Lessons Learned and Recipe of the Week

Here are some things I learned this week:

• You can screw a regular Mason jar onto the bottom attatchment of your blender and make your own "Magic Bullet"--mix up smaller portions, keep it from siezing up, and best part, if you want to mix something else, you don't have to clean anything, just grab a new jar.
• You can put oxygen pacs (used for dry pack canning) in your bags of nuts to keep them fresh if you don't have room for them in your freezer.
• Put cayenne pepper in your shoes and gloves to keep you warm.
• Tritan knows all about Html and how to edit it.

Recipe of the Week

In an effort to simplify my life and for once have the kitchen clear of dishes, I tried the cook once, eat twice (or three times). So I cooked a ham on Monday and made ham salads and sandwiches for most of the rest of the week. It worked o.k.; dinner was done quicker and the dishes were much more under control. However, the recipe of the week comes from the night I made the ham: I had Gruyere cheese I needed to use up so I found this recipe for a potato dish that was easy and heavenly (Cooking Light January 2002):

Gratin Dauphinois

1 garlic clove, halved
Cooking spray
6 red potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 TB butter, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 425*.

Rub an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cut sides of garlic; discard garlic. Coat dish with cooking spray.

Arrange half of the potatoes in dish; drizzle with half of the butter. Sprinkle with half the salt and half the pepper; top with half the cheese. Repeat layers.

Bring milk to a boil over low heat in a small saucepan; pour over potato mixture. Bake at 425* for 40 min. or til tender. Serves 7.

Snow Day!

Yesterday we woke to three inches of snow and the blessed answer of "Closed" when we called the school snow hot line. The kids spent most of the day outside despite the slight drizzle of freezing rain. It was a constant flurry of kids in and out looking for gloves, changing shoes, drinking hot chocolate, eating soup. All the kids in the 'sac built a snow ramp (about 3' high) to sled and snow board down. Everything is pretty flat around here, so you have to admit that was pretty ingenious of them. All day I kept hearing words like "just like Christmas", "magical", and "best day ever".

That million dollar smile...

Athena and Paris went to the orthodontist yesterday. They got the whole star treatment: pictures smiling, pictures not smiling, profile, x-rays, close-ups. With the data, the orthodontist came up with a treatment plan.


The first thing the orthodontist noted was that their mouths were too small for all the teeth that have to come in. Back in the day (meaning my day), that was done by taking out teeth. I had like 8 teeth removed, with at least 4 of them permanent. So when the dr. said "We need to make their mouths bigger to accommodate their teeth", I thought she was joking and waited for her to hand me an oral surgeon's card. But no, no punchline came. They can really make their mouths bigger. She had plaster of paris models to prove it.


Apparently, both Paris and Athena will be fitted with an expander in their top jaw. It looks something like this:

There's a key that fits into a hole in the middle of the device that I'll have to turn once a day, and it slowly spreads the roof of their mouth apart (hence the name, expander). I have to say it sounds only one step above putting rings around your neck to make your neck longer, or breaking your feet to make your feet smaller. But the kids have already picked out their colors: purple for Paris, purple with sparkles for Athena, and they'll start their fittings next week.

Unfortunately, our dental insurance doesn't cover orthodontics and Brian almost ran off the road when I told him the combined price of treatment. It'll be worth it, though, when they get done and are proud to flash their pearly whites. Right?

Baby, it's cold inside!

Despite my optimism that I could fix my furnace by simply changing the filter, it turns out that it was just a coincidence that the furnace started working again, and really it was just coughing out its last feeble breaths before it died.
We woke Saturday morning to a cool house, but we had an early morning appointment with the dentist, to discuss the best method of capping Tritan's teeth (see below ), and had appointments and commitments the rest of the day. It was a cold day and when we finally traipsed back home, the temperature inside hovered above 60*. So we lit a fire in our fireplace, and turned on the electric baseboard heaters in the addition. We pulled out the sleeping bags and let the kids sleep all together in the addition, and dug out the space heater for our room upstairs. It all felt very cozy, sitting together in front of the fire, the kids camping out in the extra room.
But in the morning, the temperature outside was 18* and the temperature inside was 55* and Brian was afraid the pipes would freeze, so we called our home warranty and had them send a guy to fix the furnace even though it was Sunday. When the kids and I got home from church, the house was a nice and toasty 69*.
Sunday morning-- the kids huddled around the breakfast table in blankets and coats, eating warm wheat cereal and hot chocolate-- Tritan said: "Boy, we sure are having a hardship, aren't we?"
I had to chuckle a little before I replied, " No, no this is not a hardship. We have a fireplace. We have that extra room with the heaters. We have hot water. And we have a home warranty so it will only cost us $50 to fix the furnace. No, this isn't a hardship. Besides, don't you think it's kind of fun?"
I was grateful that we were prepared with logs for the fireplace and a home warranty, so we could get it fixed without worrying about the cost. We're not prepared for every emergency, but it does make a difference in whether something is a hardship, or just a little excitement in our weekend.

Lessons learned and recipe of the week

Here are some things I learned this week:

• If you don't replace the filter in your furnace it will get so clogged with dust and grime that it will seem as though your furnace is broken, and you will wake up in a freezing house. Luckily, this is easily remedied by putting in a new filter.
• That Apollo can run .2 miles at a good clip without stopping. That's the last time I'm carrying him anywhere.
• That I am not the only one who purports to be able taste the metal in silverware. My friend *B* can not only taste metal but can smell the sand when she drinks from glass.
• That Rivers Cuomo from the band Weezer was raised on an Ashram. That explains a lot.

Recipe of the Week

This feature will probably not happen every week despite it's name. Just to let you know.

I am not a baker but this bread turned out, so probably anyone can make it. I thought I died and went to heaven when I ate it warm from the oven with a little bit of butter (though olive oil would probably be even better). I got it from Cooking Light (of course) October 2002:

Walnut and Rosemary Loaves

2 c. warm 1% milk (100* to 110*)
1/4 c. warm water (100* to 110*)
3 TB sugar
2 TB butter, melted
2 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. dry yeast (about 4 1/2 tsp.)
5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (though I used about 7)
1 c. chopped walnuts
3 TB coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 TB cornmeal
1 TB milk
1 large egg

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, whisking. Add yeast, whisking; let stand 5 min. Add 2 c. flour, whisking. Cover, let rise 15 min.

Add 2 1/2 c. flour, walnuts, rosemary, and 1 egg, whisking. Turn dough out on floured surface and knead til smooth and elastic (10 min.), adding enough of remaining flour, 1/4 c. at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover, let rise 1 hour or til doubled.

Preheat oven to 400*. Punch dough down. Divide dough in half, shaping each portion into a round. Place loaves on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover and let rise 30 min. or til doubled.

Combine 1 TB milk and 1 egg, whisking; brush over loaves. Make 3 diagonal cuts 1/4" deep across top of each loaf.

Place loaves in oven; reduce temperature to 375*; bake 40 min. or til bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Let stand 20 min. before slicing. Yield: 2 loaves.

I'm telling you, it tastes better than bakery bread at Wegmans. The fresh rosemary and the walnuts are the key.

All right--this blog has gone on long enough. Hope y'all have a great weekend.

Too many teeth!

I took the kids to the dentist the other day. We haven't been to the dentist for 18 months. Terrible, I know, but when you move, some things just fall through the cracks (See below.) Luckily, no one had cavities but Tritan has enamel hypoplasia and needs his teeth capped.

Athena and Paris have...an extra tooth. Growing from the roof of their mouths. I have never heard of this, although the hygenist said it was fairly common. I tried to google it but didn't get much reliable information. I was talking to Mom about it and it turns out she had an extra tooth growing from the roof of her mouth and had to wear braces when she was young. Sisters--did we know this about her?!

Anyway, both Athena and Paris have to have their extra teeth removed and will probably have to have braces. Paris' extra tooth is growing right where the two palatine bones meet in the roof of his mouth (yes, I googled that) and it's forcing his front two teeth apart--that's why he has that gap in his front teeth.

The amazing (wierd) thing is that the kids are actually excited to have braces. We'll see how they feel after they go to the orthodontist on Monday.

Wiis having fun now!

Saturday night, you walk into the church gym to find 3 TVs strapped to tables, each with a Wii console and 4 controllers. The buffet tables have tablecloths but no centerpieces. The kid's obligatory video is upgraded to a projector and screen and the food is potluck. It could only be an Elder's Quorm party.
Brian helped plan and carry out what has been heard to be "the best party our ward has had in a very long time". I have to admit that it was as fun to watch as it was to play. Imagine 4 grown adults staring intently at a screen, pumping their arms furiously and contorting their faces in expressions raging from ectasy to pain, and at least one player jogging furiously in place in a vicarious effort to get their avatar to cross the finshing line first.
Brian is a party genius. That's one of the reasons I love him so much--he makes fun wherever he goes. Of course, he also ended up winning the tournament. I guess despite ignoring my nagging for him to excercise, he still ended up being the Wii Fit-est!

D.A.R.E. Graduate

On Friday, Tritan graduated from the D.A.R.E. program at school. The whole program is a far cry from what I remember. We had an afternoon assembly; they had a 3 month program conducted by a resource officer and they had to complete a workbook and write an essay. The graduation was held with all the grandiosity and solemnity of a real graduation. They sent invitations to the parents (I wrote the date down wrong in my planner and showed up a day early--embarrassing, but at least it was a day early, not a day late), all the kids and teachers were wearing the same brown D.A.R.E. T-shirts, and each of them had their named called and they walked across the stage and received their certificate of completion. The mayor was there, and spoke to them, and they had a slide show presentation of candid shots of them working on their D.A.R.E. workbooks. Afterwards, they had a party in the cafeteria. Tritan was obviously proud of himself and it was fun to see him so excited.

Happy Birthday Athena!

Athena turned 10--10!--on Friday.
In our family, we don't have birthday parties past the age of 9. Mainly because it only gets more expensive to throw parties the older they get, but also because I wanted to deemphasize the getting of gifts. But I do let them pick something fun to do as a family--eat out, go somewhere, do something-- and then they get to invite one friend to come with them.

Once Athena realized that her birthday fell on a Friday, and that Hotel for Dogs came out on that same Friday, she knew that's what she wanted to do. The trouble was choosing a single friend. She couldn't do it. So in the end, we took both friends (we don't stick to our rules very well, especially on birthdays). My own review of the film: harmless tween fun with dogs, not painful to sit through, but nothing that hasn't been done on the Disney channel (for free). The kids review of the film: It was the best movie ever. (Aside from maybe The Christmas Story).

I ended up cooking dinner for them all since the movie was at 5:30 and we came back and had brownies. Her friends ended up bringing gifts anyway, so in the end, it turned into somethig pretty close to resembling a party. Like I said, we don't stick to our rules very well, especially on birthdays. Athena said she had the best time, though, and that's really all that matters.

Things I love about Athena:

• Athena is always so patient with Apollo. She is always ready to help him with a cheerful voice and a gentle hand, even if he is interupting something she's doing. She will be a great mother!
• She is intensely interested in everything. She wants to sing in the choir; dance; play soccer, basketball, volleyball; draw; write; design rooms; knit; play the guitar; make crafts; design clothes; run; cook; sew. The list could go on. She takes full advantage of every waking moment and is often frustrated that she has to pick and choose.
• She has had to make several sacrifices to live the gospel this year. She is one of the only girls in her ballet class not in The Nutcracker this winter or Cinderella this spring because all of the rehearsals are Sunday. She also had to tell her friends that she didn't want to search for ghosts because it gave her a bad feeling. Both of these decisions were very hard for her, but she hasn't complained.
• She is my ally in a house full of boys. She will side with me on everything from restaurant votes to what to do on Saturday. It drives Brian crazy sometimes but I'll take it while I can get it...I have a feeling it won't last forever.

We love you, Athena!!

Officially New Jersians

Brian finally registered the cars. After 18 months of being here, the government officially knows we're here. Up until now I liked to think I kept them guessing: If a cop pulled me over he would have found insurance, registration, and liscense all from different states. Still, it might have marked me as a terrorist at worst or a bail-jumper at least. That's why I was always very careful to drive the speed limit around here (especially since the police department is only one mile away).
I guess it's time to admit that Jersey is home. I know it won't surprise many to learn that I've had a hard time learnig to love Jersey but here are a few things I do love, in spite of myself:

• I love our cul-de-sac. I love that the kids can just go out and play--even Apollo--and I don't have to worry about cars, strangers, etc. And all the kids in our sac are so nice and everyone gets along (mostly).
• I love how our whole neighborhood has parks and running paths and the elementary school right inside. It just feels like a family neighborhood.
• I love the school the kids go to. It isn't perfect but there are so many resources for helping my kids be successful. I know our hefty property taxes pay for it, but you have to have the right people to make it work.
• You don't have to pump your own gas. Which I love, especially in the winter.

OK, that's not a lot--but I'm trying.

Just to help things along, it snowed today....Everything looks better in black and white....Apollo saw the geese on the lake: "Look at the penguins, Mom."

"Oh, those are geese."

"No. It's snowing. They're penguins." I guess it's pretty cool to live where there are penguins....