What Evie Eats

Last Christmas, when I was pregnant with the Ev, my sister gave me this cookbook.



I devoured the book promptly upon receiving it. My other sister made homemade baby food for her daughter and had a lot of success with that, so I knew it was something that I wanted to try.
This cookbook is a really good book for beginners. It explains the benefits of homemade baby food (nutritious/inexpensive), and has a lot of great details as far as preparing, storing, thawing, and serving it.

Today I made homemade baby food for the first time.

On the Menu?
Organic Sweet Peas



Looks nasty, yeah? Well, it probably is. Except anything tastes better than cardboard rice cereal.

Here's the best part. Its so easy.

Step 1: Steam sweet peas.
Step 2: Puree sweet peas.
Step 3: Dilute the puree to desired consistency. (I used breast milk, but you can use formula, reserved sweet pea water, or just plain water if you want)
Step 4: Freeze or store in fridge.

*I also added part sweet pea mixture to some rice cereal in hopes that Ev would enjoy it a little more.

Its no secret that I'm not the most frugal person on this planet. Sure, I love a good deal and I try to shop the sale racks at Nordie's, but I loathe couponing. Its probably because I'm not patient enough to subscribe to a bazillion emails and newspapers and then cut, clip, and organize everything. I have tried to do it, but I usually just give up. On top of that, we like to eat healthy, which is code for expensive. So, making homemade baby food is my way of saving on our food bill.

I've always wanted to use more nutritious, organic products in my cooking, but its hard to justify that at this point in our lives. My sister has an old college roommate who is from Eugene. She is always posting amazing recipes on her blog using quinoa, agave, homemade protein bars, and she even grinds her own wheat! Its hard not to try all those things in Eugene because its so accessible. I'm hoping that I'll be able to use some of those ingredients in my cooking someday. For now, I'd like to try a "Eugene-inspired" dish once or twice a month.

But I digress. I calculated the how much we saved by making our own baby food. (Nick checked my math) You get about 33% more baby food for the price, plus there are no preservatives. I'd say its a win-win.

And now for some cuteness:

Ev was a little unsure at first. Probably because the puree was a little thick. Once we adjusted, she seemed to do better.

Next week on the Baby Food Menu:

Pureed zucchini.

Flashback Friday: Hungry Dogs Win the Race

My Dad coached me in basketball from YMCA league until I tried out for school ball in High School. As a young girl, I thought he knew everything about basketball because he was my "coach." He frequently used phrases like,

"Syd, I don't care what it takes, but go get the ball. Scratch and claw your way to that ball."
"Don't brush your teeth or put on deodorant today, you have to play defense."
"Get on the floor! There should be blood on the floor when you get up."
"Get mean!"
"You are a winner. Now get out there and prove it!"
"Hungry dogs win the race!"

Some of you may be chuckling at the profound advice given by my childhood basketball coach, but today I still believe my Dad is the best coach I ever had. Sure, he knows NOTHING about basketball, but he knows everything about desire. If you want it, you can have it - you just have to work hard enough.

I loved playing sports growing up and I excelled at many of the things I tried. However, I was never the best girl on my team. I was never the fastest, the best shot, the tallest, nor the strongest, but I excelled because I wanted it more than everyone else. I don't say that to be prideful, I say it because its true. That's what my coach taught me. My Dad told me I could get the ball if I wanted it and he told me I could win if I tried my hardest. I never doubted I could do those things because my coach told me it was so.

That is why my Dad is the best coach I ever had.

Which brings me to Flashback Friday. I've probably played thousands of basketball and soccer games in my life. The State Championship is nothing compared to the games I played in YMCA ball. In those scrubby Elementary school gyms, I learned a valuable life lesson that's transcended way past High school sports.

If you want something, go get it.
If you think you can do it, then you can.
Having confidence in yourself can make your aspirations a reality.
Even if you loose or fail, if you believe you are a winner - you are one.

As cheesy as all this sounds, its true for me. And I think my sisters and brother would say the same thing.

Our Dad is crazy, but he knows more about inspiration than most.

How else would you inspire a child as swirly and awkward as this?





Nick never needed to be pumped with motivation as a child. I think he was incredibly confident from day one.
I mean seriously, look at that face!





So if you're having a bad day, look at my dorky picture and remember that I felt like a million bucks the day that picture was taken. And I still feel like a million bucks looking at it right now.

Eugene

We moved to Eugene on a Monday night. Nick started Law School Wednesday morning. I'd say its been a crazy two weeks, but we're grateful to be here.Here are my initial impressions about Eugene, Oregon.

-If you are not a Ducks fan, you should probably do one of two things. 1) Move to another city, or 2) Punch yourself in the face. People here are crazy about U of O. I would compare how U of O fans feel about their school to how Mormons feel about their testimonies - being a fan is a religious act for many Duck supporters. Today I went to the grocery store and everyone was decked out in Duck gear. I also went to the grocery store yesterday aaaaaaaand everyone was still decked out in Duck gear. It doesn't have to be game day for someone to show some quacky pride.

-Speaking of pride, Nick went to a famous donut place called VooDoo Donuts today where you can order what's called a "gay bar." He claims he was afraid to ask what kind of a donut warrants the name "gay bar," and I'm grateful for that.

-A man told Nick the other day that ten years ago it rained day and night for 43 straight days in Eugene. I don't want to jinx us, but it hasn't rained since we got here. Its even been in the 90's which is extremely pleasant when you live on the 2nd floor and you have no A/C.

-We are the only Mormon people in our complex. Its a nice/weird change coming from Provo. I sometimes forget that not every young person I see is married and I am utterly offended when I see people in booty shorts! Just kidding, there is a lot more going on in Eugene than booty shorts. After our first few days here, I commented to Nick that there were a lot of homeless people in Eugene. After two weeks here I realize that those people were not homeless, but simply loving life in their own way. (Nick says everyone in his law class has a ponytail or an earring or both.)

-And while I'm on the subject, Nick is loving law school (thank goodness!). He's busy and I'm starting to understand why the Law Wives Club joke about being widows and single moms. There are 9 Mormon guys in Nick's class of 183 people. I think about 5 or 6 of them are married, which is nice because we've been able to make a few friends here. And when I say we, I'm mostly talking about myself since Nick has no social life. Luckily, Nick has been able to make a few good buddies too.

-I can now get to these locations without getting lost:
Albertsons
Pottery Barn
TJ Maxx
Goodwill
Home Depot
BJ's
Target
Costco
I'm hoping to add 2 destinations to the list each week. There are SO MANY one-way streets here. It gives me an anxiety attack each time I turn down a new street. I'm hoping that someday I will be able to navigate my way around this beautiful place.

-It is so green here. We are heading to the coast on Monday and I'm excited to see that as well. I'm amazed at how much I'm loving the lushness of Oregon despite being an avid bug/animal hater.

-People love babies here. Every time I go to the grocery store people obsess over the Ev Machine. People open doors, carry my groceries for me, and offer to push my cart (seriously!) wherever I go. I think its safe to say that no matter who you are (tree-hugger, hippie, druggie, homeless) you can love a baby. One man even commented that my baby would be the cutest baby he'd ever seen, IF she had a Duck hat on. No surprise there.

I hate to argue with my grocery store friend, but seriously, she is the cutest baby I've ever seen.

Our apartment looks less like Storage Wars and more like a home. But its still ugly. I think I just have to force myself to give it time. We really do love it here however. It already feels like home, which is surprising because I don't know how to get anywhere and we have nothing on our walls, etc. I think it has something to do with the fact that we're all starting to get into a routine. Evie still hates napping, but she'll come around someday. I'm mostly grateful that she is sleeping through the night like a champ. (8-5!)

Other news in the Snick Household includes:

-Evie HATING rice cereal. I'm going to be making baby food for her, so I'm thinking about mixing part sweet peas with rice cereal to make it more appetizing, even though I'd like to wait until 5 or 6 months before giving her solids. Nick thinks I'm one of those weird creepy "organic" moms, which is partially true. I don't want to give my child preservatives in a jar. Once he heard it was much cheaper to make your own baby food, he jumped on board though. Plus I want to fit in here, so I've decided to grow my leg hair out and replace my wardrobe with tie-dye t-shirts in addition to mixing my own baby food.

-Ev had to go back to the doctor this week and she weighs 13 lb. 11 oz! Her chub is so delicious.

-Nick rides his bike to and from school everyday. Not to offend his masculinity or anything, but its freaking adorable to see him with his sack lunch and school supplies riding away. Oh, and he eats nothing but raw meat for lunch because he's that manly.

-We like our ward. A good mix of old, young, and in between.

-Ev Machine and I are driving up to Portland on Tuesday to spend most of the week with the Portland Zoo. We can't wait to see our cousins!

Flashback Friday

My Pseudo-sister Melissa, posts "vintage" pictures of her family, friends, and life on her blog every Friday.
Thus the name, Flashback Friday.
I have decided that our blog needs Flashback Friday as well.

Enjoy.

If can correctly guess who is the boy and who is the girl in this picture, congratulations. Its not easy to decipher the androgyny of my childhood.




The word 'Snaggletooth' has a whole new meaning for me now.



Right now our scanner is not hooked up so I'm forced to choose from a few (millions) of the unfortunate pictures already in Aperture. However, do not think that you have escaped the tortures of Flashback Friday. (If your last name is or ever was Smart, or if you roomed with me in college I'm talking to you...)

See you next Friday. Bahahahahahahahahahaha...

Scrubby

I saw this really cute contraption on Pinterest where you adorably display your headbands using a decorated oatmeal container.

Exhibit A:



Except you have to eat all the oatmeal before you can use the container for something else.
So I improvised.

Exhibit B:



Two things:
1. Times the scrubbiness in Exhibit B by ten billion and you have a relatively good idea of what our apartment looks like right now.
2. We have no more paper towels.

Do I get mad props for creativity though?

*Also, for those of you who think that I have too many headbands, I would say this:

Did Blair Waldorf become Queen of the Upper East Side by wearing alligator clips in her hair?
Um, no.

I rest my case.