A Shower Party

Every morning I get up and take a shower between 7:10 and 7:20. I get up, turn on the NPR, turn on the shower and then I hop in the shower. I like to enjoy the warm shower waking me up while I catch up on the news. Next I see Coulter, "Mom, can I turn on the heater?" "Sure" He comes in, sits down and cozies up to the heater. "Mom, if 3 people tie then it's a 3 way tie. Right?" Me, "Right" "What if 50,000 people tied? Then it would be a 50,000 way tie." Now Kees comes in, "Move ovah Cotah." Coutler moves over and Kees starts sharing his important information. "Mom wouldn't it be weahd if twucks had feet?" "Yeah." You can never get enough of these kinds of conversations. And finally Sophia and the dog arrive. Sophia now shares her pertinent information. Yet again....a party in my bathroom while I am taking a shower. Being a mom of three means there are VERY few things you can count on doing solo. I used to think a shower would be one of them but it isn't.

As this is all going on this morning Bob pops his head in and says, "Good bye. I love you." SCREECH.....hold the phone "You told me you had a meeting 5 minutes from here at 8:30 not 7:15." Bob - "I do but I have to pick something up on the way." "What? Coffee?" Bob says with a smile on his face, "Yeah.....come on kids. Let's get some cereal." They all file out with daddy.

I don't begrudge the man his coffee but don't tell me you'll be here and then run out. Especially when I am in the shower! He knows that....I love him and by his cute response, I know he loves me. He's thinking that he almost got away with it....ALMOST.

I remember when I was a kid getting up on Saturday mornings, cozying up in front of our heater and watching cartoons. It was really nice sitting there with my brother getting warm. Maybe that is what my kids like too it's just that the heater is in my bathroom.

I vacillate between wanting them out and not caring that they are there. Soon enough they'll be grossed out my their mom in the shower and I will have quiet time with my NPR. At some point it will be gross to have them in there frankly. So for now I try and accept that this is how it is. Their endless chatter. It is so important to them and they share such big ideas. You can practically see their wheels turning.

As a little side bar. I remember reading Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and at one point he talked about taking a shower. How most people are already at the office (in their head) by the time they hit the shower. They don't stop and just enjoy the warm water, the quiet time and the time to wake up. They don't live in the moment, NOW. That being said, I am pretty sure Eckhart Tolle does not have kids.

So I try and live in the moment and accept my morning shower parties. They won't last forever and I am sure when they are over I will miss them. I need to just accept that for now a shower is a social event.

Halloween....

The front steps
Sophia's Pumpkin...A cat in the grass

Coulter's Pumpkin with a little "Bling"

My Devil pumpkin....eatting a little pumpkin

Kees' pumpkin...A vampire with a broken tooth. Opps!

Most years we make a big deal of going to the pumpkin patch and getting the full pumpkin / fall experience. Next we dig out the Halloween decor and get busy making out house all scary. This year I didn't feel like it. That's my excuse...I didn't feel like it. Our only decorations (besides the pumpkins) are 2 pumpkin paintings made by the boys at school. And our pumpkins....Got 'em at QFC. Yep, I'm all Martha Stewart and stuff. Not my best momma moment.

I did carve pumpkins with the kids. This means that I have to cut off the top, clean out all the pumpkins and then carve all the pumpkins. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I "don't feel like it." I will say that Sophia got out 95% of the pumpkin goo herself. That was nice. Kess and Coulter....no dice, I had to do all of theirs. Coulter didn't want to get his hands dirty. Kees didn't know why that stuff needed to come out.

We roasted the seeds....yummy.

Everyone got to design their own pumpkins and then I carved the faces with the Drummel Tool. That worked pretty well.

Tonight we're going to a party so we won't even be home. Weird. That is a first. The kids will Trick-or-Treat around the neighborhood and we'll all have a good time. Next...I guess it's time to get out the Thanksgiving stuff and then quick...the Christmas stuff. I better start "feeling like it" soon because we're doing our big party this Christmas and "I don't feel like it" won't cut it for that.

Snack Mom

I must preface this post with the note that this is my 6th year of preschool participation at ChildsWork. It has been a really good experience for all of my kids and I am grateful for their teachers there. They have givin my kids a curiousity for learning and wonder at their discoveries. It is a blessing.

Friday was Kees' snack day. This is a big deal. You get to pick out what you want for snack, your parent can come and stay in the class room for the day and it's just a little bit like being a star. Kees was REALLY excited!

I had a few things to take care of so I got to his class room just after 9:00. When I walked in the room Kees' face lit up. He was thrilled. I set my things down and made my way over to him. He hopped up and sat on my lap with a big smile. "Hi mommy. He he he" He introduced me to his class. You could tell he was really proud.

After circle time we went out for recess. He wanted me to run with him the whole time. I declined. I'm not much of a runner.

Next it was time for "Exploration" in the class room. The kids get to pick and choose. Kees opted to play a game. It was really fun to watch the kids make up the rules and how to play Candy Land. It was nothing like the game I remember but they were having fun. It was interesting because they didn't seem to care who was winning or if they were playing by the same rules. At home there would have been yelling about not playing by the rules and who was cheating. At the end of "Exploration" they packed up the game and no one won. Good stuff.

Then Kees and I went down stairs to prepare snack. He carried the trays and I carried the heavy stuff. We worked in tandom and Kees made sure that everyone had equal shares. He was diligent in his work.

Snack was a hit especially the Nori. I was surprised by that. We also had apples, cheese sticks and pumpkin scones.

So Kees got to be a bit of a star yesterday. I was glad that he enjoyed it. It's a bit tedious and I am not wild about going to preschool. But once again I am shown that it isn't about me now is it?

Fall Leaves and Mosaics

Kees - "Random"

Sophia - "Island"

Coulter - "Fish Too"

Fire Breathing Dragon

Butterfly

Oasis

Sophia's "Fish"


I try and do a bit of art with my kids every now and then. Honestly I am not much for finger painting, messy art or just scribble. I am a bit more type "A" then that. I want to have a project, be able to explain it and then have the kids do their own with out having to kill myself helping them. Sophia is there but Coulter and Kees don't have the skill or patience yet to do anything that requires much detail work. The fall mosaics (that's what we have been calling them) are perfect. They're cheap and there is no way to do them wrong.

A couple weeks ago when the leaves were in full color here the boys and I went out collecting leaves. Sophia was at soccer so she didn't get to go with us. The idea was to collect as many different colors and shapes as we could. We arrange them on wax paper and then iron another piece of wax paper on top of them all. Above are the designs that we came up with.

It was lots of fun for us all and that is sayin' something.

Hoops

So here I am a 44 year old mom of 3 kids. I am trying to get myself in better shape. You know the ole, move more eat less thing. Sadly, sometimes, moving less and eating more is, well, just more fun. Especially this time of year when it's getting cold out and everyone is baking and making soups. I love soups. AND I am in the mood to cook. I go through phases of loving cooking and hating cooking. I am in the former right now. But I digress....

This post is about Missy. I met Missy about a month ago the first time I played basketball (in a really long time).

My friend Becky invited me to play basketball at the NECC (NE Community Center) on a guest pass. I was leery since it's been, ohhhh, almost 26 years since I last played. But I went. Do you know how hard it is to play basketball for an hour straight? I was thinking "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I used to do this for hours every day!" The lines, the running, yadda, yadda and blah, blah, blah. The thing is I had a really good time. All the ladies were really nice, some were beginners, some had played before and were pretty good. It wasn't too competitive and we just tagged in and out as someone got tired.

I missed a couple weeks because I was out of town but I went back this past Monday. We were about 40 minutes into playing when I was guarding Missy. Missy has played basketball only a few times in her life. She was doing really well. She could dribble the ball, shoot and even scored a couple times. The next think I know, while I was guarding her, she was on the floor holding her knee. Anyone who knows anything about that action knows, "Oh CRAP! This is bad." She laid on the floor for a few minutes, we got her ice. She needed ice on both the back and front of her knee..... "Oh damn, that is really bad!"

I have to tell you that when this happened I was not in contact with Missy. I was really grateful for that fact because if I had been I would have felt REALLY guilty. Like it was my fault. As it was I felt bad enough. It really was just a wrong step.

After a few minute on the floor I remembered I had some Advil in my purse (fanny pack) and gave her some. 10 minutes later....no relief. We called her husband to come and assist her. Luckily he has a flexible job and was able to come. Laurie and I assisted her to his car (she couldn't put any weight on her leg), wished her luck and off they went. We all stared at each other and though, crap.....that sucks.

Apparently it was so swollen for 3 days that they couldn't even do an MRI. They could today. Guess what? It was worse then we thought. She has a torn ACL and Meniscus. Yikes! Worse yet, she has 3 kids, 6, 8 and 11. I called her tonight and she said that her family has been helpful and great. AND her mother and mother in law live close and have been really helpful. Thank goodness. A few of us from basketball are going to bring her some meals so that they don't get sick of Mac-n-cheese (though my kids would love that every day).

Here we are a bunch of 30 and 40 somethings trying to have fun and get fit(ter) and BAM, someone gets hurt, really hurt. I am trying to figure out if I should still play basketball. Missy and I are about the same size and she is almost 10 years younger then me. Doesn't that mean that I could go down just as easily or even more so? I'm just saying..... Maybe I should stick to the stairs and the bike. I feel like I have been so lucky with the knees so far, maybe I shouldn't push it. But then there is the other side...it's really fun. It's a fun group of women, it's a fun way to get exercise Becky, I know you read this....don't worry, I haven't made up my mind, I am just pondering.

Sometimes this getting old thing blows but I can honestly say this, I wouldn't go back for anything. I used to win at most sports that I participated in. Now I have fun playing sports and I don't really care if I win. I'm there to have fun. Age, grey hair, kids, happy family life, great husband and a bit of forgetfulness beats the heck out of youth, ignorance, arrogance and a bit of sports ability any day. I'm just not certain if basketball is going to be my thing or not. I don't know if I am willing to take that risk.....we'll see....it is fun.

Zuppa Osso Bucco

I had to put this on the blog so when I am traveling OR if someone else needs the recipe it's easy to find. This is really easy to make and takes about 30 minutes begining to end.

Lamb Dumplings:
Combine the Lamb and the next 5 ingredients then reserve mix and rinse off your hands.
1 pound ground Lamb
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs, a couple of handfuls
1/4 cup, a generous handful, grated Parmigiano or Romano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
Coarse salt and black pepper

Gremolata:
2 cloves garlic, cracked away from skins
1 (2-ounce) tin flat fillet anchovies, drained
Handful flat-leaf parsley, about 1/4 cup loosely packed
1 lemon, zested
Pile garlic, anchovies, parsley and lemon zest on a cutting board and finely chop the mixture, then transfer to a small dish. I put mine in the food processor.

Soup:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pot
2 carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery and their greens
1 medium yellow skinned onion, peeled and halved
Coarse salt and pepper
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14-ounce) can white beans, cannellini, drained
1 (15- ounce) can diced tomatoes in puree or coarsely ground tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock, available in re-sealable boxes on soup aisle
2 cups beef stock, available in 1 cup small boxes on soup aisle
1 cup egg pasta, broken egg fettuccini or medium egg noodles

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Begin to chop veggies while pot heats up: dice carrots into 1/4 inch pieces, chop celery and onion. Add extra-virgin olive oil to hot pot and carrots. Turn carrots to coat them in oil and add celery and onion as you get them chopped up. Work near the stove so you can chop, then drop into the pot. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Stir vegetables and cook 5 minutes to begin to soften. Do not let vegetables brown, reduce heat if necessary. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Next, add beans and tomatoes and stock to the pot. Put a lid on the pot and raise heat to high. When soup boils, about 3 minutes, add 1-inch balls of Lamb dumplings directly to the pot. When you are done adding the Lamb, stir in the egg noodles. Simmer soup for 6 minutes to cook noodles and meat dumplings. Adjust seasonings and turn the heat off, then let soup stand a couple of minutes.

Serve soup in shallow bowls with a couple of teaspoonfuls of gremolata on top. Stir the gremolata throughout the soup and pass crusty bread at the table for dipping and mopping.

See....Now we all have easy access to the recipe.

Iva

I have to admire our dog. There is nothing that she loves more then "ball." She likes to bite the ball, chase the ball, and I am sure dream about the BALL. Unfortunately, this time of year playing ball is not as frequent of an event as Iva would like. She turns into a mud ball while chasing the ball. The thing that I admire about Iva is how she can sit and stare at you for hours. She is hopeful and persistent. She does not know the meaning of "no ball." She all hears is the "ball" part of that statement. To her we sound like Charlie Brown's teacher except for the key words in her life, "go, ball and park."

In our house we've had to be careful about saying "go, ball and park" because Iva goes nuts. We say things like, "Shall we play with the dog and the round thing?" or, "Let's move across the street to the field." All in hopes that Iva doesn't understand so she'll stay calm. If we can't agree to play ball and someone says, "ball" it just seems mean not to do it.

Wouldn't we all be a bit better if we could have the blind hope that Iva does? All she wants to do is exercise, run with abandon and play. What a great goal. Sometimes the "stare" works but Bob is way less apt to take her then I am. I cave. The look in her eyes says, "Take me out, play with me.......LOVE ME!" I can't resist most of the time. I mean, it's what she lives for.

So I say (for Iva) live in the moment, enjoy the little things that bring you great joy and focus on your goals (playing ball) not obstacles (Bob and rain).