Reston Mom

On the summer menu

GRILLED BBQ CHICKEN PIZZAS

What you need:

whole wheat pitas

favorite BBQ sauce

pre-cooked chicken 

thinly sliced red onion

sweet corn (best if freshly sliced off the cob raw)

diced tomato

mozzerella cheese

fresh cilantro

olive oil

What to do:

Preheat grill. Brush the bottom of each pita with a little olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Mix cut-up chicken with a little BBQ sauce.  Spread a little BBQ sauce on the top of each pita and then top with cheese, chicken, red onion, corn, and tomato (don't overdo the tomato or it can get soggy). Grill either on pan or directly on rack until cheese is melted and bubbly.  (Watch your heat or you'll blacken the bottom of the pitas).  Remove and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro.  Use a pizza cutter or kitchen shears to cut each into about 4 triangles.  Enjoy!

sunflower cookies

These are so cute.  I think one cookie would send anyone into sugar overload - but I'm definitely going to do this as a special reward with the girls one day after school this fall.  Check out the how-to and complete article here at makeandtakes.com 

  

give them some nutrients with their ice cream

 A summer favorite around here is ice cream.  But, I also don't always want my children to have so much sugar and fat.  So here is a little trick that works well when you want a special cold sweet treat and just nothing will do but ice cream - but you are trying not to fill up on just junk food. 

We make ice cream cones at home to save some change.  Our girls also really like fresh summer fruits.  So one day, they requested a strawberry on top of an ice cream cone and I got this idea.  I cut up a bunch of strawberries and filled the inside of the cone.  Then I rolled one small scoop of ice cream and topped off the cone.  Of course, I added their strawberry on top.  I made one for myself too and it was super yummy. Just enough ice cream to curb the craving and a dose of nutrient packed fruit too.  Some of the ice cream melted slightly into the cone coating the fruit in tasty creaminess and we all ate the whole thing without making much of a mess.

I think this would be tasty with fresh peaches or bananas as well - or whatever favorite fruit you like.  

sprinkler fun

Unfortunately, our neighborhood's pool is only opened on weekends until the end of June when the rest of the kiddos get out of school.  So, I pulled out the sprinkler for the girls and they had a good time.  Ami was napping - I think it will be fun to include her next time.

   
 
 
 

what do you people eat?

My last post got me thinking about food again.  I'm always curious about what other families are eating at their homes.  Partly, because I crave variety.  I'm forever changing up our menu.  And also, because I'm curious about how other moms are pulling off this whole dinner thing.  I try really hard to keep things fairly simple for my sake and my family's and to serve a variety of tasty and nutritious foods.  Actually, I have to admit, I'm pretty picky in some ways about the kind of food that gets served here (but I don't think I'm crazy picky) and of course, I'm bound to a budget.  I figure I'm not too far off from most moms out there and so I wonder what is working for all of you.  A few summers ago, I posted what we ate for dinner each week.  I don't know if anyone cares, but since I love to see your menus, I thought you might be curious about mine too.  Also, it just kind of helps me keep tabs on our nutrition, etc...   So, I thought maybe I'd do that again.  I posted my menu for this week below and looking at it helps me gauge that we need a few more green veggies in our menu for next week since despite the fact that there is cilantro and parsley in our menu this week there isn't much else. See, it helps me.  What I want to know though, is what are you people eating these days?

Monday - I sent Matt to the store and we ate grilled Cheddarwurst, corn on the cob, grilled peaches, and tortilla chips with homemade guacamole

Tuesday - small group "grill night" grilled bratwurst, chicken, and turkey dogs on whole wheat buns, grilled marinated portabello mushrooms and asparagus, grilled peaches

Wednesday - grilled BBQ chicken whole-wheat pita pizzas with mozzerella, onion, tomato, fresh corn, and cilantro and red grapes on the side

Thursday (that's tonight) we are having turkey burgers and cold wild rice salad with celery, parsley, grapes and almonds

Friday - homemade fresh corn chowder

I haven't got the weekend worked out yet.  

summer beverages made just right

I love sweet tea.   I also like a frosty glass of lemonade in the summer.   Mostly I drink ice water and try to  avoid the sugary beverages, but sometimes I just crave those good ol' summer classics.

The thing is, some people like it sweeter than others.  And I want to be able to control my sugar intake.  

There is a great trick to this and to making your beverage just right for you and for each person you are serving.

Simple syrup.

The thing is, if you try to sweeten tea after it is made by adding granulated sugar it just isn't the same.  And often as not you get undissolved grains in the bottom of the glass. I don't use artificial sweeteners which might dissolve more readily, so what to do?

Simple syrup is a saturated solution made by dissolving as much sugar as possible into boiling hot water. If you made rock candy in science as a kid, this is where you started.  Use about 1 C sugar per 1 C water. You can make a small jug of it and keep it in the refrigerator.  

If you make a jug of unsweetened iced tea, all you need to do is add a little simple syrup to your glass until it is as sweet as you like - a little goes a long way.  But, you can also use this as a base for making lemonade - just add water and fresh squeezed lemons - or limeade or any other fresh fruit drink.  A favorite of mine is homemade fresh ginger ale - already listed on this site under recipes.  

Okay, so sugar isn't good for you.  But if you are going to drink it, do it right.  Enjoy a perfectly sweetened icy glass!

I like summer again

Summer has notoriously been perhaps my most unfavorite season.  In Virginia, the idealistic portrait of   lounging comfortably around the pool with some good grill food and a cold drink gets swamped out by the very real oppression of humidity and mosquitoes.  

Sometimes as an adult, the idealized memories of childhood summer - running free, playing hard for endless days, and gorging yourself on patriotic popsicles and nutty buddy cones from the ice cream truck are often swamped out by the oppression of routine and responsibility and the unequivalent replacement by two weeks vacation time.

But....

I have found a nice perk to being a SAHM who homeschools - and that is that I like summer again!

Would I ever formally continue our schooling through the summer? No way! We all need a break.  And now, I find myself embracing the summer like the kids.  Hooray for free time at the playground and free schedules to come and go as we please.  It reminds me of the days before the girls were of school age when we spent gobs of time reading and playing together, visiting bookstores and playgrounds and fountains and the pool, taking picnics and play dates with friends.  

Those things aren't absent from our school year, but we do keep pretty tied to a schedule and our goals. There are a lot of organizational things to take care of and my brain is very busy.  In some ways, summer feels like freedom again.

I've never been employed year round.  Even before the kids were born, I was on a public school schedule. I just don't think I'd be very happy tied to a schedule all year round, even at a job I liked - it isn't how I'm wired.  

This year, the onset of summer collides with second trimester - so perhaps, I'm just feeling relief all over.  At any rate, I've got a nice cold pitcher of decaf iced tea in the refrigerator and plans to just play with the girls today.  Summer feels nice.

Swing frenzy

Four kids....one wooden swingset.....lots of rope-creaking, leg pumping, smiley-face glee!

Now that's breakfast!

Warm Bisquick-recipe shortcakes with fresh summer peaches and blackberries....now that's something I don't mind getting up for!

summer blackberries

You've got to be kidding me! Look at the size of these monsters! Yum.......

fan fun

sunflowers

The girls and I planted sunflowers from seed this year...and they are huge! Seriously, there must be a record-breaker here - do you see how that one reaches up to the second story of our house? It's been so much fun to watch them grow - at times more than an inch a day!!! Can't wait to see the blooms!

Independance Day

Yesterday was the best 4th of July I can remember.  We got brave in the morning and headed into D.C. with family via the metro.  The first time the kids had a chance to ride, and they loved it!  Hope was so giddy!  We watched the parade down Constitution Ave. in our nation's Capital for some authentic festivity and hit the Smithsonian Air and Space and Natural History museums.  Then, we left the city (yes, that's right - no fireworks downtown for us, and a good idea since it rained anyway) and headed home for some fun at our friends' home with a couple of other families.  We had a yummy cook-out, a little kiddie parade with decorated wagons and face paint, lots of glow sticks, sparklers, smoke bombs, and screamers and then we topped off the night at the top of the hill with an spectacularly illegal display of sky-high real fireworks compliments of a neighbor.  The kids had a blast, and so did we.

What to do when it rains

Hurry to have fun of course! (unless there is thunder and lightening) 

return from vacation

So we're back...and like any vacation there were definitely unplanned challenges and great need for flexibility - but it was definitely worth it all!  We had a great time, tons of family bonding, and are returning refreshed and full of fun memories.  Some highlights:

• a walk by the ocean - love that ocean air! but my children would rather search for seashells in the tourist shops than on the beach, what's with that?
• 3 days of Busch Gardens "The World's Most Beautiful Theme Park" - my fave!
• My 4 yr. old rode The Big Bad Wolf roller coaster with no coaxing and loved it! (she rode everything she could and the only time she cried was when she wasn't tall enough - so brave!)
• 10 laps around Hubba Hubba Highway (lazy river) at Water Country USA
• lots of yummy eats!
• seeing my new little nephew (born on the 14th) for the first time...ahhh newbies!
• hanging out with good friends we don't see often and their little girl who is two weeks older than Maddie
• absolutely perfect temperatures - gorgeous days!
• tons of time together and the kids couldn't have behaved any better! amazing!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and especially to my bro-in-law Heath whose first son, Christopher West, was born yesterday - congratulations, man! Now we can pay you back for all of your crazy influence on our own kids! (jk :)
We are off to start a week-long vacation - a much needed gift for my husband (who, by the way, is an AWESOME dad!)  I'm going to time some posts to pop up during the week...but I'll be living it up at the amusement parks and beach with my family.  This is what my husband told the kids in the car today (and may I remind you again that he is, in fact, an AWESOME dad before this changes your mind about that)
" Vacation is about treats*.  You will get to eat sugar and lots of food that isn't really good for you.  You will get to miss naps and stay up late and ride rides and all kinds of things, because that is what family vacation is all about!"  Yeah, so we'll probably reap the consequences of all this upon returning...but we'll have some great first-family-vacation memories and I'm totally looking forward to letting down the rules and just living in the moment together a bit.  So live it up kids, while you can! Eat ice cream twice in one day because it's hot and it just tastes so good! Be tired and refuse to take a nap because you can still manage to drag your feet to one more ride! Be spontaneous and very loud! Go for it - you're daddy and I will be right there with ya!
(* we did actually clarify that family vacation is really all about spending time together...um, and then we talked about all the break-the-rules treats we were going to have again :)

The summer life

Summer, being a season that so many people favor, is by far the one I am least apt to savor.  Plainly said, I don't like it very much.  Let's just say that humidity, insects, and I don't jive.  So far, however (and yes, it's still early) I've been enjoying the season.  I've enjoyed the slow crawl imposed upon life - or maybe just my attitude - by summer's inevitable and looming heat.  This morning I had "a moment."  One of those times in which you feel sure you must soak up the memory and live in for as long as possible.  The air was damp but deliciously cool as some clouds, lingering from a storm in the night, screened the sun's harsh rays.  All the kids were occupied by the swing set - or maybe just by the freshness of the morning, as I was.  And in an uncharacteristic way, they were silent.  There was no sound but the twittering of birds and the hypnotic creak of one swing.  As I rhythmically pushed the swings into motion, I could smell the grass and the dirt, alive.  Peace settled.  I silently appreciated the way that the humidity turns my 4 yr. old's untamed locks to spirals and the beauty of the children's growing bodies learning how to adapt to and rule the motion of the swings.  I, at first unconsciously, began to meditate on all the lovely things of this season - ripe fruits, bathing at the beach or in the pool, lounging around with friends, a cool beveridge, and the smell of a fired-up grill, sand castles, flowers, amusement parks...and I welcomed Summer.
Moments passed, all of us entranced by the fresh gift of this morning. Then, as if to echo my own unspoken emotion, the silence was suddenly and quietly broken by my daughter. "Mommy, I'm enjoying the summer life." 

water safety

With the hot weather finally here, our family's plans include hitting the pool, the pool, the pool! The American Red Cross website has safety tips and precautions for every conceivable manner you might be enjoying the water this summer, whether boating on a lake, swimming in the ocean, snorkeling, water parks, or a backyard pool and more - check it out and be safe!

Can't wait for vacation!

I'm soooooo excited!  This summer will mark the first time our family has been able to take a true vacation together! My hubby has taken a full week off from work and bought us week-long passes to Busch Gardens Va. and Water Country USA.  The girls have never been to any amusement parks before, and Busch is my fave!  We'll be staying at a house in Va Beach all by ourselves - which may seem an odd location for visiting parks in Williamsburg, but it puts us close to the beach and Matt's sister who is due this week with her first baby!  It also puts us close to both Matt's parents and my own, which means we might get some free babysitting too.  But honestly, I'm most excited about just spending the week with my husband and girls all together.  June 15 begins our get-away, we've never done this before so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure there will be plenty of chaos when schedules go awry and we vacay with two young kids. Any tips for us?

backyard graffiti

Spent a few hours today with my good friend and her two daughters.  The weather was so beautiful, we knew we had to be outside.  Having four energetic kids four years and under in our tiny paved backyard seemed like asking for chaos.  But, the day was whiled away peacefully as Lena and I sat and sipped our coffee and watched the kids play happily for hours.  All the credit goes to those giant cardboard box castles left over from family night and a box of markers.  Who knew that crawling in and out of boxes while covering them in abundant graffiti could captivate the girls for so long!  I'm definitely going to throw a couple of boxes and some art supplies into the backyard with the kids again from time to time!

Fun Holiday Weekend

I wasn't expecting much for this Memorial Day weekend, but it turned out to be really fun.  Sunday night we invited some good friends and their kids over for a cook-out and had a blast.  Monday, we finally broke down and gave into the pleading by our girls to go to the pool.  It was FREEZING, as expected, but they loved it!  I'm so looking forward to being at the pool a lot this summer.  And then we were invited to the house of some other friends for BBQ ribs and other great summer holiday foods.  For starting out with no plans, the weekend ended up filled with friends and fun!

Freckles

My daughter Hope is my little "island girl."   In the summer (despite whatever amount of serious sunscreen I keep on her) her skin quickly turns it's hue to a lovely warm tan and her long wavy hair becomes a bright shimmery blond.  That combined with her propensity to run around mostly naked has earned her my little tropical nick-name.  Her younger sister however, is porcelain pale with light blue eyes.  Maddie can sunburn in no time at all.  It is interesting to see the two of them side by side, their complexions in contrast.  But something new has come out just recently.  My husband and all of his family have lots of freckles.  But because they don't appear right away on children, I had all but forgotten that my girls might inherit them too.  I spent several days wondering why a spot on Maddie's nose wouldn't wash off - until it dawned on me. Freckles!  Two cute little freckles, right on the tip of her nose! and so it begins.... 

Iceberry

At the risk of you thinking my family are ice-cream junkies due to several recent posts - I thought I'd post on Iceberry.  If you haven't found it in the Reston Town Center yet, you've just got to walk down a little farther past Starbucks.  It's a rip-off of Pinkberry, a very swanky, trendy, modern hot spot started in Beverly Hills and now located throughout CA and NY (Paris Hilton's fave).  Rip-off or not, it's still got what makes Pinkberry hot.   Fat-free, low-sugar, all-natural real frozen yogurt.  The soft-serve frozen treat still retains some of the slightly tart flavor characteristic of yogurt and all the benefits associated with eating it.  There are only two flavors in the store - vanilla and honeydew (sometimes green tea), but a medium comes loaded with up to three toppings, including my picks: gorgeous strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries and other fresh fruits and nuts (such as sliced almonds)....or you can go the candy route with gummy bears, oreo cookies, m&m's and more.  It isn't cheap, but it's a great dessert with some real healthful benefits.  It's worth checking out. There are also smoothies and organic coffee.  And, if you don't live in Reston, there are copies creeping up everywhere - so keep an eye out!

Milwaukee Frozen Custard

With hot weather straight ahead, you've got to know where the best ice cream joints are! My family and I finally made it over to Milwaukee on Elden St. in Herndon for a first visit to try out the famous frozen custard.  The place was great with plenty of seating and a little train that runs on a track overhead (a hit with the kids, of course)...and the custard is thick and smooth and creamy and rich.  It operates a little like a Dairy Queen - van/choc flavors (plus flavor of the day) and a ton of great toppings which can be served up sundae style or blizzard-style (they call it a concrete).  What makes custard stand out among ice cream and frozen yogurt is it's richness in flavor and super smooth texture - yum!  Also the fact that it has to contain at least 10% butterfat to qualify as "custard."  That, and the addition of egg yolk (watch out for this place if you have allergies).  However, they do offer a sugar-free, low net-carb version of vanilla. They've also got milkshakes and malts and other great stuff. And amazingly, pickles.  Ice cream and pickles - only a pregnant woman would dream of it!  There are six locations around the area including Chantilly, Ashburn and Leesburg.

flip n' flop

Here's a novel idea for the coming warmer months.....flip n' flop flip-flops for ages 4 - 8 feature a book hidden inside the secret compartment of each sole.  The books are designed to teach compassion and empathy "put yourself in my shoes."  The books are tear resistant and water resistant and kids will love keeping the books or other small treasures tucked away in their secret compartments.  You can also buy pairs of stories separately to keep the fun coming. The flip-flops come in four kid-friendly colors.  I'm a sucker for creative ideas like this!

Ask RESTONMOM - 2/16/07

Dear Restonmom,
"We are moving to Oakton this spring and I am looking for summer camp-like activities for my 3 and 5 year olds. Any art or science like activities in the area that you know about? Thanks for your time!"  Jen

Dear Jen,
  Welcome to the area! There are so many camps here that you'll have more difficulty deciding among them. While I am most familiar with the Reston area, most of the neighboring communities will also have a lot to offer you. Narrowing it down to art and science for 3-5 year olds, I can hopefully give you a few places to start.  The Reston Association has some good camps which might fit what you are looking for, specifically "Nature tots" (3-5), "Hug a tree" (5-7), and the mini camps (5-10).  If you can get past the sub-par names, they are worth checking out.  The Reston Community Center also hosts a variety of camps that would be worth taking a look at as well.  I don't know if either of your children are girls or are interested in dance or performing arts, but the Reston Conservatory of Ballet offers some spectacularly cute summer camps too.  You might also want to check out Abrakadoodle for some good art-based camps as well as Curiosity Zone (in Ashburn) which has some really cool science based camps for ages 4-6. Frying Pan Farm hosts summer camps for youngsters as well where they get some fun experience around the farm and animals. These are all basically week-long day camps (as opposed to overnight camps) which is what I suspect you are looking for. There are a myriad of other camps that I am neglecting, so if none of these seems to fit what you are looking for, the community center and other local businesses often carry publications which list every camp available in the area.  I do hope that you will enjoy Oakton and find just what you are looking for. Thanks for your question, very apt as many parents will soon be researching summer camps as well!

Dear Readers,
If you know of any other camps to suggest to Jen, please help our friend out by leaving a comment.  Also, if you have kids who have attended camps, we'd love to hear about your experience - positive or negative.  Thanks!

summer reading program

While some of you might already know about this, I just found out - and though it may be too late this year, I thought I'd pass along the info to tuck in mind for next summer.

I'm talking about the summer reading program at Reston Library (and likely other branches too). I totally brushed the idea off, assuming that my children had to be able to read for themselves, until a friend tipped me off that the program age starts at birth as reading to your kids counts. Write down the next 15 books you read to your kid, turn it in, and gain a handy little book of coupons and entrance into some great raffle prize opportunities obviously along with all the great benefits of actually reading together. The program ends Sept. 1 and several of the coupons expire soon (like the free kid's coupon to the Watermine).

But we'll at least be heading to McDonald's for our free soft serve and Pizza Hut for a free personal pan pizza and a 1 cent box of fruit popsicles from Whole Foods soon... not to mention discounts at stores such as Borders, Michaels, and more. It turns out to be a pretty good deal and you can sign up all of your kids (Maddie gets her free cone and pizza too!). It's great encouragement to use the fabulous resource that the public library is and beat the heat with a couple of cool reads. I'll be keeping my eye out for the sign-up earlier next season.

While some of you might already know about this, I just found out - and though it may be too late this year, I thought I'd pass along the info to tuck in mind for next summer.

I'm talking about the summer reading program at Reston Library (and likely other branches too). I totally brushed the idea off, assuming that my children had to be able to read for themselves, until a friend tipped me off that the program age starts at birth as reading to your kids counts. Write down the next 15 books you read to your kid, turn it in, and gain a handy little book of coupons and entrance into some great raffle prize opportunities obviously along with all the great benefits of actually reading together. The program ends Sept. 1 and several of the coupons expire soon (like the free kid's coupon to the Watermine).

But we'll at least be heading to McDonald's for our free soft serve and Pizza Hut for a free personal pan pizza and a 1 cent box of fruit popsicles from Whole Foods soon... not to mention discounts at stores such as Borders, Michaels, and more. It turns out to be a pretty good deal and you can sign up all of your kids (Maddie gets her free cone and pizza too!). It's great encouragement to use the fabulous resource that the public library is and beat the heat with a couple of cool reads. I'll be keeping my eye out for the sign-up earlier next season.

keep it sweet with a cool summer treat

I invested a few bucks in some popsicle molds earlier this spring in anticipation of hot summer months and ice-cream hankerings. It's nice to have a cool treat waiting in the freezer that is tasty and nutritious and making your own fruit bars is a cinch!

You can blend any combo of your favorite summer fruits and/or fruit juices for a delicious popsicle. Just plain 100% orange juice does the trick nicely or bananas with a little chocolate syrup make a nice fudge-sicle, you can even make your favorite latte and freeze it into a yummy little bar. Cream, milk, or soy milk can be added to your fruits for a creamy bar. Some of my personal faves include bananas and coconut milk for a creamy banana pop (the banana flavor wins out over the coconut but it makes it nice and creamy) or fresh pineapple and coconut milk for a tropical flavored bar (you can purchase unsweetened canned coconut milk in the international section of the grocery store).

Memorial Day Vacay

We are back from a trip to Virginia Beach to see my husband's family, by which we spent way too much money on high gas prices and didn't find time to actually go to the ocean... but still managed to have a very nice time.

The girls loved hanging out at the fountains at the new interactive kid's section of Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and we had some fun times with our friends Stu and Jess and their 1 1/2 year-old daughter, including swimming in the pool at their amazingly gorgeous new house. The fam time was wonderful and just getting out of town did us some good.

My husband still has a couple of days off, so we're going to hit the neighborhood pool, where Hope has been proud to tell everyone that she was the first little kid to go down the new waterslide (she had all the neighborhood 'tweens affection for her bravery - very amusing) and finish out the week with some low-key time just us and the girls. That's gonna just about wrap up summer vacation for us, and it's hardly even June!

 

We are back from a trip to Virginia Beach to see my husband's family, by which we spent way too much money on high gas prices and didn't find time to actually go to the ocean... but still managed to have a very nice time.

The girls loved hanging out at the fountains at the new interactive kid's section of Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and we had some fun times with our friends Stu and Jess and their 1 1/2 year-old daughter, including swimming in the pool at their amazingly gorgeous new house. The fam time was wonderful and just getting out of town did us some good.

My husband still has a couple of days off, so we're going to hit the neighborhood pool, where Hope has been proud to tell everyone that she was the first little kid to go down the new waterslide (she had all the neighborhood 'tweens affection for her bravery - very amusing) and finish out the week with some low-key time just us and the girls. That's gonna just about wrap up summer vacation for us, and it's hardly even June!