Archive for March, 2010
15 Mar
Mint chocolate cupcakes
I made these for my birthday last week (it’s office tradition to bring your own treats to share . . . kind of like preschool, actually). The recipe is from Martha Stewart Cupcakes. I used the one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe, which I know I have raved about before. I added mint extract and cut down on the vanilla just a bit. The cakes are super fast and very moist.
The frosting is fresh mint buttercream, made by steeping fresh mint leaves in milk. I can’t say I’ll make this again–it was extremely complicated and time consuming. And, in the end, it tasted like minty butter. It did set up nicely for frosting, though, and this giant star tip is quickly becoming my favorite.
I topped each cupcake with a leaf, which I made by painting melted chocolate on the back of a mint leaf and peeling it off.
12 Mar
“Our trip to the zoo” or “Mom’s a pushover”
We ended up taking the girls to the zoo last Sunday—we had a few errands to run in Topeka, and it seemed cruel to be in such close proximity and not stop, especially after the shenanigans the day before. I’m glad we went—the rest of the town was there, too, and the weather was gorgeous. We even ran into friends!
Perhaps most notable, we saw the new mountain lion exhibit for the first time.
Olivia called to him, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” It worked!
The rainforest is also one of my favorite stops.
We found this guy roaming around . . . Bryan was certain he should have been caged, and Ava was not amused.
And, just as my dad used to visit the zoo only to make “you otter…” jokes, Bryan trotted out the favorite, “Hey, let’s go see your cousins” line once again.
All in all, Ava was right: It was a pretty good way to spend a weekend day.
11 Mar
Make a wish
Bryan and the girls made me a birthday cake (from scratch!) earlier this week.
The only one more surprised/excited than me was Olivia.
For what more could I possible wish?
10 Mar
Calming a fussy baby…er, toddler
Overall, Olivia is handling this latest transition pretty well. On Monday, she seemed totally down with it, noting, “Pacifiers are for night-night time” and, once she got to daycare, she chirped, “Pacifiers are at home today.”
Every now and then, though, she has a little meltdown. In an effort to distract during one particularly sorrowful moment, I swaddled her up just like we did when she was a baby. Guess what? It worked!
Guess who else wanted to be swaddled?
As you might imagine, it didn’t last long…
9 Mar
A tragedy in six parts
Don’t let her fool you—it’s not that bad. We just snagged her pacifiers and told her she could have them back at bedtime.
7 Mar
Actually, this isn’t so bad…
See, weekend days at home can be fun.
I will note that clean-up wasn’t exactly the highlight of the last 48 hours!
6 Mar
It’s my weekend day, too!
After another extremely hectic week, I opened my eyes this morning to find Bryan setting a cup of coffee on my nightstand, tearing off my covers and flipping on the lights. Apparently, it was 9:30, and 9:30 is TIME TO GET UP.
I came downstairs to find Ava campaigning for a trip to the zoo.
“It’s too cold.”
“The animals went south for the winter.”
“I am not sure the zoo even opens until May…”
Really, though, the reason for sticking around here today is that a weekend at home with no real plans is very rare. And, besides, “no real plans” doesn’t mean we don’t have errands, chores and projects held over from the week.
As Ava bellowed, “It’s my weekend day” over and over, I stopped her and said, “Hey, it’s my weekend day, too.”
At that, she announced that she simply could not live in this house any more, and she was moving. She started to pack up her DVDs, and I reminded her those belonged to our family, and she’d have to leave them for Olivia. She stomped her feet and growled, proclaiming us the most BORING. FAMILY. EVER. (Sometimes it’s hard to remember she’s going to be five and not 13.) “I can’t take it anymore!” she cried.
In an effort to distract her from packing (and to allow myself to return to reading the newspaper quietly), I said, “Here, let me read you your horoscope: ‘Aries: If you feel like taking off, the sooner the bet . . . um, you know what? Nevermind.”
Hope you all enjoy your “weekend days” too!
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