Noodle Trick

When you are a stay-at-home mom, you have to take joy in the small things. A child's smile, a home-cooked meal, or a bunch of bulbs blooming in your yard and all that crap, ahem, wonderful stuff. Then there are the days when you pat yourself on the back for having cleaned your child's sippy cup with a noodle. That's right, a noodle. My daughter loves her straw cups because she can have things other than milk or water. This time it was a blueberry banana smoothie (so popular and with only plain yogurt as the binder!). The only trouble is that ground up blueberries are hard to clean, and in a silicon straw they are nearly impossible. Thus the application of a noodle, uncooked of course, to tease out those last bits.  I have a graduate degree and a professional teaching certificate, but what really matters, in the here and now, is my noodle skills.

New House?

My husband and I have once again decided to enter into that chaotic process known as the house hunt. I know what you're thinking, we have a perfectly nice house, so why should we go looking for trouble now? I agree that our current house is excellent in many ways. I love the family room right off the kitchen, I enjoy having two bathrooms upstairs, and I love the yard. However there are certain things I don't love about it namely the postage stamp of a kitchen and the 8x10 bedroom. We always knew this house was a stepping stone to something else, but we thought it would work for ten years or more. Then came the job change.


When he rides the bus, M now spends up to 90 minutes (assuming he doesn't run into any full busses which does happen sometimes) EACH WAY on his commute. If he drives that time is reduced, but then he has to pay for parking and tolls. There's just no good fix, and it means that we see him less than we would like.  Baby spends a lot of time saying "Dada go work? Dada come home?" Thus we can reduce the commute considerably by moving closer to Goliath Corp. All it entails is throwing around massive sums of money and packing all our worldly goods into boxes. No trouble at all!

This is how we find ourselves once again visiting (har!) with realtors and mortgage brokers. Ahh it seems like only yesterday that I was hunting for my very first condo with an incredibly nice and ineffectual young realtor named Eric. How times do change. At least the whole process is not nearly so daunting on the third time around. Wish us luck!

Saving on Soap

Okay this is going to sound a bit silly, but I'm saying it anyway.  Lately I've been struggling with soap.  Given all the diaper changes we do around here, it seems like we go through hand soap like water.  Given that I don't like to see Triclosan in my handsoap (not good for babies imho) I buy the Method stuff, and it costs $3 a bottle.  I think I probably buy at least one bottle per month, so that means I'm spending $36 on hand soap each year.  That seems kind of crazy to me. 

Not too long ago I was out of handsoap (again) so I broke out a bar that had been hanging around forever under the sink.  We've been using it for several weeks now, and it hardly looks used at all.  It does a good job, smells nice, and is not too harsh on the hands.  What's more, I will probably spend about $6-8 per year on soap with this variety.   I think I may have to go old school.  Besides, I always liked cute soap dishes.

Snowdrops Through the Snow

Right now, outside our door, are flowers!  No, no not some early sort of Valentine, but real fresh flowers growing out of the ground.  Snowdrops are always the first soldiers through the frozen ground in January or February, and this year I first saw them pop up through the actual snow.  They are such a sweet reminder that all is not lost in the garden.  Now it is a progression of flowers.  Next will come crocuses, then daffodils, followed by tulips and hyacinths.  By the time the lilacs start to bloom the whole garden will be in color.  Thank goodness for fall bulb planting that gives us such a bounty.

Helpful

The baby is at that wonderful age where she really wants to help. She loves to push a the little cart in the grocery store (a serious job, not a fun game) and unload the groceries from the bag when we get home. Most nights she wants to set the table, and we give her first placemats, then silverware, napkins, etc. You end up with this incredibly sweet little pile of items precariously balanced on the edge of the table. May this helpful nature please, please continue!


The other weekend the urge to help was strong, but the chore M was accompishing was shredding bills. It's not like she can get anywhere near the shredder, so it was proving a bit of a challenge to keep her happy. Then he hit on the idea of giving her a crayon, so she could "write" on things before they went into the machine. She thought this was a marvelous idea and scribbled a way for quite some time. Then she decided that it was more fun to draw circles on all the papers, and if you're going to do cirlces then you might as well add eyes and smiles. "Happy balls!" she kept saying over and over. I think this is the way to make peace with your bills; cover them with happy balls before pitching them.

Baby on the Way (but not mine)

M and I attended a pre-school preview recently (a place where various schools set up booths and try to woo you with their awesomeness), and we got to meet up with our friends R and J who also have a young child. They were shopping around, gathering info, chatting with directors, and oh-by-the-way GOING INTO LABOR! While they already have a little girl, they were also awaiting the imminent arrival of their second baby. Every few minutes, J would stop talking TO HAVE A CONTRACTION, and then go back to calmly discussing whatever was at hand. I was totally impressed. When I was in labor I could barely remember to blink. She is one tough chick if you'll pardon the expression.

It helps that the hospital was right up the street from the convention center, so it was no problem to head in (har!) once things got intense. We parted company at about 6pm. We went off to have sushi while they went off to have a baby. By approximately 9:30 there was a picture of the loveliest little baby posted online. What a lovely way to begin.

Five Dollar Dinners: Southern Beans and Rice

When most of us think of southern food we think of fatty, fried, and delicious.  However, there's a whole other side to Southern cooking that rarely gets a showing.  Soul food, as it's often called, has its basis in simple, fresh, home-cooked items.  In expensive is the name of the game becuase historically these were farm cooks trying to make the most of what they had.  This recipe for beans and rice is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Vegetarian Southern Beans and Rice

Dried beans ($1 for a pound)
Onion, celery, carrot ($1 for one piece of each)
Green Pepper ($.50 for half)
Veggie stock ($.50 for roughly two cups)
Brown rice ($.50 for half pound)
Diced tomatoes ($1 for a can)
Sour cream or cheese ($.50 for a little topping)

Soak beans for at least a few hours, or better, overnight.  Chop and saute veggies for a few minutes to get a little color on them before adding the beans.  Add just enough water to cover the beans.  Keep adding just enough water to keep them covered.  Cook until beans are nearly done, but not yet soft.  Add stock, tomatoes, and rice.  Cook until rice and beans are finished.  Add salt if needed, and top with cheese or sour cream.  Yummy and healthy!