Lately

READING: Currently and up next. I plan to do an updated reading list soon, as I’ve recently added a ton to my library queue. My winter reading list always feels a little more substantial than my summer ones—more historical fiction and fewer beach reads.

SNACKING ON: Did you hear that the US recently reversed its guidelines to wait years before introducing peanuts to children, and now recommends introducing them as early as 4-6 months? One of my mom’s coworkers is from Israel, and after Amelia was born she gave me info on how Israel has a significantly lower rate of peanut allergies than the US (more here). The apparent reason? Bamba! I promptly ordered a case of it and started giving them to Amelia around the 6-month mark. I rediscovered the remainder of the case in my basement the other day, and the girls have been loving it (Eloise called them "magical"). The nutritional information won’t wow you, but the ingredients are simple (peanuts, corn, palm oil, salt) and it’s a once-in-awhile treat. Think Cheetos, but peanut butter flavored.

COOKING: I’m sticking to my new year’s resolution and applying a little more effort in the kitchen. I’m also making a better effort to double a recipe each week and then keep a list of what meals I have in my freezer (which can sometimes get scary) so we actually eat them! It’s so nice not having to reinvent the wheel seven nights a week!

(cookie beater licking--surely organic eggs don't contain salmonella right? ;) )

LAUGHING: At Eloise and her “forminica” (harmonica), which can be heard around the house at any time of day. I find myself humming "Piano Man" a lot lately!

MOVING: In addition to walking and yoga, I’ve been incorporating these core exercises a few times a week, which is a nice way to break up the 4-6pm witching hours and the girls think it's hilarious to climb all over me while I'm doing said exercises.

WATCHING: Nick and I had a child-free weekend last weekend for his birthday (thanks Mom and Dad!) and we watched this documentary—have you seen it? Promptly upon finishing it we had a basement clean-out marathon. Highly recommend! We are also making our way through Downton Abbey because we tend to be a good 3-6 years behind when it comes to popular shows, and we LOVE it. I can't believe it's taken us this long to get into!

(guess who picked Nick's birthday balloon?)

ORGANIZING: I finally made myself sit down and list out which annual/biannual appointments everyone in the family needs (physicals, dentist, etc. etc.) and then further organized them by month. Some months had way too many appointments and some had none at all, so I moved some to other months to even it out, and I feel a little more in control of our schedule.

IMPROVING: My diet. Too much rich holiday eating has made me feel a little sluggish lately, and I’ve been trying to include more fermented foods and drinks like kombucha, sauerkraut (I love this kind and they have great pickles too), and a daily apple cider vinegar tonic into my diet, which has helped. I’m also going to a local nutritionist next week to pick her brain about healthy family meals and snacks, and am hoping to make some more changes after we meet.

SUPPLEMENTING: We have some new vitamins and supplements in our rotation: probiotic gummies for Nick, probiotic chewables for Amelia (which are more manageable and less crunchy than Eloise's), echinacea goldenseal drops for the girls’ water bottles when someone has a cold, and stomach rescue on deck!