skipto friskito.

what could be better than a big-eared siamese kitten pretending to be a chihuahua? not much if you ask me—or any other kid (er, or parent who secretly reads their kid's books when they're sleeping). the 'skippyjon jones' books are meant to be read aloud ... and are hilarious at worst.

alliteration. check.

awesomely descriptive and silly illustrations. check.

clapping. check.

rhyming. check.

singing. check.

spanish vocab. check.

goofy spanish-accent. double check.

three kitten sisters wreaking havoc on their brother. triple check.

other than the 'elephant & piggie' books (of which are on tomorrow's list of things to write about), skippyjon jones is just about the best read-aloud you can find. besides, how cute is this little guy?!

My name is Skippito Friskito. (clap-clap)

I fear not a single bandito. (clap-clap)

My manners are mellow,

I’m sweet like thee Jell-O,

I get the job done, yes indeed-o. (clap-clap)

my little hunter.

we headed up to sandpoint last weekend to go ice skating on the parent's pond with the kids, but since it's warmed up in the last couple weeks, it was a good inch or so of standing slush. so, instead of spending five seconds attempting to skate through the melting snow on the frozen pond, only to fall down and get completely soaked ... playing in the snow seemed like a better idea.

throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and running around, taylor stops dead in her tracks and yells, 'turkey tracks! turkey tracks! look at the turkey tracks!' and sure enough, there they were.

... she's such a good little hunter.

bonjour, mes amis!

fancy nancy is a staple in our house. she loves to share super-fun vocab (words like 'splendiferous'), loves everything fancy (like another little girl i know), and she's super-sweet. plus, there are beginning reader books, perfect for little girls who want to read something other than the 'biscuit' books by themselves.

we read 'bonjour, butterfly' the other day at the bookstore, and i'm afraid it's started a lifelong obsession with taylor.

français. france. la tour eiffel. bonjour. oui, oui. patisserie (my personal favorite). crepes. and taylor's biggest obsession so far ... paris. everything she talks about now is about paris (enunciated as, 'par-eee'). we drove downtown and while we were walking outside, she comments, 'mom, this town is just like paris. i love it."

so, in one of my emotional, ‘she’s going to leave me and move to paris when she gets old enough’ moments, i told her when she turns sixteen, her and i will go to paris together ... i better start saving now.

so, thank you ‘fancy nancy—bonjour butterfly’ for making me broke.

terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

do you ever have these days? it's only 9:22 a.m., and i'm already having one of 'those' days. lucky for me, there are authors like judith viorst who write books to make us feel better when we have these dumb days.

when you or your kiddos feel like nothing's going right, alexander is the perfect remedy. i already feel a teensy bit better knowing what taylor and i will be reading when we get home today.

... but i still want to go to australia.

library lion.

after a busy friday, taylor and i spent saturday morning at storytime. after listening to, 'llama, llama, misses mama', i happened to find my new favorite book. library lion. i'd seen it online a few times in the last year, just hadn't picked it up and actually read it. well, i'm SO glad i finally did!

a very sweet story about a lion that saunters into the library, quickly to become the much-loved encyclopedia duster, late-notice envelope-licker, and story hour cushion. as long as lion follows the rules, he can enjoy the library as long as he wants ... but not everyone thinks the library is a place for a lion. library lion comes complete with a rule-enforcing, eyeglass-wearing, hair-in-a-bun, warm-hearted librarian.

this lovely book, by michelle knudsen (also the editor of the amazing junie b. jones series!) and illustrated by kevin hawkes (he's illustrated DOZENS of children's books!), is wonderfully depicted, and perfectly written. i hope my library gets a lion. soon!

after reading 'library lion' (a few times, at least), i started thinking about the lion and its representation of the library. i did a bit of research, and thanks to the new york public library's website, i found out some great information!

the new york public library at fifth avenue and 42nd street in manhattan houses the infamous library lion statues ... and has done so, since 1911! Note to self: plan a trip to Manhattan in the near future!

apparently, their nicknames have changed over the decades. beginning with leo astor and leo lenox, after the new york public library founders, john jacob astor and james lenox. followed by, lady astor and lord lenox (even though they are both misters ... not misses). but, during the 1930s, mayor fiorello laguardia named them 'patience' and 'fortitude,' for the qualities he felt new yorkers would need to survive the economic depression ... how fitting for todays' times! these names have stood the test of time: 'patience' (looking rather regal in the picture above) still guards the south side of the library's steps and 'fortitude' sits unwaveringly to the north. someday i'll have my picture with them ... how awesome would that be!?

busy doggies.

board books are so much fun. when taylor was little, she would sit and look through hers over and over (occasionally chewing a corner). it's crazy to watch the progression in them at that age: from trying to rip and eat the pages, to actually recognizing animals, people, sounds, objects. it's truly amazing.

my aunt (who also happens to have my dream job as a children's teacher librarian) gave brennan, 'busy doggies' by john schindel for christmas, and he LOVES it! trust me, this baby has loads of board books, but this one is filled with real puppy photos!

there's a whole series by the same author, so depending on what kind of animal your little one is most drawn to, take your pick! busy monkeys, busy penguins, busy pandas, busy chickens, busy piggies, busy bunnies ... there's so many to choose from!

each page features an up close and personal photo, with an action verb defining each one ...

this one's my favorite out of 'busy doggies'

brennan loves puppies right now, and 'woofs' and 'ooooooooh's' at any that he sees. so this book was perfect—his eyes just lit up! any baby that has a thing for puppies (or any of the other animals in the series) will love these!

creme brulee.

i finally attempted it. i dragged my sister over to my place a few days ago and informed her that she would be helping me make creme brulee. i'm not sure why it was so intimidating, but we did it! and much to my surprise, it was SO easy! and SO yummy!

ingredients:

custard

2 C. heavy cream

4 egg yolks (i used extra large eggs)

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 TBS vanilla (if you can find real vanilla, it's worth it)

topping

4 TBS granulated sugar

1 tsp brown sugar

Step One:

preheat oven to 350 degrees. heat cream over low heat until almost boiling (bubbles form around the edge of the pan).

Step Two:

beat egg yolks and sugar together until really thick (i'd say four minutes). gradually beat cream into egg yolks, stirring in the vanilla at the end.

Step Three:

pour into six shallow custard dishes (i used one large one).

Step Four:

place dishes into a baking dish with enough water poured into it to come about halfway up the sides of your custard dishes (not doing this ... so i've heard ... will result in a custard that doesn't set). bake until set, 45 minutes (approx.)—refrigerate until chilled.

Step Five:

Once chilled, stir together sugar topping ingredients and sprinkle the top of the custard with it. Place dishes on the top rack with the broiler setting on until the topping is medium brown—chill before serving. voila!

p.s. if you want to enjoy eating this ... don't EVER look up calorie content. trust me, it's just better not knowing.