Just like old times, but with kids

I want to try to take better care of myself in 2017, but I never made any concrete (resolution style) plan.  Still, I feel like I’m doing a good job so far.  To be clear, I was starting from a pretty good place. Kyle is SUPER supportive of letting me work out every single morning and I am not one of those people who can go without showering, so at the very least, by 7:30 am, I have gotten a good sweat on and then washed myself clean to start the day fresh.  But that’s physical stuff.  And while physical health is super important, it’s not the full picture.

I got new clothes for Christmas and just this week I got a haircut, so I am putting effort into looking good (mascara!), which in turn makes me feel good.  Sure, I feel good with my hair in a wet ponytail too, but you know what I mean.  My kids are getting to an age that brings with it some independence. And that is giving me a few extra seconds to breath. And in this case, blow dry my hair.

I’m starting to feel more whole again.  Like a real person, not just a mom.  Have you noticed I’ve been blogging more regularly?  I want to carve out time for me without feeling guilty, so I’m finding a way to do it.

With P in school three times a week, V and I have a few hours on our own in the mornings.  On Tuesdays, we have library.  On Wednesdays, we have swimming.  And on Thursdays, we have “school” (aka creative playtime aka a parent co-op free play thing).  But we squeeze in errands too, like grocery shopping, which is much easier with one kid than two.  V always wants to walk and hold the bags, so when we are going for just a few things I let her.  Even though it’s way slower, her massive grin is SO WORTH IT.  <– that’s going to be our downfall as parents

Hey! It’s my breakfast.

This is the second half of a banana baked oatmeal with NuNaturals oat fiber in it to give it extra oomph without any calories.  It’s kinda awesome since all I’m really looking for in a baked good these days is a way to get more cashew butter on top.

I feed the kids first, while I sip decaf coffee with Califia almond milk in it.  I stick to one cup these days, but Kyle always brews me 1.5 cups worth because 90% of the time, I have the last half cup after our morning outings, while I’m feeding them lunch.  After they are done and cleaned up and happily* playing on their own in the toy room, I eat my breakfast in peace and quiet. HAHAHAHAHA.  yeah right.

*In this case happily means not dead. I usually wind up going in to intervene at least once, but I really realllllly try to leave them to work things out on their own.  Sometimes they play together so nicely, I pinch myself hearing their joyous voices laughing and giggling in the next room.  Sometimes I have to go into the toy room so many times to diffuse fight after fight after fight, threatening to take things away if they can’t share and get along, that I basically end up eating on the move.  Back and forth between the kitchen and the toy room, over and over and over again, and then I run out of time before we have to leave for whatever activity and I have to inhale my food as I’m packing up the car and they are getting their shoes on.

In the off chance that I haven’t had to re-microwave my breakfast 200 times, I get to play with them for a bit before we hit the road.

My lunch always involves avocado and nuts.  In this case it was leftover kale Caesar salad with macadamia nuts and the biggest half of an avocado ever.

Just like breakfast, I feed them first.  After they have eaten, we go upstairs and I get them changed into PJs before we read books.  Lunch usually gives them a burst of energy, so I play with them until their initial steam is burned off.  Then we read and it’s nap time.  They both love sleeping, so I use the time to eat my own lunch, cook dinner, clean the house, fold laundry, and whatever else…the most important though, is getting dinner done.  I like to have afternoons free with my kiddos, for play dates, park time, or just plain nothingness.  Quality time without me being distracted with other things to do.

So every once in a while, I am going to cut myself a break and serve semi home-made/prepared food, like this frozen falafel.

This was the first time P (and V) had falafel and I was nervous about how it would go over.  For one thing, any time I have attempted something processed (and allergy free), P has rejected it.  There’s only time I can think of but still…he wants home-made veggie burgers, not pre-made ones.  On the one hand, it’s flattering, he likes my cooking and real whole food ingredients (isn’t that every parent’s dream!), but it’s also frustrating for the obvious (time saving) reason.

Anyway, I’d been craving falafel and I had no clue how to deep fry them on my own, so I figured I had to buy them already made.  Trader Joe’s to the rescue!

What a difference this made in my day!  I literally got dinner on the table in seconds and I used all that extra time to do fun things that made me feel so accomplished and fulfilled.  Fantastic.  It makes me wonder what it would be like if P didn’t have allergies.  I used to eat food I didn’t make ALL THE TIME!  Pre-kids, I went to WF for dinner more than I used my own kitchen because I didn’t have to think about doing things in advance.  I could do whatever I wanted on a whim without a second thought.  And I never did give it a second thought.  What happened that made me feel like I suddenly had to cook every single thing from scratch?  Was it the fact that I HAD to due to the allergy curve ball?  Was it the transition to being a stay at home mom without a job away from the house?  I don’t actually know the answer, but I do know that we don’t get take-out, we don’t eat out, and I don’t shop for convenience items the way I used to.  I buy whole foods and I make them into meals.  And I love it.  And I love that my family loves it.  But taking a breather once a month and using store bought meatballs is something I should embrace and shouldn’t feel guilty about.

Oh and yes, this meal is a fodmaps nightmare, but it’s what I wanted and so I just did it.  Did a squeaky clean day of fodmaps free eating the next day to keep my gut ok.

The kids were ok with the meal.  I’m not sure if they loved it, but they didn’t fight it.  I think I had pumped them up so much for the hummus, that they were convinced they would like it regardless of how they actually felt. 🙂

They liked dipping things, so that was fun for them.

And I felt like my former self again.  Hippie kids, eating hummus and falafel and veggies.  That’s what I envisioned when I was pregnant.

Dessert was a classic too.  Can’t go wrong with Ghirardelli’s sea salt soiree.  I ate the whole bar, in case you were wondering.

Cheers!