Oh what joy! For now.

Where do you live? I live in Decatur (Atlanta suburb), Georgia and the weather is odd! Not very spring-like I must say.  While I must say that we are luckier than our friends on the mid-west who are going through a May snow storm, it has been cool, cloudy and damp here for a while. I have seen Homer Simpson refer to it as “Smarch”. Smarch is the thirteenth month of the year that is filled with colder than usual temperatures and snow.  I think we can all agree that is what is going on. 

This weather is great for staying indoors, snuggling with a good book, or lying on the sofa watching a romantic comedy. All great things if you are a non-parent; but damn near impossible with a 2 1/2 year old in the house. Because I don’t want him to have his face in the iPad or the television during every waking hour, I am trying to plan for Saturday and Sunday. Preparing a rainy day guide to toddler happiness isn’t easy but I am up for the challenge. 

Do you have any ideas or tips?

Did I mention that he does not want to nap on the weekends? Oh what joy! 

Here is my list thus far. Any help will be greatly appreciated. . .

1. Painting/coloring. Paints, crayons, brushes, and roll of butcher paper is ready.
2. Lego.
3. Doing laps around the house in his trike.
4. Reading.
5. Puzzles.
6. Crafts with feathers, stickers, magazines and glue sticks.
7. Some TV but not enough to rot his brain.
8. Playing in his tent.
9. Singing. A few favorites are “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Wheels on the Bus”.

These should get us maybe 15 minutes before he starts screaming that he needs (yes I said needs) to go outside. 

Any ideas you all have that do not include duct tape and/or NyQuil are greatly appreciated. 

Stay warm and dry! 

Two of my friend’s sons enjoying the moment

I try to enjoy being in the moment; however sometimes having a busy schedule makes me look forward to more things I plan to do in the future. As I sit here relaxing in a sea of Friday optimism  I think about the days that lays ahead of me…..a picnic in the park tomorrow, morning coffee on the patio, baking strawberry muffins for this week’s breakfasts, having an old friend and a soon to be new one stop buy for a visit and doing some mega writing as I am slightly behind on my 50,000 word goal for the Camp NaNoWriMo. 

Looking beyond this weekend, I will am looking forward to:

Attending a two-day writer’s retreat here
Getting around to painting our dining room this color
Visiting this beautiful place for work and a mini-vacay
Taking a trip to East Atlanta to eat at this spot

All daydreaming aside, the number one thing that I really need to do is clean the bathrooms. Reality check! 

Spend a little bit of time enjoying the moments and have a great weekend. 

About one month ago I was packing up clothing of Aaron’s that he had outgrown that was sentimental to us. Putting it in a plastic bin to go into the attic I came across so many of his tiny little shoes. He has gone through many of them and as a shoe-freak many of them mean a lot to me. As I packed them away I got the idea to take a photograph of them (further proof that I have shoe issues).  There are a few pieces of teeny weeny clothing that I would also like to mount in a shadow box – and will do as soon as I figure out how to keep them from yellowing. 

After much deliberation, arranging, and adjustments it made more sense to keep it simple. By just lining them up from smallest to largest worked the best for the photograph. No crazy back ground or camera angles….keeping it simple. As usual that won out. 

This photograph roughly represents his first two years of footwear. The first few months were those cute little socks that look like sneakers; but I decided to leave those out. 

My goal is to do this every two years or until he tires of me saving all of the shoes he has outgrown. I am imagining the foot funk now and calculating the amount of Febreeze I’m going to need.  

Last month Apartment Therapy had a project called The January Cure. Participants received daily emails directing them on how to gradually clean, organize and make the most of their living spaces. Projects that we all have been putting off for weeks, months and years were broken down into small doable tasks. 

Since beginning The Cure I purged my closet(so many things in there that I never wore) and also the kids closet (“donate”, “consign”, “give to new parents” and “return to lender” piles made and distributed as needed). Then I worked in the garage and the built in shelves that lined the walls of it. They had become the junk drawer of our home and have been the dumping place for everything since we moved-in more than a year ago. In my collection of magazines and random recipes I found a mouthwatering concoction that I first had many years ago when I was in St.Thomas. 

It was the brainchild of our host during our stay. Victor is a bartender by trade but this creation makes him a mighty fine cook in my book. This late night improvised meal is still one of the best things I have ever had. 

1 tablespoon of caribbean jerk seasoning
hot sauce(to taste)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of pickled ginger
1 grouper fillet(de-boned)
1 cup shrimp(de-viened)
1/4 cup roasted macadamia nuts(chopped)
1/4 cup tablespoons brown mustard
Flour or corn tortilla 

Grill the fish and shrimp with a touch of liquid smoke. Chop both together into 1/4 inch pieces. Mix all of the ingredients together and form it into a loaf on a sheet of aluminum foil. Roll the foil around the loaf and twist the ends to seal. Place the roll into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and spoon into a hot tortilla. Wrap it up and enjoy. 

If you would like to taste some alcoholic creations by Victor, visit him at JCT Kitchen in Atlanta’s Westside.