How to be a Domestic Goddess

Claire's first time in the snow.

2012-01-18T13:39:00.007-06:00

Over the 4 day weekend the girls went outside to play while Bobby shoveled the driveway. He suggested this might be a good time to let Claire bear out for her first time in the snow. She liked it. A lot better than Sophie did! It was cute to see her all bundled up in her snow gear, and she was really excited about it! Franny laid face down in the snow and Claire went right over to her and did the same thing. I'm pretty sure they were eating the snow, but I didn't want to know so I didn't pay very close attention. She stayed out there for a good fifteen minutes while I stayed inside with Mabel and fixed up some hot chocolate.

When Bobby brought her back in, I took her sippie cup and filled it halfway with milk, then added some hot chocolate. I wanted her to have the full experience with playing in the snow and have her hot (or in her case warm) chocolate after coming inside. She took one sip and spit it across the room. All over me, the floor, and her clothes. It was so funny.

Franny was probably happiest about the snow. (That's her in the bottom left corner of the picture below.) She has been so frustrated with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having. (It's supposed to snow in January!) I couldn't be happier about it!

Christmas Tree down

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

I have a crazy story to share about my 20 month old, Claire:

One day last week I was in my room, minding my own business- never a good idea when you're dealing with a toddler- when I thought to myself, "maybe I should go see what Claire is up to." I walk into the family room where Claire is [supposed to be] watching Elmo and I find her there, sitting on the couch with SIX candy canes in her lap. I look to the left and this is what I find:

My 7-foot Christmas tree was lying on the ground. (The space heater was face down as well.) She saw the candy canes, decided they ought to be hers, and pulled the whole thing down. She didn't scream, she didn't cry- she didn't even come and get me. She had this smug little look I had to hide my face so she wouldn't see me laughing. I thought about snapping a quick shot of her with the candy canes, but I didn't want to reinforce the behavior so I put her cute little bum in time-out.

I sure love this girl. I have to admire her moxie. Here's a picture from another night when Bobby was reading scriptures to the girls. When I pulled the camera out, she was sitting next to Franny listening to Bobby read. But as soon as she saw the camera she was flashing me cheesy grins like this one.

Gingerbread Houses 2011

2011-12-24T07:17:00.004-06:00

I knew I needed to cut out some of the things we like to do around the holidays with the new baby and my recovery and everything- but Bobby loves gingerbread houses and I love seeing him get so excited about them. And it really wasn't that much work once I got the gingerbread baked and put together. We had most of the candy because we save what we don't use each year. We had so much stuff and two big houses so we invited the Johnson's to come over and join us. Our kids had a blast with their kids and I was totally impressed with the way both houses turned out. It was a fun night.

Homemade Gnocchi

2011-12-24T07:10:00.003-06:00

Bobby bought me some of the Giada pasta sauce they sell at Target and I thought it would taste great on some homemade gnocchi. So I looked for a recipe and tried this one out and thought they were fantastic!

Potato Gnocchi

adapted from serious eats

Ingredients

serves 4-6, active time 50 minutes, total time 1 hour 50 minutes

2 pounds potatoes (about 4 medium baking potatoes, such as Russet and one medium waxy potato, like Yukon Gold)
1 whole egg, plus one egg yolk
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more for adding to boiling water and for final seasoning
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Procedures

Preheat oven to 400°F.
With a fork, poke a few holes in each potato and spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet. Bake until potatoes are cooked through and tender, about 1 hour.
As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle but still very warm, scoop out the flesh and pass it through a potato ricer or a food mill fitted with a small hole insert. Spread the potatoes onto a clean, cool, lightly floured surface.
Whisk together the eggs and salt together and drizzle over the riced potatoes. Sprinkle ¾ to 1 cup of the flour over the eggs. With a bench scraper, work the ingredients together, cutting into them and gathering them into a mass. Add flour to reduce stickiness.
When the mixture holds together, knead briefly, continuing to flour the work surface to prevent sticking and adding flour if the dough is sticky. As soon as the dough is smooth and soft and holds together, stop kneading and shape it into a thick log.
Working with ¼ of the dough at a time, roll the dough into long ½- to ¾-inch ropes. With the bench scraper, cut them into 1-inch-long pieces. Optionally, form ridges on the gnocchi by rolling them over the back of a dinner fork. Transfer the gnocchi to a lightly floured baking sheet while rolling out remaining dough.
At this point, you may refrigerate the uncooked gnocchi for up to 2 hours or freeze them on the baking sheet and then transfer them into a covered container and store in the freezer for several weeks.
Boil a large pot of water, add a generous pinch of salt, and blanch the gnocchi in two batches until they float. With a slotted spoon or spider, remove the gnocchi and spread on a baking sheet while brown-butter sauce finishes cooking. (Alternatively, you can shock the cooked gnocchi in ice water, remove and spread them onto a baking sheet, toss with a little olive oil, and refrigerate until needed.)

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce

2011-12-24T06:52:00.003-06:00

This was just as good as I was hoping it would be. I saw this on the Food Network while I was in the hospital after Mabel was born- made me realize how much I miss the Food Network. I had to cut a few things out like star anise, bourbon, and apple schnapps. I searched and searched my cupboards, but I could not find any bourbon. Maybe it's in the same place as the apple schnapps. ;)

The original recipe also calls for vanilla creme anglaise. I don't know about you, but a caramel sauce, creme anglaise, AND whipped cream seems a little indulgent, even to me. But I am sure it would have been DELICIOUS. Scandalous, but delicious.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 cup pure canned pumpkin puree
Pumpkin Bread, toasted and cubed, recipe follows
Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce, recipe follows
Freshly whipped cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Whisk together the yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined, remove the vanilla pod, and whisk in the bourbon. Strain the custard into a clean bowl.

Scatter the pumpkin bread cubes in a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking glass baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing down on the bread to totally submerge it in the custard. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard.

Place the pan in a larger roasting pan and pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it comes half way up the sides of the glass dish. Bake until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles slightly, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and water bath and cool on a baking rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Drizzle the bread pudding with the Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce. Top with freshly whipped cream. Bread pudding is best served warm.

Pumpkin Bread:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces (scant 1 cup) canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 4 tablespoons softened butter, sugar, and oil at high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times.

Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and water and mix until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 to 75 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Once the bread is cool, slice in half lengthwise, and then slice each half into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread the cubes on a large baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven until lightly toasted, turning once, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce:

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup apple juice
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Combine the cream, apple juice, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep for at least 20 minutes. Strain the mixture into a clean, small saucepan and place back over low heat while you make the caramel.

Combine the sugar, water and, vinegar in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook without stirring, until it's a deep amber color, about 8 minutes. Slowly whisk in the warm cream mixture a little at a time, and continue whisking until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm. The sauce can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Reheat over low heat before serving.

Mabel

2011-12-16T13:32:00.005-06:00

Mabel Marianne Fields
11/11/11
7 lbs. 9 oz., 21 inches

She's here! She's been here for a little over four weeks and we are in love. What a sweet little baby. She's still in that "bear cub" stage where she makes little animal noises and her little body is always curled up. (Bear cub because of all the dark hair.) She also makes this little Cosby face where her eyes are wide open and she looks up and to the side and purses her lips. It's my favorite thing! I have to describe it here since I probably won't be able to get a picture. I kind of miss the days when I could just sit home and stare at my newborn baby all day... waiting to catch moments like that on film. But then of course during those days I only had six weeks at home with Franny before I had to go back to working full time, and that was no fun.

(here's sort of an example of the cosby face I'm referring to. The forehead wrinkles are relevant to the comparison as well. :)

Anyway, back to Mabel! I guess I should write a little about the day she was born. The doctor noticed a few weeks prior to her birth that she was breech and that a repeat c-section might be necessary. I hoped and prayed that she would flip, but it didn't happen. My one consolation was that the c-section would be scheduled on 11/11/11 and my kid would have the best birth ever. I called my wonderful mother-in-law Louise and asked if she could come a week earlier. She did. She spent nearly two weeks taking care of us here and it was so hard to see her go! It was also really nice to leave my girls in such capable and loving hands the morning Mabel was born. Bobby drove me to the hospital that morning and did my pre-op evaluation. A few of his co-workers stopped in to say hi and give us well wishes or help prepare me for surgery. I spent a few weeks feeling really nervous about being cut open again, but then about a week beforehand, when I knew for sure that I would have a c-section, I started to feel much calmer about it. So it was kind of surprised to see Bobby a little nervous. Bobby is usually the one tempering MY anxiety. But like I said, he was just a little nervous. I think his friends at work were a little surprised to see him so serious. I thought it was cute that he was worried about me.

I love the people Bobby works with. They are all so nice and funny and great at what they do. I'm just so sad so many of them have had to see me naked.

From here on it was pretty much the same as last time, only this time it was scheduled of course and I knew what I was getting into. Bobby was right there next to me holding my hand right up until the baby was out. It actually was really nice to spend some time with him because he had a really busy week at work and we'd barely seen him! The weird thing about c-sections is you don't have to anything. You just lay there, totally numb, and wait while the OB and the nurses do all the work. So I laid there, waiting to hear something, from the doctor, from the nurses, the anesthesiologists, or Mabel herself. And then it came: someone's intake of breath and then the "oh there she is!" and Bobby standing up with the camera with a big smile on his face, and then the best sound in the whole world- my baby's first cry! And then I watched them walk quickly by with her to start cleaning her up. I was twisting my neck as far as I possibly could trying to get a good look. Her face was all mashed up and her head was totally lopsided because apparently she stretched part of the uterus with her head and carved herself a tight little spot. I got to kind of hold her long enough to take a picture and then she was off for her first bath. One of the worst things about a c-section is how long you have to wait before they bring you your baby. Actually that first day was not my favorite- I felt much better the day after. I wasn't very good about remembering to use the morphine pump and I had a really hard time getting on top of the pain after that. And also, I could hardly keep any food down that first day. Which is very typical for me after I've had anesthesia. I had the best nurses- I have always had the best OB nurses, actually. Mabel fussed a lot that first day. It worried me a little, but she's been sweet and calm ever since. Bobby stayed with me that evening and held the baby a lot while I slept. I was so out of it. I wanted to stay up so we could hang out and talk and look at the baby together. But I knew I needed the sleep.

The girls came for a visit with Nona and Bobby in the late afternoon. I hardly remember anything but the sweet looks on their faces and trying to get Claire from jumping on my incision. It was great to see Claire so happy and excited. It was very hard to leave her for so long. She was only nineteen months when Mabel was born and I didn't know how she'd respond when I was gone for a few days. It's not like I could really prepare her for what was coming. But she did fine while I was gone and has been fine ever since.

I love the hospital experience and I'm sad that this was probably my last time! But Sunday afternoon I was ready to come home and be with the family. The house was spotless when I got home and as I said before, Louise took care of just about everything- lunches, cooking, housework, dinner, shopping, laundry- so that I could take naps and take care of Mabel. She is amazing.

Some other things we love about Mabel- the hair! I was kind of hoping we'd have another one with lots of dark hair. One of her features that we love is her forehead wrinkles! She got them from her Mommy. She has about 4 or 5 wrinkles every time she raises her eyebrows. It's adorable. I don't know how much she weighs, but she seems HUGE relative to how she started out. It's rewarding to watch her little cheeks and belly round out after all the many hours I've spent nursing her. She is a pretty decent sleeper, as long as I don't eat too much chocolate or ANY hummus at all. She's not consistently in any pattern at all yet- I wouldn't expect her to be at 5 weeks- but sometimes she'll sleep as long as 5 1/2 hours in a row at night in her own bed which I really appreciate, though I don't mind pulling her into bed and tucking her under my arm for a few hours every now and then. It's just so sweet to be so close to a sleeping infant. I can't resist sometimes. I'm on the verge of tears now just thinking that this is likely the last time I'll get to do this with one of my own children. Although it does feel nice to think of our family as complete for now. Everyone's here.

Wisconsin/Michigan Part I

2011-11-09T03:58:00.014-06:00

I wish that it was summer year round in Wisconsin/Michigan. I fell in love with both, but I'm pretty sure I'm just a no-good fair weather friend. We wanted to go visit our dear friends Ashley and Justin, and we thought while we were at it, why not go to Milwaukee first and take a ferry across Lake Michigan with our car? It was so fun to see a slice of Wisconsin. I think maybe my favorite part was the cheese. So much delicious cheese to try! I am so grateful that not only does Bobby understand my need to try new and delicious food while traveling, but that he also enjoys it too!

First we ate at this restaurant. We looked it up on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives. I ordered one of the items featured on the show- the duck tacos (I was afraid to order the mole)- and Bobby got something I thought would be rather boring: enchiladas. Best freaking enchiladas I have ever tasted. They were so amazing. I think I would enjoy watching him make that sauce and all the work that goes into it more than watching Jurassic Park, and that is one of my all-time favorite movies. Naturally.

They also served a peanut salsa, which Franny did not appreciate at all, but I thought was fantastic. It was funny- as we walked in, I caught a few people staring at our family and my pregnant belly, and actually heard one woman turn to her friend and say "she has a lot of kids."

That was our first Triple D experience and I'd say we'd definitely be up for another one.

Here's Claire being Claire in our hotel room. She is very entertaining.

One of the main attractions for Bobby in Michigan was the Harley Davidson museum. Me, not so much. But Sophie tagged along because admission is free. I took Franny and Claire to a children's museum that turned out to be fabulous. So fabulous that I felt a little bad that Sophie wasn't there with us, but I think she had a good time with her Dad.

One of my very favorite things we did was visit the Public Market in Wisconsin. In fact, we all loved it. So much that we went there twice in the mere 24 hours we were there. It is after all where we discovered Sprecher's root beer. It's only 4:30 in the morning when I started this post and my mouth is watering. I am craving all the delicious food we ate at the Public Market. I'd even go for that delicious Hungarian sausage we ate. Then I'd wash it down with the afore-mentioned Sprecher's root beer. Then some cheese... The Bellavitano raspberry cheese maybe... Sorry what was I saying? ;)

Then the time came for us to leave Milwaukee and board the ferry to Michigan. I was sad to go, but excited to see our friends. The girls loved it! Until we made it to Abbey and Hayden this was their favorite part of the whole vacation. Claire looks like an albino in this picture. There was plenty of empty seats so we moved around a lot. We also had to chase Claire around a whole lot. But nobody seemed to mind. It took me almost the whole ferry ride to get that kid to fall asleep in my arms. I think I fell asleep before she did.

We got to Ashley and Justin's in the middle of the night. We were so tired, but I couldn't help looking around at her gorgeous house! I love the way she decorates. I should have taken more pictures.

I can't remember what we did the first day we were there. I think we just hung out and played and let the girls get reacquainted. Plus we wanted some time to snuggle the newest addition to their family: Bennett. So sweet and adorable! Here's a picture of Claire (who would NOT leave him alone!) Lucky for me- she loves babies. (Maybe not so lucky for Mabel.)

I believe it was the second day we were there we went to Wyandotte to visit some of our friends from med school. First we went to see my friend Courtney and Sophie's friend Ryanne (and of course the beautiful Aleigha.) I'm so glad we did. Sophie had really missed Ryanne since she moved a few months before. After we left, she even told me she wants to move to Michigan because Ryanne is there. And I enjoyed visiting with Courtney.

Then we went to visit Jed and Erin, some of our very favorites from our first two years of med school. They had just returned from a trip out west at 2 AM that morning. So I was so glad we got to see them and their cute kids! I didn't get a great picture of the kids. Probably on account of the tantrum Claire threw while I was trying to take it.

Then we went to visit Paul and Melody. We were just excited to see them. Another couple of favorites from the med school days. We had no idea what kind of wonderful surprises they had in store for us: a sweet slide that Paul built in the basement, Frank's red hot chicken salad, Kasey Later, Paul's killer fish tank, one of Bobby's favorite mission companions!! Actually nobody had any idea about that coincidence. We walked into Melody and Paul's beautiful home, and all of the sudden we hear someone yell, "FIELDS!" It was Elder Christiansen! Such an amazing surprise. It's funny to me that Bobby looks like he is wearing scrubs in this picture. Hey Claire, would it kill you to sit still for a picture once in a while?

It was a perfect night.

And that seems like a good place to stop for now. Much more to say about the amazing time we had with some of the best people ever (Ashley and Justin), but I'm feeling like since I'm having a baby in a little over 48 hours, I better try and get another hour or two of sleep. So for now I'll leave you with this silly picture of Claire wearing a Star Wars helmet. Good night (or I guess I should say "good morning.")

Surprise!

2011-10-30T10:36:00.006-05:00

Months and months ago I posted about a random craving for taco bell and a baby boy on the way. Around that time I also threw an "it's a boy" party and we decorated the house in blue and started sharing the news at church and I also posted it on facebook. All I can say is, oops- I may have spoke too soon. :)

In my defense, it was my obstetrician that told me about the early detection gender test. She told me that if it said I was having a boy, I was definitely having a boy because the test only indicates boy if there are male cells present in the urine. So I dropped thirty five big ones at Walgreens and took the test at 3 AM. When the test turned green (indicating a boy), I just about died! I could not believe it. I even woke Bobby up so that I could have a witness that the test was in fact green! He walked into the bathroom and said, "Looks green to me," and crawled back into bed.

I baked a cake and piped "It's a boy!" in blue on it and put blue crepe paper and balloons everywhere while the girls were at school. That was how we announced it to the girls. Franny was thrilled. Ten weeks later when we had the hospital ultrasound, I confidently told the tech, "We actually already know we're having a boy... we took the early detection gender test." She looked uncomfortable and broke the news to us that many of her patients had come in sure they were having a boy only to find out that very same test was wrong. That's when I started to get nervous. My friend Morgan was watching Claire and Sophie, but we brought Franny along so she could see the baby brother she was so excited about. It wasn't more than a minute or two before we saw the familiar views indicating the fetus was in fact female. I was holding it together until the tech- I DO NOT know what she was thinking- asked me, "what were you going to name him?" Choking back sobs, but not very well, I said, "We were going to name him Cole... after my father!!" And then the tears came. And not just from me, but from Franny too. I felt so silly! For crying that this beautiful, healthy baby was not a boy! I had Bobby bring the tech a plate of chocolate chip cookies the next day because I felt so bad.

It's taken a while for me to get here, but I am so excited for this little girl to join us in just under three weeks! We have a name for her. We're going to call her Mabel. No, it's not a family name. (We get that a lot.) We're naming her after one of Bobby's patient's dolls of all things. Bobby was doing the anesthesia for a young girl who was very scared to have surgery. He was trying to make her feel more comfortable and said to her, "you have really pretty hair! If we had more time, I'd show you how pretty the hair on my back is." That got a little smile. She was clutching a little doll in her hospital bed. The he said, "I like your doll. What's her name?" She looked up at him and said in a tiny, scared little voice (and I love how Bobby imitates it), "Mabel." He came home and told me that story- pretty sure sharing the patient's doll's name doesn't break any HIPAA laws- and I just fell in love with the name. I'm pretty sure he did, too. Not sure if we're call her "Mae" or "Maby" (I can't help it- I'm a huge fan of Arrested Development), I guess we'll just have to wait and see. For a couple of weeks the baby was breech and the doctor was saying we would schedule a C-section for 11/11/11. How awesome would that be? But I'm pretty sure she flipped a couple of days ago, so I might be able to have this baby the old-fashioned way after all. We'll just have to wait and see I guess! My mother-in-law is coming to help and I am so grateful for her. It was hard with Claire and it's been hard with this one to approach the birth of a child without my Mom being here, but Louise makes it so much easier for me. I love her so much.

Here's a picture of Claire at the party- not looking super thrilled about a new baby joining the picture. Just kidding, of course. She was only about 12 or 13 months old when this was taken so of course she had no clue what was coming. Even now when I point to my belly and say, "What's this?" She says "Elmo." (Actually what she says is: "Elwo") She's in for a disappointing surprise! Although she LOVES babies, so once she gets over the initial shock of no thick red Elmo hair covering the baby, I think she's pretty stoked.

As for me, I'm feeling great. Which is really nice, since I have this crazy 1 1/2 year old to keep up with. Turns out when everyone tells you that exercise really helps with swelling, pregnancy, and I have yet to see, but delivery and recovery as well- well, they're not just saying that. All I do is walk, but it's helped me keep the weight gain down to a minimum, which has made me feel so much better. Claire did a number on me. (I love how I say that like it's somehow her fault that I gained so much weight.) I was just looking at some pictures I took of my feet right before Claire was born and they looked like big sausages. Disgusting.

Here's a couple of pictures of our "it's a boy! (no it's not)" party. Like Bobby said, it was kind of fun to think we were having a boy for a little while. :) Not sure what we're going to do with all the boy clothes, hot wheels, star wars toys, and geo trax we've been stock-piling since I'm not sure we're going to have any more after Mabel. But we'll see... :)

I was hoping to get a picture of Bobby with a big, excited grin at this party, but I'm pretty sure he was just humoring me. He was never as sure as I was that it was a boy.

We can't wait for you Mabel! We are ready for you to join our family (except not really- I still have to wash your car seat cover and adjust the straps- but we will be!! :)

Open-Faced Chicken Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise

2011-09-01T10:29:00.004-05:00

Open Faced Chicken Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise
adapted from Bon Appetit

I found this recipe on Bon Appetit and thought it sounded fantastic. I wanted to try the recipe the way it was written with ground chicken, but I couldn't find ground chicken? I didn't look really hard, though, so it may be out there somewhere. It tasted fabulous with my go-to chicken marinade on some chicken breasts. I was afraid my family would hate it because they are hard core fans of mayo like I am. I cannot open a jar of mayonnaise without bringing it to my nose to take a whiff. I was right about the girls, but Bobby actually liked it. This is a great way to use up some home-grown basil and tomatoes! Enjoy it! I think we'll be having this again soon.

Ingredients

Olive oil (for brushing)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil plus 8 large leaves, divided
3 tablespoons chopped drained cornichons or dill pickle plus 1 1/2 tablespoons brine from jar (I left these out because everyone else in my family hates pickles- I'd like to try it some time though)
4 chicken breasts marinated in lemon-thyme marinade (scroll down a bit for the grilled lemon chicken recipe)
4 1/2-inch-thick slices country white bread (I used this recipe)
4 1/3-inch-thick slices from large red or orange heirloom tomato

Preparation

Brush grill with oil; prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix mayonnaise, 1 cup chopped basil, cornichons, and brine in small bowl. Season basil mayonnaise with salt and pepper.
Grill marinated chicken.
Grill bread until crisp and golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer bread to plates. Grill burgers until firm to touch and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
Spread bread slices thickly with basil mayonnaise. Top each bread slice with tomato, 2 basil leaves, chicken breast, and dollop of basil mayonnaise. Garnish with remaining chopped basil.

Back to School and Baby Sue

2011-09-01T10:07:00.008-05:00

The girls started their school year and so far things are going great. From what I can tell, they seem to have excellent teachers and are enjoying their classrooms. The first day of school Franny came home from a letter from her teacher asking me to tell her about Franny in "a million words or less." I liked her immediately. Today Sophie's teacher said, "I'm sure you know how bright and what a delight Sophie is in the classroom." I hoped as much, but it's always nice to hear. It's been two weeks now and Sophie just wore a pair of shorts yesterday for the first time. She only wants to wear skirts or dresses.

As for Claire, I'm really enjoying the one on one time I have with her and I think she is, too. We go on a walk together every morning, then we come home and she watches Elmo (she calls it "Elwo") while I get organized and cleaned up for the day. She has become very attached to Sophie and Franny's dolls. She has about four baby dolls she carries around and she calls them all "Baby Sue." She started pushing them around in this triplet toy stroller we found at a garage sale this summer. It is the cutest thing! Today she wanted them to come with her to watch "Elwo." Here she is giving them both a hug-

And this is the face she makes when she talks about them. She scrunches her face up like she might cry and says, "OH! BABY SUE!!!"

Miss King

2011-07-21T10:20:00.004-05:00

Franny had two fabulous teachers her first grade year! I couldn't have asked for better. We had one of them, Miss King, over for dinner last night and since it was the day after her birthday we celebrated with her and served ice cream sundaes. It was great to see her and Franny was so excited. She chose the menu and helped us get the house cleaned up in preparation for her visit. She loves Miss King so much!

You suck, July 14

2011-07-18T08:02:00.005-05:00

I really hate that I have a day of the year that I can't be happy on. At least for the time being. It's just a day. Something really sad happened to me and my family four years ago on that day, but it's still just another summer day. As the day approached, I actually felt like it wasn't going to bother me this year. Then I woke up at 4:00 AM to Bobby's R2D2 notification message on his phone, and then Franny was up using the bathroom at 4:30, and that was it, I couldn't fall back asleep. Neither could Franny, as it seems, because she thought it would be a good idea to wake Claire up at 6:15. I'm finally drifting off when I hear Franny saying over the monitor, "Good morning, Claire! Time to wake up!" And I knew it was game over. The worst day of the year for me had started four hours earlier than usual. (My kids have been sleeping in until 8:00 AM ever since we got back from California and it's awesome!)

I told Bobby that day felt a little bit like walking into a brick wall when you're not paying attention. And then you're flat on your back looking up and that brick wall thinking, "Man, I should have seen this coming." I also feel like summer betrayed me by taking my Mom in July. Summer is supposed to be happy and carefree! Something like this should have happened in January or February. I can't say this around Bobby or Franny because their birthdays both fall during this time, but those are my least favorite months. So cold, so quiet- a perfect time to wear sweats all day and no makeup and bake a lot of treats and do nothing.

This year July 14 started off kind of rough, but it got better. I took one of my pie crusts out of the freezer, rolled it out and filled it with raspberries and peaches and then put a crumb topping on it. Delicious! It felt to good to bake.
Then Claire went down for a nap and I put a movie on for the girls and gave them instructions not to wake Mommy up for anything less than an emergency. And not a bathroom emergency. Franny did come in once to tell me that Sophie pinched her but not before I got a good hour of sleep in, and I was satisfied with that. It made such a difference. Then we spent the afternoon outside eating popsicles and visiting with our neighbors Lydia and Amanda while the girls played in our inflatable pool.
The day just got better and better. After that we ate calzones for dinner- those really hit the spot- and off to Sophie's last T-ball game of the season. This was her first year and she did so well! I was so proud. This was our first time participating in a sports team of any kind. It was all very new to me because I never played sports of any kind growing up, aside from P.E. "I'm not very athletic." I felt a little nervous and awkward the first few games, but by the end, I felt pretty comfortable. I think for sure we'll do it again next year. Sophie payed close attention and chased after every ball and caught more than her share. We were very impressed. And by the end of the season we noticed she was hitting the ball much farther than at the beginning.
I am hoping that at as the years pass, it will get a little easier to face July 14. My cousin told me that they call the day his father passed away "Happy Deathday." He said because his Dad was such a fun happy guy, it made sense to get together for a party even if he couldn't be there physically. I hope I get there sooner rather than later. I know my mother would prefer that.
Raspberry Peach Pie with Crumb Topping
from Equal Opportunity Kitchen

For the Filling:

6-7 ripe, but firm white or yellow peaches, washed and chopped with skins on. (You can also remove the skins (if desired) by blanching the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds and then putting them in an ice bath. The skin should peel off.)

1 pint raspberries

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup brown sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit and your taste)

3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

For the filling I chopped up 6 or 7 peaches. Toss them with a pint of raspberries and the lemon juice.

Combine the brown sugar with the cornstarch, salt and ground ginger in a small bowl. You want to mix all of these ingredients until they are well combined before sprinkling over the fruit.

Crumble Top

3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Walnuts (optional – I didn’t add this)
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Butter (cold)
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

I just mixed the ingredients together with a fork and spread it evenly on top of the filling. Actually, I had too much crumble, so I only used about 2-3 of the crumble mixture for the pie.

I then put the pie in the oven at 350 F for about one hour. Serve with ice cream.

Elizabeth's wedding

2011-07-17T10:15:00.005-05:00

We were invited to a friend's wedding yesterday. I can't remember the last time I was able to attend a wedding for someone not in my immediate family. It was fun and I think the girls really enjoyed getting to watch a wedding. It was for our friend Liz, who was one of the first of Franny's implementers when Franny first started therapy back in 2006. We felt so honored to be invited and it felt so wonderful to be a small part of her special day. Franny got to sit and the very end of the pew and watch all the bridesmaids and finally the bride walk in. Liz was an absolutely gorgeous bride.She tried to get every one single member of the wedding processional to wave at her until I finally told her to cut it out.

Here is Franny giving Liz a little hug.
We were going to head over to the reception to eat dinner, but we decided since we didn't have Claire with us (she was home with a sitter), it might be fun to go out to eat without having to entertain a rowdy baby. So we all went out to eat together at Colton's before heading to the reception.

We do love that baby Claire, but it sure was nice to have a family outing that didn't involve one of us chasing a busy toddler. I mean, does this look like the kind of baby who could sit still during a quiet wedding ceremony?

Taco Bell

2011-05-25T07:44:00.004-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted this on my blog yet. It's not like it's some big secret. I think I hoped I'd come up with some fun and creative way of announcing it, but that's not likely to happen, so I'll just tell you:

About three weeks ago at 10:15 in the morning I found myself in the parking lot of a Taco Bell, eating a chicken soft taco smothered with mild sauce. I think the last time I had Taco Bell was 2007. That was only because we had just moved into a new house and Franny was hungry for tacos and the kitchen hadn't been unpacked yet. Prior to that the last time was probably sometime when I was in college. So as I sat eating Taco Bell in the parking lot at 10:15 in the morning (I was too embarrassed to ask if I was their first customer of the day, but I assumed I was), I thought to myself, "Pregnancy is so weird."

Lucky for me, now that I'm out of the first trimester, I'm craving fruits and vegetables and NOT the same food I ate when I was in junior high. Phew.

Expecting A BOY in November!

Dance Recital 2011

2011-05-23T08:51:00.004-05:00

I took a picture of Franny at her dance recital the other night and she said, "Maybe you should put that on your website." I thought it was so cute that she would think to suggest that. Then of course I felt guilty since it's been nearly two months since I've posted anything. It was a really fun night. Bobby brought flowers for the girls and Franny's school teacher came and gave her a flower, too! We hired a babysitter for Claire and I'm so glad we did. What a busy baby! It was nice to just be able to sit and enjoy the show without having to worry about entertaining a restless new walker on my lap.

Here are a few pictures we took that night. After the performance, we took the girls out for ice cream. They looked so pretty and danced so well! Sophie's little preschool class did a dance called "The Ladybug Club." It was so adorable. She has so many little friends in that class and they were adorable, too!

Here are the girls' individual and class pictures. I think they turned out great!

Queso

2011-03-26T15:11:00.004-05:00

Here's a recipe for queso that we tried last fall and I never got around to posting about it. This was delicious with chips, ground beef with taco seasoning, cilantro, and avocados. I think it would also be quite tasty with BBQ nachos!

Queso dip

1 cup of shreddred monterey jack cheese
1 cup of American cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 roasted poblano peppers (finely chopped)
8 oz tomatoes ( finely chopped)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp of ground garlic
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all of ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until cheese is melted. Thin with more milk or cream if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning. For additional flavor, add finely chopped onion, ground cumin, chopped roasted red pepper, etc..
Serve hot from crock with tortilla chips.

Pulled Pork

2011-03-26T15:02:00.004-05:00

Everyone has a recipe for pulled pork, but this rub is fantastic! The recipe came from somewhere online and I've looked for it since and haven't been able to find it. I feel bad I can't pay the original source credit. The recipe had an accompanying sauce, but why would I use that when I can buy Kansas City's own Gate's BBQ sauce at my local grocer? I've actually had this recipe since last summer. I've been holding out on you. Mostly because I haven't taken a decent picture of it yet. Finally today I decided to rip a picture off from our Memphis trip instead of waiting again until the next time we make this. I'm such a fraud. (Stephanie- you asked about nachos. Here's what I would do: I would layer the chips on the bottom, put the sauced pork on top of that, add cheese on top or queso dip (I have one I can post soon), and jalapeno slices (from the jar) on top of that. Stick them in the oven for 10 or 15 at 250 or 300. Oh that sounds delicious right now.)

The recipe makes a lot of rub, so you'll have enough to make this three or more times.

Pulled Pork

3-5 lbs pork butt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups dry rub
Gate's original bbq sauce (you can get this at hyvee)

dry rub:
1/4 c cumin
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper, ground
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic

Pulled pork: Day 1. rub pork with dry rub. Place in a baking dish and cover with plastic. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. Day 2: remove the pork from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour. (I always forget to do this.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in a large frying pan and sear the pork on high heat on all sides ( a few minutes on each side). Place pork in a baking dish lined with foil. Cover with foil and bake for four hours. Remove from oven and remove fat and connective tissue and any bone. Shred the meat with forks. Pour desired amount of sauce over the pork and serve hot.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

2011-03-26T14:35:00.005-05:00

I miss posting recipes. I'm sorry that I haven't been posting many recently. I'm still cooking- but mostly from my repertoire. Nothing new. A few friends I enlisted and I made this for our Relief Society birthday dinner the other night and it was a huge hit. I've had three emails today asking me for the recipe and one of my friends said: "Katherine, I don't want that recipe. I need that recipe." The recipe comes from my friend Natalie- I still remember Jayne telling me I had to try them. She was right- they are amazing. Thank you Natalie for such a delicious recipe. I like to take them out of the oven about 2 hours before I plan to serve them, so they are nice and soft and warm with the vanilla ice cream, but will still maintain their shape for serving. Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Bars

1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 packed brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 T butter melted (Okay I never noticed this part before. I never melt the butter, I just dice it up and use a pastry blender or forks to make it crumbly, like I would with my apple crisp recipe. Whatever you want to do is fine though.)
1 14 oz bag of caramels
1/2 c whipping cream
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

Directions: In a large bowl combine the first six ingredients to form a crumbly mixture. Unwrap and melt caramels with cream in microwave. (I haven't had trouble with this when I make it, but watch it carefully and check it so the caramels don't burn). Sprinkle half of oatmeal mixture into a greased and floured 9x13 pan (I just usually spray it with a little pam). Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked mixture and pour caramel mixture over chips. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

table I decorated for the RS birthday dinner

Take me to another place, take me to another land

2011-03-19T13:39:00.016-05:00

The girls had spring break last week, so Bobby got the week off and we made plans to spend a couple of days in St. Louis, and then a couple of days in Memphis, TN. Shortly after we moved here, Bobby mentioned to me that he would like to go to Memphis so he could taste the barbecue. I didn't get it. And I was not on board. A sixteen hour round trip just to try some ribs and pulled pork? Then a few years later, as I started to develop an appreciation and an understanding of this wonderful culinary tradition, I started to warm up to the idea. And we decided that if we were ever going to do it, now was the time. St. Louis is a guaranteed good time no matter what time of year, and with Ray and Natalie living there, well that only sweetened the deal. It's been a while since we've gone to St. Louis. After Justin and Ashley moved, it was just too sad and we missed them too much. But we love having Natalie and Ray closer!

First I will mention how nice it was to have Bobby home for a whole week! I just love having him home and so do the girls. He went in to work on Tuesday morning for just three hours to take care of some paperwork and because a rep was there with some info he was interested in hearing, and I was so sad he had to go! I felt like I was getting ripped off! It was a little pathetic. That's what Bobby said anyway the night before when I was whining about him having to leave. Thanks babe. We both started p90x again and it was great to be working out together and drinking protein shakes again. We rented Just Dance for the Wii and we all loved it, just like I know we would. Franny wanted to do all the dances and she was pretty good at them. Sophie didn't want to play for a while. I think she was afraid of scoring really low. I haven't ever thought of her as such a perfectionist. She finally got into it, though and I got some great video of her and Bobby dancing to the Spice Girls. (video may be coming later.)

We left Wednesday morning and drove to St. Louis. Our first stop was Costco and then we headed to Five Guys at the Galleria, which was our next destination so we could drop our computer off at the Apple Store to have our disc drive fixed. I feel so bad that we always have to spend at least one day of our vacations shopping and running errands we can't do where we live. Franny hates it! The kids were pretty worn out from the drive and all the shopping so we headed to Natalie and Ray's a little earlier than we were planning. We ate in and talked while the kids played. It was perfect and so good to see my friend again!

The next morning we got up, got dressed, and headed out for the zoo. But first we made a stop in Chesterfield. I have a cousin who lives there that I hadn't seen since I was sixteen or seventeen years old! It was so good to see Raenell and meet three of her kids and see her beautiful home. I hope it won't be that long until the next time I see her.

The zoo was pretty cold, but not too cold. We had the good sense to bring our stroller from home and then rent one at the zoo, so we could bundle the children up in blankets and push them around the park. Bobby and I were fine with hats and gloves so we still had a nice time. Standouts for the day were the jaguar family, the gorillas (we told Franny one of them wanted her to be his girlfriend), the giraffes (which were Claire's favorite), some giant spider from the rainforest that will no doubt haunt my dreams in the coming months, and the butterfly room. A really nice thing about going to the zoo when it's cold is you have the park to yourself so you can take inappropriate pictures with gorilla statues. The one of Bobby hugging the gorilla makes me laugh every time I look at it.

After that we went back to the Galleria to pick up our fixed computer. (We've had a DVD jammed in there for at least six months. Now that it's fixed, we're scared to try putting one in!) We called Natalie and Ray and asked if they wanted to join us for dinner somewhere near the mall. Ray suggested Maggiano's and I'm so glad he did. What a treat that was!! They recommended trying Salmon Oscar (Asiago & Herb-crusted Salmon with Jumbo Lump Crab, Asparagus & Orzo.) It was incredible. The kids were all very tired and it took forever to be seated, but I must say, the food was absolutely worth it. And Max and Jonnie and our girls all did very well. Claire totally charmed one of the employees. She kind of picked him out and was flirting with him. She does that a lot when we're out in public. He brought her a plate of lemon cookies and said they were all for her. It was so cute. Bobby and the girls got pasta and that was all delicious as well. I hope I get to eat there again. We drove home from the restaurant and dressed sleepy children for bed and stayed up late talking again. We love their family!

The next morning it was hard for us to leave. The girls each said that one of their favorite parts of the trip was playing with Jonnie and Max and I loved talking to Natalie. But we had a long drive and we needed to get going. We stopped in Cape Girardeau for lunch and then rolled into Memphis at about 4:45. We went straight to Graceland to check out Elvis' house. We couldn't get very close at all. We hadn't thought we were very interested in taking the tour at all for two reasons: 1.) it's pretty expensive and 2.) we're not huge Elvis fans. But we realized then that we were interested in going and figured there probably won't be another chance, so we decided to come back the next morning and do the tour. Luckily Franny's tap number was "Hound Dog" last year for her dance recital, so we were able to explain to her who Elvis even was. I think we all enjoyed the tour except for Claire. She was badly sleep-deprived on this trip, so I'd say she did pretty good considering how little sleep she got.

We also ate barbecue three times on our trip and we were not disappointed. My favorite one was Central's BBQ, which was the first place we tried Friday night after we left Graceland. It was so good- very tender meat, very good sauce. The people in line with us kept buying bbq nachos- they looked amazing. I spent the rest of the weekend wishing we had purchased them as well. But we did buy them at the next two BBQ places we tried (Rendezvous's and Corky's). Very good. I'll be making those at home when we have leftover pulled pork for sure. Rendezvous wasn't as good as Central's, but it was much bigger and had a really cool atmosphere. Bobby ordered ribs for him and nachos for the girls. Tasty. I also ordered a greek salad of all things and it was fabulous!

After that we walked to the Peabody Hotel to check out their trained ducks. I guess they all parade through the lobby and up to the roof of the hotel twice a day and people come and watch. We didn't get to witness the parade, but we did get to visit the ducks playing in the fountain. The girls loved it. Especially Claire. Pretty cute. After that we all walked down to Beale Street- famous for live music and spirits. The music was pretty cool, but it wasn't really our speed. Our family stuck out like a sore thumb, but we found a diner and bought a chocolate shake before heading back to our hotel for a much needed nap.

When Sophie woke up, she had a fever and felt really sick. We were planning on eating out at one more BBQ place, but we couldn't do that to Sophie. She said she felt good enough to go for a drive (after we promised her some ice cream), so we loaded everyone in the car and proceeded to buy food from FIVE different places! On our way to Corky's, we saw Bobby's favorite restaurant of all time- HOUSTON'S. They make these chicken tenders- I just don't know how they do it- they are amazing! So I found their number on my phone and ordered some takeout while we picked up a pound of pulled pork and some more BBQ nachos from Corky's. We also used that time to pick up some beautiful cupcakes from two different bakeries. Then of course we needed the ice cream we promised Sophie, so we stopped at this frozen yogurt store called Yogurt Mountain. It was the best thing ever. You get to fill up your own cups and add your own toppings- they have a great selection of toppings and flavors. Fresh fruit, all the candy bars, tons of sauces (white choc, lemon zest, raspberry, dark choc). The flavors we picked were: coconut, acai berry, cookies and cream, peanut butter... And then you pay by the ounce. I love that place so much.

So we took home our spoils and ate ourselves sick! We still had so much left over when we were done eating. We were able to bring some of the BBQ and all the cupcakes home with us the next day so none of it was wasted. I wish we had more time in Memphis. It was a great city. There were some really nice areas with some beautiful homes. We really enjoyed driving around and we thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous weather!

Something about pirate's booty...

2011-02-24T09:11:00.003-06:00

Thirteen years ago I moved into an apartment at Rick's college with these five girls. Allow me to introduce you to: Marnie, Martha, Laura, Brittany, and Annie. I met most of them at the end of my first year at Rick's and then halfway through my second year, there was an opening in their apartment and I got myself right in. I was hanging out at their apartment more than my own, so it made sense that I should just move in. These girls are so amazing- I am so lucky to call them my friends!! I can't believe we only lived together for four months. This picture was taken when my mom came up for mother's week. I wish I held onto that turquoise lamp.

Through the years we've kept in touch with each other- mostly on Facebook. The lucky ones that live in Utah, Nevada, and California get to see each other more often than Marnie and I do. (Marnie lives in Canada.) We've been having little "mini-reunions" every once in a while with whoever was around ever since Ricks, but the last time we were all together was sometime in 2000. The last time I was able to see any of them was about seven years ago. Amazingly, we were able to get everyone is Las Vegas a couple of weekends ago for a reunion. It was so much fun. I can't believe how little sleep I got. I stayed with Jill in Kansas City the night before I flew out (thanks Jill!) and got up the next morning at 2 AM Las Vegas time and stayed up until 2 AM the next day just talking and laughing with my roommates. That was the first and probably only time I stayed up for 24 consecutive hours! We checked in at our hotel- one of those Marriott villas with a few bedrooms and a nice comfortable sitting area and kitchen- and then we headed to the mall. A few of us were hungry so we went to the food court and grabbed some food. We sat there in the food court after we finished eating and talked for two or three hours. It was so much fun! And sort of hilarious after flying all that way to get to Vegas and just sit in a food court. But it was perfect! My favorite part of the trip was the talking- the conversation never stopped. If I had to get up to use the restroom, I always came back and asked what I missed. The last night I fell asleep on the couch for an hour or two and I was so mad at myself because of everything I missed while I was sleeping. We didn't do a lot that was Vegas-specific, which was fine by me. I can totally understand why my friends who live there avoid the strip. Yikes. But even though we didn't visit any clubs or casinos, the famous mantra of Sin City- "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"- still applies to our weekend because I can't repeat the things that were said on this trip! Some of them would be too shocking! I'm laughing right now just thinking about them.

Our second day there we did some more shopping- the weather was gorgeous! Then we all ate out at Cheesecake Factory. We stayed up until the early hours of the next morning to get a few hours of sleep before we all had to go our separate ways.

I feel the need to explain my subject. Right before we all separated, we went to Whole Foods to grab some salads so we would have something to eat on the way home. We sat for a bit before we had to get Annie to the airport so we could talk some more. (For all the time we spent talking, I can't believe how many things we didn't get around to talking about- I can't wait for the next reunion!) Laura came up and shared with us a conversation she heard while she was grabbing some white cheddar popcorn: An old lady said to her husband, "What does this say?" He holds up the bag and says, "Something about Pirate's Booty." Okay, now here I need to include how much I love Laura's voice. It's just very smooth and has a nice tone to it, but I think mostly because it's such a big reminder of that very special time in my life. Laura was the first one in the group that I met, so I have her to thank for introducing me to this amazing group of girls. She also has this funny way of saying something really dramatic in a very cool, calm way. Like "I'm going to pull my hair out!!!" which most of us would say in a loud and intense way. Not Laura- no, she would say it nice and slow and calm. Her delivery is perfect. Anyway, so she impersonates this old man saying, "something about pirate's booty."

I think you had to be there.

I could go on and on with stories like this about each of these wonderful girls. I love all of them so much. I am so glad we did this. What a perfect weekend. Now here's some more pics from our time together:
The infamous food court. Marnie had us laughing pretty hard with all her stories. Oh how I love to listen to her talk! She can go for hours and I just love the way she puts things. Laura hadn't joined us yet because she had sick kids at home to take care of and her tire blew out on the freeway! I'm so glad she was able to come in spite of so many obstacles.
Love this cute picture of Annie and Laura. Oh we also ate a lot of crap while we stayed up talking. It was awesome.
Group shot- took a lot of organizing and primping and furniture rearranging, but we got it done!

Marnie, me, and Martha, right after Brittany picked us up from the airport. One of my favorite memories of Martha from this trip is when she came bouncing toward Annie and I at the airport. She was so excited to see us. It made me feel so good!

This is such a great picture of Martha and Laura.

Brittany, Jessica, and Martha. Jessica was our friend at Ricks who also lives in Las Vegas, so we asked her to come eat with us at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so great to see her! I loved that I got to meet Brittany and Annie's cute babies.

After we ate at Cheesecake Factory, we decided to walk home so we could see a little bit of Vegas. That wasn't such a great idea. We kind of realized that there was a lot to Vegas that we didn't want to see. Oh well. I did see these storm troopers and since the girls love Star Wars, I thought I'd embarrass myself and get my picture taken with them. The morning after my trip I showed the girls this picture on my camera and Sophie said: "Who are those guys?" Franny, clearly not impressed, said: "They're storm troopers." Ha! Oh well. Good thing I don't embarrass easily.

Coming home was a bit of a shock. I was thrilled to see Bobby and the girls. It was so hard to leave my baby Claire! But the day-to-day stuff- laundry, cooking, putting myself to bed on time- was kind of a challenge. But obviously it was worth it.

2011-02-18T22:24:00.004-06:00

(Sophie right before dance class)

Sophie: "Mom, who am I going to marry?"

Me: "You probably haven't met the boy you're going to marry yet Sophie. I met your dad when I was 18 years old."

Sophie: "Mom, there are 3 boys I want to marry: Jason, Scott, and Carson. Mom, which one am I going to choose?"

Me: "Well honey, you probably don't know the boy you are going to marry yet. You probably won't meet him until your older."

Sophie: "Zoe G. and I both want to marry Scott... I have an idea! Zoe G. can marry Scott first and then they can get a divorce and then Scott can marry me."

The conversation ended there. I was speechless. All I could do was bite on my lip and try not to laugh. I love the things that come out of her mouth.

Claire's chair

2011-01-25T10:00:00.002-06:00

For the past few weeks Claire has really been enjoying the play room. We let her go in there and watch the girls play, but we have to check on her every 2-3 minutes to extract the Barbie accessory she always manages to insert into her mouth. It's really cute to hear her laughing with the girls. But this week she discovered the pink chair. She climbs into it all by herself and we often find her there with one of her favorite age-INappropriate toys. Sorry Fisher-Price, she's just not interested.

And I've had a few people ask- yes, she has blonde hair and blue eyes! Such a surprise to us, since our first two were so dark. When people ask where she got her fair coloring, Bobby loves to tell them: "I'm not the father. Thanks a lot for bringing it up." It is so funny. I'm not even embarrassed anymore. The man can say whatever he wants. It's something about him that I both admire and envy.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-28T15:37:00.004-06:00

We were so blessed to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family in Utah this year! Thank you, thank you, thank you to my cousin Scotty for making that happen for us. We had the best time and made priceless memories for me and my children. Unfortunately Bobby was on call that weekend so he wasn't able to join us. I was grateful that he was kind enough to let us abandon him on Thanksgiving! Thankfully my friend Morgan brought him a plate of food since he was in a case when most people were carving their turkeys!

We flew in to Utah in the middle of a blizzard and we flew out in the middle of a very snowy day! I was nervous enough to travel with two little girls and a baby already, so when the pilot came on and said that he might have to land the plane in Grand Junction, CO at 11 PM central time, I just about lost it. I prayed for twenty minutes straight that we would be able to land in SLC. And we did!! During that time they were just circling waiting for clearance to land the plane. I had the kindest lady on my plane who helped me entertain Claire and talked to me the whole flight. I don't know what I would have done without her!!

When the plane was landing, I texted my Dad to let him know we made it okay. I figured he had stayed in Provo with the weather so bad and the girls and I were just planning to stay in a hotel. But he and Grant drove up in the horrible weather so he would be there to help me with the girls and drive back to my Grandma's with me in our rental car! I was so grateful! The girls were so happy to see their Grandpa. We were all exhausted when we got home, but not too exhausted to give my Grandma and Grandpa lots of hugs and kisses.

We spent the next day hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. My grandma made one of her delicious breakfasts. She is such a good cook. Then Maggie had us over for a second breakfast. It was really good! It was fun to see her cute apartment. We spent a few hours hanging out there. The girls got to watch Despicable Me with their Uncle Ryan. They loved that movie and Franny ended up getting it for Christmas. We ran a few errands, picked up a few ingredients for raspberry pretzel jello: a Thanksgiving must! In the afternoon, my aunt Dori invited Franny and Sophie to come over and play with her kids Kallie, Brianna, and Jed. They had a blast and they've been talking about them ever since!

We also got to spend a few hours that afternoon visiting with our friends (and family) Brendon and Stephanie! It was great to see them and their son Henry again. We have missed them since they left!!!

Henry is like Claire's "brother from another mother". And I love that picture of Annie!

We picked the girls up and drove back up to SLC to see our friends the Linfords. My parents met the Linfords back in Orem when I was a baby. My favorite family vacations when I was a kid was when we would all load up in the car and drive up to see Liz and Leslie Linford. We would always argue over which was a better place to live: Utah or California. I said Utah- they said California. I love hanging out with their family so much- it was just like old times, only now most of the kids are married and have kids of their own. We had a great time with them.

We drove home and got up early the next morning for strawberry waffles! A Warner family holiday tradition. My uncle Kevin hosted us all and it was so much fun to do what we always did every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning when my uncle lived around the corner and my Grandma lived down the street. At one point my kids and their second cousins were getting pretty loud playing upstairs and my cousin Scotty actually called out, "Do you think you kids could keep it down?" Hilarious! Wasn't it just us running around causing a ruckus in my grandmother's house on Whitecap Lane? I guess not, but it sure feels like it!

Then we came back home and I got to do something I will always remember: help my Grandma prepare Thanksgiving dinner. She's been doing it the same way it's been done in our family since she was a girl. It was really a neat thing to be a part of. I asked her what I could do to help and she said, "You can do the rolls, but you'll have to use my recipe." I love my grandma so much. It was so fun to be there at her side, preparing food and talking. It was wonderful to watch Franny and Sophie helping her and my aunt JoAnn set the tables and put out the centerpieces. I think Franny and Sophie really enjoyed it to. The food tasted wonderful and it was so nice to be with my Dad's family. I love them all so much.

That night Julia, Annie and I were going to go to Old Navy for a Black Friday at midnight. I told Julia and Annie that I was going to take a one hour nap before we went. When I woke up, Annie told me Julia was asleep and that if I woke up and wanted to go then we should wake her up. Turns out we both needed someone who really wanted to go to get us out the door. So I stayed up with Annie for an hour or so and then we just went to bed. Annie was in one of her rare hyper moods and I always like to see her like that. We never did make it to Old Navy, but we did hit Target and the University Mall the next day. Utah County is a weird place to come back to after you've been away for a while. I couldn't get over how well-dressed everyone was. How stylish and polished everyone looks. It was actually kind of weird. I was explaining all this to Bobby on the way home from the airport after we made a pit-stop in Cameron, Missouri. I told him that I got out of the car, picked my wedgie, and thought: "It's good to be home."

When we were finished shopping, it was time for Julia and her crew, and my Dad and Annie to fly back home. They needed to get back to California for my cousin Vanessa's wedding (which was incredibly gorgeous- wish I could have been there!) I was so sad to see them go. It was so good to be with them. I am so grateful we got to be there together for Thanksgiving. That afternoon my Grandma and I went to see my cousin Scotty's new home. (They just moved in that week). The girls had fun playing with their second cousins Chase and Tessa. They were especially impressed with the home theater in my cousin's house and asked me, "Mommy when can we get one of those?" I always enjoy talking to my cousin's wife Mickell and I wish I could see her more! She is so great!

That night my grandparents and I played Sequence together after the kids went to bed. Another great memory- even though I kept falling asleep. Turns out traveling alone with three kids is extremely tiring.

Saturday was my grandma's birthday! I got to make her breakfast and go out to lunch with her. My sister Maggie came with us and spent the whole day with us. We went to Hobby Lobby to pick out fabric for headbands and then we went to a cupcake shops so I could buy her a birthday cupcake. When I went to pay for it, she said, "Oh I don't want you paying for my cupcake! You're a poor doctor's wife!" I thought that was really funny. Bobby's mom was in town dropping my niece off at BYU- she had spent the holiday with Louise in Idaho. So we got to see my mother-in-law and my cute niece Lauren! They met us at Hobby Lobby and then came with us to the cupcake shop. I was so glad I got to see them! It was great to spend the day with my sister Maggie and to spend some time with her husband Ryan. They are great together and I got to watch them hold baby Claire. I love my family so much! It was such a blessing to be together and my staying an extra couple of days meant more time with Maggie. It's such a neat time in her life because she just got married and I felt so blessed to be able to catch a glimpse of her as a newlywed.

Saturday night my Aunt Dori and her crew came over to see Grandma on her birthday. The kids played all night and had a good time. Franny came up to me and asked me where her Jessie doll was? My first thought was, "Oh no, she left it at one of the stores we were at today!" Which totally irritated me because we were leaving the next morning to fly home! I should mention that this stupid doll cost $35 dollars because she talks. Franny spent her own allowance money on it and she loves her. Well, Franny was starting to feel really bad. She wasn't sure whether she left it somewhere or if it was in the house. I was making phone calls and so was Maggie, checking with all the shops and restaurants we had been in that day. I hate to admit it, but I was pretty frustrated and not very sympathetic to Franny. It was my aunt JoAnn who suggested we have Franny say a prayer. I thought it was a good idea, so I pulled Franny aside and I asked her to ask Heavenly Father to help her find her Jessie. Poor kid could barely get out the words! She was crying so hard. I could tell she felt bad about losing the doll, but also about disappointing me! It's hard for me to understand how much it matters to her what I think! It shouldn't be, considering I've always been the same way with my own mother. We put Franny to bed and Maggie said she'd go to the stores and check herself the next day. (I was very touched by how concerned Maggie was with all this, I have to say.) An hour or so after Franny fell asleep, JoAnn was in my grandmother's room where the kids had been playing for only a few minutes and she found the doll was tucked away in a magazine rack on the far side of my Grandpa's easy chair! I had already checked the room before! I was so happy for Franny that her prayer was answered!! So was everyone else! Franny woke up before me in the morning and came in and woke me up and said, "Mom! I found Jessie!!" I told her that aunt JoAnn found her because she had prayed for help. Then I told her that she should say thank you to Heavenly Father. She said, "Okay! Thank you Heavenly Father!" It was so cute. I sent her off to her room so she could say a prayer and do it the right way. What a great experience for her to have so young! It made me realize that I even though I think of that doll as a stupid purchase, it is something that matters a lot to Franny. I was glad I had my family members there to remind me that you're never too young to ask the Lord for help!

The next morning we got up and finished packing everything for our trip. My grandma went out to the garage and when she came back in she told me she had scraped the snow off my car and cleared a path up the driveway for us to walk on! I couldn't believe it! I never would have let her if I knew that was what she was planning! I love her so much. (Grandpa was feeling sick and had gone to get some medicine.) I was sad to go, but we were missing Bobby so I was glad to be getting home, too.

My wonderful Aunt JoAnn met me at the airport in SLC to help me get on the plane. She is so amazing. I loved sitting with her and talking about her new promotion and the work she does. She took Sophie and Franny to the bathroom while I nursed Claire and the girls came back with a new book and a couple of sodas, including a diet coke for me. The airport was dead quiet, but we decided to head up to security anyway. I was blown away by the security line. It was so long! But luckily Jo was there, because she spotted a sign at the front that said "Families and special assistance" so we got through in no time. She stood and watched us get through security. It was something my mom would do. It felt really good. I love my aunt Jo! The flight was pretty good- although we were delayed because of the snow for an hour and a half or more. But we got in at about 7:30. Jill picked us up at the airport in my car - she had dropped us off on our way out and it made all the difference in our travels not having to mess with the shuttle - and brought us back to her house so we could drop her off. Thank you so much Jill!

Then we made the three hour drive home to our husband and Daddy, who was patiently awaiting our arrival with a new Christmas tree waiting to be decorated the next night. The girls were so happy to see their Dad! And so was I. He's pretty nice to come home to.

CAKE!

2010-12-08T10:42:00.004-06:00

I made this cake for a Christmas party the other night and it was a big hit. This is the kind of thing I love to make for Christmas parties. Decadent and rich- the perfect kind of thing to serve to a lot of people, so everyone gets a little slice of paradise. (Confidence.) Actually, I was pretty relieved when people liked it. It was a new recipe and the frosting was a ganache and really hard to work with. Next time I will definitely use this recipe instead. I wasn't sure how good it would taste or if the cake was going to be moist enough so I didn't bother taking a picture of it before it was cut into pieces. But then I looked and there was only a couple pieces left so I hurried and took this super crappy picture. I was glad for the almonds on the side and it was my friend Marie who suggested piping whipped cream on top to cover some of the unsightly blemishes on the top of the cake. (And the whipped cream was a nice addition to the cake anyway.) It actually looked really pretty covered with all those almonds and whipped cream. So if you want to impress your friends, bring this to your next holiday party! Oh, and as for the fleur de sel- I had some sea salt in my cupboard, but I completely forgot to add that to the caramel layers. I did add a large pinch of it to the caramel, though.

Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling

Ingredients

CARAMEL FILLING

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Large pinch of fine fleur de sel* plus additional for assembly

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 cups heavy whipping cream

CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee
1 1/4 cups almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped

Preparation

CARAMEL FILLING

Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in deep medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to high. Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Whisk in butter, then crème fraîche, lemon juice, and pinch of fleur de sel. Cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

Place chocolate in large bowl. Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let soften 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is smooth. Cool, then cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD Ganache can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.

CAKE

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each with parchment paper; butter paper and dust pan with flour.
Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Add milk, eggs, and melted butter. Using electric mixer, beat at low speed until blended. Increase speed and beat 2 minutes. Stir 1 cup hot water and espresso powder in small bowl to dissolve. Add to batter; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans (about 3 cups each).
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Cut around cakes; turn out onto racks. Peel off parchment and cool completely.
Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 layer on platter; spread with 1/2 cup room-temperature ganache. Spoon 3/4 cup ganache into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain round tip. Pipe ring of ganache around edge of layer. Spread 1/4 cup room-temperature caramel filling evenly inside ring. Sprinkle caramel with large pinch of fleur de sel, then 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with second cake layer, ganache, ganache ring, caramel filling, fleur de sel, and almonds. Repeat with third cake layer. Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Press remaining almonds onto sides. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour.
*A type of sea salt; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

2010-12-03T15:25:00.004-06:00

I am tired of most of my recipes. This happens every now and then. So I've been searching for new ones and I have been having great luck on bonappetit.com. This recipe was a big hit with my family, which was shocking because I have a few mushroom-haters. But they are surprisingly easy to pick around with the tortellinis and crumbled sausage. Although, while I was preparing this last night it occurred to me that this is not the most affordable meal when you consider the tortellinis (I used the three cheese variety), sausage, fennel, and mushrooms. Especially if you don't have fennel seeds on hand. But I definitely thought it was worth it. We'll be having this again for sure.

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, halved through core, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 cups), fronds chopped
1 pound spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, sausage coarsely crumbled
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 16-ounce package dried tortellini with pesto filling or fresh tortellini with 3-cheese filling
1 5-ounce package fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)

Test-Kitchen Tip

To crush the fennel seeds, enclose the seeds in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, then pound them with a meat mallet or a small heavy skillet.

Preparation

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms; sauté until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and fennel seeds; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain tortellini; return to same pot.
Add sausage mixture to tortellini in pot. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add spinach; toss gently until spinach wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds, and serve, passing additional cheese.

Poor Claire didn't get to have any. But she seemed pretty happy with her carrots.

Soap-a-doap's 4th birthday!

2010-12-01T06:27:00.001-06:00

Sophie turned four! I can't believe it. She has grown up so much this year. She told me a few times that she's ready to start 3rd grade! She doesn't want to bother with the other grades I guess. She's so smart and so beautiful. She and I have a lot of fun together at home and it's hard for me to imagine sending her to Kindergarten next year! But there will be no holding this child back. She is actually spelling words and even doing some simple reading. The other day we were in the kitchen and she asked, "Mom, what happens if you don't go to college?" She and I have talked some about going away to college and I can tell she thinks about it a fair amount. I thought it would be fun to walk around on my old college campus when we were in Utah a couple of weeks ago and so close to BYU. It was way too cold so we drove around it instead. The girls didn't seem too interested as I pointed out the building I had all my classes in, or the bridge you walk on to get to the Marriott Center, but now I think Sophie was listening and taking it all in. She loves to help take care of Claire and other little kids when we're around them. She also has a baby doll named Leela who is practically part of the family. Last night she said, "Mom, you're the best mom ever because you bought this outfit for Leela." I thought to myself, "Sweet! That's all it takes?" She has a great sense of humor and is always trying to make us laugh. Especially during dinner when I'm trying to get her to eat!

We had Sophie's birthday party at a hair salon here in our home town. Our friend Lydia did this for her birthday and we thought it was a hoot! She was so excited about it and has been talking about it ever since. The girls come in and one of the hair academy students does their hair up, then paints their nails, then puts a little bit of makeup on. It was so fun to watch the little girls excitement as they got all dolled up! I made cupcakes for the girls and tried to make them look like the Pinkalicious cupcakes from the book. I loved the way they turned out.

2010-11-12T21:39:00.003-06:00

I almost forgot the cutest cowgirl! Bobby requires that all his baby girls be a cowgirl for Halloween. Claire seemed happy to oblige.

And how about that cowboy. Looking good, like I knew you would.

These are not the droids you're looking for.

2010-11-12T21:13:00.004-06:00

We were watching Star Wars together a lot as a family together a while back. At first Sophie wasn't really into it. One time she got really upset when one of the characters she liked died, and she ran up the stairs, crying, "I don't like Star Wars. I like DORA!" She's come around. Franny had "show and tell" a month ago at school and brought her Darth Vader figurine. She asked me if she could be Darth Vader for Halloween and I said no. Franny decided she wanted to be Princess Leia for Halloween. Then Sophie decided she wanted to be the same thing. We sort of made the suggestion that she be Queen Amidala and she loved the idea of dressing up as Franny's Star Wars mom. So I guess all this is to say that we are now officially Star Wars nerds.

The girls were really excited about their costumes. It was a different story when I was applying Sophie's face makeup, though. She was crying, "I change my mind! I change my mind." She didn't like the way it felt on her skin, I guess. But I think it totally made the costume! So I sort of insisted. We were hoping Franny might want to use her costume next year, but then I washed and dried a load of whites with a black crayon and destroyed it (along with many other articles of white clothing. Super lame.)

We had a fun Halloween weekend, despite Bobby having a busy call weekend. We kind of lucked out because even though he worked a lot, he was still able to join us for most of our Halloween activities. We hit the SAA trunk-or-treat Saturday morning, then we stopped at Hyvee for some trick-or-treating and then on the way to the church Halloween party we stopped and trick-or-treated at our neighbor's dad's house. He likes to give the kids he knows giant candy bars. He gave my girls the biggest candy bars I have ever seen in my life! The girls were so excited.

It was a nice change to not be running around all day on Halloween, since usually it's a two-day affair for us. On Sunday we had our traditional chili dinner and the girls actually passed out candy to a few trick-or-treaters, which I think they kind of liked. Then we all curled up and watched Harry Potter. It was a great Halloween.

Kid Food

2010-11-11T14:28:00.003-06:00

I've noticed a bit of a direction change in my cooking. I mean, my absolute favorite recipe I've found this year has been for spaghetti and meatballs! I'm definitely not taking a lot of chances. I'm sure that's because I'm cooking for a four-year-old and a six-year-old everyday and I expect them to eat what I make. It's fine with me, though- I really do love that spaghetti and meatballs. I'll have plenty of time to try that recipe for Penang Curried Pumpkin and Prawn Soup that I've been holding onto. And until now, I've never really been into preparing food that is all about "kid-appeal" and less about taste, but my kids are old enough to enjoy it and I think it's pretty fun. I mean look at these fun cheesy witch fingers I made for Franny's Halloween party at school:

The girls and I made these on Saturday afternoon between Halloween activities. I think they are so cute!! I found the chocolate dough a little hard to work with, so I ended up just pinching off two small pieces for each cookie and smashing them under a drinking glass.

Owl Cookies from Tangled and True

Ingredients:

This dough is enough to make a large batch of cookies for Halloween school parties or Halloween home parties.

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Ground sea salt

1 1/2 sticks organic butter

1 1/3 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the dry ingredients well in bowl. Cream the butter and add sugar to dry ingredients. Beat eggs and vanilla separately then add slowly to mixture. Blend well.

Separate the dough. Take approximately 1/3 of the dough and mix in half a package of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. The dough will become chocolate dough and form a log. Roll the dough very quickly before the chocolate solidifies. Make sure it is a solid roll. Cover with wax paper and put in the refrigerator.

With the remaining vanilla dough (white) roll it out in a long rectangular shape, this dough will be the outer later that will encase the chocolate log. It should resemble a bulls-eye, an outer vanilla layer, with the inner chocolate roll. Wrap the log in wax paper and refrigerate until firm. Wait at least 2 hours or you can freeze the dough a head of time for up to one month.

When ready to assemble the owls place the semi-sweet chocolate chip in a small bowl for easy access. Place the cashews in another small bowl.

(If there are nut allergies you can substitute with candy corn for the nose)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the cookie sheets with butter. Cut the logs into 1/8-slices. On the cookie sheet join the two slices together, by pinching them. Slightly pinch the two opposite sides of the rounds into pointy ear shapes. Place a chocolate chip upside down in the center of each chocolate eye. Then place the cashew embedded into the center of the two joined circles. It is now complete.

Continue the same process. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Watch closely until lightly browned. Remove and cool on a cookie rack.

Thanksgiving Dinner cupcakes. I found these on familyfun.go. I cannot believe how cute these are!!!! The mashed potatoes- cream cheese frosting with a little cinnamon (pepper). The peas- non-pareils for cake decorating. Cranberry sauce- red crystal sugar. Turkey- pie crust baked and broken into small bits to look like turkey slices with a little hershey's syrup over top as gravy.

I think the cupcakes were a big hit with the girls. :)

Caramel Cake

2010-11-07T18:43:00.004-06:00

It was my turn to pick the book for book club in October and I chose The Help by Kathryn Stockett. In the book, one of the characters named Minny makes a delicious and indulgent caramel cake. And since I identify with food so much, I set out in search of the perfect recipe to serve the ladies when they met at my house for book club. I served it on the pretty vintage luncheon trays with matching teacups that my mother-in-law found for me- wish I had taken the time to take a picture of those! I love when I get a chance to use them. The cake was sinfully delicious- I think you'll love it! (Sorry the pictures are so lame. I'm always in such a hurry these days!)

BEST-EVER CARAMEL CAKE recipe from Kitchen Parade

Hands-on time: 1 hour with regular attention throughout over 4 hours
Time to serve: Cake tastes best the day after it’s made
Serves 12 or 16 or even 20

VANILLA CAKE

(Vanilla Cake only)
Hands-on time: 45 minutes
Total time to make & cool: 2-1/2 hours

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter three 8-inch cake pans. Cut three rounds of parchment for the pan bottoms. Butter the parchment and then flour the pans. Tap out the excess flour. If you have just one mixing bowl, you might want to whip the 3/4 cup of cream that's called for late in the cake recipe too.

1/4 cup whole milk
4 large egg whites
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a bowl, gently whisk the milk, egg whites and vanilla until just combined.

3 cups cake flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 300g
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt

In standing mixer, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt for a few seconds.

12 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoons, warmed to room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk

Add the butter and milk to the flour mixture, blend at low speed til blended, then medium speed until smooth, about one minute. Beat in the milk-egg white mixture in three batches.

3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks in another bowl

With a spatula, stir in about a third of the whipped cream, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Divide the cake batter among the three pans, smoothing the tops. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, peel off the parchment, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.

Once cool, place five or six strips of waxed paper around the perimeter of a cake plate or cake stand, then place the bottom layer in the center, covering up about an inch of the waxed paper strips. (Why the waxed paper? To protect the plate from the Caramel Icing as it drips down the sides.)

CARAMEL ICING

This icing uses no powdered sugar! It is thickened by the caramel itself and sets to a firm but not hard cake frosting.

(Caramel Icing Only)
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time to mix and ice: 90 minutes

2-1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1-1/2 cups whole milk

DISSOLVE THE SUGAR In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and milk, then cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm while continuing.

1/2 cup sugar

MAKE THE CARAMEL In a large, heavy saucepan (my four-quart Dutch oven worked perfectly, the caramel swells a lot as it cooks so be sure to use a large enough pan), sprinkle the sugar over the pan’s bottom. Cook over moderate heat, swirling occasionally, until an amber caramel forms. (For more caramel flavor, let the caramel get quite dark, just be careful not to burn the sugar.) Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the caramel (careful, it will sizzle). Cook over medium high, stirring, until the caramel dissolves (this will take awhile, just keep stirring, scraping up any caramel bits from the bottom of the pan). Now, this will be hard but STOP STIRRING and cook until caramel registers 235F (the soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 30 minutes. (During this time, the caramel should bubble fast and will swell to nearly fill the saucepan. If it doesn’t, gradually increase the heat until it does.) Remove from the heat.

1 stick butter, softened to room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cream

ADD RICHNESS & COOL Stir in the butter, vanilla and cream and stir until the butter melts. Strain the caramel into the bowl of the standing mixer, let cool 15 minutes.

1/4 cup cream

BEAT UNTIL CREAMY Beating the mixture at medium speed, slowly add the cream. Continue beating the mixture until light and creamy, about 15 minutes. Work quickly from this point on, the icing will begin to harden.

FINALLY! ICE THE CAKE Set one cake layer on a plate, pour enough icing over the layer to cover the top, leaving about a quarter inch around the perimeter for the icing to squeeze out. Top with the second layer, cover with icing. Add the final layer and pour the rest of the icing over the top, letting it run down the sides. Working quickly, use a knife or offset spatula to spread the icing gently around the sides. Check the sides carefully for complete coverage, patching later will be obvious. I used only about 2/3 of the icing, it was plenty.

If you like, transfer some icing to a squeeze bottle and squeeze out a design on cake’s top. I used a V pattern for the outer ring, then a U pattern inside it, then dots in the center. Much to my surprise, from the top, it looked like a sunflower! Go crazy!

LET ICING SET Let the cake stand for 2 hours before to allow the icing to set. If serving the next day, refrigerate overnight but return to room temperature before serving.

Maggie's wedding

2010-10-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

My younger sister Maggie got married a few weeks ago and I'm so happy I got to be there to witness it! Claire and I flew out together and Bobby, Franny, and Sophie spent the weekend with Wes and Jen (Bobby's brother and family) in Kansas City. That was Bobby's brilliant idea. The girls were so happy about seeing their cousins that it softened the blow when they heard they wouldn't be able to come and meet baby Aubrey or their new uncle Ryan, not to mention Warner, Hannah, Grandpa, and all their aunts and uncle Richard. I'm grateful Bobby was able to get a day and a half off to stay with the girls so I could go.

Maggie's mother-in-law Karen and our family friend Suzy teamed up to plan an absolutely beautiful reception. I just can't believe their generosity and kindness. It was a beautiful day. There were lots of people who made the day so wonderful. I am so grateful and I know it meant a lot to Maggie. My sister Julia did a lot for Maggie, too. I missed the wedding shower she did, but I heard it was beautiful. I wished that there was more I could do from out here. I was able to put together this video for the reception. And I will preemptively answer your question: yes, I took that out for the actual reception. I made this version to make my family laugh and this is the only one I loaded on youtube.

Claire and I flew out on Thursday night. Claire is a super easy baby. She's just pretty chill all the time. Not so much on an airplane, though. Poor kid. I'm sure it was her ears that were bothering her. The first flight was three hours long and I spent an hour of that standing up in the back of the plane. When it was time for me to sit, I thought for sure she would start screaming again, but instead she started laughing. At me, at the person next to me, and the person next to him... and then at the woman sitting behind me, and then the man sitting in front of me. It was so cute. I always sit next to the nicest people on planes. We had a layover and on my second flight I sat next to a really nice man from Laguna Beach. He asked what my husband does and then he told me his friend plays a doctor on TV, but he doesn't know anything about medicine. I said, "Oh really, what show?" He said, "ER. [something... blahh] John Stamos." I said, "wait, your friend works with John Stamos or your friend IS John Stamos." He said, "My friend is John Stamos." I immediately forgave the name-dropping and started freaking out. I told him how much I loved Full House growing up. I grew up in a really nice neighborhood in a gated community and I told him about how one time growing up one of our neighbors told us that John Stamos was in the neighborhood. We got on our bikes and rode to wear we were told he would be and saw a beautiful red convertible. We hung out there ALL DAY waiting for him to come out. We never saw him. I wanted to tell him the story of how Bobby signed Julia's sign-in book at her wedding "John Stamos" as a joke. It was hilarious. But you kind of had to be there.

Friday was spent helping for a little while at Suzy's, playing with babies, shopping for thank you gifts at Anthropologie, and picking out junk food for Maggie to take with her after the reception. That night we drove down to Richard and Kristy's house in San Diego and we all crashed there. Maggie asked me to be her escort at the temple- it was such an honor to be there. It's hard for me to express what it felt like to be there in the temple with everyone in my family apart from Bobby (who was back here with the girls) and Annie (who is only 17). It made me feel very close to them and close to my mother. Also, it was nice to see Maggie with her Ryan. When she left us that morning to drive to the temple (my Dad and Claire and I followed behind her), she seemed stressed and worried. I caught up with her in the waiting room 10 minutes after she got there and she seemed like a different person. She was calm and happy and smiling, once she saw Ryan I'm sure. I haven't really gotten enough of a chance to know Ryan- he's kind of quiet around my family. Maybe it's because we're all so darn loud. But I am really excited to have him in our family. He totally gets Maggie. You know how you want your sibling's spouses to love all the things you love about them? Well, I can tell that Ryan does. I can tell when he laughs at her jokes and by the posts he writes on facebook about her. They are very much in love and I'm so happy for them.

After the temple we had pictures and Ryan's aunt, Janet who was my girls camp leader back in Huntington Beach (small Mormon world), brought everyone chocolate chip cookies! Claire got to meet her aunt Gayle, aunt Cindy, and posed for this cute picture with her cousin Aubrey. It's so nice to have Warner cousins now.

Then we went out to eat at Pick-up-stix and a little place called Croutons. Maggie was holding one of the babies and she knocked a sprite on her wedding dress. (Thank goodness it wasn't a root beer.) So she changed into this 'lil wayne t-shirt. You gotta love Maggie. And I love this picture of Claire with her grandpa. It's about time they met.

After that we made the drive back to Corona and gave all the babies a chance to nap before the reception. Here's a cute picture of Claire with her cousins Warner and Hannah.

The reception was at our dear family friend Suzy's house. It was beautiful. She and Karen did an amazing job putting it together. There was an ice cream fountain and a taco bar. A taco bar! I thought that was the coolest thing ever. Those tacos were delicious!

Playing with Warner and Hannah- I miss them!

My cousin Scotty and his wife Mickell were down from Utah on family vacation, and they surprised us by showing up at the reception! I hadn't seen them for such a long time and it was the best surprise that they came!! It was so much fun to spend time with extended family, and to see old friends from Huntington Beach like Chris King, Mel and Susan Markham, Kristen Curtis, the Fongs... and so many others!! I was so grateful to them for coming out and supporting our family!

It was such a beautiful wedding and I am so happy I could be there. Maggie looked beautiful and I'm so happy for her and Ryan.

2010-09-29T08:42:00.001-05:00

Anyone else think it's funny that my sisters and I all had the exact same haircut in 2002?

Potato Corn Chowder

2010-09-26T18:34:00.006-05:00

My mother-in-law and her husband brought us some potatoes from Idaho last time they were in town. I've been wanting to try her Potato Corn Chowder but I couldn't get her on the phone tonight to get the recipe. I had a recipe for Summer Corn Soup I wanted to try but the corn cobs I bought had already started to mold. So this recipe is very loosely based on that. I really liked it! I knew this recipe was a keeper when I saw Bobby get up to go get seconds. He is not a huge soup fan.

Potato Corn Chowder

4 cups whole milk
1 can of corn, drained
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups water
2 large fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bay leaf
Ground white pepper
4 thick bacon slices, diced
Pinch of cayenne pepper
sour cream

Preparation

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sprinkle with salt and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes (do not let onion brown). Add potatoes, carrot, celery, and garlic; cook until vegetables are soft, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups water, herb sprigs, bay leaf, and milk. Increase heat and bring to boil. Cover partially, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes to blend flavors.
Discard herb sprigs and bay leaf. Cool soup slightly. Working in batches if necessary, puree about 2/3 of soup and add back to pot. Season soup to taste with salt and white pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Garnish

Cook bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Transfer to small bowl. Mix in pinch of cayenne. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Rewarm soup over medium heat. Divide among bowls. Sprinkle garnish over, top with a small dollop of sour cream, and serve.

Herb-Marinated Loin of Pork

2010-09-24T08:23:00.000-05:00

Pay no attention to the crappy pictures. I could blame my camera, but the fault really lies with me. If I don't take the time to get a decent picture, it's because I'm so ready to eat! This recipe is perfection! Enjoy.

Herb-Marinated Pork Loin
from Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics Cookbook

Ingredients

1 lemon, zest grated
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)
Good olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
3 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each)
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 teaspoons salt in a sturdy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

When you're ready to cook, build a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill. Brush the cooking grate with oil to prevent the pork from sticking. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that cling to the meat. Sprinkle the tenderloins generously with salt and pepper. Grill the tenderloins, turning a few times to brown on all sides, for 15-25 minutes (depending on the heat of the coals) until the meat registers 137 degrees (I may have let it go a little longer - 145, 150) at the thickest part. Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve in 1/2- inch thick diagonal slices. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.

Left, left, I had a good home and I left.

2010-09-23T08:15:00.000-05:00

Wednesday afternoons are busy for us. Franny has theater group on a college campus and Sophie has her dance lessons. When I picked her up from dance she held up her right hand and said that Miss Melody said it was her left. Now I'm sure Melody knows her right from her left- I just think Sophie got a little confused. I set her straight by telling her to hold of her left hand and point her thumb out and her pointer finger up. "See, it looks like an L, for left!" She held up her right hand and did the same thing and said, "YEAH! And this one is a gun!"

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2010-09-22T07:34:00.004-05:00

You are going to love this. This is my new favorite way to eat spaghetti. The meatballs of course are the best thing about this dish. They are so moist and tasty. We will be making this over and over, I'm sure. Instead of buying whole peeled tomatoes in juice, I just bought the Dei Fratelli crushed tomato variety, which eliminated any need for an immersion blender. I added fresh herbs (basil, oregano, and rosemary) to the sauce. I will miss when I can't cut those fresh from my garden anymore. I made this for the missionaries last night and I was blown away by how much they can eat. The yield for this recipe was very large and I was sure we would have enough for two meals, even with the missionaries joining us. I was wrong- they each had three huge servings! Poor hungry missionaries!!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sauce

2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained, juice reserved, tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, peeled, halved through root end
1/2 teaspoon (or more) salt
fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano), optional

Meatballs

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French or country-style bread
1/3 cup whole milk
8 ounces ground beef (15% fat)
8 ounces ground pork
1 cup finely ground (not grated) Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 pound spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Preparation

Sauce

Combine tomatoes with juice, butter, onions, and salt in large wide pot. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard onions. Using immersion blender, process sauce briefly to break up any large pieces of tomato (texture should be even but not completely smooth). Season sauce with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add fresh herbs if desired. Remove from heat. (I let mine simmer, covered, until we were ready to eat.)

Meatballs

Combine breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl; stir until breadcrumbs are evenly moistened. Let stand 10 minutes.
Place beef and pork in large bowl and break up into small chunks. Add 1 cup ground Parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Whisk eggs to blend in small bowl; whisk in garlic. Add to meat mixture.
Using hands, squeeze milk from breadcrumbs, reserving milk. Add breadcrumbs to meat mixture. Using hands, quickly and gently mix meat mixture just until all ingredients are evenly combined (do not overmix). Chill mixture at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Moisten hands with some of reserved milk from breadcrumbs, then roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-size balls, occasionally moistening hands with milk as needed and arranging meatballs in single layer in sauce in pot. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.
Using slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to platter. Add pasta to sauce in pot and toss to coat. Divide pasta among 6 plates. Top each serving with meatballs. Sprinkle meatballs with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting

2010-09-21T14:15:00.001-05:00

So I made this really crappy cake. It looked so promising, too. The funny thing is, I was trying to prove something with this cake. I was trying to prove to Bobby that a cake made from scratch is better than a cake mix. Instead I proved his point. Although I still don't actually believe that. But this was a major flop. The frosting, however, was culinary magnificence. It was so good. It was like whoever wrote this recipe said, "Let's take a chocolate truffle and spread it all over the outside of a cake." It was amazing. So I'll tell you what I'll do next time: I'll buy the store bought dark chocolate fudge cake mix and I'll put this on top. It will be decadent and impressive, but also a snap to make!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour.

Pan Fried Chicken with Basil Pasta and Parmesan Cream Sauce

2010-09-20T13:51:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I love to talk about food. If I hear you've been to a really good restaurant, I want to hear all about what you ordered- about any creative sauces, what it came with, how it tasted, how it was presented. The more details the better. Sometimes I get inspired to try something at home. Well, my mother-in-law and I were on the phone recently while I was using my new pasta machine to make basil pasta. That reminded her of something she ordered at the Cheesecake Factory that she loved called Chicken Bellagio. All she had to see was Parmesan cream sauce and she had me. Here is the recipe for what we came up with at home.

It's true- I bought a pasta maker. It was a major workout just rolling those noodles out, so I'm wondering if I need to add more water to the dough. They were so good, though!

Here is the recipe from my friend Marianne. She taught a great class on how to make your own noodles!

Homemade Pasta

2 cups flour
1 egg
1/3 cup water

Stir together; knead into a smooth ball; divide into pieces small enough to handle; roll out by hand or with a pasta machine; cut into noodles. You may either dry them at this point to cook later, or drop them into boiling salted water and cook. (Watch them though. They won't take as long to cook as store-bought noodles). For basil (or spinach): puree basil with some of the water and add to the mixture. You'll have to play with the amounts to get it right.

Pan-Fried Chicken with Basil Pasta and Parmesan Cream Sauce

4 chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded to 1/4 inch thick
butter
olive oil
1 1/2 c flour
1 T salt
2 tsp black pepper
fettucine noodles (store bought or homemade, basil noodles would be best - I used half plain/half basil)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 c milk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
4 oz. prosciutto
Parmesan cheese

Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess. In a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet, add 3 Tbs of olive oil - enough to coat- and saute chicken in batches over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. When finished, transfer the skillet to a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add cream and milk and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until it thickens. For last three minutes of cooking, add a handful of Parmesan cheese and coarsely chopped basil. Chop prosciutto into small pieces. Mix pasta, cream sauce, and prosciutto together. Serve pasta with chicken.

White Chocolate Berry Tart

2010-09-12T16:17:00.004-05:00

I made this dessert for a party I went to the other night. I loved it and I think it will replace this recipe that I've been making for years. The raspberries are such a nice surprise as they are folded into the white chocolate mousse. I only had one basket of strawberries, so I thinly sliced them and arranged them on top of the mousse, then brushed an apricot jam glaze over the strawberries. The recipe calls for 3 oz of milk chocolate that you brush over the hot crust, but I totally forgot about that because our sweet neighbor lady came by for a visit. Isn't she cute? We love Zerada.

White Chocolate Mousse and Berry Tart

adapted from epicurious.com

Yield: Serves 8

Crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 egg yolks

3 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped - I totally left this part out on accident

Filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
7 ounces white chocolate

1 1/2-pint basket fresh raspberries
2 1-pint baskets strawberries, halved
2 ounces imported white chocolate for curls (optional)

For Crust:

Combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add butter and cut in using fingertips or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat egg yolks to blend in small bowl. Pour yolks over flour mixture and stir with fork to combine. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Dough can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 14-inch round (scant 1/4 inch thick). Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Using second sheet of paper as aid, invert dough into 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Carefully press into pan. Trim and finish edges, patching any holes with scraps. Freeze until firm about 15 minutes.

Line crust with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 23 minutes. Remove beans and foil and continue baking until crust is golden brown, piercing bottom with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle chocolate over crust. Let stand until chocolate melts, about 4 minutes. Using back of spoon, carefully spread chocolate over bottom and up sides of crust. Cool.

For Filling:

Measure 1 tablespoon water into heavy small saucepan; sprinkle unflavored gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Add 3/4 cup whipping cream and stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Add 7 ounces white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to medium bowl. Refrigerate until cool but not set, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Whip remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold in raspberries. Spoon filling into crust. Refrigerate until beginning to set, about 30 minutes. Arrange strawberries atop filling, cut sides down and points toward edge. To form optional white chocolate curls, slide vegetable peeler across white chocolate. Garnish tart with chocolate curls. (Tart can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Refrigerate.)

Fourth of July Weekend 2010

2010-09-04T09:46:00.007-05:00

July 3, 2010

We had so much fun with the pie and cupcake contests last year that we decided to go for it again. This year we did little tiny cherry pies. I found the idea online. We bought little tin cupcake wrappers so that they would look like pie tins. We used a white cake mix, and then the girls and I spooned a little cherry pie filling on top. The lattice crust is just fondant with a little brown food coloring mixed in. I used my "crinkle cutter" from the Pampered Chef to get the fluted edges. I mixed a couple of recipes together to make this caramel apple pie. I don't even have the recipe for it because I never wrote it down! I also didn't even taste it because I had to give one pie for judging and one for the auction. I copied the idea for the crust from the July cover of Martha Stewart Living.

The girls took first place again! I was actually surprised. I was more impressed with some of the other entries. But the girls were very excited, and we had a great time.

It was fun to have their picture in the paper with the girls' friends Corinne and Rae. My pie didn't place. Maybe another reason I didn't bother to write down the recipe. Maybe it wasn't very good!

That night we heard fireworks outside and we got to watch a very impressive display at our neighbor's from our very own deck.

July 4, 2010

On the 4th, Franny and Sophie and I got up and headed to the Farmer's market to get some fresh corn and check out the car show. It wasn't as fun without Bobby, but he and baby Claire decided to stay home and sleep in.

Later we hit the parade and scored a ton of free candy and we got to see some friends.

Then we went home for hot dogs, watermelon, and corn and then we watched the city fireworks from the church parking lot. It was a great fourth of July!

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

2010-09-01T07:51:00.003-05:00

It's been nearly a month since I made these cookies and I'm afraid blogging about them this morning was a bad idea. Kind of dangerous. I want to eat some right now and it's only 8:07 AM!

These taste great by themselves but I spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on them, making them even more indulgent. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day craving them. I hope you're happy! ;)

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 salt
pinch of ground cloves (I left this out.)
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup finely ground pecans

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and cloves.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don't work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Add the pecans and give the mixer a couple of turns, just to get the nuts into the dough.
Using a rubber spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipperlock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9-x-10 1/2-inch rectangle that's 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn't cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale- they shouldn't take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
If you'd like, dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Frost with a cream cheese frosting if desired.

Black Bean Salad

2010-08-26T14:35:00.003-05:00

This was delicious!! I've made it twice and the second time I ate the whole batch for lunch. I've been craving a big bowl of fresh . . . whatever and this really hit the spot. I used fresh corn since it's available right now. One ear of corn cut from the cob and cooked in my cast iron pot with some butter and olive oil.

Black Bean Salad

adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained (or 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions, jalapeno chile peppers, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice and olive oil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lime juice.) Chill before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Have fun at work, Dad.

2010-08-21T20:49:00.005-05:00

I'm not feeling so hot tonight. I am ready to climb into bed, but I have to get this written down first. It's nothing major- chills, sore throat, achiness... Franny has noticed and has been really sweet, asking me how I'm feeling, telling Sophie to leave me alone, etc. Bobby is on call this weekend and we were happy to have him home with us since about 10:00 this morning. Well, the pager went off about 8:15 PM. Bobby was saying goodbye to the girls and Franny said, "Have fun at work, Dad. We'll take care of Mom." It was the sweetest thing. After that she came in to the room I was laying down in and kind of tip-toed over to see if I was still awake. She brushed her fingertips down the side of my face and looked at me sympathetically. Then she kissed her fingertips and rubbed my arm that was outstretched across the bed. I was so touched by her concern. After that it got very quiet. I called out from the bedroom I was in and asked what they were doing. Franny said, "I'm just waiting for Sophie to finish her treat." Then a few minutes later I heard them walk into their room and shut the door. A few minutes after that, I was able to drag myself into their room, where I discovered that Franny was taking it upon herself to put her and her sister down to bed so that I wouldn't have to get up. Sweet girl.

Six Dancing Princesses

2010-07-28T23:22:00.003-05:00

Last week I was watching my friends' kids for the day and I needed some planned activity to keep us all busy and happy. I thought about doing a craft with them, but I'm not the best at kid crafts. And then I remembered that ever since we got our mac several years ago, I've been wanting to make a movie with my kids. Seemed like a great idea since the oldest of the six girls in my care last week is eight years old, and would totally get the idea of making a movie and help get the other girls excited. So Bobby helped me come up with a basic plot: The six little girls were princesses who were also sisters, and their youngest sister (Claire) gets abducted by the wicked lady Katherine (me) and they have to save her. It was totally fun and the girls got really into it and we threw some of their ideas in, too. They were great little actresses. I did learn from this experience that I'm a pretty crappy story teller. You'll see what I mean when you listen to my narration. Anyway, I'm sure we'll do this again. It was a lot of fun. Enjoy! You'll get to see first hand what a big major dork I am.

Six Dancing Princesses from COLE WARNER on Vimeo.

Here comes the rain again.

2010-07-20T08:56:00.003-05:00

Yesterday while I was pouring the girls' cereal, I noticed the sky looked really cool and I asked the girls if they wanted to eat breakfast outside.
I snapped this picture of Franny and went back inside to check my email. A few minutes passed, and then I heard the girls rush inside. Thy were calling, "Mom! MOM!" I came out to the kitchen area and Sophie said, "Mom! There's gonna be a really big big TOMATO!" (Tornado.)

There was quite a bit of rain in the morning, but it was a pretty clear afternoon and evening. We stayed inside most of the day. Above is a picture I took of my girls entertaining Claire while I folded laundry. Last night, however, was just one never-ending thunderstorm. I woke up at 1:00 AM to the sound of hail hitting the windows in our basement. I thought it might have woken up the girls so I went to check on them. Here's how I found Sophie:It's like she started to get out of bed to come find me and then thought, "Ah...nevermind." ZZZzzzz..... Then I woke up at 5:30 to see a familiar sight: Bobby sopping up water off our bathroom floor with our white bath towels. That's right- we flooded again.

Sunday Dinner - Weeds

2010-07-19T10:56:00.006-05:00

Verdolagas con carne de puerco y chile

adapted from Doña Lupe’s Kitchen

This was a bigger hit than I was expecting. Verdolagas, also known as purslane are actually a common weed. I think I have them growing in my garden right now, but instead I paid a dollar for them at the Farmers' Market last Saturday. They actually tasted pretty good if you can believe it. Not a real strong flavor, especially after being boiled for ten minutes. The texture reminded me a lot of asparagus. They're supposed to be pretty good for you apparently. I think we'll definitely make it again, providing we can find more verdolagas. I just don't feel right about pulling my weeds out of my garden. I'd rather pay someone else for the weeds they pulled out of their garden. Wait a second...

1 bunch of well cleaned verdolagas, ends trimmed then chopped into about 1-inch sections
1 pound boneless pork chops, cubed (get pork with the fat NOT trimmed off)
1 small onion, sliced into rings
1 clover of garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced
3-4 fresh jalapeno chiles, seeded, de-veined and minced
salt and pepper to taste
chopped cilantro, about 1/4 cup

Salsa verde
sour cream

Boil the verdolagas for about ten minutes. Drain and set aside.

Season pork with salt and pepper. Fry the pork until very crispy and browned. Scoop out and set aside.

In the frying pan you fried the pork in, add the onion and fry until caramelized. Add the tomatoes, chiles, garlic, and salsa verde and cook down until you have a soupy sauce. (I used about 1/2 cup of salsa verde and served some on the side as well.) Add salt and pepper to taste and chopped cilantro, then add the pork and verdolagas.

Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The recipe recommends serving with beans, rice, and tortillas. I served with tortillas and brown rice. I thought it tasted best served over brown rice with a little sour cream on top.

Peach Ice Cream
from use real butter

I loved this peach ice cream recipe!

3 large peaches, peeled, pitted, chopped
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice

Cook peaches and water in a covered saucepan on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until soft. Give it a stir a few times. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Purée mixture in blender with remaining ingredients (leave some chunks if desired). Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator or over an ice bath then freeze in your ice cream maker.

Carson’s Corn Bread
from use real butter

4 tbsps unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Position oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan with butter or cooking spray and dust with flour. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, milk, yogurt (or sour cream), and sugar. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir together until just blended. Don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Just take care not to overbake or else the cornbread will be too dry. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Texas Caesar Salad
adapted from Bon Appetit

I liked this salad. Not as much as the Mexican Caesar salad, but I still really liked it.

2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno chili, seeded, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
8 cups bite-size pieces romaine lettuce (from 2 heads)
croutons
1 tomato, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 ears sweet white corn, kernels removed, sauteed in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper
Feta cheese

Puree first 9 ingredients in processor until smooth. Gradually add olive oil and process until blended. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Combine romaine lettuce and next 4 ingredients in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan.

Baby Claire at three months old.

2010-07-16T15:00:00.004-05:00

This should give you a good idea of why I haven't been blogging much lately. It's hard to get anything done with this sweet little thing around. I'm definitely not taking enough pictures of Claire. I have a higher standard now that all my friends have SLR's and I see what they can do with theirs. Problem is, I still have your average point and shoot variety so I just don't bother. It's really sad. Please, like Claire is going to care if her baby photos are "blah blah blah..." (I don't know photography jargon.) Anyway, what I have been doing is taking lots of video. So please enjoy these short clips of Miss Claire if you'd like:

I'm starting to really get used to having Franny and Sophie home with me all day. I was actually kind of nervous when Franny finished summer school at the end of June. She's been going to school in July since she turned three years old. Having three kids at home all day at first was pretty intense. We were having a lot of fun, of course- going to the pool, the library, playing with friends, etc.- but I was just so tired. But now that it's been a couple of weeks, we've all adjusted to being around each other more and we've hit a good rhythm. I'm sure it will be hard to send them back in a month. A month! Summer goes so fast. I'm glad I feel that way. Of course it will be nice to have some peace and quiet in the afternoons and time to do the things that I like to do, but I've really enjoyed planning our days, feeding them, helping them do a little homework each day... We've had a good time. I still feel like I'm way too tired too fast even though I'm getting a decent amount of sleep.

Here are some fun Franny and Sophie stories:

Franny loves bugs. Well, she loves to kill bugs. With her bare hands. Yesterday morning Melissa was watching my girls and she asked Franny to kill a bug. She watched Franny walk over to a big beetle-looking thing, thinking she would just step on it, but she picked it up and smashed it between her fingers, crunching the life out of the poor thing. Yesterday afternoon, Franny walked in and said, "Mom? MOM!!! A bee stung me!"
Me: "WHAT?!" (I've never been stung by a bee before.)
Bobby: "Wait a minute, were you trying to hold the bee?"
Franny: "I was holding it, and it STUNG ME!"

Franny was saying prayers and told Heavenly Father who was in her family. She told him our names as well. Then she told him, "I don't have a cat. I don't have a dog. And I don't have a unicorn." The next night she asked for a baby brother who likes to be tickled.

Sophie has been dabbling in the art of deception. One day I said, "Sophie, sometimes you don't tell the truth." She looked at me coyly and said, "Well, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't." A few days later, Franny asked if she could have fruit snacks AND a fruit roll-up. I said no, and Sophie walked off. When she came back she said, "Dad said I could have both." I scolded her for going to her father after I said no and Bobby walked in and said, "I told her no, too." What the?! She's three years old. I'm so screwed.

The other night the girls were asking about my Mom again. How she died and why she died. Bobby answered for me and started bearing testimony of Jesus Christ and his resurrection and that because of his sacrifice, we would be able to see Grandma again. Sophie said, "And the deer." I had to duck my head to hide the giggles. Franny recounted the story of when we hit the deer with our car. Sophie piped in with, "And the deer died." Bobby said, "Yes and do you know why? Because force equals mass times acceleration..." and I had to leave at that point because I couldn't stifle the giggles anymore. One minute he's bearing his testimony, and the next minute he's giving a physics lesson. Hilarious.

2010-07-13T07:50:00.002-05:00

My good friend Marie and I were talking months ago about bread-making. I told her I was looking for a good recipe for a crusty bread, one with a good taste and texture. She told me about this recipe for a no-knead bread. I finally got around to trying it and look how pretty it turned out! It was so fun and easy to make. Never in my wildest dreams- yeah, my dreams are really boring- did I think I would ever make a loaf that looked this pretty!

We sliced it up and served it with butter on Sunday. Yesterday we used it for sandwiches. And I think today I'll spread some raspberry peach jam on it. This is a recipe I know I'll be using over and over!

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Potato, Cucumber, and Dill Salad

2010-06-23T10:53:00.001-05:00

Potato, Cucumber, and Dill Salad

This is so good!

2 lbs. baby red potatoes, sliced
3 1/2 Tbs. rice wine vineagr
1 1/2 Tbs country-style dijon mustard
2 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

3/4 lb. pickling cucumbers, sliced

Fresh dill sprigs

Cook potatoes in pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain.

Transfer to large bowl. Add 2 Tbs vinegar to hot potatoes and stir
gently. Combine remaining 1 1/2 Tbs vinegar and mustard in small
bowl. Gradually mix in oil and mayo. Add chopped dill. Mix into
potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made six hours ahead.
Cover; chill. Bring to room temp before serving.) Mix in cucumbers.
Garnish will dill sprigs.

Ten minutes

2010-06-22T22:16:00.005-05:00

That's all I'm giving myself to write about today.

Today was a big day, and normally I would spend an hour and a half on a post like this. I want it to have accompanying videos and images and be worded just perfectly. But I don't have time. And I know if I wait until tomorrow it will never get done. So whatever I can come up with in ten minutes will just have to do!

My Franny has been receiving therapy since September 2006. We're going on four years! It's called EIBI (Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention) or ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis). It has changed our lives and hers for the better. When we were first told that she would need 25 hours of therapy a week at 2 1/2 years old, I could hardly believe it. The day she turned three years old she started going to school from 8 AM to 3 PM and had 1:1 therapy all day. ALL DAY. We noticed a huge difference right away. We have had amazing therapists, para's, consultants, doctors, and administrators helping us along the way. People that now feel like part of our family.

I could go on and on about this, but I have a deadline.

I got a call today from one of Franny's consultants. You see, Franny has had a whole team of people who evaluate her needs and her progress on a monthly basis. She said that Franny is ready to "graduate" from the EIBI program. Which basically means she has caught up to her peers. She'll still receive a few services like speech therapy and she'll work with a writing specialist, but nothing compared to what she had before. No team, no monthly meetings, no EIBI minutes.

I can't believe it. It's been such an emotional day. I remember taking this video footage the first day of therapy. She screamed and screamed because she didn't want to play "my turn" with Melinda. (Melinda would pass the ball to Franny and then say "my turn" and Franny was to give it back.) It's a video of a very sad Franny. I remember that as I was recording her melt down, I was hoping that someday I would come back to watch this video and say, "Wow, look at how far she's come!" Today's news is exactly what I hoped and prayed for when we first learned about Franny's diagnosis. I prayed so hard for this. And now that we're here... it feels great. It also feels scary. We won't have the same support we're used to having. And I will miss seeing these people regularly. It's so exciting! There should be a big party with all the people who helped her get to this point! Melinda, Mary, Tiffany, Chrissy, Karen, Stephanie, Jen, Mary Ellen, Liz... and OH SO many more. Bobby and I are both so grateful for the help she has received and so proud of our Franny, the hardest-working kid we know.

It was a good day. Wow, look at how far she's come!

Anniversary Dinner

2010-06-21T12:42:00.004-05:00

Bobby was only home for a few short hours on our actual anniversary, but I wanted to do something so I planned a nice meal. For dessert I thought it would be fun to make something sort of resembling a wedding cake. I thought the kids would like blowing out the candles and thought that might help them understand that Mommy and Daddy are already married. (They're always asking us if we're going to get married in the temple.)

Flank Steak Burritos- basically the same as these that I posted about before. They tasted amazing with the flank steak.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
We had some amazing iron skillet cornbread at a restaurant in Kansas City. This was my attempt to recreate that experience. Not exactly what I was looking for, but still very moist and delicious.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Directions

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Coconut Cake- yummo.

Ingredients

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Baked Oatmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Mayonnaise

2010-06-15T08:13:00.003-05:00

It is with a heavy heart and an empty stomach that I bring you this recipe. Dieting sucks.

But this was actually pretty good for a healthier meal. And my kids LOVED it surprisingly.

I served this with parmesan couscous and yellow squash and zucchini sauteed in a little olive oil and butter with garlic.

Baked Oatmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Mayonnaise

4 whole Tilapia Fillets (fresh Or Frozen)
2 cups Quick Oats
⅓ cups Bread Crumbs
⅓ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives, Chopped
2 teaspoons Parsley
Salt And Pepper, to taste
4 Tablespoons Low-fat Mayonnaise (you May Need A Little Extra If Your Fillets Are Bigger)
½ teaspoons Grated Lemon Rind
½ teaspoons Lemon Juice

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Defrost/rinse fish and pat dry. Place fish fillets on the baking sheet.

3. In a bowl, mix together oats, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, measure out the mayonnaise before adding lemon rind and juice. Stir.

4. Brush tops of fish with mayonnaise, then top with the dry coating. You may feel the desire to scrimp on the mayo or feel anxious about how the texture will bake. Don’t and don’t be! The mayo melds with the coating of dry materials and thickens, creating a creamy texture. It barely tastes of mayo. Don’t go overboard with the mayo, but don’t underestimate its role in the success of this dish. If you’re not a fan of mayonnaise, I’ve read that sour cream and/or plain-flavored yogurt are excellent substitutions.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes when forked. Serve over the pasta of your choice or with vegetables.

Celebrating nine years

2010-06-11T14:55:00.004-05:00

Our anniversary was on Tuesday, but Bobby and I are heading out tonight to celebrate. I'm so excited to have some time alone with him. (Claire will be with us but at least she won't be interrupting my sentences all night long to say something really insightful, like "Boof in your bottom." I swear, it's a wonder Bobby and I are ever able to talk about anything!) It's not like he's been working crazy hours or that he's been out of town or anything, but I really miss him! I guess it's just part of the whole adjusting to three children thing. I can't believe it's been nine years. Ten years ago I was pining away for this boy while he was on his mission. I was saying the words, "I can't wait for Bobby to get home" out loud many times a day. So many times that it almost started that they all started to kind of slur together into one very long word. I was thinking of him constantly and dreaming of all the things I have now and thinking: "Gee. Wouldn't it be cool to be Bobby's wife?"

I was right about that. Happy Anniversary Bobby! I love you.

Jayne says...

2010-06-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

One of the perks of staying in K-ville is I get to be here when the students come back for graduation. I was so happy to see these two especially. I've missed them so much ever since they left. Natalie is going to be only three hours away for residency, so I am thrilled! I'm hoping to see Jessica next time when I'm visiting my mother-in-law in Idaho. Thanks you two for coming and visiting me during such a busy weekend. Congratulations!!

Natalie smuggled five pounds of cinnamon bears and a giant container of Stephen's hot chocolate out of Utah for me. Cinnamon bears will always remind me of baby Claire. I think I've had a handful every day since she was born thanks to Natalie and my friend Sara!

Jayne came up from Kansas City for a wedding reception and stayed with us for a night. It was so great to have her. While she was here, Claire smiled at Jayne for the very first time ever!! I didn't get it on camera, but this was taken right after. Jayne moved a year ago and I've really missed having her around. She was going to stay in a hotel, but luckily for me it was our local university's graduation and she couldn't find a room. Otherwise we wouldn't have had all that time to sit and chat. I always soak up everything Jayne has to say because she has great perspective and gives great advice. And with Bobby following in her husband Shawn's footsteps as an anesthesiologist, it's nice to know what's coming. I'm hoping we can get down later this summer for a quick visit with the Crook's. It's just not the same without them here!

Maybe she's born with it.

2010-06-02T14:32:00.004-05:00

Today is Franny's last full day home before her half day summer school starts for the month of June. We had just finished eating lunch and the baby had just fallen asleep in her swing when Franny said, "Let's go on a walk." I wasn't thrilled about waking up the baby, but I knew the kids would enjoy being outside. I woke Claire up, put her in her stroller and went outside to meet the girls. Franny said the neighbors had set up their pool and then she said, "I was just kidding. I don't want to go on a walk anymore." Ha! I laughed at her and made her go around the block with me once anyway. I told her I didn't wake Claire up for nothing! So we made it around once and Franny and Sophie ran straight for the neighbor's pool. When I caught up to them, I found the two of them in their [brand new] clothes splashing around in an inflatable pool with two inches of water, already soaking wet. Awesome.

Earlier this morning, I was putting on my makeup when Sophie joined me in the bathroom. Sometimes she likes to take one of my powder brushes and put her makeup on too. Today she had her baby doll with her and was applying the makeup to the doll as well. She was asking me what all the different brushes were for. Then she picked up the mascara and asked what it was for. I said it was for your eyes and I was sure she would just pretend to put it on instead of unscrewing the tube. I was wrong. I looked down when I heard her say, "I like this mom. I like this on my eyes." At first I was like, "SOPHIE!! No! You can't play with that." Then I guided her to the mirror and told her to look at what she had done to herself. She burst into tears when she saw her reflection. Then I couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't real happy with me for taking this picture. I knew I'd be sorry if I didn't take a picture of the first time one of my kids got into my makeup.

Claire started sleeping through the night last Thursday night. She slept through the night five nights in a row, until last night when she woke up every THREE hours! I'm so hoping it's just a fluke and she wasn't teasing me before. It's got to be her just trying to increase my milk supply, right? I mean I know that sleeping through the night is more than most can expect when babies are only 7 1/2 weeks old, but I was starting to get used to the extra sleep and it just seems too cruel to take it away at this point! :) She's also cooing now. I love that so much.

Claire's blessing day

2010-06-02T08:30:00.008-05:00

I normally would spend much longer writing a post like this, but since it must be done, it must be done quickly! I have so very little time for blogging these days.

This post may seem a bit more personal than my typical posts. But it's got to be recorded and it's an opportunity for me to share a little of my testimony, which I should probably be doing more of.

Claire's blessing day was perfect. We planned to have it while my mother-in-law Louise was here helping with the baby, and Bobby's brother Wes and his family came, too. I slept as late as I could the night before since Claire woke up at 3 AM ready to party and we were running out of time. Bobby took everyone to the church early and left Sophie, Claire, and I at home to finish getting ready. I wanted to give Claire a bath or at least wash her hair, but I looked at the clock and knew there wouldn't be time. Louise had told me about a baby blessing she was at where the mother of the baby kept the whole congregation waiting because she was "fixing the baby's hair." I did not want to be that person. :) I started dressing Claire in the blessing dress that my Mom made for Franny and all of the sudden I felt so good. My eyes started to tear up. It just felt like my Mom was right there with me watching me as I got Claire ready for her blessing. Sophie started asking questions about the dress so we talked about Grandma for a minute. We put Claire's bonnet on and got in the car to hurry over to the church. As I walked in to the church building I could hear the music playing and once we reached the chapel we quickly found Bobby and sat down. When I realized what they hymn was, my eyes filled with tears and my heart nearly burst: "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." My mother's favorite hymn. I've noticed it's often played at meetings I've been at on the toughest days since she passed: near/or on the anniversary of her death, her birthday, Mother's Day... I didn't know it was her favorite hymn until we sang it at her funeral. So I can't hear it without thinking of her. I love this song because it's such a beautiful and descriptive testimony of the Savior. It covers so much of what he does for us. So when I hear this song, I feel so loved by both my Mother and my Savior.

I thought of what I must look like to the people sitting around me: the epitome of the new mother- all emotional and hormonal. I mean, I just walked in, sat down, and immediately started crying. That's so weird! Bobby noticed and asked me if I was okay and I told him it was my mother's favorite song. Soon after that he was standing up and giving our third daughter a blessing as beautiful as the ones he gave our other daughters. He sat down with me and held Claire and we smiled as she spit up just about everything she consumed from her last feeding. He looked at me and whispered how sweet it was that all of our daughters had been blessed in the same gorgeous dress. He asked me if I was going to bear my testimony. I told him I hadn't decided yet- I was still a bit emotional and afraid I wouldn't get through it. When it seemed clear to him that I probably wouldn't, he went up to bear his. He talked about how his heart went out to me because I had lost my Mom, how sweet it was to have my mom there with us in a way since she had made that beautiful dress, and then to sing her favorite song- a testimony of Jesus Christ and how he lives to wipe away our tears and calm our troubled hearts. He talked about how touched we were to feel her there on such an important day. I was especially touched to hear Bobby saying all the same things I was thinking without even having the opportunity to discuss them together. So I left that chapel feeling the utmost gratitude. I was grateful for our sweet baby Claire, for family who came so far to be with us, for a righteous husband who knows and loves me, for feeling my mother's presence on that special day, and for my loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives.
Family picture taken by Jen. I love the way everyone looks except for me. This pregnancy did a real number on me!

I love this group so much! (Not pictured: Colton and Nicole.) Thanks for coming out to celebrate with us! Thanks Louise and Jen for helping me feed everyone! Thanks Jen for all the beautiful pictures!

It was fun to share Claire's blessing day with little Henry Holmes. He's so cute! Stephanie and Brendon are some of our favorite people! (Brendon is my brother-in-law Grant's (Julia's husband) brother. So we're practically related.)

Claire's first smile caught on camera

2010-05-23T15:06:00.002-05:00

It's going so fast! I can't stand it! We're not taking enough pictures or video and these sweet newborn moments are just slipping through my fingers. She started smiling around the middle of last week.

I'm confused because I ate too many snacks.

2010-05-20T16:06:00.005-05:00

My talented sis-in-law Jen took this picture, as if there was any question that this could possibly be a picture I could take. It's way beyond my abilities.

I've had a few emails, comments, phone calls, etc., from sweet people wondering how we're doing, possibly due to my lack of posts on this blog. I'm overwhelmed and I don't know where to start. I have blog posts I want to write about Claire, Franny, Bobby, and Sophie. I want to write about Bobby's mom's visit, and how wonderful it was to have her here. About all my friends here who helped us right after the baby came and my friends who sent all sorts of wonderful gifts (including cinnamon bears from Utah!) I have recipes for BBQ and homemade yogurt that I want to share (two separate posts- that would be a strange flavor combination). I want to write about Claire's baby blessing and how I felt like my mom was with me all day, and how nice it was to have some of Bobby's family there with us. But you know how it goes... if I get a spare minute, I spend it with the children, or cooking dinner, doing laundry, yard-work, or exercising. Record-keeping falls by the wayside.

We are all doing well. Some of us are still trying to adjust to the change. And by some of us, I mean Franny. She seems to love baby Claire, but I think she's angry with me. It all started about two weeks after the baby was born, almost like she realized that the new baby (i.e. disruption in her life) was a permanent change. So we're working hard on that. Meanwhile Claire is a remarkably easy baby to care for. Wouldn't mind one less feeding at night, but that would probably be asking for too much. Aside from being a little over-sensitive, Sophie has been her usual sweet and sassy self.

Here are my favorite things the two of them have said lately:

Sophie has been learning about feelings at school lately. She said, "Mom, are you excited or confused?"
Me: "I'm excited. What about you?"
Sophie: "I'm confused."
Me: "Why are you confused?"
Sophie: "Because I ate too many snacks."

My favorite thing Franny said is an example of her recent attitude. She came home really tired after a fun day at our local state park, where they hiked and played all day. She called this field trip her "camping trip."

She was sitting next to me on the couch and said, "Ask me how was my camping trip?"
Me: "How was your camping trip."
Pause.
Franny: "I don't want to tell you."

Sheesh.

Poor Miss Mary

2010-05-10T08:57:00.002-05:00

Franny's "helper" at school is Miss Mary. She loves Miss Mary. Miss Mary took a sick day last week and Franny wanted to make her a card. In case you can't read it, the card says:

"Miss Mare (Miss Mary)

she fro up" (she throw up.)

with a lovely drawing to accompany the heartfelt inscription.

Bobby and I loved it. So did Mary.

Sophie's first Preschool Program

2010-05-10T08:41:00.004-05:00

Sophie's preschool was a few weeks ago and we all went to watch her perform. Bobby's mom and her husband Howard drove in the night before so they were able to come, too. Sophie seemed to like having us all there to watch her. Although we noticed she was a lot more reserved on stage than Franny is. Franny seems to be energized by a crowd and being the center of attention, whereas Sophie seems to be a little less comfortable in the spotlight. She sure was cute up there, though. I told her she looks like Hannah Montana in these pictures and she really liked that.

Three Girls

2010-05-10T07:32:00.007-05:00

At least once a week now I hear myself saying to Bobby: "We have three kids!" It's been nearly a month since I posted. Taking a little break I guess, but the list of things I want to get written down is getting long so I better start catching up. By the way, we're still loving Miss Claire- some of us a little too much- and everyday there is more of her to love.

Claire Hazel

2010-04-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Claire Hazel
Born April 5, 2010
7 lbs. 3 oz.
21 inches

So it's been what, 11 days since Claire was born and I am finally posting something about it. Life has slowed to a crawl around here. I have so many people helping me do my life right now. I am so grateful. I have really been able to rest, sleep, and just take it easy and I'm hoping it will help me to be back on my feet and feeling normal sooner rather than later. So for the last week and a half, when I've been trying to decide whether to sleep or blog, I've always chosen sleep. But here I am making an effort. It's not much, but you can be sure there will be more! We just love our little Claire bear.

Here's the story:

The night of Easter Sunday, two days after my due date, Bobby and I were sitting on the couch together after the girls went to sleep flipping between the Lord of the Rings and the show where the two guys go searching through other people's crap looking for treasures. The baby was moving A LOT. I thought maybe something might be finally happening. I called Labor and Delivery at the hospital to see if I should come in but the nurse said it was probably nothing and that if I came in she would probably just send me home. So I went to sleep and the next morning I got up, got dressed, and while I was helping Franny get ready for school I realized I wasn't really feeling any movement from the baby. I called the OBGYN office while driving Franny to school and asked if I could come in right away. The doctor was able to verify that everything was okay with the baby but said when there is a big change like that in fetal movement, she likes to induce labor right away. I was thrilled. I went home quickly to get my hospital bag and make arrangements for great friends to watch my girls and headed back to the hospital. I was induced with both Franny and Sophie and everything about last week's induction felt the exact same until my doctor came in to break my water. After doing so, she was checking to see if I had progressed any further and said to one of the nurses, "Get me an ultrasound." There was silence until I dared speak because her instructions to the nurse and the way she hurriedly washed her hands and took off her white coat made me nervous. "Is everything okay?" I managed to get out. The doctor said, "the baby is no longer in position. I'm going to try and flip her." That did not feel good. And Claire was not cooperative. At all. But I was grateful to my doctor for trying. Finally it was decided that a C-section was in order. My doctor guessed that the baby's arms were up and wrapped around her head and in the way and that perhaps might be why I hadn't gone into labor. I've always hated the idea of a C-section, but when it came down to it, I just wanted the baby out and safe and it didn't really matter how. That said, until I got my spinal I was feeling pretty anxious about what was about to happen to me. Luckily I was surrounded by amazing doctors (3 anesthesiologists, 1 OB, and Claire's pediatrician) and nurses who were there to help me through it. And of course Bobby. Thank goodness for him. He stayed by my head the hold time, holding my hand, telling me I was doing a great job. (I figured my "job" was just to lay there and not freak out that I was being cut open. Easy enough when you can't feel anything but some weird pressure.) Of course the most exciting part was when I started to hear the staff start saying things like:

"AHHH!!!"
"There's the foot!"
"She's doing the splits!"
"Here she is!"

When they pulled her out, both of her hands and one of her legs were up by her head! This was not a big baby, and I'm a tall girl. There really shouldn't have been any reason for me to have a c-section except for her bizarre acrobatic position. The nurses said she wanted to come out with flair.

Sophie demonstrating Claire's position in the womb.

I think the first thing I said was, "Does she have hair?" What's wrong with me? Like that matters. Then I said, "Is it a girl?" I've had some weird feelings about this one. She made me wait two extra days, she came out in the most bizarre position causing me to have a C-section... I wouldn't put it past her to change her gender on us at the last minute. ;) Like her sister Sophie, I think this one might be coming with a generous dose of sass.

It was a couple of hours before I really got a good look at her. They brought her right over to the table and got to work on her. I just love the sound of their first cry. Bobby went to check her out and I was craning my neck from behind the drape trying to get a peek. Then they let Bobby hold her for a second and he brought her over to me, but I could still barely see her out of the corner of my eye. So I just pressed the side of my face next to hers and that had to be enough until after she was bathed and cleaned and I had been through post-op. I was so happy to get to my room and finally see her. She looks a lot like my other babies did as newborns. She has a lot less hair than Sophie did, but she still has a decent set of locks. Her hair is much lighter than Franny and Sophie's was. That's kind of fun. I'm hoping she'll be a little blonde toddler like Bobby was. She wants her hands up by her face most of the time.

Here's a picture of me holding Claire for the first time:

And a few more shots of baby Claire. It's so much fun to have a little one around again.

Hands up by her face.

Big sister Sophie holding her for the first time.

Franny holding Claire for the first time.

The first morning we were back at home, Bobby picked Claire up and say, "Hi Claire, I'm your Daddy." And I realized it was the first time he'd seen her with her eyes open! I had to take a picture.

Here she is telling off her sisters. See what I mean about the sass?

Pork and Lemon Orzotto and Caesar Salad Dressing

2010-03-29T12:27:00.000-05:00

I've been slightly obsessed with orzo lately, and also wanting to try some risotto recipes, so this recipe jumped out at me. While we were in Springfield, we stopped at a Salvation Army and I grabbed Giada's "Everyday Pasta" cookbook for a measly three dollars! I was not disappointed at all. Very tasty little dish, but something tells me that mushrooms would make a nice addition to the little party that is Pork and Lemon Orzotto.

Pork and Lemon Orzotto
from Every Day Pasta by Giada De Larentiis

Orzotto
3 1/2 cups reduced- sodium chicken broth
3 T unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 lb. orzo pasta
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Herb Vinaigrette
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs chopped fresh basil
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

Pork chops
3 Tbs olive oil
4 boneless pork loin chops, about 2 inches thick (although my pork chops were barely 1 inch thick)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

For the orzotto, in a medium saucepan, bring the 3 1/2 cups of broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.

Melt 2 Tbs of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the orzo and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the pasta, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar or tight-sealing plastic container. Shake well and set aside.

For the pork, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, carefully place the pork chops in the skillet. Remove the pork from the pan and cover loosely with foil to rest. Pour off the excess oil from the pan and return it to medium heat. Pour the 1/2 cup of chicken broth into the skillet and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat.

To finish the orzotto, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the broth from the pork skillet, the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper.

Spoon the orzotto onto a serving platter (or onto individual plates). Slice each chop into 1/2 inch thick strips and arrange the meat on top of the orzotto. Drizzle with the herb vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Caesar Salad Dressing
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!

I love this salad dressing so much. It's become a bit of a problem. I don't have any in the house right now and just preparing this blog post and thinking about it is literally causing my mouth to fill with saliva. I just might go make some when I'm finished here. It is that good.

1 extra-large egg yolk at room temperature*
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mild olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the dressing, place the egg yolks, mustard, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube (as though you were making mayonnaise), until thick. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and pulse 3 times.

For dessert on this particular night, I thought the kids might enjoy ice cream sundaes. They did, and so did I unfortunately. For three days, it was all I could think about. Uh-oh, is it just me or does an ice cream sundae sound amazing right now? Everything we used was store-bought except for this delicious hot fudge sauce.

"Sorry about the drama, we just hit a deer with our car."

2010-03-28T11:37:00.004-05:00

Franny has been in need of some pretty serious dental work for quite a while now. Actually last summer was when we first became aware that she needed to have some cavities filled. She had to have a crown put on, a tooth removed, a spacer put in and three cavities filled. We were referred to a pediatric dentist in Columbia and made the drive down early Friday morning. Bobby scooped the girls out of the car and put them in the van hoping they would just go to sleep. Instead they had a lot of questions. Sophie wanted to know why we were going to the dentist at night time?

About a half an hour into our trip we saw the sun beginning to rise and we were talking about the pretty colors and the horizon, etc. I realized I had forgotten to tell Franny's teacher she wouldn't be at school that day so I picked up my cell phone to leave them a message. (It was only about 6:45 AM.) Here's an idea of what that message sounded like:

"Hi, this is Katherine. My daughter Franny won't be at school today because she's having some dental work done in Columbia. Would you please let her teacher know she won't be there... Bobby, Bobby- there's a deer. Right there. Deer, deer, deer.... AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! [Thud] Oh my gosh! Oh! Sorry about the drama, we just hit a deer with our car." Click.

Isn't that the funniest phone message ever? If I were working in that office, that message would have totally made my day. Seriously, I am such a spaz.

So anyway, back to the deer. Poor stupid deer. I saw the deer start running across the lanes of the highway from a pretty far distance. We had quite a bit of time to react, but as Bobby adjusted his speed with his breaks so that he could avoid killing a large and panicked animal, the deer adjusted her (we think it was a doe anyway) speed to match ours and was actually aiming for us. We felt like there was nothing we could do. The deer leaped at our car and hit the beam that separates the windshield from the driver's window. We're afraid that if our car was a second faster than where we were, he would have slammed through the window right into Bobby! While we recognize that "lucky" would have been not to hit any deer at all, we do feel very lucky that the none of us were hurt and the damage to the car was minimal.

Another fortunate thing for us was that a road worker pulled up about two cars behind us, turned on his hazards, and told Bobby he would move the deer for us. (The deer was still alive but struggling.) So Bobby got back in the car and we drove the rest of the way to see the dentist. So the morning started off pretty weird.

Franny had to be put under anesthesia again for the dental procedure. (She was just recently put under for a tonsillectomy that I have been meaning to blog about here. I'll get to it.) She did a lot better when she came out of it this time. They made her a little cocktail with Verced and something else to help calm her before separating her from us and putting her out. She's pretty cute when she's high. She said, "I loovveee you Moooommm...." with very slurred speech. She was stroking my hair and my face and looking up at me with a goofy smile. It was pretty cute. She was really annoyed with the spacer in her mouth at first, but she seems to have gotten used to it.

Later than night Bobby and I were in the office watching "The Office" when the girls came in. All of the sudden my calendar alerted me that our town's Daddy-Daughter dance was starting in 15 minutes. Bobby was pretty excited to take Franny, but she couldn't decide if she wanted to go. One minute she did, the next minute she didn't. It was a little frustrating, but we knew she must be tired. But Sophie said she did want to go, so the two of them went. I snapped this picture before they left:

I could tell it meant a lot to Sophie to have that one on one time with Daddy. They were walking out to the car and Sophie said to Bobby, "Are we going on a date?" She was exhausted from waking up so early, so they weren't gone too long, but from what I hear there was plenty of Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift to dance to- just what Sophie loves. I have to say I was really grateful all day for Bobby- for coming with us to help with Franny's dental procedure and then that night for taking Sophie out at the last minute, before he had even had a chance to eat dinner. He was kicking back and relaxing in comfortable clothes, but as soon as he realized that Sophie really wanted to go he had a shirt and tie on in about five minutes. I just really like him a lot.

Spring Break in Springfield

2010-03-24T09:22:00.014-05:00

We spent a couple of days during Spring Break in Springfield, IL. Bobby and I have been wanting to check out the Abraham Lincoln sites as well as a Frank Lloyd Wright home there. So we went for it and we are so happy we did! Our first stop was the Lincoln home. Abraham Lincoln and his family lived there for seventeen years before moving to the White House and I believe it was the only home they ever owned. It was really cool to walk around his neighborhood and inside his home and get a good look at what the interior of his house may have looked like.

Our girls are a lot of fun to travel with. They love being on the go and it makes family trips a total blast. Thank goodness for that! We wondered if we were crazy to plan a not-so-kid-friendly vacation, but they did great. We were sure to break things up with a couple of trips to candy stores, time in the hotel pool, and some kid-friendly restaurants.

Another "must-see" for us in Springfield was the Dana-Thomas house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. I saw the Robie house in Chicago last year and that is the only other FLW site I've had the opportunity to see. This one was really impressive because it still holds so much of the home's original furniture. I just can't get over how far ahead of his time Frank Lloyd Wright was. Bobby and I were trying to imagine what he would come up with if his career were starting now. I can tell you one thing- he would totally have his own show on HGTV. And I would watch it. There was a bowling lane in the basement. It was freaking awesome.

We also went to the Lincoln Presidential museum. Admission was a little pricey but totally worth it. I was really impressed and learned a lot about our former president. I got a little teary-eyed watching a perplexed Franny look at one exhibit where an auctioneer was standing next to a small boy who's parents were being sold into slavery and separated leaving the boy alone. I held my breath and waited for the question I knew was coming about what kind of scene was being depicted here. It's hard to explain things like assassination and slavery to such small children. But please, how long do I think I can shield my babies from the less than pleasant things in life? Anyway, that was something I hadn't really prepared myself for when we decided to take a trip to Springfield. Sophie was really upset when she found that "Hamalon Lincoln" died. She told a stranger in our hotel's elevator like it happened yesterday.

I like how Franny is holding little Willie Lincoln's hand in this picture.

They weren't all smiles and cheerful the entire time. Although I think this picture of Sophie was staged. These were both taken in "Mary's Attic"- which was a children's room where you could play with a large doll house designed to look like Abraham Lincoln's Springfield home. You could dress up in period clothes, play games the Lincoln kids may have played, and pretend to cook in a play kitchen.

The last thing we did was visit the Lincoln tomb. The building is has some structural problems so we weren't able to go on top. But we were able to go inside and see where Lincoln, his wife, three of his sons, and his only grandson are buried.

This is Franny rubbing Lincoln's nose for good luck.

Here's a cute picture of Bobby and the girls in front of a temporary tomb where they kept Abraham Lincoln's body before he was moved to the larger building above. And here's a picture of the girls sitting on the steps of the Old State Capitol building.

And guess who lost another tooth!