Advent merriment

We've had a wonderful week of rest and indulging each other. Cookies, late mornings in pj's, naps and, of course, the magic of Christmas morning. I think I'm almost ready for 2014.

I wanted to share what we managed to squeeze in during our Advent countdown this year. It was such a fun thing to do as Christopher was the perfect age and really looked forward to checking to see what our activity would be every day. In fact, just this morning he realized that it must be over as the pockets had been empty for a few days. Another long year will have to pass before we experience the wind up to Juletiden!

Our list of activities likely doesn't balance out to a perfect 24 since we doubled up on some days and had to abort plans on other days due to illness or life's other unexpected turns. In any case, here's what we were up to:

Take Christmas card picture

Wonderland Express at the Gardens

Ride the CTA Holiday Train

Hang Christmas lights on house

Make fudge with Daddy

Gift shopping for family members

Hang up door wreath

Make Scotch Bread for neighbors

Go for a nature walk

Bring home a Christmas tree

Decorate Christmas tree

Donate to a food or toy drive

Bake gingerbread men

Make peppermint bark presents

Cotton ball snowmen

Color a Christmas picture

Draw a big Xmas tree and decorate with bows and stickers

Have a Christmas Carols dance party

A chocolate kiss/coin/truffle

Drop coins in bell ringer’s bucket

Hot chocolate!

Mail Christmas cards

Make a paper chain garland

Make paper snowflakes

Make gift tags

Write a letter to Santa

December

It's busy around here with two little boys who are so excited for... well, they're not exactly sure what since their memories of last year are fuzzy. We've had fun doing a lot of seasonal things with our Advent calendar messages and have made some fun changes to the house in anticipation of both Christmas and the impending arrival of Baby #3 shortly thereafter. (Oh, 2.5 months may not seem like a long time, but one thing I know for sure after 2 previous babies is that the third trimester leaves a person tired, slow, and uber short on time!)

This week we're packaging up greeting cards, making peppermint bark for teacher gifts, and I need to come to a decision on which cookie to make for the holiday treats exchange I'm hosting this weekend. If you were a cookie, would you prefer to be a Molasses Spice Cookie or a Chewy Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookie? Hmmm. I clearly have a thing for molasses and spices at this time of year.

It's been snowing a lot. Like - A LOT for mid-December. Last year we got our first picture-perfect snowfall on Christmas morning. It was pretty amazing. This year? Well, let's just say we've had the shovels out and working for a couple of weeks already. Christopher really wants to make snow angels and a snowman, but the windchill has prohibited us from being able to stay outside for long. My fingers are crossed that snow angels and snowmen can happen over the winter break, as well as a trip over to the park for some sledding fun.

We're reading a lot, thanks to the cold. Some of the kids' current favorites are:
Snow (PD Eastman)
Snow (Uri Shulevitz)
Are You My Mother? (PD Eastman)
Should I Share My Ice Cream? (Mo Willems)
A Day At The Fire Station (R. Scarry)
and, of course... 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Stay snug and merry! As Christopher reminded me this afternoon, "It's only NINE days until Christmas!!!" Single digits now, folks. :)

Crunch-o-meter

Sorry to keep posting links here, I'll have some real writing... er, tales from the old household, coming up early next week.

But, in the meantime? This is hilarious. HOW CRUNCHY ARE YOU? (Admittedly, this is probably most entertaining for those who are just exiting that first chapter of parenting.)

Raising boys

A good link.

Jane Fonda... who knew?!

Who will bake the pie???

Don't let the subject line worry you - our household is taken care of for this year. In fact, the pie is in the oven baking as I type this. However, about 20 minutes ago as I stood in the kitchen whiskingwhiskingwhisking... I did find myself wondering, "Who will bake the pies when I'm an old lady?"

Does this have something to do with pregnancy (aka. crazy-ass hormones) and the hyper-sentimental flashes it imposes on one without notice? Is it because Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday since I enjoy the one day per year entirely focused on Good Food and Hanging Out With Those We Love? Or is it because I make a really mean pie, and, while Trader Joe's and Whole Foods do decent store-bought versions (Colin and I have tested them both while shopping and he, in particular, whole-heartedly approves), would hate to see my legacies forgo the challenge of rolling and whisking and baking - but not for too long! - their own pumpkin pies every year? Did that last run on make sense? It was intended to be overly dramatic. :)

In any case, I quickly realized that I don't have much to worry about. As I slid in the pie in the oven, I could hear Christopher madly rolling and sifting and mixing in his play kitchen, just as he'd helped me do minutes before closing his bedroom door for a daily dose of Rest Time. And really... any store bought creation will taste completely fantastic if good people are seated together at the table.

There will be pie. Not to worry.

Here's the recipe that I return to every year. It's from the Williams Sonoma Pie and Tart cookbook given to me by my Aunt Jenny at my bridal shower. She is the Pie Queen in our extended family and it's been far too long since I've tasted one of her blueberry pies. No canned pie fillers here, people. And it's worth it, too. All the delicious flavors and the pleasure/satisfaction/fun of doing it all from scratch.
Williams Sonoma Spiced Pumpkin Pie

May your turkey be delectable and not dry (ours will be BBQ'ed - perhaps in the snow?!), may your stuffing be flavorful (ours will be of the cornbread variety with pecans and cranberries), your potatoes as sweet or as buttery white as you wish (ours will be garlic, per Mike's annual plea), and your veggies most perfectly roasted!

Happy Thanksgiving from us!

Check ups and Dinovember

First off - I'm sure many of you have seen this, but I still had to share:
DINOVEMBER
So. Awesome.

Also, I've been getting a lot of medical attention around here recently, and not because Baby #3 is due in March (apologies to anyone who's just now hearing the news in such an unpersonalized way... ah, blogs).

The Fisher Price doctor kit is experiencing a high level of interest these days and, my goodness, I have such thorough care providers! They prod a little sharply sometimes and use very odd instruments depending on the "test", but they do have excellent bedside manners and the exam table - our living room couch - is comfy enough to fall asleep on during the appointment. (Actually, that's what happened yesterday afternoon.)

- My eyes and ears and nose get a very close look, sometimes with an otoscope and at other times with a magnifying glass designed to get a good look at bugs.
- The stethoscope listens to my heart and also listens to my belly for the baby (aww).
- I get shots (of what, I'm not sure) in my legs, arms and belly.
- My blood pressure is checked several times - on my forearm - and is usually pretty close to accurate with a diastolic reading of "it's 78, Mama." Today at my midwife appointment, I was 104/68. Pretty close!
- Temperature is taken, a small firetruck might be lightly rolled over the forehead for good measure (surprisingly relaxing), and sometimes a child-sized power drill is used on my knuckles.
- To round out the check up, there's the Play Test in which I am asked to toss a small football back and forth to see how well I'm Playing. Happily, I've passed that one every time.

Aebler

Applesauce in the blender, in the food mill, with the potato masher. Verdict: it's all delicious.
Folded into bread dough and dropped into pancakes. Verdict: we recommend.
Lightly warmed on the stovetop with a little brown sugar and pie spice. Verdict: have ice cream on hand.

Thrown into one's bag on the way out the door for a last minute, crunchy snack. Verdict: the best option of all.

We are in full autumn-mode. We're raking leaves into piles and then blasting through them with bikes or toy lawnmowers, we're pulling up the end of the vegetable garden, and incorporating pumpkin into anything and everything. Soup pretty much always sounds like a good idea these days, too.

Everyone has pulled out their winter coats and must wear them in the morning to avoid frostbite, but by the time the sun is shining during the day at that beautifully warm and orange slant only apparent in the fall... the coats are peeled off until the sun disappears again.

Winter duvets have been put on the beds and the summer ones are washed and waiting for next April... or May... or June (please, no!)?

And this year, with a four year old and a two year old, we've started fielding a lot of questions about Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas and all of the festivities and special activities surrounding those celebrations. It's going to be a very exciting holiday season in this house!

First autumnal sunset

A few days prior to the actual Fall Equinox, but still... the shadows were long, low and warm leading up to this beautiful sunset.

Friday afternoon luxuries

Babysitter + Carl Nielsen's Voice + Affogato with salted caramel gelato = Full time Parent Nirvana

September

Where to begin when trying to dive into The Month of Beginnings?!

Colin turned two!
"Colin two!" is the way he might share that piece of news with you. He is such a loving, affectionate boy. Smothering us with kisses and hugs and adoring gazes from the time he wakes until we lay him down for sleep at night. He's friendly and easily engages other children that he's just met. I think he's going to be a good one to have at a party as he gets older.

As I watch my kids grow and see their interactions evolve, I realize what a special thing it is to be the second child. Colin is never lonely (unless Christopher hasn't gotten up for the morning, in which case he pounds on his door demanding he get up and come out). He has an older sibling who is generally happy to help him when he needs a boost, shares his snacks, and explains tough situations like an impending departure from the park or why one must have their diaper changed to avoid asphyxiating the rest of the household. Unsurprisingly, Christopher often gets through to Colin better than we can in times of angst. It's pretty handy.

Colin is ready to go to preschool like no other and is *just* too young. (We are also in no hurry, whatsoever!) Colin hustles into the classroom along with Christopher, washes his hands, and goes straight to work with whatever activities are out for the day. Poor guy, he never gets to stay very long, but he's always overjoyed to see his big brother at pick up time. Soon enough, though...

Favorite things to shout out loud: No, Pasta, Alright!!!, Mama
Favorite foods: Chocolate, Pasta, Grapes, Salmon, Eggs
Favorite pajamas: Too-small alligator top with guitar-covered pants and red Australia socks
Favorite book: That's Not My Train!
Favorite song: Wheels (on the Bus)

We've enjoyed the last of the summer weather with a few more visitors, bike rides, and a block party. We really are lucky to live in such a beautiful neighborhood within this great city. The block party included a visit from a city firetruck which sprayed the street with its huge hose for a good 15 minutes and gave the kids a chance to cool off from the heat. People pulled out their barbeques and tables and lawn chairs and the kids were all free to scooter and bike and run in the street until it was too dark to see. We shared good drinks, tomatoes from our gardens, baked goodies and, of course, s'mores over a fire pit. We were all happy and exhausted.

This week marks the beginning of preschool and hopefully some fall weather. Tomorrow the late summer heatwave will peak at 95! and then start to decline. We are ready to fling the windows open and go enjoy some apple picking and leaf raking.

Happy beginnings, everyone.

Tomato :: Tomat :: Pomodor :: Tomate

There's an upside to the nasty late-summer heatwave we've been experiencing over the last two weeks: tomatoes. Just when I'd given up on ripe gems of all shapes, sizes and colors, the 90 degree heat has boosted our plants to literal fruition. Hello, late summer.

We have tiny ones both red and gold, rosy diminutive plum shapes, my perennial favorite Wapsipinicon Peach in it's yellow and slightly peachy (surprise, surprise) flesh tones, a healthy number of Green Zebra, some lipstick-red luscious and thin-skinned Principe Borghese, and one that we hauled in yesterday that Christopher has titled "Pumpkin Tomato" which should sum up it's healthy appearance.

So. Here is the late summer conundrum: heat outside plus heat inside at the oven/stove seems insane. How many caprese salads can we eat? How many sliced tomatoes are delicious until you don't want to see another one until next August?! To get my culinary juices flowing, I browsed Martha Stewart's Tomato Recipes, and provided they're well-tested, I'm pretty excited.

Like many others, food is a virtual trip for me as I'm frequently transported back in time to people and places when experiencing a taste from my past.

I look forward to remembering humid Charlottesville nights overlooking rolling green fields, fireflies, and my friend and colleague Phillip's company when I blend up some proper gazpacho. He's the first one who ever showed me how to make it from scratch (recipe? pshaw!) and when he added some old bread (what?) I thought he was crazy. Turns out, that's the proper way to do it, my friends. Divine.

Tomatoes Provencal will take me back to Nice when Mike and I stayed with Nathalie and her family and the only item planned for each day was the dinner menu. She let me help and sent me home with a book on Provencal cooking that I still use.

I'll hopefully have enough fruit to make a batch of Ina Garten's Cream of Tomato Soup. While not entirely wonderful for you considering the cream content, true tomato season comes but once a year and I will think of a fun evening of tomato soup, barbequed chicken and roasted asparagus with Polly and Jeff and the twins two summers ago.

Baked Eggs in Tomatoes and Whole Roasted Tomatoes are also sounding pretty good. Maybe caprese sandwiches for dinner? Or that amazing Grilled Rustic Bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil and layered with all colors of tomatoes and drizzled with balsamic and maybe a pinch of that Fleur de Sel I have stashed away for special times? Oh, yum yum yum.

10 - 4

TEN

Last week while on vacation in picturesque Door County, Wisconsin, Mike and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. I hesitate to use the word "celebrate" in too celebratory a fashion since our evening consisted of take away Mexican food and an overdose of House of Cards on the laptop. It was a family vacation and we couldn't very well just take off for the night. Pity that - when does that happen again?!

Not being fans of engraved trinkets and other traditional doo-dads, we've decided to commemorate the occasion with 10 Date Nights which is much more representative of our best memories and finest times together. Indeed, in our 10 years of marriage (and 17 years of life together), our fondest, most technicolor times have been experiences. In the months ahead there will be 10 date nights to 10 restaurants/places that have languished on our Chicago-area bucket list.

FOUR

Christopher: Mama! Come get this for me!
Me: Christopher, I am not your personal servant.
Christopher: Mama, you are my personal serpent.

Following a dinner that was peppered by a lot of reminders to keep toes off the table, buns in the seat, and the use of utensils instead of fingers...
Christopher: This dinner was brought to you by the letter "NO" and the number "MAMA."
(If you don't get that one, then click on this and it might ring a bell.)

We have a four year old in the house!

Christopher got a blue bike (with pedals, as requested) for his birthday and he was riding it before the day was out. I think that no small amount of credit goes to the balance bike he's been riding for the last year, but I must admit that I'm a little amazed at how quickly he's gotten the hang of it. We told him that we can all go for a family ride together once he can start up completely on his own and use the brakes dependably. Looks like there may be a family bike ride this weekend...

Christopher has retained many of the qualities that we noticed in him when he turned one. It's truly awesome how his little personality (well, BIG personality, at times) was so evident from square one. He's still somewhat hesitant in new situations and doesn't make waves socially if he doesn't feel completely knowledgeable about who and what is around him. He's sensitive but not demonstrative. He's intense and kinesthetically able. We're so proud of him and look forward to seeing what new joys and adventures he discovers this year, his 5th trip around the sun.

Sunday night

When the summer temperatures drop to a sudden 60ish degrees and the kids are all tired out from a day at the gardens and the park... what do you do when the house is finally quiet?

Get in the bedroom and PAINT IT!!!

Yes. We're crazy and we know how to have a good time.

With the windows flung open, we broke out our painting gear and in a quick 2 hours we knocked that room out. Nevermind the fact that the paint has been waiting in the basement for almost 3 years. Let's hope it's not too splotchy when we see it in the morning sunlight.

Ye olde purge.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love to get rid of things! :)
There are very few "things" in life that make me happier than having FEWER things.
Hooray for passing on stuff to others.

Equality

I feel joy and elation for my friends and family who are now able to wed their loved one (in certain states) and be recognized as such in the same manner that I have been for almost a decade now.

Love for all.

Breaking even.

Colin and I gardened yesterday morning. We broke even.

Let me define the actual events of our gardening: We got home from dropping Christopher off at camp and on our way up to the front door, I took 3 minutes to weed the small 4'x4' raised bed that sits in the middle of the front lawn. Carpe momentum or something like that. Colin thought he'd weed, too! (You saw that coming, right?!) He neatly plucked the flower heads off every single purple pansy in my front stoop pots. About 20 of them, I'd say. So... we broke even.

One step forward: weeded bed. One step back: guillotined pansies.

Unrelated: Some of the most memorable mini-conversations between Christopher and myself occur while driving. Today he was talking about his upcoming birthday and how he'd be turning four, etc. etc. And then, "So, Mama? When I'm four I can drive a car, right? Because I think I'd like to drive a Smart car." Nice choice, eh?! He was disappointed to learn that the driving age in Illinois is 16 and that he'll likely be cruising in the Honda Civic. Look out, 2025!!!

Crumble and peonies

 

 

2013 Garden Plans

Things change. Well, actually, plants die or they never grow to begin with. So, this isn't set in stone (though it may be set in dirt for the moment - har har). I'll try to do an update with photos later this summer. I'm hoping for 7' tall tomato plants from my heirloom seeds. And it'll be anyone's guess as to which varietals are where until the plants start fruiting. My planting was a bit hurried this year. Having 2 little boys on the loose will do that...

Click to make the image larger.

3 little words

Today was our first day of summer! And by that, I mean preschool ended last Friday and there are two weeks ahead of us before any travel (Mike) or other organized activities are scheduled to begin.

So, with the sun shining and high 60s greeting us as we headed out this morning, we went up to the Botanic Gardens and visited the Train Garden for the first time this season. Colin just about lost his mind. I should have counted how many times he said "TRAIN!" or "CHOO-CHOO!" I'm guessing each word was excitedly yelped at least 50+ times.

This afternoon Christopher helped me use the power sander on our newly-acquired but not-yet-assembled picnic table. He's such a big helper these days. I love the time that I get to spend with him alone. We also planted a healthy looking tomato start from this past weekend's Farmer's Market. The day was rounded out by a quick trip for sunglasses (me) and frozen yogurt (them). I'm formulating a plan for tomorrow right now. I think it may involve trains again.

Tonight while rocking before bedtime, Colin looked me deep in the eyes and said, "Mama?" I said, "Yes? Colin?" He replied, "App-WAHV-oog." I thought for a second... and another second while he waited for me to process things... and then I asked him, "Are you trying to say 'I love you?'" Well, he smiled so massively and wiggled and giggled like a maniac before repeating it again several times. So, I'm pretty sure that tonight he said "I love you" for the first time. Be still my heart.

By the way - don't think this was his first sentence by any stretch. This kid is a chatterbox and threw out his first sentence (a demand for food, naturally) several months ago. "MO' 'NANA!"

Saturday Dandelions

Weeding and mowing and composting and finger-crossing
Watch out for the daffodils and budding hostas!
Pants ripped on fencing that needs replacing = my new gardening outfit
Dirt on kid noses and under finger nails
Almost-empty freezer and a shopped-out pantry

Priority of the day: Soccer at 3:30pm across the street
Question of the day: When will we find time for an ice cream run this weekend?!

Currently on my desktop: "2012 Garden Plans" and "2013 Garden Plans."
I'll share them here sometime soon.

Schtuff

- Can't get my head out of the Clara Schumann biography I'm reading right now. She was ahead of her time! What an amazing woman.

- Also competing for my written word time: Makers by Chris Anderson. Thought provoking gems in there, too. Guess I'm into the non-fiction variety right now?

- Christopher says to me as we're heading out for an adventure on Tuesday morning, "Mama! Turn up the music and drive faster, please!" This does not bode well for the future.

- Confused, tired, and ill from all of the tragedy and drama surrounding our former city earlier this week. Confused by the why of it all. Tired of the way our society handles this as entertainment. Ill in response to how humans treat other humans. I'm glad all of our Boston people seem to be safe.

- Our basement is as dry as a bone despite the biblical floods on Wednesday. The jack hammering mess that was Drain Tiling while Colin was one week old seems to have been worth it. :) And I now love our sump pump as if it's a member of the family.

- Friday pizza for dinner tonight. The crust is rising on the back of the stove. I have leftover pesto to add to the mix. It's going to be a good one.

- Happy Weekend to you all. Be well!

Music

I just came across this video and thought I'd share. It's a wonderful message. You don't have to be a musicologist to understand/appreciate/enjoy music. (However, it makes it a hell of a lot more fun!!!)


Understand Music from finally. on Vimeo.

Yes.

I just stumbled across the commencement address that Dana Gioia (NEA Chairman) gave at Stanford's 2007 graduation.

In essence, he encourages his audience to learn how to build something rather than watch someone else do it on TV. To play an instrument in addition to listening to music. Read. Draw. Create. Do.
Don't be a passive consumer... be active and socially engaged. Participate.

In a nutshell, "Trade easy pleasures for more complex and challenging ones." I think I may need to embroider that on a pillow!

If you have a few minutes, read it. It makes sense. A lot of sense. And now I need to shut the computer and heed Mr. Gioia's good advice.

Spring Weekending

Is there anything better than the first few days of spring weather?

Nope! Nothing.

This weekend we each played outside in our most favorite ways - a neighborhood soccer pick up game, biking to and from the park, swinging at the playground, jogging by the lake, pruning the trees and shrubs, carting yard cuttings around in the wagon, spotting birds and earthworms... it felt wonderful!

This morning I baked my annual Easter morning Gluten-Sugar-Overload (aka. Cinnamon Rolls). They were as good as I remember them being last year. They're kind of like pumpkin pie for us. We make and eat them once per year and they're never the same twice since I'm never able to stick to a single recipe. This year I used this recipe for the dough (I replaced some of the milk with buttermilk to try and deepen the flavors. Truly amazing how resilient and determined it was to continually proof despite frequent punching and overnight refrigeration!), and this recipe's filling and icing directions. A delicious amalgamation of ingredients, if I do say so myself.

The kids egg hunted and we were reminded how easily delighted they are at these sweet ages. Their lack of expectation surrounding holidays is so refreshing. It makes it very easy to enjoy whatever we pull together for them. Colin was happy to open and shut the little eggs regardless of what was inside, and Christopher (though certainly thrilled with little chocolate eggs at 8:30AM!) was equally giddy with each new sticker that fell out of his egg haul.

I trust that you enjoyed a wonderful weekend, as well! And I hope that spring has sprung wherever you are... it feels like the season of endless possibility...

Equinox?

I hear that the Spring Equinox was yesterday. Hmm. When I woke up this morning, the temperature outside was flirting with double digits, but hadn't yet gotten there quite yet. So, I scrapped the idea of an early run. I consider myself pretty hardy, but a morning jog in 8 degrees is not refreshing. It's punishment. I opted for more sleep. Smart, no?!

There are plans for egg hunts and new craft projects. Garden sketches and new perennials for the front yard. Apple tree and forsythia pruning (more like shearing for the latter). And as my eyes glanced past the bottle of bug repellent in the back of the closet this morning, I actually thought for a split second, "Won't it be nice to have to use that again?" Come again? Apparently, winter has felt so long that I'm actually yearning for mosquito bites. That's just wrong.

Let's ignore the first part of the long term forecast that predicts snowfall for this weekend and instead focus on the possibility that we will, at long last, perhaps and perchance... move into the 40 degree range late next week. Don't come looking for us in the house! We'll be running at the gardens, biking by the lake, whizzing down the slide at the park and quite possibly barbequing in our flip-flops.

Thank goodness for greenhouses and conservatories. This was taken at the Lincoln Park Conservatory last weekend. We had just visited the zoo with Grandpa and Grandma in frigid temps and flurries. Sheesh.

Mid way through Mile 2...

Oh, yes. A sure-fire way to make sure you RUN until you get to Mile 3! And then, once you're at Mile 3, you have the following to look forward to:

I Think We're Alone Now (Tiffany)
Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler)

Um, child of the late 80s, anyone? Seriously, though - that middle one makes me want to pull on some purple legwarmers and a pair of polka-dotted fingerless gloves and brush out my hair into a giant Diana Ross-esque frizzball. Oh, and colorful hoop earrings, a few scrunchies and maybe some super shiny bubblegum pink lipgloss. YES.

If you ever see me running by while I'm listening to this bunch, I'm likely working very hard to rein in my desire to belt along at the top of my lungs.

"CHILDREN BEHAVE!!!"

Written word

I go through periods where I'm consumed with a Need to Read. Which is to say, I am most definitely suffering through one of those phases right now. I can't get to bed at a reasonable hour and my contact lenses are a shriveled mess when I pull them off my eyes at 11:30pm. I cheat and extend afternoon rest time for another 5 or 10 minutes so that I can read just a few more pages. I turn on the bedside light at 6:30am, just after Mike has taken Colin into the living room for their morning playtime, and push my eyelids open to try and suck in a few more paragraphs.

Of course, not every literary endeavor turns out to be a good one, and what I've finally learned... at the wise age of 34 (!)...  is that one need not finish every book one starts. It's true!!! You're not a quitter. You're just a savvy reader. Life is too short to read books that you don't like. (Note that I don't say "bad" lit. I definitely enjoy trash when I'm in the mood for it.)

I just finished Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.
So, what awaits my attention in the reading stack right now?

The Substance of Style: How Singing Creates Sound in Lieder Recordings, 1902-1939 by Rebecca M. Plack (a friend's long-anticipated dissertation from her PhD in Musicology at Cornell Univ!)
Clara Schumann by Nancy B. Reich
The Naked Voice by W. Stephen Smith
French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
This Old House Magazine
Country Living Magazine
Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Words words words. I love words.
Sometimes I wonder what my life would look like today if I'd taken that job with Sunset magazine as a copy editing assistant many years ago...

But I'm wasting time that could be spent reading right now. Must run. To my tea cup and the nearest book available.

Birth days and other tales of gluttony

Last week Christopher celebrated his half birthday with his preschool class. Mom was in town to help out while Mike traveled to the Bay Area for a meeting and so she helped me bake and frost 2 dozen BLUE cupcakes and, more importantly, haul them into the building for the big snack time celebration. (I was hauling Colin, of course.)

I used the cake recipe from the back of the Hershey's Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa container. It's a no-fail cake that I make for most of the birthdays around here. I usually cut the sugar by 1/4-1/3C and no one can tell the difference. If I'm serving it up to a coffee-loving crowd, I sub the 1C boiling water with 1C dark coffee. Mmmm.

Christopher was such a happy boy that day. His class sang Happy Birthday to him with candles and he got to wear his special birthday crown. Grandma and Colin and Mama were all in his room for snack time: cupcakes with blue frosting and sprinkles, "squeezey" yogurts (the most disgusting invention to date, I'm convinced) and a big bowl of strawberries to share with his classmates. That morning his story dictation about "a dinosaur with a big, big, big tail" was acted out for circle time and he smiled from ear to ear all the way home. It was a big day.

Mike's birthday followed quickly this past Sunday with a brunch date for just us two to Uncommon Ground in Edgewater and a lakeside stroll in some incredible morning sunshine. Hooray for child-free time and for a delectable brunch locale In The City. Sometimes we itch to get out of the 'burbs. Thank goodness for Chicago's proximity and for friends who are natives to the area with excellent recommendations! We sat right by the cozy fireplace and enjoyed a very sloooow brunch. Neither of us spilled our drinks or flicked our food on the floor to toy with gravity. We had a conversation and required little-to-no clean up both during and after our meal. It was great!!!

Mike was having a hard time nailing down what kind of birthday cake he wanted, so I went for something different: a Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake from my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen. It is delicious, believe me. But, next time, I'll make a regular NY style cheesecake and marble in the caramel and chocolate. I think that the addition of different textures within the cake would be even better. When/if I find the spare calories for this heavenly cake, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

I also cranked out a spinach lasagna, carrot soup, and potato leek soup on Saturday afternoon. Whew! Guess who couldn't be bothered to cook midweek this week?! The salad spinner and produce drawers are bursting with fruit and veggies, so we're covered until Saturday. Good thing, because this week is feeling crazy and it's only Monday night.

Deep February

Today we had a brief respite from the bitter cold with a day of temps in the 40s and above with a smattering of rain throughout the afternoon. Our most wonderful, beloved babysitter took Colin and Christopher out for a bike ride/stroll (Christopher has been wearing his helmet around the house as he's going through biking withdrawals) and I had the luxury of practicing and hearing my own thoughts knock about in my head without the sound of Lego towers crashing in the background. Ahhhh.

But, really. This February thing can be hard to take when it seems like daffodils won't ever poke their heads up and bare feet are impossible to dream about. I made the boys smoothies over the weekend and promised Christopher that we'd be drinking them in the backyard with our picnic lunches in just a few months. He looked at me as if I was crazy. Maybe he can't remember what summer feels like? When you've only experienced 3 summers, is it hard to remember what it's like to be driven inside because it's too HOT outside?

So, we plow ahead and continue to do the things that put smiles on our faces. Cardboard houses cut from giant boxes courtesy of Daddy's work. Spontaneous cakes - with sprinkles! - for Valentine's Day. Trips to the city for music and museums (the latter of which is generally free or super cheap for state residents in these slow-tourism months!). A mid-week hooky excursion to a place I thought we'd never go... but we all completely adored. We've attended drop-in playtimes at our Rec Center's gym and rediscovered a toddler/preschooler playspace that we haven't visited since last winter.

Lastly, I'm trying to regain a little traction on my pre-holiday running form... I did that 10K on Thanksgiving and promptly relaaaaaxed my running drive. Driven by the stick much? Ah, well. It's so easy with icy weather and other commitments. The popular Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago is on April 7th, but I'm not excited about taking the El all the way down by myself at 6:30AM just to run and celebrate finishing... alone. Instead, I'm on the lookout for a 5K+ that's closer to home so my cheering squad can come out and meet me with their posters reading "Go Mama, Go!" and high-fives in the final stretch. That was definitely the best part about chugging along for 6.2 miles on Turkey Day!

The things we do

- Put up the camping tent in our basement and play in it for hours.
- Mix up batches of Oatcakes and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. For Daddy, of course.
- Make the tastiest batch of ice cream ever. No joke.
- Do a lot of art and watch the sticker stash dwindle.
- Play "pillows" (This means all couch pillows go on the floor and you take a big running leap to belly flop on them.)
- Go to Wiggleworms to sing and dance and jam with a very special teacher, and then...
- Listen to audio stories on the car ride home.
- Play hard at preschool.
- Go to baby book hour. 
- Plan social time with friends. Co-workers and advisors. Kids with kids. Moms with moms. Parents and kids with parents and kids. Birthday parties galore. And the bestest, most importantest one of all: date night.
- Cook and host a Soup Swap.
- Suit up and take a walk, even if it's only 15 minutes.
- Combat the frigid cold outside with a warm kitchen inside. Granola. Soup. Oatmeal. Hot tea.
- Wear fuzzy jammies that zip from toe to chin.
- Receive envelope of seed packets and start to dream about seedlings and spring...

Role play

Christopher's independent play has become very organized and focused in the last week since Colin, Christopher, and I started attending music classes again.

With ankles adorned in jingle bells and a bag of music (printed out chord sheets and sheet music "with real notes, please, Mama") slung over his shoulder, he strums a C chord (the only chord he knows!) as loudly as he can and encourages his students to jump and sing and clap at the top of his lungs. He shouts "good job!" and "nice jumping!" to his imaginary participants and carries on the most earnest one-way conversations.

When it's time to wrap up the class, I hear him say, "okay, guys, it's time to say goodbye!" and "thank you for coming to my music class!" and he strums and sings a goodbye song. Then, he ducks out of his room to let me know that he's headed, "to the next class" and we tune up his guitar for his next stop.

I'm thinking that we need to restring his instrument to accommodate his left-handed strumming style and make it easier for him to at least learn G7 and F and few more chords beyond that. He'll be delighted when he can accompany himself. So much fun!

Advent Ideas

In my last post I mentioned that I had stuffed our Advent Calendar with a daily note of a special to-do or a tiny treat. As much as I tried to stick with the notes, there were about 5 days in there that I resorted to a dark chocolate Hershey's kiss, and believe me, there were no complaints! Still, it was fun to accomplish many of our seasonal and holiday tasks by drumming up the enthusiasm of the younger members of our household. Afterall, going to the post office and mailing a huge stack of cards is very exciting if you get to shove them in a special mail slot. And dropping coins in the caroling Salvation Army bell ringer's bucket is pretty great, too. 

I've italicized the ideas that I actually used. Also, I printed this list out in duplicate before the month started so that I could easily repeat an activity if it proved to be a hit.

Activities are organized in three categories according to effort/prep, time, and cost. Having a huge menu of choices was key to making sure we had a little something to look forward to each day - big or small.

WHOLE FAMILY/WEEKEND ACTIVITIES

Go to the Christmas market in city

Go ice skating

Have lunch at a special restaurant

Have our friends over for a special snack

Take a drive to see Christmas lights

Take Christmas card pictures

Go sledding

Watch a Christmas movie

Go to a Christmas music concert

Caroling at Cloud Gate

See the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights

Wonderland Express at the Gardens

Ride the CTA Holiday Train

SOME PLANNING INVOLVED

Make a present

Visit Daddy at work for snacktime

Make pomanders

Gift shopping for Daddy/Mama/brothers

Hang up mistletoe in the house

Make pinecone bird feeders

Make cookies & deliver to neighbors

Make pinecone elves

Make meringue snowmen

Go for an afternoon nature walk

Bring home a Christmas tree

Decorate Christmas tree

Donate to a food or toy drive

Bake gingerbread men

Take city bus to library and check out a Christmas/Winter book

SUPER EASY

Have hot cocoa and cookies

Write a letter to Santa

Make pipe cleaner ornaments

Make “woven” ornaments

Make paper snowflakes

Make gift tags

Blow ice bubbles outside

Make ice votives

Mail Christmas cards

Make a paper garland for the tree

Color in a Christmas picture

Have a Christmas Carols dance party

Drop coins in Salvation Army bell ringer’s bucket

A chocolate kiss!

Holiday Reflections

We had such fun in our home celebrating the holidays this year. I think this was largely due to our relaxed pace and our intentionally slow wind up to the big days just before Christmas.

Perhaps the most stress-relieving move we made over the holidays was the decision to stay put in our own house. Of course, we missed our families and missed our friends who live where we grew up, but we are very thankful for video conferencing in its many forms. Hurray for the internets! :) Being in our own home meant we had fun with our own new traditions and explored what the holiday season in Chicagoland has to offer. I'm positive that we barely scratched the surface. There will be plenty to look forward to in years to come.

This year I finally created a quilted pocket Advent Calendar that I've been scheming of sewing for years now. I loosely based it on this one and used fabric entirely from my stash. Stash-busting felt great! It will return to The Holiday Decoration Box (very much singular for everyone's sanity) unbound, but there's always next year for that. At least I finally embroidered our names on our stockings this year... that's only taken the better part of a decade... The pockets were filled primarily with notes and seasonally-inspired activities. I'll share my list in another post.

We also acknowledged Winter Solstice this year, which was very fun. I hope to do more of that in years to come. Christopher was especially sensitive to the early arrival of nighttime and I think that further talk about solstice - the physical/earth science part of it, the biorhythms that we notice/feel shifting, and the alignment of religious celebrations - will be interesting for us all. And a celebratory sun cake never hurts, either!

Here are a few highlights from our vacation:
Oohing and ahhing over Wonderland Express at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, riding the CTA Holiday Train, driving to see Christmas lights in Sauganash, receiving holiday cards and photos from friends and family, watching the snow fall so picturesquely on Christmas morning and sledding in it on the days following with neighborhood friends, renting a few movies, going on a date!, learning to tune and play Christopher's ukelele, donating to those less fortunate, hosting a cookie exchange party for my girlfriends, having frequent Christmas Music Dance Parties, watching Colin become a full-fledged biped and cringing as he diligently works on his speed...

Happy New Year to our friends and family near and far.

May you have an abundance of Health and Happiness in 2013.