27 Weeks

One more week and then I've made it to 3rd trimester. My blood pressure is still good, so yay me!

Merry Christmas

She's going to be the death of me!

Every time AM leaves my sight I find her standing on top of the counters. This little girl is so michevious I'm not sure she's going to make it to her 2nd birthday. I'm doing my best though to try and make it happen.

Just call us the sickies...

Mom - Still a bit of a cough, can mostly sleep if she has lots and lots of benadryl to help her sleep and breathe.

Dad (otherwise known as DA) - popped something in his back. Can hardly move and can't bend over at all. I'm putting on his socks and tying his shoes for him.

TJ - Fever and headache.

AM - Croupy, yucky sounding cough. Lots of tears involved.

Baby #3 - totally healthy and probably reaping the benefits (ie. antibodies) from mom being sick.

Debbie Downer

I really should just stick to recipes because I am such a downer at the moment.

When I'm pregnant I catch every stray germ that passes by my house. When I was pg with AM I had the stomach flu twice and 6 colds. So far this pg I have had the stomach flu once and I'm on my third cold. I've been coughing for 2 1/2 weeks and just as things have started to get better I'm getting a head cold. Aparently not being able to sleep at night for a week, then being awake from 1 am the night before and being hormonal isn't a good combo. I came apart at the seams this morning and DA had to come and work from home so I could take some heavy duty cold meds (ha! as if you can take anything really good when pregnant) and go to bed. Benadryl and I are good friend now. By the end of the week I bet we'll be best friends! It's taken all week to realize that it was a cold coming on and not that pregnancy induced stuffiness you hear about. (I never claimed to be smart!)

Anyway, I was given a blessing tonight that gave some comfort. TJ and AM sat on the couch the whole time with their arms folded. For AM it was quite the feat! She is the original wiggly worm.

Anyway, that is what we've been up to. Lots and lots of jammie days and hermit like behavior trying to get Mom better. Maybe someday it will actually work.

All Day Apple Butter

It seems all I am doing these days that is worth reporting is cooking. So here is my latest recipe.

I made this and it couldn't have been any easier. The more varieties you use the better it will taste. I used Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Pink Ladies, and Granny Smith.
The original recipe can be found here. In my recipe below I adjusted the amounts of spices the original recipe called for.

All Day Apple Butter

5 ½ pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
1 – 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Great new soup ... Beef Barley Soup

I was tired of all the normal soups I make so I went searching. I found this on recipezaar and it totally lived up to all the great reviews. We loved it.

Beef Barley Soup

1 lb stew meat

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups beef broth

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced thin

1 cup quick barley

1 (1 ounce) package au jus mix

Heat oil in large Dutch oven and cook stew meat until just barely cooked through. Drain fat from meat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for few minutes.

Add broth, water, and seasonings. Simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for beef to become tender. Add veggies and cook for another 15 minutes. Stir in au jus mix and add barley. Cook until barley is tender. (If it's the quick barley it'll take about 10-12 minutes.) Salt to taste and serve.

Really yummy... Blueberry Muffins

I had some fresh blueberries and was trying to find a way to use them. I read this blog Recipe for Disaster? every now and again and they had just posted a recipe for blueberry muffins. Just in the nick of time! I tried it and they were awesome! I'm going to try another recipe this weekend and I'll let you know which one I like better.


To Die For Blueberry Muffins

From: Jennie

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

TJ makes me laugh

Tonight TJ had DA and I giggling through his bedtime prayer. He is so sweet and earnest, yet the things he says! First off, you shouldn't be in any hurry. His prayers are VERY thorough and long. But tonight he was listing off his usual things and then added he was thankful for mom and her knitting, and that Dad could go to work and go golfing. But what really had us giggling was when he said he was thankful for waking up in the morning and putting on clean underwear.

I guess we all have our priorities!

Google Reader and stuff

Where have you been hiding? Or am I the one who has been hiding under a rock? I finally set it up and I can't tell you how awesome it is to click one link and see all the blogs that have been updated instead of clicking each.... and... every.... link.... I have saved in my favorites.

I'm in love!

Not much to update on us. AM is still stripping and has acquired rather amazing skills in duct tape removal.

TJ is loving soccer and I saw a lot of improvement at the last game. A few times he was actually ahead of the crowd near the ball instead of running around at the back of the herd.

DA is still playing golf but the cold weather is hampering that a bit.

And I'm still taking care of it all. Nothing much changes!

Ugh!

TJ has been grounded since Thursday and it was extended for bad behavior. He is so on my nerves. Who's punishing who here?

Baby Update - 12 weeks

I had a good appointment today. My blood pressure is still awesome (108/64), baby's heartrate was 157, I gained 7 lbs (UGH!), and everything else is looking good. On October 16th we get to find out what we are having!

What am I supposed to do now?

To keep AM dressed during naps and bedtime we've been pinning her jammies closed. (yes, we have to change her into jammies for her naps now) Then we had to move the pin to the inside of the jammies. Now she has figured out that. What's next? How do I keep my daughter dressed and out of her diaper?

Really kid. Give me a break. I know you're smart, but you're trying my patience!

Okay...

So I found another site and I like it better than the background that existed for about 10 minutes. But I still want to know if there are any other sites out there.

Bored, Bored, BORED...

Anyone know of a place to get free backgrounds besides Delightful Dots and Cutest Blog on the Block? I changed mine (duh!) and I'm not satisfied. You know the fate of the world relies on the perfect background. Right?

Birthday's....

It's my birthday today and what is TJ doing? He's in the family room wrapping up his Mac and cars for HIS birthday. He asks when his birthday is nearly everyday and apparently waiting until it is cold and snowy is just too much to handle. He's convinced his is tomorrow and he's making sure he gets a present.

I love how kids think the world truly revolves around them. They come up with some strange logic to compensate for that thinking.

Pictures from this summer...

Enjoying her sour cream. Yum!

In the Dinosauer Museum at Thanksgiving Point.

In the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point.

Try to keep AM from stripping down completely.

At my dad's side of the family reunion. It looks like TJ and Graysen are the only one's who were there, but I didn't take a camera and I got these one's from my sister.

It was a 4th of July miracle!

T.J. actually ran through the sprinklers. Now, for those of you who don't know T.J. very well, he doesn't like to get dirty, wet, make a mess, or anything else you would think a boy would do. Now A.M. would happily do all the above.

Last year we tried running through sprinklers I grabbed his hand and got him to run through with me. However, I then had to dry his tears and get a change of clothing for him because he was wet.

So... it was a 4th of July miracle. We started out with the hose on the slide because T.J. actually agreed to that. Then it took me 10 minutes to talk him into getting his swim trunks on. But after that? He loved it! Then we moved to the sprinklers after that. And you know what? He liked that too. Maybe Mom knows what she's talking about after all.

The next hurdle is pools. He's been to two birthday parties in the past month and has refused to swim or get wet at both of them. But, it's all about baby steps.

Oh, and for the record.... I didn't get T.J. dressed. He chose the clashing swim outfit all by himself.

Thanks to Betty Crocker.... Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

I had Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies for dessert tonight. So... now that my butt is growing bigger, I thought I would share, so yours can grow bigger with mine. See what a good friend I am!
Brownie Base
1 box (1 lb 6.5 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box


Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk


Topping
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.)


2. In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, water, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base. (Make sure your butter is REALLY soft. Mine wasn't so my mixture was really hard and sticky. My brownies ended up being completely flattened because I was pushing down too hard trying to spread the stuff!)

4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 5 minutes, or so; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. For brownies, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

What's a Daddy to do?

This is what happens when Daddy is in charge of bedtime and can't find the safety pin that keeps AM from stripping naked.

Such a Little Squirt

AM (I've just decided to use initials when talking about my kids) is really showing the stubborn side of her personality. She is bound and determined to be naked. In her honor we have a giant roll of duct tape sitting on her dresser. Her diaper has to be duct taped shut ALL THE TIME now. In the past few days she hasn't even been waiting for nap time to strip down. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that onesies weren't working anymore. I'm grateful that the poop I had to deal with was very minor. I know from hearing of friends experiences that it could have been MUCH worse.

Last night I went to tuck her in before going to be myself and found she had wiggled her arm out of her jammies. What does this girl have against clothes????

The stripper issues aside, she is a darling and fun girl. She has finally learned it is okay to cuddle a bit. I love it when she comes to me for a hug and lays her head on my shoulder. She hasn't done that since she was a tiny baby.

He's getting so big!

Tornado learned how to ride without training wheels tonight. Actually... there was very little learning involved. He pretty much climbed on his bike and took off. It took a couple of tries to learn how to get started, but he got it down quickly.

Naked girl strikes again

I've been pinning her jammies at night and that has worked great, but what about naptime? She's not in a onesie because it's hot, there is nothing to pin, so how to keep her dressed AND DIAPERED during naptime? I got lucky again yesterday, there was no poop or pee involved, but I think my luck is running out.

My kids....

I love 'em! I never know what they are going to do next. Parenting them is half the fear and half the fun.

I came home last night from my meeting around 10:00 pm and to my surprise the dishes were done (love you DA!) and the light was on downstairs. Usually DA is in bed pretty early but I thought, "He waited up for me!" I walked downstairs and no.... it wasn't DA, it was Tornado. After DA went to bed, tornado got up to watch a little TV. He turned to me with this look that said, "See how grown-up I am? I can stay up watching TV. Uh, no. I put him back in bed letting him know that once he was in bed, he needed to stay in bed.

This morning I could hear Bubbles talking so I went to get her up. I walked through the door to see my stark naked little girl laying in her crib like there was nothing unusual going on. I approached the crib praying I wouldn't find any diaper messes (please no!) and was rewarded with a still clean child, crib, etc. Whew! Dodged that bullet. I got her up and proceeded to inform her that she is to leave her diaper ALONE! But just in case she's still confused, her zipper on her jammies will be safety pinned shut tonight. Let's all cross our fingers on that one.

Chaos of the mind

With my new calling I frequently deal with chaos in my mind. There is so much I have to keep track of for my calling, my family, and me. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't deal very well with chaos. I can't think and if I can't think, I can't do. I also forget a lot of things. My house reflects that as well. I can't function in clutter. Clutter suffocates my brain. This week has been a good example. I've been pulled in all directions and have been busier than ever before. To others it may be just another day but I was overwhelmed and had that frantic knot in my stomach constantly. But.... I found something that takes it all away. Like magic.

My bike.

Mothers Days was good to me this year. DA gave me the gift of sunshine, fresh air, and exercise. I've taken a ride nearly every day this week and that knot in my stomach? It disappears. At least for as long as I am riding. Sometimes it returns when I walk back in the door and see the dishes that I couldn't deal with before, or children that need to go to bed, but other times it stays gone.

I love my bike and I love what it does for me!

Hopping back on the train

okay, I've thought about it and I think I'm going to continue with this blogging thing. Not much has happened in my absence. Although I will post about our first family camping trip soon.

One problem I have though. My kids names on here? Totally wrong. Has been for a while. Tornado is totally not a tornado anymore. The kid is sweet, shy, stubborn and very calm lately.

Now Bubbles ..... she is a dynamo. A fearless hurricane, tsunami, and an earthquake all wrapped up in a tiny body. She has no fear, definitely thinks she rules things around here, and has the sweetest smile when she's jabbering at you. So..... any suggestions as to new names for them?

Zoo days

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago and had a lot of fun. Bubbles liked the monkey's and Tornado of course loved the train ride.

Tornado spent most of the time asking to see the snakes. Over and over again as only a 4 year old can do. Finally we made it to the reptile house and showed him the snakes. So what did he do? He turns to me and says "Mom, I don't like snakes," and then turns to leave. Huh??? Did he just spend a good part of an hour asking to see snakes? Same thing happened with the giraffes. As we walked past elephants, bears, and monkeys he kept asking to see the giraffes. We took him to the giraffes and he spent less than 30 seconds looking at them. He's a funny kid. I never know what he's thinking.

Calling all Dutch Oven Recipes....

Please post or send me your favorites. We have FINALLY seasoned our dutch oven that we got for our wedding almost 8 years ago. It's been through 5 moves and it's patience finally has been rewarded. We are going camping next month (for the first time as a family) and are testing out recipes so we make sure we don't starve.

Sorry

I've got blogger block. I'll post something soon though. I promise.

Tornado's actual birthday - 4 years old!

Being a tree. Again.

Tornado's Birthday party

Someone should have warned me what it was like to have a birthday party with 8 4-year olds.

Tornado being a tree. Why? Who knows?

Decorating Goodie bags

Playing "Put the hammer in Bob's hand"

Playing "Bob Says..."

It's amazing what he picks up

Today Tornado kept saying "I'm sorry I'm late. I didn't sleep a wink last night!" We were confused for most of the day until we questioned him further.

Me: "Tornado, what are you talking about? Where did you hear that?"
T: "Farmer Pickles says it" Silently I could hear the implied "Duh, mom!"
Me: "Were you watching Bob the Builder this morning?"
T: "Uh huh." And off he went telling me all about Bob and Farmer Pickles and singing the theme song.

Last month it was still all things Thomas. Now Bob the Builder is his new love.

He is so fun and sweet.

Baby Bubbles is 1 year old!

At her 1 year appointment she was 1 oz shy of 19 lbs, and she's 30.5 inches long. She is a very intense little girl and she's always moving and eating. She can say Mama, Audrey, and hi.