TJ's Picnic

Pancakes in bed is probably my favorite weekend tradition at our house (obviously!), but it has been a hard one to do since Calvin's arrival. We tried to pull it off this past weekend, but by the time I got Calvin fed, got the pancakes made, set up Calvin with some toys in his crib to play with, and got back in bed to enjoy breakfast with James, we barely had time to finish eating before Calvin got fussy and needed to be put down for a nap which meant that James and I got kicked out of the bedroom (which we all share). Not as relaxing and indulgent as it used to be.

But maybe one day the boys can have pancakes in bed with us (what a syrupy mess that will be I'm sure!)... and then that probably won't last long before they will ditch us in favor of something like Saturday morning cartoons (is that still a thing?).

Meanwhile, now that James has Officially Completed the Requirements of his PhD, we have been able to dust off some of our other weekend traditions like hiking and, for James, homebrewing. This weekend (after the pancakes in bed attempt) we enjoyed another favorite tradition of mine: our TJ's picnic! (TJ's as in my favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's).

Rather than picking up deli sandwiches or preparing picnic food at home, we just pick up a few favorite items from Trader Joe's to make our picnic. I guess what makes it feel like a tradition is that we always get the same basic supplies:

- a loaf of sourdough bread
- a tub of TJ's bruschetta sauce
- a couple of different cheeses (this time we got mozzarella and Jarlsberg)
- some kind of meat or two (this time we just got nitrite-free turkey for me because I'm pregnant, but usually we get turkey and salami)
- fruit (we went with strawberries and plums)
- a bar of dark chocolate (we forgot this one this time! darn it!)

In the pre-pregnancy and pre-baby days that list would also include a bottle of red wine... maybe one day it will make it back on the list.

For Calvin, we brought some applesauce, cheerios, and crackers. We also shared bites of mozzarella and turkey with him.

Calvin definitely brought his appetite to the picnic! He ate plenty of applesauce and cheese... and he got to enjoy his new favorite food: Ritz crackers! Yum :)