Summer Accomplishments, or How I got Nothing Done and Had A Great Time Doing It

I have to be honest, I had an action-packed summer planned, full of pinterest-worthy activities and educational opportunities and tons of other stuff, but it just didn't turn out that way. Life had other plans for me. As of the last week of June, here's what I had planned:

• A Space Camp week, complete with age-appropriate, hands-on activities, adorable snacks (think rocket-shaped fruit pops), and crafts that would make all 3 kids consider becoming astronauts. To be capped off with a trip to liberty science center. (I dedicated a whole entire pinterest board to this, I was so serious)
• Swim lessons every day
• Twice weekly family hikes during which I could teach the kiddies about hiking, orienteering, nature and whatnot
• Trips to local historical points of interest. There are a ton around here.
• Enroll Cua in 3-year-old preschool.
• Summer Reading Program at the Library.
• Sign boys up for soccer.

But guess what we actually did? Well, here's some of it:

• Finished potty training Cua. Finally!
• Went to swim...sometimes. It didn't work out like I had planned. We had some issues that led to me reconsidering preschool for Cua and maybe life in general. He was just not having it, even though Stenni was amazing and a great role model. I'm starting to think that he's just not ready for organized activities, and that's ok. He's got time. But we had fun at the lake anyway.
• Hiked occasionally with no specific itinerary or goal in mind. This was relaxing, and much better than I could have planned. I think the kids got a lot from it. Maybe.
• I won a blue ribbon for these cookies from the state fair (I posted this recipe years ago!). We went to the fair a lot and learned a ton about livestock and agriculture. It was helpful, but hasn't prepared us for all of our chicken-related challenges (see below).
• Lost a few birds to a wild animal of some kind, one outside and one in the coop, within about 12 hours of one another. I'm still not sure what kind of animal did the damage, but I'm guessing it was a fox. But one of the birds was Lemonade, our favorite, who we had raised from about a week old. Some of us are still grieving, hard, and some of us learned a little something about how to shore up a chicken coop a little more thoroughly. Ah, farm life.  
• We actually all did summer reading at the library, and it was amazing! I even joined in this year and read grown-up books. 4 of them!
• Froz started walking! A little late (as in, we already went to the dr, who told us there was nothing wrong, but still started asking around for specialists because he was almost 18 months old late. Dr said he was basically just lazy and big bro and sis did everything for him so he didn't really have to walk), but better than never. We went to the park and played outside a lot to encourage walking and running around.
• I DID NOT sign the boys up for soccer. Maybe I never will. I get the team sports thing, but do the parents really have to suffer? Plus between Cua's absolute refusal to deal with organized activities and the fact that Froz just started walking, I think we'll give it another year (at least).
• Spent a ton of downtime, as I struggled with morning sickness and general exhaustion. Yes, BABY #4 IS ON THE WAY, and I'm more than halfway there at this point. I've used this as an excuse to not get any of my original summer to-do list done.

But now Stenni is back in school, Girl Scouts starts soon, dance starts next week, and everything is getting crazy again. I know that we will eventually fall back into that rhythm for a while, just to be thrown off by Christmas and then a new baby. But it is what it is. I've gotten better at taking things as they come because my plans got torpedoed this summer almost as soon as I made them. I think it worked out better that way.

Dear Winter: I Hate You.

pic courtesy of bigfoto.com

I know that in the winter, I don't shut up about my seasonal affective disorder, or how much I just hate winter in general. Here in the northeast, it just seems to drag on forever (although I feel like the fleeting beauty of fall almost makes up for it, almost), and this past week or so has been the worst of the worst. There have been snow storms, ice storms, migraines, and (GAH) the super bowl to contend with. Gross. On top of that, Hubs has put in about 40 hours of OVERTIME in the past week or so which means, you guessed it, that I have here at home too. Being stuck in the house is no picnic, but board games and crafts (and Netflix) have made it ok, as well as knowing that even though it feels that way, this will not last forever! Also with Valentine's Day around the corner it is helping me to have something to focus on in the short-term. The days are only getting longer from here on out!
If you, like me, need a lift this winter, here are a few links to help you out:

•  Over at Modern Mrs. Darcy, Anne blogs about the things that are saving her life right now (she is dealing with some seasonal bummer-tude too). For me? It is between spending the remainders of my Christmas Starbucks giftcards so I have a reason to leave the house, you know, besides grocery shopping and preschool drop-offs, and the coveted "Mom Time" when I get the house to myself for a few hours and turn my brain off. Oh, and doing bootleg Leslie Sansone walking videos from youtube in my living room *if* the kids decide to nap during the day. She's a guilty pleasure, and I know I can't really count it as a workout, but I love it. So what is saving you right now? It's a hell of a question to ponder.
• Be glad you don't live near me. A town nearby is considering outlawing sledding. You heard that right. I don't really sled (part of the whole "avoiding the outdoors in winter" thing) but when I take the kids to the field by the legion to drag them around for a few minutes, I can't imagine being given a ticket for it! Instead, focus on the million reasons why you should never come to New Jersey (all sarcasm. It's gorgeous here, despite my seasonal hatred for everything).
• Boardwalk Cats. Atlantic City has taken quite a beating lately with all of the casinos closing and the economy kind of tanking and though I would once have wandered around that town for days, now I wouldn't leave the relative safety of the boardwalk, because that's how bad it's getting down there. But you don't have to leave the boardwalk to make friends with these adorable felines, who live under the boards and are part of a trap-spay/neuter-return program there. I have personally befriended many a boardwalk cat and also considered taking them home in my purse but you know what's worse than driving 4 hours home with a feral cat in your car? Winter, but not much else.
• The Walking Dead comes back this Sunday, so there's that to look forward to. Here's a link to the first two minutes of the mid-season premiere, courtesy of AMC. Poor Maggie. But Beth was not making for terribly riveting television. Now we know that they're heading somewhere outside Richmond, though, at least in theory.

Chew on that for a while. I'll be jacking up the heat and dreaming of Wildwood in the summer!

Beating the Winter Doldrums...Maybe?

In the winter, I try to do a lot to keep myself busy but really end up doing very little. Last weekend, the hubs and I made a gallery wall in our red room (which is not red, nor had it been for at least 4 years or so, but old habits die hard), and it came out alright despite me kind of flying by the seat of my pants and not making a plan at all. Well, that's not entirely true. My plan was to take pictures I had laying around and put them on the wall. So, success.

Also since the house is still up for sale, there's a ton cleaning and upkeep, besides just picking up the same toys for the 67th time in a day. But I'm trying to keep busy in other, more personally satisfying ways too. Here are a few:
Today is library day at our house, so I'm starting the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2025 Reading Challenge, and I encourage you to check it out as well. It's only 12 books total for the year. Totally do-able, right? There are 12 categories, and you just pick a book from each and read it. You don't have to do it in any order, and there's no book club, and no pressure. I'm psyched about the "Book by a Favorite Author" and "Book You Should Have Read in High School" categories, and not so much for the "Book Your Mom Loves" one...yeah, we have markedly different tastes, and our interests really no not intersect at all. Any time either of us has recommended a book to the other, we've both kind of regretted it. That said, January is almost done, so I'm a bit behind and I'm excited to go to the library and get started!
I'm also participating in Sarah Mae's 31 Days to Clean, cuz to be honest? The abode could use a little boost this time of year, and so could my spirits. It always helps me when I can look around and not feel like I'm living in the basement of a junk store. So I'm following her steps and hoping that at the end, I have a more comfortable space for everyone. Yesterday I started in the kitchen and today? I need to clean the fridge and the microwave. Just to let you know an embarrassing truth about myself: I store all kinds of crap in my microwave. We so rarely use it to just nuke anything, but I am forever putting open bags of popcorn and other junk in it. See?

Right now there's a bunch of leftover candy canes and Christmas stocking candy in a Halloween candy bin, because obviously that's how I do. Oh, and hot sauce popcorn. And a tin full of Hershey kisses, and about a thousand ring pops (why are ring pops so popular for little kids at Christmas? They drive me nuts). I'm embarrassed, but I'm so much more embarrassed of what the inside of my fridge looks like that I'm not even going to show it to you. It's that bad. I've got my work cut out for me!
Also, I'm trying to get out and walk or run a little more every day. Has it been working? NO. But do I feel better when I do it? Oh hell yes.
What do you do when it feels like winter is never going to end (and you're not even halfway through)? Help a sister out!

Life: An Adventurous Few Months

Hi all! Bet you didn't think I'd be back, like, ever. It's been a crazy few months. I know that having a new baby is a big adjustment, but I was not expecting this caliber of crazy. Stenni was a terrible eater but a great sleeper. Cuatro? A great eater (well, sometimes too good...I can't possibly nurse him enough), and probably because he's such a good eater and wants at it round the clock, not such a wonderful sleeper. So our household, which was used to a bare minimum of a solid 8 hours of lights-out, lock-down, quiet time awesome sleep, has really taken a hit, this mama especially. I feel like my immune system's really taken a hit by the lack of sleep and the total lack of sunshine, and I've been sick off and on since the end of November, which kind of sucks when you're already a little beat as it is. We've gotten a ton of snow this year (y'know, being in the northeast and all) and winter feels never-ending, and there's really nowhere to get out and exercise, which is kind of another bummer especially in regards to the rapidly-approaching half-marathon I had planned to run at the end of April. All of these things are kind of tricky, but right now it feels like there is enough sweetness in my house to last me right through til all of this ridiculous snow melts and the sun comes back again (which I suspect will be some time around June).
I will be back very soon with the most delicious tea bread recipe that I've ever tasted, some fitness goals and updates, and a post about doing things that scare you, just because you can ( hint/teaser: I'm doing one of them tomorrow and I'm terrified/super-psyched).

Kiddos, cuddling. Is there anything sweeter than siblings who still get along?

What Life Looks Like These Days

It looks a lot like this, actually:

And sometimes like this:

(Obligatory shot to show you the size of Cuatro to scale using Deandra as a benchmark.)

(This is only maybe 6 hours before Stenni's little brother was born. So we let her wear Papa's hat and shirt. I have to get used to the fact that this is what life used to look like)

This is soooo very different from how it was only two weeks ago. Our routine can hardly be called a routine at all. We eat when we can (thankfully we had a lot of stuff made ahead of time, and a lot of people brought food when they came to visit!), sleep when we can, and the rest? We just make it up as we go along. We try to still get Stenni to school on school days, and the Hubs makes sure to get out of the house to teach his guitar lessons, but other than that we haven't really kept track of the days. We are lucky enough that Hubs is taking off most of November from his "day job" to help us recalibrate our family life, and help me to get used to the flow of things as they are now. I couldn't do any of this without him, and having so much family time, especially around the holidays, makes this transitional period that much sweeter. So yes, that second picture down is us standing in front of our already-decorated Christmas tree. Yes, our Christmas lights are up and the garland is hung on the mantel and I love it. We've been doing silly stuff like going out looking for mistletoe as a family (we've been to 3 stores and haven't found any yet but will keep looking!) and having jello picnics and reading and cuddling together. I'm lucky that our little Cuatro is a very good eater and a great little sleeper, so with the help of the Hubs, I'm almost functioning like a normal human being again. Also, it's gotten really cold around here and I don't want to go outside, so I'm getting more cuddle time with everyone in the house, which is a total blessing. I'm feeling very loved these days, and it's wonderful.

My sister Shlee will be all up on this blog, updating for me at some point in the near future while I continue to cuddle and snuggle and nap and change a thousand diapers a day (I seriously forgot how many diapers little newborn babies go through, but it's a ton). Thanks Shlee! See everyone soon!

Easy crock pot applesauce

Yesterday, Stenni and I made some awesome crockpot applesauce with the remaining apples from our family apple-picking excursion on October 9th (which was also, incidentally, my 9th wedding anniversary. Woohoo!). We did polish off all of the apples, but don't worry: I went up to NY state and bought another 1/2 bushel today! So, more applesauce making is on the horizon for us. Anyway, I didn't know crockpot applesauce would be so easy. I usually make regular applesauce but then have to be home all day, stirring and watching and making sure I don't burn my house down. This stuff? I plopped the apples and accoutrements in the crockpot, turned it on and then stirred it like, 3 times (when I remembered). Awesome. Anyways, wanna make some? Of course you do! So here's how:

Get a fairy/farmhand helper to pick a bunch of apples. Or buy them at the store.

Then you have some apples. Like 8 or 9 should work. They don't have to come from a basket.

Peel, core, and slice them up until you have maybe 8 cups or so.

Wash a lemon really well, then take off a little of the peel with a vegetable peeler. 1 or 2 strips will do. Put that in the pot too.

Add the juice of 1/2-1 lemon. (See note at bottom on the sweet/tart continuum and personal taste.) 

Here are your other players. I added 1 T. cinnamon and about 4-5 T. agave nectar. You can use honey or brown sugar instead, or leave it as it.

Put that all up in the crockpot and mix it. Add like 1/2 a cup of water or so. Lid it up and crank it to high. Cook it for 5-6 hours or until you don't even have to mash it. You'll know when it's all good because it will look like:

THIS! SUCCESS! Super delicious success. 

Sweet/Tart Continuum and Personal Taste 

*A little note on the lemon peel, lemon juice, and sweeteners: They're all optional. I used mutsu/crispin apples, which are a little tart anyway, and then added the juice of a whole lemon and 2 strips of lemon peel. My applesauce is delicious but a little on the tart side. If you use sweeter apples, you may want to use less sweetener. If you are using tarter apples, you might use the juice of only 1/2 a lemon (or even less if you want), and/or omit the lemon peel. It's up to you, because only you know how tart you like your applesauce. Maybe you like it sweeter. So add more sweetener. Also, you don't need all that cinnamon if you don't like cinnamon. I love it, so I added a lot (hence the very dark color of the finished product). Like I said, up to you.*

A (Figurative) Calm Before the (Literal?) Storm

So now we wait. Like I told you, the freezer is pretty stocked with healthy meals, I'm slowly but surely washing and putting away all of the goodies from my "sprinkle" this past weekend, the hospital bag is packed for me and Hubs and Cuatro, Halloween candy is purchased for the like 3 trick-or-treaters we get a year, bills are paid in advance for the beginning of the month, and all is well in the universe. I'm as prepared as I'm getting, I think. As much as I'm enjoying this time with just Stenni, Hubs and I (and I'm using the term loosely; I'm enjoying it as much as a giant, uncomfortable 9-month pregnant woman can enjoy anything), I'm also dreading the time when it all hits the fan. Which, truth be told, could be any day now.
And while I'm kind of talking about labor and delivery and the aftermath, here's the thing that's really in the back of my mind: 2 years ago, we in Northwest NJ (and elsewhere across the Northeast) enjoyed a little something known as "Snowmageddon," which was basically a mammoth, freak snowstorm that took down huge tree limbs (because they were really heavy, you know, as there were still leaves on them, since it was fall and all that, so with the ice...they didn't stand a chance), iced up roadways for public works departments who were basically not at all prepared (they usually get their snow work departments together around November 1st), and altogether ruined Halloween for everyone. Last year? We had another lovely surprise known as Hurricane Sandy, and wasn't she just a peach. We couldn't get out of town because of all the tree limbs down, we lost power for about 2 weeks, there were gas lines that stretched for miles, the supermarkets in the area all shut down because the food went bad for lack of refrigeration (how do these places not have generators???), and all in all it was super-fun. Since we couldn't get out of town because most of the roads in the area were closed, damaged, flooded, had bridges out, etc., we couldn't get up to NY state to get our camping supplies, which were in the cabin up there (on the plus side, in a real-life emergency bug-out scenario, we now know that we wouldn't be able to get to the cabin if we tried, but it's still an ok option because it's in the middle of nowhere). So we had some candles, some charcoal, a bunch of blankets, and thankfully the woodstove to keep us warm and toasty. Honestly, if we had city water instead of well water (again, without a back-up...we should know better), it would have been pretty nice for me.I liked the complete lack of background noise, but I would also have liked to take a shower (not in a public park) and flush the toilet and wash the dishes and all that.
But I keep thinking that I'm glad that that was last year, because if I was having a kid this year we wouldn't have even made it out of town to get to the hospital. I would have had a baby at home on the floor without clean water. And that would have been that. I know that people did it that way for centuries, but I would have been totally unprepared for a thing like that. A friend's neighbor went into labor during the blackout, but was able to get to the hospital because of where she lived (out further towards the edge of town, closer to the highways). We probably wouldn't be able to do that. Hubs tells me not to worry about it, but I have to admit that it is there, in the back of my mind.
Now, as of this moment, there are no real storms predicted for the next week or so. But even the past few years when there were, people didn't really take them seriously. I wonder if everyone is bracing themselves for the inevitable this year, or it's just business as usual.
I'm just hoping my kid gets her first real Halloween and can go trick-or-treating. She's 3. Think I'm kidding? Then take a look at this. Yeah, she was exactly 2 months old on her first Halloween, so while I got to enjoy all of her candy because babies can't have butterfingers, everyone know that, it was a hollow victory considering that Halloween would be cancelled the next few years. All I can do is hold out hope for this year, and pray that I don't go into labor before then!

Five Favorites: For Fall

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I totally love fall, as in am actively having a love affair with it. I love the 45 degree mornings and the fog in the valley. I love boots and big cozy sweaters and the fact that both of those things still at least kind of fit me in my super-pregnant state. I love apples (and apple picking) and pumpkins (and pumpkin picking) and baking and decorating with them both. Fall makes me go nuts with happiness, before my SAD makes me go nuts with bummed-out-ness all winter. This year will be a little different: before the fall is over, our family will add a new member. That makes me want to both fit everything in like mad, and slow up a little bit to savor the moment with just Hubs and Stenni, since we will no longer be a three-piece. Anyway before I get myself all teary-eyed, here area few of my favorite things for the season (PS, I'm linking up at Moxie Wife today!):

1. My Bearpaw Siren boots. My mom got them for me for Christmas last year, and they are warm and cuddly and lace up the back and I wear them even when it's not really appropriate. But now it is, so I don't have to feel odd being the only one around in fur-lined snow boots.
2. Caramel Apple Lattes. 'Tis the season, kiddos. I used to be like a once-a-year Starbucks patron (when the Gingerbread Lattes came out) but now I've upped it to two or three times a year. Yeah I know, I'm living on the edge.
3. That it's cool enough to bake in my house without blasting the A/C or the heat. I've been stalking Pinterest and all of my old cookbooks for awesome fall recipes.
4. Since the devastating fire last week in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, I've been doing a little research. See, my family spent summers there as long as I can remember, and more recently, I've spent the occasional New Year's Eve and Palm Sunday there too. It feels like the place is my home, and when the fire started, I couldn't tear myself away from the news. Actually, my husband has had to put a moratorium on NJ news watching so I don't get myself super-upset. Instead I've been looking up pictures to remind me of what the place looked like as a kid, before a hurricane, a fire, and the cast of Jersey Shore came along to destroy it. I tried desperately to find a picture of the old  Log Flume, but there aren't too many to be had. What I did find was this: A collection of old Seaside Heights and Seaside Park postcards. Oh, and then there's this: From a little before my time, but still gorgeous to look at. It makes me smile at least. 
5. These Kirkland Signature (aka Costco brand) Cashew/Almond/Pumpkin Seed Clusters. OMG, they are terrific, and I can convince myself that they are healthy and that it's ok to eat half of the (2 lb.) bag.

 

 

 

 

Blueberry

Disclaimer: I wish this post made it up during blueberry season. I tried, I really did. Maybe it's still blueberry season where you live (if you live in like, Maine or Canada or something). In that case, this is timely and you're welcome. If not, you can still buy some blueberries at the store, though you won't have as much luck with picking this time of the season. 

So Stenni and her papa eat a ton of berries. I feel like every week, we're going berry picking because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep any fresh fruit in the house (not that I'm complaining)! Remember when I told you about the heat wave we had a few weekends ago? Well, it just so happened to coincide with blueberry picking season at our favorite orchard in NY (Och's, if you must know). Fun, right? Well, it actually totally was, despite the 90 degrees + heat. 

 I wanted to actually use some of the blueberries like, in a recipe, before Stenni and the Hubs ate them all straight from the box. They do that a lot around here, and it's cute to see them do stuff like that together. They eat berries on the floor and act like bears and call it a "bear picnic" and I wish I had pictures to share with you. But in any case, I feared that I was not going to get any blueberries despite the fact that we picked almost 7 lbs of them. When I peeked in the fridge and found out that this was almost the case (there were like, a few cups left only 3 days later), I knew I needed to act fast. So I trolled around the internets and found me a good blueberry mini-scone recipe to share with y'all because that's just how I do. 

Adapted (just slightly) from a recipe I found on Parents.com (original recipe here):

 

Oat and Blueberry Mini-Scones

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons oats (use old-fashioned or quick-cooking, or whatever you've got on hand)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup), frozen
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup plain or vanilla fat free greek yogurt
• 1 t (or a little more...you know you want to!) vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups  fresh blueberries
• 2 T brown sugar (or turbinado crystals, if you've got them lying around)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the oats, the 1/2 cup brown sugar, and the baking powder. Grate the butter into the flour mixture using a box grater. Mix all ingredients together.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, and vanilla until combined. Stir in the blueberries. Pour liquid mixture into the flour mixture and gently stir until just combined. Use your hands to bring dough together. If dough seems sticky, refrigerate dough 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons oats with the 2 T brown sugar. Sprinkle 1/2 the mixture over a clean surface or cutting board. Form the dough into two 4-inch rounds using your hands and set them in the oat-sugar mixture; press lightly. Sprinkle the remaining oats and sugar on top so that there is a thin layer on both sides of the dough.

4. Cut rounds into 8 small wedges each with a large knife. Set wedges on prepared cookie sheet at least 1-inch apart. Sprinkle with any remaining oat-sugar mixture. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes or until golden brown.

My Berry Awesome Helper

This is how many berries I had left just 3 days after we went picking. That cardboard box was filled to the top only a few days before! I wanted to use them for something before they were all gone!

Dry ingredients in a bowl

Once you add the butter, things will get crumbly. That's ok. That's how you know you're doing it right.

This is what they look like before they're cooked. Remember, they're bite-sized.

Yum. Tell me you don't want to eat those. Well, we sure did!

We seriously ate those things in less than a day. It was awesome. For all of the healthy ingredients in them, you'll want to slather them with butter, and I don't blame you. So go ahead. I won't tell. What did you do this year with all of your blueberries?

Beating the heat

Ok, so we're in the middle of a heat wave, and it isn't very pleasant. With temperatures in the mid- to upper 90's and a heat index well above 100, I have rescinded my A/C semi-ban (well, I sort of did a while ago...gimme a break, I'm 6 months pregnant over here, and this is unseasonably hot for northern NJ). Since I don't even want to think about going outside for the next few days (which means probably no swimming in the pool until the evening at least), here's what we're doing to beat the heat indoors:

• Ice pops. Lots of them. 
• The mall and the library have free A/C. You don't even have to buy anything. Score!
• Lights off, shades drawn. One A/C unit does the trick for our little house if we leave all the doors open!
• When we water the garden, we run through the hose spray. News flash: It's still superfun as a grown-up.
• I stick the sunscreen and moisturizer in the fridge. Then I see them first thing in the morning and put them on (benefit number one: I can't forget them if I have to go into the fridge to make breakfast or coffee) and they feel awesome on my skin (benefit number two: cooling sensation, and you don't mind re-applying). 
• I'm dreaming of the "lazy river" at the water park. My parents' pool is like like, as warm as a bathtub right now, so it's not about to do us any good in this state.

That's pretty much it. Any other suggestions? Iced coffee maybe?

Summer of 100 Books Update!

So, we're officially a month into The Summer of 100 Books, and I wanted to let you know how it's been going. The short answer is, awesome! It's been kinds cool to dust off books I didn't even know we had (let alone had never read) as well as get back to our old standbys. I even hit the cheap book jackpot this past weekend, since the Rescue Squad in my town had its yearly rummage sale and I walked out with stacks and stacks of books for a pittance, and the same day I got to a liquidation sale at a daycare that had gone out of business (SCORE! I found a complete pre-school to kindergarten curriculum, and bought it on the spot to use alongside what we already do!). So, yay! Here's what we've been reading, in no particular order:

1. Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino. One of my favs, because it rhymes and it's about animals!
2. Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire. Dr. Seuss-esque tale about a cool creature with spots and how unique he is, and  his desire to live in the zoo. Also rhymes.
3. There's No Place Like Home (Sesame Street collection book) by Tom Dunsmuir. Talks about the different kinds of places people can live, but the point, obvs, is that there's no place like your home. 
4. Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper. Cupcake feels sad because although his brothers and sisters are fancy and elaborate, he is perfectly plain, until he meets a plain candle who feels the same and they make each other feel special together!
5. I Can Take A Nap (Muppet Babies book) by Bonnie Worth. So totally worth reading. Miss Piggy gets cranky, mopey and clumsy when she doesn't take a nap, only unlike a normal toddler, she knows and  admits it! 
6. Olivia Says Goodnight by Gabe Pulliam and Farrah McDoogle. I really like the Olivia stories, because she can always be anything she wants (and she always goes to sleep at the end)! And in this one, she cleans up her room and plays nicely with her little brother. Isn't that always good to preach? 
7. Baby Einstein Pretty Poems and Wonderful Words, poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. I'll admit that while this is a cool lift-the-flap, colorful board book, some of the wording demands a little explanation for a toddler. But it's a nice intro to poetry!
8. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. We spend so much time in the garden, and I think that learning about where food comes from is so super-important, so this book gets read a lot. I mean, a whole lot. Like Stenni's close to memorizing it type of a lot. Plus it was one of my favorites as a kid, so my name's written super-sloppy in the front cover. 
9. Three Little Kittens by Lorianne Siomades. So you probably know the rhyme about the three little kittens who lost their mittens. This book is really cool because you can look for the mittens along with your kid, and it's easy for little ones to memorize and "read" along with you. 
10. Kite Day: A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand. A bear and a mole work together to make a kite, but it breaks and provides a shelter for baby birds. I'm torn on this one. I feel like it's kind of phoned in and maybe promotes littering (?) but it shows different species working together so that's cool, and I just wanted a book about kites so that was covered too. 
11. Angelina's New Partner (Angelina Ballerina) by some unnamed author. This was only ok too, but it did show Stenni that there are other kinds of acceptable dance besides ballet and tap-dancing (the new kid does hip hop dance too), and shows kids (mice kids?) working together even though they have different backgrounds, and that first impressions are not always right. I like the original Angelina Ballerina books better. 
12. Fred and Ted Go Camping by Peter Eastman. I love this book and read it every single time we are going to go camping. For reals. I wish that birds told me where to find delicious food, but the idea of being chased out of a lake bya gigantic fish is terrifying (to me, not Stenni). 
13. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. A classic. Also a cop-out, because it's like the equivalent of a paragraph. But a classic anyway. 
14. I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt. This has been one of Stenni's favorites for a while now. It lends itself well to exaggerated reading and silly voices, and it's short and sweet.
15. I Ruff You by Sandra Magsamen. I'm usually not allowed to read this book, it's pretty much reserved for Papa reading time. They read it through once in a silly way that they've written themselves (hint: it involves the word "poo" even though it's not mentioned anywhere in the real book, because poo is funny to both toddlers and Papas), then they read it the "real" way. It's nice that Stenni likes it enough to parody it, I guess.
16. Rah, Rah Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre. Such a fun book to read out loud, and it has pictures of vegetables you may have never mentioned to your kids, like bok choy  and parsnips. Now when we go to the veggie market, Stenni can point them out and tell me about them, which is really all I could ask for. 
17. What Will I Do If I Can't Tie My Shoe? by Heidi Kilgras. Dude, shoe tying is hard. I avoid it when I can. I always leave my sneakers pre-tied and try to jam my foot into them (as I inch through my second trimester, this is actually happening less and less and I generally sign and untie, then re-tie them, then sign again pitifully). In this book, a boy who has already mastered buttons, snaps and zippers frets over learning to tie his sneakers, but it helped in the end by his big brother. All-around nice. 
18. Our Class Is Going Green by the kindergarten class at Oak Park Elementary School in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This adorable book shows what one particular class is doing to save the environment. It's pretty basic stuff but it spurred conversation. The most interesting topic it brought up was that Stenni thinks that we live in our house, not on Earth. I tried to convince her that it's both, but she wasn't having it. I'll push that topic again at a later date. 
19. The Fire Cat by Esther Averill. A cute chapter book (but a surprisingly quick and easy read) about a cat that lives in a firehouse. He starts out being kind of mean and selfish, but ends up saving a scared kitten from a really high branch when the firefighters can't, and decides that it's only the beginning of the nice things he'll do.  
20. Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger board books, of dubious authorship, "inspired by" A.A. Milne. What kid doesn't love Winnie the Pooh? Also, we can learn a lot about what not to be like from the gloomy Eeyore, and also from Pooh, who in this case happened to eat too much honey and get stuck in a door for two weeks (can anyone say glutton?).
21. Prairie Dog Town (A Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection Book) by Bettye Rogers. This is a great book to read before a zoo trip. We have a prairie dog habitat at our zoo and this explained a lot (even to me!) about how they live in the wild. It follows a little prairie dog who is hungry and goes out on his own to find food and eventually set up a new home away from his family. 
22. Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton. A fun book that you should sing to your kid. You can do the dance too. I do. Stenni does it with me sometimes. I think she just likes to watch me jump around like an idiot instead.
23. The Monster at the End of the Book (Sesame Street) by Jon Stone. This was my dad's favorite book as a kid, and I can see why. It is fun to read and play along with the story. Plus it shows kids that they don't need to be frightened of something just because it sounds scary. Starring "lovable, furry old Grover."
24. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss. A fun read-along and a chance to make silly noises with your kid. What more do you want? This is one that instantly turns a bad day good, or a pouty kiddo into a silly one. 
25. Cookie's Guessing Game About Food (Sesame Street), no author listed. This one is good because it's like a fun little mini-quiz for kids about different kinds of food. here are only a few questions, but Stenni seemed to really like it.
26. Dressed for the Ball (Disney Princess book), no author listed. I guess it's ok for Stenni to sneak a few princess books in here and there. Little girls will do that, and there' really no harm in it, no matter how bothersome I find it. This one was pretty much fluff, about dresses. That's it. 
27. Just in Time: A Story About Patience (Disney Princess book) by Jacqueline A. Ball. This princess book was much better, because it had a moral: patience is a virtue. Everyone learns a lesson about being patient, namely that it helps you to calm down, to make a plan, and to enjoy things more in the end. This is a particularly pertinent lesson for a toddler, and coating it with candy-princess-fluff makes it a little easier to swallow. 
28. Playful Learning: Rhymes, Songs and Games (A Hands-On Parent Resource), no listed author. We're working through this one as a homeschooling exercise. It's got a lot of songs in it, plus games and activities to go along with it. I don't know that we'll get through the whole thing, but it's a good resource to have. 

So that's the list so far, from the Tuesday after Memorial Day until the present. I'll give another update at the end of July. Come back tomorrow for a review of what I've read, am reading, and hope to read this summer!

Book Week, Day 1: What should you be reading this summer? I have no idea...guides from around the internets

It's finally actually summer, which means that I do get a few chances here and there to read books that I haven't read before that also aren't cookbooks. I got to read (and finish) The Paris Wife while we were camping over two weekends ago, so that was big for me. But summer really lends itself to reading, which is why there are summer reading lists and programs at like every single library in the country. What I read tends to be, um, well I usually shy away from the best-sellers and the James Pattersons and the book club selections...mostly. I tend towards the NPR-recommended (yeah, really), graphic novels, and nonfiction.

So I won't tell you what to read. But here's what I'm going to do instead this week: I'll give you a few lists that some other people (other smart people) have recommended, talk about how the summer of 100 books is going, let you know about a few books I've read lately, tell you what I intend to read, and a few other fun surprises. Today, I'm tackling the "summer reading guides" part, so here goes nothing.

First, a little background on how I read: 
I'm always looking for something new to read, but it takes me a while to get into a book, and I've found that if I'm not engaged by a few pages in I'm not likely to enjoy it in the long haul (though this is not always the case...I do try to go about 50 pages or so before giving up hope completely). At this stage of my life too I have limited time to read and so if I'm not loving something, I'll no longer spend precious minutes of naptime trying to make myself get into something I'm clearly not digging. So instead I like to cast a wide net, have lots of options, and ditch what I can't deal with or get into right that second. Here are a few lists to provide yuo with literally hundreds of choices. Have at it, kids!

• Click on over to Modern Mrs. Darcy for the "Ultimate Beach Reading Guide," which she'll actually e-mail to you so that you don't have to troll around the internets all day. All you need to do is sign up. Plus, her reviews are usually so blessedly honest (she'll tell you if and why she puts a book down and doesn't pick it back up, even if it's a bestseller) that it's pretty refreshing. Highly recommended. 
• Wanna learn something new on your time off? Who doesn't? (Me. It's Summer. But I might give it a go anyhow.) Head to Science Friday's blog and take a gander at some great new and classic non-fiction, plus some sci-fi, if you're into that. I am, sometimes. 
• So do you know what you already like? Then use this handy-dandy guide from PureWow to find something similar from the list of "Literary Doppelgangers." Just click on the book you liked, and a book you might like as well pops up in its place. This is especially helpful if you are taking a last-minute trip and and are on your way to the library and have no direction (literarily speaking, of course), or don't want to do a lot of searching on your own. 
• And of course, Oprah's official summer reading list. This one's from last year (I'm still catching up anyway). I'm not generally the hugest Oprah fan, but I've got to tell you that her lists are great because they give you pretty good little snippets for each book, and there are a lot of good books that make the list every year. It's hard to sort through all of the new books that come out in the world every year unless you've got minions, and O's got them in spades, so I suppose it works.
• Oh, and there are also the classics, as compiled in this list by the Cincinnati Library. Most of these are great standbys, and things you should probably read anyway. But be wary: every year I try to read Anna Karenina (which didn't make this list) and forget that it's totally not beach reading, but by that time I'm stuck with whatever gossip rag magazines my mom and my sister have brought with them, and that's even more disappointing. Just remember that even though something is a classic, that doesn't make it beach reading. Some of these books are better kept for an evening when it's pouring outside and you've got a very large glass of cabernet sauvignon  (or cognac, or seltzer if you're knocked up like me I guess)  to keep you company. 

Also check with you local library. My library mostly has programs for little kids and school-aged folk, but lots of libraries have programs for adults too. The NY Public Library is pretty awesome for that sort of thing, but you know, you have to live in New York and whatnot.

What are your summer plans?

 

Last year for Father's Day, Stenni (& I) made one of those cool, pinterest-inspired summer bucket lists and gave it to hubs for Papa Day (which is what we call Father's Day around these here parts). It was awesome and he kept it in his wallet and checked things off as they went, accomplishing feats like going to 5 different parks, swimming in a pool, lake, river and the ocean,  picking berries (photographic evidence of us at the field above...we went to pick strawberries 2 days ago, the only dry day we've had in weeks, and it was such fun!) and other assorted feats of fun-ness. This worked incredibly well for us last summer, as it gave us plenty of ideas for cheap or free activities and kept us busy all through the season.

But this year, I want to take a different approach. As Stenni is getting a little older, I want her to be able to pick out what we do based on how she feels that day. And I want to be able to spontaneously say "yes" more, so we've scheduled less to fill up our days in general. Also, growing a baby human is pretty hard work, and I just don't have the energy I did last summer, so I don't want to hatch some grand scheme and end up too tired to follow through. I want to be able to go with the flow and let her give in to whims...if we feel like making a fort and pretending to be bears all day, so be it. If it's nice out and she wants to go to my parents' house and play in the pool, we will. There's only so much longer that Stenni will have my undivided attention, and I want to make this summer magical. 

So my over-arching plan is...well, not to plan. Or not to over-plan, at least. The weekends are already pretty full up until the middle of August, so I want to at least play the weekdays by ear. We'll still go blueberry picking and to the zoo, and have playdates and BBQ's, but we'll take them as they come. It's a little hard for me to let go of my lists and my schedule, my type-A personality and my control-freak nature, but I think it'll be worth it for the whole family in the long run. Once the baby comes, the schedule goes out the window anyway, so maybe we'll consider this an intro to the new normal? 

What are your summer plans? Anything set in stone, or everything easy-breezy?

The Great Outdoors

This past Sunday, everyone in my house was eager to get outside and enjoy some sunshine, since it seems like it's always raining around here lately (there's a flood watch in the area as I type this and I can literally hear the rain pounding on the roof). Stenni has been big on "family BBQs" lately, and I have to say, after years of cooking elaborate meals for 25 or so drunk people (that was how we used to BBQ, and we did it every.Friday.night. for almost 3 years!), it is a nice, refreshing change of pace to simply grill up some veggies and chicken and s'mores for just the three of us. But we won't be "just the three of us" for long, so I want to cherish these moments. Hubs and I usually plan every last minute of our weekends too, so having the whole weekend free was practically like having a vacation at home, and we enjoyed our free time with boat rides (him), long baths (me), trips to the library, lots of cuddling and gloriously unhurried meals. We almost went camping on Saturday, but I'm so glad we stayed home and enjoyed each other instead.

I'm bad at iPhone family portraits, but it doesn't stop me from trying.

The aftermath of our family BBQ, and the silly little girl behind it all!

S'mores made on the grill. Papa and Stenni enjoyed them and the pup was super jealous.

This picture was a little bit better. We were all really that happy, and that doesn't happen too often!

The Summer of 100 Books

For the past few months, Stenni has been asking me to read her 5 books every time she goes on the potty. This used to be more doable, as she read shorter books and spent more minutes on the potty each sitting...and she didn't count all the books, so sometimes I could fudge it.  Now that potty training is in the home stretch (meaning that she usually just gets on the potty to do her business, and that's it), we have less quality reading time than we used to. I'm happy not to have to sit in front of her on the bathroom floor for half an hour at a time, but I need to find a new way to incorporate more reading into our everyday routine again. Therefore we are declaring this summer:

The Summer of 100 Books!

Between May 28th (the day after Memorial Day) and September 1st (the day before Labor day) there are 97 days, including all holidays and weekends. That means that all we have to do to meet this totally attainable goal is read a book a day, with 3 extra thrown in there for good measure as time allows. Here's the catch: I'm only counting each book once, which means that as many times as I read I Love You, Stinky Face or Put Me in the Zoo, they count only once towards the 100 book goal. And at the end of the summer we will be making our own book based on our summer experiences, since we'll have a whole new appreciation of books and reading! Plus, I'll report all of the books to you in order to keep us fully accountable!

This is all in conjunction with our very experimental home-preschooling, and will be tied into summer experiences and trips (we will read about the beach in preparation for our trip to the shore, for example, and read about gardening while tending to our garden). I'm hoping that this will help us in our goal, which is to move towards some very basic independent reading within in next year or so (really, everything we do at home is working towards that end, and it might sound lofty, but reading is something we really love in this house). Stenni is already identifying each letter of the alphabet and the sounds that they make, and can sight-read some words like her name, mama and papa, and a few others. Our attempts to write, trace, or copy letters so far have not worked out as well as I'd like, but I figure we'll chock that up to needing some more work on small motor skills, and the fact that she's 2 1/2, so I'm not going to totally push it too hard just yet. There's always more time. 

Anyone out there want to take the "Summer of 100 Books" challenge with us? Comment, and we'll synchronize our efforts! Here's to a fruitful summer!

Make this the year of no more resolutions

I loathe resolutions, I do. I understand the idea of a fresh start with a new year, but to be honest, any of us can resolve to do anything we want pretty much whenever we want. New Years is just the time they market it to you the hardest. My hubs always says its silly to start diet-related resolutions until MLK day anyway, since the house is pretty much filled with cake pops and chocolate and all manner of delicious-but-bad-for-you noms until then anyway. And he's pretty much right. But are New Year's resolutions made to fail?
Well, mine are I think. My resolutions generally last until about the week before Valentine's day, if I'm lucky. I think I've read every article on creating attainable goals and making resolutions stick, but if the goals don't have a natural start and end point, I'm liable to give up halfway through. So this year I'm taking a different approach: I'm setting life goals, or creating a "bucket list" of sorts. It's my list of things I'd like to do before I'm too old or my life changes too drastically and I'm no longer physically able. So here is a short list of my "life goals" and a bit of explanation for each. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so I'll add to it from time to time as I can (or as I think of them). Remember, the timeline is my life, not be next week or next year, but these are all things I want to accomplish and I can accomplish.

• I want to run a half marathon. Hubs and I did our first 5k this past Thanksgiving. Then we started some longer runs. Currently I max out at about 6 miles, so of course since a half marathon is more than double that, I've got some work to do. But this is a long term goal. I'd like to plan for one in 2014, which means lots of running in the interim.
• I want to compete in the lumberjack/lumberjill competition. I didn't say win, I just said compete. This year is a research year. I'd like to know a little more about all of the events, and maybe get some practice with a chainsaw, before I compete against anyone. I'm ok with the splitting wedge, but the chainsaw? That's gonna take a while.
• I want to do a polar bear plunge. I just missed the sign-ups for the one in Asbury Park this year, and I was super sad about it. I'd really like to do this in 2013 (it was December 30th this year), because it's been on my to-do list for years and it looks like so much fun! 
• I want to play the harmonica and sing on stage with the hubs. This is tricky since hubs does not currently have a functioning band, and there's a fine line between me drinking enough to have the courage to do these things and well, drinking too much to be good at them. But I can do them at home!
• I want to save more money. Self-explanatory. Who doesn't? I'm currently formulating a plan to do just that.
• I want to read more. And I already read a ton this year. But a lot of it was re-reading things I'd already read, blogs, reading to Stenni, and comic books (which totally count, I know). But I want to read more books that I've never even heard of. I need some recommendations, people!
• Oh, and PS, I'd like to hear from more people who stop by the blog! And since you're reading this, that means you! I'd like to take this blogging thing a bit more seriously this year and I've already got some ideas on that! But more than anything, I'd like to hear from all of you.

How is everyone else handling the resolution thing this year?  Any changes from last year?

An Old-Fashioned Christmas: Homemade Gifts

I like to make some of my presents each year. Half of this is because I'm poor/cheap. The other half is because I do like doing a little creative activity to balance all of the craziness of the season. Also, it's a nice old-fashioned thing to do. Years ago, most presents were homemade, and though I'm not a knitter and I'm hardly what you might call "handy," I can still do a few things myself. On my mom's side of the family, she has 7 brothers and sisters, and they all have a slew of kids and grandkids. So, the kids get the "real" presents, you know, the store-bought stuff. But all of us "grown-ups" make things for each family. So we each have to make about 10 of the same gift. This year, we did white-chocolate-covered pretzels, which were easy and came out cute and yummy.

Keep reading for some more of my present-making adventures this year!

This here below is what we call "process" at my house. You know how art teachers are always telling students that it's as much about the process as it is about the product? I feel like while that may be true for life lessons, it does not apply to Christmas presents. Below, see my process:

And here, as I'm making a coupon book for hubs and a pinterest-inspired picture to hang in Stenni's room:

A few lonely white-chocolate-and-sprinkle-covered pretzels that didn't make it into bags (we made about 60 pretzels last night!):

Our finished pretzel bags to give to all of my mom's family tonight:

A cookie tray for my brother-in-law's Christmas Eve get-together:

Hubby's mystery gift Christmas ornament. It's been hanging on the tree for like a week, and he only noticed it today when I pointed it out!:

Stenni's finished pinterest-inspired wall art. I sing her this song all the time! She won't let me wrap it and is super-excited about her sunshine picture:

Hubs' coupon book. I included a few romance-type things, and a few free time things, because he doesn't have any of that. The man is practically a saint. I would go into details but I won't in case he reads this today at work!

 

Have you made any gifts this year? Is there anyone who makes all of their gifts? Let me know!