The Crafts

Miss Claudia is a very picky eater. If something doesn't look like milk, fruit, toast or dessert then she won't even come near it. So I was pleased as punch when I discovered Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook. She loving deceives her family by adding pureed veggies to various meals... including dessert! My first attempt at delicious deception was Jessica's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Here is the recipe... Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Deceptively Delicious   Cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld 1 cup whole-wheat flour 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 6 Tbsp. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, chilled (I just used butter) 1/2 cup banana puree 1/2 cup zucchini puree 1 large egg white 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to mix. In a large ...

My nights have been filled with very vivid, unusual dreams lately. I love it actually. Like last night's dream where someone robbed our house, taking only the refrigerator and dishwasher and leaving behind a computer and $8 in cash. And the bad guy.... Kelsey Grammer! Huh? What's up with that? Ok, I can't use the phrase 'what's up with that' without thinking of one of my favorite SNL skits. So I better share... The Crafts had another wonderful weekend. Our Saturday involved a car ride to the City of Five Seasons to visit family. We intended to play outside but March is going out like a lion so we spent most of our time indoors watching Cinderella, various basketball games and my sister, Lindsay, and I spent a couple of hours trying to catch a neighborhood peeping tom. We didn't attempt to physically catch him, we were simply trying to figure out a few things. But alas we figured out nothing. So much for our bright future as detectives. The rest of th...

The girls had a whopper of a fun morning that started at the doctor's office and ended with a grocery shopping trip. **Note my sarcasm!** They were not thrilled about the doctor. Nothing is wrong. We simply went in for routine check-ups. Kate measured 3 inches above the 99%. Doc says she is creating her own growth curve. Both girls received the dreaded SHOTS! Kate was terrified so I taught her a 'trick.' Together we pinched her leg while the nurse gave her a shot in the arm. And by the grace of God the trick worked. No tears, no drama... all happiness and smiles. Not to mention two stickers, a lollipop, smarties and a bag of popcorn Kate received as a reward from the office. No tricks worked for Miss Claudia, however. We'll just leave it at that. :) The girls (or Kate) did so well at the doctor's office that I picked up something new from the store. Bath crayons! Above is Kate posing with her self portrait. We did a lot of drawing although you can't rea...

I am a 'stay-at-home' mom. A domestic engineer. A full-time cooking, cleaning, laundering, mini-van driving lady of the house. I wake up at the last minute to dress my girls and myself in wrinkly, clean clothes stuffed in laundry baskets on the bedroom floor. I throw bread in the toaster and pour sippy cups of milk as we are running out the door for preschool. And when the girls nap I collapse in front of the computer or television. I feel like Roseanne. When I really want to be more like June Cleaver cooking in my pearls. I want to hand my husband a sack lunch and a kiss on the cheek as he heads out to work. And then bounce upstairs to teach my sweet children valuable lessons. But alas, I rarely do any of those things. Instead I'm sitting in my comfy, pajama pants typing this blog post while my girls watch Scooby Doo. Perhaps it is time for me to turn things around. How about you? Are you living up to your expectations as a wife and mother?

My girls are tall. I'm not talking Amazon woman tall, but they are a good head taller than many of the kids their age. When Kate turned 3, she measured in at 42". That is tall enough to ride roller coasters. Miss Claudia is no slouch either. She is 18 months and some 3T sized shirts are too small for her long torso. I don't pump them full of steroids or force them to hang upside down to lengthen out. They have just grown that way. (We do feed them lead pencils though...) Just kidding!  I'm fairly tall but not much taller than most women. Matt is 6'4". Do you think maybe they'll get his height genes? As I said before, Kate is a good eater. So maybe that helps her grow more? Here she is enjoying a picnic lunch on a blanket in the living room. CJ is not a good eater. Here is a picture of her picnic lunch. These are two of her go-to foods. (She is rather finicky.)  However, when lunch was done she had consumed three nibbles of the apple. And don...

Food. Sleep. Two very important parts of life. When we don't get enough of either, or too much, we become crabby. Kate is an excellent eater and sleeps like a champ. Miss Claudia on the other hand is a wee bit different. So when CJ decides to consume something other than milk, fruit or toast, I take pictures. She once ate a pepperoni. I was so thrilled I tossed about two dozen pepperonis onto her high chair. And she hasn't touched one since. Sigh... CJ is a pretty good sleeper, really. She goes to nap and bed without struggle and almost always sleeps through the night. However, she is an early riser and a fairly short napper. And she doesn't wake up happy. Lately I've been offering a cup of milk when she gets up from nap.  That seems to be the only way to cure her mood. But you have to approach her crib like you'd approach a caged lion with raw meat... very gently or you may lose a hand. CJ is a real sweetie, though. She freely gives hugs and kisses, and she i...

Some years (or most) Matt questions the rationale behind my NCAA tourney picks. So for the second time in Craft blog history I will explain to the world the logic behind my winning record. (OK, so it is not always winning but I don't do too bad.) Disclaimer: I am not going to explain all picks because some are just obvious and I didn't have much thought behind them. However, those picks that took thought will be described. Ohio State v UTSA or Ala. State - Ohio State, they are THE number one seed George Mason v Villanova - this was a hard one for me. My gut was telling me to pick George Mason but my gut is also very hungry. Despite this, I went with my gut. Geroge Mason. W. Virginia v UAB or Clemson - I understand the importance of mining and I respect all the miners in W. Virginia but still, I wouldn't want my family to mine. However, I went ahead and chose W. Virginia because the basketball odds are heavily in their favor. Kentucky v Princeton - Kentucky......

The Crafts had a great weekend... and it's not yet over. Tonight we have our annual NCAA March Madness Bracket Selection dinner. Cannot wait! March Madness is a big deal in our house. More posts to follow on that. Here I am playing the role of 'tunnel monster.' It's simple really. You squeeze yourself into a fold-up, play tunnel and chase your kids and husband around the house. Always a good time. Friday night was ladies night with friends for a "Favorites Party." Think Oprah but on a MUCH cheaper scale. We had a few drinks and lots of laughs. Everyone left the party with two new things valued at $15 or less. I scored big with Clinique mascara and a Lia Sophia necklace. My love for mascara cannot be put into words. Love it! If I were famous I would wear oodles of mascara and big, fat, false eyelashes every single day. Saturday was filled with hugs, playing tunnel monster and dress-up.  Followed by a visit from Uncle Mike and 'It's Always Sunny i...

Have you heard the news? The La Porte City Council lowered the tax levy for the fifth straight year. We shared this news with the Waterloo / Cedar Falls Courier newspaper and this is the headline they chose. "La Porte City Council approves property tax hike for fiscal year 2012" As a council person I am rather displeased with this decision. And although my blog cannot erase their mistake, let me at least share the press release sent by the City to The Courier. The read and true article should read as follows... La Porte City Approves Budget with No Increase in Levy At its February 28th meeting, the La Porte City Council unanimously approved the budget for fiscal year 2012.  The City’s levy rate will decrease slightly, from $14.53 per $1,000 valuation in fiscal year 2011 to $14.51 per $1000 for fiscal year 2012. Mayor Rick Lubben commented, “I am pleased with the efforts of the City administration and the members of the City Council in producing a budget which lowers the...

I often listen to NPR talk radio in the car. A much younger Sarah would scoff at the old Sarah for doing such a thing. But it's my time to listen to adults talk about things other than potty training and feeding schedules. So while listening to NPR the other day I heard an interview with a woman who has written a book about feminism. She commented that feminism goes through peaks and valleys and today's generation is in a valley because more and more women are choosing to stay home with their children whereas a generation ago women were choosing to claim as much of the workforce as possible. While the latter is true, I disagree with the first part of her statement. I think feminism has given today's generation of women a choice. We can choose to work or we can choose to stay home. Because a greater percentage of this generation than the last is staying home to raise a family doesn't mean feminism is going through a valley, I believe it is a sign that feminism is is ...

When I wasn't looking... for 2 or 3 short minutes... Miss Kate got into my make-up bag. She found the eyeliner and then had some fun. Now, anyone who has worn eyeliner in the proper manner knows the frustrations of keeping it on. You draw it on and in an hour or so the eyeliner will be smudged and almost nonexistent. But for some reason when a little girl draws it on her face, it takes three wash clothes, a bottle of soap and a chisel to get that stuff off. So here is Kate in all her make-up glory... playing the role of a cat. Meow... Yah, I know that window sill looks bad. There is still tape and things stuck to it from when we moved in. Just avert your eyes... I think she may have tried to draw a cat nose on her own, too. That was the hardest part to scrub off. Happy Monday everyone.

Do you suffer from hippophobia? Do you know what hippophobia is? I didn't until the most recent man v. computer on Jeopardy. Hippophobia is not, in fact, the fear of hippos. No. Rather it is the fear of horses. Nay! Doesn't he look scary? Our girls have the opposite of hippophobia. They LOVE horses. Especially the stuffed variety. Above is Clifford, Kate's stuffed horse. He is the man of the hour each day in this house because Kate insists it is Clifford's birthday every Sunday through Monday in the winter. Apparently he takes time off in the spring, summer and fall. Normally we just sing Happy Birthday to the little guy but this past Friday, with nothing else to do, we threw a full fledged Happy Birthday Clifford party. ...complete with streamers...  ...and dancing... (apparently some nudity, too... I can't keep that girl in clothes) ...and snacks... The girls had to force feed Clifford.  We also wrapped homemade gifts for him in newspaper and shiny boxes. ...

We don't go on a lot of 'dates'. Instead we do a lot of activities together. In the summer we golf... a lot, and sometimes we take the girls. Kate really loves it. But in the frigid cold winter months there's not a lot to do outside, so we take our well traveled route to Ames for Iowa State men's basketball. Last night's 'date' was the final home basketball game of the season. We enjoyed food from Matt's favorite eatery, Casey's General Store, followed by a Clone Cone at the game because that's the way we roll. I really enjoy going to games with Matt. He makes the 4 hour car ride fly by and I always have fun talking with him. Plus the atmosphere at Hilton is exciting. Oddly enough I start to feel an attachment to a lot of the players so it was kind of sad to see the seniors play their last home game. So here's to another fun basketball season with Matt! I hope we have many more to come...

Happy March 1st! Spring is in the air...for today at least. Then we go back to 27 stinkin' degrees tomorrow. (Psst...that's our house back there in case you haven't seen it. I LOVE our house!) The girls and I spent about two hours outside after lunch. Heavenly! We spent the entire time at City Park. Once the weather turns nice you can find us there at least twice a day. Seriously...if you are bored and living in La Porte City, meet us at the park. We are ALWAYS there! If you haven't noticed, these pictures are not from today. I cheated. I forgot to bring my camera to the park so I grabbed some from last April. Notice the green grass and buds on the trees? I cannot wait! Today was also the perfect day for a little donut on the porch. If you haven't tried a donut from the La Porte City Bakery then you have committed a crime. They are unbelievably good... and inexpensive. Although the cherry donut from Dountland in Cedar Rapids is still my favorite. Get yourself...