Cuddles

Sunday night I was running around trying to cook dinner, as is usual in the evenings at our house. Jason closes at work so most nights it's just me and Drew. I call the time right before dinner the "witching hour"- it is the time when hunger is just setting in for both of us, and dinner is taking those few minutes too many before it's ready. As hard as I try to get dinner finished before this point, it never seems to happen and I end up with a grouchy hungry boy that hangs on my legs, whines, gets into trouble, and has full fledged temper tantrums over things like me closing the trash can lid. We have little things that work- like me giving him a bowl to stir, or pots to play with, but they only last for so long.

Last night Drew was in a typical rampage- angry because I closed the dishwasher door (where he kept pulling out knives, and dirty spoons). He kept angrily reopening the dishwasher after I would shut it, so when I finally secured it he decided to start pulling everything he could reach off the counter. Exasperated I told him no and tried to redirect him to something else while I went about my business putting the finishing touches on dinner.

It wasn't until Drew grabbed my legs and looked right up into my eyes that I finally stopped. I looked at him and saw that all he wanted was for a bit of my attention. Yes, dinner has to be cooked. Yes, I'm stressing over it FOR him and BECAUSE of him, but I finally took a breath and realized a few minutes wasn't going to make any difference. I sat down right on the kitchen floor and he immediately wedged his butt in my lap. I wrapped my arms around him, and just laid my cheek on his head. And we just sat there like that. He didn't want to play. He didn't want me to get him a snack. He didn't want to read a book. He just wanted to sit with his Mommy.

You would think this would have been enough to get my head out of my "to-dos" but after a few minutes I realized that I hadn't put the broccoli in the microwave yet. I said "Mommy's going to get up for a second" as I started to unwrap my arms. Drew quickly and firmly said "no!" and grabbed my arm and wrapped it back around his stomach. With tears in my eyes I just sat there. I took in his smell, his fuzzy hair, his calm breathing, and finally stopped and really enjoyed the moment. There will come a time when he won't want me to snuggle him. When I can't smother him in kisses and rest my cheek on his soft hair. Even when he gets over the teenage years of "despising" his parents, I realize that I won't be snuggling with a grown adult. So I smiled and reveled in my cuddly boy.

When we did finally get up to finish dinner, I took Drew with me; with him on my hip we finished cooking together.

I find it embarrassing that it took so much to get through to my brain that my little boy just wanted a little attention (not food). And what's worse is I know it won't be long before I go back to my typical frazzled-mother ways and forget that Drew isn't a pain, but a little boy who is learning, growing, and still enjoys a cuddle every now and then.

Wordless Wednesday: Yay! Bath time!

Wordless Wednesday: Please mom, can I have some more?

Skagit

For some reason that's what my family has always called our homemade spaghetti.

Looks like Drew wants to try some!

Minding his P's and Q's

I guess he has finally learned some manners!

Not only are his feet not on the table, but he's holding a napkin!

Mind your manners

Jason and I sit down to dinner together, at the table, at least 4 nights a week (the only time we don't is when he works till 9 or 10, and even then we often still eat together).  It's a habit I'm glad we have as most people these days, especially our age, don't.  It's a habit I definitely want to keep as Drew grows too (we all know the benefits of sitting down to a family dinner) so I decided I want to go ahead and start including him in our meals.  Instead of just putting him in his swing now at dinner time we've broken out the high chair (even though it will be a while before we actually need it).  It leans back enough that he can sit in it at the table with us while we eat.

The only problem is we apparently already need to start teaching him some table manners...

He does this every time. I put him in correctly then he manages to wiggle his feet out of the proper spots and put them on the tray. Hey dude, feet stay off the table!

Let's get cookin'!

It seems I don't get much done these days.  Besides diapers and being "milk maid" I spend a lot of time (happily!) like this...

I do still enjoy having time to cook though, even if the laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, etc. get left undone.  And even though I'm not good at cooking, I love pretending that I am.  I actually find chopping and dicing relaxing at the end of a long day, and I love the creative outlet (yes I play with recipes... shhh... don't tell Jason.  He doesn't trust me as much as I seem to trust myself so he never likes anything if he knows I've strayed from the recipe).

Though I do enjoy cooking, I really haven't done much since Drew was born.  I've cooked some very simple dishes, but mostly it's been frozen meals of various varieties (meals that I had cooked and frozen while pregnant, meals that people made for us, and yes, meals from the freezer aisle at the grocery store too).  This was my first meal that I actually spent a little time preparing, and enjoyed every minute of it (including the mess I made!)

The "Chicken Broccoli Braid" is a Pampered Chef recipe that Laura reminded me is delicious.  It was one of my first few "meated" dishes after 7 years of being vegetarian!  "Great" Aunt Wynn Anne requested that I post the recipe for you!

Chicken Broccoli Braid

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 oz. (1cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. all-purpose dill mix
1/4 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. (8oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbls. slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Basically chop/shred/measure everything and throw all of it except the crescent rolls, egg whites, and slivered almonds into a large bowl and mix.
3. The "braid" can be the tough part.  I laid the triangles of crescent dough out, corners overlapping, on a circlular baking stone.  I spread the filling along the center of my circle then wrapped the points around the filling.  Here are the directions Pampered Chef gives:  
• Unroll 1 package of crescent dough; do not separate. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of 12" x 15" rectangle baking stone. Repeat with remaining package of dough. Using roller, roll dough to seal perforations. On longest sides of baking stone, cut dough into strips 1 1/2 inches apart, 3 inches deep using a pizza cutter (there will be 6 inches in the center for the filling). Spread filling evenly over middle of dough. To braid, lift strips of dough across mixture to meet in center, twisting each strip on turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends under to seal at end of braid.
4. Brush egg white over dough and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 25-28 minutes.

Ours was actually on the healthier side with reduced fat crescent rolls, low fat cheese, and light mayo!

As a former Pampered Chef consultant (and to prevent being sued for copyright infringement or something) I feel the need to promote two contraptions that make preparing this dish a breeze.

First, the food chopper. One of the most popular Pampered Chef items.  I actually rarely use mine since, as I said above, I actually like chopping and dicing, but if I am in a hurry or am just not feeling it that day it is a great way to chop a ton of stuff (and let out some frustrations as you pound it!).  It's also great for onions- no more crying!

Second, the stoneware.  Pampered Chef is famous for the stoneware too and I love it!  It's all natural (no chemicals or funny metals leaching into your food), it becomes "non-stick" as you use it, it cooks VERY evenly... the color you see on top is the color your food is on the bottom, and it holds heat which means your food stays warm while you serve it.  I love my large bar pan which is great for cookies, pizzas, baking chicken, etc. I also love the pizza stone but my very favorite is the deep covered baker (currently unavailable, sad!) that I can use in the microwave to cook awesome meals like white chicken chili!