A City Life For Me

Our fourth wedding anniversary was on Wednesday.  We had planned to go out last Friday night, but Nolan was sick so we stayed home.  Mrs. Bickel was gracious enough to keep the kiddos for us, so we went out on Tuesday.  We parked the car in Park Slope and hopped on the train so we didn’t have to find a parking spot in downtown Brooklyn.  It’s been a long time since I rode the subway with just Ben! Ben took me to Juniors .  They have been making world-famous cheesecake since 1950, and it is a true Brooklyn experience.  While I can’t say the food was anything extraordinary , it was certainly delicious!  We had a fried calamari appetizer which is one of my faviortes! The cheesecake, however, was out of this world!  I had a festive slice of pumpkin swirl cheesecake.  Our beverages were served in glasses that had lines on them for the proper proportions of an “Egg Cream.”  I was intrigued enough that I ordered one to accompany my d...

It is snowing right now.  According to the weather channel it was predicted to start tonight and we might get an inch.  After enjoying a late brunch of eggs and pumpkin pancakes, we looked out the window to see the large wet flakes beginning to fall.  It didn’t take long before the swimming pool and lawn furniture in our neighbor’s back yard were accumulating the white fluff. Elaine was a little more than excited to see the snow falling.  We donned hats, mittens, coats, and snow pants to go for a quick tramp out front in the snow.  There wasn’t much to be had because the snow isn’t sticking to the ground yet, but Elaine was thrilled!   We read on the news today that this is the earliest snow NYC has received since the Civil War!  This is Nolan’s first snow, but since he is still napping he doesn’t really know what he is missing!

Here is a picture of Nolan the first time that he sat in his Bumbo.  He wasn’t very good at holding up his head! Nolan is growing so fast I can hardly remember when he was that little.  He sits in the Bumbo a lot now, and he really seems to like it!

Money Saving Mom had a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Scones recently.  I made a batch…and then another!  They were sooooo delicious.  They are the perfect autumn breakfast or coffee compliment!  Here is the recipe, originally found at The Shoebox Kitchen . Ingredients: 2 c. flour 1/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces 1/2 c. canned or fresh pumpkin puree 3 Tbsp. half and half 1 egg Directions: Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together.  Using a pastry cutter, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, half and half, and egg.  Add at once to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  The secret to perfect scones are a minimum of handling!  Turn dough onto...

Our toilet seat has been loose and wiggly for a while now.  I finally bought a new one this week.  I installed it myself because I had a guest on their way over to the house, and the current seat was barely held in place!  I happened to glance down at the box and got quite a chuckle out of a little note at the bottom.  Here’s what it said: So there you have it.  The secret to a harmonious home!

…and yes, he did spill milk all over me!

   

This post is for my friends outside of NYC.  If you’re like me, you are a little ignorant of some of the Jewish holidays that are celebrated.  Living in Brooklyn has opened my understanding to a lot of things regarding the Jewish people.  Though I knew the Old Testament was given to the Jewish people, I am learning more and more about just how Jewish my faith as a Christian really is! I wanted to share an example with you.  We have a large Orthodox Jewish neighborhood not far from us.  In fact, I gave birth to Nolan at the hospital in that neighborhood!  I am always amazed to see how fastidious they are in their traditions – keeping the Sabbath, wearing the prayer shawl, and the modesty of their dress to name a few.  It is amazing to drive through Boro Park and just watch the people.  It is also sad, because they are so lost and so blind, though they claim to serve the same God as do I. Last week the Feast of Tabernacles began.  My pastor...

Recently a friend gave us some paint chip samples to make an activity for Elaine to learn her colors.  We put it together last week.  Here is the original inspiration for this craft.   They did it to teach different shades of colors. I cut the paint samples to 2x3”, rounded the corners, and laminated them.  Then we cut a smaller square, about 1x1” and glued each one to a clothespin.  Not only does this teach color matching (and names), but it helps to develop motor skills!

Last week Ben earned the title of “best daddy” when he introduced Elaine to chocolate milk.  Here’s how to have chocolate milk…Elaine style! Gather the stuff…cup, straw, milk, syrup. Pour in Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup.  It’s important to buy the name-brand product for this one! Stir! Daddy says it needs more chocolate.  Add some more! Insert straw. Taste.  This is the first reaction.  Always give it a second chance! Mmmmm.  Much better!

update: I was featured on IHeart Organizing for Reader’s Space !  If you are here from IHeart Organizing, thanks for stopping by! One of the two closets we have in our Brooklyn apartment is in the kids’ room.  It has been the catch-all for anything that doesn’t have a home…and it’s been driving me nuts.  It wasn’t high on Ben’s priority list because he isn’t in that room very often, and there wasn’t a lot of money in the budget to spend on cool organizational containers.  So…I decided the tackle the task, frugal style.  In the end I was very pleased with the results. BEFORE: I only took one before picture, and it’s hard to tell what is going on, but most of it was a mess! AFTER: Here is the final after shot.  I’ll show you some close-ups as we go along! Nolan’s clothes were organized into plastic tubs and labeled by size.  I already had these containers, but they were a mess.  I used the same labels that I had designed for El...