Playdate

In bloom

 

Park Avenue

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Central Park Reservior

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Bringing the outdoors in.

Spring is in full bloom!

Tweet, tweet

I loved Kris's post about birds when she wrote it but now I love it more because there is a new bird lover among us.  My four year old has been learning about birds and their characteristics in preschool.  Who knew?!

To foster this new appreciation, I've been getting books from the library so that we can both learn about these beautiful creatures.  (Is it sad that my son knows more about birds than me?  I guess I led an unobservant life as a child...or there were no birds on Staten Island beside pigeons.)  Anyway, LOVE the library!

Today is his last day of Spring Break.  I decided to use some fabric I had around the house to make his very own bird.  This is my interpretation of a female bluebird. 

 

Owen picked out the buttons for the eyes; one black and one red.  He tells me he wants to take it to school which tells me that he likes it.  Yay!

Packing paper

Instead of running out to get one of those cool single cup coffee machines, I asked my parents if I could have their coffee press.  You know, the one I gave them that they never use.  My dad was happy to declutter their home and I was happy to get a "new" coffee press.  My dad carefully wrapped the glass pot in some paper and placed it in a bag for me to transport home.  Here's the paper he used...

       

Am I crazy here or does his "garbage" practice sheets look amazing? 

My dad started calligraphy a few years after retiring.  At this point, it has been around ten years.  Several years ago he submitted work for a traveling exhibit.  His art went to four countries, one of them was South Korea.  Our extended family went to the exhibit and took photos next to my dad's scrolls.  I don't have pictures of that exhibit but I do have two of his scrolls in my living room.

Oh, the framed flower picture is his also.  This isn't even his best work!  There is one piece that has all Chinese 1000 characters perfectly aligned and perfectly drawn that I LOVE.  Their tiny apartment is packed with scrolls, books and rolls of practice sheets.  Incredible.

I am so proud of his work.  He started doing this amazing art so late in his life.  I can only imagine what he would have created if he had started decades ago.  I am truly inspired.

Overheard

Earlier this evening, I heard Joseph explaining to Hannah that "sometimes, when people are dead, if they were important people, they wrap them in toilet paper and put them in a special box and call them mommies." 

"Mommies?" she asked. 

"Yes, MOM-MIES," he said, louder and slower.

*Image Copyrighted by Historylink101.com & found at Egyptian Picture Gallery.

Sick Day = Pancake Lunch

The kids were home sick today. But not that sick. You know the routine: You are called from school to pick up your kids one day, and they are marginally sick. But because the school rule is that you are to keep the home 24 hours past fever break/last throw up/return of appetite/whatever ... it doesn't matter how good they are feeling the next day, home it is.

That's where we are today. 

Hannah's school called yesterday at about noon and said that she had been crying on and off for an hour and complaining that her ear hurt. So, I woke Miriam from her nap, trucked off to school to retrieve the girl, slogged back home, and was just looking for the ibuprofen, garlic-mullein ear oil, and echinacea ... when the phone rang.

"Mrs. Wolff, it's nurse Anglum from Gregory School."

"Oh no. Not you. How's Joe?"

Joe had come in complaining that his stomach hurt and had a fever of 101. Crappity.

So, I dosed up Hannah, put the girls in the car, and drove the block-and-a-half to school to get the boy. I figured a kid with a fever probably didn't want to walk home.

They were mostly fine yesterday. They're even finer today. But here we are, all together on a damp, gray, cold March day.

"Mom, can we have pancakes for lunch?"

Why the hell not?

Seems like a perfect time to share my Dad's own homegrown recipe he calls "Nature Boy Pancakes."

"Oh, give 'em a try," he said to me a few years ago when Hannah and I were out for a rare visit. "You won't want those ol' namby-pamby fluffy white pancakes again."

He was right.

Granpappy's Nature Boy Pancake Mix

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbls. baking powder

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

12 Tbls. dry buttermilk powder (= 1/2 cup + 2 Tbls.)

 

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in refrigerator.  

To make pancake batter, mix 1 cup of mix with an equal amount of water to which has been added 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 beaten egg.  Cook on hot griddle or skillet. 

Plain is good, but we also like chocolate chip (cooking on the griddle above), raisin, currant, or any of the more standard blueberry or banana options.

Enjoy.

What's for Dinner?

 

Pizza, until recently, was a rarity in this house. The reasons are numerous: our favorite delivery place closed down, Joseph has never been a fan (seriously, at birthday parties he'd search out the veggie platter intended for the adults rather than deign to eat a slice of pizza!), we worried Miriam had a dairy allergy which meant that neither she nor I could eat it until we sorted that out ...

Poor Hannah LOVES pizza. Many a stranger has remarked at the way she folds her pizza in half and shovels it in NY-style, rather than insist on its being cut into little cubes the way other toddlers seem to. But, save for the occasional birthday party, she has been largely denied.

Miriam's dairy issues have been sorted out (not a true allergy, and cheese and yogurt seem to be just fine), but Joseph would still crinkle up his nose and say "Well, I am NOT eating THAT. You KNOW I don't like pizza," if anyone ever suggested grabbing a couple of slices as an easy way to feed the kids. I even offered him a white slice at the local pizzeria, but he wouldn't hear of it.

A few weeks ago I got a bee in my bonnet. I don't really remember why. But I love making bread and thought maybe, just maybe, if we made pizza at home and I let Joseph help he'd give it a try and, gasp, actually like it.

Wouldn't you know it worked. Now we have pizza once a week. Tonight will be a good night since we have little else in the house and already have plans to eat most of our meals out this weekend.

So, as I get ready to go into the kitchen and make the dough, I thought I'd share the crust recipe that seems to be the favorite (I've experimented a lot) and a few pictures of the work in progress.

For the crust, I've been doing a whole wheat recipe I got out of a recent issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I figure since it's virtually impossible to duplicate pizzeria crust at home, might as well go a little healthier. Besides, it's Joseph's favorite.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water
• 2 packets ( ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)  

 

 Directions

1. Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.
2. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.
4. Set balls on a plate (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Then freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.
5. Divide each ball of dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, stretch each piece into a 5-inch disk (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Freeze shells on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Stack frozen shells between layers of parchment paper. Freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Bake from frozen.

  

Note: I haven't been freezing my shells. I find I can divide the dough and leave it in the fridge for at least as long as it takes me to finish off a doubled batch. So, I divide my dough and put each little ball in it's own Ziploc bag and take it out when I'm ready to make pizza. By the time the oven is preheated, the dough is ready to shape.

To cook the pizza: Take dough or crust out of the fridge/freezer. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle cooking tray with cornmeal. When the oven is ready: shape your pizza, put it on your pan, and top as desired -- MINUS the cheese.

That's Joe's white pizza on the left. I grind up a little rosemary, mix it with extra virgin olive oil, brush it on to the crust, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Hannah likes red sauce, so I just use whatever basic pasta sauce we have in the cabinet. My favorite is sausage, onion, and mushroom. Adam likes everything and the kitchen sink (though he is much chagrined about the whole wheat crust!).

You will notice that I'm not using a pizza stone. I have one, but honestly can't tell the difference between the pizza I've cooked on the stone and that that I've cooked on this aluminum jelly roll pan. And I don't have to handle a blazing hot pizza stone when I use the pan, so the stone will now forever be reserved for artisan breads.

I digress. At this point, cook the pizza for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, add cheese, and cook for another 7 minutes or so, depending on how bubbly and/or browned you like your cheese. (Again, Adam is much chagrined that I use part-skim mozzarella, but it's what they have at Whole Foods, so it's what I buy.)

I think I left these in a little long, but you will notice Miriam up there didn't mind one bit.

Tonight this will be dinner, but it also makes a good afternoon snack for the kids. Enjoy!

  

Inspired

It has been soooooo long since I've posted anything. Not sure why, exactly. I have plenty to say. I often find myself composing blog posts in my head as I drive around town, shuffling kids to and from school, running errands, etc.

But for whatever reason, those words just haven't made their way to the page. (I know it's digital, but I can still call it a page, can't I? Web page. There. Still a page.).

Anyway, I had a little time waiting for my third and final root canal (What?!? That will just have to wait.) the other day, and found a little blog and crafty-parenting inspiration on the pages of Mothering Magazine in the form of its "Crafty Mamas" article. The article, written by Jean Van’t Hul of Artful Parent,  was as beautifully produced as it was written. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of the photos were supplied by the "Crafty Mamas" themselves.

It was a profile of five mother-crafter-bloggers:

• Amanda Blake Soule of Soule Mama
• Sally Shim of Shim + Sons
• Amy Karol of Angry Chicken
• Stephanie Congdon Barnes who blogs under her own name; and, 
• Erin Sanpedro of Vintage Chica

Reading this article and seeing all the amazing things these women are doing has given me the kick in the pants I apparently need to get back in here and write. So, write I will.

It has also given me a little inspiration and hope for my summer. Camp Wolff will be back in session come the end of June. And I have been feeling a bit of trepidation. But while checking out Vintage Chica, I signed up for her Summer Un-School group, and am now looking forward to contributing to the group and learning from those more experienced than I.

A friend, who has her own impressive blog (Child at Art), admitted she feels a little inadequate when she sees all the things -- writing, crafting, homeschooling, photography, two books -- someone like Soule Mama is doing. I would encourage her (Love you, Mary-Girl!) and anyone else -- whether your game is blogging, crafting, homeschooling, mindful consumption or just generally connecting to your family -- to pick up the magazine (yes, paper!), drink it in, and just be inspired. 

Fever!

As I write this entry, there is a wintery mix of freezing rain pouring out of the dark sky.  We have another month before the official end of winter.  This and the brown landscape is bringing me to tears.  I've got a bad case of Spring Fever. 

I am ready to see the first signs...daffodil blooms, crocuses, budding trees, spring robins, longer days and the warm sun.  Aren't we finished with our hibernation?  Isn't it time to rejuvinate?

I am anxious and eager to start my plantings.  I have all my seeds ready. 

 

My sons and I have been collecting seeds from their favorite vegetables.  My mom brings seeds to us whenever she visits.  In addition, I bought some at the store today on sale for 20 cents and 60 cents!!

I have a new pair of fancy garden gloves from Perch Home (thanks again, Kris!) and a pack of allergy pills.

Come on, c'mon...Spring!

Old School Legos

As someone who steps on a lego every hour or two and misses the 'old-fashioned' legos that came in about 10 different shapes instead of 10,000 I really enjoyed this....

But can anyone explain the venti latte/regular coffee to me?  I don't get it...

best foot forward -and- on the other hand

If you know me, then you know I can't leave a project unfinished for too long.  Even though I don't love the yarn, I HAD to make the other sock...

 

If you know me, then you would also know that I HATE that the stripes don't align.  Oh well, what's done is done.  I must admit they are super cozy and on cold winter nights they keep me warm.

Of course as soon as I finished my socks, my sons put in requests for socks of their own.  I found a pattern in Erica Knight's "simple knits for little cherubs", made an adjustment with the sizing and here's what I have so far...

   

Sadly, it is too slippery for my son to wear on our wood floors. 

Socks are fun to make but they take a while to knit.  On the other hand...

mittens are much faster to make.  With growing kids, the mittens I made a few months ago have become too small.  With a little tweek of the pattern for the correct measurements and liberties on yarn and design, I made these with the remaining yarn... 

 

I quite like the stripe and thumb in orange.  It makes me happy.