A little four goes a long way...

I have been remiss from blogging lately due to planning my daughter's first official birthday party. Last year, we had a little play date with a few friends that included cake, but was a far cry from an actual party.  I knew then that her fourth would have to be an all out affair.... well, for me, anyways; with mailed invitations, planning, craft, and lots of stress.  You know the premise of "facing your fears"?  Well, this one tops public speaking in my realm.  So, for the love of my daughter, I looked the party in the eye, gave it the old one-two (and went up to six for good measure) and promptly took a nap once the house cleared out. 

The party room thanks to my Craigslist dining table, a tablecloth I scooped up from Target in 2005 (yes, that's right, I just opened the package) for a mere $4, and a homemade banner from leftover scrapbook paper.  The scrapbook paper was leftover from the same birthday girl's birth announcements.  Wild.

Crazy stinkin' cute

We started off with Jeff (the man, the myth, the legend, Captain Awesome!!!) entertaining the kiddos with a scavenger hunt through our main floor. 

Mayhem ensues- Sara remains upright

The hunt ends with my picnic basket containing mini wood boxes with each girl's initial on them.  I had stickers for them to decorate with and then we made bracelets with pipe cleaners, colored and alphabet beads, and these sweet little purse charms that Madeline picked out.  Craft and party favor in one!

Fabulous little birthday girl wanted a strawberry cake with pink icing.  This was my second attempt, b/c the first attempt really wanted to be part of a trifle.  I begged it to be a layer cake, but sometimes there's just no persuading a cake out of it's pan in one piece.  Round two went to me, where, during the ingredient stage, I told the cake it will come out of the pan in one piece.... or else.  And then I beat it into submission.  On level 10.  HA!

We all really had a great time and the partygoers played wonderfully well together, and one little Madeline was exceedingly happy for days leading up to the event.  It was a great reminder for me to parent her selflessly.  This picture was taken after Jeff and I woke up from naps.....she's still holding her balloon.

Three little bears, awry Valentine, you don't know Bittman

Three little bears

they have too many oats

and they don't know what to do

"I know!", said mama bear

we'll add dried cherries and almonds too!

Scrumdiddlyumptious...

A recipe for raspberry pinwheels from 4 years ago, yields 54, ha to the ha-ha, my pan has about 25.  Wretched recipe took all morning in 30 minute chunks- so off to the recycle bin with you.  I have about a 85% failure rate when trying out new recipes.  It's not me, it's the airbrushed pictures that make you think it's possible to recreate sans playdough and shellac...

So in a huff I turned to my friend Mark Bittman (okay, so he doesn't know I'm his friend, but I'm sure he would find me adorable) and his Crunchy Granola- crazy awesome and my new go to.  I had been buying Bear Naked granola (the closest that I could find to the stuff I smuggled in from Switzerland), but no more.  This was super easy and quick.  Most granola is low and slow like BBQ, requiring an hour to an hour and a half of your oven's time and you stirring it every 15 minutes. This was 30 minutes at 350 and stirred once.  You basically throw in any of those remaining bags of nuts from recipes alongside of oats (and we have plenty of that!) and maple syrup.  Bittman is also known as "The Minimalist Chef" and writes regularly for the NY Times. 

Yep; this is world renowned, big deal chef Mark Bittman cooking  in his NY kitchen, with absolutely no counter space to speak of.  If you need something to watch while folding laundry, check out his podcasts on Itunes.  He is a very dry wit, shaken not stirred, and passionate about real food made accessible. 

The Delightful Dozen

So, as you well know by now, I am a bit of a minimalist. Mad and I went to a birthday party this weekend and came home with the requisite bag of plastic princess party favors: such is the life of a pre-schooler, and Valentine's Day is no exception. As much as possible, I like to gift things that are useful, and in the case where I don't know the person/kids well, I like to give things that are consumable. As Sara and I wandered up and down the aisles at Target this morning, I saw all the tattoos, pencils, playdoh tubs, and stickers marketed for your kids Valentines. And in actuality, it wasn't too bad, most of it was consumable, but I couldn't get over the marketing for the holiday (and therefore, excess packaging).

Last year, I thought I would surprise my mom with Krispy Kremes delivered for Valentine's Day, but I was the one surprised with Valentine's Day cards. They have this promotion that with a dozen doughnuts you get a dozen Valentine's cards that are redeemable for a doughnut each. Bingo! Valentine's for preschool forevermore. I could tell you that we freeze the doughnuts for later, but I know that you won't believe (hic!) me.







Oh, and a loooong overdue book review; "How should we then live?" by Francis Schaeffer. Written in 1976, it is surprisingly telling of our age in 2012. In the author's words,

" it is an analysis of the key moments in history which have formed our present culture, and the thinking of the people who brought those moments to pass, and is made in the hope that light may be shed upon the major characteristics of our age and that solutions may be found to the myriad of problems which face us"
Prepare for a journey from Ancient Rome to our society in a mere 260 pages, but don't get overwhelmed.   As the saying goes, "those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it", and I was really struck by how similarly we live as Rome once did-personal peace and affluence were/are paramount! Schaeffer also encourages us (remember this was written 35 years ago) to be mindful of the edited form of events shown on television. I think we are all pretty much aware of this in "reality TV", but I certainly needed to hear this reminder in regards to the news. As he states, "the physical limitations of the camera dictate that only one aspect of the total situation is given.  If the camera were aimed ten feet to the left or right, an entirely different "objective story" might come across".   He ends with a special note to Christians; encouraging all of us to lift our voices in opposition to the placing of any created thing above the Creator, as the watchman in Ezekiel 33; " if our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?  But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby."