9 Going on 19

Well year 8 was not easy..... it felt like she's 8 going on 18 all year long.... but luckily we had several moments where she behaved like an 8 year old which made me happy.  No need to grow up too fast in my opinion.... the world isn't going anywhere that you can't go when it's time!  Sigh.... We love her to pieces and can't believe she's grown so fast right before our eyes!

Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer - Everybody Wants to Rule the World

AWESOME!!!

Blogging

I can't say if it's a lack of effort or skill or both but I'm not a great writer.  I started blogging to keep family and friends updated on the kids since many of them don't live close by.  Then I started a blog page for me for things I wanted to share that were not related.  Of course now you have Facebook and Twitter and Google+.  It's impossible to keep up with all of it.  I have a few friends on Tumblr though that  have inspired me to try it out.  It feels like a cross between my blog and twitter.  I like that I don't have to write a lot there since it feels very abbreviated (at least to me).  So.... check me out on Tumblr:  http://www.tumblr.com/blog/anjanettew.  I will likely keep stuff here too since I'm not ready to let go but you never know....  in six months there will be something new to try...

Gets the Christmas blood flowing....

For once I rock....

I am not the best mom... I would not qualify as "Mother of the Year" but once in a while I have a good idea.  Technically the idea I had yesterday I got from a friend on FB six months ago but I finally seized the opportunity to make Banana Pancakes for the kids.  I get tired of banana bread really fast... I think it's too dense and after awhile, I don't care for the banana flavor.  We haven't been getting to the bananas fast enough lately so I had yet another batch of icky bananas to use this weekend.  This morning I made banana pancakes with them...  The boys, who eat very little fruit or vegetables, ate them just fine.... I feel like I tricked them!  Heh heh....

Here's the recipe.  I wouldn't normally post it but Steve thought it was a winner too:

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

This recipe is a good way to use up bananas and want something a little different for breakfast or dinner. This recipe is adapted from an issue of Canadian Living magazine

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas ( about 3)
• 2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups sour milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• butter ( for frying)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift or stir together flour, sugar and baking soda;
2. Combine bananas, buttermilk, eggs and butter(I pureed it smooth in an immersion blender); stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
3. In a large skillet or griddle, melt just enough butter over medium heat to coat the surface of the pan.
4. Pour in about 3 tbsp of batter for each pancake; cook pancakes, in batches, for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes on one side or until tiny bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is golden brown.
5. Flip and cook the second side for about 1 minute or until golden.

I'm marrying Frankenstein

As I have stated before, as a mother, I am very conflicted about Halloween costumes.  I know I'm likely too conservative in this area of my life but I'm trying to keep my daughter "off the pole" as Chris Rock put it so succinctly....  After seeing this little bit of fun, I know who is buying these terrible costumes for their daughters.

This year I breathed a huge sigh of relief when Gretchen told me she wanted to be the Bride of Frankenstein.  While it's a touch morbid for a six year old, it's not a princess and it's not slutty so I'm all in.  The best part though is she never calls it the Bride of Frankenstein.  She says Frankenstein's bride or I'm marrying Frankenstein, etc... she never quite gets it right.  As long as the costume doesn't have clear heels, she can call it what she wants. 

On Turning 40

Louie cracks me up....

Talk Much?

Gretchen got a note home from school yesterday indicating she talked so much at school that the teacher asked us to talk to her about it.  Oh boy.... I was a talker too so I'm sure she got that from me.  The day before, at the first girl scout meeting of the year, she showcased this attribute for me and her troop leader by cutting her off and talking over the other girls.  Sigh.... what do you do with a talkative child?  Steve gently got her to be quiet for five minutes.  He handled it much better than I did... 

It's times like these when I wish my mom were alive so I could hear how she handled me!  I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately.  Her brother passed away a few weeks ago.  I made it to the funeral in Iowa and I was the only family member there besides my uncle's wife.  It was a sad little funeral and it stirred up so many memories and feelings that I think I had been suppressing for a while.   All of my memories of the past are kind of hazy.  Anyway, I realized that I can't hear my mom's voice in my head anymore.  I don't remember what it sounded like as clearly as I used to....  My 40th birthday is coming and I will have lived longer than she did...  I know it's a weird and perhaps morbid thing to focus on but that is my life so.... I must.  At least my kids will not suffer the same fate but they won't appreciate it either since it will be the norm to have videos and pictures of our their entire lives.

Book Club?

I sent out an email to some moms with little kids about an indoor playground that will watch your kids whilst you sit in their cafe and pay $5 a coffee to relax.  It's a great idea so I forwarded it out saying it would be a good play to have a book club or meeting or something.... Well, somehow it was decided that a book club would be fun.

So...I guess I'm launching a book club (which means I'll launch a blog for it too...Ha!). The first order of business it to pick a date and a book.  The date is likely harder than the book.  I've added a poll to gauge interest in a date. 

As for a book selection, someone has already suggested The Help by Kathryn Sockett but some of you may have already read that so it's up for discussion once we pick a date.

Picnic Season

Steve just planted our vegetable garden and we are going to have quite a few tomatoes.  It made me pine for some chips and salsa.  Here's my recipe for it but there are a million out there....

Anjanette’s Salsa

3 or 4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (if you don’t seed them, the salsa is watery)

½  sweet onion, finely chopped (can substitute with ½ cup scallions or red onion)

1 fresh Serrano or Jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 to 2 tsp salt (I like Sea Salt or Kosher Salt)

1 tbsp of salad oil (optional but it has a good mouth feel)

Juice from 1 lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well and chill……

*For an earthier taste, roast the tomatoes, onions and chiles in the broiler or on the grill.  Peel the skins off of the tomatoes and peppers and proceed as directed... : )

Red Tape

Don't know where the time went since my last post.....  I have been in Special Education mire the last few weeks.  Getting the boys to transition from Early Invention into Early Childhood programs.  Getting Gretchen evaluated as well.  I need a guide to get through all this and help me understand everything.  I am patiently reading the parents guide on the Illinois Board of Education site.  It's not bad but lengthy...

Dec 19th Mom's Dance

Baby Fat

So the boys are two and I'm finally looking at myself and deciding I need to lose weight. In May I started Weight Watchers again. Today I am up to 42 lbs lost with another 40 or 50 to go. I'm half way. While I'm happy to be half way, I know the harder 40 lbs to lose is the second half. It makes the first half look easy... I'm proud of myself and all that but it's the second half for me that really counts. I'm going to get my annual physical soon so maybe that will boost my enthusiasm. My goal is to get to my target weight by my 40th birthday (which is next year). As I approach my 39th birthday this week, I do smile a little knowing the 40th will be my one of the best birthdays I've had in a while.

Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

I have been extremely busy but I'm finally getting back to doing the stuff I love to do - like post on my blog! Since most of my activities revolve around my kids (and those blogs are updated), this update should be short. Only a few real things going on with me personally. First major update: I joined Weight Watchers. I'm getting old and baby weight has ceased to be an excuse for over a year now. My goal is to get to my goal weight (which is a 90 to 100lb loss) by my 40th birthday in 2011. I think it's reasonable but I am not going to fall apart if I don't make it. I can be extremely focused when I want something and I'm finally getting that focus back after the haze of having twins has burned off. So far, I've lost 16 pounds in about 5 weeks so I'm happy. Steve is also trying to get in better shape and is making a huge effort to eat healthy. His support is helping me so much since it's so much easier if everyone in the house is making the effort to eat vegetables and fruits. Second major update: hmm... there has to be something... I guess not. Oh, we're having a summer party in August. Details coming soon!

In other news, we lost power on Father's Day weekend due to bad storms in the area. Power loss isn't that big of a deal except we're on a well so no power means no water. It was out for three days but it felt like forever. I never felt so spoiled as when the power finally went back on. We bought a generator to run the refrigerator and TV. We boiled water to wash dishes (we got water from the guy across the street since the folks across the street did have power... don't ask...). It felt like camping for us so after a week of having power again, we decided to book our camping vacation for the summer. (Though Gretchen and I have already camped in the backyard this summer).

As always, lots of pictures on Flickr... I'll try to post more though if you follow me on twitter, I update that more frequently.

Under Pressure

I have been really really busy and perhaps a touch lazy so I haven't posted much. I also confess I did not get very far on my 365 project. I don't have much to show for the last few months that I didn't already talk about on Gretchen or the twins' blog except for my newest kitchen gadget: an electric pressure cooker! I have always struggled to make pinto beans the way my parents made them. I tried soaking, I tried slow cooking, I tried not soaking, etc but they never turned out right. I have always been afraid of pressure cookers but that is how my mother made them. With three little ones running around, I was even more scared to have a pressure cooker steaming away on the stove. And then, I saw an electric model that seemed to be able to do everything I needed (browning, sauteing, etc). I won't reveal the brand because I'm still testing it out but it is a respected maker of kitchen appliances. I made the beans and even Steve was impressed. They turned out perfectly creamy and soft with lots of flavor. I laughed when Steve said "you could get these with rice as a meal" which is what I did for most of my childhood! Last night I made Pesto Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots. It was pretty good on its own but when you consider it only took eleven minutes to cook, it was awesome!

Day 1 / Project 365

Day 1
Originally uploaded by anjanettew

So I want to really learn my camera and get better at taking pictures and to an extent manipulating my pictures with software..... I know other people who have done this and it sounds like a fun idea so I'm post a pic a day on Flickr. I may not post every picture on the blog but perhaps some of the more interesting ones will make it here.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2009

Make a Smilebox invite

Are you a foodie if you take pictures of your meals?

In the last couple of years, I have been more inspired to take pictures of the food that I cook or grow.  I'm not much of a photographer so the pictures are all that great in quality but let me tell you how delicious this turkey breast was for dinner!  I've always been someone who, if hosting a holiday dinner or party,  will take a picture of the table before sitting down to dinner.  I'm not sure why now... maybe because I'm making more sophisticated meals (when I have time of course) than I did ten years ago.  Or.... because I watch Top Chef every week.... who knows.....

It's that time of year again....

I'm getting catalogs in the mail for halloween costumes.  It's the time of the year I dread especially now that Gretchen fits a size 4 for girls.  I must confess that I have never been all the crazy about Halloween.  I certainly only celebrated before because my sister-in-law had an annual party.  Living in an apartment in Evanston in our first seven years of marriage did not bring many if any trick-o-treaters to my door.  Once I had kids, all of that changed!  It was fun to dress up the girl as a chili-pepper (1st year), Princess Leia (2nd year), ladybug (3rd year) and Cat-in-the-Hat (last year).  However this year, she would like to be either Wonder Woman or Daphne (from Scooby Doo).  She wants to be one of these because of my bad parenting....  I let Gretchen look at kids catalogs (usually toy catalogs) but this time of year they all have Halloween costumes in them.  Most of the catalogs are okay.  The costumes seem age appropriate.  However we get several catalogs for just Halloween that end up in Gretchen's little hands where some of the sexiest costumes come in a size 4/6 (for kids).  Don't believe me?  Look at this Purrrty Kitty Child Costume (even the name bothers me....).  I have nothing against the company who makes this because I don't blame them for this costume.  I blame fellow parents who buy this costume!  Why would you want your daughter to dress up like this?  At any age but at age 4?  I don't understand it.  There is another costume called Major Flirt where a girl dresses up in a sexy little army dress with Major Flirt on the chest and knee high boots.  Really?  Sigh....  Depending on your political leanings, you may think I'm a crazy feminist (because as I must point out that boys costumes are not nearly if at all sexualized the way girls costumes are) OR you may think I'm a prude because I'm overreacting about a kids costume.  Either way, I don't care.  If you want your child to dress up like a little tart, that's your business but they won't be getting much candy out of me until they put some clothes on and dress up like the little kids they are..... 

Different Fairy Tale Ending

I kinda loathe the fairy tale princess/damsel in distress since the stories are sad usually (mother and/or father are dead or sick or stupid). I try to keep it to myself though because Gretchen seems to like these stories. I try not to push the Disney version on her (in fact I shy away from it) and would rather she hear the Brothers Grimm version since it seems more gritty. Anyhow, this post shows what could have happened to our lovely princesses and it cracks me up!