Recap

Well, I am finally getting around to posting about the last few weeks! Most of the things that happened here are out of order, but that's ok. I put the recipes at the bottom so if you are not interested, you can skip that part. It's now May 1st and baby boy Hunt refuses to make an appearance on his own. I will probably consider some induction methods this week . . . depends on how my Dr feels the baby is doing. So now he won't be an April baby- which I am actually kind of sad about. I have a May baby- Ada's birthday is in 2 weeks!

Speaking of April babies, here is a photo of our April birthdays celebration. Last year, a group of women in my ward started this awesome tradition- a bunch of them have April birthdays. So they do a 10$ gift exchange of items bought at West Seattle stores and eat out at a West Seattle restaurant. I took this photo after Ketsy had to leave. We had a great time, can't wait to keep this tradition up!


My birthday has been 3 days of fun- every day starting Thursday we thought "better celebrate tonight, who knows if I will be around tomorrow!" That made for some FUN DAYS! lol Mom and I are focusing on playing since there isn't a baby to take care of yet.
I really wanted a WinCo cake, so when I was there last time, I got one!! It was good for memories, but next time I think I will let those who offer make me something . . .

On my actual birthday, Ada made me a blueberry, blackberry, strawberry cake (she's hold "it") and Odessa gave me my favorite pipe-cleaner creation of hers. I got many other nice things for my b-day including shipped in Chicago pizzas from Lumanati's (Gino's East put me into labor with Ada, so Stephen was hoping . . . ) and a video phone to chat with the Grandparent Hunts, an egg cook book and a little shopping spree to body shop thanks to a great Groupon! Not to mention a couple dinners out . . .


Now on to Easter
The girls in their Easter outfits- their hair looked much cuter this Sunday with Grandma here to help : )

Remember last year? This will always be one of my favorite photos ever


Easter egg hunt!






Tulip festival in Skagit Valley:
We had the most perfect day. Stephen took Friday off work so we wouldn't have QUITE as many crowds to deal with as we would have on a Saturday. But it was Spring Break after all, so there was plenty of people to contend with. This is our third year going up to the tulip fields and usually we drive around, park for free where we aren't "technically" supposed to (don't want to pay for parking) and have never paid for the big garden admissions. This year, I wanted to do it the "right way" and so we paid for admission at Roozengaarde, a 3 acre garden complex with every tulip variety known to man (seems that way). You also get to walk around a couple fields of tulips. We all loved it.
After driving around looking at some of the other fields, we went into La Conner for lunch and found a cafe with patio seating where we enjoyed chowder and fish and chips. We got an ice cream recommendation and ended up eating cones, sitting in the sun and overlooking the river. That's when Stephen said "why don't I do this more often?" - meaning take a day off work since he NEVER EVER DOES. It was the perfect combination of amazing sunny weather, good food and great family time out of the city.





















Recipes:


Marrakesh Stew (I actually learned last week that Marrakech is a city in Morroco- thanks to America's Next Top Model! And I am not ashamed of that fact.)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced large
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 small eggplants, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• Cooked couscous (optional), for serving

Directions

1. In an 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, and allspice and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add carrots, potatoes, and squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth (vegetables should be completely covered by liquid; add water to cover if necessary). Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, 20 minutes.

2. Add eggplant, stir to combine, and simmer until eggplant is tender, 20 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until chickpeas are warmed through, 5 minutes. Serve stew with couscous if desired.

(so this is the stew that Odessa loved and it was very good. We did serve it on couscous. I again subbed zucchini for the eggplant- too expensive.)


One of the main reasons I wanted to make every recipe from Everyday Foods issue 79 was the groups of recipes- crepes and versions of crepe recipes, frittatas and version of frittatas, and of course all those smoothies! What do crepes and frittatas have a lot of? Eggs of course! lol
Here are a couple of the crepe versions and 2 of the frittatas.

Crepes with vegetables and goat cheese

• 4 Simple Crepes
• 8 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 2 cups roasted vegetables, such as bell pepper, eggplant, mushroom, and onion
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 crepes on a rimmed baking sheet. Place 2 tablespoons goat cheese and 1/2 cup roasted vegetables down the center of each crepe. Season with salt and pepper. Fold edges over filling. Bake until cheese softens and filling is warm, 5 minutes.

We made 1.5 times the crepe recipe. We roasted bell pepper, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, carrots and a potato sliced in wedges with olive oil in a 450 oven. We used white cheddar instead of goat because it needed to be used- these were very good, a big hit. The next morning we made the rest of the crepes with the batter and put strawberries, bananas down the middle with either vanilla-honey yogurt I mixed up or melted nutella drizzled on the fruit. DELISH!

Potato-leek Fritatta

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 leek (white and light-green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 cups cooked, cubed, peeled potato
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add leek and potato, season with salt and pepper, and cook until leek is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add eggs and ricotta, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top of frittata is just set, 10 to 13 minutes. Invert or slide frittata onto a plate and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

The frittata will appear to be mostly liquid on top when you transfer it to the oven, but as long as the edges are set, the eggs will finish cooking evenly.

Onion, Spinach and Bacon Frittata

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 cups frozen spinach (from two 10-ounce packages), thawed and squeezed dry
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon (5 slices)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add eggs and bacon, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top of frittata is just set, 10 to 13 minutes. Invert or slide frittata onto a plate and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(both of these frittatas were huge hits- Stephen and I liked them and the girls really ate them well. I didn't substitute anything although I did add some cheddar cheese to the top of the spinach bacon frittata. We will be doing all these frittata versions a lot- I plan on making one strata or frittata a week to cut down on costs as we are getting 6-7 eggs every day).



Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight, and drained
• 2 large yellow onions, diced small
• 2 jalapenos, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
• Diced avocado, diced onion, cilantro, low-fat plain yogurt, and tortilla strips, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, cover beans with cold water by 2 inches. Add one quarter each of onions and jalapenos and bring to a boil over high. Reduce to a rapid simmer; cook until beans are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer 1 1/2 cups bean mixture to an airtight container. Let cool, then refrigerate, and save for Mushroom and Black Bean Tortilla Casserole.

2. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and remaining onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining jalapenos, cumin, beans and their cooking liquid, and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, 20 minutes (if necessary, add up to 1 cup water to keep beans covered).

3. Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender and add cornstarch. Puree until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to pot. Cook, stirring, until soup thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with avocado, diced onion, cilantro, yogurt, and tortilla strips if desired.

Cook's Note

Instead of soaking dried beans overnight, cover them with cold water by 2 inches in a pot; bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 1 hour. Freeze leftover soup, up to 1 month.

(this soup was so good. I didn't sub anything. We had avocado, sour cream and chips on top- yum!! I just cooked a great big batch of beans for this soup and the casserole below- we doubled everything in the soup, made the casserole a little bigger to feed everyone).

Mushroom and black bean tortilla casserole

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups reserved cooked black beans from Spicy Black-Bean Soup, or 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 corn tortillas, warmed and halved
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned, 7 minutes. Add garlic and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add black beans and stir to combine. Cook until beans are warmed through, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Arrange 5 tortilla halves in a 2-quart baking dish. Top with half the bean mixture and 1/2 cup salsa, then sprinkle with one-third the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortilla halves, bean mixture, salsa, and cheese. Top with remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and cheese. Cover with foil and bake until center is hot and cheese melts, 10 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbling, 5 minutes.

(again, really liked this recipe. I liked the mushrooms as part of it, they were delicious. Didn't sub anything, just increased the amounts slightly to fill a 9x13)

A bit about Odie-totie

Allow me to brag about Odie for a minute:

Odessa and Ada LOVE to tell jokes. And most of them don't make sense and most aren't very funny. But when they copy a real joke correctly, it's pretty cute. They always end their made-up jokes with the "punch line" and a "GET IT??" and laugh hysterically. Frankly, I have had to say a couple of times- "No, I don't get it!"
So the other day I made this Markaresh Stew stuff for dinner- amazingly Odessa really like it and even had it for leftovers the next day. She says stuff like "I want to eat this for every meal forever!" pretty much every other night- I know, I am super lucky- but meaning to say I do not always take her real seriously. Wait until you see the recipe- it's from my Everyday Food challenge. Anyway, she comes up to me and says "that dinner you made was STUPENDOUS!" and then says "get it?" and starts laughing. And I give an absent minded "ha ha" and Odessa says "that's all I get for a joke like that?" which really catches my attention.
Me: "tell it to me again"
Odessa: "dinner last night was STUPENDOUS- get it? STEW-PENDOUS!"
and I then I could not stop laughing . . . I couldn't believe she made it up herself

Yesterday, Odessa FINALLY got the whole swinging of her body down at the monkey rings at the park and I was SO PROUD- I got a little weepy (hormonal, I know). I was just watching from a distance, she kept trying and trying and then she got to watch another girl, and then she GOT IT. She finally got it! She made it almost to the end of the line of rings- 8 out of 9. Ok, one reason I was so super proud is that she has wanted to do this for like 2 years- you know, you have to lift them up and they can just hang from one ring? And this time I had to sit down quite a ways away to watch Ada and so she didn't know I was watching her try again and again. And third- I don't think I ever could actually swing from ring to ring when I was a kid. I was one of the WORST kids at the chin-up test and the hanging time test they made us do in PE every year. No upper body strength whatsoever. Oh well. I really could not get over how excited I was! Seriously, crying. So silly.

In my next post I hope to put in the Markaresh Stew recipe, pics of the tulip fields and last week's activities. I make these forecasts so I will make myself post again soon!

Reading, Writing and Recipes

Had to post a pic of this darling centerpiece from my shower- cute socks made into rose buds. My friend has some other pics of me at the shower, so those may come later : )
Stephen's work threw him a surprise "shower" this last week and asked me and girls to come down and be part of the surprise- that was a lot of fun. He came into "staff meeting" with a notepad and items on his agenda and instead there was food and gifts and his family! Too funny.

Odessa has taken a huge interest lately in trying to write words and books. She loves looking at a bird book we have and is very fascinated with parrots, so she has made a couple parrot books. The above is her first attempts at spelling "parrot", then each time we talked her through what letters made what sounds and she finally figured it out. The double r we just had to tell her about.

Pictures of the parrots

She really likes looking at other books and articles from the Friend Magazine and copying sentences from them.

These are the first and second pages of the book, copied

And then there are her homemade cards for us . . .
Recently she has branched out into writing words she sounds out herself. This card was made for the new baby- she saw a couple cards from my shower and wanted to make one too. See if you can figure out what she said.

Here is another card she made- this one for her Dad

And Recipes . . . I got tired of the quick tacos and spaghetti meals I was making almost weekly, so I went back to my Everyday Food and we have really enjoyed eating more healthy, creative dinners.
But I forgot or was too lazy to ever take pictures, so I just took pictures of the magazine photos! LOL

Chicken Sandwiches with White Onions and Peppers

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small white onion, cut into wedges
1/2 green pepper, cored and cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 cup mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
2 tsp fresh oregano leaves
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tsp red-wine vinegar
2 chicken cutlets
cayenne pepper
1 Tbs mayonnaise
1/2 baguette, halved lengthwise and insides scooped out, toasted
lettuce leaves

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over medium. Add onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until pepper and onion are tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in vinegar; tent with foil to keep warm.

Add 1 tsp oil to skillet. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and pinch of cayenne. Cook until golden brown on one side- about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 1-2 minutes more.

Spread mayo on inside of bread. Assemble sandwich with vegetables, chicken and lettuce. Cut in half lengthwise to serve.
Serves 2

So, I changed a few things here. Obviously, I needed it to make more than 2 servings. I bought some hoagies that were slightly crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. I doubled everything- except I left out the mushrooms. I felt the onion/pepper mix was sufficient without the distraction of the mushrooms and I think I was right- it was a really good sandwich. I happened to have cutlets because they were on sale, but if you don't have them, you can carefully slice a chicken breast lengthwise so that it's half the thickness it was before- may want to pound on it with the side of a small skillet a little too to flatten it. I used dried oregano instead of fresh and one step I WOULD NOT omit is the vinegar- it really adds to the sandwich. I did not use cayenne on the girls' chicken, but found it added a lot to Stephen and I's with the cayenne pepper and mayo combo- YUM. We all loved these although the girls mostly pulled the pieces apart and ate them separately.)


Mini Mocha Cheesecakes

2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbs + 1 and 1/2 tsp flour
1 and 1/2 tsp espresso powder
1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 chocolate wafers (such as Famous)
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line 9 standard muffin cups with cupcake liners. In a food processor, combine cottage cheese, eggs, confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, flour, espresso powder and vanilla. Process until smooth, 4 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Divide mixture among cups and place 1 cookie on top of each. Bake until fillings are set and cookies soften, 25-30 minutes. Let cool to room temp in pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate at least 1 1/2 hours (or covered, up to 3 days). To serve, invert cheesecake onto plates and peel off liners. Top with a dollop of whipped cream if desired (makes 9).

We LOVED these and they are super easy. I made them for a little dinner party with our neighbors after we had fish tacos- yum! They don't taste "light" at all. I left out the espresso powder and because espresso enhances cocoa flavor, it's important that you use high quality cocoa powder and vanilla- vanilla also enhances cocoa flavor. I used a little extra cocoa to make up for the espresso. You can also add just a dash of salt- it can also enhance cocoa flavor I think. My recipe made about 11 little cakes. They will rise just a little when baked and then sink back down when cooling, so I served 2 of these little cakes to each person. I made a cooked raspberry sauce with some of my raspberry freezer jam and served the sauce warm over the cakes with a dollop of whipped cream. Famous wafers are one of my favorite things to bake with- they make the best chocolate crumbs because they are like Oreos without the creme filling.


Parmesan Chicken with Mushrooms and Brussel Sprouts

1/3 panko or plain dried breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
coarse salt and ground pepper
3/4 pound brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
3/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, mix together panko and Parmesan. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, toss chicken with 1 tsp oil and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken in a single layer and sprinkle with panko mixture. Drizzle with 1 Tbs oil and bake on upper rack until topping is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms and brussel sprouts with 2 tsp oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast on lower rack until golden brown and tender when pierced with a knife, 20 minutes. Serve vegetables with chicken.

We really liked this too. Brussel sprouts are out of season and expensive, so I opted for a cauliflower instead since it roasts up nicely. The girls like it a lot.

This week ended up nicely- I had a girls night out with Hillary where we promptly acted like we were in high school and everything was hilarious. People out for the evening on Queen Anne probably assumed we had been visiting the bar scene there and not the self-serve frozen yogurt bar. That's why it's always fun to be with Hillary. Saturday night was games with friends Mike and Julia.
More fun to come this week with "April Babies" get-together and other outings- guess I am backing it in before the baby arrives!

Nesting

Feeling so much more ready for this baby! Had some great girls time this week and a fabulous shower thrown by my friend Amy. It was supposed to be a second hand shower so people could just pass along their hand-me-downs, but somehow I ended up with a bunch of new stuff too . . . I have dear, sweet friends and I was so looking forward to this shower! I finally realized it was because most of the last few years all the holidays (including my birthdays) have mostly revolved around the kids. This was one event that I didn't have to share.
I was also gifted some NEW cloth diapers (I had been trying to buy them second hand) and now I feel I have a complete set of cloth diapers for this kid. We went with the Mother-ease kind- they are one-size and so they grow with your child. My top motivation for trying cloth is not having to run to the store for diapers at 10pm. I hate that more than anything. Second factor is cost and third is the environment. Stephen and I are funny that way- we don't do many green things unless they have a direct benefit to us in other ways.

Speaking of nesting- the chickens just passed a milestone today. We got seven eggs- one egg for each chicken!! We actually never really thought they would all lay one every day, we figured 6 eggs a day would be our top production, but wow! It's fun to give them to some people who really like brown eggs and one friend wants to trade his fish from Alaska since he's always going up there. Whoa. Yes, please!!!! I have been incorporating more eggs into our diet- my mom told me my grandma used to occasionally make an Angel Food cake and a Chiffon cake when they had extra eggs- all the whites for the Angel Food and yolks for the Chiffon. Brilliant. Odessa is not a cereal girl and I think she enjoys coming in from feeding the chickens and collecting eggs and requesting a scrambled egg for breakfast!

Role reversal

No, this isn't about Stephen doing most of the housework around here lately. This is about Tuesday night. Stephen and I looked across the dinner table at each other and both realized: we were exhausted.
We started telling the girls that mommy and daddy were going to bed- could they put away the food and do the dishes, lock up and get themselves in bed?
Of course, they were ecstatic at the prospect, they want to be independent so badly. What ensued was I finally got up and put away the food, the girls did clear most of the dishes (you have to be willing to let a few pieces of silverware fall on the floor) and Dad went and laid on the couch and was "tucked in" with various kid's blankets numerous times by both girls. Then Odessa read a book she has memorized to him- over and over. He slept. Ada put me "to bed" in the recliner and read something to me as well . . . I faded in and out. We finally were coherent enough to give directions to get ready for bed and they really did change, clean up their room and brush teeth and potty all by themselves (some nights it's like pulling teeth, seriously).

At this point they still thought they were going to be the last ones in bed (Odessa even put Tabby (the cat) to bed in the pantry). When we had to break their bubble and wake up ourselves, they were pretty upset.

They are getting to be such good helpers- Odessa especially thrives on helping me out. She wants me to just let her try and carry that bag of groceries that's too big, she is always helping Ada find her shoes or get her jacket on and always helping me on errands. It's nice to see that a month before the baby comes how responsible they really can be when you let them.

Wed night at the dinner table, Stephen and I started spelling words for some reason, I can't even remember what started it, but I do remember the last part of the conversation. The girls were very engrossed in their fajitas and didn't seem to be paying attention at all.

Stephen: I also noticed you bought some S-O-D-A
Tara: Yes, for frappe tomorrow- it's St Patricks Day
Stephen: So you're going to put -I-C-E C-R-E-A-M in it?
Tara: Yes- to make a green drink
Stephen: What kind, mint?
Tara: No- lime . . . . S-H-E-R-B-E-R-T
Stephen: Oh, so not really -I-C-E C-R-E-A-M
Tara: I guess not- same difference (insert good-natured rolling of eyes here)
Ada: (pausing between bites) Good, because later we are going to L-E-G brush our teeth
Odessa: Don't forget G-E-B go to bed! (giggling)

Stephen and I could NOT stop laughing


Other notable events this week: egg production is ramping up! Yesterday we got 4 edible eggs- none pecked at or soft shelled, all hard and nice and whole (when they first start laying you can get some funky eggs). Take for example our double yolker there. We have gotten 2 of these and at least one egg that was supposed to be a double yolker but did not come out all together. Most of the eggs are pretty small right now, so you can imagine when we see a doubler! It's so exciting to open the coop and find eggs, seriously.

Here is the double yolker compared to the extra large egg we get from Smith Brothers

Odessa doing what she loves best

When we got a cat I said she would not sleep on my favorite chair. Ahem. Well, at least we keep a blanket on it . . . She was sleeping on the remote, so I moved it to where she's holding it. Look who runs the house?


Our glazed corned beef was oh so good- the girls were naming things a whole week before St Patty's that we could eat that would be green. If it had been up to them, we would have had salad, broccoli, cabbage (although they didn't like it) and peas. Note the lime sherbet frappe- lol.

I saw a recipe for coconut poke cake on FB this week. I had some flavoring from the Philippines for buco pandaan- which is like young coconut that was green, so I used it to flavor and color the cake "drizzle" and the custard that was supposed to go in the cake. Turned into a trifle, but it was still good.

I think I'll wait

Odessa remembered she was to be her own boss Monday morning as I was fixing breakfast;
Odessa: "Wait mom, I am my own boss and I want a sandwich for breakfast"
Me: Ok, the bread is up there, get a chair. Oops, look- we're out. You had better make some.
Odessa: Um, maybe I will have a pancake after all.
Me: Ok, do you want to fix it?
Odessa: No, you can- I don't want to miss Cat in the Hat.

Throughout the day she decided that as she got older, she'd be able to do more by herself and was quite satisfied and delighted with herself for "figuring" this out.

At bedtime as I was closing the door she called out "mom?"
Me: Yes?
Odessa: I think I can wait until I get big to be my own boss.
Me: Sounds like a good idea. Goodnight.

My own boss

I was really proud of my kids this week. They seemed to handle my work schedule really well, they woke happy and played together well. They played outside, they were super good at all our outings. But right now Odessa is throwing fits about not being able to "be her own boss" and I want to pull out my hair. I think tomorrow I will let her be her own boss- she can get her own breakfast, fold all her own clothes and in general take care of whatever she needs by herself. We'll see how that goes.

Nothing too major this week- fortunately I passed my 2 hr fasting blood sugar tests- whew. They took 3 samples of blood- I have great veins, but it doesn't matter how careful you are, I will bruise. Looks pretty nasty. Felt pretty nasty too to have gotten up before 6:30 and drink 100 grams of straight sugar on an empty stomach. I had to put my head down on a table and just snooze for a little while. They make you sign a waiver that you might pass out, so you agree not to hold them liable if you leave the premise. Awesome.

Stephen planted raspberry starts, blueberry bushes and a full size peach tree yesterday. We got 3 more eggs this week. Somehow those chickens only lay for Stephen. I checked their nesting boxes one afternoon and he came home and checked them like 2 hours later and there was an egg. He has found all of them! Seems unfair when I do my share of waddling out there in the freezing cold every morning to help Odessa feed them. Plus I food process all the scraps we save out for them into one nasty bowl of stinkin mash which they LOVE and come flying from all over the yard for. And yet no eggs for me. (yes, I now have to sort our garbage into 4 containers: scraps for the chickens, compostables we can't feed the chickens, recycling and garbage. Hilarious.)

The girls and I got to attend a children's theatre play Friday. There is a friend of ours from church that is in this theater group and we have been able to attend 3 of his plays- it's really nice of him to offer to get moms from the ward in. The girls LOVE the plays and he gave us a couple of the CDs from them for Christmas- we listen to Princess and The Pea and Snow White on a daily basis. Those songs are the first thing that pop into my head in the middle of the night when I invariably wake up. Sigh.

I almost forgot- the best part of this week was finding the strollers we wanted for the next baby on Craiglist for a fraction of what they would have cost us new. We are trying to be minimalists this go around- just a snap n go for when he's in a car seat and a Maclaren umbrella for when he's bigger. Super duper excited about the deals we snagged- THAT makes my week.