Since the birth of my children, everything I had been taught in progressive child-development courses has flown in the face of my own conventional wisdom. I have found, in our househould, my children typically fit the mold of more traditional roles for boys and girls instead of being more "alike" and "androgynous" as my college texts and profs tried to persuade me some years ago.
My daughter is the quintiessential girl: plays house, dresses up, totes every baby around she can pry from its parents, mothers her brothers and other children, etc. My boys have been the physical risk takers, the destroyers, the builders. This was further illustrated to me at the playground after school last week.
Everyone was playing well together on the jungle gym and I was contentedly chatting with two other moms. I hear a little yelp of pain, and then a familiar cry. It's Jacob, eldest brother, but smaller in stature than his next-in line brother Charlie. He's cradling his face and tears are fallling fast. "Mom, Charlie hit me in the face." This is a common occurence around our house; my sons are often slugging one another. (We're trying to remedy this situation by fining them $2 from their piggy-banks). I examine his cheek, and it seems redder and angrier looking than I would have imagined, perhaps turning into a bruise. I ask "What did he hit you with, his shoe?" "No, his sock."
I was stumped...Jacob continues, obviously aware of my confusion. "He filled his sock up with rocks and swunged it at me." Sure enough, cowering underneath the twisty orange slide, Charles is sheepishly trying to conceal the weapon. His tube sock is more than half-full of small rocks. I imagine it packed some punch. But why does my not-quite five year-old know to choose a weapon I imagine being dreamt of in the Big House?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"trumpet"
So Henry has reached the stage of trying to repeat what everyone says. Sometimes it comes out crystal clear, often it is not recognizable to the first utterance, and sounds like a foreign language. When we can understand him, we cheer like hyenas at a football game. Fools for a toddler.
We're sitting around the table, enjoying our butter chicken, and the conversation somehow turns to trumpets. I hear Henry murmuring off to my right, so I turn to him expectantly. "Did you say trumpet, Henry?" I asked, demonstrating interest in his budding speech. He smiles and nods, chewing all the while.
Me: Say trumpet, Henry.
H: Shut up.
Everyone else: (explosive laughter)
I was flabbergasted, hurt, and feeling guilty. Do I really say those words often enough that my baby can both repeat them and use them in context? I repeated my directions from before. Same response.
This time, I'm laughing. Obviously, this is good stuff, H is thinking. I need to just keep on saying it. I turned to Ryan, laughing and incredulous. His response was, shaking his head, "He said trumpet."
We're sitting around the table, enjoying our butter chicken, and the conversation somehow turns to trumpets. I hear Henry murmuring off to my right, so I turn to him expectantly. "Did you say trumpet, Henry?" I asked, demonstrating interest in his budding speech. He smiles and nods, chewing all the while.
Me: Say trumpet, Henry.
H: Shut up.
Everyone else: (explosive laughter)
I was flabbergasted, hurt, and feeling guilty. Do I really say those words often enough that my baby can both repeat them and use them in context? I repeated my directions from before. Same response.
This time, I'm laughing. Obviously, this is good stuff, H is thinking. I need to just keep on saying it. I turned to Ryan, laughing and incredulous. His response was, shaking his head, "He said trumpet."
Monday, August 29, 2011
Recipes For Steph
Alice's Burgers (makes four giant burgers - we usually make 6 out of this one). Double it if you have 4 or more in your family.
1 pound ground beef
1/4 t. allspice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 pepper
2 t. ketchup
2 t. Dijon
2 t. whole-grain mustard
Mix, then grill or otherwise cook (about six minutes per side if you make four really fat burgers). From Alice's Tea Cup, a place I'm pining to visit in NYC.
Six-Minute Chocolate Cake (Moosewood Restaurant Cooks @ home - another place in NY I want to chow down at). Takes six minutes to mix, not bake, unfortunately :0)
CAKE
1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 cup veg. oil (we like olive for this one)
1 cup cold water or brewed coffee
2 t. vanilla extract
2. t. vinegar
GLAZE
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup hot water, milk, or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375. Sift together dry ingredients into an ungreased 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure and mix together oil, water and vanilla. Pour into pan and mix with whisk. When batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly. Stir just until vinegar (forms pale swirls) is evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes and cool. Reset oven to 300 for glaze. Melt chocolate in oven for about 15 minutes. Stir hot liquid and vanilla into chocolate until smooth. Spoon glace over cooled cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Quinoa Tabbouleh (not my favorite version of this one, but I can't find that recipe right now. Still very tasty, if you like these particular flavors) Serves 6 as a side dish.
1 c. quinoa
1/4 English cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 green pepper
5 green onions
1 large bunch parsley
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. chili powder
Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Rinse quinoa thoroughly several times. Drain and stir into boiling water with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes. Quinoa should be transparent and water absorbed. Dice/ finely slice veggies into small pieces while quinoa is cooking. Whisk oil with lemon juice salt and chili powder. Add hot quinoa to oil mixture and toss well. Allow to cool to room temp, then add veggies. Chill for one hour before serving.
1 pound ground beef
1/4 t. allspice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 pepper
2 t. ketchup
2 t. Dijon
2 t. whole-grain mustard
Mix, then grill or otherwise cook (about six minutes per side if you make four really fat burgers). From Alice's Tea Cup, a place I'm pining to visit in NYC.
Six-Minute Chocolate Cake (Moosewood Restaurant Cooks @ home - another place in NY I want to chow down at). Takes six minutes to mix, not bake, unfortunately :0)
CAKE
1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 cup veg. oil (we like olive for this one)
1 cup cold water or brewed coffee
2 t. vanilla extract
2. t. vinegar
GLAZE
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup hot water, milk, or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375. Sift together dry ingredients into an ungreased 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure and mix together oil, water and vanilla. Pour into pan and mix with whisk. When batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly. Stir just until vinegar (forms pale swirls) is evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes and cool. Reset oven to 300 for glaze. Melt chocolate in oven for about 15 minutes. Stir hot liquid and vanilla into chocolate until smooth. Spoon glace over cooled cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Quinoa Tabbouleh (not my favorite version of this one, but I can't find that recipe right now. Still very tasty, if you like these particular flavors) Serves 6 as a side dish.
1 c. quinoa
1/4 English cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 green pepper
5 green onions
1 large bunch parsley
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. chili powder
Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Rinse quinoa thoroughly several times. Drain and stir into boiling water with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes. Quinoa should be transparent and water absorbed. Dice/ finely slice veggies into small pieces while quinoa is cooking. Whisk oil with lemon juice salt and chili powder. Add hot quinoa to oil mixture and toss well. Allow to cool to room temp, then add veggies. Chill for one hour before serving.
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