Playing Catch Up...

...both on this blog and in my life.  Things have been crazy, and I’m finally trying to get caught up after the holidays and a whole lotta sickness around here. Maybe if I’d actually take care of the must-dos instead of writing blog posts about baking I’d get things done. Is that what you were thinking? I know. Call it ADD but whenever I set out to get a project done, more times than not I end up doing something completely unrelated or unnecessary. And more times than not, paint chips and fabric swatches are involved. Oh, well.

So in order to cross one of the 583 things on my to-do list, here goes nothing...
 

Christmas was a blast!  I went to Phil and Barbara's house (Susannah's parents) for a lovely Christmas Eve celebration.  When I got home, Steve and I stayed up late working as Santa's elves.  We really like the idea of getting the boys one big present for major celebrations, and this Christmas we found the perfect thing -- a train table.  Not just any old train table, but an uber cool, super duper train table.  This thing has a helipad, a crane, a police station, and about a million other pieces.  Steve and I were actually giddy as we pulled everything out to put it together.  "Look how cute this is..." and "OMG, the crane really works..." and "Luke is going to love that these pieces are interchangeable...". 

One of Santa's elves. 

Note the beautiful pearls given to me by Barbara and Phil earlier in the evening.

We stashed the table behind the tree and covered it with a sheet.  We I then wrapped the box so the boys would have something to open.  They were tickled....

Not the best picture, but I assure you they were tickled.

I should also mention how excited Luke was to put out cookies and reindeer food the night before.  Here's the note we left for Santa...

As you can see, Luke had some concerns, so we decided to handle them in a letter.

If you're extremely bored you can click to enlarge this picture.

It's really a shame that Santa gets all the credit.  I mean, really.  What a crock?! :)

My dad came over with the most delicious smoked turkey from Central Market.  We had a lovely and low-key Christmas dinner.  This turkey was later turned into sandwiches, quesadillas, and gumbo.  We've decided this may just have to become a tradition.

Tom the Grandpa carving Tom the turkey.

A few days later we headed to Gun Barrel City, TX (Luke called it Gumdrop Barrel City -- love that!) for Steve's dad's 70th birthday celebration.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I have no pictures.  We arrived there and found that my memory card was full.  Bummer!  The party was tons of fun, and I really enjoyed meeting more Boeses and flipping through old photo albums.  And we always love to hang out with Steve's siblings, nieces, and nephews.  I think Gary was touched by the party and the sentiment, which after all was the intent.

We headed home to start preparing for my family's belated Christmas celebration only days later.  Not long after we got home, the sickies hit.  UGGGH!!!  I was miserable, the kids were miserable, Steve and I got snappy, and I didn't get done everything that I wanted to do before the group descended.  Some things were checked off the list, like taking every. single. pillow. we. own. to the laundromat.  Have you ever done that?  Not fun.  Most of the grocery shopping got done but most of it never made it into the house, just dumped in the garage and shoved in the fridge.  Some cooking got done, some didn't.  You get the picture.  We had 19 people packed into our house like little sardines.  I was sick for most of it and spent a lot of time in bed.  We did make it out to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday at Z Tejas.  Again, no pictures were taken by me.  Bad girl! 

My grandparents stayed longer than the rest and I slowly got better.  I always have so much fun hanging out with them.  Gram and I worked on the roman shades I'de been wanting to sew for FOREVER, and Pop tackled numerous other projects around the house.  He is soooo handy!  Here's a sneak peak at the shades.  If you've ever sewed with me (okay, that sounds really weird and incredibly boring), you know that I'm a complete freak about everything being absolutely perfect.  I blame it on the fact that my first sewing projects were quilts, which are practically like a mathematical equation.  But really, I think it's just my OCD that kicks in.  My poor Gram.  She probably wanted to strangle me every time I insisted on measuring something for the umpteenth time, but she hung in there with me and we got them finished.  Sometimes we would just break out into giggles.  I love her!  The kitchen will be finished soon and I'll post more then.  Aren't you on the edge of your seat?  Kidding, of course.  Oh, and don't hold your breath because there are still like, um, five decisions to make so that should probably take me another, um, ten months?  Get it?  I over think everything.  EVERYTHING.  But it's paying off, I love how the kitchen is coming along.

This Christmas our family was showered with many wonderful gifts by many wonderful people, and one of my absolute favorites was my new camera.  Yep, I am a proud owner of one of those fancy schmancy cameras I've mentioned before.  After much research, I decided on the Canon Rebel xsi, and my way-too-nice grandparents purchased it for us.  It was a major splurge.  I never thought I'd own or even ask for such a nice camera, but I'm a sentimental gal and I want to capture my children's youth as best as possible.  From what I've seen, this camera will do it beautifully.  Thank you so much, Gram and Pop.  Your generosity is overwhelming.

(Granted I have no idea how to work the thing. 

I couldn't even figure out how to turn off the flash for this pic.)

And on to the true purpose of this blog, to track the boys' progress...

Zach is 19 months and really coming in to his own.  He went from my sweet little stumbling, mumbling, love bug of a baby to a full-on active, talkative toddler in the course of what seemed like just days.  He's got down all of the important words like "cake", "mine", "hot dog", "golbish" (Goldfish crackers), "Booze Cooze" (Blues Clues), "woovie" (movie), and "watch" (as in he'd like to watch the aforementioned movie, Blues Clues, and yes, sometimes while snacking on Goldfish)  Yet another example of the difference between raising Baby #1 and Baby #2.  What can you do?  And yes, he has many more words including most of your basic zoo and barnyard animals, foods, toys, body parts, etc.  I promise we don't just sit around eating junk and watching movies all day.

What a love bug!

And Luke?  Oh, Luke.  He is smart, he is sweet, he is funny, and he tests me every single day without fail.  I love him with every ounce of my being, but sometimes he really takes me to my limit.  I often feel as if he was put on this earth just to test my patience.  He has an incredible sense of humor, but we're struggling to teach him when it's appropriate and when it's just downright rude.  Grandpa Boese and JuJu, please forgive us if Luke tells you to "Get a grip!".  We're trying.  Easier said than done with a three-year-old (soon to be four-year-old), but we're getting there.  I take parenting very seriously.  Duh!  That sounds stupid, who doesn't?  My goal and my job are to produce intelligent, confident, independent, yet thoughtful, sincere, and humble human beings (sure, there are more things, but these were the first ones that came to mind).  Easier said than done.  I struggle with how to guide him towards these while still letting him be the little spitfire that he is.  A tall order to say the least.  It really is true that, "these things should come with a manual."  :)

Luke's latest and greatest:

Luke and his best friend Kayla.

See why I was in need of a good camera?

It was nice having the two contained, even if just for a bit. 

Thinking about getting one of these for the house. :)

He's playing soccer for the first time after three seasons of t-ball.  He seems to like it, and I like that it's a bit more team-oriented than t-ball.  Kayla is on the same team, and sometimes we have lunch or ice cream after the games...

Much better action shot with the new camera, don't ya think?

Looks like he has a uni brow in the making.

He also has a birthday coming up.  While starting the party plans last month, we discovered he was not interested in a party.  What?  Huh?  I thought all little kids wanted parties.  Maybe he acquired my gene for steering clear of birthday attention?  What he opted for instead, was a "fun day with Kayla".  We've already made plans to do lunch, visit the Austin Children's Museum, and maybe grab some frozen yogurt afterward.  No complaints here, sounds like more money for the college fund (the party venues I priced were in the $400 and up range -- Yikes!)

So, THERE!  I'm caught up.  Thank goodness.  Thanks for sticking with me.  xo, Jess

PS- A big thanks goes out to Gary and Julie for watching the rug rats last weekend while we went out of town for Steve's holiday work dinner.  I hope they weren't too hard on you and you've caught up on your rest. :)

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!!