Sunday, July 10, 2011

Goodbye

I know I don't post here anymore and probably no one reads this but I'm posting to say "goodbye" the blog anyway.

Seems like a good time.

We've moved.

Goodbye Keizer. Oregon. Old crappy house. Friends. Neighbors.

Time to head back home. Closer to all the people we care about. Bigger and better things.

So, goodbye blog, goodbye internets, goodbye old life, and hello new life.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Best Birthday Ever

I'm still recovering from the best weekend trip. I was invited to spend a weekend at the coast with a big group of friends, some long time and some newer to my life, to do as it was explained to me "whatever we want". Whatever we want resulted in drunken pajama dancing and loads of laughter. My throat and stomach were sore the next day from laughing so much.

It was a wonderful way to welcome in my 30s and I'm sure I'll have so many memories (or at least most of them) to remember for a very long time.

[Pictures withheld for the protection of the innocent and not so innocent]

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

With tears and laughter

My little brother just sent me a copy of his will. It is full of his humor and generosity. It made me laugh a little but it mostly just clenched my heart.

I hope those words are never read in any official way. I couldn't take it. The world needs him in it. I need him around too.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Deployment

My little brother is leaving in a few short days. He's going on a big ship into the even bigger Pacific ocean. I am trying to have faith that he will remain safe, that he will have a grand adventure, that he will not actually kill anyone.

I worry about his safety, of course, but I also worry that this experience will change him as it must but, that it will change him in a negative way. I worry he will come back so different that we won't know each other anymore.

He has a kind heart and is generous of his time, love, and gifting. I don't want war to harden his heart. I don't want him to have to live with the act of killing another person, enemy or not.

There is nothing I can do to change what will happen and for his sake I can only say positive and encouraging things. Here though, I can write the words I cannot speak.


May he be safe.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I make good soup

I once over heard a friend say, "Megan makes good soup." At first I was slightly offended as if I could only make soup while she could produce baklava, homemade marshmallows, and fresh bagels at will. Then I thought about it and damn, she was right. I do make good soup. Often on the fly throwing in whatever sounds good to me. I take a recipe and kick it up a notch with something wonderful and flavor packed. A few favorites get made over and over like Tuscan Peasant Soup and Baked Potato Soup all of which get my own variations in the pot.

Then there is the vegetarian soup without a name that Shawn loves and requests over and over. We just call it "that mushroom noodle soup"

Here are the players:





Chicken broth or your favorite vegetable broth (I make my mine by saving bits and pieces of veggies in a bag in the freezer. It's different every time and delicious)

And Cock Sauce which you can find in most grocery stores or at an Asian food store which if you've not gone to the one nearest you take a field trip now!






Soy sauce or coconut aminos.
San-J Tamari works well for a gluten free option



About a pound of portabella mushrooms chopped or sliced into bite sized pieces, Pad Thai rice noodles (also very cheap at your Asian food store), 1/2 a large onion or 1 small onion chopped into medium sized pieces.

There are no specific directions so deal with it and experiment on your own!

Bring the chicken broth to a boil and while that is heating up add your chopped veg to a pan preheated to medium with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Don't crowd your mushrooms and they will turn out nicely browned and not mushy.

Cook the noodles in the broth until done and serve in a bowl with a small amount of the broth. Add your veg and then the delicious sauce which is incredibly easy.

To a small bowl add soy sauce and as much Cock Sauce as you can stand. Add in a pinch of ginger or salt if you are using a lower sodium soy sauce.


Pour this over the noodles. Yes, it needs to be done separately not only because you can adjust the heat for each person but also because it's more fun to get a bowl of soup and add in your own sauce.

This is delicious topped with finely chopped scallions or garlic chives.



It also only takes about 10 minutes start to finish.





It's pretty simple with only 7 ingredients but it is flavor packed and hearty!

**Excuse the poor iphone pictures**

Saturday, July 17, 2010

I Don’t Let My Kids Play With Playdough

I play on my phone while they run around at the park. I put on headphones and listen to podcasts while they play nearby. I rarely sit on the floor and play toys with them. I sometimes feed them nitrates and fast food tacos too. I loose my temper and I yell. I ignore the dishes because it’s too hot out or in favor of knitting. I skip park days so I can sleep in or leisurely drink my coffee. All these faux pas and I don’t feel like a bad mom (well, not for those reasons anyway).

I see other parents sitting on the floor engaging in pretend play with their children and their toys but that is something I don’t do. Not because I don’t recognize the value of pretend play or don’t want to spend time with my kids though. I might have done some of that with my first child, it’s a bit hazy in a way that 9 years of sleep deprivation can create, but I very rarely have done that with my second and third children. I’ve played along to their games of pretend, certainly. I’ve sang silly songs with them, I’ve breastfed them for years each, accommodated their food allergies, fretted because their diet is not local and organic enough, read some books, occasionally sat down to paint watercolors, attempted to teach them to knit, and I take them places like science centers and libraries to entertain them but sitting for an hour lovely gazing at them while they play or playing with them on the floor really doesn’t pique my interest.

I could get philosophical and suggest that I’d hamper their own creativity and peer relations by playing with them but really that’s not the reason. When we go to a park I sometimes chase them around but more often I talk with other parents and encourage them to go off and play with other children. I go to the park to socialize with adults and hopefully wear my children out to just the right level that they will be a bit more docile when we get back home but not quite so much that they are whiny piles for the rest of the day.

Most of my day is centered around checking things off my To-Do list, getting everyone fed, dressed into clean if wrinkly clothes, breaking up fights between the three children, and hopefully fitting in some time to speak to my husband and get some time to myself too. I rarely accomplish everything I’d like to do on any given day and that is where I struggle with guilt (that and the yelling). I adore my children and care deeply about their futures as well as their ability to properly socialize and have “enrichment opportunities” but with three of them most days it’s just a struggle to keep everyone fed, dressed, and sane. There is a different dynamic when you have three kids. The parents I know with three or more have recognized this and we give each other knowing glances in the grocery store.

Adding a third child to our two children, one docile but strongly emotional and the other active and determined to get his way, brought a new level of chaos into our lives that doesn’t leave room for mommy guilt because I don’t read them 5 books each day or because some nights I hurry them into their beds and breath a deep sigh of relief to finally have a moment to myself (that is once I’ve spent an hour or more putting the youngest to sleep who is not surprisingly a personality twin to the active and determined older sibling). Each day feels like a big rush to fit it all in while keeping everyone happy and sane. I don’t have time to feel guilty about not allowing playdough, only joy that it is one substance I don’t have to vacuum daily from the dining room carpet.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

In my kitchen

there are:

beans soaking
sprouts soaking
two kinds of yogurt fermenting

I love that.