it really is spring

Thomas and Elle brought me my first bouquet of purple wild flowers yesterday and added more to it today. I look forward to these every spring!

i love how kindergarteners spell things

snack time

She decided to help herself to a bowl of Fruity Cheerios. Thankfully the milk wasn't out to where she could reach it! I think it's time to lock up the pantry.

tagged

I was tagged awhile ago by Julie and Lisa. I'm combining both tags into one because it's easier that way. I always enjoy reading these on others sites to get to know the blogger behind the blog.

A. Post the rules at the beginning.
B. Answer the questions about yourself.
C. Tag 5 people to do the same.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was newly married and we lived in Lincoln, NE. Both Scott and I worked at Sandhills Publishing. I was a customer service rep for their magazine, Smart Computing. The apartment we lived in was right across the street so we usually walked to and from work together as well as took our lunch breaks together. We really liked each other. :) (And still do!)

2. Snacks I enjoy:
Cheese and Crackers, Salsa and Chips, Chex Mix, No Bake Cookies, Rice Krispy Bars, Special K Bars

3. 5 Things on my "to-do-list"
1. A couple loads of laundry
2. Bake cookies
3. Clean my bedroom
4. Clean my bathroom
5. Vacuum the upstairs

4. Three habits, good or bad:
1. I try to have my kitchen clean most nights before going to bed.
2. I am terrible about getting the laundry put away. It's often folded on top of the washer and dryer and/or piled in a basket waiting to be carried upstairs. And if it's not there it's in a mountain on the floor.
3. I take the time most days to put on makeup.

5. Five places I’ve lived:
1. My parents house in Nebraska
2. Lincoln, NE
3. Minnetonka, MN
4. Maple Grove, MN
5. Currently, in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota

6. Places I’ve worked at:
In high school I was a cashier at a grocery store and also taught piano lessons to five kids that went to my church. After I graduated and moved away I worked at Sandhills Publishing as mentioned earlier. We moved to Minnesota a few months after we found out we were expecting our first baby so I didn't try to find a job since I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Best job ever!

7. Things people don’t know about me:
- I like to watch Wheel of Fortune. It reminds me of when I was a kid and used to watch it with my Grandpa.
- I have never been on a roller coaster.
- I don't drink the milk left in the bottom of the bowl after eating cereal.
- If I was to ever go back to school I'd attend culinary school. I think it would be fun to have a job here.
- I am terrible about maintaining a hairstyle once I get it cut. I always end up trimming my bangs myself between haircuts. I don't even confess this to the girl who cuts my hair anymore. She already knows.
- When I eat a sandwich and chips I like to smash the chips in with everything else between the bread. I only do this at home though.
- I cry really easy, especially since having kids. Sometimes it's really annoying.

Pretty exciting eh?! :) I don't know who to tag though. If you want to do this consider yourself tagged and be sure to let me know!

a cheesy picture

basement pics

The basement is done! Well, pretty much. We are still waiting on the tile setter to finish the shower in the bathroom and we have a few small things left to do but we had furniture delivered yesterday and are enjoying the new space! Here are a few pictures. The bedrooms are really hard to photograph so there aren't any included of them.

resolution breaker

We are getting more of it! This has been the weirdest spring ever. I'm actually not feeling too bad about it though because it's taking away the guilt of not running the half marathon that I made as my new year's resolution. It was today. Yes, I'm a resolution breaker. My excuse for not doing it? My elliptical runner broke a couple of months ago and I'm not diehard enough to train outside in the freezing cold....like my friends. Way to go Todd, Bob and Kay!


If you look close in this picture you'll see that the lake is getting close to being thawed. We have had springlike weather this past week. I was talking to one of our neighbors who has lived here for a long time and keeps a record of ice out dates. He said that the latest date he has written down is April 28th. I'm pretty sure he will be writing down a later date this year. Lucky us! :)

bread machine pizza crust

This is my new favorite pizza crust recipe. My friend Molly made it a couple of weeks ago when we had dinner at her house and everyone loved it. She found the recipe at allrecipes.com and it has rave reviews there. Don't let the 1 cup of flat beer scare you away. The dough does not taste like beer at all. It's so easy to just throw all of the ingredients in the bread machine and let it do the work. We made it last night and have enough leftovers to have it for lunch today.

The kids pizza. Pepperoni and cheese. Ava calls is puzza.

Mom and Dad's pizza. Ground beef, black olives, and green pepper. Everything that I used to pick off of my pizza when I was a kid!

I also learned a good tip from Molly to roll the pizza out on parchment paper, put the toppings on and bake it on the stone that way. Just slip a flat cookie sheet under it and transferring it to and from the stone is so easy. I don't know why I never thought of that!

favorite flower

My friend Angie emailed me this joke this morning. I thought it was pretty funny.

Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.

While attending a Marriage Encounter Weekend, Walter and his wife Ann, listened to the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.

He addressed the men.

'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?' Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently and whispered, 'Pillsbury-All-Purpose, isn't it?'

And thus began Walter's life of celibacy.

black bottom cupcakes

I made these cupcakes yesterday and the family loves them. Ava liked hanging out in the kitchen with me since this recipe required two beaters - one for the chocolate cake and one for the cream cheese filling. Double yum!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

16 oz cream cheese, at room temp.
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites, at room temp.
2 Tbsp plus 3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cups water
8 Tbsp (1 stick) melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners. *Next time I make these I am going to spray the pan lightly because the cupcakes puffed out and stucked to the top of the pan when they cooled. Or else, just be sure to not overfill them and make a few more than 24 cupcakes.

With electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in egg whites and 2 Tbsp sour cream until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside. *Do not substitute regular chocolate chips for the mini chips. They will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Whisk remaining sugar, remaining salt, flour, cocoa, and baking soda in large bowl. Make well in center, add remaining sour cream, water, butter, and vanilla and whisk until just combined. Divide batter evenly among the cupcake liners and top each batter with 1 rounded Tbsp cream cheese mixture. Bake until tops of cupcakes just begin to crack, 23 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes in tins for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in refrigerator. Resist the urge to try one until they are cold! They are so much better cold than at room temp.

This recipe is from the 2007 edition of the Cook's Country cookbook. I have an extra copy that I am going to be giving away so be sure to check back soon!

carpet buying help

Everything I'm sharing about carpet is what I've learned since having it installed in the basement a week ago and want to remember for next time. You have to know the right questions to ask when it comes to buying carpet. What type of backing does it have? Will it beat up my woodwork during installation to where I'll have to apply another coat of polyurethane even though I've already done two coats and had a champagne toast to finally being done with that project? Are the seams easy to hide with this type of carpet? What happens if your daughter throws up on it a day after it's installed and we just happened to have a red meal the night before and I can't get the pink tinted stain out? Will the warranty cover that? All of these are questions that I wish I would've known to ask because all of these things have happened....incase you couldn't tell. :)

Let's start with the carpet backing. I was surprised by how scratched the woodwork was after the carpet was installed in the basement. When we had the carpet installed upstairs the woodwork was barely scratched at all. I mentioned this to the salesperson that I worked with at the carpet store and she said that is because we went with Shaw carpet in our upstairs and they are the only manufacturer that puts a soft back on all of their carpets to minimize damage during installation. Hmmm, wish I would've known that!

The seams show more with the carpet in the basement. The installer said that the berber we chose was very difficult to work with. I don't know if I would've chose a different carpet just because of this because the seams really aren't that bad. I'm sure that once we get furniture down there you'll never notice them but I think it's a good thing to know before you make your purchase.

And lastly check the warranty and know how to treat stains appropriately so that you have everything on hand to get out whatever stain might get on your carpet. It's true, Elle got sick the first night we had the carpet. Her and Thomas were having a camp-out down there. I worked and worked to get it out. Even my favorite cleaner wouldn't get it out completely! The next morning I called the carpet store and almost every type of stain was covered under the warranty except vomit. She called the manufacturer and gave me a couple of ideas to try to get it out and I also called my neighbor to see what she would do. My neighbor told me to soak it with warm water and (non-bleach) Dawn dishsoap and thankfully that did the trick! It pulled the last bit of the stain out and now you can't even tell where it was. I was so relieved and happy!

The other method I was going to try if the Dawn dishsoap wouldn't have worked was 2 Tbsp household amonia mixed with 1 cup warm water. I am going to purchase a small bottle of household amonia to have in the cupboard, just in case. One other tip I was told is to be sure to only use white rags and white paper towels when blotting. You run a risk of dying your carpet the color of your rag if you use anything else.

Here is a link to the Carpet and Rug Institute that has a great spot removing guide for pretty much anything that might get on your carpet. I've bookmarked it!

spring cleaning kids

We are busy spring cleaning the house this week and I have some good helpers this year! The incentive to earn extra money helps too. :)


Gotta get those boots clean after visiting the goat farm! This was a job I was happy to pass on to them. :)

hi grandpa and grandma

doorknobs

I am going to be doing a small series of posts about tips we've learned while building our house and finishing our basement. When we built our house four years ago we wanted to get every upgrade we could and still stay within our budget, doesn't everyone? That meant we did a lot of the work ourselves but we also learned to shop for the items we wanted for the best price possible. I've already shared about where I purchased our faucets. I was happy with everything I ordered except the RO faucets. They were way too big. Lesson learned: always check the dimensions of things if you haven't saw them in person. :)


These are the doorknobs that we have throughout our house. We have them in a pewter color everywhere except in the basement where we put in oil-rubbed bronze. They are an Emtek brand doorknob and are really well made. They are not sold at retail stores like Home Depot or Menards so Scott did some checking online and found them here for almost $30 less per knob than what we would've paid to get them from a local dealer. Even at the price Scott found they are still more expensive than a lot of doorknobs but the quality is definitely worth it. It only took about 5 - 10 minutes to do a quick search to find this better price and we saved around $150!

a slow blogging week

I haven't posted much this week. Elle and Thomas were sick yesterday, Ava and I didn't feel too great today. Hoping that tomorrow brings health in time for a beautiful, sunny weekend!

wowies

Elle and Ava got their immunization shots today. Elle had her kindergarten boosters and these were Ava's first shots. I got nervous about the possible link between immunizations and autism when she was a tiny baby and decided to postpone them until we had done some research on them. Both girls were brave and felt much better when the nurse gave them goodie bags for being such great patients. Ava got a little Strawberry Shortcake toy. She kept saying, 'Wowie, wowie, wowie, kiss it, kiss it' to her little toy. Then she'd make kissing noises while it kissed her bandaids, then she'd say 'All better.' It was pretty cute.

By the way, that's the new carpet in the basement Ava's sitting on! Better pictures to come later.

one more weather post

Scott found this picture on StarTribune.com. It's the Bonanza restaurant in town. I don't think they had many customers yesterday. :) The good news is that we are going to have a heat wave here next week.....in the 50's and 60's! And this snow is all going to be gone.

Photo credit: By Steve Kohls, Associated Press

my baby is two

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

snowed in

The carpet couldn't be installed in the basement today because this is the view from our front porch -

We got the snow that was predicted. Around a foot of it. (Why do we live here again?) Schools were cancelled (except for ours!) and the carpet delivery vans were snowed in. It's rescheduled for Monday morning.

cleaning your dishwasher

Did you know that you really should clean your dishwasher on a regular basis like you do your oven? I didn't! I have never once deep cleaned a dishwasher in the last 10 years. I just figured since it's main purpose is to clean that it stays pretty clean too. I've had the plastic pieces in mine turn orange in spots but I figured that was just because of our water. I'd tried doing the Tang and Lemonaide Kool-aid methods to clean it but it never did any good and just figured there was nothing I could do about the plastic.

Yesterday I had bigger problems than orange colored plastic though. I filled our dishwasher up and started it and a little while later Elle noticed that it was leaking water all over the floor. I couldn't believe it! Another water leak problem already?! I stopped it and drained the water, mopped up the floor with towels and pulled the kick plate off to see where the leak was. There was no water under the dishwasher though so I figured there had to be a problem with the seal. And there was; the problem was food build up in the form of a black goo at the bottom of the door. It was really disgusting.

Today I emptied out all of the dishes and washed them by hand. While the dishwasher was empty I scrubbed all of the crevises with an old toothbrush. After that I ran a normal cycle with a cup of bleach in it (added after the pre-rinse was done). I couldn't believe how much cleaner it was. There was still some residue though so I did a little more scubbing and then ran one more normal cycle with a cup of vinegar (also added after the pre-rinse) and look how sparkly it is now! Just like new and no more orange!

Now that I know better I will be deep cleaning my dishwasher at the same time I do my oven. I'm going to get in a habit of rinsing our dishes before loading them even though I was told that it's not necessary. I'm thinking that it is!

goat farm field trip

Today we went on a field trip to a goat farm. The family that owns the farm attends the same church we do and they currently have 206 goats with more than 100 to be born yet! Ava just loved them and all of the other animals on the farm.

The kids learned that it's a lot of work to feed that many goats! And that it's messy work!

Bottle feeding the baby goats. This was Elle's favorite part.

Making bottles for the babies that were a little older.


Watching a live birth! How's that for a science lesson?! Elle's comment afterward was 'That was sick!'

i found her 'cooking'

our weather forcast

Tonight
Windy...snow. Blowing snow. Snow accumulation of 8 to 9 inches. Lows 25 to 30. Northeast wind 20 to 30 mph.

Friday
Breezy...snow. Blowing snow. Snow accumulation of 3 to 4 inches. Highs 32 to 37. Northeast wind 20 to 25 mph.

It is April right?

candied nuts for salads

We eat a lot of salads around here. I've already shared how I make homemade croutons and thought today I'd show how I make candied nuts. On salads with fruit and vinagrettes these are especially good.

In a non-stick pan, over medium heat, put whatever nut you want to have with your salad. Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Let it heat for a little bit so that the sugar just starts to melt. At that point you have to use a spatula or wooden spoon to keep the nuts moving so that they don't burn. You may want to add more sugar if there isn't going to be enough to coat them too.

Once the nuts get golden like this they are done and have to be removed from the heat immediately. Have a piece of parchment paper on the counter to put them on.

Let them sit to cool. This doesn't take long, maybe 5 minutes. Break them up and either serve immediately on your salad or store in an airtight container for later use.

See how pretty they look on a salad?! I won't be sharing the recipe for this particular salad though. It was pretty but the candied almonds were the best part about it. I'd say it was a flop.....kinda like the ribs that I served with it.

Visit Shannon's site for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

anyone want the recipe?

These are the Chinese Stinky, I mean Sticky Ribs. I think they actually would've been good if the recipe wouldn't have said to cook them for so long. (And if I didn't go downstairs to polyurethane doors while they were cooking.) I set the timer and got to work. I think if I had been by the kitchen and had been able to smell them start burning I could've saved them. I doubt I'll try them again though...I'll just let Scott keep grilling them to perfection.

At least there was ice cream in the freezer to have chocolate malts for dessert!

menu plan monday

I'm looking forward to the new recipes I am trying in this week's menu plan. Thomas loves the Chinese Sticky Ribs at our local Chinese restaurant and I'm hoping that the recipe I have for them turns out even better. They sure look good in the picture in the cookbook! I'm going to save enough ribs to turn them into Pork Fried Rice the next night.

My baby turns 2 on Friday so I'm making a meal she loves....Macaroni and Cheese and her favorite veggie, steamed peas. I haven't decided on the cake. She'll be happy with anything since she's never met a dessert she didn't like. She gets that from her mama! :)

Monday
B - Eggs & Toast
L - Leftover pizza
D - Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday
B - Banana Bread
L - Leftover soup
D - Chinese Sticky Ribs, Rice & Orange Ginger Salad

Wednesday
B - Eggs & Toast
L - PB & J Sandwiches
D - Pork Fried Rice

Thursday
B - Cereal
L - Crackers, Salami & Cheese
D - Chicken, Cheese & Black Bean Quesadillas & Chunky Guacamole

Friday - Happy Birthday Ava Mae!
B - Oatmeal
L - Chicken Nachos
D - Macaroni & Cheese, Peas & Birthday Cake

Saturday
B - Eggs & Toast
L - Turkey Sandwiches
D - Grilled Hamburgers & Onion Strings

Sunday
Brunch - Stuffed French Toast
D - Turkey Sandwiches

i spoke too soon

We were just being teased with a couple of days of springlike weather last week. It snowed all day yesterday and last night. At least we only got a few inches, those north of us got 2 FEET!

we are thawing out

I think spring has finally arrived! The weather today was absolutely gorgeous. Our little lake is just starting to have open water around the edges. It's amazing to me that there were still a couple of trucks parked on the big lake yesterday and people out there ice fishing.

Thomas and Elle played outside all afternoon today. I opened up the windows in the basement trying to get it aired out. The plumber walked into our house today and said, "Smells like you've been staining."

When Ava woke up from her nap I took her for a walk in the wagon and of course had to snap a few pictures. Here are my favorites.

it's mud season

my little list-maker

Mini-Me, I mean Elle, sat down with a pen and paper this morning and wrote out her to-do list for the day. Here is what it says -

Things To Do:

Work:
- Fix Hair
- Get Dressed
- Eat Breakfast
- Watch Ava

Play:
- Skateboard
- Play Outside
- Play with Doll
- Computer
- TV
- XBox 360

Daily Extras:
- Do School
- Have Vitamins

I didn't realize that doing her schoolwork was just an 'extra' thing to do. :) I especially like the 'Play' category.

chicken bbq & strawberry sorbet

For this Recipe Box Swap I am sharing a recipe for Chicken BBQ. We had it at a friend's house last summer and it has become one of my favorite meals to make on days when I have no time to cook.

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup water
3 T. worcestershire
3 T. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. cumin
28 oz BBQ sauce

Combine everything except the BBQ sauce and cook on low in a crockpot for 6 hours. Drain juices. With 2 forks, shred the chicken. Put back in crockpot and add BBQ sauce (don't drown the chicken in sauce.) Cook for 1 more hour. Serve on buns with a slice of American cheese.

And for something sweet...

Strawberry Sorbet! I used some strawberries out of the freezer to make this sorbet this week and plan to use raspberries to make another batch. I have one of these ice cream makers and love it. This recipe tastes just like Edy's Fruit Bars. Yum! It's also delicious to serve in a glass with champagne.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 quart strawberries, stems removed
4 T. fresh lemon juice

Make a simple syrup out of the sugar and water by bringing them to a boil and then simmering until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool completely.

Combine the strawberries and lemon juice in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until the strawberries are completely pureed. Press the strawberry puree through a fine mesh strainer to remove most of the seeds. Combine the strained puree with the cooled sugar syrup and corn syrup. Chill for 1 hour.

Freeze according to manufactures instructions. The sorbet will have a soft serve texture. If desired, transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm.

Be sure to visit Randi's blog for more recipes!

clever boy

Thomas and Elle both got digital cameras for Christmas last year and love to use them to record short videos. Yesterday I found them sitting at the counter watching a video on Thomas's camera thinking it was a silly video they had made. Instead it was an episode of Tom and Jerry! Thomas got clever and decided to video the show once while he was watching it. You can hear voices in the background and he moves quite a bit while he's recording it but he doesn't mind. He said that now he can watch Tom and Jerry whenever he wants. :)