How to...

Kids are funny. No matter how cold it is or what kind of snow you get they want to play in it. So, here's little how to on snowmen when the universe sends you the wrong kind of snow (and believe me, according to me, there is no RIGHT kind of snow).

1. Get a shovel and push the soft puffy non-adhesive snow into a pile.
2. Nag your mother for supplies while she overexposes you with light
3. Sit proudly with your new apple faced friends.


Meanwhile, it's never to early to think about the importance of a good pair of boots.

Pancakes and other piles

Most days when Harry gets home from school, he leaves a pile like this somewhere:


I always think of it as a visual deep sigh. And then he retreats to the couch in his underpants and t-shirt to unwind from a stressful day of kindergarten. (She said without an ounce of sarcasm.)

Of course, most mornings, we are willing to go the extra mile to keep him on the right side of happy, since he is. not. a morning person. And most mornings, this means pancakes. Oh, we've had our fits and starts with them, from the Smitten Kitchen (good tips, too much buttermilk) to Barefoot Contessa (a little complicated for every day) and even the Pioneer Woman (just bad. and no buttermilk).

And finally we landed on Alton Brown's recipe. And we were happy.

And our pants don't fit.

So, now we make a 1/2 recipe and fry up 1 pancake per morning for that glorious boy.


And he was happy.

Our favorite salad

So, we've been eating this salad for a while and I feel it's my duty to share it with you:

Arugla
Craisins
Candied Walnuts (get the ones from Trader's Joes)
Pear
French vinagrette (I like Brianne's - it has the artichoke on it)

Ummm.. cut up the pear, mix together, dump some dressing on, sit on your brother, enjoy.


Also, since we're talking about food, I should let you know that I may never buy pre-made tomato sauce again. This really was basic and awesome. And if you ever need someone to make 100 meatballs, I've got a name for you.

Snow Days

We've had a lovely holiday - got more than we deserved from Santa and didn't have to leave the house yesterday. It snowed a little for us just before Christmas, making everything white and Bing-like (and then it rained all day on Christmas Day giving me false hope that January won't be miserably cold, it will be mild and rainy).

Anyway, I was off all last week, so I dragged Suzy over to school on the sled to pick Harry up at the end of the day. She thought it was the best thing ever.

Now, the flaw in this plan, which I failed to realize before embarking upon it, was that I would have to pull BOTH of them home. Up little hills. Across fields. And my elbow may have detached. And my should may have separated. But they are awfully sweet, aren't they?

PS - we're making fresh pasta, meatballs and sauce today for 40 people. For the record, this was not my idea.

When?

I don't know what happened. I wrote a nice note on 12/9, and here we are on 12/23. It only seems fair to tell you about the delicious fresh pasta we've been making, and the nice house guests who have helped make (and eat!) all the creamed butter and sugar that's in the freezer. I mean cookies.





Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Disaster.

I thought it was a good idea to make caramel. (Ha. I just typed 'eat caramel' instead of make caramel. Subtle foreshadowing.) These cookies look so delicious. Honestly, how hard could it be?

I did my homework. The key is not to overcook it. Like this.

Ah. Much better.


But, oh, the humanity! Use the proper tools, girl! (Truly, I *should* be embarrassed to confess that I moved the metal bowl out of the way to grab this sweet pink one.)


Now it is time to be eternally thankful that your husband is upstairs reading a story to your son. And that your sister-in-law has called and is listening to the steady stream of profanity coming out of your mouth and asking 'is that going to be on the blog?' But it works out, because she puts your brother, the PhD materials engineer on to help you figure out how to remove sugar, corn syrup and plastic from your ceramic top stove without asking your husband for paint thinner.


But not to worry, it's all chemically incompatible with the ceramic on the stove. I was able to break the physical joints with ice, and since the ceramic isn't cracked, no chemical joints formed. (Look at all that materials knowledge. I even know what a polymer is.) The ice helped the burns on my fingers, too. But then the sweet, helpful brother, sensing the crisis is averted and his dear sister will remain married says, 'dry ice would work really well. You don't have any of that, do you?'

And I'm all out of heavy cream, too.

All soft

I love it when they wake up and their cheeks are still flushed from sleep and eyes are all soft around they edges. They even smell sweeter then. So, it is my fault if I cave once in a while and buy a horrible bag of the junk food overlords chocolate frosted donuts? Is the price too much to pay for this:

And, yes, people, I realize how ridiculously large and green that cup looks in this picture. Let's just say that my already weak photography skills are significantly handicapped before 7 am.

Giving thanks

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but 2009 hasn't been the best year. There's the financial ridiculousness that has plagued every one of us in it's own way, surviving the first year with a baby, and my mom's cancer, to name a few. But, in true form, there's also been 2 great birthday parties, a first day of kindergarten, a 10th anniversary and a pumpkin bourbon birthday cheesecake.

And we had a lovely day today at Gerise's - three kinds of stuffing, 2 pumpkin pies and crepes, made by our junior french chef. It just occurred to me that we didn't take any pictures, but Harry at 6 buns and Suzy ate everything she could get her hands on. I know you're surprised.

Anyway, at this point, we all look a little bit like this:


And we're thankful for things that, while sometimes a little out of focus, are as fun as this:

Harry + Claire

He's finally found someone as tall and as bossy as him. And she's perfectly lovely. And I love her mother.

Last weekend while Pete was at his Packer game/slumber party Lora and I met at Apple Holler for some breakfast and fun. It was a little bit chilly, but a good time was had by all. And I'm fairly certain that Suzy ate her weight in ham and apple cider donuts.

Popcorn

Is delicious? Unless you're some sort of crazy European who doesn't like rootbeer - not that I'm naming names or presenting a cultural bias, because you know, I love sausage and marzipan. I even like schnitzel and stollen and spatzel. (Apparently all I like are German foods that start with S and anything almond flavored.)

Anyway... We went to the Holiday Folk Fair over the weekend, which was lovely. The kids had a good time shopping and eating and watching ethnic dancing - Suzy learned some good spinning techniques, but just one time around, please, else one land's on one's hinder. She gobbled down some sauerkraut and a dumpling with gravy and then was very happy to move over to Ireland for a delicious blueberry scone. Harry, on the other hand, inhaled a taco and 3 cookies.

Suzy has shifted over to walking full stop. She's a little wobbly, which makes me think of calling her 'wobblesaurus rex', but no girl needs that sort of moniker to stick around until her feet are the size of mine. Also, with her squeaky shoes, undeserved (by her parents) level of cute, general happy disposition and outgoing brother, taking her places tends to be a bit like what we imagine traveling with a celebrity would be.

Happily, we only eat popcorn at home - you know, I'm not sure the public is ready for this (much as Jeffery Steingarten mentioned 'America being ready for rare pork' last night on The Next Iron Chef of which I watched EVERY episode. But I digress.





I know. But I'm not sorry at all.