Moving beyond feed-change-sleep.
May. 28th, 2005 05:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaThis week I went out twice without Alex. Oddly enough, the world didn't end.
Wednesday morning, I went to Let's Dish, the meal-prep service I did once before. We mostly liked the food the first time around, and it was hard to beat the convenience of having a freezer full of prepared meals, so when a gift certificate appeared at the church auction, Michael jumped at the chance. I prepared another eight recipes, which works out to sixteen meals for us:
Balsamic roast chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots, in a balsamic vinegar-lemon-mustard sauce.
Shrimp scampi linguini, in lemon-butter-wine sauce.
Carolina pulled pork barbecue, on kaiser rolls.
Chipotle chicken with pinto beans and rice.
Risotto-style chicken and asparagus, with bacon and parmesan cheese.
Cheese ravioli primavera, with asparagus, tomatoes, and peas.
Slow-cooked pork with hoisin sauce, to be wrapped in tortillas. (It should probably be pancakes, but they're a bit hard to freeze and thaw.)
Cajun-spiced grouper.
I was a little disappointed by the grouper, which is just fish brushed in olive oil and sprinkled with Cajun seasonings. I could've just done that myself using Essence of Emeril instead of blending spices according to their recipe - it doesn't seem like a case where the advance prep really saves a lot of time and effort. But everything else looked fabulous, and the two we've already tried - the balsamic roast chicken and the pulled pork barbecue - were both absolutely delicious.
I came home to find Michael and Alex snuggling on the couch, smiling at each other, perfectly content without me. Which is a good thing to know. And I feel just great about having a freezer full of tasty food. Yay.
Today I went to see The Voysey Inheritance, the last play of our season ticket series. It's about a young man who discovers that his family's entire wealth is based on an elaborate pyramid scheme. He needs to decide whether to expose his father's fraud, continue it, or try to repair the damage behind the scenes, all while dealing with the reactions of the rest of his family. I know it sounds a trifle moralistic, but it's also darkly funny - and it was marvelously acted. I loved it.
I had originally assumed that Michael would go see the remaining play in the series while I stayed home with the baby, but he had other ideas. He was only mildly interested in the play, and he thought I needed a break. So the two of them watched baseball together and napped on the couch, and I went off to the theater with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fourgates, who shares our season tickets. I felt very decadent, but I had a wonderful time all the same.
Next up on this series of ambitious activities: June 12, weather permitting, we're going to go to Arlington VA to see Da Vinci's Notebook and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy perform at a free outdoor festival. With the baby. It's a bit scary - okay, a lot scary - but we've got to make our public debut sometime, and it'll be our only chance to see Da Vinci's Notebook any time soon. (They've broken up, so this is a reunion show.) At least a free outdoor concert means that it will be easy to walk the baby away if she's annoying people.
Also on my list, bookmarked for later: Reel Moms, a weekly movie outing for mothers and babies at Loew's Cinemas. They dedicate a weekday morning showing, when they probably wouldn't do much business otherwise, and offer stroller parking, changing tables, slightly lowered sound, slightly raised lights, and a lack of social condemnation of crying babies. It sounds wonderful. This week they're showing Madagascar, which I've really wanted to see, but it's cross-scheduled with my mother's support group. Hmmm.
Wednesday morning, I went to Let's Dish, the meal-prep service I did once before. We mostly liked the food the first time around, and it was hard to beat the convenience of having a freezer full of prepared meals, so when a gift certificate appeared at the church auction, Michael jumped at the chance. I prepared another eight recipes, which works out to sixteen meals for us:
Balsamic roast chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots, in a balsamic vinegar-lemon-mustard sauce.
Shrimp scampi linguini, in lemon-butter-wine sauce.
Carolina pulled pork barbecue, on kaiser rolls.
Chipotle chicken with pinto beans and rice.
Risotto-style chicken and asparagus, with bacon and parmesan cheese.
Cheese ravioli primavera, with asparagus, tomatoes, and peas.
Slow-cooked pork with hoisin sauce, to be wrapped in tortillas. (It should probably be pancakes, but they're a bit hard to freeze and thaw.)
Cajun-spiced grouper.
I was a little disappointed by the grouper, which is just fish brushed in olive oil and sprinkled with Cajun seasonings. I could've just done that myself using Essence of Emeril instead of blending spices according to their recipe - it doesn't seem like a case where the advance prep really saves a lot of time and effort. But everything else looked fabulous, and the two we've already tried - the balsamic roast chicken and the pulled pork barbecue - were both absolutely delicious.
I came home to find Michael and Alex snuggling on the couch, smiling at each other, perfectly content without me. Which is a good thing to know. And I feel just great about having a freezer full of tasty food. Yay.
Today I went to see The Voysey Inheritance, the last play of our season ticket series. It's about a young man who discovers that his family's entire wealth is based on an elaborate pyramid scheme. He needs to decide whether to expose his father's fraud, continue it, or try to repair the damage behind the scenes, all while dealing with the reactions of the rest of his family. I know it sounds a trifle moralistic, but it's also darkly funny - and it was marvelously acted. I loved it.
I had originally assumed that Michael would go see the remaining play in the series while I stayed home with the baby, but he had other ideas. He was only mildly interested in the play, and he thought I needed a break. So the two of them watched baseball together and napped on the couch, and I went off to the theater with
fourgates, who shares our season tickets. I felt very decadent, but I had a wonderful time all the same.Next up on this series of ambitious activities: June 12, weather permitting, we're going to go to Arlington VA to see Da Vinci's Notebook and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy perform at a free outdoor festival. With the baby. It's a bit scary - okay, a lot scary - but we've got to make our public debut sometime, and it'll be our only chance to see Da Vinci's Notebook any time soon. (They've broken up, so this is a reunion show.) At least a free outdoor concert means that it will be easy to walk the baby away if she's annoying people.
Also on my list, bookmarked for later: Reel Moms, a weekly movie outing for mothers and babies at Loew's Cinemas. They dedicate a weekday morning showing, when they probably wouldn't do much business otherwise, and offer stroller parking, changing tables, slightly lowered sound, slightly raised lights, and a lack of social condemnation of crying babies. It sounds wonderful. This week they're showing Madagascar, which I've really wanted to see, but it's cross-scheduled with my mother's support group. Hmmm.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-28 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 12:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-28 10:50 pm (UTC)Otherwise - yay for going out without the baby. It does indeed feel *decadent*.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 01:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-28 11:38 pm (UTC)-J
no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-29 07:50 pm (UTC)Sadly, the theater that was doing Reel Moms here closed just after Liam was born, and by the time another theater started doing it, he was too old. So I'd definitely encourage you to get out and do it while Alex is still little enough to let you.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 11:28 am (UTC)You're kidding me. Still?! I mean, don't the other moms in your group have kids Liam's age? I could understand the moms in my mom's group not leaving their kids with the father, because my group is only for women whose babies are less than eight weeks old... but one-year-olds?
Craziness, yes. And it's sad that these fathers are being denied the chance to become truly confident parents who have close relationships with their babies. There's just no way for that to happen when the "real" parent (mom)is always there ready to swoop in and take charge.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 03:23 pm (UTC)And I do agree that the dads are really getting shortchanged in developing a confident parenting role. I love that I can feel totally confident leaving Liam with his dad.