Reality Check
Go grab the tissues. This isn’t a pretty one.
I don’t recall where I read it, but someone has said that when you have a child, you feel like your heart is in their body. If they’re happy, you’re happy. If they’re hurt, you’re hurt.
But, what they don’t tell you, is a little piece of you is with EVERY kid on the planet. You can’t see kids who are sad, hurt or disappointed without your heart aching. You imagine if that were your child, and then you know how that parent must feel (or some idea of it).
Three days ago, I did not know the little girl named Layla Grace. But I saw many people offering prayers, good vibes, good thoughts and support, so I took a look at her profile.
YOU GUYS. A 2 year old girl dying of cancer. Rips your freaking heart out, I don’t care who you are. I was feeling a lot of self-pity since last week, but this wiped that all away. I have my son. I have my son’s health. That’s about all that really matters.
This morning, she passed away. And I am sitting here in a puddle of tears for a little girl I only know about because of Twitter, and have only known about for 3 days. Because it’s unfair that terrible people get to walk this earth day after day, spreading their hate and evil around, while innocent 2 year old babies have to suffer and die.
Rest in peace, Layla Grace. You were so brave.
New Project
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about starting my own 356 photography project. You know, the one where you take a picture every day for a year.
And I know I should be doing more than thinking but the thing is, I’m just not sure. I mean, I could do it. But, would I remember to do it every single day? For an entire year? (A YEAR. That’s a lot of days.) And would my photos really be interesting/artistic/high-quality enough for anyone to really give a crap about? But, I suppose I should be doing it for myself instead of other people. But, then again, a much too large portion of the reason I do what I do is tied to pleasing other people.
Just thought it might be a nice exercise in creativity. And something to keep me busy, since professionally, things are a little, ahem, slow for me at the moment.
Looks different, right?
Ok, so, um there was a cyber-accident over the weekend, and Very Bloggy is looking a bit scant compared to before. Working on getting things back up and running. Sorry if stuff is missing, drop me an email if you’re looking for something specific. It may also look a little funny for a while.
My advice? BACK IT UP, people, BACK THE INFO UP.
Super Easy Amazingly Dee-lish Pizza
A while back I found an awesome pizza recipe in Food & Wine, and adapted it to meet my own time constraints and lack of culinary abilities. Amazingly, the result is now one of my go-to foods for lunches and last minute dinners because it is so quick and so easy yet delectable.
Zucchini and Goat Cheese Pizza
whole wheat tortillas (I have also used whole wheat pizza dough, but the tortillas are a great time saver)
couple tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
shredded mozzarella
1/2 to 1 zucchini (enough to cover the tortilla), sliced very thin
goat cheese
1. Put the minced garlic into the olive oil and let it steep for a minute. Heat the oven to 350. After a few minutes, brush the tortilla with the oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Top the oil with a thin layer of the mozzarella. Spread the zucchini in an even layer over the entire tortilla. Top that with crumbles of goat cheese.
3. Heat in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Such a great meal, and so simple, my absolutely favorite kind of recipe.
Challenge Complete (Almost. Knock on wood.)
So, I’m pretty proud of the fact that we went the entire winter without turning on our furnace. We bundled up, drank warm beverages and used lots of blankets. But, no furnace!
Now, I know we don’t exactly live somewhere sub-arctic or anything (that would be impressive), but it did get darn near freezing temperatures here on a couple of occasions, and we spent the better part of December and January in the 40s, so it was pretty cold.
I wish I could say we were being martyrs for Mother Earth, but it’s more like this: we share the bill with the landlords, who are mega energy hogs and we just wanted the utility bill to be slightly lower. It was kind of a fun challenge too, though. Just how long could we go? What creative ways could we use to stay warm?
And before you report me to CPS, we had a small space heater in the kiddo’s room that we turned on at night. His room can get a little cold, so we couldn’t expect him to go completely without. And he also has a really warm, fleecy blanket that my grandma made for him.
What are you doing to save a buck / save the earth / challenge yourself?
You Might Be a Mom…(5)
…if you’ve ever uttered the phrase, “so, I was wiping the poo off my hands…”.
Kiddo Obsession
In my many years of younger siblings, younger cousins, babysitting and just general being around kids, there is always that one movie that they inexplicably are drawn to, and want to watch over and over and over and over and over.
My brother? Toy Story.
My cousin? Finding Nemo.
Bowie? Monsters, Inc.
Does your kiddo, or kiddos you have known, do the same thing? What is their movie of choice?
The New Sitter
Last night was the first time Bowie’s babysitter was not either my sister-in-law or some parent from the park that he knows really well. We met the gal last week, she works at an indoor play space, so we went and played for an hour or so. He was really shy that day, and kind of shy last night but he seemed more at ease.
I was freaking out the whole week leading up to it, and while I was super excited for a night out with my husband and friends, I was NOT super excited about leaving Bowie with someone he didn’t know very well.
It’s not at all that I don’t trust people, I do. And this girl was definitely trustworthy. The best way I could explain it to my friends was, there’s a million funny little quirky things about your kid. And for some reason, you feel like you have to remember all those things at once and tell them all to the caregiver. Even though some of them are so insignificant, you yourself tend to forget them sometimes. And others, like he needs his diaper changed when he poos or he’ll get a terrible rash. Like, duh. I’m pretty sure any sitter would do a diaper change at the first whiff of poo.
So, at some point you have to say to yourself, Self, just let it go. Any and all things about your kid will be one of three things:
A) a complete non-issue
B) figured out by the caregiver.
C) maybe worthy of a quick phone call if they can’t figure it out.
Now that we’ve survived the ordeal, my life is completely changed. There’s going to be so much more we can do now that we’re not solely relying on family and close friends. Such as, going out with said family and close friends. This is going to be AWESOME.
By Popular Demand
I posted on Twitter that I was making a potato, leek and brie bake last night, and got a HUGE response from my followers. So, I’m posting the recipe for all to try! It was superbly delicious!
Potato, Leek and Brie Bake
2lb potatoes, thinly sliced
2 large leeks, sliced about 1cm
7oz brie or camembert, sliced
2 cups cream
1. Heat oven to 350. Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes, drain. Cook the leeks in boiling water for 1 minute, drain.
2. Put half the potatoes in a shallow, ovenproof dish, spreading them to the edge. Cover with 2/3 of the leeks. Then, add the remaining potatoes, remaining leeks and cheese on top. Season with salt/pepper. Pour the cream over it.
3. Bake 1 hour or until tender and golden. Cover with foil if it’s browning too fast .
Serves 4
I recommend LOTS of salt and pepper, because otherwise it’s a little bland. Also feel free to add any spices you like such as cayenne, garlic powder, etc. Next time I make it, I’m going to crumble in some cooked bacon and I CAN’T WAIT!
You Might Be a Mom…(4)
…if you’re really happy when the booger that stuffed kiddo’s nose up all day is finally out.