Comforting Warmth and Soothing Cold

I hope that flu season is behind us, but I thought I would share a few things that made it a little more bearable for us.  We didn’t have it as rough as some did this winter, but we had our fair share of coughs, sniffles, sneezes and even our first ear infection!  When little ones are not feeling well, there is nothing better than snuggling up with a warm body…usually in the form of “mom” or “dad”.  But in our household (as was in our childhood) the next best thing is finding a hot water bottle in your bed, waiting for that moment when you slide your feet between the cool sheets and the tips of your cold toes reach it.  It also does wonders for an achy tummy.  We had a cold winter this year, so even when we weren’t feeling “under the weather” the water bottle became so popular in our house, that I had to buy more and make 2 more covers.  I love this easy project from Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures.  Using one of Dad’s old favorite flannel shirts, you have instant, comforting warmth.  Almost as good as a hug from Dad himself.  Almost.

Another recent, favorite idea was to fill old baby socks with rice, sew them shut and put them in the freezer as little cold packs for bumps and boo-boos.  It works so much better than a drippy cube of ice in a washcloth (which is what we used to do) and the girls have loved this!  The minute the little one gets an owie she says, “ I need cold Winnie the Pooh”.   Like Band-Aids with characters on them, if nothing else, it is a distraction with a little added attention, which is sometimes all they need to feel better.  These could also be warmed up in the microwave and used as a warm compress…perfectly soothing for little ears with infections in them. 

The child-size eye pillow serves a similar purpose.  We have put them in the freezer and then on a hot forehead to reduce a fever or soothe a headache and also in the microwave (silk cover removed first) as a warm compress.  Matea used to play with my eye pillows and one day said, “I want one of my own”.  So I made her a small one in her favorite hot pink.  When I gave it to her, she was thrilled.  She set it down on the floor and laid on it, face down, with her eyes on the “pillow”.  She took the term “eye pillow” very literally.  Funny girl.

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Food, Glorious Food!

With a sick little-one this week, we spent more time at home than usual.  This was a perfect opportunity to dive into my New Year’s Resolution to regaining some cooking inspiration!  I am very excited for a class I signed up for at our local, natural market, called “Fast, Fresh, Organic on a Budget.”  The basis of the class is how to use local, seasonal and organic ingredients and not break the bank.  This is a description we strive towards, but it doesn’t always happen.  The organic part is fairly easy, but trying to keep within budget AND buy locally and seasonally, is where I tend to veer off course.  As you can see below, we love our avocados…all year long.  *sigh*

I do love to cook (and bake), but if I’ve been going strong for a while, the passion tends to diminish.  Like many people these days, I find most of my new recipes on-line, but I’m still a sucker for a good cook book.  So what I try to do, is sit down on Sunday evening, surround myself with lots of resources and create a weekly menu.  Then, with a thorough list in hand, head to the store to stock up (or I use Amazon Fresh delivery).  Then I try to make it through the week with my cooking enthusiasm intact.

We go through a lot of granola in this house.  So I decided to start making my own.  This recipe is from Feeding The Whole Family by Cynthia Lair, and I must say, it has been a huge hit!

This quiche was made with the idea to make something I knew my kids would eat.  At the moment our almost-5-year-old will eat close to anything (or at least try anything) and our “baby” who used to be an adventurous eater, is now a very picky almost-3-year-old.  Go figure.  But she loves eggs…and cheese….and ham…and believe it or not, they both like asparagus (sometimes).  Laying it on top like this, makes it easy to pull off if they are not in the mood for something green.

The quiche was served with this salad, which is an old favorite: A small amount of lettuce and large amounts or avocado, palmitos (heats of palm), tomato, a little red onion and a basic balsamic vinaigrette.

Okay, I honestly don’t remember what is in this chili, but it was so yummy.  I loaded the crock pot that morning and some kind of magic happened.  It has a little bit of chicken in it (left over from a previous meal), a lot of beans, some corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin…oh, a jar of mild salsa, I think.  You get the picture, right?  Corn bread muffins and the toppings made it ultimate comfort food.

I wanted to make the ricotta banana muffins from the post earlier this week, but forgot to buy ricotta cheese at the store.  Bummer.  I didn’t think my bananas would last another day, so chocolate chip banana bread went in the oven.  I like putting the chocolate chips on top like this, because I can serve it to the kids with or without chocolate.

Besides the items pictured above, the weekly menu included a pasta & veggie dish with an Asian ginger dressing (below) and the usual suspects, chicken and salmon.  It has been a busy, hectic, keep-going-till-you-drop, kind of week around here – on all levels.  Yes, the food gives us fuel to keep up with the pace, so to speak, but most importantly it gives us time to connect.  That ever-important time to come together, rest our minds and ask “how was your day?”  That is, until the 2-year-old flies out of her chair and does circles around the table.  It’s bound to happen.  Happy eating!

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Nature-Deficit Disorder

As I may have mentioned, I have been reading a booked called “Last Child in the Woods”, by Richard Louv.  I was hesitant to buy it because it is a very thick book, and how could somebody write that much about kids who need to play outside more (something I already felt passionate about).  But if nothing else, I thought the book would inspire me to get outside more with my kids.  And it has.  I have always loved the outdoors.  If I am feeling overwhelmed in any capacity, I head outside.  Just to breath fresh air is comforting to me.  But even better than that, are the scents and sounds that can take me back to childhood…a peaceful time when there were no worries in life.  The smell of wet cedar or earthy algae will immediately take me back to Cupsaw Lake, NJ, where we spent our favorite childhood years, swimming in the summer, ice-skating in the winter and exploring the muddy bog in the fall.  Currently, we live next to an elementary school and the sound of the kids at recess can transport me back to climbing jungle gyms and playing 4-square.  The smell of cut grass, soil, fresh beauty bark, even the smell of a dirty city street provoke fond memories for me. 

Cupsaw Lake, NJ – sometime around 1981

So when Louv links the absence of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation to some of the most disturbing childhood trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression, I am not surprised.  Who would I be today if I had spent less time outside as a child and more time plugged in to various technological devices?  At the same time, we are a family that appreciates technology very much.  With a husband who works for a major software corporation, we don’t exactly shy away from the latest technological trends.  Thankfully, my tech-savvy husband is even more passionate than I am about spending time outdoors, so we often have conversations about how we are going to find a healthy balance for our kids.  Are we going to deny our pre-teen of a cell phone or video game when all of her friends have one?  Perhaps if more parents read Louv’s book, the pressure won’t be so strong.  I’m already noticing other parents who have the same trepidations about the lack of nature in childhood.  Especially here in the Pacific Northwest.  Over the past few months, we have joined a hiking group and participated in a “mommy and me” nature camp through the Pacific Science Center. If you dig around, you can find lots of other people who are advocates of the great outdoors.  Look around and get outside!

http://natureforkids.net/

www.thefuturesedge.com

http://www.childrenandnature.org/

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The View From Here…

Had I known I was going to document our day in photographs, I definitely would have taken a picture of breakfast.  In honor of the Salmon Days Festival, we had cream cheese, smoked salmon and egg, on artisan bread.  I completely envisioned mine with an over-easy, fried egg on top.  A little gooey, yummy mess.  But when my wonderful husband made them, he made mine and the kids with scrambled and his with a fried egg.  Hmmm??  Nine years of marriage and this guy doesn’t know how I like my eggs?!  Actually, to his credit, he’d have to be a mind reader.  Since we’ve been married, I’ve probably changed my mind a dozen times on how I like my eggs.  I never eat them the same way.  Nevertheless, breakfast was delicious and off we went to meet up with friends for the local Salmon Days Festival.

If we continue to live in this area, I’m certain that the Salmon Days festival will become an annual event for our family.  Also a marker for changing seasons.  When we moved out here, from “the city”, I never realized how I would fall in love with the mountain views and deciduous trees that are so abundant in this area.  After watching the parade, bouncing and sliding on inflatable devices and waiting in line for 45 minutes for a 5 minute pony ride…and a rather greasy lunch, we headed home.

While big sister helped Dad with some home improvement projects outside (got paint all over her dress and in her hair), little sister slept and I did some sewing.  I finally finished the toddler seat cushion.  After making this one, I realized I didn’t have enough of the same fabric to make another one for the matching chair!  Oh well, we aren’t oppose to miss-matched things in our house.  I also managed to sneak in a few minutes of “tea and book” time.  When you have small kids, it is so very frustrating to be reading a book that is difficult to put down!  I remember the days when I would sit on my bed and exclaim, “I don’t care what it takes, I am going to finish this book!”  I am currently, in the last 1/3 of qute a page turner and it takes strong will power not to pick it up instead of going to the kitchen to fix snacks or empty the dishwasher.  This afternoon, I left many things undone and devoured a bit more of the story,  “Cutting for Stone“, by Abraham Verghese.

I am completely in love with the place mats we bought on our recent trip to England.  It was tempting to save them for a special occasion and continue to use our tattered old ones we have, but the girls love the new ones.  I adore watching them “argue” over who gets “the one with the ducklings on it” or “the one with the little girl and lamb”.  One day, many years from now, these place mats will conjure up the nostalgia of a family dinner, just as the ones we had growing up do for us.  Dinner was “pasta with tuna, tomato and olives” – a recipe from my favorite “Apples for Jam“, by Tessa Kiros.  Very good and traditionally Italian tasting, like so many of her dishes.  Dessert: Strawberry yogurt with fresh organic raspberries and what else? …Pink sprinkles of course!

The little ones sleep and the husband works.  I take a bath with lavender bath salts and feel completely luxurious and rather undeserving.  This is rare…very rare.  So I’m not sure it qualifies as “a-day-in-the-life”, but after all, it is autumn and I was walking around the house feeling chilled.  Nothing like hot water seeping through your pores to leave you feeling completely lethargic.  Managed to keep my eyes open long enough for one more chapter in my book.  Then, good night.

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