Happenings

We've had a few things going on in the past couple of weeks. Grant has been putting in hours working on a really nice shed.....I'll post separately about that, because I have lots of pictures and I didn't want this post being too long.

Annika is now "plug-free" - meaning she doesn't use a pacifier anymore. All of our kids have been extremely fond of their pacifiers and reluctant to give them up.....and each situation has been different. We typically just use the plug for bedtimes once the child turns a year or so. Corban lost his for good at 19 months, due to a sore in his mouth that we wanted to heal. Marissa's was taken away just past turning 2, I can't remember exactly when. Annika presented me with a broken (nearly torn off the base) plug after her naptime last week, and I helped her throw it in the garbage. I told her that the pluggie went bye-bye and she didn't need it anymore. I do have a spare one, but that just seemed like a good opportunity, since we were wanting her to be rid of it long before the baby comes anyways.
The first night and following nap were tear-free - and I thought we were extremely lucky. Well, I guess reality sunk in, and she's been fussy about bedtimes ever since. She's getting a little better, but is certainly not the super-easy child to put to bed she was a week ago. But at least it's done. The following picture was taken just a day or so before the fateful day the plug broke. Isn't she sweet?

Also last week, Grant was presented a "Commander's Award for Civilian Service", which included a certificate signed by a Lieutenant General (3 Star) and a medal. This was a very distinguished honor - they don't give those out very often. It was given for exceptional service on a project he worked on during 2007 and 2008. The kids and I went to his awards ceremony and got to be a part of it, which was really nice.

Family shot before the ceremony

Getting the medal pinned on by a 1 Star General.

Corban has mastered climbing the rope on the swingset and is always coming up with new tricks to perform, one of which is making his way over to the fort. He's really good at it and very entertaining to watch. He does pick up more splinters these days....the price of being an active boy, I suppose.

Corban has also officially finished kindergarten - of which he is extremely proud. The rejoicing that took place the day he completed those last books was pretty exciting, let me tell you. We'll still work on reading over the summer, of course, and we'll be starting up 1st grade in August, but this will be a nice break.


For his little celebration we had, I made chocolate chip cookies (recipe coming soon) and decorated Corban's with little graduation caps. He was thrilled.

He also got a little gift, a bug cage for all the critters he's bound to catch this summer. He liked it, but confessed to me later, "It's really nice, but it would have been better if it was Playmobil".

Well.

Guess I flubbed that one up. I thought he had been wanting a bug cage for a long time. But he's still happy. It's all okay.

Hearty Bean Bake

I got the original of this recipe from a dear friend at church, Mary, in a little recipe swap. I modified it for our tastes and it quickly became a family favorite. It's quick, economical, and yummy. Not too bad for you either, although I can't exactly claim canned biscuits as a health food.

Recipe:

1 lb ground turkey (or beef) - Grant likes it even better if I use 1.5 lbs
1 t. salt
28 oz can baked beans (I use Bush's Vegetarian)
3/4- 1 cup barbeque sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. minced onion (or if you prefer, dice an onion and brown with the meat)
1 can flaky biscuits
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375. Brown meat (with onion if desired); drain. Stir in next five ingredients. Heat until bubbly. Pour into a casserole dish. Cut biscuits into 20 half circles. Arrange on top of casserole. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until biscuits are browned on top.

Blackberry Brownie Delight

Welcome to the first reveal of my Pillsbury BakeOff creations! This one is Grant's favorite - one he declared a "million dollar winner" as soon as he tasted it. Of course, he's awfully partial to blackberries, so that may have skewed his opinion a bit. It is really good....and my friends that have tasted it all wanted the recipe, so maybe it will have a shot. If not, that's okay, because I'm happy to have made a dessert that my husband loves so much.

Recipe:

1 (19.5 oz) brownie mix (for the contest, I used Pillsbury Classic Fudge - use whatever you want!)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 (8 0z) package cream cheese, softened
4 oz whipped topping, thawed
1 (21 oz) can blackberry pie filling
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 t. shortening

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions, using eggs, oil, and water. Spread in a greased 13 x 9 in. pan and bake for 28-31 minutes. Do not overbake! No dry brownies here!
Cool completely - if necessary, stick in fridge or freezer to hasten the process.

Melt the 1/4 cup white chocolate and stir until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat well. Fold in the whipped topping and stir to combine. Spread over top of brownies.

Top with blackberry pie filling and toasted nuts.

Melt 1/3 cup white chocolate chips with shortening. Scoop into a sandwich bag and snip off one tiny corner. Drizzle over dessert. Chill until serving. Store in refrigerator.

Monkey Bread

Another winner of a recipe from the Pioneer Woman here. Well, the recipe isn't hers, it was submitted by her occasional guest poster, Pastor Ryan. Anyways, it's still a winner. I made it for my recent MOPS meeting and was delighted that it wasn't all eaten, because that meant I could munch on it at home. Grant saw it on the counter when he got home from work and initially thought it looked unappealing, but when I convinced him to try it, he didn't want to stop eating. It's that good. In fact, when I mentioned that I might make it for Christmas breakfast, he commented, "So what are you going to make for everyone else?" Smarty pants.

I'm posting the recipe exactly as I read it, but I'll note that I did not follow instructions all the way. I ran out of time to let it sit for 15-30 minutes before removing it from the pan, and I ended up with a pool of butter on my counter and on the dish. I don't know if it would have sunk in more if it had sat for awhile, or if the recipe would just be better with a little less butter. I'll tinker around with it. Regardless, I WILL be making it again, probably many times. Personally, I would love to add some chopped nuts, but a couple of people in my family aren't big nut eaters, so maybe I could just do nuts on half. Works for me! Maybe that would keep Grant from eating the whole thing.....

Recipe

3 cans buttermilk biscuits (non-flaky regular size biscuits, not Grands)

1 cup sugar

2-3 t. cinnamon (I used 2.5)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Remove biscuits from cans and cut each one into quarters. In a gallon size ziplock bag, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Toss the biscuit quarters into the bag and shake well, coating each section. Pour into a bundt pan. Don't worry about greasing it.....all that butter will make it come out just fine. In the microwave or on the stove, melt the butter with the brown sugar. Stir until it's all one color. Pour over the biscuits. It will look like a lot, but don't fret.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. Allow to cool in pan for 15-30 minutes, if you can. Invert onto a plate and eat up.

I'm Back!

Thank the Lord, life is somewhat getting back to normal around here. The past two months have been very challenging but full of blessings, to say the least. In a nutshell, I went through three medications before settling on just one that was helpful; I ended up losing 9-10 lbs at my low point and the very next day, had to get IV fluids in the hospital (that was the Friday before Easter); I gained back 3 lbs that weekend and my weight stabilized there, but I was still sick pretty much all day and night; we were tremendously blessed by thirteen - yes, thirteen - friends bringing us dinner over a period of 3 weeks before my mom came to visit - we've never had so much food or felt so loved; my wonderful mom came to stay for 3 weeks and took care of everything for me, which was even more amazing because Grant was out of town for work the entire time (minus weekends); my in-laws arrived a couple of days before my mom left and have been an incredible help as well. We had Corban's first Pinewood Derby Race, in which he placed 5th out of 16 in his category; and that was the last day I threw up - just 2 days prior to turning 12 weeks. I still don't feel great all the time, but I am SO much better, even cooking now. I still don't like the smell of coffee, and a few other choice things, but I'm able to go for walks, spend the majority of my time OUT of bed, and can actually enjoy some outings!
Hopefully I'll be back on here with much more regularity, and maybe I'll even get some recipes up, now that I'm back in the kitchen!

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few shots of the past month.

My mom (Nonny), reading to the girls. They read a LOT.

One of the highlights of the girls' days was sitting on Nonny's lap and watching her take vitamins every morning. Who knew that could be so exciting?

We got to celebrate Nonny's 61st birthday - although she had to make her own dinner and cake. I felt pretty bad about that, but it was delicious! Corban and I did put up some balloons and streamers to surprise her.

Corban has been working on reading little books and completed his first reading chart of 20 books. His prize was his first watch, which he had been wanting for quite awhile.

Very proud boy!

Annika enjoying popcorn while watching a movie cuddled up with Grandpa.

Mother's Day - my first time back at church since March.

Mother's Day

The kids and I with Grandma

Corban collecting a specimen for his nature badge for Royal Rangers. He and Grandpa worked very hard on the project.

The kids and Grandma checking out some frogs in a little pond.

Little Marissa trying to pose for me.

Too cute.

Easter 2009

Yes, I realize that Easter was a couple of weeks ago, but I'm still not feeling well and don't have much energy for sitting at the computer for long enough to write a post most days. But I figured I could at least upload pictures of our kids for all the adoring relatives! Easter was a chilly day here, highs in the 50s, so I had to improvise with the girls' dresses (gifts from Grandma) and add some sweaters to keep them warm. They still looked darling.

Something New

Notice anything different? If you don't already know, we're expecting baby number 4, due the week of Thanksgiving!!!
This is very exciting for our family, but also very hard right now, as I am one of the unfortunate few who suffer from hyperemisis gravidum, or excessive nausea/vomiting during pregnancy. I haven't been posting for the past couple of weeks because I've been so sick and just didn't feel like it. I'm actually on a couple of different medicines, just as in previous pregnancies, and I'm still not doing very well. Keep us in your prayers, please!
I'm greatly looking forward to my dear sweet mom coming to visit for three whole weeks to help me out.....but she won't get here for nearly two more weeks. Just trying to survive around here until then. I'll try to post more regularly, but until I'm feeling better, there are no guarantees.

In other news, I submitted eight recipes to the Pillsbury BakeOff contest....and last night I had a dream that one of them got selected. I was so excited! Now I'm so hopeful that one of those recipes is a winner, I can hardly wait until September to hear the results!

Bed is calling me....take care everybody!