Things to Make - Salted Apple Caramel Popsicles

I know it seems a little late in the year for a popsicle post, but I just checked out People's Pops: 55 Recipes for Ice Pops, Shave Ice, and Boozy Pops from Brooklyn's Coolest Pop Shop from the library and since it includes an autumn chapter, I figured I had to try some out. (By the way, I can't say enough wonderful things about this book, I want to try them all).

If you thought that popsicles were pretty much for children (which, I'll admit, I thought), then this recipe will blow your mind. Better the a caramel apple. Better than caramel candy (even the gourmet kind). Just perfect. Especially as the leaves fall around you. But be prepared, these are ADDICTIVE.

SALTED APPLE CARAMEL POPSICLES (from People's Pops: 55 Recipes for Ice Pops, Shave Ice, and Boozy Pops from Brooklyn's Coolest Pop Shop)

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 apples (cored)
* organic cane sugar (2/3 cup & 1/2 cup)
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt

1. First make Simple Syrup - Combine 2/3 cup cane sugar with 2/3 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and let cool.

2. Next make the Salted Caramel - Place 1/2 cup of sugar in a heavy saucepan and melt until it darkens to amber (if the caramel becomes mahogany, the taste turns bitter). Add the butter and stir. Immediately after the butter melts, remove from the stove and gradually add the cream (VERY SLOWLY). Add salt. If the mixture cools into a solid, then microwave it to soften.

3. Next prepare the apples - Cut the apples into a large dice and place them in a nonreactive saucepan (with skins still on). Add about 1/4 cup of water to the bottom (so the apples don't burn). Cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes (until the apples soften). Then puree them in a food processor. Strain to remove the peels.

4. Transfer the apples to a bowl and stir in the simple syrup and caramel.

5. Pour into ice pop molds.

6. Freeze.

* Makes 6-8 popsicles.

Places to Go (Vacation) - Jumping in Leaf Piles at Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA)

Last week, my best friend from high school came to town with her mom (who is practically a second mom to me) and two of her four children (ages 9 years and 17 months), so we decided to spend a few beautiful fall days at Colonial Williamsburg. We visited a few summers ago (previously posted here, scroll down to see the older posts) and the kids all loved it, so a return trip sounded like a wonderful idea.

On the upside, spending a 70 degree day walking through a 18th century town while colored leaves fell around us was all sorts of awesome. On the downside, several of the "houses" are closed on October weekdays and the place isn't exactly kid-friendly in the fall, unlike during the summer months, no games or kids' toys were out and the people (both the character actors and the tourists) seemed somewhat hostile to grade school kids. Williamsburg in autumn appears to be where retirees go to avoid children. And we brought five.

Luckily everyone remained relatively well-behaved and all in all we had a blast. Cannons were fired. Jails were toured. Leaf piles were jumped in. Garden mazes were explored. Old-fashioned dining occurred. Add in a hotel with a pool (many thanks to the Homewood Suites for a great display of hospitality and for finding T's lost "pink sheet") and the kids all had the time of their lives.

A perfect mini-vacation. Made complete with some good old "Colonial" Cabernet Sauvignon.



The muskets made the day.



So funny to have a nine year old boy in our house. T was over-the-top in love with his temporary "older brother", P has a great time whenever someone arrives who will stay up late with her, and F seemed a little smitten with the boy himself, though she's not telling me anything.

Things to Do - ThinkFun Games Review & GIVEAWAY!!!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED AND THE RANDOM WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!!

Thinkfun offered us some fun games to review, to which I immediately replied YES!!! F loves Rush Hour so I figured she would enjoy trying out some of ThinkFun's newer offerings. Our reviews are listed below. And, if you're interested (who wouldn't be interested?), Think Fun will send one lucky reader any game of his/her choice. So check out their website here and then win something.

In order to enter, either (1) Comment to this post, making sure to include your email address in the body of the message or (2) Like No Monsters In My Bed on Facebook and write on my wall that you're entering the giveaway (also, please make sure that your Facebook account allows you to receive messages from non-friends).

I will close the contest and randomly choose a winner one week from today at 5pm EST on November 13th. (NOW CLOSED!!)

OUR REVIEWS:



(1)Laser Maze - I gave F Laser Maze for her birthday (yes, I'm sure there are ethical questions involved about gifting something received for free, but lets put those to the side for now) and she LOVES it!! Actually, we all love it, which is a little surprising as lasers usually annoy me, for reasons I can't decipher (something about a bright singular beam of light). Lately, this has become our family's go-to weekend activity (and, I must confess, after the kids go to bed, I've tried to solve a puzzle or two on my own).

The game comes with several challenge cards of varying levels (we're still working on the beginning set), as well as a small laser beam and several accessory pieces (beam-Splitters, mirrors, checkpoints, and a checkpoint) for redirecting the laser's path. I wasn't sure how much we would enjoy problem solving as a family, but this game has taught us to work as a team (at times). Though my favorite part about the laser maze has been watching F concentrate over the different configurations of pieces, almost like chess, but with a quicker end game.



(2)Swish Jr.- For the last three weeks, we've Swished quite a bit. Unlike most multi-player games, Swish's rules are easy, as is set up, making it easy to play a few rounds whenever the "boreds" kick in. Swish Jr. consists of several transparent cards, which you lay out in three rows of four. You then try to match the cards up. The first player to find a match yells "swish", picks up the cards, and the the dealer quickly lays down another set.

The first time you play, it can be rather difficult to find a match, as you're not used to turning the shapes around in your mind to see how they fit together. Luckily, when this becomes easy you can up the difficulty by only looking for three card "swishes." Eventually you can work into four card swishes (we're not there yet).

I have to say, as far as children's games go, this is one of my favorites. It's fun to play and quick, with minimal prep. And it doesn't totally bore me, which is sort of awesome.

(3)Brainteaser Kit - I really like these puzzles (despite the fact, or maybe because of the fact, that I can't figure most of them out), but I'm not quite sure how best to use them with the kids. I don't want the kids to rely on too many of the hints or the puzzles may becomes "easy." But I also don't want the kids to think of these as impossible and stop trying. So far, we bring them out every once in awhile. T quits after about 10 seconds, P lasts a few minutes, and F keeps working on the puzzles for about ten or fifteen minutes (they're recommended for 2nd grade and up, so F's my only child in the toy's demographic).

I think the brainteaser set would probably work best in a classroom or homeschool setting, where activities are more structured; or maybe on an airplane or long trip, when you want something challenging to entertain children for a set period.

We like working on them, we're just not quite sure when to bring them out.

Places to Go - Trick or Treating at the White House (Washington DC)

This year the White House offered the girls' school a limited quantity of free tickets for their Halloween celebration. So we entered the raffle and believe it or not, we WON!! (This is sort of a big deal as we never win anything, as in EVER). I, along with most other parents, was over the moon about the whole venture (THE WHITE HOUSE!!). The kids' showed a slightly more muted sense of excitement ("what if we don't get enough candy? are we going to miss out on trick or treating with our friends?"). I swear it's true that childhood is wasted on children. Why couldn't we all just dance around the house celebrating our good fortune? Luckily, F's best friend also won tickets, which raised the happiness level somewhat.

Of course we arrived half an hour early because who wants to be late for the White House? Which meant standing in line for half an hour with an artist, a firefighter, Hermione, and Psy (the Gangnam Style guy) fighting over my iphone. As soon as the clock hit 7 pm (our entry time) everything moved really fast. After going through security, we walked onto a huge back lawn full of people on stilts, a band in skeleton costumes, a fairy in a bubble, decorations everywhere, and seriously TONS of Halloween overload. It was amazing, even without the White House cache.

I tried to take pictures, but it was dark and there was so much to take in. Plus, they kept moving everyone along. Eventually, each child received a goodie bag with dried fruit (I'm guessing this was Michelle's idea), a cookie, and presidential M&Ms (seriously, how cool is that?). I was in dork heaven. But my kids lamented the lack of twix bars (what is wrong with them?). Apparently, had we received tickets for the 4 pm slot, we would have met the president himself, but by 7 pm Barrack had left the party (see how we're on a first name basis now that I've visited his home?). Regardless, it was still one of the coolest Halloweens ever.

After finally making our way home (thank god, for Uber, because cabs were non-existent), we still had time to trick or treat around the neighborhood. Thus assuring my kids reached their maximum level of exhaustion. Exhaustion coupled with gigantic pumpkins full of candy (which Coco proceeded to steal and eat). So goes another All Hallows' Eve.

Things to Do - Cherish This Day & Random Links

Sometimes you simply NEED to spend an hour or so in a room full of mylar balloons (the pics are from Arlington Artisphere's exhibit of Warhol's Silver Clouds, which have since moved on). Now click on over to Cherish the Day to see what everyone else has been up to.

RANDOM LINKS:

* The Kids Euro Festival is currently in full swing. Two months of awesome free events. Click here to see the schedule. And click here to read our review from last year.

* Before they pass away. Gorgeous photos of indigenous tribes. "In 2009, I planned to become a guest of 31 secluded and visually unique tribes. I wanted to witness their time-honoured traditions, join in their rituals and discover how the rest of the world is threatening to change their way of life forever. Most importantly, I wanted to create an ambitious aesthetic photographic document that would stand the test of time. A body of work that would be an irreplaceable ethnographic record of a fast disappearing world."

* The brilliant mind of Kevin van Aelst.

* I'm loving NPR's map of the most famous book set in every state.

* Bruce Wrighton’s Binghamton.

* Photos of Banksy in NYC.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!