Reindeer Tea Party

The Reindeer were thirsty, so Kelly made them a tea party.  Look at that face - what a little nut.

More Illness

The girls have strep.  All this illness is killing me.  Seriously.  It's amazing that I still have a job.  Or, sanity for that matter.  It's also amazing that my kids haven't been consumed by the TV.  I don't even pretend that we're "limiting tv" on days like today.  Have at it, kiddos.  Now I'm annoyed that they can't operate the remote.  I'm quickly reversing on that choice and Shelagh is in universal remote training mode.  If only we hadn't put the DVD player 6 feet high.  We may have to reverse that choice as well.

They are watching an old hand-me-down DVD of Heathcliff.  Or "heat-clip" as Kelly calls it.

Juice, medicine, TV.  Juice, medicine, TV.  Juice, medicine, TV.

Fish Fridays

Fish on Fridays for Lent... This past week I made sauteed Alaskan Cod (frozen from Trader Joes - a little tough but ok) with a pineapple-mango salsa on top; blue potatoes, baby zucchini, and roasted mushrooms.  It looks better than it tasted but it was pretty good.  The mushrooms were going bad so I threw them on the tray with the potatoes which I roasted with just olive oil and salt.  The zucchini were so cute, but of course I overcooked them.  I just sauteed them in a pan, but I let them go a bit too long.  The salsa was the best part - chopped pineapple, mango, yellow pepper, red onion, avocado, salt, and a squirt of lemon juice.  Very yummy, but now I have tons left and no idea what to do with it.  I may eat it with the leftover chicken from Sunday.  The kids were iffy on it.  Shelagh didn't like the pepper and Rory didn't like the avocado or onion.  Pains in my ass. 

Art

Shelagh and Rory woke up Saturday morning (while I slept over a delayed wine-tasting party hangover) and decided to be wonderful to each other all day.  Joe said they just sat down and started coloring, handing each other crayons, making suggestions, and just being nice.  It's been awhile.  They came up with some beautiful stuff!

Shelagh's interpretation of the kids in this family as you can tell by the 2 big red heads and the little brunette.  The straws represent the sunset and the grass.  I love that she always makes her hair and Rory's red.  She used to be kind of embarassed about her hair, but she seems to have fully embraced it now.

I don't know if anyone but Mollo will fully appreciate the genius of this drawing by a 5-year old Star Wars fanatic.  The big guy in the middle is a spider droid.  The other guys around it are some Jedi's and some clone troopers - all lovingly labelled by Rory himself.  This kid just LOVES Star Wars and has now gotten all his little friends at school into it too.  Further, most of them, their parents tell me, have not even seen any of the movies yet, but can describe much of them due to Rory's detailed descriptions to them.  That's my boy.

Beer-Baked White Beans

I made these Beer-Baked White Beans today from this month's Everyday Food.  They are really wonderful and will be my lunch for the week probably, as they are made with bacon and Joe gave up bacon for Lent.   The recipe isn't posted online yet.

I made a few slight changes.  I used Great Northern beans, not cannellini, and let them soak for 2 nights rather than 1.  This was not on purpose.  As usual, I soaked the beans and then didn't make time to make the dish that next day.  I used dried rosemary instead of fresh.  I used 1 bottle of Harpoon UFO and 1 bottle of Ipswitch Winter Ale for the beer since that's what I had.  Finally, I omitted the cider vinegar at the end as I'm not crazy about the twang that it sometimes gives a dish.  I had a grilled portobello sandwich yesterday and they put vinegar on it and it almost ruined it for me.  Anyway, this bean dish is just fantastic.

Update: There are digestive ramifications to this meal.  Be forewarned.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Before

After

I found this recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins while cruising around The Pioneer Woman's website/blogs.  In Tasty Kitchen, Ree posts other peoples recipes.  Shelagh had a friend over yesterday afternoon so Rory and I decided to bake!  They were delicious!  I think it's the sour cream and very wet batter.  Lots of spoon licking went on.  I will note that the recipe turned out 12 regular sized muffins and 12 mini-muffins...the comments online with the recipe indicated that the yield was definitely higher than stated.  The mini's baked for the same amount of time as the regular sized  muffins and I did bake them for 20 minutes instead of 15-18.

Mary Poppins

Yesterday we went to see Mary Poppins at the Boston Opera House with my mother in law and the big kids. Poor Kelly stayed home with a sitter (although she was perfectly happy to see us off when we left) - good thing b/c she never would have made it through the 3 hours. The show was good - a bit of slow 1st act (Rory was a total pain in the ass despite the 3000 snacks overfilling my bag) followed by a higher energy 2nd act. You don't see tap dancing a lot anymore, but that's what they did for the chimney sweep number. Rory was dancing in place and clapping along at that part. Shelagh was mesmerized the whole time and thrilled to get a little MP umbrella toy on the way out. We had a yummy meal at the Cheesecake Factory in Boston afterwards and then paid the babysitter a fortune for having Kelly for 7+ hours. Pricey day, but worth it.

2 Irish Guys & a Smiling Girl

Missing Kelly!

Rory and his true love - Ketchup

The girls snuggling at dinner

Kids & their Mimi

Operation Don't Embarass Yourself in a Bathing Suit

A few weeks ago I went into the Gap to buy a pair of jeans. I undressed in the dressing room, horrifield myself looking in the mirror, re-dressed, and abandoned ship. I ran out of there faster than ever. How can I buy anything new until this muffin top is dealt with???? Terrible moment. I have 2-3 months to pull my shit together before summer time/pool time. Plus, I really need some new clothes and just can't pull the trigger until I'm buying the size I want to be. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do but it needs to be drastic I think. I don't have the stomach to starve myself or workout obsessively. Oh well...a nice stomach bug might help!!

Seriously, though, in the last week I have stopped eating chocolate and ice cream, except for the few bites of cheesecake the other night. No more chocolate stash at work (this is huge - it's where I usually binge). Slight reduction in bread products and butter. Incorporated more chicken/fish in meal planning. Hmmm...okay that's it. Obviously I need to do much more such as reducing pasta, adding in a weekend workout day, making sure my workouts actually make me sweat. Why can't I just lose the extra lb's unknowlingly without any work like after Kelly was born???? If only I could nurse someone and let my body do all the work without me knowing. Damn!

Duet

Kelly and I had a moment while Joe was skiing with the big kids a few weeks ago.

Rock Band

Shelagh loves the idea of starting a Rock Band. Here's her attempt to make a Family Band.

Happy St Pats Day!

The leprechaun caused trouble in the house this morning with green toilet water and lots of upside down chairs. Kids got green pancakes and milk this morning - Kelly didn't get spooked this time and ate them happily - 4 actually.

What a great way to start the day...Sun shining, birds chirping, temp expected to hit 60 today and 70 tomorrow, Kelly let me put the cutest little clip in her hair, AND we can wear jeans to work today - hooray!

Shelagh's Experiment

Shelagh came home with these from after-school and told me she was working on experiments. Jar 1, on the left, is filled with wet paper towels. Jars 2 and 3 are filled with soap and water which Shelagh has decided make her skin soft and smooth like lotion. I had to leave these on the counter for 3-4 days before she had forgotten enough about them for me to throw out. On one side there is curiosity, interest in Science, and all that. The other side is hoarding and grossness. Really? A bottle of wet paper towels? She also brings home boxes and scraps out of her classroom recycling bucket. How do I argue with Reuse/Recycle?????

Kellys New Bob

I probably wouldn't have even thought to do it had the hair dresser not suggested it, but how cute does Kelly look with a bob????

Kelly Singing

For anyone that might want a Kelly fix. This kid LOVES to sing and dance. Was hoping to hold off on dance lessons until she's 3-4 but I don't know if she'll make it! We had a fun night at the town Gymnastics center and she did not stop for a second. She ran all over, jumped in the pit, ran across the long trampoline, rolled down the mats and on and on and on. She was a force to be reckoned with in there!

Lounging

Recovered but home for 1 more day...

I'm Interested in Loving You

Is he just the cutest?

Indian Chicken

I was thinking about this really fantastic yogurt chicken I had at a birthday party/BBQ this summer and decided to try a yogurt marinated, spiced Indian-style chicken. I adapted a recipe from Rosanne Gold's Radically Simple cookbook that I had copied while at my Mom's house this winter called Blistered Chicken, Tandoori-Style. It calls for Turmeric, Cumin, Garam Masala, Cardamom, Paprika, and Cayenne. I left the cayenne out, but look how pretty the spice mixture came out? It gets mixed with the yogurt/grated onion and sits marinating the chicken for 18-24 hours. Finally it gets baked on high heat in the oven. The kids LOVED it...we called it yellow chicken. I was prepared to remove the top/sauced layer of chicken for them - or at least for Rory - but they all ate it. It was great to make on a work night too since it was pre-marinating and ready to just pop into the oven. We had it with cous cous and green beans. It's not online so grab it from the library!

Day 4 of Puke-Fest

Is it bad that I'm

• stir crazy and bored out of my mind
• annoyed with my kids for saying "my stomach hurts/my bum hurts" a million times in a row for 4 days in a row
• tired of wiping diarrhea butt and smelling puke whereever I go
• wishing I had taught the kids how to use the clicker
• desperate for a nap
• looking forward to my double-babysitter weekend (fingers crossed that I actually get a babysitter for Friday at this point), even though I don't usually like to do that - we happen to have an event on Friday and a big friend gathering on Saturday so it can't be helped.

And so are the Days of Our Lives...

By the way, I did have a lot of sympathy for all the kids...I'm not totally heartless. After 4 days on the couch, not sleeping, and dealing with body fluids I'm just a little frazzled :)

UPDATE: Not 2 minutes after hitting save on this post did Kelly projectile vomit, Exorcism-style all over the place including me. Karma. Now I've added bath, floor mopping, and laundry to my list for the day. Serves me right.

Puke-Fest

My house is a puke and poop fest. Both Shelagh and Kelly got the stomach bug this weekend - high fever, stomach pain, throw up and diarrhea. I'm drowning in body fluids. Was tempted to send them both in today, but decided I'd do the right thing and keep them home one more day "just in case". Good thing b/c Kelly is flying through diapers and Shelagh was doubled over all afternoon - even refusing to paint after I set it all up for her. Oh well. I didn't want to work today anyway. I much prefer watching Charlie Sheen go completely bonkers.

Curious Creatures Bday Party

Both kids loved it. I , on the other hand, am anticipating nightmares!


Kelly & I with Chomp, the alligator (note the rubber bands around his killer teeth) and Rory holding the Chinchilla.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crawling out of Winter

You never realize how much of that Seasonal Affective Disorder you have until you get a glimpse of Spring. Then, the joy and exhiliaration you get from not wearing full winter accessories and the heaviest coat you can find just to warm up your car 10 minutes before you leave the house really shines through.

First, the groundhog doesn't see his shadow. Way to go, Phil! Then, we get a random 60 degree day. Glory! Now, we have a fresh layer of snow and it's supposed to be 21 degrees for a high today in the Boston area - it's 9 degrees and bitter windy now. Crushed.

I need Spring. So much so that I bought the kids their flip flops and sunglasses for summer. Begging Spring to show a sign...3 months until the pool opens. LBs need to be lost ASAP.

Computer Back up to Snuff!

FINALLY, our computer is fixed and in tip-top shape. New internal hard drive, Operating System restored, 2007 Office disc from original purchase found and reloaded, all software reloaded, Camera & iFlip synched and up to date, all files saved from damaged hard drive and restored to laptop including pictures, videos, address book, and music files, and Carbonite purchased and fully implemented (online backup). It's back up and better than ever. I should have known the failure was coming as the laptop had slowed to a crawl and was exhibiting signs of fatigue. I got warning after warning from Dell that the warranty was about to expire. Of course it failed 10 days later. Typical.

I bought the hard drive and gave it to a friend at work who replaced it for me. I tried, thanks to a friends equipment, to read the files off of the damaged drive, but couldn't so Geek Squad handled that part quickly and without fuss for $99.

Hard Drive - $79
Gift Card for friend who replaced it - $75
Geek Squad to restore files - $99
3 years of Carbonite online backup - $129
Peace of Mind and pride at not saying "Fuck it" and just buying a new one - Priceless