Sunday, June 26, 2011

And...They're Off!!!


 
Yesterday was a bit of a cluster.....  

I wanted to re-sod the front and back lawns, 
Tom wanted to nurse his cold 
and the kids were bored... 

The only thing worse than a bored kid 
is a hungry kid...  

Actually, it's the same kind of pain 
since they bother you incessantly 
to either feed them junk 
or to play with them.  

Since neither of us was up for a game of hopscotch, 
things got a little miserable 
until I convinced Tom to ride to the park 
for some good old fashioned fresh air and jungle gyms.  

But today, I had a plan...  

A good, take-the-whole-day kind of plan... 

A plan that would be fun and cheap...imagine that!  

Periodically throughout the season, 
Arlington Park has Family Day... 

Tickets come with programs, kids are free 
and the meals for kids are a deal, too...  

There are kid activities, petting zoos and pony rides...  

The kids and I haven't been there before, 
so we loaded up the family truckster with snacks, 
blanket and lucky hopes 
and drove the 45 minutes to Arlington... 

If you haven't been there, 
Arlington Park is beautiful 
and it was a perfect day...  

As luck would have it, 
one of our good friends is a head chef on premises... 

Chef Ricardo (Ricky) DeLeon is one talented chef 
and a great guy... 

He reserved a table for us, under shade, 
so we didn't have to camp out Ravinia style.  

After a quick lunch, it was time to place our bets...  

Now let me preface this whole story by saying 
that in the morning when we told the kids 
about the plans for the day, 
Jack protested loudly that he DID NOT 
want to sit around watching horses run around a track....

BORING!  

He created a huge argument 
and dampened my excitement for the day...  

Fast forward and he is reading the odds 
on the horses and had his dad place his $2.00 bets...  

After betting for "Magic Bullet", 
he and Kate raced down to the rail like bullets to watch the action... 

Boring my a$$.......  

And when his horse won in the 4th race, 
earning him nineteen whole dollars, 
Arlington became the greatest place ever... 

"When are we coming back, Mom??"  

I may have created a monster....  

It truly was a fun day as a family 
and we were surprised to find out 
that Chef DeLeon comped our lunch, 
vodka lemonades and all....  

That was awesome and so kind.....  

Even if that hadn't happened, 
Arlington Park is a great way 
to have a terrific family day on a dime...

I knew I'd be too tired to cook when I got home 
so I made this casserole in the morning:

From Paula Deen & Friends, Living It Up, Southern Style;
Hot Chicken Salad

 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
  • 2/3 cup crushed potato chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Trains, Boats and Dim Sum....

 
When it comes right down to it, I am a hypocrite... 


In my dreams, as a stay at home mom, 
I have all sorts of lovely, educational and highly creative projects, 
field trips and activities planned for my kids' summer vacation... 


In reality, as an exhausted, harried working mom, 
I leave it to the last minute 
and then thrash around the internet for ideas 
of how to entertain my kids for the day... 


It's disappointing, really....  

I want to be that fun mom, 
chock full of potato print making projects,
outings to the Blommer chocolate factory 
and impromptu home made soap making afternoons.  

So far it hasn't happened... 

On this gap week between school ending 
and the camp beginning, I have winged it to the third degree.....  

Yesterday I bribed the kids with promises of store purchases 
and even fresh peaches (it actually worked) 
to get the kids to tag along to Kohls, Walgreens, 
Costco,  Aldi and Trader Joe's...  

They walked away with peaches 
and remote control racers 
and I got my errands completed... 

Even Steven, in my book...  

But today was wide open...  

The possibilities were endless, 
not counting the fact that it was cool and cloudy 
and we had no money to blow....

Those two elements cut out the beach, pool, 
waterparks, most parks, LegoLand, 
Great America and movies....  

The kids needed to leave the house 
or else they might set fire to each other...  

They needed a diversion 
and somehow I came up with a multi-transportational 
journey to keep them busy...  

The plan was to take the Brown Line El to the city, 
and then board a water taxi... 

We would then traverse the Chicago River 
to Chinatown where we would sample 
this unique section of town 
and taste dim sum for the first time....   

This is a long day for the average grown up
who has some semblance of decorum and direction...  


It's a REALLY long day for a mom 
with two nutty kids who want to climb, touch,
pull, kick everything of interest along the way, 
as well as torment each other at every opportunity... 

Honestly, the kids were pretty good...  

Bringing snacks always tames the beasts, too... 

The boat trip was such a great way to see the city, 
the tall buildings, like the twin buildings used 
for the Bob Newhart Show..  

We sailed past my old workplace, 
General Growth Properties 
and I was a little wistful...  


Back in the day when I worked a corporate job, 
made good money 
and could spend some of it on State Street 
during lunch break...  

Back when I could have a conversation 
for five minutes straight 
without being interrupted or poked...


Arriving to Chinatown there was a beautiful pagoda 
and a playground.  


The kids had to make their mark on the monkey bars 
before setting off for lunch.  

Chinatown is pretty small and mingled with a tough part of the city, 
so I was a bit wary...
 

We were searching for "Three Happiness" restaurant 
as it was well liked on Yelp 
and dubbed "family friendly"  

This tiny restaurant is no frills 
and the old Chinese ladies working there 
did not have a good command of English...
 

They were very sweet, however 
and even tried to teach Kate how to use chopsticks...  

Jack and I loved the dumplings, 
shrimp toast and won tons.  


Kate preferred white rice...  

So much for an adventurous palate....  

The tea was floating with tea leaves, 
which spooked the kids, but Jack enjoyed it anyway...  

Dessert was cool blocks of coconut gelatin, 
which the kids devoured...  

After lunch we stopped in a souvenir shop...  


They played with the dragon puppets, 
mini Buddhas, folding fans and Japanese erasers. 


I brought home a tiny 
Buddha to grace our home.... 
 
Back on the boat, then train 
and walk home, I think I sufficiently filled the day 
and tired their little kiesters out...  

Tom brought home a client tonight from the U.K. for dinner....
I busted out a steak dinner with all the trimmings...

Dessert was so tasty...  It is from the July issue of Country Living....

Mixed Berry Crumble Ala Mode
Ingredients:
1 pint blueberries
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 pint diced strawberries
1/4 C honey
3/4 C flour
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C brown sugar
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix berries. Drizzle with honey.  Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons flour and toss.  Transfer fruit to an 8x8 baking dish.  In a large bowl, mix remaining fliur, oats, brown sugar and butter with a pastry blender until mixture forms large crumbly lumps.  Sprinkle over berries.  Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes.  Serve with vanilla ice cream....



Camp is Monday, thank God.    

Maybe next year I'll be that organized mom from the Kraft commercials.....


Nah....

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

About Last Week....

 
You ever have the kind of week where so much goes on you can barely keep up?  

Drop into bed late each night...?

Wake tired and start running?  

It was the last week of school and it was nuts... 

I felt the pressure of coming up with inventive, 
useful and worthy teacher gifts for 
six (count 'em) 6 teachers... 

A tall hill to climb when broke....  

So I came up with making book plates (DIY here)  for each instructor, 
combined with Barnes and Noble gift cards. 


Now that I have baked goodies for the rest of the school staff 
on a periodic basis, I felt compelled to send them off to summer 
with a table full of treats.  

Martha Stewart Living, June Issue, 
had some great recipes for a 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.  
 I found the cake recipe here:
For a little color pop, I made cinnamon cake pops to look like apples.  

It was an 8 hour bake - O - thon....  

but worth the happy faces... 

School was out 
and the kids headed to a park 
for a last whoop it up party.  

Had to make potato salad for that potluck picnic... 

In the midst of his most awesomest water fight ever, 
I had to drag Jack home to see the Yankees play the Cubs...  

Clearly I am the meanest mom ever....  

What mother would deprive her child 
of a good old fashioned water fight 
and make her son see 
one of the most successful baseball clubs 
play in the Friendly Confines?!  

Call DCFS....  

That weekend, Jack had two baseball games of his own 
with the Sunday game ending in their first W 
(Jack got the game ball, too) 

and a family potluck (more potato salad and baked beans)... 

And then the cold hit....  

My petri dish daughter shared her precious germs with me 
and this summer cold is peaking just about now....  

There's nothing like a cocktail of Sudaphed and Nyquil....mmmmmmmm    

So in my sedated stupor, 
I seemed to have blocked out the realization 
that the kid's camp starts NEXT week and not this past Monday... 

What in the world was I going to do with them for the whole week?  

If I didn't have to work, then I could think of a million fun things to do...

Beach, Art Institute, mini golf....re-turfing the front yard....oh yes...I could keep them verrry busy!  

But NO, I needed child care and quick!  

My dear, patient, loving parents came to the rescue,
knowing that keeping my two monkeys busy is no easy 
and  is a slightly unpleasant task....  

As we left the house yesterday morning, 
my son noticed that there were people in our front yard...  

I stepped out the back and some kid 
who resembled Eddie Munster 
walked by me with a shovel... 

I walked around the corner 
and this scarey looking guy,
with more hair than teeth, glared at me...  

I said, "Um, Hello...I'm the homeowner..."  

He growled, "I know, I seen you before.  
They said I can't cover the cement with dirt 
and I gotta get it out.  
I done walked four miles to get here
'cuz my van broke down!"  


Then I noticed the woman smoking a cigarette,
who appeared to be pregnant, 
wearing a fanny pack.  

I started to sweat...  

I felt surrounded by carnies... 

At this point I barricaded myself in the house 
and contacted the contractor to find out 
where the candid cameras were, 
as surely these people weren't sent here 
to perform work on my house.  

Apparently the joke WAS on me...they were!  

And then they disappeared 
and no one else has showed up since...  

I may get my AARP card before this project is finished...

Tomorrow is Thursday...
this wild week is almost through 
and then the kids start camp on Monday...

Thank you, Holy Father!!!  I'll drink to that.....