Happy Wednesday, Friends!

Today is a day for revealing a couple favorites of mine. First up, sleep training! We all need sleep or we will start doing things that make us ask the question, “What was I thinking?” And we don’t want a repeat of that! So here’s a question for you. Have I shared with you the magical existence of this clock?

A friend of mine recommended it to me about 3 years ago when I was desperate for Esther to stay in bed each morning until it was time to get up. She used to wake up at 6 and come find me. Which for me, who spent the night nursing twins, was WAY too early.

Here’s how it works, there’s a back light that lights up the sleeping bunny when it’s time for your little tike to be in bed. At the time you set for the alarm the light switches to the walking bunny. Kids who are too young to tell time look at bunny and know if they should be sleeping or awake. It’s as simple as that.

There are two alarms (no sound). So I set one for 7:15am and one for 3pm. Because of  the bunny clock, all five kids take a 2 hour nap. Every. Single. Day. No one invades my bed in the morning until 7:15. By which time I am already up.

They have other colors too. I bought a pink one for Esther, which is a sleeping/dancing ballerina cow. And they even have a little lamb as well. So cute. These clocks have been vital to our survival of 5 kids who span a grand total of 3.5 years. Synchronization of naps has been something I valued early on. Mainly because by the time nap time rolls around I need one too.

My shameless secret is that about 75% of the time I’m napping right along with them. Every now and then I have a day of productivity, but nap time is generally reserved for me to do something I can’t do when they are up. Like taking a power nap.  I know that if I am a tired mom I make bad decisions.

Bunny is good to me. He’ll change your life too.

Citrus-Herb Chicken Soup

The other day I made this recipe up because I couldn’t find one. It is perfect for crisp fall nights. I like to pair it with a fresh piece of homemade bread.

In a Dutch oven, simmer for two hours:

• 2 Whole Rotisserie Chickens (or fresh organic whole chickens)
• 2 Tbs dried Parsley
• 2 Tbs dried Thyme
• 2 Tbs dried Basil
• 2 cups lime juice
• 1 cup water

Remove the chicken bones and pour everything else into a large stock pot. Add the following ingredients:

• 1 1/5 cups wild rice blend
• 1 diced onion
• 2 chopped green onions
• 3 Tbs minced Garlic
• 1 lb chopped kale
• 1 large lemon quartered
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/5 tsp Better than bullion (Chicken)
• 1 1/5 tsp Better than Bullion (Veggie)
• 4 quarts water
• 1/2 cup cream (optional)

Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Serve with homemade croutons. I use the heels and tops of my bread loaves for homemade croutons. I just chop them up and toss them with olive oil, onion & garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese. Then I bake them at 375 on a foil lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes until crisp.

Note: If the soup is too hot to serve to your littles, adding cream to their bowls cools it down quicker. Its delicious with or without it so go with what you love!

Makes about 1.5 gallons of soup. I freeze what we don’t eat.

Leslie