Sidelined

Ugh. Summer colds. 'Nuff said.

Happy 35th!

My dearest husband,
Thank you for being my partner in this crazy world. Thank you for doing the laundry when I'm so swamped with grading and SoL prep that I can't even remember if I've eaten. Thank you for giving me such a beautiful baby boy who has brought so much joy to our lives. Thank you for giving me space when I need to relax and disengage from life, in general, and for always being there when I need to come back. Thank you for running errands for me when I haven't had a chance to get to the store and for taking over at 2 in the morning when I just can't rock any more. Thank you for helping me attempt to keep some sort of order to our house when the Tasmanian devil that is two and a half feet high breaks loose. Thank you for everything you do, and everything you say, and for always letting me put my cold feet on you at night.

Happy Birthday, Steve! I love you.

Dionne

Summer Plans Revisited

I've mentioned, some, that I have a laundry list (including keeping up with the laundry!) for the summer. One major item on my list is (drum roll, please) finding my *perfect* burger.

I had a few odd cravings when I was pregnant. The first trimester, when I was at the height of my coaching, outside, long hours, in wind and sun, was chunky orange juice - such chunky pulpy deliciousness that I had to chew it on the way down. Later in my pregnancy, I had a penchant for kalamata olives. Prior to pregnancy, I'd never been a huge olive person, but something about the brininess was just...perfect.

I never had real cravings. I had a ravenous stomach and a mind open to suggestion - so much so that even Homer Simpson eating spaghetti made me want some with meatballs. But I did have one craving that hasn't gone away, and that is for the *perfect* burger.

I'm driving everyone I know crazy with this yen for my *perfect* burger. I don't want anything cooked on a griddle. It has to be grilled. It cannot be a pre-packaged, perfectly round or square slab of meat. It needs to be hand-pressed so it is thick enough to retain juices. The mix of condiments and toppings has to be just right so the heat of the meat contrasts with the crisp, coolness of the tomato and lettuce; And I'd really like it with avocado, but I'll take just a plain burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mayo, if I can get it.

I've tried...7 places in our area. None of them have it. Of those 7, 5 were recommended to me as the *best* burgers in the area. I don't want the best in the area. I want MY PERFECT burger. There is one more place I've heard of, but when Steve drove all the way there (it is apparently quite a distance from us, but in the same area...) he didn't have cash on him, and they do not take credit cards. I'm holding out a sincere hope that we can get there within the next week.

The Irish pub we tried today at our department lunch was good. But mine was dry. I only asked for medium well, which should have put a nice char on the outside without drying out the meat. Don't get me wrong - it was good. But it wasn't that for which I am yearning. And I was really hopeful, since this particular pub's food is truly satisfying. They have a pecan crusted salmon that is absolutely delectable.

If any of you know of a place that has THE burger, please please PLEASE let me know so I can put this search to rest.

Oh, and graduation was today, so I now have 2 months to dedicate to this search!! :-) Yay!

The Summer is Upon Us

The end of this frustrating, frantic, incessant year is finally near. For the first time in my teaching career, every student of mine passed both SoLs. Whether or not that is because I'm coming in to my own (dubious) remains to be seen.

But with the end of this year comes a summer of...time. Opportunity. A chance to ensure that I've made a difference in Syd's life as well as plan for the future - professionally and personally. And boy, do I have a laundry list of what I propose to do with my time.

The first few years I taught in the public school system, I half-heartily attempted to get a summer job. I say half-heartily because I was coaching and teaching at the end of the year - 12+ (sometimes 2 day) hour track meets, SoLs, exam approval, exams, traveling with athletes, cleaning out my classroom - yeah, I had time to look for a summer job. And all the college kids who were done in May beat me to them.

But the past two years, I've seen how actually planning out what I feel I have to do, developing a calendar, and marking what I've accomplished actually makes me realize how much I HAVE done over the summer months. And now, with a toddler at home and finally finally FINALLY feeling like I belong in academia at a high school level (doesn't mean I feel prepared, mind you...), I am relishing the idea of time off to accomplish everything I have been putting off for 6+ months. Sydney is older, now, too, which means I actually get to put him physically down for naps (nursing nightmare, and not on his part - neurotransmitters released in me made me extremely sleepy every time he nursed, which means that we both fell asleep...for hours...). I may, in fact, get more accomplished this summer than ever before!

Last year, the summer flew by, but that is, in part, because I kept track of everything I did each day and monitored what I wanted to accomplish and what I was willing to let slide. This year, my list is even longer. I hope I have the fortitude, now that I have more sleep (not much, though) and time, to get at least 3/4 of my list done. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

But one thing I really want to do is to start writing a - what is it...not really a biography, not a novel (I tend to perceive novels as fiction, though that's not accurate), a tangible documentary? of my struggles with my health, which have increased ten-fold since the hormones of having a child hit me. Not for everyone, but definitely something I feel I need to record for anyone else who may be experiencing the same thing.

Regardless, I am looking forward to spending time with my son, to learning Italian with him, and to seeing him experience the world. And I am also looking forward to cleaning, de-bulking, and organizing my home, in hopes that it will run decently in the fall, when the next slam of deadlines and obstacles hits us all.

And We've Survived Another One...

SOLS ARE OVER! HALLELUJAH!

'Nuff said.

It's Potty Time!

"Look Who's Talking Now" is not the best movie, by any means. But it does have one of my favorite scenes as far as parenting goes. John Travolta and Kirstie Alley are trying to potty train their son. They bring home the kid's potty. Mikey looks skeptically at the thing, and sensing his trepidation, they try to make light of the situation and start dancing around with the potty singing Beastie Boys ('You gotta fight - for your right - to POTTY!') and Rick James ('My girl wants to potty all the time, potty all the time, potty all the time!). Funny before, but now that I have a toddler, hilarious.

So, cut to last night. Keeping Sydney entertained while I prepare dinner, I put Elmo's Potty dvd on. He found it fascinating. We've talked about the potty before. He got one for his 1st birthday, and every time he followed Mommy or Daddy in to the bathroom, we'd ask if he wanted to sit on Sydney's potty while Mommy or Daddy sat on the big potty. He plays with it often, and I think he knows, basically, what its for, though we've tried to be more specific lately with explaining why we sit on the potty.

Lovely details, I know. Bear with me. Yesterday we were playing after dinner. He came up to me at one point and said, "pee poop," which is what he calls going to the bathroom. I asked if he needed to pee-pee, and he ran for the bathroom, opened the door, and stood looking at the little potty.

Following him in there, I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty. He nodded yes, and we sat on the potty, fully clothed, for a moment. He grunted, his signal that something was wrong, stood up, and pulled at his pants. I was hesitant to strip him down since we hadn't practiced this yet, but went ahead and removed his pants. He sat again, in his diaper, looked around, grunted again, and stood up. "Offfffff"

I called Steve because I certainly didn't want to be trying to control a possible mess and a naked baby all by myself. We took off his diaper, sat him down again, and talked about going pee-pee in the potty. He looked down, unsure of what was happening, then stood up and asked for his diaper back. In the midst of trying to get him re-diapered, he then decided he wanted to try again. We sat, naked, on the potty again. Again, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing, and got up.

Steve asked me a question, distracting me. At that moment, I heard "Uh oh." I looked behind me and a rather large puddle of urine was spreading. I felt my clothes to discover he had peed on the floor and my back, and I burst out laughing.

Mess aside, and panicky child reassured, Steve and I are actually really proud of him. He's only 19 months and definitely showing signs of readiness for potty training. I plan to go full force once school's out, but I know its considered REALLY early for toddlers, regardless of gender. The truth is, he's been aware for a while now of when he's gone to the bathroom, and he is also able to keep his diaper clean for several hours at a time.

My little baby is growing up!

As Promised - Veggie Spaghetti Sauce

This is quite a yummy recipe, and if you're anything like me, you're looking for more ways to get veggies in to your children's (and yours!) stomach. I found it in a parenting magazine, and credit the recipe to Jamie Oliver, the British chef who is trying to change America, one school at a time.

The Best Tomato Sauce Ever (His words! - my thoughts will be italicized)
Prep your veggies:
peel 2 small onions
trim 1 small leek (wash thoroughly to remove all sand)
trim 2 stalks of celery
halve and de-seed 2 red bell peppers
(I add garlic - I used 3 cloves, but I think it needs more)
-Roughly chop all of these

Use the coarse side of a box grater and grate 2 zucchinis and 2 carrots
(I recommend, if you have one, a food processor, since you'll want to use it later on the butternut squash - may as well get on dirty on this...)

-Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add all your veggies, a large pinch of dried oregano (I also included basil) and 2 bay leaves. Cook slowly, with a lid, stirring occasionally, til the veggies are soft but not starting to brown.

(I would definitely add sea salt to these to help them sweat as well as add flavor. In fact, I would add sea salt with every addition to help maintain seasoning. Also, use sea salt instead of table salt so you add flavor without the sodium. I would also recommend that after the veggies start to soften, you take off the lid to let excess moisture evaporate, as my finished product was a little too runny for my [our] tastes.)

While the veggies start to cook down, peel 1 small butternut squash, then carefully cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Coarsely grate the flesh and add to the saucepan (with sea salt). Allow to cook down.

At this point, I absolutely had to transfer everything to my huge stock pot, as my pans and regular pots were waaaay too small.

Add 4 (14.5 oz) cans of plum tomatoes with juice, 2 cups of water, a pinch of sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the squash is soft. Take the pan off the heat, spoon out the bay leaves, and let the sauce cool before blitzing with a stick blender until smooth (I was so excited that I finally had an excuse to purchase one!!)

The recipe says it makes 13 cups, but I got a solid 18 out of it. I also found that, though the stick blender was AWESOME, it didn't bring a texture my 19 month old son wished to eat, so I still need to blend the sauce further to correct the texture. As I stated, though, I saved a large container for dinner that week, and froze 3 baggies of it (4 cups in each) to use later in the year.

My only recommendation would be to add protein (tofu, chicken, beef, whichever you like), taste it again as it warms up (sometimes freezing can affect flavor and you may need more herbs or salt), and make sure the texture and consistency is to your liking.

I also think that the next time I actually cook this recipe, I will add frozen spinach, for more greens, and possibly reduce the # of peppers, or alter the type, as I found, personally, that this had a rather heavy pepper taste to it. But then again, I'm not huge on peppers.

Also note that this can be used as stock for roasts, as a base for soups and stews, and since it can be frozen, you will always have a basis for healthy meals for your family! Yay! Please tell me when you try it so we can share our experiences and tips. Enjoy!