My birthday.

Today is my birthday.  I usually don't care to make a fuss about it but apparently others around me had different plans this year.  And though it feels odd, I am touched and grateful. 

My celebration actually started yesterday.  I teach a group fitness class every Saturday morning, and my class took me out for lunch after our workout.  I've taught that class for over 11 years so it's a pretty tight group.  And then my folks came over at night to babysit the boys so Charlie and I could go out for a grown-up dinner.  I resisted cutting up his food for him and tried not to talk exclusively about the children.

This morning, the boys kicked things off by waking me up with a treat.  That's our tradition here--birthday boys and girl (notice the singular) get woken with a cupcake (but I requested a whole-wheat chocolate chip muffin, because I'm healthy like that).  The first time we woke Max up with a cupcake, lit candle and all, I thought his little eyes were going to fall out of his head.  And then when we told him he could eat it right then and there in his bed, I'm pretty sure he gasped (we were breaking the "no food allowed in rooms EVER by proclamation of Mom" household rule).  I also opened a present that my very thoughtful mother-in-law sent me: 

I really lucked out in the mother-in-law department.  She's amazing.  When they visited a few weeks ago, I made a teacake using a recipe from this cookbook, which was reprinted in Gourmet magazine.  It was quite good and I mentioned how I'd love to get the cookbook, but that there is a moratorium on cookbook purchases right now.  So she bought it for me.  And everyone has left me in peace to read it this morning!  I read cookbooks like novels and this one is awesome.

Oh.  And look what else I got.  Specifically, look what I got for my birthday two years ago.  How sad is that???  Well, let me just say that it's plenty sad when you consider how long I researched which serger to buy.  And then, when I finally settled on the Viking Huskylock Husqvarna 936, how long I vexed over spending the money, but finally did it (insert memory of dual income here).  And yet there it has sat.  In its box.  I don't have the foggiest on how it works, but I am not, am not, am not, taking on another project until I take that puppy out, plug it in, and learn how to use it.  Sheesh.

So it's been a great birthday.  I'm still in jammies, drinking my second cup of coffee with a cookie, the boys are playing outside but occasionally pop in to shout "I love you mom, happy birthday" (I think Charlie is prompting them but I'll take it), I've got a new cookbook to read, and I am regifting a "new" serger I already gave myself.  I hope you have a wonderful day, too.

Padding compound give away results.

According to Random.org's sequence generator (which is supposed to mimic pulling entries out of a hat--notice there are only 13 numbers as Judy asked not to be entered), the padding compound bottles go to:  Cavy, Karin, and Maroesja.  I'll email you offline for shipping info.  Have fun!  And thanks to everyone for visiting my blog and entering.  Several of you sounded excited to try the compound, so if you didn't win but would still like some of my stash and don't mind paying shipping, just email me and I'll let you know how much I have left to give away.

Homemade hot chocolate mix.

As consistent cooler weather is, hopefully, right around the corner, it's time to make up my favorite hot chocolate mix to keep on hand in the pantry.  After trying several recipes, I've settled on Alton Brown's.  I'm sort of obsessed with him.  I love science so it's no surprise that he's my man--he encourages you to learn techniques rather than blindly following a recipe.  Both of his cookbooks, I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food...Baking, get weekly workouts around here.  

Alton Brown's Hot Chocolate Mix

**This mix works very well so I usually double the recipe--I think the corn starch is the secret ingredient.

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred--I like Trader Joe's or  Ghirardelli)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste (sometimes I do cinnamon)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly.

To enjoy, add about 4 Tbl of mix per cup of very hot water or milk (I like hot milk to make it richer). 

The mix will keep indefinitely in an air-tight container.

Happy Fall!

WorryWoo monsters.

Have you seen these guys--the WorryWoo monsters?  They are incredible and Max and Leo adore them.

Our family is very lucky to have a friend who loves to spoil our boys.  Well, she actually spoils everyone around her--not just with gifts (though she surely does that), but also with pure kindness and love.  You know those kind of people who just shine?  She's like that. 

Before the start of the year, she gave Max and Leo each a WorryWoo monster, Rue and Nola, and their accompanying books, The Nose that Didn't Fit and The Lonely Monster.  They are superbly made dolls and the story books are so touching.  Here are the links to them on Amazon:  Rue and Nola.  I think it's extremely hard to find dolls for boys but mine still absolutely love their stuffed animals, so these couldn't be more perfect.  If you need a special gift for a little one in your life, I heartily recommend these.

 

Craft along give away, no. 1.

As I mentioned in my initial post, one of the reasons I started this blog was to try to motivate myself to take on more of the wonderful tutorials out there and actually produce things.  But mostly, I'm still just staring.  I blame two of my personality traits for getting in the way.  One, my economies of scale mentality and two, I am as fickle as they come about crafts.  Let me explain.

When I see a project that I'd like to do, chances are it's something new to me.  And so, although my stash of craft supplies and unfinished objects is piled impossibly high, it sometimes falls short of an essential supply item.  Enter trouble--because when I research sourcing this latest must-have item, I usually find that I can get, let's say, 5 keychain fob hardware sets for $6.  BUT...and please tell me that you know what I'm going to say because you've been there too...I can get something crazy like 50 sets for $20. 

Do I need 50 sets?  Um, no.  Will I be enchanted with the project long enough to ever make 50 sets?  Well, pigs could fly I suppose.  And don't even get me started with my "oh, maybe someday I'll put some in my Etsy shop" rationale because I've tried that, too, and that little shop has sat empty since the birth of pumpkin little no. 3.  But just as certain as I am to check on the boys before I can fall asleep--recklessly risking waking them up by leaning in so close to their quiet little faces to hear them breath so that I know they are fine, just fine--I will buy the "better" deal or none at all.

This is where you are going to come in, so stay with me, okay?

There is nothing more motivating than having a partner to get you going.  So, on a regular basis (tbd--just thinking out loud here), I will pick a tutorial that I'd like to try and will gather the necessary supplies.  And since it's usually just as easy to gather up several sets of whatever key supplies I need handy as it is to do one, I'm going to give one (or more) away for a craft along!  And also--occasionally--I hope to do a co-op of sorts to make things a bit more economical when I cannot resist my supersizing ways (offering up shares of supplies to defray costs if anyone else is interested). 

For our first foray into this experiment, I give you The Small Object's and Chica and Joe's tutorials on how to make your own custom notepad.  Are these on your to-try list but you still haven't?  Perfect!  No padding compound you say?  No worries--I have some and I'd love to share.  I will give away three 2 oz. bottles of the compound (enough for many, many pads, you'll see) to three readers.  No co-op this time.  Baby steps.

To enter, please leave a comment by Friday, September 25, 2009, midnight, EST.  I will pick three random entries and post on Saturday and mail asap.  My blog is pretty new and comment light, so you should have a good shot if you enter. 

Above are the 'mom's got a latte do today' notepads I made, courtesy of the freebie download at Skip to my Lou.  I love them!

Friday night pizza.

 

I don't think our family is alone in kicking off the weekend with a build your own pizza night.  When I need a shortcut, Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough can't be beat.  It's 99 cents for goodness sakes--and they offer white or whole wheat.  But much more often than not, I make up our dough from scratch as it's often faster than running to the store. 

We have a lot of fun making these pizzas.  I love seeing the funny shapes of the boys' hand-stretched crusts, as well as their topping combos (though lately they're playing it safe with pineapple and ham).  Will just loves to pound and play with a bit of the scrap dough--I give him some playdoh tools and he has a ball.

 

I sometimes use a recipe that calls for hand kneading.  But here's the Chowhound recipe I use when I want my stand mixer to do all of the work.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 2 - 2.5 cups flour (*spoon into your measuring cup so you don't pack it)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1-2 Tbl olive oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp yeast (*a packet equals approximately 2 1/2 tsp)

Directions

Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water for about 5 minutes--it should be bubbly.  If not, discard and try again.  To begin with, place only 2 cups of the flour in the mixing bowl, adding the salt, yeast water, other 1/2 cup of water, and 1 Tablespoon oil.  Stir a couple times by hand until just blended, then knead with dough hook on speed 2 for 8-10 minutes.  

You should check after about 2 minutes and adjust the flour ratio, if necessary (due to humidity levels, you will use more flour in the summer, less in the winter).  The dough should ride up the hook and be in one piece.  If it's sticking to the walls or resting toward the bottom, add a bit more flour.  When the kneading is finished, pull dough from hook and shape into a ball.  Roll in well oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours.  Punch down, let rise again for 30 minutes.

Roll or hand stretch into pizza crusts, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes while preparing the toppings.  I bake the topped pizza at 475 on a preheated pizza stone for about 10-13 minutes.  Tip:  the dough is pretty wet and so can be hard to transport if you don't have a pizza peel.  Try putting your crust on a piece of parchment before topping, so you can slide the entire thing (on the parchment) into the hot oven.

Happy Friday!

Book racks.

   

There are many, many reasons why I love my husband.  But in the top 5, definitely, is his handiness.  We have a great system:

I dog-ear a page in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and casually show it to him saying, "I'm thinking about getting one of these book racks for the kitchen and each of the boys.  They're only $119.  Plus shipping."  Charlie:  "I can make all of those for under $60."  Me:  "no way, really?"  Then he's off to Home Depot and out in the garage sawing/drilling/hammering away.  And poof!  Book racks for me to paint and place wherever I like.  Tell me that's not top 5 material.

We've given these away as gifts to many friends and they are always well received.  Kids like to see the covers of their books.  We (and when I say "we" I really mean "Charlie") have some more in line to make and give.  I think I'll actually pay attention to how he constructs them this time and put together a tutorial so you can make some, too.  Believe me, you cannot have too many. 

As depicted above, we have one:  in the odd kitchen-wall space behind the basement door that is only 5 inches deep (yet can hold several cookbooks); over each of the older boy's bed; and in the book nook corner (that is never, ever used for reading books) in the basement playroom.

Tutorial asap, promise. 

Party on.

 

In in her mini-feature today, Shannon (the mastermind behind the wonderful and completely addictive blog, Creative Parties & Showers) linked to my post on the boys' Master of Disguise birthday party!  Woo hoo.  It's really nice to be mentioned.  But as she features the most amazing parties on her site, to be honest, I sort of feel like I do when I go to a party and am completely under dressed.  You know how that is, right?  You go somewhere in jeans and a cute top but then feel like you stick out among all the gals in cute dresses.  Especially when you have a ton of cute dresses you could have worn?  See (as I said in the original post), that particular party was a bit of a bust for me, as far as party-throwing-according-to-my-plans goes.  And adaptability?  Not my strong suit.  Now, the boys had a great time...and I know that's all that matters in the end...but I'm still more than a little heartbroken that some details and planned activities never saw the light of day. 

But I'm over it.  Obviously. 

Moving on with plans for the their next one.  And for Halloween.  And for our gingerbread house decorating party.  If you love looking at all things party related too, be sure to check out Creative Parties & Showers.  But just make sure you have a big cup of tea or coffee and a couple of hours to enjoy that blogcandy!  

Free Magic School Bus Book (from the EPA).

Our older boys really enjoy the Magic School Bus books.  So I was super excited to see Money Saving Mom's post on the Environmental Protection Agency's giveaway of The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up.  Just call 1-800-490-9198 and request your copy.  When I phoned, my operator did not need the item number, but here it is just in case:  EPA420-K-07-001.  It took less than two minutes and the operator said the book would be mailed in about a week.  Quantities are limited so be sure to hurry--these books are great and spark so many side discussions.  In fact, they are off limits as bedtime books because the boys tend to Q & A me for at least an hour after we read one!  More details are on the EPA's website, here.

Creamed spinach with bacon.

Here in northern Virginia, it is rainy and suprisingly chilly this morning.  So chilly, that as we stepped out the door for school, I had to turn Max around to change clothes.  And, of course, I discovered five minutes before the bus was due that he has outgrown everything--his pants he wore last spring, his raincoat, his fleeces...everything.  We were both kind of shocked.  I told him it's because he's eating his spinach these days.  I recently found a recipe for a creamed spinach dish that the boys gobble up every time I make it (four times and counting the last month alone).  Seriously--I am using the description gobble up to describe how a 6, 4, and 1 year-old are attacking spinach.  Spinach.  It's probably the bacon.  Who am I kidding?  It's definitely the bacon.

 

Excuse the picture.  I'm unsure how to make cooked spinach actually look good.  But taste good?  Evidently, I've got that covered.  Off to online shop for pants long enough to cover ankles. 

Recipe after the jump.  Enjoy!

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