The Boy Does Love to Slide

Grandparents are the Best

Nathan's parents visited us for a couple of days this week. Noah had so much fun with them (and I think they probably had at least as much fun with him!). We spent a lot of time playing at home and at the park. In fact, Papa helped Noah catch his first ball! And they even babysat for an afternoon so Nathan and I could go see a movie. We enjoyed having them around and are looking forward to their next visit, as well as my parents' visit in a few weeks!

Here's Noah, trying on Papa's shoes. He's got a little growing to do before they fit.

Noah had so much fun on various slides:

This picture cracks me up. Can't you just hear him grunt?

I love these pictures. They pretty much sum up my life right now:

Broke My Heart

This evening, Noah and I stood on the front porch steps as Nathan got in our car and drove off to make a quick trip to the airport. Poor Noah just freaked as he watched Nathan start the car, and he called out, panicked, "Dada?!?" As if to say, "Are you leaving me?" Then he started wailing. Now, there are angry wails, I-want-my-way wails, and a few other variations. This was an incredibly sad wail. It was awful.

So I carried him inside, came into the apartment, shut the door, and set him down, and he just screamed and cried and clawed at the door. He just could not understand why his Dada would leave him.

Y'all, that was sad enough, but then I thought of kids whose Dada is not coming back, and that broke my heart. I've gotten to the age that some of the people I grew up with are getting divorced. Some of them don't have children, but some of them do. And listening to Noah wail for his Dada to come back, knowing that the kids whose Dada's are really not coming back sound just that devastated--it was just such a sad thing to think about.

Compassion Gifts

Many of you guys probably already know about the organization Compassion International, which provides opportunities for Christian education, health care, and a lot more to impoverished children all over the world. I've been seeing a lot about Compassion lately, because apparently they have come up with a brilliant marketing plan, which is to have prominent bloggers go on trips to some of the sites where they work. The bloggers then post about their experiences, thereby showing other people how awesome Compassion and the work they are doing is. Not to mention the fact that you start to fall in love with the children they meet. Lately, I've read about two of these trips: one on the Living Proof blog, and one on the Pioneer Woman's blog.

We've been sponsoring a child in Uganda--Opio--for two or three years, and we've enjoyed corresponding with him and learning a little about him through the letters we send one another. However, I only just discovered that his father is deceased. Add to that the letter I just got from a different organization alerting me to the food shortage in Uganda, as well as the letter we just received from Opio himself, saying that he is now traveling farther to go to school. So lately I have been thinking about his family, especially his mother, who is the sole provider for them. Do they have a much harder time than other local families because there is no father to earn an income? Do they have enough to eat? Does Opio have what he needs for school? Does he walk to school? If so, does he need new shoes? Does he take some other form of transportation, and if so, has his new school created a hardship for them because it is further away?

All of this prompted me to go to Compassion's website to find out a little more about Opio's situation. While I was poking around, I saw something that I wanted to bring to the attention of those of you who already sponsor a child through Compassion.

Did you know you can give a gift directly to the child's family? I didn't! I knew you could give gifts to the child (for their birthday, etc.), and I knew you could give extra to the "Unsponsored Children's Fund" and whatnot, but I didn't know you could give a family gift.

A gift to the family can be a huge deal for them, because they can use that money not just to buy something that they need (such as a new roof), but they can also use it to buy something that can help them generate an income, such as chickens (think eggs) or livestock (think milk and cheese). I am all about the kind of poverty relief that helps people help themselves (other organizations, such as World Vision, also do this).

Compassion allows sponsors to give between $25 and $300 to your child's family. The average family in Opio's community makes about $22 a month. So a gift of $150 is like giving his family six months' worth of income. A gift of $300 is more than his mother probably makes in a year.

What a blessing to be able to do that for your sponsored child's family. That's something that might change their future. If they start a small business, could it lead them out of poverty? Maybe it's a start. And even if it just replaces a leaky roof or buys food supplies or new beds or school supplies . . . there are lots of reasons to give, amen?

The Best Yogurt

Hello, lovelies:

My favorite brand of yogurt, hands down, is Liberte. It is rich without being heavy, it's very creamy, and the taste of the actual yogurt is tangy and really delicious. A lot of other yogurts either taste like artificial sugar (like all the fat free versions on the dairy aisle) or have a tanginess without a corresponding creaminess that just doesn't attract me (like some organic yogurts). But Liberte is set apart. I don't know what it is about it, but I just want to take little bites and savor the whole cupful slowly. It just tastes luxurious. It's kind of like Greek yogurt that way, which I also really like, except it's not as intense.

Liberte also comes in all kinds of delicious and unusual flavors, including coconut, dulce de leche, and others. But my favorites are the ones pictured above.

I've sung the praises of Liberte's pear yogurt before--I mean, it's awesome! Why aren't the other companies making pear yogurt? I swear, they are missing out on something, because it's delicious.

But the real treat is the Mediterranee style yogurt, which is richer and creamier, probably because it's significantly fattier. But it is definitely worth it. My favorite flavor has always been the plum walnut, not only because it's unique, but because it tastes amazing. I like the texture that the few small pieces of walnut add, and the mild, sweet plum flavor is truly delightful. It tastes decadent and light at the same time.

And I just tried the lemon flavor recently, too. I have to tell you, it tastes just like a custardy lemon pie. I am a sucker for lemon tarts, lemon bars, etc., so maybe that predisposes me to like this particular flavor. But it's a sophisticated lemon, not a silly, sugared down lemon. (I made a lemon cake from a box the other day and gave it a hearty thumbs down, because it tasted like Lemonheads--do you remember that candy? I don't think a cake should taste like candy; it should taste like lemons.)

Anyway, take a trip over to your local Whole Foods or specialty foods market sometime soon and pick up a few cups of Liberte. Let me know if you like it as much as I do.

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Why The Boy is T.R.O.U.B.L.E.:

• He's just very active. He keeps me on my toes all day, except for when he's napping. For example, he was the only kid that wouldn't sit in his mother's lap again today at story time at the library. I hope he naps until he's 20.
  
• He likes to throw food off his high chair tray and pour his milk out.
  
• He also likes to throw things off the second story front porch.
  
• At times, he puts questionable things in his mouth, so I have to keep my eyes on him any time we're someplace new. Like the incident on the back porch with the bag of potting soil.
  
• He is starting to throw tantrums. Lie-down-on-the-floor tantrums (well, he's only actually laid down on the floor once, but there have been a few incidents that have been nearly as bad).
• He loves buttons and presses them whenever he has the opportunity. Like the time he was playing with the remote and found this crazy secret menu on our TV and changed some settings. Nathan had to call the cable company to figure out what happened.
  
• He loves our cell phones and loudly insists on having the chance to play with them whenever someone calls. He has also made some phone calls when playing with our phones while we weren't looking.
  
• He has gotten really, really loud, and he doesn't yet understand what an inside voice is.
• He ate a handful of potting soil--twice.
  

But here are a few of the reasons he's incredibly endearing, despite his mischief:

• As of a couple of days ago, he says "Amen" after we pray. Actually, he says, "'MEN!" With great enthusiasm.
• He doesn't have a lot of words yet, so he really likes to use the ones he's got, like "shoes," "juice" (which also means "milk"), and "moo." He also tells us that any food that is remotely warm is hot, by waving his hands in a certain way and saying "Aah! Aah! Aah!"
• He loves trucks and is loudly enthralled by them whenever we pass one while driving.
  
• He loves stuffed animals and hugs them all. His favorite is a gray kitten named Roscoe that he sleeps with.
  
• He sometimes chases down one of our cats and hugs her, laying his head on her back. It's sweet.
  
• He has the best belly laugh of anyone I know.

Who Would Imagine?

Who would imagine that such trouble could come from this face?
Do not be misled by his angelic countenance and blueberry eyes. That boy is trouble. T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Risotto!

Ever wondered what to do with your leftover prosciutto and gouda?

Risotto!

I've never actually made risotto before, but boy did it turn out good. Nathan loved it. And it was really easy.

From what I understand, the trick to risotto is to use only Arborio rice, because it is starchier than most rice. The extra starch is what creates risotto's creamy texture. Although risotto seems a little fancy, it's really not--it's about as easy as it gets. I'd compare the skill level you need for risotto to be slightly higher than that of making spaghetti. It just isn't that hard. All you do is add ingredients and stir. In my opinion, the hardest part would be figuring out which ingredients would taste good together, and that's not really all that hard. Most people know what they like.

Anyhow, if you're interested in attempting risotto, the instructions will, in all likelihood, be on the rice package. But here is my recipe, just in case:

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Risotto with Prosciutto

1 Tablespoon butter
approx. 1/3 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
2 slices Prosciutto, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup peas*
1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach*
1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock, heated
good cheese, such as Gouda or Parmesan (if from a block, a few slices; if shredded, a handful)
1/8 cup cream or whole milk
salt to taste

*The peas and spinach are totally optional. I just threw them in because I had them--about a small handful each (I just estimated the amounts here; add the amount that seems right to you). I tend to throw spinach, in particular, into just about everything I make, so consider that one especially optional. :)

Melt the butter in a medium or large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and saute until golden. Add the prosciutto, peas, and spinach, and saute until the spinach is wilted. Add the rice and stir until well-coated and translucent.

Add the wine and cook until evaporated/absorbed. Stir in one cup of hot stock and simmer gently, stirring frequently. When the stock has been absorbed, add another cup, and continue in this way through the 18-20 minutes of cooking time.

When the last of the chicken broth is almost absorbed, add the cheese. Stir in the cream or milk, and add salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside for two minutes before serving. Top with extra cheese and prosciutto.

Mmm...Pizza

I made a pretty yummy pizza tonight. It may not look like much, but it was topped with some pretty special ingredients.
After rolling out the pizza dough, I brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled it with kosher salt and pepper. Then, I added some sauteed, slightly caramelized onion (wish I had had some red onion, but I improvised with yellow); some oregano from my herb garden; sliced Prosciutto di Parma; kalamata olives; Roma tomatoes; and some really yummy gouda cheese. I bought the prosciutto and the gouda at one of my favorite markets, Russo's. The little sign for the gouda said that this particular type is rarely seen in the U.S., and that it's so good that the Dutch usually keep it for themselves. Cool! It wasn't expensive, so I bought a wedge, and, oh my, it is good. After I took it home, I was actually regretting buying a gouda, because I thought that I should have gone for a saltier cheese rather than a smoky one to go with the prosciutto. But then I tasted this gouda, and it turned out to be really strong and salty as well as smoky, so it went awesome with the prosciutto. (The particular name of this gouda is Boerenkaas, in case you're interested.)

The only thing I would have done differently on the pizza is gently sweated some garlic in the olive oil before brushing it on the pizza. I always like garlic, although the pizza was darn tasty without it. I also would have added a sprinkling of mozzarella.

Speaking of Men's Clothes

Speaking of men's clothes: we will likely be buying Nathan a new interview suit sometime soon. Does anyone have any suggestions about where to buy a nice suit that isn't too expensive?

Winning the Battle

I just have to start out by warning you. This post is not going to be pretty. I have to tell you something about my husband that might shock you. Especially those of you who actually know him.

I don't know what has precipitated this change, but in one particular respect, Nathan has turned into the proverbial science grad student. Now, this is not to say that he is anti-social or analyzes the patterns that raindrops make on the window or something. No, it is much more basic, and the weirdest part is that it's completely antithetical to his previous personality. (How do you like that ten-cent word? That might be the first time I've actually used "antithetical.") I never thought I'd see the day when I typed this next sentence:

Nathan wears shirts with holes in them.

It is awful. Just awful. He had this one shirt that he just loved, and he just would not get rid of it. Every time he'd put it on, the small hole in the middle of the back would scream at me, and I would say, "Nathan, you need to change shirts. That one has a hole in it," thinking that, of course, he must not know about the hole, or he wouldn't be wearing that shirt. Of course he will change before he walks out the front door. But he would just say, "I like this shirt," followed by those fateful words, "It's comfortable."

You must understand that this is really out of character for Nathan. Not only is he very careful and detail-oriented about his work, but he's also very detail-oriented about his appearance. His college roommates used to tease him about how long it took him to shave, for example. But apparently something has clicked with him, because he is apparently willing to wear holey shirts out in public.

Well, the straw that broke this camel's back was the shirt he wore to the Sheepshearing Festival. Y'all, I looked over at him while we were driving over there, and I said to myself, "Oh no, he wore another shirt with a hole in it. There's one on his shoulder." Then, horror-struck, I realized that the t-shirt he was wearing actually had at least 15 holes in that one shoulder. It was just worn through. So I told him about it and said, "We are buying you a t-shirt as soon as we get there, and you are going to throw that one away." And do you know what he said? I bet you can guess: "Is it really that bad? I like this shirt. It's comfortable." I assured him that it really was that bad. But, alas, there were no t-shirts for sale at the Sheepshearing Festival. Dang.

At this point, I was losing the holey-shirt battle, because last week he wore that shirt with the hole in the back again, even though I've been asking him to throw it away for weeks. But then, along came Nora.

I gotta tell you, there is something to be said for female office mates in an otherwise all male office. Nora is a fellow grad student who is not only bright but is also funny and knows how to dress cute. So last week, when Nathan walked in wearing his holey shirt, she said, "Oh, Nathan, did you know you have a hole in your shirt?" When it came out that he did know, and that I had been asking him to correct his ne'er-do-well ways, Nora sided with me.

And Nathan finally relented. He threw away his holey shirts when he got home.

So thanks to Nora, I am now winning the battle against holey shirts. I mean, he can't really hope to stand up against both Nora and me. Between the two of us, we've pretty much got him covered 24 hours a day. ;)

My New Favorite Ingredient

This afternoon, Noah and I headed out to Trader Joe's to pick up a few pantry items and to browse a bit. They have some interesting goodies, and sometimes it's fun to wander the aisles a bit. For example, a couple of finds that I've enjoyed are the dried Montmerancy cherries (which taste exactly like cherry pie), and the apricot kernels (a.k.a. "poor man's almonds"--they look just like almonds and taste slightly sweet).

Today I found something new that looks really yummy:

Tell me that doesn't sound delicious!

I was planning to make a mango-avocado salad tonight, but I wasn't sure what to dress it in. Problem solved. A tablespoon of this yummy vinegar, a tablespoon of olive oil, a mango, an avocado, and a pinch of salt did the trick. If I had a red onion, I'd shave a bit and add it, too.

After tasting my yummy salad, I gotta tell you, I really like this vinegar. I have a feeling I'm going to use it a lot this summer, especially with oranges.

Mother's Day 2009

Thanks to Nathan, I had a great Mother's Day.

He offered to make me breakfast in bed, but I opted to eat with my guys. For one thing, I'd rather hang out with them. Another reason I got out of bed for breakfast is that finding food in the bed later doesn't really appeal to me. And the main reason breakfast in bed doesn't work for Lauren is that I must--MUST--brush my teeth before I eat anything in the morning. So it kind of ruined it for Nathan last Mother's Day, when he brought me breakfast in bed only to have me immediately hop up to go brush my teeth.

But my Mother's Day was great even before breakfast ever crossed my mind, because Noah slept until 8am. Yay Noah! Thanks for letting Mom sleep in!

We went to church, then had a nice, lazy day. Except for the four-mile family walk. I guess that doesn't count as "lazy." Nathan even gifted me with some C.S. Lewis books to augment my Lewis shelf. Counting the nice brunch the day before, I had a really nice Mother's Day weekend!

To all the moms out there: did you have a nice Mother's Day? And if you're not a mom, what did you do for your mom?

Saturday with the Hugs

We had a great day on Saturday.

First of all, Nathan took me to brunch at the Omni Parker House to celebrate Mother's Day. The Omni Parker House is an old, opulent hotel in downtown Boston. We've stayed there for our anniversary before, which was when we first became aware that it has a pretty nice breakfast. And every Sunday, we walk past the hotel on the way to church, and we always say how nice it would be to go to breakfast there one day before or after the service.

Well, Nathan finally just made it happen. They have a really nice Mother's Day brunch, but it was crazy expensive, so he decided to arrange babysitting for Noah and take me there on Saturday morning, instead. It was really nice to have breakfast in such a nice place, and the food was excellent. Nathan had the buffet, and I had the eggs benedict. Oh my--the eggs benedict were really something. I am going to have to make them sometime soon.

When we went to pick up Noah from the Hugs' house, we found that he and Hannah were playing so well together that we just decided to hang out for a while. Since it was such a pretty day, we all ended up deciding to head on over to the Public Gardens downtown and let the kiddos run around. It was the perfect day to do so--we just hung out and played around for a while, taking pictures and watching the kiddos chase the ducks. Kendra posted a lot of pictures here.

Here's a picture of our good friends:
Kendra and Caleb (and Hannah and baby boy) are going to be moving back home to Seattle in June. I really ought to give a special shout out to Caleb, who just finished his Ph.D. in computer science at MIT. He is officially Dr. Hug now. Kendra and Caleb have been good friends of ours for the past four years or so, and we will be sad to see them go. However, now we have a reason to visit Seattle!

Noah always loves to be outside, and running around the Public Gardens was probably the highlight of his day.

Here's a little family picture of the three of us:
After we left the Public Gardens, we parted ways so the babies could take naps. Then, later that evening, we headed back to the Hugs' house for dinner and games. We all like to play complicated but super fun board games--Kendra usually wins. Forget the MIT and Harvard grad students. Give the prize to the pregnant woman.

We had such a nice day!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

First of all, thank you, guys! I enjoyed reading all your comments and thinking about what I could add to my cooking repertoire. Thanks, also, for putting up with my weird mood in that post. :)

So Noah did something yesterday that kind of amazed us. I started singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and he kind of started doing the motions! I mean, he's not that coordinated when it comes to hand motions, so it was hard to tell, but his hands were in pretty much the right place, even if he didn't have the finer details down. But the thing is that we haven't really sung that song at our house, and I haven't taught him the motions. The only thing I can figure is that he learned it at Mom to Mom.

Plus, I'm just really surprised he would remember something like that. He hasn't demonstrated that kind of memory before.

It was just really cool!

Gift Food

Alright. This post is for all the cooks and/or moms out there. Let me just tell you in advance that this is a post that I would like you to respond to.

The main topic here is food. Food that you give as gifts. Specifically, food that you take to people when there's been a birth or a death in the family or some such thing. So I guess I should call it comfort gift food. Or gift comfort food. Okay, so here is the first thing for you to comment on: what would you call it?

My good friend, Sara, just had her little girl, and tonight I made a casserole to take to her. I made Sherry's Italian Spinach Casserole, which is pretty much a simplified lasagne with a layer of spinach in it. Sherry is the mom of my other good friend, Sarah. She rocks. Well, they all rock. Sherry and both Sara/h's. (How do you like that for punctuation, Prof. Huston? I can just see my old Rice professor rolling his eyes--actually, his whole head--and letting out an expletive at the sight of that.)

Excuse me. I'm in a weird mood tonight.

Here's the recipe for aforementioned casserole, in case you're interested (this is my version of it; Sherry actually makes the tomato sauce herself, but I can't be bothered with that on most days):

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Sherry's Italian Spinach Casserole

- 16 oz. elbow pasta (or other small pasta), cooked
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced*
- 1 lb. ground beef (or ground Italian sausage, or breakfast sausage, or Italian-flavored ground turkey--"whatever floats your boat," as my dad would say)
- 32 oz. jarred pasta sauce
- 8 oz. ricotta cheese
- 8 oz. Parmesan cheese
- 1-2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning*
- 1 bag baby spinach
- 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Warm some olive oil in a pot and sauté onion, garlic, and meat until the meat is browned. Add the pasta sauce and simmer.

In the bottom of a lasagne pan (or two 2-qt. dishes, as in my case), pour the cooked pasta. Add a layer of ricotta cheese. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and the Italian seasoning on top. Next, spread the baby spinach in the dish. Ladle the meat sauce on top of the spinach, taking care that none of the leaves are uncovered. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top, as well as the remaining Parmesan.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown. If it starts to get too brown, tent the dish(es) with foil.

*I add extra garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper if my meat is not already seasoned.

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Along with some fresh bread, this dish, along with the zucchini casserole I discovered last summer, are a couple of my go-to recipes for gift food. I like these because they're tasty, they're easy to make, they reheat easily, they still taste good after a couple of days, and generally everyone likes them.

So here is my question for you: what are your go-to recipes for gift food? What is your favorite thing to make (or receive!)?

On a separate note, I think I might have set a record for the number of times I used parentheses in this post.

Julie and Julia

I think I want to see this movie. (There's a trailer on the website.)

A Head for Gardening

I think it's time for a bit of a Noah update. He is growing so fast.

First off, as I mentioned before, he loves trucks. They're his new favorite thing. I think I need to get him a couple of new truck toys, or maybe a truck-type baby tricycle or something. He is constantly pointing them out as we're driving. It's really cute.

He is saying more words. The one he probably pronounces the best is "shoes." You must understand that shoes are not mere items of clothing. They make excellent noise on the hardwood floors. You can derive unending amusement from un-velcro-ing and re-velcro-ing them. And, most importantly, when Mommy or Daddy puts your shoes on, it means it's time to go outside.

He is getting really good at climbing stairs. When we go to the playground, that's his favorite thing to do. It's kind of funny, actually, because he'll climb the stairs to the slide, but instead of sliding down, he wants to climb back down the stairs. So we just go up and down, up and down the stairs. We climb the stairs like eight times for every one time he goes down the slide.

He loves books. Loves them. He loves them almost as much as brushing his teeth, which is another one of his favorite things to do. But I would say that books win. He's getting to the point where reading books is more than just Mom summarizing a page really quick before Noah turns that page. Now he wants to look at every single picture, and he points everything out and wants to know what it is.

He is also mischevous. This morning, I let him out on the front porch, because The Boy MUST GO OUTSIDE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE every day. The front porch is pretty safe, so I let him go in and out while I did other things for a few minutes this morning. Well, at one point this morning, it got really quiet. So I went out there to check on him, and I found a dirt-covered boy and a hole in one of my pots. He had dirt all over his head. It was so funny that I took some pictures.

Caught in the act.

This is what his head looked like.

Good thing he doesn't have too much hair! It makes it easy to brush the dirt out.