Dedicated to the Breadman

Muffin tin deliciousness was featured at dinner last night with top-your-own pizzas. This is the first time I have done this with the boys.

I started the pizza dough in the bread machine, but about 10 minutes into the cycle it died on me. I had to finish it by hand...the horror of it all! The machine is pictured above, in the background behind the boys...waiting for a proper burial. RIP Breadman...it was a good 11 years.

The evening’s toppings were: fresh pineapple, ham, black olives, mushrooms, and red onions.

The onions and mushrooms were requested by Vincent- he has been going through this spicy food phase.

When Franklin initially saw the muffin tin he was a little worried, thinking dinner was served. Once he understood the concept, he set to work.

Frankie likes lots of pineapple.

Vincent likes lots of everything.

Colette likes to sit at the table like a big girl.

It was a successful dinner, and nice way to end the weekend.

Have a great week friends!

Just Another Thursday Night

The kids and I went to our friend Bridget’s house last night. Both our husbands were going to be out late so Bridget decided “Movie Night” would be a great way to usher us closer to the weekend and maybe provide a little break for the moms.

We envisioned 5 children (aged 4 and under) sitting quietly on the sofa, curled up and cozy in their pajamas, entranced by the movie, but periodically giggling and exchanging hugs.

What dumb broads we are!

It started off fine.

We got everyone settled.

Bribing with popcorn helped.

We got about 15 minutes into the movie when they decided toys would be more fun.

Then the dancing started. Coco practiced her downward dog.

Did I mention there was lots of chocolate?

Ave and Vinny mastered "the robot".

Soon everyone was out on the trampoline jumping until dark. Not exactly the calm evening we conjured up in our vivid imaginations. But there was wine and friend and popcorn and chocolate. Thursday nights don’t get much better than that!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Arnold, Alaska, and really good coffee

It is a rainy and windy day in Southern California. I had planned to do a fun painting activity with the kids this morning, but since I don’t trust the 19-month-old to finger paint in the house, that was quickly removed from the to do list.

I fear baseball practice may be cancelled as well. Apparently Mother Nature missed the memo that storms are not welcome here in May.

We SoCal people are wimpy like that.

Since there is not a lot to report on the children front (they are playing "army" right now) I thought I would share a few current but random thoughts:

First, so my friends from out of state can stop emailing me, I heard about Arnold yesterday. How could you not? It is the leading story on the morning news- maybe another reason I need to break my addiction to The Today Show. I’m glad he is no longer our governor...for a number of reasons. I think California realized a long time ago that he was a typical politician.

I am sad for his kids.

The only thing that surprises me is that no one found out sooner. I bet Gloria Allred is really pissed. She made a big deal out of the groping allegations during the recall election in 2003, when this was right under her nose. Missed opportunity, Gloria!

All that being said, I still like Kindergarten Cop.

I told you this was going to be random.

Second, I just finished reading Caribou Island by David Vann. I had to put my name on the waiting list for it at the library. I wanted to read it because it is the first novel by Vann who has won a number of awards for his other works, and the setting is Alaska.

I have had this weird fascination with Alaska for the last year. I am unsure why. I have absolutely ZERO hunting, fishing, or survival instincts.

The book starts with the main character building a cabin from scratch on a remote Alaskan island. He does this without a blueprint or plan. His wife goes along with it, even though she opposes the idea completely. The couple has two children, both with their own issues. I won’t go into any more detail, but to say that that the characters have no redeeming qualities. There was nothing likable or relatable (is that a word?) about them. Likable characters are not a must for an enjoyable book, but here, the overall tone was depressing.

Stylistically, Vann didn’t use quotation marks around any of the dialogue...and there is a lot of dialogue. You get used to it as you read but, creative license aside, it was a little unsettling especially when reading at midnight.

Overall, it was disappointing.

Finally, the former governor and this book remind me of living in Charlotte. We were there when Arnold was first elected and my favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings was go for a run then hit a coffee spot with a copy of the Observer or a book.

My favorite spot was Caribou Coffee.

I wish they would come to California.

I like their mochas and slogan- Life is short. Stay awake for it.

Do It Yourself Trail Mix

Trail Mix is a popular snack in our house. It took me a while to not worry about the boys choking or going into anaphylactic shock every time they had a nut, but now that I am over that, trail mix is a mainstay.

The biggest issue I have with trail mix is there is always a little something left over- Vincent isn’t crazy about cashews, and Franklin doesn’t like whole almonds. To remedy this I have started buying our trail mix ingredients separately, instead of pre-mixed. I have found that it is cheaper, lasts longer, and I can add the stuff each child likes.

Most importantly, I am not compelled to 200 calories worth of leftovers so they don’t go to waste because there is usually nothing left for me.

Today, I decided to let the boys mix their own snack, muffin tin style. Their mix choices were: a medley of raisins, dried tropical fruit, Craisins, sunflower seeds, honey roasted peanuts, and M&Ms. Coco had hers sans nuts.

Other items that we often use are pistachios, mini marshmallows, Multigrain Cheerios, chocolate chips, Chex, Apple Jacks, peanut butter chips, macadamia nuts, mini pretzels, goldfish, granola clusters (Trader Joes has really good ones), banana chips, shredded coconut and dried pineapple chunks.

It always amazes me that they share and still get their fill of what they want. Maybe it is brotherly love...or my threats to never do anything fun again if this doesn’t go well.

Either way, this is what was left over after mixing.

I couldn’t let those M&Ms go to waste.

What is the go to snack around your house?

More Books We Are Loving

The boys are really into bugs right now. They grosser the better, and if they have pinchers Franklin is in heaven. Monster Bug Wars is our current favorite television show.

Our library wish list is over flowing with books targeted at different types of insects that we must learn about. Black Windows, Tarantulas, and Mosquitoes are all at the top, and will be making a mini Pill Bug terrarium this summer. I hope this will keep the bugs out of the boys’ pockets, where they were found this week.

I picked up these two books as the Target dollar spot: Strange and Amazing Insects, and Stinkers and Stingers. They have great illustrations and lots of cool scientific information...and they were a buck each. We read them everyday.

Coco has finally taken an interest in reading. She doesn’t have a preference for any topic in particular, but she has to sleep with at least one book at night.

It took almost two years, but I have finally gotten around to reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

If you haven’t read it yet, you need to. It is set in 1960s Mississippi and tells the story of black domestic workers and the socialite white women they are employed by. It is an easy read and super entertaining. Even though it is over 400 pages, you will be surprised by how fast you blow through it, and you may be sorry when it is over. The characters are well developed and appropriately likeable or contumelious.

For a complete review of The Help click here, but be aware that the New York Times likes to go into a lot of detail as to the plot so you may not want to read the whole thing...I like to be surprised.

What books are you loving in your house?

2011 New Year’s Resolutions Confession

It’s May 11, 2011. How’s it going with that new year’s resolution? Do you even remember your new year’s resolution?

I think they are silly, to be quite honest. If there is really something you need to change in your life or something you want to accomplish, why wait until January 1^st? Maybe it is because we are too busy living life to think about it until we are reminded, or maybe we don’t need to or care for making changes. Whatever the reason, January is tagged as the month we start improving ourselves.

So even though I think they are silly, I came up with a few things I wanted to do in the new year. Here is my progress:

• Be more “present”. By present I mean living in the moments- good and bad. As the mother of three children and caretaker of the home, I find myself thinking about what has to be done next:

“I need to take the chicken out of the freezer.”

“Those clothes are not going to fold themselves.”

“There is dog poop on the lawn.”

I have really tried to banish those thoughts from my mind when spending time with the kids and Patrick. These thoughts have a place, but not when we are playing with legos, sharing dinner, or dispensing discipline.

Sometimes someone needs to be held for a few minutes, an extra book needs to be read, or timeout isn’t really appropriate. Being present helps determine needs, and enjoy the family. This is a constant struggle. This is something that will probably have to be on my list every year.

• Make two new recipes a week. I have a habit of (maybe an obsession with) collecting recipes that I want to try. I have a neatly categorized four inch three ring binder full of them. If a recipe in a magazine looks good I rip it out, punch it and file it. I do the same thing with Internet recipes, but in order to reduce paper waste I often bookmark it on the computer and only print it if I want to make it again.

1. 
   Last year I realized I was ripping more that I was cooking. To motivate me to dig into those untried recipes I decided to make two new recipes a week.

1. 
   

1. So far, so good. Some weeks I only manage one, others weeks I will make 4. In the end I am averaging 2 recipes a week. I have found that only a third of the recipes have been kept for my personal cookbook (also a three ring binder) and a few have been total “flop-a-roos” as VW would say.

Better Communication with Family. I started this blog with the purpose of letting people know what was going on with the family, especially family that lives farther away. I hope they are reading.

Learn to Sew. I don’t know why. I’m not nesting. Maybe it is because there are so many cute things for little girls that I could make for Coco if I only knew how to use that fancy sewing machine I have. Maybe it is because I desperately want black out shades for the master bedroom. Whatever the reason, I want to sew.

NO progress has been made on this. I have until December to start. Maybe next month.

What were your resolutions for 2011? How is it going?

Disney Muffin Tin

We are surprising the boys by taking them to Disneyland tomorrow, so I thought I would do a Disney character muffin tin lunch today.

With the amount everyone has been ill lately, I thought it best to wait until the last minute to let them in on the plan.

We had fun discussing over lunch all the characters and the rides we want to go on “next time” we visit the Magic Kingdom.

We ate the character’s favorite foods:

Mickey and Minnie Mouse- cheese

Pluto- Dog Bone aka: PB &J sandwich

Princesses- mango (I admit, it’s a stretch, but I needed to incorporate a fruit and I didn’t want to give them a Snow White apple!)

Donald and Daisy Duck- carrots and jicama

Buzz and Woody- Their faces on Cheese Its (that Buzz Lightyear is pretty self absorbed)

Chip and Dale- Granola and Nuts

They enjoyed their lunch and I now know exactly which rides we will be hitting first thing in the morning.

Next time, I may try to do a Seven Dwarfs Muffin Tin. Sleepy's "mild sedative" would be for me!