Lessons from the Kitchen

Do not, under any circumstances, add marsala wine to a roasting pan to give a chicken flavor. It will cause your oven door to blow open.


Leave ricotta gnocchi to the professionals. There are some things that shouldn't be attempted at home.


When warming hot fudge sauce in the microwave, be sure to use pot holders to remove it from said microwave. Failure to do so can cause burns on the skin and hot fudge sauce to land on the cabinet above the refrigerator.


Double bag the turkey when you brine it. This is the best way to avoid brine on the ceiling.


When you fry anything, make sure your pan is plenty deep. Shallow pans are not good to use in frying situations.

When slicing onions, or any vegetable for that matter, it's best to cut only the onion and not your thumb.

Always, ALWAYS, measure a pan before you try to bake a cake. 10" looks just like 12" to the naked eye.

Don't let your husband attempt to flambe anything. This sets off the smoke alarm and scares the children.

Let your children help in the kitchen. This is the best way to teach them and it gives you time to do important things like painting your nails and pottying. Plus, it helps them master the art of cooking and you can enlist their assistance when they are older to cook dinner for you instead of with you.

Buy a food magazine, such as Bon Appetit, and pick out one recipe to try, preferably something you would never attempt in a million years. You really learn a lot that way and end up with some really good food in the end (or not, as in the case of the ricotta gnocchi).

If your husband loves his mother's cooking, ask her for a few of her recipes and surprise him by making them. He'll appreciate the effort even if it doesn't taste exactly like hers.


Invest in two things for your kitchen: really good cookware and at least one really good knife. This is money well spent and these items last for a lifetime.

Finally, when in doubt, order out.

L-ism of the Day

I realize it's been awhile since I've posted and I do have things to tell but I don't have time at the moment. I have a couple of blogs in the works, one on comfort and one on lessons from the kitchen.

In the meantime, enjoy these few L-isms heard over the last few days.

Nana: Are you going to come visit me at school and play with the Smart Board?
L: Yes, but I want to play with the smart girls.

S gave me a hug the other day and L came up to us, wrapped her arms around both of our legs and said, "I love you guys. These are L hugs."

Me: L are you a mess?
L: (very enthusiastically) Yes!

L, in her room playing with her Ariel doll, singing "some day I'll be part of your world." I think we've seen that movie one too many times.

Dimpled Hands

Dimpled hands
Those dear little hands
Belonging to my son
Dimpled hands
Those cute little hands
Exploring the world around them

Dimpled hands
Those tiny little hands
Growing, growing every day
Dimpled hands
Those fat little hands
Splashing, splashing in the tub

Dimpled hands
Those sweet little hands
Reaching out to Mama
Dimpled hands
Those precious little hands
Touching my face, my hands, my heart

L-ism of the Day

"Look! It's froggy outside!"
In reference to the fog covering the ground this morning.

Is It Monday Already?

Where did the weekend go? As a matter of fact, where did the week go? That one just flew by. I guess, in some ways, that's a good thing.

We had a fabulous weekend. I spent part of my Friday night at a Silpada jewelry party. I had never been to one before and if you like jewelry, they have some beautiful pieces. I ended up getting a really pretty silver and garnet ring. Very fun. Then I went to a basketball game in which 3 of my nephews played. Since there are only a couple more home games and we've been to zero so far this season, I thought it best to go to one soon. The game was fun, my nephews played very well, and their team won. Yea!

Saturday was spent doing laundry, cleaning and knitting. A friend of mine admired a hat that I made for L so I told him I would make one for his son. I finished it although it took some creative stitching to get it right. It's not perfect but nothing home made is supposed to be. I wish I could say something fabulous happened during the day but it was pretty boring, doing general house work.

Then came Saturday night. S's parents are back in town and offered to keep our kids while we went out in celebration of our anniversary (which was yesterday). Then they suggested that the girls even spend the night so we only had H to deal with Sunday morning. We decided to go to a restaurant that is about 45 minutes away but it was totally worth it. Wonderful French food and fabulous wine. We had been there before when I was pregnant with L so this was the first time I had gotten to enjoy some good wine with the fabulous food. It was a great evening.

We spent yesterday afternoon at S's parents' house, trying to fix their computer. By the time we got home, after playing dominoes and getting help from Gran to fix my knitting, we were all exhausted. We watched the Super Bowl, the only time I actually watch pro football, and collapsed into the bed. I wasn't ready to get up this morning but children needed breakfast and a ride to school. Those kids will get you every time!

So how was your weekend?

H is 9 Months Old!

I know I say this every time but I truly can't believe he's 9 months old already! He's getting so big (21.5 pounds) and changing so much. I love his age as he's sitting on his own but not crawling just yet. He really wants to but just can't seem to get things going. He's definitely a Mama's boy and makes me smile all the time. He's way more interested in table food than that horrible baby food which is funny to me. He sees what we eat and wants that, not what I'm actually feeding him. He likes just about everything I put in his mouth. I'm convinced that he has just one look when I take his picture. I have about 100 pictures of him making the exact same face.

He is a joy to have around and I can't wait to see what he'll do in this next month. It won't be long before we're celebrating his first birthday!

Pictures, Finally!

L getting ready to go to a ballerina birthday party. I took some pictures of K as well but she wasn't very happy about having her picture taken.
L and H standing at the window in our bedroom. It's frightening to think that he'll be standing on his own very soon.
K, being silly as always
Daddy and his girls on his birthday