Weekend Sleep

Sugar Deception

So I cracked open this cookbook today, and made this chocolate cake for the boys. For any of you who are familiar with Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, you'll know that all of the recipes include some form of pureed fruit or vegetable, "hidden" in the ingredients. Besides being able to get your kids to eat extra servings of veggies, all of the recipes are very healthful and low in fat. This cake? Well...it contains nearly an entire can of pureed beets. I'm feeling a little guilty right now, because Steve detests beets, but gobbled up a piece of cake after dinner tonight. He asked me what was in it (he knows about the concept of the cookbook), and all I said was, "You don't want to know". Steve will eat absolutely anything....anything except beets. The cake was nice and moist, and seriously, it just tastes like a chocolate cake. Camden and Griffin loved it, so I will definitely be making this again. However, after Steve reads this, he probably won't be eating it again.

Apron Love

I have a thing for aprons. I love them. I swear, I could look at them all day long on Etsy. Not only do I love to look at them, but I love to wear them. Every day. Someday soon, I show you my growing collection of aprons. Today, I am madly in love with this little number. It is very retro, and it was made by woman here in my town. I love anything with cherries on it, so when I saw this one, I just had to have it. If you love to cook, then I dare you to throw on a retro apron...you will love it even more.

Silhouettes

My interest in silhouettes was first piqued by this post on my dear friend Kate's blog. Then, I saw a silhouette tutorial at The Homespun Heart. And of course, there are Nie's beautiful silhouettes. I finally got around to making some for myself, and they were so much fun! Eventually, I'd like to hang them over our mantle, but since I don't really want to do that until I repaint the living room (and that won't be happening for quite some time, I fear) I went ahead and hung them in our bedroom:

I really like how they turned out, and I actually love them on the bedroom wall. They were so easy to make. All I did was take pictures of each family member, and then printed out the picture in 8x10 size (here's Camden's).

Then, I carefully cut around the image. I placed it on a piece of black card stock and traced it. Then, I cut out that image, mounted it on white card stock, and framed it. Voila! I even caught ol' Riley in a reflective mood one day, so I made a silhouette of him, too. No such luck with Roy, as of yet.

The frame for Riley's silhouette was found at our local thrift store for 50 cents. It was brown and plastic, and really ugly, but nothing that some glossy red spray paint couldn't fix.

Wordfull Wednesday: The Act of Giving

This week, I've decided to join in on Wordfull Wednesday, over at Chocolate on My Cranium. The topic is The Act of Giving, so here are my thoughts:

When I think about giving, one thing that quickly comes to mind are simple acts of kindness, such as, saying "good morning" to someone you pass on the street. Asking the cashier at the grocery store if they are having a nice day. Holding a door for a stranger. I hate to be cynical, but, more often than not, it seems that the general population keep to themselves. I know there are still many, many good people in the world, but why don't people make eye contact anymore? Why do some people find it easier to pretend that they don't notice others in need? Why does it seem to be difficult to get pleasant customer service? I don't know the answers to these questions. What I do know is that when I find myself feeling down, I try to remember a quote that I heard once. "You can't control how other people act, but you can control how you react to them." Go ahead and try saying this to yourself...a mantra of sorts...the next time you are faced with a rude person. Don't get hung up on how someone is treating you, but rather, focus on how you can step up and do better.

I love this website. Take a few minutes to visit it. My favorite acts of kindness really are the random ones - - where you do something for another person, whether you know them or not, but expect absolutely nothing in return. Keep this concept in mind, as it will be part of an upcoming giveaway.

"The best portion of a good man's life - his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." - William Wordsworth

Proud

I'm sure you are well-aware that I am very proud of my husband. Not only is he a decent human being, but he loves me just as I am, he takes great care of me and our children, and he is truly my best friend. Today, I am thinking about all that he has sacrificed - - not just while he was deployed - - but also in his every-day job, and as a commander in the Idaho Army National Guard. He works so very hard, and doesn't get a great deal of "Steve" time, although I think he is getting a little better at making plans to recharge his batteries. He is a good man - - the absolute best, in my eyes. Today is the day that I remember how truly lucky we are to have him, safe--and at home with us. If you have the opportunity to thank a Veteran today, please do so. We will never really know what any of them have gone through, but we can give them our respect and our gratitude.

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On a slightly different, yet related note, I thought I would include a video that Steve recently shared with me. I found it very moving. The part I am referring to is really the second half of the video, so please be patient and watch it all the way through. I am not posting this to make any type of political statement - - I simply think Colin Powell's words speak volumes.

***Edited to add: After rereading this post, I wanted to point out that this is not a post about fishing for compliments for Steve (or for myself). It is a post about my personal experience, and my thoughts today. I originally closed the comments for this post, but then worried that readers may think I closed comments so as not to allow political opinions. Just wanted to make that clarification. Thanks for your compliments just the same!

Dad Time

Steve has always been so good about spending special time with Camden on the weekends - - going fishing, hiking, launching rockets, or other such boy & dad related activities. Griffin has caught on though, and he doesn't want to be excluded any longer (mind you, he was "left out" based on age, but he's now old enough to join in the fun). So, Steve recently took Griffin on his first solo canoe trip, and Grif loved it. Steve tells me Griffin would have gladly stayed in the canoe all day. He's obsessed with his Dad, and with good reason. I'm not sure that two little boys have ever had such a loving, patient, involved, and devoted father.

Mickey, Griffie, Buzz, & Camden

Today, Steve and I surprised the boys and took them to Boise to see Disney on Ice. We didn't know what to expect, what with Griffin being a loose cannon and all, but I'm happy to report that we had a really nice time. I only just purchased the tickets this morning, so I wasn't able to get four seats together. I ended up with two tickets in the "good" section (i.e., more expensive) and two tickets in the nosebleed section. As it turns out, the cheap tickets were the better seats, in the front row of the balcony, overlooking the ice rink. I wasn't really too hopeful about Griffin because he doesn't have much of an attention span at this age, and he is a little under the weather today. The boy was a trooper though, and sat through the entire 2-hour show. We had a near mishap during the Beauty & The Beast portion of the show, which he didn't care for (Beast=scary). Luckily, Buzz Lightyear came on right after The Beast, and saved the day. The picture you see is Griffin with his $8.00 popcorn feed bag, which he would not share with anyone, by the way.

Again....Nothing

I want to post something witty...really I do. However, I took some Nyquil about 45 minutes ago, and I can barely keep my eyes open. Must go crawl into bed. Darn cold. Hopefully I will be feeling more like myself by tomorrow.

Nothing

I've got nothing tonight. However, I didn't want to miss a day of NaBloPoMo '08, darn it. I have a head cold, and I mostly just want to go to bed. I just finished watching the movie Cast Away (love that movie) and it just reaffirmed the fact that I adore Tom Hanks. Steve returned home from his trip this evening. He's just taken over control of the channel changer, which means we are now watching "Foreign Exchange with Daljit Dhaliwal" (on PBS). If I had my way, we'd be watching What Not to Wear, but that would mean I'd be sitting here by myself. Basically, there appears to be little to nothing that Steve and I can watch together on television. Time for bed!

Butter & Eggs Make the World Go 'Round

There is a fundraiser at the library tomorrow, and I volunteered to make a cake for one of the auction tables. My only direction was that it couldn't be a chocolate cake, and it had to be "a winter theme". I have a couple of Wilton Christmas pans, but I couldn't use those, because that winter theme didn't include Christmas (because that just isn't politically correct anymore, you know....sad!). Anyway, I drove my self nuts all day yesterday, trying to come up with something winter-y, and finally settled on this recipe for coconut cake, from Barefoot Contessa. When I saw how many eggs and sticks of butter it called for, I knew it had to be good, because eggs and butter make everything good. I chose coconut cake for the snow effect, but still needed to decorate it, so I be-bopped over to the Dollar Tree, and spent $2.00 for the topper and the snowflakes that I secured around the side of the cake. I did tweak the recipe just a tiny bit - - I only put 1 tsp. of almond extract in the cake batter, and I used buttermilk instead of regular milk. The texture of the cake is almost like a pound cake, and it has a really nice flavor. I'm not usually a big fan of coconut, but I would definitely bake this again.

A New Day. And, a Bit of a Rant.

Oh Lordy.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you are aware that I don't tend to inject my opinion about things very often, mostly because I prefer to keep things light. However, I'm a little testy this morning. Over the last 24-48 hours I've seen, heard, and read so many things that have frankly been a little depressing and disappointing. I'll do my best to present my thoughts in an organized fashion, but I can't make any promises.

I voted for Barack Obama. I'd like to think I made a very informed decision. My husband and I had many, many lengthy conversations about the election. We went back and forth. We watched. We read. We considered. In the end, we each, individually, made up our minds. It wasn't easy. We both agreed that for the first time since either of us could legally vote, we were presented with two superb candidates, each with outstanding qualities and ideas. How refreshing it was to choose from two such candidates, rather than basing our choice on who we disliked a little less than the other, as we feel we've had to do in the past.

While I appreciate how passionate we can each get about our candidates, how tiring it is to hear people implying that others (who didn't vote as they did) are somehow ill-informed. I'd like to think we all vote based on what we believe to be the best choice for each of us. That's democracy. That is why we live in the United States of America, people.

Yesterday morning, I was preparing to teach Story Time at the library, as I do each Tuesday morning. A mother asked me if I'd voted. I replied that I had. She then asked me if I was a Democrat or Republican (I'll remind you that I live in the very Republican state of Idaho). My first thought was, "none of your business!" but instead I replied honestly, "Neither...I'm registered as an Independent." She looked at me like I had two heads! When I voted yesterday, I voted for democrats and republicans. Again, I'd like to think I made informed decisions.

Another thing: I'm sick of hearing that Sarah Palin is evil, crazy, etc., etc., etc. She's the Governor of Alaska, and you aren't. She must have some redeeming qualities to have accomplished what she's accomplished. I'm pretty sure if she knew all kinds of details about your life, she'd find things she didn't like about you, either. I realize there is a difference, since she was running for vice president, and we weren't, but still. I think it is sad that so much focus was taken away from Senator McCain, because so many people were busy jumping on the bandwagon, bashing her. Sad.

Lastly, I have to address the whole argument that Barack Obama doesn't care about our troops. Believe me, this isn't a topic we take lightly in our household. Steve spent a year and a half of his life away from us, in Iraq, and will most likely be deployed again. He voted for Obama, and will happily discuss his personal experience and thoughts with anyone (email me if you need our phone number).

Please don't think for a moment that this is a post about how "I voted for Obama, and if you didn't, you're stupid. " Please give me more credit than that. Mostly, this is a little rant about the sad state that our country is in, in so many different ways. My opinion. I respect and welcome yours as well.

I am hopeful this morning that change is indeed coming.

Now, back to baking, crafting, and child-rearing!

Voting With My Trusty Sidekicks

Camden has been very interesting in the whole voting process, so he really wanted to go with me to vote today. I had planned to do it after I'd dropped him off at school (so I would have one less kid to wrangle at the polls) but decided to just go for it and go first thing this morning. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived, because we found only a couple of other people at our precinct. We walked up to the election volunteer, who said to me, "Name, please" to which Camden replied, "CAMDEN!" We got our ballot and headed over to our voting station, where Camden proceeded to say, over and over, in a very loud voice, "MUMMY! ARE YOU PICKING BARACK OBAMA? VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA, OKAY? YOU'RE VOTING FOR BARACK OBAMA, RIGHT???" I had to gently remind him to keep his voice down, and finally had to resort to making both boys sit on the floor and zip their lips. It seems Griffin thought it was fun to shake the legs of the polling booths, although I'm pretty sure my fellow voters didn't find it too amusing. So, the deed is done, and I am very excited to watch election returns tonight. Camden wanted his picture taken next to the sign on the way out of our precinct, and I was happy to oblige.

We decided to skip Muffin Tin Monday yesterday, so that we could do it today instead. I went with an "election day" theme (beware - - I had to really reach, coming up with names for a couple of the items). We have: Craisins (since they are red), cannon balls (Pirate's Booty), American apple sauce, constitutional carrots, Presidential roast chicken, and half of a banana-chocolate chip muffin. Of course, the boys liked the crazy cup cake topper the best. They cleaned their plates, so I guess this one was another success.

Not What I Had Planned

I had something a little more interesting in line for today's post, but alas, I woke up feeling just horrible this morning, so my day took an instant detour, straight for the sofa. Unfortunately, Steve left today for business in Eastern Idaho, and he won't be back until Friday. Luckily I am beginning to feel a bit more human - - I'm quite sure today's malady is directly related to my ongoing intestinal troubles, but thankfully, I should have some answers to all of that in the very near future. My boys are being super today - - probably because we are holed up in the family room with a never-ending stream of cartoons. Today, I am thanking the Direct T.V. gods for helping me in my time of need. Yay, children's programming!

I'd also like you all to know that my home is in such a state of disarray that I am very tempted to take pictures of it. I mean, think of your house at it's absolute worst, and then multiply that by about a gajillion. That is what my home looks like today. It is just going to have to wait until tomorrow, I fear!

I took the plunge recently, and purchased a temporary membership to Sam's Club. While I like the idea of wholesale shopping, I've resisted the urge because I figure it is just one more opportunity to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need. However, I recently read about their "10 Weeks for $10" offer, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to give it a try and see if it really is worth it to be a full-time member. More than that, I learned of a service that Sam's Club offers called "Click 'n Pull". I can do all of my shopping online, then just show up at the service center, pay my tab, and they will bring my cart of goodies out to me. For me, this is super appealing because I don't have to torture the boys by dragging them around yet another store, and it also eliminates any impulse buys that could potentially end up in my cart. I made a quick trip to Sam's the other day so that I could "case the joint" and see just what they had. I was not disappointed - - they had so many things that are always on my list - - applesauce, honey, Ranch dressing, sugar, flour, etc., and all at huge savings.

Now that our day is heading into late afternoon, it has dawned on me that the boys and I could use more days like this...no agenda, no housework, snuggling on the sofa, and getting a little rest.

How Do I LoveThee? Let Me Count The Ways...

Steve and I had a very, very long overdue date night tonight...as a matter of fact, we had a hard time remembering the last time we'd been out together...alone.

Anyway, it was fabulous, and so very nice to have the luxury of totally enjoying each other's company. We had dinner at a lovely little restaurant in Eagle that we love. We ate summer rolls, roasted edamame, and then some wonderful sushi, and finished with some green tea ice cream. From there, we headed over to Starbucks for a warm drink (and a couple of cell phone pictures). Tomorrow, Steve heads out of town on business, so I'm extra glad we had a chance to spend some time together tonight.

NaBloPoMo '08!

It completely slipped my mind that today is November 1st...the first day of National Blog Posting Month. I had a good time participating in this challenge last year, so I think I'll give it another try this year. Here's hoping I don't bore you all to tears!

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In other news....

This sweet girl turned 3 years old on the 30th ... Happy Birthday, Violet Jean! (photo by Kevin Davis)

Halloween lunch - - "bone" bread sticks, the standard carrots and ranch, "mummy" hot dogs, and severed finger cookie. Camden was not the least bit amused. Wouldn't even touch his lunch until I removed the finger from his plate.

Halloween pizza...

Griffin, Josie, and Camden

Cousins ... Camden (in mid-Batman pose), Banzer (as Johnny Cash), and a bewildered Griffie/Spiderman

Agenda

1. Muffin Tin Monday: Heart-shaped quesadillas, trail mix (Kashi Crunch, Cheerios, raisins, and a few chocolate chips to keep peace in the family), cottage cheese, carrots & dip, and apple slices (to see more muffin tins, go here).

2. Taking care of our nephew, Banzer, for the day. My, are these boys busy!

3. Enjoying a homemade mocha in my fancy-pants Bodum Pavina Thermo Glass. I found a never-opened box of two of these at the thrift store for $1.00....major steal.

4. Washing a never-ending pile of dirty dishes.

5. Still processing this new article about Stephanie Nielsen (photo from Nienie Dialogues)

6. Planning for Christmas ... it is only 9 weeks from now, you know.

7. Reflecting on a lovely weekend with my boys.

This, That, and The Other

The warm weather of last week was short-lived, and we are back to chilly mornings, sweaters, and shorter days. Life feels quite busy in these parts, and it has given me the itch to organize the house and purge it of unnecessary clutter. I've spent most of the week cleaning out one of our storage sheds. There were bags and bags of maternity clothes buried in there, and they are now gone. I've also been digging through bins of clothing. All of the outgrown stuff is ready to be handed off to moms with new babies, and the stuff that Griffin has yet to grow into is neatly organized. Gosh, does that make me feel better! I'm also still working on the family room, and it is coming along really well. The walls are all painted, and now I am just working on the decorating. The biggest things will be getting a slipcover for the sofa, and getting a new piece of carpeting for the t.v. area. I'm a few weeks out on that, but I'm hoping by December, it will be finished.

The boys have been enjoying the outdoors - - especially jumping in the leaves. Camden especially loves to be outside, and spent over 4 hours straight, digging in the dirt after school the other day.

I didn't forget about Muffin Tin Monday this week, but when I posted the Halloween-themed tin last week, I was actually a week early for the challenge, so I'll be back on track for next week. This weeks' was rather lack-luster, and now that I look at it, not super-balanced (acorn-shaped cheddar cheese, Goldfish, Halloween animal crackers, applesauce, broccoli, and Ranch dip). No matter, though, both of the boys cleaned their plates. By the way, Muffin Tin Monday has moved to a new blog, for any of you who might be interested in participating. There won't be any challenges for the next two Mondays, so it is anything goes!

Our annual "neighborhood social" was held this past Sunday, and Camden had the thrill of meeting a neighbor of ours who drives a race car. He took Camden to his house and let him sit in the driver's seat, which just about sent Camden over the edge, as you can imagine.

Camden perfected his Whoopie Pie eating technique, which is, take the pie apart, eat the top cake, eat the filling with finger, then eat the bottom cake. I told him that his Nana really makes the best Whoopie Pies, and he said, "Mummy, you always say Nana makes the best everything!" It's true, though!

Tomorrow is Grandparents & Honored Guest day at Camden's school, and since he doesn't have grandparents nearby, he is taking his Dad to school. He is very excited about this, and every day when I've picked him up from school this week, he's asked me how many more sleeps until Daddy goes to school. One more sleep, sweet boy!

A Tasty Treat

Griffin and I found ourselves at the Saturn dealership this morning (time for an oil change!) so while we were waiting, we hoofed it across the street to Starbucks. We both needed a snack and something warm to drink (34 degrees this morning!). I decided to try the new Portabella Mushroom Piadini, along with a Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate (I know...salted caramel? I thought it sounded weird, too....so weird, in fact, that I just had to try it). The verdict? The piadini was really delicious. Light, flaky crust, filled with mushrooms,

spinach, feta, ricotta, and egg. Yum. The hot chocolate? To die for. It was so good that I could lay down and cry about it. Unfortunately, I made the grave mistake of looking up the nutritional content. It has so many calories and such an incredible amount of fat in it, that the only conclusion I can come to is that there must be a scoop of pure lard added to it. Still, I'm glad I tried it because it was decadent. I'll save the hot chocolate for a once-in-a-great-while-treat, and stick to my standard decaf nonfat mocha in the future.

As for Griffin...he is a creature of habit, so he had his usual pumpkin scone and vanilla milk, followed by some bouncing on the cushy chairs.

Pardon Me...

...I've been away for a few days. Watching t.v..

We had cable installed last week, which, my dear friend Terri quickly reminded me, is now called "satellite" t.v.. Before Steve married me, he didn't have a television. After we got married, and I brought the evil box into his home, we've only ever had the local channels, which really turned out to be just one very fuzzy station (NBC, thank goodness) - - two on a good day (if I could get the rabbit ears positioned just right).

After throwing a particularly melodramatic hissy fit while my father was visiting recently (because I couldn't get Dancing With The Stars to come in, and darn it! I wanted to watch Dancing With The Stars!) I decided enough was enough. So, last Wednesday, a couple of strapping young men from Dish Network arrived at my house, threw a couple of satellite dishes up on the roof, and the rest is history. I have watched countless episodes of What Not to Wear, Designed to Sell, John & Kate Plus Eight, oodles of cooking shows on the Food Network, and tonight, I watched Dancing With The Stars without a spec of static. It was glorious, I tell you.

The only really good thing about not having our t.v. come in was that we rarely watched television. Camden has only ever really watched videos or DVD's. Griffin doesn't care about television at all, unless Elmo is involved. I was a little concerned about having a bazillion channels, and a bunch of cartoons that I didn't want the boys watching. Luckily, on a hint from the lovely Terri, I'm keeping Camden's t.v. viewing confined to PBS or Noggin, and only during "quiet time" each day. As of tonight I'm putting an end to my nearly week-long t.v. binge, and am going to try to get back to normal, tomorrow. Just knowing that I can watch HGTV whenever I want makes me a happy girl.