What a Chore!

The other day H proclaimed 'I have to do everything around here!' Really? Because I just asked you to put your pajamas in the laundry basket. Then it occurred to me that H and Charlie are plenty old to start having some regular responsibilities. They actually like to do things like dust and vacuum the couch cushions, though apparently putting an article of clothing in a basket ten feet away is akin to capital punishment. I have what one might call minor control issues, so having them do things like swiffer "Argh! You're just getting more dirt everywhere!" or clean the bathroom "Get away from the toilet, there are germs everywhere!" would be counter-productive if the goal was to have them take some responsibility in helping keep our house clean independently. 

Before I finally broke down and hired someone to clean my house monthly, the only time my house really would get dusted is if I was moving furniture around, actually moving, or my mom did it for me. Until now, we've moved every two to three years so that was totally fine, right? Therefore, dusting is the perfect example of a chore for me to 'give away'.

I came up with a chart for each kid that includes everything from brushing their teeth and feeding the dog twice a day to making their beds and weekend chores like helping with their laundry and dusting or wiping down the bathroom counters.

I printed it on a normal 8.5x11 sheet of paper, trimmed the edges and put them in an 8x10 frame with a marker for each so that they could check off their list without having to print a new sheet every week. They're on the bathroom counter so they can look at them as they're getting ready. Charlie's gonna be wicked good at making x's by the time he hits kindergarten.

When I showed it to them, they were actually both really excited. (Really.) H asked if he was going to get paid a dollar per chore, and I just laughed at him. Um, no. Your 'reward' for completing these menial tasks is to live in a nice house that you can feel pride in helping to create. And leisure time. The screen time is a much bigger carrot than 'sense of accomplishment' but whatev' it'll come. 

So far, they have been doing a pretty good job, especially with the weekend chores because they're still kind of a novelty. Either way, it's nice to have a little help, and it motivates me to get the work done first thing while they're still eager to help so that it becomes routine. It's always surprising to me how long I wait to give H a task, yet Charlie is perfectly capable of it at the same time even though he's three years younger. I have so much to learn about parenting, but I guess that's why the first kid is kind of like the first pancake. A little crispy, maybe even slightly burnt, until you get the temperature of the griddle just right for the others. Ah, the guilt that comes with being a highly imperfect mom.

The Spice of Life

Like a lot of people, I store almost all of my spices, oils, vinegar and other cooking and baking supplies in the teeny tiny cabinet above the range hood/microwave. Who doesn't love leaning very near an active gas burner to reach the back of said cabinet and have multiple bottles of basil or cumin fall all over them? I know it totally makes my day. Alas, I have been searching for the perfect spice organization for quite awhile until fortune smiled upon me. Or was it the World Market algorithm? Either way, after about an hour of sorting, organizing and yes, trusty label maker utilizing, I am one happy girl.

IHeart Organizing featured kitchen organization last month, so I've been on kind of a nerdy organizing streak, packaging pirate's booty into freezer canning jars as 'snack packs' and purchasing an over-the-door pantry organizer that is still sitting on my washing machine because the pantry door needs to be re-hung to make it fit correctly (j is super stoked when I start projects that cause him more tedium.) but still, the cure to my spice overload eluded me. Until...

It all started when Our Best Bites posted a photo on facebook of a lime glazed quick bread that they'd portioned out into adorable blue and white mini bread pans. What?! I know-I promise, I'm getting there. Clearly everyone else was smitten with them, because a quick scan of the comments revealed World Market as the source of said cuteness. I hopped online and after I put them in my virtual basket, the helpful folks suggested I might like some round glass spice jars. Hold. The. Phone. Why yes, yes I would like them. Actually, I would like thirty-two, thanks! They arrived and then sat on my counter for two days.

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for the weekend. My first child-free weekend since last December's (2011, not 2012) weekend at the Rock-n-Roll Vegas Half-Marathon. A weekend of girlfriends, laughter, wine consumption and blessed, sacred, uninterrupted sleep. I have a lot to get done before I leave-closets to purge, books to sort and laundry to fold and put away. Naturally, this was the perfect time to organize the spice cabinet.

(Sorry for the iphone pictures)Here's the scary and overflowing before:

Notice that several of the jars are precariously perched...guess how many times they've lost their footing.

After taking everything out of the cabinet, I knew I wanted the bulk of the spices to go in one of the drawers by the stoves so a quick shuffle of contents so that things made better sense and I had a empty drawer. I then matched up all the spices because lord knows when things are that crammed, there are going to be duplicates because sometimes it was just easier to buy another bottle of turmeric than to find the one that you think you're pretty sure you maybe saw when you took them all down to find the coriander last week.

I initially thought it would be cute to paint a square if chalkboard paint and then write each spice...cute unit, it rubbed off the first time. Also, who has time for that? So I busted out my old pal the label gun, and I filled each jar then applied a label so that I wasn't left to later guess what one might be. I was able to fit a lot of them in the drawer, and chose the few that I use infrequently to go back in the cabinet above, but the new jars and labels made the, easily identifiable. My big containers of cinnamon and chili powder went back in the fridge door-I'm sure it's not true, but I heard somewhere along the way that they are better kept there and I'm sticking to it.

The ahhh after. Like Pretty maids all in a row!

I like these jars for several reasons just a few of them being that at $3.99/four-pack they're affordable, they can hold more than a full-sized jar of most brands and they have a wide enough mouth that all of my measuring spoons will fit inside. Next up; baking drawer organization. I know, the excitement of my life is just astounding.

Everything in its new home and I may or may not have opened the drawers about twenty times just to gaze at the shiny little jars. I swear they winked back. And then I made a batch of Banana Nutella Granola to take and share with my girlfriends-organized and yummy smelling kitchen?! It's the 1-2 punch for this girl. Now, I must pack.

Mind Your Beeswax

In just two short weeks, I'll be heading to a girlfriend weekend (including time with my big sis, who I haven't seen since our adventures in Aruba last December) in Portland with zero children-the first time you leave any baby is always bittersweet, but I'm definitely ready for the rejuvination that you can only get when you spend restful time with people you love. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that jazz.

Part of the fun of the weekend is that we're all bringing something to share with the group. It's supposed to be something to represent who you are. I love to take care of people and pamper, so I'll be knitting up some chunky cowls and made some fun lip balm today, based on this tutorial by Our Best Bites. From pulling out the supplies to popping lids onto the cooled tubes was less than a half hour. Hands on time was about 5 minutes, and it's just a fun thing to make.

Logo labels-a little shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone.

In the future, I'll use candy flavoring in addition to the essential oils; and I'll use more of the oil. I should know by now to just follow the directions given by OBB because those girls have never steered my wrong, but after just about ten drops of the lime oil it smelled so strong and I got nervous so I stopped at that then added about five drops of peppermint and it has just the barest hint of minty freshness on your lips, but for a basic lip balm it turned out well. Just one batch made 20 tubes of balm and filled a 2.5 oz glass baby food jar. I've been keeping a tub of lip balm in our kitchen stationery drawer, so why not use the stuff I made myself?

As for the cowls, I'm going back and forth between making several different patterns, or just stick to two patterns with multiple colors to choose from; the front runners are Quick Cabled Cowl, Holding Hands Feeding Ducks and of course the Ramona and Poppy Cowls that I've already done before and loved.

Either way, I can't wait to spend a weekend drinking wine, running with my sister, lounging and laughing, and I'm sure there will be some tears as well, just so it will qualify as a true estrogen fest.

The Way The Cookie Crumbles

H is such a busy, crazy, wild boy that I often forget just how sensitive he is. He loves to create, especially if it's for somebody specific.  Last week, he came home from school, excited to show me the book he'd checked out from the library. I saw the cover and he explained that this would be the valentine we'd create for his teacher. Charlie has two classroom teachers, so we'd actually be creating three of these since what H does, so does Charlie.

That's right: a cookie bouquet. I put the book to the side, thinking he'd forget about it, and proceeded to purchase simple little carstock boxes and an assortment of Ghirardelli chocolate squares to put in them for the teachers and support staff. Fast forward to Tuesday night when H reminded me that we still needed to get the supplies and start on the cookies. I showed him my genius purchase, but he would not be swayed. Then he threw down the gauntlet. 'You said you'd get the (insert variety of craft supplies here) for the Star Wars craft, and you never did!' Fine, 'Uncle!', I cried in my head and promised that while they were in school on Monday I'd get the supplies and we could decorate the cookies after school so they'd have time to set overnight before the big day. 

They really weren't that difficult, but I did as instructed and used refrigerated cookie dough, though I know that my mom's sugar cookie dough is the best (and it would have actually worked a lot better for these). In the future, I'll just make cookie pops in a cello bag-you'll see why a little further down. 

The boys got home to find iced (not frosted, an important distinction) cookies waiting to be decorated. Next time, I'd use an even smaller cookie cutter, but this was the smallest heart I had and the crapp-o store-bought dough spread a lot in baking. Secondly, I would have baked them for maybe two minutes longer until they were much more done than I usually prefer.

The boys then got to use the frosting in a can that looks like easy cheese and a sparkly decorating gel (which I wouldn't recommend in the future). I had purchased sparkly frosting, but realized my tips wouldn't work with it, so I saved them for later. 

Next time, I'd let them all remain on the sheet instead of transferring them to plates because I think it may have weakened the back a little...you'll see for yourself at the end. Cookies decorated, they painted the pots with pink and red acrylic paint (and I resisted the urge to touch up and fill in the gaps) and left them to dry. I had them do it on parchment paper (I just re-used the parchment I baked the cookies on), so that as the paint dried it wouldn't stick like it would to newspaper.

I then inserted a square of floral foam that I cut so that it would have a snug fit, and covered it with a sheet of white tissue paper, pushing it down into the sides to fill the gaps and leaving a single layer on the top so that the lollipop sticks could easily be inserted.

The next morning, I arranged three cookies per pot and filled the gaps with candy hearts, making double sure I had H's three cookies in the pot he painted because he would remember and then I'd be a failure in his eyes once again. I put them in a box with an airpack between each pot, and then realized I'd have to have J ride along with me for school drop off so they didn't fall over and break. The extra cookie was put in a cello bag (as I would do in the future) and given to H's teacher from last year. In the end, only one cookie broke in trasit, and it wasn't one of H's so I'm calling it a win. In total, they only took about 15-20 minutes of hands-on time, not including the 12 minutes they were in the oven.

How I thought they'd arrive at school

Although they turned out fine (9 out of 10 intact ain't bad...) I'd do a few things differently next time:

1. Use smaller cookie cutters.

2. Don't be lazy; actually make the sugar cookie dough that you know works well.

3. Don't push the stick into the cookie too firmly, as the icing will make it secure in the front.

4. Don't lean any cookies forward, as the weight of the frosted front will pull it forward and break the cookie.

5. Convince H to give the simple cardstock boxes with chocolates.

How they actually survived the ride.

So, is it Chicken or Fish?*

*(and if you don't get that reference, you aren't a pop culture ho like I am...Newlyweds, anyone?)

image courtesy of angsarap.net

About six months ago, our local butcher started taking orders for seafood that has been amazing! Once a week, we get an email with what's available on Monday, place your order and pick up your fresh and bursting with the beauty of the sea vittles on Friday. This week, we bought bay scallops and huge white shrimp from Baja. They are the biggest shrimp I've ever seen. Last time the shrimp were available, I made fajitas with them and they were good, but this week I was itching to make something that was healthy and hearty, but a little fancy. I asked 'the facebook' for suggestions and had an immediate response with a recipe for Moqueca. Like most coastal countries, Brazil has their own version of a seafood stew. The thing that makes this one a fave that I'll make again and again is the coconut milk base; yum! The real deal is made with a fish caught off the northern coast, but we work with what we've got. I bet it would even be delish with some calimari.

What I loved most about this, was how simple it was to prepare. I already had everything in my house to make it, save for some cilantro and green onions and that was only because I'd just thrown out my sad wilty ones the day before. I was a little bit nervous about the instructions to generously salt and pepper each layer, but it really turned out beautifully. Just last week I was watching Giada and she commented that if you salt each layer as you're cooking, it'll turn out perfectly seasoned, whereas if you dump in that same amount of salt at the end, it's just salty.  I wish I'd taken a photo of ours, but it was gone in a flash.

The end flavor was a bit like Tom Kha soup, which is one of my favorite treats, and when I input the recipe to myfitnesspal.com so I could track it (I've been tracking every bite I put into my eager mouth) I was pleasantly surprised that, even using full fat coconut milk, it was just over 200 calories per serving (we got 6 servings out of the batch), plus about 100 calories for almost a cup of brown rice. I didn't add the garlic and oil to the rice that the recipe called for, I prepared it as I always do with chicken stock and water. It was very filling and the flavors were rich and deep and really, really satisfying. I love proving over and over that eating healtfully is usually even more satisfying than that big ole greasy burger and fries that make your guts dance a jig twenty minutes later. Bom Apetite!