Random Halloween

No family theme here.

I'm pretty sure this is our first family Halloween picture wherein I am in costume. 

Look at those precious babies of mine. They are just the cutest little creatures ever.

And Dan is the great Jay Gatsby in case you didn't know.

He borrowed the suit but I'm thinking he might need one of his very own.

Hubba hubba

it's called labor day for a reason

A few days ago Danny asked me what this whole Labor Day thing is all about. I guess he figured it must be special since they get the day off school.

I told him it's like an end of summer celebration day. Telling a kid it's a day to celebrate people who work is kind of lame. He wanted to know what people do to celebrate Labor Day. I just said they go to parks and have picnics with their families. He thought that was a great idea. I knew he would which is why I didn't mention anything about going to the pool (which I'm pretty sure is a popular thing to do too).

I pulled up all my scraggly looking flowers and Dan chopped down a tree (how's that for some hard labor?) and somehow we made it all the way to dinner time (you know how they say the days are long but the years are short? they aren't kidding.) and our picnic at the park. Grama Bama and Grandpa came with us. We sat at the table wondering if there's a Labor Day parade somewhere with people dressed up as workers. Grama Bama thought there probably was one in Chicago with all the Irish people there. (Don't ask.)

Cate was grouchy because we had to wake her up to go. Danny just wanted to play basketball but there were other kids on the court for a while. We set up our chairs and just all sat watching other people play. Someone wondered out loud when the fireworks would start. (Don't ask.)

We came home and bedtime darn near killed me. If I turn up dead one day that will most likely be the cause. I know there will come a day when bedtime will be just fine and dandy because my parents have 4 daughters and they certainly don't worry about bedtime anymore. I might have to wait until I'm 70 but I know it'll come.

Happy Labor Day indeed (aka So Long, Summer!)

the end

Swedish Jam Cake

Carrying on my tradition of yummy pioneer recipes to celebrate the 24th of July in Utah, I present to you Swedish jam cake. (I think last year's brown sugar cake is still my favorite though. That stuff is good.)

My grandma is of Swedish descent. Her grandpa was born in Sweden. Swen Monson (except it was originally spelled Monsson). I did a little research into that family line and found some great names. If I ever have another girl maybe I'll name her Bengta or Bothilda or Ingar. Aren't those great names for a baby girl? Or for a baby boy I could pick from Jons or Mons or Lars or Nils. Or maybe just Swen. 

Anyway, this cake is yummy. When I saw how thick the batter was I thought I'd be clever and bake it in loaf pans and maybe it would turn out more like banana bread. Then I could give some away or freeze some for later. Nope. The jam made the bottoms too sticky and I had a hard time not making a mess. I'll try again next time but first I'll line the bottoms with parchment paper. I'm a thinker.

Swedish Jam Cake (found here)

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 cup strawberry jam

Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg yolks and salt. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Sift together flour and spices and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, adding flour last. Beat well and add jam. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake in greased and floured 8x8-inch pan at 375° F. for 35 to 40 minutes.

Of course, if you're not into Utah or pioneers or fireworks on the 24th of July, you could always save this recipe for when you're watching Little House on the Prairie. I love Pa. He was my favorite. And Nellie. Oh, and Mrs. Oleson and her husband Nels. I bet they were Swedish. They would love a piece of jam cake I bet.

Anyway, happy 24th to my local peeps. Everyone else, enjoy your Wednesday.

 

Fourth, fifth and first

In the interest of creating cherished childhood memories, we woke the kids up super duper early on the fourth and headed north to Grandma's neck of the woods. The parade in Dan's hometown starts at 8:30 and we live about an hour away so yeah, the Fourth of July turns out to be a long day. It was my idea to go so I'm not complaining. I'm going to make those kids of mine have some lasting memories of fun times with their family at parades if it kills me.

It's a pretty good parade too. Not many floats but lots of tractors and candy. Good enough.

We headed over to check out the fun in the park festivities after the parade. That part was probably a mistake. Too hot and too crowded makes for some cranky kids. We didn't last long. No biggie. At least we tried.

We headed over to Grandma's house for some lunch and good times with Uncle Tony. And Grandma gave me some Tupperware that she didn't want anymore so that was awesome. 

After lunch we drove home. The kids snoozed in the car. I don't remember the rest of the day honestly. That's what happens when you're an old lady like me and you don't blog it when it happens. It's gone forever. I do remember that we kept the kids up way past bedtime to go see the fireworks and all they did was whine and complain and want to go home before they even started. We won't make that mistake again any time soon. They were happier just watching the fireworks in the street that our neighbors were lighting off. Duly noted.

The next morning we drove down to Provo to meet up with my buddy Arlene and her hubby Carl. Arlene and I used to teach school together. She lives in Texas now but was visiting Utah for the Fourth. We stopped by an awesome shaved ice joint for a treat.

The servings were humongous and so very tasty. It tasted like a big fruity scoop of fresh snow. Dan and I had a little scoop of coconut ice cream hidden inside ours. Divine. I think I'll be heading back very soon.

Dan makes a pretty good photobomber, I must say.

Last but not least, the first harvest of my wimpy little garden. Isn't it cute? I'm excited for the beets and broccoli to get a move on. And next year maybe I'll figure out how to grow strawberries without killing them.

saturday visits

This morning Grandma hopped on the Frontrunner and zoomed south to visit us.

Then we squished ourselves into the car (if my bum gets any wider I will no longer fit in the backseat between the two car seats and that will be a sad, sad day) and headed even more south to visit our dearly departed loved ones.

Grandma's mother and others received some lovely mums. We took pictures of the same headstones that we take pictures of every year. I'm not sure why though because they don't seem to change much. 

Funny story about that top picture. Cate had been wandering around (walking only on the grass I hope because those were my cemetery rules) for a while. I think she kept chasing birds. I was trying to keep my eye on her but also let her just have a little space to explore. I looked up and she was way across the grass from me. I can barely make her out in this picture. I noticed that she was sitting down but I didn't think much of it. A few minutes later she came walking up to me wearing only one shoe. I asked her where the other one was and she said it was over there and that it had bird poop on it. 

Gross. I asked her how that happened and she said a robin had pooped on her shoe. We walked back to get the shoe and sure enough, there was bird poop splattered on top. I also happened to notice that there was bird poop on her sleeve. I pointed it out and she reached over to touch it. I freaked a little on account of it being poop and all. She said, "It's ok, Mom. It's dry." Gross again.

I guess a bird let 'er rip and Cate just happened to be in its path. 

And Cate's not faking death in that other picture like I thought. She was just soooooooo tired. I bet the cool grass felt super nice though.

We finished with our visits and then headed towards home, but not before stopping for lunch at Chubby's. That yummy burger felt super nice in my belly, that's for sure. And I had the pleasure of cutting Danny's cheeseburger into tiny squares so he could eat it. He's got a tooth that is on the verge of falling out but he will have nothing to do with any of us looking at it, touching it, or heaven forbid, yanking that sucker out. 

Grandma caught the train home. 

Cate and I went shopping.

I came home and withered away on the couch because the sun is trying to kill me.

I got up from my deathbed long enough to let Cate help me plant some carrot seeds in my pathetic little garden.

We lead an exciting life.

o tannenbaum

Cate woke up this morning and after giving me my morning hug, went right into the front room and plugged in the Christmas tree lights. She's been my tree-light-plugger-inner for most of the season. 

I told her that she could help me take the tree down soon because Christmas is over. She got tears in her eyes and asked me where we'd put the tree until next year. I said we'd put it in the garbage but most likely it'll get tossed into the back yard in the hopes that the snow will cover it up until spring when I can chop it into little pieces and toss it out with the green waste. Let's be realistic here. I'm sure there's a Christmas tree dump site somewhere in town but we're lazy.

She did not like that idea at all. More tears in her eyes. Sad pouting lips. I explained that it used to be alive in the forest until our friends chopped it down for us. Now it's dying so we have to be done with it and just have a new one next Christmas. 

More sad face. So I just told her never mind. We'll leave it up a while longer. Poor kid. I guess someone else in our family loves that tree more than I do. I've enjoyed staying up way too late this month just so I can lay on the couch and stare at it. When I take my glasses off it's even more awesome because the lights are blurry. In all honesty, I've also been watching all 6 seasons of Lost late at night this month too so I don't actually just lay on the couch, stare at the tree and think. I hate just sitting and thinking. Nothing good ever comes of it for me. 

I know some people rid their houses of all traces of Christmas the day after. Even on the very same day. I can't even imagine the horror. I don't understand that thinking at all but to each his own. After all the struggle and stress and freaking out stringing those lights cause me I'm leaving that sucker up for as long as I possibly can. I figure there's some sort of tradition about the twelve days of Christmas ending on Epiphany and that's somewhere around January 6th so that's what we're aiming for. 

Or maybe after Grama Bama and Grandpa leave to go back to Alabama. That might buy me a few more days of enjoying our dying tree, unlit bottom branch, crooked spine and all. 

it's the most wonderful time of the year

gingerbread play dough

Here's what you do when you're the mom who didn't make gingerbread houses with her kids this Christmas season (and not because you don't want to be the mom who makes gingerbread houses with her kids, it's just that you don't want to overload them with too many awesome Christmas traditions and maybe you'll just save that one for next year since they're young enough this year to not know that they're missing out).

Make gingerbread play dough!

They'll always love gingerbread houses right? Even teenagers will make gingerbread houses with you. But how long will they love play dough? A few more years maybe. Gotta do the gingerbread play dough while they'll still love it.

It smells great. Danny couldn't stop taking big whiffs of the stuff.

"It smells sooooo yummy!"

Here's what you need:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup water

Mix it up in a pan until it thickens and looks like play dough.

Cool for a few minutes and then let the kids have their fun!

the tree

My kind, wonderful, thoughtful friend and her family chopped down a tree in Idaho and delivered it to my house two Sundays ago. They've been chopping down Christmas trees for my family ever since Danny was a wee babe. I had told this lovely friend I didn't need a tree since Danny was just tiny and he wouldn't care (and also because I had a wee babe and was completely overwhelmed with life and decorating a Christmas tree would probably send me over the edge, never to be seen again). She knew we needed a tree so she delivered.

Maybe I should add here that in all our married life up until Danny's birth (which consisted of 8 Christmases) we never had a Christmas tree. I didn't want one and Dan didn't seem to mind. We spent our childless holiday seasons traveling to far away lands (Florida, Alabama, California, Vermont). I pretty much figured Christmas trees are for helping the season be magical and amazing and glorious for the kids (because of the whole Santa leaving presents there thing) and since we were childless (and since the thought of having to decorate a tree and what if it's not perfect! created amazing levels of anxiety in my soul) we skipped the tree. I'm a real nut case. I realize that now after typing all this. I think I've done an outstanding job of chilling out about the imperfect state of my tree now though. I'm patting myself on the back over here.

Back to the story...

This year's tree sat on the front porch for a day. Then it stood green and bare in the tree stand for another day (super crooked too since there's a big branch at the bottom I can't lop off or else there will be a huge bald spot). I think I got up enough courage to start putting the lights on the next day. I got halfway. That brought us to Thursday. I finished the rest of the lights (it took me all day due to the starting and stopping because of needy little kids). Friday morning those needy little kids were excited to get those ornaments on the tree. They didn't even let me shower first. Sheesh.

I let them help because I'm awesome and I'm trying my darnedest to create happy little childhood memories. Cate learned what the word fragile means. She hung most of the ornaments at the very tippy edge of the branches. Every so often she'd take a step back and say oh, look how beautiful or isn't it lovely, mommy? Cute.

Saturday night I sat on the couch watching Elf with my Daniels and looking at my unlit tree. It wouldn't work. I plugged it in that morning and the lights came on. I went about my duties in the kitchen and when I returned, the lights were off. Still plugged into the wall but off anyway. 

I did my best to not cry. I consider it a great accomplishment to get all the lights on just so. I'm pretty good at it but those darn things stress me out. Big time. I figured out that the very first strand of lights at the bottom had died. Hallelujah that it wasn't one of the middle ones because there's no way I was going to unwind all that and start over. I can live with a few unlit bottom branches. Look how much I've improved.

And now I stay awake way too late at night so I can sit in my glowing front room and stare at the tree in peace and quiet.

It's my favorite.

mele kalikimaka

sweet treats day

Sometimes I think I should make a sign to hang around her neck.
"My mommy lets me dress myself."
That should pretty much cover it.
Maybe another one that says something like this.
"My mommy does brush my hair every morning. What happens after that is all me."

She's such a cute little pumpkin though.
And she's holding the pumpkin I carved for her this morning.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute.
Danny's pumpkin is still faceless.
See why I feel like a failure sometimes?

He's wearing the same costume he wore last year.
Totally his choice. I promise.
I asked him several months ago what he wanted to be for Halloween.
He told me he wanted to wear his horse costume.
I said ok even though he's obviously grown a few inches taller in the past year.
If he's happy then I'm happy.
Cate wanted to wear the butterfly costume from last year.
I had to say no to that one since it's a size 18-24 months and she's 4.
She found the Sleeping Beauty dress in her dress-up box and away we went!
Beat that you "homemade costumes cost less" moms.

And Danny's neighing. That's why he looks funky.
But look at Cate's sweet little face. I just love her.

We hooked up with Cate's bestie and did some trick-or-treating down Main Street.

The cuteness kills me.

Aunt Judy walked around with the big boys because Danny didn't want anything to do with trick-or-treating with two little princesses.
He had a nice walk home with his cousin the zombie.

Dan came home from work and tried to make all the trick-or-treaters give him all their candy.

Arrrrrgh

The gang checked out their booty.

The pirate walked off into the sunset.

And then this kid was done.

We came home and played Candy Land.
I can't think of a more appropriate game for Halloween.
Cate won.
Her prize was more candy.

Happy Halloween.

the obligatory october pumpkin patch post

We arrived when it opened at 10:00 in the morning. We stayed for 5 hours. I don't know how we lasted that long (actually, I don't know how I lasted that long) but we did. My kids just know how to party.

I'm pretty sure one thing that saved my sanity was having Aunt Judy there to switch off with the kids. She took her big boys and Danny to do age appropriate stuff while I kept the littles. Danny reported that they went into the big inflatable monster thing but had to leave through the emergency exit because they were all too scared. I told them not to go in there but do they listen to me? 

How cute are those cousins on that big slide? Holding hands the whole way down? Adorable.

And Aunt Judy's face upon exiting the mini hay maze house? Kills me. I don't think she reads this blog anymore so I'm safe posting it. What are big sisters for anyway?

One of the highlights for me was squishing my big booty and long legs into that kiddie cow train ride, sitting in the car behind Cate and watching her raise her hands and yell weeeeee (totally unprompted by me, I promise). Made me feel like I'm doing something right.

Also pretty awesome, the moment Danny realized the double meaning behind "Cornbelly's Rocks" written on the rocking chair. Isn't it fun when you can almost see that little light bulb moment in their eyes? 

It was a long day but mostly good. And it's not really a pumpkin patch but I'm keeping it in the title anyway. 

Pioneer recipe: brown sugar cake

Just continuing on my little tradition of Pioneer Day treats (because I live in Utah and I like Pioneer Day and I like treats and any excuse to make a treat that the pioneers probably ate is extra fun). In case you missed the others, last year I made apple candy and the year before that it was washboard cookies. Now you're all caught up.

This year's treat is my favorite pioneer recipe by far (I've only made these three but this one still takes the cake...heehee).


Brown Sugar Cake

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Stir it all together and pour it into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before frosting.


Frosting:

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter

Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir until mixture is smooth. Frosting will be warm when you pour it over the cake. Cooled cake with harden frosting.

+   +   +

My kind neighbor brought this brown sugar cake to my house last Christmas with the recipe all typed up on some cutesy Christmas paper. It was delicious. Moist and sweet, but not too sweet. I am not a frosting lover and this frosting glaze stuff is right up my alley.

I can't believe I love a non-chocolate cake as much as I do. I made it twice last week and it earned my sister's seal of approval. She called it evil. Just like those peanut butter cookies I forced her to eat. Next time I think I'll double the recipe and bake it in my sheet cake pan (especially if this certain sister is around). That way we might actually have leftovers.

This yummy cake has a sub title even. "Old pioneer recipe - white sugar was too expensive"

Credit for this yummy brown sugar cake goes to my kind neighbor's husband's father's mother. Get all that? Her name was Ethel. I'm glad she shared this with her family and that my neighbor shared with us.

Happy Pioneer Day!

red, white and blue weekend

saturday

putting out flags at the veterans cemetery

visiting Grandma Mary and others at another

(cemeteries make Dan feel pensive)

eating lunch at Cocolito's

(Cate looks so grown up to me in this picture) 

ginormous gummy butterflies from WinCo

(Cate's choice)

sunday

cupcakes with appropriately colored sprinkles
(and the best frosting in the entire world)

monday

photo shoot in our flag shirts (thanks, Grandma!)

loving this picture
(even though Cate's face isn't all there)

I almost always wear my hair up.
When I wear it down, Danny can't keep his hands out of it.
Very cute.

ice cream in tiny containters for portion control
(promised to Cate so she wouldn't feel sad about not going to Grandma's with Dan and Danny)

hornet control
(destroyed their nest with Danny's red light saber...eek)

Cate's yard sale find
(in the appropriate colors for the day)

red paint
(finished painting finally!!)

a very late afternoon nap
(woke up grouch grouch grouchy)

loaded up the grouch in the blue bike trailer
(no way I was going to be stuck in the house with her foul mood)

off we go
(not quite a workout without the other kid but it'll do)

new snow on the mountain
(I love snow in the spring...especially when it stays on the mountain)

bad mood dissipates on the slides
(it usually does)

riding off into the sunset
(the BIG end)