Sophie is...

Sophie is da BOMB!  Seriously.  If you haven't yet met Sophie and you have a teething baby, you NEED to meet Sophie.  Your child will literally DROOL over her...a lot!  She is somewhat noisy at times, but her noise is well worth the comfort and joy she will bring to you your infant (and toddler).  So who is this amazingly, wonderful, noisy gal?  She's Sophie the Giraffe!  

Her price tag ($17.13 on sale and $25 if not) made me wince back when Conner was a teething infant.  I was sure that he (Conner) wouldn't be interested in this fairly trendy toy (what's her face...Paris Hilton's ex-best friend....Nicole Richie's daughter has one).  Sophie was created in 1961...(Happy 50th Birthday!) and celeb moms are now jumping on the Sophie Bandwagon....BUT, Conner was not a grab-stuff-and-put-it-in-his-mouth kind of kid.  So as much as I wanted to buy her for Conner, I just couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for a "glorified dog toy"  <---because, "yes, folks...she squeaks!  In not just one place, but two."  Her head AND her belly...ahh the joys!

HOWEVER, kid # 2 (aka Kellen) is very much a grab-things-and-put-them-in-his-mouth kind of kid.  Heck, he just likes to grab anything and it doesn't always end up in his mouth...although most of the items he grabs do (even hair),  So, watch it ladies and gents with long hair - the kid has an incredible super-human like grip!  I finally get why first time moms usually cut their hair short....which I didn't understand with Conner because again, he's just not the grabby kind of kid.  Anyhow, seeing how I thought Sophie was so stinking cute but didn't have a truly legitimate reason to buy her until...KELLEN I had to get her!  My super-hero grabber is the perfect candidate for an "over-priced, glorified dog toy." 

See how happy she makes him?  

 
So what if she cost $17.13?  She was so very much worth it.  And, she is far more than an over-priced glorified dog toy.  Really, she is.  Just check out her amazing qualities:

• Sophie's body is soft, but also has several areas of thicker rubber (her head, her ears, and her feet).  This is perfect chewing relief for babies with painful gums from teething
• Sophie is very easy for babies to grab hold of - just look at my 5 month old holding onto her!
• Sophie is visually stimulating to a baby because of her contrasting colors and cute little giraffe face
• Sophie is made of 100% natural rubber from the Hevea tree and food grade paint - which means she is SAFE!
• Sophie stimulates hearing and encourages understanding of cause and effect (if I squeeze her she squeaks)
• Sophie is ADORABLE!

And as you can see....

She is very loved.  

 Not only by my toothless barely there toothed 5 month old....

  but also by my cool as can be 2 1/2 year old.

So...if you have a teething infant (or a 2 1/2 year old who loves animals that squeak) I am going to suggest you buy her.  After taking the plunge for kid #2 - I think kid #1 may very well have enjoyed her as an infant - even if he wasn't a grab-things-and-put-them-in-his-mouth kind of kid.  She's just so stinking cute not to love.

Being a Writer - Week 3: Childhood Memories

 Writing prompt:
What are some of your best memories from childhood?

I think I spent the majority of my childhood playing with my sister.  We didn't always get along but we were close enough in age that playing together just made sense.  I did always hate when she wanted to play with my friends...they were MY friends!  I laugh about it now, but it sure was annoying when I was 7 or 8 years old.  Maria and I played so many different things growing up.  We were big fans of Barbie.  I'm still wondering, "What did our parents do with our Barbie toys?"  We used to pretend that we were working in an office.  Answering the phone, lining up tablets of papers.  We played school, store, and even filmed our own "cooking" show.  We made spaghetti with jarred sauce and canned green beans.  We also made several music videos in our back yard to the ever popular "Ace of Base" CD.  Have you seen the sign lately?  :)

I wasn't a very popular kid in school.  I was always trying to be older than my age...and I usually pulled it off so well that it made most other kids not like me a whole lot.  I was (and am) a rule-follower...although if you know me well, you know that I can bend rules a little...I don't like to get into trouble, though!  I wore my moms clothes as a 6th grader...totally NOT cool...just an FYI for any 6th grader out there...no matter how cool your mom is or how much you love her clothes...wearing them is a BAD idea!

I think another memory that sticks out was when we lived in Boise, Idaho.  At the end of our street there was an undeveloped field.  It was in the process of being turned into yet another subdivision and there was a huge pile of gravel.  A neighborhood boy who was in a wheelchair was stuck in the gravel.  I remember hearing him holler for help.  I went across the road and helped him get his wheelchair out of the gravel and back onto the sidewalk.  I don't know why that memory has always been so clear in my mind...but for some reason I think about it often...or at least more often than one would expect considering I was in 3rd or 4th grade at the time and I'm now 30 (almost 31).

I loved being in gymnastics and had aspirations of being a gymnast in the Olympics like Mary Lou Retton.  I loved her.  I read so many books about her I probably could have told you just about anything you did or didn't want to know about her.  Unfortunately, I wasn't THAT talented.  My Olympic dreams are now to just attend the games and watch the ladies all-around competition.  I still LOVE gymnastics.

One of the most disturbing, upsetting, probably needed to get counseling memories is from when I was 9.  My friend Carmen lived across the street and her brother, who was 7 at the time, was found in their shed with a dog-collar around his neck...I still remember seeing him being wheeled out of the back yard.  Watching from our sidewalk as he was put into the ambulance...his arm...blue...fell to the side and the paramedic gently placed his arm back by his side.  Carmen was with my mom and I.  Crying.  Bawling.  Their family was never the same after that day.  I can see it in my mind as if it happened today.  Kids that are 9 shouldn't have to experience their brothers die and 7 year old kids shouldn't hang themselves.  It was terrible. I still think I needed counseling after having witnessed that.

Wow...didn't think my writing would take a sad turn.  Honestly most of my memories from childhood are very happy.  I had a dog-washing business with my friend Alexia, had a large number of "yard sales" selling stuffed animals and homemade friendship bracelets to the neighborhood kids and so much more.

What are YOUR memories from childhood? 


Disclaimer - I did not participate in Week 1 or 2 (darn scheduling conflicts) so my participation in this challenge is from Week 3 on.

I'm "Being a Writer..."

I am speech-language pathologist in a small village school.  I have the pleasure of working with some pretty awesome kids...and several of my students are placed in self-contained classrooms because of very low academic skills.  Needless to say, most of the kids have speech and/or language delays.  Over the course of the last few years I've been able to do a group push-in session once or twice a week.  It's been a work in progress as to how the classroom teacher and I make it work within the framework of the students' language needs and classroom curriculum.

Last year we worked together with me introducing a Social Studies or Science topic to be taught each week through a story rich in vocabulary pertinent to the topic and some sort of hands-on activity.  The second push-in that week involved the classroom teacher taking the reins with me providing support for the students.  It was a lot of fun and the students were able to work on functional language skills. 

Unfortunately, scheduling this year has allowed me one session each week rather than two.  We have also decided to change the focus and begin a new program with the two of us team-teaching during the time I push-in.  I am very excited about it!  The program is being used throughout the elementary schools in our district.  The program is Being a Writer by the Developmental Studies Center.  Check it out...it's a 3 day per Unit program that incorporates children's books, creative thinking, vocabulary building, 'wh' questions, and writing using a "writing community" approach.  <----I'm not being paid to talk about this program...I just like it...as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the makers of the program have no idea I exist!

Anyhow, as part of this program there is a "Teacher as Writer" section which I assume is designed to encourage teachers to get out our "thinking caps" and challenge ourselves, much like we challenge our students.  SO...I have decided that for each week we do the Being a Writer program I will participate in the "Teacher as Writer" section.  It's one of my professional goals for the 2011-2012 year.  And all of my faithful followers (all 3 of you) will be privy to my writing journey. 

I am very much looking forward to this new twist to my push-in group session and am very excited to see what our students can do!  I hope my writing journey will be as insightful as theirs will be.

Join me as I am "being a writer" and take up the challenge yourself!

I ROCK!

start line

Yesterday, along with my friends: Shauna, Virginia, and Alison (and her friend Lauren)...I ROCKED! 

We (and around 450 other crazy people) participated in the first annual Rockeater Adventure Race!  When signing up, none of us were quite sure what to expect, except that the race would challenge us physically in ways that we probably hadn't ever been challenged before.  <--- THAT was a long sentence!  Yikes!

Shauna and I decided on a Desperate Housewives themed costume because we figured we both run because SOMETIMES we are DESPERATE...and...we thought it'd be fun.  Upon arriving at the Crete Center/City Beach parking area I immediately observed men in tutu's, wonder woman, Things 1 & 2, Jesus (oh yeah), and a myriad of other costumes.  This was a relief because, although the website says that costumes are optional, I feared that we'd be the only group dressed up. 

Running in the water

I checked in, got my race bib and packet as well as a very cool Rockeater Technical Shirt...seriously...it's really cool looking and comfy (I wore it on my way home).  Then we just waited until our wave started.   We watched the 2 and 2:30pm waves - some of the runners were very fast, even in costume.  A woman "runaway bride" wore a full wedding dress to run a 5k adventure race.  Now if any of you were at Al's and my wedding- you'd know that a wedding dress when sopping wet weighs a good 50 or more pounds.  Just ask our dry cleaner!  Crazy!

before the race - Desperate Housewives

3:00pm rolled around, and at the countdown of 10 (plus a few seconds) and the sound of a cannon we were off!  Here are some of the obstacles we faced:

• Running on the beach (which is sand...and is not easy)
• Running through water for a good 1/4 mile or more  (ok...walking...you try running through 2-3 feet of water)
• Jumping over cement barriers
• Jumping through tires 
• Running through cement and hard plastic tunnels (and I actually crawled through those)
• Running over sand dunes
• Jumping over a car
• Running through Adirondack stinky mud (which is very difficult to remove)
• Running through a swampy area and on skinny planks going over/through the pond
• Running over giant dirt mounds with water on either side (that was my favorite obstacle, actually)
• Hopping onto and over giant wooden spools that were on top of a bog-like area 
• Jumping over fire
• Crawling on my belly through the sand
• And a GIANT pit of mud to get to the finish line

All in all - a TOTAL BLAST!!  I was good and wet afterwards but not too muddy and I have a tiny scratch on my knee - which I didn't notice until I washed the dirt off my legs.  My knee with said scratch is also a bit sore - and I am pretty sure that is from when I jumped off the dirt mounds into a mud pit that was a lot deeper than I expected.  I am looking forward to doing it again, but really challenging myself and going at an all out run through it...I didn't push myself too hard as I (and we) weren't quite sure what was coming up next.  

Actually, I'd really like to do the Warrior Dash because really?...who doesn't want to run under barbed wire, over cargo nets, and rappel down a steep slope?  Anyone want to do it with me??

Carb loading with Cake?

Back in the day when I trained, and ran the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego (2007) I was pretty consistent with my weekly carb-loading ritual.  Every  Saturday night before my long runs I ate a pasta dish of some sort.  Not too much red sauce or dairy...the red sauce becuase of it causing heartburn...the dairy because of it causing an upset stomach...or so I was told.  I still don't really know if either of those "myths" are true or not.  I didn't drink anything but water those nights (no red wine).  Anyway, on Sunday morning I would eat a whole wheat or multi-grain bagel with peanut butter.  I ran 15 and 20 mile runs on that...and felt good doing it (FYI- on those VERY long runs I also ate gu and drank electrolytes).  By the time I had run the marathon I was tired of running.  I looked at running as more of a "must do" rather than a "want to" do.   I stopped running for almost a year.  I'd been so consumed by the number of miles I HAD to get in that the running stopped being fun.   But....

Things have changed.

I now generally look at running in a different way.  Running is:

• Getting and staying helathy
• A quick escape in a very busy (but very loved) life
• Bonding with my Conner (and hopefully someday Kellen) when Conner joins me for the run or the cooldown
• Healing
• Feeling the earth beneath my feet and the sun on my face...love
• Usually fun...because I must admit that their are SOME days where its harder to put my sneakers and running clothes on than other days

Ultimately, running is something I WANT TO DO but on MY TERMS.  Which brings me back to the carb-loading ritual of years past.  I am no longer interested in doing it "by the book" althgough I will always be safe and not run when I'm ill or feeling pain anywhere.  But, damnit....if I want to eat a piece of chocolate mousse cake the night before a race (or a glass of wine) I'm going to do it.  I've never been a fast runner and I only compete against myself...so...why should I be so worried about what I eat the night before a race?

I don't know but I'll let you know tomorrow after I run the Rockeater Adventure Race after eating that super tasty chocolate mousse cake whether or not it makes a difference!

Corn and tomatoes and shortcake...OH MY!

It was supposed to be a terrible day today due to the most recent unfriendly tropical storm so it was inside today for this family.  So today we shucked, blanched, cut, and froze corn, made from scratch spaghetti sauce, and from scratch shortcake.  We were a busy little family.

We purchased 3 dozen ears of corn from a local farmer the other day and planned to blanch and freeze the corn for us to eat during the winter.  Because we've never done this before, we had to scour the web for some ideas.  After consulting several websites on "how to" prep the corn, this is what we did:

Kernels from approximately 6 ears of corn

1. Shuck the corn.  3 dozen ears is a lot of shucking...so I did it the night before while we watched Battlestar Gallactica (we're trying to finish the series in order to have a Battlestar Gallactica finale party with a few friends - but more on that some other time).
2. Boil water and put in the corn on the cob.  Everything I read made it clear that in order to make sure the corn is blanched well, the water needs to be returned to boiling within a minute or so of putting in the corn.  If it doesn't, you've either added too much corn or need to wait a bit between corn batches.  
3. Let the corn boil for 4 minutes.  Remove with tongs and immediately place in an ice bath.
4. Put corn in ice bath - we cleaned our sink VERY well, filled with water and ice and used that over and over.
5. Once the corn has cooled you can start to cut it off the cob.  You can also freeze it on the cob, but that method takes up a LOT of space.  So we cut our corn off and put in freezer bags. 

Project #2 was done by Al - he made true homemade spaghetti sauce from our Roma's.  Unfortunately, we haven't had a super productive year for tomatoes (part of the problem was Irene - which destroyed our plants).  So we really only got one small batch of tomatoes which was enough to make 2 meals worth of sauce.  I can't tell you what he does, because it's somewhat of a family secret...he might tell you if you ask...but I'm not about to blow the lid off that one.

So, after Al decided we'd indeed have the spaghetti with Italian sausage for dinner, I thought, "We should use some of our fresh-frozen strawberries (picked earlier this summer) and make some shortcake.  I am not a fan of those little spongy shortcake things they sell at the grocery store.  We didn't have any Bisquick (which I've used before to make strawberry shortcake).   I did a quick search and found THIS recipe.  It looked more complicated than some of the other recipes, but the reviews were fantastic (for the most part) and the title said they were "perfect" so how could I resist?   This recipe was super easy!  And SOOOO delicious.  Seriously.  But, it also has a bazillion calories...so I modified it a bit and cut the shortcakes in half so the recipe could serve 12 not 6.  I also didn't add as much sugar to the strawberry and blueberry fruit mixture that I made.  Instead of homemade whipped cream (which Al is not a fan of) we took a pre-dinner walk to Stewarts to get some of their "Real Whipped Topping." 

Conner helping measure out the blueberries...of course he ate most of them!

Perfect Berry Shortcake.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Kellen was a good helper, too!  He stayed relatively happy the whole time.  It was overall a pretty productive day at our house.  Rainy days are perfect for cooking and playing together as a family. 

What are your favorite rainy day family things to do?

Mommas Gotta Run!

In preparation for the Rockeater Adventure Race (come on you know you want to do it...registration ended September 1 - better sign up next year), it has been my goal to run at least 3-4 times a week.  I haven't practiced running through water or across fire - I figure traversing my living room, kitchen, and dining room after my 2 year old destroys plays for the day is training enough (have you ever seen what a two year old can do to a house? They are the BEST obstacle course designers - ever).  In any case, my running training was going pretty well until I had to have a cyst removed from the back of my head (I know, gross) and I couldn't wear my hair in a pony-tail because of the stitches.

Well, I still have the stitches but can wear my hair up now and I have yet to get recommitted to running 3-4 days a week.  I blame this partly on preparation for the start of the school year on Tuesday, but also on my inability to find the time to fit in a 30-45 minute run with two kids.  Which is why I think I need to invest in a double jogging stroller.  I generally want to run and not worry about the kids but if I want to run during the day (early morning or early evening) I am going to have to figure out a way to do it with Conner and Kellen.  So...here's my dilemma:

What kind of jogging stroller do I buy?

My requirements for a jogging stroller are:

1. Has to be a double jogger
2. Must maneuver well (not too difficult to turn)
3. Must fold up easily
4. Would be awesome if it had separate sun covers and could recline (for Mr. Kellen to be comfy)
5. Can't take up ALL of the trunk space (we have a Honda CRV)

Anyone have any suggestions?

I really think I must get one because in order for Momma to be happy, Mommas Gotta Run!