Mother's Day 2016

Today was a quiet relaxing day... a low key Mother's Day.

Husband has some sort of plague or something, and as such his asthma is kicking his butt; but all said and done he kept up pretty good (aside from the nap this afternoon, but in all fairness the kids were sleeping as well).

This photo pretty much sums up the day:

Today was day #2 of ERP sleeping until 8am. Husband was already downstairs with the other boys so I carried him down and went back to bed. My boys brought me one of my favorite cereals and coffee and bed. They showered me with gifts: tub for soaking my feet, new foot stuff, hand made pictures from school... and Husband got me flowers.

While I ate with my small mooches, RR made desert, He made two... one for us and one for my mom... so I can't tell you what it was since she hasn't gotten her's yet.

Then we all watched Ghostbusters and called our loved ones. The movie was followed by an early lunch and naptime for the boys. I watched my shows and made my feet all soft and pretty. 

The boys woke and we goofed around... did laundry and woke up Husband.

Then the SUN finally came out. After a week of rain the clouds parted and out came the sun.

The boys ran through the yard, laughing and playing and picking me "sunflowers" (dandelions to the rest of us). 

After that we all made dinner together... lobster, corn on the cob and salad (the little boys had chicken nuggets and Husband had shandwiches... so lobster for RR and I). The small boys had been getting a kick out of the lobsters since yesterday. ERP calls them "dinosaurs". I taught RR how to break up lobsters with crackers. TT and ERP wanted nothing to do with them... until dinner was over. TT feel in love with the lobster shells.

He started bringing all the bits and pieces outside to play on the deck with. Then he started carrying around the heads. He kept trying to get ERP to touch them and ERP kept saying "No, thank you" and running away.

It was so sweet to watch. A moment I'd like to remember forever.

The ugliest part of the day is when ERP tried to climb his slide while carrying a beater full of homemade whip cream (part of desert) and took a tumble off the top landing on his shoulder and head. Thankfully he bounced back after a little bit. And promised mommy not to try and use with slide with hands full of beaters. 

Dinner was followed by a failed bath for ERP and showers for the big boys. Then a failed bedtime for ERP. Thankfully TT was all about bedtime, him and I snuggled and chatted about the day. He told me the blue and pink in the sky looked like they were fighting... and he thought the purple would win.

Oh and some point during today, ERP got himself dressed. Already!! I am not ready. That said I can barely convince TT to dress himself most days.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone.

Breastmilk Yogurt

A couple months back  had gotten it into my head that I was going to make breastmilk yogurt for ERP.  I saw it as the perfect "first food"; and a way to let him start playing with foods before he met the milestones for eating "solids".

Now ERP has no issues with eating - he will gladly eat and swallow things he shouldn't - paper being one of the big ones.  But sitting on his own - he's getting there, and he won't be 6 months for another couple of weeks.

So - breastmilk yogurt - the perfect introduction to food.

I was able to find many articles online about breastmilk yogurt and this convinced me I was not crazy.  One article in particular on The Hippie Inside struck me, and made me realize how easy it would be.  I had some milk in the fridge that was on the hairy edge of needing to be frozen or tossed so I decided no time like the present and on Thursday night (our wedding anniversary none the less) I embarked on Project Breastmilk Yogurt.

It started out really easy.  Breastmilk in a saucepan with a candy thermometer.  Heat to 185F and cool to 112F.  Transfer to a WARMED GLASS pan with a lid.  Add thickening agent (I used gelatin - flavorless, sugarless and fake surgarless) and yogurt starter (I used a dollop of cows milk yogurt), put the lid on and put the pan into a cooler.  Fill the cooler with WARM water and cover with a WARMED towel.  After 4.5 hours, drain the water and refill and let set over night.  This was my first road block, when I refilled the water I accidently got some into the yogurt pan.  The next day you put it in the fridge.  This was road block #2, when I got up the yogurt was very watery.  So I added more gelatin.  When I got home the yogurt was more like breastmilk jello.

So three lessons - next time I make it - make in mason jars or recycled glass jars.  Something with a locking lid.  And instead of gelatin for the thicken I will use tapioca starch.  And if using gelatin as a thickener you need to wait till it's been refrigerated for it to set.

But no worry.  I was able to easily scope it out and mash it with a fork and some fresh breastmilk and ta-da - sorta-kinda breastmilk yogurt.

Either way he loved it, and insisted on feeding himself.

So Easy

About a month ago I was at a Tupperware party and the consultant was showing off the shaker.

I own two of these.  They are (were) my least used piece of Tupperware.  I had bought them with the intent to use them to make pudding, but they just weren't big enough for that.  So under the pantry they sat, and sat some more.

But then that evening the consultant suggested making salad dressing in them.  I had never thought of this before.

Nor had I ever made salad dressing before.  But it was on my "to do some day list".

Fast forward a week or so and Husband and I are making dinner and he realizes he doesn't have any Italian salad dressing.  For most people this wouldn't be a big deal, but Husband eats two types of salad dressing - Italian and Cream Italian.

So I seize the moment and decide to break out the shaker and my computer - to look up a recipe silly - and proceed to whip up my first batch of Italian salad dressing.  Husband and I play with the recipe until we get it just as we like it.  Yum.  And incredibly easy.  So easy I am almost ashamed it took me so long to make this.

Tonight we expanded our culinary skills and whipped up the Creamy Italian dressing; again playing with it to make it our own.  And again it was super easy.  Why have I been spending money on salad dressing all these years?  Seriously, these are no brainer things to make.

Creamy Italian by Us

1/2 cup mayo
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
and a really big grind of pepper

Shake and enjoy.

Project Food Budget: Grande Finale (Week 52 - late)

Remember this cute little band-aide piggy?  I do.  Even though it seems like I have forgotten about Project Food Budget (PFB) the last few weeks.  But well, life happens and my blog got less attention last month than normal, and pretty much everything with it fell by the way-side.  That being said, this was a great project to participate in, and I look forward to more Emily Levenson projects in the future.

Two of the main themes with PFB were meal planning and budgeting your shopping trips.  Now I have always been a big, HUGE, fan of meal planning.  It's like part of my working-mom-credo.  If I'm at work and I don't know what we're having for dinner that night I can ensure you it is going to be a long night.

Creating the meal plan, and then shopping off the list is great.  To an extent. You need to make sure that your shopping list includes things that you don't plan; but know you will need during the week... you know those pesky little "pantry staples" like bananas, and cereal bars, chocolate soy milk.  The things your kids would be lost without; should you forget to get them.  I've actually been meaning to make a list of items I would consider staples in my house - maybe I'll do that as a follow up to this project.

The next big thing for me was ROUTINE.  I honestly needed to find time to go food shopping; and then to be consistent about it.  This is something I am still working on.  By the end of the last school year (June) I was doing great, and then summer vacation happened, and our day to day didn't have much rhythm or reason... and with that regular shopping went out the window.  So yeah, I'm still working on it.

Am I am expert at food budgeting and meal planning now?  No.  But I did learn a thing or two over the course of this project and I would try and make this program part of my day to day.

When you can, check out these other blogs and see how they did.

• Emily Levenson
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Cook Write Heal
• Warm As Pie
• xox, b
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• That’s Just Me
• Two Eggs Over Easy
• Eat Whole Be Vital
• Four Happy Violets
• Pgh Dad
• yogabeautylife
• naMAMAste
• Six Dollars a Day
• What da Health?
• French Press
• Veggie Meal Maker
• Charmingly Modern
• Ignite Your Life