Baby Advent Calendar

I'm mere weeks away from having another baby and can't believe how unprepared I'm feeling. Our master bedroom and bath are under construction and our bed is in the "baby's room." Our complete landscape demo has just begun and our lives are about to be turned upside down. 

In hopes of preparing for baby #2, I made an "advent calendar" full of activities with my 4 year old. Some are fun adventures while others are practical things that he can help with to get ready for the new baby. I hope it'll be fun for him and productive for me! We had so much fun with our Christmas advent calendar & I'm sure he'll love this one, too. Our son describes the advent calendar in this video. 

 

We started today, on the first of the month, as any good advent calendar does, and we'll see how far we get. A new surprise each day, leading up to the birth of our new baby! We don't know when he or she will make their debut, so I stopped a few days before my due date. Here are some of the things we have on the advent calendar:

Appointment with midwives & lunch with dad (today!!)
Trip to the San Francisco Zoo
Trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium
Trip to Safari West (this is the big surprise and it's going to blow his animal-loving mind!) DID IT!!
Pick up "big brother" type of books from the library
Make a mobile for above the baby's crib
Take the train to meet a friend for lunch & frozen yogurt
Help make sheets for the crib & makeshift bed
Choose a new book from the bookstore to give to the baby
Pick up tiny plant and plant it on the day the baby's born
Help make a care plan (instructions for grandparents with his routine, etc)

Whew- I feel better already. 

 

Easy Lemon Crepes

LEMON CREPES yields a lot because I doubled the recipe. This batch fed 2 grown men, 1 pregnant mama, and a hungry 4 year old boy (and we have two leftover!)

I love this recipe! It was so easy (and if I think it's easy...). I have always been intimidated by making crepes (I usually ask my pal Amanda to make them- she's a pro), but these turned out great and I didn't need any special crepe tools to do it (no fancy crepe pan or fancy spatula). Here's what I did:

  • 2 cups almond milk (made my own based on the My New Roots recipe)
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour (we used organic all purpose)
  • 4 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (low glycemic and not as sweet)
  • 1/2 teaspon salt
  • liberal sprinkles of cinnamon
  • butter for pan
  • a few lemons for squeezing (got ours from our tree)

Preparation

  • Blend the milk, eggs, and vanilla together. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon on top of the liquid ingredients. Blend until all smooth. 
  • I just used our 2 skillets (no fancy crepe pan or fancy spatula). Medium heat. Add a bit of butter once heated. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter in the hot skillet. Cook for 2 or until bottom is lightly browned. 
  • Fold the crepe in half, then fold in half again; transfer to a plate. Squeeze a bit of lemon and enjoy!!
  • Our son preferred his with plain yogurt (full fat, goat's milk yogurt) instead of lemon. He was a member of the Clean Plate Club (see photo below)


Singing for the New Year

I crossed off #45 on my Life List, y'all! On New Year's Eve. While wearing yoga pants. It was a lot of fun, but I'm glad it was just one song :) It was a great way to end to the year. And because I crossed off a Life List item, I didn't feel bad that I was in bed by 10pm (our boy, while super cute and sweet, is an early riser!). Thanks to my brother, Alan, for taking the photo below. And thanks to my awesome husband for letting me sing along with his band :)

 

Happy New Year

Happy 2013 from a bar in the middle of nowhere, California. We kept this boy up way past his bedtime so that he could see his dad play guitar on a song while I sang at the mic. He couldn't hold out and went to bed about 20 before we played. Maybe next year :)

Hope your night is wonderful and your year the best one yet!