La Petite Artiste

i can be pretty crafty.

i love to scrapbook, paint, sew, create....

unfortunately, i haven't had much time to devote to my hobbies since E arrived.

in the hopes that some of her interests will eventually coincide with mine (and my days won't always be spent pretending to be a dog or cat), i am encouraging art in all of its forms.

she goes to Kindermusik and dance classes, but for now, the "arty" side of art has been left for us to explore at home (smart art class instructors wisely set the age limits of most local classes at 4 and older).

so, every once in awhile, when we are feeling particularly adventurous, we break out the art supplies.

playdough and painting are her two favorites.

both of which seem to require more time to set up and clean up than she actually spends creating.

we dig through her dresser to find an old tshirt for her to wear, cover her playroom table with newspaper, carefully arrange all of the necessary supplies, and grab a roll of paper towels.

when she finally gets the green light....she is off.

i've learned to accept the fact that in her little world, dogs can be blue with red spots and purple tails and have large patches of unfinished surface.

when you are only three years old...to be a true artist, it's the process more than the end product that matters most...this i know.









Listening to: "When I Paint My Masterpiece" Bob Dylan

Computer Geek

someone has taken a sudden interest in my little blog.
she has become quite the expert at scrolling through the stories and clicking on the photos to enlarge them.
her favorite story to revisit is her birthday party.

she can spend quite a bit of time looking at all "her people" and telling me their names.
as a result, i sometimes have to fight her for computer time.

she usually wins.

i figure the practice is good for her, and anything she learns is good for me.

technology is changing so quickly i can hardly keep up...it is only a matter of time before she is showing me how to do things...this i know.

Listening to: "Little Computer People" Little Computer People

What's for Dinner?

tonight i made an old standby...a recipe i saw Rachel Ray prepare on one of her shows, and one i was sure that husband would like as it is a combination of two of his favorite things~ buffalo wings and chili.

it is super yummy and allegedly good for you (more info here).

i used ground chicken breast (which is a little more expensive), and i made my own tortilla chips.

truth be told, this actually tastes even better the next day.
Buffalo Chicken Chili with Blue Cheese Chips

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 pounds ground chicken
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
• 1 can stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)
• 1 sack whole grain tortilla chips, lightly crushed
• 3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Preparation

Place a large pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the ground chicken and break it up, lightly browning it for 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, paprika and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and the stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes to the chili and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes more to let the flavors come together.

While the chili is simmering, pre-heat the broiler.

Spread the chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Top each serving of Buffalo Chicken Chili with a few blue cheese chips.

as the summer months approach and the heat becomes unbearable, this recipe (along with all of my favorite soups and stews) will be filed away, but at the first sign of cold weather (otherwise known as January in these parts), i'll be digging it out...this i know.

Listening to: "I'm on Fire" Bruce Springsteen

This Summer...

I want to:

~carve a basket out of a watermelon rind and fill it full of fruit salad

~stir up a batch of fresh lemonade complete with floating lemon circles and serve it in a frosty jar

~make a batch of pickles or my Grandpa's pickled vegetables

~turn my patio into a place for "outdoor living" ala HGTV... and spend some time there together as a family

~fill some large decorative pots full of flowering plants

~plant a vegetable garden

~learn to barbeque different cuts of meat on the grill and find new summer recipes for side dishes

~finish decorating E's "big girl" bedroom

~read some trashy novels cover to cover and finally get them off of my bookshelf

~have evening picnics on the beach as the sun sets

~hit some of the local thrift/antique stores to look for hidden treasures

~complete the "great garage clean out" that i have been working on for far too many years making sure to donate or dispose of all of the excess that seems to accumulate there

~let go of the anxiety i feel about having the kitchen remodeled and focus on the finished result

~choose/enlarge/reduce photos to frame for picture wall

~continue working on traditional scrap booking while attempting to learn digital

~spend time with my family and friends

i'm a list-maker...always have been.

i might not check off all of my summer goals, but writing them down is a good place to start...this i know.


Listening to: "Sunshine and Summertime" Faith Hill

Strawberry Season

i bought the most amazing strawberries today.

every once in awhile you luck out and get a package bursting full of fruity goodness.

berries so yummy you can eat them just as they are...no sugar necessary.
so perfect in their color, shape
and juiciness...
that you're literally dripping...

luckily E is resourceful, and our paper towel holder is just the right height.
oh, and can i just give a yummy shout out to a recipe i found in this lovely little magazine that graces my mailbox monthly?
Strawberry Pretzel Squares?
yes, please!

Prep:

25 min

Total Time:

4 hr 55 min

Makes:

20 servings

What You Need:

2 cups finely crushed pretzels

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1-1/2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. milk

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

1-1/2 cups cold water

1 qt. (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

Make It:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.

BEAT cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

although mine may not look as picture perfect as the one in the magazine...it was good to the last piece and the perfect summer dessert...this i know.

Listening to: "Strawberry Fields Forever" The Beatles

Rain, Rain...

the summer rains have begun, and i have to say, i am LOVING it.

the darkening of the skies

the distant crackle of lightning

the rumble of thunder as the storm moves overhead

the way the house feels all cozy and safe

i try not to think too much about the dangers...i've seen up close the fires that a strike can cause...i know the possibility of tornadoes exist...i recognize the start of hurricane season and dread the uncertainty the named storms will bring.

so, in these first few weeks when the drops start to fall, i try to just enjoy them.

the temporary pause they bring to my sometimes busy afternoons

the way the rain seems to wash away the dust and dirt and ever-so-slightly change the temperature for the better

the happiness i feel when the afternoon storms carry on into the evening allowing me to fall asleep to the soft pitter patter on the metal roof

although my personality leans more toward the sunshiny, happy end, i really enjoy a good thunderstorm and the solitude it can bring...this i know.

Listening to: "I Love a Rainy Night" Eddie Rabbit

To Dance or Not to Dance...

today was E's second and final ballet class (at least with that teacher).

i had been waiting for her to turn three anticipating the day when she would be able to take a dance class through our local parks department. i thought that it would be a good way to introduce her to dancing before pursuing more formal classes somewhere. E LOVES to dance, so i figured these lessons would be right up her alley...and the fact that there are other kids her age in the class? well, that just sends her over the moon.

she was thrilled the first day we walked into the community center gym/dance studio.

i was surprised to see so many students flitting around.

as i walked into the gym, the teacher headed over to the bench where a few of the new parents were seated (apparently this class had been ongoing, and there were five new students including E joining on this day). without even introducing herself, she briskly stated, "parents of new students, just so you know, parents DON'T watch my dance classes. i find it too distracting for the students. the class will end at one, you can pick them up then." as E had already made her way over to the group, i didn't even get a chance to tell her that i was leaving for a bit. i scooted out of the gym as one of the other new moms said, "uh, um , excuse me...his name is T." i added, "her name is E." i have to say....this struck me as odd...the way we were "greeted." i have been to a lot of kiddie classes, and this was a first for me. i planted myself outside the gym doors. it didn't seem very secure. there were 2 entrances to the gym, and seeing as the teacher had done absolutely NO kind of sign-in or introduction, it seemed entirely possible that E could basically leave with anyone out the other door if i wasn't right in there when class ended.

the gym was divided in half by a large dark green plastic curtain, and although i could not see what was happening through the gym door windows, i could hear the teacher's directions and the different songs the students were dancing to. it seemed to be going well. i pictured E dancing to the butterfly song and laughed at the image in my head. at one point the teacher told the students to put on their tap shoes. i could only imagine E looking around trying to decide what to do next. if i had known that this class had been ongoing, i would not have signed her up for this very reason. if it were truly the "first" class, maybe we would have received some kind of information like, oh, i don't know...that we needed tap shoes?!?

in any case, i tried to remember that this was her first class, and even in the best of cases the first class of anything we have tried is never the best indicator of how the rest of the lessons will go...sorta like the first day of school in my former career.

at one o'clock, i headed into the gym and peeked through the grommets in the plastic curtain to see the students practicing tumbling. when i walked around the curtain, E was happy to see me and show off the lollipop she had received at the conclusion of the class. i decided to walk up to the teacher to ask her about the tap shoes (since she still had not addressed any of the "new parents" with any kind of information). i waited for her to hand out the rest of the lollipops.

"so, i, um, do i need to get her some tap shoes?"

"no, i'll measure them after the next class, and you can order them from me. they are $34."

"oh, okay, thank you."

now, i am a pretty good reader of people, and i still was not getting a great "vibe" off of this teacher. E seemed happy with the class (or was it the lollipop? you can never really tell with a three year old), so i put it out of my head and put the next class on my calendar.

later in the week E and i headed out to the local SuperTarget for some dancing clothes. normally i would have already had her all set up to go to the first lesson, but i feared that she would show up all decked out and all the other kids would be in regular clothes, and i would be "that mom"....the one who always goes a little overboard. so instead she wore a cute outfit and sneakers only to find out that most of the other children were sporting the latest in kiddie dancewear (and one had quite a tutu going on). armed with the knowledge that she could, in fact, wear dance clothes to dance class, i had to restrain myself here because the picture of E in these cute little leotards made me want to snap up every style. we settled on two pink leotards with attached skirts and some footless tights. then we grabbed some itty bitty pink ballet shoes at Payless.

today she headed off to her second class looking the part of the prima ballerina. she was so excited to be "in her dancing costume." she had even talked me into a Tinkerbell backpack to tote her non existent tap shoes in because she had seen the other girls using one for this purpose.

this time when i dropped her off, i broke the rules just a little. i decided that since the teacher's reasoning for not having parents watch the class was because it was too distracting (a somewhat valid point), as long as i was out of eyesight, it wouldn't be a problem. so, rather than sit out in the hallway (no benches for that purpose anyway), i sat near the door inside the gym on the other side of the plastic curtain...completely out of sight. another one of the new moms joined me, and we chatted a little before the class began. we had talked last week and seemed to share the same concerns about the way the teacher greeted us. as the class began, we listened to the start up songs and were surprised to hear her tell all the new students that they needed to "sit over here and be the audience because they had two weeks left to get ready for their program and they needed to practice." the other mom looked over at me and raised her eyebrows. hmmm...interesting. this class is only 45 minutes long to begin with, and now you are asking 3 and 4 year olds to sit and watch while other 3 and 4 year olds get to dance? then came the "tap shoe" part...new students would have to sit again because...no tap shoes. then someone had to go potty. seeing as there were like 15 students in the class and no assistant teacher and no parents allowed, the teacher put her off for a minute with an "i told you that you have to use the potty before class" finally giving in and escorting her, along with the rest of the class, out of the gym and to the hallway bathroom. now in order to do this, she had to bring them all past the plastic curtain and out the gym doors. i commented to the other mom..."somehow i don't think that she is going to be happy to see us sitting here." the class exited, attended to the business of letting the one student use the potty (can't believe it didn't turn into a chorus of "i have to go potty, too! me, too! me, too!"), and headed back inside the gym. as the class passed by us, Miss Congeniality made a beeline for the two of us and stated, "i'm gonna need you two to wait outside the gym. otherwise all of the other parents are going to want to know why they can't wait in here, too." now this was a rather humorous statement seeing as there were really no other parents around. let's just say that we were in a part of our town where many people would be perfectly okay with dropping their 3/4 year old off without question and leaving. also, i think that many of these students attend the on site daycare that ends at 12, and so some of them were enrolled in the dance class as a way to extend the care until 1.

in any case, the way that this teacher had chosen to deal with things in the two lessons made it pretty clear that this class was not for us. keep in mind that i was a paying customer...she was not doing me a favor, and her attitude did not seem to reflect this. also, although through the parks department, dance lessons were not cheap...$59.08 for 4 classes.

i left feeling unhappy with the way things were going. E didn't seem to notice...free lollipops sort of smooth over any concerns with her. i discussed it with my family, and they were annoyed (of course....they are pretty overprotective...."what?!?! E had to be the audience? she went to a dance class and wasn't allowed to dance?").
as i am not one who enjoys confrontation, i spent a week trying to decide what to do.

E may not have been learning any new moves, but she was, at least, having fun being in a room full of children.

she was rockin' the dancewear (and now that we had purchased it...didn't we need to put it to use?)

there were only 2 weeks left anyway.

should i just let her finish out the session?

i got online and researched real dance studios in my community and was quite surprised to find that their rates were actually less than the parks and rec program....AND they had real springy dance floors in their studios (apparently this is important in the whole dance equation), offered a variety of dance styles, had specific, published information about dress codes and viewing classes, and actually requested that parents of students younger than 5 stay on-site in case the potty situation arises.

it became quite clear that i needed to listen to the little voice in my head and get E out of the parks and rec program (thereby preserving the last 2 weeks of tuition as a credit on my account). i took a deep breath, called the community center, and relayed my concerns to the site manager. i always feel the need to explain that i'm not some random crazy mother (maybe because as a former teacher i have been on the receiving end of "concerned" phone calls). she seemed to listen to my suggestions especially as they related to the whole child safety issue. i don't know if it will make a difference for the rest of the students or for any future students, but i felt nothing but relief when i got off the phone.....relief that i wouldn't have to deal with that teacher any more.

incidentally, i ran into T's mother the very next day at the grocery store. i felt the need to explain why we weren't in class that day only to find out that she had also called and removed him from the class. somehow this made me feel a little better. they may have been able to write me off as some random crazy mother, but two of us? maybe they will need to reevaluate the class a little, and maybe future students and parents will be treated with a little more thought.

on a brighter note, i have just received word that some summer classes are opening up in the dance studio i found online, so it is only a matter of time before E is moving and grooving and breaking in her ballet shoes...this i know.


Listening to: "Tiny Dancer" Tim McGraw

Mother's Day

we didn't do anything particularly special today. i woke up to cards and presents from husband and E. we went to church then tried rather unsuccessfully to find a place with a reasonable wait time to have brunch together as a family. we soon abandoned those plans after it became clear that E was NOT in the brunch kinda mood (someone must have forgotten to tell her that it was Mother's Day). instead husband and E headed home leaving my mom and i to wait...which actually turned out to be rather nice (forty-five minutes and a couple of cups of coffee later).....two moms enjoying omelets and pancakes on a holiday set aside to honor mothers.

E spent part of the afternoon with her Grammie...which is really the best Mother's Day gift...for me{time alone} and for my mom {time with her only granddaughter}.

later we all met up for dinner at my mom's.

there is so much that i could write about being a mom, but really, it all comes down to this...

every day i wake up grateful that i am her mother and every night before i go to sleep, i thank God for this gift that has been brought into my life.

motherhood is the hardest job i have ever known (and i taught elementary school!), but it is the best job i have ever had...this i know.


Listening to: "In My Daughter's Eyes" Martina McBride