Joey's Snail

Pausing to listen to an airplane in the sky, stooping to watch a ladybug on a plant… children have their own agendas and timescales. As they find out more about their world and their place in it, they work hard not to let adults hurry them.

-Cathy Nutbrown

New Kitties- Buster and Lucille

Well, Jeff finally talked me into getting another kitty.

Two, in fact.



All of us had a hard time dealing with the loss of our last kitty, Isadora, who actually died on the operating table. Based on an ultrasound, the vets had thought that she needed a new diaphragm. Turns out she had a mass in her chest that was impinging on her heart and lungs. After she died, I honestly felt like I never wanted another animal again.

But Jeff was persistent, showing me pictures of kitties from shelters every week or so. I questioned whether he would be so quick to replace me if I died. His response was that if there were lots of girlfriends in shelters waiting for good homes, he might.

So on the first of April for Jeff's birthday, we picked up a baby boy and his mama who we promptly named Buster and Lucille. She's part Siamese and goes by Lucy and Buster's full name is actually JJ Stinkerbuster. Though I believe that Kam is the only one who actually calls him that. The JJ stands for Jeff Jr, a name which you might remember was up for consideration when we got Dora.

Both of these guys are super sweet. Buster is definitely a little lap kitty.

Or a head kitty...



or neck kitty...



or shoulder kitty...



Whatever you've got available, he'll try to snuggle up against it.



At night he cuddles on our bed, on one of our pillows. And since he's got a bit of a cold, most nights I have to reposition him at least once to stop him snoring in my ear.



However, he also can be a bit of a shit. I totally understand how cute kids can so easily turn into brats. When they do rotten things, you just find yourself laughing instead of being angry.


(Note about the video- In these clips, you'll hear both my voice as well as Jenny's. They sound really similar, so I thought I'd clarify. Jenny was the one taping when Buster was in the plant and I did the rest. You know, in case you're curious about my apparent ability to throw my voice.)

We let him get away with these shenanigan just long enough to get it on tape. Then we broke out the squirt bottle. And we don't have nearly as much video of Lucy because mostly she just lays around purring. She is a total sweetie.

But that Buster.



He's just lucky he's so cute.

Note- if you're interested in more kitty pics, you can find them here.

Joey and Raven

Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use.

-Carlos Castaneda

Mexican Egg Salad Sandwich

Exactly how long do hardboiled eggs last anyway?

Well, if you're like me and still have some from Easter, or you know, are willing to boil eggs just because, well have I got a recipe for you.

First, gather these ingredients



6 Hardboiled eggs (peeled and chopped)
Finely diced shallot (the first time I made this, I used a sliced green onion)
1 T. chopped cilantro
2 T. (or less) mayonnaise
1/8 t. cumin
1/8 t. chili powder
1 avocado (peeled and chopped)

Mix together in that order and slap on some bread.

This is sooo good. Even the cilantro haters in the household ate it up.

Dr. Seuss Flower

Perhaps what we believe is "normal" is simply "common" instead.

-Patti Digh

Weird Kid Wednesday- Knee Face

Wakey Wakey, Let's Have Cakey*

Despite the fact that it was Easter, I can safely say that our family just experienced the Weekend of Cake.



We had this strawberry cream cheese cake on Sunday afternoon.



And while Jeff was making it Sunday morning, he and I ate leftovers of his birthday cake from the night before.



Which was homemade Boston cream pie (it does say 'pie' in there, but trust me, it's cake) and Jeff actually made it for himself for his own birthday. Ya, I know, I probably suck. But you should believe me when I tell you that both of us are much happier when Jeff is the one who does the baking.

In my defense, he didn't assemble the whole thing, but made the spongecake, pastry cream and ganche and I put it all together. (Which now that I think about it, is even nicer of him. He did all the hard work, but gave me the satisfaction of putting it together. )

As wonderful as this tasted, it's awesomeness may have had as much to do with how it was decorated as what it tasted like.



Kenzie (17) and Randa (15) spent an hour or so on Saturday making their dad's face in chocolate. Actually two faces because we couldn't decide which picture to use.



I realize that for those of you who've never met Jeff in real life, you may not appreciate how amazing this is, but these look EXACTLY like him.

I showed the girls this fantastic tutorial by Jojo over at Eye Candy of how to make a portrait out of chocolate. Though we did make a few changes. Instead of just using a plastic bag, I gave them actual pastry tips to apply the melted chocolate.



We also found that it worked much better using my light box.



Without it you couldn't really tell the difference between black and gray, which, apparently, made a big difference, as evidenced by Kenzie's first attempt below. We also found out that it's best if the chocolate isn't too melted as it's more difficult to control.



Here's what it looked like on the back, using the white chocolate to fill in.



When he saw the decorated cake (along with the extra portrait of himself), he didn't stop grinning for quite some time.



In fact, he pretty much looked just like that one there on the right.

The girls enjoyed making these so much that they've decided that every single dessert from now on needs to have someone's face on it.

And I concur.


*Alternate title: Dad is Great; He Bakes Us Chocolate Cake.



Added Note- In case you're interested, these two recipes are from Cook's Illustrated, available both online and in print.
Strawberry Cream Cake (which also can be found in their magazine on Entertaining)
Boston Cream Pie (also can be found in their fantastic cookbook Baking Illustrated)
Their website does have a yearly fee to access the recipes, but they've also got a free 14 day trial you can sign up for.

-------------------------------------

Related Posts-
Pumpkin Portrait

Portrait Stamp

Joey With Kam

Children are the seeds. Nourish them that they may grow in love. Let them know kindness. Let them see peace. Let them live in harmony with all things.

-Anonymous

(I found this quote scribbled on a tiny scrap of paper. Surprisingly I didn't write down the author, which bums me to no end. If anyone happens to know who wrote this I would be so grateful to know.)