East Coast Vacation

We took our annual trip to the East Coast to visit family. As always it was very rushed and hectic but the kids were incredibly well behaved and flexible. Shayna was great on her first plane trip. We had a vacation within a vacation when we spent two days in New York City. The highlight of that trip was definitely our time at the High Line (a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park built on old elevated freight tracks. It features an integrated landscape, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings, fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features.) We had a nice visit with my family and celebrated some special events. I'm happy to be back home in Wisconsin now and able to officially kick off the summer.

Kick Ass Dinner

My neighbor had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make her something filling and warming and full of nutrients. I picked out this recipe for Black Bean Chilaquile from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I'm not exactly sure what was "low-fat" about it but it was DAMN GOOD. The only CSA ingredient I used was spinach but later in the summer you could use local corn, tomatoes and onions as well. This meal could be made very easily and quickly using canned and store-bought ingredients or more slowly with fresh. I opted for canned tomatoes, canned black beans and bagged shredded cheddar but cut the corn fresh from the cob. It's really up to you...

Black Bean Chilaquile (recipe from Moosewood Low-Fat but here from memory)

1 onion

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 cup of corn (fresh really does make a difference!)

juice of one lime

tortilla chips, crushed (I actually used "hint of lime" chips)

bunch or bag of spinach- wilt by blanching in boiling water or steaming (I did it in the microwave with a little water for two minutes)

shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican blend, queso fresco, monterey jack- use whatever you have)

salsa

1. saute onions until translucent, about 6-8 minutes

2. add black beans, tomatoes, corn and lime and cook for about 10 minutes or more

3. start layering:

a. crushed tortilla chips into the bottom of a baking dish (9X9 or 9X13)

b. sauteed vegetables over the chip layer

c. spread wilted spinach over the vegetables

d. layer of cheese

e. layer of salsa

f. layer of chips

g. layer of salsa

h. layer of cheese

4. bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until bubbling

enjoy.

Another graduation of sorts

Shayna is now big enough for the exersaucer, the high chair, and toys! My house is being overrun by baby gear.

What a difference 9 months can make...

My almost first grader! Talia has grown up so much this year. Well, in most ways...! Today is a very special day for her class. Not only is it the last day of school, it is also her teacher's last day. Everyone seemed to be weepy-- especially the teacher-- when I dropped her off. I'm so proud of Talia and all her accomplishments this year. The skill I was most excited for her to acquire was learning to read and she totally did. I love reading with her each night and watching her brain work it all out. Congratulations Talia!

More Measuring Cups

not a measuring cup-- a little cake plate or something but oh so cute...

matryoshka doll measuring cups

elephants!

fish-ish

Kindergarten Quilt

Talia's kindergarten teacher is retiring after almost 30 years. A parent of one of her classmates wanted to make a quilt as a gift for the teacher. She had each child paint on fabric and then... she got stuck. She hasn't ever quilted before. I took over the job and decided to make the pieces into flowers and added stems, leaves, butterflies, the school photo and a colorful binding. It's a challenge to take over a project that wasn't your own idea. The only thing I would change would be the fabric she chose for the background. Everything else came out great. The teacher was overwhelmed when she received it last week. This is the first major project I have worked on in a long time and I have already started another since!

Collecting

I've never been much of a collector. While my home is filled overfilled with stuff (and I hoard fabric of course), I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to decorative display items. I have beautiful built in glass display cabinets and yet I have no idea what to put in them. Recently, however, I've started collecting unique measuring spoons and measuring cups. There are some really cute ones out there and it's been lots of fun trying to find them.

I think collecting in this day and age is actually way too easy. Assuming the items you collect are inexpensive, finding and purchasing them is as simple as clicking a button on ebay. I feel like I've exhausted all the obvious venues (ebay, etsy, Anthropologie, Pier One, google searches) and it will now be more challenging.

I have a bunch more to show off in another post. These are some of my favorites-- the chicks especially! Let me know if you can think of other places to look for new ones!

What are you collecting these days? Do you think collecting is easier now than when you were a kid, before the internet?

Stay at home weekend

We had a family portrait session

Did some reading

Worked on some art projects

Tried to roll over

Caught a caterpillar

Put together a new puzzle


Played with a new toy

Wrote and illustrated a story about the aforementioned caterpillar

Also: went to the farmers' market, played in the sprinkler, rode bikes, grilled dinner, worked on a quilt, went running (Ron, not me!), attended a birthday party (Talia) and spent lots of quality time together. Sometimes weekends in which we stay home feel a little claustrophobic but this one felt relaxing. Now if I could just figure out why and apply that knowledge to the upcoming summer...

CSA Week 2: Greens with Potatoes, Corn and a Fried Egg

One of the things I like so much about getting a CSA share is that it forces me to discover new recipes that become family favorites (and by family I mean only Ron and me). For example, Lentil-Rhubarb Soup has become a monthly staple in our house and I only discovered it because I wanted to use rhubarb without making dessert. Soy-Roasted Radishes, Grilled eggplant salad and Green Beans Gremolata all came out of necessity. This year we opted for a Spring CSA share as well as the summer share. The spring share has a lot of greens. A lot. I don't like bitter greens so much. I try to use them right away and am thankful they cook up from a huge batch into almost nothing. This week I took a recipe from the MACSAC cookbook From Asparagus to Zucchini and it was delicious. Then again, anything with a fried egg on top is delicious.

Greens and Potatoes with Fried Egg (recipe from book mentioned above-- this is from my memory...)

1 potato
onion
garlic
bunches of greens
corn
2 eggs

I sliced the potato and microwaved is for a minute or two to soften it and then I fried it up with regular garlic and the green garlic from the CSA. I added all the greens-- a bag of spinach and another huge bunch of... I don't even know what it was- the braising greens mix? I added a little water to wilt down the greens. Then I threw in half a bag of Trader Joe's Roasted Corn and some paprika. When everything was cooked through, I removed it from the pan and fried two eggs. This made 2 servings with a little bit of the potato and greens mixture alone for lunch the next day.

Here's what else I got in the CSA:
Scallions, one bunch
Easter Egg Radishes, one bunch
Braising Greens Mix, one bunch
Broccoli Raab, one bunch
Dill, one bunch
Green Garlic, one stalk
Elegance Salad Mix, one bag
Spinach, one bag
Kale mix, one bunch
Micro Greens Mix, clamshell
(Tatsoi, Pea Shoots, Carrot Greens, Beet Greens, Viola Flowers)

CSA Week 1: Spring Greens

microgreens

radish salad with cucumbers and tofu

Sauteed bok choy, shiitakes, tofu and broccolini

Sauteed greens with pine nuts and balsamic

This is the third year in a row that we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture- a co-op where you but into a farm for the year and you receive a box of their produce each week during the growing season). I like the challenge of tackling the box each week, trying to use the produce up before the week is through and another box comes our way. I've discovered new vegetables and new recipes that have become family favorites. It changed what I look for in a cookbook-- now I prefer them to be organized by season and also preferably organized by vegetable too. Each year I've tried to document on this blog what I received in the box and how I used it. Each year I fell off the wagon pretty quickly. So, once again, I'm going to give it a try....

This year we switched from Vermont Valley Farm to Keewaydin Farms for three reasons-- most importantly, Keewaydin delivers on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. That way I can "fill in" whatever vegetables I didn't get from the farmer's market in Middleton on Thursdays. There are no farmer's markets in Madison on Fridays and I would always have to go to the grocery store and buy conventional or mostly non-local produce for the weekend. Another reason is that Vermont Valley has too many potatoes. Everyone knows how I feel about potatoes. Lastly, Keewaydin has a drop off site at my friend Annemarie's Bloom Bakeshop in Middleton and I wanted to have a connection to the shop (see my birds hanging in a corner there!). We are also receiving fresh local eggs and goat cheese every other week.

So, what did we get this first week?

Scallions, Cilantro, Dill
French Breakfast Radishes
Clam Shell of Micro Greens Mix(Rainbow Beet, Tatsoi, Mustard Greens, Pea Shoots, Carrots)
Bag of Baby Romaine
Bag of Spring Salad Mix (variety of flavors)
Bundle of Braising Salad Greens Mix
Sml Bundle of Spinach, Chard, Kale Mix
Bundle of Broccoli Raab
2 Red Bok Choy

Nothing I made this week was particularly amazing...

- Radish salad with cucumbers and tofu
- Sauteed bok choy, shiitakes, tofu and broccolini with a soy-rice vinegar sauce served over pasta (Actually this was pretty good)
- Sauteed greens with pine nuts and balsamic
- Toasted baguette with fresh goat cheese, tomatoes and micro greens (This was delicious)
- Salads, of course

That leaves only some spring mix and the baby romaine, which we will have tonight. Just in time for this week's box although I fear it will be more of the same...

Alex turns 3!

We had sushi and ice cream cake with Alex's best friend Penny and her family. Compared with Talia at age three or just two months ago when she turned 6, Alex really got the shaft. I did not fill his room with balloons as I did for Talia. His presents were not wrapped, there was no card. He did not have a party with 20 friends. I didn't even make his "3" shirt until the day of his actual birthday. I did make him two "3" shirts though. And, truthfully, while Talia's "big present" was an American Girl doll she wanted (and never plays with), Alex is getting something twice as expensive and possibly better- Ron ordered him a Kettler Go Kart. As least, I think that's what it is because it hasn't arrived yet and it's 5 days PAST Alex's birthday. That's what you get for being the middle child. Considering I AM the middle child of my family, I'm getting lots of lessons about what it might have been like for me!

yada yada yada

I'm just going to yada yada over the last month. Yes, I had (have?) postpartum depression. Yes, I'm doing much much (MUCH) better. So, yada yada yada, Shayna is almost three months old, Alex turned 3 and spring is here. I missed out on some things over the last month but I'm not going to dwell on any of it. We have made some positive changes in our household; namely we hired a nanny to help out three days a week. She hasn't started yet but I have such high hopes! The kids became a tiny bit more self-reliant which is always good and Ron really stepped up to the plate. More on Alex's pitiful birthday celebration (ok, not pitiful in and of itself but compared to Talia) when I have another moment. Whew.

7 weeks

Let me count the ways...

So Shayna is six weeks old tonight. Have we really made it this far? Is time flying so fast or crawling-- I can't tell? In some ways I feel like I can't remember what life was like without her. In other ways I feel like, "So this is my life now?" as in, I'm never going to have time to myself ever again, I'm always going to feel like I'm shortchanging at least one of the kids (not to mention my husband), I'm still not sure how I'm going to manage to run a household with a baby plus two big kids. I try to take a breath and sit back and remember I felt this way about having one and then having two...

Shayna is a GREAT baby. She sleeps a LOT and still always manages to sleep well at night. Talia was an ok baby but Alex was a really shitty baby so Shayna is an absolute dream compared to him. The kids adjusted so well-- they are both in love with her and there hasn't been any fallout from the new addition. They still have their issues (Talia is NOT a good listener and Alex, while potty trained, never ever tells us he has to go. We just take him every two hours and we're fine-- or he'll just go in his pants) but nothing has changed in their behavior since she was born (actually they now play together soooooo well!). Shayna has become quite a little fat one. She's busting out of her newborn size clothes and we're into the 0-3 mo. stuff now. Nursing is, well, I won't bore you to death with my complicated and frustrating nursing story but let's just say that, for the time being, we have a system going and she gets whatever I have to give her. She has lots of hair but what's more remarkable is how LONG it is. It's longer in the back than Alex's and almost as long as Talia's. She needs a cut or she's going to have a mullet... By 6 weeks, Talia's hair had lightened up considerably and Alex's had mostly fallen out but was also light. Her eyes are unmistakably blue but again, much darker than the other kids. She seems good natured and easy going and we're all thankful for that. I've been able to get her to smile and she has TWO dimples. I can't wait to show them off!

In looking through old posts in order to prove what a bad baby Alex was (and I couldn't really find any so I must not have been very truthful here) I could see how quickly Alex became a real person. Sometimes I find myself looking at Shayna and trying to force myself to really SEE her. I can't even see her when I'm looking right at her. I know this babyhood disappears in the blink of an eye. It's gone already-- but try as I might, it's really hard to be present and experience it fully.