Wondering what OCI FAD is? I thought so. It’s an acronym for…Oh Crap I Forgot About Dinner!

Sometimes this happens to the best of u; we get carried away with playing or a chore and all of a sudden it’s 5:30. Not such a big deal unless you have a gang of boy offspring (yes, I have three and love testosterone) who are starving and could melt down any moment. They might look fine now watching PBS kids, but at any moment a “girl show” might come on or they might just loose interest. That’s when Mom can come under attack…fighting, crying fits, and general annoying behavior is the weapon of choice for hungry kids.

I try to resist the old standbys like mac and cheese, canned soup, or heaven forbid some kind of instant rice and sauce in a bag. Here is a recent recipe that worked perfectly to solve an OCI FAD crisis last week. Now the ingredients will be on my shopping list as staples…everyone loved it.

Souper Soba Noodle Soup

A couple of handfuls of mushrooms (shitake is yummy but use whatever you have)
A big bunch of fresh spinach
A few stalks of green onion
Chicken broth (a big full pot for a family, smaller amounts for smaller groups, maybe 2 1/2 cups per person)

One package of dry soba noodles
Soy sauce, pepper

Teaching my boys about giving back and protecting our environment is definitely a priority. They bring home so much stuff from school, parties, and other events that is dollar store junk and sadly destined to be landfill. These trinkets, bought with good intentions, bring them some instant gratification but soon becomes just another piece of plastic floating around our house — something for me to step on in the dark or the dog to chew up (but hopefully not swallow!). Quite often these types of toys break before the novelty has even worn off, and if not, as soon as their enthusiasm fades I sneak the toys off to recycling or our local re-use it center. When it comes to these nasty dodads, birthday parties can be the worst offenders, that’s why I was thrilled to find Echoage.

Echoage is based on a simple concept of One Cause/One Gift. Parents can log on, create a hip invite, pick a charity of choice and the rest is done by Echoage. You can track the RSVP’s and donations online and even send out thank-you cards apres the big day.

The donations are split between the charity of choice and the birthday girl or boy, allowing them to buy one meaningful gift that they really want or need. No wrapping makes the day environmentally mindful, and giving to a charity gives you a wonderful teaching opportunity for everyone at the party. I like to make or buy a special card for all the guests to sign that day to tuck in my son’s memory box as well.

Remember to Keep up the Good Work

Try to have re-useable cutlery, decorations, and activities at your child’s party. Decorating cookies or cupcakes, making their own pizzas, a neat craft, or some good ole party games like Hot Potato or Musical Chairs always keeps kids entertained. Finish the event off with a couple eco-friendly party favors; a batch of homemade playdoh can easily be divided up and sent home in reusable mason jars…tie on a tag with the recipe to finish it off. A bandana or piece of pretty fabric can wrap a few good quality drawing pencils , one special book or keepsake. The internet has loads of sites to give recipes, craft ideas or green products.

Some days are tough, bed head that fights back, spilled milk, rain, pesky family members…we’ve all been there. Really though it’s only bad hair, a small clean up job and people living together, it’s all a matter of changing your point of view. A little less Eyore a little more Jeanette Walls.

On the eighth day when God was handing out whining privileges, he came upon Jeanette Walls and said, “For you, an unlimited lifetime supply.”
Chicago Tribune

The Glass Castle is Jeanette Walls’ astonishing memoir of childhood. It’s her account of being raised by a self-absorbed artist as a mother and a brilliant father suitable for a Disney Movie. His downfall is alcohol, though, and drinking binges stamp out everything charismatic about his character.

Still, you love them…and amazingly enough the kids stay loyal to their parents throughout unimaginable hardships. I could not put this story down and if you enjoy a book that fills you with real emotion, you will devour this as I have.

Books, even fictional books, can be such wonderful food for the soul. They bring us perspective, they open our imaginations and offer and escape from the everyday. Stepping away from the mindlessness of television to the stimulating world of reading never leaves me disappointed. Finding several people who enjoy reading the same type of books and forming a book club is a fantastic way to have fun and get a little more out of your reading. I have been part of several book clubs and currently belong one filled with members to whom I can really relate.

Why not pick up a book tonight, and spend some time with new friends.

Ahhh, the chatckas and trends that bring you right back to way back then…today’s question comes from our Snickerdoodles writer, Kerry MacLeod.



Carrie says: My sewing machine, at which I spent hours making my clothes. My first Adidas track suit (felt so cool). The Elton John album from Jude and Sandy.
 



Danielle says: The full collection of The Little House on the Prairie books, my Andy Gibb battery-operated microphone, and unicorn stickers. And I can’t forget about Donny & Marie (’cause I’m a little bit rock ‘n roll).
 



Kerry says: I grew up in the 70s and I will delight forever in whimsical things like Sesame Street, Richard Scarey books, Weeble Wobbles and Holly Hobbie… Pepsi Cola shoes, Dr.Scholls clogs and Hush Puppies! I still get a little excited when I find Love’s Baby Soft or Kissing Potion lipgloss (remember the glass roll ons?). As for home décor…just yesterday I was perusing the Anthropologie site and was completely tempted by their new Seventies Collection! But really, the last thing I need is a macrame owl.

My greatest childhood treasure is a little porcelain deer figurine that sat on my Babcia’s bric a brac shelving when I was a little girl. I spent hours admiring her chatckas and I feel as if she’s still with me when I see that little sculpture on my dresser. These things make me happy, they stir up my memories, they bring out the little girl in me…I like that.

 

When I first read about Ian Kerner I was intrigued. A hot Dad, a PhD in Clinical Sexology and a tell all, witty writer…quite a nice package. I hopped on his website and picked out a few titles I thought were interesting. He has written books geared for women, married and single, new parents and men.

The first one to appear at our library was She Comes First. Getting that call from the librarian to pick up my book on hold was a little awkward, but I bet she peeked inside…what living, woman with a pulse wouldn’t?

Coreplay

The cover is hilarious, a large photograph of a juicy passion fruit cut in half, then a sly banana peeking out in the background, love it! I spent an evening skimming his 220 pages of advice and it was good. This man knows his vajay jays. He even teaches six step by step routines in guy lingo. There are simple but effective line drawings throughout as well. Did you know the clitoris has eighteen parts? I didn’t. According to this enlightened specimen of sexual know how oral sex shouldn’t be considered foreplay, but rather coreplay. He teaches the reader that oral sex is the best way to lead a woman though the entire sexual response.