Rainy Day Beignets

White Trash

Folks love this stuff.  My friend, Ellen, introduced me to it.
Ingredients:

• 9 cups of cereal such as chex, honeycomb, kix, cheerios
• 2 cups of pretzel sticks
• 2 cups mixed nuts
• 2 cups M&Ms
• 2 11oz bags of white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix cereal, pretzels, nuts and M&Ms.
2. Melt chips.  I did this in the microwave:  2 minutes and stir until smooth.
3. Pour melted chips over mix and stir well until mix is evenly coated.
4. Pour mix onto large pan and allow chocolate to harden.
5. Break into small pieces.

Notes:

• I sprayed the bowl and pan with Pam beforehand.  This made clean up easy.  
• Store in an airtight container.
• Use holiday colored M&Ms to make it more festive.

Q&A with Hansie

Question of the Day?

Spotted at preschool:

What's your favorite yoga pose?

Tree Pose.  Notice the little figure in the tree pose before the text?  Love.

22 Months

Appearance:

• Blondie!
• Farmer's tan developing
• Rosy cheeks
• Slimming down
• Curls

Language:

• You are loosing some of your "baby" words.  You now say "crackers" instead of "achoos" And "cars" instead of "rooms."
• Your sentences are getting longer:  Mama chomp pizza too.

Motor:

• Jumps where your feet leave the floor.
• Running faster with much better control.
• A demon on the scooter, even going down hills at top speed and managing turns.  You need to work on putting on the break.
• You climb down steps unassisted without holding on to anything.  
• You manage fine with your utensils and no issues drinking from a cup at the table.

Diet:

• You are a great eater.
• You will say you want french fries if you hear we are going out to dinner.
• Everything in front of you gets tasted.
• You really like salad.
• You eat an entire hamburger or hot dog, bun and all.
• Drinking about 16 ounces of milk per day.  Still on whole milk now but thinking we'll start transitioning the house to 2% after vacation.

Likes:

• Freddie is your favorite thing in the whole wide world.
• Riding your scooter.
• Dancing
• Eating
• Looking at books and being read to
• Setting up track for trains or cars
• Music
• Watching water in the river or fountains or drains
• Bath time
• Playing tag

Dislikes:

• Sharing.  You make a beeline for your toys if you see anyone on the playground touching them. 

Personality:

• Shy.  You whisper your responses sometimes when someone new is speaking to you.
• Independent.  You want to do everything for yourself:  I reach it!  I do it!  
• Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn.
• Less crying this month though.  I think you're getting that Mama is just as stubborn.

Potty:

• A big improvement from last month, although playing outside is a time when you have an accident, partly due to me losing track of time and partly because you're too busy to stop.
• You HATE being wet though, which is great.
• You have about one accident a week, sometimes at nap.
• We've had a dry diaper in the morning!  The night time diapers are definitely getting less saturated.
• You're willing to get on the potty upon waking up.
• You love getting new undies.

Breathing Follow Up

All clear.  Ears look good.  Decrease breathing treatments to once a day for a few days before discontinuing.

Hans will see Dr. G again in June for his 2 year well check.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

 

Sunday we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the cherry blossoms in bloom.  We were probably a few days early, as most of the trees were not yet in peak bloom. 

There were a few trees in bloom though and lots of other plants to see....and sniff.

Smelling the mint

The gardens are about an hour subway ride from us, but only about 25 minutes by car.  I love the area of Brooklyn where it is located and we'll have to go back soon to check out the Prospect Park Zoo which is right next door, just about.

The garden had a Japanese garden where the cherry blossoms are located and several other gardens typical to botanic gardens:  herb garden, children's garden, rose garden, rock garden, native species.

So proud of himself for walking down the stairs all by himself!

The magnolia garden was in full bloom.

 

The weather here is *still* cold.  Temps were in the 30s this morning.  Sigh.

It didn't keep the boys from running and jumping and climbing and enjoying the sunshine.

Charlie and I made some mental notes about gardening structures we'll build and plantings we create once we have a backyard garden again.

We missed the peak blooming of the cherry blossoms but we'll be back later this spring to check out the other plants in bloom.  It was a nice escape from the city. 

Notes:

• The cherry blossoms are a VERY popular event at the gardens.  We arrived at opening, 10am, and when we were leaving about 1.00pm things were very busy and the line for admission was long.
• Parking in the adjacent lot is $10 on weekends.  You might be able to find street parking if you're lucky.
• Admission is $10 for adults, kids under 12 are free.  Tuesdays are free.

Stolen Kiss

Hans' First Haircut

Before, waiting patiently

Well, his curls are gone.  Sniff.  Sniff.  That was not my intent, but Mr. Boris, the neighborhood barber knows one style...short.  I've been trying to get him to keep Freddie's hair a little longer on top for a while now, but he always walks out with the same do .

I was tempted to trim around Hans' ears myself, just to tame the flyaways, but since we were in the barber shop for Freddie, I went ahead and handed Hans' over as well.

Boris was surprised it was his first haircut.  He thought all mamas did snips and trims before taking their babes in for the real deal, and Hans is a big boy who still has very little hair.  I told him I liked the curls and was just wanting around the ears and neck trimmed.  Boris snipped, and Hans watched.  No tears.  He wasn't bothered by the clippers or the scissors. 

With his certificate and his first lock to be cut and , most importantly, his lollipop!

Now he *looks* like a big boy. His hair is short, but I can still see the curls.  He's definitely got his mama's hair.

Hans Scoots!

He's rocking that little scooter.  He's got the speed, and thankfully the control is quickly developing.  

Lovin'

• Museum visits with the boys
• Asking "who wants a treat" (or supper or playtime or whatever) and hearing a little voice say "Hansie does!"
• Coats put away in the closet for the season
• Sandals
• Two scooters
• 4 pairs of sunglasses
• Suitcases to fill
• Condo reservations
• Curls
• Request to wear dress shirts just to "look handsome"

Havarti Potatoes

I made these to celebrate Charlie's victory...his cholesterol was lower than mine.  It's not heart healthy, but it is so yummy.  I LOVE havarti cheese.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs potatoes, sliced, I leave the skin on because it's easy
• 12 oz. Havarti, shredded
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups cream or milk
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Crush bouillon and mix with milk.
• Layer potatoes, flour, and cheese three times.
• Pour milk and bouillon over the top.
• Bake for about 60 minutes until browned and bubbly.  

Scoot!

Out of focus but you get the idea!

Sunshine + Scooter = Joy

Queens Zoo

It's sunny, crisp, NYC spring.  (I'm not a fan, but it's better than the overcast grey days of winter.)  We decided to take advantage of the sunshine and head to the Queens Zoo.  We've never been but it's a short drive from our apartment.

The zoo is small, similarly sized to the Central Park Zoo.  The path makes a single large loop, easily covered in a little over an hour with these guys on foot.

The largest animals are a few bison.  There's also couple bears, elk, cranes, sea lions, lynx, a puma, some coyote, a bald eagle and a cougar, as well as some other animals which I am not remembering so obviously they didn't make an impression on me.

I like the small size and layout of the zoo.  The habitats are on the smaller side, and that means the animals seem closer and easier to see.

The aviary was previously a pavilion in the World's Fair.  It has a path that takes you into the treetops, which Freddie wasn't exactly a fan of.  He likes his feet on the ground.

The kids really enjoyed the large petting zoo filled with domestic animals.  There were several varieties of cow and sheep, lots of goats and llama, and a few rather large bunnies.

Freddie's been asking for a bunny, and the bunnies we saw were as large a small dogs!  I hope he can shift his desire for a pet from something furry and needing lots of care to a little goldfish.

The last stop was the carousel on the way out.   The carousel isn't part of the zoo, but we can't walk by any carousel without riding.

Notes on visiting the Queens Zoo:

• There are only vending machines here.  Be sure to pack a lunch lunch to take advantage of the picnic area.  
• Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children
• Street parking, but there is a small lot associated with the Flushing Meadows Corona Park where the zoo is located.  It had plenty of parking when we arrive around the time when the zoo opened.
• The carousel near the zoo's entrance is $3 per ride.