The Kid Tree

This is our Kid Tree.

The tree is completely covered in ornaments made by the children.  The lime green sparkle tree is covered in crystallized pipe cleaners, toilet paper tube angels, hand print reindeer, and glitter stars, all made by my children's sweet little hands. We love redecorating it each year and adding any newly created masterpieces.

This tradition started in our family when Cameron was old enough to bring home ornaments from day care.  Every time a person came to our house, he would want to show them his creations on the big tree.  This, of course, was not the safest activity for a toddler and led to a few near tragedies.  The next year, we started with a small craft store tree for their creations.  We have had this sparkly tree for about 3 years and it adds a bit of fun to our tradition.  If you decide to stop by and check it out, you can't miss it.  We keep our special little tree right in the foyer.

I have discovered that there is one sad part to this tree... There were very few ornaments added this year.  The kiddos are growing up and they no longer bring home ornaments for us from school.  Ella still makes one here or there, but mostly we have passed that stage.  I hope the children will keep wanting to get the tree out each year, so we can ooh and ah over all their past creations.  Otherwise, I would miss those brown dough gingerbread men, beaded wreathes, and origami stars.

Watch Dog

Our dog, Gracie, is not your traditional watch dog.  Don't get me wrong, she is happy to bark loudly at anyone.  Even us, when we get home.  But as soon as she sees who it is, she either wags her entire body with happiness or tucks her tail.  Our watch dog, likes to watch us.  She is watching me right now!

She also loves to watch lizards, birds, squirrel, chipmunks, and her specialty, bunnies.  Here she is waiting for the lizard to come back.  Hours of Gracie's life are spent watching for lizards.  I think Jack taught her this.

Since her main job is watching us, she had mastered this task.  If anyone leaves town, or even has an all day activity, you can tell that she is just not happy.  She must take attendance constantly.  When we are not all present and accounted for, it is time for worry, anxiety, and whining.  David is out of town, so Gracie is spending an insane amount of time on her bed looking sad and moaning.  Poor Gracie, Daddy will be home soon.  That's love baby.

Knitting Insanity

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to make things and I tend to take the hard road on many things.  For years, I crocheted tons of hats in all shapes and sizes.  Then one day I decided I needed to branch out, so I started knitted.  This really did not go well.  As my husband would ask, "Is crocheting the one where you watch tv while working or the one where you curse a lot?"  After much cursing, going back to the store for help and starting over, I finally started to "get" the knitting.  See, here is a hat and a scarf.

So now you must know what happens next.  I thought I needed to try something a little harder plus I needed to make this wonderful hexagon blanket pattern I had found for my friend Shruti.  Her baby is due at the end of November and she is having a girl.  The beginning of this pattern did not go well.  It starts off with multiple double ended needles which looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle to me and I had decided to use some funky mixed color yarn I had.  After finally getting the multi-needle thing to work (that would be try number 3), I decided that my masterpiece looked more like a birds nest than a baby blanket.

So, being the wonderful person I am, I started over again.  This time I went and purchased a smoother yarn, and it was soooo soft.  This looks more like it, don't you think?

Well, after I got it onto the round needles things went much better.

In fact I finished this entire blanket on our 4 day trip to the beach.  I think it turned out cute.

If you want to try it, you will need this book:  http://www.amazon.com/Welcoming-Home-Baby-Handcrafted-Way/dp/1416206272

Pancakes

I recently discovered some pictures that I thought were lost.  I am so happy.  My camera completely bit the dust in the middle of the Pancake Pantry.  It felt like a tragedy, because I really loved that camera.  It was the perfect shove-in-your-pocket, go-anywhere, great-zoom-in-small-box camera.  To make matters worse, it was right when Ella received her first Pancake Pantry pancakes.  Since Ella was allergic to eggs, breakfast restaurants were pretty much out.  Last year, she outgrew her allergy to cooked eggs.  As a little celebration, we headed for the pancakes. This is us waiting in line on a cold morning before Christmas.  Hoppie is trying to warm Cameron, then Jack wanted to get warm too.  And you know, Ella couldn't be left out of the group snuggle.

Then I took a few in restaurant.

These are the ones I thought were lost.  In my infinite brilliance, I decided to save the sd card from the broken camera.  Unfortunately, it did not occur to me to put is some place I would actually remember.  From there on out, I used my phone.  I love my phone too.  Great in these emergency photo situations.  Especially since I was able to capture the special moment, the arrival of the bear shaped chocolate chip pancakes.  Yum!

Ella loved every bite.  I am so glad I finally happened upon the sd card.  Are you just dying to know where it was?  Ahh, in the new camera.  And since the new camera is smarter than I am, it had tucked them away in a separate "not mine" folder.  Luckily, I needed to read the card directly last time I imported photos and there they were.

Lemon:Aid

Ella has been selling lemonade for the Blood:Water mission, which drills wells or creates a sustainable water source in African villages.  If you want more info on this visit:  http://www.bloodwatermission.com/

Anyway, back to the lemonade stand.  We received a kit for the Lemon:Aid program in the spring and Ella has loved using it.  I had to laminate our second sign, because the first one was a victim of sticky lemonade fingers.  Ella is an excellent saleswoman.  She has recruited helpers.  This is Eva helping in the summer.

Then, Jack has helped multiple times.  But, Ella is also happy to man the stand by herself.

The last time we were in Florida, we could not get small cups.  This meant that Ella only had the $1 size of lemonade available.  Ella spent about 3 hours singing her lemonade song and running in for refills.  Toward the end, two men pulled up in a golf cart.  The man in the passenger seat leaned out and asked, "How much is the lemonade?"  Ella informed him that it was $1.  He asked, "Isn't that a little expensive?"  Ella looked right at him and firmly said, "I'm trying to build wells in Africa, here."  The man in the drivers seat replied, "We'll take two."  That's my girl!

The beach, it's all about the sand...

Each year we go to the beach.  I know we are totally spoiled, because we don't go once, but two times.  October is our shorter trip, but the weather is always amazing, so we cram all sorts of fun into those few days.  When we are driving down, I could not tell you what the activity of choice will be for the kids.  Each time it is something different.  We have gone down and hardly used a shovel, because it is all about the waves that year.  Last year was definitely the year of the boogie boards.  The adults were exhausted from chasing the kids in the waves and negotiating boogie board ownership.  Last summer, it was the kayaks and yolo boards.  This trip, we were back to the basics, sand.  And I mean really basic, because the goal was not a monstrously large castle, but a hole.  Dig, dig, dig, go catch a fish, dig, dig, dig, find a shell, dig, dig, dig, find a little friend named Kayla, dig, dig, dig, you get it.  

And why all this digging a hole in the sand - to find water.  Really cold water.  Definitely more fun than just jumping in the ocean.  :)  Well, at least they found it.

Cameron went with the more traditional route and made a sand sculpture.  Because it was all about the sand this year. 

The wonderful thing about all this digging and sculpting is that it makes the kids TIRED!

I am already wondering what the great adventure will be about next summer.

Busy

Busy, that does not really cover the state of our life right now.  Thesaurus.com defines busy as "engaged, at work."  Nope, doesn't even begin to cover it.  The average day in the Wright household involves, getting up around 5 am, ut oh, overslept by 10 minutes.  I throw on workout clothes, brush my teeth, and run downstairs to put dinner in the Crockpot and grab lunch from fridge.  This involves chopping everything and packing lunch the night before.  Oops, forgot it was pancake day.  Darn, I defrost pancakes for Ella since she can't have the ones from school.  I head to the car, while David wakes up the kids and gets them to school.  Cameron gets a ride to school on days I workout.  I go to exercise class because I don't want my rear to look like Jello. After a shower, I go to work and have a loony day.  My next job is to pick up Jack and Ella and head home, and, of course, we are running late.  As soon as we get home, I dig a vegetable out of the fridge.  Crud, the broccoli is yucky.  Jack and Ella run around to get water bottles and balls for soccer practice.  Ella can't find her second shin guard and Jack can't find his water bottle.  Gotta go, friends pick Jack up for practice.  I take Ella to soccer, then run to the store for spinach.  David picks Cameron up after lacrosse practice, drops him at home, then runs back to get the boys from soccer.  After practice, we all head home for dinner.  Wow, it is 7 pm and we are finally eating.  Now it is time to study with Ella for her Spanish and spelling tests.  I have to bake cupcakes for a birthday at work, so Jack helps Ella study.  Cameron heads to his room for major homework.  Jack and Ella take turns showering.  David tries to write a little of a grant.  I read to Jack and Ella, then finish my homework for my class.  The homework is due at midnight, but I get it in at 10:15.  Everyone is in bed.  I am tired just reading this.  Surely there is a better word our there, maybe extrobusy, or busymongous, or extreme busification.  Ok, I must need sleep, so see you tomorrow for another busy day in the Wright household.

Asparagus

This recipe is certainly not low-fat or super fast, but it sure was seriously yummy. It is relatively low in carbs, so I am hoping that outweighs the huge amount of cream in there. Next time you have a crowd and asparagus is on sale, give it a try. I wish I had remembered to take picture before everyone devoured it. Oh well, next time.

Asparagus Casserole

2 1/2 pounds fresh, thin, asparagus
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 clove of garlic, pressed
6 ounces Asiago cheese, grated (by you, not a machine - it tastes better)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 medium lemon, zest tablespoons, then juice the lemon
8 ounces panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
Fresh ground pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the last 1/2 inch off the asparagus and toss it out. Cut the remaining stalks into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Steam them in the microwave with small amout of water for 4 minutes, stirring half way through. I had to do this in two batches. Drain and transfer to a 9x13 pan.

Shake the cream and flour in jar until mixed. Pour the cream mixture into a medium sauce pan and heat slowly, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Allow to slowly simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove a small amount of cream and whisk it with the beaten eggs. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the cream while whisking. Add the garlic, cheese, and cayenne to the pan. Stir until all the cheese is melted. Slowly add the lemon juice while whisking. Pour the mixture over the asparagus.

In a small bowl, stir together panko, butter, ground pepper, and lemon zest until well mixed. Spread the panko mixture over the asparagus.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ten Things I Learned from the Pioneer Woman

I wrote this last year, but I just ran across it again.  PW is something else.  If only I could manage one single Saturday where soccer did not conflict with her show.  Come on Food Network, put that show up On Demand.

Ten Things I Learned from the Pioneer Woman

10 – There are other people out there that let their unique obsessions drive their activities for the day.  (FYI- I thought of this entire list while decorating cookies shaped like beakers, test tubes, flasks, and atoms for my chemist husband.)

9 – Eating lots of butter makes me happy.  ( So much for the low fat years.  If only we could find that Wii Fit disk.)

8 – Someone else on this earth may have wanted a pig as much as my middle child.  (A pig was just about all he asked for on his Christmas list for 6 years in a row.  Needless to say, he is difficult to shop for.)

7 – I can make toffee that actually tastes like toffee.  (Have not even tried in over 10 years because the previous attempts were THAT bad.)

6 – I really did want a big camera that does not fit in my pocket again, so I can take even more amazing photos than I thought possible.  ( Just looks like a big necklace.)

5 – That I am not lucky in the lottery winning way.  (I have entered every darn contest and won nothing, nadda, zippo.  At least I am lucky in the family, love, and life way.)

4 - I should make cheesecake again, even if I can’t use nuts.  The magic cheesecake is back!  (Everyone just melts when they eat it.)

3 – Baths are a necessity for sanity.  (And the Spongelle sure makes them even better.)

2 – It is ok to love your camera almost as much as your family.

1 – Somewhere out there, another person thinks that she really can accomplish 144 hours worth of tasks in a single day, and does accomplish 72 worth.

For the Love of Legos

In our house, we love Legos. We may own more Legos than the average Lego store. Every spare surface in the house is covered in Lego masterpieces.



They do have their down side. First, they are a bit expensive, in fact I would be afraid to add up the value of all of ours, for fear it would be more than my car. Second, pieces are every where, like the kitchen counter, the bathroom, the car. I have even found some with the dog food. And finally, if you ever stepped on one of those little guys with a bare foot in the dark, you never forget it. We could make an entire Funniest Home Videos episode or YouTube channel filled with people dancing about and hollering after stepping on Legos. I am sure it would be an instant hit.

Just in case you think I was joking, here is one of our Lego Bins. It is so big that Ella could sleep in there. Well, if there weren't so many Legos in the way.


That said, we love them. In fact, I still purchase Legos for my husband from time to time. He likes the Deep Sea ones. The boys adore them all. They have aliens, Harry Potter, city, Star Wars, you name it. I consider them a great investment, because I estimate that 60% of their indoor playtime before the age of 10 was spent with Legos. Ella likes houses and animals. She just received this one for her birthday and she is soooo close to finished.


All of my children enjoy playing with their creation after they are done building. We have great wars, undersea exploration, animated movies, and games.

But don't think they are all fun and games. Legos can be very practical, like this lovely phone charger.



Or if you need to make fun of a friend's child.




So, the next time you step on one in the dark, try to remember all fun you have with those Legos in the light. You may also want to threaten to put every darn Lego in timeout, unless someone cleans them up. But then you wouldn't be able to play either.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Birthday Ella!

Today is my baby's 8th birthday.  We call her our bonus baby, because we were told "no more babies" and she was the first girl in David's family in generations.  Ella is definitely her own person, and we love that.  It's a good thing that we like kids with spunk, considering we have three of them.  Her big request for the day was donuts in bed.  When we asked what kind, she said, "Oh, Daddy knows what I like."  That's our girl.

She is getting so big and grown up.  The rest of the day is her gift.  We are going with Paige and Lindsay (she just had her birthday also) to have a pedicure, eat a nice dinner, and then see the Taylor Swift concert.  Ella has changed her mind about what to wear numerous times.

Ah, they grow up so fast.  Just eight short year's ago, this was my baby.  Look at how sweet and snugly she was, and still is!

And, oh, those boys loved their baby sister.  They are still fiercely protective of her.  That's my boys.

Well, this will have to be short and sweet, seeing that I now have two soccer games to get ready for, cupcakes to bake, and all our fun birthday activities.

Coffee

I adore coffee. It's one of my best friends.  I like the wonderful smell, the way it look so warm and comforting, and the way it tastes, mmmmmmm.  I go to bed and dream about the coffee I will have in the morning.  Now, I did not drink coffee at all until college and it was just there, not really exciting. I drank it with sugar, just sugar. Then before I started having children, I quit coffee and all caffeine for almost 10 years. Didn't want hairy chested babes. After having Ella, I did this crazy thing. I started going to playgroup, or let's be honest, "Mommy Sanity Group." There was lots of coffee at play group, and yummy stuff to put in the coffee. I caved. I fell in looooovvvve! I would use all those amazing creamers. They tasted so good. Well, until I read the ingredients, that ruined it. I am a purist at heart, so back to the basics, raw sugar and a small amount of real cream. Oh, and I like good coffee, but we do waffle between several brands. Yes, I know this pic shows my cup almost empty, isn't that sad?





Want to know a secret? My favorite part of the coffee experience is that my amazing husband brings me coffee every morning, that he is in town. This is sooooo wonderful, starting my day feeling pampered and loved.   He is so sweet.  Life was good, then a really amazing thing happened, I received an iPad for Christmas. I discovered this great bonus of the iPad. On the weekend, when I roll over and wake up, I don't have to go downstairs to let my wonderful hubby know I am awake. Email! "Coffee????". Then the best part, coffee in bed.  Ahhhhhh, I am loved.  Can you see me smiling?  This is MY cup.  Remember that, if you decide to come over for coffee.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Almost Low Carb

Well, I made another attempt at low carb cookies last night. These were much better than the previous attempts. I seem to be on my own with these efforts, since the rest of the low carb world uses almond flour and that can't happen here. No cookie is worth risking our streak of luck, not needing to use an epipen. So I used a combination of high fiber flours and low sugar chocolate chips. This way, it comes out to be about 4.5 carbs per cookie. Move over Chips Ahoy.



Well, while you drool over the cookie pic, I am heading back to my life of barely controlled chaos. Enjoy Monday. You think these cookies would go well with coffee?

My Sweet Girl

10 years ago, today, a lot of our presumptions about the world were about to change.  But that is not what comes to my mind first, when I think about September 10th.  On September 10th, 8 years ago, I went into labor with Ella.  Now, keep in mind, that I was due on October 24th.  My wonderful hubby was in New York City for a conference and my mother-in-law was here helping with the boys.  I had this horrible feeling, exactly like 45 minutes before my water broke with Jack, so I called the doctor.  To this day, I adore my doctor for saying, "Well, get down here."  Good doctors are priceless.  By the time I got to the hospital, I was having contractions 3 minutes apart.  This is the part where I settled into the hospital for a long 8 days of trying to keep the baby safe and sound in her cozy little home.  My husband on the other hand, called home that evening, after seeing our attempted calls, expecting to hear what a fun day we had here.  My oldest answered the phone and chatted away, then was asked, "Can I talk to Mommy?"  The poor man did not expect his answer, "Oh, she's at the hospital having the baby."  You can imagine the panic and plane changing attempts that ensued.  Unfortunately, not a soul wanted to fly on the anniversary of 9/11, so every flight was booked out that night of the 10th.  We finally decided that I was stable and he should just wait until the next day to fly home. He did got some very judgmental looks at dinner, when he explained why he was checking his phone all the time.  This is the story I will remember, our story of 2 hour ultrasounds and keeping Ella safe for 8 days until it was safe for her to come out and greet us.

She was worth every second.

Projects

Well, I guess being only one year behind in the scrapbook is better than 10 years.  I am currently working on our trip to Rock City with a friend from South Africa.  This was exactly one year ago this weekend.  I wish I could keep up with all my projects, but that just is not going to happen in the near future.  The big issue would be that I take on too many projects.  Maybe a miracle will occur and we will all have a few 48 hour days where we never get tired.  That would make a small dent in my endless to do list.  For right now, the plan is to do what I can each day and get the most out of that day.  I doubt that I will reach the end of my time on earth and be thinking of that magic day when I checked 23 things off my to do list.  But, knowing me, I may be looking through my albums remembering all the wonderful times we had as a family and how blessed we were.  So I better get back to the scrapbooking!

Germs!

Eek, we have been infected by germs.  Ella and Jack were kind enough to draw me a picture so I could easily identify the evil germs that made them ill.  First Ella went down late last night with the crampy tummy and low fever.  Then at 11 am, I got a call that Camo was also sick.  Sad, sad, sad.  You know they are sick when you let them watch a movie and they just moan instead of watching.  At least we seem to have beat the germs, because people are looking a little perkier tonight.  Cross your fingers and say a little prayer that the rest of us aren't next.

What happened to fall?

Two days ago we were sweating at the neighborhood pool, today it is 55 degrees and rainy.  Where is fall?  I spent the entire day wishing that I was home in my comfy clothes snuggled up on the couch.  When I picked the kiddos up from school, my sweet little girl said that her tummy hurt.  Yuck.  And... she wanted chicken soup.  This is, of course, my fault.  Every time anyone is sick, I make chicken soup.  Once, I tried to give my oldest chicken soup from a can when he and I were both sick.  He looked at me with this sad little face and asked, "What is this and where did it come from?"  So much for that plan.  So tonight I am making speed soup.  Yes, it is possible to make chicken soup in 30 minutes.  You can even sit down for 10 of those minutes, but I don't sit still well.  It does require one of those magic rotisserie chickens from the grocery store.  On days like this, I could hug the person that thought of making the first rotisserie chicken.
Here is my happy baby eating her soup.

If you want to make your own speed soup.  Go for it.  You will need:
1 carton of good quality vegetable broth
4 cups of water
1 carrot, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 stalk of celery, cut in 1/4 inch dice
2 slices of a small onion, cut in 1/4 inch dice
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper
1/4 teaspoon of dried dill
1/2 teaspoon of basic seasoning  (I use Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning)
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, no skin, roughly chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup of star pasta

Heat the broth and water to a nice simmer.  While heating, chop the veggies and then toss them in the pot.  Add the chicken and seasoning.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the pasta and simmer for 10 minutes.  My children like an ice cube to cool the soup down quickly.

Enjoy.