january 26, 1940.

january 26, 1940.

milaca, minnesota.

chester egge married corinne bemis.

i heart my grandparents.

i think someone likes cake.

my baby is one. and it's all official and stuff now because he had his first(ish) cake. :) i don't know about you, but i think he liked it.

elephant & piggie.

every so often, a book comes along that the whole family loves. it's a rarity to be able to cater to a 30-something dad, 20-something mom, a 5 yr. old girl, and a 1 yr. old boy, all with the same book. lucky for us, authors like mo willems (who also happened to be on sesame street back in the day, wrote and illustrated the naked mole rat books, and is also a new york times HUGE bestseller!), are around to write books like the elephant & piggie series!

a bit sarcastic, super-funny, and easy-to-read, these should definitely be at the top of your library-list! and the best part, there are TONS of them! and if your kids are anything like mine, once they read one book, they want a hundred that are exactly the same ... there's a reason there are 5 billion young reader and teen series'—kids know what they like!

here's piggie, she's usually the instigator ...
and of course, gerald. his glass is usually half-empty ...

all the elephant & piggie books are written in the style below. they're an awesome introduction to dialogue writing and recognition. some have more words than others, but most of them use tons of the sight words that the kids are introduced to in kindergarten.

enjoy! (i know for fact that the spokane valley library currently has somewhere in the realm of nine books from this series available right NOW!)

brennan james.

i can't believe it's already here. lucky for all of you, you can't see me a complete wreck because my baby's already O-N-E.

from princesses, pink, and barbie™, to a journey into the world of dirt, climbing, and beating on things for fun. it was here much faster than i expected. SO much fun. i can't imagine the world without my little B-monster. taylor evolved from little girl, to amazing big sister the minute he was born. and already, her brother's given her the patience of a saint.

our family's just that much better because he's in it.

stats.

born 1.20.09.

10:31 a.m.

6 lbs. 5 oz.

19.5" long.

screaming all the way.

current favorites.

sissy.

clinging to pant legs.

binky.

dancing.

bathtime.

more specifically, splashing.

hugs.

puppies from a distance.

'quacking' like a duck.

broccoli.

scrambled eggs.

dirt.

throwing anything onto the floor from the highchair.

climbing stairs, er ... anything.

looking out and beating on the living room window at his reflection.

his reflection.

xbox controllers.

not-so favorites.

puppies up close and personal.

not being able to go outside.

toy trucks that make loud noises and scare a baby.

horses.

pasta. pretty much any kind.

baby gates.

the word 'no.'

timeouts.

not being allowed to play in the dishwasher.

falling down.

you have a family that adores you, and can't wait to see the amazing things you'll continue to surprise us with.

little pea.

who doesn't love talking veggies? especially when they're as cute as this little family of peas!

this little book is completely lovable, and every kid i've seen it read to (or read to myself) has LOVED it. a sweet little pea loves rolling down hills, spoon-flying, and cuddling with his mama. however, he hates dinner, but LOVES dessert. the super-cute twist falls when the reader realizes his dinner is candy, and dessert is spinach and vegetables.

the first in a set of three books, published by chronicle books, written by amy krouse rosenthal, and illustrated by jen corace. each book among the three identify with a traditional story-line, with a crazy twist. 'little hoot' is a baby owl that likes to sleep at night (much to the dismay of his parents), 'little oink' is a little piggy that likes things neat and tidy, and of course, 'little pea' is a baby pea who'd much rather eat spinach than pastries. on top of the great stories, the illustrations are simple and perfectly perfect!

funny story ... while attending an SCBWI conference a couple years ago, i had the, er ... 'pleasure' of meeting one of 'little pea's' editors at chronicle books. before i even knew what 'little pea' was, i had made up my mind that this editor was WAY harsh. i had always pictured children's book editors in a certain way, and i can tell you right now ... she was NOT it.

and of course, my manuscript critique was one-on-one with her ... and i pretty much left that conference and cried. nothing like a good blow to the ego to finish off your day. but, after meeting with her, i started to do a little research (or a LOT). and realized there's a reason she was giving so much 'constructive' criticism ... i needed it, and so did my manuscript. after analyzing and reading the other books she'd been a part of, i also realized those are exactly the type of books i want to write.

i don't have some fabulous story-ending where i learned so much from being rejected that i fixed everything and my manuscript was published (at least not yet)! but i am now able to stand back and take an honest look at what i write, and not throw things and cry every time something needs to be changed. so, thanks to constructive criticism ... and here's to accepting it gracefully and actually learning from it!

p.s. if anyone has an in with a children's book publisher ...

the little red hen.

anyone with children (or maybe a husband in there somewhere) can relate to this book. not to mention, the kiddos love it, too. it might be old (early 1940's-ish, but trails back even further), but its moral and story-line hit home just as well now as it did when first published.

a lazy cat, dog, and mouse; living with an overachieving hen (oh, aren't we all?) carrying her (and everyone else's) weight around the house. cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening ... she does it all. and every time she asks for a little help, she's largely ignored.

so, when the little red hen plants, grows, weeds, cuts, mills, and packs home what was probably the amazingest flour in the whole world, with no help from her lounging buddies, she decides to make an equally amazing (one can assume) cake.

funny how the cat, dog, and mouse, come flying out of the woodwork to take part in the cake-eating portion of this assembly line. and rightfully so, little red hen tells them to get lost and eats the whole cake herself! maybe next time they'll help out a little when she asks!

children and husbands take heed, or you just might not get any cake!

the paper bag princess.

i'm a firm believer in making sure our girls have amazing self-esteem, and don't feel the need to rely on anyone else to get things done, especially in making themselves happy. i could rant for hours (and possibly will) about gender roles, the horrible self-esteem and body issues that our media and society (not to mention ourselves as parents!) have put on our girls, creating women who truly believe they can't do things on their own, that there are certain things they shouldn't do, or that they don't deserve to. self worth, confidence, and independence are things my daughter will forever grow up understanding and appreciating. no one should have a limit as to what they can accomplish.

so, after the miniscule beginnings of a rant that i will cut off before it gets out of control, i'm always on the lookout for books that carry a strong female character. i'm not able to completely cut out disney® princesses, and the like, (of which i do feel definitely have their place) but i CAN bring other great influences into the mix like 'the paper bag princess' to make sure we've got a well-rounded outlook!

no worrying about how her hair looks, what the boys think, getting a prince-husband, or making sure she's got a fancy hairstyle to go with her designer dress, this princess has far more important things to do ... like save prince ronald from the fire-breathing dragon by herself, and kick that stubborn prince to the curb for telling her she needs to look more like a princess! princess elizabeth is an inspiration. and robert munsch (author) hit the nail right on the head with this one.

read it to your kids. they will love it. you will love it. and you will feel good knowing you won one little battle against the empire that demands princesses act a certain way.

monster mash.

brennan's first birthday is coming up quick! since we're pretty sure he's going to grow up thinking his name is 'monster,' we've decided a monster-theme is in order for the party! what better reason to make our own little monsters for the occasion?

a trip to the fabric store (jo-ann's is liquidating the store right next to us)—CHEAP!

making a pattern stemming from these cute little UglyDolls®—FREE!

helping a 5 year old hand-stitch without either party getting frustrated—impressive.

an afternoon sewing and chatting it up with my oldest monster making these goofy little, er, animals? ... priceless.

here is poofy-toofy. poofy, because she has poofy stuff inside her (batting), and toofy because she has funny toofers. she lives in africa (the same place that simba's from. apparently, they're distant cousins), her favorite thing to do is play tag in the backyard (but not the freeze-kind, cause that one's not as fun as the regular kind), and her favorite thing to eat is peanut butter cookies (but only the kind that have the fork-marks in them, because they're the best).

'poofy' has taken over taylor's baby doll bed, kicking her baby to the curb, and was already packed this morning and sitting on her desk wrapped in a blanket, to be taken for 'share day,' tomorrow. i think a kid's sewing machine is in her near-future ...

this crazy little gremlin (who reminds me frighteningly of 'plankton,' from SpongeBob™), is garble-de-gook, referred to lovingly as, 'garble.' he enjoys, bird-watching, people-watching, reading the fine print, and chewing the corners of unsuspecting books. he currently resides in the legal reference section of the spokane valley public library, but is thinking of making a move to non-fiction, to 'mix-it-up' and live a little. his best friend is 'poofy-toofy' and has been since the day they met (yesterday afternoon). although, he thinks poofy is crazy for having moved to africa ... and can't STAND that 'tag' game. (Possibly because of the tiny-legs?)

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.