Who's Watching?

The Olympics are on. I like the Olympics. Besides the fact that there are amazingly talented people in the world with emotional back stories and pure determination, it is a great family bonding event. We plunk the kids down and we ooh and aah together. On commercial breaks, we run and get jammies on, or brush teeth. And when the inevitable bed time comes, the girls moan and I promise to tell them what happened the next day. (We don't have Tivo or anything that records, so we just watch NBC in the evening. I guess that means we will never see curling. Oh well.)

June seemed really affected by the twin (Mulder) boys from Netherlands who medaled in speed skating. I read more about them, and I loved that their mother gave birth to them a day late, so she wouldn't miss watching a speed skating competition. (Wow, the Dutch are serious about this sport. Check out the story.)

I won't be around tonight, so I will be the one begging for news. I am interested to see how Shaun White does. I think I like his hair better this year.

Oddly, I didn't plan to sit down and write about Olympics. It just came up. I have other little tid-bits to share with you today. Let's start with valentines. I got this idea off Pinterest (where else?) but I didn't have the exact supplies. But I really like how they turned out and they were easy for the girls to put together.

I have mentioned before that I am not a breakfast mom. We eat cereal most mornings. We stick to the regulars, but we like to branch out and try something new every once in a while. I am a huge fan of Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so when I saw this cereal, I had to get it.

Um...mistake. It is NOT good. It is just not the right kind of peanut butter flavor. It sits on my counter and no one eats it, for obvious reasons, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. (I don't like to needlessly waste food.) I'm trying to decide if there is anything that I can make with it. I have thought about rice krispy style treats, but I'm worried I'll just be wasting my marshmallows. (I really should just throw it away.)

Switching gears to delicious, I made this yesterday.

So good. But the best part was that June walked through the kitchen and I enlisted her help. It was really fun to bake with her and we made one of the fastest easiest pie crusts of my life. (To be clear, it was the same basic recipe I've always used, it just seemed to be much easier this time. Mom, if only Grandma could be around. I think I am finally close to Snow White status.)

I'm on a food themed roll, so let's talk 'bout eggs. You know how hard boiled eggs are horrible to peel when the shell sticks to them, and instead of having a smooth egg, you have this chunked up mess because pieces of egg keep sticking and pulling away with the shell. (I know I am not the only one this has happened to.) In searching for a solution, I have tried many things. Some people say put oil in the water, or salt, or baking soda, or other random things. I think there are solutions based on when you put the egg into boil (before it starts to boil, or after it comes to a rolling boil) or how you cool it down (with ice or cold water). I have tried many of them to no avail. And THEN... (duh, duh, DUH!) I found it!! And I am so nice, I will share it with you.

It's pretty easy. Take a tack. (You know, your common thumb tack.) And poke a hole in the bottom of your egg. Just be careful. Too much force and you will be holding an uncooked egg. But it hasn't happened to me yet, so I'm sure you can do it. Then you plunk those eggs (with holes) into a pot of boiling water. Cook them for the normal amount of time (what? 10 minutes or so?) and then take them off the heat. Let them sit, or run them under cold water. Whatever you need to do to make them easy to handle. Then crack and peel. It is important that you get under the second skin. There is the shell and then the translucent thin layer over the egg. If you break that thin skin, the whole shell should slide right off. Try it. My kids do pretty well now. Last night we had eggs and Ivory peeled her egg shell off. It looked like a winter beanie with the side braids.

I have never refrigerated one for long to see if the shell still comes off well, but I'm having one for lunch, so I will let you know.

Two last things. June had a project to do in school that used scrapbooking materials. She got into a jar of flowers and I have found them ALL over the house. Although the kids made a mess with them, they do find beauty in the chaotic as well.

I guess that is the trick with having children. Find beauty in the chaos.

Lastly, 100 days of school have passed. For the Kindergartners, this means making a poster with 100 items on it. I forgot to take a picture at home, so when I was at the school, I figured I should get one before the buttons were pulled off. Check out the bee with his stinger.

Well, I'm off to make lunch and listen to The Croods in the background. My kids have really enjoyed it since it came out on Netflix. Pearl still can't say the 'K' sound, so she asks to watch the 'Proods.' Ha ha.

p.s. Eggs out of the fridge: Shells came off beautifully.