Happy Birthday, Darling Husband

For Stewart's 34th birthday I was determined to do something awesome to make up for last year's epic failure.

 

His birthday falls within a week of one of his best friends from college, Matt, and conveniently his wife Alissa and I are the best of friends. So the two of us teamed up to plan a joint surprise birthday bash that would shock and thrill the guys.

 

We reserved a private event space for the evening at Seattle's Rhein Haus, a German beer hall with bocce ball courts. I arranged for my parents to take Ryder overnight, and for weeks Alissa and I worked secretly on the invitation, details, menu, and decorations. Rhein Haus looked like a super cool place for a party, and we were so excited for the surprise. 

 

I did my best, but Stew is just too dang smart for his own good.

He guessed well in advance that I had something up my sleeve for the evening (I claimed we were getting together with Matt and Alissa for a small celebratory dinner), so it wasn't as much of a surprise as I would have hoped. In any case, at least the location and guest list were kept a secret -- and Matt, on the other hand, was shocked!
 

 

 

 

I wish I had taken more, better-quality photos of the evening, but I really just felt like letting loose and enjoying the party instead of worrying about documenting every moment for my blog. I can tell you that the beer, brats and bocce were a hit though!

 

Happy Birthday, Stew & Matt!

Cheers to another fantastic year ahead...

 

Celebrating Imperfect Parenting

Guest Post by Cailin Bundrick

If you are a mom, you are familiar with the term mom guilt. It starts even before your baby is born.

 

You worry about what you're eating during pregnancy (and what you're not). You worry about whether or not you should get a nanny or put your child in daycare once maternity leave is over. You decide you have already failed your child if you don't pass your first glucose test. You worry. About everything. You feel bad. About everything.

 

My guilt extends beyond mommy guilt. I have wife guilt, friend guilt, daughter guilt, HOA president guilt, neighbor guilt. You name it, I pretty much got it. And it sucks.

 

As if it's not enough that I want to be the loving, gentle, tender mom who never loses her patience or, God forbid, yells at my daughter, I also want to be the wife who is never grumpy and always has dinner on the table. I want to be the friend who remembers every important moment in my girlfriends' lives and the lives of their children. I want to be the HOA president who puts out a monthly newsletter, and resolves each matter that arises efficiently and effectively. I want to be the neighbor who brings over a home-cooked meal when someone is sick or had a medical emergency.

 

The reality? I lose my temper at my 2-year-old at least once a day, sometimes for something as simple as being asked the same question one too many times. I often greet my husband when he gets home from work with an annoyed look and a, "We already ate. There should be something in the fridge," as I chase Charlie around the upstairs, trying to get her into pajamas. I'm lucky to respond to the sweet text messages from my friends within 24 hours, let alone be the one to send the sweet texts. I haven't sent out a newsletter since January, and this month isn't looking promising either. And I hardly make home-cooked meals for my family, so it's unlikely I'd give one away if I actually did find the time or energy to whip something up.

 

I used to beat myself up for not being the perfect mom. What I've come to realize, though, is that no one is perfect. And if someone seems perfect, they are most likely a really good actress who is actually stressing over the same things I am, or maybe even worse things than I am. They might limit their kids' screen time, eat all organic and send hand-written thank you notes for every Pinterest-worthy event they host, but they have demons too. No one is perfect.

 

Want to know what some of my demons are? My kid eats McDonald's at least once a week, if not more, and so do I. She watches TV, and probably more than the two hours a day recommended by the AAP. I'm not sure because I stopped counting when she stopped napping, and I became dependent on the boob tube for a little bit of time during the day to cook or clean or breathe. I am not a graceful grouch. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and when I'm grumpy, everyone knows it.

 

But for as many faults as I have, I also have some pretty admirable characteristics too. I play with my daughter. I get down on her level and do whatever she wants me to do, whether it be dress up as a princess or build pillow forts on my neatly made bed or color (as much as one can when the crayon you have is the only crayon your toddler wants no matter which crayon that is). I'm a fiercely loyal friend who rarely gives up on people. I take on the jobs most people won't, hence the second term as HOA president. Making others happy makes me happy.

 

I'm not perfect, but I'm me, unabashedly and unapologetically. And my favorite people are the ones who can admit their faults and laugh with me about mine. If more people were authentic, I think less people would spend time beating themselves up about their imperfections.

 

So let's celebrate those things that make us who we are, for better or worse. And spend more time lifting one another up instead of tearing one another down. It's ok to be the person who is always late or always in dirty yoga pants. In fact, people might like you better if you let your imperfect flag fly freely.

About the Author

Cailin Bundrick is a stay at home mom to 2-year-old daughter Charlie. She lives in Maple Valley, Wash., with her husband, daughter and two dogs, Tinker and Brian. She has a journalism degree from Western Washington University, and worked as a reporter and editor for community newspapers in Kentucky, Florida and Illinois. She also worked in sales and property management before becoming a domestic goddess. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling and selling jewelry as an Independent Designer for Origami Owl.

Ryder's First Easter

Ryder spent his first Easter at Nana and Grandpa's house, and he had a fantastic time.

Stewart and I are not religious, so we don't celebrate Easter in that sense, but we always enjoy any excuse to get together with family and participate in holiday traditions.

Dying Easter eggs is one of my favorites!

It was difficult to put together an Easter basket for Ryder, because he's not allowed to have candy or sweets yet, but I still think I did pretty well. I got him an adorable, super-soft Jellycat bunny (with "Ryder" stitched onto one ear), Jelly Belly scented bubbles, and colorful plastic Easter eggs filled with organic yogurt melts. 





He was super entertained by shaking the eggs, breaking them open, and eating the little treats.

Ryder always gets tons of attention at family gatherings, and Easter was no exception. Uncle AJ and Aunt Erin couldn't get enough cuddles, and I got to spend some time with my cousins Kate and Tara, which I always look forward to.

And of course my mom made an absolutely delicious meal, which I had no room for because I spent the morning eating Easter candy. I'll never learn...

We also introduced Ryder to bubbles for the first time, and let me tell you one thing for sure -- there is nothing cuter than a little kid giggling about bubbles!

I've been listening to the Stuff You Should Know podcast quite a bit these days, and on our way home on Easter Sunday I happened to listen to a super fascinating episode called "Thanks, Easter Bunny! Bock Bock!" that was all about Easter, from its humble beginnings as a pagan holiday to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. They covered the Biblical and religious aspects along with the origins of some of Easter's greatest traditions.

It was incredibly fascinating!

Regardless of Easter's origins, I was happy to have a reason to get together with my family and introduce some new holiday traditions to our little boy.

And next year I'm sure Stewart will make sure he gets to sample all the delicious Easter candy.

What are your favorite Easter traditions?

Dear Ryder... Eleven Months

Dear Ryder,

It's been another exciting month! It's hard to believe that you have been in our lives for almost an entire year. But here we are, and once again we've been just as busy as usual...

We went to a fancy dinner at Woodman Lodge to celebrate Daddy and Mommy's third wedding anniversary. We got married on St. Patrick's Day, so it's always a big, special holiday at our house. We haven't looked into getting an evening babysitter for you yet, so you came along and we caught the early-bird special in order to get you home for bedtime. You were such a good boy, and it was fun to be out as a family. 

On March 15 we participated in the St. Patrick's Day 5K Dash at Seattle Center to celebrate the arrival of Spring -- and being Irish! The Dash benefits the Detlef Schrempf Foundation in support of Northwest children's charities. Unfortunately it poured rain the entire time, but you chilled in the stroller like a champ and hardly fussed. We also got all dressed up in our finest green attire on March 17.

Grandpa Russ came for a visit this month, and he brought you some exciting new toys that have been some of your favorites ever since!

We also went down to Olympia to visit Nana and Papa, and we had lots of fun at cousin Shane's birthday party, where we got to see Papa's whole side of the family. You love going down there to get spoiled with love and attention.

You had a blast riding Trigger, Uncle AJ's horse from when he was a little boy.

We also went to Nana and Papa's house for your very first Easter! It was difficult to put together an Easter basket for you, because you're not allowed to have candy or sweets yet (and according to Daddy that's the main point of Easter). But you still had fun shaking the plastic eggs that I filled with yogurt melts, and experiencing bubbles for the first time. You also seem to love the little bunny we got you.

We often have the TV on in the background, but so far you haven't really been interested (the remote control, however, is one of your very favorite things). But one morning we were playing upstairs, and I looked up to notice that you had not only managed to change the channel to a kids' station, but you were watching with fascination! Let's hope this isn't the beginning of the end...

You still love walking around with your elephant, but now you also like pushing around other items, like your high chair (when we forget to lock the wheels) and your activity table.

You cruise around using furniture for balance, and you pull yourself up onto everything. You can stand on your own without holding onto anything, and when you crawl now it's often on your hands and feet (instead of your hands and knees). You took your first two steps on March 24 for Daddy, and on Easter Sunday you took seven steps in a row! Oh, and you still love door stops...

You're so much more active now, and we know that you're going to take off running any day. You clap, point, high five, throw things, and can even climb all the way to the top of the stairs. You're very flexible, and for some reason you like to suck on your feet after dinner.

You love baths and naked time. So far we haven't had any accidents... let's keep it that way!

A huge, 16-acre city park opened right across the street from our house, and we took you there to try out the swings for the first time. You loved it! We walk over all the time now, and you cry when we take you out of the swing -- it's your favorite thing at the park. You love being outside in general, and we try to get out at least once every single day as a family. 

You eat big boy meals almost all the time. Fruits, veggies, chicken, cheese, cereal, pasta... you've tried pretty much everything and you definitely have your likes and dislikes. Blueberries are your absolute favorite -- you can't seem to get enough. We're working on learning how to use a fork or spoon, but it hasn't been successful so far...

I'm still pumping at work, and breastfeeding when we're together. The plan is to begin weaning you from bottles during the day after you turn one, but for now it's still working out for both of us.

Sometimes at Nana's house you get special treats like grilled cheese sandwiches. Roxy (the dog) is always thrilled when you come to visit, because you inevitably spill some "snacks" onto the ground for her. You absolutely love dogs and cats, but they aren't so keen on you, which you find frustrating.

The fit throwing has started. On this particular day, you were furious that I wouldn't let you into the laundry room to play in the cat's litter box. Sorry honey -- not going to happen.

You definitely have some favorite toys, like your remote control (although you aren't fooled for a minute into thinking it was issued by Comcast). Grandma Sally gave you that Winnie-the-Pooh toy, and you're posing with it in my rocking chair from when I was a little girl. You still love to carry around random blocks and other toys that fit easily into your hands, and for some reason that green circle from Aunt Erin (actually meant for cleaning teeth) is one of your favorites. And of course your throwback Seahawks bear is popular.

So far you haven't been super duper into stuffed animals, but for about a week you dragged around a blue bear that my office manager, Corliss, gave you. You absolutely love your kitty piano from Grandpa Russ, and I feel like if I hear another song about "the little kitty," I may just lose my mind completely. Of course other things that are not meant to be toys are also some of your faves -- like the wheels to your high chair, which have provided tons of entertainment.

Sleep continues to be a struggle. I rock you to sleep every night (sometimes in quite odd positions) because you still scream when we put you down awake. You also refuse to nap anywhere but in your swing (and even that is sometimes a challenge) so when we go visiting you usually end up napping in the car or in someones arms (any nap is better than no nap). You always go to bed in your own crib, but typically end up in our bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning after waking up a couple times to nurse. To be honest I don't mind -- I love my nighttime cuddles after not getting to see you all day long. 

And in the morning when the alarm goes off, we always take some time to cuddle and giggle before getting up to face the day. These are some of my very favorite times with you.

I will cherish the memories we're making for the rest of my life, little angel! 

Pregnancy Resources

Since I'm a big fat nerd, the first thing I did when I found out I was knocked up was place an order on Amazon consisting of a bunch of pregnancy resources that had been recommended to me. I then proceeded to spend nine months reading books and articles about anything and everything to do with pregnancy and childbirth. Reviewing all this stuff in individual posts would probably bore you to tears, so here's a quick recap of the major stuff...

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth
by Jenny McCarthy

This one was a hilarious, light read. It's a no-holds-barred account of what you can really expect when you're expecting. No woman is spared the discomforts and humiliations of pregnancy, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Jenny covers it all in the grittiest of girlfriend detail: morning sickness and hormonal rage, hemorrhoids, pregnant sex, gassiness, constipation, exhaustion, forgetfulness, crankiness, and the torture and sweet relief that is delivery.


The Girlfriends' Guide To Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You
by Vicki Iovine

This book had the same basic concept as Belly Laughs, but I didn't like it quite as much. Four-time delivery room veteran Vicki Iovine talks to you the way only a best friend can in this book that takes you through the whole nine months. She gives you the lowdown on all those little things that are too strange or embarrassing to ask, practical tips, and hilarious takes on everything pregnant. Plus, the latest scoop on staying stylish and proudly showing off your bump.


Creating Your Birth Plan: The Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth
by Marsden Wagner

I'm so thankful that someone recommended this book to me. It was hands down my favorite resource as I was preparing to give birth for the first time. It's designed to encourage collaboration between pregnant women and their caregivers, and includes information on hospital deliveries, birthing centers, and home births, how to select an advocate to ensure your wishes are honored by your caregiver, the natural stages of labor in a problem-free birth, explanations of various medical or surgical interventions (and potential complications and benefits of each), and natural alternatives to drugs, technology, and surgery. After reading this book I felt so much more prepared and empowered for Ryder's arrival.


What To Expect When You're Expecting
by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff, and Sandee Hathaway

The pregnancy guide bible of everything you need to know while pregnant. This is the traditional book for expectant mothers, so I decided I'd better pick up a copy. It addresses all the basic health and medical questions as well as lifestyle concerns, and provides expectant parents with a wealth of information on month-by-month development, preparing for labor and delivery, and breastfeeding and bonding afterward. Incorporating the most recent developments in medicine, the book contains both the most accurate information available in the most reader-friendly format. It's boring and pretty dry, but it does have excellent information and it's easy to use the index to find exactly what you're looking for if you don't want to read the whole thing cover to cover.


Of course I also read about eleventy billion online articles that basically summarized bits and pieces out of all of these books, and we took a six week childbirth preparation course at the hospital. I wanted to be as prepared as I possibly could for my little boy's arrival. Then, before I knew it, the big day arrived and I learned that no matter how much you read and how much you plan, nothing is going to go how you imagined it would.

After 20 hours of labor, I went in for an emergency C-section due to failure to progress and lowered fetal heart rate. It was terrifying and disappointing. There aren’t many mothers who will say that a c-section was what they had first envisioned when they thought about giving birth. Major surgery. Cutting and suturing. Months of recovery. Emotional and physical scars. It's not what I planned for. But it's okay.

Now, in hindsight, it doesn't matter to me how my baby boy got here. I did the best I could. I read and planned and prepared as much as possible, but I always told myself that no matter what happened, I'd be okay with it. 

And I'm still glad that I read all those books and articles. As new parents we're lucky to have so many resources available, and I hope some of my recommendations are helpful.

What were some of your favorite pregnancy resources?

Things I Do While the Baby is Napping

 

Spend several minutes staring in wonder at my child. Tear up at the miracle of life that I have created. Panic when he stirs, and exhale with relief when I realize he just had to fart and is still asleep.

 

Lie on the floor, stare at the ceiling, and wonder at the marvel of silence.

 

Explore feelings of guilt for not doing anything worthwhile with this stolen time. Wonder at all the strands of hair on the carpet. Is my hair falling out?

 

Debate making dinner, cleaning, or otherwise being productive, but decide instead to see what the Kardashians have been up to.

 

Call my mom to brag that the baby is napping, and to prove that I am not.

 

Consider exercising. Open the back bedroom closet and stare at my hand weights. Consider cleaning out the back bedroom closet. Close the door, pretend the encounter did not happen, and turn on Ellen.

 

Wander to the fridge. Sigh deeply upon realizing a pizza or pan of brownies has not magically appeared since I last checked. Return to the floor and lie there staring lovingly at the video monitor.

 

Go through photos on my phone from three years ago and wonder at how skinny and happy I look. Vow to work out tomorrow while the baby is napping.

 

Frantically use my phone to check social media, emails and text messages in an attempt to reconnect with reality.

Make a bullet pointed list on my phone about how to be a better, more productive mother tomorrow.

 

One Month of Freezer Meals in One Day

I love to eat. And I try to cook and eat healthy whenever I can. But I'm also super lazy about food. I hate recipe planning, shopping, and cooking. My most recent solution?

 

A month's worth of freezer meals in just one day!

 

My friend Jessica and I got together one Sunday a while back and spend the entire day preparing healthy, yummy meals for our freezers that lasted an entire month!

 

Here's how we did it.

 

 

We started by choosing seven recipes that we thought would work well as freezer meals.

 

{click titles for printable recipes}

 

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Casserole

Pizza Quinoa Casserole

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili

Thai Red Curry with Chicken and Snow Peas

 

Then we doubled each recipe and compiled a shopping list in Excel that incorporated all of the ingredients we would need. It ended up having 55 line items (not including some items we already had at home in our fridges, pantries, and spice racks).

 

While shopping, we also stocked up on disposable aluminum freezer trays and gallon size Ziplock freezer bags.

 

 

$180 later, we were ready to start cooking.

 

 

We started by organizing our recipes and ingredients, washing our produce, and dividing up the recipes between the two of us. We still weren't quite sure how long this was going to take, or exactly how much we had committed to...

 

 Then we spent some time chop chop chopping while we pre-cooked the breasts of about a dozen chickens.

 

 

We each took on three recipes and worked alongside for about six and a half hours, teaming up at the end for the final recipe. By that time we were definitely over cooking, but we were glad we pushed through and finished everything.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each dish got a specific label including cooking/re-heating instructions so they could easily be popped in the oven or slow cooker by a spouse as needed.

We were curious to see if freezing, thawing, and re-cooking would have any effect on the dishes.

Reviews

{click titles for printable recipes}

 

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake -- Yay!
This recipe might have been the least healthy of the bunch, which is probably why it was so delicious. It made a TON, which meant meals for several days, and although it got a little dried out with re-heating, adding some sour cream, guacamole, or salsa fixed that right up.
 

Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Casserole -- Meh.
This one had a lot of promise and probably would have been very good fresh. Unfortunately, freezing and re-heating really did a number on the broccoli, which was mushy and yucky by the time we ate it. In hindsight, I probably would have made it without the broccoli and then served some fresh veggies on the side instead. That being said, this one was pretty labor intensive and the portions weren't very big, so I probably wouldn't make it again.

Pizza Quinoa Casserole -- Boo.
I had made this recipe before and absolutely loved it. However, it did not make for a great freezer meal. Upon reheating, the quinoa got super mushy and the veggies seemed much less fresh. I ate it the first night we made it, but after that I couldn't choke down any more (although Stew did finish a bit more over the next couple days). Jessica said she had better luck by cooking it in the oven for much longer to dry it out a bit. But I'd say this dish is definitely better enjoyed fresh.

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese -- Yay!

This was definitely my favorite of the bunch (but I'm a sucker for mac 'n' cheese in any form). I don't know how "skinny" it actually was (it sure used a lot of cheese) but it was so ooey-gooey and delicious. For some reason the broccoli didn't seem to get as ruined by re-heating in this recipe as it did in the others. But just to be safe, I would probably skip the broccoli when making this again and just add fresh veggies on the side.

Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo -- Meh.
I actually really liked this dish, but that may be because we ate it the week after our freezer meal prep marathon, which means I never actually froze it. Jessica ate hers a few weeks later and said that the pasta got really dried out. Additionally, this recipe was pretty labor intensive and didn't make huge portions, so I think we'd probably skip it as a freezer meal in the future.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili -- Yay!
I've made this one before as well. Slow cooker chilies are my favorite, so I was pretty excited about having some on hand in the freezer to just dump into the Crock Pot. As a freezer meal, it turned out really well! Basically all we had to do was combine all the ingredients in a big pot and then portion it into freezer bags. After a quick thaw under running water one morning before work, I just dumped it over some chicken breasts and then when I got home we had delicious chili ready for dinner. It was better cheese added on top (of course).

Thai Red Curry with Chicken and Snow Peas -- Meh.
This is another one I have made before and absolutely loved. But unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well as a freezer meal. My main problem with it was that the snow peas got all yucky after being frozen and thawed. However, I think you could make the curry sauce, freeze it, and then add fresh chicken and veggies when you re-heat it later, and that would still be yummy.

Costs

A quick cost/benefit analysis clearly shows that our little cooking adventure ended up being worth our time.

Each freezer meal ended up costing $12.89 on average. However, many of the larger ones provided a couple rounds of leftovers, which brought the cost of each meal down even further. For example, Stew and I had enough Skinny Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese to eat over three different sittings (so six good-sized portions overall). That breaks down to just $2.14 per person, per meal (complete with protein, healthy carbs and veggies) -- a steal!

Granted, we had to take into consideration the cost of our time. It took time to research recipes, develop a grocery list, shop, and then do the actual cooking. But overall, everything probably didn't take any more time than one typical workday. And as a reward, we had a bunch of healthy, delicious meals on hand -- a wonderful alternative to picking up fast food or eating out. We didn't eat freezer meals every single day, but chose to space them out over a month, heating one up every few days or so when it was most convenient.

Thoughts

We did learn a few things. When we do this again (which we plan to), we will definitely do some prep work on our own in advance. Pre-cooking chicken breasts, quinoa, and brown rice the night before would definitely have saved us some time.

We also learned that unless the meals were pulled out of the freezer in advance and thawed overnight in the refrigerator, cooking times needed to be dramatically increased.

In the future, we'll definitely be a little more selective about the recipes we choose, making only those that are actually meant to be frozen and eaten later. Or, alternately, if recipes call for veggies, we would leave them out and then make a note to add them when the dish is re-heated instead.

Overall, I definitely think our first adventure in freezer meals was a huge success. We learned a few things for next time, had a really fun day hanging out, and looked like domestic goddesses to our husbands every time we served another delicious meal with seemingly almost no prep.

Yum Yum!