Santa's Sangria

Nothing says "Holiday" like a tall, fruity, alcoholic beverage. It's what Santa's drinking when he's not drinking cookie milk.

1 bottle cran raspberry juice
1 bottle blackberry wine
1 bottle mineral water
1 each, sliced, Orange, lemon, apple
1 handful raw cranberries

Stir all together in a tall pitcher (or very large, clean leftover punch bottle). Serve over ice. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it tastes.
Very holiday.

Pink Sangria

So quick and easy, there's never an excuse not to have a glass on hand. Super cool and refreshing. And pink! Pink is fun.

2 cans fresca
1 bottle white wine
1/4 cup each lemon and lime juices
1 grapefruit
2 tbs grenadine
Mix all liquid ingredients. Slice or squeeze grapefruit into mixture. Serve over ice.

Smoothies

I love smoothies. They taste so indulgent. Dessert in a glass. With a krazy straw. Of course. But they are also wonderfully healthy and filling. A perfect snack when real food doesn't sound good. A great way to use up stuff that's hanging out in the fridge.
 Here are a few of my yummy smoothies. I always have to share with at least one kid, so the servings are generous. I use almond milk, but you can use whatever milk you like.

Sweet Potato Pie
1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes (mashed, pureed, baked, roasted, even jarred baby food)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp butter flavoring
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
2 tbs dark brown sugar or 1tbs molasses
1/4 cup milk
LOTS of ice

Place all ingredients except ice in pitcher. Blend on high speed till smooth. It will take a while. Once smooth, add ice. Blend till frosty. Serve in a big glass with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Green Orange
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1tbs vanilla extract
handful raw greens (spinach, collards, chard, kale)
1/4 cup milk
1 tbs dark sugar (brown, honey, agave, brown rice syrup)
Lots of ice

Place all except ice in blender. Blend on high speed until there are no green bits visible. Add ice. Blend till smooth. Serve.
You really can't taste the greens. It has a very cool, Seuss-like quality, esp if you use spinach. Tastes exactly like an Orange Julius.

PB&J
1/4 cup peanut butter
2tbs Jelly, jam or preserves
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup milk
Ice
Blend every thing but ice till smooth. Add ice, blend. Serve.

Peanutbutter Cup
1/4 cup PB
1tbs cocoa powder
2tbs dark sugar
1/4 cup milk
Ice
Place all ingredients in pitcher, blend till smooth. Serve with a sprinkle of cocoa powder.



Pina colada
1/4 cup frozen pineapple concentrate
1/2 cup coconut milk
ice
Place all ingredients in pitcher. Blend till smooth.

Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

These are so much better than I expected. They have opened up a whole new world of treatdom to me. Expect LOTS more treat-based recipes from the Strawberry Mama in the near future.

This is a super fast and easy snack. I let the kids help. My 5yo broke up the cookies while my 8yo stirred the marshmallows. We took turns stirring and pouring and I did most of the eating in secret so they would catch me and demand some of my coveted yumminess.

1 package oreos

1/4 cup (half stick) butter

1 bag mini marshmallows (or regular)

3 cups (or so) Krispies

Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Break cookies into quarters. Set aside.

In a large pot, over low heat, melt butter and marshmallows. Stir continuously until marshmallows are just melted. Remove from heat.

Immediately stir in cookies and krispies. Work fast, especially if it's cold in your kitchen. These set up quickly. You want the mixture to be a little on the dry side. If your marshmallow goop is still goopey, add a little more cereal. Be sure to coat every crumb.

Turn into pan. Press gently with damp hands. Let cool on counter, then chill in fridge one hour. Cut into squares and serve.

Milk booster bars

These are very nutritious for pregnant and nursing mamas, growing children and anyone who needs a power-packed snack. The oats may boost milk supply, the molasses is an excellent source of iron and the flax seeds are a great source of omegas. These bars are very dense and filling. Perfect for a quick breakfast on the go. The mild flavor is gentle on queasy tummies. Because of the honey, they are not suitable for babies under one year.

1/2 cup (1 stick) buttter or margarine

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup sugar

1Tbs cinnamon

3 cups oats (toasted if you like)

3 cups cereal-I used Honey Bunches of Oats, but any hearty, whole grain cereal or granola will work

1/2 cup nuts or seeds-I used flax

Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add honey, and molasses. Bring to simmer. Add sugar. Stir till dissolved. Remove pan from heat. Stir in cinnamon, oats, cereal, and nuts or seeds. Toss to coat well. Pour into pan and press firmly with buttered or wet hands. Let cool at room temperature approximately 30 minutes.
When cool, score with a large knife. I cut mine into granola bars, but squares are fine. Or diamonds. Or parallelograms. Whatever. They will be very rich, so keep them on the small side.
Place in the fridge to chill. Once cold, flip pan over and tip them out. Break into pieces along scorelines. Store in the fridge.

Fast, easy, fudgey brownies

I'm still working out the kinks in these, but they are good enough to share now.

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup flour
8 tbs cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts or flax seeds
1/2 cup chocolate chips (any flavor)

Preheat oven to 325. Prepare 9x13 inch pan.
Put eggs, sugar, salt, oil, flour, cocoa, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts or seeds and chips.Pour into pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Tortilla Soup- Vegan, or Not

We love Tortilla Soup. It's so yummy and hearty, and tasty and healthy and easy and cheap. All the things a soup should be. This surprisingly flavorful soup can be prepared with no animal products, and you will never miss them. If you are of the omnivorous persuasion, any leftover meat-steak, chicken, pork, turkey, ground whatever-can be thrown in for a little extra flavor and protein boost.

1 medium onion, diced
1 large or 2 small poblanos, diced or one can green chilies
4 cloves garlic, minced
oil for sauteeing
dash of salt
2 tsp cumin
dash cayenne
one can of diced tomatoes, undrained or 2 cups vegetable juice
2-4 cups chicken broth, veggie stock, or water
1/4 cup masa harina or strips of 4 uncooked corn tortillas
1 cup cooked (or sprouted) beans or meat or both
handful of tortilla chips

To serve:
diced fresh tomato
shredded lettuce
diced onion (I especially like red onions)
chopped fresh cilantro
guacamole
diced avocado
sour cream
shredded cheese

Heat soup pot and oil. Gently sautee onions, chilies, and garlic, sprinkled with salt to draw out moisture.

When onions are translucent, add cumin and cayenne to taste.  Cook and stir one minute to release the flavors.

Add juice or tomatoes, and broth, stock or water. If using dry masa, mix with a few tbs cold water, then add to pot. If using fresh masa or tortilla strips, add directly to pot. Add beans and/or meat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes or more. Soup will thicken as masa cooks. If it gets too thick, add more water. Tortillas will soften and break apart. This is good. You want this.

To serve, spoon into bowls. Garnish with desired toppings, and a few tortillas chips for crunch.

Toothbrush surprises and other tiny delights

I keep a stash of toothbrushes in various colors, styles and sizes in a pretty tin in the bathroom. Along with toothbrushes, there are assorted soaps, spare bottles of shampoo, extra tubes of toothpaste, and other minor necessities of health and hygeine. I like to have everything handy in case something wears out or runs low. It's my job to keep everyone looking sparkly and smelling fresh and I take it seriously.

When my children's toothbrushes are looking a bit worn, I toss the old one and replace it with a new one. I try to find fun colors and special features, like tongue scrubbers and gum massagers. I never tell the children when I replace their toothbrushes. I like to leave them, quietly, like the toothbrush fairy, in each place, waiting patiently to be discovered. My children are always thrilled by this little treasure. The lucky child will exclaim over the purpleness of the purple handle and the brushiness of the bristles and magnificent suction of the suction cup that makes it stand upright on the side of the sink.

I find immense joy in their immense joy over such a mundane object. How could I not smile a bit when a child is so exhilerated by his good fortune at receiving a 25 cent plastic stick with nylon attached? When he simply must remove the plaque from his teeth this instant. He has the overwhelming need to become acquainted with his new possession, to indulge in the experience of this new thing. An ordinary rote action is magically tranformed into something new and special.

A task so small that I might perform it with almost no conscious thought has become a treasured memory. One that I will hold dear long after my children are grown, and one that I suspect my children might reflect on after I'm gone. "Remember how Mom would surprise us with toothbrushes? And we'd be so excited and she'd have us tell her all about them?"

Like the scent of pansy flower baby wash and the feel of my baby's breath against my neck are indelibly printed in my memory, I can easily picture myself walking down the aisle at the pharmacy when I'm old and gray and shedding a small tear of remembered joy when my eye rests on a dolphin shaped toddler toothbrush.

Every small task that we perform for those we love is an opportunity to express that love. By embracing my mundane chores, I can embrace my children.

"MOM" = Hilarity

My laptop died a while ago. Since then, I've been sharing my kids' computer.

 I made a folder in the Favorites cleverly titled "MOM", to keep them off my Facebook and so I don't have to sift through 20 cartoon and video game links to get to my "Post-Baby-Better-Than-Before-Baby-Beach-Body-Bikini" workout.

They recently discovered this folder, mixed in with their links. They think it's hysterically funny. I'd love to explain the joke, but I don't get it.

From what I gather, they seem to think that a folder titled "MOM" belonging to their actual mom is the height of comedic irony.

My kids have sophisticated sense of humor. Better than fart jokes, right?

Mothering is not a sacrifice.

We hear it so often, it has become an unquestioned truth. Mothering is a sacrifice. Mothers are selfless. The decision to have children is a selfless one.

I disagree.

A selfless act is one we do to benefit someone else, often at a cost, great or small, to our own self-interest. I did not choose to have children for their sake. I did it for my own.

I wanted my children. I asked and prayed for them. Not because I wanted to give them the gift of my mothering, but because I wanted the gift of becoming a mother.

I am not sacrificing my time, energy, money, and sleep to my children. I am giving it freely. Because I love them. Because I am grateful to be entrusted with such treasures. Because I choose to. Because I want to.

I want to spend my time with them. I want to teach them and learn with them. I want to feed them yummy food and clothe them in adorable clothes. I want to make a home for them, filled with love and laughter and toys and sticky messes.

I don't love the sticky messes, but I love watching my children light up with joy while they smush playdoh, smear jelly in their hair, cut and paste, paint pictures, dig in mud and eat cupcakes.

It pains me to think of my children, or the time I spend caring for them, as sacrifices. I never want them to feel like a burden to me.

Yes, I get overwhelmed. They out number me 4 to 1. I lose my temper and yell. I'm not always the fun, patient mom. I get tired and cranky.

But I hope that my children always know that they are worth every sleepless night and early morning. Every yawn and sigh.  Every ruined shirt and extra chore. Every stretch mark, wrinkle and gray hair.

I would rather have my children than a spotless house, stylish furnishings, a lovely wardrobe, a promising career, a sporty car, a new iphone, a full night's sleep, a nice neighborhood and an extra bedroom.

Compared with the joy and purpose they give me, those things can hardly be called a sacrifice.

Chocolate Blender Cupcakes and Cream Soda Frosting

These cupcakes are very moist and tasty. Preparing the batter in the blender saves time and makes clean up easy. When finished, add hot water, turn on and let the blender clean itself. Pour the batter directly into the cups from the blender pitcher. Super quick and easy. Frosting can be thick and spreadable or a thin glaze, depending on your preference.

Cupcakes
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup cocoa
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place all ingredients in blender pitcher in order. Blend on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides if needed.
Pour into cupcake pan lined with papers. Fill just below tops.
Bakes 20 minutes for full size, 15 minutes for minis.
While cupcakes are baking mix frosting. Cool on a rack before frosting.

Frosting
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
splash cream soda

Place butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in clean blender pitcher. Blend briefly on low speed. Add a splash of cream soda. Increase to medium speed. Continue adding sugar if too thin or sugar if too thick until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a bowl. Spoon onto cooled cupcakes. Let set for a few minutes, then enjoy.

Latkes

A latke is similar to a hashbrown patty. It's a Jewish food traditionally served during Chanukkah with sour cream and applesauce. We enjoy latkes all year round. My children like to eat them with ketchup (of course).

6 potatoes, shredded
1 onion, shredded
1 egg
1/4 cup matzo meal, cracker meal, whole wheat flour (this is what I prefer), or all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

Drain potato shreds in collander in the sink for a few minutes. This prevents watery latkes.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
Heat an inch of oil in a skillet or griddle.
Form patties, squeeze excess moisture, and place in hot oil. DO NOT TURN until the underside is very brown, or latkes will stick and crumble. When very brown, flip and cook on other side.
Drain on a rack or place on tray or plate in a single layer. Place in a warm oven. Serve hot!
This makes a large batch. Plenty to share. Once completely cool, place in freezer bags and freeze. To reheat, place frozen latkes on a baking tray and warm in 375 degree oven.

The easiest, richest, yummiest peanut butter cookies on the planet

 

1 cup peanut butter (or almond butter, sunbutter, cashew butter, soy butter, or my fave, mixed nut butter)
1 cup brown sugar (if you don't have brown, white will do. They will be less chewy and more crisp)
1 egg
1 tbs vanilla extract
Optional: Chocolate chips, nuts, candied nuts, chocolate squares, jelly, candied fruit

Mix all. If using chocolate squares, jelly or candied fruit, hold on to those.
Roll into small balls, the size of a shooter marble.
Place on a tray, one inch apart.
Smoosh with a fork if you like. If you are holding onto one of those other things, press them into the top of each cookie. If you are using jelly, press down with your thumb to make a pond and then fill it with jelly. Make sure your jelly pond doesn't leak, or you will have a big sugary, burnt mess where your cookies should be.
Bake for 8 minutes at 325.
Cookies will be very gooey. Let cool slightly on tray, then transfer to rack to cool completely. They are VERY rich. Make them little and pace yourself.

My life

This pretty much sums it all up.

So cute. So vicious.

Poor elf.

Guilty!

Ben said,"Poor Santa. I guess there'll be no Christmas this year."

It's School Supply Day!

I hit up Walmart's school supply sale last night after putting the kids to bed. I packed up new pencil boxes with some of the goodies. I have more stuff stashed away to be distributed at a later date.


Surpise!



Fully stocked.

They are working through every pencil in their boxes. I've never seen such colorful math.

What a deal!

That's a full 0% off!

Savannah has ring around the collar.

My dog is not colorfast.

It's time for some pictures

It's time for some pictures of my yummy baby.

Technically not a baby picture, but I like this one. He's 2 days old here, I think.

It had been a few days. Everyone else had had a chance to hold W. I was settling down on the couch. Jay climbed up beside me, grabbed the Boppy, put it on his lap and demanded, "Me!"

Enamored

So proud

One week old. Show off.

First Bath

I faux hawked him. Yup, I did. 3 weeks old.

I love these babies.

5 weeks old and he's still working this tired old number. I asked,"Don't you have any new tricks, yet?"



So then he did this. I told him that babies who are 5 weeks old are NOT supposed to sit up yet. He said, "Oh, yeah? Watch me." Smartypants.



This baby is so loved.

He has the biggest smiles.

These are from today.

Cutest little dimple.

Oh, the scrutiny.

Starting to teethe already.



I like old women.

I specificly like old women with sharp wits, tongues and memories.

We younger women guard our words. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, or give anyone a poor impression of ourselves, our husbands, our children. We often choose to say nothing at all, for the sake of peace and polite society.

At some point, women stop caring so much about what other people think. They decide that if they have something to say, they'd darn well better say it.

That's when they get interesting. I love to hear the voices of experience.

 I look forward to someday being old enough to be free with my words, too. When my work is done, my children are raised and my life has spoken for itself, I won't care either what anyone thinks of me. I'll say what I want and let my listeners decide if I'm just a crazy old bat or wise woman with words worth hearing.

I am thankful to have so many wise women in my life with words worth hearing. Thank you, ladies, for being brave enough to share them with me.

potato and spinach soup

Yummy, healthy and simple.

3 red potatoes, diced
broth, stock, reconstituted bouillion, whatever you use to make soup. I use Vegeta, a soup base imported from the Balkans and worth every penny.
Water to cover
1 large spring onion
2 cloves garlic
oil for sauteeing
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained or equal amount fresh, chopped

add potatoes, broth, stock, soup base, whatever to pot. If using nonliquid, add water to cover. Bring to boil and simmer till tender.
mince onion and garlic. Sautee till translucent.
Add onion and garlic and spinach to potatoes and stock. Add more water if necessary.
Heat through. Serve with crusty whole grain bread.

William's Birth

This is me, at 5am, the morning of my induction. I'd been having contractions off and on for 2 and half weeks. I was exhausted and ready to meet my baby.

I'm very sad that i didn't get any pictures of my doulas, Kira and Jenny. They were the most amazing labor support. I am terrified of pitocin. I wanted as natural a birth as possible. Unfortunately, due to complications, we all agreed (my doctors-OB, High Risk OB, and Endcrinologist- my husband, and I) that a scheduled induction was the safest choice. My OB was great, though, and let me go as sowly as I wanted. It took 5 or 6 hours to get the pitocin up to the point where I was having active labor. The rest of the time, we were hanging out. Kira and Jenny helped me stay calm and made the experience a positive one.

Derek kept the kids at the house, about 5 minutes from the hospital. They came by to visit periodically.

After about 5 hrs of physically and emotionally intense, but not painful, labor,  I got to meet my beautiful baby. At this point, I still didn't know if it was a boy or girl. And, to be completley honest, I didn't care. He was safe, healthy, breathing on his own. That was all that mattered. 

8 pounds, 8 ounces of perfection.

So happy to have this precious little person.

Still gunky and already beautiful.

Derek and the kids arrived within minutes of the birth. They had to wait in the hall while the nurses helped me get presentable. :) Ben and Jeff were so excited to be "more involved this time." They both took the experience very seriously. 6 weeks later they are still talking to me about how wonderful it was to be able to be there. These pictures are from the next day, when they came to visit. William had to be monitored in the nursery every few hours. He did very well, and we got to home after 24 hrs.

Baby Jason took the experience much less seriously, but he too was happy to be there. He also enjoyed the chicken nuggets Derek brought me. I was ravenous.



Here are two more, just becasue I want to show him off. Isn't he stunning? I love this precious little boy.

 









I'm not worried about missing out

When I was a young woman, and especially when I became a young mother, I worried about missing out. I worried that my child would miss something, that there were experiences we would not have, sights we would not see. Did we spend enough time at the beach? Did he get enough opportuinties to swim? Should we visit the library, zoo, museum, festival one more time? Should we spend one more hour here before going home for lunch and nap? And what about all those classes he isn't taking? Art, music, dance, graphic design, molecular biology? Don't want him to miss those!

Now that I've been a mom for a few years, and have a few more kids, I have realized something. Each child is going to have a different experience. No one is going to see or do or learn or experience everything. My first child took a lot of classes, went to a lot of attractions. He was the first, the only. My second child has spent most of his time at home. I've been busy having babies and schooling his brother. My third is watching his brothers play sports everyday, listening to their lessons. And the fourth? Who knows what life holds for him. He will see his brother leave home before he reaches his teens.

When I just had one kid, I could only see the right now. I had no perspective. Time had not yet passed. But now, watching each kid thrive in a different circumstance from the last, I see things more clearly. None of my children has everything. None of them get to experience everything the world has to offer. Each has his own story. One is no better or worse than another. Just different and unique.

The pressure is off. I no longer risk a tantrum to get in just a little more fun. I don't stretch the budget for one more class. We can all relax and enjoy the life that we have right now, knowing that tomorrow, next month, next year, will be different. And that's OK.

Stickers

How do you magically transform an angry, screaming, rage-filled toddler monster into this delightful creature?

Stickers! Give it a couple of stickers and VOILA! instant peace and happiness.

"Whoa." That's a direct quote.



 He likes them so much, he even let me make breakfast in with a minimum of shrieking. Magic.



I'm baaaack!

For now anyway.

I've been stockpiling pictures and ideas for a loooong time. I'm going to work in reverse chronological order and hopefully, someday, I'll catch up.

So. Here goes.

It's springtime in my little Creole town. It's in the high 80s, the field is in bloom, and kittens are pending. I like kittens.  We're spending lots of time outside (I'm sitting at my plastic table under my umbrella right now), and enjoying the sunshine, the cool breeze, picnic lunches, frequent trips to the park, the occasional sprinkler and the more occasional hike.

Here are some pics from a recent backyard picnic.

This is Savannah. We are crazy in love with her. She deserves her own post. And she'll get it. But for now, here's a taste of her adorability. Notice the spots. I love the spots.

How pretty is this baby. He just gets prettier and prettier.

Almost unbearable, isn't it. Kind of hurts your eyes to look at all that prettiness all at once. It's a good thing I don't dress him better or take better care of his hair. Then his beauty would be downright dangerous.

Can you believe this kid is 5 years old? 5 years and 5 days. Sigh. Where does it go?

There are almost no pictures of this kid, because he no longer has any interest is me or the camera. He's far too busy with...whatever it is boys are busy with. After chasing him around the playground for half an hour, he finally gave me this 4 second pose. He's a good sport. 

 And this is me. Doing my best to fight the middle aged mom frump.