Snot Faucets and Other Insightful Things

 

For the last two weeks we've been ever so sick. It was just a very bad cold. One child gets it, then generously passes it to the other via slobbering and coughing or sneezing or the ever popular and effective, sippy cup swap.

They have also been so generous to share their wretched cold shenanigans with their tired and adoring parents. It makes for really great parenting - to feel like crap and take care of other crappy-feeling children.

Often times when I see a cold is a-brewin' in one of the kids, I take extra measures to have them cover their face when they cough and sneeze and always wash their hands after blowing their noses. I will sometimes tell them not to hug or kiss their siblings (because they inevitably sneeze every time they go in for a big bear hug), which by the way sounds horrible doesn't it? But to be quite honest, all I can see when they are hugging or kissing is a good week and a half to two weeks of no sleep or very poor sleep in my future, hence the kibosh on affection.

All that being said, by the time I'm sure we are all well-infected, my rules and preventative measures go straight the window. I stop caring and finally realize, it's better if they all get sick at once instead of staggering it, because it shortens the window of sick.

How does one know that they truly are infected? I'll tell you, it's when you are buckling any one of your mucus-y cherubs into their car seats and get a big juicy sneeze right between the eyes. That is the moment when you realize, it is now my time to keep a box of Kleenex in my mommy (or daddy) tool belt, that imaginably resides around my waist, along with herbal tea and ibuprofen. Ah, joy.

 Yes, you guessed it. That's a hair clip holding a Kleenex box to my hip. The only problem is that I thought of this after every one started feeling better.

Each child has a different nose-blowing style. Care to see the rundown? Of course you do.

 She was weirdly reluctant about taking this picture (hence, the lack-luster approach to fake nose-blowing), but it's still fairly accurate.

Boo is a great nose blower. Forceful, thorough and completely unaware that she must cup the danging Kleenex up under her nose to catch the waterfall of newly expressed snot. Effective but very, very messy. Especially when she does this in the car and then hands you the soggy tissue while you are driving. To make matters more interesting, a quick look in the rear-view mirror reveals the dangling string of snot hanging from her top lip and her talking something like this, "Uh, Mommy? Uh...Uh...Ewww!!!" all while sitting very still as if she has a killer bee on the end of her nose. To which I respond with a fresh tissue wipage of the dangler, while driving in snow. Life on the edge.

This is not a very realistic re-enactment of the previous weeks activities. This was much more enthusiastic. Maybe I should try breaking out the camera the next time I ask him to blow his nose.

Bubba is the reluctant nose-blower. You know, with all your mommy intuition, that he has a ridiculous amount of snot in his head but no matter how many times you ask if he needs to blow his nose, the answer is "no". He will, only if told, give a dainty, useless blow, just enough to rattle things around a bit and convince me that there is still SO much more to be expelled. But he just plain refuses. So I let him go on, talking like his head is in a bucket and someone shoved two cottonballs up his nose. How can one walk around with so much snot in their head, by choice? Does he not know the satisfying feeling of a momentarily clear head? I love blowing my nose.

And then there is Tiny. Well, he's only 18 months old and is sort of understanding the concept. He only blows his nose when there is not a Kleenex within an 80 mile radius and it's usually into his hand AND it's usually when he's practicing blowing kisses, not sneezes. Pretty cute, really. But to get any real relief for him, I have to use the dreaded "snot sucker". Out of all my kids, he's the one that has done the best with it. He actually tolerates it. He doesn't enjoy it, but he will sit still for the duration. The best part is when he tells it "bye-bye" (which really sounds like "kye-kye") when it's all done. What amazes me is how small his head is and the enormity of his snot! Where does it come from?

 The cold accouterments.

I find that my once hyper-vigilant disease control has now been lowered to a simple snot inspection of the hands. If they don't have visible snot it's back to the sick pit (also known as the play room), if they do then a shoddy squirt of hand sanitizer and a cautionary warning "do NOT to eat it!" is issued, along with a quick wipe of a damp paper towel. Where have my principles gone?

Other sick-time activities include (like a bad Time Life compilation C.D.):

-Cleaning things I wouldn't normally think to clean, like under Tiny's booster seat. The horror of dried bits of food from weeks ago and pacifiers? I don't even know how they got under there, for the space is so minimal I find it nearly a great work of art, on his part. It took a chisel and the better part of my afternoon to pry all disgusting food particles from the chair.

-You do really bad-mommy things, like, take your kids to the mall to play in the children's play area while they are sick. You are so insane with being trapped inside your house, with nothing but noses to blow and butts to wipe, that you exit the house, in frigid weather, cart them to the mall and dump them into the play pit. The whole time, you are thinking (or at least I am) what a horrible thing I am doing. I'm infecting all these other kids. Then I see that nearly half the moms there are wiping their kids snot faucets just as much as I am. So suddenly I don't shudder as much or hop up as quick, when Lily sneezes on the little girl with a puffy pink hairbow and Isaiah slides his sleeve across his slippery nose-snot.

-Lose track of the last day everyone had a bath.

-You cancel your son's birthday party twice...ugh.

-You do a lot of art projects that require painting with NyQuil and cough syrup. (Just kidding...we use paint, most of the time.)

-You find yourself daydreaming about a Mexican beach and shrimp cocktail...and cocktails.



-Then you cry because you realize a vacation won't happen for years.

Do you see all the deep thoughts that occur when one is sick alongside their children? I'm sure you have some of your own. By all means, do share...

I hope this post finds you and your loved ones feeling healthy and ready for Spring. 

Love ya, Foodies!

She's Got A New Attitude...On Blogging

Maybe it was the impending blizzard. Maybe it was the meteorologist's forecasted  foot of snow manifested outside my door, trapping me and my family in our house for 2 days. Maybe it was that the Internet connection has been less than stellar. Maybe those are all excuses for the real reason...
Maybe I just didn't feel like blogging.

There. I said it. I didn't want to.

When I started this blog I was blogging everyday. I put immense pressure on myself to generate lots of content, leave comments on everyone's blogs and spend copious amounts of time on it. And it was good.

I was striving to get more readers.

I was stressed if I didn't post everyday.

I did the PFB contest- had a blast.

Then I got really tired. Pooped.

We moved and I had time to think, because I didn't blog for 2 weeks. The first time since I started the blog. I was so concerned. What would it do to my blog? Would my readers forget me? What would happen!!! (dramatic music plays)

It gave me time to step back and think.

Why do I do this?

Is it a business? Do I get paid? No and, um, no.

Well, I slowly got back on the blogging horse, as it were, and started up again on January 1st. But I had realized something, I only wanted to blog when I FELT like it. That's the whole point of this blog for me- to be a creative outlet. Creative comes in spurts. It happens when it happens.

I felt burned out just writing about recipes all the time, even with the passion I have for cooking, I wanted to step out of a box.

Good blogging friends have given me sound advice, which was this: you can write about what you want, when you want, how you want.

I've found myself apologizing, at times, for my blog being too "mommy" and not enough "foodie"! I mean, really? Why on earth am I apologizing?

So now I am at the point where I haven't blogged for like 2 weeks...AND FOR NO REASON, other than I just didn't feel like it- that and I was more interested in some of my other passions like beadwork and crafting than blogging. I know, kinda dorky. I look like I belong in a nursing home with my afghan, cradled in my recliner, with my box of beadwork supplies and and cup of tea at night.

"Oh look! There's Grandma Lauren's little nest of beading supplies. How sweet."

I was also very busy taking pictures of my beat-up kitchen chairs, with intentions of coming up with something "arty". Hmmm.

I did come up with an egg-free chocolate orange bread pudding recipe for you. I know, you're thinking "Egg-free bread pudding? Aren't you missing the point?" But it was actually very good. Let me know if you would be interested in the recipe and I will post it. And no, that is not milk streaming from a cow's teat. Looks like it though, doesn't it?

I was also making my children pose in frigid weather...with sticks.

And I was REALLY busy watching the Hubs do manly stuff like shovel snow in a blizzard. What a man.

I was tired of balancing my laptop on my lap (with my afghan while reclining) and trying to crank out a post in the evenings when I was so exhausted from the day. All I wanted to do was zone out and watch Gordon yell at people. (Ramsey, silly. Not just any Gordon.) But I will admit, there is nothing quite like hitting that "publish" button. That is a good feeling to be sure.

So chime in. What do you think? I mean, what drives you to blog? Do you put yourself on a schedule? Does it help you? Is your blog that important to do such a thing? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your blog? If so, why do you think that is? Is it pressure from others or yourself? Is what I am saying utterly ridiculous?

You know, it like that saying, (I think it's a saying anyways. I say it a lot) "As the pendulum swings..." Meaning, you go from one extreme to another until you balance out. I started out as a psycho blogger, now I'm plain, straight-up "on-strike" blogger. I'll find my middle. Until then, you'll never know when I will blog next. But if I'm not blogging, you know what I'll be doing...

Love ya, Foodies! Good to be back.

PMS Risotto

Yes, ladies, you heard me right. Men, don't run away just yet...no one's going to make you run to the store to buy anything "embarrassing", but you may get sent to pick up these few ingredients for the following recipe- which, I may add, is not embarrassing at all and completely manly.

Most women I talk to seriously crave chocolate that time of the month and I am definitely one of them. I mow through chocolate bars, while drinking hot chocolate. Suddenly, I will have visions of a plate of brownies hovering right in front of me. Sometimes I will, even with cramps and a cranky disposition, break out the mixer at 8 p.m. and whip up some chocolate chip cookies. All of which, the Hubs is happy to help me consume. So for all my snippy comments, waves of emotion and frustrated murmurings, he does get some tasty desserts out of the whole deal.

I saw this recipe on the Cooking Channel the other day and was, of course, whisked away into a chocolate fantasy. I mean, why not turn your favorite comforting savory dish into a chocolate-laden, luscious dessert? Thanks to David Rocco, it was.

It truly is fantastic. So creamy, so rich and the perfect amount of sweetness. Its so comforting that it will, for a moment, whisk away those crabby feelings.

If you are a menu planner, you know where to put this on the calendar...

I'm feeling lazy today. Here's the link to the recipe:

Risotto Al Cioccolator

Love ya, Foodies!

Green Monster Pizza

Do you ever have this happen, where you see just the tail end of a recipe on a cooking show and you find yourself "winging it" in the kitchen to recreate what you think you saw? That's sorta how this came about...

I had seen Giada making what I thought was a pizza with some sort of green cheese mixture for the base. I couldn't get it out of my head and rather than Google it, I decided to just try and make up my own. Besides, it's so much more fun than following a recipe, right?

Problem is, when you "wing it" it tends to be more experimentation than getting it right the first time. And sometimes it means that things happen that you don't expect. It can also mean that you end up with a giant mess in your oven of burnt, molten cheese mixture. Yum.

I should have photographed the oven after this venture. Actually, it's probably still there...ehm. I don't clean my oven. I just wait for it to burn away. Sad but true.

Although, the mess was so bad I had to scrape the pizza stone of some of the bigger bits, so I didn't set the smoke alarm off. You know it's bad when you are opening your windows in 10 degree F weather to air out the kitchen. My poor little children were shivering like Oliver Twist in an alley way.

So anyways, the problem was that this cheese mixture, although thick and dense when cold, turned into a river of cheese pouring over the sides of the crust when hot. Part of the messy problem was that I applied way to much. When I put less, it was much better.

The cheese mix

Strewn pizza dough awaiting rolling and baking in a 550 degree oven. Looks a little scared.

Delicious little bits of chicken Italian sausage, also awaiting searing hot oven heat.

I think this was the third pizza that Bubba and I made. It grew a tumor of sorts while baking and of course, it's grotesque physique found it's way into Bubba's heart and stomach.

Proud owner of the pizza tumor.

Tackling it...

Boo is on an anti-pizza run. She used to like it. None of us know where it all went wrong. So she was eating a turkey sandwich- a dismembered turkey sandwich that is.

Who needs teething toys? In this family our babies cut their teeth on stainless steel mixing bowls, guaranteeing a foodie future.

Tiny's transferring all his cubed pizza bits into the bowl and back onto his plate and not eating much of anything...ah, toddlers.

Either the last one or first one of anything you make seems to be the best. This was the last of 4 pizzas and it turned out pretty nice.  How I love making pizzas...I could make pizza all day long.

Green Cheese Mixture

*Note: Since, like most foodies, we are in the business of "winging it" these are approximate measurements, so use your best judgement. Taste and taste again, until it's how you like.

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

1/2 cup low-moisture mozzarella

1 good fistful of fresh basil leaves

3 roasted garlic cloves

Salt and pepper

Throw it all in the food processor and make into a paste.

Toppings:

Go wild, but I used the browned chicken Italian sausage bits and fresh tomato. Use the cheese mixture as the "sauce" and don't use too much, if you know what's good 'fer ya.

For the pizza dough recipe and video, CLICK HERE! Its super duper easy. I know the recipe says it makes enough for 2 pizzas, but I got 4 smaller ones out of it as well. My oven is smaller than my last one, so I had to adjust it.

Love ya, Foodies!

Drinking It Up

Coming home means lots of things. One of those things is revisiting places near and dear to my heart. Places where childhood dreams were born, creative whims were inspired and waves of comfort come in the form of a perfectly poured latte- and not one from Starbucks.

I squealed with delight when the barista handed this to me...

and I think he thought me a little strange for doing so, but I didn't care. This was a Latte Land latte. I only know of them in K.C. You must know by now, my love for small, non-corporate coffeehouses. They also had wonderful molasses ginger cookies that went perfectly with my luscious, milky drink.

Last weekend, mom and I took a little jaunt down to the Plaza, here in Kansas City. If you haven't heard, it's one of the most beautiful places in K.C. It's over 75 years old, with fabulous architecture, shopping and an overall sense of beauty everywhere you look.

Kansas City is second to Rome in the fountains department (sorry no pictures of any, as they are all shut off for the winter. When they come back on I will do a post on the fountains- they truly are spectacular.) There are breathtaking sculptures which are studded in and around the entire Plaza. They pop up where you least expect, like 'ol Benjamin Franklin there. I took the time to interrupt his reading of the Declaration of Independence by sitting on his knee in my "Buffalo Coat"- as the Hubs likes to call it. The coat makes me feel lumpy- not quite sure if that's a good thing.

Isn't Ben cute? Notice the store that is directly behind him? Yes.

Mom had to pose with the birds. I really like this picture of her. She's so cute.

I mean really...this gorgeous sculpture was at the entrance of the parking garage! So beautiful.

I could say something about "buns of bronze". Okay, so I did. They are really nice buns.

 Now a visit to the Plaza just wouldn't be complete without an in-depth browsing of my absolute favorite store, Anthropologie. I walk into that store and get inspired from the top of my dish-water blond rooted head down to my un-pedicured toenails. The colors of the dishware to the styling of an apron (which I have a penchant for) simply sends me. I must smell every available candle and touch every fabric. I try on all hats regardless of price. I purposely comment every time that when I am rich someday, I will wear all clothes from Anthropologie and decorate my house to look like one of the stores...every time.

Teacups...another "penchant" item.

Love.

Who wouldn't want a set of these?

I needed a little drool trough for the saliva that came rolling over my lip and onto my shoe. I can't stop thinking about these little glasses.

So my dear Foodies, that's a mini tour. We've merely scratched the surface on the Plaza and I will surely be doing more posts on it. The Hubs and I had many dates there and he proposed to me at an adorable little restaurant called the Classic Cup there. I feel a Valentine's post coming on....hmmm.

Love Ya, Foodies!

I Dip, You Dip, We Dip

Dips are a great way to celebrate. They're fatty and full of calories. They pair nicely with crunchy, also fatty, fried dipping devices. That's why this Artichoke Dip was apart of last night's subdued New Year's celebration.

I'm not much for going out on New Years. One, it's too cold and two, to many drunk maniacs out. I prefer to live and celebrate with a bunch of snacks, family and a board game or three.

After a truly lame attempt at Monopoly, which included me labeling my father as the "mean banker" (which he really wasn't, just gloating over his ridiculously high rents that put me out of the game and into bankruptcy) and the Hubs also finding ways to make Mom and me feel like total non-monopolists...is that a word?, I turned in all I had an dug out an old issue of Food and Wine to graze over until they were done.

We then moved on to Bingo, which only made us feel like dinner was going to be at 4 o'clock and bedtime at 7:30 pm. The next game, which is my personal favorite, was Scrabble. The Hubs reluctantly played, as it is not his favorite, but suddenly was semi-interested when he started sipping on a glass of Arak - a Middle Eastern licorice liquor...then stuff got really interesting, because he gave a glass to my dad. Now, that's fun Scrabble. Basically, any board game + alcohol= fun.

Back to the dip...

I came up with this dip because I was feeling very creative and weirdly moved to use the can of artichokes in my pantry. It was a strange compulsion. I MUST use these artichokes. So I did and the result was much better than I expected. So I thought you may enjoy it.

It may not go well with new year's resolutions, unless one of your new year resolutions is to enjoy yourself by eating a fattening, luscious dip - then all I have to say is, "BINGO!"

Artichoke Dip

by Yours Truly, a Foodie House original recipe

1 clove garlic, very thinly sliced (think Goodfellas)
1 sweet onion, diced
2-3 sprigs thyme, minced
1 small sprig rosemary, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

Caramelize all the above ingredients down slowly for a good 20-30 minutes. Then add:

1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
1 cup heavy cream

Bring that too a simmer and thicken. Then add

1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup grated Swiss
1 can artichokes, diced
1 tsp. lemon zest (added right at end)

If you like, pour dip into a oven proof dish and top with 1/2 cup panko mixed with 1 tsp. olive oil. Put under a low broiler and toast until golden. We served it with pita chips. Lush.

Happy New Year, Foodies!!!

Still Kickin'...

Dear Friends,

How I have missed you. Don't think I've forgotten you, nay, I have been thinking of you everyday. The problem is this...

Unpacking a plethora of boxes with rampant children, who need my undying attention and a HORRIBLE Internet connection, makes for a very bad blogging environment.

I'm am feverishly typing right now and praying this will get published as I am in fear that my connection will go out. Please know, I have a running list of "to do" posts on my fridge door and a mind that won't stop running regardless of my current situation.

I've been on a soup kick because the temperature is like, one, here. Major switch from Houston. But I love it because it is home.

Christmas was good. I hope you all enjoyed yours. Here are a few pictures to catch you up.

SNOW on Christmas Eve!

One of Boo's special ornaments.

How to make the perfect snowball.

That's my Tiny eating one of my special Molasses Sugar Cookies.

A hat, though on backwards and completely useless against the cold, is still supremely cute on my little Bubba.

Papa and Grandmas reading a special story to the kids on Christmas Eve.

Boo.

Love Ya, Foodies!