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Inspired by Erma

Posted by Nat on Oct 27, 2011 | Comments Off on Inspired by Erma

Did you grow up reading Erma Bombeck?  I did.  I kind of miss her.  There’s no one like her, really.

When I was old enough to read, and wanted to impress my parents and grandparents, I knew I couldn’t *just* read the comics anymore.  I think I was probably 12 or so.  And conveniently, in our newspaper, Erma’s column was near the comics, so it was an easy migration.  I started with that, and then I think my mom may have read some of her books, so I read them, too.  I love her sense of humor, and her healthy grip on the reality of motherhood and all that it entails.

Pretty soon I’m going to whip my laundry room into shape.  It’s getting there, and I’ve already done a few things, but have so much more to do.  In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this sneak peek.  There was a little spot over our washer that I stare at a lot.  I decided that it would be nice to have something to look at instead of a blank wall, and I’ve always liked this quote from Erma.  So I fiddled around in Photoshop and here’s what I came up with:

I’ve had this panoramic, 12×4 photo frame for years.  Nearly a century, I think.  So I spray-painted it a creamy white, added some twine, and voila- this is much nicer to stare at!  And this was all free- my husband likes free.  So do I.

I also figured that you might not want one in 12×4, just in case you aren’t a frame-hoarder like myself.  So I also made it in 8×10 format.  Hope you enjoy! You should be able to right-click on either to download to your own computer, but let me know if that doesn’t work.

I can’t wait to show you more of our laundry room, but I have a pretty big project for it before I can show it to you.  🙂

Toys Every Boy Should Have

Posted by Nat on Oct 25, 2011 | 3 comments

I grew up with all girls.  I have two older sisters, and four cousins- all girls.  My only male relatives growing up were my dad, my two grandpas, and my two uncles. Lots of double-x chromosomes running around.  Therefore I am clueless as to what to get my little boy as he grows up.  I know, I know- it’ll come to me, but still- I’m a list person.

Some disclaimers:

• I am NOT getting paid for this list.  I’m doing it for fun.  Like I said, I like lists.
• I am NOT saying that you *should* have any of these toys, or that if you don’t you are totally lame.  These are just ideas.  To each his or her own.   If you don’t want your boy to have guns as toys, totally fine.  I’m still figuring that one out.
• I also think it’s possible and totally fine for boys and girls to cross the gender-line in terms of toys, and vice versa.  We let Jack put on Anna’s costumes.  He can have a pink cup to drink his milk if he wants.   Anna can play with trucks and stuff.  So please don’t take this as a “manly-man toy list and if you disagree you must be a pansy” post.

So I went to my Facebook friends and family and asked them:  “What are the toys every boy should have?”  Jackpot! I got so many great answers, and I wrote them all down (some of them were hilarious).  Thanks, FB friends!  Then I broke their responses into categories.  I’ve listed them below and provided links where necessary.   I hope this is helpful to you, dear friends.  And please– if I left anything out, leave a comment and add to the fun- make the list even better!

The Basics

Miscellaneous things included:

• duct tape
• crayons & paper
• cardboard boxes
• balls
• sticks
• dinosaurs
• wooden blocks
• flashlights
• handheld video games
• keys
• art kits
• sewing kits (fine motor skill development)
• baby doll & stroller (especially if new siblings are on the horizon)
• t-ball set
• golf set
• magnifying glass
• tool bench & tools
• old bikes to take apart and put back together

Things that go:

• cars
• trucks
• trains/wooden train set
• matchbox cars
• fire trucks
• police cars
• ramps & tracks for all things that go

Weapons:

• bows ‘n’ arrows
• fire (this made me laugh!)
• guns
• “any weapon” (direct quote- ha!)

Brand Specific Toys

(These are in no particular order. Some of these I had not heard of, and you’ll be able to tell because I’ll talk about them in case you haven’t either.)

Automoblox

These look uber-cool.  They are also not uber-cheap, so they will have to be gifts for our kids- but MAN they are cool!  Apparently you can mix and match different parts, so if you have 2 or 3, you really have endless possibilities.  There’s also a Parts Department so you can order extra wheels, etc.  Cool!

Legos

Duh.  Legos rock.

Tinker Toys

Anna plays with these already- we need to either sneak them into Jack’s room or just get him his own set.  I’m curious to see if Jack gets any of my husband’s amazing technical brain- Anna has made some pretty amazing things with Tinker Toys.

Imaginext

Fisher Price brands these as the toys to get when your kid is “Pre-Cool”- you don’t want them shooting stuff yet, but they want to feel like they have a really cool toy.  They seem to be just that, but we also don’t have any.  Would love to hear what people think of these!

Hot Wheels

 Of course we’re talking about the cars, but I also have to mention… When I was at BlogHer I got to see a preview of the Hot Wheels Wall Tracks  and they are awesome.  I sort of want Jack to get some so I can play with them…

Anything Star Wars

(I could post a bazillion links for anything Star Wars but then this post would go on forever…)

Transformers

I’m not sure how I feel about these.  I remember them from my childhood and the commercials gave me the heebie-jeebies.  They kind of freak me out.  Thoughts?

Bruder Toys

(Someone actually said “Bruder trucks” in my FB post, but after looking at the website- anything here screams “boy!!!”) These are also not cheap, so for us they will have to come as gifts.  They are extremely authentic looking, and have great reviews on Amazon.

Geo Trax

Made by Fisher-Price, this is sort of a new train track collection, but they have incorporated lots of characters from movies, like Toy Story and Cars. These look pretty cool.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has these, as I’ve been debating about whether it’s really worth it to get a train set like this.

Lincoln Logs

So, there you have it.  Did I miss something?  Is your son’s favorite toy left off of this list- please leave a comment and add it to improve the list!  Or if you have any experience with any of these toys, please post a comment!

Real Simple Easy Dinners: Week 1

Posted by Nat on Oct 24, 2011 | 3 comments

We did it!  Week one was awesome!  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here!)  Below are individual reviews for each meal.  We definitely had a few favorites and some not-so-favorites, but what was really the nicest thing was having everything planned out.  As I type this our fridge is full of ingredients for Week 2, as well.  So nice to not have to stress/think/worry/wonder about what we’re eating.

My biggest take away is that we can add veggies into our meals by roasting them.  This can be tricky in our house- we have a wandering 2-year-old, plus an old-school, avocado green oven, two tiers, and only the bottom oven works right now.  Neat.  But we ate so many veggies this week, and I liked all of them!  I do recommend, when roasting, lining the pan with foil AND spraying it with Pam or some sort of oil to help make “tossing” them easier- nothing sticks.

Monday:  Salmon with baby bok choy & green beans

YUM!  This was so good.  And I feel like I can cook salmon well now- it was almost too simple.  The recipe only has you use salt and canola oil on the salmon- this made me suspicious, but it was so tasty.  And the veggie mix was something new and easy.  I prepped everything during naps so all I had to do was throw it all together.  We will definitely make this again.  My only question is:  where the heck do you find baby bok choy?  We tried three, count ’em, three stores, and it was nowhere to be found, so we used regular bok choy.

 Tuesday:  Tomato Soup with Roast Beef, Cheddar, and Horseradish Panini

This was delish and easy to do.   The tomato soup was lovely, though I did change one thing.  I added some whipping cream to it to sort of take the bite out of the tomato acidity.  It was lovely.  Next time I will use less onion and garlic, though- maybe ours were just super potent but I tasted garlic and onion the rest of the night.  We also do not like horseradish and don’t see that changing, so I used Greek yogurt and some herbs from Penzeys as the sauce for the panini.  Do you know Penzeys?  You should.  Great spice company.  Check them out! We used “Mural of Flavor.”

Wednesday:   Pork Chops with Roasted Beets and Oranges

I was surprised by this one. I’ve never, ever in my life (that I can recall) eaten a roasted beet.  I’ve tried canned beets and promptly said, “No thank you” when offered more, but roasted beets?  I was open to it (unlike the horseradish).  And surprise, surprise- I liked them!  Our oranges weren’t so yummy, so if I ever make this again I will be sure to use sweet oranges as they didn’t taste great, but that’s not the recipe’s fault.   This recipe did have significant clean up to do, so I would probably just make this for a special dinner.

Thursday:  Chicken with Potatoes, Bacon, and Cabbage

Meh.  This was okay.  We didn’t get whole grain mustard, which the recipe calls for, mainly because we had three other kinds of mustard in the fridge.  I used Dijon and it was way too potent with the apple cider vinegar- Anna held her nose when she came in to help set the table, which was hilarious.  I’m not big on cabbage, either, but we gave it a go.  I did like the chicken- it was tender and yummy, but the side dish was not our fave, even though it did have bacon in it.

Friday:  Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Fontina

This was awesome, especially at the end of the week.  It was easy to do- almost too easy.   The squash is so good and really made it “taste like fall” (if that’s possible).  I’m very happy that Trader Joe’s has butternut squash all chopped up and ready to use- it made the meal so simple.

Our favorite meal of the week:  Monday’s salmon.  However, we also really liked the paninis on Tuesday, as well as the whole meal on Friday.

All in all, I loved following the recipes this week and can’t wait to see what comes next week.  I did have to stay on top of things in terms of prepping the veggies, etc., which I tended to do just after lunch or just as the kids were waking up from naps.  If I saved everything until just before dinner time then it would have been a late dinner every time.  I think this works for me now as a SAHM- if I were doing it as a working mom I might have to prep things the night before in order to get things done without freaking out.

I also think that this week’s menu was so-so in the “kid friendly” department.  We did have Anna try a few things, but dinner is our toughest meal in general, and most of these meals didn’t work for Anna or Jack.  Maybe if you have a kid who will literally eat anything it would work, but I don’t have too many friends who have kids who will jump into a pile of roasted beets. 🙂  Aside from that, though, this is really a great plan.  Check back next Monday for Week 2!

Back in {one} saddle again

Posted by Nat on Oct 21, 2011 | 1 comment

Right about the time I had my son, Jack (my second child), I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t wait to have my body back.”   I think that’s something that sneaks up on you in mothering and parenting in general- it’s a physically demanding task.  It’s one I love with all of my heart, but it’s taxing and strenuous, just the same.  Breastfeeding alone is enough to make me want to cup my hands over my chest and say, “Mine!” from time to time (though I haven’t acted on it…)

My wonderful husband, Michael, has really payed attention to me.  Well, he pays attention to me regardless of the situation- I’m lucky like that.  But he really listened when I would toss comments left and right, sprinkling them into conversations here and there.  I’d say things like, “When I’m done having kids, I want to set some fitness goals.”  Or, “How in the he** am I going to exercise when we have 3 kids?”  Recently, near our home, a new YMCA has opened up.  That alone is cool, but then we found out that the Y has FREE “child watch” with a family membership.  Meaning I can take my kids with me, drop them off in a cute playroom with an outdoor, fenced in playground attached, and waltz on over to the gym and workout.  Try a class.   Do some Zumba.  Run a 5K on the treadmill.  All things I can’t do quite yet because my rear is so out of shape.

Michael listened.  We signed up.  We can’t necessarily afford it 100%, but we’re doing it.

So I’ve started.  The mission has begun.  I am going to workout three times a week.  That’s my goal.  A hefty one for our lifestyle and what we’re used to.  It’s a total pain to get there- Jack cries when I drop them off, the Child Watch girls can already hear us coming and I can see them bracing for at least 10 minutes of crying, but once I hop on a machine and start sweating, feeling 3-babies-worth of belly jiggling and (hopefully) melting away (slowly, I’m sure), I’m happy knowing that I’m at least doing something active for myself.  Last week the schedule I tried did not work, so I’m going to try a different one this week- still some stuff to figure out, but I’m exercising.  Yay for me!

My goals?  I’m not one to get caught up in numbers.  It’s not so much how much do I weigh, it’s what clothes can I fit into next?  What (relative) size am I?  Can I put on my favorite old jeans?  That cute skirt?  Will my thighs stop rubbing together so I can wear skirts and be comfortable again?  Can I do without Spanx?  This is where I’d like to be. Aside from that, I’d like to start by running a 5K, and work up to a half marathon.  And I have always wanted to do a mud run.  We’ll see.  Yes indeed- we will see!

Microcrafts: Halloween Bunting

Posted by Nat on Oct 20, 2011 | 1 comment

I am so excited to tell you about a new book, “Microcrafts,” by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz, and Friends.  I was sent this book by Eric at Quirk Books, the publisher.  The book itself is very nice- quality paper, great photos and instructions.  If you Google it you’ll find lots of lovely reviews with photos from the book, but I’m more into showing you what I’ve made from the book.  I’m new to the world of microcrafting, and after looking at this book I’ll be trying several things from it.  Having a little girl obsessed with tiny things helps.

The first and most accessible project for me (given when it arrived with family and friends in town) was bunting.  I guess one would call it “micro-bunting” because the little flags are only 3/4″ across!  It was super easy to slice up the paper. I dug into my crafting stash and found an angle guide for my paper cutter (which is broken- I need a new one).

I decided to add to our Halloween decor, so I chose the paper, and cut it into a few 1-inch strips.

Then it was just time to make triangles:

 As I was slicing I gained an assistant.  Often I have to tell Anna that she can only watch with my projects, but she is totally into using scissors right now, so I just gave her a few strips and traced the triangles on for her- she loved helping, and she actually did a great job.  She also helped me sort the triangles after slicing them so that I could load them into the sewing machine in a pattern.

I got lots of “awesome mommy” points that afternoon- she was so happy.

The only problem I had (please share if you know a solution) is that they won’t lay flat like they do in the book.  My first attempt was too embarrassing to post, so I tried again, lengthening the stitch, and that helped a little.  I tried flattening them overnight with a magazine or two (hot doctors can always help, right?)…

…But they still don’t look as nice as in the book.  Oh well- they are still super cute.

I’m going to make some more for our laundry room, which will be updated soon, so I’ll post more about them if I figure out what helps them lay flat. Maybe something to do with the tension in my thread…  There will definitely be more microcrafting posts coming up!

Disclosure:  While I was not paid for this post, I was sent the book for free with the expectation that I’d do a review.  Thanks, Quirkbooks!  If you’d like to get your own copy, it’s available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A Month of Easy Dinners at Crafting Crazy

Posted by Nat on Oct 18, 2011 | 1 comment

Dinner time.  Such a dreaded time for so many mothers out there- what to make, what to make?  It was never a challenge for us before kids- it was an adventure.  Stop at the store on the way home from work- grab amazing ingredients, and spend the evening cooking up a storm, making a mess in the kitchen, and enjoying the fruits (and meats and cheeses, maybe a few veggies) of our labor whilst watching the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy on DVR.  Those were the days…

Now we’re knee-deep in picky eaters who turn up their noses at the most awesome stuff.  We offer them home made mac’n’cheese and they dubiously push it away saying, “No, Mommy, no mac’n’teese.  No like it.”  (That would be Jack.)

A few things have helped me and Michael.  One is to plan our meals on the weekend for the upcoming week.  Even if we don’t stick to the plan, we can at least modify it and know that we have ingredients in the fridge to make something. But we get stuck in ruts left and right, staring at the list of the days of the week as if we’re grasping at straws.  We’re bored in the cuisine department.

Last month, however, Real Simple magazine came out with an issue that really caught my eye.  The cover boasts “A Month of Easy Dinners” (October) and shows some lovely shrimp tacos with black beans.  You had me at shrimp…

I was intrigued on many levels.  One is that even as a recipe-seeker I tend to stay in my comfort zone.  I do not wander from my box.  I think my box is pretty big, mind you- I like a variety of foods, and don’t consider myself picky.  I will try anything aside from the obvious cow brain, etc.  But I do tend to look at recipes I’ve never tried before that don’t sound amazing or delicious and I just skip them over.  I like the idea that Real Simple proposes- they give you a grocery list for everything you need for the week, and *pow* you head to the store once, get everything on the list, and you’re set for the week with 5 easy dinners to make for your family.

There are lots of things listed that I have either never tried to make or have never cooked at all.  For example: beets.  I have no idea if I like roasted beets, but I’ll be trying them soon.

So, next week I will let you know how Week 1 went.  Here’s what we’ll be eating for dinner:

Monday: Salmon with Gingery Green Beans and Bok Choy

Tuesday:  Tomato Soup with Roast Beef, Cheddar and Horseradish Panini

Wednesday: Pork Chops with Roasted Beets and Oranges

Thursday:  Chicken with Potatoes, Bacon and Cabbage

Friday:  Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Fontina

You can read about other people trying RS’s Month of Easy Dinners here.