A Night Off

Working moms* have it rough.  Because you're not "off work" when you're off work.  I work all day, then come home, and have to deal with my 2-year old boss.

The weekends are just as exhausting as the weekdays.  There's no sleeping in, and it's the only time you have to get everything done errand-wise or around the house.   I do try to plan some social events with my friends for the weekends, but our kids are always involved.   Which means there's a lot of mommy-ing, and less catching up.

So I really relish nights when I can go out with my friends, or heck, even Thatboy, and leave being a mommy behind for the night.

And that's really what this March is all about!  Last week I had a date night with Thatboy AND a night out with the girls.  A lot of wine was drunk last week.   This week I have a fun night of painting and margaritas with some ladies from my running group - I'll update more after it happens.

Is it strange that my nights out all involve alcohol?  If you answered no, then you're probably a working mom too.

*This is not a comparison between working moms and moms who stay home and therefore have a workday from "when the kid gets up" to "when the kid finally goes to sleep."  This is a comparison between working moms and working non-moms.


*Also, Jennie - you won the Maida Heatter cookbook, but I have no way of contacting you!   So shoot me an email on the "contact me" portion of my profile and I'll get that right out to you.

Mommy Mondays: The Birth Story

So, I realized that I never shared Thatbaby's birth story, because I'm willing to bet most readers aren't terribly interested.  And when I started Mommy Mondays I thought this would be a good place to share it, but I never got around to it.  So here it is, in all it's glory.  The story of bringing Thatbaby into the world.

On September 30 when I went in for my 39 week visit the nurse was taking my blood pressure and we started talking about possible induction dates, given that I was 39 weeks and had made zero progress.  The baby was still relatively high, my cervix was "semi-firm" and I hadn't dilated at all.  I was talking about wanting to wait until after Yom Kippur on the 8th and the nurse looked at me and said "I think today is a great day for an induction."

"Not today!" I said.  "Let's at least wait till after the due date."

That's when the nurse informed me that my blood pressure was 150/90.  Prepregnancy my blood pressure was usually 106-110/65.  During pregnancy it's been around 116/75.   This jump in blood pressure worried my doctor.  She wanted to send me in for an induction since I was so close and she was afraid I was developing pre-e.  But because my cervix was totally not ready for labor she sent me to triage for some tests and monitoring.

We went home, grabbed my hospital bag and packed a separate bag with movies, my computer, and magazines, just in case I was going to get induced.  We knew we'd be in for a long induction if that were the case.  We grabbed some dinner on the way to the hospital for the same reason.

All my tests were fine.  I had no swelling, vision changes, no headaches.  There was no protein in my urine and no indication of anything going on with my liver or kidneys.  But my blood pressure was staying in the 130s so they decided to admit and induce.

As an aside, Friday night my blood pressure dropped back down to where it usually is, 106-110/65.

The oncall doctor flat out said to me "I wouldn't want to be induced if I were you either.  Not with such an unfavorable cervix.  Right now your chances of a C-section are 50%."  But I have to say, all the health care professionals I came across were ridiculously kind, supportive, and wonderful.  I was told multiple times they did not want to do a C-Section on me and we could keep the induction going as long as it took.  In fact, the oncall doctor told me they'd start me on Cytotec to soften my cervix and Saturday morning they'd bring me breakfast before starting Pitocin.


They applied the first Cytotec and four hours later my cervix was still semi-firm but I was dilated to 1 cm.  So they applied another Cytotec and we waited another four hours.  And this time there was no change.  The nurse didn't feel like things were progressing, but the on call doctor was encouraged by the dilation and wanted to start the pitocin right away.  No breakfast for me!


They started the pitocin and for 12 hours we waited.  At this point I was having contractions back to back, less than a minute apart, but it just felt like menstrual cramps since they weren't strong enough to be really doing anything.  In fact, after those 12 hours there was still no cervical change.  By this time I had been in the hospital for 24 hours.


The newest oncall doctor came in to talk to me about breaking my water.  I wasn't really receptive.  I told her I was worried that was going to put me on a timeline for a C-section since I needed to get the baby out in 24 hours.  Once again, I was assured there was no timeline.  I was hooked up to monitors and in the hospital and as long as I was okay and the baby was okay there was no need to rush into a C-section after 24 hours.  Plus they would do everything possible to avoid infection by not doing checks unless necessary.  And so they broke my water.  Which was really uncomfortable.

Those back to back contractions?  Now they were starting to feel like something and I couldn't even get a breather between the end of one and beginning of another.  So I got my first epidural.  Which worked great for about 3 hours - perfect.  I could feel and move my legs, toes, everything - just not the contractions. To be fair though, they were having trouble monitoring my contractions too.  And the baby's heart rate was staying nice and strong - but not accelerating or decelerating.  By this time I was on the third oncall doctor who wanted to insert an interuterine pressure catheter to keep an eye on the baby and the contractions.  Thatboy was not happy about this.  He pointed out they were trying to keep any cervical intrusion to a minimum to decrease the risk of infection and chance at C-Section.  But this doctor wasn't as go with the flow as the others.  He felt that I really wasn't making any progress and if I had my way I'd still be waiting to have the baby on Monday.  Luckily the baby's heart rate started showing accelerations and the pressure catheter was deemed unnecessary.


Shortly after that conversation I started feeling my contractions again.  First as mild pressure, then as full on contractions.  I'd pressed the "more more more" button to the max and no relief.  The anesthesiologist attempted to put in another bolster of the drug into my epidural.  No go.  He decided the catheter must have moved in the space and wasn't hitting the window it needed to, so he was going to have to redo it.  After the second epidural they checked me and I was at 7 cm. 

They got the room ready for me to push since I gone from 0 to 60 in about 3 hours. They called the negative oncall doctor and told him not to go back to sleep.  He came in to check on me quite surprised.  "Guess this baby wanted to prove you wrong."  I told him.

They let me rest and told me to let them know when I started to feel the urge to push.  When I called them back in about 40 minutes later I was at 9.5 cm.  They decided to let me "labor down" to 10, but then the baby's heart rate started decelerating down to the 50s with every contraction.  It would go right back up, but was being fairly consistent and they felt that I was a good pusher and could probably overcome the fact he hadn't reached pushing station.  So they got everything set and I was now at 10 cm anyway so we were on our way.

They set up the squatting bar onto the bed and tied a sheet on the middle.  With each contraction I pulled myself up the sheet as though I were climbing a rope as I pushed.  The second epidural had started to wear off at this point, so I was feeling that pressure feeling every time I had a contraction.  At this point I didn't mind because it helped me know when to push.


40 minutes later, at 2:42am on October 2, Thatbaby made his way into the world with his cord wrapped around his neck twice.  NICU was there because of the decels and because of some meconium present in my bloody show so he was taken over by them for some aspiration. With everything that was going on, we didn't even know the sex of the baby so I sent Thatboy over to the NICU team to check it out.  Thatbaby was a boy!

He weighed 7lbs 6.5 oz and was 20 inches long.  He scored an 8/9 on his apgar.

Thatbaby was placed on my chest for some bonding and feeding while the doctor delivered the placenta and sewed me back up.  By this time the epidural had worn off again and the sewing me back up part was really uncomfortable and felt like it took forever!

During the "recovery" period, Thatbaby's respiration was a little fast.  They checked his oxygen saturation which was fine, but they wanted to keep an eye on his breathing, just in case.  They brought us up to the post partum floor and Thatbaby was taken to the Observation Unit for pretty much that - observation. Thatboy and I used the time to get some sleep and a couple hours later our little boy was brought back to us.

We spent the whole day in the hospital "recovering" which really wasn't bad at all.  Because Thatbaby was taken to the IOU my chart had us marked down as a "separation" and I got an extra visit with a lactation consultant.  Which was nice because Thatbaby wasn't a huge fan of breast feeding at first.  He didn't like having to do work to eat - which is proof he takes after his father.  He would latch on, then look up at me like - "Okay I'm here, now what?" 

One of the rare pictures of Thatboy sleeping in the hospital.  He refused to sleep because he just wanted to hold his son.  We finally worked out a compromise where I'd stay awake and keep an eye on him while they slept.

I didn't have any sort of post partum pain or severe bleeding so we got the okay to be discharged the next day.

The drive home was nerve-wracking.  Not because of the new baby in the car, but because there was a freeway shooter.  Some guy who was driving up the freeway and just shooting at cars.  The police had closed most of the major freeways and what should have been a 20 minute drive home ended up taking an hour and a half.  But we eventually got home and settled in.  Ready for our next big adventure in raising Thatbaby.

Sunday Runday: My Super Whiney Post

I hate getting up in the mornings to go run.  Hate it.  The redeeming factor is the run itself.  If you run, you may have heard someone say at one point in time that "you'll never regret a run you did, only the run you didn't do."  The run itself is a great chance for me to clear my head and have some time for myself.  And of course, I feel fantastic when it's over.

But that doesn't mean that every run is some sort of zen-producing, joyful experience.  Everyone has a bad run now and again. Last Sunday I had a doozy.

With the rain and storm, our typical beach day was off.  But I still wanted to get in 8 miles.  I'm not training for anything right now, but I don't want to lose that nice base I've built up.  So when one of the women in my running group posted that she was going out for 10 miles on Sunday, early, I told her I'd join.

My first warning should have been when some other members of the group said they wouldn't join because there's no way they'd keep up with such a speedy runner.  I sent her a message saying that I'm not terribly fast, so I would start out with her, but probably wouldn't keep up, but I only wanted to do 8 miles anyway, so I'd run out 4 and back and she'd probably hit me on her way back from her longer run.  She told me that this was a training run, not a race, so she wouldn't be running that fast, and besides, this route was a loop, so there would be no turning back.  It was 10 miles or nothing.  That should have been my second warning.

Bright and early Sunday morning I headed out to meet Speedy.  We were running a new route for me.  A new, very very hilly route.  We met at Starbucks and Speedy introduced me to her running buddies.  There were 5 of us headed out that morning.  We checked the skies, which were clear, and we hoped they'd stay that way.

And then we started out.  During the first two miles, I kept with the group.  I didn't bother putting on my GPS or any of my run tracking apps, because - it was a loop.  It wasn't like I was going for mileage, I was just going to run till it was over.  We talked about recent races, and running in general, and I knew I was in trouble.  Speedy had just run a half marathon the weekend before, a half marathon where she had calf issues and had to stop and lie down, and stop and stretch.  And she still finished in 1:49.  Which is how long it took me to run my 10 mile race!

As I said, this route was really hilly.  After the second mile - I started falling behind.  I could still see them, because, well, ginormous hill, but I was on my own.  On my own on an unfamiliar route, and at the time I had no idea how far I'd run, and how much I had ahead of me.  Eventually, I couldn't even see them anymore .  I ran the rest of that 10 miles by myself.  Every now and then, Speedy would stop to stretch her calves, and I'd catch up to them, but I'd lose them as soon as we'd start up again. 

I was very much not feeling this run.  I was tired, and because I didn't know where I was, there were no familiar landmarks to look forward to.  No way of knowing whether I should slow it down because I had a ways to go, or whether the end was just around the corner.   And then it started to rain.  Not just rain, pour.  And I still had no idea how much farther I had ahead of me.  I honestly hoped that by the time I finished, the other women would have headed home, so I could sit in my car and just cry.  That's the way I felt.  Like I said - it was a bad run.  I ran for a little over 2 miles in that rain.  Finally, the Starbucks was in sight.  I ran in to one of the women as she was heading in, and the rest were still in line.  I joked that if we had run 8 like I wanted, we probably would have missed the rain.

The coffee warmed me more than just from the outside chill.  Sitting and chatting with the women almost made me forget the painful run.  Until the next morning of course, when my quads burned.  And yet I still got up for my Monday morning run.  Where I fell 1/2 a mile from home and completely tore all the skin off one knee, cut open my thumb in multiple places, and got some beautiful road rash on my knees and hands.  It was a rough running week for me.

We Like To Party

We got home from a birthday party on Sunday to find an invitation for another birthday party.  And another rolled in later in the week. In the words of Thatboy - "I don't know if we can handle this birthday party circuit."

The Rain

When I moved to California I heard it never rained here.  We moved in December and I found out immediately it was a lie.  It rained.  It rained all the time.  It rained from November to April.  And not only did it rain, it made life miserable.

Living on the East Coast I was no stranger to rain.  It was really no big deal.  Except here in California, it was a big deal.  Everything flooded.  When I was in high school, they had to place sandbags for us to cross to get in to our classrooms.  When I was in lawschool, it meant I had to find alternative means of getting to school and home since the entire road between the two was impassable due to flooding.  A couple of years ago, the rain shut down the entire train system when the tracks were completely under water.  And of course, everything here is outdoors - the malls, shopping centers, all activities.  Which means when it rains, there's really no where to go.

This pattern of rain rain rain has been true for the past 17 years I've lived here.  And then this year rolled around.  This year where there has been no rain.  Not in November.  Not in December.  Not in January.  And I began to understand the drought mentality that most Californians hold in their heads.  The concerns with water conservation and planting native plants.  Things were looking bad.  Our news stories talked about ranchers being forced to sell their cattle, farmers having difficulties with their crops.  And aesthetic issues like our rivers, lakes, and waterfalls turning to trickles.  And no snow to play in on the mountains.

The storm came in Thursday night.  It rained on and off all through the weekend.  And honestly, I can't speak for everyone, but Thatfamily loved it.  I mean, sure I don't love driving in the rain with Californians who don't understand how to drive in the rain (PLEASE for the love of all that is good, lights ON during the pouring rain when visibility is highly compromised!).  And running in the rain on Sunday for miles trying to get back to my car was especially un-fun at the end of my 10 mile run.  But I know how good this is for all living things here.  And Thatboy has loved playing in the rain with Thatboy.  And we've tried to take advantage of the breaks in the rain to do things like food shopping (me), skateboarding (the boys), and heading to the cliffs over La Jolla to watch the giant waves crash on the beach (all of us).

Linzer Schnitten

Jam makes extraordinary gifts.  I should know, because I have a ton of it in my cupboard.  I don't mean to sound ungrateful - I really do love getting jam as gifts, and I love the fact that my cupboard is always full.  Jams which showcase the area from where they're from.  Containing the very best of the harvest.

The problem is, we don't eat a lot of toast here.   And I don't make peanut butter and jelly nearly as often as Thatboy would like.  So part of the reason my cupboard is so full of jam is because we don't use it that often.  And while it does keep for a good long time, even jam doesn't last forever.  So I'm currently working on using some of the stash.  Which means I'm on the lookout for recipes using jam.

You may or may not be surprised to know that many recipes that use jam are dessert recipes.  I mean, I am using it as a glaze for chicken, but primarily it's finding a new home in cakes, pies, and cookies.  Like the famous Linzer cookies.  Which in my experience are often sandwich cookies.  My trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook however has them as schnitten - which is one big sheet of cookie, sliced into little diamonds.

Linzer Schnitten (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

3 eggs

2 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp powdered cloves

1/4 tsp salt

grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 cup apricot preserves

1. Beat 2 of the eggs until light.  
2. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the butter, blending well.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a bowl and then stir into the wet ingredients.
4. Add the lemon rind and juice and mix well.
5. Turn dough onto a floured boards and knead until smooth. Cover with a bowl and let stand 1 hour.  
6. Preheat oven to 375.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into strips 1 1/2 x 10 inches.  Mark a groove down the center of each strip with the handle of a wooden spoon.
7. Fill the grooves with apricot preserves.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes.
8. Beat the remaining egg and sugar together, brush over the baked strips while still hot and cut into diagonal pieces.

14

Ever since we got married, Thatboy and I don't celebrate our dating anniversary.  But we recognize it.  Usually one of us will say something along the lines of "Can you believe it's been _____ years????"

Well, today marks 14 years of us being together.  14 years of our feelings see-sawing back and forth between me liking him more, then him liking me more, then both of us finally hitting the balance that brought us to where we are today.

We haven't been out on a date since November.  So even though we don't usually celebrate, tonight is the perfect opportunity to get away and have some adult time.  Thatboy and I are going out to dinner, just the two of us.   Happy 14 years to us!

Mommy Mondays: A Snapshot of Winning Parenting

On Friday night, Thatbaby and Thatboy were playing in Thatbaby's room.  Thatbaby came running out to the living room where I was.

TB: Mama, Dada needs another beer.
Me: Ask Dada if his legs are broken.

I laughed as he ran back to his bedroom and I heard him inquire "Dada, you legs broken?"  I could hear Thatboy laugh too.

And then my sweet little boy said.  "I get you beer dada."  And he ran to the fridge and brought a beer to Thatboy.

I share this story for a couple of reasons. The first is because it's a pretty good snapshot of our lives.  But more importantly, it's an illustration.  An illustration that life isn't always perfect.  That no matter how hard you try to teach your child the alphabet, more often than not they're picking up the things you don't intend to teach them. 

Sunday Runday: Run or Rob a bank?

I took a full week off running after the race.  Partly because of the whole bronchitis thing.  Partly because Thatboy was out of town and the authorities look down on leaving a 2 year old home by himself.  So instead, Thatbaby and I would wake up, walk Thatdog, and get ready for the day.  Aaaaand I was just as sick when Thatboy got home from his trip.

So Saturday, Thatboy walked the dog while I slept.  And I felt pretty good that day.  Same routine Sunday.  On Monday, I decided not to run, but instead to just give Thatdog a little walk in the morning.  And I ended up coughing all day.  With my online medical degree, I determined that the cold air while walking my dog was bothering my airways, which were on hyper alert from the bronchitis. I came up with a makeshift idea of wrapping a scarf around my nose and throat.  That way, the colder air had to pass through something before it hit me, warming it slightly.  But obviously running with a scarf tied around my fave wasn't going to work.

"You need one of those loopy things from Survivor" L&O told me.  And as luck would have it, I HAVE one of those loopy things from Survivor.  Like the actual ones they used on the show.  Given to me by Jeff Probst. One of the perks of working on the UCLA Dance Marathon when I was in school.  Tucked in the back of a drawer, never used.  It's my newest running accessory.

Party Pants

The problem with being sick, is I miss out on some fun things.  While I was in bed, recovering from my 10 mile race, the boys headed out to one of Thatbaby's monthly birthday parties.

Thatbaby had an incredible time at this one.  The picture above shows Thatbaby riding in the train that they hired to drive the kids around the park.  He rode it many, many, many times.  And there was a giant bounce-house for the kids to play in.  Complete with a big slide that Thatbaby spent time sliding down with his friends.

It's really kind of fun to watch Thatbaby interact with his school friends outside of school.  They're always so happy to see each other - even though they see each other every day.  There's a level of comfort there.  I know there's some debate about "friend" birthday parties for young kids, but they really do form bonds at such a young age.

Thatbaby came home so excited to tell me about how much fun he had and everything he did.  He clutched his mini-m&m container in his hand like a hard earned trophy.  He crawled in to bed with me, laying his little head down on the pillow so we could take a nap together.  As we cuddled under the covers I realized that sometimes even when you miss out on the fun things, you still get to experience some of the best stuff.

The Last February Giveaway - Cookie Mania

Growing up, desserts were my mom's domain.  There's a family rumor (started by my dad) that Thatmom called dibs on dessert making, since my dad did the rest of the cooking and she wanted an area that was just for her to shine.

And for my mom, the go-to person for desserts was Maida Heatter.  She had all the books and even exchanged correspondence with Ms. Heatter.  (The fact that Maida wrote back is one of the reasons she remains a favorite of mine to this date.)

Thatmom had the original Maida Heatter book of cookies.  For Christmas a couple years ago Thatmom got me the new improved version (along with her cake book).

It's been a while since I've cracked it, so it was about time for me to bring ole Maida back into my kitchen.  I thought I'd start with a nice easy bar recipe.  One with dates since I had some left over from the lebkuchen.

Confession time: These are cookies...that I enjoy for breakfast.  They have dates and nuts, so they seem kind of breakfasty.  And the bar shape makes me feel like I'm eating a cereal bar. Which is totally a breakfast food.  And because they're made with honey instead of flour, I don't even feel to guilty about it.  Well, a little guilty, because - cookies for breakfast.  But not guilty enough to stop eating them.

Honey Date Nut Bars (From Maida Heatter's Cookies)

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lb pitted dates, coarsely chopped

8 oz walnuts, chopped

confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs until they are foamy.
2. Add the honey and vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and beat well.
4. Stir in the dates and nuts.  Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.  Bake for 35 minutes, turning halfway through. 
5. Cool the cake for 5 minutes in pan, then invert onto a baking rack and cool completely.
6. Cut the cake into bars and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

And now my final February gift to you.  A copy of the Maida Heatter cookie book!  Now you can make these, or hundreds of other cookies in your very own home!  And while most of the recipes are cookies (makes sense given the title) it also includes recipes for crackers, marshmallows, ice cream and sauces.  Sound good?

Starts today and ends Monday March 3 at midnight (PST). Winner will be chosen at random through random.org

To enter into the giveaway:
Leave a comment letting me know what your favorite cookie is.

Things I Love: February

I kind of missed January, but I loved sharing my favorites with you in December, so I figured I'd give it another go-around.  These are the things I'm really into right now.

 

I'm Listening To: Flo Rida's How I Feel.  I seriously love every incarnation of "Feeling Good."  Right now this is on repeat on my ipod.

I'm Reading: This is the first of Michelle's suggestions for me.  The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.  Michelle recommended it because it is "a smarter, cleverer, more sophisticated British version of Men in Black."  Which sounded intriguing.  But honestly (and I'm not terribly far in) for me it is much more similar to A Wrinkle in Time.  It's got the same kind of sci-fi fantasy feel, and equally strange characters.  And an unwilling heroine.  Have I sold it to you yet?

I'm Eating: Trader Joe's Broccoli Slaw and Kale Salad.  This has been my go-to quick lunch lately for days when I need to grab something when I'm not in the office.  I love the crunch of the kale and slaw, the sweet cranberries and the slightly spicy dressing. 

I'm Wearing:  I'm channeling Ali McGraw right now with my current love of a simple cashmere black turtleneck.  It's classic.  It goes with everything.  And it's just the right amount of warmth for a Southern California February.  I'm also very into grey jeans.  They're lighter than blue, but don't make you feel like you're back in the acid-wash craze of the 90s.  And they're "warmer" than black, which is feeling a little harsh to me in the pants department.  (Is it weird that black on the top seems cuddly, but black bottoms seem cold?)  I ran out of foundation last week, and since Thatboy was out of town and I was limited on time to run errands, I grabbed some from the grocery store.  So far I'm a big fan of this L'Oreal True Match foundation.  It's got good coverage (important) and there's a really wide selection to match a variety of skin tones (also important).  With the winter weather, my skin's a little paler than in the summer, so I feel like I have to have a "summer" foundation and a "winter" foundation. 

Date Lebkuchen

\

Let's start out by congratulating the winner of my book giveaway!  Joanne will be having some new reading material coming her way soon.  And for everyone else, there'll be another giveaway later this week.  I'm in a very giving mood lately.

Like making a tray of cookies to bring in to work.  It's been crazy lately - I'm sure the moreso because I've been in and out of the office the past 2 weeks because of illness.  So bringing in a bit of sweet was almost a necessity.

I like baking with dates, because they add a nice chewy sweetness, but not overwhelmingly so.  Of course, these cookies also have sugar in them.  Because as nice as dates are, they do not a cookie make.
 

Date Lebkuchen (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

grated rind and juice of 1/4 lemon

grated rind and juice of 1/4 orange

1/4 lb dates, pitted and chopped

1 egg

1/4 lb sugar

1/2 cups flour

pinch salt

1/4 tsp instant coffee

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 Tbsp orange juice

1/4 tsp butter, melted

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a baking pan with baking spray.  In a small bowl, combine the rinds and juice of the lemon and orange.
2. Add the dates and let marinate for an hour.
3. Beat the egg until light.
4. Slowly add the brown sugar, flour, salt, coffee, baking powder, and cinnamon.
5. Stir in the dates and walnuts.  Spread in the pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan.
6. In a small bowl combine the orange juice, butter, and confectioners' sugar.  Spread over the cookies and cut into squares.

Mommy Mondays: The Things People REALLY Don't Tell You

L&O were having a discussion the other day and somehow came around to the fact that we still have some...side effects left over from the birth of our sons.  It reminded me about the hush hush world that is post-partum recovery.  The real secrets that no one ever talks about.  This is not going to be a pretty post.  In fact, if you're a little squeamish, you may want to skip it.  But if you want the harsh realities of what life is like AFTER labor, here are the secrets.

1) There Will Be Blood - This one wasn't a factor for me. And this is actually one I had heard about.  Someone described their first post-partum shower - the one in the hospital - as being a scene from some slasher pic with the amount of blood they found pooling around their ankles.  Yum!  I didn't have the same experience, but it could be because I shot blood across the room following the birth of my son.  I might have been tapped out by the first shower.  But as a word of warning, there is bleeding.  Weeks of bleeding.  And this holds true even if you have a C-Section, which makes sense when you think about it, but most don't.

2) #2 - I remember that before I left the hospital, one of the things on my "recovery checklist" was having a bowel movement.  I had 3 days.  If I hadn't had one at that time, I was supposed to consult my doctor.  I didn't want to consult my doctor to tell her I wasn't...regular.  But at the same time, I was terrified of going.  Stitches, tearing, the irrational fear that my entire uterus would come out.  And talking to other new moms I quickly discovered I wasn't the only one.  The first bowel movement following birth is traumatic.

3)  What goes up - This is another one that wasn't a huge issue for me, but you know how your uterus grows when you're pregnant?  Over 9 months?  Well it has to shrink back down to normal size.  In a much shorter time.  Know how it does that?  Contractions.  Yup - you still have contractions even after you have a baby!  I don't know if it's because I breastfed, or because I'm part unicorn, but for me, the contractions were almost like little tickles.  But for a coworker of mine, they were really painful. 

4)  Snissing and Cossing - I don't think it's a secret that pregnant ladies sometimes have trouble with their bladders when they sneeze.  I mean, you have a small human resting right on your bladder.  Well ladies, the problem does not go away when the tiny human is no longer taking up residence inside of you.  I remember sitting on the couch a couple weeks after giving birth, eating rice.  A kernel hit me in the back of the throat and I started coughing - and completely lost control of my bladder.  A few weeks after that I tripped while walking outside, and once again needed a change of pants.  Even now, 2+ years after giving birth these terrible coughing episodes with the bronchitis are wrecking havoc with my bladder control.

5) Sex - There's a 6 week window following birth in which you're supposed to refrain from sexual intercourse.  But once that 6 week window is up, all bets are off.  Except that same irrational fear that you're going to rip or tear something, or your whole uterus will fall out.  And the truth people don't tell you?  The first time you have sex after giving birth?  Not so great.  Same holds true of the second time.  Maybe even the third.  You see - especially if you're breastfeeding, your hormones are concentrating on producing milk - not any sort of sexual fluids.  Which means you're dry.  Which makes sex more uncomfortable that it might have been before you pushed a small human out of that same area.  But it gets better.  Promise.  Practice makes perfect.

Sunday Runday: UT 10-20 Race Recap

Thatboy did not want me running the race last Sunday.  He had this whole thing about "bronchitis means you should be at home resting, not running 10 miles."  In protest, he decided he would not be joining me at the race.  There would be no cheering or encouraging someone who was risking her health.  Even though I assured him I would take it easy.

Friday night, after our pitiful Valentine's Day, I left the race program on Thatboy's pillow for him to peruse.  Saturday morning he acknowledged this was going to be a really cool race, and he could understand why I wanted to run it.  And now he just had to figure out what band he wanted to watch while cheering me on.  Of course, by Saturday night he had decided that a race starting at 7:30am was too early, so he was back to skipping it.

So Sunday morning I got up while the world was still dark and got myself ready to go.  The race was being held just a couple miles from home, but after the experience we had at the Electric Run, I didn't want to take any chances.  I sat in my car for a while, munching on some overnight oatmeal, drinking water, and using my inhaler.  After a while I headed towards the corrals.  I got out of the car and it was COLD!  Usually this isn't an issue, because I toss Thatboy my sweatshirt before the race starts.  But since he wasn't there, I debated whether to check it or keep it on.  In the end, I decided to keep it on - it seemed like a smart thing to do since I was recovering.  I paced the corral, chatting with a couple of other runners.  Comparing notes about shoes, the race, and important things like that.  And soon enough, it was time to run run run! 

The first mile was all within the Del Mar Racetrack.  We were running on dirt, and I made sure not to start out too fast, pulling back as I watched people passing me.  Trying to run "smart."  After the first mile, the sweatshirt had to come off - and tied around my waist.

We hit mile 2 as we headed out to the coast.  Or I should say, UP to the coast.  This was probably the gnarliest hill on the course, but that could just be because it was the one I was least prepared for.  My training runs had all been along the coast, but starting out at the coast.  I didn't even think about the fact that Via de la Valle would be uphill the whole way out.  I felt a little surge of relief when we finally made it out to South Coast Highway.  This was the course I knew and loved. 

There were bands all along the course.  And while I was a bit concerned about their musical selection, I was pleasantly surprised that many of them were playing covers - songs I knew and loved.  As I approached mile 3, the band on the other side of the street was warming up, waiting for runners to start heading back.  They were playing "I Am the Walrus."  I joined in on the woos.

They didn't have too long to wait for returning runners.  By the time I hit mile 4, the 5 of the elite runners had passed me, on their way back to the finish.

Mile 4 was the toughest for me.  I felt pretty strong through the race, but as I headed down the hill toward Seaside Beach, I started questioning what kind of idiot runs a 10 mile race when sick.  And that's right about when I came upon The Unknown.

They were playing "Till the World Ends" and although I'm not a huge Britney fan, the song just seemed to come right at the perfect time to pick me up, and I was A-OK from there on in.  I mean, do you see the view?  I was running on a "highway,"  beside the water, with awesome bands playing every few feet.  It didn't matter if this wouldn't be my fastest run ever, if I had to slow down, I would and could.  I was just going to relax and enjoy the run.

I did a little internal cheer when I hit 5 miles, halfway there!  And I laughed when a woman behind me hooted a little later at the turnaround.  I turned to smile at her and she pointed out that we were about to head down hill.  Everyone was in a pretty good mood between the turnaround and mile 6, all downhill.  It probably didn't hurt that The Christopher Brothers were playing "Help" at that time.  Who would have guessed the Beatles would have music that gets you in the mood to run?

Around mile 7, someone yelled out we only had 5k to go.  The racers in this run were certainly vocal!

Shortly after mile 8 we turned and headed back to the racetrack.  I'm not going to lie, it felt too soon.  I wasn't sure how they were going to get in another 2 miles once we were in the track, but they did.  Without the ocean to watch, there seemed like less bands (even though there were 3 between the time we entered the track and the finish line), and it was definitely the most boring part of the run.  But soon enough, I recognized that we were nearing the corrals where we had started and I knew the finish wouldn't be too far off.


 As we approached the finish, I realized I was going to finish in under 2 hours.  Part of me was a little worried - my plan was to finish around 2 hours, because that meant I was taking it nice and slow.  But I'm not going to lie - part of me was excited because I hadn't pushed myself, I had taken it "easy" and I was still going to beat my goal. 

As I crossed the finish and started to slow, I could have sworn I heard my name.  I turned and saw Thatboy, with Thatbaby on his shoulders, waiting just passed the finish line.  Once Thatbaby had woken, Thatboy decided they should head over to the race, and watch me finish.  He got the text that I was at the halfway point right as they were getting in the car.  They had watched one of the bands for a while and Thatbaby had danced, and then they headed over to the finish to cheer me on.

It was kind of awesome to have them there.  Of course, I dissolved into a mess of coughing once I finished the race, but I accepted my medal, gathered some water, oranges, bananas, and snacks and Thatboy hearded me into a warm place for my lungs to calm down a bit.

 

We sat together, snacking (Thatbaby was more than happy to share my post-race loot) while they filled me in on their morning and I filled them in on the race.  Then we went home and I collapsed in bed for the rest of the day.

Overall it was a great run - the Expo was disappointing, but for an inaugural race, it was well organized and a lot of fun.  The course was fantastic and so were the bands.  There were some definite "quiet" portions, where some runners took to yelling "more music" but overall I actually preferred this race to the last Rock 'n Roll race I ran. 

Another Giveaway

A couple weeks ago I emailed my friend Michelle to complain to her about my lack of reading material.  You see, after 2 years I have finally made it through the pile of reading material that had been stacked beside my bed since September of 2011. 

Well, I actually made it through my list in October 2013, and kicked around until one of my favorite authors new book came out in November and it took me a couple of months to finish that.

But I digress.  My reason for complaining to Michelle is that typically in the fall I don't have to worry about finding reading material, because Michelle times her latest book to come out right at that time.  As if she knows that's my reading lull period.  Except in 2013, Michelle failed me.

Luckily she promised that 2014 would not go by without the third part of her trilogy.  And she promises that this one will be right up my alley.  And she gave me a list of recommendations that would last me until then. 

Until then, I leave you with an extra special treat.  A gift from me to you - Michelle's first two books!  Just in case you haven't read them yet.  So you can catch up before the third comes out this year.

  Want to get reading?  Just leave a comment.  Tell me your favorite book you've read lately.

That's it!  The only thing you have to do to potentially have some shiny new reading material.  

The contest will end on Monday, February 24th at midnight PST.  Winner will be notified on February 25th.

Baked Chicken Burrito

Towards the end of last year, L&O confided in me that crockpot wet chicken burritos I posted were a big hit in her family. 

Which isn't too surprising.  They're a big hit in my family too.  But we tend to like burritos over here.  And although we're not too picky about homemade versus restaurant burritos, one of the things that home burritos have in their favor is that I typically serve a sauce over them.  Which makes them an enchilada burrito hybrid.  But hey, are you going to play semantic games or just eat?  This burrito is topped with sour cream poblano sauce.  Which sounds spicier than it is.  Even Thatbaby liked it, and he does not do spicy.

Baked Chicken Burrito (adapted from Elly Says Opa)

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 onion, diced

1lb ground chicken

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne

1 tsp brown sugar

kosher salt

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack

4 large flour tortillas

Cooking Spray

2 Poblano peppers

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2/3 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.  
2. Ad the chicken and cook until browned.
3. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  
4. Add the beans, water, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne, brown sugar and salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Divide the cheese between the tortillas.
6. Spoon some of the chicken and bean mixture over the top. Fold the left and right sides of the tortilla in, and then roll the tortilla up, from the end closest to you, to the top. 
7. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and lightly spray the tops of the burritos with cooking spray.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until tortillas are golden brown and crispy.
8. Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Place the poblanos directly over a gas burner. Using tongs, turn occasionally until skin is blackened on all sides. Place in a bowl and top with plastic wrap or a clean towel, until cook enough to handle. (Alternatively, you can roast the peppers under the broiler until all sides are well-charred.)  Peel the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and dice them.
9. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and melt the butter.
10. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly. 
11. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and then the diced poblano; continue to simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened. 
12. Stir in the sour creamand warm through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve the sauce over the baked burritos.

Pecan Cookies

I'm sure at one time in your childhood you chanced upon a pecan sandy.  A cookie, topped with a pecan.  I'm not a fan.  Honestly, and this is going to sound funny given the name of the cookie, they've always been a little gritty for me.  I don't love the flavor of the cookie itself.

This is a remake of the classic pecan sandy.  The cookie itself is thinner, crisper, sweeter.  And instead of being topped with a single pecan, I topped mine with chopped pecans.  So there's a little pecan in every bite.

Pecan Cookies

1/2 lb butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, separated

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Cream the butter in an electric mixer.
2. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and flour.
4. Pat into a cookie sheet sprayed with baking spray. 
5. Beat the egg white until foamy.  Brush on top of dough.
6. Sprinkle with pecans, pressing them gently into the dough.
7. Bake for 17 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Tuesday: Valentine's Day Wrap Up

I hope you all had a very lovely Valentine's Day.  Mine was less than stellar.  Poor Thatboy.  It's not fun to celebrate with a sick wife!  I sent him to work with special heart shaped burgers and banana bread for lunch.  For Thatbaby, I made heart shaped french toast.

Thatboy got off work early, came home, and got to work on his Valentine's Day gift to me.  First he cleaned off our dining room table which has taken a beating this week.  Then he made me dinner, lobster ravioli with porcini mushroom sauce.  Which I ate half of, on the couch.  Seriously - what a terrible wife I am!  Wanna know what makes me even worse?  Know what my Valentine's Day gift to Thatboy was?  Well as of Friday, it was nothing!! NOTHING!  I ordered him his favorite chocolates - and due to inclement weather...somewhere...their delivery was delayed.  I also ordered him some of his favorite body wash.  Which the post office says was delivered Friday at noon.  It wasn't.

I hope all of you had a more successful day that we did!

Mommy Mondays: Arts and Crafts

If you have a toddler, you know they don't sit still.  Any moment you're home you are brainstorming ways to keep them occupied.  These are some of those ways. 

Sir Marks A Lot: Don't overlook the obvious.  The easy.  You know - coloring implements and paper.  For the very young I recommend the Crayola Magic series.  Which will ensure your walls and carpets survive your budding artist. These paints and markers ONLY work on the specialized paper.  We've only recently evolved past the Banksy stage and introduced actual markers.  Crayons are still a bit problematic, as they break easily which is both enticing "I BREAK!" and upsetting "BROKEN!"

Science Tricks:  These get a lot of mileage around here.  They're like "magic."  A lot of these are from my childhood, but some are simple innovations.  Ooblek is from my childhood (2:1 ratio of cornstarch to water).  Placing a ball-pit ball on top of a hairdryer and making the ball float?  That one is all me.  And if you want to entertain your child for a very long time, fill 2 small cups with colored water, and then let you child help combine them in a larger glass to learn about how 2 primary colors can make a secondary color (repeat over and over and over).

Hands On: Toddler hands (and feet) make the best tools for crafting.  We've been taking advantage of this for quite some time.  This works especially well for gifts for grandparents.  But even if you don't use it for gifts, kids love "making" something, even more so when they get to do it "themselves."  So place some paint on a plate and let them get to creating.  Recently we've made snowmen on a hill with white paint, and many many balloons with thumbrints and multicolored paint.

One Man's Trash: This is probably my favorite arts and crafts recommendation.  Use your garbage.  Now, this doesn't have to be fancy.  For the past 2 days, Thatbaby has been wandering around the house with the cardboard insert from a roll of wrapping paper, pretending it's a baseball bat.   But it can get more creative.  Last week, when I was home sick, Thatbaby dug a milk jug out of the recycling bin.  Because without something to do, they WILL get into your trash.  Rather than freak out (because who has the energy?) I decided we would turn it into a project.  Thatbaby helped decide he wanted to make a "ball game."  So we did.

We cut off the bottom of the jug, and attached a balloon filled with rice to the jug with kitchen twine.  Voila - throw the ball up and try to catch it with the jug.

And if you're anything like us, you have diaper boxes coming out of your ears.  So what do you do with those boxes?  Turn them into trains!  Or cars.  

 

For this, I cut the top and bottom off the diaper box, then let Thatbaby pick out the colors of construction paper.   I glued them on to the diaper box and let him decorate the whole thing with stickers.  I punched holes on the sides and ran some ribbon through to hold his "train" on his shoulders.