Paper Cup Poet

resolution check up

These were my resolutions/goals last year...let's check it out.

Eat more greens/grains/fish.         Yep, more greens and grains, but fish no.  I do sushi.

Walk more.                                  Yes, I do walk more. 

Finish decorating/organizing the house.   Well, it's not finished, but its greatly improved.

Read.  (Moms of young children chuckle to yourself)   I did read 3 books and many blogs.

Get a job. (Another job in addition to my Mommy job)  Well, I have been writing a lot more, so yes!

Do yoga.               Sort of.  I do some poses at night and here and there, but no official class.

Take a trip somewhere new.  Yes, kind of.  We went to Tomales Bay for the first time. 

Spend one on one time with my kids.         Sadly, no.  This is a hard one. 

So I did better than I thought.  I am a big, big goal setter and I usually strive too hard, so I am happy.

I checked on my sub-category of culinary goals and there I have failed miserably.  I did make risotto. 

handmade holiday

  A tradition I started on April's first Christmas was making a homemade ornament of the kids.  Last year I did paper doll bodies with pictures for the faces decorated with cardstock clothes.  This year, time was short so I traced their hands on cardstock and let April decorate them.  We also did some of the grownups hands, then punched a hole added ribon and called it an ornament.  April got really into the fingernails and wrote her name on hers. 

I like this tradition but am thinking I would like a few more to incorporate next year to make a little more magic for the kids.  Any suggestions?

Now that my oven is back I am rolling over my month of baking to January.  Hurrah.  Beginning with homemade pumpkin donuts and then hopefully moving on to pastel macarons (this is how the French spell them).  It's all good.

holiday salad

  This salad made by my aunt was the highlight of Christmas dinner for me.  It's greens, mandarin segments, red onion, avocado, almonds and pomegranate seeds.  Totally fresh and refreshing.  With all the heavy food, salad really brightened things up...am adding this to my repetoire.

"more moozie please"

Fun Fact for January:  My tip was published in Parents Magazine!!  I got a check for $25.00 and they published April's picture...check it out, its way in the back on p. 121 called It Worked For Me. 

kids jumping

    almost time to jump into a new year.  This bouncy from Target was the best $20.00 rainy day toy I ever bought.  These three are fearless.

Time to renew my last year's resolutions and see where I'm at.  Also time to do some cleaning/clearing and organizing.  Also need a new calendar and dayplanner. 

Good news:  my oven is back in action.  My husband is a saint.

merry and bright

  Here's my neice and my daughter with their new/old jewelry.  They loved it.  Tomorrow we are off to Santa Cruz for one more Christmas celebration and probably more presents for smalls.

Wishing you a very merry, bright and calm Christmas...

snow day

  well, we made it to Truckee today a favorite place of mine and Marc's.  The kids did okay, but this being the bumpiest of months so far, they had a few meltdowns.  April did not love getting cold and having snow in her boots and the car trip took way too long each way.  Ryan was a trooper, sledding, getting cold and wet and having a blast.  He loves any form of water, even snow.  He will probably be an excellent skiier, snowboarder or the like. 

  I think Marc and I will both be glad when this month is over.  Between the oven and a bunch of other meltdown disasters we are ready for a clean slate and New Year!  Snow is beautiful and Truckee had lovely warmish, blue weather, so we were refreshed by that. 

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

snowflakes

  Last week we had our Christmas with Marc's family.  One of the crafts was making snowflakes out of white coffee filters.  Fold in half, fold in half, fold in half and then add small cuts.  Later Marc dropped them on the kids from the upstairs landing and let them "snow" down.  I am hoping this weekend we can go to real snow - it's very close now thanks to this artic blast thing.

I love where I live because of the full 4 seasons.  I grew up on the beach with a very mild year round climate, but the more I live with the seasons the more I have come to love them.  Hot, hot summer and you eat berries, popsicles and play in the plastic pool.  Autumn, leafy and golden and you begin to head indoors.  Then winter, icy and dark and cozy and sleepy.  We cook, have fires, stay indoors, wear mittens and hats, scrape ice off the cars, watch movies and light up the house with twinkle lights. 

Winter wish list:  play in snow, make salted caramel sauce, shop for a new handbag, think about January and a clean slate, read, go to a movie in a theatre and eat Indian at least once.

uh-oh

  yep, this here is my oven.  It's a funny story.  Not funny-laugh-ha, but funny-maybe someday I will yak it up about this.  Maybe not.

This is what happens after a fun day of "baking" play-doh on those flexible plastic cutting mats from Ikea and then doing clean up, but forgetting to remove the plastic mats and play-doh.  Later in the evening when kids are asleep you decide to get cracking on the long awaited baking. 

You crank the oven up to 375 and start cutting out shapes.  You get distracted after slamming the rolling pin on your finger (you are tired) and leave the room.  All of a sudden a putrid smell wafts into the room you are in and you are filled with dread.  THE PLAY DOH!! 

You shout curse words, long forgotten and at such a loud decible that your toddler comes out of her room and says, "mommy?"  Then your husband informs you that you have probably just poisoned your family with the toxic fumes now permeating the house.  He instructs all windows must be opened and yes, he knows its 24 degrees outside. 

The next day after the house is again aired out and brought down to a freezing temperature, your husband then informs you that parts of your oven will have to replaced, due to hardened plastic and your oven will be out of commission for weeks. 

Now your baby, who has been donning a hat and mittens inside the house, says "uh-oh" every time he passes the oven.

Forget Calgon, just pass me the bourbon.

bugs, viruses and a shampoo

  sorry I have been missing.  My computer got a virus (one that hijacked my google) and my techy hubby had to finally re-install my whole system.  Then Ryan got a virus and so did I (flu bugger) and then family came in for an early Christmas and we have been doing a marathon ever since.  CALGON TAKE ME AWAY....

As usual I had so many aggressive and hopeful baking goals for the week, and actually secretly wanted The Twelve Days of Baking.  Alas, life is so cheeky and whimsical that I have not baked once in the month I had devoted solely to baking (in my mind).  

December has not been a smooth month so far.  We have one more Christmas celebration to go so there is still a glimmer of hope. 

       All of these photos were taken by 3 year old, who clearly has talent.  It's so great to see what she chooses to shoot.  Her Grandma loaned her the camera and she is smitten.  Good girl!  I am going to make her a little photo album of her best shots once everything calms down. 

Funniest thing ever:  Today I took April to get her haircut in a salon for the first time (instead of me or Grandma chopping away in the bathtub).  They put a huge black smock on her which I carried like a brides train as she walked to the shampoo station and back and then they set her on a really big booster.  At first she seemed stoic and I wasn't sure she was enjoying it.  After we paid and walked out, she said to me, "I want to have my hair done every day, mommy." 

I know how she feels.

when a toddler makes pie

April wanted to make her Grandma an apple pie last week, so I busted out the store bought pie crust and tossed some apples with sugar and cinnamon.  I let her compose this mess which didn't taste terrible, but looked less than pretty.  I guess I should clean my oven as all the smoke alarms went off in the house as this tower baked.

this guys loves pie.  He is not the most helpful baker or sous chef as of yet, but he did try eggnog and now spends the evening saying "more nog, more nog."  I am a big nog fan too, only I like mine not in a sippy cup and with a generous shot of bourbon.  More nog, more nog.