The Zoe and Silas Show

Today I went to a yoga class for the first time in far too many years. It felt wonderful and pushed me out of my comfort zone. I can't wait to go back! Today Derek gave Silas his traditional mid-summer haircut. Today the weather was perfect and we enjoyed bike rides (them) / a walk (me) in the park after lunch. Today Zoe chased the cats until they succumbed to her love and adoration. Today I put the garbage on the curb for weekly pickup and realized that we didn't have any! We recycle and compost far more than we throw away. I am grateful to be able to teach Zoe & Silas these habits. Empty trash barrel Countertop compost bin  Backyard compost bin that we bought at Town Hall Food compost, including the hair from Silas' haircut today! Today I checked on the rooftop vegetable patio garden - it's doing great! Today we went school supply shopping so that I can enjoy the last month of summer without worrying abou...

We recently bought a house and moved about 20 miles outside of Boston. One of the changes that came along with a new commute and work schedule is that I have started making dinner for the kids every night, instead of just Friday-Sunday (Julia, our wonderful long-time nanny, historically fed them dinner Monday-Thursday). Derek and I still have opposite work schedules, which means that I have the kids without him 5-6 nights/week. In order to make healthy meals AND pack lunches while flying solo, at a minimum I need to have a well-stocked fridge and basic menu plan for the week. Even better is when I can get some cooking and/or food prep done on Sunday. Before I go to the gym on Sunday mornings I usually peruse some recipes in search of culinary inspiration. Today I came across a recipe that caught my eye on Budget Bytes . I was planning on hitting Trader Joe's after the gym, so I picked up the frozen roasted corn that is the cornerstone of this recipe. The first part of my foo...

8/23/14: Derek was off on Saturday so we had a family food extravaganza. First we headed to the Farmer's Market, and then after lunch we did the food shopping for the week. The kids love to help with the scanner! Family food inspiration means we ate like kings all day, including this tomato salad with red onion, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese!

5/25/14: Playing with our landlord's boys and enjoying a beautiful afternoon in a newly mowed backyard. We have eaten like kings this weekend, grilling out every night. On Saturday we did Asian Barbecue Chicken  (aka crack chicken), mashed potatoes, and steamed caulflower and broccoli. On Sunday we grilled Korean Kimchi Burgers and served them on top of romaine, with an Orzo Salad . The salad did double duty in our Memorial Day picnic at Hale Reservation today. Tonight we did flat iron steak fajitas with sauteed tri-color peppers and onion, and a side of braised kale. It was definitely a good eating weekend around here!!!

5/23/14: On Friday morning we had a craft table disaster to tackle. I enlisted the kids' help and before we knew it there was a clear space on which to "create".  We went to the Y mid-morning. When I went to the Child Watch room to pick them up I found Silas "reading" a book to two other little boys :) This was the first Friday of S&Z not being in school, so we commemorated with a Mommy lunch ! It's never too young to start teaching clean eating!

5/18/14: Derek was off work today so we celebrated a late Mother's Day. The weather forecast looked good so we headed to World's End in Hingham for a picnic and a hike. It was our first picnic of the year and all of us were soooooooooo happy to be eating outside! Although accessible by car, World's End is technically one of the Boston Harbor Islands . It is a really beautiful place to hike and explore! We took a break at the top of a scenic hill, and Derek and I ended up taking pictures of each other taking pictures! We walked down to an area called the Sand Bar, where we skipped rocks for a long time. After a 2.5 mile long hike everyone was pretty tired walking back to the car. The hungry hikers went out to a new Lebanese restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed the most amazing spread of food! Hummus, fattoush salad, warak enab (stuffed grape leaves), lentil soup, pita bread, sambossik (meat filled dumplings), chicken and lam...

5/2/14: The weather is finally getting warmer in Boston so we enjoyed some long overdue time in the backyard yesterday! Silas was cracking me up at bedtime, ordering "Chicken 'Morocca' Soup" for take out. I don't even know where he gets the concept from, it has been months and months since we last ordered out!

4/20/14: The Easter Bunny was hard at work last night after date night. The kids were SO EXCITED when they got up this morning! They came running into our room promptly at 7:00 to tell us there were EGGS and BASKETS in the living room! They had a BLAST doing the egg hunt, narrating every single step of the way! They made a nice haul of money, play-doh, and a little candy. There is nothing like chocolate easter bunnies for breakfast! After the Easter madness died down we continued our organizational kick of the weekend, putting away the winter gear and pulling out the summer hats. The "kids" in the house took a break to show off the assortment of hats :) Derek had to work at 3 so we made our weekly run up to lab with my work clothes and food for the week. S&Z wanted to document this week's food assortment, which included bananas, apples, avocado, tomato, greek yogurt, string cheese, hummus, Ezekiel's sprouted bread, crack...