With spring comes exciting things

Well, I think spring is finally on its way. Daylight savings time began this weekend, and I can hear the birds chirping in the morning now. I can't tell you how happy I am for the seasons to be changing. We have gotten a lot of snow this winter, and I am so ready for the warmer weather, less snow, blooming gardens, and all of the other wonderful things that spring has to offer. I am excited to be able to get outside to exercise and spend time in the fresh air with my little boy. Last spring Jacob was so young and I was so new to motherhood that I didn't get a chance to get out and enjoy it much.

A few exciting things are happening for me this spring. The first one is running. I am trying to get back into shape and lose the last 20 pounds of baby weight. I have been working on my weight loss slowly and steadily all winter, and now I want to make the final push. I took up running a few years ago and really loved what it did for my body and mind. I felt so good when I was running, physically and mentally. I was so happy, and I looked forward to that alone time to just run and get my thoughts organized. I was unable to continue running through the winter that year so unfortunately I lost momentum and didn't continue with it.

This winter I have been anxious to get back into running. I have been thinking about it and scheming about when I will begin, and how I will do it this year. What worked for me before was using the "Couch 2 5 K" program. Although I plan on using that program again this spring, recently I have also been reading a book called See Mom Run that was given to me by my fitness program coach. The book has been extremely motivational and inspiring, and the more I think about running, the more excited I feel. I have been waiting for the snow and ice to clear up before I begin.

Last week our local sports store had a sale on sneakers, so I went in and bought two pair. Afterwards I drove around a few places in the area to scope out a nice safe stretch of pavement or sidewalk where I could begin my running. The local industrial park has clear, dry pavement so I decided that's where I would begin. This past week I have started up my running program again, and have already completed the first week of Couch 2 5 K. I can't wait to continue running into the spring and summer, with the ultimate goal of being able to run the harvest marathon 5K on Thanksgiving weekend. It is a local marathon that is quite popular in our area with different types of races: 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathons. I completed the 5K a few years ago and enjoyed it so much. When I crossed the finish line, the high I felt was unlike anything I have experienced before. I have to admit, I did get a bit emotional and teared up as I crossed the finish line. Running is something I never thought I would ever be able to do, and I had done it. I'm looking forward to enjoying that feeling again.

Another exciting thing that I am working on this spring is a few different bath and body products to distribute to the local naturopath clinic. This past winter I made an assortment of bath and body products for my friends for Christmas gifts. There were different types of scrubs, lotions, and bath melts that I made in the kitchen. They were all natural, with minimal ingredients, and had no harsh or unsafe chemicals. I was really proud of the products I had created and my friends loved their gifts. When I saw my naturopath recently for an appointment, I told her about the products I had created and she was enthusiastic and very interested. She mentioned that she would love to use those kinds of products in office for treatments as well as have them on hand to sell at the office. I gave it some thought, and I have decided to make and sell the products to her for use in the clinic. I am really excited about this – it would be a great new hobby, and a nice way to make a little bit of extra income on the side. I have been checking over my ingredient lists and doing a cost analysis to see if it is feasible and what kind of profit margin I could make. I'll keep you posted on how it works out!

Toddler pizzas and ginger snaps

This weekend I made pizza and garlic fingers from scratch for Josh and I. We always make our own sauce and we make our own dough as well. The pizza crust tends to be thick, and while I enjoy a thick crust, Josh isn't the biggest fan. So I decided to pinch some of the dough off and make mini versions for Jacob. I made two mini pizzas and two mini garlic fingers. I was careful to go easy on the sauce and the cheese, using just enough to flavour the crusts. They turned out really well.

How cute are these tiny little pizzas? Jacob just loved them.

Today I baked some ginger spice cookies from a recipe that appeared in Chatelaine years ago. While I was visiting a friend this weekend, he offered us a cookie from a batch that his neighbour baked. They were delicious: the perfect ginger flavor, great snap, and just the right crunch. I couldn't get them out of my mind. So when I got home from our visit, I called my friend's mother and asked her where he might have gotten these cookies. She said their neighbour Carrie made them so I asked her to locate the recipe for me. That evening she emailed it to me and today I had the time to try it out.

They're the perfect ginger snap.

Just look at that texture.

They made a perfect afternoon snack with some milk.

One year of maternity leave

As my maternity leave comes to a close, I am feeling a lot of different emotions, the most palpable of which is sorrow. I can't believe my baby boy is going to be one year old soon, and we will have to be apart for nine hours each weekday. I'm really, really struggling with this. How can anyone expect me to be away from him in that capacity? I am all he has known for the last ten months and it breaks my heart to know that he will have to spend five whole days a week without me.

I'm struggling so much with this idea of being away from my baby that I am having a very hard time enjoying the rest of my maternity leave. Looking back on this time, I don't want to think I wasted my last two months by being sad. So in an effort to make the most of our time, I am going to try to do the following things.

- enjoy waking up in the morning knowing I get to spend the entire day with my little boy.

- enjoy waking up as late as 8:00 am and know that I can take my time getting out of bed, getting a glass of water and a snack, and really take the time to gently wake up while Jacob plays in his crib. When I go back to work I will have to wake by alarm (even earlier), and race around trying to get myself and my baby ready to leave the house on time. I'm so lucky to have a child who is content to play in his crib in the mornings and doesn't cry out.

- savour all the moments I get to be in my own home all day long - I can spend time in the morning in bed with my baby, lounge on the couch in my pjs while he plays, workout whenever I want to, make lunch or bake whenever I want in my own kitchen, listen to CBC radio in the middle of the afternoon.

- get groceries in the middle of the day.

- know that whenever baby naps is pretty much a good time for me to nap too.

- know that this day with Jacob can be spent cocooned in our warm house, never having to leave, in our pajamas if we want. We can nurse and cuddle and hug and dance and babywear and play toys together, as much as we want. I don't need to shower, or style my hair, or put on makeup.

- enjoy the little things like when he smiles at me, or reaches for me, or leans his head on my chest. Really take the time to enjoy these things.

- savour all of the sweet breastfeeding moments - when he rests his little hands on my chest, when he makes satisfied noises during a feed, when he interlaces his hands, when he closes his eyes and focuses on what he is doing.

- watch him crawl. Watch him see something he wants, and go for it. And enjoy the smile that usually accompanies this moment.

-enjoy the weekends, knowing that right now I don't need to use them as "my only two days off to get things done". I can enjoy family time on the weekend without having to take care of other things that I neglected during the week.

I have really enjoyed this past year and getting to know my baby. And I want to really enjoy the next five weeks, too.

Cloud dough and lemon squares from a clumsy mom.

We've had some lemons sitting in our fruit bowl for a couple of weeks now and instead of letting them go bad, today I decided to use them up in a batch of coconut lemon crumble bars. The recipe was labour intensive for squares (the filling includes whipping egg yolks and tempering them with a cooked cornstarch/sugar mixture) and incorporated a lot of whisking. One thing I found odd about this recipe was that the base did not require any pre-cooking before the filling was poured in.

The squares turned out nicely with a smooth texture but I was a bit disappointed in the recipe overall. The filling was more akin to a lemon pudding. I had been expecting a light, tart and bright filling similar to most lemon square recipes I've made before. The topping had coconut in it which was also different but I enjoyed the crunch it lent to the crumble.

This afternoon I wanted to do something fun with Jacob so I decided to make cloud dough for us to play with together. I had heard of it before and thought it would be something that would be relatively easy to whip up for us to enjoy. I put the ingredients into my KitchenAid mixer and once the dough came together I put it into a ceramic baking dish for him to play with. I figured a heavy dish would be harder for him to tip over. I laid out a large sheet of plastic on his play mat and stripped him down to a diaper. I set him down on the mat in front of the dish and showed him the dough.

He wasn't interested.

At all.

In fact, he wanted away from the cloud dough as fast as possible and was not willing to touch it. I tried placing his feet into the dish so he could step on it and feel it squish between his toes, hoping that would entice him. That didn't work either. So after a few minutes I put the dough away and gave him a bath. I had to change my clothes too - that stuff can become a floury mess very quickly!

The dough can be stored in an airtight container for one week.

Wouldn't you just love to squish this between your hands?

I'll be heading to bed early tonight as I've been trying to get ample sleep the past few nights. I think my body needs it after the tumble I took Friday. I had set out to do some grocery shopping and no sooner had I wiped my boots off on the grocery store entry mat than I slipped and fell forward, instantly landing facedown. My sunglasses went flying off my head and I was completely mortified. I jumped up quickly and assured the bakery worker who had asked me if I was alright that yes, I was just fine. I scurried away and finished my shopping and errands. On the drive home I began to realize that I had landed a lot harder on my knee and elbow than I thought and by the time I was home I could no longer bend my arm. I debated going to the ER to be checked out but ultimately decided to see how I felt in the morning. I've been feeling better with each passing day and am hoping it's just muscle tenderness now. 

I think my little accident is a sign that I need to slow down and be more present - there's no need to rush around the way I do. I think we can all benefit from slowing down a little each day.

Ribbon sensory toy

Recently a friend told me about a toy she made for her little boy (who is the same age as Jacob) out of ribbon and a yogurt container. It sounded like something Jacob might like, so last weekend when I finished up the yogurt to make an Orange Creamsicle Smoothie, I washed the container and set it aside. 

Today I decided to make the toy. I took various colours, textures, and widths of ribbon and cut them into pieces. I cut slits into the yogurt container with a very sharp knife and inserted the ribbon through the slits. I tied large knots on the end of the ribbon that had just been inserted into the container and then pulled them through until they were tight, so that the length of the ribbon was on the outside of the container. I then taped the lid onto the container with strong packing tape.

Here is the finished product.

It looks silly, but it will certainly be something my little guy will enjoy!

Recycling an old container into a bright and tactile toy is a fun activity to do on this wintery day.

Snowstorm Tuesday

Two winters ago, whenever we got a significant amount of snow, it seemed to arrive on a Wednesday. It became the running joke in our area that year that if a storm was coming, it would most certainly be arriving on Wednesday of any given week. I'm thinking this year the new Wednesday will be Tuesday. 

It started snowing last night. This morning, we woke up to a lot of snow. This combined with the snow we got last Tuesday amounted to a very high volume. It took Josh over an hour to clear our driveway and walkways this morning.

This is our front porch.

There used to be stairs there.

Remember the bistro set on our back deck that I posted a picture of last week in the snow? Yeah, it's quickly disappearing.

Not much room for two

Emma loves the snow. It makes her turn into a crazy dog. She leaps and bounds from snow drift to snow drift. She comes in with snowballs stuck to her fur and has to spend some quality time licking them out of her paws.

I am very tempted to do some storm day baking but the sun is out now and the snow is cleared so it just doesn't have that same feel as it would if were I burrowed in as the snow quietly fell. I would consult with Jacob as to what he thinks we should do, but he is having a blast playing with his toys right now. I'm thinking he's also inclined to skip the baking for today.

If you're snowed in today, I hope you're enjoying it!

Liebster award - get to know a bit about me!

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Ally at My Prairie Abode. Thanks Ally! As I am just starting out in the blogging world, this is new for me and I am excited to be able to participate.

Here are my questions:

                

1. What is your most treasured memory? 

Wow, it is hard to pick just one. Christmas mornings as a child rank up there, but so does the moment I was proposed to, the moment Josh and I shared our first kiss, and the day my son was born. 

I think ultimately I will say my honeymoon in Cuba. It is the memory I return to most often and the one that I think of whenever I need a pick me up, or need to relax. I have such fond memories of that week. It really was a magical vacation.

2. What is a recipe that you are super good at making? 

Baklava. I have perfected my recipe to make it just the way I like - perfect honey sauce, crispy texture.

3. Why do you blog? 

I wanted a way to share the things I am doing for Jacob and the things I am doing in my life. I like to be creative and I figured this would be a good outlet. I also want to have a place where I can record memories of this time in our lives. 

4. What is your greatest accomplishment?

My thesis and undergrad degree.

5. What is something that you've dreamed about doing, but haven't yet done? 

Travelling to Greece.

6. A movie/show that you must watch if it is on TV, no matter how many times you've seen it? Forrest Gump or Stepmom. I'm that annoying person who has the dialogue memorized and says it all along with the movie.

7. How do you treat yourself? 

Usually with junk food :) Sometimes with a massage, bubble bath, or by painting my nails.

8. Do you have a cool party trick? 

Unfortunately no I don't.

9. Where do you see yourself in three years? 

Hopefully enjoying another maternity leave.

10. What is the best feeling in the world to you? 

The feeling I get when my baby smiles at me.

11. What is a personality trait that you really like about yourself?

I am extremely loyal.

I don't follow a lot of blogs and I am pretty new to this, so I definitely don't have 11 people to nominate but I will nominate two friends who are launching blogs. I nominate Katie at The Kaleidoscope Eyes and Sarah at Cats and the Cradle. Here are your questions!

1. What do you consider your strongest moment?

2. What season is your favourite and why?

3. Where would you like to travel next?

4. What are you most looking forward to this year?

5. Do you have an unusual talent?

6. What makes you proudest?

7. Which celebrity do people say you most look like?

 8. What hobbies do you have?

9. What do you hope to get from blogging?

10. What is your favourite thing to do after a long, stressful day?

11. How do you want your child's upbringing to differ from yours?

Storm day muffins

 When I was young, my mother used to bake with us on storm days. My parents were teachers so when we had the day off from school, our parents did too. 

When I heard a storm was forecast for this week, I started reviewing my recipes. What could be cozier than enjoying a freshly baked muffin or cookie while cocooned in a warm house on a cold day? Since I am still on maternity leave I don't have to worry about leaving the house to go to work, and we have nothing planned for the rest of this week.

The weather forecast was right. When I got up, a lot of snow had fallen. 

Most of it was blowing and drifting around the house and garage, sneaking into nooks and crevices.

The perfect pyramid shape.

Snow drifts are so pretty, don't you think?

 Even Emma was excited about the snow.

When Jacob woke up from his morning nap, we had egg salad sandwiches for lunch. It was Jacob's first time trying a sandwich and he enjoyed pulling the triangles of bread apart and holding one tringle while eating the other. After he finished his dessert of smushed blueberries, I put him up on my back in our Pavo Unicornio wrap and got to work in the kitchen. 

We made a batch of muffins for Jacob and a batch for Josh and I to enjoy. Jacob's muffins were mini banana and raisin muffins (from Little Grazers) which I chose because they are small, include fruit in the recipe, and have no added sugar or salt. I made them with white flour today as we are out of whole wheat but in the future I will likely use whole wheat flour. The recipe doesn't call for it, but I sprinkled a teaspoon of ground flax seed in before mixing up the batter.

The perfect size for tiny hands

For the bigger, adult-size muffins, we baked a batch of lemon blueberry muffins (from Silver Boxes). I have made this recipe before after finding it on pinterest. These muffins are the most amazing lemon blueberry muffins I have ever tasted. They include a lemon butter and sugar topping and have the perfect lemon/blueberry flavour. To make the topping, while the muffins are still warm you dip them into a mixture of melted butter and freshly squeezed lemon juice and then dunk them into white sugar. The soft crunch you experience from the lemon butter sugar topping when you bite into these muffins is extraordinary.

I made these muffins once while a friend was home in NS visiting and when she got home she messaged me for the recipe as she could not stop thinking about them.

Yes, they're that good.

My mouth is watering just thinking about that topping.

 If you got as much snow today as we did, I hope you were able to enjoy a snow day at home!

Sunday morning smoothie

This past Christmas I was given a Sally's Baking Addiction cookbook by a friend who knew how much I loved her recipes. Although I haven't yet had a chance to try out a recipe from the book, this morning I thought I would try out one of the smoothie recipes from her website. I made the Orange Creamsicle Smoothie found here. 

We had some fresh oranges laying around and I had some bananas in the freezer so it was perfect timing. I put my ingredients in the blender and poured it into a nice thick glass. 

I wanted a little extra treat to top off my smoothie, so I took some chilled coconut milk, added vanilla and sugar, and whipped it until it was thick. It made a sweet whipped cream with a hint of coconut flavour. The decadent, sweet coconut whipped cream was the perfect compliment to the bright, fresh, citrusy smoothie.

Yum!

The coconut whipped cream was every bit delicious as it looks.

I enjoyed the smoothie recipe and would make it again; however I would likely section the orange and remove the membranes (or just blend it much better next time) because I found the smoothie a bit pithy. There were small pieces of membrane that didn't blend up so I found I was having to chew those as I enjoyed the smoothie. 

It was a nice way to start my Sunday! I hope you're enjoying yours.

Introducing Jacob to food

When Jacob was six months old, we introduced him to food. I had read a lot about various methods and was debating between starting with purées or baby led weaning (BLW). I began with purées and now that he is almost 10 months old, have started to veer toward BLW. This week I wanted to try something new for Jacob so we walked to the produce store and I picked up some broccoli and bananas for him to try.

When we got home, I began researching how I could prepare and present the broccoli to him, and I stumbled upon a recipe on one of my favourite baby food websites. It incorporated wonton wrappers that were stuffed with different fillings. So I began to prepare the recipe but ultimately ended up making my own creation. I created two different types of wontons for Jacob to try: broccoli, and banana.

For the banana wontons, I prepared a filling of softened cream cheese, mashed banana, and ginger. For the broccoli wontons, I combined fresh, steamed broccoli (which I puréed with a hand blender), cream cheese, and curry powder.

Cream cheese purées before mixing

I stuffed the wonton wrappers with a tablespoon of filling and pinched the edges together to seal them. I I placed the packets into a muffin tray and brushed them lightly with melted butter. Then I popped the trays in the oven at 375° for 15 minutes.

Raw wonton packages before baking

When the wonton wrappers were golden brown at the tips, I removed them from the oven.

Crispy wonton bites!

I lifted the wontons out of the tray and placed them on a wire rack.

On the rack to cool

The banana packets had a nice banana flavour but were a bit bland. The broccoli packets were extremely delicious. We ended up eating most of them as they were cooling, so there were only a couple left for Jacob to try. They were his favourite too. 

The banana recipe could be modified for adults by adding a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon.