4 // 52

Lillia 4 of 52 (2016)
Zane 4 of 52 (2016)

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week you moved up to the next level in your hip hop class. You have been taking these classes since, well, I can barely remember it was so long ago—maybe first grade? In any case, you had been cruising along and were doing well, but due to the nature of how the classes are ranked you were in a high level class with much younger children and you felt a little embarrassed about it. All of your friends are in the slightly less technically advanced class that starts an hour later. So, we enrolled you in the later class, but your first session with the older kids didn’t go as smoothly as you had hoped. You were a little overwhelmed by the speed of everything—you knew the moves, but were used to a slower pace. I think you might be regretting your decision to move up, but you said you will give it two more weeks to see how it goes. [Update: Everything is going great three weeks in—Lil caught up quickly and is really enjoying the challenge.]

Zane: This week you have been really interested in imagination games! You are really enjoying pretending to be a mailman the most (hence the costume, above). You also frequently like to be a milkman. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but you really want to be a milkman. It was your turn to be VIP at school on Friday and so you decided that you wanted to show everyone your milkman costume and toy milk bottle set. As it turns out, your teachers actually let you give a presentation to your whole class (see picture here). You told them about what a milkman’s job used to be, and how over time the industry went into decline. You and your sister are such unique, interesting people—what a blessing it is to be your mother.

in the kitchen // a simple quiche

quiche

I don’t post that many recipes here on the blog—I’m neither a great cook, nor a food photographer. But, I’ve been working on perfecting this quiche recipe for some time now, and I think I’ve finally succeeded! The beauty of this recipe is that it’s ridiculously easy, and using a cake pan instead of a traditional quiche pan ensures that you won’t have egg spilling in the oven and making your house smell terrible (have you ever smelled burning eggs? yuck).

Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c ice water

For the filling:
8 eggs
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
splash of milk
1 handful of shredded cheese (about 1 cup), plus a sprinkle for topping
salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. To make the crust, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. In a liquid measuring cup, mix oil and water rapidly with a whisk or fork. Add the oil mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a fork until fairly well-mixed and dough-like. Press the dough into a 9″ round cake pan, making sure to push it up the sides of the pan 1.5 inches, or so, and set aside. Note: it doesn’t need to be perfect—the rustic nature of the crust is part of its charm.

2. In a small pan, sauté the onions until just starting to soften.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the splash of milk (not too much), the sautéd onions, and the handful of cheese, and mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared crust, top with a sprinkle of cheese and salt and/or pepper, to taste.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until eggs are set. Serve warm.

3 // 52

Lillia 3 of 52 (2016)
Zane 3 of 52 (2016)

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week I completely failed to pick you up from school on Wednesday! I had a meeting, and I had arranged for Zane to stay late at preschool, but I forgot to tell you to take the bus home. You tried calling me a few times, but I had my ringer turned off so I didn’t hear the call. You also tried calling dad, but he was with a client. In the end, you got to spend the afternoon with your art teacher Mr. Perry and your language arts teacher Mr. Gagnon—it just so happens that they are two of your favorite teachers. Eventually, dad got out of his meeting, heard your message, and zoomed over to the school to pick you up. You seemed unfazed, but I felt TERRIBLE. It was not one of my finest parenting moments!

Zane: This week you started suffering from severe separation anxiety. You’ve never had a hard time at drop-off before, even last year when you were only three. Apparently, separation anxiety in preschoolers is completely normal, but it is distressing. I already feel guilty about working, but being at school always seemed to be something that you enjoyed so I was able to justify leaving you there. The director of your preschool said that she had the same experience when her daughter was your age—perhaps you are experiencing some sort of developmental shift that is making your feel anxious. Thankfully, we have a three day weekend so you will have lots of time at home with me. Hopefully you will go back to school next week feeling more secure.

in the woods // january thaw

It is January, and there are crows
like black flowers on the snow.
While I watch they rise and float toward the frozen pond…


— from “Crows” by Mary Oliver

in the woods 1
in the woods collage 1
in the woods 3
in the woods collage 2
in the woods 5
in the woods 6
in the woods 9

2 // 52

Lillia 2 of 52 (2016)
Zane 2 of 52 (2016)

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: This week you took your first trip to the mall with friends. You’ve been shopping with me before, but we don’t have a proper malls nearby to where we live, so it’s more of an occasion than a place to hang out. You and your friends burned through your money pretty quickly and bought mostly Dr. Who paraphernalia. It wasn’t a total loss to us as parents, though, since you are now VERY interested in doing your chores to earn your allowance. This money has been on the table for years, but I think you are just now realizing the value of it!

Zane: This week started out a little rough for you with some kind of violent tummy bug, but you recovered fairly quickly and were back at school after just a couple of days. You are also very interested in doing chores, but you don’t seem to care about the money. For you, it’s all about being a “big kid”—what sister does, Zane must do!