April 2020 Recap

Some moments I can’t believe how time is moving and other times we feel like we’ve been home for-ev-er. We’re hanging in there. We are very settled into a routine. Working and caring for the kids at the same time is no joke. I know I’m moving much more and getting more time outside. Mr. J has already tackled a lot of building and yard projects. I’m sad for our pre-schooler who won’t get to see his classmates and teacher again. Our toddler does not notice anything out of the ordinary. We’re lucky- safe, healthy, some job security, access to what we need. Mr. J and I think about what’s working and where the silver linings are.

Inspiration in the kitchen ebbs and wanes. Many of our dinners are centered around what we can access and what’s quick and easy after juggling work and kids. Breakfasts and lunches are pretty similar to our usual offerings.

I made a Chicken Bacon Cheddar, and Ranch Risotto. This is sooo good. I love risotto in the pressure cooker but any rice or grain with ranch seasoning and bacon. We had a few panko crusted chicken tenders from the freezer and a few chicken thighs so it was a mix and match scenario.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar & Ranch Risotto
A meal I was probably most surprised by was a White Bean & Sausage Soup. Our instacart order substituted spicy sausage and I didn’t know how well that would go over with anyone else so I made it as soup for myself. I loved it and will have to repeat this asap.
The Three Bite Rule - White Bean & Sausage Soup
For Easter breakfast I made a Fluffernutter Baked French Toast. It was perfect before hunting for eggs!
The Three Bite Rule - Fluffernutter Baked French Toast
We got an outdoor pizza oven so we’ve had a few pizza nights so far. I think we’ve worked out the timing and we are ohh-so obsessed. I’m sure there will be some to post here for any way to make pizza. I’m not sure what else we’re in the mood for. We’re getting take out to support our fav local spots and to treat ourselves. I love the zoom get-togethers I’ve had with a few circles but tire of back to back zoom meetings.

The Preschooler Boy:

He misses school and it breaks my heart. He grew so much to be brave and meet new people so it is sad to end the year like this. He is happy to be home and actually loves not going anywhere, but he thinks about school a lot. In terms of school, we aim for him to color, cut, draw, or write each day. I’ve created themes for each would-be-school-day. Some are better than others. Good: Squirrel Day! & Plants/Garden Day! & Ocean Day! Lame-ish: ABC day wasn’t amazing. Zoo day was ehh. He leans towards perfectionism but when we power through in a craft or project he likes it. He’s riding his bike without training wheels and is doing great! We showed him Reading Rainbow and he loves it as much as I do! Food-wise, he’s loving huge raw carrots he can just hold and bite. Lunch is always a strong meal and dinner can go either way.

The Toddler Girl:

She’s just so happy and easy-going. She has so many words! I love seeing her play more. She can see what her big brother is doing and play that with him. She loves being outside and will now happily wear her bike helmet. She loves books and has lots of stuffed animals in her bed. We’re operating a one-in, one-out for stuffed critters. She loves playing at the play kitchen and slicing wooden veggies. I’m so thankful she loves ridding in the stroller so much. Food-wise, she looooves oatmeal, cheese, cooked veggies, and turkey sandwiches.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/selfcare Yes!! I got this pulsing face-scrubber which is so fun!
Prep intentional sides and veggies: Ehh. Not really
Eat more fish: Salmon!
Blog some series: Nah. All bets are off right now.
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: Hmm. We’ve been a bit neater since we’re home 24-7. Does that count?
Share more books on instagram: Yes! I’ve been reading a lot and sharing them.
Prioritize workouts: I’m wrapping up a cardio one called T25. I’m kind of bored with it by the end now, but they are really great workouts and I like following the calendars/schedules for each online class. We are taking a lot of walks and I’ve gone running about once a week or so.
What I’m reading: I read City of Girls and loved it! The complex characters were just what I needed. A Spark of Light goes chronologically backwards but the intense topics are now what I think of from Jodi Picoult. I went through Ask Again, Yes but didn’t love it as much as the others this month. 
What I’m listening to:
only the occasional podcast – Bad on Paper & What’s Gaby Cooking
What I’m watching: We’re sad that Schitt’s Creek will be over so we’re only creeping to the finale. We got really into “Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies” on CNN.

Easter Round Up – Making it Special, While Small

I thought Easter meals could still be fun despite being a bit smaller. Here are a few of my favorites, that can also be easily halved if you have fewer guests this year!

You NEED this carrot shaped cheese ball plus it is easy to make half the recipe for a little one- for just a few people. So cute! Mix up the cheese in advance and assemble before serving. Because the exterior is just cheese, I’d totally keep it eating it another time if you have leftovers! This cheese ball is prob my fav, so form it into a carrot shape!
The Three Bite Rule - Carrot Cheese Ball
Deviled eggs are a fun nibble while little ones are hunting for plastic eggs! Also, make just a few! I think these Breakfast Deviled Eggs will be on our table for a savory bite and I’ll probably just make a few, as in, 3 eggs worth? Eyeball it- or add them to your dinner spread using any eggs you dyed! I love Caesar Deviled Eggs and Bacon & Ranch Deviled Eggs and Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Deviled Eggs
Breakfast foods can be easy to make half of too! I definitely recommend a baked french toast – this one is Nutella Croissant Baked French Toast is amazing!
The Three Bite Rule - Nutella Croissant Baked French Toast
Flipping a ham dinner into sandwiches or into a pizza would be fun, if you’re not making a whole ham!
The Three Bite Rule - Ham & Cheddar Pizza with Mustard Drizzle

Enjoy Easter! Hope the bunny brings some treats!

March 2020 Recap

What a weird time. We’re coming up on 2 weeks of physical distancing. It is very strange. We’re adjusting and we’ll continue to adjust. Some moments feel easier than others. Yesterday I felt grumpy but today feels like a whole new day. I’m hyper focused on each day having a workout and ensuring I do something to feel productive beyond getting work done and playing with the little ones.

I created some weekday themes to keep our days feeling different. Theme is occasionally a stretch. My take on this home-time for T is that he should color, cut, or write each day and read a ton. C goes with the flow so we aim that she gets to read and sing her kind of songs, like wheels on the bus (T is into How Bizarre.) To me, a theme is 2+ things- Space day: craft & space books & an “astronaut” pouch; Rainbow day: chalk & sprinkles on yogurt & a rainbow book.

I made Caramel Coconut Coffee just using coconut almond milk and coconut syrup – all very quarantine friendly!
The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Coconut Coffee

This Copycat Cracker Barrel Meatloaf is so good. There’s cheddar mixed in! The topping is really addicting too.
The Three Bite Rule - Cracker Barrel Meatloaf Copycat

My birthday feels like a year ago but it was great!! We had a bagel breakfast party which was perfect and went out to dinner for Chinese food!

I plan to still post a little bit. Ingredients are sometimes hard to come by right now but I also think normalcy is desired too. If I could ever convince you for a second to write a guest post, now is the time! It is fun to share food and I’m tell you, hobbies are crucial to our sanity (nap time is also a key to my sanity)! Comment or shoot me an email emily@thethreebiterule.com and I’ll get you going!

The Preschooler Guy:

He’s having fun and also missing school. We’re having pretend circle time to talk about the day of the week, the weather, what the theme is, and maybe a song. His pre-k program was truly amazing and I don’t pretend I’m replicating it! He loves blanket forts and bike rides.

The Toddler Girl:

She loves life and has so many words now! Help and open are my favorites! She likes the play kitchen and driving trucks around the house. I’m ever so grateful she loves the stroller- also since getting outside is good for all of us!

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/selfcare! Ehh. Nothing has caught my eye.
Prep intentional sides and veggies: All bets are off right now. We’re eating well but I’m not stressing
Eat more fish: We had crispy fish tacos last night!
Blog some series: I did a lunch one of “Outside the Lunch Box”!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: Hmm. Not quite, but I’m on it!
Share more books on instagram: I’ve been sharing the kids books we’ve been reading.
Prioritize workouts: I did a core/kickboxing one called Core de Force and now I’m onto a cardio one called T25. We’ve been super active also getting outside and running around and taking walks.
What I’m reading: I read The Lost Girls of Paris and thought the history was fascinating and I liked the time jumps.  I read Mrs. Everything and found it page turning. 
What I’m listening to: 
my usual podcast favs like: Be there in Five’s episodes about babysitting had me cracking up out loud! (also the bridesmaid ones and sorority ones). I blew through The Dream season 1 about multi-level marketing- fa-cin-at-ing!
What I’m watching: Mr. J and I started watching Tournament of Champions and I love it!

February 2020 Recap

February is almost over and do you know what that means?!?! My birthday is coming!! February had some confusing weather and some winter sickness at our house. I feel like there’s a lot more on our calendars in March than we had in Feb. We had a fun little Superbowl festivity and our first school vacation!

I did a series of lunch ideas. It is hard to be creative when packing lunch all the time. I focused on me, though kids could eat these lunches. I spent high school refusing sandwiches and now I love a turkey sandwich come lunch time! I rarely buy lunch since I’d rather save that money for a dinner or that time for a walk.

My fav in the series was this hummus, cheese, and very veggie sandwich. Loading up the veggies is great and the roll seeming decadent is key to keeping this exciting. Word to the wise: bring un-assembled. Otherwise it’ll be drippy and soggy and no good.
The Three Bite Rule - Hummus & Veggie Sandwich

Breakfast food for lunch was a stroke of genius. I made just a few breakfast burritos but will definitely make more.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Burritos for Lunch

I also made some Lemon Poppyseed Tuna, complete with the caveat not to pack this one up for work unless you eat outside or close your door.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Poppyseed Tuna

I’m not sure what’s up for March. I just did 2 back to back series so I think I’ll hold off on another series and just make what I want. We’re doing a bagel brunch with the fam for my birthday and maybe my birthday is a good excuse to go out to our fav Chinese restaurant or my fav Mexican restaurant. Both are kid-friendly for my little ones and we all like both spots. I also am itching to make ravioli again so maybe that’ll fit in soon.

The Preschooler Guy:

We loaded up my old ipod with some songs and he loves playing them. We tend to hear one 1,000 times then he’s onto another. Kokimo by The Beach Boys was on repeat for awhile. We’ve been playing a lot of legos lately too. He loves going to the library and he often can find the books at home when we’ve missed returning them! Sometimes he eats so much and other times I’m shocked that’s all he wants. He ate 1 and a half pb&j sandwiches the other day…and might have kept going. He’s obsessed with the fruit and cream flavored oatmeal packets. He had a fun vacation with a few days in Maine and some extra fun days home with me and with his grandparents.

The Toddler Girl:

She’s getting more and more words! I love to hear them. She’ll repeat most words, and started saying “mine”…especially when big brother takes something! She loves being in the stroller and going outside. Refillable pouches with applesauce or yogurt are her fav bfast right now. Anything brown-ish and square, to her is a “cra-ker”. I love how well she sleeps. She loves to tuck toys into sleep and she loves her baby Cabbage Patch Doll “baby” and a hippo lovey “Pi-po”. I’m thrilled how much more she’s enjoying books!

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/selfcare! Do antibiotics for strep count? Jk. I got some nifty hair elastics to minimize breakage and I got red-eye reducing drops.
Prep intentional sides and veggies: I planned for a few then grabbed a few others to have available – like a butternut squash. That’s the best method for me!
Eat more fish: Both kids will eat tons of salmon so I made that a few times this month. We all ate crispy fish tacos too. I made coconut shrimp when it was just me and the little girl home but she wasn’t that into it.
Blog some series: I did a lunch one of “Outside the Lunch Box”!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: ehh. not so much but I did transition some clothes the kids have outgrown with a next batch of hand-me-downs. 
Share more books on instagram: I got a few of mine on there and a few for the kids.
Prioritize workouts: I finished 100 Morning Meltdown! I felt so accomplished. Then I started a core/kickboxing one called Core de Force.
What I’m reading: Bookclub read There, There by Tommy Orange. I liked it and was glad to get lots of perspectives from Native Americans but wasn’t super motivated to keep picking it back up. I flew through Chances Are… by Richard Russo. I was really into it, but felt it was good, not life-changing. 
What I’m listening to:
my usual podcast favs like: Young House Love Has a Podcast; Be there in Five; Reply All; Mama Bear Dares
What I’m watching: There was an interesting Dateline I had seen in the news. Cra-zy.

January 2020 Recap

My little boy is 5! January is a fun month for us to start the year off fresh, and celebrations continue at our house! We took a family group excursion to a local, division 3, hockey game + pizza/cake/gifts back at home. This month was a chance to get back into routines. Mr. J and I had the greatest date night- we went to a new local winery for a tasting, then we got dinner. January was ideal for a Winter Comfort series!

I made Chicken Pot Pie
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Pot Pie
and Easy Homemade Ramen
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Ramen

and I made Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
Next month, I’ll make some sports snacks for the superbowl but I’m not a real fan so I’m mostly in it for the snacks & commercials! I have a new series coming up and I’m feeling like I have enough bandwidth right now to help make all the things happen!

The Preschooler Guy

His birthday was fun and I’m loving this age right now. He comes home from PreK and knows so many things! He is SO SO into music! He still loves The Beatles, but also is into Queen & The Beach Boys. It is so fun. This month he was nottt into Chicken Pot Pie but came back for seconds when we had chili. You just never know with these little humans!

The Toddler Girl:

I love this age right now too! Words are coming along. Her favs are saying “shoes” and “go go” and “coat”…can you tell she loves to get outside or go somewhere? She tucks dolls to sleep all the time and is very into magnatile stacking and the water-filled brush “painting”! Tubs are her favorite thing and it cracks me up that she wildly kicks her legs if she hears it go on after dinner. She eats everything and is getting better at taking bites instead of shoving whole things into her mouth.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/selfcare! I got 2 pairs of blue-light blocking glasses- for home and work. My eye dr recommended I try them (and drops) since my eyes look tired, bloodshot, and my vision hasn’t changed. I’m into them- mostly at work, but also for the last social scrolling before bed!
Prep intentional sides and veggies: Having the remnants of a veggie tray was handy for cooked vs raw veggies around!
Eat more fish: Neither was interested in shrimp this time. I’ll have to plan something else in the mix.
Blog some series: Winter Comfort dishes was fun for me! I have a new one planned for Feb. Stay tuned!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: I “rehomed” an unused stuffed animal on the free group and scheduled a pick up for some stuff we aren’t using. It feels good!
Share more books on instagram: I did a few.
Prioritize workouts: I’m into the 90s of my 100 Morning Meltdown workouts! I’m not sure what’ll be next.
What I’m reading: Bookclub read Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee and I thought it was such an insightful way to to see mental illness and I read I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown and found the daily microaggressions mapped out & time stamped was the most powerful lesson for me. 
What I’m listening to:
I found Bad on Paper and love it.
What I’m watching: Project Runway & This is Us & A Million Little Things! We watched the movie Bombshell and my heart hurt afterwards for women in too many workplaces.