More Fall Farms, Food from the Week, The Zoo, & Mom Life

My house is so quiet right now. I have the cozy lamps on, my cup of coffee, twinkling fall pumpkin lights on my coffee table, and both of my dogs are cuddled up on each side of me. This is the best setup for blog writing. When I tell people that I wake up at 3:30 a.m. to work, they think I’m crazy! But if I don’t get up, I don’t have much time during the day to write, and this blog would be almost impossible. It’s easy for me to make recipes with my toddler because he loves to help, but it’s the editing of recipe photos and finding time to write that is the hardest part as a mom. My working window is from 3:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., and if I’m lucky (not so much these days), I’ll get a 2-hour nap window. To be fair, I do go to bed by 8 p.m. every night! As soon as I close my toddler’s door and say “goodnight,” my nighttime routine begins! The first thing my son says when he comes downstairs in the morning is “Nana Milk!” because he loves making smoothies and turning on the blender. I’m ALL about it since that means he’s getting his milk, fruits, veggies, and hydration in! I shared our go-to recipe for the elderberry smoothie in my latest newsletter! Make sure you’re signed up so you can receive updates and recipes before they hit the blog!

Here is the smoothie recipe:

Immune Boosting Elderberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon elderberry syrup
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I squeeze 1/2 orange)
• 1/2 cup whole milk (or your preferred milk)
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 teaspoon local honey

Instructions:

1. Add the frozen berries, banana, orange juice, and milk to a blender.
2. Drizzle in the elderberry syrup and local honey.
3. Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

This smoothie is a great way to help build an immunity with kiddos in school surrounded by germs!

During our morning walk on Thursday, my toddler said “Lego store” probably 30,000 times within the hour! Luckily for him, I had no idea what activities to do that day, so I said, “Let’s do it!”

After our walk, we got ready and packed up for a mom-and-son day at the mall. He LOVES a mall day because that means a visit to the Lego store, the toy store, the outdoor playground, French fries at the food court, and a cookie as a bribe to let Mom go into a store. (It’s hard to say no when he wants a cookie from the case at the Nordstrom coffee shop, and since I know he’ll share some bites, I cave in too.) He does pretty well at the mall, and since it was so hot outside, I thought it was a great way to spend the day!

Watch this video come to life with the video!

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Another breakfast I’ve been making (when I don’t feel like making pancakes) is oatmeal. He’s FINALLY eating oats again after spitting them out for the past year! I make him Red Tractor Foods protein oats (they have flax and almonds) mixed with local honey, cinnamon, chia seeds, whole milk, and creamy peanut butter. I’m lucky that this kid’s favorite meal is breakfast because that means I don’t worry about him being hungry during his mornings at preschool. The oat brand is so creamy. I initially bought the bag for my glamping trip, but they ended up being a breakfast staple at home.We were so excited for our family trip to the zoo on Saturday!

My son loves animals, and we hadn’t taken him to a zoo yet. He enjoys visiting local farms, so we thought he was finally ready for this experience. It’s only an hour and a half south of our house, so we packed up the car early Saturday morning (after I finished making cinnamon rolls!) and headed to the Riverbanks Zoo!
 
The highlight of the trip was giraffe feeding! We had to buy twenty dollars’ worth of lettuce just so my son could feed the giraffes for an hour. I thought it would eventually get old (especially with a toddler’s attention span), but nope! HE LOVED IT! He would feed them and then laugh hysterically. Now, if you ask him his favorite animal, he’ll say it’s a “draff.” I’m not sure feeding the goats at the local farms will cut it from now on.We grabbed lunch at their quick service, Tuskers Restaurant. We learned our lesson and will definitely pack our own food and drinks next time. I probably should have checked beforehand, but I figured they wouldn’t allow outside food or drinks in the park. Water bottles and sandwiches will be in our bags next time!

His first carousel experience was so good that he wanted to go on it over and over and over again. We finally had to bribe him off with a cup of ice cream after the sixth ride. We also took a ride on the train, which he loved as well! The zoo was an absolutely hit for him!After spending ALL DAY in the heat at the zoo, I figured this kid would take a nap on the way home, but nope! He just read his new zoo book in the car and snacked on potato chips. I’m starting to fear that he’s going to be anti-nap soon. He’s only 2 1/2, but he’s been refusing naps for months now. He lets me do the naptime routine, I put him in his crib, and then he just giggles and sings, gets out of his sleep sack, plays with his stuffed animals, and flips around for about 35 minutes. And this is after a day of playing at the park, school, walking around the neighborhood, and all the activities. Is anyone else dealing with a non-napper at this age? I guess the trade-off is that this kid sleeps like a rock through the night. Knock on wood, but he hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night since January!

I made an easy sheet pan dinner! This one is one of my favorites, and my son loves to eat the chicken sausage and potatoes. He calls the peppers “worms.” I use two sheet pans with olive oil and cook up onions, peppers, red potatoes, and chicken sausage! I like to put the leftovers in scrambled eggs the next day, too.We’ve been getting low temperatures in the morning, finally! This is when Tux really shines. He likes to hide out in the summer (like most Bernese Mountain Dogs), but in the fall and winter, he is so much happier! He has the reverse of seasonal depression.Sunday night, I made the most delicious dinner! A Creamy Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes & Basil! I blogged about it monday as soon as my son went to school.

We’ve been getting into arts and crafts lately. I’m still a huge fan of getting the dollar crafts from Hobby Lobby, even the Christmas ones! We’ve already started on ornament painting.

Sometimes, if I’m making a recipe in the kitchen or preparing dinner, I’ll set him up with paints at the counter. I just make sure to get the washable kind because he’s not great at keeping paint on the paper.

Once a week, I always take him to Ilios (he calls it “Iggys”), and it’s his favorite place in the entire world. My mom joined us last week, and we sat outside while he devoured all the chicken and rice! He’s a sauce guy and needs ALL the sauces, especially the spicy one.

Remember a few recaps ago when my son dumped his sensory bins in my garden beds? Well, they created a garbanzo bean and black bean farm… Unfortunately, we won’t see them through, though. I had to rip them out to make room for my winter lettuce.Morning park weather is in full! I love when the pink grass plant blooms in our neighborhood in the fall! 
We always make sure to walk Leo down to the park with us! 
 We had a pizza and park date with our friends on Wednesday after school. I’m so lucky this kid finally likes pizza! It has to be crispy, tho!

After lunch, we took them to the park so they could run around and get all their energy out. 
My son was begging to go to the pumpkin patch, and since we don’t live close to one, I took him to Lowe’s. It worked because he loved it! We grabbed some $5 mums, $6 pumpkins, and called it a day.
Good morning, Tux! The dogs get groomed this weekend, and I’m so ready for it becuase they are huge stinky fluff balls!

I have a child who hates eggs, so I love making these banana-egg pancakes for him to help get in some healthy fats and protein! I’d say he’s a picky eater, BUT I do get some good trade offs with foods he will eat. I’m not at a full loss. 

Banana Egg Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons flour (any kind will work!)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, mash the banana until smooth.
2. Add the eggs and whisk them into the banana until well combined.
3. Stir in the cinnamon, flour, and baking powder, mixing until you have a smooth batter.
4. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and lightly grease it.
5. Pour small amounts of the batter into the pan, forming pancakes.
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
7. Serve warm with your favorite toppings!

This is the only way for me to get my son to eat his eggs in the morning! This recipe has protein, healthy fats, potassium, fiber, and no added sugar!

Lately, I’ve been making golden milk lattes in the afternoon. I’m officially on day 21 of only one cup of coffee a day. I can’t believe I’ve lasted this long, and I do feel a complete difference in my anxiety and nervous system. My heart doesn’t feel like it’s going to pound out of my chest all the time.

The weird thing is that I actually slept better at night when I drank more caffeine, and now I have the worst insomnia. I don’t know if it’s related, but it all happened at the same time. Anyway, I’ve been replacing my afternoon coffee with a golden milk latte. It has Gaia Golden Milk powder (turmeric, ashwagandha, and dates), and I also add in some raw honey and steamed milk. I LOVE it! Sometimes I’ll add in a little ginger, too. It’s super good for inflammation. I’ve had really bad sciatica for almost two months now, and I read that turmeric might help. We’ll see!

One little thing my son has been loving are these Aura Cacia bedtime fizzy baths! I bought a bunch of them to use as stocking stuffers, but decided to try one out, and they smell so good!!! My son likes to pour it in himself and watch the bubbles fizz.
We took a little drive to meet up with Becca at the Hunter Farm on Thursday! He LOVES this spot! 🙂 Any place with tractors, pumpkins, and farm animals will win him over. I love fall because it’s so nice outside and taking him places is so much easier.   After the farm, we headed down the road to Café Moka for some coffee (I ordered a decaf cappuccino) and a brown sugar Pop-Tart cookie from Honeybear Bakery. It was so good!

There was a field area in front of the coffee shop with a bunch of kids running around. My son was just standing and watching the big kids play soccer, and he LOVES soccer. It was the sweetest thing when a young boy invited my little toddler to join them. I thought that was so kind, and he was being so sweet, showing my son how to kick the ball. I don’t know who the mom is or was, but she definitely raised a very sweet young boy! My son was so happy to be included!

Since he ate all his lunch and was on his best behavior at the grocery store, I let him pick out a scoop of ice cream at Häagen-Dazs. I’ve been LOVING our little outings together this fall, especially since I’m focused 100% on him and not on the 100,000 things I have to get done for the markets (read my last recap if you’d like to be filled in on my bakery business.) I truly feel so much happier mentally, which allows me to be a better mom. Now, I just need to work on my alone time. My mom offered to come over on Friday morning so I could go to a coffee shop and work for a few hours. She had been on a trip to New York for over a week and was having grandma withdrawals! I headed to my favorite work spot, Rock Hill Coffee, and ordered a fall spice decaf latte and a pumpkin chai muffin. The fall spice latte was the best I’ve ever had. It had tones of fall spices, ginger, and carrots!

I finished blogging my cinnamon roll recipe at noon and then headed home to pick up my mom and son for a lunch and park date kind of afternoon! And you probably guessed it, we went to Ilios.

For dinner that night, I had my favorite chicken salad on top of cucumbers and brown rice crackers!

For breakfast the next morning (I’ve been having this combo every morning!), I had a smoothie with banana, frozen berries, almond milk, elderberry syrup, liquid glucosamine chondroitin, and Supergreen Protein Mix!Every afternoon, we do our sidewalk chalk. Not going to lie, this is one of the best parts of being a toddler mom. I LOVE sidewalk chalk, and now I have an excuse to enjoy it! He always requests a garbage truck, excavator, or firetruck!On Saturday morning, we headed to Cherry Place Farm! I’ve seen this farm all over social media, and it’s only 15 minutes from us, so I was so excited that we finally had the opportunity to go! This is one of the best spots for a farm-loving toddler!
Ever since our trip to Wise Acres, he’s been begging to go on a train ride. I was so excited when I saw that Cherry Place had a little tractor train ride, and he was SOOOO excited when he spotted it as soon as we got to the farm. We immediately headed over to get him started on a ride.

They also had cows, chickens, goats, and other fun animals to feed!
 We had the best day and cannot wait to go back! Most of the trees are still green here in the South, and since we are finally getting some cooler temps, Fall is just now starting! On Saturday afternoon, we blew up the bounce house (no water this time!) and played outside until dinnertime! After a morning shopping date on Sunday, I cleaned up the house, we watched the Eagles football game, and then went on a park date before coming back for dinner. I’ll do a recipe blog soon, but we had the best dinner! I made steak Caesar salad, roasted potatoes and carrots, and a cantaloupe prosciutto wrap with balsamic glaze and burrata! That dish was inspired by a meal we had in Verona, Italy! I’m still getting so much basil from my garden!
 
Now that it’s finally cooler in the evenings, we’ve been going on Halloween light walks after bath time! We always take evening walks when the weather is nice, and I’ve missed those during the 90+ degree days.I made our favorite Whole Foods copycat granola bars for the week! Somehow, my toddler thinks they are cookies and will happily eat a giant one with his breakfast.

We headed to my parents’ house yesterday to hang out and then grab pizza for lunch! We got lucky when a fire truck was parked outside the pizza place—my son was in fire truck heaven!Today, we are going to do some more fall crafts, a park date enjoying the 60-degree weather, and I’m making pistachio almond cookies (and will share that recipe!)

I hope you have a great day, and thank you for stopping by to read today’s recap blog!

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite part of Fall?
2. Did you make anything delicious this weekend?
3. I love getting to know my readers. What season of life are you in right now?