I have a 4 1/2 year old son.  Or at least I think I do.  I can’t tell anymore because some days I swear he’s 14 years old.  And still other days, he acts like he’s 40 years old. 

Lately, well more like for the past 2 months, Lil T has taken a liking to calling me “Mom”.  Not “mommie”, not “mama”, but “Mom”.  Maybe it’s me, but I cringe at being called “mom”.  Little four year olds are not supposed to call you “mom”.  It should be “mommie”.  Seriously.  Mommies are young, cute and full of fun.  Moms are old, boring, and…old.  Ugh, the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time he calls me “mom”. 

“Don’t call me that please.  It’s mommie“  I would say. 

“Okay.  Mom!”  he would reply with his sarcastic hee-hee-hee laugh.

ARGHHHHH!!!  I know.  You think I’m nuts.  A bit crazy, maybe.  But let me try to explain.  

Little kids (they’re tiny and cute and adorable) should be calling you “Mommie”.  It just sounds gentler.  A soft, warm and endearing sound to your ears…Mom-mie.  It brings with it a sense of innocence.  You picture a mother who’s vibrant and young and lovely.  I know, you think I’m nuts.

Kids can start calling their mothers “Mom” when they’re older.  Mom…it’s not as sweet sounding anymore.  There’s no longer that sense of innocence.  You picture a more authoritative figure,  a woman who’s a bit *gulp* older.  When you hear “Muh-om” being called, you see a twelve or thirteen year old pleading whiningly to his mother to let him hang out with his buddies a bit longer.  Or a teenager wanting to borrow the car.  “Please mom, puh-leeeze can I go to the mall with so-and-so?”  That’s a mom.  And yea okay, it’s an age thing to me.  I admit it.  I guess I perceive “mommie” to a younger mother and “mom” to an older mother.  Just my perception, not calling any moms old.  Yikes, heaven forbid.

So to hear my 4 1/2 year old call me “mom”, it just sounds so out of the ordinary.  It’s too weird.  But I know he does it on purpose because he knows it irks me so much.  And his best line yet?  “Hi mom.  Love you, mom.”  Anytime I tell him to do something he doesn’t want to, he responds with…”ohhh-kay MOM”.  And I’ll give him the evil eye, and he quickly replies with, “Love you, MOM!”   Argghhhhhhh!!!!!

Gong Hay Fat Choy!!!

May the year of the dragon bring you good health, much happiness, and plenty of wealth and prosperity!!!

Winter is finally here.  This week, we’ve seen the temperature drop to a low 14 degrees.  And this is during the day.  Brrrrrr!!!!  And last night, we even got some snow.  But I guess this should be the norm for this time of year.  That’s okay.  I don’t mind a couple of days of frigid temperature.  That’s a couple of days, Mother Nature.  Not months please!  At least it gives me a chance to sport my Uggs, lol.

And…it’s the perfect temperature to have SOUP!  I love soup!  Especially hearty, chunky soups.  Give me my sweats, my fuzzy slippers, a big hot pot of soup and a loaf of crispy, warm baguette and I’m ALL set. 

This coming Friday, I’ll be going to a soup swap.  What’s a soup swap?  Well, everyone brings 5 quarts of soup (frozen) and the soup recipe and get together and…you guessed it…swap soup.  So you bring your 5 quarts and you leave with 5 quarts of different soups.  And lots of written recipes.   It’s fun and a great way to try different types of soups.  Much like a cookie swap, only a bit more healthier.  So for the swap, I made my Tuscan White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup.  It’s hearty!  It’s filling!  And it’s super yummie!  I should know, I just had 2 big bowls of it.  It’s kinda like a Zuppa Toscana, but without the cream.  I use sweet Italian sausage, but you can use a spicy sausage or add red pepper flakes to the soup, if you like it spicy.  But because Lil T loves this soup as well, I opted to leave out the spice.  If you want to make it even healthier, you can substitute the Italian sausage for Italian turkey sausage.  This recipe makes a big pot of soup, enough to serve 8 – 10 people.  So if you’re like us, you might have lots of leftovers.  But don’t worry, this soup freezes very well and the leftovers are even tastier. 

So enough chit chat.  Head to the supermarket for the ingredients and LET’S MAKE SOME SOUP!

Tuscan White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup                    

- 1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casing

-  1 tablespoon olive oil

-  2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

-  2 ribs celery, diced

-  1 medium onion, chopped

-  3 garlic cloves, finely minced

- 2 medium potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

-  8 cups of fat-free chicken broth

-  1 cup water

-  1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes in juice

-  2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

-  1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

-  3 bay leaves

-  1 small bunch of kale, trimmed from stems and coarsely chopped

-  2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley (optional)

-   salt and pepper to taste

  In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Saute the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces until no longer pink, about 3 -4 minutes.

  Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves.  Saute until soften, about 4 -5 minutes. 

  Add the chicken broth, water, diced tomatoes, and beans.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to simmer for 35 – 40 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.  The longer you let simmer, the more flavorful it will be. 

  Add kale and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add chopped parsley, if using.  Remove from heat and serve.  Best served with a big hunk of warm, crispy baguette.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already mid-January!  I’m not sure where the days have gone, but somehow they’ve managed to sneak by me.  It’s been a very hectic and busy 2 months.  Here’s a bit of a recap (by numbers) of the last 2 months:

63:  Days since I last blogged.  Talk about LAZY!

15:  Pounds lost since I started watching my diet a year ago.  Goal was 10, but actually lost 15.  WOOT..WOOT!!!

11: Dozen cookies baked in one day for Christmas.

2: Dozens of said cookies, I scoffed down myself. 

1:  Kindle Fire that my wonderful hubby got me for Christmas.

2: Skateboards in the house (Christmas gifts for Papa in Suburbia and Lil T).

1:  Knee injury from said skateboard (Papa in Suburbia).

100:  Times over the course of 2 months that Lil T has purposely annoyed me by calling me “Mom” instead of “Mommie”)

It seems like we always have overripe bananas in our house.  I’ve tried freezing them for future use, but that never seems to work for me.  Somehow I tend to forget that they’re in the freezer and months later will pull out a bag of frozen black bananas….ewwwwww.  So the best way to handle overripe bananas?  Bake ‘em!

Here’s my take on a banana muffin recipe.  No added oil, no added butter…just moist, yummy delicious-ness.  It’s a very versatile recipe where you can switch up the add-ins.  Don’t like nuts, try it with dried cranberries or blueberries.  But on this particular day, I was feeling a bit nutty so hence, the pecans.  To make it even healthier, I’ve added some ground flaxseed.  Don’t worry, no one will know.  And let me warn you…it’s best to make a double batch.  These freeze very well or can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days (if it lasts that long) and heated up in the microwave when ready to eat.  Believe me, Lil T devoured them.  That says alot.  Lil T never devours anything.  But then again, maybe that handful of chocolate chips in there helped a bit. 

Anyhoo, hope you enjoy them!  We sure did.

Banana Choco-Nut Muffins             Makes 12 mufffins

- 3 very ripe bananas

- 1 large egg

- 1/3 cup skim milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

- 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line pan with baking cups.

In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork.  Whisk in egg, milk, vanilla extract, and sugars. 

In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.  Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture.  Mix until combined, until the flour disappears.  Do not over mix.

Gently fold in chocolate chips and ground flaxseed.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of batter.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes.

I have cause for celebration.  My little Beanie has finally graduated his Level 1 swim class!!!  Can I get a woot woot? 

Okay yeah, I know.  It’s only Level 1.  But you have no idea.  It has been a long, uphill climb (or should I say “swim“) for us.  If you have forgotten, let me remind you here.  So you see?  There is cause for celebration. 

I am so proud of Lil T.  I can see how he is slowly building his confidence.  Don’t get me wrong, he still doesn’t like going to swim class.  But hey, at least he doesn’t HATE it as much now.  A couple of times, he actually was looking forward to going.  The dilemna for me now is do I let him continue?  I was going to stop taking him to classes until Spring, when it gets warmer.  But now that he’s graduated to the next level, maybe I need to keep continuing.  Problem is….it’s freezing cold.  Sure it’s an indoor pool but the water is freezing cold.  And then he’ll be soaking wet when we leave.  Yeah, I know.  You can’t catch a cold from being in the cold.  And you can’t get sick from being outside with wet hair.  But I’m a mom.  And mom’s have to believe that sort of thing. 

I’m just afraid that if I stop classes now, it’s all going to backfire on me.  Come Spring, I don’t want to have a screaming child refusing to get into the pool again.  And then we’ll be back to square one.  Yeah, I guess I have to do what I have to do.  Continue to torture the kid.

Lil T showing off his award for passing Level 1 swim.

I love Fall!  And I think it’s finally feeling like Fall.  I mean, it IS October. 

Fall has to be one of my favorite seasons.  Minus the allergies and leaf raking, that is.  I love the vibrant colors of fall foliage, the cooler weather, hot apple cider, and taking my little Beanie apple picking and pumpkin picking.  That, which of course leads to bushels and bushels of apples for us.  Okay, maybe not bushels.  But definitely enough to last us through the season. 

Speaking of apple picking, we went this past weekend.  So what better way to kick off the Fall season than with a delicous Butterscotch Apple Crisp.  This recipe was adapted from Pat and Gina Neely’s Butterscotch Apple Crisp.    I’ve lightened up the recipe…somewhat.  Every calorie counts, right?

Hope you enjoy it!

Butterscotch Apple Crisp

Filling

-  5 applies, peeled, cored and diced  (I used Golden Delicious apples since they’re Lil T’s favorite)

-  1/2 cup butterscotch chips

-  1/4 cup light brown sugar

-  1/4 cup all-purpose flour

-  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-  1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

- 1 lemon, juiced

-  3 tablespoon unsalted butter, cubed

Topping

-  3/4 cup all-purpose flour

-  1/4 cup light brown sugar

-  1/2 cup rolled oats

-  pinch of salt

-  1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced

-  3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly butter a 2 qt. baking dish.  (I used individual ramekins)  For the filling, toss together apples, butterscotch chips, sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice, lemon juice, and butter in a medium bowl.  Fill the baking dish (or ramekins) with the apple filling.  For the topping, in a seperate bowl combine the flour, sugar, oats, salt.  Cut in butter, either using food processor or two forks.  Stir in pecans.  Sprinkle the topping over the apple filling.  Bake for about 40 – 45 mins (20 – 25 mins if using ramekins) until the apples are tender and the butterscotch is bubbling.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with a scoop (or 2) of vanilla ice cream or butter pecan ice cream.

Men have selective hearing.  We all know that.  But did you know that it actually starts when they’re at the tender age of four.  Case in point, Lil T.

Lil T has remarkable hearing.  He can hear the faintest of whispers.  Conversations that Papa in Suburbia and I don’t want him to hear, he hears.  We could be whispering in the next room and he’ll hear every word of the conversation.  We could speak in cryptic and he’ll understand what we’re talking about.  He can make out the lyrics of a song that’s playing on the radio, which he’ll sing along to each time it.  Even I have a hard time hearing what these singers are singing sometimes.  Yes, he’ll croon “Rollling in the Deep” right along with Adele.  But when it comes to me giving him a simple directive like, “Okay time to wash up for dinner” or “Clean up, it’s time for bed”, he’ll totally “not hear” me.  I have to repeat it about 3 times, each time a little louder and with more annoyance in my voice. 

Scenario – It’s time for dinner and Lil T is playing in the living room and I’m in the kitchen.  Mind you, there are no doors or walls blocking the travel of sound.

Me - “It’s time for dinner.  Go wash up please.”   Silence.

Me - “T, did you hear me?  It’s time to wash up for dinner.”  I wait another second.  Total silence.

Me – “I’M NOT GOING TO SAY IT AGAIN.  GO WASH UP NOW OR YOU’RE GOING TO TIME- OU…!”  Before I even have time to finish the sentence….

Lil T – “Mommie,  what-cha say????”

ARGH!!!  It drives me nuts!

Hello.  My name is Mama in Suburbia.  I am a stay-at-home mom and…I’m a control freak.

There.  I said it. 

Okay, in my defense…I’m not exactly a control freak.  I just like things done a certain way.  I like organization.  I like cleanliness.  I like order.  I don’t like chaos. 

Hmmmm, on second thought, I’m not only a control freak…I’m an anal perfectionist.  Great!

You see, this isn’t really a terrible thing.  Yeah okay, maybe it is.  But what makes it bad is that I am constantly at war with my I-need-to-be-in-control-also four year old.  Yes, it’s the mommy/son battle for control.  Already.  I am sooo not looking forward to the teenager years. 

I am turning into one of those moms you see at the playground or at the store.  The ones who you try to avoid.  You know, the ones constantly yelling at their kids.  “Stop doing that.”  “I told you to stop already.”  “Don’t play with that.” And all he ever hears is “whaar, whaar, whaar, whaar, whaaar….” (just like Charlie Brown’s teacher).  And the more I yell, the more defiant he gets.  He gets that crazy glimmer in his eyes, a devilish smile starts to form, and off he goes.  And off I go.  Yeah I know, I’m not the control freak.  He is. 

What I need to do is go have a couple of drinks breathe, before reacting.  Wooooo-saaaaaa.  Breathe and think before I overreact.  1. Is he in any danger?  2. Am I or anyone else in any danger?  3. Are sharp objects involved?  4. Will I regret this later on? Probably so, but it’s okay.  If the answer is “no”, let it be.  Seriously.  Kids will be kids.  They want to have fun.  They are going to test you.  So as long as there is no danger involved and no one gets hurt, I need to just take a chill pill.  Right?  Easier said than done…but I will try.  I don’t want to be a screaming mom all the time.  It’s annoying.  And it’s exhausting.  I just need to let loose with the control once in awhile.  It’s a give and take.  I let loose the reins a bit, he won’t pull as hard.  Kinda like…walking a dog?  Or something like that.

It’s no fun butting heads all the time.  This anal, perfectionist, control freak of a Mama will learn to let go a bit.  Once in a while.

Come to think of it, by doing so, I  might actually be gaining all the control.  Muahahahahah….

Maybe it’s me.  Maybe I’m just a thoughtful person.  Or maybe it’s a female “thing”.  But when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries, I feel that these are special days.  And special days need to be celebrated.  Right?

Well, yesterday was my birthday.  And as much as I hate to celebrate a day that reminds me that I’m another year older (much, much older), it’s still a special day to me.  And call me selfish and self-centered if you’d like, but I think a birthday needs to be celebrated.  Just my opinion. 

So here’s my 2 cents, for what it’s worth.  Just some advice for all the boyfriends and husbands out there on celebrating your girlfriend or wife’s birthday:

1.  Birthdays and anniversaries are not “Hallmark” holidays.  These are special occasions and deserve some special attention.  They’re not like Veteran’s Day or Columbus Day (not that those aren’t important holidays).  And they’re not “just another reason for Hallmark to make and sell a card”.  You need to buy a card.  Preferably prior to that special day and not just stopping at CVS on the way to dinner so you can pick one up and scribble a note on it in the bathroom.  Plan ahead.

2.  Birthdays and anniversaries deserve a gift.  No matter what your girlfriend or wife says, you need to get her a gift.  Again I repeat, GET  A GIFT!  If you ask her what she wants, pay attention.  Even if she says she doesn’t want anything…PAY ATTENTION!  GET A GIFT!  Notice I didn’t say buy a gift.  If you’re short on cash, you need not spend a lot of money or any money.  You can make her something too.  Write her a poem.  Not a literary genius?  Make her a jewelry box.  Not a handyman?  Give her an “IOU voucher” for a favor or a project that she’s been wanting you to do.  You get my drift.  It’s really the thought that counts.  I know, it’s so cliche.  But it’s true.  The fact that you thought enough of her to buy or make her something special…it means alot. 

If you’re going to buy her something but don’t know what to get, get her a gift card.  Some people think gift cards are thoughtless.  They’re not.  Get her a gift card to her favorite store (hopefully you have some clue as to where that would be).  At least she can use it to buy something she likes.  Don’t ever say, “I didn’t get you anything because you said not to.”  She was being nice when she said that, idiot!  And don’t ever say, “You always return everything I get you, so I didn’t get you anything.”  Big mistake!  That’s why you buy a gift card… 

3.  Flowers are nice.  Unless she’s allergic to them.  But if not, buy her a nice bouquet.  Short on cash?  A single rose will do.  This will definitely earn you some bonus points.

4.  Don’t forget about the kids.  If you have kids, get her something from them too.  Go pick out a card with them or have them make a card.  It really means alot.  She’ll treasure it.  I know I would.

5.  Make dinner plans.  Either cook her a special dinner or make reservations.  She should not have to cook today.  To earn bonus points…make her breakfast.  In bed is preferable, but not a must.

6.  Get a cake.  We love dessert.  Don’t collapse it with candles that remind her of her age.  One or two is enough.  Who doesn’t love blowing out candles? 

And there you have it.  Not too hard, right?  It’s totally doable.  Seriously, it doesn’t matter how much she says she doesn’t want to celebrate.  She does.  Who doesn’t want to be treated extra special once in a while.  Trust me, just do it.  It’ll make her happier… and your life easier in the long run.