Mischievous Elf

Our Elf on the Shelf, "Jack", returned to our house earlier this week.  We woke the first morning to find him sitting on the kitchen table, with a pile of 'snow-covered' doughnuts for us to enjoy for breakfast.  The kids were all THRILLED to see "Jack" again.

Since that first morning, we've woken to find "Jack" sitting in the Christmas tree and lounging atop our photo albums on the bookshelf.  This morning, "Jack" was trying to trick the kids by hiding.  They found him anyway.  

Decorations!

Earlier this week, we pulled out the Christmas decorations.  It's time to "festive-ize" the house.  Most of the kids were already at school, but Eleanor was anxious to start putting up the decorations.  She simply couldn't wait for everyone to return home.  

So Gordon, Eleanor, and I put up a few of the decorations.

Nora took charge of hanging the stockings by the fireplace with care.

When Gordon and I re-entered the living room (we were unloading the decorations boxes in the front hall), we both burst into laughter.  Innocent, sweet Nora had done the best she could.  But she still cannot read more than a few sight words.  So we walked in and found the mantel like this:

(In case you can't see it well, she put our stocking holders up as: "S", "A", "T", "PEACE", "A", "N")

Gordon says the moral is, "There's a little peace, even in the middle of Satan."

Prolific, no?

I've rearranged them already, never fear.

Breakfast for the Kitties

The kitties have finally made friends with Clover.  

Or Clover has finally made friends with them.  

Either way, they all get along pretty well now.  There's still a distinct difference in their relationships.  Neither Dusty nor Ashton would ever consider grooming Clover the way they groom each other.  Ashton and Dusty often nap together, too, but never with Clover.  

One thing I've found all three of them doing together is eating.  

I shot this picture just this morning, after feeding the kitties.

I love that none of the kitties hiss when they see each other.  I love that none of them get their fur all raised.  No one is ready to pounce and/or attack.

They may not all be best buds, but they get along well enough.  Just like my kiddos.  That's good enough for me.

Another Couple of Random Pictures from October

William is always creating random things.  He uses and repurposes things like empty tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, and tape.  Lots and lots (and lots!) of tape.

This was one of his latest creations:

The funny thing is that Dusty DID stick her head inside the Cat Feeder 3000, trying to get at the few pieces of kitty food Will had left inside.  Her head promptly got stuck.  And the she proceeded to bang around the back hall, trying to free herself.  Poor girl was terrified by the time I got her head freed.

O Christmas Tree

It's that time of year, once again.  The time when all of the Christmas decorations come out from storage.  The time when we deck the halls.

This year, it was Eleanor's turn to hang the Christmas Nail..

And Will's turn to place the angel on top of the tree.

I know for sure.  I double checked the pictures I'd taken the last few years.  With four kids,  I've gotta be fair.  Trying to keep the peace and all that.

The Christmas Nail and the angel tree topper is as far as we got in decorating.  It was bedtime for the Littles by then.  Plus, we discovered that approximately half of the light strands did not work properly.  Either Gordon will have to fiddle with them or I will have to run to the store to pick up new ones.

Random Pics from last month

I just uploaded the pictures from my Canon Rebel.  I had no idea that there were pictures from over a month ago.  Pictures I'd taken with every intention of sharing with you.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this:

I stumbled on this "farm" scene one afternoon, after Nora had gone off to preschool.  I loved how she'd left her animals all "corralled" underneath the dining room chair.  I couldn't help but run to grab my camera and take a couple of pictures -- I wanted to share them with you.

And then, I found this:

Eleanor earned this Doc McStuffins doll by remaining accident-free for an extended period of time.  I'm not above bribery, people.  If bribing my baby with a coveted dolly saves me from having to deal with poopy-underwear-laundry-detail, I'm gonna do it.  Just sayin'.

And then, I saw these:

A couple of the pictures I'd taken the last Saturday of October.  Grace participated in another horse show.  She rode her friend Marina's horse, Shawnee.  It was totally worth freezing my butt off to watch my girl in action.  (It was COLD that day!)

And then, there were the Halloween pictures.  Here is one I took of my four just before we headed out to join the neighbors for Trick or Treating.  Dianna was dressed as Luna Lovegood (a Harry Potter character), Will was a ghost (again...same costume as last year), Eleanor was Doc McStuffins, and Grace was a Ninja. 

Smarty Pants

Nora (holding up a diamond-shaped piece of paper):  Mommy, I can't remember what this shape is called.....what is it?

Me:  That's a 'diamond'.

Nora:  Oh.  I thought it was a paralellogram.

Herman Sourdough Starter recipe

As promised, here is the recipe to making your very own Herman starter:

Herman Sourdough Starter

Mix 2 cup AP flour, 2 cup WARM water, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 teas.).

Let the mixture stand overnight.

Place in the refrigerator the next day, loosely covered.

Stir with a non-metal spoon every day.

On the fifth day, add 1 cup AP flour, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir well & refrigerate.

On the tenth day, remove 1 cup of the starter.  "Feed" the 1 cup of starter 1 cup AP flour, 1 cup milk, & 1/2 cup sugar.

Bake with or dispose of the rest of the starter.

AND NOW.....my tried-and-true Tips on feeding and caring for Herman:

1.     Keep in the fridge (or freezer, if you won’t be using him, so he can “hibernate” until you’re ready for him again.)

2.     Herman prefers to be stored in a glass or pottery container with a loose fitting lid.  A plastic container would be ok, but NO METAL!  (make sure you don’t seal the container tightly – Herman needs air to breathe)

3.     Do not use metal utensils to stir Herman.  Plastic or wooden spoons only, please.

4.     Stir at least once every 10days or so.  If not used in 7-10 days, add 1tsp. of sugar to “feed” him.

5.     If a clear, yellowish, and/or black liquid appears on top of the starter, simply stir it back in or pour it off.  DO NOT drink this – it can be powerful stuff.  (It’s called “hooch”)

6.     The day before you’ll be ready to use Herman, take him out of the fridge & allow him to get to room temperature.  Add 1cu. Flour, 1cu. Milk, & ½ cu. Sugar * to expand him.  Let it sit for 12-24 hours.  Remove the amount of starter you need for your recipe and place the rest back in the refrigerator.


* You can add more or little, depending on how much starter you already have and will need for baking.  Just keep it in the 2:2:1 ratio. 

Herman III

Let's test everyone a bit.  Who knows about Herman?  Who remembers my tales of Herman and Herman Jr?  Remember that I boasted just this past February that I still had Herman Jr and was sharing the Herman love with friends?

It is with mixed emotion that I report that I had to make a new batch of Herman.  A few weeks back, I was planning to bake some sourdough goodies.  Even after expanding Herman, I found that I had *just enough* starter for the recipe I wanted to bake.  My choice was to either expand Herman again, and wait until the next day to bake, or use all of the starter I had and plan to make a new Herman starter another day.

I went with option B.  When I'm in the mood to bake, I want to bake.  I don't want to wait any longer than necessary.  Still, I was sad that I wouldn't get to see how long Herman Jr would last.  I mean, he'd lasted from May 2010 - September 2012.  That's pretty darn good, no?  I wonder how much longer it'd have gone.

Fast forward a few weeks and I finally decided it was time to make a new Herman.  It'll take 10 days before it's ready for baking.  Just in time for the pre-holiday baking to commence.  Perfect timing, no??

I'll be posting the Herman Sourdough Starter recipe here later tonight (or maybe tomorrow morning...).  If you're interested in trying Herman for yourself, please feel free.  I can also post some of the yummy recipes we've tried (and loved!), as well as my Tips for Taking Care of Herman.

Cinamon Swirl Quick Bread Recipe

Mmmm.  My kitchen smells divine.  The cinnamon bread that Nora and I made earlier this morning was delish.  Absolutely yummy.

I found a recipe on C&C Cakery's blog.  It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but close enough that I thought I could make it work.  So I tweaked it a little.  Below is my updated version:

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
adapted slightly from C&C Cakery

Makes one loaf

1 egg
1 cu. milk
1/3 cu. vegetable oil
1 teas. vanilla
1/3 cu. sugar
2 teas. cinnamon
1 cu. sugar
2 cu. AP flour
1 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 X 5" loaf pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cu. sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cu. sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.  With a wooden spoon, stir in your wet ingredients just until a batter forms.

Pour about half of the batter into the loaf pan.  Sprinkle most of the cinnamon mixture on top of the batter, then pour the rest of the batter on top of that.  With a knife, swirl your batter so that the cinnamon mixture becomes marbled. Sprinkle the last little bit of cinnamon mixture evenly on the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean.  Cool completely before serving.

50-Gallon Stomachs??

The kids all have today off from school, in honor of Veterans Day.

(A big thank you to all of our Veterans!!)

Grace spent the night at a friend's house.

Dianna, Will, Nora, and I have had a rather sluggish start to our morning.  It's been nice to be bummy together.  Well, it's been nice for the kids to be bummy.  I haven't had the chance to relax as much.

First, Will wanted a waffle.

Then, Nora requested on too.

I mixed together and baked a cinnamon swirl bread (trying a new recipe....if it's good, I'll be sure to share it).

Then, Will started asking if it was lunch time.

"No, Bud.  You just ate your waffle a mere 20 minutes ago"

"Oh.  Really?  It was so long ago!"

So I scrambled up two eggs for him to have as an "after-breakfast snack".  And then I had to scramble up another two eggs for Nora to eat.

It's not even 10:00am.

WHERE ARE THEY PUTTING ALL THIS FOOD?!?!

Romantic(?) Candlelight

This was our livingroom, after Storm Sandy took our power.  Slightly romantic.  It sort of made me wish we had a Ouija board.

Knowing the history of our house, a Ouija board may or may not be a good idea...

Creative Parent Tricks -- Works for Me!!

One of the afternoons last week, when we were without power at the house, I loaded all of the kids up in the car.  We were all going stir-crazy, just looking at the same walls.  I figured it was time to get out, see some of the damage from the storm, and clear our heads.  Since it was around lunchtime, I decided I could also treat the kids to some McDonald's.

After we got our order from the drivethru, I pulled in to a nearby parking spot so I could divvy up everyone's food and drinks.  While doing this, I thought it might be neat to share with you one of our tricks.  You may find this helpful the next time you go pick up a bottled milk for your child to drink in the car.  (For all I know, everyone already does this and I'm being redundant.....if that's the case, forgive me!)

Anyway, for years now, whenever I utilize a fast food drivethru and order a milk for one or more of the kids, this is how I open the bottle for them.  It allows the kids to drink their milk while affording me a little comfort, in that the milk is a LOT less likely to tip and spill all over my car.

Spoiled, spilled milk gets really nasty.  Especially in the heat of the summer, when your car has been baking for hours.  Ewww!

First, I shake and open the bottle as intended.  Then, using my car key, I poke a hole in the center of the cap.  

I stick a straw through the hole.  

Finally, I replace it back on the bottle.   

Voila!

Toothy grin!

At little more than one month before he turns 7yo, Will finally lost his first tooth last week!  It had been really loose for only a short time.  

Because his tooth fell out while we were still without power, Dianna asked how the Tooth Fairy would be able to visit.  I quickly assured both her and William that the Tooth Fairy probably has her own flashlight.  She certainly can't turn on bedroom lights (even if there is power), or else she'd wake the sleeping child(ren) and they'd get a glimpse of her!

* For the record, I'm fairly certain that Dianna has figured out the whole Tooth Fairy, Santa, Easter Bunny thing.  I think she's just testing me (and the theories), to see if she can catch me up by presenting technical questions.

Snowy Morning

The kids were sent home early from school yesterday.  We were expecting to be hit by the Nor'Easter that was heading towards New England.  According to our weather guy, our area should have gotten approximately 1-3" of snowy mix.  By time Gordon got home from work last night, it was pretty obvious that we'd get that and a little more.

Sure enough, we woke this morning to find what I'd guess is 4" of snow.  

Dianna couldn't wait until after school today to go out and play in it.  She got herself ready for school, and then donned her snowpants, boots, hat, and gloves.  She quickly set about building a little snowman.

Election Day

Happy Election day, peeps!

Now go out and VOTE!

You can't complain if you don't vote.

Americans living overseas can vote.  Astronauts out in space can vote.  There's no reason for you to not vote.

Seriously, you should go vote.

Predators

Ashton and Dusty sure have turned out to be great additions to the family.

Except for their predatory habits.

At least one of them is a great mouser.  Probably both.  It's hard to tell which one it is that is catching all of the mice.

I KNOW that they're catching mice (and birds and moles).  How do I know?  Because they constantly leave them all over the patio, sidewalk, and driveway.  They've even left one in the garage!

Given the alternative (having mice invade our house), I'm happy to let the kitties take care of the problem.

101 Hours

After 101 hours without power, ours was finally restored late last night!  Just in time for our birthday.  (Remember, when it's my birthday, it's also Gordon's birthday, and my twin's.)

Thank you, CL&P, for restoring our power for our birthday.

We didn't sustain much damage from Storm Sandy (I believe she was downgraded from a hurricane by the time she hit CT).  A piece of siding fell off the peak of the house, but we found it in the front yard. Gordon says he can reattach it.  The trees all lost some branches, but none of them were much bigger than twigs.

We just lost power.

I have some pictures I want to share with you.  Of course, they're still on my cameras.  I'll try to get them uploaded asap.