In America

We made it. 24 hours door to door, thanks to a delay in London Heathrow. But we're here. The boys were pretty much angels, and yet it was still an exhausting trip. The airline didn't' have us sitting together and we actually had to convince a couple to take the two bulkhead seats so we could sit in the narrowest seats of the plane together. Seriously the rear of the plane narrows and the row in front of us had five normal seat, the row behind us had only four, so we had these five mini seats that were just perfect for nursing a baby. The stupid arm rests folded up but only to a worthless 45 degree angle, and after skewering myself under the boob on one I said, "I'm really surprised more people don't go on killing sprees." Because honestly, I have two (mostly) well behaved kids, a helpful husband, loving and supportive extended family, financial security, so many blessings, and yet there were moments of being close to tears and screaming yesterday. I'm ashamed to be so rich and yet so close to the edge.

Artichoke Harvest

Who ever it was that figured out you can eat an artichoke must have been very hungry. Not only is it weird looking and prickly and filled with hairy fluffy fuzz, it is a lot of work to prepare. To do all that and not even know if you'll be able to eat the end result...well that would require some serious motivation.
Our neighbor has planted several artichoke plants along the wall in our housing estate. Last year we kept meaning to harvest some and try to cook them but never got around to it. This year Silas has been really interested in the garden and harvesting herbs, lettuce, and radishes (the only things we've had much success with) so we had him help harvest some artichokes this year in his little red wagon.
The first three we cut I ended up putting in the compost because I was lacking motivation. But, I did find a recipe I wanted to try and so I cut three more today and went at it.
The first one was a royal pain. It didn't help that Emmet was strapped to my chest and wailing trying to fall asleep, but I tore my fingers up trying to pull the leaves out of center and get the choke out. The next two were progressively easier, so I haven't sworn them off entirely. There was a huge pile on the counter destined for the compost bin and three little shells ready for stuffing. I used the linked recipe only for inspiration and direction and instead made a stuffing of pork, garlic, onions, and sage, sauteed in a little bacon fat left over from breakfast, and mixed with some panko breadcrumbs.
They simmered in the suggested broth for about an hour and came out tender and delicious. I served them with some spaghetti, to use up the leftover tomato puree I had in the fridge.
Orrin and I really enjoyed the slow process of scraping the leaves and having the stuffing on each leaf was really nice. We set the bowl of broth between us for dipping the leaves into as we ate. For Silas I cut up the artichoke heart and piled it with stuffing and a side of noodles. He had two helpings, so he must have liked it too.
It's always fun to dine on food you have grown or gathered, so I'll be looking for some more recipes to try. But it might be a weekend only meal, or at least I need to do the preparation work when there is someone to wrangle the boys while I wrangle the artichokes.

One last step...

DIG IN!!

Pastry chef in the making

I haven't been knitting lately, and they aren't playing regular Law and Order n Hallmark, just crappy Special Victims Unit. Instead, I've been sucked into watching UKTV Food shows all night, every night. There is a particularly treacherous show called Sweet Baby James, where James Martin cooks nothing but desserts. Although I find him pretty annoying, the desserts are the perfect balance of quick, impressive, fresh, and he sometimes shows some pretty cool techniques.
Anyway, last night I made monkfish pot pie with puff pastry crust and had some left over puff pastry.
So, inspired by James and courtesy of Silas, I offer you this tutorial.
First get your Mom to cut out rounds of puff pastry. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and pop them in a 425 F oven for 15 minutes. When they are cool slice them in half like a hamburger bun. Stir together marscapone cheese, a little powdered sugar, and some crushed raspberries (I used East of Boston's Raspberry Rapture Sauce because someone gave it to me). Spoon the cheese into the bottom of the pastry. Mounding it up in the middle and leaving room around the border. Don't forget to taste as you go. Next, place the raspberries around the pile of sweetened cheese. Our pastries were small so it only took about 5 berries , but we didn't make a solid border either. Now you want to take the top of your bun and sandwich it on to the cheese so it touches the tops of the berries.
Ta-Da! The finished product. Ready to plate. I suggest serving in a pool of raspberry sauce with a dusting of powdered sugar.
If you are feeling generous, or have any broken bits of pastry you can offer samples to hungry dads. Then wait expectantly for oh's and ah's.
On tomorrow's show we'll be making english muffins, for Eggs Benedict, so don't forget to tune in.

Father's Day and Happy Anniversary to us!

Last Sunday was our 6th wedding anniversary and also Father's day. We didn't do to much to celebrate, but Orrin slept late and Silas and I made him banana oat pancakes and grapefruit.
We all got semi-dressed up and drove up to Kilkenny for lunch in a semi-fancy restaurant. The boys must have realized it was Father's Day because they behaved admirably during 7/8ths of the lunch. Honestly, I couldn't ask for more since the meal was about 2 hours long.
Silas, with a white cloth napkin tucked into his shirt collar, devoured two slices of bread and butter and spaghetti with meatballs. He was adorable, and looking way too grown up, as you can see, skewering the meatballs and twirling the spaghetti on his fork.
Emmet munched on a spoon, a wooden rattle, a crust of brown bread; although he had a little trouble with the latter, producing some scary choking noises.
I enjoyed a delicious lobster spaghetti served in the shell. Orrin had a plate of antipasti with "too salty meat but amazingly sweet roasted peppers and eggplant."
Towards the end of the meal, we did have to break down and read Little Miss Somersault to Silas and nurse Emmet, and take two trips to the potty, and Silas sampled the Pinot Grigio. (He doesn't like wine yet).
Afterwards we took a stroll through town and along the River Nore. We stopped at a coffee and ice cream shop for a dessert cone (one strawberry, one vanila, and one honeycomb, all delicious) and then sat in front of the castle and blew bubbles and ran around in the grass until we headed for home around 4.
Funny story of the day: I was blow drying (shocking I know) my hair and Silas wanted to help me. So I told him he could go brush his hair and handed him a comb. He ran to the bathroom to get some water, I assumed. Later I found him with toothbrush and toothpaste, brushing his hair. We did the best we could to get the gunk out of his hair but he was already dressed and we were running a bit late, hence, the crispy, er- sophisticated, hairstyle you see in the pictures.
Orrin took this one of us, which he has dubbed "Date with Mom," that I thought was just too much to keep to myself. So the celebrants of the anniversary did not get a picture together. Silas can't quite operate the camera in an organized and focused manner yet. He's ready and willing, just not quite able yet.

In other scattered information contained in this disorganized post, we fly to America on Friday. I haven't even thought about what we're packing, doing, etc. I feel like it's weeks away but it's only a few days. I'll be there with the boys for a little over 3 weeks so I'm hoping to get to see lots of friends and family. And hoping to get a few posts up from Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Don't laugh- three weeks- I should be able to manage- three posts???

Photos to keep you going

Cute stories are plentiful around here, but the memory and the time to write them down; lacking.
But at least I can remember how to operate the camera. And I know you'd rather gaze at adorable children than read crappy writing so here you go.Silas, always conscious of safety, driving around the loader at playgroup.
Emmet, strengthening those ab muscles, while diving into a bucket of toys.

Diaper Free

In response to a couple comments, we aren't really doing diaper free potty training with Emmet. Whenever I change his diaper, which I try to time for right after he wakes up from a nap, or other times I think he might need to pee, I hold him over the sink in the wash room. It's right next to the diaper changing pad so it's easy enough. He's only peed a couple times in the sink, but I've only started doing it the past couple weeks. It seems like it would help associate a feeling with an action and seeing the pee leave his body, and maybe make potty training easier. But who knows?
Maybe I keep my children on the verge of dehydration or something, but neither of them ever had a lot of episodes of elimination without a diaper. Well, not as babies anyway. Silas certainly had/has a fair share now.
So yeah, I tend to let Emmet have several 10 minute diaper-less sessions a day, especially now that it's warmer out. Plus, pictures with all that baby fat visible; irresistible!

Crawling

Yesterday Emmet crawled from the living room into the kitchen. He's out and out crawling and we're entering a new reign of terror in the house. He's pretty fast on most surfaces, but the wooden floor at play group is still to slick for him. I forgot how completely adorable it is to see such a tiny baby crawling. He's also pulling himself up to standing against the couch, bookcase, coffee table, etc. It's actually quite dangerous because he's not really that steady on his feet and has taken a few tumbles. He's already given himself two bloody noses.
Other ways in which my baby is a crazy freak: He hates baths. Absolutely screams as though he's being scalded. Even if I'm in the tub with him holding him, cuddling, trying to nurse him, he's freaking out, and won't relax. Also, really hates the car seat. You know al those stories of taking the baby for a drive to get them to sleep. Not this one. He's too "green" for that. Prefers walking, don't you know. Good thing considering gas prices, but it does make road trips pretty brutal.
He's slowly working on solids too. So far he's tasted avocado,sweet potato, white potato, butternut squash, carrot, apple, pear, banana, rice, grapes, cherries, and yogurt. Pear and banana have been the favorites so far. Closely followed by apple, cherry. and grape. I think it's all in the delivery system though. The grapes and cherry we put in that little mesh pouch with a handle called a Munch-kin, so it's combo toy and food. The others he holds and gums. He likes to be in control already. Fine by me. I'm too busy stuffing my own face to be coaxing him to take dribbles of puree off a spoon.
But I am hoping he gets the hang of it quickly, cause he's definitely hungrier and all the nursing is wearing a little thin. Not that I am any where near even thinking of weaning, but it'd be nice to go more than 2 hours without a feeding.

Two weekends ago

Here's how far behind I am in posting...
Two weekends ago the weather was gorgeous so we took a hike in the Carey Castle woods. It's just an old "castle" ruins, but it's a nice hike with a little stream running along the path, and you feel like there is a destination and purpose for the hike. Having a purpose for a walk used to be really important for me, but now just getting out of the house is purpose enough for me, and getting Emmet to sleep. The most powerful sleeping potion for him seems to be mei tie+walking outside. Even more potent than nursing actually.
Anyway, here's the best picture from the little play and splash session in the creek.Silas had a great time throwing sticks and watching them race down stream and splashing his feet in the freezing water. I did find a tick on his arm about a week later, but I think he may have picked that up from somewhere else, so I'm not counting that as an ill effect of the creek exploration.
More catching up to come....