My Three Sons

Each time I'm knitting something, it never fails that one of the boys will ask me 'Is that for me?' The answer has always been no .There are loads of adorable patterns for kids, an entire ravelry group devoted to people who knit for their kids and even knit for their male children. I felt like a loser. All this time spent making knots with two sticks and never anything for my own chitlens.

Through a random string of instagram likes (Hello, Big Sister Cardigan KAL), leading to pattern searches, led me to Kate Oates of Tot Toppers. I have seen her 'Gramps' cardigan everyeon, and it has been in my queue for ages, but this one, Boys Can Wear Pink, is T'Shirt style with raglan sleeve shaping, and knit in the round with nothing but a little underarm grafting in the way of seams; I knew I was on to something. A quick glance at the calendar showed Easter as being a few weeks away. I definitely had time to knock out  three sweaters for them. I know myself well, I am quick to jump to the 'Meh, not enough time. I can do these for another event.' So I told the boys and let them pick from some color options and from there I had a lot of fun playing with making the colors work both for the pattern yardage needs and for their personalities.  I made their current clothing size (10, 6 and 4-yes, Jack often wears 4's already...) and all three of them fit perfectly. The yardage requirements were correct and I made zero modifications-that in itself is pretty awesome.

This all kind of started with purple sparkly Toms. Charlie desperately wanted them when they went up on Zulilly because they were purple. Wouldn't you know, it's hard to find things that are purple for a six year-old boy that weren't 'designed' for a girl. I was talking about it at bookclub and a friend who knows Charlie said 'What about purple Chuck's?' Yes. That was the ticket. Those were also found in the 'girl' department, but nobody would ever know, so there was no risk that someone would hurt his feelings. It's a fine dance to honor who your kids are while protecting them the smallest bit. Some kids wouldn't care what others think, but Charlie does, and I know that. I happened to have some Violet colored Cotton-Ease that I called 'Dusky Purple' to appeal to his fashion sensibilities and the most fun and funky hand-dyed yarn from Republic of Wool in the colorway Wanderlust (hailing from Portland) for the tie. (And they matched his purple shoes to boot)

Henry and Jack are much more subdued, and their sweaters were as well. Utilizing two of my coveted YOTH ooak gradient sticks (with an added skein of Big Sister in Hazelnut for Henry's in order to meet the yardage requirements) for them was perfect. I love the finished hem and sleeves, which was also super simple but makes for a really clean-edged finished piece.

 Paired with button-downs they already had in their closets, twill pants and Chuck Taylors, they were perfectly presentable for the country club brunch and egg hunt and now I have the itch to make lots more fun and funky pieces for my kids. Usually having an itch isn't an awesome thing, but in this case I'ma scratch it.

why yes, that is a tattoo on his face...isn't that where all moms want their kids to put them?

Because I'd been so fixated on finishing their sweaters, I realized yesterday that I hadn't put much thought into Stella's outfit. I went out to the six month bag and found there were several adorable spring dresses. Sadly, I didn't realize until today that I have zero pairs of tights for her cold legs. Girl mom fail. She didn't even have a bow in her hair. Ah well. Baby steps.

always a sweet smile from Miss Stella June

Thanks to Kate for such a fun and simple pattern that leaves loads of possibility in customizing for personalities. Next up, I have some fun sweaters by Tin Can Knits up for Miss Stella and Mr. Jack for next Fall and Winter and even the remainders of this spring. Check out their new Max and Bodhi collection, the first release is adorable. These also count as sweaters 1-3/12 for Twelve Sweaters in 2015.

Happy Easter, all!

Good Common Horse Sense

The boys have thus far not shown a ton of interest in organized sports. They like them, but haven't found one that they love yet. They both like to do a lot outdoors, but they're not the next Beckham or Brady, and the amount of time and energy spent racing them around to practices and games for something they don't truly enjoy is simply not worth the stress, so the search for a fun activity continues.

H has expressed a ton of interest in horseback riding, but finding a stable that provides lesson horses in an area with a lot of ranches and farms has been challenging as most people have their own horses when it comes time to learn.

I felt like I won the lottery when I found a woman who not only gives great lessons, but prefers to use her own horse. And what a beauty he is. Tall, strong, gentle and a mere twenty-two years old, O will ease my kids into the horsey world with style.

Last night was their first lesson and they both had a great time. At 17.3 hands high, I was worried that Charlie wouldn't want to get on, but he actually did really awesome, following the teacher's commands, learning great posture and how to keep his seat. H was a little bit more reluctant to keep his hands off the horn, but the teacher is adamant about learning how to sit properly and not handicap yourself by relying on the reins or saddle, so it's a great combination of calm reassurance and strict insistence on good form.

I'm looking forward to seeing how they improve and also for the respect and discipline that comes from interacting with an animal (especially one so large in comparison to yourself.) And, of course, the biology lessons that come from being around farm animals are awesome. Why yes, children, horses' penises do get really long when you're brushing them down after unsaddling and they finally relax. And so it begins...

Brick House Party

It's been a long time since I've taken time to post, but life, blah blah, you don't care; it's boring. Pregnant again, some more. This time it's a girl. Anywho. I'm back. This summer we were gone for H's birthday and between friends' vacation schedules and other availability I'm having his party a month late. Sooo...I thought I'd finally post about his last birthday.

I had a lot of fun planning a simple Lego-themed party. Pinterest is awash with crazy complex cakes and ideas, but I just don't have the time or patience to work with fondant so the cake I made (following this tutorial) ended up looking really, really sad but the kids thought it was fun. That's what matters, right? RIGHT?!

The Lego Candles really take the cake, right? Punny.

The cupcakes were the Best White Cake {Ever} recipe (and it really is) with simple buttercream frosting, and I made yellow mini-figures using candy melts and these molds, plus pure candy melt bricks out of the second mold in the set. They're silicone so they clean up really easily, which is always a plus for me.

Instead of filling the pinata with candy, I bought the big box of Lego Bricks and filled it with that...which was kind of a disaster when the legos flew everywhere on my patio but, again, the kids loved it and they got them all, so it was fine. It wasn't until the moment right before it busted open, however, that I realized what I'd done by filling it with tiny pieces. Ah well, live and learn.

After gathering their legos with lightning speed and playing outside for a bit, they brought their sweaty selves in for some cake, presents and lego-building with the leftover time. 

The one thing I didn't take a picture of, was the gift bag; it was cheap and easy. Just the way I like it. Instead of buying a bunch of colored handle bags, I busted out my package of 4,000 count brown paper lunch sacks, went through my paper stash and found primary colored card stock (which you could buy and it'd still be cheaper than buying colored bags) and cut a rectangle the same size as the front of the bag and affixed it with glue. Then punch out six to eight 1-or 2-inch circles with a large circle punch like this one, which you can usually find at a craft store with a coupon, and affix them to the front with 3-d foam squares so that they look like the studs on the Lego bricks. Boom, cheapo goody bags. In the bags I put a couple of the candy bricks in a melamine bag and they got to put their pinata haul in it for the rest of the goody. I'm not big on doing a huge gift bag for each person, but it's nice to have the bag for them to put candy or treats in if you're doing a pinata.

My bags were based on this idea...but cheaper ;)

That's really all I did. It doesn't have to be fancy to be fun!

This year Henry has request a Red Velvet Cake with Ice Cream filling for his birthday party. Thank the lord for Pinterest. 

Let's Go Fly An...Umbrella?

With the boys getting older, I've had to get more selective about the things that I blog about, taking into consideration that which may embarrass them. It took a couple days for H to find the humor in this one, but he's on board now. It may end up being one of those 'you had to be there' things, but it's a slice of our life so here you go.

When the kids piled out of the car last week after getting home from school, they grabbed their umbrellas from the garage and proclaimed today the perfect day to have umbrellas outside. I recalled the drive home in hard rain with wicked wind and disagreed. However, they were not to be swayed.

I snapped a few photos of the windy fun, and then went inside.

Approximately two minutes later, H ran inside laughing saying his umbrella was 'inside out'. I glanced at it and said 'Yeah, it's broken.' I started laughing at that point, and the exchange went something like this? 'It's broken?!' 'Yes.' 'Really, Really broken?!' 'Yes.' With each disbelieving question, I asserted and began to laugh harder (while snapping pictures because, well, why not?) because it was clearly mangled.

It looked something like this:

Broken?

really?

I broke it?!

Maybe it's just inoperable for a moment?!

Understandably, he was not stoked to pose with it. Charlie to the rescue.

And then, Mama to the rescue.

All's well that ends well. And why yes, that is a polar bear in his pocket. How else does one transport their stuffy friends?

A Zig Zag on a Straight Line

From the beginning, H has had a hard time in school. Every year seems to get a little bit better overall as he matures, but there is always a period of time when things have been going swimmingly and nothing significant has changed that, BLAM-O!, I'm broad-sided with a few weeks of behaviors and choices that make me want to pull my hair out. This year, the culmination was on Monday and that evening I noticed he had a little bit of a cold, so I decided I would keep him home the next day to spend some time with him one-on-one. Without going into it too deeply, (that could be a whole blog on its own) he is such a great kid; quirky, funny, wicked smart, awesome imagination, but man is he strong-willed! He'll be a force to be reckoned with as an adult and I just have to keep repeating that to myself. Daily. Multiple times. 

I almost never keep my kids home for a sick day, so this was his first of the year and after we dropped Charlie at school and put Jack down for his nap, we had the afternoon to ourselves. 

I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to make a gift for Charlie; a 'dragon head' bag to take his sharing objects to school each week. After we talked about logistics, I had him pick the fabric for a bag for each of them, and found an image on the computer which we printed on printable burlap. The images aren't super crisp on the burlap, it's probably something I'd use for a big bold letter for a bunting in the future, but I actually like how these turned out. The burlap has a plastic coating on the back that guides it through your printer really smoothly, and negated the need for interfacing. It was H's first time really using the sewing machine alone and he did a great job! He took his time, and it only took about an hour from picking the fabric to proudly holding his finished bag. 

After several attempts to find a dragon image that we could agree was good to take to pre-k, we switched to finding Lego images for Charlie's bag and stumble across what I'm guessing was a party favor label, because there were several names; score! Henry chose this image of a person challenging a dragon for his own. 

For the blue bag, we used a fat quarter and cut it in half so that the bottom edge was the fold. The image was sewn onto the bag before seaming. Both bags were a long, thin piece with just the two side-seams to sew, and then the top was folded over twice and hemmed. I didn't have him pin it, because stopping to take the pins out seemed like it would complicate things for such a simple, straight seam. 

Love those little boy hands against the fabric

I was pretty impressed with how straight and consistent his stitches were! He honestly did this ALL by himself.

All ready to take snacks and sharing to school

Pop Secrets

R-2 is a frequent guest at chez Wutzke

Every Friday night, and sometimes Saturday as well, we sit down for Family Movie Night. The kids get to pick a movie, or we watch the movie version of whatever chapter book we've just finished so they can compare the book to the movie. A big part of movie night is the popcorn and treat, and I've perfected the art of stovetop popcorn making. You'll never go back to that bag of microwave popcorn again! (Unless you're my husband, and then you'll buy it when I'm out of town.)

Step 1: Disregard the directions on the popcorn container. They'll make you use too much popcorn so that there are a bunch of unpopped kernels when the majority of the popcorn is ready, or you'll pop it all and it will be burnt. Ask J how we know this.

Measure out 1/3 c. of popcorn kernels and set aside. Add 3T of oil to a sauce pan, I like to use coconut oil. I know that it's super trendy, but I swear I won't make you serve it with a side of quinoa or sprinkle kale chips over the top. In this case, it really just lends a good flavor and having a healthy fat to boot is not a bad thing. If you don't already use coconut oil, I really like the Nutiva brand, and you can get a big ole container of it at Costco.

It's solid, but melts very quickly in the pan, so turn your burner to about medium and let it melt. While it's melting, sprinkle about a teaspoon of good salt over the oil. This way, the salt gets kind of impregnated into the popcorn to make it perfectly seasoned instead of just salty. While the oil is heating up, put one popcorn kernel into the pan of oil.

When that kernel pops turn off the heat, add the rest of the popcorn kernels to the pan and then count to 30. Seriously. Stand at the stovetop and count to thirty. Out loud if you need to. Then put a lid on the pan, turn the heat back to medium and listen for the pop, pop of the kernels. If you don't have a vented lid, leave it just a tiny bit off-kilter so the steam can escape. Give the pan a gentle shake every 20-30 seconds, and leave it on the heat until you hear a pause between pops of about 2 seconds. Turn the contents out into a large bowl. From here you can doctor your popcorn however you wish.  Plop a tablespoon of butter into the now empty hot pan so it can melt and drizzle it over the top, sprinkle with endless seasoning combinations, add a little shake of sugar to create kettle cornor drizzle with homemade caramel sauce for a really special treat.

Why, yes, I do frequently balance dishes on the edge of my counter. I lead quite a thrilling life!

In addition to the popcorn, we always have a treat on top; some leftover candy between holidays (before I toss it) or York 'pepper patties' that I keep in the freezer because they're always a win. Just a few treats in a bowl of popcorn with a big glass of ice cold 'fridge water' to wash it all down and you've got movie night dessert.

Perfect Stovetop Popcorn:

1/3 c. popcorn kernels
3T cooking oil-I prefer coconut
1/2 -1 t. salt (optional, but really does make it better)

1T melted Butter or preferred toppings

Heat oil in a large saucepan and sprinkle with salt (to taste), add one kernel to the heating pan. When that kernel pops, turn off heat, add the rest of the corn and wait for 30 seconds. Return to heat until 2 seconds between popping sounds and then turn contents into large bowl and season as desired. Enjoy!

What's for Dinner?

One of the things that makes a day that feels too long feel even longer is staring down the witching hour without a plan for dinner. What kids, you don't want fish sticks or spaghetti and meatballs three nights in a row? Weird.

Over the last few years I've relied heavily on meal planning to make my weeks run smoothly, and the menu chalkboard in my dining room is honestly just an ornamental extension of that plan, because I sometimes, okay frequently, go a couple of weeks without changing it. I'll try to share my weekly plan on Mondays from here on out so that might encourage me to stay on top of changing the board. However, my actual plan is written on a magnetic notepad on my fridge that has a column for groceries needed to complete that list, which I also use to write down the meat I need to pull from the freezer one to two nights before, and I try to incorporate a night of leftovers so that we don't have a build-up of mystery containers in the fridge the next time I do the pre-grocery shopping sniff and toss.

When I feel like I'm in a rut, I look through my pinterest boards to get inspiration. I know, I know, those boards are actually meant to be used for something other than time suckage and wishful thinking. I have boards for the crock-pot, for freezer meals, for the battle of the bulge and for nights of comfort. I have found that my kids will eat almost anything if I put it in a taco, so we have Taco Tuesdays which have spanned the range from fish tacos to this week's Pot Roast tacos with horseradish sauce (which I won't put on theirs because it's a) white b) 'Hot like Wasabi!' (in Charlie's words) and c) a condiment other than ketchup). Mondays I try for a meatless meal and Wednesdays are sometimes wheatless, although those nights are for putting variety in our menu more than anything because I heart gluten.

The chalkboard may not be updated, but we do sit down to the same meal as a family every single night, with the exception of nights that J and I have a date night. J's schedule means that I do the dinner, bath, bedtime gig alone a lot, but I've long since left behind my days as a short-order cook with chicken nuggets and pb&j for the kids while I eat a crappy dinner over the sink by myself later. There has been a lot of research on the importance of eating dinner as a family, and I love the books The Family Dinner and Dinner: A Love Story as a starting point for establishing this as a routine in your house.

Without further ado, here's my menu for this week:

Monday: Breakfast Burritos (egg and cheese for the kids, egg, cheese and roasted veggie for me).
Tuesday: Pot Roast Tacos with Horseradish Sauce *
Wednesday: Thai Peanut Noodles with tofu and roasted vegetables. I use brown rice noodles instead of udon or linguine.
Thursday: Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Friday: Family Movie Night (every Friday) Leftovers followed by Stove-top Popcorn (I have seriously perfected this-no old maids!) and treats.
Saturday: Date Night for Us, but Turkey Chili and Cornbread for the kids.
Sunday: Superbowl Pot Luck (Likely will be gluttonous. Not to be confused with, though may also include, glutenous)

*denotes recipes I'm trying for the first time.

Holidaze

With a husband whose job requires shift work, I'm often left to fly solo on the holidays. Thanksgiving I woke up early and literally didn't leave the kitchen until I put 'dinner' on the table at 11:30am, so we could eat together.  The meal lasted approximately ten minutes, during which I heard a lot of 'this is gross' and 'I don't like like my (fill in the blank) like this.'

I roasted my first turkey, including the overnight brine, made the smitten kitchen green bean casserole which had amazing thin-sliced (home-fried) crispy onions atop a bed of blanched green beans in a from-scratch mushroom sauce. It was delicious. Or disgusting. Which depended on whether or not you were in the over or under 8-years-old set. Jack ate everything, like the gracious baby he is, and the big kids were excused from the table. After clearing the table and glumly accepting my husband's praise and gratitude for the meal, I did what any strong-willed, self-respecting grown-up does. I went into my bedroom and cried. Seriously, I didn't even take any photos of my food that day-that's saying something! Next year I'll be sticking to my original idea to have Thanksgiving brunch. Although the layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake was ahhh-mazing. But you can totally eat cheesecake for brunch.

Christmas was spent at our house with my mother and father-in-law and I made my first prime rib, which turned out fabulously (we'll be doing that every year!) with all the trimmings of a steak dinner; horseradish and jus, twice baked sweet potatoes, green beans and salad. The kids all loved their deliveries from the jolly guy (including the KidKraft play kitchen that took a certain elf until 3:30 in the morning to build...) Sweet baby, Jesus, maybe next year she should start before 11:30 on Christmas Eve, but there were a lotta pieces! We had friends over for dessert a few hours after dinner, and it was the perfect meld of food and fellowship. Thanksgiving's sadness was erased.

Any day spent playing blocks with Grandma is a good day.

Tiny Pliny in the kitchen

Fast forward to New Year's, where J worked the afternoon shift which ends shortly before midnight, so I decided to host a small New York New Year's Eve with friends (read: we shuttle the littles to bed when the ball drops in Times Square...at 9pm.). Living on the left coast definitely has its perks. After a search of pinterest for ideas, I knew I wanted to keep it simple, so I put together little bags of dollar store finds for random times throughout the evening. The first was mini tubs of play-doh to occupy kids that were feeling left out, or tired of playing with legos, while the adults ate dinner. The second was about an hour later, a bundle of bead necklaces to wear while watching a movie. The third was blowers (not noise makers) to 'get your second wind' at about 8:15, then it was mini bottles of bubbles to 'break out the bubbles' at 8:45. For the New Year's toast, I did Shirley Temples with a cotton candy float. All of the supplies (including the cotton candy, but excluding the drink fixin's) were purchased at the dollar store for less than $10. I just put them in brown paper lunch bags I already had, and labeled them with labels printed in shades of the same tone and attached with washi tape. Simple, but fun. Just like our evening. I hope you had a great night and that 2014 is treating you well!

Nothing says party boy like skinny jeans and a sweatervest

Luckily J got home in time for an actual kiss at midnight. But this would have been a close second.