Complicated Relationship with Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day. According to Facebook and Pinterest I should be basking in the glow of my angelic children enjoying breakfast in bed that they've made assisted by a bumbling and well-meaning husband. Flowers, sticky kisses, and handprint cards are par for the course in this fantasy world. Instead, I will get up, drink coffee, shower, and head into work. Before cursing my employer please know- this was my decision.

You see, I have a complicated relationship with Mother's Day. Growing up we did the traditional "queen for a day" route for my mom. My dad would help us pick out a gift. We'd sign a sappy card and deliver breakfast on a tray. When I had my son I had visions of this same formula being a part of my Sunday in May annually. Except it wasn't. You see I married a man who was a great father but not a great husband (for me).  We separated and due to my job being heavily travel and him living with his parents custody was established primarily with him. Some Mother's Days after that I'd be elated to get a gift in the mail and a phone call. Other Mother's Days I'd be crying in my studio apartment because I hadn't heard from him and how could I be a mother without my child? I wanted to lift him up and get those sticky kisses that other moms got so freely.

I'm happily remarried now and that little boy is a big nine year old who serenaded me on the phone today with "Happy Mother's Day" set to the tune of Happy Birthday. He will also spend today celebrating his stepmother who I appreciate more than she will ever know for providing a comforting maternal figure in his daily life. My two little girls will stop by with their dad and grandpa later to say hi and I will get wet kisses (the baby thinks kiss means lick). But still Mother's Day is not an idyllic holiday. There are those who have lost mothers, women struggling to become pregnant, mothers who have lost babies or grown children, and mothers who don't have their children with them.

Today as I go into my zen place and scoop coffee at the roaster's I will reflect on all the women who have made me who I am today. One is my amazing mother, one was my husband's mother who I never met but who made him the man he is today, and then there are so many others- bosses, teacher's, friends' moms, and  friends who are new moms. The love that we show each other shapes the next generation. Happy Mother's Day, no matter how complicated it may be.

Wordless Wednesday: Show Support

Pick a Husband Who Will Be A Great Father

Coconut Krispie Baked Tofu

This will be a short sweet and to the point blog. I'm sure you've all had a night swallowed up by the unexpected! I put my adorable naked 10 month old into her playpen (where she sleeps) to grab a Snappi for her diaper. A minute later on my return I realized she had peed while standing up through the mesh and was both sitting in it and licking the mesh. Ughh. This resulted in a bath, her going to bed in the crib, and the toddler in our bed.

A trip to Costco this weekend yielded a multipack of tofu. Price-wise it was a great deal on three to four meals worth of protein. Inspired by a recipe on Cara's Cravings, I jumped off from that point and created a twist that fit my pantry.

Coconut Krispie Baked Tofu
Serves 4

1 lb firm tofu
2 egg whites
3/4 cup Rice Krispies
1/3 cup coconut
cooking spray

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 TBS maple syrup for sauce



1. Preheat oven to 425. Set up a cookie rack on top of a cookie sheet and spray it with cooking spray. Pour Rice Krispies and coconut into the food processor and pulse until the size of breadcrumbs. Pour onto a plate.

2. Remove tofu from liquid and pat dry on a paper towel. Mine came in four squares which I halved horizontally and then cut diagonally to create 4 triangles per square. (16 total).

3. Crack the egg whites onto a plate and dip the tofu into it. Make sure to egg both sides. It is easiest to egg a few at a time, drop them onto the coconut Krispie plate and then use your fingers to cover them completely with coconut. Then rinse your fingers and start again. Put the tofu onto the cookie rack.

4. Bake for 5 minutes, turn down the heat to 400 and bake for an additional 10.

5. Serve with dipping sauce (mix together soy sauce and maple) if desired. I also love to saute fresh spinach and serve it on the side.

Tortillas & Taco Casserole

I love tortillas. I bake my own bread and am trying to eliminate any packaged foods I do buy and tortillas are one of them. So, for Christmas this year I asked for a tortilla press. Thus far it has been heavily used! Homemade tortillas tend to come out a little thicker and smaller than store bought ones so I've turned to taco casserole as a topping. By baking everything together with cheese it is easier to fill the tortillas with and less messy.

Making tortillas is actually really easy and not as intimidating as it sounds. I highly recommend a tortilla press! Rolling them out is not easy because the dough is very elastic. Next, you'll need to buy some lard. Some grocers keep it in the freezer near the butter and some put it on the shelves near the Crisco. I'm a fan of the Snowcap brand. Lard may sound extremely unhealthy but you're only using a tablespoon and it eliminates the need for any oil to cook them in.

Tortillas
(Makes 12-16)

2 cups flour
3/4 cups water
1 tbsp lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Taco Casserole
(Serves 4)

1 pound ground beef
1 can light kidney beans (15.5 oz)
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1 avocado
a little bit of chopped lettuce if desired
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne

I make the taco casserole first. In a pan brown the ground beef.  Once browned add the cumin, onion powder, salt, oregano, bay leaf, and cayenne. Stir to incorporate everything evenly. Pour the ground beef (pull the bay leaf out) into a casserole dish and spread to cover the bottom. Next, drain the can of beans and toss them into the same pan. I like to heat them up and squash the beans a little. Once the beans are warm, dump them into the casserole on top of the beef. Top with the cheese. Dice the avocado and toss that on top. Chop some lettuce and set aside. Put the casserole into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes to melt all the cheese and keep it warm.

And now tortillas:

In a mixer, blend the flour, salt, baking powder and lard. The lard will crumble into the dough. Slowly add the water and mix until the dough is smooth.

Roll the dough into small balls the size of a large marshmallow (or a Barbie head). It's easiest to roll them in flour. I use a $1 serving plate from the Dollar Store so that I don't have to clean the counter after.

I have the toddler help me put the ready to go tortillas on another serving plate.

Put a pan on the stove with the heat on low-medium. Next, put a piece of plastic wrap on both sides of the tortilla press. Place on of the dough balls on the bottom and press!

You want to peel the plastic gently off of the tortilla. Put it in the waiting pan. It takes less than 2 minutes per side to cook the tortillas.

Take out the taco casserole and assemble your tortillas. Top with the chopped lettuce and sour cream if desired. Enjoy! (We also spread leftover tortillas with Nutella & chopped bananas for a great toddler breakfast.)

Sanitizing Toys after Sickness

The dog wasn't sick, he was just extremely sympathetic.

The plague has finally left our household. I was a casualty, struck down eating popsicles and drinking gingerale for days. Once my cement-filled head could process complex thoughts and my hands were no longer permanently needed to hold a snot filled tissue my first deep thought was: this cannot happen again. It wasn't "cleaning" that needed to take place in our house it was sanitizing. Hard core sanitizing. If those germs thought they were going to hang out on a piece of plastic bacon and hitch a ride into the babies mouth the next time she felt like gnawing on something - they were wrong. We were not going on this roller coaster ride of fun again.

One roll of Dollar Store shelf liner does the trick.

I separated the toys between two laundry baskets. Those that could be washed went in one and those that couldn't went in another. I've learned over the years that soaking toys in bleach solution sanitizes them but also can penetrate tiny little holes you didn't know existed in play food and leave bits of water behind. I want to sanitize the toys not leave small stores of bleach water for the kids to find so I devised a solution that works for us and I hope for you too!

I take some plastic mesh cabinet/drawer liner from the dollar store and cut it to fit my dishwasher. Press it down over the tiny little sticky up-y things in the dishwasher. The holes will help hold it into place. Pour all the little toys that would have fallen through onto it. Add bleach where you would have put soap in the dishwasher and splash a little extra in the bottom. Run the dishwasher. Make sure you adjust the heat setting if you have "meltables" in the mix. While the dishwasher runs wipe down all of the other toys with bleach wipes. I also wipe down the outside of books (which the baby likes to "eat") and our sofas (hooray for leather). When the dishwasher is done running I dump all of the toys from it into a freshly bleach-wiped laundry basket. They usually don't dry completely during the cycle so I can shake them around in the laundry basket near our woodstove to finish them off.

And hopefully we won't see the plague again until next year.

Corn Fritters AKA Pancakes for Dinner

Toddlers. One day they amaze you by hoovering everything in sight. The next day nothing will get them to eat. Fun times in our house.

We've been super frugal lately and my husband went a few months working overnights. This meant that I spent a couple of months alone with the kiddos for dinner and bedtime. (Sidenote: sarcastic "Yay") This meant that we ate pancakes for dinner. A lot. I'd strap the baby to my back and serve the toddler pancakes one by one as they came off the skillet. Pancakes are an awesome dinner because:

- They're cheap.
- They're fast.
- If I put fruit in them and use whole wheat flour they're healthy.
- Great excuse to use the amazing Grade B maple syrup a client of mine makes.
- Watching me cook them qualifies as dinner and a show to the toddler.

Now here's where we figure out if my mom reads my blog. She used to make "corn fritters" when I was little. I HATED them. I was never a big corn fan, she thought I was nuts. Basically she was serving pancakes for dinner and I was turning up my nose at them. Now I am an adult and I get it. It was an easy dinner for her to make and at the end of some days pancakes are about all I have the energy to make. So the other day I (gasp) made corn fritters. And you know what? They've grown on me.

Corn Fritters
(Serves 4)

1 cup masa harina (you could use cornmeal but the masa harina is finer and cornmeal and less likely to break apart)
1 cup frozen corn (if you use canned add a little extra flour)
1 egg
1 cup millk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut oil

1. In a bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk and masa harina. Stir until blended. Add the baking powder and salt. Mix.

2. In a skillet, melt the coconut oil. Dump it into the batter. I love coconut oil because just the residue from that little bit melted was enough to cook the entire batch of pancakes in.

3. Add corn kernels and stir.

4. Make circles of batter on the skillet and cook over medium. Flip after 1-2 minutes and try to achieve a golden brown color.

Serve warm with real maple syrup (please don't defile them with anything that didn't bleed out of a maple tree). 

Dish Soap & Underpant Helmets

One of the challenges of having two young kiddos who are only 20 months apart is the dreaded "schedule". I'm not a fan of being locked into a schedule but have found that designated nap times are a must follow in order to keep the baby from turning into a growling ball of fury.

And so with the baby quietly sleeping upstairs I attempt to keep the toddler busy. It goes something like this.

Toddler: Ayayayayayaya. (at this point I notice she has pulled underwear out of the folded clothes and is wearing them on her head)

Me: What are you doing?

Toddler: Is my helmet.

Me: Stay still I want a picture.

Toddler: (running) Hehehehehehee. Mommy, chase me. (takes underpants off of head) Your turn.

Me: Really?

Toddler: Yup. (I put them on.) Now you run Mommy. I chase you and take picture.

At this point I accept defeat and go back to my coffee.

So now I've started planning little activities to do during nap. While on Pinterest I came across a dish soap foam sensory activity. YouPinspireMe made it look easy, and it was. I've seen it repinned since then with different colors of foam courtesy of food coloring but I don't dig on green toddlers so we go dye-free here. Since I knew the toddler would immerse herself in the foam I made sure to use Seventh Generation dishsoap figuring it would be gentler on her skin.

All you need to do is put about 1 TBS of dish soap in your food processor and add 1/2 cup of warm water. Turn it on and let it spin away. The froth will grow filling the whole processor and you can dump it into the bathtub or into a container for the kids to play in. We've done both and it buys me some quiet underpants-on my head- free time.

Happy bubbles!

Pinterest Savvy: How to Become the Queen of Pinterest with A Free Book

Pinterest and I are tight. I'm fairly open with the fact that I would rather sit, wine in hand, and pin pictures about cleaning and organizing than actually clean and organize. At this point 50% of my blog traffic is coming from Pinterest so I convince myself it is a wise investment of time. (Then I pin time management ideas to balance out my delusions.) Occasionally, I look at folks who have millions of followers and I ask myself- How the heck did they get there? Because I want to be there, I dream of being there!

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Melissa Taylor, who runs ImaginationSoup.net and happens to be an award winning educator and writer. I'm not sure if I've shared this before but I was all signed up for education classes when I went off to college until a relative (who was a teacher) sat me down and talked me out of it. And that folks is how I ended up as PR/Marketing major. Melissa obviously did not have any disgruntled relatives to talk her out of educating so she went on to become a famous face on Pinterest (obviously this is the root of my problems). Melissa joined Pinterest and in less than a year had well over a million followers. And she has great hair, life just isn't fair sometimes.

Today marks the launch of Melissa's book on how you too can become a Pinterest goddess. The book, Pinterest Savvy How I Got 1 Million + Followers, is available free on Kindle for today 2/7/13 only. After that it will be $4.97. With the purchase of the book you have access to free worksheets. I adore worksheets. There is something satisfying about having instructions laid out for you and checking things off.

Melissa's book is packed full of all sorts of handy tips and tricks. Having used Pinterest for awhile I was surprised by how much I didn't know I didn't know! It is written in a conversational and easy to read style. I read the entire thing in one sitting and keep going back to re-read the sections I'm currently working on.

I've prettied up my boards, streamlined my description, and seen an increase in re-pins.

Do you want to learn more about:

* How to attract more Pinterest followers?
* How to achieve marketing & sales goals online (Did you know that average Pinterest users spend $80 vs. Facebook users $45? And that's not all in washing soda and glycerin so they can make their own detergent and body wash!)
* Success stories & tactics

Then head on over to Amazon and get Pinterest Savvy FREE today! 

As if that all isn't enough Melissa is giving away a Kindle Fire over on her site. Check out the details and enter to win here.

I challenge you to use Melissa's tips and report back. I'm starting dedicated Pinterest time today and I plan on reporting back on how my follower growth is in a month! Will you beat me?


* I was given access to Pinterest Savvy ahead of it's release date for the purposes of a review. My opinion is always my own as I am very bad at pretending to like things that I don't. I don't like Pinterest Savvy- I freaking LOVE it and hope to begin my slow takeover of Pinterest as soon as the kids go down for their naps!

Pee is a Part of My Life

Ahhhh motherhood. So many wonderful moments. Tiny hands cupping the breast while you nurse, going in at night to check on a sleeping baby, big hugs from little people, holding hands with sticky fingered toddlers and sharing a snack and a snuggle. And then it happens- you get peed on. Whether it was a boy diaper change that didn't happen quickly enough or a misaligned diaper getting peed on is jarring. Getting peed on while babywearing? Just plain old gross.

Yesterday I was off to the roasters for the day to work. My husband is just finishing up a stretch of several months where he was working nights. He is readjusting to daytime so I figured I'd bring one of the kids in with me for a short bit while he got up and got ready. The toddler insisted on "staying with Daddy" so the baby won the coffee trainee lottery. The timing was excellent. Naptime was afoot. I strapped her into her Ergo on my back and went about my business. Brewed coffee, scooped beans, filled web orders. Customers commented on how cute and peaceful she was.

Five minutes before my husband showed up my back felt warm.... and then I noticed a puddle on the floor. It was under me but I didn't make it. "Ga-ga- GA." Great. She woke herself up peeing on me. I wiped the floor up with a paper towel under the adorable Sanita clogs I had gotten on clearance (flash back to this post about pee on the post office floor), helped a few more customers and enlisted the help of my now present husband to remove the baby. He produced the only item of clothing he found in our cars that would fit me. A pair of his long underwear that he wore on nights he was on the mountain. They came up to my nipples. The clogs looked ridiculous so I switched to a pair of knit boot slippers my father in law sent me that I had in my car. I swear one of the Kardashian's may steal this rocking look:

On the good side of the battle of bodily fluids the toddler is doing quite well with potty training. She goes in cycles. Treats were getting too complicated (I'd forget them when we went out). Stickers were getting too messy. I refuse to scrape anymore Mater stickers off of various shoe soles and remove goo from items that have gone stickered through the wash. We're not motivated enough to stick to a chart nicely so I took the lazy/I love Sharpies approach. Smiley faces. Directly on the pullup (we were using cloth but she wasn't able to differentiate between her and the baby and kept getting angry about wearing "baby diapers"). This way she gets instant gratification, I get to see how many times she's used the pullup and Daddy can praise her when he sees the smilies. Plus a sharpie is lots easier to remember to bring! She gets a smiley face drawn on whenever she gets to the bathroom dry and goes in the potty.

Win, win. Less pee on me and more in the potty!

I Love Reading

I love to read. If there was a fragrance called "Library" I would be in line to buy it. I dream about having a card catalog in my house. When I was younger I devoured books, reading program champion here. I'd fill up the whole summer program reading sheet in one week. When I was a little older I read one of the mystery novels my mom had checked out. I was so quick with it that my mom decided I was just skimming not "reading" so she quizzed me. Problem was I remembered more than her and had to keep checking details.

Now my children also love to read. My son proudly signed his first library card days after turning four and being old enough to have his own. My middle child reads quietly to herself (or at times the dog).

In an effort to spend a little extra time with the toddler I let her stay up a little late tonight. Nostalgia washed over me as she cuddled up close. My mom used to pick out chapter books when I was growing up. Her, my sister and I read through James & the Giant Peach, The Borrowers, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and so many more.

And then I started reading Mrs. Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. Suddenly I was sitting in the back of a Toyota station wagon driving through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In the story Miss Rumphius makes the world a more beautiful place by spreading lupine seeds. On our annual family vacations areas of New Hampshire would be covered with them and my mom would always point out the window and bring up Miss Rumphius. What a wonderful concept- Making the world a more beautiful place!

Yasmina sat in rapt attention through the story. It's wordy and not standard toddler material. She pointed to the flowers and called them pretty. I cannot wait to see what beauty my little jasmine-flower namesake will bring to the world.


FYI- We read these books off of a website through Penguin Books  that offers free web based books to read. (You will need to register).

Nutella Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar (and Eggnog!)

 

 Nutella makes me happy. 

I love licking the knife off after making my daughter a 'tella wrap or dipping pretzels in it (best snack ever!).

Around the holidays eggnog also enters our house. My husband hates it so there is usually extra. I used our leftover eggnog to make these spiced delicious muffins with a Nutella surprise in them. I also made them using regular milk and it works just as well. This reminds me of a Good Housekeeping recipe my mom made when I was little. The muffins were dipped in cinnamon sugar and it always felt like we had been extra good to get something so sugar-y for breakfast. To balance out the topping on this muffin the batter is actually relatively healthy. I use a small amount of brown sugar, applesauce replaces any butter or oil and by switching out the egg & milk for available substitutes these could easily be vegan-friendly.

Perfect for breakfast when it looks like this out:

Nutella Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar
(makes 12) These taste best eaten warm when the filling is gooey so I don't usually make extra for later.

1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk or eggnog
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
Nutella (roughly 1/2-1 tsp per muffin- 12 total)

For topping:
2 TBS butter
3 TBS sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400. These muffins are going to bake for 5 minutes at 400 and 10 more at 350. I know it's a pain but it creates a nice crust around the muffin and keeps the Nutella soft. I experimented with one temperature but it causes the Nutella to cook into the batter which I didn't want.

2. Mix together applesauce and brown sugar. Add egg, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Once blended add flour and stir just until it's worked in. Don't overmix as this is already a dense batter.

3. Spray a muffin tin and scoop one spoonful of batter into the bottom of each tin to cover it. Go through and add a small spoon of Nutella to each right in the middle. Then top with an additional spoonful of batter dropped right onto the Nutella. It will ooze down and cover the Nutella. The batter will yield just enough to make 12 muffins so make sure not to overfill!

4. Bake for 5 minutes at 400. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out the muffins to cool. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

5. Melt the butter in the microwave in a small bowl. Realistically you only need 1 TBS but then it's really hard to dip the muffins. In another small bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar. Once the muffins have cooled dip the tops first into the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately and with lots of napkins for the kids! Enjoy :)