Adventures in Mommyhood

Tomorrow will come early for us, I'm afraid.  Presents will be unwrapped and cinnamon rolls baked before the sun is up- that's how it is in this house!  But tonight, the preparations are finished.  The last 4 weeks have been busy- planning, cooking, shopping, cleaning, teaching; all to get ready for tomorrow. To celebrate, remember, gift each other, and spend time with family.  I'm exhausted from all the preparations, but I know I'd do it all over again... and I will... next year.

Out of all of the things I wanted to keep of my  Grandma's , her Sandbakkel tins were first and foremost. Of all the many, MANY delicasies she make at Christmastime, these were my favorite.  Sandbakkels are a delicate almond-flavored shortbread tart.  I loved to use them to scoop up the homemade ice cream that was also a tradition at Grandma's house on Christmas night. And so, today I got the ancient box down (the instructions even say to bake in a "middle-hot" oven), and took out the tins that her hands had pressed the sugary, buttery dough into time and time again.  I used her hand-written recipe to instruct me, and found myself smiling that my sandbakkels were definitely NOT up to Grandma standards.  Her's were always perfect. Sandbakkels 1 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 3/4 tsp almond extract 2.5 cups flour Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in egg and extract.  Beat in flour until dough is stiff.  Press dough (in about 1"

I did some Christmas Crafts last weekend.  I'm kind of proud of them because 1) I'm not naturally very crafty- I WANT to be, but it isn't something I grew up doing 2) They were really cheap crafts 3) They look pretty darn good! Craft #1:  Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 1) Take a tomato cage 2) Invert it onto an appropriately sized pot (I just used an old cracked one from my back yard) 3) String lights on the tomato cage (I used 300 lights).  Pinch the top wires together to form a point and wrap with lights 4) Take some garland and tuck around the base My cost (the lights were the only thing I bought):  $6 Craft #2:  "Snowy" Candle Jars 1) Take some old jars (salsa, canning, jelly, whatever) 2) Fill half-way with epsom salt 3) Place a tea-light in the salt 4) Tie a ribbon or piece of twine around the jar My cost:  $4 (epsom salt, tea lights and ribbon all purchased at the dollar store) Inspired by some shiny coffeti I had stashed away i

Well, I have certainly neglected this blog of late.  I blame it on my camera braking (finally!).  I now have a working camera (my brother-in-law's old iphone!). We traveled to Fort Dodge to visit family and friends.  We made a 6 day trip of it and were able to fit in lots of family and quite a few visits with old friends (high school and college).  Here are some highlights: Fisher tailgating with the grownups at the Cyclone game Friday Night Lights! Holland ATE UP all the Uncle Dirk/Aunt Sig attention Aunt Sig shared her culinary genius by teaching Claire how to make "Siggie's Special Snack."  (Saltines with a Kraft Single- nuked for 10 seconds ).  Claire was hooked. Making cinnamon rolls with Grandma! Holland being brave on the high park wall

In the last two weeks, I worked a Thursday-Friday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday stint.  40 hours!  This is much more than my usual 8 hours a week gig.  The extra money will be wonderful to have in the upcoming months, and we all made it through in good spirits.  But.  I missed being home. As (luck??) would have it, Claire woke up with a slight fever on Thursday morning and I decided she could stay home from school.  Of course, I had planned a big day of working out at the gym, grocery shopping and cleaning house.  But instead I was forced to stay in.  As the day wore on, she grew sicker and sicker and by afternoon her 99 degree temp had progressed to 103.  She slept, watched movies, played a little with her little sister, and let me hold her.   We folded laundry together- something we used to do all the time.  We stayed in for four days.  Resting, playing, and doing housework too.  But at a different pace.  I didn't have to try to make "outside world" stuff a part of our day.

Another weekend in the books.  It was kind of a whirlwind, but in a good way :)  Lots of family, chores and cookies.  

Here are a few pictures from a weekend we had away recently.  We visited Lance's sister and family (including a new cousin!) in Pella, Iowa.  There were a few signs around town with the below slogan- couldn't have been a more perfect photo op for Holland! The hay bale maze at the apple orchard in my home town Claire got her face painted- I wasn't very impressed with the guy's work, but she was pleased at least :)

When there is a beautiful day in mid-October, one should take advantage of it.  Soon, it will be dark by supper and likely cold as well.  Today was a 70-degree October day and, although I was inside for most of it, I was able to spread a blanket on the lawn and relax for awhile with the girls while Fisher was at the neighbor's for piano lessons.  There were sounds of leaf blowers and mowers all around, but I thought I was making the better choice- to lay on top of the leaves and enjoy the pleasantness of the late afternoon. I found this cookbook at the library today.   Each recipe has a story behind it.  I will take a good cookbook over a novel to read any day :) Our Sugar Maple is especially beautiful this year (due to the drought my husband says).  It is so lovely to look at from inside as well as out. After supper we all took a little walk to a nearby church playground.  The huge hill was way more fun than the playground. All of these warm, dry October days are

Welcoming a new season by changing our window decorations Discovering that the perfect place for a fort has been in our back yard all along Picking apples and making applesauce (and a messy kitchen). Trying to sell my maternity clothes (Good-bye, old friends!) Finally getting to see if my first try at growing squash was successful (and it was!)  Also being thankful that my weirdo zucchini plant finally decided to produce. Getting an uninterrupted game of Skip-Bo in with my girl (because her little sister is at GRANDMA'S house!)

"I thought we'd have a fire tonight," Lance said as we finished up supper.  A very good idea on a random Thursday night.   Mmmmm... Fall.  Marshmallows, popcorn, fire, smoke and chilly air.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Holland played with Kitty, Hippo, Teddy and Puppy.  I love to watch how seriously she takes her mothering play. After school, Claire squealed with glee when she found the "How To Draw Animals" book I brought her from the library. An hour later, she was still hard at work The finished project.  Love. It might FROST tonight!  I harvested a  bowl full of tomatoes and will bring in my basil plant tonight (so happy it is in a pot).  Hopefully the tomatoes, peppers and zucchini will live to see another day. I made my favorite granola recipe- the one I've been making since college.  Since I was out of honey, I used pancake syrup in its place- and loved the results.  I have yogurt in the crock pot to go with this golden goodness tomorrow. Honey Almond Granola 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup honey or pancake syrup (Maple syrup if you are spendy) 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp salt 6 cups Old-Fashioned oats 2/3 cup pumpkin seeds (or sesame) 1 cup chopped uns

{this moment} . . . . . . . . {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Inspired by soulemama.com

No more She-Mullet for Holland!  I finally gave up hope that it would all "even out" and took matters into my own hands (not literally)!