Crave Wednesday: Grilled Tomato and Brie Sandwiches

 

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!  Only a week late really, and I had the best of intentions on sharing this last week, but, well, keep reading and you'll find out why that didn't happen.

My balloon plan worked out perfectly!  Each guy in my life awoke to 10 balloons with 10 things I loved about them.  Some of them woke a little earlier than others.

Thatbaby dug right into his book - Corduroy's Valentine.

When both boys and Thatboy were awake, they presented me with a gift the three of them had made for me - a new cork board to hang up all my favorite art the boys make or bring home.

And then it was breakfast time!  Because it was a school day, I had made heart shaped pancakes the night before, so I just needed to reheat them in the morning.

 

And then it was time to get dressed and head to school.

 

Thatkid has gotten too old for homemade Valentine treats.  He just wanted to pick out a box of cards from the store.  He did bring in strawberries cut like hearts for his school party though.   Thatbaby isn't too cool for school yet, so his classmates got playdoh - a BIG favorite.  Those kids are playing with playdoh about half the time when I pick him up.

It's hard to work out romance with 2 small kids at home, so Thatboy and I came up with a plan - we both skipped out of work early and headed to the fancy movie theater to see a movie.   He met me outside the movie theater with a rose.  "I picked you up a whole dozen roses on my way here!"  "Where are the other 11?"  "In the car."

 

After the movie, we headed home to pick up the boys.  Years ago, we tried to figure out how to celebrate Valentine's Day with a 4 month old and decided to take him to dinner at a place where a baby wouldn't be totally out of place - Old Spaghetti Factory!  We decided for a reprise this year.  Italian (if you can call it that) seems fitting for Valentine's Day, and this is about as family friendly as it gets. 

Then we came home and put the boys to bed.  Despite the fact he usually sleeps in much less, Thatkid was anxious to put on his new Valentine's Day pajamas.  And read his new Valentine's Day book.

The kids asleep, Thatboy and I curled up on the couch....and fell right asleep.  And so failed my plan of posting this recap. I know, we're terribly romantic.  But romance isn't always about wine and roses.  Romance is easily expressed through food, which is probably why Paris is considered so romantic.  The bread, the chocolate, THE CHEESE!  There's something about cheese, isn't there?  Wine and cheese, fondue, there's just a natural association between cheese and love. This simple grilled cheese sandwich couldn't be any more Parisian, any more romantic.  It's so simple, brie and tomatoes, grilled until the cheese melts, and melds it all together.  The toasty bread doesn't hurt either.  And what's most important is how quickly it comes together.  Because the real secret to romance, is the time you spend together, so the less time cooking, the better.

Grilled Tomato and Brie Sandwiches (From Cooking Light)

8 slices whole grain bread

1 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, halves

2 tsp country-style Dijon mustard

4 oz Brie cheese, thinly sliced

1 1/3 cup packaged baby arugula and spinach mix

8 slices beefsteak tomato

cooking spray

1.  Preheat grill to high heat.  Brush 1 side of each bread slice with oil.
2. Rub cut garlic over oil.
3. Spread 1/2 tsp mustard on each of 4 bread slices, oil side down.
4. Top each bread slice with 1 oz cheese, 1/3 cup greens, and 2 tomato slices.
5. Top with 4 bread slices, oil side up.  Place sandwiches on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.  Grill 2 minutes on each side.

Mommy Mondays: A long long day in the life

This is me, keeping it "real"...yo.  Before one of my coworkers quit, because she felt work was too overwhelming, we had a conversation.  She doesn't have kids, and she asked me if they're worth it.  All the heartache, drama, stress, lack of sleep... And I told her the truth.  It is.   I'm putting that out there first, because after this recap, combined with the last one at 16 months, some of you may question why on earth anyone would sign up for this.

1:19am  - Thatbaby wakes up.  He's still sleeping poorly as he gets over his pneumonia, and I can tell he's having difficulty breathing as he nurses.  Which is part of the reason why I'm still nursing.  Because there's very little I can do to help other than provide whatever analgesic aid nursing provides.

1:49am - Thatboy takes over helping him back to sleep, so I can get a little more sleep. I manage to fall asleep before Thatboy gets back to bed.  Which is not an amazing feat.

4:27am - Thatbaby is up again, I play our brand of Russian roulette.  I bring him to bed with us.  9 times out of 10 he doesn't go back to sleep after 4am.  And then we're stuck with a screaming, crying baby in our bed.  Who also hits.  Today we get lucky and he nurses himself to sleep.  But not before...

5:15am - my alarm goes off

5:27am - I am able to extricate myself from Thatbaby and get up shower.  He's still sleeping when I finish, so I have a chance to start my hair, makeup

5:45am - Thatboy wakes up and heads out to walk Thatdog.

5:57am  - Thatbaby wakes up, I offer him some breakfast, to which he happily yells "GEHGER!"  He gets his yogurt while I finish my makeup and hair.

6:05am - I wake up Thatkid.  His latest sleeping attire means there won't be any pictures of him for a while...until he puts on some clothes.

6:08am - Thatkid eats breakfast at school, and likes to pack his own morning snack.  So I pack that.

Meanwhile, a little voice from the living room calls out "AWFUL!"  I make Thatbaby a waffle.

6:10am -  While the waffle is cooking, I tell Thatbaby it's time to get dressed.  He throws himself on the floor.  Then he starts making his way to his bedroom.



Once there, I get a whiff of something that does not smell like waffle. I change his diaper, do his breathing treatment, and get him dressed. 

Thatkid makes his way into the room (still not dressed) and starts crying that no one loves him, because I won't give Thatbaby an extra puff of albuteral.  Oh good.  It's going to be one of those days.

6:22am - I head to the kitchen and make myself a smoothie while packing my breakfast, snack and lunch.

6:33am - check on Thatkid, who is almost dressed.  I go to get myself dressed, but get distracted by laundry and put towels in the wash, then get dressed

6:45am - everyone heads out to the car, when we discover Thatkid doesn't have shoes on yet.

6:52am - The boys get into Thatboy's car and he heads off to drop them at daycare and preschool while I head to work.

7:38am - Arrive at work.  I grab a cup of hot tea and get to work preparing for a client deposition.

10:48am - Smoothie time!  Then it's back to work.

12:11pm - Major work crisis alert!  Surprise client depo prep session!  Luckily we have the bones of a prep memo, so I get to work on fleshing it out while I eat my lunch - a chicken sandwich on an English muffin.

2:40pm - Got the crisis under control, and go for my mid-afternoon pick me up.  Nutella and apple slices.

3:30pm- Close up shop and change into my running clothes.  Our switchup in the morning, with Thatboy dropping off the kids means I get into work a lot earlier, and I can leave earlier.  So I use this time to go for a short run before heading out to pick the boys up.

3:48pm - I hit the pavement.  I  rarely run the same route twice, instead picking random side streets and avenues to explore.

4:05pm- Back to the car where I hop in and head home.  Or home-ish.  I head to grab my littles from daycare/preschool.

4:48pm-  Arrive at daycare and grab Thatbaby.

4:57pm- Arrive at preschool and grab Thatkid.

5:15pm - My gas light went off on my way home.  What can I say, I live on the edge.  So we stop and grab gas on the way home.

5:23pm- We're home!  The next day is Thatbaby's last day of daycare, so I set him up to make a picture for his day care providers and Thatkid keeps him company.

5:40pm - The boys play outside while I throw the towels in the dryer.

5:48pm - Thatboy gets home and I make pizza for dinner.

6:05pm - dinner's ready!  We all sit down and eat.

6:32pm - Thatkid goes to clean his room,  and I start working on tomorrow's lunch while Thatbaby finishes up dinner.

6:38pm  - Everyone's done with dinner, and Thatbaby heads to bath.

6:53pm - I get called in to Thatbaby's room to nurse him and put him to bed while Thatboy does bathtime with Thatkid and washes dishes.

7:25pm - I join Thatboy and Thatkid in Thatkid's bed for a bedtime story.

7:37pm - I'm back in the kitchen working on lunches for tomorrow, chicken and peanut noodles. 

7:43pm - Go do a checkin on Thatkid, then back to the kitchen to make dinner, stuffed peppers.

8:11pm - The peppers go in the oven and it's workout time!  Tonight is lots and lots and lots of burpees.  Thatboy and I watch The OA while I workout.

8:30 pm- Thatbaby wakes up.  Thatboy goes in to check on him.

9:20pm  - I finish up the artwork for Thatbaby's day care providers.

9:42 pm- I log on to my work system from home and do a little more work while we watch television.

10:39pm - pack it up and go to bed

11:40pm - Thatbaby wakes again, this time it's my turn to go in.  It's going to be another rough night I fear.

Sunday Runday: Runnin' In The Rain

I'm not a hard core runner.  You know the type.  They're like the postal service.  Neither rain, nor sleet, nor wind, nor hail....

That's not me.  I do not enjoy running in the rain.  I try to avoid it at all costs.  In fact, this is the first weekend that I haven't run in.....I can't even tell you the last weekend I didn't run!  But sometimes it's unavoidable.

Like the time I was on a 10 mile run, and it started raining at mile 7 or 8 - when I still had miles to go.  And I cried as I ran.

Or the time I met with friends and it started raining right when we arrived, so we decided to go to the nearby airforce base that had a gym.  Only it stopped raining when we got there, so we headed off to run around the base, and it started raining when we had about 2 miles to go.  I didn't cry that time, even when we were drenched.

Or last weekend, when we started our run in the rain.  SDMom said she felt especially sweaty, and I had to remind her that it probably was more rain than sweat.  But it cleared up about halfway through the run. 

I don't have the same problem with cold, but there's just something about being wet I don't enjoy. And if that means I won't get my induction into the runner's hall of fame, then so be it.

If you're looking for tips on how to run in the rain, you've come to the wrong place.  But if you have any good ideas, short of the little umprella hat, I'm all ears!

Mommy Mondays: 20 months

Weight: 27lbs 6oz (+ 19 lbs, 2 oz) (from 18 months)

Height: 35"(+ 13") (from 18 month)
Head: 19" (from 18 months)
 

Sleep: We were doing really well, down to one wakeup a night, and then his last eyetooth came in, followed by what the doctor thinks might be walking pnemonia.  And sleep has been the pits again.  Up almost every 45 minutes until around 4am when he decides that's it for the day.

Eating: Thababy had his return check fore anemia and passed!  Our increase in iron rich foods worked!  Which has also led to his new favorite food - raisins.  Dinners this past week have not been so hot, because of illness.  And he's still nursing several times a day, mostly at night.   

Best Moment: Taking Thatbaby to Disneyland  He had such a good time, was patient in the lines, enjoyed the rides, and loved seeing the characters.

Monthly Wisdom: We've entered the hitting phase of toddlerhood.  Which I hate.  Unlike Thatkid though, Thatbaby instantly regrets it.  He gets frustrated, hits, and then starts crying and hugging me.  I just need to remember this is just a phase, and as he gets more language under his belt there will be lest hitting.

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- SLEEP  (what are you guys going to do when we conquer this hill?")

Things Thatbaby is doing:
-  He says yeah!  Which is so much nicer than no, which we got all the time.

-  He knows almost all of his body parts and some colors.  (Although must colors are pink..no matter what color they are)
-  He's started stringing together thoughts.  Like calling things "Mama's car."

- Hitting, not a good thing, but he's doing it.

- He can get into the carseat by himself and buckle the top buckle.

-He knows his name and recognizes himself in pictures.

- Speaking of, he loves having his picture taken.  He is constantly posing and saying "cheeeeeese."

- He has discovered a love for Mickey Mouse.

Sunday Runday: Cardiff Kook 10k

The Cardiff Kook 10k seems like a race that's been around since the beginning of time.  It's a community race that has this aura of history.  I'm not sure why given that it's really only been run for the past 7 years.  Maybe that's a long time for races...

I've wanted to run this race for years and this year, since it's the year of the 10k, was the year I was going to do it!

The Cardiff Kook 10k is named for the iconic "Kook" statue in Cardiff.  The statue depicts a surfer that has become a mascot for the community.  He is constantly being dressed up and put into interesting situations, used to ask girls to homecoming and prom, and a frequent photo op for tourists and runners alike.

The Kook was on my daily running route, which is probably one of the reasons I was anxious to do this race.  Much like the founders who wanted to others to experience the course they loved.

The race started in Encinitas and we ran towards Cardiff and the Kook.  There's a 5k component, which is funny, because it turns around before the Kook. 

The course runs along the water.  It was a pretty overcast, which made for a nice cool run, if not the best views.

 

The first mile I ran in 10 minutes, and the second mile in under 9:30.  And then came the positive splits.  Mile 3 was just under 10 minutes, and then came the turnaround.

 

Mile 4 continued with the drop in pace, this time a little over 10 minutes.  Mile 5 hit the hills, and I slowed down even more.  At this point I figured I wasn't going to make my goal of 1:03, but I kept on chugging.  Around this time we met up with the 5kers heading back from their turn-around.  And there were plenty of fun costumes to watch.

Joining in with the 5kers gave me the extra push I needed and the last mile was back under 10 minutes.  I saw the 1:02 on the timeclock as I approached and kicked it into high gear, crossing at 1:02:31.

So not only did I cut 2 minutes off my 10k time, but it was also a PR!  A 2 minute PR!

So the Cardiff Kook 10k has become my favorite race of 2017 so far.  I know, it's early days yet.  But it gives me home that I can drop 3 minutes over the next 10 months!!!!  Resolution, here I come!