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Stephanie at My Thorns Have Roses tagged me for the 11 things post.  The rules are to post 11 facts about myself, answer the 11 questions she asked and then ask 11 of my own questions of another 11 people.

Here goes nothing:

1. I have a fear of walking over grates and I worry that will prevent me from going to and enjoying New York City some day.
2. The majority of my workout playlist comes from Glee.  I have no idea what I’d workout too if that show wasn’t around.  I don’t even really watch the show anymore, but I still get the songs from iTunes.
3. Early on in my first job a coworker was reformulating a chocolate frosting.  She needed to figure out what flavor profile to target, so she bought a huge table full of chocolate – pudding, bars, cakes, ice cream, cookies, bars, frostings, candies, etc – and had a few of us from the lab come over and rank our favorites.  I loved my job that day.
4. The first funeral I attended was my grandmother’s when I was 33.
5. I avoid WalMart at all costs.  It absolutely steals your joy the minute you walk in.  I think they pipe some joy-stealing chemical through the air.
6. I like to have something to read whenever I sit down to eat alone.  There is always a magazine or book I’m re-reading on my table.
7. I like reading adoption blogs and am very inspired by those families, especially the ones that adopt special needs or traumatized children.
8. I thoroughly enjoy people watching at the gym and have elaborate life stories in my head for several of the women I see often.
9. I’ve never had a broken bone that required a cast.
10. I had hot tea for the first time on a flight to Australia at 17.  Until that moment I never knew tea could be served hot.  It was a revelation.
11. I don’t get the hype around Justin Bieber.  At all.

1. Who is your favorite comedian?

Demetri Martin.

2. Do you see yourself blogging 5 years from now?

I have no idea.  Probably, as it’s become a nice way for me to record our lives and take little snapshots in time of what we are reading/eating/doing/learning.

3. What’s your favorite form of exercise?

Yoga in a group setting.

4. What did you get into the most trouble with as a youth?

I was embarrassingly good as a youth.  Although one time a group of us got together to work on a group take-home chemistry test.  We met in one of our friend’s empty rent-homes, thus there was no home phone.  (There was also no toilet paper, so we pretended we were on a scavenger hunt and knocked on a neighbor’s door to get some.) This was in the pre-cell phone days and although we were WORKING ON A CHEMISTRY  TEST, all of our parents were furious because we were out of touch for so long.

5. If you found out you were going to die tomorrow, what would be the FIRST thing you did after leaving the doctor’s office?

Hug my kids. Second thing would be to get a full-fat, full sugar Frappacino and then head to the park with my family.

6. What would you name a movie about your life?

Eat, Pray, Read, Sleep, Blog.

7. What was your favorite grade in school?

An A+.  Just kidding – 12th grade

8. If you could have an intimate dinner with any celebrity, who would you choose and why?

Intimate like romantic, I’d go with Ryan Reynolds, assuming I wasn’t married.  Of course.  :)

Intimate like private conversation, I’d go with Jennifer Garner.  She just seems like someone I would like in real life.

9. If you had to relocate yourself to an entirely different country, where would you choose?

Australia.

10. Are you with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Yes, even if I am willing to cheat on him with Ryan Reynolds.

11. Is there any topic you absolutely refuse to talk about on your blog?

I don’t see myself ever talking about sex or politics.

I want to tag some readers and frequent commenters.  Please answer one (or all) of these questions:

1. Who was your favorite relative when you were a kid?
2. What is the first memory you have?
3. Have you ever gotten in an argument with a stranger?
4. If you could choose between a weekend away alone or with friends, which would you choose?
5. Favorite musician?
6. Do you have any phobias?
7. What would be the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
8. What would be the things you grabbed if you had to flee your house quickly due to a fire?
9. What were you doing when you heard about 9/11?
10. Do you have a will?
11. What is your Starbucks (or any coffee shop) order?

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I am not a crafty mom.  That’s why I have a food blog and not a craft blog.  God, who has a huge sense of humor, has given me a crafty, artistic daughter.  So, I’m slowly conquering my tendency to start cleaning up art supplies within 2 minutes of getting them out, trying to embrace the inherent messiness of crafts with kids and, really, just get over myself.

I get Family Fun magazine and am honestly impressed at the creative yet reasonable crafts they have in each issue.  Most don’t require 5 trips to the craft store and  skill with wood working or metal welding like other craft magazines.

I saw this craft in the February Issue and this thought process followed:

Spoons with white chocolate and sprinkles. Hummmmm.

I can do that.

Sprinkles are easily contained on a cookie sheet.

Melted white chocolate is easily contained in a ziploc bag.

Only two stores to get supplies: craft store for ribbon, clear bags, and Wilton sprinkles,  grocery store for spoons and white chocolate.

I can do that.

A craft the kids will enjoy, one that is good for gifts, one that only requires one trip to one craft store, one that can be done for $15?

I can do that.

And I did.  We did.  And, dare I say, it was fun.

In process (with some neighbor friends).

Finished Product

Close Up

Are you a crafty person?

• Comments 7 Comments
• Categories Kid Friendly

I’m a bit late in getting this post up as I got served with a mean headache last night.  Which is my disclaimer for the lack of witty and, well, interesting commentary.  

It’s time for yet another What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Jenn at Peas and Crayons.  This month Jenn wants the WIAW bloggers to emphasize vegetables, which is thankfully pretty easy for me.  If she wanted up to emphasize fashion, creative photographs or crafty decor, I’d be up a creek.  Vegetables, however, I’ve got a handle on.

The day started out great.  I made some breakfast for the munchkins:

oatmeal + oranges (alliteration unplanned)

and then packed their lunches.

girl: cucumbers+carrots+red pepper, pita chips, apple sauce, cheese + tortillas

boy: celery, applesauce, cheese puffs, cheese + tortilla, cucumber

I had a cup of tea (unpictured) while driving the girl to school and then came back home and made my breakfast.

Take 1:

Take 2 (sans the cutie in the back):

steel cut oats + fruit and nuts, green juice

I generally order hot tea at Starbucks and on the days I forget my cup (bad for the environment and I don’t get the $.10 savings), I get even more guilt from the double-cupped teas.  I save the outer cup and use them for to-go cups on days that I’m eating in the car.  Oh, and husband if you are reading this, I most certainly did not eat in our new (to us) car….

I took the boy to preschool and then hightailed it to the gym.  I did my once a week run (which is why I’ll never call myself a runner) and got cleaned up.  Did some grocery shopping while hungry, but managed to not buy anything too bad.  I wisely avoided the Valentine’s Candy aisle.

Lunch was Sunshine Salad (from Peas and Thank You) and Crunchy and Tart Broccoli Salad.

I picked up the girl early from school due to  early release and we used our brother-free hour to get pedicures.

Sigh.  Although she causes me grief (mostly for being so much like me), I love, love, love this little girl.  Oh, and clearly I don’t roll up my pants evenly….

We picked up the boy and came home to play.  I snacked on some Mary’s Gone Crackers and goat cheese.  Yum.

A little headache started and then it wasn’t so little anymore.  I don’t get headaches much, so I am quite the baby when they hit.  Thankfully the kids entertained themselves quite nicely in the backyard.  And by quite nicely I mean that they came in covered in dirt and grass stains.

I got Buddha Bowl fixings ready for dinner and when the husband came home I said every man’s favorite line:

‘Not tonight honey, I have a headache.’

Only I was talking about cooking dinner (but not prepping, as I did chop all the vegetables and make the rice.  yes, I love playing the martyr).  He gallantly took over and did the dinner and bedtime routine with the kids while I laid in bed.  He is a good, good man.

The dinner spread.  I had the Lemon Choibani with Ezekiel 4:9 cereal in the bottom right for dinner, as nothing else sounded good.  The kids like their Buddha Bowls with raw vegetables and the husband generally makes a fried rice-like concoction.

Happily my headache is gone this morning.  I wish you all a happy, healthy Wednesday!

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I find that if I can muster up enough motivation to get in the kitchen early in the week and make some salads, I say mental ‘thank yous’ to that motivated self for the next few days as I enjoy the salads.  Yesterday I made a big Sunshine Salad from Peas and Thank You (I make this salad almost weekly.  It’s that good), chopped up all the carrots and celery in the fridge, made a couple of bags of ‘to be juiced’ produce, got some quinoa and chickpeas soaking, made tea for kombucha, and made this broccoli salad.  All this productivity was brought to you by the letters S and S.  I love that Sesame Street is an hour long (and commercial free! and educational!), as I can usually whip out several kitchen tasks without my 3 year old ‘helper’ underfoot.

Crunchy and Tart Broccoli Salad

This salad comes together quite quickly and keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• dash of each: salt, pepper, cinnamon
• 1 bag broccoli slaw
• 1 small apple, chopped (I like granny smith in this recipe, but any would do)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and salt/pepper/cinnamon

2. Combine dressing and salad ingredients and toss well.  Let sit for at least an hour.

3. Serve cold or at room temperature

Tags: apple, recipe, salad

• Comments 10 Comments
• Categories Recipes, Salad

‘Snowman’

Dalmatian Ears

Dandelions

The girl’s 100th day of school project.  When is the last time YOU counted out 100 pieces of popcorn and then painstakingly glued them onto hot-pink poster board?

Why yes, he is carrying two sticks on our walk.  In case he ‘needs to fight pirates, Goliath or maybe some ninja bad guys.’  We live in a pretty rough neighborhood, obviously.  I hope your neighborhood is free of bad ninjas.

Sure hope a ninja or pirate doesn’t walk by and pop her balloon.

Tags: iPhone blogging

• Comments 9 Comments
• Categories Life

I’ve posted about muffin tin meals before and am still a huge fan, as are my munchkins.  Here is the complicated recipe:

1. Get a mini muffin tin
2. Fill it with things from the fridge and pantry (if your kids are competitive [if they aren't please tell me how you do it, please please!] count out each nut, vegetable and fruit to make sure they are 100% equal)
3. Serve it.

I think Muffin Tin Meals can be a great way to get kids to try new things, as well as a good way to get some variety into their meals.  I let them help fill up the tins and look for things in the pantry and fridge to add up to 12 different things.  I usually end up eating a big salad on those days, as we already have most of the produce out of the fridge and on the counter.

pistachios, carrots, strawberries, cheese, cashews, celery, apples, almonds, cooked pasta, pretzels, red pepper, frozen peas

The kids eat them for lunches and sometimes for dinner, especially if I’m making something I know they won’t like.  I normally don’t advocate making a separate meal for the kids and parents, but I also like to eat spicy black bean chili on occasion and don’t want to force my kids to eat something they honestly don’t like.  (Neither one does spicy and my boy does not do tomatoes.)

the boy got black beans, broccoli, mango, cheese, celery, apples, cashew, raspberries, carrots, peanuts, grapes, triscuits

the girl got tomatoes, avocado, mango, cheese, celery, apples, cashews, raspberries, carrots, peanuts, grapes, triscuits

If your kids are into dipping, you could fill some cups with ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressing mustard or whatever dipping sauces they like.  Mine aren’t big into dipping, but they do like to dip with applesauce and yogurt, so the trays below have both, in addition to some leftover pasta sauce from the fridge.

carrots, cheese, apples, plum, peas, pasta, chickpeas, raspberries, broccoli, applesauce, pasta sauce, yogurt (with sprinkles)

Tags: feeding kids, kid friendly

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• Categories Kid Friendly

Here’s this week’s edition of What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW), hosted by Jenn at Peas and Crayons.

One of these days I’m going to actually take pictures on food that I eat on Wednesday, but this week I kept the camera handy on Monday.  I present my Monday schedule…

1. Wake up and get the kid’s breakfast ready.

Yogurt, Cinnamon Sugar Donuts and Oranges. I have no idea why he is making that face.  Also note that he is wearing TMNT pajamas, which make me smile.  Heroes in the half shell.  Turtle Power!

2. Pack lunches for the husband and the girl and kiss them both as they head out the door.

The Double Double Pita Lunches – cheese pita, pita chips, cucumbers+red peppers, cutie+banana; hummus, pita chips, pita, veggies

3.  Eat my breakfast(s)

3a. Juice

bok choy, celery, cucumber, carrots, apple, lemon

3b. Food

green jasmine tea, steel cut oats + raisins, cranberries, walnuts and almonds

4. Get a blog post up (Menu Plan Monday).

5. Head to the gym for Power Yoga. Do 8000 chataranga floats and hold each warrior pose for 20 minutes.  Or at least it felt that way.

6. Take the little guy to open gym at  local gymnastics gym and first dump him in a giant vat of super-sized sugar cubes.

7. Watch him swing from the rafters.  Literally.  The rope is tied to the rafters.

8. Take the boy to get a haircut.  We both get lollipops.

9. Come home and eat a bowl of kale chips.  

10.  Let the boy watch some Sesame Street and use the hour to shower, get dressed, make lunch and check in on the computer.

Sesame Glazed Brussels Sprouts (from Daily Garnish blog) over leftover brown rice noodles

11.  Pick up the girl from school.

12. Have a cup of tea while folding laundry, supervising the kids with the neighbor friends who are making ‘rain soup’ in the backyard (with rain water and weeds, of course) and saying ‘don’t come inside until your shoes are off’ at least 15 times.

Trader Joe’s tea that graced my mailbox in December (thanks Genevieve!) + So Delicious Coconut Creamer

14. Make pancakes for dinner. I make two bowls of mix and pour one into a ziploc bag so I have premade pancake mix for a future meal.

15. Serve the kids and husband while nibbling on the fruit.  My eating will come soon enough…

16. Grab the Costco goodies I picked up over the weekend for the one place that it’s absolutely appropriate to have red wine and chocolate cookies for dinner, Book Club!

17. Enjoy time with smart, open and very funny ladies while drinking wine and eating greek seven-layer dip, some amazing goat cheese and mushroom crostinis, ceaser salad and, of course, the chocolate cookies.  

no picture, as my hands were full with food and drink

18.  Come home happy and full and call it a night.  

• Comments 21 Comments
• Categories Daily Eats

I posted my goals for the year in this post. I thought I’d hold myself accountable by checking in at the end of each month to see how I’m progressing. I’ll also take the opportunity to add/remove/edit items on the list.

1. Go to a beach and watch my kids see the ocean for the first time.
2. Be able to do a head stand in yoga. - I have my tripod headstand pretty consistently, but not the classic headstand. I have gotten up a few times, but it’s not anywhere near consistent. I’m working on my ab strength (extra boat poses) to help.
3. Make the 2010 and 2011 family photobooks, as well as my kid’s annual photo books. I’m way behind. I made the family 2010 album, as well as my daughter’s 4th year book. I still have the family 2011 book, a Disney book, my daughter’s 5th year book and my son’s 2nd and 3rd year book.
4. Run a couple of 5Ks if my knees will allow it.
5. Get a better handle on the grocery budget.
6. Go camping.
7. Organize my blog recipes better
8. Sit down and do art with my daughter more. We did do some drawings with pastels and I have some Valentine’s crafts slated for this month.
9. Finish the living room/dining room remodel. Big progress here. My dad and husband did the crown molding this past weekend. We painted the walls, rearranged the furniture, got new curtains and a few new art pieces. We hope to get new floors, but will have to wait a bit for that. We are also planning on refinishing the built in china hutch that is firmly planted in the early 90s.
10. Go to one of those painting places where you drink wine and leave with a painted picture.
11. Leave the state at least once.
12. Read the following books, just for starters

• The Hunger Games Series
• Mindset
• One Thousand Gifts
• Loving The Little Years
• Parenting with Love and Logic
• Kisses for Katie by K. Davis
• The Killing Hour by P. Gardner
• Simplicity Parenting
• Fed Up With Lunch by. S. Wu

• Comments 11 Comments
• Categories Life

There is something almost relaxing about Mondays in my little stay-home-mom life.  Our weekends tend to be full of activities, projects and general life living with all four of us at home.  On Mondays, I wake up and get the girl ready for kindergarten, feed both munchkins breakfast, send off the husband, drop off the girl, and then the boy and I come home and all is quiet.  I drink my tea. I clean up the kitchen from the morning frenzy.  My boy seems to enjoy the quiet too.  He is currently curled up under a blanket.  Granted, in about 4.3 seconds he’ll be leaping from couch to couch, but, for now, he is quiet.

What are your Monday’s like?