Playdate Cards

Is this beyond queer? My five year old has business cards - she calls them her "playdate" cards. Back before she started kindergarten last fall, I ordered them for "free" from VistaPrint (I had to pay about $5 for shipping). They've got her name and our home phone number at the top, and my name/cell/email, and Daddy's name/cell/email. I figured they'd be useful because she hadn't learned our phone number back then, and still hasn't. Furthermore, they kind of act like a family calling card, and it's the only business card I have that has my home phone number on it (my blog card doesn't have a phone number at all, and my office card has my office number).

The Dangerous Book

A couple of months back, there was a lot of hoopla about a new book called "The Dangerous Book for Boys". A good part of the hoopla involved around the boys part - like, can't girls do those same things? Of course they can. And shouldn't they get good instruction? Of course they should.

I'm the mother of one child - a daughter. She is 99.99% sure to be our only child. So, I rather wanted the book for her - it sounded like fun and chock-full of all sorts of things everyone should know. It also sounded like a great Father's Day present.

I toyed with the idea of buying the book and taking a Sharpie to the cover but that seemed overly destructive and not nearly cunning enough. Instead, I bought the book - which conveniently comes without a dustjacket - and made a book jacket for it. I took a large piece of Miss M.'s artwork, scanned the bookcover, found some extra bits, and made a collage cover. The whole shebang got laminated with clear Contac paper. I am distinctly amused with myself.

The Five Second Rule Has Been Revised

Leave it to Harold McGee. Well, actually some researchers from Clemson University. They decided to test the rule that food that lands on the floor is okay if it’s in contact with the floor for no more than five seconds. Surprise: it’s not! It gathers bacteria! But Harold, sensibly, doesn’t say “don’t eat it” – he says

If you drop a piece of food, pick it up quickly, take five seconds to recall that just a few bacteria can make you sick, then take a few more to think about where you dropped it and whether or not it’s worth eating.

So, that means it’s okay that I let my poor child finish the slice of pizza she dropped at Grand Central Terminal last week when she somehow fell out of her chair? Of course. I couldn’t have taken it away; she was too sad from landing on the floor. And five days later, she's still alive.

Silverware for Kidlets

I think about the most mundane things. I rather hate plastic, especially forks and spoons and plates and cups and bowls, although I see its utility in the care and feeding of the infant and toddler. And I love good silver – it feels so nice in the hand.

For baby presents, someone gave us the Elsa Peretti baby spoon from Tiffany, and someone else gave us a toddler spoon/fork set. The Peretti spoon was wonderful; long enough to get in the bottom of jars and yogurt containers and beautifully balanced. And Miss M. loves her “matching” fork and spoon. That’s what she calls them individually – the “matching” fork or the “matching” spoon. All three of those pieces were meant for little ones.

But there’s other silverware out there that works perfectly for little kids, and you can probably find it cheaply at a yard sale or antique shop or flea market.

Bouillon spoons are 5 or 6 inches long, with a round bowl – perfect for a little one to eat cereal with. And hardly anyone eats broth soups anymore, much less with specialized spoons, so they’re up for grabs.

Demitasse spoons are shorter – like 4 inches long – and look like tiny teaspoons, or short handled baby feeding spoons. And they work perfectly for a 3 and a half year old eating applesauce or jello.

And salad/dessert forks? Shorter than a full sized fork and perfect for a little kid.

How to Stay Clean Whilst Painting

Wear a smock! And for a cheap and easy smock, use an old shirt - like an old button-down oxford cloth shirt that's otherwise ready for the rag basket. Put it on backwards (so the buttons go up the back), roll up the sleeves, and keep the kid's clothes clean.

Thanks, Moky, for the reminder.

Macaroni and Cheese, continued

Parent Hacks got going on the Annie's vs. Kraft debate too.

There were some good points, and some good alternate recipes.

One was a recipe posted by Kai Jones, a commenter:

Better and you don't have to drain the noodles is the Consumer Reports recipe.

Measure 2 cups water and 1 cup noodles into a pan, add a dash of salt. Bring to a boil on high and then continue on high for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn down to medium low and simmer for 7 minutes or until most of the water has boiled away. Add 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup cheddar cheese, paprika if you want it orange, salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a tablespoon of cream or milk if the sauce isn't saucy enough.

Another was a comment from Alison:

My kids have been raised in France; they like plain pasta with a little butter or olive oil on it...

I'm American (ergo, so are my kids), but mac-n-cheese is unknown in France. Turns out they don't really like cheese on their pasta anyway. And they didn't like boxed mac-n-cheese during a visit to the States.

This might be a novel idea...but, boil some pasta, add a little butter or olive oil and/or salt, pepper (and grated cheese if you want), and see how your kids like it.

Seems logical to me...why do our kids need the extra "cheese," especially when they are little? And then if you make real macaroni and cheese, it's that much more special.

Lots of times, Miss M. asks for "plain pasta" - which in our book is pasta tossed with butter and grated parmesan. Yum. And simple.

Cheese Sandwiches again!

Cool - my cheese sandwich hack is up at Parent Hacks!

I don't know why that tickles me so much.

By the way, the original post was called Cheese Swanwiches because that's how Miss M. pronounces "sandwich". Swanwich. The "swan" part rhymes with "tan", or "sand".

Stuffed Animals to Iraq

Awhile ago I read, on Parent Hacks, of a suggestion as to where to send outgrown toys and such. Asha revisited this today, and included a link to an Army Corps of Engineers story about the distribution of the toys.

Over the weekend, I drifted through the house collecting spare stuffed animals (how they accumulate!) and boxed them up. They went in the mail today. It seems so little, but I hope that some children in Iraq will be pleased with their gift.

If you too want the mailing address, here it is:

Edmay Mayers
USACE - GRS
APO AE 09331

Wrapping Paper

Every week, Miss M. comes home from school with two or three of those big sheets of newsprint covered with tempura, you know, art. I can't keep them all, but I feel guilty tossing them. So, the vaguely color appropriate became Christmas wrapping. It's also been used as birthday wrapping for her school chums. And, I believe I wrapped all of her own birthday presents in her own wrapping paper...

Parent Hack #1

Lots of the time I feel like I'm pretending to know how to be a parent, kind of like I'm pretending to be a grown-up (and what am I going to do when I grow up anyway?). Today, though, I feel like a real parent - my carabiner hack is on Parent Hacks!

Cheese Swanwiches

Here's my favorite parent hack: speedy cheese sandwiches, a/k/a quesadillas.

Buy a package of flour tortillas, whole wheat if you're feeling virtuous. Grate some cheese - cheddar, monterey jack, colby, muenster or some combination of those, or whatever you like (maybe not brie or Humboldt Fog). Spread all of the tortillas out on the counter. Cover half of each one with grated cheese. Fold all of the tortillas in half and press down along the fold line. Stack them up with parchment paper between and slide into a plastic bag (or two) and freeze. When you need a quick lunch, pull out a frozen sandwich and plop it in a dry non-stick (or seasoned cast iron) pan. Heat until it starts to brown on one side, then flip it over. Cut into triangles and serve to hungry appreciative toddler.

This is hardly any work for a whole pile of swanwiches.

Carabiners

I keep a carabiner in my bag for two things:

1) When Miss. M. sheds an article of clothing, I can clip it to my bag or a belt loop so I don't lose it (and don't have to carry it).

2) When serial shopping - like at a mall - I can hang all or many of the accumulated shopping bags off of my shoulder bag thereby keeping the hands free for more shopping or toddler-herding.