Bad Day, Brilliant Dinner

Today was one of "those" days. Things were going well...until the beloved, anticipated, and dreaded afternoon nap.

I woke rather groggy and grumpy from normal mother sleep deprivation (a mother's work never being done kept me up until 11 pm), but a couple coffees, and two agreeable independent children later, and we were doing splendid. Morning nap for the baby wasn't "easy" but it went alright. Morning play time with the toddler was fine, I even got some cleaning done at the same time! Then Nap Time, with capitals N and T, arrived.

That wonderful time of day where children are supposed to close their little eyes, staying silent and still in their little beds for an extended period of time. Our toddler is in a pretty good routine these days. He usually goes to sleep well and I can count on minimum an hour and a half, occasionally even up to three hours. The baby is six and a half months and would naturally probably sleep two to three hours in his morning nap then have one or two shorter ones later on, but that would leave us trapped at home ALL day and me constantly juggling one sleeper. I can't do that. I need my alone time. I'm a mom, and a sleep-deprived introvert still recovering from a back injury. I NEED my alone time.

Instead the baby napped while a nursed him, then didn't like how I transferred him into his crib and refused to go back to sleep.

It really is futile arguing with a baby. They don't listen to reason, are unmoved by emotion, resistant to tears or begging. I tried anyway. I had already forgotten my "Acceptance = Success" wisdom from this morning. I knew I should give in but I was sooo tired I couldn't let go of the possibility that he would sleep in his crib and I would be by myself. So we fought for almost two hours, then I caved.

We came downstairs, I found a toy he didn't cry with and buried my crying eyes in a pillow. I even managed to relax for maybe ten minutes before our toddler woke up.

The rest of the afternoon was okay. I tried driving to the store hoping baby would catch a few winks - he didn't. Apparently cloudy skies are far too interesting.

I even thought bedtime would be easy since he was so tired. (Seriously, what six month old stays awake for five hours straight!) But that was a disaster because my store trip messed up the timing of dinner; husband was working even later than usual; baby had trouble settling because overtired; toddler and dog interrupted bedtime by marching into the nursery right when baby had just fallen asleep, which re-started the whole process; kicked toddler and dog out; toddler crawled onto kitchen counter to find snack; yelled until I came to help him down; baby now fully awake- you get the idea.

And now it's 10 pm. Both kids (and the dog) are fed, in bed, and asleep. The house is still standing, the world is still turning. So I write this as a reminder to myself and all other mommy readers struggling through a rough day. You WILL survive. 

At least I made a very healthy, delicious supper that both toddler and husband loved. It's one of my favourite fall/winter soups. It freezes well and the hardest part is the chopping. So here it is, as found in and issue of 'Fine Cooking' by Ellie Krieger:

Autumn Vegetable Soup
Can be refrigerated for 3 days (I've done up to 7 days), and freezes up to 2 months.
Feel free to substitute other fall vegetables or beans.
(Takes me about 10 minutes focused chopping, plus cooking of 25 minutes = 35 mins total
Allow extra time if children afoot.)
Yields about 8 cups; serves 6 to 8 as a starter
(with my husband's eating it feeds our family of three as the main dish twice)

2 Tbs     olive oil
3            medium carrots, cut into medium dice
1            large yellow onion, cut into medium dice
2            medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Cups   peeled butternut squash, 1/2 inch cubed (about half a 2 lb squash, I often add the whole thing)
1/4 tsp    ground allspice (I add a bit extra, this is my favourite part when the smell hugs my nose)
pinch     cayenne pepper
1 qt        lower salt chicken broth (= 4 cups)
1 can      no salt added diced tomatoes
4 sprigs  fresh thyme (I find a few dashes of ground thyme gives bigger punch)
2 Cups   lightly packed, coarsely chopped kale (I add more, about 2 small bunches of kale)
1 Cup    lower salt canned chickpeas

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. 
Add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 min more.
Add the squash, allspice, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt and stir to combine.
Add the broth, tomatoes with their juice, and thyme. 
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 mins.
Add the kale and the chickpeas and cook uncovered until the squash is tender and the kale has wilted, about 10 mins more.
Discard the thyme springs before serving.
Season to taste with more salt and cayenne.