When she was 30, Burp Rag used to be a very interesting person.

She jumped out of perfectly good airplanes.

She dressed up like a Swedish Elf. She can’t remember why.

She climbed Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adam, Mt. Constance and Mt. Eleanor, some of them MULTIPLE times. She was not pregnant in the top photo, the wind was blowing so hard that it filled up her coat and her fingers were swollen little sausages without coctail sauce but she was still smiling.

She could blow out LOTS of candles and still have enough air left to get up and boogie.

She had lots of time.

And she really knew how to mix a drink.

But now that Chicken Little is out of her room and Toddler is two she’s coming back. She’s coming back with a ROAR. Life is too short not to. And thanks to facebook BurpRag just realized that she is over 40 so it’s time to get a move on.

How about you – are you being all that you could be? You’re not getting any younger now, ya hear?

Burp Rag has been busy lately, catching up on spider webs and dog hair and cleaning out closets. This blip in the economy has actually been a welcome break from taping boxes all night and given me a chance to get re-acquainted with my cookbooks. I finally got around to finishing the bat cave and switching the boy’s rooms around.

Chicken Little has been sleeping in our room for five years now. FIVE YEARS. For awhile when Toddler was first born I finally convinced him to sleep in the firetruck bed that I lovingly sewed for him, complete with steering wheel and fire hat. I think he was 3 when I made it – the perfect age to want to sleep in a firetruck, don’t you think?

After I slaved over the bed and showed him his new room he opened his mouth and said “I wanted a school bus.”

As soon as the co-sleeper was gone from our room and Toddler had moved into his own crib Chicken Little slowly crept back into our room. Always fearful, he explained exactly how the shadows from the slats on the bed looked like a monster’s legs on the ceiling and how the little light that glows on the light switch after dark looked like a monster eye. He would wake during the night with night terrors, running through the house screaming even though he wasn’t really awake.

So I moved his old crib mattress back into the corner of my room. At least this way when he woke up during the night I could calm him immediately and go back to sleep without even getting out of bed since I was still waking up several times a night with Toddler, then Baby.

Finally last week when Toddler asked if he could sleep in “Ta’s” bed in my room and I explained to him why he needed to sleep in his own room I decided to put my foot down. I finished the Bat Cave and Chicken Little now has his own big boy room finally. Well, it’s not that he hasn’t had his own room but he has always refused to sleep in it. Toddler inherits one firetruck bed.

I’ve left enough of the image for you to get the picture without hopefully getting sued for trademark infringment.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. That and reading all the November posts of my bloggy friends. Can’t wait for November to be over so I can take a break from reading up on you all!

For several days last week the weather cleared and we had some light cloud cover so we headed for the zoo. This is close to the orangutan area. It was near impossible to get Toddler to pose for the camera and my hair was one step away from crazy but here we are!

Some passing stranger offered to take our photo and I jumped at the chance since I have next to no photos that I am in but she didn’t quite get the focus down. I guess I won’t be having HER do my Christmas photos.

Burp Rag has two boys and so she is not allowed to get them a doll house. However, each time Toddler gets close to the one in Chicken Little’s montissori he can’t keep his hands off it so today we made our own. We’ve had these people forever and haven’t really gotten into the blocks with Toddler like we did with Chicken Little but they worked perfectly. We made furniture for the people and Ducky with the blocks. Toddler loved it. The funniest part was when Chicken Little and a friend came home from school and they all fought over playing with it. Who says boys don’t like doll houses?

Here is another great finger food for finicky toddlers that everyone else loves as well. These freeze great and can be thawed in a microwave or better yet, in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Kids love to dip them in spaghetti sauce or soup but they are great on their own or alongside a salad or bowl of chili.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast – I prefer SAF which can be ordered from King Arthur Flour and stores in the freezer.
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees farenheit). Tap water works best – do not use distilled water.
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat all purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt flakes
Garlic powder
Pizza spice blend or oregano, basil and marjoram
Grated parmeson or romano

Dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar for about 10 minutes. Pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the whole wheat flour and mix for about 1 minute. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and place it in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes. You can heat a wet dish rag until hot and then place it in a closed microwave with the dough, or heat your oven just until warm and then turn it off. After 30 minute the dough should be bubbly and have risen about 50%.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees farenheit.

Add the somolina, salt and olive oil and knead it for about 8 minutes using a bread dough hook or by hand. Add extra whole wheat flour as needed to keep it from sticking too much. Divide the dough into 2 balls – one per jelly roll pan.

Generously cover two jelly roll pans with olive oil. Spread the dough by hand to mostly cover the jelly roll pan, repairing any tears. Rolling will make the bread sticks less tender. Whole wheat flour is not as “stretchy” as white flour but these will still taste great.

Paint the dough with more olive oil. Lightly sprinkle on garlic powder, kosher salt, pizza seasonings (optional) and cheese.

Bake about 7-8 minutes, until done. Cut into strips with a pizza dough cutter.

These are fun to serve standing up in coffee mugs. To get a huge smile on the face of your small child, give them their very own super long breadstick. Small kids can also help stretch the dough out and sprinkle on the toppings before baking to make this a really fun experience.

Toddler has been on a serious eating strike for the last several months so I’ve been trying to get creative. He will drink fortified milk (shake mix, whipping cream, eggnog, you name it) all day long but sometimes eats only bites of food all day. He has even started refusing to eat sugared-up oatmeal so I’ve had to take things up a notch so to speak. I’m still working on a meal-replacing oatmeal cookie but until then he’s been eating these home-made granola bars.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup organic brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
dash salt
1 Teaspoon vanilla
About 4 cups of Burp Rag’s Granola
1 1/2 cups rolled organic oats
1 cup dried cherries, cranberries or raisins

Preheat oven to 375 farenheit and coat a 9″ x 9″ baking pan with butter.
Over low heat melt butter. Add brown sugar and honey, raising the heat to medium high until it gently bubbles. Let cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Off heat stir in vanilla. It will bubble up until you have it mixed completely.

Pour the butter mixture over the granola, oats and fruit, mixing well. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing down firmly. Bake about 10 minutes until golden but check frequently the last few minutes of baking. Let it cool slightly then cut into bars before they finish cooling.

These are a great snack to take with you on the go and nothing like those hard cardboard tasting granola bars you buy at the store!

This is an easy but delicious salad that is great for elimination diets because there is no wheat, nuts, dairy, corn, egg or soy. Kids love this because the flavors are clean and delicate and they can personalize their own dishes with the condiments of their choice.

Bake or poach 2 skinless chicken breasts until done; let cool then shred. Refrigerate until needed (can be done the day ahead).

Condiments:
1/2 head of any green cabbage, finely shredded. You can use napa or regular green cabbage.
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
Chopped peanuts
Chopped scallions
Fresh cilantro
Shredded or julienne carrot

Sauce:
Juice from 3 medium limes, about 1/3 cup
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
4 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce

Whisk all ingredients and refrigerate until needed. This shouldn’t be done too far in advance to keep the lime juice fresh.
Cook 1 bag of rice stick noodles, also called Mai Fun or glass noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Drain them when done and mix them with the sauce and chicken.

To build the salad:
Place a large handful of shredded cabbage on the plate. Top it with the noodles, chicken and sauce. Top that with the condiments.

Another fun way to eat this is to roll it up in lettuce leaves.

Jack-o-Lanterns, obviously on the wrong camera setting just before dark.

Wolverine getting ready to trick-or-treat with his buddy Obi-Wan Kanobi who lives across the street.

The littlest penguin’s first trick-or-treating. He lasted about 3 houses then wanted to go home to eat his candy.

I’m very proud of Chicken Little. He only ate one piece of candy then saved the rest to trade in for a toy. And he never once whined about it.