May 07, 2009

showered with inspiration

May 07, 2009/ molly balint

I guess you never know when something as simple as disappearing for 15 minutes can inspire such creativity. The other day, my children had one of those blissful days where they seemed to get along all day--they played, they sang, they drew pictures, they went outside, they dressed up. It was magical.

So when I told the two of them I was slipping away for a quick shower, they must have realized this was their chance to sneak into the kitchen and get creative. A few weeks ago, Emma created this little snack, and she's been riffing off that idea ever since.

But they really outdid themselves this time:

pretzels, sandwiched around peanut butter sprinkled with brown sugar, chocolate chips and sprinkles.

I won't discuss the mess, or how hard smashed sprinkles are to remove from white kitchen linoleum floors, or how mysteriously empty the chocolate chip bag was, or the ring of wet chocolate around their lips, or how much brown sugar was sprinkled across the table top, or how they reached into the pretzel jar with fingers covered in peanut butter, or how I'd mopped the kitchen floor on my hands and knees that morning.....

I will say, they tasted pretty good, in small doses.

Meanwhile, I've had a little list of things I've wanted to share with you burning a hole in my back pocket. And now, this morning, I can't find that list anywhere....but I do remember a few:

Have you seen the new Lotta Jansdotter, Simple Sewing For Baby book? Lotta + babies + crafting? Be still my heart. Be watching here for a little review/giveaway coming up soon. Meanwhile, if you're lucky enough to be close, Lotta is hosting a Launch Party in her Brooklyn, NY studio, Friday, May 8th from 6-9pm.

Also, the people at Peek, who so generously donated a Peek to giveaway on this blog a few months ago, emailed me and asked me to mention their new promo for mother's day. And since they're such nice people, and really this Peek is just right for someone like my mom, who wants to be connected but is better with a scaled down version of this fancy-schmancy smartphone stuff, this could be a great little Mom's day gift. Just puttin' out the word.

And because it's been a really long time since I've shared some flickr favorites. Here's a little photographic inspiration for your Thursday morning. Hoping it's sunnier than mine! C'mon sun. Show your face.

(click on the photo for photo credits)

March 10, 2009

protein + whole grains

March 10, 2009/ molly balint

For some reason, my eldest child seems to always give me a rough go of things for several weeks right around her birthday. I remember it when she turned six. And it happened again this January when she turned seven. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe not. But this year, to be honest, it was a particularly tough several weeks.

It was one of those parenting seasons where I began to question all the decisions I was making for her, wonder if I was somehow "wronging" her, and how I'd failed as a parent. I found myself faced with situations where there was nothing in my parenting bag of tools and tricks that seemed to work.

Eventually, things began to settle down. I think a big part of it, was my change in perspective, which seemed to have a calming effect on our home.

Dan and I also began to notice a pattern. Many of our tough episodes with her seemed to be related to food--whether she was flat-out hungry or coming off some sort of sugary-high. So my focus began to shift, and I realized that I needed to start making some eating habit changes around our house.

On one particularly rough evening, I called Emily and we talked about all this. By the end of the conversation, she encouraged me to focus on two things: getting protein in at every meal (and snack), and making the transition to more whole wheat and grains.

I also started counting points, like I mentioned before, which always helps me be more mindful of where the calories are going, and keeps more filling foods in our diet.

And I have to tell you, the changes have been really good. The rough season appears to be behind us. And on the rare occasion that it shows its ugly head, she's in a much better place to be able to deal with it, and move on. Me, too.

So I'm back to meal-planning. I'm getting very familiar with my Cooking Light magazine again and delving into out my grandmother's old Moosewood Cookbook.

But you all never fail me...what are some of your best high protein snacks, or whole grain meals and dishes? What's your favorite way to cook with beans? What resources, magazines or cookbooks do you like best? (have you seen this super natural recipe search?? It's great!) I'd love to have some more recipes and ideas in my repertoire, I think most of us would. Share a link, a post, a recipe. And hopefully, I'll have some time to combine them all into one place so that they are easily accessible for all of you, too.

Thank you, friends.

February 23, 2009

last week's stars

February 23, 2009/ molly balint

All these pictures were taken from my front porch over the past few days. There was also a picture of several turkey vultures picking through a bit of roadkill, but I'll spare you those pictures. It was fascinating to watch though. At one point, all the girls were standing in the window making gagging noises--but unable to pull themselves from the action. The vultures didn't let me get very close, but I was close enough to be in awe of how big they are and how ugly their heads are--which I suppose is kind of ironic coming from a guinea owner.

I do admit to wondering where it puts me on the country-bumpkin scale to be photographing turkey vultures tearing apart roadkill. Hmmm.....

Anyway...my whole reason for this post is to share some of my google reader "stars" from last week--posts not necessarily written last week (I'm very behind) but good things to share with you nonetheless.

It's been a long day. And I'm trying to get to bed earlier so that I'm up earlier. But sometimes these quiet evenings are my time to unwind--but maybe they don't need to be quite so loooong.

Oh, and before I forget...thank you for some amazing music suggestions. I've been working my way through the list. So much good stuff I forgot, or discovered. Thank you!

Some starred items from last week, for your perusal:

* soft pretzels, refreshed at Smitten Kitchen
* Grace's baby bunting...now if that baby would just arrive!
* roasted cabbage at thekitchn...dan has requested cabbage in the garden this year. i'm collecting recipes.
* good tip: why you should keep your oven door closed.
* a sneak peek at kristin's new fabric design. (I see mollybirds in there!)
* Lori's thoughts on the perfect homeschool curriculum
* Molly joins the club.
* I want to make my own version of these for the girls. I love them!
* Leslie's latest pattern has me dumping my current project to get started on this.

What's catching your eye in blogland these days?

January 15, 2009

Glimpses of Reality, Followed by Inspiration

January 15, 2009/ molly balint

I believe a few glimpses of reality are nice every once in awhile. Healthy, even. Here are a few glimpses of reality from my day:

I am making grilled cheese sandwiches while I write this post. My laptop is sitting on the counter beside the stove.

My girls are watching a movie about penguins. And I'm okay with that. Because our morning was full or play and creativity.

I'm listening to Diana Krall on the radio show Art of The Song which reminds me of a boyfriend in college. Which I didn't think of until just this instant. (this is a new-found favorite on the radio and gets my inner singer, songwriter stirred up.)

This is where the girls spent most of the morning. A secret club meets under there. In order to get in, you must be wearing a tee shirt with the name of your favorite sport on it. Mary's says horseback riding. Emma's says soccer. And you must bring a sketch book. If I could fit, I'd be in that club, too.

Later, the girls commandeered the bathroom. Which, when the door is shut, is the warmest spot in the house--when the furnace is working, of course. Which isn't something you can count on.

That's Elizabeth, trying to get into the club. Yes, she's wearing underwear, over her clothes, which is another post to come. Yes, you'd break an ankle trying to get into that room. You should try to navigate it in the middle of the night. Yes, their beds are unmade. Morning "chores" were postponed this morning.

That's my kitchen table yesterday, about thirty minutes after I should have been elbow-deep in dinner prep. Instead I'm up to my elbows in red and pink and hearts and cupids and fancy paper and pipe cleaners. I'm working on some crafts for a new section on babycenter's website. They need 10 crafts, designed, instructions written out, and shipped to be professionally photographed in 7 days. Am I crazy? My deadline is tomorrow.

And now some inspiration to balance out my reality:

**Molly's photography in this post about her new restaurant, Delancy.
**Ali Edward's office tour. I'm getting Dan to build me some of those wooden bins on the wall, asap!
**Kristin's handmade doll clothes, which I think would be great to make for the girls' new dolls. I've already reserved the book from the library.
**This peek at Heather's new work. Stunning.
**Cassi's button clips.
**This post over at Ordinary Courage. It's actually her take on Oprah's latest magazine cover, but her thoughts on addiction, body image are really eye-opening. I'm not sure anyone could read the post without taking something positive away from it.

And back to reality......I burned the second side of the grilled cheese. Bummer.

December 14, 2008

Baking with Kids, (and the answer to a question many have asked)

December 14, 2008/ molly balint

My kitchen is getting crowded. There is a little girl in this house who is nudging me out in order to let her give the world of baking a try--solo baking.

And no, contrary to this first picture, it is not Elizabeth--who finds my ailing KitchenAid Mixer very mesmerizing. Rather, it is Emma.

So I've begun the search for some easy, starter recipes. Recipes that require a few ingredients and simple instructions. Eventually, I'd like to pull them all together into her own recipe box.

To help her have complete independence, I've been "illustrating" the recipes for her. Don't laugh at my crude drawings, please. At least Emma knows what they are!

This recipe is one of her favorites--Peanut Butter Kiss cookies--and she can make them completely on her own except for a little help with measuring the sticky peanut butter. It may be time to add a WonderCup to our kitchen supplies.

If you'd like a copy of Emma's recipe card, be my guest:::click to get the recipe card::. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear some of the simple recipes in your repertoire, or the recipes that your children enjoy making by themselves in the kitchen. I love the idea of Emma being able to enjoy baking and preparing things by herself. I know she loves that rush which comes with doing something "so grown-up" all on her own and it also gives her a way to do something special for her family.

As our recipe collection grows, I'll do my best to share them here. And please, share yours as well. I'd love more to add to our bank of recipes. And it will give me a chance to work on my drawing skills. :)

++++++++

I also wanted to point you in the direction of Amy's blog, doobleh-vay. She asked me to take part in her "Inspire Me" series, sharing three things that inspire me, along with a few inspiring links. Be sure to stop by and take a look. Amy is also behind the great etsy shop Little Alouette. She and her husband make beautiful wooden toys that are classic, simple and adorable. Thank you, Amy for including me in this series. It was good for me to take the time to put some of my inspiration into words.

Also, if you follow my Bushel and A Peck posts on babycenter you'll know that two weeks ago, I (bravely, I might add) wrote a post about some homeschooling frustrations. The post got a lot of comments--some well-meaning, off-base advice, some support, and some attack. Someone even told me that they thought homeschooling should be outlawed. Hmmmm...

Anyway, a number of people who left comments asked me to address why I homeschool. Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to share. In fact, I'm pretty hesitant to talk about homeschooling much at all on the babycenter blogs. I just don't want to hear all the negativity. (though there were a lot of supportive comments on my first homeschooling post.) But when I thought about it more, I decided to go ahead and share my reasons for homeschooling. It's easy to talk about it here on my personal blog--so many of you homeschool and those of you that don't, don't give negative reactions to the fact that I do. And I'm really, REALLY thankful for that. But in the end, I decided that these are MY REASONS for homeschooling, not some philosophy on how schooling should be handled for all children, not some mindset I'm trying to shove down the throats of anyone who will listen. There will always be nay-sayers and furrowed-brow onlookers. So, for those of you who have sent me emails in the past and asked for me to share my reasons for homeschooling you can check out my post, "A Bushel and A Peck: Week 22: Why I Homeschool."