Shiny Baby New Year

We're off to Nana's in NJ to celebrate New Year's Eve. If past is prologue, we'll be asleep at midnight. But I thought we should do something to mark the holiday...and since I have my own baby New Year, why not dress him up appropriately! Happy New Year everyone.

Holiday Spirit

I love holiday decorating. It was a bit hard to get everything done I would have liked this year, but here are two places in the house that I love this time of year. I thought I'd better take a picture of them before the come down!!



The inside of our front door covered in all of the cards we've recieved.



The mantle with those awesome trees and the sleigh bell garland.

A Flexible Mind

Yes! He can concentrate!! This is Connor playing his new game, MindFlex, in which you control a ball that is floating on cushion of air with your mind. In fact, with your brain waves. It really works. Check this out!

There are five or six games you can play alone or two on two or in teams. As you'd expect, Connor is the best at it in the house. Aren't kids always quicker to catch on to new technology? Maybe someday he'll be able to take out the trash can just by thinking about it.

Our Best Christmas

Christmas this year was a low-key joy. Like that Gerber commercial says..."Having a baby changes everything." And it does. There's a bit less running around. There's a bit less time to do all that stuff that seems so important but really isn't (like putting the lights on the bushes out front or decorating a gingerbread house). And a bit more focus on just being together.



Connor woke up at about 6:30am with shouts of "He was here! He was here!". We made him get in bed with us and wait until 7am to go downstairs. Torture. But he killed some time opening up his GIANT sock in our room. Santa smartly hangs the sock on the upstairs railing outside Connor's room so that he doesn't have to go downstairs to the fireplace to get it and be tempted by all the goodies under the tree.


Palmer seemed to 'get it' right away and as his brother opened his gifts, he played with them immediately and was all smiles.



Connor made out like a bandit, but he earned his biggest gift--a Nintendo DSi XL by showing good behavior at home work time and not whining about it. He played Mario Kart on it yesterday, of course. But he also spent alot of time outside playing with his $20 Stomp Rocket and carried his $22 Beyblade set around the neighborhood. As night fell, we had to open up his new microscope and his MindFlex game which I'll have to post a photo of separately. It is very cool. He also got a new, bigger baseball glove for the spring season and an awesome Washington Capitals sweater that he slept in last night because.."its pretty comfortable for sleeping, mom."



Daddy got some new Tommy Bahama and Timberland shirts. A wallet and some socks. And the new Clive Cussler book, Crescent Dawn, which he has been kind of hinting about. I got a great neck massager, a new 21 quart stock pot, some kitchen knives, and a beautiful, special gift from Connor which I will also have to post separately.



We didn't have a big meal for dinner. We had a big breakfast of delicious crepes and then just picked at various appetizers and some brisket I made the day before.. We watched two movies and just hung out. Everyone was back in bed at 9pm.

The only things missing that would have made it perfect were Nana and LaLa. We missed them. Other than that, it was a great day. We hope yours was, too. God bless us everyone!

Christmas Eve II-The Jammies

Palmer is not amused. But here we all are in our new jammies--ready for Santa!

Christmas Eve I-Santa's Cookie

I sure hope that the Man with the Bag is hungry. And his little reindeer, too. That guy is the size of the whole cookie sheet!

Another Vist With The Man

Connor never had the 'official' visit with Santa this year--just that unofficial visit with the Gaylord Santa in his weird pajamas. So, on Christmas Eve we were off to the mall. Connor was happy that he got to see him...but Palmer was none too thrilled this time. Sorry, little guy!

The Bald Spot

I keep meaning to take a picture of it before it disappears forever. Here it is. It's the only spot on his head that still feels like newborn baby. I'm gonna miss it.

Retro Jell-o

I stumbled upon this Jell-o masterpiece on the web this week and just HAD to try it. I is simply too cool for school!

First, you make small trays of colored Jell-o in a Jiggler consistency. For those of you not down with the jiggle-town, that is two small boxes of Jell-o and two cups of boiling water. We made 5 different colors in disposable 9x9 Hefty baking pans sprayed with Pam.




Once they set, you cut them into cubes. Try to keep the sizes kind of uniform. I didn't do this so well, but with then next batch I will and it will look better.




Toss the cubes together gently and mix them up well. Aren't they spectacular?


Put all of them into a deep pan. Then, make the "cream" Jello- by softening four packs of Knox unflavored gelatin in a cup of cold water and mixing with two cans of sweetened condensed milk and three cups of boiling water. Let it cool down to close to room temp or it will melt the blocks a bit. Then pour it over the blocks and settle any errant ones down by gently shaking the pan a bit.




Let that set for a few hours and BAM! Jell-o magnificence when you slice it into pieces!


It tastes really great but not ice cold. Next batch won't include purple (grape), it just looks too dark. And what about red? How could I forget the red?

For a better blog post and a half size recipe (I doubled because I only had that big pan) check out
Our Best Bites. Happy Jiggling!!

The Nutcracker

C: Mom, we saw "The Nutcracker" in school today.
D: Really? Where?
C: In my classroom on TV.
D: Really? (I honestly am shocked that they would spend any classroom time on this...but that's a whole different post.)
C: Really.
D: Well, did you like it?
C: Duh. No.
D: Why not?
C: Umm. Mom. Girls in ballet outfits? IT BURNED MY EYES.

Thank You Mr. Zuckerberg

Santa's Favorite

Palmer got to see Santa today! Santa whispered in his ear--something about blocks and being a good boy. Palmer was mesmerized.

So was I.

Practicing

So, after Nikon School my motto is "No Auto". Easy to say. Hard to do. But I did get these two lovely shots today.

Tied Up With A Bow

This past Wednesday was Connor's school Thanksgiving event. It was insane, packed, crazy, and loud. I could barely stand it. But Connor was truly impressive and made it all worthwhile.

His class recited a little ditty on the "ABC's of the First Thanksgiving" (this is a rerun of first grade but with no cute indian headdresses). Connor's letter was "X" which included something interesting about how the Pilgrims were eXcited about something (not having smallpox or scurvy, I'd say). Connor also had responsibility for the conclusion and thank you speech, which I knew because he'd been rehearsing it...

C: Mom, want to hear my thank you speech for the "ABC of the First Thanksgiving"? I'm in charge of them you know.

D: Sure.

C: Okay. Watch. I stand like this. (puts his hands to his sides as soldier) And then I say..THANK YOU FOR COMING TO OUR CLASS PRESENTATION OF THE ABC'S OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW. HAVE A NICE AFTERNOON. (takes a deep bow like a low level Japanese auto executive would when meeting Mr. Toyota)

D: Wow! That's awesome.

C: Did you like the bow?

D: Yes, I loved it.

C: Well, don't you think the other kids should bow too? Isn't that what you do at a show?

D: Sure.

C: Well, they won't. Only Evan will. I've told them that we should do a bow. But those kids mom, most of them, they stand there when it is over like they're on line to buy a hot dog.

This last comment, of course, cracks me up and sends me into hysterics which only serves to frustrate him further and we spend the next 5 or so minutes discussing why the other kids in his class won't bow. And, of course, practicing a real stage bow with hands clasped, swung high, and then brought down in a dramatic swoosh.

At the performance about 10 kids do the bow. Afterward his teacher tells me the following:

1. There was no conclusion/wrapup/thank you in the text of the presentation. But Connor ABSOLUTELY put his foot down about and she said since he felt so strongly she let him write it himself and was very impressed that he used the word "presentation" .

2. Did I notice the bow? (Of course-see above) Well, the bow was very important to him and he was very upset that the whole class would not bow--even though she explained to him many times that the kids are not all like him and many of them are shy and can barely get through their little piece, nevermind a flamboyant, physical demonstration such as a stage bow. Regardless, though, she said that he had been working the classroom like a politician for the past week-desk to desk-to try to convince them all to bow.

What does this say about my first-born? Many things, I think. But I'll let you decide. One thing I know for sure is that I am having the best time watching him grow and become the man he will be.

An Ode To Prunes-By Sir Eat-A-Lot (Palmer)

I like...smooshed prunes and I can-not lie.
No other baby can deny.
When my mom walks in with that itty bitty bowl,
There's a happiness in my soul.
Arms get flung,
Wanna pull up tough,
But I notice that bowl is stuffed.
So deep and glaring,
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring.

The Scout

I haven't had time to post too much this fall--we've been really busy and honestly, with a baby, I try to use all my spare time for sleeping. That's why I haven't gotten around to this topic: we have a Boy Scout in the house. A really handsome one!

He's in a new Den with only two other boys. There was some big controversy at the beginning of the school year where they had totally overloaded one Scout Master with too many kids. So, they broke up the group into three and we're in the smallest. Connor has been working on learning the "Bobcat Trail" and he's doing fairly well. I really need to sit down with him this week as his "Akela" and get him through the last few pieces of memorization. His Pack meeting is in a few weeks and he needs to be ready.

One of the reasons I wanted Connor to be involved in scouting is that it is a good framework for learning that the world does not revolve around you. Since we don't go to church, we need an environment for our kids that helps us to foster their sense of place in the world--and in service to others.

Today we collected groceries for a local food bank. We started "Scouting For Food" last week by dropping off empty grocery bags at about 200 houses. That's him up there running back to the car after hooking a bag on someone's front railing. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to drop off the bags and he was a sweaty mess.

Today we went back to pick them up. It took half the time to pickup. I'd say we got about a 15% hit rate. I think that's pretty typical, but really, that's pretty sad. All these people in half million dollar houses. They can't cough up a bag of canned goods? Really? I was STUNNED by the number of houses where the bag we hung on their railing was still in the same place a week later.

Regardless, our car was full of food that other people need. And I'm proud of my scout for giving his time to help other people. Nice job!

Good Job Connor!

Here's the text of an e-mail I just sent to my big boy's school principal.

Paul-

Sorry to send this to you in an e-mail, but I'm in an all day offsite meeting today and don't want to be trying to make you listen to me on a cell phone. :)

Sometime after dinner last night Connor casually mentioned to us that he had to get a ride back to school yesterday afternoon because he didn't go to his after school activity (Krazy Kickball) and took the bus home. Clearly, the manner in which he told us (and the fact that he thought we were absolutely nuts to think it was an issue) indicates that he handled the situation as planned--that is--we have an emergency plan that we review with him constantly about what to do if he gets off the bus and neither one of us are there. That part is delightful.

The part that's not delightful to us as working parents is that this is one of our worst fears. Our 7 year old alone roaming the neighborhood. Things went fine yesterday, but on another day he could have just as easily fallen into tears and sat on the corner weeping. We're dealing with Connor here, but I can only imagine if this happened to a less self-sufficient child or one without parents who have reviewed an emergency plan.

He tells me that the mixup occurred because he had a substitute teacher yesterday and "it was just confusing". When I tried to get him to narrow it down for me he said that normally Ms. Reed has the after school activity kids sit in certain spots so that they know not to line up for the bus and that this teacher didn't do that. She called for the bus kids and he got in line.

Maybe he wasn't paying attention--certainly that's a possibility. But ultimately, I can't let him shoulder ANY of the blame. We rely on the school to make sure he's attended to and gets to where he needs to be and we're fairly concerned that something like this happened.

Thanks for all you do and thanks for taking care of this as I know you will.

Regards,

Dianna Tate

Morning Glory

These pics were taken in our condo in Florida on the second morning of our whirlwind weekend. The boys were waking up quietly. I had plopped down Palmer next to his sleeping brother and the were snuggling and cooing at each other quietly. Quietly hardly ever happens. I'm glad I got it on film.

BOO To You!

Palmer made his first plane ride to Florida over Halloween weekend. He was a trooper on the plane. Our plans were for a quick 3 full days of fun and we made it happen.

We'd planned to go to Universal but decided at the last minute to enjoy a more low-key day at Typhoon Lagoon instead. Good choice. The weather was SPECTACULAR, the water temperatures were PERFECT, and there NO LINES. Really, it couldn't have been better.

The boys enjoyed a rapid snorkel across the shark tank since Connor doesn't quite get the concept of enjoying the scenery as you snorkel. Its more of a race with breathing gear. The next day we went to EPCOT. We hadn't been there in a few years and it was during the Food and Wine Festival so we figured it would be fun--and it was.

Connor's favorite experience of the whole weekend (according to him) was Spaceship Earth. He loves the ride and the history. He was particularly enthralled with the Phonecians and their invention of the alphabet AND with the girl in the computer lab's rockin' afro.

Here I am enjoying a dessert trio from France and a glass of Moet & Chandon rose champagne.

Here's Connor enjoying several international Coke products. For quite awhile. It was a great day. We had lunch in Mexico and ate our way around the International side. We had crepes, beef short ribs, sushi, pierogies, kielbasa, TONS of caramel from the new caramel store at Germany, and a delicious strawberry balsamic champagne slurpee. And again, the weather was just great.

On Halloween itself we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. As a family of vampires with an infant baby bat--we totally rocked Main Street USA.

And we may have scared a few folks, too! Overall, it was frighteningly close to the best Disney trip we've ever had.

Hellen Keller

Sometimes, you just can't help laughing out loud at the things that come home from school. This was one of those times.

One other observation: Judging by Connor's response to the last question, my worst fear of child - rearing, that somehow I would not have or be able to create a child with self-confidence, appears to NOT be an issue.

Shot Of The Day

Brother made me a tent!

Balls

So, I've been making chicken soup with matzoh balls for years. My friend Wendy Feldman got me started with no particular recipe. Just a good overview. It's my best soup. I try to make a pot sometime around the Jewish holidays in September, but this year it was too darn hot out. This week a bunch of folks had a big thread going on FaceBook around what kind of soup they were making, so I figured it was time. And, I figured it was time to document it. Its not a recipe--I don't really do those. But this should get you a fine pot of joy if you want it. And plenty of balls. :)

I start with a big soup pot. The big kind you'd boil lobsters in. You need plenty of room for this soup and its an endeavor--so you want to make a big batch. I think my pot is 21 quarts, but don't quote me. If you only have a 10 quart soup pot, cut this all in half. First, I start with two bunches of celery. I don't peel it--it gets to mushy. If you want to tear some of the strings out you may, but I don't bother.

I cut it in approximately two inch pieces. I like them big because in all of the cooking they get fairly soft and you want something to bite into later.

Next, I have my kitchen gnome peel two pounds of carrots. And then I have him break my $25 Mario Batali peeler. But that's off the topic.


Again, cut the carrots up in fairly big pieces. They will get soft. If you make them small, they'll just fall apart.


Next, peel for or five medium sized parsnips. Leave them whole. You'll be removing them later and you don't want to be hunting for them.



This soup needs parsley. Alot of it. A whole bunch of it. I cut the leaves off the stalks with scissors. No need to chop it. Most of it will come out later. But avoid as many stalks as possible because they add a bitter flavor.


Dill--I know, I know. Many people hate it. Too bad. This soup requires it and it doesn't really taste dilly later. Don't worry. I used two packages today. Same deal--trim it all of the stalks with scissors.

On top of all of this in the pot, pile up two cut up chickens and about 3 coarsely chopped onions. You can use whole chickens if you wish (and I usually do) but using the cut up is a bit easier. Cover all of that to within an inch of the top of the pot. You can add some salt and pepper if you wish, but easy on the salt because you'll need to add chicken flavor later an that has plenty of salt in it. Cover. Boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are a good tenderness. The chicken will be done if the veggies are. Turn off the heat and let it cool down for about 30 minutes.

Now, the tedious part. Pour off all the stock into another large pot or bowls. Drain all the solid ingredients into a colander over a bowl. Remove the chicken--set aside. Remove all the carrots and celery. Set aside with chicken. Discard everything else. You'll have a big pile of flavorless onions and grayish wilted parsely with the parsnips. Down the disposal that all goes.


Pick all the meat off the chicken. Its certainly sanitary to wear gloves, but I really wear them because the chicken is HOT.


All of the chicken and veggies look like this. Cover and put in fridge. Now, its time to get some balls.


I use Manischewitz Matzoh Ball Mix. I've used another brand and I've tried to make them homemade twice from crushed matzohs. Nothing is as good or reliable as these. You can be an overachiever if you want, but really, what's the point? Follow the instructions on the box and use all four packets. (Four packets, eight eggs, and eight tablespoons of oil)



Refrigerate the mix while you put the stock back into the pot. Bring to a boil and add chicken flavor to bring the broth up to the strength you prefer. I am partial to Telma chicken flavoring but its hard to find. Maggi powdered chicken bouillion works great and that's what I used today.
Once you get it flavored and boiling, I recommend that you split it between two pots for cooking the balls. They need room to move around.

Make the balls at bit smaller than a golf ball. Wet hands helps in shaping them and keeps them from sticking to you. If you can get help to make them with another set of hands (Bob always helps me) that is ideal. You want to get them into the rolling boil as close together as you can.

As they cook they increase in diameter about 30%. So you end up with them a bit bigger than the size of a golf ball. Although I have seen this soup served in many delicatessens with a GIANT softball sized ball in the center of the bowl--I don't recommend it. You run the chance that the ball won't cook all the way through and nothing is worse than an uncooked ball. :)

As soon as you get all the balls in there, dump in a package of egg noodles. They'll cook up quickly as the balls finish. Combine the pots back into one if you separated for ball cooking and you are done.


Its a delicious and unique soup. I always hand out containers of it to my grateful fans at work--especially to the jewish men I work with who delight in telling their wives that "some shiksa at work makes better matzoh balls than you do!"