Croft Clan

Double Vision

2011-08-29T20:57:00.000-06:00

I had to take in a snack to school for Christine today. As I walked past the library, I noticed her teacher, Mrs. Norby inside. I decided to just drop off the snack in the classroom, only to find Mrs. Norby reading to the class in their classroom. I thought I must have just mistaken whomever I had seen in the library for Mrs. Norby. As I headed back to the office to sign out, I saw her again! This time I was able to look at her directly in the face. It had to be her. I must have had a confused expression on my face, because after Christine's "teacher" left, the secretary filled me in. "Mrs. Norby has an identical twin, you're not crazy." I remembered then that Christine had told me that, but I had no idea that they both worked at her school. I'm hoping that my embarrassing moments throughout the year are few with teacher mix ups, but I'm not counting on it.

Christine and the real Mrs. Norby on the first day of school. I'm guessing by the quality of our point and shoot's photos that a certain little boy has gotten his fingerprints on the lens.

Emma on her first day of Kindergarten (sniff). She really likes Mrs. Barnett. I couldn't get Emma to look at the camera, and I didn't want to be "that mom" that turns the first day into a photo shoot. I do, however, like Michael's supermodel pose in the background.

Jacob loves having the older girls in school. The competition for my and Julia's time has gone down, and he loves feeling like he's the oldest for a bit. More importantly, I think he enjoys having one mother instead of three.

Here's our cool girl Julia. She's 7 months now, and I can't believe how fast time is flying. Someday I'll do a post on her entrance into this world, but not while she sits squirming on my lap. Perhaps when she's forty.

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-08-02T10:19:00.002-06:00

Yummy, delicious, fabulous, but time consuming. It's worth it though, oh, so worth it.

Shot in the pan

and on the plate.

Eggplant Parmesan
2 pounds globe eggplant (2 medium eggplants), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 slices high-quality white bread (about 8 ounces), torn into quarters
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Tomato Sauce
3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 generous tablespoon)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
8 ounces whole milk mozzarella or part-skim mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
10 fresh basil leaves torn, for garnish

1. Eggplant: Toss half of eggplant slices and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt in large bowl until combined; transfer salted eggplant to large colander set over bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant and kosher salt, placing second batch in colander on top of first. Let stand until eggplant releases about 2 tablespoons liquid, 30 to 45 minutes. Arrange eggplant slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible, then wipe off excess salt.
2. While eggplant is draining, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions, place rimmed baking sheet on each rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Pulse bread in food processor to fine, even crumbs, about fifteen 1-second pulses (you should have about 4 cups). Transfer crumbs to pie plate and stir in 1 cup Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Wipe out bowl (do not wash) and set aside.
3. Combine flour and 1 teaspoon pepper in large zipper-lock bag; shake to combine. Beat eggs in second pie plate. Place 8 to 10 eggplant slices in bag with flour; seal bag and shake to coat eggplant. Remove eggplant slices, shaking off excess flour, dip in eggs, let excess egg run off, then coat evenly with bread crumb mixture; set breaded slices on wire rack set over baking sheet. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
4. Remove preheated baking sheets from oven; add 3 tablespoons oil to each sheet, tilting to coat evenly with oil. Place half of breaded eggplant on each sheet in single layer; bake until eggplant is well browned and crisp, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes, and flipping eggplant slices with wide spatula after 20 minutes. Do not turn off oven.
5. Sauce: While eggplant bakes, process 2 cans diced tomatoes in food processor until almost smooth, about 5 seconds. Heat olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and garlic is light golden, about 3 minutes; stir in processed and remaining can of diced tomatoes. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes (you should have about 4 cups). Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Assembly: Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Layer in half of eggplant slices, overlapping slices to fit; distribute 1 cup sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Layer in remaining eggplant and dot with 1 cup sauce, leaving majority of eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbling and cheese is browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; scatter basil over top, and serve, passing remaining tomato sauce separately.

Notes: Sometimes I serve this on it's own, sometimes with pasta, sometimes, just standing by the pan with a fork. I love this as is, but if you don't want to assemble it, this would be great as an appetizer, using the tomato sauce for a dip. Of course, then you would miss out on the cheesy goodness of the mozzarella.

Conversations

2011-07-29T08:48:00.003-06:00

Quotes from Christine and Emma this week.

Christine: Don't get me started on that myna bird business.

When talking to Christine, if you start laughing at her, she immediately clams up. She hates feeling like someone is making fun of her. So it was very important that I kept a straight face during this conversation. Emma and I were talking about pets that can talk. When the subject of myna birds came up, Christine gave the above response. This is where my acting abilities were put to the test. I couldn't think of how she would know anything about myna birds or their business. Straining to keep my smile under wraps, I asked her how she knew about them. She had read Fudgemania at school, and Fudge's myna bird's patent phrase was, "Hello stupid." Apparently, she had had enough of that myna bird business.

Emma: I hope my mouth doesn't explode.

I normally ask the kids to brush their teeth before they get dressed, so they don't get toothpaste on their clothes. Emma decided her way was better. As she was brushing her teeth, she made the above comment, hoping that she wouldn't drool toothpaste onto her shirt.

As for Jacob, he'll give me a heart attack one of these days. He knows how to unlock doors, all of the best uses for a stool, and where various dishes, foods, and beverages are kept. His next skill set to learn is how to start his own movies. He knows how to turn on the tv and dvd player, and he can even put a movie in, he just doesn't know how to get the tv to play the movie. For a little peek into our days here, this morning Emma came to get me because Jacob was watching the sprinklers...outside...at 6:30 AM. He's not afraid of mornings.

Julia is perfect. She sleeps well, smiles easily, and is very playful. She makes it hard to get things done, because it's so fun to play with her.

Why I cringe when our apartment phone rings

2011-06-20T23:51:00.002-06:00

My job as an apartment manager is anything but fabulous. One of my least favorite aspects is the phone work that comes with the job. I'm a firm believer in caller id. It's a bit ridiculous, but I have some anxiety answering the phone when the caller id isn't familiar. Of course most of the phone calls I get on that phone are from people I don't know. Here's an example of the kinds of phone calls that I get.

Me: Mountain View Apartments, this is Michelle.
Him: Hey, you got anything open?
Me: We're actually full right now.
Him: Well, how much do your apartments cost?
Me: $900 a month, plus electricity.
Him: What apartments are these?
Me: This is Mountain View Apartments.
Him: What?
Me: This is Mountain View Apartments.
Him: Well, this is the number I got for Fox Meadows.
Me: (losing patience) It's still Mountain View Apartments.
Him: Not Fox Meadows?
Me: No.
Him: Okay, bye.
Me: Bye.

And, now you know why I cringe when the apartment phone rings.

Of course I love him

2011-06-08T16:41:00.002-06:00

This was the most recent picture I could find of us. If both of us are in a picture (rare), then we usually have the kids with us too. This was from Julia's blessing, after 1:00 church, after cooking for between 25-30 people, after trying to adjust to having four kids, so ignore the shiny faces with tired eyes.

The original intent of this post is to proclaim my undying love for Michael. If me saying that fills your dose of lovey-doveyness, stop reading now.

We've been married for nine years now. Good, bad, beautiful, and ugly, I still love him. My sweet friend sums up one's chances in marriage like this, it's a crap shoot. She's exactly right. Who knows how life will affect you or your chosen mate? Luckily for me, he (hopefully) likes the changes that life has brought to me. I can most definitely say the same for him. He's still my best friend. When I take on too much (I regularly volunteer for jobs that are too big for me), he always comes up with a way to save my bacon. He's an awesome dad. He honors me, his children, and his priesthood daily. I couldn't ask for more. I love you Michael!!

Grilled Fish Tacos

2011-06-02T00:14:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, another recipe. Some day my life and pictures of my kids will dominate this site again. Until then, enjoy this great taste of summer. Sorry, no picture. It would just be a tortilla anyway.

2 lbs fresh grouper, snapper, mahi-mahi or haddock fillets
8-12 flour tortillas
1 head lettuce, shredded

Marinade
4 tbs olive oil
4 tbs garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
4 tbs lime juice

Mango Avocado Salsa
2 mangos, diced medium
1 avocado, diced medium
¼ cup red onion, diced
1 tbs jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tbs cilantro, chopped
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine fish fillets with marinade mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour. Grill fillets on a hot grill. Chop cooked fillets into bite-sized pieces. While fish is grilling, combine ingredients for salsa. Refrigerate until ready to use. Fill tortillas with fish pieces, shredded lettuce, and salsa. Serves 6.

Notes: The first time I made this, I didn’t think there was enough of the marinade, so I doubled it. It seemed to be the right amount, so that’s the way it’s written now. I’m not a seafood person, but I love these tacos. This salsa would probably make anything taste good. If you aren’t familiar with grilling fish, watch it carefully, it doesn’t take long. I use the frozen mahi-mahi fillets from Costco, and those take 5-8 minutes to cook, depending on their size.

Pineapple Pork Roast

2011-05-31T15:48:00.002-06:00

Yummy, tender, and even Michael, the hater of pork roasts, liked this.

3 lbs pork roast, I used a boneless loin, but any will work
1 15 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
¼ c packed brown sugar
¼ c soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbs cornstarch dissolved in ¼ c cold water (to thicken the sauce after cooking)

To prepare the sauce, mix all the ingredients (except roast and cornstarch slurry) in a bowl.
Place roast in a crock pot and pour the sauce on top. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
Remove roast from crock pot when done, set on a heated platter. Prepare the cornstarch slurry, being sure that all of the cornstarch is dissolved (no one likes lumpy sauce). Whisk the slurry into the sauce in the crock pot to thicken.
Add the roast back to the crock pot and let cook on high for about 15 min more.
Remove roast from crock pot and slice to serve, spooning sauce over sliced pieces.

Julia

2011-03-10T16:35:00.003-07:00

I know I'm woefully behind on blogging, so hopefully this picture will buy me some more time. We're still in love with her!

Smashed Potatoes

2011-01-20T15:47:00.002-07:00

This really isn't the best picture, but these are the best potatoes!

2 lbs red potatoes (about 16 small to med; 2 inches in diameter), scrubbed
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 bay leaf
4 tbs unsalted butter, melted and warm
½ cup cream cheese (4 oz), room temperature
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbs chopped fresh chives or 4 ½ tsp dried (optional)

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch cold water; add 1 teaspoon salt and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until a paring knife can be inserted into the potatoes with no resistance, 35 to 45 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain the potatoes. Return the potatoes to the pot, discard the bay leaf, and allow the potatoes to stand in the pot, uncovered, until the surfaces are dry, about 5 minutes.

2. While the potatoes dry, whisk the melted butter and softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and fully incorporated. Add ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water, ½ teaspoon pepper, the chives (if using), and ½ teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a wooden spoon, smash the potatoes just enough to break the skins. Fold in the butter-cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid has been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain. Add more cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, until the potatoes are slightly looser than desired (the potatoes will thicken slightly with standing). Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Notes: White potatoes can be used instead of red, but reds are so much better. Try to get potatoes of equal size; if that’s not possible, test the larger potatoes for doneness (using a paring knife). If you only larger potatoes, increase the cooking time by about 10 minutes. I usually end up using all of the reserved liquid, it will look a little loose at first, but after standing for five or so minutes, the potatoes soak up all the excess.

No one likes a whiner

2011-01-17T10:00:00.002-07:00

I don't think I've ever posted anything on my blog about being pregnant. I think that most of the people that read my blog are also facebook friends, so even though I'm not a great blogger, most of you knew. For those unfortunate facebook friends, you've also been subjected to quite a few days of whining. I would like to think that I'm not a whiner by nature. Whenever I have to listen to whiners, it annoys me, so I try to return the favor. I will make my children repeat things multiple times, just so they realize that I will not respond to them if they whine.

I am due on February 1. I still have about two more weeks, and yet, I have been incredibly anxious to have this baby. Jacob (my youngest) was born three weeks early, and I anticipated something similar to happen with this baby. I started dilating more than two weeks ago, which is nothing new for me. However, I usually don't progress much past a two before I go into full blown labor. Yet, a week ago, I was at a 3.5-4, hence my delusion that I would go into labor last week. When I didn't, I was of course discouraged (bag packed twice, mom called once, contractions stopped each time). When my friends (one due before me and one due after me) both had their babies on the same day, discouraged doesn't cover how I felt. So, I continued on with the whining.

So what does this have to do with anything?! I'm trying to go back to my normal self. Here's my new outlook. My next appointment is Thursday, maybe I'll have dilated further, maybe not. The good news though, is that my doctor told me earlier that Friday is the earliest the hospital will allow him to induce me. Maybe he'll schedule me for Friday, maybe not, but schedule me he will. By going the route of induction, I have a few bonuses. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a planner. This is why induction appeals to me. I get to plan the day, I can be sure I'll have someone here to watch my older kids, and I'm guaranteed that my doctor will be the one to deliver me. Will I make it to Thursday? Probably. All I know is, I'm tired of my pity party. It's not helping, it makes me grouchy and short with my kids, it makes my husband look at me with pity, and leaves him feeling more helpless about the situation. So, when she's ready, she'll come...or the Pitocin will evict her.

Eggnog French Toast Bake

2010-12-21T14:58:00.004-07:00

This may not be a recipe that you should make often. When you see the amount of eggnog in this recipe, you'll understand. We frequently make this for breakfast on Christmas morning. Rich, yummy, delicious, and calorie filled.

1 loaf French bread
1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
2 tsp corn syrup
6 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2 c eggnog or milk (if using milk, add a dash of nutmeg)
¼ tsp cinnamon

1. Slice bread into one and a half-inch slices (I don’t use the end pieces). Place bread in a 9x13-inch pan, layering as needed.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup over medium heat. Cook until all ingredients are combined, stirring constantly. After the butter and sugar have melted, they will be separate. Be sure you keep it on the heat and stirring, it will combine. Pour syrup mix over bread.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, eggnog, vanilla, and cinnamon with a whisk. Pour over top of bread and syrup. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray.
4. Place dish in fridge with weights*. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Bake uncovered at 375° (350 if using a dark or non-stick pan) for 40-45 minutes, or until eggs are set and tops of bread looks crystallized. Serve with additional syrup (although I never do).

*This step is a must. If it isn’t weighted, some bread won’t get saturated and burns, while other pieces are soggy. I usually put another 9x13 pan on top and then use whatever is in the fridge to add extra weight, just make sure it’s even. Be especially sure to watch the liquid level so you don’t end up spilling the egg mix over the sides.

Terror

2010-12-17T15:08:00.006-07:00

Jacob is pretty lucky to have sisters that think he's cute. He really is all boy. His latest "game" to play with his sisters is to wrestle them to the ground. I don't have a picture of his first step in the attack. He walks up behind one of his sisters and grabs her around the waist. He's found that if he can hold on long enough, this will happen...

So, once he has one of them on the floor,

he likes to sit, bounce, or try to tickle. For now, the girls think this is hilarious. I'm not sure how funny they will think this is in a few years.

He's also discovered that a Lazy Susan is a handy little cupboard to get into. I'm thinking of moving the cereal.

He loves apples...whole.

Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup

2010-11-12T09:50:00.001-07:00

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds tomatoes - peeled, seeded and quartered*
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
8 sprigs fresh basil for garnish

Directions
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic and cook until tender. Mix in tomatoes and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 15 minutes.
2. Transfer soup to a blender (or use an immersion hand blender), and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and gradually mix in the heavy cream. Garnish each serving with a sprig of basil.

*If using canned tomatoes, use 48 oz of whole tomatoes, being sure to seed and quarter them. You may need to add up to 2 tbs of sugar.

Notes: When I make this for someone other than my family, I stick to this recipe. If I make it for us , I add a little spice. When heating the butter and olive oil, I add a little crushed red pepper (maybe less than 1/8 tsp). Be very careful when blending the soup, only fill the blender half full. When putting the lid on, don't seal the feed tube (the little hole in the lid), just lightly hold the cover on.

I love homework

2010-10-10T00:25:00.003-06:00

Christine's teacher gave a homework assignment that was a secret. She couldn't tell me what she was supposed to do, only that she needed a pen and a sticky note. We had a babysitter that night, so I left them to it. This is what I found when I came home and got ready for bed.

My bathroom mirror.

It reads: To: Mom
I love you
Frome: Christine

A little side note, I assumed that the sitter had helped her put the note up - nope. She climbed on the toilet and then over to the counter, where she could reach the cupboard and put up her note. It's a good thing that my bathroom is small, no pole vaulting, or long jumping required. And yes, her note was reciprocated, she had a note of her own the next morning.

A photo shoot with Jacob

2010-09-27T11:17:00.006-06:00

Jacob likes to have his picture taken. He's not really a ham, but he's very interested in the camera. So, I suppose it's not so much having his picture taken, but he likes it when the camera is out. Here is how a normal photo session with Jacob starts and ends.

Catching him in the act of being cute. Like any kid, he loves it when someone pays attention to him. We can usually get about two or three of these type of shots. After that, it's all down hill.

Can I see that?

Why can't I see it? I just want to look!

Give me the camera!!

Why are you so mean? I just wanted to look at your fancy toy.

And, this is how nearly every session ends. Keeping in mind that the photographer is constantly walking backward to keep those cute little baby hands off of the lens.

I'm only three weeks late

2010-09-17T15:38:00.004-06:00

Christine started school (awhile ago). She loves her teacher and enjoys being back in school. I couldn't be happier about her luck with getting her teacher. Our school had two first grade teachers, but that put the class sizes for them at 27 and 28. Thankfully, the day before school started, we got a letter saying that there was a new teacher, and Christine would be in his class. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the original teachers. I'm hoping that having some new blood will inspire the other first grade teachers. Mr. T (what the kids call him) is energetic, has lots of ideas, and seems to enjoy his class. We are very excited for this year.

Emma has been waiting since Christine was in preschool for her chance to go to school. She is in the same preschool that Christine went to and already has lots of friends there. She was able to start last Monday and loves it. We know that Mrs. Smith is perfect for Emma, she's lovey when needed, but her class definitely knows she means business. When Emma gets dressed on school mornings, she picks things out that she knows, "Mrs. Smith will love." She has already achieved sainthood in Emma's eyes, and we know Emma will have a great year too.

Jacob is busy with rodeo school. He rides this horse like no one's business. On the three glorious mornings that Emma is in school, Jacob takes a nap. I really enjoy my "referee free" mornings.

The other two occupants of our house are still alive and well. We're not quite through with filling rentals, but the end is in sight. I don't think I've ever been so excited for winter (people just don't move during the winter). Hopefully since things are starting to slow down here, my blog will receive a little more attention - no guarantees though.

Oh my

2010-09-16T22:35:00.012-06:00

I have a new love. I've always had a weakness for a good apple crisp. Of course the apples are important, but they are a tasty vehicle to my true love of crumb topping. This is my new favorite crumb topping. There is a little more salt in this version than most, but it really makes it. I doubled the cinnamon in the topping, simply because the topping bowl and the filling bowl were side by side, and I added the cinnamon to the wrong bowl. It was a divine mistake, which I will make again.

Skillet Apple Crisp

Serves 6 to 8
If your skillet is not ovensafe, prepare through step 3 and then transfer the filling to a 9x13-in baking dish. Top the filling as directed and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Use Golden Delicious apples, though any sweet, crisp apple such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn can be substituted, I used Gala. Do not use Granny Smith apples in this recipe. I am normally a proponent of toasting nuts before I add them to things, except when they're used in a topping. They will be plenty toasted without going to the trouble of doing it before hand. Serve the apple crisp warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. This recipe is adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Topping
¾ cup (3 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup pecans , chopped fine
¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
¼ cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I doubled)
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted

Filling
3 pounds apples (about 7 medium), peeled, cored, halved, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
¼ cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Set aside while preparing fruit filling.
2. FOR THE FILLING: Toss apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon (if using) together in large bowl; set aside. Bring cider to simmer in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat; cook until reduced to ½ cup, about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice and set aside.
3. Heat butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until apples begin to soften and become translucent, 15 to 20 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Remove pan from heat and gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
4. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack until warm, at least 15 minutes, and serve.

I wanted to show the syrup that forms in the pan. I took the picture of the crisp in the bowl a little too soon. We spooned this yummy goodness over the top of our ice cream. And now you know what I'll be eating for breakfast, that is if I can fight Michael off.

Why I haven't blogged this summer

2010-08-24T09:49:00.002-06:00

This is our vonage box for the apartment phone, and this isn't counting the calls that I did answer. When we have a property open, I usually average 15-30 calls a day. I normally don't miss 20 calls a day, if I don't pick up the apartment phone, it goes through to my cell phone, so this number is misleading.

I should put a little note about how I really don't like talking on the phone to people I don't know. I'm a little neurotic that way. Don't get me wrong, if it's a friend/family member calling, I'm a big chatter. For some reason, I get ridiculously nervous making a phone call to someone I don't know. I'm sure part of it is knowing that somewhere during that conversation, I'll sound like a complete idiot. I normally have Michael make phone calls for various personal accounts we have (utilities, bills, etc). However, with that apartment phone, it's all me. I have come to detest the sound of that phone ringing. I think when we're done with managing, we'll have a party with a hammer and that phone.

Citrus Basil Vinagrette

2010-06-28T16:31:00.003-06:00

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs orange juice
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 lemon, zested
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs honey
1/8 cup chopped basil
1 tsp cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in a jar. Shake to combine.

For the salad, I used romaine with diced chunks of fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and croutons. The dressing will last about three days. If you strain the basil out, it is good for two weeks.

I know I'm loved...because of pineapple juice

2010-06-24T16:03:00.002-06:00

It may seem silly to equate love and pineapple juice, but it's true. With all things apartment that are going on in our house, our mornings are sometimes different. A usual Croft morning goes something like this:

5:00 or some other unholy hour, Michael gets up to go to the gym.
Anywhere between 6:00-7:oo (if Jacob is feeling kind) Jacob and I wake up.
Hopefully before 8:30 everyone else is up and out the door for my turn at the gym.

Because there are some apartment things that can be done only after the kids are in bed, sometimes the gym loses out to sleep. The way I figure it, if I'm getting an apartment ready until 0ne in the morning, that's a good enough workout. On the morning after nights like that, this is how our morning goes.

Between 6:00 -7:40 Michael gets up, showers, gets ready, and gets Jacob when he wakes up. If the girls wake up before he leaves, he gets them breakfast too. What am I doing during all of this? That's right, I'm still asleep in my cozy bed. When it's time for Michael to go to work, he'll come in and wake me up, telling me who is awake, what they have eaten, and any other pertinent things that have happened while I was dead to the world.
A little side note, when Jacob wakes up, he wants breakfast now, right now. The girls were nice enough when they were little that they didn't mind occasionally laying in bed with one or both of their parents until the morning was a little less, um, early. Jacob waits for no one when it comes to meal time. When he wakes up, it's time for breakfast.

So, now to the pineapple juice. I love it, plain and simple. I think all in my house know that when there is a can of pineapple to be opened, the juice is mine (I would actually buy pineapple juice, but even I can't drink all of it before it goes bad). It was no surprise to me to wake up after a late night with apartments to find this.

Michael gave Jacob pineapple that morning with his breakfast and was thoughtful enough to save the juice for me. That's love.

Concoction Enchildadas, Chicken three ways

2010-05-10T14:53:00.005-06:00

I realize the name is a little odd, but concoction is the name Michael gives to anything I make that doesn't have a definite recipe. These enchiladas are different nearly every time. The only constant is that there is always cheese and tortillas. You can substitute nearly anything that you like wrapped in a tortilla in this "recipe." The quantity of filling determines how many tortillas you'll need. If you make too much filling, refrigerate it and make some more enchiladas, or cook more rice and serve it over top. I know the directions look long, but the actual dish doesn't take that long to make.

Ingredients
10-12 tortillas (I like corn, but have used flour before - if using corn, spray both sides of the tortillas with nonstick spray and allow to heat in a 350 oven for 2-3 minutes)
2-3 chicken breasts, or a Costco rotisserie chicken, shredded* see explanation below
chicken broth* see explanation below
about one cup of cooked rice, if desired
about one cup of black beans, if desired
about one cup of corn, if desired
about two cups of cheese, shredded
2 cans of 10 oz. enchilada sauce (I use one red and one green)
8 oz. cream cheese on occasion

*For chicken three ways, bake, grill, or otherwise cook a whole chicken (or go to Costco and buy one). Serve with whatever side items strike your fancy. Meal number one. Shred remaining chicken to use in enchiladas (or some other meal). Meal number two. For meal number three, put remaining chicken (bones and all) in a pot filled with water. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Allow this to simmer for as long as you have time for; I've done it for as long as three hours. When you've waited long enough, remove the bones and skim the fat off of the top. Add carrots, celery, onion, and/or any other vegetables you like. When those have nearly finished cooking, add some noodles, and voila - meal number three is chicken noodle soup. Now, back to enchiladas.

*If you are using raw chicken, boil the breasts in a pot with enough broth to cover the top of the meat with one inch of broth. Bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20-60 minutes (the longer the better, but it usually takes about 20 minutes for the chicken to be fully cooked). If you allow the chicken to simmer for the longer amount of time, be sure to check on it every so often so it doesn't cook dry. When chicken is cooked, remove from heat - don't drain, shred chicken.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Add chicken and one can of sauce to remaining broth (if using the raw chicken method). Heat this mixture to a simmer and allow to simmer until you need the filling - this is where I use the red sauce.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. If using cream cheese, add to the second can of sauce - this is where I use green sauce. Cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 cup of the second can of sauce. Be sure all other ingredients are prepped.
4. Add rice, beans, and corn to the chicken mixture. Get ready to start rolling.
5. Add some filling and cheese to a tortilla, roll it up, and place it seam side down in the 9x13 pan. Repeat until filling is used up or tortillas run out.
6. Pour remaining can of sauce over top of rolled enchiladas, being sure to spread it evenly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't browned after 20 minutes, turn the broiler on to low, and broil until the cheese has browned. It doesn't take long for it to turn from melted pale cheese to browned to black, so watch carefully.
7. After removing from oven, allow the enchiladas to cool for about five minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, avocado chunks, olives, etc. Enjoy!

A surprise! - sorry Molly

2010-04-22T15:49:00.006-06:00

I realize I am very behind with blogging. Between kids, apartments, and life in general, this has been one of the things (let's just say the list is long) that has been pushed aside. As I was looking through pictures of what to post, these caught my eye. Although there are things that happened before this that I haven't covered, I just couldn't let this one sit any longer.

As a preface, I'll start with an apology. As noted in the title, there is a little apology to my dear sister-in-law, Molly. I say again, sorry Molly, this tidbit really did make my day. A little history, Molly is married to Michael's brother Coby, who is stationed in Spain. So, because of the distance, we communicate mainly through Skype. Skype has the added bonus of video conferencing, which because of the time difference isn't utilized as much as we would like. I had never wanted to Skype Molly more than when she sent us a little birthday package. It had Jacob's and Christine's birthday presents, as well as a little surprise for us.

Here are the cute pajamas she sent for Jacob with the t-shirts that Christine loves. She especially likes the panda one.

and...

A little surprise! Somehow, Kohl's must have slipped in this little goody. In case the glare from the plastic distorts it for you, yes, it is a pair of women's underwear.

Maybe a little forgiveness from Molly when she sees just how cute he is in these fireman pajamas.

It's just a napkin right?

2010-03-24T20:44:00.002-06:00

This would seem like an ordinary napkin, but to my girls, it is the beginning of a war. It was just a typical morning at the Croft house. I got the kids their breakfast and headed for the shower. I hate when the kids start a fight when I'm in the shower. Trying to referee with soap in your eyes and a cool breeze meeting your backside because your lovely children have to rip open the shower curtain to tell you of their sibling's latest error isn't the best start to a day.

Pre-shower, the napkin war was brewing. Christine got Emma a napkin, and Emma didn't want one (never mind that usually when Christine gets a napkin, Emma's world ends until she gets one too). Christine tried to tell her that she didn't have to use it, but it could sit there waiting for her. Emma wanted nothing to do with that napkin. I finally convinced Emma that she didn't have to use it, and it could just be next to her at the table.

To the shower with me. Christine started the tattling. "Mom, Emma keeps doing this (arm stretched out) to her napkin. She keeps pushing it to the middle of the table, and she's almost sitting on the table." Nearly all of my responses were the same, "It's just a napkin, go eat your breakfast." Emma's turn. "Mom, sissy said I hafta use that napkin." Insert my earlier response.
My miserable shower was over, and the screaming had started. Emma finally runs into my room crying. "Sissy did this to my napkin!" The napkin was nearly torn in half. I couldn't help it, my response was, "Is this the same napkin that you didn't want before?" Emma, "Yes." Insert earlier response.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Christine has been late to school a few times .

Totally unrelated, but exciting nonetheless, Jacob finally cut a tooth! 12 months old, and he finally has a tooth. It looks like the next will come through shortly.

Time for a new post

2010-03-06T20:49:00.004-07:00

Here's what Jacob has been up to lately.

He loves to be in the bathroom, so long as the light is on, he heads straight for it. He also loves the bathtub. He loves to stand by it and wait his turn.

He uses this little step for mischief. He can push it all over and then use it to climb up to something.

Waiting his turn.

This is another hot spot. He loves to take all of the puzzles and books off of the shelf. He doesn't really play with them afterward, he just likes to dump.

How can you get mad at that face?

Although, I am getting tired of putting the puzzles together multiple times a day. How fast a year has gone, in a few days, my baby will be one.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

2010-02-01T11:39:00.006-07:00

In my mind, there is no better combination than peanut butter and chocolate. Mint is a close second, but peanut butter takes the cake, or in this case the pie. If you're really ambitious, you can make your own crust, but why? I normally make this with a chocolate crust, but graham cracker is what was in the cupboard, still good. Enjoy!

8 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup milk
¾ cup extra chunky peanut butter
8 oz whipped topping
1 cup powdered sugar
1 9-inch chocolate or graham cracker crust
Chocolate Syrup

1. Mix cream cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until soft and fluffy. Mix in peanut butter and sugar until incorporated.

2. Slowly add milk, beating until well blended. Fold in whipped topping.

3. Spoon into pie crust, mounding the top. Freeze until firm. When solid, cover with foil. (Pie may be frozen for several weeks.) Go ahead and throw the lid away that comes with
the store bought crust, it won't fit on.

4. To serve, remove pie from freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Drizzle chocolate syrup over individual pieces.

Christmas Pictures

2010-01-07T11:06:00.004-07:00

Since we are well into January, it's probably time to get some Christmas pictures up. These were taken at the Gazette's kid's Christmas party. I've been so behind with blogging, hopefully that will translate into a lot of catchup, but I'm not making any guarantees.

Christine and Santa
This guy is the nicest Santa. Everything is real!

Emma and Santa
I was really surprised that she talked to him. She normally clams up around people she doesn't know.

Jacob and Santa
I love this picture. Jacob was so smiley that day.

Christine got a stationary set. Paper, you are no longer safe in the Croft house.

Emma loves her tea set.

I thought he would really like the little ball toy in there, but I think his sisters played with it so much that he has forgotten it is his. Finally paper he could tear without it being snatched away.

My favorite part, a family picture that has includes everyone! I couldn't believe we got all of the kids to smile, look at the camera, and keep their eyes open. Now maybe I'll exchange our framed one from two years ago.

Curly Sue's Transformation

2009-12-18T11:54:00.006-07:00

Michael and I had talked about getting Christine's hair cut some time to donate to Locks of Love. She has gorgeous hair. It's thick, wavy, basically everything mine wasn't as a child. I envied girls with her kind of hair.
Mine was very fine - which translates into limp and flat. It would never hold curl, my mother even tried getting it permed a few times, and within weeks, it was back to it's former limp, blah self. Anyway, back to Christine.
One day I decided to tell her about Locks of Love, why it is needed, how they get the hair, etc. I asked if she wanted to do it, and without hesitation, she said yes. I told her that we would talk about it again later with her dad, thinking that she would change her mind. I talked with Michael some more about it and we decided that if she wanted to do it, she could. A few days later, I brought it up again, and she was still on board.
I asked if she wanted me to call Jackie (the magician for my hair) and get her an appointment, and she said she wanted it done before Christmas. I called and got it set up and let Christine know that if she changed her mind before the appointment, she didn't have to go through with it. Every day, the answer was still the same.
The big day came, my friend took the other kids, and Christine and I headed for the salon. Here's our girl's transformation.

In the waiting room, here is the front before the deed.

and the back

Jackie checked her hair to be sure that it was suitable for donation.

Measuring (this is where I thought I might change my mind!)

Because her hair is so thick, she had enough for two donations!

Look at all of that hair!

Christine has always had curly hair, but with it being so long, most of it was weighted down. It's back!

Again with thickness, this is how much of her hair was taken out for thinning (so it wouldn't look like a big bush on her cute face).

Jackie straightened it to be sure that she hadn't missed any stragglers.

Jackie the Master with the finished product.

Christine had a bath last night, and this was her hair in the morning, all over the place!

Cutie Pie

She loves her hair, and so do we. I think I'll miss some of the things I used to be able to do with her hair, but I am so proud that she wanted to do this. After all, for her, it's just hair, and it will grow back. For someone else, it's a way to help them feel good about themselves at such a difficult time in their life.

It's still about Emma

2009-12-11T16:41:00.004-07:00

She seems to occupy most of our attention. This mark isn't anything new, in fact it is there quite regularly. The difference this time is that we have family pictures on Saturday. By now, it is a lovely shade of green with some yellow and a stripe down the middle. Hopefully someday she'll learn to run looking forward and not to the side.

A view from the front

and from the side, it got much bigger than this
This, by the way, is from running into the corner of a wall.

A Special Time to be Emma's Mom

2009-12-01T15:28:00.002-07:00

One of the many reasons I have to be proud to be Emma's mom.

Last night, Michael and I were busily making dinner for the missionaries. We were running short on time and as a bonus to us, the girls were playing quietly in their room. We noticed how nice they were playing and how helpful it was to us to not have them in the kitchen. We should have known. We've been down this street before (not this particular street, but we are quite familiar with Emma's antics). Here is the play by play of what happened next.

Christine: (with a smirk on her face) Mom, Emma just peed in our trash can!
Michael and Michelle: What?!
Christine: She really peed in our trash can!
Michael: For real, or just pretending?
Christine: For real Dad, she really peed.
Michelle: Are you sure she really peed, she didn't just pretend?
Christine: She took her pants off and everything.

Side note: I have an awful habit of underestimating how much time things take. We were really cutting it short to get dinner on the table on time with both of us in the kitchen. I did not have time for this. Also at this time, Jacob decided that he couldn't wait any longer to eat. He had already finished a sippy cup of juice and was ready for his peas. NOW. Back to our story.

I ran back to their room to see if Christine was right. Sure enough. I don't know why I doubted her. At this point, I didn't know whether to beat Emma or laugh. It is kind of funny. I left their room in disgust while Michael handled the situation. I really have been blessed with a great husband.

In Emma's defense, she said Christine told her to do it. Christine said she didn't, and either scenario wouldn't surprise me much. I'm very excited to share this story again in about 13 years. We're very proud.

Christine's Party

2009-11-24T14:59:00.004-07:00

Christine is turning six! I can't believe how fast time has flown. Since her birthday is on Thanksgiving this year, we did her party on Saturday. She wanted a holiday themed party. Happy birthday Christine we love you!!

The lighting isn't so great, but still a happy birthday to Christine.

Because she has so many more boy friends than girl friends, a simple game of tossing balloons turns into...

A balloon punching fight. Just remember, it's not wrong to hit if you do it with a balloon.

Pin the star on the tree.

The craft/party favor with our cute gingerbread friends.

Blowing out the candles on her pumpkin pie. She decided that she didn't want birthday cake, she wanted pie. Hey, I'd rather have pie too.

This was my most favorite of all of her gifts. Becky, you rock.

You see, she has already lost two pairs at school (with one being recovered). Although, now she wants to take both of her pairs to school, in case she loses one. Fat chance, love.

Flaky Cream Cheese Pastry Dough

2009-11-23T23:01:00.002-07:00

Cream cheese pastry is rich and tangy, and it seems to turn out tender and flaky no matter what. This recipe can be doubled and used to make a covered or lattice-top pie.

1 cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tbs white sugar or 2 tbs powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
6 tbs cold unsalted butter
3 oz cold cream cheese
2-3 tbs cold heavy cream

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut butter and cream cheese into ¼-inch pieces and add to flour mix. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Drizzle the cream over the top. Cut with blade side of a rubber spatula or stir with a fork until the dough begins to gather into moist clumps. Press the dough into a flat disk, wrap rightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days.

Deluxe Butter Pastry Dough

2009-11-23T23:00:00.002-07:00

This dough is richer in fat than ordinary flaky pastry and so, is softer and more difficult to handle, but it yields a tender, flaky crust with great butter flavor. While it is possible to make this dough with butter only, a small amount of shortening makes it flakier without interfering with the buttery taste. When you’re working with the butter, work quickly or the dough will become greasy. If you notice the butter starting to melt, chill the dough until the butter becomes firm again. Since this dough tends to puff out of shape during baking, you should not use it to make a crust with a tightly fluted or braided edge or a lattice top (I do a simple finger crimped edge). If you need only a single pie or tart crust, decrease all ingredients by half or freeze half the dough for another pie.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
¼ cup solid vegetable shortening
⅓ cup plus 3 tablespoon ice water; divided

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the flour sugar and salt with a rubber spatula. Working quickly to prevent softening, cut butter into ¼-inch pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or two knives, chop the butter into pea-sized pieces. With a few quick swipes of the pastry blender, cut the shortening into large chunks and distribute throughout the bowl. Continue to chop with the pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Do not let the mixture soften and begin to clump; it must remain dry and powdery. Drizzle ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon of the ice water over the flour and fat mixture. Cut with the blade side of the rubber spatula until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula. If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice water over the top. Cut in the water, then press with your hands until the dough coheres. The dough should look rough, not smooth. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling.

Blueberry Pie

2009-11-23T22:59:00.001-07:00

If you are making a lattice top, use the greater amount of cornstarch suggested to prevent a watery filling from bubbling over the strips. Taste the berries before beginning to determine how much sugar to use.

Pastry Dough (I used flaky cream cheese pastry dough, doubled)
5 cups blueberries, picked over
¾ to 1 cup sugar
3 ½-4 tbs quick-cooking tapioca or cornstarch (use cornstarch for lattice pie)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
⅛ tsp salt
1-2 tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Roll half the dough into a 13-inch round, fit it into a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the overhanging dough to ¾ inch all around. Refrigerate. Roll the other half of the dough into a 12-inch round for the top crust and refrigerate it. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425. Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, zest, and salt in a large bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes, occasionally stirring gently. Pour the mixture into the bottom crust and dot with butter. Brush the overhanging edge of the bottom crust with cold water. Cover with the top crust or lattice, then seal the edge, trim, and crimp or flute. If using a closed top crust, cut steam vents. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Slip a baking sheet beneath it, reduce the oven temperature to 350, and bake until thick juices bubble through the vents, 25-35 minutes more. Let cool completely on a rack. The pie is best the day it is baked, but it can be stored at room temperature for up to one day.

If using frozen berries, be sure that they are individually frozen or dry-packed, meaning that they have been processed without sugar and come in loose pieces rather than a block. Before measuring, be sure to knock off any clinging ice, but do not thaw. Toss the still-frozen fruit with the other ingredients, using the maximum amount of thickening called for, and spoon the filling into the crust at once, without the usual 15-minute standing time. If the fruit is allowed to thaw, it will release a flood of juice and make the crust soggy. Do not glaze the top crust with sugar or egg. Bake the pie at 400 for 50 minutes; then slip a baking sheet beneath it and bake at 350 until thick juices bubble through the vents, 25 to 40 minutes more. The pie I brought hadn’t baked for long enough (hence the blueberry syrup instead of gel). I baked it for 30 minutes (after the initial 50 minutes). When I baked the second pie, I let it bake for the full 40 minutes (plus the initial 50 minutes), and the juices set much better.

Apple Pie With Streusel topping

2009-11-23T14:05:00.003-07:00

Golden Delicious apples work well in this pie because they retain their texture and do not flood the pie with juice. I like the flavor of Gala and Fuji better though. If you have access to fresh apples, they usually make the very best pie. The apples need to be sliced about ¼ inch thick, measured at the thicker end. If the slices are thinner, the filling is apt to turn mushy; if thicker, the pie will not hold together when cut. Resist the temptation to add other spices or flavorings. A hint of cinnamon is all that is needed.

Pastry Dough
2 ½ pounds apples (5 to 6 medium-large, measuring 6 cups)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Streusel Topping
⅔cup all-purpose flour
⅔cup packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
2. Roll the dough into a 13-inch round, fit it into a 9-inch pie pan, trim the edges and crimp. Refrigerate.
3. Peel, core, and slice apples a little thicker than ¼ inch. Combine the apples with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring several times, so that the apples soften slightly and will better fit into the crust.
4. Pour the mixture into the crust and gently level with the back of a spoon. Dot the top with the butter pieces.
5. Blend the streusel ingredients with a fork or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread topping over apples, making sure to cover all.
6. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Slip a baking sheet beneath it; reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F, and bake until the fruit feels just tender when a knife or skewer is poked through, 25 to 35 minutes more.
For the filling to thicken properly, the pie must cool completely on a rack, 3 to 4 hours. If you wish to serve the pie warm, place it in a 350˚F oven for about 15 minutes. The pie is best the day it is baked, but it can be kept for 2 to 3 days on the counter.

Susie's Potato Bacon Soup

2009-11-20T10:08:00.004-07:00

½ onion, chopped
8 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 potatoes, cubed
2 cups water
1 can evaporated milk
3 tbs Butter Buds
¼ tsp salt
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Cook potatoes and onion in water until tender. Don’t drain the water.

2. Slightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add evaporated milk, Butter Buds,
bacon, and salt. Add milk to thin it if needed.

3. After it has cooled slightly, stir in cheese. Garnish the soup with grated cheese on top.

I love this soup. I always double it, because it is never enough. Here are some tweaks that I've made. Be sure that the potatoes are Russets. I've tried other varieties, and none do the job like a plain Jane Russet potato. I cook the bacon in the same pot as I make the soup in. I use pepper bacon (Daleys from Costco is the best ever). It adds a lot more flavor than regular bacon. Even after draining the grease from the pot, you're still left with some bacon flavored pepper flakes. I have also added a couple of cups of frozen broccoli, peas, and cauliflower, (just to make me feel better about all of that cheese and bacon). Broccoli is by far my favorite addition. Thanks for the recipe Susie!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2009-11-17T20:54:00.003-07:00

3 c pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce to taste
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or to taste
1/2 tsp. onion powder or to taste
Little salt

Take seeds out of pumpkin and wash thoroughly. Lay on towel to dry (overnight is best). Mix butter, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt together. Stir together with seeds until all seeds are well covered. Lay out single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Taste after 1 hour 15 minutes, it doesn’t take long for the seeds to burn.

It's probably a little late in the year to post these, but they are so yummy, so remember them for next year!

Go Pokes!

2009-11-16T14:50:00.003-07:00

Notice the shirt.

He always sings raggy music to his cattle as he swings
Back and forward in his saddle on a horse (pretty good horse!)
He's a syncopated gaiter
And you ought to hear the meter to the roar of his repeater
How they run (yes run!)
When they hear him come, because the western folks all know,
He's a high fallutin', rootin' tootin'
Son of a gun from old Wyoming
Ragtime Cowboy, (talk about your cowboy), Ragtime Cowboy Joe.
C-O-W-B-O-Y-S
COWBOYS!
COWBOYS!
COWBOYS!

Because it's almost Thanksgiving

2009-11-16T10:41:00.008-07:00

I thought I should finally upload the pictures from Halloween since it is nearly Thanksgiving!

This is a typical Montana Halloween. Coats are always a part of the costume. These pictures are of the kids getting ready to go to the trunk or treat at the church.

Michael always carves the pumpkins with the girls. He will draw a variety of faces on a paper and let them choose which face will be carved on their pumpkins. Emma liked pulling the pieces out as Michael finished them. Christine finally was brave enough this year to help clean out her pumpkin. We had to convince her that she didn't need to wash her hands after every dip inside.

Christine's vampire pumpkin.

Emma's happy pumpkin. Side note: For some reason, my daredevil wants nothing to do with anything scary. She gets frightened very easily. Still no fear of physical danger though!

The finished products. The girls also got to paint pumpkins at a flower shop this year. Definitely something that we'll do next year (sorry, I forgot to take pictures).

The actual day of Halloween was beautiful! Now you can see that we have a nice witch and a scary witch. They wanted the same costume; it's all in the perception.

We went to Boo at the Zoo this year and Michael's mom and step dad were able to come with us. We all had a great time trick or treating at the zoo and seeing the animals.

They can't all seem to smile at the same time, so use your imagination to make this become one picture. Jacob was a perfect Tigger this year. He loves to growl and will growl at you if you growl first. He growled all day long, so cute!

We ended up with way too much candy, and then my parents brought up these from my grandma. Ever since I was little, when we trick or treated at my grandma's she would send us home with a gallon sized bag of candy. I still get a bag every year! The more that is added to my family, the bigger our payout. There are now four bags that come to our house. Luckily my mom was able to convince my grandma that Jacob isn't old enough for a bag, not even a little one, and no, he doesn't need cookies grandma - he doesn't even have teeth yet!

Anyway, all in all, a good Halloween. Except for one thing, we didn't get any trick or treaters! My father-in-law lives in an alley, and he even got some. As Michael put it, "Why did they skip the place with all of the cute pumpkins out front and go to the creepy old guy's place without any decorations?" Maybe next year.

Spaghetti with Tomato Garlic Cream Sauce

2009-11-13T11:45:00.003-07:00

4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups milk
4 tbs butter
salt & pepper to taste
3 cups diced tomatoes*
18 oz pasta**

1. In a medium sauce pan, sauté garlic in butter over medium heat until very lightly browned. Watch carefully, this will burn fast.

2. Add flour and cook for 5 minutes. The roux should be a light golden brown.

3. Add tomatoes, milk, salt, and pepper. Simmer until thickened, stirring frequently. Serve over pasta.

*If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, this takes 2 of the 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes. I like to use Italian style (with basil, oregano, etc.)

**I have used quite a few varieties of pasta. If you use a tube or curly shaped pasta,
you’ll only need a pound of pasta.

A Few Isms

2009-11-10T22:03:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd write down these things before I forget them.

Christine while walking to school: Uh-oh mom, they broke their car. I can see the inside of it, and look at the outside! It's all wrinkled! (As we walked by a car that had damage to its front end).

Emma: Mom, who has sparkles on their noses? Does daddy have sparkles on his nose?
Me: No, I don't know anyone who has sparkles on their nose.
Emma: Uh-huh, Colin has sparkles on his nose and they're brown.
Me: Oh! You must mean freckles.
Emma: Yeah, sparkles.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

2009-11-03T10:12:00.004-07:00

2 c sugar
½ c softened butter
½ c shortening
1 c sour cream
3 eggs
5 ½ c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
¼ tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, and eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated.

Add remaining ingredients and beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1-2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 350. On a well floured surface, roll dough to ¼ - inch thickness. Cut out cookies with cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove cookies from cookie sheet after 2 minutes and place on cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool, then frost. Let frosting set before storing.

Notes: For best results, keep extra dough in fridge while rolling. If you have a silicone mat, no flour is needed when rolling. Parchment paper or silicone mat placed on cookie sheet produces best results. The frosting below is some of the best cream cheese frosting ever. It goes great with these cookies.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

11 oz softened cream cheese
⅓ c softened butter
4 ½ c sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest

Beat cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl; gradually beat in sugar. Beat in juice, vanilla, and zest until fluffy.

The Power of Prayer?

2009-10-31T11:20:00.002-06:00

Christine has always wanted a pet. She adores animals. I, however am very allergic to anything with fur. At the tender age of four, she told me that when she doesn't live with me anymore that she will get a cat. So as I walked by her room this morning, I overheard part of her morning prayer. "Please bless that my mom won't be allergic to animals anymore." I'm not sure if she's actually praying for me, or praying for the possibility of a pet. Either way, I think it's pretty sweet.

Old and New

2009-10-30T17:23:00.003-06:00

One of the new additions to our house is a new piano. I wrote earlier about how this change came about. Click here to read about it. The first picture is the old piano. As a reference for size, the same picture is hanging above the new piano at about the same level on the wall. It doesn't even come close to touching it. Emma came up to the space just above the keyboard, but below the inset. She can reach the top of the new piano. We love the new piano. The only thing I miss about the old piano is that the cover for the keyboard locked. The kids are pretty good about staying off of it when Jacob is napping, so it isn't a real problem. The new piano has a bench, which my parents worried that Emma would use to climb on top of the piano. This hasn't happened yet, and she's not much of a climber anymore anyway, so hopefully it will just be used as a piano bench.

The behemoth, big and beautiful.

The svelte new version, slim and trim.

The Beginning of Photos

2009-10-21T16:12:00.003-06:00

I've been asked to post photos of the new place. As things get put together here, I'll post more photos. This first photo is one of the most important additions. It's more of a laundry closet than laundry room, but to us it is Eden. Through our years together, we have gone back and forth between owning a washer and dryer and coin-op. For the last move in Laramie, we had to get rid of our washer and dryer. Christine was only three months old at the time, so the mountains of laundry were just mole hills then. Moving to Billings didn't change that, but the mountain started growing. After Jacob was born, washing clothes started getting ridiculously expensive. We would spend around $100 a month just for quarters. When it came time for the move, we were ecstatic to have our own machines. We anticipated having to do the dreadful laundromat for the first little bit until we had enough saved to get our own.

Luckily for us, there are always people who watch out for us. Michael had a co-worker who had just replaced his set and decided to give us his old set. There isn't anything wrong with them; they work great. The week before we moved, I refused to do any laundry in the old apartment, and by the time we got here, I had two days worth of laundry to do. The real joy of having our own was realized last night when Emma threw up in our bed at 2:30. Normally, I would have had to make sure I had enough quarters, and then feel bad about using the noisy machines in the middle of the night (we shared a set with three other apartments that shared a hallway with us). When I finished washing our bedding, I realized that to do those loads at the old place, it would have cost over $8 and probably would have been more because the machines were smaller. Thanks again to Dan and Briana; you guys are the best!

Sneaky Husband

2009-10-08T20:45:00.002-06:00

A few years ago, we got a screaming deal on a piano. A lady in Columbus wanted to get rid of her piano, but to ship it anywhere from Columbus cost more than the piano was worth, so she decided to give it away. Some very good friends helped us load it into a truck, up and down a flight of stairs and into our house. When we finished moving it in, Michael said it wasn't moving again and would stay with the apartment. It is 106 years old and very beautiful, although beat up. It's one of the old behemoth uprights. The wood work on it is gorgeous. I had dreams of refinishing it and returning it to glory, however it wasn't ever something we could afford to do.

My mom told me about a couple of pianos that were for sale, but I figured why buy one when the one I have works fine. Little did I know that she and Michael were sneaking around behind my back. A piano from a retired band teacher that she had worked with came for sale. She asked if I wanted it, and I gave my standard response. She decided that the behemoth needed to be traded in for a sleeker model. She conspired with Michael to sell my piano and put the new one in without me knowing. They almost did it, but didn't factor in that the buyer would want to look at the piano. Michael finally had to spill the beans so I could show the piano to a prospective buyer. I'm a little sad that I didn't get to refinish it, but not sad enough to turn a newer piano down. I still haven't seen the new piano. It was moved in to the new apartment yesterday, but I haven't had time to go over.

As a side note, I was a little slow about the whole thing. They were very good at keeping it hidden, but if I had paid attention, I could have figured it out. A girl in our ward had been looking for a piano on Craigslist. She asked if we were selling ours and I said no. She told me she had seen an ad that had a piano similar to mine and even had the same picture hanging above it (it's a popular picture). I assured her that it wasn't for sale and didn't think another thing about it. Her husband later told her that Michael was spreading the word in our ward that it was for sale but to make sure to not let me know. Even though I'm not blond anymore, I still have my moments. Thanks again Mom and Michael; I'm sure I'll love it.

Zucchini Bread

2009-10-07T10:21:00.003-06:00

This is Michael's favorite. The smell of this baking is divine.

Makes one 9-inch loaf

If using a large zucchini, cut in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before shredding. By wringing the zucchini, you’ll lose the gummy, sticky texture of most zucchini breads.

1 pound zucchini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat 9
by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Shred zucchini using the coarse holes on a box grater. Place the grated zucchini in a
clean dish towel and wring out as much liquid as possible. Whisk flour, baking soda,
baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk sugar, yogurt,
eggs, lemon juice, and butter in a bowl until combined.

3. Gently fold yogurt mixture and zucchini into flour mixture using spatula until just
combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

4. Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs
attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool
at least 1 hour. (Bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for 3
days.)

Keys

2009-10-02T16:03:00.002-06:00

I get the keys tonight for our new place! We're very excited. I'm also a little nervous. The reason I'm getting the keys is because I am doing my first checkout tonight. Hopefully nothing is majorly wrong with the apartment and I won't have a fight on my hands.

We're also excited for this weekend. This is general conference weekend, and there is nothing better than being able to go to church in your pajamas. Seriously though, we love to be able to listen/watch the prophet and other leaders of the church. I am amazed that the girls can be so wiggly during regular church, yet sit still for most of this. The other source of excitement is that we are starting to pack. We have six boxes, but those are closet boxes, nothing serious. This weekend though, we'll start to sort through things and pack it up. Wish us luck!

15 days

2009-09-25T09:17:00.003-06:00

15 days until we move! This is the longest we have ever stayed in one place and I'm ready for a change. We've been busy here, but nothing fun to post about.
Christine still loves school, although she is very sad that we forgot her show and tell yesterday. Only two kids out of her group remembered though, so she wasn't the only one.
Emma is working on how people are related. For some reason, she's chosen my friend's family as her example. Betsy, she is fascinated with you guys! She talks about them all the time. She has figured out that Betsy's boys are brothers and who their mom is. She can usually remember that Dan is their dad, but tries to fit Betsy's brother Ben in as one of the kids. She has also been asking about husbands and wives. She asked who my husband was her response was, "Daddy? Our daddy? My daddy is your husband?" She seemed a little surprised with this information. She's so silly.
For the first time in his short six months, Jacob has become a challenge. For the last three or four nights (sleep deprivation causes me to lose count), he has woken up screaming and continues for about an hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes more than once a night. He seems to be in pain, but we can't figure it out. When these jags are over, he is right back to his pleasant baby self. Hopefully this will end soon.
That's all for us. We're pretty boring.

Six Months

2009-09-21T17:01:00.003-06:00

It has gone so fast! I can't believe he's six months old already. He had his check-up today and weighs 17 lbs 10 oz and is 26 1/2 in long. He is in the 50% for weight and length of course his head is in the 95%. I don't think I've ever had a kid measure below 90% for their heads. It's all those Croft brains in there. He is such a sweet baby. He is very easy going, a good sleeper and a good traveler. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. We have been blessed again.

Emma's First Day of School

2009-09-18T17:03:00.004-06:00

Emma started preschool this week. We had the first turn, which made her a little upset that she wasn't going away to school. Here are her first day of school pictures.

She wasn't in the mood for a real smile. This was one of the best she gave.

Showing off her Tinkerbell backpack.

Silly smile.

She was very good in preschool. I was a little nervous about her sassy side coming out, but she listened really well and even called me teacher a few times. Ten kids (eight for school plus the little girl I watch and Jacob) is a tight squeeze for our tiny apartment. By my next turn we'll be in our new place and have a little more room. I had a lot of fun doing this. I wondered how it would all work out, but we were so busy that I had more things to do than time to do them. I'm excited for my next turn in November.

They love her

2009-09-17T15:24:00.003-06:00

I was scheduled to be induced with Emma. I remember the night before I was scheduled to go in I was putting Christine to bed and thinking that the next time I would do it, there would be a new baby at home. I wondered how she would handle this little thing taking up her time, space, and parents. I worried that I wouldn't be able to give her the time she needed from me. I was almost a little sad to be having a baby because I knew it would totally change her world. I needn't have worried. She is the best big sister. I'm so proud of how she treats her little brother. I wish she wouldn't fight with Emma so much, but it's usually started by Emma. She likes to push Christine's buttons - and is very good at it. They love her and here is some proof.

This is the after-school ritual. Jacob lays on the floor and Christine hovers over top of him. He grabs her arms and squeals at her. She laughs, he laughs, and then Emma tries to get in on the action.

He adores Christine...the feeling is mutual.

Giving horsey rides to a very grateful little sister.

A little alone time. She likes to go to Jacob's room and read in the rocking chair by herself.

A Late Labor Day

2009-09-16T14:39:00.004-06:00

I finally uploaded photos from the camera, which means I have about three weeks worth of blogs to write. Here's the last camping trip of the season for us. We went with my family to Porcupine in the Big Horn Mountains.

My dad brought up a wedge and mallet to split wood. This was one of the things that occupied the girls' time. They took turns and ended up splitting this log (with help from Brandon at the end).

This was another time occupier. My brother bought this dog for his wife. She's the cutest little thing. I could handle a little dog like this. Christine was in heaven playing with her. She wants a pet very badly. Emma is deathly afraid of dogs, but eventually warmed up to Clarabelle. She mostly followed her around with her arms outstretched like she wanted to pick her up, but could never get the courage to follow through.

Christine has always talked fondly of fishing with Michael when she was two. I'm very surprised that she remembered it. Michael fished one other time with the girls this year, but without any luck. This time, Christine turned out to be a great little angler. Emma was pretty bored with it and finally told Michael that Christine could take her turns for her. Christine thought the worms were gross and wouldn't touch them; she had no problems holding the fish though. Here is Christine with one of her fish. It started wriggling just as I was taking the picture. She caught nine.

Here are her nine and Brandon's two. She was very proud of herself.

After we left our clearing from our fishing trip, we saw this moose walking around where we had been moments before. Thankfully we were already across the road and close to the car.

This was Emma's favorite activity. I think my sister-in-law went home with two dozen wildflowers.

I'm a little glad to be done with camping this year (I loathe the mountain of laundry that follows us home). I know the girls love it and next year will be interesting with Jacob.

Just for you Sarah Jensen

2009-09-15T15:55:00.003-06:00

Sarah, you asked for this a while ago, I'm finally delivering. This is so yummy!

Blueberry French Toast Bake
1 loaf French Bread, cubed (if you have an egg bread like challa, even better)
1 pound Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup Blueberries
12 Eggs
1/3 cup Maple Syrup
2 cups Milk

1. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. A lighter color works best for this recipe. Cut the bread into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Cut the cream cheese into 1-inch cubes. Layer the bread cubes and cream cheese cubes in two layers in the bottom of the dish, with the bread on the bottom. Pour the blueberries over top.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add the maple syrup and milk. Pour over the bread mixture and cover loosely with foil. Place dish in refrigerator with weights.

3. Refrigerate overnight or at least 3 to 4 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Reposition foil so that dish is tightly covered. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes, check at this time, it may take up to 40 minutes without the foil.

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup Sugar
2 tbs Cornstarch
1 cup Cold Water
1 tbs Unsalted Butter
1 cup Blueberries

Stir sugar, cornstarch and water over high heat in a saucepan. Add butter and blueberries and cook until the blueberries pop. Serve warm over French Toast Bake.

Notes
Cream cheese is normally sold in 8 oz blocks, so make sure that you get two. It will look like a lot of cream cheese when it is all in the pan. I’m too cheap to use maple syrup in this; regular pancake syrup works fine. To weight the dish, you can use another 9x13-inch dish placed on top, adding cans or whatever you can find to fit inside, just make sure it's even. If you don’t use another dish, just make sure that it is equally weighted. Be careful though, this easily overflows. Don’t skip this step, otherwise you will have some parts that don’t get any egg mix and will burn. Other parts will be too saturated with egg mix to cook thoroughly. With the syrup, be sure that the cornstarch and water are thoroughly mixed before heating, lumpy syrup is just as gross as lumpy gravy. This dish will serve 8-12.

Christine's life, etc.

2009-09-10T12:08:00.003-06:00

Christine has a much more exciting life than the rest of us, so I'll tell you a little about her new school adventures. Any of you that know Christine, know that she is smart, but very slow and deliberate with tasks she is given. Nearly all of her pictures that come home are unfinished, but each color is chosen with care and each stroke has a purpose. She is very serious about what she does. She has never finished a meal at school. We finally convinced her to take tastes of everything so she wasn't just living on chocolate milk and bread. She loves her teacher and class and says she makes a new friend almost every day. So far her most favorite friend is Ali. Her favorite part of school is recess, but she loves show and tell days and library days. She is very excited for Friday because they are having a bear fair. She is supposed to take her "best behaved bear" to school that day. The bear will sit with her and they have all sorts of activities planned that are bear related.

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed with her school experience so far. They are learning to count to ten, learning their colors, and how to write their names. She and most of her friends can read, count past 100, do simple math, etc. The things they are learning now are things that she knew before going to preschool. However, there are kids in her class that don't know these things. I wish they could be challenging her right now though. She loves it and is having fun, so I can't complain too much.

On to Emma. She is starting preschool next week. I use the word preschool loosely. She has a lot of kids her age in our ward, so all of the moms got together and decided to do our own school. Emma is two years away from kindergarten, and we didn't want to send her to two years of preschool, so we are doing this. We call it a joy school, but we aren't doing any of the joy school curriculum. Each of the moms will take a turn teaching two days a week. It works out that I will teach four weeks out of the year. I'm asking you to pray for me because the first turn is mine. I will have eight three year olds for two hours at my house next Tuesday and Thursday. She is very excited.

Now to Jacob. Not a lot new for him. He rolls around the house and sounds a lot like a girl when he screams (happy screams). He is starting to eat more solid foods, but still doesn't care for rice cereal. Even when I put other food with it, he doesn't eat as enthusiastically as when the rice is missing. He is still growing so fast and will be six months old tomorrow.

As for the rest of our clan, our most exciting news is that we finally have a moving date. We will be moving around the corner on October 10. Unfortunately, we (mainly Michael) are already tired of moving. For the past two months he has moved someone once a week on average. One week, he helped move two families. Hopefully after we move, Michael will get a break. That seems to be all for the updates on our family. I would resolve to be a better blogger, but we're just not that interesting.

Waffles and Frittata

2009-09-03T11:16:00.004-06:00

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. The waffles are so light and have just the right egg flavor. The frittata never lasts long if I take it for potluck breakfasts.

Waffles
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, milk, oil, and vanilla with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat until just smooth.
4. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form.
With a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture. Do not over mix. Pour batter onto hot, waffle iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

Notes
Be sure to stir the batter between waffles. It will separate easily. If you make more than one batch, only make two batches at a time. When there is more than two batches, it is hard to mix the egg whites throughout. If you have to grease your waffle iron, try not to use nonstick spray. It burns too easily and creates a sticky film that is hard to get off. If your iron sticks, put some oil on a paper towel and rub it on the iron. To reheat, just toast in the toaster. These will only keep for a day or two. They do freeze well.

Frittata
12 large eggs
3 tbs half-and-half
salt and ground black pepper
8 oz bacon (about 8 slices), cut crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces
1 lb yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 oz cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (about 3/4 cup)
3 scallions, sliced thin on the bias (about 1/3 cup)

1. Adjust oven rack to the upper-middle position, about 5 inches from the heating element; heat the broiler. Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a medium bowl until well combined. Set the eggs aside.
2. Fry the bacon in a 12-in oven safe nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, pour off all but 1 tbs of bacon fat. Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 15 to 20 min. Stir the cheddar, scallions, and bacon into the eggs; add the egg mixture to the skillet and cook, using a rubber spatula to stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet, until large curds form and the spatula begins to leave a wake but the eggs are still very wet, about 2 min. Shake the skillet to distribute the eggs evenly; cook without stirring for 30 seconds to let the bottom set.
3. Slide the skillet under the broiler and broil until the frittata has risen and the surface is puffed and spotty brown, 3 to 4 min. When cut into with a paring knife, the eggs should be slightly wet and runny. Remove the skillet from the oven and let stand 5 minutes to finish cooking; using the spatula, loosen the frittata from the skillet and slide onto a platter or cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.

Notes
You have to have the skillet for this, it won't work any other way. I use thick cut pepper bacon (Daileys sp? is the best). If you don't have half-and-half, I've used milk and cream without too much of a variation. I usually don't have scallions on hand and make it with shallots, the scallions are better though.

Forget the rice cereal

2009-08-31T17:01:00.002-06:00

When we started feeding the girls for the first time, they both turned their noses up at rice cereal for the first few times. After that though, they loved it. It has been a few weeks since we started Jacob on cereal, and he still hates it. He loves corn though, as you can see below.

At first he just licked it, after a while, he really attacked it.

He even holds it himself.

We tried squash last night and he ate that well too. I guess he just doesn't like the cereal.

My big girl

2009-08-26T23:13:00.005-06:00

Christine had her first day of kindergarten today. She also lost her first tooth! She has had such an exciting and busy day. Here are some pictures of what she did today.

Ok, so this wasn't today, it was last week, but this is her classroom. We had an open house last week where she got to meet her teacher and tour the school. After her tour she took us on a tour, her favorite room was the library. She was so excited to be there.

Getting Christine ready in the morning takes an act of Congress and a lot of patience. Not this morning, she was ready to go and helped the little kids get ready too. She even managed to put Jacob's socks on.

Our kindergartner.

The troops heading out. Jacob is with Michael. He went to work late this morning so he could be there for her first day. We'll see how tomorrow goes without his help.

Silly smile, silly girl.

Christine and Mrs. Bravo.
This scene was pretty chaotic. They have the parents say goodbye to their kids outside and then the kids walk with their teacher to the classroom. One little boy was hysterical, and a little girl wouldn't let her mom put her down. I was so glad that Christine has only been excited for school. She has never said anything about being nervous or not wanting to go. She loves to learn and will learn so much this year. She told me her favorite part of school was the three recesses. She made some new friends, but couldn't remember what their name tags said. Not surprising to me, she wasn't able to finish her lunch. Hopefully she'll get used to eating in thirty minutes and not want to spend hours at the table at home. One can dream....

Emma and Jacob left without someone to tell them what to do.
Emma loves to rule the roost, but wondered why she couldn't go to school with all of those kids. We'll start Joy School in less than three weeks. Wish me luck; it's my turn first!

The other big event of the day was Christine losing her first tooth! We discovered after the open house last week that her tooth was very loose. The tooth right by is loose as well. She asked me to pull it tonight, and it came out very easily.

Her very tiny tooth.

A new smile! She is growing so fast. I am so proud of her. I know she'll have a great year in school.

Wedding Pictures that have nothing to do with a wedding

2009-08-22T23:28:00.002-06:00

Michael took pictures at a wedding last weekend in Red Lodge. There were eight gigs worth of photos (over 1400) for him to go through. I haven't asked him or the happy couple if I could post any of the pics, so these are some that were taken that had nothing to do with the actual wedding.

Jacob and I played assistant to the photographer. Really, Jacob slept, ate, and was a very happy baby throughout the whole day. It was nice to use his stroller to pack around all of the gear. I was so impressed with him. We got a lot of comments on how good he was (he always is). I played gopher for Michael.

A little down time between group photos and the start of the ceremony. We had to wait out the rain in the tent, luckily it stopped just in time for the ceremony.

I loved their centerpieces. I'll have to admit, when Michael told me that they were using orange as their main color, I was a little skeptical. It was beautiful, though.

Only Michael could find a classic car to take pictures of at a wedding. The sound of this beaut was music to his ears.

Congrats Dan and Briana, thanks for letting us share in your day!

A Picture is Worth $1400

2009-08-18T09:21:00.003-06:00

Michael did photos for a wedding last weekend. He decided that he wanted another lens; the lens in question costs $1400. We don't have $14o0 laying around, so he rented one. These pictures are from him playing around with his new "baby"-his words. I actually caught him caressing the lens once. I'll admit, it was a very cool lens. He was very sad to send it back.

A grinning Jacob

Tired eyes

I love baby feet

The Billings Temple at sunset

The Ferris wheel at the Billings Fair

2009-08-17T14:35:00.003-06:00

We tried rice cereal with Jacob last week.

Here's one of the first few bites.

And this is what he thought of it. Maybe we'll try again later. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of eating from a spoon. I think he thought we were trying to poison him, not that rice cereal tastes all that wonderful anyway.

Broccoli Bacon Quiche

2009-08-12T14:55:00.003-06:00

My dad complained that I was slacking on the blog, so I thought I had better post something. We are a little bored here. The girls are at my parents house for the week, so no antics to tell you about. They are having a great time, and Emma even asked if they were going to stay there forever. We miss them, and kind of wish they missed us too. Oh well, I'd rather they have fun than cry about us.

We went to the fair here last night. I had never seen a hypnotist perform, so I was able to do that for the first time. It's amazing what he could get people to do. Some of the guys walked away with painted toenails. There were a lot of other funny antics which you had to be there to experience.

Anyway, my recipe today is something I made a couple of weeks ago but just got the pictures uploaded to the computer. A note before beginning to make this recipe - it takes about an hour and a half to make, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time.

Broccoli Bacon Quiche

Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
6 tbs chilled butter
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tbs cold water

Filling:
16 oz chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup scallions, diced
6 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 slices bacon, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425. Combine the flours, salt, and butter in a bowl. Mix with pastry blender or fork until the consistency of cornmeal. Add just enough water to make the dough come together. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. Place in a 10 inch pie plate. Crimp edges with fingers and prick crust all over with a fork. Bake until light brown about 10 minutes.

Beat eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl. Add onion, broccoli, bacon, cheese, and pepper. Pour into crust. Bake 50-60 minutes until puffed, light brown, with the center set. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes: Most pie plates are 9-inch, so be sure of your size. If you don't have a 10-inch plate, decrease the eggs to 4, the milk to 1 cup, the scallions to 1/3 cup, and the broccoli to 10 oz. This crust is very crumbly. If you have a mat to roll on, this works the best. You could also use parchment paper or wax paper, but these usually are too narrow. It can be done just on a floured counter top. Keep some water handy to patch any tears when it comes time to transfer to the plate.

Yea Emma!

2009-08-07T07:46:00.005-06:00

Emma has been potty trained for a couple of weeks now, so last week we made a Build a Bear for her. The big prize she chose for being potty trained was to go to Build a Bear and get a bear that roars. She picked a dog instead of a bear, but the dog still roars like a bear/lion; it's really quite fierce. She picked a little bikini with flip flops for her dog to wear, the dog's name is Hannah, by the way. She wanted to name it H, but we convinced her to go with a name that started with H. We let Christine pick out an outfit for a bear she had gotten earlier. She chose a mermaid outfit for her bear to wear. Her bear's name has changed from Emma to Ariel.

Ariel, Christine, Emma, and Hannah

Hannah, Jacob, and Ariel

The girls thought this was hilarious. He would make a pretty cute girl too. A part of me feels bad for him. He will be their little doll until he's old enough to fight them off. We'll make sure every step of the way is documented. He may be sweet now, but you never know when you'll need some blackmail.

Late Night

2009-08-06T10:01:00.003-06:00

Michael and I went to a movie last night with some of his co-workers. Wynn was gracious enough to watch the girls for us. When we got home, Wynn said, "You're going to be so mad." I'm thinking the girls (okay, just Emma) have done something disastrous. Then he told me that our closet had fallen off the wall. What?! How does a closet fall off of a wall, it's a hole the wall.

This is what he meant

This is actually the cleaned up version. The bracket bent, which sent the shelf tumbling, which sent the rod down. Nothing is actually broken, it's just all over the floor. We figured that since we are supposed to move in October that we would just box the gazillon sweaters and photos. What good fortune Michael had to take Friday off, so he already has a project lined up for him. What a lucky guy. This was not what I was looking forward to doing at 10:00 last night. So much for getting to bed at a decent hour.

Random Pictures

2009-07-28T10:55:00.006-06:00

I have just some random photos to share.

Coby making a beautiful face. Molly and Anna are in the background. I thought Molly would appreciate it if I just put this picture on. I have one where her face matches Coby's. I was looking for a pic to put on for my facebook profile when I realized that there aren't that many photos of me. Here's a recent one of Jacob and I.

Jacob has a new fixation with his tongue.

This is for Michael's benefit. I'm not a Cubs fan, but he is diehard. Too bad they always choke in the end. Are we going for 101 years dry spell now?

Christine and Emma goofing around with Brandon's hats.

Christine really wanted her picture taken.

So did Emma.

Michael needed some pictures of downtown for a brochure he did, so he went to take these from the rims the other night. I like to go on the rims and look at the view; it always amazes me how fast our little town is growing. This one has MSU-B in the foreground.

This is 27th street in the center.

This is the Conoco refinery (in Lockwood).

Not a lot going on here with us, just wasting our last weeks of summer.

Jeremy's Wedding and Backpacking

2009-07-23T14:37:00.005-06:00

During our long travels, my oldest brother got married. We are so happy to have Carmen be a part of our family. Michael did their pictures, so I included a few candid shots.

The happy couple. Ashton, Jeremy, Carmen, and Brandon

Jeremy goofing off. All of us together - thanks to Keith and Jelly for taking these.

The original cake maker had to back out, I thought these were pretty good for short notice.

Onto the backpacking trip. Every year, Michael, my brother Kevin, and my nephew Brandon take a backpacking trip. This year they went above Cody to Dead Indian. Unfortunately, Brandon got sick and they were only able to stay one night.

Beautiful scenery. The mighty hikers getting ready to start. There is usually a before and after picture by the signage, but none this year. Kevin and Michael weren't ready to give up. They couldn't go on with their original plans, so they decided to go up the Big Horns to Porcupine instead.

Some of their catch. Since they didn't have to carry it on their backs, they brought everything but the kitchen sink. I think this meal ran about 2000 calories. Lots of butter and bacon grease.

A blurry picture from the car of the Croft cabin. We're trying to get there this summer.

That about wraps up our trip. We had a lot of fun, but it sure is nice to be home.

Adventures in Babysitting

2009-07-22T15:39:00.003-06:00

Before I start this post, I would like to wish my wonderful husband a happy birthday. I love you and hope we have made your day special. We all love you!!

A little randomness today, then I'll continue the vacation posts.

Today I was thinking of how long I have been watching other people's children. I figured out that with about three years or so worth of breaks here and there I have been watching other people's children for 14 years (over 17 years). I think this explains a lot about my condition, for I truly must be insane.

I have actually contemplated doing this post before, but I didn't want to offend any of the parents of the children I have watched. Let's just say I have been asked to do some pretty incredible things.

Here are some things I have gained or can do though:
I can recite the movies Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins from beginning to end. I don't know how many times I've watched Beauty and the Beast, but one summer I watched Mary Poppins nearly every weekday for three months straight. Stacey, do you remember when Matilda was hidden? That didn't make me sad.

I can feed five children lunch and nurse a baby at the same time. I can also get them to eat a fruit, vegetable, protein, and grain at every meal.

I can make Costco runs with five children. -What I can't do is make people's rude comments stop. What if all of those children are mine? Is that really any of your business? I did however, get a hug once when putting a box of diapers in my cart.

I can sing nearly every Laurie Berkner song and all of the primary songs from memory.

I can play ring around the rosies with the best of them.

My house usually isn't totally covered with toys. There are times when it is, but I can get them to clean up (I've been known to throw a toy away for motivation's sake).

I can walk 2 blocks with 2 preschoolers, 2 2 year olds and 2 kids in a double stroller.

Because I have a wonderful husband, I have been able to attend prenatal and well child visits by myself (or with one child in the case of their own check-ups).

I'll admit, I don't always love having other people's children here, but my kids like having friends here nearly every day. They are a lot of fun to have here. I especially love watching the little ones learn and grow and discover new things. Sometimes I wish I could just have my kids here with me by myself, but on the occasional days that we are here by ourselves, it gets boring. On the whole it's been a good 14 years.

And Now It Starts

2009-07-16T09:56:00.011-06:00

I have a lot of updating to do, so I'll just start from the beginning. At the end of June, Michael's brother Coby and his family came to Billings for a visit. We had a bbq at Wynn's with Tori and Mike. This was our first time meeting Anna; she is such a doll! She is 8 months old (notice how close in size she and Jacob are there is a four month difference). Out of all of the pictures that we took, we managed to leave Coby, Molly, Michael and me out of all of them.

Lily with her new friend Tori. Grandpa with all of the kids: Ryan, Emma, Jacob, Anna, Christine, and Lily.

Grandpa and Anna. Mike with Jacob.

Next onto my family reunion.

This is a view of the cabins from the lodge. The sky looked like this until the day we left.

This is my parents tent, if you look closely, ours is to the left. Emma playing cards.

Isabel (Kevin's daughter) loved picking flowers. This was the preferred mode of transportation for the kids. I'm not sure if Aunt Barb has more fun or them. This is Christine and Isabel.

My cousin Mary with her son James. Porter, Adam, and Jamen took over Jacob's toy for the afternoon. Adam would do a cute little dance to the music.

We had a pine wood derby. Most of us procrastinated making our cars until we got there. Here is Michael and Christine making her school bus. Here she is with the finished product.

The track was awesome. Here is David getting a heat started. Thanks for bringing the track up Fabianos!

Here's the reason for the gathering. Each family is wearing their own color. Notice how Croys dominated the scene. This was actually one of the smallest reunions. The siblings and spouses. l-r, back standing - Bill, Marilyn, Bill, my parents, Allen, Elaine, seated - Hazel and Barb. We sure missed Margaret, Gloria, Val, and Andy.

Next up: Camping with the Bisbys.

Here is most of Michael's family. Standing l-r: Emma, Michael, Coby, Cindy, Jay, and Pat. Sitting l-r: Christine, me with Jacob, Molly with Anna, Ryan, and Lily. Next picture is Addison, Staysha, and Molly.

What would a Bisby get together be without a birthday party? We celebrated Coby's, Michael's, Chelsea's, Keesha's, and Steven's birthdays (I hope I got that right). Next picture is Eric and Addison.

Beautiful scenery. It's not a party without funny Uncle Jeff. This is what the kids call him. When the boys were little, it was scary Uncle Jeff.

Jacob and me relaxing. Candy and Grandpa.

Next up: Jeremy's wedding and Michael's backpacking/camping trip.

I hate PCs

2009-07-11T15:31:00.002-06:00

I am back in the land of the living but still at my parents, which means no mac. I love our computer and will never return to the nightmarish land of PCs ever agin. I had to restart the internet here four times, just checking my e-mail. I think we've had to restart the mac a handful of times in the two years we've owned it. Anyway, I won't even attempt to post pictures, or do much more than typing. Michael, Kevin, and Brandon left this morning on their backpacking trip. I hope they make it back in one piece with their cans of bear spray not being used.

Almost done

2009-06-30T15:28:00.004-06:00

Mickelson Field Station

If I don't post for the next two weeks, I have some good reasons. Michael and I have been planning a reunion for my dad's family. This is something I probably won't volunteer for ever again. Ever. Anyway, we're almost done. We leave Thursday for Mickelson Field Station and will go to Lovell Sunday. We'll go to my mom's to do some laundry, then head back up for more camping with Michael's family. His older brother Coby is in town visiting before he and his family move to Spain for three years. So, we'll camp with about 30 members of Michael's family until Tuesday. We'll come back to Lovell for more laundry, then Michael will come home and I will stay in Lovell. Michael will come back to Lovell on Friday for my brother Jeremy's wedding. On Saturday he and my brother Kevin and Jeremy's son Brandon will leave on their annual backpacking trip. I will still be in Lovell. They will come back to Lovell on Tuesday, more laundry and finally home sweet home! Hopefully during this time I'll be able to paint two of my mom's rooms and see some old friends. Kevin's family will also be there, so the girls will all be able to play together. Yay for cousins!

That was one expensive reunion

2009-06-29T14:10:00.003-06:00

Michael and my 10 year class reunion was this weekend. I'll just say that the actual reunion was...interesting. I'm sure most of my classmates don't remember it. It was nice to see most of the people though. So here is our breakdown of costs for the reunion.

Expense: 1 day off for Michelle and 1 vacation day for Michael
Expense: $50 for reunion
Expense: about $15 for gas there and back
Expense: whatever the hospital in Lovell charges for this...

My parents house is long and Emma loves to run as fast as she can from one end to the other. We were getting ready to go see the fireworks at Horseshoe Bend Saturday night when she ran into the living room...straight into a card table. In her defense, the card table is not usually there, it was after sunset, and there weren't any lights on in the living room.

There are four stitches there, it's not so much a cut, as her skin just split from how hard she hit the table. Thanks to Kent and Keesha for taking Christine to the fireworks! We sent her with them because we didn't think that we would make it out there. It's amazing how different the wait time (and other things) is between St. V's and this itty, bitty, little ER. We were there for less than an hour. We did end up making it to the lake, but Emma could not stay awake. I felt so bad for her because she was so excited to see the fireworks.

She was such a trooper during all of this, Christine too. Emma gets hurt. A lot. This is not our first ER trip. Whenever something big is going on with Emma or Jacob, Christine goes into super sister mode. This is the fastest we ever see her move. She obeys instantly and does whatever she can to make things smoother. I really am amazed at how she handles these situations. Emma does her part well too. She very rarely cries when she gets hurt. After we got her on the bed to be sewn up, she shed one tear as they were giving her the numbing shots and said, "It weally huts." She hasn't cried over it since, and she's only had one dose of Tylenol. I think we'll skip our 20 year reunion.

Mmm...cookies

2009-06-29T13:37:00.002-06:00

Ok, I tried Smilebox for recipe templates, which I loved. I even posted the recipe on here, until I found out that you can't print it. Actually you can, but I'm too cheap to pay for the service, so I'll just post it on here where you can copy and paste it and print it for free. It won't look nearly as cute as that template, oh well. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Shannon.

Brer Rabbit Cookies
2 c melted shortening 1 1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 c canola oil 1 tsp ginger
3 c sugar, plus extra 2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c dark molasses 1 tsp salt
3 eggs 5 c flour
6 tsp baking soda 1 c whole wheat flour

Mix shortening, oil, sugar, and molasses until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated. Add soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and flours, mixing until just combined.
Chill dough for an hour or two.
Roll into small balls and roll in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. For a crispy cookie, bake 10-12 minutes.

Notes: This recipe makes a lot of cookies (the cookies fill more than 2 gallon sized zipper bags). The dough freezes well if you would like to only bake half of the batch. Although the title of the recipe is Brer Rabbit Cookies, I prefer Grandma's Molasses to Brer Rabbit.

A slew of updates and a cake too

2009-06-22T16:36:00.005-06:00

The Gazette has a kids' Christmas party every year, and this year Christine got a kit to make fairy sugar cookies. It's June, and we finally got around to making them. There were tulip and fairy cookie cutters, although unless you knew it was a fairy, it just looked like a deformed butterfly. The kids had fun with it though. There was frosting, and edible paints, and fairy dust (think glitter).

Here are the girls with the cookies that they decorated. There was a lot of abstract art at our house that night.

These are the faces of two cookie loving girls. Christine always loves to show how dirty her hands and face get, even though they aren't that dirty.

We got hail on Saturday night, and Michael took this picture with a quarter to compare. The funny thing was that the hail was mostly confined to our neighborhood.

Christine started her swimming lessons today. She is very excited, although I'm still not sure she likes being in the pool by herself. Her favorite part today was the chug a choo-choo they made with the noodles, and she got to be the caboose (she told her dad this morning that it was bobbing).

Last but not least, Michael and Wynn wanted carrot cake for Father's day. Carrot cake is one of my least favorite desserts, but when I saw this recipe, I knew it was what I wanted. Unlike other carrot cakes, the frosting on this is not rot your teeth sweet and the nuts aren't overwhelming. I got this recipe from Relish Magazine.

Carrot Cake

Cake
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
20 oz carrots, shredded (about 3 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup crushed pineapple, well-drained

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups white chocolate chips, melted
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp lemon zest
chopped peacans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray and then line with parchment paper, spraying bottom again.

Combine eggs and oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Add 1 cup sugar and continue mixing 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and mix 4 minutes.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg; add to egg mixture, beating on low speed until blended (about 1 minute). Add carrots, nuts and pineapple; mix until well combined.

Divide batter evenly among pans.

Bake 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Run knife around edge of cakes and remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To prepare icing, place cream cheese in mixing bowl; beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add melted chocolate a little at a time, continuing to beat at medium speed. Add butter a little at a time. Scrape down sides of bowl; add lemon zest and beat until combined.
Remove cakes from refrigerator. Ice the top of one layer. Place second layer on top; ice top. Place third layer on top; ice top and sides of cake. Press chopped nuts into sides of cake.
Serves 20

Notes - The recipe said you could use 2 9-inch pans instead of the 8-inchers, increasing the time to 75 minutes. I did this and found the baking time to be too long. I took the cakes out with 12 minutes remaining and they were done. Next time I'll stick with the 60 min and add if necessary. Since I did two cakes instead of three, I split the cakes in half to make four layers. The ratio of cake to icing would have been too much for me (I don't like thick icing - this way it was more spreadout). I also didn't press the nuts into the sides of the cake. I don't like a lot of nuts either. The original called for walnuts, but I swapped those for pecans. Toasting adds a lot of flavor, so don't skip this step (I just heat a skillet and toast them on the stove top). I've had two pieces of this cake now and I like it better after it's been in the refrigerator. The first time had soft icing, and the second time the chocolate and butter and gotten firm again. Enjoy!

2009-06-21T22:57:00.003-06:00

What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child
but the courage to raise one. - Barack Obama

We love you. Happy Father's Day!

Swimming

2009-06-19T15:18:00.003-06:00

Emma had her first swimming lessons this week. She loves to swim and this just helped her figure it out a little better. Michael took time off of work to take her to her lessons and swam with her. She asked to call him almost every day to see where he was at when it getting close to her lesson time. She had so much fun, and I'll admit I'm sad her week is over. This was pretty good leverage to get her to be more obedient! I know that sounds awful, but with her I'll use just about anything. Christine's lessons start next week, and this will be her first year without a parent in the pool with her. She is very excited. Hopefully we'll get into our pool sometime soon, the weather has not been cooperating lately - maybe this weekend.

Like Father Like Son

2009-06-18T16:24:00.003-06:00

It's not just his dad. He has that effect on his grandpa too. After a long morning at church, these boys tried to make it to lunch, but needed a nap along the way.

Honey Bun French Toast

2009-06-17T16:31:00.004-06:00

Honey Bun Baked French Toast

4 tbs butter
4 eggs
3 tbs honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
pinch of allspice
2/3 cups orange juice
6 slices thick bread

Preheat oven to 400. Whisk juice, eggs, cinnamon, salt, and allspice together in a shallow bowl. Place butter and honey in a 13x9-inch glass baking pan. Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and the honey is bubbling. Do not allow the mixture to take on any color. Remove the pan from the oven, stir to mix the honey and butter. Meanwhile, toast the pecans in a skillet until fragrant. Sprinkle the pecans over the honey and butter mixture.

While the butter and honey are melting, dip one or two slices of bread at a time in the egg mixture, turning until thoroughly saturated but not falling apart. Arrange the soaked bread over the nuts in the baking pan. Bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes - This is from the Joy of Cooking. The original calls for apple cider, but we rarely have cider and always have orange juice. I think it's better with the juice and it is more tender. Be sure to let it soak for a bit, you don't want it to fall apart, but it needs to be pretty saturated. Be careful not to overcook this, the top doesn't brown as much as I expected it too. When it goes longer than 20 min, the syrup and pecans start to burn and the bread gets tough. This goes together really fast and is so yummy. Those who have a sweeter tooth will want a little extra syrup, but it's good without any extra. Enjoy!

Cartoons vs Reality

2009-06-16T16:41:00.002-06:00

I have my neighbor's 8 year old granddaughter this week. We were watching a dvd of old Tom and Jerry cartoons yesterday afternoon. On one of the cartoons, Tom learns to play the piano so Jerry will do the waltz. It starts with one note on a page, he turns the page and there are two notes, then three, and so on. After about ten pages, he throws the book away and plays like a concert pianist. Later in the afternoon, we were playing and singing on our piano. My neighbor's granddaughter said, "Can you teach me how to play the piano?" I told her it takes years and a lot of practice. Her response was, "But Tom learned in like 30 seconds!" It made me laugh to think that she really believed what she saw on tv. It made me think of pro wrestling. Growing up, we had one of the old tvs that had the push buttons for the channels. My brothers and I would fight over what to watch (they usually won unless I pulled out the tears with a yell to mom). They loved pro wrestling and I remember overhearing my mom talk about it being fake. They would not believe me. It was quite a while before they saw the light. I wonder what they think of their beloved soap operas now.

I deserve an award

2009-06-15T16:09:00.002-06:00

I have to congratulate myself for a minute. I made it through Costco and out of the lot with four kids (5, 3, 1 & 3 mos) in 15 minutes! Granted my list was only 6 items long, but nonetheless, it was a wonderful feat. Costco doesn't open until 10 and Emma's swim lesson started at 11, so I didn't have any time to spare. I was so proud of the girls, they were so good.

Okay, enough about me. The girls got home Saturday. They had such a good time. On Thursday they got to go to a double-header of Brandon's and didn't get to bed until 10. They got to play in the dirt which they love. On Friday they went to see my grandma and visit my grandpa in the hospital. Side note - my grandpa has been in the hospital here since the end of May and is finally back in Lovell gaining strength to go home. Hopefully he'll be out soon. Anyway, I'm not sure what else they did on Friday, their details are sparse. On Saturday they came back to Billings and met us downtown at the Strawberry Festival. Christine cried for about half of the ride home because she wanted to stay with grandma.

To end our great Saturday our friends Dan and Betsy were in town and we were able to meet them for dinner. We love being able to see them. The girls get so excited to see their boys, but then when we're together they hardly talk to them. Silly girls! Anyway that's our weekend update. On the whole it was a great weekend.

Jacob growing

2009-06-12T08:50:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted recent pictures of Jacob, so here goes. He is three months old (as of yesterday). On the bathroom scale he weighs 14 lbs!! Most of his 3-6 month outfits fit perfectly, with some being a little snug. He can even wear some 6 month outfits. He was so scrawny when he was born, now he is just our chunky love. He loves to smile and you can sometimes get a giggle out of him. He loves to look in the mirror and talk to himself. He is content to play by himself, but likes others to be in the room with him. He is his own best friend.

Why

2009-06-11T16:33:00.003-06:00

Emma is in the "why" phase. I keep telling myself that she is just trying to learn about the world around her, other times I'm pretty sure she is trying to make me crazy! My mom and Brandon came to get the girls this morning. It took some convincing that we should wait inside instead of on the front steps. They were so excited to go. They even got to go to Costco to pick out fruit to take to Grandma's. By the way, Costco is their ultimate destination. There are snacks around nearly every corner. Anyway, Brandon called me about an hour later to ask how to get Emma to stop asking why (ask her why not?). It's someone else's turn to have all the answers!

I'm sure they are having a great time. Having them gone makes me wonder what I did with my time when I had two nappers. The little girl I watch and Jacob took their big naps during the same time. I remember when Christine and Emma used to do that. What I don't remember is what I did. Looking back, I remember having moments of frustration, which now are laughable times (sometime I'll post about the pound of brown sugar rubbed into the couch). At times I was overwhelmed with two little ones, now having two little ones here seems like a vacation. It's funny how a different perspective makes things seem. I remember wishing that they were a little older, "then it will be easier" was my naive thought. I wouldn't say it's harder or easier, just different (still hard though). The biggest difference of today though was the silence. Sweet silence, it is it's own music.

Moving On Up

2009-06-10T22:25:00.004-06:00

Jacob is finally moving into his crib. He has been in a bassinet in our room and is now moving into his own room. The more kids we have, the longer the baby stays in our room. Christine was out by one month, Emma by two, and Jacob will be three months tomorrow. If we have any more, the next one will be a teenager before they're out of our room!

On a side note, our countdown has begun. My mom offered to take the girls to Wyoming for a little time with Grandma. My dad will be in meetings for the rest of the week, so she'll be by herself with our little terrorists for three days! She's coming tomorrow to get them and bringing them back on Saturday (unless she surrenders sooner). They have plans to plant flowers and weed the garden. Christine is very excited about gardening. I hope my parents have a garden after Emma "helps." Yea for mom, best of luck; we love you!!

2009-06-08T15:31:00.003-06:00

Seven years ago today, I married my best friend. I have to apologize to my sister-in-law Shannon. She took beautiful pictures for us. Unfortunately we don't have a CD of these pictures and the scanner wasn't friendly to her wonderful work. Anyway, here are some pictures from our wonderful day.

I still love to see the Rimrocks, when I stand on my street I still can. We were just coming out of the temple in this shot. I love going back and sitting in the celestial room when it rains. It was raining on our wedding day, and we waited in the celestial room for everyone to go into the sealing room. We could smell the rain while we waited.

I don't think there are many pictures of my brothers and me as adults, so this one is special to me. This was one of the few family pictures we have with Shannon. Brandon is taller than most of us now.

Our good friends Chad, Tyler, and Rachael came from South Dakota for our reception. Happy 7th to Rachael and Tyler in August! Brandon, Ashton, and my dad at the reception. It wasn't until I looked at these pictures that I realized I really like my dad's hair much better since he cut it short.

For those that know Kevin and Mike, this picture defines most of their relationship. Mike is here with all his boys.

This picture was the first time I realized how much I look like my mom. Dad and me freezing outside the temple.

Mike and his mom. Mike, Cindy, Jay, and Pat. Pat looks like such a little kid in this picture. I'll have to find a more recent one of him to show how much he's changed.

Michael, I still adore you. You are better than what I dreamed my husband would be. I love you more now than ever. I can't wait to keep celebrating our years together. I love you!!

Only in Montana

2009-06-04T08:38:00.003-06:00

You could in Wyoming too. Make soup in June, that is. It has been downright cold this week. This is what's for dinner tonight.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb Italian Sausage
3/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 Large White Onion, diced
1/2 lb Bacon Pieces
1 Large Clove Garlic, minced
10 cups Water
5 Cubes of Chicken Bouillon
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 lb Russet Potatoes, sliced thin (about 3 large potatoes)
1/4 of a Bunch of Kale

1. In a large pot, cook bacon until nearly crisp, add sausage and red pepper. Reserve 1 tbs of fat and drain excess, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan with reserved fat, saute onion and garlic until the onions are soft.
3. Mix together the bouillon and water then add to the onion mix. Cook until boiling.
4. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in sausage and bacon.
7. Add kale just before serving.

This soup is so yummy. It serves 6-8. I took it to a church potluck and it went fast. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp red pepper. I like spicy, but that was even a little too much for me. Next we tried 1/2 tsp and it wasn't enough, so 3/4 is just right for us. We also sprinkled a little Parmesan on ours, which added a nice nutty flavor. We also like to have a fresh loaf from Great Harvest. Hmmm, I have a card for a free loaf. I guess I know where I'm going this afternoon.

I Hate Pink...

2009-06-02T10:03:00.002-06:00

At least when it's the color of my girls' eyes. Christine woke up this morning and couldn't open her eyes because of all the dried goop. Emma's is only in one eye, for now anyway. When they have something contagious it's so hard for them to stay away from Jacob. Hopefully he won't end up with it. The "hanitizer" (an Emmaism) is on the counter, and the drops have been started. Let the battle of the germs begin.

Christine's First Field Trip

2009-05-29T14:59:00.003-06:00

On the last big kid day (all kids who will be in kindergarten next year) at Christine's preschool, they went on a field trip to the zoo. Michael, Emma, Jacob, Emily (a little girl I watch), and I tagged along too. After seeing the animals we went to the play area and had a picnic. The kids had so much fun, and it was a nice way to say goodbye to her class and teacher.

Michael had his long lens on which was great for the animals, but not so for people. Most of the photos with people in them are pretty close up and/or don't have the whole group in them.

Emma the lion and Christine the goat. Sometimes I think that this really should be their home.

Christine and her buddy Rain were some of the few kids that got to see the wolf. Everyone else got bored and walked on. I guess sometimes she gets rewarded for dawdling. Michael was the only one to see the tiger. He finally woke up after everyone else left.

My girls really like Dora and Diego, so it was neat for them to be able to see a real red panda. There were two eagles there, these birds always seem so majestic to me. Both had been injured which was why they were living at the zoo.

This horse is enormous. We have a better picture of the horse, but this one has Mrs. Smith (even though her head is down). Here is part of Christine's class (minus Emma).

Christine loved school this year. She enjoyed learning new things and adored her teacher. She tried to start many arguments with, "Well, Mrs. Smith said..." Almost every Saturday she would say, "Today is the day Mrs. Smith sleeps in." She really was a wonderful teacher. Most preschools here are faith based, which I was a little worried about. I wanted to be the one to teach my kids about our faith. I didn't need to worry though, her curriculum was wonderful. Every week they would work on a letter and correspond it with a bible story. Mrs. Smith would have a song that went along with the story and could explain it simply enough that the kids would understand the general idea of the story. She was perfect for Christine and we will miss her. She will be wonderful for Emma though, she has the perfect balance of love and discipline. Christine is so excited to start kindergarten. We live across the street from the elementary and she talks about going to school almost every day. I hope she keeps her enthusiasm for learning, we'll see when the homework starts piling up.

Emma's Birthday Party

2009-05-28T08:05:00.007-06:00

When I uploaded the camping pictures, there were almost 200 photos. So, the next few posts are things that took place a while ago. Bear with me.

These pics are from Emma's friend party. We didn't plan a big shin-dig, just had her friends come to her favorite park to play and eat cupcakes. She had a blast and so did her friends.

Our beautiful birthday girl.

She wanted blue cupcakes that tasted like strawberries. We compromised and did blue cupcakes that tasted like blueberries.

The best big sister.

Grandma Linnea, Jacob, and Grandpa Brian. Grandpa Wynn - the only way we can take his picture is when he doesn't know it's happening.

Our good friends Colin and Josh. These brothers are weeks apart from the girls. It is always exciting when they come over.

We love Megan, she is one of Emma's best friends. Austin is our busy little friend. There is always an adventure looming when Austin is around.

Lydia is a year younger than Emma, but she insisted on inviting Lydia. She is the sweetest little girl. Blake is so polite. We love to play with Blake. He was definitely our cupcake king.

Kisses from the birthday girl. Emma loves to swing.

Dan's artwork

2009-05-27T18:19:00.002-06:00

We have a friend that does amazing pencil drawings from photos. Here is the link to his page so you can check out his work. http://photostopencil.blogspot.com/ My stick figures are iffy at best, so I really admire his talent. Good luck Dan!

Surviving Camp

2009-05-27T07:57:00.005-06:00

We had such a good time! We went with my parents, my brother Jeremy, his fiancee Carmen, and his kids Brandon and Ashton. It was so fun to have Jeremy's kids there. My kids adore their family. Our first night was cold, but the kids stayed warm. My parents went to Lovell on Saturday night, and when they came back Sunday afternoon they brought extra blankets, so the next two nights were toasty. Jeremy and Carmen had to leave Sunday night, but Brandon and Ashton stayed with us. They got to go to Yellowstone with my parents that evening and our big event for the night was Emma falling in cactus. I think she actually rolled in it. It was everywhere! I felt so bad for her. We had her laid out on the picnic table in just a diaper while Michael pulled out the needles with tweezers. We ended up having to throw her pants and shoes away because they were covered in needles. After we got what we could see out, she fell off the table onto the nice hard ground covered with gravel. This trip also produced her first black eye (I don't even know how that happened), a goose egg on her forehead (car door), a fat lip with scratches on her cheek (Christine hit her with a stick), and many other bumps and bruises. She still said she had fun though. Christine had a blast dragging each member of Jeremy's family around. She loved getting to know Ashton better and liked to be wherever she was. Jacob was a trooper. He is such a good baby anyway, and he kept it up at camp too. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

Jeremy tried to teach the girls how to rope. For those that don't know her, this is Carmen.

This was how a good portion of the trip went for Ashton. Christine wanted to ride on Jeremy's shoulders until she got up there. This was one of the beautiful views.

Christine and Emma playing Go Fish. Ashton and my mom playing a clapping game (I can't remember which rhyme they were doing). Michael and Jacob hanging out.

Christine on the bridge. Carmen helping Christine. This is how Emma wore her hat most of the time. It reminded me of a certain young man from Lovell who used to drag main a lot with his hat like this. Ashton on the bridge.

Emma's many colored face. Carmen and Jeremy.

Camping

2009-05-22T16:10:00.002-06:00

We're going camping this weekend. I'll post details when I get back. Wish us luck!

I'm Sorry

2009-05-19T16:47:00.003-06:00

She gets it from both of us really. Without direction from anyone, this is how she arranged the fish as she took them out of the game. Both girls also have the sometimes annoying habit of arranging store shelves. If they find a product out of place they like to put it back in the correct spot. If we're not in a hurry, this is only a minor annoyance - but when are we ever not in a hurry when grocery shopping?

Conversations

2009-05-18T10:20:00.004-06:00

Emma likes to buckle herself into the booster
that is too small for her now.

Christine's hats from Granny.

Here are some recent conversations with the girls.

Christine: Mom what are all of these holes in my shirt?
Me: Those are called eyelets.
Christine: Emma, these holes are eyelets.
Emma: Chiteen, why do you have holes in your islands?

Christine: Mom, mirror is a long word.
Me: Not really.
Christine: But it has a lot of letters in it doesn't it.
Me: Only 6.
Christine: But it's long to say.
Me: (trying to end the mirror conversation) Sure.
Christine: Is it long in Spanish?
Me: I don't know what mirror is in Spanish.
Christine: Me neither, even though I speak Spanish almost all the time. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez. Muchos glacias.

Jacob's blessing

2009-05-14T15:25:00.004-06:00

We blessed Jacob on May 3rd. Now that the camera has been uploaded, I can get busy blogging. I'm so disappointed that the only pictures we have are of Jacob. Church was at 9:00, so getting 4 adults and 3 kids out the door was work enough. By the time I got home from church, the girls had already changed their clothes and were playing in a dirt pile. Oh well, at least there are pictures of him.

We had a BBQ at Wynn's after church. Our good friends the Wilde's and Dahle's were there along with Tori, Mike's uncle Mike, Pat, Lisa, and my parents who also came to the blessing. We had so much fun with everyone and were glad that so many could come to celebrate with us.

Birthday Pictures

2009-05-14T15:01:00.004-06:00

She's a shoe girl, just like her mom.

These were the hot items. Grandpa Wynn got the girls new bikes for their birthdays. I hope Christine remembers in November that she got her birthday present in May.

Granny Cindy got her this neat "van" (fan) with a candy bracelet.

Jacob and Christine got Emma some books to finish a series they've started.

Christine loves to ride her bike. Unfortunately it was raining Tuesday night and they could only ride in Grandpa's kitchen.

Granny got a can of silly string for each girl. They quickly used all of it in the kitchen. They loved it and mom is still finding silly string!

Granny got Emma her own Care Bear. Now Christine's will have a friend.

She loves her bike. It has a water bottle and a pouch to store things in.
She pedals pretty well and then tries to go backwards, which makes the breaks come on.

Her friend party is on Saturday, pray for nice weather, and nice three year olds!

Happy Birthday Emma

2009-05-12T21:38:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Emma. I love you and am so glad you are part of our family. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

The Crazy Game of "Would You Rather...?"

2009-05-09T18:31:00.002-06:00

The girls got this game out of a kid's meal from Arby's. Michael and I took turns guessing each other's answers; it's pretty interesting. I highlighted the option I would choose. I tag anyone who's interested to post this on their blog.

Would you rather...
have to walk around with 6 large balloons tied to your wrist for a year
-or-
with loud bells on your ankles for a year?
The noise from the bells would just be too much for me.

Would you rather...
be born with an elephant trunk
-or-
with a giraffe neck?
At least the trunk would be useful! It would be like an extra hand.

Would you rather...
wake up tomorrow with a jack-o-lantern for a head
-or-
with tree limbs for arms and legs?
I would look silly but at least I could function.

Would you rather...
be extremely lucky
-or-
be extremely smart...but not both lucky and smart?
I would like to say I'd choose the other one, but this is where I admit that I'm shallow.

If you were shrunk to the size of a thimble, would you rather...
have to run across the playing area of a pinball machine during a game
-or-
across an air hockey table during a game?
There aren't as many obstacles on the air hockey table.

Would you rather...
have the ability to erase memories from your own mind
-or-
have the ability to erase memories from someone else's mind?
When Michael and I played it was my turn to guess his response. He chose the same one I did, but for a different reason. I chose it to be able to save face (someone sees me do something embarrassing, I erase their memory). He said, "Think of the people you could help. You could erase their painful memories." Again, my shallowness surfaces. He truly is my better half.

Would you rather...
lick 1,000 stamps
-or-
read out loud all the last names that start with "A" in the phone book?
I hate the taste of stamps; this was no contest.

Would you rather...
travel around the world in a hot air balloon
-or-
travel around the world in a sail boat?
I would like the view of the balloon, but not being able to lay down comfortably made me go with the boat.

Would you rather...
be part of a team that loses most games but is known for playing well with a lot of heart
-or-
be a part of a team that wins all its games easily, but everyone know the team doesn't try hard or really even care?
Again with being shallow, I like to win.

Would you rather...
have to sing everything you say
-or-
shout everything you say?
Much more pleasant.

Would you rather...
have a snowball fight against a pro baseball pitcher
-or-
play dodgeball against a pro quarterback?
I'd have my coat on in the snowball fight, at least then I'd have some padding.

Would you rather...
have a birthday party without your best friend there
-or-
have a party where no one shows up except your best friend?
I'm not much for birthday parties for myself, so I would definitely need my best friend there.

Would you rather...
wear a hairnet all the time
-or-
wear a red clown's nose all the time?
Think of all the time I'd save!

Would you rather...
run across a hungry alligator's back
-or-
run underneath an angry elephant?
I don't have a good reason for this one.

Would you rather...
try and get some gold coins that are guarded by a hornets' nest
-or-
try and get coins that are guarded by a nest of rattlesnakes?
I think the stings would hurt less than the bites.

Would you rather...
be stranded in the middle of the desert with a small bottle of water
-or-
with a black umbrella?
I don't have a good reason for this one either.

Would you rather...
have knees the size of watermelons
-or-
have elbows as large as pumpkins?
Or this one.

Would you rather...
have to go to school in the morning without doing anything to clean up except brush your teeth
-or-
do everything else to clean up except brush your teeth?
I can't stand to not have clean teeth.

Would you rather...
have everyone other than you be an adult
-or-
have everyone in the world be a kid?
If that meant that I don't have to take care of anyone else or pay bills, bring it on!

Would you rather...
be stuck in an elevator for 2 days with someone who talks too much
-or-
with someone who won't talk at all?
I originally chose the other one, but maybe the nonstop chatter would distract me from my claustrophobia.

Would you rather...
get out of the bathtub on a freezing morning and find there's nothing but a small, wet washcloth to dry with
-or-
find nothing but a box of tissues?
At least you'd stand a chance of getting dry.

Would you rather...
not be able to throw anything
-or-
not be able to kick anything?
I very rarely kick things, but I throw things all the time.

Would you rather...
be on TV
-or-
be in a video game?
Not that either one would ever happen.

Would you rather...
suddenly be able to see through buildings, walls, and more, but have no control over it...so it turns on and off for hours at a time
-or-
be able to run as fast as a car, but have no control over it, so that sometimes when you want to walk, you are forced to run like a speedster with no idea how long it will last?
I would hurt myself with the running power.

Would you rather...
stay back one year in school
-or-
have no summer vacation 4 years in a row?
I miss not having summer vacation.

Would you rather...
be an awesome singer in a bad band
-or-
a bad singer in a super popular band?
I would rather be talented.

From now on, would you rather...
have to read every book from the back of the book to the front
-or-
have to read every book while holding the book upside down?
It would certainly cut down on my reading.

Would you rather...
discover space aliens that are smarter than we are
-or-
dumber than we are?
Unless smarter also meant more peaceful.

Would you rather...
be lost late at night in an area with no streetlights
-or-
no street signs.
With street signs I could stand a chance of finding where I'm at.

Would you rather...
only be able to see the color green and have everything else be shades of gray tones
-or-
see everything slightly out of focus?
I experience the other option every time I take my contacts out, hence the reason why I wear contacts.

Saucy Southern Beef Ribs

2009-05-08T15:20:00.007-06:00

This is what we made for Easter. We felt like something other than ham or turkey. I normally don't care for beef ribs, but thought this recipe was worth a try. We live down the street from a little grocery store that sells USDA Prime meat, I'm sure that helped things out in the flavor department.

Saucy Southern Beef Ribs

4 lbs beef ribs, cut into 3 inch pieces or 4 lbs short ribs
10 c. cold water
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 c ketchup
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 med onion
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place beef, water and onion in heave stock pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove ribs and arrange in single layer in shallow roasting pan. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over ribs. Marinate one hour in refrigerator, turning often. Remove ribs from marinade and place under broiler or grill. Broil until brown and crisp, basting often with marinade. Makes 4 servings.

Notes: We cut the meat into individual ribs. We let this boil for three hours and marinate for 2 hours. We basted them 4 times. 1/4 cup of chili sauce sounded like a lot, but was just fine. Not too spicy, but just a little kick. Michael doesn't usually like ribs, in fact, I was surprised he was willing to try this recipe out. We really liked them, even the girls liked them. I would say this serves more than 4.

St. Susan Update

2009-05-08T14:12:00.002-06:00

I have been an awful blogger. When I do have time to blog, I prefer to sleep. Anyway, I forgot to do an update on Susan (she threw me a baby shower months ago). I had the hardest time trying to think of something that she would like. I finally decided to get her a gift basket from our favorite bakery. A little side note here - Great Harvest Bread is to die for. We have to restrain ourselves from their pumpkin chocolate chip bread, their sandwiches and their chocolate oatmeal cookies, among other things.

So, I got her a few loaves of bread, some jars of jam and a gift card for more bread. I went to deliver a thank you gift, and she managed to send me home with a pot of soup! I can't ever get even with her. I normally don't like ham and bean soup, but hers was wonderful, of coarse. I think she called it Senate Bean Soup, it is the recipe for ham and bean soup that the cafeteria in the capital serves. She is such a sweetheart! She is planning another shower for someone next Saturday, and thankfully she is letting two other girls help her with this one.

When my mind is clear and there aren't children yelling in the background, I love to think of the people that have blessed our lives since we moved here. I couldn't ask for better friends; I love the support we have here. We are truly blessed to know people like St. Susan!

Definitions

2009-04-29T16:51:00.002-06:00

Every parent has to be an interpreter at some point during a child's life. Here are a few from my dictionary.

Emma - Emma da weasel ... translation - Emma Louise (it's her middle name)
Christine - It's a little squishy in here ... translation - There's too many kids in the hallway and I'm feel squished.
Emma - fireschwipe ... translation - pacifier - She can say pacifier if she thinks about it, but if she is talking fast, it's a fireschwipe.

Christine is always saying things that make me laugh. She is in the wonderful phase of knock-knock jokes. They never make sense. Her favorite though is about a banana. It goes like this. Knock-knock... Who's there... banana... banana who... banana (insert whatever is in your line of sight here and laugh hysterically). She almost always follows with "Ahhh, I crack myself up." A few days ago she said, "Mom, I don't think I'm ready for peach jokes yet, but I've got banana jokes down."

Career Change

2009-04-23T16:51:00.002-06:00

For over a year Christine has said she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up. A few days ago she told me that when she's a cowgirl and doesn't live with me anymore she'll have a cat and a dog (unfortunately for her, she probably won't have either of those while she lives with me because of allergies). All references to things that will happen when she is an adult start with, "When I'm a cowgirl..." Today we had our dental cleanings and she told me that she doesn't want to be a cowgirl anymore; now she wants to be a dentist. It's almost a little sad to me that she has picked a more realistic career. She is growing up too fast.

A quick update

2009-04-21T20:45:00.002-06:00

We're alive and getting better. Jacob has had his first cold. He gave up his five hour sleeping stretch at night and would cough so hard he was throwing up multiple times a day. The cold circulated twice through our family before he got it, and hopefully it won't come back. I hate it when my kids are sick when they're this little. There isn't anything you can do for them but just hold them. I don't mind holding (in fact I love it), but when his face is purple from coughing so hard it makes me nervous. I have tons of pictures to post, so now that I'm not so sleep deprived I'll get them up.