Easter Egg Hunt

The week before Easter, we invited some friends and their kids over for a low key Easter egg hunt at our house. The weather was a bit chilly and wet, so we opted to have it downstairs. The kids LOVED it... especially Ian and Nina, since they rarely get sweets. Nina, in fact, was grabbing any candy in sight and stuffing it in her mouth with impressive speed and agility. I suppose she was concerned that the candy wouldn’t be available for long. And of course she was correct in that assumption! I have resorted to my father Bruce’s method of having a “stash” , where all things sweet are stored relatively near but not in sight, so as to discourage an all out binge!!

Here is Nina with a mouth full of love!

Girly Girl

I was never one to openly express my desire to have children of both genders. I figured that God knew what I needed best! I speculated that the differences in personality of each child was more than enough to keep my life from being dull. But interestingly, after we were blessed to have daughter Nina following our firstborn Ian, I have realized more every year how much I relish the differences a girl brings. There are more hormones to be sure, but I love that she delights in ruffles, jewelry, girlish accessories, and all things sparkly (or “prih-tee” as she calls it). I am looking forward to tea parties galore as our little princess grows!

Library Bliss

There is no better word to describe the feeling that the library gives me than BLISS. I am not certain who initiated the concept of a library, but I am forever indebted to that individual! I decided recently to read the biography of Andrew Carnegie, because he is considered the second richest man in U.S. history (after John Rockefeller) and gave a considerable share of his fortune to the establishment of libraries across the United States, United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Even the library in my mother’s hometown of Ishpeming, Michigan is called the Carnegie Public Library! Quite a legacy.

But I just adore how my chidrens’ faces light up when we visit the library. It is a special day indeed that includes a jaunt to our favorite book nook.

St. Patrick's Day Pub

Erin and I take great delight in our annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition of visiting an Irish pub. We are fortunate that there are an array of options in the Twin Cities! This year we visited The Local in downtown Minneapolis, which happens to also be the location of my first date with Tom! Erin ordered chicken pot pie, the kids had shepherds pie and I had a reuben. I loved the ambience of the dimly lit, quiet back room and the subdued conversation and laughter from people at the tables around us. Tom was unable to join us because he was at Men’s Retreat, but we look forward to next year’s celebration... any suggestions??

Blueberry Pancakes

Is this really my second food post? Ah, well. I can’t claim that everybody in our house loves breakfast as much as I do, but I sure LOVE a decent breakfast!! Starting out your day with a solid, hearty meal sets the stage for a healthy, active day. And here is one of our recent breakfasts. Oatmeal pancakes with homemade blueberry sauce and poached eggs. The kids don’t usually mind when I subject them to new recipes. Especially when blueberries are involved. But this mom realized too late that My Hungry Children + Cooked Blueberries = Too Much Laundry!!

Here is the recipe:

Soak 1 1/2 C. rolled oats in 1 C. lowfat buttermilk in a small bowl for 15 minutes. Combine 1 C. flour, 1/2 C. whole wheat flour, 1/4 C. sugar, 1 t. baking soda, 1 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. ground cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk 2 large eggs together with 2 large egg whites in a small bowl, and stir in 1 1/2 C. milk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and cook pancakes on both sides. Serve hot.

Blueberry sauce: combine 2 C. frozen wild blueberries, thawed, 1/4 C. sugar, and 1 T. fresh lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until berries pop. Stir in 1/4 t. ground cinnamon. Spoon over pancakes.

I'm a Granola!

So I finally tried making homemade granola and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it really is. It was so delicious that we finished it off in record time and I felt obligated to make another batch immediately. If you want to try it, here's my version:

6 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds

1 cup honey

1/2 cup olive or canola oil

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix oats with flaxseed, wheat germ, sunflower seeds and nuts. In a small saucepan, heat honey and olive oil until just hot (do not boil). Remove from heat; add vanilla. Drizzle over oat mixture, stirring constantly to coat all ingredients. Distribute oat mixture about 1 1/2 inches thick on a large baking sheet with sides (use two smaller sheets if necessary). Bake at 300 degrees, stirring frequently, until lightly browned (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container up to 6 months.

Feel free to add any raisins or dried fruit too. The beauty of it is that you can customize the recipe to accommodate any picky palate!! Enjoy.

Ian Snowboarding

And by “hill” I mean “bump in front yard.” Well, at least initially. But in the past couple of weeks, he’s gone to Buck Hill twice with Dad and Grandpa Tom for his first real snowboard experiences! We were dismayed when we took him sledding/snowboarding on a neighborhood hill last weekend and after trying both, he declared that he preferred sledding because he could go faster. I made sure he understood that snowboarding would enable him to go the FASTEST... eventually. And yet, that is not a natural thought progression of a 4-year-old mind. No matter. We are dedicated to enlisting him in any snow sport for the time being. After all, when winter is at a standstill in Minnesota you can either hibernate or JOIN IT!!