Pure Joy

My daughter Miss Mae IS pure joy. She feels everything she does so deeply, and exudes those feelings in gigantic sunbursts out of her little 3 year old body like a volcano. Sometimes I think Ican taste her happiness it is so thick. She feels her sadness as wholeheartedly, although it is usually short-lived which has caused my husband and I to, in a turrets sort of way, blurt out "SYBIL!" She can be SOBBING one second and then turn around with "I'm HAPPY NOW!!" and she truly is HAPPY. It soaks into my skin and makes me happy to be alive. Wow, the preggo hormones must be taking a drastic swing right now, but she is just so amazing.

Today she was able to continue her ballet classes that we started earlier this summer with a 'camp' through the community center. She burst out of bed and the first thing she asked was "is it BALLET DAY???" She walked into the dance studio and her smile was so big and her shoulders were up by her ears and there she was - pure happiness. This is my daughter who usually can be found playing with her big brother - pretending to be a velociraptor, or Indiana Jones, or a transformer - and slipping on her tiny little ballet slippers and grasping the sweet little girls' hands next to her in her ballet circle turns into miss prima ballerina!

I HIGHLY recommend her class and Miss Erica her teacher. The class is at Laurelhurst Dance Studio and offered through Portland Parks and Rec. This is no bunny hopping tots class like they show in the movies. Miss Erica is teaching them all of the positions with real names, and Mae doesn't "tiptoe" around the house anymore, she "Bourre'e's".

I wish I could feel a 10th of her love of life. I'm lucky to know her and get to spend so much time with her. I hope I can learn from her!

New Products!

We are going to be carrying the coolest damn t-shirts, made by a super cool mom here in town. Wait till you see these! They are incredibly soft, and the applique's are made out of 100% recycled t-shirts. SO stinking cute. We are getting them all ready for the website, and they'll be up for sale in August.

Now if i can just get her to make one for my HUSBAND!

CitizenJane Politics

I've just come across this site, and from what I can tell, this seems like an actual UNBIASED site. I didn't think there was such a thing, and I'm a little skeptical, but it seems like you can actually get true information!!
Here's what their about us page starts with:

"I call CitizenJane Politics "The Modern Girls' Guide to Picking the Leaders of the Free World" because that's exactly what it's designed to be. This is where you can find plain-English answers to where the candidates really stand on issues. You can also find out when and where to vote, what all that political jargon means, and whether there's a debate next week that you might want to watch on TV. Finally, you'll see politics through the eyes of women instead of the eyes of men. God love 'em, but why are men most of the voices in the political conversation when women are most of the voters?"

Check 'em out. If I'm wrong, PLEASE let me know!

Just Between Friends

I've not had a chance to attend one of the Just Between Friends sales, but I've heard that they are really fantastic. They seem like a great avenue for selling your "ready to pass on" baby and kid items, as well. If you sign up as a volunteer, you get into the PRESALE, which is great, because i guess the product moves FAST (especially things like double strollers or sit and stands for those of us with more than one little person). They are in 16 states, so check the website www.jbfsale.com to find a sale near you.

Here is the Portland event info:
September 27th 10 AM - 5 PM
September 28th 9 AM - 3 PM (many items half price on Sunday!)
(Volunteer and consignor pre-sale on September 26th!)
Rose City Rollers practice facility at Oaks Park.

This is the last day of the season for Oaks Park, and it will be open until 7 pm - good "positive incentive" for good behavior if you are bringing the kiddos with you.

Chicken Thighs

No, this is not a reference to the state of my preggo thighs, although I could go OFF on that as well... It is instead a review of the recipe I posted below. WOW is this GOOD!! Great flavor, great texture, great smell. It is kind of cold here in Portland today, and my house smells like Thanksgiving. ALMOST makes me crave the change in season. Wait. NO IT DOESN'T!

So as a recipe for new parents/families, this doesn't really work at all, unless you live quite close, or have some sort of way to keep something warm. I like to be able to drop of a COLD meal, and let the family pop it in the oven at their convenience. This IS a one pot meal, but it is on the stove, and when it is done, it is done. I imagine it would freeze alright, but I don't think it would be as good as the night it is made. However, as a new addition to my repertoire (yes, I’ve adopted it) it is SO great! The soft texture of the beans with the chewy kielbasa and the tender chicken is perfect. And the bread crumb topping gives it a little crunch while soaking up some of the liquid and making it even thicker. YUM. I made it in my Le Cruset, though, I can't imagine a skillet that could handle this much food, and I am always having trouble keeping everything in a skillet anyway. We had it with market fresh green beans and asparagus (and peaches and carrots for the kids) I also recommend a nice chewy loaf of bread along side.

My husband liked it even though he has a 'thing' about "stew-type-meals", my daughter ate quite a bit, and I loved it. Henry wouldn't even try it. Not even for an extra X on his meal chart. (I’ve talked about his eating 'issues' on here a little. He DID however eat an entire piece of asparagus!! So that was a bonus. He said he loved it, however, one piece was quite enough thank you, and he still got his X for the night.

SO, my summation is:

• GREAT dinner,
• Not too expensive,
• Goes quite far,
• Lovely smell,
• Not too many dishes to clean (even with all of the "make this and set aside" parts)
• NOT GREAT as a meal to take to a new family unless you live close or they are sitting at the table waiting for it.

Recipes For Families With New Babies at Home??

SO many people I know are having babies right now! (Including me in a couple of months…) It is such a giant help to have people bring food when you are home those first few weeks by yourself with this new little person, and I love to bring food to my friends. The problem? My cooking skills have seriously taken a nose dive since starting our family almost 6 years ago. The woman who used to make fresh pasta for FUN, now hardly takes the time to boil the spiderman shaped ones for my kids. I used to be a serious foodie – loved finding new recipes and trying them out on my husband and friends, loved hitting the newest restaurants in town, and took pride in how well I knew them and who the chefs were, where they used to work, etc. etc.

Now?? Now I can name the top 5 restaurants in town that have playrooms and train tables. The food is generally not great, and usually overpriced, but in them we can actually finish a meal in some kind of normalcy. Okay, we are wolfing down the not so great food between taking turns dashing to the play area to make sure no trains are being thrown or some other unsupervised kid isn’t bashing my kid’s head with the previously thrown train. BUT, I digress.

The point is, I’m trying desperately to find great meals to deliver to new parents, and I think there are certain criteria to follow:

1. It must be easy to prepare, and easier for the new parents to prepare. One dish meals are the best I think – they can pop them in the oven and eat whenever the new kiddo decides to bless them with sleep.


2. Having been through different kinds of births, and all of the lovely AFTER birth joys they bring, the food should be HEALTHY. HIGH FIBER. HIGH nutritional bang for its buck.


3. As most moms are breast feeding these days (and even if they aren’t, see #2 above) they should be low in GAS producing ingredients.


4. Freezable would be nice. How great to be able to just throw it in the freezer if 3 friends decide to drop by on the same night with dinner.


5. Family friendly – for those families who already have kiddos, it is much better to offer something they will be interested in, as well – maybe not your famous burn-your-tongue-off crock pot chili.


6. Something DIFFERENT. I mean, how many baked pasta and tuna casseroles can a family eat no matter how convenient??


7. Finally, the very best recipes are ones I can double or even triple so I can feed my own family without having to make another dinner, and even throw one in the freezer for when our new little one comes.

Sound easy to find these recipes? I’m having a heck of a time! Most things I find online are loaded with cheese (again, see #2 above), or one can of this and one can of that with some rice – not so palatable to me… I thought I’d do some good research, and if any of you can write in and help, we’ll get a great list going.

I’ll try them out and deliver to my new family friends and try them out here, and report back to you. YOU try them out and report back to me!

Here’s the first one from Food Network’s website:

Cassoulet-Style Chicken Thighs
Classic cassoulet recipes can take days to make and of course contain rashers of duck, smoked meats and the like. This version keeps it simple and not quite so rich with one skillet, healthier ingredients like low-fat kielbasa, and just 45 minutes to prepare.

2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed
3/4 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs (see Tip)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into thirds
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 pound low-fat turkey kielbasa, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Put 1/2 cup beans in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the remaining beans and set aside.
Toss breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until browned, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme and pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine, increase heat to high and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits, until the wine has reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, water, kielbasa, the reserved beans and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Top with the toasted breadcrumbs and parsley.
To make fresh breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor into coarse crumbs. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup crumbs.

Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis Per serving
Calories 370
Carbohydrate Servings 1
Carbohydrates 40 g
Protein 29 g
Fat 13 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Cholesterol 68 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Dietary Fiber 10 g
Sodium 749 mg
Potassium 631 mg
Exchanges 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat
Nutrition Bonus Fiber (41% daily value), Folate (37% dv), Iron (20% dv).

I’m going to go shopping tomorrow, and i'll make it on Tuesday – I’ll let you know how it turns out! (white beans aren’t as "musical" as other beans, right??)

Pregnancy, round THREE

Here's my theory. a woman's first pregnancy should be nine months long. She needs time to read up on everything, wrap her brain around the idea of becoming a mother and the changes her life is going to go through, daydream about the incredibly perfect mother she'll be, decorate the NURSERY including making sweet little shadow boxes and photo collages for the walls... She needs to spend hours scouring the internet and local shops finding the PERFECT things for each room that might be affected by new baby... Her body needs nine months to stretch slowly into pregnancy shape. She needs at LEAST 9 months to contemplate BIRTH.

Second pregnancy? Should be 6 months, tops. Scratch out the first "wrapping her brain around the idea" related items. The shopping the second time around is cut at LEAST in half, even if the second baby is a different gender. Second time mama is prepared and ready to handle birth and feedings and sleepless nights, etc. etc.

This is my third pregnancy.

My THIRD. All i'm saying is this pregnancy shouldn't be really more than FOUR months long. My mind needs no wrapping around anything except maybe that my husband and i are soon to be out numbered. I have all the clothes, accessories, gear, etc. anyone could ever need. I have no allusions about being the perfect mother. My arse popped right out into its gigantium state that took nine months the first time, by month 3. and birth?? I've had just about all the experiences a woman can have - BRING IT ON.

Four months is PLENTY of time to be ready for this new person to arrive. Too bad biology doesn't depend on a mother's SHOPPING needs....!

Tonight as i was making dinner for my family, my husband and i were talking about what kind of salad i was making, and we each said "Caesar" a couple of times. In the back ground, my son was asking "what is CAESAR?? WHO is CAESAR??" Finally, I focused my attention on him and said, "Honey, we are talking about the salad dressing, but Julius Caesar was sort of like the KING of Rome over 2000 years ago, BLAH, BLAAAH, BLAAAAAAH......" all the while i'm silently congratulating myself on what a good mother i am teaching my 5 year old about history during dinner, etc. etc. When i finally stop to take a breath, my son says, "you know what?" I'm waiting for some heavy insight from him that will further puff my ego, and he says,

"you know what?? i can scratch my BUM at the same time as i eat my dinner!!"

Yep. that's my boy. WATCH OUT HARVARD!!

Spinning Tower?

Spinning Tower?? Seems fathomable, if they can make the top floor of a building spin, why not the whole thing, right? However, the part that scares me is, "Fisher acknowledges that he is not well known, has never built a skyscraper before and hasn't practiced architecture regularly in decades." Although to his credit, he has top consultants on board including a very successful structural engineer.

Additionally, his background (his version of it) seems pretty cloudy.... I wonder who is funding all of the planning and renderings??

Terribly Smart

How cool is this?? It is the new Bin-Go from Skip Hop. I have bins all over my house, but most of them are ugly and not easy to drag around. Now we can throw all the toys that are scattered all over the house in here and stow it away as soon as someone calls and says they are on their way over. or, leave it out - it is that lovely.
Nice form. Nice Function. NICE.
There is a smaller version, too, called table top organizer

The beginning

Things i didn't know when Henry ate only 6 things: a thick gooey chocolate sludge that could plaster a wall is left at the bottom of a bowl of Chocolate Rice Crispies by the time a kid finishes eating.

Things i swore i would never let my kids eat: Chocolate Rice Crispies.

Things change when you have a 'non-eater'.

So to begin at the beginning... Nursing was a real trial. Okay, that is putting it mildly. it was F-ing HARD. i cried for about the first 6 months of his life. He nursed just fine in the hospital, I had the lactation consultant in with us every day we were there - all four: c-section - and she gave us her stamp of approval. great latch! great eater!! it never occured to me we could have a problem. Once we got home, it took both my husband and i to feed henry every single time. i would hold his head and one hand, and my husband would hold the other hand to stop him from pushing off of me. i asked the one breastfeeding friend i knew, who in my eyes was the CHAMP of breastfeeding, if this was normal and she said, "oh YES, it is sort of like a love-hate relationship. they LOVE the boob, they HATE the boob." She even said she was worried about how she would feed her daughter once her husband went back to work. so everything was normal, right? WRONG. i sobbed when my husband had to go back to work - no way could i feed this kid by myself. we did sort of get into a groove, though, he would eat what i thought was a normal amount, and then stop and grin at me. he was HAPPY. then the whole arm fiasco happened, we had to start supplementing, and i had to start pumping.

Now i know that the breast pump is an amazing invention that allows fathers to bond with their children over a bottle (like they don't BOND in a million other ways), and it allows working mothers to get back to work and still feed their babies. For me, it allowed me to plug myself into an outlet up to 10 times a day to start, and have the life sucked out of me like a dairy cow. i would nurse henry, then pump, then feed him what i had pumped, then wash every F-ing little peice of plastic, only to start all over again a few minutes later. just the smell of that F-ing machine makes my stomach hurt and makes me want to cry even today. After months of thinking we were going to get this nursing down, i was still pumping - even after henry refused to nurse at all. I pumped until he was about 8 1/2 months old.

Once we started solids, i thought i could leave behind the eating problems, and feed my kid like everyone else!! Henry ate every baby food Gerber or anyone else made, including all of the market finds i pureed myself: Spinach, peas, sweet potatoes, every fruit i could get my hands on .... He would even gulp down avacado i mashed up for him. As soon as those glass jars got a little bigger, and had some chunks in them, though, he spit them out. PTHPTHHTP. PTHPTHP. PPPTHTHTHPTHPTH. When the few friends i knew with kids were giving their kids over-cooked pasta and other finger foods, Henry was refusing all but a few things. little did i know that this was the beginning of what would turn into his "normal foods". he ate green beans from a can, cheddar cheese, fruit, crackers, and dry toast. i made that plate of food every day, twice a day for over FOUR. MORE. YEARS.

There is hope.

My 5 year old son has been a non eater his entire life. I can't tell you how many people have said to me, "oh i KNOOOOW, my daughter is a picky eater, too. she'll only eat chicken, and macaroni and cheese, and steak and potatoes, and sandwiches, AND BLAH BLAH BLAH, but i can't for the life of me get her to eat BROCCOLI!"

um. yeah. that is not what has been going on with Henry.

As an infant he was described as "content to starve". We were never very good at breast feeding, but he ate, and was the happiest little boy i'd ever seen. he cried now and then, but mostly he laughed and smiled and motored all over the place. When he was about three months old he did a very strange thing with one of his arms. he quit using it. he tucked it towards his body and sort of under him. this was, of course, after he had been sucking on his hands and scratching his face like a normal 3 month old. my husband who usually rolled his eyes at my fears said "call the doctor". we never did find out what was going on with his arm (actually came moments away from an MRI and full anesthesia when he just started using it again), but after being in the doc's office over and over, days in a row, we all realized he was losing weight. you know how everyone says "a baby WON'T starve!" and "if they are HUNGRY, they will CRY!" well that never happened. Henry would eat just enough to take the edge off, and be done.
he has stuck to this behavior his entire life.

i can tell you it has been an isolating experience. from being embarrassed to feed him with bottles (even though they were filled with expressed breast milk) - people in this town have a way of making mama's feel inadequate if they aren't breastfeeding, growing their own vegetables in their back yard, collecting rain water for washing dishes and riding their bikes 20 miles each way to attend the all enriching "book babies" at the library - to not being able to be away from home very long because of the necessity of pumping every few hours, to having to prepare the foods he WOULD eat and take them, on ice, every where we went. we ended up staying home a lot. My husband and i didn't eat in a restaurant with Henry more than a few times his first 4 years. there simply wasn't anything he would eat on the menu. we did pack up his foods in his mini cooler i took everywhere, beg him to eat them in the restaurant while he wanted to get down and play, and promptly leave when we'd had a few cold bites, too exhausted to try to beg or cajole for one more minute.

tell him to take it or leave it you say? That was exactly what his doctor's advice was. offer him whatever we were having for a meal, and if he didn't want any, just put it away. eventually he would get hungry enough to eat it. for God's sake, starving children in third world countries aren't "PICKY EATERS". no, children with Henry's issues in third world countries DIE. after 6 meals in a row of Henry not putting anything but water in his mouth, i couldn't take it anymore and gave him his foods. did he eat like a starving child? no. he ate what he wanted and went back to playing. food simply was not an issue for him.

I'm happy to tell you, though, there is HOPE. through years of trying everything i'd ever read, eating therapy, and buckets of tears, he is eating. and he is so proud of himself! i'll have to start at the beginning.....

Kid friendly restaurants in Portland

We are expecting friends from out of town, and we are all going to go out to dinner. We will be 12 in all, including the kids, and would love to be able to actually SIT DOWN and eat dinner without stressing over what the kids are doing, or who they are bothering. The guests are all from out of town, from California to New York City, and we'd love to show them a bit of our lovely city - we are after all famous for our amazing restaurants - but as we haven't been anywhere that doesn't have a built in train table in 5 years, I had to ask for advice from the best group of women I know!

Here are some of their great comments:

If your guest are beer drinkers Widmer is a great place to take them. Of course we eat there ALL the time. Jake loves watching the trains and Max go by. They take reservations and I would request something in the back room if you decide to go.You wouldn't be alone but it would be separate from the main restaurant. They have a great kids menu and good food too. It's on N Russell and Interstate.
-Sara

I have never been to Steamers on Sandy Blvd, but the menu looks good, price is reasonable and there are private rooms for 10-100 people!

-Diane

Bumblekiss just off of fremont is pretty kid friendly and small-if you arrange in advance the chef/owner might be able to get your own space-I would think you would fill the place it is so small...otherwise same area is cha cha cha...the one on [NE] fremont, has terrific happy hours and it never seems busy there I would think they could let you have one side and set up toys or something in the front...just an idea-not really the standard known kid friendly places but close and good food-bumblekiss is awesome-all fresh, changing menu, PBRs for a dollar (assuming all friends are not pg as well)
last but I have not been there is that Old Wives Tales? heard kid friendly-no idea about spaces...but supposed to be good. Gustavs is kids eat free on certain days-that means they must be friendly, and last but not least...kennedy school.

-erin

Nicola's (Italian food) in North portland has a little room in the back of the restaurant that we were seated in one time. I think it would accomodate 12 people although I don't know if they take reservations specifically for that room. The food there is great!!
-Heather

Vita Cafe on Alberta is kid friendly but very slow and very busy so reservations are a must. It is mostly veggie/vegan food with only Free range beef bugers for the carnivors.

-Lydia

Baby Shower planning

I'm putting on a shower for one of my very best friends in the world - she was my college roommate as well. I DO love to put on a party! We are having the party at her house, and her sister in law and I are planning it, so it is a bit of a collaborative effort. She will be surrounded by lovely people who love her, and that is the most important thing! In addition to all the love, I'm obsessing over little details which is my thing. My husband says "why do you stress??" My answer? "Because I'm good at it." I love to have a list of things to accomplish before a big event.

THIS event is a baby shower. I made blue invitations in orange envelopes with supplies from Paper Zone here in town. I printed them from my computer, and stamped the edge with a lovely stamp that has 4 sides. I used it on my daughter's birthday invites, too.

Now I've just finished the favor boxes. They are simply little white boxes with folded paper inside, two Amaretti cookies, and then tied up nicely with a little bow and a sticker. I downloaded the frame from istock, and just wrote in the text in photoshop. I used the 8 1/2 x 11 mailing label sheets to print them out then punched them out with a scalloped square punch. I'm happy with how they turned out!

I wrote this post a bit ago, and it turned out so beautifully! Linda was in charge of the food, and she had it all catered from Elephant's Deli - a REALLY amazing deli here in Portland's Northwest neighborhood. Oh my, was it good! I made champagne cocktails with blueberries and lemonade (sparkling water for the preggos in the group) and we all toasted the new mama. The group was wonderful, we all showered Patty with love, and it was a perfect afternoon.

Fall is really here

SO it really is FALL/WINTER season in Portland. May I just say: UGH!! ?? Rain is pounding and the wind is howling. And I hope we don't have just this to look forward to until JULY. I grew up in Valdez, Alaska where half of the year it was dark - I mean grey during the day and TOTALLY dark when the sun went down around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. So you'd think I’d be accustomed to this kind of weather. But I’m just not. I would go to school in the dark and go home in the dark for most of my life, but for some reason the seasons here seem to weigh on me even heavier. Our goal as a family is to get above the weather in the mountains as much as we can to get that much need energy from the sun.

So to celebrate the hunkering down the rain is causing us today, I thought I’d make a truly winter treat from my childhood and share it with my kids. Even though it is rain instead of snow falling outside, that smell of warming milk on the stove completely transported me. I’m talking about good old Cream of Wheat!! This is quite an endeavor for me for a week day breakfast, so I was terribly proud of myself. I set the table for the kids and me. I put sugar out for them to gingerly sprinkle (yes, I found this at the back of the pantry - NOT a baker). I decided to forgo the typical NO SUGAR rule on breakfast cereal. The milk was set out to cool the toasty cereal. I replayed in my mind the ritual of getting the creamy goodness ready for that first sweet milky bite, imagining my kids LOVING it as much as I do and them looking at me with grateful eyes as they thought about how LUCKY they were to have a warm breakfast on a normal old day. My son doesn't eat very many things, but I was still holding out some hope that this magical breakfast would break through, but he said "no WAY am I trying that. Can I have some sugar on my plate??" Even my daughter who loves oatmeal and tries everything was not impressed. She said "I'm eating it mama! I.... like... it? Can I be done??" So they trotted off, and I sat eating my Cream of Wheat alone in the kitchen. It was still really good, but I think some of the shine might be a little worn.