Thanksgiving Aftermath

We had one of the best Thanksgivings ever with my in-laws. In addition to their mostly-generous hosting, I must give thanks to my niece for playing with DuckyBoy for hours (and making him giggle, which we almost never hear), to one SIL for making our accidental Black-Friday shopping trip fun and painless, and to my other SIL for driving my phone back to the city!

One of the things that made it low-stress for Husband and I was that Husband declared (in a playful way) on Thursday morning, that DuckyBoy should not have to eat anything he did not want to.

So, the most Thanksgivingy-thing he ate was pumpkin muffins. And he was Happy.As.A.Clam.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I feel so bad for the man who got killed at a Long Island Wal-Mart.

All he did was open the doors!

Husband long ago forbade me to ever go to Green Acres Mall, the location of that Wal-Mart. It's known far and wide for violence and low-class clientele. But who would expect that?? It's just so sad.

I was AT a Wal-Mart on Friday. (Not that one and not at 5 a.m.) I am NEVER at Wal-Mart. So that was weird. As was the fact that SIL and I commented that the store was not as crowded as I expected. And then to hear about a trampling? As they say at DB's school, "That was very unexpected."

What Do YOU Have to Say?

Whoops, a week with no posts? How can that be. Oh, wait, it's only Wednesday. Feels like Friday, doesn't it?

Anyway, let's dish. Restaurant critic Gael Greene has been ousted from NY Magazine after almost 40 years.

I heard it on the radio the other day and just now had a chance to find out how she felt about it. This amusing link makes it clear that she was not ready to retire anyway (which was my suspicion).

Now, I could go on about the state of the publishing industry as a whole -- every day it's something, whether PC magazine going entirely online or Houghton Mifflin deciding not to acquire anything new. Just for right now, they say. Riiight.

Am I sad? Not really. For one thing, although I met some great people and learned a lot, I found publishing as an industry to be cliquish and closed and I never felt a full part of it. For another, I'm not part of it any more.

And last but not least, I've always felt I had something to say, and lots of other people have something to say, that don't fit in that box. My stint at ClubMom, now CafeMom.com, was a great eye-opener as to how many "ordinary" women out there have something unique, helpful, and heartwarming to say.

And now I've discovered article marketing, which can be as hard-core salesly or soft-sell informational as you want to be. Since I've been writing this blog, I've become more convinced that I do have something to say, and I've gotten back in touch with my love for helping others share their story and/or expertise. Helping people do that via article marketing is a perfect match for my skills and passions.

And that is what I have to say today! How about you?

Janny's Sense of Snow

Snow flurries this week!
Exciting for us to see
I wish it was more...

From back in childhood
growing up on the Great Lakes,
I have my own view:

If I'm wearing gloves,
And if it's going to be cold,
there ought to be snow.

Flopsicle

I'm tired of writing posts like this!

I tried, I really did. Tuesday is Ice Cream Day at DB's school and since he can't have dairy he can't sign up for ice cream. The PTA moms who run it soo nicely said I should bring something in he can have, stick it in the freezer for him, labeled, and they'd give it to him each week.

Well. Yesterday was the first chance to do so, and as it turned out I was helping with ice cream. Which I hate. I don't know the kids and it's just a scramble to get it to them before it melts but after they've eaten their lunch. Riiight.

Anyway. I took Popsicles. Turns out they meeeeeeeeeeeelt really quickly. I didn't know that and basically handed my already-anxiety-prone kid a bag of colored water.

Not a great day. I'm not that surprised he didn't want to go to school this morning! But it makes me want to cry when he says things like "I hate first grade, I want to go back to kindergarten" before he's out of bed.

Hopefully today will be better. Parents get to sit in the classroom for something this morning -- I think the kids will read their own writing, but DB claims to have no idea what's happening. He is interested in the fact that there will be bagels involved. Though even there, he seemed only to know when I told him.

Was I so wrong to mention that perhaps the other children's parents will not be cutting up bagels into bite-sized pieces for their offspring to consume? That made him go off on a tangent about how weird he is. ("No, you're not," I replied. "I've met the kids in your class. Z thinks he's Batman.")

Haiku About Article Marketing

Warning, shameless self-promotion ahead. I would have blogged about this anyway today, but I really enjoy thinking in haiku on Fridays!

Much better week this.
Despite an awful chest cold,
exercised my brain!

Turns out I'm good at
translating technology
for writers to use.

My latest venture --
on article marketing,
4-part telecourse.

A free call comes first
So everyone can hear more
on the class and me.

Me? An expert? Huh?
Taking some getting used to,
but the shoe does fit.

Ever notice how
you can struggle and toil
at something for weeks,

And when something works
everything falls into place
and it seems easy.

The sign-up page for my free call on how to Grow Your Following is here. Let me know what you think!

Ms Frizzle, Live and In Person

Me on Halloween, at DB's school. I read to his class and several other K and 1st grade classes. It was a blast, except DB couldn't decide whether he wanted his classmates to call me Ms Frizzle or DB's Mom!

Short and (Bitter)Sweet

Starting a business
stressful to work together
paid the bills Monday

Is it acceptable to end a haiku with, "Argh"?

Dairy-Free Muffin Mom

So here's the breakfast issue around here. DB's school-day breakfast needs to meet all of the following criteria:

* No dairy ingredients.
* High protein. It has to fortify his brain for math, among other things, from 8 AM until snack time at 10:30.
* No peanut butter. (and I feel the need to minimize other nuts, according to what I read about nut allergy; DB does not have a nut allergy but some kids in his school does; nuts are allowed in the lunchroom but not in the classrooms.)
* Dry, not messy, not crumbly.
* Must be able to be eaten by hand, no utensils.
* Larger pieces (like mini muffins) keep DB more on-task about eating than, say, small pieces of dry cereal or bite-size bagel pieces, which DB tends to dawdle at eating). But...
* Can't be too chewy, like a hunk of bagel or ciabbatta roll; DB's mouth gets too tired.
* Preferably can be transported in a disposable container.
* Needs to be variable from week to week (or thereabouts), to keep DB from getting bored.

So. In my book, cereal bars and muffins are the answer. We got through almost 2 batches of rice-krispie bars before he got tired of them, so now we're on a muffin kick (nice for cold-weather, too).

To add more protein, I've started adding rice protein powder. The one I found has 12 grams of protein per tablespoon, so a quarter-cup goes a long way!

We also found recipes in an unlikely place: Nick Jr.'s Holly Hobbie area. Somehow Db navigated to that part of the site one day and really enoyed the muffion-making game, and we've had 2 recipes printed for, oh, FOREVER and I've just got around to trying them out.

Thank goodness for vegetarian sites on the Internet to tell me how to substitute rice milk for buttermilk (answer: add 1 TB lemon juice per cup), and to give me an idea of how to add the rice protein powder, plus a bit of luck and awaaaay we go!

He liked them enough to ask for more without my offering them -- the best test! I think the sprinkling of colored-sugar sprinkles on the top helped, too.

Another muffin source I didn't expect: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread mix. It's quite spicy, which appeals to DB's tastebuds. I added 1/2 cup of cinnamon-flavored applesauce, which added even more cinnamon flavor. By accident the first time, I still used the full amount of oil, and the muffins were really moist and chewy. The second time, I halved the oil to allow for the applesauce, but the muffins were drier. Third time, back to the full amount!

Another Internet trick: How to thaw muffins from the freezer. Answer: 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven (which can include the warm-up time) and they taste fresh-baked. Amazing!

This is good for me because making 30-odd muffins means 1 of 2 things happen around here:

1. Husband eats the last 3 that both DB and I were expecting to have for DB's breakfast.
or
2. Halfway through the batch DB gets sick of that for breakfast and wants something else.

Voila, the freezer saves the day!

One more trick I found today: Measure out the dry ingredients twice, and put the 2nd batch ina jar so it's premeasured for next time. (Now, it's possible that I've just TOTALLY jinxed myself and DB will never want corn muffins again.)

I like the premeasure option not because I'm so busy but because, well, this is soo petty but...

The Holly Hobbie corn muffin recipes uses ALL 4 of the measuring cups 0-- 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and one cup. Usually I use 2, sometimes 3. But for all 4, I like to feel I'm getting extra value for my dishwashing dime.

Edited to add: I thought of another parameter for breakfast:
* Must be within a certain mouthfeel range. not too much grainy texture (so whole-wheat flour, oats, etc. -- nice, high-protein sources -- are marginal.

The Sound of Learning

DuckyBoy mentioned tonight that he hates the sound the clanking coins make all the time in math -- nickels and pennies that they use in counting not only money but also 1's and 5's.

Poor guy! That's already his difficult subject, could be a positive challenge, and now to find out that for at least a month -- hmm, a month, that's about how long he's been acting out at school -- he can't stand the sound of the classroom prop!

I'm lucky he's so articulate about it. "These 2 teeth the most," he said, pointing to his bottom 2 front. Same as when they write on the chalkboard, he said, adding that fortunately they don't write on the chalkboard.

What an easy thing to fix! I hope. Sending 2 options tomorrow -- plastic play coins, or play dollars instead.

In other news, I was proud of myself for making a Parenting Decision all by myself today. DB fell at recess and hit his head, but I decided, after observing the bump, that he could at least try his [impossible to reschedule, already missed a month due to facilities closing] swim lesson. I figured even half the lesson would be better than trying to reschedule it. He tried hard to get out of it, but I stood firm. (Tough for me on something like this.) And he did great. Other than pushing one of his classmates into the pool once. But I don't consider that injury-related. Just his ordinary lack of understanding of danger as more important than his immediate feelings.

Can You Name the 11 Planets?

I thought it would be fun if Ms Frizzle's nails had some scientific theme. So with DB's approval I chose the planets. For reference I took the cool new book 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System to the nail salon with me.


Hint for above ... the pinkie one is closest to the sun, and the thumb is hidden in the asteroid belt. Uh, I didn't mean to give Earth "the finger" ...

Hint: The planet on this thumb is known for its big red spot, and the 2 on my pinkie are called "microplanets." One of them is new and the other has the same name as Mickey Mouse's dog.

Ups and Downs on Halloween

Once again Ms. Frizzle made an appearance... at least one of the kindergartners thought I was really her, it was cool! Reading to DuckyBoy6's class first thing in the morning was rough for him ... he hadn't adjusted to being in school mode yet enough to be able to accommodate my being there. Next time, I'll know.

One of the things he had trouble with was what he wanted the other kids to call me-- DB's mom, or Ms Frizzle! As soon as they'd call me one name, he'd cry out I was the other. Interesting.

So interesting that I was ready for a shot of tequila by the time I staggered down to the library to read to the Friday classes there.... lol.

Then later, the class party went better. He was no worse, in fact maybe a little better behaved, than the boy whose mom is class mom!

After school, he decided he did want to change his clothes and trick-or-treat as Optimus Prime. We walked around for like 2 hours with 2 of his friends, that's a lot of walking! It was fun to go near school, we saw other kids he knows.

He acquiesced to visit one neighbor, but otherwise was too pooped to trick-or-treat in the apartment building. It was a favor to me that he agreed to go to her apartment, since she's s bit much for him. So I was proud of him for that, and told him so.

Went to sleep in his Optimus Prime costume --with the Love Ducks shirt still on underneath! Pictures to come later...