Is it just me or has this Halloween been 5 days long?
Coffee and crafts…what else is there to do when it’s dark out at 7 am?! We’ve been extra into art projects lately because I am cutting off all TV. We got into the habit of letting them watch one show a day to keep P calm during his post-dose “rest time” at grandma and grandpa’s house. And then somehow, it made it’s way to our house every once in a while. And now they are actually asking for it (whining for it) after his doses!!! NOT HAPPENING. It’s seriously like a drug. It’s not even about the screen time, because there are plenty of quality shows I can get on board with (Daniel Tiger is awesome for helping them develop emotional intelligence). It’s how much they want it, need it, beg for it, and lose their minds over not getting it that has me concerned. They used to be content with puzzles and coloring and so I did a reset this weekend. Goodbye TV. Hellooooo sticker collection.
I promised I’d make something special for breakfasts this weekend and I made good on that with Danielle Walker’s waffle recipe from her first book, Against All Grain.
The thing about her recipes is that they work. They aren’t fussy. And they are made with the ingredients I prefer to cook with. Waffles may seem simple to make but when you are using ground cashews and coconut flour, it’s not as obvious as to what amounts to use. Her recipes come out stellar. Every. Time. Plus, she’s SCD, so that overlaps with FODMAPs mucho mucho, making my gut and taste buds both very happy.
Whooaaaaa, half way there.
Time to serve! I added almond butter on top because there are cashews in the batter and I try to diversify when it comes to nuts in my meals. It doesn’t work out all the time, but I keep it in the back of my mind, and really do make an effort not to have almond flour bread with almond butter and almond milk in my coffee and then add almonds to my lunch salad and then have almonds in my chocolate dessert.
SO GOOD. And now I have leftovers for the next few days 🙂
Kyle and P went off to have special one on one time so Valley and I took on the weekly grocery shopping – first to TJs and then to Nugget. I promised I’d let her help me in the kitchen after we unloaded, which delighted her. I realized I cooked with P a bunch when he was her age and haven’t had as much solo time with her.
After chopping all the veggies for the week I let her enjoy the fruits of her labor for lunch. 🙂
We also had a “tea party” with warm water. The simplest things thrill these kids. I need to try to remember that when I’m bored and trapped indoors this winter. They don’t need much.
Sometimes she reads herself nap time stories.
Random notes about my lunch…
1. These bags of kale have lasted a long time! I’m going to get another couple next time I’m in WF for sure.
2. This avo was the longest ever. Born to be a basketball player for sure.
3. I made a bunch of balsamic vinaigrette. Go prep work!
All together now with smoked salmon. [See? No nuts!]
After naps we went to the UC Davis football game. It was homecoming, so they were playing their rivals Cal Poly.
Even better than the fact that a ton of their friends were there? Trick or treating at half time!!!
Look at her sweet hand waving them on (I didn’t think she was quite old enough to run all over the field unsupervised). And him bouncing along with delight. 🙂
He was so distracted by the band playing that he only returned with three candies – ha!
We left shortly after, but not without getting food to bring home with us for dinner.
It was so hot! Even at 6 pm! Fall??? Where are you?!
Kyle and I split pulled pork nachos and a tri tip sandwich from Buckhorn for dinner.
MMMMMMMMM.
The kids did not get take out. Instead I made them rice and beans (all ready in the rice cooker) with avocado and nooch.
I had to re-nooch their bowls 4-5 times. B vitamins – check!!
I spent the rest of the night setting up (and practicing) crafts for them to do the next day at a Halloween party.
Sunday morning started toooo early. Kyle and I alternated workouts and I got back on the T25 train. I’m so sore now! I did the lower body focus and my legs were quivering the rest of the morning.
I had more waffles for breakfast. With almond butter again.
And then it was off to church. As a foursome! I decided to make the commitment to get us all to attend church, which meant playing the long game with V in child care. So after P went into his Sunday School class, I went in to V’s with her and then stayed with her the entire time.
As a result she loved it. Of course. And at the end when all the kids were outside, she found P and his friends and played with them like she was one of the big kids. THAT is her happy place. Hopefully after a few more times I will be able to leave her on her own. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is so short lived and (like potty training) I will eventually be on the other side and have amnesia about everything that came before it. Just in typing this up now I’m realizing that having her be okay with separating from me is truly the end of babyhood and that my job as a parent will be shifting so much in the coming years…wahhh…such a bittersweet milestone. Incidentally, we ran into our babysitter at church that morning and it took P a while to place her (she’s only stayed with him twice before after all). But as soon as he did he shouted her name and ran up and hugged her.
Kale, much?
I had chips with this too. And football. Sunday’s are the best.
I also squeezed in vacuuming and weekly prep while they were sleeping (tuning in and out of football games).
Once they were up it was time for our Halloween get together!!
My sweet little ballerinas. <3
We didn’t have a family theme, but at least Kyle and I both dressed up this year.
Check out my pregnancy scrubs on my husband! Hahahaha.
We left at dinner time and came home to freezer odds and ends.
I had a lentil and veggie soup thawed which I bulked up with leftover rice (and nooch – obviously) for the kids.
Tomato soup and sheep pecorino romano for the adults. Kyle had bread on the side, but I saved my carbs for…
Deezer. The last of my birthday pecan pie, plus two pieces of fudge that my girlfriend made for me for my birthday. I had wine at the Halloween party too, so the combo of the chocolate sugar bomb and alcohol was actually kicking in ALREADY as I went to bed. Dude. This is 35. Very humbling indeed.
We have approximately 5 more Halloween costume things left and I am basically feeding my kids nothing but veggies for the next 48 hours. Ok not really, but kinda…
Good on you re the TV. It is truly addicting. If you search YouTube for Dimitri Christiakis’ TED talk on ‘How TV affects the brains of young children’ you would find that presentation interesting and affirming.
TV with my oldest is the death of me! He’s 5 and doesn’t watch it often. We don’t even turn the tv during the day but on Saturdays we have college football on. He does try to steal the remote and turn it on when I’m out of the room! I talked to his Peditrician about the behavior change and she said since most of it is bright lights and fast pacing it does affect their attitudes and many parents complain about it. I’m not worrying about it because he’s still exposed to stuff like in books.
What’s funny is that it’s apparent to me that both V and P love “helping” in the kitchen- and i think that instead of/as a craft project they would really enjoy helping to peel carrots for lunch or make muffins or whatever for their snack or dinner later that day. Incidentally that’s also a fun and easy way to introduce them to new foods and flavors because of course they want to taste what they help make.
Gah, i know **exactly** what you mean about the sugar and alcohol hitting harder than it used to… my body really hates me now when drink anything at all, and what’s worse is it seems each year i need more sleep to function as a human…ugh.
TV is the worssssst! My 2-year-old daughter cries for it whenever we relax the rules a bit. I am like you – I wouldn’t mind it once in a while, but the minute I allow it to become part of her routine, it spirals out of control. I already have so much guilt about every time this has happened, so I always try to cut it out completely, only to rely on it the next time I’m sick or I need her to be calm for a bit for xyz reason. I am trying to take a balanced view, but it is really hard. You just inspired me to cut it out 100% again.
UGH! Exactly! Exactly!!