Fairytale Town Egg-Stravaganza

Happy Easter, everyone!

Yesterday (Saturday), we went to a place in town called Fairytale Town. It's a small park with little attractions honoring different fairy tales, with slides and variously themed climbing structures. We'd been there once when a book festival was going on, and I read about them doing special Easter things over the weekend. So we packed up the kids and headed on over to enjoy the awesome weather outside!

I might have gotten a little out of control when I saw this photo opp of our darling offspring. I present to you roughly 2% of the pictures I took.

Those are carrot sticks that June is lovingly clinging to. She insisted on holding them all the way to "the fun place" even though we said it would be a better use of time to eat them in the car. At least we finally got her to put them into a plastic bag.

Eating her carrot sticks on a bench in the park while we watched the other kids play on a Little Engine that Could play toy.

Then it was time for the egg hunt. First we had to stop at the nearly-abandoned "Bunny Bag" station to make something in which to hold her eggs. (A word on why it was abandoned in a moment.)

Then she was ready for the Hunt!

I give you this next photo in GIANT size to show off one sad fact. You see, I knew that it was the "Egg-Stravaganza Day" at Fairytale Town and that there would be Easter things going on, including an egg hunt. I guess I just didn't really think about needing to bring our own Easter baskets. I mean, surely there wouldn't be that many eggs, so June could just hold them in her hands? I'm not even sure that I gave much thought to it at all in the hectic scramble that is Getting Out of the House these days.

So I present this photo to you, with June picking up eggs and putting them into her little brown bag...while every single other kid in the shot had their own fancy baskets. Seriously it seemed like maybe two other people in the park didn't have baskets because EVERYONE ELSE had thought to bring them.

But, as Michael pointed out, look how delighted June was. Not once did she mention baskets or bags at all. She just happily and somewhat shyly picked up some eggs.

The kids were told - over the loudspeaker - to only pick up one egg, you see. So I told June to get only one egg, and the dear thing did just that. Then stood around watching as all of the other kids hoarded TONS of eggs into their baskets. I told her she should get one more egg for Bennett. She came back with a pink egg and said it was for me. I saw a kid walk past with no less than twenty eggs in his basket, so I said (in not so many words), "SCREW IT, JUNE, GO NUTS! RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"

The funny thing is that even after she was released from inhibition, she still only daintily picked up 6 eggs or so. Thank goodness she was in the 0-3 age group egg hunt, otherwise the ruffians in the 7-12 group might have taken all the eggs before she got even one.

New favorite picture of all time. Just wish Michael could have been in it (he was the photographer).

This outing was after a full dance class (she started doing Tap also), so she conked out exactly 30 seconds after getting in the car.

And, if I could, one small note on a marriage. 

You know you've landed in a compatible marriage when one person stops to get gasoline when both kids have fallen asleep in the backseat, and tells the other person to jump out and get two scoops of ice cream from the local ice creamery across the street. And upon returning to the car with cones, the first says to the other, "You know if she wakes up you have to immediately throw that out the window." And you drive home in conspiratory silence, eating your ice cream, tensing at every sound that comes from the back seat, whispering about how to get the kids into their beds to keep them napping once you get home. 

Crockpot-a-palooza

We're trying to eat at home more often. It's less stressful now that we have two kids and it's healthier. I'm also trying to plan out our meals for the week ahead of time so I avoid the daily "what should I make?" conundrum, avoid the stand-and-stare at everything at the grocery store and cut down on throwing out the food I bought that I thought we'd eat but never did.

Since having Bennett, the crock pot has been my life line. The best part of the "set it and forget it" process is ability to have the final 30 minutes before dinnertime be that much less stressful. I'm able to assemble the slow cooker early in the day with Bennett asleep in the Moby, and when things are more stressful when I'm often home alone with both kids before Michael gets home, I'm just arranging a side dish or two.

Which brings me to my next point, which is that I've been experimenting with how to incorporate sides into the crock pot. There are a lot of stew recipes out there that have the potatoes and carrots in with the meat juices, and I definitely can go for that meal once or twice. But if I'm going to use my crock pot for multiple meals a week (like I have been), I want to vary it up.

(Michael made a comment the other day about how we are setting a record for the amount of crock pot meals made in one month. I'm not entirely sure he meant it as a compliment.)

My new go-to is to pack some veggies into aluminum foil (wrapped up to make the steam stay in), season them however I want, and lay that on top of the meat that is cooking. This way the side is done at the same time but doesn't necessarily have to be the same flavor as the meat. This works great with potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots so far, but I'm sure other veggies/sides would be great too.

Those dense veggies can stay in the crock pot all day, but you could also prep some other veggies (like green beans, asparagus or broccoli) in an aluminum pocket early, keep it in the fridge, and just throw it in the crock pot for the last hour or two before dinnertime.

If you're interested, below are some of the recipes we've tried in recent weeks.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
Shredded this and made sliders with King's Hawaiian small rolls.

Crock Pot Lasagna
Not quite as good as Mom's recipe, but still good and very convenient.  (I love normal lasagna, but hate how you dirty so many pans just getting the elements ready, and how even after cooking and assembling, you still need to bake the whole thing.) I think the issue was that you put the noodles in uncooked, so the recipe just seemed a little dry for lasagna. (Strangely, June loved it and I've never seen her like something with red sauce on it before.)

Beef with Broccoli
Serve with rice and your dinner is done!

Pineapple Mandarin Chicken

Brown Sugar Basalmic Glazed Pork Tenderloin
I tend to not like recipes that call for extra prep steps like searing meat before putting it in. But I did decide to do the optional method of placing the cooked tenderloin under the broiler after putting the glaze on it. It turned out delicious!

Beef Burgundy 

Chicken with preserved lemons and Italian dressing

Pork Loin with Apples
No specific recipe, but I was inspired by this photo. Rubbed sage, salt and pepper on top and poured a little leftover chicken broth in the crock pot.

The Compostess with the Mostess

We're composting over here, y'all!!

In my adventuring with gardening, I keep coming across how wonderful compost is. ("If your tomatoes don't turn out great, try adding compost and next season they'll be wonderful!") One webpage leads to another and soon I'm reading about how all-around awesome composting is.

You reduce the amount of waste you produce. You create organic compost, which is great for the garden and super expensive at the store. It's a great learning experiment for kids. Plus, I just think it's really neat, you know? Science! 

Then I saw a site about how you can create your own compost bin at home for much less than it would cost to buy one. (The cool rotating ones on Amazon do look amazing, but they have a smaller capacity and cost $100 plus shipping.)

To to Home Depot I went and bought one of those giant plastic storage bins for $15. I decided to get a 35 gallon one, which seems humungous but most folks who went this homemade route said they ended up buying a second one because they filled theirs so quickly!

So I took 'er home and drilled 10-or-so holes in the top and bottom. (Bennett was my assistant. He's always sleeping on the job.)

Then I filled her up! (Not really. She's probably only 1/6th full right now, and that's with all of the materials fluffed up to take up maximum space.)

In this beginning run, I put in newspaper, shredded paper, coffee grounds, coffee filters, laundry lint, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, used paper towels, grapes-gone-bad and the stalks of broccoli that we didn't use from dinner last night. 

As you can see, the stuff you can compost is varied. There is supposed to be a balance of nitrogen-based items ('green' matter, like grass clippings and fruit and veggie waste) and carbon-based items ('brown,' like paper and dead leaves), but there are plenty of guides online to help you determine what falls into which category and what is outright prohibited. 

For example, you don't want to put any meat or dairy products because then scavengers would be attracted to the pile. Also, without these items, the trash-y smell you might predict is avoided. Instead, a well-made compost pile just smells a little earthy, like wet soil.

I piled a little bit of our soil on top (to introduce the native soil organisms), sprayed it with a little water and then gave it a little stir.

I'm going to keep my biggest tupperware container under the kitchen sink for me to put new compostable items into, then take it out to the bin when it gets full.

I'll stir up the bin as often as I can to encourage the decomposition process.

Hopefully within the next 3 months I might have usable compost. How quickly it is ready will depend on keeping the ratios right, how often I turn/aerate it, moisture and how much new material is added.

So here we are, my mini composter and I, demonstrating the bin's resting place with the garbage bins behind the storage shed.

Wish us luck with our 'black gold' as it's called in the business!

Food Trucks in the Park

Last Friday I learned about a little event down at McKinley Park... Food Truck Mania, where a gathering of food trucks would be for folks to enjoy in the park. We decided to go and it was really nice. 

First of all, the weather was perfect. There were 8 or so food trucks to order from. And McKinley Park is June's favorite playground to play at, which worked out well since the lines for the food trucks were pretty long. She played (with Michael for supervision) while Bennett and I waited in line to order food.

Despite the crowds, there were some available picnic tables available. June, however, wanted to have a "real picnic on the ground," so we did just that. Even without a blanket.

Afterward we walked around the rose garden. It was so beautiful, and was the first time we've walked through it when the roses were in bloom.

Easter Bunny Non-Visit

I don't know if you all have heard, but there is a public menace hanging out at the local mall.

This is the opinion of June at least, who has heard about the Easter Bunny, has been excited about Easter and the eggs and baskets, and still would have nothing to do with this guy.

We didn't force pictures. I

'm sure she'll still be expecting eggs to hunt.

Don't care how many times you play Peek-a-Boo, E.B., we're on to you!

My Essential Baby Items

1. Moby Wrap
Cost = $45, though I made mine with fabric from Hobby Lobby for what equates to about $9.

It was my savior with June and it has lived up to the prescedent with Bennett. When he's fighting sleep, pop him in the Moby and he'll go down and stay down. At the grocery store or running errands, pop him in and don't worry about carrying the heavy car seat or securely fastening it into the shopping cart. Plus, since he loves to be held so much, I can Moby him around the house and have my hands free to fold laundry, chop carrots or use the restroom.

 

You can't really see him, but Bennett is tucked in the Moby with Michael on this family walk. // June in the Moby back in her tiny days!

2. Cloth Diapers
Cost = $10-15

But not for the reason you'd think. We use cloth diapers as burp cloths. They are made to be super absorbent and are able to withstand lots and lots of washing. Since Bennett is spitting up a lot these days, I have plenty of photographic evidence of these cloth diapers since he is never more than 3 feet away from one at any given moment.




3. Swaddle Pod
Cost = $10-15

One general piece of advice is to swaddle newborns. I tried swaddling June with swaddling blankets and it was a struggle. She would break out of the blankets and would end up hitting herself in the face and waking herself up. We used this Swaddle Pod and it was a game changer. It allows the baby to be swaddled, but also allows them some freedom to move their arms around. Both of my babies like(d) having their hands up near their faces, which was hard to get right with a blanket swaddle but was easy with the Swaddle Pod.

Another bonus - the zipper works from the bottom also, so I can leave the arms swaddled and get access to the legs to change the diaper. This keeps the baby from waking so much that they can't get back to sleep easily.

4. My Brest Friend
Cost = $30-35

I love this breast feeding pillow. I definitely recommend a breastfeeding pillow to anyone and everyone. Nursing is such a huge part of having a baby, especially during those first weeks and months.  Lots of time is spent nursing - sometimes time that is stressful due to problems with nursing - and that time should be as comfortable as possible. The Boppy Pillow is a fan favorite out there, but let me tell you why the My Brest Friend is my choice:

-  The foam of the pillow is firm, so it supports the baby's weight and position better.
-  It fastens around you. This means that you can stand up, reposition or walk around and it will stay in place around your waist.
-  It gives you some lower back support with the pillow part that goes around your back.

5. The coffee maker.

Michael had gotten pretty used to asking me if I wanted any coffee each morning. Near the end of my pregnancy, there would be some days when I'd have a cup of coffee and some days when I wouldn't. Well, after Bennett arrived, I said to Michael, "You don't need to ask me that anymore. The answer is 'Yes.' It will always be 'Yes.'"

You know how it is with baby sleep. They get up often. They have tiny tummies and their food source gets metabolized very quickly. Bennett just happens to grunt so loudly and so often that I once considered going out and sleeping on the play room carpet. (I was apparently so tired that I thought the carpet was a better choice than the couch?)

This about our coffee maker... Ours has the awesome option to make a full pot of coffee or a single serving. The single serving one was designed so you can put your thermos directly under it and it will brew the coffee straight into the thermos.

Smiling Ben

Hope you're having a great weekend!

We are - especially since Bennett started 'socially' smiling more often, like when he first sees me or Michael.

It's pretty sweet!

The Sweet Moments of Parenting Two

I know you'll believe me when I say that parenting two kids is hard sometimes. There are times when I feel absolute guilt because I can't pay attention to June as much as I used to, or have to tell her not to do something simply because Bennett is sleeping or nearby. One of the nights when Michael had to work was a disaster due to me attempting to rush June's bedtime routine when Bennett was obviously overdue for a feeding. Even when Michael is around and we can split up, things can be very difficult.

But there are also moments that are so wonderful and sweet. Moments when the muscles in my shoulders relax and I can take a deep breath and say, "Yes, this is it. This is the Best Case Scenario I imagined when I pictured these first few months."

Times like the other night, when Michael and June were playing soccer in the front yard. Bennett and I hung out on the adirondack chairs on the front porch. The weather was so nice and mild and everything felt perfect.

And times like the other night when Bennett and I walked to pick June up at school. Her school was having a cute little activity - releasing ladybugs into the rose garden - and I went early to watch and pick her up from school. I got to see my little Junebug with her friends in her learning environment, and Bennett was tucked away sleeping happily in the Moby.

You might not be able to see her here...she's the one in the exact center of the picture, in the middle of the scrum of kids trying to get a hold of one of the ladybugs.

Afterward they had an ice cream social, which meant June was psyched out of her mind.

We stopped at the park on the walk home and June got to play while B and I got to relax in the shade. When he woke up, he hung out awake and happy for a while before needing to be fed. It was a moment where I had the rush of thinking, "I'm doing it! I'm parenting two kids...by myself! And not one of us is crying!"

DIY Tie Dye Cupakes!

I asked June what she wanted her birthday party to look like (because I'm not sure if she knows what "theme" or "motif" is yet), she just said "purple, pink and blue."

As you might recall, my stance on cupcakes is to spend more time on the baking/recipe OR on decorating...not both. I went with decorating this time, but fancified the cake instead of the icing for a change. 

I started out with a box of white cake mix, then separated the batter out into three containers.

I used food coloring to make purple, blue and pink batter. I used plain old blue food coloring for blue, but for the purple and pink I bought special ready-made color gel that I bought at Hobby Lobby for about a dollar each. This was out of a combination of laziness and mistrust in my own ability to mix good enough colors. 

Each of those colors got poured into a plastic sandwich bag. I snipped a corner of each and, alternating colors, squirted some of each bag into each of the cupcake papers. When I was done, I took a knife and swirled them a little to really get the tie dye look.

FYI - I used a cool cupcake tip I found on pinterest. Normal cupcake cooking instructions are to fill the cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 for about 22 minutes. The tip is to fill the cups 3/4 full and, once the cupcakes are in the oven, lower the temp to 325 and bake for 25 minutes. This causes the cupcake to rise up more and look like a more full cupcake (rather than the sad little flat ones that you normally get out of boxed mixes). 

This tip worked out really well for the ones that I was able to fill 3/4 full. Once I realized I was running low on batter and wouldn't have enough cupcakes for the party, I started filling them lower, so I did end up with some flat ones. 

Check out how cool they looked when they were done!

A little twirl of store-bought icing and some purple sugar sprinkles and, voila, done!

Of course, the kids barely noticed that they were cool colors. They were just, "ZOINKS ICING NOM NOM NOM"

My only tip for others would be to buy more than one box of cake mix if you really want/need the full 24 'cakes for your occasion. (Of course I can never seem to get a full 24 cupcakes out of these box mixes, so maybe I've just always filled mine up too much?)