Friday Foodie: Spinach Balls

I know that's not the most attractive name for a food but if I call something a ball, my kids (OK, Sebastian) is more likely to eat it. Garbanzo beans are known as balls in my house. It always feels weird to say it - Want to try some balls? More balls? - but us moms do what we gotta do, right?

Anyway, to the spinach balls. Technically, they are called Spinach Gnocch-Wee. Yes, you guessed it - this is a recipe from the infamous Weelicious site. Catherine does a fantastic job of incorporating grown-up flavors and nutritious ingredients into toddler-friendly recipes. I have been trying a bunch of her concoctions lately and this one is a hit with the whole fam.

My only suggestions are to use extra flour (I doubled what she said, using about 4tbsp total) and I added marinara sauce on the side for dipping. 'Cause kids love dipping. Otherwise, this tasted so good and its not as pasta-y is other pastas (think tortellini or macaroni) so I don't feel like I'm giving the kids one big carb-overload for dinner. I cooked half and froze half (ended up with about 30-35 balls) and my kids ate about 4 each. It doesn't sound like much but they don't eat a lot at dinner so that was actually quite good for them. And Mommy and Daddy ate the leftovers :)

Hands on time isn't bad. You have to drain the spinach really well, and form the balls but the food processor does the hard work of mixing everything and that just takes a few seconds. The cooking time is quick, which I really like because once my kids see me head to the kitchen, they want dinner NOW. Definitely a recipe I would make ahead of time and then cook right before serving.

Also, I did make tortillas (like I said I would try last week) and they came out OK. Taste was great, texture was good, but shape left a lot to be desired. It was hard to roll them out and because of that they did not make nice circle-ish shape. So, I will try again and let you know how it goes next week!

Appreciating the cuteness

Lately, I have been feeling the SAHM blues some more, what with the toddler whining, eating strikes, toy fights and infant juggling. To be brutally honest, there are lots of times where my kids kind of annoy me. My threshold for whining is so just so low. I've been having a hard time enjoying this age. I keep fantasizing about them as older, more rational, agreeable beings. All the things we'll be able to do, the things they'll be able to tell me and understand.

But the other day, I had a neighbor/friend/fellow twin momma over for a playdate since we were both flying solo over the weekend. She had 3 kids, too, but did hers the other way around - one first, then twins. Her oldest is nearly 4 and her twins are just 6 months old (and crazy adorable!). Anyway, her son is a typical preschooler. He always wanted to be talking to the grownups, asked a million questions, needed us to explain everything to him, wanted us to watch everything he did, etc. He is a very sweet boy, but it was exhausting, too.

Later, when it was just me and my twins again, I realized, after gaining some perspective, that this age is actually quite cute. They run up to me with unabashed glee and throw their arms around my neck. They run around saying my name because they're so excited to tell me something really important like, "my shoes!!!" or "B!" They still like to play peekaboo. And they are just so tender and sweet at this age. I need to keep all this in mind those times when they start to press all my buttons with the epic whining...

Reinforcements

Guess who is flyin' in on a jet plane to help get me through my 15-day solo parenting stint?

Auntie Stacey!!

She is moving back home for good (about TIME!) and is staying with me until all her stuff gets here. So, I really can't complain too much about being all alone, since I won't be, at least for a bit.

I am curious to see if the twins will be confused as they call Auntie Kim "Stacey". Or "Sheeshee", as they say it. I don't know if they think they're the same person or if they think that's what you call an aunt. Kim was with us all day yesterday (do I have the best sisters or what???) and we were trying so hard to get them to say "Kim" or "auntie" - mostly to no avail. At least the real Sheeshee is coming home. They're gonna be so excited! I know I am :)

Now I just need to sync up our Outlook calendars so I can schedule her for free babysitting!

New Discovery

I have been using this oven for over three years and only just now discovered the oven light. The kids delighted in seeing their dinner cook. Now, if their delight would only get them to actually eat it...

FYI - I was cooking black bean burgers, recipe I got here. I cut some into stars in hopes that it would encourage the kids to at least try them. Sebastian did eat two bites of the "ya ya's" so I'll throw it in the win column.

祝你生日快乐!

...or, "Happy Birthday!"
(since watching Ni Hao Kai Lan before bedtime, my Mandarin has really come along.)

Billy is celebrating his 35th birthday in Beijing. Although he's all alone, he's making the most of it. His goal (other than work goals, of course) on this trip is to eat as many weird foods as possible. So, for his birthday dinner he dined on this:


In case you're curious, this table included, but I'm sure was not limited to, sea horse, scorpion and silk worm. To each his own.

When he comes home, it will be a day before Sebastian and Collette's second birthday (gah!!) so we will do one big celebration that weekend. And the cuisine is sure to be much tamer. :)

Mini NaBloPoMo - Day 1

It's been really difficult for me to devote time to blogging lately (reading, commenting and especially writing) that I was looking forward to NaBloPoMo as a way to motivate myself. But naturally, November 1st came and went (along with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th) so I can't honestly participate this year. However, I have a plan to do a half-NaBloPoMo. Think of it like a half marathon. Except way easier.

I am starting today because today marks Day 1 of a 15-day solo parenting spree. That's right - me and my 3 under 2 gang are all alone for 15 straight days as Billy is on a business trip to Asia. I told him how jealous I was that he gets to go on this exotic trip and he looked at me like I was crazy. He knows that flying across the world so that you can work 12+ hour days is not a fun, exotic trip. He kept going on and on about how much he didn't want to go and how he'd miss us. Grass is always greener, and all that shit.

Since I'll be posting every day for the next two weeks, I will be piggybacking on some memes out there. I haven't done a Halloween post (I'll save that for later!), so I'll participate in LauraC's Show me the Mommy! with a little sneak preview:

Me and Tater at our Twin's Club Halloween party that I co-organized

Stay tuned to keep me honest with my mini-NaBloPoMp!

Month in Review

Dear NaBloPoMo,

I am sorry that I was not able to rise to the challenge and post 30 times in 30 days. I talked a big game of posting lots of pics and interesting stories about first birthday parties but the absent minded professor in me took over and these things did not happen.

In total, I ended up posting 23 times. I guess that translates to about a C average. Disappointing, I know.

Here are my goals for this next month, although it's not NaBloPoMo any more:

Post 20 times
Buy a new cord to connect to my camera OR
Buy a new camera
Figure out how to upload videos from the camcorder
Take better pictures of the kids despite their increasing mobility/decreasing attention span

So, NaBloPoMo, you have bested me in 2009. But I will be back in 2010. And I'll be ready :)

Because I'm a good wife

That's why I missed yesterday's post. My darling husband needed my computer as he is experiencing technical difficulties with his. Actually, he is still using it now and I have revived my 5 year old computer to bring you this riveting blog post. This computer is slower than molasses on a cold day so I won't be uploading much until I can reclaim my lap top, probably by tomorrow. And because I'm being so selfless, I don't think this should count against my NaBloPoMo record. Oh, what's that? No one cares? Oh, well in that case, forget I even mentioned it.

In other Soto household technology news, I dropped my cell phone in the toilet and, after a grueling surgery and hours of revival attempts, I am sad to say that it has passed on. But it was 3 years old so it lived a long life. Unfortunately, I lost all my pictures which is actually quite a bummer. Next time I will be sure to upload them to my computer and avoid further tragedy. On the bright side, I get to buy a new phone! My grand plan is to wait for all the huge deals they have on Black Friday and get a cool one. Up until now, I have always had a cheap-o one that does the bare minimum. No I-phone or Blackberry, but maybe something with a qwerty board and that takes good pictures.

I'll be back tomorrow with baby pictures, promise!

You Can Do Better Than That

C'mon, babies! Sneaking into the cabinet and pulling out the tupperware? So unoriginal.

But still cute :)

(Did I mention that we aren't totally twin-proofed?? Ah, well...)

I Hate Technology and Pugs

Because we realized we are horrible parents (and a horrible mom blogger), Billy and I finally charged the camera and video camera to help get through 30 posts in 1 month - and to document our kids lives, of course. I was all excited and busted out the video camera this morning to get some action shots of the twins doin' their thing. Mostly crawling and chewing stuff but there was bound to be a memorable moment if I waited long enough.

Lucky for me, Sebastian started to play with the dog which, if you haven't seen it before, is quite cute. Now that they know which toys are the dog toys, they can properly taunt her. He had her bone and was holding it in front of her while she was biting it but he wouldn't let it go. Baby-pug-tug-'o-war is definitely video-worthy to a mom. Anyway, I was psyched to post about how awesome it is to have your pug entertain your 11 month old and vice-versa. A few hours later when I was ready to upload this awesome video, I realized that the cord that connects the video camera to computer was gone. Dust in the wind. Probably in the same black hole all the missing socks go.

But now, that doesn't even matter. Because I take it back. Pugs are not like a free babysitter for your kid while you watch the Pats game. Oh no! Because while you are cheering your team on, the dog is throwing up the food she didn't even chew and then your daughter is eating it. And then you catch her and scream bloody murder and throw up in your mouth a little bit and only narrowly avoid reenacting that scene from Stand By Me where they show everyone projectile vomiting after the pie eating contest.

So, screw you, Technology, and screw you, Pug, for ruining what should have been a very fun, uplifting, family friendly post.

Birthday Party Planning: Take 1

More birthday stuff - lucky you!!

Billy and I decided that a nice, gender neutral theme for the twins' first birthday party would be bugs. I am no fan of bugs but I'll hold a lady bug or butterfly; they're OK. I won't kill an ant or caterpillar but I don't particularly like them. Anything beyond that - your centipede, cockroach, or (Heaven forbid!) spider - and I have to call in reinforcements (read: Billy). But, in a cartoony way, bugs are cute. And so a bug theme we have.

My MIL is throwing them an ENORMOUS party for when we visit El Salvador. Let's put it this way - it should be twice as big as my wedding. And she has found lots of cute bug themed things for the bash. A ladybug pinata (how do I do an n with ~ ?), plates and cups with cute bugs on them, bug balloons and other bug decorations. She even had someone design bug invitations:

Plus, she's getting a clown, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, and if Billy has his way, a beer cart. Should be lots of fun for adults and children alike. And with about 150 people, I am just grateful that she is in charge and not me. Don't you just love doting grammies?? :)

Way Back Whenesday: Birthday Edition

As promised, many of these NaBloPoMo posts will be centered around birthday parties since that is on my brain lately.  And, for blogspiration, I am rejoining some blogs in their daily themes to keep me on track to post every day.  So, I have returned to Cheryl's Twinfatuation Way Back Whenesday and I'm taking things all the way back to the lovely 80s.  Hurrah!

First:  June 1984, My 3rd Birthday

Not sure if I am making this face because I'm so happy or because I'm pissed.  Knowing 3-year olds, I'm probably pissed.  Sorry, Mom.

Second:  November 1987, Auntie Kim's 4th Birthday (I think - does she look four in this picture??)

Auntie Kim must have known she would have to maneuver many a baby bottle!

What do you have hiding away in your old photo albums??  Bust 'em out and join us this week!!

NaBloPoMo

Before I started my own blog, I was a blog stalker - mostly of other twin moms as I was on the hunt for all the tricks of the trade.  Back then, I kept seeing this "word" - NaBloPoMo.  I couldn't fathom what it might mean so I googled it and realized it stands for National Blog Post Month.  The idea (I think...) is that you post every day, or as often as you can, for the entire month of November.  And, although I'm two days late, I'm going to do it!

I have been a very unreliable blogger lately and it isn't because I don't have stuff that I want to put into a post - it's just that I'm tired and lazy.  One of the biggest reasons I wanted to have this blog was to document my kids' lives, especially with pictures.  I figured having a blog would encourage me to take pictures of them on a regular basis and it did.  But not so much lately.  I never have my camera, they move to fast for me to get good shots, the lazy/tired thing again.  Also, there are some things taking up my mental energy that I don't think I'm ready to blog about so that has been affecting my writing as well.  Either way, I figure the cure is NaBloPoMo.  It will force me to write more, to take more pictures to go along with the posts and to focus on the stuff I want to write about instead of the things I'd rather not write about.  And November is the perfect month because, HELLO, my kids are turning ONE in less than three weeks and that is some big shit going on!  You can expect lots of posts related to party planning.  It's going to be a small affair, not at Chuck E. Cheese, but I want it to be memorable and special.  More on that to come - I need to save the details to fill up 30 more posts. :)

Also, I am thinking about forcing Billy to do more video taping since he has totally dropped the ball on that one.  Videos are probably more appropriate now since they are moving all over the place and just do funnier stuff on the move.  Maybe I will even ask him to do a guest post.  I'm not holding my breath.