Movies We've Watched - The Witches

 

Captain has been loving most of Roald Dahl's books.  He loved Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and The Witches.  He did not take to The BFG so far.  The Witches has been his favorite by far.  He really loves the darkness in the books.  I found this one disturbing on a few levels, but those parts just captivated him.  

There is the original movie.  I've never seen it because it seemed too scary.  Then, HBO Max came out with a version in October.  Captain counted down the days.  I tried to warn him that it may not follow the book exactly.  It didn't, but it followed the general tone and arcs of the book.  It was American-ized and softened a little.  For example, you didn't see the Grand High Witch peel off his face or the boy (turned mouse) have his tail cut off, and the end was slightly tweaked.  It was still fun and flashy.  I think it was a tricky one to adapt.  

Maybe we'll try to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together next.  Currently, we're going through the Eerie Elementary series.  Captain loves dark and creepy books which are near impossible for the 6 year old reading level!

Movies We've Watched - James and the Giant Peach

 

Captain rewards himself with the movie versions of all the books we've read together.  James and the Giant Peach is not my favorite book or movie, but he loved it.  That said, if you are a fan, I highly recommend Taika Waititi's YouTube reading of this book.  It's delightful.  We sped through the book very quickly.  

Fall

 How is it Fall already?  I haven't been doing much in any measurement.  

We've hit a groove with school.  The marking period ended.  Little Miss has straight A's after taking a bit to acclimate to virtual learning.  Captain doesn't really get grades, but he's improved so much and has taken to virtual learning (with a lot of help and guidance from us).  

I've been mostly "catching up" on The Big Bang Theory.  I watched the first two seasons, but then I drifted away so I picked up at Season Three and am steadily making my way through the seasons.  I still enjoy it, but I think I'm hitting some fatigue.  

I haven't read one book in months, but I may have to make myself sit and do it to get back in the groove.  On the plus side, my book buying has slowed (though not stopped).

We celebrated Little Miss's 13th birthday.  We tried to make it as special as we could without going out or seeing people.  She briefly saw some friends outside to receive gifts.  We gifted the friends with cupcakes.

These cupcakes were very involved, similar to the other cupcakes and cake I made earlier in the year.  I don't think my meringue was perfect.  It wasn't thick enough, but it was starting to separate, and I didn't want to redo it so I just stopped where it was.  It was still smooth and tasty, just not the right texture.  I don't think we also heated it high enough, but the cake part is delicious.  I don't always find plain cake recipes that extraordinary versus doctored box mixes, but this one was so good (it may have helped that I paid a lot for the gourmet cocoa).

Here is the recipe if you are interested.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 6 Large Egg whites
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar (250 g / 8.5 oz)
• 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
• 2 Cups Unsalted butter, soft (454 g / 16 oz)
• 20 Oreo Cookies

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 Cup AP Flour (180 g / 6 oz)
• 1/2 Cup + 2TBS Cocoa powder (65 g / 2.5 oz)
• 1 1/8 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Large Egg yolk
• 3/4 Cup Milk (180 ml / 6 oz)
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil (90 ml / 3 oz)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar (275 g / 10 oz)
• 2/3 Cup Boiling Water (150 ml / 5 oz)

Instructions

To Make the Buttercream

1. In a bowl of a standing mixer, pour the sugar then add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Use a hand whisk to blend it all.

2. Place the bowl on top of a pot with simmering water on the stove. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

3. Use a hand whisk to stir the mix and cook until it reaches 130F or when the sugar has dissolved.

4. Remove bowl from stove and back to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

5. Mix until a stiff meringue has formed and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch of your hand.

6. Reduce speed to low-medium and add the butter a piece at a time, gradually increase speed to medium-high and mix until a smooth creamy buttercream has formed.

7. Measure 1 cup of buttercream and place in a medium bowl

8. Separate the Oreos cookies remove and place the filling in the bowl with the small amount of buttercream.

9. Use a fork or a hand whisk to blend the filling and buttercream then in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

10. Place the separated cookies in a food processor and process it into a very fine meal. Remove and lumps or large pieces you notice.

11. Sprinkle the ground Oreos on top of the buttercream and mix until a cohesive buttercream has formed.

12. Fill a large piping bag fitted with a large tip (your choice of shape).

Baking The Cupcakes

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix to blend.

2. In a bowl of a standing mixer, place the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla pour the sugar on top then add the dry ingredients.

3. Use the paddle attachment to mix on low until completely smooth then pour the boiling water and mixing carefully until smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes. (do not over mix)

4. Fill cupcakes liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry from the center of the cupcakes.

5. Preheat oven to 350F, line 1-12 cup muffin tines with cupcakes liners.

6. Remove from stove and allow to completely cool before filling and decorating.

Filling and piping the cupcakes

1. Using a sharp knife, cut an inch sized circle at the center of each cupcake. Make sure you insert the knife 1" deep and as you cut around, create a cone-shaped piece you can easily remove.

2. Use the white buttercream to fill the center of the cupcakes then the dark buttercream to pipe the cupcake.

New Food 2020 - Muffin Corn Dogs

I'm not even going to link a recipe because it's super easy.  Captain browsed on Pinterest and chose this recipe.  He also thinks it's dinner and dessert all in one because it's a hot dog and a cupcake.  I made regular-sized muffins even though most recipes will call for mini muffins.  Because I did regular-sized muffins, there is a weird hot dog to corn bread ratio.  

You make cornbread mix (from scratch or by box) and then put it into a greased muffin tin or liners.  Cut the hot dogs in 1/3 or so and stick them in the middle of the muffins.  The whole thing goes into a 400 degree oven for 15 -20 minutes depending (or until toothpick comes out clean).  

I, personally, think this ruins perfectly good cornbread, but it was fun to cook with Captain, and he ate it in record time so that's a win.  

Week asdlkjfa;slkdjfasdklfj

So, we're still being socially distant and sheltering in place.  We've got a little routine down, but the days run together.  

Captain has taken to it well. He has taken a lot of coronavirus information in and processed it, and he's been strangely cool. He's got all his stuff, all of his people. He still hates Zoom calls, but he's been getting better. I think having a birthday helped - new toys especially video games. This house has always been a videogame-free house, but that's over.  He's doing ok with school.  He hates reading and writing and it's hard to keep him motivated.  Luckily, I've found some worksheets online and an app he really likes that has actually helped him write.  It's too early to see if it's been helping him read.  He's very behind the milestone with reading and writing.  He does love being read to though.

Little Miss is all over the place. She's ok depending on the minute of the day. She misses the structure of school and her friends. We've been doing some cooking and baking which helps. Nothing major, but I think the whir of the mixer helps calm her. 

The photo below is from a visit with my parents who dropped some presents off while maintaining distance in the parking lot of our building. My mom crocheted The Child from The Mandalorian for me (well, the kids, but we're sharing custody).

View this post on Instagram

2020 #thechild #facemasks

A post shared by April Moore (@princessapr) on May 10, 2020 at 3:03pm PDT

Quarantine Life

Whelp, the novelty has worn off.  Or life with a pre-teen has hit a valley, or peak.  I don't know.  

It turns out, Captain really likes to have a schedule and a plan.  He gets frustrated with writing and not being perfect which hinders him trying.  He prefers staying home.  Even when we've offered him to go get the mail or take a walk, he prefers to stay inside.  There was some chalk painting on the balcony, but that's about it.  Today, we got a little creative with lessons.  Even though it's Spring Break, I still like to keep him busy.  Today, he got to watch some Penguins of Madagascar and then had to write about his favorite part.  In the afternoon, I had him write a letter to his great-grandparents.  

Little Miss has been super great and making cookies for the family by herself or super emotional.  So, 12 is fun.  She gets a little cooped up and does like to get out to run around the block or walk down to get the mail.  She has been allegedly working and keeps in contact with many of her friends.  

All in all, I can't complain.  They've been good.  It's hard to keep them learning and motivated, but I think they (at least Captain) like the interaction and being around us.  

Husband and I have been having Zoom calls with family.  We've started Schitt's Creek.  I've watched Glow Up, Next in Fashion, and Making It but having trouble concentrating on finishing an actual book.  We've also been listening to the Scrubs podcast and doing a rewatch along with it.  So, that's been fun.

So, we're hanging in there as I hope you all are as well.

Movies We Watched - Onward

We watched Onward yesterday.  We all enjoyed it.  As I expected, it was a little sad mostly at the end.  There wasn't anything questionable though - Captain wasn't scared at any part.  There were some funny moments and some sweet moments.  I think Little Miss liked it the most out of all of us.  I promised the kids I would take them earlier in the year.  Then, Captain got the flu and then the coronavirus kept us home so I didn't feel bad at all buying it and watching it at home.  We popped popcorn and ate some leftover candy.  It was just like being at the theater... but in our pjs!  If you didn't promise to take anybody, I think it'll be fine when it hits Disney+, no need to watch it as soon as possible.

Hanging in There

So, this has been a fun month.  I hope this isn't "going out like a lamb."  We've all kind of adapted ok so far.  

We wake up.  The kids start school work around 10AM.  Little Miss has set their room up with two trays as desks and two chairs.  She guides him through his lessons and does her own work.  They come out for lunch.  Normally, this is when they are done for the day, but the work load has ramped up this week to be more interactive so they went back to work after lunch time.  We've been very consistent with bedtime which has helped at least.  

They've been pretty calm.  There are some questions here and there.  In general, they've been more active with us though.  You'd think close quarters would make them crankier, but it hasn't really.  Maybe it's the extra sleep.  Little Miss has been getting up 2-3 hours later than her usual school schedule.  We've played some board games, watched movies, popped popcorn.  We've had some interesting conversations about guns, politics, passing on germs.  Captain has a lot of interesting perspectives.  For example, he may need a gun to protect himself from bad guys... or just a shield.  So, maybe he just thinks he's actually Captain America.  

February 2020

February was a long month.  The first weekend, Little Miss and I went to Williams Sonona to make and decorate Valentine's Day cookies.  It was a private class!  We got the cute little conversation heart cookie cutter set.

The second weekend, we went back to Williams Sonoma to make some orange chicken which was just a jar of sauce and chicken in the air fryer.  It was so good (see other post).  The next day, we went back to make salted caramel pretzel cheesecake and chocolate molten cake.  They were so delicious and so easy to make!   It's in the Instant Pot, takes no time at all, and we got to take the cookbook home.=

The third weekend,  we went to the Parents' winter vacation house and met up with family.   We celebrated Mom's birthday a little early.   I played beer pong for charity.   Poorly.  Sister and Brother-in-Law won the tournament,  Cousin won pint glasses,  and I won the 50/50 cash raffle and a shirt.  Great time all around!  We also think Captain has his first crush on my youngest Cousin's girlfriend (above). 

The last weekend was relatively quiet.  We ran a lot of errands.  Little Miss scored her third goal in four weeks at hockey and is in the playoffs.  Captain got new sneakers.  It was not earth-shattering.

Captain Update - Week 2

2 full weeks!  No accidents at school or at home.  He has taken to peeing standing up which is a new development.  BUT he has also successfully pooped at home, at school, and while we were out running errands.  This is a big corner and has made for a much happier household.  The household is still full of rampant hormones of the toddler and teenage variety, but this looks to be improving.  

Now we just need to work on his aim... 

Captain Update

We went to the pediatrician last week thinking we were heading into the worst, but it went well.  Captain didn't have one accident last week after a 2-day long journey with daily suppositories.  Then, after a long weekend, he had some bathroom time on Monday with everything working normal.  We continued, so far, this week with no accidents.  He's so happy - and we're so happy.

Long story short, the pediatrician thinks this can be controlled by diet.  I heard many went gluten-free so I was preparing for that, but it turns out, we're doing the opposite and doing as much fiber as possible.  So, it's whole-wheat snacks, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat pizza dough.  We have upped the amount of fruit to his diet, and he's allowed to have juice quite often along with water at school per doctor's orders.  We are continuing to limit dairy and applesauce and bananas which were off his diet for the most part already.  He's been such a trooper and asks if the doctor said it was ok to eat this before every new food.  He's embraced everything we've thrown at him, and we haven't had to eliminate treats yet (like cookies, cake, etc.)  Because he's avoiding the white flour, I was afraid it would be drastic, but we're good if it's offset enough.  I know one week isn't much, but you have to start somewhere.  Next test will be vacation, but summer vacations always have so much fruit that it's not so bad.  Fingers crossed!

Daily Life

Captain was born with an imperforate anus.  He was lucky that it wasn't very severe and, with surgery at around 6 months, he had all working parts.  However, he is easily constipated and any change in diet really affects his body.  As a baby, he didn't have banana, applesauce, and had restricted dairy which are all foods babies eat first.  Keeping weight on him was always a challenge.  Starting last year, we started giving him fiber vitamins and probiotics as well as a weekly stool softener - except you don't want to over-correct either.  It's a delicate balance.

As a slow potty trainer, it was difficult to see how his condition would affect him long-term.  We know that the constipation is a daily, constant issue, but the bowel management/control is relatively new.  He's been trying, but we don't know what else to do.  There's either an accident or a little poop on his underpants at least 5 out of 7 days of the week.  The school seems to be impatient with it which I completely understand, but he also can't help it.  We see the doctor to see what else we can do this week.  

I've done some research online, but there are so many with such severe conditions and challenges, but I'm hopeful we can control this by diet and possibly medicine.  The next stages are much more physically taxing (daily enemas or X-rays or suppositories).  He already receives frequent suppositories which he hates.  As a picky eater, it makes diet tricky, but I think we would be able to adapt to any conditions we need to add.  So, here's hoping we get to the bottom of things.  See what I did there?  

Science Fair

We avoided the Science Fair every year Little Miss was in elementary school until the 5th grade where it was mandatory.  By then, she was old enough to do it all by herself.  However, Captain loves science and wanted to participate so bad in the Science Fair.  Except he's in Kindergarten.  Which means that an adult needs to supervise and, well, do most of it.

So, we signed up for the Science Fair after which I forgot all about it until last Sunday.  We got an email telling us about the procedure for Thursday night.  Thursday.  Night.  4 days from when I read the email.  To put this into perspective, Monday is hockey night.  Wednesday, I was having minor outpatient surgery.  Thursday was baking club.  And Science Fair.  Luckily, we had almost all of the materials.  Monday, we did the science experiment and half of the presentation.  Tuesday, I forgot to print out the photos so I ran to Staples where they allow you to email photos to print and it was seamless and easy.  Then, we finished the project Tuesday night.  Wednesday, we dropped it off at school.  Thursday, we got a participation ribbon.  I mean, Captain got his participation ribbon.  

His experiement was to see which method inflated a balloon the best.  We filled one bottle with hot water to see if the steam would inflate the balloon.  It did but only slightly and not enough to raise the balloon.  We filled one bottle with water and placed an alka seltzer tablet in there.  It inflated the balloon to standing.  We filled a third bottle with vinegar and added baking soda.  It inflated the balloon to standing and almost bursting!  Captain's prediction was correct.

January 2020

January was a fun month.  In the beginning of the month, we celebrated a belated holiday with the In-Laws.  We had dinner out and then went back to our apartment for dessert and presents.  I can't even handle the cuteness of all the kids together.

The very next day, Captain and I took the Metro to The Kennedy Center to see the play Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  He used to be scared of the Metro and is no longer!  Because I'm an idiot, I bought 4 tickets to the play because I can't work the Internet.  So, I gave two of the tickets to Sister-in-Law and Nephew.  We met in between the two performances for lunch.  After lunch, Captain and I did the fun virtual tour of The Kennedy Center with Pigeon on the app.  The wifi was a little spotty so we didn't complete it, but we did get a pin and had a lot of fun.

The next weekend, Husband was out of town on an annual trip.  So, the kids and I did some cooking and baking and had a movie night (101 Dalmations, the original animated film).  We did dinner out with the In-Laws.  It was a lot of fun.

The next weekend, Little Miss had a Latin party which is a total thing.  She won second place in a costume contest.  I went to a Housewarming party and a couple of happy hours.  Overall, it was a pretty relaxing long weekend.  Our Sunday Family Movie was Star Wars (A New Hope).  I did not fall asleep once through this viewing, too.

The last weekend, the kids and I went back to The Kennedy Center for Lunar New Year (China).  I think I'm going to have to skip Korea this weekend.  I just need to do some things at home.  The lanterns were beautiful, and the kids had a blast with crafts and costumes.  We also completed the Virtual Tour and got certificates of completion!  And then everybody melted down, and we came home.  

Food front:  I bought myself an Air Fryer for Christmas so we used that quite a bit.  In January, we air fried everything from veggies (butternut squash and broccoli and brussels sprouts) to pot stickers, chicken tenders and onion rings.  The kids and I made chocolate donuts in the oven, homemade baked mac and cheese, parmesan chicken tenders, chicken romano and lemon pasta, broccoli cheese soup, champagne cupcakes with champagne buttercream, the yummiest vanilla cake, and circus cupcakes.  There were also brownies and sugar cookies.  You can find our updates and recipes here on our Cooking/Baking Instagram page, @A4MinimalEffort.

New Foods Update

Our kids are picky.  So, we've tried new foods over the year - some have been documented here.  Well, Little Miss has created a 64 food bracket (though we will be taking longer than the typical March Madness bracket to complete).  We will crown the best new food which, I mean, has to be a dessert, right?  We'll see!

So, we're in the process of negotiating our 64 foods.  They are broken up into 4 categories - fruits & vegetables, sides/snacks, main dishes, desserts.  We have a pretty solid list and both kids have participated.  Captain, for example, wants bacon onion jam and, separately, avocado toast though I have to wonder how they would be together.  Anyway, Little Miss has chosen a few.  

We are in the process of coming up with a scale to weight each of our reviews.  I think we'll start in the next few days.  So, stay tuned!

In the meantime, what's your favorite food?  

I still have a blog!

So, right, I still have a blog.

Here's an update:

Husband and I are still employed and barely maintaining sanity.  We just celebrated our 20th anniversary (and today, in fact, is the 22nd anniversary of the day he proposed).  

Little Miss started middle school and received her first phone which she uses to chat with all of her elementary school friends in one giant group text that's just as annoying as it sounds (but kind of cute).

Captain started kindergarten, and we are all surprised at how much he absolutely loves it.  He loves his teacher and extended day and, overall, ruling everything.

I don't think I have time to maintain a blog like I used to so I'm still deciding what I want to do here.  We'll see!  

New Food - Chicken Teriyaki

• This week, I made chicken teriyaki, jasmine rice, and green beans sauteed in toasted sesame oil and shallots (I added a little water and covered to steam them because they weren't cooking very fast).  I've made these before (see blog recipe though last time I used snow peas instead of green beans), but Little Miss never tried it.

This received thumbs up!  Plus, she said she'd eat it again.  Captain was not into it.  He picked out the rice and didn't eat anything else.

2017 is off to a good start!

Chicken Teriyaki

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup honey 
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger 
• Coarse salt and ground pepper 
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer chicken and sauce to baking sheet. 

2. Bake chicken, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan juices, until well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

No New Food

No new food this week.  Little Miss has a touch of the stomach bug.  Captain took good care of her.  While she was in the bathroom, he was told not to go in there, but he sat right at the door and offered her everything he could think of.  He later brought her tissues at her request.  He kept bringing her books.  He was very concerned and asked, "Laura, all right?"  Then, when she didn't answer, he looked at me and said, "Mama, help."  It was so precious.  He's missed his playmate quite a bit and has been extra snuggly with us to make up for it.  He had Husband read him many books and snuggled hard this morning with me.  His sister will be back to normal soon and everything will right itself.

Third Grade, Here We Come!

I don't know how, but Little Miss is entering the third grade! This morning, she got up early, got ready on time, did her own hair for goodness' sake.  She was a little nervous, but I know she'll do great.  I can't wait to hear all about it.  It's still gratifying to see brand new school supplies - backpack, lunch bag, and water bottle all clean and shiny!

Captain was not excited.  He sobbed as she left for school.  He's so adored her being with him all summer.  They love each other so much.

Obligatory #firstdayofschool photo. #ACPS #teacher @Rob_Sawicki

A photo posted by @princessapr on Sep 6, 2016 at 5:31am PDT

Swimming!

Little Miss has started taking swimming lessons earlier this year.  A co-worker and friend taught swimming in a previous professional life, and she gets along really well with Little Miss.  There has been such progress in the last few months, it's been unbelievable.  Little Miss puts her face in the water and floats and does rudimentary swimming.

This one had swimming lessons. (@Rob_Sawicki)

A video posted by @princessapr on Aug 20, 2016 at 3:51pm PDT

Captain, in his way of copying his sister, also has been trying to swim.  He loves the water.  I missed it, but allegedly, an older girl (of around 4 years of age) was inflating his ego before swimming away.  Big Captain decided to dive off the pool stairs and follow her, forgetting he did not know how to swim.  Husband had to pluck him out of the water and got side eye for the rest of the night for holding Captain back.  We'll look into getting him some lessons before next summer or at least visit our inside pool more in the off-season.

Someone needs swimming lessons.  He won't stay above water! (@Rob_Sawicki)

A video posted by @princessapr on Aug 20, 2016 at 3:45pm PDT