didionville

today is grandma maryann and grandpa jer’s 37th wedding anniversary! mommy mentioned it while we were having lunch.

actually, we’re still having lunch, and mommy is typing this because my hands … and chin … and nose … and forehead … are covered in oatmeal.

so congratulations grandma and grandpa! i don’t know how long or even WHAT “37″ is, but i will close with grandma maryann’s standard annual response when anyone wishes her a happy anniversary:

“THIRTY-SEVEN [actually, any number applies] YEARS IS TOO LONG TO EXPECT TWO PEOPLE TO HAVE TO LIVE TOGETHER! hrmph!”

now back to my oatmeal …

During NBA season, we enjoy watching the TNT studio team, and we also really like Reggie and Cheryl Miller’s color commentary. But we love watching Charles Barkley before, during and after the basketball games. He tells it like it is, which is so refreshing. (And his Fave 5 commercials with Dwayne Wade are high-larious.) But recently, TNT added Chris Webber to the team. Barkley said to Webber “I don’t believe in role models, but you’re mine,” but watching the broadcasts, it seems like it is the other way around. Webber is as blunt as Barkley. Last night he pointed out that what the coaches say at halftime matters very little — “It doesn’t matter what Flip says” — that the key players set the tone. (You never hear that from network analysts; they are too busy praising the coaches — they largely being out-of-work coaches, themselves — and trying to out-pontificate each other.) And he played along with a jab about his most infamous moment, laughing at a question about how many timeouts are allowed in college basketball. It looks like Webber — with his expertise and magnanimity — is giving us another reason to tune in even when the games are uninteresting.

(Last night’s game was certainly not uninteresting. It was great to see Atlanta, with the enthusiastic support of their fans, beat the super Celtics. Overall, we have been enjoying the playoffs: lots of good games so far.)

Spring has deserted us. It rained all today. It was so cold at IBM, I stayed bundled in my emergency office coat all day. Didion is back in footie pajamas, and Leslie and I are huddled under a blanket. More of the same is forecast for the rest of the week, just when we were getting into enjoying the warm and sun.

Enough about the weather. Here’s something to contemplate on this cold spring night … Leslie mentioned the other day that baseball is a very lonely sport — you are by yourself on the field and have no teammates around when on base. I countered that it is probably the sport in which you must rely on your teammates the most: Once you are on first base, you need someone else to drive you home, so you aren’t really alone. Maybe there is no conflict in our points of view. Thoughts?

literally and figuratively. it was supposed to rain. it looks like it might. it hasn’t.

if we had known it was going to be dry, we would have worked on replacing our rotting porch steps.

instead we packed up the kid for a trip to babies-r-us to check out jumpers. didion loves to jump and bounce on our laps. he loves to be swung around and carried on our shoulders. he’s pretty fearless when it comes to physical activity. when we start jiggling him, etc., he can’t get enough of it and can keep going for 20 minutes or more. at 18 pounds and with demands for increasingly daring moves, didion can wear steven and me out pretty quickly.

so we thought we could get a jumper that hangs from an interior doorway … something like this that retails for $20 … the price is right and the promise of fun times is encouraging … they hang from the trim at the top of a standard doorframe, but, of course, the woodwork in our house is old and “old” means “nonstandard” … ergo, no doorway jumper for us.

then there are the jumperoos that sit on the floor, promising equally fun times for — of course — four times the price … this one IS really cute, but sheesh: $70!?!?!

there was a floor model available, so when no one was looking, we shoved the kid in and watched for an indication that didion would suffer grave emotional injury if we did not buy THAT jumperoo at THAT moment. lucky for our bank account and our collective engineering skills, didion was not seduced by the toy. so we left the store empty handed and with the realization that one of the likely reasons didion loves being bounced and jiggled and swung around is that his mommy and daddy are the sources of the activity and movement.

jumping might be fun for a little while in the jumperoo, but it wouldn’t be the same.

back at home …

steven and didion had lunch …

after lunch …

didion had some play time … (note the orange blotch in his right eyebrow. yes, it’s dried yams.)

then daddy and son went on a long walk around the neighborhood.

now it’s snugglin’-in-pj’s time …

easy, breezy.

so last week we posted a bunch of pictures of everything that was blooming or beginning to bloom in our yard. the amount of change that has taken place in just one week is amazing. across the street from our house are several trees that bloom with these gorgeous pink blossoms. neither steven nor i know the name of these trees. they might be crab apple trees. regardless, they are just so pretty.

this afternoon the clan went out to pick dandelions, specifically, and weeds, in general, because that is what married couples with babies do on the weekend, i suppose. it is supposed to rain off and on for the next several days, so i suspended dandelion duty to photograph the aforementioned pink trees and our bleeding heart. the rain will likely knock off most of the blooms.

i also had to get a photo of our japanese maple. it has filled out so quickly and is so lush and richly colored. i love that little tree.

in the meantime, we parked the pack-n-play in a shady spot of the front yard and brought izzie out for a change of scenery. izzie and didion hung out: izzie chilled while didion played with his piles of toys. note, however, that his favorite go-to toy right now is an empty wheat-thins box, that is assuming the remote control is unavailable.

izzie was super good hanging out with the kid, and didion did a great job entertaining himself. i think he really feels empowered being able to roll over and sit up without support, etc. mobility is a good thing for a kid. for parents, however, it’s another story …

now we are watching the yankees struggle against the indians in game two of their weekend series. it ain’t pretty. the mets won earlier. we’ll likely stop watching the carnage when the lakers and nuggets’ game starts in a few minutes.

though, who knows what we will be watching … i just let didion have the remote.

as promised … the macaroni and cheese recipe … (no photos, unfortunately, because it was eaten too quickly, which — if you think about it — should be the normal order of things …)

the tools

8 oz gruyere (feel free to use a little more)

8 to 12 oz extra-sharp cheddar (we go for the bigger flavor, so we use 12 oz. we also buy local new york or vermont cheese just ‘cuz we like to support the peeps … if you can find some other fabulous, funky cheddar, go for it … and then tell me about it!!!)

1 pint heavy cream (a lot of mac & cheese recipes make a roux … i’m cutting out that step and going straight for the jugular — literally and figuratively — with the cholesterol- and fat-laden heavy cream. you will definitely need 8 oz, but as you mix in and melt the cheese, you might find you need more.)

16 oz elbow macaroni (tip your hat to good health and at least make a ceremonial gesture by using whole-wheat macaroni.)

8-10 pieces thick-cut bacon

kosher salt (for boiling pasta)

freshly-ground pepper (to taste)

1 smallish to medium onion, finely diced (this is optional for onion haters like auntie loretta, to whom this recipe is lovingly dedicated and for whom it is loudly and proudly posted.)

cholesterol pills … a lot of them … keep reading, and you will see why …

the construction

preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

cook the bacon … you can do this on the stovetop OR you can do this in the oven … cover a jelly-roll pan in aluminum foil. put a rack in the pan. put the bacon strips on the rack, and stick the whole thing in a preheated 400-degree oven for at least 10 minutes … after 10 minutes, check it regularly until the bacon is done the way you like it … while the oven is preheating, boil your water for the pasta in a big pot.

while the bacon is cooking, cook and drain the pasta in salted water. (make sure to cook the pasta al dente … you’re going to be stirring it with the cheese later and then baking it off … if you overcook it in the beginning, you will have paste in the end … blech …)

while the pasta is cooking, grate the gruyere and at least 8 oz of the cheddar.

when done, take the bacon out of the oven (or off the stovetop heat). set the bacon aside and carefully pour about half of the bacon grease into a saute pan (or pour off half the grease from the pan in which you cooked the bacon).

heat the saute pan on medium heat. start sauteeing the onion. drain the pasta and return to pot (no heat on burner). pour in the first 8 oz of heavy cream. stir cream and pasta. fold in cheese. as the cheese melts in the hot pasta and cream, use your judgment about whether you might like more cream or more cheddar … it’s your call regarding texture. we like about 12 oz of cream with 8 oz of gruyere with 12 oz of cheddar … don’t forget your onions while you are stirring your macaroni.

when you have your macaroni and cheese at the texture you like, stir in some freshly ground pepper and leave it alone while you finish the onions. if you find the cheese didn’t completely melt with the radiant heat from the pasta, turn the burner on LOW until you are happy with the “melty-ness” (and i mean L-O-W … you really don’t want a mess of burnt cream, pasta, and cheese.) …

your onions should be nice and greasy and translucent by now … quickly rough-chop or crumble the bacon and add them to the onions. when the bacon bits are reheated, turn off the burner.

in a casserole, dump some of the macaroni and cheese. you will likely have a lot of mac & cheese left in the pot (depending on the size of your casserole) … THIS IS A GOOD THING!!! if you need further explanation, then you probably shouldn’t be reading this recipe in the first place. (seriously, this recipe makes a lot; though, worry not! leftovers can be easily frozen.)

cover the mac-&-cheese-laden casserole with the onion and bacon mixture … or if you are loretta, you skipped the onion rigamarole and simply crumbled the bacon 10 minutes ago …

stick the whole damn thing in your oven (still at 400 from cooking the bacon or preheating)

bake it for at least 20-25 minutes … what you are looking for is bubbling cheese and cream … browning edges and further crispiness on the bacon front …

take your cholesterol pills and enjoy …

today i am six-months old. i went to the doctor today for my regular checkup and shots. i am growing exactly like i am supposed to. i weigh 18 lbs. 1 oz. and am 27-3/4 inches long. i let the doctor poke and prod me without whining or struggling. the doctor said i was a very good baby. and when i got my shots, i cried for less than a minute. the doctor picked me up, and i nestled in his neck. then i was totally fine.

mommy brought me home, and we had oatmeal and bananas. then daddy came home, and we all went for a little walk and hung out on the deck. now it’s time to watch baseball, but the shots are making me feel a little achy and tired, so i think i will go to bed early.

last saturday we went over to justin & megan’s for dinner. they were grilling pork tenderloin, and since they were doing the meat, we took dessert (raspberry supreme cheesecake from the pastry garden), coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese. (i’ll post my mac & cheese recipe soon.)

the coleslaw was incredibly good. it was a mishmash of a couple of recipes i found on the foodnetwork site (thanks to paula and alton) with some tweaking on my part.

feel free to try the original recipes, but i can almost guarantee they aren’t as good as this one:

the crunch

1/2 medium-size head green cabbage — regular or napa — shredded.

1/2 medium-size head red cabbage, shredded

3 medium carrots, shredded or diced or julienned … whatever you like

3 green onions, chopped on the fine side … the green AND white parts

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cob of corn (cut off the cob)

1/2 cup roasted (but not salted or flavored) almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 handful cilantro, finely chopped

TRICK: start with the cabbage. once you have the cabbage shredded, lay it out loosely on foil or wax paper or a cutting board … whatever. sprinkle 1-2 tsp of kosher salt all over the cabbage. lightly toss it all, and let it sit while you chop the rest of the crunchy stuff and make the dressing. (alton brown’s recipe instructs that the cabbage should sit, salted for three hours (!!!) and then rinsed thoroughly. i don’t rinse it, and i certainly don’t wait around for three hours; though, i am sure i am missing a sublime coleslaw experience.)

tell me this doesn’t look good …

the dressing

3/4 cup plain yogurt (we use low-fat yogurt from stonyfield farms.)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (we use “light” mayo.)

3 tbsp pickle juice (use whatever you like: 3 tbsp of kosher-pickle juice, or sweet-pickle juice, or some combination. we are lucky enough to have spacey tracy pickles available. we do two tbsp of juice from her sweet & spicy pickles and another tbsp of regular kosher pickle juice.)

2 tsp yellow mustard (i am sure there is room for experimentation here. honey mustard or dijon mustard or stoneground mustard … any of them would likely be tasty. we used plain old french’s, but we will try other types, i am sure.)

so it ain’t rocket science … chop everything up and mix it in a big bowl. once you have all the crunchy stuff well tossed, fold in the dressing. eat! enjoy! revel in your culinary expertise!

today was another amazingly beautiful day, but, boy, was i fussy during most of it. my teeth are KILLING me. my gums are sore … my jaw aches … this whole process is making me feel puny and peevish and pissy and, well, i’m sure all sorts of other p-words.

there was, however, a window of time in the afternoon during which i was feeling pretty darn good, so mommy took a blanket out on the front lawn and we got some sunshine and fresh air.

and how happy were we when naomi and miss megan stopped by! naomi is such a good friend to me. she helps take care of me, and she really “gets” me, like only a kid can understand. i really adore her.

of course, naomi is super cute, and ***I*** am super cute. there is only one thing to do when one is surrounded with this much cuteness: take pictures!!! that is exactly what mommy did.

and while we were all hanging out, miss megan noticed my big feet. she put my foot up against naomi’s foot for comparison, and WOW! are my feet huge!!! my nearly-six-month-old feet are, like, two-thirds the size of naomi’s, and she is almost five-years-old!!!

yes, i have mentioned a few times before that spring has arrived, and i have teased you with photos here and there, hinting at the lush fabulousness of it all, especially considering that winter lasted about eight years this time around …

but here is conclusive photographic evidence of how amazingly gorgeous springtime is. all of these pictures are of plants and flowers in OUR yard!

here is our azalea (in full bloom), our bayberry, and our golden bayberry.

here is our bleeding heart (getting ready to open), one of our many daffodils, and the forsythia that drives daddy crazy (but that mommy loves).

the hostas are returning, and the japanese maple and lilies are waking up …

our maple trees in the front and back yards are budding like crazy, and soil is ready for planting.

and these are mommy’s favorite blossoms: from our pear tree, our purple-leaf sandcherry, and our tulips!

of course, good weather means a lot of knuckleheads are on the road, speeding. miss megan and mommy worked together to make a caution sign, telling people to watch out on our street. yesterday morning daddy, mommy, and i hung up the sign in miss megan’s tree so drivers will see it as they turn onto our street.

hopefully, our sign will make a difference.