Tales of Me and the Husband

December 18, 2013

Celebrating Christmas.

Every morning I take in the lights on the tree which are a quick glance to your left as you go down the stairs. Or the greens strung along the stairs. As soon as I’m downstairs, second to getting a pot of coffee going (hazelnut!), I put a Christmas playlist on our sound dock. Christmas music is streaming, quite literally, all day long. Sometimes Michael Buble, other times Narada Nutcracker. Oh, and please don’t forget the Little Women soundtrack. It’s very deserving of a spot on your Christmas playlist. If we’re in the car, the Christmas music station. Parker has become so accustomed to, his favorite, Frosty the Snowman, that he tears through the first floor looking for his police hat for the line he led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop and he only paused a moment when he heard him holler, “Stop!” On stop, undoubtedly, his hand is out motioning stop and he has the proudest smirk on his face. We’ve made sugar cookies and set up our nativity scene. Parker gets a little piece of chocolate from our Trader Joe’s countdown calendar. And William and Lindsey dress, one by one, our Advent calendar until all the pieces are out.

Parker runs around the house, searching for Jack. We’ve altered the rules of this tradition. The whole “he’s reporting your behavior and you can’t touch him,” being a bit creepy to a toddler. It’s really just a hide and seek game in this house. I can’t say I get terribly creative with Jack, the pinnacle being when I had him spell out “hi!” in Cheerios on the kitchen table one morning. Parker ate each one until they were gone. And sometimes, Jack is still in the same place as he was the day before so I quickly dash around finding a new place for him. We’ve watched Elf three times so far and Steve said he’s adopting, “Son of a Nutcracker!” when he gets hurt. We watched White Christmas too. That’s always a favorite, especially the dancing scenes (and this one!). Steve and I have gone out on dates (two in the past few weeks! Huge!) and I order red wine which is something I really only do during the colder months and always feels cozy.

And the other night, I came down to Love Actually already in the DVD player and Steve curled up on the couch waiting for me, a huge fire going in the fireplace. As two people who sometimes retire to their respective places in the evenings (him doing work, me doing work), it was a treat. I’ve already started wrapping presents, having adopted a bit of a theme with my wrapping this year. Don’t worry, I’m eye-rolling at myself too (red, brown, and red and white striped!). Parker and I read this book every night before bed (since getting it last week, anyway. Thank you Sara!) Parker is wearing fleece two-piece pajamas, the sort that are collared with buttons up the front, and they’re covered in snowmen (his Frah-ee pajamas; translation: Frosty pajamas). He runs around the house, looking like such a little boy, walking with such purpose. His feet slap the ground deliberately. It’s such a sweet noise. On really cold days, we spend much of it in pajamas. We got our first snow this past weekend and I shoveled the walk while Steve snow blowed, and Lindsey made snowballs with Parker. We came in and had tea. We still have It’s a Wonderful Life on the docket (Steve’s favorite) and I am so excited for Christmas morning. I’m really enjoying this too. The little days leading to the big day, the mornings where we dip apples in peanut butter and listen to music, where I take stock of what I’m giving to who, and where there’s hot soup on the stove in the evenings. This is all terribly sappy, but that’s just how I’m feeling these days.

And I really want to remember it all.

December 16, 2013

Giving.

Every year at this time, the gift guides are everywhere. Catalogs are shoved in mailboxes–tenfold the amount I get the rest of the year. I’ve had a package delivered by my UPS man at least two out of the five business days for the past few weeks. My Amazon cart is perpetually full of gifts for the kids, for Steve. You get it. There is a lot of shopping, a lot of buying, a lot of credit-card entering and swiping. Sometimes it all feels like a bit much. I’ll be the first to admit: I love the Christmas season, I love the giving and receiving of gifts. I love the mutual excitement when everyone sees the presents under the tree first thing Christmas morning. Though, there are years where I talk to Steve before the shopping begins. Do you think we should pare it down this year? Just get a few things? Go somewhere instead? Give to a charity in place of our own gifts? I always end up doing presents as normal, but trying to get things that really make sense, that aren’t just “filler” items that will inevitably end up getting trashed or forgotten within a few months. Still, I always have this push-and-pull, this desire to have a minimal Christmas, to sacrifice, to teach the kids the power of giving over receiving.

This is certainly not the beginning and end of giving at Christmastime, as it requires little more than a quick online payment, but Kiva is probably my number one favorite charity. There are so many charities out there, and I think we tend to trust most of them. With a little research, you’ll quickly find out, for various reasons, some charities are a lot better than others. Kiva is one of the best, in my opinion and here’s why: you’re essentially micro-lending to a hopeful business owner, somewhere in the world. You can view their picture, their profile, see what they’re planning to do with the money, and see how far they are from their goal. Eventually, their business is up and running, and you’re paid back. At that point, you can relend the money, or withdraw it back into your Paypal account (or, better still, add more money to your Kiva credit to lend to even more business owners, typically in $25 increments). The repayment schedule is made clear to you (some loan terms are longer than others) and you get email notifications when you’ve been repaid. And, upon checkout, you have the option to donate to Kiva’s operating expenses or not, thus, you know where your dollars are going. I would suggest doing so as they’re the men and women that keep such a cool charity as this running! Since I’ve been a Kiva member, I’ve lent to 17 different countries and businesses such as animal sales in Tajikistan, farming in Uganda, a grocery store in Ecuador, and a used clothing store in Sierra Leone. I think your dollars go a little further–when you’re actually helping others provide for themselves, make a living, create their business.

So, this Christmas, maybe check out Kiva?

(One more cool charity: sponsor a child through Compassion International. Bonus–your kids can correspond with your sponsor child through letters. Lindsey’s always liked doing that.)

What do you do at Christmastime? Do you do a minimal holiday? Do you go overboard (no judgment!) Do you have a favorite charity? How do you give back? I want to hear.

This isn’t sponsored by Kiva. They’re just a company I believe in.

December 13, 2013

making sugar cookies.

parker’s had a cold much of this week. so, you know how that goes, we’ve been housebound. bound feels soooo apropos here. how perfectly that word does justice! he’s had a permanently yucky nose (i apologize, here and now, to any mother i may have judged in my younger years when their children had dried snotty noses. it is so much easier to just let it be, snot and all, then to keep torturing them with tissues.) and we’ve been boooored. i’m really of the mind, “we keep our germs to ourselves” (you’re welcome) so we haven’t done any playdates, library, nooothing all week long. does grocery shopping count? we did go grocery shopping. when steve comes home each day, i’ve been like, “here’s your child!” arms outstretched, parker dangling mid-air. then i escape with my glass of wine to the far corners of the house. (speaking of wine, cupcake merlot is amazing for those who aren’t fancy wine drinkers. i like red wine but am not a fancy wine drinker by anyyyyy stretch of the imagination so, there you have it. gimme a two buck chuck and a $300 bottle and i will not know the difference.) anyway, lindsey had a half day and parker was napping and i wondered… how shall i fill the time when he awakes?! sugar cookies! it’s that time of year, anyway. you all know i’m already not a baker, but tis the season so i always abandon my cook hat, trading it for my baker’s hat this time of year. and for sugar cookies most of the time. parker was more than happy to climb right on the counter, stick his hands in the flour over and over, and make a big mess. and, at the end of it we’ve got sugar cookies.

December 13, 2013

we’ve got snow! and fancy shoes too! :: CLOSED

{sweater (old): h&m}

{white shirt: hand me down from mom!}

{clutch: c/o providence story}

{jeans: thrifted}

{shoes (the winnie): c/o shoedazzle}

we have snow! finally. after nearly everyone else on instagram showing their snowy pictures, boston finally manned-up and gave us some. my ankles did not get that memo though, apparently.

today we have a great giveaway from shoedazzle. a new-to-me website lead by stylist rachel zoe (i love her. remember this post so long ago?). shoedazzle offers a monthly showroom filled with on-trend, personalized shoe and accessory recommendations. a lot of choices beginning at $39.95 so if you need yourself a pretty holiday shoe, check it out.

enter to win a $60 credit toward the shoe of your choice. again, soooo many options under that price point. to enter, visit shoedazzle, create an account (free + no obligation to buy!), and come back here and tell me what your favorite shoe is. plus, first time buyers: 25% off + free shipping!

open to u.s and canada residents only.

amber dominguez is the winner, congrats!

December 10, 2013

some things lately.

// it appears as though the hunt name is in the lottery, so to speak, five times for every one time the rest of the country is. and a cool lottery, no. rather, the jury duty lottery. going for my second time in three years and isn’t that like double what the rest of you have done? it feels like the hunger games. our name just keeps getting picked. system’s rigged, i tell you! someone’s out to get us!

// speaking of hunger games, i took william and lindsey to see it the other night. they read the books, and i promised (bribery is the only thing that really gets william to read), and so we did. it was intense. really good. but intense. at one point lindsey closed her eyes and i was like, to myself, “you’re a bad mom.” they were thrilled though, as you can imagine, seeing as a lot of their friends had seen it already and had read the books. i was dragging my feet letting them do either, but decided not to be the stick in the mud for once, and let them do it. happy to report, no nightmares!

// i considered a gift guide this year, i really did. shocking! but then i realized everyone and their mother was doing one and what could i really offer in the way of gift guides that wasn’t already out there? so, i will say, this is probably the coolest book ever (for any age), a husband who loves history (and/or cities) will think this one is pretty cool (steve does!), my most favorite kid pajamas of all time (and bonus! i find them at costco for $13 at least once a year and grab a few!), a popcorn maker for the foodie and/or movie lover, one of our favorite family games, the perfect shoe for virtually any member of the family (seriously–i have them, lindsey has them, jordan asked for them one year, and now william wants a pair. oh, and parker’s got the slip-ons!) and a buffalo check scarf for her! phew. that was by no means the most exhaustive list, but call it a real brief summation of a few favorites. does that count as a gift guide?

// this was a great post by my friend sara – a round up of her favorite parenting books. she’s one of my go-tos when it comes to parenting. i really appreciate her take on all things family and her advice is pretty golden. check it out.

// another post shout out: this one by sydney. need i say more? amen to all of it. what i’d like to add? i’m more and more aware of william and lindsey’s privacy over the past few months. i’ve always asked them to keep my blog under wraps (they don’t read it themselves, but check out posts they’re in from time to time) when talking to their friends, but unfortunately sometimes they mention it (proudly, i think, which is pretty sweet) and curious friends go probing. i think they’re proud of this space of mine but don’t necessarily think through the ramifications of all their friends reading about our family, them when they were little, their parents love story, our age difference, blah blah blahhh. so, as they head closer to high school (william! next year!) i’m more aware of the eyes that might be on this blog, and how that could affect them. it’s a strange line to walk, and one that i didn’t have to give as much thought to when they were younger. same goes for nathaniel and jordan, of course, but since they’re not as much a part of every day here, it’s not as big of an issue. anyway, never a bad idea, to reevaluate and see what might need some tweaking as your family grows… so, that’s that.

// sometimes i come out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed to steve either doing jumping jacks or pushups and always at some absurdly high number. he starts counting out loud, “ninety two… ninety three.” i’m in the bathroom four minutes tops. mmmm, i’m not buying it steve.

// anddddd, not to brag, but my pinterest seasonal board is looking mighty good these days. that’s where the above picture can be found.

December 9, 2013

hunt christmas extravaganza, iii.

well… third year in a row. you know what that means, folks. this is a tradition and don’t even try to tell me otherwise.

so, here you have it, our hunt christmas extravaganza. as i got this post ready, of course i had to go back and browse the other two years and gosh, these kids have grown. it’s pretty crazy. parker was in an infant car seat the first time, and lindsey has gone through, i’m pretty sure, three or four pairs of shoes since the vans she’s wearing the first year. and at least one pair of glasses! i say “kids have grown” all la-di-da here but it catches in my throat a little when i look back on those pictures. when i look back on any pictures. i’m working on celebrating the passage of time more than mourning it. tis my 2014 resolution! that and drink more water!

anyway, we began at, where else, our favorite bagel shop. french toast bagels and cream cheese all around and, duh, coffee for the grown ups. so, once equipped with some of that goodness in our bellies, off we went to venture into the wild (you read that hear ye sign, right?) in the quest for the perfect tree. parker was thrilled with a tractor ride (pronounced “ca-ca! ca-caaaa!”) and i was thrilled that there was some snow on the ground–it had arrived overnight! we spotted it, the tree, did the whole 360 up-and-down thing and declared it the one. william cut it down with absolutely no help from steve this year, and lindsey dragged it much of the way back to the tractor. me? i took pictures and corralled parker.

once home, we readied the house for the christmas season and things look pretty nice around here. lights and santas and a gingerbread house too. i like this season a lot.

{last year}

{two years ago}

p.s. oh! and anyone have a link for their favorite tree skirt? we’ve never really had one we like and this year i’m actually using an ikea blanket. :-

December 8, 2013

Harvest Chicken Quinoa (or Farro!) Soup.

Two weeks ago when we arrived in New Jersey, after several hours in the car, this was simmering on the stove at my sister’s house. It was all too welcome as I had packed enough snack-type things to last us the trip without having to stop for a real meal… the promise of hot soup upon arrival! Carrots and hummus and crackers and some cinnamon cookies, Cars on DVD, a few books. Those were our road trip saviors. We stopped exactly one time, to use the bathrooms, and otherwise cruised straight there. We’re sort of road-trip champions at this point. I’ve gone the whole way from Boston to NJ without one stop before (or the use of a bedpan!). That’s probably not a good thing, as a body does need water, and when I stumbled out of the car, dehydrated and bedraggled, I thought better than to repeat that. Jokes, jokes, the dehydrated-stumble part never happened.

Anyway, we sat around my sister’s table, all of us eating our bowl of hot soup. I exclaimed, “Kale?!” To my surprise, the greens in the soup are kale. I had sort of written kale off, having had it a few times, and really not enjoyed it. I know it’s like the “it” vegetable of 2012-2013 but I just couldn’t get on board with it. And, seeing as I quite like spinach, I decided to stop trying and keep on the spinach train. What’d spinach ever do to deserve being cast aside anyway? There is room for both, however, on your kitchen table so, if you’re in agreement with me on the anti-kale sentiments, do try it in a soup. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Also, be sure to actually remove the leafy part from the tougher stem part. Toss the stems, keep the leaves.

I’m calling this Harvest Chicken Quinoa Soup though, what you’re looking at there, is actually Harvest Chicken Farro Soup. I followed Iowa Girl Eats recipe by that name, having asked my sister where the recipe came from. (And, do check out her site. A lot of good recipes on it.) Of course, minus the quinoa–William’s not a quinoa fan, so I switched it up for farro. And honestly, a rice, a noodle… any type of favorite grain or starch would work. We had it a few days ago–it was on the docket as soon as I bought some kale–and I doubled it so we had leftovers too. Leftover soup is my favorite leftover.

Harvest Chicken Farro Soup

serves 6

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 rib celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/2 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

salt & pepper

4 cups torn kale

1 garlic clove

8 cups chicken broth, divided

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2″ parmesan cheese rind (optional)

2 large chicken breasts (about 1lb), cut in half

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes (2 cups)

1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes (1-1/2 cups)

2/3 cup quinoa (or farro!), rinsed and drained

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large pot, and sauté your carrots, celery, onion till soft, ten minutes or so. Season with s&p. Add kale and garlic and continue sautéing. Add your seasonings & bay leaf (I used a poultry seasoning here, instead of the separate ones) and your cheese rind if you want (I didn’t do that part). Add your broth. Bring to a boil. Add chicken breasts to the pot (raw! Loved cooking my chicken this way.). Once that’s no longer pink, about ten minutes, take it out and put it on a plate. Add your potatoes, and grain. After that’s cooked, add back your chopped/shredded chicken. Remove bay leaf, add parmesan cheese, and add some more broth as your grain will have absorbed a lot of it at this point.

Serve with a crusty loaf of bread and some more grated cheese. And, in my opinion, double this recipe always! This will be a staple soup this winter in my house, for sure. Everyone loves it, nutritious for you, easy ingredients. Winner.

December 6, 2013

lately.

my niece nora had a first birthday while we were in nj last week.

she is so darn cute and sweet and we were glad to be there.

my sister made her this three-tiered cake of nothing but basically

banana and applesauce and, you know, healthy stuff. nora loved digging into it.

my sister, brother in law, and nora… trying on her new shoes!

my friend kelly and i walking downtown where we grew up, both with our own kids.

she’s one of my oldest + dearest friends (we went to the same school beginning in… first grade, was it kel?)

so it’s both incredibly fun and crazy to be strolling the streets we used to as grown ups who now have kids!

also while in nj, steve and my dad were watching football and, unbeknownst to us, parker

was paying close attention. and then started doing what you see above, and then

getting up and running with a football. nathaniel taught him to also say, “blue 42! hike!”

wearing my dad’s ooooold fire helmet and too cool to even smile for the picture.

on another note, doesn’t william have great hair?

we tell him that all the time and hopefully aren’t turning him into a narcissist in the meantime.

liiiiiights everywhere. though, sadly, these aren’t up anymore because after william began he discovered the strands were way too long. i’m thinking about patenting a retractable light strand

that is EXACTLY how long you want it. not sure the science behind it yet, but bear with me.

little wooden masks, $1 at michael’s. craft tiiiiiiiime.

one of my new sponsors, fabuloos dreams, sent parker this book that’s personalized.

after he got over the initial shock of, “woah, that’s me, in a book?” he LOVED it.

it is really so cute. sometimes books like that lack an actual fun story or the graphics

are meh, but i genuinely like this one. good christmas present!

live garlands are possibly my faaaavorite thing to decorate with. a note if you choose to also do so with fuzzy socks on: the needles that fall WILL stick to the bottom of your socks.

since we were traveling last weekend, we haven’t had a chance to really decorate the house yet. that’s this weekend and we couldn’t be more excited. i mean, we even name it the “christmas extravaganza.” that’s how seriously we take it. i’ve got a big tub of trader joes popcorn (you remember) and sparkling cider for the kids and christmas movies to choose from. it’s going to be great. now i hope massachusetts will turn this rain to snow and then it will be juuuuuuust right.

have a good weekend, everyone!

December 4, 2013

kind of like a sweatshirt but not.

{hat: target}
{raybans: c/o sunglasses shop}

{jacket: c/o love threads}

{scarf: h&m}

{jeans: asos}

{shoes: tjmaxx}

i really like going out of the house (or staying in the house, really) in clothing that is sweatshirt material but doesn’t loooooook like a sweatshirt. sort of like socially acceptable pajamas. you know what i’m saying. i’ve thought this on many, many (too many) occasions. this jacket fits the bill. no, not as perfectly as some things, but it comes pretty close. the body–sweatshirt material! the sleeves–faux leather. and quilted, no less. so, all that to say, i’ve worn it a lot.