Archive for » February, 2010 «

28
Feb
Poo in the bath

It happened again tonight. This is the fourth or fifth time that I’ve had to experience this and it’s the fourth or fifth time too many.

Big A and Little A take a bath together. They love playing with their whales and sharks, Diego and his submarine, with a Thomas the Tank Engine or two thrown into the mix along with a few boats. Tonight, Little A decided to add something else. But it wasn’t something that either wanted to stay and play around with (thank Heaven!).

The previous times were all thanks to Big A, but he’s outgrown that (again, thank Heaven) and now I guess we get to enjoy the next few months of potty training with Little A.

There are a couple of problems with the situation. Number 1, although I was in the kids’ play room repairing a door (don’t ask…we’ll save that for later) and The Doc was supervising bathtime, I was the one who had to clean up the mess. Big A came running in to get me, streaking naked and dripping poo-water-wet all through the house to let me know that Daddy needed help. Cleaning up a bathtub full of floating poo bits is not my idea of an enjoyable evening. There isn’t enough bleach to make that task feel clean. I mean really, really clean.

The Doc took the wee beasts to our bathroom to shower them off while I got down to the business at hand. Or bottom. Whatever. First was to drain the bath and get as much of the “leftovers” out with toilet paper. Okay, done. Next was a new round of hot water and about a gallon of bleach. I let all of the toys swim around in that for a while, letting the bleach work some of its magic. Then a good scrub of everything, draining, rinsing again, and another round of hot water and bleach.

I don’t care how many times this happens to you as a parent (and yes, I’m absolutely certain that every parent shares this experience), you just can’t be mentally prepared to deal with a tub o’ poo. You just can’t. Ok, the worst experience — and one that I hope ALL parents don’t experience — is being IN THE BATH with the kidlet when he or she poos. Yep. Been there, done that. But that’s not for today.

Problem Number 2 (HA. Yes, I said it. Number 2.) is that I really like baths. Not showers. Baths. And we only have a shower in our bathroom, so by default, the wee beasts’ bathtub is also my bathtub. Again, there isn’t enough bleach on the planet to make it feel clean enough to sink down into after one of these nights. I’m scarred. I have mental images I don’t want to have. And it will take a few days and several more scrub downs before I’ll be able to take a bath without feeling like I’m an ingredient in a big batch of fecal stew.

And on that pleasant note, I think I’ll head back down the hall with my trusty bottle of Clorox…

Category: Funny Stuff, Tales from Mommyland  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
27
Feb
Weekly supper menu, 2/27/10

Yum. I’m cooking right now so this is definitely a post that is making me more hungry. I hope it tempts your taste buds, too.

This week we’re taking a trip around the globe. I like to expose the wee beasts to a wide variety of flavors in the hopes that they won’t end up one of those annoyingly picky eaters. You know the ones I’m talking about. Think When Harry Met Sally. No one wants to be like Sally.

  1. Thai Chicken Salad Bites (made into wraps). The chicken is cooking now. See the recipe at the end of the post.
  2. Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Honey, Moroccan Carrot and Orange Salad
  3. Smokin’ Jambalaya
  4. Spaghetti and meatballs with vodka sauce (Italian so it is “global” but it’s the safe item to not freak the beasts out too much this week)

And now the moment you’ve been waiting for…the recipe.

Thai Chicken Salad Bites (Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine, March 2010)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 cups finely shredded cooked chicken breasts

1/4 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 cucumber, sliced into 18 1/4-inch-thick rounds

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, chili sauce, lime juice, sugar and ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the chicken to coat. Stir in 2 tablespoons peanuts, the mint and cilantro.

Top each cucumber round with 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle the rounds with the remaining 2 tablespoons peanuts.

My variation

My beasts won’t be able to keep food on top of a cucumber slice without making a huge mess. So I’m turning these into wraps. And since they usually pick at food and separate it into different elements before eating, I’m not just working with plain cooked chicken breasts. I’m poaching them (and smelling them right now!) first in chicken broth with ginger, garlic and chili paste. That way when everything falls apart, it will still have some taste to it.

Instead of making cucumber rounds, I’m going to dice it and stir it in with everything else. To hold it all together, I have Spring Roll Skins (aka cellophane wraps) that I found in the international food aisle at the grocery store. In the constant struggle to make food fun and interesting enough that the beasts will try it, I discovered these and used them once before. Both Big A and Little A thought they were fun. They were like “grown-up” food that they could still eat with their hands and it was fun for them to see through them. I’ll pile everything in, wrap ‘em up and voila! Dinner is served.

Category: Recipes, Weekly Menus  Tags: , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
27
Feb
Recipe Review, 2/20/10

With sick kids this week, our menu plan got a little off track. All Little A would eat one day was peanut butter waffles. So we are having item #4, the Thai Chicken Salad wraps tonight. More on those next week.

Now to the good stuff…

Chutney Chicken One-Pot with a side of Indian Creamed Spinach (my own creation)

This was rated 3.8 out of 5 by me and The Doc. The kids barely touched it. They are all about fruit, but they never quite trust it when it’s cooked into things. So even though it had apples, raisins and apricots, I managed to get them to each eat only two or three bites of chicken. Although this was pretty good, it probably won’t see another appearance at our house.

Taco Pasta Toss with Corn Relish on the side

Tacos and noodles. How can you go wrong with that, especially with kids? Well, this was only about a 3.5 out of 5 for us. It was a little bland and I would definitely have to add a lot more spice to it if I made it again. And for some reason, Big A freaked at seeing cheese melted on his noodles. Go figure. Those are 2 basic food groups to him! But he wouldn’t touch a noodle with cheese on it. Or a diced tomato (even though he eats grape tomatoes like candy). Or a diced onion. He can actually feel a tiny square of onion in his mouth out of an entire amalgam of ingredients in a dish and spit it out. Amazing.

Spiced Roast Chicken with Onions, Lentils and Couscous with salad

This one is hard to grade. It was actually pretty flavorful, but the lentil and couscous salad was supposed to have the pan juices poured on it to give it some flavor. Unfortunately, we had a visitor and I kept the food in the oven too long to keep it warm. The juices were gone by the time we sat down to eat so the salad was dry and dull. Better luck next time. This round: 3.75

Category: Recipes, Weekly Menus  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
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