born.in.japan

Big City, Small Town

I am always amazed when my city, a big city that can seem so anonymous and unfriendly, transforms itself and, even it if is only an instant, seems like a small town, a place where everyone says hello and knows a little bit about you.

It seemed this way just the other day.

Each day I try to make sure that Ewan and I have an outing. Even though it can seem like a hassle to bundle up and get out, it is worth it. It is good for both of us.

Sometimes the outings are ambitious. Long walks. Trips to museums. Parks.

Sometimes the outings are necessary. Grocery stores. Visits to pediatricians. Walks to the post office. The corner store for toilet paper.

Sometimes the outings are brief. A quick spin around the block.

Sometimes the outings involve food. And, when it comes to food, First Slice Cafe, a mere block from our house, is the place to be.

Just a few days ago Ewan and I were out for a walk. I checked my wallet and found two dollars and eleven cents, not much, but I knew it would be enough for a cookie. So, to First Slice Cafe we went.

I went up to the counter and eyed up the selection. My standby is the Molasses Cookie with the Carmelized Brownie coming in a close second. (Yes, I go often enough to have a standby) Anyways, this time I decided to branch out, or my wallet decided for me. You see my two favorites each cost two dollars and, well, I just wasn’t going to put a cookie on my credit card.

I grabbed a Snickerdoodle, a mere dollar seventy five, and handed it to the woman at the register. She and I recognize each other now and we are always friendly and say hello.

“No, no, no,” she said as she reached for a Cashew Snickerdoodle, “these are much better.”

“Well, I’m going to have stick with the plain one today,” I said as I showed her my two dollars and eleven cents.

“No, you’ve got to try the cashew one,” she said as she dug in the tip jar to dig out the balance, “really, it’s that much better.”

As I walked home, crunching on little bits of cashew, I couldn’t help but reflect on the whole exchange. For a moment there, this city seemed a little smaller. More approachable. Dare I say, neighborly.

For a moment I forgot that I was in Chicago.

For a moment . . .

Wordless Wednesday

Lovely Thing #3

Actually, I’m pretty sure this isn’t #3 at all, as I know I’ve made other lovely things in the past few weeks, but for the sake of this blog, and the moment, this is #3, at least as it is documented.

Presenting….

The cutest baby hat this world has seen.

On the cutest babe. A perfect match.

I used the Baby Aviatrix pattern which was an absolute blast to knit. Quick (just one day). No double pointed needles. AND, best of all, no seaming! Just perfect.

The yarn is my own, a handspun BFL from Crown Mountain Farms. And I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

An Easy Fix

I’m a firm believer that there are few things in life that ice cream cannot fix. (Save your lecture on emotional eating)

Unfortunately, today, my belief was shaken. Ice cream, even coupled with a long walk on an unseasonably warm sunshiny days, couldn’t shake my funk. Mama said there’d be days like this….

Here’s hoping that the sunshine, both figuratively and literally, will return tomorrow.

Our First Date

Thanks to the generosity of a couple friends, Aaron and I were able to go on our first post-baby date!

It was a lunch date. And only an hour and a half long. At a restaurant less than three blocks from our apartment. Baby steps. But you gotta start somewhere.

We had a nice time, although we spent a good amount of our time away wondering what our little guy was up to.

Which, I guess, is pretty normal, considering.

Beer was drank, cookies were shared, conversation (and dreaming) flowed. All in all, good times. And, just as we imagined, we came home to a happy smiling baby, in one piece. Yes, I suppose we will do this again!

Right Now

exploring new textures

embracing the mess, knowing that it is evidence of a night spent with good friends

designing a little vest for my little man, hoping that it will be ready in time for spring

drinking whole bunches of chai tea using the concentrate i read about over there

relishing the return of the light and not having to turn the lamps on until dusk

watching Ewan explore seashells in the best way he knows how, by putting them in his mouth

trusting that he will make good choices if given good options

Squash Muffin Recipe

In my quest to feed my son, wholesome, nutritious table foods that the whole family eats, I have found myself trying, modifying, and creating a whole slew of (new) family favorites.

The key to creating recipes that I am happy to share with Ewan is subbing whole grains for white flour and drastically reducing the amount of sugar. Not only is this better for Ewan, it is also better for us. Everyone wins!

One such recipe I just came up with yesterday and it pleased everyone, from little to big, so I thought I’d share it here.

1 3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pureed squash (pumpkin or sweet potato would work equally well, I think)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together.

Combine wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring until just moist.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Optional: Combine 1 tablespoon of each, brown and white sugar, and sprinkle over the muffins. (I only did this on the muffins for the big people)

Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

I would have included a photo as the muffins were not only delicious, but also quite photogenic (especially with the sugar on top). Alas, I was too busy eating to get my camera. You’ll just have to make them for yourself to see how they look.

Weekends

This weekend was FULL. Full of everything that the past three weekends lacked. Full of outings. Full of quality family time. Full of life and full of health.

This is what we all truly needed. I am grateful.

How To Really Love a Child

Just a few days ago I happened upon a post over at blog that I frequent, Shivaya Naturals. She was having a rough day, in need of reconnecting with her little ones, and took a moment to share something she found and, then, encouraged others to do the same. What resulted was over 85 comments FILLED with inspiration, ideas, ways to connect, relax, love.

I was having a bit of a rough patch myself. Our little guy is recovering from his third consecutive illness (bronchiolitis, stomach bug, ear infection), my husband is working overtime (has been for several weeks and will be for several more), and I’ve just been feeling a little overwhelmed. A little busy. A little disconnected. A little in-between.

Seeing the image that she posted, inspired me as well. I sat down with a notebook page, a pen, and a five-minute timer. And, as I had done with my students so many times, I did a quick write a la Donald Graves. A five-minute, on-topic, brain dump. And this was my result:

Then I thought about it, I thought about how my list made me feel, and how the lists of all those in the comments made me feel and I couldn’t help but wonder, imagine how fun it would be to see them all, together. And this is what I came up with.

How to Really Love a Child

(download the .pdf and hang it somewhere in your home, just like I intend to)

I started with the list in the image, continued with all the beautiful ideas in the comments, added a few of my own, and highlighted some of the words which, right now, touch me the most. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Together.

And that’s what I plan to do. Today.

February Change

A little more than a month ago I posted about participating in the project One Small Change. The hope was that for each month leading up to Earth Day we would choose one small change to make, post about it, and then, the following month, reflect on how that change went and what the next change will be.

Our change for January was to reduce our use of disposable style plastic bags. I had hoped to make some reusable bags which totally didn’t happen, due to a babe who was sick for most of the month of January, but all is not lost.

While I didn’t have new reusable bags to use, I did find myself a lot more conscious of the consumption this month and a lot more diligent about choosing alternative storage containers (reusable ones) and also reusing different bags that we inevitably acquired through our daily life.

For example, this month we started ordering produce from a company that sends fresh, organic produce (local when possible) to your door. As part of the delivery process there are a lot of bags. Two large sacks that the fruits and vegetables come in and smaller sacks to hold various items. Rather than disposing of the sacks, I have reused them. All of them.

The larger sacks have become trash bags. The smaller ones have been used to store vegetables and fruits. I have been rinsing and reusing them from week to week to store other produce and such as well.

While I would still like to get around to making some reusable bags since they are oh-so-cute and practical, I am still happy with the mindfulness that I gained throughout the month and that we did make a reduction, albeit a small one, in our use of disposable products (we didn’t buy any new ones!).

With the month of January now over, and February already underway (really, it’s already the 3rd?!), it is time to pick a new change for a new month. This month I would like to start recycling (or reusing) as much of the paper that comes into our home as possible. Chicago is notorious for having less-than-desirable recycling practices, so I would like to try to seek out alternative places and ways to recycle the paper that we do want to discard or seek ways to reuse it in projects around our home. I’m really looking forward to this challenge and I will update you next month with how it went.