I've been avoiding one of the key ways to truly be an awesome mom. Working out. I need fresh blood pumping into my skin and heart and face. I need oxygen.
This summer I could walk miles and miles and miles. Today, Joaquin and I walked for about 15 minutes. It was a gorgeous snowfall, but the wind started blowing us sideways, and both of us had cold cheeks, so we cut it short. I feel confident that fresh air for babies is a must, everyday of the year, regardless of weather. Mom needs serious exercise. Plus, I want to look good, feel good, and be nicer.
I can be a tad hateful when I'm tired, fat, and full of sugar. Seriously.
I've worked out two days in a row, not including walks. I'm not smug about it yet, but I hope to be soon.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
working
I still work one day a week at my former life job. It's nice to get out of the house and just do some simple tasks. If anyone would've told me that one day my job would be the getaway, I'd of for sure chuckled. It's kind of amazing how busy a stay at home mommy can be.
I wrote about how Awesome Dad is on a raw food diet and that I am not. I eat some of each of the dished I create for him, but I have to have cooked food too. After just a few days of doing this I realize we have a problem. I can't add raw food chef to my repetoire right now. Awesome Dad is going to have to start fixing a lot of his meals. Like probably half. I feel bad telling him that. He is very appreciative of my cooking and looks kind of freaked out about having to figure out a lot of this on his own. It was my suggestion that he try the raw food thing and I was really excited at first. But my excitement waned as the reality of uncooking and cooking set in.
Basically, I'm going to have to get even more organized. I need to figure out what to make and when and how much stuff we need for all of those meals. Awesome Dad asked if we could prepare dinner together tonight. I told him that we could but I need some more flax seeds. He agreed to pick some up.
I guess the other thing I'm struggling with in my quest to be awesome is how to keep the house organized. When I work, Dad focuses all of his attention on Joaquin, which is great. After Joaquin goes to bed, Dad treats himself to some uninterrupted internet time, maybe some football, and a snack. When I get home he is sleepy but still on the couch, smiling and warm. Do you see where I might be going with this? Toys strewn all about the floor, dishes in the sink, laundry washed and dried but lying crumpled in baskets...all the little things that one must stay on top of just ignored. I usually just take off my jacket and dig in, but last night I didn't, and that has made today harder.
I wrote about how Awesome Dad is on a raw food diet and that I am not. I eat some of each of the dished I create for him, but I have to have cooked food too. After just a few days of doing this I realize we have a problem. I can't add raw food chef to my repetoire right now. Awesome Dad is going to have to start fixing a lot of his meals. Like probably half. I feel bad telling him that. He is very appreciative of my cooking and looks kind of freaked out about having to figure out a lot of this on his own. It was my suggestion that he try the raw food thing and I was really excited at first. But my excitement waned as the reality of uncooking and cooking set in.
Basically, I'm going to have to get even more organized. I need to figure out what to make and when and how much stuff we need for all of those meals. Awesome Dad asked if we could prepare dinner together tonight. I told him that we could but I need some more flax seeds. He agreed to pick some up.
I guess the other thing I'm struggling with in my quest to be awesome is how to keep the house organized. When I work, Dad focuses all of his attention on Joaquin, which is great. After Joaquin goes to bed, Dad treats himself to some uninterrupted internet time, maybe some football, and a snack. When I get home he is sleepy but still on the couch, smiling and warm. Do you see where I might be going with this? Toys strewn all about the floor, dishes in the sink, laundry washed and dried but lying crumpled in baskets...all the little things that one must stay on top of just ignored. I usually just take off my jacket and dig in, but last night I didn't, and that has made today harder.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Rawr
Today I made some raw cornbread in the dehydrator. I have a nine tray Excalibur that my husband bought for me two years ago. I really only just started using it. To be honest, I was kind of intimidated by it. I thought that I was really putting myself out there, as a raw foodist, just by having one. I am still far from it.
I think the key to dehydrating is just to chill, be patient and let it do it's thing. The nice thing about raw foods, breads and such, is that they are ready to eat every step of the way. You can eat the batter, or you can wait til it's a cracker. It's up to you.
We spread some guacamole between slices of the bread. I put some rosemary in the guac and it complimented the cornbread nicely. The bread recipe went something like this. It's an adaptation of the recipe by Elaina Love.
2 cups of soaked almonds
2 cups of dry cashews
10oz of frozen organic corn
1 1/4 cup of Brazil nuts
1tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cloves garlic
1 1/4 cup flax seed.
put flax in blender and blend to a powder then put it in a bowl. put the almonds in the blender and add water to cover, blend to a cream. Put it in the bowl with the flax. Do the same to the cashews. Add it to the bowl. Blend corn, Brazil nuts, salt, syrup, and garlic until somewhat smooth. Add to blended nuts and add flax. Stir very well making sure there are no clumps of flax. Let rest for a half hour. Spread on two dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 105 for 3 hours. Flip on to mesh sheets and dry for 4 hours more. Pull off trays and cut each bread into 8 pieces.
I also made a super fast candy bar. I melted some coconut butter and cacao butter and added agave, cacao powder, raisins, goji berries, walnuts, and coconut. I poured it into n eight inch baking pan and set it in the freezer for 15 minutes. MMMMM!
Joaquin and I took a snow walk under an umbrella. I had him in a crocheted hat I made for him last summer because I couldn't find his wool winter hat. I hope I didn't lose another one of his hats. I'll be so bummed. I had to wrap my cowl around his head halfway through because I thought he'd get too cold. He stayed snug.
38 degrees really isn't that cold. It seems like we are the only ones in the neighborhood these days going for walks. It would be cool if lots of people were out like they are in summer. Or maybe not. Maybe it's cool that it's just us. Sometimes I feel like this is a very lonely planet even though I hear it's overpopulated. Strange.
I still need to buy a swim diaper for our lessons that start in January. I am really, really looking forward to it. I hope he loves it, he loves taking a bath. Splish-splash.
I think the key to dehydrating is just to chill, be patient and let it do it's thing. The nice thing about raw foods, breads and such, is that they are ready to eat every step of the way. You can eat the batter, or you can wait til it's a cracker. It's up to you.
We spread some guacamole between slices of the bread. I put some rosemary in the guac and it complimented the cornbread nicely. The bread recipe went something like this. It's an adaptation of the recipe by Elaina Love.
2 cups of soaked almonds
2 cups of dry cashews
10oz of frozen organic corn
1 1/4 cup of Brazil nuts
1tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cloves garlic
1 1/4 cup flax seed.
put flax in blender and blend to a powder then put it in a bowl. put the almonds in the blender and add water to cover, blend to a cream. Put it in the bowl with the flax. Do the same to the cashews. Add it to the bowl. Blend corn, Brazil nuts, salt, syrup, and garlic until somewhat smooth. Add to blended nuts and add flax. Stir very well making sure there are no clumps of flax. Let rest for a half hour. Spread on two dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 105 for 3 hours. Flip on to mesh sheets and dry for 4 hours more. Pull off trays and cut each bread into 8 pieces.
I also made a super fast candy bar. I melted some coconut butter and cacao butter and added agave, cacao powder, raisins, goji berries, walnuts, and coconut. I poured it into n eight inch baking pan and set it in the freezer for 15 minutes. MMMMM!
Joaquin and I took a snow walk under an umbrella. I had him in a crocheted hat I made for him last summer because I couldn't find his wool winter hat. I hope I didn't lose another one of his hats. I'll be so bummed. I had to wrap my cowl around his head halfway through because I thought he'd get too cold. He stayed snug.
38 degrees really isn't that cold. It seems like we are the only ones in the neighborhood these days going for walks. It would be cool if lots of people were out like they are in summer. Or maybe not. Maybe it's cool that it's just us. Sometimes I feel like this is a very lonely planet even though I hear it's overpopulated. Strange.
I still need to buy a swim diaper for our lessons that start in January. I am really, really looking forward to it. I hope he loves it, he loves taking a bath. Splish-splash.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
rough spots
The hardest thing about being an awesome mom is that sometimes you just don't feel that awesome. I had one of those days today. It actually started last night. I went to bed too late in order to get some adult talk time with my husband. He left work at 10pm, so we ended up chatting until almost midnight. I need/crave his companionship/friendship but I need my sleep too.
Joaquin goes to bed around 7 every night, which rocks. But that also means that he is bright eyed and ready to go at 7 in the morning. Maybe me getting to sleep from 12 to 7 doesn't sound that bad, but it is, because Joaquin sleeps with us. He doesn't go to bed in our bed. He goes to bed in his crib and wakes up around 1am and I bring him in with us and he pretty much nurses the rest of the night. Seriously. I will doze in and out of consciousness but every time I wake there is a rhythmic nurse nurse nurse about every 15 seconds. I guess it's a highly pleasurable experience for a baby to comfort nurse like that. I have to be very strategic about breaking him off or he wakes and cries and you guessed it, wants to nurse. I stand by my decision to co-sleep, but like I said, I need my beauty rest. My awesome rest.
So today I woke up crabby, and Joaquin had boundless energy. I felt like I should've been bundling us both up to go for an invigorating walk when instead I was drinking caffeinated tea and praying that he would take an early nap. Do you know what babies do when you pray for an early nap? Yep! They don't take a nap that day, at all.
We took a trip to the thrift store and took a nice walk through the neighborhood, but all day I felt groggy and grumpy and I never took a shower and in the end it just kind of makes me feel sorry for Joaquin.
In other words, I need to go to bed. Now.
Joaquin goes to bed around 7 every night, which rocks. But that also means that he is bright eyed and ready to go at 7 in the morning. Maybe me getting to sleep from 12 to 7 doesn't sound that bad, but it is, because Joaquin sleeps with us. He doesn't go to bed in our bed. He goes to bed in his crib and wakes up around 1am and I bring him in with us and he pretty much nurses the rest of the night. Seriously. I will doze in and out of consciousness but every time I wake there is a rhythmic nurse nurse nurse about every 15 seconds. I guess it's a highly pleasurable experience for a baby to comfort nurse like that. I have to be very strategic about breaking him off or he wakes and cries and you guessed it, wants to nurse. I stand by my decision to co-sleep, but like I said, I need my beauty rest. My awesome rest.
So today I woke up crabby, and Joaquin had boundless energy. I felt like I should've been bundling us both up to go for an invigorating walk when instead I was drinking caffeinated tea and praying that he would take an early nap. Do you know what babies do when you pray for an early nap? Yep! They don't take a nap that day, at all.
We took a trip to the thrift store and took a nice walk through the neighborhood, but all day I felt groggy and grumpy and I never took a shower and in the end it just kind of makes me feel sorry for Joaquin.
In other words, I need to go to bed. Now.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
sleep
Joaquin and I were looking forward to a visit from one of my fellow awesome moms and her beauty, Millie. Joaquin absolutely lights up when he sees them. The plan is to get crafty together, but mostly I enjoy staring at the little ones and trippin' out on babies interacting. It is so nice to have a mommy pal in town. Jess is crafty, likes to cook and is whip smart. She told me she was bringing over some vegan tapioca pudding which is totally crazy because there is probably not much else in the world I want other than vegan tapioca pudding!
But this story goes south quickly, because little Millie was not about nap time today, and Jess found her nerves frazzeled.
So, I cleaned the house for nothing.
At least it's done, and I get to prance around in house beautiful for 24 hours.
Joaquin and I took the opportunity to go on a nice sunny walk. It was only 29 out, but the sun was shining. Yesterday was our first snow walk. It was only flurries, but they were cold little flurries.
As far as today's grub, we've been on a raw kick. Awesome dad wants to feel better and he agreed that some raw goods might do the trick. I made Black Seasame Flax Bread in the dehydrator, an Almond and sunflower pate and a chocolate mousse cake. Mmmmmm! I have veggies marinating now for stir un-fry. I have an eggplant in the oven because I didn't know what else to do with it. I am still eating cooked foods because I am breastfeeding and am not ready to go raw yet. But I love raw foods. Love them. So delicious.
But this story goes south quickly, because little Millie was not about nap time today, and Jess found her nerves frazzeled.
So, I cleaned the house for nothing.
At least it's done, and I get to prance around in house beautiful for 24 hours.
Joaquin and I took the opportunity to go on a nice sunny walk. It was only 29 out, but the sun was shining. Yesterday was our first snow walk. It was only flurries, but they were cold little flurries.
As far as today's grub, we've been on a raw kick. Awesome dad wants to feel better and he agreed that some raw goods might do the trick. I made Black Seasame Flax Bread in the dehydrator, an Almond and sunflower pate and a chocolate mousse cake. Mmmmmm! I have veggies marinating now for stir un-fry. I have an eggplant in the oven because I didn't know what else to do with it. I am still eating cooked foods because I am breastfeeding and am not ready to go raw yet. But I love raw foods. Love them. So delicious.
Monday, December 14, 2009
a short walk
My goal is to walk with Joaquin, everday through the winter. We had it easy all summer long. The fall held epic weather as well. We could start an eight mile walk at 3pm without a second thought in June. Today, it was dark by 5pm and the temperature high was 51.
It's going to get much, much, colder.
I tuck Joaquin into my coat. His cute little head bobs out of the zipper and we both are warm and cozy.
I wonder why nobody has invented the baby coat carrier. Maybe I will.
I worked tonight so no dinner was prepared by me. My husband made me a nice snack though. The only food I made was "big greeny." "Big greeny" changes from day to day. Today's recipe?
1 cup frozen organic spinach
1 frozen organic banana
5 pitted dates
1/8 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
filtered water to cover and blend it up.
Yum.
It's going to get much, much, colder.
I tuck Joaquin into my coat. His cute little head bobs out of the zipper and we both are warm and cozy.
I wonder why nobody has invented the baby coat carrier. Maybe I will.
I worked tonight so no dinner was prepared by me. My husband made me a nice snack though. The only food I made was "big greeny." "Big greeny" changes from day to day. Today's recipe?
1 cup frozen organic spinach
1 frozen organic banana
5 pitted dates
1/8 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
filtered water to cover and blend it up.
Yum.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
here I am
Ah. The end of fall. December. It's seems as if Winter should just begin December 1st. Who thinks of December as fall? Nobody in the midwest, that's for sure.
Today Joaquin and I went to the library for "silly safari." I wouldn't have known about it except the librarian bum rushed us as we walked in and told us we should attend, her daughter loves it but won't be going because she would rather have birthday cake at a party happening at the same hour. I figured that since somebody actually talked to me it was a sign we should go. Plus, I told my husband that when walking season ended, we'd be kicking it at the library and maybe the Y.
Joaquin got to pet a bunny, a chicken, a kaybee(?), and a skunk. To be honest, he was more interested in petting the other kids that were there. He had to nurse, twice, so we missed out on petting the snake and alligator.
It was fun. I talked to three other moms and I didn't break out in hives, I liked it. My ergo carrier sends moms rushing to say hello. At the grocery, the library, it's kind of a trip. I guess you have to be a certain kind of mom to use one? Maybe kinda crunchy? Who knows.
I didn't really cook anything today. Just grubbed down on some raw brownies and made my daily "big greeny" shake. Joaquin had a pear snack and tried some green beans. He gagged for a few seconds after his first bite. Cute.
What is "big greeny?" I thought you'd never ask.
One cup frozen organic spinach
One frozen banana
One cup of other random frozen fruits
Hemp protein powder or half a serving of Vega meal replacement
Water to cover
Put it all in the vitamix and break it down. Share with your favorite husband. Drink with a fat straw.
Today Joaquin and I went to the library for "silly safari." I wouldn't have known about it except the librarian bum rushed us as we walked in and told us we should attend, her daughter loves it but won't be going because she would rather have birthday cake at a party happening at the same hour. I figured that since somebody actually talked to me it was a sign we should go. Plus, I told my husband that when walking season ended, we'd be kicking it at the library and maybe the Y.
Joaquin got to pet a bunny, a chicken, a kaybee(?), and a skunk. To be honest, he was more interested in petting the other kids that were there. He had to nurse, twice, so we missed out on petting the snake and alligator.
It was fun. I talked to three other moms and I didn't break out in hives, I liked it. My ergo carrier sends moms rushing to say hello. At the grocery, the library, it's kind of a trip. I guess you have to be a certain kind of mom to use one? Maybe kinda crunchy? Who knows.
I didn't really cook anything today. Just grubbed down on some raw brownies and made my daily "big greeny" shake. Joaquin had a pear snack and tried some green beans. He gagged for a few seconds after his first bite. Cute.
What is "big greeny?" I thought you'd never ask.
One cup frozen organic spinach
One frozen banana
One cup of other random frozen fruits
Hemp protein powder or half a serving of Vega meal replacement
Water to cover
Put it all in the vitamix and break it down. Share with your favorite husband. Drink with a fat straw.
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