Summer recap...In TRUE Mommy Blog Style...Minus the 8 Billion Photos That Only My Mom/Grandparents Care About

June:

Utah

Basically, I spent the month feeling nauseous on my mom's couch, soaking up the essence of HOME. I shared a bed with my sister, spent as much time as she could stand in my mom's presence, and enjoyed seeing my family for the first time in months.

Bryan and Brittany got married on a perfect day in June. It was so lovely, and there was this amazing pasta salad at their wedding lunch... You know me and food. Oliver grouched through their whole reception. Her mom probably hates me for bringing my screaming child to her daughter's wedding reception.

There were a couple of trips to Bryan and Brittany's house for swimming. We went to Ogden's dinosaur park, where Oliver was mostly terrified and awestruck at the same time. I got to go to Sunday dinner for four weeks in a row, which hasn't happened since before I was married. It was glorious.

Jesse stayed home and asked me to please never leave him for so long ever again.

July:

We drove from Utah to Maryland in my new car. Mostly my dad drove because he is wonderful like that.

There was a short stay in the enchanting town of Oskaloosah, Iowa where there is a pastry shop that you must eat at before you die, and a park that you must take your children to before they are grown. The city of Oskaloosah knows how to make life worth living, that's for sure.

Pastries from Jaarsma Dutch Bakery. The picture doesn't do them any justice.

I got to eat my fair share of Beef Chalupas Supreme (I'm sure I'll never be able to get enough of them), and I started to remember why I held strictly to a "NO BATHROOMS BUT MY OWN" policy when I was younger.

Andre stayed with us through July and we were so lucky to have him. He kept Oliver occupied, he helped around the house whenever I asked with whatever I needed, he was fun to talk to, and he was always up for a new episode of Dr. Who. I'm convinced there's not a better house guest anywhere.

We visited a long list of places while he was here, walked our feet off, and mastered the metro. It was exhausting, but so much fun.

August:

Mike, Jacque, and Emma came to stay...we had a full house. It was fun to watch them interact with Oliver, and he loved getting to know them better. Andre all but adopted them as his own. It was a nice visit.

Jesse spent our anniversary at Six Flags with Andre and Wonder Woman. I'm over it.

I put Andre on his airplane and sent him home with a whole bottle of hot sauce in his bag to surprise him with when he got home. Both Andre and the hot sauce made it home in one piece.

I spent the rest of August hanging out with Jesse, who had a couple of weeks off of school, and recovering from the whirlwind month of July.

September:

Jesse is loving his Pediatrics rotation. He likes the clinic he was assigned, and not just for the unlimited free hot chocolate and free lunches. He's probably going to cry when it is time for his Psych rotation at the end of this month.

It's pretty safe to assume that Oliver is potty trained! And that's a big deal.

He's also got something going for himself almost every morning of the week. Monday is rest day. Tuesday is preschool. Wednesday is playgroup. Thursday is preschool. Friday is play date. The kid has more obligations than I do...I've had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that my mornings are no longer my own.

I'm the same old, same old. Just looking forward to the beautiful east coast fall season that is just around the corner...I can feel it! Also, I've decided that my son is truly old enough now to remember things like family traditions, and whether or not we decorated for holidays and things like that. I can no longer approach holidays with the level of apathy that I've shown in the past. I've been pondering things like family holiday traditions for various holidays and pinning DIY decorations like a madwoman.

And that, my friends, was my summer vacation. Probably the best one yet.

What are your various holiday traditions? Specifically for October, as I really stink at Halloween? Help a girl out!

Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie

One of my favorite Easter treats is Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie. My parents found the recipe on the back of our Worlds Finest Chocolate Easter Bunnies when I was younger. 

I remember being so appalled when they took our prized chocolate bunnies and turned them into pie. The worst part was that we didn't get our own pie made from our stolen chocolate bunny. Oh no. We had to share.

I was never very good at sharing.

World's Finest Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie

1 6 oz Chocolate Bunny

18 large marshmallows (cut in half) or 180 mini marshmallows

1/4 cup milk

16 oz unsweetened whipping cream

1 prepared graham cracker crust. (I actually prefer Oreo)

Save a small piece of the bunny to shave on top for decoration.

Melt Chocolate bunny and marshmallows in milk in a double boiler. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Let cool completely. Whip cream until stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into pie crust and chill until firm. (At least two to three hours.)

Warning: don't make this pie if you are going to be home alone with it all the next day. All it will do is call to you relentlessly from the fridge, "Eat me! Eat me! Eat me!" 

.....

We colored eggs with Oliver J. for the first time this year. It was really fun, apart from my constant anxiety that someone's elbow was going to knock Easter egg dye on our cream colored carpet. That carpet gives me more anxiety than almost anything... 

A Hunting We Will Go...

 Our Easter was lovely, thanks for asking.

It was gray and rainy all day, so we hunted for eggs in the living room. Oliver searched high and low for eggs, all the while singing:

Where are you eggs, where can you be?

Where are you eggs, don't hide from me!

Every time he found one, he tossed it into his basket where we heard it crack, just like all of the previous eggs that he found. (Turns out Easter grass is good for more than just filling out baskets, hiding small pieces of candy, and being impossible to rid oneself of.)

Oliver must have my hunting skills, because it took him a lot of time and some pretty significant hints (i.e. Jesse and me pointing at a nearby egg, in plain sight, and saying, "why don't you look there?") for him to find some of them. 

We finished the day off right with every toddler's fantasy Easter feast: corn dogs, yogurt, and deviled eggs for dinner, followed by a nice fat slice of Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie for everyone.

*I promise I'll share the recipe tomorrow, but for now, it's 11:00 pm and I'm going to bed...

6 Sticks

Today was Jesse's 28th birthday. 

He asked for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, just has he has for the last four January fifteenths that I've had the pleasure of spending with him.

This year, my good friend Martha helped me make a fancy schmancy chocolate cake from scratch with three layers and six whole sticks of butter.

That's right yikes.

Oliver and I went rummaging through the toys to find something to decorate this gargantuan cake with. We settled on tractors, of course.

Jesse and I could only stomach a sliver of a piece (it was so rich) while Oliver would have eaten five pieces if we let him. He only had one piece, but by the time he was done he couldn't sit still.

Afterwards, Jesse retired to his desk for hours of study, as he does every night. 

That was the extent of his birthday celebration...10 minutes for some chocolate cake.

Life is pretty crazy, and 6 sticks of butter is about as good as it gets for us right now...I guess that's a little hard for me to come to terms with...

Though I do love butter, and it's more than a lot of people get, so I think I'll manage.

But we are definitely going to need some help polishing this baby off...I'm not sure what I was thinking....

Any takers???

Fall Favorite 2012

 

I LOVE me some Creamy Butternut Squash Soup...

 

I'm pretty sure I could slurp it every single day and never tire of it.

 

My other fall favorite was the vibrant fall color that was ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE for a whole week until the hurricane wind blew it away. 

 

Guess who was lame and didn't take any pictures?

 

If you guessed me, then you are absolutely correct.

 

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

Did you know that every morning, like clock work, for absolutely as long as I can remember

(except during most of junior high and high school when I was just so dumb too cool), 

I'd wake up and head for my parents' bed.

"Can I tickle your back?" I'd ask...those were the magic words.

I'm not ashamed to admit that even to this day, when I wake up at home, that's the first place I go.

Lately, my friend Oliver has adopted my old pattern.

He doesn't know about the back tickling requirement yet, but we're getting there.

I'm not sure if my parents loved it as much as I did when I was young...

In fact, I'm now keenly aware of how much space a little body can take up, even in a bed ten times their size...

and just how quickly one's pillow can be completely commandeered...

and that sort of monkey business gets really old.

Really fast.

But, there's something very flattering in knowing that the first thing your little wants to do in the morning is share their bunny blanket (or jungle blanket, or circle blanket, or all of the above) with YOU...

and play with YOUR hair...

and kiss YOUR cheek...

and snuggle with YOU...

I don't think I'd give that up for anything.

I like to think my parents felt the same way. If not, they were pretty great at pretending.

Still are, actually.

That's one Jucy Lucy!

One day, when I was very pregnant with my friend Oliver, I was watching a show on the travel channel about a Minnesota burger called the Jucy Lucy.

 

A big pile of cheese locked inside of a hamburger patty and grilled so that when you bite into it, you are greeted by a pocket of delectable melted gooey goodness.

 

I don't know about you, but that seems like perfection to me.

 

Since seeing the show, I've been dying to try one.

 

I mean the real deal, from each of the restaurants in St. Paul claiming to serve the original.

 

And believe you me, IT WILL HAPPEN!

 

But until then, I'll settle for Jesse Moses' remake with some fried onion strings and BBQ sauce.

 

 

Turducken

I learned a new word today...

Turducken

 

Straight from the mouth of my awesome friend Abby:

 

"It's a chicken... stuffed in a duck... stuffed in a turkey. Sometimes there is bacon. That's America for you"

 





I have got to try this...

The Story of Jesse's Life: Geek Speak

The other night, Jesse received a gaming invitation from one of his brothers in the form of a text...

"Abandon thine wives, children, roommates, and the pursuit of women. For tomorrow I laboreth not, and verily I desireth to gather together five of the children of Moses. Verily our enemies shall be crushed under our heals in the Gears of War."

 

We've been laughing about it for days.

Top 10...

Reasons why Thursday rocked...

1. Chinese Potluck Brunch with friends. YUM! Next month's potluck brunch theme: Harvest.

2. Kristen informed me that she has officially booked tickets to visit me out here in the forest.

3. Won this prize from a giveaway at rikrak studio

photo credit

 

That's two clutch patterns and a small clutch from LBG Studio (cannot wait to try making the foldover clutch!), a necklace from Yanessa B., and a stocking of my choice from rikrak.

 

Seriously can't believe my luck.

 



4. Fake it Frugal brownies! I LOVE them! Especially with dark chocolate chips baked in... Mmm! It's currently my favorite treat.

 

5. Found this gem on the Ipod...

 

 

6. Which reminded me of this picture of Oliver from earlier this summer. Can't believe I didn't show you until now...

 

What can I say? We like naps.

 

7. Singing in the car with Ollie all afternoon while we drove to and fro, picking up my friend Oliver's girlfriend Tina and dropping her off at BWI and then picking Jesse up from school

 

8. The Magic of Ordinary Days with newly found kindred spirits Lindsey and Cami, officially on my top ten list of favorite people in all of Maryland. (Bree, you were right! They are my kind of people!)

 

9. Strawberry Peach smoothies for dinner.

 

10. Supernatural with Jesse until 1:00 am.

 

 

 

 









Everyday at Breakfast...

 "Can I have a oatmealk with milk and sugar for dinner, Mom?"

End of Summer Delights

Jesse is back in school and that is a BUMMER!

 

The good news is that we had one last hurrah before the summer ended.

 

We visited a little place that our peeps from the east side like to call Dunkin Donuts.

 

Yeah. It's kind of a big deal around here.

 

And yeah, it's as delicious as people say it is.

 

We've also discovered smoothies.

 

Oliver calls them "Smoovies," and everyday after nap time he comes up to me and says,

 

"Can we have a smoovies for dinner, Mom?"

 

(That is, when he's not asking for brownies, waffles, or pizza)

 

It all started when some friends from the ward helped Jesse fix up our car for the state safety inspection. As payment, they asked for smoothies. So we bought a bag of frozen fruit from Sam's Club and invited them over.

 

We had an immersion blender, which I loved because it was perfect for soups, and I LOVE me some soup. But that's beside the point...I use the past tense "loved" because after two smoothies, my beloved immersion blender took its last breath, leaving me with a big bag full of frozen fruit and nothing to blend it with.

 

We headed to Wally's world to see what they had. We picked an inexpensive Oster blender, used the last of our gift cards, and brought it home hoping that it was decent.

 

Don't worry, Barbara the blender turned out to be a CHAMP!

 

Since that purchase we've had at least two smoothies a day. You could say that we are out of control.

 

Mostly we just use milk, frozen strawberries and a little bit of banana. It makes a smoothie so thick and perfect. Usually I don't require any sugar, but a guy I know named Jesse has a sweet tooth and thinks every smoothie he sucks down should taste like dessert. So in sweetening my smoothies, I've found that I prefer honey over sugar. 

 

Today I got brave and tried Peanut Butter and Banana together.

 

I used:

 

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup peanut butter

a big glob of honey

and 1/2 or so cup of ice.

 

It was so rich and delicious and exactly what I wanted. I only wish that I had thought ahead and frozen the bananas because it wasn't as frosty as I like 'em.

 

Anyway, I'm thinking maybe...just maybe...I'll try throwing spinach or kale in with my frozen fruit and see how it goes. Supposedly, you can't taste the green stuff. So the end result is still tasty and delightful but is slightly healthier. We shall see.

Any thoughts of the subject of healthy smoovies? 



Scenes from the Kitchen

Caught red handed:

And now for the grand finale...

Yes. That is, in fact, what 2 lbs of blueberries on my kitchen floor looks like.

Our current favorite method of blueberry preparation: Freeze them! Eat them one at a time and they are like itty bitty popsicles from heaven!

That is, after they have been well rinsed...which is especially the case in this instance

The Story of Jesse's Life: Silver Dollar Pancakes

I made pancakes for breakfast this morning.

Cute little silver dollar pancakes...if pancakes are allowed to be cute.

I served up a stack to Jesse, who's first reaction was as follows:

"YUM! You made silver dollar pancakes! I wonder if I can fit them all in my mouth at once!"

Clams and Chowders

I made clam chowder last night.

Only it wasn't clam chowder...it was some terrible soup disguised as clam chowder.

It was so bad that we ended up tossing it back into the pot and eating bread with jam.

It was very dissappointing because, as you might already know, I don't make bad food anymore

Not usually, anyway.

So...this week I've been working on a research paper...like, 12 hours per day

(except yesterday when I went to Logan to play with Becca, which was a welcome relief!)

Anyway, just so you'll feel bad for me, I thought I would share our dinner menu for the past few days:

Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Bread with butter and Jam...multiple slices
Saturday: Cereal
Sunday: I'm hoping that I thought ahead a long time ago and hid something in freezer to warm up...if that's not the case...Cereal it is!

You're jealous right now aren't you...

I'm looking forward to the next three days when Jesse is in charge. He is off work until Thursday, which I'm hoping means real food, completed housework, and a chance to finish this nasty paper and the one in line right after it.

Wish us luck! And if you don't hear from us sometime in the near future...someone please check to make sure we are still alive.

Today I Was a Domestic Goddess!

Last night I served stuffed peppers and noodles with tomato sauce for dinner.

Usually this is my favorite meal, but there was something about it that I did not love.

Therefore, I was dreading lunch today when leftovers were on the menu...

As I sat at the computer, trying to write a research paper but thinking about food instead (which happens far too often) an idea popped right into my head...

And right then and there, I made up a new recipe!!!

Well...it's not really a recipe. It's just a list of instructions...(that's me channeling my inner Mrs. Alger).

Isn't it crazy that three and half years ago I could barely cook a packet of ramen, and now I'm whipping up my own stuff.

YIKES I'm amazing!

Here it is!

Pour two cans condensed tomato soup and two cans milk into a saucepan and whip them up. Take your leftover stuffed pepper halves (2), dice them up and throw them in. Add your leftover tomato sauced noodles (about 1 1/2 cups). Salt and Pepper to taste. Heat through and serve it up! Maybe next time I'll add some corn?

Yes my darlings, inventing new recipes, no matter how simple, is a characteristic of a domestic goddess

Tonight's Table Talk with the Mosai

Here's an example of the sort of riveting dinner conversations that take place at our house:

Jesse: "If you had to pick only 3 foods to eat for the rest of your life, what would you choose?"

Me: "......um......maybe broccoli?....and milk?....and beef, does that count? What would you pick?"

Jesse: "bread, lightly seasoned meat, and milk. I'm thinking bland foods would be tolerable for a longer time. Right?"

Then he continued with a bunch of "which would you pick for the rest of your life" questions like,

chicken or beef?
seafood or beef?
vegetables or beef?

my answers: beef, beef, vegetables

Jesse: "What about pasta? Would you ever consider only pasta for the rest of your life? Or would you pick bread instead?"

Me: "Neither. But I know what Ollie would choose....Oatmeal, bananas, and apple juice"

Oliver, sitting forward very suddenly with eyes WIDE open, "Juice???..................Please?"

Captivating, isn't it?

I fixed a Thanksigiving feast yesterday...

I made WAY too much food for the three of us to put away, but it was so delicious!
We had:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Magical Yams (Ollie loved 'em!)
Rolls
Cranberry Jelly
and some Pumpkin Pie topped with an inch of Whipped Cream

My turkey gave me trouble...just like the last one. But don't blame the turkey. I think it was my approach. I just need more practice.

We ate on china and drank from crystal. I think Thanksgiving tastes better that way.

I thought about dressing up in my brand new D.I. dress, which, trust me, would have been a TREAT...but after a day of slaving in my kitchen, I decided that casual clothes with a dishtowel around my waist would have to be acceptable.

The dinner dishes are still waiting to be washed...

I'll get right on that...

Now all that's left is the real deal at Grandma's house on Thursday.

I.Can't.Wait.

Did you know that I really really REALLY love to cook?

I especially love preparing delicious meals for the people I care about...

In fact, that happens to be my favorite way to say,
"I love you."

I think it's probably something I learned from a Grandma or two that I know.

Actually, if you're reading this, chances are that I have missed you immensely and would like nothing more than to sit you down at my kitchen table and stuff you with food!

Just so you know how I feel...

And you shouldn't fret if we're not super tight. I also use treats to let people know that I'd really love to have them as my friend...