Fresh Tart

I'm a Picture Person at Nathan's school tomorrow, which means I go into the classroom and talk about art. For 30 minutes, which kind of freaked me out at first (as exhibitionist as I am on this blog, I really do struggle with talking in front of a group of people, even 4th graders), but now that I've got a couple under my belt, it's just really fun. This month's unit is Native American art. The whole program is a volunteer's dream - all the lesson plans and history are written out for you, with suggestions for art projects, and materials stashed ahead of time at the school. I can definitely handle that!

And tonight is Nathan's last basketball game of the season, too bad, it's been really fun for him. Several of the boys from baseball are on the team. Nice families, I'm glad for that. The games are at 6 p.m., so the dilemma is always, do we eat early or very late, after the game? Hmmm... I often choose early and make something pretty simple. Tonight, Quick Chicken Gumbo, a recipe I made up about a month ago and really enjoyed. It's another one that uses deli rotisserie chicken, love those crispy, juicy little birds (recipe posted in comments, below).

Last night's beer-fueled McDonald's indulgence kept me from eating breakfast today, which rarely happens - I woke up FULL, ewwwww! Full of McDonald's! Oh well. I have to say, I did enjoy it. Salt city, my kind of food. I'll repent by having some good veggies for lunch. Yay for veggies! And lots of water, I am on the puffy side today. Lovely.

Opted for a quick bath (Neutrogena Rainbath) in lieu of a shower today and ended up taking a quick nap in said bath. Oops! Now I'm rushing to make photocopies of a Navajo rug pattern for the Picture Person art project, and to get Nathan from school. Let out McCoy, rush home so Nathan can do some homework (and I can make the Quick Chicken Gumbo), then back out the door to the game, back here to finish homework and start the painful process of encouraging a 9-year old boy to get ready for bed. Ah, the life of a suburban mommy. Lots of running (and I only have one!). Thank goodness I love it. I really do. Love my boy and seeing him do his thing, hang with his friends, figure out who he is, learn all he's learning. Unbelievably cool.

Whew, we're back. Basketball game was a success, nice end to the season. Stacey came to the game, always great to see her. I got to feel Baby Boom Boom moving around, he is a busy little boy. I pushed on her tummy and he pushed back! So cute! And the gumbo is delicious, a hit with even Nathan (I already knew John liked it from my first go-round a while back). Nathan actually requested it for his lunch tomorrow! Happy to oblige. Not often I can get my boy to polish off green peppers, yay. I still have some reviewing of Native American art to do, better get to it so I don't make a complete ass out of myself in front of a group of 4th graders tomorrow.