pictures, just cuz

I have apparently been chatty lately and have neglected posting lots of pictures. I'm going to change that now.

Emerson had her preschool Open House last week, and she was so excited to show off her school to Papa. I'm so happy that she is loving school!


She also had her school Halloween Party on Thursday, complete with a costume parade. She's Figaro, Minnie Mouse's cat from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I don't know what made her happier...wearing socks on her hands (those are totally going in the 5 o'clock box!) or wearing one of Mama's black t-shirts as part of her costume. Ah, to be so easily amused.

3 proud Hawkeyes! Iowa played an amazing game today. Lots of happy people in the state of Iowa tonight.

my conundrum

Ah, 3. It's quite an interesting age. I've been forewarned (repeatedly, as a matter of fact) that 3 is way worse than 2. She's so fiercely independent, but at times, she seems almost like a hormonal teenager (or crazy pregnant woman, for that matter) who hardly has control of her emotions. I continually think things like "If this (flopping on the couch and sobbing) is the reaction to no more jello, what will it be like when a boy breaks her heart in 15 years?" Oy vay.

My mom watched Em one day a week that first year when I was still teaching, and really enjoyed the one-on-one time with her granddaughter. She mentioned a few months ago that she'd like to have Pete one day a week as well, so she can have her snuggle time with the little man. We settled on Tuesdays so that I can have a few hours to myself (can you FEEL me beaming!!!) while Emerson is at school. This began today.

I made a really big deal of "girls day," and took her to lunch at a fave local place before school. And this morning, our play was totally dictated by her (well, I confess that it was partially dictated by the fact that the 60 mph winds knocked out our power right about the time I should have been showering, but I digress.) We made "sandcastles" out of blocks, sang lots of songs, did a project, and generally made merry. I kept thinking that it was like it used to be, you know, B.P.- Before Pete. She was that same girl I vaguely remember from January and February before her life got turned upside down. I will say, she did ask about 50 times "Mama, where's Pete? Why is Pete at Grammy's?" She loves her brother, and it's sweet to know that she misses him when he's not around.

This afternoon, after school and quiet time, we played some more. Just us girls. But she knew that the Peteless day was coming to an end and that I would have to make dinner and return to my role as Housekeeper Mama as well as Playmate Mama. And her attitude this afternoon was, shall we say, less agreeable.

And then I got frustrated. I mean, I made a big deal about making a special girls day, let her choose pretty much all of our playtime, didn't do icky stuff like dishes and laundry (ok, I confess didn't do those things as much) and generally made her the center of my universe. But by dinner and bathtime, she was back to being wicked to her Papa, snotty to Pete, and quite bossy to me. UGH! These special days are designed to let her know that she's my girl, that I love her SO MUCH, and that she doesn't need to be naughty to get my attention.

My wise, beautiful, and not even slightly dorky friend Shanna observed that kids are not like jars. There is no way to "fill them up" with love and attention. The more you give, the more they crave. I just wish I could figure out a way to let her know that she doesn't have to be snarky to get my attention and that negative attention is not something to strive for. I can't help but feel that if I were still in the classroom and this was a student instead of my offspring, I'd be able to see a solution. But genealogy is clouding my vision on this one.

By the time I get this one figured out, she'll have grown out of it. But at least I'll have some ideas in my pocket for Pete.

Make it a great week~

can we talk for a minute about having a son?

So...Mr. Pete has a new trick. He has recently discovered his, um, 5th limb, and likes to tug at it when I'm changing his diaper. As if that is not disconcerting enough, he giggles hysterically whenever he touches it.

Boys.

It's all downhill from here, isn't it.

ask and you shall receive- java brownies

I have heard from a few of you, both here and on facebook, that the recipe idea is a thumbs up. We'll see how often I actually get to it, but it's a nice idea anyway. I'll make a tab on the main page and try to remember to label each recipe post for ease of searching.

First up...the most insane brownies, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa. I made them a few weeks ago for a fall party, but sadly didn't take any pictures. They get really crumbly if you store them in a ziplock bag, which we used as a topping for ice cream. Yum.

1 lb. unsalted butter (yes, that is the whole box.)
1 lb. plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 extra large eggs
3 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 C chopped walnuts (I omitted these, but have at it if you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 12x18x1 inch baking sheet.

Melt together butter, 1 lb. chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler ( or a bowl over simmering water works too.) Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat!) together eggs, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir a bit of the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture to temper it, and then slowly add the rest of the chocolate to the eggs. Allow to cool to room temp.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 C flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the nuts and remaining chocolate chips with remaining 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the batter. Pour into baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the sheet on the counter to force the air to escape from between the pan and brownie batter. Bake for about 15 minutes more until a toothpick comes out cleanish. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Allow to cool slightly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 squares (realistically, I make much smaller slices as these are quite rich and not so calorie friendly. But if you've ever seen the Barefoot Contessa, well, she likes her slices a bit larger.)

recipes?

I'm in full cooking mode. Like pot pie and butternut squash soup and java brownies, oh my.

So- question for you lovlies...would you be interested in seeing some recipes here? Not all the time, but every once in a while?

Leave a comment if this appeals to you~

thx

my, how times have changed

At dinner tonight, we had a little family sing-a-long. Jeff had his Droid phone flipped open, and we were singing along with Moose and Zee from Nick Jr. courtesy of YouTube. I remarked to Jeff that 100 years ago, we would have all been sitting around the piano, or maybe if we were a wealthy family, the Victrola (that's record player for you new-fangled types.) 1910, when 3 of my 4 grandparents were born, was still a few years before Marconi perfected radio (although ship-to-shore communication would be just 3 or 4 years away...one of the first messages ever received was from a ship traveling near the Titanic as she went down.) Philo T. Farnsworth (now THAT'S a name) and the rest of his cronies were still a few decades from mastering the picture tube that we know as television. Cell phones were about 65-70 years away from being invented, and, ahem, Al Gore hadn't quite put the finishing touches on the Internet just yet.

And to think...we were watching a song from TV that someone downloaded onto the Internet by searching with a hand-held computer that we also use to make phone calls.

Now, what would Grandpa think of THAT?

i'm smiling

Anytime




and



lose, I'm a happy girl. And when one of them loses at the hands of the



that REALLY makes me smile. Way to go, Badgers. And YEAH, HAWKS!

see? i told you i love lists.

Things I've been really into lately:

pumelo (it's like a giant, sweet grapefruit) You. Must. Try. One.

running- I'm "training" to train for my first marathon in May...I've run a couple of 1/2 marathons, and NEED to do this. God bless my IT bands...

scrapbooking (finally getting around to some "me" time!)

my husband- he's the BEST and is pretty cute too ;)

reading with Emerson- always one my most fave things to do with her.

watching "Sister Wives"- a TOTAL guilty pleasure. It's a reality show about a polygamist with 3 wives who is engaged to #4. Total crap, but a fascinating study on human nature. At least that's what I tell myself.

The Big Bang Theory- nerds, physics, a man with a phobia of speaking to women, and Sheldon. 'nuf said.

baking- fortunately, as I said, I'm also into running. Otherwise, this could be problematic.

fall- my most favorite time of year!

Happy Thursday~

i heart lists

I am a listmaker. I make them for the week, for the day, for whatever. I have a running grocery list and Target list. I have a list of meals that I'm planning to cook each week. And lately, I've started a weekly "free time" list. I'm finding a few minutes here and there during the day to myself (PRAISE GOD!!!), but end up literally walking around in circles trying to decide what to do with myself. By the time I make a plan, the window of opportunity has closed. What a waste! So now, when I have a second to myself, I consult my list. It says things like read Revelation (I'm doing Beth Moore's study on this last book of the Bible. It's heavy stuff, but such a blessing to have such a wonderful teacher.), scrapbook, order prints, organize my magazine binder, look into making Halloween costumes for E & P. You know, fun stuff that is also productive in some way. At no point on any list does it say "fart around on Facebook." And yet, that's what I did today. Just sat in my kitchen with my phone in hand, wasting time. I HATE wasting time. And I hate it even more when it's my fault.

Tomorrow, I'm going to refocus.

my little apple dumplin'

So I was reading a link to a blog on a blog that I follow, and saw some super cute ideas for portraits. Since Emerson is so over being corralled into sitting still and smiling pretty, I set my sights on Pete-adorable, smiley, immobile Pete. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Or baby in a bushel, as it were. We were at Jeff's parent's apple orchard this weekend, and they had the perfect props. I may tweak the coloring a bit, and change some to black & white...What do you think?

a self psycho-analysis

So, lately I've been having a recurring dream. Or, shall I say nightmare. It's happening about once a week, and it has two alternating, horrific endings. Sweet.

Version 1:

I'm walking with the kids in our little downtown area. Pete is in the stroller and Emerson is on foot. She's skipping happily about 10 yards in front of me. As we approach the train tracks, I shout to her to wait, but she starts across without me and the gates go down, stranding her on one side and me on the other with a moving train between us. While I never witness anything awful happening, the dream does not end well.

Version 2:

Same story but as the gates start to go down, I quickly set the footbrake on the stroller and dart after Emerson, leaving Pete on a steep incline on the other side of the train. Because of my haste in setting the brakes, the stroller rolls down the hill and into oncoming traffic. Again, this does not end well. I literally shuddered as I typed these, even though they're MY dreams and I'm quite familiar with them.

Not coincidentally, the Green Eyed Monster has been rearing her ugly head around here and Emerson has an accute case of siblingitis. She's VERY jealous of Pete these days, and says many unkind things about him..." I want to HIT Pete," "Let's leave Pete outside," "No Pete, you can NOT play with my toys," {which, by the way, he could care less about at this point.} Not only that, but her 3 year-old self can be quite challenging, and Pete, well, he's just Mr. Mellow. No sassing, no rudeness, and generally a joy to be around. Um, which would YOU prefer? I'm trying very hard to show equal attention, but I'm still new at this whole multi-kid thing, and being an only child, I don't have a lot of background experience.

I'm sure that these dreams are just a manifestation of my stress and concern with the situation, but really, brain? Can't we just focus on this during my WAKING hours and let a mama get some shut eye?

Ah, parenting...The ultimate rapid-aging remedy.

hawkeye pride

Ok, if you've read this blog for a while or know me IRL, you know that I bleed black & gold. My Hawks shined on national tv last weekend when they beat the heck out of Penn State. And, not to be outdone by their team, the fans did an awesome job of showing their pride in the stands.

I don't care who you are...this is just cool! LET'S GO HAWKS!