Toddler Favorites

I'm trying to catch up on blogging, and I realized it's been a long time since I posted my favorite things. Of course, with toddlers,  you've entered the land of preferences, so things can vary enormously. But here are some essentials that we use daily, or at least weekly.

-Toddler carrier-- we have a Beco one, but there's no magic brand here. It depends on the size of your kiddo, and what's most comfortable for you. But I've used this more than I thought I would: at church, in the grocery store, and at home on really cranky afternoons when I just need to make dinner without "help".

-Stroller-- we still use this daily in warm weather. In hindsight, I wish we had a model with hand brakes since we live in a hilly area. But at the very least, something with real tires (instead of plastic wheels), a tripod setup (instead of 4 wheels), and an easy folding mechanism will not be a waste of money if you like walks. We were generously gifted with a Baby Jogger City Mini GT that we use for our daily walks, and we scored an Uppa Baby umbrella stroller at a consignment sale, which is great for keeping in the car to use at the zoo and whatnot.

-Community center membership-- we used some Christmas money to join the community center near us, and it was essential for our winter blues. Their indoor pool is phenomenal, but Noah also tolerates their childcare because they have an indoor playground, so I was able to actually take 1-2 hours to workout, study, and/or relax 1-2 days a week in January, February, and March!

-Munchie Mug-- far and away the best snack container I've seen. Doesn't spill unless Noah is being very intentional about making a mess!

-WOW Sippy cups-- I wish we'd switched to these sooner. We LOVE them, they're better for Noah's suck pattern, AND they're completely dishwasher safe unlike most other sippys. Win/win/win. I got this 4-pack on Amazon, and it's the best price I've seen for these guys.

-Molar Muncher-- Noah never really took to a pacifier or other teethers, but he really likes this one now that his two-year molars are coming in!

-Sensory bin-- this is something that we're really just getting in to, and to be honest it's a learning curve as he learns not to just dump everything out. But a tupperware full of beans + a few measuring cups can really provide some good fun! Busy Toddler is completely inspiring, and I hope to really get into this during the cold months.

-Puddle Jumper-- Where were these when we were kids?! Less bulky than a lifejacket, but safer than inflatable water wings. They don't really start until 30 pounds, so Noah JUST fit into it, but we were surprised how much he loved it! He likes floating and swimming with it, and I like the added buoyancy when it's just the two of us in the water.

 -Hip Peas Shampoo and Body Wash-- This stuff is great. It makes Noah's hair and skin so clean and soft, and it smells so yummy. I've tried several natural and non-natural shampoos for him, and this is the only one that doesn't dry out his scalp.

-Ultimate Flora Kids Probiotic-- Noah got hit with a decent illness every month this winter, and I finally bought some probiotics for him when he came down with a GI bug in March. I got these at Natural Grocer's, and LOVED them. They made a noticeable difference in his diapers... I'll just leave it at that. Runny poo is never fun, but it's especially frustrating when you're having to spray it out of cloth diapers.

On What Makes Me Feel Alive

You've seen this quote by now, right? On Pinterest or Facebook or Instagram? I encourage you to read the whole post, but the gist is this:

Being a geek is all about your own personal level of enthusiasm, not how your level of enthusiasm measures up to others. If you like something so much that a casual mention of it makes your whole being light up like a halogen lamp, if hearing a stranger fondly mention your favorite book or game is instant grounds for friendship, if you have ever found yourself bouncing out of your chair because something you learned blew your mind so hard that you physically could not contain yourself — you are a geek.

As I sit on the brink of a time of beautiful, blissful unknown, I'm thinking about these things: What makes me tick? What makes me come alive? What am I really passionate about, as cliche as that sounds?

The answer, it turns out, is starting to take vague form as I spend my Memorial Day afternoon with my nose buried in a book: one of my first loves. In fact, if I had to sum up my favorite childhood memories in one sentence, I would say that I was happiest playing outside at twilight, reading a book, or helping in the kitchen. Is this accurate, Mom? Oh, and if family home videos are any indication, I also spent the majority of the summer of 1992 "helping" my mom take care of my baby brother.

Can that much change? I love exerting myself to the extent that I feel heart-thumpingly alive, gulping fresh air and becoming acutely aware of my own pulse. Twilight leaves me simultaneous happy and nostalgic and makes me long for a backyard to play in. The alchemy and art of baking is my go-to stress relief. Babies never fail to make my very heart feel a little lighter and more hopeful.

The only love I didn't really discover until later was the ocean. My first experience was with the brown shores of the Gulf near Houston and tears, screams, and heart palpitations ensued until my dad picked me up and held me safe in his arms above the dirty water which was surely, in my solidly Midwestern mindset, teeming with creatures who wanted to eat me. The only name I could give them at the time was sharks, which I had little knowledge but great fear of, probably thanks to the fact that The Little Mermaid was my favorite Disney movie. (I even had the accompanying book memorized and I remember telling my friend's big sister that I could read it to her, when really I was just reciting it by heart.)

Then for some unknown reason, I signed up to go to Seacamp in the Florida Keys in high school, saved up my paper route money, and found myself facing the very thing I used to be terrified of. There I found that the more I knew about the sea, the less scary it became. Indeed, I find that an ocean fix every few years reinvigorates me. Few things make me happier than salty air and the sound of waves lapping the shore.

So. Babies + ocean = working as a travel NICU nurse in Hawaii, right? Obviously my dream job. (I wish!)

But really, my interests allow for a lot of interesting combinations.

Biology is beautiful. Few things compare to the lightbulb moment that occurs when you finally glimpse the breadth and depth of the pathophysiologic symphony explaining the signs and symptoms you see in a textbook case living and breathing before you in the exam room.

Literature is beautiful. I recently re-read The Great Gatsby and the great American novelists remind my just how far I have to go to call myself a writer in any true sense. Words on a page hold great power and the true masters have harnessed great joy and grief in black and white type over they centuries.

Life is beautiful. It's no less stunning in the miracle of sprouting seeds able to produce a veritable cornucopia of culinary variety when exposed to sunlight and water, than it is in the first human heartbeat, visible on ultrasound at six weeks. I'm in awe every day that anything ever goes right in nature when growth of any kind requires millions of small and large interactions and reactions and offers thousands of chances for error along the way.

History is beautiful. Anthropology was an unanticipated and enjoyable discovery, threaded throughout my honors courses in college and opening my eyes to just how big this world is. Yet, even a thorough evaluation of your own personal history gives pause and takes the pressure off of every moment of this present life. From learning about your grandma's childhood to tracing your own genealogy to the point at which you can identify yourself with a particular region of the world and a particular combination of genetics and a particular culmination of world events that all contributed to making you uniquely who and where you are today, there's always more to learn.

Finally, I'm happy to digest all things pregnancy and childbirth related. And those NICU babies... the moment I can get a parent to understand the what's and whys of their baby's condition and help them bond in a way they hadn't before... those are the moments that job was worth it.

I'm so far from a personal expert, but these things really fascinate me. Honestly, a lot of the lines between travel, food (from planting to harvesting to rendering edible), writing, giving life, saving lives, and living my own life don't feel all that distinct to me.

My go-to books for leisure reading and re-reading often fall between fact and fiction: Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan, and Bill Bryson take up their fair share of valuable bookshelf space in our one-bedroom apartment. I feel alive, albeit a bit vicariously, when I read their words and feel like I'm a part of their experience. Or when the potential to be a part of a similar experience is re-discovered within me.

How is it that Michael Pollan can make gastronomic anthropology so easily digestible, as it were, for the general consumer? And how, exactly, can Bill Bryson cover the vast domain between a Midwestern childhood, travel writing, Shakespeare, and, in fact, a Short History of Nearly Everything (quantum physics and all) and manage to make me laugh out loud while reading? These are people who truly love what they do and do what they love.

I don't know if these passions can culminate into one amazingly fortuitous and prosperous career. I don't know that they should, really. It's just good to remember sometimes. (And if I could just manage to find some sandy shoreline near all the people I love, everything would be even sweeter.)

Turns Out

Turns out, November feels a lot like fall.

Turns out, it's been 3 months since I've been to Zumba... I've missed my favorite instructor!

Turns out, I don't mind daylight savings time because even though I don't like the early sunset, I do love seeing the sunrise.

Turns out, research papers can be somewhat fun to write. If only I had more time and a better rubric to follow!

Turns out, it doesn't take long for accutane to dry my skin out, but the pimples are still there.

Turns out, Ross likes sweet potatoes if you bake them in wedges, add seasoning, and call them fries.

Turns out, when you put first things first, you can find joy in every circumstance, not just hope in an ambiguous future circumstance.

P.S. My friend Melody wrote the best post-election words I've seen. In the end, the President does not determine the laws I live by. The King does!

Gratitude

Thanks for the anniversary well-wishes. Lots of people asked how we celebrated, but it was pretty low-key. I had clinicals until 7pm and Ross had class in Lawrence and didn't get home until after 9pm. So Thursday, we headed out to Cafe Gratitude. It has a special place in our heart after this summer, AND I can eat anything off of the dessert menu. Win-win.

Best potatoes ever

Warming ginger drink

The view from our table!

We have much to be grateful for.

Snow Day

Just when I thought we were going to cruise through the rest of winter with 40 degrees and sunshine, a storm hit. Not a storm in the sense of a blizzard with angry whirling winds, but the quiet consistent snowfall that makes you want to get outside.

 The kind of snowfall that allows you to see each flake individually!

I may hate winter, but I love snow! If it's going to be cold and gray, at least give us a snowfall to make things prettier.

As of last night, it had been snowing for almost 24 hours straight. Yesterday morning, I had to get out and walk around in it, even if I didn't have anyone to play with.

That's right, I willingly went out in the cold. Snow is magical like that.
 

Snowball Donuts

When my brothers and I were little, we always looked forward to the first snow of the season. Even if it wasn't enough snow to cancel school, it still meant our mom would make snowball donuts! Mmm little bites of heaven. I'm pretty sure we ate them just as fast as she pulled them out of the fryer and powdered them. I introduced Ross to the concept of snowball donuts when we moved here last year, and he's hooked.  Starting in November, I made sure to have the necessary ingredients on had so we'd be able to celebrate whenever the first snow came.

Thankfully, it's been a mild winter and we only had our first real snow last week. But it accumulated, and that's enough to justify donuts!

Snowball Donuts

Ingredients:

1 can buttermilk biscuits (not the 'Grands' rolls, just plain buttermilk ones)
1-2 cups Crisco
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Directions:

1. Scoop Crisco into a sauce pan and turn burner to medium-high.

 
2. While Crisco is melting, cut biscuits into quarters and mix the two sugars together in a bowl.

 
3. When Crisco is fully liquid, drop 1-2 dough balls into the hot oil at a time, turning quickly. If they brown almost instantly, turn the heat down to medium.

4. Remove from fryer when balls are browned on both sides. Place on plate lined with paper towels.

5. Every so often, dump all the "snowballs" from the plate into the bowl with sugars and roll around to coat. Repeat until all the donuts look like snowballs.

Pretty unscientific, I know, but so fun and easy to make!

Monster Cookies

These aren't Christmas cookies per se, but Ross' moms mailed us some holiday M&Ms and suddenly I really wanted some Monster Cookies. Apparently, different people call these different things, but these are flourless cookies made with oatmeal, peanut butter, and M&Ms and they are so. good.

I think they're called Monster Cookies because this makes a MONSTER batch. I counted 8 dozen (that's 96 cookies!) AFTER I'd already eaten a large amount of dough while baking. Perfect for handing out to anyone and everyone. These are fun to tailor to the nearest holiday by buying the appropriate colors of M&Ms (I've used orange and black for Halloween and pastel for Easter).

I got this recipe from my mom's collection and it's on a card in my grandma's handwriting. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, but it's one of my favorites now.

Monster Cookies

6 eggs
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks)
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1.5 cups brown sugar
1/2 Tbs. vanilla
4 tsp. baking soda

Mix these ingredients well and then stir in the following:

3 cups peanut butter
9 cups oatmeal
1 cup plain M&Ms
1 cup chocolate (or butterscotch) chips

Place large spoonfuls on un-greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

I dare you to eat just one.

Spicy Hot

I've been known to drink hot green tea year-round, but there's something about cold, dark winter days that call for a little something extra. Any hot beverage tastes better when the temperatures dip below freezing.

They also taste better in a Holiday Cup from Starbucks, despite this year's scary snowmen!

Generally, stirring milk into my coffee is as complicated as I get with hot drinks at home, but a recipe for homemade coconut chai latte changed everything. This has been my study drink of choice lately and it doesn't involve venturing out into the cold!

Coconut Chai Latte


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. almond milk
• 1/2 cup strong chai tea, brewed for 10 mins (I used 2 tea bags)
• 3 Tbs. coconut milk cream (thick, creamy part at  top of can, NOT low fat coconut milk)
• 1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of cinnamon, to garnish

Directions: 

In a small pot on medium heat, combine milk, chai (after 10 minutes of brewing), and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and then lower heat for 1 minute. Stir in maple syrup and vanilla. Add mixture to blender and blend until frothy for 60-90 seconds.

 
(Alternately, I used my Aerolatte whisk while the mixture was still on the stove.) Pour into mug and sprinkle with cinnamon. Makes 1 delicious mug of chai.

Spicy chai lattes make me love winter a little more.

Hot Yoga, Cold Day

Winter Wonderland Wednesday is already getting difficult for me. Which is the point, I guess. It's definitely cold here. Getting to work involves windshield scraping, numb fingers, and frozen ears. You'll only hear me say this once but I miss night shift right now. Garage parking suddenly seems so worth it!

Anyway, I'm here to celebrate things I love about winter. Today, I love Bikram Yoga. I can't afford a year-round yoga pass, but I don't know that I'd want to. I appreciate hot yoga more when it's cold outside. Put me in the salty, sticky air of the Florida Keys and I'm in heaven. Partly because my nailbeds will no longer be blue, but also because humidity is the great equalizer. Nice clothes? Makeup? Smooth hair? What's the point? In a tropical heat wave, my style (or lack thereof) is finally in fashion!

Striking a (Standing Bow) pose at home after class

But I digress. Few things are better than walking into a dressing room with 4 layers on, stripping down to spandex, racing across the cold concrete floor by the reception desk, prying open the door, and sighing with happiness when that wave of heat hits you. I finally thaw. Yesterday's class was especially sweaty, which was welcome after our coldest week yet. (It's hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago, I was running outside in a tank top. You probably couldn't pay me to do that this week.)

This is my 3rd winter doing Bikram Yoga and my 8th class this season. I am finally seeing improvements and I consistently try every posture, pleased to find that I can almost always hold some form of it the entire time. It's also been a great break from running, but I'm hoping that it improves my running as well. Aside from the obvious cardiovascular benefits (the high temps really get your heart pumping), yoga helps me figure out what needs the most stretching from one week to the next. I also love leaving class with quivering jelly legs instead of the board-stiff brick legs I get after running.

Hot yoga makes cold weather much more bearable.

I Gobbled, and Now I'm Stuffed

Mom's Kitchen

Grandma's Kitchen

Lots of male cousins

Sweet girl

These ladies taught me how to cook

Thanksgiving Table

Lots of good food

Homemade Bread

Cousins

Comfort

Hilarious

The Girls

Happy Thanksgiving!

Falling for Fall

Today I had a day off at home... they've been few and far between lately, so I intended to enjoy every minute of it. I lounged in bed reading for a while. I'm in love with the purple booties Ross got for me.

No I don't wear spandex for fun. I had a run planned after breakfast.

When it became clear that the day was going to remain cloudy, I decided it'd be a perfect day for baking. (Like I need much of an excuse). On our way home from Omaha on Saturday, Ross and I got some Winesap apples in Nebraska City. This variety is described as "dark red, crisp, fairly tart, excellent for baking." Based on this recipe from Joy the Baker, I assembled my ingredients:

Filling:

5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1.5 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter.
Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan and dust with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Continue layering apples and dusting with cinnamon/sugar until done. Toss the apple mixture until evenly coated in cinnamon sugar. The apples should be just about to the top of the pan (they will cook down).

For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips or a fork until evenly distributed. Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture. Spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples.

Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling, 55-60 minutes.

While it's baking, catch up on some reading (never mind that I've read this series close to a dozen times now. I like to re-visit Hogwarts every fall). Enjoy the way a cloudy day makes the turning leaves appear neon.

When the timer goes off, practice extreme restraint so as to not burn your tongue.

When crisp has cooled to eating temperature, dig in! Ice cream is not necessary, but certainly complimentary.

I love fall!