Snow Day Update

We got some light snow through the morning then it started to sleet/freezing rain for a while. I measured 8" around 3:00 this afternoon. There's a crusty, icy layer on top of the really dry snow. We actually didn't go out to play in it today since it was sleeting most of the day. We'll go out tomorrow but it'll be a challenge to build a snowman with dry snow that is topped with a layer of ice.

We had a fun day inside where it was warm and cozy. Jon and the kids worked on puzzles at the dining room table.

They threw baseballs back and forth.... luckily soft baseballs.

Jon's outfit was so fabulous that I had to take a picture of it. I asked him to pose. Don't you love it?

I spent the whole day in the kitchen baking, baking, and more baking. I'll do a whole post about it tomorrow. Time to give the kids a bath and get them into bed.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program To Bring You This Special Weather Report

This was the radar on weather.com last night before I went to bed! Woohoo! I have never seen a radar this blue while living here.

Charlotte was so excited to look out at all the snow this morning. (Sorry for the dark picture.. it was 7am)

Evan went from room to room looking at all the snow. I love his hair sticking up.

This was the view of the backyard as of 8am this morning.

Just about 7 inches of snow overnight!! I'm a little sad that I was sleeping during most of the falling snow.... but I'm thrilled about 7 inches of snow!

Right now we have a bit of sleet like Jon told me it would.

Stay tuned to your local Blog station for up to the minute.... well, up to the hour... well, up to the day weather updates. Now we will return to your regularly scheduled programing.

Skateworld!

Good evening Stockpot Fans! This is Becky's husband, Jon, guest blogging tonight about my trip with Charlotte to Skate World! Charlotte's Preschool rented out the local skating rink for the morning and we had a wonderful time...but it wasn't without suspense...drama...cake...and a happy ending!

Here we have Charlotte in roller skate pair #1, notice the look of terror in her eyes. This was Charlotte's first attempt at skating and the wheels on these skates were too fast for her. She could barely stand on her own and really didn't like skating at all.

A friendly passer-by took this picture of us while Charlotte struggled to stand. And now that I see it in real life, my Steeler shirt did not look good with my favorite pants, so sorry about that. Please do not hold Becky responsible for my poor fashion choices.

Now we have the second pair of skates, notice the cheery disposition! The wheels on these skates were much stiffer and Charlotte Loved to skate. Although she preferred to hang on to the rail she was quite at ease skating all by her self. At times I offered her a hand to hold and she said "No thank-you, I can do it myself!"

After some Videos games, and failed attempts to get a ball and stuffed animals out of the claw machine we sat down for some snacks! It was a fun morning and I hope the whole family can go to Skate World next time!

Make sure you check out my blog "Miller's Movie List" to see what movies I've seen lately!

http://millersmovielist.blogspot.com/

Also make sure you read the Winter Storm Update below!

WINTER STORM 2010 UPDATE

Did the title sound dramatic enough? You should see the local media frenzy surrounding our winter weather that is on the way. They're still forecasting 8-11" which to anyone up North would be just a regular ol' day..... here in the South, it's cause for panic, grocery store raiding, and super slow traffic.

I've been downright giddy today waiting for this storm. Getting ready only required a tarp. For what you ask? A Chihuahua who only stands about 8 inches tall. After the snow stops tomorrow, we can lift the tarp and reveal grass underneath that he can use to go to the bathroom. The tarp will be heavy but it's better then trying to get to the grass with a shovel.




I want to chronicle the snow by taking frequent pictures of this view of the backyard.

This picture was taken today at noon.

It's STARTED!!! This picture was taken at 5:30 this evening after it had been snowing for only about 20 minutes!

**Stay tuned to this blog station for the current updates on this major winter weather event**

I like impersonating news casters.

I'll be blogging a lot this weekend about snow and other topics that I've gotten behind on.

The Weather Outside Is Going To Be Frightful!

And I couldn't be happier!! We're in the path of a winter storm and they're calling for 8-10 inches as of this morning. It'll start snowing tonight and continue through tomorrow night. I'm so glad most of the snow will fall tomorrow because I love seeing it fall. When I wake up to snow, I feel like I've missed the best part. We don't get much snow in North Carolina so seeing it fall is special.

Yesterday's high was about 60 degrees. We played outside and soaked in the sun. Tomorrow's high isn't supposed to reach 30 degrees! Quite a change in 48 hours. I love living here though because we get the best of both worlds. We get a mostly mild winter with an occasional bit of snow. It never sticks around long enough to get gray and yucky from salt.

I went out to the garden yesterday and pulled some carrots and parsnips before the ground freezes again. I'll post pictures of those later.

Until then I'll be checking weather.com as often as possible and jumping up and down as I see the storm getting closer!

Berry Night

While I was looking for jam in the chest freezer, I noticed we had a lot of frozen berries from last summer left. I decided to make it Berry Night....plus I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like making a regular meal.



Charlotte helped me mix up some blueberry pancakes . I defrosted the blueberries most of the way before adding them to the batter since last time the frozen blueberries caused the batter not to cook fully inside. They turned out great this time!


Then I mixed some strawberries and blueberries to make a fruit crisp for dessert. It turned out okay but I'm not going to post the recipe since I need to tweak the recipe.

Evan loves blueberries..... I mean LOVES blueberries. Here's Evan saying "Blueberry".

My First Knitted Sweater.. Complete!!

I picked this particular sweater pattern because it mentioned in the description that it was so easy that it could be a child's first knitting project... Perfect!!



Gosh, I love that boy. He was very excited about his new sweater.

The sweater was knit in 4 pieces and then sewn together. I had to pick up stitches around the neck and then knit in the round for a bit. Both of those skills were new to me but neither was as hard as I expected it to be.


The pattern is called "April Showers" in the book "Knitting the New Classics". I'll be using this pattern again and again since it has adult and kid sizes as well as a cardigan version.
I used Lion Brand "Homespun" yarn in the color "Colonial". I knit for child size 4 and followed the pattern exactly except I only knit 2 inches for the neck ribbing instead of the 3 inches it called for since I didn't want it to come up too high on his neck.
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I'm so happy to have completed my first sweater. It feels like a great accomplishment. I've already cast on purple yarn to start the same type of sweater for Charlotte!

Real Mess for Real Creativity

We were walking through Toys R Us the other day and we saw a toy that struck a nerve with me. It was a child's video game that came with a paint brush game wand that "painted" on the TV screen when the child hit a button and waved it at the screen. This started me thinking about the turn away from real art supplies and the stand-ins that let parents off the hook.

The past few years I've noticed that Crayola and other companies are trying their hardest to come up with products that are "No Mess". I wonder though, when will these kids ever learn to not paint on the carpet if they only use paints that have no real pigment. When will they learn what colors make purple? When will they learn that markers should make an immediate mark on the paper ... not after a few seconds when the chemical reaction finally takes place on those Color Wonder papers.

I won't stay on my soap box much longer but last week we had some good messy fun in the playroom and I realized that it took very little effort on my part but the kids got so much out of it.

Sure, it took me 3 minutes to wash everyone's hands... and about a minute to wipe up the tables.... but they finger painted happily for about 15 minutes. Worth it, in my book.

A couple times a week we pull out the playdough. They have the best time. Messy? A little. Worth it? Definitely.

Sure, there are times that I limit the artwork to the washable crayons and scrap paper but when it comes to art supplies, I'm a big fan of the real thing.... the heck with new art technology!

My Weekend Wish List

I'm hoping to accomplish a lot this weekend so I thought I'd keep track of my progress here. Jon will be gone most of the day today with his band students and it's too chilly outside to go out and play so the kids and I will be keeping busy with some household chores. Aren't I a fun mom?


1. Enlist the children's help to scrub fingerprints off of walls and door frames


2. Scrub the kitchen floor... possibly with the kids help.
I thought I'd share my "recipe" for an all purpose cleaner that works really well on walls, floors, etc. It's not exact because.... well, it doesn't have to be.
-A bucket 1/3 full with really hot water
-1-2 cups of vinegar
-2-3 drops of dish detergent
-a few drops of essential oil (optional... I used Lime)
I also use a Magic Eraser for walls and door frames but you have to be careful with how hard you scrub.



3. Have the kids dust the furniture,

4. Bake something delicious with Sous Chef Charlotte.

Charlotte was actually too busy playing house with Evan to help me so I made these delicious and easy cupcakes by myself.

Chocolate Cake topped with a double batch of the Quick Cocoa Glaze that I use on chocolate pound cake. I'll definitely be making these again!

5. Go on a date with Jon. (Thanks Nana and Grandpa for babysitting!)

6. Assemble my first knitted sweater (which will require that I learn to correctly pick up stitches)

I haven't finished pieces the sweater but I've made good progress. I've learned to pick up stitches and to knit in the round using double pointed needles. I'll hopefully be able to finish Evan's sweater while we watch more playoff football this evening.

7. Decorate my naked mantle with knitting accessories.

It's nothing fancy... I just put things on the mantle that I loved and already had around the house.

I filled some glass vases/jars with little balls of yarn leftover from knitting projects. I think it's pretty neat that each of those yarn balls represents one project I have completed. I wish I would have thought to do that for each project instead of just the few I have in the jars. I also put a few mismatched knitting needles in for height.

There are a few pictures of us when we went to Nags Head in May of '08.

Though it's pretty hard to see, in the center I have a glass canape tray that we got as a wedding gift. I've always loved it but have kept it in it's box in the back of a cabinet. I wanted be able to enjoy it so I'm crossing my fingers it'll be safe on the mantle.

8. Make my final decisions about the seeds I'll be ordering for this year's garden and make a sketch of where they'll be planted.

9. Take a hot bath while reading a good book.

**Wow, Omnivore's Dilemma... A MUST read!**



Well, that's all I can think of right now. It may not all get done but that's okay. ..that's why I called it a Wish list and not a To-Do list.

Well, looks like I got to most things this weekend. I'm going to work on my seed order a bit this week during naptimes. I'll take pictures of Evan in his new sweater as soon as I can get it sewn up.

The BEST Chocolate Pound Cake

My mom used to make this cake on special occasions and to enter in the county fair each fall. I think it originally came from a small paperback Hershey's cocoa cookbook. It has now become my special occasion cake. I think I may have to consider Tuesday or Laundry Day a holiday so I can make it more often.
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This is one of my favorite cakes for several reasons. It gets better as it sits. It'll stay yummy for at least 5 days (covered at room temperature). It feeds an army since it's super rich and you only need a small slice (though I've been known to have a very large slice). It's dense and rich without being heavy.

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The BEST Chocolate Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks) softened

3 C. sugar

5 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. instant coffee granules (very important!)

1/4 cup hot water

1 cup buttermilk (get the full fat, whole milk buttermilk from the store if you can find it)

2 c. All-purpose flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder
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In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla; beat well. In a medium bowl, dissolve coffee granules in the hot water; add buttermilk and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry mixture and the liquid mixture to the creamed butter mixture alternating between wet and dry until they're all incorporated. Beat just until blended.

Pour into a greased (well greased or Pam'd... it'll stick otherwise!) 12 cup Bundt pan (I used a 10 cup pan and it worked fine).

Bake in a 325* oven for about 1 hour & 20 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. Top with glaze when completely cool.

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Quick Cocoa Glaze

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 Tbsp. water

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in cocoa powder and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating with a whisk until smooth. Add additional water, 1/2 tsp. at a time until it reaches desired consistency. **Adding the sugar will make the glaze thinner so wait to add additional water until all the sugar has been added**

*You can also make a pretty decoration on top by waiting for the glaze to completely set and then laying a doilie on top and dusting lightly with powdered sugar. Remove the doilie really carefully and it'll look like lace on top of the cake.

Knitting Weekend - Part 2 - The Yarn!

The yarn... oh the yarn!! Between my Aunt Linda and one of her very generous friends, this is the yarn I took home with me.
They both have amazing yarn stashes and sorted out yarn (and books) that they no longer wanted. My sister and I got to pick what we wanted from their "discard" piles.

I was blown away by their generosity. This is enough yarn to allow me to knit whatever my heart desires. The yarn is a wonderful mix of wools, cottons, alpaca, blends, and even silk! There is yarn of every weight. I took close-up pictures of a couple of my favorites but it was hard to pick since I think they're ALL my favorites!


Several of the yarns I chose were from a company called "The Purled Llama Co.". They hand dye their yarn. I loved this color.

This is a bulky Noro yarn. I love the bright colors.

This hand dyed yarn was the first yarn to catch my eye.

Here's another "Purled Llama" yarn but it's lace weight this time. I've never worked with lace weight but I'm excited to try.

This yarn is a beautiful blend of browns with flecks of bright colors.

This Lorna's Lace sock yarn is so soft!

I loved the cream/brown combo of this bulky Cascade wool.

Cascade has this really neat yarn that has stretch to it (on the left). I'm planning to make slipper socks from it.

Suede yarn! Can't wait to work with that.

I can't get over these colors!

My Aunt also gave me two sweaters that she knitted as samples for the yarn shop that she used to work for. I love the sweaters and can't wait to wear them.

I need some help figuring out what color of long sleeved t-shirts to wear under them. Can you please help? Walmart has long sleeved t-shirts in black, white, grey, light blue, lime green, and deep purple (I could be making that one up...I'm trying to picture the rack). Would any of these colors work with these sweaters?

This one is made from an amazingly soft Baby Grande Alpaca yarn in such a pretty shade of purple. It's more on the pink side of purple instead of blue.

I love this warm brown sweater. My aunt knit it with a double strand of.... Aunt Linda, can you tell me again what yarn you used? All the yarn names are swimming in my head and I can't remember now what you told me.

There's only one problem with all of this beautiful yarn..... it's all I can seem to think about! I forced myself to do laundry, dishes, and other household chores today but you know what I really wanted to be doing? Yep, I was wishing the whole time that I could be planning or working on my next knitting project!

What was that? Did you hear that? Gotta go, my yarn is calling me....

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My sister took some great pictures from our weekend also. Here's her post about it.