All Baked Out

The holidays seemed like a big haze of flour, butter, and sugar this year.  With children I've found that the holiday season is longer than ever.  Rather than the normal span from Thanksgiving to Christmas, it now starts in late September with the planning of Hallween costumes and spooky treats, right on through to the new year and black-eyed peas.  I have to give partial blame to my friend Amy (mom to Kayla, Luke's best friend) for the bakingpalooza this time around.  It all started with a book given to me by my mom, Hello Cupcake.  Ever heard of it?  Probably not, but it has the most ridiculously cute cupcakes you ever did see.  I mean, sickningly cute.  I mean, the moment I flipped through the pages I thought, I MUST MAKE THESE CUPCAKES.  Yes, just another something to distract me from the things I should be doing, like cleaning the house and filling photo albums - BLAAAAHHHH!!!  Anyway, I made this cupcake/cake thing-a-ma-bob for Luke's birthday last year...

This gave me some confidence and practice with my cake making skills.

Next up was the Easter cake...

There were a few others until I tool a long hiatus.  A girl's got priorities, ya know. :)

Then I became closer with Luke's best friend's mom.  Amy and I made a trade.  She took our family's Christmas card picture...

...in return for a lesson in cake icing.  Not that I'm a pro, but I've found those little icing tips to be a bit overwhelming until you just take the plunge.  Amy came over and we iced a cake for Kayla's school.  She caught the bug!!!  Before long Amy was asking if I wanted to work on these...

Uh, yeah!  What cupcake-lovin' fool wouldn't want to be part of this?! :)  I swear half the fun is finding the ingredients listed in the book.  We didn't find them all, but they still turned out okay, don't ya think?

Then she called me to make these...

Too stinking cute, if I do say so myself.  This one cracks me up...

All lined up, ready to be taken to Luke's school and gobbled up by little three-year-olds.  Side note:  Luke refused to eat the Oreo hats (he must not be my son).

Then I had the brilliant (sarcasm, I promise) idea to bake my holiday gifts this year.  You know, the gifts you give to neighbors, teachers, etc.?  I found this recipe for cinnamon honey butter on one of my favorite blogs.  Here's the recipe: /http://www.f-bruises/http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/2009/12/yesterday-rain-paint-butter-bruises/

 Sounded delicious.  But what else could I give with it?  A quick search for cinnamon bread and I found this: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/cinnamon-bread-i/Detail.aspx

This of course allowed me to play with the packaging...

Perfect.  I thought.  Until I realized I actually had to bake this bread and whip this butter...all with children at my feet.  Brilliant (sarcasm again).  I stongly suggest NOT to bake with small children in the house.  I kept forgetting whether or not I had added the baking powder and wondering if I'd actually be able to hear the timer from the playroom.  In the end, it all worked out, but if time is money, that stuff was like gold.  Ha ha!  Might be hitting the TJ Maxx and Bath and Body Works next year. :)

Not quite a baked good, but we also made pasta for Steve's dad's big birthday celebration (more on that later)...

Then there was Paula Dean's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle...

And my dad's German Chocolate Cake...

Is this thing on?  Is anyone still there?  I just realized I spent an entire post dedicated to baked goods.  YAWN!  I'm even annoying myself.  Oh well, that's what's cooking over here.  (Oh my goodness, someone stop me.)

xo,

Jess

Serioulsy.  Barrett, where is spellcheck on this new set-up????  Help!!!

Evergreen Farms and Cookie Weekend

We left Gary and Julie’s house on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and stopped at our favorite Christmas tree farm on the way home. I say "favorite”, but it’s Texas so the pickin’ is slim. :) I didn’t tell Steve, but on the way there I was considering skipping the farm and buying a faux tree from Hobby Lobby instead. I’ve always wondered if maybe that would be a more “green” way of sporting a tree for the season. Really I'm just lazy and wanted a good excuse to go the faux route.  It would certainly be easier. As if it were a sign, within minutes of this thought, I turned the page of the magazine I was reading only to find an article about this very subject. Sure enough, the article stated that cutting down a tree from a local farm is the most green you can get. Darn!  Fake trees will eventually end up in a landfill and harmful gasses are produced in the making of them. Trees bought at a local grocery store are hauled around the country using a tremendous amount of gas and emitting harmful toxins into the air. Local farms are not only sustainable since they replant each year, but you also get the bonus of supporting a local business. By participating in your local tree recycling in January, you leave very little in terms of a carbon footprint. Good to know.

And for you smarty-pants out there thinking, "What about purchasing a potted tree and then planting it after the holidays?".  Well, the article went on to explain that these trees don't do well in the humidity of our homes and rarely survive planting.  So there you have it, my dreams of a pre-lit beauty went out the window.

Anyway…we’ve made a family tradition out of cutting down our Christmas tree from Evergreen Farms in Elgin every year. It’s a quaint little farm where you pick up a saw and measuring pole from their entrance and take a tractor ride out to the trees. Mabel always gets to go, so I walk alongside the tractor while the boys ride. There’s a sweet little gift shop which sells handcrafted items as well as beautiful firs shipped in from other states. Past the shop is a snack bar complete with Frito Pies, hot dogs, and smore’s kits. The proceeds of the snack bar go to a local charity and next to it is a fire for making your smore’s and craft tables set up to paint pinecones. There are also goats to pet and other fun games to play. Sometimes there are even train rides. But back to the tree-cutting…

My family does this up North, and I love the tradition, but quite honestly it’s just not the same here. Something about people wearing sleeveless shirts (not an exaggeration) and breaking a sweat just doesn’t quite measure up to the memories of stomping through snow and the need to sip on hot cider to warm your freezing body. And no, the Virginia Pines here certainly don’t compare to the gorgeous firs you find in the Northeast, but it’s our family tradition and I’m sticking to it. I won’t lie, at one point during our search for the perfect tree Steve asked for my opinion on a tree. I told him Home Depot’s trees were looking mighty good. But we lowered our standards a bit and within minutes found a good one. Perfect? No. Good enough? Yes. After all, perfect is boring, right?

My hunky lumberjack of a husband. :)

Stong man!

The hayride back.  It was a long search.

***"C" is for COOKIE***

Oh, my beloved Cookie Weekend.  I should probably be honest and admit that it is not my Cookie Weekend, but rather a weekend that my family started and I just happen to really enjoy.  Some might even say I have hijacked it a bit, requiring organization, spreadsheets, and note taking...don't ask.  But really, who wouldn't enjoy a weekend of staying in pajamas, eating bowl after bowl of escarole soup, drinking spiked cider, hanging out with family, and baking TWENTY-TWO different kinds of cookies?!  Did I mention that many involved refer to it as "Cookie Hell"?  It might not be everyone's dream weekend, but it is darn near close to mine.  I'm pretty sure this year set the record for most cookies baked.  Not only were 22 different recipes made, but most were double batches.  Now, that is a lot of cookies!!!  At one point, so many people were in the kitchen and so many doughs were being produced, that we (I say we, but I assure you it had nothing to do with me) :) actually mixed two -- already ingredient-full -- recipes together.  This produced a Cranberry Oatmeal Pumpkin White Chocolate Sam Adams Cardamom Cookie which the group then decided to ice.  Ick!!!  Actually it was a hit with some. And yes, only my family would try a Sam Adams cookie recipe.

Taking a break from the baking to cut down their Christmas trees.

Romy and Ozzy

It was snowing and cold.  At this point I was thinking all the trees looked great.  Just pick one already!

Family pic. 

Well, not quite.  FYI, that young boy on the left was not with our group.  Joe Jr. has a way of making friends wherever he goes.  Really.

And just like all Cookie Weekends, there were antics.  People chasing each other around with sticky fingers, a mean game of putt-putt through the house, Texas Hold 'Em, lots of sharing (wink, wink -- you know who you are), and wedding planning.  You know, the usual.

Proof that the guys got in on the action.  Matt, I'm sending this out to all your buddies. :)

Did I mention that I went sans children?  Wow, was that something!  To be on a plane, by myself, without an enormous bag full of snacks, treats, and DVDs.  To read a magazine, take a nap, and use one of my free drink tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines (it was only 1pm -- shhhh!).  The flight was a treat in itself!

Of course, halfway through the weekend I started getting reports that the boys were sick.  First Zach, then Steve, and finally Luke.  Bummer!  I felt guilty, terribly guilty, but there wasn't much I could do.  They all survived.  See, life can go on without moms.  Just not quite as well. :)

Bad picture, but proof that the guys really were playing golf in the house. And proof that Matt has really bad taste in pants. :)

Pop, possibly wanting to call it "Cookie Hell".

Lindsey rolling her caramel something-or-others.

Now that is a happy little cookie baker!

One of the chases I mentioned earlier.  Mother and daughter, no less.  I think "Mother" won -- Ash had bruises.  Ouch!

A big thanks goes out to Barrett for helping me change my settings to make Blogger a bit easier.  Now I can't find spellcheck.  Rats!  Oh, well.  It's late and I'm tired.  Leaving tomorrow for a Boese Family birthday celebration.  The cooking is done, but the bags still need to be packed.  No time to edit.  Until next time...

xo,

Jess

Thankful for a...tonsillectomy.

Strange, I know, but when you have a kid who has suffered from chronic ear infections, sleep apnea, and a case of pneumonia which landed him in the hospital for three days (just to name a few), you appreciate a good old-fashioned tonsillectomy. It’s never fun to take your son to the hospital, knowing that he’ll be poked, prodded, and put under anesthesia. Especially since tonsillectomies are considered somewhat of an elective surgery these days, but in the end his doctors and even his dentist agreed that Luke was as good of a candidate as any for the procedure. We set up the appointment for the Thursday before Thanksgiving to keep him from missing too much school. I, I mean Luke NEEDS school. :) Everyone kept asking us if he was nervous or scared, and I would reply honestly that he was thrilled. Seriously, ecstatic. You’d think it was Christmas coming early. At least once a day he would ask if it was time to go to the hospital. Yes, we were really talking it up. And yes, we read lots of Curious George Goes to the Hospital. And yes, he still had very fond memories of his stay in April, but geez!!!

My mom, being the overprotective grandmother that she is, decided to hop on a plane and come to help. I assured her we had it under control but she insisted, and I must say that it was very helpful to have the extra set of hands. Not to mention, the cute child-sized scrubs and Curious George stuffed animal dressed in doctor garb. (Thanks, Mom!) Steve and I were able to leave Zach with her while we spent time with Luke in the hospital. This picture was taken during our very long wait…

Trust me, these pouts were fake, at least on the little one’s part. (I think Dad was a tad nervous.)

Luke was all rammy (a word my grandmother uses to describe stir crazy children…pretty sure it’s not in the dictionary *), and Steve was equally impatient. My husband has a ton of wonderful qualities, but patience is not one of them. So what else would two rammy boys do but start a game of imaginary baseball, right? I’m not even kidding. I sat there and watched about three innings of the pair playing out a surprisingly realistic game, complete with fouls, strikes, injured players, the works. Before long, baseball turned into football and there were soon penalties, false starts, etc. It was then time for the nurse to take him away. This was sad. I guess I didn’t quite know what to expect, but in an instant they carried a protesting Luke off through a pair of double doors. Looking back, this was probably for the best. Especially considering the last time he had an IV put in, I was the one to pass out. Not kidding.

Steve waited in the recovery room while I ran out for balloons and post-surgery toys. Before I could even get back, I got the call that he was out of surgery and fine, but that he would be staying in a post-op room until he woke up. He was soon carried in to us by a nurse who said they had been cuddling for quite some time. I didn’t ask, but I wondered what that meant. Do they really have a nurse hold the children so they don’t wake up scared or alarmed? I decided that sounded so incredibly sweet and mind-easing, that I would just go with it. The nurse passed him to Steve, and the two sat in the big not-so-comfy recliner/my-bed-for-the-night until Luke was ready to be moved to his hospital bed. The following hours were filled with Luke drifting in and out of slumber, nurses drifting in and out of the room, and me trying to figure out how to work the monstrosity of a recliner. Grandpa Tom came for a visit that night with the movie Up in hand. Good job, Grandpa – it was a hit! Luke stayed up long enough for his visit – the longest stretch since he came out of surgery – and just long enough to spy the gift from his teacher Ms. Kendall, that he had been waiting so very patiently for since it was given to him the day before. By patient, I mean he only asked to open it about a hundred times. Needless to say he was extremely happy to be given the okay and to find a very cool pterodactyl-like gadgety bird-thing to play with. (Yeah, I’m not very good at describing – or even figuring out – boys’ toys.) Thanks, Ms. Kendall!! It’s still a big hit around here. No other pictures were taken in the hospital, but here’s one from his stay last April (just to even out the type to photo ratio) :)…

The next day came fast and we were home before we knew it. Luke and I had already done a big shopping trip to purchase "surgery" food. You know, pudding, jello, popsicles, etc. He didn't want much at first, but in no time at all he was requesting Cheetos. Silly kid!

Zach getting a taste of Luke's milkshake...

Did I mention that Zach was really enjoying the sick treatment?...

The next few days went surprisingly well. My mom continued to be very helpful with Zach, and my dad taxied her back to the airport (yes, they’re divorced but get along great…maybe even better than when they were married). Luke’s recovery was going smoother than I ever could have guessed, so I even snuck out one night to make these cute turkey cupcakes with my friend Amy…


Gobble, gobble!

Luke continued to take his Tylenol with codeine which had quite the mellowing effect on his normally rambunctious nature. Wait, does that sound bad? :) I just mean that since I expected the worst, a very calm and quiet three-year-old was actually a huge relief. That is until Day 5 set in. You see, all of the post-op paperwork warns that Days 5-7 would be the worst as far as pain and side effects. What they should tell you is to expect the most horrific whininess you ever did hear. Ugggh! I am very happy to take care of my sick son, but when my sick son is whining, “Moooom, Mom, MOOOooooM!”, every two minutes to complain about his sheets bunching up, or the piping on the couch cushion being too scratchy, or the straw in his milk being too short (I’m not even joking), I started feeling a little nutty. But then I was reminded just how darn happy I was to have him alive and well, that the rest didn't seem to matter at all. Before long, Thanksgiving was here and Luke was grooving on Grandpa’s famous pumpkin pie. We had a very low-key Turkey Day. In fact, I’m pretty sure I never even got out of my pajamas – gotta love that!

Not sure what the five is for. Maybe the number of pie pieces he ate that night? :) ...

Zach and Grandpa Tom. Love those shades! This is a perfect picture to demonstrate Zach's current need to have three to six things in his hands at all times...



And the next day, we were off to Grandpa Boese and JuJu’s house (Steve’s dad and step-mom). We had a great time there, as usual. Julie had made a tepee for the boys to play in which was very cool, and they played all their usual games with Granpa’s golf balls, the nesting Houston Rockets (picture the Russian dolls but with basketball players instead), the sandbox, wheel barrow rides, and so on! We had a very nice visit with them, and Julie’s son Phillip was a huge hit with the boys. We’re looking forward to another Boese Family gathering next month to celebrate Gary’s 70th birthday. Should be lots of fun!

Zach, getting the royal treatment...

I think Zach is wondering, "What are these silly grownups doing?"...

The boys loved the teepee! Thanks, JuJu!...

"Uncle Phillip, can I sleep on your bed tonight?"...

Hangin' with JuJu...

Holy Blog Post, Batman! This is getting LONG! Stay tuned for our exciting trip home and annual visit to Evergreen Farms (you get the hint of sarcasm in there, right?).

Until next time...

xo,

Jess

*I decided to Google “rammy”. Among other definitions I found this one: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Rammy Yikes! I might need to rethink using it in this context. He He!!

Halloween and the Glider Rider

Photo taken by Amy Schneider

Luke is home from school today, and Zach is taking his morning nap. I should probably be doing laundry but instead have decided to catch up on our blog. I’ve been hesitant to write again -- in fact some days I've felt like hiding -- after being so honest in my last post. I am extremely appreciative of all of our friends and family who have given such positive feedback, but I also feel a little embarrassed. I don’t usually share my feelings so openly, and I tend to worry that my sentence structure or choice of words could be better. Actually, worry is an understatement, it’s more like obsess (I prove my point). In the end I have decided that I want this blog to be what I had intended it to be from the beginning, a place for family and friends to go to get caught up on our lives, and also a journal of sorts for Steve, the boys, and I to have years from now (I plan to print it one day). Steve says I worry too much what others think, so maybe this will be a good learning experience for me. After all, I am what I am (this might just be my new mantra). So bear with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly…or don’t read it all, that’s okay too. :)

I took advantage of the early morning to clean out our kitchen cabinets. Thrilling, I know. Usually this time is spent buzzing around packing lunches, eating breakfast, and getting dressed, but Luke was laid up on the couch, Zach was content with his Tinker Toys, and my aunt’s voice commenting on my messy cabinets has been haunting me since June. She said something like, “You know, I’m really surprised at how you keep your cabinets.” Granted this is the aunt who holds nothing back (and I love her for this), but ever since then my cabinets have been “buggin’ me out” (Luke’s favorite phrase these days). Not to mention she’ll be here in January and I have a huge need to please. I should include a picture for proof since I'm pretty darn sure they won't look this good by January, but I'll spare you the peak inside my cabinets. You're welcome.

***Halloween***

Back to the fun and exciting -- or maybe just the not-quite-so-boring -- stuff around here...Halloween. I’ve never been one to celebrate Halloween much, but as I have learned with having children this day becomes one of the major holidays. I’m talking right up there with Christmas and birthdays. We attended four parties, a festival, and were Boo’d. This adds up to lots of clothing changes, face paint, making spooky snacks, and leaving baked goods on our neighbors’ doorsteps. (By the way, I still don’t know who Boo’d me. It’s time to fess up, people!) :) This year I was lucky enough to reuse two costumes from the previous years. Score! Zach went as a scarecrow (the same costume I made for Luke at this age), and Luke dressed as a lion (the costume my grandmother and I spent a ridiculous amount of time on last year). The bonus was that they coordinated as characters from the Wizard of Oz. Double score! People kept commenting on how cute it was that they went together, and how I should have dressed like Dorothy (fat chance!), but really it was just me being lazy. Ha! Love that!

Snacking at the library.

I just couldn't resist posting this one. Love the action shot!

The kids loved trick-or-treating and came home with scads and scads of candy. We try to keep treats to a minimum, so I was unsure how to handle this onslaught of sugar. I gave them each one piece of candy and debated what to do with the rest. Take it away overnight with the hopes that they’ll forget by the morning? Uh, I don’t think so. Give them one piece a day until it’s all gone? That would take forever and by then they would expect a piece of candy every night for the rest of their lives. Not gonna happen. So instead I pulled out two small toys from our birthday present stash and placed them in their empty trick-or-treat buckets. The next morning I explained that the Halloween Monster had come in the middle of the night and traded their candy for a new toy. It actually worked! Score one for healthy teeth and calmer children.

Have you noticed that I keep saying I and not we? Well, that’s because the silly men (men, I presume because women would know better) who make the college football schedule decided to have the Longhorns play one of the biggest games of the season at 7:00 on the night of Halloween. Um, hello, that’s prime trick-or-treating time. Needless to say I was not thrilled at handling the trick-or-treating, dinner, and bedtime by myself, all while the doorbell rang over and over and over again which resulted in the dog barking over and over and over again. Oh, those pesky, I mean adorable kids in our neighborhood. Just kidding! What can you do? Maybe I’ll write a letter to those men (yeah, right). At least this is now documented so the next time I want to do something at an inconvenient time I’ll pull this out and get a pass. Just kidding, honey! :)

Pouty scarecrow.




Notice the Longhorn gear. Grrrr...





This one cracks me up. I think there might have been an airplane?

He was not going to let his stash of Tootsie Rolls go for ANYTHING!

Not cowardly at all.

I realize I'm partial, but those have got to be two of the cutest little backsides I ever did see.

One piece Zach, only one piece.

***The Glider Rider***

In other news, Luke is riding his bike like a champ. We are so thrilled! Why, you ask? Because we took a gamble and bought a bike called the Glider Rider last February for his third birthday. The thing about this bike is it has no pedals but also no training wheels. The thought is that the hardest part of learning to ride is the balance not the pedaling, so by taking off the pedals and using their feet on the ground, children learn to balance and glide. Does that make sense? Check out gliderrider.com if it doesn’t. Anyway, Steve and I were a little skeptical, but sure enough Luke is gliding around the neighborhood. We have a street with a slight incline, and he can ride the entire way with his feet up. Looks like he’ll be getting a new bike for his fourth birthday, one with pedals.

Luke's typical cheesy smile for the camera.

Steve commented that he looks like the little kid on the Glider Rider video.

Again, thank you so much to all of you who reached out after my last post. I hope no one got the wrong idea. I am very happy with my life. Sometimes it just helps to stop and take note, to put things into perspective. Since that day, I have tackled many of the things on my list. I’ve yet to start my organic vegetable garden, but that can probably wait until spring, right? :)

xo,

Jess