Happily Ever After

I know that many experts out there discuss the fact that we poison our little girls with stories of glass slippers and knights in shining armor and living happily ever after.  I don't listen to them.  I'm thirty years old, and today even I want to be a princess. 

It wasn't really my plan to wake up to watch the royal wedding, but when I found myself unable to sleep during the four o'clock hour this morning, I figured it was fate's way of telling me I'd better not miss the nuptials of the century.  As I told Steve this evening, I very clearly remember a time in the early 90's when I was sure I stood a chance (albeit slight) with Prince Wills.  The idea that he might find himself in Eden Prairie, MN and sweep me off my feet didn't strike me as totally crazy.  Seriously, who is with me?  I know you felt it, too. 

I got caught up in the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony this morning.  I am fascinated by royalty and the fact that, even in this age, that type of reign still exists.  Did you see the thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch the televised ceremony and then fight for a sight of the newly betrothed couple as they left Westminster Abbey in a horse-drawn carriage?  I love that Kate and Will, who represent a new generation of the monarchy, have brought so much hope to their country and to the world.  Maybe it's crazy that we put any hope at all in the marriage of two young people, but I think there is a strong message within about the most basic human needs: we want to see - in lives outside of our own - that true love exists.  That dreams do come true.  That fairy tales don't just come in animated form.  That happily ever after isn't a fleeting sentiment.

It was Princess Day at Sara's school.  She was thrilled to wear her princess dress today, and tonight talked about all her friends who also dressed up as princesses.  There is something so magical about believing that being a princess - being somebody's princess - is within reach.  I don't think anyone should settle for less than that, and certainly not my Sara.  Even I couldn't help myself: I wore a purple dress today just to feel a little bit like royalty.

"Every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation."

Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London

Adventures in Baking

I enjoy baking, and it makes me feel good when I can give someone the gift of goodies from scratch.  It's been a priority of mine to make Sara's birthday treats rather than buy them, to make cookies that don't start in the frozen foods section, and - whenever time, materials, and abilities allow - to try something I haven't tried before.  I think my mom instilled this in me (and in my sister, too).  Especially in giving, when you can't give a lot, baking allows you to give with meaning.

Recently I have had the opportunity to bake a few new items.  Last week for our volunteer luncheon, I made an apple spice cake (recipe courtesy of What's Cooking in Eden Prairie?; volume two will be available in time for the holidays).  The cake was good, but a little dry.  I thought it could have used some sort of icing or frosting (and I'm not really even a frosting person).  But something light on top might have been just the touch it needed.

For Easter, I made an angel food cake.  I dyed it pink for fun, and we ate it with fresh strawberries.  I also made bread using this recipe.  The whole process was very simple, the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to keep readily available in the pantry, and the bread was delicious.  In past posts, Heather has suggested using the dough to make pretzels, and Merry used it to make cinnamon rolls.  I plan to make both items with a new batch of dough this weekend when our friend, Isaac, comes to visit from Iowa.  I usually make him chocolate chip cookies, but I'm going to go out on a limb this time and try something new.  I don't think he'll mind.

Sometimes I think, You can't have it all: you can't work and cook and bake and clip coupons and clean and exercise and spend time with your family and sleep and be sane.  I know there is some truth to that.  But I'm getting lots of inspiration from some friends who juggle quite a bit and feed their family delicious food (and baked goodies) on a budget and without going completely, totally crazy.  Plus for me, cooking - especially baking - can be really therapeutic.  Those of you who write recipe blogs (or even those of you who just share the occasional recipe), keep at it ... I'm out to borrow your ideas.  Which reminds me: if you haven't read Like Water for Chocolate and you are someone who gives, receives, and/or tells stories through baking, this is a must-read.  I love that something as basic and necessary as food can transform and connect us in so many ways.

Who's hungry?

Easter Fun

 As our dyed eggs were drying tonight, Sara managed to make a couple of them roll off the table and onto the floor.  Hearing the *crack* and apparently assuming it was a bad sound, Sara casually walked over to me and said, "The eggs fell down."  I guess she was covering in case I thought she might have had anything to do with it.  As if.  Anyway, here are ours:

Thomas and Percy, front and center, are the big winners this year.

Can you spot the hidden eggs and basket???

(Yes, we're watching The Ten Commandments.  Steve tried to make Sara watch, but she lasted about 15 seconds, if that.)

Happy Easter!

I Spy Eggs

When I went in to get Sara out of bed this morning, she popped right up and said, "Easter Egg Hunt!" Last year at this time, she was only semi-interested in the concept, but now that she understands that free candy is involved, Sara was sure ready to participate this morning in her school's Easter Egg Hunt.  

 

By the time the hunt was over, Sara was sweaty, lugging around a very full basket, and thrilled with her earnings.  Just like after trick-or-treating, Sara seems to be of the belief that if she doesn't hurry up and eat every single piece of candy immediately, it will disappear.  The concept of moderation is lost on her.  Oh, well.

I'm already loving my long weekend.  After the egg hunt, Audrey came over to play with Sara.  This was our third play date with Audrey (although the girls play together everyday at school), and it's so fun to watch them interact.  I'm enjoying getting to know Audrey's mom, too; between having the girls, our ages, and our line of work in common, I feel like we've made a good connection.  This afternoon Sara and I went to get an oil change (not fun, but necessary), and I made some bread dough that I plan to bake tomorrow or Sunday.  And although we're down to the wire, I went ahead and boiled a dozen eggs that we plan to dye by Easter.  Some traditions are just too important to skip (I know my sister will agree ... right, Melvy?).

Rain, Rain

Go Away

  Come Again Another Day

 Little Sara Wants to Play

 Rain, Rain

Go Away!

Weekend Update

It's been fairly uneventful around here recently, but I'll go ahead and report the few goings-on we have had. 

On Thursday afternoon I took Sara to her annual allergy appointment to recheck her peanut allergy.  I was hoping that the allergy would disappear, but it actually aseems to have gotten worse.  The doctor said that such a result is normal, and sometimes kids will get worse before they get better when it comes to certain allergies.  We'll go back again in a year to see if there's any change.  Like he told us last year, if the allergy is going to go away, we'll see significant change by the time Sara is five.  If her reaction isn't changing by that point, it's very likely she won't ever outgrow the allergy.

Speaking of allergies, the seasonal pollens and such have had all of us feeling under the weather.  I know I mentioned this a couple posts ago, and it's not a topic of real high interest, but because our symptoms keep getting miserably worse, I had to mention it again.

Yesterday morning my school held it's first annual 5K fun run.  The coach who spearheaded the event did an amazing job, and though she was pretty stressed about it last week, it went off without too many issues.  It can be scary to plan such an event for the first time, but it turned out to be a big success.  We had many, many students involved, as well as other community members and runners who were just interested in a Saturday morning race.  We raised a nice chunk of money for our athletics department and, most importantly, we got a lot of kids out moving ... they were really proud of themselves!  Sara, Steve and I all participated (Steve ran; I used the excuse of stroller duty to walk), and it turned out to be a really refreshing way to start our weekend.  Side note: I borrowed my neighbor's BOB stroller for the event, and it was wonderful.  I'm officially on the bandwagon with everyone who raves about these strollers.  I'm thinking about not giving it back.

Last night Sara pooped in the potty!  I'll spare you the photo I sent to my parents and sister.  We've discovered that Sara doesn't like a lot of praise, especially when she goes potty.  I had been making big scenes and cheering, but it has become clear that such displays embarrass her and/or make her uncomfortable, so now we just give her a thumbs up, which she seems to prefer. 

So far today we have eaten eggs (Sara likes eggs again!), read some books, and painted toenails.  When it warms up this afternoon, we may go to the pool.  At the very least, we'll play in the backyard (which is what Sara is begging to do as I type).  Laundry is also on the list ... a necessary evil, I guess.  I'm looking forward to a 4-day week.  On Friday morning, Sara's school is having an Easter Egg hunt, and afterwards her friend Audrey is going to come over to play.  Audrey's mom is looking for a house in Wylie, and we're excited that they might be living close by very soon!

A new episode of "Desperate Housewives" airs tonight.  Yes, my sister and I are still loyal viewers.  We're ready for it to come to a close, but no official announcement has been made yet (to my knowledge) about whether this will, in fact, be the final season.  If it is, we'll both be a little relieved.  If it's not, we'll continue to text back and forth every Sunday night for another season ... and another after that if they keep dragging out the show.  We're committed to the drama.

Have a nice Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday: "It's Spring!" Edition

 

t-shirt time

I won't say who, but someone in the Brittain home is the proud new owner of this t-shirt:

Call it what you will (hysterical is one word that comes to mind; inappropriate is another), but the plain and simple truth is this: there isn't much we won't do when it comes to paying homage to one of our very favorite places. Clearly.

If you're looking for a good time, go to Ames.  If you can't get there, just wear the effing t-shirt.

"All About Me"

Apparently this week is The Week of the Young Child. I didn't realize such a week existed, but Sara's school did, and they are being intentional about celebrating. For starters, we had to complete some homework this weekend: an "All About Me" poster on a piece of scrapbook paper. There were no directions about format (not that there should be for toddlers -- that sounds silly now that I wrote it), so I wasn't sure where we should begin. I thought of listing some of her favorites, but then the bulk of the page would have been taken up with my handwriting. After considering the fact that a poster all about Sara should, for the most part, be completed all by Sara, I decided that a few pictures and some of Sara's own artwork would suffice. I started by letting Sara paint the paper using water colors, which she really loved.

 We added some pictures (I cut them, she stuck them), some Dora and Thomas stickers, and called it good.  Viola...

It's probably ridiculous, but this type of project makes me nervous.  I hope I'm not way off the mark (even though there really weren't any guidelines) ... I guess I'll find out when I see all of the others hanging in the hallway outside of Sara's classroom this week.  She's proud of it, though, so that's what matters.

Allergies & Potato Chips

Has allergy season hit where you live?  It's in full swing here, and my household appears to be bearing the brunt of it.  From watery eyes to runny noses to sneezing and wheezing, we are experiencing every symptom.  It's time to break out the (generic, over-the-counter) Claritin.  We're planning to get outside today (planting, sliding, perhaps some swimming), but we will drug-up a little first.

Last night Steve and I were watching Triple D followed by a couple of Travel Channel shows that make us hungry.  We somehow found ourselves talking about potato chip varieties, and I was trying desperately to remember the name of some chips that came out when we were maybe in second or third grade.  They came in a red bag, and I remember thinking they didn't taste very good every time I had some (so why I ate them more than once remains a mystery).  I think the name of chips started with a "c", but I can't be sure; I also think they've been discontinued.  Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?  I'd love some help identifying these not-so-good chips whose name has escaped my memory.

Happy Saturday!

School Days: Spring Picture

(thumbs down for scan quality)

Book Talk

Our book club pick this month was Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way by Shauna Niequist. For me, the jury is still out on this one. At times I wanted to call it a self-help-type book, and at other times I was able to read it for precisely what it was: the author's thoughts. While I enjoyed some of the stories she told from her different life experiences (many of these stories I felt she half-told), I felt like she gave a lot of unsolicited advice in seriously-over-used-cliche form (although I continued reading when I could have quit, so it's not fair to call the advice completely unsolicited, I suppose). There were times throughout the chapters (which were connected only because they were hers but didn't necessarily tell a collective story) that I was hoping to hear more about the journey that led to this place of needing to sort through her thoughts and ideas. I think the biggest obstacle I had in reading this book was that I had a hard time identifying with the author. Don't get me wrong: she appears to have a very good life -- one that is filled with many people she loves, one that has caused her to do a lot of introspective reflection, and one that is very spiritually-based, but on many levels, I just didn't connect. And I think I couldn't get past that in reading. Part of me wishes I could identify more, but that's a work in progress, I guess. You, however, might read this book and say over and over, "Yes! I get it! That's my story, too!"

Not long ago, I was in a high school ESL (English as a Second Language) class where the students were reading Of Beetles & Angels by Mawi Asgedom. Also non-fiction, Mawi used this book as a platform for telling about his experiences as a refugee in Sudan, an impoverished child in Chicago, and ultimately, the commencement speaker at his graduation from Harvard. When I heard the kids in the ESL class discussing Mawi's writing and his journey (and, in some cases, their own connections to his difficult childhood), I felt compelled to get my own copy. Mawi's story is the ultimate "if-you-dream-it-you-can-do-it" tale; heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. Some of you may have heard of him; he continues to live in the Chicago area where he is a highly sought after speaker and writer.  Though this is a quick read, it's got a message - and an author - you won't soon forget.

 Speaking of ESL classes, one of the ESL teachers at my school invited me to lead a literature circle in her 6th grade advanced class. It has been such a treat for me to meet with my group for an hour every other Friday. I love the opportunity to reignite the English teacher inside of me, to be in the classroom, and to engage in meaningful dialogue with our students. The first book my group read was The Time Machine by HG Wells (this book was the teacher's choice). The kids were excited to be able to select our second novel, and we're currently reading Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle, which is a historical fiction novel about a group of infamous smugglers during prohibition and the two adventurous boys determined to find them.  Although you may not be a young adult (in book years, this typically means teen), know that there are so many wonderful YA novels out there.  In fact, and maybe it's just because I taught middle school English, the category is one of my favorites.  Many talented authors are able to use their writing to reach teens during impressionable, vulnerable years ... and at the same time, they are able to make the adults who pick up their books remember (relive?) those years (for better or worse) all over again.  Many YA novels can be read over and over, and as we grow, we have different take-aways from them.  If you haven't browsed the YA section in a while, I recommend you give it a try.

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it."

James Bryce