Category: Adventures in Parenting

Silly Mama! Quirks and lessons learned as a Mama of 2!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Round 1 & 2

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Amidst all this COVID crazyness and hype, we’re getting hit by a spring Colorado snow storm and have a minor blizzard going on outside today. In a way, the snow brings us back to reality a bit, giving my family the sense of “it’s just another snow day” instead of the recent anxiety over every day life. A snow day also give us a reason to stay in our jammies, snuggle on the couch, and bake!

I had a full batch of bananas that were past their prime, and THE best way to put those to use is Banana Bread! AND, what makes that even better?!? Chocolate chips! If you haven’t had banana bread with chocolate chips, just DO IT. I’ve even converted my Hubby over the years, and he’s now 100% on the choc chip train. And that was a battle, let me tell you!

This time around, I, of course am completely out of eggs – and amidst the grocery crazyness, finding eggs is near impossible at the moment. SO, I looked up egg alternatives and found apple sauce (1/2 cup per egg) – which we have in abundance at the moment, in our fridge and pantry. Ding ding ding! We have a winner! I also found an “eggless chocolate chip banana bread” recipe, and figured I’d give it a shot along with my tried-and-true recipe with the apple-sauce-for-egg substitute.

Round 1 – Eggless Recipe

note: I used 1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/4 cup white sugar, I find that adding brown sugar in place of some of the white brings a different type of sweetness without being over the top. I also found that the cooking time was a bit too short, but that may be due to our altitude. So be sure to check with a knife or toothpick for gooeyness before you stop the cooking.

Round 2 – Tried & True

note: replace egg with 1/2 cup applesauce & omit milk as applesauce will provide the extra liquid needed for the mixture. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar, & 1/4 cup white sugar as I find brown sugar adds a little extra to the recipe 🙂

Of course the moment that these were slightly cooled and out of the over, we dug into each of them. Here’s the comparison:

Round 1 taste test

  • more dense
  • less crispy exterior
  • good in flavor
  • darker in color

ROUND 2 TASTE TEST

  • fluffy & light
  • crispy exterior
  • good in flavor
  • lighter in color

SO, drumroll, pleaseeeeee

Here’s the biggest differences in the recipes:
1 – has only 4 tbs butter vs 2 – has 1 stick of butter
1 – baking power only vs 2 – has both baking powder & baking soda
1 – 1 1/2 cup flour vs 2 – 2 cup flour

Our Tried & True recipe is the winner! The applesauce vs egg was not noticeable and did not effect the texture or flavor that I could tell, and PLUS, that means you could totally eat the batter if wanted to 😉 😉 The Round 1 recipe wasn’t bad either, but I think I’ll stick with the good ol’ tried & true for the future!

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Dear spouse, the bathroom is not a time warp…

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Like clockwork…

As soon as dinner is on the table *ding* “I have to poo”

When we are walking out the door for errands, which we’ve been rounding the kids up for for the last 15 minutes for *ding* “restroom”

When it’s time to put away laundry or clean up dinner *ding* “be back in a bit”

Each time, 15-25 minutes pass before you vacate The Time-warp. I’m not the first, and certainly not the last to experience this sudden time-suck.

Dear Spouse, guess what?! Time outside of the bathroom, life outside of the restroom, chores and cleanup continue on. It doesn’t slow down, stop, or hold still until you’re done pooing and surfing craigslist for everything under the sun. Yup, I know that’s what you’re really doing in there. The pooing probably lasted 2 minutes, but your cell phone or tablet turns this “quick trip” into a half-hour endeavor!

I know what you’re going to say…”when I gotta go, I cant help it” or “I can’t help that it takes so long”…blah, blah, blahhhhhh. Sorry, not sorry. As a Mom I’m lucky to pee with the door closed, so take your “alone time” at the office and when you’re home, do us all a favor and leave your electronics outside of the potty.

My 5 year-old yelled at me for a half-an-hour today…and I let her.

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Have you ever had a day where you are exhausted, over worked, overwhelmed and feel like not one thing you’ve said or needed all day has been heard by anyone? I’ve had these days. The days when all you have energy for is frustration. When the one thing you want to and need to express doesn’t have an appropriate space or time in the day. When I have these days, my “safe” space is the shower. That’s where I find I can just release all of the strain and stress of the day and let my feelings overflow, following the water down the drain and off of me.

Yesterday, I picked C up from daycare like usual. She was in good spirits and hugged her friends as we left. She was laughing and talking and telling me about her day…BUT the minute she buckled into the car seat, something else snapped and a 5 year old blonde Dr. Jekyll appeared. All kids (and esp. sassy pants 5 yo girls) have their moments of attitude, power struggle, and fits. But this…THIS was a whole other animal.

Have you ever hear Tom Segura’s bit about little kids being story tellers? (Skip to 2:55 to hear the bit in the clip below)


Basically, until they’re old enough to verbalize a single thought into a sentence, their stories consist of multiple overlapping and incomplete pieces of sentence that all run together without any punctuation or pauses other than to breath…

Ok, so take that rambling and incomplete mob of words and translate that into a FULL YELL at the TOP OF YOUR LUNGS…

THAT is what came flying in my direction from the 30 lb blonde in the backseat.

“I want to watch TV you don’t let me stay home i’m mad at you for making me stay home I want a snack you will open this now I will make you open this snack you didn’t open my snack at school so i’m not going to stay home with you i will only watch TV in the car, I will sleep in the car I’m not going to live with you unless you open this snack i will not eat dinner unless i can have a cookie i only eat cookies you are mean and i don’t like you i want to stay home i need water i’m mad…”

I’m not kidding when I say this went on for a full 30 minutes…

After trying to reason with her and rationalize why a snack right before dinner wasn’t happening, asking her to stop yelling and ask for what she needed, it dawned on me. She just needs an outlet. So, I let her have it. In the safe space of the car, with me as an ear and nothing more. I let her get it alllllll out. And you know what, after 30 minutes of all.out.yelling…she stopped.

And the next thing she said, in a perfectly normal volume was “Mommy, when we get home can I have a snack and watch TV until dinner’s ready?” Dr. Jekyll had left the building!

5 years old or 35 years old…Sometimes. Sometimes we all just need a minute, a safe space, to let it all out.

How being a SAHP is just like any other Job

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If you think that being a Stay At Home Parent isn’t like a 9-5 job, lets compare, shall we?

Coworkers:  In this case, your kids.  The people you spend 8+ hours a day with, in most cases you see them more than anyone else you know. With just as much drama and gossip.

Brown-Nosing: Whether you are wiping ass or kissing ass, it’s probably your least favorite part of the day.

Project Management: The never-ending cycle of fixing, re-doing, or re-starting every project your aforementioned coworkers screw up. While managing said project load with an ever-changing priority list.

Lunchtime: An excuse to drink a beer in the middle of the day. (kidding…mostly) Or maybe coffee is more your thing….

Time off:  The SAH equivalent is nap time. Which always flies by like you’re in a time warp. Sick days don’t exist when you don’t work a 9-5, but the trade off is nap time 1-2 times a day.

Water cooler banter: The SAH translation = playdates.  This is where all the latest drama or news is exchanged with any individual who’s over the age of 18. Small talk is BIG when you’ve been dealing with toddlers (or annoying coworkers) all day.

Drama: If you think the office crazy person is a drama queen, try spending an entire day home alone with a toddler.

Quitting time:  The last hour of the day before your sig-other get’s home slows down to turtle speed and seems to last FOREVER.

Mediation: Only in this case, you are the mediator and the 2nd party.  No middle man to help calmly solve the problem, so you usually end up giving in and your LO gets whatever toy or treat they threw a fit over to begin with.  Sometimes it’s just not worth the fight.

Overtime:  Being a SAHP means you don’t get to leave work or stop working after an 8 hour day.  Only you don’t get paid time-and-a-half.

Having a social child

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My parents tell stories about me as a child.  Hiding under the chairs at social gatherings or church.  Clinging to their legs in the company of strangers, or even people I’d met but didn’t see on a daily basis.  My stranger-danger was always on high alert.  And being the older sister, I made sure to protect my little bro by keeping him hiding out right along side me.  It wasn’t until I was in high school and part of the Speech Team (kind of like a  competitive theatre team) that I started to come out of my shy-shell.  I just wasn’t created as a social butterfly.

We had friends of the family who’s kids were younger than me and far more outgoing.  Always talking to everyone and anyone.  Always the center of attention.  I never understood how they were that way, and just assumed it was because of their parents being social butterflies and passing that along to them.

Then J came along.  He’s almost 3 now (OMG) and he is the quintessential social butterfly.  Everywhere we go, he’s making conversation with random people.  He’ll ask strangers at the store what something is.  He wants to tell anyone in earshot about his favorite toy.  The clients that come into my office hear all about his adventures, or his small water bottles that Pop-pop bought just for him.  He’s a talker.  A sharer.  A little spit-fire.

I have no idea where he gets it from.  Me and the Hubs are not particularly outgoing – at least not to that degree.  J’s stranger-danger seems to be dangerously low at times though.

I love that he’s so trusting in a lot of ways.  His trust makes him outgoing and adventurous.  He has no boundaries for trying new things, meeting new people, sharing his story with the world.  His ability to easily and effortlessly put himself out there will help him all his life.

I try and keep all that in mind on the days where my parental worries kick in.  When I get anxious that all his trust will put him in a dangerous situation.  It’s an internal struggle.

C isn’t old enough to see her whole personality yet.  She loves to flirt with anyone that smiles at her, but she’s only now walking and is still fully focused on people she knows.  Guess we will see!