Goodies a-plenty

Here are a few tidbits of interest I've found lately on my tour through the blogosphere.

1. In the things to do in your spare time category, CrankyProf talks about her experience at one of those randy-dandy alternative Tupperware-like parties, and, no they ain't selling no Tupperware!

2. Since the Pope was visiting New York this week, some people were wondering why he was wearing red shoes (especially since they don't match the normal whites). Check out Don Jim's Dappled Photos for more information on the minutiae of Roman Catholic clerical dress.

3. Kids say the darnedest things. I loved this post from Stethescopes and Diapers about buying scrub tops. I can't even begin to tell you some of Bubba's favorite "bob" quotes.

Whole lotta shaking going on...

At 0436AM today, there was at our house, due to a small earthquake. Since I tend to wake up early on my day off, I figured it was nothing unusual, although I was dreaming that I heard a strange noise. I suppose it wasn't strange or a dream, after all.

While I was surfing around today, I did find some good earthquake links:
LAFD Earthquake Safety Guide (pdf)
Office of Emergency Services homepage (also in CA)
Red Cross Earthquake information

Hubby and I visited the folks at Giacomo's today. They were bringing up the rear at IC, since he told them by sitting near the front they were scaring off the regulars. (He's always giving them trouble.) We always go over and engage him in some debate, but this time, we didn't make him late. I brought along a cheesecake, so with Toots' jelly roll, we had a fun time eating, drinking and being merry after Mass.

Hubby's car had a nasty shake and rattle thing going on, so we took it into the shop. Said rattle is now history, since he just needed a new tie rod, brakes and rotors. So hopefully, it'll be smooth sailing ahead for his blue Swedish battlewagon.

Bubba got his official full day kindergarten acceptance letter today. He will go to our assigned school, so this also means he'll get to ride on the school bus, too. He is very excited about kindergarten. Let's just hope it stays that way!

Gotta run to pick up the car and take Bubba out to the "train station" (his term for the mall--don't know where he got that from) as is our usual weekly custom.

Headed to a movie career?

Bubba has Enchanted rolling on the big screen downstairs...again (is the the fourth time since yesterday?). Arrgh! D(*&ed Disney movies!

And now back to our regularly scheduled Sunday...

One little boy says no..

And the kindergarten test is pretty crazy. This week, Hubby took Bubba for his developmental screening for kindergarten. In theory, this will give the educators a look at where his strengths and weaknesses lie. In reality, it's just a big headache.

They were nice enough to direct us to the list of things Bubba should be doing by his current age in months and years. Bubba recently turned five. His report card for the exam was a score card with four columns.

The first column consisted of skills, the second, specific skills, the third column was age appropriate and the last column was areas to work on. Bubba was about 50-50 in terms of where the checkmarks were allocated. He did very well in language, concepts and pretty well in behavior. For some reason, the test administrator, ranked some skills right in the middle of the third and fourth column for behavior and motor skills.

Bubba mustn't have liked this tester, either, because, as usual, he refused to count. He also wouldn't build anything with blocks, even though, he's known to assemble small skyscrapers (about 3 feet tall) in the basement with his blocks.

Finally, just to add to the excitement, he flunked the hearing and vision screening. Yes, the same child who can identify DVDs in the store window from 40 feet and can drive past a chain restaurant and tell you what it is, flunked. He also doesn't miss the sound of a slight fizz from opening a root beer can from 40 feet, either. I'm not sure if it was a bad day (Hubby took him to the test) or if he was just feeling testy.

Only about four months to go, and we'll see how he really likes kindergarten, instead of a bunch of tests!

Party, party, party

At least it seemed like it was going to be a party at my house. Bubba was thoroughly convinced that Hubby was going to have about 20 people come over and pay homage to his birthday yesterday bearing gifts. No, sweetie, big people only occasionally have big birthday parties and since Dad is not yet a big-0 (like 5-0) birthday, Mom did not arrange one.

Mom did make Dad his favorite birthday cake (carrot with cream cheese icing) fresh yesterday. This was in an effort not to burn the house down by trying to bake it late at night on Friday. Hubby and Bubba has a fun time in the AM going to estate sales and Hubby even found two sets of speakers (thankfully small ones) at the last one. Bubba was assigned to guard them while Hubby paid some ridiculously low price for them.

In the afternoon, we went to get our family photo taken for the parish directory and then we went to University City for Thai food, which is what Hubby picked. Bubba went along with things, but there was no way he was letting Hubby have two sticks of chicken satay. Truly, if I had not fought for my two sticks, Bubba would have eaten all six all by himself. He ate a little of his chicken pad thai, but we brought most of that home.

We shopped on the Loop and Bubba bought himself (he said it was Dad's birthday present) Snow Buddies. We watched that when we got home. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Deviations

Somedays it seems all too evident that I start out doing one thing, and get diverted to something else. At work, this is due to prioritization. Nurses have to go see what's going on with patients who may be going somewhere that's not necessarily to therapy.

On my days off, like today, I start one thing and my course is deviated by another item. Case in point: I was off on Friday and I got a nastygram in the mail from ye old City re: a stop light camera ticket for Hubby. I paid said ticket early (Arrgh! That was painful, especially since he could not see the light change...another story.) No record of the check appeared at the bank, so I went to the bank, stopped the check, and then went to the City to pay the ticket again with a new check. I get there and they tell me it's already paid. Back I go to the bank to remove the stop. The good news: Hubby and I had lunch at a restaurant near the ticket place, so all was not in vain. (I love ChiliMac's slingers!)

My web surfing is often interrupted, too, by Bubba's entreaties to watch Dinotopia again, but luckily, I use that bookmarking/favorites function to save some interesting items. Here are a few of my recent favorites below.

US worst in preventable deaths (from http://www.reuters.com/)
No surprise here. The most money spent and not always the best results.

Unnecessary quotation marks
Where has this blog been all my life? One of my new favorites on a pet peeve.

Overhead in New York
Another oddball blog that creates some interesting mental pictures.

Billy Bob's Wild Ride
More in the oddball genre, but a good read nevertheless. Billy Bob's Wild Ride is a blog written from the perspective of a patient's liver. Nominated for Best Patient Blog from Medical Blog Awards at http://www.medgagdet.com/.

Update

Yes, I'm off and running (literally and figuratively) in the nursing world. It keeps me out of trouble.

The last few weeks have been busy with work, housework and adding goodies to www.stbonifaceonline.com as it became the Ivory Theatre officially on September 27 (see more details at stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com). Bubba was enjoying his summer at preschool, playing outside, kicking balls and hitting baseballs, in between water play (spraying the hose everywhere). Hubby is still in the hunt for a real, live FTE position in radiation safety after his stint at BigLab. They'd love to have him back, but then again, I like having him here, too, for school pickup, etc. We keep praying the right job will come along.

I've had fun baking this summer, since most of the time it was not beastly hot, outside of a couple of weeks. My newest favorite baked goody is the Berry Betty. Thirty or so minutes in the oven, just a few ingredients and you're done. I also enjoyed this recipe since it fits well with my new diet which includes more whole grains and less white flour.

Here's my version of the original I found in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

Berry Betty
5 cups or 1.5 12 oz pkgs of berries (I use blueberries, or mixed berry combos)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp finely chopped crystalline ginger or 1/8 tsp ground ginger
5 cups (about 7 slices) whole wheat bread cubes
3 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
Whipped cream (to garnish, optional)

Thaw berries if frozen. Do not drain
In a large, mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and ginger.
Add berries and juices. Toss to coat.
Add 2 cups bread, toss gently until combined.
Transfer filling to ungreased 2 qt baking dish.
For topping, put remaining bread cubes in mixing bowl.
Drizzle with melted butter or margarine and toss to coat.
Sprinkle topping over fruit filling.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping golden.
If desired, serve warm with whipped cream.
Makes 6 servings.

The weekend!

At least I only had to work yesterday, and I'm off until Tuesday. We didn't have a whole bunch of patients in rehab, but it was busy!

Lots of fun stuff going on...my high school friend Ann and her husband Pat are awaiting a new baby. Hubby is almost done with his BigLab contract and working on a permanent position. Hopefully, we'll see how it all falls out by Labor Day. I'll be in orientation until mid-September, and then I'll have three months with no floating to any other units.

We took Bubba with my aunt to Innsbrook to see fireworks last night (they have an annual show the Saturday nearest the 4th of July each year). He got a little scared, but he enjoyed the colors. We got home by midnight and thankfully, he was asleep by then. It was a beautiful night and the bugs weren't too bothersome, either.

Surfing the weekend away...

At least, the last bits of it. I found this article on http://www.washingtonpost.com/ about the movie, A Mighty Heart, which was recently released.

A Mighty Shame

One of the reasons I am doing this is because I'm already tired of the tapes Bubba got from the library Thursday. There is a 10 VHS tape limit per kid at our library, and so he went bonkers. We haven't watched too many of the eight he actually picked, though. He loves Air Bud and it seems like that's all we watch, along with Swan Princess III, which is a big studio knockoff of a Walt Disney princess cartoon.

Since Bubba just finished his space dog coloring sheet I had to put it up on the fridge...right on the front door, so he can see it as he goes by. He's so proud of that brown dog with yellow equipment (space helmet and backpack).

For more information on cool internet sites for kids, check out this site from Urbana, IL:
The Reading Group

My dear hubby also set up our friend's new 5 CD changer bookshelf system. No, it wasn't Klipsch, but he graciously did it, anyway.

Bubba enjoyed it all. He got to sample a fresh glazed donut while Dad got things rolling. Just like Homer, Bubba likes a good donut. Maybe he has a future in the nuclear industry after all!

Out of the mouths of babes...

After I fixed a couple of technical difficulties, I figured I might as well post of few of the "out of the mouths of babes" things Bubba has said to me lately.

The new black or something....
Bubba now calls the Easter Bunny "the Bunny", not the Easter Bunny, not Peter Cottontail, but THE Bunny.

I guess that's to show who's the most important bunny in our house. (Note: we do not have any real bunnies and no bunnies have been harmed in the making of this post--not even chocolate ones--yet.)

I wish they hadn't resurrected the TMNT phenomenon
My guess is that since Bubba saw a lot of commercials on our DVDs for the latest TMNT movie, that this is the reason he keeps talking about turtles.

So, being the indulgent parent that I am, I took Bubba to Mickey D's for his bi-monthly Happy Meal. He saw the turtles on the post near the drive-thru speaker and he told me he saw the turtle and he wanted one. Since he's a boy, this was the boy's toy.

Oooh! Much excitement and chattering ensued from the back of the car once I gave him his bag. He thoroughly inspected the bag and then when we got home, I set up his Happy Meal, and he proceded to try to get Leonardo (our turtle in the bag) out of the bag.

Once Leonardo came out of the bag, I practically had to force feed Bubba. We put Leonardo down, but he kept popping up to get him and thoroughly inspect his shell, bandana, etc.

He loves Leonardo so much, he took him to bed with him.

At 330AM, I heard crying and "I can't find my turtle!" I get up, locate the turtle, put him in Bubba's hand, cover him back up, pat him and wobble back to bed.

Arrgh! Those turtles are a pain!

Hooray for the weekend!

It's been pretty good so far. I'm now studying for big test #2 at school and hubby is watching Bubba and taking him for the long-awaited haircut.

Since I just finished listening to the audio for a lecture I missed Monday, I went asurfin' and found this latest item to file under "you go girl". Enjoy!

Woman chosen to lead Harvard (from washingtonpost.com)
I'm sure my old prof Fr. Foley is rolling on this one (he was a Harvard grad).

Zzzzz....

I wish I were getting more of them, but with the homework they give in nursing school, you don't get many.

I've been busy the last few days going to bed early to beat this sinus-cold-almost viral thing that's going around my class, but this weekend, I succumbed to stuffed up sinuses, runny noses and the general feeling of not feeling well. No fever, no hives, just as we say in school to use big words that sound important, "general malaise". And, of course, loads and loads of Puffs and Kleenex!

Bubba, however, as most little kids (under 5 or 6) has a constant runny nose, and it's not just from running inside and outside in the cold. Bubba has been lucky enough to inherit my bad sinuses. He gets stuffy at a moment's notice and the nose just runs and runs. Thankfully, the results are not green, which gets Bubba an automatic 24 hour minimum timeout from daycare, since they don't want any sick kids. This is always fun for me when they notice, because I get to drop everything to pick him up in an hour (notice time).

Today, while were were down the street at St. M's, Bubba was a little tired because I gave him some Benadryl before Mass. Not to keep him quiet, mind you, but to aid his little nose (usually it doesn't do much and yes, I have a dose from my pediatrician). Well, he was sedated enough, that he decided to fall asleep in Mass. Most of the older folks in our parish think this is cute. They think all little kids are cute, even when they act up, because they have grandkids, but mainly because the kids are someone else's kids. They smile that "I remember those days and Thank the Lord I'm not you" smile when they see us coming.

Bubba, however, decided to do something new. He snored, a very gutteral and very stuffy, loud snore. His snore was so loud that the older man in front of us just turned around and gave me a "Why is your kid snoring?" look. His companion, an older lady, just looked back and laughed. She told me after Mass that she thought it was someone bigger and had a good laugh when she saw it was really Bubba.

The priest didn't mind anyway. He smiled and still patted Bubba on the head after Mass, anyway.

4-tuitous!

Yesterday was Bubba's fourth birthday. It was the first time we've been able to celebrate it on the actual day. He had lots of fun. We went shopping on the Hill and got our bread at Vitale's to go with our meat and cheese tray from Kenrick's. This was the second year I did this because I'd gotten burned out on making a hundred mini-sandwiches myself on the other birthdays. (So much simpler!)

I did my usual cleaning and cooking, with loads and loads of food. The flu bug has hit some of our friends really hard, so we had a lot of leftovers that we weren't expecting. The kids who did show up had a good time with their parents and enjoyed watching Ice Age II on the big screen in the basement.

As usual, we had the gamut of desserts. Bubba always gets a carrot cake with cream cheese icing that I make from scratch and I make devil's food cupcakes for the other kids (also from scratch). We had a number of other desserts, too, including pound cake, pineapple upside down cake, and this year, tiramisu.

The carrot cake is always a big hit, so here's the recipe, including icing. You can vary it as you wish, and the basics are below. Enjoy!

Carrot cake (from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Limited Edition, 2000)

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup cooking oil (I use canola)
4 eggs
1 recipe Cream Cheese frosting (see below)

NOTE: Additional items
These can also be added to the batter when mixing. I use all of the following:

1-8oz can of crushed pineapple drained
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Grease and lightly flour two 9x1.5 inch round pans or one 13x9x2 and set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add carrots, oil, eggs. Beat with an electric mixer till combined.

Note: I normally mix this cake by hand and it does fine--be certain to MIX very thoroughly.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s). NOTE: I also use a Bundt pan for this cake.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes for round pans or 35-40 minutes for 13x9 or 45+ minutes for a Bundt pan. Bake until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly before icing with Cream Cheese frosting.

Cover and store in refrigerator. Makes 12-16 servings

Cream cheese frosting

Beat together 2-3 oz pkgs of cream cheese softened, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, and 2 tsp vanilla until light and fluffy.

Gradually add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in another 2.5 to 2.75 cups of additional sifted powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.

This frosts tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layers. Cover and store cake in refrigerator.

Meanderings...and birthdays!

Well, it's been busy around my house trying to stuff all the Christmas decorations back into new and exciting places. We've been rearranging our storage area (or at least my hubby has...) so the configurations keep changing.

Since hubby will not be available for this year's SuperDuper party (he's working), we're doing it early with Bubba's birthday. What does this mean for me? Lots of work, but it's pretty easy. Thankfully, I only have a half day of school on Friday, so I can get a few things done before the shindig Saturday.

As usual, we're having the myriad of birthday cakes. We're starting the lineup with Mom's Imperial Pound Cake for my great-uncle and pineapple upside down (a favorite of Padre Giacomo). Bubba and hubby's friend Jeff get their carrot cakes with cream cheese icing. To finish it off, I make lots of chocolate cupcakes (for the kids who won't eat the other stuff). It should keep me busy!

I made a great tiramisu last weekend, so I'm tempted to try that again, since I know the big kids will like it. The recipe below, from Bel Gioioso mascarpone, was really simple.

Famous Tiramisu Dessert

3 large eggs, separating whites and yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup espresso or strong coffee
2 Tbsp. Cognac or Brandy (NOTE: Frangelico also works nicely)
8 oz. BelGioioso Mascarpone
1/8 cup cocoa
20 ladyfingers (toasted)

Combine 3 egg yolks, 1 Tbsp. espresso, sugar and Cognac in large mixing bowl. Beat 2-3 minutes. Add BelGioioso Mascarpone and beat 3-5 minutes or until consistency is smooth.
In another bowl, combine 3 egg whites and a pinch of sugar. Beat until mixture forms stiff peaks. Gently fold into Mascarpone mixture.

Pour rest of espresso into flat dish, dip one side of each Ladyfinger, and layer on bottom of dish. Spread 1/2 Mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with cocoa. Layer ladyfingers and finish with a Mascarpone layer and cocoa. Sprinkle and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Serves 6.