It's lentil soup season! Isn't that good news? No? Oh. I think it is, even though I can see you yawning and wondering when I'm going to post a truly exciting recipe. Braised Pork Belly with Caramelized Fennel, say.
That piece I mentioned--the one from Whole Living (formerly known as body + soul) is here.
And here's a picture of Birdy and Frankie doing tummy time:
And another picture, this one of the shoes Birdy picked out, when we told her she needed "fancy shoes" for the weddings we were going to. I love that Birdy. Also pictured: Strawberry. My friend Ann took this photo, and it is one of my all-time favorites:
Birdy and Strawberry are being flower fairies for Halloween (fun!) and Ben is being Garfield (kill me). Anyone got a couple hundred yards of orange plush to send my way?
What are your kids being? Tell me everything.
xo
p.s. Edited to add: No! I didn't have a baby! (And, in fact, last time I saw my OB, she said that my uterus was sunken on the floor of my pelvis like the Titanic.) Frankie is Anni's baby; Anni came to live with us when she was pregnant. It's the perfect way to have a baby. I recommend it.
who's Frankie? have i missed something? too cute!
ReplyDeleteI <3 Birdie's shoes!! I can't wait to see Ben as Garfield. That will be a riot. :) Mine are a knight and elegant vampire (ha!) which shouldn't be hard, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteDid you have a baby???
ReplyDeleteCute pictures! So adorable! I'll have to try your recipes. My kids are a little tired of my weekly arroz con pollo...
ReplyDeleteFor Halloween I'll have: a 3 YO witch/Mad hatter hybrid. A 5 YO Stitch. An 8 YO witch (the good kind) and Harry Potter, again. I guess he wants to take advantage of the long, curly hair.
Post pictures of your kids costumes!
xoxo
Oh I loved your article in Whole Living. I am going to be brave and try that!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine! It's that crazy reader from Ohio writing. My 5 year old daughter, bless her, decided to wear one of her gorgeous costumes from her dance recital, making her a "rainbow fairy." After great deliberation and negotiation (I won't allow really scary or gory costumes)my 7 year old son is going to be a ninja. By the way, I would love to know more about Anni and how she came to live with you while pregant, although maybe that's too personal? I just think you are so lucky to get to experience the joy of having a newborn around, yet without the challenges of pregnancy - HA! And lucky Anni and Frnakie to be surrounded by your lovely family and cooking! :)
ReplyDeleteDitto the crazy Ohioan -- could you tell us how your pregnant boarder came into your lives? It is so sweet and lovely, I just feel like there's a story in there -- hopefully one that's not too personal to share. If so, I'll keep up my theory about how you found her in the woods, pregnant and afflicted with the wandering amnesia, and you brought her home with you and fed her delicious pastas and nourishing soups while you waited for her memory to return.
ReplyDeleteWell, my dear 7 year old is going to be Perry the Platypus and I have learned how to dye sweatsuits and sew with long stitch by hand again.
ReplyDeleteMy 11 year old is being a deviled egg... funny!
I am going to be a tornado, because that is how I feel most days.
Frankie is lovely... Birdy's shoes are fancy! And I agree - a friends baby is the best way to have a new baby...
You don't post enough anymore... I miss you.
My 10 year old is undecided. My 7 year old wants to be Darth Vader. And my 4 year old wants to be either an oompa loompa or a butterfly princess.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful article in Whole Living. Thanks for sharing the link.
Newborns make me anxious even when they aren't mine so I think your family is lovely for opening your home. I will have a Ninja and an Angel. How's that for balance?
ReplyDeleteThat photo of Birdy and Frankie is so precious. We are having a pirate and cowgirl and the baby is going to be a bunny and maybe the pink poodle costume we got from a friend. I just printed the lentil soup recipe...you need to post the lentil salad, I am curious.
ReplyDeleteThis week I made baked potato soup and it is so good...garnished with bacon and cheese. YUM.
Just read the article in Whole Living... wow!
ReplyDeleteAck I love it, your OB is hilarious (though a little harsh)!
ReplyDeleteH has been calling herself a "monkey bird" since just before she was 2 (NO idea where she got that I swear she's never seen Return to Oz), so she's a monkey bird ie a monkey with wings. Then Q chimed in that he should be a spider monkey. So he's a monkey with a giant spider on his back. Oh and we get to be zoo keepers, easy peasy! I love Halloween and will certainly make lentil soup next week! Thanks!
Catherine, I have to tell you that your lentil soup recipe has totally changed the way I see lentil soup. So good -- and with actual flavor. I'm even loving the leftovers, and I'm not a lover of leftovers.
ReplyDeleteOh, and we're having a frog and Nancy Drew.
hooray I love lentil soup and so do my kids!
ReplyDeleteWe also recently made your kale chips and they were huge hit! I passed the recipe on to another mom in whole foods whose young daughter was insistent they buy miso. The mom, however, was saying she didn't know what to do with it.
Oh and my (practically) 8 year old daughter will be wonder woman and my 5 year old son will be Batman. My son is actually wearing my husband's old costume from the 1970s and while it is very simple in it's appearance (One piece jump suit) it is VERY exciting to my son to wear Daddy's old costume. There will be no prouder Batman that day.
My 3 year old daughter is going to be a fairy princess and my son is Iron Man.
ReplyDeleteI've got a 7 year old princess, 5 year old fairy and my 3 year old is going to be a fish. My husband bought him a fish costume meant to be worn by a dog. On purpose. It's not working out that well. He seems to think that he needs to crawl on his hands and knees to make it look right. I see his point. We may need to make some adjustments.
ReplyDelete--Cathy K
P.S. I love Laura's amnesia theory. I works for me.
My eldest will be a ninja.
ReplyDeleteMy middle son will be a Ninja Turtle.
And my little 3 month old will be Yoda, per his father's request. I figured since I wouldn't let him name the baby Darwin, I owed him this much.
Happy Halloween! And I do hope you tell us all about how Anni came to live with you.
Catherine, thank you so much for including the link to your article in Whole Living. The right words at the right time for me.
ReplyDeleteLove Birdy's Shoes!
ReplyDeleteI have a 9 year old with a receding hairline - he is going as William Shakespeare for Halloween. We've also altered a dress and made a ruff (an Elizabethan Collar! ha!) for the dog!
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v231/wasagooze/Halloween%202010/
My 7 year olds (twins) are being witches (so! original!). But their costumes are actually cute- one of them has orange and yellow striped tights and the other has bright pink and black striped tights, and then of course the black dress and black hat. Oh, and they are very much looking forward to the green face paint. Their baby sister ("baby"! she's 4) is going to be their black catty. So far for her, we have a headband with black ears on them. I'm thinking black leotard and black pants? And eyeliner whiskers? You know, whatever we can scrounge up around the house for her.
ReplyDelete(My favorite year was when my girls went as Laura, Mary, and baby Carrie. They were very into Little House everthing- books, movies, etc- so my friend went to the Walnut Grove museum and bought them bonnets, and then my grandma sewed them prairie dresses, and they carried a ragdoll and some old books and oh! LOVED!
Marie - Love the Ingalls family costumes! I am very much a family dress up person - this year we are going as Harry Potter (7 year old who has just finished book 5, we're finally watching the movie tonight, can't wait), Hermione (5 year old sister), Hedwig (3 year old sister who now says who who instead of fly fly), Professor McGonnegall (me) and Hagrid (dear husband who REALLY needs to get working on his stilts!). Other years we've done the wizard of Oz and Star Wars (my son wearing his Dad's costume from years ago too!)
ReplyDeleteFirst, my kids are going to be Darth Vader and a skeleton for Halloween. But I love love love that my younger one, who is the oldest guy in pre-K, was worried the skeleton would scare the "little kids" so he'll be Buzz Lightyear at school. I adore him for thinking of this plan.
ReplyDeleteSecond, my new resolution after last week's cider-cream pork was: When Catherine Newman prints a port recipe, drop all plans and make it immediately. I don't even know who sells pork belly, but clearly, I need to find some. Many thanks for a delicious start to fall!
Mine will be a Jawa and a Hippie girl. I look forward to find brown fabric at the used goods store and sew.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link to your article : it is really inspiring. I will remember the image: fist, heart opened.
Wait, wait--the pork link goes back to the lentil soup. For which I am tremendously grateful, I love that too, but your pork recipes are out of this world. Help!
ReplyDeleteWell, since you asked...:) Jake is going to be Indiana Jones (NOT a packaged costume - we're talking the real deal here) and Neenah is going to be a pink bunny. In fact, she's wearing the exact same costume I wore when I was in pre-school. And I just love that so so much. Do you like how I casually name my kids like you know who they are? They were Arthur and D.W. last year. I'll never top that one.
ReplyDeleteOh, Laura I love your Anni theory! Maybe it's like that awesome Chris VanAllsburg book "The Stranger" and Anni is really Jack Frost, but she doesn't remember so the seasons won't change...
ReplyDeleteMy 10-year-old Ben will be a wizard. Says he "decided to forgo the beard." funny. My 6-year-old Ellie will be a genie in the morning and Laura Ingalls for trick-or-treating. We have a wonderful Laura costume borrowed from a friend, then just couldn't pass up the awesome genie pants at Goodwill.
ReplyDelete4 yr old boy is wearing yellow silk butterfly wings and stuffing a rainbow silk scarf down the back of his shorts for his tail -this is his idea for a "Big beautiful long tail bird" Big brother is making him a paper beak. Said big brother (6 years old) who is known to say 'I don't want to be fake' when asked about dressing up, is going as a clothes-basket - complete with clothes haning out - only he wants them to be clean, becasue dirty clothes are gross apparently. I love it all!
ReplyDeletewriting again because I just read the whole living article - and am so moved - truly. I'm building the courage to ask the question.
ReplyDeleteO.K., so my quirky boy is going to be a Scarecrow, but not from the Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow from, wait for it, The Wiz (his lastest obsession). I have totally procrastinated, and now I need his costume to be ready for a party on Monday, and I've got nothin. Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the article, what a perfect article to read as I sit here watching the rain come down and my four and seven year old boys make their toys kiss each others' butts.
ReplyDeleteOh, and they will be a skeleton pirate (old skeleton costume + old pirate costume = voila!) and The Scariest Zombie Ever.
No one is that excited about costumes this year for some reason, but I do have some pics of the last awesome costume we made, Queen Amidala... http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2007/11/queen-amidala-headpiece.html
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to make another head piece like that out of plaster strips, but I can't think of what to do. Sonic the Hedgehog, maybe?
My six year old is going as an eagle. My five year old is going as a musketeer. My mother made both outfits, lucky me!
ReplyDeleteSoren decided he needed to be "Mario" from Super Mario Brothers and Finn, amazingly enough, decided he could be "Luigi." I found a pair of denim overalls in the right size, and a pair of black jazz shoes in the right size at Goodwill. Then, I "made" a pair of fake suspenders to attach to Finn's jeans (no larger denim overalls to be found). We found a pattern and step by step instructions to make the hats using felt. White gloves and fake Pancho Villa mustaches will complete their ensembles. No longer do I have Lance Armstrong and a cowboy.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting the link to the Whole Living article. My husband asked me that question last month. He's been reading/listening to a lot of Stefan Molyneux. At the time I just giggled, because he really is so loving already. But your article reminded me of the importance of that question. And for me to ask it, too. Ohh, but I'm afraid of what my parents would said! Something about a particular church! How brave and lucky of you.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have a little Cinderella (in her flower girl dress) around here come Halloween.
Sam (5) will be a robot-- lots of duct tape and silver-painted cardboard boxes, with dryer-vent arms and reflective tape decorations. Frida (14 months) will be a witch. Silly to costume a baby, but so fun! striped leggings, an orange-tutu-from-clearance, and a black felt hat.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the whole living link. I really needed to read that this weekend, and will be carrying it around with me for a long time (whether or not I ever get brave enough to actually carry it out... I feel like just thinking about it will have at least a bit of an effect).
i have a clone trooper this year. totally love the 'fancy' shoes!!
ReplyDeleteCatherine--I just love the article in Whole Living. I'm going to ask the question of my family today. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI love lentil soups! Thanks for another recipe :) We will have a turning 4 Iron Man and a 7yr-old Kim Possible (going to dye her hair orange with Jello, ack!).
ReplyDeleteHelp! Didn't you have a recipe for homemade vanilla extract on here??? Or was that on the disney family page? Or, am I losing my memory?
ReplyDeleteHave followed your writing for years (since the Baby Center days) and just read the awesome article in Family Fun about giving to Haiti Earthquake Relief. Also, loved the article in Whole Body.
ReplyDeleteMy 3yo is going to be a sandwich for Halloween (I never knew a glue gun could be so fun!) and I'm going to be a bag of sweet potato chips!
ReplyDeleteHey my name Andrea. You dont know me but I sortta know you. Let me explain. I read your story in Family Fun magazine and I instently loved it. I really apreciate what some people do to help. bye!
ReplyDeletehello my name is Andrea. You don't know me but I sortta know you. Let me explain. I read your story in family fun magazine. I found it very inspiering. I love knowing that people in the world still care. This is the only way I knew how to tell you that because i'm only 11. My teacher makes us have a blog. sorry if I scared you.
ReplyDeleteAndrea
i'm another massachusetts mom and saw your article in family fun!!! loved your idea! we are going to give it a try. have a beautiful day :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow. I just read the Whole Living article. Amazing. I am going to try it.
ReplyDeleteAt my house tonight (10/29) we will be trying to finish the Totoro and the Lollipop Princess costumes. Totoro needs pants, I think we can find some grey sweats in the drawer. The Princess needs the rest of her lollipops sewed to her skirt and her wand lollified. I loved working on the costumes with the girls but I am about out of energy now.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the plush!
Your article in Whole Living was wonderful. Truly truly wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI'm asking my family that question tonight.
I loved your article "The Love Experiment" in Whole Living. Funny and beautifully written. I am going to link the article from the Whole Living website to my blog: www.woolsey6.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this piece!
"Turn the clenched first of your heart into an open hand."
ReplyDeleteHoo-boy, your excellent article has give me such food for thought. I hope I can be brave enough to ask the question you asked.
As for Halloween costumes:
7-year-old is going to be The Grim Reaper, 4-year-old will be a spider, and 18-month-old will be a chocolate chip cookie (which I sewed myself! So proud!).
Love the photos! Especially the one of Birdie and her awesome shoes.
ReplyDeleteRiley wanted to be an engineer from TF2 (a computer game). He ended up being a red ninja courtesy of the super cheap costume we found at goodwill. Gavin was a Suessical punk rocker. (His hair was a bit too long for the mohawk and came out kinda curly.)
Thanks for the clarification on Frankie, I've just returned to your blog. I started reading you way back when you were pregnant with Birdy. I'm looking forward to catching up.
ReplyDeleteMy 5 year old was Iron Man and my 1 year old a monkey. I was a grouchy teenager--hoodie, blue nail polish, too much make up, I-Pod earphones (which I lost), and a slouchy attitude I couldn't possibly keep up while keeping up with my kids! Fun, though.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering when someone would call out that reference in the kale recipe. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I was imagining things!
ReplyDeletelove the article in Whole Living!
ReplyDeleteYes I would like to see the Ben-as-Garfield photo too! I always like that cat with attitude and now my kids do too.
A more serious suggestion: would you publish all your recipes in a book? of course include all the lovely pictures and the stories!! I would be the first to buy it!
JR
My Ben was Mario (SUPER Mario!)
ReplyDeleteI also dressed my house up, and spent the better part of today pulling fake spiderwebs off of the front porch (NEVER AGAIN!)
Catherine, the Whole Living article was just beautiful.
Thanks for being out there.
-Becky
(a.k.a. Fun Frieda, a.a.k.a. The Flying Mum)
C-Bird (age 8) was "Tie Dye Man" J-Bird (age 9) wore his soccer uniform which was sort of a cop out but worked as his friend wore his full hockey goalie gear. I loved the article on "Tell Me How to Love You Better." So far the response in my house to the question "Can you tell me how to love you better?" has been "No." But I don't take that as pure satisfaction, really it is "don't ask me questions like that." I love that your family all responded so well. AND that you (picture of patience in my mind) can sometimes find the ramblings of your children less than fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a bit late, but my 5-year-old was a FEMALE cardinal--she designed a brown, orange, gold, violet, red, and pink costume. Gorgeous, though people kept mistaking her for an Indian Princess. The daughter who turned 3 on Halloween was Dorothy, exclaiming "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" at every scary costume she saw.
ReplyDelete