Home-schooling

Jack is crouched on the kitchen floor, alternately rocking a ladle and a measuring cup back and forth and dropping them both, and seeing how they move differently. He decided to do this while I was emptying the dishwasher. He is currently engrossed in the way the ladle rolls. Ta-daa! A physics/science/whatever lesson.

Har Har

"What heck the that is??" says Jack. Evidence that I don't cuss too badly around him! :)

New Shoes

Jack: Hey Mommy, these shoes are not good for me.
Me: Why not?
Jack: My-cause they are bad....
Me: Yes, but what's wrong with them? Do you have more words you could use?
Jack: Mommy, these shoes are not yummy.

Counting

"Mommy, I counting the flowers! Flower, flower, flower, flower...."

Corned Beef

This St. Patrick's Day, I used the America's Test Kitchen recipe to make corned beef at home. It essentially consists of rubbing a brisket with some herbs and spices, and a LOT of salt.

Seriously, I think it was a half-cup of salt alone....

Note my lovely assistant, and the monstrous pile of fat I had to trim from the backside of the brisket. The tricksy butcher hid it on the underside! Next time I know to ask him to trim the fat before packaging it up.

I bought this gorgeous piece of brisket and couldn't wait to try out the recipe. After five days of brining in the fridge, it was ready. I boiled it up with some cabbage and carrots. It smelled so good!

We dug in, and -- yuck! Too much salt. WAY too much salt. I had rinsed the meat thoroughly before adding it to the pot, but I guess that wasn't enough. Next time I think I'll cut it down by half, and maybe give the meat a preliminary boil, then swap the water out for fresh stuff before adding any veggies.

Conclusion: Better luck next year!

Going Out

Evie and I were recently invited to a ladies-only tea party for a friend's birthday. I decided to throw on a little makeup... and this was so different that Jack was fascinated.

Watching (and having his own makeup applied -- note the tiger face in the following pics!) was quickly not enough. He had to help! :)

Multitasking

Jack is picking his nose with one hand while biting the nails on his other. What talent! :D