I got into the office 30 minutes ago, after dropping Bebe off at his new nanny-share. I vainly and foolishly wore heeled booties today, and my feet were screaming at me by the time I got to the office.
I had a long, busy weekend that was not at all restful, and the past 36 hours have been a little stressful as we all adjust to our new daycare routine. Bebe apparently screamed all morning yesterday at the nanny-share, and refused to eat anything until the afternoon. By the time he got picked up by his father, everyone was exhausted and a little stressed, including Bebe, who fell asleep in my arms a full hour before his bedtime.
This morning Mr. MF kindly took the dog out for a walk at 5:15, while I hurridly tried to pump enough milk to fill Bebe's third and last bottle. Hopefully he accepts his bottles from the nanny this morning, and drinks all of their contents. I don't want to dump out any unused breastmilk tonight, like I did last night (5 ounces, sob), which is just awful, considering how much effort it takes for me to produce the daily minimum.
Anyway, my dears, here's my point...it's nice to be able to sit at my desk, in the relative quiet of my office, and enjoy my peach Chobani and my peanut butter granola bar, and wiggle my feet free of my heels. I have no idea what this afternoon holds - another phone call from the nanny telling me Bebe won't eat, an tense husband stressing about our son's day, or heck, anything work-related that can take place between now and 5:00pm. So for these last few minutes, it's been nice to eat my breakfast, rest my feet, and talk to you all.
Okay - deep breath - here we go. Bring it, Tuesday.
xoxo,
MF
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Modern Femme gets away...Fall foliage trip!
Mr. MF and I are both originally from New England. For decades we grew up taking for granted the splendor of a vibrant fall landscape. My family has a house in Vermont, and I remember spending warm fall days there surrounded by mountains that looked like they were on fire with thousands of red, orange and gold leaves.
Mr. MF and I have been residents of the mid-Atlantic region for going on six years now, and while we still get to appreciate the changing colors of fall, we're long overdue for a full blown New England-style leaf peeping tour. And where better to enjoy some fall foliage in the mid-Atlantic than the mountains of wild and wonderful West Virginia?
The thought of leaf strewn roads, vibrant red and glowing orange leaves, and a warm hazy fall day makes me long for chunky cable knit sweaters, mugs of warm apple cider and cinnamon sugar doughnuts.
I'm so excited to take a day trip through West Virginia and get my leaf-peeping on. For those of you in the area, you can find information on driving tours through West Virginia at Midland National Trail and The Coal Heritage Trail.
xoxo,
MF
Mr. MF and I have been residents of the mid-Atlantic region for going on six years now, and while we still get to appreciate the changing colors of fall, we're long overdue for a full blown New England-style leaf peeping tour. And where better to enjoy some fall foliage in the mid-Atlantic than the mountains of wild and wonderful West Virginia?
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| West Virginia Department of Commerce |
The thought of leaf strewn roads, vibrant red and glowing orange leaves, and a warm hazy fall day makes me long for chunky cable knit sweaters, mugs of warm apple cider and cinnamon sugar doughnuts.
 |
| West Virginia Department of Commerce |
Have you ever canoed on a lake in the fall? It's beautiful to be out on the water with a panoramic view of the surrounding leaves, soaking up the warm rays of the sun, with a thermos of hot chocolate to ward off the chills from the breeze.
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| West Virginia Department of Commerce |
Just looking at these photos makes my heart pitter patter. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the photo above was a twisting turn along a Vermont highway. This picture makes me think of lunches at a roadside restaurant - warm bowls of hearty soup, sandwiches on crusty bread and a refreshing Ocktoberfest brew.
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| Midland National Trail |
xoxo,
MF
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Modern Femme at Home...Getting ready for the change-up
As I mentioned in an earlier post about routines, my morning routine will be changing next week when Bebe transitions from a daycare center near Mr. MF's work to a nanny-share near our house. I've been thinking about what this means for my morning routine and have begun trying to adjust my activities this week in anticipation for the big change up next week.
Here's what I've been considering. Before 8:00 am on any given workday, the following things have to happen:
With the new routine, there are two major factors I have to contend with. The first is that I will be losing 20 minutes every morning, as Bebe and I will have to leave the house around 7:40, as opposed to my current departure time of 8:00 am. The second is that I will have Bebe with me in the morning, which puts a serious dent in what I am able to get done around the house. For example, since I don't want to schlep Bebe around with me on the dog's walk and I don't want to leave Bebe unsupervised when I'm in the shower, I have to reconsider when I will do those two things.
In order to deal with the loss of 20 minutes, I've decided to do as much as I can in the evening to prepare for the coming workday. To deal with Bebe being with me in the morning, I've decided to rearrange my morning schedule to front-load walking the dog and taking my shower (two things that happen in the middle and end of my routine, respectively) while Mr. MF is still in the house. Here's how I'm thinking things will run:
The night before:
Walk dog
Feed dog and cat
Make bed
Shower
Nurse Bebe, dress Bebe
Wash coffee pot and accessories
Dress for day
I'm sure that there are things I'm forgetting, and there are always little miscellaneous to-dos on any given day that I try and get done before I leave the house. I'd like for the transition to the new routine to be as smooth as possible. I'm going to keep practicing this set-up and I'll update you all at the end of next week as to how it's unfolded!
xoxo,
MF
Here's what I've been considering. Before 8:00 am on any given workday, the following things have to happen:
- Prepare new bottles for Bebe
- Wash breastpump storage bottles, repack bottles for new day's pumping
- Prepare coffee, wash coffee pot and accessories
- Unload dish rack, put away clean plates
- Walk dog
- Feed dog and cat
- Nurse Bebe, dress Bebe
- Shower, dress
- Pack lunches for Mr. MF and myself
- Prepare breakfast for Mr. MF and myself
- Make bed
With the new routine, there are two major factors I have to contend with. The first is that I will be losing 20 minutes every morning, as Bebe and I will have to leave the house around 7:40, as opposed to my current departure time of 8:00 am. The second is that I will have Bebe with me in the morning, which puts a serious dent in what I am able to get done around the house. For example, since I don't want to schlep Bebe around with me on the dog's walk and I don't want to leave Bebe unsupervised when I'm in the shower, I have to reconsider when I will do those two things.
In order to deal with the loss of 20 minutes, I've decided to do as much as I can in the evening to prepare for the coming workday. To deal with Bebe being with me in the morning, I've decided to rearrange my morning schedule to front-load walking the dog and taking my shower (two things that happen in the middle and end of my routine, respectively) while Mr. MF is still in the house. Here's how I'm thinking things will run:
The night before:
- Prepare new bottles for Bebe
- Wash breast pump storage bottles, repack bottles for new day's pumping
- Prepare coffee
- Pack lunches for Mr. MF and myself
- Prepare breakfast for Mr. MF and myself
- Set out next day's clothes for MF and Bebe
I'm sure that there are things I'm forgetting, and there are always little miscellaneous to-dos on any given day that I try and get done before I leave the house. I'd like for the transition to the new routine to be as smooth as possible. I'm going to keep practicing this set-up and I'll update you all at the end of next week as to how it's unfolded!
xoxo,
MF
Full Disclosure series...Nightsong?
So last night, I crawl into bed at 9:00pm. I'm flipping through the various catalogs that arrived in the mail (I love the J. Peterman catalogue - the little vignettes for each product are hilariously entertaining to read - who buys this stuff??) when I hear, out of nowhere, birds chirping. At 9:00pm at night.
I turned to Mr. MF, who was browsing through the Internet on his iPad and, after ascertaining that he heard it as well, asked why birds would be singing when it was dark out. "Maybe it's the huge thunderstorm that's headed our way," my husband offered helpfully, pointing to the Doppler radar that he had pulled up on his iPad.
I grabbed my iPhone and Googled "birds chirping at night." The resulting hits covered everything from "evil omens" (really people?) to the more probable proliferation of roads that brings noisy traffic into birds' nesting areas and forces the critters to sing at night, when they have a chance of being heard. I relayed my new found knowledge to my husband (all the while, the darn birds are singing their hearts out), who grunted, and turned off my light, lamenting the destruction of habitats and the changes that man hath wrought on our feathered friends.
Chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!
So, my problem is that I'm a very light sleeper, and if something is disturbing my sleep (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!), I fixate on it (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!) and can't let it go (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!). So after about 60 seconds of tossing around in bed, I was relieved to hear that Bebe had started fussing - as I got out of bed to feed him, I crossed my fingers that the birds would get it out of their system and be done singing by the time I got back to bed.
Thirty minutes later (in a blissfully silent nursery - clearly the birds were right outside our bedroom window), I crept back into bed. I listened for a beat in the darkness, heard nothing and settled against my pillow, content that the birds had wrapped up their nocturnal serenade.
Chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!
"Dammit!" I exclaimed, slapping the sheets and rousing Mr. MF. "Those damn birds are going to keep me up all night." I flipped to my side, grumbling to myself and feeling very put out.
Two minutes later..."Babe."
Mr. MF loomed next to me, propped up on his elbow, blinking sleepily. I flipped over and waited for him to speak, wondering what was wrong. He paused a beat more, and then said:
"That was my alarm clock. I just realized. It must have turned itself on when I reset it. The birds are one of the alarm sounds."
We started at each other in the dark before bursting into laughter. Like total morons, we had laid in bed for AN HOUR listening to this maniacal chirping and lamenting the plight of these poor creatures, who had been forced to sing at night because of the callous invasion of human society into their woodlands.
When in reality, we were just listening to a very realistic alarm clock.
I turned to Mr. MF, who was browsing through the Internet on his iPad and, after ascertaining that he heard it as well, asked why birds would be singing when it was dark out. "Maybe it's the huge thunderstorm that's headed our way," my husband offered helpfully, pointing to the Doppler radar that he had pulled up on his iPad.
I grabbed my iPhone and Googled "birds chirping at night." The resulting hits covered everything from "evil omens" (really people?) to the more probable proliferation of roads that brings noisy traffic into birds' nesting areas and forces the critters to sing at night, when they have a chance of being heard. I relayed my new found knowledge to my husband (all the while, the darn birds are singing their hearts out), who grunted, and turned off my light, lamenting the destruction of habitats and the changes that man hath wrought on our feathered friends.
Chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!
So, my problem is that I'm a very light sleeper, and if something is disturbing my sleep (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!), I fixate on it (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!) and can't let it go (chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!). So after about 60 seconds of tossing around in bed, I was relieved to hear that Bebe had started fussing - as I got out of bed to feed him, I crossed my fingers that the birds would get it out of their system and be done singing by the time I got back to bed.
Thirty minutes later (in a blissfully silent nursery - clearly the birds were right outside our bedroom window), I crept back into bed. I listened for a beat in the darkness, heard nothing and settled against my pillow, content that the birds had wrapped up their nocturnal serenade.
Chirp, chirpchirpchirp, TWEEDLE!
"Dammit!" I exclaimed, slapping the sheets and rousing Mr. MF. "Those damn birds are going to keep me up all night." I flipped to my side, grumbling to myself and feeling very put out.
Two minutes later..."Babe."
Mr. MF loomed next to me, propped up on his elbow, blinking sleepily. I flipped over and waited for him to speak, wondering what was wrong. He paused a beat more, and then said:
"That was my alarm clock. I just realized. It must have turned itself on when I reset it. The birds are one of the alarm sounds."
We started at each other in the dark before bursting into laughter. Like total morons, we had laid in bed for AN HOUR listening to this maniacal chirping and lamenting the plight of these poor creatures, who had been forced to sing at night because of the callous invasion of human society into their woodlands.
When in reality, we were just listening to a very realistic alarm clock.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Modern Femme at Home...Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, anytime
Hello my dear readers. Apologies for my absence - last week is a blur, but suffice to say that Bebe was battling his first full fledged cold, and wasn't sleeping very well. I think we're almost out of the tunnel (I hope), and I'm back and brimming with things to talk about!
Anyway, here's a quick and happy post to start off this Monday. This weekend I made chocolate chip cookies for Mr. MF. Doesn't matter how old my gent gets, he still loves his chocolate chip cookies. We're trying to cut back on expenses in the MF household, including buying pre-made products that we could make at home. Actually, I think that homemade chocolate chip cookies trump most anything you could buy at the store anyway, never mind them being cheaper!
But because chocolate chip cookies taste best fresh, and because right now it's only Mr. MF and moi in the house right now who eat solid foods, I don't ever bake a full batch of cookies. I'll bake maybe 10 cookies, and then freeze the rest of the dough. I know that this is not rocket science - most of us have seen blog posts on frozen cookie dough on the web. But here's what I do that makes this post a little different: I don't freeze the dough in logs to be sliced at a later date. I scoop out the dough in individual sized balls, and then freeze them as is.
I prefer my method for two reasons: 1) I am not usually the person baking the frozen cookies from the freezer, so this needs to be as fool-proof as possible; and 2) by freezing the dough in individual sized portions, you don't need to wrangle with a knife to slice off some rounds of dough, you simply grab as many frozen pieces as you want and you're set! No muss, no fuss, not even a knife to clean up!
I like to store around four to five frozen pieces of dough in snack-sized bags, so that when Mr. MF is hungry, he can open the freezer, retrieve a baggie, and bake himself some yummy cookies. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's a break out of what I did, with some random pictures at the end (because of course I forgot to take pictures during the process):
1. Make your cookie dough. I like the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag.
2. Prep two baking sheets - line one with Silpat or parchment paper (this will be baked immediately), and line a second with wax paper (this will go into the freezer).
3. Spoon out heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheets. Place as many tablespoons of dough as you want cookies baked onto the silpat-lined sheet. Scoop out the remainder of the dough onto the wax paper-lined sheet. Place the wax paper-lined sheet into the freezer, leave for 2 hours or overnight.
4. Bake the cookies as instructed, try not to eat all of them immediately.
5. When the 2 hours (or more) is up, pull the now frozen cookie dough out of the freezer.
6. Place the frozen scoops of dough into individual Ziploc baggies (snack sized fits 4 scoops, any more requires a sandwich sized bag). I like to also write the oven temp and amount of time needed for baking on some masking tape, which I then stick to the outside of each bag. That way, whoever needs some cookies can bake them without any need for assistance from me! Repeat process until all frozen dough is bagged:
Anyway, here's a quick and happy post to start off this Monday. This weekend I made chocolate chip cookies for Mr. MF. Doesn't matter how old my gent gets, he still loves his chocolate chip cookies. We're trying to cut back on expenses in the MF household, including buying pre-made products that we could make at home. Actually, I think that homemade chocolate chip cookies trump most anything you could buy at the store anyway, never mind them being cheaper!
But because chocolate chip cookies taste best fresh, and because right now it's only Mr. MF and moi in the house right now who eat solid foods, I don't ever bake a full batch of cookies. I'll bake maybe 10 cookies, and then freeze the rest of the dough. I know that this is not rocket science - most of us have seen blog posts on frozen cookie dough on the web. But here's what I do that makes this post a little different: I don't freeze the dough in logs to be sliced at a later date. I scoop out the dough in individual sized balls, and then freeze them as is.
I prefer my method for two reasons: 1) I am not usually the person baking the frozen cookies from the freezer, so this needs to be as fool-proof as possible; and 2) by freezing the dough in individual sized portions, you don't need to wrangle with a knife to slice off some rounds of dough, you simply grab as many frozen pieces as you want and you're set! No muss, no fuss, not even a knife to clean up!
I like to store around four to five frozen pieces of dough in snack-sized bags, so that when Mr. MF is hungry, he can open the freezer, retrieve a baggie, and bake himself some yummy cookies. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's a break out of what I did, with some random pictures at the end (because of course I forgot to take pictures during the process):
1. Make your cookie dough. I like the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag.
2. Prep two baking sheets - line one with Silpat or parchment paper (this will be baked immediately), and line a second with wax paper (this will go into the freezer).
3. Spoon out heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheets. Place as many tablespoons of dough as you want cookies baked onto the silpat-lined sheet. Scoop out the remainder of the dough onto the wax paper-lined sheet. Place the wax paper-lined sheet into the freezer, leave for 2 hours or overnight.
4. Bake the cookies as instructed, try not to eat all of them immediately.
5. When the 2 hours (or more) is up, pull the now frozen cookie dough out of the freezer.
6. Place the frozen scoops of dough into individual Ziploc baggies (snack sized fits 4 scoops, any more requires a sandwich sized bag). I like to also write the oven temp and amount of time needed for baking on some masking tape, which I then stick to the outside of each bag. That way, whoever needs some cookies can bake them without any need for assistance from me! Repeat process until all frozen dough is bagged:
6. After all the baggies have been assembled, I like to wrangle them into one larger gallon-sized bag, which I label with the contents and the date. That way, I don't have these little bags scattered all over the freezer - and, more importantly - it makes it easy for the hungry cookie-monsters to find and identify!
I love this on so many levels:
1. I feel prepared for any emergency snack/sweet tooth attack/unexpected company knowing that there are baggies of cookies ready to be baked at any time;
2. I'm happy to be able to feed my family homemade cookies instead of store bought ones, which are expensive and filled with preservatives; and
3. By making and storing dough like this, you are stretching your dollar - my husband will go through the contents of this bag over a month, as opposed to over a week with a store bought pack of cookies. I find that when a packet of cookies is readily available, people will eat them even when they're not hungry...and there's also nothing more annoying than throwing out expensive cookies that went stale.
So there you have it folks! Try doing this sometime - doesn't take but a few extra minutes of hands-on time, and the reward - fresh baked cookies at anytime - is more than worth it!
xoxo,
MF
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Full Disclosure series...Bad Kitty
This morning's routine completely disrupted due to escape artist feline, who spent the last hour taking a series of dirt baths in neighbor's fenced-in backyard while I watched helplessly. C'est la vie.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Modern Femme at Home...Reliable Routines
I could not get through my work week without a routine. A perfect example of this is my weekday morning routine. At any given time in the morning, from 5:30am - 8:00am, you'll probably find me doing the same thing that I did the day before. Of course, sometimes I'm a little ahead of schedule, or a little behind schedule, but typically, the same things get done every day.
My morning routine will be changing at the end of the month, when Bebe switches from day care to a nanny-share, but until then, this is how my mornings unfold:
5:30am: Alarm goes off. Ugh.
5:40: Modern Femme (MF) lets dog out to pee, pours herself a piping hot cup of coffee, makes any breakfast items (smoothie, fresh juice, or granola) for Mr. MF.
The non-negotiable aspects of my morning routine, the things that I will always do, unless I'm running wicked late, include emptying out the dish drainage board and putting clean dishes away, cleaning the coffee pot and any kitchen tools I used to make breakfast or lunch, and making the bed. I cannot leave dirty dishes in the sink, nor can I leave an unmade bed. I just can't stand it.
I would like to add a workout to my morning routine, but short of taking the dog on a morning run instead of a morning walk, I simply don't have the time! Maybe my new schedule will allow for a bit of room for cardio or yoga.
What's your morning routine like?
xoxo,
MF
My morning routine will be changing at the end of the month, when Bebe switches from day care to a nanny-share, but until then, this is how my mornings unfold:
5:30am: Alarm goes off. Ugh.
5:40: Modern Femme (MF) lets dog out to pee, pours herself a piping hot cup of coffee, makes any breakfast items (smoothie, fresh juice, or granola) for Mr. MF.
5:45: MF heads upstairs to Bebe's nursery for wake-up and morning feeding.
6:00: Bebe is changed and dressed for day care by MF and brought downstairs.
6:15: Mr. MF's lunch and Bebe's bottles (all prepped the night before) are handed off to Mr. MF.
6:20: Mr. MF and Bebe out the door to daycare.
6:30: MF and the dog are out the door for a morning stroll.
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| Sunrise in the city, as seen on my morning walk with the dog. |
6:50: Back home. Fur babies are feed breakfast. MF tidies up kitchen (puts away clean dishes, washes dirty ones) and assembles lunch. Grabs second cup of coffee then upstairs and makes bed.
7:30: MF prepares for the day, showers, dresses, etc.
7:50: MF heads downstairs to pee the dog one more time and give her her daily bribe treat, peanut butter!! Collects various bags (bag lady!) and lunch.
8:00: Out the door and off to work.
I would like to add a workout to my morning routine, but short of taking the dog on a morning run instead of a morning walk, I simply don't have the time! Maybe my new schedule will allow for a bit of room for cardio or yoga.
What's your morning routine like?
xoxo,
MF
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Full Disclosure series...Battling the dreaded Rut
So, I've been in a rut these past few months. The details aren't important, because every rut is the same: that horrible feeling of being stuck in a situation or series of habits that you want to change or want out of, but can't seem to move past.
This current rut I'm in is draining my energy. It leaves me in a foul, bleak mood at the end of the day, feeling very sorry for myself. Then I get irritated that I'm sitting around complaining about being in a rut instead of getting back on my feet and doing something to get out of it!
Sound familiar?
Anyway, today I'm making the effort to take the first step out of this rut by posting some things that makes me feel happier and energized:
This current rut I'm in is draining my energy. It leaves me in a foul, bleak mood at the end of the day, feeling very sorry for myself. Then I get irritated that I'm sitting around complaining about being in a rut instead of getting back on my feet and doing something to get out of it!
Sound familiar?
Anyway, today I'm making the effort to take the first step out of this rut by posting some things that makes me feel happier and energized:
These are my beautiful hot pink zinnias. They sit on my front steps and delight me every morning. I love their color, their beautiful explosion of petals, and their cheerful yellow centers. My dog totally photo-bombed this shot (see upper left hand corner), but that's okay because she makes me pretty happy too. My early morning walks with her always leave me feeling more energized.
I saw this quote on Pinterest this morning, and it resonated with me, especially considering my current rutty state:
"I am in charge of how I feel, and today I am choosing happiness."
I could sit around and continue to feel depleted by my situation, sorry for myself, and generally waaaaaah, OR I can choose to smile, take a deep breath, and see my rut as an opportunity for improvement and innovation, instead of a life-sucking black hole.
Today is going to be the day that I take the first step out of this rut. Wish me luck! And, if you have any advice on what you do to get yourself out of a rut, share it with me in the comments section.
xoxo,
MF
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Weekly menus....Spice is Niiiiice
(Hello my dear readers! I hope you all had a nice weekend, and for those of us in the US, a nice long holiday weekend. )
As Mr. Modern Femme will tell you, I am a spice fiend. I love food that is both full of spices, and food that is spicy hot. I have an addiction to Tabasco sauce (even have the mini bottles in my desk drawer) and I have to be regulated with crushed red pepper flakes. I can't help it!!
I'm married to a meat and potatoes guy, but luckily, his love of flavor and spicy food has grown exponentially over the last decade. Phew! Here's what's cooking this week at Chez Modern Femme (these recipes were all from my recipe binder, so where possible I have linked to the recipe on the net):
xoxo,
MF
As Mr. Modern Femme will tell you, I am a spice fiend. I love food that is both full of spices, and food that is spicy hot. I have an addiction to Tabasco sauce (even have the mini bottles in my desk drawer) and I have to be regulated with crushed red pepper flakes. I can't help it!!
I'm married to a meat and potatoes guy, but luckily, his love of flavor and spicy food has grown exponentially over the last decade. Phew! Here's what's cooking this week at Chez Modern Femme (these recipes were all from my recipe binder, so where possible I have linked to the recipe on the net):
- Monday:
- Spicy Asian white bean dip
- Butterflied pork tenderloin with a Asian-honey marinade
- Caribbean-style black bean and rice salad
- Key lime pie
- Tuesday:
- Wednesday:
- Spiced chicken breasts with poblano and bell pepper rajas
- Tortillas
- Refried beans
- Thursday:
- Spicy chipotle meatballs
- Rice
- Salad
- Friday:
xoxo,
MF
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