How To Make A Palm Cross

Every year, we bring home palms from Palm Sunday Mass. Every year, our cats try to abscond with them and turn them into cat toys. It's a constant battle, but it's one that I learned to win a few years ago. I learned how to make crosses out of our palm fronds, which makes them a nice keepsake and removes the temptation from our cats.

It's super easy, although I'll admit to being able to make them a lot faster and more easily when I don't have to actually talk and think about what I'm doing. Welcome to my life. The wee ones enjoy making them, too, and it's a great reminder to keep in our bedrooms all year long.



And please do excuse my hair. I'm fighting off some nasty bug and feel pretty rotten right now. The next video, I'll look better, I promise.

Why One Cat Is Fat. And The Other... Is Not

You know that we have cats, right? We've had Meow and Roar since Mister Man was three. He was the one who named them, actually, back when he wanted a lion instead of a cat. Meow and Roar were older kittens at the time. They were strays, maybe 10 months old, and Meow was the smaller of the two kittens.

Oh how times have changed.

Roar - the all orange one - is now the smaller cat, by a lot. The cats are brothers, so who knew they'd become such different cats as they grew. The other day, my husband called me over to show me that he'd figured out the issue.



Things I've Learned

1. Meow likes to eat.
2. Roar is sort of dainty.
3. Meow is a pig.
4. Meow needs to learn manners.
5. Meow is a rude pig.
6. Roar always expects that there will be a little more.
7. Meow has an insatiable appetite and won't let anyone or anything get in his way.
8. If you want to poison my cats, Meow will happily scarf down anything and everything. You might have to sweeten the pot for Roar.
9. Meow is a huge, rude pig.
10. There's a good reason Meow is fatter.

Cheese Souffle and Herb Salad - Tasty Tuesday!

I know, I know. You read the title and tried to run screaming from the blog, didn't you? Stop. Come back.

This was my lunch today. Lunch, because yes, it is actually that easy - and fast - to make a souffle. Granted, I do feel sorta decadent because it's a souffle and they're fancy and all.

Except that this takes just a handful of ingredients, all of which are in my house on a regular basis. And the salad is one of the fastest I can make. Because hey, I need to pretend like I'm eating healthfully when it's an egg and cheese lunch, right? Salad does that for me.

I had to make it today because it's 80 degrees. We went from way too cold and spring isn't coming in Chicago to full on summer. Very shortly, my oven will go off until fall. And oh did I have a taste for this today for some reason. In fact, I'm about to go back for seconds. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

Cheese Souffle and Herb Salad

Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
1/4 t salt
2 T butter (plus more for the souffle dish)
1/4 c flour
1 c milk - room temp if you remember
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t pepper
3/4 c Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese

Spring mix
Dill, chopped
Parsley, chopped
lemon juice
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Finely grate your cheese. I actually generally use Gruyere for the souffle and then some Parmesan for the souffle dish. Just wait - you'll see why.

Butter a large souffle dish. Well. Use real butter. I promise, it's worth it. You want to coat the butter in either grated cheese or bread crumbs. Hmmm cheese or bread. It's a toss up sometimes which is my favorite, but definitely go with the grated cheese if you can. Simply place some in the souffle pan and rotate it until it's coated in cheese. Gently pat some in place, if needed. Place the souffle dish in the fridge so that it stays cold until baked, which will help create a crust around the souffle so that it doesn't stick to the souffle dish after baking.

Place the egg yolks in one bowl, and the egg whites in another. Make sure the egg white bowl has no yellow in it at all, then add the salt.

Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring regularly. Pour in the milk while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer until it's thick. Because there is so much flour relatively, this will only take a minute or two.

Remove from the heat, and add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Stir, and then add the cheese, again stirring until well combined. Add the egg yolks one at a time, stirring to combine thoroughly before adding the next one.

Beat the egg whites until medium peaks form. These are medium peaks, and yes, I beat them by hand. I wasn't thinking when I put the egg whites in the bowl and didn't feel like dirtying another one. Besides, it counts as my gym workout for the day, right? When beating your eggs, make sure you don't overbeat them, or they'll get grainy and icky.

Fold in the egg whites one-third at a time. You have to sacrifice the fluffiness of the first third of the egg whites to get the cheese/egg yolk mixture to accept the egg whites. It's ok. Just make sure you fold in the rest of the eggs gently. Check it out - I even vlogged a demo of folding.

Pour the mixture into your prepared souffle dish. Cut a circle in the souffle to help keep it from cracking and falling. The video shows it. Bake for 25-30 minutes until it's risen and golden brown on top. You don't have to be careful walking in the kitchen while baking it - contrary to myth - but don't open the oven door!

Serve it warm with the herb salad: Emulsify lemon juice and olive oil - maybe a 1:2 ratio, I never measure. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over your spring mix with added chopped dill frond and chopped parsley.

Enjoy this and more with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday this week at The Well! I've almost finished my second helping now, and I can't wait to have leftovers for dinner. Too bad no one's close enough to come share, as this is a perfect light, fun lunch (or dinner).

Win a Young Author prize pack here!

And A Very Merry Christmas To All

Little Miss has a message for everyone....



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Baby Einstein Discovery Kit here

I Need To Start A Garden

I tend to eat fairly well, which in turn means the wee ones tend to eat fairly well. I generally buy primarily whole foods that I cook from scratch, and I involve the wee ones in my cooking and baking.

They know their food. Or so I thought.

Today, Mister Man had no school, while Little Miss was in school for a full day for the first time in two weeks (literally). We got to spend some quality time together, hanging out and chatting. It's something that I really enjoy and forget about when I don't do it often enough.

While we were at lunch today, we were discussing how awesome it is that he finally decided he likes tomato sauce - as he was licking tomato sauce off his pizza, something we also later discussed. I told him that the next thing he knew, he was going to end up liking salad.

He gave me a dumbfounded look, which I initially took for complete shock on his part. No, apparently it was the dawning of realization. He informed me that I was probably right, since he already likes lettuce. Uhhh, say what? This was news to me, and we discussed how we could use lettuce at home in ways that he might like it.

I filed that tidbit away, shocked that he had apparently tried and liked lettuce somewhere this summer and never mentioned it to me.

At dinner tonight, Mister Man told me that he was still hungry after he finished his roasted chicken and fresh sourdough. I suggested that he have a vegetable of his choice. He immediately asked for corn, before I even got the options out there. I mentioned that we might have a kind of lettuce, and he was all over eating the "lettuce" I had in the fridge.

I got him out a single leaf and watched him barely take a mouse's nibble off the tip of it, pretending not to scour his expression for any nuance of what he thought of the "it's not exactly iceberg" lettuce. To my great surprise, he liked it. As he neared the end of the leaf, he asked for more.

I got him a whole pile of leaves, and of course Little Miss then got into the action. As he neared the bottom of his pile of leaves, he looked up at me with a serious expression, slowly twirling a leaf in his hand as he speculated.

Mom, is the lettuce I'm eating right now almost as healthy as if I were eating spinach?

I choked. Panicked. Prayed that I wouldn't freak him out. Well, Kiddo. It's funny you mention that, because you actually are eating spinach. That's a baby spinach leaf in your hand. Spinach is a type of lettuce, and it's the kind of lettuce that I happened to have in my fridge.

His eyes grew wide. He dropped the leaf on the table. I mentally smacked myself for having told him that the lettuce he liked was actually spinach.

Wow. Really? I've been eating spinach? Awesome. Mom, guess what! I love spinach.

That's great, Sweetie, I sighed internally, hoping that he didn't notice my palpable relief. You know how the iceberg lettuce you had was kind of a light color green and this lettuce is a much darker green? Well, the darker the green in a lettuce, the more vitamins and minerals in it, and the healthier it is for you. They just all taste a little different.

Mom. You don't get it. I'm eating super healthy spinach. What if I dipped my spinach leaf in some homemade tomato sauce? Would that be the healthiest thing ever if I had it with some of your roasted chicken?

Who is this adventuresome eater, and what have you done with Mister Man?

The whole exchange cracked me up. It's one of the moments you wish you could capture on video. I tried. In fact, I got out my video recorder and reenacted the majority of the conversation, but ... it just wasn't the same. His genuine shock at the lettuce being spinach just wasn't there. But it's cute anyway.





Current Giveaways:
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You Never Know When There's A Camera Around...

Current Giveaways:

E is for Ethics children's book here
Precious Moments here

***

This weekend, we were at a high school football game, and one of the wee ones' favorite songs was played over the PA system at the end of the game. Now, a year ago, that song would have been something we found on Kids Place Live (which fortunately we still listen to regularly).

With our carpool including a second grader, the Disney Channel has made its way into our listening - with me doing some monitoring of the songs, of course. There are a few songs that they really love, and because they're more "grown up" songs, we hear them more than just on the radio in my car.

Mister Man has a particular favorite, and it's so cute to watch him sing it. I've been meaning to catch him on video for awhile now, and the song playing in the background provided a perfect reminder. I turned on my camera to capture them.

But you know what? My husband pointed out something even better as I was filming. Keep watching - trust me; it's worth it!



And then of course, I had to catch him singing, which was my original intention. Awww, isn't he cute? (Ok, I can't stop laughing at his facial expression as he sings.)



Can't. Stop. Laughing.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Need a fun outfit for the boy in your life?  Check out my Parigi Fashion giveaway.

I also have a family pizza party that I'm giving away here.

***

In my house, the rule is that you have to try whatever's on your plate. While that rule has changed slightly over time and become more precise as needed, the wee ones have generally been pretty good about following it.

There have always been some exceptions, and some items that the wee ones just aren't interested in. If I see a legitimate item that I don't feel that they'd enjoy, I don't push it.

Sushi is one of those foods. As much as I'd love for the wee ones to enjoy sushi - giving me an excuse to eat it more often - they've always been turned off by the texture of the nori and the raw fish. I sighed and then continued my merry way eating whatever maki happened to be on my plate.

Not so much anymore.

Both wee ones have decided they now like sushi. Mister Man started with the tekka don (tuna slices served over rice with no nori) but has now moved on to both salmon and tuna maki.

Little Miss skipped the tekka don stage and simply decided that she now enjoys sushi.

The entertaining bit for me is that the wee ones have obviously absorbed what I've preached about sushi. Even when they weren't eating it, they'd ask me what I was doing with my chopsticks and why. It's sunk in.



And now? Well, apparently I have to share my sushi. I can't really complain though!

Did I mention that this is also my child who has decided that the only way she wants to drink (rice) milk is with cinnamon in it? Who drinks cinnamon milk? I have bizarre children. Then again, that's what makes them fun!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

For the day and a half before Christmas last week, it rained here. And by rained, I mean it poured. Had it been snowing instead of raining, we would never have made it to church -- or anywhere else. On Saturday, it turned into snow. Light, puffy, fun snow. And it kept snowing. In fact, we ended up with over a foot.

(Yes, I had to take the picture through the screen door, as there was enough snow, and the snow was heavy enough that I could no longer open the screen.)

We ended up shoveling multiple times during the snowfall to try to keep the driveway at a reasonable level, and the wee ones had a blast "helping" us out by using their shovels. Of course, their version of helping usually entailed shoveling snow from the grass onto the driveway, but they're learning.

We decided to go sledding after awhile, and it was weird. As we walked to the "hill" near our house (really a detention pond), it was silent because the snow absorbed absolutely all sound. And oddly, there were no other children outside playing on the day after Christmas.

Us? We were out. We played. And we had a blast! We played outside and sledded on Sunday and on Monday and ... well, you get the picture. It's cold, and we need hot cocoa when we come in, but that just makes it all the more fun.

And for me? The proof is in their faces.

Singing Lessons

Ahhh, the presents are opened (with scads and scads of them from my parents), Santa ate his cookies (and the reindeer ate their carrots), the first toys were broken (at 8:17am, four minutes after Little Miss started playing with her Bakugan), and the overtired, overstimulated wee ones are once again nestled in their beds.

We had a great Christmas, although we still haven't learned our lesson. Once again the wee ones had a gift opening frenzy that precluded my husband and I noticing exactly who each gift was from. My aunt, my sister-in-law, and my husband's cousins gave gifts, as did my sister and parents. Annnnnnnnd we're really not sure what is from whom in most cases, although we're pretty sure my sister-in-law declined to buy me a gift after insisting my husband buy her husband a wii game in addition to the Dippin' Dots maker for her daughter and college gear for her. Yep, we'll be making the calls of shame yet again tomorrow and swearing we'll do better next year.

Mister Man loved his gifts, although he did notice that there was no Crayola Crayon Maker. After bursting into tears, he allowed me to explain the lengths we went through to try to find one for him and that we'll go together to buy one once they're restocked in stores, which will make it more special for him. And he was good with that, luckily.

We made it to my aunt and uncle's (where, oops, we both made potatoes au gratin as my uncle merely told me to make a side dish and to not do sweet potatoes) and back safely, although the temps dropped quickly which immediately the rain that had been falling all day. My mom broke the only glass at the gathering (phew), and there was no drama.

Little Miss finally changed out of her Halloween shirt and Easter slippers (which she wore to "trick" Grandma) and into the ummm 2T Christmas dress that somehow still fits her. It's no longer floor length, but I still wouldn't believe the size if I hadn't looked at the tag myself. She, of course, managed to shred her tights, but she at least kept them on. We're making progress.

And we're all happy....

Little Miss took awhile to get into the holiday spirit last week:



But once she did, she was so proud of her abilities (she unfortunately learned the right words before I remembered to tape her more interesting rendition):



Which of coure meant that Mister Man had to show us how well he knew the songs that he learned for his Christmas program:



I'm content. I'd like to just hold onto this feeling for a little bit longer. Merry Christmas to you (assuming you're celebrating), and I hope it was a quiet and peaceful day (if you aren't)!

Froooooooggy!

On our way to a Northwestern game earlier this fall, Mister Man decided to entertain Little Miss by reading one of her favorite books (we LOVE the Froggy books around here -- it's all she gets from the library).

As I was listening to him read, I realized that he was doing so in a sing-song voice. And that I actually knew the tune. And he for the most part was managing to get the meter to match the tune.

Luckily, I had my camera with me, so I captured some of it on video. As is typical, he stopped shortly after I began recording, even though he'd been doing it for the ten minutes prior. Still cute.

Ten points if you can name that tune!

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

Before I get started, quick reminder that I have a green gift bag giveaway going on here.

***

Ok, so you have to turn your head sideways to view it... or turn your monitor sideways. I can't figure out how to flip it. Computer genius anywhere?

Anyway, this is a trick my husband has apparently used on multiple occasions when he has let the wee ones go to bed without putting a balloon up high. Our cats can't resist chewing on ribbon.

I found out about it when the wee ones asked me to get out the fan to save their balloon. I just looked at them with a blank face until Daddy came home and uhhh fixed it.

We Sing, We Dance

As promised last week, I took some video of Little Miss during our nightly toothbrushing routine. You'll of course notice Meow getting into the act -- excuse his tail until I can literally hold him back while trying to hold the video camera steady. Here's hoping no one gets seasick!

On the plus side, she does swish her mouthwash for a little over a minute!



After the potty song, you'd think I would have learned. But apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. And yes, we have other songs that I've had the misfortune to introduce to the wee ones.



PS Although I didn't ummmmm find time to video myself singing the alphabet backwards, I promise to try to find some time to do that this week.

This Is Why I Go To Bed First

Before I forget, go play my fun game from last night's post. Answers go up Monday night!

*************************************

Last night, I was trying to finish something before heading to bed. My husband happened to decide to go to bed about five minutes before I was finished. I didn't notice at first, but I quickly did.

You don't need to adjust your monitor, as there isn't any picture, but you need to listen to the audio. This is what I heard through the closed bedroom door, downstairs, while I had a television on. It was louder than the television. Out of respect to my husband, I chose to not turn on the lights.

Go ahead. Feel my pain.



Tonight? I figure I've got another ten minutes before I need to race upstairs and try to fall asleep before my husband gets there.

The kicker? When I played this for him this afternoon, he said it sounded a little like a creaky boat and wasn't that loud. It's all in your perspective, I suppose.

Welcome To Chicago

So you thought it would be fun to hang out with us up here in the great white north? Ok, so technically Chicago isn't that far north. And there are a lot of places that are colder and get more snow, but compared to St Louis, where my husband is from, we're as good as Eskimos. That doesn't keep us from having fun though!



Of course, Little Miss was all over getting on the sled immediately. Mister Man was too busy trying to bury the shovel, first. Once he heard he might be missing out on something though, he was racing to get on the sled.

Little Miss got too cold after a bit and came inside to warm up (and hang out with Grandma), but Mister Man stayed outside for awhile after and had lots of fun heading down the hill all on his own!




The scary thing is that this is only the second weekend in December, and we've already had a few true snowstorms. Tuesday, they're predicting a "significant accumulation" although they've yet to define what that is. I may be ready to move down south soon!

At least I'll have a warm New Years since Northwestern is going to the Alamo Bowl! (You knew I'd sneak that in somewhere, didn't you?)