Mendolonium

 We are thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter:

Baby girl was born at home after an intense but amazing labor.  Baby girl has a full head of dark hair and is eating and sleeping well.  Gina and Jeff and very tired, but content and happy.  Thomas and Theodore are very interested in their baby sister and showering her with hugs, kisses, songs, stories, and general exuberance.  We are working on just the right name for Baby Girl and will let everyone know what it is as soon as we do.

It’s still a bit surprising to me how parenting comes in waves of challenge and ease.  I somehow didn’t anticipate that just like everything in life there are times when the stars seem to align and other times that it seems that the universe is conspiring against you.  Conveniently, a few weeks before their sister is due to arrive the boys seem to have both entered a period of downright reasonable and cooperative behavior.  Perhaps spurred by the realization that despite their age difference they are both “big kids” when compared to Baby Sister, they have turned into more than just brothers, they seem to be truly friends.   When we try to have one-on-one time with each boy Theodore while, certainly having fun and becoming more talkative (without someone constantly finishing his sentences) will proclaim that he “misses Thomas” and look a bit sad.  Thomas will ask what I think Theo is doing?  Whenever one of the boys finds or creates something interesting they now usually summon each other first (rather than me) with a gleeful “Follow me!”  I trail behind to figure out if the object of amazement is a dead beetle or perhaps pellets of raccoon poop.

Thomas, who is now reading actually storybooks on his own such as Widget and Hop on Pop, delights in reading Theo his bedtime stories.  A few nights ago, after a quiet few minutes spent reading stories on the couch, I got up and as I walked away saw Thomas put his arm around Theo and then heard Thomas softly say “I love you Theo.”  The  next morning as I struggled to wake up I heard both boys emerge from their room.  I expected Theo to come and pounce on me but instead Thomas guided him to the bathroom where I heard, “Theo we need to go potty…Here let me take off your diaper…Now sit down on the potty…Good!  You did it!…Now let’s pull up your pants.” Not only is Theo now mostly potty trained, but for the times he is not (night time) his brother is helping to lead the way!  I couldn’t ask for more independence from a not quite five year old and a two and half year old.

Hearing the two of them interact with such care and kindness is one of the absolute highlights of parenting.  When I found out that Theodore was a boy at 19 weeks pregnant I literally cried so hard that I had to leave in the middle of my doctors appointment to go home and sob.  Not because I was disappointed that Theo was a boy but because I was terrified that having two brothers close in age meant that we were doomed to a lifetime of aggression, competition, and animosity between the two of them.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I don’t worry at all any more about the boys relationship as children and later as adults.  Although they are still so young, they fight (often physically) on a daily basis, and they know how to push the other’s buttons like no one else ever will, I see such fierce loyalty and caring for one another that I wholeheartedly believe that they have set a foundation for a good relationship for the rest of their lives.  With baby sister arriving in a few weeks I puzzle over how exactly to get three kids in and out of car seats smashed in the back of a Prius and I contemplate private schools and then multiply that number by three and practically fall into a coma but I am not worried about sibling rivalry and relationships.  It is such a nice feeling to have.

It is going to be a very chaotic, but very exciting Thanksgiving this year!  Baby Mendolo #3 (dubbed Taco Pigeon Sabertooth by Thomas) will be arriving around November 21st.  Blog posting will likely be very light over the next few weeks as I spend my time napping, vomiting over the kitchen sink, and generally gestating.

We decided to do something completely different, unconventional, and downright revolutionary this past Thanksgiving and it turned out so well, I think we might make it a tradition.  The crazy thing that we did was to celebrate Thanksgiving by taking the day “off” on Thursday and eating our feast on Friday.  Rather than slaving away in the kitchen all night long and waking early on Thursday morning we prepped food for our feast  and baked pies for the Union Station shelter on Wednesday evening at a relaxed pace.  We slept until the kids woke up on Thursday morning and then I even let Jeff sleep in another two hours.  After dropping off the pies my sister joined us for a morning hike to the waterfall at Eaton Canyon.  Apparently we are not the only unconventional folks and found families, couples, runners, and many dogs on the hike as well.  I particularly enjoyed watching the dogs cavort in and out of the cold stream – they were clearly having the time of their life and I couldn’t help but smile at them.  It was a perfect hike.  The sky was gloriously clean and clear, the stream and the waterfall were running swiftly, and the kids were as comfortable as the dogs in the great outdoors.  Thomas especially impressed me; he navigated most of the dozen stream crossings himself; deftly maneuvering from stone to stone and when he fell a time or two he merely scowled, dusted off his hands, and forged onward insisting on being “the leader”.  Theo, strapped safely against me, murmured happy noises for the hike in and curled up like a puppy into Jeff’s jacket and fell asleep for the hike out. We spent the remainder of the day raking leaves, reading by a roaring fire, prepping more food for Friday, and then making s’mores over said fire; thankful for the respite that the day gave us from our busy lives.

On Friday we had the traditional, albeit turkey-less, feast.  And with plenty of time to prepare the feast was a relaxed affair; I didn’t even fully set the menu beforehand, instead waiting to see what produce was ready in our garden.  In the end, we had butternut squash to use and so I created a vegetarian main dish that pleased nearly everyone at the table.  These little triangles of goodness will make you forget that the turkey is missing.

Thankful Squash Triangles

Ingredients:

• 1 package (2 sheets total) frozen puff pastry (I use the Pepperidge Farm brand)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds, removed, and cut into 1 inch chunks (about 3 cups once all is said and done)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large leek, diced (white and pale green parts only)
• 1/4 cup diced shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled into chunks
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. If frozen, de-thaw the puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator the night before using.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Place the squash in a microwave safe container with lid and microwave, covered, for approximately 10 minutes until squash is fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, saute the leeks, shallots, and garlic in the olive oil until translucent and softened.  Remove from heat.
5. Coarsely mash the butternut squash with a potato masher or a fork.
6. Stir the mashed squash, the leek mixture, the cheeses, the parsley, the salt, and the pepper  together.
7. Unroll one puff pastry sheet and cut it into four equally sized squares.
8. Place approximately 1/4 cup of the squash mixture in the center of each pastry square.
9. Fold each pastry square over to make a triangle.
10. Firmly press the edges of each triangle together to seal the pastry.
11. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry and the remaining squash mixture  (Note:  if you have any leftover squash mixture you can use it to toss with pasta.)
12. Place the finished triangles (you should have eight total) on a lightly greased baking sheet.
    Note:  at this step you can cover (With plastic wrap or aluminum foil) the triangles and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
13. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 30 minutes – until pastry has “puffed” and is golden brown.