^^ One of my three Valentines!!
And here’s the other captured at school! I love seeing him in the wild.
We had a low-key V-Day this year and decided to stay home with the kids and do a special dinner at home. We go out to dinner a lot, and I never feel that we HAVE to go on February 14. So we had Mona Lisa Pasta baked ziti, parmesan broccoli, and opened some wine. We slow danced in the living room while the boys chased each other in circles!
For a special dessert, the kids and I walked to The Pie Chest and picked up 3 slices to surprise Thomas. One slice from each of us. Mazen made cards, and we pulled them out after dessert. Dark Chocolate, Cookies n Cream, and Coconut Cream Pie! Heavenly.
T and I watched the Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix after bedtime. It was SO GOOD and I didn’t want it to end!!!
Saturday
I went to my 8am workout class and then went directly to Mazen’s basketball game after where I met everyone (Matt, Thomas, Birch). Mazen scored his very first basket!!!
A much needed refuel: egg sandwich, blueberries, nana.
Saturday Adventures!
Birch walking around in his marshmallow suit always cracks me up.
Leftovers for lunch – a big old salad.
Sweet Potato How To
I’ve been roasting up a pan of sweet potatoes every other week (so the kids don’t get sick of them). They’re so good to put on salads too. I cut the sweet potatoes into fries, arrange on a baking sheet with parchment (so it’s easier to clean), toss with olive oil, salt and cinnamon and bake for about 40 minutes at 425 degrees.
Birch was a little under the weather over the weekend. We think he is about to get a bunch of teeth. He has red cheeks, tons of drool, and fussiness. I checked his ears and they looked ok, so we gave him some Motrin and extra love.
Galentines
On Saturday night I headed over to Sarah’s for a Galentines party! I told Sarah I was bringing her a dozen roses – on my dress! An old Stitch Fix fav! (You can always get $25 your first order via KERF 🙂 )
Sunday Relax
Daily Harvest smoothie bowl. (You can get $25 off your first box there too with the code katheats!) This was Black Sesame and Banana – loved the new flavor!
Someone was up before sunrise, likely teething again. Can anyone relate? I sent this pic to my friend – haaaalllp!
Missing weekend recaps on Monday mornings?
One of you commented yesterday that you missed my weekend posts. I have always liked writing a weekend recap because those posts are fun and easy to write. They take me so much less time to write compared to topic or recipe posts. That said, for a long time I’ve struggled with when to write them. On Sundays I’d much rather be playing with my family than sitting down to work. Writing those weekend posts started to hang over me the minute I woke up on a Sunday. I considered publishing them Monday afternoon and writing them Monday morning, but that leaves little room for flexibility. I haven’t wanted to push them to Tuesdays because the weekend seems a bit less relevant on Tuesday.
So my compromise is to share weekend + weekly “lately” posts blended together when I can fit them in, likely on Tuesday or Thursday with topic posts on MWF. I hope you guys will continue to be understanding as I’m figuring out the best balance between motherhood and KERF.
Lately –> Real Meals
One more thing to note: Lately posts have been recategorized as Real Meals! Because that’s what they usually are 🙂
Melissa says
I completely agree with you about the Taylor Swift documentary! I really enjoyed it, especially watching her and the music producer’s creating music together. The creative process was an incredible and intriguing one to watch! True talent at its best!
Kath Younger says
Yes!! It was so cool to hear the songs we know now before they existed!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Cute! Hope you had a great Valentine’s Day! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Erin says
You should 100% do what works best for you and your family! I enjoy these posts, but I enjoy them just as much on a Tuesday as I would on a Monday and it’s not worth having a cloud over your Sundays. I always try my hardest to ensure I don’t have to work on a weekend. When something comes up and I DO have to work, I know that “cloudy” feeling and it SUCKS. Definitely do what you can to avoid that feeling and don’t worry about us–you and your fam should be your priority.
Kath Younger says
Thank you <3
Bethany says
Looks like a great weekend aside from Birch possibly teething! I too noticed the change in posting and the comment about it; not to be all “you do you” but really, you do you. I really appreciate your transparency with changes to your blog, especially pointing out things you are updating that still have old comments. Other bloggers have not been transparent and it makes me scratch my head as a reader seeing comments from years ago on a “new” post.
Kath Younger says
I’m glad the transparency is appreciated! I’ve done a lot of learning recently about blogging smarter. One of those tips encourages bloggers to recycle content, not because we’re trying to cheat our readers, but because if something is worth sharing once it should be worth sharing again. (I can’t say that for all of my posts – haha!) I have 12 years worth of content yet I often get stumped about what to write about. It was so eye opening to me that I don’t need to try to be creating something brand new that no one has ever thought of before 5x a week. That is hard to do no matter the topic!! Instead I could be taking a concept I wrote about 4 years ago and adding 2020 spin on it from my current perspective, therefore updating an old post that no one probably sees anymore but also making it better and more current. My goal is not to post old things and say “this was published in 2013, you’re welcome” but to say “this was a good idea I had in 2013 and here’s how it applies to my life now.”
Does that make sense? 🙂
April says
I loved the T Swift doc! I’m not a big Swifty but it’s cool to see an artist behind the scenes. As for the recaps and the blog in general, have you thought about pausing the blog to figure out how you want to move forward? I know the site has always been your diary/business, but you seem a little stressed about the scheduling of posts, the balance of “life” posts v. “topic” posts, etc. I’m sure your followers just want to see you happy and thriving, no matter the format. The funds from BC could make up any gaps in blog revenue (and old posts would still bring in money – I work in digital marketing so I think about this stuff all the time!) so you’d have the space to really think about what you want. Then you could figure out whether to continue the blog or move on to new channels – I’m sure your loyal readers would follow you anywhere!
Kath Younger says
That’s what I’ve been doing since Christmas! I have a clear focus now and dropping back to 2 posts a week for a while really helped me catch up behind the scenes (work on a redesign, which helped with branding, wrap up SEO audit, etc, etc) I’m finally . ready to ramp up my posting schedule again!
Amanda says
Feel you on the toddler teething!! Question – when you mention that you checked Birch’s ears and they looked OK, how did you check them?
Kath Younger says
I bought this otoscope. My mother in law is a nurse and taught me how to use it. (We practiced on the adults). Obvi I am not a medical professional, but at least I know what looks normal so anything abnormal I would take him in for.
Laura says
How did you check Birch’s ears? I’d love a way to rule out ear infections without a visit to a doctor when oftentimes it’s just teething fussiness.
Thanks!
Kath Younger says
I bought this otoscope on Amazon. My mother in law is a nurse and taught me how to use it. (We practiced on the adults). Obvi I am not a medical professional, but at least I know what looks normal so anything abnormal I would take him in for.
K~ says
Thanks for the idea to make SP fries. Also, I can no longer click on your emails to get to your blog. I think there is a link at the bottom? I would rather read her on my large pc screen. Will you add links again to the top or photos that take us back here …. pls advise Than
ks
Kath Younger says
Hmm I’d be happy to look into this. Can you please email me ([email protected]) and maybe forward an older email so I can see the link button you’re referring to?
Kathryn says
Anywhere on your email, I used to be able to click anywhere and it would bring me here, to the internet. Now I have to scroll all the down. I can still get here but it is not as easy. Hey, I love you and your family , your mom, your sis I read all your blogs. Happy for you .
Kath Younger says
So any of the text would be a link? Hmmm! And you get my full post by email each day? I’m still trying to figure this out! Can you forward me one where it worked?
Eliza says
Is that a buff that Mazen is wearing around his neck? Has he gotten into Survivor with you?
Kath Younger says
It is a buff but it’s a Smokey the Bear one! He’s obsessed with it and calls it his neck warmer.
Jess says
Completely relate to the teething picture. My little buddy is almost one, still has no teeth, but seems like he’s about to get about eight at the same time. Send help. Would selfishly love to read more about what Birch is eating these days!
Kath Younger says
he’s gotten a little pickier! (to be expected…) I will try to plan one!
LB says
Dear Kath,
I’ve been reading your blog since 2010. I am a first-time commenter. I find the posts entertaining and sometimes helpful. I especially enjoy the nutrition centered posts, in part because of your authority as an RD. I also like the posts that deal with your children because I am the mother of two small children under three. My daughter is one month younger than Birch. When I read this blog entry and your responses to the comments, though, I was surprised.
I have dealt with my fair share of ear infections (including two rounds of tubes for my oldest child). Respectfully, I think it is a bad idea to imply or suggest to your readers that they self-diagnose an ear infection. My mother is a physician and has been for twenty years. She had been a nurse practitioner for twenty-four years before she became a physician. She went to medical school while I was in high school. During the time she was a nurse practitioner, she worked for an ENT.
She is of the opinion that it is inappropriate and unprofessional to diagnose family members beyond strongly suggesting that they seek medical treatment. She certainty would not suggest that I use or obtain an otoscope for the purposes of self-diagnosing my children, although she certainly has the credentials to train. What if I got it wrong?
An ear infection is one of the last indications of a bacterial infection, which for small children may often be best treated with antibiotics and may be caught earlier if a child is presented for medical diagnosis and treatment prior to presentation with an ear infection. Furthermore, a trip to the pediatrician’s office often rules out more serious infections such as flu, strep or RSV, which would not necessarily present as an ear infection.
I respect and understand that you and your readers have every right to use their individual judgment as parents to determine what is best for their children, including declining medical treatment entirely. It seems like a bridge too far, however, to suggest to your readers that they can substitute the judgment of a medical professional by purchasing medical equipment on the internet and practicing on healthy adults or children. I am also surprised that you, as an RD, would be comfortable suggesting this approach.
I recognize that not everyone has health insurance (although in most states children are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP- as they should be), access to quality medical care, or the money and time to take off work to seek medical care. These may be one of the reasons that you chose to self-diagnose your child. A debate about the actual barriers to medical diagnosis/treatment and reasons that some moms use this approach seems like it would be an interesting discussion for your blog, but providing a hyperlink to medical equipment and suggesting that a few rounds of practicing with a nurse puts anyone in a position to diagnose an ear infection (in a small child who is likely very squirmy) gives the impression that you are endorsing this approach, even if you are not.
I hope that you will post this comment so that your readers can engage in a discussion about the pros and cons of self-diagnosis and its risks and benefits. Look, I get it. I’m a mom that works a demanding, 60-80 hour-a- week job with a husband that does the same without in-home care. It is never easy to make a trip to the doctor (even when money and insurance are not an issue), and frankly, it can also be frustrating when the pediatrician says its just a virus- stick with fluids and fever reducers.
But, it is more frustrating to read a blog post that makes it seem as though figuring out if your child has an ear infection is easy-peasy. It would be great to talk about what it really going on: how to balance the demands of caring for small children, mom-doubt, and knowing what works for you to determine if medical diagnosis is warranted and why it works (even if it is self-diagnosis). I understand that these may not be topics that you want to take-on for your blog. I respect that decision, but I think if you are going to mention self-diagnosis in a manner that sounds like a recommendation, you should avoid doing it in the off-hand, causal way that it comes across in this post.
Food for thought…
Laura
Kath Younger says
Hi Laura,
I certainly don’t disagree with you! I consider my otoscope as a screening tool not a self diagnosis. Much like I would use a thermometer to screen for a fever and then take him to the doctor if he was not at a normal temp, I’m using the otoscope to screen the ears. If I saw anything abnormal I would run not walk to the doctor to have a doctor check it out to diagnose. As you said, we would need antibiotics! And if Birch was acting sick and his ears looked good to me, I would STILL take him in to rule out all other sicknesses.
Lillian says
I have to say, this is an unwise approach to take. It takes years of dedicated training to appropriately determine what an ear infection looks like. There are nuances that you, as a non trained medical provider, have absolutely no way of knowing. You do not know the anatomy of an ear, Light reflexes, if there is pus without redness behind an ear drum, you could miss a hole .. again. This is not a cut and dry “screening” test appropriate for at home. Please reconsider this strategy and removing this from your post.
The Many Thoughts of a Reader says
Wasting 30 bucks to be told “she’s just fussy” a few times makes any object that could make the determination for you a great idea. While we haven’t purchased one, I have friends who have because 30 bucks is 30 bucks and if you have a kid who gets a lot of ear infections, it’s pretty easy to tell after awhile if they have certain tells. I think we are all smart enough to make our own decisions about this. But 30 bucks is 30 bucks. And we have insurance.
Lindsay says
I much prefer your day in the life recap / life lately posts because they are the most REAL. I feel like so many bloggers are “trying too hard” to create content when in all actuality it is the basics that keeps people coming back. We enjoy taking a peek into your life and enjoy seeing your family grow and change! I look forward to seeing how you continue to manage the blog going forward! 🙂
p.s. I still think some of my favorite blog posts of yours are from when you went on your trip to Africa with Lipton Tea. So much has changed since then!
Kath Younger says
I hear you! I do try to make my topics as personal as possible. So if I’m writing about kid food it’s actual food my kids eat or how to organize a closet its my actual closet or healthy mindset it’s struggles and wins in my life. But I do know so many of you fell in love with diary blogs. And that trip was once in a lifetime!
Danielle says
I agree. I’d just suggest writing the weekend recap on Monday whenever you have a chance and publishing live – no specific time.
Jessica says
It’s Wednesday! I’m just now reading this weekend recap and still enjoying it. 🙂
Kath Younger says
Haha great!!