Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Did you miss me?

I have been so effing busy I haven't had time to word vomit all over my blog. I know you, my faithful reader, must have been so worried about where I might have gone off to.

"Has she met someone??"

"Is she jet-setting around the globe looking fabulous?"

"Has she landed a new, awesome high-paying job and has no time to do fun things anymore..."

The answer to all of these questions is sadly NO, but alas, a girl can dream. She's still single, she's still on the ground and she is still poor. 

I've been working, chasing after my monster, spending time with my family, running away from blood thirsty mosquitoes, watching Mad Men and generally keeping to myself. A lot has happened in September and I am O-V-E-R   I-T. 

Here are a couple things I took the time to take pictures of because I cooked them and they were delicious. 

The first are panko crusted tofu cubes. I got the recipe from a mommy friend Zana (( look on Instagram for #Zanamade for all of her creations and #NotZanamade for all of our fails ))   

Seriously, she makes some amazing dishes and was kind enough to share this gem with me.

 What you need
1 package firm tofu
panko bread crumbs
1 egg white
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
rice flour
baking sheet

What you need to do

Press the tofu for an hour or more. You MUST do this part

•       put the tofu on a plate or cutting board with a few paper towels on the bottom
  • On top of the tofu put another 2 or three folded over paper towels and add another plate to the top then something heavy on top of the plate (can, wine, whatever)
  • Let this sit and change the paper towels if it gets drenched. You need to get as much water as you can out of the tofu and absorbed into the towels 
  • Do this for at least an hour. I did mine for almost three
   

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet or tray with Pam or whatever you use

Cube the tofu, sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic evenly and set aside

Now roll the cubes into the rice flour, dip into egg white and smother with panko

Add to tray and repeat steps until you have finished

Bake until golden brown, may require a flip!

 
Next on the list......


 Spinach and kale balls (( did she just say BALLS?!?!?! ))

These were inspired by the ones at Trader Joes. As many of you know, we are banned due to an incident at the banana stand (( "there is always money in the banana stand" )) and since then I took it upon myself to only go when either A) my child was in an exceptionally tolerant mood or B) I am by myself

Since I am never alone I went when he was happy. Still, I don't stay long. 

These are balls of spinach and kale and are not vegan friendly (( sorry kid )) I found the recipe on a taste of home and added kale

What you need 

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach
2 cups of finely chopped kale 
2-1/2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (to garnish)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


 

 What you need to do

Cook spinach according to package directions and make sure you drain well

Combine spinach with remaining ingredients (( including kale))  in a large bowl. Shape into 1-in. balls

place on an ungreased baking sheet

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned

Balls can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight before baking

....that's a lot of balls ;-)



 

Breakfast of champions

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day and contrary to popular belief if you are a vegetarian who eats eggs (( like me )) than your choices aren't limited. Even without eggs they aren't but this is a meal about eggs so forget that.

Nolan and I eat breakfast at 8am, everyday. I showed you in my post a day in the life what we generally eat every morning so today I decided to switch it up a little bit and make these delicious egg muffins that are a little ball of heaven. They're easy to make dairy free, which is a plus, will last well in the fridge (( or freezer )) for the week and pretty quick to prepare so I chugged my coffee and got down to business. 

What you need

**DISCLAIMER** I didn't use tomatoes but I think sliced cherry tomatoes would be divine in here -- so would zucchini

8 eggs - I did 6 whole and 2 whites
Frozen hash browns
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Spinach (raw)
4 cups Broccoli (slightly steamed)
Cheddar cheese ( Nolan had lactose free cheese )
Salt, pepper and garlic powder 
Cupcake tin

What you need to do

Preheat the oven to 350

Lightly spray cupcake tin with pam or rub or olive oil

Pack in frozen hashbrowns and sprinkle with salt and pepper

Steam broccoli and tear apart spinach (( like the kitchen savage that you are ))

Whisk eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic salt and veggies in a separate bowl 

Add cheese on top of the frozen hashbrowns 

Spoon in egg and veggie mix -- don't fill all the way to the top, they will get too big and spill over

Put them in the oven and bake for 20-25 min. You can stick a fork in the biggest one to see if the inside is runny. Don't overcook, they come out so nice and fluffy!

I put a dollop of salsa over my finished product. You could do avocado, more cheese, sour cream, hot sauce or whatever weird craving you have to spice it up a little. 

Egg-celent!!!!!!

 

My not-so-shitty weekend

My weekend started off like shit. 

Friday morning I took my cat to the veterinarian thinking that he had eaten something bad only to find out he had a deadly virus (FIP) and had to be put down, immediately. 

I found Kizzy four years ago on the side of the road. I chased that little wild beast down for two hours before catching him. He was a very unique cat; he loved to chase birds, sleep on faces, eat wet food, kill bugs and was good at being bad-ass in general. It is very sad when animals are young and can't live the rest of their lives. 

I'm not sure what the afterlife is all about but if there is one, he is certainly eating all of the chicken feast in gravy. 

Anyway, back to what I thought was going to be a shitty weekend.

It wasn't.

We went to the zoo with my parents, sister and brother in law Saturday. 

I haven't seen my son as happy as he was at the zoo since he dunked his face in his first birthday cake. It was hot and I was still a little sad but it was worth it.

Then something amazing happened.

I woke up on Sunday and it was 80 degrees. We went on a walk this morning and I swear, I almost started crying it was so beautiful out. Come to find out, it was the first day of fall... go figure. Nolan and I went to the park and kicked the soccer ball around, we rolled in the grass, watched the clouds, I chased him away from on-coming traffic....

Future MLS star

I realized that despite how sad something can make you, the silver lining is right in front of your face. Whether it is a child who loves you no matter what each day, a beloved pet who despite your shitty day will curl up in your lap without asking questions, a freak turn of weather or a visit from your very best friend sharing a slice of eggplant pizza with you, it's always there.

Life has a funny way of making me smile. 

My baby and my best friend 

 

Eggplant pizza 

(( thanks for the recipe Samantha <3 ))

Here is what you need:

1 eggplant

Spaghetti sauce

Cheddar cheese (( or whatever cheese you want ))

Veggie cheese for Nolan (( soy based ))

Salt, pepper, garlic salt

Spinach (( or whatever veggies you want ))

Here is what you need to do: 

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Slice the eggplant in medium slices

Brush olive oil on the eggplant and sprinkle salt and pepper over the slices

Put the eggplant in the oven for 10 minutes, flipping half way through 

Take the slices out, add the sauce, cheese and vegetables

Put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese bubbles 

Too good to be true.

 

Pesto & panko crusted zucca chips

Um yeah. These are pretty much amazing.

I have tried zucchini chips in the past and they have come out tasty but nothing compared to this. 

Nothing.

All it includes is salt, pepper, panko bread crumbs, zucchini and pesto. That's it.

 Things you need:
 Zucchini
Pesto
Panko bread crumbs
Pinch of salt & pepper


What you need to do:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Cut the zucchini into thin slices

Pour the bread crumbs into a bowl and add a bit of salt and pepper

In a separate bowl pour the pesto  

First dip the zucchini slices into the pesto -- make sure you really lather each side 

Next place the slice into the bread crumbs and press down. Repeat this for the other side

If you have one, use the baking rack. If I had one, I would have used it. If you don't a baking tray does the trick with some aluminum foil. Just remember to flip half way through

Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops are slightly browned. 

 Remember, press down

Breaded, pesto'ed, ready for the inferno

 

These would be perfect for a party, appetizer, whatever you want. I ate all of what you see here. Seriously, I did.

 

Enjoy! 

Even the birds are bumpin'

Congratulations Arizonians, if you were here all summer you survived the HOTTEST summer in history. As my grandma would say, it was hotter than the hinges in hell.

So put away your oven mitts, it is now safe to put your hands on the steering wheel without the looming fear of singeing off your top layer of skin.

Please pat yourself on the back.

I was very pleasantly surprised this morning to find that at 8 o'clock it was only 80 degrees. Yes, 80 degrees. So I scooped up my little chap and we took a stroll down to the park across the street to play Nolan's favorite game; find rock, pick rock up, pretend to eat rock and run away from mom. 

He always loses. 

I decided on the way back to post a list of our top 4 summer destinations. Now is the time to go, Dante's inferno is cooling off and you don't have to cry in your car while getting pummeled in the face with air the temperature of your hair dryer.

 Things that don't include staying inside the air conditioned apartment and feel sorry for ourselves.

1. Splash pad

Ahhhh, doesn't this look refreshing?

Our favorite splash pad is at the Scottsdale Quarter. There is a lot of seating, it is almost completely covered in the shade and with Starbucks and Truefood Kitchen at arms length you can walk around and dream about the day your toddler can go into a restaurant without having a nuclear melt down. 

Or just order take out.

But seriously, we love this place. Hence it being #1. 

2. The Children's Museum of Phoenix  

There is this amazing deal at the Scottsdale Public Library called the Culture Pass . If you are a library card holder (( FREE )) you are able to check out a pass and get two free admission tickets to the Children's Museum of Phoenix or any of the other locations that I've listed below. 

• Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park
• Arizona Science Center
• Cave Creek Museum 
• Deer Valley Rock Art Center
• Desert Botanical Garden
• Desert Caballeros Western Museum
• Phoenix Art Museum 
• Phoenix Zoo (excludes ZooLights admission)
• Pueblo Grade Museum
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

The Children's Museum is amazing. Your little tyke can run around into different stations building forts, riding in a pickle car, running through a noodle forest, shop in the "grocery store", channel their inner Picasso in the art room or climb up the giant tree house littered with all kinds of recycled materials. 

Not only do they get to interact with other kids but it wears them the F out. Two thumbs way, way up. 

3. Scottsdale Public Libraries

Free is the word here. They also offer a ton of classes for the kids, most of which conflicted with our naptime :0( At any rate, they have awesome sections for kids and tons of books for them to chew on... I mean read.

4. Scottsdale Aquatic Center

I have a few things to say about this place; the first is their awesome pool. It is shallow enough for little kids and has some kind of crazy-awesome spray contraption that you control by a wheel. I can't explain it but click here to go their website. They also have a water slide and splash pad for the kids.

Next is the high dive, I won't get into that because I don't do that kind of shit anymore. However, if you have older kids they love it. CANNON BALL!!!!

Two words-- LAZY RIVER. They have one. All I need is a mojito and for my son to be older so I can just kick back, relax and get my tan on. 

The only downside to this place is that they, understandably, only have weekday hours while the school age kids are out on summer break. When school kicks back up you're left high and dry and must venture to the community pool that smells like old people and used band-aids. 

The shirt isn't a suggestion, it's a command.

Well, that's all I got. My monster is sleeping and I need to take a shower. I hope you have found this post extremely riveting. I'll leave you with the lyrics of my favorite musician/rapper/poet Atmosphere.

 If you haven't heard his music do yourself a solid and Google him. Then buy his music. Then go to a show.

Okay, now I'm really leaving.

All of a sudden, I realize something
The weather is amazing, even the birds are bumpin'

.....

Sunshine, sunshine, it's fine
I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind
Sometimes you gotta give in to win
I love the days when it shines, whoah let it shine

 

I'm going to be a better mother

Sometimes I get bogged down by expectations, most of which are unrealistic. 

A nuclear family, a couple with dependent children forming the social norm. Everyone shows it: advertisements, television, textbooks, social guidelines....

You even know the rhyme-- first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby with a baby carriage.

The thing is though, we can't all have that, most of us don't. 

Is it just me or do we not hear about the "most of us" often enough?

I'm not married. First came love, then came baby, then came drama and a nasty break up. Then came baby carriage which just so happened to be parked inside my parent's garage where I had relocated myself and the rest of my hoard. 

Instead of a husband going to Home Depot with me to pick out a color to paint the nursery walls, it was my parents who weighed in ((  herbal garden is what we chose )), they are the people who gave up a bedroom to accommodate their new resident and new, impending, small roommate. Instead of a brief cameo at the baby-shower, I had to explain why the former boyfriend wasn't in the picture, speculating as to why he decided the responsibility of fatherhood was too great.


Instead of having an intimate moment with the father of my child at his birth, I had my entire family (( best friend included )) cheering me on while I went through almost 24 hours of labor and they held my hand, wiped my tears while my newborn was whisked away to the NICU in a moment of emergency. Instead of the textbook nuclear family, I had the one on steroids. 
 

And you know what?? I couldn't have asked for more. 

My family was able to be there, closer than anyone else during my pregnancy and into my son's infancy. We were able to raise him as a unit, as a community.  While I was living with my parents they were able to forge a bond with my son that few grandparents are able to. Instead of living across the country, we lived up stairs. Nolan would prefer to be in the company of his Nana and Papa than he would be, and I'm totally okay with that. They know my little monster almost as well as I do, and that is really saying something. 

I might not have the three bedroom ranch-style house with an added den house and white picket fence that I had expected, but I still have something truly great; I have a family and close friends who I know would lay down their lives for my son and his well being. I have a big clan to laugh with, to cry with, to share memories with. 

It was a long, hard road. I'd be lying of I said that my pregnancy was easy. I think most of us mothers would agree that the first time around, pregnancy is scary as hell. The IDEA of a human being living inside your body is terrifying. The expectations and assumptions are terrifying.

"Oh, you and your husband must be so excited!!" 

I got that a lot. I'd just lie through my smile and say yes. I didn't want to let perfect strangers down. How annoying is that? I didn't want them to judge me for being a single mother. I lied to make myself feel better about my shitty situation. I lied for other people.

With all of that junk in the past I made a decision;

I'm going to be a better mother than I ever expected because I have GREAT expectations for myself. The responsibility of being a parent isn't going to scare me anymore, it is going to excite me. 

I don't give a shit about how weird people think it is to breastfeed your baby after 12 months, he's my kid, not yours. I don't care being labeled as a granola mom who coddles her kid with attention and (( GASP )) doesn't feed him meat. I scoff at the assumptions strangers have about my life, brush off pity and move on a little more bad-ass than I was before.

The judgement, the pity, the assumptions and expectations are going to propel me to new heights. 

Forget the haters, cuz somebody loves ya.

 Nuclear family, on steroids.

Amy and Brian's wedding

From left: Danny, Mom, Amy, Dad, Nolan & I

(( not pictured: Erin Hart, Brian and Jourdan ))

Row, row, row your boat

Ill keep this short and sweet. 

Yesterday I was at the store and they had amazing deals on zucchini. I snatched them up and was on my merry way. I saw this recipe for stuffed zucchini but it called for six, you hollowed them out and used the tips as caps while the rest was submerged in tomato sauce. 

It had Pinterest fail written all over it. 

So instead I made something easier, with less waste and more flavor. 

                  Here she is, in all of her glory

Here is what you'll need

2 zucchini
broccoli florets chopped finely
2 carrots chopped finely 
1 cup picante salsa, mild
Ritz crackers, crumbled
Salt, pepper
Garlic powder
fresh parsley (cilantro would be good, too!) 

** You can really add any mix of veggies you want. Next time I will add black or garbanzo beans **

Here is what you do

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Take out a baking pan and add foil to it
 
Sautee the carrots and broccoli for 5 mins or so. You are doing this so get them nice soft. Use the olive oil here

Crumble the Ritz crackers in a separate bow and sprinkle pepper, parsley and garlic powder over. Mix

Scoop out the zucchinis with a spoon but be careful not to take out too much flesh.You want it to hold form once in the oven

Take the carrot mix and add the cup of salsa and parsley. Mix well

Add the salsa mix to the zucchini boats. Crumble the Ritz mix in there, too

Drizzle some more olive oil on the top, put them in the oven and wait 25-30 min

When I only had four minutes remaining I added cheese to the ones I was going to eat. 

Let them cool and add a little extra salsa to the top! 

SO YUMMY!!
 

 

Here are the boats before they baked

I die for a deal

Have you ever heard of thredUP? I hadn't until a fellow mom friend of mine (( shout out to you Alice!!!! )) showed me the best website I've ever seen for kids clothes.

Affordable

Stylish

Amazing

So, not only do you get the chance to recycle some of your babe's gently used clothes for store credit (( my bag was free with my purchase )), you are able to choose from a plethora of outfits ranging from $3-$30 AND you get 20% off your first purchase.

Did I mention if you refer a friend and they sign up, you both get $10 credit. 

If you couldn't tell how much I love this website, I hope I have convinced you. I love when other mommies have my back, reinforcing my inner shop-o-holic. Thank you.

Here is a little clip of what I got my little guy. He told me that he needed some new clothes for fall. How could I say no???

Happy shopping!!!!!

Little pizza for little fists

I love pizza, you probably love pizza, we all love pizza.

In my opinion, vegetarian pizza is the best. You have a colorful medley of vegetables smothered in delicious cheese and topped with as many delicious herbs as your little heart desires. There is less grease, less heart burn and more fun. 

A week or two ago I made these mini pizzas for my mini human since he has been on a carb only kick since his teeth have been deciding whether or not they want to join the rest of the gum party. What more could a kid ask for: cheese, bread, pizza sauce and stragecially placed vegetables. 

As I said before, I don't bake, so instead of being awesomely crunchy and making my own dough I opted for store bought whole wheat. 

I don't want to brag or anything but I am somewhat of a pizza expert. My first job was at a restaurant called Nick and Willy's which was a take and bake pizza shop. I was a 15 year old master chef. Ask anyone....

But I digress

What makes these pizzas special is their size. I used a mug to make little cut outs before baking, this helps exnay having to cut small pieces after it baked (( plus I don't have a pizza cutter )).

Ingredients & directions:

Pictured: Dough, veggies, cheese, herbs, olive oil, pizza sauce, garlic. Easy as pie... or pizza

 

If you are using store bought dough just follow the directions (heat, preperation, etc). It is key to leave it out at room temperature, so don't skip that part. Just don't do it.

Use something small for the circles. The dough will expand in the oven. Use the left overs for little dippers. I rolled the extra up into little balls and stuffed cheese and veggies inside. 

On the left is what the mini pizzas looked like before entering the inferno. The picture on the right is what they looked like after the inferno.

See? Pretty easy! And my guy loved them, I did too. You can do all kinds of variations which makes this fun for dinner parties. 

Enjoy!

So good, he passed out.

When toddlers turn

Every week I get an email from Babycenter giving me updates on what my child should be doing developmentally at any particular stage of his life. Usually I find their information helpful. It makes me feel less like a degenerate and more like a good mom.

This 15-month week two update, however, was laughable at best.

It was about my favorite toddler topic- tantrums. This email had a nice little "we are trying to make you feel better" snip-it outlining the normalcy of 15 month old tantrums. It makes sense to me; they don't know how to communicate with you and DESPERATELY want your attention, all. the. time. Been there, done that! As I've said many times, I am an expert terrorist negotiator. 

On the left you will see a very happy child coveting his best friend, rock. On the right is the result of taking rock friend away (after he tried to eat it). This is how quickly a toddler can melt down.

These little terrorists don't care if you have dishes to do, they'd prefer caked on dinner from last night on their plates, it's sooooo much better than that organic food you prepared.  

They don't care if you have laundry to fold, it is much more fun to take the clean clothes out of the hamper and throw them around the house.

 Side note;

• Once upon a time, in the honeymoon stages of mothering I was convinced I had the most well behaved child in the entire world, perhaps even the entirety of the universe. He was never colicky, always smiling, laughing and had zero stranger danger. 

I'm a first time mom and didn't know any better

Back to the laughable part. In this post there was a poll asking you what negative behavior your child shows when he/she wants your attention.

 I clearly voted all of the above. When my son wants my attention he will do anything in his power to get it; by means of whining, by means of shouting, by means of tugging, by means of force, by means of dropping to the floor like a limp noodle. You get the picture.

The COMMENTS in this section were mind blowing. So many "holier than thou" parents saying,

"My daughter Sage taps me on the shoulder, gently asking for my attention"

"Bob, my DS (darling son), doesn't do any of these things! He is such a sweet boy. He just looks over at me with these eyes and we are so in tune with one another, I know exactly what he needs or wants"

Liars. All liars.

I have a 15 month old who is happy most of the time, as long as he is getting his way. He can't help it that he gets frustrated at Trader Joes (where I believe we are blacklisted until he turns 4) when he can't push a strangers cart. He can't communicate to me that he would prefer to eat the cardboard box of Cherrios over scrambled eggs. 

He certainly loves me, but doesn't respect the banana stand at the grocery store. 

Tantrums are normal. So if you are one of those people out and about, doing your thing, and see a mom (or dad) with a little monster throwing himself/herself on the ground screaming, please don't give them nasty looks. I can say with certainty that the parent of the child is mortified but trying to save face. I've been there. I know.

Save your judgement for church.

A rare tender moment between small human and beast

 

A day in the life

Everyone always seems to be confused about what I do. 

Are you a stay at home mom? Do you work full or part time? What do you eat if you are vegetarian? What do you do ALL day???

Well here it is, in all of its glamour & luxury 

My boss wakes me up at 7am, sometimes earlier, rarely later. He is a very tough dictator I tell you. 

We play, he gives me kisses, yells at me, we read LOTS of books. 

8am: Breakfast 
We have the same thing almost every morning: eggs, veggie patties, fruit, coffee for me, almond milk for him. I pack the eggs full of either kale or spinach to boost our iron. Neither if us are anemic but it's smart to do since we are meat free. 

After we dine like royalty we play and I TRY to do some content writing. This is my second job ((  job #1 is mommy )). I look up trending articles on Yahoo and write small blurbs about them for a new website covering anything from social media to science and technology. Usually my little monster screams at me with the hope of smashing the keyboard so I tuck the laptop away and we run an errand, color pictures, go on a walk or visit the park. 

Between 10-11am: nap time 

Time to bust out the big guns. Nap time. 

It isn't the easiest I tasks getting this guy to sleep. He's very strong willed, his way or the high way. He will throw everything out of his crib, gnaw like an angry beaver on the nice wood bed I bought him, jump up and down crying. Then just as soon as I am ready to cry in the closet he happily passes out. This quiet time can last for 2-3 hours.

This is where my expert terrorist negotiating skills began 

While the prince sleeps I get my writing done. I clean up the apartment, start blogging, eat lunch, browse Pinterest, but mostly I work. If he gets up at 530am, I sleep. There is absolutely no way I can get through the busy day yawning and feeling lethargic. 

If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. 

This is where I prep for lunch and dinner. 

12/12:30 

I feed the little terrorist lunch and we do whatever we need to do to get ready for my third job, nannying. I make and pack his dinner, entertain and get dressed. 

2:50pm: pick up kids from school 

Next on the agenda is nannying. I pick up two school age kids, take them to their house and supervise homework until their parents get home. Nolan usually has two to three nuclear meltdowns because he is tired, wants to swallow Legos, hit the dog, normal toddler problems. At some point I feed Nolan dinner. 

6pm: the wind down 

Wind down is bath, pajamas, teeth brushing, nursing and sleep by 645pm. You might think this is torture for my child, such an early bedtime, but it has to be this way. He wakes up so flipping early I can have him sleep any later. 

7pm

Now I eat dinner, continue cleaning, work and try to get a blog post up. I'd all of these things are successful I watch an episode of Mad Men, get ready to go to sleep & call it a day. 

So there you have it. This is my life! I hope you still want to be my friend.