Day in the Life {Afternoon}

{Morning}

---------------
{Afternoon}

12:30 pm.  We head back outside with our lunches, picnic blanket, and of course, the t-ball set.

We find a nice shady spot and I cross my fingers that Finn will be interested enough in his lunch to sit and eat at least a bit of it.

The PB&J and the new yogurt we bought at Target are the biggest hits and the picnic lunch is successful (today anyways).  He also has cucumbers and hummus, peaches, and blueberries.  My lunch is leftover Arugula and Charred Tomato Pesto, recipe via elefantitas alegres.

 Cheers!

1:15 pm.  He's eaten a great lunch and tells me he's all done.  I set up the t-ball set for him and he proceeds to hit several home runs.

1:40 pm. We're back home after a surprisingly small protest about packing up the t-ball set.  I change Finn's diaper and get him in his sleep sack for his nap.  I ask and he turns down the potty offer again.  I haven't yet decided when I want to get more serious about it.

We read the Bob Marley book for the second time today.

He's in his crib and it takes him only a few minutes to fall asleep.  I clean the kitchen, run some laundry, and then sit down to relax with my iphone while he naps.

4 pm.  He's woken up after a great nap and we're ready to use up the latest of the CSA share (raspberries and blueberries) to make a treat for Daddy.

{Fresh Raspberry Cheesecake Bars}

Little helper in his learning tower:

 "That mixer verrrrrrrrry noisy!"

 He enjoyed pounding the shortbread into the pan, although I did have to convince him that the spatula was more appropriate than the baseball bat for the process.

This recipe has a 20 minute break in the middle for baking the crust.  This is known in the toddler world as "are you kidding me mom, I don't have time for this nonsense, peace out".

4:45 pm. Finn retreated to the living room to play in his kitchen (where you can bake things like this bowl of salad in your oven in ten seconds flat) and left me to finish the cheesecake bars.

"Ding ding ready!"

 I didn't have enough raspberries for the middle layer so I added blueberries too... delicious decision.

5:10 pm.  I get the bars back in the oven just as Finn calls me into the living room to eat a burrito.

 {Melissa & Doug Taco And Burrito Set}

5:30 pm. We decide it's time for a real snack.  Finn eats a cheese stick while we do puzzles.

He's gotten pretty good at these and the firetruck is his favorite, especially the "dalmatian dog".

5:45 pm.  A diaper change brings us back upstairs where Finn requests a reading of One Morning in Maine.  He pulls up my shirt and rubs my belly ("baby [insert name here!] seepin in dere") while I read to him and my heart bursts into one million tiny pieces.

To be continued...

Day in the Life {Morning}

The last time I did a day in the life post, Finn was 10 months old!  Life has changed so much since then and I wanted to capture a day with my toddler before our lives get turned upside down by the addition of his baby brother.

{Morning}

7:40 am.  Finn's awake in his crib.  We just moved his crib down as low as it will possibly go (as in, drilled new holes) to try to get a few more weeks out of it, as Finn had figured out how to climb out of it even with his sleepsack on!  We are doing renovations to his new room, and his new big bed will be ready for him next month, but we REALLY need him to stay in the crib until then.  I go to get him and am greeted by a proud "I not fall out my crib!"  I change Finn's diaper and ask him if he wants to go potty.  He says no, and I don't push it.

7:55 am.  We snuggle back into my bed and watch an episode (or three, whoops) of Curious George on the iPad.  I love the cuddles more than I hate the screen time.

8:25 am.  I leave Finn in my bed playing a shape puzzle game while I get in the shower.

8:35 am.  I'm out of the shower, getting dressed, and tying my hair up to dry in a tshirt (a thing called "plopping" that I'm trying in order to embrace my curly hair... see YouTube for details).  It's a good look, no? 28 week bump optional.

8:45 am.  Little man has switched apps and is playing a new one he loves called Toca Doctor.  We turn it off (this goes a lot better if he is given the option to turn it off himself) and head back to his room to get dressed.

Almost...

Ta da!  He's dressed (turtle shorts and a polo) and has found a new book that his Mimi just sent him.

So of course we have to read it.

9:10 am.  We've finally made it downstairs and Finn is a bit of a grump because it's gotten so late and he hasn't eaten.  He's placated by his vitamin and some music on Pandora (he requests Bob Marley... do you sense a theme?) while I get his breakfast together...waffles, sausage, and berries from our CSA share.

My breakfast is a green tea latte, peanut butter toast, berries, and yogurt.

10 am.  We're done with breakfast and playing in the living room.  Finn is obsessed with this new T-Ball set that we just got him.  He hits the ball a few times and tells me if he has earned one base, two bases, or his favorite, a HOME RUN!  This however, is the face of a boy telling me that he did not just poop.  False.  We have days when the potty is fun and days when he is not into it.  Apparently today is the latter.

We go upstairs and I change Finn's diaper.  I take my hair out of the tshirt and throw some makeup on my face.  The curls have not really had enough time to dry but we're headed to Target and I'm not feeling the t-shirt turban look.

11 am.  Out the door.

On the way to the car, Finn requests I take his picture on this bench.

I stop to take a picture of our reflection in this shop window, because I did the same with a day in the life post from when Finn was 5 months old.  How times (and belly size) have changed.

I load Finn in the car, and yes, we are still rear-facing at 26 months.  It is so much safer, and he doesn't mind at all, so we will do it as long as we can.

(And now I feel the need to show an angle that shows that his head is still about an inch from the top of the seat [Britax Boulevard 70 CS], which is the rear-facing limit for this seat.  We are about to switch it out with the carseat in hubs' car [Diono Radian] so we can rear-face longer.)

11:20 am.  We're at Target, special treat (Starbucks ice water) procured.  Finn refuses to take off his sunglasses.  I take his picture in the cart, since he's two and doesn't yet realize how mortifying that is.

11:47 am.  We're done and at the register.  Finn proclaims loudly and points "that's the payer man!" at the cashier and insists on being the one to swipe the card.

"I wanna pay!" (With your credit card, Mom.)

Just another Target "quick trip for a couple things".  Gah.

12:10 pm.  Back home and guess what Finn wants to do?

I take advantage of the distracted toddler and throw together picnic lunches for us both.

To be continued...

Summer CSA Baking... with a toddler

I've always wanted to, but have been way too intimidated to try a CSA share.  My mother-in-law raves about hers, but I've seen some of those what-the-heck-is-that vegetables and I fear for my guilt level knowing how much I'd end up throwing away unused, not knowing what to do with them.  So when I saw a berry/fruit CSA program advertised at the farmer's market near our house I got excited.  Finn can eat his weight in berries, and fruit lends itself to baking (my baking skillz >>> my cooking skillz) more than most of the veggies in the CSA shares I've seen.  We signed up for a 20 week program and are splitting our share in half with another family.

Here is the list of what we can expect:
Apples
Apricots
Asparagus*
Blackberries
Black Raspberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Melons
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas*
(*totally reasonable and normal vegetables)

Only a few weeks in we've had a TON of strawberries, some asparagus, sugar snap peas, rhubarb, and blueberries.  We've eaten our fair share straight out of the box...

...and Finn and I have had lots of kitchen adventures already.

Here's what we've tried:

1. Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies

These were amazing and we actually made them two weeks in a row.  The first time I cut the recipe in half because I didn't think I'd like the rhubarb taste enough to help my husband eat them, but I was wrong.  They were delicious.

cutting strawberries
 (toddler knife similar to this one)

strawberries and rhubarb go in the pot

cutting dough circles

Dad helps cut lattice strips for the tops

tedious little lattice tops... a toddler free step ;)

2. Strawberry Cheesecake Streusel Muffins
No pics of these, but trust me they were fabulous and looked just like the picture in the recipe link.  Lots of steps though, Finn could only make it through mixing up each layer and I did most of the assembly without his "help".

3. Strawberry Freezer Jam
Through no fault of this recipe, I bought the wrong kind of fruit pectin and so the jam we made never really jelled up to full-on jam consistency.  We've been using it in PB&Js anyways, and it's great on pancakes.  It was my first time attempting jam and very easy to make though, so I will definitely give it another shot.

Eating about four strawberries for every one he cut

Yum

Mashing! 

At least they look pretty

4. Strawberry French Toast Roll-Ups
These were a big fat fail the first time I tried to make them (totally did not read directions right- this is a hazard of cooking while distracted by a toddler), and just as big of a WIN when I tried them again.  We used Nutella, but you can also use cream cheese.  I personally won't be messing with the perfect combo of Nutella and strawberries but will definitely be making them again.

fail version... nothing about this says "roll up"

second try, much improved

for the record, Finn actually approved of both versions

5. Mini Blueberry Pies
These were great but I have to say I prefer the strawberry ones.  Finn disagrees.

blueberry quality control

you're going to have to squeeze a bit harder than that, buddy

adding cinnamon and nutmeg

stirring

not very pretty but that didn't keep them from being eaten up immediately

 

My quick tips for baking with a toddler...

1. Buy (or convince your husband to make) a learning tower.  Sure you can use a chair, but this allows a tiny bit less hovering to make sure he doesn't fall off of it.  Sometimes that stirring gets rather vigorous, man.  (Insert disclaimer about OF COURSE I monitor my kid while he's in the kitchen but I'm not always touching him.) We get a ton of use out of ours that Finn's dad made him for Christmas (although we have yet to paint it, oops).

2. Prep stuff a bit ahead of time.  I try to get all the ingredients and tools out before I get Finn involved.  Once we start he has a limited attention span so I don't want to use that up searching for stuff in the kitchen or realizing I don't have what we need.  It also keeps me from having to walk far away from him while he's in the vicinity of stuff he could hurt himself on or make a huge mess with.  If there are steps that I know he can't be involved in (sharp knives, hot pans) I try to do that ahead of time if I can.

nice try mom but you exceeded your allotment of toddler attention span for the day!

over it!

3. LET GO... of your kitchen being clean, of your recipe looking or tasting perfect, and of each step being followed precisely.  This is probably the only important one.  You're only going to frustrate yourself and your toddler if you think of baking with them as anything but a fun adventure.  I may or may not have learned this the hard way ;)

  Good luck!