mr. invention

E's discovered a new passion for inventing. He talks about it constantly and started putting together a notebook with his "ideas."
Here is his first completed invention. He calls it a machine telescope - wherever you point it, you can see and hear far away. He used my Miss America crown and two yogurt lids to make the earphones - I found that quite inventive.
Next up, we are putting together his own office. He requested a real phone as, "These are for real inventions, Mama."

next knitting project

I am emerging back to the real world after a three day bout with a cold/flu. I can't say it was a real flu because doesn't that last longer? But this was no wimpy cold - this was pain and torture and shivering . . . you know what I mean.
Tall House, Double Cup kept the family running while I slept and sneezed. I can't thank him enough.
I woke up this morning with a clear head and felt so thankful and relieved it was over. Plus, it's Sunday - which means Masterpiece Theater and Jane Austen - yes! My knit along is going so well. There are almost 20 people who've joined - you must check us out.
My next project is a very simple pullover sweater for Little Miss. I am going to embroider a pretty E for the front of it. I have a lot of stashed yarn in my knitting cupboard so this is a just a project to work through that stash while I save my spending money up for some hubba hubba yarn.

we're shaking in our boots

It's FREEZING in Portland! It's frosty in the morning, windy at lunch, and completely chill in the evening. We aren't used to this weather! On the one hand, it's fun to wear wool wool wool and on the other, will my child keep his mittens on at school? The fear consumes me. ha!
Marfie and I wrapped up the kidlets and hit the zoo. We ran around like crazycakes for 90 minutes and then retreated to our homes for hot chocolate and warm baths.
Even Little Miss got some fresh air, though she was bundled within an inch of her life. How do you raise small children in a midwest winter? Hats off to the mamas and daddios in Minnesota and Wisconsin!

lucca

A new restaurant just opened up in our hood and we got invited to the opening party. Lucca is a family-ish Italian bistro. They are on a cursed corner that can't seem to keep a restaurant open. But we have high hopes - we so want a place to walk to after work - sometimes I just really need someone else to make us dinner.

Our initial review is good. The menu is very straightforward Tuscan - not too risky but lots of stuff we'll want to try. The wood fired pizza oven turned out some pretty good stuff - and they offer fresh arugula on any pizza (that must be the new thing?) which we both love. The kids menu gets a gold star and a full bar will be my respite some days after work.
The look is very warm and golden - you'll look ten years younger even at the end of the day - and there is a splashy bar where you can watch the pizza coming out of the wood fired ovens. We'll try it out for a real meal with the kidlets in tow soon.

happy weekend

It was a crazy busy weekend with soccer, swimming, dinner with friends, the zoo and lots of playing around the house. Little Miss is feeling a bit better - those teeth are sharp! And E didn't stop talking for three days straight. He's turned into a little chatterbox - and was also a little ditzy this weekend - we are chalking it up to a growth spurt.

little miss

Sweet little miss has been struggling this week. Her first two teeth broke through, leaving her with a low-grade fever, a dribbly nose and very weird diapers. At the same time, she's working SO hard to crawl. We'll put her down in one spot and she'll find some way to shimmy to where she wants to get.
I got a couple of smiles out of her this morning but they were punctuated with yells, squeals, and down and out cries. We aren't used to a fussy baby so it's almost like getting used to a newborn. We are all a little bleary and tired, but when we do get a smile, all our tiredness is erased.
I finished up my latest knitting project - a sweet hat and leg warmers. The Zen String Chocolate Cherise yarn was so nice to work with. The hat is a bit big - all the better to grow into for next fall. I can't get enough of pink and brown. I need to decide quick what to make next so I am all set for the next Jane Austen movie on Sunday night. Check out the progress of my knit along!

ken's artisian pizza

You just have to have it -Ken's Artisan Pizza - Tall House, Double Cup and I finally went to Ken's to try it out - oh my, was it worth it! We got there about 5 minutes before opening and there were at least 45 people waiting in line. We missed the first seating by about four tables. All but one table in front of us dropped out and decided not to wait. We snagged a waiting table and big pints of fabu beer. I had my knitting and Em was more than happy making eyes with her papa so we were set. When we got seated, we were ready to order and had our pizza in less than 20 minutes. It was AMAZING. We got the margarita with arugula - I can't begin to describe how perfect this was. Hot, super thin crust with stringy mozzarella, torn basil and topped with cool arugula. Fold it in half, take a bite and be instantly transformed into something never experienced before. It was true perfection of pizza and salad together.

break it down for me now

Our family band breaks it out once in awhile - we are like the Jackson family minus freaky Michael. Tall House, Double Cup is sooooo Tito. E is Jermaine. Em is Baby Janet . . . and oh god, that means I am either Rebbie or LaToya. I know! I am Rebbie and Mara the cat is LaToya. I always knew Mara had a hidden diva in her.

Anway, mix a Roy Rogers guitar with three strings, an old piano being played by a superhero and a baby with a fierce cowbell and you've got magic. Watch out Patridge family . . . .

eye of the . . . tiger?

So we knew that E didn't really have the eye of the tiger when it comes to sports. He isn't particularly competitive and would rather be the announcer than a participant. Still, he likes to try out everything . . . gymnastics, basketball, ice skating, swimming and now soccer. I think this video says it all about E's feelings towards group sports. The boy spinning circles on the floor? He's ours!

E did get into the drills and when he finished class he was very happy with it. I don't think Pele's grandson needs to be worried though . . . .

friday night lemon drop

I've had my head down all week working and taking care of my kidlets and home. Jane Austen and my knit-along distracted me a bit from family blogging.

But it's Friday so let's celebrate with my favorite 6pm cocktail - a lemondrop.

I recognize it's a drink favored by sorority girls but I have to freely admit, I love it too.

Here is my recipe, cribbed in part from my favorite bar 820 and owner's book Hip Sips:

Lemon Drop ala pdx

2 oz potato vodka

1 oz fresh lemon lime juice along with a splash of clementine juice

1oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil and cooled)

1/2 oz Harlequin liquor

join my knit-along

Announcing The Complete Jane Austen Knit-Along!

I've always wanted to host a knit-along and love being a part of them. I nearly got one off the ground last year for people who knit while driving their commute but I realized I really shouldn't encourage people to knit and drive and actually stop doing it myself!

So what is a knit-along? It's when a group of people connected through the internet come together to all knit a particular pattern or with a particular yarn or even with a particular inspiration. Everyone posts their projects and shares their notes and thoughts. It's an amazing knitting phenomenon and over a hundred knit-alongs happened in 2007. Check out a list of what's already going on in 2008 here. I am hoping they'll add mine soon!

So what is The Complete Jane Austen Knit-Along? Masterpiece Theater will broadcast adaptations of all of Austen’s six novels, plus a new drama based on her life. It's the first time in tv history that her books have been broadcast as a complete collection. Join this knit along where we'll knit and watch the episodes together. Your knitting can but doesn't need to be inspired by Jane or her characters. Just share your projects and your thoughts on the adaptations.

How do you join? Just email me at pdxkatie@yahoo.com and I'll add you to the group. You'll be able to post your projects and comment on each adaptation as it is shown on PBS. First up? Persuasion on January 13th. Bring on the popcorn and the yarn!

night on the town

I didn't get a chance to blog about our AMAZING meal at Toro Bravo. When lots of cousins and our brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law were home for Christmas, we headed out to one of our favorite places that was also crowned Restaurant of the Year in 2007. It's very near where I work so I see the chef/owner all the time and always want to yell out, "I love your pork!" - but that could be misinterpreted, couldn't it?

There were eight of us and we had to wait two hours to be seated (no reservations allowed - damm!) but spent the time at Cafe Wonder next door nursing drinks and building up our appetite. And oh my, when we ate, we ate well. Since we were a big group, we ordered just about everything and multiple pictures of sangria to share. It was incredibly. We all agreed that everything we tried was out of this world. We had to order seconds on several. Here is what we picked off the menu. I encourage you to RUN RUN RUN to Toro Bravo as soon as you can. Portland has so many amazing restaurants but as Tall House, Double Cup and I are planning our next date night out, we are strongly leaning to just coming back here. It can't be beat! Food with stars meant we re-ordered because we had to have more.

Chorizo & Manchego with country bread

*Griddle Bacon Wrapped Dates with warm honey

Potatoes Bravas

*Salt Cod Fritters with aioli

*Dungeness Crab Cakes with spicy remoulade and greens

Sauteed Chanterelles on Griddled Bread

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with bacon and sherry

Baked Polenta with roast red, peppers and onions

Drunken Pork with White Ban Salad

Squash Dumpling with Braised Lamb

*Chicken and Pork Croquettes with salsa verde and roja

*Seared Scallops with romensco

Smoked Pork on grilled bread with celery root salad

Meatball with tomato-almond sauce

sing-a-long grease

E and I rocked out at Sing-A-Long Grease this afternoon. We didn't put a lot of time into our costumes but I think E totally looked the part. The cup of gel we have in his hair didn't hurt. He couldn't decide if he was Putzie or just a random T-Bird named E.
When I shouted, "T-Birds rule!" as we were walking to the theater, E got a look of absolute mortification. He needed some time to check out the crowd before we could start acting silly. We loaded up on popcorn and rootbeer (no diet coke - day six! wow!) and got ready to sing. E was too shy to enter the costume contest but was rethinking his idea when all the kids in the contest got free candy.
We sang our hearts out for two hours - using all of the props and having a blast. I couldn't help but quote most of speaking parts aloud but eventually E put his hand over my mouth which said much more than words. hee hee.
There were a lot of kids there so the comments very limited and very G-rated. I am heading back to a night show later this week with Marci and I am hoping for a rowdy crowd. Hey, I'll be with Marci so there's my rowdy crowd.
Grease is the word!

f*** you diet coke, I've got a new project

I am successfully on day 5 without diet coke. It's still really hard but I was home on Friday and found it easier to be busy around the house putting Christmas decorations away and organizing here and there than working at my desk. So I decided to try out the new yarn store in my hood - Twisted. The lovely gals there helped me pick out the perfect yarn for Em's new legwarmers. She has the prettiest fall outfit for next year so again I am knitting ahead. I wish I was one of those knitters who had enough confidence in finishing projects on time that I could knit for my kids' current size but it just feels too risky.

The yarn that I am currently in love with and working on the legwarmers is Zen String's Serendipity. It's African super wash Merino and hand dyed in Austin, TX. This color is called "Chocolate Cherise." Isn't that perfect? I can never get enough of pink and brown together. So I am making very simple leg warmers - just a 2x2 rib and am guessing at her leg length for next fall. Little Miss will be walking by then and of course, all that luscious chub on her gams now will be falling away - I think that's the hardest part of the baby to toddler transition. But now she'll have some lovely and pretty legwarmers to rock.

sweet bundles of love

I can be difficult to get pictures of your children sleeping - who thinks to pop out a camera when you've achieved the goal of both sleeping at the same time? But this arrangement last night was too sweet for me to pass up. You can't distinguish it but our sweet cat is on the pillow above E - all my sweet bundles of love - save that big bundle Tall House, Double Cup, were squished together in deep sleep. What a lovely feeling I got from seeing this.
And no, we don't do that family bed thing as a rule. THDC went out to do the shopping so I put both kids to sleep together - no easy task - and the treat of sleeping in our bed always helps.

day three

From the picture did you think I had given in to my diet coke craving? No! That's me crushing a can and banishing it from my house. I am three days free of it - and every minute is still hard. I am consuming lots of water and stopping myself from the instinct to crack one open.

BUT - I can already tell a slight change in my body and that is rewarding. I've found some other people with diet coke issues online and many reported that their skin and hair looked fantastic once they quit - so maybe this will be my natural botox?

I appreciate every word of support you all have given me. In the big picure, I know this is a mild addiction but it's still the one I was clinging too just a bit too much. I am ready for day four.

it's done but will it be worn?

I finally finished the chocolate cable sweater for E. I doubled up on Cascade 220 and thought he'd really like the soft cotton but E proclaimed is "fruzzly" and had that awful itchy dance going. So our picture taking was brief and luckily it's a bit large. I'm going to put it away for a few months and try again. It's SO pretty in person - the cables are luscious. But no sale for Mr. Big.
I don't know if I am going to jump right into another knitting project right away. Quitting Diet Coke seems to be project enough. Today was Day 2 of no d.c. and it was a tough day in the office. It just shows me exactly how much I was into drinking it. A little scary. Almost as scary as an "fruzzly" sweater.

diet coke no more

I made a decision over the weekend to try one teeny tiny resolution for 2008. Teeny tiny compared to the big world picture but actually quite a challenge for me. I am cutting out drinking diet coke (or any kind of soda). I typically drink 2 diet cokes a day and I think I could easily change that to 3 or even 4. I think diet coke might be a gateway for me to snack - and I definitely don't need to do any snacking that isn't planned and fairly healthy.

So today is Day One. I've already gone through denial, anger and bargaining over this issue. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

new year's eve

I was completely offline for the long weekend - it was lovely. The four of us have hung around the house for days - not running around to the zoo or science museum or friends' homes. And while we need a massive pick-up in the play areas, we are all fed from the down time.

We did celebrate New Year's with the Cedros clan - including lots of guests from Minnesota. Huge thanks to the extended group for making such fantastic food - especially Daddy-O who got the highest marks for the prosciutto-wrapped dates and Marfie for the BEST champagne and pomegranates. I made hickory bacon and roasted corn gougeres from last month's Gourmet that turned out fantastic. In theory you can freeze them and later warm them up and they'll be just as good.

The kids lived large too with pigs in a blanket, assorted yum-yums and ice-cream sandwiches edged in sprinkles.

Em hung with the big kids until sleep took over and she snuggled deep into Moo's bed. I think she would have stayed all night - but alas we did a 9:19pm countdown and headed home for our own warm beds. A perfect end to a VERY good year.