just for now.

Some adorableNESS from yesterday and today.
Pictures 1-4: Kiddos at local farm with the most ahhhmazing yogurt. We’ve already eaten 1.5 quarts in a day and a half.
Picture 5: bathtime. Which Zoe has been requesting 3x a day by making a splashing motion with her hands.
Picture 6: My husband sent me flowers today out of the blue!! Sooooo happy. I love these colors right now.
Picture 7: Zoe with her dollies in their stroller. She absolutely LOVES posing for pictures now and looking at herself in them.
Picture 8: The ever-expanding stomach. I’m measuring around 34/35 weeks. It’s so fun right now getting ready and nesting/cleaning all the time.

So I’d tried this brownie before, and by following the recipe exactly I ended up with something kind of like chocolate banana bread. Good, but not a brownie.

Today, out of pure necessity, I had to alter it quite a bit, but I LOVED what I ended up with. A sweet, chocolaty dense brownie-like cake with banana tones interwoven. If you’re not a fan of banana bread then this definitely isn’t for you…but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love banana bread.

Okay, so here’s the deal. You use honey, or maple syrup, instead of sugar. You use one really brown, smooshy banana for moisture and more sweetness. You use whole wheat flour, and it detracts nothing from the goodness that is this treat. I would even like to try added a few tablespoons of ground flax seed sometime…my bet is you wouldn’t even know it’s there.

The original recipe is as follows:

“Beat well together 2/3 cup honey, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 beat eggs, 1 ripe mashed banana, and 3/4 cup water.

In separate bowl combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 cup flour.

Combine them together slowly, making sure to really whip it so there aren’t big chunks of banana anywhere. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts at the very end. Pour into greased 8×8 (?) pan (I had to use two bread pans) and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Best fresh!” (I found it at MoreThanAlive.com)

Now, for the glorious “alterations”.

Today I had no honey and a lot of maple syrup, so I used that, though it’s much more expensive and I’m sure honey is just as good. Then, I replaced the eggs for about 1/3 cup applesauce, which gives you a lot more density. You will have to bake longer if you do this too. Also, I had no baking soda so I put in 3 teaspoons of baking powder (they are not equal in quantity replacement). Lastly, I added about 1/2 cup of peanut butter just because I love peanut butter + chocolate + banana. Oh actually very last of all, I replaced the nuts with dark chocolate chips. This does add some sugar but it’s so minimal and you get the added benefits of dark chocolate.

Okay, so since I had no brownie pan around I used two loaf pans and baked for more like 30-40 minutes at 350F. When I first took it out it seemed a little undercooked but I usually like things like this a little gooey anyway, so I let it cool and it was perfect. Very dense, and very moist. Mmmm. I put a little peanut butter on top and ate with a fork.

The original recipe also says that these brownies are best fresh but I put the leftovers in tupperwear and found that the trapped moisture only added to their texture and I think the flavor intensifies with time. Absolutely delicious! I was so happy to feed these to the kiddos today after last week’s “mommy’s pregnant so we’re eating junk food” streak.

Here’s a little cuteness update. They make me happy when skies are grey.

Zoyenka is, at 16 months, practically a teenager. She likes what she likes and you will not convince her otherwise. This little face is one of her favorites in her large collection. She loves/loves/loves to give kisses, and especially likes to love on daddy. My heart gets so many smiles from watching her little ’self’ assert itself freely and abundantly. I feel challenged and blessed to be able to try and create a healthy environment to let her blossom in.

I was reminded today that you cannot “train” bad behavior out of a child, no matter how hard you try or how perfect you are….I do want to put healthy boundaries in place to keep her safe, but I’m not so pompous to believe I can make her holy by teaching her to obey me without question. I feel like I’m going on and on. I guess I’m just really, really inspired to find that fine line between the discipline that must take place (can’t let them eat ice-cream every day even though they would definitely choose to!) and the preservation of self-will that I’d like to see in my kiddos.

Isaiah, my treasure. My three year old. He is growing into a little man so super, duper fast. He’s also starting to hear and see things we didn’t use to have to worry about. So that’s challenging. Today I was watching a TV show where one scene had a little girl being told by a nurse that her mommy had died in a car accident. I didn’t realize Isaiah was paying any attention until a couple minutes later when he said, “That girl sad, her mommy die.”

Oh my heart! “Yeah Zay, she is sad…” And then I tried to talk to him a little about how that made him feel. He’s totally open about his feelings and it’s so sweet to watch a perfectly little transparent soul in process.

When he has to do something he doesn’t want to he often says, “I’m MAD!” and then, “It’s okay to be mad.” Because we’ve told him that it is. Usually we then have to remind him that it’s okay to be mad, but you can’t throw a fit or hurt people. It’s been a really interesting process for me to go through Isaiah’s emotions with him and really have to re-think the way I think in light of those questioning little three-year-old eyes. We don’t want to tell him that he can’t have strong emotion, at the same time, we don’t endorse “NO I WON’T PUT ON MY COAT” fits, you know?

But is there hope for moderation in such a young child’s life? I think so. We’ve seen glimmers. And I really do get a kick out of those “It’s okay to be angry!” moments. It’s always, always a reminder back at myself that yes, Heather, you can get angry and frustrated, but how you channel that emotion is the part you can do right or wrong.

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t recycling or reusing something for a secondary cause other than it’s intended purpose.

As a kid, it was just fun. Like, building miniature towns from leftover cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls.

I think I saved every single shoe box ever and kept papers and old letters in them.

Different topic but…now that I write all this out, I think I was a bit of a pack-rat child. Note: I have given up most of that tendency.

So back to recycling.

I wanted to list for you some of my favorite and/or most consistent re-uses for everyday items.

a) plastic grocery bags. Of course, I wouldn’t have these if I could remember to bring my cloth or paper bags with me every time I shop, but the reality of it is I forgot often.

So with these bags I:

>line trashcans

>seal up dirty diapers & stinky leftovers before they go in the trash

>keep in the car as trash bags

>wrap gels/toothpaste/leakable toiletries when traveling

>transport whatever (clothes for goodwill, etc)

b) glass jars.

I cannot for the life of me bring myself to throw away old salsa jars, peanut butter jars, spaghetti sauce jars,  maple syrup jars, etc. I mean, sometimes I actually purchase a particular brand of these things based on the glass jar shape and design they’re in.

So when the food is gone, I wash them, and scrub the labels off. Then I use them for:

>leftovers

>kombucha (back when I was making it)

>buttons

>small craft supplies

>small groups of toys (Isaiah’s African carved wood animals)

>we drink out of them as cups

c) old t-shirts and sweaters.

My favorite hat of Zoe’s was once my t-shirt. I stopped wearing it, decided I should just get rid of it, but then I needed a stretchy soft material to make a “house cap” for Zoe to wear around the house in the winter. I cut a triangular shape out, sewed it into a tube (wide enough for her head at one end, down to a little ‘tail’ at the other end), and perfect-o!

Sweaters can be made into hats too, as well as leg warmers (from the arms), and neck warmers/scarves.

d) mail.

I use the blank backs of envelopes (junk mail/bank statements/invitations, etc) for my lists. To-do lists. Grocery lists. “What do I want out of life?” lists.

e) magazines.

There are some pictures/photographs/quotes from Real Simple, Victoria, Glamor and the like that are totally wall-art worthy. I discovered one of my favorite quotes (featured in the right side-bar of this blog!) in Real Simple. It has hung on my wall ever since.

Good second hand frames come in handy for this– rip the ugly 70’s print out and replace.

What are your proudest recycles? What do you always remember to recycle? What of my ideas do you do as well?

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