Dear 3 Boys

I’m really excited to have found yet another way to use buttermilk in something I know my family already loves to eat with practically anything:   potatoes!   Buttermilk adds such a natural creaminess to these mashed potatoes, and is lower in fat than milk or cream.   I love making mashed potatoes with Yukon Gold potatoes, but really, any kind will do.    Very thankful for my partnership with Farmland Fresh Dairies , which has allowed me to share some of my family’s favorite recipes with you all! Ingredients: ·       1.5 pounds (4 medium) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks   ½ cup Farmland Fresh Dairies’ buttermilk ·       Salt & Pepper ·       2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks Directions: 1.   Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt, and cook until potato...

After taking our first, family trip to Lake George with “twins plus one,” I learned a lot from the experience – things I hope to remember the next time we plan a trip together.   I mean, really, the thought of surviving a nearly 4-hour long trip there from Manhattan, along with the twin’s first time away from home in a hotel for 5 days, was nerve wrecking.  Ultimately, I’m glad we took the risk and built some wonderful family memories there this summer.  And who knows where the Dedaj’s are off to next! I’ve always been a planner and taken great pride in organizing and putting together events, whether it was for a Publishing Party in my English middle school classroom, or my twins’ baptism celebration.   I consider myself a pro and actually enjoy putting together “agendas” for day trips with my husband or friends, researching and collecting sites to visit.   However, traveling with 2 one-year old’s and a rambunctious 5-year old was a whole new exper...

"Perpeq" is one of my fondest childhood memories because it brings me back to Easter time, as my mom and grandmother mostly made it in our house during that time of year.  Guess it was because we had all those eggs in the fridge!  Actually, it's a dish that my family traditionally blessed as their breakfast food for Easter Sunday.  I appreciate this dish so much because it is exclusively part of my Albanian culture, and it reminds me constantly of the simple ingredients and creativity Albanian women have used historically, living in large families and persevering through many adversities.  I am not sure what to call this in English, but the closest thing I’ve had to “perpeq” is egg custard, though it is different.  “Perpeq” makes a great dessert OR breakfast item.  Thankfully, I am partnering with Farmland Fresh Dairies to share this recipe with everyone, using the best quality milk. It’s taken me years to put this recipe together because my ...

I’m not sure which one of us is most excited about starting Kindergarten in September: mom or David! What I can tell you for certain is that we are both engaging in some activities this summer to gear up and get ready to be a Kindergartner. Entertaining and caring for twins plus one who are 4 years apart every day is serious work and effort! I try to incorporate these quick things we can do at home to prepare for Kindergarten, especially to avoid spending too much time watching TV. Some days this is really difficult to do, especially with more time being spent outdoors in the summer and all the more challenging when you have 2 toddlers around as well, demanding mom and big brother’s attention. Below is a list of some very simple and quick ideas and things we have been trying out throughout our days. Each of these items only take a few minutes to complete and can easily be incorporated as routines while younger kids are around (or even better done as quiet activities while the youn...

Time is the most valuable commodity for any mother - and when you're the primary caregiver of 3 kids, and still trying to stay up-to-date with your career while managing most of the household duties on your own because you're the lucky adult who gets to stay home most of the day, then time becomes all the more precious:  it can never be wasted. Going from being a working mom of 1 and jumping to a stay-at-home mom of 3 was seriously a whole other game I was not mentally prepared for at the time.  It's been a little over a year now since I became a mom of "twins plus one," and so I decided to share a list of my top time-management hacks that help me save time throughout my day for all the other things I always need to be doing...so here goes! 1.  Prepare Supplies in Advance & Organize your Spaces When I was a classroom teacher, preparing materials for the 96 students I was teaching English to every given day was probably the most time-consuming part of...