Snow!

We finally got some snow! I was pretty convinced that it was going to keep passing over us all winter. Late Friday night soft little flakes began to fall and by Saturday morning we had just enough to have some fun in. It's a pitiful little covering that left the grass showing through. But when you are snow deprived as we are any little bit is cause for much joy! We stayed out all day yesterday except for short hot cocoa breaks. And we were blessed with more last night. The kids haven't been indoors longer than an hour since they woke up. It's beautiful. We are drinking it in like dehydrated men in the desert who've stumbled upon water.

I love the snow. I love the quiet of it. The brightness of it. It's peace falling from heaven. I love looking out on it first thing in the morning, steaming cup of coffee in hand. Snow has a stillness. It calms my soul. It is pure satisfying entertainment for children and adults alike. I wish we saw more of it. But we will enjoy fully enjoy it while it lasts.

Comfort Favorites...

I have one simple rule about what we eat at meals: I am not a short order cook. So our kids eat what is served or they don't eat. That may be harsh, but let's be honest, they aren't going to starve if they don't eat one meal. I want to teach my kids to eat well. We don't want them to turn into adults that only eat chicken tenders at restaurants and consider ketchup a vegetable. Come on, you know those adults. So if Steven and I are eating a really hearty vegetable soup, so are the kids. We get some balking but on the whole our kids eat pretty well with little resistance.

All of that said, we still eat some serious comfort food around here. Especially on Friday nights. Steven likes to go out on Friday nights. He's very extroverted. I'm very introverted. So he needs to get out of the house and be social. I need nights in with nothing to do. Sometimes we meet up and I go out with him, but really Friday nights have become a mom and kids night. When dad is out we almost always eat one of two things: spaghetti or linguine in a mushroom cram sauce. Mmmm. Anything that you can heap into a bowl and eat while watching a movie in your pjs is good comfort food. That's right. I'm 28 and I spend most of my Friday nights in my pjs curled up with my kids in my bed eating a big bowl of pasta while watching a Disney cartoon. Sometimes we like to shake things up and play a board game like Candy Land. And it is easily the highlight of my week. Watch out folks, I'm crazy wild!

Eating well and trying new things is very important. I would say it's one of our parenting priorities. But good memories are made around really bad for you but oh, so good comfort food.

Tonight we'll be watching Scooby-Doo and having the linguine dish. It's shaping up to be a great Friday night.

Linguine in a Mushroom Cream Sauce

1 lb. linguine
1/2 lb. portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup white wine (and another for yourself, if you're like me)
1/3 cup heavy cream a
small handful of chopped fresh Italian parsley
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute sliced mushrooms in butter or olive oil. Once browned add the mustard and white wine. Let it steam and bubble for a minute, then add the heavy cream. Boil for 7 to 8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and parsley. Pour over drained pasta. Enjoy (preferably in your pajamas)!

Sad Face Gets Ice Cream

My sweet baby girl had to get her pre-kindergarten booster shots today. So sad. She has the best pout in the world. Her big brown eyes get watery and her lower lip sticks way out beyond the top lip. Her lips actually quiver as she wells up. Then big tears start to fall. Tears that look like they were drawn on, they're so perfectly shaped and big. Those tears fall slowly down leaving a perfect little wet line from eye to her plump pink cheek. She's a heart melter. She gets me every time. I almost started crying when she did. She was very brave though and only let out a few tears. She held back the rest, rubbed her eyes dry, and sniffed a little. Then she grabbed her things and reminded me that she got ice cream for being big and brave. Oh, my Sicily.

Guest writing for the bragging mommy...

I got the very exciting opportunity to write a guest post for The Bragging Mommy this month! It's a short post on visually appealing blogs. So stop by and check it out!

The Bragging Mommy

Produce Co-op...

Charlotte is a horrible place for growing things. We are cursed with layers of red clay void of nutrients. So to get fresh produce you really have to count on the farmers coming to you at a farmer's market. Or you can drive out of town to join a CSA or pick your own. We like to pick our own so we're willing to drive. But that's not really practical for every day meal planning. I need produce on a weekly basis. Thankfully, last summer I finally found a wonderful co-op. One woman, frustrated with the options for getting produce, decided to start a co-op. She has a big crop of produce delivered and we all meet to sort it and take home what our family will eat. It's wonderful. We get fresh, in-season produce every two weeks. The kids love helping with the sorting. And most importantly they are learning that fruits and vegetables come from hard working farmers and not just grocery store aisles. I'm always thrilled with the selection and we're learning to cook things that we wouldn't normally buy. For example, I had never cooked beets until we got some last fall. This week we got some yummy greens. Mmmm. We love greens. We are going to have happy stomachs this week.

Mud On Your Face...

Oh, such a dainty girl she is. Mud caked mess in pink. Golden curls tinted orange with red clay. Bright red cheeks from cold not felt. And bright happy eyes that love the rain, especially if it brings muddy puddles to splash and squish in.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle...

Analiese found a piece of cardboard in the recycling bin and thought it looked very much like a cell phone. So she found some tape to hold it together and a marker to make the buttons. Voila! Instant cell phone. I was so excited to find that my children were putting some of my earth saving mantras into practice. My pride was quickly deflated when she offered to make one for her sister who instead took Analiese's now unused pink plastic princess phone and then sat around talking on two pink plastic phones. Well, I guess technically she is reusing. Maybe we're getting there.