Just Some Weekend Stuff

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Amy

My big girl had a big weekend with her “Kids.” This is what she calls her many cousins on my husband’s side of our family. Some of them came to visit us last Thursday in preparation for a big weekend at the Wisconsin Dells. Miss was so excited to see them. As always, she had a blast playing with them.

Her judgement of the time spent with her kids? A wink and a thumbs up! Sort of.

Another try at the wink. My girl is funny.

Friday we went to the Wisconsin Dells, where Miss and Lass saw the rest of their cousins on my husband’s side of the family. Everyone met at the Dells so that my husband, all of his siblings, and two brothers-in-law could run an event called the Tough Mudder. It’s a race about 10 miles long with several different obstacles to complete along the way. Here they are after finishing. They all completed every obstacle and finished in one piece. My hubby is the one on the far left.

While I was glad that my husband had a blast participating in the mud run with his brothers and sisters, I have to say I was really not impressed with the Dells. Though I really try to make the best of any situation and have fun wherever I go, I just didn’t have a good time there. There were too many people. The one water park I took the girls to was kind of lame for little ones (a lot of the attractions for really little kids weren’t even turned on). The food was outrageously expensive and not appetizing. And on top of the lackluster nature of the “resort” itself, my girls were super tired, Miss had a few meltdowns, I forgot to bring snacks for Miss (though I remembered tons of food for Lass) so I felt like a big Loser Mom, and Lass woke up this morning at 4:30 am. I was seriously ready to come home today. On the bright side, Miss did have a great time playing with her cousins. And that’s what really matters anyway! We have decided we might try to go back when the girls are a little older for a winter getaway weekend. An indoor water park would be a blast for them then.

In other news, someone is 11 months old today. So big!!

In the car on the way home this morning I taught her how to do “high five.”

She is such a ticklish, giggly baby.

She’s just so darned cute (even if she is sleeping like crud right now).

Today I made tacos with my homemade taco seasoning. I always use ground venison to make tacos or any other recipe that calls for ground beef. Before I added the seasoning I set some of the venison aside for Lass, who had her first taste of it at dinner tonight. She loved it!

When I was growing up, I ate venison rather than beef almost all the time, I think. I never really even notice the difference. I’m thankful that my husband hunts and that he gets at least one doe (rather than a buck, at my request) each year for us to eat so my girls will grow up knowing venison as the norm as well.

Today my hubby started the process of making sauerkraut. It takes a while to do whatever sauerkraut does while it gets made, but I’m eager to try it on some of his homemade brats when it’s done.

He’s pretty handy to have around.

Speaking of handy, my husband minded the munchkin (who napped for less than an hour this afternoon) so I could take a little nap this afternoon. I’m still pretty tired after being awakened at 4:30 though. My bed is calling me. Goodnight.

Full

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Amy

Starting swimming lessons and gymnastics class and three forensic cases to do and trying to get in my 20 days of exercise this month and watching Chopped last night. . . and this week is quickly getting away from me. So I realized, “What happened to my Independence Day post?” Well, it got combined with my Wednesday July 6th post, that’s what. Here you go!

As I predicted, our 4th of July celebration consisted of more of the same festivities that filled the rest of our holiday weekend.

Well hello there Hunk.

Celebrating the birth of our country with my sunscreened babies, splashing and loving the water. Cherishing family. Perfect.

That and great outdoor food. We had grilled kielbasa, veggie kabobs, potato salad, the works. Even ice cream!

Miss loves her “Chocolate ice cream on a stick” – otherwise known as a Dove Bar.

And this little one had her first taste of the sweet stuff.

The brat making continued. Here’s my hubby making sausage.

My hubby after I pointed out to him that he’s wearing his “Wiener Shop” T Shirt.

Wieners.

We ate some for dinner tonight. Fantastic. There’s nothing like fresh, homemade sausage. He also made chorizo, which I love to cook with. I can’t wait to try out a new recipe using it.

Speaking of new recipes, my “Chopped” ingredients this week are cherry tomatoes and raisins. I wasn’t able to get to the grocery store until today, but I got my ingredients and have something of a plan for my dish. I need to refine it in my head before I dive in to make it, so it’ll be Friday or so before I do it. Stay tuned.

I think I’ve written about how I have ordered some new big girl outdoor toys for Miss so that the push-behind lion can be passed down to Lass now. We are still waiting for her trike, but her roller skates arrived yesterday. And so did these:

We had to try them on today to make sure they fit. I ordered them with the intention that they would fit her now and also be gear she can grow into, so they look a little big but they do fit. Naturally she didn’t want to take them off and had to dance around in them until I had to nearly pry them off her for nap time.

Soon to come will be photos of this ensemble, outside, with little Barbie roller skates. I love it.

Right now we’re busy in a great way. Miss loves her gymnastics class and seems to be enjoying her new swimming class so far. We’re having play dates.

I’m enjoying work. Being a professional. Sorting out the intricacies of psychiatric diagnosis when a case is a little unusual. It helps me to be well-rounded. To be challenged and stretch my brain in a different grown up way. Then I come home and get back to my real job. And it’s good. My life is full. In the best possible way.

Fun at the Farm, a Few Firsts, and Father’s Day

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Amy

Last week was full of the fresh air and beauty of the place we call The Farm.

I love how this place seems to seep into our souls and revive us. Miss is in her element here. She would spend all day every day outside if she could, and comes close when at The Farm. Upon waking, while still drowsy with sleep, she will look up through her crazy bed-head hair at her Daddy and say, “Go outside?”

She had so much opportunity in the past week to play with her “kids”, which is what she calls her cousins. And they seem to adore her and Lass. They dote on my girls, especially the older cousins. It warms my heart to see how much Miss loves being with her kids and how wonderful they are to her and her sister.

The Farm is all about the simple things. Watching my girls thrive here is so satisfying. No fancy toys needed. Just the imagination and innocence of a two year old. One of her favorite things last week was going out with her Daddy to throw rocks into the pond over and over.

She and Lass had a blast on the swing set, as usual.

Lass went down the slide, with assistance of course, for the first time and loved it. She has turned out to be quite a little climber, trying repeatedly to climb up the slide, climbing up the stairs for the first time, on top of suit cases, etc. Oh boy.

My girls just love playing with their Daddy.

Miss refused to take off this life jacket, except when she went on the swing.

A day outside would not be complete without some sidewalk chalk. Miss has started showing her artistic talents.

Lass got to try out the chalk for the first time.

Miss had her first popsicle.

Miss asked me to draw our family. Yes, I drew this. No, I am not embarrassed. Much.

As much as we love The Farm, we are happy to be home today. Here’s a real family photo after we went out for brunch to celebrate the most important man in our world.

Husband, Daddy. He is amazing and does so much for us. I am thankful every day to have such a wonderful husband and Daddy for our girls.

Happy Father’s Day.

A Visit with my Auntie

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Amy

Last week we took the girls for a quick visit with my Auntie and Unka. Lass had never met them and Miss hadn’t seen them since she was about Lass’s age. My Auntie is my mom’s sister, and is very dear to me. We also got to see my cousin and her husband. It was a wonderful day. The morning started with Miss calling my Auntie “Grandma?” since Auntie is so similar to my mom. This tickled me, and I think it helped her get over her initial shyness pretty quickly. Naturally, my outdoor girl wanted to get outside and play right away.

The day was laid back and hot. The cool concrete felt great so we just camped out, visiting and playing.

The girls had lots of fun exploring a new place and playing in the yard.

The dog’s water dish was like a magnet for Miss. She made “soup” again.

Unka captured a snake that Miss got to take a look at. Ew.

Auntie and Unka have a great tree for hanging “from the bar” as Miss said.

Auntie tried to spoil Miss a little with some yummy snacks Miss doesn’t usually get, like colorful goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, and frosted animal cookies. I told her that Miss would say the same thing about her that I once did when I was about 10 and visited her, “You’re just like my mom, except you have dessert!”

I was thrilled that Lass seems to be getting past her stranger anxiety and got to bond with Auntie a bit.

It was like magic for me to watch my girls with my Auntie. It was a short visit, but I loved every minute.

Midwest Love

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Amy

We wait a long time for spring here. Sometimes, like this year, it’s a really long wait. We cherish the few days of sun and warmth we get in between March and April snowstorms (we had another snowstorm after I confidently posted here that spring had arrived for sure). But eventually, it always comes. And spring here is so worth the wait.

This is the Midwest.

We have spectacular thunderstorms. Miss has learned to embrace them rather than fear them.

And we have beautiful, perfect days of sunshine and breezes and 75 degree weather. This past weekend we were at the Farm and many of Miss and Lass’s cousins came down to visit. It was so fun to watch the girls with their cousins playing and getting all sorts of attention as the “out-of-town” cousins. It makes me sad that they don’t get to do this more often, but they sure did take full advantage of the time they had to play. Saturday was a day of playing chase and rolling in the grass, horsing around and swinging, sidewalk chalking and kite flying and more chasing while mommas visited and kept watch.

And just in time for the appetites that got worked up, a weiner roast for dinner, complete with s’mores for dessert. Miss had never had s’mores before. In fact, she’d never had marshmallows before. She was puzzled and thrilled by their stretchiness and gooey-ness and stickiness.

And after dinner? A sword fight with indulgent older cousins of course!

On guard!

The evening was topped off with a friendly game of softball, in which even the littlest ones were allowed to join.

After a few minor injuries, the game was switched to kickball, which Miss enjoyed even more.

When you wait so long for it, you appreciate it so much and try hard to make the most of every moment during days like these. Miss keeps saying, “Where’s my kids?” and “I want to play with my cousins.” I’m sad that we live so far from family, but happy that we can have days like these. Maybe it’s like the weather. Maybe since we have to wait so long between visits with family, when we have them we make the most of every moment.

I’d like to add that we were traveling on Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers I know. My Mom, my Grandma, my Mother in law, my Auntie, all my “mom-friends”. . . Thanks for all you bring to my life.

Today Was Beautiful

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Amy

Big trees

Pine cones

Snuggy baby

Smiles

Jumping

Shushing and rocking

Hugging and swaying

Swinging

Laughing

Climbing

Sliding

Clapping

Small moments with my girls and my husband. Beautiful.

Good News and Bad News

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Amy

Good news: We had a fun weekend. Lots of playing chase and snuggling. We travel so much that I really cherish these weekends when we are able to just be home. All four of us. Spending time together. The best.

Bad news: My computer is really not well. I took it to a repair place, and they will have it until at least Tuesday. Probably much longer as it is the only place within 100 miles or so that can repair a Mac and they are super busy and thus, super slow.

Good news: My husband is kind enough to let me use his computer. So, though I probably won’t post as often as I’d like, I can at least get my blogging fix here and there.

The Best Cookbook Ever.

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Amy

I am having serious technical difficulties. I still can’t get my iPhoto to work properly. In fact, right now I can’t even access any of my photos in iPhoto. I was going to do a post with lots of pics from our visit to my parent’s house, but now I can’t even pull photos from iPhoto to upload them here. So, Plan B.

I have been meaning to write about this cookbook. I know I have written about it’s larger predecessor, “The New Best Recipe” from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ll call that the Mother Book. It really is the Mother of all cookbooks. I still love the Mother Book. However, though the recipes in it are some of the most delicious I have ever tasted, they take forever to cook. You can read about my adventure in making Coq au Vin (and find the reference for the Mother Book) in my post “The Next Iron Chef?” (I guess I thought I was hot stuff after that particular cooking feat!). It was awesome, but recall it took me about 3 hours. I made it when Miss was barely mobile, and it was doable then, but now that she is all over the place and Lass is on the verge of motating (is that a word? My spell check tells me it is not, but I like it and am going to use it anyway. . . Okay, I had to check. It is in the Urban Dictionary – “To move from one location to another with slickness and style.” I’m going with it). Where was I? Oh yes, I no longer have time to take 3-hours to make dinner, no matter how delicious it is. Enter “The Best 30-Minute Recipe” by the same authors.

Oh, how I love this book. It is the first, and often the only, cookbook I reach for when I’m planning meals for the week. The recipes are fast, and most of them can be made in only one skillet. And they are tasty. Seriously, just as good as the longer recipes I’ve made from the Mother Book. The authors don’t use what they call “second-rate convenience products” (and I call over-processed crap) in the recipes to make them quicker either. They use high quality, whole-food ingredients, sometimes in very clever ways that make them work fast. The book includes tips to make the recipes come together more quickly as well as some options for some additional things to make the recipes even more flavorful if you have a little more time (I’ve never tried these and the recipes are amazingly flavorful without them). I will say that, though the book swears they timed every recipe and included prep time in their 30 minutes, many of the recipes are just not doable for me in 30 minutes with the prep time. Perhaps if I were a professional chef who could wield a chef’s knife with super speed, I could do it in 30 minutes. But alas, I am merely a housewife. And though my knife skills are improving, they aren’t really all that great yet. So, some of the recipes, especially the ones with lots of fresh veggies needing to be chopped or otherwise prepped, take longer than 30 minutes, but still never more than 45 or so.

Some of the things I have made from this cookbook include Curry in a Hurry, Skillet Paella (yes, paella in about 30 minutes!!), Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes, Skillet Vermicelli with Chorizo Sausage and Black Beans, and Stir-Fried Shrimp and Snow Peas with Coconut-Curry Sauce. All of these dishes are fabulous. On the menu for this week are Pan-Roasted Chicken Parts with Lemon-Thyme Jus, Un-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Prosciutto, Sage, and Porcini, and Pan-Seared Shrimp with Parsley-Lemon Butter. Yum. The book has recipes for calzones, meatloaf (I know!!), baked ziti, and on and on. Some that I am particularly intrigued by include Saltimbocca, Lamb Patties with Yogurt Sauce, Risotto with Seared Scallops and Tomatoes (they use orzo), and lots of Asian-style dishes like Lo Mein and Pad Thai.

Here is one of our favorites. Miss loves Mac and Cheese. Okay. My husband and I love Mac and Cheese. This is the most delish Mac and Cheese ever. No need for draining pasta. Real cheese. Super flavor. All done in one skillet. And this one has almost no prep work, so it really does cook in 30 minutes. Give it a try.

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese (From The Best 30-Minute Cookbook*)

3 1/2 cups water (plus more as needed)

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

12 ounces elbow macaroni (3 cups)

Salt and ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (this is the key ingredient, I think!)

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Simmer macaroni: Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of evaporated milk, macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to simmer in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring often, until macaroni is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Thicken and flavor sauce: Whisk remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, cornstarch, mustard, and Tabasco together, then stir into skillet. Continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

3. Add cheese: Off heat, stir in cheeses, one handful at a time, adding additional water as needed to adjust sauce consistency. Stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

I love cooking. It brings me great satisfaction to put something healthy and home cooked on my table for my family. And it’s even better when that something tastes awesome. The end.

*Editors of Cooks Illustrated. (2006). The best 30-minute recipe. America’s Test Kitchen, Brookline, MA.

And now, since I did manage to upload a few photos for the post I originally planned to do, here are some pics of the girls having fun with their Grandma and Grandpa. Hopefully there will be more to come when I can get my photo situation figured out.

This chair was my Dad’s when he was little.

It’s Finally Here!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Amy

We got back late on Saturday night from a great week-long visit with my parents (remember, they live in the land of no internet, thus no posting for over a week). When we left, we still had tons of snow on the ground. The photo below was taken right before we left, and you can see all the snow on our deck through the doors. (Please excuse the total lack of editing on some of these photos as I’m having some technical difficulties with my iPhoto)

Happily, when we got home, the snow was gone. All of it. Gone, gone, gone. I posted a month ago that spring was coming. I thought it had come when almost all of the snow melted shortly after this post. Then we got another huge, soul-crushing snowstorm and winter continued to drag on and on. But now, I think we’re in the clear. The crocuses are blooming. The grass is greening. The trees are budding. And the air smells like spring. We wait a long time for it. But spring is so worth it here. Yesterday was almost 80 degrees. We had a brief spring thunderstorm on the morning and then Miss and her Daddy got out to play in the puddles.

Yeah, she wanted to wear legwarmers, so that’s what you see coming up out of her rain boots.

Splashing.

And splashing.

She loved the puddles. I didn’t capture it on film, but eventually she ended up kneeling and then sitting in the puddles.

Off in the distance you can see my hubby pulling up the stakes we use to mark where our driveway is when it snows. Yep, we get that much snow. And we’re just now, in mid-April, confident enough to pull these things up.

The day was so beautiful, we decided to have a picnic. In the back end of my vehicle, that is. We drove a few miles to this fabulous old drive-in restaurant. In case you can’t read the sign, it says “Since 1948.” The carhops still wear roller skates.

I have wanted to go to this place since we moved here, but it didn’t seem like a very baby-friendly place. Then I got the idea to put our picnic blanket down in the back of the Expedition, take along the Bumbo for Lass, and have a drive-in picnic.

Perfect!

We had a blast hanging out in the back of the truck. The girls were wonderful.

And it turned out to be a great way to spend some quality time together.

We played, and then ate, to the sounds of cars whizzing by and 50s music playing through the restaurant’s outdoor speakers. “I Only Have Eyes For You” was one of the favorites of the afternoon.

The food was even good!

Root beer in a frosty mug fit like a glove in my rear cup holder!

Miss tried a taste of my root beer. It kind of freaked her out at first, and she almost tried to spit it out. I think she didn’t like the carbonation. But then she swallowed it and realized it was pretty good and asked for more.

Of course, spring wouldn’t be complete without some good thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms. Unfortunately the storms last night came with funnel clouds and up to 2-inch in diameter hail. So we spent a little more quality family time in our basement.

It’s not my favorite place in the house. But Miss had a blast playing with her toys down there and running around in the open space.

It was a perfect start to spring (fortunately the storm ended up being pretty tame in our area and we didn’t have any damage from it). I am looking forward to doing so much this year now that Miss is older and can enjoy more things. We will be taking trips to the park, with real picnics on the grass. We’ll be taking walks and going to the zoo and getting a swing set/sandbox for our backyard. And our pool opens in just a month and a half, which means summer! Spring will be short this year, but we’ll enjoy it to the fullest.