This week went by bleepin’ FAST. [Side note: I have to get my swearing in check now that P understands everything I’m saying!! Words are now real things with meaning. Talk about a reality check.]
Last weekend was a snooze with that lame Super Bowl, although I did grab brunch at Cafe Bernardo with a former co-worker.
I brought P (with his eggs and such in a tupperware) and he was the perfect gentleman – minimal puffs and banana bits made their way to the floor (although I always clean that stuff up at the end of meals out because I don’t wanna ruin the generosity and hospitality of the baby friendly places).
Anyway, I really like going to brunch with her because she makes me feel in the loop still with hospital stuff. I realize I haven’t actually shared this news, but I am taking a break from nursing to be a mom right now. For a while I was trying to work out an arrangement where I could do per diem or have an on call schedule, but my boss didn’t have that position available. Night shifts were killing me since we don’t have child care during the day (leaving me to attempt to function 24 hours around the clock or more). There were literally some stretches of time that I was awake with only 3 hours of “naps” total over the course of 96 hours. Dangerous for my patients, sad for my son, miserable for my health.
Fortunately, I’m extremely blessed to have a husband who supports me in my decision. And even though finances are tight with one income per household, life is short, and this is way better for our family.
So. Brunches with my ex-colleague are my way of keeping tabs on the unit, and nursing in general. Plus, she’s super awesome. We hit it off immediately when I started working there, and as a result we decided we’d be friends outside of the hospital.
Tangent over. Back to the week.
On Monday I went to the East Bay to join my parents at a lecture at Cal. It was part of this series.
The class is for students, but a limited number of tickets are open to the public. Unfortunately it is insanely popular and therefore hard to get reservations. You have to register each week and we didn’t get in the first week, so I missed Michael Pollan’s intro. This week’s lecture was by Raj Patel and my parents and I all agreed it wasn’t the best. We felt so out of the loop because there was all this assigned reading (for the students) that we obviously hadn’t done. I’m optimistic that the speakers for the rest of the course will be better though. Any other Michael Pollan fans should check out his latest interview on the Inquiring Minds podcast. It’s fantastic.
Eeeek! SO close to overflowing. Helloooooo antioxidants.
Check out those baby blues.
I took pics of all my meals at my parents’ house. The above breakfast is on Rudi’s GF bread.
Lunch was a big salad with spinach, roasted Brussels, carrots, avocado, and sunflower seeds.
With a side of GF pretzels.
I snacked on more carrots and pretzels throughout the day.
And for dinner we made a stewp with quinoa and veggies.
And can’t forget about deezer (that’s what we called dessert growing up).
My mom found these in the bakery section at WF and brought them home thinking I couldn’t have them because they weren’t (specified) as gluten free. Well, as it turns out, there isn’t even flour in them at all! They had sugar, egg whites, and walnuts. And lots of chocolate (obvs). But no dairy and no wheat. I’ll take the biggest one, thankyouverymuch. For the record, they are like a hybrid of a cookie and a brownie. Rich and soft on the inside with a brownie like outside. Thumbs way up.
And while we are on the subject of chocolate.
Practice round for my little guy’s (allergy friendly) birthday cake! It’s so cliché to talk about the time flying by, but seriously, I can’t believe it’s already his birthday!
Playing ball with Auntie.
Rainy day fun with bubbles.
I look away for 1.5 seconds and…this. My parents’ house isn’t baby proofed and P is taking advantage. At least it was only diapers.
Balance.
allow me to enthusiastically endorse the Pollan podcast that Elise references in this post – the man is a fountain of knowledge and so entertaining.
Elise, how to you make stewp? It looks great!
do you like Rudis more than Udi’s? is there a difference?
There seems to be an error with this post. I read often and have never seen it like this before. This is what your post looks like to me:
This week went by bleepin’ FAST. [Side note: I have to get my swearing in check now that P understands everything I’m saying!! Words are now real things with meaning. Talk about a reality check.] Last weekend was a snooze with that lame Super Bowl, although I did grab brunch at Cafe Bernardo with a […]
That si the end of what I can see. Thought you might want to know 🙂
wait, what? what do you mean thats the end of what you can see?
they are pretty much interchangeable to me – whatever is on sale. i was at my parents’ house and they had rudi’s so that what i had. the slight difference is in the size. rudi’s are a bit wider. otherwise i really have no preference.
stewp was just my merging of the words soup and stew…we didn’t use a recipe, just threw stuff in a pot.
that’s what I thought it was, but I have no idea how to make a stewp. Can you tell me what you did? Please?
The post came up kind of like a thumbnail. I’ve never seen it that way either. It only showed the top photo and a little intro to the post, and you have to click on the photo to get the entire post to come up. Perhaps a new change in WordPress?
Can’t believe he is almost 1! He is beautiful.
Thanks for the podcast rec. Love Pollan and got to see him speak once!
Oh, and SAHM…FTW!
You’re right — you don’t get these years back and your career will always be there for you. It’s a tough decision to make, but it sounds like you followed your heart and have a supportive husband and family. Yay! It’s not for everyone, and I don’t judge mothers who choose to work or who have no other choice, but for me personally, it was one of the best decisions I made. And there are creative ways to fit work in if you can freelance, or whatever (that’s kind of what I do as an IBCLC). xoxo
We were in a time crunch for allergy friendly baking test runs and I wanted to have options just in case mine failed miserably. Weeks earlier, my cousins brought over a cake for me and Mason (still nursing, so avoiding his allergens too) made by Wholesome Chow. He found the mix at Whole Foods and it was delicious! We couldn’t find one at the WF near us but ordered a bunch on Amazon for the big first birthday party and they were a huge hit! They’re a tiny bit crumbly so they fare better for cupcakes, but so fluffy and delicious. You may be able to add eggs to help it stick since your little guy doesn’t have an egg allergy.
http://www.amazon.com/Wholesome-Chow-Gluten-Chocolate-Ounce/dp/B00BHOEMLQ
I truly don’t remember…lots of veggies and broth and quinoa. My mom did most of it anyway. All I did was destem the kale.
I have followed your blog since the beginning and have enjoyed every post. I want to thank you for inviting us into the past year of P’s life. I am so excited to read that you are going to share with us about P’s diet. He is growing beautiful due to you and Kyle being such extraordinary parents. Enjoy being at home. Looking forward to more blogs about P, food and life in general.
Love me a stoup. Y’know, just throwing any food item you have in a pot & calling it good. (Well, nearly always) yummy & requires absolutely no explanation as to how you made it whatsoever(…)
Oh man, I hope you’re getting to sleep & relax a bit more now… You neeed to take it easy on yourself!
I mean would you let a close friend or relative stay up over 24hrs & shiz like that huh??
Oh, and all the food & P look scrumptious :D.
Xxx
I think it’s great that your staying home if that’s what works for you. My mom was stay-at-home and didn’t start working again until I was like 15 and I think it was fantastic.
After the “…” there is nothing else and nothing to click on other that “comments”
After the “…” there is nothing else and nothing to click on other than “comments”. I could not see the rest of your post
My computer isn’t on right now so I can’t check but what if you click the post title. That’s usually how I choose to read one specific post vs the home page. ??
This post is so ampt. I’ver just handed in my notice to take a break from nursing and focus on family, and for the same reasons as you. I’m a bit nervous, especially as money will be tight, but I know it’s the right thing. I miss Theo so much when i’m at work too. Can’t believe P & T are almost one!!!!
Fantastic Picture of Patrick! Love those blue eyes.
i know!!! i just read your post and felt like we were kindred spirits given our parallel lives at the moment. how are you doing w theo’s allergies? I’m so jealous you can feed him wheat bread and hummus… 🙁
It’s crazy, right!
We’re doing OK with his allergies. His diet is pretty repetetive but I’ve tried him on soy milk and he seems OK with it thank goodness! Although i’m anxious to not give him too much soy. Poor P, hope he grows out of his allergies. X
Thanks for the links to Edible Schoolyard and the Inquiring Minds podcast- subscribed to both immediately! You’re so lucky to live close to Berkeley, my favorite little city. Everytime you had a night shift post, I felt tired for you- I don’t know how you did it for that long with a new baby! The benefits of your new schedule definitely out weight the hidden costs of working nights. Thanks for updating us :).
That’s great about staying home, not an easy decision, but better than running yourself into the ground trying to be everything. And he’s grown so much, wow! I need to check out the podcast, thanks!
I’m so relieved to hear that you are taking some time off right now- your schedule with the overnight shifts was just not sustainable for anyone! This is such a precious fleeting moment in time for your family……
P just keeps getting bigger and even more adorable!!!!
Carrots and pretzels are such a perfect pairing- i have one baby carrot with one rold gold pretzel stick (the thin ones) and that’s my perfect match 🙂 Those chocolate chewy cookies sound amazing! Feel free to figure out how to make them….;)
Yes, that worked….just never had to do that before. Thanks!
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