So it begins...

rag rug #1 first couple of rounds, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

DIY crocheted rag rug. I have a stack of unused op sheets--a couple even are still package fresh, as I gave up making beds with top sheets AGES ago. I do not enjoy retucking it every single day, thanks, and we all like our feet to 'breathe' when we sleep.

So I'm ripping into approx 1" strips and making a rug. The ktichen floor needs new ones, and my linen closet needs less crap I don't use. Win-win!

Free Rice + Word Nerdiness = Genius

I just messed around on Free Rice for enough time to score 2000 grains of rice for charity. I am sure 2000 grains is not much, but hey, it's probably a meal. And I found out I really do know a lot of odd words. I must not work many of the more obscure ones into my vernacular, as I get enough grief about my need to use *just* the right word at all times. ;)

Boyfriend? Or unrequited?

Thursday Christi, Lola, and I took our kids to Capitola to play on the beach. While there Lola mentioned to me that Ethan had told her that he and Bunny had decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I smiled and said that was cute -- since Ethan and Bunny do play together more than she and Emily sometimes at the park, etc. And come to think of it, they did play a lot both at Happy Hollow the day before and the beach.

So that night as I was helping Bun to bed, she asked if Ethan and Emily were coming to the pool playdate here. I said, no, they were going to spend the night at their cousins' house. I then said something like how nice it was to get to play with them two days in a row.

Then I said, "So, do you play more with Ethan or Emily?"
Bunny: I play with both of them, but with Ethan more.
Me: He's a good friend, huh?
B: He's kind of my best friend.
Me: That's nice.

So I didn't push it, since Bunny uis not a big fan of knowing how we moms talk about them, haha. The question remains whether they're reciprocated boy/girl friends. ;)

saturday::scanned photos

1998_Paul_RockClimbing_0003, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

I only managed to scan less than a dozen today. I'm pooped after a long few days -- took the kids to Happy Hollow Wednesday, to the beach Thursday, and hosted a playdate here by the pool yesterday, then some friends ended up staying for dinner afterwards. Fun, but tiring. So Cole is kind of clingy after being passed around like currency the past few days. It does help to have those friends to pass him off to when, say your 2 yr old tells you he is poopy with diaper rash (yes, this he can tell me, but he insists on diapers still, and with Cole so little I am not fighting it until later this summer).

ANYWAY. This photo is from the time Paul and his start group at Andersen went rock climbing. I believe it was at Castle Rock?

Showing...

2008-04-11 026, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

...the piece Bunny didn't think I should try. And this is why I really don't think 6 yr olds make the best advisers. But they are WAY better than 2 yr olds. ;)

Gretchen dropped this off while I was at the beach today, and I am very pleased. It makes me want to paint my kitchen to coordinate, seriously.

Blog Tag -- I'm It

I've been tagged by Suzanne at Declutter 365. Here are the rules for this tag.

1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit yours. (Her name is linked above).
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

My 7 random facts:

1. When I was in high school I had a dog named Petey. He ate table scraps. Beans made him furious.
2. Usually, brown is my favorite color.
3. I really dislike honeydew.
4. Someday I want a pug.
5. I am kind of afraid of heights.
6. My favorite food is a ham and swiss cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and avocado.
7. I always have to have a table cloth on the table. Since kids are messy, I probably go through 3-4 a week.

Now, I need to tag 7 people…So, here you go, Eleanor, Heidi, Heidi, Laurie... that'll have to do as a start.... I don't know a lot of people with blogs and I'm not sending to someone I don't know at all even though I like their blog. :)

Gimme strength and patience...

..for I am attempting to teach Bunny to crochet. I always promised her I'd teach her when she's 6, since that is when I learned. So far she has successfully made a lot of knots and a chain of 6 stitches. Which she then declared 'done' and 'that is enough of that, I don't like it.' But today she is trying once more.

Poor thing -- she really wants moving the yarn to be the way, when in reality, much as you would not move paper to draw (holding the pencil still) you have to use the HOOK to crochet. Perhaps she'll get it; perhaps she'll decide it's too frustrating. 'Tis up to her, I suppose. I'm trying to just answer her questions as she asks them, and not let myself get too invested in it.

Whatever keeps her busy. ;)

So there, ha!

So yesterday Bunny and I went to Petroglyph with Anika and Gretchen. It was a combo birthday present for both the girls, as Anika and Bunny are about 2 weeks apart in age and her family is artistic, and Bunny has been jonesing for Petroglyph for about a year. Along with the party, her main gift was the ceramic painting.

I worked all day Saturday pumping a bottle for Cole--well, all day means every time I nursed, I latched the Medela torture device onto my other side to get what I could, and finally mustered up 3 oz to leave with Paul to tide Cole over.

Before we set out to the studio I printed the image I had known I would want to recreate as soon as I saw it a month or so ago. Someone far more creative than I came up with it: a little girl's face peeking out from behind some leaves with an endearing expression of pure mischief in her eyes. I admit I was not sure I could pull it off, though I thought I probably could, as it's a VERY simple drawing. Bunny looked at it and said, "You're not the best artist in this house... I don't know if you should try that..." Well, I never! ;) I was amused by her saying that, though Paul was kind of peeved because, well, because he didn't want my feelings hurt, and all the more because he worries about Bunny making the same kind of social blunders he was (sometimes is) prone to just because he doesnt' think. Now, I think *everyone* misspeaks at times, but anyway, Paul has a few scars here and there from his gaffes that he really didn't mean as they were taken, so he worries about Bunny in that regard.

Little lecture about taking people's feelings into consideration over, we set out and met Anika and her mom at Petroglyph. They were so sweet as to give Bunny a *really* well crafted--and yummy!-- chocolate cat from the shop a couple of doors down. Note to self: must stroll around downtown LG more, as it's really good for window shopping and the kids would enjoy the fountain in the park. It's 5 mins away but I forget it's there.

Bunny and Anika both painted two pieces each: a little faux mosaic tile and a small surfboard for Anika and a horse figurine and a 4" tile for Bunny. Gretchen painted a platter with what promises to be a very cool scene of a few goldfish being preyed upon by a robot fish emerging from the grasses. And my piece? I think it came out very well! It was not exactly like my inspiration piece, but I think I caught the glint in the girl's eyes well, and I painted the hair to be the same shades as Bunny's--I hope... it's hard to tell with glazings, since the colors really become brighter and richer upon firing. I think it'll come out to be adorable no matter what.

Gretchen has an errand to run in the vicinity of the studio in a couple of days, so she's going to pick up the finished pieces and when they come to our playdate Friday we'll get to see how everything came out.

saturday::scanned photo

1998_ETVisit_0004, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Continued with a whopping 6 more scanned photos today. Cole managed to handle the bassinet for that long--he'd have lasted longer, but Carter bounce-bounce-bounced his way down the hall on a hoppity ball and broke Cole out of his reverie of gazing at the little doohickeys on his bassinet shade.

Anyway! This is another from 1998--it'd have to be fall. We took a drive up to SF and got some typical weather at the GG Bridge, so you can only see the closest tower to the Marin side. The weather was really nice about 1 mile away where we took a little hike up in the headlands. Funny, since the day when Paul, Mock, Jim and I essentially hiked every square inch of Mt. Tam I have been *over* Marin hiking. Maybe this summer we should take the kids on one of the less rigorous ones (not the Dipsea!).

Only babies...

...get "hand jam". You know, like toe-jam, but in the creases of their hands. I looked at Cole's palm and there is 'jam' in one part of the "M". Hims widdle fisties don't open much.

Out of the Mouths of Moms

2008-04-01 029, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Another thing I never would have guessed I'd utter:
"Stop breathing on your sister."

But I did. Yesterday Carter walked up behind Bunny, and very forcefully exhaled through his nose onto Bunny's head. Bunny is a burgeoning tattler, but even she was a bit confused. "Mama, um, Carter breathed on me?" Said very unsure. I *suspect* Carter was hoping to get something gross onto her head, as he's been a bit stuffy.

So anyway, I told him to not breathe on her. ::eyeroll::

On my mind and in my thoughts...

Kris and Ceil, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Got an email from my friend, sorority sister, and former housemate Cecelia today. She's heading home to NoVA. Her brother, a soldier who has been in Iraq was hit by an IED along with his patrol recently. Two others were killed, and her brother has lost his left arm, suffered shrapnel wounds, and is on a respirator. He's on his way to Walter Reed, and Ceil will be there to meet him. His prognosis is as good as can be hoped at this time.

So they're on my mind today. I still think of him as Ceil's punkass little brother.

found photo

1998_Yosemite_0008, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Continuing with the scanning... on to the weekend we spent up near Yosemite at the mtn house of one of Paul's coworker's parents. We drove up with Patrick Carroll and he took this photo. Here we are, obviously mystified and rendered dorky by the awesomeness that is Yosemite Valley.

This was a fun weekend. We've not made it up to Yosemite since then, but hope to do a family camping trip there in a couple of years, once Cole is a little older, but before he's too large to carry (which might be pretty soon, since I already strained my wrist picking him up last week--he's big).

Hazards of eating and nursing

So, I'm sitting here eating breakfast (mmmm egg & ham sammich), and I look down at Cole. Whoops, there is a piece of ham on his chest. He's completely zonked out, milk drunk and napping, so I gently picked it up -- and ate the ham. Hey, I like ham a lot.

Things I want to remember.

2008-03-23 049, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

*Sentimentality Warning*

Cole is now all of 11 weeks old. He's growing so fast. He's a baby-baby now, no longer a newborn, though he never seemed to be that pink larval baby with new-newness beyond about day 5. Anyway, it is flying by. Now Cole laughs a little, is swatting at things, and babbles more than I remember his brother or sister doing-probably because he's talked to so much by both me and his siblings, so he already tries to 'reply'.

However, while my baby is still a 2-3 month old, I must force myself to remember some things that go away so fast. It's like the time I tried to burn the actual color of the waters in the Florida Keys into my memory by taking off my sunglasses and refusing to squint--to try to burn that certain azure into my retinas forever.

I have to remember how soft new baby hair is. Softer than angora. I love to rub my lips against his scalp, feeling the softness while smelling that 'baby head smell'. (A funny thing: people who have not held a baby in a while will always smell its head--it's a universally appreciated scent, and much coveted by parents of older kids and grandparents.)

I must remember that Cole always smiles at me when he sees me in the morning and is waking up on the changing table. Even if I have run in to fetch him because he slept later than me--which is not often enough!--he calms down and is all smiles once he knows I am there.

I must not forget those sleeping-nursing smiles, and the random cackles as he dreams. What do babies dream, having no words? I am guessing they dream about smiling faces, the way trees look, the ceiling fan, maybe about crying to be picked up, or something that startled them... do they dream about the womb? It's certainly where he's spent the majority of his time up till now. I'm digressing, but I always think, on their 18 month date how now they are more 'of the world' than of my body... that now they have been outside for longer than inside. It may be a strange thing to note, but it's always seemed significant to me.

I must remember the folds of his chubby thighs. My only chunky baby, and all milk-fed. Third time was the charm with nursing, for sure. For once I don't have to worry if the baby is getting enough fat or wetting enough diapers. This child is obviously thriving. Figures the 'littlest' is also the biggest.

Most of all, I am trying to remember to enjoy it. Yes, I'm usually a crank by the end of the day; dinner time is definitely the witching hour here, and I certainly contribute to the aura of grumpiness at times, but I really enjoy this baby so much. I adored taking care of Carter, and to the degree I could enjoy someone who screamed 8+ hours a day, I may not have *enjoyed* some of the specifics of a baby-Bunny, but I loved her and didn't know any different anyway, so it was what it was... but this is my last time and I suppose it's always on my mind that yes, blow out diapers are pretty gross, but even those I'll probably look back on fondly. Even all nighters, sitting with a sick child, with that subtle-panic feeling of "Ohhh nooo, my child is ill, and I desperately hope it's only for a short while", all those pass with time, and become dusty memories. So, since life is the journey (seeing as well, let's face it the destination is the other half of "Something and taxes" that we all have to face in life)... it's best to really take a breather now and then and be a sentimental sap.

Then get back to my general garden variety sarcasm, pronto. Mama has little time for these things, lest she spontaneously conceive another one of these baby folk. Which, speaking of, my sick 2 yr old needs some snuggles, and a lot of tissues. Ew.

Haircut!

2008-03-23 059, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

'Twas time...

Bwak Bwak Thank You Easter Bunny!

2008-03-22 039, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

friday:: found photo

071998_Lassen_0014, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

I've been working on steadily decluttering at least one thing a day committed to doing this for a year... and was in the garage when I spied a whole album of photos! In the garage? Only my husband would put photos in the garage (nice archive for easily damaged things, being extreme temperatures and all, huh?)... but they're in good shape. So I'm trying to find a little time weekly to scan. This album is from 1998 and perhaps some of 1999--I have not flipped through it. Hey, I have little free time as I said! I did scan the first 4 pages, which are of our 1998 July 4th camping trip to Mt. Lassen up near Shasta.

This photo was taking on July 4. It had been the big El Nino winter that year and much of the park was still covered in snow. We climbed the most recently active cinder cone that day (the cinder cone was so steep, it was a BITCH to get up, even as seasoned hikers) and this photo is from the top.

Finally!

2008-03-19_2 021, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

trying again to post -- the Flickr/Blogger sync was not working last night.

Finished the never ending hat for Paul. This cashmere felt so nice in my hands that it almost made up for ripping it back over and over to try to adapt and adjust to make the hat as tight as Paul would prefer -- he likes then very tight on his very short hair.

On the plus side, I'm kind of well practiced at crocheting cables now and hope to find some other way to put this to use.

Hello! McFly!!

Our pleco died a couple of weeks ago and the tank really was becoming algae ridden quickly, since sunlight hits the aquarium. Okay, so I bought the fish yesterday, plus 2 marbled mollies for my daughter. And, um, we can't find them today. There are the same 5 fish as ever in the tank. Oh wait, they came back -- never mind. I'm laughing at myself, because we literally spent 10 mins looking for them this morning, and now I glance over and can see the two mollies swimming by just as I was pondering their fate (did the others gang up and kill and eat them overnight? Did we imagine going to the fish store? What is the nature of reality and perception anyway?).

But never mind. They're there. Ha!

If I were an Aussie

I'd be a Brown Owl. It looks like such a neat group. But alas. ;)

Slow Cooking Thursday: The Inauguration

Slow Cooking Thursday ~ Easy Meatloaf

I think I like this idea... seems the more kids I have, the more I yearn for the boring predictability I never would have wanted say 10 years ago, when I literally never cooked the same dish twice. My husband's joke/complaint was, "If I like something, I better enjoy the HELL out of it, because I'll likely never see it again." Now, I still do enjoy trying new things, and someday probably will have the totally unique menus every week.

But for now, routine is the means to sanity, haha. That, and lots of coffee. ;)

So anyway, I think after I get home from drop off, it'll be the inaugural Slow Cooking Thursday prep time. Then all I have to do is make sides tonight. I guess that's why I make a batch of soup so often in the middle of the day--so in the evening when it's crazyville here, with 2 or 3 kids fussy, I can just put food in a bowl/plate, and then they're quiet at least while they eat, heh.

2nd Parent-Teacher Conference

This morning I had the second of three parent teacher conferences with Bunny's teacher. In general, she exceeds standards for her grade level in reading, writing, speaking, and math while she's meeting the standards for social studies and science -- these are the standards for completion of Kinder, not 2/3 of the way, so within a couple of those areas she was marked as 'approaching' standards, but overall meeting, since it's a journey. A couple of areas where she particularly excels are reading/listening comprehension, pushing to write more complex sentences (i.e. instead of "I like ____," she adds a second clause and reasons out phonetic spellings for words she has not been taught (sometimes with the cutest results, haha!)).

This is the comment on her report card:

Bunny continues to do well in all areas. She is a quick learner and a pleasure to teach! Her enthusiasm towards learning is a wonderful gift. Bunny is reading simple books, writing simple sentences, and writing numbers up to 100. Her reading is beginning to flow and she is sounding out words. This will be the concentration of our last trimester. Bunny displays creativity with problem solving and with written work. Bunny is kind to others and she is a role model in our class. She is learning to jump rope at recess. Keep up the good work!

Mighty Fine Gumbo

Ready to eat., originally uploaded by Kristianna.

I've been wanting gumbo forEVER, but they don't have okra at Trader Joe's and I keep forgetting to grab some whenever I go for some random thing at Safeway. Finally last week I made some, and it was better than I remembered. Bunny loved it and asked me to make it again, and Paul ate and ate and ATE it. Carter? Well, he's my hard case. He asked if I had 'choccy cake', as he has every day since we *did* have some on my birthday a month ago. Can't win 'em all.

Mighty Fine Gumbo

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
8 oz green pepper strips -- or use mix of colors
20 oz frozen cut okra, thawed
28 oz can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 bay leaf
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 qt chicken stock
1 lb large uncooked shrimp, peeled & deveined

Brown bacon in the dutch oven, and reserve. Add onion to the bacon drippings and saute 1 min. Add pepper strips and continue to saute for 4 more minutes or until onions are translucent. Add okra, tomatoes, bay leaf, some red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and reserved bacon. Cook it for an hour. Add shrimp and cook just until done, about 10 mins. Serve over rice--mine was saffron rice. YUM.

Loonatic. ;)

Loonatic. ;), originally uploaded by Kristianna.

No comment really needed here. He's obviously my son.

"Tolerable"

Paul and I agreed that 'tolerable' is about the highest praise a parent can give of time spent in Chuck E. Cheese's. Kids LOVELOVELOVE it. It's loud, full of places to spend your tokens in hopes of a payoff, the 'prizes' are about a 1:10 value to what is spent in the quest for them -- hey! It's basically Kiddie Vegas! Aha!

Anyway, we went to Chuck E's yesterday to help celebrate Sarah's big 4th birthday, and it was pretty much tolerable. The kids would have rated it much more kindly. :)

My March Madness

I really don't care about basketball. At all. Even a teensy bit.

But March is important in our house because it's Bunny's birthday month. This year we have 3 other birthday parties to attend, making for only one weekend off (Easter weekend, of course, so not really a weekend off from kid stuff--since we celebrate the secular, rodent bringing treats kind of Easter).

Since the month will fly by, I'm starting to plan out her party details. Bunny, being BUnny, never comes up with some theme you can just buy from Birthday Express and have done with it. Thank heavens she abandoned her first idea -- an Otis party. Otis, our CAT. That would have been, um, interesting! When I asked her why, she said, "Because I love Otis," as it I was really rather thick.

Then she changed to white tigers. Really she wants the place to be transformed into an Asian rainforest, but we'll see how much of that we get. She agreed to a 'regular tiger' pinata, since, while pinata come in a large variety, they don't come in *that* large a variety! I found a template for tiger invitations, how-to for a tiger cake, I'm thinking about doing pin the tail on the tiger, but that game always is more fun in theory than reality so we may stick with bashing a pinata and scrambling for candy, plus another small favor (search and you can get my rant on favors, haha). The decorations will be somewhat jungle--but what I can do without driving myself *too* crazy. I'm always a little crazy, haha. 3 weeks and counting down.

Day 2 of 84 (12 week challenge)

So I'm on a journey to fitness (to steal a say someone else put it). Now that my baby is 8 weeks old, I have no good excuse to not bust a move and try to literally work off some of my ass.

Today Lisa Seguinot posted a great entry on her blog. I totally agree--now to put that better way of thinking into effect! For now, I hear snoring, so it's time to see how much of the kettel bell routine I can get done.

Yesterday I took 15,383 steps. Today will not be nearly as good, but tomorrow will also be good. I'm trying to do it every other day to start.

So now we're catching mythical creatures.

luck of the arrrish, originally uploaded by tervaja.

Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was one thing: you wore green or you got pinched. That was enough! I mean, heck give a small kid a reason to chase another one around and voila... fun holiday.

Got older and it also meant green beer. Not my favorite, really, since it invariably was awful green beer. Sorry, but putting some color in Milwaukee's Best does not make it the best anything.

Now apparently St. Paddy has figured a way to make us work harder. You have to build leprechaun traps! Seriously. I was looking at the March calendar for Bun's class, and on the 13th it says, 'Leprechaun Traps Due" with a note that they'll explain more later. You gotta be kidding me. But Bunny is excited and convinced she'll get the pot of gold. :)

What Lucas didn't show us.

Stormtroopers are regular folks. They like dogs. They go to the bookstore. They crack me up.
Bunny finds their Flickr site fascinating. And you thought all they did was, ya know, march around. Well, after their bosses died and the rebels won, I guess life changed. ;)

Another Winner from Ray-Ray

Leeky, Creamy Chicken-and-Dumpling Stoup - NEW!

I made this yesterday, substituting chicken thighs, as my crew prefers dark meat (I am the only one who likes the white meat), and instead of gnocchi I cooked some tortellini separately and added it into the bowls so that Paul's was low carb. I also added some thyme and 1/4 t red pepper flakes. Then after we had dinner, I stretched it with more chicken broth, a bag of chopped spinach, and a little nutmeg (always with greens, just like Racheal says!). That way Paul has it to eat when he's hungry, which is ALWAYS. Man, I thought he had a big appetite before he was on Adderall... if I had wishes from a Genie, one would be that he could be WAY less hungry with no ill health effects. If he takes too much Adderall, we get part A, but also he loses a LOT of weight and suffers from a form of malnutrition; not to mention the meds make him kind of terrible to live with, unless you like aggression and paranoia ;).

But anyway -- the soup... it's good. For the mere mortal (not Paul), it's super filling because it's really rich... one serving is plenty for dinner with salad or the like.

Aw, Freak Out!

Today I finally got around to putting together something Carter received for, yes, CHRISTMAS. It’s a no-pedal trike with trailer from my father, and I just didn’t feel like sitting on the floor and assembling it while giantly pregnant, then I simply had other things to do all the time, like nurse a newborn. Funny how that happens!

So today I noticed the box in the garage while I was putting other boxes into the recycling bin and decided today’s the day.

It was not hard to put together, but I am glad I did it when able to sit and bend. Carter loves it, and didn’t want to stop playing with it at dinner time. He really seemed to think it would be a good idea to bring it ONTO the table. I tried to ‘park’ it next to the table, but he was not having it, so I finally had to put the thing outside. Instant DEFCON 5 here (if I remember my War Games well). Carter freaked out and I basically had to ignore him for a good 15 mins while he worked it out and then he came to the table and ate. It was hysterical to me, to watch him being hysterical. If you can’t laugh at tantrums, what can you laugh at? Plus I think I am always a bit slap happy at the end of the day. Tomorrow we’ll take the toy to the park and see if he likes it as much on Day 2.

What goes around...

Before I start: near as I can tell, it rained 2+" last night. And *not* quietly. Don't need to water this week! :)

Anyway, on to what I wanted to write about.

You know how sometimes you’re in the midst of something and have a moment of clarity? I’m not sure if it was clarity, or perspective, but it was something I had the other day when driving back from the zoo with my three in the back. Bunny and Carter were having a grand time making some noise (maybe it was being a cat, maybe a dog—that’s not the point). One or the other of them would make the noise and the other would copy and then giggles would ensue, leading to more making of the random, and unattractive noise. After about 15 mins, I had to ask them to cut it out. By “ask”, I mean, of course, snap at them to “CUTITOUTI’MTRYINGTODRIVEHERE!!!” Having fizzled their bored fun, I then remembered.

HARDEE!

What, you say? Well, way back in a time we call the Awesome 80s, my family was on one of our annual summer road trips down what seemed like the whole East Coast. We always went one of two places, with *very* little exception: Wrightsville Beach, and Disney. One year, when we were going to Disney, my parents chose Hardeeville, SC as our overnight stopping point. There’s not a whole lot to do when you’re in the back of a car for hours on end, unable to read in the car because it makes you sick to your stomach, etc. So, for some reason (slap happiness, I assume), my sister and I started to say, “HarDEE!” in what can only be described as the most goober way possible. It was hysterical. We said it over and over, especially when we’d see a sign on the highway saying ‘so many miles to HARDEEville’. I don’t know for how long we said it, but I do know eventually our parents threatened to leaves us for dead or something. They were such meanies. As was I.

To this day, I am *sure* I could call Eleanor, and just say, “HarDEE!” and she’d dissolve into laughter. I should try it. And then ask her to burp. But that’s another story.

Meatball Recipe for Heidi. :)

I made THIS soup for dinner Thursday, but me being me, I winged it with what I had on hand (didn't plan to make it, just saw the recipe and decided to try it), and also made a bigger batch, so that Paul could have leftovers.

Heidi and her kids came over for a playdate and dinner that night, so we adults had the soup, and we all really liked the meatballs. It was the first time I'd ever cooked meatballs in a soup, and I have to say they come out very tender that way.

More or less I used the recipe if you cook the above link, but I initially subbed a quart of beef stock for the chicken stock, then, seeing as I was making a double batch of meatballs, I topped it all off with some 3 cups of chicken stock so it would all be covered in liquid in the 5qt pot I used. I also just used about half a pound of the 3 color peppers you buy in the frozen section of Trader Joe's--they're super cheap compared to fresh colored bell peppers--and chopped them to bite size instead of strips. Finally, the soup had little in the way of herbs/spices beyond salt and pepper, so I added 1/4 t red pepper flakes, 1/2 t dried thyme and a bay leaf. (Little t = tsp.)

For the meatballs: I used sourdough instead of white bread (never buy the stuff). Ripped 2 large slices into pieces and soaked with 1 c milk. When the milk absorbed, I mixed in 1 package TJ's sweet italian sausage removed from the casings, one package of ground beef, some salt and pepper, about 1/2 c chopped parsley, an egg, and about 1/3 c grated parmesan. I also threw in probably 1/4 c leftover creamed spinach, just because I had it and figured it couldn't hurt. Then I followed the recipe on forming them and adding to the soup. It was really good, and I will make it again. Oh! And I had it over cooked egg noodles, just because it seemed like a nice idea. I liked it!

Monkey Boy Update-arooni

Carter cracks me up. Today he bowled for the first time (rainy 'no school' weeks make you do the darndest things). He was so cute, squatting down low as his ball rolled very s-l-o-w-l-y down the lane, yelling, "Go, go, go!" and then hopping like mad, so happy about the results, even when he managed to hit nothing.

Then later today he was drawing (okay, scribbling) and kept saying, "Zoboo... Z, B, O." over and over... He loves the show Zoboomafoo and i honestly am not sure how he came up with the ZBO part, but he has been learning a little about letters as I help Bunny, so who knows. I'm sticking with him being a genius. :)

Very much likey

banksy pollard st bethnal green, originally uploaded by alex image.

Banksy.

Though I imagine it may be a confusing street to drive on, what with the double lines veering off to the side and then making a flower. ;)

Eureka!

I found it! I bought two skeins of cashmere a few months ago when the Bascom Beverly's was going out of business and everything was massively discounted. Knew I wanted to make Paul a hat, but not just the typical toque I generally do. I wanted cables or something a little special for this special yarn. but I don't like knitting cables--too much to remember when I'm sleep deprived (which is for 6 years running more or less, haha).

Anyway, I found it!
http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=5

Will print this tonight after kiddie bedtime and begin. I should be able to finish in time for Paul's birthday. I doubt I can keep it a surprise, since I find he likes his hats *just so* in fit, and I need to periodically fit using his real head.

Oh, and I also am making this hat for Cole.
http://haakpoes.blogspot.com/2007/06/noodle-baby-hat.html
I need to think of colors, since he's not a girl, ;). And I may leave off the noodle bit.

Moose Baby!

So Cole is all of 6 weeks tomorrow. And I dug out the 3-6 mo stuff for him last weekend. He's 12 pounds, the milk guzzler. And the legs on the 3-6 mo sleeper he's in are not even long. Sheesh! Bunny was wearing some 3-6 mo stuff at 9 mos, and Carter only needs tops a size big because he is long waisted and has broad shoulders, but he's far from large--actually some 18 mo pants still fit him, but mostly he's in 2Ts except for Osh Kosh, which I swear is designed for huskier kids.

I think maybe Cole is our large boy who's going to take after his dad, who was his family's moose-child growing up. I can't believe I am putting away clothes that he has outgrown already.

Carter's Doggie

Doggie Diner on Sloat St. in SF, originally uploaded by lslphoto.

FYI, two out of two times, Carter has gone berserk over this dog 'thing'. :) He says it's his dog. You see when walking from the auxilury lot at the SF Zoo on Sloat St. Too bad the Doggie Diner chain went belly up about 20 yrs ago, or I'd take him for a snack post zoo sometime.

Quick -- name the ethnic (??) group you can make fun of!

Then go to the "Stuff White People Like" blog. Which is hilarious. Nearly every entry (there are 70-ish so far) I find myself saying, "Oh yeah, I like that!" ::hangs head in shame for she is so white::

Kids Bring Home the Darndest Things

2008-02-16 010, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

This is what Bunny brought home Friday. The small version makes it hard to see clearly, and you're not missing a thing. It's some various rat and other rodent bones Bunny dug out of owl pellets at school. Christine from the Wild Bird Center comes to her class once or twice a month, and the kids love it. It's great really. BUT. I could really go a long time without finding another bag of tiny bones in her backpack. Bunny was upset I chucked it out after we *admired* it, but I'm sorry, there are some things I can not stand the thought of being scattered all over the house--or even her touching, then touching other things in the house. Like regurgitated rat bones. *shudder*

What good is it without chocolate??

Just figured out something. Yesterday Carter discovered a Christmas flap book in with the books and kept yelling at me, while chewing on a flap he’d ripped off. I told him we don’t pull apart the book, and when Bunny asked shy he was doing htat, I said, “Dunno. You also ripped flaps off this kind of book until you were about 4, honestly.” Now, however, this is odd for Carter. He’s a boy, to be sure, so he can have Y chromosome destructive disorder. But he’s not “Bunny destructive”… not just for no discernible reason other than “because it popped into her head.” He’ll bang a toy hammer on the glass door, or huck a car across the room – boy stuff! But ripping a book is not his thing.

So anyway, today I figured out what his deal is/was with the flap book. He came up to me with the book, and was scraping the photo under the flap, saying “Chokkit… help!” Eureka. The advent calendar we get every Christmas! You lift the flap for that day and get a little piece of chocolate! It’s even a Christmas flap book. Now, I get it, dude!

Happy Valentine's Day

Vintage Valentine's Day Postcard, originally uploaded by riptheskull.

Been busy using my allocated blog time (which would be naptime most days) copying over old posts from my old LiveJournal blog. It's been funny to read over old things as I cut and pasted. Lots from 2006 so far, but there eventually will be some 2005, too. I don't think I had a blog before then.

Anyway, also, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
We're having a nice dinner for the 4 of us who eat solid food this evening: grilled flank steak, sauteed shrimp, glazed tomatoes and roasted asparagus, with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.

Dodged a bullet by making sure Bun had indeed addressed all her Valentine's cards, and *phew!* she left out Brian's and Heather's. Which explains how she had extra candies to wolf down this morning -- thankfully I had a couple of reece's hearts to use in a pinch. My inability to resist those at the store a couple of weeks ago paid off, haha. Bunny was miffed she didn't get the last couple as treats in her lunch, since I have been letting her have one every few days, but hey, thems the breaks. (And she'll end up ahead by the end of the day in the candy count.)

Speaking of, time to change Carter and head out to pickup time.

5 Weeks!

My baby boy is 5 weeks old today. In about 2 hours, he'll be 5 weeks to the minute. He's already gone and changed on me. No longer a totally newborn, larval, creature. Cole is cooing, learning to amuse himself a bit by batting at things with his newfound hands, smiling at both animate and inanimate objects a LOT, and settling into longer awake times (which means a couple of longer naps during the day and night, too!). Bunny still loves to hold him for long periods of time, and has figured out how to lie back with him on her chest--a very comfy position for both holder and holdee, I must say. Carter, good hearted soul he is, has never shown any resentment towards Cole. Not to say he's not a two year old, and prone to testing limits and tantrums, but he's simply the kindest little 2 yr old to Cole. Cole is lucky to have two older siblings who love him so much. And I'm lucky to have three wonderful, healthy, smart, and cute kids.

Carter's Baby

This is Carter's baby. Yesterday Paul was at a biology event at Stanford and I let the big kids stay up until about 8:30, figuring they’d be more tired and hence more ‘put to beddable’ than if I did it an hour earlier, which is the norm here. After I got Carter and Cole into jammies (well, changed Cole – all his clothes look like jimmies to be honest), Carter and Bunny were fooling around brushing their teeth and then Bunny decided she would give Carter an old fleece blanket of hers. He took it, and wrapped up this UGLY toy, then decided it was his baby. He cooed at it, telling it that it was ‘coot!’ and then settled in next to me on the sofa, hugging ‘baby’ to his lap, just like I was doing with Cole.

Then he unzipped his footies just a little bit and said the baby needed to nurse. Apparently Senor Siniestro or whatever his name is has a *very* small tummy, as it only took a moment for him to be ‘all done’. Then Carter unwrapped him, said, “Eww! Poopy!” grabbed a wet wipe, wrapped the baby in it, and the reswaddled him. (Which would be why 2 yr olds don’t change real baby diapers, haha.)

This morning Bunny decided to dig out an old Bitty Baby for Carter so he has a cuter baby. But Senor Siniestro sure cracked me up last night. Carter is so funny.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Vintage birthday postcard, originally uploaded by palesoftness.

I'm 35! Tada.

My baby LOVES my sweater.

Cole approves of what I am wearing this morning. He can't take his eyes off my striped sweater. He's cooing and smiling at it. I think the stripes are making him think it's smiling at him?? Whatever, it's really pleasant to hold him like this.

Kid Talk

Bunny's speech is very advanced for her age. Excellent vocabulary, though I am sure there are some instances where she sounds like she understands a word better than she really does--but she really has an appetite for linguistics, and is always asking what a word I say means, since I do and always have spoken to her as I would any adult (well, vocabulary not content, haha!).

But she has one word she still uses her baby word for: opymeal. Oatmeal. She knows it's oatmeal. Simply prefers to say it her way. I'll miss with whenever she decides to give up that one.

Carter is coming along with his speech. At two years he really was not speaking in sentences anyone other than his mother would understand, and even most of his words were iffy at best. He is forming 3-5 word sentences in generally a correct order, though tense is hit or miss and really limited to present or simple past. he has a couple of really cute baby words or names for things. Chiggy being the funniest to me. A decrepit old, falling apart quilt that used to be my dad's. He loves it, because the underside is very soft cotton, and because it is DAMN cozy. He hates that Bunny always wants to use it as the 'roof' of her sofa forts, and hides it under the aquarium base. Yesterday he hid all the blankets under the base, and when I asked him if he wanted to 'nuggle' on the sofa with me, he ran over, pulled out one blanket, said, "Mama chiggy," brought it to me, and then retrieved *his* chiggy. And he was SOOO happy to snuggle with me. I had Cole on my lap, but I think he till felt like it was a return to pre-baby times, since he is a very snuggly guy and needs a lot of it--and this darn baby has kept me awfully busy!

Cole? He made a 'g' sound. It's more pleasant than crying, and nice to hear his 'voice'.

But... it's the crappy design, I promise!

Just had a Monica Geller moment. See, my vacuum SUCKS. Not in the good way. It was designed poorly as far as the refuse bin goes. You can end up with a mess inside the vacuum the way it is (someday it will be kicked to the curb and I will dance). Anyway, I had the genius idea of cleaning it with the dustbuster. So, there I was, dustbusting the vacuum.

Yikes. I am not that anal, I promise.

Good Mom/Good Dad

News Flash: Women have to be damn near perfect to be considered a "good mom." Recently New York Magazine had a feature in which the writer relays the results of an informal poll asking what consitutes a good mother or a good father. Good read, check it out.

What makes a good mom? Well, let's start with what makes a good dad. That's easier. He is there. At the delivery room (pretty much no wiggle room there), at dinner time (when he can work allowing), at school recitals/shows and sports events (but again, we understand when it's not possible). He changes some diapers and will sport a Baby Bjorn. He's a good provider.

And that's about it, more or less. If you're being honest, your own definition probably is not all that far off. Maybe you add in a thing or two, like weekend trips to the park, or cooking an occasional meal, but let's face it, we put the bar rather low for the menfolk.

What makes a good mother? Well, according to we women (always hard on ourselves aren't we?), she should be Mary Poppins, but not leave; she possess infinite patience, remembers to serve a balanced breakfast, never yells, is always cheerful, volunteers (with all her imaginary free time that she doesn't even desire, no doubt!), she does art projects with her kids, and she enjoys playing games with them (I challenge you to enjoy Candyland more than twice in a row--or a week!). Oh, and she is never too tired to be intimate with her husband.

Sadly, I know no good mothers, according to that definition. We're all a rotten bunch. So we read Crabmommy and the like and revel in comraderie. And complain to each other about how hard it is to deal with whiny kids when at the park together. And generally scare the bejeesus outta first time moms. And yet still manage to have rather well adjusted happy kids. Go figure.

6 Weeks

According to Phil, there will be 6 weeks more winter. Boo.

However, today is delightful. 60 and sunny enough to make it very warm. I need to check the forecast to see when the next system comes through, but for today I am pretending it’s spring.

If I can get Cole to sleep (Carter just passed out for his midday nap), then I am going to throw open the front window, air out the place and put a cheery tablecloth on the table for starters. I also think I need something to freshen up the potted plants by the front door. It’s a running joke that I am the family potted plant killer (I’m not so good at remembering to water them in the heat of summer), but I did keep alive some freesia that are threatening to bloom in a couple of weeks, and a geranium, but there is a large planter I need to put something happy in. I’d rather be getting our summer veggies in, but I have to be realistic, haha. Plus Paul is the veggie grower. I’ll let him do that and keep my goal attainable—to remember to water the 3 things I walk by 4+ times daily. It helps that Bunny knows how to dump water from a cup into them.

And maybe this afternoon I will finally check out the Japanese Dollar store down 85 from me to see what neato stuff they have. Nothing makes me happy like Japan-schwag, and I have been wanting a little bit of bento stuff for Bun’s lunches. Yeah, I’m a dork and enjoy making cute lunches. I’ll never be in the big leagues like THIS lady, though. Man, she must have a lot of free time.

Workout Mommy

Seguinot's wife Lisa is a personal trainer and has a blog. Since I am a couple of weeks away from being able to finally work on looking normal, it is good timing that Mike sent me the URL yesterday. :)

http://workoutmommy.com/

I've been looking into kettlebells, and Mike says Lisa likes them a lot for women. And I need to get an infant carseat converter for the BOB as Cole can't sit up for a few more months. That should do it for now. :)

Little Old Man

Carter has a hilarious new habit. He tends to have about $3 in small change rattling around in his right pocket at any point in time. It's always the right pocket. He has to have it everyday as soon as he's dressed in his day clothes. Which explains why he will NOT wear sweats. No pockets to jingle his change! When he walks, he needs his right hand in his pocket. I swear my son is channeling someone's weird uncle Morty, who always gave the kiddos a shiny nickel when he visited.

This evening when I undressed him for his bath, it was riDONKulous. There was something like 100 coins in his pocket, adding a good pound to his weight. And I have found him riffling through Paul's pockets for more change when he gets the opportunity. Oh, and he also put a little Listerine strips pack in his pocket the other day--like Daddy does. Which I need to mention to Paul, since he sometimes puts an Adderall in his Listerine pack to take one with him discretely. He's good about making sure he never leaves one accesible to a child, but still, I need to be sure he doesn't leave the packs lying around for peace of mind.

The Littlest Lactation Consultant

100_5232, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Carter continues with his insistence that the baby must nurse all the time. If Cole has unlatched and dozed off, Carter will try to wake him, saying, "Cole! Nurse!" He also loves to inform me when Cole is pooping. (Cole is a bit noisy at it, so I think anyone in earshot can figure out that one!) Carter loves Cole so much, it's really adorable. And scary, since if he ignored the baby, it'd be safer on the whole.

Oh, and yesterday Carter sat on Cole for a moment. Accidentally. Cole was nonplussed, being in a soft papasan chair--Carter fell backwards not paying attention to anything as he and Bunny were playing with their Trader Joe's balloons from groceriy shopping earlier that day. While I would love a good babysitter, that is *not* what I meant.

Really Cool Forecast (if you're a duck)

Tonight Jan 25 Rain / Wind N/A/48° 100%			High not valid after 2pm
Sat Jan 26 Rain / Wind 60°/48° 90%			60°F
Sun Jan 27 Rain 51°/41° 80%			51°F
Mon Jan 28 Showers 50°/37° 40%			50°F Get the Gameday Forecast
Tue Jan 29 Few Showers 53°/40° 30%			53°F
Wed Jan 30 Few Showers 52°/41° 30%			52°F
Thu Jan 31 Few Showers 53°/42° 30%			53°F Get Tips for Driving in the Rain
Fri Feb 1 Few Showers 54°/40° 30%			54°F

Happy Two Weeks

100_5235, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Taken on Cole's Two Week 'Birthday'. :) Still sleeps a lot, but having more and more alert moments, too. Cole seems (knock wood!) to be really mellow and as someone else said, an old soul. He often looks amused, like this is all old news to him.

Cole's starting to bat at things just a tiny bit, beginning to notice he has hands. Spent a long time messing with his left ear yesterday, like, "Hey! I can feel this two ways!" Loathes diaper changes, like most tiny babies, but quickly calms once he feels himself being dressed, and certainly when held. Paul's been getting him to take to the sling like a pro, and usually Cole settles right in, unless he's simply not ready to chill--then he generally still quiets down pretty quickly--or he gets to come back out, since it's supposed to be a nice place, not torture. ;)

Did I mention my husband jokingly nicknamed him Cutie McTiny? Probably not going to stick, but he is cute and tiny.

2 Weeks with a Cheesy Grin

Call the baby mensa chapter, for I have a genius on my hands. Cole is smiling. This is no gas, for I know the face he makes for *that* (and the general accompanying noises). It's uncoordinated, and very amateur, but hey, it's pretty adorable. Maybe I will see if I can't get Paul to make him smile and film it, since these things are so fleeting.

Success!

Managed to take three kids to Target today *and* get all three back home. Whoopteedoo! Bunny helped a lot keeping Mr. You Mean I Get to Walk? around without putting too many random items into the cart. He did seem to think we needed a ginormous thing of Tide and many air fresheners (Yummy! was his reason). Otherwise, it was only minorly headache inducing. I forgot my list, so I forgot to get a few things on the list, but I did remember the various kinds of diaper supplies which we needed ASAP, so the other things can wait. Cole slept the whole time, which was a major help, too. Me? I'm exhausted! Need to rest up so I can make dinner... I'm wishing I'd told Heidi to go ahead and bring a meal tonight even though we do have the salmon to cook (this fish needs to be eaten today, seeing as I got it Sunday--we've been so blessed with meals from others that I have not had the chance to cook it yet). It's okay; I'll be happy to have the healthy meal once I am done actually making it (planning salmon, sauteed zucchini, salad).

Oh! And I finally took down the Christmas tree today. So now I just have to get Paul to chop it up so it'll fit in the green waste container and I can say we've avoided being the craziest people on the block. Though with my weird neighbors, that would be a hard feat to accomplish. Seeing as they still have some Halloween decorations up! ;)

Day off? P'shaw!

I remember loving 3-day weekends. It used to be *SO* awesome that MLK Day was neatly just a couple of weeks after New Years, then a month later is Pres Day--just what you need to break up the winter doldrums! Take a coupl eof days off for Good Friday or something, and you have a nicely broken up winter with extra free time to enjoy.

Now it's just a weekend that is ONE DAY TOO LONG. Someday, in a couple of years, we'll go on minivacations, or make good use of the extra day, but this year it's not so much fun. Probably because it's rainy, Cole is cluster feeding with ravenous gusto, and Carter is very TWO. Bunny got out of the house, which I'm sure has immensely improved the prospects of a decent evening, and Nancy dropped off a meal that is cooking in the oven, so my tired butt has less to do than normal to get dinner on the table. So, much thanks to both Heidi, for braving Chuck E. Cheese with an extra child on a rainy holiday Monday (apparently it was a CIRCUS), and Nancy for feeding us. Oh! And she sent a very cute little jacket for Cole to grow into--with Tigger on it!

So, for today, for this year, 3 day weekends are not the bestest thing ever. But soon Paul will be out of the shower he's taking after he did his workout, and he'll be gifted with a fussy 12 day old infant, I will finish assembling dinner, get the kids to eat it (or not, since Carter probably will refuse the stuffed pasta), douse them with water (or put them in the tub), and get them to bed... then open a bottle of wine, methinks. One glass would be heaven right about now.

Then tomorrow is just a normal weekday--much easier than a 'day off' in reality. ;)

I'm really not a complete wreck -- promise!

This happened two days ago, but sue me, I don't get as much computer time as usual, and what I do get involves holding a baby whose age you still count in days (9 today, BTW).

Somehow, despite starting to get ready to leave something like 30 minutes before pick up time, I was still running late to pick up Bunny Wednesday. (I hate modified days!) I decided, as I was literally pulling up near the school as the bell rang, that it would take less time to wimp out and do the car line than to park, put Cole in the front carrier, get out Carter, hold his reluctant hand all the way to school… but for some reason the line was held up for 5 minutes of idling. UGH. I could have walked back and forth 3 times. Live and learn.

I finally pull up, and Bunny runs over, I wave to her teacher and apologize for my tardiness (she’s fine about it, and plenty of non-postpartum moms are later than me anyway). Bunny gets into the car and starts to say how cold she was in just her shirtsleeves in the wind. I ask her why she didn’t put on her sweater—I saw her grab one on her way out the door after I reminded her!—and she told me she had accidentally grabbed a pair of BLACK LEGGINGS instead of her block sweater. Whoopsie! Half the way home I was chuckling about how much of a mess they must think me, sending her sans show and tell item one day and with some pants instead of a sweater the next (though it really wasn’t my fault on the sweater!).

Oh well!

First Outing Today... Oy.

100_5221, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

So today Paul had an appointment which conflicted with Bun's pickup time, so it was the big day to steel myself for an outing with all three. All the way to the car, drive 4 mins to school, walk basically a block, pickup, reverse order and get back home.

I decided to give myself 15 extra minutes to change and dress Cole in footies instead of the nighties he has been wearing at home so he would have warm legs for the front carrier and carseat. 15 minutes sounded like more time than it turned out to be.

Just as I put him on the changing table, I hear the sounds of an eruption in his diaper. Actually, this is an AWESOME thing, since I much prefer changing him than to get him all the way out to the car, then having him start to go. I give him a minute or two to finish up, then open the diaper. TMI, but he was really ready to go. Seemed he *had* to be done going by the results. WRONGO! As I am cleaning up and putting the soiled dipe in the genie, KAPLOWIE! He's not done! But I had an extra wipe handy, so I then cleaned him and was sure to be good to go. NUH-UH! By then I am asking Carter to give my wet wipes and basically just trying to play catcher and mitigate the mess.

Long story short, about 10 minutes later I finally am getting him dressed in his adorable velour Pooh footies my uncle bought for Carter in London (big ben on the front with Pooh, weirdly), and we're in the car about 2 mins later than I usually like to be heading down the driveway. I got there *just* as Bun's class was exiting the room, and Cole was *almost* as much of a hit with the kids and moms as Happy, Olivia's family's new puppy.

Strangely, while all the *mess* was happening, it was the absolute calmest Cole has ever been during a change. Go figure.

Make Your Own Damn Food!

Found a new blog to crush on. Or rather someone with whom I heartily agree on the topic of picky eaters. To read her manifesto on picky eaters, click HERE. While my kids are a little young for me to adopt the idea of 'if you don't like what Mama makes, make something for your own damn self'--I envision Carter covered in yogurt and pretty much only being able to 'make' himself an apple beyond the yogurt, since he can't even open a cheese stick--I love theoretically commiserating with other moms who once 'never' would bow to kids' being picky who also own books on sneaking in extra veggies commando-style.

How low the mighty always fall. *sigh*

Good for the Soul

Good for the soul, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Made 5 qts of what I mean no slander calling Jewish Chicken Soup. Hey, the recipe is on the back of the bag of Manishevitz noodles. I only change it a teeny bit, adding a tiny bit of red pepper flakes to it, some parsley, and more salt than the recipe calls for.

This stuff is goo-ood!
Since the Manishevitz site does not include this recipe, I can't link to it. It's worth sharing.

4.5 lbs chicken parts, cleaned
2 qt water (I use more--however much to cover the chicken in the pot)
8 whole allspice
8 whole peppercorns (I sub ground pepper per hubby's request)
1 tsp ground dill
1 tsp salt
4 celery stalks, chunked
2-3 medium parsnips, chunked
4 carrots, chunked
1 medium onion, chunked
1 bag Manishevitz fine yolk-free egg noodles

Put all but carrots in pot and bring to boil. Skim and reduce to simmer for 1.5 hrs. Skim. Add carrots and simmer a final 30 mins. Remove chicken and allow to cool a little, then remove from bones, cut into bite size pieces and return to soup. If you will not be eating all this at one time (and it is a LOT), cook the noodles separately (al dente) per package directions and serve with soup in bowl. If you're feeding a hungry crowd, put the noodles in the soup and allow to cook for about 8 mins more then serve.