First Day on the Mountain

Lessons with Dada.

Santa Delivery

We're doing Christmas away from home, but Santa dropped off gifts in NYC, and left a letter for the boys in Oklahoma next to the plate of cookies they left, explaining he'd looked for us in New York, but was thankful to find us.  He left a few small goodies under the tree in Oklahoma as well.

Freddie got his bike, as requested.  Thankfully Charlie managed to get everything put together the night before we left, and under the tree as I brought the boys down to wait for the cab to the airport at 6.00 am.  I really don't recommend waiting until the night before to assemble gifts.  I am sure you can imagine the exchange between Charlie and I when he was scrambling to find the right tools to get everything assembled while there was packing still to be done before an early morning flight.  But in this tiny abode we don't have much choice.

Freddie's anxious to get home to his bike, but he's had plenty to keep him busy this past week. 

**Hoping to get some posts up this week.  I don't like being behind, but traveling and illness have thrown a wrench into things

Peppermint Bark

This is yummy and very easy.  It makes a nice addition to a try of cookies during the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds white chocolate chips
• 1 cup crushed peppermints (8-12 candy canes)
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (or oil)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate.  This is easily done bu placing chocolate in the microwave.  Try 30 sencond intervals and stir in between.  Continue until smooth.
2. Meanwhile crush the candy canes.  I placed them in a ziploc and gave Freddie a large, heavy spoon to hit it them with.
3. Stir in half the crushed peppermint and the oil.
4. Pour the melted chocolate and peppermint mixture on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil or wax paper.  Smooth to evenly distribute.  It does not have to reach the edges or fill the pan.  You're just going to break it up anyway.
5. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes on top and gently press down to make sure it is stuck int he chocolate.
6. Place in the refrigerator for an hour or until firm.  
7. Remove and break into pieces. 

Variation:

• Use half dark chocolate chips.  Follow the above instructions (1-4) with the dark chocolate, and then again for the white chocolate, adding a second layer.

Duet

Cousins

Muffuletta Pasta

My friend, Ellen, has lots of yummy recipes.  I got this one from her.  Perfect for Charlie who loves SALT!  It's is yum, and I recommend it!  If you are ever in New Orleans, I also recommend you try a muffuletta sandwich one day as well.
 

 ,
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. bag of penne pasta
• ¼ lb.  Genoa salami, sliced thick and cut into strips
• ¼ lb. mortadella, sliced thick and cut into strips
• 2 C. of olive salad mix
• 1 can of black olives, sliced
• 1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ C. grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ C. grated Romano cheese
• ¼ lb. sliced provolone cheese

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Boil the pasta in salted water for 12 – 15 minutes
3. Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water
4. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and all the other ingredients, except the sliced provolone cheese
5. Pour into baking dish and place the sliced provolone on top
6. Bake for 30 minutes

 Tips and Tricks:

• Ellen says to ask the person at the deli counter to slice the salami and the mortadella on #2.  
• For those of you in NOLA, she uses the Rouses brand olive salad mix and says Boscoli is also a good brand to use as well, but I used what I could find at Costco.  

18 Months (And 1 day)

Appearance:

• Taller, leaner
• 26lbs
• Wearing size 18-24 months
• Still pigeon toed, but maybe they're straightening out
• Flat footed, I believe
• Lots of curls on the back
• Little wisps of hair behind your ears 
• I think your 2year molars are trying to come through

No one will sit still!

Saying Shhhhh, because you've put your fireman to bed

Motor:

• Jumping, sort of
• Climbing onto chairs and stools and able to get into position
• Getting better with utensil use, although you still prefer to use your hands
• Proficient at drinking from a cup, but you still like to place little bits of your supper in there
• You can build tall block towers
• You enjoy tossing a ball overhand, and kicking it along as well 
• You love to tote around lots of stuff.  When your hands are full you'll stick something in your mouth to free up a hand so you can grab something else.
• You're working on getting undressed by yourself, especially your jammies in your crib.

You love loading up the plane and flying it around the house

Personality:

• I still find you to be fairly serious, although you are very smiley lately with just about everyone.
• We are going to lots of group activities and I think it has benefited you to mix and mingle with groups of children and adults.  You usually separate from me with 15 minutes of being at a party or class.  It helps a lot if you can join Freddie and his crew.
• You love to cuddle with your brother.
• Lots of giggles and laughing lately.
• You're a mama's boy lately, not wanting to leave me to go off with Dada and Freddie.  I know this will change soon enough. 

Vocabulary:

• I have officially lost track of your new words, but they are coming fast and furious.
• Most notable change is your putting words together:  want dada, more treat, bite blueberry, puppy walk
• You are also picking up phrases:  help me, throw away, get out, Hi Reggie (our doorman)
• Some words I can think of that we've heard a lot of lately:  brush (teeth!),  trash, mail, wall, bath, on, out, off, umbrella, blueberry, crash, vroom vroom (what your calls are called), truck, lunch, tent, bobo (pointing to a spot and waiting for a bandaid), belt, stuck
• When you see words in print you point your finger and say "O O O O E E E E O O E E" as though you are telling me all the letters are Os and Es
• You read stories to your animals and babies

 

Sleep:

• 11-12 hours at night
• 2-3 hour nap
• You'll get to sleep in your big boy bed in a few weeks!  You like to climb into Freddie's bed at bedtime and put your head down and say "night night."  I think you're ready for the switch, although I am certain there will be some mischief in there with Freddie once I shut the door.

Likes:

• Dancing!  Lots of dancing in our house lately.
• Tackling Freddie.
• Playing with blocks.  You'll build a creation and then usually tell me what it is..."vroom" or "choo choo"
• Trains
• Trucks 
• Pretending to cook in the kitchen
• Washing your hands
• Presents!  You really get the whole gift unwrapping thing.

Showing me the choochoo you made

Dislikes:

• Sharing, but you are getting better unless of course it involves your brother
•  Eggs

Potty Training:

• Plan goes into effect mid January! 

Little Plaster Hands

I hosted this "craft" for Hans' playgroup in our building's lounge.  Mamas like them some little hands keepsakes.

Freddie

Hans

Here's a step by step guide.  Pictures aren't fabulous but you get the idea.

About an inch of salt dough pressed into a disposable "gladware" container

Find a container that will accomdate your child's hand, and fill with about an inch of playdough/clay.  I used salt dough.

It's ok if they curl their fingers in there a bit.  Just make sure the impression is relatively deep.

Smooth the playdough and press the hand in, making sure each finger and palm has made a nice indentation.

Pour in the plaster.  I got the plaster of paris at Home Depot.  (The ratio is 2:1, plaster to water.)  My containers were about 5.5 inches wide and I felt like 1.5 cups of plaster (mixed with 0.75 cups of water) was adequate to give a nice thick result.  To keep mess to a minimum we placed the plaster and water in a bag and mixed, then snipped a corner off the bag to pour it into the container.  Not exactly eco friendly, but great for a big group in an area you don't want to get messy.

Now just wait.  The plaster sets and is relatively hard within 20 minutes.  The problem is there is moisture in the playdough underneath, so to be sure it is completely dry I recommend waiting 8 or so hours.  Wiggle the plastic container and out pops the plaster.  Peel off the playdough.

Freddie on the left, Hans on the right.  Hans curled his fingers a bit which made for a nice effect.

Voile.    I used epoxy to adhere a picture hook to the back.  You can try sticking in a string in the back while the plaster is still wet, but I felt like the epoxied hook was a more stable option.

Any inperfections can be sanded off, but I like the rough look.  I have seen plaster prints epoxied to decorative plates to make them stand out a bit and give border, but I like the simple white plaster. Don't forget to note the name and date!

Bead Ornaments

I loved making these as a kid and I love watching Freddie enjoy it too! 

Materials needed:  Pipe cleaners and "tri beads"  I'd like to add some metallic pipe cleaners to our craft box because I think they'd add a little sparkle to these.  Try using wire cutters to turn the ends of the piper cleaners in tightly to prevent beads from falling off.

Hans as been taking this one off the tree and pretending to eat it. 

Adding a little kink on the end of the pipe cleaner helped Freddie to not push the beads off the end.  He's been talking about patterns a lot lately so this activity was perfect for him.

I had only made candy canes and wreaths but aren't the snowflakes great?  Clip a the pipe cleaner into three equal parts and twist together to get the form.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is one of those things that I'd have never thought to fix.  It's something you see in Martha Stewart or Real Simple Magazine and just think...huh, that's interesting.  But I have actually cooked it and like it!  We've had it a few times recently and it is so easy.  It's also healthy.  Definitely don't think this is going to replace pasta or cure your carb craving, but it helped me feel less guilty about eating a big dessert after dinner.  

Most are about this size:

And that seems to be just the right size for our family.  Half a squash yields:

To cook it, as directed by my sister, I pierced it with a knife a few times, set it on a plate, and microwaved it for 15 minutes.  Afterwards, slice it open and discard the inner seeds.

Remove the very inside, the seeds

The "spaghetti" is the pulp-ish part between the seeds and the skin.  I simply scraped it out with a fork onto the plate.

I've only had it with tomato sauce (red gravy for you Southern Italians), specifically chicken Parmesan, but think I'll try a few other recipes.  There must be some on Pinterest. 

**Sorry about the terrible phone pictures.  I've been lazy about using a real camera since the demise of my point and shoot.

Lovin'

I recommend coffee filters for paper snowflakes.  Freddie was able to do two all on his own and like unfolding mine.

• Paper snowflakes
• Warm boots
• Hot chocolate
• Christmas music and new dance moves
• Family adventures
• Christmas cards in the mailbox
• Hot Wheels cars all over every room in the apartment
• Brothers cuddling
• Elves
• Requests for snowman sheets
• Watching the boys watch street performers
• The wonder of Santa!

Jingle

So simple and so much fun.  Freddie jingled through the subway, and wore his to yoga class.  That little bell jingled as he got into all his yoga poses.  Not exactly zen, but it sure made me smile as I watched. 

Holiday Windows Walk

The city is filled with decorations.  Most storefronts are decked for the holidays, so we went on a walk to specifically to check everything out.

We started at Macy's and walked along Fifth Avenue.  There are tourists everywhere and everyone is out getting holiday shopping done so the sidewalks were packed. 

The window displays are popular attractions, but if you're patient you can eventually get a glimpse. 

We walked about three miles from Midtown to Uptown and stopped at Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Saks, Henri Bendel, Tiffany's, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney's, and Bloomingdale's.  The details of the department store windows could have kept the boys entertained for quite some time.

Perhaps another yearly tradition in the making.