A Manly Man Birthday...

Last week was my husband's birthday and I, being an occasional great wife, let him pick what he wanted to do.  Well, surprise surprise, he wanted to go have breakfast at Cattleman's Steakhouse.  You know, 'cuz nothing says "breakfast" like a big, bleedin' T-Bone if you are an Oklahoma guy!  If you've never been to Cattleman's (which I hadn't) it is actually a pretty cool experience.

This place has been here for about 100 years (literally) and has been visited by movie stars, food critics, and a few presidents.  I don't know if they have EVER changed the decor so be prepared for tan-ish/green-ish vinyl and big-haired waitresses who call you "honey" and treat their jobs as an absolute art.  I could barely let my coffee cup touch the table before Lisa was there to "warm it up" for me.  I will admit that there was alot of eye-rolling on my part at his insistence on going to a steakhouse at 8 a.m. but I ended up really enjoying it.  Hubby got the corned beef hash and I got the breakfast burrito.  Both were humongous and came with pretty much every breakfast carb. offering that you can think of.  The biscuits and gravy were particularly amazing.  The kids split a bacon and eggs type meal and ate it all plus some of those amazing biscuits with gravy.  I'm pretty sure they ate more than any pre-schooler should!  Your doctor probably wouldn't reccommend going there on a regular basis but it was definitely worth the trip for some amazing down home cookin' and a slice of Western history.

After our 4,000 calorie breakfast, we went to one of Hubby's favorite places, the Myriad Botanical Gardens.  He particuarly likes going there in the dead of winter.  Sort of like a faux tropical vacation.  The property features acres of outdoor gardens and water features, which have recently been beautifully renovated.  Unfortunately, they "renovated" right over the parking lot so we had to circle the block several times trying to park, but that's really my only complaint.  The centerpiece of the gardens (and why you go there in February) is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, basically a mini indoor rainforest in the middle of the city.  It's just beautiful in there with waterfalls, orchids, and an amazing array of tropical plants and butterflies.  What is really great is the way they have made each level of the rainforest accessible, from the ground floor to the tops of the tall palms.  Hubby has been taking me here since we were dating and I still find something different every time.  You can print off a coupon here.  You can also leave it on your kitchen counter like I did.  And they want the paper coupon, they haven't bought into the whole mobile coupons convenience yet.  Oh well, it's only a dollar.

Back outside, they have added a separate children's garden with lots of play areas, mosiacs and really beautiful gardens.  The best part is that it is entirely fenced so you can let you guard down a bit.  It's sort of a modern take on a playground, everything is very geometric and simple.  The kids loved it and could have cared less that it was February.  We had such a good time running and climbing (all of us).  I can't imagine how beatiful it will be when things are actually growing and blooming in there!

As if that wasn't enough, I cooked his favorite dinner, Shepherd's Pie.  I even let him talk me into using actual white potatoes instead of sweet potatoes.  Seriously, I think I should earn Wife of the Year credit, don't you? Or maybe just a gym membership after that day of eating!

Grandpa's Birthday

Last weekend was my dad's birthday and they were nice enough to bring the party to us.  In exchange for them making the trip down the Turnpike (with some of the "Jersey" clan in tow), I decided to make him a nice birthday dinner.  Making something special for dear old Dad is a little difficult as he is not really a fan of most food that I would consider "special."  As in, he's pretty much a meat and potatoes,nothing "weird" type of guy.  But, he does really love a good lasagna (who doesn't?) so that's what I decide to make.  I even threw in dessert.  From a box, of course

On a rare trip down the baking aisle, my ever-helpful 4 year old said with some skepticism "Mom, do you even know how to make brownies?"  Well, my dear, I know how to buy a box and I know how to follow directions, so there!  Just to stack the deck a little bit, I sprang for the "gourmet" brownie mix, no plain ol' Betty Crocker for my dad.  So, here's the line-up:

Lasagna (adapted from my great friend Catherine...10 years later and I still call it "Catherine's Lasagna"):

1 box Barilla lasagna noodles
1 lb lean ground beef (sometimes I thrown in a little breakfast sausage, it gives a nice extra flavor)
2T Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-6 button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced or chopped
1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes with basil (Muir Glen is my favorite)
1 T dried oregano
Black pepper
1 large tub (3 cups) low-fat, small curd cottage cheese, drained slightly (just pour some of the liquid out with the lid slightly loose)
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or 1T dried)
8-16 oz good-quality mozzarella cheese

Heat a large pot of water to boiling.  Drop noodles in and stir.  Under-cook noodles by a few minutes, as they will keep cooking in lasagna.  Drain noodles and set aside, tossed with a touch of olive oil to keep from sticking.

While noodles are cooking, brown meat in olive oil.  Avoid stirring meat for the first few minutes so that it develops a nice brown "crust" that will add flavor to the sauce.  Drain fat, if necessary.  Add veggies and cook a few more minutes until veggies get some color on them.  Add remaining sauce ingredients (tomatoes and seasonings).  Turn to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, egg, parm cheese and parsley (with a little extra black pepper).  This is your "ricotta" layer.

Spread a little extra olive oil evenly over a large glass baking dish (or use cooking spray).  Spread a thin layer of red sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Slightly overlap noodles over sauce (my pan takes 4 noodles per layer with a little extra for the ends).  Top noodles with 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 of the red sauce, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Add another layer of noodles and repeat sauce layers.  Repeat again until you have three layers each.  Add a bit more mozzarella and parm and fresh parsley to the top if desired.  Toss that baby in a 350 degree oven and wait 45 minutes for bubbly, cheesy goodness!

 I apologize for the lack of an "after" shot but by that point I was focusing on hostessing and not blogging!  Trust me, it was yummy and beautiful.


I served this with a chopped salad of romaine, red bell pepper, kalamata olives, yellow tomatoes, and more cheese.  And, of course, buttered garlic bread!  Crack a clove of garlic and heat it with 2-3 T butter in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Discard garlic and add some olive oil, fresh herbs, and black pepper.  Smear on bread and forget to count the calories while it browns lovingly in the oven with your lasagna.  Gild the lily with some Ghiradelli turtle brownies and a nice glass of red wine.  I chose Jarhead Red for this one in honor of my dad.  Does he drink wine?  No, but he was a Marine and I managed to enjoy a nice glass in his honor anyway!  It was actually quite tasty, and the proceeds go towards the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund.  Bonus!  Semper Fi Dad!  And happy birthday.  I hope this makes up for the fact that I didn't actually buy you a gift.

Fancy Nancy Dinosaur Dig!

Grammie created Fancy Nancy!

Nope, that is NOT a typo!  This is what happens when you ask a 4 year old what kind of birthday party she wants.  Well, let's see...she's part girly-girl princess, part rough and tumble adventure girl.  Sooo, I should not at all be surprised when she asked for a Fancy Nancy dinosaur dig party.  Surprisingly, it came together fairly easily thanks to the help of some great friends and a lot of luck.

The first thing we needed were dinosaur bones.  You know, for the dig.  Our wonderful neighbor happens to work at the local Natural History Museum and was more than happy to start sending us a steady stream of not-quite-perfect museum replica bones.  We had vertebra, jawbones, and a lot of other miscellaneous bones courtesy of the upcoming baby apatosaur exhibit.  Just for extra fun, I bought the dollar store out of small plastic dinosaur skeletons as well.  I mean, I really thought the museum bones were a superb find, but I figured those tricky pre-schoolers might be more impressed with a dinosaur they could actually see.  Next up, we poured several bags of sand into an already-blank spot in our landscaping, buried the bones and waited a few days for them to develop a "weathered" look.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (ranch house that is), we had to work on the Fancy Nancy aspect of the party.  I sent out eVites this year with an image from Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire and lots of extra fancy language (one of my daughter's favorite parts of the books).

I did some research and found lots of wonderful ideas for activities like decorating your own purses or hats and other very "girly" things.  Problem was, half of our guests would be boys.  So instead of girly accessories, we made "explorer boxes."  Basically, they were cigar boxes (again, provided by my neighbor) painted with gold metallic paint.  Inside there was a paintbrush (for dusting bones), a magnifying glass, and a pack of flash cards for dinosaur identification.  I bought Hobby Lobby out of clearance stickers and each child decorated their own explorer boxes.  Then it was on to the dig!  What fun the kids had rummaging around in the sand pit and unearthing the bones.  My son spent pretty much the whole party in the sand, digging and re-burying the bones.

If the kids got tired of the dino dig, we had the handy bounce house running at full throttle.  Truly, there is nothing better for entertaining kids than a bounce house.  Next it was time for "refreshments" as Fancy Nancy would say.  Pink and purple cupcakes, with sprinkles of course.  Fancy Nancy would never dream of a cupcake without sprinkles!  We also had fruit salad, PB&J dinosaurs, and Fancy Nancy's extra pink, extra fancy pink lemonade (recipe to follow), with bendy flower straws of course.

Overall, it was a great time.  The activities went over very well and my daughter had a blast.  Plus, the entire thing probably cost less than $100.  Like I said, luck was on my side with the dinosaur bones and the free bounce house.  But it did take some creativity and tips from helpful friends on pulling off an extra fancy, girly-girl yet boy-friendly party!  I guess now I can rest easy for another year.

Extra Fancy, Extra Pink Lemonade (From Fancy Nancy, Explorer Extraodinaire):

1 Concentrated can pink lemonade
1 can water *
1 bottle cranberry juice
1 Cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Mix and sip, daintily, with pinkie up if you please!
* This recipe really needs more than one can of water.  I diluted it a little and it was much better that way.   The kids loved it both ways though!

Merci to everyone involved, my Fancy Nancy loves you all!

Birthday Parties, learning more every year

I am not a natural hostess.  I am overly fussy about things like crumbs on the floor and toilet lids left up.  I over think things like food and prep, trying to make everything special and pretty.  The result is a bunch of fussy food that most people don't recognize and decor that is either not as cute as I imagined or doesn't really matter anyway.  Also, I get nervous and rush about trying to speak to everyone and probably do not listen as well as I should.  That's probably a long enough list for now!  So, with that said, children's birthday parties are a definite work in progress for me.  For one thing, I have yet to find that magic hour when all children are awake, well rested, and in a good mood.  Also, the thought of lots of preschoolers eating cupcakes in my house pretty much makes me want to rush for the nearest hand vac and pack of Clorox wipes.  But, I think I get a little better with every party and here are some of the things I have learned:

Keep the food very, very simple.  Like hot dogs, small sandwiches, fruit, things like that.  Don't get overly hung up on everything being healthy or serving a "square meal."  I remember researching low fat/sugar/artificial cake recipes for my oldest child's first birthday.  Thank God I abandoned that idea and just ordered some cupcakes from the family bakery!

Keep the list small.  That rule of number of kids equaling the age of the child?  Pretty good.  It's hard because you want to include everyone but it is much easier to deal with 3-4 three year olds or 1-2 one year olds than say, 15.  Also, from the age of three on, you'd better ask your child who they want at their party, and respect it.  Trust me, it's embarrassing calling a parent three days before a party to say "My daughter reeeaaallly wants your daughter at this party. I'm sorry I didn't think to invite her before but you see, I forget they are people with feelings and opinions of their own so I just invited the children of my friends."  Or something like that.

Keep the party favors simple.  I've seen some pretty cute stuff in goody bags but really, we all have snacks, candy, and small toys at home already.  Instead, pick one cool toy/craft that goes with the party theme and use that as the favor.  The child and parent will probably appreciate it more than a bunch of tiny stuff.  I learned this tip from my birthday ninja friend.  For this last birthday party, I found a bunch of giant beaker-style bubble wands on clearance at Target.  I literally emptied the entire shelf into my cart!  The kids had a blast running around blowing bubbles in the backyard so it was a "goody" and an activity.  Of course, somehow I didn't get across that they got to take them home (bad hostess-itis) and so my yard ended up littered with bubble wands!

Move things along in a timely basis.  No one wants to hang around your house for 4 hours waiting to see their gift opened.  Meet and greet, activity, snack/meal, cake, presents, thank-you-for-coming.

Keep it simple.  Especially for little ones.  We will all get to the years when children think they must have elaborate, expensive birthday parties.  So take advantage of the fact that most very young children have pretty simple needs.  Try not to over-stress it and relax and have fun.  I'll have to come back and re-read this myself in three months when my daughter turns 4!

Party at the Firehouse

This weekend we attended a birthday party.  I am blessed to have many great and talented friends, many of them being slightly more experienced mommies that I can go to for advice or tips.  One of my mommy friends in particular is the birthday party ninja.  There are no bounce houses or paid entertainment at her childrens' parties, not that I don't love a good bounce house!  At these birthday parties, we have gone on a backyard lion hunt (safari theme), created individual mini pizzas (chef party), and even had an entire party dedicated to the color orange!

Well, this time it was a fireman party.  Seems simple enough, but we started the event with a tour of a real fire house.  We watched a safety video, talked to firemen, and learned some valuable information on preventing fires, and what to do if there is a fire.  One key tip for all of the parents: firemen are scary to small children!  Who knew?  They came into the room dressed in their gear, hats, masks, boots, tools, and the children were terrified.  Imagine being very small and your house is on fire and you are so scared.  Then this big, noisy, strange, monstery thing comes in and tries to get you!  It was so important to learn how to talk to our children about firemen and what they actually look like on the job.  We have met firemen before but it has always been in their regular uniforms, not with all of their gear and the "Darth Vader" sounding mask.  It was great to be made aware of this and to have the children get a little more familiar with what a fireman in full gear actually looks and sounds like.

So, after the demonstration, it was on to the fun stuff: checking out the fire house and of course, the truck!  You know it's all about the truck!  Every child got to look at, touch, climb on, and explore the truck.  They rang the bell, and they got to go on a real ride in the truck, with lights and sirens of course!  What fun!  Every child learned a lot, had fun, and came away with books, crayons, and stickers all courtesy of the Norman Fire Department.  The guys were so great with the kids and adults, they answered questions, shook hands, and really took time out of their day to make sure everyone was having a good time.  So, thank you firemen!  And thank you birthday ninja!

Apparently touring a fire department is as easy as calling them up and asking.  It's amazing what you get when you ask, isn't it?  What a fun and important activity for a birthday party, pre-school, daycare, or playgroup.  Get out, and get to know your local fire department!