From the Mouths of Babes in January

I made the grievous error of buttering Eileen's toast, not realizing she wanted to do it herself.  Eileen crossed her arms, collapsed, and sadly stated the following.

Eileen:  I guess you just don't understand me.

Eileen and Robin are taking a bath.  Dave pours water over Robin's head to wash out shampoo and Robin giggles.

Eileen: Robin is gaying.
Dave:  Why what?
Eileen: Like his robin song, "showers always make you gay."  Robin is gaying.

Linus: Robin say, "Oh my God."  Mom I'm not trying to get Robin to swear.  I'm trying to teach him the Act of Contrition.

While playing "I spy" with Grandma

Robin: I spy with my little eye something that starts with I.
Grandma:  I don't see anything that starts with I.
Robin:  I love you.

Grandma:  What letters are in "NO?"
Robin: N and O.  Attached there are no letters.  giggle giggle giggle

Surviving the Cold When You are Dairy Free

Eileen said good-bye to dairy at the end of August.  Needing to now embrace a gluten free, dairy free, egg free lifestyle has been an adjustment, but I've met the challenge head on.  It's been a mixture of success and failure and something in between.

It has been a cold winter by Puget Sound standards, and an even colder winter for the rest of the US. As someone who naturally gravitates towards the cozy, my thoughts go towards snuggling up with a hot cocoa by the fire.  My kids are like minded.  Unfortunately, traditional hot cocoa is pretty much a delicious dairy and milk chocolate concoction.

Determined to give my daughter the childhood she deserves, I searched for decent non-dairy hot cocoa recipes.  We tried the non-dairy cocoa mix with the polar bear on the front (meh).  Other methods that involved melting down dark chocolate were somehow not quite right, lacking creamy richness.  Adding a layer of difficulty, we are trying to avoid soy as much as possible.

Finally, with a decent hot cocoa recipe in hand (I admit it was for regular red wine cocoa), I visited many grocery stores to find just right ingredients.  I discovered Guittard semi-sweet chocolate baking chips.  They are peanut free, gluten free, dairy free.  Even better, it uses sunflower lecithin instead of soy lecithin.  When I first made the hot cocoa, something was missing--the creamy richness.  At the suggestion of my sister, I added vanilla almond milk yogurt (Kite Hill brand).  Success!

I served it recently at a baby shower I hosted and it was a big hit.  I shall share it with you.

Charlotte's Vegan Hot Chocolate Perfection

Cook time: about 5 minutes
Servings: about 8 small servings ( little goes a long ways)

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup Guittard semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 individual yogurt of vanilla almond milk yogurt

Instructions:
1.  Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium-low heat.
2.  Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is hot.
3.  Remove from heat.  Pour into mugs and serve.
4.  Try adding orange zest if you really want to take it over the top.

*I like to make several batches and put it in a crockpot to keep warm.
*If you want to add red wine, use 1 1/3 cups.  Wait to add until you remove from heat so as to not to lose its alcoholic effect.

Happy drinking everyone!

Mouths of Babes in December

Eileen:  I know how Santa got his job.  Before he did all his other jobs, he was a mailman.  Then he became a zookeeper and one day the reindeer followed him home.  That's how he became Santa.

Robin: (brings in stool and stands on it) Mama I am getting big. I will be so big I will have to be outside.

Robin: Mama I don't need you to scare me.  (I was trying to vacuum)

Robin:  Mama I saw a castle!
Me: That was a church, Blessed Sacrament.
Robin: It was a castle.

All the hot water in the house disappeared.  Sleuthing determined that someone turned off the hot water heater.  The culprit finally revealed the truth and their rationale.....

Robin: "You drink cold water.  You bathe cold water."

Robin was very grumpy.  Linus begged Robin to let him read to him and
compiled on the Elephant and Piggie in the house.

A Christmas in Many Parts

I feel like I've been in a whirlwind since winter break.    I've baked, I've cooked, I've hosted.  And then I've baked, and cooked, and hosted some more.  Along the way there have been many joyful moments, coffee, and wine.

This year I managed to pare down some of my hosting responsibilities, but there was still a lot.  I plan Christmas for my immediate family and Christmas with my siblings and parents.  I also host my sister and her family for several days, along with lots of visitors.  It's all very wonderful and I wouldn't have it any other way.  But whew it's required a lot of energy.

Christmas Eve was spent prepping food and doing schoolwork.  We enjoyed our traditional Thai food takeout for dinner and went to mass.  Linus was in an extra good mood and felt compelled to dress extra nice.  Instead of his nice Christmas sweater, he opted for a dress shirt, tie, suspenders, and fedora.  I didn't even have to ask him to wear his dress shoes!  This is a far cry from last Christmas eve where we could barely get him to put on pants.

So much excitement waiting for Santa!

We try not to go over board with Santa.  This year Linus got one main present (relatively modest at that) and Eileen and Robin got two presents that equaled about the same as Linus'.  Addionally, each kid got two books.

Contraptions for Linus.

 A Goldie Blocks zipline for Eileen and Robin got his blue birdie!!

I got Dave a flux capacitor car charger and a book.  Dave got me a book and a cast iron skillet.  Once all of Santa's presents were open, the kids opened a final present from Dave and me.  Dave and I decided to do our main family vacation to Disneyland!  The kids opened a box with 3 Disney lego minifigures, telling the kids they couldn't wait to meet them.  Eileen leapt for joy and hugged me.  Robin didn't know what was going on.  Linus basically responded with, "Meh."  Well alright then.

We spent the entire day in our jammies and ingested sugar.  No one changed until after dinner when we showered and put on fresh jammies.  It was such a relaxing day. The kids played.  We all napped.  Dinner was nothing fancy--kraft mac n cheese.  It was my concession to the kids for making them eat Thai food and knowing the next day they wouldn't like either.

The next morning we went to the movies as a family and saw, "Sing."  I wanted to make sure the kids got out of the house before all the guests arrived.  When we got home I got to work.  This year's Christmas menu needed to be gluten free, dairy free, and egg free.  Instead of mulled wine, this year I made red wine hot chocolate.  I made a vegan non-alcoholic version as well that was equally delicious.   We still had the roasted cranberry pork tenderloin along with balsamic brussel sprouts, a paleo "cheese sauce" (using butternut squash and coconut milk, nom nom nom" poured over roasted cauliflower, and gluten free shell pasta.  I have a favorite everything free baguette and served that with bruschetta and an apple cider pepper spread.  The adults enjoyed it the food.  The kids did not.

Dave was a super husband and cleaned the garage (even mopping the floor) before Christmas.  The kids played all afternoon in the garage.

Grandpa Claus came to visit and pass out gifts.  This year we changed it up a little and the adults drew names and only gave to one person (we all gave to the kids).  Only buying for one adult really made Christmas shopping so much easier.

I spent the next day in recovery.   Copious amounts of thick, delicious, red wine hot cocoa and cookies will do that to a person.  We also began the arduous task of putting the house back together.  The cousins have been playing hard and having a blast. 

Today my aunts Molly and Eileen visited along with my cousin Emily.  Robin snapped a pic of Molly.  He loves to take pictures of everyone in a room.

There was more coffee and more goodies.  My brother and his boyfriend stopped by later and the good times just kept going!  

At the moment, my sister, Beth and her husband, Chris, are out on a date for her birthday.  The kids crashed. You know they are tired when the big kids are fine with watching "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood."  I'm not sure what tomorrow brings, hopefully a nap and the possibility of a date.  

Christmas in the City

School let out for Christmas break on Friday.  Just under two weeks until my kids go back to school! I kid. I kid.  Things have actually been going great.  I warned them ahead of time that it would not be a screen time free for all and that has helped immensely.

Yesterday we went to the library and I checked out a ton of books.  Eileen, Robin, and I baked cookies.  We even took naps!  Linus had a date with Grandma.  As a belated birthday present, my mom took Linus to the Science Center to go to the Sherlock Holmes exhibit.  He had a great time.

Today we made our annual trek to downtown Seattle.  We always park at the Seattle Center and then take the monorail into downtown.  My friend, Beth, joined us for the third year in a row.  We made a beeline for the Sheraton to see the Gingerbread Village and managed to get there just ahead of the line (about 9:45 am).

We were all super excited about the Harry Potter theme.  It did not disappoint and might be my favorite yet!

      The details were so cool and the dragons insane!

    Pure joy came from Linus.  He was so helpful the whole day, taking care of this brother.

There was a basilisk that had a button on top that you could press and would then sort you into a house of Hogwarts.  I didn't get the chance to be sorted.

Fingers crossed for Gryffindor.....                                 

                                                              Gryffindor!

We headed over to the Fairmount for the Teddy Bear Suite.  Linus was impressed by the fanciness and asked to stay there.  Beth and I tried to explain he probably wouldn't actually have fun.  I didn't like the room's color scheme as much as last year's.

Eileen really wants a giant teddy bear.  She loves stuffed animals. Taking her a room full of giant bears seemed to satiate her desire a little.  Linus made himself at home and lounged in the lap of one.

After the Gingerbread Village and Teddy Bear Suite we hit Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  Linus earned a reward a few weeks ago and chose a meal at Cheesecake Factory.  Lunch on a weekday is much easier than dinner on a weekend.  The kids were really well behaved and Eileen handled the lack of dietary options for her with extreme grace.

Walking around downtown with Robin was slow.  Sometimes he wanted/needed to be carried (and I gotta admit he is getting a little heavy and I'm out of practice).  Other times he was content to just mosey, hands in his pockets.  He watched buildings, birds, window reflections.  Eventually, we found ourselves more than a block behind the rest of the group.  We finally made it to the carousel.  Beth was awesome and gave up her horse so Robin could ride.  You can tell he's a pro these days after all his hippotherapy--he looked for the stirrups, sat up straight, and was so comfortable in the saddle he couldn't be bothered to take a hand out of the pocket.

We ended the day back at the Seattle Center and rode to the top of the Space Needle.  It was Robin's first time.  Everyone was tired so it was a quick trip.  As we left the Center, we encountered a street performer (juggler/unicyclist).  It was the perfect end to an awesome trip full of sights and sounds of the city at Christmas.

  

Santa!

I was forced to visit Santa at Christmas.  I loathed having my picture taken and was terrified of strangers and/or people in costume.  This also held true for a trip to Disneyland when I was nine.  Anyhow, I love the story that the Santa pictures of my childhood tell.

1979     "Charlotte is 8 weeks old and has no idea of anything."
1980     "Charlotte is terrified."
1981     "Charlotte is conspicuously missing from the picture but her two sisters are happily smiling with Santa."
1982      The best by far. "Charlotte still has her 1970s wool plaid coat on and is being held like a rag doll by her father and is making a terrible face, but is IN the picture."

Sometimes traditions need to be carried on.  Santa pictures is one of them.   Here is the story this year tells,
   "Once upon there were three children, who despite some serious naughtiness the past day, were probably still on the nice list.  The oldest, a boy of 8, knows mall Santa to be a fake.  He is willing to go along because he understands that if he doesn't there will be no screen time all weekend.  He still believes in the REAL santa.  He asked Santa for a Nintendo 3DS.  not gonna happen
    The middle was a girl of 6. She refuses to let her stringy hair be pulled back.  She has recently lost 5 teeth and looks not too unlike a jack-o-lantern.  She still believes in Santa, but has started to question the logistics of mall Santa.  She asked Santa for a giant teddy bear (like they have a Costco) any gifting of a giant stuffed animals will result in a permanent banning from the house
    The youngest is a boy of 3.  He is so excited about Santa and Christmas and everything Christmas related.  He isn't scared this year.  He asked Santa for a stick and a blue birdie.  we can make this happen
    Despite at least 7 shots, in not one are all three looking at the camera.  They do not know how to look at a camera.  I told them to all say, 'Starbucks' and that got them pretty close.  Starbucks was had by all after photos."

I like this particular photographer.  Does the background look familiar?  It's the same one used by Frederick and Nelson back in the day.  It adds just the right amount of retro.  The only thing missing was the mint Frangos.

Later in the weekend we met up with our PEPs group.  I love our PEPs group and getting together only once or twice a year is just not nearly enough.  The kids played and decorated gingerbread houses.  Robin slept through the Seahawks game -- given how the game went it was probably a good choice.

I can now cross visit Santa off the list.  I still have more cookies to bake, Christmas menus to plan, and a couple holiday parties to attend.

Snowy Day

Once upon a time I was a teacher that disliked snow days.  They were an inconvenience, especially if it fell on a block schedule day.  It meant going longer into summer.  That was then.  Today is now.
Today was a snow day and it was glorious!

I had given up hope that we might get snow this week.  It kept getting pushed back in the forecast. When it finally started to snow around 9:30 pm last night, I assumed it would be gone by morning. Dave awoke me to tell me school was cancelled and I didn't need to call the next person in the phone tree.  Despite my tiredness, I was so excited about the snow that I couldn't go back to sleep.

I had to sneak downstairs and take a picture.  I love the purple sky that comes with snowy darkness.


Robin woke up early as per usual.  I took him to the window and asked him what he saw.  He kept looking around perplexed.  I asked him if he knew what it was and he responded, "I don't remember." Poor Robin has been denied a snowy day since birth.  He did not know what he was seeing.  Eileen's response to snow was pure glee and leaping up from under the covers and jumping on her bed.  I woke up Linus at the time we should have been leaving the house.  I told him school was cancelled due to snow.  He said nothing at first. Linus sat up, peered at the window, and exclaimed, "Shut.Up."
Within minutes of awakening, Linus had everyone out the door.

The kids spent a good hour and a half outside before bothering to ask for breakfast.  I sat cozy by the fire, coffee mug in hand.  I baked some gluten free pumpkin bread to add to the cozy factor.

I wasn't stressing about school.  I was supposed to make Christmas presents with my students for their parents and then take students on a field trip to watch the Blanchet production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Moore Theater.  If you're going to miss a day, it's nice when it's one where you aren't planning to teach a lot.  I made sure this week to give a math test, grade it so kids could make corrections, and even give the kids a head start on studying for science just in case the weather got in the way of school.  With all the fun, merrymaking of Christmas in a Catholic school it can make the last week a little insane.

Ready for his first time playing in the snow.

The first round of play occurred while it was still dark.

The kids dried their clothes by the fire, ate breakfast, and went out in the snow again.  I used the time to bake gluten free, dairy free, egg free Christmas cookies (chocolate crinkles if you must know).  The kids played together amazingly all day.

They came in every once in awhile to warm up and relax.

Linus got a hold of my phone and snapped a picture through the window.

Robin got my phone and captured me using the opportunity to catch up on a little housework.

It was the coziest of days.  I baked, read by the fire and drank coffee.  I watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and snuggled each of my 3 kids.  Apparently, we needed a day when all plans went out the window and we could just relax.  Dave is gone winter camping this weekend with some other dads.  Thankfully, we are now off to a good start.

Hooray for Snow Days!!!