Back to School: Breakfast Time!

I'll admit: this is a weird post to start with since I haven't written anything all summer in forever.  But as I was making my kids' breakfasts this morning I started thinking about how their swim coaches (they were on a swim team again this last summer) reacted when they said what they ate every morning.  The coaches would go down the line and ask each swimmer questions, like "who is your favorite Star Wars character" or "what did you do this weekend".  On more than one morning, they asked the kids what they had for breakfast; often times the kids would answer "cereal" or "pop tarts" or "pancakes".  Then there were my kids.

Nearly every day for breakfast this summer (and for a bulk of the school year last year - and all of the school year so far) the kids ate the same breakfast.  They are creatures of habit and like to know what to expect when it comes to food, among other things.  I always try to make sure they start the day out right with a filling breakfast because I know how important it is for them ... and because I hate it when they get "hangry".

Mollie's breakfast is a homemade oatmeal concoction I started making for Baylor years ago and seem to have finally gotten down to a science.  It has five main ingredients: quick oats, raisins, raw honey, ground cinnamon, and 1% milk.  I start by putting about 3/4 cup oatmeal into a bowl.  In a microwave-safe cup, I heat up some milk (I measured it out today at about 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup) for 45 seconds on high; if it isn't hot when I hold my hand over it, I will add another 10 seconds.

While the milk is heating, I sprinkle a decent amount of cinnamon over the oats.  This is largely based on personal preference.

Once the milk is hot, I pour some of it into the oats, usually just enough that I start seeing it puddle around the edges.  Hold on to the rest of the milk ... you're going to need that in a minute!

Then I take a soup spoon and dip it into our favorite raw honey, loading it up with as much honey as I can in one dip (not a scoop, mind you - that would be a lot of honey).  I'll use the spoon she's going to eat with to get all the honey I can off the soup spoon.

Next I add a little more milk and stir it all up, and it ends up looking like this:

Finally, I add raisins to the oatmeal.  This is about how much I put in Mollie's bowl; she basically won't eat a bite without a raisin in it, so I really go wild with the raisins for her.

Then, I stir them all in.  My kids like it when I poke all the raisins down into the oatmeal so they are no longer visible and then pretend like we ran out of raisins.  The better I sell it, the more they seem to enjoy it.  I don't really get it, but whatever works, right?!  I also usually add a little extra milk so it's kind of puddled; that way, when she takes forever to eat it it isn't nearly solid by the time she gets to the last of it.

Baylor's breakfast is much more simple; he eats a banana with peanut butter and a yogurt.  Lately we have been enjoying Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt; it's lower in sugar than a lot of other yogurts out there, and it doesn't have any added food coloring.  Plus, both kids have really enjoyed their flavor options.

Edit:  Since I started writing this post back in August, Baylor has also started eating oatmeal every day.  He likes his with way more cinnamon and not quite so much milk compared to his sister, but other than that they are basically the same.

And that's it!  The kids seem to enjoy their respective breakfasts, and it gets them through the morning pretty well.

I hope you have a great start to the school year!

* I have received no payment for endorsing any of these products.  We just really like this stuff and I think posts are more interesting with pictures.  

Summer So Far (This N' That)

This summer has been a great one overall so far.  We have been busy with camps and swim team, not to mention hanging out with family and friends here and there.

One of our more consistent activities has been swimming at Oma's pool.  

It almost always involves popsicles ... and Mollie almost always ends up with it all over her face.

And Baylor, dear Baylor, is almost never out of the water.  I call him my little manatee because he basically just comes up for air every now and then and spends the rest of his time lazily swimming underwater.  Even getting a picture of him has proved to be difficult when we are in the pool, not to mention talking to him.

But, for all his time underwater, he has figured out how to do a handstand!

In addition to the aforementioned camps and swim team, Baylor had a summer adventure camp of sorts at his school for five or six Tuesday mornings in late June and into July.  He actually rode the bus to it, something he's never done before, and Mollie and I enjoyed waiting in the driveway for it to arrive to pick him up.

At one of the later swim meets for the swim team, Baylor came up to me before the races started to inform me that he might not be able to swim because his tooth was excessively loose.  And loose it was!

While he waited for his sister's race, he spent a decent amount of time attempting to wiggle it out.  (It ended up not coming out for a few more days.)

After that swim meet, I got the kids a special treat from the concession stand and learned an important lesson in the process: when getting the kids a frozen treat at a hot swim meet, it is a good idea to give them said treat before they change out of their swimsuits ...

... otherwise your daughter will end up having to eat a melting mess while attempting not to get it all over her outfit.

We've also done some arts and crafts this summer.  Mollie worked on learning more about watercolors one day.

And both kids have learned a little how to type on a typewriter!

 Some of our days and nights are slow, but even then we have learned new things, had so much fun, and even made some discoveries.  For example, the other night at dinner, Baylor was staring out the window, as he sometimes does, when he remarked, "Is that a frog on the window?"

It turns out, it was!  Mollie and I went outside to investigate a little further.

We dubbed him Waldo, and Mollie spent a little time speculating about how great it would be to have him as a pet.  She desperately wanted to hold him and see how soft he was, but she was also terrified that he would get anywhere near her.  Needless to say, Waldo stayed outside.

While over the last few days we have struggled finding a rhythm - it's tough when there isn't a camp or a practice or even an appointment to get you going in the morning - it has been a really great summer.  I love spending time with the kids, teaching them new things and watching them grow.  Yes, my patience has been tested and I have had to reread one of my go-to parenting/mindfulness books (more on that later!) to regain my cool, but overall I think there has been more fun and love and happiness than frustration.  I've never been a fan of summer coming to a close, so I'm going to savor every last bit of it.

Hope your summer is going swimmingly!

Mother's Day 2016 and a Scrumptious Sunday!

This year we celebrated Mother's Day for two days.  On Saturday, after Amalia's tee ball game ...

... we went to my parents' house to celebrate with my parents, sister, and grandparents.  The kids had fun reading.

Mollie, in particular, needed to rest a bit; she played first base during her game and chased after the ball A LOT.

It was such a beautiful day to be with family.

Baylor and Bryson played Code Master for a while ...

... then Baylor helped Oma make popsicles in her new popsicle molds.

Christine made an amazing cake for the occasion: four layers of vanilla cake with a layer of raspberry preserves, a layer of cream cheese buttercream frosting, and a layer of lemon curd, topped off with another layer of cream cheese buttercream frosting and raspberries.

Seriously, just look how beautiful this thing was!

And yes, it tasted as good as it sounds.

Sooooo many layers of goodness!

Then we played euchre.  I had a great hand, a GREAT hand, but my dad called diamonds and spoiled my loner.  That's the way the cards fall sometimes, though, right?

Before GG and GGpa left, Amalia showed off her new-found skip it skills!  Look at those moves!

Great food, great weather, and great company made for a really wonderful day.

Today - actual Mother's Day - I woke up early to have some alone time and get a few things started before everyone else woke up.  I did some laundry, sorted through the paper a bit, and worked on the dishes a bit, then Baylor woke up a little before 7:30.  He and I had snuggle time on the couch before he started work on his Snap Circuits.

Once everyone was up, I opened my Mother's Day gifts.  Amalia gave me a marigold and some treats she made at school, as well as a card she made the day before at my parents' house.  That's me in the picture holding my marigold and treats.

Baylor gave me a card as well, along with a magnet he made at school; the heart is made with his finger prints, and it's beyond adorable.

Bryson got me an electric pencil sharpener ... just what I wanted!  (Seriously, I really wanted an electric pencil sharpener; we use pencils a lot at our house, and my manual sharpener just isn't cutting it anymore.)

For dinner, I asked Bryson to make a replica of a salad I had while we were on spring break.  (The Honey Sesame Chicken Salad from Mangos Dockside Bistro in Marco Island, Florida, in case anyone is interested.)  I had already made it once, and since everyone seemed to like it well enough I thought it'd be okay to ask for it again.  I even helped make it a little easier to make by suggesting we get some frozen pre-breaded chicken strips to use instead of trying to do that ourselves; it really didn't come out as well last time when I tried.

So he chopped and peeled and tossed.

And weren't the results beautiful?!

Seriously, it was delicious, too!  Even the kids ate it without much hesitation.

So here's the Scrumptious Sunday part of the post ...

The Florida Salad  (based on the Honey Sesame Chicken Salad at Mangos Dockside Bistro)

~ serves two adults and two children ~

1 ripe mango, cut julienne-style
1 lb. of strawberries, sliced
1 24.5 oz. container of mandarin oranges
about 2.5 oz. of spring mix salad
about 15 Tyson Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Strips, cooked
1/3 cup honey
sesame seeds
tortilla strips
cashews

Directions:
1. Lay down a bed of the spring mix salad in each salad bowl.  Add mango, strawberries, and mandarin oranges.  Set aside.

2.  Coat the chicken breast strips with honey, then sprinkle with sesame seeds to taste.  Slice into bite-sized pieces.

3. Sprinkle tortilla strips and cashews over salad, then top with sliced chicken.  Enjoy!

Also:  You can also add some sweet onion salad dressing (like this one) or drizzle a little honey over the top.  (I highly recommend the Michigan Bee Co. honey, found at Meijer and D&W in Grand Rapids.)

After picking up the living room, getting ready for bed, and reading a little bit, the kids took a picture with me!  I am so proud to be their mom!

All in all, it was a great couple days, full of love and warmth and laughter.  Motherhood isn't always the easiest job, but I wouldn't trade it for anything on this earth.  A and b, I love you so much!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Halloween 2014

This year our Halloween was quite eventful.  With two children in school at least part time now, there was a lot to balance and coordinate.  Luckily, this year the kids ended up having a half day on Halloween, and, as a result, Mollie's teacher moved their party back to Wednesday.  This change meant that I would be able to help out at both kids' parties, and we were all really happy about the coincidence.

My mom made Mollie a beautiful Cinderella costume, and Mom and Christine found the gloves when they were out shopping one day.

I know I am totally biased, but I think she made a perfectly lovely little princess.

I helped make the bustle in the back, and then did some troubleshooting when the bustle wouldn't stay fastened.

After we dropped Baylor off at school, Mollie and I hurried over to her school and we started celebrating.  She has thirteen kids in her class, seven girls and six boys.  Before we arrived, I guessed that five of the seven girls would be princesses, and I was right!  There was Mollie as Cinderella, a Sleeping Beauty, an Elsa, an Anna, and a Sophia the First.  The Anna costume was actually pretty impressive.  It had a button you could press that would play "For the First Time in Forever" and light up the skirt.  Their teacher even turned out the lights to demonstrate!

There were four stations for Mollie's party: snacks, decorating cupcakes, a witch's hat ring toss, and an arts and crafts table where they made some ghosts out of paper plates and streamers.  I was in charge of helping the kids with the arts and crafts, but Mollie still was able to check in with me every now and then.  Her cupcake was epic, but it sadly got smushed in the baggie they gave them for leftovers and she cried a bit when it didn't look nearly as awesome as it did before.

In between events, their teacher, dressed as Olaf from Frozen, would read them a story, which I think helped them calm down just a bit even with the copious amounts of sugar coursing through their little veins.

Mollie had a great time at her party, and even stayed after the party was done so she could hang out with the kids whose parents hadn't come to the party.  It was a fantastic first school party experience!

Baylor, on the other hand, was a bit upset that his sister had gotten to have her party and he still hadn't had his yet.  So he came up with a grand plan to have a Halloween party on Thursday the 30th at my parents' house and asked/informed my mom of his ideas.  Usually he gets shot down or the moment passes and he moves onto something else, but this time, THIS time, my mom said, "Sure!"

So we had an impromptu Halloween party the day before Halloween!  My mom went all out with the food, too.  There were mummy hot dogs, gnarly chicken fingers, ghostly mashed potatoes, and fish eyes (which were really peas).

The kids LOVED it!  (The adults did, too.)

She even made dirt dessert!  It was beyond delicious and very apropos!

The next day Baylor got to have his class party and on a half day, no less!  There was a parade all around the school, lots of treats, a beanbag toss game, and an alien creation arts and crafts table.  He had a lot of fun and made a bunch of adorable little aliens.  It did start to rain/snow during the party, but even that didn't really dampen the kids' spirits.  It was a great time!

The principal, dressed as Gru from Despicable Me, stopped by to join in the fun as well, leaving his minions (the office ladies) behind to "get their evil work done".  But before long it was time to go home and rest up for a chilly night of trick-or-treating ahead.

After dinner we piled on the layers under the kids' costumes and headed out into a very, very chilly evening.  Though it was quite windy, at least the slushy precipitation had long stopped and our time outside was dry.  Baylor requested that my dad come with us, so Bryson stayed behind to help hand out candy and enjoy the warmth inside.

We had a bit of a rocky start when a full-size collie charged at Mollie, and the owner did barely anything, insisting that the dog was just fine and that the kids basically get over it.  After that ordeal, Mollie wanted to know whenever there would be a dog.

We were out for an hour and came back as popsicles, but we had a lot of fun.  Baylor actually said, "Trick or Treat!" at nearly every house, and Mollie did a great job saying, "Thank you!" and holding up her dress like a little lady when going up and down the stairs.

Of course, once you collect your major haul, you have to assess and count your candy.

Mollie was disappointed with the massive amount of Twizzlers she got, but Oma and Aunt Christine helped her out and switched out the offending sweets with candy from our bin.

While the kids ate their three pieces of candy (our limit for the night) we all enjoyed a little Jeopardy. 

Try getting kids to go to sleep after they've had candy and loads of fun.  It's nearly impossible.  But that's what we did.

And then the next night, our PTC held a "boogie night" dance in the gym at Baylor's school.  I, being a part of the PTC, was going to chaperon, and since they asked for the chaperons to dress up, I had to find a costume that would be easy to throw together and also not upset Baylor, who typically doesn't like people to wear costumes.  Then I asked him if he would be okay with me being an historical figure that we could research and learn about, and he was totally on-board with the idea!  So, Rosie the Riveter I was!

You can do it, you know?!

The dance was a success, and I think a good majority of the kids had a great time.

Hope you had a happy, safe Halloween!