Oh for crying out loud

35 As a 1930s wife, I am Poor Take the test!

139 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

OK. I like a cute little online quiz as much as the next person. I do. But of all of all the unbalanced, revisionist-historical, bullshit quizzes. I mean, I’m sorry, honey, I *want* to be more subservient. Really. I just can’t quite do it.

But how do he get credit for paying attention to the kids and household chores?! Sure, that’s cool now. But in the 1930’s? I’m thinking the neighborhood husbands would have strung him up.

Next book club picks

For Sept: Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

For Oct: Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

Very very popular lemon bars

What makes these better than other lemon bars? Not too sticky sweet!


Lemon Bars (a la Jill J)

1 lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 c lemon juice

Mix 1 egg, butter, and lemon cake mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup. Pat into 13x9 pan (recipe says ungreased, but I find a little greasing works best). Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until light brown.

Beat remaining eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt , lemon juice & peel until light and foamy. Pour over hot crust.

Sprinkle with remaining cake mix crumb mixture (sometimes mine gets a little sticky if I let the butter come to room temp. I break it up w/a fork and presto!)

Bake about 15 minutes more until light brown. Sprinkle w/powdered sugar if desired.

Begin eating edge pieces.

Helpful tips for childrens' birthday parties

1. Too many activities are perhaps overkill, but one or two games or organized fun events are helpful.
   
2. If you are starting the party at 1 or 2 pm but plan to serve a full meal, mention it in the invitation.
   
3. If a lot of people will be smoking right next to the kids, mention it in the invitation? Or something?
   
4. If you said “no gifts please” don’t prominently display the presents that were brought.
   
5. Anything over a pound of candy per kid to take home is excessive.
   
6. Filling the goodie bag with toys that will break and become landfill within 5 minutes is not the goal.
   
7. Champagne party poppers are a bad idea for the under 6 set. See the warning label for details.
   
   I’m sure I’ve forgotten plenty of tips. Let me know what you have experienced first-hand at parties. All of the above happened at a party we attended yesterday. Unreal.

Garage sale score!

Boo’s birthday is coming up and I was getting a little worried. Not much in the gift closet to pull out. Not a whole lot of good ideas percolating for cheap yet awesome prezzies. Then BAM, today N and the girls drop me off on the way home at a garage sale that had already been going on for at least 6 hours. I’m not expecting much, but hey, it’s worth a look. The guy has a 10 pound box (he weighed it) of Playmobil toys that he’s asking $30 for. Take a look at eBay. Go ahead. I’ll wait. (Those are actual items in this box!)

Yeah, that’s an amazing deal. So naturally I offer $25 and practically run away with it, zigzagging with my loot under the hot sun.

Schuyler's monster

I just finishd reading Schuyler's monster: a father's journey with his wordless daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson. I was so excited with I found it in the new books section at the library! Nea's apraxia is not the same as his daughter's diagnosis -- she has a brain malformation called bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria -- but I'm just loving reading something related to what we are going through.

Actually, it’s eerie, how the journey is similar. Daughter, non-verbal, very happy, accepted by peers, very social. Also, beautiful. And funny and smart. And the hand coordination issues that make signing difficult. And then the realization that there are assistive communication devices. And the repetitive breaking of the parent’s heart. Why, really, the whole book felt like a validation of the difficulty of our journey in the last two years. Hey, remember that super-fun sedated MRI, last summer? They were checking whether Nea had that same rare brain malformation.

Giant plus on this book: the guy is really funny. I truly can’t distance myself enough to say whether this book would appeal to a wider audience, but if it was written for an audience of me it’s hard to imagine a better fit.

For even more Schuyler, see http://www.schuylersmonsterblog.com/.

Zuke pancakes and veggie/meat marinade

I made this recipe before I realized that this blog is related to the CSA boxes from Angelic Organics, which N and I learned about from watching The Real Dirt on Farmer John. Also, it turns out we are friends with someone who worked there awhile. It's almost like we should sign up for our own share there. These zucchini pancakes were a smash smash hit with the kids, who ate them with sour cream and applesauce, like potato pancakes would be. I barely got any, and I used up 1.5 large zukes.

And this recipe comes to me via Erin, who also gave me some eggplants from her garden! Thanks, Erin.

Tuscan Marinade (for grilling)
1/3 c olive oil
3 T lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp dried basil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Use on mushrooms, eggplant, onion, squash, etc. Also can be used on chicken. Marinate in the fridge for a full 24 hours before grilling!