Day 228

May 12, 2011

Is it bad when you come downstairs in the morning while the heat's on and it smells like crayons? Hmm.... Thank you, Jacob, for that lovely air freshener.

Oh, cooking... the challenge is, it happens all the time, doesn't stop, and is always needed. Sigh. Sometimes, I just want to stop cooking entirely, not think about it again, buy everything from a store. The whole process gets to feeling like a chore. Other times, it feels more like a craft, something I'm practicing, experimenting with, learning about. That's when it's fun. Then and when the food comes out tasting really delicious. The times when the food comes out so-so can be downright discouraging. It's all about practice, though, and boy, am I getting enough of that these days. 

I've been reading a book by Mark Bittman called Food Matters . He talks about Americans' eating habits as their related to health, the environment, money. His premise pretty much is eat more vegetables and fruits, more whole grains, less meat, little crap. Okay. I like that, in theory. I did try two of his recipes: an asparagus, sun-dried tomato and edamame stir fry and a meat and grain meatloaf. The first recipe is good. The second leaves something to be desired, maybe just more seasoning. I couldn't even pull the wool over Jacob's eyes. 
"Mommy get Gacob a loaf of meat," he says.
"Yea, sweetie, it's this on your plate," I say, pointing to the pile of meatloaf that, to be fair, looks a little interesting with turkey, bulgar and spinach mixed together. "It's turkey meat."
"Gacob have plain turkey meat," he says.
Sigh. 
"Alright, I'll get you some meatballs."

We played outside in the sunshine this afternoon. Jacob was "following Shilo kitty through the bushes." Yes, through the bushes. All of them that he could. I told him to be careful not to scratch his eyes. The grown up in me sighs, but the kid in me can't be upset with his inquisitiveness and the delight he gets from tromping through bushes much bigger than himself. I remember those days from my childhood (only vaguely sometimes). Sometimes I wish I could let go of my practical adult notions and join him. Other times I just like to watch and gather my pleasure from his laughter and joy.

The boy went to bed at 8:30 tonight but did not go to sleep till almost 10!! Besides the fact that I cannot understand that, it is absolutely adorable to listen to him up there. He'll play his music machine on his bed (best $1.99 Goodwill purchase ever!), sing parts of songs, talk to himself, go over things from the day, talk in gibberish. It's really hilarious to listen to. So, at least he's not screaming, coming out of his room or still up racing around. He's going through his own processing, whatever that needs to be on different days.