I'm not one for fads, but I have to say I have gotten totally sucked into the chia seed craze. I'm so addicted to the chia seed energy cubes from City Market (dates, chia seeds, coconut...YUM). Last week, Mindy - my raw food bestie - brought over some chia seed pudding to share with me. It was a delicious blend of chia seeds soaked in almond milk, maple syrup, banana, and cashews. The soaked chia seeds have a tapioca-like texture, which I loved. Teo and Sapphie gobbled it down too! I was hooked. I immediately purchased some organic white chia seeds and today, had two helpings of the most amazing treat for breakfast (Kevin did too!). Here's my recipe, which I modified from one I found online. It is raw, vegan, healthy, very filling, and SO easy!! Here I combined orange with cranberry - one of my favorite combos - but you can do whatever you want. Next time I might try cinnamon raisin. Also I bet lemon zest with dried blueberries would be perfect in the summer...the possibilities are endless!
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups soy milk (actually you can use whatever milk you like. I prefer soy because of the creamy texture)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla, or any extract, depending on the flavor you're going for)
a sprinkle of powdered ginger
1/4 to 1/2 cup of maple syrup
2/3 cup chia seeds
a teaspoon of orange zest
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped raw unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup wide-flake unsweetened coconut
In a medium bowl, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, almond extract, and
ginger powder. Whisk to combine. Add the chia seeds and orange zest
and whisk until to fully combined. Cover the bowl and
refrigerate at least 5 hours (overnight is better).
When ready to serve, add dried cranberries, pistachios, and coconut, and stir well. Serve and enjoy!!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Softing
In my family, many of us like to do something we call "softing." Softing describes a soothing activity that involves rubbing something between your fingers, and it often is accompanied by thumb sucking. Sometimes it's a scarf, or a hankercheif, and often for us girls (actually my dad too), it was our hair.
It has been really fascinating for me to see both of my children inherit the need for softing. With Sapphie it wasn't totally obvious; when she was a newborn and crying, she always calmed down if I shoved a silk scarf into her hands (when we went running, we always brought the silk scarf in case she had a screaming fit). As she got older, she liked to rub the skin of her neck between her fingers and I still catch her doing it sometimes. But I've never seen her show much interest in hair, or blankets.
With Teo, it was clear from the start that he was a passionate softer. He has always rubbed my hair between his fingers while he's nursing. If I turn to look at him, he angrily pushes my face away so that he can reach my hair. It's really funny and so cute.
It has been really fascinating for me to see both of my children inherit the need for softing. With Sapphie it wasn't totally obvious; when she was a newborn and crying, she always calmed down if I shoved a silk scarf into her hands (when we went running, we always brought the silk scarf in case she had a screaming fit). As she got older, she liked to rub the skin of her neck between her fingers and I still catch her doing it sometimes. But I've never seen her show much interest in hair, or blankets.
With Teo, it was clear from the start that he was a passionate softer. He has always rubbed my hair between his fingers while he's nursing. If I turn to look at him, he angrily pushes my face away so that he can reach my hair. It's really funny and so cute.
He has also become extremely attached to two blankets made for he and Sapphie - both of which he has now claimed -by Lauren's mother. If we try to put him to bed with anything else, he cries until we bring his blankets out of the laundry! As soon as he sees them, he calms down and starts quickly rubbing them between his fingers. The other day, I was desperate to wash them and so I gave him cashmere. Would you believe he looked at it, touched it, then growled and hit the blanket?! I could not believe a child of mine would turn down cashmere! Here he is sleeping on one of his blankets:
He also loves to ride on my shoulders or in the ergo on my back, because there he can easily reach my hair and rub it between his fingers. He also likes to lean in and give a hug every now and then.
What a little lover.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Spring is here!
Yes, Spring is here and I am determined to break this no-blog cycle! We have had such an insanely busy last couple of months, and so much has happened. To tell you the truth, I'm totally overwhelmed at the idea of putting a bunch of photos up right now. So, I'll just include a couple, along with updates, and give you the link to our online photo albums if you want to see more.
Teo turned one in February and he's really blossoming into a funny character. A few notes on him: he's officially sleeping through the night (yes, 12 hours!). He goes down so well although recently, he's started becoming quite the comedian. If he's not tired when we put him down, he'll play in his crib. We used to let Sapphie do that, which was fine because she would just read and sing. But Teo tends to get rowdy and starts whooping it up. So we'll go in and as soon as we open the door, he screams with laughter and throws himself into the mattress. It's hilarious. Every time he wakes up in the mornings, Kevin brings him in to our bedroom and he looks at me and starts smacking his lips (this means he wants to nurse, which he still does 2-3 times a day). That's pretty cute too.
He LOVES to take a bath with Sapphie and he just started doing "Tsunami," this crazy splash-wave thing with his hands. He really cracks himself up! He's also a total hog and at some meals he eats more than me. It's crazy how much he can put away! As a result, he's quickly catching up to Sapphie and in about 3 more pounds they'll be the same weight. Believe it or not, people regularly ask me if they're twins.
I think the funniest and most interesting development with Teo is that he is not always the little lover I had originally thought. I was so worried that Sapphie would constantly be pushing him around and he would just take it. Not so much. Teo has started squealing, swatting, throwing, and yes, biting, when Sapphie crosses the line. This is also really funny and it's all I can do not to crack a smile. He's got spunk. Piss him off and he stares you down. If you don't back off, he follows up with a swat, or if you're lucky, he does this think that looks like a cross between a merman and a sea lion. He'll arch his back and squawk at you! I'd love to get it on video one of these days, but the camera usually distracts him too much.
Sapphie, on the other hand, is developing just as I expected: confidence and attitude increasing (yes, she's constantly trying to boss us around), meltdowns are insane, wants to pick her own outfits and dress herself (of course we let her; she almost always wears a tutu to school). She's exactly like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead: at times, she is just the sweetest thing ever and it melts your heart. At other times, she comes out of bed with messy hair and an attitude you wouldn't believe! It's hard to manage because I don't want to suppress her personality, but I do feel like I'm constantly arguing with her. I had no idea this would be happening at 3...thought she'd at least wait until she was a teenager! When she irritates me, I say "Sapphie, I'm not impressed." Now when Teo does something, she'll be like "Teo, I'm impressed!" It's pretty cute.
She's afraid of the dark now. This is new...but a couple nights a week she usually tries to come in our bed. I feel badly; I remember the feeling of being scared at night (actually when Kevin is gone, I still go a little crazy with my imagination).
Sapphie loves to sing and she's really into watching singing videos on YouTube. We watch songs from Annie, Mary Poppins, and the Little Mermaid. She loves it!
Okay here are a few pictures from the last few months:






Since I'm rehearsing on Sunday, Kevin is with the kids. Yes, he feeds them chocolate for lunch.


Teo turned one in February and he's really blossoming into a funny character. A few notes on him: he's officially sleeping through the night (yes, 12 hours!). He goes down so well although recently, he's started becoming quite the comedian. If he's not tired when we put him down, he'll play in his crib. We used to let Sapphie do that, which was fine because she would just read and sing. But Teo tends to get rowdy and starts whooping it up. So we'll go in and as soon as we open the door, he screams with laughter and throws himself into the mattress. It's hilarious. Every time he wakes up in the mornings, Kevin brings him in to our bedroom and he looks at me and starts smacking his lips (this means he wants to nurse, which he still does 2-3 times a day). That's pretty cute too.
He LOVES to take a bath with Sapphie and he just started doing "Tsunami," this crazy splash-wave thing with his hands. He really cracks himself up! He's also a total hog and at some meals he eats more than me. It's crazy how much he can put away! As a result, he's quickly catching up to Sapphie and in about 3 more pounds they'll be the same weight. Believe it or not, people regularly ask me if they're twins.
I think the funniest and most interesting development with Teo is that he is not always the little lover I had originally thought. I was so worried that Sapphie would constantly be pushing him around and he would just take it. Not so much. Teo has started squealing, swatting, throwing, and yes, biting, when Sapphie crosses the line. This is also really funny and it's all I can do not to crack a smile. He's got spunk. Piss him off and he stares you down. If you don't back off, he follows up with a swat, or if you're lucky, he does this think that looks like a cross between a merman and a sea lion. He'll arch his back and squawk at you! I'd love to get it on video one of these days, but the camera usually distracts him too much.
Sapphie, on the other hand, is developing just as I expected: confidence and attitude increasing (yes, she's constantly trying to boss us around), meltdowns are insane, wants to pick her own outfits and dress herself (of course we let her; she almost always wears a tutu to school). She's exactly like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead: at times, she is just the sweetest thing ever and it melts your heart. At other times, she comes out of bed with messy hair and an attitude you wouldn't believe! It's hard to manage because I don't want to suppress her personality, but I do feel like I'm constantly arguing with her. I had no idea this would be happening at 3...thought she'd at least wait until she was a teenager! When she irritates me, I say "Sapphie, I'm not impressed." Now when Teo does something, she'll be like "Teo, I'm impressed!" It's pretty cute.
She's afraid of the dark now. This is new...but a couple nights a week she usually tries to come in our bed. I feel badly; I remember the feeling of being scared at night (actually when Kevin is gone, I still go a little crazy with my imagination).
Sapphie loves to sing and she's really into watching singing videos on YouTube. We watch songs from Annie, Mary Poppins, and the Little Mermaid. She loves it!
Okay here are a few pictures from the last few months:
Morning snuggles
Yes, she chose this outfit (and posed for the camera) all on her own.

Learning to ski!!
Tired after a day of skiing.
Amelia ("Meals") sleeping in the sling. She loves it in there.
Since I'm rehearsing on Sunday, Kevin is with the kids. Yes, he feeds them chocolate for lunch.
My lover boy, home sick so we got some QT together just the two of us. It was a heat wave!! 85 degrees in March. 
Something I pulled out of Sapphie's nose (that's right). It was a present she got from her first dentist visit, and we almost made it to the ER. Aileen, I thought of you and all the creepy things you see!
Teo's first time playing in our sandbox, during the heatwave. He LOVED it!! And Sapphie loved having a playmate.
HAPPY SPRING!!!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Dancing Boy
Teo has started to do the cutest thing: whenever he hears music, he starts dancing on his little bum. The other day, we were all having breakfast and relaxing to my classical music. I hadn't had coffee yet and was half asleep. Sapphie said "I'm going to put different music on..." and before I could protest, she had turned it to a station playing loud rock (not ideal for pre-coffee mornings). Teo imediately perked up and said "uhhh, uhhh!" and started kicking is little legs in the high chair, then started wiggling his bum back and forth, with a very serious face. It was so cute! Then yesterday, we were watching Holiday Inn, and everytime a dance number came on Teo would start dancing! He kind of looks like Liz when he dances. I took this video of him dancing to a musical birthday card that Sapphie got from Lukey. It's so cute! Oh and check out his outfit...it was Grandpi's when he was Teo's age...you do the math! We love it.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Hurray for the Holidays!!
This is my favorite time of year. It brings me so much joy! Starting with Thanksgiving, I get a warm and cozy feeling. It is a time to hang out with our loved ones, eat wonderful harvest food, and just enjoy our lives. Then we get snow (well, usually we get snow), and the spirit of the Holidays fills us with love and happiness. Gratefulness that we live in a beautiful part of the world, close to people we love, and that our lives are truly blessed.
This year especially, I am so grateful that I live close to family. Sapphie and Teo now have a cousin; Amelia is just 3 days old! She's also just 3 blocks away, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful Holiday season too, and find many things to be thankful for. Happy Holidays and lots of love to everyone!! xoxoxo
This year especially, I am so grateful that I live close to family. Sapphie and Teo now have a cousin; Amelia is just 3 days old! She's also just 3 blocks away, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful Holiday season too, and find many things to be thankful for. Happy Holidays and lots of love to everyone!! xoxoxo
Thursday, December 22, 2011
I'm an Auntie!!
It's a girl! The waiting is over. Amelia Illingworth Alger has arrived, and she is such a sight. The fuzziest black hair you've ever seen, and jowls that would make Winston jealous. She's beautiful!! Colin and Penelope are totally relaxed, pros already at being new parents. I'm so proud of them. Here are some amazing pictures.
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