Nathalie's Notes

Friday Favorites

The upside of this heatwave has been less laundry since Sam is spending most of his time diaper-clad.

My favorites this week:

- Air conditioning, fans and ice cubes

- The outdoor, public swimming pool in our town. We figured out why Sam seemed to suddenly dislike being in the pool. It had nothing to do with his little near-drowning debacle and everything to do with his disdain for being contained in any manner. When I figured that out and started letting him play free on the pool stairs things got a lot more fun. As fun as jumping in and out of the pool to chase him (while not running) can be.

- Overflowing recycling bins because it means I'm making progress on this piles of files project

Sam's favorites:

- this pink necklace he "borrowed" from Ella

- this pink car his dad finally broke down and let him play with

- still the spatulas, all three of them, all the time

Good thing I kept that

Matt came home the other day and surprised me with 12 boxes to be unpacked. Yes, we still have stuff in storage (luckily we're not paying for it but it's been 2 years!!!). Some of you might say if I haven't used it in two years I don't need it. But you know what I'd say back to that.

I will admit, though, that some of this stuff I probably could've pitched the first time around instead of carefully packing, moving, storing and then unpacking them. For instance, the box of nylons with runs in them and belts that will never fit again. Or, my wedding planning binder from eight years ago with tabs for everything you can imagine. And receipts. Then there's the memorabilia from our wedding. I kept some of the favors my friends and I made. Unfortunately they were chocolate. That was a fun one to unpack. Also about 2 dozen little envelopes and reply cards printed with an address I haven't lived at in, you guessed it, eight years.

There is, believe it or not, still another entire bin of weddingish things. I'll do that next and let you know what other sticky, very important goodies I find.

Mocking, heavy-sighing and wish-I-was-doing-something-elses aside, it does feel awesome to get rid of some of this stuff. Matt thinks I could be getting rid of even more but he is wrong.

Dusting Pandora's Box

I'm back to shining my sink. Some of you know what that means and you are laughing, perhaps at me. I know house cleaning isn't complicated but I manage to make it stressful and end up doing everything kind of half-assed so I never quite get that satisfaction some people speak of when the "chores are done." I'm starting to realize there is no such thing as having your chores done (unless you're eight). It's more like you have things you do on a regular basis to maintain some kind of order and that's good enough. And good enough is perfect by me.

The problem with the house keeping part of the stay-at-home/try-to-work-at-home mom gig, besides that I couldn't possibly narrow it down to just the one, is that it's one big dusty Pandora's box. Every time I tackle one project, it reveals another one long neglected. The never-ending remodel doesn't help either. Excuses aside, I kind of just suck at cleaning and I pretty much hate it. See how that's stressful since I have to do it throughout the day every day?

In all things in my life I've found that a shift in attitude makes all the difference. I might as well try it with the care and feeding of my family. I am 33 years old and I still act like someone else is going to come along and clean up after me. Unfortunately, everyone who lives here acts like that too.

A few years ago a friend turned me on to this concept of looking at cleaning as more of a blessing for your home and family than drudge work ... the quote "nothing says I love you like a clean toilet to puke in when you're sick" comes to mind. True, I suppose but it's been kind of a stretch for me to get there.

These days, I'm needing a system that works for me so I can work when I need to without feeling I should be doing ten other things instead and waiting until I'm too tired to get anything on the page. I think I've finally found it, but I'll keep you posted.

Meatless Monday: awesome broccoli salad

If it's going to be hot tonight where you are, may I suggest cold sandwiches and salad? I'm thinking something like cream cheese with cucumbers and tomatoes. If you think salad is for rabbits, this broccoli salad is pretty filling and is a good one even for broccoli haters. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law after mowing through a bowl of it for lunch. It was the first time I can think of where I ate the whole salad before starting on my sandwich. It's that good.

Broccoli Salad

4 cups broccoli

1 red onion (Next time I make this I'll use less than 1/2 of one)

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup raisins (golden or regular, but golden somehow make the salad)

2 tomatoes

Dressing:

1 cup mayo

2 T white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

Chop broccoli, red onion and tomatoes. Mix with seeds and raisins. Stir mayo, vinegar and sugar and combine with veggies, raisins and seeds.

Another suggestion, double the recipe and keep it around all week since it's supposed to stay pretty hot around here. If you think you might take some of this for lunch, I strongly recommend using less red onion. Just trust me on that.

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, technically this recipe calls for bacon, 6 crisp strips chopped and mixed in with the veggies.

Friday Favorites

Me:

Coming home after visiting family

Dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Though I'd like them better if they were self-propelled.

Letters in the mail that have real handwriting on them.

Sam's new animal sounds and funny little quirks. See below.

Sam:

Making fish lips.

Wearing necklaces and bracelets. (But he also enjoys banging them against the table and tossing them in the air).

Insisting on carrying not one but three spatulas everywhere we go: pink, blue and yucky. Yucky is actually purple but he pulled it out of the dishwasher once and I said "Yucky!" So now, you know, pink, blue and yucky. We have received a range of comments on this odd little quirk and many  more odd looks. While he does many things with the three spatulas, his favorites included just holding them and jumping up and down with them yelling "Zaba! Zaba! Zaba!" (Frog in Slovak.)

Also he is on an eating strike. He only eats dried fruit, some fresh fruit and Cheerios. Also dog food. Which reminds me, Sam has his first chore! I know I'm a nerd for being excited about that but I'm already dreaming of chore charts. After our breakfast and dinner he goes to Lucy's food bin, holds the yogurt container and I fill it with the dog's kibbles. Then he carefully carries it over to her food bowl in the bathroom and pours it in, rarely does he miss. When he does spill a few, he stops to pick every single one up and put it back in the bowl. Lucy waits very, very patiently. If I forget, Sam comes out of the bathroom waving her empty food bowl to remind me.

A day in the life

Could someone direct me to the aisle where they sell time and patience? I seem to be low on both.

As I type this Sam is calmly, quietly reading a magazine. He's having a bit of a hard time turning the pages since he refuses to let go of his soccer ball, mini basketball and golf ball. But he's quiet. And self-entertained. {Pipe the harp music}.

That peaceful moment lasted four minutes. Then it was "Mama, up? Mama! Garbage truck!" And then four hours happened. Now Sam is practicing his nap time avoidance techniques. "Mama, eat?" "Mama, bath?" "Mama, side? Sam side!" (Side = outside).

And he's down. I briefly consider napping, then laugh at my own little joke. But where do I start? That's always the question I'm mulling over as I tip-toe down the stairs. Laundry? Cleaning? Work? My next remodeling task? Dinner?

Dinner is off the list this afternoon since it's already in the crock pot. It always feels a little funny browning meat at 9 a.m. but it's so nice to know dinner is handled. I'm trying a new recipe out of my "Fix it and Forget-it Lightly" book. It sounded better when I was planning the week's meals than it does after putting it together but we'll see. So, remember, this may or may not be tasty. I can, however, vouch for it being easy.

Sausage-Sweet Potato Bake

Makes 6 servings, Ideal slow-cooker size: 4-quart

1/2 lb. lean sausage, cut in 1/4-1/2 slices (Oops. I didn't notice that part until I typed it. I used ground sausage.)

3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

4 medium-sized apples, peeled and cut in chunks (Hmmmm. Didn't do that right either. I just sliced them.)

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour (Oh my God! I only used 1. I must've been distracted with the balls flying in the air).

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 cup water

1. Brown sausage in nonstick skillet. Drain.

2. Layer sweet potatoes, apples and sausage in slow cooker sprayed with nonfat cooking spray. (Big surprise, I forgot to spray. Also, I was confused about the layering business. One big layer of each or alternate layers? I did them one on top of the other.)

3. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over all.

4. Cover. Cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Authors's Note: To allow for more even cooking of the ingredients, slice the sweet potatoes thin and cut the apples in thicker chunks. The apples cook soft faster than the potatoes.

Update: So it wasn't really that good. It tasted fine but it was just not much to write home, or at all, about. So I put it in a blender and called it soup. Now we're talking. I don't think it has anything to do with my bungling of the directions.

 

Meatless Monday: Summer Squash Pie

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it's one of my favorite things to make in the summer. I suspect I've posted this recipe before but can't find proof so here it is again.

Besides, it's what's for dinner tonight.

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

1 egg – beaten

2.5 cups sliced zucchini (1/4 inch slices) You have a kitchen ruler ,right?

2.5 cups sliced yellow summer squash (1/4 inch slices) Ha!

1 tsp. vegetable oil

½ tsp. salt

¼ - ½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp paprika

¼ - ½ tsp. pepper

2 large tomatoes – sliced

1 c. shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

¾ c. mayonnaise (use regular mayo not Miracle Whip)

Line un-pricked pastry shell with two pieces (double thickness) heavy duty foil.

Bake at 450˚ for 5 minutes.

Remove foil and brush lightly with some of the egg. Discard remaining

egg. Bake 5 minutes longer and remove to wire rack. Reduce heat to

350˚. In a non-stick skillet sauté zucchini and squash in oil for 10

minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with seasoning, spoon into pastry shell,

top with tomatoes, combine cheese and mayo and spread over top.

Bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes of until golden brown. Refrigerate

leftovers. Makes 6-8 servings.

Safe and sound

This is Sam, safe and sound, showing showing off his Father's Day gift a few hours after he inspired this column about his little face-first dip in the pool.

While Sam didn't make the book, he gets credit for sitting somewhat still while I put it together online.

You can take the boy to the dollhouse but ...

I had this sweet idea to get Sam used to the idea of being gentle and loving to a doll before a real baby came along and rocked his little I'm-the-center-of-the-Universe-and-I-deserve-it world.

I brought out the Cabbage Patch Kids of my childhood: Joseph Marvin and Mala Suzy. More on them another time.

Sam watched carefully as I introduced him and showed him how to gently hold Joseph Marvin. He reached for him and for a moment looked like he was going to cuddle him. Instead he banged his face against the shelf and threw him on the floor. He reached for my Mala Suzy. I gave him a ball instead. Maybe we'll try dolls another day.

Adorable you

Sam found this hat in my closet and has barely been able to part with it since. So much so that Matt agreed he looks adorable in it but begged me to "for God's sake" take off the flowers. Fine. After I take a few pictures.