Facebook

Three cheers for Facebook!

I created a page awhile back mainly to keep in touch with my little sister, who's in college and totally into the Facebook thing. I figured, what better way to see pictures of the guys she likes, right?

Now I've discovered an even more gratifying reason to have an account. I'm reconnecting with people I thought I'd never hear from again. There are those old friends from high school that I haven't seen in 11 years or more that I can look up and get a glimpse into their lives now, as well as see photos of their spouses and children. It's neat because I haven't had the time, energy, or desire to invest in those relationships in the past years, but that doesn't mean I don't still want to know "What ever happened to _____?" I hope they're doing well. And now I can see for myself, without having to really commit to a friendship.
That sounds terrible.....but it's true. I only have so much time on my hands here, people. What little time I do have for friends, I spend investing in the people around me currently, not those I might see every 5-10 years.
Anyways, my newest delight was finding my college pastor and his wife, whom I haven't seen since I graduated in 1999. They're from South Africa and had come to my church to minister. They are an amazing couple, less than 4 years older than me, and were newlyweds when I met them. We had a wonderful friendship and I thought the world of both of them. Right around the time I moved away from Arkansas, they had to go back to South Africa because of some visa issues and couldn't return. I can't remember the details, but through all that, we lost touch and I could never find them.
Until this week.
We have established contact, thanks to Facebook, and I am thrilled! They have 2 beautiful children, close in age to mine. They were so excited that I found them and that they can get caught up with my life as well.
It's been a highlight of my week.
So again, Hurray for Facebook!
And if you don't have an account, get one. We can be "friends"!
And who knows. Maybe you'll find someone you've been wondering about for years too.

Is it a Lovey?

Many children develop an attachment to a particular object as a young child. They want to carry it around and hug on it and it comforts them when they're distressed. A "lovey", so it's called.
For Corban, it was a little black lab puppy that strongly resembled our dog. We had tried to get him to be attached to several other stuffed animals for months, but he had no interest in anything stuffed until his grandparents gave him the puppy when he was 13 months old. Corban loved Pup Pup devotedly, carried him around all day, couldn't sleep without him, and certainly didn't travel without him. That lasted three entire years! Now Corban is attached (thankfully to a lesser extent) to his little golden retriever Webkinz, Dakota, that Aunt Sarah gave him last Thanksgiving. In fact, he told me today that he plans on keeping Dakota until he's a grown-up.
Marissa never developed an attachment to a stuffie as a baby/toddler, but she has adored baby dolls for a long time and has certain ones that she insists on carrying around all day. She kind of rotates which ones are her favorites, but she's protective of all of them. She sleeps with at least five dolls. It's a crowded toddler bed, let me tell you.
Annika, now she dances to the beat of her own drum. She likes her cozy blankets and a sweet pink dog in her bed, but you know what really makes her happy?
You'll never guess.
Socks.
That's right. Socks. It doesn't matter who they belong to or what size, color, or even how clean they are, she adores socks. When I'm folding laundry, she grabs the socks. When Grant is changing out of his work clothes, she attacks his socks. (Remember the crawling video I posted? She was motivated to crawl to get one of his socks.)
Yesterday she mananged to snag one of Corban's socks on the floor of his room and was delightedly playing with it, chewing on it, waving it around, etc. I wasn't too happy about that, as the sock was not exactly on the clean side. I took it away from her and she wasted no time in letting me know she was extremely agitated, in fact, downright MAD.
I tried to pacify her as I changed her for bed, giving her a little cloth diaper I had in her dresser. She took one look at it and threw it to the ground, letting out a scream of rage. Okay, what was I thinking?
I grabbed a tiny purple sock of hers that had fallen to the floor and handed it to her. Instantly, she recognized it as the wonder it is, a SOCK, and beamed. I'm not kidding, the child grinned through her tears and was immediately her normal cheerful self. She took the sock to bed with her and was clutching it in her little fist when I went to get her this morning.
Now, I don't let her carry it around all day, but this afternoon she had quite a bit more fun with it.
It's amazing.

Note the sock clutched in her hand.


Let's see if the sock will go on there.


And of course she can crawl without letting go of it....


And pull up without dropping it.....


And it's always good for tasting now and then.

Now, the fact that she finds socks appealing isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, they're cheap, easily washed and replaced, and for now, she doesn't care about particulars. Never mind that it is a little more socially acceptable for kids to carry around blankets or stuffed animals/dolls.

It's probably just a short-lived phase, anyways.

Cheesy Sausage Stromboli

I first tried this recipe a couple of years ago and we think it is really delicious. I use half whole wheat flour and turkey sausage to make it healthier...
and since the loaves are really huge, I half the recipe if I'm making it for just our family, and we eat it for two dinners.

Recipe

5-6 cups flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 pkgs yeast (or 2 T. bulk yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water (120-130 degrees)
1/2 cup warm milk (120-130 degrees)
2 T. melted butter (or use canola oil)
2 lbs bulk pork sausage (or turkey sausage)
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
1 t. minced fresh basil or 1/4 t. dried basil
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add water, milk, and butter; beat on low until well combined.
Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and place in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain and cool. Stir in mozzarella, 2 eggs, and basil; set aside.
Punch dough down, divide in half. Roll one portion into a 15 in x 10 in rectangle. Spoon half of the sausage mixture lengthwise down one side of rectangle to within 1 in. of edges. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal. Cut 4 diagonal slits on top of stromboli. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place loaves on a greased baking sheet.
Cover and let rise for 15-30 more minutes. Beat remaining egg; brush over loaves. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Slice; serve warm.


See how huge these loaves are? You wouldn't believe how heavy this cookie sheet is!

My God is So BIG!!!

Yesterday after the kids had been playing in the sprinkler, Marissa decided she was ready for me to record her singing one of our favorite songs, "My God is So Big". Enjoy!

Miniature Peanut Butter Treats

I think I've found a new favorite cookie. My grandma used to make ones similar to these around Christmas and everyone loved them....but I never got her recipe. I made them this week as part of a dinner for a friend who just had a baby, and I'm definitely keeping some at home!

Recipe
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat, 3/4 white)
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
about 42 miniature peanut butter-chocolate cups

Combine butter, sugars, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Cover dough and chill.
When cold enough to handle easily, roll into small (walnut-sized) balls; place each ball in greased miniature muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.
Remove from oven; gently press one peanut butter cup into each cookie to make depression. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Store in a cool place.

I used generic peanut butter cups for this...which taste great but seem to be a little more "melty" than the Reeses brand....so I have to store these cookies in the fridge. If left at room temperature, they become extremely messy to eat. But oh so good anyways. The kids adore them....and I do too. I know they'll freeze beautifully, if you can make yourself save some.

Go check out LifeAsMom for more Christmas cookie recipes and a contest!

Easy Cornbread

This is another recipe I modified to make it healthier, originally from Allrecipes.com. Have you noticed I love that website? This is great stuff.

Recipe
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 425.
Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the milk, eggs, and oil and beat for 1 minute.
Pour into a greased 9" square pan and bake for 18-25 minutes, until bread is golden brown and tests done. If you cook too long, it will get dry, so start checking at the earliest time.


Delicious plain, but preferred with butter and honey around here. It's actually kind of a dessert. Or a tasty afternoon snack. Ummmm.


And just so you know what life is really like around here, this is what I saw as I was trying to take photos of my cornbread.



Yes, my son is walking around with one leg in each of his pillow cases.

Chicken Stuff

This is a recipe I got off Allrecipes.com and modified to make an all-in-one meal. Grant and I really like it, and the kids....well, they eat it better than a lot of things. Especially when they have a time limit and whether or not they get to eat strawberries is on the line.
It's very customizable to what you like or have on hand, by the way.
My recipe for cornbread is forthcoming.

Recipe
1 box of corn bread mix, or homemade cornbread
1 4 lb chicken, cooked and deboned - (rotisserie chickens from the store are great, a cheaper option is to cook one yourself or just use 1 1/2 - 2 lbs chicken breasts. Whatever suits your fancy)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green beans, drained
1 can mixed vegetables, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Make cornbread according to package directions in a pan (not muffin tins). Crumble well.
Chop chicken into bite-size pieces. Mix with soups and vegetables and desired seasonings (lemon pepper is nice if you didn't have a seasoned chicken).
Spread into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch pan.
Cover with crumbled cornbread.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly.

It really is delicious!