Hey Good Lookin'! Whatcha got cookin'?

Inspiration comes in many forms and mine is usually not found in the kitchen... until recently. It all started with a New Year's resolution to improve my cooking skills and learn how to create more homemade foods. I made Chloe's babyfood when she was an infant, but beyond the food processor, my kitchen skills were below average. My mother-in-law, who is an excellent cook, is my inspiration to learn more about food preparation along with the late Linda McCartney, whose cookbook I have used so much it has permanent food stains :)
So, what has been transpiring in my kitchen in the past few days?
Hand-made, no bread machine here, white bread!

here's what the inside looked like (notice I say "looked" because it's all gone!)


Tonight's specialty: Pizza! We bought the garlic-flavored dough from Trader Joe's (so you just add a bit of flour and roll it out) and the tomatoes I picked right from my garden!


Yesterday, when Will went to the grocery store, he picked up some "yucky" bananas. Every so often our little neigborhood store will bag up outdated bananas and sell 11-12 for 69cents!! I can make two loaves (or one loaf and 2 dozen muffins) for super cheap!
Here's what the bananas look like with all the ingredients (minus the flour):

All mixed up, ready to go:

And fresh out of the oven:

What does Chloe think about the banana bread dough? She's "helping" mommy clean up our baking mess :)

My banana bread recipe:
4-5 bananas
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs of milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
Mix in order. Bake 325 degrees for one hour.

Guest Blog: Daddy, Chloë and Keys

So Chloë loves keys; perhaps because of the janglyness and shinyness of them. Many a time we have kept our anxious little one preoccupied in on a car ride by giving her a spare set of keys. But this isn't always a good thing. Mummy was at Bible study so Chloë and I went to story time and took mummy's car, which is quite fancy with electric windows, central locking and such.
Coming home Chloë spotted the shiny metal dangling near the steering column and started to yell "KEEEEEYYS. KEEEEEEEYYS!" "Chloë, we're nearly home," I replied. "You can play with them when we get home". Pulling in to the garage, true to my word I handed the keys back to Chloë, still strapped safely in her car seat. As I rested in the driver’s seat after a fun adventure, Chloë amused herself jingling the keys and pressing the panic button so the car horn beeped.
After a moment I got out of the car, closed the door and walked round to Chloë's side, tugged on the backdoor handle and. And nothing. It was locked. Hmmm, I thought. I walked back to the driver’s door and tugged the handle. Locked. "C h l o ë..." Peering through the window, there she was, legs splayed, arms all over and the key's central lock button still moist from her thumb. Several moments passed.
With my faced pressed against the window, very annoyed now, Chloë dangles the keys outside of her car seat and yells "Allll doooone."
"Chloë honey, press the button. Button. Press the button. Press it," I encourage, exasperated.
"Beep. Beep. Beep." Wrong bloody button.
Dangle, dangle. Press. Press. Click. Finally, sigh of relief as the door unlocks. Good job Chloë!

Marketing

I had a revelation this morning: parenting is all about good marketing! While Chloe was persistently asking for "more choo-choo" for her toothbrush, I thought, "Oh, what a wonderful child to be so concerned about dental hygiene." Umm... yeah right. She hated brushing her teeth until the glorious day I discovered children's starter toothpaste that doesn't contain floride and the outside is decorated with Thomas the Tank Engine (one of her favorite characters besides Paddington and The Gingerbread Man). Immediately after buying the toothpaste and bringing it home, she had to try it out! She has been in toothpaste and toothbrushing heaven ever since. Without the "choo-choo" she refuses.


Another example of good marketing has been in the eating category. C has never been a great eater. The word "picky" does not do the girl justice. For a long, long time the only foods she would eat were bread, cheese, and almost any type of fruit. Yup, that's it. I didn't have the chance to take pictures of my child with food all over her face because she didn't eat anything messy. Last week, I decided to make the girls mac & cheese. What kid doesn't like mac & cheese? B (C's BFF) loves mac & cheese and that is why I bought it in the first place. Obviously, until this blessed day, Chloe had NEVER eaten pasta of any kind. She refused. She stuck out her tongue so the food would slide off. She closed her mouth so tightly, I thought her lips would turn blue. But this day was different. The pasta was in the shape of Scooby-Doo. There were dog bone shapes in the pasta! How cool is that? After pointing out this fact and chanting the kids rhyme, "Doggie, doggie, where's your bone? Somebody stole it from your home," Chloe actually took a bite! I almost cried I was so excited! My daughter ate pasta! She ate something that normal people eat all the time! All it took was pasta in the shape of doggie bones and then she took a bite.
Marketing. Fun stuff she likes. Then, maybe she will be more apt to try new things. Maybe.

A Reflection of sorts

What is it about a woman all dressed up in the latest fashions with three inch heels, with perfect makeup and a not a hair out of place, stepping into a very sexy car that stirs up a bit of envy in me? As the girls and I were leaving the neighbors after a visit with their little guy and the two doggies, a friend of theirs was just stepping into her car to begin her day in the corporate world. And she looked amazing. And powerful. And successful. And she uses phrases like, "Eliminating my competition." And I went to bed last night with wet hair (so you can imagine what it looks like in the morning) and I was wearing jeans, a tank top and my keens while chasing two little girls around all morning. Still wearing my glasses. At least I got to brush my teeth. Seeing a woman like that makes me see my life differently. My life is amazing and fulfilling but in such a different way than someone who is single and successful with her own business. My day consists of going on walks to the park, teaching the girls to take turns riding the bike while the other pushes the bubble mower, picking out new books at the library, singing songs with silly rhymes and animals as the subject. Most days I'm lucky to get to sit down for a bit and relax or do a bit of reading. In some ways it feels like the life chosen for me but honestly I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I get to use phrases like "Safety first" and "No push; gentle touches." I get to institute snack time. I get to take the girls to the splash pad and play with them and teach them about caring. It would be nice to actually get to wear fashionable clothes and put makeup on everyday but I think I look pretty cool driving a Ford Fusion with two carseats in the back holding two smiling toddlers.

Flu in July?

Unbelievable. For the first time in 10-15 years, I got the flu. I have no idea how this bug crept into my life, especially in July of all months, but I'm sure Chloe's night-waking and my very interrupted sleep didn't help my immune system. It hit me like a Mack truck on Monday about noon and by 5pm, I was practically unconcious (save for running to the toilet) for the next 24 hours. As a result, I've done nothing but sleep and try to keep down some gingerale. Will took care of Chloe yesterday morning while I slept and then I took over after naptime. Neither one of us get paid sick days and since I stay home with the girls (mine and I nanny for my friend's little girl) there is no one else to take over when/if we get ill.
I've been moving very slowly and could hardly stand more than one minute until today. Thankfully I don't get sick very often as Chloe has very little patience for a Mommy who doesn't want to play and chase her! Just for fun, here's a cute picture of "my" girls!

Family Trip to Milwaukee

I think we're finally recovered and rested from our very fun family vacation to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All 3 of us flew to the great state of Wisconsin last Wednesday morning; Will returned Fri morning and C and I returned Sat. night. During our excursion we, along with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and very cute nephew, explored many fun areas of Milwaukee. Some of our highlights included watching the Twins beat the Brewers at Miller Stadium (GO TWINS!), visiting the Harley-Davidson Museum, playing at the park along Lake Michigan (one of the five great lakes), touring the Jelly Belly factory and experiencing different climates and atmospheres at the Mitchell Park Conservatory (otherwise known as The Domes). Despite the grueling heat during our trip, we had a wonderful time. Chloe was an awesome traveler too, playing quietly and reading books on the flight there and napping on my lap on the way home. On Friday and Saturday I was a "single parent" as Will had to return home to work, and I have a renewed admiration for all real single parents! I was exhausted from having to do everything - all the chasing, meal preparations, organizing, packing, daily routine stff, etc. People who are parenting solo deserve a huge amount of respect and applause for their hard work!
Overall, we had a magnificent time in Milwaukee! However, I told Will that our next vacation should be one for just us :) I'm sure we can talk the grandparents into watching our darling little girl for a weekend!

Family Photo at the Twins/Brewers Game


Chloe testing out a Harley-Davidson motorcycle!

Splashing Around

If you haven't noticed yet, Chloe and I are very busy - especially in the summer. Yesterday we took the opportunity to have some fun at the water park near our house. It's lovingly called "The Splash Pad" because it's a park full of sprinklers, fountains, and hoses that shoot water. It's perfect for young children because it's not a pool where a parent has to worry about their child swimming in another child's urine or other water-related accidents. I'm pretty sure C would move there if she could. Her expressions and squeals of sheer delight say only one thing: "This is the coolest place EVER!"