Who Needs A Fire

The other night, I bought stuff to make s'mores. I was thinking that we would build a fire outside in the fire pit, but by the time we got finished with dinner, I just didn't have the energy. Never fear, the big kids came to the rescue with a solution. Nothing like using the stove to roast your marshmallows.

The marshmallows catch on fire just like those over a camp fire.

I like burned marshmallows.



Apparently, so does Ammy.



S'mores are really good if you use Barefoot Contessa's recipe for french chocolate bark for the chocolate.

Makes 18 to 20 pieces

1 cup whole salted, roasted cashews
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 to 7 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried crystallized ginger, 1/2-inch diced
1/2 cup cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, 1/2-inch diced
1/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil draw a 9 x 10-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment paper placed on a sheet pan, then turn the parchment paper over.

Spread the cashews in one layer on another sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place the semisweet chocolate and half the bittersweet chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir with a rubber spatula. Continue to heat and stir in 30 second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Immediately add the remaining bittersweet chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into the drawn rectangle. Sprinkle the top evenly in the following order: first the ginger, then the cooled whole cashews, the cherries, apricots and raisins. Set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm. Cut bark in 18 to 20 pieces and serve at room temperature.

Meet C.C. and Leo

We added two African dwarf frogs to our family yesterday. I am pleased to introduce...

C.C. (after NY Giants football player, C. C. Brown)

and Leo (as in DiCaprio).

Kellen and Ammy received a Frog-o-Sphere for their birthday. They saw the Frog-o-Sphere when we were on vacation this summer and have been wanting one for their room ever since. The only reason I agreed to more pets is that this is a self-contained, self-cleaning ecosystem. It comes with 2 aquatic mini frogs that live for 2-4 years, a snail, living gravel and a bamboo plant. The frogs eat twice a week and you only have to change the water twice a year. These are very low-maintenance frogs compared to the last couple of frogs that we have watched/owned. (One time we had the class frog over Christmas break and we almost cooked him by placing his aquarium on top of the radiator cover. Thankfully, we returned him alive. Then someone thought it would be a great idea to give my older kids a Frog Kit for a birthday present. This frog was the nastiest, smelliest frog ever. He actually jumped into my garbage disposal one time when I was cleaning out his bowl. Thankfully, my husband was able to get him out.

Anyway, I think we will be able to manage these two. They are pretty fun to watch and they fight like two other people I know.



Thanks Grandma and Poppa for the great gift.

I Think It's Safe To Assume That My Son Will Never Become A Hairdresser

Tristan came home from soccer practice tonight and declared that he needed a hair cut (never mind that I've been trying to get him to cut his hair for weeks) My husband is the one who usually wields the clippers, but he is out of town so Tristan decided to give himself a buzz cut. Hair cutting is not one of the skills I possess so I was beginning to get a little nervous. He had a ton of hair and the clippers seemed a bit dull.

Then the clippers died.

"Mom, we've got a problem!"

In my supportive way, I took pictures in between hysterical fits of laughter.

Apparently, he was cutting the same section of hair over and over again.

We got in the car and started heading over to Sports Clips to get someone to fix his hair. Since it was 8:30 p.m., I decided to call over and make sure they were still open. They weren't! At this point Tristan was freaking out and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I called a family friend and thankfully, he owns a pair of clippers (and a nice hair cutting cape too).

Jim "The Barber" Mathias to the rescue.

The divot is slowly disappearing...



Much better!

I don't think Tristan will be cutting his own hair again.

Wannabe

Music plays a huge role in our lives. We always have music on and since the twins were little, they have always had an amazing ability to remember the words to a vast number of songs. Imagine my surprise when the twins started singing Wannabe by the Spice Girls when it came on the radio. (Apparently Wannabe is all the rage in third grade and it was in some movie not too long ago) It was so funny that I had to pull out the video camera. Kellen's expressions are priceless (as is the fight at the end of the video).

Saturday Night Lights

Saturday night we went to have dinner and watch fireworks in celebration of Labor Day Weekend. The fireworks were spectacular.

The cotton candy was good too.

And really would the night be complete without glow necklaces, balloon animals and tattoos?