Bunny Adventures!

The bunnies have been having a grand time exploring the kids' beds, romping over piles of toys and burrowing under blankets. Rosie and Dash love it, too, and have been asking for "bunny adventures regularly. 

The first time it occurred to me to have supervised play with bunnies in the beds was after I found the bunnies escaped into Rosie's room (door left open a crack) more than once, and they were almost always in the bed. 

It's hilarious watching them burrow under the blankets -- their heads go up/down/up/down until they've made it through. They climb over all the toys and peer over the edges of the beds to check out whether it's safe to jump (from a loft-bed, no). 

I've read that rabbits need to be climbing/burrowing for exercise, as that's most of their activity in the wild. We're certainly glad to find a way to fill the bunnies' needs that everyone enjoys!

(Sorry for the blurry photos; the bunnies are just constantly in motion while they're exploring. It's almost impossible to get them to be still for a shot.)

S'mores cookies

I entered these cookies into a baking contest at my company's picnic this summer and while they didn't win, they were a clear favorite with the younger picnickers. It's a very simple recipe, with only about eight main ingredients: graham crackers, butter, sugar, an egg, flour, marshmallows, and Hershey's kisses. 

This great recipe came from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/. 

S'mores Cookies Recipe:

(Makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter (room temp)

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

20 large marshmallows, cut in half

Approx. 40 chocolate kisses

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

2. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 

3. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth. 

4. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.  

5. Add the dry ingredients slowly and mix until just combined.  

6. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, 1-2" apart. 

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are just getting golden brown. 

8. Remove from oven and gently press a half marshmallow, sticky side down, onto each cookie.  Let cool completely.  

9. When all cookies are cooled down, preheat broiler.  Place cookies back on baking sheets and broil for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don't char. 

10. When marshmallows are golden brown, remove from the broiler and place a chocolate kiss on top of each cookie.

Making "Chocolate Pots de Crème"

Dash wanted to make "chocolate cream," but none of us could figure out what exactly he meant. His description was, "I want to heat up some chocolate and then drink it." Since he wasn't talking about hot cocoa, we discussed a few different recipes that came close before deciding to go for Julia Child and Jacques Pepin's "Chocolate Pots de Crème" from their co-authored Cooking at Home book. 

Here are the ingredients (not too intimidating, right?): 

We started out by separating out four egg yolks and whisking in 1/3 cup sugar. 

Dash tried some of the whisking, but it eventually got too thick for him to whisk. We heated up a pint of heavy cream to a simmer, then gradually poured the hot cream into the egg-sugar mix (careful to temper the eggs! didn't want a scramble).

We poured the custard through a sieve over the broken chocolate pieces (Dash smashed them with the butt of a knife through plastic wrap), then added 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla. We realized immediately that we should have done this over a double boiler, because the chocolate wasn't melting. Lucky for me, Monk already had one ready to go!

After the chocolate melted, I poured the mixture into ramekins (recipe called for six 1/2-cup ramekins, but I only had two 1/2-cup and three 3/4-cup ones) using a ladle.

The ramekins needed to sit in a baking pan with hot water poured in to fill halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 

I baked them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Here's how they looked right out of the oven:

They need to cool for at least four hours in the refrigerator, so I'll have to wait to taste them! I'll update when it's time.

UPDATE:

Verdict = delicious!

Weegee, the Senegal parrot

Weegee is our oldest and noisiest pet. He's 16 years old, and while it's not likely that he'll outlive us, he's probably going to be around after our kids leave for college. That's fine with me, because he's pretty entertaining.

The parrot version of the cat-sitting-on-the-newspaper-you're-reading.

Weegee has no fear of consuming food three times the size of his head.

Weegee and Dunecat, via an iPad

Weegee keeps an eye on the bunnies from above.

(Not quite) Free-range Rabbits!

All the other images I posted of the rabbits show them caged, so I made an effort today to take a few photos while the were hopping around! It was pretty tough avoiding motion blur, as they're constantly moving. In this first photo, you can see a little bit of the large, white wire corral that we borrowed (permanently?) from our neighbor. Her daughter used to have a a bunny and she was happy to lend it to us. She used to set it up in the yard outside to let the rabbit get fresh air and grass under its paws, but we're not quite that adventurous — yet.

Mary Potter, in the corraled area

After I set up the corral in a doorway that had access to the bedroom where their cages are, I learned that they won't "spray" or excessively "pill" to mark their new "territory." Whew. They really made some messes when we unknowingly separated them from their "home base." I learned from an article about litter box training (h/t Kellygo), I'm apparently doing the right thing (now, not at first!) by introducing them to other rooms in stages, so they get used to their location in relation to where their home base is.

Bugs Bunny, grooming Mary Potter in the kitchen

We first let them roam around Dash's room, their home base, then moved them to the bathroom. Bad idea — much territory marking. We tried corralling them in the dining room, first in one area, then around the dining table, also bad ideas with lots of sanitizing afterward. Earlier this week, I let them roam from Dash's room (home base) through to the kitchen, which worked out great until Bugs Bunny got too curious and hopped over a solid, 24-inch barrier. Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea of using the corral as the barrier, letting them wander from the kitchen and a short way into the living room, and be able to view the surrounding areas. That worked very well! Only one little "pill" at the end of the corral, to mark their new "territory." They still have a very clear path back to home base.

Bugs Bunny, lounging in the kitchen

Maybe soon, after we introduce more new areas, we can get some bunny-proofing going and let them have more range through the house!

Dash's 6th birthday, Party people

Along with yesterday's photos of the food, here are some fabulously well-framed and lit photos taken by our friend Mark Zimin at Dash's birthday party back in July. Someone ought to hire him to photograph and/or DJ their wedding. He's that good.

Gina, her son Brian, and me in the kitchen

Monkeyrotica, Dash (Let me tell you something...), and Finn in the backyard

Janna, ready to conquer any comers

Brent found Dash's raygun!

Me, adding candles to Dash's birthday donut tower

Singing "Happy Birthday," a lesson in delayed gratification

Finally, the donuts!

Andrei and other children in the foreground, Ken, Kelly & I in the middle ground

Elizabeth and Weegee make friends.

Seeing our guests on their way, party's over! Bye, Geoff, see you soon.

Best laid plans...

This weekend was going to be a whirlwind of fun! Or, a whirlwind, anyway. We had plans to go out to a friend's housewarming party Saturday night and I was having a handful of girlfriends over Sunday afternoon for crafting. However, at dinner Friday night, Rosie was having trouble swallowing her food — her throat was hurting badly, and she's not much of a complainer so I told her we'd see a doctor in the morning if it still hurt.

The next day, Monkeyrotica went to visit Grandma I. with Dash, and I got ready for my aerobics class at 8:15 a.m. I had my gear on, Rosie dressed and in the car at 8 on the dot when the phones open at the pediatrician. The receptionist had put me on hold by the time I got to the parking lot outside the Jazzercise studio. At 8:18, the nurse picked up and gave us an appointment of 11:45. I was late for the warm-up, but got my workout in (while Rosie sat alone in a corner with my phone — must sanitize phone...)  and was home and did several chores before the appointment. Just in case the diagnosis was negative, I cleaned up the house as if guests were coming and set up a playdate for Rosie that afternoon. But, nope, she was positive for strep throat. Bummer.

I cancelled the babysitter (turns out the hostess for the housewarming party was sick, too, and cancelled as well) for Saturday, cancelled the playdate, picked up antibiotics at the pharmacy, and then let all the crafting party friends know that Rosie was sick but will have been on antibiotics for 24 hours by the time the crafting would begin. All but one friend backed out. It's the week before Thanksgiving! Nobody was taking chances.

Joan Arkham, a pal I met through DCist.com came with a gift for Dash! She bought herself this Uglydoll hat, not realizing that "one size fits all" meant "all children under 6 years." Check it out, it's barely fitting Dash (who is holding a Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper in his mouth, therefore the funny expression). We had a lovely time chatting over wine while I knitted another hat for Rosie (the last one was cute but much too large) and she organized negatives from recent vacations, which she is planning to scan over the next week.

I'm still planning to reschedule the larger crafting party, but it won't be this month! Perhaps the first week of December?

Wordless Wednesday: Weegee

Overbooked, Overscheduled, Oh!

Dash's karate kick!

Months ago, back at the beginning of the school year, I made a personal decision. Now that I had two kids in public school, which comes complete with the shorter days that make a working parent's nerves twang, I had to make a concession. Either my kids would come home from school and watch TV until 6:30 when I arrived, then quickly shovel dinner in and finish homework before they dropped; OR, I would shorten my hours so that I could be home when they got home. I shortened my hours.

When I first envisioned the extra two whole hours balancing away in my work-life scenario, they seemed like golden, glittering minutes, full of promise. I could choose after-school activities for the kids. I could go to the gym. I could get all those to-do lists of home-chores done. We could gambol in the yard, go for hikes, schedule playdates! So, you smart people, you already know the reality, don't you?

What really happened at first is that when I got home earlier, the chores started immediately, dinner happened much sooner, and then TV and homework and collapsing. No gamboling, no walks, no hazy crisp fall afterschool playdates. Perhaps what was wrong here was a lack of structure, I thought. I started to schedule activities.

Rosie and Dash were already taking tap and ballet classes on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. Last summer, we added Saturday karate for Dash, while Rosie did Japanese calligraphy. They were also taking afterschool soccer on half-day Mondays, but that ended at 2pm and Grandma S picked them up (thanks, mom!!). Of course, I have my modern dance class too, on Thursdays. This winter, we added art classes for both Rosie and me on Saturdays and Mondays; soccer had ended, Rosie dropped calligraphy and I took a break from dance just for home-life balance with the art class. For Dash, we added a language class on Wednesdays, Spanish, and for Rosie we added Junior Jazzercise on Thursdays, which just ended. The Winter-term art classes just ended, as well. Have you lost track yet?

Here's how things look at the moment:

• Monday: nothing
• Tuesday: nothing
• Wednesday: Spanish, tap 
• Thursday: modern dance
• Friday: nothing
• Saturday: karate, tap
• Sunday: nothing

Only three days booked? My brain fired: must schedule MORE!!! What did I do? I signed the kids up for Gunston Soccer Club, a local competitive league. I sure had my rose-colored glasses on, because I thought that since some close friends who have kids (the same ages and genders as mine) were also registered, that all I had to do was request that we have the same teams for our kids and it would happen! I imagined carpooling and sideline flask-sipping with adult friends while our kids frolicked happily around the soccer fields.

Reality hit when I got their coach assignments and details about the league.  A gut-punch to the stomach: neither child was on our friends' team rosters. Carpooling? Out the window. I only recognized one parent's email address from either list. But the freak-out really happened when I saw the scheduling... Thursday practices for Rosie starting at 5:30 (with an optional Tuesday clinic), and game day Saturdays; Friday practices for Dash (at a different location) at 5:30, game day Saturdays—each child would have two games back-to-back, with times scheduled by luck of the draw. With two kids, you could potentially be at the soccer field for most of Saturday, worst case scenario.

What was I thinking? Dash already had two Saturday activities! And while Rosie likes soccer well enough, she wanted to continue with art or Jr. Jazzercise, which are scheduled on Saturday and Thursday, overlapping. This is a very popular soccer club! How do all the other parents do it?

In tears, I emailed Dash's coach and told him that I wished to withdraw Dash, sight unseen. He was very nice about it, even trying to offer scenarios for me to keep Dash in the club. I stuck to my message and said no, again and again. He finally got it and took Dash off the roster. Instead, I put Dash back into the Monday afterschool soccer, where there were no conflicts. Rosie will stay with Gunston for now—I'm curious to see how the club works and whether it's manageable for future seasons.


A quick recap of schedule to be (four days scheduled):


Monday: Dash, soccer
Tuesday: nothing
Wednesday: Dash, Spanish; Rosie, tap
Thursday: Rosie, soccer club practice; me, dance
Friday: nothing
Saturday: Rosie, soccer club games (starting 4/9); Dash, karate & ballet
Sunday: nothing

I've still got ideas bouncing around in my head. I want Dash to try the track team and Rosie to get back in art. I'm not sure this soccer thing is going to work, but if she likes it, that's what counts (I know Dash loves it). I'm here to give my kids opportunities to try different things and see what they're good at, learn to use their bodies and minds, practice and develop. I'm helping them become well-rounded little people.

But, y'know, I still need to be able to schedule a haircut for myself now and then. 

Family Fotos

I had a request from Grandma Sheila to put up more photos of the kids. We've been doing lots of indoor activities, what with the short days and colder weather lately. The kids were making popcorn for some movie watching; I was drawing either a penguin or dinosaur patterns for kids toys, and Dash was mugging with his daddy.

Rosie writes me notes

"I need help clening my bed. Can you do it/ yes or no"

Rosie writes me notes. It's usually when I'm doing something for her brother or trying to finish a task and she's already asked for help once or twice. I tell her I'll get to her in a minute, or ask your father, or maybe — just postponing it, really — and that's just not immediate enough for her.

I was thinking that this reminded me of myself when I've gone by my boss' office a few times and he's been on the phone or in a meeting, so I resort to sending him an email instead of speaking to him directly.

In this case, she got tired of waiting for my help and cleaned her bed by herself. That's the best solution, right?

Food porn—Jan 31 BBQ

Monkeyrotica's back at the grill again! He just told me that the three slabs (pictured below) will be NC pulled pork, Memphis ribs, and TX brisket. Will be taking more pics as we go along. Stay tuned. Pics are here!

Backstory: A friend of ours has been teaching in Korea this past year. He came into town last week and mentioned that, even though Korean barbecue is fabulous, he's been craving the American variety. Monkeyrotica decided to step in and give the man a cross section of southern BBQ. All the recipes were pulled/modified from Raichlen's BBQ USA book, which is heartily recommended by the Strings. Our friend seemed to have brought his Korean weather to DC as the temps barely rose above 28°F and there was still a sheet of ice on the deck.

On the menu: Carolina pulled pork with Lexington vinegar pepper slaw, Memphis wet ribs, and Texas brisket. Sides were Mexican charros beans cooked with jalapenos and bacon, mac and cheese, and collard and turnip greens cooked in chardonnay.

Monkeyrotica's preparation narrative: The 8lb pork shoulder was seasoned only with salt and pepper. This went on the WSM at 6pm Friday over applewood and some generic Homelife briquettes from the local Target. Not much ash production, but it burns a little faster than Royal Oak briquettes but not as fast as Kingsford. This hit 190 internal around noon Saturday. Left to cool for an hour, pulled half, chopped the other half.

Twelve pounds of brisket went on at midnight, seasoned just with salt, fresh pepper, and cayenne. Since the applewood chunks had burned down, I threw some soaked hickory on, so the brisket would get full hickory, but the pork shoulder would get half hickory, half applewood. Wrapped at 9am, pulled at 1pm. Cooled and sliced.

The two full, untrimmed racks of ribs were seasoned with brown sugar, kosher salt, black and chipotle pepper, garlic powder, and half a cup of Old Bay. They hit WSM #2 around 9am over applewood chunks: 3 hours smoke, two hours wrapped. After five hours, I pulled the water pan, stoked some more coals, and sauced them for about an hour at 325 dome temp. Everything (barely) fit in a warming oven until guests arrived around 3ish. There were no survivors, by which I mean leftovers.

I've cooked in snow many times before, but it was a little unusual to have to crack open my soaking wood chunks with an icepick (it was cold!). Still, it was worth watching the inevitable meat coma feeding slowdown an hour after everyone started eating. We sent everyone waddling home with their own Ziploc bag packed with meat.

Photo gallery from the party:

Dish duty

I somehow let two full days of dishes accumulate in the kitchen. Horrors! Weegee and I are hanging out, enjoying each other's company while I get the dishes out of the way. Woo. Harold Budd is cycling on the iPod and the kids are downstairs with Monkeyrotica, watching Ren and Stimpy.

I actually get a kind of thrill when I come up with ways for Weegee and I to spend quality pet-owner time. He spends so much of his day alone and, quite honestly, comes fifth (including me) in the family hierarchy. Cheers, little bird-guy!