Last Sunday marked my ninth Mother’s Day. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it does not mean Day Off. Not that I don’t appreciate the Hallmark and florist-supported day, it’s just that expectations must be realistic. Unless you are at a remote getaway vacation slash spa trip with your girlfriends, you are probably going to have to do some of your normal tasks and chores. And children, despite their best angelic efforts, will slip back into their needy behaviors at times during your day. Here’s a recap of year nine.

Strawberry Cupcake Love

Mother’s Day Eve Prep Work:

I’ve heard that some moms are pampered over the full weekend. Guessing that is not the norm. I work pretty diligently on Saturday – laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc – to make sure Sunday starts off on the highest note possible. This year I did four loads of laundry, shopped with my daughter, Ava, to pick up dessert recipe ingredients and made my fave spinach quiche ahead of time on Saturday = clean kitchen Sunday and an easy brunch.

Mother’s Day Morn:

Did not sleep well the night prior – - up watching a romantic comedy til 1:00a.m. A few emotions and allergy triggers later, I awoke feeling low-energy and puffy. I hollered downstairs in usual form to my weekend morning tv-obsessed kids, “Church this morning! Come up in 10! I mean it!” Ava, my nine year-old, oft the most challenging to drag away, bounded upstairs and hopped into the shower. No sign of my seven year-old, Calvin. When he did surface, the little negotiator launched into the boringness of church and how he’d get much more out of religion if we could just stay home and read the bible for an hour. Just Ava and I went to mass.

Mother’s Day Late Morn:

Home from church and the quiche is due out in five. At the table, everyone acknowledged the day and post-brunch I opened a framed photo of the family at my brother’s wedding, a red satin lipstick case and a babushka doll tea-strainer. Great. Thanks all. Now I can make my loose-leaf tea. And since we’re in the kitchen loading up the dishwater with brunch dishes, let’s just roll right into cupcake-making.
 
Ava loves strawberries and after a Saturday online recipe search for Strawberry Cupcakes and shopping for ingredients, she’s ready to dive in. There is a mixer, strawberry gelatin, strawberry jam and food coloring involved – what messy, colorful fun! Witness the strawberry cream cheese frosting dying process here:
 

This was a fairly time-consuming recipe to make and instead of the 12 cupcakes it said it would yield, we ended up with 26 cupcakes on our hands. The frosting also made way too much in my opinion, but then again, we just spread it on conservatively because we don’t have a fancy swirl-twister frosting-tipped dispenser or whatever its called.
 
Come to find out, the drive to make cupcakes came from her American Girl magazine, which cleverly showed the best way to eat a cupcake – - cut it horizontally across its mid-section and place the bottom portion on top of the frosting so essentially you have a frosting filled cupcake. Had I known this, we might have split the cupcakes first, then frosted their middles so the ends wouldn’t be as crumbly. Next time!

Mother’s Day Aft:

The kids went outside to play, my husband ran some errands, and I fell blissfully asleep on the sofa in the sunshine, listening to the kids’ laughter from their outdoor escapades. For this, I was thankful.

Mother’s Day Eve:

Calvin and I planted four plants I picked up from our school’s plant sale the day prior (one of which passed already on Tuesday in the 97 degree heat). I made a kid-friendly dinner (= microwave laziness!) around 5:30, then headed out at 7:30 to meet a co-worker, who’s also a mom, at a coffee shop. We agreed that it was a fairly good day and that getting a jumpstart on work for the week would allow us to sleep better that night.
 
I came home by 10:30, did the usual straightening and kitchen tidy-up, kissed the sleeping children on their cheeks, checked my inbox, unplugged and rolled into bed. A stellar day. One to be very thankful for.

— Happy Belated Mother’s Day! (delayed post due to normal duties post-Sunday May 12).

Dreaming of Dogs: All About Brand Loyalty

My nine year-old daughter, Ava, has  been dreaming about dogs for a good year now. Off and on. From Yorkies to Pomeranians. Dinner-time quizzes and questionnaires, weekend bursts of chore-activity to show stellar responsibility and more.

After a recent trip to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, she is slowly swaying me toward strongly considering getting a dog. Her interest level is so keen right at this moment. Her younger brother, seven year-old Calvin, is not quite as keen. He’s a bit lukewarm, in fact. Ideally, he’d have the same level of interest as her. Or I would, for that matter.

Pitbull Mix

My husband grew up with dogs. I did not. I am definitely a tougher sell.  I think I’m being hit up now because the family thinks the sleepless nights of the toddler years are long forgotten. I’ve had a good solid four years of predictable nightly sleep patterns. Am I ready to be sleepless again?  …maybe let’s forgo puppy stage and get a fully grown dog then? It’s an option, but not one that Ava is too excited about.

Pleeeeease take me home!

For the sake of pursuing this dog-scenario, let’s say we all agree to get a puppy. How to find the right one for our family is the question. The humane society doled out sheets of info in helpful categories based on dog traits and characteristics: Toys, Spaniels, Retrievers, Property Guards, Pointers*, Sled Dogs, Herding Dogs, Scent Hounds, and Sight Hounds.

Then we hit up the library straight after our visit to check out “Everything Dogs,” “Dogs for Dummies, and my personal fave, “Weimaraners*.” Ava is also able to reference recently library books from school: “Yorkshire Terriers Are the Best!” (mid-March) and “Pomeranians Are the Best!” (mid-April) and multiple online sources.

I would say we’re an active family. Active in two senses: 1. we’re on the go (weekends at the grandparents; sports/eve activities, etc) 2. we’re physically active (running, biking, etc). So we need a dog that is fine being on their own for long stretches of time, but when we’re around, they’re eager to be very active and run fast! Leaning toward Pointer here with top as Weimaraner. But would our city lot allow for enough fenced-in outdoor space (which is a requirement for this breed)?

Just try and say no to me!

We do not need barking. This would rule out Ava’s front-runners in the Toy category including her beloved Yorkie. What about allergies? In this case, Labradoodles are the preferred choice for low-dander coats. However, they fall in the Retriever category which warns “Don’t expect unsupervised freedom in the house until after two years of age.” I’m beginning to believe it’s like finding a mate  – you definitely have your must-haves and the rest of the stuff, you need to overlook!

To dog-lovers out there: What’s your advice on breed, appropriate age for kids to have a dog, puppy vs dog, over-thinking, costs, training, etc? Need to be enlightened so we don’t end up barking up the wrong tree.

— all photos via Instagram and Instapics at instagram.com/jengilhoi

Selecting Skis

An excerpt from the list of questions we pondered as we toyed with the idea of cross-country skiing with the family:

1. Hey, we’re Norwegian, shouldn’t cross-country skiing come natural to us?

2. Don’t we live in a climate ideal for outdoor activities, especially in February/ March?

3. Is it not safer than downhill skiing?

4. Are we not going stir crazy inside with no hope of winter vacation release?

5. Don’t we have some great trails nearby?  … Yeah, that place where Grandma Susie gifted us our membership last year that we only used in the summer: Wood Lake Nature Center

A few Sunday’s ago we answered yes to all of our questions. We considered heading to more serious trails – either Hyland Park Reserve in Bloomington or Highland Park in St. Paul – but landed on Wood Lake due to its simplicity, our novice skills and its proximity to our home.

CC Racers

The sun is brightly shining, the snow cover is decent and the temp is hovering around 30 with no wind.  We dress in our downhill skiing gear and set out for Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, just a short 5 minutes away. The parking lot is packed at our 12:15 arrival time, only 15 minutes after opening. Everyone has the same idea as we do today. We hop in line to pay and discover it’d be much cheaper to get a full membership than pay for one time rental for a family of four. IF we go at least two times.  (an annual membership including rental for boots, skis and poles is $50.)

We measure for boots, select our sizes and head out to the skis and ski pole racks. We have some loose guidelines – skis should come to mid-palm when you’ve got your arm reaching for the sky. It’s lucky we don’t take someone out getting from equipment rentals to the trail’s start. Next time, I’ll give a lesson in transporting your gear.

We Break For Fruit Snacks

We spend some time hooking our boots into the skis. A group of three girls from my 9-year-old daughter’s school plus one mom are there for the first time too. Good, we can all look like newborn calves together. At least we’re a one parent to one kid ratio.  We start off with two of the girls from Ava’s school intermingled with our skis.

Quickly we come to a fork in the road. We need to choose the long route (2.6km or 1.6 miles) or the short route (.6km). I can’t imagine how it would be worth it to get all geared up just to do the short route. We veer left. My 7 year-old son, Calvin, scrappy as ever, insists on being in the lead. Ava on the other hand, has a nice stride going and actually looks up once in a while to feel the sunshine and take in some nature.

Wishbone from an Extra Large Turkey

The paths are easy to navigate and well-groomed. It’s no problem to pass. At this point, just under a mile in, I notice the Mom and other child in the foursome are not to be seen.  Loosely, it’s the six of us now, making our way around the marshy frozen lake. There are plenty of rosy cheeks, complaints for water (which we did not think to bring) and tired little legs.

We stop for a break at the half-way mark. Then it’s time to complete the circle. We all fall a few times. Sometimes when we’re just standing in place. The finale is the steepest hill of the course where you have to point your skis outward and inch up the hill. The downward coast after is well worth it. We reach the end, unhook our boots and carry in our gear. From start to finish = 1 hour and 25 minutes. We agree we’ll have to trek around again very soon and try to improve our time. Then we decide it would be fitting to head to Pizza Luce for slices and a brownie sundae. All that hard work deserves reward!

A few notes: I learned a few days later that the mom as part of the foursome overseeing the three girls, was a bit concerned. The two girls intermixed with us were supposed to take the .6km short route and instead took the long route. Having taken the short route, she was a bit panicked until she met up with the two older girls.
I’m also happy to say that within 1.5 weeks of the first outing, we made it out for a second spin. This time with water and snacks. We discovered more in the woods (due to comfort with our strides and a finer attention to nature’s detail). For example, we came across a tree sculpture that we adequately named Wishbone.

12 Ingredient Recipe

On a Minnesota January Sunday Snowday, I don’t mind resigning myself to the kitchen for the day. Such is the case today. To lure the kids away from the constant call of electronics, we pulled out our Williams Sonoma The Cookbook for Kids recipe book on Saturday, put our list together and shopped. One recipe in particular looked so alluring sweets-wise, we all agreed we would make the S’more Cupcakes.

Typically thought of as a campfire treat in the summer, I love the idea of making this winter s’more variation. I have always had issues with summer s’mores anyway. My kids think I’m fussy, but the three rectangles of Hersey’s chocolate, two large square graham crackers and one cylinder marshmallow proportions always seem messy and not quite right to me. I do have my own solution for this, but it’s complicated….

Blending at Higher than Medium Speed

Mid-afternoon we dive into this recipe. My 7-year-old, Calvin, wanders into the kitchen lazily to help. He perks up at the spread of ingredients and all the mixing, egg-cracking and batter-licking it will require. My 9-year-old, Ava, is curious, but not enough to leave her favorite t.v. personalities… yet. Calvin and I get started by lining the cupcake papers in the muffin tin and completing Step 1 (see below). We’re already two messy bowls into the recipe. Moving onto Step 2 – the blending – I do the pouring in of ingredients and he lightly guides the mixing bowl as it whirls around. The most fun being the flour mixture as it produces poofy whiteness contrasted by the liquid cocoa/vanilla/buttery mix.

We spoon the mixture into the 12 cupcake holders and have quite a bit left over which goes into a separate dish. Calvin then sprinkles the Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips on top (the recipe calls for one-fourth cup/ 1.5 oz – we use about one-half of a 11.5 oz bag). In the oven they go. We wait impatiently – turning the oven light on and off. About 5 minutes out, we make the frosting which is seriously yummy. I’m not even a marshmallow fan and I like it. A lot. Probably because it’s more dense and creamy (versus fluffy) what with three-fourths cup of butter and a half cup of powdered sugar. We don’t even have to crush the graham crackers as the recipe directs (this would actually be fun for kids) because I just bought the graham cracker crumbs instead. The recipe calls for a slight amount and we triple that, but I do only go with half the frosting. The point is, we can be a little creative here, kids!

Cupcakes – Completed and Ready to Eat

Prematurely, I frost them before they’re cool enough (again, impatience!) and it makes for a mess typical of a summer s’more. If you make them – be sure to wait it out. As we taste and review, we all agree that we enjoy this variation on a s’more by our indoor fireplace very much. Delish!

For the record, the first recorded version of the classic s’more was printed in the Girl Scout handbook in 1927.  Here’s the Williams Sonoma version (pg 102 of The Cookbook for Kids):

Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder with 3/4 c very hot water. Stir until blended, then add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Blend the Ingredients
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 3/4 c butter on medium until shiny (about 20 sec). Add 1 c granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 min). Add the two large eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.  Beat the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture in three batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture in two batches.

Step 3: Bake the Cupcakes
Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle the chocolate chips (1/4 to 1 c) evenly over the cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (17-20 min). Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely (We didn’t listen to this step!)

Step 4: Frost the Cupcakes
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on med speed, beat 1/2 c butter (room temp) until shiny and smooth (about 2 min). Add 1/2 c powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the marshmallow creme (one full 7oz jar, just as you buy in the store) until just blended. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the top (if you’re using whole crackers, place them in a ziploc bag and crush two whole crackers with a rolling pin).

Candy Salsa Ingredients

Usually the school subjects my seven year-old son, Calvin, tends to be jazzed about are recess and lunch. Every day I get reports about how little time he actually gets to eat his lunch and play outside. One day last week, he came home thrilled about extra time devoted to one of his favorite subjects: food.  The school had someone come in from Midwest Food Connection to make a recipe right there in their classroom for two days last week.

I’m pretty sure Calvin was in the front row, taking in all the techniques and mixology that went into the recipes. Upon picking him up at school last Tuesday, he waved the recipe card in my face: Mom, we have to make this stuff. It’s SO good!

It was a recipe for salsa. Not rocket science and quite basic. His enthusiasm ensured the ingredients made it to my grocery list for Wednesday. With portions of a whole as the quantity in the original recipe, I increased everything accordingly so I could use the full ingredient. What do you do with half of an avocado, three-fourths of a bell pepper and 18 sprigs of cilantro?

For the Love of the Roma

As he hopped out of the car at school drop-off on Thursday morning, he eyed me: We are going to make that salsa today, right? Me: Sure. True to form, after school, he reminded me once more. He stuck his head in the fridge, seeking our ingredients. After everything was assembled and awaiting chop, dice or squeeze techniques, we re-read the recipe and figured out what each of us would do. I am still not comfortable with him using a sharp knife – especially to dice items into small pieces, so I did all of the knife work. I also had him watch as I dismantled the seedy pepper, chopped the tomatoes and popped the pit out of the avocado. He washed veggies, de-leafed the cilantro, scooped out the avocado, squeezed the lime juice, added the salt and mixed everything together.  Oh, and sampled to taste: Needs more salt.

Cheater’s Lime Juice

I heated up the corn tortillas on a pan on the stove and we spooned the salsa onto the tortillas. We sat at the table for a little lesson in wrapping. Typically, this would be a side dish to a main course, but at 3:00 in the afternoon, it was a perfect snack. I’ve made salsa many times in the past with similar ingredients including garlic, but never with bell pepper. I could have eaten this salsa like candy. Calvin agreed and we attribute the sweetness to the pepper, thus renaming it Candy Salsa.

Remarkably, Calvin was totally onboard with the tomato, which for whatever reason (his Dad’s not favoring them?) he had vehemently disliked since summer. It must have had something to do with the chef’s preparation, other classmates agreeing the salsa was delicious, or just plain acceptance of the common tomato. Whatever. I love his passion in the kitchen.  He brought home another recipe from school for potatoes which we’ll be making next week. For starters, we’ll share the salsa one with you:

Candy Salsa on Corn Tortilla

Candy Salsa (our name)/ Salsa Recipe (official name)

one-fourth red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

5 sprigs of cilantro leaves

one-half avocado, diced

1 fresh lime wedge, squeezed juice only

salt to taste

Mix together in bowl and serve on warm corn tortillas or with corn tortilla chips.

Recipe from The Gift of Grain Lesson and presented by Midwest Food Connection at Hale school in Minneapolis the week of January 14 2013.

“Christmas gift parent advisory: do not buy the Elf on the Shelf. It is advertised to change places in your house while you are sleeping but it doesn’t. We returned our first box and haven’t had any better luck with the second. So far the elf has just been sitting in the box. The kids have been so disappointed. Just giving everyone a heads up on this.” - -Facebook post by my husband, December 24.

Elf on Wilde Roast’s Shelf

Okay, so we know that as parents we actually have to move the elf ourselves. Most chimed in with comments on his Facebook page that conveyed that they (wink, wink : )) understood that we knew what our role was. However, we did have one person suggest that I call her because “…my brother and wife have had one for a few years and what they do is hilarious I plan to get one on sale for next year. It’s not what the elf does – it’s what you do with the elf.” Now that response, Michelle, is hilarious.

 
The Elf is mainstream holiday culture. We got ours last year. In a culture where easy and consistent access to technology is available to our kids, the Elf for parents represents a third-party way to impose a looming threat over their Christmas gifts. Gifts that by the way, are totally technology related.  We’re guilty too. We put restrictions on technology and tv time saying that the Elf would then give Santa the green light to deliver presents on their wish list, which included a Wii.

Box-Resistant Elf

Parents are willing to pay $29.95 for this small Elf in a big box with a story. At least I feel better when I look at the mother/daughter team that chose to capitalize on this tradition. We take him out the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) and he works for a month. That’s about a dollar a day. Worth it, I’d say.

 
Our Elf is pretty boring. Others, as witnessed by Facebook posts and photos, have elves that are much more mischievous. Some fly paper airplanes, some get entangled in toilet paper, others make a mess in the kitchen or slide down the banister (see Pinterest for ideas).

 
I’m making a promise to get more mischievous next year – that is, if my future 8 and 10-year-old will even pay attention. I, in intro-Elf mode, have to say the guilt of forgetting to move him nightly mirrored the times when I’ve forgotten to leave money from the Tooth Fairy. I have made up a ton of excuses as to why the Elf might have chosen not to move from his post from the previous day.  That was as creative as it got.  Next year, I’ll be armed with new ideas!  Any Elf on the Shelf stories to share? Michelle?

PBTeen Graphic Patch Quilt Purchased, Potentially Returned

I’m not sure what switch was flipped at age nine and a half for my daughter, Ava, but it’s causing a newfound need to be more grown-up.  From nightly dinner conversations about getting a puppy to updating her room decor so she can lose the baby pink pantone, it’s constantly called to my attention that she growing up.

To agree to all of these requests — a new puppy, a new room, a new route home from school with a friend, and new and permanent bling in her ears — would most likely overwhelm our entire family. Over the past month, we’ve been working though everything with some careful compromising, added responsibility and sound reasoning.

Ava cleverly submits me to online survey-taking to determine the type of puppy I (nevermind her) would be most compatible with and works hard to sell me on the idea that she’d be the one taking puppy out for walks at 7:00a.m. in the winter. Once we revisit our schedule, turns out that yes, it would be me doing those early morning walks/runs. We table the puppy purchase for at least six months.

Next we turn our focus to redecorating her room. After seven and a half years of what we call watermelon decor, she insists she’s ready for something new. We scout out PotteryBarnTeen and find a few options (black is a necessity) before ordering the Graphic Patch Quilt and Sham as a starting point for the paint selection and decor. We cannot agree on paint selection, but we eventually agree that maybe it’s too soon to redecorate given all of the things we’d have to replace and buy. We could wait until she’s eleven and revisit it as we’ll probably only do the decor over once while she’s living at home. It’s kind of a relief, truthfully.

Thirdly, we discuss walking home after school with a friend to her friends’ house. She insists she’s totally ready for this. I, however, am not. Instead I offer to pick up her and her friend one day each week and bring them to our house so they can hang out. She’s kind of heartbroken over this and I would love to say yes. Maybe next year. Maybe when you have your own mobile phone.

Piercing Tech Alicia Measures and Marks with Purple Ink

The final quest is for ear-piercing. We create a reward system around this – practice your piano and clarinet frequently and without complaint and you may get your ears pierced. She is game for this and follows through for a month before the assessment date arrives. She gets a passing grade from her Dad and we immediately head for Claire’s the next day.

I question the training and skill sets of the piercing technicians at Claire’s, but I am mostly satisfied because of the girl’s optimistic and friendly attitude. She claims she’s a perfectionist and re-does the purple ink dot markings 15 times to ensure the correct and matching placement. When all is perfectly marked, we call on another tech so they can simultaneously perform the piercing. Ava seems a bit nervous, but doesn’t let on. Her seven year-old brother is pacing the store and continually asking if we can buy candy.

“I Just Got My Ears Pierced” and now I’m at Starbucks

We settle on the mid-to-high price range earrings although all in their arsenal are hypoallergenic. I talk Ava down from a square cubic-zirconia looking studs to flatter, yet still shiny, daisy-shaped earrings. On the count of three, the techs fire their earring guns. Ava looks a bit flushed. The tech reviews the cleaning process and we walk out $55 later. We opt not to redeem the 50% off coupon for new earrings just yet as she has to keep the studs in for six weeks.

She shares the news with her family and fellow fourth-grade friends. She’s slightly worried about her Papa calling her a gypsy, which is what he called me in newly-pierced ears in sixth grade. The girls just say cool. In the next breath, all is well with the other denied and compromised requests for the moment. I’m safe until the next grown-up must-do/ must-have comes along.

Who doesn’t have an obsession with castles? The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis does and with the new addition by HGA Architects, you can go from historic to modern with a courtyard in between.

Trolling for Swedish Fish

I hadn’t visited ASI for years and since the opening of the new addition, it’s been on my list. With relatives in town, not of Swedish but Scandinavian heritage (close enough!), and the holidays approaching, we opt for a Friday afternoon visit. Our group includes my mom, aunt, my two kids and me.

ASI lies just south of downtown Minneapolis on Park Avenue, the first asphalt road in the Twin Cities which is also known as the Golden Mile. The institute’s new signage, parking lot and landscaping greatly enhance its presence and ease of access. They also designate close parking spots for fuel-efficient vehicles only, our first hint at the sustainable features for the site’s new design.

Upon entering we’re drawn to the right, right into their gift shop featuring Scandinavian designed goods and to my kids’ delight – a candy store. Might they have Swedish Fish? Bulk candy is $12 a pound so after a quick study, the kids chose a few items that occupy them while the grown-ups check out the shop a bit more. The kids discover the Norwegian (our ancestry) version of Ticket to Ride. I file that idea away for later.

Just (Scandinavian) Desserts

The cafe, Fika, runs the length of the courtyard’s southside. There is plenty of daylight streaming in at 3:00 in the afternoon and many larger groups  of people dining in the cafe. We peruse the chalkboard menu for some time and place an order for various coffees and desserts from lattes to hot chocolates (both of which are served with fancy swirls) and flourless chocolate torte to bread pudding. Our order is served to us at the table along with real linens and silverware. The minute I insist I have to try my 7-year-old son’s dessert, he picks up the last large section of it to shove in his mouth. I manage to talk him down from that to share a bite with me. The rest of us are sharing politely.

Third Floor Children’s Playhouse

After dessert, we pay our admission fees for the castle portion of the institute (the cafe, gift shop and access to the courtyard are all free). Fees run $7 for adults and $4 for kids (ages 6-18; under 6 are free). Upon arriving at the paid portion of the museum, the kids immediately assume we are in some sort of Harry Potter-like adventure (we are in the process of reading the books together). The castle-like vibe is heightened here because we are inside at the old to new transition point, yet can touch the exposed exterior stone of the castle.

In the Castle’s Shadow

We explore all three levels of the castle including the solarium in about an hour. It was the right amount of time considering we had a nine and seven-year old with us. Many of the rooms were set with holiday decor including some very elaborate table settings and Christmas tree decor. I would like to get the kids in for napkin folding instruction, please!

We spend more time on the third floor at the kids’ playhouse and Turret area, where Tomte, the elf, is now accepting written holiday wishes. The kids each scribe a letter to drop into the post. From our perch, we also discover the new addition’s green roof and miscellaneous hidden goats, gargoyles and gnomes. Before leaving, we take one last walk around the courtyard. I envision that us adults could easily come back and explore the museum more, and that for free, the kids and I could come back to shop, dine and just be in the shadow of Minnesota’s only castle.

Carving and Removal of Guts

Halloween ranks second only to Christmas as the holiday when most retail consumer dollars are spent. People buy costumes not only for kids, but grown-ups too; more decorations for parties and bucket loads of candy. Halloween costume stores pop up  in various locations and we stock up and shop early. For this family, I think our Halloween storage outweighs our Christmas storage. As follows is a Halloween recap on carving, costumes and candy handling.

Overly zealous in past years, we’ve had to restock on candy and be faced with carved pumpkins whose insides have turned to mush by Halloween if they haven’t already had their decoration chewed off by squirrels. This year, I bought pumpkins and candy ($14.98 value pack) five days before Halloween. The hidden bag is uncovered and ripped into the next morning at about 3:00a.m. by my 7-year-old son, Calvin, who had been obsessing about it. The carving takes place four days prior to Halloween and the Jack-o-Lanterns serve as a centerpiece days before moving outdoors on Halloween, in fine condition.

Witch and Gangsta

Weeks prior we had pulled out our Halloween bins of costumes past and tried to sell the kids on resurrecting all or portions of them for this Halloween. Tough sell. My son wanted to be a gangster and needed a whole new pin-stripped suit because the pink-stripped gangster outfit my 9-year-old daughter wore the year before would not suffice, of course. Even the cheap plastic gangster weapon – found in pieces – needed replacement. My daughter, Ava, was thinking witch. We found two respectable witch hats, six black cloaks and a black wig in the arsenal. We knew our options before heading to the Halloween store. Upon arrival, it was all too tempting to not stick with a costume re-run. Calvin got the gangster and Ava, due to indecision, ended up empty-handed on a new costume and committed to the witchy mix of options at home.

Halloween Grub

With Halloween on a Wednesday this year, the usual annual parties in the neighborhood occur on the Saturday prior. With minimal effort, I dress in black and add a witch hat to head to the first party with the kids. This annual party with a 2:00p.m. start time comes complete with a fog machine and elaborate Halloween fare from gummy worms in crushed Oreo crumbs to eyeballs conveyed via mini-powdered donuts topped with an M&M as the pupil, red gel lines for the veins. We last about two hours.

We regroup at home and try to have a substantial meal before the next party. There is little interest. Now I’m ready for costume two of the day – Elastagirl (recycled from five years prior). My husband, who has costumes set in May for the next Halloween, is suffering a set back. Apparently fabric spray for clothing is not all it’s cracked up to be. Cutting it close at 5:30, his Plan B emerges. We all take over one bathroom and finish applying hairspray, face painting and powdering. The witch turns into a mime of sorts simply because she wants her face white not green. We head to party #2 around 6:45p.m.

Haunted House on the Block

This annual party has another great spread of food – little tacos, artichoke dip and of course mummy dogs (formerly known as pigs in a blanket). Grown-ups gather around the outdoor fire pit and the kids run wild between the bouncy house, playhouse and basement. The kids are sneaking soda and snacks at all times so it’s pretty tough to monitor what they actually consume. We last til 8:15p.m., then it’s time to head out. After all, the adults need Halloween fun too!

With sister-in-law set to watch kids, we’re out the door by 9:00p.m. to an old-fashioned Halloween house party where we’re greeted by host Gene Simmons. We meet many bizarre characters that make the evening very entertaining. We’ve had our fill and are ready for a break from Halloween, at least until Wednesday the 31st.

As is tradition, I make some sort of casserole or hotdish. This year it’s Aunt Rose’s Easy Cheesy Lasagna. It’s ready to go in advance so we can be ready for the 6:00p.m. trick-or-treaters. They still catch us off-guard. We debate every year if we should go out in shifts so someone can be home to hand out candy. This year, we choose to all go out from 6:30-7:15p.m. Our neighborhood really goes all out so we don’t have to go far. We never miss the house on the block complete with staged outdoor lighting and Thriller on a loop. Ava takes her time and Calvin sprints between homes. It’s challenging to keep up with them and chat with neighbors too.

Candy Plan

At home, we heat up the lasagna and have a fire in the fireplace. My husband also sets a major fire to one jack-o-lantern to creating a flaming pumpkin, which to me looks hazardous and threatening to potential visitors. Trick-or-treaters still come. We hand out candy til 8:30p.m., when we finally turn out the lights. The kids sort and organize their candy, eating as they go, especially the items like KitKats which are pretty popular this year. We try to bribe a few of their 60+ pieces of candy from them.

They kids are so worn out, they actually head to bed on their own. Ava doesn’t even take off the white face paint. Calvin puts the tooth he lost that day under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy who actually forgets to come that night. I reason with him on November 1 that too many kids lost their teeth yesterday, bobbing for apples and whatnot. The Tooth Fairy will come tonight.

It’s four days after Halloween now and we’ve just taken all of the decorations down. The candy still lingers. This year, rather than limit it to one or two pieces after dinner each night, I’m being much less restrictive. They can have access to it through Tuesday, then it’s gone. Otherwise, they drive me crazy obsessing about it all day and it lasts for 2-3 weeks, making the after-dinner candy treat a tough habit to break. So we have two more days to consume, then I’m getting rid of it. Their uncle offers to buy it for $5, but Ava pushes back, it’s worth much more than that. I’ll sell it to you for $20. I’m glad she negotiated. I’ll just put that money directly to their dental bill or next year’s costume purchase.

To Flag or Tackle?

Are you ready for some football? Yes…. and no. My 7-year-old is ready to play – mentally and physically – but is he safe? I think not. He’s playing flag football through the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation program where the only piece of protective gear for his program level is a mouth guard.

If the program were about the fundamentals, drills and strategy, I’d be less concerned. However, this group of first graders is playing football for the first time in an organized program (unless they have played through a private league), and it’s mostly about contact in a game. They spend 30 minutes on drills during their Wednesday night sessions and the remaining 30 minutes on Wednesdays plus another hour on Saturday mornings playing ball.

I have been challenging my husband for years on signing up our son, Calvin, for football. He’s an advocate, I’m into other options. The writing has been on the wall – he would play somehow, someway. We’ve signed up for some football alternatives – namely soccer. When Calvin was five, he and his sister two years older, kicked it on the soccer field. And after a freezing cold fall season when asked what they liked best about the game, the unanimously agreed that it would have to be the sideline. A tad bit infuriating to hear.

7 Pound Weights for Sideline Downtime

One night this season, my son complained of an injury and lobbied not to go to Wednesday night football. I sensed the injury was a ploy so insisted that we go to support the team and listen in on the coaching strategies. After all, my husband is the head coach (he signed up as assistant and was immediately promoted to head, as does oft happen in these programs) and since he was out of town, I was in charge of getting Calvin to the game. He stood on the sideline before sneaking away to the nearby park to hop on the swings with his sister. I reigned him in. Then he couldn’t resist the urge to kick around the soccer ball with a 4-year-old on the sideline who was there because his older brother was on the team.  I let him kick it out. Clearly, there  was no injury. Twenty-five minutes into practice, I pulled Calvin aside and noted that he looked ready to play. Finally he agreed to get in the game.

The boys have varying degrees of  skill sets, physical size, interest and understanding of the game. Practice and games can be quite chaotic. Just two grades up, on the field adjacent, third-graders practice in full gear. There might be more contact, but at least they have pads and helmets. I would vote to make it mandatory for first and second-graders too. It is challenging to pull an opponent’s flag off of them without getting caught up in the speed and momentum (It can be done – see the video below where Calvin goes in for a touchdown (green team, jersey #7) and his opponent swipes and holds high Calvin’s flag). It doesn’t happen as often in practice, but a few teams our own Green Lanterns have played this season have been very physical – tackling, not de-flagging as the rules of the game instruct.

I’m not trying to be extreme, rather, encourage that programs mandate protective gear. At least then I could be more relaxed on the sidelines. But not totally calm because I foresee the escalating contact and hits to come if he continues with football. Coincidentally, the other team’s quarterback goes down screaming on the last play of the game due to a twisted or broken ankle. Game over.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoying watching my son play as much as the next mom, but in light of recent research about concussions and long-term effects of the game, you can bet I’ll keep pushing alternatives. Calvin says he’s ready to play soccer this spring and as much as I dislike the term, I could get used to being called a Soccer Mom.

Check out the video of Calvin’s touchdown: