I've moved

I've moved HERE.

I have decided to make the switch and move over to wordpress... it seems to allow me to have a little more control over what it looks like (for a novice at blog design) and I like how easy it is for people to sign up to receive posts in their e-mail... a must for family members who don't peruse blogs the way that I do!

I hope you'll join me as I continue to post about life, projects, recipes and our kiddo!

New blog address:  undertheredwoodtree.wordpress.com

Crepes

This morning I am wondering why on earth I haven't made crepes before.  They are SO easy and have been one of my favourite indulgences when I go out for breakfast for some time now.  This morning when I woke up, I decided that I needed crepes to go with the strawberries and whip cream that I had in the fridge so I got to work.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Gluten Free Pantry Flour)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups of whole milk (I used mostly skim with a bit of half and half)

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a blender.  Puree until mixture is smooth and has bubbles on top (20 to 30 seconds or so).  The batter will be runny.  Let batter rest at least 15 minutes.  (Apparently you can make this the day before and let it sit in an airtight container in the fridge).  Whisk before using.

Heat a large frying pan over medium.  Lightly coat with butter, and I mean lightly.  I used too much on the first one and the crepe didn't turn out well!  Add about 1/3 cup of the batter and swirl to completely cover the pan.  Cook until the crepe is golden brown.  Loosen with an offset spatula and quickly flip.  I found it easiest to lift the crepe with the spatula and then grab it with my fingertips and flip.  Everyone will find their own method that works best.  Just be careful if you try my method, the crepe will be hot!  Once both sides are golden brown, remove from the pan and repeat.

This crepe had strawberries, raspberries and blackberries with a dollop of whip cream.

This is a ham and egg crepe and it was delicious... better than I expected.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a baking sheet, put a single crepe with a few slices of ham in the middle.  Crack an egg on top of the ham and fold the edges of the crepe over to hold the egg in.  Add a little salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until the egg white is cooked and the yolk is as solid or runny as you like it.

Enjoy!

Mother's Day... I mean weekend

The title should read: "Mother's Day Weekend" but it wouldn't allow the strikethrough.

This morning I decided that this whole weekend should be a celebration.  Basically, it is the calm before the storm as the students have just finished class and next week the flurry of finals and students moving out.  We woke up this morning to the sound of our neighbours voices and music as they began their roommate's bachelor party.  

We also woke up to the sweetest sound I have ever heard.  Will called both of us by our names.  The words mama and dada (pronounced da-ga) have never sounded sweeter.  We had a delicious gluten free crepe breakfast and Grant gave me my mother's day gift a little early.  I'll give you a hint (or three):

That's right, the camera lens has been replaced.  It was one of the best gifts I have ever received... twice.

What are you doing to celebrate this weekend?

Bringing Up Bebe

Since having Will, I have barely read anything.  (Unless facebook from my phone with a sleeping baby in my arms counts?)  If I start reading, about a page in I can't remember what I read the sentence before and not long after I am usually asleep.  Soon after Will was born I ordered this book on Amazon and if I hadn't been so sleep deprived, I would have had a hard time putting it down.  Luckily, I had a lot of time to read when feeding Will at that point and in about a month I had finished this book.  Yes, I do believe that was a huge accomplishment.

I loved this book!  It was honest, funny and very helpful.  So much so that I'd like to read it again now that Will is a little older.  Since I finished it, Grant and I have conversations where I bring up "the french book" often.  It put into words some of things I want to do and be as a parent and gave me a lot of new ideas to think about too.

"The French book" says that in Paris kids eat a wide variety of foods, they sleep well and are well behaved.  Eating is the only area where I've really been able to test out some of these theories because Will is still pretty young, so I'll focus on that.  

I'm not sure I'm totally convinced that getting kids to have a mature palette is one hundred percent the result of the kinds of food that you feed your child (we all know or have been picky eaters ourselves), but it definitely can't hurt to feed your child a wide variety of things, right?  The rule is that they need to try everything.  If they don't like it, fine but at least they've tried it.  I also liked the point she made about snacking.  Kids that snack all day are not going to be hungry at meal times and as a result, they won't eat their meals..  Makes sense, right?  I'm the same way.  (Que my mum: "don't ruin your dinner.")

One of the ways we have incorporated some of these ideas is that Will only gets one snack per day in the afternoon.  He eats a good amount of solid food at meal times and usually has 3 or 4 bottles per day (about 24 oz total).  He is a great eater and loves food!  There are only a few things that he won't eat but we've also found the packaging to make a difference too.  If it's a veggie on a spoon he may not eat it, if it comes from a pouch that he can suck on, the likelihood of his eating it increases quite a bit. (We have tried the Infantino Fresh Food Squeeze Station for his veggies and so far so good.  It means I can make the pureed veggies myself and he will eat them.  It also means we don't have to buy quite as much pre-made food which can get expensive quickly).

For a while, even after he started eating solids, we would have to give him bottles every 2-3 hours.  I wondered if we would ever get into more of a normal routine but before we knew it, we had established a pretty good schedule.  He i s 9-months old now and this has been our routine for the last month or two.  Between 7:00 and 7:30am Will wakes up and has an 8oz bottle.  We have to be quick with getting the bottle ready, or he gets very upset! Around 8:00am he has cereal and fruit.  We try to sit and eat with him during meal times too and he usually eats his bottles sitting on our laps.  An hour to an hour and a half after he wakes up, Will goes down for his first nap.  This is the only consistent nap of the day because Will says so.  (He is a terrible napper, always has been.  But this morning nap is super easy to get him to do.)  He sleeps for about an hour and a half.  Around noon we have lunch.  He usually has a fruit and a vegetable for lunch and dinner.  We've started incorporating some meat and eggs into his diet in the last week or so.  After lunch at around 1:00pm we attempt to get a second nap in.  Some days this works, others we spend forever trying to get him to sleep.  If he doesn't sleep we will go for another walk or run errands.  Getting out of the apartment is a must later in the afternoons.  All I can say is I'm thankful he sleeps well at night.  At 3:00 I give him his second bottle of the day, another 8oz.  For now, this is his snack.  A few times I have given him some teething cookies or cheerios as a snack too, or maybe a slice of apple in this teether.  Dinner is usually at 5:30 or 6:00pm, and we are working to try and all eat dinner together at the same time.  This has been tricky simply because it has been hard to prepare dinner before Grant gets home and the poor kid gets hungry.  Will also goes down for the night at 7pm after polishing off his third 8oz bottle.

We are still novice parents and have a lot to learn about raising our kiddo.  I enjoy that there is advice to be found from friends, family and books, blogs, etc.  At the same time, my mum always says that being a parent and nurturing a child is instinct and that I need to trust that too.

Easter Sweater

This is a long overdue post that I had forgotten about until I just found the photos on my camera!

We spent Easter here in the dorm and Grant's dad made the trip out from California to see us.  Will had a lot of fun spending time with his Gramps and we enjoyed celebrating Easter with friends from church.  It was Will's first Easter complete with egg dyeing (that Gordon and I did most of), an Easter basket and of course, a new knit Easter sweater!

Easter egg dyeing

Will's Easter basket had eggs filled with puffs and jelly beans, the letters spell his name (I have plans to make the whole alphabet as fridge magnets, but didn't have strong enough magnets) and stuffed bunny that I had made a few weeks earlier.  Will's Nai Nai also sent him Grant's old Beatrix Potter books which were some of my favourites as a kid.

(Basket, Basket Liner, Bunny)

I fiished Will's Easter sweater over Spring Break and I love how it turned out.  It fit well but with a lot of room to grow.  It's a little slouchier than I had imagined, but still love it nonetheless.

The pointed hood is definitely my favourite part.  That, and the hand dyed yarn I chose.

Pattern: Wee Austin Hoodie (Pattern is also available in adult sizes: Austin Hoodie)

Yarn: Madelintosh Tosh Merino Light in Betty Draper's Blues

Size: 9 months

The only thing I am planning to change is the buttons.  They are little trucks and I really like them, but they're a little heavy for such a lightweight sweater.  I'll just have to make something else to put them on!

Spring at last!

Spring has finally made its way to Minnesota and we've been enjoying every minute of it.  The windows are open, the birds are chirping and the tulips are about to make an appearance.  I don't think I have ever enjoyed the first days of spring quite so much as I have this year.

Grant had to work on Saturday so in between naps Will and I ran errands and went on a walk to the park.  I discovered that it takes a lot less time to get out the door when I don't have to bundle up myself and a baby (who always seemed to poop right after we put the snowsuit on).

On Sunday morning we went for a our first family bike ride with Will in the trailer.  We made another stop at the park and Will went down the slide for the first time (in our laps of course)

The first batch of cold brew iced coffee has been made.  I used the Pioneer Woman recipe and it turned out.... okay.  The recipe is fine and tastes quite good, but is not the "coffee concentrate" I was going for.   This weekend a friend from Wheaton sent me the recipe I used to use from I Have a Bean (that was lost in the move) as well as another method to try.  It is the best iced coffee I have ever had and I'll be sure to share that when it's time to make the next batch.

Putting the miles on the stroller.

Baby legs in the sunshine.  He just LOVES the sun and the fresh air between his toes.  The view of his feet as we walk is precious as he stretches his legs and spreads his toes, all while chattering away.  Maybe Will has inherited my dislike of socks and my love of the sunshine.  Poor kid has also inherited my need for sunscreen and shade though.

I hope the warm weather has found you too.  What are you doing to enjoy the spring?

Warby Parker

It was time for some new glasses and I decided to try Warby Parker.  I am incredibly indecisive when it comes to purchases like this so the home try on was perfect for me.  You choose five frames you like and they send them to you for a week to try out for free.  You can even upload a photo of yourself to get an idea of what they might look like right from the website.

The five frames I chose.

I narrowed it down to two.  I loved that I could wear them around the house and see how they felt.  I also loved that I could ask for more opinions.  :-) Once I ordered the frames, the glasses came in less than a week and they're very reasonably priced.  I was also pretty impressed that when I called them, a human being answered the phone.  Next time I need new glasses, I know where just where to look.