Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes

I love this recipe for pumpkin pancakes.  They have lots of whole grain, pumpkin, and raisins to add fiber to the little one's diet.  She will even eat them plain, though she generally requests syrup.  For syrup, I like to simmer some maple syrup, water, and frozen blueberries to make a slightly lower sugar syrup.  These are also delicious with plain maple syrup or just with whipped cream.

1) Whisk 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup oat bran (I find it in the bulk section at Whole Foods), 2 T brown sugar, 1 T sugar, 2 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, and 1/2 t salt until thoroughly combined.

2) Combine a 32 oz can of pumpkin puree, 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t ginger, 1/2 t allspice, 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 T canola oil, 1 T applesauce, and the juice and zest of one lemon.

3)  Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until combined.  Add raisins if you like.

Meal Plan for the week of 2/2/13

I am borrowing a friends cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker, this week so all of my meals are from it.  I love the variety of recipes in the book, so I have already decided to purchase it.

Saturday: Pork roast with apples and sweet potatoes (never got around to making this on Thursday)

Sunday:  Leftovers

Monday:  Moroccan Chicken Thighs from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker

Tuesday:  Leftovers

Wednesday:  Slow cooker turkey meatloaf (using a ground beef meatloaf recipe in Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker)

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  Carrot Soup from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker and boule bread from Artisan Bread

*See this post for more info on the cookbooks I use.

100 Reasons to Love Urban Family Living: #1 The Science Center

Days like today remind me why I love city living.  When it's super cold out, instead of going to our visit the duck pond and playgrounds and fountain at our huge, just blocks away Patterson Park, places like the Maryland Science Center become our playground.  A trip to the Science Center is no big deal when you live downtown, so museum visits become the rule rather than the exception.

And on the way home, through the Harbor Tunnel and then via Keith Avenue to Clinton Street, we get to see the big boats and the sun setting behind Ft. McHenry!  What could be better for a 2 1/2 year old?

Disclaimer:  This post is neither intended to spark suburbs vs. city debate nor offend suburb dwellers.  Rather, it is my way of enjoying the moment and reminding myself of what makes my current situation so terrific!

Soaps & Bon Bons

Here's a little secret stay at home moms do not want you to know: our days are indeed full of bon bons and soaps!

This afternoon, shortly after putting Shelby down for her nap, I responded to her calls of, “Mommy, I'm stuck!” to find her indeed stuck between the easy chair and her dresser. When I entered her room, I quickly realized my afternoon was taking a turn for the worse when I stepped in poop. It's never a good sign when you step in poop in a toddler's room. A quick glance around the room told me all I needed to know: to the right of my foot was the diaper, and all over the carpet were little brown footprints. As I rescued Shelby she proudly exclaimed, “Mommy, I took off my diaper and put on a pull-up.” Yes, you did, Shelby. Yes, you did.

And now for the first round of soaps. The poor girl had poop on both hands and one foot. I quickly put Shelby in the tub and soaped her off.

Soaps round two: after hosing Shelby down, I went down into the basement to get the big carpet shampooer from our days as dog owners. Glad Dave convinced me to hang on to that thing. Of course, this is when Matilda woke up, so I tucked her into the Ergo and got to shampooing carpets...all while Matilda nursed in the Ergo. I was supermom. Meanwhile, I had told Shelby to just hang out by her naked self in the bathroom (which is connected to her room so I could see/hear her all the while).

While I cleaned floors and nursed, Shelby shouted updates of her going-ons: “Mommy, I am peeing on the potty! Mommy, I am wiping myself!” Good things, right? Well, when I finally finished the carpets (after only 33 minutes of soaping), I went into the bathroom and discovered about half a roll of toilet paper in the toilet and Shelby proudly holding one more sheet in her hand and saying, “Mommy, this sheet is for you when you go potty.”

After unclogging that toilet, I decided to sit down and rock fussy little Matilda. Meanwhile, Shelby was running back and forth across our house. And then I hear the telling “Oh no!” coming from the bathroom. “Mommy, I pee-peed on the floor!” More soaps... after all this, I was definitely ready for some bon bons! All I could dig up were some Hershey Kisses, but close enough, right?

Bon bons and soaps. There you have it.

My Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

I'm not sure how moms of two survive without crockpots.  Before Matilda, I could get a dinner together most days, but since Matilda was born I use my slow cooker at least twice a week.  These are a few of my favorite slow cooker recipes:

• Chicken Chili (I make my own ranch seasoning)
• Coq au vin (I would suggest boneless thighs)
• Mac n Cheese (I used 3 cups milk and 1 cup chicken broth)
• Tikka Masala (the suggested cucumber salad went well with it)
• Coconut Chicken Curry
• Honey Garlic Chicken   (it doesn't get easier than this!)
• Whole Chicken (I made a big batch of this spice rub and just keep it on hand for any time I want to just throw a whole chicken in the slow cooker)
• Pork Roast

Organized Play

We've been spending more time at home, especially in the mornings, since Matilda was born, and I find that Shelby can get bored...and boredom leads to mischief and messes.  Using a toddler trays system for offering her a variety of activities has really helped with this.  Here's the idea:

Each tray has a different variety of activities.  The purple tray has a patterning activity, a few noodles that can they be sorted by color using the tweezers, and then the noodles can be made into a patterned necklace.  The blue tray has stamps that spell "Shelby" and are for finishing her Christmas thank you cards.  The green tray has Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and a big white "J" with "J" stickers and stamps for decorating. The blue tray has a xylophone for practicing lowest to highest notes.  Underneath it are different sizes of different colored paper to first sort by size and then sort by color.  There is a numbers tray in the background to rotate in after she finishes one tray.  The numbers tray has a puzzle, a book, and a counting/graphing activity she can do with a stamp marker.  She may choose to do 2 or 3 trays in a given morning, but they well-organized layout seems to pique her interest and help her to select an activity.  It's not forced on her, but it just offers options and helps stave off boredom.

Breaking the Bread Myth

Making bread is really easy with a Kitchen Aid mixer.  You can do it, too!  The hands on time is seriously only 5 to 10 minutes.  I use the recipe for whole wheat bread in the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  Here's an outline of the steps to show how easy it is.  First, I toast the wheat germ by just putting it in a pan over medium heat.  

Next step is to whisk the dry ingredients (wheat germ, bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and yeast) together in the Kitchen Aid bowl and then use the same whisk to whisk the wet ingredients (milk, water, melted butter, and honey) together right in the measuring cup.

 Start the mixer on the "stir" speed and pour the wet ingredients into the dry while the mixer is spinning.  Increase the speed to medium low (I actually just do it on one notch up from "stir") and let the machine knead the bread for 10 minutes.  During this time, you can work on dinner prep, do your dishes, have a cup of coffee and check your email.  

 When the mixer has done it's job, knead the dough by hand for one minute and then shape it into a ball and put it into a bowl that you have sprayed with PAM.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and just let it sit for about 90 minutes.  This is when the dough will do it's first rise.

 Take the dough out of the bowl and press it into a rough rectangular shape on the counter.  This looks more like a circle, but I think it looked more like a rounded rectangle in person.

Roll your dough into a tight cylinder and put it into a bread pan that you have sprayed with PAM.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for another hour and a half.

 Finally, turn on the oven and bake it for about an hour!  Your house will smell wonderful and you will have the best sandwiches and toast!

The Battles We Pick

I struggle every day on the issue of picking my battles and where to draw the line.  Today was a great example of this struggle.  I bought Shelby a Rapunzel nightgown (her first actual nightgown) today at Target (for only $4 -- this is the only reason I bought it).  She couldn't wait to wear it!  Before nap time, we talked about the fact that it was only for sleep times and that sometimes it would need to be washed and that at the end of nap time it would have to come off.  Well, at the end of nap time, she threw a major fit when we took it off.  Normally, I'll let her wear whatever the heck she wants as long as A) it's relatively clean, B) it fits, and C) it's reasonable for whatever activity we are doing.  The only reason I insisted the nightgown be only for sleep is because I knew if she wore it otherwise and ripped it or blemished it  with a bit of cinnamon toast, she'd be distraught.  (Out damned spot!)

For Halloween, Shelby was Cinderella, and all I recalled was how much she loved her Cinderella gown.  She would rub her hands down the skirt, caressing the blue taffetta with her fingers.  She would twirl as she lifted the edges of the skirt.  She would look in the mirror and slide her hands over the velvety bodice of the gown and whisper, "My beautiful dress."   I had forgotten how after several days of wearing the Cinderella gown, we had to surreptitiously ball it into a too high drawer and then suffer through a few days of tantrums over the "lost" gown.  So after her nap today, the same sort of tantrum ensued:  for about 30 minutes around the house, then for the entire car ride to Harris Teeter, and then for the entire grocery shopping outing (I am not lying, she was still crying and trying to throw herself on the floor in the check out line).  So now, we are stuck with this Rapunzel gown and we have two choices:

1)  Purchase a few more gowns so that she will have enough gowns to always wear a gown, day and night.

2)  Hide this gown with the Cinderella gown.

And then it has occurred to me that perhaps I am the problem here.  Perhaps I am stifling Shelby's spirit by not recognizing and validating her personal fashion sense.  Today at Target, for example, I found a perfectly adorable pair of denim overalls embroidered with little flowers.  I held them up and asked, "Do you like these?"

"Yes," she replied.

"So you will actually wear them?"

"No, I wear tutus and dresses."

Case closed.  So in addition to buying the gown, I bought her three sets of leggings with attached tutus and t-shirts.  This afternoon, as she was hugging the Rapunzel gown to her body and I was trying to wrestle it off of her, I pointed out these three new outfits and suggested she pick one.  No, she wanted the gown.  Tonight at dinner, I asked her what she prefers to wear: tutus, dresses, or gowns.  You guessed it, gowns.  Shelby loves gowns.  In fact, we read Cinderella almost every day.  She doesn't think it's a book about girl and a prince.  When she "reads" the book, it is a story about a girl who needs a dress and then the animals fix her mother's dress up and then her stepsisters ruin it so then her fairy godmother makes her a new one.  The prince is just a subplot, and an unimportant one at that.  Maybe I should just buy her a few days' and nights' worth of gowns to wear, knee length gowns day and floor length gowns for night.  Why am I trying to push her into the corner of wearing day time clothes during the day?  So where do we draw the line and what battles do we pick?  Today, I picked the battle of the gown and won, but at what cost?

1/26/13 Meal Plan

This week, I am trying two new slow cooker recipes, chicken stew and pork roast.  Can't wait to see how they turn out!

Saturday: Lentil soup (using the recipe on the bag) and bread from Artisan Bread*

Sunday: Slow cooker whole chicken (I make extra of this spice rub to have on hand for a quick and easy meal), slow cooker mac n cheese (I use 3 cups milk and 1 cup chicken broth and stir every 30 minutes to reduce risk of curdling), and spinach salad

Monday: something made with the leftover chicken, not sure what

Tuesday: crock pot chicken stew with cornmeal dumplings

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Pork roast with apples andsweet potatoes

Friday: quiche (using the recipe in America's Test Kitchen*) and salad

*See this post for more info on the cookbooks I use.

Winter Light

For me, the best days are usually the really fun ones with things like trips to the zoo, concerts and picnics in the park, or visits to museums. But sometimes the best days are the ones full of warm mugs of coffee, jammies, playing dolls and doing puzzles, and never setting foot outside of the house. Today was one of those days. The girls were up from their afternoon naps by 1:30, so my first thought was to gather them up and run an errand to Costco or Trader Joe's. I even put my jeans on. But then I just felt so restrained in my jeans. They just didn't feel good compared to my cozy sweats. And the girls were playing so nicely, Shelby on the floor reading a book to Matilda. And I couldn't get Matilda to nurse and I really hate getting into these situations where I have to nurse somewhere super inconvenient like Trader Joe's. So I put my sweats back on. And decided if the extra long afternoon took a turn for the worse with two sick girls and a sick mom I'd resort to Sesame Street. And I ended up not needing Sesame Street at all.

After a bit of playing and rearranging my bedroom shelves, I decided to do a science experiment with Shelby. I poured a box of baking soda in a container and let Shelby do some finger play. She quickly commented on how the baking soda was like the snow that was falling outside. Then I filled three bowls with vinegar and as I turned to get the paint for coloring the vinegar, Shelby dumped an entire bowl of vinegar into the baking soda. All that fizzing totally wowed her! Luckily I had another box of baking soda to start over with. For the vinegar, I just poured a bit of tempera paint in to color it, and then she used eye droppers to squirt the vinegar into the baking soda and watch it fizz and color it.

After science time, she went outside to play in the snow. See her snow angels? 

Matilda had a ball watching her through the door from her high chair.

After a nice cup of hot cocoa (Shelby's first!, and as she commented, “Just like Charlie and Lola” in Snow is My Favorite and My Best), Shelby played with the lightbox I made for her while I fed Matilda. This lightbox is great because it captivates Matilda as well. It was so easy to make and so worth it since these light tables are so crazy expensive. I just used an IKEA container and first did a coat of spray paint primer and then a coat of metallic silver paint. Inside, I put one battery operated fluorescent light from Walmart. I stole the idea from www.teachpreschool.org. Those are magformers and felt shapes from her felt board on top.

Coming Clean

Let's start with one thing you will not find in this blog:  beautiful photos of my home decorating projects.  Allow me to explain:

Need I say more?  This is how the kitchen looks on a typical day by the end of lunch time and the start of nap time.  And it did begin clean in the morning.  And will I rush down to tidy it the minute I put the girls down for naps?  Heck, no! I'll have a big sigh of relief, check my email, grab a cup of coffee and a sweet treat.  Then, I'll scurry around the house doing things like getting stuff ready for dinner during the 0-20 minutes of free time that I get before either one or two girls is up and screaming for mommy.

What will you find on this blog?  Meal plans and recipes, kids craft ideas, outings, and perhaps general musings.  Maybe even a little mom fashion.  Basically, the things I'm into.

Aquababy Bath Ring

I recently purchased the Aquababy Bath Ring and it has been a lifesaver!  I bathed Shelby in the infant bathtub until she was 2 years old, knees all bent up, but she didn't know any different and didn't mind it.  Initially, I borrowed a friend's Leachco bath ring and that worked okay for Matilda as an itty bitty baby so that I could bathe her in the big tub while Shelby was bathing.  But Matilda is wild in the tub!  I mean, by 2 months she was splashing and arching her back and flailing around -- too wild for the infant tub even!  So for a while I was doing altogether separate bath times.  This Aquababy bath ring has totally streamlined our nightly routine.  Now I can safely bathe both girls together.

The Aquababy can really only be used with babies who are very sturdy sitters, so not until about 7 months in my opinion.  Matilda was an early sitter, sitting independently at 4 months, but she was still too small for the Aquababy to catch her if she toppled and the Aquababy's edges are hard plastic so you wouldn't want a topple to happen in it.  But I think this will work for containing Matilda until she can safely play in the big bath tub without a constant hand on her.  Our bathtub is rather tall, too, so I can't reach the girls if I am kneeling on the floor; I have to sit on the edge of the tub with my feet in the water.  This little seat is totally saving my back because now I don't have to bend over to constantly have a hand on Matilda.

The best thing about this bath ring though is that it allows my girls to enjoy each other during bath time!  They can trade toys and splash and laugh at each other!  It has really transformed bath time into a bonding experience for the girls.  Shelby asks for baths throughout the day and Matilda gets all squirmy excited whenever she hears the word "bath."  This bath ring will probably be my go-to gift for second time moms!

Ride on the Train, the Potty Train!

Reading these posts about potty training from, oh, 11 months ago is cracking me up! What a naïve little lady I was. My friends with more older children were so nice not to laugh at me to my face. Ah, those were the days. Well, here we are, 11 months later, and Shelby still is not 100% potty trained! Surprise, surprise! But we are nearly there (I think? Maybe?). Several times I have thought we were there only to have a regression. Before Matilda was born and even up until a few weeks after she was born, Shelby was nearly potty trained, only to regress fully into diapers. She has been reliably wearing panties accident-free now for a few months. She is not at all potty trained for sleep (and that doesn't concern me in the least) but she is not potty trained for poop (this doesn't concern me either since she saves it for the diaper, but I would like to have her poop in the potty just because I am tired of wasting a diaper for every poop!). She wears a diaper for her nap and bed, and that is when she chooses to poop. So here's what has and has not worked for us thus far in our potty training adventures:

• Pull-ups: FAIL! Okay, not a total fail. We do use Pull-ups for outings with the grandparents and her one morning a week at school, not because she “goes” in the Pull-up, but just to avoid an accident situation with another caregiver. We briefly tried Pull-ups and she just used them as diapers and fully regressed.
• Absorbent panties: PASS! These were great in the early days when she had a hard time anticipating having to go.
• Waterproof covers: PASS! Great in the very early days.
• Non-absorbent panties: PASS! The best way to potty train. She didn't stop having accidents until I put her in plain old panties with no cover. They made the accidents rather inconvenient for her since her legs would get wet.
• Reward charts: FAIL and PASS! These were a total failure until she was a few months past two and then she started to respond to them fairly well. Though if she isn't in the mood for it, she really doesn't care if she doesn't get a sticker or star or whatever.
• Prizes: FAIL! We have a bag full of prizes for pooping on the potty. While she loves the prizes, they don't motivate her.
• M&M's: PASS! We used these initially for peeing. She loved getting an M&M for peeing. Later, we also gave an M&M if her panties were dry and she responded really well to this.
• Potty books: PASS! It's the only way to keep her heiny on the potty. Her doctor suggested we get special books that she can only look at on the potty and then let her keep one when she poops. This has not at all motivated her to poop.
• Timers: PASS! We used a timer and said, “When it beeps, it's time to go potty.” This worked great and was much better than a parental reminder.
• Having a baby: FAIL and PASS! Having a baby initially caused a regression, but a couple of months later, she proudly announced that the diapers were for Matilda and that's when she started wearing panties all day and not having accidents.

Take Two!

So here I am again! It's been a year since I last wrote on this blog. What happened? Third trimester and having a baby. I am finally feeling like maybe – just maybe – I can actually keep up on a blog again. We'll see. Right now, I am the only one who can see this blog (or, rather, the only one who cares to look at this blog), so it's very low pressure, and I kind of like it that way. Looking back at the posts I wrote last year is fun and inspiring. I wish I had kept up at it only to have a journal of sorts to look back on, so perhaps that will motivate me. Fingers crossed!

Potty Training Week 3

Week 3 of potty training is off to a great start! Last week, Shelby only had one accident. She is now wearing regular non-absorbent undies and pants around the house, and while she isn't great about telling me when she needs to go, we go pretty frequently since I am pregnant, and she does a great job of telling me at the last second if she is about to have an accident (legs suddenly crossed and a high-pitched “no,” “pee-pee,” or “potty” accompany the worried look on her face). I know that we will probably have plenty more wet days in our future and I'm not sure when I will be brave enough to put her in just undies (as opposed to the absorbent undies and waterproof trainers she wears out of the house now) for outings, but for now, I'm feeling very optimistic! She still won't poop in the potty and sleeps in diapers, but I'll be happy if she's just in undies for the daytime by the time the new baby is here.

Shelby's New Tude

Recently Shelby has learned some new words that have allowed her to develop a major 'tude: namely, “stop,” “stay,” and “away.” Today at lunch, I picked up a piece of Shelby's sandwich to offer it to her, and she said in an exasperated tone, “Mommy, mommy, mommy. Mommy, stop. Mommy, stop,” as she shoved my hand away. A couple of days ago, I told her it was bath time and as I walked toward the bathroom, she grabbed the back pockets of my jeans doing her best to pull me away from the bathroom, saying, “Daddy, daddy. Mommy, stay. Mommy, stay.” Daddy's baths are a lot more fun than mine and it got me out of bath time, so I didn't mind it in the least! When Dave is home, Shelby only wants her daddy to do the potty with her because he got in the bad habit of showing her an Elmo potty video whenever she pees. So if Dave is home and I even say “potty,” she will push me away and say, “Mommy, away. Daddy, Elmo goes pee-pee.”

What we are eating 2/18/12

Saturday: We were supposed to have dinner with friends, but Shelby has a fever, so now we are in for the evening. Luckily, I never needed to cook the slow roasted beef with all purpose gravy, glazed pearl onions, and roasted red potatoes with rosemary and garlic (Test Kitchen348, 136, 141) that I had planned for last week, so that will be tonight’s dinner.

Sunday: leftovers

Monday: salmon & leek pot pie (Test Kitchen 250), salad

Tuesday: roast lemon chicken, broiled balsamic asparagus, creamy rice casserole (Test Kitchen 318, 121, 154)

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: seafood bisque, salad, crusty bread from Artisan Bread(another meal we never did from last week)

Friday: take out

Saturday: dinner out for our anniversary

Lunches: French onion soup and chicken salad (if I get around to making broth, I’ll use the chicken from that), grilled cheese & tomato soup, something TBD with ground turkey

Potty Training Week 2

We are midway through week two of potty training, and things are getting easier! We have had two no-accidents at home days (accidents still happen out and about though)! We spent a day of going commando (her, not me) around the house and this seemed to help Shelby to become better at “catching” herself in an accident or telling me when she needs to pee. I still put her on the potty every time I need to go and then also try to get her on it every 45 minutes or so. Today we started wearing undies with no absorbency around the house and so far Shelby hasn't had any accidents! She still doesn't like pooping in the potty, so she is holding her poop until diaper time (at naps and bedtime) which is fine by me. Since she is still a very frequent pooper, I am glad she is learning to hold it and do it at specific times of the day. It is also getting easier to travel with a potty training toddler. I initially found all of the extra luggage (the travel potty, which I do find necessary since she is still pretty small; the change of clothes; the extra undies and extra diapers and wipes since I am never certain what I will need) to be overwhelming and had trouble adjusting to the extra time I need for any given errand (need potty time before leaving the house, immediately upon arrival, frequently while we are out, and again before we leave, in addition to the fact that she needs to be undressed and then clothed again from the bottom down every time she uses the potty).

I am really happy with the Gerber undies/Bummis Whisper Pants combo. I don't really care for the Kisaluvs because I find the side snaps to make it too similar to a diaper and too difficult to pull up and down like undies. But on the other hand, I like that I can stuff the Kisaluvs to make them more absorbent. I like the Blueberrys and am considering purchasing a couple more, but am not sure if I really need them in addition to the cheaper Gerber/Bummis combo. The other benefit of the Gerbers is that I can continue to use them when Shelby no longer needs the cover but isn't quite ready to wear undies with no absorbency.

Ice Cube Paints

What an easy craft this was: ice cube trays, water, food coloring and popsicle sticks. Conveniently, this box from Old Navy just happened to arrive that day. I wonder what they will think when I ship my returns back in this box.

Look at our own like Michelangelo painting her little Sistine Chapel!

Potty Training Take 2

After a few days of going back to diapers, Shelby awoke from her nap on Sunday and asked to use the potty. She had a terrific afternoon! Every hour or so I set Shelby on the potty and she peed in it. And between potty visits, she kept her undies dry! Since then, we have had undies days and diapers days, and I generally let her choose because she almost always chooses undies. Even our undies days are mostly wet, but she is still peeing in the potty frequently so I'm letting her set the rules for the most part.

We are using the Gerber padded underwear (not waterproof – I bought these and they were huge and noisy!) and Bummis Whisper Pants. We also have a pair of Kisaluvs pocket trainers and Blueberry trainers. I've been using these for outings.