I have got to stop eating like this.

I have been gravitating to the the kitchen more than usual lately. I think  my subconscious just leads me there, knowing it will help with the long winter days. Not to mention I’m on a clothes shopping fast with my mom. If you know me, you know how I love hunting for a good find. (But, I gotta say, it’s been over a month, and honestly, I love the freedom of not even caring about stepping in my section or trying anything on, or agonizing over buying/returning an item. I like getting creative with what I already have. I might be converted to this lifestyle! More money and time! Though, I’m sure when the fast in over in May, I’ll be ready to refresh my wardrobe for the new season.) So, I think I’ve needed this cooking outlet lately. I like finding the happy moments during the day to play, when the kids are awake, so it doesn’t cut into my rest time when they are napping or down for the night. It really makes the time fly by! Here are some results of my latest kitchen escapades.

Even though we girls weren’t as interested in the Super Bowl as the guys, we still had to plan a menu for the occasion:

I saw this Pizza bread when reading the recipe for that lovely Bloomin’ Onion Bread a while ago. I knew it was for me. My changes were using a delicious whole grain bread, and an olive oil/fresh garlic/fresh basil/fresh rosemary drizzle instead of butter, something I knew I wanted to add before even reading the recipe (although, I’m sure the original is delightful as well). Oh, and I like to slice my own pepperoni so they’re nice and thick. When dipped in marinara, or homemade ranch, with a mandatory (for me) pepperoncini on the side, this was so very good. 

I think we’ve finally made it through KC’s imaginary birthday party food. These skewers were marinating for the big day, but got popped in the freezer for later when the party was canceled. Mmmm, they were good.

I’ve been dying to make doughnuts lately. Particularity these ones. (I think old-fashioned doughnuts and apple fritters are in a tie when it comes to my fave.) Ever since I saw this recipe, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So I made them, replacing the nutmeg with vanilla and a half a vanilla bean for fun. They were dense and delicious. But thank goodness I have the babies around to eat them so I don’t. I‘m looking forward to making them again and tweaking the recipe a little to make them even better. And Who can resist making things heart-shaped around V-day?

The Ribeiras contributed this amazing artichoke olive dip,

Mozzarella balls complete with homemade dipping sauce,

Buffalo chicken balls with blue cheese dressing,

s’more cookies,

and Butter Beer, or Butter-Bruskies to keep in the spirit of the Super Bowl theme. Whoa.

We were in pain. Elise and I took a walk outside while the guys watched the game in an effort to feel a little better after eating too much. How were were supposed to stop with all of this food staring at us? I think I just was a little to excited to have an excuse to make a lot of things that had been on my mind.

Now onto non-Super Bowl related treats:

In school, we focused a lot on European breads. Brioche was one of the first we learned. When this was baking, the smells took me right back to class. This flakey, buttery bread literally melts in your mouth. I wish I had some right now.

I reserved some of the dough for this other delicious recipe I learned from someone when working at the Hyatt, and have been craving it ever since. First you press the dough into a pan, sprinkle on some brown sugar, drizzle on some cream, and in this case, I added a drizzle of my homemade spiced nectarine jam, and let it rise and bake. I call it Nectarines and Cream Brioche Cake. Heaven in a cake pan. I am a total sucker for breakfast pastries.

I forgot I had more pictures of the pretzel bark I mentioned before. In case you want to make it, because you really should, this is all you do. Melt some chocolate, and press some pretzels into it,

make some simple caramel, and toast some coconut,

then mix them together, and spread it on the cool, hard chocolate.

When that is cooled, drizzle with more chocolate, let it set, and try not to eat more than you should. I didn’t follow that rule.

On a healthier note, I made and LOVED this Cottage Cheese Strawberry Banana Ice cream. The kids loved it too. I added a strawberry yogurt I had in the freezer as well, which I think upped the creaminess. It’s rare that something like this isn’t green from me blending spinach into it (am I the only one that tries to add vegetables whenever possible?) It was kind of refreshing. Love a guilt-free treat. I think this will be a regular at our house. I’m already thinking of other combos to try.

This, however, was not so guilt-free. The idea came to me when I had some leftover key lime batter after making Key Lime pie. I used it as an opportunity to think up something new. So I made my favorite coconut cake recipe, swirled the key lime into the batter in the pan, and baked it up. What came out was quite possibly one of my favorite things ever. A creamy, coconuty, limey, dense, moist, delicious cake. Topped with fresh whipped cream, it truly won my heart. I‘d take tropical over chocolate any day. And it just dawned on me that I really put the lime in the coconut! Ha! Hokey, I know. But you might want to put in on your to-do list soon.

And with all the egg whites left from the Key Lime pie, I thought some meringue cookies were in order. I used Andes Mint chips inside, and then put a half an Andes mint on top while they were still warm and then spread it a little when it melted. Delicious.

I fit in a few other little recipes here and there. A lot of the time it’s not just desserts, but new ideas to get the kids to try new things, and it has definitely helped. I love making things for them to try, and try not to act too annoyed if they don’t love it after the work I put into it. Good thing I like to cook whether they like the food or not. Someday I know they’ll appreciate it.

I like to record things like this, so I remember that I actually did have time for me during this wonderfully chaotic time in my life. Although it makes a lot more dishes, and could be adding a  few pounds to the scale, I think it’s worth it.

Life

It just has been tricky lately. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been dealing with one disappointment after another, with little to no recovery time before the next fiasco hits. I believe the idiom to be used here is “when it rains it pours”. I try to keep my attitude in check, and remember just how much I have to be thankful for on a daily basis, but sometimes those thoughts even get me down, as I beat myself up for not being more grateful for my blessed life. Sometimes no matter how many glad games are played, thankful lists are made, and prayers are said, there is just a dark cloud that seems to linger.

This age the babies are in is proving to be a difficult one. Many days there  are more tantrums to count. The fighting over toys is constant.  Even when I’m turning on a show, they fight over which one to watch.  And why must they fight me so hard each time they have to get dressed?! The all-of-the-sudden picky eating has gotten to me as I try to feed my kids the right things, and their need to be independent is coming on full force. They are waking up earlier than normal, and even in the night sometimes, probably a bit spoiled from when they were sick. And the MESSES they can make. I get so tired of walking on crushed up crackers all day as I wait for them to go to bed before I can get everything put away in order to vacuum, at which time I’m just too tired to tackle the task (thank heavens for KC who likes a clean house as much as his wife, and will tell me to relax while he takes care of the mess on most days). Throw in a couple weeks of sickness, and people working on the house, etc., and one’s brain might start to rattle. They all aren’t guilty of all of these things, but with each of them having their individual wants and needs, it seems to go on all day long.

I know it’s part of life, and sometimes I can laugh about the hard things and just brush them off, knowing it won’t last forever.  But sometimes I just can’t see past that difficult moment, and I want to throw in the towel and scream “I’ve Had Enough!”. That has happened more times than usual in the last month or so.

So, feeling completely spent one evening, staring at the wall in an exhausted daze (Remember the famous “buh buh buh…” scence from Overboard anyone? Kinda like that, minus the grapes.), I had an inspiration. I decided that the one thing that could get me out of this funk was a night away. All to myself.

A-l-o-n-e.

KC and I had plans to get away while mom was here, but, you know, that didn’t happen, so this was the next best thing. I think, besides driving in the car, and a few instances here and there for maybe an hour at a time, I have not been by myself for years. And I realized I was craving that alone time my life is very much lacking right now. It was amazing how much easier it was to get through the most difficult parts of the day, knowing I had this to look forward to at  the end of the week. I almost talked myself out of it several times, thinking of all the things I’d rather spend the money on, feeling selfish and silly, and wondering if I was making a rash, impulsive decision. But I convinced myself that those were all silly notions, and that this was a smart, very rational decision for my family and myself, and there really isn’t a better reason to spend money than on my sanity. KC was as supportive as I could’ve hoped. It was only one night after all.

So, last Saturday, around 4:30, I packed up my few things, kissed everyone about 10 times each, and drove about 3o minutes, to a remote, out of the way spot where I knew I could relax.  And that I did.

I started off by wading in the warm, vacant pool with some mindless reading.

Then I enjoyed leisurely swimming some laps. This was especially cozy because I was watching the snow fall through the glass a few feet away. (The life guard was a little too chatty, telling me all about his dream to be a singer. He is from Jamaica and even sang me some of his original work. Awkward. So I bid him good luck, and left a little earlier than I was planning on.)

And then, after about an hour long shower in the hottest water I could stand, I had the rest of the evening to enjoy doing nothing/anything I wanted to. I just laid in this bed, eating snacks, reading this and that, channel surfing, etc. Pure luxury.

Of course I woke up around 4 am (thanks to the Ruby for conditioning me to do so), but after a couple hours was thankfully able fall back to sleep until about 8. That’s 8:00 am, people. Oh, what a gift to sleep in. And that is late for me. Even pre-kids. I guess I had some catching up to do.

I went to the well equipped fitness room, where again, I had the place to myself, and enjoyed the treadmill and stationary bike, as I listened to my entertaining book group book, even though each machine had their own TV. I really wanted to make some headway on my book.

I brought some of my homemade granola, cause I didn’t want to waste any of my me-time finding a place to eat. And I didn’t have to give a bite to anyone. 

About 10:00  I was packing it up and heading home. And I couldn’t wait to get there! Those few hours to myself were really all I needed to feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to take on life challenges. I could hardly get in the door fast enough to kiss those faces. Who wouldn’t be happy to come home to this?

And do you know what? Things are better. It could possibly be that my attitude has changed and I’m able to brush off things easier, or just a coincidence, but they will eat most things I make for them with enthusiasm (Mmmm! Delicious!”) they are waking up at a more reasonable hour, they are laughing more than they are kicking and screaming, and the messes, well, they’re still there, but I’m used to that. I’m truly relishing this happy time while it lasts. I know we’ll always have our ups and downs, and the rough patches might last anywhere from minutes to months (and from what I’ve heard about the teenage phase, years). But now I know that if I just take a moment to take care of my overwhelmed self, and clear my head, I might be able to manage everything in a way that is pleasing for everyone. I hope this was only the beginning of my motherhood survival getaways. I can see these becoming very handy as the years go on.

While Mom was here. . .

Here is a quick round-up of the fun.

Playing Outside

We have had the most gorgeous weather lately. Sometimes in the high 60s!

Mom wasn’t feeling too well that day.

We love a fenced in park.

Hanging in the back yard.

Arts and Crafts

We played with play dough, and after a couple reminders, they didn’t eat it! We might be getting somewhere.

But we did let them eat the paint, because it’s made with sweetened condensed milk. It’s probably just confusing them letting them eat some art supplies, and not others, but oh well. They had so much fun.

So much fun that we did it again, only this time Ruby used her body as a canvas.

So naturally we had to throw them all in the tub together. Sorry if this embarrasses you later, kids.

I guess I needed an outlet or something, because I decided to do a little project. I was planning on us all doing it together, but time go away from us so I just did it myself while mom watched the kids.  I wanted to make gingerbread houses (with my new Wilton cutters!) during Christmas, but it never happened. I decided to keep the dream alive, and just make some adjustments for Valentine’s Day, making it shortbread, and, of course, decorating accordingly. It was fun to play around. I was in a hurry toward then end, as you’ll see my poor royal icing piping on the front (it needed a re-whip). Oh well, it looks like snow, right?

Reading

Bennett enjoying some Charles Dickens.

They LOVE the book that Cami made of the family.

And we have thoroughly enjoyed all the great books Nana brought to read.

Scrumptious Food

I’ve been wanting to make this for a while, and after reading Julie’s review, I couldn’t wait any longer. Definitely going to make this one again.

Some chocolate, pretzel, coconut, caramel bark-type stuff I concocted (we just call it a candy bar). It’s deadly.

Coconut Limeade. So good and so simple. I even had everything we needed for this. (Yes, I keep a supply of Coco Lopez around. Sometimes a girl just needs a pina colada.)I actually used fresh lime juice instead of the concentrate and it was tart and delicious.

I made a version of these sandwiches for KC’s birthday (substituting turkey for ham, and croissants for rolls). Turns out if you assemble these sandwiches the night before a party, and plan to bake them right before the guests arrive, but the party never happens, you can just freeze them, and bake them whenever you want. They turned our amazingly well after being frozen. good to know.

We also all enjoyed a night out together and a great, authentic Mexican place in Annapolis that Elise and Jeff stumbled upon. It was so great to get out after the slightly hectic week.

Piling on Mom

The kids couldn’t get enough of Mom’s attention. There were always piles of babies wherever she was.

And this is what sweet Alex did when mom told him she was going home. As heavy as that kid is, he is really fun to cuddle.

Elise and I even squeezed in a haircut outing together, which was lovely. The Amish market was also a highlight. And mom and I enjoyed some excellent British entertainment, including Doc Martin, Lark Rise to Candleford, and Downton Abbey. So, we had our ups and downs, but always enjoy a visit from mom. Come back soon! We’ll do our best to be healthy when you do!