Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is baking-- better yet, decorating. This wasn't always the case. When I worked at a bakery, the holidays meant early mornings, long hours, lines of customers, and never-ending racks of cakes and pastries to decorate. Now, I happy to satisfy my creative interests in the kitchen at my leisure. Here is one of my favorite cupcake creations that is easy, fun and adorable. Who doesn't love Rudolph?

 

Use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and decorate as follows...

 

Supplies Needed:

• Chocolate Frosting
• Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
• Red Gum Drops
• Red Food Coloring
• Chocolate Chips
• Pretzels
• 2 Ziploc bags (or 2 piping bags) 

What to do:

• Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
• Fill one Ziploc or piping bag with white buttercream frosting.
• Add the food coloring to a separate bowl of frosting to make red frosting.
• Fill the second frosting bag with the red frosting.
• If using Ziploc bags, snip a small hole at the bottom corner of each bag.
• Use the white Ziploc/piping bag to make two dots. Place chocolate chips (top down) onto the white dots.
• Place a red gum drop in the center of each cupcake.
• Use the red Ziploc/piping bag to make smiles.
• Break off pieces of pretzels for the antlers.
• Share with friends and family and enjoy!

 -Tara

 

Grandma's Crustless Pumpkin Pie

One of Lila's favorite seasonal desserts by far is pumpkin pie. Savoring the spicy pumpkin filling she will usually scoop it all out and leave the crust. If she could just have a bowl pumpkin pie filling, she would be in heaven.


And so, Grandma's Crustless Pumpkin Pie was born! Taste-tested and approved by Lila, this light, simple pie is sure to remain part of the holiday tradition for years to come. From our kitchen to yours. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
• 1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

Be sure to use organic ingredients!

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 325 degrees.
• Lightly butter a glass baking dish (preferably a 9 inch round pie dish).
• Prepare filling by blending all of the ingredients. Scoop and smooth the mixture into the dish.
• Bake for about an hour or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (The longer it stays in the fridge the better it gets!)

 

Place cards on our Thanksgiving table

One of the most important elements of our Thanksgiving dinner is the personalized place cards for each guest. As a child, this was my responsibility. By the time Clara was four years old, she was ready to carry on the legacy. 

The format is usually the same. We fold in half a blank index card (or sometimes colored construction paper). On the front she draws a decorative Thanksgiving image, usually a cornucopia or turkey. Inside, we write why we are thankful for that person. Now, Clara can write the whole card herself. When she was younger, she would dictate what she wanted to say, and I would write it for her.

One of my favorite name tags of recent years was Clara's drawing of her grandparents as two sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. 

These place cards provide such a simple and yet nourishing tradition. We have hosted Thanksgiving in our home for many of the past ten years. I keep some of the name cards from year to year, and they serve as a reminder of that time and place as well as who our guests were around the table that year.

Besides enjoying the place cards, I do also like to eat on Thanksgiving. My favorite recipes remain those passed down by my grandmothers. My maternal grandma's pumpkin bread is always a great appetizer to have on hand although with the amount of sugar in it, it might better qualify as dessert. We often serve it with cream cheese on top to make it feel a bit more savory rather than sweet.

My paternal grandma's cranberry relish is the right combination of sweet and tart. My stepmother's sweet potato casserole was probably the inspiration for Clara's yam-focused place card from last year. I like this dish because it is easy to do most of the preparation the day before and just heat it up with the marshmallows and raisins right before sitting down for the Thanksgiving meal.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! 

-Ellyn

Top 10 Tuesday: 10 ways to make working out feel like child's play

For the past 6 or 7 years, my mornings have been my "me time." I am generally not a morning person, but with a kid, career, and other responsibilities, I have found that I have no other choice but to take advantage of the early morning hours when the house is quiet and asleep. It's best to wake up early because, once the little one rises, I am compelled to shift gears into mommy mode.

My mornings used to be sacred. This was when I would get in my much needed exercise routine-- taking time for myself and my health. Well, this year, my little motivated second grader has decided that she should take advantage of early mornings too! So, as I am beginning my workout, I hear her door open and it's all over. Next thing I know I am getting my "exercise" by multi-tasking and running up and down the stairs.

Some mornings I barely get any real concentrated workout time, which really puts a crimp in the rest of my day. One day recently, I was feeling particularly stressed and in desperate need of a good sweat. But, when I got home Lila asked if we could do something together after dinner. Tired and giving up on the idea of getting my workout in, I asked her what she would like to do. Her suggestion was "racing down the hill across the street."

"Really?? O...kay."

I threw on my sneakers and we headed outside. For the next 45 minutes or so I had the most hilarious, fun, exhausting workout ever.

As much as I have love my morning routine of yoga postures, push ups, and lunges, I must admit that it does get kind of boring after a while. In fact, I've been finding it harder to get motivated to wake up in the morning. I still do think that making time for myself is important and I am not willing to give that up. But Lila, once again, has turned my "planned time" upside down and showed me that "play time" can be so much more fun offering the same, if not better, results. The laughing that ensues is a great bonus abdominal workout!

Here are Lila's top 10 ways to make working out feel like child's play:

10) Have a race-- over and over again.

9) Run up and down a hill, until you can't breathe. Repeat until completely exhausted.

8) Blow up a balloon. Hit it into the air and chase it around the living room as if your life depends on keeping it off the ground.

7) Go on a nature hike. Climb things.

6) Have a frog jump contest.

5) Play basketball (outside or indoors). Break rules. Travel. Roll on the ground holding the ball while your opponent tickles you until you let go. Chase them.

4) Play hop scotch and jump rope. Sing while you do it (if you're not totally out of breath).

3) Play hide and seek and run like crazy when you're found.

2) Play on the monkey bars. Work on becoming a bad a** mama who could do pull ups.

1) Have a wild dance party which involves jumping on the bed like two crazy people. Collapse and laugh until your stomach hurts.


-Tara

the seven (or eight) year itch

According to wikipedia, the "seven-year itch" is a term that suggests that the happiness in a relationship declines after around year seven... The phrase originated as a name for irritating and contagious skin complaints of a long duration.

This summer, my husband and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary and so I thought we had dodged the dreaded seven-year itch. Well, in the midst of being utterly irritated with my husband recently, I started to itch... on my wedding ring finger! Oh, the irony.

I removed my ring to find my finger chapped, red and, like my mental state, completely irritated! Was my finger suddenly rejecting my wedding ring? Was this a sign?? Could this seven-year itch be true???

Apparently, wedding ring dermatitis is a common condition that is caused by soap build up under the ring or the allergic reaction to nickel found in white gold. 

I love my husband. I do. I am one of those rare gals who married her high school sweetheart. We made it through a long distance relationship in college, a major diagnosis and illness, the deaths of our fathers, many, many stupid arguments, and big, "That's it! It's over!" blow outs. We went from living together and thinking our quirks were cute to being married and getting on each other's nerves on a regular.

I know I make our relationship sound oh so {not} wonderful, but I do believe that all of the tough stuff has strengthened our bond even more than the good stuff (of which we have plenty as well... really!).

But, after seven to eight years, I have found that marriage can be really, really difficult. Things that used to be easy between us have become major work. We are so busy and crazed that we have to remember things like speaking to each other in a kinder tone (i.e. "Could you please put your dish in the sink, sweetie?" versus "Would you put your damn dish in the sink for once!"), kissing good bye, saying "I love you." We seem to do all of this very well with Lila. We simultaneously shower her with hugs and kisses and "I love you's" but sadly we don't always treat each other with the same amount of affection.

I could argue that we don't need to do these things because the love between us is a given. Perhaps it is displayed in more practical ways. For instance, my husband will anticipate me rushing back into the house in the morning because I have forgotten something (again) and he will be ready to pass this item into my hand (cell phone, water bottle, travel mug... car keys) like a baton, making my morning a little smoother. And, despite the fact that I am a vegetarian, I will clean, trim, and prepare my husband's chicken, gagging at the raw gross-ness, so that he has something to eat after working late. We will do these things for each other even when, at a given moment, we can't stand each other. Isn't that love? Couldn't that be considered affection?

But, when looking at my irritated finger, I realize that I can't just wear the ring and ignore what's going on underneath. Relationships need care and attention. This is something we can't ignore or take for granted because what starts as a minor irritation can quickly spread and become unbearable. 

As my finger heals, I am emailing my husband date night ideas. He is arranging the child care. In time, all will become healthy once again... and we will take good care to keep it that way.  -Tara

Finding joy in the everyday in unexpected places

I admit I am not the most playful person, more prone to barreling through my to-do list, accomplishing what I feel I "should" do before leaving room for fun. However, this summer, I found myself prioritizing joy and fun and play. I didn't want to lose all that momentum when the humdrum of school-homework-dinner left very little time for fun.

On the drive home from school, I wondered if Clara and I could find a way to have fun despite the fact that the only time remaining to play in the day was dinner time. We decided to think of something fun to do while eating dinner. My suggestions included a picnic on the living room floor or eating while pretending to be other people and talking with accents. 

Clara had a much longer list which she wrote down as soon as we got home so that we could vote:

1. Watch while eating

2. Play board game.
3. Teach Mama how to play lemonade (a sing-song hand game she learned from friends)

4. Make a tent and eat in it.

5. Watch the sunset (maybe at the beach).

6. Play outside

We don't watch videos while eating as much as Clara would love to, so that was crossed off the list. I have been working with Clara to understand the concept of compromise. I was surprised she didn't really know what it meant when I mentioned the idea a few weeks ago. While discussing how to eat our fun dinner, she suggested we compromise. I was proud of her for remembering the word and being gracious enough to agree to it.

Since her idea of eating in a tent and my idea of having a picnic on the living room floor were somewhat similar, we combined ideas and compromised with a delightful dinner in a makeshift tent on the living room floor. 

This was not the first time we modified our dinner plans to make it a bit more special. When Clara was younger she liked to create her own restaurant at home with handmade menus and meals. We hosted the girls for an American Girl doll tea party (with questionable success) once before in our living room.

Clara dragged chairs into the living room and precariously rested a blanket over them creating a tent-like feel. She insisted we turn out all the lights to make it special. I found a camping lantern that helped to create a more authentic ambience.

Such a simple shift... just moving a few feet away from sitting on the dining room chairs to our living room floor, and yet it made all the difference in making this a special meal.

Clara said, "This is so nice." And then about five minutes later, "This is really nice." And then realizing her repetitions, she clarified, "You know when something is so fun that you just have to keep saying it...this is one of those times. I just can't stop saying how nice this is!"

A small victory. A bit of joy in a hectic day. A reminder that I can keep finding ways to make room for fun, even in every day life.

-Ellyn

Back to school and on to the 2nd grade!

Summer vacation was a blast but the girls were so excited to go back to school. Big kids now, they have settled nicely into second grade. The year ahead will surely be filled with new lessons, friends, activities, and adventures. Wishing the "core four" a fabulous year!

-Tara, Ellyn, Annabelle, & Lisa

Lila is excited for science class. She is currently experimenting with the idea of becoming a chemist.

Clara can't wait to devour lots of books this year. Her love for reading has inspired Clara to consider a future career as a librarian (in addition to being a mommy).

Elisa is a whiz in math class. No wonder why she plans to become a mathematician. 

Clearly an animal-lover (note the stylish cat ear head band), Sarah is already looking forward to a wonderful career as a veterinarian.