Super Powers

Tonight at dinner time Elizabeth asked everyone "If you had 3 super powers what would they be?".  

After a little discussion, Kai pipes up and said "I would have the super power to freeze time, so that when Dad is running late to take me to preschool, I would freeze time so that I would get to preschool in time to play in the gym".

Ben's been busted!

Say "Thankyou"

We got a new refrigerator on Thursday.   It's a big, four door fridge with the freezer down the bottom and an ice machine.

I had a fairly good idea on what I wanted, but we all went shopping as a family to buy the fridge.   Kai and Lizzy loved looking inside all of the fridges, and testing everything out.

When the fridge arrived on Thursday, Kai was super excited.   He kept on saying "It's the fridge that I picked Mummy!"    Once it was set up he turned to me and said "Mummy, you need to say Thank You to me for picking the fridge".     He even asked Ben to say thank you when he came home from work.

I'm not sure how he came to the conclusion that he was the one responsible for choosing the refrigerator, but he firmly believes that he was.  

Kai Would Like to Read to You

Kai loves to read this book to me every night.   He doesn't know how to read yet - but has memorized most of the book.

Mathematical Bent

Isaac and Elizabeth seem to have inherited a knack for Math from Ben.   Ben once said to me that he just sees Math, and I think Elizabeth is showing that same tendency.  

Both kids are in a Math Club - their choice.   The other week, Elizabeth's teacher told me that Elizabeth's strength is logic - that she is the one who can look at a problem and know what to do.

I saw this for myself tonight.   She was doing some math club homework and came to me and said that she didn't know how to divide numbers which had multiple decimal places (eg 8.26  / 2 =).   I briefly showed her how to carry the remainder.  About 10 minutes later she came back to me and said "Mum!   I used what you showed me to work out how to divide using numbers with decimal places. (eg 2 / 9.7 = )     I love how she was just able to transfer one concept to another.

She just seems to "see" math too.

Happy Australia Day

Australia Day is pretty quiet here.   Not surprising, really, considering we do live in America.

For years, we have held a Heritage Night at school.   As I have been the only Australian,  I have always been in charge of the Australian booth.

However, over the last year or two, there have been more Australian families moving into our school zone.   This year, I was actually able to hand over the booth to another family.   It was so nice to be able to explore other countries instead of manning my booth.

The best part of all of this was that tonight we went to an Australia Day party.   The family that took over the booth was holding a party and they invited us along.   The kids made Music Sticks with bottle caps.   We had lots of Australian food - including sausage rolls, meat pies, lamb roast and pavlova.   And there was even some Australian music, until people groaned too much.

It wasn't quite the fireworks celebration type of night that we might have had at home, but it was nice to have a night with some other Australians and share stories of Australia with non-Australians.

First Tooth...Lost

Kai has lost his first tooth.   Both in the sense that it has fallen out and we don't know where it is!

I was cleaning his teeth last night, when I suddenly noticed his tooth was gone.   I hadn't even realized it was wobbly so we hadn't even spoken about the fact that his teeth would fall out.

I asked him if he knew when it came out and he told me it happened at preschool.  I'll have to check with them next week to see if they knew about it.

So here we are at 4 1/2 with a missing front tooth.    It's so much earlier than the other two.

2013 In Review

At dinner tonight, we reflected on all that has happened in 2013.   It has really been a lovely year.   Here is our review of what has happened:

January:
Isaac & I saw the Tutankhamun Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center.
Ben & I start playing multiplayer games together - we start with Torchlight.

February:
Isaac moved from Cub Scouts to Scouts
Ben & I see Suzanne Vega in concert
Ben & I took a Financial Peace course, and started looking at money in a different way.

March:
I went to England for a week with Kristina.
I get a new niece.

April:
Camping at Deception Pass, and visiting the Tulip Festival
Isaac participated in a couple of Math Competitions, his school received 2nd position at one.
Charcoal was born - I got to see him at just 1 week old.
I get a new nephew.

May:
Camping at Sun Lakes State Park
Isaac went to Outdoor Education
Isaac and Elizabeth mowed the lawn for the first time

June:
Charcoal joined our family
Ben went to New Orleans for work
Ben went to Madrid, Spain for work
Ben & I saw They Might Be Giants in concert
Elizabeth presented her Experts Project on Marine Biology.   She still wants to be a marine biologist.
Isaac went on his first overnight backpacking hike.
Isaac finishes Elementary School

July:
We went to Orcas Island, and went on a Whale Watching tour and saw Orcas
Kai went to Summer Camp and learnt about Dinosaurs
Elizabeth went to a Summer Cooking Camp, and came home with great new skills.
Isaac went to a Lego Summer camp, and made his first robotic Legos.
Mum, Anita & Simone visited us!
We went camping at Mt Rainier, while Mum & Anita stayed in a hotel at Mt Rainier.
We all went hiking on the Skyline trail at Mt Rainier.

August:
Isaac went on his first week long camp for Scouts
Elizabeth held her first Lemonade Stand
Camping at Glacier National Park
Elizabeth went to her first Paint Away Summer Camp (Ceramics)
Ben went to Australia for Work
I did the voice over for an Educational App

September:
Ben went to New Zealand for Work
Isaac starts Middle School
Isaac starts Cross Country
Kai starts 4 days a week at Kindergarten Prep
Ben & I begin running.   My body has been falling apart since, it doesn't seem to be responding well to running but I have developed a love for running - Ben has been getting healthier & stronger.
Ben is promoted at work!
We get a new piano
Elizabeth starts playing the clarinet
Elizabeth joins the school choir

October:
Isaac and Elizabeth join Math Clubs
Elizabeth breaks her thumb
Ben & I celebrate 14 years of marriage.
I see "Daughter of the Regiment" at the Opera - it's my favorite since I've been attending.
Elizabeth makes it to the finals for Student Council Treasurer.
Elizabeth enters her first pie eating contest.
Ben goes hiking with Isaac and some other Scouts

November:
Elizabeth misses out on the Treasurer position for Student Council
Ben & I attend a Cheese Making workshop.
Kai graduates from his Rainbow swimming class to the Green class.   This means he's swimming unassisted for a short distance.

December:
Elizabeth receives a National Merit Badge for a Math Competition.
Kai starts writing his name
We spend 2 weeks trying new foods.

It has really been a great year.   Let's hope that 2014 will be much the same!

Two Weeks of New Foods

Trying new foods has been lots of fun.   What has amazed me is that Isaac and Elizabeth threw themselves into the experience and tried every offering.   Most things were loved - somethings surprising me - especially the Baba Ghanoush which Isaac has now declared one of his favorite 5 new tastes.

This was the verdict:

Baked Alaska is the new family favorite food.   The kids think I should make it for Christmas every year!   Key Lime Pie came in a close second.   My family definitely has a sweet tooth.

This is what everyone chose as their favorite 5 foods:

Ben
1.  Baked Alaska
2.  Borscht
3.  Cheese Fondue
4.  Eggnog
5.  Key Lime Pie

Werona:
1.   Baked Alaska
2.   Huevos Rancheros
3.  Cheese Fondue
4.  Dango
5.  Key Lime Pie

Isaac:
1.  Baked Alaska
2.  Pocky
3.  Baba Ghanoush
4.  Key Lime Pie
5.  Dango

Elizabeth:
1.  Baked Alaska
2.  Baba Ghanoush
3.  Eggnog
4.  Kumquats
5.  Key Lime Pie

Kai did not try enough to rank them but his favorite was Cheese Fondue.   He's wanted to know where the fondue is for his broccoli on numerous nights since trying it!

An Extra Day - Just Because

We ended up trying another new food on Christmas Eve - Key Lime Pie.  

I was surprised at how easy this was to make.    It reminded me of a cheese cake, without the cream cheese. Traditionally, the base would be made from graham crackers but I have not found a nice gluten free alternative to graham crackers so I just opted for a gluten-free pre-made crust.   The filling was simply Key Lime juice and condensed milk.   The topping is meringue.

Key Limes are small limes, grown in the Florida Keys.

Kai was bribed into trying the Key Lime Pie.   As you can see he did not like it.   It was quite tart, and this four year old couldn't handle that.   He did enjoy his ice-cream, which was his reward for trying.

But, as you can see, everyone else gave it the thumbs up!

I'm very tempted to make a Key Lime Cheesecake now!

Day 12 - Black Truffle

Today our new food was Black Truffle.   We almost didn't try this food, as I asked for it at the shop only to find that one truffle cost in the range of $60-$100.   Ben and I had decided that we needed to wait until we had more money to try this food.   But then we found Black Truffle Butter.   A tiny tub of butter cost us $8.99 - but it contained shaved black truffle, black truffle puree and black truffle extract so we knew we were going to experience the taste without breaking our budget.

I served it with gluten free pasta and romano cheese.   My original recipe called for pasta, olive oil, black truffle and romano, so this was pretty close to the original.

I was not surprised when Isaac announced that he did not like it.   Isaac is not a big pasta fan at the best of times.   Add in a strong flavored butter and it was not well received.   He did, however, add some meat and suffered through the meal.

Elizabeth loved it.   This girl of ours is our food lover.   She has loved trying new foods for the past two weeks and each day she seems to be finding a new "favorite".

Ben and I thought it was delightful.   I think when we have the budget available, we might try the real thing.   This was a much cheaper way to find out how our family reacted.   It would have been terrible if we all screwed up our noses after paying $80 for a truffle.

Kai did not try the Black Truffle.  He did, however, thoroughly enjoy the pasta and cheese.   Or as he kept on saying "Can I have some more spaghetti with my cheese?"

Day 11 - Kumquats

Today we tried Kumquats.   They are small citrus fruits that are in season at this time of year.   No one had ever tried these before.    I did have another meal on my menu but I felt like something nice and easy to try, due to all the busyness of Christmas.   What could be better than a small fruit which we didn't need to prepare!

Kumquats can be eaten with or without the skin.   Ben was the first to try and he found the skins quite bitter.

Due to this, we recommended that the kids try the fruit without the skins.    For this they suck on the fruit to remove the juice.

Elizabeth was the next one to try.   Let's put it this way - she's now eaten about 6-7 kumquats.   Because she liked the first so much, she decided to try them with the skin as well.    She declares that they taste better with the skin.

Isaac and Kai were not impressed at all!

As for me, I liked them as much as any other citrus fruit.   I tried both with and without the skin but preferred them without the skin.   I have to admit though, as I'm typing up this post I have a nice fresh taste in my mouth.

Day 10 - Borscht

This is the food that I really wanted to try.   Borscht is a beetroot soup/stew.   When I started looking for recipes, I found out that there were many variations on Borscht, depending on which region you are from.   I chose a Ukrainian recipe, which called for meat in my stew.   There were many vegetarian options as well but I felt like eating meat.

Ben and I thought it was delicious.   We don't eat beetroot over here very much - they don't sell Golden Circle Beetroot and nothing seems to compare to that.    However, as soon as we ate this Ben said "Of course we like this, because we're Australian.   Beetroot soup - why didn't we think of this sooner?"    This was made from real beetroot - not the canned stuff - and it was yummy!

However, the kids disagreed.   They both tried a few mouthfuls of the different vegetables and the meat but they really didn't like it.   I'll give them stars for being brave enough to try more than one mouthful though.

Our conclusion is that Ben & I will have Borscht again on a night when we're cooking just for ourselves.

Day 9 - Eggnog

The thought of drinking egg has always put Ben & I off Eggnog.   Until I looked into Eggnog recipes, we thought the egg wasn't even cooked.   However it appears that you do heat the milk and egg, so you are not actually drinking raw egg.   That fact tipped us over the edge enough to try Eggnog as our next food.   I admit, I cheated and bought a very unhealthy, highly processed, drink from the shops rather than making my own.   It's nice to have a ready made food every now and then!

Everyone tried the Eggnog - even Kai although that did take some bribery.

Ben and Elizabeth loved it.   We had to tell Lizzy she couldn't have too much, as it's very high in calories.   To put it another way - it would take 1 hour of snowboarding to work off 1 cup of eggnog.

Isaac and I didn't mind the Eggnog, but it's not something we would choose if there was another option available.   I'd rather drink my calories in other ways.

Kai was very emphatic about the fact that Eggnog is yucky!

Astrophotography

If you have a spare 5-6 minutes, and you are interested in listening to Elizabeth present her talk about Astrophotography, here is the video...

Day 8 - Baba Ghanoush

Today we headed off to the Middle East for our new food:   Baba Ghanoush.

Baba Ghanoush is made from egg plant, tahini, lemon juice and spices.  

I quite liked this dish although it was very lemony.   As I was taste testing, I thought that Elizabeth would be a fan as she likes hummus and she likes lemon.   This dish tasted like a mix between the two.

This is Ben's "why are you taking a photo of me face".   He thought it was OK, but I'm guessing that he's not going to go out of his way to eat it again.
  

Isaac could not decide if he liked it or not - but it must not have been too bad as he ate all of it.

And, not surprisingly, Elizabeth loved it.   She's already got some in a small container to take to school tomorrow.   She kept on telling me that it tasted just like hummus but even better.

Kai did not try any, as it was not ready before he went to bed.   But I'm guessing he would have looked at it and screwed up his nose.

Finally!

Kai is my reluctant writer.

But for the last few days he has finally been writing his name!

Hooray!

Day 7 - Pocky

Pocky is a popular Japanese candy.   It's basically a small stick wafer, covered with chocolate.

Unfortunately, this is the one thing we are trying over the two weeks which Ben cannot eat, as it's made from wheat.

It also turned out that Elizabeth had actually tried Pocky.   She went to a martial arts camp last summer, and they had Pocky as a treat one day.    She liked it so much back then that she was really excited about having it again tonight.

Isaac loved it - and I'm expecting him to ask for more when he gets home.

Kai did not like it at all but I suspect that is mainly because he is not well and many favorite foods are being rejected.

I, of course, loved it.   Who can resist vanilla wafer with chocolate:   not me anyway!

Day 6 - Baked Alaska

Day 6 has been my favorite day so far.   Not only did this taste delicious, but it was so fun to make.   I have happy memories of Mum making Baked Alaska and remember being fascinated as a kid with how you could cook ice-cream.    This was my very first attempt at baking my own Baked Alaska and I'm happy to report that it worked!

Not surprisingly this was a hit with the kids too.   Elizabeth declared that this was her favorite day so far.

Ben enjoyed it too but not just for the usual reasons.   Baked Alaska is a dramatic dish, which you set on fire just before presenting it to your guests.   Mum had told me that traditionally brandy was used but that she never had success with it.  Instead, she used lemon essence or vanilla essence.   I didn't have any brandy, and my vanilla essence is homemade from vodka so I wasn't sure how well it would work.

So Ben gladly rose to the challenge of going through our alcohols to find out which was the most flammable.   We had seven different kinds to try, and unfortunately most didn't even create the smallest flame.   For each one, he put some in a shot glass, lit the match and watched.   Once it was tested, he drank the sample.    Let's just say that I had a very talkative husband for the evening and he did lots of cycling to exercise off the calories :)    Luckily we had one that lit up quite nicely - Peppermint Schnapps.  

Day 5 - Dango

Our next food on our "new foods" list was Dango.   To be precise we had Fugetsu Do - which is rainbow dango.

It is a Japanese dumpling/dessert made from mochiko (rice flour).   It's not the most famous sort of Dango, but that one is covered in soy sauce and that, of course, contains gluten.   (I could have made a gluten free version myself - but Monday is a busy day and this was one meal I decided to buy instead of make)

It was well like by all - and definitely one that the children would happily eat again.

Preschool Christmas Concert

It's that time of year again - when the children have their Christmas concerts.   Of all the concerts, the preschool concert is definitely the one overloaded with cuteness.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Kai's class singing Silent Night and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.