Patience

My husband is so lucky. He has me as his personal life coach.

I am always there with helpful hints on how he might improve our condo, our finances, our marriage, his career and fatherhood. If he needs a haircut, I am there to remind him. If there are bills to be paid, I'm there to tell him. Kitchen trash desperately needs to be taken out? Don't worry; I'll ask Jeremy. In fact, just this morning, I gave a beautiful soliloquy on putting his best foot forward, consciously living the best life he can.

I am glad I married a patient man.

Tonight, I came home from an after-hours meeting at work, having had two glasses a wine and a plate of charcuterie. I flopped down on the couch and turned the Glee on. Jack sat next to me and cuddled. After a few minutes, I told Jack it was time for bed, and I promised I would be 100% again in the morning for him because I certainly was not exhibiting my "best life lived" at that moment.

"You're 100% now, Jenn," Jeremy said, walking past the couch. "It just happens you typically operate at 150%."

Mind you, I'm no slouch in the married department - I can bake, I birth babies and I ensure there are stacks of toilet paper in each bathroom. But Jeremy will always best me at modeling patience for our kids and for me. While I can get my undies in a bunch about the small stuff, Jeremy has his eyes trained on our larger goals. This is the balance we maintain. And for that I am grateful.

My favorite picture of Jeremy. We were on vacation, pre-Jack.

More reflections to come on marriage as we near the much-anticipated wedding day of Jeremy's sister and her beloved.

I did it my way

All weekend, my thoughts have been in two places: Here and There.

We made a conscience decision to not go There for Easter - my parents' house in Cleveland. As much as we knew we would miss my mom's meals, the cousins playing together and my dad reading to the kids, we're traveling again in a few weeks and it's getting harder to travel with two (though I remain proud at the efficiency in which Jeremy and I bring to an airline security line with two kids, two laptops, a double-stroller, four pairs of shoes and coats and so on). So we decided to stay home. Here.

And it helped that my mom visited last weekend for some Jack and Jossie cuddles too.

So Here we were - my first Easter not at my parents' house in about a dozen years. And - to boot - it was Passover as well. So in our glass-is-half-full perspective, it was time for Jeremy and me to start making some family traditions of our own for the brown-eyed babies.

We had the best dim sum ever with our friends in Chinatown Saturday morning at a place called Cai. It was very user-friendly - pictorial menus with English and Chinese. We - and I mean my friend's mom - over-ordered - the lazy Susan that sat in the middle of our table was a feast for the eyes and the belly. This is probably 25 percent of the food we sampled:

We're lucky that our kids aren't picky eaters and tried all of the dumplings. It was a beautiful day as we left the restaurant. We took in the afternoon walking around Chinatown with the kiddos and then came home for naps.

Saturday night was our four-person Seder. Jeremy did his best Seder ever, taking it slowly and explaining the symbols to Jack. Jack probably got about 5 percent of the Seder and that's okay. With time and repeated ritual, will also come understanding.

An Easter egg on the Seder plate because that's how we roll.

And Sunday morning was nicer than I had expected. I tried in earnest to not get too crazy with the Easter baskets and it went over well - a small toy, a book and candy for Jack and Jossie each.

Who doesn't have this picture from growing up? Okay, maybe not with the Yoda Easter basket.

 

Jack and I went to church. I've never been to a major holiday at my big-city church and there were lines out the door. I went with Jack to the children's service, held in the church cafeteria. We were joined by one of his day school friends. The leader told the Easter story by using differently colored pieces of paper. If a child had a particular color under his/her chair, they were to go stand by the leader. Not all children had a piece of paper, and when the leader called for the color blue, our charismatic Jack announced loudly, "Well, I'm wearing blue." And before I could say anything, he was standing by the leader. Other children caught wind of this notion, and soon half the room was standing at the front. That's my Jack - he can convince you of anything.

Jack and his buddy were restless. Jack probably got about 5 percent of the service and that's okay. With time and repeated ritual, will also come understanding.

Jeremy and Jossie picked us up for brunch at Ina's, one of our favorites, and I was geeked out to be seated at Ina's table in the back, where I promptly ordered a vanilla bean latte as a treat. And in the afternoon, after Jack's tennis class, we spent time at the Chicago Botanic Garden, enjoying the warm weather, the blooms and each other.

So all in all? A good weekend. Jeremy and I did it - two holidays and two happy kids. Happy week ahead, gentle readers!

The best lemon poppyseed muffin

Jack stated the other day, "Boys like fire stations; girls like princesses; and parents like computers."

And so I thought it might be a good idea to take a break from the laptop and iPad for a few days while at home. Jossie is teething too, and it ain't pretty. I spend much of my evenings holding her, nursing her and trying to comfort my little brown-eyed baby. This often extends through the night, and I've been dragging myself to work this week.

My family has been in great need of sunny breakfasts after our rough nights. I always was mystified by lemon poppy seed muffins, making them from a mix rather than from scratch. This recipe changed all that:

Lemon poppy seed muffins
From Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster's Market

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup poppy seeds (can be found in the bulk section of the grocery store)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
8 T. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
grated zest and juice from 2 lemons
1 t. pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare a 12-muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl and mixing well after each addition.

Combine the buttermilk, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. Add to the egg mixture, alternating the flour mixture and stir just until no flour is visible. Do not overmix.

Scoop the batter in the muffin cups using an ice cream scoop. Bake 20 to 25 minutes and enjoy!

These muffins hold up extremely well, stored in an airtight container on the counter. On day 2 or 3, slice the muffin in half and toast in the toaster oven. It's heavenly!

Jack had his preschool's mascot "Spot" home for the weekend. We had a journal to record their adventures and were asked to take pictures. Here is my favorite:

I was about to wish you a happy weekend but it's only Wednesday. Soldier on, gentle readers.