Welcome, February!! ...It's Bake for Family Fun Month

The first month of the year is over and I am welcoming February with a happy grin. February always invites me to imagine spring. Days are getting a little longer and, Chuckie, the Long Island groundhog, predicted this morning that in fact, spring is just around the corner. He did not see his shadow... Yaay!!

But, there is a lot more to February. As it turns out, it is a really busy month for family fun, starting with this Groundhog-Super Bowl weekend, Valentine's Day in the middle, President's Day a few days later and, even Oscar's night, closer to the end... All good stuff!!

To top it up, February is also "Bake for Family Fun" month. A celebration that I didn't know of, but thanks to my new Mom's Weekly Planner, I got to discover it and adopt it as a cool family celebration. I like baking, it can be something very simple, a pizza, a pasta, a cookie, or something elaborated with great level of difficulty, like a french pastry or a souffle.

In any case, the good thing about this month's celebration is that baking is a great excuse to spend family time together, have the kids learn how to measure, read recipes, and make something new, while talking, joking, and having fun. There is also a fascinating aspect about baking for little ones- the surprise factor, the not knowing if things will come out right or really wrong, until the baked subject is pulled out of the oven.

I got curious and researched a little bit about this month's celebration... I found this great website by the Home Baking Association, which has prepared a whole schedule for the month with all kind of recipes to turn February into a fun month loaded with yummy preparations. Week by week, the HBA's website delivers different projects adapted to kids of different ages, from cookies and cakes to pizza and bread.

Sounds good, so far? Well, I also decided to mix my love for chocolate with February's Bake for Family Fun celebrations, and put together the pictures and links to the recipes that I'd like to try right now. Winter always elevates my cravings for chocolate, I guess it has something to do with the need for more calories to keep my body warm... I don't know, but those perfectly round chocolate truffles, or the chocolate cookies with coffee ice cream look very tempting... Don't they??

Not to twist your arm, but in case you feel as tempted as I am, here you have the links to the recipes... Have fun and happy February, everyone!!

1:: Bailey's Chocolate Truffles by Eva Toneva, available here. (Use translator for recipe)

2:: Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce by Easy Eats, available here. 

3:: Turtles Cupcakes by Annie's Eats, available here. 

4:: How to make Chocolate Bars? by David Lebovitz, available here.

5:: Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches by Heather Cristo, available here.

...Gone With The Wind!

The last time I flew a kite, I was desperately trying not to disappoint my older daughter Naomi. I was eight months pregnant and her pre-K class was determined to prove that the month of March in fact, came in as a lion and left as a lamb. I did not want Naomi to be the only child running alone, flying a kite without mom by her side... So, there I was, tangled with the string, the kite and my big belly, running with Naomi and her little sister inside, bouncing up and down, feeeling like that baby would come out of me, either by mouth or regular delivery, at any time.
A few days ago, that pregnancy memory came back to me, so clearly... This time, I was exactly at the same place I was almost four years ago, doing the same thing I was doing before. This time, I was flying a kite again, but instead I was running with the little girl that four years ago, was a baby bouncing inside of me. This time it was Zoe's turn to learn about the force of wind and my turn to realize that time goes by, way too fast...

A strange feeling, a mix of happiness, satisfaction and some sort of sadness. The kind of feeling that makes you hesitate... Should I laugh or should I cry? A quick flashback in front of my eyes... Four very important years of my life have gone by between two flying kites!! Naomi left Pre-K and is now a second grader, Zoe left my belly and is now a Pre-K student, and me? ... I have no babies anymore. In exchange, I have two beautiful little girls who, on another turn of a page, will be teenagers, college students or who knows what...

My mind jumped off the kite and landed back on the field, where my little Zoe was struggling to keep Yo Gabba Gabba up in the air... At that very moment, I realized that parenthood is a ticking clock, constantly reminding me that there are precious moments to be enjoyed now, never later, never after. Short stages that fly away like a kite, before I can even realize they are gone.

At that very moment, a sudden urge embraced me... I must hold the string and fly more kites, I must get my face sticky and eat more ice cream, I must get my hands dirty and search for more worms, I must play and have more fun with my kids, before these simple, fulfilling moments are "Gone with the Wind".

By the way, yesterday after a month having a party, not in his tummy, but in the tree, Yo Gabba Gabba finally decided to come back down. The school garderner brought it to Zoe's hands, back to remind me that I must fly more kites.