Currently… Thinking I Need a Wife

I have said a multitude of times, that I need a wife. Someone to clean up after me, make me hot tea when I’ve got a cold, keep up with my laundry, make sure my annual gyn and mammogram appointments are made, and since I like to cook, she would only have to wash the dishes.  If I had a wife, that’s what she would do.  But one thing she wouldn’t be is… me. Because I’ve already got me and things don’t always work out so well.  I fall asleep before making tea, put off housecleaning to read a book, and am months behind on all doctor’s appointments.  So it’s with interest that I read this article about the woman who recently married herself.  And based on a bunch of other articles that popped up about others who have done the same thing, I guess this is a new thing.  (I haven’t seen any mention of guys doing the same, so I guess none has decided he needs a husband.)

I get self-love and being committed to your own happiness.  I’m not so sure I understand the point of the ceremony.  And I do wonder, if taking yourself for your own bride might be blocking some energy of someone else who may wish to take you as their bride.  I mean, do you tell people you are married to yourself? Would it be disloyal to yourself if Mr. Right does come along and you decide to marry him? Many questions come to mind.  But I do know this: if I was to marry myself, it would be on a beach in the Caribbean or South Pacific and I’d stay for the honeymoon. I think I deserve a great honeymoon.

Other than contemplating marriage, here’s what else I’m currently up to.

Currently...Looking forward to Spring!

I was up late, finishing reading "On The Come Up," thus now benefitting from the full pot of coffee as I go through my to-do list for the day.  What else am I currently up to? 

Watching... the sky for the forecasted snow - tomorrow! Can you believe it? More snow, post-vernal equinox. Is that really allowed?

 

Shopping for... silver shoes and dresses to celebrate my upcoming 25th anniversary in my sorority.  Doesn't it always seem impossible to find the perfect dress when you need it? Any other time, there's great silver shoes all over the place. What milestones or special events are you celebrating?

 

Planning... spring break. It's coming soon and we're debating on a way down south where it's warm trip (and thinking about the price of 6 airplane tickets), a road trip (but anywhere far & drivable is still cold), or a relaxing, low-frills eastern shore trip (a couple hours drive & we can take the dog).  In the meantime, I'm piling up books to read and a crochet project.

 

Selling... the last of these Girl Scout cookies! Do-Si-Dos anyone? Whatever's left, I can always bake into these yummy brownies.

 

Hoping... that the DC Police or somebody find this missing 8-year old girl, alive and well.  And that someone have a serious sit-down with her mother about grown men who befriend your daughter and offer to let them stay at their home, without you.  And that this be a lesson to other mothers who don't see the blaring, flashing red flags when a grown man you barely know brings your young child gifts. It's a scary thought, I know, that you can't accept everyone's generosity at face value as genuine and sincere. Unfortunately, there are sick people out there who prey on the defenseless and vulnerable. It is our duty as parents to protect our children, even if that means being a little over-protective sometimes.

 

What are you currently up to? 

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Currently... Snowed In Again

Less than a week before the little square marked "First Day of Spring" and we've got inches of snow. 4", 5", a foot, I don't know - enough to close school again for the 11th or 55th snowday this year, I've lost count.  They're going to be in school until the July 4th parades at this point.  In the meantime, we're all home.

It's snowing...again. But spring is coming!

Eating... birthday cake and Pi-day apple pie.  We've got two birthdays this month and with Pi Day thrown in, we have a couple week run of desserts.  Right now we've got a basketball-shaped red velvet cake (okay, half a basketball) and an apple pie, sprinkled with snickers bars (thanks, Pinterest.)  All that with coffee, of course.

Reading... I'm reading On The Come Up.  The kids are all supposed to have selected a book, too. Although for them it takes some huffing & puffing, a few rounds of "there's nothing to read" despite the piles and shelves of books around the house, which turns into "I've read all those," at which point I let them know I do not actually believe they've read every book in the house, and if so, there's always the dictionary. Then they manage to find something to read, even if it's the Guiness Book of World Records or Almanac of Weird Facts, at which point, I almost regret making them read because these they must read out loud, sharing all of their newfound knowledge of odd facts.

Playing... out in the snow. Okay, well, not me, the kids.  There's four of them and a couple neighbor kids, they don't really need me.  I've declared recess before lunchtime, just like in school, and sent them out for some physical activity.  It's good for them.


Working out... shorts and t-shirt wardrobe season is coming, I'm sure of it.  I'm committing to exercise more as the winter melts away.  Even stuck in the house, there's always sit-ups, hand weight exercises, inside cardio like jumping jacks and running in place to get the heart moving.  And work off all this birthday cake.

Looking forward to... the end of the snow. It's pretty, it's peaceful, and I really don't complain too much about the weather, not really. But it's terrible weather for suede boots and I'm tired of my all weather boots.  So now I'm going to paint my nails some wonderful spring color and wait for sandal season.
 

Ready for spring... at least my nails are.

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We've Been Doing Snowdays All Wrong

On day 5 of our snow day/weekend/holiday stretch of no school, it occurred to me why moms get so tired, but get less done when the kids are home.  It happened as a culmination of watching moms corral hordes of kids through the movie theatre and then sit staring at their broken nails at an indoor laser tag playland.  Moms hate snow days because when the kids are home, we have to become the entertainment provider, chaffeur, and cook for an additional six hours of the day.

I’ve told my kids, “I am not your cruise director.”  Of course, they have no idea what this means, not having grown up watching The Love Boat, but I say it anyway and they give me that “there she goes again, saying things we don’t understand” look.

Nonetheless, we moms often find ourselves being in charge of entertainment, or at least chauffeuring to entertainment, otherwise, they sit on the couch watching endless, not-funny, canned laugh track kids’ TV or home decorating and cooking shows that they just truly can't find interesting.  Of course, the driving takes up time we would be doing whatever it is we usually do when they're in school (laundry, housework, writing, getting a manicure and full-body massage – okay, okay, a girl can dream).  And then we sit there and wait for them to finish being entertained.  Eventually, the kids also want to be fed, so either we pay for a wonderful restaurant meal with kids who have been cooped up in the house or make lunch (which for some reason seems to be a lot more work when they are home than when I pack their lunches in the morning.)

As we left the laser tag place, I said to my two who were too young to be left there alone, “You know, you can play tag at home. You don’t have to go to a certain place and pay $10 to play for half an hour.”  Blank stares flashed at me from the rearview mirror.

“Where would we get lasers from?”  “And how would we make it dark?”  “And how would we know that the other person got hit?”

I carefully explained to them that (1) they could wait ‘til dark and play with flashlights or (2) play in the day time and just tag each other.  Or hey, what’s all this white stuff on the ground? Maybe if they formed it into little balls, they could throw it at each other.  In the summer, they could maybe exchange it for water guns or water balloons.  And they could play for however long they wanted to, not just until the timer went off.  Just thinking, but these alternatives just might work.  They were amazed by my ideas.

Now I’m rethinking snowdays. Next time, I’m not scouring my brain for things I can do with them in the house or places to take them when the roads are clear.  I’m going to let them sleep in a little bit, feed them breakfast, pack their lunches, and then send them outside with instructions not to come back until 3 pm.  I'll be inside, painting my nails.

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Who Really Understands the Winter Olympics?

Are you watching the Winter Olympics?  Did you watch the Summer? I bet more of you watched the Summer. Because they are more popular.  (Google that, it’s true.)  And I’m going to tell you why.

Because the Summer Olympics includes sports that the normal person can identify and describe.  Most of the competitions are even something the non-Olympian person has done.  Running, jumping, swimming, kayaking, horseback riding, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, riding a bike.  All that stuff? We get that. We know what it looks like. If we really really wanted to, we could find a place to go try it in our own hometown, right now.

Not so much with the Winter Olympics. Sure, I’ve been skiing once or twice (the feeling of the “whoosh” down the hill is great, but it’s really a little too cold for me) and I know folks who snowboard.  I took ice skating lessons in college (you’ve got to get those Electives in) and I know some folks who play ice hockey.  And that’s about where it ends for the normal sports.

Come on, the rest of the Winter Olympics feel like the committee said, “Well, everything has to involve snow or ice, and we’ve got to fill up two weeks of TV time. What else can we do?”  This is what that meeting sounded like:

Let’s have some folks ski up a mountain and shoot some targets. How about if we stick city elements like stair railings and curb and walls in the middle of the ski hill and make the snowboarderss jump over them.  For one event, we’ll have folks sled face up through a windy track and then for another, we’ll make them go face down.  Push this fat weighted thing across the ice, yes, like hockey, but the puck will be big and fat and they’ll use janitor brooms.  What else?  I don’t know. Me either. Yeah, that’s all I got.  Okay, I got something – let’s make sure nobody but us knows who actually wins. No man-to-man races – just points for flips and turns and grabs and timed races.  Everything with one person at a time. Yeah, that should take up a couple of days.  How about for fun, we require that all of the athletes have blond hair and blue or green eyes so no-one can tell them apart?  Well, maybe we should let in a red head and a couple brunettes, you know, for diversity, and all.  Okay.  But don’t let those people in the events with helmets because then nobody will know how diverse the athletes are. Good point.  Alright, folks, I think we've got ourselves an Olympics. 

Here’s another thing. For the Summer Olympics, you feel like those people trained and trained and came to the Olympics with a plan. I’m thinking the gymnasts show up on the mat with an idea of what they are about to do. No time during the Summer do you hear an announcer say, “And watch this, he just learned how to do this yesterday.”  Yeah, you know you’ve heard that coming from Sochi.

Am I watching the Winter Olympics? Sure. Do I give the athletes credit for being a whole lot more athletic than I am, especially since I’m watching from the comfort of my couch eating Girl Scout cookies? Yes, indeed. Do I know what the heck I’m watching? Not at all.

Enjoy the Games!

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10 Ways to Avoid an "I'm Bored!" Snow Day

“Schools are closed due to snow.”

The music of winter, singing at 5:30 a.m.  On the one hand, it’s a welcome “go head, sleep in” refrain. But when you do finally wake up, you realize that it means you will be in the house with the kids all day long, especially if it’s a wet, yucky snow that’s useless for sledding and snowman building.  Before you start to panic, some ideas of what to do with your kids for those housebound extra hours (or days).

• Enjoy a good breakfast.  How often do you get to enjoy a good breakfast, all sitting down together and chatting in the morning? For us, breakfast is usually a choice of boiled eggs, cereal and toasts, in a rotation of whoever is leaving for school or work next.  Snow days are a great opportunity to scramble some eggs, flip a few pancakes, make potatoes and biscuits, and all eat at once around the table instead of on the way to the bus.

• Bake.  I love baking, my kids love baking, and who doesn’t want warm cookies or muffins on a cold, winter-y day?  Luckily, most quickbreads and basic cookies require only the staples of a kitchen pantry – flour, sugar, an egg or two, milk, oil, salt, baking powder or soda. You can get fancy if you happen to have other ingredients such as chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts, and oatmeal on hand.

• Watch some old TV.  With the millions of channels on TV now, there's always some old show on that's family friendly. You'll get a kick out of watching your old favorites and you'll be surprised at how much your kids will enjoy shows that were really funny.  Gilligan's Island anyone?

• Cut out snowflakes.  I forgot, until I spotted a few on Pinterest, how much I used to love cutting out snowflakes as a kid. It’s still a fun surprise to see what the holes and cuts will look like when you’ve unfolded the paper.

• Keep a stash of random craft supplies on hand and let the kids be creative.  In addition to the norm, like crayons, scissors, and glue sticks, stash the following in a basket and be ready for “I’m bored!”:  buttons – from clothes not in good condition to give away, the spares attached to new clothes; magnets – the free, promotional give-aways or store bought; yarn, string; beads; stickers; plastic bottle tops.  Don't want to be fancy? Color - it’s relaxing and a fun time to just chat with the kids. And show off how well you can stay in the lines.

• Keep a “bored kids” board on Pinterest, for that moment when the kids are losing their creative energy and start throwing buttons at each other and have eaten all the cookies.  Add to it whenever you come across an idea your kids will like.

• Read. Call for quiet reading and everyone to their separate corners or cuddle up on the couch for family reading, silent or aloud. Gauge it by the energy level in the house or the need to settle down.

• Do a little school work.  The kids will complain and whine a little, but remind them that they are only going to do 30 minutes or an hour, and they’re getting out of 6 hours of work at school.  Depending on the grade, you can practice math facts, review lessons in their text books or online, read, or simply write a few paragraphs to practice handwriting or typing skills, grammar, spelling, and creative thinking.

• Clean up, declutter.  Not the most fun thing to do, but snow days can be good catch up days on the housecleaning that gets pushed aside for the busy family schedule.  Limit the time so that the kids can have some fun, though.

• Take a nap.  Who really gets enough sleep on a regular basis?

Oh – and of course, go outside, breathe the cold air, gather a bowl of fresh snow for snow-cream and throw a few snowballs!

What are your favorite activities on a snow day?

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Snow-cream!

The snow is falling with the weatherman calling for 4", 5", 8".  School is out, the kids are playing games, and there's a big bowl sitting out on the front steps.

A big, fluffy snowfall is the perfect condition for fresh snow-cream.  Our's is a family recipe, passed down from my father to my brother and I, and now to my kids.  My dad jokes that as a kid growing up in Baltimore, they could barely afford the snow to make this winter-y treat, so that makes it extra special.  When we were kids, he made it for us as if he was in a premiere kitchen, serious and fun at the same time.  It's with great anticipation that now my kids put out their big bowl as soon as the flakes look like they will be accumulating up to a few inches.

Our snow-cream is a perfectly balanced mixture of milk, sugar and vanilla, folded into about a gallon or two of fresh fallen snow.  It's silly, it's fun, and it's the best way to eat snow.  Well, aside from just sticking your tongue out and letting the cold flakes fall and melt into your mouth.


What are your family's snow-day favorites - snacks or activities?

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Snow Day Crab Soup

The weatherman predicted lots of snow - inches and feet. We got enough slushy inches for school to be cancelled and all our other activities, too.  Its been a welcome respite of doing nothing.  The kids went out for a while, the dog got soaked in the snow, and we lounged around all day.

And of course, we ate. We made puffy pancakes for breakfast, a new favorite since its so easy (the recipe is on my FaceBook page).  I had bought some crab meat the other day and crab soup seemed the perfect lunch for a cold, wet, snowy day. I was missing a few ingredients from my regular crab soup recipe, so I improvised and came up with this one.

Snow Day Crab Soup

1 small onion

2 stalks celery

1 TBS minced garlic

2 TBS butter

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can broth (vegetable, chicken, seafood)

seasonings: Old Bay, salt, pepper, chili pepper, bay leaves

1 lb crabmeat

1. Dice onion and celery.
2. Melt butter in stock pot.  Add onion, celery, and garlic. Stir and cook until soft.
3. Season to taste.
4. Add cherry tomatoes. Stir occasionally so vegetables do not burn; cook about 10 minutes. Tomatoes won’t burst, they will cook down until soft.
5. Add tomato sauce, broth, and ½ can of water.  Add bay leaves.
6. Add crab meat.
7. Cook until crab meat is warm.
8. Taste and add seasonings, if necessary.
9. Turn heat down and simmer for about 30 minutes.
10. Remove bay leaves, serve and enjoy!

Saute the vegetables in butter until soft. Season to your liking.

Simmer to mix all the flavors together and enjoy!

Alternatives:

Use canned, diced tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes

Add corn kernels, canned or frozen (and of course, fresh if you have it!)