official entry to the terrible twos

Maddox turned two on Monday and we felt the inevitable combination of "didn't he just come home from the hospital yesterday?" and "hasn't he always lived here with us?" We decided we'd get a fish tank for his birthday. He usually smiles, shouts, and points when we see the fish tank at the library, and I thought it would be something the whole family could enjoy picking out and adding more fish every so often. Trey was rather hesitant, but then he realized he could geek out on researching the various options. On Saturday, we were off to PetSmart for a LED-lit, 3 part filtered 20 gallon tank. And success!

We hoped to add the fish on Sunday, but then received from poor advice from a sales clerk and returned to Google for real answers. The key to a healthy aquarium is establishing the nitrogen cycle, people! And so we bought two mollies and two guppies. All decorated (including a backdrop by Ellis) with castle, rocks, and fish! All the boys in the house seem pretty satisfied and I often find Maddox with his nose/mouth pressed up against the glass.

For Maddox's birthday supper, we had red beans and rice plus sweet potatoes. Pretty basic supper, but I did put bacon in the beans, so that makes it a celebration, right?! I tried to incorporate Ellis into the planning of Maddox's birthday celebration with the idea that it's nice to, you know, think about what other people like. So when I asked what type of birthday cake we should make, Ellis responded "Catherine loves trifle for her birthday cake, and Maddox loves Catherine, so he would probably want trifle, too." Quite so.

Unlike last year, Ellis expressed some real jealousy about Maddox's birthday this year. Most over the fact that Maddox was getting hundreds of presents and he never get presents. Arg. Trey maintained he was upset because Maddox's presents look appealing this year unlike the baby toys and clothes he got last year.

Regardless, Maddox seems to enjoy his birthday supper and cake. He vastly expanded his Duplo collection courtesy of Aunt Lindsey and Grandma Audrey and got a variety of cute toys and books from his maternal aunts and grandmother. His check up is next week so I may post about developmental stuff then, but I will say he's still not talking much. We do have definite words for Scout, Mom, Dad, cracker, and all gone. Adorably/ scarily he even has this special screech he uses when he opens the screen door and summons Scout. Even more unbelievable, that crazy pooch actually responds. He keeps adding to his signing vocabulary; pretty much as fast as I can teach him, he get them. Maddox is up to all sort of mischief lately, of course. But he also gives these super cute, really tight neck hugs and kisses first thing in the morning. Too bad they rapidly degenerate into stomping on our heads and rabidly demanding bananas ("bahn-bahns") or graham crackers ("cacks").

Joy, Fun, Seasons in the Sun

S-10 Blazer (Ole Bitch) Schek nee Maddox died today at the age of 20 with 250,000 miles on her. Her death follows a long illness that lasted, well, about 20 years. She leaves behind a family of four and two Volvos.

Knowing the end might be near she made a final trip to the dump and her four wheel drive failed, leaving her stranded at the bottom of the hill. She came home on the 4th of February and died peacefully in her place in the drive.
During approximately 1 year in hospice care she continued to engage in some of her favorite activities including going to the dump, standing in when Volvos were worked on and frequently hiding smelly messes from Rachel. Last summer she rallied and the family considered removing her from hospice. However, with the arrival of fall she relapsed and new health concerns began to show such as a hole opening in the floor and evidence that she could no longer stay in one place on a hill. In her final days she became increasingly unable to move without assistance.

Blazer came to the Maddox fleet when Rachel was 18 or so and in her second year of college. She was the first of many Blazers to pass through the Maddox family. She served faithfully in graduate school and then rejoined the farm fleet while Rachel and family lived in Germany before returning to them for her last four years. As recently as 4 years ago she withstood the rigors of a 16 hour drive east to move to VT. Just two years ago, she brought baby Maddox home from the hospital.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made care of Ellis Schek to the Vanzo in Vermont fund. Last respects may be paid anytime before Tuesday the 7th of February at the bottom turn out of our driveway. Her wheels are already schedule to prolong the life of another truck. No doubt, other bits will keep Blazers going until they see a quarter million miles.

pretzels of the damned

Every February, Ellis's school has "International Day". Each child selects a country and then prepares a poster and a food item from that country. Ellis has done Ireland (scones) and Japan (weird improvised stir fry with edamame and sesame seeds). This year, we chose Germany and are planning to make pretzels. I've made soft pretzels before but only once or twice and not very recently. Also I have a tendency to... erm, over-react when things don't go as planned in the kitchen. Thus, to avoid a Thursday night disaster, a test run was clearly in order. When Ellis was at basketball this morning, I made a batch of this and quickly discovered the flour to water ratio was not at all appropriate for the New England winter. I added some extra water, but feared I'd overworked the dough in the process of getting all that extra moisture worked in. Little did I know that something much more terrible than inadequately extensible gluten lay in my future: assistance from my children.

First off, I should never "mention" anything to anyone. For instance, I told Ellis we might sometime try making the pretzels into letter shapes. And he promptly starting pounding the dough into letter shapes, neglecting the more traditional "make a rope" approach.

Removing the "letters" from the boiling bath of water and baking soda:

Egg wash:

Salt:

"Their hands brushed in the salt ramekin and their lives would never be the same" Seriously, are they actually posing or what?

Result! Hmm, not too bad, actually.

And Ellis mostly agreed.

** Pictures are not representative. But I don't have the three hands that would be required to simultaneously take a picture, fend off flying egg wash, and keep Maddox from sticking his hand in the boiling water bath. That is more how the majority of the prep work went.