Letters from Pemberley

Urgent Public Service Announcement

Oct 8th, 2011 by ECM

For some reason, I’ve been on a dessert baking binge. Cinnamon rolls, cake, bar cookies, drop cookies…you name it, I’ve probably made it in the past month. (Upon reflection, this is probably directly tied to my desire to lose 45 lbs. Forbidden calories and all that.) Anyway, this morning I made these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. They’re technically breakfast, not dessert, because “pancake” is in the title, and everybody knows that pancakes are breakfast food. Um, not sure why I waited four days between printing this recipe and trying it. You can learn from my mistake. Don’t wait so long to try them. You probably have everything you need to make them in your kitchen right now. Seriously, why are you still reading?

(*I doubled the batter because we are big pancake eaters. They are so rich I didn’t need to–I couldn’t even finish my first stack in the picture. Oh well. Pancakes for breakfast tomorrow! I used half whole wheat pastry flour, and it wasn’t even noticeable. Will use all wwpf next time. I didn’t double the filling, and it was still plenty. Mine were not as pretty as hers because I didn’t wait to let the filling thicken up, so it dribbled everywhere–next time, I’ll make it and stick it in the fridge while I make the rest. And I skipped the glaze. I’m sure it’s good, but we’re health conscious here, you know.)

Now excuse me, I need to go spend a couple hours on the treadmill…

Posted in Recipes | 8 Comments »

The Playhouse

Oct 7th, 2011 by ECM

It’s so nice to have it back up!

Tommy’s already marking out his territory.

Posted in California, Elizabeth, Susanna, Tommy | Comments Off

“Spiders”

Oct 6th, 2011 by ECM

So the kids and I have been reading a couple of kid’s books about WWII. In a picture book, you can’t get too in-depth into the evils of the Nazi regime. You pretty much just focus on being brave. Well, one of the pictures had a flag with a swastika on it, and Tommy noted that it looked like a spider. I didn’t feel the need to stop right there and explain that it is a symbol of evil, hatred, racism, and all that stuff. I probably should have, because this afternoon, Tommy came running over to tell me that he had drawn German spiders on the back patio!

I was in the middle of another failed attempt at taking good pictures of my etsy products, so I had the presence of mind to snap a picture before freaking out, telling him that those are evil signs, and making him scratch them out. (With our luck, it will be another 2 months before it rains and washes them out…) Next up: Derek gets to explain to our 5/16 German son why Germans were the bad guys 70 years ago.

Posted in Homeschooling, Tommy | 6 Comments »

Bedtime Change-Ups

Oct 5th, 2011 by ECM

Usually Susanna sleeps by herself in her room with the futon for guests, Tommy and Elizabeth sleep in their room, and Derek and I sleep in our room. Not tonight!

6:30- Susanna goes down in her crib. Lucky her.

7:30- Derek puts the big kids down in their own beds.

8:00- I come home from errands and find Tommy in Elizabeth’s bed. Move him back. Elizabeth starts crying.

9:00- She is still crying, and Tommy is close to sleep but wants her to come in to his bed and snuggle. I say it’s okay, but she keeps crying.

10:00- She is still crying, and she has woken Tommy up. I move Tommy to the futon in Susanna’s room and Derek gets in bed with Elizabeth to try to calm her down.

10:15- Derek gives up on getting Elizabeth down and brings her into our bed. I nurse Susanna quietly so as not to wake up Tommy and put her back in her bed.

10:30- I’m in our bed, but Elizabeth’s snoring (she has a cold) is bugging me.

10:45- I try to move Elizabeth back to her own bed. She wakes up and cries. I put her back in our bed and move my pillow to Tommy’s bed (because it doesn’t have the rail). I’m not used to sleeping in a twin, which is why I’m back up and restless.

If you were keeping track, that’s Susie in her own bed all along, Derek in two beds but ending up in his own, Tommy in three beds and ending up on the futon, Elizabeth in three beds ending up in ours, and me in two beds ending up in Tommy’s. There is a Shirley Jackson story that recounts a similar night in their house, culminating in cigarettes in the crib and a missing blanky. I’m not sure of the whereabouts of Elizabeth’s blanky, but hopefully we’ll find it in the morning.

Being sick as a family is really not fun.

Posted in Family | Comments Off

Overheard at Our House

Oct 5th, 2011 by ECM

Tommy (playing with the clothesline): “I’m sorry, Lizzie, but this is too complicated for you, so you cannot play with it.” (Not sure he understands what complicated means.)

—

Tommy (looking at a picture of us while I was still pregnant with Susie): Mommy, who helped you put Susie in your tummy?

Me (trying not to hyperventilate): Er, well, God uses a mommy and a daddy to make a baby.

Tommy (apparently totally satisfied): Oh.

—

Me: Why do you have all your money out?

Tommy: We were pretending we were getting married.

Me: Oh. What do you have to do to get married?

Tommy: Well, a girl needs to find a husband, and a boy needs to find a wife, then they get married.

Me: Elizabeth, why did you need money to get married?

Elizabeth: Um, I dunno.

Posted in Elizabeth, Tommy | Comments Off