chocolate and vanilla

Today was supposed to be pajama day at preschool so we made it a pj day at home. I found a recipe for chocolate and vanilla cookies in a beautiful cookbook called "Apples for Jam" by Tessa Kiros. Cookie baking turned into a project with the rolling pin, cookie cutters and plenty of flour. The cookies' taste and texture remind me of Hough Bakery's modernistic cookies. I want to own this book. Gorgeous photos entice me to dive into every single recipe.

dino mania

At age 13 "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was one of my favorite movies. (I pretty much loved all of John Hughes' movies.) In the era of Casio keyboards I found it clever that Ferris was able to assign each key with the sound of a different bodily function. Little did I know that the Smead Discovery Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has similar capabilities. They have an organ of bird calls. Play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and you will hear the tweets of chickadee, robin, cardinal, robin, chickadee, chickadee, chickadee...

We took the kids to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on one of the final days of their special exhibit "Dinosaurs- Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries". The paleontologist, Scott Sampson, who appears on the PBS program "Dinosaur Train" was even scheduled to give a lecture. Sean loves that show and has not only learned about dinosaurs but about the difference between an herbivore and a carnivore.

A giant bronze stegosaurus, Steggie, greeted us as we walked to the front door of the museum. We were off to a good start. Both kids were free to walk around, touch the displays, gawk at the dioramas, and gaze with amazement at the dinosaur bones. Here was a perfect place for both kids to enjoy equally. Ninety minutes later, just when we thought we were heading out, we were nudged towards the Smead Discovery Center on the lower level. If we lived a bit closer, I would camp out here once a week. It is like a condensed museum just for toddlers to early elementary school aged children. They can touch everything. Tarantulas, hissing cockroaches and fish are in aquariums. Fossils are on display with bones, shells, hides, feathers and preserved animals that kids can examine. Sean and Kate spent most of the time in the fossil bed uncovering remains again and again.

ho-ho no mo

Sadly Ho-Ho has passed. I had read that a crab on its back may be molting but after 5 days and no new shell...

I wonder if Grover knows. Poor Ho-Ho. Lonely Grover. Sad Sean.

snow art

Sean's preschool focused on artists during the month of January. This was followed by a tremendous art show earlier this month. Each age group learned about 3 artists and then imitated the style. Sean created pieces in the spirit of Eric Carle, George Seurat, and Jackson Pollock. Family Fun magazine (Feb. 2010 issue) suggests ways to paint like Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh here. I was impressed by the time and energy put into this art show as well as the effort to introduce the kids to famous artists. Do you think a 3 1/2 year old is ready to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art?

Today we used the snow as our canvas. The idea has been posted on many blogs such as The Crafty Crow and in several parenting magazines. I bought a couple of spray bottles at Target and filled them with food colored water. After a few squirts, the nozzles malfunctioned. We removed the top and poured and splattered it around which was much more satisfying. "Sean, you are painting like Jackson Pollock! Remember who he is? Your preschool...remember?"

happy valentines day

Happy Valentines' Day!

Chocolate Ganache Cake

2005, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 11 fluid ounces chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• Candied violets, for decoration, optional

Directions

Butter and flour an 8" cake pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cake cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Decorate with candied violets, if desired. Do not refrigerate.

kneebouncers

Checking my email has become a game synonymous to "king of the mountain". The kids pull on my arms and climb up on the chair. They grab my sweater and try to yank me away. It's a feat to stay online for more than about a minute at a time.

Here's something that they can do while I am googling at the same time. Daily Candy alerted me to Kneebouncers, "a whole lotta fun for the itty bitty ones". I can open two windows, one for me and one for Kate. All she has to do to play is hit any key. There are games that go through the alphabet, colors, numbers, shapes- plenty to keep her visually stimulated.

snow day

If all of the snow flakes

were Hershey bars and milkshakes

Oh what a world it would be!

I'd walk outside

with my mouth open wide,

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ahhhhhh!"