This December, at our Haiti Christmas Party, friends of ours brought us the best-ever party ‘hostess’ gift. It was a big tin of handmade sweet&salty popcorn. My mother taught me to never go to anyone’s house empty-handed, so I can appreciate a good hostess gift, and seriously, this one tops them all. The day after the party our family of five devoured almost the entire tin. The next day, Monday, by the time we came home from work, Margie had finished it off. Seriously– it was that good. I asked our friend (hi Jennifer!) for the recipe. And she gave it to me. But there was one caveat. In order to make it, we needed a special stove-top crank popcorn popper. I thought about it for a couple of weeks, and then, with all of us craving that popcorn, bought one online. Do you own a Whirley Pop? Well, if you don’t, I highly recommend investing in one! It is well worth it —- just for playdates alone!!! Ever since we bought it, we’ve used the Whirley Pop during every playdate to make that sweet&salty popcorn. K & O call it “playdate popcorn.” Kids love it. The making of it, the eating of it. They love every part of it. Just today K & O had a playdate— they each invited a friend over and the four of them had a blast. And we made “playdate popcorn” of course. And all four boys went crazy for it. Here’s the recipe:
Playdate Popcorn~~
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup popcorn
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat the popper on medium high heat. Add oil, popcorn, and sugar (in that order… one on top of the other). Crank well to mix. Pop, mixing well throughout popping (i.e., cranking slowly the whole time), until all of the kernels are popped (i.e., you don’t hear them popping anymore). Here are Kyle and Lucas cranking away:
Dump into a large bowl and add salt — stirring so that the popcorn is well coated. It is important to add the salt right away when the popcorn is still hot; the salt will not stick to the popcorn if it is already cooled. Serve right away. Or, let cool completely and then store in airtight container. Here are the boys eating it right away!
Serves four 5-6 year old boys!
Today I came home early to pick up Meera and bring her to her 2-Year-Old-Well-Baby-Check-Up. When I arrived the boys were running around the driveway, wearing their perfect summer outfits: nothing but bathing suits. Margie had Meera dressed up for her doctor’s appointment in an adorable white sun dress with white sandals, her hair in a high ponytail on top of her head. She looked precious. She couldn’t wait to jump in the car and get to go off somewhere with just me. She didn’t care one bit that it was just an excursion to see the doctor. Dr. Alex checked her all out and Meera charmed her socks off the entire time. Grins and giggles and batting-of-the-eyes. No kidding. Little Miss is a charmer, and she’s in the 75th percentile for height and the 55th percentile for weight. And she’s 100% healthy in every way. When she got an immunization shot in her arm Meera didn’t even shed a tear. As Dr. Alex gave our brave baby girl her lollipop, she told me, quite seriously, “Heather, she’s perfect!” It sounded bizarre to me. (who in their right mind refers to anyone-or-thing as ‘perfect’?) But she meant it. And I know it. In all of her little quirky cutey eccentric strong-minded unique totally-imperfect ways our baby girl is PERFECT. And so was the sight of our garage (perfect!) as I arrived home with sticky, lollipop-coated Meera blabbering away in her car seat in the back seat. The minute I could I grabbed the camera to take a picture of our garage floor before anything could happen to change even one square inch of it’s perfect mess. All I could think was, “this is summer.” When Meera saw it, she said, “uh oh!” pointing wildly to the mess. Margie said, “I know! What a mess!” And I said, “Yes! the perfect mess! this is how it should be in the garage in summer!” And Margie chuckled in agreement and then flew out the driveway — leaving early for the day — to rush off to a concert her husband had bought them tickets for. Soon after that the bambinos were in their glory, eating Oreos and watching their favorite weekly summer show: the lawn guys mowing our yard. I swear, it never gets old for them. And now Meera’s right there with the boys in the front row — she gets practically as excited for the “mowing!!!” as K & O do. I don’t get it. I really don’t. But for them, it is perfect. After leftovers for dinner — an all-you-can-eat-buffet of microwaved tupperware containing all sorts of random stuff from the past few days set out in the middle of the table — we went to OWowCow for ice cream. Blueberry Lemon and Blood Orange Raspberry in a cup for Kyle. Strawberry in a cone for Meera. A milkshake with Chocolate Chip for Owen. Caramel Cashew for Braydon, and Coconut Almond Chip for Heather. There could not possibly be a more perfect ice cream — especially on a summer night, with it dripping and dribbly all over chins and knees and covering the front of one white sun dress. Even the sandals had to be sponged clean when we got home. And who knows how much dirt was ingested (Meera, for one, dropped her cone on the ground three times). And now the three are sleeping soundly. The bath water is filthy these nights from three grungy summery kids. But with sweet-smelling wet hair and fans blowing and night lights glowing, they fall asleep with no shirts on between clean sheets. There will probably be a laundry load of bed linens to be washed in the morning (with their deep, deep, deep down summer tired we’re stripping the boys’ bed, on average, about every-other-night these days— at least one of them wetting the bed that often), but we don’t even really care. Because really– it is all just perfect. The grime, the sweat, the tears. It is all alright. In this little family of ours we have three healthy, happy kids with two more-than-fully-fulfilled parents. And it is summer. It doesn’t get much better than that. Perfect?– In a very imperfect-kind-of-way?—-Yes. Yes it is.
Meera yesterday morning, about to head off to her last day of Garden Gate
Oh my God– seriously– Meera just keeps getting cuter and cuter. Even when she’s having a Terrible Terrific Two’s Tantrum Meltdown Moment (which she’s having about once every-other-day on average now), she’s still cuter than heck. Anyway… yesterday was Meera’s last day of Garden Gate (or, as she calls it, “Baby Day”) at River Valley Waldorf School. She and I have been going every Monday morning for this past spring semester and it has been an absolutely lovely (and lovey) experience for us both. We will miss it over the summer, but plan to start up again for the fall semester. She felt like such a big girl getting her “last day of school” photo taken. And she loved going off to school with Mommy while Kyle and Owen stayed home with Margie!!! (role reversal heaven for Baby Sister who sooooo often is the one left in the dust!) Meera’s last day of Garden Gate really officially (at least in my own psyche) marked the end of a long stretch of even-more-than-usual-intensity around here. A long, long stretch of big-ticket items that — ultimately — for better or for worse, and much to my chagrin, wind up being planned-for, prepped-for, coordinated, managed, and pulled-off-by ME.
Last spring we used a calendar on the refrigerator to help K & O keep a mental grip on our goings-on during this intense period.* It really helped a lot. So, we did it again this year-- and once again it was really a God-send in keeping them from falling over the edge.
These bouts of intensity come in waves here, and they are very much patterned. The start of the academic year (September) is an intense time for us. The end of the fall semester/holiday season (December) is an intense time for us. [note the obvious correlation between mommy’s professional calendar’s hot spots and the family’s hot spots.] But, by far the biggest wave comes in the spring; for about ten weeks around April-May we have an annual BIG KAHUNA wave of even-more-than-usual-intensity roll in around here. The good news is, we’re aware of this pattern. The bad news is, it kicks me in the butt every time. There seems to be no way to prepare for the sheer stamina required, on my part, to ride us all through it. No matter how consciously aware I am, no matter how much I attempt to hunker us down in preparation, no matter how much I warn everyone around us of this impending rush, no matter how much that helps everyone (everyone but me) weather it quite well, still– come early June– I am left flailing on the frothy edge of the sandy shore like a beached whale. The calendar on the fridge for Kyle and Owen is very minimalist– it notes the biggest things for them– Easter, their spring school break, their birthday, our vacation, Meera’s birthday, last day of school, etc. It barely even resembles my own calendar which has literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of entries in and around each of those things ranging from work meetings, end-of-year dinner events, final exams and grading, reports due, deadlines for projects, letters of recommendation due, conference calls scheduled, etc., etc., etc.— to home stuff (the million details required to pull off things like To-Die-For-Easter-Baskets and 128-Guest-6-Year-Old-Birthday-Parties and international family vacations to tropical destinations)— to everything else in between (doctors appointments! pool opening! spring/summer clothes and shoes for three growing kids! drop off dinner for sick friend! make end-of-year-presents for teachers! bring flowers to my office coordinator! send graduation gift! do the bills! plant the summer flowers! do the grocery shopping! schedule play date! send thank you note! clean the toilet!). I know, I know, what is there to complain about??? Nothing really– and, let me be clear: this is not a complaint. My life is wonderful. And I do it all (every single ounce of going-over-the-top) by choice and out of my own free will. And I must say, one of my greatest prides is that I do a darn good job of protecting those around me from my inner stress (seriously, I have almost perfected that craft). I make a lot of good stuff happen for a lot of people (first and foremost those in my little tiny family). But the toll it takes is on me. I have not had a hair cut in over six months. I have not gone running in almost a year. I have not had a date night alone with my husband since January. The last time I took a bubble bath was in 2007. Seriously, it takes a toll.
Yesterday I took Kyle and Owen to our family doctor for their six-year-old annual physicals. They are, yet again, off-the-charts (literally) for height and weight, and thriving in every possible physical/medical way. But while I was there our doctor had a little chat with me about some symptoms I’ve been exhibiting for the past ten days… and… now, for the 4th time in the past six months, I’m on another round of antibiotics– this time for a pretty serious sinus infection. I’m physically depleted, my immune system is shot, I’m burning the candle at both ends, I’m totally sleep deprived, and I’m completely utterly deeply exhausted. Don’t get me wrong– it is all worth it. There is no doubt in my mind about that. I will only live once, and I’m going to live this life fully. But I do recognize the price that I pay for that. I know I’m not alone. This is the case for so many women like me running themselves ragged out there. We know, so well, the richness and fullness and joy of our kind of living. And we know, too, the toll we pay. Mommy.Is.T.I.R.E.D. We’ve had a great run of it these past several weeks. A really great run of it! And now I’m just totally, totally, totally tired.
2010 Summer Family To-Do List
Friday night we made our Summer To-Do List. Of course, my own To-Do List looks nothing like this (!), and there is much I will have to be responsible for pulling-off this summer. But– still– it is nothing compared to the these past ten weeks of our yearly spring Big Kahuna. These next three months of summer will hopefully set a slower pace and involve some simpler pleasures. We will exhale and blow bubbles and I’ll have a few minutes to lie in the sun. This afternoon I even have an appointment for a long-awaited hair cut! The summer goals are always the same: to live it up, soak it in, and use the time wisely to refuel for another year. We’ve accepted the fact that we’re on an academic calendar year. We’ve accepted (well, mostly — still with spurts of kicking and screaming every now and then) that Mommy bears the brunt of this life we lead. We’ve resigned ourselves to what it is– and what it is not. We just haven’t quite accomplished figuring out how to make it through without massive burn-out for Heather each June. Maybe some day (like when the bambinos are in their 20s?), we’ll get that figured out. For now, it just is what it is. And though the blog probably makes it appear effortlessly perfect— well, the fact is, it isn’t. It isn’t perfect. And it definitely isn’t effortless. But it is all real. And no one can ever claim that I didn’t live life to the fullest. For that I am proud. And exhausted.
This is what happens when we try to pose them for photos
This past weekend — our first weekend of the summer season — was a splendid combination of living it up and laying low. We had a pool party to go to on Saturday (photo above taken just before we left to go to it), which was just so, so much fun. And then on Sunday we got to go to an awesome huge block party that friends of ours threw. Both events were so great, and so summery, and we had such a blast! But in between those two parties there was time for sitting around the playroom and hanging around the pool. We are off to a good start. Still, Mommy’s got quite a bit of catching up with herself to do. And it will be a major challenge to see if now — over the next 10 weeks — I can actually pull off pulling myself back together.
random shot of a mundane morning moment
Years fly in a flash. So much has happened in the past nine months– our blog, alone, helps to remind us of that. And yet, suddenly, in what in so many ways seems like a split second, another school year has gone by. It seems like just last night we were having our special ‘Back to School Dinner.’ Except that it wasn’t last night. Because, in actuality, last night we were having our special ‘Last Day of School Dinner.’
Yesterday was K & O’s last day of school. The official start of summer vacation. We had their school picnic, gave gifts to their teachers, cleared out their cubbies, collected their ‘Yearbooks,’ and brought home their thick gorgeous stacks of a whole year’s worth of kindergarten artwork. And then they played in the pool for hours. There is nothing quite like the last day of school.
Kyle and Owen did so well this year. Their teachers truly love them and sing their praises. (God love their teachers!!!) These boys are rambunctious, emotional, and fully-loaded-with-life in every single possible way. They are spirited (to the Nth degree) boys, and they are non-stop. I can’t imagine being their teacher– having to figure out how to engage them and challenge them and control-their-activity(physical and mental)-levels in the classroom. I have a hard enough time with that at home, and I don’t even have a dozen+ other kids running around with them. Owen, especially, is a handful in terms of his energy level and constant-pushing-of-the-physical-and-social-boundaries. And Kyle is a whole other handful with his incessant list of questions and thoughts and observations and proclamations and cares and concerns. Kyle and Owen have both worked so, so hard this year to do a good job in school. They love school, but it doesn’t come easily for them to follow along and do things according to plan and participate calmly during circle time and sit quietly when it is time to color (or draw, or paint, or sew, or whatever happens to be the project of the day). It is a big, challenging job for them– this “doing good” and “behaving well” thing. And this year they were pretty dang good at it. For that we are so incredibly proud of these two. They have come a long way in the past twelve months. And while they are still two handfuls (to say the least!!!), they are growing up and (most days) doing their best. Last night we had a special evening to celebrate their Last Day of School.
Dinner was linguine with white clam sauce, focaccia, caesar salad. In our house you know it is a special night when the water and wine are served in stemmed glasses! I had announced the night before that everyone should start thinking of “two things that they really, really want to be sure we do this summer.” And I had told them we were going to make the list during our speical ‘Last Day of School Dinner.’ Sure enough, everyone was prepared. We had a very fun dinner conversation while putting together our Summer 2010 ‘To Do’ list.
Dessert was the extra-special-surprise-treat. While everyone else played in the playroom I cleared the table and set out the very special dessert I had prepared the night before. When I called them, they all came running, and were completely surprised to find this…
Watching them with this dessert was worth every little bit of effort I had put into this treat! Kyle’s first reaction was to smell the flower to try to figure out if it was real.
When they realized that all but the flower and pot was entirely edible, they wasted no time in digging right in. Much to their surprise, they began finding [gummy] worms under the [crushed up Oreos] soil.
Yum yum yum! It was such a fun treat. And it made our two boys feel the love. I believe that deep in their hearts they know that their Mama goes the extra mile out of true-love for them, and that she is very, very proud of them.
After Meera went to bed, much to their surprise, the boys each got a special gift for having done such a great job at school this whole year. They had been badly wanting these things (which is rare– they almost never ask for anything), and were completely shocked and ecstatic to receive them so unexpectedly out-of-the-blue. For Owen, a marble ‘roller coaster’ track set. For Kyle, a table-top baseball game. They got to stay up late playing with their new prized possessions. And they went to bed feeling really good~~ ready for what will hopefully be a really great summer.
In case you’re interested in trying it yourself (and I highly recommend it!), the dessert idea, and how-to, came from here: CLICK!
This is the sangria we had on Meera’s birthday.
Over the years we’ve tinkered with various Sangria recipes. But once we perfected it (or, at least, for our own tastes, we had come up with the perfect recipe) we have pretty much stuck to it. Here’s our version. The best in the world, in our humble opinion!…
Our Perfect Summer Sangria
- 1 orange, halved and sliced
- 1 lemon, halved and sliced
- 2 limes, halved and sliced
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Cointreau
- 1 cup good (not from concentrate) orange juice
- 1 large (1.5 liter) bottle of good dry red wine ~~ in case you want to try it– our current favorite “house” red wine (i.e., relatively cheap and relatively good!) is Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon. I think it is an AWESOME wine for the price. We’ve been drinking this for well over a year now and I’m still not even close to being tired of it. We used it to make the Sangria on Meera’s birthday and it was great.
Put fruit slices and sugar in bottom of a large pitcher. Muddle gently with a wooden spoon. Add all other ingredients. Stir to mix. Pour over ice to serve. YUM!!!!!!!!!
Strawberries Dipped In Sour Cream & Brown Sugar~~
Artichokes~~
Mojitos~~
(we’ve been on a mission to perfect our recipe, but have not reached success! hints and tips very much welcomed!)
Let it be noted:
On Wednesday, June 2, 2010, for the very first time ever in his entire six-year-long life, Kyle Macon Johnson-McCormick rejected the outfit laid out for him by his mother. Up until that date, for his entire baby-hood, toddler-hood, and child-hood, Kyle Macon Johnson-McCormick never once batted an eye at what his mother dressed him in. Up until that date, during his school-going years (pre-school and kindergarten so far), Kyle Macon Johnson-McCormick put on whatever his mother had laid out for him the night before. Note: such is also exactly the same for his twin brother Owen. But– on the morning of Wednesday, June 2, 2010, Kyle, still in his pajamas, and carefully carrying his nice little stack of an outfit, politely came to his mom, and asked, “Mom, do I have to wear this?” Putting on the most neutral-‘no-problem’-face she could muster, and using the most laissez-faire-‘non-issue’-tone she possibly could, Kyle’s mother said, “No, baby. Why? Is there something you’d rather wear?” Skipping off to his closet with a spring in his step, off went Kyle. He shortly re-appeared wearing the outfit pictured above. Mother and child hugged. Child, beaming with pride and independence. Mother, putting on a good act but secretly grieving. Let it be noted: some sort of major tide has turned. A bittersweet moment in the life of the J-Ms. (Also to note: strangely enough, Owen seemed to barely even notice that any of this transpired —- a major turning of another tide of some sort.)
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