Saturday, November 19, 2011
The sweet things they say
Caitlin requested yellow yarn for a project she wanted to do. I found the loveliest shade of pastel sunshiny yellow and gave it to her. She told Gwen all about her knitting project and Gwen said that it was sure to brighten up anyone's day.
Friday, November 18, 2011
A good heart
Today at Trader Joe's I saw chocolate filled Advent Calendars for 99 cents. I asked Gwen if she wanted me to buy one for her and Cait and she answered, "No thanks, Mom. It is only 99 cents for all that chocolate. That means someone got ripped off."
I guess I just need to teach her to cook and drive and my work here is done.
I guess I just need to teach her to cook and drive and my work here is done.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Breakfast in bed
Today, for no reason what so ever, I got breakfast in bed. It was Caitlin's idea and Jeff, master omelet-maker that he is, went with it. I had a glass of apple juice, a mug of coffee, a bowl of raspberries with a square of milk chocolate, a toasted and buttered bagel and an amazing mushroom omelet. And, to top it all off, Caitlin climbed in bed with me and read to me (between bites of my bagel). She read me the story we are reading together before bedtime, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was such a treat to listen to her reading to me. I adore my family!
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Plan
Caitlin proposed the following plan for today:
I countered with the following proposal:
Here is what I would really LIKE to do:
- Play hooky
- Send mom out for doughnuts
- Eat doughnuts while watching "Tangled" on a loop
I countered with the following proposal:
- Get ready for school
- Go to school
- Come home
- Go to piano lessons
- Do homework
- Eat a healthy dinner
- Go to bed
Here is what I would really LIKE to do:
- Both of us play hooky
- Go to an outdoor cafe and eat croissants beneath a colorful umbrella
- Take a walk in the sunshine
- Play music and sing
- Work on crafts or art projects
- Eat a gourmet meal prepared and served by someone other than myself
- Stay up late reading Nancy Drew books all snuggled together
Sunday, September 4, 2011
When the cup is definitely empty
We had a lovely little girl spend the night with Caitlin last night. She is a few years younger and it was her first slumber party. As I was helping her brush her teeth, she asked for a glass of water. I keep a rinsing cup for each of my girls by their toothbrush, but I hadn't brought one up for our guest. I ran downstairs and discovered that I didn't have any clean small cups, so I grabbed an adult sized coffee cup hoping it would be alright. When I handed her the cup she looked at it quite suspiciously. So, thinking she's disappointed there are no flowers or fairies on the cup, I ask if anything is wrong. She sticks her hand in the cup, just to make sure then she looks at me and says, "Yes, there is no water in this cup." What kind of person gives a kid an empty cup when they ask for a glass of water! Clearly I am not qualified to be a mom. Well, we filled the cup at the sink, but I am pretty sure this little girl thinks I am a bit of a dim bulb.
Other than that, she had a wonderful sleep over.
Other than that, she had a wonderful sleep over.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Best Ginger Snap Cookies EVER
These cookies were so amazing! The recipe came from the June-July 2011 issue of MaryJane's Farm.
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling the cookies in
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp groung ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl, mix flour and spices, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until dough is thoroughly mixed.
With a medium scoop of dough, roll a ball about 1.25 inches in diameter. Roll in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake on the middle rack, one cookie sheet at a time for about 13 to 15 minutes. Cookies should look slightly cracked.
Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire cooling rack.
Makes approxiately two dozen.
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling the cookies in
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp groung ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl, mix flour and spices, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until dough is thoroughly mixed.
With a medium scoop of dough, roll a ball about 1.25 inches in diameter. Roll in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake on the middle rack, one cookie sheet at a time for about 13 to 15 minutes. Cookies should look slightly cracked.
Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire cooling rack.
Makes approxiately two dozen.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Post-Recital run down
Caitlin had her dance recital today and it was a huge success. I was blown away by all the dancers, especially the advanced dancers. They were amazing. Caitlin's performances went really well, in spite of the fact that she was a nervous wreck. Originally, I was planning to watch the dances from the theatre and a friend was going to help Caitlin with her costume change but Caitlin wasn't ready for that. She insisted that I stay in the dressing rooms with her.
Her first dance was for Ballet III, done to "What I did for love". It was really beautiful. There were four girls in her class and the costume was this frothy, glittery, pink confection of a dress, complete with laced and beribboned choker and a tiara. Chin high, toes pointed, Caitlin nailed that dance.
It was the second dance that had Caitlin worried. For one, she only had three songs in between to do her costume change. Secondly, there was only one other girl in the class and the stage seems REALLY big when you are one of two people on it. Thirdly, on their first run through at the technical rehearsal, both girls sort of blanked on part of the dance and just stood there for a bit. This was remedied with a second run through and it was fine for the dress rehearsal but the seed of panic was planted.
So, Caitlin and her friend take the stage to dance to "Part of your World" for their Lyrical I/II class. And it is flawless. The girls are composed, fluid and graceful, moving effortlessly through their choreography, right up to the final pose. The other girl was to initiate their exit and she waited one moment longer than Caitlin was interested in staying on that stage. So Caitlin roughly jabs her with her elbow. She may have thought it was subtle but no one missed it. Everyone in the wings just cracked up.
And finally exiting the stage, she runs to her teacher and says, "It was great. I didn't have a heart attack."
So, she danced in the recital and lived to tell the tale. Actually, afterward, she was on a major high. She and her friend sang and flitted and danced all over the classroom where they were to wait while the other acts were on. It was such a joy to watch that part, too. I hope this positive experience helps prevent her from getting stage fright later on in her life.
Her first dance was for Ballet III, done to "What I did for love". It was really beautiful. There were four girls in her class and the costume was this frothy, glittery, pink confection of a dress, complete with laced and beribboned choker and a tiara. Chin high, toes pointed, Caitlin nailed that dance.
It was the second dance that had Caitlin worried. For one, she only had three songs in between to do her costume change. Secondly, there was only one other girl in the class and the stage seems REALLY big when you are one of two people on it. Thirdly, on their first run through at the technical rehearsal, both girls sort of blanked on part of the dance and just stood there for a bit. This was remedied with a second run through and it was fine for the dress rehearsal but the seed of panic was planted.
So, Caitlin and her friend take the stage to dance to "Part of your World" for their Lyrical I/II class. And it is flawless. The girls are composed, fluid and graceful, moving effortlessly through their choreography, right up to the final pose. The other girl was to initiate their exit and she waited one moment longer than Caitlin was interested in staying on that stage. So Caitlin roughly jabs her with her elbow. She may have thought it was subtle but no one missed it. Everyone in the wings just cracked up.
And finally exiting the stage, she runs to her teacher and says, "It was great. I didn't have a heart attack."
So, she danced in the recital and lived to tell the tale. Actually, afterward, she was on a major high. She and her friend sang and flitted and danced all over the classroom where they were to wait while the other acts were on. It was such a joy to watch that part, too. I hope this positive experience helps prevent her from getting stage fright later on in her life.
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