Archives for October 2014

Wanda the Vlogger

October 28, 2014 by Kathryn

I was at the blood store waiting to have my blood taken when Wanda got bored. She asked if she could take pictures on my phone. I handed it over and she immediately started vlogging. This both delights and scares me.

When I was growing up, I wanted to record things so I carved pictures of myself into stone or recorded my voice on a cassette tape. These were not live streaming, sharable mediums. I could be an idiot and my parents, siblings and a couple of friends were the only ones who knew about it.

Now my kids can share their wisdom with the whole world. Instantly. I’m not ready.

Also.

My feet do not stink.

Powerless in Seattle

October 28, 2014 by Kathryn

I’ll be honest. We don’t actually live in Seattle. We just claim it because it has one of the five coolest Space Needles of any of the surrounding cities. Our small town is about 45 minutes outside Seattle. But I’d bet my IKEA solar lantern that you’ve never heard of my town so just picture a forest outside Seattle when you think of me and you’ll be about right. A forest past the cow fields.

When the power goes out here, it’s not playing around. This isn’t a small flicker and then BOOM it’s back. No. When the wind blows and the power goes out here, it is the result of the surrounding Ents growing restless and throwing their bodies down across the power lines in a fit of rage. This happened on Saturday night.

The longest we’ve ever been without power was a little over a week . It was cold but fun at first and then super not fun with little freezing kids in the dark and no internet. In 2006 *GASP* we didn’t have smart phones with access to Instagram during an emergency! I know. It makes me cry a little too.

This time around, most of King County had power restored within 24 hours. But we were in this strange pocket right in the middle of our town that didn’t. While everyone around us was relieved to have power, we were still pioneering it… with our house-wired generator and our cute candles and our gas stove and oven in which we baked chocolate chip cookies and our smart phones with 4G internet access.

So yeah. We weren’t like pioneers at all. But we couldn’t use the washing machine or the dishwasher effectively. So, there’s that.

At first the kids were bummed to have to get up and go to school at stupid-o-clock in the morning during a power outage that only affected about 50 homes in our district, but then they became increasingly enamored with the happy drama of it all, to the point that Laylee’s response to the restored power this morning bordered on what my phone has been autocorrecting “outage” to for the past few days – “OUTRAGE.”

It was funny following the community discussion boards on facebook and people were complaining about the power being out and I kept thinking, “…You say from your magically charged smart phone.” I know people were cold and we were blessed to have a fireplace and a generator, but we really do live in a pretty cushy day and age.

Start up the generator so we can watch a movie by candlelight!

And the power came back on this morning. That’s right. We were without electricity for about 55 hours, spanning four days. And we LIVED!

I even learned to hookup, fill, and run the generator. It’s one of those things I’ve always sort of relegated to Dan, along with checking mouse traps and teaching saxophone lessons. But no more. I have claimed my lady power and am fully capable of juicing our house in an emergency.

Like any disaster, we found a few holes where we could stand to be more prepared, but mostly things just went really smoothly. I’m stoked. It’s taken us nearly a decade of living in the “wilderness” but I finally feel ready for almost any moderate power-related disaster where our home is still habitable. Next step. Earthquake prep.

Pasta e Fagioli

October 24, 2014 by Kathryn

This was a fun fall recipe to make with the man cub, adapted from For the Love of Cooking. Warm, delicious, fairly nutritious and easy to heat up in a thermos for lunch the next day. I also doubled it and froze half to save for another night. (Freezer instructions further down)

You start by sautéing half an onion in 2 teaspoons of olive oil until they’re soft and translucent. I believe that 83.4% of good recipes start this way.

Then comes the magical italian sausage of joy. 12-16oz, depending on the size of the package you buy. More can only be better, right. Break it up as you cook it so the pieces are small and cooked through.

Add 4 cloves or minced garlic or just a big old spoon full. This was for a double batch.

Next add 4 cups of chicken broth and 28 ounces of pureed tomatoes. I just threw diced tomatoes in the blender.

Stir in your spices, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. My family hates spicy but I still threw in the pinch of red pepper flakes. It just gave it a tiny bit of warmth but I got no complaints and my people are GOOD at complaining about too much spice.

Cover and let it simmer for as long as you feel like. Thirty minutes should be fine but two hours is better. Who has two hours to simmer?

Then bring the soup to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. I love smaller pasta in this dish but feel free to use whatever kind you like.

When the pasta is cooked, add 2 or more cups of chopped fresh baby spinach and 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.

Stir to wilt and warm it all and then serve hot with grated parmesan on top.

For a freezer meal, do everything through the long simmer. Then cool and freeze in a Ziploc bag. Chop the spinach and parsley and freeze in a smaller Ziploc. Then assemble as directed.

Pasta e Fagioli

2 tsp olive oil
12-16 oz. pork or turkey Italian sausage
½ onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes (I use diced and puree them in the blender)
4 cups chicken broth
2 15 oz cans white beans, drained
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Pinch crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of your choice of pasta
1-2 cups of fresh baby spinach
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent softened. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until no more pink remains. Add the garlic and stir for 60 seconds. Then add the chicken broth, pureed tomatoes, drained beans, and spices. Cover and simmer 30-90 minutes.

Bring the soup back to a boil and add pasta, cooking according to package directions. When pasta is al dente, add fresh parsley and spinach and stir just to wilt and heat through. Serve with fresh grated parmesan.

If you over-pasta, it will turn out more like a casserole than a soup. It’s still delicious, just not a soup.Feel free to add more sauce as needed. This is not an exact science.

For a freezer meal, do everything through the long simmer. Then cool and freeze in a Ziploc bag. Chop the spinach and parsley and freeze in a smaller Ziploc. Then assemble as directed above.

https://dropsofawesome.com/pasta-e-fagioli/

The Scary Thing About Halloween – FedEx Safety Kit Giveaway

October 22, 2014 by Kathryn

Who loves free stuff? Tell me what you’re going to be for Halloween in the comments section and FedEx will send five of you Trick-Or-Treat Bags full of stuff to keep your little ghosts and goblins safe this October 31st.

I’m pretty much done with scary movies. There came a point in my adult life when I decided that there were enough legitimately scary things in the world so maybe self-induced terror for fun wasn’t gonna be a priority for me anymore.

BUT

I like the cute, pretend terror of Halloween.

Creepy ghosts with inexplicable werewolf teeth.

Witches.

What-Does-the-Fox-Says.

Shudder.

It’s funny that we play at fear during this holiday but almost no one wants to be actually scared. However, kids are running around in the dark on the street with obstructed vision and children are twice as likely to be killed by a car on Halloween than on any other night. That’s partly because any other night they would be in bed. But since, on the 31st, they won’t be, FedEx is teaming up with Safe Kids to help keep scaring fun this Halloween.

Here are few of their suggestions:

Top safety tips Safe Kids and FedEx recommend for parents:
• Cross the street safely at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. Walk, don’t run, across the street.
• Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
• Slow down and stay alert – watch out for cars that are turning or backing up and never dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars.
• Costumes can be both creative and safe. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Masks can obstruct a child’s vision, so choose non-toxic face paint and make-up whenever possible instead. Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights in order to see better, as well as be seen by drivers.

Top safety tips Safe Kids and FedEx recommend for drivers:
• Slow down in residential neighborhoods. Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
• Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

BE SAFE THIS YEAR. (All caps = I’m serious about this.)

If you’d like FedEx and SafeKids.org to send you a Safe Trick-or-Treat bag, leave a comment with your costume idea for this year. I’ll pick the winners on Friday, October 24th at 8pm EST so you can get your bags in time for Halloween!

***Update – And the winners are – comment numbers 8, 7, 16, 11, 20. Becky, AmyRyb, beccalecca, Leslie, and Holly Wright. ***

One More Drop – Square Breathing

October 21, 2014 by Kathryn

Take a minute to slow down and practice purposeful breath. It calms you and oxygenates your brain. Who doesn’t need more brain oxygen? I certainly don’t not need it.

Breathe in through your nose for four slow counts.
Hold the breath for four.
Breathe out for four.
Hold the breath for four.

Repeat these breaths until your children give up hope of getting your attention ever again.

One More Drop is a series of tiny missions to help you add more Drops of Awesome to your day.

This is Happening

October 21, 2014 by Kathryn

Dan, who loves me and works hard to stay on my good side, says I will be a Daring “Young” Mom forever and maybe he’s right. It’s all in the attitude… and the maturity. However at the age of 35, my wrinkles and I are starting to feel just a bit squirmish about giving people my blog URL.

“Um… it’s because I was young once and… mumble mumble… young at heart… trailing off.”

So I’m migrating my digital life over here to DropsofAwesome.com. The stories are the same. It’s just DaringYoungMom.com for old people. I hope you’ll join me.

Infestation – A Haiku

October 18, 2014 by Kathryn

Rotten potato
Curse your awful fishy smell
Fruit flies live here now

One More Drop – Phone Time Out

October 16, 2014 by Kathryn

Put a box or basket on your kitchen counter to use as a phone time-out spot. When you know you need to engage with your family, like at dinner or when you or your spouse or kids get home from work or school, have everyone put their device in the box. Then speak to each other as though you were people, like in the old days ten years ago.

One More Drop is a series of tiny missions to help you add more Drops of Awesome to your day.

Like a Baby

October 16, 2014 by Kathryn

She wore the ninja headband to preschool today. We were ten minutes late because she just HAD to paint one more Seahawks-colored rock. HAD to! It’s hard to say “no” when creative genius is at work and when saying “yes” means she gets to stay with me for a few more minutes.

“Please, oh please wear black lipstick for Halloween,” she begged in the car, “You would just look so BEAU-tiful and so CREEPY! You have to do it.”

I told her I’d think about it.

Sometimes it’s painful spending my days alone with Wanda. When she talks, my cheeks hurt from smiling. When I look at her, my heart travels into my throat and it’s hard to swallow. When she hugs me, my eyes leak.

Today I was just dropping her off at preschool and she was washing her hands and I started to weep. I wasn’t bawling, but salty emotion water definitely made its way out of my ocular cavities. I didn’t want to leave but I made my way out of the preschool and into my car. I would weigh 400 pounds if I sat around staring at her as often as I want to sit around staring at her.

She’s the last one.

I have been blessed with gorgeous, sweet, adorable little people who have come into my life with huge personalities and endless sweetness and have let me love them. And they’re getting big. And they’re growing independent. They read and make their own breakfast and sometimes even shower.

Laylee’s in middle school and it’s changing her. It’s not bad. Just different. No longer is she the portable little friend who follows me around everywhere I go in her snow white dress. She is a lady-girl. She has things to do and people to see and chores to be annoyed about.

Magoo isn’t far behind.

I miss my babies and they’re not even gone.

There was some point a few years ago when I went to a wedding and instead of identifying with the bride, I started identifying with the mother of the bride. Instead of thinking about my own wedding and comparing our dresses and decorations, I wondered what Laylee’s wedding would be like. It scared me.

I am not ready to move on from this phase of my life. I am not ready to be a daytime empty-nester, to have conversations that never involve ninjas or why we don’t paint on our bodies. I am not ready to grow up.

After I left Wanda at preschool, I got in my car and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri was playing and I cried. I remember when love songs were all about cute boys and romance to me. But being a mom has opened up so many more kinds of love.

You’re-growing-inside-of-me-and-I-feel-like-I-know-you-even-though-we’ve-never-met love
Rock-you-to-sleep-and-stare-at-your-peaceful-face love
Duct-tape-you-into-your-diaper love
As-I-rush-you-to-the-hospital-I question-whether-I’d-be-able-to-go-on-without-you love
Calmly-explain-for-the-hundredth-time-how-the-toilet-flusher-works love
Kick-me-in the-face-all-night-long-but-when-I-carry-you-back-to-bed-I’m-still-overwhelmed-by-how-much-I-love-you love
Let-you-experience-negative-consequences-even-though-it-makes-me-cry-when-you’re-not-looking love
You’re-PMSing-so-I’ll-cut-you-some-slack Love

The list keeps growing. And I guess I’ll keep growing too. I don’t cry every time I think about Wanda starting kindergarten next year and it will probably keep getting easier. But sometimes I have to cry in my car, cry like a baby, because I don’t have any of those anymore.

One More Drop – Microwave Your Sponge

October 15, 2014 by Kathryn

Dirty microwave? Germy sponge? Kill two of the birds with one of the stones in about five minutes. Sponges are pretty much disgusting little germ factories. Microwaves are places to warm foods until they explode and then leave the mess all over the walls of the magical heat chamber.

Put your wet sponge in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. The water will boil inside the sponge, killing 99% of the microscopic ickies. The steam from the sponge will loosen all the junk on the walls of the microwave. Let the sponge cool to a safe temperature and then use it to wipe out the gunk from the walls of the microwave.

One More Drop is a series of tiny missions to help you add more Drops of Awesome to your day.

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Archives for October 2014