Mommy's Time Out

So I originally wrote this entry for my family photo-share website where I keep a more personal blog for friends and family.  However, a day removed from this incident and it seems even funnier and quite the perfect illustration as to why kids are complicated.  :)  Here's the original post:

Here is a picture of the pee perpetrator, appropriately, drinking a liquid

 

So this morning I went in to help Chloe get up as usual, only when I stepped into the threshold of her door, I stepped in a big wet spot.  I'm a little confused, but start walking to the bed.  I step in more wetness and think, "what the...?" I make it to her bed and find my daughter with her nightgown hitched up over her hips, an open and *barely* wet diaper underneath her bottom, a brand new, clean diaper opened neatly beside her and a heck of a lot more wetness which I have now determined is quite clearly pee.  I mean it was like a pee hose had been unleashed on her room...

Major props to my daughter for peeing (apparently very early in the night) and being independent and strong enough to want to change her own diaper.  Major boos for just peeing and peeing with no diaper on when she couldn't figure out how to make it work.  Oh. My.

Into the tub we go and I get all her bedding stripped and towels placed on the pee (no time to shampoo the carpet in the middle of all this).  I talk to Brian, we decide she might be telling us she's ready to potty train, so when she comes out of the bath, I decide it's time for potty-training boot camp.  We go hardcore - no diaper.  Underwear only and a dress for easy access. 

I get her breakfast, manage Liam all while Brian is flying out the door a little late for work because he's sick and overly tired from being sick (and attending a concert for his birthday on Saturday until VERY early in the morning).  Every 10 minutes I ask Chloe, "do you need to go potty?" to make sure puddles of pee won't be greeting me much today.

Breakfast accomplished I decide to just put her on the potty in her room, but she quickly gets bored and won't stay seated.  Fine.  I take the potty out to the living room, set it smack in front of the TV and turn on Tinkerbell.  She's fine about sitting on the potty now and sat there a good hour before finally going pee!  I make a huge deal, award her with a sticker in her "potty" row and in her "listening" row on her "Chloe's a Star!" poster chart I made her.  I get her a snack of milk and apple slices. 

Liam is crying and wants a bottle, so I get her out of her chair after her snack, get Liam a bottle, and get Lion King on (I had wanted "Elmo's Potty Time" dvd, but she vetoed it).  I'm sitting on one end of the couch trying to feed Liam.  The thought occurs to me I could put her back on her potty, but I don't want her to think every time she gets on the potty I'm going to make her sit there for hours - I was afraid she'd learn to resent it.  So I decide it's been a really short time since her snack and that I'd give her just a bit more before setting her back on it.  I continue to feed Liam and try to interact with him since he's awake.  I look over at Chloe.  She is sitting in a puddle.  On my Mom's sofa.  

The sofa in question, after a thorough cleaning.  Note Liam's unhappy demeanor.

I freak out inwardly, but I don't want to make her feel embarrassed so I attempt coolness.  I set her on the potty and point at the pee on the sofa and basically let her know she needs to work on telling Mommy when she has to go so that I can help her get on the potty.  I throw a towel on the pee (notice a trend?) because Liam is quite literally screaming at me, since he'd been stopped in mid-gulp practically, and Chloe is now soaked with pee.  I attack the pee first with a, "Sorry Buddy!" to Liam and toss Chloe into the bathroom sink.  I do a quick presto-chango and she's back so I can tend to Liam. 

I think, well she just peed, so we should be good for a bit.  I go back to feeding Little Man and turn the dvd back on.  At one point she decides she's bored with Lion King, so she pulls her potty over to the TV to use a step stool.  This is not a new maneuver by any means, and since I'm erstwhile occupied with her brother, I decide to let her go ahead and change the movie if she wants.  I look down at Liam, look back up, and suddenly realize my daughter has decided to go puddle-stomping, one of her favorite activities, indoors.... on her potty..... in her own pee..... which is now splattering EVERYWHERE. 

I am not a screamer.  Chloe responds really well to my patient voice, usually, and the worst I've ever done is a stern tone to let her know I'm serious and get her attention.  However, I screamed.  I practically howled.  My throat hurts now as a result.  I whisk her off the potty and am now standing in pee splatters and have pee on my clothes from holding Chloe, who is completely soaked in pee.  Pee is on the wood of the entertainment center, on her potty, on the carpet, on me.... I mean I am drowning in pee!

Once more I have to set a very unhappy Liam aside.  This time I skip sitting her on the potty in favor of immediate cleaning.  Into the tub for complete submerging into soapy water, a sponge off for me, a change of clothes for both of us.... and a diaper for her.  Yes.  I gave up.  I put her in a diaper, put her in some jammies, and told her Mommy needed a time-out.  I covered her up, started her bear, turned out her lights and prayed like the dickens she'd just go to sleep since it was almost nap time.  She did.  I called Brian and in a split-second decision between tears and laughter, chose for laughter.  Really.  I mean, what else can I do?  :)

Thank God Liam decided just to give up on his bottle and go to sleep, too.  I have since treated myself to entire pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and don't feel a bit guilty about it.  The dishes have been done, laundry has been moved along, and I'm feeling much more in control than oh, say, an hour ago. :)  Perhaps Chloe isn't ready for potty-training quite yet, but we're definitely getting close.  Unfortunately, when it comes to pee and poop, "close" really doesn't count for much. 

Amazingly during all of this, I managed to make 2 - yes I said 2 - dinners last night.  The first was a tamale casserole I made to use up some leftover cornbread.  I managed to get that assembled during my time-out.  :)  However, I started to feel pretty sick after that, too, and anything spicy just sounded gross.  So I wound up with a honey-mustard pork chop, an herb and butter rice medley, and steamed broccoli.  Easy peasy.  I also washed every single scrap of clothing or linen we own and have all of it but one load folded.  This is quite an accomplishment because I hate folding laundry.  I still haven't managed to make our own detergent because I haven't ordered one of the key ingredients I need off of Amazon.  Brian and I are on a bank-account lock down until we get our mortgage for this house, so since my parents purchase laundry detergent and allow us free use of it, it's far more economical for us for now to just use theirs (even if it isn't as good for the environment)....

So, allow me to pat myself on the back just a bit for mastering my own little circus yesterday and amazingly coming out of it with patience, love, respect, and having accomplished the chores the day required.  That is its own kind of simplicity, even if nothing about it was simple at all.  At. All.  :)

Update: I just decided what to make for dinner tonight and I have a basic outline for it.  This may or may not be accurate since it's a recipe in development, but it's a place to start.  Here's the rundown:

White Veggie Lasagna

fresh grated parmesan

2 tubs mascarpone cheese

fresh grated taleggio cheese

zest and juice of 2 lemons

a good handful of chopped walnuts

chopped baby spinach

sea salt and pepper

fresh sage

a few knobs of butter plus 1/2 C

1 pint heavy cream

some nutmeg to taste

maybe some ginger to taste

maybe even a dash of cinnamon to taste

lasagna noodles (I use the "bake in oven" kind)

And, I'm thinking of adding in to it tonight:

roasted butternut squash I have leftover

roasted beets

maybe even some fennel (anise)

Alright.  You're making a basic alfredo sauce with the pint of heavy cream set over medium high heat.  Whisk it periodically so it doesn't stick and keep an eye on it so it doesn' t boil over.  Bubble it until it begins to thicken.  Add the 1/2 C butter and whisk and thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in your cheeses to taste.  I'm using parmesan and taleggio, but parmigianno reggiano or romano would work nicely, too.  Season with salt, pepper and my proposed spice additions (I think they might pair nicely with the vegetables).  I'm omitting the garlic that is usually in alredo.  Set it aside.

Combine the tubs of mascarpone with the lemon zest and juice, the walnuts, a bit more salt and pepper, and some sage fried in butter. Stir in spinach. You can add more parmesan and taleggio here, too, if you're feeling extra cheesy.  :)

On the bottom of the lasagna pan, place some of the alfredo.  Top with lasagna sheets, then whatever extra vegetables you're adding, then the mascarpone/spinach mixture.  More lasagna noodles, sauce, extra veggies, mascarpone/spinach.  Repeat.  Top with alfredo sauce and extra sage and cheese.  Dot the top with butter.  Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes to one hour.  Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes to get a crusty top.  Enjoy!

 

Organizing is Not Simple

But it does lead to simplicity, so alas, even though it's evil it is necessary. :)  I love things to be neat and orderly, however, rarely do I get disciplined enough to actually get things neat and orderly.  My filing cabinet is truly laughable, the dining room buffet is piled with papers that need to be filed that I can't file because the filing cabinet really isn't set-up to file anything.  I'm telling myself that the reason I am currently as disorganized as I am is because I'm living out of two bedrooms and one small hallway in my parents' house, so I truly don't have "authority" to organize anything and have possessions strewn between two separate storage units, a garage, and the aforementioned small bedrooms.  Yes.  Surely that must be the reason.

Our old townhome in downtown Indy

Before kids... we look so chill :)

When Brian and I lived in our cute downtown townhouse - before the onslaught of kids - everything had a place.  I loved walking into our home and knowing precisely where to put my keys, where my shoes went, and if I wanted to, where to access said obscure object I only looked for once a year in the basement.  So, perhaps it wasn't just moving that made me a disorganized lunatic, but the fact that my kids are vortexes.  :) (And I love them for it).  Yes.  This too.

Kids 100% complicate life in ways most people without kids can't even imagine.  I mean, I can't even set anything on the end table next to the sofa because my daughter will undoubtedly get into it and depending upon what it is, either ingest it or hide it.  Either are normally not good things.  The items that used to sit around in careful arrangements in my parents' house to make it pretty and inviting are now all stowed up higher, with each growth spurt finding them shuffling yet another shelf up towards the ceiling (and out of "pretty" range to just plain "what's all that crap doing up there?" range).  The laundry bin is always over-flowing even though I do a load or two each day.  The kitchen is a constant food massacre so don't even get me started.  :) 

One day here soon, when we finally move out into our own house, perhaps I can offer advice on this problem.  For now, though, I simply look the other way and shift my focus.  I practice "virtual organization." 

It's true! Once upon a time I was notorious for scribbling ingredients (with no recipe name or instructions or sometimes even quantities required) onto napkins, cardboard box fragments, old shopping lists, and even receipts.  So that when I would want to go and make something again, if my brain filing cabinet failed me (as I soon discovered that it would after my kids made me dumb), I had no idea how to go about re-creating whatever dish.  Most upsetting, indeed, especially when a customer is requesting a dish specifically and you can't even recall what it is they're talking about (oh yes, that has really happened, and was extremely embarrassing).

So, about a year ago I decided to put an end to all that and discipline myself to record my recipes onto my laptop.  I was really annoyed with it at first because I felt like it interrupted my creative chi when I was cooking to have to suddenly stop and measure something (the horror!) or write something down.  However, the first time I actually went back to the recipe and re-used it, I was patting myself on the back and congratulating my genius.  Ta da! Wouldn't you know it, but the food tasted the same as before with no guessing! :)

This system has grown to an entire cookbook I keep labeled "My Cookbook" on my desktop. At last count I had recorded 338 recipes ranging from appetizers to household items, such as my antibacterial cleaner.  It makes planning my weekly menu for the grocery trip a snap because all I have to do is go to "Main Dish" select "Vegetarian" and voila - tons of choices for meatless masterpieces that will be just as simple to cook.  I love, too, that there's no icky paper blotted with mystery food ingredients cluttering up my workspace when I prep these dishes, too.  I just take my laptop straight into the kitchen, set it aside and everything stays tidy (and easily wiped if spilled).  Instant sanity, even in this messy house.  :)

In honor of my cookbook, here's a new recipe.  Since it's nearly Fall and I also just finished planning out my Fall menu for work, it's decidedly a Fall seasonal selection and oh so very tasty (and nutritious!).  It's also vegetarian!

Sweet Potato Soup

Yield: 4 qts.

3 red bell peppers, seeded and cubed

7 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 ½ C white wine

6 C vegetable stock

2 t sea salt

15 cranks black pepper

1 t each cinnamon and nutmeg

¾ C brown sugar

Place everything in a pot except sugar and spices.  Boil until soft, about 30 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  Season, taste, and adjust if necessary.  Serve with a garnish of heavy cream. 

 

Another Recipe Share

It's August yet I have all the windows open in the house.  GORGEOUS outside! It's almost dinner time and I've got pie crust resting in the fridge for chocolate pecan pie and chimichurri pesto to make before dinner.  While I was going to make a spinach cannelloni for dinner (and share that recipe), my parents are treating us to a steak dinner to help us celebrate two very wonderful things.  The first: It's my husband's Golden Birthday this weekend! How special! The second: Brian got the really great opportunity career-track job he's been trying out for for three weeks now! I'm very proud of him and super happy that rather than working "just a job," in this economy to see us through, he gets a job he enjoys and that takes him somewhere.

So, I'm inventing the chimichurri pesto sauce tonight after tasting a sample at our local Farmer's Market the other week.  If I get it right, I will definitely share that recipe, which is going to be absolutely DIVINE when spread on steak to marinate, grilled, then served as a sauce with the meat, too.  I'm serving it with rosemary baked potatoes and big fat salads.  Perhaps some steamed broccoli. 

For now, though, since I'm feeling a little Latin-American in flavor tonight, I thought I'd go ahead and share one of my favorite quick and easy dishes.  It only reads complicated because it has several components, but truly - most of the prep can be done days in advance.  All one need do to have dinner ready is saute everything for 15 minutes and pop it in a tortilla.  Simple. :)

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Tacos
Yield: Serves 4 to 5 easily

accompaniments: sofrito rice! Yum!

3 chicken breasts
10 soft taco-sized flour tortillas
olive oil
fresh chopped cilantro
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C lime juice
1/4 to 1/2 t ground chipotle powder
1/4 t garlic salt

marinade:
1/2 C olive oil
1 C lime juice
1 heaping T of minced garlic
sea salt and cracked pepper

"taco sauce":
1/4 C pineapple juice
1/4 C lime juice
2 drops of orange oil
¼ C mango juice
½ t ginger
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C honey
1/4 t chili oil
a dash of cayenne pepper
extra virgin olive oil

In a mixing bowl, combine everything but the olive oil. Place the mixing bowl on a damp towel to center it, and with one hand drizzle in a thin, steady stream the olive oil while whisking vigorously with the other. Add olive oil until the dressing is the desired thickness. Set aside.

TO PREPARE:
marinade the chicken breasts for at least 1 hour then grill. Cut into chunks of desired size and set aside. In a large skillet, heat 1 T of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add as many of the flour tortillas as will fit in the pan and lightly brown on both sides. Remove to foil and wrap to keep warm. In the same skillet, add the chicken. Pour the about a third of the "taco sauce" over the chicken, then add the lime juice, garlic salt, and chipotle powder. Cook until "taco sauce" begins to caramelize and thicken and the chicken browns - until just a little of the liquid remains. To assemble each taco, place chicken on the browned tortillas, top with chopped fresh cilantro and cheese. 

The "taco sauce" is a delicious salad dressing or marinade.  It will freeze or stay fresh in the fridge for one week.  Enjoy it with lots of other dishes (fish or pork work well).  :)

And Breathe

So I began last week by purchasing some jam-sized ball jars and lots of pectin.  I was excited because right now is the perfect time to purchase a boatload of seasonal produce and make jams, baby purees, and whatever else and get it preserved for the coming winter.  Fall is my all-time-absolute-without-question favorite time of year because, at least in Indiana, it means Harvest Time.  It's a time to dig up growing things and really feel connected to the changing Earth.

I could wax poetic about that more, alas, though, I still have 12 empty jam jars staring at me on my kitchen counter.  Here's a long, rambling story about why:

Chloe is enrolled in daycare/preschool two days a week.  It frees up some time for me to get some work done and she completely loves it.  What neither of us love is all the sick gunk she picks up there! I hadn't really considered that fact and how it might effect Liam until this past week.  Sure enough, Chloe brought home a flu-like stomach virus and ran a high-ish fever, threw-up a bunch, and overall felt lousy.  Not until I took that first temperature on her, though, did it connect that this virus is suddenly a heck of a lot more serious than it would normally be because I have a newborn in the house.  So, Brian and I kept Chloe from Liam as much as possible and even went so far as to stay on one kid shifts - he would take Liam, me Chloe, and neither of us would touch the other without washing thoroughly (and even changing clothes and showering sometimes...).

Liam now - all healthy, thank goodness!

Despite our good intentions, Liam still started running a high fever and landed in Peyton Manning Children's Hospital for 3 days and 2 nights.  I think Brian and I may have slept a total of 6 hours in that nearly 72 hour period.  As a mother, it was the most awful feeling: both of my kids were sick and needed me, yet I couldn't bring Chloe to the hospital, nor could I take Liam home.  So I had to split my time and each time leaving each kid was the worst feeling I think I've ever felt.

So, while my last post may have been about finding a new balance with our new addition, this little hiccup in our transition has kind of thrown off our groove.  Life doesn't feel very simple at the moment and I'm working hard at changing that.  Changing it starts with me, so right now I've got Liam happy and cozy in his sling with me and I'm planning on doing a brief bit of reflection after I finish this post.  Writing helps me reflect, so I actually keep three separate "journals."  I have this one, which is public and purposeful, so the writing is more directed.  I have one on our family photo-share website, which pertains to family-life and goals.  My last one I keep in an old-fashioned composition notebook where I write in nostalgic cursive with a special pen.  That's my secret one that no one can read.

I love writing and majored in Literature in college.  I used to tutor writing and once fancied I'd be an English professor (or even a History professor, since I minored in it and loved it).  But life led me in another direction and I don't regret a minute of it.  Because of my love of language, though, I find great value in reading my own writing so that my self can be reflected back at me in a truer sense than a mirror.  I think mirrors lie because my eye goes immediately to my flaws and weaknesses first, and that is just not good for fostering positivity!  

I will admit, I had a pretty negative attitude a few days ago.  I was overly tired, stressed, and feeling completely helpless (nothing like a hospital stay to show you just how little control over life you actually have).  One thing I completely love about my relationship with Brian is that we take turns pushing our little family wheelbarrow.  Since Brian and I share the same goals, we work seamlessly together, changing places when one needs a rest or isn't feeling like a leader, so that we keep moving forward no matter what, even when one of us feels like giving up.  I pushed the wheelbarrow for awhile, it was my turn to falter, I guess, and let Brian push.

Where I grew up! Zionsville, IN

He pushed us to Zionsville, the town where I grew up (about 20 minutes from here).  We picnicked with the kids at one of our favorite parks.  I love it there.  It's still home.  It's where I want to raise my kids and Brian knows this, even if he has been unsure about moving there.  But it's small town-America at its greatest and I just feel I can suddenly breathe deeper when we're over there.   There is a house that I've been watching with interest since March.  The price has lowered twice now, and I felt like it was the right time (and the right price finally!) for us to take a look at it.  We toured it, we both loved it, and now we just want to put in an offer on it and get started renovating (it is a fixer-upper, which we wanted).  I just can't believe that we found a home in Zionsville, on an acre and a quarter of land within our budget that we both like.  Whew! I never thought it'd happen! :) Of course I'll update if and when we get this amazing house, but for now it's enough to know that it's out there and that means possibilities.

This week has pointed out to me in a very clear picture how complicated daily life can be for the modern family, and I saw my happiness and patience wane as a result.  NPR just had a segment on the radio I happened to hear on my way home about decreasing stress through meditation.  I have often shied away from using the word "meditation," to describe my little reflection-time I spend with myself because I think it conjures visions of levitating Buddhist monks.  :)  But that is what it is.  I turn on a particular song I love called, "The Promise," by Michael Nyman, close my eyes, light a candle, turn off all lights and just breathe.  I've done the same routine since I was a senior in high school and began suffering nervous breakdowns (for A LOT of personal issues that don't bear mentioning here).  It clears my mind, cleanses my body, and fills my heart with hope.  When I close my eyes I see my kids, my husband and soulmate, my past, present, and future aligned in purpose - I see meaning in even the mundane and the positive in even the negative.  So, there you go.  I have no practical advice on simplicity this week, but I can recommend meditation.

Finding a New Kind of Balance

On July 30th at 4:49am our son Liam finally made his debut! It was a relatively short labor and delivery with no complications, so we got to go home the very next day.  Chloe, our 2 year old, has adjusted really well - far better than I had anticipated - which really got me thinking: we are always so worried about how our kids will react to new situations, but in truth, kids are far more flexible than adults.  Brian and I put a bunch of thought and effort into making this transition easy for Chloe and who ended up really needing it most - us!

Two kids definitely are harder than just one, and especially for the first few days.  Liam was having difficulty nursing and also would not tolerate being set down.  Brian and I alternated holding him almost 24/7 - he took the night shift and I took the day shift.  As I would sit there holding him, looking down at this new baby boy I loved so dearly and would do anything for, I would also look over at Chloe and ache a little for what we'd lost.  It's hard to explain without it sounding like I don't love Liam, but Chloe had been our only child and suddenly I couldn't even hold her because I was so thoroughly occupied with a new baby.  I just cried and cried about it, fretting that Chloe would feel jealous or unloved, when really she was just fine - chattering away asking about the baby and wanting to help me with him.

This realization really got me thinking.  My goal of simplification is taking shape in tangible, easy to moderate and measure ways - homemade shampoos, cloth diapering, etc... But really, it isn't just all that, it's an attitude.  So, had my attitude caught-up with my goals? Or were all these goals just another complication dressed in a simplistic style (can anyone say the $1,200 Vera Wang that only looks simple but took months to create?) :)

I've always said that being a good parent requires three things: respect, love, and patience. I think this philosophy applies to more than parents, though.  I think if you make these three things a priority, you become a good human being.  This past week I have focused on being these things not only for my kids, but for me, and I literally have felt like Super Mom! It doesn't matter that I don't have time to eat, or that I get peed on by two different kids in my last two clean pairs of pants, or that I had to play "catch the vomit" with Chloe.  What matters is at the end of the day, I can kiss my kids good night and know I gave them 100% - my absolute best.  So even if they're cranky or constipated, I know I've given them a good day.  The peace that comes with that is immense, and I equate peace with simplification.

So I feel almost enlightened - like a zen monk.  I smile all the time, roll with life's punches, and even welcome adversity.  Yes, there are tangible accomplishments we've made in the past two weeks towards becoming more simple, but this intangible attitude adjustment - this new sense of balance - is so freeing that I feel it is most important.

I will say, that Brian went to Lowe's and bought a bag of painting rags for $4, which are 100% cotton t-shirts recycled. We put them into a Seventh Generation wipes tub we've had since before Chloe was born with a little water, baby soap, lavender oil and almond oil and voila - reusable, washable, soft, and clean wipes! We just put the used ones in a little bin by our sink that has soap and water in it and rub and rinse out the stains and baby matter, then I toss them into the washer.  We will never have to pay any more money for wipes than $4.  :)

I also made my first batch of homemade antibacterial cleaner! It works great and was super simple to prepare.  Here's the rundown:

Antibacterial Cleaner
1/2 C boiled and cooled water
1/2 C rubbing alcohol or vodka (yes vodka - some might have that lying around instead of alcohol) :)
1/4 C white distilled vinegar
a few drops lemon oil (I have lemon oil, though it is a harder to find ingredient - you can use any essential oil you want, or leave it out - it's just scent)

Combine everything in a recycled plastic bottle (I just saved one from our last kitchen cleaner purchase and rinsed it out really well).  Shake to combine, and use. 

And to close this blog post, which I apologize for its length and rather rambling nature, I wanted to share a recipe for a really simple, nutritious, fresh pasta dish that I have absolutely fallen in love with.  Thanks to Chef Jamie Oliver for inspiring this dish (it's all mainly his with a few adjustments). It takes no effort to prepare, is healthful and delicious, and since I *am* a chef, I just can't help but share it.  :)

Summer Margherita Pasta
Serves: 6 easily, probably more depending on who you're feeding

1 pound quality spaghetti noodle, whole wheat if you'd like
1 pound variety of fresh tomatoes, I used a variety of colors and sizes
quality olive oil
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 to 2 fresh red chile peppers, seeded and diced (to taste)
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
a shy pound of fresh basil, rough chopped stems and all
freshly grated parmesan cheese
a touch of sugar, depending on your tomatoes and the season

Boil pasta in salted water just until no longer chewy - you don't want really soft noodles because they will cook a little more in the pan with the rest of the pasta dish.

Place a large saute pan over medium high heat and add four turns of the pan of olive oil.  Heat until rippling and add tomatoes and a good solid pinch of sea salt and plenty of pepper.  Stir and add just a touch of sugar if you're tomatoes aren't very ripe.  Let cook until tomatoes are soft and beginning to break apart.  Add chile peppers, garlic, and half the basil.  Season with a little more salt and pepper.  Cook for about 1 minute, or until very fragrant.  Add cooked pasta and a few good glugs of olive oil.  Toss to combine and add the remaining fresh basil and plenty of freshly grated parmesan.  Toss, taste for seasonings, and serve.