Playdates

C and I went on a first playdate with a member of my mom’s group.   We went over to her house.   I made small talk, and C played with blocks, colored, and even smelled some freshly cut roses. 

Last night when I told S about the playdate, he made a few points which got me thinking.

1. He asked if there were any dads in the moms’ group.  I said not that I’m aware of.  Then, he commented that if he were a SAHD, would any moms invite him over to the house to have small talk and for the kids to play.
2. He then asked me if there was a dad in my moms’ group, would I invite him over for a playdate.  I had never thought of that before, but I guess so!

Make Groceries for Your Child

Wow, I haven’t participated in a Works-For-Me Wednesday in a month!  Well, I’ll have to fix that….

A great use of packing tape (the clear kind) is to wrap / seal empty boxes of cereal, bread mix, cookies, taco shells, and more.  Basically, wrap up the boxes so that the child can’t peel / rip the cardboard.   Or, if you see a wrapping paper or magazine picture that captivates your child … cut the image out and tape it up.  Now, you will have something that s/he can look at and play with.

This is a good idea for toy kitchens.   Buy some of the smaller cereal boxes that contain one serving per box, enjoy the cereal, and then tape up the box.   A child-size “grocery” item for the toy kitchen!

I got the idea of using the packing tape when we visited a children’s museum.  The child-sized grocery store and kitchen had lots of boxes of goodies, all sealed with tape.

Check out more tips on this Works-For-Me Wednesday at “Rocks in My Dryer.”

Welcome to the Family, Elmo!

C has never really had any attachment to blankets or stuffed animals.   That is, until recently!  

I began to show C some Elmo videos / songs on YouTube, and she took to “Melmo” (as she calls him – her?) right away.   Every morning, she wants her “Melmo” video.  I play about 1-2 videos for her.  

I went on Amazon and bought her an Elmo doll.   It is now never out of her sight.  In the mornings, she feeds Elmo cheerios.  She shares her drink with him.  She hugs him so tightly.  We go out, and Elmo comes along for the ride.   I told S that we need to buy a backup Elmo and keep it in the car!

Welcome to the family, Elmo!

As a side note, S and I were looking at YouTube the other day and found Elmo doing an interview on an Australian talk show called Rove.  (Just search on Elmo and Rove).    We watched it.   Did you know that Cookie Monster only eats cookies sometimes as it is not a healthy food?      The more interesting video is the interview with Kevin Clash who plays and is the voice of Elmo.    Before seeing the video, it didn’t dawn on me that the “Elmo” voice is not his voice 24/7!

40 Years From Now

We’ve been watching a TV show called Mad Men.   Set in the 1960’s, it’s about the lives of advertising executives on Madison Avenue.  

As I’m watching the show, I can’t help but think that the behavior of the characters would not be acceptable in present time.  And, then I wonder if I would be able to live during the 60’s.   All that smoking.   All that drinking (during work hours!).   The treatment of females.   Everyone wearing dresses and suits all the time.

I wonder in 40 years what the next (younger) generation will say about the 2000’s!

Pork Chops with Apple Curry Sauce

Finally!   I decided to try a new recipe for dinner tonight.   I’ve never made pork chops before so I found a fairly easy recipe.  

It turned out well.  I used thin cut, boneless pork chops.  After reading some of the user reviews of the recipe,  I substituted chicken broth for the chicken bouillon and some of the apple juice.  I also cooked the pork chops for 350 degrees for 30 minutes instead of the time listed in the recipe. 

I served the meal with naan (Indian bread) to soak up the sauce.  

I don’t have any photo of this meal, unfortunately.   Just imagine pork chops covered with apple / onions in a curry sauce.

Here is the Pork Chops with Apply Curry Sauce from allrecipes.com.

The ingredients are here you can check it out and then click on the recipe if you want to try this yourself.   The amount will vary based on number of servings.   Note that I did substitute some of the ingredients as noted above.

Boneless pork chops
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Onion
Apple, cored and diced
Unsweetened applesauce
Apple juice
Margarine
Chicken bouillon granules
Garlic, crushed 
Curry powder

The pork chops are a good alternative to chicken or pasta which we always seem to eat.  

Enjoy!

I Am Hooked

I finished Twilight in a few days.  I’m now onto New Moon.   Both by Stephenie Meyer.  There are two more books in the series, I believe.

The books are an easy read.   I don’t think too highly of the heroine though.  She seems too dependent, but for some reason, the plot is addicting to me to see what happens next to her and to the people around her.   I find the background story on the vampires to be interesting even though it’s only a small part of the book(s). 

Well, I’m off to go read now since C is asleep!