I Don't Believe in Reincarnation

However, when Fiona opens up her purple E.T. wallet (from my childhood), she keeps telling me she has 2 pounds.

Our house is littered with notebooks, coloring books, envelopes...all of which say "John". Toddler graffiti.

We upgraded to Windows XP and now I can't play all of my Beatles CDs on here (from the hard drive). Of course, one of those is Yellow Submarine. Thankfully, it seems not to matter! She is happy with any Beatles album, apparently.

Hey Maggie

Here's your car.



He's ok. This is soon after one of our big snow storms. The snowblower put some of that snow on, too.

Happy Spring!

Ok, it's not quite spring, but it's close enough. It doesn't really look like spring at all outside. I guess it looks like spring in Vermont. Snowy and slushy.

Let the maple harvest begin! I made a maple yogurt pie. It's from Ken Haedrich's Pie cookbook, which is one of the best I own (thank you, Ana!!). There are lots of little maple festivals this weekend, but I think we will chill (ha ha) at home instead. Maybe next year.

"I Will Never Mock Yellow Submarine Again"

....says my husband.

Poof, out of nowhere, Fiona is writing "John". You can read it. Really.



I don't know what the circle is under/on the "n". That is her first attempt (or second, I may have mixed up the envelopes). It looks even more John-like now.

Allez cuisine!

Now Fiona is entraced with Iron Chef (the REAL one---not the one with Bobby Flay. And I still don't see how he beat Rick Bayless. I'm sure Bobby can cook and all but ever since that cutting board incident with his battle against Morimoto I have been totally unimpressed with him). She wants a chef coat and she wants it red. Sometimes she considers yellow, but I think Sakai is her favorite.

She is napping now and I have agreed to more Iron Chef after a nap.

It can't be an Iron Chef with seafood, though. As she said to my husband, "The fish don't want to be eaten, daddy". She has no problem with other meats, but that is probably because they aren't flapping around as you're trying to bread them.

My top five favorite foods

At least today, right now, in no particular order, and definitely not at once.

5. Bacon
4. Chocolate
3. in season strawberries (so....not going to happen today)
2. Almond pear tart
1. Doug's fried chicken

I feel silly listing my favorite foods because, really, you know, they change and they would fill a notebook. But that is what I want today. Oh, and shredded barbeque beef from the Chuckwagon with pickles. That is really not going to happen.

Pizza, anyone?

Nothing says dinner hour like Fiona hollering at the top of her lungs.

Just sad

My husband and Fiona both have this cough. So he took a couple of days off, which was nice for me. Fiona's cough isn't slowing her down at all. Nothing does except sleep, which she isn't too keen on.

We got lots of snow. I am having dreams of summer, where there is absolutely no snow allowed.

One of my best friend's cats died. Very unexpectedly and suddenly. I've been kind of sad about that (and, hence, not here).

I am also sad because an aquaintance of mine had a still birth and I am sad about that. It is just very unfair and should not be something that ever happens.

Another reason I have been quiet.

I think I'll end on that cheerful note.

Yesterday

7 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

7:01 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

8:30 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

9:43 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

10:15 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"
"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

11 AM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

11:30 AM

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LISTEN TO ME!! STOP TALKING!!!!!!!!!!"

12 PM - approximately 1:30 PM

Sleeping.

1:32 PM

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

2 PM

Yellow Submarine

4:30ish

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"
"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

6:23

"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"
"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"
"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"
"Mom, I don't like it when you don't listen to me"

7:30

Mom hides in bedroom for the rest of the night....

---

For the record, I'm listening. I can't not listen.

I am the Walrus

One reason I decided to stay at home and temporarily stop working (for other people outside the home) is to enjoy moments like these. Sophia (4 months) cuddled against my chest sleeping (finally) in our wrap carrier. Fiona (3 years) is also sleeping, but I am starting to miss her. She has vast amounts of energy so one is totally drained by, say, 9 AM. But when the life of the party sleeps too long it's frankly too quiet for my taste.

She has decided her new name is John and I am Ringo. Sophia is George and my husband is Paul. Yes, we are The Beatles. She loves them. Fortunately, so do I.

So why Veloute?

As a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, I wanted something that linked my culinary interests with motherhood. Veloute is one of five "Mother Sauces". It's made with a lightly coloured roux (flour and butter) and stock, most often chicken stock. And salt, of course.

I am also a big advocate of breastfeeding. Maybe Bechamel would have been a more appropriate name. But I chose Veloute.

Music with kids

I have rediscovered Peter, Paul and Mary. I loved a few of their songs as I was growing up, so I obtained a copy of "Peter, Paul and Mommy" for Fiona. She seems to really like it, but not as much as Yellow Submarine.

And I can listen to either over and over without going bitchmother bonkers (I have to admit I totally stole that phrase, but it is really apt)...unlike, say, that charming melody called "Wheels on the Bus".

I want to write something pithy about the decline of our country into a Black Age at the hand of the current administration, but I have been unable to keep up with the grim details. We have no television, I can't sit down long enough to read the newspaper (I can type very quickly), and when I listen to the radio, I'd rather hear music. I must make more effort to keep informed.

This is a testing post

Hi, and welcome to my blog.

I'm sitting here with a bit of muscato, savouring the moment while my husband panders to our 3 year old daughter and carries the 4 month old daughter.

The house is trashed. In a tasteful way that says I've been doing my job.