Glue Guns, Food, and Family

I have a knack for being crafty, in spurts. The spurts are mainly due to the fact that children like to pick up small things, move them, and/or put them into their mouths. Children also like to touch things that tend not to come off themselves or whatever they touch easily. I also have a tendency to make crafty gifts for people, like them too much, and keep them for myself. A terrible habit to have, especially when the gift you are making is for a party an hour away and you can't seem to bear to part with it. The pressure to produce a second, equally fabulous item wears on ones soul with a vengeance. Any wise person would simply not admit to taking the intended gift for themselves and run to the store to buy something. I flood myself with guilt.
The last time I was spuratically crafty was in creating my Mother's birthday gift. I purchased some flowers and was going to use this great glass jar for a vase. I dressed it up with vintage buttons I had been saving for awhile now. Needless to say when I finished it, I simply couldn't part with it. The pressure was on! It's amazing what you can pull together when you really need too. I had used my only clean jar, so I dumped out the spaghetti sauce and cleaned the jar. Karma bit me in the ass and the label wouldn't come off. I scrubbed it for 20 minutes straight and finally gave up with a little bit of sticky still left. I was a hot gluing mad woman, burning my fingers affixing doo-dads with lightening speed. It turned out to be not that shabby but I learned my lesson, at least until I forget again.


Food is a driving force in my life. It's what I work with everyday. It's who I'm married to. It signs my paycheck. So it should come as no surprise that food will take me to great distances geographically, searching for the best, tasting my way throughout the day, seeking a rare jewel in the sea of so many choices. Recently the perfect Mac n' Cheese has become my obsession. It's something I've longed to find. Just the right balance of tender noodle, creamy sauce, and a little crunch on top to brighten the texture of it all. I tried a recipe by a famous television personality the other day and I was sure it would thrill and delight me. I was so excited when I pulled it from the oven, I could barely let it cool enough to take the first bite. It looked deceivingly delicious. It called for a small amount of diced onion in the Béchamel sauce, not much cheese, and seemed dry going into the oven. Sometimes you should trust your instincts. I choose this recipe because there was no American cheese in it, something I detest. I know... It makes my credibility as an American citizen questionable, but I just don't like it. There was also bay leaf infused into the sauce which I can appreciate. I prefer a caramelized onion to a raw onion added to a sauce because the flavor is night and day. When trying a new recipe I think it is important to follow the recipe exactly so you have a bases to start from. You may like it just the way it is. Or you may hate it, but think that with some adjustments you could fall in love with it. Sadly, this Mac n' Cheese wasn't the ultimate find. The good thing is I have a strong notion of what to change to improve it. I've yet to find time to give it another go but am hopeful that next time it will satisfy my tongue.


Sunday is the most delightful day of the week. A day to be lazy, a day without pressure, a day of family. All the kids are home as well as my husband and I. We try not to make any plans for the day but to be together. Breakfast on Sundays is my idea of a good time. Even if I'm the only one eating it, a hot breakfast is worth the effort. You'd be surprised how taking a few minutes to treat yourself can turn your day around and lift your spirits. During the week I brew a double shot of espresso, pour milk over it, and voilà... breakfast. Sundays I steam the milk, let it sit for a bit so it gets a nice thick foam on the top, brew my espresso, and have a real Latte that I've put some care into. French toast is my favorite simple breakfast. At work we have Challah bread on Fridays and by Sunday it's just the right texture to soak up a little egg mixture with a generous touch of vanilla. You can't rush French toast. You've got to let it brown a little before you flip it. I like it with warm blueberry syrup and dusted with powdered sugar. It makes my Sunday complete and carries my good mood on throughout the day.

I found out later on that Sunday French toast has a limit to how far it can cheer the soul. I went to dig my car out that had been parked at work all week during the blizzard only to realize it had been hit by the person who plowed the lot. Weeks later I am now eating my five hundred dollar deductible in order to keep my car in good shape. You see, I may drive a 1999 Buick Regal but it is paid for, has only 60,000 miles on it, purrs like a kitten, and feels like I'm driving a sofa... So to me, it's a great car.

It's seems like the kids have had one thing or another since the weather turned cold. At least one child has taken some medicine or another for the last 2 months straight. Our latest run has been fighting off ear infections and the dreaded pink eye. Those drops you put in their eyes do burn and you have to do it four times a day for at least a week. That's a lot of pain for a child to endure. How do you explain that Mommy hurting you will actually make you feel better? Eliot tends to be overly concerned for the well fair of his siblings when it comes to them receiving medicine. He insisted that everyone held Liam's hand while he got drops in his eyes. I love my kids.

For the 100th day of school Liam wrote 100 things he likes. It's too good not to share. Goldfish crackers, chicken legs, graham crackers, The Happy Birthday Song, Mrs. Guikema, friends, games, class, granola bars, apples, bananas, corn pops, Mario kart, Mario, princess peach, toad, volcanoes, boxes, magic tricks, spinning, toys, hugs, whispering, quiet, boots, socks, coat, bookbag, counting, Samuel, dancing, snow, crystals, Legos, movies, kites, butterflies, pictures, painting, singing, M, writing, sleeping, licking, Andy, Grandma, bookfair, Mrs. Wandless, silly squirrels, FUN, sleepovers, park, playground, jumping high, pirate ships, Nana, ice cream, cupcakes, flowers, Santa, hop, shake, Happy New Year, Earth, home, exercise, blankets, S, T, U, V, Z, W, A, B, C, D, G, H, I, L, J, O, X, clapping, cutting vegetables, making cake, looking at bones, rubbing my knee, and I like to go to the moon.

My husband and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary in April. We went to Europe for New Years as our pre-celebration. It seems we went straight from honeymoon to procreating and are just now getting a taste for traveling by ourselves again. Way back when, before kids and bills, when there was little to no care in the world, my husband would buy me gorgeous peach roses. Now I balance the check book and tell him they are too expensive to buy, so flowers are rare unless the are growing in our yard. I was surprised to open the back door on Valentine's Day and see a bouquet, just for me. I know there are a lot of people who think Valentine's Day is just a bunch of commercialized garbage. To me, it was special and I felt loved. This is a great time in our lives. It's like I'm dating my husband for a second time but without all the crappy stuff that happens when you are young and concerned about things that really don't turn out to be that important.

Lucien will turn five in May which means Kindergarten is just around the corner. I took him to Kindergarten preview night at Owen Marsh last week. He feel asleep in the car on the way there, a sure sign to me that my child couldn't possibly be ready for Kindergarten yet. We were sitting in the gym waiting for the event to start when he pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. I had no idea he had them. He laid them out face down and told me it was my turn. On Wednesdays Lucien and Lily go to Grandma's house for the day. She plays memory with them with decks of cards. It blew me away. He is so smart and I had no idea! We got a few good games in then went to visit the three Kindergarten classrooms. Two were very full so we hung out in Liam's classroom with Mrs. Guikema. Lucien made good use of the counting blocks and didn't want to leave when it was time to go. The school was holding a bookfair that night as well. Lucien picked out a book called, "The Hot Rod Hamster". We went for ice cream afterward and got sprinkle cones. I even took him for a Happy Meal too, I know it was probably overkill seeing how I was more upset than he was. I don't get much one on one time with each of the kids. I've got to really take advantage of it when I have it.

There is more to tell... but the day has run out. Tune in next time for a tale of our adventure in St. Louis!