Two Whole Hands for Tim!

The other evening, this Pinterest photo had me laughing. The guys asked what was so funny, so I shared it w/them. Someone failed an attempt to mimic a cute cupcake, but remained proud and proclaimed themself to have "nailed it" inspite of the outcome.
Tim wanted to continue his tradition of having a cookie pie as a birthday confection, and requested an "owl" design this year. I was commenting this morning about the potential outcome of such a design given my limited artistic/culinary abilities; and Tim's response to me referenced the "nailed it" photo, so naturally I had to make sure this phrase found its' way onto the pie... Once I had the owls in place, Brian suggested I put "Whooo...Nailed It?" to incorporate something "owl" w/the phrase and make Tim laugh. He did, and I was proclaimed "the most awesome mom in the world". Such an honor.

Birthdays that arrive on a weekday are a little difficult to manage given our current schedule. Tim's next TKD belt test is coming up in 10 days, so we really needed to get his usual set of Wednesday classes in this week. This meant either a 6am opening of gifts before everyone started parting ways for the day, or waiting until 7:30pm this evening. He's a 10 year old boy...he opted for setting his alarm.
As one of our gifts to Tim, I had planned to get his TKD belts in display mode. My preference was to shadowbox the belts, but since he's still earning them, having the frame shop do the work and seal the box frames wouldn't work yet. I found a couple of frames at Hobby Lobby for 50% off that I managed to fit the belts into. Drilling a $2 set of clasping locks onto the side worked to keep them enclosed yet accessible to add additional belts. They are not in final display mode, but it works for now and Tim was happy w/the outcome.

Happy birthday, Timmers. You're sensitive, loving, incredibly intelligent, a friend to a variety of personalities, a tolerating younger brother, a guiding older brother, and a boy with more interests than what you have time to partake in on a regular basis...to note just a few of the things I've observed about you over the past ten years. You remain: my favorite Tim in the whole wide world.

Picture Day Wardrobe

This morning I walked over to put Matt's lunchbag and water bottle next to his backpack, and saw a small stack of shirts on the console table.

Picture day.

He was going to school in his student council shirt, and will have two changes today for WEB leader group shot and orchestra/chamber photos. If he knew the schedule for the photos he could have just layered them on and peeled them off as needed. The weather is finally cold enough today to justify layered clothing...

Say cheese, Matt.

Rendering Our Home Even More Circus-like

...a cotton candy machine! Matt was assigned cotton candy machine duty at the student council dance last Friday night. The experience resulted in a decision to utilize a TRU giftcard on a cotton candy machine which arrived today in a sizable box via UPS.

Matt came through the door after Running club and somehow managed to wait until after dinner to gather up leftover pixie sticks from Christmas stockings and start up the machine. I was concerned we'd have sugary webs/film all over the kitchen, and while that may still happen when we actually use flossing sugars as the machine calls for...we were safe this evening.

We didn't get much of the sweet treat, and the flavor was better suited for tart pixie sticks...but we had fun regardless. Every home should have one. ;)

Pinkalicious Party

We are investing a lot of time w/activities at the library. It's helping Meredith interact w/kids her age in larger groups and listen/follow instructions from a non-parent adult...necessary skills for school in the future that she doesn't get by staying home and out of a formal preschool environment. Getting back into the routine of our weekly library reading/song/craft time has been good for her. I noticed that after talking w/Ms. Julie (the librarian who runs the childrens' program at the public library) at the OMES Literacy Night, Meredith seems to be more connected to Ms. Julie and is now identifying Thursday as her "Ms. Julie's class" day of the week.

In attending this weekly class, we keep up on the latest offerings such as Lego club, zoo visits, book readings, special events, etc. Tonight was the Pinkalicious party, and Meredith was beside herself w/anticipation of wearing her pink fuzzy scarf and eating a pink cupcake.

I'm pretty sure the library had no idea that 50+ little girls adorned in every shade of pink on the planet would invade the library for tonight's event. It was like the prince's royal ball in the Cinderella story: "...every girl in the land attended."

This is pinkalicious Kate (Jack's sister).

There were many activities to partake in: tiara making, paper cupcake decorating, princess wand assembling, etc; but the lines and crowd were a hinderance in getting to them. We made it to the photo booth and squeezed our way over to the paper cupcake station before leaving to check out our books and pick up something pink and sugary at the store on the way home.

Inspite of the lateness of the evening hour (for sugar consumption, that is), we stopped in together at the store and picked up a pack of pink iced cupcakes, pink marshmallows, and pink strawberry ice cream. We brought it home and had a grand finale to our Pinkalicious party. Naturally, one little pink monster wasn't interested in bed until after 10pm tonight. A memory maker though and lots of fun together...

An Adoption and a Lego Club Win for Tim & Jack

The topic this week at our library story/song/craft time that Meredith, Lily, Lucy and I attend was "Pets"; and the craft was the creation and adoption of a pet rock.

Miss Julie, the librarian, asked Meredith what she wanted to name her pet to which Meredith replied, "Meredith". I'm pleased our girl still likes her name at this point in life. Her pet is leashed (w/a pipe cleaner) and is adapting well to life in the Carnahan household.

Inspite of our first encounter with winter weather this evening, Tim and I picked up Jack and headed over the library (2nd trip there for the day) for the monthly Lego Club meeting. We just discovered this was offered and we wanted to check it out. Even with the weather such as it was, there were approximately 25 kids in attendance. The boys partnered with a younger boy named Cameron for the final contest: air, land, or sea transportation model. The boys' model was victorious in the "air" category...winning the majority of votes over several other projects. I heard the term "symmetry" being tossed around...apparently this is a critical aspect in Lego building and inspires admiration if used.

The boys joined the coordinator for the evening and the other category winners to assemble their builds in the display cube. They had a group photo taken and their models will be on display at the library for the next month.

A Dental Visit for Meredith

Meredith had her first visit to a new (pediatric) dentist this morning. The boys are out of school today and decided to come along with the girls and I (we had Lucy for the day). The office was entertaining...tv, tents/toys, fish tank, wall-mounted video games, etc.; and the staff was friendly. Both the dentist and hygienist commented on Meredith's rain boots: Dr. Haring said he'd never seen a pair of boots like that in his office (ha(!)...especially in January, right?), and Renee wanted them in her size. I can't decide if Matt's predictions via the Farmer's Almanac (mild winter w/little snow) are going to prove true or if Brian's "I heard" weather reports of "...a winter that will have Chicagoans wanting to leave Illinois) is going to pan out. Given the continued temps in the 40-50's and subsequent rain, I'm leaning towards siding w/Matt; but then, February has historically proven to be the month for snow and calamity days.

Meredith had a perfect tooth report and struck a pose for her "1st visit" (w/this dentist) photo that the office captures for each patient. Inspite of the "glowingness" of the state of her teeth, she mostly likely will need a palate expander in a few years due to a narrow upper jaw creating a crossbite w/her lower jaw (at least, I think that was the explanation). Lovely. I had hopes she might be our one child fortunate to avoid dental correction.

I'm pretty sure I'll be nominated for the "Mom of the Year" award in 2012. ENT and Dentist appointments this short break, and I've got Pediatrician and Opthamologist visits lined up for the week of Spring break. Creating memories for our kids they'll fondly reflect back on...that's what I'm here for. ;D

Tim's First Orchestra Concert

Tim's first concert as an elementary school violinist was tonight. Tim opted to wear a tie for the performance, as did Jack...a friend and classmate of his. There were only a handful of boys (less than five) among the 90+ students that chose this accessory, and it makes me smile knowing Tim was one of them.

The students played (plucked) well together; and inspite of it being January, we enjoyed a trip to Dairy Queen afterwards.

"We Need to Mow Our Grass, Mommy!"

I don't believe I've ever heard that statement in January...even during our time in Texas.
We had sunshine and mild temps again today, so I took advantage of the weather and packed up the outdoor Christmas lights now rather than waiting until Spring.



Meredith, donning three separate animal prints (the spotted Dalmation on her shirt isn't visible), headed out with me to practice her kicks and dribbles while I bundled cords and light strings.






She stopped only long enough to note the length of our grass and play with a wispy maiden grass stem leftover from the initial Autumn cutting. I considered the mowing suggestion for a moment after Meredith made it. Maybe a January cutting of the grass just so we Brian can say we he did it one year would be memorable and...fun(?).

Meredith's Chosen Sport: ...

Soccer. We've tried to talk Meredith into joining her little friend at TKD in the upcoming Little Kickers class, but she just has no desire at this point to be involved. Over the boy's winter break, I mentioned possibly joining a soccer class for her age group and to say she was enthusiastic about the idea is an understatement.

She immediately grabbed her little pink and grey soccer ball and began showing me her kicking and running skills. I mentioned the class a few more times over the next week to be sure she wasn't waivering...nope; asked each time when she was starting, admitted she isn't good at dribbling, and asked if we would all come to watch her games.

She asked me this morning if we could get her a yellow shirt with her name and the number three on the back b/c she likes the color yellow and "...is the number three 'snuggle pal' (a term Tim has designated and assigned to each of us as family members) in this family." I've heard nothing of the yellow shirt with "Meredith" and "3" on the back since the beauty that is her red soccer team shirt was handed to her when we arrived at the class. :)

We laced up her Puma's, filled her pink Camelbak for her drink break, and headed out for class.

Meredith spoke clearly with her coaches (ie. she didn't act weird and proclaim herself "shy"), met a new friend (Zoe) among the girls in the group, and surprised me a little with how readily she participated (no pushing her to participate at all) and performed.

Meredith has not displayed an issue with low self esteem at this point in her young life. Throughout the day most days, she has begun announcing random thoughts and facts ("I know that cats eat cat food." or " I know that people sit on chairs."), and when asked how she has so much knowledge, she will respond, "Because I'm awesome!". Tonight at the table, she continued to reflect on her class and all the details and ends with, "I was awesome!". She really was...so proud of her. Inspite of her enthusiasm, I envisioned a different experience upon arriving at the class. She hasn't stopped thanking us for the class all day long. I am thankful for a thankful little girl.

The coaches gathered the children at the end of the class for handstamps. Meredith enjoys getting her handstamped (if the receipt checker at Costco doesn't stamp her hand each month, she will ask about it), but later this evening she wanted to know when she gets the "shiny thing" (a trophy). Oh my. I love her exuberance for this activity.

You Have to Make This Soup!

On Tuesday the Iowa Girl Eats blog posted a "You have to make this soup!" soup recipe, so I printed it out b/c we all enjoy homemade soups...it's pretty much the only kind we eat anymore. (And I'm copying her post title b/c really--"You have to make this soup!"). On Wednesday I mentioned the recipe to Matt while he ate breakfast and I drank coffee. (This is Matt, our child chef; so request to make soup in: 3, 2, 1...). Today (Thursday), I was asked to retrieve the necessary ingredients and make the soup for dinner. This is the routine at the mention of a new recipe; and really not a problem this particular time b/c I'd already planned a grocery trip for mid-morning.

I made the soup tonight w/a minor adjustment or two to the recipe, and it was an immediate favorite for us. It reminds me of the Olive Garden trips that Brian and I would make before the kids were born. We would order their Pasta Fagioli soup and breadsticks for dinner. While the soup was perfection, the service usually was not as it was not a "big tip" meal. Now we have a recipe that provides the taste of a favorite soup w/o suffering through lackluster restaurant service. So here is the recipe...for us to recall should we lose the printed copy, and to share w/whomever reads here and opts to try for yourselves. Grab a glass of wine, cook & simmer, assemble a salad or bake some bread, enjoy...

Tomato & Turkey soup w/Ditalini
Ingredients:
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 sweet, white onion
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1.5-2 lbs. ground turkey breast
Salt & Pepper
2 15oz. cans of tomato sauce
45 oz. chicken broth
1 can Great Northern beans (drained and rinsed)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup Ditalini pasta
Cornstarch (for thickening)
Red pepper chili flakes (optional)

Instructions:
*Heat EVOO over medium heat in a large soup pot. Toss in and stir the carrots, onion, and garlic. Add the ground turkey, season with salt & pepper, and cook until the turkey is no longer pink (break it up as you cook).

*Pour in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, beans, and italian seasoning. (The original recipe calls for red chili pepper flakes for 'zing'. Some of us don't like 'zing', so I omitted the flakes.) Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. (I simmered our pot for 2-3 hours).

*If you want the soup to be thicker, shake equal parts cornstarch w/water and add sparingly to the pot until you are satisfied w/the consistency. I added about 2 tablespoons worth.) Add the Ditalini pasta and simmer for 10-15 minutes before serving. This filled my 5.5 quart Le Creuset pot about 3/4 full...serving stats will depend on the number of people eating, and the size of the bowls.

*Note: I used organic and natural product with this recipe.