Winter Hiking. It's better with prizes.

It's been really cold for a few weeks. In a few days it will be 60 degrees. Again.  We've had a warm winter so far. I'm concerned about this when I think about our planet's health and especially when I think about another year with poor fruit crops, but I can't say it has been  terrible to have a few days with no jackets in January. To take full advantage of one day we hit the trails at the Cincinnati Nature Center with some close friends.

Eli was feeling ho-hum about hiking. Then we picked up a 2013 Hiking Passport. If we finish all the trails this year we get a prize. He perked right up at the word "prize." We hiked three trails in one day. He's eyeing a walking stick.

I'm excited about this goal we've set for ourselves! We'll get outside, get some exercise and work together. Some of the longer trails will require pre-planning, and that will be great for my impetuous boy.

My kids were giddy about dinner.

They were! It's a cheese covered miracle. We had cheese fondue for dinner. I love the Melting Pot, but one can only shell out for cooking your own dinner in a restaurant so often. After repeated observations on dinners out I started making this at home.

Do you kids love cheese? Here's how to make them giddy. Gather up this stuff:

Bread (the good crusty kind), apples, carrots, brocolli, a bottle of beer, a block or two of sharp cheddar(shredded), pepper, Worcestershire sauce (not pictured - oops!) and nutmeg. You'll also need a tablespoon of flour.

• Chop up your apples and bread into chunks for dipping. I use an apple per person. 
• Chop up your broccoli into florets and then blanch your veggies. Don't skip this - it really makes them taste so much better. To blanch your veggies, bring a large pot of water to boil. Dump in one sort of veggie for 30 seconds or so. Then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them into ice water. When they are completely cold ( a few minutes) dry them on a clean dish towel. 

• Put all the veg, fruit and bread on a large platter and set aside. 
• Mix your shredded cheese with tablespoon of flour. 
• Pour the beer (minus one quality-check gulp) into a medium-sized pot along with a chopped garlic clove. Bring to boil. 
• When the beer is boiling, add your cheese and stir - a lot. I usually end up adding about 12 oz of cheese but it's pretty flexible. 
• When your cheese sauce is smooth, add a dash of Worcestershire, a couple of turns of pepper and a wee bit of nutmeg. Stir it up and either transfer it to a fondue pot or keep it over low heat on your stove top. 

Get it all on the table. Bask in the joy of your children. 

It is a very bad idea to give my children forks that are akin to small swords. Perhaps other mothers are braver. Good for them. I give them a scoop of cheese on their plate and let them dip with a normal fork. 

I wouldn't mind more weekends like this...

My Mom gave me a shiny new crockpot for Christmas and I was itching to break it in. So on Saturday I made chicken and dumplings. At dinner, 2/4 people enjoyed their meal, 1/4 tolerated their meal and 1/4 adored their meal and declared "that tasted like my childhood." (That last one was me.) Any dinner that does not result in someone eating a PB&J instead goes on the repeat list.

While the crockpot was working I found myself with some unstructured time! I have managed to say no to indoor soccer leagues and this means we have some free time on the weekends this winter. In between playdates, Pokemon league and a scouting event we managed to find time to break in Lillian's new easel and paints and spend over 5 hours constructing this:

It has over 450 pieces! There is a sticker on it about winning an award. I do not think the testers had to assemble it. We broke construction into three chunks and Eli still wanted me to finish it on my own. (No way, buddy). In the end though, it really is pretty amazing. It glows in the dark, lights up AND shoots the marbles up a huge tube before they hypnotically make their way down the track.  It looks especially mesmerizing when paired with a nice red wine.  I do not know why the makers of this toy did not include the step "pour yourself a rather large glass of wine and sip throughout the construction process" - that was the only reason I completed this project without teaching my son any new swear words.

A winner dinner, a Packer play-off win, play time with the kidlets and the Downton premier. I'll take this weekend anytime.

Can I make room?

So I set up this blog a year ago and did nothing. See, I never feel like I have time to document my life - I'm so busy living it. And yet, I'll be in the middle of something and think "blog post" but then life sweeps me up again. So this year I'm trying again. 

This is where I will document my effort to make room for whimsy. Room for funny children, yummy cooking, a bit of crafty-ness, a dash of organizational projects and whatever else strikes my fancy. Let's see what happens.