John's birthday

John's birthday fell on Super Bowl Sunday this year, so we decided to have his birthday party the following week. It is a good thing we did as our weather improved considerably by the end of the week. On the day of John's party, temperatures were in the low 60s and the sun was shining, perfect for our backyard celebration.

We rented a bounce house and invited John's classmates for the party. The sports-themed bounce house had a large bouncing area plus a slide on the side. The slide was extremely entertaining to the kids as they thought it was fun to try and squish each other going down and at the bottom. The kids were really aggressive and it's actually amazing no one was seriously hurt, but it seemed like everyone had a great time. It felt good to spend the afternoon outside after having been cooped up inside due to the cold and icy weather for almost two weeks.

Amelia and some friends at the top of the slide.

The atmosphere of the party was chaotic. Kids running in the bounce house, sliding and tackling each other on the slide down, running across to the swingset, tramping through the house to play in John's room, bringing out John's Nerf guns and shooting each other in the bounce house, etc. There was a lot of energy and it was fun to watch. Take 14 of John's classmates, plus siblings and their parents, plus a handful of neighborhood kids, and we had a house full.

John wanted a "football and Star Wars party". So we had a sports-themed bounce house, a football cookie cake (no coincidence there that the colors are orange and green), and a Darth Vader pinata.

Everyone crowded in the dining room to sing happy birthday to John. After I took this photo he climbed on the table to get closer to the candle.

A few friends and parents stayed after the party was over, including John's friend Gracie. As the chaos diminished and just before I started cleaning up the terrible mess, we relaxed with some wine and watched the kids bounce some more. Just before everyone left, I took this photo. This is the only close up shot of John I took all evening, as he was too busy running all around and playing with friends to be bothered for photos. But John and Gracie were being really sweet with each other, comparing candy from the pinata and trading to get their favorites, and I *almost* caught a smile here on John's face.

Happy 5th Birthday, John!

Deja vu

We are home again today. Schools are closed and the Dallas area has effectively shut down, again (!!) due to winter weather conditions. Needless to say, I am feeling a strong sense of deja vu today, home with kids, stuck inside because it is freezing and icy outside, trying to get some work done. Blah, blah, blah. You heard it all last week.

The big difference now is that the precipitation this time around was much weaker than last week's weather mess. This morning we had freezing rain, sleet, and eventually some snow, with accumulation of about an inch. And it's not the wet, fluffy snow that is so beautiful to look at. Today we have small snow/ice crystals that would likely barely be visible if I tried to take photographs of the accumulation.

So instead I'll use this entry to showcase some of my photos from last week. I wrote about our three days stuck inside because of the ice before, but never mentioned that on the fourth day (Friday) we received nearly six inches of beautiful fluffy snow. What a nice treat to end a crazy winter weather week in Dallas! After breakfast we all ventured outside to enjoy some playtime in the amazing snow.

This was taken shortly after we ventured outside, hence why you can celarly see the outline of the children's footprints in the snow. John is aiming to throw a snowball at Amelia.
Look at the accumulation on the super swing in our front yard! Poor Amelia, wearing jeans because we don't have any wet winter/ski clothing. John was in better shape because he has boys' exercise pants that repel water somewhat.Lots of our neighbors were outside to enjoy the wet snow falling Friday morning. Below is a shot of some of the kids on our block, cozying up to the snow fort that the Hatch girls made next door.
Snow contined to fall for the hour we were outside that morning. John and Amelia loved packing snowballs and throwing them at others or just to the sky.

Before going inside we decided to talk a walk around the corner to the little park.

Across from the park we found a family that was having fun "sledding" down a short incline in someone's front yard. The woman had taken the lid from an outdoor garbage can, put two pillows inside the domed lid, and had created a track of packed down snow so that the children could coast down the incline. Given that Amelia and John have never gone real sledding before and have not been skiing, they thought this was a wonderful way to enjoy the snow!

Chinese New Year

The Wilsons cebrated the Chinese New Year this week. The idea came about after Amelia and I were talking one day about whether she understood that the holiday was in the coming week. Amelia's elementary school recently held their annual International Days festival, where they had discussed Chinese New Year, so she said that she understood. In addition, one of Amelia's good friends is of Chinese heritage and one of my best friends at work is also from China, so we have multiple influences in our lives to motivate us to have fun with the holiday.

Amelia brought this lantern out of her closet, which was an art project she received as a gift for her last birthday, that she thought would make a nice table decoration. The kids proposed that we set the table wtih candles ("to make it like a fancy restaurant") and use chopticks for the meal. Amelia and John helped determine the menu: roasted chicken, rice, broccoli and green beans. I also made pork and vegetable dumplings, which I enjoyed but the kids were not in favor of.

The biggest hits for the kids were eating with the chopsticks and having a special ambiance in the dining area. Amelia and John were so proud that they learned to eat rice with their chopsticks!

More ice day fun

Yeah, maybe the "fun" in "No school because it is too icy!!" is all for the kids and not for the adults left in charge. As much as I am happy that I haven't gotten out of my sweatpants since Tuesday (I have showered, of course, and washed the clothing), I can't help but wonder how this continued stay at home (as we hit day #4!) is affecting my mood. On one hand I am secretly glad for the break from the normal routine and the time at home with family, but on the other hand reality hits me in the face because I know that eventually we are going to have to make up this time off in some fashion. In between moments of confusion over whether I should enjoy this time at home or be angry about the changes it imposes on our family dynamics, I shot the following photos of the children relishing this weather phenomenon in north Texas.

The land is icy. Most of the roadways are cleared by now (with icy patches here and there) but many of the sidewalks and areas under tree cover are pure blocks of ice. You should see our sidewalk leading up to the house. Pure ice. It sounds like you are walking on a glacier when you walk across the front lawn, no joke. Amelia and John think this is awesome, of course. I also find it interesting to a certain extent.

We copied the following idea after watching our neighbors across the street doing this down their driveway. Since we don't own real sleds to skate across the ice, why not take an empty laundry basket, stick a kid in it, and see if it can glide across the ice? Fun, and actually completely harmless. Below Amelia is waiting for John to get back in the basket.
John loved being the passenger, getting pulled across the sidewalk. I didn't get a good shot of it, but at times he stuck his head back, as if relaxing on the beach, seeming content to have his sister pull him across the icy land. Of course I am taking these photos using my wonderful telephoto lens, safely snug inside the house wearing said sweatpants for the third day in a row.

Many neighborhood kids are out for short periods of time each day. Temperatures haven't been above freezing since Monday night so the kids don't stay out long, but they seem to enjoy watching each other skate on the ice and gather in the fresh air from time to time.

Amelia and John enjoyed breaking off large pieces of ice that had frozen in the gutters down the street. Check out the weapon John is holding in his right hand below!

And then they ate it. Yes, my precious children broke off pieces of dirty ice, ice that had been in the gutters along with leaves, dirt, and probably dead bugs. They put it in their mouths willingly because it was cold and it tasted good. And I was inside in my cozy sweatpants, taking pictures like a stalker through the front window, so I didn't get there in time to stop them.

Last but not least, the final fun activity for the kids was throwing huge chunks of ice down the sidewalk and watching them shatter to shreds on the walkway.

I did not discourage this activity - and have the photos to prove it - until John got the idea to throw the ice chunks at our house. Before I had time to fully comprehend what he was doing I heard the shatter. I was in the back of the house and heard the glass break. Yes, John threw a huge chunk of ice directly through Amelia's bedroom window. Besides the broken glass and the looming repair bill, I realize that it is sub-freezing outside and I am freaking obout how to keep the cold out. The children were remorseful for about 10 minutes after this - they knew they were in trouble - and I let them simmer while I found cardboard and duct tape to "repair" the window until we can get it replaced.

What began as much fun in the ice ended on a sour note (John!!), but looking back on the photos I can't help but think the children will remember these as fond times. No school, at home all day, mom half-way paying attention to them, relishing the freedom. Despite the frustration, there is a lot to like in these days away from normal.

Roasted vegetable pesto pizza

I have been obsessed with pesto and roasted vegetables this week. I made a large batch of homemade pesto and a huge tray of roasted vegetables last weekend. I didn't necessarily intend to eat the two together when I made the pesto and vegetables, but that is exactly what I have done all week.

I have only made pesto once before, but I think the recipe I followed on Saturday contained standard pesto ingredients: fresh basil, fresh italian parsley, olive oil, pine nuts, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and tons of minced garlic. The pesto tasted pretty strong when I sampled it on crackers, but spread on toasted garlic bread it was delicious.

For the roasted vegetables, I cut bite-sized pieces of cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, squash, zucchini, and sweet onions, then tossed them with minced garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. I roasted this mixture on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes in the oven. I also made a separate batch of roasted eggplant slices on another cookie sheet following a similar procedure (thanks for the eggplant recipe, Kim!).

The idea to combine the pesto with roasted vegetables occurred on our first snow/ice day this week. I thought I would use the opportunity of being at home to bake, and the first thing that came to mind was to try making homemade pizza crust in my breadmaker.

Once the dough was ready, I placed a rolled out portion on the preheated pizza stone and prebaked it before adding the toppings. After about 10 minutes the dough was warm and light brown, so I pulled the tray from the oven and layered the following ingredients on top of the prebaked crust in this order: pesto sauce, fresh spinach leaves, roasted vegetables, cherry tomatoes (cut in half), mozzarella cheese, and goat cheese crumbles. Before I returned the pizza to the oven I grated some fresh parmesan across the top. Below is my pizza prior to baking. Check out the lovely mushrooms and spinach peeking out from beneath the cheese.

I baked the pizza at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until the cheese was melted and the pesto was starting to bubble around the edges. Below is the finished product just after I pulled it from the oven.

Oh my goodness, this was just delicious. I loved the pesto base for the pizza (the garlic flavor was awesome!) and the roasted vegetables added a subtle flavor, nicely melted beneath the cheesy topping. And the goat cheese added an interesting twist. Love, love, love pesto with roasted vegetables and cheese. I mean, really, what is there not to like with cheese and garlic?

The breadmaker pizza crust turned out OK. It was a little thick and doughy for my taste, but this being my first try I was pleased enough. If anyone has a good breadmaker crust recipe (or tips for a thinner, less doughy crust that I may have missed out on) I would love to hear them.

Snow day antics

We didn't really have a good plan around here for how to tackle Tuesday, our first snow day. In retrospect we should have expected to stay home, but still it was a bit of a surprise to find ourselves facing a day at home when the news came out early Tuesday morning. Scott and I both tried to work as much as possible while maintaining peace in the house and making sure the children weren't killing each other.

After they grew tired of watching TV, John and Amelia willingly went off to play. I proposed a contest between the two kids to see who could come up with the best idea for something fun to do and together they came up with the idea for a dress-up show. Amelia and John even went so far as to say I had to snap pictures of each change of clothing (which I would have done anyway!), so I have the following portfolio to share.

The first set of outfits were based on their Halloween costumes from this year. John added his cowboy guns to the Stormtropper costume and Amelia added extra jewelry to her disco dancing costume.

Amelia: "Mom, take a picture of me posing!"

John: "Mom, I want a shot of me playing too!"

Shortly after the first round John got upset at Amelia over something ridiculous and he stayed back in his room crying and pouting for awhile (yes, I was really getting a lot of work done at this point having to deal with screaming and navigating the fight! Ha, ha). But despite John's childish behavior, Amelia continued on with the dress-up show. Next came her cat costume from two years ago when she was five. And Amelia did the make-up herself as a surprise.

John was still pitching a fit and Amelia came out next as a cowgirl. This was her Halloween costume from when she was six. I can't believe these costumes fit well enough for playing dress up several years later! Notice the bright red lipstick. More make-up, a preview of what was to come next.

After the cowgirl outfit change it was quiet back in the area of the kids' rooms for awhile. I decided to leave them alone and when I finally went to check on them I saw that peace between siblings had been restored.

Amelia and John were on their next outfit change and Amelia was paiting spiders on John's face. The final round of the show is shown below.

The above photo reflects Amelia's ballet costume from two years ago. This was one of my favorite costumes, though this photo doesn't quite do it justice. Below John requested a "Ninja fighting shot!" He said, mom, make sure you get me kicking!"

Close-ups of the made-up faces below. First John, with the spiders and webs painted by Amelia. I have no idea why he had a black nose.

And a close-up shot of Amelia's fine handiwork on her own face. She had bright blue eyelids, rosy pink cheeks that looked like they had been stamped on, red lips, and hair that hadn't been properly combed since the previous morning. Awesome.

As I write this post early on Wednesday afternoon, I have pretty much given in to doing mostly non-work tasks on our remaining snow day (days?). I tried hard yesterday to concentrate on writing up research, but only found myself frustrated by the distractions and endless interruptions. I was grumpy and angry and resentful when really I should not have been. The consequences of this storm are due to the force of nature, and sometimes we just have to make alternate plans when life throws a curveball. I have a mountain of work to do and I feel so much pressure to get it done quickly, but I have to admit that not much is going to happen while we are house-bound. I got out of bed this morning at 5:30 to work on heavy-thinking tasks for a couple of hours before the kids got up, and when moments are quiet I find that I can perform relatively simple tasks such as grading papers or writing a new quiz. But I have decided that for today that will have to be good enough, and in between we can catch up on tasks around the house and enjoy some fun times together.

Baby, it's cold outside

The thermometer in our backyard showed a temperature just below 20 degrees yesterday morning. This is very cold for winter in Texas!

The weather in Dallas this week has made national headlines given the media attention on the region with the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, so I am sure you are aware of the ice storm that has been with us (and much of the country) for the past two days. The media are talking about how ironic it is that two cold weather teams - Green Bay and Pittsburgh - arrived just in time for our winter blast, and that while this type of weather doesn't phase fans from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania it has pretty much crippled north Texas.

The front blew through late Monday evening, bringing rain then sleet then ice and snow as well as rapidly dropping temperatures. I woke Tuesday morning before my 5:00 alarm to the sound of ice crystals plummeting against the window. There was about an inch of snow on the ground then, which froze by daybreak to form a large sheet of ice. Schools announced closings by 6:00 a.m. and the Wilson household shifted gears to prepare for a shut-in snow day.

We stayed indoors most of the day but I finally convinced Amelia and John to venture outside late in the afternoon. With wind chills near zero they didn't stay outside long to play, but they had fun exploring the ice all over the backyard. I had warned them that despite appearances this wasn't the type of fluffy snow they have experienced before, but I don't think they fully understood until they were outside.

Amelia and John each took a turn sliding down the sheet of ice that had formed over their slide (their idea, not mine!). You should have heard the shouting from each kid about 3/4 of the way down the slide once the coldness started to seep through the fabric of their pants!

They needed hats, gloves, scarves and heavy jackets to face the cold. However, despite their warm clothing they still only lasted about 15 minutes outside.

Another fun activity for the kids was chipping blocks of ice/snow off of various objects around the backyard.

Today is Wednesday and we are on our second snow day. Temperatures are in the teens and the sun is not out, so I have no idea when the ice sheets that cover our neighborhood roads will melt so that we can emerge for regular activites. Needless to say we are dealing with it fine, though I am dying to exercise and am too wimpy to go out for a run on the ice in zero-degree wind chills. I am definitely thankful that we have power still, and am crossing my fingers we don't lose it. Even if we could manage to drive to a local hotel on the icy roads, there would be no room in the inn given that all are full to capacity for the Super Bowl.