CityMama™

Look out weekend cuz here I come

It's the weekend and so I share what weekends look like when friends come over. Pretend that's you.

Fresh squeezed o.j. for mimosas.

Is that a horseradish in your pocket or are you just happy to see my Bloody Marys?

"Bundt of Doom" (12 beaten eggs, a loaf of cubed French bread, a pound of grated fontina (or whatever cheese you like), 1/2 cup grated pecorino, a bunch of blanched/sliced asparagus (you can also use other veg, ham/prosciutto like my friend Alisyn--aka Bundt of Doom creator--does, or a combination), 1/2-1 cup of milk, and seasonings packed into a bundt pan. Just before baking slowly pour 1 stick of melted butter over all. Bake at 350º for 45 mins.)

Would you like a slice? You know you want it.

A heart shaped bowl of berries.



Drinks all around. This scene makes me happy inside.

Just call me Stefania Hussein Pomponi Butler

I am participating in "Just Call Me Hussein" Day over on MOMocrats.com.  This is in reponse to people like Bill Cunningham who think it's really funny to take people's names and twist them and turn them and make them into something they aren't. Bill, go sell stupid somewhere else. We're full up here.

You can find my post here.

Updated to add: The day is over but the posting goes on. Please consider this topic a meme and yourselves tagged. Just say no to swiftboaty smear campaigns and claim your inner Hussein!  Here are some buttons for your troubles:

Spaghetti "Fauxs"

Patti makes these which is where I got the idea. I bought the ring-shaped pasta from Trader Joe's (a place from which I try not to buy pasta because, despite its cheap-ness, I just don't dig the quality of most of the brands they carry.)

I keep pastina shapes on hand for soups and don't usually serve them as a meal in themselves unless I am making orzo salad. The girls request broth with alphabets or stars or acini di pepe (which looks like buck shot) when they are sick.

I tossed the O's with marinara and, after the photo was taken, a grating of pecorino. I try to always have a box of Pomí marinara around for short-cuts and/or quick meals. It tastes a lot like homemade to me. (Make sure you get the marinara and not the strained or chopped tomatoes because the boxes look very similar and I've made that mistake before.)

My kids are the weird kids who have never tasted bottled Ranch dressing and who don't know what real (canned) Spaghetti-O's are.  I was calling this dish Spaghetti-O's as I was serving it, but they insisted on calling it "Cheerios." Works for me. And I hope, for you.

The girls both liked this dinner, and we had enough leftover that Bunny took it twice to school for lunch. I warmed up a serving then packed it in her Thermos and sent her off with a little container of cheese and a spoon.

I served the Spaghetti-O's with buttered peas which "someone" apparently tried to outsource to Ugly Doll.

Mothers of Intention kick-off over at Pundit Mom's

Pundit Mom kindly asked me to kick off her new feature, Mothers of Intention, and I am honored and flattered that she asked me to! Says Pundit Mom:

Every Wednesday between now and the November election, I'm inviting another blogger to share her thoughts and opinions about what makes her political, be it the politics of the presidential campaign or a passion for a cause.

Why? Because I have a feeling that the political voices of women are only going to keep getting stronger, especially on blogs and on the web, even after we decide who is going to move into the White House in January 2009. And I want to make a nice, comfy place for us to talk about them now and for the years that follow this election.

Find out more about about why she started this series and read my post here.

Bunny, this is how I know you'll be fine

Somewhere around 3:00PM today I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep. Hard.

Sometime later I heard crying. Wallie got whacked in the head with a horse while the girls were playing, and because she was feeling feverish anyway, I brought into bed for a nap. Bunny, I asked you if you wanted to lie down with us and you replied, "N-O." You like to spell things out these days. It makes you feel big. Off you went to do...something. (I know, Bad Mom, but really, she was fine.)

As I drifted in and out of sleep, I could hear you scampering up and down the hall. I remember you coming in and kissing me right on lips whispering, "I love you, Mamma."  Then off you went.

Around 5:30 you came into the room to wake us up for dinner. Sometimes I feel like you were my mother in a previous life. Slowly Wallie and I unpeeled ourselves from the covers and sat up. "Come on," you said, "come look at what I made for Wallie."

You led us down the hall where, attached to her bedroom door was a colorful paper heart which you had affixed with loops of tape like I taught you to make.

You bent down, your cheerful, excited face next to Wallie's sleepy one, and explained, "It says 'I love you, Wallie.' I made it for you because you're sick."

Purse Meme

I love a good meme only I can't remember who tagged me for this one.  If the tagger is reading this, please let me know so I can link you! The meme: show the contents of your purse—NO CLEANING IT OUT FIRST. Here we go!

My purse. No really, it was made just for me.

The contents (starting at the top left and working across): thin maxi (JIC--much less embarrassing if it falls out of your bag than a tampon. See, I'm thinkin'.), Oust, lipsticks etc., perfume, hand lotion, Turkish beads, wallet, green note pad, The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan, phone and case, Za powder foundation/compact, Clean Well (for after visiting the library), iPod, keys, black address book (I've had it for 20 years. I'm old skool.), pens, sunglass case, gum, tissues, hair brush (not for me, for the girls since I am forever brushing their hair in the car).

Now let's get upclose and personal.

Impulse Buy of the Week (Last Week): $20 gold sandals

The photo doesn't do these babies justice, they are WAY MORE SPARKLY in real life. Otherwise, they wouldn't have caught my eye.

Today, I am dreaming of Hawaii.

Meal Planning Monday

This is what I have so far this week. [*] equals a locally-sourced item:

• Monday: Chana Masala with California basmati rice*, salad* with avocado and tomatoes*.
• Tuesday: Orzo with Meyer lemon* (from my tree), Sonoma goat cheese*, and spinach*. Sauteed yellow carrots.*
• Wednesday (Sandwich night): Local-baked toasted baguette with sauteed garlicky escarole* and melty cheese*. Oven-baked "potato chips."
• Thursday: Whole-wheat fusilli pasta with melty cabbage* and caramelized onions,* spinach* salad with hard-cooked eggs* and sunflower seeds*.
• Friday: Family movie night. Probably Chinese take-out. Not sure yet.
• Saturday: Date night!
• Sunday night: Veggie stew with dumplings. (I think, unless someone has a better suggestion?) Citrus salad with crunchy raw fennel.*

Whatchoo cookin'?

Oscars: Can we discuss?

I was oblivious through most of the awards (too much yummy curry dip and sake-tinis) but this, for me, was the best moment of the evening:

She won me over with her big Forest Whitaker hug (I wouldn't have let go), and I thought she was the overall winner for best dress, hair, and make-up. And cuteness.

Side note: what was with all the red? Oscar fashions have gotten so boring. Everyone wears safe black, everyone tries to channel Old Hollywood. I miss a good Cher-Bob Mackie WTF? But, just when you think it's one boring black (or red) dress after another, out comes Diablo Cody with her leopard Dior and red lips to shake up the joint. I don't love the dress when she is standing but when she walked it was so pretty. She is made of awesome:

The more I see Cate Blanchett's Dries Van Noten dress, the more I love it. I adore the jeweled, necklace-y neckline and deep eggplant color. You really need to see it up close to get the full effect which probably made it the wrong choice for the Oscars:

I also loved Tilda Swinton's cheeky speech (though hated the dress) and Nicole Kidman's sparkly (1399 carat), dangly necklace designed by L'Wren Scott. Fabu.u.lous. But her hair? Atrocious.

How about you?

The Napping House (a rarity 'round these parts)

Both girls napped today for the first time in at least a year. While Bunny napped daily until she was a little over 4-years-old, Wallie said "eff naps" when she was around two, two-and-a-half. I worried that I would somehow be stunting her development by not allowing her brain and body the downtime. I suppose time will tell. So far, she seems to be fine.

They definitely needed rests today between engagements so I put them in the tub around 3pm, scrubbed them up, washed their hair, and blew it dry. All cozy and relaxed from their baths, I tucked them into their beds and Wallie was asleep inside of five minutes. It took Bunny a little longer, but eventually she napped, too. And they didn't get up until almost 6pm.

J. took them for dinner and playing with their friends while I stole away with the moms to watch the Oscars. I met up with fam later to drive the girls home, and on our way down the freeway I said, "Girls, isn't it good to take a nap in the afternoon? Then you wake up and you still have the rest of the day ahead of you, but you aren't tired and cranky so you have more fun?"

Bunny pondered that for a moment then nodded, "Yes. I want to do that again."

Wallie could totally use the nap everyday. Rest time was working for awhile, but it kind of fell by the wayside. I think I'll try to institute it again. I just hope she isn't up until 10:00 every night. Like she was tonight.