Cupcake Wars

Shad and I have watched several episodes of Cupcake Wars on Netflix lately, and Tom and Katie have started playing it. Here's a video I took during breakfast one morning.

http://youtu.be/S4SeJSx8mcU

Summer Recipes

So this summer for my family reunion in Pine Paradise, KY, I had two meals that I had to cook for mmmm...45 people. Give or take a few. I don't remember the exact head count. I'm a big fan of getting by on minimal work when I'm on vacation, so I brought 2 crockpots with me. I signed up for a breakfast and a lunch, and here's the recipes that I know some relatives have been waiting for since July. Sorry, Suzanne! I think about you and your yogurt loving family every time I make a new batch...which is every other week.

Breakfast menu: crockpot yogurt with store bought granola and/or grape nuts, overnight oatmeal, omelettes in a bag.

The day before the breakfast, I started the yogurt. Typically, it should be started by or around noon and it'll be ready the next morning. The morning that it's fresh, it'll be warm, which is different, but my kids LOVE warm yogurt days. The night before the breakfast, we mixed the oatmeal. So then all we had to do in the morning was roll out of bed and chop veggies for the omelettes, and wash fruit.

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

http://girlsguidetobutter.com/2010/02/crock-pot-yogurt/

Yep, I'm gonna make you go to that link. Seriously, making yogurt is simple enough, but she also tells you how to flavor it if you want to, and gives troubleshooting tips. So go there and learn some good stuff.

Overnight Oatmeal

Mix together in an airtight container 1/2 c oats, 1/2 c applesauce, 1/2 c milk, pinch of salt, cinnamon to taste. Put it in the fridge overnight. Warm it in the morning, or eat it cold.

I don't know how many times I multiplied this recipe for the reunion, but let me just say, "cinnamon to taste" should never amount to 6 or 7 tablespoons. I'm chalking that up to pregnant brain at 10 pm. Yeah, I had noooo idea what I was thinking.

Omelettes in a Bag

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. water

additional ingredients (to your liking):

• cheese, shredded
• ham, diced
• bacon, cooked & chopped
• sausage, cooked & crumbled
• tomato, diced
• bell peppers, diced
• onion, chopped
• mushroom, sliced
• (whatever other toppings you like)

Optional Toppings:

• Salt & pepper
• Sour cream
• salsa
• avocado
• guacamole
• (any additional topping ingredients you like) *I always use Montreal Steak Seasoning for my eggs.

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (appx. ⅔ full)
2. While waiting for the water to boil, crack eggs into a Ziploc heavy-duty, large (at least quart-sized.. preferably gallon-size) freezer bag and add water.
3. Seal and shake, smash, squish the bag... whatever you can to get those eggs really beaten up.
4. Add any remaining ingredients that you would like, press as much air out of the bag as you can and seal tightly. Smoosh the ingredients around a little bit to get an even distribution.
5. Place bags (up to 6) in the boiling water and cook for 13 minutes (adding 1-2 minutes per additional egg if people want bigger omelettes). ALSO, cooking times vary depending on elevation-- check your eggs every few minutes... once they are no longer runny and feel like they are set, they are ready!
6. Make sure the tops of the bag don't hang out over the edge of the pot, especially if you are doing it over a fire-- you don't want the plastic to melt. One of our readers suggested clipping the bags together with a clothespin and draping over a skewer or stick placed across the pot to keep them from falling over the sides-- a great idea!
7. Carefully remove the bags from the water. When you open the bag, the omelette should easily slide onto the plate. Top with any additional toppings and enjoy!

*On a mass production scale like what we did, I gave instructions for everyone to write their name in Sharpie on their bag, then fill it with ingredients. I had whipped up 24 eggs in a bowl, and poured approximately 1/3 cup into the bags. Then I carefully dropped the labelled bag into the pot of boiling water, checked the time, and wrote down on a piece of paper who's omelette bag I needed to pull out at what time. I had a pair of tongs that I used to find the right bag and pull it out.

Lunch menu: chili dogs and fruit.

I started the chili the night before so it would cook in the crockpot. In the afternoon all we had to do was heat the dogs and wash fruit.

Wendy's Copycat Chili

2 lbs ground beef
29 oz tomato sauce
29 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
29 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, any size, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes
½ cup diced green chilis
4 garlic cloves, minced, or 4 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp cumin powder
3 T chili powder
1 ½ tsp black pepper
2 c water

Brown beef and onions together. Combine all ingredients and simmer. If stove top, stir every 15 minutes for 2-3 hours. If crockpot, LOW 7-8 hrs or HIGH 3-4 hrs. Makes about 12 servings.

I let this simmer well over 12 hrs, and it was delicious. I probably turned it on around 10 pm, and we had lunch around noon the next day. Also, that batch of chili was extra meaty, with probably around 4 lbs of beef because we had extra that needed used.

November

November has now been long enough ago that I hardly remember it. Here's a few pictures:

We hung a fruit basket, and Dancy realized that she could now try to get her beloved bananas.

One day for school I told Tommy I wanted him to build a temple from a picture on the computer. The kids had to get their gear.

And they swapped some tools. They built something out of those bricks, but picture replicating is too difficult a task without some adult direction. We'll try it some time when I'm not looking for a "do it yourself" education day:)

Dancy's hair is long enough for fixin'!

Cute girl with pigtails made so many people smile that day.

We had Thanksgiving at Paul and Mallory's house with their family, their minister, Larry, and his wife, Kathy, and a girl from their church, Hayley, and her niece. Dancy really took a liking to Hayley and we've since had her babysit a few times.

That's not QUITE how it happened...

Katie has been telling a lot of stories at church lately, and she seems to be often leaving out the most important detail.

At the beginning of December, Katie told everyone at church that I cut her hair.

It's true. She got a hair cut.

By her own hands.

No, sweetie. You own up to what you did and don't blame your momma.

Lucky for Katie, her BFF nursery leader, Joslyn, owns a spa in town, and pulled a favor with her hair stylist, and Katie got to "Joslyn's beauty shop!!" Elicia did a great job fixing Katie's hair.

Last week Katie told Linda that Tom, Katie and Thora came from heaven, but Sundance did not.

Today, I heard from two people, Cathie and a visiting grandpa (who all of my kids have mistaken as their Bumpa), that Katie said I took away all of her toys.

Truth.

But what she forgot to tell you is that it was a consequence for her actions. Let me back track and tell the whole story. Shad and I came home from a date Friday night (worked at the theater, saw Unbroken, not my cup of tea) to find all the kids still awake. On the couch in the living room. At 10:30. The babysitter said that she had put them to bed, but then they were crying and she didn't know what to do, so she let them come back down. I don't blame her so much as I blame my kids, who know better. Tom and Katie explained that Tom had broken Katie's glowstick Wolverine claws, and Katie had done something in retaliation, etc, etc. Shad and I told the kids to go upstairs for bed, and Katie had a complete meltdown and refused to move. I left to take the babysitter home, and came home to find Shad throwing all the toys out into the hall. He explained that he had asked Katie to get in bed 3 times, then told her to get in bed or he'd take away all their toys, which were the cause of the problem to begin with. Sweet! I've only been wanting to do this for about a year. I gladly helped.

At this point, we don't know what we'll do with the toys...get rid of them, purge half of them, or just hold them hostage for a while.

October

The beginning of Thora's cheek development.

Dancy loves olives, and I think it must be human nature to stick them on your fingers.

Pretty sure she's got 4 in there.

We blew up balloons for Katie's birthday and they played a balloon game on the floor.

Shad took Katie out around town and they stopped in at Edward Jones so that Katie could visit our friend Brittany who works there. Katie told Brittany it was her birthday, so Brittany made a quick stop at Dollar General after work and came over to give some presents. She got a pretty sweater dress and leggings outfit and a cupcake play dough set. After dinner Tom, Katie and Dance all played with it.

Katie was happy to open her birthday mail.

She chose wafers for her birthday treat, so I made a play dough cupcake for her to blow out her candles.

Thora sleeping on Nana's lap.

Thora's blessing day.

Oh, look! We do have a picture of all of us:)

Halloween costumes kept changing up until 10 minutes before they had to go out the door. They finally settled on princess for Katie, Hawkeye for Tommy, fairy for Dancy, and Andy Warhol for Shad. Mostly Halloween just means dressing up in public, so they just threw a bunch of dress up clothes on and went out to get candy. Shad took them trick-or-treating while I fed Thora, then we switched and he stayed home while I took Tom and Katie to the carnival at the Christian Church. Dancy was too tired.

Tiny Drunk Adults

Isn't there some tradition people have of getting drunk and taking tons of pictures on a phone or camera of someone who left such device unattended?

The rules are pretty clear:

1. Get drunk.

2. Take tons of pictures.

Ahhhh, classic!

That's a good one.

Lookin pretty drunk, Kate!

Tom has mastered the selfie.

That finger over the lens is a tricky thing.

How long did you guys have my camera? They're both in different outfits now!

And this is AFTER I deleted 100 pictures they took. Of everything in their room.

It's Been One Week Since You Looked At Me

Oh, and how we all love her! We made it past the first two sleepless nights when my milk hadn't come in yet and she wasn't getting full off the colostrum to fall asleep for more than 15 minutes at a time. After my milk came in, she and I were both much happier and slept better.

Dancy didn't know quite what to think of her on Tuesday morning when we came home. There's only so much comprehension that can be expected of a 16-month-old. She warmed up quickly though. She gets excited when Thora comes downstairs each morning. I love hearing her say, "Wo-wa! Wo-wa!" She asks to hold her often, and is quick to sit down and get ready when I ask if she wants to hold Thora. It typically lasts only 20 seconds before Dancy says "all done" and pushes Thora away, but Dancy loves benig able to hold, stroke, hug and kiss her baby. Dancy is also happy to be a helper for me taking care of Thora--she brings me diapers and wipes upon request. And if we leave Thora sleeping on the couch, we often find several toys placed on her, courtesy of big sister Dancy.

Katie is deliriously happy to have a baby sister. She asks to hold Thora often, and talks to her about being sisters while holding her.

Tom jumped right in being a big brother again. It was actually a few days before we realized he hadn't gotten a turn to hold Thora, so we fixed that real quick, and told him and Katie that Thora is their baby, too--not just mine and Dad's--and that they're allowed to ask to hold her any time they want to, even if she's asleep. Sleeping babies like to be held and cuddled. That was such happy news to them and they've sure made good on it. Tommy did have a little sadness in his face one afternoon and I sensed that he was feeling a lack of Mom time even though he'd had plenty of attention from Shad and visiting grandparents. I told him that he's allowed to express that to me and let me know he needs some time with me, and he's been fine since.

Shad and I enjoy laughing at the faces Thora makes in the minutes after breastfeeding. Shad calls that milk stupor "lactoasted." We've decided that we'll have to catch it on video tonight when she does it. Babies may not do much, but when they do, it's funny!

My mom drove out from Denver Tuesday morning, arriving here while the kids all napped...and even I had fallen asleep. Shad took Tuesday and Wednesday off work, went back on Thursday and then had the weekend home. He just works 4 10 hr shifts, so we always have a nice 3 day weekend. Mom's been such a wonderful help to be here. She's done all the cooking and dishes, help me with laundry, vacuum a couple times, entertain and feed the kids while I sleep in, and take them outside or to the library. Tommy has hauled her off as quick as he can every day to go downstairs and play with our new Legos (scored at 2 garage sales during the Treasure Hunt). They were going to be reserved for Christmas, but Tom found them in the garage when they weren't hidden well, but just unloaded from the van. It all worked out though, because they made for good entertainment during General Conference.

Wednesday morning they made play dough, and Katie has been all over that every day. She asked me that day, "Mom, can we play with it for forever?" I told her she could play with it as long as she wanted to. "I want to play with it for forever." She's always been my artist and Tom has always been a builder. My dad drove out Thursday afternoon, arriving here around 10:30. He had done some Norton research before he came, and knew there was a football game Friday night he wanted to take Tom to see. Katie said she was interested, and Shad went, too, so that Dad wouldn't have to figure things out with two kids. They all walked down there after dinner. Mom and I stayed home with Dancy and Thora. Shad said Katie was a great cheerleader yelling, "Go Bluejays!" Tom reported that the Bluejays crushed the Eagles. It was our homecoming game, so there was also parade in the afternoon that everyone but Thora and I walked down to see. Tom went on a little run around a few extra blocks with Grandpa on the way back. He loves running.

Katie asked if we could watch the "Open the gates to seize the day! Open the gates to seize the day!" movie. Translation: Newsies. We had a dinner movie night Saturday to do that for her. She was so excited!

We tried to get good pictures before Dad left. This is as good as it gets. Katie's been in a mood to make goofy faces for the camera lately. That's okay with us.

Kisses for Thora.

Dad left Sunday morning around the same time that Shad, Mom and the kids went to church. Thora and I stayed home. I read scriptures, listened to a couple general conference talks, then watched Little Women. It's my cuddle movie because of all the snow and winter in it. Thora was such a great cuddle buddy:)

So I've been asked about me regarding recovery and breastfeeding. Recovery has been easier this time than it was with Dancy. Recognizing that the after-birth pains intensify with each birth, I searched the internet for ideas of using essential oils to help. Lavender came up, so I applied lavender to my belly often during the first several days after delivery. Most especially before or after feeding Thora, when the uterus is stimulated to contract back into place. That definitely made a difference! Oh, it was so much more comfortable using the lavender oil! Life saver. Seriously.  Breastfeeding has been going well so far. Thora is lip-tied AND tongue-tied. The tongue-tie doesn't look bad enough that it'll affect breastfeeding, and we can't tell yet with the lip-tie. It's something I'll monitor closely, but I may also just have them clipped to prevent any of the trouble I went through with Dancy.