Trip update, installment two

On our recent trip to the mountains, we hopped on the tram in search of height and snow.

Here, we passed the second car on our way up the mountain:



We had an unseasonably warm weekend, and this was the extent of the nearby snow:



This is the pulley system that operates the tram. I am hopeful that there is more sophisticated equipment behind the scenes somewhere. At least it appears industrial-looking:



A shot from the peak:



And the view on the way back down:



I could have taken the tram several more times, but did not want to appear too kid-on-an-escalator-ish.

Friday's quote

Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

-Henry Miller

Trip update, first installment

So we had planned to take a quick trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after Christmas. Long story short, we bumped the trip out twice, and ended up driving up last Friday and staying through Tuesday. (Skip flew out of Knoxville for work Monday.)

On our last trip, the girls' favorite activities were the pool and water slides. We explained, ad nauseum, that, because this trip is occurring during the winter months, there would be no swimming opportunities. We were blunt: the pool will be CLOSED. Still, they were outraged that our view from the balcony was the covered pool:



I know how they felt because it is precisely how I feel when my favorite lipstick has been discontinued. It is one of life's great injustices.

Since swimming was not on the table, they turned to more creative ways to amuse themselves. They climbed atop statues (see top photo) and tried to go joy-riding in a "borrowed" car:



There may or may not have been some bear wrestling:



In reality, these photos were taken last Saturday, while we were strolling through town. It was a stunning day, and we packed in a full morning, ate a fabulous lunch and spent the early afternoon leisurely walking back to our room.

Recipe of the week: Pork roast with plum sauce

How about another slow cook recipe for this week?

I cannot say it enough; the crock pot is my go-to option on dance night. When we signed up for ballet, I made a silent vow to myself that we would not succumb to the ease and convenience of take out, and I am happy to report that, with only one exception, we have avoided all drive-thru windows.

Pork Roast with Plum Sauce

1 3 1/2 - 4 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 large onion, sliced
1 1-ounce envelope onion soup mix
1 18-ounce jar plum preserves
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
3-4 cups hot cooked rice

1) Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker. Set aside. In cooker, place onion. Add meat; sprinkle with onion soup mix.

2) For sauce, in a medium bowl combine plum preserves, chicken broth, Dijon mustard and tapioca. Pour over mixture in cooker.

3) Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours.

4) Transfer meat and onion to a service platter. Skim fat from sauce. Spoon some of the sauce over meat and onion. Serve with hot cooked rice.

Ok, granted, this is hardly a low-cal meal, what with the 18 ounces of plum preserves, but it makes for a delicious dinner.

Away

We are currently wrapping up a much needed long weekend away and are traveling back home today. This past weekend was the third time this particular trip had been scheduled (following a cancelation due to a death in the family at Christmas and a subsequent cancelation for the happy occasion of the baptism of our niece and nephew).

The trip was worth the wait. Updates to come soon.

Trikes

Warmer days can only mean one thing: TRIKES!

Martha's kitchen rules

I quickly perused the "Martha's 50 Top Kitchen Tips" slideshow, and it left me feeling inadequate. View at your own risk.

At play

Friday's quote

Life is not easy for any of us, but what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves.

-Marie Curie

Recipe of the week: Baked Ravioli

Although we are not Italian, ravioli, spaghetti and the like are among our favorites (unfortunately, from a carb standpoint, we try to have some moderation). Oddly, ravioli -- not pizza or spaghetti -- was the first entree embraced by our children. Below is one of our favorites:

Baked Ravioli
(Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds store-bought ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.

3. Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Recipe via Marthastewart.com.

Principles

Lately I have stumbled upon Tolstoy's "Rules of Life," as well these life principles.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

We started the day with a couple of treats at home:




Then we made cupcakes, pigs-in-a-blanket and loaded the Valentine's cards for Lauren & Gracie's friends for the preschool class party. Soon, they were in their seats and ready to party:



The distribution of the Valentine's cards:





Getting ready to dine:



They had a great time eating with their friends and playing. They even watched a little video after clean up time:



Monday night, Skip asked me, "If someone told you 10 years ago that you would be standing in your kitchen, making pigs-in-a-blanket, at 8:30 on a Monday morning, what would you have thought?"

I said, "You know, I'm quite certain I would have made a bold statement about how that scenario would NEVER happen."

"You would have thought they were completely crazy, right?"

Indeed.

But the pigs in a blanket were tasty, and the girls had a blast.

Be my Valentine

I went to Target sometime around the first of the year. They already had Valentine's Day displays in prominent position. For someone who was still eyeing her Christmas tree at home, it was shocking to see conversational hearts and V-Day themed dish towels on display. The intention, I'm sure, is to spark the next wave of holiday (and I use that term loosely when referring to V-Day) spending, but what happens to me is the opposite. Do we really need a full six weeks of Valentine's Day preparations? I think not. When I stare at Valentine's decorations/displays for weeks on end, I become fatigued, stop seeing it altogether and then am surprised when February 14th finally rolls around.

It was thus that I registered surprise when the girls' preschool teacher mentioned the upcoming Valentine's Day party and correlating "sign-up sheet" to me (I am the room mom. Have I mentioned that? For those of you who are aware of my domestic shortcomings, feel free to laugh amongst yourselves...) last Thursday. The neuro fatigue was also how I ended up at Wal-Mart Friday, in the throes of Valentine's Day traffic, to procure supplies for the school party. I blame the fatigue.

I think it is a shame that this holiday (again, that seems strong) is forced because, in terms of timing, I think it can actually be a good day. I firmly believe that V-Day, positioned right at the end of winter and about six weeks into the resolutions we made at the beginning of the year, is a great opportunity to do something nice for others and even ourselves. We returned to our routines, resolved to make improvements, and have been trudging along for a month and a half. The opportunity to encourage/indulge is fortuitously timed. Take today to do something nice for those you care about, and do something nice for yourself -- no matter how small the gesture is. And, I promise it doesn't require six weeks of planning... you still have plenty of time.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Friday's quote

Our friends should be companions who inspire us, who help us rise to our best.

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

Tips for hair

Update: I drafted the below post on 02-04-11, prior to the hosting site's 02-07-11 post concerning dry shampoo. The timing demonstrates that all efficient moms think alike!

When it comes to getting up, dressed, wrangling two preschoolers into clothes, into their chairs for breakfast and into the car for a drive to preschool, it is easy for something to give. And that something is usually a morning routine that involves being presentable for the outside world. In a pinch, I can get by with minimal make-up, but it is hard to pull off uncombed hair, unless you happen to look cute in a baseball cap (and I do not). Therefore, I am always and forever seeking short-cuts on how to have presentable (ok, quasi-presentable) hair.

An obvious way to save time is to skip the daily shampoo, although that was not entirely obvious to me at first. It took a former stylist suggesting it as a way to combat dryness for me to consider it. When I asked about conditioning products, she simply said, "Well, I can tell you how to fix the dryness immediately, but you probably aren't going to want to do it." When she suggested that I not wash my hair daily, I thought she was crazy. I had been dutifully performing a daily wash for years; I was on auto-pilot. Begrudgingly, I gave it a shot, and within a couple of weeks I noticed a huge change in the health of my hair. So then imagine my response when I had another, subsequent stylist recommend that I shampoo every two days. He also added that hair gets dryer as we age and that he has a lot of thirty-something clients that only shampoo twice a week. Currently, I am on an every 2-3 day day plan. I like to refreshen between shampoos, and that's where dry shampoos come into play.

Below is a detailed video from hair guru Sarah James at HairThursday.com extolling the merits of dry shampoo:

Recipe of the week: Chili rubbed chicken

There is really no back story for this week's recipe, other than I saw the recipe in Martha Stewart Living years ago and thought I would give it a try. I am so glad I did because the combined spices always look so pretty in the bowl (and the finished product tastes good, too).

Chili Rubbed Chicken

Ingredients
Serves 4

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken breast halves, with bone in and skin on
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
8 sprigs fresh thyme or marjoram


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, and paprika, plus salt and pepper to taste. Rub chicken all over with the chili mix.


2. Add olive oil to a large cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, and swirl to cover bottom. Add onion rounds in a single layer, then thyme. Add chicken, skin side up. Transfer to oven, and bake until the chicken has cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.


3. Let chicken cool slightly. Using your fingers, remove the bones. Slice each breast, crosswise, into four or five pieces. Serve with the roasted onion rounds and thyme.

The rub does have a slight spicy flavor, and therefore, we omit rubbing one piece of chicken for the girls' more gentle palates. Here is how it looks before going into the oven.



Because Skip likes all food served piping hot -- think molten lava -- there is no after photo, as the food was already "plated" before I could even think of getting an after shot. Here is Martha's finished product.

Overheard

1) So one recent morning I was walking on the treadmill when Lauren came over, stood by my side, waited expectantly until she had my attention, raised her eyebrows sharply and said, "Mom, get Daddy a hot tea, and I would like water with lemon." Based on the piercing gaze that accompanied that order, I do not imagine that she will ever be at a loss for words or intimidated by any snooty waiters when she is older.



2) Gracie has stumbled onto the greatness of a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll or "ho-ho's," as Skip calls them. During one of her first nibbles, she nonchalantly said, "You can put this in my lunchbox... if you want to..."

Organization

(Photo by Real Simple.)

As devices become increasingly technical, it is a rare purchase that does not include an instructional manual, particularly one that might be referenced in the foreseeable future. This idea from Real Simple makes perfect sense.

I also like the accompanying photo (above), showing children's school years organized by grade. Such a great way to keep up with all of the art work, projects and memorabilia.

Some random pics

Preschooler menus

This week on Kelly's Korner the topic is "what to feed your toddler/preschooler," and that is a great question, indeed. Most of us will agree that the short answer is: whatever they will eat.

In parenting, it becomes apparent that there are specific, unique challenges, and then we learn that we have all been given certain freebies with our children in the form of an easy task here or there. Maybe you have a child who slept through the night at six weeks, or perhaps your child embraces all new activities with no ambivalence whatsoever. One of our big blessings is that both girls, our twins who are approaching 4 1/2, have had good appetites and are considered good eaters. In fact, they have the appetites of NFL players. From the time those first foods were introduced, there has been no looking back, and we know we are incredibly blessed with that. However, we definitely live with the challenge of coming up with a menu day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. And we have learned that even children with good appetites resist the introduction of new food. We strive to add new ideas, and we work even harder to persuade our children to try new food.

At any rate, here were/are some of our favorites:

Breakfast options:

1) Scrambled eggs were a huge hit for quite a while. When our girls were first starting to eat actual food, we pureed the scrambled eggs in our Magic Bullet (add a little milk and shredded cheese), but they quickly progressed to managing the eggs just fine on their own.

2) Yogurt was/is an ongoing staple, and it is definitely worth looking for a brand that does not have high fructose corn syrup.

3) Waffles or pancakes are a special treat.

4) Don't forget fruit!

5) My only breakfast regret is that I have not been able to sell the idea of oatmeal. I think oatmeal and some fruit makes for a power breakfast.

Lunch/Dinner:

I remember being at a complete loss when we transitioned to real food. I scoured stores for ideas, I looked at websites, and I purchased a copy of Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious". The premise of the book is to incorporate pureed vegetables into regular, child-friendly dishes. We were already incorporating a lot of veggies into our diet so the recipes made sense to us. Mostly, it is a quick reference for kid-friendly suggestions. I have not yet tried her follow up, "Double Delicious," but will definitely peruse it in the future for meal ideas. In short, I am constantly seeking to add variety, especially if it means something other than chicken nuggets is served for dinner.

Some of the girls' favorites include:

1) Spaghetti has been a favorite from way back. I don't remember when we first served spaghetti, but I know the girls were heartily eating p-sketty by 18 months.

2) Buttermilk mashed potatoes with chicken is a concoction we created when the girls became obsessed with the chicken and mashed potato meal packaged/sold as a "Graduate" meal. We modified a Martha Stewart mashed potato recipe, incorporated chicken (shredded into bite size morsels) and -- voila! -- a new favorite was born. We made this in enormous batches, packaged individual meals in storage bags, and froze them for later use.

3) The Jessica Seinfeld meatloaf recipe is another big favorite, and we usually make a double batch for packaging/freezing as indicated above.

4) Finally, as soon as we could, we simply served the girls whatever we had prepared for dinner. We lightly seasoned food so that their fare would be more bland, and we continued to try to introduce whatever we were eating so that they would have greater variety.

Those are some of our go-to ideas. Thanks for visiting, and I look forward to picking up new options/ideas from others.

Have a great weekend!!!

How to not look stupid at a Super Bowl party

Via NPR. I am practicing my delivery of "it's really all going to come down to his leadership ability..."

Friday's quote

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.

-Thomas Jefferson

Recipe of the week: Chicken pot-pie

This week's recipe is so easy that you're going to think I am insulting your intelligence by posting a recipe that is this simple. However, on the off chance that you have forgotten about this trusty one dish, comfort food delight, here it is, in time for the latest cold snap.

Chicken Pot-pie
(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 (13oz) can Fat Free Premium Chunk Chicken Breast, drained
1 (15oz) can mixed vegetables, drained
1 (10 3/4oz) can Cream of Celery soup
1/2 (7oz) can chicken broth
1 box Pillsbury rolled frozen pie crusts (2), room temperature
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a cookie sheet in oven to heat. Mix chicken, vegetables and soup in a mixing bowl. Stir in half can of broth. Season to taste. Put one pie crust in pie dish, pour in vegetable mixture, and cover with remaining crust. Crimp edges together, and use knife tip to make design perforations in top crust. Place on preheated cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until golden brown.

(As the above photo shows, I used plain pie crusts, versus the fancier rolled crusts due to family (read: Skip) preference.)

This dish could not be simpler, but manages to pack a delicious punch. Try it out, and happy Thursday!

You are beautiful

Signage has appeared in our town in the form of positive grafitti. I have been curious about the "you are beautiful" messages. If you have seen these locally or have been exposed to a similar campaign in your own vicinity (the artists are part of a larger, international vision), here is an interview with our local artists.

The prodigal kitty

I mentioned that we went to Atlanta last weekend for a quick family visit. In doing so, Lauren left her "kitty" at the hotel. Although she assured us that she had placed kitty in her suitcase, we arrived home, and there was no kitty to be found. As early as Sunday night, we contacted the hotel to attempt to locate this favorite sleep object. Friday morning -- five days and seven telephone calls later -- the hotel confirmed that they had located kitty on the third floor, on a cart, and that they would have it shipped to us.



As an aside, we recently learned the word "excluded" by reading one of their many "Fancy Nancy" books. They know that excluded means "left out," and Lauren has been saying all week that kitty has been excluded.

Also, I made so many calls regarding kitty that Lauren started assuming every call made/received concerned kitty, and she would demand a status update after each call our home made or received. She also began calling kitty on her toy phones, presumably to try to get to the bottom of this entire issue.

But so we explained that kitty had finally been located by housekeeping (God love them for keeping up the search), and that she would be returned via mail. That initiated another issue altogether. "Today? Will I get her today?" Lauren asked.

"Well, no, I just spoke with them, and they are sending kitty out for shipping..."

"Tomorrow? I will get her tomorrow?"

"Nooo... tomorrow is Saturday. They probably won't ship kitty for Saturday delivery..."

"Next day?"

"The next day is Sunday. There aren't deliveries on Sundays."

"..." (Total disbelief.)

"Kitty probably won't be here until the end of next week, but she's definitely on the way."

But then something wonderful happened. Kitty arrived on MONDAY!



YAYYYY!





Immediately after the below pic, Lauren asked, "What's that smell?" So we spiffed Kitty up with some Febreze, and she is good as new.



Poor kitty was returned with the below note affixed to her. She is very happy to be back in Lauren's custody and care after having been on a wild ride at the Hilton.