busy bee

Now that I've been back to work for a week, I have finally realized how much I like to be busy. Yes, I do love sitting at home and I do love being alone at times, but having a (pretty much) filled up schedule helps me tackle the not-so-fun things I need to get done (like cleaning the house). I think I've done pretty well adjusting to my new schedule as a working mom - Seth is having some trouble with the adjustment (he had to get up earlier to take Avery to gramma's house every morning), but he's working on it. 

One thing that I'm sure has been helping me out so much is having my lunches and smoothies for the entire week made! This was probably one of the best ideas I've ever had, and I don't know why I didn't do it before (maybe because I didn't have a baby?).

Yesterday was an interesting day. I babysat Grace, one of our BFF couples' kids, at my mom's house while the boys were at the Tigers' game. It wasn't so bad. We only had 1 fit thrown and 1 extremely-nasty-not-from-this-planet super poop (I was laughing so hard at the nastiness that came out of Gracie, that I stopped breathing - it was intense). So, all in all, a good day. After dinner, I did my weekly grocery shopping, then headed home and whipped up this savory-sweet recipe for lunch during this week at work:

Apple Cranberry Quinoa Salad (adapted from a recipe at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped*

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

2 green apples, diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup feta, crumbled (leave out for a vegan option)

6 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tbs lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook quinoa according to directions and set aside to cool.

2. Add 1/2 cup of the walnuts, olive oil, and 2 tbs of the lemon juice to a food processor or high power blender and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. To a large bowl, add quinoa, apples, cranberries, green onions, feta, and the rest of the onions and toss with the remaining 1 tbs lemon juice. Add the walnut dressing and toss again, making sure to evenly coat all ingredients. 

*the actual recipe calls for the walnuts to be toasted prior to processing. I said F that because I'm lazy, but do what you want.