A Year of Gratitude: Day 174

Today I am grateful that my mom made dinner for us and my sister brought over some of her homemade Challah bread to have with it.  I was feeling absolutely terrible for most of the day today, and it was a relief not to have to worry about making dinner.

Thanks again and again, Mom and Christine!  The soup was great and the sandwiches I made with the Challah were delicious!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 173 (a day late)

Today I am grateful that Baylor's first visit to the elementary school he'll be attending next year went so well. So very well.  He got to meet the principal Mr. K (my 7th and 8th grade science teacher!) and the school social worker, and he seemed to hit it off with both.

He fixated a bit on the room numbers, so much so that Mr. K went off about halfway through to get him a map to help out, but I do think it went well over all.  He really liked the school and is looking forward to going back to visit again soon and to going there next year.

Score!

Have a wonderful day!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 172 (two days late)

Today I am grateful for both Mollie and I having slept all the way through the night.  We both came down with a wicked cold yesterday, and after nap time I discovered that hers was being served with a side of croup.  I called her doctor's office right away and got some hints on how to deal with croup in warmer weather (I am golden when it's cold out, but I knew I couldn't count on cold night air to help us).

So last night, armed with knowledge and lots of hope, I slathered her chest with Vicks Vapo Rub, elevated the head of her bed, gave her some ibuprofen, set up her cold-air humidifier, cranked her ceiling fan up to high, and cracked her windows a bit (just in case the night air was cold enough).  And it worked!  Nearly twelve blissful hours after I put her to bed, she woke up calling for me and told me as I walked in, "I'm not coughing, Mommy!"

Awesome!  Just so totally awesome.

As for me, I went the Vicks and ibuprofen route and slept like a rock for over seven hours.

Here's hoping for a repeat again tonight!  (Knock on wood!)

Have a wonderful day!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 171

Today I am grateful for discovering how much I do love a good pancake.  Lately we've been making pancakes from scratch on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and I've discovered a couple really great recipes that have this once-pancake-hating gal loving the weekend morning treat.

The first recipe I found here, though at our house we call them Blueberry Lemonade Pancakes because that's what will get Baylor to eat them, for whatever reason.  These are much more lemony and have a wonderful richness to them.  Plus, the number of servings this makes is perfect for our little family.

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

makes about 8 pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (I use low sodium baking powder, and it works well.)
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk (We used 1/2%, and they still tasted great.)*
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, thawed if frozen
Zest of one lemon (usually equals about 1 tablespoon)

* We also juiced the lemon and used that as part of the milk measurement.  Plus, by adding the juice of the lemon to the milk, it turns them into buttermilk pancakes.  Delicious!

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients.

Then slightly beat the egg and add to the flour mixture.  Next add 1 cup of milk (or the juice of the lemon plus milk, equaling one cup total) and butter (make sure it isn't hot butter or you'll cook your egg), and whisk.

Zest one lemon and whisk it in.

Lightly grease your griddle and preheat over medium to medium-low heat.  Using a 1/4 measuring cup, pour batter onto prepared griddle.  Drop blueberries onto pancake and cover with batter to avoid burning your berries.  (We just mix our berries into the batter at the very end before we pour them onto the griddle.)  Flip and repeat.

*Make a double batch, wrap and freeze up to a month!  (Never tried this, but it sounds like a good idea!)


The next recipe was found here.  I was initially drawn in by the pictures, but after making them I can tell you that they are the best pancakes I've ever had.  If you want them to be a little more lemony, just add the zest of a lemon to the batter and add additional lemon juice in place of some of the milk, just like the recipe above.

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon baking powder  (Used low-sodium again, and it worked well.)
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup light or full-fat ricotta (do not use fat-free)
2 tablespoons and one teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries

makes 20 to 24 pancakes (depending on size)

Directions:

Sift together all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar) with a sifter into a bowl.  Or if you do not want to sift them all together you can use a whisk and whisk the ingredients all together in a bowl.  Melt your butter in a dish (on a griddle or in the microwave).  Add butter and other wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, milk, ricotta) with a large wooden spoon or a spatula.  Mix the dry and wet together in your mixing bowl.  Now add in your lemon juice, mix in fully.  Then gently fold in the blueberries.  Place your mixed batter by the spoonful onto a hot griddle or pan.  The pancakes are ready to flip when the edges begin to bubble up.  Flip and brown the other side.

We cut this recipe in half and still have leftovers, but we love it all the same.  It's delicious!


Give these recipes a try!  And I'd love to hear if you liked them!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 170 (a day late)

Today I am grateful that the kids' swim lesson went so well yesterday.  The lesson prior to this one had Mollie bawling her eyes out, but I was hopeful that a switch to a female instructor might yield a positive change.

I don't know if it was Miss Bethany or the awesome model I made of the Goldfish Swim School the kids attend (so they could play with it and get comfortable with the idea of swim class) ...

... but it went really well.  I tried not to look at them while they were having class, in hopes that I wouldn't distract them, but when I did look they were smiling!  It was really wonderful.

Here's hoping it continues!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 169

Today I am grateful for one Ms. Christine Maxey.  Twenty nine years ago today, she made me a big sister and changed my life forever ... for the better, of course.  She's an amazing person, awesome dresser, whip smart, an amazing aunt, and a whole bunch of other good things.  But one of my favorite things about Christine is her sense of humor; it is very similar to mine, so over the years we've had some amazing laughs.  We both have a tendency to quote our favorite movies and TV shows, and sometimes we'll be the only ones in the room who'll get it but we'll be laughing until we cry anyway.  I love that I have that with you, Christine, and, beyond that, I'm so lucky, so grateful to have you as my sister.

So this one's for you, sis!  Indulge in some kosher yog and a little charcuterie and have a very happy, very fly 29th birthday!



I love you so much!

The rest of you (and Christine, of course) have a wonderful day!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 168

Today I am grateful that Christine and I got to go on our semi annual sister date this evening!  (For those not in the know, we go to the summer and winter/holiday movie previews at our local movie theatre where they screen a ton of trailers from the movies coming out in the next big viewing season.)   Christine and I love a good movie trailer, so this is a real treat for us.  We get slurpees, discuss the movies on tap, predict what genre each one will be, and sit back and enjoy.

Some of the ones we liked this time ...










And one we didn't get to see ...





Thanks for going with me, little sister!  As always, I had a blast!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 167

Today I am grateful that my mom came with us for the kids' swim lesson.  Up until today, both kids had been doing well, and there was only one minor bout of crying at the very end of the last session.  Today, though, Mollie was upset from the get-go.  She was tentative but okay when I dropped her off with Ian, but a few minutes into it she went to the bathroom and when I met her in there she started crying.  Unfortunately, she didn't stop for the duration of the lesson, save for a few moments here and there toward the end where she was comforted/distracted by holding some Disney princess pool toys in her hands.

So why am I so grateful my mom was there?

She stayed at the window watching the kids and silently reassuring Mollie that everything was okay while I went to the front desk to try to switch instructors; I'm hoping that a female instructor will be a better fit for Mollie.  We'll see in a few days; I was able to make the switch and we get our first trial with the new instructor on Friday.

Fingers crossed!

So thank you, Mom, for coming with us and holding things together for me while I did my best to make things better.

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 166

Today I am grateful for this article.  It said so many of the things I've been feeling over the past couple years, and it was wonderful to read it so elegantly put.

I'm also grateful for how sweet and cooperative the kids were tonight as I put them down for bed myself.  I do it often so this wasn't a big traumatic deal, but it rarely goes as smoothly as it did tonight.  So I'm grateful for the happy, calm feeling of tonight's bedtime.

Have a wonderful night yourself!

Shamrock Treats 2013

I am a huge fan of the shamrock shakes McDonald's sells from late February to mid March; they are thick and wonderfully minty, one of the best shakes around.  I do know, though, that they aren't good for you, so I try to limit myself as best I can.

One day after Baylor's playgroup, and after the lunch at Mr. Burger that followed, I took the kids through the drive thru and got some springtime treats!  Mollie, ever the devotee of all things pink, went for a strawberry shake.  (And barely drank any of it ... she's such a savory-loving girl.)

Baylor, though, joined me in a little shamrock shake treat and enjoyed it quite a bit.

I only had one other shamrock shake this season, but the one I had with the kids was that much sweeter because I got to enjoy it with them.