My little ham

We attended Audrey's 1st grade holiday concert last night. It was adorable.

I picked her up from after-care a little earlier than usual since I had to feed the family, clean up, get dressed up for the concert AND be back at the school before 6:40. These events are just not kind to working moms. Sigh.

I was extremely encouraged when she showed me the exact spot on the risers where she would be standing. Front and center! Whoo hoo! my pipsqueak will be easily spotted, I thought. She would also be playing the bells in the front row on stage right. [She told me she couldn't sing the song because it was a Hanukkah song . . . that's why she was playing the bells.] Okay, now I know EXACTLY where I'm going to sit when I get to school at 6:30. I knew I needed to get there early to get that seat.

Oiy.

If only it were that easy.

Long story short (and without blaming anyone, cough, Curt), we barely made it by the obligatory 6:40 and even then it was just Audrey and I. The rest of the family showed up minutes before the concert began. I didn't get my primo seat choice but I got in the 4th row so it wasn't a total loss. [The place was PACKED!]

Audrey was in the front row of the risers but somehow she managed to get behind a girl who was standing on the floor in front of her and wearing a big reindeer-antler-hat. WTF? Really? This girl was the only kid wearing a tall hat (they were all wearing elfin-type hats but I'm just sayin.)

Audrey didn't seem to care, though. She sang and danced her heart out in spite of the obstructed view we had. Curt and I kept switching seats so that he could get the best angle with the video camera. I think we were working as hard as Audrey was. Well, perhaps not. She was a total ham in between songs. Taking bows and making faces and doing that big-mouth-talking-thing that people do when they're trying to talk to you without actually being able to talk to you. She kept mouthing words to us. Things like "T E L L V I V I A N T O L O O K A T M E" or whatever.

I have to hand it to the music teacher at Estabrook. She put on a fantastic show with all of the 1st grade classes. I was very entertained and impressed with all of the kids.

Now if I can just teach Audrey to work her way downstage like a real diva we'll be all set.

Oh, what a not-so-beautiful mornin'!

Vivian has been a bit of a challenge lately. She's flexing her two-year old muscles and taking us on a great ride. Absolutely everything is about her, you know. We even get the pleasure of living in "Vivian's house."

She also has this thing about fighting sleep (which Curt says comes from me . . . but whatever.) Last night we got the girls tucked in a little later than usual but not ungodly late so we were cool. We sat down on the couch with our DVR and I was very surprised to hear Vivian's door open about an hour later. Actually, Curt heard it, I was in disbelief. She was still very much awake.

I tried soothing her to sleep but to no avail. Finally, I grabbed her blanket and brought her down to the couch. She can watch "Survivor" with us. (Yes, we're one of the few people in the world that still watch that show.)

She was still wide awake when the show was over around 11:00. I decided to go to bed with her until she fell asleep. I used to do that with Audrey all of the time at that age. Alas, Audrey is a MUCH different sleeper. She can fall asleep in the middle of a loud dance floor, I swear.

So, an hour later (it's midnight now) I finally emerge from Vivian's room successful. Whew. I'm tired and promptly go to bed with Curt (who managed to pry himself from the couch.)

I have no idea what time it was but I'm guessing it was 2 or 3 am when I hear wailing coming from Viv's room. She's been having lots of nightmares lately. Audrey did the same thing at this age. I guess their minds are working so hard and so fast all day long that it just explodes on them in their dreams. Once again, Vivian is dreaming about the Blue Boohbah. It's a recurring dream. Audrey used to dream about bees.

Vivian wanted "to go downstairs." Nope. We're sleeping. I choose to lie down with her (again) to try to soothe her back to sleep.

Vivian is a TERRIBLE co-sleeper! I hate sleeping with her, actually. She pokes and pinches and hugs and pulls my hair . . . whatever. She thinks it's a big game. I feel so sorry for her future husband. Even Audrey hates sleeping in the same room with her.

She sneezed and I had to get up to blow her nose. She sneezed again. I'm up again. I put Saline drops in her nose. "Where's my water?" "No, the blanket goes THIS way." "We're sleeping, mommy." (Excuse me? Uh. No. We're not.) Poke, poke, "I love you mommy." And so it continues.

I finally scuffle back to my bedroom at 5:00 am. My alarm is due to go off in 30 minutes for my work out. "F__ that" I say to myself and turn it off. I flop into bed (but not too hard cuz I have to be careful not to wake Curt up. It's true.)

I don't know what time it is but perhaps an hour goes by when Viv is wailing again. This time Curt gets up. I discover later that he never heard the earlier event. He had no idea that I was gone for hours last night. He actually made a joke about me not working out. ACK!!

All of this makes for a very grumpy Mommy this morning. I apologized to Audrey when I dropped her off at school. Her response, "Why were you so grumpy?" Was it that obvious? I texted Curt and apologized to him.

Vivian is damn lucky she's so cute.

Together in our hearts

Some close friends of ours recently informed us that they were getting divorced. My heart has been heavy with this news ever since.

And since their daughter is a good friend of Audrey's, we decided to talk about it with her. Unfortunately, this sort of thing is quite commonplace in Audrey's world. She knows lots of kids whose parents live in different houses. However, when she learned the news of our friends, she was definitely saddened.

But it also prompted her to say a very sweet thing. She started out by saying that she didn't ever want us to live in separate houses. (Which prompted a very tight hug from her Daddy.)

Then she said, "Even if we did live in separate houses, I'd still be able to see you. You know how? I could see you in my heart."

Can't top that!

Thanksgiving Recipe #4 - THE ROLLS!

And now for the coup de grâce. I'm finally getting around to posting this roll recipe. These rolls have been a staple at my family's Thanksgiving since before I can remember. My sister has made them for YEARS.

Last year, I decided to give them a try for the Waugh Thanksgiving. I also made them again this year. Much to my complete delight, my nephew said that these rolls must make an appearance every year. Zak just loves them. He has no idea how happy that made me.

They're really dough-y . . . so they're awesome if you're into that sort of thing.

Parker House Rolls

6 to 61/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 pkgs active dry yeast

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

[Begin at least 3-1/2 hours before serving]

In large bowl combine 2-1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast; add 1/2 cup butter or margarine with mixer at low speed, gradually pour 2 cups hot tap water (120 to 130 degrees) into dry ingredients. Add egg, increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in 3/4 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter, continue beating 2 minutes occasionally scraping bowl.

With spoon, stir in enough additional flour (about 2-1/2 cups) to make soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and place in a large buttered bowl, turning over so that top of dough is greased. Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch down dough by pushing down center of dough with fist then pushing edges of dough into center. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly to make a smooth ball. Cover with bowl for 15 minutes and let rest.

In 13 x 9 inch roasting pan, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter, tilt pan to grease bottom.

On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 in. thick. With floured 2-3/4 inch round cutter, cut dough into circles. Holding dough circle by edge, dip both sides in melted butter in pan and fold in half. Arrange folded dough in rows in pan, each nearly touching the other. Knead trimmings together, reroll and cut more rolls.

Let dough rise in warm place until doubled in size - about 40 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake rolls 18 to 20 minutes until browned. Makes about 3-1/2 doz.

Thanksgiving Recipes #3

This year, I decided to make an appetizer for the Waugh gathering. We're leaving in 10 minutes so I have no idea how this appetizer will go over, but I know it's one of my favorites. Wish me luck!

It's a little labor intensive . . . however, I was already up early working on the homemade dinner rolls (which I'll post about soon) so I had some time to kill while the dough was rising and the rest of the family was sleeping. I did the prep early and baked them about an hour before go time.


Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts

1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, whole, cut in half
1 lb. bacon slices, cut in half (I ended up using 1.5 lbs. )

Wrap bacon around water chestnuts and secure with toothpicks. Bake on foil-lined 13x9 pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour off grease.

Dip bacon wrapped chestnuts in sauce (below) and bake again at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sauce
Blend in blender or processor (I doubled since I made extra above):
1/3 c ketchup
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce

Thanksgiving Recipes #2

Since we seem to eat the same thing every year at our Thanksgiving feasts and I struggle every year trying to locate the "exact" same recipe that I used last year . . . I figured I should try to document it here for safe-keeping.

We have two Thanksgiving potlucks. One on the actual day with my family in Ohio and the second one on Saturday with Curt's family in Michigan.

I already posted the Strawberry Nut Salad that I made for the Ohio gathering. I also make a roasted vegetable dish that's gaining in popularity there. I couldn't find the one I made last year so I made something up that was similar. Here's what I did this year.

Roasted Vegetables

• 1 small butternut squash, cubed
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced (I substituted a blend of porcini, morels, portabellas, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. YUM!)
  
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato, and Yukon Gold potatoes. Separate the red onion quarters into pieces, and add them to the mixture.
3. In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan.
4. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

A Tribute to my Mom (however small)

My mom always made something called "Strawberry Nut Salad" during the holidays - most notably at Thanksgiving. Our family only ate it once or twice a year but it was such a tradition that we always looked forward to it.

Mom is no longer able to do any cooking on her own so it was time for me to carry on her tradition. My sister is already loaded with the turkey and major stuff so this is the least I can do. I actually forgot to make it last Thanksgiving and we really missed not having it there. Silly. It's nothing extravagant . . . as a matter of fact, it's incredibly easy to make. But it's just SO Thanksgiving to me!

Strawberry Nut Salad

1 lg. box strawberry Jell-O dissolved in one cup of bowling water.

Fold in:
- 16 oz frozen (thawed) strawberries - juice and all
- 3 medium bananas, mashed
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 lg can crushed pineapple (drained)

Spread 1/2 of Jell-O mixture in 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill to set.
Spread 16 oz. sour cream on top.
Spoon on rest of Jell-O mixture.

Serve chilled.