A Graphite Tattoo and A Lipstick War

Over the last couple weeks there have been some interesting facial changes in both my girls.  Battle wounds, really.  One perhaps permanent, one temporary.

It all began innocently enough.  Homework was being done side-by-side at the dining room table while enjoying the beautiful view out the window.  Or maybe the beautiful view was being enjoyed out the window while a little homework was being done.  At one particular moment, one girl was looking up, one looking down.  There was suddenly something exciting to see, and exclamation of "Oh, look!", a pointing hand that was holding a newly sharpened pencil, a chin turning into the pointing hand...and in a matter of seconds there was a tip of a pencil lodged in my daughter's chin.  We cleaned it like a sliver, following doctor's directions.  Those directions came with this disclaimer:  "It is possible that after cleaning everything out a black mark will remain there.  It's called a 'graphite tattoo' and is common with that type of injury."  I asked what she meant by the mark remaining there...forever?  There was a pause, and then, "Umm, yeah, most likely."  Sure enough, despite all our attempts, there remains a black mark that looks like it would be easy enough to pull out of there.  Forever?  Time will tell.  Brad has a graphite tattoo on his hand, we just didn't know that's what it was called.  She is a lot like her sweet daddy...this is just the one child I felt very confident would never consider tattooing herself.

terrible picture, but you can get the idea

Flashing forward a couple weeks, and my other daughter waged a war against a very innocent lipstick.  She woefully underestimated her opponent, and came out on the losing end.  It all began at a sleep-over.  The girls decided to do make-overs on each other, using the cheap dress-up lipsticks.  Then they decided to kick it up a notch and do blindfolded make-overs.  One thing led to another, and apparently these girls had lipstick caked onto their faces, in their eyebrows, covering just about every piece of skin on their face.  No pictures were taken at this stage of the war, due to the fact that the only photo journalist available at the moment turned into a very freaked out dad with one glance at the faces before him.  The second mission of the war began immediately, and lasted about 45 minutes, the weapon of choice being soap and washcloths.  And a lot of manual labor.  The result?  My daughter literally scrubbed the skin off her cheek.  From the description, this lipstick dried on like stretched and stuck bubble gum, and was very resistant to any removal.  And the dad was the only help available at that moment.  So when I saw my daughter the next morning, cheek swollen and looking like she had a road rash, it was obvious to me that a lesson had surely been learned.  I don't think she will ever enter a war with a lipstick again.  At least not blindfolded.

this was day 2, it is healing quickly, to her great relief.

Monday Menu ~ Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

These potatoes are so fabulous.  I love them as a main dish, with a big salad.  This salad is my favorite with it, but this one is also great.  This recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine years ago.  I've also made these potatoes without the ham and served them with as a side with a ham dinner.  But they are so substantial and yummy, I think they are better as the main event.  They are definitely a belly filling comfort food.  The kids love them...it turned them all into Bob Wileys at the dinner table.  If you know what I mean by that, 100,000 bonus points to you.

These also freeze great.  This recipe makes 16 servings.  I will bake 6 for dinner that night, and freeze the other 10.  For our family, that's two extra meals or a bunch of lunches.  I'd say that's some pretty efficient use of time.  If you are making them as a main dish, use large baking potatoes, and be generous with the ingredients.  If you are making smaller sides, just use smaller potatoes and pull back a bit on the ingredients.  You really can't mess this one up.

Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

8 large baking potatoes
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups diced fully cooked ham
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste

Scrub and pierce potatoes.  Bake at 400 for 40-60 minutes or microwave on high for 12-14 minutes or until tender.  (Totally depends on your potato size and microwave!  My jumbo potatoes took about 20 minutes in my microwave.)  Meanwhile, cook the sausage until no longer pink, drain.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise; scoop out the pulp into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4 inch shell.  Mash the pulp with the butter.  Stir in the sausage, cheese, ham, bacon, sour cream and salad dressing.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  (I never think it's needed.)

Spoon mixture evenly back into the potato shells.  Place those you are baking on baking sheets.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

To freeze, wrap each potato tightly with plastic wrap after you stuff the shell.  Place in labeled freezer bags.  To cook, pull out the number of potatoes you are cooking, allow to thaw and bake as directed above.

Two Happy Flautists

Today our family musical spotlight was shining brightly on Brenna!  She has worked so hard this year, growing into quite the happy little flautist.  And I didn't even know the word "flautist" until she started playing the flute.  I still think it should be flutist.  I mean really:  there's a bassoonist, a pianist, a violinist, a cellist and then a flautist??  Anyway...

Brenna has been working on a duet with her very close friend, Julia, for the last couple months.  Today they finally got to play it at the Solo/Ensemble Festival for an adjudicator.

They practiced literally for two hours yesterday, were outfitted in matching outfits, complete with a dress rehearsal with Alex playing the part of the adjudicator.  The dress rehearsal brought a bit of concern...it's very hard to play the flute when you have the giggles, you see. 

the dress rehearsal

They got up this morning wanting their hair curled in matching styles, of course.  Happy to do it.  Since I can't pass along any musical wisdom, at least I can make their hair look pretty!

gettin' the sillies out

I'm happy to say that their performance today could not have gone any better!  Neither of them appeared the least bit nervous, so they apparently giggled all that out last night.  They both played with great poise and confidence...and I'm so proud.  Music has not come completely naturally to Brenna, and she has had to work very hard.  But in true Brenna form, she just decided to work hard everyday and it has worked!

one last practice, and then...

...the big performance!

And the adjudicator was quite happy with their performance, right down to the matching outfits!  We just heard that they scored a Superior on that duet!  A big, hard-earned and much-deserved WOO-HOO to Brenna and Julia!!!

So, of course, we had to get the celebratory ice cream to complete this happy day!

Great job, Julia and Brenna!!

Pink-alicious

I had another day back in the pre-school class today.  Here are some gems that I just had to document:

~One little boy with a physical handicap has so very much charm and the most darling face that you very quickly don't even notice the part that is different.  Just the sweetest little guy.  While we were playing in the "deep, dark cave" (which was actually a bathroom playing the part of a cave, complete with glow-in-the-dark bugs on the walls and pre-schoolers with explorer hats and flashlights), one of the little girls said, "Ooh, I'm scared!"  She said it in a very playful, not-really-scared-but-playing-the-part-for-fun kind of voice.  This little boy put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Don't be scared, "Jane", you're my girl."  Sweetness.

~A profoundly sweet (when she wants to be)/profoundly autistic little girl let me push her on the swings today (a big deal), and threw her head back and laughed at the sun on her face and the wind blowing her hair back.  A perfectly "normal" recess and a nearly autistic-free moment that I got to witness.  After recess, I was sitting by her at the snack table, and she linked her arm through mine for a brief moment.  Connection.  More sweetness.

~And, lastly, a little boy whose name I wish I could use because it's a very fun name that makes you smile, gave me quite the compliment.  I was wearing a pink sweater today, and towards the end of the day he said, "Leanne, you are pink-alicious today!!"  In my 40 years, I do believe this is the first time I have been called pink-alicious!  That's some kind of pink-alicious sweetness!

That all adds up to a pretty fabulous day. 

The previous two days, I heard more profanity than I do believe I have heard in my life combined.  Some combinations of words that I didn't even know existed.  Absolutely assaulting to the ears.  And absolutely heartbreaking to see late-elementary aged boys with such rage inside of them.  And yet, I loved those two days with them also.  Different, but good.  And the attempt to throw the chair across the room?  Intercepted by a gifted teacher with cat-like reflexes.  All those that do that day in and day out, and do it well, they are gems.

So to be ending my week with these littler people is quite refreshing.  Heart-warming.  Just plain pink-alicious.

CCC #4 ~ Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies

So today brings us to the end of chocolate chip cookie week.  I have a couple other recipes I would like to try, but they will have to wait.  But that will work to build my anticipation and I always enjoy that, so all is not lost.

Today's recipe has the fun little twist of added pretzels.  This was a new one for me, but I was intrigued by it.  I love chocolate-covered pretzels, and I love salty & sweet together.  (Next time you go to the movies, bring in a bag of Peanut M&M's to go with the popcorn.  It's oh-so-good!)  Anyway, this cookie turned out to be quite good.  The salty kick comes in very small waves, but it's in there.  I think if I had to do this over again, I would try it with dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.  Not sure why, other than it just sounds good to me!  This dough also turned out quite soft, so I stuck mine in the refrigerator for a couple hours before I baked the cookies.  I could have softened the butter too much or something, and if I did I blame it on this ridiculous time change that has my internal clock all messed up!

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 TBSP molasses
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups salted thin pretzel sticks, crushed
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Beat together butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and baking soda, mix well.  Add eggs and beat together.  Mix in pretzels.  Add flour gradually and mix until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.  Cool 2 minutes on pan and then transfer to cooling racks.

Goodbye for now, chocolate chip cookie week.  You've been good to me!

It's Good To Run Green

Oh, it's been a fun Saturday!  Today was my first (public) 5K since my winter boot-edness.  I have been working so hard for this...it takes a lot of discipline for me to work at something slowly and stick with it.  I want to go in all the way or not at all.  So this slow and steady nonsense really was quite irritating.  So although I'm running farther than a 5K 4 days a week, hopefully this week bumping up to 5 days, it's a different thing (for me) to go run one in a crowd. 

I like the personal space of my treadmill.  I like my controlled climate of 62 degrees.  I like the distraction of the t.v.  I like watching the distance tick by and knowing exactly how far I've gone and how far I have to go.  None of that when you are doing the events!  Today there were 1246 runners.  Not a lot of personal space.  It was dry but an icy wind off the water that just wanted to hang on, the last half blowing against us.  Cold, cold, cold.  There was no t.v, but I must admit some interesting characters to help distract me.

And even so, it was a great run!  We ran in the Tacoma St. Patty's Day Run.  This was the first time that Brad and I ran side-by-side the entire course.  Well, at least when we weren't weaving in and out of people.  I swear we ran an extra half mile just zig-zagging through the sea of greenly clad people.  Okay, that's a bit dramatic.  Maybe an extra .313 miles.

The last hill, going against the cold wind, was tough.  I always speed up going up hill, because I just want to get it over with.  And it's a great time to pass people.  Then I got to the top, rounded a corner, and my stomach rolled in a very peculiar way...let's just say I about had to pull off to the side and make a scene.  So I slowed to a walk for about 20 steps and then we were off again.  The downhill finish was great fun! 

We crossed the line with a time of 27:29.  I'm just a minute and a half off my best time, so I'm happy.  And it felt gooood.  No miserable pain.  No "why am I doing this???" nagging thoughts.  Out of 127 women in my age group, I finished 12th!  Happy result!

There were some crazy costumes at this run.  In most cases, you can tell who's there to have a little fun and who's there to just get the run done.  And all kinds in between.

At one point, we saw a large group of these girls, all dressed in matching green tutus and giant green bows.  There was no way I was letting someone dressed in a tutu beat me, so I sped up and passed them and left them way behind.

These two ladies were quite the fun!  They walked/ran the entire course in these outfits, which had to be quite the treat for anyone behind them who had to dodge those streamer skirts blowing in the wind.  They have decided to enter as many races as possible in 2010 with some other friends.  Last weekend they walked a half marathon, and they are doing a 5K just about every weekend around Washington and Oregon.  Very fun adventure!

Brad and I had decided awhile ago that we were going to consider this a date, and that we did.  It was nice to have a drive up there, lots of conversation that can be hard to find in the daily life.  And after we were able to drive around and find someplace for lunch and just hang out with no set plan.  Loved it.

and, yes, I know I look tired.  I am.

I would just love to tell a story about our lunch, but I just can't do it here.  It involved 2 older ladies, an inappropriate conversation, voices too loud, and they just about spoiled my appetite.  Brad very calmly looked into my eyes and said, "You need to let this go.  Just let it go."  I so badly wanted to go offer those ladies some kind common sense that they were obviously lacking.  If my children had been with me, I would have in a heartbeat.  Actually, Brad probably would have beat me to it.  I resisted, which I found to be much harder than resisting a cookie.  Which I really am craving right now.

CCC #3 ~ Guest Blogger!

My sister, who is at least as good of a baker as I like to think I am, was kind enough to contribute her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe in honor of this blessed holiday week. 

She may even be a better baker than me, in a side-by-side taste test, but only because she has a few more year's experience on me.  She's also wiser, and knows how to be straight to the point with her words, so I will simply paste in her exact post to you.

This recipe is one of my favorite cookies, too.  I've sadly forgotten all about it, and it's been years and years since I've made them.  That will be changing soon.  I must introduce my children to the wonder of these cookies.  I would fall woefully shy of any kind of Mother of the Year nomination if I did not let my children experience these.

Now that I've babbled on with my own thoughts, I will get back to the point and NOW I will simply paste in my sister's straight-to-the-point post:

"These are the best chocolate chip cookies...........I love them.  I think I'll make them this weekend even though I am on a diet!!!

Nieman Marcus Cookies
(recipe may be halved)

2 cups butter
4 1/8 cup flour
2 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal***
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 (8 oz) Hershey bar, grated
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 cups nuts (your choice)
*Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
*cream the butter and both sugars.
*Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda.
*Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts.
*Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
*Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Makes 112 cookies."

So thank you to my sister for a great recipe!!