crazedparent

Catholic Guilt: I want my money back...

It's nearing the end of summer vacation. Okay, I'm in denial––it's four weeks away from the first week of school. But I believe in the power of positive thinking. And if I believe the end of summer is near, perhaps that will make me tolerate my kids' spinning in circles in the living room, kitchen and hallways because, you know, they can't find anything better to do. "Awww, someday I'll miss them being at home with me on summer vacation," I say to myself. I'm still waiting for it to work.

***

"You need to find something better to do than bugging the dog or your brother," I assert with a sigh. "Am I to believe that can't find anything else to work on? You are Mr. Imagination."

He buries his head into the white fluffy comforter on his bed. "Mom," he says, only it comes out "Mooooom" and I suddenly feel like I'm twelve and hearing my own voice coming from his vocal chords.

"You're just wandering around the house. It's okay to be bored sometimes. But you're not even trying NOT to be bored, " I continue. "You know that saying you like? 'It's better to be safe than sorry'?"

He nods his head.

"There's another one. It goes like this: "Idle hands are the work of the devil."

He stares at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth scrunched. The signal that I've gone mad.

"Do you know what "idle" means?"

"Like "American Idol"?

"No. I-D-L-E. It means doing absolutely nothing."

He nods again, letting me know he gets it.

"Do you know what the devil is?"

"No."

"You don't know about the devil?" When I say "the devil," my hands automatically go over my head and I scrunch my fingers like horns.

"No."

"They've never talked about the devil in Religion class?"

"No."

I shake my head, get up from his bed, kiss his forehead and tell him to get ready for camp. All the while thinking what the hell happened to the devil in Catholic school? Do they not get that parents need them to teach the kids about the devil? And ideally, the message needs to be delivered by a nun wearing a habit and she needs to speaks in a serious, hushed tone and squint her eyes when she says, "devil." So the kids shudder.

"Just stop bugging the dog and your brother, okay? It only makes you get in trouble."

"Okay, Mom."

***

The devil is most definitely working his naughty magic in my house this summer. And laughing a wicked laugh because the joke is totally on me.

Reading with kids: Old stories, new laughs

Seven I have spent the summer reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It's the seventh read for me––I read the entire series before I watch the latest flick––and his first real time hearing the story. I add "real" because last year, we tried to cover it but he wasn't ready to remember level of detail required to follow the story.

We started in June when Seven finally had his one bedroom. He and I lay side by side on his pillow, blinds pulled shut, nightlight on. Initially, we only read about 5 pages a night. My voice was at the early stages of hoarseness (another story, another time) and I couldn't read much longer. A few weeks ago, I started reading a chapter a night, taking breaks for road trips, summer gatherings and random nights without stories before bed.

Seven will only allow me to read the book with him because he knows that his dad hasn't read the series yet. ("Dad doesn't get it, right mom?") When I traveled to Chicago, he put the book aside until I returned.

Last night, we read "Chapter Fourteen: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback." Hagrid, the school's groundskeeper, is illegally harboring a baby dragon and Harry, Hermione and Ron work to save him from trouble. Harry and Hermione prepare to take the dragon from Hermione.  The dragon is in a crate.

I read:

    "I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

Seven erupts with laughter. He can't contain how silly he thinks it is to put a teddy bear in a crate with a baby dragon. Soon, I am laughing. I can barely read the next few sentences, knowing they will send Seven into a full-blown belly ache laugh. I also watch him with mix of pride and wonder; his ability to catch the humor slays me.

    "From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having     his head ripped off."

    "Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed ... "Mommy will never forget you!"

Tears streamed down our faces as we laughed and laughed and laughed. We finally settled down, we finished the chapter, kissed each other goodnight, and joked about baby dragons named Norbert and their stuffed teddy bears.

I've read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets seven times. Seven times. I didn't remember the details of Chapter Fourteen.

Now, they are details I will never forget.

Dispatch from the test kitchen: Mediterranian summer salad, a la Sunset magazine

I'm back from a super quick trip to Chicago for BlogHer 09 last week (I arrived in Chicago Thursday afternoon and left at 3 a.m Saturday morning. Whirlwind doesn't even do it justice).

I came home craving greens and healthy, fresh food. In a lovely coincidence, the August issue of Sunset magazine had arrived in the mail during my travels and included many, many recipes that would satisfy my culinary desires. It made for a pleasant Sunday afternoon until the boys became unruly after an adventure-filled Saturday in the wine country.

But here's what was going down in the test kitchen today: Mediterranian summer salad. Now, the August issue isn't online right now so I can't share the link with details. But here's an overview: it includes cooked orzo, spinach, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes (I used a heirloom tomato mix), feta cheese, and a light oil and vinegar dressing. It also calls for pine nuts, but I opted out simply because I couldn't find them at my town's Trader Joe's.

See those cute little blue melamine nesting bowls? I love them. I bought them during Sunset Celebration Weekend back in June at the magazine's "secondhand" booth, where they sold all sorts of wonderful things that have been used in photo shoots, in the test kitchen and in review/tip articles. I scooped up the bowls––and about ten other things––without having to think about it. Why?

Because see? Cuteness. Seven halved those two cups of vibrant heirloom tomatoes using my utility scissors.

The tiny one (1/4 cup measurement) is filled with My Dirty Little Cooking Secret^TM.

One of my other favorite Secondhand Sunset purchases was used for the spinach. This blue ceramic serving dish is on our dinner practically every night. The perfect size for a bowl of rice or veggies.

The salad is delicious. I love the mix of pasta with greens and feta. The tomatoes were especially flavorful. You really need good, ripe tomatoes for this one because they add extra punch. I also thought the mix of spinach and basil was a nice blend.

We ate the salad with grilled pork loin (seasoned with a lot sea salt and fresh ground pepper) and grilled corn (a la CityMama).  Definitely a keeper. Perfect for dinner parties, any meat (especially a nice grilled salmon) and also great as your addition to any potluck lunch/dinner.

Will update post with links once Sunset publishes the info online.

Can we be dorkier?...

I'm at BlogHer but had to share this video clip because it ties into something I just posted on Shine. I warn you now; there is more video to come. Because yes, we can be dorkier. And because he shared some great stuff that I know his fans will love. (And as always, thank you to Rick's PR folks and agents for giving Yahoo! Shine (and me) access to him. And a huge thank you to Rick for taking time to chat with me. Next time...bring Gomer!)

Rick Springfield, crazedparent randomness @ Yahoo! Video

Are you my mother?...

I'm not a bird watcher and yet over the past two weeks, I've become obsessed with two adult birds that created a nest the plum tree resting in our front yard. 

I discovered the nest after watching the birds poking around our yard looking for food. They'd find a worm, hop across our lawn and then fly up to a branch in the tree. After I witnessed this happening several times throughout the day, I was compelled to investigate (read: I felt nosy.)

The boys and I went under the tree and discovered a nest...but no babies. We continued to check on it every day. 

Last Friday, the boys were playing on the driveway when we saw the birds fly away. We heard chirps. Loud, squeaky chirps. We ran over to the nest and discovered the babies had been born. The boys could not contain their excitement, and I was glowing in a proud mama way because birds were born in our tree. 

The nest was too high up for the boys to peak, and really, I didn't want them to disturb the babies or cause the parents concern.

I grabbed a ladder while the boys watched me attempt to snap photos with a shaky hand. The birds, they were so tiny, sweet, fragile, adorable and curious. 

Today, the nest is empty. 

Dispatch from the test kitchen (camping edition): A bird's nest...

You know you're living the camping high life when you start the day with a scrumptious breakfast (we call it a "bird's nest" and I'm sure there about 20 other variations of it).

We recently camped at Butano State Park, which is about an hour's drive from most spots along Silicon Valley. We took a few side trips to Bean Hollow State Beach (gorgeous) and San Gregorio (funky), along with dinner one night at Duarte's Tavern (disappointing...the hostess yelled at me).

Butano State Park is ideal for family camping because the campsites are super kid- and parent-friendly. The walk-in sites require that you hike down a small hill to your spot, but once there your kids can play and roam in a very contained area. And the best part? You can easily keep an eye on them while they're exploring in the forest under the towering redwood trees (and searching for banana slugs).

Also? No mosquitoes.

Back to the bird's nest. They were made under the watchful eye of the power couple known as Mom's Pizza Dough and 1000watt Consulting.

Let's review the goodness, shall we?

First, prepare the "nests" by taking a small glass or cup and using it to press out holes in bread. 1000watt dude discovered the best bread for this recipe a Whole Foods hamburger bun. Perfect density, easy to cut and the addition of honey as an ingredient gives the bird's nest a nice taste. It also helps the bread brown evenly (my opinion).

Next up, heat a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. When the pan is nice and hot, drop in the bread and then crack the egg into the hole. When it looks like the egg white has settled and cooked a bit (the egg white will look gel-like on front side but you can see the cooked whites), then ever-so-carefully flip the bird's nest.

Voila!

 

After the eggs are cooked to your liking, then enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. My favorite part is that very first bite where the egg yolk oozes out just enough so you can dip the bread into it.* Yum!

 

*We usually cook the egg yolks completely for the kids otherwise we risk cries of "Ewww! Gross!"

Other dispatches from the test kitchen:

Rainbow cake

White Bean Soup

Homemade croutons

Send Pablo Sandoval to the All-Star Game!

I interrupt this moment of unplugged-ness for some rather important business.

A few months ago, Seven and I were to meet Pablo Sandoval, the third baseman for the San Francisco Giants, at a signing event. We missed it because Seven was in the middle of a playoff game that went exceedingly long for his division. Pablo signed a few baseballs for us to pick up later and Seven was content to know that the Panda had done that for him. 

If you've had a chance to watch the Giants and have seen Pablo Sandoval crack the bat, hustle at third base or catch for Barry Zito, you know that, without a doubt, he deserves to be at the All-Star Game.   

So click that little widget and vote for Pablo!!