Sisters, January 2012

Sisters, January 2012, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Future indie rock star.

Future indie rock star., originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Or stylist.

Or both.

I am fluent in 3 languages: English, French and Anyanian.

She talks a lot, though it's usually really hard to understand her. She knows exactly what she is saying, though, and gets frustrated with us for not getting her meaning, when it's clear as crystal to her that "Na Ba Ta! NA BA TA! NAAAABAAAAATAAAAA!!!!" means "clementine". But we're learning, and so is she. 

And her little, "Uhyootooooo!" after an "I love you" makes it all worth it.

First Sleepover

Packing for her first big girls' sleepover, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

They planned it themselves. I heard snippets, here and there, but figured it was just wishful thinking. Then I got the text.

"Are we on for a sleepover tomorrow?"

So, she's going. Just down the hill, her friend lives pretty much in our backyard, and they spend so much time together, I'm not really worried that she'll get scared and want to come home at 2 AM (though she can if she wants to, of course.) She's got her sleeping bag, Eeyore, "Cover Blanket", clothes, jammies, brushes and toothpaste. The Goofy pillowcase is fresh, and she's planned to use "the sleeping side". I think they may be sleeping in the loft bed, which should be interesting. There will be movies and popcorn and lots of giggles.

Exciting, and a little sad. My girl is growing up.

Next party's at our house.

I can't put my arms down!!!

I can't put my arms down!!!, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

It probably took longer to dress her than we spent outside, thanks to her sister's accident, but dang. Doesn't she look adorable?

Best friends

Best friends, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

They had a ball playing in the few inches of fresh snow, until Rowan took a header into her buddy's sled. She ended up with a mouth full of blood and a bad attitude, but that meant it was a good time to come in and take a nap. Thankfully, every girl in the house chose to nap at the same time--even mom. Woot!

More snow expected tonight; it should be a fun weekend.

Making chocolate chip cookies

Making chocolate chip cookies, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Making chocolate chip cookies

Winter's nap

Winter's nap, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Anya, rocking the Nutella goatee.

Anya, rocking the Nutella goatee., originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Anya, rocking the Nutella goatee.

Happy New Year! 2012. (Just typing that makes me feel old.)

We're still working on that posing gene., originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

We spent our first Christmas in our new house, and it was wonderful. Really. Really, really. Really.

Christmas, on our terms. No rushing, no driving, no icy roads. Money spent on postage instead of plane tickets, and phone calls instead of in-person hugs, but wonderful memories were made, just by us. These were the kind of Christmases my mom gave us, and I am so thankful for all of those memories. It does make me happy to give the same gift to our little girls, and in turn, they give me more than they could ever know.

We started off with a photo shoot in our Christmas duds (definitely a family tradition), followed by a smorgasbord dinner of charcuterie (sausages and other meats), fromages (cheeses), crackers, bread, dips, fruit and crudités (raw veggies). Then we headed to church for a Christmas Eve candlelight service. My favorite part of the evening was trailing all the children as they processed through the sanctuary during the first hymn, ringing bells and giggling. (I followed to make sure we didn't lose Anya, but another little girl gently took her by the hand and walked with her the whole time.)

When we arrived home, it was present opening time, and the girls had a blast discovering all the new toys under the tree. After putting them to bed, Dr. B and I spent time cuddling up under our new fur throw and watching mysteries. Perfect.

Christmas morning, it turned out, Santa had showed up, so roller skates were strapped on and shopping carts were revved up as our house became a racetrack. We relaxed for a while, eating monkey bread and egg casserole, and then began to get out the china and crystal for dinner. I made ham, Martha Stewart's potato/leek galette (that was such a hit at Easter), and some other yummy things (including fresh lefse that we rolled before dinner), and we welcomed our friends from just down the hill. We had a wonderful time together, and I was so happy, I didn't even mind leaving the dishes until the next day. (That is normally a no go, so I must have been really relaxed!)

The break from school has been wonderful--just having nowhere we have to be at any certain time has been fantastic. The kids play, we stay in our jammies until we feel like showering, and most meals are just a collection of leftovers--it's a great way to live. We did manage to get our dining room painted, and we both absolutely love the rich plum color. Amazing how inspiring color can be in your home!

For New Year's Eve, we kept it low key, and just walked down the hill to our friends' for a drink. We shared Foie Gras with them that Aimee had brought us, and toasted the New Year.

2011 was full of changes for us, some possibilities that did not pan out, and some that did. No matter, though, because I am proud of how we handled ourselves, and I'm looking forward to another great year. Every day, I am more thankful than the last. To be blessed with a wonderful, healthy family, good friends, and a life I chose--I couldn't ask for more.

May your 2012 be full of belly laughs and bright ideas.

Much love from the Brownsons!

A few photos before Chaos Reigned

Christmas 2011, a set on Flickr.

Our first Christmas in our new home was just wonderful. Here are a few snaps before Hurricane Wrapping Paper took over. Hope your holiday was a special one, too.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

May you have a joy-filled, blessed holiday. It will probably be a bit stressful, but there's chocolate, booze and comfy socks--make use of them. Much love, from our home to yours!

Pizza Cat!!!

Pizza Cat!!! (Rowan, age 4 1/2), originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Suddenly, things take shape. What, in the so recent past, was scribbles and blobs, now is people, animals, buildings--all with recognizable features and big smiles.

This is pizza cat. I hoped it might be some sort of super hero, but it's just a cat that really likes pizza. Pepperoni, I think.

She's pretty amazing, our girl.

Scandinavian Paper Heart Baskets

Training a little Scandinavian, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

She's Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic, and definitely looks the part. Today, she made her first paper heart basket, with (lots of) help from Mom.

After seeing a photo on the internet of a little girl dressed up for the feast of St. Lucia, she has big ideas about wearing a crown and serving us breakfast in bed. I have a feeling this will be more work for me than her, but it may be a fun thing to do, making her dream come true.

OK, and her mom's dream, too. I mean, how cute is that?

Via Flickr:
Instructions found here. I used cardstock and it worked fine.

I make my own laundry soap. Yep. Pretty sure I've gone off the deep end.

OK, I used to think this was crazy, but got really frustrated that everything I tried didn't work to get my clothes clean (with the added bonus of Allergic Reactions!!! Yippee!!!) So I figured, at 71 cents for 2 gallons, if it didn't work, it was worth the try. 


IT TOTALLY WORKS. My clothes are so much cleaner now, I don't spend time pretreating (if needed, I may just put the soap on the stain that was going in the whole load), and no big bottles to recycle. I use about a cup a load (it depends on your water hardness), and my clothes look better and feel softer and are much, much cleaner. (Especially hand towels that certain short people dry their hands with after "washing the paint off". You know where most of that paint goes, right? Also, crawler pants with brown knees that didn't come clean no matter how much I pretreated or soaked in Oxyclean--now, they look new again after one wash.) 


So, if you're crazy, too, give it a try. It really is worth 71 cents and the 10 minutes of your time.

Go here for the recipe. (Thanks, Crystal!)

Note: using my Microplane grater works best for the soap, it melts faster. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in Dip Form (with no raw eggs!)

A friend made this, and I threatened her with bodily harm if she wouldn't give me the recipe. No, not really. But I would have if she didn't give it up easily. Seriously, it's good. Really good. Really, really good. And no salmonella!

You should make this.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2 Tb. brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini are a great size for this)

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in sugars until well blended, then stir in the chips. Serve with fruit, animal crackers, graham crackers, etc. for dipping. Stand back to avoid the stampede.

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

"A cat. A cat, Mom!"

No matter what I did, I could not convince her to be something clever.

But I've learned. You don't argue with a kid about her costume. It's what she wants (as long as it's appropriate.) It's her night, after all.

I got lucky at Kid-to-Kid and found Anya a snuggly dog costume for less than the cost to make one, so we had a theme going.

I wore my raincoat and boots, and pinned as many small stuffed cats and dogs as I could find to my umbrella. Turned out, that was a good idea as it was drizzling during the official trick or treat hours in town. The kids didn't seem to notice, but having a costume on made it easier to "collect for Anya" (read: cash in on the whole free candy thing so mom and dad can raid it when they go to bed.)

A few friends joined us for sloppy joes before we braved the chill, and about an hour of walking around tired us enough, and weighed the bags down adequately to call it a night. Many neighbors and friends came by for treats here, too.

I love having a Halloween neighborhood, and I love having kids to take trick or treating. Simple pleasures.

Stand up and cheer! version 2.0

Stand up and cheer!, originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

Just like her big sister, she's got green in her genes.

Fight on, Sioux!

My girl

...on a rainy day..., originally uploaded by MrsBinParis.

She looks like me.

She loves things I love. Music. Art. Dancing. Good stories.

She's stubborn.

She's got a lot of fears. Heights. Zombies (even though she doesn't really know what they are.) Changing tables. Being alone.

But she's really brave, too. And she keeps trying. She works to conquer her fears.

She loves people. She wants to be everyone's friend. She believes everyone is her friend, even when they don't know who she is. She wants the whole world to love each other. She doesn't understand why some people do mean things. But she forgives them, right away. Because they are her friends.

She gets bored easily, so she sings songs she makes up, paints a new picture, dances to some music, explores and comes back with a handful of flowers, for me.

She says, "I love you!" Often. And she smiles. It warms your heart. She giggles, and everyone around her smiles, too.

I watch her, and I wish I could know more. I wish I knew what I was like at her age. I wish I knew what worked, and what didn't. How to solve the problems I can't figure out. I wish I knew what my mom felt when I was the four year old, and she was the one struggling and enjoying every minute.

Then, she does this. As I'm snapping away, she sticks her tongue out, and I see it. She's got something of her, too. Her grandma's sense of humor, apparently, is in the genes.

And I know, I'm blessed.

Cowboy Caviar Bean Dip

I made this for church coffee hour today, so thought I'd share the recipe here, too. This is one of my favorites, and I've just started tinkering with the recipe to make it a bit zippier, with not so much sugar or oil. Today's result was a hit, so I'm putting it here to make it easy for me to reference again.

My original recipe is from my Aunt Carol, but I made a few changes to suit our preferences, and it's easily adaptable. This is kind of a family tradition at the holidays, and it is always a big hit at parties. It makes a lot but keeps well in the fridge since it's in a vinegar/sugar dressing. I mix it up in an ice cream bucket. Serve with a slotted spoon.

• 2 cans black eyed peas  (rinse & drain)
• 2 cans pinto beans  (rinse & drain)
• 2 cans black beans   (rinse & drain)
• 2 cans shoe peg corn  (drained)
• 1 small can chopped green chiles (drained)
• 1 can sliced jalapenos, drained and chopped fine
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped fine
• 1 med. diced onion (chop fine)
• 1 c. chopped celery (chop fine)
• 1 c. chopped sweet peppers (I used a mix of red, orange and yellow.)

Bring to boil:

• 3/4 c. cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/2 c. sugar
• juice of one lime
• 2 T. Penzey's Bold Taco seasoning (or any taco seasoning)
• 1 T. Creole Seasoning (Tony Chachere's, or any other all-purpose season salt--to taste.)
• 1 T. Crystal Sauce (or Tabasco)

Bring to boil----cool and pour over ingredients. I do the dressing first, and by the time the veggies are chopped, it is cool enough to pour over. Allow to marinate several hours in the refrigerator. Serve with a slotted spoon and tortilla chips (scoops are perfect).  Keeps a long time in fridge. This can easily be cut in half, but this size serves a crowd!