Miscellany
Peace soup
A few days ago I made chicken soup. I make damn good chicken soup, one of those feed the body, heal the soul kinda meals. Lotsa garlic, lotsa veggies, lotsa herbs. Yum.
We were eating the first bowls in the mid-afternoon (far too delicious to wait for dinner time) and Bella sighed a sigh of deep contentment and said,
“This soup is making me feel peaceful inside. Peaceful and good. Did you put Peace in this soup when you made it Mommy? Did you put in extra Peace just for me? I feel so happy. I feel like all my badness is leaving me. (Pause for contemplation and insert incredulous gasp). I even feel like playing with Julianna in my room, and sharing, and not being mean. Mommy, we should make this Peace Soup every day.”
And after she finished her third helping of soup, she did indeed lead Julianna down the hall to her room, get out her beloved Fisher Price Little People and play just as sweetly as any mother could dream.
Peace soup indeed.
Fluffy
Yesterday Bella caught sight of my US magazine lying on the table.
[Yes – I read smut, and I enjoy it. I am a celebrity gossip hag, and I love it when my friends donate their old bordering-on-tabloid-but-masquerading-as-legitimate-magazines rags for me to read. I need to hear about Suri and Shiloh, I need to see pictures of how thin Nicole Ritchie is. I like it when celebs are caught looking horrid, or saying something stupid. They don’t even have to be recent – this particular issue was months old. Yes – I am incredibly shallow. It is my own particular preferred form of escapism.]
Anyway, the mag was open to a picture of Pam Anderson in a ridiculously tiny bikini, two tiny triangles straining with all their might to contain that which nature could never / would never have created on its own. At this sight of the bombshell with her boobies bursting forth, Bella’s eyes nearing bugged out of her head,
“Wow Mama – do you think she’s got milk in those nummies? They are PRETTTT-TY fluffy”.
Indeed they are, Bella. Indeed they are.
What did you eat for dinner last night?
In one of my quasi-annual attempts to get organized, and embrace (uncover?) my domestic side, I’ve once again decided that I need to start making a meal plan and cook food for my dear ones on a regular basis. It’s high time I going to strap on an apron, organize my recipe box (do I HAVE a recipe box?) and become better at performing my wifely duties (not THOSE wifely duties, I see where your mind is at right now. I know your type.).
Yada, yada, yada – yeah, right.
So anyway, who cares if my longest (unsuccessful) attempt lasted a mere three nights, I’m an optimist (Sam actually says I’m more delusional than optimistic, but what does he know?). This time, I could actually make it work (and I’ll keep my house spotless and do my makeup every day and never, ever yell at my children either. Oh yes, and I’m giving up the internet).
Okay – so in the spirit of delusional optimism – tell me what you ate for dinner last night. Be honest, if you cracked open a can of Chef-Boy-Ardee for yourself, or gave your kids a bowl of Frosted Flakes topped with mini-marshmallows while you polished off the bottle of Shiraz, you gotta come clean. But if you did have a lovely meal – please do share it, post a recipe, instructions, whatever.
My family will thank you for it.
Do you wanna be my Stacy and Clinton?
I need a stylist, or a personal shopper. My baby brother is getting married on September 30th, and I’m flying home with the girls to attend the wedding (and to play with Jen H and Allisun too – yippee). I need an outfit to wear, which sounds deceptively easy until you hear my list of requirements:
1. Must be able to nurse in it, hopefully at least somewhat discretely
2. Must not be too clingy in tummy/muffin top area, as that section of my body remains stubbornly softer/fluffier (I’d like to pass it off as bloat, but no – it’s baby fat).
3. Must look at least moderately good.
4. Must not cost a fortune.
5. Must involve cool new shoes that look incredible but that allow me to chase two children all day long without developing blisters or collapsing in pain.
6. Must NOT be something that will languish in the depths of my closet forever more, but that will be worn again more than twice before it gets thrown in the box that I always intend to list on Ebay but inevitably end up donating to Goodwill.
7. Must be able to work if the day happens to be sunny, warm and lovely, or wet, cold and yucky (this is end of September in Canada – you just never know).
Can anyone help? Outfits? Stores? Any and all inspiration welcome.
Bella is wearing this skirt and I bought a matching headband, but I still need a shirt (pink? white? what style?) and shoes. Julianna is wearing a dress that matches Bella’s skirt (kinda like this one – the actual dress is not on the Gap site that I can find. It is the same navy/polka dot fabric with a bright pink belt and these pink shoes - so incredib bly cute I can hardly stand to look at her. I figure they can wear little white socks if it is nice, and white tights if it is cold. I guess I need sweaters/jackets for both of them as well.
Why am I getting the idea that this is going to be expensive?
Oh – and I need a cool haircut and a die job to cover up my six month old roots.
Any ideas? Send pictures, websites, inspiration of any kind. I await your sage style council.
Confessions:
I have absolutely adored the responses to my confessions post. I laughed and I was humbled that you were willing to be honest and raw about the things in your own life that often remain unsaid. I feel MUCH better about my own flaws and inadequacies, knowing that you all are just as flawed and inadequate as I am! I’ve got to write an addendum to my post, as reading your confessions have reminded me of about thirty other points I should get out in the open. Thanks for being willing to play along.
Dinner last night–roast in the crockpot (I think Allisun gave me that one) — 2-3 lb roast, one packet onion soup mix, 1 can cream of chicken soup. Let it sit there on low for 6-8 hours. Makes its own gravy. Eat with noodles or mashed potatoes. We had noodles and cantaloupe.
Tonight, “Best Burgers Ever” from allrecipes.com. We didn’t think it was the best ever, but they weren’t bad. Ate with green beans and edamame from the CSA.
I’ve become a big fan of allrecipes.com since I packed all my cookbooks and put them in storage to stage our house. The site lets you make shopping lists and print them directly–very handy stuff. Since Leo was born, if I don’t sit down for an hour every week and pick recipes and make a list, we don’t go to the store and end up eating canned soup and whatever’s in the freezer for days on end. The physical cooking isn’t a big deal for us, but ugh, the planning.
Comment by Amy F — 09.17.06 @ 5:55:51
Dinner was Baja Fresh bean and cheese burrito. Mud pie for dessert. Kaia had broccoli and part of my burritto.
I can’t wait to go shopping with ya! WHOOHOO
Comment by Leigh — 09.17.06 @ 4:33:44
PS Love the Bella comments. She is too, too much. I think I desperately need some of that Peace Soup of yours!
Comment by Leigh — 09.17.06 @ 4:38:39
Can you post the Peace Soup recipe? I think we need some of that around here.
Plus it sounds yummy.
We had meatloaf (used the “recipe” on the back of the meatloaf spice packet…), mashed potatoes and fresh green beans & broccoli from the farmer’s market. Very easy.
I use my crockpot often and tons of recipes available online…just google crockpot recipes. It is so easy to use–so many recipes just involve dumping in a few easy ingredients and turning it on. The dinner-prep hour seems to be a horrendous one for us (whining, crying, everyone needing attention and me needing either a relaxing glass of wine or a nap!) so having very minimal dinner prep is essential for me. In the summer that often means BBQ and in the cooler months it means crockpot!
Jess
PS awhile back you told us to remind you of all the things you promised to write about. I’m dying to hear more about your “family planning.” I’m grappling with that issue right now (to have more, or not?) even though we have plenty of time to contemplate it (I wouldn’t be ready for quite awhile anyway…still I think - obsesss - about it often).
Comment by Jess — 09.17.06 @ 7:40:58
Wow must have been some pretty good soup!! What herbs did you put in it? Really?
Just kidding.
Tomorrow we are having black bean/cheese enchiladas. Tuesday is a veggie stir fry. Weds will be corn soup from Trader Joes. I fry up some tofu, a bell pepper, and some onions, add a can of corn, pour the soup on top, serve with bread sticks. Weds will be spaghetti with TJ veggie meatballs and a side of brocolli. Thursday is pan fried bean and cheese burritos topped with tomatoes and sour cream, with some kind of green veggie on the side. Friday is pizza bagels. Weekends V cooks dinner most of the time, so I don’t have to think about it. Probably a stir fry one day and Tuna (aka Tofu) Helper pasta with peas.
Comment by Darshani — 09.17.06 @ 11:25:02
First off, last night we had barbecued steaks, fresh local corn on the cob, steamed baby carrots, mashed potatoes and spinach salad with homemade cherry pie for dessert. Impressive, eh? Yup, my mom is a great cook.
Tonight I made Andrew scrambled eggs with cheese and some whole wheat toast, and then he had an apple before bed. I just grazed since Chris is away and I didn’t have to make a meal. There ARE pros to one’s spouse going away for a few days.
For a wedding outfit, may I suggest a wrap-style dress (which I’m thinking would be good for nursing, but perhaps not)? How formal is the wedding? I was thinking a lightweight fabric, but maybe with 3/4 sleeves to cover you up if it’s chilly. Probably black, but could have a subtle pattern or could be in a different neutral darkish colour. That sort of thing is stylish but classic and you can get a lot of mileage out of it. And wrap dresses are really comfy and generally pretty flattering to us “fluffy” types. Then maybe a little black sweater if it’s really cold. But that day is my birthday, so it’s guaranteed to be sunny and gorgeous. Let’s see if I can dig up links.
This one’s cute, but no sleeves:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=XD-188342&page=1&cgname=OSCLODRSBLK&rfnbr=3198
Or this one, but maybe it’s too business-y with the collar:
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=0&CatID=035054&Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=100c94d&siteID=210054843
Here’s another:
http://womens-apparel.smartbargains.com/go.sb?pagename=prod&fcloc=cat&deptid=9&catid=1408&prodid=1058320027&aid=127&program=12642&qcat=Women%27s+Bargains:Women%27s+Apparel+Bargains:1058320027
And if you’re showing up here all cute and freshly coiffed, I’m off to the salon myself. If I can convince Chris that it can be my birthday present.
Comment by Jen H. — 09.18.06 @ 2:53:21
Last night we had barbecued steak, fresh corn on the cob, steamed baby carrots, mashed potatoes, spinach salad and homemade cherry pie. Impressed? Yeah, my mom is a great cook.
Tonight, with Chris away, I didn’t bother making a meal since I wasn’t very hungry. I just grazed and I made Andrew some scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and an apple. Not too ambitious, but he loves eggs.
For a wedding outfit, I’m suggesting a wrap-style dress. I would likely make nursing easy, and wraps are super comfy. You could look for one with 3/4 sleeves in case it’s quite chilly (you’ll likely be cold even if it’s considered warm here). I’m thinking black for versatility and ease, but it could be in a different colour or with a pattern. I had links for you, but when I tried to include them, my post got lost, so I’ll let you look. There was a cute one on victoriassecret.com under clothing, then dresses, then it was called the faux wrap dress. jcpenney also had a nice one for only $40. I still think about that Arizona Mills shopping centre - we found some awesome stuff there for super cheap. Do you ever go there?
Comment by Jen H. — 09.18.06 @ 3:05:53
Oh, and wrap dresses are generally considered flattering to the women with “fluffy” chests. And if you’re showing up here all freshly coiffed and cute, I’d better hit the salon too. And the wedding day is sure to be sunny and gorgeous, since it’s my birthday.
Comment by Jen H. — 09.18.06 @ 3:08:22
Hey sis… I just got my dress… its mostly black with red on the v-neck and just under the bust… its very nice
girly almost…. I think some kind of a wrap stile dress would work best and then you could put a nice cardigan with it… I got my dress at fairweather… but there website isn’t very good so that won’t help you much… I’ll send you a picture if you like…love you:)
Comment by Lynn — 09.18.06 @ 3:34:13
I echo the calls for the wrap style dress. Good luck finding it! The girls look as though they are going to be stylin’.
Our dinner last night was crockpot corn chowder. I love my crockpot - spend 10-15 minutes in the morning and dinner makes itself by the time you need to eat. I love that it’s finally getting cool enough that we can legitimately have soup for dinner.
Comment by Melinda — 09.18.06 @ 4:45:06
Not only do I love your photoblog but I love this one too. you are too funny.
Comment by Elizabeth — 09.18.06 @ 3:45:09
Sorry for the semi-double post. My first one with the super-long links didn’t seem to work and I couldn’t find it, so I rewrote the whole darn thing. Then this morning they’re both there. Sorry!
Comment by Jen H. — 09.18.06 @ 4:32:44
I want to serve Peace soup every day! That is so sweet. And that’s so funny about Pam Anderson being “fluffy.” The other day Kayleigh said, “when I grow up I am going to have biiiiig boobs!” Where does that come from at 3 years old? And she shouldn’t bet on that from her gene pool.
Comment by Beth — 09.18.06 @ 4:45:35
Um, can I have that Peace Soup recipe? We could use some of that on some days around here.
Dinner yesterday was “a la my mom” . . . roast with baked macaroni and fresh corn. I haven’t been up to eating much lately and so, therefore, not up to cooking much either. I did have a really good day last week and baked a chicken, made some rice, and cooked up some yummy yellow summer squash and zucchini. Baking a chicken (or turkey) is really one of the easiest things in the world and rather tasty. Just lightly rub the skin with olive oil, add some seasonings, cover and bake. Voila!
As for the dress, I can’t offer many suggestions but I hope you find something nice and post a picture of yourself modeling it!!
Comment by Lisa P — 09.19.06 @ 2:47:08
I know this is meant for mothers, but I thought I would add my 22 year old university student’s day of eating : Breakfast : Coffee, tablespoon of peanut butter. Lunch: Coffee. The same coffee as the breakfast coffee. Supper : Zesty Nacho Doritos, another spoon full o’ p.b. and a bucket of mom’s 2 day old macaroni tomato pasta.
Does it eventually get better?
Comment by Meredith — 09.19.06 @ 11:31:47
Well, this isn’t dinner from last night - but it is dinner from the night before I actually meant to comment
. Anyway - beef stew - with barley, carrots, red potatoes. No real recipe. I just season to taste - lots of garlic, some onions (would use more if babe tolerated). Really, really, really yummy - I’m a HUGE fan of barley right now.
No clothing advice, sorry, I’m still trying to adjust post fourth baby - myself having gotten rather ‘fluffy’ (up nearly 4 cup sizes in this pregnancy).
Comment by Andrea — 09.19.06 @ 11:54:22
last night i made the blandest, healthy dinner because i made the most sinfully good desert so i hade to balance. DInner was lentils cooked with garlic and raisins with beets over quinoa and splashed with soy sauce. blah. BUT for desert I made a peanut butter pie (made with sunflower seed butter so bILL could eat it. SunFlower Seed butter, cream cheese, whipped cream and sugar. graham cracker crust. YUM.
Comment by marybeth — 09.20.06 @ 4:32:25
ok so I was waiting till I had something good to eat for dinner before I posted. I ate VERY well last night;) I had salmon cubed and sautied in a little olive oil with garlic and salt (if you put a little fresh lemon in with the fish it adds a little extra kick)… then I sautied celery(it takes longer to cook so I put it in the pan first)asparagus, snow peas, and diced tomatoes (drained if from a can) then I put the salmon back into the pan and let it simmer with more garlic( could also add other herbs for different tast) while the angle hair pasta cooks,add some fetta, mozza, and any other cheese you like and enjoy:) it was very good. I know J that you don’t really like fish… so you could chicken or pork and it would be almost the same.
Comment by Lynn — 09.20.06 @ 3:34:38
OK. A lot to cover here. First, please email the peace soup recipe to me. Seriously, I do expect you to do this one little thing for me since I am the one who called last. So there.
Second, how can anyone with size F knockers say anything about P. Anderson? I am just saying….
Third, we had homemade pizza tonight. Since Will has to be cheeseless, it is easier to just make everyone the pizza that they like best.
Mine–shrimp, black olives and feta
Chris–turkey pepperoni and green peppers
Will–same as Chris plus olives, minus cheese
Meara-green peppers, olives, and some pepperoni from Will’s pizza that she swiped. She is one carnivorous little munchkin.
Our freezer had an accident, so we will be having the three chickens that I have to cook tonight all week in various forms. Enchiladas, with rice in casserole, in stir fry, on sandwiches, in omelets…you get the picture.
Comment by Anna — 09.24.06 @ 1:39:52
Okay, a Mothering mag just happens to be on my desk, and I flipped to the back to see which nursing wear company was advertised back there. Expressiva.com There are some cute dresses there, and not too pricey. The “Dressy Twin Set” looks nice - says the skirt hits the low-hip to hide pregnancy pounds. Sounds promising.
Now I must go find stuff to ebay so I can buy some dresses, too!
Comment by Kelly — 09.26.06 @ 3:08:55
Oh, I love your daughters wonderful comments! It’s so good that you are writing these down, they tend to slip away as they get older, and you definitely want to remember her saying that Pamela’s got fluffy nummies. You can remind her of it when she’s all grown up and a mama herself.
Comment by Kara — 10.19.06 @ 10:51:38