Today's randomness

Golden Grahams. Dry. Excellent snack. (It's what I'm eating as I write this.)

Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale has begun. I am happy. (Noreen, guess where we're going when you're home?)

Trying to figure out what soup to take to a Soup Swap later this month. (I might use Noreen's white chicken chili recipe.) So looking forward to an evening with the gals, drinking wine and sharing recipes.

Daniel is 9 months old today. How is that possible?

Work is far too quiet without my co-worker and friend Liz. Her last day at the paper was yesterday; she is moving to Washington, D.C., for an excellent new job. Congrats to her! She is already terribly missed.

Needed a pick-me-up after work yesterday, so I headed to Target to buy the "Glee" soundtrack. Definitely boosted my mood, especially since two songs featuring Kristin Chenoweth are on it.

Just a few more days till Noreen, Louis and Little G come home for a visit. YAY!!!!

I keep thinking today is Thursday.

Daniel needs a new car seat, a new stroller, more diapers and footed jammies in a bigger size. Perhaps I won't be hitting the Nordstrom sale as I'd planned. Ha ha ha …

Enough randomness. Back to your regular lives.

All Souls' Day

Today is All Souls' Day. It is a day to remember the dead and to pray for them, particularly to pray for them to get to Heaven sooner.

I am glad I have Mondays off so I could attend Mass this morning. I headed to Bellarmine for the annual All Souls' Day Mass in the chapel.

It was extremely peaceful, and I felt so close to the loved ones I was holding in my heart.

My mother Kathy
My mother-in-law Rita DeWeese
My niece Lucy
My grandparents Ann & Paul Jones and Bill & Marie McEntee
John's grandparents Martha & George Brown and Claudia & Dewey DeWeese
John's Aunt Cordelia and Uncle Tom
My friends Karen, Roy and Kelly
John's friend Nick
My friend's son Phoenix

If you get a chance today, say a prayer or two for your loved ones who have died.

Quick-and-easy recipe of the week

I'm not a gourmet chef, but I do enjoy my time in the kitchen. I like good food that is easy to make. I don't need anything fancy: I like homey foods that remind me of my childhood. (My mother made amazing pot roast.)

I don't do Hamburger Helper, but I do enjoy convenient, easy-to-prepare meals. I want what I make to be straightforward, not too fussy and yummy.

Two weeks ago, I made a kick-ass mac-and-cheese -- and I even strayed from the recipe and added some extra "stuff."

I was quite pleased with myself.

I know many friends with busy lives read this blog, so I thought I'd share with you my quick and easy mac-and-cheese recipe. It's a combination of several different recipes. It's easy to doctor, and it's simple to make a lower-fat version. (See notes at the end.)

KATE'S SUPER-SIMPLE MAC AND CHEESE


1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream soup (cream of celery or chicken or mushroom)

2 cups shredded cheese (It's best if you use two kinds of cheese or an 8-ounce package of a shredded cheese blend)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon black pepper

Dash of garlic powder

Sprinkle of Penzey’s Italian Herb Mix (or a sprinkle of oregano or basil)

3 cups corkscrew-shaped pasta, cooked and drained

Toasted bread crumbs to sprinkle over top


Stir the soup, cheeses, milk, pepper and any seasonings in a 2-quart casserole. Stir in the cooked pasta. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of the dish.

Bake at 400°F. for 20 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Cook's notes:

This is easy to play with. You can add dashes of any spices you like to give it some zing, or mix in chopped spinach or onion.

To cut fat and calories, use the 98% fat-free version of the cream soups and/or a low-fat shredded cheese blend.

I've tried both cream of mushroom and cream of celery in this recipe. I liked the cream of celery better. (Then again, I'm not a mushroom fan.)

I love cheese, so I've actually used more like 2 1/2 cups of cheese before.

The bread crumbs are fine on their own, but I prefer to make a little mix of grated Parmesan, melted butter and bread crumbs to sprinkle over top.

I welcome any comments or suggestions or questions. I'll try to post my favorite quick-and-dirty recipes regularly. And please feel free to share your simple favorites with me.

Gold stars for the mama!

Feeling good because I crossed a lot off of my to-do list today. Probably got a lot done because John needed the computer all day, so I couldn't play around online.

How I earned my gold stars:

Flu shots for Daniel and the mama

Four bags of Halloween candy purchased (and none eaten yet!) -- plus I found a cheap price and had a "buy three bags, get one free" coupon

Two loads of Daniel's laundry washed

Four loads of Daniel's laundry folded

One load of John's laundry folded

Clothes Daniel has outgrown put in the "small clothes" box

Halloween decorations hung

Four pairs of cheap (but nice) pants and two cheap (but nice) T-shirts purchased for Daniel as "day care clothes" (Read: Clothes that I don't care if they get filthy or bleach-stained)

Carton of milk purchased at a great price

Macy's bill paid

Dishwasher loaded and run (still need to unload)

Toilet in the master bathroom scrubbed

Caught up on "Days of our Lives" in the DVR

It's funny what a girl can do when she focuses. Thank God I have Mondays off; otherwise, I don't know how I'd get anything done.

My house, sadly, still looks like a tornado hit it, so I surely don't feel like a superhero. So in case any mom out there feels like this post is bragging -- it's not. The toilet was long overdue for a scrubbing. I washed only two loads of The Boy's laundry, but I folded four. (Yeah, a little behind.) That dishwasher needs to be unloaded. There are baby bottles in the sink.

But I've got to revel -- even just for a bit -- in the stuff I did get done. Whew!

Darnit.

What I didn't want to see on Daniel's pediatrician's Web site:

Flu Vaccine Availability
October 20, 2009
There has been a very high demand for the H1N1 vaccine, and we have now run out of our initial allocation. We are also out of the seasonal flu vaccine at this time. While we don’t have dates yet for our next shipments, we will update our website as soon as either vaccine is available.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting ...

News (and bargains) parents can use ...

Parent stuff of the day:

* There's been a baby food recall. Plum Organics has recalled its apple-carrot puree in portable pouches because of possible botulism contamination. It's a pretty specific recall: The apple-carrot puree. With the May 21, 2010, expiration date. All the details are here.

I have purchased one thing by this company. Just one item on a whim at Babies R Us. It was the APPLE-CARROT PUREE with the MAY 21, 2010, expiration date. Seriously.

Thank God I had not fed it to Daniel. It will be returned to the store tomorrow.

* Speaking of Daniel, his new favorite toys -- and I mean FAVORITE -- are EduShape's animal shakers. We received two as a gift from my childhood piano teacher, and Daniel thinks they are the greatest things ever. His face lights up when he sees them, and he shakes-shakes-shakes his snail and fish until he wears himself out. They make great sounds and are extremely durable. I will be in search of the ladybug soon to add to Daniel's collection. (I wish EduShape made more than three different animal shaker shapes!)

* Daniel's runner-up favorite toy is a soft toy that looks like a laptop. (Go figure.) The GiggleBytes Lil Laptop plays a little song that makes him smile, and it has a mouse that retracts and shakes. There is a "CD" attached, too -- which is really a mirror. Yeah, we know: We're starting his computer addiction early. We actually can't believe how fascinated he is already by this thing. Cracks us up.

* Lastly, if you're in search of good toys at good prices, check TJ Maxx. I bought several Infantino toys for excellent prices at the Tacoma store (including the laptop, which I found at a fraction of the prices I've seen online). There were also Fisher-Price, Playskool and Sassy items. And with a little digging, I've found some solid deals on baby essentials like onesies and Carter's pull-on knit pants.

The most grown-up thing I've ever done ...

I got married. In fact, I've been married for five years.

I've bought a house.

I had a baby.

I have held professional jobs.

But nothing has made me feel quite like a *real* adult as hiring a baby sitter.

I think I'm officially a grown-up.

John and I are attending the NISA/SIDS Foundation auction in Redmond on Saturday night. It's a cause near and dear to our hearts. We will be attending with my dad and with all of my siblings who live in the area -- aka my entire baby-sitting crew.

So I actually have to hire a baby sitter. God, it feels like just yesterday I was the teenager people were hiring to watch their babies. Yikes.

This truly feels like the most adult thing I've ever done.

It's freaking me out.