I will NOT feel guilty, but I have been hoping to update more often, especially because we are trying SO MANY wonderful new recipes for us! Big into frittatas lately, tonight I made one with zucchini, tomato, spinach, onion, garlic, potato and topped it in the oven with Parmesan and Romano cheeses (both very low in lactose). The kids each ate 1/4th of a 10" skillet! So did I, so did JAC, and voila - gone in an instant. I also made delicioso currant scones today, and choc. chip multi-grain flax muffins yesterday. Those turned out kinda dry - I might add applesauce next time to lighten/moisten them up.
Lunches have been varried and fun! I can't WAIT to get the bento stuff - should be coming any moment!!! (Still waiting for my Miazaki films, too, drat it.) It's been really fun putting stuff together for her - and seeing what goes lol! She said the matzah was stale today (though it was from a new box), but she licked clean the sesame butter and honey I slathered on there. Yesterday everything went, but that's a no-brainer. I popped in a generous serving of the baked eggplant ziti I made for the bbq at the Nugents on Sunday, and she gobbled it right up. Wednesdays and Thursdays are a bit harder - the good leftovers are gone, and we've already used up a lot of the snack stuff I have. I won't get to the HFS until Thursday day, which is sort of useless in terms of lunches for her because she gets pizza on Fridays. So onward we struggle, looking for variety and something to liven up her days, nutritious and edible, and not too weird. I still have yet to get into making the rice balls, but sometime soon ... maybe on Friday since we're going over to the new (not new, but newly not dead) mall to meet Lori and Brige for a coffee and a walk about. Kinda lame, but there's Starbucks, bookstore, playspace, and a bunch of options for Brige who has to find a Holy Communion gift for a girl.
In other news - I made it through my first race in THIRTY ONE (yes, 31) years. The last race was a 1 mile race at the Larchmont Temple Picnic in 1977. I was 10 and came in ... somewhere in the middle. This was a 5k for Darfur, and I ran a bit, mostly fast walked it, and came in ... somewhere in the middle. !!! I was shooting for 37 min., but then I forgot to change my shoes before we left and had to do it in my craptastic mocs, which I am SURE added 3 min or more to my time. ;) Since then I've gotten up at 6:30ish to do 40+ min. walks with Zami, and I am LOVING it. The down side is that when I get up, Ori gets up. He's been a major crankpot (yesterday was his worst day EVER - I think he cried for over an hour total crying time, in about 6 different meltdowns throughout the day). Tonight B and J are at a Softball game (hit it outta the park, girl!) and I got O to bed after a bath by 7:09. I'm really hoping that his getting up early means he will go to bed early...though how this will happen when she is home and he wants to be part of the action I really do not know. Tonight was nice and quiet, and he had all the stuffies on his bed (Fred the Frog, Honey the Bear, Zippy the doll, the naked boy with no name, Peter Rabbit, and DW). I may not be able to find him later! He's probably got himself wrapped up in all the blankies, pillows and stuffies, but he's been asleep for a loooong time (it's 7:45 now).
Speaking of which, nearly time for the girl to return. I shall endeavor to tidy the kitchen and make her a snack of chips and salsa. I find that when they eat early (before 5) they are much much happier, but they do need a snack around 8 (she does, anyway).
Loads of photies, recently, but not enough time to play with them, so nothing to update there.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Business of Bento
Since B has been vegetarian, it's been challenging (in mostly positive ways) to make her lunches and dinners that she likes, will eat, and will keep her blood pumping (physically). She's normally such a good eater, and tbh I didn't realize how often I'd come to rely on meat as a snack/main course! This has been a real eye opener. Now more than ever I am sending her in to school with a lunch box packed full of ziplocks, miniature plastic containers, and other such paraphernalia to make sure that there is at least something that the child likes! Past lunches have included (portions on the small side, remember):
1 whole fruit or fruit cup
1/2 pita stuffed with raw spinach, hummus and grated rice cheese
1 chocolate milk
1 water
1 baggie of chips or other snack food
1 oatmeal bar.
Pretty much everything is organic (organic water? is that hyperbole or an oxymoron?), and the portions help keep things balanced - there's more pita than stuff inside the pita, there's more stuff inside the pita than anything with sugar, and there's more stuff that is in it's most natural state than processed stuff (the oatmeal bars are really simple, ground flax seed, honey, frozen fruit (cut up), banana, optional carob chips. I chop up the first bunch in a food processor, and then roll it in the oatmeal. I chill it, cut them, and that's it! The kids dig them!). The chips, chocolate milk, and pita are processed/store made, but overall it's a pretty healthy lunch for her. It'll be nice to add other things.
Other kinds of stuff: sandwiches with lettuce, hummus and cheese, all kinds of soups (minestrone being a real fave), tacquitos, mac and cheese with rehydrated sun dried tomatoes, apple theme stuff (apple sauce, apple rings, apple butter on a bagel or bread, etc.) and various salads - salmon/tuna, cuke/tomato/feta, tomato/mozz, there's endless varieties. I do make fruit salads, because her expander/braces make biting into hard fruits dangerous (and potentially very expensive!).
These have all been fine, and since she will eat fish, it's not scaring me that she isn't getting the calcium or whatever it is we're supposed to be worried about with vegetarians (iron?), she eats an incredibly varied diet. But I was starting to get thin on IDEAS! So I went surfing the blog waves, and found some great blogs (this one is the best, by far, but many others had creative, fun, and wonderfully healthy ideas)! Most of them use the bento boxes, though I think it's entirely possible to make them cute and fun and varied with small disposable Glad plastic bins, too. Just for fun, and to try it out, I ordered a couple of Totoro Bentos from JList. It's going to take a few weeks for them to get here, but I'm looking forward to changing things up a bit. They are pricy little things! IT's quite the business, making little boxes to take lunch to school. I guess it always was, I just wasn't paying it much attention. :D
1 whole fruit or fruit cup
1/2 pita stuffed with raw spinach, hummus and grated rice cheese
1 chocolate milk
1 water
1 baggie of chips or other snack food
1 oatmeal bar.
Pretty much everything is organic (organic water? is that hyperbole or an oxymoron?), and the portions help keep things balanced - there's more pita than stuff inside the pita, there's more stuff inside the pita than anything with sugar, and there's more stuff that is in it's most natural state than processed stuff (the oatmeal bars are really simple, ground flax seed, honey, frozen fruit (cut up), banana, optional carob chips. I chop up the first bunch in a food processor, and then roll it in the oatmeal. I chill it, cut them, and that's it! The kids dig them!). The chips, chocolate milk, and pita are processed/store made, but overall it's a pretty healthy lunch for her. It'll be nice to add other things.
Other kinds of stuff: sandwiches with lettuce, hummus and cheese, all kinds of soups (minestrone being a real fave), tacquitos, mac and cheese with rehydrated sun dried tomatoes, apple theme stuff (apple sauce, apple rings, apple butter on a bagel or bread, etc.) and various salads - salmon/tuna, cuke/tomato/feta, tomato/mozz, there's endless varieties. I do make fruit salads, because her expander/braces make biting into hard fruits dangerous (and potentially very expensive!).
These have all been fine, and since she will eat fish, it's not scaring me that she isn't getting the calcium or whatever it is we're supposed to be worried about with vegetarians (iron?), she eats an incredibly varied diet. But I was starting to get thin on IDEAS! So I went surfing the blog waves, and found some great blogs (this one is the best, by far, but many others had creative, fun, and wonderfully healthy ideas)! Most of them use the bento boxes, though I think it's entirely possible to make them cute and fun and varied with small disposable Glad plastic bins, too. Just for fun, and to try it out, I ordered a couple of Totoro Bentos from JList. It's going to take a few weeks for them to get here, but I'm looking forward to changing things up a bit. They are pricy little things! IT's quite the business, making little boxes to take lunch to school. I guess it always was, I just wasn't paying it much attention. :D
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
My time...
I had three whole, uninterrupted, very blissful hours at Borders this weekend. It was the one in MSG, or maybe it's Penn Plaza, but anyway, it was FABULOUS. I looked through LOADS of books I'd had my eye on, eliminated many that look great online but book in hand, not so fabulous. ;P And I just enjoyed enjoyed enjoyed the time OFF. The chaperoning of the girls was tiring, though uneventful. We left Hastings with 9 girls, and ended up in the village with 9 girls. YAY! B had a good time at the sleepover, which is great, and I think Liana had a good birthday overall, which is what it's all about! It was really great to have some me time in it all - including sleeping blissfully alone and having a shower just as long as I felt like being in there, not shutting it off mid-shampoo to answer to the cries of MOOOOOOOOM! Wonderful...
And then there is this little ditty, which I've kind of been ignoring.
1. What was your biggest challenge this past week?
2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week?
3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week?
4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week?
the week isn't over, so perhaps I'll go mid-week to mid-week...not sure that makes a bit of difference.
1. My biggest challenges this week include remembering to take my new liver toner pills from Dr. Masterson (which took me a week to pick up), to stay motivated about exercise at least 4 days a week, and to just pass up the junk. My weak spot all week - dark chocolate covered raisins.
2. Biggest accomplishment...hmmm...not losing any of the girls was very good. Getting the SU meeting organized w/T and led through was good too. Taking Beca and Orin to the new preschool - good. Not spending too much $ in NYC - VERY good. I don't think that counts as an accomplishment though. Perhaps my biggest accomplishment was doing my treasure map this week. It felt GREAT! Still waiting for the glitter glue to dry. :D
3. The most exciting thing? I guess having some time to myself in NYC was it - can't say I used it super efficiently, but it was great to be in the most exciting city in the WORLD!
4. What made me the happiest? The times that Ori made it to the loo before unleashing the river in his pants, VERY happy. Seeing Beca navigate the wild and wiley waters of pre-adolescence both in school and amongst her Westchester peers - VERY happy! Practicing pop flies with B was fun too! It was a rather happy week all in all!
And then there is this little ditty, which I've kind of been ignoring.
1. What was your biggest challenge this past week?
2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week?
3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week?
4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week?
the week isn't over, so perhaps I'll go mid-week to mid-week...not sure that makes a bit of difference.
1. My biggest challenges this week include remembering to take my new liver toner pills from Dr. Masterson (which took me a week to pick up), to stay motivated about exercise at least 4 days a week, and to just pass up the junk. My weak spot all week - dark chocolate covered raisins.
2. Biggest accomplishment...hmmm...not losing any of the girls was very good. Getting the SU meeting organized w/T and led through was good too. Taking Beca and Orin to the new preschool - good. Not spending too much $ in NYC - VERY good. I don't think that counts as an accomplishment though. Perhaps my biggest accomplishment was doing my treasure map this week. It felt GREAT! Still waiting for the glitter glue to dry. :D
3. The most exciting thing? I guess having some time to myself in NYC was it - can't say I used it super efficiently, but it was great to be in the most exciting city in the WORLD!
4. What made me the happiest? The times that Ori made it to the loo before unleashing the river in his pants, VERY happy. Seeing Beca navigate the wild and wiley waters of pre-adolescence both in school and amongst her Westchester peers - VERY happy! Practicing pop flies with B was fun too! It was a rather happy week all in all!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Not allowed to tell...
At the library the other day, I found The Period Book, which I gotta say was really cool. I looked through it a lot, and I think I'll get it for Beca soon. What I'm not supposed to tell is *related* to that...maybe I'll try to do this using a TWEENER (I am getting a belly laugh thinking how appropriate that term is!) from our Cranium game...
it's bigger than a tube top, smaller than a corset.
it's bigger than a nipple ring, smaller than a titsling.
it's bigger than ... have you guessed?
Did I mention it is for B, who is almost 10? And she wouldn't shop for it, even though I found it at The Limited Too, which is Tween shop CENTRAL. So she also got some cami's and new leggings and two new cool shirts. :D My little girl is REALLY growing up - I can see it in the changes in her bone structure in her face, the words, the attitude, the body, the activities. Last night she had a birthday party that went till almost 9pm, and today we drive down to Westchester for Liana's 10th birthday. Jeckyl and Hyde's, then a sleepover in Manhattan. Good grief... I'm only grateful that Beca has basically NO competitive bone in her body.
it's bigger than a tube top, smaller than a corset.
it's bigger than a nipple ring, smaller than a titsling.
it's bigger than ... have you guessed?
Did I mention it is for B, who is almost 10? And she wouldn't shop for it, even though I found it at The Limited Too, which is Tween shop CENTRAL. So she also got some cami's and new leggings and two new cool shirts. :D My little girl is REALLY growing up - I can see it in the changes in her bone structure in her face, the words, the attitude, the body, the activities. Last night she had a birthday party that went till almost 9pm, and today we drive down to Westchester for Liana's 10th birthday. Jeckyl and Hyde's, then a sleepover in Manhattan. Good grief... I'm only grateful that Beca has basically NO competitive bone in her body.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Prank???
This is VERY funny! Thanks for sharing it, world! I am so thrilled that some teency bit of progress has been made in Zimbabwe - it's certainly not going to solve their financial and social problems, it's not going to build them factories, clean up their rivers, find them new buses or build them new clinics and schools - it's not going to provide the over 3 million AIDS and HIV clients with drugs that are not available there yet. But it IS progress! And for that, I am eternally grateful...
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