CHBM: We All Scream for Ice Cream

The folks over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas have decided to change the name of the CHBM Carnival to the CHBM "Collaboration". I suspect it's because there is no official host like most blog carnivals have. Anyways, the theme of this week's 41st edition of the collaboration/carnival is "ice cream".

As I did a MommyCommunity "Friday Fave" about my favorite ice cream flavor a couple weeks ago, I'll relate my favorite ice cream anecdote.

When I was pregnant with my oldest, I got a major craving late one evening for ice cream. Now, I could've easily just run down to the local 24-hr convenience store for some Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. But no, I had a craving for some homemade ice cream. Problem was, I did not own an ice cream maker. So I fired up the old computer, surfed on over to Cooking.com and bought one. I paid up the wazoo for rush shipping but I didn't care. This is what hormones will do to a woman! I got it a day-and-a-half later and was very annoyed to find out that I had to chill the bowl for 24 hours before I could use it :-(

I can distinctly remember the taste of the strawberry ice cream I made when the bowl was finally ready. I don't think ice cream has ever tasted so good to me!

That was 5 years ago now, and I've only occasionally used the ice cream maker since. It's actually been up at my parents' vacation condo since last summer. I'll have to bring it back with me when we go visit them in a few weeks.

CHBM Photo Friday: Don't Let the Baby Drive the Boat

The theme of this week's edition of the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas Photo Friday is "Summer Time!"

My DD has always loved riding in my dad's boat. As a toddler, she would talk about it incessantly for the 9 months of the year that the boat was in storage (darn that short New England summer!) The following photo was taken when she was 8 months old. Don't worry, she had tons of sunscreen slathered all over that bald noggin of hers! I just pulled her hat back so that I could get a better shot of her face :-)Let's see all your summertime cuties!

CHBM: Summer Camp Memories

The theme for this week's 38th edition of the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas Carnival is "camping". As I did not exactly enjoy my experiences tent camping with my family, I'm going to talk about something I have very fond memories of: the YMCA girls' camp I attended as a "tween".

Camp Nokomis is an old-fashioned camp located on Bear Island in Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. We would get to the camp by riding on a dilapidated old boat called "the Bear". Unlike the specialty camps popular today, it focused on providing a well-rounded menu of sports activities, outdoor recreation, nature exploration, and arts & crafts. Mornings would start off with "polar bear" swims at dawn rain or shine unless there was a thunderstorm. Then there would be the raising of the American and camp flags, family-style breakfast, and cabin cleanup. Activities I recall participating in included waterskiing, sailing, soccer, orienteering, synchronized swimming, drama, leathercraft, and swimming lessons. Evenings there would be camp sing-a-longs, games, skits, and on Sundays chapel. We Catholics would go to Mass on Sunday mornings as well. At the end of the session, there would be a dance with the brother boys' camp, which was pretty awkward at our age, LOL!

I would have to say that it was definitely the highlight of the summers I went, and I only wished that my parents could've afforded to send me for longer than just 2 weeks (most campers stayed a month and some the whole 8 week season).

CHBM Photo Friday: Caught "Red-Handed"

The theme of the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas Photo Friday this week is "Caught Red-Handed". Normally, when I catch either of my two kids in the act of doing something naughty, I generally am too busy cleaning up the mess and disciplining the perpetrator to reach for my camera. But I did find the following gem in my photo collection:


This photo was taken at my parents' house when my DD was 20 months old. She has always loved books and this is the result of her being left to her own devices while my mom & I were chatting. One mess I wasn't too upset about cleaning up! :-)

CHBM: Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Because of the holiday, the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas Carnival is running on Tuesday this week rather than Wednesday. The theme of edition #37 is "one thing you never thought you'd be 'into' but really enjoy". For me, that's cardio kickboxing.

I tried Tae Bo back in the late '90's when it was on Oprah and absolutely hated it! For years, I studiously avoided cardio kickboxing videos as a result. Then, after my 2nd child was born, I heard raves about the Turbo Jam series by Beach Body. I was a bit skeptical but the clips on the infomercial looked interesting so I gave it a try. I loved it! The instructor, Chalene Johnson, is very likeable, the music is modern dance tunes, and it's so much fun that it doesn't feel like a real workout. My heart rate monitor, however, tells me that I'm in the fat-burning zone!

Turbo Jam is my favorite, but I've discovered other kickboxing videos I like as well. Two that are especially good for time-crunched moms are Quick Fix Total Cardio Kick with Janis Saffell and Ten Minute Solution Kickbox Bootcamp with Keli Roberts. These are broken down into 10 minute segments for upper body, lower body, abs, and fat burning. That makes it easy to customize your workout for however much time you have that day.

Kickboxing is a good choice for home workouts since it does not require any expensive or bulky equipment. I do use a set of weighted gloves for added calorie burning but they're totally optional. Both Turbo Jam and the Quick Fix videos show low-impact modifications for beginners and/or those whose joints cannot tolerate high-impact exercise.

The best part about cardio kickboxing is that it really works the core. After having a baby, this can be a real trouble spot for many women. I couldn't believe how quickly I noticed a difference in my abs after adding kickboxing to my fitness routine.

CHBM Carnival: Deja Vu Edition

As the Crazy Hip Blog Mama Carnival did not run last week, they've held over the theme of "Something I made that I'm really proud of" until this week.

In case you missed it, my entry can be found here.

Because I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It...

I don't care if people like me! I've got strong opinions on things and I'm not about to stop voicing them just because I'm in the minority in certain parts of the blogosphere.

I just don't get why certain people seem to be afraid of engaging in discourse with others who hold different views. Groupthink is apparently what they desire. The 8 characteristics of Groupthink are:

1. A feeling of invulnerability.
2. Discounting warnings that might challenge assumptions.
3. An unquestioned belief in the group’s morality, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
4. Stereotyped views of enemy leaders.
5. Pressure to conform against members of the group who disagree.
6. Shutting down of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
7. An illusion of unanimity with regards to going along with the group.
8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting opinions.

How can a person even know what he or she actually believes without seeking out a variety of perspectives? Otherwise, he or she is just parroting back what somebody (parent, teacher, doctor, clergymember, politician, etc.) told him or her. Do one's homework, listen to several different arguments, then make up one's own mind.

Someone who is truly secure in his or her beliefs should welcome the challenge of interacting with an individual holding a different perspective. One is free to think that person is 100% wrong about a given topic, but one still needs to respect his/her right to hold & express that opinion without engaging in petty namecalling.

Speaking my mind, and respecting the right of others to speak theirs regardless of whether or not I agree with them- that's what makes me a "darn good Mommy blogger".

CHBM: Hosting Our First Big Family Holiday Dinner

If it's Wednesday morning, it's time for the Crazy Hip Blog Mama Carnival #35! The theme of this week is "something you've made that you're REALLY proud of."

Our first Christmas as newlyweds, DH decided to invite his parents to come visit us at the Army base where he was stationed at the time. Now, I actually get along surprisingly well with my mother-in-law but the thought of hosting our first big family holiday dinner caused me to absolutely freak out. I have perfectionistic tendancies anyways, and being 22 at the time & rather insecure about my new identity as a wife just exacerbated them. I felt as if I had to "prove" myself by pulling off a feast that would do Martha Stewart proud. Sad as it is, I literally spent months obsessing over this dinner.

I love to cook but I had never before attempted a multiple course feast so I went crazy purchasing cookbooks with names like Christmas 101, Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook and Food & Wine's Holiday Favorites. I pored over Bon Apetit, Gourmet, and Martha Stewart Living searching for recipes and tips to pull off an ambitious gourmet meal. The menu kept getting longer and longer as DH and I both insisted on the inclusion of every single dish from both our respective families' traditions: turkey AND ham, 4 different starchy side dishes, pecan AND apple pies, etc. They couldn't be just plain vanilla versions either but things like "apple, walnut, sausage, and sourdough stuffing" and "orange-Zinfandel glazed ham" (at least that's what the litle menu card I printed up off the computer says I served). DH also decreed that everything had to be 100% made from scratch with no shortcuts such as premade piecrusts, canned chicken stock, or bagged breadcrumbs. Now that we've been married 8 1/2 years, I would simply laugh at such an absurd demand but at the time I was too insecure to refuse.

As we got married right after college and since our wedding had been on the smaller side (only around 100 guests), we did not own all the serving dishes and utensils I was convinced we needed for a big feast. We were too far away from the rest of our family to to borrow the stuff from them. We lived on a pretty remote base without ready access to a Williams-Sonoma or Crate & Barrel so it was really difficult to find some of the things. It got to the point where I called my mom up having a nervous breakdown because I was unable to locate a gravy boat, of all things! I ultimately did drive down to the Mikasa outlet store and get one but really it was so not worth all the mental anguish I put myself through over it.

My mother-in-law mailed me a 3 page shopping list of things I should buy. She doubtless thought she was being helpful, but I just felt added pressure. One of the items on the list was "sparkling burgundy", something I'd never heard of before. A few days before Christmas, I went down to our local Class VI store (the Army version of a liquor store). All they had was a $3 bottle called "Cold Duck", which I was certain could not possibly be what she wanted. So I surfed the 'Net until I finally located an expensive Italian sparkling burgundy and paid an arm & a leg for rush delivery. Naturally, after all this hassle, I found out she actually did mean that cheapie "Cold Duck" stuff (to each his own)!

I literally spent the better part of three days in the kitchen preparing this meal. Fortunately, everything turned out delicious and my first attempt at being the hostess was a big success :-)


In hindsight, it's easy for me to see that this dinner was nowhere even remotely near as important as it felt at the time. The important thing about Christmas is celebrating the birth of our Lord with those we love but I lost sight of that. I put way too much pressure on myself to make the meal "perfect". I should've been more assertive with DH about paring down the menu to a reasonable number and using convenience foods as shortcuts in certain dishes. I learned my lesson from this experience and future holiday meals have been WAAAY more relaxed affairs for me! :-)

Helping Our Children to Love & Serve Their Neighbors

The theme of this week's Crazy Hip Blog Mamas Carnival #34 is "the charitable cause dearest to my heart".

One of the central tenets of our faith is to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). Jesus calls on each of us to help those in need and to serve our fellow man: "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise" (Luke 3:11). In our homeschool, we stress the responsibility we have as Christians to give back to the community.

Because our children are young, I look for opportunities to make charity concrete for them. We bring non-perishables with us on our weekly library trip to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank collection bin. We have a Rice Bowl on our table during Lent. We donate school supplies to our local Catholic Worker House Backpack giveaway. We purchase Christmas gifts for the Toys for Tots and our parish's "Angel Tree" programs. This fall, we are planning to organize a fundraising drive within our local homeschool support group for Project Night Night. Project Night Night collects tote bags filled with nighttime comfort items (security blanket, stuffed animal, & a book) for homeless children living in local shelters. Donating tangible items to individuals in our community makes it easier for our young children to learn empathy.

Brains & Brawn or How I Fell for DH

So, the theme of this week's Crazy Hip Blog Mama carnival #32 is "How You Met Your Spouse/Partner". Problem is, I don't have a cute "girl meets boy" story.

I met DH during college orientation week at a Jell-O shot party hosted by his fraternity. Not exactly the most auspicious venue for meeting one's future spouse! DH asked me to dance, we hung out at the party (no, I did NOT "hook up" with him afterwards!) & he invited me to the campus coffee house the next evening. We've been together ever since- 8 1/2 years married and 12 years total come September.

Headmistress over at "The Common Room" had an interesting post in this week's edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling called "People, Events, or Ideas". In it, she compares the interests of her oldest DD's college classmates with those of their homeschooled friends. "College was a bit of culture shock [to her DD] because so much of it was so shallow" she writes. "Far from being exposed to a new and wider range of interesting ideas and conversations, she learned that most of her classmates typically preferred to hold discussions centering around

• Who is cute
• Clothes
• Who is really cute
• Sports
• Who is cuter
• Rock groups, especially who is the cutest member of the band
• Country music (different set of friends), especially who is the cutest
• Movies, primarily regarding who is the best looking actor in the movie
• Shopping at the mall, especially cool if you see somebody cute
• Television shows, especially who is really cute

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against sports or Country music (I'm a big fan of both). There's nothing wrong with a bit of entertainment in one's life, so long as it's reasonably wholesome. The problem comes when the person is solely interested in trivial things and lacks depth.

One of the things that attracted me to DH was that he wasn't afraid to discuss meaningful issues including "hot button" political & theological ones on our first date. Too many of our peers, even at the "elite" university we attended, were mainly interested in superficial stuff such as drinking, drug-taking (which neither of us did), casual sex (ditto), and material success. I liked having somebody to talk to about more important topics even if we did not always see eye-to-eye. I also appreciated that he wanted a thinking woman and was not intimidated by my brains & strong opinions.

Of course, I also appreciated the fact that he's really cute and has a passing resemblance to Matt Damon (hey, I'm a red-blooded heterosexual female!)

Hip in a "Crunchy Con" Sort of Way

So I'm out there cruising the blogosphere and I keep noticing the "Crazy Hip Blog Mama" webring button on many of the interesting "mommy" blogs. I click over to check out their homepage and I'm impressed with the dynamic group of women & their non-"sugar-coated" view of mamahood. Still, I resist joining at first because of the adolescent-like insecurity that I'm not "hip" enough to call myself a CHBM.

I've never fit in with the "popular" crowd. Too brainy, not interested in the whole binge drinking/drug-taking/casual sex scene, prefer to live frugally rather than get caught up in the rampant materialism of our culture- in short I prefer to be an iconoclast with a few true friends than a conformist with many superficial "friends". Even when I was in a sorority in college, I chose the one that had the most interesting and diverse group of women over the one which everyone told me that I "looked like".

On the other hand, I've also never fit in with the artsy "alternative" crowd either. The vegan "riot grrrls" publishing 'zines, dabbling in alternative lifestyles, getting piercings and tattoos, espousing radical feminism, exploring "New Age" or Eastern spirituality or "freethinking", and whatnot. It's their prerogative of course to choose how they live their lives and I respect their right to do so regardless of how I might personally feel about certain of those choices. I'm only going to be held accountable for my own actions, a major part of which is doing unto others as I would have them do unto me. "Judge not" and all that jazz!

Anyways, I'd been having my own mini-"pity party" about feeling unhip when I recalled Rod Dreher's book Crunchy Cons. That's me: the devoutly Catholic, "whole food" eating, nature-loving, anti-materialist, pro-family, homeschooling mama! Hey, if a best-selling book calls us "hip", then surely that qualifies me to join CHBM.

P.S. I *am* aware that Rod Dreher became disillusioned with the Church hierarchy's response to the whole sex scandal and has joined an Eastern Orthodox parish :-( I can sympathize with his feelings of betrayal and his frustration with the actions of certain bishops and cardinals (I grew up in the Boston area after all!) I disagree with his decision but Catholicism and Orthodoxy are one Church just tragically divided. I pray they will be reunited and there are promising signs that the nearly thousand year split may be nearing an end :-)