A Mom Thing

Potato and Onion Frittata

 

This is a great recipe for a busy holiday morning.  (Thanks again Martha,...adapted from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast Cookbook). Prep time is only about 15 minutes and then about a half hour of cook time! Serves 4 big servings or a family of 5.  Would also be great for dinner with a salad on the side.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 baking potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled (I used fresh bc that is what I had)
salt/pepper
5 large eggs
5 large egg whites (I used egg substitute)
1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Preparation 

In a medium (10-inch) broiler-proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, potato, garlic and rosemary; season with salt and pepper; toss to combine.

Cover the skillet; and cook for 10 minutes.  Uncover and cook until onion and potato are tender (about 5 minutes).

In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, parsley, salt and pepper (dashes).  Heat the broiler, rack set 4 inches from heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook on low heat, lifting the mixture a few times arond the edges with a spatula to let the eggs flow under the veggies.  Cook and lift until almost set (about 10 minutes).  Eggs should still be wet on top.  Place the skillet under the broiler and broil until frittata is set and the top is light gold (about 3 minutes). 

Slide frittata out onto a plate and slice and serve!  

Bacon Pasta

What's better than a little bacon?  Bacon with pasta, cheese and garlic??  We started eating this when I cleaned the pantry a few months ago and found ELEVEN pounds of spaghetti. 

We switched out our "friday night pizza" for "bacon pasta" (carbonara) and EVERYONE was happy (ESPECIALLY Middle Guy, our main man pigavore.)

Here is H's special recipe!

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 slices bacon
1 small yellow onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
olive oil
salt
pepper
spaghetti
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

Cook chopped bacon in covered skillet on low heat until brown. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and put on paper towel to drain (save the bacon fat).

Put chopped onions and garlic in hot bacon fat and cook until onions are translucent. Drain onion/garlic on separate paper towel.

Crack egg into cup and beat it thoroughly with whisk or fork. Add parmesan into egg. Mix more until blended. Grind in pepper (the more you like pepper, the more you grind).

Boil spaghetti according to package directions. When spaghetti is done, drain into colander then put back into hot pot. Add bacon and onion; mix; add egg mixture and stir the spaghetti.  (The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs and melt the cheese.)  Add salt to taste.

Serve quickly. Great with garlic bread and a side salad. 

Saying, "I love you."

How much do you say, "I love you."  To your spouse/love? To your kids? To your parents? Your friends?

The reality is, I'm a "sayer."  I say it.  I say it loud, proud and often.  I text it. I email it. I whisper it. I shout it. It's almost like a cough or sneeze sometimes - I just can't keep it back. Especially with H or the kids. 

I bet if I tracked one day, I'd find I rank in the double digits for love admissions.  And it's usually given back.  Daughter is a BIG sayer (maybe even bigger than I).  She can even go for the repetitive -- double digits in an hour admission count.  I've seen people stare in disbelief. (She got the "feel deeply and say it" gene from me.)  I really hope it doesn't disappear too much with the teenage years? You can count on Little Guy for the random profession of love as well - usually accompanied with a kiss. And Middle Guy brings it on more sparingly but very convincingly (at LEAST 4 times a day?).  Middle Guy makes up for it with killer-hugs.

I know I say it more AL (After Leukemia).  I guess something about having a second chance makes you constantly want to have the last word on the first.

Does everyone say it a lot?  Do some not ever say or hear it?  That makes me sad. I can't even imagine not hearing it all the time. If you ask me, it's the best natural high in the world.

Vac-ahhhhh-tion

I've never taken off from work (work-work, not mom-work) the 2 weeks around Christmas. Never taken off the full kids-break. Never even taken off the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I always convinced myself it was a good time to be in the office...wrap up to-do's...actually get stuff done.  (When I was younger, maybe even shop a Michigan Avenue Post Christmas sale or two...).

I'M TAKING IT OFF THIS YEAR.  Trading in the "professional parenting" for a big dose of real-time-family-time.  I'm actually going to use my Outlook "Out-of-Office" email response. (Admittedly, I won't totally disconnect but I WILL TRY.) I'M SO EXCITED (talk to me in a week?). 

It starts officially today. And we've kicked it off BIG.  We have SNOW.  A LOTTA SNOW. The Kids Holiday Concert was cancelled last night. Their Christmas Mass cancelled this morning (and Little Guy was slated to be "Joseph").  Daughter was up puking all night.  But school is ON.  Only Middle Guy opted to go.  Hmm. Dubious start.  Stay tuned!

He calls me "beautiful"

H sometimes comments on my blogs. I love that he comments. I love that he signs it "H." The other day he left a comment and called me "beautiful."  It's (one of) his nicknames for me. I love that. It literally melts my heart. It always surprises me.  It can 180* the course of a bad day in three syllables.

How lucky am I to have fallen in love with a man who now calls me, "Beautiful"?

Cougaaahs...?

 

I was at a 40th birthday party recently.  It was a really great party at a Martini Bar downtown.  There were people from all parts of her life.  It was fancy and festive and fun. 

That Monday, I was telling some of the younger ladies (ahem) at work about it. I mentioned the name of the bar and say that I think it's a "younger person beautiful person (BP) place" -- at the exact same time those words are going out of my mouth, the words going out of HER mouth were, "I think that's a cougar place."

Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Pretty funny.  I guess it all depends on what end of the continuum you live, right?   At least she didn't say, "Oh yeah, my grandparents love that place!"

Thanks for leaving the light on

I have SUCH a hard time getting up in the morning to workout.  The bed is too cozy; I'm too tired, etc.  BUT I feel SO MUCH BETTER when I do -- even if just 30 minutes.  It's quiet; it's my time; and it's done EARLY.

H has started working out again -- and with workouts, he's typically ALL-IN or ALL-OUT. Well, he's ALL-IN right now. 

So I told him my secret.  My double-duper super secret trick on how to get me up to workout after he's left in the morning.  Leave the light in the room outside our bedroom on.  It's not our BEDROOM LIGHT - that's not subtle enough - I'd yell at him then just flop out of bed and turn that off myself. And I'd be crabby.  But when he leaves the light on in the room outside our room, it leaks in softly and calls my name. It wakes me up just enough to know that I should rise and shine, too. I don't know why ... but it works.

Whatever works, right? I guess it's better than sleeping in your gym shoes?

Excuse me, what's your name?

Ok. So.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, it has been a few weeks of community tragedy and I'm honestly still fumbling a bit from it. (Not that it's about ME, I just tend to feel deeply...).

Anyway.  Last night I took the kids to the wake for a father in Daughter's class.  Second wake in less than a week?  Too many conversations that just seem to be wrong to have so young.  I try to tackle each one at a time ... thoughtfully and honestly (maybe too honestly).  So many questions. So many.

As I waited in the line last night I was anxious that I wouldn't recognize the mom. Let me backtrack. I'm one of the lucky few working parents who is able to pick up her kids from school (almost) every day. I love this time. I love talking to the other moms (or dads) and getting tips, comparing notes, telling stories. It's my mom-fix.

But I have to admit I don't always know all the other moms - particularly by name.  I realized this week that I need to know their names.   How can I not know their names?  So I started today.  One mom I have talked to or smiled at for over a year now.  We see each other at the gym...at school...at Target...in the neighborhood.  But I don't know her name. Until today I've been too embarassed to ask -- so I'd just do the "extra big hi."   

Today, I stopped.  I touched her arm and said, "I'm sorry - what is your name?  After the past few weeks, I have vowed to learn people's names that I talk to everyday!"  She smiled.  She understood. We re-introduced ourselves.  Turns out we know quite a few people in common from childhood. Small world.

PS - Her name was Meghan.

Thought Blips

In my current "A.D.D.-like" state...none of my thoughts seem completely blog-worthy.  They really are more honorable mention blog-lets...Gooder than nothin' - right?

• Do you ever wonder how much toilet paper you go through in a month?
• Do you ever secretly grin (maybe even chuckle) when your spouse "loses it" with the kids?
• Are you ever A-MAZED at how many groceries/food you go through in a given week (especially bread -- hello, 5 slices a day JUST FOR KIDS LUNCHES)?  Not even cost (whole other blog) - just sheer VOLUME of food.
• Do you ever feel like you're "cheating" when you resort to raisins or apple sauce as the kids "fruit" in their lunchbox?
• Do you ever wonder HOW the kids "forget" to flush the toilet?
• Are you ever shocked at how fast a tired kid can go from 100MPH to asleep?
• Laundry. Laundry. Laundry.  How can there be so much and would anyone notice if you just stopped doing it?
• Have you ever wondered how you went from wiping butts to wiping toilet seats? (I mean really, what ever happened to "if you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat."?)

Ahh parenthood - constant amazement and curiousities, right?

I find the concept of "death" hugely distracting...

I always have. Probably always will. It's not something I've ever been able to even "joke about."  I find the whole concept anxiety ridden and awful.  I know death SHOULD be a "celebration of life" ... but I struggle with that.  I still see it as a STOP or an END to the ride.

We have had way too much tragedy in our local community lately.  "Four Grandmas"  died in an icy car crash on Peace Road on their way home from a funeral.  A 3rd and 6th graders' dad died of a massive heart attack this weekend -- just FOUR HOURS after having helped staff the aforementioned funeral lunch.

I don't know about you. But it churns my stomach and puts me all a-spin. How do you stay grounded when there is such awful tragedy? How do you just "go on with life"  as it was?

I just don't know.  I guess you just DO.  With a little more awe and appreciation and respect for every extra second you get.