Thursday

Since I was too lazy to post pictures last night, here's some of my favorites from our trip.

Our first night in Seattle. We walked and walked and walked around the city. No real plans. It was perfect.

 I loved Pike's Place Market. Being there reminded me a lot of being overseas. All the big city smells and open markets. Love it!

 

Our niece, Sophia. It was so great to get to know her better. She is also a great map reader.

And wears some sweet boots.

 

A taco from our date night. We found an awesome place called Blue Water Taco Grill. I had a fish burrito. It was amazing.

 

These 2 were seriously the best of friends. 

 

These 2 seriously are the best of friends.

 

RJ's grandma makes some amazing caramel rolls that the boys are crazy for. I made a batch the day after Thanksgiving. You know, because we hadn't eaten enough yet. Scrumptious.

 

The girls.

 

Harper and our nephew Simon. They're just 12 days apart.

 

 But obviously he is much bigger....

 

The kids aren't looking, but we look happy.

We were.

It was so much fun!

 

Today we're getting back to normal. RJ went back to work and I've got a ton to catch up on in the house. I had totally intended to decorate for Christmas before we left so we could come home to some beautiful decor, but it never got done so we're doing that tonight. Then MOPS tomorrow, a church ladies shopping trip on Saturday, RJ's work party, and lots of other fun-ness in between.

Thanksgiving '09

Uff Da!

What a great vacation we had. We left for Omaha the Saturday before Thanksgiving to get on a plane that took us to Las Vegas and then to....Spokane, Washington! RJ's brother, wife and their 2 kids live there and we had not seen them since last Christmas and more importantly we had not yet met their newest baby, Simon, who was born 12 days before Harper. I feel like we've had this planned for so long and were counting down the days for forever and it's quite a bummer that it's over. We got back on a plane yesterday and didn't get back home until 2:00 this morning. It was a nice long vacation and could not have gone better. The babies did awesome. Henry and Sophia were best buds. Who knew an almost 3 year old boy and a 5 year old girl could get along so well? There were a couple of tiffs the last 2 days, but otherwise they had a blast together. Us adults had a great time chatting and playing games and making and eating a ton of food. It was just great. We went to Seattle for 2 nights. We walked around a ton, took a ferry to Bainbridge Island, took turns staying in the hotel so we could both enjoy a date night, and ate some good food. We went to Couer d'Alene, Idaho to see some fireworks and went back again for dinner and took a cruise to "The North Pole". I had never heard of that town before, but it's a resort town and really beautiful with a lovely lake and mountains. We had coupons for a cruise where you saw an awesome light display and then on the other end of the lake they had a North Pole exhibit and then lit the largest live Christmas tree in the world. It didn't seem that big, but I wasn't going to argue.
My favorite part, besides being with family, was our time in Seattle. It was a little chilly, but it didn't rain more than a drizzle. RJ and I got to go on a fun date and the kids did awesome. I'm in love with that city now!

So now it's back to reality. RJ had today off to recover a bit more and then back to work tomorrow. Lots of fun things to look forward do this month. Woo Hoo!

I have a dream...

 And my dream is this:

A Le Creuset Dutch Oven

Isn't she a beauty? 

 

A more exciting post to come later. We've had the best time this past week! Spokane is amazing and I have a new love for a city named Seattle. Seriously. I would take this kind of vacation over a tropical-ish vacation *any day.  My next dream is to go to the Maine-ish area, rent a car, drive along the coast, and eat good seafood. With my husband. For our 10th anniversary. 

*On any given non-snowy kind of day. On a snowy day, yes, I would probably choose a tropical-ish vacation. 

Happenings

I'll be taking a bloggy break for the next week and a half, but promise to return with a ton o' pictures. We're about to partake in our biggest family adventure as a family of four. I'm nervous and excited and anxious and excited all at the same time.

I'm just wasting some time while putting off the load of things I need to get done before tomorrow. Let's see, what can I write about?....

We started doing "Acts 2:42" groups with our church last spring and this past fall we started doing them weekly. Our group is a great group of families with small children. Now, that sounds inviting, huh? We meet on Tuesday nights at our friends house a few blocks away while all the "small children" are babysat at our house. It's a pretty slick set up. I've had so much fun and we have all learned a lot. Plus, our leader is really hot.(don't worry, it's my husband) I have to admit, I have not always been the best pay-attention-er to an entire sermon. Really, I can't pay attention to much anything for too long. But with the start of our Acts groups, I get excited to get to church, listen, take notes, and learn so I can participate and learn more at our groups. God is really working in our church right now and it's exciting to see a lot of people grow closer to Him. It's pretty awesome!

I've been doing a little thing call Weight Watchers since July 1st and am happy to say I reached my goal weight a couple of weeks ago and will (hopefully) become a lifetime member next month...aka FREE. It feels so good to be a much healthier eater and it feels really good to feed my family much healthier foods as well. Obviously *ahem, chocolate cake incident* I still enjoy baking those naughty sweets, but overall the meals that hit my table are SO much better for us. Lots more fruits and veggies and lean meats and no more thickly-rich sauces that I used to be so addicted to. I've only gone through one pack of shredded cheese since July. That's pretty huge for me! Not that cheese is bad...we still eat it...but it does not need to be in everything I make. Who knew?? And Henry is pretty much cheese-free since I finally realized that was causing his digestive problems. Sorry Henry, for all the many blocks of cheese I let you consume.

I got to get out of the house last night for a MOPS moms night out. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and then headed down to Valley Junction's open house. It was a ton of fun and I was giddy with excitement to get out after a week of staying home. I love my Willow Ladies!

Now, off to place Space Shuttle with my little boy. Never heard of it? It's where you repeatedly say "321-Blastoff!" and run around the house like an airplane. I bought him a mini airplane replica, but he can't open it until tomorrow. It's amazing how much enjoyment he is getting out of it while it's still in the package.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! See you in December!

The Makings of a Birthday Cake

RJ's birthday ended up being pretty low-key. We went to Chick-Fil-A for a free meal, gave him a tiny present, and that was pretty much it. (we're going to celebrate more next week....)

But my husband's birthday is never complete without an attempt at the *perfect* chocolate cake. We fell in love with the chocolate cake years ago at Bucca Di Beppo. Bucca is no longer in town, and from what I hear the chocolate cake has changed and is no longer as amazing as it was. It's been so long since we've eaten it and we've built it up so much in our minds that there is no way I will ever be able to duplicate it. Yet I must still try.  However, I gave up on trying the chocolate frosting this year and went with peanut butter.

I didn't want to make an entire cake just for us...aka...we would end up eating the whole thing....so I made it for our Tuesday night church Acts group (which I love! A post on that later). I was trying to keep it a surprise so I started first thing in the morning.

Tip #1.

Start with encouraging pans. Mine say "good cook".

Gee, thanks!

This trusty Kitchen Aid is 30-some years old (mom, exactly how old?) I, thankfully, inherited it and absolutely love it. I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted 30 more. They just don't make things the way they used to, huh?

 

I put the cakes in the oven and *crossed my fingers, crossed my fingers, crossed my fingers*

 

Then I made the peanut butter frosting. For some reason I threw in 2 sticks of butter instead of the one the recipe called for. The only logical solution in my head was to just double the recipe. So it's an enormous batch of frosting.

 

I think I learned this trick from Martha. Put wax or parchment paper under the cake and then when you take them off there will be no mess. What a clever lady!

Frost, Frost, Frost.

 

And then things got a little out of hand. I melted chocolate. And added stipes. And candy. Lots of candy.

 

 

And then...I ruined it. Oh, the horror! The chocolate got clumpy and the numbers were not going to do.

 

I melted new chocolate and tried again.

What in the world is wrong with me?

 

I am paying big bucks for my supposed "art" degree from Central (go Dutch!) and I can't even write a decent 3?

Thankfully, I was able to scrape it off and try again.

 

Fine. Not perfect, but much better. And that's when Harper woke up from her nap so it was the final attempt.

The verdict? RICH

Maybe it wouldn't have seemed so rich if we hadn't eaten pizza and other delicious desserts before we dug into this.

But most importantly:

RJ gave it a big thumbs up.

Recipe for Black Magic Cake: (from Hershey's website)

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired. Yields 10 to 12 servings.

* To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.


Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbl milk, or as needed
2 cups powdered sugar

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

So Happy Birthday, my love.

I look forward to many more years of baking you a chocolate birthday cake. 

I love you.

Caffeine

I'm like a little kid when it comes to pop. I love it! I don't drink it a ton. We very rarely buy it to have in the house, and RJ hasn't drank pop since last spring so if I do buy it, it's just a bottle for me. I would say I drink a caffeinated beverage about 3 times a week.

Enter: last week

I went to the doctor for a (minor) issue I was having. She asked if I drank caffeine. I said yes. She suggested I not for a bit and see if my (minor) issue went away.

I had been drinking caffeine a little more lately because I had felt so yucky and exhausted. I needed the pick-me-up! Harper wasn't sleeping so well and I wasn't sleeping so well either. Well, duh. It finally dawned on me. Once I stopped having any caffeine I've been sleeping like a baby. I've never had a problem falling asleep, but my problem was staying asleep. Once I got up to feed Harper in the wee hours of the morning, I would just be awake. For hours. And I was exhausted.

Well, my (minor) issue went away...though who knows if it was because of the caffeine or not. But I do know that overall I feel so much better! No more sluggish feeling. I'm sleeping great. It's all good.

The downside: I was going to start my journey of enjoying coffee this winter. I love the smell. My husband is already a coffee drinker. I like coffee drinks, so knew the liking wouldn't be too hard to aquire.
And let's face it...coffee drinkers are cool.

Well, I'll have to just keep admiring from the sidelines. And pass the water, please. Oh, and the chocolate. That would be crossing the line to give up chocolate.

Oh Christmas Tree

It may be a little early....

 

 but it sure is a whole lot of fun.

It may be a little tacky....

but it was a whole lot of cheap at Target's after Christmas clearance last year.

It may be a little bit of a distraction when he need to go to sleep....

 

but it's a whole lot of worth it.