A Halloween Snack

The babes are sleeping in preparation for a night of revelry.

Before I put them down, we enjoyed these lovelies, along with some orange tomatoes and Costco shrimp cocktail (as we know, the Princess' new favorite). I figure it was a good way to start the day, since it's sure to end in some sort of sugar-induced madness...

If she's this excited about hard boiled eggs, just think what's going to happen when she goes trick-or-treating for the very first time in a couple hours!

More pictures tonight!

A Reminder From Jill Sobule

My favorite Halloween song of all time.

Hey,

I think there should be a holiday called Thanksweemas.

It would be a family costume dinner with presents.
Turkeys would come down the chimney and ask you for treats.
You'd carve faces into yams with a sharpened candy-cane.

Think about it.

Distraction

Recently I've been very easily distracted--and not by bad things, but by everything. This isn't normal for me. I'm usually pretty good at working on what I'm supposed to when I should. I don't know what it is (perhaps the nasty throat infection?), but for some reason, my ability to focus is a little less developed than it used to be. Maybe that's why I found this video so illuminating. I know what you're thinking--and you're right: her outfit is nothing short of appalling. But--if you're able to forgive the nauseatingly hipster apparel--it's kind of hard not to love this little tutorial. 

It opens new doors and makes the battle against distraction seem a little more hopeful. 

So enjoy!

Then get off of your computer and do something worthwhile. 

Infection

They call me monster. 

I, who was once a sister, daughter, friend. 

Foul. Tainted. Terrifying-beast.

What would you give to live forever? Since the beginning of time, humans have longed for the key that unlocks the door to eternal life. And now, we have it. The process is not clean, easy, or aesthetically correct, but it works. You see us as brain-eaters, but what you fail to realize is that we are sharing our gift with the world. With you. We are saviors.

You scream in horror when your contaminated loved one turns on you, attacks you, kills you. When in fact, we are doing what we can to ensure that we will be together. Always.

You say infected.
We say evolved.

So- by way of clarification. I'm not a HUUUUUGE creep.  Last weekend Mama C (mother to my love Sweet C) participated in the Run For You Lives zombie race with us. Well, when I say with, I mean she ran, and we "stumbled." We had a bunch of fun doing it, even though we had to wake up at 4 am to get to the race site. In truth, I think our wake-up time really helped with the character development process...

Anyway, Happy Halloween! Stay safe this weekend, however you are celebrating!

Pumpkin Fondue

Last week, we celebrated Mr. Two's birthday with a lovely autumnal feast.  At the center of said feast were six, small pumpkins stuffed with spices, cream, four kinds of Swiss cheese and toasted french bread.  This was a storied recipe, but not one that had actually ever been used.  It came from the final edition of Gourmet Magazine.  Three found it and was determined to make it.  But year after year passed and somehow, none of us have ever gotten to it.  But when we returned from Hamilton NY, we did so with a load of baby pumpkins from Brother L's visit to the farmer's market.  I decided this was my chance.  I invited Z over (he cooks real good) to help me prep the pumpkins with Mr. Two and the rest... Well... you can see what happened.

You will need:
1 6-7 lb. pumpkin or 3 2lb pumpkins
Heavy Cream (1 cup)
Broth or Wine (1 1/2 cups)
1 day-old loaf (or older) bagette
Olive Oil
A pound of swiss cheese -- coarsely grated. The more kinds you have, the yummier it will be.
Salt , Pepper and Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. Clean out the pumpkins well and reserve the tops.  Rub the inside down with olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Let sit.  Combine heavy cream and broth or wine and season with a dash of salt, pepper and nutmeg.   Cut bread and toast.  Alternately layer bread, cheese and cream mixture inside of pumpkin until you come to one inch of the top of the pumpkin.  Replace top and place in an oiled pie pan or casserole dish.  Cook for about 2 hours or until the pumpkin is soft and burnished.  Serve with crusty bread, apples, pears and mulled apple cider.

STAY TUNED for some really fantastic things to do with your leftovers from this dish.

Back to School!

Last weekend, Mr. One married his sister! (As in, he officiated at her wedding to a really nice guy to whom she wasn't previously related -- geesh, people!). It was a magical event, so much more so because the entire thing took place right on the campus where Mr. One and I fell in love (the first time). The ceremony was in the Divinity School Chapel, where our amazing Momo (and my delightful sister-in-law) went to grad school. The reception venue was also the venue for the only fancy dinner (then Rather-Distant-Future) Mr. One took me to when we were poor students. We've been back before, but between the wedding and having my little sisters right there living their own experiences so similar to those I loved and love, this visit was particularly poignant and sweet. Fall is the very bast time of year in New Haven, especially when you don't have to worry about midterms and can spend whole days with the people you love most, wandering around old haunts and reminiscing about love-struck teenage selves.

Top 5 Things I Learned (or Remembered) at Yale (this time)  

1) Love is simply grand. Young love; sister love; love getting married; crazy toddler-chasing, sleep-deprived love; love across generations and time and space... Every flavor is different, but each is precious and perfect for its time and season.


The spot where we met, minus the cherry tree (which is gone), plus two children (!)

2) Caramel apples don't travel well. Z, our saintly friend Laurie and I made 88 of these hand-picked-by-the Princess, fleur de sel-spiked bad boys to give as favors at the reception. It was kind of awesome. Until it wasn't. Alas.

Not what they looked like at the party...

3) Those chains they have on hotel room doors are actually useful! You can lock small people IN! (Which just might save you from waking up at 6:08 to your husband leaping out of bed and dashing stark nekid down the corridors of the Omni in search of a softly whimpering, bleary-eyed, two-year-old. Not that I would know anything about that....)

Before the Great Escape

4) You can treasure the past without wanting to relive it. I adored virtually every minute of my time in college. Seriously. I felt like the world was my oyster, and that feeling translated into an energy that illuminated my world. Pure exhilaration fueled every late night and crazy scheme. Everything felt important. These days, my life isn't particularly glamorous or exciting. It involves a lot of poop and laundry. But I feel so settled in my happiness. The Big Questions that loomed when I dozed off to sleep in the wee hours of a cold New Haven morning with my face squished into the keyboard of a sweet vintage-1997 laptop have, for the most part, resolved into a life that is more lovely and love-filled than I ever imagined. Yes, it was a magical time. And so is today. Isn't that nice?

They've moved the swing to the other side of Silliman courtyard, but he was sitting on it (without the baby!) when he said something like "you know, if we start dating, I'm going to marry you." :-)

5) Tiny looks awesome in glasses.

P.S. I am a big dork and didn't take pictures of the actual wedding. If you want a peek at the lovely affair, you can see a video here. Princess H likes to watch her little cameo over and over and over again....