Playing Hooky (aka: Chuckin' A Sickie)

Well, it really did start out as a Sick Day last week when Annie and Will were up all night hacking their sore little throats out. I felt cruel sending Kenna off to school and she did have the sniffles, so she joined the party.

The morning was spent eating bed-ridden breakfasts then all tucked in snug with shades drawn and naps ordered. But a few hours (and movies) later, the party turned into this:

 These guys were not messing around. Spotlights, mixers, djs, headphones, darkness, choreographers, lifts, jammin'.

I guess it goes without saying that MY dance class looked a bit different...

Summer was back at it the next morning. Guess you can see which one she preferred.

Nine Eleven

A solemn day of reflection and memorial. 

Ten years ago Darren and I were newlyweds living just outside of Washington D.C. He dropped me off that morning at the MARC train station for my commute into the city. I was at my desk, making final calls about a big gala our non-profit organization had planned for that evening when a courier stepped in and asked, "Have you heard what's happened in New York?" Our offices were fairly new and without a TV yet so we flipped on the radios and listened, stunned.

When the second plane hit, and that profound chill that accompanied it settled onto us all, the reality of this nightmare became evident. The shock and the questions and the calm and the waiting... what else could be done? When the Pentagon was hit, we were startled back from numbness. Being on I Street, two blocks from the White House, we were privy to much of the various chaos and rumors that played out on the rest of that surreal morning. Every five minutes we heard reports of a new explosion or car bomb or other frightening development.

I distinctly remember feeling safe, being high up above the street, but not in a target-tall building.

Cars clogged the streets. People poured out of every door. Looking down from our 10th floor windows we watched as the sea of congestion evacuated the city. Strangers carpooled beyond capacity, but most people walked, calmly inching along through the crowded streets. I don't remember if the subway was closed or if I waited by choice, having to make the many calls necessary to cancel that evening's events, but I left the city around 3:00pm. It was a ghost town. I was maybe one of 3 people in the subway car with a handful more on the outbound train.

I finally had word from Darren around noon - he was alright and in some sort of lockdown but would make it home before I. The relief of that reunion...

The footage. Seeing it again on the anniversary coverage today hit me like a ton of bricks. The images that are simply indescribable. Unforgettable. Painful and jarring. I can't begin to imagine what it would feel like to see them as a survivor or as a loved one left behind...

We attended a sunset memorial service tonight at Reconciliation Point on the waters of Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin. Our U.S. Ambassador Bleich and Australia's Prime Minister Gillard addressed us. Songs were sung, flags were flown, candles were lit, music was played, silence was honored, rain fell.

Again, I was caught off guard by the depth of my emotions. This human experience, this world tragedy that we experienced as a society, even as a race, still touching a powerful nerve.

My heart aches for those families shattered by 9/11, for those friends and loved ones missed by so many. My heart swells for our fight for freedom, for those who sacrifice so bravely and run into such crises seeking to help save any they can. I hurt for the evil in the world and those willing to perpetuate it. Yet I thrill for our resilience as a nation and our compassion as a human race.

Our embassy gates were decorated with a flag for each victim, by nationality.

I was grateful to revisit and reflect on this day and send up a prayer of gratitude for the blessings I enjoy yet so often take for granted. May God bless us all, but especially those who are still healing from the devastation and suffering that began ten years ago this day.

Even More Australianisms

Snag (sausage)
Chucked a sickie (played hookie)
Bird table (bird bath)
Wind screen (wind shield)
"Eighdeen" (18 - no sharp "t"s pronounced in the teens)
Been in hospital (not in the hospital)
Plaster (cast)
On special (sale)
En Suite (master bath)
Pumpkin (all squash: "butternut pumpkin")
Rocket (lettuce)
In a bit of a flap (rushed)
Straightaway (quickly/soon)
Billet (host or receipt)
Till (cash register)
Paddock (meadow/field)
Pinch (steal)
Spitting (drizzling rain)
Parcel (package)


Makes me smile to hear these coming out of my kids' mouths.

Other Half

It's funny but the only time homesickness sneaks up on me down here is 

when Darren travels for work.

Out of nowhere I get all small and vulnerable and empty.

Like all of a sudden I realize I'm really quite far away from "my people" back home. And I'm reminded once again, how much this little family has become my whole world. And when it's temporarily fractured, it doesn't feel so good.

The world's not as safe or fun or peachy or fulfilling.

As Dad's off exploring the continent, I start to realize how much I take for granted this completeness that we enjoy all the time. I crave the full body sigh of relief when Dad walks in the door, instantly making everything seem better, lighter. That feeling of contentedness - of having just enough with this little family nucleus here at home for these few short years. The satisfaction it brings at the end of each day to snuggle up on the couch and let them wrestle all over us and just smile.

You know the feeling, that familial comfort and camaraderie of husband-wife-brother-sister, so easily taken for granted. Only when that's disrupted do I feel the sting of isolation that comes from living literally on the other side of the world. In a very "removed" continent, so to say.

So welcome home, my man. I missed you heaps.

And Happy Father's Day (again, you lucky duck!) I'm lucky to have found my perfect match is so many respects. Thanks for being the Dad every kid deserves and for leaving no room for doubt in their minds how much their Daddy loves 'em.

No doubt, learned from his own awesome Papa.

Thanks for inspiring your boys to be such good husbands, Dads, and Priesthood leaders, Ken.

(Don't he make my 99 year old grandma's Snuggie look good!? Oh, yeah, you better believe it.)

And a huge cyber-hug up to heaven for my dear Dad today. Words fail to express the love and thanks a girl feels for her Dad... suffice it to say I can't wait for that joyful reunion when there won't be a need for words anymore.

Fathers are awesome. 

Australian War Memorial & Growing Up

Kids' school had a "pupil-free" day of training for the teachers and we took advantage of the rain to explore the Australian War Memorial.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was so beautiful - every inch of it done in mosaic.

Heavy stuff for the littles to take so after a few hours we hit the antithesis of the place and played at Lollipops until they closed. Dad was out of town, so without needing to rush home for dinner, we topped it off at "Mackers" (McDonalds, for all you Yanks.)

I like "pupil-free" days. Getting my kids all to myself with no schedule or agenda makes me happy. I have not always been able to say that, I'll have you know... So it's nice to be in a phase where I can genuinely enjoy our concentrated time together. Perhaps because it's more of a novelty now?

I just about croaked last week when Will talked to his "crush" on the phone and kept almost hyperventilating. All night he reviewed the conversation, adding comments like "is there a flower I could give her?" then "I feel like I'm going to throw up-- or explode."

Holy cow, when did they this old?? If I could freeze time right now, even just for a year or so, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Stop growing up, dang it.

They're still so cute and funny and eager and affectionate. Then I wake up one morning and Will's "too cool" to dress up for Character Day at school, and I get nervous for what's just around the corner. 'Tweens. I don't even like the word.

Although, I'm not complaining that they're old enough to engage in real, intelligent conversation.

Or to have sibling secrets and be each others' best friends.

Or pitch in with things like mowing the lawn.

(Hallelujah! But seriously, that one makes me feel really old.)

I remember dreaming about the day when we could actually pull this off as a family.



But it does sorta get me weepy when time starts speeding up.

Just like everyone said it would.

Popeye Power

Ever find yourself coming home from Costco with one of these bad boys?

Yeah, I had no problem going through it back when I had the Vitamix. Spinach is the ultimate blender add-in as it becomes tasteless - you can chuck handfuls into anything and no one's the wiser. Our kids have been downing green smoothies since they were babies (until I got zealous adding flax and powder supplements and chard, which made them sorta wary of mom's "shakes.")

I still come home with these here, but have to get more creative. You can only have so much wilted spinach, you know.

Enter: SPINACH PIE.

After browsing a bunch of recipes online, I hastily threw together my own version and man, was it gooood. Like, it got a 9*, good. And it made a serious dent in our vat'o'spinach. I basically emptied a bunch of containers and didn't measure anything, but I'll estimate quantities here because we'll be making this one again.

Spinach Feta Mushroom Pie

4 large mushrooms

small onion

3 cloves garlic

(diced & saute in olive oil)

3 huge handfuls spinach ~8 cups?

(steam atop sauteeing veggies)

4 eggs

1/2 C cottage cheese

1/2 C ricotta cheese

1 C Tasty cheese, shredded (pick a fave)

3/4 C feta cheese

2 T ground buckwheat (flour's fine)

pinch nutmeg

 fresh ground s&p

Pour into partially baked pie shell. Top with fresh grated romano-parmigiano cheese & paprika. Bake 15 min. at 400, then 20-30 min. at 250 til browning on top and knife comes out clean. Alternative: skip the pie shell and throw on a sheet a puff pastry - aaaamazing.

Wondering what to do with the remaining 3/4 of that spinach tub?? Try it in:

scrambled eggs

omelets

soup/stew/chili

sandwiches

pasta sauce

stir fry

lasagna

salad

dip

quesadillas

brownies/cake (no lie, see here)

baked potato or pizza topping

rice/couscous/risotto mix in

Very versatile veggie, that spinach.

Darren came home with a Costco cheese pizza one day and I could hardly stomach a whole piece until I lifted that quilt of gooiness and shoved a fistful of fresh, crunchy spinach under there.

Mmmmmmm, perfect.

*Darren sometimes rates new dishes. It started when we were recently married as it was pretty hit and miss with the cookbooks. A 10 is the impossible ideal, like we haven't even tasted one yet. A 9 is aaaaamazing, like the scallops we had at Bambara on our anniversary. (A dish actually worth the small fortune it cost.) He really saves up those 9s. My dishes are generally in the 7-8 range, but I've pulled out a proud handful of 9s to date.

The Wait is Over

Spring has sprung!

I woke up this morning to find our cold spell snapped and that finally, spring has arrived. Officially, it's not for another 8 days but when I see enough of these little glimpses, it's hard to not get enthused.

Especially when it has been a solid 18 MONTHS since we last saw spring.

Ohhh, it's a delight.

 

Poor kids had been flirting with spring all week - the second they got home from school they'd be out on our bathroom balcony with their snacks, books & homework.

(Can't you see all that homework Will's doing?)

Even set up cardboard box "shelters" when it rained~ they were hard core.

So, WELCOME back, our long lost friend! We celebrated this morning with Ricotta Pancakes (try them) and a whole lot of outdoor play.

Barefoot. Of course.