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.

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....

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.....