Holy Geez!

These are some delicious balls! We are close to food shopping day, which means we are low on everything, and completely out of sweet snacks for school lunches. So I raided the pantry to see what we had in hand for some homemade treats. While I've done this before, it doesn't usually go well. Even when I follow directions exactly, the treats just don't come out quite right. But when I saw the recipe for these no bake cookie balls, a) the kids got excited, b) there were only 4 ingredients, and c)

I didn't have to bake them. So I figured it was a go!

Surprisingly (to everyone), they came out really well. They are relatively healthy, if not low calorie, and delicious. Just cashews, oatmeal, agave, and chocolate chips. They are even better after being in the fridge for a while.

I got the recipe here. It is a blog that I often read. Although most of her recent recipes are deserts, her site also contains a lot of healthy dinner/snack ideas, too.

I love finding a new recipe that is a keeper!

7 Months and Growing!

Little man hit seven months this week! I don't really have any new stats - we go to the pediatrician this week. However, in the last month or so:

- he had his first cold. I thought it was teething, but it lasted quite a while without any teeth coming in. I do think they will pop through any day!

- he started sitting in a Highchair. But he still isn't eating much food. Neither baby led weaning nor puréed baby food seems to hold his interest. I'm glad he likes his milk, but I'm also looking forward to him getting into real food. 

- he moved out of his infant carseat and into his convertible carseat. I was tired of lugging the infant seat around, but it is still weird to have him in a new seat.

- he naps in his pack n play. The swing went to Harry, so Miles has taken to napping in "bed." It doesn't always work, but he is on his way!

He has gotten cuter. It seems impossible, but is true :)

The Sweet Spot

I have been joking with Tim lately that we had better get all of our alone time in now, because once school is over in a few weeks, we won't be alone for 3 months.

Because Tim works nights and all day Saturday until 3, we don't get to see a lot of him. However, I have an advantage over the kids in that he and I get to spend a few hours together each morning. I get up early and nurse Miles, work/work out, then make breakfasts and lunches. Tim gets up around 8:15 and dresses Oli, then takes the kids to school. Then, when he gets back, we enjoy waffles (yes, waffles. I bought a waffle iron this winter thinking it would be great for the kids, and now Tim and I are the only ones who really use it. Mac is on and off with it, and [big surprise] Oli refuses) and watch whatever show we missed the night before while he was at work. Sometimes, we watch two. I nurse Miles, we watch TV, and talk. Then, I either work or work out (whichever I didn't do/didn't get a chance to do when I woke up), and then we eat lunch. Especially now that the semester is over and I don't have to run off to office hours, it is a really nice schedule. We don't get a lot of date nights, but we do get a lot of date mornings and lunches.

Starting June 17, that will all change (dun, dun duuun...) -- summer recess. And while I am looking forward to more time with the kids (I have BIG plans for this summer), I realize that Tim and I are in a sweet spot right now. I have less work because I am between the semester and summer classes starting, and the kids are at school. Some mornings, I actually have anxiety because I feel like I should be doing MORE. That said, I can definitely get used to this pace :) It is glorious! We have blown through our eating out budget, because we can't resist using this extra time to run errands that always end in getting a bite to eat while we are out. And I love it! I suppose it is a good thing that this sweet spot can only last so long, or we would be broke (and full!).

Don't get me wrong. It will be very sweet when the kids are home from school. They are at a great age, and I really want to make this summer one filled with play and educational field trips. But being able to focus on Tim, and myself, and to just hang out is a privilege that I won't have when we are all home together in the morning, and then he is off at work at night. And with our 10 year anniversary coming up this week (shameless anniversary plug), I know how important it is to focus on each other. And, I am so blessed that I enjoy spending time with him now more than ever. He provides a relaxing counterpoint to my stress over disciplining the kids on my own while he is at work, and we seem to have more in common now than ever before. I guess that happens as you spend the years together. Hopefully, this will be a continuing trend :)

So I will savor this sweet spot, fully acknowledging that it is both wonderful and fleeting, and then I will embrace our extra time as a family unit once the summer starts. My hope is that it will be filled with fun, outings, learning, love, and ice cream.

Not Quite 9:30 am

4 breakfasts made (5 if you count Sniper)

2x nursed the baby

2 superhero bears drawn

1 Dunkin half caff devoured

3 huge schmears of snot on my shirt (no, not mine!)

2 diapers changed

1 husband at work

1 swim meet in 1 1/2 hours

1 school carnival scheduled for this afternoon (am seriously hoping for rain)

Happy Mother's Day!

May starts the beginning if my season - Mother's Day, anniversary, and birthday. And I am not too old yet to get a kick out of it, and I am not too old yet to want to celebrate to the max! I don't expect big or copious gifts, but I do want recognition and celebration. Even if holidays are "made up" or "overindulgent" they give us an excuse to stop and celebrate, and also to appreciate our lives and each other. And this Mother's Day did not disappoint.

I have lots of helpers at play in my children's lives who helped make sure

That the kids had excellent gifts prepared. And in doing so, they really got the kids into the spirit of the day. The first is our awesome babysitter Brittney. I knew she had been working with the kids all week onnsometuing, but the while process was as secretive as can possibly be when Mac and oli are involved. She helped each of the kids author a book for me. Marc's is very mature and talks about our relationship and the connection of mother and daughter, while oli's is a completely (completely) nonsensical story about a chicken. Both are so utterly "Mac" and "oli" that they couldn't be more perfect!

The kids also made stff in school, including a photo magnet and a book about "mom." In Mac's book, she said that to relax, I grade papers. Maybe I work too much?

We visited grandparents on Saturday and stayed home on Sunday. Our first stop on Saturday was House of Cupcakes. It is a Akers in Princeton that won the Cupcake Wars competition, which is one of Mac's favorite shows. I managed to keep it a surprise until we got there and Mac was soon excited. Even Oli got excited. We got Mother's Day cupcakes for everyone, and headed up for mani/pedis with grandma and Aunt Beth.

On Sunday, the kids excitedly gave me their gifts. It was awesome. We made it to church by the skins of our teeth, and then went to one of our favorite eateries, Corner Bakery, for lunch. Then, we headed to the only place I "had" to go for Mother's Day - u- swirl. It is a frozen yogurt shop where you pay by the ounce and add all the toppings you want. This pregnancy, I had given up soft serve, since it could be linked to Listeria. So all summer, I suffered watching the rest of the family ate frozen yogurt. I've had it a few ties since, and it is all I hoped for. As a result, I covet it and it is even more f a treat than it would normally be.

I added a 4 mile run when we got home ( I'm just starting training for a half marathon this fall), and then we cleaned and had movie night. I am blessed to be the mom of such wonderful kids, and to have a great husband. My family feels full and right. And I am happy to celebrate that every chance I get!

Weekend Fun

Out weekends are often busy, and this one was no exception. We started out nice and early, since Miles is teething, has allergies, or both. Tim went to work and I rounded up the kids for breakfast, then swim. Oli cried the whole way, since I forgot to bring his iPod in the car, and then kept it up as he got in the pool. He finally calmed down for about half of his lesson. He says he hates swim but he looks like he is having such a good time! I'm getting tired of fighting him anout it, but Im not ready to gice up, either. In general, Oli has been crying a lot to get his way lately. He also asks a lot about being "little" or "a baby." I don't know if a) this is a reaction to Miles (which seems painfully obvious on paper, but really doesn't play out so obviously in real life), or b) the fact that Oli really thinks of himself as "little" or "a baby," since he has been our baby for so long, and we have often told him that his is "too little" to do things, especially things at playgrounds or amusement parks that require walking. I have to work to get to the bottom of this since a) it is driving me crazy, and b) we have to make sure that he sees himself in an age appropriate way before this spills into other areas of his life. (I know -- a lot of lists.)

Once Tim got home, we went to see his parents. We wouldn't usually make the Jersey trek this late in the day, but it had been a few weeks since we had seen his parents, and his mom has been recently rediagnosed with cancer. Her health has been hit or miss, but she was doing well on Saturday. It was good to see her acting more like her old self and we had a really enjoyable visit. It was great to see her loving on Miles, since all of the grandparents see him so much less than they saw the other two at his age.

By Sunday, we were all wiped and suffering from allergies/a cold/teething. I'm embarrassed to say that we missed church, but did make it to a cinco de mayo birthday party. We are late for church every week, but one of the great things about our church is that they both start late, and sing for the first twenty minutes. So even though we are always late, we never really miss any of the "important" part of the service. And, there are always some donuts left when we get there. But this week, we were just too late to justify it. So we skipped church, and somehow, still wound up leaving a bit late for the birthday party (where did that extra hour go??). I will blame the lateness for the party on Miles, since he had to eat right before we were ready to go. We definitely live on breastfeeding time -- when he is hungry, we stop everything so I can feed him.

I haven't celebrated anything cinco de mayo since before kids, so it has been a good 8 years or so. While this wasn't as wild as happy hour at On the Border or Marita's Cantina, it was a really awesome party. It was for our friend Sam's first birthday party. His mom, Maria, is incredibly detail oriented, and this party had everything. Alcohol for the adults (SANGRIA! I only had half a cup, but I was in heaven. So different from my twenties -- I was monitoring both sugar and alcohol intake. I am so hopelessly boring now. I did have beer and a bit of margarita, but really a step down from the old days. I often wonder what 20-something me would think of 30-something me. Probably that I'm refreshingly quiet and calmer, but b-o-r-i-n-g), a bounce gym and toy tent with the kids (with pinata), a taco bar (delicious), and a popcorn maker. Really, it was awesome.

Afterwards (and perhaps this is why I drink so much less) we came home, I nursed, Tim cleaned, and we made dinner for the kids and had movie night. We try to have movie night once a week, so instead of going out to eat on the weekend like we used to, we watch a movie and eat in the living room. Usually homemade pizza, but lately burgers. All in all, a busy, fun weekend. And how nice to know that the semester is over, so on Monday, I could give myself the day off :)