January Recap 2021

January was a roller-coaster for sure. The highs were T’s 6th birthday and the inauguration which made me hopeful. The attacks on the capitol was such a disappointing low moment for the US.

I don’t feel post-holiday lows I hear some folks have, though I think winter/snowman books and decor helps the fresh-start feelings still being festive. I wish we had more snow. Now I keep us looking towards the snack holiday (aka, the Superbowl) and making Valentines.

In the kitchen, I am so enthusiastic for the cutest Football Cheeseball ever. Make in any amount while you don’t have a crowd this year!

The Three Bite Rule - Football Cheeseball

Breakfast is one of my favorites and I’m missing going out for breakfast. I put together some McGriddles that were so good.

The Three Bite Rule - McGriddles

Winter doesn’t have me craving smoothies when it is cold, but this Chocolate Almond one was a great way to have some variety.

The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Almond Smoothie

The Little Girl:
She reached a milestone of reaching the growth chart! She’s into the first percentile with our emphasis of nutrient-dence foods and focus to eat as much as possible. Coloring is her favorite activity 24/7 and she is playing a lot more of what big brother wants the “game”/play to be.

The Big Guy:
He’s 6! His birthday was fun and he had a countdown until the day. He is lucky to have gracious gifts of legos, puzzles, outside toys, and craft supplies. He chose pasta for dinner and Grandma made a lego cake! He is writing a ton and the note cards he delivers to us are so adorable.

Goals:
Year of the fun mail! I didn’t send anything fun in January, but have ideas for February!
More breakfasts: yes! McGriddles!
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – Somehow there were more leftovers around lately for lunches. Taco/burrito/quesadilla/salad make ideal leftovers.
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. I was highly motivated to declutter and pass along stuff we weren’t using.
Bullet journal – I started with a meals list- that’s pretty much what my blog is but the everyday seemed good to journal.
What I’m reading: I read so so so much in Dec and that took a nosedive in Jan. I read Nothing to See Here for bookclub and Watch Me Disappear. Both were OK, not fantastic.
What I’m watching: We finished Man Hunt season 2 about the Georgia bombings. I’ve caught up on A Million Little Things. I think I’m off the Bachelorette/Bachelor train. I never finished the Clare/Tayshia season and didn’t start the Matt season either.

December 2020 Recap

See ya 2020! December was so fun and I’m glad there can be a collective looking forward to 2021. It was a full month of food, like always. I’m grateful both Grandmas do most of the cookie baking with/for the kiddos. Christmas was so so fun and the little ones are perfect ages for the magic and surprise that fills this season.

I made this fantastic Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple and I love it in all seasons.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

For a second I was going to save the Stuffing Waffles for next Thanksgiving’s leftovers but life is short, wafflize it all.

The Three Bite Rule - Stuffing Waffles

These Chicken Tacos with Cherry Salsa was a fun twist since we have tacos on the regular and I live to keep us on our toes.

The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Salsa on Chicken Tacos

BLT Quiche was so handy to have around for breakfasts & lunches. Mr. J was wayyy more into it than I expected.

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Quiche

I’m looking forward to NYE which always features sliders & shakes. Then mid-month T will turn 6! Work will have fewer evening virtual commitments. I’ll be kicking off the month with a super fun breakfast! Stay tuned!

The Little Girl:
She’s as happy as can be. Santa brought her a Mrs. Potato Head (in her picture & on Facetime), she asked for a toy. She talks so much and I’m amused by the constant narration and clarifying questions. She had another weight check and is onto the chart! Woohoo! 1st percentile! We’re continuing to focus on nutrient dense foods and pediasure.

The Big Guy:
He’s doing great in kindergarten. We adore his teachers and cannot get over how much they do everyday. He is reading so much and we love to see it. Santa brought him a remote control car (in his letter and on Facetime), he asked for a green racecar. He lost his 2nd tooth!

Goals:
Year of the flowers or plants I’m switching it up and going with fun mail! We justttt send New Years cards so that’s my fun mail for Dec.
More breakfasts – ehhh.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – BLT quiche was great for some lunches, I made quick ramen a few times (like this!) and tuna melts were all part of my more varied lunches!
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. I should prob be more strategic, but I did a few spots that needed extra attention!
Bullet journal – ehhh. I did not start yet.
What I’m reading: I read 30 books this year! This month I read Such a Fun Age & The Heir Affair & Destination Wedding & Pretty Things (wow, what a reading month!
What I’m watching: We watched our fav holiday movies: Christmas with the Kranks & Home Alone & Christmas Vacation. TV wise, we’re into Man Hunt season 2 about the Olympic Park bombing and others I didn’t know of. It is so good but intense. It is regularly followed by Modern Family.

A Decade!

The Three Bite Rule turns 10! Can you believe it?!?! Crazy!

I’m so grateful for YOU! I love hearing back when somebody made a recipe or when something caught your eye. This lil blog is for fun and is my passion project.

Superlatives!
Most popular (aka, repeatable): Roasted Garlic Honey Sauce! This is a monthly recurrence here. I roast garlic even just in the toaster oven and mixing with honey, olive oil, and butter. This sauce is to-die-for. We put it on a white pizza quite often or it is great on roasted veggies or on a panini or it freezes well too!

The Three Bite Rule - Honey Garlic Sauce Pizza


Most photogenic: Easy Homemade(ish) Ramen it uses shredded chicken, mushrooms, soft boiled egg, along with a ramen packet and Thai seasoning packet. It is so good and a great use for some small bits of chicken.

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Ramen


Best Sweet Treat: Easy Chocolate Mousse which doesn’t exactly need a recipe, but is such a winner!

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Chocolate Mousse

Most Loved on Insta: the outdoor pizza oven was our best quarantine purchase! Our ooni is so fun and cooks in 90 seconds! We’ve been using weekly!

I don’t know what’s next. I’ll just keep going as long as it is fun! I think especially in these strange times, something I can control has been nice.

Goals for next year:
Year of the ______: this has been my treat for myself each month. Last year was home self-care items. This year, I’m going to do a year of flowers or plants! We’re keeping the little ones alive, I’m ready for some plants!
More breakfasts – we’re home all the time now so why not add some other options.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – almost every day I have turkey and arugula because I like it, but also because it takes a question out of the mix during a hurried time.
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. Sometimes the small spaces add up to have a good impact and I always surprise myself what we can do in a few minutes.
Bullet journal
What I’m reading: I read 24 books this year! I’ll aim for the same goal this year I think. Digital library loans are the key to my success!
What I’m watching:

October 2020 Recap

October seemed to go by so quickly! How have we been home 7 months?! September and October were hefty for virtual work events which makes it feel busy. Work is, well, uneasy right now.

T started going to school for a hybrid schedule! It has been amazing. He did tell me “it is a little not good to not have a nap or rest”. That’s my boy! 😉 He loves it but it definitely tires him out. C doesn’t love when big brother is home doing school the other 3 days- she just wants him to play.

I focused on comfort foods for October.

I made these Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes. I was a fan. The kids were so-so on them. For some reason they don’t always want the bread portion of sandwiches.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe

These Funfetti Waffles were so fun and definitely a morning comfort. I used some funfetti mix (and have an idea for the remainder) and I’d be interested in playing around to try to make in other ways too.

The Three Bite Rule - Funfetti Waffles

I made a quick dinner of Ravioli with Brown Butter, Corn, and Sage. I loved the fall vibe-without it being pumpkin!

The Three Bite Rule - Ravioli with Brown Butter, Sage & Corn


The Little Girl:
She misses her brother when he’s doing school! She is quite into our toy trains and likes tucking in her stuffed toys to sleep and driving vehicles around. She’s zooming around on the scooter and is ready for more on bikes. Her fav food is definitely any kind of cheese, pizza, and oatmeal. Since she’s underweight, we’re trying so hard to keep her eating and getting dense nutrition into her. She’s totally 2 and still easy going but now we also hear “I don’t want that” or “still using that”.

The Big Guy:
He looooves school. We’re so proud of his can-do attitude and how hard he’s working. He goes to kindergarten 2 days a week and virtual the other 3. Managing the timing and assignments takes attention from us. It has been fun to see what he’s learning! A new favorite lunch is grilled peanut butter and fluff.

November brings my blogaversary! I’ll need to think carefully about goals. I’m hopeful but scared about what’s ahead. Get out there and vote. For the sake of humanity, please go vote.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/self-care: I got this skin scrub
Prep intentional sides and veggies: nope, not really
Eat more fish: Salmon!
Blog some series: Oct is comfort foods!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: I passed along some too-small kid clothes to the next wearer.
Share more books on instagram: ehh. A few.
Prioritize workouts: I looooved a month mash-up incorporating 4 different programs and now I’m doing a ‘muscle burns fat’ one that’s OK, not my fav.
What I’m reading: I read The Other Mrs. Miller – and that’s it. I haven’t read much at all lately.
What I’m listening to: 
a podcast on the occasional stroller ride for the girl.
What I’m watching: We found a series called Manhunt about the unabomber and it was captivating! I loved the most recent Brother vs. Brother.

September 2020 Recap

I don’t even know what end is up. September is just bananas. I cooked some fun things but we are treading water to adjust to our new schedule. Virtual kindergarten is going great but working full time, monitoring remote school, keeping the 2 yr old occupied/away and juggling these short time blocks has our brains spinning. I’ve felt more stress these last few weeks than this whole quarantine time- if I’m on top of work, then I’m lacking for the kids/home/friends and vice versa.

This month Mr. J and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary so that was our bright spot! We went to dinner and I had the best meal I’ve had in for-ev-er. We ate outside at Il Massimo and I had scallops over corn risotto with brussels sprouts.

For dishes from my kitchen, I made these pesto risotto stuffed tomatoes and loved them- they’re also great for grocery store tomatoes as we exit the prime garden tomato season! 
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Risotto Stuffed Tomatoes
These Chicken BLT Grain Bowls are so ideal for a quick and balanced lunch or dinner. Plus if the grain is prepped ahead of time it saves so much time. I went with quinoa but normally choose brown rice or farro.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken BLT Grain Bowl
Our littlest one needs a bit more dense nutrition- so I made some pb&j energy bites as a little but powerful snack. They were a great use of some freeze dried raspberries nobody was interested in!
The Three Bite Rule - PBJ Energy Bites
This cape codder themed burger with dried cranberries and lime aoli!
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Codder Burgers

The Little Girl:

Her newest words are “yup” and “nope” which just sounds funny. She’s so itty bitty so we are focused on upping her calorie intake and retesting some of her lab work next month. She’s doing pretty well with pediasure and needs to bulk up a bit to hit the chart. Her fav foods are cheese of any kind, pb&f, and anything she can dip. She’s playing a ton in the play kitchen and with the trains. She zooms down the driveway on her bike. This gal is fearless. She did fantastic wearing her mask for her whole physical and for labwork.

The Big Guy:

IMG_7952He loves virtual kindergarten! His teacher is fantastic and he impressed us day 1 mastering the computer mouse and the mute/unmute rules. I’m so thankful he’s good at playing for his his breaks and getting right back to it when his next session is starting. The in-person hybrid schedule should start soon so we’re looking forward to him going 2 days a week. He’s still loving pizza and pasta. His favorite lunch is PB&F or “snacky lunch” of salami/string cheese/etc. We transitioned to quiet time with a stack of books on the couch or his bed instead of naps and he looks forward to it!

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/self-care: not really
Prep intentional sides and veggies: nope, not really
Eat more fish: Lobsters!
Blog some series: nope, but Oct is going to be comfort foods!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: not at the moment.
Share more books on instagram: ehh.
Prioritize workouts: I loved a lifting workout program and looooved it. Now I’m doing a month mash-up incorporating 4 different programs it is has been great for the ultimate in variety.
What I’m reading: I read The Yellow House since it is the summer reading at work for students and the community. It is about New Orleans and the city dynamics pre and post hurricane Katrina. I loved it, though at first I was overwhelmed by the number of people’s names without a family tree chart. Then I blew through Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and the Conspiracies to Protect Predators which is a forever reminder how critical the free press is. 
What I’m listening to: 
a podcast on occasion.
What I’m watching: America’s Got Talent wrapped up and I’m thrilled the spoken poet won- it literally restored some hope for America voting. We found a series called Manhunt about the unabomber and one season about the Atlanta Olympics bomber. It is very well done!