Not A Whole Menu, But Heres A Favorite Recipe.

Turkey and Hidden Veggie Meatballs

(shhh, please don't tell Chase about the veggies!)

one small chopped onion

one cup shredded veggies (carrots and/or zucchini)

half cup, well drained chopped frozen spinach

one cup whole wheat bread crumbs

one tablespoon worchertershire

teaspoon minced garlic (one lg. clove)

one egg

salt and pepper

Mix it all together in a large bowl, then have kids help you roll up some golf ball size meatballs.

Heat a large pan over med/high and coat with olive oil

Brown meatballs then reduce heat to simmer

Add a jar of marinara and simmer in sauce till meatballs are cooked through - 20 mins

*Mommy Tip; Add more veggies to the sauce and serve over whole wheat, brown rice or spinach pasta!

Not complaining, love my life and embrace the choices I make.... but is October over yet?

Wow! Camp Out menu has been up way to long, sorry to both of you. (hahahah) Once again, and I am sure not for the last time, I have spread myself thin..... I am sure no other mom in the history of motherhood has never done that!

I am now the proud mother of a kindergardener AND a preschooler. Having kids at different schools is rough, especially when they are both co-ops. I have a demanding business, I am the Vice-President and Major Donations chair for my daughters preschool, volunteer to teach P.E. to kindergardeners and first graders, sing in a band, and try to juggle all the other things life throws at me with some grace. Feeling overwhelmed listing it all, wheeeew!

But really, I am not complaining, I love my life and these are all things I truly want to be involved in. As are many of the other opportunities I have been asked to participate in, but I am learning to prioritize. I can focus on some of the other stuff later but for now being an active parent and taking care of myself too is plenty. After all, seeing Chase's face light up when I pretend to be a leaping gazelle in P.E is fuel for my soul.

Camp Out Menu

I am so excited to take off for a week in the wild! Ok, we are only going to Big Sur but it has been awhile since our last real camping trip. I think we may be bringing the wild animals with us, four families with eight kids total, it could be scary! At least I know we'll be eating well, I always have that to look forward to...

Monday - Mexican night, build your own taco or burrito

In order to be budget friendly for all four families, we decided to bring our own main course items but share all condiments and side dishes , no need to bring four tubs of sour cream. I am bringing fish for fish tacos, making a spicy slaw and fresh guacamole with avos from our tree, yummmm.

Tuesday - Grilled Pizza and Grilled Caesar Salad

I make the dough ahead with whole wheat flour and store it in an air tight container, we can let it re-rise at the camp site. To grill it the heat needs to be high but not flamin' and the trick is to have a tight grill grate so the dough doesn't sink through.

The grilled caesar is pretty basic but to grill cut the heart of romaine down the center, drizzle with olive oil and grill for marks before chopping and tossing with dressing. I even like to grill my own croutons.

Wednesday - BBQ Night, BYO Meat and Family Style Side Dishes

Each of the families are bringing their own side dish to contribute, I am making a pasta salad (recipe to follow) and BBQ baby back ribs with homemade apricot sauce from the preserves we canned, I can't wait!

Thursday - Simple Spaghetti Bake (made ahead and frozen)

I hate coming home to a dirty house and an empty fridge after vacation so I will wash the bedding and stock the pantry and freezer before we go. Things like cereal and sandwich fixins are good to have, but my favorites are freezer meals like my spaghetti bake. Just make regular spaghetti, put the cooked noodles topped with sauce and cheese in a casserole dish cover with foil and freeze. When you get home take it out and you can either thaw on the counter or just bake a little longer, about 45 min at 375. Enjoy!

Alia's Loaded Pasta Salad

Sorry its really hard for me to measure ingredients, just do the amounts you like. I eyeball everything or use what ever I have in the pantry. This pasta salad never looks the same twice!

One box whole wheat penne noodles cooked al dente (means with bite, so not mushy)

Red onion chopped *trick* put in ice bath to take out the bite

Roasted red peppers, jar at Trader Joes

Cherry tomatoes halved

Artichoke hearts marinated and quartered

Capers

Turkey pepperoni

Pepperoncini

Parmesan

Basil

Caesar dressing

Balsamic vinegar

Lemon juice

Butter beans

Fennel

Toss it all together using all or some of the ingredients above, you make like olives for example, but I won't let them near me! The longer this sits the better it is so make it at home and keep it in the cooler, also great beach lunch.

The Family that Ska's together . . .

My husband Matt is an amazing punk rock drummer and the worlds tallest! His first band Skamakazie, was started by nine of his buddies their senior year at Carpinteria High School, in 1995. They played mostly ska revival covers and some mellow punk, super fun. My friends and I would go watch them play at an all ages club called The Living Room before I even knew who Matt was. Skamakazie kinda faded out when some of the guys went off to college, but Matt has always continued to play and went on to be a touring musician, his current band is In The Red.

Three of the ten members found themselves living back in their home town this year and decided to get together, hang out and play some music in our band room. Ahhh, The Band Room aka The Hot Box, I have had mixed feelings about this room, but the room and the tall skinny man who loves it has grown on me alot in the past month. It used to feel like Matt would ditch me for band practice, like a boys club house and girls weren't allowed. There are also many times that I am so happy he has a place to go and let it all out. I may have even been a tad jealous, where could I go to blow off some steam?

A couple months ago, those three members of Skamakazie played a reunion show after 15 years at The Palms in Carp. All of their old friends they grew up with showed up, I have never seen The Plams so packed! The show was awesome, everyone was dancing and singing along. No surprise when they were asked to play a local fundraiser a few weeks later. Since it was a family friendly daytime event they needed to keep it mellow so they picked a bunch of Selecter and English Beat covers, but who would sing the female vocals?

ME! Me? Really? Sure I'll do that! What was I thinking! Alia learn to say "NO!"

I haven't performed since high school, all I do now is sing The Beatles to my babies and 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes' at circle time! I couldn't believe I said yes, but I am so glad I did. I was finally invited into The Hot Box! Even the kids came in with ear muffs on to watch band practice, (heheheh...... band practice, me singing with a band.) I could see Matt's eyes water up, he was so happy to have his whole family, all crammed into his favorite part of the house, he was stoked to share that part of his life with us, what a cool Papa.

We ended up performing twice, once at a house party for a friends birthday, and then the next day at the fundraiser. I was really nervous, but over all I had such a good time. Thanks for letting me in the band Skamakazie! Repeat performance?

Menu!

Monday ~ Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Tuesday ~ Tuna Melts and Tomato Soup

Wednesday ~ Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday ~ Breakfast! Waffles, Eggs and Sausage

Friday ~ Gruel Night (left overs or DIY)

Next week we are leaving for vacation so I want to use up everything in my fridge and pantry before we go. I can't wait to share my camp-out menu! We normally have a Gruel Night about once a week, I don't like throwing food away so sometimes leftovers evolve into a new meal or we just have sandwiches for dinner, on the really fun gruel nights we may even go out! I have a ton to get done this week so I really wanted to keep it simple. My kids love breakfast for dinner, I do hide sweet potato puree in the whole wheat waffles so they still get some veggies though! SHHHH, don't tell!

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

One eggplant sliced into 1/2 in thick circles.

one egg beat with a little water in shallow dish

one cup bread crumbs and one cup grated parmesan in another shallow dish

Spaghetti Sauce, one jar

~Dip eggplant into egg first on both sides then breadcrumbs, and brown on both sides in olive oil over med-high heat

~Top with spaghetti sauce and more parmesan cheese.

Sweet Potato Fries

Super easy! Just julienne, toss with olive oil salt and pepper and bake at a high heat (450)

Canning; flash back in time!

I jumped in my time machine with my good friend Deb (an organic chef) and traveled back in time to make . . . . apricot jam! We even wore aprons and smiles while the children played at our feet, ahhhh. Then we realized we didn't have the right size canning lids so Deb got on her cell phone and called her mom to go to Smart and Final and pick up some more for us; time warp perhaps? It was a fun adventure!

We picked about 12 pounds of apricots from the tree in my yard, pitted chopped and stewed all day. We kept it pure and simple, just apricots and agave nectar, delicious! My favorite part of the canning process was daydreaming with Deb about all the fabulous meals we could use our jam in. Can't wait to try those ribs Deb!

Schnitzel and Spaetzle

The weekly menu I posted Monday is pretty true to form of what meals look like at my house. I didn't want to show off or plan anything too fancy (or expensive) just because I was posting it into cyber space. So far what is on the chalk board is what we have been eating. Monday was an experiment meal, my girlfriend came over and we tried out a new recipe for Schnitzel and Spaetzle, fun to say and pretty fun to cook too! (Tyler Florence recipe on Food Network.)

Here is what we learned! Schnitzel is pretty easy to make but if you want to make your own bread crumbs you need to have a good food processor! We some how managed to blow themotor on mine and it started smokin'! The other thing we learned is you need great upper body strength to use Tylers collander method of making spaetzle, it was really hard! Maybe a ricer would have been easier? Overall the taste of this Austrian dish was worth the effort.

Menu!

Monday - Schnitzel and Spaetzle (recipe on food network's Tyler's Ultimate)

Tuesday - Candied Salmon, broccoli and cous cous

Wednesday - Chicken and bell pepper Fajitas

Thursday - Spaghetti Squash and meatballs

Friday - Sloppy Cubanos with sweet potato fries

Saturday - Relay for Life - event

Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas (make two, freeze one)

Candied Salmon

This is one of my favorite week night recipes, the whole meal takes about 10 minutes to make!

-4 fresh wild salmon fillets, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning and pat 1/4 cup of organic brown sugar onto the top of each fillet to make a thick crust.

-place on a cookie sheet and broil for 5 -7 minutes

Spaghetti Squash

-1 large spaghetti squash cut in half and seeded, place up side down in glass casserole dish, poke a few holes in top of squash and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350' for 30 minutes or until tender.

- when done scrape the flesh out in strings with a fork and serve like pasta!

Sloppy Cubanos (sloppy joes cuban cousin)

serves 6-8

8 whole wheat burger buns

1 lb ground turkey

1 pack soyrizo

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 tblsp worchestershire

1 tblsp organic brown sugar

zest and juice of one lime

swiss cheese

pickles

- saute onion and turkey, soyrizo and garlic, cook till brown.

- add sauce, sugar and lime, simmer while toasting buns

- build the cubano with meat swiss cheese and pickles

Enjoy everyone! And please feel free to email me with any questions!

"You did it!" vs "Good Job!"

Funny, but many of the comments I got back from my last blog, "You Did It!" were from people saying "Good Job!" to Chase. Funny because I have been wanting to write a blog about the over use of that phrase and this seems like the perfect opportunity. I know our loved ones mean to express their congratulations to him and for that I am thankful. My advice however is to parents.

When we say, "good job" to our children we are really only telling them our opinion of their behavior and that we are happy and not really giving them the strength to build their own self esteem and be proud of themselves. For example, your child comes to you and says, "Mommy do you like my painting?" You could say, "yes" and they would walk away happy but not fulfilled. Try instead saying, "Oh, tell me about your painting, did you have fun making it?" The purpose is not for your child to learn to please others but to be proud of themselves.

You Did It!

End of an era and start of something new! To deep for a preschool graduation? I am just so proud of Chase and the amazing kid he is becoming. It may only be preschool but to a five year old with his amount of life experience this far, it is BIG! I think he learned how to finish strong, say good bye and move forward knowing he had closure. What a good feeling to move onto Kindergarden with! Be proud of yourself son, you did it!

My Picky Eater

I am a total foodie, so of course my children would be. They wouldn't know any better, I would present them with gourmet baby food and they will grow up eating sprouted peas for snack and think prunes were candy..... right?

Yeah, wishful thinking! In reality my children have a mind of their own. I had my first child, a sensitive yet stubborn son named Chase. He nursed easily enough and at 6 months we introduced rice cereal with no problems. I had been told to introduce hardy vegetables first to lessen my child potential sweet tooth so I made him a butternut squash puree and it has been veggie war at my house ever since!

I moved on to the sweeter veggies, totally abandoning my original plan, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots. Pursed lip my son refused. I literally tried everything I could think of plus took the advice from anyone else who had an idea. I force fed, reintroduced over a hundred times, "Here comes the air plane, open the hanger," switched to store bought food, all to no avail. When I moved on to fruits we had better luck so I thought, 'maybe I can hide veggies in here,' NOPE! I swear Chase may have the most sensitive sense of smell, he would turn his head before I even made it all the way to his high chair. I was beyond frustrated, but mostly I was concerned about his nutrition, so I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time, I force fed. This went on for three years! He learned to like frozen peas but that was about it. I became sneaky, I would hide vegetable puree in almost all his food, spinach in a fruit smoothie zucchini in meat loaf. I had some success but most of the time he could detect a difference in flavor or texture, he could even separate the veggies out with his tongue!

It wasn't until a nutritionist came and spoke at my sons preschool that I realized that I had been creating an unhealthy relationship around food for my son. She also taught us that children's nutritional needs are different from an adults, while we need to eat fruits and vegetables every day children can get their needs filled over the course of a week. That took so much pressure off! The instructor of the preschool also challenged the parents to serve food at home they way they do at school; a platter of assorted fresh fruits and veggies first then a carb and protein after. I rose to the challenge and started making fruit and veggie platters for my son every day. Finally peace at meal time! Dinner time used to be so stressful, he would cry and say his stomach hurt before he even knew what we were having. When I let go of trying to control what Chase ate, he began to try new foods on his own, I couldn't believe it!

Now Chase is in control of of his eating habits. When he his hungry he can go to the fridge and grab a fruit or veggie from the tray, if he doesn't like what I have made for dinner he can make himself a bowl of plain Cherrios, a PB&J or any fruits and veggies he wants. I saw a huge change in Chase's whole personality he seems happier and more willing to try new things not to mention he had a huge growth spurt!

Testimonial

Friday was my last day with a little girl I have watched since she was a newborn . . . snif, snif. This is always a bitter sweet moment in the life of a childcare provider. I love her and have watched her grow and now it's time for her to move on to preschool. Her mother wrote me this thank you letter . . .

"I can't tell you how much I have appreciated you these past few years. You have become a part of our family. 'My daughter' has really adapted to you and the other kids. Without your guidance, support and dedication we both would not be where we are today emotionally, mentally, physically and socially. You have worked wonders with 'her' in her academics, social skills and in helping in the mess of co-parenting with her father. For this I can't thank you enough."

Don't say "OK"

Sorry friends, I know it has been awhile since my last blog, life happens! But there is one little word that has shocked me out of my brief retirement. The word by itself may seem innocent enough but it can be the start of a big mess. I hear parents adding it to the end of almost all of there sentences when talking to their child, it sneaks its way in as a question and allows a child to believe they have a choice when a subject my be non-negotiable ....... ok.

"Mommy has to go to work now,ok?"

"Daddy will play with you after I finish feeding the baby, ok?"

"You have to hold my hand when we cross the street, ok?"

The immediate response from a three year old to all of these questions is normally "NO!" And I don't know about you but holding my spirited three year old daughters hand across the street is non-negotiable, so why ask, "ok" as if she has a choice in the matter. I am all for giving age appropriate choices when the options are something you can live with but some things shouldn't have wiggle room. You are just setting yourself up for an argument with a child.

A lot of the time I think parents mean to say, "Did you hear/understand me?" but why not just say that? Or even have them repeat back to you what they heard you say. My kids also know the meaning of, "non-negotiable." On the flip side sometimes there is wiggle room and you can ask them to "convince me."

All I am suggesting to my fellow parents it that you become aware of how often you add "ok" to the end of your sentence. Do they have a choice in the matter or not? Mean what you say, thats all and trust me, many of the little squables you have had with your child will go away just by leaving out that one little word......ok?

Ventilate Your Home

I am a member of a fantastic organization called Green Care for Children that encourages everyone from childcare facilities to grandparents to practice green standards. They recently asked me to submit a poster for their booth at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival illustrating one of the Green Care pledge promises. We chose to illustrate how our daycare provides the best air quality possible by properly ventilating our home everyday.

This really is one of the easiest steps you can make towards greener living. Everyday we simply wake up and open all the windows in the house allowing the fresh air in and the harmful built up VOC's out. Even on a cold day we leave the windows open for at least an hour, but on a nice day we just leave them open all day long. I encourage all of you to start this routine today!

5 Tips for Growing "Green" Kids

1) Switch plastic baggies for reusable containers when packing your kids lunches. If you find it hard to pack a lunch without plastic then start teaching your kids about recycling and proper disposal. All plastic bags can be recycled in the bins in front of most grocery stores.

2) Save money and reduce your families exposure to harmful chemicals by cleaning with vinegar. At about $2.00 a gallon, vinegar really is a money saving option. The acidic Ph kills almost all viruses and bacteria, just switch up the concentration of vinegar to water depending on what you are cleaning. The all purpose cleaner we use at my daycare is 2 cups water, 2 table spoons vinegar and 2 drops tea tree oil mixed in a squirt bottle.

3) Compost! My garden has never looked so beautiful! You can buy a compost bin, make one from an old trash can or even just dig a hole in the back yard. Save all your organic kitchen scraps and yard waste, water occasionally and wah-lah, Soil!

4) Buy non toxic art supplies or make your own. Many store bought products contain preservatives that can be bad for our kids and our environment. Refer to my blog called "Recipe For Play" for instructions on making your own play dough and more.

5) Ventilate your home everyday to release toxic VOC's (volatile organic compounds) that build up. Let the fresh air and sunshine in for at least an hour everyday!

My Cleaning Priority

For those of you who know me you know that I don't like cleaning, I LOVE cleaning! I like to know where everything is, a place for everything and everything in its place. I like to know that my home has been deep down cleaned. I like knowing the tub has been scrubbed before I soak, I want the 5 second rule to last a whole minute on my floors, I dream about polished faucets and have nightmares about dust bunnies, I want my house to sparkle but most of all I want to do the cleaning, I think it is fun!

Before you start thinking I am some sort of neat freak, let me explain that my above statements are true but mostly fantasy. I run a daycare people! I don't have that kind of time on my hands! With my business, my two kids, two dogs and carpenter/musician husband, I feel like my house is always dirty. Sure I pick up everyday and because I am an organizer my home may appear to be tidy but I know that it isn't eat off the floors clean and it is the cause of much of my stress. I used make time everyday for cleaning one room in my house, but then I had kids and realized quality time with them was more important. So while I think having a clean home and setting good cleaning habits for my kids is important, the dishes will always be there when you get back. Silly time with my family and making memories is my priority.

Chase the Rain Blues Away!

With all the rain lately and more to come our daycare has been mostly indoors. We have had some days that we are all climbing up the walls but with a little creativity we have been trying to keep the rain blues away. Here are some fun ideas to let out some energy on rainy days.

My best advise to keep the kids from getting cabin fever is to let them run around outside every gap in the rain, stomp in puddles, hunt for earth worms, play simon says and get muddy! I normally don't allow movies during daycare hours but I have found some really great kids yoga and dance dvd's that we like to watch to get their wiggles out. Try setting up an indoor obstacle corse, all you need is a safe place for a summersault, a hula hoop to crawl through, some cones to weave in and out of and maybe a rope to jump over. The kids favorite thing to do at my house is a rock and roll dance party. We like to get all dressed up, pull out some scarves and music instruments and rock out!

We are all ready for the sun to come out but hopefully these activities will help you and your children for going stir crazy!

Recipe For Play

Do you want do buy yourself a half an hour of time with out kids in your hair to do laundry, make dinner or I don't know.... read a book? Well, instead of plopping them in front of a screen have some activities plans and prepared you can grab when you need a minute. I have a number of parents who ask me how to do our daycare craft projects at home and I have many fun and easy ideas of how to get more crafty with your kids. One of my very best ideas ever (if I do say so myself) was the craft boxes I made for my kids for Christmas this year. I bought twelve plastic shoe boxes and filled each one with all the supplies they would need to complete one arts and craft project. Some are messier than others so I also bought myself a very pretty oil cloth for my dining room table!

Some Craft Box Ideas:

Rock Painting

Animal noses, (cut out egg cartons, pipe cleaners and string)

Brown paper bag puppets

Box car, (empty juice box, egg carton wheels, straw axels and plastic lid wind shield)

Collage, (old magazine and scissors)

Rain sticks, (paper towel tube, beans, foil and tape to close the ends)

Recipes for Play:

Goo - Is it solid or is it liquid?!

16 ox box of corn starch

About 1 1/2 cups of water

-mix 'till smooth then pour and PLAY!

Ornament Dough

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup water

-knead until combined, then roll out to 1/4 inch thick (may need extra flour for dusting surface)

-grab some cookie cutters and have the kids help cut out shapes ( make a hole now if you plan on hanging them or stringing them for necklaces, a straw works best)

-place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes

-when hard and cool let the kids paint them!

Play Dough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

-mix together then cook in large pan over med heat 'till stiff.

- place on work surface to cool and knead in color.

Color ideas, (instead of food coloring) try beet, spinach or carrot juice. Frozen blue berries work well too, but are a little pricy!

Mix in some texture by adding oatmeal, cornmeal and coffee grounds for a sensory experience!

The possibilities are endless! I know there are parents reading this and they are worried about the mess, but I think this is an opportunity for you to let go a little and to teach your children how to clean up after themselves. Kids are messy, show them how to pick up! And for those of you saying, "My kid won't do that by them-self. They're going to ask me to do it for them!" I think your response to the child should be, "This is your artwork, if I made it then it would be mine, I want you to make one for yourself." Then step back and let them work, it may take a few tries but like everything else in life practice makes perfect and your child will learn independent play.

Gook Luck!

How Glasgow Family Childcare Began

Blogging is a new journey for me but I thought I should start with a little background first. My Name is Alia Glasgow and I was fortunate enough to be raised in beautiful Santa Barbara. I am a former preschool teacher, with a degree in Early Childhood Education and I now provide exceptional home childcare. I have over ten years of professional experience working with children. I have always loved playing with babies, when I was ten I began my "career" in childcare! There were many babies in my neighborhood and I used to go door to door asking if anyone needed a mothers helper. When I started high school I logged all my community service hours as a volunteer in a large preschool. As soon as I turned fourteen I applied for a work permit and got my first real paying job in a home daycare, I thought it was so cool that I got paid to play with kids all day! After high school I went to Santa Barbara City College for an AA in Early Childhood Education and taught at a very traditional preschool for a couple years. While working at the preschool I loved being around the children but I grew tired of the old fashion methods they enforced, so I went back to my roots of working in the home daycare environment. My new employer became my mentor and I learned more about children working for her in those few short years than I did in all my years prior and for that I am very thankful. In fact during the time I worked for her I got married to my husband Matt and became pregnant with my first child, Chase Parker and she talked me into starting my own daycare. That was over five years ago, now we also have a daughter named Payton Lilee. The journey has had its ups and downs but over all I am so glad I took this path. Now I am licensed, CPR and First Aid certified, finger printed, background checked and ready to PLAY! My home and facility are certified green by Green Care for Children, and the daycare is operated from my safe, clean, developmentally rich home in Carpinteria staffed by myself and one assistant. Our daily schedule includes lots of physical activities, free play, one on one time, a sensory table, arts and crafts, singing, story time, phonics for preschool-age, baby signs for infants and much much more! I provide one organic healthy morning snack served family style to teach and encourage healthy eating habits, communication skills and manners. I offer infant, toddler and drop-in care. With this blog I plan to reflect on past experiences and a explore new ideas both for my own personal growth and that of my childcare business. License #426213085

Introducing Glasgow Family Childcare: A GREEN environment

It's official... We are the FIRST childcare providers in Carpinteria, CA to go GREEN!!!

We are excited to incorporate our already green lifestyle into our home based childcare business. Not only do we use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, but all of our toys are safe for both children and the planet. We recycle, compost and continue to reduce our energy use.

We do not use pesticides in or around our facility and have eliminated the use of harsh chemical cleaners. We provide the best air quality possible by eliminating airborne hazards, as well as reducing children's exposure to harmful toxins that may have been found in plastic toys and arts and crafts supplies.

We are excited to use this opportunity to be an example of green stewardship by having frequent discussions and encouraging parents and their children to adopt these green standards at home.

We look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to learn and grow each day!

-Alia Glasgow

{Image borrowed from: philspector.wordpress.com}