Open House

I think I jinxed myself with all this talk about fall; yesterday was HOT!

While Wills and I sweat our way through his open house, grocery shopping, and an afternoon walk, my parents sent me these gorgeous pictures.  They are camping near Cherokee, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and are having a blast with their best friends.

Look how bundled up they are!  I'm jealous. 

Wills' teachers requested an open house/first day of school picture of him.  What seems like a simple task, was nearly impossible with this almost 2-year old.  Here are our attempts.  This made me a little nervous about his 2-year old pictures happening in a few weeks.  I hope we can get some good ones.

He was so excited to be back in his Mother's-Day-Out room and promptly began to pull every dump truck, fire truck, tractor, and bulldozer off of the shelves.

After open house, I had a lunch date with two handsome boys.  William met us at Jimmy John's for a quick sandwich.

Other than the Christmas season, this weekend marks the start of my favorite time of year.  Go Dawgs!  Happy Labor Day!  See you next week. 

Salmon Salad and a Picnic in the Park

My friends in Charleston and Savannah rave about Whole Foods Market Wild Alaska Salmon and Avocado salad.  I decided to make it for lunch today.  I would have quickly run to the grocery store for the last three ingredients, capers, a freshly squeezed lemon, and red onion, but I promised William I would try to stay within our grocery budget and only shop once a week.  I'm not liking this agreement, but I am trying.

So, for now, this is what I used.  I improvised with the bottled lemon juice, and added a chopped roma tomato.  I used 2 tsp of olive oil mayo and 1 tsp of Dijon mustard.

All mixed together.  My fresh herb of choice was basil, of course.

Served with Fire Roasted Veggie crackers.  It was a perfectly simple, delicious, healthy lunch, and it kept me full for hours!

We met some friends for an afternoon/early evening picnic at the park.  This little boy was excited and insisted on wearing his daddy's filthy dirty Georgia Bulldogs hat.  I guess I can't complain.  We've been talking about them daily.

Our spread of grapes, carrots, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and broccoli (which I spelled incorrectly in my last post...oops) bites.  The broccoli bites were a huge success, by the way.  Especially when dipped in ketchup or ranch.

Wills shared his grapes with Mommy.

Two days until we are in Beaufort with my sister and Tony!  Bring on the tailgate party, salt air, sandcastles, golf-cart rides, boat drinks, guitar playing, and crabbing.  We can't wait. 

Broccoli Bites

I have a confession.

Wills will not eat a vegetable these days. Not one. Not a green bean with ketchup, not a sweet potato fry, not a plain carrot, not a carrot dipped in ranch. He won’t even look at a pea and immediately starts crying if I mention the word zucchini.

Thankfully, he can’t get enough fruit and loves almost any kind I give him.

This is it. This is the only vegetable he’s had in weeks. And they are expensive!

I put some sort of veggie on his plate every night, and every night he leaves them there.

I believe it’s time for more of these muffins with hidden veggies.

In the meantime, we have a fun picnic planned for tonight, and I’m bringing broccoli bites and grapes for the kiddos.

Here’s what I used.

Broccoli (thawed and drained) , 1 cup of bread crumbs, 2 eggs, and a cup of cheddar cheese.

I mixed it all together and baked them on 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Let’s hope they’re a success. They smell and look yummy to me.

Last of Summer

Summer days of watermelon, sidewalk chalk, and margaritas are quickly passing us by.  The changing seasons is one of my favorite blessings in life.  There's something nostalgic about putting away summer dresses for boots and scarves, daydreaming about my days in Athens, and gearing up for holiday season.  

Every year, it never fails, it only takes a bite of pumpkin, a cool morning, or the sound of a crunching leaf to send me into a romantic spiral of love, words, and reminiscing.  

I'm glad Jane Austin feels the same. 

“Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” Jane Austin, Persuasion

I worked and ate my lunch on the back deck.  

My sister, who is seriously obsessed with Einstein bagel shop, gave me this sun-dried tomato spread.  It is delicious on everything from crackers, bagels, carrot and celery sticks, and today's egg sandwich on an English muffin. 

The first thing out of Wills' mouth when he woke up from his nap was "outside."  He would never come in if I would let him.  So, out we went.  

We spent the late afternoon and early evening practicing on his tricycle, coloring with sidewalk chalk, and blowing bubbles.  

If I leave fruit in the refrigerator like this...this is how it stays.

As soon as I take the time to cut it up, it disappears so fast.

I need to remember this.  When my hungry, sweaty boy comes in from playing outside, I would love for him to always reach for fruit as a refreshing snack.

I attempted to muddle some watermelon and basil for a watermelon basil margarita.

It looked pretty.

But with fall on my mind, I froze this for another day and quickly switched gears.

I'm thankful for days like these. 

Morning Yoga

I loved teaching yoga at 6 am this Monday morning.  The temperature was crisp, and I could feel fall creeping in to the air.  I've always loved mornings, but spending it with three other amazing women, chatting over coffee, and then leading them through a practice made for an extra special morning.   I am really excited about this class time and am hoping to add another soon.

Here's the poem I read to them in child's pose.

A Morning Offering

by John O'Donohue

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcome the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Wave of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

We ended with Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic."  I love this song and the encouragement to "let your soul and spirit fly." 

The rest of my Monday will thank me for this morning. It was a glorious start to the week...the same week that ends with the glorious start of college football season!  Yay!

What a Day

Not every day is bliss.  Some days are just down right hard.  I try so hard to be optimistic, count my blessings, and find beauty in tough moments, but today was not one of those days.

I love Glennon Melton Doyle's article "Carpe Diem."  If you're a mom and don't have her book Carry on Warrior, get it, today.  In the article, the idea to seize the moment, enjoy every second, and be happy all the time makes her panicky and paranoid, especially while raising young kids.  After being stopped in Target by a little old lady, while her kids were going absolutely nuts, and being told that she should enjoy every single little moment, even this one, she wrote the article.  Of course, she's been accused of being negative and not grateful enough. Here's what she says,

"My point is this: I used to worry that not only was I failing to do a good enough job at parenting, but that I wasn't enjoying it enough.  Double failure.  I felt guilty because I wasn't in parenting ecstasy every hour of every day and I wasn't making the most of every moment like the mamas in the parenting magazines seemed to be doing.  I felt guilty because honestly, I was tired and cranky and ready for the day to be over quite often.  But the fact remains that one day, I will be that nostalgic lady in the grocery store.  And here's what I hope to say to the younger mama gritting her teeth in line: "It's helluva hard, isn't it?  You're a good mom, I can tell.  And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner.  She's my favorite.  Carry on, warrior.  Six hours 'til bedtime.""

I will spare you every gory detail, but Wills has bronchitis and is pretty pitiful.  But worse than the actual virus, is the prednisone he has to take.  It is making him awful.  Does it do this to all men?  I've learned to steer clear of William and my dad if they are ever taking this steroid.  But now, my son?  It totally transformed my laid-back child into an angry, frustrated little boy and all he really wanted to do was cry and throw his toys.  I gave up disciplining him hours before bedtime, and just prayed for William to get home.

He wouldn't touch his dinner.

Unfortunately, William got stuck at work, so I made a simple veggie burger for dinner.  After being on the computer hosting parent conferences every half hour since 8 am, I wasn't in the mood for anything more.

Served with half of a whole wheat English muffin, tomato, avocado and sriracha.

When William finally walked in the door, I gave him a kiss, asked him how his day was, and promptly went up stairs, glass of wine and book in hand.  At this point, I wasn't going to be any fun to hang out with.  Sorry, honey.

Maybe Glennon's right, and we don't have to be excited every. single. moment.  Find the little moments, the snuggles on the couch, the apple and peanut butter we shared before nap time, the bear hugs and (snotty) Eskimo kisses that come all day long, and watching him concentrate and then get so proud when he thinks he stayed inside the lines while coloring. Seize those moments; then you can still call the day a success. 

And then say a little prayer of thanks that it's Friday, and we made it. 

"What I ate Wednesday"

Thanks for all of the amazing feedback around my last weekend of teacher training post.  It means a lot.  I purposely didn't mention my goals around this blog.  I'll keep that one a secret, for now. ;)

Early Wednesday morning, I dropped Wills off with my parents.  I had an 8 am meeting, a date with my yoga mat (that fell through due to the meeting running a little long), and then I taught a Power60 class at Dancing Dogs Yoga.  I packed a granola bar and a banana but ended up eating breakfast at my parents.  My mom made me an egg sandwich on an English muffin.  I didn't take a picture, but here's my breakfast from Tuesday, just to have something to share.

I rushed home from yoga for a parent conference and snacked on a banana, peanut butter, and shredded coconut.

Lunch was my typical spring mix salad with strawberries, smoked almonds, blue cheese, and Brianna's All Natural strawberry blush dressing.  I also enjoyed Pretzel Crisps with this new, amazing Edamame Hummus with roasted red pepper and sesame.  Try it!  The ingredients are simple and it's full of protein, fiber and healthy fat.

Since William travels so often these days, grilling is not much of an option.  I guess I could learn, but I have no desire.  I don't bake chicken very often, simply because we usually grill, but I tried something new tonight.

Seems to be a repeating theme here...:)

I marinaded boneless chicken breasts in Italian dressing, placed them on a baking sheet, topped with mushrooms, and blue cheese crumbles and baked them on 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  They were so flavorful and delicious.  I will definitely be making this again.  Sweet potato fries and sauteed zucchini paired perfectly with the chicken.

Happy Wednesday!  Half-way through the work week!  Yay!