Ooops!

I’m in the midst of my annual flurry of making Halloween costumes.  At the moment, I’m struggling to make a dress for my daughter.  While working on the dress, I realized I never blogged about last year’s costumes.  So here they are:

Last year, was the year of Harry Potter.  My daughter and her friends read all the books, watched all the movies all in preparation for the release of the “Deathly Hollows, Part I” film to be released.  To coincide with the release the kids all dressed up as characters from the Harry Potter movies.  Instead of choosing Hermione, my daughter choose to be Bellatrix LaStrange and what a great villain she was.

They could be twins, don’t you think?

The Bellatrix costume wasn’t so bad.  The skirt was harder to sew than I anticipated.  Her jacket was a Goodwill find, and her shirt was embellished with silver fabric paint.  Overall, fairly easy for a wizard costume.

My oldest son wanted to be an Ewok from Star Wars.  An Ewok???? How do you make that costume?  And not make it too cute!

In the end, I adapted a bear pattern, and with a few embellishments:  A hood made out of fleece, a fabric print belt, and a bear turns into a cute, but fierce Ewok.  

Not to bad. I have to say.  All the Dads, who were out trick-or-treating, thought his costume rocked.

Hopefully, in a few days, I’ll have this year’s crop of costumes for you.

Call ME: Land Line, Cell Phone, E-mail, Etc.

Unbelievably, I’ve entered another new stage of my life.  I’ve begun to work outside the home again.  While I’m at home waiting for Little John ripening a little bit more before I can let him loose, I’m substitute teaching.  
I’m so excited to finally work in my field again, and every once in a while I am able to teach a Social Studies class.  It just makes my week when that happens.  Unfortunately, I rarely interact with the teachers I work for, which brings me to this post.  I need to leave my contact information in case they have a question and I rather not leave it in my horrible scrawl.  Calling cards are my answer.  I came across How about Orange, a lovely blog, which not only had calling cards, the calling cards have a Kurbits print and they are orange.  Just two of my favorite things. 

So How Does a Dairy-Free Birthday Cake Work?

My little caboose turned one!  Can you believe it?   Xander is an entire year old!  As many of you know, he has been kicked off of dairy again!  That means some of life’s greatest pleasures are withheld: cheese, milk, yogurt, sour cream, are taboo, gone, struck down, not to be had.  Oh, the agony….  I digress.

We had to restart Xander’s dairy/soy free diet again, one week before his birthday.  A few days into the diet, it hit me, his cake!  How am I going to make him a dairy free cake?  There is no way I’m going to make this little guy a birthday cake that he can’t eat, NO WAY!  I’m crazy about birthday cakes, especially first birthday cakes.  Over the years I have made some horrible, ugly, birthday cakes (see an example below), but they have been made from the heart, except for one.  It’s one of my biggest guilts (ok, I know it’s trivial) is that I bought an ice-cream cake for Daniel’s first birthday.  So, there is no way that my caboose, is not going to have a homemade first birthday cake.

The research began and I settled on a Cherrybrook chocolate cake mix.  I know it was a mix, but it was dairy and soy free.  I then tried their frosting… it was awful.  I don’t know if it was the shortening that I used, but it was too sweet and had an awful texture.   After some goggling I found this recipe, it’s essentially a meringue frosting, and super easy to make.  I whipped up three batches of frosting and decorated the cake, and I must say it looked and tasted pretty darn good.  Yippee!!!

Now, on to my confessions.  Number one, I was so focused on making a successful dairy free/soy free cake, I didn’t make enough.  So pretty much only the kids got a taste of the cake, seriously only an idiot does something like that.  My second confession is that by the time I had the last quarter of the cake to cut, it just started falling apart.  The frosting became too warm and started slipping.  I sort of suspected this might happen, while I was decorating the cake.  I had a conundrum.  I have started freezing my cakes before I frost them, because it is so much easier to decorate them.  But now I have a frozen cake, that needed to thaw, but the frosting had to stay cold….why does stuff like this always happen to me?  Someone explain, I swear, I try to think things through.  At any rate, we left the cake in the garage overnight, and we took our chances and brought it in to defrost in the morning, and the cake started falling apart.  So next time I use this frosting the cake won’t be frozen.  I will use the frosting again, because it tasted pretty good and didn’t have any of the forbidden fruit dairy.  What matters, is in the end, Xander ate his homemade dairy/soy free cake, and loved it!

Check Off The List

I love my curtains, but they have had a major flaw.  The hem was not straight.  I took them apart and now the hems are straight, whew, that was harder than you would think with a plaid pattern.  Oh, well they are corrected ironed and hung up…on to the next project.

If You Are Going to Have a Star Wars Party,

Then you have to go for it and hope the force is with you.  Sport turned 6 recently and since he has been diagnosed with Star Wars OCD, we had our theme.  Now mind you I couldn’t get my head around this for weeks, so about 5 days out it all finally started coming together thanks to Google.

I was lucky enough to have Padme and Anakin (my daughter and my neighbors son, both third graders) stop by and help with the Padawan training.

The Padawan’s were greeted at the front door and were given their their vest and told to start building their own lightsaber, as all Jedi must.

The lightsaber consisted of swim noodles cut in half, that had been taped with duct tape on the ends.  The Padawan’s built their light saber buttons out of yellow and black duct tape.  The vests, were pieces of felt that I cut a V shape opening for their heads, then uses some ribbon as the belt.

Then the training began.  In the garage, there was reflex training.   They had to hit the balloon with their lightsaber.  Then the Padawan’s flew to the Dagoba system a.k.a my basement, for agility training on an obstacle course.

Upstairs, Padme and Anakin trained them with a game of Yoda says.  Touch your toes, you must.  Use the Force you must, and if you must was not said, they were out and had to work on their listening skills.  The next game was Star Wars Charades, where they had to pretend to be a Star Wars character, such as R2D2, C3-PO, Darth Vader, Anakin, Jabba the Hut, etc.  We also played a game of pass the detonator.  While the Catina band played, the Padawan’s passed the detonator until the music stopped.  That child was then able to give the birthday boy his present.
What’s a birthday party without cake?  So we had an R2D2 cake this year.  I finally learned this year to freeze the cake before you cut and frost the cake.  R2D2’s legs were falling apart like crazy, and luckily I had a ghost cake in the freezer for an upcoming Halloween party.  I grabbed the frozen cake and made a refurbished R2D2 leg and it worked out wonderfully.  So from now on, I will be freezing my cakes a day before and they will look a little less homemade.

That was our Star Wars party, thank you for everyone who has  gone before me and come up with wonderful ideas, my Padawan and his friends had a great day.

Star Wars Halloween

In case you missed it, but it was Halloween last weekend.  I have three, well two kids that are influencing the baby,  who are gaga for Star Wars.  Sport knows more about George Lucas’ creations than my brother does, I just never thought that that could be possible.  In fact, almost every breathing moment is spent informing me or someone else what this clone did, this droid, etc.  Speaking from the Crib describes this obsession to a T.

I digress, back to Halloween.  My daughter, Pumpkin, broke away from the Disney  Princesses last year and wanted to be Padme (for those of you who don’t know she’s from Episode I, II and III).  Since, I want a strong independent daughter I was all on board.  To be frank it was the easiest costume ever.  I purchased white leggings, a white  top and sewed a table runner into a cape and there you have Padme.

This year, has sadly marked the death of the princess fascination in general, this year she really wanted to be a Jawa.  So I pulled out the sewing machine and began goggling.  I found this pattern, and modified it, by taking a shirt pattern and making the arms a little more fitted.  I have to say I think I did a pretty good job.

This year my son, Sport, wanted to be a Clone Trooper.  So I could make a Clone Trooper costume or I could buy one.  Yes, I bought it.  I have to say it turned out to be one of the hardest costumes yet.  Silly me didn’t think that the 8-10 sized costume would fit my newly turned 6 year-old, but it was.  My Mom made a mad dash to Target and bought the correct size,   then we figured out the costumes seams were torn, probably because some 10 year old squeezed himself into the costume splitting the seams and mommy returned it without telling Target.  So at 5:30 on Halloween, Cinderelly whipped out her needle and thread and sewed it together.   Here are Sport and Pumpkin ready for Trick-Or-Treat by 5:45.

Now here is my favorite costume of the year…baby Yoda. Thanks to Four Little Sparrows for the hat pattern.  It worked wonderfully.  The only change I made as I sewed a crease in the middle of each ear.  The cloak is made from felt, I simply cut a hole for the head and there was his costume. 

The Star Wars Halloween has come and gone, The Clone Trooper, Jawa and Yoda costumes are now in the dress up box.  I wonder who will visit next year?  Will princesses be back?  Will Star Wars still be the thing?  Will we go gory or cutesy?  I can’t wait to see.

Cooco for Couscous

Milk and soy allergy you say?  How can that be?  But it’s true my little guy is allergic to soy and and dairy, which sent me reeling a few months ago.  I had to kick the dairy habit, which for a yogurt and butter lover such as I was hard.  I’m sorry did I just whine? 

Well, now little guy is a seven month old with two teeth and ready to move on from strained peas.  What do I feed him?  He’s not quite ready for table food, and quite frankly, with two other children in the household prepared baby food is so handy.  Don’t you know I have to read the labels of baby food for milk as well???  I just didn’t think baby food would have dairy in it since so many kiddos are allergic, but they do.

So what are my choices…there’s Gerber of course.  But the ones I found have dairy in them.  Organics' Best had a couple of choices.  Then there is Nestle which owns Gerber, they seem to be an option, but I can’t find them in the states.  I have a couple of samples from my parents brought back some from their trip to Sweden this year.  Which brings me to the title of the blog, they brought back Couscous with Chicken.  Couscous for babies?  Babies can eat couscous?  They sure can, and little guy loves it.  Since I only had one jar, I am now making couscous with chicken at home, and it’s pretty yummy.  He loves it, and it wasn’t that bad to make.  Here’s the recipe if you would like to try it at home.  Big people like it as well, you just may want to add some salt and pepper and maybe a spice or two.  Enjoy!

Couscous with Chicken
1 lbs.  Ground Chicken
1 package couscous, cooked according to the package
1/2 cup pureed mango
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
4 carrots
1/2 onion
Heat about a Tbs. olive oil and sauté the onion and brown the chicken at the same time.  When the chicken has browned, set it aside (remember to break up the chicken into very small pieces).  Meanwhile I pureed a mango, with a little bit of water.  I cubed the zucchini and three of the carrots and boiled them until they were very soft.  Then using a food processor, I essentially pureed the vegetables.  The remaining carrot, I cut, into very small bite size pieces, just big enough for the baby to have something to chew on and boiled those pieces until they were extremely soft.  Then I combined, the chicken, prepared couscous and the vegetables, and the mango and we had a ton our own Couscous with Chicken.

Now I have to say, that it doesn’t have the same jelled consistency that a lot of baby food has.  I think that’s because I didn’t use any cornstarch and flour to make a gravy, but it really wasn’t needed.  He loves it just the way it is.  So, I’m not changing a thing.  In my mind if it works stick with it.

So this is the start of my baby food making journey, how long, and how intense of a journey it is going to be is still in the works.  This or one other recipe may be the entirety, you just never know.  But so far it’s been fun and rewarding.

Chokeables Everywhere!!!!

There is this cute little guy, that came into our lives about 7 months ago.  He’s cute and sweet, but he won’t stay put.  As of this morning he likes to play sitting up more than laying down.  He rolls, he crawls, he scoots, you name it he moves that way.  Sport thought his police car, that was 20 feet away and behind a chair, was safe…oh no, not for our little caboose.  Needless to say we are in a rush to baby proof the house before he decides to walk, oh I don’t know tomorrow.  Among many things that means LEGOS, are now restricted to the kitchen counter or our rooms.  And it means I have to tackle the kid’s art table, UGHHHH.

The art table, was a wonderful present from Santa, I guess about 5 years ago.  It’s been great.  The kids draw, paint and periodically have lunch on the table.  But the stuff that goes with the art table, yikes!  I have paint, pipe cleaners, beads, you  name it stuffed in closets and cute little bins beside the table.  But as with everything else my kids seem to have, if it’s not out they don’t use it.  So today, in the interest of the little one’s safety, I proclaimed it was time to get rid of the art table or at least move it out of the kitchen.  I lost.
So, this is my happy medium.  I decided to put everything in this little chest from my grandmother.  The chest is going to be right beside the art table and if they have to get anything it is right there.  The paper bin will sit on top, because if the baby gets into that he won’t choke immediately and it’s heavy, so it will make a large sound as it hits the baby to the floor before he reaches the chokeables.  I may have to find a lock…. we'll see.
I have told the older angels, that I want wonderful little art projects from them, since they have all types of creative stuff at their fingertips.  But, if there is one chokeable left out it is getting ditched.  All for the safety of the baby.  Seriously, I’m not sure if this baby is going to survive…

I am Back!!!

Ok, so it's 1:15 a.m. and I can't sleep, because a) I had an incredibly emotional day. Really had to do some soul searching on what I believe in and that has resulted in some incredible restlessness. Why didn't anyone tell me that this would still be going on at my age... b)I feel like blogging all the posts that have gone through my head over the past month or more. So I have decided to take that next step and BLOG finally, because I just love it. I don't know why I love it, it's partially because yes it documents my life, and my children's life. But also it clears my head and helps me figure out what is important in life. And after today I really need that. So here is to you, my one or maybe 100 readers, and I hope you get some enjoyment from what I have to say...

Garden

This is the story of my garden, partially written to answer my neighbors who are asking,"Why did she plant her garden in mid-June at 9 p.m.?" Here is the tale:


So this was the year I was going to put in a little garden. I had a beautiful garden at our old house a few years ago, and it is time once again to have our own Victory Garden. The spring chores had another idea, after a few additional beds, lots of mulching, planting, soccer games, end of school events, and a new baby April and May disappeared.


Then much to my surprise, in early June after I told my husband that it was getting to late for a garden, he rented a tiller and prepped my new garden.


It was way to late to start plants from seeds, but the next week the kids and I stopped at Hirt's Greenhouse on the way home from swim lessons to pick up a few plants. A friend had mentioned the greenhouse, and she was completely right the place was amazing. Talk about an incredible variety of everything. The amount of tomatoes was overwhelming, and suddenly Sport became enthusiastic about peppers. So with about 10 different types of peppers and two other trays with plants inside our little Mazda 5 the kids and I went home all excited about the garden.


Then the brakes hit. Mastitis with 102 degree temperature attacked me for three days. I was completely useless. I could barley feed the baby let alone plant a garden, let me tell you I was sick!!! I don't remember being in this much pain after my C-sections. However, my mother reassures me I was indeed in that much pain just so doped up I can't remember it. After several good doses of antibiotics, I felt better by Tuesday night. That night after putting the kids to bed, I looked outside at my tiny baby plants who were struggling to be alive and decided I had to plant them. So at 9 p.m. and a storm brewing, I planted our tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, squash, beans, cucumbers and don't forget the peppers. I was putting the garbage away when the first drops of rain hit.




This is what it looks like, I'm hoping that we see something out of this garden. We at least tried, and next year there will at least be a garden to start with.


Keep your fingers crossed.

Hot Cocoa

My tenure on the Teacher Appreciation committee is over for this year. I wanted to post what we did this last year, because I was desperate for ideas last summer. The parents were kind enough to bring in dinner for Parent Teacher Conferences, and appetizers for a teacher in-service day. The PTO purchased doughnuts, and during Teacher Appreciation week had a lunch brought in and on Friday we brought in pies, which went over very well.

In addition, to the food during teacher appreciation week, we brought in mints with the sign "You are worth a "Mint" to us", and cans of pop with the message "'Soda you know how much we appreciate you." The children brought in flowers, cookies, drawings, notes and other individual tokens of appreciation during the week.

The picture above is from January. They are hot cocoa packets with the not "Here's a cup a cheer for all you do."

It was a fun year, and overall I think the teachers and school staff saw how much we appreciate all the effort they put into our children.

Teacher Appreciation

Teacher Appreciation week is here and in full gear. For Monday, a friend and I made our own version of Stamp's and Smiles water bottles for the staff at our school. I think they came out pretty well. Here's to the teachers!