Sleepy Friday

First of all, the Irish soda bread turned out pretty well. I think I found the right recipe, I just need to work on my technique a bit.

Today we are staying in and being quiet. My kids have seemed extra worn out lately. I'm not sure if it's the time change or us being busy or just life, but they've been cranky and tired. Both of my kids have always been very sensitive to their need for sleep. I hear about young kids that don't nap or go to bed really late, and I never can believe it. I mean, these kids seem totally happy and fine, but mine are a serious disaster when they are over-tired. When Porter was a toddler, I could pretty much never find a reason to leave the house in the afternoon that would make up for his insanity that night if he missed his nap. And Molly is much the same way. She needs a good 2-3 hour nap in her crib or she's miserable.

However, with Porter being older and us having a lot more to do (and me actually having stay at home mom friends), this doesn't always happen. Yesterday we had a play group meeting in the afternoon, so I put her down for a nap in the morning, and she slept for maybe an hour. I figured she could doze in the car later as we were driving home, and that would be enough. But man, she was getting cranky as we were leaving, and when we got home she had turned into a mini-beast that collapsed in tears every time you looked at her. It was a pleasant evening.

Porter gave up naps months and months ago, but he's been acting tired in the afternoon lately too. Twice in the past week, I've had him get in bed, and he's slept for two hours and still been happy to go to bed at eight. I'm not sure what this is all about. Maybe he's going through a growth spurt or maybe he's just been getting a lot of exercise. But two hours in the house with no conscious kids? I'll take it.

In any case, Molly is on her second nap of the day, and we have been having fun inside. We made pancakes for breakfast (Porter's absolute favorite). And homemade play dough (which I love since the color is much less noticeable once it is ground into our carpet).

I'm Cooking: Fish with Roasted Vegetable Ragout, Rice Pilaf. The fish and veggies were a new recipe for me, and I thought it was a fantastic, healthy dish. I used zucchini, red onion, canned diced tomatoes and carrots, but you could use almost any vegetable combination you wanted (although personally I think the tomatoes and onion are a must). I think just about any kind of fish would work too. I had tilapia, and seasoned it with lemon pepper.