Category: Fun

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

My two-year-old LOVES the books by Laura Numeroff: “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “If you Give a Pig a Pancake,” “If you Give a Moose a Muffin,” etc, etc. (There’s lots of them!) On my own, I’ve been reading the book, “What Every Mom Needs,” by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall. Fantastic read, especially for moms of littles. Anyway, in their book, they included the poem that I’ll share with you below, by Kathy Fictorie.

Finding it way too good to keep it to myself, I thought I’d post it on here. I hope the rest of you enjoy more than a nibble of your breakfast muffins in the morning!

Anna

 
If you give a mom a muffin, she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She’ll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She’ll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She’ll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She’ll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.)

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She’ll smell something funny. She’ll change the two-year-old.
 
While she is changing the two-year-old, the phone will ring. (Of course!) Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She’ll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee.
 
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Kathy Fictorie

 

My Espresso Love

My strong drink of choice is my morning brew. to strengthen it, add more espresso!

I gave up coffee after Lydia was born, because I didn’t like what it was doing to my post-partum body. I’d drink it every once in a while for a treat. Honestly, coffee shops are my biggest weakness. But I will not buy coffee from a coffee shop for myself during residency. Doug and I have this cool coffee set-up. I don’t have an espresso machine, but I have an AeroPress, which makes espresso. I can make an awesome espresso with half the chocolate (so you can taste more espresso). Since we’ve moved in, I’ve been doing decaff and half-caff, if not just plain hot chocolate. Trying to avoid that caffeine dependence. “I’ll just do half caff,” I thought to myself this morning. So instead of two shots of espresso, I make four. But two of them are decaff. Oh my goodness. I totally think I’ve changed my mind on not drinking coffee or another type of caffeine regularly. I mean this morning, for example, it took my dragging self and totally helped me mom.

In my new kitchen, there is a peninsula/breakfast bar. Next to a row of pretty mugs (which change which ones are featured due to which ones are clean): coffee pot, food scale, and AeroPress (the latter one in pieces). All of this (pictured right) is next to a microwave, and there’s a kettle on the other side of the sink. And Doug drinks coffee on occasion now, too– something he didn’t when he started med school. So that’s cool.

My recipe for a homemade mocha (given to me by my mother): Measure on food scale 8 oz milk and 16 grams chocolate (this is half the chocolate; may use dark chocolate syrup for extra tastiness when it is available). Stir together and microwave for 1:23. Make 1-4 shots of espresso in mug, add chocolate milk. Stir. Enjoy. May repeat as often as desired (although it I do another, it really does have to be decaff!). For iced mocha, pour espresso and chocolate milk over ice. Add more ice until cold enough. Better not sip if you want to drink all the yummies before the ice melts! Lol.

Although I write this blog in fun, I am serious about a few things: 1) Setting up my new house has been such fun! There’s a whole peninsula of counter space in my new kitchen! 2) I’m definitely having another 4-shot espresso mocha in the near future. 3) People joke about drinking and parenting, but it only applies to me if it’s coffee. Anybody else?

Have a good one!

Anna

What is your favorite homemade coffee drink of choice, the one that kick-starts your mornings? You know, if you’re like me and on a budget?