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All bundled up for a chilly walk. 

2016 week six

Happy Valentines Week!

I'd been feeling dissatisfied with the trail mix options available to me, so I decided to make my own and we love it. Recipe: Salted Roasted Peanuts, Cashews, and Almonds, Salted Edamame, dark chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins, and dried cherries. 

Vera and her friend playing on her swing. She suddenly loves this swing and every evening when Matt gets home she begs for him to push her while she's wearing whichever princess dress she favors that day. She usually tells me all about how her cape will fly behind her.

King of full-face smiles and full-bodied screams. :)

This is February. V helped me plant strawberries and Theo played happily on the quilt on our lawn. 

Friday morning walk to the donut store. V picked the one with the gross gummy snowman on it. Why do the technicolor, candy coated, sprinkle donuts always attract children? 

One of the reasons I love French foods is the beautiful ingredients. I feel like I'm compiling components for a still life while I gather ingredients. Blanquette de Veau (we used pork ribs instead) from A Kitchen in France.

Dear Parents of small children, do you find that your stuffed animals seem to breed and multiply? Somehow, though I've never purchased a single plush toy, our collection seems to be growing. Vera got a Valentine sparkly leopard and you know she's in love. 

Quotes

Mama, pleeeeease stay out of my room! Kitten and possum are real wild animals and I'm trying to protect you. Please. Just. Stay. Away.

She bursts in on me in the bathroom to tell me,  "We will all have the same think for breakfast so we can be happy and I wont get water in my ears." Uhm, what?!

Look at me! I'm a little peacock Elsa squirrel!

I'm a squirrel climbing on this rocking chair and squirrels love to climb on rocking chairs!

Some days Cinderbrellas are in a bubble and I love them when they're in there.

Me to Veronica: Why is there jelly on your forehead?

Matt to Veronica: Ok good plan; first we will go poop.
(oh the strange things you must say as a parent)

V got a temporary tattoo on her hand. "Mama, I love my rat toots."

Me, Did I make you?
V, No. I made myself.


Stories
Valentine's Day ended up being a spectacular affair. I love the idea of a sweet lovey Valentine's Day thinking about all the people you love, but it is never that important to me. I love any excuse to receive a love note from Matthew though. We started celebrating Saturday night with a surprise bag of chocolate Matthew secretly brought home for me from Germany. My heavens that chocolate. Either the specialness or the German-ness or the actual chocolate itself rendered it sublime. Often I find one piece isn't enough because it's never quite satisfying. But this. Oh my how I love good chocolate. Even thinking about it is almost satiating enough. Then on Sunday we had a last minute dinner party guest increase from a party of three to a party of six. It was present enough to be left alone in the kitchen for a few hours not dealing with any of the sweet minutia of motherhood to just breathe and feel and chop and tear and stir and create. We had five courses. Course one was an antipasto platter with olives and contraband sausage from Germany, smoked jarlsberg cheese (it almost had a coffee flavor), gouda, and perfect buttery brie. I've never before let the brie get to room temperature as they say you should. I understand now. Let your brie get to room temperature. And when everyone sat down we had a plate of steamed lobster tails in white wine herb sauce. Course two was Julia Child's Cream of Mushroom soup. Course three was trout baked under a crust of dijon mustard and oats with boiled potatoes. Course four was a citrusy romaine fennel salad. And dessert was lemon cupcakes (brought by our last minute guests) and verrines of fresh berries and unsweetened whipped cream. The potatoes were undercooked and the soup needed salt, but as Julia says, "Never apologize! Just learn from your mistakes." So I'll remember to check the potatoes next time, and test my food before serving. But what fun to sit at the table for an hour and a half talking and laughing and bringing out course after course. And what fun to hear Veronica beg for a lemon cupcake every two minutes. When she finally got one she only wanted to eat the frosting. Zut alors! Happy Valentine's Day!