Quality Time...

looks like this...

Helpy Helperton

It's really the least she can do.  After all SHE is the one who is responsible for all of the spaghetti scribbles all over my cupboard doors.
Teach the children well, y'all.

Little Darlin', It's Been a Long, Cold Lonely Winter

It started snowing again on Sunday afternoon.  By the time we woke up on Monday morning, there was about seven inches of that stuff on the ground.  The kids already had the day off school since it was President's Day, and George cleared the driveway and went to work because he is apparently no longer the sensible Southern boy I fell in love with.  The little girl pictured above has a habit of standing at the window and moaning, "EMMA!!  EMMA!!" while watching her older sisters frolic and cavort in the Winter Wonderland that my front yard has become.

So on Monday morning I thought I would make Lili's dreams come true by bundling her up and letting her go out and play with those big girls in the snow.  My favorite weather guy assured us all that the snow was wetter and heavier and perfect for snowman-making, so we were all ready to show off our wintry artistic skills.

On went Lili's undershirt, trousers, sweatshirt, snow pants, double socks, boots, mittens and hat.  At this point I was exhausted and ready to call it a day, but we had winter work to do, so out the front door we all tromped.  Lili marched her little self all the way down to end of the driveway, had a look around and then marched straight back again.

Then she sat down in the snow and sobbed.  She had had enough, so in we went.  Off came the hat, the mittens, the coat, the boots, the snow pants, and the sweat shirt, and she resumed her usual spot at the window calling out, "EMMA!!"

Those other two girls stayed out there and tried to fashion a snowman out of the dry, powdery snow in our yard.  After about forty five minutes they had achieved what looked like a large snowy anthill.  Cold and frustrated they came in and had some hot chocolate and suggested that it might be a better day to watch a movie and do indoor crafts.  In other words, Winter, the romance seems to left this relationship.  I think we need a break.  Winter, I think it's time we see other people... er, seasons.  Unfortunately my Michigan friends assure me that we still have another good month of winter up here.  Ho hum.

I suppose if it's going to be winter a bit longer, I can enjoy another month of hot soups and chilies and other comfort foods.  I have been trying to redeem myself since I apparently made the "bitter" Irish oatmeal that Sophia wrote about in her school journal, and, by golly, I think I may have done it on Monday morning.  I made baked steel cut oats which I had pre-prepared and allowed to "marinate" in the fridge overnight.  Interested?

Baked Steel Cut Oats with Dried Fruit, Coconut and Spices*

• 1 TBS butter
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup mixed dried fruit (We used a berries and cherries mixture.)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt

 1. Lightly grease the baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.  Melt the 1 TBS butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the oats.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until the oats start smelling toasty. Add the water and milk and bring to a light simmer.  Remove from the heat.

2. Stir in the brown sugar, dried fruit, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Pour into a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.  If time allows, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

3.  When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F.  Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.  Bake for 35 minutes (or 25 minutes if the oatmeal was refrigerated overnight) until the oats have absorbed the liquid and are creamy.  (The oats will look soupy at first, but they will thicken after they have cooled for a few minutes.

This recipe made more than the four of us could eat in one morning, so we refrigerated the leftovers and had baked oatmeal for breakfast again this morning.  It was just as good today.

* This recipe came from one of my new favorite cookbooks Not Your Mother's Casseroles by Faith Durand.

Stay Warm Out There, Kids!

Fair and Balanced Parenting

We are too busy, and there is not enough time to spend with the beautiful little people in my life.  This week we are adding swimming to the agenda which means we now have something extracurricular going on every night of the week (except Friday because that would be completely insane).  I swore it would never be like this, but here we are with double gymnastics, swimming and church youth activities.  There is not enough down time.

Even when we are home it feels nearly impossible to spend individual quality time with each girl. There are always plenty of house chores and laundry to be done.  There is also the matter of fact that we have an impish toddler running around who requires constant supervision and who doesn't cooperate when the big girls set up an intricate board game on the floor.  (Even now as I type, there is the risk that she could, at any moment, scurry over here and press the power button on my computer.)  Yesterday, after she had helped with a dozen chores and been a complete angel, Sophie came in to find me rocking a grumpy, sleep-fighting Lili.  She held up a hand drawn sign printed on green construction paper which said, "Can you please play with me Mom??"

How I wanted to just drop everything and scoop that snaggle-toothed little girl up into my arms, but I knew if I plopped Lili into her crib at that moment, she'd scream for an hour and be a complete bear for the rest of the evening.  Junk.  Twenty minutes later I had to take Emma to her gymnastics class, figure out what was for dinner and  pull all of the "pinks and reds" out of the dryer.

This is my new Mommy-Challenge.  As the days race past me like Trevor Bayne at the Daytona 500, I struggle to find time to spend with each of my girls individually. They are constantly growing and changing, and right now, they want me.  It will not always be the case that they so desperately want to spend time with their mama, so I need to take advantage of this window.  I need to figure out some way to spend quality time with all three of them independently.  This is no easy task, and I am open to any advice or suggestions you other yummy mummies out there might have.

Right now I am feeling that my Sophie is especially in need of some Mommy-time, so I am planning to take her out to breakfast sometime this weekend, just the two of us.  She will order the "little farmer's breakfast," and we will draw and color and chat and maybe even play a card game.  Quality time for Emma comes almost nightly when we curl up with a good book.  (Currently it's The Witches by Roald Dahl.)  Emma also likes to chat and talk and discuss.  If given the chance, Emma also appreciates opportunities to communicate, converse and verbalize.  No big whoop.  Don't get verklempt.  Of course Lili and I already get plenty of quality time making our favorite animal sounds, exchanging kisses, playing "I'm Gonna Get You", sharing snacks and reading her current favorite book Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball, an incredibly charming story about the daily adventures of an adorable wombat, highly recommended for the one year old in your life.  So there you go.

I continue to search for that loophole in the space-time-continuum which will allow me to have a few more hours in the day.  Until then I will just have to be a bit more proactive in seeking out little bits of time to spend with the little people who matter who matter most to me.  (That crazy snaggle-toothed face won't hang around forever, you know.  In a year she will be a completely different girl.  Breakfast date, here we come!  That's a mighty fine place to start.)

Hat Pants

That's right.  Free your mind.  A sassy pair of pants needn't solely adorn your bum and legs.

Ta dah!  The right pair of pants can say the world, "Hey!  I'm a girl who walks to the beat of her own drummer (wearing nothing but a pair of striped pants on my head)."

Bid those "Bad Hair Days" a fond farewell.  Who needs 'em.  Ha ha ha!

As William Shakespeare said, "This above all: to thine own self be true."  This morning my own self told me to wear my pants on my head, and I listened.

Have a great day!

Love, 

Lili

Just a Little Valentine's Day Reminder From Back in 2008

Happy Valentine's Day, Y'all!!
Love is Something

Meredith  | Myspace Video

Let's Make a Memory, Y'all.

Last weekend Sophia informed me, "I cannot wait to make Valentine's cookies with you!"
I was all, "Say what?  Valentine's Cookies?"   And then I searched my memory for a time in the past when we had made Valentine's cookies and came up with nothing, but she insisted that cookies were called for.  And apparently I didn't take much convincing.  I dug up my best sugar cookie recipe, and we all got down to business last night.

EVERY girl wanted to be involved.

It turned out that this was a pretty excellent way to spend a Friday evening.

And we all "felt the love" before it was all said and done.

Now about that recipe...

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

(Courtesy of the Family Fun Cookbook guaranteed to 'unleash the creative cookie monster in anyone.')

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well, then mix in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Add the flour mixture, one third at a time, until thoroughly combined.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and flatten each into a disc.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or as long as your patience will allow, making sure the dough is cold enough to work with.  (We never manage to wait a whole two hours!)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out the cookies by hand or with cutters.  Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges.

Cool completely before adding frosting.  Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one month before frosting and decorating and for up to three days at room temperature.  (They never last three days at my house .)

Most importantly, enjoy!!  

Life is too short to not make the Valentine's cookies!
(Example of "Creative Cookie Monster" below)

It Has Taken Me a Week to Write About This

Last Friday Lili and I took my husband to the medical center to have a "little procedure."  This procedure will ensure that Lili is the last Carson girly to spring from our loins.  I've done my mourning, but honestly after the post-birth experience I had with Lili, I knew I was finished.  George states, for all of you trembling, scalpel-fearing dudes out there, that it would be "nuts" (pun possibly intended) for me to have a surgical tubal ligation.  The procedure for a man is much simpler and carries almost no risks, while tubal ligation carries a very slim chance of significant health issues.  It should be a no-brainer, and for the record, my body has been through enough with carrying, giving birth to, and feeding these wonderful children.

That being said, since it was such a simple procedure, Lili and I actually sat in the room with George while the extremely jovial Doctor Pheninger did his thing.  Dr. P apparently really enjoys his job.  He told us this many times.  He also related a series of cheeky anecdotes while he clipped and snipped.  I did not want to watch and kept my attention focused on the top half of my husband.  I was seriously hoping, however, that Dr. P was watching as he jabbered on about how exciting he finds seminiferous tubules to be.  At one point I felt a wave of  panic as I saw smoke billowing out of George's nether regions.  (I later found out that this was normal since there was some sort of cauterizing involved in the process.  Can we just not talk about it?)

All in all, the entire event took about ten or fifteen minutes, and George says he felt only a minor amount of discomfort.  Done and dusted.  On the way home, the Valium that he took beforehand started to kick in, and George insisted that I stop by Burger King to feed his munchies.  George was given the instructions by his doctor to go home and immediately lie down with his feed up and apply ice to the "area."  I have learned that George becomes light-heartedly defiant while under the influence of controlled substances.  Upon returning home he decided that dancing in the kitchen seemed much more appealing than following doctor's orders.  "Come here and dance with me, " he purred as he knocked his hips from side to side and  made bicycling movements with his clenched fists, "We don't dance enough!"

It took some effort to get him to abandon his dance party of one and lie down.  I prepared a gallon-sized Ziploc bag full of ice for him and helped stuff it down his pants.  "That's a LOT of ice," he hiccuped, "You flatter me."  Funny guy.  I decided the the best way to get him to rest was to leave him without an audience.  Ten minutes later he was asleep, and he pretty much slept for the rest of the weekend.  I am not sure what was in that tablet he took, but George had no trouble, after his initial rebellion, taking it easy for the rest of the weekend.

So that's it.  All done.  In a few months we'll be carefree kids.  Totally carefree.  That's the way it works.

Happy weekend to all.

Third Babies...

Life is busy with three kids.  I've said it before, but it still astounds me.  When you are a third (or fourth or fifth, I'm told) baby, you just have to learn to go with the flow.  You want to do everything the big kids do...even if you're exhausted.  Sometimes it all just catches up with you...

Thank God for babies, for their energy and enthusiasm, for their innocence and their spirited zeal.  And THANK GOD for nap time... whenever, wherever, and however it comes!

Snowpalooza/ Groundhog Day

Just the other day I was complaining about how busy we are, how we don't have enough time to just hang out and play with our kids.  Life is full of all sorts of running around and organized activities, and I was becoming downright fed up with it all.  But today we had a "Get Out of Jail Free" day.  Today was a SNOW DAY!!!  Our local news dubbed the storm, which dropped about a foot of snow on us, "Snowpalooza."  Bless 'em, those weather guys were so doggone excited.  We were pretty excited at our house too since a snow day means... a little extra rest, lots of good, take-your-time and sing-while-you do-it cooking (Today's fab meal was real Italian spaghetti Bolognese with plenty of red wine and garlic.), crafty fun for the kiddies, and playing in the snow.

It also happened to be Groundhog Day.  I know that Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania didn't see his shadow and predicted an early spring, but we here in Michigan aren't holding our breath.  Emma, Sophia and I had the most fun making our own Michigan Groundhog cupcakes...

We sat at the kitchen table for at least an hour and just cupcaked.  (That's a new verb, y'all.)  It was so pleasant, and we all realized how much we have been missing family down time.  Even Sophia sighed and said, "I love this.  I wish we had more time with our family."

Sophie's little guy, "Michigan Mitch"

Hey Sweetheart, want to do this again tomorrow?

We do love our snow days.  I have never really been a snow hater, and if it takes 12 inches of it to give me a perfect day off at home with my family, I say, "Bring it on!!"  Sophie discovered that she could stand in the snow, which was above her knees, and free fall backward landing softly in her waterproof snow gear.  Then she spent the next hour doing just that over and over again.

Emma did a little snow swimming...

And now it looks like we get to do it all over again as school as been called off for tomorrow as well!!  Perhaps we will choose some different activities that Lili can be more involved with.  She was DESPERATE to help out with those cupcakes.

"Please get in my belly, you little chocolate rodent!"

HAPPY HAPPY SNOWPALOOZA/ BLIZZASTER/ GROUNDHOG PROPHESYING DAY 2011!!

"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood. " ~Andy Goldsworthy