A Homecoming
My mother-in-law came home yesterday after being gone for several months. Now that Ali and his sister are older she divides her time between Los Angeles, London, and Pakistan. We definitely missed her a lot. Especially Maya. My daughter would happily move in with my in-laws and spend her days in bed watching cartoons and polishing off the numerous boxes of Godiva my father-in-law showers her with, while my mother-in-law spoon-feeds her toast and scrambled eggs.
Enjoy it Maya because when I pick you up tomorrow? You’ll be lucky if I can muster enough energy to make you toast and scrambled eggs, never mind feed it to you.
As I’ve mentioned before, Ali’s mom is amazingly generous and sweet. Naturally, she came bearing gifts for me from her travels:
Shoes:
Clothes:
An Apron:
And a few other things I didn’t photograph.
I am always trying to think of ways to thank Ali’s mom for everything she gives/does for us. Honestly, there isn’t too much we can do except make her things we think she’d like. So yesterday morning Maya and I woke up bright and early to bake up a batch of muffins.
Since Ali’s mom is a fan of Stevia (and I am doing everything I can to stop her from eating Splenda), Maya and I decided to try using the NuNaturals Baking Blend that NuNaturals, Inc. was so kind to send me. We’ve literally made Date Muffins 100 times before and have received SO many compliments and requests for the recipe. So I was very interested to see if our muffin fans would notice a difference in taste with the Stevia substitute.
Date Muffins
1 3/4 cups of flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 3/4 cup white)
2 tablespoons of NuNaturals Baking Blend or sugar
2.5 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of dates, chopped
1 egg
3/4 cup of milk (I used Almond Milk)
1/3 cup of canola oil
1. In a big bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together and add the dates. Stir, making sure the dates don’t stick together.
2. In a separate bowl combine the egg, milk, and oil. Add to the dry mixture.
3. Stir until just mixed (the more you stir, the less fluffy the muffins become).
4. Grease a muffin tin and divide the mixture among 9 muffin cups (or more if you want smaller muffins. My family likes BIG muffins!)
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
While we waited for Ali’s mom’s flight to arrive, we shopped my muffins around my parent’s house to see what my family thought about them:
- My brother is a picky eater. About as picky as me. He chowed down 2 muffins with no problems and no comments about them tasting different.
- My mom has been making these muffins for as long as I can remember. She doesn’t approve of my using whole wheat flour to health-ify her recipe but she didn’t notice I used Stevia in lieu of sugar. You win some, you lose some.
- Maya and Ali shared a muffin…they both said they it was good. Maya said it would have been better with chocolate chips instead of dates. I ignored her.
- My mother-in-law had half of one as I begged her to toss all her Splenda away and to use the Stevia I put in her kitchen instead. I think she was exhausted after her flight and probably didn’t want to listen to a lecture from her ungrateful daughter-in-law so she said she would. I really hope she does.
- My dad is on his second week of The Fat Flush Plan (yay for him!) so he couldn’t eat these, but as a diabetic he uses Stevia and Agave and is pleased with both sugar substitutes. I promised to make him these when he can eat wheat again.
I obviously couldn’t try the muffins but I did put Stevia on my oatmeal and it tasted pretty good. Ali and I agreed that it had a bit of an aftertaste though, and unfortunately I got a slight stomach ache the three times I tried Stevia. Since nobody else complained about this I will just chalk it up to my numerous stomach issues and learn to live without sugar or sugar substitutes. That aside, I think Stevia is a fabulous sugar substitute when baking, especially for diabetics and those watching their sugar intake, and I will be using it again in the future.
What are your opinions on sugar substitutes? Have you had any adverse reactions to them?
A Night on the Town
Ali finally made his way back home yesterday after being on a business trip all week and I was absolutely ready to hand Maya over for a few hours of quality father-daughter time. Unfortunately, Ali had other plans.
He’s going to flip out when he sees this picture on the internet but after the week I had? I am not particularly sympathetic. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say that Maya and I had numerous disagreements and it is only thanks to Dora the Explorer that we are both alive today.
I really, really needed a break. So when my brother called me up yesterday and said that he and my dad were headed to BLT Steakhouse and would I like to join them, I nearly jumped for joy. I think my brother was shocked because he tries to get me to go out with him on a weekly basis and I almost always decline his invitations. I’m not sure exactly why, but getting dressed up and heading out to a trendy place just seems so overwhelming to me. Slapping a hat on and wearing sweats to California Pizza Kitchen is usually more my speed. But yesterday I was all for actually putting on some proper clothes and my contact lenses for a change.
My brother considered our 6:45 reservation time a senior citizens dinner hour. I considered it nearly bedtime but that is what a 6 year age difference will to do to you.
BLT is located where the famed Le Dome restaurant used to be. Sorry for the blurry picture…I must have taken this photo 5 times as I stood on Sunset Blvd. looking like a total loser but I just couldn’t get a good shot:
I had better luck with the inside of the restaurant:
The interior was absolutely stunning. The decor was Asian inspired but the restaurant is a French steakhouse…confusing? Yes. But it was lovely anyway.
The clientele was even more beautiful. The restaurant was filled with Lauren Conrad/Doug Reinhardt clones with many Chanel clad, gorgeous Asian girls thrown in for good measure. (I am obsessed with Asian hair by the way.) We also saw Donald Faison from Scrubs and Clueless.
As we perused our menus the servers brought over chicken pâté and sourdough bread:
And then the biggest, most amazing smelling popovers I’d ever seen:
Of course I couldn’t partake in either of these. I nearly crumbled, especially when my super supportive brother made several annoying comments about how he can’t wait to get old so he too can’t eat anything.
I forgave him because he was paying for my outrageously expensive dinner. I promised him I wouldn’t say anything in my post about the fact he is single and 27. So I won’t.
I ordered the Acacia Honey Marinated Black Cod with a Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette.
I love cod because of its great texture but it is often overcooked. Not last night! This one was absolutely amazing and melted in my mouth.
My dad and I also shared grilled asparagus and roasted tomatoes:
I tried to ignore the two giant cows sitting on the table, one belonging to my dad and one to my brother:
Looking at the steak bone nearly pushed me over the edge but luckily it was on the other side of the table so after a while I forgot it was there.
After dinner the restaurant sent over complimentary chocolate cookies with chocolate lava centers:
You have no idea how hard it was to resist these. A guaranteed stomach ache and a cup of decaf were the only things that held me back.
After dinner we went to my brother’s place to chat for a bit and I headed home at 9pm feeling quite refreshed and in a better mood. I think this is the first time in probably 6 months that I actually enjoyed a dinner on the town without having to deal with Maya’s potty breaks or Ali’s lengthy ordering process.
As an aside, I told Ali that he is free to do a guest post on some of my irritating habits since I publish his for all the world to see. His comeback?
It will need to be a series of posts.
Could my sarcasm finally be rubbing off on him after nearly 10 years of marriage?
The Morning Drop Off
Dropping Maya off at school is always such an involved process. You’d think I could just slow the car down, have her jump out, blow her a kiss and be done with it, right?
If only it were that easy.
Prior to leaving for school this morning I had to make sure we had the following:
1. A blanket for nap time.
2. Her lunch box with lunch and extra snacks.
3. Rain boots.
4. Extra shoes (she can’t run in her rain boots).
5. Rain coat.
6. Maya’s umbrella.
7. Extra socks.
8. A book for storytime.
After collecting the aforementioned items we drove to school, miraculously found parking, and started to unload everything. I grabbed the blanket, extra shoes, her rain coat and umbrella, my umbrella, and my purse. Then I asked Maya if she could hold her lunch box and guess what my smart ass kid said?
“Why can’t you do it? You have an extra hand.”
If I said something like that when I was a kid my mom would have smacked me from here to kingdom come and back. Then she’d tell my dad and when he got home from work he’d smack me from here to kingdom come and back. Me? I just sighed and rolled my eyes. With 10 pounds of stuff in my arms I had no energy left to come up with a comeback.
Once inside the vast classroom I managed to get in my exercise for the day as I traipsed around putting her things away…I hit her mailbox, her clothes cubby, her coat hook, the umbrella collector, the lunchbox holder, and her sleep cubby. Since when were classrooms this equipped? I remember throwing my paper lunch bag under my desk and calling it a day.
Next Maya had to sign in. I know I should be more patient with this process. I know I should! But honestly, it is a mind-numbing, teeth-gritting procedure to watch Maya sign in. First of all, she is ambidextrous. So, if she feels so inclined to use her left hand that day then she writes her letters correctly. But if she feels like using her right hand then her letters go backwards.
NID AYAM.
Seriously, how on earth do teachers do this every day?
And don’t even get me started on her “N.” We’ve practiced it a 100 times but she still makes this funky horizontal “s.” I hear positive reinforcement is the best way to parent so I decided to look at the good instead of the bad. “Good job on your first name!” I said.
To which she replied, “Take a picture of me signing in, Mama!”
Every time she does something right I have to whip out the camera. If Pavlov was still alive I believe he and his dogs would find this kind of conditioning quite fascinating.
It took everything I had not to ask my little diva why she signed in under Thursday. I’m going to guess that her father forgot to have her sign in one day this week, thus the domino effect, but I’m not going to open Pandora’s Box so I’ll let that one slide.
We moved on to storytime. Maya’s school tells us it is unhealthy for our kids’ psyche to leave abruptly and they suggest we read our kids a story as a segway into departure time. I am all for reading so this should be no problem. Except that it’s never just one book. The bargaining starts with Maya who asks for 3 books, I say 1 book, and we end up compromising at 2. And then after the second book Maya says, “One more FOR REAL Mama?” For real? How can I say no?
After the third and last story is read it is time for Maya to “push me out the door.” Again, her teachers suggest that if she is the one who controls when I leave then it is easier for her to say goodbye. I think this is a fabulous idea but the problem is (and there is always a problem) Maya pushes me SO hard that I nearly fall on my face every morning.
After I stand up and pretend that I intended to trip all over myself, I head back to my car bracing myself for the worst part of the preschool drop off. And as I’m get into my car I hear it.
A little voice calling, “Bye bye Mama! I love you.”
The guilt….there are no words. As I drive away I vow to be more patient, more calm, and more understanding. We will conquer her “N’s” and I will read her 3 books! I will be a better mom!
My vow usually lasts until 4:30 when I pick her up. I ask her how her days was but she completely ignores my question. Then she proceeds to dump all her stuff on me and asks me why I don’t have a snack for her.
And all my good intentions go out the window. Until the next day that is, when we do it all over again.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
