Foodie Friday

We've had some mighty fine eats around here this week - enjoy some bits and pieces from our menu:

Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones
adapted from Top With Cinnamon

1/4 C local butter
1 1/4 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T organic coconut sugar (pressed through a mesh strainer for a finer texture)
1/2 C organic frozen blueberries
1 organic egg
1/4 C organic buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

• Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar
• Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter until crumbly texture
• Mix egg, buttermilk, vanilla
• Add wet to dry
• Add blueberries
• On a lightly floured surface, form dough into large, flattish circle; cut into 8 triangles; brush with buttermilk and top with cinnamon/sugar
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or so

Green smoothie

Frozen organic banana

Frozen mango

Organic pear juice

Splash of organic 2% milk

Fresh organic baby spinach

Organic whole milk yogurt

Whole Wheat Naan Bread

I originally posted this recipe here, and the only change I made this time was to use 2 T of local honey instead of sugar. Still a great recipe for pita-like bread. We had it for dinner, topped with grilled local chicken, organic veggies, and a homemade buttermilk dressing (John added sriracha). The girls had more naan this morning - I warmed it at 350 degrees in the toaster oven for a few minutes and topped it with local butter and coconut sugar/cinnamon. The girls had fun with their blueberries after eating the toppings off at dinner last night...

Homemade buttermilk dressing

Organic buttermilk

Organic sour cream (Wallaby brand is our FAVE)

Organic lemon juice

Paprika

Kosher salt

Dried dill

Organic garlic powder

Organic onion powder

For a snack, the girls had organic cucumbers topped with dressing and, per their request, blueberries. They thought it looked like eyeballs. Yup, sure did. 

Egg-n-Kale

In a fry pan, heat some olive oil and red pepper flakes. Add chopped organic kale; cover and saute until kale wilts and is tender. Remove from pan; drizzle with lemon juice. In same pan, fry local egg. Salt and pepper. Eat.

How old is she?

During our last two trips to the library, I have been asked "How old is she?" by another parent (both times a father), who was observing the girls reading aloud. The first time it happened, it was Elise reading. Today it was Abby. On each occasion, said-father overheard one of the girls reading, leaned in closer to see the words on the page, and then mouthed "WOW" as he realized that the words on the page did indeed match the words coming from this little person's mouth. This morning, the dad wanted to know if I had used a special program to teach the girls how to read. To which I replied: "Nope". In all actuality, we did use a special program. 

We implemented a program in our house that was based on our priorities and beliefs as parents, a program that is backed by research, and a program that fosters reading. I typically have 30ish books checked out from the library at a time - and we return/replace this supply almost weekly. Even if it's only every other week, that is 26 weeks in a year. I've been taking the girls to the library religiously since they were about 8 months old. The girls are 4 1/2, so let's say that this has been our routine for at least 3 1/2 of their 4 1/2 years. That's roughly 91 weeks (remember, this is based on every other week, which is a low-estimate since we frequently go weekly). That is roughly 2730 books. If each of those books gets read twice - one reading per child (really? have we ever read a book only twice?) - that is 5460 readings. The girls are only approximately 1640 days old. Are you with me? WE READ A TON OF BOOKS. And what has happened is that Abby and Elise LOVE books. They look forward to books. They are excited by new books. They are curious and interested and desire to know what each page says, how each story will end. They find comfort in books. All. day. long. Yes, we play. A LOT. We dance, we sing, we swing, we cook, we draw, we write, we do puzzles and games. There is so much more to life than books. But books are building blocks of our "special program". 

Wake up early? Read books.
Waiting for breakfast? Read a book.
Momma needs to shower? Snuggle in my bed with a stack of books.
Long car ride? Pack some books.
Rest time instead of naptime? Not a problem with books.
Feeling sick? Tired? Cranky? Everything is okay with a book and a lap.

Notice what else is missing from the equation? Screen time. That's all I'll say about that one. 

The final "bon voyage" of babyhood

Me: "Abby, will you always be my baby?"
Abby: "Yes, Momma! Even when I'm a grown-up, I'll be your baby."
Me: "Really?"
Abby: "Yes, Momma. I just love your schweet little face."
Me: "Elise, will you always be my baby?"
Elise: "Yes, even when I'm grown-up. Even when I'm sixteen."

We are officially through a full week of no-naps. That doesn't mean "rest time" has been eliminated - there is still a mandatory 1 1/2 hour rest every afternoon that consists of piles upon stacks upon heaps of books. But I've let the actual sleeping go. Finally. And guess what? My children are charming - maybe even more charming than before. Why? Let me tell you... 

Well, you know how babies, toddlers, little people wake up from naps refreshed and snuggly with those sleepy eyes and sweet smiles? You do? Hmmm... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS LIKE!!! My children wake up from actual sleeping naps foul. Miserable. Crabby. Crying. Irritable. So why did I enforce sleeping until over 4 1/2 years? Because I worked so. damn. hard. to teach these girls to nap. Of their entire babyhood, establishing a napping routine probably had me in fits and tears more than anything else. Breastfeeding? Very difficult and painful but well established within a few months and a piece of cake for 14 months. Eating solids? Walk in the park. Sleeping through the night? Rockstars by 3-4 months. Potty-training? Done at 24 months with very few hiccups. Napping? EIGHTEEN MONTHS. It took me EIGHTEEN MONTHS to get those two little monsters to sleep regularly each day without a battle or tears (theirs or mine). When I finally won the battle, I assumed I'd enforce naps until the girls were sixteen. I bet they wouldn't love being my baby then, huh?

Sigh. I guess instead of forcing my babies to nap, I'll spend afternoons bike-riding, reading, playing, singing, and dancing with my big girls. They appear to enjoy this more than sleeping:

Snack sharing: Peanut butter apples

Snacks are a big part of life, aren't they? Now, I'm not an all-day-snacker advocate: we eat a good breakfast, a morning snack (if breakfast is early), a good lunch, an after-nap snack, and dinner. I don't do bedtime snacks - personally, or for the girls. And food is not readily accessible for Abby and Elise; they still ask 100% of the time before getting anything to eat. I've been making a more conscientious effort to reduce carbs and increase raw veggies. Don't get me wrong - I don't find any deficits in our diets. The girls continue to be bottomless pits hearty eaters. And while I'm thinking about carbs and grains and eating fewer myself, I am still a big fan of the real-deal, whole grains. 

All of that being said... let's share snacks! I mean, not really share - keep your germs on your plate, please. But I think I'll start posting pics now and then of our snacks. I would love if you'd share yours, too - either via FB or comments. So, to get this snack-party started, today we had peanut butter apples, with dried cherries:

Wordless Wednesday: Today's library selections

What in the world have we been up to???

Correction: What HAVEN'T we been up to??? :) There are two MAJOR milestones happening in our household right now: reading and bike-riding. I'm talking about pick-up-a-book-and-read and hop-on-that-two-wheel-bicycle-and-ride. Milestones are exciting - I remember what a feeling of pride I had when the girls potty-trained at two. It wasn't self-pride; it was watching them "get it", "understand it", and "succeed at it". Seeing their faces as they felt the need to pee, watching them race to the bathroom, and then celebrating the dry undy-dundies. Two and a half years later and that sense of pride has just continued to multiply. 

About a month ago, Elise sat beside me with the book Ten Apples Up On Top, which we had not read together in ages. Abby and I snuggled in and let Elise read to us. She paused at the end of sentences. She scanned each page carefully before reading, taking in the necessary clues to figure out less-familiar words. Elise read. At dinner last weekend, Abby picked up the piano music to The Sound of Music (a new favorite and stories for another post). She read through the songs, pointing not only to each word precisely and accurately but pointing to individual syllables as they were broken up by the notes. Abby read. 

On their third birthday, the girls received balance bikes from Gran, Grandpa, and Uncle Travis. The concept behind the balance bike is - duh - to teach balance. There are no pedals - kids push along with their legs in a long, graceful alternating motion and pick their feet up to ride it out. Do you have small children around three years of age? Buy. A. Balance. Bike. Last weekend, we mosied up to a nearby parking lot because the weather was nice and took along a little two-wheel pedal bike that Uncle T snagged for us (aka "dumpster bike"). It's tiny but the perfect size. And guess what? Off they went! With a push or two, both Abby and Elise were cruising around, turning circles and riding back, coordinating and balancing beautifully. 

Abby and Elise - I am insanely proud of you girls right now. Reading is hard - sometimes you get frustrated and can't figure out a word. But everyday, you pick up dozens of books and keep trying. Bike riding takes work - you both fell off the bike last weekend, but you brushed away the tears and dirt and got back on. And now you're reading the texts on my phone when it buzzes and zooming down the street faster than I can run. I am so proud of both of you. 

A lot of milestones just "happen". But I believe from the deepest depths that the path a child takes to reach those milestones can be altered. Listening to the girls read and watching them ride bikes - it makes so many of the decisions we have made as parents feel so right. A child's body needs to be healthy and strong, their mind needs to be primed, nourished, and stimulated. And while sometimes it's exhausting, being a proud parent makes every bit worthwhile. 

2013: We choose happy.

When faced with stress, we have choices. Right? Stress related to finances, health, relationships, work, parenting, pets, laundry, unorganized spice drawers.... stress can be caused by the biggest of the bigs and the littlest of the littles. John and I spent 19 days together to round-out 2012. During those 19 days, John was incredibly sick, Abby was sick, Elise was incredibly sick, and Aura passed away. We also celebrated two major holidays and had a family wedding. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Stress settled upon our shoulders. On John, on me, on Abby, on Elise. By day 18, I felt like we might self-destruct. But, as a couple, John and I began saying "I choose happy". We said it to ourselves. We said it to each other. We said it to the girls (a lot). I've said it through tears and I've said it through laughter. And with the new year upon us, I am thankful that the stress of December 2012 reminded us that we always have a choice. Happy New Year - choose happy.