CalConnecting

Mr C will be taking one less trip next year. He's pretty active in two organizations that meet three times a year, all over the world. Add to that the obligatory trips to the mothership and yeah, you know where all the sleep deprivation comes from. So one less trip sounds nice. Really really nice.

CalConnect is coming to Pittsburgh in May, hosted by CMU. In an interesting turning of the tables, it was my husband volunteering me for something. The opportunity to organize hotels and catering is a little like Christmas to me. It's a lot better than the stuff I typically volunteer him for.

It will be a fun project (even if he's making used a blasted wiki instead of playing with Google Wave) and at the end I'll get to meet some twitter/facebook friends and with any luck, sit in on some sessions and learn something. Or maybe I'll just remember that calendaring makes yer head 'splode.

believe in me

Oliver has been making up some pretty fantastic stories of late. Over the weekend he concocted an entire soccer league and was able to tell me which teams played and who won, all out of his (over-active) imagination. This started because of a pair of socks sent by Aunt Suzy. He has Penguins socks, Pirates socks, Steeler socks, and soccer socks. One of these things is not like the others.... He wasn't quite sure what to do with socks that were not associated with a team. (Sorry, Riverhounds, but your logo isn't on the socks.) So he made up a league. Makes perfect sense, if you're 4.

Sports at his school have appeared to be over for more than a week, so when he told me on two days ago that there would be a field hockey game tomorrow, varsity vs faculty, I was skeptical. No, I flat-out didn't believe him. To me it seemed just as fantastic as his made-up soccer league.

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I learned such a game really IS scheduled for tomorrow. I think you know where I'll be.

100 things, part one

It's about time I do the whole "100 Things About Me" thing, so here we go, 10 at a time, probably on Tuesdays.

1. I am doubting I will get to thing 100.

2. I have lived in five places: Maine, Williamstown, Swarthmore, Walla Walla, Pittsburgh

3. All of my full-time jobs have been with higher education institutions.

4. I hope my next job is not with a higher education institution.

5. I read books and blogs about parenting, hoping to learn how to do it better.

6. My husband is the calm parent. He doesn't need to read books and blogs.

7. I am the kiss of death to television shows. If I like it, its days are numbered.

8. Same goes for Trader Joe's products.

9. When I was seven or eight my goal in life was to be a statistician for the Boston Bruins.

10. In order to get my master's degree I drove a 500 mile roundtrip once a week for two years.

can't pry him away

Oliver likes school. That may be the understatement of the year. When I picked him up from that first day I asked him if he liked it and if he wanted to go back the next day. "I want to go back EVERY day," was his reply. And he's been unwavering in that sentiment. My problem is that he is putting his money where his mouth is. I frequently have trouble getting him to leave at the end of the day. His latest stalling tactic is to ask what's happening on the athletic field.

The field has been a busy place with practices and games for soccer and field hockey, and Oliver doesn't discriminate. If there are kids on the field, he wants to go watch. Now, suddenly, all that activity is over. The seasons ended, even the playoffs. The field is empty. Oliver doesn't care. I have to go play soccer with him, assuming someone has left a ball lying around (always), or get a little football out of his backpack and let him make me feel inferior because I can't throw a spiral to save my life. He can. Beauties. He's 4 and already running circles around me.

Today the field was empty again but Oliver didn't care. He found a soccer ball and was perfectly happy. Then all the extended day kids came outside and he was in seventh heaven. A small group of fifth graders has kind of adopted him and they started playing football. All over the field minor skirmishes were breaking out (mostly amongst siblings, I noticed), but none in Oliver's group. They played. And played. And played, for nearly an hour and all I heard was encouragement and laughing.

Some days I have to haul him away crying but today when it was time to go the older kids helped me out. There were fist bumps and high fives, and one seriously grinning kid who can't wait to go back to school tomorrow.

dinner in a hurry

Regulars around here know I'm not a "food blogger." In my dreams maybe, but really I just dabble. Remember, I have been known to classify food as "Bacon and Not Bacon." Classy, no?

Weeknight dinners are my most frequent and daunting challenge. We try to eat as a family but it doesn't always work. I always swore I would not be one of those moms who cooked separate meals for the kids and the grownups, but here I am, doing just that, more often than I care to admit. The kids are not adventurous. They eat things that are separate. (Mac & cheese might be the only "combo".) Pasta is not covered in anything. Chicken nuggets are not dipped. Not even a little ketchup for the fish sticks most of the time. Compared to a lot of kids, my kids are good eaters, but it is still exasperating to me, the one who loves sushi and appreciates a well-constructed one-dish meal.

Whether we eat as a family, within 20 minutes of walking in the door, or the grownups eat after kids are in bed (8pm, when I can barely keep my eyes open), quick and easy is critical. My main man and nearby neighbor, Trader Joe, is a master at helping me accomplish this task. Tonight it was spaghetti and meatballs. The pasta took the most time.

Another quick meal that makes people think I worked a lot harder involves TJ's frozen chicken breasts, a jar of TJ's curry sauce (they are all good), TJ's frozen brown rice (I actually prefer Whole Foods' version but only because of packaging that enables better portion control) and TJ's garlic naan. I might cut up an onion and throw in a few other veggies. That's another under 20 minute dinner, but one the kids will not touch. And please don't tell my MIL or SIL this is how curry happens in our house, except on rare occasions when I have time to make as they taught me.

A whole family favorite is TJ's mandarin orange chicken. Oliver will dip things in this sauce. I add the brown rice again and broccoli (usually florets in a bag from TJ's). Voila. Orange chicken and broccoli in under 20 minutes. Kids keep it all separate but the adults mix it up and hope someday the kids will catch on.

I would love to cook everything from scratch. I would not have built my kitchen as I did if I didn't love to cook. But these days, my brain is too fried to do anything that even requires reading a recipe.

What's your favorite really fast, no brain required dinner? Bonus points if it's something my kids will eat.

get the picture

He got one of these, so I might get the cast-off one of these. We'll still have one of these left over.

Photography is not my strong suit, probably because I have no formal training. Point and shoot is all I've ever tried. Hold me.

picking up speed

Six months ago, Oliver finally mastered the trike, after nearly two years of trying. And now? He's got a big boy bike with a trade-in program. He'll be ready for Le Tour any day now.