Things I Like - November

1) Eleanor & Park

I passed by many recommendations for this book before finally adding it to my to-read list.  And I'm really glad I did because it might by my favorite book I've read all year.   It's the story of 2 teens who meet & fall in love in 1986 (when I was 3...).  It sounds really simple and it really kinda is but the story completely hooked me in.  I had the flutters in my stomach like I was falling in love for the first time.  Even though Matt & I were a little older when we met & started dating (18 and out of high school) I still remember those nervous/excited feelings.

I meant to read a few chapters of this on a Friday night before turning off the light (needed to wait 10 minutes to put my sock over my foot ointment).  That was midnight.  Which quickly turned into 1am, then 2am, then 3am.  Yep, this was a need-to-read-in-one-sitting, literally-can't-put-down, read-until-3am, kinda book (which I can only remember doing one other time in my life, the day I got I, Promise, the final story in the Christy & Todd series).  It took a little over 3 hours but it really felt like maybe 20 minutes.  It was that good. I'm even considering rereading it before returning it to the library.  I don't know that I've ever done that.
  
2) House Hunters

 
I've mentioned it multiple times and we are still hooked so I'll put it on a list.  We don't have cable/satellite/Fios/etc. but when we've been in hotels or in the hospital waiting for Luke to be discharged from surgery we watch a lot of HGTV.   Pretty much House Hunters.  They just hook you right in!!  I've read articles about how fake it is but we still enjoy it, trying to figure out which house they picked, waiting for them to say "stainless steel appliances" and "granite countertops" (which pretty much 99% of the people want), maybe mocking them when they are overly picky ("I can't buy this house, I don't like that wall color.").  We found free episodes on Hulu and HGTV.com a few months ago and still haven't run out of new episodes to watch between House Hunters, House Hunters International, and now House Hunters Renovation.

It's very interesting to see what houses are like in different parts of the county or the world and to see what markets are like in different places (we live in a VERY affordable part of the country!!).  We aren't in the market for a new house yet but this gets me excited about it.

3) The Aviator's Wife

I read a lot (but not as much as I should be to make my 75 book goal for the year) and lately I've had a lot of good ones.  I recently finished this book, The Aviator's Wife.  It is the fictional, but historically based, story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of Charles Lindbergh.  I knew of him and his flight to Paris.  Once I started reading I remembered the kidnapping of their baby (but didn't remember how tragically that story ended).  Towards the end I remembered reading about his grave on Maui (we didn't see it but weren't too far from it).  Anne was a fascinating woman in her own right, becoming a licensed airplane pilot and helping Charles navigate and map many flight routes.  I know this is fiction but it was still so interesting reading a "behind the scenes" of sorts of a very famous marriage.  If I were to do a top 5 new books I read in 2013, this would probably make the list.

4) My sweat/yoga pants

I might becoming a bit of a stay-at-home-mom cliche but I pretty much live for the days I get to wear my sweats all day (they are my winter equivalent of my summer knee-length yoga pants).  Matt got me these for Christmas 2 years ago and they were long my "wear after work pants".  They are now my "wear as much as possible" pants.  They are incredibly comfortable and I can wear them out of the house (most frequently to the library).  I wear them on our winter hotel stays or overnights away from home.  I was woring them to the doctor the day I found out I would need surgery.  I am wearing them as I type this.  I would pretty much live in them if I could. 

This might be a little true:

The exact day I saw this on Pinterest I had a 10 minute discussion with Matt about how we should go to Kohls but I didn't want to because that would involve changing out of my sweats... (I was just going to go to the post office...I can wear sweats there and not feel weird).  But that might partly just be a desire not to change clothes because of the time it takes in the winter with all my layers.   

5. Target Cartwheel

I'm going to sound like another advertisement for Target but I don't mind because I'm pretty excited about this.  Target has a new-ish program called Cartwheel where you can pick various discounts and use them when you shop at Target.  I use the app on my phone but I believe you can also do it through the web and print off the barcode.  There are many different discounts to choose from, all sorted by category and then sub-categories.  I try not to buy things just because they are on sale (formula is the only thing we majorly stock up on) but I found plenty of discounts to use on things I was going to buy anyways.

Some I have stored in my Cartwheel are:
-5% off Up&Up body wash (what we normally use)
-10% off Market Pantry ice cream (what we normally buy)
-5% off Ritz crackers (we buy our wheat Ritz at Target)
-10% off Market Pantry flour (I buy my wheat flour at Target)
-5% off up & up diapers (the rare times we buy diapers we buy up & up)
-15% wall frames (I was buying frames anyways for my office wall and our vacation wall)

It's pretty exciting to get an extra discount on things already on my shopping list.  I don't do much couponing (besides formula) since we buy so much at Aldis.  But for the things I do buy at Target, between Cartwheel, mobile coupons (I get 5 bananas for $0.20 about once a month!), and Target coupons (just found one for $5 off Gerber formula!), I am saving some money.  It's all pretty exciting.

Christmas treats: Melt-in-your-mouth Shortbread

Now these little cookies don't look like much and even after my attempts to make them Christmas-y they still aren't real pretty.  But they are delicious and really do melt in your mouth.  When I first saw the recipe and read the reviews I was calling bullcrap.  Nope.  They are good.  And easy.  Luke will definitely be trying some of these once I actually start getting treats out of the freezer (Black Friday!).

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Shortbread
Ingredients
-1 cup of butter (2 sticks), softened
-1/2 cup powdered sugar
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1 1/2 cups flour
-green and/or red food coloring (optional)

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375°.
2) Beat the butter with a mixer until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, cornstarch, and flour.  Mix on low speed until combined.  If using, add drops of food coloring until you achieve your desired color. 
3) Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes.  The dough should be pretty fluffy.
4) Roll the dough into balls about ping-pong ball sized and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  They will start to turn brown if they are in the oven for too long.  If they are brown they are definitely done (although not ruined).
5) Cool on wire racks.  These can be frozen (where mine currently are).

I usually make two batches - one red/pink and one green.  I've thought about putting the dough into a pastry bag and piping out the cookies in an attempt to make them prettier...but then decided I didn't care that much what they looked like.  I will eat them regardless of how they look. =)

Source: barely adapted from AllRecipes

A Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom #1 (Luke 7 months)

When I was an accountant we had to account for all the time we were at work in the day.  Clients were generally billed on an hourly basis so on a normal day, I'd have to enter my 8 hours into our time management software so the partners would know how to bill.  We were allowed & expected to have some unbillable time every day, just answering e-mails or the phone, dealing with quick stops, etc.  It was sometimes a pain but also a good way to be able to tell how my day was spent.  A project night feel like it took 15 minutes but really took an hour.  I haven't though much about that since I've been home but for 7 1/2 years of my life, many of days could be measured in 15 minute increments.

Now that I am at home there are many evenings I am sitting around with Matt wondering what the heck I did all day, where the time all went.  So, I decided to keep track one day to see.  I thought it would be interesting, if not for anyone else, than at least for me to compare as life changes.  I hope/plan to do this every 6 months or so since I'm sure how Luke & I spend a day now if different than it will be then.  So.  Here's how we spent last Tuesday, November 12. (11/12/13)

6:15am Matt is up for work and as he's getting out of bed he tells me he's out of bread.  In my recent freezer cleanout I knew I saw more homemade buns so I get up to find them for him and also use the bathroom.  (He's on warmups this day which means he has to go in an hour early to "warm-up" the machines before treatments begin at 8.  He has to do this about once or twice a week.).  While we are digging around the deep freeze I also pull out sugar cookie dough to thaw and bake with my sister the next day.  I go back to bed before he leaves.

7:40am  I wake up when Luke wakes up.  This is our first full day home in about 10 days so I am in no hurry to do anything.  I make our bed before getting Luke up, change him, put away his laundry we folded the night before, then go downstairs.  I change into my workout clothes, put away dishes that had dried in the drainer overnight, and make his bottle.  I feed him on the couch while watching the Today show.  Once he's done eating we play a bit on the couch (no tummy time right after eating). 

8:40am  Luke is back down for nap #1.  I collect laundry, sort it, and start the first load.  I do my workout in the basement while watching Dirty Sexy Money.  To cool down I do some very slow miles on the exercise bike while doing my first e-mail/social networks check of the day.  I don't do that until after my workout.

9:40am I switch laundry before going upstairs.  Luke is awake but playing happily in his crib so I leave him there and eat breakfast (Aldi brand Cheerios with honey and bananas...Yum).  I read a chapter in my current book (The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks) before going to get him.

10:05am  I get Luke up and he plays on the floor while I read next to him.

10:30am  Diaper change and then Luke is ready for feeding #2.  I give him a bottle while catching up on some blogs I follow (I try to limit most of my phone time to when I am feeding him).  I usually save blogs to read during feedings.

11:10am  Luke is done eating and back on the floor playing.  I switch laundry.

11:25am  We've been trying to stretch out Luke's naps but he's getting pretty grouchy so I put him down for nap #2.  I take a tea & muffin "break" and finish my book.  Play on 5 Word with Friends games I currently have going.  I would rush more to shower but I am waiting for my pants to come out of the dryer (yes, they are sweats).

NOON  I shower and get around.  By the time I get out my pants are dry.

12:30pm  I switch laundry & get my pants.  As laundry comes out of the dryer I sort it - towels, rags, and socks go into one basket.  Our pants, sweatshirts, and underwear go in another.  On our folding table I start a pile for each of our shirts, laid out to prevent wrinkles.  After laundry switch I empty our mudroom compost bin (getting snow on the ends of my freshly laundered pants) and bring my flamingos onto the porch.

12:35pm  Luke is awake after a really nice 15 minute nap (he fussed quite awhile before falling asleep).  We start to read some books but that turns into him eating the books.  I read a little about baby sign language.  He plays with books and other toys.

1:15pm  I change his diaper and then do feeding #3.  We cuddle a bit afterwards while he plays with the bottle cap.  He only cuddles when he's really tired so I get in as much as I can then.

1:55pm  Luke is down for nap #3.  I switch the last load of laundry (#4) and make my lunch.

2:05pm  I eat lunch (peanut butter, raisin & banana sandwich, pineapple, milk) while watching the prior night's Hart of Dixie on the DVR.  During one commercial break I get the mail and take care of my dishes.  During another I take the last load of laundry out of the dryer.  I fold the socks, towels, and rags while I finish the show.  The rest of the commercial breaks I fast forward through.

3:00pm  I put away towels, rags, and socks before getting Luke up from his nap.  While we are upstairs I pull his next 2 clothes boxes out of the attic (9 months and 12 months) and add some recent gifts he received.

3:20pm  We are back downstairs.  I change his diaper.  I spend the next 30 minutes alternately playing with him and trying to get a package ready to mail.  I don't get too far on the package.  Give Luke a bottle to feed himself while I try to finish package.

3:50pm  Matt is home from work (he gets off early the days he's on warmups).  He feeds Luke a little while I finish the package.

4:15pm  We leave home stopping at the library (return 2 books), Post Office (mail package and buy Christmas card stamps), and Kohls (I return something we had bought for Luke; Matt looks to use his birthday gift card.  We end up just buying Luke a winter hat and a shirt for next winter with free $10 Kohls cash we had expiring this weekend and $1.17 on the merchandise card I just got.)

5:30pm  Home and immediately start warming up supper between unpacking diaper bag and taking care of that stuff.  We eat leftovers of Vegetarian Taco Salad from the day before.  It's a pretty quick supper because Luke is fussy and has little interest in the puffs and food we give him.

5:45pm  Matt feeds Luke a few ounces (since close to bedtime) while I clean-up the kitchen from supper.  Sweep the kitchen floor because Luke is kinda a messy eater.

5:55pm  We have family playtime between my organizing the gift stash.  Luke is in a pretty good mood, playing, climbing, and laughing.

6:30pm  I give Luke a bath and then take him upstairs to diaper, lotion, and put on pjs.  Matt joins me for this part with Luke's bedtime bottle.

6:50pm  I am back downstairs while Matt gives Luke his bedtime bottle.  We switch off every night on bath & bed duty.  I do some random house clean-up and then turn on my computer to take care of some e-mails and work on blog.

7:40pm  I check on Matt & Luke, to make sure the first is awake and the second isn't.  I watch the end of a syndicated episode of Big Bang Theory.

8:00pm  I am back on my computer to work on this blog post and another.  Matt is back downstairs not too long later.

At this point I stopped keeping track of my time.  We did fold our laundry (we each fold our own since we've never figured out how the other likes it) while watching a DVRed episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine.  And we eat ice cream.  In bed around 11 or so after we both put away our clothes. 

Looking back at the day I apparently watch a lot of tv and read a lot.  The reading is out of the ordinary since I was finishing up a book but I do try to read some every day, how much just depends on what else we have going on.  As for the tv, we have 3 shows we watch together and 2 I watch on my own.   I've been working through our tv shows on DVD while I work out since I need a distraction.  It really doesn't feel like we watch a lot but I guess some days we do.

So that's how our day went.  Some days are a lot busier with housework, errands, playdates, baking, etc.  It's nice to have variety in our days.  Luke certainly keeps things interesting!

Christmas treats: Jam Filled Butter Cookies

A few years ago, before Pinterest, I "needed" more Christmas treats to round out my cookie plate.  I stumbled across these on AllRecipes.com and they have been a staple every Christmas sinces.  The cookie part is light and buttery and the jam is a nice bonus.  They are one of Matt's favorites.  You can pretend they are a little healthy since there is fruit in there!  I mean, also butter and sugar but still...there is fruit so that counts for something.

Jam Filled Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup of butter, at room temperature if you think to take it out of the fridge early (I did not)

-1/2 cup sugar

-2 egg yolks

-1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

-1/4 - 1/2 cup fruit preserves

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375°

2) Cream the butter with the sugar and egg yolks until creamy and well mixed.  Add the flour a little at a time (I do in 7 1/4 cup increments) until a soft dough forms.

3) Roll the dough in balls about ping-pong ball sized and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4) Use a measuring spoon (I use 1/4 tsp) or your finger to flatten and press an indent into each ball.

5) Fill the hole with a heaping 1/4 tsp of preserves.  

6)  Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (my oven is super slow and takes longer), until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom.  Allow to cool briefly on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.  

These freeze well until ready to be eaten.  Or eat them right away.  They are delicious then too.

Source: barely adapted from AllRecipes

Pumpkin painting

Many blogs I follow have been posting fall decorating ideas and projects.  I look forward to doing projects with Luke and thought we'd start now.  It didn't quite work.

We got a small pumpkin from my parents' garden and it had been sitting on our back steps for over a month.  Since Luke can't carve a pumpkin and I've carved exactly as many as he has I thought maybe he could paint it.  Specifically we could put his hand print on the pumpkin.  It would be cute.  I could take a picture a remember this fall when he was just a baby.  However, it didn't quite go as planned.

By Halloween I still hadn't done this and figured we better before the pumpkin started to rot (how long do pumpkins last??).  So, I got out paint and brought the pumpkin inside.  When he got up from his second nap I stripped him down to his diaper (it was time he got out of his pjs anyways) and squirted some paint on the lid of a sour cream container.  I put the pumpkin on the Aldi's ad.  I rubbed his little hand in the paint and tried to press it onto the pumpkin but a paint covered hand attached to a wiggly little boy didn't produce the best results.  This is what we got:

So we tried again.  More paint and another big smear.

Then I thought maybe we'd try his foot because those usually wiggle less.  So I wiped off his hand as best I could and then rubbed his foot in paint and put it on the pumpkin:

That worked better but his pinky toe does not stick out like that in real life.  But it was at least somewhat clearly a foot.

Then we had used most of the pumpkin and I decided we weren't getting anywhere so that was the end of our little project.  I washed off his hand and foot in the sink and washed all the paint off my hands too.  Miraculously we both avoided getting paint on my clothes or his diaper and the floor.  That alone makes this project a success.

Maybe next year he'll be big enough to paint a pumpkin on his own.  I think that will go better with the pumpkin but suspect his clothes won't be as lucky.

Christmas treats: Reindeer and Turtles Noses

It's November which means that my freezer is starting to fill up with Christmas goodies AND that I get to listen to Christmas music while I work in the kitchen.  This puts me in a pretty good mood and makes me incredibly excited for the last 5-6 weeks of the year, especially now that we have Luke to share it all with.

I have 3 types of cookie dough frozen already but these are my first finished treats: Reindeer Noses and Turtle Noses.  They are made basically the same way, are super easy, and really good.

To make both of these you will need:
-1 bag of Rolos
-1 bag of Hersey Kisses (I use dark chocolate)
-1-2 bags of M&Ms (if you care about colors and don't want to wait for the holidays bags you'll need two, otherwise one is enough)
-1 bag of pretzels (I use the grid like ones)


Reindeer Noses
1) Preheat oven to 275º.
2) Lay out pretzels on a baking sheet and place 1 kiss on each.
3) Bake for around 3 minutes.  **
4) When they are the perfect amount of soft take them out of the oven and immediately press an M&M into the top of each one (I use red for Rudolph's nose).  They should flatten down easily.
5) Cool on the counter until the cookie sheet is cool to the touch and then place in fridge for an hour or so, until the chocolate is set.  I then box them up and freeze until Thanksgiving.


**You want them soft enough that you can easily push an M&M into them but if you bake too long they burn and nobody likes burnt chocolate.  They will be shiny when done.  I usually start with 3 minutes on the timer and then check with an M&M.  If it doesn't go down easily I put them in for 1 more minute.  I also have a very slow oven so you might want to try just 2 minutes the first time.


Turtle Noses
1) Preheat oven to 350º
2) Lay out pretzels on a baking sheet and place 1 Rolo on each.
3) Bake for 4-5 minutes.  They will be shiny when done. 
4) Remove from the oven and immediately press an M&M (I use green for turtles) into the top of each one.  Don't press too hard or caramel ooze out and make these hard to remove from the cookie sheet.
5) Leave on the counter until sheet is cool to touch and then place in the fridge for about an hour. 

That's it!!  If you don't have a very mobile baby to chase after these can both be done pretty quickly and keep for a very long time. Seriously, these probably won't all be gone until January maybe?  They make for an easy, salty/chocolatey Christmas snack.

Source:
Reindeer Noses  (not my original source but that blog has been deleted) | Turtle Noses (adapted)