Formula

I have a couple of scoops of formula left and I don't intend to buy any more. Cecilia has easily transitioned into drinking whole milk, but I keep looking at that last little bit of powder and I don't want to use it up quite yet. With most things I love watching my babies growing up and don't feel particularly nostalgic about a certain stage disappearing because the next one is so exciting, but for some reason saying goodbye to formula, of all things, is tugging at the old heartstrings.

I can't help but wonder if when it's gone it will be the last time I ever have it in my house for one of my own kids. I'm as surprised as anyone to acknowledge how very sad that makes me. I can't decide if it's a sadness that would come at some point no matter how many kids we had or if it's a sadness that means I'm not ready to say "no more" with any amount of finality.

There are bigger things happening in the world than a dwindling can of formula, though.

My sister's cousin-in-law passed away on Friday; her baby was born on Monday. When you hear of unimaginable tragedy like that, sometimes all you can do is take time to be grateful for every moment you have. For me, it means being grateful for every can of formula I ever got to buy, every scoop I ever got to empty in a bottle, every bottle I ever got to hold for my child and every stage I've ever had the privilege to watch them navigate through.

This woman was robbed. Her baby was robbed. Her husband and family were robbed. For them, I'm here to remind you (and me) to accept what comes your way graciously. It may not always be fun or blissful or even remotely enjoyable and that's okay, but at the end of the day let's all remember to be thankful for these days we were not robbed of.

And say a prayer for V and her family while you're at it...

All Things Kitchen

This is post is all about the kitchen (and food). My kitchen is used as often as anyone else's so it's kind of important to have a nice space to work in. When we first bought this house over three years ago, it looked like this (really, much MUCH filthier than the pictures show):

The dirt you see on the cabinets was actually a goop of some kind that had to be scraped off....

But we saw arched doorways and a hell of a view so we figured a little scrubbing would be worth it.

Soon enough (thank you Laura for your help on this one), our kitchen was clean, painted and looked something like this (ignore the floor board that needed to be replaced at the time this picture was taken):

Better, no? Well that white did not stand the test of time and a coat of paint (among other unseen things Bryan did to get it up to snuff) still did not equate to a dishwasher somehow. So we moved forward a few years later. See that white box off to the right of the sink in the below picture? A dishwasher!! Have I mentioned I'm pretty excited about it? :)

Here is where the stove used to be (right under the pots and pans):

And here it is now, with the over-the-range microwave (we used to have an old big brown microwave way off under the stairs on the other side of the kitchen). We also painted the cabinets and replaced the floor.

Over the course of the next year or so, Bryan will build new cabinets to replace these old ones. For now, though, these work perfectly and I'm in no rush (Bryan, you didn't read that). There goes the sound of the dishwasher again....oh happy day.

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For the past few months I've been trying to remember to jot down what we had for dinner each night. Prior to this idea, I tried blogging recipes and photographing everything I made. I quickly realized a thing or two about food blogging. First, food photography is a serious art (and I'm usually not accused of being an artist of any kind) and second, I found that if I'm going to take the time to blog I want most of my posts to be about my kids (save for a few like this one) so it just plain old didn't work out. 

I still liked the idea of having a way to look back at the things I've made, though. I often look in my cabinets feeling stumped, so I thought if I compiled a list I could always go back to it for inspiration. Then at book club the hostess had on her chalkboard a few of the things she planned to make that week; between the meal she made for us and the chalkboard of ideas, a few of us were a little less stumped at dinnertime the next day. So, while it's on my mind, I thought I would share my list. Maybe it'll spark an idea for you (or me)!

This isn't a complete list, as I repeated some things and surely forgot to write down even more, but here you have it:

Broccoli cheese soup with cheese-sun dried tomato-grilled onion sandwiches on ciabatta bread

Avocado-cream cheese-tomato sandwiches on (leftover) ciabatta bread & miso soup with tofu and mushrooms

Butternut squash and cream cheese filled egg rolls with cranberry sauce

Homemade pizza

Spaghetti

Wild rice with lentils and mushrooms

Vegetable stew

Breakfast egg rolls

Tortilla pizza with hummus, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms

Cashew mac and "cheese"

Lentil Loaf

Quinoa with kidney beans and coconut milk

Asian salad with tofu and rice 

Spaghetti squash topped with pesto and diced tomatoes

Refried beans with shredded cheese and rice, black beans and corn burritos

Butternut squash soup with a quinoa apple medley and homemade potato chips

Pesto pasta topped with fried eggs and roasted broccoli 

Homemade pizza - one vegan, one cheese

Tofu stir fry with bok choy, mushrooms, onion and quinoa

Falafels on salad with tahini lemon dressing

BBQ seitan, roasted sweet potato rounds and roasted broccoli

"Chicken" nuggets (seitan) and roasted potatoes

Lettuce wraps with broccoli slaw, bok choy, tofu and rice noodles

Hard shell tacos with garbanzo beans

It's amazing how DIFFERENT this list looks now versus what it would have looked like two years ago! 

Seasonal Affective Disorder, At Your Service

Today at book club I was whining to the girls about the stage we're in with Cecie right now. Namely, that she takes two naps a day, which coupled with Simon having to be home in time to go to school in the afternoons means we don't really have time to do anything outside of grocery shopping or maybe going to the library on any given day.

But later I realized, none of this really bothered me in the summer or fall, yet our situation was exactly the same. I recall looking forward to the days of just one nap, but certainly not to this extent.

It's not Cecie's napping. It's not Simon's school.

It's winter. I hate winter. I hate having to get bundled up. I hate having to take a hot shower every afternoon because I just can't handle the cold in my bones anymore. I hate cracked hands and runny noses and wet socks from melted snow puddles. I hate weeks on end of overcast days. I hate the lack of affordable, fresh produce. I hate feeling like I am trapped at home because it's too cold or too much work to take the kids anywhere, even though getting out is exactly what I know we need to do.

So now what? I'm quite certain that for the rest of my life I am going to be dealing with several months of winter each year so it'd be nice to not let it get me down. Perhaps it's New Years resolution time, and perhaps it should be to get out of my damn house at least once a day and/or to have Cecie skip her morning nap in favor of visiting a friend or taking Simon somewhere fun. It can't hurt.

Summer, I miss you something fierce. Flurries outside my window, you can suck it.

Whining session over...

Fruit Nookie

You know those little mesh sacks with a handle you can put food in for a baby? Not sure what they're really called (mesh teether maybe?), but Simon has dubbed them Fruit Nookies. Somehow, these Fruit Nookies keep my big kid and my little baby equally happy so I think they're a pretty amazing invention (which is why we have three).

On a related note, Simon gave me some unsolicited parenting advice today; when he is throwing a fit I'm supposed to fill the Fruit Nookie up with his favorite frozen berries and shove it in his mouth. He assured me this would stop all his crying. I asked him if he thought he should be rewarded with a Fruit Nookie for throwing a fit and he agreed that his thinking may have been flawed. It's a nice thought, though...next time he loses his mind I might just try it :)

And on an unrelated note, we're going freestyle for a few days....

Okay, maybe we'll use a headband.

And if you're interested, this is not camera trickery. She really does have that much hair. 

Big Brother thinks it's super cool :)

Les Mis

We have a miserable baby on our hands. MISERABLE. She has coughing fits in the night, a quarter inch of dried nasal secretions on her face every morning and a copious amount of tears shedding from those sad eyes all day long. Everything makes her sad. And, really, I can't blame her.

This poor thing is just really susceptible to colds. They don't typically last more than a few days, but they come on strong and way too often. Maybe when she starts walking more she will get fewer germs in her mouth? I don't know.

In the meantime, I will keep wiping her tears, hold her often and offer many (many) naps throughout the day. Here's to hoping this one passes as quickly as the rest have...

Ringing in the New Year

A brother and a sister, on a final day of a year. 

I love how protective he looks...

They play together so much now, usually still peacefully (occasionally things get a little heated)...

He's trying so hard to smile normally for the camera...

It's a work in progress :)

This gal was all kinds of fancy, ready to ring in the New Year...

My oldest friend has a baby girl just 2 and a half months younger than Cecilia. I hope these two can stick together through life like their mommas have...

Way back in 7th grade D and I went to her Grandma's house for New Years. We drank orange soda floats and I made fun of her Grandma's name like an idiot. D just laughed it off, though, and we've spent every New Years together ever since, except for only two.

This year wasn't one of those two exceptions so we got to celebrate together as usual, along with many other friends new and old (and lots and lots of children...eleven of them ages 8 months to 6 years, plus two in utero). We were home before midnight, but that's life with little ones and I wouldn't change a thing. 

Eleven Months.

Cecilia's tenth month went by faster than any of her months yet, I do believe. I honestly don't know how we got here so fast...I blame all the holiday hullabaloo that is December. No matter, here we are at eleven months old!

So what's this little peanut like as an eleven month old you ask? Let me break it down for you....

Eating: She likes to eat pretty much anything outside of plain toast and cheerios, which she will still eat, but with less enthusiasm. She still eats bottles about four times a day.

Sleeping: She usually goes to sleep around 7pm and wakes around 7am. For the past few weeks she has been napping about four hours a day, broken into two naps. 

Playing: Everything is a toy as far as she's concerned. 

Talking: She is starting to mimic more and more and tells stories alllll the time. Uh-oh is the word she says the most of her own volition; she likes to say it before and after throwing something.

Moving: She is a super-crawler and is not interested in walking quite yet. She tipped her chair over and started crawling with it still attached to her today...like I said...super-crawler.

Teeth: She has eight teeth, four on top and four on the bottom. Based on her mass drooling, I would assume more are on the way.

Hair: Her hair continues to grow thicker and longer. It's probably about five inches when pulled straight, which is quite a lot longer than it looks! I tried for the second time to get it all done rather than leaving some of it free. I'm not sure that it will last, but it was worth a try!

She continues to be easy peasy and despite what strangers think, she actually is quite happy all the time (strangers comment about how simultaneously adorable and cranky she looks pretty much every time we go out). Of course we all have our moments, but in general our days are pretty relaxed and predictable. She's easy to love, this one.