HO, HO, HO: 12 DAYS OF MOMMY

This past week I felt like I was back in college, prepping and cramming at the last minute for finals and term papers. (Sure, one might ask what kind of papers and finals are given when you're majoring in Theater/Acting, but trust me-- It wasn't all cigarettes and jazz hands). Anyway, these past few weeks (entire year, really) have felt like I've been on a spin cycle. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: right now, life is challenging. In. every. way.

Take this picture for example. This is of me trying to get ready for work in the morning and Jonah ready for school. In order to do that, ("that" being trying to pull an elephant out of a worm's asshole), I had to pretend that I was going to leave the house wearing J's clothes and use his shopping cart as my purse.... in order to get him to laugh... in order to get him to relax... in order for me to get ready .... in order for us to JUST get of the door....

(BTW, you can't see it, but my left arm is in his robe).

There are two things these days that I'm missing very much and wishing I could have/ do more of:

-Time with my son. Truly unfettered, slowed down and not rushed time.

-Blogging. I read others blogs all day long. I want to write more on mine. And I don't want to have to think too much about what I write. I just want to post.

So, in an effort to do/have both, I'm taking the next two weeks off of work work, to some home work. Literally.

I've declared now through the end of the year as: The 12 Days of Mommy.

Every day, I'm going to do something different with my son. Whether it's just a long walk to the library, making sugar cookies, or taking him to see a movie in the theater for the first time, I want to spend time creating memories and give him some of the undivided attention that I think he's craving right now....

On the blogging side, I'm going to post about our experiences..... However, I should clarify that a 12 Days of Mommy post may not always be about a Mommy/son day or moment. Oh, no.

A day of Mommy post might be about just ME... working out, hanging pictures, or watching my new favorite show (where has Celebrity Rehab been all my life?!) After all, *I* am Mommy and oh, do I need a day....

Who knows, I might even decide to actually leave the house using a farm house as my purse... And do a Jazz Hand on my way out. The possibilities are endless. Let the fun begin....

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: INTO THE WOODS

Into the woods....

To find some butterflies we go....

And.... stop at Starbucks after to refill the coffee cup mommy thought would survive in her pocket.

*Note* Hard to believe, but this is my first Wordless Wednesday. At some point I imagine I'll catch on and actually NOT use words. Be patient. :-)

HANUKKAH LATKE SWAP WITH ONE HUNGRY MAMA

In 2nd grade, I can remember having a pen pal and thinking how amazingly special it was to connect with a little girl in Russia who was living a polar opposite life (but probably had the beginning of a mustache like me). Nearly 30 years later (minus 7. You do the math), perhaps it was my tale of burnt toast and hot firemen that sparked (no pun intended) the attention of Stacie Billis of One Hungry Mama ... But alas, I think I have a new pen pal again. Though we live on opposite coasts, I'm not so sure our lives are polar opposite (though I'm certain she knows how where blades go in a Cuisinart... but more on that later). Our biggest common denominator? The desire to create food memories for our children... The desire create new family traditions, especially during the holidays...

After reading a few posts, including the burnt toast incident that rocked the nation and a tweet about me making my very first pie over Thanksgiving, Stacie reached out to me about doing something collaborative for Hanukkah. I was so touched and honored (and scared), I had to take it on. Not to mention, I'm certain that my Nana's latkes are gods gift to man so it was with pride that I could hand over that recipe to her. In exchange, Stacie shared her latke recipe-- a work in progress, as she says... a recipe that improves every year.

Though Greek, Stacie grew up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood and longed to be Jewish her whole life. Apparently she even asked if her family could swap Hanukkah for Christmas (I totally get it BTW. 8 Nights. 8 Gifts. Oily food. Done). Stacie married a nice Jewish boy who also feels that family culture and history is important to share with children.

"We're starting our own traditions, secular, Greek & Jewish one.

And we're making the Jewish ones up along the way."

I think I love this girl.

Okay... so let's cut to the recipe chase. And a CHASE, it literally was...

From not knowing how to get the damn blade in to my Cuisinart....

To watery eyes...

To getting ready to sizzle and realizing I needed OIL to get my sizzle ON... *DUH*...

This was one awesome recipe swap and adventure. All in all the latkes turned out to be delicious. The second batch was definitely better... But like my new dear foodie friend, I too am a work in progress... Thank you, Stacie! Happy Hanukkah Everyone!

To read Stacie's story about our swap, visit Babble's Family Kitchen.

One Hungry Mama's Latkes

Makes about 16 pancakes

· pat of butter

· 1/4 c matzo meal or plain breadcrumbs

· 2 lbs russet potatoes (about 4 large), shredded with the large wholes of a box grater or the shredder attachment of your food processor

· 1 onion, grated in the same way as the potatoes

· 1 12 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp pepper

· 1 tsp ground mustard

· 2 eggs

· veg oil for frying

1. Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the matzo meal or breadcrumbs and toast until they turn golden brown.

2. In the meantime, roll the potatoes in a kitchen towel (I find that terry cloth works best) and squeeze out as much water as possible.

3. Combine toasted breadcrumbs, potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, mustard and eggs in a bowl. Mix well. This is your "batter."

4. Heat oil a large pan. You want it to come up the sides just about 1/4"--it should be enough to coat the entire bottom and then some. Add about a palmful of batter to the oil, flattening a bit. Repeat. Be sure not to overcrowd; depending on the size of your pan, you'll fit anywhere from 4-6 pancakes in a batch. Allow one side to brown before flipping each pancake over. Brown the other side and move cooked through pancake from the pan to a plate covered with paper towels to drain. Serve hot. I like serving these with homemade apple sauce (I make it right in the slow cooker) and sour cream.

MUST HAVE TOY?

Toys. Is there really a reason to ever buy real ones? I mean... from the Raaawrr (like a bear) game, to the "I Can't Find Jonah... Here I am Mommy!" game (aka. I-haven't-quite-grasped-the-hide-and-go-seek-concept yet-game), to the Wrap-him-up-like-a-burrito-and-pretend-I-ordered-a-quesadilla-instead game, sometimes I wonder if buying a child an elaborate toy is even necessary....

I mean, when a 3 year old has as much fun cramming as many stuffed animals into his pajamas as he can, for the mere opportunity to see himself with a lumpy tush, is investing in the hottest, and probably toxic toy, worth it?

Well, fortunately for YOU, you can have the best of both worlds and not spend a dime.... Parents Ask is giving away $150 to Toys"R"Us PLUS an awesome Melissa & Doug Wooden work bench (that is most certainly NOT toxic). Simply leave a comment on the link and you will be entered to win. Good luck!

JENNIFER BRANDT'S "LIVING"

In addition to the "Minty Mallows" that sucked me in at Trader Joes, when I saw a Gingerbread Man kit for $3.99, I couldn't resist. I instantly had visions of Jonah and I sitting together, decorating this darling cookie while drinking hot cocoa in our winter PJs... establishing a holiday tradition which one day would include me even baking a gingerbread house (mansion really) and inviting all the children to come and decorate it using "snow caps" that I had hand crafted... in my craft studio... next to the cozy fire place.... and our heavenly smelling Christmas tree.

Sure we're Jewish and I stopped getting Martha Stewart magazines years ago... But a girl can dream...

Anyway, tonight I decided we'd give the GB dude a whirl.

We decided this guy needed a lot of buttons. And apparently, gladiator sandals (they were supposed to be Uggs).

Of course, once GB guy (who Jonah decided we should call Judy) was dressed, it was time for the creativity to really begin. Hello, green water. Goodbye green sprinkles (that I had every intention of using on sugar cookies... last year).

All in all, it was actually quite fun and should time ever permit and creativity reign, I could very well see myself making this an actual tradition, using more impressive decorative goods than the low-budge kit from TJ's. But, I'd be shocked if Martha could come up with a better idea for dealing with a mess than trash bags on the floor...

PERFECTLY TRENDY...

I don't often check my stats to see what kind of traffic I get. Even though I've been blogging since 2007, I generally assume that no one except my mom and maybe a teenager lost on the Internet in Uruguay reads my blog. Okay, fine, that may sound a little pathetic, but in all honesty, the dial is very seldom pushed by a new referring URL or traffic source.

However, the other day I noticed a spike--- from two places... one took research. One did not. The one that took research eventually led me to a lovely little forum where everyone's avatar/ photo is of Joe Flannigan. (You remember him from that interview I did on the set of "Change of Plans?"). Right. Anyway, these people like a show that JF was on called "Stargate." A lot. And that's what/all they talk about. Well, apparently, my interview with him was the subject of a lot of "Joe is a hot dad" fodder. Listen, I don't disagree... he is cute.... which is probably why many of the comments in the forum said that it "it seemed like the interviewee was rather taken with Joe..." (Oh, people of Stargate-land. I am a PROfessional.... He's hot. Ahem. He's hot).

But back to my traffic....

So the other place I noticed my traffic was coming from was ELLE... as in ELLE! Well, okay... Technically, it was ElleGirl.Elle.com... They're "junior" site. But still! I thought- Lists, like the one we're doing on Momversation are surfacing all over the web of top blog round ups, has ElleGirl done one of their own? What list would they do?? Top Blogs that Will Make You Rethink Motherhood? OR Blogs that will make your Liz Lemon-like mom laugh?

But, no... It was not a Blog of the Year list. Rather, it was an article on emerging fall trends... and "Perfectly Disheveled" was linked to (on purpose...?) and used as a a term used to describe the combination of winter fabrics and summer styles...

The article goes on to talk about how to pair contrasting fabrics and styles and how you can update your wardrobe to look this chic too....

Well, Elle Girls coming to my site in hopes of some darling "oxymoronic" wardrobe ensembles, allow me to leave you with this: Let this picture be your guide of the fashion in YOUR forward...

Oh, yes, my pretties... Someday... You'll see...

GOD KNOWS...

I can remember being about 8 years-old and carefully coloring in between the lines on a plastic sheet... minutes later I would place this delicately crafted piece of plastic on a baking sheet, shove it in the oven and wonder: How, oh, how will this plastic Barbie shrink to the size of Tom Thumb???

SHRINKY DINKS.

Do you remember them?

They were incredible. Magical. And frighteningly unsafe and probably, TOXIC.

They HAD to be toxic.

Right???

With a 3 year old, I definitely try to do my best to provide foods (minus the occasional "Old" McDonald meal we indulge on every blue moon) that aren't blatantly out to destroy organs. But to be honest, I can't say I'm as strict with toys. In fact, just this weekend, we were playing with a toy (that Jonah got to pick out after sleeping in his big boy bed for the first night) that reminded me of the (WTF-god-only-knows-what-goes-into-this-toy-to-make-it-do-this) wonderment I remember as an 8 year old playing with shrinky dinks.

Basically, he would take this yellow car, squeeze it with COLD water (has to be COLD water!) and then send it through the car wash....

The car goes down the slide, as most cars do at fancy car washes (right?), and voila, The car is now (in HOT water) and RED.

Magic and not a drop of ink or paint or lead visible on my son's chubby little fingers.

Sid the Science Kid would have a friggin' field day trying to figure this sucker out.

Do YOU monitor what kinds of chemicals go in to your children's toys?