Archive for 2009

Take a Glance

Posted Monday, June 29th, 2009 by Toad

It has recently been suggested that, as in the days of yore, I should post on the blog more often than, say, we have children.

It’s been a real joy watching Natalie grow up more and I’ve really been enjoying how well she’s able to communicate and interact.  Watching Ben learn to laugh or to hold on to us when he is scared has reminded me how far she’s come in just two years!

Natalie has recently “learned” to sit through a feature film from start to finish, and it’s amazing the things she takes away from her new favorite movie, Disney’s The Jungle Book.  Hardly an hour goes by now that she doesn’t remind Mollie or me that “Nata stay in the jungle!”

Today I found Natalie outside, playing on her slide, and she promptly told me, “Uh-oh, ant.”  I gave her a quizzical look, and didn’t think much of it until she leaned up to the plastic to lick an ant off of it.  “Natalie,” I asked, “are you eating the fancy ants?”

“Yes!  Eatin’ fancy ants!”

Vitamins and Minerals

Now, that’s not ants she’s eating in the picture.  A few minutes later, Mollie caught her eating dirt out of the raised garden, under the pretense of “fancy ants.”

Mmm, tasty.

Apparently, it was quite tasty.

She followed that up with threats to go play in the garden (which she knows she’s not allowed to do).  She knew we were in a playful mood…

Go here?

She’s definitely turning in to a bit of a smart alec, so Mom, I suppose you can rest assured that I will, in fact, have at least one kid just like me when I grow up.

High quality versions of the pictures above are available by clicking on them.

Late but Great Father’s Day

Posted Saturday, June 27th, 2009 by Mollie

I had the best intentions of dedicating a post to Andy on Father’s Day, but life has been crazy busy lately and I haven’t had time to sit at the computer long enough to blog!

We did have a very nice Father’s Day though.  Before church, Andy got to open his gift from the kids.  “They” got him this awesome Maglite flashlight.  It will be a handy weapon light for when Andy walks to the Spooner’s house at night– in case he bumps into one of the weird dogs that sometimes roam our neighborhood!

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After church we hosted a barbecue at our house, with both of our dads and their families in attendance.  I made a special dessert– Mocha Rum Cake!  I saw the recipe a while back and saved it because I knew I’d have to make it for Andy some day. It has all our favorite ingredients:  coffee and rum (Andy), Ghiradelli chocolate and three sticks of butter (me).  Good thing we were sharing, right??

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It turned out soooo well and tasted amazing.  I thought the rum flavor might be too strong for our non-drinkers, but everyone really liked it.  In case there was any doubt as to how rich and dense this cake was, here is a close-up.

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This was Andy’s 3rd Father’s Day, but each year he shows us new ways that he is an awesome dad!  In 2009 we have learned that

1.  He can fix hair in pigtails really well!

2. He’s way better than me at getting both kids to bed by himself.

3.  He can deliver a baby with just 15 minutes notice.  Sorry honey!  Just trying to keep you on your toes.

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A couple favorite pictures of Andy with the kids:

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Smiles & Laughs

Posted Thursday, June 18th, 2009 by Mollie

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Ben is 11 weeks old now!  He was a little bit out of sorts today, but was happy to watch big sister playing outside this morning.  He smiles and laughs so easily these days.  He is soooo ticklish!  Just taking his shirt off makes him giggle!  Isn’t he a cutie?

Garden Variety

Posted Saturday, June 13th, 2009 by Mollie

This year we planted our first garden!  It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but always felt a little hesitant about because I don’t seem to have any natural talent for gardening (I’ve killed my fair share of plants).  But anyone can learn, right?  Two weeks ago we planted some seeds and seedlings, and I am happy to report that they are already growing happily!   It was very exciting to see cute little lettuce plants pop out of the ground this week in their tidy row, and the tomato plants already have some yellow flowers.  So far, so good… I can’t wait to make a salad with our home grown veggies.

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We decided to start with some family favorites.  We’ve got two types of tomatoes, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini, onions, two types of lettuce, and jalapeño peppers.

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This year’s garden is kind of experimental… we will see what grows well, and what sort of problems arise.  We’ve already had someone snacking on one of the tomato plants (probably a snail), and in the morning I often see the neighborhood rabbits hanging around, but at least we’ve taught Nata to stay OUT of the dirt!  That will help a lot.

The Most Amazing Rolls

Posted Saturday, June 6th, 2009 by Mollie

I’ve had a couple requests to post some of my best recipes.  This is not my healthiest bread recipe, but it’s a great one for a special occasion or when you have  company coming over.  I’ve been challenging myself to make good use of my bread machine and never buy bread at the store, so the other night I made my favorite recipe for rolls.   It’s based on a recipe from my bread cookbook, but I changed a few things so I call it my own, hehe.

Rolls:

1 egg at room temperature + enough 80 degree water to equal 1 cup

1/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

2 cups AP flour

1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

I just throw it all in my bread machine in no particular order and use the “dough” setting, but obviously you could mix it in your mixer and then be sure to let it rise.

Topping:

3 tablespoons meted butter

grated orange peel or a spoonful of orange juice concentrate

spoonful of sugar

1. After it rises the first time or the dough cycle is done, divide bread into pieces and shape into rolls.

2. Mix topping ingredients, dip pieces in mixture.

3. Place in greased baking dish, cover, and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or till they are doubled in size (I like to put them in the oven (NOT turned on!!) with a bowl of boiled water).

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until done.  If you have any topping remaining, brush it on top while they bake.  Serve them warm if possible!

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Do you like how I turned the dish to make it less noticeable that I devoured THREE rolls before even stopping to take a picture?  That’s how yummy they are.