Weekend Candids 2/15-2/16

Just a few random snapshots taken throughout the weekend....

An unusually pensive Lucas

February 16 marked my mom's 9-year death anniversary. I can hardly believe it's been that long. I lit a candle for her at church that day.

In memory

The boys enjoying donuts at church after Sunday mass

My niece Jessica is a girl scout and it was her turn to bring a healthy snack to their next morning troop meeting. My sister, as talented as she is when it comes to paper crafts, has no interest in the kitchen - hence, here I am with Jessie, baking healthy blueberry muffins :)

Proud baker

Cruz lost a second baby tooth! For some reason, he didn't think to put this one under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy, and I didn't remind him!

Another tooth bites the dust

Working Mom Survival: Weekly Meal Planning

I've been intending to write this post for a long time now. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is "how do you do it?"; meaning how do I commute 47 miles one way, in heavy traffic, have a full time job and still serve homemade meals to my family about 5 nights a week? The short answer: PLAN AHEAD.

Now, before I go any further, let's clear the air on a few things.

Disclaimers:

• My meal planning and prep work still requires a lot of hands-on time and time for thinking up a weekly meal schedule and menu ideas. Full grocery shopping has to be done by Sunday at the latest.
• I would happily buy ready-made food if it was fresh, used quality ingredients and if I had a very large disposable income. Since I don't have the latter, keep reading.
• I enjoy cooking. If you don't, this will be as useful to you as a bag of rocks.
• I rarely make up my own recipes but rather, cull them from a variety of sources. My favorites include: Sunset magazine, Food and Wine magazine, the Food Network, the Cooking Channel, my small collection of cookbooks, blogs and recipes from friends.
• I choose to sacrifice other things so I can make homemade meals. This includes but is not limited to, watching TV, reading more books, listening to music, talking on the phone to friends, exercising, ironing, learning a new language, having a hobby or sleeping.

 Alrighty, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get started. First step is to come up with a menu for the week that works for your household. For example, we are a family of 4, with kids ages 2 and 5, so I need to make meals that everyone will eat. I also take into consideration my and my husband's work schedules for the week since those are variable. This week, Randy had a couple of overnight shifts which means he can pitch in with cooking since he's home during the day. That means I still plan to cook 1 or 2 meals ahead of time that can just be warmed up later or meals that can be prepped a day or two in advance and then cooked quickly.

Here's the menu that I settled on for the week of 2/16-2/21:
Sunday: chicken cacciatore
Monday: baked salmon, roasted cauliflower, steamed broccoli
Tuesday: beef & veggie soup, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: chicken adobo
Thursday: leftovers
Friday/Saturday: leftovers or eat out if we are out and about

I try to cook a variety of protein and veggies, and my palate is easily bored so I tend to cook different things all the time, rather than rotating through the same dishes. As I mentioned before, I cook things that everyone in the family can eat, and I try not to cook anything that will take me more than an hour from start to finish, with the exception of Sunday dinners; since it's the weekend I generally have more time and sometimes I'll use Sundays to cook dishes that I love but take too long to prep on a weeknight.

In fact, that's what I did this Sunday, I took a little more time and made chicken cacciatore. There is about 30 minutes of hands on time and then it cooks in the oven for 45 more minutes.

Chicken + noodles means the whole family is happy

While the cacciatore was in the oven doing it's thing, I got started on the beef & veggie soup that we would eat later in the week. First I cut up all the veggies. Now, if I steamed these and put them in front of my kids, they would turn their little noses up and refuse to choke them down. However, if I put them in soup, they will gobble them right up, even if they see them in plain view. Go figure!

I love all the colors

Beef and more veggies

I won't walk you through all the steps, but I went ahead and cooked the soup and threw it in the fridge once it cooled down. From start to finish, it probably took an hour at most. 

So two hours of cooking on Sunday means I have more time to relax, play with my kids, help Cruz with homework or any other number of things on a weeknight.

Monday rolled around and since Randy and I both worked, I made a super quick weeknight dinner of baked lemon pepper salmon, roasted cauliflower and steamed broccoli. The cauliflower and broccoli cook at the same time as the fish, and everything is done in 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I prep Cruz's lunch for the next day and sit with him while he does his Math and reading homework.

Don't be fooled by it's humble appearance, it's very flavorful!

Tuesday was another  typical work day for both Randy and I, so we got home and fired up the stove to warm up our soup. I threw together a store-bought salad mix and toasted some garlic bread, and we sat down to dinner in 15 minutes - can't beat that on a weeknight!

The whole family gobbled this up!

On Wednesday, Randy was home during the day since he had a graveyard shift, so lucky for me, he made his chicken adobo...IMHO, this is the world's best adobo! Perfect balance between soy sauce and vinegar, garlic and spices. I will never say no to this.

Crowd-pleaser

On Thursday we finished up the leftover cacciatore. I should also mention that there was leftover soup that Randy took to work twice, and there was still leftover adobo that we ate the following weekend. Homemade meals means we eat more nutritiously and save money, it's a total win-win.

So that's a typical week in terms of meal-planning in the Villanueva household. Things can get hairy when there are after-school activities (i.e. soccer or swimming lessons), work obligations, or if one of the kids isn't feeling well and doesn't want to leave mom's side. However, planning ahead gets us through the majority of our work weeks, keeps me sane and is essential to our survival as two working parents! If you've gotten this far, thank you for reading! I hope it is helpful, and I'd love to hear any tips you have too!

Valentine's Day 2014

Yesterday was our 3rd annual family Valentine's Day celebration and it was so much fun! You can take a look here and here if you want to see what we've done in the past.

Before I start on yesterday's festivities, I wanted to share a picture of the gorgeous flowers my hubby sent me on Monday. I love that he sent them early so I got to enjoy them on my desk at work all week long. I'm not particularly a fan of roses, but these beauties are so classic and elegant.

But back to Valentine's Day - I kicked it off by making Cruz's favorite coffee cake that he's been asking me to make for a couple of weeks now. It's actually a mix in a box from Trader Joe's and he's a big fan. I baked it in a heart-shaped pan for the occasion :)

How fun is this pan!

Coffee cake and strawberry smoothies

Since I'm the kindergarten class room parent, I also got to plan their Valentine party. I decided to make mini strawberry and cream muffins and individual snack mixes for the kids to munch on. The muffins are perfectly sized for their little hands and as an afternoon snack. I kept the snack mix pretty simple with just pretzels, plain Chex cereal, mini marshmallows and Valentine M&Ms.

Strawberry & Cream muffins

And of course, what's a class Valentine's Day party without some Valentines to pass out? Cruz gave all his friends one of these cards and a small box of temporary tattoos.

Power Ranger themed cards

Delivering his Valentines

My co-room parent had a great idea for the party activity: the kids each made their own bird feeder using a heart-shaped piece of cardboard, smeared with Crisco and then dipped in bird seed. We added a piece of ribbon and the kids had a bird feeder ready to take home and put out for the birdies! I love being able to participate in his class parties and to see Cruz as a student. It makes me realize how independent he's become and how he's found his own niche among his peers.

After school, Cruz and I headed over to his pal AJ's birthday party. After a couple of hours at the party, we skedaddled back home so I could get started on our V Day dinner. Earlier in the day I stopped by the store and picked up some mylar balloons to decorate our dinner table. Cruz set the table with our Valentine plates that we reuse every year - I love their bright colors and how they help set the atmosphere. I bought the boys each a book and a small candy treat, and I put these at their seats.

Feels like a party!

After decorating, I got started on making our dinner - braised short ribs and polenta, plus heart-shaped pasta for the kids. Once I got the short ribs in the oven to cook for the next couple of hours, Cruz made one of his favorite desserts - brownies! With sprinkles!

Chocolate lover

Here's a picture of the short ribs after I took them out of the oven, after 3 hours of braising. I wish you could smell this picture, it was so fragrant and mouth-watering just looking at it. To die for.

Heaven in a pot

The short ribs were delectable, tender and melted in your mouth. Who says dinner at home has to be boring? This is what I would want to eat if I was at a restaurant on Valentine's Day, so I made it myself. Lawd have mercy, it was good! You can find the short rib recipe here.

Brownies taste better when they're shaped like hearts

My loves

Peek-a-boo!

 

I told Cruz that Valentine's Day is all about celebrating our ability to give and receive love. I hope Cruz and Lucas know how much they are loved by so many people, especially their mama. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day, however you spent it!

Indian Springs Nostalgia

Last weekend we took a day trip to Calistoga which you can read about here. After lunch that day, we drove another block from the downtown area so I could stop and snap a few more pictures of a place so near and dear to my heart:

Indian Springs today is a small resort of cottages, a mineral pool, mud baths and other spa services. It has been a fixture in the town since the late 1800s and has managed to evolve with the times. But let's go back to the years from about oh, say 1983-1994. The golden years.

Every single summer during this time period, my family and I would make the drive up to Calistoga from Vallejo, winding our way up Highway 29, with the windows rolled down and the wind whipping through my mom's Buick Skyhawk station wagon. We would leave in the morning with our bathing suits and towels packed, and a yellow plastic picnic basket filled to the brim with homemade lunch and snacks. We would make the 40 mile one way trip, several times throughout the summer, sometimes with the 4 of us, but mostly with just me, my mom and sister. The funny thing is, my mom was afraid to drive on the freeway and usually avoided it altogether. But somehow the road to Calistoga was different and she made the trek without reservation. We would spend the whole day swimming at the pool, pausing for lunch in the grassy picnic area, then again in the afternoon for a popsicle break.

 

Indian Springs is where my sister and I taught ourselves how to swim. It's where we took our summer guests, including our extended family. Nearly all of my first cousins on my mom's side has spent many a summer day at "Calistoga" (our blanket name for the pool), even those who live in Washington! It's where we first ventured into the deep end of a pool. It's where we held contests to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest. It's where we did handstands and somersaults, trying to outdo each other. It was our place.

Where I learned to swim

Upgraded but still the same

Then on one visit, we were informed that the resort was under new management and no longer open to the public. Only spa and hotel guests were allowed access to the pool. It was like getting slapped in the face. Disappointment is an understatement. It was losing a part of our childhood, and a place that had become so interwoven into our family's tapestry of memories. Today, I lament that I cannot take my sons to this pool and give them a tangible glimpse into my own childhood. Despite that, I recall so much happiness, laughter, and simple contentment when I remember "Calistoga", and I savor the memories. Indian Springs will always have a place in my heart.

"Sippy Cups Are Not For Chardonnay"

As I pondered what to name this post, I remembered a tongue-in-cheek parenting book that I read many moons ago, and felt the title was relate-able so I borrowed it. Today is February 1, and another dry day in California, further adding to our drought woes. But since it's the weekend and Randy is off, we headed out to the beautiful Napa Valley. Now, most people I know wouldn't dream of bringing their kids to wine country, let alone into a winery. I agree that it's not the most kid-friendly place, but I did my research and chose a winery that had a more relaxed atmosphere. Besides, I tend to toe the line between "kid-friendly" and "adults only", because I firmly believe that exposing my kids to more mature environments helps develop their social skills, broadens their knowledge and teaches them about appropriate behavior. 

Today we took a leisurely drive out to Calistoga, a tiny, quaint town about 25 miles past Napa, to visit Sterling Vineyards. 

Waiting for his tram ticket

I chose Sterling because it was often named in travel articles and blog posts for people seeking kid-friendly activities in wine country. A big selling point for the little people in your life is the aerial tram that takes you up to the actual winery. The views are impressive and kiddos love the ride.

The only winery with an aerial tram

All aboard!

Cruz was a little apprehensive at first

View from the tram

Admission price at Sterling includes a tasting of 5 varietals. We tasted a pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, a meritage (a blend of Bordeauxs), zinfandel and a sweet muscat. Our favorite pour was the pinot gris - crisp, bright, refreshing with apple notes. Delicious!

Souvenir glasses for wine tasting

Sterling is aesthetically unique in the Napa Valley. It's architecture is modeled after classic buildings found in Mykonos, Greece. With it's whitewashed walls set against the cerulean sky today, I could almost imagine myself in Greece...wishful thinking!

Antique church bells that chime hourly

The winery offers a self-guided tour, and the tour takes you to a couple of outdoor patios that allow you to take in the sweeping vista of the valley around you. Despite the parched grasses and browner-than-usual vineyards, the view was still beautiful. It felt so good to sip a glass of wine, bask in the sun and watch the kids scamper about.

Great vantage point

The self-guided tour was great because it allowed us to go at our own pace.

Initial fermentation tanks

Watching a video on harvesting and fermentation

Top quality Oak barrels for aging

There were also beautiful pieces of artwork throughout the winery, all done by local artists.

Hallway of art

After the winery, we popped into downtown Calistoga for a late lunch at one of the many eateries on the main drag. On the return trip home, we made pit stops in St. Helena and Napa for some shopping and strolling.

We are so blessed to live an hour away from this world-renowned wine making region, and even more blessed that we get to enjoy it as a family. I highly recommend Sterling Vineyards for any parents who want to have their wine and drink it too!