Back from Writer's Block

Hello, dear blog readers! Now that we have dealt with yet another round of illness in our household as well as several nights of poor sleep, I have to say that I am out of the doldrums and back into writing mode! What have we suburbanites been up to when not thinking about illness, you ask? Well, here are a few things we enjoyed on our weekends out of the house.

We sampled the wares of the Reston Farmers' Market. It was FABULOUS. The day was overcast (it actually started to rain on use as we were leaving), there were several vendors and artists, and there was music! The kids weren't entirely excited about it, but Hubby and I were very glad we went. I have to say: the excursion forced me to get creative with my recipes regarding cooking with what I had on hand and from the market. The variety of tastes and recipes was fun, and works especially well for a kid like Lem, who can't decide from day to day whether he loves food or hates it.

The skeptics. The facial expressions are similar enough that one might think these two kids are related.

 For anyone who has kids (or, even if you don't have kids) and has seen the collection of Pixar short films, "The Music Man" comes to mind. This guy was a very talented one-man band and, as a result, the market was filled with great sounds of guitar and percussion. Even The Skeptics wanted to stop and watch.

A cautiously optimistic beggar. (The goose, that is. Not the girl.)

This booth was way too cute to walk past and not take a photo. Of course, pictures by my hand rarely do anyone justice, but they had wonderful cookies and treats! (Notice that our treats purchased here did not last long enough to get a photo op.)

 The lighting in my kitchen is terrible, but here were the finds of the day (minus the cookies).

Coming soon: postings of recipes made with said produce.

Happy Friday to you all, dear blog readers!

Shopping Adventures

Hello, dear blog readers! Yesterday Hubby got home a little early from work, so we decided to "risk" crabby kiddies and go to the store as a family outing. I think we may have discovered a new Friday Evening Fun Activity! We went to our local Wegmans and discovered that they do little tastings in each department throughout the store.

When I was growing up, we used to joke that we could go to Costco and get a free meal by wandering around and eating various samples. Last night was a similar experience, except that those little samples kept our kids sated and happy (for the most part) while we looked through the produce, meats, fish, and breads. We even got to sample some hand-massaged, grass-fed beef. Now I don't know about you, but if you're on a budget, getting to taste a little sample of that sort of meat is the next best thing to going to a very fancy restaurant or steakhouse. We shamelessly tried all sorts of meats, fruit, cheeses, and homemade salsas. I have to say I came away a little bit inspired to start looking for new recipes for our produce.

One of the most fun things we got to see was the lobster/fish department. Someone had live lobsters and crabs on ice. One of the lobsters on top of the pile had worked his way out of the ice and was trying desperately to get away. This provided at least 5 minutes of wonder for Lem, who couldn't decide if the creature was a threat or an interesting variety of spider.

I do have to add a disclaimer that we DID buy some great organic produce while we were there. We weren't at the store solely to get free snacks.

And then, since we were there way longer than we planned to be, we went and had a very UNhealthy, non-organic meal at one of my favorite sandwich shops. The kids were thrilled!

Fresh Ideas

Hello, dear blog readers! Last night Hubby and I watched an episode Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. While I can't say I always appreciate the TV "reality drama" of cooking, I DO appreciate certain nuances--like, for example, using ingredients that are fresh and in season.

While I can't make the claim that I have rotten food in my fridge, I certainly have an overabundance of cheaply produced, highly processed foods. Actually...I should say we DID earlier this week. Today the fridge is empty-ish and the cupboards are pretty bare. I made an extremely creative fruit salad of the last of our banana, some apples, peanuts, and tofu. Sounds maybe a little disgusting, but my kids loved it, especially with a pinch of salt and some honey to bring out the flavor and juices of the apples.

All of that being said, this is the PERFECT time of year to start visiting farmer's markets and getting ideas for using seasonal foods. Today's project: after the kiddies wake up from naps, we will be heading off to one of our local stores who incorporates produce grown locally. Time to come up with something aside from the odds and ends in the fridge for dinner!

In the spirit of kicking off with spring and summer produce, here is a link that I found last night that has me really excited: http://www.pickyourown.org/. This website is fantastic because it's not specific to a local area--most states have links on this page! Since we are new to the area of Northern Virginia, I wanted to find out more or less when certain fruits and veggies are available in our area, and where to get them. Another link that I found: http://smartmarkets.org/ has a listing of several local farmer's markets that run throughout the week. So, if you're like me and you fully intend to visit a market on a certain day and don't get the chance, you can still visit a similar market (with some of the same vendors) on a different day.

Happy Friday to you all, dear blog readers!

Some Days You Gotta....

Hello, dear blog readers. Today was one of those days. I started out having the dishes done. Most of the toys were picked up. By the end of the day, there are dishes everywhere. Toys everywhere. Clutter. Everywhere.

At times as a mom, I have to admit I get discouraged at the never-ending cycle of cleaning and picking up. I know that having toddlers means that when you clean one room, the rest of the house will look like a tornado has visited other areas. The cost-benefit analysis sometimes seems to indicate that it might work better to not clean at all for another day or two if it makes the living room a little more presentable.

And then I was reminded that parenting isn't about me, it's about them. Some days after standing a lot, cleaning, or attempting to organize, it's tempting to collapse on the couch and put those dishes and toys off until tomorrow. (Which, since I'm in full-disclosure mode now, I'm only too happy to do in order to blog before going to bed.) I gave up some of that cleaning time today since Blossom must be getting more teeth and spent a good part of the afternoon fussing. When she wasn't, Lem picked up the fussy baton and ran with it. And there was frequent disciplining and trips to their room all around.

At the end of the day, my house is far from spotless. I'd love to hire a personal organizer right about now to help me figure out where to unpack those last six boxes that are floating around. But, at the end of the day, my kids are fed, and have been loved and hugged through their tears and tantrums, and didn't manage to exterminate themselves.

Some days ya gotta cut yourself some slack.

Good night, dear blog readers, and Happy Thursday.

Kitchen "Helpfuls"

Hello, dear blog readers! Today I managed to make a loaf of bread--in spite of the best efforts of toddler sabotage. Of course, in HIS mind, Lem was being EXTREMELY helpful. After I made the first batch, I went to check on Blossom as she was supposed to be napping. I returned to find Lem adding about a half of a bottle of olive oil and some soy sauce to the bread machine. Miraculously, he managed to get it all inside of the bread basin and not into the guts of the machine itself. I have to admit I felt a little bit like an octopus trying to a) add the ingredients one at a time and b) keeping Lem from either tasting said ingredients or adding superfluous odds and ends. It took three tries before I had the right amount of ingredients.

At the end of the morning, we had a fine loaf of bread!

"Smelling" the ingredients prior to mixing

Silly

Hello, dear blog readers!

Mondays are long. Mondays aren't great. There's a reason why a lot of people here Stateside resent Mondays. For us, it means cleaning up stuff that has been strewn around by kids over the weekend, doing laundry that has accumulated over the weekend, etc.

Hubby and I were talking tonight about the connotations of "silly." For him, the answer was anything having to do with the height of stupidity. "Silly" equates "dumb."

When he asked me what the first thing that came to mind about "silly," I honestly had to answer "balloons." For me, "silly" entails my children laughing for no apparent reason. It means chasing the kiddies around the apartment while they squeal with laughter. There is no "good reason" for this behavior; we all just need a good laugh.

Watching a "silly" movie: does it really serve a functional purpose? I may not be a huge fan of modern comedians, but generally-speaking, if I can find a light-hearted (and clean-content) movie that even my kids can enjoy, I think "silly" has its place in this world. It teaches us that there is still a place for laughter, despite whatever pain comes our way. It gives us hope that one day, we might be able to laugh again, despite our hardships. It's not just a stupid, mindless activity. "Silliness" helps us release tension for the time being.

I'm writing this to in order to remind myself that laughs are needed more than for any other reason. While I have had mixed reviews on the subject of "being silly" recently, I hope that you, dear blog readers, find a good reason to laugh today, especially if you don't have an obvious reason for doing so.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello, dear blog readers! I was giving Mother's Day a thought or two today, because...well, it's Mother's Day! And I do now qualify as a mother.

My day began as a frantic search for kiddie clothes. For the first time in weeks, our kids were virus-free and healthy. I was getting the kids ready for church. As I was looking for Blossom's clothes, I realized that sometime in the last one or two days, Lem put ALL of Blossom's clean clothes in the hamper with the dirty clothes. Mind you, he didn't just put them on top. He put them in and mixed them up. (I for one am not going to admit to how I got creative with her outfits. Let's just say that 2/3 of her outfit was from the "clean" bin, and I had to pull a sniff test on the other third. I was that or wearing a diaper and no pants in public.)

I find it interesting to see how people think about Mother's Day and how Mother's Day is marketed in the media and among various vendors. And, of course, I find it interesting to see how Mother's Day is marketed among other bloggers.

So far, my favorite impression of Mother's Day gifts were posted by a friend on Facebook. It was a blog post from a blog that (I think?) was called Parenting: Illustrated by Crappy Pictures. (For those of you who already offended by the word "crappy," I apologize in advance. For those of you who have been struggling parents who will ignore the word and continue on into the solidarity and humor offered within this blog, continue.)

http://crappypictures.com/

While in a number of years I might appreciate things like flowers, chocolates, and spa dates, what I really appreciated today (or yesterday!) were the simple and (FREE!) things: Hubby tended to the Toddlers yesterday morning so that I could sleep in. Today I got to take a successful afternoon nap, despite the fact that Lemmy was trying to poke his head in the room to see if I still existed in his realm. I got to take a shower, brush my teeth, and (MOST IMPORTANTLY!) use the john without a single audience! Here is the picture from the author of the afore-mentioned blog:

This evening, we ate sandwiches and went for an exploratory tour of our historic downtown area. The breeeze was bordering on cold, but the flowers were in bloom and clearly Lem was desperate to get out of the house and hop up and down the street holding my hand. (I've never been a two-year-old boy so I can't say that getting out of the house is a need, but I think it's definitely good for him.) We looked at an old train, at old buildings containing restaurants, and at old houses with old yards with flowers in full bloom.

The simplicity of these "gifts" and activities were, in my humble opinion, the BEST Mother's Day gifts! Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there, dear blog readers! It is a (mostly) thankless job. I hereby salute you!

Delicious Spaces

Hello, dear blog readers!

I think I may (or may not) have previously linked the following blog as a post, but I LOVE looking at other people's ideas for organizing. As renters who have moved around a lot, sometimes it's difficult not to fling various items into closets (AKA "Black Holes") never to be seen again (at least until the next move), but it helps to see what other people are doing. I didn't even know until the other day how many varieties of laminate/oil cloth existed out there. (What would we do without the invention of the Internet?)

Anyway, dear blog readers, here are some great ideas for pantries, closets, etc. I love the colors!

Delicious Spaces

Happy Saturday!

Splat!

Hello, dear blog readers! Now that the settling in process is finally getting somewhere, I'm looking for something functional to put under the table since we have carpeting in the dining room. Up until now I've been feeding the kids basically one at a time over the linoleum in the kitchen. We like to joke that it's a "one butt" kitchen, and having one adult and two kids in there at the same time (one being bed, one howling) just isn't ideal.

The thing that occurs during "Happy Hour" (aka Feeding Time) is that glint in the eyes of both kids where try to sneak food that they don't particularly like out of the chair and onto the floor. I think toddlers are equal opportunity "flingers:" one day they'll like something and the next day they won't. They might be celebrating their favorite meal by clapping their hands and having food fly everywhere, or they might be stealthily trying to sneak it onto the floor in hopes that a pet or other sibling might come along and hoover it up before it makes it onto the bottom of a parental shoe and tracked across the light-colored carpet. (I sometimes question why apartment managers often put in light-colored carpets into their units, especially when a lot of renters here have small children.)

Now that the boxes in the dining room have been dismantled, I've decided to look into getting splat mats to go under the kids' chairs. I'm just going to postulate that I'm not the world's greatest online research individual. That said, I found some GREAT tips and oil cloth/laminated fabrics on Etsy.com. I'm going to try to cut some fabric of my own and put on borders if the cloth isn't too thick.

Since I haven't actually purchased any fabric yet, if any of you readers out there have had a particular brand or type of splat mat in the past that you have really liked (or DISliked), I would love to hear further ideas and thoughts on the subject!

Happy Thursday, dear blog readers!

Store Reactions

Hello, dear blog readers! I was thinking today about how I used to react to people who had screaming children before I had my own. I now feel very differently than I did then. I find myself far more patient and sympathetic of those moms at the grocery store who are just trying to get some things and check out before the child goes into complete meltdown.

When I didn't have children of my own, I used to keep my thoughts to myself--at least, I did in front of the parents or in public. I'm completely amazed at the responses I get sometimes from complete strangers.

For example: we were shopping at a local grocery store. The checkout lanes are designed to be very narrow so that your child can actually reach those items on the shelf that you might not normally buy--everything from chewing gum to chocolate. We had been through the store and were handed a free sample of a chocolate truffle. I thought I would be the Really Cool Mom and split said chocolate between my kids while we were waiting in a very slow-processing line to check out. That was mistake number one.

Mistake number two was getting into a line where the Mother's Day Chocolate Boxes were in Grabbing Distance for small children. When Blossom tried to grab a box and it plummeted to the floor, she burst into tears. I put it back on the shelf. Lem noticed the boxes and immediately commenced begging. I was not amused.

Mistake number three: right then and there I told them that if they continued to whine, they would not get the remaining free sample I had in the cart. This resulted in the complete meltdown of Lem, who was crying so loudly that Blossom joined in the chaotic ruckus.

An older gentleman approached and tried to joke and tease with the kids, asking if they were getting teeth. Mistake number four: I should have just nodded my head and smiled, but I told him they were mad that they weren't getting more chocolate. I don't know why I felt the need to be so completely honest, but I did. As I was conversing with him, the lady in front of us shook her head at the noise. The clerk mumbled something under his breath to her. As we put our items into the que, he said to me, "No one cries at this store! Just buy them the chocolate!"

I know that a lot of people believe that moms and dads should just do whatever it takes in the heat of the moment to quiet their children, but I have to say that in the moment (while I was SORELY tempted), I smiled and thanked them for their advice, which I completely ignored. I used to think that parenting was a little more black-and-white than it really is. I was reminded recently that parenting is making judgments for the sakes of the children, NOT for the sakes of our own convenience.

They went to bed without any Mother's Day (or more sample) chocolates, not to mention the disciplining that occurred when we got home. And at the end of the day, Lemmy sat on the couch, cuddled up to his sister and me, and stated, "I love you, Mommy." I guess I'm not ruining him entirely after all.

Happy Wednesday, dear blog readers!

Sharing

Hello, dear blog readers! Not much new to report here, so I thought I'd share some thoughts/quotes for the week.

I LOVE rain. It's pouring rain. While I can't very well take out more empty boxes to the recycling bin, I'm thrilled that it's raining.

From Lem: "Oh, WOWWWWW! Look at the red crab!" I informed him he was looking at a cardinal in the yard. After a pause, "Oh WOWWWW! Look at the red chicken!"'

Since it has been overcast and/or rainy for the last two days, I made a vegan thai red chili recipe that two friends made for me and/or gave me the recipe after Blossom was born. (You know who you are!! Thank you!) This is a surprisingly filling recipe that is FULL of great healthiness. The rest of the blog is fun to see too if you're looking at making any dietary changes for the better. Refer to the link before for the recipe. I'd love to have taken some great photos of said chili, but my cilantro from my potted garden was...well, let's just say it's starting to look a bit anemic.

Post Punk Kitchen

Lastly, I thought I'd share that I started reading Start. by Jon Acuff. I don't usually read self-motivation books, but since I've been reading other books lately on parenting/leadership, I thought I'd give it a try since I heard about it on the radio. I have to say: I tend to read at a glacial pace due to the kids and the slow, SLOW process of settling in/getting organized, so I haven't made it past the first chapter yet. That said, this guy is FUNNY! I'm looking forward to what the rest of the book has to offer.

The Start Book

Happy Tuesday, dear blog readers!

The Art of Organizing (And It IS an Art!)

Hello, dear blog readers! As we're settling glacially but steadily into our apartment, I have been researching some organization techniques to maximize our space while not looking like a tornado has struck. The reality is that while I have made some great progress in the closets, the kids have been VERY busy in the living room. I guess that since hubby has to work late tonight, I'll be picking up toys and household objects!

In other organizing news, I've been looking for blogs/articles and ideas in general. I think it's fairly safe to say that I am NOT naturally organized. For me, it's definitely a skill I need to build.

I was recently at a dentist appointment, and while I was in the waiting room, I came across this magazine article in Woman's Day. I can appreciate that the authoress is also a renter (I believe), and I LOVE this idea for a desk in small spaces! It's so classy-looking!

http://www.womansday.com/home/organizing/home-armoire#slide-1

Here is currently how our organization process is going. I aspire to eventually look like someone on the Woman's Day blogs. This is what my living room looks like now:

Hey, I can dream, right? If anyone has any suggestions of organizing-related blogs or books, I would be happy to hear/read some tips! Happy Friday to you all, dear blog readers!

Getting Inspired

Hello, dear blog readers! While I'm sitting here snuffling away on my couch with the latest cold/flu bug, I've been doing some looking around online for "chic" storage solutions that don't completely break the budget. (For those of us who have been pretty much broke our entire married existence, a budget for storage is a bit tight.)

I'm going to sound like a poster or paid-ad for IKEA, but I just have to say: I LOVE this store! Since we sold a lot of our (busted-by-prior-movers) furniture, we now have a dining room that consists of a small card table and four chairs. The metal shelves from the garage have been set up in the dining room to accommodate pantry storage, miscellaneous storage, and kitchen items that don't actually fit in the kitchen.

We managed to make what we call a "do-or-die" trip with the kids on Saturday to our closest IKEA store. We got up early, fed and changed the kids, and headed out the door as soon as we were able in order to beat most of the morning traffic. The kids LOVED the experience. Lem in particular is of the age where playing in the kid-friendly areas is a draw. We stopped at the food court and had an early lunch consisting of breakfast food, which allowed us to look around like tourists. I swear that I could drop an entire paycheck in the store if I didn't go in with a set amount of budget in mind.

All of that being said, I'm now in the phase of looking for ways to conserve space and store various household items--anything from laundry detergent and organizing canned food goods, clothing, etc. If any of you household organizing types have any suggestions of how to go about organizing (or household tips for cleaning etc.) that you have found helpful, I'm open to suggestions! It can be from a blog, a book, your own experience...

Happy Thursday to you all, dear blog readers!

Have We Seen You Before?

Hello, dear blog readers! Well, we are surviving yet another round of colds and flu. I figure at this point, if one of our kids gets sick, we might as well all cough and breathe on each other. That way we can all suffer and be over it at the same time instead of having the germs linger for weeks.

Anyway, in other news, we have had two more visits from confused maintenance guys. I feel like I've seen enough of them in the last couple of weeks that I had a strange dream this morning that two people showed up and were trying to move into our apartment, and only after they had brought in about 10 boxes did they realize that someone else is living here. I wonder what Freud would have to say about that sort of dream.

Moving along, dear blog readers, it's another beautiful day! Since we're laying low amongst our germs so as to not "spread the love" to the rest of the general public, I thought I'd start looking for local farmers markets in the area.

Any suggestions for those of you fresh food lovers out there on how to find local markets?

Happy Wednesday!