Archive for the 'Family' Category

Valentine’s Day Highs and Lows

Spending quality couple time is a serious challenge when little ones come along, so when such an opportunity is arranged, the hopes are high.  Matthew and I hadn’t had a “date” in many, many months, so with the romantic holiday coming up, we thought it would be nice to get someone to watch Jocelyn and go out and do something together, an afternoon at the movies sounded nice.

If you’re making the effort and incurring the expense, you want to pick a movie that will benefit from a large screen showing.  Naturally we chose Avatar 3D.  About an hour into the movie, I started to feel unwell, my stomach was tying up in knots and my head was pounding.  I tried taking off the 3D glasses, not watching, but I had to leave the theater.  Now a movie ticket in Cali is crazy expensive, even a matinee, so I decided after a breather, to head back in to the show.  I didn’t watch much, didn’t put on the glasses, but after about another hour (it’s a long movie), I had to run out of the theater.  I’ll spare you the details, they weren’t pretty, and I think I scared a bunch of ladies in the restroom.  I couldn’t text Matthew because my phone was in my purse under the seat in the theater, along with my wallet and gum, which I so could have used at that point.  So I went and waited in the lobby, as long as I could before I was afraid Matthew might think I was dead and come looking for me, then I went back in for the last 10 minutes.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to see credits role in my life.

To Matthew’s credit, he kept suggesting we go, but I didn’t want to ruin our afternoon, I didn’t want to make him leave the first movie he’d gone out to in six months.  In the end, though, my determination to stick it out made things much worse.  If we’d left, we could have just enjoyed our afternoon together, instead of me praying to the porcelain gods and Matthew worrying about me.  I’ve suffered from minor motion sickness before, flying, windy roads, but never at the movies.  I’ve seen other movies in 3D, though none as motion-intense as Avatar.  Turns out the not wearing the glasses thing, which I thought would be helpful, probably made things worse, causing my brain to be even more confused by what it was seeing but not feeling.

When we got home, I did a bit of research.  Turns out a lot of people had similar reactions.  Motion sickness is a quirk of our anatomy, an unfortunate side effect of biology.  Kinetosis, or motion sickness, is caused when there is a disconnect between the stimulatory signals received by your brain.  When flying, your body feels you moving, but your eyes do not perceive the motion, confusing your noggin; in a 3D movie, it’s the opposite problem, your eyes tell your brain you’re flying through an alien world, but your inner ear is saying you’re simply sitting in a seat in a theater.   These conflicting inputs cause your body to conclude you are under the influence of a toxin; by vomiting you might be able to expel any toxin that’s still in your stomach before it affects you further.  Great for poisons in the jungle, not so great for 3D movies.

After our less than stellar attempt at romance, we spent the actual holiday doing family activities.  We took Jocelyn to the Little Farm at Tilden Park; she was interested, if a bit frightened of the strangers and huge animals.  Later in the day, we went to the tot park and pushed Jocelyn on the swings.  All my disappointment over our previous-day’s outing evaporated as she laughed with glee when flying through the air.  You see, baby smiles and laughter are addictive to parents, they stimulate the reward centers in your brain, much as drugs do.  So here it is, my own personal perfect drug.

P.S.  I hope you’ll forgive me for getting a little photoshop happy with the last image, I loved Jocelyn’s smile in it, but as she was moving, the focus was a bit blurry, I did some extreme sharpening and ended up with this, which I thought was pretty groovy.

Traditions

Jocelyn would rather sit on her gifts than open them!

Jocelyn would rather sit on her gifts than open them!




It’s hard to get in the holiday spirit here.  Perhaps it’s the spring-like weather, but the bay area is just not very conducive to Christmas Cheer.  It could also be that we’re away from all our family, and even had to skip out on church and seeing friends because yours truly has a nasty cold (germs do not make good presents).  I’ve been thinking about what Christmas was like for me as a child and imagining what it will be like for Jocelyn.  When I was young, Christmas vacation seemed to last forever.  It felt like every day was Saturday, camped out in front of my grandparents’ TV, watching cartoons and playing with cousins.  A never ending supply of cookies and fudge was always present, I was probably bouncing off the walls (have my parents tell you about the effect of sugar on me as a little girl, there are some great stories).  I remember piles of wrapping paper and mad searches for the right kind of batteries.  What I don’t really remember are the presents, though they were always nice, I don’t have concrete memories of gifts.  I do have vivid recollections of the emotions, the love, the fun.

Helping Daddy open his presents.

Helping Daddy open his presents.




Every family has their own set of traditions, my mom’s family always opened gifts Christmas Eve after a dinner of Oyster stew.  At my Dad’s parents, I remember eating at the children’s table through many years of hams and turkeys.  I’m excited to make new traditions for our little family, but we’re not starting from scratch.  Though we didn’t put up a tree or do gifts this year with Jocelyn being so young, I did make the traditional Bauer family holiday breakfast, Monkey Bread.  I thought I’d share the recipe as part of our holiday wishes.  Be warned, this is very sweet, and could have your kids bouncing off the walls!

Monkey Bread

4 cups biscuits (one can “Grands” biscuits, I like the flaky layer kind, but plain work well too)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1.  Preheat oven to 350oF.  Grease a simple bundt cake pan.

2.  Mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

3.  Cut the biscuits into 1/2 inch pieces.  Roll the pieces in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and then distribute evenly in the pan.  Sprinkle some of the remaining sugar mixture over the biscuits if you’re a fan of cinnamon like me.

4.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the brown sugar and bring to a boil.  Pour over the biscuits.

5.  Bake approximately 20 minutes or until well browned and cooked through.

6.  Try not to eat the whole thing by yourself!

She insisted on wearing these and showing off her new teeth!

She insisted on wearing these and showing off her new teeth!

Pass the Jello Salad Please

In college, I had a roommate from Japan.  I brought her to my parents’ house for Easter one year, thought she would enjoy the experience of a “typical” American holiday meal.  I will never forget her perplexed expression when I tried to explain the Jello salad to her, “But there’s no lettuce!” she had exclaimed.  Until that moment, it had never occurred to me that there might be something unusual about Jello salad.  At every family holiday, at every potluck, and family reunion, for my entire childhood and even to this day, someone has always brought some sort of Jello salad.  And I’m proud to admit, that like no-bake cheesecake, rice-krispie treats, and Kraft mac-n-cheese, I love Jello salad.  I currently reside in, what may very well be, the most snobbish place on earth when it comes to food.  With the climate here, great fresh food is available year-round, and I love that, I really do, but I also like a lot of things any self-respecting “foodie” would turn his or her nose up at in a jiffy.  The thing is I love all good food, I’m not prejudiced, give me a good old-fashioned mid-western meal of steak, corn on the cob, baked potato and jello salad and I’m one happy camper.

With my favorite holiday fast approaching, I received an unanticipated request, to bring a jello salad to Thanksgiving dinner in SF.  I shouldn’t really be surprised, about half of the attendants will be displaced mid-westerners, but I find it funny all the same.  A few years back, we went to a wonderful Turkey Day celebration given by the same couple who will be our hosts this year.  For that holiday, I prepared my family’s traditional holiday Jello-salad.  This layered strawberry and sour cream salad was a specialty of my maternal grandmother.  When I was a teenager and learned how to make this dish myself, I remember being a bit dismayed that there was a layer of sour cream between two layers of sweet jello, it just didn’t seem right.  I’ve since gotten over that initial quibble, and love that jello salad dearly, but I’m not going to make it this year.  It doesn’t travel well.  The year we took it the city, the BART trip caused its carefully deposited layers to slip and slide, so it wasn’t as appetizing as it had been when we left home, but it still tasted good.  I thought however, that I would share the recipe with anyone who reads this blog, should they feel like a traditional Cook family holiday dish.

Grandma Cook’s Strawberry Sour Cream Jello Salad

  • 1 pkg Cherry Jello, large size or two small (strawberry works too)
  • 2 cups Boiling Water
  • 1 pkg Frozen Strawberries, sliced, sweetened, large size mostly thawed at least
  • 1 can Crushed pineapple, tall size, drained
  • ⅔ cup Mashed Bananas
  • 1 pkg Sour Cream (12 or 16 oz size)

Directions

  1. Dissolve Jello in boiling water by stirring at least two minutes.
  2. To the Jello, add strawberries, pineapple and bananas.
  3. Pour half of mixture into 9×13″ pan and put in fridge until set (keep remaining mixture at room temp).
  4. Mix up sour cream until lightened, and spread on Jello layer.
  5. Top with remaining Jello mixture.
  6. Refridgerate until set.
For simplicity’s sake, this year I’ll be making Matthew’s family’s favorite Jello salad.  A specialty of his paternal grandmother, 7up salad is found at pretty much all of his family’s gatherings as well.  Very simple and requiring no layers, this yummy and fizzy salad is so easy to make, I should make more often.

  • 2 cans Musselmans apple sauce (I use one medium sized jar)
  • 2 boxes Cherry Jello (3 oz size) one large box will work
  • 10 oz 7 up Soda

Directions

  1. Heat applesauce on low heat in heavy saucepan.
  2. Add dry jello and stir it till it bubbles and dissolved.
  3. Let cool a bit and add 7up. It will foam but will settle down.
  4. Set in refridgerator till cold and set overnight.
  5. Note: I’m going to try adding some extra interest with some strawberries added in.
  6. This Dish can be made diabetic friendly using sugar free and diet ingredients.

I’m sick but I’m pretty

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Jocelyn had her first real fever this week. Took a couple days, lots of patience and napping, but it has passed and she’s doing better. A sick child is probably hardest on the parents, the feeling of helplessness and inability to communicate effectively makes everyone unhappy. I know this is one of many episodes to come, and though I wish I could shield her from every illness, being sick is good for her immune system in the long run.

60 years and counting…

Some of you may remember that about a year ago I made a three-part post about my grand-parents’ wedding anniversary.  Well today they mark 60 years together.  Unfortunately conditions are less than ideal, my grandma is in the hospital with some heart issues.  I won’t go into details, but it probably goes without saying that we’re thinking of her all the time and hoping she gets better soon.  She’s is an incredibly special lady, the hardest worker and best cook I know.  She’s always taking care of everyone else, so now it’s her turn.  Happy Anniversary and Get Well Soon!

You’ve come a long way, baby!*

This week Jocelyn turned six months old.  The time has passed so quickly, but it seems almost impossible to imagine a time without her.

So here she is, in all her adorable glory!

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For comparison purposes here I am at roughly the same age.

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And here’s Matthew in back in his sweet baby days!

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I think she got all our best features.

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*I reserve the right to use this post title again, as I don’t think I’m original enough to come up with something new for her next milestone.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Anniversary

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Today is our third wedding anniversary. In the last year, we’ve expanded our family with our happiest addition.
I love you both soooo much!

More about Wordless Wednesday here.

Childhood Memories

As I watch Jocelyn rolling hither and fro, pivoting on her belly to reach this toy, stretching out her arms to grab the kitty’s tail, I ponder what her life will be like.  What will she remember about her childhood?  Though there are a few exceptions, it seems remembering things before age three or so is pretty rare.  As she jabbers away, exercising her verbal muscle, growing by the minute, I can’t help wondering, when she grows up, what will be her earliest memory?  This of course made me think of my earliest memory.  There are two that I think must have happened around the same time, so I’m not sure which is the earliest.  The first is really more like a snap-shot in time, I’m not quite three years old and I have a pair of cow-boy boots I love to wear, but they’re too small for my ever-growing feet.   Undeterred, I wear them on a walk with my Dad.  Of course they hurt my feet and soon I can’t walk, so my father lifts me up on his shoulders and carries me the rest of the way, I remember looking down at the top of his head my cow-boy boot clad feet dangling over his shoulders.  This memory has a strong emotional component, whenever I think of it, I feel safe.

The second memory is in my bedroom at about the same time (at least I think it was).  A neighbor girl who is a little older than me is playing with me in my room, and she finds a pair of safety scissors.  She uses these scissors to cut my hair, practically scalping me, as she cuts in big chunks down to the roots.  I remember my mother’s face, pure horror, when she finds us.  Apparently I took the hair and hid it before we were found, stashing the evidence beneath my favorite blanket in an old stone crock which my mom didn’t find until some months later.  I guess even then I knew I was in trouble.  When I think of this memory, I can’t help but laugh, I know my mom was very upset when this happened, but now as an adult, it seems comical.

Since I know Jocelyn isn’t going to remember this part of her life, I’m busy trying to build memories for her.  Taking lots of pictures, breaking out the video camera, just letting her be a baby.  And I’ll keep remembering moments, like when she had her first solid food and the melodic sound of her sweet baby laugh.

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Hurry home, look what’s waiting for you!

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And, you know how when you asked me this morning if I was going to bake you a cake and I said no?  Well, it wasn’t lie because I’d already baked you one.  Since you said it’s OK to celebrate a little, we’ll be grilling steaks and eating chocolate black-out cake.

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Easter 2009

April bought a cute dress for Jocelyn’s first Easter.  We even went to Church, and Jocelyn was perfect.  Afterward, we walked up to a park to take some pictures, but having missed her nap, Jocelyn’s smile was a bit elusive.

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A picture of perfection those two!  After an afternoon nap, we tried to get more pictures of Jocelyn.

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She can stand for a bit (with some assistance).

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Like I said…only for a bit.

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