans.  Pre-pregnancy.  That actually fit me as good as American Eagle Jeans, but none of my students pointed to them saying that they were wearing the same pair.  After being so disciplined with working out and Weightwatchers during the winter and spring I got to the point where I could put these jeans on again and even button them, but they did not look good.  It was okay, though, I had all summer to lose some more weight and probably wouldn't really need pants until late September.  And then we went on vacation at the end of June.  After we returned, the excuses started. 

When I was working, I couldn't go to the gym until after work because the alarm clock already went off at 5 AM.  I used to say after having a hard day and just waving to the gym as I drove straight home that I would be so much more consistent if I could go before work.  Now, "work" does not technically start until 8 AM.  I have plenty of time to work out before the little man wakes up! 

Who wants to run outside when it is already 80 degrees with 100% humidity at 6:30 AM though?  I stayed up late the night before to catch up on Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef and you should really get at least 7 hours of sleep a night to stay healthy ... the excuses go on and on.  I tried a gym class later in the day once, but apparently CJ would rather not play with a bunch of new toys in a new place.  (Read- the warmup during cycling class wasn't even finished but "CJ's Mom" was already called to fetch her screaming baby).  Having fresh produce every week has helped us eat better, but I certainly have not been strict with WeightWatchers after gorging on treats in the Adirondacks. 

So, I have 2 weeks until I am going to the beach, and who knows when I will need jeans.  Time for the excuses to stop.  I WILL start getting up early, maybe even making that 5:30 AM strength training class.  Or at least getting out more consistently for a run or bike ride.  I can't say I won't cook or bake with apples and pumpkins, but I'm going to find healthy recipes and keep the treats at a minimum.  If I write it here, I have to live up to my word, right?

Anyone have some healthy fall recipes they would like to share? 

On a parenting note, does anyone have any suggestions to get past separation anxiety?   CJ would rather have a complete stranger come to our house and watch him than me drop him off at a friend's house.  Don't even think about a non-familiar place, such as a gym nursery that will come get you after 10 minutes of crying.  I think I know the answer- either drop him off somewhere and let some poor soul deal with him for several hours until he can handle the separation, or "this too shall pass."  I'm sure, as with many situations, I will be thinking the latter.  

I know, sometimes I just don't make sense

But since I'm so darn cute, who cares?