It's all good . . .

Sweet Success

My sister Holly has been working hard trying to put together a recipe book for our family.  You know, one of those books that has each families favorites and is so handy because everything you make is now in one book.  Well, because of this, for the last year, I have been scouring my recipe books to find any and every one of my favorites, and then furiously typing up my recipes so they could be included. 

I wanted to make sure this would be a great book for Lily and Derek to have - one that not only had family favorites, but also included basic recipes, like how to cook hamburgers or make mashed potatoes.  Something they could take to college or on their mission and be really set.  But I also wanted it to have some really fun things too, which really brings me to my story . . .

You see, I am a collector of recipes I would LOVE to try, but with my picky family and limited time, I rarely end up doing it.  And so, my list of untried recipes grows.  Well, with the deadline for getting my recipes to my sister looming, I looked at that stack and just knew there would be a diamond or two hidden in it that I would really want in that book. 

Because of that, I started experimenting.  I usually saved it for days when Kevin was in the field, but sometimes he got to try them too.  I had a few great winners, like the cheesy broccoli soup and the yummy cornbread, but I also had some sad failures - like the macaroni and cheese that was okay, but not at all worth all the work I put into, not to mention all that cheese that went, literally, down the drain. 

Soon I found myself down to a few days left and one last recipe - chocolate mousse.  I had found this Tyler Florence recipe one day when I was playing around on FoodNetwork.com, and it looked so good!  And, let me tell you, it was :).  It was definitely a sweet success, and worth the extra steps to have such a fun and yummy dessert.  And there were a lot of steps - melting chocolate, whipping meringue, whipping cream, and folding it together.

 

But it was totally worth it!  What a yummy reward :).  I am so glad I didn't give up on this final recipe.  (It was especially a favorite of Lily, who ate four servings of it - he he!)

 

Moments . . .

There are moments as parents, and particularly for me as a mother, where I am completely overcome by feelings of love for my children.  It can be sparked by something as simple as a smile, a hug, a snuggle, or the look of innocence on their face as they lie there sleeping. 

These feelings usually hit me hardest just after I tuck Derek and Lily into bed.  After sharing a special moment of reading a story, reading scriptures, and then hearing them pray, I can't help but be reminded that I have been entrusted with these precious souls.  That I am responsible to love and teach them, and that they came to Kevin and I straight from our Father in Heaven. 

In the October Visiting Teaching Message, I was particularly struck by a quote from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. . . . Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried" ("Words of the Living Prophet," Liahona, May 1998, 26–27).

Parenthood is a sacred responsibility, and it is so easy for me to forget that as I get caught up in the daily grind, and especially when I am frustrated or angry at my children.  And so, I am very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who allows me these moments where I remember, not only how much I love my children, but who they really are.

Here are a few of my moments from last week . . . We had just returned from some crazy errands, and upon returning home, Derek  immediately curled up on the couch and fell asleep.  The other was the night Kevin had to be at work the next day at 2 am, and so instead of him tucking Lily in, she read him to sleep.  I sure love those kids of mine!!

PS.  I am also very grateful for my fantastic husband, who blesses my life every day.
 

Happy Halloween 2009!

Why is it that Halloween doesn't just last one day, but seems to begin long before that, and so, by the time the actual holiday comes around, you are burnt out.  One year, Kevin and I didn't even take the kids trick-or-treating on actual Halloween because we had already been to 3 parties that year.  It has not been that bad this year, but it still feels like "the week of Halloween," beginning with . . .

Part 1: Pumpkin Carving

Although the pumpkins don't rot here as fast as in Georgia, we still waited until almost the last minute to carve them.  We split it up this year - the girls and the boys. 

Lily got this tiny pumpkin on her field trip on Monday, and planned exactly what she wanted it to look like.  In fact, she even decorated the whole thing with marker, so that all we had to do was cut it open, clean it out, and cut out the face.  Easier said than done, since it was so small I could barely get my hand inside, which meant Lily's tiny hands had to most of the dirty work.  It sure turned out cute though :).

Derek and Kevin did our big pumpkin, and decided it was more "Derek friendly" to do our pirate pumpkin kit.  It was perfect for him to help with, and also turned out super cute.

Here are the finished products side by side:

Part 2: High School Key Club Trunk-or-Treat

This was just a very small thing that the Key Club of the nearby high school did for Lily's school.  There weren't many kids there, but it was still fun for Derek and Lily.  (And Derek had already been wearing a costume from the play group party that morning anyway.)  Some of the high school girls were very impressed with Derek's Troy Bolton costume - he he! 

Part 3: Ward Trunk-or-Treat and Carnival

On Thursday night, we went to our ward Halloween party, which turned out to be really fun.  The youth put together some fun games for the kids and had some snacks to eat before the trick-or-treating began.  Lily and Derek had so much fun, and Derek especially liked the centerpieces on the tables, as they were each surrounded with candy corn, which he liberally helped himself to.

By the time they got to actually go around and get candy, the kids were getting pretty worn out, and Derek finally crashed from his sugar high.  Half way around the parking-lot he sat down on the ground and told me that he wanted to go home.  What???  I ended up carrying him the rest of the way, and then we went home early.  (It's all good though - I was pretty tired too, especially because Kevin was in the field again, and so wasn't there to help me with the kids.)

Part 4: Halloween!!

This is the first time, since Lily was a baby, that we have lived in a neighborhood that our kids could trick-or-treat for real.  (It also meant we had trick-or-treaters show up at our place, as well.) 

 The kids were really excited, however, after Derek decided to take a super late nap, he was done for the day, and decided to stay home with dad to pass out candy.  He just loved it though, and it wasn't like we needed the extra candy :).  (I do wish, however, that I had gotten a decent picture of him in his costume one of the other nights, but how was I to know that he would refuse to wear his costume on Halloween??  He passed out candy in his pajamas)

 

That left Lily and I to wander the neighborhood alone, and it was so much fun!  She was quite the trooper and walked a lot farther than I expected her to want to go, but she was so happy to be "real" trick-or-treating, she didn't want to stop. 

She was also very careful about approaching doors if they didn't have a pumpkin out front.  Sometimes it was obvious the people were giving out candy, but she didn't see a pumpkin, and so she wasn't sure if it was okay :).  I really had such a great time going, just the two of us.

Here is my little sheriff, posing away :).

 

Now it is over, we have way too much candy in the house, and I am pretty exhausted.  But hey, we had a great time.   Happy Halloween to all!!

The Highs, the Lows, the In-betweens

Over the past week we have had some highs, lows, and some in-betweens. 

Low:  Derek got really sick with something, and had a fever off and on for three days.  It was not fun, but could have been so much worse.

High: Derek did NOT have the swine flu.  Yea!!

Low: I have only one assistant in Nursery and 25 children.

High:  Kevin and a few moms helped me out last week, and this week we only had 11 kids show up (most were home sick) and so it was totally manageable.

In-between:  Saturday I had to bag groceries for Kevin's Battalion FRG.  I had a lot of fun talking to some of the other ladies, but I was totally reminded why I went to college so that my grocery bagging days would be over for good :).

High:  Going on a date with Kevin last Saturday.  We went to Jason's Deli for dinner, and then wandered around the mall until we found the perfect winter coat for Derek.  A little lame, yes, but that is what we do :).  Then we came home bearing treats for our friends who watched the kids, and had a blast with them while eating Cheesecake Factory cupcakes - courtesy of Barnes and Noble.

High:  Lily and Derek performed in the primary program, and we had some good friends come and watch.  Lily even sang a beautiful duet. 

Low:  The program went way overtime, lasting 1 1/2 hours.  Thank goodness Derek didn't dive off the stand, but he did gnaw on the banister like a puppy, sneak away from his class, and at one point he wandered through our entire primary greeting people as he tried to find his spot again - Kevin called it his "victory lap."

High:  I got to go to book club - I love having a book club again!!  We read The Chosen, by Chiam Potock - not my favorite, but a good book.

Low:  Derek's residual grumpiness from his illness.  Even though he is perfectly healthy now, he seems 100 times more whiny.

High:  Lily went on a field trip to a farm today, and came back with fun tales of picking out pumpkins, animal shows, hay rides, and homemade ice-cream.  I just wish I could have gone with her!  Can you imagine what cute pictures I could have of that?

Low:  Derek pushed Lily into the TV stand and cut her lip open.  It is still bleeding as I type this, and she wanted to make sure I added it (as she is reading over my shoulder as I write this).

High:  I discovered a recipe for BYU mint chocolate brownies and successfully made them.  If you went to the "Y", you know exactly what I am talking about.  YUM!!  (I posted the recipe below, just in case you need to make it too.)

BYU Brownies!!

If you went to BYU, you had to have tried these so very delicious chocolate mint brownies.  They have been around forever, and are served at every dance and event there.  The other day I found myself really wanting them, and decided that there had to be a recipe on the internet.  I found a few - one was the original recipe, created almost 50 years ago, and the other was the more modern one.  I decided to merge the two (frosting from the original, and brownies from the modern version), and found a very delicious result.  Enjoy!!

BYU Mint Brownies

 

Brownies

1 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts

 

Melt butter and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar until fluffy.  Add honey.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to egg mixture. Mix well. Mix in cocoa/butter mixture.  Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool. 

 

Frosting

 2½ cups powdered sugar

 ½ cup butter

 1-2 teaspoons milk

 1 teaspoon mint flavoring

 Green food coloring

 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (melted)

 

Stir powdered sugar, butter and milk together and divide frosting into ¹⁄₃ and ²⁄₃ amounts. Add 1 teaspoon mint flavoring and few drops green food coloring to ¹⁄₃ and frost brownies. Refrigerate until frosting has set. Add chocolate, melted, to the ²⁄₃ amount of frosting – you will probably need to add an extra teaspoon or so of milk. Spread over mint frosted layer after it has set.

For a printable version: Download BYU Chocolate Mint Brownies

Tiny Dancer

Lily's dance class this week was a "Parent Watch," and so my neighbor took Derek off my hands and I took her to dance with my camera and video camera in hand, ready for fun :).  (Although next time, i am bringing my good flash, as the lighting in there is awful.)

Those little girls are so cute, and I love how Lily would do a move and then look at me for approval.  Sometimes she was super serious about getting it right (more in ballet), while other times she just wanted to move and be silly (more in tap - probably something to do with the shoes).

 

Check out those adorable tap shoes!!  She has two really good friends from church in her class, which is great for us moms - it means we can carpool :).  One of my favorite moments of the class, other the cute tap moves, was when the girls practiced their leaps!  So cute!!

And just so you can all share in the fun, here she is in action . . .

Keeping Warm with Good Food

 

Last week the weather here in North Carolina turned colder.  It immediately put me in the mood for warm comfort food, like bacon chowder and apple crisp - yum!   I have always loved my mom's crisp recipe, and it had been forever since I made it.  So glad I did.  I hope you enjoy it as well and that it helps keep you warm on these chilly Autumn nights :).

Apple Crisp

Filling

¼ c. flour

1 c. sugar

Dash salt

1 t. salt

4-5 cups of peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples

Mix together the dry ingredients and stir into apples.  Pour into greased 8x8x2 pan and set aside.

 

 

Topping

Mix together:

½ c. sugar

1 ½ c. Bisquick

½ t. cinnamon

 

Add 1 beaten egg and stir into dry mixture.  Pour evenly over the top of the apples. Drizzle ¼ c. melted butter over the top.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden and cooked.

Download Apple Crisp - For a printable version of the recipe :).

October Randomness

In all the craziness that has been our lives this month so far, there are fun little highlights that don't seem to want to fit into the other posts I have written, and so I thought I would throw them all together into one big random post.  Starting with . . .

Side Ponytails- Lily loves to have her hair in a basic ponytail, but the other day she came to me and said,"Mom, today I want my ponytail on the side of my head.  Do you think that you could do that?"  The cutest thing about it was how she thought she had created the hairstyle all by herself :).  Ah, I remember the days I used to sport the side ponytail . . .

Haircuts - And while we are on the subject of hair, over conference weekend, we decided to try and cut Derek's hair ourselves again.  He held still a little better, and so I didn't totally mutilate it, but he still wouldn't cooperate enough for me to clean up the uneven line on the sides.  Oh well - bit by bit.  And a not so perfect haircut is better than spending the $15 for someone else to do it :).  And hey, he is Derek - he will always look cute.

Fun times with Dad - Although we missed Kevin last week because of him working and us being gone, he found the time to do some extra special things with the kids while he was off on Monday.  First, he went to Lily's school and had lunch with her.  She was so excited to introduce him to her friends.

 

Then after school, he walked Derek down to the bus stop to wait for Lily with her umbrella.  He said she was so excited to see him waiting there, that she fell down the stairs of the bus :).   The three of them looked so cute coming up the street in the rain.

Fall Planting - One of the things I have been most excited about now that we are in a house, was to be able to plant some bulbs.  I may have gotten a little out of control because of this, since I ended up planting 90 bulbs.  My right arm and hand are still stiff and soar, as well as my legs and back - especially since I tried to plant them all while Derek was at preschool and so was moving a little too fast.   But the pain will soon fade, and in the spring I will have 60 tulips, 20 hyacinths, and ten giant daffodils . . . I can't wait! 

Halloween Fun- I found these donuts at Walmart, and the kids just loved them.  Just one more treat to add to a holiday built around treats :).

 

On another little random note, Derek is now in love with the show Super Why on PBS kids - he goes around all day talking to his friend Wyatt and singing the theme song :).  Fun times.  And so that is  our randomness, atleast for now.  

Georgia on my Mind

They say that "Home is where the heart is," and if that is true, then that explains why Savannah still feels like home, as I definitely left a piece of my heart there.  After living there four years, I had made many fantastic friends, and have been missing them quite a lot.  So, when the opportunity came up for the kids and I to take the weekend to go visit (Kevin was working), we jumped at it.

On Friday, I picked Lily up from school and we left on our four hour straight shot down I-95. 

Just a quick side note about the stretch of I-95 that goes from North Carolina, through South Carolina, into Georgia and down into Florida - it has got to be the most boring stretch of road to drive ever.  It is straight, flat, and surrounded on both sides by trees.  It gives one the feeling of driving through a green tunnel, and one that goes on FOREVER.  Give me the wide open spaces of Idaho and Nevada any day :).  But enough of being off the subject . . .

Our first stop when we got into town was to buy some Pecan Pralines to take back to Kevin.  (They are the best, and nobody makes them like the ones in Savannah.)  When we first stepped out of the car, it was like we had walked into a sauna, as it was 90 degrees with 100 % humidity.  Crazy!

Then it was off to my friend Jen's house, where we stayed for the weekend.  She was one of the first friends I made when I moved there, and I simply love her and her family.  After dinner, we headed out to the park with all the kids. (She has Eliana who is Lily's age, Tristan, who is Derek's age, and twin boys who are almost two.)  It was great fun, expect for the pesky sand gnats - I have bites all over me.  After we got the kids scrubbed and in bed, Jen and I stayed up until midnight talking and watching the movie "Australia" - which was really good. 

Saturday morning, we went out to the river to take Jen's family pictures.  It was quite the adventure, between all four of her kids not wanting to cooperate, to watching out for fire ants, and the sun randomly deciding to appear to ruin a few shots.  Oh well, we still had fun, and we still got a few great shots, so it worked out.

Then we went to the local "Safety Day" there in Richmond Hill.  There were rides, free food, and all sorts of cool police/fireman demonstrations.  The kids especially loved the bounce house.

The kids really liked it, until the heat and humidity caught up with them.  On the way home, exhaustion spawned a tantrum in Derek that was increased even more when he realized we were not going "home."  And by home, he meant our old apartment in Savannah, not our house in NC.  He actually asked about it all weekend, and never quite understood that it wasn't our house anymore.

That afternoon, my good friend Dawn came to visit with her daughters.  It was so fun to catch up and to see how cute and pregnant she is :). (She is due in a few weeks.)  And the girls had so much fun with each other.

 

After dinner that night, the kids and I headed to the Cardiff's, another of our wonderful friends.  Instantly the kids were swept up by Cayman, having a blast.  (It was so fun to watch Cayman give one of them an extra squeeze, as if he had just been reunited with long lost siblings - but hey, he was their babysitter for 3 years.) 

We even got to see their oldest son, Justin, who just got home from his mission.  Lily ran up and told him, "We have been praying for you for two whole years!"  It was so hard to say good bye to them, especially because September and I could have sat and talked forever, but we promised to sit with them at church, so that it wasn't good bye for real yet.

After I got back to Jen's and got the kids in bed, we made an ice-cream run, and then stayed up late talking over Ben and Jerry's :).   I am so glad she opened her home up to us to stay, as it was so much fun!

Sunday was wonderful, as it was a chance to go to our old ward and visit with so many of our friends, which was especially nice, since the trip was so last minute, that a lot of them were busy or gone on Saturday.  It made me realize how much I really do miss them all!!  I even got to see my Young Women, whom I have also missed a ton.  They are such wonderful girls, and I really came to love them while I was working with them.

After church, we squeezed in one last visit, this time with our friends John and Victoria.  She fed us lunch and we caught up on everything.  It was so hard to say good bye and finally get in the van and drive home, as it felt like we should just be going across the street, where we used to live.

Soon though, we were headed home to North Carolina, because although a little piece of my heart is in Georgia, Kevin had the rest of my heart back in North Carolina :).

Field Trips with my Little Guy

I have really loved doing the mom run preschool with Derek - it has been so great to get special time with him, and for him to get away sometimes.  We also are doing a field trip every month, and it just happened to be that both our October and September field trips fell on back-to-back weeks.  They were both really fun.

For September, we went to Jambbas Ranch in Fayetteville.  It is this old ranch that is turned into a zoo of sorts, because not only did they have their share of goats and chickens, but there were also, deer, elk, buffalo, a camel, a bear, an ostrich, a fox, a raccoon, etc - and lets not forget the Llama that just followed us around for a while.

The coolest thing, was that for $1, you could get a bucket of bread and feed every animal!!  I hand fed an elk, camel, etc!  We even fed the bear, but with nicely provided 3 foot long tongs :).  Derek and the other kids just loved it, and we even had perfect 75 degree weather.  What a great field trip!

For October, we went to Lake Rim Park for one of their free presentations and natures walks.  Although the constant rain we had that day put a damper on the nature hike, we still had a park ranger teach us all about local reptiles and amphibians.  The kids almost got to hold a snake, but the little guy was in a bad mood and kept attacking the glass, so we decided against that idea :).  It was another fun day though, and I am really looking forward to our next field trip adventure.