New Year, New Resolutions.....some of the same too

Happy 2019!! I hope you celebrated well with family and friends last night (maybe into this morning if you happen to not care for small children?!?), we were lucky to be invited to a party at a friend's home - all 3 of us were invited! Needless to say, we had to leave the party by 8:15 since Lulu (at full volume) was shouting "go" "out" "house", never all 3 together - but it was pretty easy to piece together the fact that she was done done done with the party & wanted to go home! She was a good sport and made it well past her bedtime, I was grateful for time with my family, my wonderful friend & some delightful new faces.

Updates on last year's resolutions:

1. So this time (ish) last year, I resolved to blog weekly - to write a Friday Round Up/Friday Recap each week to ensure I didn't let this blog lay untouched for too long.

I am happy to report I blogged more than my resolved 52 times (not much more......58 times if I counted correctly) which means this resolution sticks around for 2018.

2. My other resolution in 2018 was to always have homemade cookie dough in the freezer. Seems so random, I'm sure. But this resolution was born out of the fact that I live to take care of other people. It is a defining part of who I am. I love for those around me to feel cared about & cared for - and what better way to communicate those sentiments than through a homemade treat? Reality bite though, right? We don't always have the time/space to make treats from scratch. My trick is to do most of the work when you do have the time, perhaps you quadruple a recipe for peanut butter cookie dough, making your mixer work overtime!

I am a big fan of  the saying"don't let perfect be the enemy of good" and to that end - I will keep this cookie dough resolution for 2019 despite the fact that some weeks did go by when the freezer only held frozen peas & the delicious garlic naan from Trader Joe's. I am updating this resolution to include keeping homemade dry mixes in the pantry; I made a few jars of pumpkin muffin mix from this Smitten Kitchen recipe before Christmas and was quite pleased with them. Not only do I love the way the ingredients look all stacked in the jar, but it was so much easier to make the muffins when I had the dry ingredients pre-measured. 

New resolutions for 2019:

1. Read at least 12 books this year. 

I'm quite certain that I do this anyway - but I want to be sure to do so! 

So far, I know I will read these 3:

1. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott (recommended by my mom's group friend Jay)

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (my Mom's choice for our January meeting of Mother/Daughter Book Club)

3. For the Love by Jen Hatmaker (recommended by my mom's group friend Katie)

2. Manage my phone use.  

I made a place in our kitchen for my phone to "live" for Lent last year. It was a helpful reminder to keep my usage in check. Though, as with so many Lenten promises- my curtailing my screen time didn't last past Easter! I'm eager to restart my efforts - mostly because I use my phone as a crutch - to guard against being bored, even for a second. If I am bored/restless/anxious - I can click through social media to distract myself. I dont' think it serves me well. Given how loudly the Bug shouts "no" when I'm looking at my phone when she wants me to look at her - I think Lulu would agree :) 

3. Run Streak
I'm going on a run streak. I will see how many days in a row I can run at least one mile. Doesn't matter if it is outside or on the treadmill, but I am 2 days in & looking forward to more runs in my future!

I would love to know if you are resolving anything for 2019! Please leave your resolutions (or your reasons for not doing New Years resolutions) in the comments. I find it so interesting to know what people resolve & why.

TGIFriday Recap 11/30/18 - Christmas Trees, Cousin Love, Going Away, Toy Guide, 1st Real Snow, Cooking, Re-reading a Beloved Book

As much as I love Thanksgiving - I do love the time between Thanksgiving & Christmas!! Its such a blast to prepare for Christmas; decorate, bake, plan parties, think of great gifts & get them wrapped, be cozy by the fire with family & friends, really just all the things! So here goes - the start of the Christmas-y awesomeness

1. Christmas Trees

We had the chance to cut down a Christmas tree for Chris' parents last Friday! Rather than shop til we dropped, we hopped on a hayride with the kiddos & picked out the perfect evergreen to grace the living room!

It wouldn't be a seasonal outing without a fire & roasting marshmallows! Since we have visited this farm before - we anticipated the marshmallows & brought our own chocolates & graham crackers for legit s'mores!

We couldn't very well cut down a tree for the Kramers & then leave it naked! We helped decorate it with our niece Samantha on Saturday night before we flew home.

Once we made it home from the Kramer family Thanksgiving festivities - we had a chance to set up one of our Christmas trees! Despite the insanity of a 5:30am flight out of Philly (& the 6:20am arrival into Midway) we had a full, fun day at home! Lulu cat napped on the plane, we had delicious breakfast at my parents, played a new card game & then headed for home to officially bring Christmas out of storage and into the house!

We may not have hung any ornaments on the trees yet.....but all in due time!

We will (hopefully) cut down a real tree this weekend - it might rain - which would put a literal damper on the idea....

2. Cousin Love

Lulu doesn't get to see her Kramer cousins all that often - what a treat to be with them over Thanksgiving!

3. Going Away Playdate
I don't like the idea of the moving away- I positively detest when people I adore leave this area for all the reasons people move :( But, it was such fun to play with Cait & Alex before they (along with hubby/dad Adam) move to Boston today. Cait is in the mom's group I started & has been such a fun presence in our lives. She is an enthusiastic participant in all things mom related and I love that about her. I knew all along that her time in Evanston might be short - her husband was doing post doctoral/doctorate?!? work at Northwestern & the inevitability of a "real" job was there from the get go. I had my fingers crossed that the job would be local. Alas & alack, the dream job appeared in Boston - so off they go - flying to their new home today. We were lucky to have such a kind hearted friend here for as long as we did & she will be missed dearly.

4. Toy Guide
I really enjoy listening to the Simple Families Podcast and following along with the Facebook page of the same name. The woman behind the blog was in the Social Work program with me at Miami, which is delightful! She curates a minimalist's guide to holiday toy buying which I so appreciate! We have already purchased Lulu's gifts for the year - but if we hadn't - we would certainly  be checking out some of the offerings she suggests! I share it thinking that others may need gift ideas for your own kiddos, nieces/nephews, grandkids, etc.

5. The 1st "Real" Snow

I do truly love snow. I especially love the first snow - it fills me with such complete happiness. I love the way the snow blankets everything & dampens all the sounds.

I love the way it softens the shapes of the world so everything takes on a marshmallow quality. I love the way it forces us all to slow our rolls - you can't be in a rush on snow & ice; you'll slip & fall, crash your car, etc. The forced slowness allows me to really appreciate all the beauty that snow brings.

Winter Storm "Bruce" brought over a foot of snow to some areas near us. We got a few inches (I'm always happy for more snow - but it was great to have enough to cover the grass & trees). Happily we got to walk Chris to the train in the snow & also go sledding with friends in it!

6. Cooking - For a Crowd

I love the way that winter inspires me to cook giant batches of pretty much everything. I love having enough food to share with family, friends, neighbors. It is such a treat to make something delicious & not only enjoy it at home, but spread that enjoyment around!

This week saw a good bit of bread baking, a double batch of Sweet Potato, Kale & Chick Pea Stew, a quadruple batch of Peanut Butter cookie dough, a double batch of homemade Chex Mix, a double batch of Apple Jack Stew & phew, a double batch of Coconut Veggie Curry. Winning. Winning at winter cooking!

7. Re-reading a great book

This Christmas/holiday season I'm working hard to slow down & actually  enjoy the season rather than rush rush rush around so much & so fast that I miss all the goodness of it. In that spirit I am re-reading the book Slowing Time by one of my favorite writers, Barbara Mahany. 

She is an incredible writer who brings such a calming presence into my days. I love reading her blog as well - it is worth checking out her writing if you have time. Well, honestly, it is worth making the time to check out her writing - I can't imagine that you'll regret it.

Friday Recap 11/16/18 - Girls trip to Vermont, Pork Shoulder with Plums, Lulu's new hat, Zoo visit, "Why You Should Stop Yelling at Your Kids"

Yay! I'm back to being "on time" with my Friday posts! Only one week got lost in the Ireland travel shuffle - not too bad! What a wonderfully fun week its been!

1. Girls Trip to Vermont (& New Hampshire)

My sister & I gave our Mom a trip to visit the King Arthur Flour baking school for Mother's Day this year! My Dad covered her airfare & we did our best to cover everything else! I hadn't been in Vermont (or New Hampshire) since my big brother was college searching.......so its safe to say this felt like a new place for me.

The trip was great - so nice for Marg, Mom & I just to worry about ourselves & grown up things & not have any dishes, laundry or dirty diapers to contend with! The travel all went smoothly which is something that I can forget to be grateful for; because we all bitch if we have flight delays or cancellations or lost bags. I am trying to remember to be pleased when all goes as it should! This was my first flight without the Bug since she was born almost 19 months ago & I remember now why flights used to feel relaxing! I put on the noise cancelling headphones, worked on this blog, flipped through a magazine, it was delightful!

Our home away from home

We stayed in a cabin on Fat Sheep Farm, it was so funky & cute. We were greeted with eggs from their chickens & pumpkin chocolate chip scones which one of the hosts had baked. Yum.

The natural beauty was striking - the hills/mountains, a bit of fall color hanging around on the trees, old barns everywhere, stone walls, Vermont delivered on it all.

We had so much fun at the King Arthur Flour Headquarters - there is a delicious cafe, a gigantic store plus the baking school. We ate breakfast there both mornings & I think we all wished we could eat there much more frequently!!

This was our "first course" at breakfast......we also each ordered amazing breakfast sandwiches!

Our Airbnb hosts suggested we try Mangalitsa for dinner - we were only able to get a reservation at 5:30pm......which is 4:30pm for my Mom  & my body clocks! It was worth eating dinner in the afternoon - such a great menu- full of unexpected twists. Bonus - a lot of the produce we ate in our meals was grown on the farm where we stayed!

The Brussel Sprouts were to die for. We all could've eat a boatload of them! Lobster Ravioli was also top notch!!

We shopped to our hearts' content & surprisingly none of our credit cards caught fire ;) We poked around the towns of Windsor, Quechee, & Woodstock, VT plus Hanover, NH. I got a jump start on Christmas shopping  - it snowed lightly on & off Saturday - it was windy & cold - it felt Christmas-y!

We enrolled in Savory French Tarts for our baking class on Sunday. We had a great instructor, the facility was AMAZING and we all learned something new. We also left with 6 full size tarts.....I flew out pretty much straight after the class was over........so Marg & Mom drove back to Connecticut with a car full of delicious!!

Marg & I ran both mornings - Saturday was cold & rainy, but Sunday was clear & we were treated to a beautiful sunrise! So many hills though. So.Many.Hills. My Midwestern legs & lungs were majorly burning!!

We hope to make this a new tradition - it was a wonderful trip to be sure.

2. New Recipe - Pork Shoulder with Plums
Chris & I have been working on eating less meat at home for environmental & economic reasons. Though when the weather turns cold - there is something about having a stash of pork shoulder in the freezer that is quite comforting!!
I found this recipe online - randomly from the BBC!! I also happened to have just purchased a huge box of plums at Costco, so it made good sense to try it.
We ate this over Trader Joe's frozen brown rice (obviously I cooked it!) with a salad & it was a great winter meal!


3. This hat on the Bug

4. Zoo Visit

So many animals were out & about. Verrrrrrrrrrrry few humans. A nice, quiet morning spent with the Bug.

5. Why You Should Stop Yelling at Your Kids
I try not to raise my voice with Lulu - it seems counter productive. I don't like parenting from an angry place - mostly because I try not to live in an angry place!! I found this article to be thoughtful & give concrete ideas for what I might do in place of yelling. I need the alternatives too!

Friday Recap 7/20/18 - Empty beach, milkweed in bloom, strawberry tantrums, Pearce's corn, help from our neighbor

Yahoo for a Friday that initially was forecasted to be rainy all day...........and didn't get rainy until after 3pm! Made for a perfect beach day!

1. Empty Beach

You can see our bike trailer on the boardwalk.....and a lifeguard by the water. No one else!!

See above re: horrible forecast to understand why literally no one else was at the beach today! Admittedly when the Bug & I arrived it was drizzling a bit, but we were planning to swim - so who cares?!? Our friend drove in from the far western burbs with her 3 kiddos and we had an absolute blast. The only bummer? I didn't take near enough photos! 

3 of the 4 kiddos rocking out

Lulu was headed out a bit prematurely :)

We had pizza delivered, played in the water, on the sand & on the playground - did it all really! Made it home safely well before the rain started too!

Literally no one else in sight! Amazing!

2. Milkweed in bloom

We bought this swamp milkweed plant at a native plant sale hosted by the Evanston Garden Club 2 years ago. It is so pretty in bloom! Theoretically it would be a nice place for monarch butterflies to lay eggs, but so far we haven't seen any caterpillars :( It is currently infested with aphids - I'm working on an aggressive removal campaign......more on that next week!

3. Strawberry tantrum
So Lulu loves our strawberry plant. She loves eating the strawberries straight from teh plant. She does NOT love waiting for the fruit to mature and ripen on the plant. 

Just did the sign for "please" - strawberry plant is out of the frame on the left

She uses the baby sign for "please" and stands by the pot and it makes me realize I have no idea how to teach patience to my little bug. I say a lot of "they're not ready yet", "they'll be ready soon", "growing strawberries takes a long time" but she has no idea what time is yet!! So I just go into the house to get some out of the fridge to appeal to her desire for instant gratification. See below for how that tends to go over. Spoiler alert, not well.

Trying to appease her with a store bought strawberry. Going really well as you can see.

4. Iced Coffee

Coffee+almond milk+a teaspoon of simple syrup = heaven

Because summer.

5. Lulu's first ears of Pearce's corn

Pictured with my sweet niece, Anne, who is a little horrified by how Lulu eats :)

Holy moly Lulu loves corn on the cob! Like a lot. A lot A LOT. So much so that her first dive into Pearce's corn turned into 1.5 ears........because she ate most of mine too!! 

We've been going to Pearce's for as long as I can remember & it is really fun to pass their deliciousness on to the Bug. They have grown and expanded so much in the past decade - we love them all the more :) The thought of Fall at Pearce's makes me so excited.......Lulu will be big enough to play on the fort/climbing structure they construct out of hay bales, there is kettle corn, pumpkins as far as the eye can see, and delicious donuts. For now I will settle for the delightful produce they grow on their land & that that they buy from other farms. It is after all the best time for produce, right??

My mom & dad brought it down so we technically ate it in IL, but the WI flavor was there :)

6. Help from a neighbor/friend
I've blogged many times about how much I love our neighborhood. It is a supportive place, safe, friendly, welcoming. Well, it is full of amazing people - that is really the best part about our neighborhood! So when I went to take HondaPants to the shop on Tuesday and she was dead as a door nail I knew why. Rewind to Saturday, I got home from a solo Costco run & started unloading a ridiculous amount of food into the house. A month or so ago, our 14 year old HondaPants lost her first important function as a car......the "ding ding ding" that alerts you to your headlights being left on when you take the keys out of the ignition stopped "ding ding dinging". Which probably wouldn't have been a big deal a year ago. But my brain is packed with a lot more than it used to be & for the 2nd time in ONE WEEK I left my lights on. A couple hours later our neighbor a few doors down, Jack, knocked on the door to ask me if I knew my lights were on- which of course I didn't know. I was in the middle of something, so I didn't even bother to see if the car would start. I guess I didn't need to use it until Tuesday when our mechanic told me I could bring it in..........oops. Long story all to say I texted both of our next door neighbors & they both responded right away that yes they have jumper cables & yes they have a car with which to jump HondaPants. The 2 non neighbor friends that I texted responded the same way :) 

Blueberry goo explosion!

I sometimes struggle with keeping all the balls in the air. After all, adulting is hard, there is no way around that. I am actively working on being kinder to myself in those moments of difficulty - there is really no value in beating myself up over mistakes I make - I need to work on fixing them, not ruminating in the mess I made. Kristin Neff's book Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself came highly recommended to me and I started reading it this week. It seems like a valuable read for me so far :) Part of fixing my mistake was thanking my neighbor for her help........with food, duh! So I used some of my remaining 10 pound box of blueberries and made blueberry scones. Yum. 

7. Salad Spinning Bug

I dream of the days when Lulu has the interest and capacity to help me in the kitchen. I so hope she is interested in food & cooking because some of my fondest memories throughout my life really are working in the kitchen with my mom. We made a lot of chocolate chip cookies when I was little, so much so that I had the recipe memorized as a munchkin! Lulu was so interested in the salad spinner this week, so I let her work with it (while sketchily standing up in her chair that attaches to the counter.....see above re: adulting being hard! I can't win them all). It made me abundantly happy to see her take interest in a kitchen task. Plus she's just so damn cute. Added bonus!

8. Why the delay?
So my Friday recap is coming on Saturday morning. Why? Because on the way home from a local playground last night (where I met a delightful new mom friend!) Owenn stopped to play with his dog neighbor Bear. Our human neighbors kindly invited us to come over for a glass of wine! They've been hosting Friday night porch nights for years & years. Far longer than we have been in the neighborhood. Rare are the Fridays that we can stop over, but I am mindful of the fact that an invitation that is never accepted will, in all likelihood, stop being extended! We adore these neighbors & were thankful for the chance to have a delicious glass of wine and visit. But when we got home, put the Bug to bed, ate PB&J on the couch for dinner, I was zonked and not in a place to finish this post! So, I'm late is posting for a great reason - was hanging with some neighbors who we are so lucky to have.

Friday Recap 6/15/18 - Curry Chicken Salad, Parenting read, Pool time

Despite some of this week being cool, gray & foggy - I think summertime is here! I've had some late night/early morning time to do some thinking & reading about parenting this week, so that is a bit of a theme today!

1. "Be Careful"

Even before I came across this blog post, I realized I dislike the phrase "be careful" in parenting. It strikes me as too vague to be helpful & in constant use anyway. My hope for the Bug is to give her the space & skills so she can be smart, brave, good....which all lead to knowing her limits, stretching them and keeping herself safe while also leaving a lot of room for growth. This post made me do some more thinking about this and it made me realize how much I had already thought about it! I appreciate the writer's referencing research- not that others' opinions are valuable - but because it lends credibility to what feels right to me :)

2. Curry Chicken Salad

When we were visiting Marg & her family in CT, we bought adult snacks at the organic market near her house to take to the pool for a picnic lunch. Including in the delicious assortment was curry chicken salad. Lulu might have eaten a full 50% of the container! She's been excited about curry before - but this took it to a whole new level! It took me a bit of time, but I finally made her some yesterday. I used Ina Garten/The Barefoot Contessa's recipe which I made easier by using Costco rotisserie chicken (if you don't already buy Costco rotissserie chicken, you can do yourself a favor and start now. They cost $5 and someone else has seasoned & cooked it for you.....they are so damn easy. So damn tasty. Win win.) The only oddball ingredient that you likely don't have in your pantry is mango chutney - but she recommends a brand which I was easily able to add to this week's Instacart delivery (if you don't already use a grocery delivery service.......you can do yourself another favor & try one out! I've only used Instacart & Amazon Fresh, but the joy of not spending an hour plus of my summer days in a grocery store is worth every penny of added expense. In this case specifically - not having to wander the jam aisle, the international aisle, the "where the fuck is the mango chutney" aisle, and then wander even more trying to find a staff member to ask, all with the low grade stress of feeling like I'm missing out on minutes of backyard playtime, bike riding, dog walking........you can't put a price on that.)

3. Pool time

The cool May weather made for cold lake water at my parents' summer home....so my sister & I joined a local hotel's pool - since they have indoor & outdoor - it is a great sunny or rainy day activity! It is so fun to see the girls enjoy the water together - a lot of cousin love happening so far this summer!!

I'm so late on this post (given that it is now midday Tuesday...........) I'm going to leave it at 3! Hope you are all having a great week so far - stay dry if you are local!