Changes for the McDonald Gang

Some big changes are headed our way starting Monday: I'm going back to work full time!

The feast-or-famine cycle that my freelance business of three years was in was just too unpredictable. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had and for my amazing clients, but it's time for a change. (My freelance business will live on, though, so please continue to keep me in mind if you know anyone who needs proofing, editing or writing assistance.)

I hunted for three weeks, had some face-to-face interviews and a few phoners, and was offered three jobs. When you ask Texas for a job, it delivers. I'm going to join a team of technical editors at a local, mid-sized law firm. I'm very excited, but anxious. Anxious to go back to an office (no more working in my PJs) and anxious to leave Nigel at a proper day care.

Many good things will come out of this change, though. For starters, we'll be able to financially recover from Tim's job loss last year, moving and having our RVA house on the market for more than a year. With that will also come the ability to travel more (read, take proper vacations!). And while Nigel's new day care might not offer all that his preschool did, it's a block from Tim's work. Tim's hoping to have off every other Friday so the two of them can do fun things together.

So does anyone have any working mom tips on how to keep the household from going to pot? Tips on making the most of our time together?

Friday Baking Backlog

I'm so lazy with blogging and downloading photos these days, so here's several weeks worth of baking....

Several weeks ago, Nigel and I made chocolate mousse from one of our standard kids' cookbooks. We beat 2 cups of heavy cream, melted 1 1/4 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and combined the cream and chocolate. The picture in the book showed the mousse in small coffee cups, so we put ours into our tiny ones from Ethiopia.

Speaking of Ethiopia, that same week I made Ethiopian black-eyed pea cakes from a kids' ethnic vegetarian cookbook. It was so simple:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas
1 sweet potato
1 onion, diced
small chili (optional; I used 1/2 of a seeded jalapeno)

Directions
Soak peas over night in water, covered. Drain away water and rub peas between your hands to loosen the skins. Cover the peas with water again and drain away the water and skins. Peel the sweet potato, cut it into pieces and boil until tender. Add the onion to a food processor and pulse. Do the same with the potato, peas and chili. (I had to do this in batches because it seems like my food processor was too small.) Flour a work surface. Make flat patties using 2 tablespoons of the bean mixture. Place the patties onto the floured surface (I turned them over once so each side would have flour). Fry in olive oil (I added a small bit of butter, too) until brown and flip to brown the other side. Eat immediately.

Conclusion
These cakes are pretty much bean burgers, sans bread or any other binder. Next time I'll add some salt, though. Tim suggested that they could be a good sandwich base... perhaps with bacon and avocado.

The following week, Nigel and I made Jello shapes. Or at least we attempted to. Being the non-baking person I am, I halved the mixture between 2 shallow dishes, making the Jello too thin for cookie cutters. No worries, though. Nigel still enjoyed stirring up the mixture and eating the jiggly goo.

The week after that, our dear friend Amy invited us over to make Halloween cookies with her son, James. The boys rolled out the dough, cut out the shapes and decorated the cookies. Yummy fun!

And finally, this week, Nigel and I made a lemon cake for Tim. My mom makes super delicious tiny lemon cakes during the holidays, so this was my lazy attempt to duplicate. Instead of lots of tiny cakes, Nigel and I made one loaf-shaped cake. Next, we created a glaze from powdered sugar, lemon juice and orange juice. Nigel liked rolling the lemons on the counter before I squeezed the juice.

What have you been baking?

Stuff Nigel Says

Yesterday I asked Nigel what they talked about in "chapel" at preschool. He said, "Oh nothing much, just the fruit and the spearmint."

Shamless Plug

Did you know you can listen to me talk about RVA with the editor of Cleveland magazine? Well, you can. Check out this podcast. I also made my debut onto the Texas media scene this month with this Q&A in Fort Worth Child magazine.

Friday Cooking: Chocolate Fudge Cake

When the librarian showed me where the kids' cookbooks are, she had no idea she was creating an obsessive monster! This week we picked out four cookbooks: two about healthy snacks and meals, one with ethnic vegetarian dishes, and one that talks about how chocolate comes about. This week's recipe comes from Mom and Me Cookbook: Have fun in the kitchen by Annabel Karmel. I got this book because we own a baby cookbook by the author; it was really helpful when I made Nigel's baby food and wasn't sure about quantities, safety, etc.

Nigel chose this recipe from all of those books. I even brought out the books we own to try and sway him to something else. No dice. Thus, Chocolate Fudge Cake was born. While the recipes in this book aren't as healthy as her baby cookbook, the directions were simple and Nigel could follow along with the pictures. He really enjoyed beating the graham crackers with his mini rolling pin and dumping all of the ingredients into the bowl. The "cake" is a little more sticky than I thought it'd be, (I guess the syrup keeps it from turning into a block.) but it was still pretty tasty. It kind of reminded me of the Sweet Dream Pie.

Ingredients
8oz graham crackers
5oz semisweet chocolate (we used dark)
5oz milk chocolate
1/2 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup raisins (we used dried cranberries and dried cherries)
3/4 chopped dried apricots

Directions
Line an 8-inch square pan with plastic wrap. Break the graham crackers into small pieces. Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup in a double boiler. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the crackers and fruit. Spoon the mixture in the pan and press down. Cool for 1-2 hours and cut.

We DON'T Own A Home!

Seven years and one month ago, Tim and I started our lives over together: as newlyweds in a new house (and me with a new job). Today, we closed on the sale of that same house, and we're essentially starting our lives over again: in a new state, with an awesome son (and a new job — with a recent promotion — for Tim).

It's a little bittersweet. We have so many lovely memories in that home... me babysitting the previous owners' kids while they still lived there, two graduations for Tim, dinners with friends, Nigel's first steps, Nigel's first words. But considering it had been on the market for more than a year, we'd said goodbye to it a long time ago. We are just so happy to have that monkey off our back. Who would have thought we'd be more excited about selling a house than we were about buying one?! We've got some recovering to do, but things could be a lot worse. A huge thanks to our awesome Realtor and friend, Anne Soffee. Anne made a lot of personal sacrifices for us this past year, and we're very grateful. And thanks also go out to everyone who checked in on our house, mowed the lawn, brought in the mail, etc., especially my mom and brothers. Another chapter begins!

Friday Cooking: Cereal Bars

How many people does it take to make cereal bars? Three! One to dump in the dry ingredients (6 cups of cereal, 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and a few chocolate chips); one to melt the 3 tablespoons of butter and a bag of mini marshmallows ... and wash the pot of melted marshmallows; and one to put some muscle into stirring the super sticky mess and spread it into a pan. For such a simple recipe (from the library book Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi ), these bars were a bit of a pain. And ours certainly don't look like the neat pressed bars in the book. The sticky cereal kept sticking to the spoon. I guess some cooking spray would have helped with that, but I don't use that stuff so we don't have any. Oh well, Nigel enjoyed picking out the different types of cereal (Grape Nuts, wheat chex, Cheerios and blueberry Kashi flakes) and watching the marshmallows melt.

Balloon Bust

When Tim moved down last fall, he told us about the Plano Balloon Festival. I've been looking forward to it all year! Unfortunately, this year was a bit of a bust. Citing weather concerns, the balloons didn't launch at all during the entire 3-day event. And by the time we left around 7:45 on Saturday, only 2 balloon were inflated for the glow portion.

Nevertheless, fun was still had. We enjoyed a picnic with Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy, and Nigel had fun in the kids' area. Maybe next year we'll see some balloons take flight.

Friday Cooking: Pudding & Cheesecake

You guys, you can't get much easier than last Friday's cooking projects: instant chocolate pudding and a low-carb, low-sugar cheesecake (I'm in training mode again). Nigel dumped in the pudding mix and milk; as you can see, he enjoyed mixing it all together.

The cheesecake was fat-free, sugar-free lemon Jello, hot water and 2 packages of low-fat cream cheese. It tasted a lot like it sounds: dull and kind of gross.

We'll be back with something more inventive this Friday. My pal Amy suggested some cookbooks, so we picked up a few at the library this week, including Pretend Soup. The book looks really cute and simple. There are directions for the parents alongside step-by-step picture instructions for the kiddos. Stay tuned!

Bento Blues

Remember when I had such high hopes for Nigel's lunches? Between you and me, it's a bit of a struggle. I find it difficult to be creative at the end of the day, after I've cooked dinner and washed the dishes. The bento concept — a little bit of a lot of different things vs. a large amount of just a few things — is working out well. He likes the variety of choices and the little surprises. The challenge is that I have to have many different items on hand. And when you're limited in terms of refrigeration and tiny hands (as in, I would rather his teachers enjoy their own lunch than help Nigel open applesauce or something), my choices don't seem that great. Most days Nigel gets some cheese or a sandwich in a cute shape, but I'm not creating edible masterpieces over here, folks.

I know it may not look like it from the pictures, but there's actually a lot of stuff in those tiny boxes; it's just jammed in there. Plus, the kid eats like a horse these days: breakfast at 7 a.m., snack in the car on the way to school at 8:40 a.m., snack at school at 10 a.m., lunch at school at noon and snack on the way home from school at 2 p.m.

His lunches remain very healthy, and he eats every drop, but I'd love to punch it up a bit. I need to get some more sushi rice so I can test out the new molds I recently bought. I also plan on making some corn muffins with veggies this weekend. What's your favorite thing to pack in a lunchbox?

(The rundown, clockwise from top left: mini peanut butter and honey sandwiches, M-shaped cheese (Nigel cut it out), pears, dried pineapple, green bean snacks, cherry tomatoes); sheep-shaped cream cheese and jelly sandwich, animal crackers, dried fruit, oranges, green bean snacks; snack bento... bunny cheese on top of pepperoni and crackers, grapes; turkey and hummus roll-up sandwich, veggie chips, animal crackers, dried fruit, Virginia-shaped cheese)

Friday Cooking: Cookies

We had some Internet issues last week and this weekend, so Friday Cooking is a few days late. I know you were holding your breath to see what we'd make. This was another pretty simple week here. We made basic chocolate chip cookies and added dried cherries. Nigel got to dump in the ingredients, mix and sample some chocolate chips. The cookies were really good, but I need to research some recipes that would allow him to be more hands-on. Any suggestions?

Preschool: The Aftermath

Nigel wrapped up his first full week of school today. He had a blast playing outside, learning kids' names, going to creative movement class and eating lunch. He's even been invited to his first preschool birthday party. (There are two kids on the invite, and they have different last names. Good friends having a duel party?)

Unfortunately, there are already three downsides to preschool: 1) He came down with a runny nose over the weekend. It isn't responding to allergy meds, so looks like a cold. To be expected, I guess, since his exposure to germs has been minimal thus far. 2) He's started saying here and there with a slight Boston accent — hearyar. I'm guessing there's a kid in his class who talks like that. Not a biggie, but for some reason it's really grating on my nerves. 3) The biggest issue, though, is after school he's a cranky old man! On Tuesday, his first full day, I could tell he was tired, but since it was kind of late — 2 p.m. — and he hasn't been napping consistently anyway, we just watched some TV, played outside and chilled. On Wednesday, I made him nap. Despite his protests that he wasn't tired, he was out like a light in less than 5 minutes. I didn't want him to be awake all night, though, so I woke him up after an hour. He was grumpier than an angry drunk. Today we went to the grocery store immediately after school to buy supplies for Friday's cookie project. When we got to the cashier, he went bonkers. I'm talking an all-out scream, like he was being murdered. As the afternoon rolls on — with or without the short nap — he starts getting a little delirious and talking nonsense.

So I kind of feel damned if I do, damned if I don't, in regard to nap. I'm hoping he'll get used to the schedule and we can have pleasant afternoons again. Anyone have any suggestions for making this transition easier?

This Week's Restaurant

I realized the other day that I haven't written about a restaurant in a long time. Truth is, we're (thankfully) been eating at home more. And when we have eaten out, we've stuck with our tried-and-true favorites. Last week, though, Tim and I tried Alvarado's in North Richland Hills while we waited for Nigel to finish his first day of preschool. It's a 24-7 Mexican joint in a converted Taco Bell. I can't vouch for the entire menu, but I can tell you that the breakfast tacos are insanely good! Tim and I each got a chorizo tacos, which included potatoes, eggs, cheese, etc. The chorizo had just enough spice, but not too much kick that it made my eye makeup run. Bonus: quick service and lots of free varieties of salsa.

Has Fall Really Arrived?

Hold the phone, stop the presses: Sunday it was 83 degrees here in Fort Worth. That's 2o degrees cooler than it was just Aug. 30; 30 degrees cooler than many days this summer. The windows are open and the A/C is off. This had better not be some kind of cruel joke! After months of being trapped inside and swimming in a warm pool, we were ready to get out! Our first stop was the zoo. The last time it was cool enough to walk around the zoo was when my mom was in town right before Easter, and even then we were sweaty. On Sunday we started backward this time, so we actually got to see the Texas Wild exhibit for only the second time. We saw wolves, an armadillo and touched a starfish. We were there for three hours... three glorious, unsweaty hours. Then we headed to our favorite picnic spot: The Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. After lunch we walked around a bit before heading home for some outside play. The only unfortunate part of this weather is the wind and absence of rain, neither of which are helping the Texas wildfires.

Friday Cooking: Fruit Pies

This week's cooking experiment was pretty uneventful. I had some leftover pie crust and fruit, so I thought we could make mini fruit pies. Nigel chose pears and peaches for the filling. I diced the fruit and sauteed it in some butter and brown sugar. Nigel helped roll out the pie crust and make circles with cookie cutters. Then I put some fruit on a circle and topped it with another circle. I had hoped to ice the tops of the pies with and icing made of powdered sugar and the juices from the fruit, but I didn't have enough powdered sugar on hand so it was too runny to use. The pies were very dry; I couldn't figure out how to keep juices inside the crust without it running out. Maybe I needed a cornstarch thickener? Cookies are up this Friday, so there will be lots for Nigel to do!

Playing Dress Up

We're in dress up mode here, folks. Nigel's never really been interested in costumes and stuff, but he's shown some signs recently so I'm jumping on it! My mom mailed Nigel a tutu this week. He likes to wear it and dance around like a ballerina and making silly faces. I also went to Thrift Town on Tuesday while he was in school and scored some pretty awesome stuff for $5: fairy wings, a Bob the Builder construction vest and a pumpkin costume. Add all that to the Mardi Gras beads from my pal Bridget, his cowboy hat and a few other items and we've got the makings of a nice prop/dress up box! Can't wait to hit the Halloween section at Target after Halloween.

Preschool, Week 1

Week 1 of preschool has come to an end. Nigel continues to love it! Each day the teachers sent an email to the parents to let them know what went on that day. It was a great starting point for discussion since at first Nigel wasn't really telling us a lot. So far he's read stories, learned new songs and circle time rules, played with Mr. Potato Head, and made a few friends. I was feeling a little unloved earlier this week, but Wednesday and Thursday I got a hug before class. And tonight, when I was late coming back from an interview, Nigel bawled his eyes out when Tim told him they'd have to eat dinner without me. He likes me, y'all. He really likes me!

The Boy Who Loved A Bath

See that boy there? The one who's having a blast in the tub? Oh how we miss that boy. From day 1 Nigel has loved taking a bath. What's not to love — especially for a kid that would live in the pool if we let him. When we moved to Texas he was slightly less interested in taking baths, but he'd still sit still and play for a bit.

That all changed about two weeks ago. One day, after they had worked on the waterline in our neighborhood for the millionth time, some mud came out of the faucet and Nigel saw it. It totally freaked him out. We got over that hurdle, only to have a little poo episode. Now, he's afraid of sitting down in the tub. Afraid is an understatement. There's a whole 'lotta screamin' going on over here. We've got good old fashioned screaming, plus the yelling of some very dramatic — often hilarious — phrases, such as: "I gotta get out of here" and "There's some yuckiness in here." And it doesn't help things that our cold water is so hot (we've had more than 60 days over 100 this summer) that Tim has to run the bath 30 minutes before bath time and add ice cubes to the tub.

It's so dry here that we had been giving Nigel a bath every other day, but in order to get Nigel calmed down we're doing it every night with more play and less cleaning. Any other suggestions?

First Day of Preschool

The first day of preschool was a hit! When we dropped Nigel off, he hung up his backpack and went on inside the class without even looking back. He reports that he played with blocks, sang some songs, had snack and used the potty all by himself. Tim took off work, so that made the day all the more special (we had coffee alone... I know, right?!). This first week is half days, so we're settling in for lunch, a movie (Cars) and a special dinner of Nigel's choice (Smokey's BBQ).

A Shameless Plug

So, I know you all come here for the Nigel updates and photos, but please allow me this shameless plug: My travel story for Cleveland magazine is out! You can read it here. I also made it onto the contributors' page. Yay!

Friday Cooking: Cupcake Cones

This week we borrowed an idea from our trusty kid's cook book, but cheated a tad. Nigel drooled over the cupcake ice cream cones when we first explored the book last week, so we gave it a shot. We used a box mix and canned icing, so unfortunately, Nigel didn't get to do a ton this week. He dumped in all of the ingredients, helped stir (after flicking a bunch of cake mix onto the floor), iced the cooled cones and added the sprinkles. I was worried about the cones falling over in the oven, but they were quite sturdy. The cake mix made way more than the book called for, so we made 10 cones and put the remaining batter into a loaf pan (once the loaf was cool I cut it into little sticks and froze them for Nigel's lunches). Unfortunately, less than 7 hours after we made them, the cones have already gotten a little soggy; Tim said it tastes like chewing on stale bread.

One Super Healthy Kid

I took Nigel for a checkup today so he could catch up on immunizations and get some preschool paperwork completed. I used to joke that I would marry Nigel's RVA pediatrician if we both weren't already married. He was just that awesome... very open to new therapies and ideas. So I was quite anxious about finding a new doctor, especially one here in Texas. Never fear! My pal Amy referred us to an amazing doctor of osteopathic medicine. I was really impressed with her interaction with Nigel. She didn't bat an eye when I told her he drinks almond milk and that he wasn't circumcised.

A huge bonus point was that she didn't make a big deal about him being adopted... she only asked if there was any family history she needed to be concerned about. (We had a bad experience with an older pediatrician in RVA when we first brought Nigel home. He had an bump on his arm that the old man discounted as "some African ritual." We knew that wasn't right. When we took Nigel to the VCU adoption clinic, the doctor was furious about that comment! Turns out it was a horribly infected mosquito bite that required some special medication.) The entire staff there was quite amazing. When Nigel's vaccination records were faxed piecemeal, one nurse took the time to go through all 25 pages so Nigel didn't get any unnecessary shots. They also set kids up to have a stress-free visit: Nigel got to pick out a special band aid and he got several small trinket toys as rewards.

As always, Nigel got a clean bill of health. He weighs 32 pounds and is 39 inches tall. Nigel got 2 shots (with very minimal fussing) and a blood draw for iron levels (he didn't even flinch... he watched the blood going into the tube). His new doctor was so impressed with how smart he is that she gave him a vision test that's normally for 4 year olds — and he totally aced it.

UPDATE: Not long after I posted this, a nurse from Nigel's doctor's office called back with the results of his blood draw. Turns out, his iron levels are slightly low and they want him to take a kid's multivitamin with iron and calcium. Honestly, I'm totally baffled. Nigel eats red meat, greens, raisins, etc; we have beans at least once a day; and he doesn't drink regular milk anymore (excessive amounts of dairy block iron absorption). My limited Google research suggests that Vitamin C aids iron absorption, so we'll add and an orange or OJ to our breakfast and research the multivitamin. Anyone else dealt with this?

Indoor Obstacle Course

In addition to our indoor exercises, Nigel's added obstacle courses to his beat-the-heat fun. Earlier this week he ran down the hall, did 5 jumping jacks, ran back, and jumped over a yoga block and a yoga mat. Good times.

Friday Cooking: Blueberry Muffins

Friday cooking time here. We're due a trip to the grocery store tomorrow, so we had to choose a recipe based on our existing ingredients. After consulting our recipe box and three kid cookbooks, Nigel chose Blueberry Muffins (recipe below) from the The Kid's Cookbook by Williams-Sonoma; I actually purchased the book back in the late 1990s when I worked at Time Life.

Nigel helped measure and dump the flour, baking powder and milk; stir the ingredients; line the cupcake tin with paper liners; and add the blueberries. There was also a good teachable cooking moment — and an example of why baking and I don't mix: We reread the ingredients before we scooped out the muffins and realized we'd forgotten to add the sugar!

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups flour (we used 1 cup of whole wheat and 1 cup of all-purpose)
1/2 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 t vanilla
1 cup blueberries (we were a little shy of a cup, so we defrosted some frozen strawberries and tossed those in, too)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine milk, beaten egg and vanilla. Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients; combine and add blueberries. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin liners. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Bento Boxes

Over the last two years I've become obsessed with Bento boxes and planning Nigel's lunches for school. The moment is almost here, so I finally bought some supplies. These two boxes (sorry for the crappy cell phone picture) are from Minoya in Plano; the lemon is there for scale. They were $3.99 each, compared to $10+ online. The most important thing, though, is that Nigel is able to open them on his own. I also bought a mini rice mold. Stay tuned for some photos of lunches. Want to learn more about Bentos? Here's my favorite blog!

Friday Cooking: Sweet Dream Pie

As much as we're all ready for Nigel to start preschool in a few weeks, I am kind of sad that we won't have as much time together. So, I thought it'd be fun to do something special together on the days that he's home. Enter: Friday Cooking. I LOVE to cook, but I hate to bake. Even if I'm following a recipe I usually mess something up and end up disappointed. So, this project will also hopefully get my over my fear of the exact, measured kind of cooking baking requires. Nigel loves to help in the kitchen and eat the results, so it's a win-win.

Last week we enjoyed the book Sweet Dream Pie from the library. In the story, an older couple mixes up an amazing sugary pie with gumdrops, cookies, candy canes, etc. The pie's supposed to make you have sweet dreams, but everyone who ate it ate too much and ended up having wild dreams and a restless sleep.

There's no way I was going to let Nigel eat a pie with all of those things inside, so we dug through my recipe box and he chose a Chocolate-Nut Tart with Dried Fruit recipe that I'd clipped from Gourmet (the recipe's below). It was pretty easy, although next time I'll steer him toward a recipe that he can do more with (read: one that doesn't having scalding hot cream and involve lots of knife work). Nigel pricked the pie crust, measured out the dried fruit and nuts, spread the jelly, dumped the cold cream into the pan before I heated it up, etc. What does it taste like? The pie is VERY rich, and it reminds me of my beloved Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Bar. If you're fortunate to live in a not so hot place, you might be able to leave the pie out on the counter. We're not that fortunate, so I had to store it in the fridge and then let it soften slightly on the counter.

Chocolate-Nut Tart with Dried Fruit
1 refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of a 15-oz package)
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 cup whipping cream
12 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup assorted nuts (we used pecans because they're soft and hazelnuts because they're relatively easy to chop)
1 cup assorted dry fruit (we used pineapple, golden raisins and razzcherries)
pinch of salt
1/3 cup toffee bits for garnish (we didn't do this)

Preheat oven to 450. Press pie crust into bottom and up sides of 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom (we don't have this kind of pan because, again, I don't bake, so I used a normal pie pan); trim edges and prick crust with a fork. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool. Spread preserves over the bottom of the crust.
Bring cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Reduce to low and add chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in nuts, fruit and salt. Spread chocolate mixture in crust. Sprinkle toffee bits on top. Chill until set. (I let it cool on the counter for a bit and then some in the fridge before I covered it with plastic wrap). Serve cold or at room temperature.

Our Newest Jam

We've got preschool on our minds, and this song in our heads! One of Nigel's preschool teachers called this week to introduce herself and to schedule a little "get to know you" session in 2 weeks. (He goes half days the following week.) She sounds really sweet and very excited. I guess we're really doing this, huh?!

Hot Enough For You?

I never really read forwarded chain emails, but this one from my pal Bridget caught my attention and made me laugh so much I had to pass it along. The record heat wave here in Texas is hard to ignore, and this little fictional exchange below is so close to my journey with Texas it's scary!

Just Moved to Texas

The truth can be funny

June 1st:
Just moved to Texas !
Now this is a state that knows how to live!!
Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings.
What a place!
It is beautiful.
I've finally found my home.
I love it here.

June 14th:
Really heating up.
Got to 100 degrees today. Not a problem.
Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air- conditioned car.
What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this.
I'm turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today.
Lots of cactus and rocks.
What a breeze to maintain.
No more mowing the lawn for me.
Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week.
How do people get used to this kind of heat?
At least it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool.
Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body.
Missed 3 days of work.
What a dumb thing to do.
I learned my lesson though.
Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed my cat, Lomita , sneaking into the car when I left this morning.
By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon.
The car now smells like Kibbles and Shits.
I learned my lesson though.
No more pets in this heat.
Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again..

July 25th:
The wind sucks.
It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!!
And it's hot as hell.
The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now.
$225,000 house and I can't even go inside.
Lomita is the lucky one.
Why did I ever come here?

August 1st:
It's 105 degrees.
Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today.
It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85.
I hate this stupid state.

August 3rd:
If another wise guy cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?'
I'm going to strangle him...Damn heat.
By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

August 5th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts,
When I sat on the seats in the car, I thought my butt was on fire.
My skin melted to the seat.
I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and butt.
Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried butt and baked cat.

Aug 6th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording.
Hot and sunny...Hot and sunny...Hot and sunny...
And the weatherman says it might really warm up next week.
Doesn't it ever rain in this damn state?
Water rationing has been on the last six weeks.
My $1,700 worth of cactus might just dry up and blow over.
Even the cactus can't live in this damn heat.

August 8th:
Welcome to HELL!
Temperature got to 110 today. Cactus are dead.
Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car.
The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me???
"Hot enough for you today?"

August 10th
My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail.
Freaking Texas ...
What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here??
Will write later to let you know how the trial goes...

Author Unknown ~

Happy Family Anniversary to US!

Three years ago, on July 26, 2008, we landed in Ethiopia and held Nigel for the very first time. If you're not super familiar with our adoption journey, here's some background and info on our referral. (Long story short, although we began talking about adoption when we first met in 2000, the process started in November 2006 with our first batch of paperwork. We were added to the official waiting list on March 14, 2007. It was estimated at that time that we'd be "matched" with a child 10-12 months from that date. 14 months later, we were referred for an almost 2-month-old baby boy on May 14, 2008. On July 14, 2008, we received notice that we'd be traveling to Ethiopia on May 25, 2008. We were in country for just a bit over a week.*)

Most adoptive families celebrate this special day, and we're no different. Throughout the year we read adoption-related books (Mother for Choco and Happy Adoption Day are two of our favorites) and talk to Nigel about adoption, but we step it up around this time. We show Nigel pictures of our trip, share stories, etc. Nigel's recently noticed differences in skin color, so we've been talking about that a lot and getting relevant books from the library, including The Colors of Us.

We also do something special to mark the day. The past two years, we've traveled to Washington, D.C. (home to the highest concentration of Ethiopians outside of the country) to tour the zoo, eat Ethiopian food and stock up on Ethiopian ingredients. Since that once 2-hour trek has now turned into an expensive plane ride, we changed things up this year. On Saturday, we met Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy at the Dallas Arboretum early in the day to beat the heat. The gardens here are so beautiful. They currently have a super cute exhibit for kids with castles and Peter Rabbit-themed cottages. We printed off a scavenger hunt sheet from their website so Nigel count find things like a hidden toad, Peter's jacket and a fox. He had a really good time. Next, we headed to Desta, an Ethiopian restaurant that Tim and I had once been to. Nigel, who always eats Ethiopian food at home, wasn't too into it (I think he got restless waiting for the food to come out), but it was super yummy. Afterward we went to Dan and Nancy's for swimming and dinner. We also opened Family Anniversary presents. Tim and I gave Nigel a blanket, T-shirt and traditional outfit we bought in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the outfit, which seemed way too big to give Nigel last year, now looks so small it could fit a doll. Dan and Nancy gave Nigel a really sweet DVD and CD. It was so nice to share this special day with them!

Tim and I cannot imagine our lives without Nigel. Traveling to Ethiopia and becoming parents was a life-changing experience. People often comment that Nigel is "lucky." While I understand the sentiment, I don't think this is the correct word to describe a child who is unable to be raised by their biological parents. Therefore, we honor Nigel and Ethiopia with our Family Anniversary Project, which is simply a donation to a special organization each year. Our first year, we donated to Charity: Water; last year was Nothing But Nets. This year's charity is ... drum roll, please ... Hope's Chest. As you've probably read, there's a dire need for food in the Horn of Africa due to a severe drought. Money donated to the Hearts 4 Hope project will put food into the mouths of those in Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia.

*What you won't find here, is a play-by-play of our trip or details about Nigel's birth family; we strongly believe that his story is his and his alone to share when and if he chooses. We get that people are curious, and we're often asked about it, but it's not our place to tell you. Don't take it personally; even our family and closest friends don't know every detail. And unless you're a doctor who wants to gather some medical info, what greater purpose does the inquiry serve other than curiosity?

Big Boy Bed

Bye bye, crib; hello big boy bed!

Tim got back to DFW a few days ahead of Nigel and I, so he used that time to disassemble the crib and get Nigel a big boy bed and some cool car-themed linens. Nigel was so excited about his bed. It seems to have been a springboard for lots of other big boy things, including using the bathroom and washing his hands all by himself (read, without me helping him with his pants and plopping his booty on the potty). We've added "Make Bed" to his behavior chart, and he does it without complaint. Bonus: He's yet to get out of his bed at night (He's always been a good sleeper, so I didn't really expect that to be an issue, but you never know..). I think Tim and I are both having a hard time seeing him in the bed, but it was time.

Travel Notes

Nigel and I are getting into a rhythm traveling together. There are some things that work for us, and some things we'll do differently next time. For starters, I think it was really helpful to practice going to the airport. The week leading up to our RVA trip, Nigel pulled his carry on bag around the house, pretended to walk through a security scanner and practiced taking his shoes on and off. Fortunately, I was allowed to carry Nigel through the scanner to and from RVA, but at least we were prepared.

On our way out of DFW, we got to the airport pretty early and also found that our gate had changed. Lucky for us, DFW has a train system that loops around the airport. Nigel (left, on the train) had a blast riding around. Our flight left a little after our normal lunchtime, so we packed sandwiches to eat before boarding. Additionally, DFW has playareas scattered throughout; there was one right next to our gate, so Nigel got out some extra energy! We had no issues on the way to RVA; Nigel watched his DVDs and behaved very well.

Our return to DFW was a little more challenging, but nothing major. First, I was given two tickets for Nigel and none for me.... and I didn't realize it until I was almost to the TSA agent. After I ran back to the ticket booth and we cleared security, we learned that since the plane had to depart from a short runway, the pilot could leave behind 30 people or dump fuel. He chose to dump fuel, which meant we had to make a pit stop in Nashville to refuel. I left the DVD player overhead in my pack, thinking I would get it when it was safe to use electronic devices and the seat belt sign was off. Mistake! There was so much turbulence that the pilot never turned off the seat belt light during the hour-plus-long flight. Nigel got a bit restless, but somehow I managed to keep him from a meltdown with snacks, books and the in-flight magazine. Next time I'll be sure to have the DVD player in my lap when we take off.

The next time we travel I'll also leave behind the stroller. Nigel hardly ever uses it anymore, but I brought it along just in case. Each way I checked the stroller at the ticket counter, and each time we landed I didn't remember it until we were halfway to the car. Not a big deal, but considering we didn't use it the entire time we were in RVA it was an unnecessary worry. I'll also bring along smaller suckers for the ascent and descent. Nigel wasn't able to suck on the Tootsie pop and Blow Pop (random suckers I'd saved from various places since we don't buy candy), and therefore he did complain about his ears.

How do you and your child navigate the skies?

We're Baaaack

All three of us are back on Texas soil now after a fun first trip back to RVA. Some highlights of Nigel's visit:

• Riding a jet ski and a tube (towed by a boat) and eating ice cream from the ice cream boat at Smith Mountain Lake with PaPa and Grandma McDonald.
• Playing at the Children's Museum of Richmond, visiting Maymont, cooking and playing with LaLa.
• Roughhousing and reading stories with Uncle George and Uncle John.
• Hanging out with friends at a Fourth of July Parade, a cookout, a rockin' concert in our old 'hood and a fun playdate in the park.
• Eating Lee's Chicken with my pals from Richmond magazine.

We had a great time visiting our friends and family, but I admit I was a wee homesick for Texas and my Texas pals!

Charts!

I forgot to mention in my most recent Nigel update that we've implemented a new nightly ritual: The behavior chart! PaPa and Grandma McDonald gave Nigel a magnetic behavior/responsibility chart similar to this one for Christmas. We started using it a month ago because I was so tired of listening to whining (that's one of the things on the chart). Also, Nigel was doing really well with the potty (he's essentially been potty trained since Christmas), but I noticed that most of the time he wasn't tell me when he had to go; he was doing well because I was still making him go every 2 hours or so.

So, each night before we go to bed we go over the chart. Nigel gets a little magnet for each category that he does well with throughout the day. There are many categories to choose from, but we have about 8 out now, including asking to go to the potty, feeding the dog, attempting to put his clothes on and take them off, cleaning up his room, not whining, and saying please and thank you. There are some categories that he always gets a magnet for (he's pretty stellar at saying please and thank you, and as soon as he rolls out of bed he feeds the dog), but not so much with others (whining comes to mind). As an added incentive, if we haven't had to ask him all day about the bathroom (ie, he has told us each time he needs to go), then he gets a special potty treat at the end of the day. The treats are usually a yogurt-covered pretzel or a tiny star cookie from Central Market's bulk bin section. So far, so good. Anyone else have a chart system in place for their kiddo?

San Antonio, Baby!

Saturday I had the pleasure of flying down to San Antonio to see my pal Melissa and attend her baby shower. Melissa and I became friends in RVA when she started freelancing for Richmond magazine while I was still working there. When I left the magazine to stay home with Nigel and start my freelance business, Melissa took over for me. She and her hubby Stanton ended up in San Antonio 2+ years ago, so she's technically my first Texas pal. You may recall we visited with her this spring in Dallas.

My trip was super quick (I arrived in San Antonio around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday and was back in DFW by noon on Sunday), but I got to spend lots of time with Melissa and Stanton and their families. The shower was so sweet; I can see that baby Grace is going to be surrounded by lots of love. We also spent time at Stanton's parent's house. They are easily some of the nicest people I've ever met. Melissa hit the in-law jackpot!!!! Talk about Texas hospitality!

Melissa and Stanton were also kind enough to show me around downtown. I got to see the Alamo and the famed River Walk. I was expecting the Alamo to be on top of a desert hill, but it's actually smack in the middle of the city. My brothers visited the River Walk on their way to Mexico for a mission trip during high school, so I knew it was going to be neat. That RVA says its canal walk is trying to be like San Antonio's River Walk is laughable. There is no comparison. San Antonio's River Walk is lively and full of shops and restaurants. Sure, it's a little touristy, but it's a focal point and something to be proud of. I can't wait to go back after baby Grace is born!

Today and tomorrow we're tying up loose ends for our trip to RVA. Nigel and I are also playing airport to prepare. He likes to pretend we're going through security, pull his suitcase around and say things that the pilot will say (think: "Ladies and gentlemen, we're now approaching Richmond, Virginia.").

Nigel Update

I know you really only come here for Nigel updates, so here's what the little man has been up to....

• Storytime at the Amon Carter. This week's theme was cowboys. They read 3 stories and talked about 3 paintings about cowboys and horses. Nigel also got to make a sheriff's badge.
  
• Pool time with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan at their house, and swimming with James and his mom at the Y.
• In-house exercising. Since it's so hot we haven't been getting to the playground much, so Nigel and I have been doing exercises at least once a day (in addition to his playtime at the Y). His favorites are doing squats while counting in English and Spanish and pretending to box.
• Getting Nigel to color or be crafty is like pulling teeth these days. But he's REALLY into these Hooked on Phonics learn-to-read worksheets that my mom bought him. He loves tracing the letters with his fingers and rhyming. He's starting to try to sound out words on signs and books. It's pretty exciting.
• Reading books from the library. This week's favorites include The Daddy Mountain and Olivia and the Missing Toy.
• Making more ice pops. This week's flavor combo of cantaloupe and crystallized ginger was inspired by my pal Mollee over at My Broken Stomach.
• Continuing to explore new foods. Corn on the cob, breaded eggplant, almond milk and Lara bars are some recent hits!

A [Belated] Happy Father's Day

Just like Mother's Day, Father's Day is a little bittersweet around here — for numerous reasons. But one thing that doesn't get me down is how awesome of a dad Tim is. Seriously, folks, this man is amazing! I could not wish for a better parenting partner. Tim is a selfless giver of his time, gifts and love. I really don't have adequate words to describe how wonderful it is to watch him interact with Nigel. It makes my heart so full and happy.

So how do you celebrate the world's best dad? For Father's Day we had a special breakfast here at home and gave Tim his presents (a coffee mug with pictures of Nigel on it, a personalized card and a few months of The Economist) before heading out to spend the day with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan.

When I see so many dads out there who need to follow this advice, I know Nigel and I have hit the jackpot!

Going Greener

We're huge recyclers, we have just one family car, Nigel knows to turn the water off while he's washing his hands and brushing his teeth, we're lovers of public transpo (Tim takes the bus to and from work 98% of the time) and this week we added one more thing to our earth-loving household: a clothesline. I'd like to say we put it up for totally altruistic reasons, but the truth is our dryer crapped out on us. The heating element fizzled out. It's the same thing that happened to our dryer in VA a week before we put the house on the market.

Unfortunately, the dryer that came with our rental house was kind of just left behind ... it's not really part of the agreement. Which is to say, our landlord won't be rushing to fix or replace it — if they even do anything at all. So, while it's so flippin' hot around here, we figured why not toss up a clothesline and let nature do the work!

The only shaded part of our yard (read: the only part that's shielded from the hundreds of birds and their droppings) is under the carport. Thus, our clothesline is part WT and part hippie!

Still Hot, Hot, Hot

Unfortunately, the heat is keeping us away from the Mavs victory parade today. In fact, for the last several days the temperature here in DFW has risen above 100. When we moved here, we told people we'd be able to handle the heat given that Richmond frequently hits the 100 degree mark and is also saddled with sticky, oppressive humidity. But let me tell you, hot is hot! The angle of the sun here plus the fact that there isn't a ton of shade makes it pretty unbearable. And whereas Richmond would start to cool down around 5 p.m. (last summer my pal Megan and I ran 3 miles once a week around 6 p.m. and didn't die), it's sweltering well past 7 p.m. here. Hot is hot!

For the last few weekends we've spent time with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan in Plano. We really enjoy hanging out with them. For the last two weekends, their granddaughter Sheridan has been in town from Florida. Nigel adores her; she was so sweet to him. They swam together, shared popsicles and played silly games. I think he's going to be really bummed this weekend when we go visit and Sheridan's returned home to Florida.

We've also been coping with the heat by doing lots of indoor things, including a weekly storytime at the Amon Carter museum in addition to our our old standby library storytime. I have been telling everyone I know who'll listen about storytime at the Amon Carter. Each week the kids listen to three different stories in front of three different paintings and then do a craft and have snack. And it's all FREE! The stories, paintings and craft tie into a theme. Last week's theme was the jungle; yesterday they talked friends. Nigel thought the book Children Make Terrible Pets from this week's storytime was hilarious! Each kid made two necklaces of heart halves — one to keep and one to give to a friend. Cute, isn't it? He's planning on giving his pal James one of the necklaces.

Am I Bigger Yet?

We've been having lots of talks lately about growing up and getting bigger.

Doing Things Alone: "I'm going to go on a safari by myself. But how will I open the door?"

His Body: "My hands aren't as big as daddy's yet. I'm going to grow so big that I can touch the ceiling."

Food: "When I'm 5 I can have popcorn. Am I 5 yet?" (Click here to see why wee ones shouldn't eat popcorn.)

Moving On: "When I'm bigger and I go to college, is your heart going to break into pieces or just crack?"

All of this talk has me asking for lots more hugs and cuddles these days!

Staying Cool

A few days ago Nigel and I tossed one pear, five strawberries and a tiny splash of juice into the food processor to make our own ice pops. They were a hit!

The Swimming Continues

In case you haven't heard, it's hot as heck down here. One day last week our car registered the outside temperature at 107. I didn't even know it went that high! Thankfully, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan have a pool, and they're kind enough to let us spend time with them in it. Nigel's swim lessons might be over, but he's still learning! On Sunday he was in the pool for nearly 5 hours. We could hardly get him out for lunch - and I'm talking hot dogs and chips, people! He wears floaties while he's there (still building up arm strength), but he's swimming... kicking his legs, moving his arms and sticking his face in the water. And he LOVES to jump in.

Get This Kid An Agent!

We're learning this song a few verses at a time.

Nigel's New Jam

We're big fans of YouTube videos around here, as you'll recall from this post. Whenever Nigel's in a funk, we ask him if he's being the best Nigel he can be (99% of the time he truthfully answers, "No."). So it's no wonder that our newest obsession is Will.i.am's "What I Am" from Sesame Street, which you can watch here.

No Sleep 'Til Richmond!

Nigel and I leave for Richmond one month from today! (Tim will be joining us one or two days later.) We're getting really excited about seeing our family and friends.

I'm also looking forward to meeting with my RVA clients and working on a travel story for Cleveland magazine! Thanks for the super cool suitcase, LaLa!!!