Give me a head of hair, long beautiful hair!

I like to think that my good hair genes got passed on to my son.  He has such pretty hair.  It curls so nicely and it has good color too - not too blond, but not too dark either.  A nice mix of highlights and low lights (if I can speak in hair stylist talk, which I am not qualified to do but will proceed to anyway.).  But the question remains: Did he get his lovely hair from me?  I guess I wouldn't say that I have good hair genes, but I wouldn't say that they're bad hair genes, either.  It's thin hair, prone to curl in the humidity and it doesn't really grow very fast.  Sometimes I think it doesn't grow at all for months on end.  But my split ends tell another story.  I can wear it curly or straight and if I blow dry correctly, I don't have to use a flat iron.  

And this week I found a gray hair.  Or two.  Yes, I'm sure now that there were two. 

I need to do something about this...this monstrosity of hair etiquette.  I'm not opposed to the aging process, but damn it, I'm not quite old enough to have gray hair.  I'll save that for 35.  Or maybe even 40.  40 sounds like a good age to have gray hair.  I'll be a distinguished 40 year old with graying hair, going to Abby's high school graduation and Finn's kindergarten graduation (and yes, they'll be in the same year.).  But 32?  That is not the age to have gray hair, my friends.  I am ill-prepared for this.  I blame my kids.  And my husband.  The three of them should send me on a vacation to a spa far away so that I can rest.  And relax.  And have my hair colored.  And my toes painted.

However, since I'm quite certain that a spa weekend is a fantasy in my head only, and is about as likely to happen as Finn getting a unicorn for a pet, I guess I'll just go down to the beauty shop in town and have my hairs colored.  No massage.  No facial.  No cucumber water to sip.

But I will share pictures when I finally get it done.

Thankfuls:

23. Pedometers.

24. Vick's vapo-rub and Burt's Bees chap stick.

25. Being at my pre-baby weight (hooray!).

I like to think that my good hair genes got passed on to my son.  He has such pretty hair.  It curls so nicely and it has good color too - not too blond, but not too dark either.  A nice mix of highlights and low lights (if I can speak in hair stylist talk, which I am not qualified to do but will proceed to anyway.).  But the question remains: Did he get his lovely hair from me?  I guess I wouldn't say that I have good hair genes, but I wouldn't say that they're bad hair genes, either.  It's thin hair, prone to curl in the humidity and it doesn't really grow very fast.  Sometimes I think it doesn't grow at all for months on end.  But my split ends tell another story.  I can wear it curly or straight and if I blow dry correctly, I don't have to use a flat iron.  

And this week I found a gray hair.  Or two.  Yes, I'm sure now that there were two. 

I need to do something about this...this monstrosity of hair etiquette.  I'm not opposed to the aging process, but damn it, I'm not quite old enough to have gray hair.  I'll save that for 35.  Or maybe even 40.  40 sounds like a good age to have gray hair.  I'll be a distinguished 40 year old with graying hair, going to Abby's high school graduation and Finn's kindergarten graduation (and yes, they'll be in the same year.).  But 32?  That is not the age to have gray hair, my friends.  I am ill-prepared for this.  I blame my kids.  And my husband.  The three of them should send me on a vacation to a spa far away so that I can rest.  And relax.  And have my hair colored.  And my toes painted.

However, since I'm quite certain that a spa weekend is a fantasy in my head only, and is about as likely to happen as Finn getting a unicorn for a pet, I guess I'll just go down to the beauty shop in town and have my hairs colored.  No massage.  No facial.  No cucumber water to sip.

But I will share pictures when I finally get it done.

Thankfuls:

23. Pedometers.

24. Vick's vapo-rub and Burt's Bees chap stick.

25. Being at my pre-baby weight (hooray!).

Parenting:

I'm not telling you it's going to be easy,

I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.

Today was one of those days.  Too much drama.  Too many tears.  Lots of neediness on both levels.  And, unfortunately, when there are 11 years between those issues, it's hard to turn my brain from what is considered a major tween crisis and what is considered a major issue for a toddler.

I will see you tomorrow with less Murky & Lurky and more unicorn sparkles.


Thankfuls:
21. Valentine's presents that come in March.
22. Not having to do any laundry this weekend.

I'm not telling you it's going to be easy,

I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.

Today was one of those days.  Too much drama.  Too many tears.  Lots of neediness on both levels.  And, unfortunately, when there are 11 years between those issues, it's hard to turn my brain from what is considered a major tween crisis and what is considered a major issue for a toddler.

I will see you tomorrow with less Murky & Lurky and more unicorn sparkles.


Thankfuls:
21. Valentine's presents that come in March.
22. Not having to do any laundry this weekend.

Day 2

This is what we've been dealing with for the past 2 days:

• Roller-coaster temps - it's like laying next to a burning log with fingers.
• Little cough, little runny nose; nothing major - mostly just the fever.
• Lots of snuggles.
• Lots of stories.
• Lots of snoozes during the day.
• Not a lot of sleeping at night.

Happy Leap Day, friends!

I hope March starts off healthier...

Thankfuls:
18. Sisters
19. Husbands who can take the morning off
20. Rain showers

This is what we've been dealing with for the past 2 days:

• Roller-coaster temps - it's like laying next to a burning log with fingers.
• Little cough, little runny nose; nothing major - mostly just the fever.
• Lots of snuggles.
• Lots of stories.
• Lots of snoozes during the day.
• Not a lot of sleeping at night.

Happy Leap Day, friends!

I hope March starts off healthier...

Thankfuls:
18. Sisters
19. Husbands who can take the morning off
20. Rain showers

Sweet things for my sweeties

My best boy is laying all floppy on the couch because he's rocking a fever and, when he's not sleeping, a whiny voice.  It's all good though, because we're having a rain storm, and while he napped and drooled and snored on my shoulder (sigh.  Haven't had this much cuddle time in months!) I was able to watch another episode of Downton Abbey.  So hooked.  I'm trying to make the 7 episodes of Season1 last, but I think that's going to be shot to heck if Uriah has to close another night this week.

Anyway...it seems appropriate to share with you the most delicious, pretty thing on a day that's full of cold and yucky rainy weather.  For Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to do something special for my kiddos.  14 Days of Valentines was not enough...I needed to go big on the actual holiday.  I could have made a red velvet cake, which was my first choice.  And I'm sure Abby would have enjoyed the heck out of the creme brulee that I made for Uriah, but I didn't want a cake sitting around my house for days and creme brulee is literally made of sugar, egg yolks and heavy cream - maybe a little too much for Finn's system.  And besides, sometimes I like equality among my kids (someone tell me how that's going to work with nearly 11 years between them!).  So instead I made them ice cream sandwiches.  Homemade.  With fresh strawberry ice cream.  Also homemade.

If that's not love, I don't know what is.

These are about a billion times better than the ice cream sandwiches that you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store.  And super easy, too.  You don't have to make your own ice cream (sometimes I can be an over achiever.) whatever flavor you love from the store would be fine.  The sandwich part of the ice cream sandwich is a little bit soft, a little bit chewy, and even after spending hours in the freezer firming up, it didn't make it hard to bite into or chew at all.

Huge success.

I will be making these again this summer.  Or next week.  Whichever comes first.

• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, for greasing foil
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 quart (4 cups) ice cream of choice, softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil, leaving some of the foil to hang over the edges.  Lightly grease the foil with butter. 

Put the remaining ¾ cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir with a whisk until butter is melted, then remove from heat and add the cocoa powder.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.  Add the sugar and continue whisking until blended.  Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until well blended and batter is blended.  Put into prepared baking pan and spread evenly.  Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. 

Remove the brownie from the pan and set on a cutting board.  Cut brownie in half, taking care because they are slightly soft.  Loosen both halves from the foil.  Spread softened ice cream evenly over half of the brownie into a layer about an inch thick.  Top with the other half of the brownie and press down gently.  Wrap in foil and freeze until hard, about 6 hours.

Peel foil and cut into 8-12 sandwiches, depending on the size you want them.  Serve immediately.  They will last in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

If you have an ice cream maker, I used this recipe for my ice cream.

Sandwich recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook (2000)

Thankfuls:

15. Medicine in the form of Sesame Street

16. Crock-pots

17. Light rain showers on the roof and against my windows

My best boy is laying all floppy on the couch because he's rocking a fever and, when he's not sleeping, a whiny voice.  It's all good though, because we're having a rain storm, and while he napped and drooled and snored on my shoulder (sigh.  Haven't had this much cuddle time in months!) I was able to watch another episode of Downton Abbey.  So hooked.  I'm trying to make the 7 episodes of Season1 last, but I think that's going to be shot to heck if Uriah has to close another night this week.

Anyway...it seems appropriate to share with you the most delicious, pretty thing on a day that's full of cold and yucky rainy weather.  For Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to do something special for my kiddos.  14 Days of Valentines was not enough...I needed to go big on the actual holiday.  I could have made a red velvet cake, which was my first choice.  And I'm sure Abby would have enjoyed the heck out of the creme brulee that I made for Uriah, but I didn't want a cake sitting around my house for days and creme brulee is literally made of sugar, egg yolks and heavy cream - maybe a little too much for Finn's system.  And besides, sometimes I like equality among my kids (someone tell me how that's going to work with nearly 11 years between them!).  So instead I made them ice cream sandwiches.  Homemade.  With fresh strawberry ice cream.  Also homemade.

If that's not love, I don't know what is.

These are about a billion times better than the ice cream sandwiches that you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store.  And super easy, too.  You don't have to make your own ice cream (sometimes I can be an over achiever.) whatever flavor you love from the store would be fine.  The sandwich part of the ice cream sandwich is a little bit soft, a little bit chewy, and even after spending hours in the freezer firming up, it didn't make it hard to bite into or chew at all.

Huge success.

I will be making these again this summer.  Or next week.  Whichever comes first.

• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, for greasing foil
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 quart (4 cups) ice cream of choice, softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil, leaving some of the foil to hang over the edges.  Lightly grease the foil with butter. 

Put the remaining ¾ cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir with a whisk until butter is melted, then remove from heat and add the cocoa powder.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.  Add the sugar and continue whisking until blended.  Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until well blended and batter is blended.  Put into prepared baking pan and spread evenly.  Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. 

Remove the brownie from the pan and set on a cutting board.  Cut brownie in half, taking care because they are slightly soft.  Loosen both halves from the foil.  Spread softened ice cream evenly over half of the brownie into a layer about an inch thick.  Top with the other half of the brownie and press down gently.  Wrap in foil and freeze until hard, about 6 hours.

Peel foil and cut into 8-12 sandwiches, depending on the size you want them.  Serve immediately.  They will last in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

If you have an ice cream maker, I used this recipe for my ice cream.

Sandwich recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook (2000)

Thankfuls:

15. Medicine in the form of Sesame Street

16. Crock-pots

17. Light rain showers on the roof and against my windows

Desperate Times

I feel like we're grasping at pet straws today.

Finn's disappointment was evident when the squirrel did not put his hand up to the window, too.  And also when the squirrel didn't answer with an equally chipper: "Hi!  Hi!  Heellooo!"  And also when I wouldn't let him open the door and go outside to claim his new "pet."

On a completely unrelated note, I did a P90X video today.  Day 1 is chest and arms.  As it turns out, I could not keep up.  I could not do 30 push-ups.  I may never be able to do 30 push-ups.  I may only be able to do 10 good push-ups for the rest of my life.  But I suffered powered through the entire work out.  One work-out down for this week, 2 more to go!  I will advise tomorrow how I'm feeling - rather, how my arms are feeling.  Finn may not be picked up all day; he'll have to make himself lunch.

I had lots of stuff planned for a post today - I actually wrote part of it in my head when I was trying not to think of the burn in my arms while I was doing these really stupid (and by stupid I mean hard) push-ups where you have to act like you're going under a wire and coming up on the other side.  I did 3.  And the I lost consciousness and forgot what I was going to write about.  Just kidding - about the losing consciousness, not about only doing 3.

And then I checked Netflix and saw that the first season of Downton Abbey is available and since it is now in my instant queue, I feel like I need to watch an episode.  And also, Uriah is still at work, so I don't have to share.

See you tomorrow?  I have something sweet in store...


Thankfuls:
11. A half an hour of extra sleep.
12. Spaghetti & Meatballs all over a certain little boy's face.
13. Not having regular tv - Netflix is all I need these days!
14. Dancing to Swing Time on NPR with Finn.

I feel like we're grasping at pet straws today.

Finn's disappointment was evident when the squirrel did not put his hand up to the window, too.  And also when the squirrel didn't answer with an equally chipper: "Hi!  Hi!  Heellooo!"  And also when I wouldn't let him open the door and go outside to claim his new "pet."

On a completely unrelated note, I did a P90X video today.  Day 1 is chest and arms.  As it turns out, I could not keep up.  I could not do 30 push-ups.  I may never be able to do 30 push-ups.  I may only be able to do 10 good push-ups for the rest of my life.  But I suffered powered through the entire work out.  One work-out down for this week, 2 more to go!  I will advise tomorrow how I'm feeling - rather, how my arms are feeling.  Finn may not be picked up all day; he'll have to make himself lunch.

I had lots of stuff planned for a post today - I actually wrote part of it in my head when I was trying not to think of the burn in my arms while I was doing these really stupid (and by stupid I mean hard) push-ups where you have to act like you're going under a wire and coming up on the other side.  I did 3.  And the I lost consciousness and forgot what I was going to write about.  Just kidding - about the losing consciousness, not about only doing 3.

And then I checked Netflix and saw that the first season of Downton Abbey is available and since it is now in my instant queue, I feel like I need to watch an episode.  And also, Uriah is still at work, so I don't have to share.

See you tomorrow?  I have something sweet in store...


Thankfuls:
11. A half an hour of extra sleep.
12. Spaghetti & Meatballs all over a certain little boy's face.
13. Not having regular tv - Netflix is all I need these days!
14. Dancing to Swing Time on NPR with Finn.