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Today I almost achieved that most enviable of all titles:  “Best Mom in the World.”  It was sitting there, just out of reach.  Tempting.  Teasing.  Whispering my name.  Alas, as fate is such a fickle creature, my hopes of laying claim to it were dashed with one quick yell across the house:  “I told you to brush your teeth!  Get going.”  I fell off the precipice to wallow with the mortal mothers, resounding choruses of “You’re so mean!” echoing in my ears.  Such is life.

I fed my kids cookies for breakfast.  Chewy, yummy, peanut buttery cookies.  With chocolate.  Justin was so excited he insisted he was going to tell his classmates.   Kaleb just didn’t want to stop eating.

Now, before you judge me, know that these cookies weren’t just any old unhealthy treat.  Besides the chocolate chips, these babies didn’t have extra refined sugar, oil, or flour added to them.  It was like eating a glorified bowl of oatmeal and were healthier than most cereals to be typically found in our cupboard.

I just threw them together…I’ve listed the recipe of sorts below.  It wasn’t exact.  A little this, a little that.  You can tweak until it suits your tastes.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

2 cups large flake oatmeal
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 mashed bananas (bah. nah. nah… you have to see Despicable Me 2)
drizzle maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.  Mix all ingredients with a fork.  With your hand. Use whatever works.  Drop by spoonful onto baking sheet (I use a baking stone.) Bake approx. 15 mins. 

They’re not a decadent melt in your mouth dessert cookie. They’re not even pretty to look at… but for a quick breakfast cookie or healthy snack to win you brownie points, they do the trick.  You might just earn the moniker “Best Mom in the World.”

Last night I must have known that today would start with a fizzle.  After the post-dinner catastophic clean up, I actually started prepping the monkeys’ lunches.  Even with our early start school (thumbs down!), I tend to toss their lunches together in the morning.  We have our rhythm and usually, our get-out-the-door routine progress as planned.

Not so much today.  My alarm turned itself off.  Seriously!   It’s not like I forgot to set it before bed.  I would never do that.  I did wake up to my internal alarm, but the morning was a fog of ineptness.   And the kids would not stop fighting over who got to wear which shirt… you know, those pink ones we’re wearing to stand against bullying?  (My guys may very well have gone to school sporting blood stains due to the fists that we’re being thrown.  It seems we entirely missed the point of Pink Shirt Day.)

We finally got our, uh, “stuff” together and made it to school just before the bell.  And now I’m feeling a little lost.  It’s just 9 a.m. and I’m sitting at home enjoying some me time.  Unexpected, unscheduled me time.

I was bribed for it.  I spend a lot of time at the school these days.  Yesterday I  manned the breakfast program on my own (hello, dishes!) in exchange for this morning and tomorrow morning to myself.

What’s a girl to do?  Run the dishwasher before noon.  Check. Fasting lab work…that was months overdue.  Check.  Grab some Timmies.  Check.  Now I sit here feeling guilty about my lack of productivity.  But you know what?  I earned a couple free hours and I think Ill just enjoy it!  (Especially after the gong show that started this day.)  Soon enough I’ll be surrounded by the chaos of three grade 1 &2 classes “enjoying” another indoor recess.   So here’s to a good book, warm drink, and absolute silence while I can.   If only the snow were melting,  it might just be perfect!

There are days when I’m dumbstruck at how grown up my oldest monkey has become.  I look at him with wonder and awe intermingled with a little bit of sadness remembering when he used to need me for things – almost everything in fact.  He’s eight years old.  Almost a grown up, according to him.  Halfway to a driver’s license to put it in perspective. He hasn’t needed my help with dressing, brushing his teeth, or getting his things gathered for school for quite some time.  He can get his own snacks, feed the dog, load & unload the dishwasher, and find a quiet spot to read all on his own.  He helps with chores, plays creatively, and has astounding logic that you can’t argue with at all.  He’s almost a grown up…

I’ve noticed his independence developing with little things – increased modesty, bathing on his own (even the shampoo!), not acknowledging me at school, even in how he interacts with Justin.  He wants hugs before bed, but he doesn’t want to be tucked in.  “I’ll tuck myself in, Mommy.” I know this is all par for the course as a parent.  I know our kids do get older, and change, and become their own person.  But in all honesty, there are days when I feel like it’s taken me by surprise.  The kid knows how to Google and use YouTube, for Pete’s sake! (I shudder at this and want to put super filters and kid-safe software on the computer.)  He’s almost a grown up…

Ignore for the moment the fact I haven’t blogged since August.  I mean, we all get distracted once and awhile, don’t we?  Life is constantly changing and things get pushed to the side.

IThe oldest monkey asks “Mommy what is today’s holiday all about?”  Hmmm… I’m not really sure.  It’s a holiday just for a break.”  My less-than-knowledgable answer works for him and we declare it a lazy day!

We searched for close-to-home and inexpensive activities, but nothing really struck a chord.  We lazed in our pj’s until early afternoon and then headed into town.

I absolutely love “downtown” Port Perry.  The shops are quaint, the people are friendly, and it’s easy to find Kawartha Dairy!  The kids don’t mind walking around as long as our loop finishes at Palmer Park.  They take advantage of the playground, we check out the lake, and when the weather cooperates, they can romp in the splashpad.

Today, as we reached our wandering limit, we opted to eat out in celebration of Kev’s birthday.  1 vote pizza, 1 vote Thai food, 1 vote Mexican and one indifferent – mom’s vote won today because we managed to convince the pizza vote to switch.

Now we’re patiently awaiting our meals with a margarita, Dos Equis and two Sprites for the kids.  I love that my guys are adventurous enough to try something new… even if it’s a little spicy for my dutch boy’s bland tastes.

Last week, I impulsively decided that a CSA Farm Share program was a great idea for our family.  I say “impulsively” because I stumbled upon the concept through one of the local farms while looking up U-pick berry info.  I then posted a question in regards to CSA programs on Facebook, and one of my friends replied that her parent’s farm (also local) was just starting up a program.  It’s a $400 investment with a weekly full-share – enough veggies for a family of four – over a harvest season of 20 weeks.  At $20/week for fresh colourful veggies and fruit, I thought it would be worth it and just sub for what we need at the local farmer’s market and grocery store… and in minutes decided we should give it a go. Thus our jump in feet first adventure in CSA Farm Shares.  We’re buying our produce from F&M Farm in Columbus (N. Oshawa) and Kevin picked up our first “basket” today.

Is it not a beautiful bounty of goodness?!?  We’ve got beets, zucchini, radish, spinach, swiss chard, arugula, lettuce, peas, strawberries, and herbs.  Unfortunately, we’re a carrot/onion/celery/cucumber family (and I exaggerate when I insinuate that they’re the only greens we eat…)  Regardless, I’m now having to come up with some fresh ideas on how to serve this “exotic” goodness.

My experience with beets is a long ago memory of childhood in the negative.  And our experience with swiss chard & arugula has been contained to baby mixed greens served with vinaigrette.  How about radishes?  I’ve only had them as a salad topping before.  Garlic scapes?  Never heard of them… (apparently they’re the curly little herbs that I can use just like garlic.  Who knew?)

So for new ideas, I turn to Google.  Google, my friend, you are a wonderful provider of inspiration.   Here are some links to recipes & ideas on how I might use my farm fresh produce in not-just-a-salad ways:

From Parade.com:  10 Fresh Ways to Use Arugula
From CanadianLiving.ca:  8 Swiss Chard Recipes and
12 Ravishing Radish Recipes

And yes, this one from Laylita.com is a salad…
but it’s a colourful mango, avocado & arugula salad with spicy orange vinaigrette!

From President’s Choice:  Two Cheese Spring Pizza,
Open-Faced Chicken, Arugula & Walnut Sandwiches,
or Cheese Tortellini with Pancetta & Arugula
From OhSheGlows.com:  Citrus Beet Salad with Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing

All great ideas (and still some salads, but I could top them with some chicken, fresh bread on the side… yum!)  And there’s always the stand by – just wash, dry, tear, and bag it for a variety of mixed greens to top as desired this week.

How do you use beets, arugula, radishes, or swiss chard?  Any tips on sneaking them by my picky eaters?

Because I don’t have enough to do…

I’ve decided to write a secondary blog.  On books.  Just books.  All things books.  It will probably actually be updated a million times more often than this one.

Check it out:  http://novelteasereview.blogspot.ca/p/welcome.html

I promise I’ll add an update to this blog this week.  Maybe… after we sign the boys up for the summer reading program at the library, after I get 3 orders completed, after I clean the house, after I hit the Peterborough Zoo with my mother-in-law, and after all that regular stuff that fills up a week.

P.S.  Anyone here eat beets?  What’s the best way to serve them?  Let me know!

Eavesdropping on my boys this morning…

(After another petty argument)

Justin:  Well, you’re not real!

Kaleb:  If I’m not real, then no one would tell Mommy that you fell off the deck.  You’d still be lying there and couldn’t get up. You’d just be lying there crying.  No one would know where you are.

(It’s funny and mean all at the same time…not to mention it happened more than a year ago….boys! )

Just a quick post.  Busy weekend ahead!

Orange Almond Strips

Robin Hood Orange Almond Strips

Chicken dinner.

When Kevin & I went to Atlantic City for our anniversary a few years ago (hello cheap ocean front time share!), you couldn’t walk through any of the hotels, restaurants, or lounges without hearing that cry from the casinos.  I can always hear the dealers’ exclamations in my head, their sing-song chant, everytime I think about chicken.  I know it’s strange, but that’s just a free little peek into the wonder known as my mind as I present yet another recipe related post.

 
A few weeks ago WalMart had whole chicken 2 packs on sale.  I had no real use for them in my meal plan at the time but the price was right so I tossed them in the freezer.

I will often use the crock pot to skow cook boneless, skinless chicken into a fall apart mess of yumminess – just toss it in frozen with some herbs, spices, and water, and have juicy shredded chicken to toss into soups, salads, wraps, and more without any fuss.

I am hoping that the process will work similarly with one of these frozen babies.  I’ll toss it in tonight and pull the meat off in the morning.  I’ll whip up a batch of Mexican Turkey Soup (from my last post – subbing my poultry – I never did buy that turkey breast!)  If there is still left over chicken, I’ll throw it into a chicken alfredo dish or serve it with a peanut sauce and coconut rice on Sunday.  Easy weekend cooking at it’s best!  (I attempt a cooking strike on weekends but it just doesn’t fly anymore what with budgeting and all.  And apparently my kids get hungry if they don’t get fed regularly… who knew?)

And lastly, I have beautiful plans for that carcass! It’s gonna be stripped down and tossed back into the slow cooker in a bath of seasoned simmering water for a (hopefully) successful attempt at tasty, healthy chicken broth using this Recipe: Overnight Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot – 100 Days of Real Food.

Sometimes I’m a great little Holly Homemaker.