A Day of Snuggles

Today I took a sick day.  My little bug was up most of the night, with what turned out to be a double ear infection. Poor thing.  So today, instead of my usual grind of corralling and attempting to inspire 26 first graders, I spent the day at home, snuggling with my baby.  I'll admit I was tired, I didn't get much shut eye last night either, but somehow that didn't matter.  Cuddling her soft little body against my mine, her tired head heavy against my chest, little hands curling around my fingers in our laps.  Today was a day well spent.  A day where I can't get enough of being a mom, of the sweetness and wonderfulness of my little one.  Snuggling on the couch together, listening to her soft breathing beside me, and coaxing out a few "I'm feeling better" smiles.  These are the days I want to remember.  Days where I wore my yoga pants all day long, my hair is in a messy knot atop my head, not a stitch of make-up has been applied.  Days where the sink is full of dishes, and I'm dining on frozen pizza for dinner, but even in spite of this darn ear infection, everything in my life feels perfect.

image/maryruffle

Link Love

+ Paul Rudd's lip-sync off feature on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, his rendition of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" is PERFECTION, and um, has he aged at ALL since Clueless?!?  Love him!

+ Can't wait to make this cocktail - the Mexican hipster (P.S., love the name!)

+ Bette Midler's "Wing Beneath My Wings" at the Oscars…did anyone else cry like I did?

+ Jimmy Fallon and Jon Hamm photo bomb NYC tourists!

+ Parents lip sync spot-on to the Frozen soundtrack in the car, while their bored daughter in the backseat.  HILARIOUS!

+ The walking on eggshells CHALLENGE!

image/isuwanee

Divergent

Don't let the overzealous CGI fire swirl of a cover deter you.  This book is pretty gripping!  At a girlfriends dinner a few weeks ago, I realized all of my closest friends had read this book, and peer pressure got the best of me...I downloaded it via kindle that evening to catch up in order to fully participate in the "Divergent dialogue" that I know will ensue at our next gathering.  Yes, we are that cool!

So…Divergent.  It kind of has a futuristic post-apocolyptic Hunger Games world combined with Hogwart's sorting hat and a splash of The Giver for a plot.  Does that help in the slightest?  It's the first in a trilogy, and it's pretty good so far.  And of course, there's already a movie debuting March 21st, I swear Hollywood moves at lightening speed these days, remember when it took years, decades even for a book to become a movie?!

Have you been sucked in yet?

image/amazon

Life Lately

Hello, out there.  Remember me?  It's been weeks since I've even opened feedly, and my latest glance at my own blog revealed a measly 11 posts this year.  Eleven.  Pathetic, I tell you.  My apologies  to the any loyal readers who are still out there.

While going back to work in January hasn't been consistent smooth sailing, I feel like we've finally fallen into a routine that's comfortable.  Needless to say, with only a few limited hours with my sweet girl, blogging has definitely been the short straw in terms of priorities.  However, I do really want to keep blogging, I love knowing that anecdotes of our life at this exact moment exist.  Words to capture the everyday snippets of our daily routine, the growth and sweet milestones of my daughter's life - so I can one day look back on these with warm nostalgia and remember when.

But between teaching 26 first graders all day long, running errands, making a semi-nutritious and/or healthy dinner, quality time with my husband, and of course playing, giggling, and loving up my daughter…sometimes at the end of the day, a heaping glass of red wine - boxed, of course ;) - and kicking my feet up while I indulge in an episode of Scandal is all I can manage.  And don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint in the slightest, as I sincerely love my life, and everything in it.  But truly, I'm curious, how do you find balance?  Somedays, I feel like I'm a master juggler, all the balls are gloriously floating through the air harmoniously in sync, others, it feels like I'm callously dropping balls left and right.  Is there a secret formula I am missing, or does it just take time and practice?  

What's your secret to balancing everything in your life?

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Let It Go

This made me smile today, have you seen?  

What a great song.  Now, I MUST see this movie!  Have you seen Frozen?

Dinner Last Night: Vegetarian Chili Verde

This might be my favorite new dinner - Giada's Vegetarian Chili Verde from her latest book, Giada's Feel Good Food.  I've made this chili three times thus far; and concluded it is definitely a go-to recipe for Winter months.  It's a simple, with fresh, colorful ingredients, and the end result has been delicious every time!  A few minor changes I've made: Giada suggests using poblano chiles and fresh tomatillos.  Well…my local Safeway doesn't carry poblano chiles, so I omitted this ingredient.  Second, rather than fresh tomatillos, I opted for 2 cans of whole tomatillos, pulsed for about 15 seconds in the Nutribullet - same desired effect in half the time!   

This past Sunday night, feeling especially ambitious, I decided to make the suggested side of buttermilk-sour cream cornbread.  It was superb!  Now I'm not a cornbread aficionado in the slightest, but my husband is a fiend for the stuff, and he heartily approved.  Of course I adjusted this recipe as well - because really - who EVER has buttermilk on hand?  I imagine only farmers who actually milk their own cows for dairy ever actually keep buttermilk readily available in their fridge!   This has to be one of my least favorite ingredients ever, as I feel it's such a waste to buy a whole carton for the tiniest smidge a recipe calls for!  I didn't have sour cream, so I subbed in plain Greek yogurt instead, and just topped off what I would've included in buttermilk with more Greek yogurt.  To-may-toe, to-ma-to…it worked!

Thank you Giada, once again, for a fresh, healthy dinner that reheats excellent for lunch the next two days.  

image/kahakaikitchen

10 Reasons Why I Love You

{4 months}

1. You have the cutest little dimple just above your elbow.  Finally, you’ve gathered enough fat to create those adorable, pudgy, baby rolls, albeit only in your arms and legs.  I could eat them up!

2. You love touching our faces.  You palm our cheeks, cup our chins (and attempt to bite with gusto), tug at our hair, all the while sharing your sweeter than sweet gummy smile.

3.  You’ve discovered your feet.  On the changing table (which for the record, is still your favorite place IN the world!) you lift your feet up in the air, grabbing them toward your face - usually mid diaper change, and roll back and forth boasting your flexibility with bravado.

4. You are growing so fast - already wearing 9 month, even 12-month clothes and you're only 4 months!  While the clothes hang around your mid-section, your lengthy physique causes the need for the bigger size, you are one long little babe.

5. Your hair is growing in! You have a tuft of long, dark hair atop your head that curls across your forehead in a wisp of straight bangs.  Of course, countering that, is a patchy bald spot centered on the back of your head where your hair has rubbed away from laying on your back.  When your dad and I look back through pictures of you from birth until now, we’re amazed at your full head of hair and how quickly it has grown.

6. You are a giggler!  You love to laugh, giggle, coo, and blow raspberries much to your delight and our own.  We love hearing your sweet chortle, it’s the sweetest music my ears have ever heard.  I could listen to you giggle all day long.

7. You definitely enjoy your naked time.  At the end of the day, just before bath time, we turn up the heat and allow you to indulge in a little naked time, letting you wiggle, roll, kick, and play in the buff.  You love every minute of it!

8. You have grippy little toes, just like mommy.  I've been able to pick up items with my toes since I was young, and I’m predicting you’ll bestow the same talents.  When I kiss your toes, you can grip my lip with a single foot, which makes you giggle as your grip is steadfast.

9. You continue to play with your hair as a self soothing technique.  While eating, you extend your fingers, and palm your face, running your fingers back and forth from your eyebrow, across your forehead, to the nape of your neck, and back. It's the sweetest thing.

10. Sometimes, when you're tired, you'll lay your head gently upon my shoulder, tucked in the nook between my chin and shoulder, and exhale a deep sigh.  I enjoy these quiet little moments of closeness together more than you'll ever know.