Fish Jello; aka Lutefisk

I remember going to my Oma's house when I was a little kid and watching the "grown-ups" eat lutefisk. I remember watching them eat, and I also remember the smell. It was strong, it was definitely lutefisk. The odor was kind of fishy, but also kind of something else; somehow it reminded me of the smell of play-doh mixed with maybe a cleaning detergent of some sort. I tried it a couple of times and wondered: What are these people thinking?? Maybe its one of those adult things that you grow into like coffee or beer? As I grew into liking coffee, and beer, unfortunately (or fortunately) it never happened with lutefisk.

Lutefisk is a traditional Scandinavian dish that is essentially dried whitefish that is soaked in lye. It is soaked in water first and then lye. It causes the fish to swell and I learned actually decreases the protein content by 50% with creates a lovely jello-like consistency (mmmm... MN sarcasm at play here). After its soaked in lye, it is basically poisonous and will corrode substances that it comes into contact with (once again, yum). Therefore, before it can be ingested by us mammals, it must be soaked in water again for several days to make sure it doesn't give us lucky eaters severe stomach pain, vomiting, and chemical burns. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk)

So it's hard not to wonder,  why do people eat lutefisk?? I still ponder this every holiday. I understand that centuries ago Scandinavians ate the stuff because it was cheap and they could save it through the winter using readily available lye, but why continue? Every year my parents attend the lutefisk dinner at a large Lutheran church in Minneapolis; there are actually police directing traffic. We attended a family luncheon this year that served lutefisk as a special (and three out of 6 adults at our table ordered it, and Stella even ate some!). While I usually take a mere bite to satiate my family's expectations, this delicacy continues to be hard to swallow.

Dave's lutefisk entree at Jax Cafe in Northeast Mpls; at least the Lefse looks tasty! :)

There is a lot of prose and mockery out there about this stuff. Maybe that's what makes it attractive. But it's also a symbol of strength, it's a tradition that marks our heritage, a symbol of respect for how far our ancestors have come... Or if you ask my dad, he eats it because he genuinely likes the stuff!

So while I still shudder and nostrils cringe at a looming plate of this Scandinavian delight, I have respect for this bloated little piece of our history. Does that mean I will eventually grow into liking it? Probably not, but I will continue to take my bite every holiday, and relish in this finny tradition that is so easy to love.. to hate.

 Post-meal at Jax Cafe with Mom and Dad Thron!

 So in parting, I quote a fellow Minnesotan, Garrison Keillor, in saying "It can be tasty, but the statistics aren’t on your side. It is the hereditary delicacy of Swedes and Norwegians who serve it around the holidays, in memory of their ancestors, who ate it because they were poor. Most lutefisk is not edible by normal people. It is reminiscent of the afterbirth of a dog or the world's largest chunk of phlegm."  Maybe that's a little harsh, but we Minnesotan's love the dry humor don't you know?? And maybe it's not edible by normal people, but who said we were normal up here (in MN) anyway??

Ah, the Memories

When we were driving from the airport on the way to my parents house we passed the playground a couple blocks from their house. As we went by- the girls started proclaiming- "Nico?? Luna??" I couldn't believe it. The last time we saw Nico and Luna was over 5 months ago. And they all went to that specific park maybe twice. And, to top it off, it's not like the neighborhood looked the same- I mean, we were there in July and now there are no leaves and a blanket of white!

It was just a reminder that my kids are truly kids now- no longer my little babies. And they remember stuff!! Uh oh. I mean, of course that's great, but it makes one think... "Have I done anything lately that I just assumed they wouldn't notice (or remember)?" Like, not wash my hands before I eat? Or say something mean to the car in front of me on the road? Or not eat all my vegetables????

On that note, it's no myth that our children are little mirrors of us(especially at this age). And I have seen them do goofy things and wonder... "where did they learn to do that?" such as Lucy saying "Alright!!! OK!!!" or Stella giving a huge "fake" smile with her eyes all squinted. Then I find myself a few days later making a joke to Stella and I can feel my own face making that same smile with squinty eyes. And I notice that after I strapped the girls in their car seats and plop my self down in the driver's seat that I say "Alright! OK!" So once again- "where did they learn to do that?", hmmm, I wonder:)

As far as memory goes...Is there an age that you can safely say memories begin? I don't think so. I remember random events or "pictures" in my past, I don't exactly know how old I was in my earliest memory, but that's hard to say for sure (is it really a memory? Or just a memory of a picture or story I was told?). Needless to say, the girls definitely remember their cousins now (along with Grandma and Grandpa Treiber, Grandma and Opa Thron, Aunt Becky, Uncle Paul etc.) even though there are months between visits. And every day since we have been here (in MN) they ask me where their cousins are and when we can play!!

Nico, Luna, Lucy, Stella, Opa

Nico showing all the little ladies his iPad

Christmas cookies!!

Minnesota greets Baltimorons with lots of the White Stuff!

The eve prior to our MSP arrival (1 week ago now) we hear the news- it's snowing. It's no surprise as it is Minnesota; and it is December. But going from the coast inland and upward, it was quite dramatic to see the snow pancake on my parent's patio when we arrived! Lucy and Stella have never seen snow (or at least do not remember if they did). We slid open the patio door so they could touch some and they both started to cry (before they even touched it). It took 2 more days before they finally realized that this fluffy white freezing cottony stuff was pretty cool (no pun intended).

We have yet to hit the slopes with the plastic saucers and Frosty has not yet come alive- but we have done a fair amount of stomping through the slush and sliding (mostly unintentionally) on ice. Hopefully we will get another layer soon to cover up the now graying of the snow banks.

 We are renting our own apartment this visit. It's right on the Mississippi and we are on the 20th floor, so needless to say, we have quite the view. It takes some of the stress off the family. It can't be fun to put up with two 2-year-olds for 24 hours a day (especially if you are not used to it!)

I took a chance and posted a "housing wanted" ad on Craigslist with the price we were willing to pay to rent someone's space. A woman contacted us the next day and said she goes abroad every year over this time and wanted to rent out her place but didn't want to deal with the hassle of finding someone- so it was really win-win! We have two bedrooms and two baths which is a bit more than we would have staying with fam; there is a workout room on the 24th floor overlooking the Mpls skyline and there is actually a continental breakfast every weekday morning (and no this is not a hotel).

Even though we will be here for a total of one month, time always flies when we are here. So hopefully we won't get too comfy in our digs and just stare out the window all day!

BEWARE:If your kids aren't sleeping during naptime

The image and content in this post may not be suitable for all audiences.

It was a lovely Monday, with blue skies and temps in the mid-60s (not bad for December eh?). I had a fairly productive morning despite a few squabbles between the ladies over some plastic monkeys. So, you know those activities that we all dread, like balancing your checkbook, cleaning the toilet, and, of course, finding, copying, printing, and sending out flex spending account substantiation forms along with the necessary receipts so you can get your own money back??  Well, I did complete the latter.

Next, we took a trip outside for a bit to absorb the warmth and sunshine. We hit the road to do some errands and the girls were very well behaved, even when they had to share one of those cars that are attached to the carts in the grocery store. We did have a sippy cup go overboard; I didn't realize it until we got back to the car; it's probably nestled in with the bottom row of (let's tempt your kids) candy in the check out line. But other than that, nothing extraordinary.

We get back home and it's nap time.
This is where it begins.
The jumping. The laughing. Mom going upstairs, opening the door and saying "nap". This goes on for about an hour, and then I decide to stop going into their room. I hear them awake- talking, giggling- but I still let them be. After 45 minutes, I figure I might as well just get them up.

As I approach their room, there is an odor wafting from under the door... I enter, and before I turn on the light I know someone has done their deed. This is fine, they are in diapers, and *!@$ happens right? Well, I turn on the light and I was frozen. The girls wore huge grins and were saying "good morning, good morning!" (which they say whenever they wake up regardless of the time of day). Both of my children were wearing no pants, no diapers. One of my children was also wearing an exorbitant amount of....feces. It was in her hair, all over her face, on her hands, and almost completely covering both her legs from thigh down to her toes. It didn't end there. There was #2 all over her sheets and blankets, and virtually every single slat on the front of the crib (both sides of the slats mind you). There was crap on the curtains, the cushioned rocker, the carpet, and all over the books and babies that were once in the crib but were thrown on the floor prior to my arrival. There was excrement on crib #2, on the carpet, and on the cribs dust ruffle. There was POOP everywhere.

Now we have had a few instances where the diapers have come off and we are not happy when we enter the room. But there has never been anything quite like this. All I could do was laugh. I did get my camera. The girls thought this whole thing was hilarious, and apparently there had been a significant amount of playing with the poop. They were saying "cheese" while I was documenting the aftermath. And then I called Dave so find out his ETA as this was going to be a long, long cleanup. Fortunately Dave was on his way. What a way to come home after a long day at work eh? He took his soiled offspring straight into the shower as I began the cleanup.

Dinner was not made; take-out was ordered. I cleaned just the crib for almost 3 hours, slat by slat, first one side, then the other. I tried to do a wipe down right away while it was still "wet" but that didn't do much good as it dried very quickly. It takes A LOT of scrubbing to get this stuff off a wooden crib apparently! The windows were opened, the curtains were washed, the sheets were shaken in the tub and washed, the babies were sterilized, the books wiped down, the floors swept and swiffered, the carpet scrubbed etc. etc.

Four hours from discovery, the cleanup was complete. There is still a bit of a stench (have no idea from where) but hopefully it will fade with a day of windows open tomorrow. I did take several pictures of the destruction, but I figure I will spare future humiliation and keep those in a private folder for now anyway. Let's hope a disaster of this magnitude never strikes again:)