Reading Sad Things in Public + How to Deal

 

I'm probably the last person on Earth to do so, but last week I began reading The Fault in Our Stars. I had known about this book (and subsequent movie) for a long time and purposely avoided it at all costs since the subject matter deals with 2 teenagers battling cancer (a subject that takes on a whole new meaning and level of sad for me now as a parent). For some reason, I decided to give in to it and downloaded it onto my Kindle before our trip to Aruba. It sat there quietly while I plowed through The Goldfinch. Last week, when I found myself on the train without a book (I had hungrily finished The Goldfinch that morning!), I opened it up and began reading. I knew it was a bad idea to read this kind of book on the train since it would inevitably lead to hiding tears behind sunglasses and choking back sobs while other passengers try to hold back weird looks.

I was right.

Yesterday, I found myself a blubbery mess, leaving a runny nose, soaking wet tissues and smudged mascara in my wake. Not to mention that I was interrupted when we arrived at my stop, smack dab in the midst of the end of the book.

We've all been there, haven't we? There's nothing like a good cry during, or at the end of, a great book. While I try to time these moments for when I'm home, after Penelope is asleep and preferably when Shaun is out for the night (so I can really get a good cry on!), sometimes it's unavoidable that I'm in a public place when the water works are turned on. It's not ideal. It's not fun. But it happens. 

Here's how I deal:

Wear sunglasses. Yesterday it poured and so I didn't have mine with me. Big mistake. Huge.

Have tissues. This just goes for life, but especially with a sad book in hand.

Dab eyes classily. Channel Audrey Hepburn. Would Audrey sob? No, she would keep her sunglasses on, dab her eyes and go about her day.

Save that cry. You can really bust it out tonight, once you arrive to a {preferably} empty home.

Do you ever get caught reading sad things in public?

How do you deal?

oh and here's a great article in the event that you have to cry at work {for reasons probably more compelling than a book}.

10 Toddler Things We Love

Hi friends! It's Baby Talk Tuesday and I'm so happy that a lot of you are enjoying this series because it gives me a chance to just chat about being a Mom for a minute. In some ways, I can't believe that my little baby is now a full grown toddler and {sniffle} becoming a little girl. I see her playing like a big girl and it makes me realize that she is growing up and fast. It's amazing how much our life has changed and how it continues to evolve as well with what we do, what Penelope plays with or what she is 'into' at the moment, and even what she eats. Today I'm bringing you some of our very favorite toddler things we love!

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream - P has had some bouts of really dry skin and applying this liberally after bath time and first thing in the morning seems to do the trick.

Sippy cups {Playtex, Lollacup} - P still takes a bottle, and we've tried lots of different sippy cups. Both of these are great sippy cups that she took too immediately. Both are leak proof (when attached correctly) and are super cute to boot.

Stride Rite - I have always struggled with foot pain and so I make sure to buy really good shoes for Penelope, right from the get-go. She walks and runs all over the place these days and so while they aren't inexpensive, I'm just happy that she is {seemingly} comfortable. These actually light up and P is totally smitten with them!

Boppy pillow - I know this is known for being more of an infant pillow and while we used it a ton during those infant months, P continues to love her Boppy to this day. She loves curling up on it to watch a movie, or just using it as a comfy backer while sitting on the floor and playing.

iPad games - I can do a longer post on this, but we love Peek-a-Boo Barn and Tinyhands' Lotto, which is a puzzle app. I try to limit her iPad time, but it's great to keep her occupied {and learning} when we are out and about. These were especially awesome on airplane rides.

DVDs - We own a bunch already and never leave home without them. P loves Despicable Me.

Musical Rainbow Tea Set {by Leapfrog} - This tea set, featuring a singing, light up tea pot, tea cups and cake slices, is by far Penelope's favorite toy as of late. It's the first toy that she really started to role play and pretend play with. She mimics us 'eating' the cake slices and 'drinking' the tea that she pours. The teapot also lights up, sings and counts how many cups of tea to pour and P loves getting to 'press the heart button to brew more tea.'

Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free coloring books & markers - We LOVE these! Amazing idea for toddlers. I bought her a set of the markers and can leave her to color without worrying that my carpet or furniture will end up with orange streaks or purple doodles since the markers are clear and only show up on special paper. Yes that means we have to always use the special coloring books but they are worth every penny for peace of mind and individual play.

Organic rice cakes - with blueberries and beets baked in, P loves to snack on these guys.

Organic fruit snacks - We like the YumEarth Organics brand, which I purchase by the case at BJ's. I know these are like candy, but with only 5 fruit snacks in a pouch, I'm totally ok with it as an afternoon snack or for dessert. The downside is that they are a little too good, even for mom.

So that's what we're loving lately. It's always an evolving list!

What are your favorite toddler or kid products right now?

Pssst...we were not paid nor perked for any of these mentions. These are just things that we use on a daily basis!

5-Minute Oat Bran Breakfast {or Anytime} Custard

As I've mentioned in the past, I've been having a love/hate relationship with the Dukan diet recently. I love it because it works and it works quickly. I feel trimmer, less bloated and overall happier when I'm locked into the diet and doing well. And the hate part? Well, just like any diet I imagine, it gets tiresome after a while to always be making my own food, to be armed with tons of it each day at work, and to simply not get whatever I want to eat whenever I want it. There are two things that I struggle with the most: breakfast and dessert. Luckily, I found a remedy to both.

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Teaspoon of Spice. I really love this blog because it features so many fresh and healthy recipes for families and kids. Though Penelope will still eat {almost} whatever I give her, I know that in the near future there will be a revolt and I'll have to start getting very creative. With recipes like cherry oatmeal bars w/yogurt frosting and frozen banana s'mores, I can't wait to get cookin'! For this months recipe, though, I chose their 5 Minute Breakfast Custard since I'm always on the hunt for simple, quick breakfast ideas. On Dukan, it's really hard to branch out beyond eggs and so most mornings, I end up with hardboiled eggs...which are fine, but certainly not an exciting breakfast in my book. Since I wanted to make a recipe that I could Dukanify, I swapped out the oatmeal that the recipe calls for and instead, used the 'Dukan-approved' oat bran. 

This recipe is unlike any other I've made before in that it calls for eggs to be mixed into the oats while it's heating on the stove. Once I got past my fear of scrambling the eggs, I got really excited to see how this would come together for a decadent custard. To my surprise, this recipe was actually enjoyed best when cold. I refrigerated my custard right after it was cooked because I had to run out for the day and chose to sample {and photograph!} it later {that's life with a toddler, friends}. For once, I'm so, so happy that my schedule is insanely busy because that's how I found out how awesome this custard is when cold! I topped it with sugar-free syrup and a healthy dusting of cinnamon and dug right in. It was soo good, certainly breakfast-appropriate but could also pass for dessert in a pinch. Even Shaun "Mr. No-Sweets" loved it. Thanks to Deanna and Serena for this great recipe!

Since Dukan makes it pretty clear that one can only have 2 Tbsp of oat bran per day, I made a pretty small batch of this stuff. I haven't figured out the exact measurements of what 2Tbsp of oat bran would be equivalent to in the custard in terms of daily intake, but I will keep you posted once I do.

5-Minute Oat Bran Breakfast Custard

*Adapted from Teaspoon of Spice

1 C oat bran

2 C skim milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 packets Splenda, or sweetener of your choice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

sugar-free syrup & cinnamon for topping

The night before you want to eat, place oat bran, milk, vanilla, nutmeg and Splenda in a saucepan. Stir, cover and place in refrigerator.

The next morning, remove cover and stir. Place over medium to medium-low heat and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs in a bowl with a fork. Slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the oat mixture and stir constantly with a fork. Cook until the eggs are incorporated and no longer shiny, about 1 minute more. 

Serve warm, or let cool, refrigerate and top with syrup and cinnamon.

Enjoy!

What are your favorite breakfasts?

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