housecleaning ala June Cleaver is dead??? 

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/cnn-or-c-a-n-child-abduction-network/

CNN or C.A.N. — Child Abduction Network?

Posted on June 25, 2009 by lskenazy

One reason Americans are so extremely terrified about child abductions is that whenever we turn on the TV or computer, there’s another one. As if these horrific crimes are happening 24/7, when actually the media is only too happy to fly across the country — or world — to set up camp wherever a cute, white girl has disappeared. Tight news budgets get thrown out the window  for a story like this. But because that story then shows up on our screen at home,  it feels like it’s happening right around the corner. All the time.

What happens when there is NOT a new story like this for the media to feast upon? Instead of traveling to another state, or country, they’ll travel back in time. The show 20/20 just did an hour-long look at the Etan Patz kidnapping from 30 years ago. And here’s CNN’s Nancy Grace page , from a few days ago: “Third Grader Stepped Off School Bus, Disappeared.”

Start reading it: ” With the weekend arriving and a long day finally over, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan stepped off her yellow school bus on a chilly Friday around 4 p.m….”

Oh, by the way, CNN finally adds at the end of paragraph three: This was in 1985.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t make sense to sometimes revisit a cold case in hopes of solving it. I do hope someone solves this one. But it begins to  look suspiciously self-serving when networks desperate for viewers keep coming up with the exact same kind of story, served up any which way they can. How about the cold case of an African-American teenager gone missing? Or a schitzophrenic adult? Or someone who isn’t winsome, white and under five feet tall?

A newly Free-Range mom dropped me a little note this morning trying to help all of us (herself included)  put our fears in perspective: The chance of a child being kidnapped and murdered? 1 in 1.5 million. The chance of a child ending up at some point with some form of depression? 1 in 4.

(emphasis mine! – Sandra)

It is extremely depressing, disheartening, lose-your-faith-in-humity-izing, to keep being presented with the most vile crimes on earth as if that’s what life  is all about. As if that’s just what you can expect if you’re bringing up a kid these days.

So what’s the alternative?

One of the chapters in my book is called, “Turn Off the News.” At the end it has some suggestions for how to get started  going Free-Range, including, “Get up and go out. Spend that hour you were going to watch ‘Law and Order’ on a walk with the kids instead. Look around at all the unspeakable crimes not being committed. This is called the Real World. (Not to be confused with MTV’s version, which is a crime all  its own.)”

When we depend on the media to shape our world view, we’re going to get a world view that looks a whole lot like the view from a harried, ratings-obsessed assignment desk: If it bleeds, it leads. If it’s sad, we’re glad! If it’s an abduction, ramp up production! 

Which they sure do.

But if a network thinks its job is to terrify us, maybe it’s time to turn the tables and terrify them: Let them watch their viewers mysteriously disappear, never to be seen again.

Someday, they may even do a cold case special on us. – Lenore

To Alton Brown’s tomato sauce.  His recipe is on his site, I play around with recipes to make them my own.  But you simply must try this!

Take 8 or 10 tomatos, any kind, and cut them in half.  Use your pinky to scoop out some of the seeds and goop, place on a cookie sheet like cups.  Dice up an onion or two, and some garlic, and sprinkle on top.  Add some salt and pepper and some basil, then drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Bake at 325 for an hour, then turn up the heat to 400 for about 30 minutes.  Remove and let cool a little bit, then puree in the food processor or blender.

Best base EVAH for pasta sauce, salsa, chili, or anything you use a tomato sauce for.  Smoky, rich, dark, flavorful. 

I decided to start making it in batches and freezing, to use as a base for my meals.  LOVELY!

The Fried Food Myth

I remember watching this episode of Alton Brown on the Food Network and forgot about it – but recently I was frying up some ravioli and remembered it, so I thought I would find it out there in Internet-land and share it with my friends!

Fried food really does get a bad rap.  We may begin frying a few more things here, because frankly, you just can’t get the same taste and texture from a baked french fry… or fish stick… or mmm… I have a great Bloomin’ Onion recipe.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY49Xxol_WY]

In case you missed it… in an entire two to three person portion of fish sticks and french fries – deep fried PROPERLY - only about 1.5 teaspoons of oil that got absorbed by the foods.  Mmm… I smell some homemade french fries in our future!

 

The MSG Myth

Even my own step father thinks he gets ill from MSG.  I still read today, on message boards and blogs, that people avoid it.  The Food Detectives did a show about this too – long after I already know there was no evidence of any harm from this monosodium glutamate.  One guy plus a headache in 1968 started this myth.  Ironically, the people that think they get headaches or nausea after eating foods with MSG don’t get the same effects from eating, say, a STEAK – which has it naturally.   MSG is nothing but an amino acid with a little sodium.  That’s it.  No secrets, no chemical creations, no big agenda to poison you, nothing.  And guess what?  It’s natural.

(Part 1):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMihS5pFzQ0]

(Part 2):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW__LPYTlk0]

(I get a kick out of all the people that, upon believing they ate it, “felt the effects of” the MSG, even though they didn’t get any!)

I’ve always cooked with it – it really brings out the flavors of meats and other foods wonderfully.  You can pick up a shaker full at your local grocery store in the spice aisle - my cupboard would be empty without it.  And studies have CLEARLY SHOWN it does not cause headaches or other ill effects.  Period.  Isn’t that great news?

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3602/

MSG Causes Headaches (aka Chinese Restaurant Syndrome): “Jeffery Steingarten, food editor of the Vogue in New York, debunked this myth pretty comprehensively. Given the widespread use of MSG in China, he asked why weren’t there a billion Chinese people with headaches? He then went around relentlessly researching the theory in his characteristically thorough way, and came to the conclusion that MSG, taken in normal quantities, was perfectly safe.” (I know many people who swear they get headaches after eating MSG, so I’m reluctant to accept this as an urban legend. But some quick research reveals that a controlled study at Harvard University also concluded that MSG in food doesn’t cause headaches.)

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14119082.400-science-why-msg-myth-is-a-load-of-chop-suey-.html

These are just two of the hundreds (maybe thousands!) of documents debunking MSG.  And I’ll bet, if you really think about it, WHY do you think MSG is bad?  Probably because someone told you it was.  You’ve never seen “proof”.  You’ve just “heard it was”. 

You must be aware that MSG, a compound of sodium and glutamic acid, an amino acid, is also found in many natural foods, including peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, and cheese. In fact, every time you eat a food containing protein you are certain to ingest glutamate, according to the Tufts University Diet & Nutritional Letter, Vol. 9, No. 12.

Now, I don’t want regaled with everyone’s personal stories of getting a headache after eating at Dim Yong Song’s restaurant.  You probably ate a spice or drank a cocktail… but really, if your mind is going to create a pain, there’s not much that anyone can do to dispel it.  Just don’t come to my house to eat dinner… I probably added MSG to the meal!

What you eat and what you feed your family is always a very personal choice.  Just like I don’t buy into the whole organic “hype” (the tomatos I buy at half the price, rinsed off in my sink, are just as good!), I also know some things get so exaggerated in the media and among internet chat rooms; so my family chooses to LIVE, enjoy good foods while still eating healthy, and have a great time doing it!

Ciao!  (and CHOW!)

The helicopter parents, that is.  Do they wear earplugs or does the WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH of the blades not disturb them?

Do their children not have to wear sunscreen because of the shadow of their mothers?

My kids have no idea how lucky they are.  I think I will remind them tonight when they come home – oh, from wherever they are playing at, which is – um, dunno.  But they’re safe, and they’ll be home in one piece later.

Well, it’s really more of a punctuation vent.  Almost as annoying as my Grammar Vent #1 pertaining to the use of “I” (She went to the store with Bill and I – *shivers * – it’s Bill and ME!)…

Apostrophe “s”.

It is not: How many pencil’s do I need?  The three cat’s were standing at the door.  I’m an idiot five time’s over because I make plural words possessive.

STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!

Just what does the pencil own in the above sentence?  The word “do”?  No.  NO.  The pencils own nothing.  If you said “the pencil’s color was blue”, then you can apostrophe until you’re, well, blue.  But not when it’s PLURAL!!!

Augh.  Okay, I feel better now.  At least in speech I can’t hear people add apostrophe’s every time word’s are just plural’s.

I forgot to post this on the 1st… but we’re still going strong!

Let’s see… I haven’t talked about Ayla’s achievements this year, now that I think about it.  Some of Ayla’s milestones over the past few months… she can now get up on the trampoline by herself!  She can get on the counter to get snacks like her big sister, too.  She has almost mastered her tricycle – she needs just a little more encouragement to keep her feet on the pedals.    She can scale the ladder to her slide, navigate the stairs almost the whole way, standing up; she of course has mastered the spoon and fork and eats anything and everything like a champ.  She is “behind” Autumn in talking, but “ahead” of where Autumn was in regards to her physical abilities.  No worries, it all will balance out in the end!

Autumn’s now writing all of her numbers and letters beautifully, writing her name easily and quite legibly, without help.  She will start Kindergarten in the fall of 2010, and I think she’ll be right on track with her skills.  She’s going to do great, I just know it.

Justus’ new medication dose has changed his life.  He is now a social butterfly!  He’s rarely here anymore, the phone rings until all hours of the night, and he has a girlfriend, Sarah!  Compared to last year, when he only had one friend (who is a carbon copy of him!), this is a welcome change.  I think he may be busier than Brett is!  Now he’s hounding me for a cell phone, which, depending on how often he’s gone, he may just get.  He sometimes leaves in the morning and I won’t see him for 5 or 6 hours or more, as he visits and travels the neighborhood and the neighborhood next to us.  I’m so happy for him, so proud of him, and so thrilled that he’s making so many good friends.  This will make the transition to the new 6th grade school so much easier – and there will be more new friends there to make too!

Brett finished the year on the honor roll – he was on it for every grading period.  I couldn’t be more proud.  He’s enrolled in some college prep courses next year to prepare him for medical school.  He still thinks he wants to be a GP – I hope he keeps that dream alive.  He has been hesitant to study for his temporary license though – I think he’s more nervous than he originally let on.  I’m glad – he SHOULD be nervous, taking control of a 4,000 piece of metal!  The insurance to add him is nominal, I told him I’d meet him halfway on that and he would have to pay for his own gas.  He’s cool with it.  He’ll be driving my van until he saves enough money to go in on a car.  I think he’ll do fine.

And that’s a brief summary of the kids.  All healthy, all happy, all doing well.  Have a great day!

Autumn got her “big girl bike” last week, and after only an hour on it, she was a pro.  And we can’t get her off of it!

She could’ve gotten it last summer, but she was so attached to her Dora Bike (okay, it’s a regular tricycle that she put Dora stickers allllllllll over) that she didn’t want a big bike… but we had an opportunity to get a great hand-me-down from a friend and convinced her that she’d love it.  And we were right.  We “girlied” it up with a Princess basket and tassles and a pink bell, and Autumn is going to hunt for Princess stickers to put on it.  She’s growing up too fast!

 

Showing her little sister how it works:

And really, what’s more fun than chasing your friends through the neighbor’s sprinkler??

And Ayla was enjoying the “rain” too… but she stopped to take a break:

 

Ah, isn’t summertime grand?