Jack is already getting good at the excuse-making. Right now, he's focusing his considerable talent on devising reasons why he can't go potty on the toilet. Here are a few of his favorite responses, when we suggest, "hey, Jack, let's go potty on the toilet" (and don't expect these to make sense):
7. "It's too big" (not sure what he's referring to; don't want to know)
6. "I'm not big, I'm little"
5. I'm not a baby, I'm a boy"
4. "It's broke"
3. "It needs batteries"
2. "No, you go potty!"
1. And my personal favorite...... "It hurts my teeth"
Meanwhile, Ellie is all too happy to sit on the potty....and sit....and sit....and sit.....and do nothing but sit, and be very proud that she is a big girl sitting on the potty. In the near future, I'm sure I'll be happy that she is so willing to go on the potty, but right now, well, I'm just kinda sick of sitting in the bathroom with her while she giggles on the toilet. So sue me.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Fun at Riverside
This past weekend, we went to the Burgess Family Reunion - this is Lydia's mom's dad's side of the family. It was held at Lydia's Uncle Allen's home, just a mile or so from Lydia's parents' place. My grandfather and his siblings were born and raised there, and when the parents passed away, all of the brothers and sisters got a chunk of the land, which they then turned into vacation homes. Uncle Allen now owns the family homestead, where the reunion was hosted. It was great to see some of the cousins, and to let the kids play with all of their cousins. There was also some tasty food - our first Maryland crabs of the season and some tasty barbecue from our cousin's restaurant (Abners Barbecue in Pennsylvania). A fun time was had by all!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Lotsa Pasta
Man, I love me some pasta. And although I have traditionally gone for the tomato-based sauces, these days I'm very into the creamy ones - you know, because my butt isn't QUITE big enough yet. Last week I made one of my new favorites - farfalle with prosciutto and peas - along with a salad, some crusty bread, and some of Lisa's peanut butter cookies. Yum. This week, I made Linda's Cajun Pasta - I like it with a caprese salad, the requisite crusty bread, and then something with gooey praline for dessert. I'm trying out some praline brownie recipes but haven't found one that I love yet. They need to be gooey and delicious, and if they don't stick to your teeth, then you did something wrong.
Farfalle with Prosciutto and Green Peas (this is a Barilla recipe)
1 box farfalle (that's bowties)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
2 c. prosciutto, cut into thin strips
1 c. green peas (I use frozen)
1/2 c. white wine (I use chicken broth)
2 c. half-and-half
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the prosciutto and peas and saute 3 minutes. Add the broth, and simmer until the mixture has reduced by half. (I sometimes skimp on this step, and you really shouldn't, or your sauce will be too thin.) Stir in half-and-half and heavy whipping cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan before serving.
Linda's Cajun Pasta (from my friend Linda Baroni)
About 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and sprinkled with Cajun seasoning
smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 T. butter
1 box tube pasta (I use rigatoni)
1 onion, diced
1 green or red pepper, diced
1 large garlic clove, diced
2 T. flour
1 pint half-and-half
milk
2 c. Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, melt butter on medium-high. Add sausage and cook until lightly brown. Move to the side of the pan and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink. Remove sausage and chicken from the pan.
Add additional butter if needed. Add onion and green pepper and cook until done to your likeness. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get up any meat/seasoning while the vegetables cook. Add more butter if needed. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and cook for one minute. Add half and half, stirring constantly until the sauce begins to thicken. Add 1/2 c. milk to sauce and stir. The sauce will keep thickening as it cooks. (Add more milk if needed.) Stir in the cheese until melted. Add spices to taste. Add the meat back in, then stir into pasta.
Lisa's Peanut Butter Cookies (from my sister-inlaw)
1 c. shortening (I use butter-flavored)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla
2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. flour
4 T. milk
Mix together ingredients. Chill. Roll into balls. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes; take out and add Hershey's kisses, then bake for 3 minutes. (NOTE: I forego the Hershey's kisses and add chocolate chips to the batter, and just bake for the full 12 minutes.)
Farfalle with Prosciutto and Green Peas (this is a Barilla recipe)
1 box farfalle (that's bowties)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
2 c. prosciutto, cut into thin strips
1 c. green peas (I use frozen)
1/2 c. white wine (I use chicken broth)
2 c. half-and-half
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the prosciutto and peas and saute 3 minutes. Add the broth, and simmer until the mixture has reduced by half. (I sometimes skimp on this step, and you really shouldn't, or your sauce will be too thin.) Stir in half-and-half and heavy whipping cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan before serving.
Linda's Cajun Pasta (from my friend Linda Baroni)
About 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and sprinkled with Cajun seasoning
smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 T. butter
1 box tube pasta (I use rigatoni)
1 onion, diced
1 green or red pepper, diced
1 large garlic clove, diced
2 T. flour
1 pint half-and-half
milk
2 c. Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, melt butter on medium-high. Add sausage and cook until lightly brown. Move to the side of the pan and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink. Remove sausage and chicken from the pan.
Add additional butter if needed. Add onion and green pepper and cook until done to your likeness. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get up any meat/seasoning while the vegetables cook. Add more butter if needed. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and cook for one minute. Add half and half, stirring constantly until the sauce begins to thicken. Add 1/2 c. milk to sauce and stir. The sauce will keep thickening as it cooks. (Add more milk if needed.) Stir in the cheese until melted. Add spices to taste. Add the meat back in, then stir into pasta.
Lisa's Peanut Butter Cookies (from my sister-inlaw)
1 c. shortening (I use butter-flavored)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla
2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. flour
4 T. milk
Mix together ingredients. Chill. Roll into balls. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes; take out and add Hershey's kisses, then bake for 3 minutes. (NOTE: I forego the Hershey's kisses and add chocolate chips to the batter, and just bake for the full 12 minutes.)
Monday, June 9, 2008
...With Rocket Pop Trees and Apple Gum Skies (aka Since When Does the Ice Cream Man Looks Like an Extra from "Cool Hand Luke")
Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies....Or better yet, picture yourself on Over Ridge Road with a sweaty palm full of change from Mom's red change can and a plethora of sinfully delicious Good Humor treats to choose from.
I always chose the Chocolate Eclair bar, Italian ice (hello, it came with a built-in spoon!), or sour apple gum. Sure, the obvious (read: pedestrian) choice was the Rocket Pop, but everyone knew that you couldn't eat it fast enough, and it ended up in a sticky, globby purple mess on your shirt.
This is one of my favorite childhood memories, the sound of the Ice Cream Man on a summer afternoon, and running out with all the neighborhood kids to get a yummy ice cream treat. So of course I wanted my own children to have this experience. So this evening, we were taking the dog for a walk and heard the familiar tunes of the Ice Cream Man. As he drove by, I was about to motion to him to wait a moment while I ran in to get money. But then I got a look at his face and noticed, well, that he looked like he lived in a halfway house located on the corner of Crack Street and Ho Lane. I'm not sure if it was the wife-beater t-shirt or the dead look in his eyes, but something made me think that perhaps we'd skip the Ice Cream Man tonight. And that made me melancholy.
So you know what, we're going to stop that Ice Cream Man next time he comes by and we're going to get some melty, gooey, overpriced ice cream treats. And if I have to check those treats for razor blades and get my kids hepatitis shots afterwards, SO BE IT. It's about the memories, darnit, and my kids deserve to have some childhood memories of the Ice Cream Man!
P.S. - we did it, and we didn't end up chopped up in the Ice Cream's freezer after all!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Welcome, Grandma and Grandpa
We had a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson this week. They spent 4 days with us before heading down to Charlottesville for a quick visit with Jared's brother and sister-inlaw. Most of it they spent entertaining the kids, which was a great break for me! Wednesday they took the kids to the petting farm, Thursday to storytime and the carousel at the mall, and Friday to Xtreme BounceZone. We also got the chance to visit the other "grands" - Grandmom and Grandad Candland - for a wonderful dinner on Thursday. Jack and Ellie have loved spending time with them, and we're glad we were able to work it out with Jared's travel schedule as he, too, was only here for 4 days before heading off to Mysterious Places Unknown.
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