Browse Tag: parenting

Single Parent Day 2

Today was less exciting than yesterday and I think I prefer it that way.  I had to walk Koa this morning so Kumquat took her morning bottle in the stroller.  That seemed to work out well.  Mirian came at 8:45 and I managed to walk in the door at work by 9:15.  Sweet.

After work, we made a trip to Safeway to buy some groceries and then it was dinner, a bath for Kumquat, FaceTime with the grandparents, and then off to bed.  I even managed to find time to do a load of laundry and tidy up the kitchen.

Once Kumquat was asleep, I made some zucchini, carrot, and egg tarts.  We’re now way past the puree stage and it was time to make some freezable meals for the monster.  This is what I did:

  1. IMG_6962I used the food processor to shred zucchini and carrots.  It took only a couple minutes.  Amazing.  The best part is that I don’t have to stress out about not scraping my hand on a grater.
  2. IMG_6970Then I combined the zucchini and carrots with some seasoned bread crumbs I found in the pantry, leftover shredded cheese from the fridge, minced garlic, and two eggs.
  3. IMG_6971I wanted a bit more iron and protein so I added one more egg.
  4. IMG_6973They went into a muffin tin and baked at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.

IMG_6975DING!  They came out perfectly and the one I tasted was delicious!

IMG_6979Here they are in the freezer bag ready for storage.  Easy, right?!

Single Parent Day 1

IMG_2835Jes took off for a conference in Colorado this morning and it was just me and the kid for the day.  It almost felt like being on maternity leave again.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it was because we had the whole day to ourselves like before and the weather was really nice too.  One year ago, Kumquat was just 6 weeks old and my mom had gone back to Southern CA.  Today we did similar things: Target, walked the dog, went to the mall, and played at home.

I had a good time hanging out with my little girl today but she did scare me a bit this afternoon.  I took her to the playground (the one she goes to EVERY afternoon) and she was having a really fun time playing with a car she found.  Then it was time to go home and she threw the biggest fit she’s ever had with me.  IMG_2852At one point she cried so hard that she was practically holding her breath, her face turned dusky, and she started to doze off.  I happened to be taking a photo at the time and caught this very disturbing photo of her.

IMG_2853I immediately shook her and she took a huge gasp and started to cry again.  What the heck, baby?!  That was NOT cool!!

IMG_2862And so that was my Sunday.  Hope the rest of my week goes better.  Luckily, I got permission to go into work late for the next 3 days since Jes isn’t going to be around to pad the 7:30-8:45 time before Mirian arrives. Thank goodness for such an understanding manager.

Feeding Therapist Mommy Fail

chicken liverAt Kumquat’s last check-up, we learned that she’s anemic and needs more iron-rich foods.  So, being the dutiful mommy, I went to Whole Foods and bought chicken livers.  I’ve had chicken liver prepared in a fancy restaurant and I’m a fan of foie gras so I was excited to make a fancy pate for the little one.

Tonight after the kid went to sleep, I took out my recipe and cut up the onion as it had instructed.  Then it was time to unwrap the package of livers and I was a little grossed out.  But I powered through and cleaned them and trimmed off the connective tissue and veins with a stink-face that made my forehead tired.  Then I fired up the stove and began the saute portion of the recipe.   As I stirred and shuffled the ingredients around, I thought, “it’s not so bad” with a fake look of contentment on my face.

Then it was time to put it all in the food processor with the lemon juice and salt.  Sounded pretty good so far in my head.  The lid went on and I pureed it to a smooth consistency.  Seems easy enough.

THEN…I uncovered the bowl and a huge cloud of nastiness wafted over me and I thought I was going to hurl.  My eyes watered and I had to do everything to hold it together.  I had to scrape the gray mush off the sides of the bowl and I was utterly grossed out.  I hate to say this but it looked and smelled like something I should be giving to Koa.  By the way, he was sitting right there at my feet waiting for something to drop.

Once I got it all out of the food processor and into a container for storage, it was time to taste it.  I had Jes take a taste first and he said, “It just tastes like liver.”  So I gave it a try and had to do everything I could to not throw up.  Luckily for me there was a can of ice cold limonata in the fridge to save me.

How am I going to keep it together long enough to feed this to my 12-month-old?!  As a mom and therapist, I told myself I’d try everything I fed her and I did.  Can I fake it well enough to convince her it’s tasty?  Don’t think so.  I’m just crossing my fingers that she’ll just gobble it down like everything else I’ve given her.  If she doesn’t go for it, Koa’s going to have a feast later this week.

UPDATE: She ate it and finished a full helping of it.  Good baby.  I didn’t make any faces and it actually tasted better cold from the fridge the next day.  Good job, me. ;P