Mike & Heather and Family

Brussels Sprouts

2012-03-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I liked these vegetables, but I feel sad for all the years I just didn't know. After trying this recipe, they are one of my new favorites, and I've been craving them. Boiling them before roasting makes them sweet and less Brussels sprouts-y.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans and Avocado

½ c pecans 2½ lbs. Brussels sprouts

¼ c olive oil Saltand freshly ground pepper

1 Hass avocado, cut into ½” dice 1tsp. chopped thyme

2 Tb balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Spread pecans on pie plate and bake5 minutes until toasted. Let cool then coarsely chop. Bring large pan of saltedwater to boil. Add Brussels sprouts and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes.Drain. Cut in half and pat dry with paper towels. On large rimmed baking sheettoss Brussels sprouts with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and turn cutsides down. Roast 20 minutes until nicely browned on bottom. If using 2 pans,switch places half way. In large bowl toss Brussels sprouts with pecans, avocadoand thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and transfer to bowl. Drizzle with vinegarand serve. (I only spritzed the Brussels sprouts with olive oil and stirredthem part way through cooking. I alsodidn’t have fresh thyme and didn’t use it. Still fabulous-even cold the nextday.)

Apologies

2012-03-04T16:24:00.004-08:00

Sorry about all the missing photos. If check through past entries they are all gone since our other website is no longer alive. I don't have time to re-post them, so if you are really missing one send me a request, and I'll find it for you...

Paper crafts

2012-03-04T16:19:00.001-08:00

The boys remembered a fun activity and have jumped in again. We've been busy the past couple days.

I tried to convince them color is more fun, but I guess I'm not that persuasive.

2012-02-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Minecraft diamond sword

Giving dad a hug

2012-02-01T06:21:00.001-08:00

Diorama for school with Legos

Christmas catch-up

2012-01-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

candy trains

dragon pinata with a Santa hat

Health Update

2012-01-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

It's been over six months that we've changed our eating habits. Meals are definitely more challenging and on average more time consuming, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We're still feeling great and plan to continue. Another great book is: The Omnivore's Dilemma. Happy readings and eatings.

Seasons Greetings

2012-01-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T04:13:00.000-07:00

Healthy eating

2011-09-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

We have a fantastic book: "Original Fast Foods" by James and Colleen Simmons. It is best to find here:

http://www.danielschallenge.com/

This is a CNN special called: The Last Heart Attack

http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/

Also the documentary/book: "Forks Over Knives."

"The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell.

They are also very enlightening.

Live long and prosper.

Mike has already lost over 30lbs following the recommendations in these resources in 5 weeks. Check em out!

Summer vacation

2011-08-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

More from our show

2011-08-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Musical Revue

2011-07-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

We have been incredibly busy this summer preparing for our performance. Here are some group shots. I'll try to post more soon.

Catch up

2011-06-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Crazy hat day

crazy hair/clothes day

baby frog at the park

cousins, hooray!

doggy bubbles

yum!

my two front teeth...

Flowers again

2011-05-24T03:27:00.000-07:00

Fields of mint and parsley

Spring Recital

2011-05-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our piano recital. In celebration of our spring theme, I made these:

Ants in the pants

2011-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

...er mailbox.

We have a colony invading our mailbox. Those are eggs.

Happy Mother's Day to YOU!

2011-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I wanted to take a Sunday drive to an azalea garden, but no one else wanted to go. So, we went today because it's Mother's Day, and there's no complaining...or something like that.

Such sillies.

The favorite part was playing in the water, of course. If you look in the top left of the sky you can see the rock that was thrown into the dam. It was fun. They didn't want to come home.

There was a costume contest for a school party celebrating the finishing of The Phantom Tollbooth. They had to dress as a character from the book. Here is the humbug. She did it all herself, even tying the tie, with very short notice. She won a best costume award.

One of these things is not like the other...

2011-05-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Delicious Dinner

2011-05-02T00:55:00.000-07:00

I have to share since it was so good.

1 pound Tilapia fillets
2 TB Lemon juice
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
4 TB Butter, room temperature
3 TB Mayonnaise
3 TB Green onion,finely chopped
1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp Dried basil
Black pepper
dash hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 350F. In buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish or jellyroll pan, arrange fillets in single layer. Brush with lemon juice. Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or just until fish starts to flake.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings. Mix well with fork.
Spread fillets with cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use. Watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.

We had it with baked potatoes and mixing the sauce with the potato was so yummy.

I didn't have any Old Bay and made my own with this recipe. I didn't have any ground bay leave,s and so I used a mortar pestle to crush my own. It was time consuming but worth it.

Old Bay Seasoning Mix In A Jar Recipe

1 tbsp. ground bay leaves
2 1/2 tsp. celery salt
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground mace (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)

Combine all ingredients: store in an airtight container

Baby Turtle

2011-05-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

We worked on the tree house yesterday and found a baby turtle in the backyard. Soooooo cute!

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T00:29:00.000-07:00

Spring Break

2011-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

We went camping on Assateague Island last week where wild ponies wander freely. We decided to tag along with Dad for the scout camp out and a few other families had the same idea. It was very windy and chilly. The last night was in the 30's and winds 35 mph. It's nice to be home.

2011-04-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T00:45:00.000-07:00

Happy April 1

2011-04-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sushi, anyone?

Yes, those daffodils are from my yard.

The rains knock them down, and I save them.

and last but no least...

new year, new car

Birthday Party

2011-03-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

These were made by my daughter for her friend's birthday party. She is so talented.

It's a jungle out there...

2011-03-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

President's Day

2011-02-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

Almost spring

2011-02-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

We visited a conservatory today. We are so ready for spring now.

I LOVE plants and flowers.

Surprise! It's winter!

2011-01-18T02:17:00.000-08:00

School is canceled. Everything is iced over, especially the car.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

gigantic snowman base

roller skating

with a little help

and patience

in-n-out

skiing

ice skating

frozen yogurt

eating snow

sledding at the cabin

five checked bags+five carry-on+ two personal items= over 300 pounds

But we made it!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

This was daddy last week. He tried to sit for a few hours to break things up. The kids decided to "adorn" him.

He's doing much better now. He's been working (in the same chair) for +6 hours each day. There's still a noticeable lack of energy, and he's still losing weight, even though he's eating again. We're going to try to start rebuilding muscle mass. We are so grateful that he is finally feeling so much better.

Ninja

Attila the Hun

Here's a centerpiece for the wedding I've been helping to decorate. The design was already chosen, I just did the labor.

I am hoping that they stay securely in the tree. I was short on time and patience and didn't do the best job of making sure. I need to return and check on it.

On the mend

2010-11-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Daddy has been home for over a week now. It's been much slower recovery than anticipated. He is eating small quantities of solid food again and keeping it down, thank goodness. All of his lab work came back negative, which is good. So this is just a nasty virus that will have to runs its course. Yesterday he sat for a few hours in the living room, and the kids overwhelmed him with attention. It was nice to have him around again. We are so grateful that we are nearing the end, even if it's taking longer than we'd like. We love you daddy.

Here's the tree so far.

I need to add a few more ornaments, and we need to figure out how to safely mount the nativity in the tree so the lights come to it. It will be nice to be finished. It looks much nicer when you are near it.

Update

2010-11-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Daddy came home from the hospital, hooray! He is still exhausted. The headache is bearable or mostly gone. He had a fever last night and has been coughing a bit. This morning his cough brought up last night's dinner. So, we are still just trying to take it easy.

2010-11-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some sheep and another angel for the tree. Now I just need to figure out how to hang them all...

Daddy is still in the hospital. They are doing more blood work to find out what else is up. He's had fevers again today. There's an infectious diseases doctor working on him now. At least the pain medicine seems to be working now, and the nausea medicine-he's kept down liquids for a whole day now. We're finally getting somewhere.

2010-11-05T05:31:00.000-07:00

Third time in the ER this week. I brought the kids home at 2am.

November

2010-11-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Daddy has meningitis. We are now to day five and hoping it will soon pass.

I've been trying to plan and create tree ornaments when I have a minute.

October

2010-10-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

The leaves are taking my breath away. Here's one to share with you:

For school the kids were only allowed to dress up as book characters.

Ash Ketchum (Pokemon)

Devil-but really Hades from Percy Jackson and the Olympians for the book character

Alice in Wonderland

At our church party there was another Alice, so we had to get a photo.

and we can't forget daddy... I mean mummy.

I was Marian Paroo.

2010-10-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

2010-10-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last night we saw Jupiter

and four of its moons

with our telescope.

It was so cool.

One of many projects

2010-10-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I flooded the basement. Absolutely livid and exasperated since I have squeegeed water to the drain more times than I can count on one hand in the past six months, I cried no more. We emptied the entire room as much as possible and started over. I had my genius plan a design, and we purchased some more shelves (finally). It was looking hopeful, and I was getting excited that we might actually be able to find a home for everything. Shelves were being loaded and we decided more space was needed and to add more shelves to each unit. This began well, but the shelf from last year was a different style and the new ones didn't fit. Such a mess! So after unload, move, rebuild, rearrange this is where I've ended today. I'm quite pleased at the progress.

Oh, and the canning of the +96 jars of peaches and pears took some time too.

First lost tooth!

2010-09-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Waste of a day

2010-09-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today's Adventure

2010-09-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

We took a ride on the C&O.

Waiting for the lock to fill.

Holding a lock key.

Petting the mules that pulled us along the canal. Mules are a hybrid between a horse and a donkey. They have 1 1/2 horse power. If you breed them wrong you end up with a henny instead of a mule.

Hello, Virginia!

Digging for fossils

2010-09-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today's adventure:

We found lots of tree fossils and this rock may have been in a dinosaurs stomach. Cool stuff.

Update

2010-09-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

One hindrance after another. We've had multiple power outages with one lasting four days. We had to get a new computer since the other one was destroyed by water. We've been trying to get ready for school, and taking care of the dog is much more involved now.

This is all that remains of our shade/destruction tree.

Something for our spare time...

and our other spare time...

This is where the tree was uprooted in the backyard. Looks pretty good now. We are hoping to plant a garden here next spring. Lack of sunlight is no longer a legitimate excuse.

Must have found some of that spare time.

Isn't everyone supposed to help?

This is where Cookie stayed for a few weeks. It only lasted until she felt good enough to jump the gates, or plow them over. Let's just say it's been fun. We have physical therapy stretches 2-3 times a day, and for the first two weeks she couldn't do anything but go out to use the bathroom. We are now able to do walks morning and night increasing by 5 minutes each week. Every little bit helps.

This was right after the painter left.

Trying to find something fun to do before school starts again.

The boys are in the back.

Whee e!

Relax for a bit.

2010-08-05T03:22:00.000-07:00

Still a flurry of activity and goings on:

Yesterday, the new gutters were installed...

and the inside walls have been patched.

Today, some trees are coming down...

and working behind a shroud of secrecy SOMETHING NEFARIOUS is happening in our hallway...

or it's getting repainted. One of the two.

2010-08-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

So, the roof has been repaired, new shingles are up, and the nasty insulation has been cleaned out of the attic.

So at this point, we are just waiting on gutters, drywall, and insulation and hopefully we can get things back to normal.

They are coming to do the drywall tomorrow. Gutters are hopefully soon. We don't have a date yet for the insulation, but hopefully it's soon cause it's gonna be another hot and humid week this week.

Party time!

2010-07-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

So it begins...

2010-07-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

We've got new shingles delivered and ready to go up tomorrow morning, and...

A NEW CAR!

So, we didn't stray much from the formula. I'm sure nothing will ever happen to our new car if we keep it parked there... right?!?

...

we're parking it in the garage

2010-07-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

So, we needed to get the car out of the driveway for the tree removal and the delivery of the shingles coming today.

I drove the car down the driveway and parked it in the street with no problems... I think it's a mistake to completely total this car when there's so much life left in her!

Oh well. We did end up buying a new car last night and are going to pick it up this afternoon... we'll leave the online unveiling until then. Bet you can't guess what vehicle we got ;)

2010-07-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that we didn't end up putting insulation in the attic.

2010-07-27T03:53:00.000-07:00

So, Sunday the 25th we were preparing to have my birthday dinner (since on the 24th we enjoyed a delicious barbecue at the church for Pioneer Day) when all of the sudden a storm was upon us. Rain, gale force winds, tornadoes maybe? We weren't sure. But what we were sure of was the tremendous crash that hit our house. We rushed upstairs to check on the damage... and there was some. For example:

Just a little water coming into the office. Fortunately the computer was doing a great job of trying to block the water from pouring straight onto the floor.

Another limb skewered our hallway a bit, so we climbed up into the attic to see if we could remove the limbs and start plugging the holes to keep the rain from coming in.

It was a bit worse than we thought, but as we started pushing limbs out of the way, the rain stopped. The whole storm lasted for maybe 15 or 20 minutes.

So, we went outside to check out the aftermath.

Yup, that's our car...

The limb crushed our car and knocked down our power lines. That was fine because the storm knocked out power to most of the region out here, so we didn't really need those power lines anyways. Apparently, about 400,000 homes were without power from this storm.

The insurance adjuster today said that our car was the worst hit that he'd seen, so that means we WIN!

Anyhow, we had some limbs fall in the back yard also. Cracked a few windows, ripped up the gutters, etc.

And a little tree fell over into our neighbor's back yard.

We had a bunch of people from church show up and help us get things cleaned up from the roof. All in all we had 10 punctures in the roof.

With everyone's help we got things off the roof and the car pretty quickly

So yeah, that was a crazy storm. We've already contacted our insurance company and they've been great so far getting the ball rolling on the repairs. We've had lots of people offer to help and we're getting things back together again. The restoration work is already moving.

The insurance company sent out emergency roof patching to patch over the holes in our roof. They sent out Flood Control to assess the water damage and they have started work on drying us out.

We have people coming to repair the roof which should be done by Friday. The inside will take a bit longer. We should know what we'll get from the damage to our car in another day or so.

Anyhow, the important thing is that everyone is safe, that we're doing as well as can be expected considering the circumstances. Hopefully, things will be back to normal as quickly as possible.

We'll post more pictures of the process as they happen!

The Aftermath

2010-07-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

[flv:/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Aftermath3.flv 480 368]

More pics to come...

What Big Teeth You Have...

2010-07-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

Silly kids-silly dog

I can't help but laugh.

New project

2010-07-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

We haven't finished the tree house, and the fence was put on hold, but we decided that insulation in the attic is the next task on the list. Our A/C went out last week, and while the repairman was here he reminded us again that attic insulation would help incredibly. So, optimistically, we planned for Friday to be a work-from-home day. We would blow insulation into our attic, and everything would be wonderful. We estimate that it will cost us less than 1/3 the price quoted by home depot. Hooray. So, last night we went up to investigate and get a game plan, and we were reminded why we haven't done this yet. A bit depressed at the absolute disaster of our attic, we quickly realized our plans were going to be much more involved than anticipated. The poorly design a/c system is a mess and leaking air. The useless boards and garbage need removed, as well as the old antenna. We need to install vents along all the edges, and we need to insert 2x4s into various places for support of ceiling fans and stuff. So, I spent a bit of the morning up there and ended up with this.

We can't dump it yet because we need to build a box to fit around the staircase in the attic so it can be filled as well.

Notice the hideous antenna that I need to figure out how to unscrew when I can't reach the base.

Sad, sad, sad.

The 1" of decaying insulation that currently resides.

But on a more pleasant end, my butterfly bush is doing well. It is attracting me some butterflies, and I'm loving it.

2010-07-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

Ethan,"Did the earthquake destroy any houses?"

Dad,"No, it was just enough that you could feel it, but it didn't do any damage."

Ethan, "So, you could have made a milkshake"

2010-07-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

We've picked blueberries with friends...

We've fished with the scouts...

We've celebrated Independence Day...

We've made our own lunch (blueberries, marshmallows, nutella, peanut butter, and a plum)...

And we gave the dog a bath. She smells better, for a minute at least. She thorougly killed her duck yesterday. She has chewed completely through and it had to go. She needs surgery on her left knee. It was an expensive surprise. In the meantime she isn't supposed to run or jump, and there will be a three month recovery after the surgery as well. Hooray for dogs.

2010-06-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is Cookie.

This is Cookie and her duck. She loves to play with it. She was throwing it into the air herself and trying to catch it yesterday. She loves to play and roll in the grass. She is obedient and can do tricks. We love her. Yes, she is a pit bull.

New stuff

2010-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Horseshoe crab

Newest member of our family.

Recent Events

2010-06-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

2010-06-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

He built this all by himself.

We attended the end of year concert. It was great. She is so talented.

This was as good as I could get. It is just too hot in my house. Everything is melting. I could harden the wings in the freezer, but by the time I set the pan on the table and tried to slide a spatula underneath it was already sticking to everything. I decided you can only make chocolate decorations in the cooler months of winter.

Birthday cake

2010-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

We made chocolate lollies for Memorial Day. Not too well themed, I guess. It was a fun experiment.

My sillies on the Memorial Eve.

So the birthday cake was thoroughly designed by Mr. C. He drew me a detailed picture with colors, shapes, and everything in between. This was the beginning layer. It turned out pretty cool, but as I was moving it the cake slid on the plate (my own fault for not frosting it to the bottom) and landed in my thumb. At least in didn't fall on the floor, but my thumb left a print and some of the bottom ring was...run over. Of course I didn't save any frosting of that color either. Oh, well. Good thing he doesn't mind.

The end creation. Definitely another extremely helpful learning experience. Getting better all the time.

Couldn't resist

2010-05-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

In my new caking adventures, I've increased my interests-or in other words, increased the window of items I am willing to buy. I have always had interest in these fun things, but not the justification to indulge in them. I have often passed the cupcake books thinking, "It's a fun idea, but would I really put in the effort." Now, I can take ideas and soar with creativity from simple techniques, right? (hopefully) At first I thought maybe a library read through would suffice, but I flipped through the book and fell in LOVE. I had to own them. There's no way I would remember all the cute ideas, and the kids would love to make them with me. So, here's an attempt at one. They are much more brilliant in the book since they used real colored sugars. I just colored my own, and the colors aren't so bright. It's what happens when you don't plan ahead. Still very cute though. My children say they are delicious as well, and what more could you ask?

First wedding cake

2010-05-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Not quite what I had planned, but this is how we ended.

-Don't look too closely-

father/son and mother/daughter

2010-05-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a father and son camp out. It down-poured, and lightening hit a tree close by which fell on someone's campsite. They took a short hike that ended up being about 3 miles because they were lost. Good thing Mike is the scoutmaster and prepared with a compass and telephone GPS.

While we were at home (where it didn't rain at all), we practiced cake decorating and painting.

She did this all by herself.

Here's my first attempt at fondant. It's a bit frilly, but I wanted to try some different techniques. I'm thinking of starting a cake business--after LOTS of practice and MUCH learning.

Yum

2010-05-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

I had to make some delicious black bottom cupcakes to make good use of my Mother's Day present.

Today was an opera. These adorable children are billy goats.

Mother's Day Blooms for me

2010-05-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Too many pictures of the same flower, but I want to share it's beauty, and maybe you can catch a whiff of it's magnificent scent.

Iris

2010-05-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

This is the iris that bloomed for me last year. I was very disappointed since a large portion of my flower bed is littered with them. This is the most flattering image. The colors are pale giving the appearance of parchment paper. Not a pretty flower. I did some transplanting last fall, hoping they just needed more space and this one came back just the same. Perhaps more colorful than last year, but not enough for me to be happy with it. The plants are strong and hearty though, this one stands four feet high.

Luckily this lone lovely iris gave me hope last year and has returned this year as well, maybe with a friend.

Surprisingly we have a couple more decent ones. I am hoping we get more like this.

Surprise! More surprises, must be for Mother's Day. I really like this one, it came out this morning.

My peonies are so close to opening, maybe for the "official" Mother's Day...

2010-05-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

"All our discontents about what we want, appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have"-Robinson Crusoe

2010-04-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

Say Ahhhhhh

2010-04-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

There are moments that occur in life that cause reflection. They mark the passing of time, all too quickly, and generally awaken a sense of mortality. Today was one of those days.

My sweet baby

I never really thought we'd have to worry about anything this soon. This will only be the first round, in hopes that round 2, with permanent teeth will be less time and misery. And when did all this get to be so EXPEN$IVE?

How in the world?

2010-04-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

M. dashed up the stairs shrieking because she found this in our living room:

But since she freaks out with any bug I didn't think too much of it. I do, however, think that she's entitled to scream this time.

This just didn't quite show how large it was so I tried another.

So, the question is how in the world did it get INSIDE the house?

Our tadpoles

2010-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the pond and caught us some babies. We have three. Yoda is watching over them.

These are just too pretty not to share.

Pine Wood Derby

2010-04-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Graphite on the hands and face.

Second place winner! Hooray, we get to compete in the district derby now.

My FAVORITE new toy

2010-04-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Pizza isn't one of my favorite dinners as it is for my children. However, tonight was an exception: home made margherita pizza with my new gigantic pizza spatula.

Pizza Margherita

2 ½ tsp yeast                                                                                                      1 ½ c warm water

2 Tb olive oil, + more                                                                                      ½ c semolina flour

1 Tb salt, + more for seasoning                                                                  3-4 c unbleached flour

6 fresh plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 6 canned whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

¾ lb buffalo mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into slice 1/4” thick

Fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit until foamy. Add olive oil, semolina flour, and 1 Tb salt, mix until creamy. Add all purpose flour, ½ c at a time, and knead with dough hook until dough is smooth but not sticky, about 10 minutes. Form into ball, put in lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover and rise until double. Heat oven to 450. Punch down dough, transfer to lightly floured surface, and divide equally into 6 balls, kneading the balls briefly as you shape them. Cover with towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 minutes. Use 2 balls at a time, flatten and gently stretch or roll into a round about 8” in diameter. Place on flour dusted baking sheet or pizza peel if using stone. Spread 2-3 Tb chopped tomatoes evenly over each round. Leaving ½" border around edge. Distribute mozzarella over tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Place sheet in oven or slide onto preheated pizza stone. Bake until edges are golden, 7-10 minutes. Using spatula remove from oven. Top with basil leaves.

-I made each ball into a separate pizza so we had six of them. I also didn't have semolina flour and used wheat instead. Very yummy though.

More spring

2010-04-07T02:12:00.000-07:00

We didn't find the time to dye eggs this year, so we made bird's nests instead.

It's amazing how quickly spring changes. In just two days we went from cherry blossoms galore to none at all. All the other plants are showing off now. My favorite is when something I planted last year has survived the animals and weather and come back to greet us.

Parsley regrowing from last year.

Peonies will soon have gigantic flowers too big to hold up.

Azaleas ready to burst.

Neighbor's tree-looks like it's full of mini carnations.

Bluebells.

Sandcherry blossoming.

Bleeding hearts.

All the leafy treetops, and the beginning of our tree house.

Cherry Blossoms

2010-04-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

zzzzzzzzzzzoo

2010-04-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

This guy reminded us of Professor Lupin from Harry Potter (He's a werewolf).

Following the leader

Toucan Sam

So cute. I am so lucky to have the most adorable children ever.

Taller than a penguin, hooray!

This panda was jumping on the branch trying to get comfy. The whole tree was shaking. It was hilarious.

Hear me roar. Just kidding- only a yawn.

2010-03-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the kids had to stack the woodpile with the wood from our fallen tree.

In my pretty garden, the flowers are nodding. How do you do they say; how do you do today?

The forsythia blooming.

There's a cardinal on the branches. If I had a better camera I could zoom in and take SUCH better pictures. At least that's what I tell myself...

Interesting blossoms.

Kids at play.

2010-03-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Egg time

2010-03-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Anticipation...

2010-03-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Key Lime Bars and Shamrock Cookies-loving the green day.

If you can't read the writing, "Kiss me. I have rabies!"

It's raining. It's pouring...

2010-03-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

4am today I was awakened by a cracking of wood and then a moment of fear and a THWUMP. I jumped to check all the rooms in the line of fire and everything appeared to be ok, at least with a flashlight. No wind or water as far as I could tell. In the basement I noticed how close it actually was and was relieved and grateful. After reassuring myself we were good, I crawled into bed with a bit too much adrenaline. After about 30 minutes, I decided to check the roof, just to be sure. No noticeable damage and so tried again to sleep, but after that much excitement...

Upstairs window

Downstairs window

Sunroom

The tree from which it fell.

This morning I had a clearer view since there's a bit more light. Still much rain. A little more damage than I had thought, but we are alive and well and warm and dry. I had planned to take photos outside but it is too wet and I don't want to ruin the camera.

2010-03-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

This is Medusa. We watched Clash of the Titans the other day and I think it may still haunt him.

A few days ago the request to play with play-doh was surprising because it has been years. After watching them have fun, I decided we should do have more creativity. I found a fantastic book at the library with brief summaries of famous artists and an activity to imitate their style. This was our Ghiberti activity. I hope to add a faint trace of art history to their knowledge.

2010-03-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

It's that time again. Life renewing itself.

Blue and Gold

2010-03-01T22:57:00.000-08:00

For the Blue and Gold Banquet there is a cupcakes frosting activity to celebrate 100 years of scouting. This is our finished product.

Papercrafts

2010-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

My friend BA is always so full of ideas and craftiness that I am feeling guilty for not using my time more creatively. We needed a card for lots of children to sign, and I volunteered. I think it turned out kind of cute. The flower flaps are signed by individual older children so they could each write a message. The inside is scribbled with signatures and random drawings from younger children. It's not too bad. I definitely need to do more fun stuff. I'm getting rusty.

Confessions of addiction

2010-02-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

For many years I have been in love with food. Sometimes my passion comes and goes, but I always enjoy a new delicious recipe even if I don't plan on making it soon. My pleasure in the actual cooking of the food comes and goes as well. I definitely love learning new techniques and cooking styles. We had a professional chef teach a class for us at church. She is so fun to watch and listen to. Lately I have been a bit overwhelmed at all the abundance of fabulous options. Simple, gourmet, ethnic, healthy, etc. The combinations and possibilties are endless. Which is both wonderful and terrible because I want every meal to be amazing with minimal planning and on a budget....and sometimes (often) I am a bit lazy. Anyway, my new favorite place to find recipes in williams-sonoma.com. They have a massive selection of recipes. I search through them and print pages and pages of things to try. I have yet to be disappointed with any of them. Give it a try-I dare you!

Happy Valentine's Under the Sea

2010-02-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

I was searching through cookbooks trying to decide what I'd like for dinner tonight. M requested something special because it's Valentines, but all she could find was desserts. I couldn't resist this delightful display. Not the most delicious and fancy dinner, but fun enough for my kids.

Octopus and Seaweed

Oh, and add the heart jello, and we are all set.

We had fruits and vegetables too, but they aren't as fun to show.

The big thaw

2010-02-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

We are now melting and leaking. What to do?

The bathroom is dripping from the frame. I'm not sure what to do about that. If I could magically melt all the ice in the gutters, I'm sure that it would help.

Aftermath

2010-02-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

We survived! Blizzard 2 and we are all alive and still warm. Hooray!

Ladybug infestation

2010-02-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

We have the oddest problem. Multiple times throughout the day there are ladybugs in M's room. She is terrified of bugs. She started vacuuming the dead ones, but the last few days they have been alive. We can't figure out where they are coming from and why they are alive. I sprayed bug spray around the edges of the room, but it's not helping. Last night she paid E a dollar to catch the one crawling on the curtains.

2010-02-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

School has been canceled for the week, and Monday is President's Day.

We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in our snow the whole day through To dig dig dig dig dig dig dig is what we really like to do

2010-02-07T00:32:00.000-08:00

We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig from early morn till night
We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig up everything in sight

The shoveling started yesterday afternoon. Luckily it was somewhat light and powdery so each lift of 2+ feet wasn't too heavy. I'm sure we'll be feeling it today though. Neighborhood roads aren't going to begin to be plowed until major roads are cleared which isn't scheduled to be completed until Monday around midnight. There's another snow headed in Tuesday/Wednesday. We need to get to the airport today. Could be a problem.

Snowing again

2010-02-06T01:18:00.000-08:00

We have a huge snow storm again. Church was canceled by email on Thursday evening. That's how big this is supposed to be. My view from the kitchen window. Notice the little bird in the top left corner who isn't sure where to go.

I dream of cupcakes

2010-02-06T01:15:00.000-08:00

I never would have believed that happiness could be captured in a cupcake.

Winter Vacation/Wedding

2010-01-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

New hair for me, finally

2010-01-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

I've been liking this style for over a year and finally decided to go for it.