some things you might like

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Good morning. It is March, people! The sun is shining. All my girls are at the barn riding horses. The baby is napping. And I have a few exciting things to share with you before I slip upstairs into their bedroom to surprise them with new curtains, hung and ready to go when they return....

good morning

**When you stay up too late, once your children have gone to bed and the house is quiet, you do crazy things like make a facebook page for your blog. Kidding, it wasn't crazy. I actually have been meaning to do this for quite awhile. My hope is that it will be a space to connect with all of you a little more--since I'm sure you can't get enough of me, right? But late that night as I was working on it, I knew that I wanted to give a little something from me to you. So sneak over there, "like" me, if you do, and check out the discussion. There's something waiting there....

**As if I wasn't asking for enough already, I have another favor...will you vote for me? I have been nominated for Circle of Moms Top 25 Creative Blogs. And right now, I have 5 votes (and ashamedly, one of those is mine, the other is probably my sister...) I know bloggers often ask for votes, and I know it takes some of your precious time, but I promise this one is quick and easy. Would you, please? I would be both honored and grateful. 

** TO VOTE FOR MOMMYCODDLE CLICK HERE **

**A few blogs I've been enjoying lately:

the kitchen generation

modern parents messy kids

likely stories : this may be biased because Tiffany is a "real life" friend. But there's something about her blog and her outlook on life that makes me smile.

interior photos : sometimes reading this motivates me to clean. some times, it makes me think my house will never be clean.

L'E Dans L'A: i know i've mentioned this one before. it's how i keep my french fresh. (not really). but it is a beautiful simple blog. it will make you want to take lovely photographs of your children, just being children. (and dress them in bloomers, tights, and little leather lace-up boots.)

sally j shim blog : sally has a beautiful new blog + website. the design is clean and fresh and very "sally". i loved perusing it last night.

** bluegrass on the tube : i LOVE bluegrass. i feel like i grew up on it, riding in my dad's car listening to 88.5 on the radio. and it was my dad who turned me on to this site. a new bluegrass video in your inbox daily. the website is a little plain and uninviting, but the videos are so good. here's proof below: (and if you don't like bluegrass this is probably what you think all bluegrass sounds like, which is exactly why you don't like it. and if you like bluegrass, you'll appreciate why this is so good.)

**Do yourself a favor, let your children get on polyvore. It's like internet paper dolls. And it is hilarious what they come up with when given free rein to create outfits at will. With just minimal instruction my children were creating "looks" in minutes. And let's just say, if shown in a lineup of polyvore sets, I could have picked this one among thousands as little Mary's. That's my girl. In the sets she created after this, she became obsessed with finding legs for all the dresses. Now that makes for some interesting outfits. The only downside? Everyone on polyvore now thinks mommycoddle has some really wacky taste in clothes and has a serious infatuation with ponies and princesses.

alright. If I'm ever going to get these curtains done, I need to walk away from this computer. Thank you friends for visiting here, for taking your valuable time to sit and share and read and say hello.

fashion


elizabeth

 

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on a kick in the kitchen

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I'm the kind of person who gets on "kicks" in the kitchen. Last winter I was on a "chicken and dumpling" kick, there was the shortbread kick during Summer of '09, tomato-basil-mozarella-balsamic this summer, again. 

 Once I get to the point of being able to make something without any recipe, and I'm making it more than once-a-week, I officially declare it a "kick". This fall it is chocolate chip meringues. 

my new kick

Really, I blame my sister. She introduced them to me over a year ago. And upon first taste they got stored away on that list of "must figure out how to make" in my brain. 

Of course, when I was ready to make them I couldn't get her on the phone, so I had to go to the internet for research. And I found this recipe at smitten kitchen. It was my starting off point, and now that I'm feeling like a seasoned meringue-maker, I've been bold enough to eek back the sugar and go with the flow. 

Seriously, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of these. Don't be intimidated by egg white stiffness or foaminess, or perfect meringue done-ness. 

Even better, they're low-fat. Right? Right!

Molly's Mini-chip Meringues (with a nod and tip of the hat to my sister, and 'smitten) :

2 egg whites, room temperature (or straight from under the hen's rumpus in our case)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 ounces mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put two egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whip until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in mini-chips.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of the sticky white clouds onto your baking sheet. Bake at 300 for approximately 30-35 minutes. (there are also long-methods for making meringues, which I've never tried. but this is what I've been doing.) Personally, I check the meringues as I near the end of the baking time. Once they begin to get firm on the outside, I remove them from the oven. They will continue to crisp up a bit more as they cool. 

When you are done, you'll little pockets of goodness, crispy on the outside, a bit chewy on the inside. Whatever doesn't get eaten in the first feeding should be stored in an air-tight container. 

Enjoy!

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Did you know, I'm back over on the MOMformation blogs again? They've done a complete make-over and there is some pretty good stuff happening. They've added lots of great bloggers to the already standard favorites, like Jon and Sherry from Young House Love, Kristen Chase from CoolMomPicks, Alison Czarnecki from Petit Elefant --just to name a few...

I'm part of the Products & Prizes channel, and I'm writing a weekly article about great finds for your kitchen. (how fun, huh??!) And I'll soon be adding some regular posts on children's music, as well as product reviews and giveaways (some GREAT giveaways). 

To find me you can click on the button in my sidebar, or go to my bio page and SUBSCRIBE to my posts. You can find all my latest here. (Lately, I've been talking about making baby food...not to be confused with making babies.)

Hope you'll click over and check it out. 

 

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dear baby, and other goodness

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Dear Baby,

My house is clean. All the laundry is done and folded and put away. And you should know, that never happens in this house. I have had my little bag of packed toiletries sitting on the bathroom counter for so long, I'm almost out of deodorant and my chapstick is just about empty. I have made so many lists that they are stapled together on my desk. And if you don't come soon, once again, all these things will be undone...again. The house will get messy, again. The laundry will pile up, again. I'll need that pair of black yoga pants that I just packed in the hospital bag, again. The midwife is back from her spring break. My family is back in town, poised and ready to watch your sisters. All the farmers at work know your Daddy may suddenly disappear for a few days, even in the midst of the busiest time of year. Maybe you'll come out a very content baby, because you're obviously happy where you are. Or maybe, you're stubborn. Either way, I'm ready for part two to begin. Come on out. Spring is here. The sun is shining. We're ready to meet you. 

Love,

me.

dear baby

In the meantime, some spring loveliness to see, do, read...

this front entry : the bench, the quilts, the artwork, the hooks, the baskets

this dream pantry/shelving :( via Molly Irwin )as Molly said, "this is what everyone woman wants." 

these beautiful printable alphabet letters : my girls have been meticulously working their way through their names. (except E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H) Thank goodness.

this quilt and this wallpaper : (via bloesem )i love them both, but the wallpaper i love the most. 

Early Reading Strategies for Little Learners : I can't remember where I found this! Sorry. But thank you! This article is PACKED with great ideas and strategies.

This Mom Story on Bloesem:Kids. I really liked what she had to say about life, parenting, living, faith.

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progress reports + inspiration

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wee rosie

why the sad face

++Eyes are open. They are tumbling and tackling all over my mudroom floor, constantly underfoot. But so cute.

like mother like daughter

++We checked off exactly, um, let's see ZERO!! days since we started the chart! Out of sight, out of mind....

promises, promises

++As of today, we've collected, (though I think we've forgotten to count a few) 257 eggs. Wow. I gave four dozen away today, just to make room in my refrigerator. And I've officially burned my family out on quiche. Time to move on to the frittata.

++A hello and thank you, to those of you who are wandering over here from National Wildlife's Green Hour blog. I was honored to be included in their round up of "blogs that inspire" I've mentioned it before, there are some great activities on their blog worth checking out. They even have a weekly podcast.

++I also wanted to let you know that Gina of LetterGirl, one of my May sponsors is having an anniversary celebration on her blog, with giveaways all week. I hesitate to tell you, because I don't want more competition in the giveaways!! but her work is too good not to share.

++Last but not least, I remember catching the tail end of a commercial about this company Toms shoes. Here's a video that shares the founder/owner, Blake Mycoskie's story and is definitely worth watching. It is these kinds of stories and passion that inspires me.

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