Back to School

I know, I know, its been awhile. Summer came and went so fast, its hard to believe it is October. With the end of summer came the beginning of school. For Isabella that means "big girl" school, three days a week for a couple of hours. Its funny how the buzz about the teacher, the kids in the class, and most importantly, the OTHER teachers begins even before you've picked out their backpack.
The word in the playground was that a lot of other mom's wanted their kids in the OTHER teacher's class. Why? Well, we (me and my other Mommy friends) had a hard time finding that out. We met her in an orientation meeting about the class and thought she seemed very sweet. Needless to say, we spent the weeks before the first day yapping about this "situation" incessantly. The first few days of class the moms stayed to ease our kids into the classroom setting.
Well, this was, at least to me, more of a curse than a blessing. Isabella's teacher has been at her school for over 15 years, so I had no doubt in her ability or her passion for children. I wasn't worried about Isabella separating, either, since she went to camp all summer. That all being said, no one wants to hear someone else discipline or correct their child, even if its warranted. I get all "mama bear" when I hear my own mother say no to Isabella. Rules and discipline are necessary in this situation, though. Its a class of 8 3-year olds, some of which have never been in a school setting. They are learning all sorts of important life lessons, like waiting your turn, listening to the teacher, not interrupting other people and how to interact socially.
I tried to calm any fears the other Moms had that the teacher is too strict by reminding them (including myself) that so far, none of our kids had mentioned any negative things about school. Maybe (ok, definitely) we were starting to make a fuss over nothing. Once again, our worst fears were working overtime, starting to induce that infamous Mommy guilt and worry.
Knowing I am my kids' first teacher is a big empowerment but also overwhelming at times. I do the best I can to make them feel confident and secure when learning new things. They return the favor by reminding me that we all learn everyday. A great lesson from this is to let go, keep an open mind and listen to them for the answer to your worries. Look at their smiling faces, smile back and assure your overthinking Mommy brain that everything is alright.

Banana Bread with Apples

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I recommend King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 very ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork (about 1 cup)
2 medium apples, peeled and cubed (we used gala apples)
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup with a spout, set aside. Spray loaf pan with baking spray (like Pam for baking). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter while mixing until incorporated. Add the bananas (the mixture will appear to be curdled, so don't worry), and remove the bowl from the mixer.

With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and apples and transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack. Wrap in plastic wrap. The banana bread is best if served the next day. We sliced this and it still tasted great after 3 days.

My 3-year old and I made this together, she crushed the nuts, poured in the wet ingredients and sifted the dry ingredients. Its a lot of fun to do it together and give your kids confidence in the kitchen.

High School already?

This morning we woke up and the first thing that popped into my mind was "High School Musical 2"!!! Yes, my household has Wildcat fever and at 8:30am we were in front of the tv, watching the sequel on Disney on Demand. By the way, we couldn't be happier. Even my 6 month old was into it, not surprising since she recognizes the songs from the first movie.
My oldest is pretty obsessed with the HSM gang, of course her favorite is Gabriella. She always has to be Gabriella and I'm, by default, Troy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't fully enjoy HSM and don't mind watching it over and over or acting out the songs many times a day. I actually said to Isabella today "why do I always have to be Troy? I want to be Gabriella!" I wasn't really kidding, either. It brought back memories of acting out shows with my sisters and cousins and since I was the oldest, I always took the "best" character. That must have been pretty frustrating to them, so this is my official apology for monopolizing the cast. Oh my gosh! I was like Sharpay! Just not as manipulating (I hope).
Well, the plot of HSM2 isn't that deep, but that depends on your perspective and life experience, of course. See, about 3/4 through the movie, Gabriella breaks up with Troy. Its sad and definately melodramatic especially since the breakup is done with a song during which their eyes tear up and Gabriella ends it by getting into her mom's minivan. We were watching and all of a sudden Isabella puts her head in her hands and says "I can't be in High School Musical anymore", starts crying and leaves the room. I should add that she was "in character" the whole time we watched, not sitting on the sofa with me, but standing on her "stage". I couldn't believe my eyes or ears when she did that. She's only 3! She shouldn't be crying over a boy yet!!!! I was half giggling as I asked her what was wrong and convinced her to come back. I assured her Gabriella and Troy would be okay and they'd be friends again. She left the room because she thought Gabriella left the movie when she got into that van. The rest of the movie was watched without incident and we fully enjoyed the ending sequence complete with songs and ensemble dancing.
I read a review of HSM2 in Newsday tonight and it wasn't totally positive. It basically said Disney stayed "safe" with this sequel, giving HSM fans what they wanted rather than trying to "give the audience more". It criticized the acting, saying the characters show only one emotion at a time. This movie is obviously not going for an Oscar or a Golden Globe. It exists to entertain kids and their parents who are forced to watch it over and over. And based on my 3 year old's reaction, one emotion at a time is more than enough for kids. I'm giving it two thumbs up. I'm already humming the songs to myself and am honestly looking forward to the next time I see it. (Only twice today) Check it out---I have the link to the website on this page below "rainy day diversions for kids". If not for any other reason, Troy is just adorable...he is great in Hairspray also, which is another must-see for kids and parents alike. And remember, "We're all in this together" :)

Guilty Pleasures

Does anyone watch vh1 celebreality shows? I'm slightly embarassed to say they are the only shows I watch on a regular basis. I'm watching a new one now, "My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding'. Its completely ridiculous. It confirms any doubt that people are just crazy. It does make for some good tv and even better laughs...

http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/my_big_fat_fabulous_wedding/122362/episode.jhtml

Mexican Chicken Soup

This is my adaption of a favorite Mexican treat, Chicken Tortilla Soup. This version has hardly any fat and is very low in calories. It is also VERY easy to make.
Start out with a medium sized soup pan on medium heat. Add about 1 tbsp olive oil and sautee 1/2 large white onion, 3 celery stalks and 2 carrots, all diced and sliced as thin as you can. Let these ingredients soften somewhat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add 1 can of DelMonte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Jalepeno and 1 can chicken stock. Let come to a boil. Add to that 2 chicken breasts (on the bone is best, but boneless would work too) without the skin. Make sure you submerge the chicken in the soup mixture. Cover and turn down the heat to low. Let this cook on low for a while. When I made it today, I let it cook for about 1 hour. The longer the better because the chicken gets so soft, it literally falls off the bone.
After 1 hour, remove the chicken from the pot and place in a bowl or plate. Using a fork, shred the chicken off the bone. This should be so easy to do. If for any reason the chicken feels tough or isn't coming off easily, just put it back in the pot and let simmer for longer, its no big deal, it'll fall apart eventually. After removing the chicken meat, place back into the soup pot and add 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans. Add as much cliantro as you wish, stir the soup, and its ready to eat. It should fill 4-6 bowls depending on how large the serving.
This soup is very hearty and doesn't have much broth. If you'd rather it have more liquid, just add another can of chicken broth. I did not add any seasoning to this soup to keep it as low sodium as possible. Add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper to increase the heat.
I ate this as is, but adding tortilla chips, cheese, avacado slices or even over rice would make it that much better. Enjoy and hopefully this will satisfy all your Mexican cravings without any guilt!

Quote of the Day

After dinner, Isabella got up from her seat, changed her outfit and declared "Mom, I'm just going to go to Costco now with Grandma Fran. Where is the monitor? I just need it so I can hear stuff while I'm gone."

Even at 3 years old, you gotta love that Costco...

Sisterly Love

I'm not sure what it is exactly about my youngest daughter's head that her older sister finds so attractive. Isabella is like a moth to a flame when Grace is around. She's always running over to kiss her head, grab the sides of her face or be cheek to cheek. Its adorable, don't get me wrong, but after 5 hours or so of playing Grace's bodyguard, it starts to get a little old. See, Isabella isn't always so gentle, which I'm sure you can imagine. Trying to get Isabella to understand why she shouldn't touch Grace's head--at all-- might be a debate that I'll never win. She always has an appropriate and heart-string-pulling answer for me. Today as they were playing and Isabella ran over to grab Grace's head for the 50th time and I said not to for the 50th time, her response was "but she loves me". How could I argue with that? And honestly, Grace was smiling anyway.

The more I think about it, the more I try to run interference between them, the more it just doesn't make much sense. Obviously if she was really hurting her that'd be another story, but I'm talking about everyday, sisterly love and affection. They're going to fight and makeup for the rest of their lives (I should know, I have 3 sisters) and they are going to make fun of me for trying to appease them for the rest of my life. Anyway you slice it, as the mom I'll be to blame for something.

I don't know why it happens, but for some reason when you give birth you receive the gift of "too many thoughts". You think about long-term, short-term and every minute in between and how all of what you do, say and respond to every situation is going to affect your kids. At least this happened to me. As a result, I have now baptized myself the "absent minded professor". There are just too many thoughts in my head, and they are all peppered with a healthy dose of gulit and self-doubt. At the same time I'm pretty sure I'm a kick ass mom and I'm definately positive I'm doing my best. Now I just need to sit back, tell the voice in my head to get over it and watch as the love between my girls grows deeper--head kisses and all.

Kiddie carpet

I just found a great website for kid carpet, appropriate for a playroom. These are actually made for day care centers and schools so they really hold up. www.kidcarpet.com

Chickpea Soup

I just made this soup a few nights ago...forgive me its not completely exact in the directions, a lot of it is to taste, anyway. So easy, filling and mostly made from things in your pantry.

Use a medium-sized soup pot. Drizzle about 2 tbsp. olive oil in the bottom of the pot on medium heat. Add 1/2 large or 1 small onion, 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks and small jar of roasted red peppers. Don't go crazy chopping everything because at the end you blend it all anyway. Let those ingredients soften somewhat, stirring occasionally...about 5 minutes. Add 2 cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas and 2 cans of chicken broth. Let come to a boil and then let simmer about 15-20 minutes or until veggies are soft. The spices you add are to your own taste, but this is what I used---3 pinches of cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, few shakes of cinnnamon, black pepper. Put this in, stir and then taste...you may want more cumin, more heat, etc.
Now take a hand-held emulsifier (or use a blender if you don't have the hand-held, just keep the removable insert in the top off or the hot soup will spray all over your kitchen) and blend the soup until smooth.
This soup is kind of like a warm hummus with some sweet spice to it. I served it w/ stir fried tofu cooked w/ garlic and cinnamon...I put a few tofu pieces on the top of each soup bowl. It'd be good w/ a dollop of some spiced yogurt or sour cream also--low fat obviously since this soup is very healthy and low-cal.

Try it...this soup is delicious, even my toddler liked it.

"I'm too tired..."

Imagine this: its 7:18 pm, I'm in my oldest daughter's bedroom (actual age:3, her imagined age: 17) asking her to put on a Pull-Up before bed. For the past few nights she's wanted to put the Pull-Up on herself, so in the interest of encouraging her independence, tonight I ask her to "show me how big she is" and perform her latest accomplishment. To my surprise, she doesn't want to do it. As I'm writing this, though, it makes perfect sense she wouldn't want to do it once I asked her...she thinks she's a teenager, of course she'd rebel against this request. Anyway, her response was this (at the same time she is literally slowly sliding down her bean bag chair as if she has lost all energy) "But I'm just too tired from everything I do all day"

Are you kidding??? It was actually hysterical, and of course I started laughing and then she joined in the giggling. On second thought, though, I had to ask myself if I really whine like that. All my daughter does is repeat. She repeats it as I say it and then over and over and over again. So she's getting this from me.

The fact of the matter is I am too tired from everything I do all day. Like every other parent, I am sleep deprived. I should be sleeping right now but I'm writing this. But you know what? My house is quiet, my kids are sleeping, my husband is snoring and I'm free to do what I want for the next 7 hours. OK, I'm not going out or anything but that isn't even important. For the first time all day I'm just thinking about me. It sounds borderline pathetic, but I don't care, I've learned its the little things in life that make the biggest difference. I take care of my kids all day, try to keep my husband happy, make sure there is food in the house, clean the floors, vacuumn about 2 times a day, shower at night like all Mommies do, manage school & doctor appointments, put shoes away, take care of all house related disasters and drive a mini-van. And when I really dig down deep into who I am and who I want to be...the fact of the matter is, I love it. Everyday is a balance of routine and unexpected turns, but for better or worse, when Mommy speaks, they always listen.