Back at Work

Well, my maternity-leave ended and I've been back at work full-time for about 7 weeks now. I was dreading going back to work because I really loved being at home with my kids for the last year and living around my own family schedule... but I have to say, being back at work has been great! I guess I really must enjoy my job because it feels so good to be back at work. The house has suffered a little. I find the mess piles up in a sneaky way during the work week. All of a sudden, before I know it the house looks like a bomb went off or something. That's the one crappy thing about not having any time to clean during the weekdays. I'm more of a morning-energy person, I really don't have much energy at night, especially after coming home, making dinner and getting the kids to bed. C'est la vie, right?! :) Although I really am trying to figure out a way to at least keep the house looking good enough so that I don't die if I find out I have last minute, drop-in guests coming over (AKA the in-laws). I'm thinking about purging my house... anyone have any good tips for getting rid of stuff? I'm not exactly a pack rat, yet I have trouble deciding what I need and what I don't.

Summer Vacations with Kids

I just got back from a little vacation, and I meant to post while I was away but that just didn't end up happening. I really find it ironic that going on vacation with kids is actually really stressful, not really a vacation at all! The kids seemed to stay up later than the adults and the cousins fought with each other non-stop. I basically came home feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacation :)

Ahhh and as a matter of fact, we're going on another vacation in a couple days. This time I'm really freaked out about taking a 10 month old on a long plane ride. For one thing he won't sit still, and another thing is that he's fully walking on his own already so it's not like he isn't mobile yet. I'm thinking about bringing a Baby Einstein video for the plane but I can't imagine that's going to help for longer than maybe 20 minutes of a 6 hour flight. Maybe we'll be lucky and he'll take a nice long nap... but that still leaves lots of time to fill. He's the kind of baby who doesn't want to sit on your lap, he'll wiggle and squirm his way down so he can explore.

I'd love to hear any advice or suggestions anyone has, I'm freaking out!

Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm looking after my 11 year old niece for the summer so that she doesn’t have to go to summer camp with her brother, it’s a win-win situation. It works out great for me because it gives my daughter someone to play with and she’s also a big help with watching my son while I get some things done around the house.

I asked them for some ideas of healthy foods they’d like to have for lunches and they said sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to make a healthy, kid-friendly, sodium-free soup that even my 9 month old son could eat.

As promised yesterday, here's the recipe...

Homemade Chicken Stock (Sodium Free)

• 1 chicken carcass with some meat remaining (I used a grocery store roasted chicken)
• 2 onions, quartered, skin left on
• 1 leek, chopped
• 3 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery ribs, including leaves, cut in large chunks
• 6 peppercorns 2 garlic cloves, halved, skin left on
• 1 Tbs parsley

1. Put all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with plenty of water.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered (by putting the lid on crooked) for 4 hours. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
3. Remove the bones and strain the stock. Put the stock in the fridge and chill over night.
4. The next day, remove any fat that has gathered on top.
   
5. At this point the stock can be frozen or used to make soup. (I froze some of the stock in ice cube trays and made soup from the rest).

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

• Chicken stock (I didn’t measure, I just had a large pot about ¾ full)
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1.5 cups diced cooked chicken (from the roasted chicken the day before)
• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1.5 cups small egg noodles
• Chicken Oxo, to taste (optional, and I wouldn’t add this to the baby’s portion)

1. Bring the stock to a boil and add the carrots. Turn heat down but keep it simmering rapidly.
2. After about 10 minutes add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 more minutes.

My daughter and niece didn’t really like the soup at first. I admit that it was a little bland since it didn’t have any salt in it. So, at that point I took out some of the soup for my 9 month old and put that aside, then added some chicken oxo to the remaining soup. After that, the kids loved it and my daughter even told me it was the best soup she’s ever had!