4 Weeks

How far along? 

4 weeks! Here we go again!

How big is baby? 

The size of a poppy seed, if that

Total weight gain?

 Um, zero

Maternity clothes?

 Heck no. But I did score a smokin’ deal on some from Old Navy during their 

“Stuff and Save” promotion this week

Sleep?

 Not too shabby, when given the opportunity

Best moment of the week? 

Seeing two pink lines!

Food cravings?

 All the foods. FEED ME.

Food aversions?

 None

Symptoms?

 A little tired, some mild cramping, HUNGRY

Movement?

 We’re a long way from that

Gender?

 Not finding out this time!

What I’m looking forward to?

 First prenatal appointment on 5/28

What I miss?

 Not much, at this point!

Weekly Wisdom?

 There is no such thing as “just telling one person” ;)

Milestones?

 Holy crap, we’re going to be parents again!

This and That

This week I'm on "spring" break, which, unfortunately, does not involve sun, sand, or drinks with little umbrellas in them. It's a whopping 28 degrees here in our little corner of the planet, and the closest I'm likely to get to tropical temps of any kind is to sit closer to our woodstove. Um, hello, spring? Did you miss the memo that you're supposed to be here already? Clean out your inbox for pete's sake because Mother Nature is trying to get ahold of you and tell you to warm.the.freak.up.

I feel more like we're on some sort of rustic winter holiday in the woods somewhere. Case in point: our recent hike in a nearby nature park. These photos definitely do not say "spring has sprung!"

Sweets is like Hubs' little mini-me: mini camo hat, mini rubber boots, mini jeans. 

Treasure of the day: a feather from some large bird (I think it met an unfortunate fate).

Riding on Daddy's shoulders when the going got tough...

...and then the going got silly :)

Our dog is a piece of work. Of all the sticks in the park, he wanted this one. He kept bashing into trees and bushes but he insisted on carrying it back to the car.

Snowy morning snuggles.

What better food to make during a rustic winter holiday in the woods than soup? I discovered a fantastic new recipe for chipotle sweet potato soup that warmed us right up! 

Pardon the iphone photos. It's how I end up taking most of my pics these days!

The original Pinterest recipe was for a single serving of soup from one sweet potato, so I modified it to make an entire pot of soup. It was to die for.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

7 sweet potatoes

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (if you don't have any, I'm sure chili powder would work just fine)

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

I cooked my taters in the slow cooker and they turned out perfect. I scrubbed them first, and tossed them in dripping wet. I think they cooked for about six hours on low and were literally falling out of the skins. After scooping out the interior of the potatoes, I pureed them in the food processor with enough coconut milk and broth to thin it to my desired consistency (adjust to your own personal preference). I transferred the mixture to a pot, added the seasonings and simmered on the stove until it was heated through. For serving, I topped the soup with diced avocado, sour cream and crushed blue corn chips. 

Alongside the soup, I made this amazing foccacia bread from the Food Network's Anne Burrell. It was easy and totally delicious! Don't fear the yeast breads, people!

So, that's that. No spring in sight. I guess we're just enjoying the last of the winter weather with snuggles and soup. And, in our dog's case, really big sticks.

Homemakin'

Once upon a time, we used to have cable, and I used to watch a lot of Food Network. My favorite chef was Ina Garten. Do you know Ina, the Barefoot Contessa? I'm not really sure why I like her so much, considering that our philosophies on life are quite different. I mean, Ina's all "oh, it's Saturday and I have nothing planned, let me invite a few of my closest pals over for bridge and tuna tartar," whereas I'm more "it's Saturday and my house looks like a hurricane hit it, let me throw in a frozen pizza for my toddler." But it's all good. Ina represents the state of homemaking I would like to someday attain - a state where I whip out asparagus frittatas for breakfast, grow my own floral centerpieces, and put together baskets of organic body products and homemade jam for overnight guests.

Ina's world is lovely, tranquil and full of free time. Mine is chaotic, messy, and (mostly) sleepless. Do you see why I respect Ina? Anyway, there are two things I've been doing lately that make me feel at least a little bit like I'm stepping my pinky toe into Ina's world. One is making my own granola. We all like granola in this house, and let's face it, good granola is expensive at the grocery store. Turns out it's super easy to make and it tastes awesome when you make it from scratch! I use Ina's recipe as a base, then deviate a bit to mix it up. I've added different nuts and fruits, quinoa, chia seeds, and peanut butter. They're all delish! Hubs like his in a bowl with milk, I like mine over Greek yogurt, and Sweets'll take his straight up (in a bowl, no milk or yogurt).

The perfect work breakfast.

The other thing we're loving right now is homebaked bread. Have you seen this book?

Now, I don't know about the "5 minutes a day" part, since there is quite a bit of waiting around for dough to rise, bake, and cool before you're actually eating artisan bread, BUT, the concept is great - you mix up a big batch of dough that you store in the fridge, then pull out a chunk and bake it daily. It tastes wonderful - is there anything quite like warm, fresh bread? 

There usually aren't any leftovers!

Clearly, I'm a long way from being the next Barefoot Contessa, but it makes me happy to tinker around in the kitchen and feed my family delicious homemade food. Now if I could just find the time to press my own olive oil.....

Frog Posse

Oh, the frogs that are amassing at our house! Sweets has a *little* frog obsession. Meet the frog that started it all:

This little guy is known as Froggie Augie and he is Sweetie Pea's BFF. He was a baby gift when Sweets was born and we couldn't have known at the time how he would inspire our son's love of all things green and croaky. Froggie Augie is a member of our family, and he pretty much goes everywhere and does everything with Sweets. I secretly love how he always smells like baby spit. Is that weird? 

From one frog, many. I also not-so-secretly loathe stuffed animals. Let's be honest, they take over your house! But, it seems I (and many others) are far from immune to Sweets' frog-loving personality because we now share our home with nine amphibious friends. From left to right:

A. Hopping Frog

B. Cuddly Frog

C. Camo Frog

D. Taggy Frog

E. Sparkly Frog

F. Jumping Jack Frog

G. Talking Frog

H. Silky Frog

I. Puffy Frog

Sweets named each and every one. Original, no?

  Oh, this poor frog. Do you see him, clutched belly-up in my son's death grip? This photo was taken last summer, and was Sweets' first encounter with a real frog. Hubs found him while mowing the lawn and was so excited to show Sweets, who instantly wanted to hold him. Before we could utter the phrase "be gentle!" he snatched him out of Hubs' hand, much to my chagrin, germaphobe that I am. I don't think he cared for the fact that real frogs are cold and slimy, not warm and fuzzy, because a split second later he tossed him into the little pond they're standing in front of. Rough day to be a frog.

This frog-holding session went much better for the frog. Back in January we had a brief thaw and Hubs found this frog near the woodpile, sluggish and a bit out of his element. Turns out a tired frog is perfecting for holding, because he just sat there like a, well, like a frog on a log while Sweets admired him. 

Nothing says little boy quite like a frog obsession ;)   

The Fine Art of Stalling

Our boy has it nailed. Over the last several weeks, he has been perfecting his procrastination around his least favorite part of the day: bath, followed by bed. He gets this rather inopportune burst of energy the second his feet hit the floor after leaving the dinner table. I say inopportune because this fabulous second wind is hitting just as our energy level bottoms out for the day. So you have Sweets, bouncing off the walls as if we fed him Pixie Sticks and Kool Aid for dinner, and his parents, praying for the fortitude to make it to 8:00 without any of the three of us melting down.

The minute we say "ok, time for bath!" (with a degree of cheer that signifies that we know bedtime is just around the corner), Sweets starts negotiating. 

"I just want to play a feeeeeeeeeeeew more minutes!"

"Hey, I'm just looking at this!"

"I need to finish fixing the track, then I'll take a bath."

"I just want to snuggle with you on the couch." (He knows this is extraordinarily effective.)

He also recently discovered that if he takes forEVER to eat his dessert, bathtime gets delayed. He now eats his after-dinner treat in a series of microscopic bites.

It's amazing to me that after all that pre-bath negotiating, he has the energy left over to continue plying us with bedtime excuses. Heard on any given night:

"I need a drink of water." (A time-honored tactic. Well played, my son.)

"I need my nose wiped."

"My foot is hurting." (Just vague enough.)

"I want to read another story."

"I think I need some cough honey." (Leftover from his last flu bug, when we were giving him a natural honey cough syrup before bed. Turns out it's habit forming ;)

"I need some more water."

"I just want to snuggle with you." (Can't say no to that!)

"I want the song about the little boy who... fill in the blank." His favorite new thing is to request a song about a little boy who did something that we did that day. Adorable. 

And his ace in the hole: "I have to go potty." That one is starting to get on our last nerve. We don't want to say no, but it's frustrating when you haul him to the bathroom, take off his nighttime diaper aaaaaand nothing happens. Pure procrastination. A bedtime routine that used to take 20 minutes is now creeping towards an hour.

Stop the insanity ;) 

On chilly nights when we have a fire going, he insists on warming up in front of it after his bath before he can do anything else. We always let him because, hello, could that tush get any cuter?

Black Bean Quesadilla {Toddler Meal Idea}

Hubs is away on a snowmobiling trip this week, so when I planned my menu I went for easy basics that I knew Sweets would like. I don't mind eating toddler-friendly all week, and who wants to slave away in the kitchen for just yourself and a two year old? But, if you know me, you know that nutrition is still at the top of my priority list. I kind of made up this recipe for black bean quesadillas after reading that black beans are a toddler superfood. Sweets really liked them, and he asked for seconds, which is a true sign of success around here!

Black Bean Quesadillas

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 avocado

Shredded cheddar cheese

Whole wheat tortillas 

Sour cream (for dipping)

I usually just buy a can of refried beans, but I really wanted to make them them from black beans (and save on sodium in the process!), and it was SO easy. Just puree your beans in the food processor after draining and rinsing the bean sludge off of them. Then put them in a medium saucepan with enough chicken stock to reach spreading consistency. Add the spices and simmer for a few minutes - you're done! 

Spread a tortilla with beans and mashed avocado; sprinkle with cheese. Fold in half and place in a pan with a little olive oil until the tortilla gets crispy and the cheese melts. Serve with sour cream for dipping (or, if your kid is more adventurous than mine, salsa). 

Dip, dip, dipping away.

Oh, the heck with dipping, I'll just lick the sour cream from the bowl.

Sour cream goatee!

Preschool Ponderings

With our sitter away on a business trip with her hubby this past week, Hubs and I got to spend some extra quality time with our little man (my mom did too, thanks Mom!). It worked out well for a couple of reasons: 1. Sweets was as sick as sick could be last week, and since we had already scheduled our days off in advance, neither of us had to worry about calling in to work to stay home with him, and 2. I'd been wanting to check out a local preschool for next year, and the best time to visit was on a weekday morning.

So on Thursday after breakfast, off we went for our first taste of formal education for little people. Overall, we were very pleased with the program - the classrooms were clean, organized, and bright, the lessons plans were posted in the hallway, the kids were energetic and happy and the teachers caring and  routined. So far, so good. As we watched Sweets follow along with the group, looking just a bit like a lost puppy dog, we remarked quietly to each other that we couldn't believe he was old enough for preschool. Seriously, where have the last two and a half years gone? The class sang the welcome song, they talked about the month and day of the week, they identified the weather, and they learned about the letter R, the color red, and rectangles. After some free play, it was time for snack. I totally did a double-take as I watched one of the teachers lay out the day's snack at each child's seat. Thickly-frosted sugar cookies and Little Hugs. At ten o'clock in the morning. Little Hugs, my arch nemesis because they contain everything I strive to avoid for my family: sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors, arguably some of the worst things you can put in your body, in my opinion.

The enemy.

Trying desperately to appear casual, I sidled up to the teacher as the kids took their places and chatted her up about snack time. I learned that snacks are provided on a rotating basis by parents, and on the inside, I was silently judging little Caitlin's mom who provided this "wholesome" snack as Sweets clung to my legs and chanted "I want a cookie, I want a cookie!" 

Hubs and I thanked the teacher for having us and beat a hasty retreat before I had to wrestle a Little Hug out of my son's hands. We drove to a nearby bakery and set Sweets up with a whole grain blueberry muffin while we debriefed over coffee. I told Hubs that even though we were both happy with the preschool program, the snack thing would bother me every single day. And it dawned on us: for the first time, we are going to be sending our child out into the world without us. We won't get to choose each meal and snack, or who he makes friends with, or protect him from rude people. It really freaked us out. We discussed our options around the snack issue, which as far as we could tell, amounted to two: send Sweets his own snack (but really not feasible, as I am not going to put the teacher in the position of having to deal with his meltdown when he is offered a bran muffin while the other kids get cookies) or buy all the snacks every week (not feasible either, from a monetary point of view). You can call me uptight if you want, I'm fine with it. But we believe wholeheartedly that you get out of your body what you put into it, and nutrition is too important not to care about. This is especially true for little ones - since they can be finicky eaters anyway, I truly believe that every bite counts. And don't get me wrong - we enjoy treats and dessert as much as the next person, heck, I made an entire batch of sugar cookies this week, but overall we aim for balance, with the healthier stuff winning out over the junk.

So, I'm going to look at another program next week. I already read their parent handbook online (score! they have an online handbook!) and noted that they have an entire section on snacks, and how they believe in helping children make healthy choices. Parents do provide snacks at this school as well, however, you must choose from the approved list (some examples: 100% fruit juice or milk, cheese and crackers, celery and peanut butter, muffins, fruit, veggies, etc.). We'll see how it goes! In the meantime, I'm off to go look at Sweets' baby pictures, sniff...