Not Quite Fit For Tasty Tuesday...

The wee ones and I enjoy our baking, and it's fascinating to watch them become enthralled in all aspects of it (with the exception of the time each item spends in the oven, but I do vaguely remember making cookie dough and then running off leaving my poor mom to scoop out all the cookies and bake them, returning only in time to sample the wares).

Whenever we bake, the wee ones want to know what the next ingredient is. They want to smell it and touch it and taste it. And for the most part I let them.

They want to put the ingredients in by themselves, and for the most part, I let them do that, as well. Mister Man is actually getting fairly proficient in scooping out level cups of ingredients.

They're both getting pretty good at cracking eggs, as well. I would never have let them try, but a cooking class I took once had a teacher who kept insisting that she could teach four year olds to crack eggs with one hand. And to be honest, the wee ones generally do a pretty good job with the eggs. They're more prone to become nervous that they're going to spill the egg and have me take over than they are to get shell into the batter.



This of course, is the exception. Little Miss actually cracked the egg and had it break apart and land almost entirely on the counter. For this instance -- and for this instance only -- I used my hand to scrape it off my clean counter (I clean the counter with wipes before and after every cooking and baking endeavor as a matter of course) and dumped it into the bowl.



After we had the dough all mixed up, we had to roll it out. This is generally a job that I do, but the wee ones are becoming more and more adept at using the rolling pin. While I finish things off and make them smooth, they're doing a pretty good job of making it flat.

And for this recipe, we had to roll the dough, use the cookie cutter, roll out more dough, use the cookie cutter, and repeat. It only took one rerolling of the dough before the wee ones were finished with it, and I finished rolling and cutting all 80-some shapes.

And to think I'd originally considered doubling the recipe.



The finished product was proclaimed wonderful to eat by the wee ones, and they even convinced my mom and my sister to try them (they liked the biscuits, as well). Fortunately, we were able to save the majority of the treats for the three dogs currently staying at my parents' house.

And yes, the recipe is completely edible for humans. It's basically a peanut butter and oatmeal cookie. I don't like peanut butter (I know, weird, right?), but everyone who tried to cookies enjoyed them. And the dogs? They gobbled them up!

Well, Ya Can't Argue With That Logic

Tonight, as I put Mister Man to bed, I noticed that his plastic shark that sits above his bed was glowing in the dark. I pointed it out to him, and he quickly grabbed it and started to shove it under his covers.

Whatcha doing, Kiddo?

I need it, Mommy. I need to have it. It's my weapon against monsters.

Ummm, ok. There's only one problem with that, Mister Man.

What's the problem, Mommy?

Welllll, there are no monsters. You know they aren't real.

You don't know that for sure though.

Well, yes, actually I do.

How do you know that for sure, for sure?

Probably because mommies tend to know these sorts of things.

But you don't know this!

I think I do, Sweetie.

But Mom! What if God decides that he needs a little more noise in the world and so he decides that it's time to create some monsters?

Oh. Well, ummm. So if God wanted more noise in the world, creating monsters would be his solution?

Maybe. You never know what God is going to do. So I'm going to keep this shark as my weapon just in case.

He's sort of got a point there. I'm just glad he doesn't have to do the old fashioned catechism, as I can see him giving the poor priests fits with his questions and logic.

Gunning For Mom Of The Year

I'm a good mom. Generally. Most of the time. In fact, I have people say nice things about my parenting skills sometimes.

But I have a secret.

Shhh.

Sometimes, Little Miss asks me to read a book, a certain book. A book that involves Thomas the Tank Engine, and I groan. Now, this isn't an ordinary Thomas book - that cheeky engine who loves to be a helper. No, this is a book that comes from the genre invented by someone who has no children.

This is one of those books that has sounds. Every third word, there is a picture, and a corresponding button that Little Miss is supposed to push that makes a "cute" sound.

*sigh*

Since Little Miss doesn't know how to read (yet!), nor has she memorized where the sounds go, she simply starts pushing them as soon as I turn the page. Then she can't hear what words I read. So she makes me repeat it. Except then she starts pressing the buttons again. And my headache begins.

Sometimes I tell her that Mommy has to work and so can't read to her (even when I've finished working for the day). Sometimes Mommy hides the book for a few days to get a respite. Sometimes I decide that naptime needs to be moved up by a half hour, and unfortunately that means the book can't be read right then. Now that Mister Man reads fluently, sometimes I ask him to read it to her -- and then I go hide elsewhere.

It isn't that I don't enjoy reading to her. We read regularly, and we read all sorts of books (except Barney that I banned from the house). We read together, and we tell stories about what we think the books could be about.

But ohhh those books that make sounds.

The good(?) news is that the batteries are starting to run low. I say this because when batteries in a sound activated toy start going, the sound quality deteriorates (further). That oh-so-adorable noise of Thomas's broken whistler now sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. The cheerful peep of James is quite mournful. And the thrumming of Harold the Helicopter sounds ... more like paper ripping. And that might be generous.

I keep praying that the batteries will finally conk out. And I keep hiding that book, but somehow it keeps appearing on the bookshelf.

Do you think she'd notice if it was permanently "lost?"

Goal 1? Accomplished!

Soooo I wrote last Saturday about my goals for the new year. One of the big ones was figuring out what I was going to do about work and just doing it instead of letting the inertia of time carry me along and complaining about it.

I finally made my decision yesterday. I had a plan of exactly what I wanted to do and knew why. In fact, I even wrote the resignation letter, prepared to present it to my boss.

After making my decision, I felt such a sense of peace. I could feel the worry sliding away. There's a book I'm reading where a character's partner describes his attitude towards work as, "I just don't care." It serves him well -- he does his job and does a good job at it, but all the icky things around the job that regularly drive us nuts? He just doesn't care anymore. I wish I could get to that point, but the fact is that I do care. I care way too much, which is why work/life balance is such a challenge for me.

But after making my decision? Calm. And I didn't care about the outcome. I knew I had backup, and I was fine with it. I had nothing to lose.

So today when I had my one on one meeting with my boss, I asked for a leave of absence to spend some time with the wee ones.

Surprisingly, my boss completely understood. When I said it would be at least two months, I could see him blanch a little bit, but he was game. I have an approved leave of absence, and I'm thrilled.

To be honest, I was surprised that it was as easy as it was. In fact, I had a trip to the chiropractor this afternoon because the right side of my neck tensed up so much that I currently (this is after the chiro) can't bend my head forward or to the right. I was expecting it to be more painful, and I detest creating scenes.

I'm not starting the leave immediately, and my boss is grateful that I'm staying to finish up a few critical projects. We still need to figure out the details of it - how do benefits work, what paperwork do we need to fill out, when will I be coming back, and the like.

That is actually going to be the biggest challenge.

My company has moved to a new model of HR where it's all online. Have a question? Search the HR FAQs. FAQs don't answer your question? Open up a case and tell them about it... so they can point you to the FAQs you already read.

But me? I don't care. I have my leave. I have my time, and I haven't made a commitment one way or the other.

For the next two to three months, I'll be able to practice being a stay at home mom, knowing that I have my job waiting in the wings if it doesn't work out. If I'm wrong and need the mental stimulation of the job, it's still there. If I discover that we can't survive only on my husband's salary, I can still regain mine. If I find that the wee ones do better when I'm not around, I can go back.

But right now, I'm not focused on that. I'm thinking about the time I can spend with the wee ones and the energy I can focus on Mister Man for the next couple of months.

Pass the bon-bons, would you?

Smoked Brie Potato Gratin - Tasty Tuesday!

While this isn't the most interesting recipe I've made this week (technically, that one wasn't for humans), I realized that I'd promised on my other blog to post a recipe I tried with my Brie. And I know me. If I don't do it now, I'll forgt!

This was one of those recipes where I fell in love once I ate it, but cooking with Brie wasn't something I would have thought to do on my own (much like the meat puffs I made one night that were a HUGE hit but I can't quite bring myself to post here).

As always, so easy, so yummy... and so staying in the rotation.

Smoked Brie Potato Gratin

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb potatoes (I used baby reds unpeeled, but feel free to use the big Idahoes and peel them)
2 T oil
1 t garlic, chopped
1/4 t nutmeg, grated
8oz Brie
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the oil and garlic, and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add the potatoes and cook for two more minutes.

Pour in the mlk, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat the mixture to a slow simmer and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat, and pour half the mixture into a shallow oven proof dish. Slice the smoked Brie lengthwise about 1/4 inch and layer on top of the potato mixture. Pour the remaining potato mixture over this and place the baking dish in the oven for fifteen minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

Personally, I cooked it a little longer. And I saved some of the cheese to place on the top layer, too. I also used a mandoline to make sure that I had very thin and very even slices of potato, which I think made a difference. This was wonderful, and so much more complex than your "normal" potato au gratin.

Enjoy this and more over at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with Blessed With Grace. And head over to my other blog for an Alouette giveaway (it's small but fun!).

I'm Easily Amused

Ok, I apologize for the lack of pictures. My camera's battery is completely dead at the moment, so you'll have to pretend. My plan is to charge the camera overnight, so fingers crossed you'll get to see pictures tomorrow! ** Pictures have been added.

My husband and I spent the last several days in the Tampa area, as Northwestern was playing in the Outback Bowl. We had a great time there, and man is it cold back in Chicago now. There were several very bizarre things that we saw while there, however, that just made me giggle. And my husband a little bit, too.

My dad was nice enough to drive us to the airport. Of course, this meant that we got to the airport about an hour and a half before we needed to. My dad is a bit of a nervous nelly. It did give my husband and I plenty of time to eat before our 6:30pm flight though.

Having never been to the Macaroni Grill, my husband requested that we eat there. I was fine with that, and we were quickly seated with menus in hand. As I scanned the menu, I noticed a couple of menu items with a chef's hat next to them. I verified at the bottom of the page and saw that the little chef hat means it's a restaurant favorite. I also saw an icon for the more healthy fare. Next step, I checked for all the items with the healthy icon.

Then I checked the next page. And went back to the first set of pages. That's when I started giggling. There were two icons on the menu, but for whatever reason, there were no menu items that correlated with it. Silly, but it made me giggle. And no, I didn't take a picture of this one, although I later regretted it.

The following night, my husband and I went to the hockey game (they were playing the Habs, and the Habs won in overtime - yay!). During the first intermission, we hung out in the mezzanine with our companion who joined us, as he was in search of food. I looked to my left, and I saw someone who was just not ready to buy a new jersey, although he really ought to have. Apparently the man kept growing and growing (out, not up), and he eventually put a slit into the seam of his jersey on the side so that it "fit" once again. I couldn't keep my eyes away after noticing it. Creative way to ensure that your wardrobe expands with you.

And lastly, my husband and I were walking in the area near our hotel when my husband discovered a Penthouse Club. Granted, I know Tampa is somewhat famous for its many and randomly located strip clubs, but I wasn't expecting to walk past one.

My husband first joked that we should stop there for lunch (we were headed for a restaurant at the time) and have a steak. I laughed it off. Until we got closer and realized that there was actually a steak house in the Penthouse Club.

And even better? Said Penthouse Club is immediately next to and sort of attached to an Extended Stay America hotel. I actually think it's a brilliant bit of marketing. You've got your business traveler staying in Tampa for an extended period of time, knowing few people and bored once he finishes his work day. But look! There's entertainment mere steps from his door. It's just too perfect.

Ironically, I didn't take too many other pictures while I was there. We were having too much fun. Except for the pouring down rain during the bowl game. Fortunately, we both had ponchos by the time we made it into the stadium (boo to the stadium for not selling them inside, the stores near our hotel that were sold out, our hotel gift shop that was sold out, and the merchandise stands outside the stadium that weren't selling them).

However, my poor purple Pumas were soaked within the first two minutes of exiting the cab at the stadium. By the time we got back to the hotel, I had a solution. I simply removed my shoes and socks (which were also soaked through), plugged in the hotel hair dryer, and proceeded to dry my socks and shoes. It worked. Slowly, but it worked. Then again, maybe that's a picture I'm glad I didn't take!

I hope you had a great New Year's as well -- and no, I don't need to recap the bowl game, thank you very much.

Add Me To The Bandwagon

It's that time of year, and I've seen so many resolutions that people have offered up in the past week. Generally, I shy away from resolutions knowing that they tend to be quickly broken and so often forced - if you're to believe what you read from the "experts" every year around this time.

Last year, my resolution was simple: to do something just for myself once a day, no matter how small that thing was. It could be reading a chapter in a book or having a piece or chocolate or snoozing the alarm clock - whatever tickled my fancy. I didn't do horribly at this, but I definitely wasn't focused on it after awhile. It was too vague in some ways, although the intention was right.

This year, I've spent a lot of time figuring out that really what matters is being happy, so I'm concentrating not on the nebulous goal of "being happy" but rather on some of the concrete things that I think should help to push me further in that direction on a regular basis. Fortunately, it's not like I'm *un*happy now the majority of the time.

My first resolution is that I need to either fish or cut bait. I've complained previously, both here and to friends, about how I don't enjoy my job anymore for a number of reasons and how I'd love to quit and stay home. Yet I haven't submitted my resignation. It's really hard to walk away from a job in this economy, as I've pointed out before. But no one wants to hear someone complaining about something and not doing anything about it -- including me. This year, I either need to a) fix my job, b) quit and stay home or c) deal with it and say no more on the topic.

Secondly, I want to spend more time doing things and less time thinking about how much work they're going to be. (Ok, so this one is somewhat nebulous. Deal with it.) I'm the queen of making commitments and then procrastinating because I know how much work it's going to be. Then I actually do whatever it is that I've committed to, and it's never so painful as I've made it out to be in my head. I'd rather just be done with things and avoid the stress.

Along those lines, I really need to organize a couple of key things:

The first is the office in my house. It's become the repository of Things That Don't Really Have A Home, and whenever the cleaning ladies come, more items migrate in that direction. I have a folded up Northwestern rug that I received for Christmas three years ago sitting on an old entertainment center. Both need to be removed. I have a volcano science experiment of Mister Man's sitting on the same entertainment center, and I should really just do it one day. The list goes on and on -- I have a plan of what I want to do in that room, but there is probably three or four days of solid work to be done in that room to get everything sorted and organized, and to get that entertainment center cleared off enough that I can get it donated elsewhere to move in some appropriate furniture instead.

I also need to organize the wee ones' baby books. I have notes here and there on many of their firsts, and more are in my head (such as Mister Man's first words of "NO NO NO NONONONONO" when we were in the hospital day three of four at seventeen months for rotovirus). None of this is captured in a baby book, and I want to do this for them as much as for me. Ditto on photo printing and arranging. I have photos starting with a 2001 trip to Seattle that are still sitting in digital format on my computer. You can only imagine how much work I have ahead of me on that one.

The other big thing that I resolve to focus on is not saving things. I tend to be a collector of things rather than a user of them. I've only recently started to figure out why it's so hard for me to "waste" something special - ignoring the fact that some things are only good for a certain amount of time before they're worthless (witness me doing my marathon free coupon day earlier this week for items that all expired on December 31). Again, being able to take pleasure in things - and I'm talking about everything from "fancy" linen replacement napkins that I received as a sample from a vendor in 1998 (literally) to gift cards to restaurants to bath salts. The pleasure I get from them shouldn't be in the receiving of them but in the enjoyment from using them.

It's ironic, but all the things that I am resolving to focus on are items that create stress in my life. Why I allow those areas the power to put stress on me when it's all in my control is beyond me. But I think I really just need to deal with them. All.

So cross your fingers for me as I hold my breath and ask for a leave of absence when I return to the office on Tuesday. Hey, it's a step in the right direction, right?

So what are your resolutions for 2010?