Manic Monday?

Posted by Nat on Nov 7, 2011 in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Manic Monday?

I’m so out of sorts. This is a Manic Monday for sure. We went to Costco… at 9. They open at 10. I had planned to also go the grocery store, but what was I thinking? Costco with 3 kids is enough for one day.

I’m totally behind on prepping posts- I have none ready. We did really well with our RS Meals Week 3, but had to skip one because of Halloween- we’re just off around here. So we’ll finish up Week 3 tonight and I’ll hopefully post about it later this week.

We’re also getting ready for two big projects- redoing a closet (Elfa shelving was purchased at the beginning of the year- yikes!), and we’re getting a flat-screen TV- woo HOO! So you know there are posts coming… just not right this second. 🙂

More to come soon!

Peanut Butter Sandwich: A Whole New World

Posted by Nat on Nov 4, 2011 in food, move-away | 2 comments

I can only make it once in a while, but when I do, oh my goodness.

I didn’t want to make a turkey sandwich.  I didn’t want the usual PB&J.  So to shake up the lunch routine…

…and the piece de resistance…

(just a bit- don’t get too crazy!)

Holy LORD it was good.  Try it.  You will love it.  Happy weekend!

p.s.  I am not a food photographer.  My camera is not super fancy.  I am asking for one for Christmas and/or my birthday.  Fingers crossed!

Let’s Talk About the Word “Skinny”

Posted by Nat on Nov 3, 2011 in exercising, move-away, ramblings | 2 comments

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’m starting to work out again after having our 3rd and final baby.  Some things I may not have mentioned before on this blog…

• I’m a fairly average person in terms of build/body-type; at times I think I’m curvy, but others I’m not so sure- my rear end is rather flat (at least from what I can see of it).
• I’m not necessarily an athletic person, but I’m choosing to pursue getting fit for the benefit of myself and my family; I want to set the example for my kids that it’s important to be healthy and fit.
• I think it will be a challenge for me, given my DNA, to ever be what one might consider svelte or thin;  I’m okay with that.  I did once strive to be thin and I did the South Beach diet.  It made me cranky.  I did lose 40 pounds, but man, I was starving and cranky.
• I love food and am sort of in a place right now where I’d rather eat (and drink wine, of course) and enjoy myself than suffer or deprive myself and hope it helps me lose some weight.  If I develop health issues related to my diet, I’ll change.  For now I’m eating happily but not crazily.
• I want to raise my kids, especially my two daughters, with the belief that if they are healthy and taking care of themselves then they are doing the right thing.

Those things being said, I’m seeing this thing fly all over Pinterest, and it’s starting to…

Piss. Me. Off.

I started to see it pinned here and there as I clicked through Pinterest hunting for new things for my own boards.  The more I saw it, the more it got me to thinking.  I did some digging and found out that Kate Moss said this was her “motto” in 2009.  Interestingly enough, she followed with, “You try and remember, but it never works.”  But you never hear or see that last little part added.  (See here for article link.)  I was shocked to read in this article that there are also “pro-anorexia” websites.  Good God.

Have you Googled the word “skinny”?  I did.  I also Goolged images using the same search word.  It’s scary.  I couldn’t look for long.

Then I went to Pinterest and searched “skinny.”  Also disheartening.  But then I got more creative (it is Pinterest, after all.)

I searched the phrase in the photo above, and it floored me.  Currently there are 65,100 Pinterest boards with the same title.  Look at that number again.

65,100

What is WRONG with people?  Now, I browsed some of the boards, and many of these women share the same goals that I have- they want to get in shape.  They want to lose weight.  They want to get strong.  Could someone please explain to me how the word skinny fits into any of those goals?

Here and there you’ll even see people have pinned a pillow with the same phrase on it.  It’s done in needlepoint, as if it’s something cute to say, or heaven forbid, you could make one for yourself!  Or for a friend as a gift!   Throw it on your couch to inspire your fat friends!  I don’t even want to know how much people would pay for it.

Some other board titles centered around this theme that freaked me out:  “Thinspiration” and “Thincentive.”  It was at this point that I threw my hands in the air and took my flat ass to the couch to write this post.

Where does this fascination with being thin or skinny come from?  WHY is it considered desirable by so many people to be “skinny”?  I have many friends who could possibly fit into this term in a natural way- they are, by their genetic makeup, long and lean people.  I have heard through conversations that the word skinny is not their favorite either.  I have one friend who told me that often, when people call her skinny, usually there is also a reference to her being malnourished or unhealthy in some way.  That ain’t cool either.

What makes me the most angry, though, is that people who pin this stuff are not thinking about young girls and women who are on Pinterest and other places who see this image, and they don’t have a role model in their life to tell them “skinny” is NOT something to work towards or aspire to.  Or they have an eating disorder that they are trying to get under control, and then they see this and lose it.  Or they have flashbacks to people calling them fat in high school or junior high.  Skinny is a negative word in so many ways.

Let’s get it together, people.  Skinny is not a goal. 

Healthy is.

Fit is.

Exercise is. 

Strength is. 

Active is.

Skinny can kiss my ass.

So I’m starting my own little movement.  Maybe it will stay small.  Maybe it won’t.  I don’t really care.  But I can’t just sit and not say anything.  I made this graphic on Picnik and am throwing it up on my “Don’t You Know” board.  If you are with me, please pin it, too.  Not on Pinterest?  Maybe you could link on Facebook or just leave a comment and give me a “holla holla!”

 And either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this stuff, too- am I the only one?  Are you tired of any other words?  Do any words get under your skin the same way “skinny” gets under mine?  I’d love to hear about it. 🙂

Wordless Wednesday #3

Posted by Nat on Nov 2, 2011 in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Wordless Wednesday #3

Real Simple Easy Dinners: Week 2

Posted by Nat on Nov 1, 2011 in cooking, food, move-away, Real Simple Easy Meals | 1 comment

If you’re new to this series, click here for the intro and here for Week 1.

Whew!  This week was tougher.  For some reason my body is rebelling against fall and my allergies were full-force all week.  I thought I was fighting a cold, but it was really just my body acclimating to a new season, I think.  We made it through week 2, just not in order.  Allergies combined with an issue with carpet-cleaning led me to postpone Thursday until last night, but we still made every recipe, so I think we’re still pretty rad.  Here’s the scoop!

My big take-away this week:  leave the meat alone.   I always feel like I have to do something to the meat- put a rub on it, marinate it- something.  But I don’t.  It’s enough to just put some good ol’ S&P on it and call it done.

Monday:  Chicken with Wild Rice and Grapes

This one surprised me- it was really, really yummy.  I wasn’t sure about having warm grapes in anything- they are such a “cold food” to me.  But it was really quite nice.  We didn’t get thighs with the skin on, but it was still really tasty.  We had lots of leftovers of this one, and it made for excellent sandwiches at lunch, too.  Definitely making it again.

Tuesday:  Steak with Cognac Sauce and Salad

O.M.G.!!! This is definitely a favorite!  The cognac sauce was so delicious, and I was surprised that the steak was nice given the cut we bought.  I usually don’t like skirt steak, but it was really nice.  This was “one of those evenings” for us as a family- Michael was held up at work, and when it was time to eat I also needed to feed Em, so I had to scarf this down, but it was so yummy it was not a problem.  When Michael ate his he was quite impressed- and it was super easy, too.  Loved it!  The only changes I made:  I detest blue cheese, so I subbed in goat cheese for my salad.  I also made a vinaigrette because the recipe called for just red wine vinegar and oil, and I like a nice, tasty dressing.  Vinegar & oil is too plain for me. 🙂

Wednesday:  Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Pistachios

I have never had Quinoa before- I like it!  Wasn’t too sure at first, but the more I ate it, the more I liked it.  It’s very straight-forward for a grain- you cook it just like rice, but it doesn’t take as long as rice.  I would add more different veggies to this one- it was really just carrots and shrooms, but they were yummy.

Thursday:  Shrimp Tacos with Black Beans

This is the one we made on Sunday night.  It was really good, but didn’t come together the way we wanted.  Our avocado wasn’t ripe yet,  and we LOVE avocado. But the shrimp was lovely with the cornmeal breading.  Michael also brought home tortillas from Trader Joe’s that are made with corn and wheat, so they were like the ultimate combo of corn & flour tortillas- they are YUMMY.  This was also dish-intensive- lots of clean up.  But yummy.

Friday:  Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

(I totally forgot to take a picture- we were so hungry and….) YUM.  This was so simple, and again RS has you putting your oven to work for you.  You roast the tomatoes and sausage in the oven and all you have to do while they are roasting is cook the pasta.  Then you toss it all together and serve- so easy, and so good.  We used hot sausage and it was too hot for my sensitive tongue, so next time we’ll just use plain sausage, but this recipe is a keeper because it really is easy & delish.  NOM NOM.

Our favorite meal of the week:  Steak with Cognac Sauce and Salad, hands down.  But every meal was really tasty- we’ll make all of them again!

Anna’s Coat

Posted by Nat on Oct 31, 2011 in children, fabric, Featured, move-away, sewing | 3 comments

*sidebar:  Alternate post titles that were considered:

Respect the Coat

Go Big or Don’t Sew

I Fully Admit I Have No Idea What I’m Doing (my former tag line)

What Was I Thinking? (already taken- see here and here)

Coats are Magic

Irons Are Hot and Dangerous

*end sidebar, other than to say that this post will be LONG.  It’s therapy people- almost like giving birth.  Feel free to just scroll and look at pictures, but I will type out my thoughts, too, though it may be a bit wonky….  Here goes…

A while ago I introduced you to Anna’s Bear, and how I was incorporating him into part of her Halloween costume.  I finally finished!  Here are some photos of Anna in her coat:

The coat by itself:

(some of these photos make the corduroy look really wrinkly, but it’s been pressed, I promise!)

And here are some specific photos in the book that led to my choice of fabric, pattern selection, etc.

Lastly, I couldn’t resist a side-by-side comparison- isn’t she a cutie?

And the backstory:  Anna decided that she wanted to be the little girl from Corduroy, which surprised me given her affinity for ballerinas, princesses and other typical 4-year-old-girl stuff.  One night, as we were reading Corduroy, I mentioned, “Hey, that would be a fun costume for Halloween! We could use Bear as Corduroy, and I could make him some green overalls just like in the book.”  I didn’t think it would stick, but it did.  I asked her randomly for several weeks if she wanted to be a princess, like Rapunzel or Snow White?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy (her name is Lisa, but she doesn’t seem to remember that).  Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy.   A butterfly?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy.  All righty then.

I was on a mission.  After sewing the overalls for Bear I started looking for pink coats (this was also an issue- she said it was pink, I thought it looked more red, but we all know that if I made her a red coat when she wanted pink….).  At the time of my search there were no dark pink anything online- lots of powder pink.  So I searched the books at Joann’s and found it.  Burda #9596 (this link is to a Flickr stream- I cannot find a link to it for purchase online!).  I figured that I could sew it for her in a bit larger size and then we’d have more than just a costume- we’d have a coat for a while, too.  Here is where things got hilarious.

Have I ever sewn a pattern before?  No.

Have I ever sewn an article of clothing for a human to wear before?  No.  (Unless you count some horrendous shirt I sewed in my sewing class that I think I took when I was 8 or 9.)

Have I taken any kind of sewing lessons as an adult?  No.

Hmm.  Well, that makes it perfectly logical to think that I could just whip up a coat, right?  Heh.

I actually bought the pattern and the fabric and other necessities when I bought the stuff for Bear’s overalls, but then we got busy.  My parents were here, my wonderful friend from college was here, and it was a great excuse to mentally prepare.

Some skills that I learned in this process:

• I learned what facings are.  I can’t really tell you what they are in a text book way, but if you take a coat and look just inside it, you’ll probably see the same fabric that’s on the outside of the coat run around the edges and the collar.  Then the lining of the coat will be sewn to it.  Those are facings.
• I learned how to sew pockets into things.
• I learned why, when you buy certain garments, the pockets are sewn shut (actually, they are basted shut).
• I learned why it’s so important to press open seam allowances.
• I learned how to not burn myself when pressing open seam allowances.
• I learned about interfacing.
• I learned how to read a pattern, though there are still parts I don’t quite get.
• I learned that I should probably take a sewing class or two, but am not sure when that will happen.

There are several imperfections on the coat.  One of them is that I somehow missed the part where I was supposed to sew the top and bottom facings together.  I looked back over the instructions and it was not clear at all.  So I made little patches to go over the exposed hems that were a result of my newbie status and called it a day.

The pocket openings are two different sizes, but Anna has yet to notice- she’s just happy to have pockets.  This particular pattern was definitely assuming that one knew what one was doing (ha) so I had to look up a lot of things online.  There was also a lot of lingo that made no sense, so I had to literally stare at the pattern diagram, stare at the coat.  Stare at the pattern diagram, stare at the coat.  And then after about 20 minutes of that something in my brain would click and all of a sudden it would make sense.  I also couldn’t figure out how to sew the lining to the inside of the cuffs at the end of the sleeves, but no one will see that unless I show it to them, and I may have a friend who can help with that.

Overall I am uber-happy with how it turned out.  If I could go back, I would buy a more sturdy, higher-quality corduroy for the coat.  But lesson learned- hopefully it will hold up…

So there you have it- Anna’s coat.  And someday, Emily’s coat, I hope.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank my mother.  Some day I will post pictures of the plethora of dance costumes she made for my sister and I.  They were almost always made of satin, lined, and lots of tulle was involved as well.  Props to you, Mom- after one coat, much respect!

Happy Halloween everyone!

I’m linking up to Mady by You Mondays on Skip to My Lou

Inspired by Erma

Posted by Nat on Oct 27, 2011 in DIY, family, freebies, home, home decor, house, ideas, move-away, paper | Comments Off on Inspired by Erma

Did you grow up reading Erma Bombeck?  I did.  I kind of miss her.  There’s no one like her, really.

When I was old enough to read, and wanted to impress my parents and grandparents, I knew I couldn’t *just* read the comics anymore.  I think I was probably 12 or so.  And conveniently, in our newspaper, Erma’s column was near the comics, so it was an easy migration.  I started with that, and then I think my mom may have read some of her books, so I read them, too.  I love her sense of humor, and her healthy grip on the reality of motherhood and all that it entails.

Pretty soon I’m going to whip my laundry room into shape.  It’s getting there, and I’ve already done a few things, but have so much more to do.  In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this sneak peek.  There was a little spot over our washer that I stare at a lot.  I decided that it would be nice to have something to look at instead of a blank wall, and I’ve always liked this quote from Erma.  So I fiddled around in Photoshop and here’s what I came up with:

I’ve had this panoramic, 12×4 photo frame for years.  Nearly a century, I think.  So I spray-painted it a creamy white, added some twine, and voila- this is much nicer to stare at!  And this was all free- my husband likes free.  So do I.

I also figured that you might not want one in 12×4, just in case you aren’t a frame-hoarder like myself.  So I also made it in 8×10 format.  Hope you enjoy! You should be able to right-click on either to download to your own computer, but let me know if that doesn’t work.

I can’t wait to show you more of our laundry room, but I have a pretty big project for it before I can show it to you.  🙂

Wordless Wednesday #2

Posted by Nat on Oct 26, 2011 in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Wordless Wednesday #2

Why do the boys always get the lashes?  And those eyes.  They are like pools of dark chocolate.

Toys Every Boy Should Have

Posted by Nat on Oct 25, 2011 in children, move-away, Parenting, toys | 3 comments

I grew up with all girls.  I have two older sisters, and four cousins- all girls.  My only male relatives growing up were my dad, my two grandpas, and my two uncles. Lots of double-x chromosomes running around.  Therefore I am clueless as to what to get my little boy as he grows up.  I know, I know- it’ll come to me, but still- I’m a list person.

Some disclaimers:

• I am NOT getting paid for this list.  I’m doing it for fun.  Like I said, I like lists.
• I am NOT saying that you *should* have any of these toys, or that if you don’t you are totally lame.  These are just ideas.  To each his or her own.   If you don’t want your boy to have guns as toys, totally fine.  I’m still figuring that one out.
• I also think it’s possible and totally fine for boys and girls to cross the gender-line in terms of toys, and vice versa.  We let Jack put on Anna’s costumes.  He can have a pink cup to drink his milk if he wants.   Anna can play with trucks and stuff.  So please don’t take this as a “manly-man toy list and if you disagree you must be a pansy” post.

So I went to my Facebook friends and family and asked them:  “What are the toys every boy should have?”  Jackpot! I got so many great answers, and I wrote them all down (some of them were hilarious).  Thanks, FB friends!  Then I broke their responses into categories.  I’ve listed them below and provided links where necessary.   I hope this is helpful to you, dear friends.  And please– if I left anything out, leave a comment and add to the fun- make the list even better!

The Basics

Miscellaneous things included:

• duct tape
• crayons & paper
• cardboard boxes
• balls
• sticks
• dinosaurs
• wooden blocks
• flashlights
• handheld video games
• keys
• art kits
• sewing kits (fine motor skill development)
• baby doll & stroller (especially if new siblings are on the horizon)
• t-ball set
• golf set
• magnifying glass
• tool bench & tools
• old bikes to take apart and put back together

Things that go:

• cars
• trucks
• trains/wooden train set
• matchbox cars
• fire trucks
• police cars
• ramps & tracks for all things that go

Weapons:

• bows ‘n’ arrows
• fire (this made me laugh!)
• guns
• “any weapon” (direct quote- ha!)

Brand Specific Toys

(These are in no particular order. Some of these I had not heard of, and you’ll be able to tell because I’ll talk about them in case you haven’t either.)

Automoblox

These look uber-cool.  They are also not uber-cheap, so they will have to be gifts for our kids- but MAN they are cool!  Apparently you can mix and match different parts, so if you have 2 or 3, you really have endless possibilities.  There’s also a Parts Department so you can order extra wheels, etc.  Cool!

Legos

Duh.  Legos rock.

Tinker Toys

Anna plays with these already- we need to either sneak them into Jack’s room or just get him his own set.  I’m curious to see if Jack gets any of my husband’s amazing technical brain- Anna has made some pretty amazing things with Tinker Toys.

Imaginext

Fisher Price brands these as the toys to get when your kid is “Pre-Cool”- you don’t want them shooting stuff yet, but they want to feel like they have a really cool toy.  They seem to be just that, but we also don’t have any.  Would love to hear what people think of these!

Hot Wheels

 Of course we’re talking about the cars, but I also have to mention… When I was at BlogHer I got to see a preview of the Hot Wheels Wall Tracks  and they are awesome.  I sort of want Jack to get some so I can play with them…

Anything Star Wars

(I could post a bazillion links for anything Star Wars but then this post would go on forever…)

Transformers

I’m not sure how I feel about these.  I remember them from my childhood and the commercials gave me the heebie-jeebies.  They kind of freak me out.  Thoughts?

Bruder Toys

(Someone actually said “Bruder trucks” in my FB post, but after looking at the website- anything here screams “boy!!!”) These are also not cheap, so for us they will have to come as gifts.  They are extremely authentic looking, and have great reviews on Amazon.

Geo Trax

Made by Fisher-Price, this is sort of a new train track collection, but they have incorporated lots of characters from movies, like Toy Story and Cars. These look pretty cool.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has these, as I’ve been debating about whether it’s really worth it to get a train set like this.

Lincoln Logs

So, there you have it.  Did I miss something?  Is your son’s favorite toy left off of this list- please leave a comment and add it to improve the list!  Or if you have any experience with any of these toys, please post a comment!

Real Simple Easy Dinners: Week 1

Posted by Nat on Oct 24, 2011 in cooking, food, move-away, Real Simple Easy Meals | 3 comments

We did it!  Week one was awesome!  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here!)  Below are individual reviews for each meal.  We definitely had a few favorites and some not-so-favorites, but what was really the nicest thing was having everything planned out.  As I type this our fridge is full of ingredients for Week 2, as well.  So nice to not have to stress/think/worry/wonder about what we’re eating.

My biggest take away is that we can add veggies into our meals by roasting them.  This can be tricky in our house- we have a wandering 2-year-old, plus an old-school, avocado green oven, two tiers, and only the bottom oven works right now.  Neat.  But we ate so many veggies this week, and I liked all of them!  I do recommend, when roasting, lining the pan with foil AND spraying it with Pam or some sort of oil to help make “tossing” them easier- nothing sticks.

Monday:  Salmon with baby bok choy & green beans

YUM!  This was so good.  And I feel like I can cook salmon well now- it was almost too simple.  The recipe only has you use salt and canola oil on the salmon- this made me suspicious, but it was so tasty.  And the veggie mix was something new and easy.  I prepped everything during naps so all I had to do was throw it all together.  We will definitely make this again.  My only question is:  where the heck do you find baby bok choy?  We tried three, count ’em, three stores, and it was nowhere to be found, so we used regular bok choy.

 Tuesday:  Tomato Soup with Roast Beef, Cheddar, and Horseradish Panini

This was delish and easy to do.   The tomato soup was lovely, though I did change one thing.  I added some whipping cream to it to sort of take the bite out of the tomato acidity.  It was lovely.  Next time I will use less onion and garlic, though- maybe ours were just super potent but I tasted garlic and onion the rest of the night.  We also do not like horseradish and don’t see that changing, so I used Greek yogurt and some herbs from Penzeys as the sauce for the panini.  Do you know Penzeys?  You should.  Great spice company.  Check them out! We used “Mural of Flavor.”

Wednesday:   Pork Chops with Roasted Beets and Oranges

I was surprised by this one. I’ve never, ever in my life (that I can recall) eaten a roasted beet.  I’ve tried canned beets and promptly said, “No thank you” when offered more, but roasted beets?  I was open to it (unlike the horseradish).  And surprise, surprise- I liked them!  Our oranges weren’t so yummy, so if I ever make this again I will be sure to use sweet oranges as they didn’t taste great, but that’s not the recipe’s fault.   This recipe did have significant clean up to do, so I would probably just make this for a special dinner.

Thursday:  Chicken with Potatoes, Bacon, and Cabbage

Meh.  This was okay.  We didn’t get whole grain mustard, which the recipe calls for, mainly because we had three other kinds of mustard in the fridge.  I used Dijon and it was way too potent with the apple cider vinegar- Anna held her nose when she came in to help set the table, which was hilarious.  I’m not big on cabbage, either, but we gave it a go.  I did like the chicken- it was tender and yummy, but the side dish was not our fave, even though it did have bacon in it.

Friday:  Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Fontina

This was awesome, especially at the end of the week.  It was easy to do- almost too easy.   The squash is so good and really made it “taste like fall” (if that’s possible).  I’m very happy that Trader Joe’s has butternut squash all chopped up and ready to use- it made the meal so simple.

Our favorite meal of the week:  Monday’s salmon.  However, we also really liked the paninis on Tuesday, as well as the whole meal on Friday.

All in all, I loved following the recipes this week and can’t wait to see what comes next week.  I did have to stay on top of things in terms of prepping the veggies, etc., which I tended to do just after lunch or just as the kids were waking up from naps.  If I saved everything until just before dinner time then it would have been a late dinner every time.  I think this works for me now as a SAHM- if I were doing it as a working mom I might have to prep things the night before in order to get things done without freaking out.

I also think that this week’s menu was so-so in the “kid friendly” department.  We did have Anna try a few things, but dinner is our toughest meal in general, and most of these meals didn’t work for Anna or Jack.  Maybe if you have a kid who will literally eat anything it would work, but I don’t have too many friends who have kids who will jump into a pile of roasted beets. 🙂  Aside from that, though, this is really a great plan.  Check back next Monday for Week 2!