I haven’t had the time to review my goals from last year. I haven’s had the time to contemplate fully this year’s intentions. Time and I are having some issues.

I know that 2011 was filled with beautiful new beginnings – the birth of our twins, our five year old starting kinder, our three year old potty training.

It was also filled with many challenges – see above.

I was detailed in my intentions, but I may have tried to achieve too much. Much was achieved, much was not. I want to be able to do it all, this year I need to be selective. Time to part with things to make room for that which will enhance my life.

This year I want to write for me. Not to impress or to have the biggest following (hahahahahaha), not to seek feed back, but just write because I need to, because it is what exists at my core, that voice that wants to exist.

I have other goals I’d like to achieve. For this space, I seek a simple goal – write, make time for it, and do it for me.

Happy 2012! Keeping my intention simple this year!

I enjoyed reading “Welcoming the New Year with Grace” by Agapi Stassinopolous. Approaching the new year with grace sounds like a splendid plan.

I am taking the 31 day Problogger Challenge in an attempt to build a better blog. I had originally started blogging because I thought it was an interesting way to let my family keep up with my life. Over this past year, I’ve start to enjoy (um crave, fiend for) comments and interaction on my blog. This challenge seemed like something to better my blog and my perspective.

Day one’s challenge is to write an elevator pitch. I’ve arrived at a point where now I’m over thinking my blog’s purpose. I’m at stop, step back, and reflect point.

For now, this is where my elevator pitch is at:

Tagline: A Jewish city mommy turned jack of many trades – food, crafts, education, wanna be writer-to name a few. Seeking to master mommyhood through community.

Elevator Pitch: Sara is a former teacher, turned stay at home mom (with untapped Masters in Library Science- but completed), who is determined to build a community locally, virtually, and globally though food, crafts, education, and venting.

Feedback is welcome. I accept this will and can change as needed.

I stumbled across 1+1+1=1 blog which has a Tot School focus with lots of ideas to have fun with kids at home. Because I started reading about her ideas, I have become curious about the Montessori method. (I hoping to get my library books on the subject soon.) Because I read found her blog, I’m inspired to start my own Tot School.

I am in the preparation stage of Tot School. I ‘ve been a bit feed up with Noah’s TV obsession. I’m partly to blame because I steered him in that direction, attempting to create a quite environment so that Eli could take a nap. He becomes so grumpy after watching too much TV. Also, our toy shelf was a disorganized mess. Everything was jumbled and would end up in a mess. I hoping that by taking away, I can reintroduce toys and make them more exciting and educationally focused. Plus, my kids love to play with all the other stuff beside the toys, like tupperware, batteries, hole punchers, bags of glass, trash cans, toilets, etc. I’m hoping to give there toys a fun twist every week. Oh, geez, here’s hoping I can commit and follow through every week.

Here is the jumbled toy shelf before I organize and took away (I made sure to organize while Noah was at summer campl):

In the beginning, there were toys...lots of toys...

Eli enjoyed rediscovering toys:

Our new toy shelf, organized educational baskets to be in place on Monday:

Ah! Better!

Thankfully, Noah didn’t notice the barren toy shelf until a day later, stating, “Where are the toys on top? I don’t like the toy shelf without toys!” But it was just that one statement. I think I told him I was getting it ready so we could do some activities next week. He hasn’t mentioned it again.

I’ve got Tot School ideas, and I can’t wait to get started! Observing the kids at play is giving me some ideas for new activities to incorporate into our learning boxes and trays.

Brring! Fun school will be in session this week!

again, again, and again I try to keep on documenting our lives! But after being on the computer the past two years for my graduate program, I have been on a break with my computer. So yes, I graduated! And now, I’m full time mom without the school looming overhead. It’s been an interesting transition, trying to figure out what to do with myself in the evenings. Night time used to be my study time. Now it’s my trashy TV time. (cough..cough..Bachlorette…Khloe and Kim…cough cough).

I’m not sure where to begin. So I’ll start in my happy place, foodland. Some yummies I’ve made in the past few days

—>Silky Chocolate Pudding

Kyle and I agree it is WAY better than boxed pudding . I don’t think I’ve had homemade pudding before. It is sooo easy!

—>Parmesan Popovers

No pictures, but they were delicious. It was a Cooking Light recipe, but I had two so I don’t know how light that was. The kids didn’t want theirs, so I felt it was my duty to save them. Those poor little popovers all alone in this world!

Other than those cooking adventures we made paper airplanes today, drew on the windows with markers, did some cutting activities, danced — for about 5% of the day. The other 90% consisted of:

“Stop touching him. Stop pushing him. Don’t pull hair. Don’t poke eyes.” And on and on, you get the drift.

So that’s where I am today. Done with school – yay! Trying to figure out ways to fill these long summer days that don’t involve becoming a dripping, sweaty, hot mess. Finding ways to make good, mostly healthy food, and seeking recipes with lots of veggies. Seriously, even though I just mentioned two veggie-less recipes.

I do want to do more crafts. I’m already thinking about my holiday gift list. I think I need to start now if I actually want to give handmade gifts this year. Planning! Planning ! Planning!

Here’s one completed sewing project – a kid’s robe. Noah helped by pushing the pedal and I guided the fabric. I have a few other sewing projects I need to get crackin’ on. I’m also taking a crochet class this weekend, which I’m looking forward to – Crochet 101.

Noah and I made him a robe.

Time to get back and stay back for a while! And figure out what the heck I want to focus on – crafts, food, books…and any of my nine hundred other hobbies and activities.

Just a typical summer day!

We had a whirlwind April traveling to Austin, College Station, and Chicago. Every weekend it seemed we had something planned.

Chicago was the most complicated trip with stuff we needed to bring and travelling with Eli for the first time on a plane. It wasn’t really a vacation for Kyle, he was working. So it was me and the kiddos trying to find fun. And fun we found. I bought a Sit and Stand Stroller because I had a hard time envisioning how Noah was going to keep up with all the walking. I was also concerned he might wander ahead and not pay attention. It was a well used purchase.

Day 1

We went to the Children’s Museum, where I proceeded to lose Noah not once, but twice. It was a busy place. While I was standing in line, he managed to get away from me. He had gone in and started playing. Apparently they don’t man the entrance or check for tickets because he hung his jacket in the coat room and went about his business. I eventually found him 10 minutes later, lost my place in line and we waited around some more to get in finally. He was safe that’s what really mattered.

It was an awesome place. There were several different rooms with built in tunnels and tree houses. I lost him a little bit later when he decided to take off while I was buckling Eli in. I wandered around again, not sure what to do. The first time I had the employees involved and looking for him. The second time I was on a completely different floor, so I didn’t want to leave in case he decided to come back. He came back, thankfully. I was about to leave to and go down.

After that I considered getting a chain, handcuffs, something to keep that kid where I could see him and make sure he didn’t get away. A little heart to heart talk did the trick (er…stay the hell by me kid!). Thankfully, there were no more stressed out moments as I took him to places in the museum that were contained. I also made sure he was telling me where he was going.

Our days usually involved one major event and then afternoon nap time and waiting for Kyle to get back from work.

Here’s some of the fun from our Day 1 adventures.

Building or before I lost Noah the second time.

Love these little rain coats in the water room.

Water wheel.

I love Chicago! Can’t wait till we go back and I can lose 2 kids instead of one!

Time to get back to blogging. No, I’m not done with school yet. So close! But I am practically done with my practicum, which was taking a lot of my sitting on my butt computer time. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, I just had to manage my time wisely, which I’m not great at. I do realize, I am most happy when I am surrounded by books! I hope some day to get a librarian job. Right now I’d like something part time. We’ll see.

So lets look at February:

-My big boy turned four. We had a fun science museum party looking at dinosaur bones and touching animals.The cake was awesome! We got it from Moeller’s.

-Got to go on a Valentine’s date with my sweetie. In which he order this duck dish:

So romantic! It’s not your typical duck confit, but this restaurant truly tries to utilize all parts of an animal and in an honorable manner. Feast is an interesting resturant. I think so often I am disconnected from foods origin.

That’s all I remember about February. It’s was a wacky month, husband was traveling back and forth between Houston and San Antonio, my mom came and helped me out (thank-you so much), I was trying to finish my library practicum up, planning for Noah’s party. It’s all and all a bit much.

On to March:

-We braved the rodeo! I don’t think I can do that more than once a year, at least while the kids are this little. There is a lot of walking!

-We had mucho fun in Austin eating good food, visiting family, seeing old friends, and relaxing (yeah right!) in the Four Seasons.

I got to try chocolate covered bacon from this candy store. Intresting stuff.

-But lot’s of times you can just find us lounging around the house. Sometimes it’s just easier to stay at home and not battle the crowds.

Future Al Bundy?

-I’m starting to cook again. I’m trying to cook more on the healthy side using Weight Watchers and Cooking Light recipes. Found some good ones so far.

I’m on the eve of my 34th birthday. What will 34 hold? We shall see. But this I know, I will be eating sushi for my pre-birthday lunch!

…by life!

It’s one thing after another, and the blog gets pushed to the side.

The biggest interrupter has been grad school. I started off the semester behind because I dropped a class and added another and was a week behind. I am also interning at two schools because that is part of my coursework. Darn! I had forgotten what work was like, it’s rough. I’m not even working full time, but having to be somewhere at a particular time is gruelling. Waa waa waa!

On the flipside, it is nice to get out and talk to people.

I hope to be back in full force in March.

I miss checking in on my bloggy friends!

I’ll be back! Or maybe I just need to set some blogging goals. Could I do two times a week? Perhaps.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I’m going to start making a habit of finding at least one recipe for Kyle to make on the weekends. He’s such a great cook! This weekend he made Chicken Tikka Masala from Cook’s Illustrated Sept/Nov 2007 issue. I admire and drool over the recipes in Cook’s, I don’t often take on the challenge and try out the recipes inside. We have a subscription more for Kyle because the magazine gets pretty technical about cooking methods and can go into the science-y side. (Zzzzzz j/k)

It was a hit with the kids and should be added into the rotation or at least make cooking hits of 2010.

I learned about Chicken Tikka by going with the brother-in-laws to Masala Wok which makes a fast food chicken tikka. We were so excited when we got a home recipe to make. The article posing the question ” Why is it so rarely made at home?” I know I get intimidated by Indian recipes because I tend to think they require a lot of time and attention. I’d actually like to know if an easy Indian cookbook exists.

Now that the holiday rush is over, I’m looking forward to cooksxporations in the kitchen! I want to find a Naan recipe to try out.

Naan-y Naan-y boo boo

Big bite.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve been reading about an intention plan series over at Scraps of My Geek Life. (Brief and distracted reading thou, I’m watching Kendra in the background and it might be making me dumber , but I can’t stop myself from watching.) I’m planning to explore the intention exercises.

I would say my top 5 intentions for 2010 are:

1. Save, save, save

- use money more wisely. I am prone to not do this. I’ve gotten better. But I also get sucked into the “oh but it’s a bargain” mentality and end up with a card full of useless stuff.

-consider how to reuse boxes and knick-knacks around us.This could tie into the create portion of my intention.

2. Write, write, write

-first keeping up with this blog. Exploring how to keep it fresh and continuing to figure out how to document our lives in an engaging way.

-write beyond this blog. Explore my other ideas that have been floating around in my head my whole life. I’d also like to participate in Book-In-A-Week as much as my schedule will allow.

3. Create, create, create

-I want to have interesting activities for the kids to do. I don’t want to rely on the TV as our entertainment. It’s too easy to watch it all day. I need to prepare better for the days when the kids are home.

4. Health, health, health

-Continue to seek exercise and food that can keep me and the whole family healthy.

-get some healthy date time with my husband!

5. Positive Energy, Positive Energy, Positive Energy

-trying to look towards the positive side when the kids are spilling juice all over the carts or blowing out of diapers or up to their usual shennanigans. I stress out all the time. I’d like to dispose of some stress this year. Or at least laugh a hell of a lot more when these situations occur!
-Understanding that saying “no” can be a positive thing in my life.
-Understanding that going slowly is okay.

We are going to get in some uncomfortable situations sometimes. Like Noah and that tree up above. He climbed and climbed, and when he saw where he was, he got a nervous as to how he was going to get down. There was a way, we just had to work together to get him down. And someday, he won’t need us to get down, he discover that it’s not that far to just jump. Must be a metaphor in there some where.

Got to try to stay positive

“And…always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the light side of life…”

-From Monty Python

Today was a yummy day!

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

I made Mexican Chocolate Cookies from this month’s Cooking Light. They reminded me of snickerdoodles but chocolaty.

And it reminded me of this:

Mexican hot chocolate. It’s the cinnamon kick in the cookies. Abuelita looks like she has some good gossip to share.

Dinner was Kyle’s kick ass risotto. Which we are now dubbing as our “How I Caught Your Mommy and made her gain 20 pounds” meal. Okay maybe without the 20 pounds bit. This is Kyle’s dish because he takes such loving care with the whole process and it is delicious.

Eli and Noah both loved the risotto. I took this shot to show off Eli’s new love of eating with utensils (and then throwing them on the floor, tonight 3 forks and one spoon ended up on the ground). In contrast, Noah was eating with his hands. These kids are such opposites.

Utensil lover

I have 20 dinner and 4 desert recipes planned out for January. I am getting on board with this planning business. Maybe I can plan 10 blog posts for January. Start with some reachable goals.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

5 oz bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao)
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash of black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper (I left it out b/c of kids)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place the chocolate in a small bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with knife. Combine the flour and next 5 ingredients (through ground red pepper); stir well with a whisk.
4. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 32 cookies.

Cooking Light – Dec. 2009