Tasty Tuesday!

Most schools are back in session, but Little Miss's preschool tends to start up later. Lucky me, I'm the president of the PTO there, and we have a small cadre of volunteers for a number of reasons. In an effort to get things kicked off on a positive note, I invited some of the moms who have volunteered to help out already to my house for munchies and our first meeting.

And of course by some munchies, I made a tomato and avocado salad, brie with dessert sauces, marinated mozzarella with grape tomato skewers, and a hot cheesy spinach dip. Ok, and a few other things. In fact, I just realized that I forgot to put out the truffles. Oops. (See, don't you wish you were part of my PTO?)

It was good. I finished up the avocado and tomato salad for dinner last night, and it's possible that I'm currently snacking on the spinach dip right now as my dinner for tonight. Oh choices, choices.

Cheesy Hot Spinach Dip



Ingredients:
3/4 c mayonnaise
8 oz neufchatel, softened (that's the naturally lower in fat cream cheese -- don't buy the plastic fat free stuff. Ick)
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1/4 t Indian chili powder (ok, that's what I have and I love it, but use cayenne pepper or something similar)
12 oz frozen spinach
1 c cheddar cheese, grated (again, don't buy the pregrated stuff)
2 c Parmesan cheese, grated (do I need to repeat myself? I'm not even saying anything about the green can)
Salt and pepper to taste (barely any salt, but the pepper is needed)

Directions:
Saute your well chopped onion in the olive oil. While it is sauteing, defrost your spinach and squeeze the heck out of it to get out allll the excess moisture. You want nearly dry spinach. Or be brave and lightly chop some fresh spinach and toss it in when the onion is nearly done.

Once the onion is sauteed, add the garlic for about thirty seconds. Then add the mayo and neufchatel. Toss in the spinach and chili powder (cayenne pepper). Stir on medium low heat until it's nice and combined and the neufchatel is totally melted.

Slowly add the cheddar cheese. As in add one small handful at a time, stir until totally melted, then add the next handful. If you don't do this, you'll end up with an icky mess of cheese. Once all the cheddar is incorporated, do the same for the Parmesan.

Once everything is incorporated, salt and pepper to taste. With the salt in the cheeses, you shouldn't need much at all. Serve it hot (keep it warm in crock pot doo-hickey) with fresh bread -- Hawaiian is great, but French is pretty darn good, too. When you run out of bread, tortilla chips make a good substitute. Not that I'd know personally...

This would also be great with chopped artichoke hearts. Or diced fresh tomatoes added at the end. Or other cheeses. Or anything your imagination can come up with, I'm thinking!

Enjoy!

If you like me and want me to have the chocolate that I so desperately need, go vote for my pretty banana boats over at Laura's Best Food/Foodie Foto. Please vote for me?

And go visit Grace at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday for lots more goodies!

I'm Not Always The Sharpest Knife In The Drawer

Truly, I'm not. I know it come as a shock, but sometimes my brain doesn't work quite the way I'd hope that it would.

Take this afternoon for example. I had the new PTO coming to my house for a get together (yay!), so of course I was doing some cleaning and straightening up. You know the drill. That's why I was cleaning the cracks between the leaves in the kitchen table. Because that's the priority when company is coming over in two hours and I've yet to make the munchies I'd promised.

Anyway, I was cleaning the crevices - a chore that I now do on a fairly regular basis - thinking about how this falls into the list of jobs I never thought I'd be doing. I was trying to figure out how I could turn this into a blog post (because, you know, this is where the mind wanders when trying not to be grossed out by the gunk that has made it stuck solidly onto the sides of the leaf. In fact, I think the wee ones owe me a manicure after this one. Be grateful there are no pictures.

As I debated the merits of a top ten list of jobs I'd never thought I'd be doing, I realized that I had already covered #2 wiping other people's bottoms earlier this week.

I sighed and continued scrubbing. I noticed that there were far more crumbs on the side where Mister Man sat than where my husband did. At least with Little Miss sitting at the head of the table, her crumbs stayed on the surface, which is so much easier to clean.

Finally, it dawned on me. Mister Man sits on the side of the table. Where he has cracks for leaves to his right and to his left. Where he can so easily make a mess.

Duhhh.

He now sits at the foot of the table, and my husband and I sit near the leaves. I'm a little embarrassed that it's taken me a good three years to figure that one out.

OH! And for all you nice people who liked the banana boat idea I had on Tuesday, Laura at Hey, What's For Dinner, Mom? has a picture of it posted for her Best Food/Foodie Foto contest this week. Can you please take a quick moment and go vote for me? I could really use some chocolate this week. Pretty please?

Where Else Do I Look?

Last night, I had just climbed into bed and was picking up my magazine, when the bedroom door was pushed open. I looked over to say goodnight to my husband when I realized it wasn't my husband.

It was Mister Man.

With his pants around his ankles.

Shuffling into my room. And saying not a word to me.

He shuffled over to my dresser and started tugging on the handle to my sock drawer.

Uhhhh, Mister Man, whatcha doing?

I have to go potty, he whined.

Yikes!

You can't imagine (ok, maybe you can) how quickly I hopped out of bed and steered him into the bathroom, opening the toilet for him just in time. And I do mean just in time.

He doesn't remember it this morning, and now I'm a little paranoid about where else he may have ummm wandered in the night. I'm almost afraid to check though.

If You're Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands!

I was reading a column a few weeks ago on personal finance from The Motley Fool. Or at least I think it was the Motley Fool. I've just spent the last hour or so searching for the article and failed miserably. I found it last week, but apparently my google skills are failing me right now. If any of you can find this and point me to it so I can link it up, please do.

Anyway, back to my point. Pretend I have one.

Sometimes you read something, and it sticks with you. There was a line in the column that I will unfortunately have to paraphrase that I keep coming back to. It keeps making me think, and it's really powerful to me.

Essentially, the point of the author was that he sold a stock at a modest profit. He locked in that profit, and in order to be happy with what he's doing and -- really -- happy with life, it's important to learn to be content with the return you have rather than regretting if maybe you could have made a little bit more. If you're happy with earning $100 when you sell something, you can't let the fact that maybe you could have made $105 make you miserable.

And it isn't just with selling stocks. To me, this is applicable in so many facets of life. Life isn't about being perfect. It's about learning to be happy with what you have. You don't have to have a bigger, better (fill in the blank).

Can you imagine how different our lives would be if we could learn to be happy with what we have? How much less general crabbiness would be out there. Cheating on spouses would decrease dramatically. People wouldn't feel the need to push themselves into debt.

And that regret we feel after making decisions? Gone. We were happy with the choice we made at the time we made it, and that's good enough. How freeing is that?

I'm doing my best to take this philosophy to heart. It's really hard to do sometimes, but I'm working on it. And you know what? It's making me happy. I really wish I could find the actual article to share with you, as I know I'm not saying it quite right.

Think about it though, and let me know if it speaks to you. Or share with me the philosophy that's sticking with you. I could use a few more mantras outside "No blood, no foul!"

And ... He's Off!

Ahhh, the first day of school. Or rather, the first half day of kindergarten.

I'm still working on understanding why the first day is only a half day (or an hour in the case of preschool). The wee ones have been in daycare all day long forever, and it's more confusing to the kids I know to only go for a short time than it would be go just get the regular schedule started.

Then again, maybe I'm more concerned about my own convenience and not wanting to have to find something to do for only twenty minutes before I have to turn around and collect the wee ones again.

Regardless, Mister Man is officially a kindergartner. And he loved it. And he had a good day. Phew!

Boo to whoever broke my unspoken deal that the first day of school will be nice and sunny so we can take our outdoor first day of school photos. I'm filing an official complaint about the deluge today.











I do love the start of the school year, and I know I'm not alone. There are some pretty common reasons why we, as parents, look forward to this, but it's still fun to review them. So without further ado:

My Top Five Best Things About The First Day Of School

5. Oh finally, we're in a routine again. Finally. We aren't up too late, waking up early, eating lunch at odd times, missing needed naps, and the whining and general crankiness that results from being out of rhythm and routine. And I'm only mostly talking about the wee ones here.

4. This means that the horrible hot and sticky days of August are almost over. Ok, except this year when we really haven't had much of that whole hot and humid August thing. I wore jeans today. And it's not the first time that I've had to. I love fall though, and summer weather and I ... not so good of friends.

3. There is just so much potential that is there to be realized with this upcoming school year. The bright shining faces and excitement of the wee ones is contagious. I look back to see all that they did and accomplished the previous year, and I try to imagine what they'll look like at the end of this school year. Granted, much of what I imagine comes crashing down upon me as reality sets in, but I can pretend on this first day, right?

2. I finally have some me time. Or at least I do this year. Last year, I was stupid. S.T.U.P.I.D. I was worried that the wee ones on the bus at the same time would be -- how did I phrase it to the school again? Oh yes -- "just a little too much togetherness for them." And so I requested that Mister Man be moved to the afternoon. So every day, I had a wee one with me. I had zero time just to me. This year, Mister Man is all day, and Little Miss is in the mornings, so I have a lot of time (ok, except when I'm working) to get things done. And to take time for me. And I know I'm not alone in this one!

And the Number One Best Thing About The First Day Of School?

I have more friends. More moms who are going through the same thing I am and who don't look at me like I'm insane when panicking over having to find a second lunchbox to send snack in (seriously, SERIOUSLY I need to go buy a second lunchbox? *sigh*) or labeling each individual crayon because that's what our teacher asked us to do. And ohhh the potential for playdates just went up. With kids who are on the same schedule as us. I'm already eyeing up a little boy who loves dinosaurs nearly as much as Mister Man does.

And now? I'm off to go pack tomorrow's snack, lunch, fill two water bottles, and set out the school uniform before I collapse into bed. How's your transition to school going?

Tasty Tuesday!

Sooooo, remember when I told you that I went to Caputo's and they gave me a free bag of bananas? This week, I was walking out the store, and they again asked me if I wanted some free bananas. Sure, I said innocently. And they then put a case of bananas in my cart.

Do you know how many bananas a case is? Any clue? I do now, as the box they provided lists the weight contained therein. Forty pounds. Forty pounds of bananas. That are already ripe.

Needless to say, we've been doing a lot of banana in the house -- plain bananas, banana smoothies, banana bread, etc. And thanks to Melisa, banana boats!

Mmmmmm.

Raise your hand if you were a Girl Scout and remember making these!

(And boo to Dominick's for not carrying caramels anymore. Seriously, caramels is a normal food product. Why on earth aren't they stocked?)

Banana Boats

Ingredients:
Ripe bananas
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips
Caramels

Directions:
With the peel on, slit the banana lengthwise like you would a baked potato, and then push at the ends to squish it open a little.

Add the caramels at the bottom, then marshmallows, and finally the caramels. (And no, I didn't follow my own advice, which is why I was trying to scrape caramel off the tin foil after cooking them. Learn from my mistakes.)





Wrap the bananas in tin foil, leaving a little room on top where the yummies inside the banana are poking out. Place the wrapped bananas on the grill and let them cook for about five minutes.

Remove from the grill, take off the foil, and use your spoon to scoop out allllll the yumminess.

MMMMMMM!



Thanks for the reminder. Now, any more suggestions on what to do with the remaining bananas?

But I Want *THAT* One

Reminder: Tonight is your last chance to enter my giveaway here!

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I'm one of those people who knows what she wants. And once I know what I want -- even if I haven't seen it -- that is what I want. This is part of the reason it took us a year and a half to find our home. I have criteria and think about what something should be like, and then I create that magic image. And I'm just not satisfied until I get that.

I sound really spoiled, don't I? Fortunately, this doesn't happen too often.

But this year Mister Man goes to kindergarten. And because we're going to the private school, it's a full day kindergarten, and he needs a lunchbox. Strike that -- I was talking to another mom today who informed me that we actually need two lunchboxes because they bring a snack in kindergarten, and snack has to be in a separate lunchbox.

*sigh*

The snack lunchbox? I really don't care about that one. I'm going to put something together -- a granola bar, a piece of fruit, something -- and all I need to do is have something to contain it.

For the lunch lunchbox though... that's where my problem comes in. I want something that is large enough to hold a sandwich, a side of veggies or crackers or granola or something, some fruit, and his drink. And I want it to be relatively green. I hate the idea of going through 300 plus baggies that are thrown away to encase his food over the coming school year. I want to do something better, better for him (no BPA) and better for the environment.

It finally dawned on me. What I want is a bento style lunchbox. But I don't want a traditional one completely, because I want it to have lids for each compartment so that the applesauce won't spill, for example. And I want the compartments to be removable, so that if I want to only send three things instead of four, I can do that easily.

Hmmm.

That lunchbox doesn't exist in the land of Target, Wal-Mart or Lands End. I found something sort of like what I want online at Amazon called Laptop Lunchboxes. But being me (remember that part about enjoying research?), I looked up customer reviews. And I realized that the lid issue is one that a lot of people face. Because only one or two of the five containers have lids. And several people reported issues with the hinge on the lunchbox breaking.

Great. Now I know just about exactly what I want, but with a few tweaks. And unlike my house, a) I don't have a year and a half to find it and b) the exact features don't appear to exist anywhere.

So what's a girl to do?

Well, I'm headed down to Mitsuwa Market to see if I can find something there. And I'm going to go look at Whole Foods to see if I can find something there. I may track down a Tupperware consultant, as it looks like they have something that would work -- including a lifetime guarantee on wear and tear. Of course, the Tupperware lunchbox isn't sold in their online store. That would be too easy.

And come Thursday, the first day we really need to send lunches because it's a full day of school? Well, let's just hope I have something for the poor kid!

On the plus side, I did finally find the Crayola Broad Tip Classic Colors markers. In the eleventh store I looked in. I bought literally the last package of those markers in the tri-county area. And had there been two or three packages, I would have bought them all.

I'm so over this school thing. This isn't a good sign, considering I have fourteen more years to go, is it?