The door is closed for now

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

It was pouring rain in Disneyland this weekend, but we had fun anyway!  Happy Birthday Rafa!

Mister Four

Mister Four had his birthday yesterday.  It was a big day, with #4 cupcakes at lunch time, and cake and presents and friends in the evening.  Mister Four got a special shirt to wear: orange, with a big green 4 on it.

About an hour after going to bed, Mister Four got up and came in to talk to me one more time.

"Mommy, I like birthday.  I want to have birthday 5, and birthday 6, and birthday 7," he said, rubbing his eyes and dragging his fuzzy Elmo doll on the floor.

"Of course, baby," I said, and took him back to bed, where he was asleep before his head touched the pillow.

Big boy.

Happy Thanksgiving

May we be thankful for health and strength, for sun and rain and peace. Let us seize the day and the opportunity and strive for that greatness of spirit that measures life not by its disappointments but by its possibilities, and let us ever remember that true gratitude and appreciation shows itself neither in independence nor satisfaction but passes the gift joyfully on in larger and better form.     ~W.E.B. Du Bois

Please join me in prayers for Baby Madeleine and Baby Vivian. 

Sunset Season

It's sunset season out here in the Sunset District.
Every year in Autumn we get these painted skies in the evenings.
Simply beautiful.

The Iron Foodie Contest

1. Why do you want to compete in this challenge?

Well, to be honest, I have just about everything anybody could want in life: a wonderful husband and two sweet boys, work I love, a comfortable home, wonderful family and friends...the only thing I've longed for is to be an Iron Chef. I think the Iron Foodie is as close as I am going to get!

2. Limitations of time/space notwithstanding, whose kitchen would you like to spend the day in & why? Julia Child, Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria, James Beard, Marie-Antoine Careme, or The Swedish Chef?

I think it would have to be Julia Child. I have a soft spot for her and great admiration for her work.

3. What morsel are you most likely to swipe from family & friends’ plates when they aren’t looking?

Olives.

4. Sum your childhood up in one meal.

Stuffed bell peppers.


5. The one mainstream food you can’t stand?

Hot pockets.

A Father's Laws of Physics

Have a good laugh when you read this:
Unpopular Science

Foghorns

I remember the sound of the foghorn at night when I was a child drifting off to sleep. There were real foghorns in those days, posted at the entrance to the Bay, and they would begin to sound as soon as the fog started to roll in.

I can remember the sound of my grandfather's footsteps on the backstairs. The wooden steps with their black plastic covering would creak as he went down to his workbench to shine our shoes and have a smoke.

I can remember the steady whoosh and click of the pressure cooker in my grandmother's kitchen, and the tick and bell of the old white kitchen timer on the counter.

I can remember the sound of the seashell windchimes at the front stair.

I can remember the high pitch of the engine of my father's truck warming up on cold winter mornings.

I can remember the click of the loose ivory on the piano. The ivory pieces that had fallen off and been glued back on would click against the ivory keys next to them. The keys were made of real ivory. My grandmother was very proud of that.

What childhood memories do children have if they can't hear things like this? When Rafa watches his babies grow and learn, what will he remember most?

The Boy with the Broken Wing

Same boy, same shirt, same park, two different days: one with a good arm and one with a sprained wrist.

#19

How did 2 weeks go by since my last post, and me with nothing to say? Well, we changed schools, had a garage sale, sprained a 3-year-old wrist, conducted a survey, painted the house, and got haircuts.

And I'm still on my diet. Yesterday I reached for a slice of french bread as I was serving dinner to the boys, and Louis said in a horrified voice, "no, mommy, don't eat it!!!". How does a 3-year-old know I'm on a diet?

19 pounds gone!

Cures for the Lunch-time Blues...

Here are some cool tips for lunch packing!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/nutrition/nutrition-kids-lunch.php

http://lunchinabox.net/

http://www.lhj.com/recipes/easy/cooking-for-kids/healthy-lunch-tips/

Boys Love Chicken Salad Sandwiches...

They tell us the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I'm setting the bar high, little girls out there. You might not even know who you are yet, but take my advice anyway and start enjoying how to cook, because not only is it good for you, it will keep the others happy too!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Toast a handful of walnut pieces in a small saucepan for a couple of minutes over high heat, and set them aside to cool.

Chop up some left over roasted chicken and toss it with a big spoonful of mayonnaise.

Next, peel and chop a nice ripe apple and mix it in with the chicken.

Add 2 big chopped green onions, and a handful of chopped cilantro, or basil, or parsley.

Toss in the toasted walnuts once they have cooled.

Salt a bit, and add a drizzle of olive oil if it looks dry (or more mayonnaise if you really want to).

Serve on big slices of sourdough bread, open-faced or closed.

Look how happy they get -- even abandoning the toys for a minute to finish dinner!

Boys Love Arroz a la Cubana

Lucinda Scala Quinn has a cookbook about feeding boys and men. I'm interested in taking a look at that...


A perennial favorite around here is Arroz a la Cubana: rice with tomato sauce, an egg on top, fried sausage alongside, and a little bit of fried plantain.


Just look how happy they are!


And how well they eat!

Back in business

...with a new iPhone and a creamy, manchego-cheesy, yellow tomato risotto for dinner. Look!

Self-portrait

What Would You Cook Today, If You Could?

Chorizo slices, hot and caramelized, with sherry
Fava beans with pasta and cream fraiche and lemon
Lentils with ham
Potato Soup
Pizza with eggplant slices
Egyptian Tomato Soup
Arroz a la Cubana
Veal Saltimbocca
Lavender shortbread cookies
Peach ice cream
Chocolate mousse
Fresh bread

And I would also like spinach salad with red onion, big handfuls of juicy red grapes, avocado slices with oil and salt, macadamia nuts, dried sweet cherries, coffee with hot foamed milk, some tempranillo, syrah, cabernet franc....

Can you tell that I'm on a diet? 5 pounds already gone.....

It's been hot!

Check Out Mosaiclife.net

I really enjoy these great articles about juggling everything that goes into everyday life with work and family, and the concept of life as a mosaic is lovely. Sign up at mosaiclife.net

YOUR MOSAIC LIFE



The e-newsletter for the woman who does it all



Issue #58

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Me time

Periodically, I am struck by the number of clients that come into my office wanting to discuss the same issue. This past month there has definitely been a repeating theme. And the issue? “Me time.”

Here’s what I have been hearing:

1. You want “me time” – but you feel guilty when you take it.

2. You want “me time” – but t you often spend it with your kids instead.

3. Your spouse wants “me time” – and takes it! And you resent him/her for doing that since you don’t get any “me time” – even though you aren’t taking “me time” anyway. (See items #1 and 2 above!)

Let’s address each of these in turn, but in reverse order. If you are not taking time for yourself but your spouse is taking time for himself, can you begin to see it is an example of your spouse taking care of himself? Rather than creating resentment, it could perhaps engender a wish to emulate him.

Now let’s look at the second point: choosing to spend your free time with your kids. It may be that, if you spend your time wisely – and enjoyably – with your kids, it can be a kind of “me” time. If the time with your kids nurtures you, and is fulfilling, that can be “me” time. For me, the hours spent caring for kids, making them snacks, and picking up after them do not feel like anything but chores. But the hours spent going to the pool with them, or going for a bike ride, or going blueberry-picking are enjoyable for me. So sometimes that family time is actually “me time.” Allow yourself to have fun with your family when you are choosing to spend time together: spend an afternoon not correcting anyone, or reminding your child to say please and thank you, or that there is a better way to accomplish a task. Just go and enjoy yourself and your kids.

But there is an underlying issue in this topic that is worth exploring. It’s important to ask yourself why you are spending that “me” time on the kids (either with them, or on your own but still doing errands for them). Is it because you really want to, or because you feel you should be – in order to be a “good” parent? This is where the “guilt” comes in that I mentioned at the top of the list. Most of the recent data on time use that I have seen shows that we spend more time with our children than previous generations of parents did with theirs, not less, despite the advent of more women working outside the home. In fact, the New York Times reported that “married and single parents spent more time teaching, playing with and caring for their children than parents did 40 years ago.” Maybe it’s time to redefine your idea of what is required to be a good parent.

Were your parents good parents? Did they spend only quality time with you, and lots of it? Or did they let you experience life with kids your own age and encourage you to be able to enjoy yourself with or without them? Instead of striving to be the perfect parent, maybe it would be better to be a “perfectly good” parent. Does being a good parent mean never spending time on you? Do you feel that the only legitimate use of your time is to do something for others?

Perhaps we have become so accustomed to the role of caregiver, to addressing the needs of our family, that we don’t even know what to do with that “me” time. Focusing on yourself might initially feel uncomfortable if you have lost touch with what you like to do for yourself. You might be tempted to fall back into your more accustomed routine of spending the time with – or for – someone else. But that “me” time is important. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t be hearing so many people struggling with it.

What will you do with some time to yourself, once you have let go of the guilt and the resentment that have built up around taking that time? I bet you have a long list. If you don’t, then read “What’s in it for you?” to get you started. If you need some help taking some time for yourself, then give me a call at 301-523-8882 or send me an email at beth@mosaiclife.net so we can figure that out together.

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Nothing New Under the Sun

I was going to write a little about how cold we feel right now, in the middle of summer, in San Francisco. It is foggy, damp, windy, and grey. In the car, I have to use both the windshield wipers and the heater, and we have our heavy jackets out for wearing everyday.



And then, all of this started to sound familiar to me, and lo and behold, I said the exact same thing last summer in the first week of August!

Just goes to show you that there's nothing new under the sun, or lack of sun, for that matter. Back to the lavender oatmeal.

Paul the Octopus

Paul Uses Nine Brains to Tap Into Sixth Sense

Germany Rejects Spain's Bid To Buy Octopus Oracle

Paul the Octopus Gets His Own (Unofficial) iPhone App