Toddlers

Anyone else have a problem keeping toddlers happy? At least while you are also happy...
I read a while back somewhere about a mother's idea to keep her toddlers busy playing in a tub of rice on a mat on the floor. It seemed like River was ready for such a project.
I first put all the fun on the kitchen table. Riv still managed to get rice everywhere. Then I moved him to the floor on a mat. Still more rice everywhere. I finally got smart and moved everything outside.

Not only do I have a hard time finding good things to keep him busy, he also has serious opinions. He has to have 3 bowls of cereal each morning in certain bowls with certain spoons. He wants certain bibs. He has to have certain cups. They must contain chocolate milk. He doesn't want his diaper changed or to get out of his pajamas. I could go on.
To keep my sanity, I've been reading a compilation of Erma Bombeck's columns.
Let me share her insights.
"I've never met three children who could understand me less. When I laid out pajamas, put the sides up on the crib and turned on the night-light, they came alive like the "big midnight show," standing on their heads, bringing out all the toys and playing patty-cake with the dog.
When I picked up the phone, like mechanical robots on schedule they gargled bleach, rolled potatoes across the floor, climbed on the top of the TV set and took off all their clothes.
When I said "No," they giggled; "Not now," they bit me; "Come to Mama," they ran into the traffic; "Let me see what you have in your hand," they ate it; "The strained lamb is good for you," they blew it back in my face.
Communicate with a toddler? I'd sooner take my chances with an untrained, excited puppy on a new white carpet."
I still laugh helplessly every time I read those lines. She hits the nail on the head. Why don't we just admit to the fear and frustration of parenting and have a good time with it?

She looks about how I felt about the whole "fun" project. Suspicious.

Peanut Butter Granola

I believe I may have mentioned having some unwanted flab in a previous post or possibly posts. So I've been exerting some effort to eat healthier, if for no other reason than it may make it so that I don't have to really exercise. I am so uninspired to jog around or run or what-have-you.
Breakfast seemed like the easiest place to start a change in my diet so I have pretty much stopped eating cereal and now alternate between green smoothies and peanut butter granola with greek yogurt.
In testament to how good this granola is, Jeremy's late night snack last night was granola in a glass of milk. (You can see why the diet thing might be a little slow in coming around here, what with all the snacking that goes on.) And I think he even ate it with some yogurt this morning. This from a guy who, up until now, said he hated yogurt.
Recipe is from my oft referred to Sterling Cookbook

Coming back...

 I totally thought I would do better at posting than I have. I can't believe it's been well over a month since I last got on this blog!
 So what have I been doing? Jeremy, the kids, and I traveled to the east coast to visit some friends, then Jeremy, Madeira, and I turned around and went to Texas to get a truck for Sealtite.
After all the vacationing, it was time to get down to business. My dear mother came over one day and we made a double batch of salsa, spaghetti sauce, and tomato cocktail.
Also last week one of my sister's longtime friends came to visit so we had a progressive supper, with the finale at our house for dessert. I made a 6 layer chocolate salted caramel cake (thank you, Martha Stewart Living!!) with some help from jr.
Other than that, it's business as usual around here. I won't even go into the boring routine of every day life since I'm sure most of you are well acquainted with it.
I will be at the Fairbury Fair judging the culinary entries this afternoon for an exciting break! I will take the opportunity to tell you that the entries from last year weren't all the impressive (sorry if I'm insulting you here) but I'm sure most of you could do better so go ahead and enter stuff! Just don't tell me if you do so I'm an impartial judge. :)

Rustin and River on a ride at a carnival in Vernon, CT

River and Jeremy at Harkness Beach, CT

Chocolate caramel cake on pink and gold dishes! :)

My sous chef

Some much needed help while canning tomato stuff

Ah! The sweetness that is a little girl!

Uncle Ev, Madeira, and River

A Chicago 4th of July

River, enjoying his view of the river

I am not a 4th of July celebration fan (although this is not to be confused with not being a fan of the 4th in general). This is primarily because I hate loud noises, to the point where the idea of sitting and listening to eardrum shattering fireworks brings on a panic attack. But Jeremy assured me that it's not as loud in Chicago by the lake. I guess I must really trust him - I agreed this sounded fun!?!?!
We had a stay at swissotel purchased from the MFB auction this spring, plus a gift certificate to Keefer's, one of Chicago's best steak houses. So we've heard anyway.

Waiting at the Pier

Let me just cut to the chase here on the fireworks.
Point 1: We took the kids because it seemed cruel to leave River out of the fun. But hauling 2 kids with strollers down and up several flights of steps to get to the pier = totally unfun.
Point 2: The fireworks were scheduled to start at 9 pm. We probably left for the pier around 7 along with a HERD of other people. I don't mean this as an exaggeration either.
Point 3: We somehow missed the ramp leading up the upper part of the pier (by the ferris wheel) so we took the elevator up. This required like a 10 minute jaunt through the boardwalk. Once on the elevator, there was no sign to get off by the "ferris wheel"so we ended up getting on a random floor. Parking garage. Just so you know, if you ever find yourself at Navy Pier on the elevator, trying to get to the ferris wheel, get off at the Shakespeare Theater level. :)
Point 4: It's not like we missed this, but it was like a million degrees outside. We staked out some chairs and then waited and waited and waited. All this waiting started working on my mind. It was 100 degrees out. River was antsy (surprise!). And I just knew that Jeremy's definition of "not loud" was not going to match up with mine. I wanted to go back to the hotel. Immediately. Unfortunately we'd waited forever so I was just planning to plug my ears and tough it out.
At 9 promptly there was a countdown and the fireworks started. Jeremy was right - it wasn't that loud. I'm not an expert on fireworks and I couldn't see much of them on the lake but Jeremy thought Sibley's were just as good as Chicago's so that was a little disappointing. I say, whatever. Fireworks, fireschmorks.
The real joy was getting out of there. Half the population of Chicago was trying to leave Navy Pier at the same time and there we were, with 2 strollers. The one I happened to have was like trying to navigate a mower through a herd of pigs. River had a love/hate relationship with his stroller. On the way out, he hated it. Good thing it had straps. I drove the stroller on some lady's foot because, well, there were feet everywhere and I was just trying to get back together with Jeremy. I almost felt bad about it.
After lugging the strollers back up 2 more flights of steps, we arrived, dripping and weary, back to the hotel. I've often wanted to take a cold shower and then when I get in, I decide that maybe a cold shower isn't exactly the thing I want. Not last night. I took the coldest shower I've ever planned to take in my life.
This morning, while in the hot tub on the 42nd floor of the hotel, I realized that I had the perfect view of the pier from there. I could have avoided stroller lugging, crowds, heat, and any noise last night, right there in the lap of luxury. Maybe next year. Maybe.
I am NEVER going to Navy Pier on the 4th again. You are all my witnesses to this declaration. It just ain't worth it.

My lady M, being her sweet little self at the Pier.

 I haven't said much about the hotel. I don't want to sound jaded - it was a perfectly nice hotel, located in a lovely, quiet part of Chicago. It basically sits on the end of Wacker Drive so there is no through traffic. The view was great - River loved it especially. Blah, blah.
But then we had breakfast this morning and I fell in love with swissotel.

 Assorted fresh fruits, perfectly cut and perfectly ripe.

 Greek yogurt, assorted cheeses and Swiss meats.

 Smoked salmon, capers, hard boiled egg yolks, and egg whites.

 Toppings for oatmeal.

 Herb butter, vanilla butter, and plain butter.
I didn't capture the poached eggs florentine or the display of croissants, or scrambled eggs that actually looked good.
It was so awesome! I had smoked salmon and cream cheese on a whole grain bread. These are the times that I wish that I had 4 stomachs so I could have had room to try at least a little bit of everything. Alas.
Of course, all this beauty comes with a cost. The breakfast buffet is 26 clams per person, should you ever find yourself at the swissotel.

This guy was washing windows today. It was pretty cool to behold the efficient way he worked.
For the record, I made it to Pizano's and PaperSource, but not Keefers. We'll be enjoying that dinner sans children. :)

4 Years Together

On our honeymoon - June 2008

Jeremy and I just had our 4th anniversary. I'd say we just celebrated it, except that we did not celebrate it, unless eating pizza in Fairbury counts as a celebration. I, for one, do not think so. That would at least require a trip to Reality Bites.
I'm not a very romantic person, sadly. The longer I'm married, the more I realize this. In fact, my expectations have sunk to the depths of being glad Jeremy makes it home for supper, let alone back rubs, toothpaste applied to my toothbrush :), flowers, breakfast in bed, etc.
And yet, as we recently studied in a Bible study, women need to be loved. I am no exception.
The following story illustrates just how I know that Jeremy loves me in a very real way.
We weren't married for very long when I was shopping at Daves and saw this young kid putting up a paper on the bulletin board in the store, saying he needed work. I'm not really sure why it triggered such emotion in me. Maybe it was because he looked so pathetic. More likely because I'm such a tender hearted person. :) Whatever the reason, I could just hardly stand it that this poor boy didn't have work! Why didn't someone help him out? I was sobbing as I related this story to Jeremy. I'm sure he was sitting there wondering what on earth he'd gotten himself into with this sniveling woman by his side for life. But being the male problem solver that he is, he carved some time out of his day to personally seek this kid out and talk to him.
Oh what a love! He listens to me! That act of kindness is worth more than 20 years of roses to me.
And that is how I like to hear "I love you".

After introducing Jeremy to Bacaro in Champaign. A different dining experience for him - he was a good sport!

Happy Birthday, River!

He's 2!

Let me start off by stating the oft heard comment that I can't believe my first born is 2 already. Unreal how fast that went, although I know 2 years is really a very short time, all things considered.
Anyway, the problem with birthdays is that from now until doomsday (probably a little exaggerated but you get my drift), I will be in charge of making birthday cakes. I like to make cakes. I like to make frosting. I like parties. But I don't really know that I love to make birthday cakes. They just look so tacky most of the time.
But to be perfectly honest, I feel some pressure, being a pastry chef and all, to make this fabulous birthday cake for my offspring, even though River didn't ask for it and probably wouldn't care if he got a cake at all. I caved to the pressure. And oh, it was painful!
River is really into tractors so I felt the need to make him a tractor cake. Not that I was looking forward to it.
The extent of my cake decorating knowledge is 1) frozen cakes frost better and 2) do crumb coats on the cake. And I padded that info with a quick web search of tractor cakes and floundered ahead.
My first problem was that cake thaws very quickly, especially when the cake is cut in small pieces. Also decorators frosting doesn't stick to cut portion of cake, frozen or not. So the crumb coat was pretty much a coat of crumbs in frosting that stuck on in blobs.
I was working myself into a lather with the cake, shoving it back into the frig to somehow pull itself together while I tried to work up enthusiasm to keep working on it. I'd tell you how I put the cake together but it clearly wasn't the best way so you might as well get tips from someone else. I would just tell you to use buttercream frosting. Or even canned frosting if you like. Just as long as it sticks to the cake.
I also made the mistake of bringing home one of my nephews as a treat for River (again, seriously, it's not like he asked me to do that so I'm not sure why I thought he'd really care. In fact, it was more for my benefit since I thought they'd play together and I could slave over in the cake in peace. Ha! As if that were possible!) Since Simon was at our house, River didn't want to nap.
The second mistake I made was scheduling River's 2 year check up for that afternoon. I fought with him to take his nap for a while til I realized I'd be leaving before too long to take him to the dr. so I just let him go. He was a ball of energy at the dr's office.
He finally went to sleep when we got home, so I resumed fussing with the cake. I was kinda wishing I could heave it into the trash except I wasn't going to pull off another cake with more icing by the time his party rolled around that night so I kept working at it.
About this time, my perky nephew bounded into the kitchen and started watching me. And bless his sweet little heart, he told me, "That is an awesome twactor!"
Well, this lowered my blood pressure. At least it looked like a tractor which was something. Simon thought it was cute. It tasted good. And hopefully it wouldn't fall over until River blew out the candles and I could quickly carve it up in which case, the fact that it was ugly wouldn't matter anyway.
I'm not sure exactly what I learned from this experience as far as whether birthday cake making is worth it or not. Someone was aghast at hearing that I was maybe just going to buy River's cake next year. I figured having a mother who wasn't a shrill witch on one's birthday was worth more than a lopsided tractor cake.
On the other hand, seeing Simon's obvious delight at the cake pleased me immensely. He didn't care if it was ugly. It was cake! And it was for a birthday party!
I will probably be making River another cake next year. Hopefully he'll be into owls or something fun like that though! :) I live in hope.
And one more thing - don't ask me for advice on cake making! Unless you want to know what not to do!

Nice right? The back wheel fell off a few times, I didn't have enough white frosting for the window, not like it was sticking to the cake anyway...

Like how the cab is leaning backwards? :0

This is more like it! Meringue buttercream on chocolate cupcakes. The wrappers and animals were from a kit I found at the Container Store.

Surviving Monday

I know, I know, I've made it to Thursday. But I have this laundry list of things to complain about. (Don't you just want to keep reading?!?!)
Speaking of laundry, my washer isn't spinning or rinsing the clothes right. There's a dead mole on my patio. I guess I could move it myself but that's the cat's job. River grabbed the roll of flab on my stomach yesterday. Our water is still hard despite my remarks to Jeremy and my hair has looked greasy for a week even though it's been washed. River has a runny nose again. And when people comment on it, I feel like it's somehow my fault even though he gets enough sleep, enough food, I have him wear a coat outside when it's cool. And I even give him a vitamin every day, shamelessly calling it candy.
The other day when Riv was supposed to be taking his nap, I kept hearing him coughing. So fearful that he might cough til he puked, I pulled a Florence Nightengale and decided to give him a spoonful of honey. He didn't even get a sip of honey down before he gagged and puked all over himself. This is why I'm not and never will be a nurse.
I have my favorite bars sitting on the counter which ordinarily would make me happy except for that comment above about getting my fat roll pinched.
I was driving into Fairbury the other day, thoroughly annoyed with life, when I heard the song "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA". It took that cheesy song to remind me that I do have a good life. I have 2 sweet kids. One hard working, good looking husband. Porch furniture. Books to read on the porch furniture. We're healthy. I have a few friends.
And really, I didn't want to do the laundry anyway.

 I know. Cute kids. Fun cousins. Iced coffee while reading a book. Cream cheese bars (from Heirloom Cookbook!). Life is good.