The Huz, wonderful man that he is, turned 40 this week. He’s fine about it, really. Says he feels like it was just yesterday that he was 39.
So, as usual, he wouldn’t tell me one thing that he wanted for his birthday. I toyed around with a few ideas: Canon or Nikon DSLR, e-reader, Satellite radio, new TV … the usual. But when my friend Jeff, aka Daddy’s Toolbox and a columnist at Chesco Moms suggested a telescope, I knew that was the gift to give. Its something he’s wanted to give to the boys for years, so that they could star watch together. How perfect!
Of course, I researched. And researched. And finally selected the Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70 AZ Refractor Telescope
. Please, don’t ask me how I selected. Just know that it cost less than I planned to spend and had great ratings and reviews. I should also mention that Amazon’s Telescope Buying Guide was fantastic. I wish more companies put explanations in writing like that.
To gift along with the telescope, I also purchased 2 basic books on studying the sky. (And I should mention that I walked around Barnes and Noble twice trying to find the Astronomy section. Finally, I asked someone for help. The woman took me, no joke, to Astrology. And this was after I joked about how I found Astrology pretty easily, but the Astronomy section was what I was looking for. For local readers, Astronomy is on the first floor, where travel used to be, by the coffee shop. And Astrology is around Spirituality and religion by the front windows on the 2nd floor.)
So, going with the gift theme (yay! I found a theme! Theme parties are so much easier!) we went to Party City to purchase our decor for our little family dinner party. After searching the store, the manager informed me that the only space sets they have in store are Toy Story 3. I looked at him in question. He responded “you know. Buzz Lightyear is from space.” Hmmm… Of course, then Big showed the manager Star Wars. Moving on…
We opted for 40th birthday decorations. And nothing that said “oh no!” or “over the hill” because that’s just mean.
Big and I decorated while Middle and Little napped. Big pulled his Solar System poster off his wall and hung it on the kitchen door. We added a few extra 40 and space items and then decided it was time to plan our menu for our dinner under the stars. (ie on the back deck on the 2nd day of summer).
Dinner Menu:
- Jupi-burgers (cheeseburgers)
- Flying Saucer chips (Potato Chips)
- Star-rocks-on-the-cob (can you guess it? Corn-on-the-cob)
- Water-on-the-moon (yup, Watermelon)
Desserts:
- Crater Cookies (chocolate chip cookies)
- Colossal Cake (actually, it was quite small, but the name sounded good)
- Milky Way Bars (because, really, who can resist?)
The weather held up, then it didn’t, then it cleared up, and thunderstormed and, just as we were heading out to a table at Max & Erma’s, the sun came out and we grilled.
And I learned one very important thing: if you give a gift of a telescope on the 2nd longest day of the year, expect your kids to stay up very, very late waiting for dark.
by Just Precious on June 18, 2010 · 1 comment
We haven’t had berries in our house since 2004. Doesn’t that just sound dreadful?
When I was a child, we picked blueberries in Maine. It was a summer tradition for my mom and me. When I first had Big, I dreamed of doing that with him. Blueberries, he liked them okay. But upon the second eatting of strawberries, when he broke out in hives, they were outlawed.
When Middle came along, he had an opportunity to try strawberries. And he had the same response. Hives (or spots, as we call them) all over his face.
Middle loved blueberries, though. Blueberry yogurt. Blueberry muffins. Blueberry bagels. Blueberries. Blueberries. Blueberries. And then. And then he hurled. 3 times in a row. And each time, it was blue. The doctor didn’t need a test. That, she said, is an allergy.
When Big was 4, the pediatrician suggested we try strawberries again. He refused, and I didn’t mind, knowing Middle’s reaction. At age 5, I offered to bring the berries to the doctor’s office to try them there. Still. Refusal.
But about 2 months ago (at ages 6 and a half and 4 and a half) they took a step. They tried blueberry muffins. And everyone stayed healthy. So I bought semi-fresh blueberries and, again, the kids were healthy. Suddenly Middle wanted blueberry yogurt again. We were taking huge steps.
Strawberries, though. Strawberries were a different story. I don’t know if the boys were more concerned about the taste or the spots. Whatever, they wouldn’t touch them. Until this Monday when, again at Classymommy‘s house, there was a fruit salad. And Big loves fruit salad. I tried to pick out the strawberries. Apparently, I missed one. He didn’t realize he ate it until it was in his mouth and, so he tells me, he took it out when he tasted something unfamiliar that he loved. He loved it so much, he reached onto someone else’s house and had more. About 30 minutes after lunch I found him in the bathroom. Look Ma, no spots! And suddenly I’m buying pints and quarts of fresh local strawberries and he’s requesting to go picking at Highland Orchards (and we will, I promise! If only everyone could stay awake in the car.)
Middle, though? He still won’t eat them.
Fresh and Local Whipped Berries
(this works really well with blueberries, but tastes divine with strawberries, or a mix of the two.)
Ingredients:
Fresh Berries
Cool Whip (store brand whipped topping works just as well)
Graham Crackers
The only ingredients you'll need
To do:
- Allow whip to soften, stir.
- Crush graham crackers. Mix in with whip.
- fold in berries.
- enjoy on its own, or over a pie, ice cream or cake.
Its not as pretty as I'd like, but it tastes so good, and its so simple to make, that looks don't really matter
I guess I was around 8 when my dad announced at dinner that he didn’t like asparagus. Upon hearing it, I looked at my plate and pushed my spears around. Yeah, me either. At some point, I overheard him say something about asparagus making your urine smell, which is so unlike
my dad to ever say, that I embedded the concept for years.
So, then the Huz and I fall in love, get married, and well, you know: he likes asparagus. Crazy, right? I mean, what male would like something that makes pee reek? So, after a few times of ordering it at restaurants, he gets me to try it. And, you know what? It was yum! And my pee? Still smelled great!
So, I changed teams and became an asparagus fan because its so yum, so fresh, so local, so spring and so easy and fast to cook.
I cook my fave asparagus recipe each year for Passover, and love to get local foods to celebrate spring during the spring holiday:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb asparagus (I prefer the purple tipped ones)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (toasted)
Get Cooking
- Trim or peel asparagus (I know. I was shocked the first time I saw this, too. Peel/trim means snap off the bottoms. There’s a place where they’ll naturally snap.)
- Boil enough water to just cover asparagus.
- drop asparagus into water for a minute, no longer than two (you want the asparagus to be cooked but crunchy)
- drain asparagus and put under cold water to shock it and stop it from cooking.
- refrigerate for at least an hour (I often refrigerate for a day)
- combine all other ingredients except seeds and mix well.
- Add seeds, mix, drizzle over asparagus and serve.
As much planning as goes into preparedness for a snow-in, it seems we’re always forgetting something. And this time, that something was Saturday night’s dinner. Yes, I was prepared for Chili on Friday and a Beef Stew on Sunday, but my calendar showed me we had dinner plans on Saturday night, and I failed to remember that they would probably be cancelled due to snow.
While the husband and boys shoveled and played, Little finally napped around 5 pm, and I realized I had nothing planned. A quick scan of the freezer and fridge and left me to be creative. This meal, consisting of staples that are always in the house, took about 5 minutes of hands-on time and 50 minutes to cook.
Ingredients:
- Frozen Ravioli (we used about 14 squares)
- Ricotta Cheese (around 4 ounces)
- Spaghetti Sauce (whatever flavor is laying around the house. We had a little bit of Chunky Garden in the fridge, which I used, then topped it off with an Artichoke Pesto flavor)
- Mozzerella cheese
Start Cookin’
- Heat oven to 350
- in a glass dish, spread a thin layer of Spaghetti Sauce
- layer in ravioli
- top with ricotta cheese
- spread another layer of spaghetti sauce
- top with shredded mozzerella cheese
- bake 50 minutes
And that’s dinner!
Notes for Next Time: This was a great way to add in hidden veggies! I want to remember to use some sort of vegetable sauce again. If there’s a need for a bigger meal, you can definitely add another layer, but it wasn’t necessary for us.
Star Power Rating: Big liked it, Middle seems to be on a hunger strike and didn’t eat dinner again. The huz and I decided that, for a whip-it-up meal it was very tasty and very easy. Definitely one to keep in the files and pull up again at the last minute, but probably not one I’d plan to make on my weekly menu. Still, it was really good, and really simple. 4 out of 5 stars (5 out of 5 for a whip-it-up).
- Not my grandmother’s ravioli (realmendriveminivans.com)
- All Too Easy Baked Spaghetti (carloatyourservice.com)
- Family Favorite Dinner (organizeyourstuffnow.com)
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