Lunch dates aren't what they used to be

I love lunch dates. There is a glamorous appeal to it, being out and about, leisurely enjoying a lunch and conversation while they rest of the world is busy rushing back to work. If you're being especially crazy you can even have a drink. Ah yes, lunch dates....

I look back fondly at the time when that is what lunch dates were like. Truthfully, I think of them longingly and wonder if there will ever be a such thing again. Two kids and a new job title of "Mom", lunch dates now are much different.

After rain canceled plans I had with a long-time friend, we had the crazy notion that a lunch date would be fun. With five children. In public. Crazy? Obviously. I blame it on my desperate need for adult conversation. Not only did we decide to go to lunch, but to go to an actual restaurant where you had to give your order to a server from an actual menu. No light up menu boards and flashy kids meal toys for us.

For having so many young children, the lunch itself went pretty well. (It may have helped that we let them run around in the questionably clean indoor playground at the mall first.) It did not, however, resemble the lunch dates from days of ol'. Get all the kids out of car seats, through the maze of tables (making sure that none are joining the first table with food), herd them into a booth and strap the little ones down- check. Pass out menus and open crayons-check. We made it in. Success. Now the fun begins. Order drinks and convince them to pick something somewhat nutritious from the menu. Get drinks passed out and not spill any much. Order food and nurse baby (who is tearing the blanket off because she hates to be covered while she eats) while convincing the others that food would come soon. Start a conversation and then get interrupted with endless questions. Give instruction to sit down. No, not on the table, on the bench. Pass out food. Pacify the baby. Pass out more food. Eat a little and try to pick back up the conversation but can't remember what you were talking about. Start new conversation. Get interrupted because someone is putting dirty hands on someone else. Hand another fork to the baby so she can continue to eat. Clean messy hands. Wipe faces. Realize you left the plates too close, move them, then clean hands again. Successfully pay the bill (and over-tip for the mess/noise) and herd the children back out being somewhat careful not to leave any behind.

Did we have lunch or run a marathon? I sat in a booth with three children between my friend and I on one side and two babies strapped into high chairs on the other. I think we had to shout to hear each other but probably didn't notice because the majority of our conversation was tending to children.

I think coming out with our sanity and all our children was a great feat. In fact I think it's worthy of a prize. Something like a lunch date. And a drink. And a babysitter.

Thread Storage

My dream space to work and create may still be in the distant future but the need to organize is long over due! Since the arrival of our second child I have decided that if I have any chance at taking advantage of the little time I get to sew that I had better get things in order.

I'm fairly new to sewing. I took a home economics class in eighth grade that touched on the subject briefly, but didn't even think about sewing again until I found out I was pregnant for the first time. (Looking at tiny homemade things when you're hormonal is dangerous!)  I got my sewing machine shortly after Amelia was born and slowly started accumulating things as I would work on projects. Now here we are two years later and my project list has grown and so has the mess of supplies you can find nesting in any free space in our home.

I saw the idea for this way of storing thread a while back and made a mental note that it needed to be on my to-do list. I love having things very organized and I also like things pretty so that I'm inspired to use them and this project happens to do both! (Sorry, there are no step-by-step photos. There were a lot of 'helping hands' with this project!)

Pot Roast Melts

I love the way the whole house fills will the delicious smells when you're cooking a pot roast. Roast is a comfort food for me, I love eating it in a bowl with potatoes and carrots while it's still steaming hot. Our whole family loves it as much as I do too. The only issue is that our family of three (Marinn's not eating yet so she doesn't count in this one!) can only put a dent in the smaller roasts I can find in the store. We aren't the best at eating leftovers in our house so I've had to get a little creative and make new meals out of them, which is how we came to love these sandwiches. Who wouldn't love their favorite comfort food served on bread, smothered in cheese??

Cowgirl Skirt

I remember having a skirt similar to this one my grandma made when I was little so I'm excited to have an upcoming party as an excuse to make one for Amelia. Made from an old pair of jeans and a bandanna, this is a very simple and inexpensive project. (And a great way to up-cycle a pair of old jeans that are worn in the knees or a little too short!) The party we will be going to is a cowboy theme so the bandanna is especially appropriate, however, I think that this would also be cute with a bright, floral print fabric too!

The Wisdom of Dr. Seuss

I was doing my usual Facebook browsing while wait for the girls to fall asleep this afternoon when I came across a picture someone had posted. It was a picture of the Cat in the Hat and had a quote from Dr. Seuss reading, "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Wise words.

As a mother of two girls I worry constantly for them. How long am I going to be the only influence in their lives? Will I have instilled enough self-worth and given them enough positive encouragement to have them stand proudly as themselves? Will they understand that the quite confidence of just being you will outshine the flashiest fads and trends? Will they love themselves, giving them a great ability to foster healthy, fulfilling relationships? Will they know that if they stay true to themselves regardless of what anyone says or does that there will be no limit to the things they can accomplish?


Although most of these things won't present themselves for some time, it's the confidence we instill in them now through our unconditional love and support that is setting the foundation for how they feel about themselves and the choices they will make later. I hope they are always brave enough to be who they are and say how they feel.

I think this quote may find it's way into their 'big girl' room in the form of wall art of some sort. It's too good to read once and forget!

Mother's Day

The initiation into this club called motherhood isn't easy. I mean you grow a whole person inside of your body for a lifetime 40 weeks. You parade around, huge and swollen, in the body that used to be yours, on display for the world (most of whom think you're a "hands on" exhibit) until one day (if you're luck and that's all it takes) you get to give birth to a screaming baby who continues to do just that for at least two months. Then, if you're like me, you some how forget about all of these things and are crazy enough to start the whole process over again.

Once the initial initiation is over is an endless cycle of tests to see if you stack up. Test one: Go two days with four hours of sleep and then get you, the baby, and the house clean. Test two: Change a diaper that has exploded, one handed as you hold the bathroom stall closed with the other,  holding the clean diaper in your mouth trying so hard not to touch anything! Test 43: Baby proof your house as your child has magically become mobile and is pulling on the tv cord when you get out of the shower. (Then do some more baby proofing when you realize that they can reach way more than you thought.) Test 205: Toddler melt down in the grocery store and debit/credit card system down. Test: 318: Your toddler climbs into bed with you in the middle of the night and you discover she's naked and freezing because at some point in the night she removed all her clothes and peed the bed. Test 402: You walk into a room just in time to see your toddler pulling the baby out of the swing. Test 653: Your toddler unlocks the door and runs outside while you're drying off after your shower.

As each of these tests come you just keep wondering, "Did I pass? Or at least not fail miserably?" The only reassurance you have is that your kid is still alive and relatively unscathed the next day. (I don't think it will be until they're grown that we'll truly know what effects these things have on them. Or maybe when they're teenagers. They'll blame us for everything then.) The only assurance I have that I'm not royally messing up my children is hearing stories and getting encouragement from other members of this elite club.

I write this mostly sarcastically. Most of my days/weeks are filled with laugh or cry moments and I'd rather laugh. (Which usually weirds my husband out. I guess I get it, you come home to two sobbing babies and a messy house and when you ask your wife how the day went and she starts laughing rather hysterically...) I'm sure I'm not alone in this feeling, parenting can be challenging.

Of course there are a lot of good moments too. From the first moment you hold your child in your arms there is a connection that is so strong that words cannot express. In those tired moments of late night feedings there is something fulfilling in the quite time spent skin to skin with them. As you watch them grow and change they look to you for reassurance and there is a quite confidence building in them only from the look you exchange. I have so much pride as I watch them grow and change and I'm amazed by them daily.

I am so proud to be a mother and I have a great respect for everyone else with that title. It's one that comes with many responsibilities and even more rewards. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life!

Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini

Another recipe, courtesy of Martha, found it's way to our table this week and will probably be one we make frequently. (Probably because of my love of carbs in just about any form!) Note: this makes 6 servings. I wish I would have noted so I wouldn't have made so much!! It's good reheated but next time I think I'll cut the recipe in half.

Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini

Ingredients:
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound (1-2 large) zucchini cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Aborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I forgot I 'accidently' drank mine so I substituted chicken broth)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper

First heat the broth and 2 1/2 cups of water in a pan over low heat and keep warm. ( I turned it on low and covered it so I didn't lose any to evaporation.) While that is heating, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 3 quart sauce pan over medium heat.  Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown. (About 8 minutes) Using a slotted spoon, remove zucchini and put aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add onions. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Raise the heat to medium and add rice. Cook until translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes. (I didn't notice them getting translucent so I cooked them for 3 minutes and assumed they were ready and it came out great.) Add wine (or in my case, broth) and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Cook rice, adding 1 cup of broth/water at a time. Stir until most of the water is absorbed before adding more. Continue until all the broth has been added. This should take 25-30 minutes total.

Add the zucchini and peas and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter and the parmesan cheese. Garnish with more cheese. Enjoy!

It's a little time consuming to stand over the stove; stirring and adding broth, then stirring some more, but the end result is worth it. It is so creamy and good. I wish I would have put a little more zucchini in it. I love zucchini. I served this along side parmesan crusted chicken, so good!



Again, picture is courtesy of Martha. Mine looks this tasty, however doesn't photograph as well!

Sea Life Aquarium

We've been trying to take advantage of the extra family time we have had as of late and do some family outings. With two hot blooded babies we need to do it before the scorching heat of summers keeps us trapped inside in the air conditioning! 

This week we went to the newly open Sea Life Aquarium at Crown Center. I love that there are new things like this (and the much anticipated Lego Land) close enough to us to enjoy. I also love that Amelia is finally big enough to appreciate places like this! With the movie Nemo recently added to our collection she was particularly excited to see the fish and sharks. 

We purchased our tickets online (as the website suggests) and it ended up being a wise decision because the walk-up tickets were already sold out when we got there at 11. The aquarium wasn't especially large but was very well laid out.  There were quite a few people there at the same time and it didn't feel too crowded. (We barely missed the insane amounts of excited first graders on a field trip. It would have probably been a deal breaker, those kids were wild!) Amelia had plenty of time to press her face against the glass and get her own time at each exhibit, although she was glad to share with the little boy named Logan who was there with his family too! There were many parts that were set up just for little ones and the rest was all easily viewed by everyone so we didn't have to take turns lifting anyone up to get a look. 

It took us about an hour to walk the whole thing, however I think it would have taken us a little longer if we had been on time for any of the feedings or talks about the fish. I don't know if Amelia would have been too interested to sit and listen but I would have! I think that next time we will plan around some of those talks. We did get to touch star fish as well as see sharks, rays, tons of fish and some really cool jelly fish. We even saw an eel lurking under a log, they look so scary!

Over all I would say it was a great trip! It was fun to stand back and watch Amelia take the lead in exploring the deep blue sea and I can't wait for Marinn to be big enough to share some of these memories with us. I do think that if we go back we will do the combo ticket for both the aquarium and Lego Land. I think it makes it a little better deal. The tickets are a little pricy for one hour of entertainment but to follow up with some time in the lego pit would keep my kid entertained for some time. (Not to mention the fact that they spill out into the same exit so if you don't go they see what they've missed out on!) 

Here is a peak at our Sea Life adventure! (I couldn't help but to add in the music from the Little Mermaid, I had the silly songs stuck in my head the whole time we were there!) Something to keep in mind; no flash photography allowed. My cheap camera doesn't take good pictures without it so we did some video clips. 

For more information about Sea Life Aquarium visit their website at www.visitsealife.com/kansas-city

Cloth Diapers

Today marks day one of using cloth diapers on the babes. It's something I've been meaning to do for a little while now. When Amelia was small I used them for her for a while, mostly out of necessity because living off one income with a baby can be challenging! This time around I still want to use them for the sake of saving some money but also I'm sick of lugging heavy, stinky bags of diapers out to the curb.

Starting the process was a little intimidating to me the first time around so I did a lot of reading up on the subject and found a couple websites I found helpful. I particularly liked Cotton Babies because of the variety of topics covered and I found it easy to browse.

In order for it to be cost saving I didn't go the route of beautiful all-in-one diapers like you will find in abundance on every website mentioning cloth diapers. Instead I diapered like our mothers would , using Gerber pre-folds and water proof pants.

The initial investment wasn't too great, although you can spend anywhere from the little I did to a small fortune, depending on how fancy you get! I lucked out when I bought the cloth diapers I have because Wal-Mart had them marked half price due to the fact they were no longer keeping them in stock in stores. I think I paid around $6 for a pack of 6. I started with 2 packs and I had a few others I had received as burp cloths for shower gifts giving me 16, enough for roughly two days of diapering. (This is assuming we didn't 'waste' any trying to change a diaper too soon!) I would do two days with cloth then one day disposable while I washed the diapers. I couldn't find any of the diaper covers in stores at all so I turned to Amazon to find those. Unless you have a particularly bad diaper you do not need to put a new one on with each diaper change. I bought 6 for about $8. These are sized and you will have to purchase more as time goes on but for the initial investment I would suggest starting with their current size and making sure you're willing to stick with it before investing in more. After much searching I finally found diaper pins at Wal-Mart for a dollar a set. They were almost always out of stock so when I saw them I got all four packs they had left (which will come in handy now that I have two babies but wasn't necessary for just one.) I think I only used one set the entire time I diapered but I would suggest having a back up incase one gets lost.

If you're going to do cloth diapers then you will need cloth wipes! You can use disposable wipes if you'd like but since they won't be tucked neatly into a diaper and disposed of they can be messy. I found it much easier to use cloth and toss them into a pail with the diapers to be washed. You can buy cloth wipes, however it's more cost effective to make you own with what you have. For me it was a large flannel receiving blanket cut into squares but an old white tee (or two) of your husbands would be sufficient as well! I cut it down into roughly 6" x6" squares and threw them into the wash to get rid of any strings that came loose and stacked them next to the diapers. Since the blanket was one I got for a shower gift it was free! (I picked one that had already been stained so it wasn't too sad cutting it up.) I chose to do dry cloths so I picked up a $1 spray bottle and made my wipe solution with things from the medicine cabinet. I used two parts water, one part witch hazel, and one part baby oil. There are a million ways you can make this and you can read more about that here.

The last thing I invested in was a bucket to toss the dirties into. I bought a five gallon paint bucket with a lid that cost about $4. Again, this is a matter of preference, you can do a trash can, bucket, diaper pail,  add liners or bags. , whatever you find works for you! I liked the bucket because the lid seals very tight so there are no smells coming from it between washes and it's easy to sanitize.

The grand total from the initial investment was about $30, not too bad!

We will be investing in a few more diapers this time around because doing a load of laundry every other day on top of the multitude we already have isn't practical. We have a few pairs of training pants for big sister to try out but until she's more interested she'll be wearing the diapers as well (much easier to clean up messes than pulling down panties) so I think we'll be cutting down some more out of service receiving blankets to use as inserts for a little more absorption. If you plan on using cloth diapers over night you will need to add extra inserts to keep tiny hineys and the sheets dry while they sleep!

Look at these fancy pants! I love little diaper butts!

Cleaning the diapers is simple. I wash the liners by hand (they are easy to clean and hold up better doing this) using detergent and warm water and make sure they are rinsed well. You can lay them out or hang them to dry. For the diapers (and wipes) there are three steps. First wash them on a regular cycle with detergent and cold water. This will get rid of any yucks in the diapers. Follow this with a regular wash cycle with hot water to sterilize and get rid of any odors. Finally, run an extra rinse cycle to make sure there is no detergent left. Throw them in the dryer or hang them on a clothes line and you're ready to go! (Hanging them in the sun on a clothes line is good for breaking down stubborn stains.) Since your load size will most likely be small, it won't take too much time to run this process.

Rainy Sunday

This afternoon I found myself all alone in my house. This practically never happens since I'm a stay at home mom to two little ones but when it does, I love it! It's no accident when this happens, I have to plan around feedings, naps and everything else that consumes our days. I'm lucky to have a MIL who will take my babies (even on a whim) to make it possible, which is what happened today. 

Usually when I have a little time I intend to work on one of my many projects but end up folding the load of laundry wrinkling in the basket or tackling the mountain of dishes growing in the sink but today I ignored those things because I was itching to start a new project! (maybe I was all sugared up from the cupcakes at my nephews birthday party)

I turned on a cd and got out the new fabric I bought over the weekend. I love when I find something that inspires a project, which is exactly what this fabric has done. I spent a couple hours cutting fabric and belting out songs (I'm sure my new neighbors think I'm crazy because I get particularly loud when I sing about selling my last hard Bible to pay my bills.)  Sometimes I'm amazed at how much I can get done without a two year old under my feet or stopping repeatedly to console a crying baby. I can hardly remember what life was like before babies, but I bet it was grand! 

Right before I was invaded by my husband and babies I watched a thunderstorm rolling in while listening to Gavin DeGraw Stripped Cd. (I forget how much I like that album and this song) Perfect soundtrack for a rainy Sunday night. 

I truly do love all time time I spend with my girls and my husband, but there's something very refreshing about falling away into my own little world and being creative. It makes me long for a space of my very own like this or this where I can sneak away to. I guess for now my kitchen table will have to suffice! 

Here is my pretty new fabric, are you in love with it as much as I am?!

Sautéed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce

To get out of the meal rut we always seem stuck in I've started making my grocery list around at least two new dishes each week. Since having the girls, quick runs to pick up missing ingredients are no longer an option which has forced me to be a little more purposed in my meal planning. It's also helped me stay on budget with groceries since I'm not tempted by the ice cream isle during those impulsive trips to get one thing!

I've had the Martha Stewart "Great Food Fast" cookbook hanging around for a while and had only tried a couple recipes so that's where I got the recipes for this week. I'm usually by myself with the girls at dinner time which can make getting anything prepared tricky so the quick recipes in her book are working well for us.


Sautéed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Coarse salt
pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried tarragon

Directions:
Sprinkle each chicken breast with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken; sauté until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to plate and cover to keep warm.

Pour broth into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about two minutes.

Pour any accumulated chicken juices into sauce. Right before serving, drizzle the cream sauce over the sautéed chicken.

I served this with roasted asparagus and potatoes, which was promptly scarfed down by the family! Enjoy!

Picture courtesy of Martha :)