 |
| (image) |
I’m back.
Sort of.
I mean, I’m pretty much recovered, but I feel like I’m playing catch up here. It’s not as though I just went MIA for a couple of days. Really, there’s no rest to be had when there’s stuff to be done. And in our house, there is always stuff to be done. There’s nothing funny about being sick, especially when you’re hacking and coughing and snotting all over the place, but I did have laugh-out-loud moment where I realized that I am truly no longer a kid who can curl up on the couch while my own mom brings me ginger ale and crackers (boo-hoo!). The other night, I sneezed about half a dozen times in a row. When I looked in the tissue make sure the last of my brain cells weren’t in there, I saw green snot.
My first thought? “Oh, I really am sick.” Typical mom response because as we moms know, if the nose runs clear, it’s all good. Green snot means automatic day at home and possible trip to the doctor. At least, that’s what it means when the bearer of the snot is of the toddler set. When you’re the responsible adult, you swig some ‘Tussin straight from the bottle and keep it moving. If I could roll around with an OJ IV drip, trust me, I would.
Thankfully, the girls and Craig have remained germ-free. I even got a slight respite when I defrosted a chunk of leftover lasagna from the other week. Oh! and my review of the lasagna! It was really delicious. I was skeptical of using cream cheese instead of ricotta, but true to my finicky form, I decided if I halved the amount of cream cheese required and just added more mozzerala, it would be okay. And it certainly was. The spinach was a nice touch and even the girls liked it. As a matter of fact, Coever liked the lasagna so much, she asked to have it for dinner two nights in a row. And get this. . .she ATE it. I’m still reeling over that one. I think I have my dad to thank for that. He told her that the spinach was grass [insert marijuana joke here], freshly picked from outside. She rolled that one around for about half a second before forking up spinach like she’d been doing it her whole life. I wonder what other veggies I can “re-name” so that she’ll eat them.
These days, the girls have been all hopped up about Valentine’s Day. Morgan’s class sent home a flyer instructing the parents to decorate a shoebox so that the children can bring it in for a Valentine’s exchange. Seriously? What happened to the days of making a little construction paper envelope at school? Or how about the kid decorating their own box? This parental involvement is killing me softly, I tell you what. I think the school decree to decorate the box was like a gauntlet thrown down. Either that or I am more feverish than I realize. If I have to get out my crafty kit to decorate the box, then I’m about to wreck shop on the Valentine’s themselves. No more pre-packaged, punch-out cards. I’m going full on craft-tastic. I only have myself and Pinterest to blame thank.
In truth, this project is pretty simple.
Step 1.
Find a willing participant. Once I showed Morgan what I had in mind, she practically threw my camera at me and struck a pose.
Step 2.
Have your subject pose holding their arm outstretched, their hand in a fist. We tried a couple different poses and decided to use these two.
Step 3.
Upload the photo to your editing software of choice and add your desired text.
Step 4.
Print out the images using 4×6 dimensions.
Step 5.
Punch a hole or make a small X above and below the fist so that the stick of the lollipop slides through the card. I’d also put a piece of tape on the back so that the lollipop doesn’t slide out.
Forgive the quality of these images. I was trying to make dinner, take the picture, stop the girls from eating the lollipops, and bouncing from foot to foot because I needed to go to the bathroom, but of all the things going on, that one always takes last place.
I printed these out on regular paper, but I would advise using cardstock or photo paper. The weight of that kind of paper is more durable and less likely to buckle under the weight of the lollipop. I’m also considering uploading the prints to one of the many online photo websites (i.e. Snapfish, Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery) and letting them do the printing and cutting.
And guess what? In 5 steps, I have justified spending countless hours on Pinterest finding things to demonstrate my prowess as a craft-master. Everybody wins! Now. . .off to the bathroom!
The girls have been out of school for close to two weeks. I had envisioned them spending a few days with my parents while I got the rest of the holiday festivities in order, but unfortunately, my mom fell ill and my folks weren’t able to make it up for Christmas. It was different not celebrating with them, but my in-laws filled the house with their presence and presents. Family is family and that’s is what makes the memories.
The girls were staying up way past their regular bedtime over the break, even getting to stay up to wait for their Uncle Brandon to come in from NYC late Christmas Eve. While they waited for him, they prepared for the arrival of another favorite fellow of theirs.
Then, with much pleading and cajoling, we got them to go to bed. Teeth brushed, pajamas on, snug as bugs in their make-shift camp-out on the floor. Their heads hit the pillow and the silence was golden.
In the morning, the girls showed remarkable restraint and let everyone sleep in until about 7:15. Everyone was pretty agreeable to that time frame, though I did think Mo and Co were going to shank Brandon when he didn’t get out of the bed after their multiple attempts to rouse him. While we waited for him to come to get up, the girls were content to decimate their stockings before the main event.
 |
| (source) |
Eat dessert. Give out hugs. Get some kisses. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Say “I love you.” Drive safely. Smile. Take lots of pictures. Have seconds. Take a nap. Put away your phone. Play cards. Play a board game. Really listen. Share. Continue a tradition. Start a new one. Be in the moment.
However you choose to celebrate this time of year, do so wholeheartedly. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas filled with the family, the friends, the food, and the fellowship that brings you joy and love.
Merry Christmas!
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
I need to invest in something sparkly and fun. I haven’t worn anything with sequins since 1984 when a handful of 4 year olds and I performed “Kids are People, Too!” during Miss Ryder’s School of Ballet spring recital. I’m not saying I’m retiring my black, gray, and navy staples. It’s just time to add a splash of “wheeeeee!’ into the mix. I’m ready to twinkle this holiday season.
The girls are on Christmas break and I have no clue what to do to occupy our time. We had a few playdates, a birthday party here and there, but I was counting on them having some quality time with my parents. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. So what’s a girl to do?
I broke out the cookie press, most certainly assuring my place on the “nice” list this year.
The cookie press promised to make cookie baking a breeze, of course, you can’t always believe everything you read. Last year, I called myself being smart and used some Pillsbury Slice and Bake sugar cookie dough that I squished into the pressing chamber. The results were pretty decent. This year however, I whipped up some sugar cookie dough on my own. I mashed it into the chamber, affixed my chosen cut out and began squeezing to my hearts content.
The cookie press, when used correctly, makes a *click* noise when enough dough has been dispensed per cookie per place on the cookie sheet. My press was going,*clickity*clickity*click*click*gimme a break, lady!* Yeah, not fun. Still, I managed to get my two trays filled and in the oven. Then I unscrewed the cookie press and with a kung fu grip that would have made G.I. Joe think twice, I shot the unused dough back into the bowl. Totally satisfying. The remaining dough I just scooped up into drop cookies, flattened with my palm and sprinkled with some Christmas sprinkles. There’s no way I’ll ever be on Top Chef desserts; my sprinkling technique looks like they were done by a blind person with Parkinson’s disease. Still, the cookies tasted pretty good.
When the cookie press cookies came out of the oven, they looked okay, but they were a bit crispy. More like Christmas crackers than cookies (don’t worry, they’ll get eaten). The drop cookies were exactly how you want your sugar cookie to be: kind of round, kind of warm, plenty soft and plenty sugary.
Now you all know that I have a Type A personality. I like a clean kitchen. I can’t stand a mess. I like it when people follow directions. This Christmas cookie endeavor tested all my reserves. Thankfully, I could quell my nerves with my aforementioned Christmas crackers! I figured it my mouth was full, there was no way I could shout, “Keep the sprinkles on the cookies, not the floor!” or “Cut out the dough, don’t eat it!” or “Stop beating your sister with the rolling pin!” Ahhh, the holidays.
I did have to intervene in order to explain to Morgan the concept of “sprinkle” since she decide to clothe her cookie cut-outs in red sugar. “But it’s her Christmas dress,” she said to me. Clearly.
The majority of the cookies were way thicker than the recommended 1/4 inch thickness the recipe recommended. We haven’t covered units of measure in preschool or first grade yet, so whatevs. It was a risk we were willing to take.
Despite my hesitation, it turned out to be a great afternoon for me and my girls. The Christmas tree glowed softly in the living room while we had tea and cookies followed by some serious lazing about on the sofas. Sometimes, having no plan is the best plan.
Coever kept it short and simple with some illustrations so there would be no confusion. That would be a Zhu-Zhu pet castle set, coloring book, Nintendo DS (DS for those in the know), and perfume.
Would you believe they were actually fighting over who would get tied up? If I’d been on my game, I’d have tied up the both of them, taken the picture and then gone downstairs for a cup of coffee. They both enjoyed it so much, I had to have them rock, paper, scissors it out to determine who would be tied up on the card. Rock, paper, scissors has miraculously become our peace keeping, problem solving technique around the house. Of course, Morgan caught on early that Coever tends to favor paper over, and over (and over and over), so more often than not, Morgan scissors her way to the win.
School is out for vacation and all of the Christmas parties and pageants have been attended. Morgan’s school had a pageant last Friday. Of course I planned to be there, but I had to do some serious maneuvering to make sure I was on time. I had Coever go to school with a friend so I could get Morgan to school on time and make sure I secured a seat for myself and my camera.
The pageant was scheduled to start promptly at 9am. We got to school at our normal time of about 8:15 and the place was packed. There were some open seats in the back, but I was hoping to get a little closer for some pictures of Morgan and the crew of angels. I was about to slide myself into a pew when this voice says, “Taken! Taken! This row is all taken!” I felt like Forrest Gump when he got on the bus for the first day of school. Um, what happened to the Christmas spirit? We’re in a church! Long story short, the seats in the back were just fine. I got to see Morgan do her thing; the entire living nativity and performance was lovely. And it lasted all of 20 minutes. There truly are Christmas miracles!
