Posts tagged home
Just finished assembling and wrapping all of Maya’s birthday pressies. Look at the bounty waiting for her in the morning!
Well now. It’s been a while since I’ve blogged! Pretty much a whole week by my count. Goodness me. At least I’m thrilled to report that my computer has been revived from the dead, thanks so much to my wonderful husband. (And thanks for all your kind emails!) That was scary! I nearly lost everything.
Unfortunately, pretty much all of my 2+ years of food photography didn’t make it. Those poor photos are now in food photo heaven, all ready for their close-ups. But I’m not feeling sorry for myself; here’s how I’m looking at it: I have a sweet new camera just begging to be put to good use. So I’m looking at this as an obligation and personal mission to keep on practicing and build on the hard-earned learning I gained from all those thousands (and thousands, and thousands) of lost photos. Onward and upward. And at least the photos of the kids are safe.
The above pics are recent practice shots that I just downloaded from my camera. Nothing too exciting here, just playing around with the manual functions. Now that my mac is back in biz, I hope to have a lot more photo/text-coherent posts on the horizon, rather than random silliness like this.
Lately, we’ve been experiencing some scheduling challenges here at Chez Apron. More accurately, our schedule has been in flux and I’m having some difficulty managing our time.
I am one of those mothers who firmly believes that kids thrive when they’re kept to a solid, predictable daily schedule. I’m not so militant that we can’t roll with the surprises that come up along the way, but I am pretty strict when I can be.
Henry is at an odd stage where he probably should be taking two naps a day, but will often take only one. The result is a kid with a seriously cranky disposition for much of the afternoon and evening. And, after a whole summer of attending day camp from 9:00am to 1:00pm every day, Maya is starting her second year of preschool at the end of the month and her new school schedule will be 1:15pm to 4:15pm. Basically, her day is turned upside down. We are a family in transition.
To top it all off, I’ve been making it a point to get to the gym almost daily. Which is great for my ass, but bad for our schedule. This means that somehow, I’ve got to fit an entire hour of gym time into a day that never feels quite long enough to get everything done in the first place. This has resulted in my dropping the ball somewhere - typically the laundry, the chores, my photography practice, or my blogging.
What’s a busy mama to do?
I wrote out a daily schedule today, which has helped to give me a picture of what an ideal day should look like. It goes something like this:
—————
6:30am - Mama wakes up, makes breakfast for Dennis
7:00am - Mama showers, gets dressed
7:30am - Mama wakes up the kiddos, gets them washed and dressed for the day
8:00am - Breakfast time for the kiddos (and coffee for mama)
9:00am - Kiddo activity (i.e. trip to the park, playdate, library, walk, or project at home)
9:45am - Kiddo snack time
10:00am - Henry’s first nap (approx. 1.5 hours)
12:00pm - Lunch time for mama and the kiddos
1:10pm - Walk Maya to school
2:15pm - Henry’s snack time
2:30pm - Henry’s second nap (approx. 1 hour) / Mama cleans, household chores
4:10pm - Pick Maya up from school
4:30pm - Prep dinner
5:30pm - Dennis arrives home; Family dinner time
6:30pm - Mama cleans up from dinner, Dennis plays with kids
7:00pm - Henry’s bath time, bedtime routine
7:30pm - Maya’s bathtime, bedrime routine
8:00pm - Adult time (reading, blogging, gym time, movie, etc.)
10:00pm - Bedtime
—————
I’d like to start implementing this schedule as soon as Monday. I hope it works as well in reality as it does on paper. The kids really need it. I really need it. Family life is so much easier (and everyone’s so much calmer and happier) when our time is well managed.
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Good morning, friends! And welcome to the first weekly Mod Apron Meal Plan - Sunday Edition!
Why am I posting this on Sundays now? Read all about it here!
So this promises to be a very interesting (read: crazy) week. First off, the husband is away from Wednesday to Monday. And, Maya is off on a 2-week break in between the end of summer camp and the commencement of the preschool year. So it’s just me and the kids at home all day for the better part of the week? Yup, you read that right!
It’s not so bad. I’m actually kinda looking forward to it. Specifically, I’m interested in implementing some new parenting tips and tricks that I’ve recently gleaned from the new book I’m reading. I think this will be easier to do starting with just one parent in the mix, in order to maintain consistency. I’ll debrief Dennis when he gets home.
Also, I’d like to get quite a bit of organizing accomplished while husband is away. I’m hoping his absence will afford me a bit of extra time around the house, as I won’t feel guilty for taking my time away from him. I can also stay up late blogging, which is a one of my favorite things to do. My best writing inspiration tends to strike at night, but Dennis always makes me come to bed. Ha!
In terms of the meal plan, this means that from Wednesday on, our dinners will be nice and simple. I’m not going to slave over a hot stove just for the kids and myself. They enjoy simpler meals much more anyway. So you’ll see some easy stuff - omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, veggie corn dogs - on the dinner menu this week. (Notably, mama might just skip the kid fare altogether in favor of some more civilized steamed veggies and salads.)
Also, notice that this week’s meal plan features a lunch menu on Saturday. That’s because I have a friend from my old Seattle life coming into town, and I’ll be serving her and her friends a light lunch at my home on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be a very simple, light, “throw together” lunch but with the warm weather and my little kiddos afoot, I think it has to be this way.
Notably, we will be serving my Seattle friend Gâteau au Yaourt for dessert and to give Maya a fun project, I’m going to let her make this cake ALL BY HERSELF, with only my vocal instruction to guide her. She loves to cook (just like her mama!) and she’s really excited about baking this cake.
We’ve got several playdates lined up, as well as a new daily schedule (sans the preschool part) happening this week. Today, I’ll be stocking up on groceries and getting the house in order to prepare for the insanity full week that lies ahead.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8nevjea9X1rtbcgno1_400.jpg)
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Good morning, friends! And welcome to the first weekly Mod Apron Meal Plan - Sunday Edition!
Why am I posting this on Sundays now? Read all about it here!
So this promises to be a very interesting (read: crazy) week. First off, the husband is away from Wednesday to Monday. And, Maya is off on a 2-week break in between the end of summer camp and the commencement of the preschool year. So it’s just me and the kids at home all day for the better part of the week? Yup, you read that right!
It’s not so bad. I’m actually kinda looking forward to it. Specifically, I’m interested in implementing some new parenting tips and tricks that I’ve recently gleaned from the new book I’m reading. I think this will be easier to do starting with just one parent in the mix, in order to maintain consistency. I’ll debrief Dennis when he gets home.
Also, I’d like to get quite a bit of organizing accomplished while husband is away. I’m hoping his absence will afford me a bit of extra time around the house, as I won’t feel guilty for taking my time away from him. I can also stay up late blogging, which is a one of my favorite things to do. My best writing inspiration tends to strike at night, but Dennis always makes me come to bed. Ha!
In terms of the meal plan, this means that from Wednesday on, our dinners will be nice and simple. I’m not going to slave over a hot stove just for the kids and myself. They enjoy simpler meals much more anyway. So you’ll see some easy stuff - omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, veggie corn dogs - on the dinner menu this week. (Notably, mama might just skip the kid fare altogether in favor of some more civilized steamed veggies and salads.)
Also, notice that this week’s meal plan features a lunch menu on Saturday. That’s because I have a friend from my old Seattle life coming into town, and I’ll be serving her and her friends a light lunch at my home on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be a very simple, light, “throw together” lunch but with the warm weather and my little kiddos afoot, I think it has to be this way.
Notably, we will be serving my Seattle friend Gâteau au Yaourt for dessert and to give Maya a fun project, I’m going to let her make this cake ALL BY HERSELF, with only my vocal instruction to guide her. She loves to cook (just like her mama!) and she’s really excited about baking this cake.
We’ve got several playdates lined up, as well as a new daily schedule (sans the preschool part) happening this week. Today, I’ll be stocking up on groceries and getting the house in order to prepare for the insanity full week that lies ahead.
Further to my last post, I thought it made good sense to set out a weekly schedule is well. Why stop at a daily schedule? Let’s look at an ideal week! You know I just love to be splendiferously organized!
Maya’s preschool schedule this year is a little funky. That is, she’s only in preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she’ll be taking part in some extra-curricular activities (soccer and ballet/tap). Additionally, Henry is enrolled in a baby music and baby gym class once or twice a week as well.
Also, I’ve recently discovered that our local library has a ton of free activities that both Maya and Henry can attend together. The library schedule is posted the previous week and features activities such as puppet shows, story time, rhyme time, family movies and more. Most activities happen before lunch, and there is a delicious park behind the library so we can pack a picnic and have lunch in the park before preschool. Ideally, we’ll fit a couple of library mornings into our week as well.
All this, coupled with my housekeeping schedule, means that I’ve had to move my grocery shopping day to Sunday (instead of Monday) for the foreseeable future. Our family’s weekly schedule is looking like this:
—————
Mondays:
Tuesdays:
Wednesdays:
Thursdays:
Fridays:
Saturdays:
Sundays:
This schedule will be implemented starting tomorrow. Which means that, going forward, you can expect to see my weekly meal plans posted on Sundays from now on.
If it seems like I am a little too crazy militant enthusiastic about keeping us on a tight schedule, I’d agree that you’re probably right. But, as far as I can see, it’s the best and only way to keep an organized framework in place. My family seems to thrive on routine and honestly, it makes my life a lot easier too. There will always be days where the schedule falls apart, and that’s okay; it’s to be expected. But, maintaining a schedule is my only hope to keep this machine running smoothly. And more often than not, the day flows effortlessly and naturally through our scheduled activities and when that happens, it certainly makes for a peaceful and happy existence for everyone.
Keeping a schedule like this is certainly not glamorous, but it’s real and it’s a slice of our lives right now. And it keeps this mama (somewhat) sane and balanced.
You may have noticed a distinct lack of blogging happening over here. Don’t worry, I still love you.
I’ve been really focused on some projects at home and I’m in the midst of doing a major Spring Summer cleaning. I’m going as minimalist as I possibly can (in other words, practicing “rational minimalism” to the best of my child-addled abilities) and I’m looking at every room and asking: “How can I downsize all this stuff”?
You should see my closet. It’s a thing of beauty. I’ve got everything paired down to only stuff that I wear, fit me well, and that I actually like. Seems simple enough, but I was amazed by how many pieces of clothing I had that didn’t fit within that criteria. (As a delightful aside, I’ve also trimmed most of my wardrobe to about 3 colors - blues, greens and yellows - which, Ayurvedically speaking, are supposed to be the best for me to wear.)
I’m cleaning up this one horse town as well as turning some of the attention to myself. I’ve been going to the gym almost every day and I’ve finally lost a bit of my baby weight, thank goodness. I still have a bit more to go, but I’m definitely making headway. I’m rewarding myself with a much needed haircut this weekend. I’ve been growing my hair out over the last 7 or so months and it’s currently in an awfully shaggy in-between state. I don’t know what I’m going to do to it yet, but something must be done. Dennis is begging me to cut it short-short again but I don’t think I’m going to go there. I haven’t decided. All I know is that I’m overdue for a haircut something fierce.
I stayed up until 4am last night working on our budget. Puzzling it out. Crunching the numbers. We have our property tax bills coming due soon and it’s causing me some anxiety. California is not kind to the homeowner. We’re on spending lockdown until I can figure it all out.
Apologies for not delivering my weekly meal plan last week. As I mentioned, my focus has been elsewhere (there’s only so much mama to go around!). But, my meal plan inspiration is renewed and I should have one for you guys on Monday morning. I’ve got an interesting week coming up and those are the weeks that for me, are the most fun to plan out. I don’t know why; I guess I like the challenge.
Stay with me folks, and stay tuned. I’m still here. And more good stuff is on the way.
Oh my goodness.
For he’s a jolly good fellow!
Scenes from The Great Cupcake Massacre of 2012.
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Hey guys! Happy Monday!
Here’s the ol’ meal plan for the week. Nothing too shocking here. In fact, a lot of this meal plan is a total repeat of last week’s.
You might notice that we are eating a lot of veggies & dip these days. It’s just so easy and the fam is totally digging eating our vegetables this way. Cali produce is amazing all year round, but especially this time of year. Everything just tastes so fresh and good, why not eat it raw?
Lastly, tomorrow (Tuesday) is Henry’s 1st birthday. My baby’s getting so big! We’ll be celebrating with birthday cake, which I’ll pick up tomorrow. But besides that, we’re not doing anything special for dinner. Henry’s favorite foods of the moment are raspberries and waffles with peanut butter, so he might just get that for his birthday meal. The rest of us with full sets of teeth will enjoy burritos and veggies. He’s only 1, so we’re keeping it nice and simple.
Hopefully, my long awaited camera will arrive tomorrow so I can snap some messy-faced cake eating pics!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7ziaynoun1rtbcgno1_400.jpg)
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Hey guys! Happy Monday!
Here’s the ol’ meal plan for the week. Nothing too shocking here. In fact, a lot of this meal plan is a total repeat of last week’s.
You might notice that we are eating a lot of veggies & dip these days. It’s just so easy and the fam is totally digging eating our vegetables this way. Cali produce is amazing all year round, but especially this time of year. Everything just tastes so fresh and good, why not eat it raw?
Lastly, tomorrow (Tuesday) is Henry’s 1st birthday. My baby’s getting so big! We’ll be celebrating with birthday cake, which I’ll pick up tomorrow. But besides that, we’re not doing anything special for dinner. Henry’s favorite foods of the moment are raspberries and waffles with peanut butter, so he might just get that for his birthday meal. The rest of us with full sets of teeth will enjoy burritos and veggies. He’s only 1, so we’re keeping it nice and simple.
Hopefully, my long awaited camera will arrive tomorrow so I can snap some messy-faced cake eating pics!
What a busy week it’s been!
I’ve been completely immersed in projects at home (updates to follow) and busy with some big events at Maya’s school. And sadly, my old pocket camera is truly dying a slow, painful death so I haven’t wanted to use it much lately. Sorry for the lack of photos recently. The good news is that I’ve got a new camera on the way and I’m so excited for it’s arrival (which should be any day now)! Expect lots more pics and food photography in the coming weeks.
Happy Friday!
