Mommy Mondays: Bowl-O-Rama

Thatkid's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, so his actual birthday was a little uneventful.  There was a doughnut for breakfast, presents, then school, then out for pizza for dinner.

The big celebration happened on Saturday - his bowling party.

Thatkid has been bowling two times in his whole life, but decided a couple months ago that what he really wanted for his birthday, was a bowling party.

Such a throwback to our childhoods!  I can't even begin to count the number of bowling parties I went to when I was a child.  He hasn't been invited to any bowling parties, so he's either right on the cusp of the resurgence, or they're just not a thing anymore.

But a bowling party sounds really easy - they don't even let you bring your own food (minus the cake) so all we had to do was show up! Of course I couldn't do nothing, so some bowling ball balloons were easy enough decor.

And once the kids arrived, there was bowling.

And pizza.

And more bowling.

Lots more bowling.

Eventually I rounded all the kids up for some cake.  And oh that cake.

Like last year, Thatkid requested I make his cake.  Vanilla on the bottom, strawberry on the top.  Purple frosting. 3 bowling balls stacked on top of each other on top of the cake, and 2 pins beside the balls.  And bowling balls all along the sides of the cake.

I made a slight adjustment to his request, because 3 balls don't really balance well on top of each other when you're dealing with three dimensions and not just two. 

A couple little white dots on black plates and we were ready to go.

After cake, the kids bowled a little more and then I gathered them once again to take some pictures and send them to the table to grab their favors.

We sent them home with bowling pin sippers, gutterball gumballs, and those black balls filled with bowling balls, each of which were filled with a bowling pin stress ball, socks, and a slap bracelet (super retro for a retro kind of party, no?)

And with that, they were on their way.  We did a quick cleanup, and then we were on our way also!  Thatkid had a great time with his friends and I think we're going to start seeing a lot more bowling parties from this group!

Sunday Runday: Grape Day 5k

Oh HELLO running friends!

It has been waaaaaaay too long since I've posted a Sunday Runday.  I'm sorry.  I missed you too.  There are a couple of things I have backlogged, but between you and I?  Summer running had me really bummed out.  Too hot.  Too sticky. I kind of stopped enjoying it there for a bit. 

But luckily cooler weather is upon us, just in time for my fall race season.  October always starts me racing all through the new year.


Beginning with the Grape Day 5k.  The last few years I've found myself running it with Thatkid - or more correctly, run/walk/whining with Thatkid.  So this year when he told me he didn't want to run it, I wasn't too bummed out.  I haven't run a race for time since March, and I haven't run a race since April!  After a really ugly summer, it would feel good to stretch my legs a bit.


Then earlier this week, Thatkid decided he really did want to run the race.  With a $10 coupon coming through my email, I signed him up and resigned myself to the fact that maybe it was better to take it a little slower with my race return.

Saturday morning was gloomy.  Overcast and sprinkling.  Perfect running weather if the sprinkling didn't turn into anything more ominous.   Thatboy dropped us off at the start and went to find parking.  Thatkid and I walked around a bit to keep warm, but the nice thing about running a race close to home is that we didn't have to get there very early.  In no time at all Thatboy and Thatbaby were walking up the road toward us and we were heading to the start line.

As usual, Thatkid took off like a bullet.  I reminded him to keep his speed in check so he would make it all three miles, and all three hills.  He backed off a bit, only to put on the burners when we passed the groups of cheerleaders cheering us on.  ("I had to run fast, or they would have kept cheering for me to run fast!")

We hit the first mile marker right after the first water station and Thatkid was excited to see that he had run his fastest mile to date.  So excited he charged right up the first hill.

It wasn't too long after that he asked if we were almost done with mile 2.  We weren't.  We weren't even at 1.5 miles yet.  And we were about to hit the second hill.

But at the top of that hill, we were halfway done, and heading downhill for a brief respite.  One more hill, and we were turning around and running downhill to mile marker 2.  The weather ended up being perfect for the race, and I love running by all the old houses and the tree lined streets.  Thatkid and I pointed out houses that would be really cool to live in and decorate for Halloween.


Then we were heading back out toward the main street, and those cheerleaders.  Thatkid decided he wanted to conserve some energy, so he could really sprint to the finish.  We walked a bit between cheerleaders.

 "When we get to that 3 mile sign, I'm going to run as hard as I can."  He told me.  And true to his word, he took off.   The road was empty in front of him, and I hung back as the crowd went crazy cheering for the little dude.  One of the policemen, on a bike, rode over and gave him an escort to the finish.  He was talking to him, but when I asked after the race when the policeman said, he couldn't remembered.  He was too focused on the finish.

And finish he did.  It was adorable to watch and I knew he was beaming with pride.  Especially because we had talked about the fact that he was about to break his own personal record.

Usually after the race, we grab breakfast as a family at the local coffee shop.  But this year, the burger joint down the street, who had just started serving breakfast earlier this year, offered a discount for racers and was one of the two locations to pick up your free post-race beer.  Which made it a no-brainer for a new family tradition.    I already love the place for their breakfast burritos and the kids are a fan of any place that has chocolate chip pancakes.

But I was tickled pink to see that the free post-race beer they were offering was brewed especially for today.  A local brewery - Burgeon - had created a Grape Day 5k beer!

A personal record for Thatkid and a fun new beer for me made for a very enjoyable race morning!

High Holiday time: My Challah

It's October!  September went by so fast - as it always does.  September starts, and our wave of celebrations begin.  Thatbrother's birthday, Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, Thatkid's birthday, Baby Q's birthday, Halloween, Thatboy's birthday, Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, New Year's Eve - basically it's nonstop here until January!

Rosh Hashanna this year fell on a Sunday night, so we took advantage of the weekend and headed to Thatmom's house to celebrate with her.

Sunday night we got together with the whole family for a New Year's meal.

Then Monday morning it was off to synagogue.  Tashlicht in the afternoon is one of my kids' favorite parts of Rosh Hashanna.  My mom's synagogue does their Tashlicht at the beach.  And my nieces joined us for the first time.

They loved the shofar and throwing our sins into the water.

Yom Kippur fell in the middle of the week, so we stayed home.  We went to synagogue and then I kept the kids entertained with Yom Kippur crafts.  Jonah and the whale is the story told on Yom Kippur, so we made Jonah and the whale poppers. 

And since leather shoes aren't supposed to be worn on Yom Kippur, we also made sandals out of cardboard and pipe cleaners.

My favorite High Holiday tradition is making challah with the boys.  I actually started this tradition when I was pregnant with Thatkid.  I was 39 weeks pregnant on Rosh Hashanna and knew I'd be having a baby soon.  If he was a boy, I'd be needing a challah for a bris, and probably wouldn't have time to make one with a new baby.  So I made challah.  One recipe makes 2 loaves, so we had one for then, and I threw the other in the freezer for after the baby was born.  And he was born just a couple days later!

Ever since we use Rosh Hashanna to make two challah.  One for Rosh Hashanna, and one for Yom Kippur the following week.  At first it was just me, but as soon as the boys were old enough, they joined in.

It's nice to have a challah already made on Yom Kippur since it's a day of fasting.  The last thing you want to do when you're not eating is bake.  But sitting around, starving, on Yom Kippur got me thinking about challah.  I grew up with my dad making challah every week.  A peek into the spare room on a Friday morning would bring the smell of rising bread through the house as their little dough bodies snuggled under a thin blanket.  I love those memories, and the idea of sharing that with my children.  I don't have my dad's recipe, but I've come to love Joan Nathan's Whole Wheat Heavenly Challah. 

When I decided I wanted to start making Challah on a weekly basis, I remembered I had this book in my library:

I'm not even sure where it came from, or how long I've had it, but it seemed like a perfect way to bring challah into our lives.  For my first foray I went with her basic "My Challah"  playing with the shape to correspond to Sukkot, the harvest festival that took place last week.  It made 2 loaves so I went with a more traditional braid for us to enjoy this week.

My Challah (From A Blessing of Bread)

2 tsp instant yeast

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup warm water

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1. Whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup of the flour.
2. Whisk in the warm water until smooth.  Let stand for 10 to 20 minutes or until it begins to puff slightly.
3. Whisk 3 eggs, salt, oil, and honey into the yeast mixture until well incorporated.
4. Stir in remaining 3 1/4 cup flour.  When the mixture forms a ball,  turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth.  Place the dough in a bowl and cover.  Place the bowl in a warm, draft free location until it has doubled in bulk (about 2 hours).
5. Line 2 large baking sheets with silpat sheets.  Divide the dough into 2 portions.  Braid them as you desire.  The top one is a single strand braid.  The bottom one is a Sukkot challah - a single strand wound around itself, ending in a hand shape.  Cover the shaped breads and allow them to rise for another 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 325.  Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt and brush this eggwash on the bread.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. 

Camp Out!: S'mores Muffins

My kids get the short end of the stick when it comes to summer vacation.  Mostly, because they don't get one.  I'd feel worse,  but Thatboy and I don't really get summer vacation either.  There's no lazy days of summer, sleeping in, and lounging about.  For Thatbaby, Thatboy, and myself, the only thing that marks the difference between summer and the rest of the year is that it's warmer outside.  For Thatkid, camp takes the place of school.

But we try to give them a little bit of a summer in the activities we participate in.  As the summer drew to a close, I asked the kids if there was anything they wanted to do over the summer that they didn't get to do, and Thatbaby firmly answered that he wanted to go camping.

Camping.

Camping last year was a disaster.  We were all miserable.  So I was a bit surprised that this was his request.  But last year's camping trip was planned by Thatboy, and I thought that maybe if I took a swing at it, I could figure something out that was more enjoyable for all of us.

I did some quick searching and found an open reservation for one night at a campground in Julian on Labor Day weekend.  We packed up the car and headed out.

Because we know Julian fairly well, we knew all the best places to stop.  Which puts everyone in a good mood.  First stop was lunch at Dudley's.  Since we had Thatdog with us, we ate in the car, but it didn't change the tastiness of the sandwiches.

Our next stop was Julian Station.  Where we got to drink mead, 

and cider.

Since the apple orchards weren't open yet, the kids used this time to get their own apple cider fix.

And play old school video games.

And ride quarter operated rides.

Our final stop before getting to our campsite was the Julian Mining Company.   My boys love love love love love rocks and minerals.  It's one of their favorite parts of the fair. So it made their entire weekend to be able to mine their own giant bag of gems.  

When we finished up with that, it was finally time to check in to our campsite.  

While Thatboy set up camp, I kept the kids busy.  Which was the second part of my plan to make this trip better than the last - a whole bag of crafts to keep the kids entertained.

Part three of the plan, which tied in to part one, was going someplace we knew there was food.  So we weren't reliant on the campfire, which proved to be a little much for my impatient kids.  It made the trip somewhere between camping and glamping, but was perfect for small children.  Our dinner was at the Julian Brewing Company.  Outdoor seating for families and dogs.

Jenga and cornhole to play.

And delicious pizza and beer.

In fact, Thatkid enjoyed his pizza so much, he wanted to come back the next day!

After dinner it was back to the campsite for some glowsticks and story telling around the fire before bed.  Which went so much better than bedtime last year!

The next morning we woke up, ate some granola bars, and headed out on a hike.  The location had several that started right off the campsite which made it really easy.

I had also made the boys scavenger hunts to do during the hike.  Which kept them both busy and interested.  

When we got back, Thatboy started taking down the tent, and I pulled out the craft bag again.  This time to help the boys decorate the walking sticks they'd found on their hike.

And give them sidewalk chalk while we packed up the car.

It was short, it was sweet, and it was a super successful camping trip. And of course, no end of summer campout is complete without the quintessential campfire food - s'mores.

Sure you can make these at home.  And we certainly have, but there's nothing like getting sticky and messy when there's lots of dirt to stick to that sticky mess.  At home, it's far easier to go with something cleaner.   These s'more muffins capture all the flavors of camping, without the smoke smell that clings to your hair for days.  Or the stickiness that you just can't seem to rinse off.  It's not quite the same, but it's a good way to relive it months later!

S'mores Muffins (From the Food Network)

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup flour

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

 1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 cup marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin pan with silicone or paper liners.  Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tsp flour and set aside.  
2. Whisk remaining flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk the sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl until smooth.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, just until they care combined.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, tapping the pan against the counter to smooth out the batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
7. Top each muffin with 1 Tbsp marshmallow fluff.