A Woman's Work is Never ___________

Hello!

Sorry I've been MIA of late, guess I've been busy being a mother, a working mother. I could say there's no glory in motherhood (they wouldn't even light up the Empire State Building for Mother Theresa for cryin' out loud!) but ask me again whenever John smiles or laughs at me, and I'll retract that statement.

My little sweetie pie is growing fast and doing all kinds of new things like laughing, drooling, grabbing faces, glasses, and necklaces and rolling over on his sides. And he's got two bottom teeth poking out. Pretty soon he'll molt from a mole person into a mobile person. That's going to be a hoot.

Speaking of hoots, Auntie Jenn made this sunburst bib for John. Doesn't it manage to look delightful despite the dollop of puke on the front?

PS Doodle's been good. She won't use her new litter box (but hasn't used the bed), hates her new food (my bad, this working mother tried to save time by ordering a similar thing online, negativo resultivos), she ran away (again), she caught another mouse (again), and she killed it in the bathroom. Again. So, Mouseville took another hit and things are status quo in Doodleville.

John, NYC ~ August 3, 2010

Meet You on Niagara Street

Buffalo, New York, circa 1908. "Erie County Savings Bank, Niagara Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

www.shorpy.com

www.marriedtothesea.com

Baby's Got a Brand New Play Spot

photo via www.poshbaby.com

When John was a wee wee little one, he didn't need much room for much of anything. Now that he's rolling over and on the brink of being mobile in the self-powered way, I decided it was time to designate a nice comfy corner for him in which to play. His "Uncle" DeeAnne purchased these delightful interlocking foam floor tiles by Skip Hop for just such a purpose, and I set them up yesterday afternoon. I learned this morning that the new romper "room" isn't just a great place for baby to hang out in his Fisher Price Kick 'n' Play bouncy seat, but it's also suitable for Mommy to get down and do her 7 Minutes of Magic Qi Gong DVD. I wonder if it is also a nice place for Mommy to nap? Baby got up at 3 a.m. today. Oh, baby...

www.marriedtothesea.com

What Happens When You Wear Eleganza?

Things!

Johnny Johnny Quite Contronny How Does Your Garden Grow?

When I was home on maternity leave, I spent a lot of time over at my sister Whipcreamy's house. She and her hubby have a lovely backyard they work on most every weekend which upon buying the place they brought back to life with a wonderful lawn, plants and flowers. Upon seeing it, JD suggested they grow some vegetables. It was planting season afterall, and he urged that they get the stuff in the ground as soon as possible so as not to miss the window. Back in the day when this City Mouse did a stint Upstate as a Country Mouse, he tried a vegetable garden himself by tossing a bunch of seeds into a patch of dirt and had some pretty good success with it. He had enough of a return to produce a tiny salad, afterall. The way he described the process, he made it seem easy, but we were all daunted by the idea nonetheless.

Intrigued, I decided the garden idea was goin' down, no matter what our objections were. Whip and Hubby tossed all the rocks out of a corner of the lawn that got the most sun and tilled the soil. I bought a boatload of different seed packets at the Dollar Store in town, and one night over a few glasses of wine and PBRs we banged it out. Sure, we had a book to guide us, but no, we really didn't know what the hell we were doing. We just plopped the seeds in the dirt into dedicated rows as neat as we could be, highlighted the rows with some string tied to old tent stakes with the designated packets on top, and then crossed our fingers to see what happened with water, sunshine, and time. We named it John's Garden.

I present you with a photo of a newly-planted John's Garden:

Anne and John ~ May 4, 2010

And some of the results:

Anne and John ~ July 2, 2010

Lesson learned: More often than not, it pays to just bang something out even if you don't know what the hell you're doing. So what if its not perfect? If we waited for perfect, we'd have no zucchini. Or John, frankly.

GTL 1905 Style

The Jersey Shore circa 1905. "Atlantic City, on the beach." Surf, sand and Steeplechase Pier in the distance. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

Do you think The Situation would recognize this Jersey Shore? How could he? The view's the same from the gym, the tanning booth, and the laundromat.

A Good Summertime Read

John, NYC ~ July 14, 2010

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

Nothing Says Summer Quite Like a Weird Picnic

Mother's Little Helper

I like to keep plenty o' the "appetizing, stimulating tonic" around here. It's "essential at this time."

Got Crabs?

I made this recipe for dinner last night, after having seen it on Dan Eaton's Cooking at Home segment on NY1 in the morning. Now, folks say that Dan creeps them out a little bit. Sure, his voice is on the high side and his hair is on the 80's side, but he invented a good and easy crab cake. I'll be sure to keep checkin' in with Dan and his recipes now that I have a baby, and I have to cook stuff. The days of Saltines for lunch and Miller Lite for supper are over.

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Homemade Crab Cakes - Dan Eaton

SERVES: 8

INGREDIENTS:


1 pound canned, pasteurized crabmeat

8 slices white sandwich bread

1/3 cup finely diced red pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/4 cup finely diced green onion

1 heaping Tbs Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Olive oil for sauteing crab cakes

Tartar sauce and sliced tomatoes for serving (optional)

PROCEDURE:

For 1 pound of crabmeat, you'll need to cut the crusts off of 8 slices of bread and finely dice it and throw it into a large mixing bowl.

Take a few minutes to pick through the crabmeat to make sure there aren't any small pieces of shell in it and then add it to the bowl with the cubed bread and add 1/3 cup finely diced red pepper and 1/4 cup each of finely diced red onion and green onion and then add 1 heaping Tbs of Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup mayonnaise and mix everything together.

This amount of crabmeat will make 8 medium sized crab cakes and you'll want to shape them into equal sized 1-inch thick patties.

Cook the crab cakes in batches or in one large nonstick pan with a splash of olive oil until they're golden brown on both sides and hot all the way through.


HINTS:

Feel free to cut this recipe in half by buying 8-ounces of crabmeat instead of 1-pound. Jumbo lump crabmeat is more expensive than back fin crabmeat….either one works fin although there may be more bits of shell to pick out of the back fin meat.

Serve the individual crab cakes with a little tartar sauce and some sliced tomatoes if you like or with a simple tossed green salad.

How Do I Do It?

NERVINE, of course.

Hey. Wait a minute. I've gone through every pocket of my purse. I'm out of NERVINE! Need large package ASAP.

What Happens Las Vegas

John, NYC ~ July 19, 2010

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I mentioned earlier that John got a ride in his first ExerSaucer on his four-month birthday, and JD named it The Las Vegas of Playtime because John gets such a kick out of it. Ironically, it is a medieval-themed version with King and Queen, Jester, etc, and looks not unlike the Excalibur Hotel.

Lately we've been playing a game where JD will "fly" John around the room and into Las Vegas: "We're now landing in Las Vegas International Airport, where the time is 4:20 pm and the temperature a comfortable 108 degrees..." And then he plops the baby down in the seat, and we usually have the following conversation with him as he bops around in there and has his mind blown:

• Good afternoon, Sir. Welcome to the Excalibur Hotel. Are you checking in? Do you need help with your bags?
• Here are you keys, Sir. Suite 5000. Yes, the Dom is chilling in your room, everything is as you requested.
• Dinner is at 6:30. Shall we draw a bath in the meantime for you, Sir?
• Have you had too much to drink, Sir?
• Would you like another drink, Sir?
• Is this dealer cold? Would you like to switch tables?
• You're crying. Have you had enough of Las Vegas?
• No? Would you like another drink? Can I interest you in the roulette table?
• Have you tried the slots? Please swivel around and enjoy the buffet.
• Glad you're having a good time.
• You're drooling, Sir. There's a big puddle betwixt your toes. Or is that pee?
• As the Mayor of Las Vegas, I would like to present you with the Keys to the City.
• Sir, I noticed you got sick on yourself. And you're crying again. And you may have made a little bean pie in your pants. Did you make a little bean pie in your pants? Whoa! Excuse me, Sir? If it's no trouble, might you warn me before you belch your drink of formulakkah in my face? Okay. Can I escort you to your room? Are you ready to leave Las Vegas? You can always come back...

Are You Sure These Babies are Fresh?

Time for a Re-Post: Dick in a Green Track Jacket

Remember Dick in a Green Track Jacket? I didn't, either, until tonight. Man, I love remembering things.

Most of the time, anyway.

Enjoy.

Refreshing

www.marriedtothesea.com

Nothing Says Summer Quite Like a Weird Picnic

Water Beds 'R' Good 'N' Trashy

Why Thank You!