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 :)

Remembering to Say "I Love You"

I have rewritten this over and over.

I am sorry that parents lost their children. Sisters and brothers lost their playmates and grandparents lost their pride and joy.

Quick Eggplant "Quiche"

Eggplant is hot right now. Not just the vegetable (although I have seen assorted "arty" eggplant pics everywhere) but the color. Last week I picked up two eggplants and they've been on the counter looking at me as I deliberated on what to do with them. Last night they became.... delicious. I made a quick and easy "quiche".

'Twas Midway Through December

'Twas a night in December, the month half complete
All the children were sleeping, a quite major feat;
The stockings were still stored up in the attic,
Decorating with tiny children had proven problematic;

A New Nursing Tool - Premama Vitamins

Breastfeeding isn't easy. I thought it would just happen but that serene cameo never happened with my first two babies. With my son he arrived in a quick and frantic hour, 5 weeks early. After he was rushed off to NICU he was given formula before I saw him. They continued to give him formula and at 22 and two thousand miles from my family I didn't know my rights. He never adapted to breastfeeding and after pumping for a bit to supplement the formula and a round of mastitis that hospitalized me we stopped trying. Years later I gave birth to my lovely little Yasmina. She was a feisty one (and still is) and breastfeeding her was similar to trying to hold a feral cat still. Yet we somehow made it to 3 months at which point in time I went back to my travel job and had to wean her. When Yasmina turned a year old we found out we were pregnant with our Hurricane baby, Sohayla. I've now been able to experience happy cuddly nursing moments. She cuddles and has a hearty (yet gentle) appetite even now at six months. It's important to me to model a good nursing relationship to my kids in the hopes that when they're older they will also try breastfeeding with their kids.

Turkey and Babies and Truck Stops- Oh My!

This last 10 days has been a whirlwind of fur, cleaning & driving. We had the "untraditional" Thanksgiving this year. To make a long story short my father-in-law is going in for a transplant and we flew down Thanksgiving Eve to see him, introduce him to the baby, and drive his dogs back up to Vermont so we can care for them during his recovery period.

A Pin-spirational Boutique in Ft. Worth

A few short weeks ago I was in Dallas for the Family Travel Conference. It was inspiring, educational, and a great chance to catch up with tons of my fellow TravelingMom bloggers (and meet wonderful new friends). After the conference was over I was graciously invited to come on over and see what Ft. Worth had to offer (they're very hospitable down there in Texas).

How to Put Your Toddler to Bed

Aaaahh, toddler bedtime. The time of night that takes up pretty much the whole night, and sometimes has an encore performance at 3am that culminates in a little person joining you in bed. This little person will tenderize your kidneys with their tiny (yet hard and sharp feet) until the wee hours of the morning when they will pry your eyelids open and state "You 'wake?".

Turkey Stuffed Delicata Squash with Mushroom Gravy

I love Thanksgiving- the cooking, the family, the traditions and the flavors. A pile of delicata squash has been taunting me for weeks now. After canning slices of about 15 pounds of it I was at a loss with what to do to the rest. I've seen recipes for stuffed delicata before but always in "boat" form. Whether you just like Thanksgiving flavors or you're aiming for a smaller holiday with an easier turkey main dish this stuffed delicata looks chic on the plate and pairs well with traditional flavors. From a budget standpoint 1 lb of meat is stretched very far here. In our household I sometimes use only 4 squash and then cook the extra meat with a little cheese on top in two ramekins for toddler meals.

Banana Chocolate Chip Chia Lactation Cookies

I'm currently a nursing mama and like some other moms I know I sometimes feel that I'm not producing enough. It seems to be a common concern, and while I know that many schools of thought say "You're fine. Your body knows what your baby needs." I need to actually do something about it to feel sane. So I started making lactation cookies. I mean c'mon, it's an excuse to eat cookies and feel like I'm doing something good! I really can feel a difference when I use these especially if I eat one shortly before pumping.