The Little Things Newsletter #356 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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March 18, 2023

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! My youngest son turns 13 this weekend and even though we’ve been watching the calendar waiting for this weekend to finally arrive, it’s a little bit unreal. We have three teenagers in the house now and I love it.

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, parenting older kids is a whole lot more fun than the babies and toddlers ever were. If you’d told me 15 years ago just how cool it would be to have teenagers, I never would’ve believed it.

ON THE BLOG this week: This is beyond any doubt the BEST ham I have ever tasted – and the secret is all in the 3 ingredient ham glaze. (This ham is so completely worthy of hyperbole; I gave up on attempting to write the post without it.)

Fresh broccoli with dried cranberries, bacon, and red onion tossed in a tangy sweet dressing makes for a crave-able Cranberry Broccoli Bacon Salad. This salad was a hit with my non-broccoli fans too!

Tangy, sweet, Memphis bbq sauce is so much tastier than anything store-bought! (And you can make it with just a few pantry ingredients!) Have you tried making barbecue sauce? If you haven’t, it’s time to give it a try.

This lightly sweetened baked oatmeal is filled with bursting blueberries and wholesome oats with a hint of fragrant cinnamon.

This garlicky Bacon Asparagus Pasta includes a generous handful of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes as a perfect match to the fresh flavor of asparagus. (I actually had to hide the tiny portion leftover last time we made this because I was determined to have it for lunch the next day!)

Steak Fajita Quesadillas combines the rich, meaty flavor of a steak with the vibrant colors and bold flavors of fajita vegetables, all wrapped up in crispy, cheesy tortillas.

This lightly sweetened and spiced cake is filled with chunks of apple, then drizzled with warm caramel sauce just before serving. A sprinkling of raw sugar over the top of the cake adds a bit of crunch and sweetness as well.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies are thick, chewy chocolate cookies topped with gooey marshmallows and a generous dollop of fudge frosting.

Cinnamon coffee cake loaded with layers of buttery cinnamon brown sugar streusel is something

Losing just 39 minutes of sleep can impact kids, so how can we help?

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A new study has highlighted how losing just 39 minutes of sleep in a night can impact children. So what can we do to help kids get the best night’s sleep possible?

Losing just 39 minutes of sleep can impact kids, so how can we help?

As adults, we know just how much sleep affects our ability to go about our daily lives. Following on from those nights where we toss and turn, getting through the next day is a whole lot harder. And, it’s the same for kids. In fact, it might be even worse.

In a new study, published this week in Jama Network Open, researchers found that a difference of just 39 minutes in a child’s total sleep can have a big impact on them.

Monitoring 100 participants between the ages of eight and 12, the children were asked to alternate between a week of going to bed one hour earlier than normal, and then one hour later – with one week of going to bed at their normal time between those two changes.

Both the children and their parents then filled out questionnaires, rating their sleep disturbances and impairment during the day, as well as their quality of life as it relates to their health.

The assessment asked the children questions about whether they felt they were able to pay attention while in school, as well as how they felt physically.

Prior to the study, all the children who took part regularly slept between eight and 11 hours each night, and were also generally healthy. What the researchers saw after one week of the children receiving 39 minutes less of sleep each night, was the children reporting lower overall wellbeing, and they also found it more difficult to cope at school.

“Sleep is such a fundamental human requirement that, when it eludes us, it can have a negative impact on our day-to-day lives,” says hypnotherapist Angela Brown. “The impact of poor sleep can range from poor concentration to challenging behaviour, inability to learn new tasks, stress, anxiety, and depression.”

With so much at stake, how can you best support your child with their sleep? Angela has some suggestions:

1. Establish a routine

“Keep to a routine with a set amount of sleep. This helps to get our circadian rhythm back on track, so we feel more alert and able to function effectively.”

2. Set the scene

“If we can control the stimuli in the bedroom, it can have a positive effect on our sleep. Things to think about are the weight of the duvet – lighter for summer, heavier for winter. Thick curtains or black-out blinds, so our brains know it is time to sleep. No blue light, so no phones, TVs, or electrical devices in the bedroom.”

3. Encourage exercise

“With as little as 30 minutes of activity, such as walking, running, and playing, we increase our ability to concentrate, giving us a chemical reward by generating positive endorphins, which help us to cope with life’s ups and downs.”

4. Control the light

“Our sleep is affected by the amount of sunlight we get. If we’re sitting inside on a computer by a window for 30 minutes, we might get 300 lumens of light on a sunny day. Whereas if we went outside and had a drink in the sunshine we might get as many as 25,000 lumens of light. That means more vitamin D and melatonin, which are

Friday Faves

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Hellooooo! Happy Friday and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! How are you? I hope you’ve had a great week. The girls were on spring break, so the week was filled with sleepovers, slow mornings, a shopping day, trip to Mini Time Machine Museum, dinner with friends, the trampoline park, and we’re heading to see Taylor Swift tonight. It’s P’s first concert and the girls are pumped!

We’re also headed to a cabin for a night this weekend and a birthday party. Even though we didn’t go out of town for spring break, we managed to pack in a ton of fun events!

How was your week? I’d love to hear what you have going on this weekend. Any fun St. Paddy’s day celebrations ahead? If you’re looking for the best St. Patrick’s Day cocktail, try this one.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves

Read, watch, listen:

Finished this book and having a serious book hangover. It was one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read and I’m having a hard time picking the next one! It was beautifully-written, sucked me in immediately, and while I couldn’t wait to find out what happened, I also didn’t want it to end. It’s mind-boggling that it was based on a true story and this book was completely outside my usual WWII historical fiction picks. If you have anything similar that you loved, please lmk.

Definitely check out this week’s podcast episode with Nicole Jardim. She shares so many amazing tips on how to support your hormones and optimize your cycle.

Loved this post and perfectly articulates how our perception of birthdays can change over time. (I used to love my birthday but now I just enjoy spending it with my little family and eating cake, but hate the pressure I always seem to feel, like I haven’t done *enough* over the past year.)

Fashion + beauty:

More Frownies goodies. I got my usual Frownies but added the undereye gels and the mask. I’ll definitely report back on the new products! Frownies has done wonders for helping with my 11s (aka WTF lines) in between my eyebrows. You have to use them for a while and use them consistently to see a difference but I’m a fan. Botox still freaks me out (never say never but for now, it’s not for me), so this has been a good alternative.

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Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

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Cinnamon coffee cake loaded with layers of buttery cinnamon brown sugar streusel is something that I can not resist whenever it is in the house. Fortunately, it’s irresistible to everyone I know, so it disappears fast any time I make it.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake stacked on plate

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Whether it’s early in the morning with a cup of coffee, mid-afternoon, or late at night, this cinnamon coffee cake is a favorite. Heavy on the cinnamon streusel, this cake is literally half streusel.

The sour cream gives a delicious richness and tender, moist crumb without making the cake overly sweet. It really is the perfect treat with a mid-morning cup of coffee or afternoon tea. My kids devour it as an after-school snack.

streusel coffee cake stacked on plate

Simple cakes like this one are some of my favorite treats to share. Whether I’m taking a whole meal to someone, or sharing a dessert just to bring a friend a smile, cinnamon coffee cake with abundant layers of cinnamon streusel is perfect for any reason.

I first shared this recipe in The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook and it’s been on my frequent repeat list ever since. (For those of you counting, that’s a solid 7 years in the favorites rotation!)

I’m happy to tell you that coffee cake freezes quite well. Wrap individual slices tightly and store them in an airtight container or zip-close bags. Frozen cake can be thawed at room temperature or reheated from frozen in the microwave.

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Maternal mental health: What support is available?

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Following research from LSE and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, we chatted with pregnancy and postpartum psychotherapist, Sophie Harris, to learn more about the support available for new and expectant mums

Maternal mental health: What support is available?

Research conducted last year by the London School of Economics and Political Science, commissioned by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, revealed the devastating impact that perinatal mental health problems have on women and their families when not effectively treated. What’s more, the former 2014 report calculated that perinatal mental illness costs the UK £8.1 billion annually.

Since 2014, the UK has invested in specialist services provided by the NHS to transform the lives of expectant women with complex mental health problems and their babies. As welcome as these findings may be, more action is now required to see that women and their families receive the quality of care that they need

Whilst improvements have been made, access to perinatal mental health services is still a challenge. The report highlights the long waiting lists for mental health services, including those provided through the NHS Talking Therapies programme (previously known as 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' or IAPT). Not only this, but many of the services are unable to meet pregnancy and parenting-specific needs. This means some women don’t accept referrals, miss appointments or are dissatisfied with their treatment.

With more maternal mental health problems being identified as a result of the pandemic, now has never been a more important time to ensure services can respond to increasing demands and are fit for purpose.

The outcomes from the LSE report propose a better integration of perinatal health services, such as maternity and health visiting, with primary mental health services. The collaborative efforts will help address maternal wellbeing and support the early developmental needs of children. This, coupled with identifying women in need and facilitating access to treatment, will have a clinically cost-effective role in society.

We chatted to pregnancy and postpartum cognitive behavioural therapist, Sophie Harris to find out more.


Do you find the findings from the 2014 report surprising?

“Absolutely not,” Sophie says. “Not only are the impacts of maternal mental health difficulties felt by the mother, but also of their child, and potentially even their children. At the moment, there are a lot of unsupported mothers who are struggling. Unfortunately, our children feel our stress. Untreated mental health conditions will have a huge social, emotional and financial impact both on the needs of the mother and child and wider society.”

Do you welcome this research?

“Yes. I believe that any research that highlights the need for maternal mental health support is positive. However, it requires significant action for the impact of these findings to be shown in the outcomes of care for our mothers who are struggling.

“There appears to be a large-scale underestimation of the mental health needs of new mums. For example, the NHS website states that one

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