A book, an event and an observation or two

image:timesunion.com

That’s what I’ve been up to over at Moms@Work.

• The book was about the benefits of allowing children room to grow without their parents obsessive intense encouragement and support.
• The event is a breakfast and networking opportunity on June 6th at the Desmond.  Go and meet some Women@Work folks and get energized.
• Heroes don’t always wear uniforms, but sometimes they do.  How about we honor all of them?

Smooth operator

A recipe for you, courtesy of Quinn Lilly, for a fast breakfast treat for the whole family.  Here’s the “list*” of ingredients:

Lacking punctuation – it’s ice, milk not ice milk

Place together in blender and push the button.  Simple!

The chocolate mustache tells the tale.

Seeing as how we’re (finally) done with foil-wrapped chocolate Easter eggs, I imagine we’ll be modifying this recipe.  What will remain consistent is the absolute joy this boy gives to me.

*Some may call it a recipe, but Q prefers list.

April Moms@Work & Women@Work catch-up

My byline snap

Notice I said catch-up instead of catsup or ketchup.  We all (or those of us who hang on every word of dialogue in Mad Men at least) know there’s only 1 ketchup.

I digress – anyway, here are some blog posts from my other spot out here on the internet, Moms@Work.

• Would you do it all again?  (“Probably not” was the impression I apparently conveyed in this one.)
• Travels in parenthood (Includes a nifty picture of me doing a ringer of  Molly Ringwald impersonation.)
• Tests of spring  (Where I talk about the NYS math assessments, but don’t acknowledge that I can’t do 8th grade math.  I saved that for FB and Twitter.)
• What do you think about a “good enough life?” (Even if you don’t read my post, read the one which inspired it.  Please.)

Also, excitedly enough for me, the print edition of the May/June issue of Women@Work is now available in all sorts of lobbies and waiting rooms around town.  Grab one, why don’t you and read my piece on page 59.  Don’t forget to linger over my name on the page listing of contributing writers!

Superpowers!

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?  Nope.  More powerful than a locomotive?  Sometimes.  Proficient at getting a healthy, fast dinner on the table in a reasonable amount of time?  Now you’re talking!  How about you?  What’s your superpower?

Smokey, this is not ‘Nam

This is bowling.  There are rules.

What do you mean the cake is lopsided? Look at the pretty colors!

Man, I wish I could have prepped our party guests of that fact ahead of time, but the Big Lebowski remains a tad shy of appropriate movie fare for 8 year-olds, no matter how awesome they think they might be.  Quinn requested a bowling party this year and his Dad and I were happy to oblige.  Since we’re Albany folk, the Playdium was really the only choice for venues.  If you’re kicking it old school, may as well go all the way, right?  It really was the perfect activity for a bunch (there were 10, it felt like 15) of kids on a snowy afternoon and it was declared by the guest of honor to have been the “best party ever!”

This type of party is not for the faint of heart – the kids get pretty excited by all the open space and voices echo, and seem to amplify, in an alarming manner.  And don’t even get me started on the rental shoes!*  Despite these physical challenges, there is no better way to entertain and amuse a gang of 2nd graders, particularly at $10.95 a child which includes 60 minutes of bowling, 2 slices of more-than-acceptable pizza, individual ice cream cups and a couple of pitchers of soda.  Truly a bargain.

A couple of observations, including one that made me smile – one of the two girls invited to join the insanity festivities noticed that the lane shared by 3 boys and two girls, finished their game 2 frames ahead of the 100% boy lane.  A quick discussion with her about the efficiencies of females vs. males will hopefully stay with her for her entire life.  Ten kids seemed to be the perfect number.  Mathematically that came out to the age of the guest of honor (8) plus 2 parents.  More than that would have been too much, I suspect.  For all involved.  This was a pretty relaxed party – it was simple enough to add the latecomers to the bowling computer system and the employees we dealt with were beyond easy-going.  The Playdium may not be a fancy place, but it definitely beats driving around and the occasional acid flashback.

*According to a close friend, that stuff they spray in there is some variant on napalm.  I doubt if that’s really true, but it sure does help to support the whole Vietnam/Big Lebowski thread.

12 days of Christmas ~ Dining DelSo

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a kick ass bialy from All Good Bakers.  Ok, people, you must know about our DelSo Farm to Bakery restaurant, right?  Britin does a great job promoting their efforts and if there is a discussion about locally sourced produce or dairy, you can be sure she’ll chime in.  She and Nick happily brought their business to the neighborhood where they also reside and have  inspired others to follow them, be it literally, as in the case of their former Farmer’s Market neighbors who have taken the space to their right, or more philosophically, as evidenced by some thoughtful changes to the menu at their neighbors on the other side.  Make no mistake about AGB being exclusively a spot for baked goods – their menu is much more comprehensive than mere carbs!  So, go for breakfast or lunch and take some of Nick’s baked goods home for later.  And seriously, if one of Nick’s bialys inspires words of love, wouldn’t a holiday gift of a share of All Good Baker’s Community Supported Bakery Program prompt something along the lines of flat out adoration?  Yep, that’s what I’m talking about.

Rosemary-garlic steak

My most recent Vinoteca post.  Griffin and I have decided to try a new recipe each month.  By “try” I mean he selects the recipe and eats while I get to do the shopping, preparation, serving and clean up.  There are improvements to be made in this folly for sure, but I still am pleased that he is interested in trying new things.  Balance is something one  strives for, right?