Halloween

It's still November so this isn't THAT late. Ok, maybe it is. 

You may remember last year I made Wonder Pets costumes for all of us. It was a pain in the butt, took forever, and I swore I would never do it again. This year, I thought, I'm just going to buy whatever for the kids. Then Lily decided she wanted to be Sofia the First and Thomas should be Clover the Bunny, and hey you guys can be Queen Miranda and King Roland. So... I ended up making some of it, but not nearly as involved as last time. 

Here we have Sofia (totally store bought, thanks mom!).

And Clover.. It is nearly impossible to find a grey bunny costume for some reason. So I had to make this. I used an old jacket that was too small for me. I cut the hat and ears out of the torso, then sewed the legs together for matching pants. We already had a grey onesie and slippers. Add some pink felt to the ears and cotton fluff for a tail and tada! Instant bunny.

Here's King Roland with the kids. I made simple satin sashes with a button and fabric paint letters and sewed up a couple of blingy felt crowns.

The day before Halloween we took the train down to Joe's office where they had trick or treating. I think it's so nice that they do things like that so parents get a chance to celebrate with their families a bit. There was another family there with a Sofia and Clover. Lily thought that was amazing. 

And the haul... After Lily dumped out her pumpkin bucket (thanks Susan!) she lined it all up in the order she planned on eating it. She is my daughter, after all, you've gotta have a plan. For a couple of weeks she was pretty excited about getting to eat one piece after lunch each day. Now she's mostly forgotten about it so I get to eat it. 

Halloween day itself it poured. We did the super-lame-o drive around thing. We drove to my parents', Joe's parents', my brother and his wife's, and then made one last stop to see some friends where we ended up actually walking door to door for a block or so. We had enough fun to say we did it and got soaked. Then Joe unexpectedly got to leave work early so we ordered pizza, watched The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, unplugged the doorbell and put out a bowl for local candy hounds (we live on the second floor and tromping up and down the stairs with a baby and a 3 year old every 2 minutes was very unpleasant). Pretty relaxed, very fun, a total success. 

Random Thoughts

I was in the middle of a very late Halloween post with lots of pictures, but it apparently vanished. So instead I'm going to write about several small things probably not worthy of individual posts. 

1) The Art of Weekending

With Joe working long hours during the week, weekends have become super important both as a time to all be together and as a time for each of us to recharge. The key to a good weekend, for us, is to have a plan that is open to change based on how we feel when we wake up Saturday morning. We always start by walking to the Buzz Cafe for breakfast and to listen to Joe's dad play the banjo. Then we usually have one thing each day that we HAVE to go to (visiting family, pageant rehearsal, something previously scheduled). We try to plan one fun outing that is completely optional. If we're feeling adventurous, we'll all go have fun. If I need a break and a chance to catch up with things at home (or just take a nap), Joe will take the kids out. Or if a Joe needs to get stuff done, I'll take them. We try to be pretty conservative with our commitments so the weekends don't feel like work. So far, they've all been pretty great. 

2) Sleep

Because Joe has been getting home late, I have been having to put the kids to bed by myself. This is a particular challenge for us because Thomas sleeps in our bed, Lily falls asleep in her bed with one of us sitting next to her, our bedroom is joined to her bedroom, and neither of them will go to sleep if the other one is within earshot (except in the car for some reason). I am fully aware that these are all problems we have created. At first I tried laying down in our bed with Thomas and told Lily to stay in her bed and listen to music. Well, she just kept on talking to me through the wall and then Thomas wouldn't settle. So we ended up just going cold turkey and said goodnight, stay in your room and listen to music, I'll be in the living room with Thomas. She cried herself to sleep the first two nights then got over it. Now she goes to bed happily and just gets out of bed a couple of times early on to ask for another stuffed animal or book or to listen to Puff the Magic Dragon again. I was amazed. The transition was so easy. Why hadn't we done this before? She's doing so great! I found some random things in her bed when I changed the sheets, but she had been playing in there earlier so I didn't think much of it. Then the other night she came out and said she had found her ring in one of her boxes. Why are you looking in that box? Silence. Turns out that what I assumed was peaceful, quiet going to sleep-ness was really quiet, covert party time in her room. She likes going to bed by herself because she gets to listen to music, read books, play with stuffed animals and her dollhouse all without anyone watching her or knowing what she's doing. The other morning she said she had a Halloween party with all of her animals. As far as I can tell she's usually asleep for real by 9pm at the latest, so I guess that's good enough. 

3) Housekeeping

Two kids make a ridiculous amount of mess. All the time. Everywhere. I've been struggling to figure out a way to keep the house not looking like a sty without just parking the kids in front of the TV for an hour a day. I had come across some cleaning plans on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. Some of them are ridiculous. Who wipes down the baseboards once a week? But some are more reasonable. I don't know why I never thought of breaking it down into doing one thing a day instead of all at once. It's so much easier this way! Every morning I do one load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, make the beds, and sweep. This only takes like 15 minutes and I can usually get most of it done before we walk to school. Lily likes to help sweep and her two official chores are to match the socks and make her bed. We try to do toy pickup throughout the day together.  Monday I scrub the bathroom while Lily is at preschool and Thomas takes a nap. Tuesday I dust. Lily and Thomas LOVE to help with this. Wednesday I vacuum. Thursday I wash the floors and/or change the sheets. Friday is free! Or, more likely making up for whatever I missed earlier in the week. Over the weekend I try to get one larger project done (finish unpacking something, clean the fridge, hang art, etc.). Turns out when I stick to this the house never really looks like it needs to be cleaned. It's amazing. Things might not be as organized as I would ideally like, but it's clean, relatively tidy, and I wouldn't be  embarrassed if  someone unexpectedly came over. 

All of this is rather mundane, but it's my life these days. I'll try to put together the Halloween pictures again and there will definitely be a Thanksgiving post, probably sometime before Christmas. Have a great weekend!

I puréed bacon.

True story. I made a soup for dinner tonight that involved putting bacon in a blender. Thank god it's fall.

From One Pot, One Bowl:

Bacon & Pea Soup
All the flavor of traditional pea and ham soup, but with a fraction of the effort, time, and money.

Serves 4
3/4 pound thick cut bacon, chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 1/2 cups frozen peas (reserve a few for garnish)
1 box (32 ounces) vegetable broth [I used chicken broth instead.]

In a large saucepan, fry the bacon until golden. Set aside some for garnish. Move the rest to the side and in the fat gently fry the onion until just translucent. Add the peas and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the peas are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a handheld blender, blend the soup until smooth. To serve, pour the soup into bowls and garnish with a few whole peas and a little crispy bacon. 

Omigosh is this delicious. We don't have an immersion blender, so I just did it in two batches in the blender and it worked out fine. I served it with the Maltese Cheese Pie from the same cookbook.

Maltese Cheese Pie
With four simple ingredients, this pie is really quite amazing.

Serves 4 to 6
3 eggs
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line an 8-inch round baking dish with parchment paper. In a bowl, beat the eggs; set aside a small amount to paint the top of the pie. Stir the ricotta and parsley into the eggs. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Line the baking dish with 1 sheet of the pastry. Pour in the ricotta mixture and cover with the remaining pastry; seal the edges with a fork and trim the excess pastry. Brush the top crust with the reserved egg and cut 2 or 3 vent holes. Bake until the pastry is golden on top 35 to 40 minutes.

This turned out mostly okay. The puff pastry didn't quit firm up how I expected, maybe I just needed to leave it in longer. But it was warm and cheesy and went well with the pea soup on this chilly, rainy night.

I checked out this cookbook from the library, and it's okay. I wouldn't rush out and buy it. The gimmick is 4 ingredients in one pot or bowl. Mostly I've used it as a good place to get ideas and then use the recipe as a starting off point for a dish. These two recipes, however, were worth sharing. 

Happy fall!

One Shot

Joe started his fancy new job at a law firm. 

...Snap back to reality...

And I'm back to being a full-time-plus stay at home mom.

...Oh there goes gravity...

It's been quite a week. Those couple of lines from Eminem's 'One Shot' keep running through my head. Having Joe home for the last two months has been such a blessing, and I knew it was going to be a tough transition when he started, but I was still blindsided. 

Monday was a complete disaster. Somebody was crying all of the time, every ten minutes Lily asked "Where's daddy?", Joe didn't get home until 8PM, and all I could think was "This is it. This is how the rest of my life is going to be." Then Tuesday, glorious Tuesday. We went to the zoo and had an amazing three hours followed by a really solid nap. Dinner was easier, Joe got home earlier, and all ended well. Wednesday was picture day, so that led to a hectic morning, but over all went fine. I was supposed to work Thursday and Friday, but that was cancelled. I was disappointed because I really look forward to decorating for one or two days, but I took advantage of the previously arranged child care to get the last of our furniture built and the beginning of our art on the walls. 

The two hardest parts of our day are nap time and dinner prep. The trouble with nap time is the only way I can get them both to sleep is to drive. They both need to sleep at the same time, but they keep each other awake if they're in the same room ( but not the same car) and Lily won't lie down in bed by herself. We've finally got her staying in her own bed ALL night, but one of us has to sit in a chair next to her until she falls asleep. So I'm not really sure what to do other than drive for an hour and a half to two hours each day. That's getting a little expensive, but at least I get a chance to listen to some public radio, drink something caffeinated, and not be touched by anyone for a while. 

Dinner time is a constant struggle. I really like to make real food, but that is really hard with two little ones. Lily can "help", but Thomas just screams. I'm toying with the idea of getting a mother's helper to come from like 4-5 each day just to watch them while I cook. That seems a bit ridiculous, though. 

The absolute best part of my day is the half mile walk to and from Lily's preschool. Things are usually rushed and chaotic as we hurry to get out the door, but once we're out, everything changes. Part of the rush is so we can leave a little early and take our time on the walk. Smell flowers, crunch leaves, pet dogs and cats, and just chat with each other. Lily dances and sings and tells stories. Thomas babbles and coos and sometimes naps. The walk home is slower because she's more worn out, but she tells me all about her morning and usually makes elaborate plans for the afternoon. These walks are precious. 

And between those two walks I have my little fat baby all to myself. Almost standing on his own, he's still so snugly and happy and round. Joe played a Pete Seeger song for me called Little Fat Baby, and it's now one of my favorites. If you have little people in your life, you need to download it right now. (I couldn't find it on YouTube, otherwise there would be a link here.) I can't believe he's ten months old already, and in know how fast they are going to keep passing by. These mornings  are precious. 

This week has reminded me that I am a mama who goes. We need to get out of the house for all of our well being, especially after nap time. I am grateful to have a nice park at the end of the block so when the late afternoon crazies arrive we can just swoop out the door for a quick romp and then start the dinner battle. I foresee many afternoon trips to the library and the conservatory in our future, if the weather ever turns colder. 

And through all of this I'm trying to remember to enjoy some of it. It's not all fun, it's intense, and it's exhausting, but the days are so fleeting. I'm trying to hold onto the walks, and the mornings, and the moments of joy so that when the breakdowns and crankies take over, I don't get too overwhelmed. The opportunity to be such a big part of my children's lives will only come once. These days are precious. 

...You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime...

Summer Round-up

I was going through my phone and decided that I needed to add some pictures from our summer. As not-fun as I remember it being, our pictures say otherwise. The first big event was graduation! 

Then bar review started and that meant basically single-parenting for two months. This led to lots of random adventures and photos. 

Then Lily turned 3! We had a small celebration with Lily's two favorite friends, Ainsley and Louise, on her actual birthday, followed by another small celebration with family. That means she got TWO cakes!

Lily got her first haircut. She only agreed to do this on two conditions: 1) She wanted it cut like Sofia the First; 2) she wanted to wear a tiara when she was done. 

We spent a week at the cabin.

And then miraculously fall started. Lily had her first ballet class, we planted a mason jar herb garden, Thomas is standing and eating solids like a champ, and lots and LOTS of dress up. 

Look at this sleeping chub. His legs are so fat his little top foot can't reach the mattress and just kind of hangs there. 

So it turns out that the summer of misery wasn't so bad after all. 

Pre-School

Lily started preschool! 

It's a little bit hard for me to believe that I have a child old enough to be going to preschool, but both she and I are definitely ready. Once we figured out where we would be living the search began. I think I wrote an earlier post about the stresses involved in selecting the "right" preschool. Since we started looking pretty late in the season for preschool applications, that significantly narrowed our options. But, my only criteria for choosing where she went were that 1) we could walk to it, and 2) they would not actively abuse her. And we found the perfect one! 

The only required school supply was a backpack that can fit a 9x12" piece of construction paper. Lily had a really cute little toddler backpack that can fit at most a 5x7" paper. So we looked around and anything that was big enough either looked ridiculous on her because she's a peanut, or cost $90 (I'm looking at you Duluth Pack). So I decided to make one. I found this adorable pattern on Pinterest, my new obsession. I looked at the dimensions for cutting and thought "Perfect!". Only I forgot to allow for seams. So... after all that it's about half an inch too small in each direction. BUT, you can fit a 9x12" piece of construction paper in it if it is bowed a little bit. 

Lily picked out her outfit for the first day. She wanted to wear her special Easter dress, made by the fabulous Rebecca Lynn Designs, and flip-flops to "match mama". Finally, she wanted her hair done in a Rapunzel braid. 

Then it was time for pictures. 

Lily LOVES going to preschool. She's excited to play with her friends and check out all the fun things in their classroom. On the first day, we all walked together and we hung out for about 15 minutes in the classroom chatting with some of the other parents. We asked Lily if she was ready for us to leave and she said "Yep! Goodbye!" and ran off to play dress up. No tears were shed on either of our parts. 

When I go to pick her up, she's usually pretty tired on the walk home so we just chat a little bit about what she did if she wants to. I try not to bombard her with questions, even though I have a million. But throughout the rest of the day, usually after naptime, she shares about things they did, who she played with, what she liked and didn't like, etc. We're a week into it, and it's going fabulously. 

While Joe is still at home, I'm trying to take advantage of those precious hours. Joe watches Thomas while I am FINALLY able to really get things settled. We have everything unpacked in that it is out of boxes, but the music room is a mess, our clothes aren't in the right drawers, and a million other small things that just haven't gotten done yet. It feels so good to actually have things settled and arranged and right. I'm looking forward to October, when Joe goes back to work and it'll just be me and my baby boy for two and a half hours three times a week. 

I love September. I love that back to school feeling. There's so much hope and optimism and a sense of starting fresh. I'm going to try to hold onto that for as long as possible. 

Ready

I'm ready.

Ready to send my big girl to her first day of preschool.

Ready to spend some quality time with my not so little baby boy.

Ready to once and for all finish unpacking.

Ready for summer, with all of it's heat and long days and chaos, to end.

Ready for fall, with all of it's apples and chills and order, to start.

Ready for change. Big girl at school, big baby starting to walk, and Joe heading back to work in October. Constantly tumbling forward with plenty of stops to enjoy the scenery. 

And once again, ready to write. This summer I was just too overwhelmed with just how un-perfect my life was I just couldn't bear to put on a happy face and write cute stories about our life. And I couldn't bear to read about how seemingly blissful everyone else's life was. So I withdrew. But now I'm back and happy to be here. 

Run Like A Mother

I went for my first run with the double jogging stroller today. I've been on plenty of walks, but this was the first time trying to move faster than a steady saunter. It went great. I can't tell you how much I love this stroller. It has a really smooth ride, handles like a charm, and isn't too heavy even with the car seat and both kids in it. 

We registered to run a 5k on June 2nd. It doesn't sound like much, but for someone who hasn't run in over a year, it's a worthy goal. I'm really looking forward into getting back to running regularly and doing the occasional race. I really love races. They give you something to work towards, you get fun shirts, the people are great, and it just feels good. 

I'm trying my best not to over do it. I put on my running shorts and my St. Olaf Track and Field shirt and my head suddenly thinks my body is 18 years old again and has been training for both cross country and track. I've always been pretty good at the mental side of running, so I push through a really hard, long run. Then my 28-year-old-mother-of-two body spends the next four days saying 'I told you so' while I audibly groan every time I move. 

It took everything in me to not let that happen today. It was sunny, 70 degrees, a light breeze, on a flat running path. Perfect. I could have just started running and gone forever. But I didn't. Instead I stuck to the plan, and am taking baby steps to getting back into it. While training for the half marathon I did in 2011, I found that doing a run/walk combination was the easiest thing to help my legs get used to the longer distances without making my bones hurt. So that's my plan this time: slowly increasing the running to walking ratio, with the ultimate goal of running the full 5k with the stroller. 

So I did it. I ran some, walked more, and it felt good. It felt good while I was running and it feels good now this evening. I definitely feel like I ran, but I'm not in pain and I'll be ready to do it again on Wednesday no problem. 

Lily even ran with me for part of it. That girl really loves to just run. While I was doing a brisk walk to warm up, she ran along side for a full quarter mile. She can easily walk for a mile or more, but I didn't know she could just run for that long of a stretch. Must be those New Balance shoes I bought her. And don't worry, I'm not one of those crazy parents that forces their kid to exercise to extremes. She wanted to run and as soon as she said she wanted to stop she hopped right back in the stroller. Will I encourage her to do it again? Sure. Will I suggest she try to go a few steps further? Sure. Will I make her do it? Absolutely not. 

So yeah, I'm feeling good. Still got some endorphins from the run and happiness from the sun.

Big Girl

Lily is becoming such a big girl. Talking in full paragraphs, making up stories, helping me with cooking, cleaning, and watching Thomas, getting excited for preschool in the fall, wanting to be friends with everyone she meets, sleeping like a champ, eating a ton, running, jumping, dancing, everything. 

This morning was our last Wiggleworms class ever. Wiggleworms is a kids music class offered by the Old Town School of Folk Music at the HPNC near our house. Lily has been going to this since she was nine months old, and Thomas has been going since he was 5 days old. Miss Shanta has taught Lily to sing, skip, hop, dance, play the mbira, and to sit still and listen to music. She has seen Thomas go from a sleeping through class newborn to a wide-eyed baby wiggling on the floor and playing with the shakers. It was more emotional for me than I expected. I was actually a bit teary at the end. As we're getting ready to move there will be lots of 'lasts', lots of things I will be very sorry to say goodbye to and they're all making me realize how fast my babies are growing up. 

We all know Lily is a girly girl. She loves all things frilly, flouncy, and purple. She is also obsessed with wearing slippers, as in Cinderella slippers. Basically, these are fancy little girl shoes. Unfortunately, those kinds of shoes just don't hold up to running in the park, hiking, or walking around the zoo all day. So I bought her a pair of big girl New Balance gym shoes. I think brand name shoes are ridiculous for little kids because they fit for three weeks and cost a fortune. But my experience with cheaper ones is that they just fall apart. So I got these a half size to big, and I'm hoping they last through the summer. They're super comfortable, really well made, and of course extra girly. Lily calls them her beautiful shoes.  

And finally, this is probably the cutest thing you will hear all week. Lily frequently sings You Are My Sunshine to Thomas when he is crying to help him calm down. And he almost always does. I've been dying to get a recording of it, but she has been camera shy and Thomas is usually crying in the background. Today I asked her to sing but kept the phone on the table so she didn't know she was being recorded. I love it so much. 

Beach Day!

Thanks to the new jogging stroller, I was able to take the kids to the beach this afternoon for the first time this Spring! For the first time since Thomas was born! For the first time since the last time! Ah! Beach! 

Can you tell I like the beach?

This will probably be the thing I will miss the most when we move. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to just up and go to the beach on a whim. 

Tiny gnome and beach towel. 

Baby toes in the sand!

Big girl digging.

I love the beach.

March and April Resolutions

I'm only writing this post for house-keeping purposes. Basically I've just been treading water on these. I've been thinking a lot about my 'last year of my 20's' resolutions and even getting some things going with them. The weather has been crappy, I've been in kind of a funk, and these were just really place-holder resolutions anyway. 

1) Exercise 5 times a week. This did not happen. Between bad weather, bad colds, and just general laziness it just didn't happen. I've also come to realize that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to work out at home with the two of them. Lily wants to copy everything I'm doing and if I'm not watching out super carefully she's likely to get smacked in the face during jumping jacks or she'll crawl under me doing pushups or she'll try to do squats/curls holding Thomas. Just general chaos that usually ends up in me shouting and one or both of them crying. 

So I gave in and bought a double jogging stroller. I was really opposed to getting one at first. Personally, I believe kids Lily's age should be walking or riding a bike or something more active than just sitting and riding in a stroller. But Thomas is getting too heavy to carry for a long time while she walks or is on the push bike. There are times when we just need to go faster or she has been walking for a long time and is legitimately tired. So I caved. It came last week and now I can just strap them both down and go for a walk/run without either of them crying (much). So far I love it. I'm looking forward to nap time walks instead of drives, going to places like the zoo where Lily walks most of the way but can crash after a while, and being able to walk to farther places again.

I absolutely hated the double wide ones I tried, so I searched and searched for a tandem. I finally decided on the Hauck Freerider. It came with a rain cover and a car seat adapter. It's too heavy to run with the car seat on it, but Thomas only needs that for 2 more months. I can walk with him just in the regular stroller seat, but he's still a little small for running that way. Lily loves it. She calls it riding in her fort. 

2) Keep up with the housework. Eh, this is fine. I freak out about once a week and demand that Joe take the kids SOMEWHERE ELSE while I manically clean for a couple of hours.  

3) Cook dinner once a week. This is also just kind of eh. Mostly we tag team dinners. I get things going and then Joe finishes things up. So we both end up doing some cooking. Probably my favorite thing we've made in a while was the Irish Soda Bread. This is a non-traditional version from Ina Garten with currants and orange peel and is absolutely fabulous. And really easy to make to boot. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/index.html

For Easter I made a lemon lavender cupcake bouquet. This is so easy to do I would highly recommend trying it the next time you need a pretty, baked good. The icing was getting a little warm, that's why the leaves are droopy. 

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/lavender-frosting/

http://cakecentral.com/a/rose-bouquet-cupcakes

Let it be.

Several times I've started and abandoned a long, wordy post about all the turmoil in my life recently and just haven't had the heart to post it. I'm tired of dwelling on all of the negative things. In short, it was finals, we're trying to plan for the summer, we were all stressed, we were all sick, and we all survived. Now that it's Spring Break the world is a much sunnier place. So this one is mostly photos, fewer words, and lots of fun.

When you put Thomas in the high chair his chubby little legs sometimes get stuck and he looks like a little baby Buddha.   

Our Irish feast: bangers and mash, soda bread, roasted root veggies, and of course some Guinness. 

My two Irish babies: Lily helping make soda bread and Thomas desperately wanting to help.  

Cold weather cabin fever has led to some interesting imaginative play. 

Happy Birthday turtle cake for my father-in-law made entirely out of supplies I already had and Lily helped quite a bit.

It's a bit hard to see, but Lily has set Thomas up quite nicely. She wrapped him in her panda towel to keep him "nice warm", laid out a book for him to read, and positioned the mirror so he could see his face. She loves being a little mama.

We visited the Adler Planetarium and I was pleasantly surprised by the number and quality of little kid activities. I'd like to go back with just Joe to look at some of the more detailed exhibits and catch a show. 

This morning we went to the Chicago Easter Eggstravaganza at Soldier Field. Lily got some candy and climbed all the way through one of those inflatable obstacle courses. Joe got to stand on the grass on the field. And I got to take pictures. 

Lily got a haircut! She said she wanted short hair just before bath time so I grabbed the hair scissors and hacked off a hunk. I needed to trim it a little to even it out, and we'll see the final results in the morning after it dries. 

So that's some of the good in our lives of late. And the rest, well, we'll just let it be.