Guess Who?

Guess who hasn't been getting enough sleep lately?

Guess who had pancakes for dinner?  And is still searching for a great pancake recipe.

Guess who waited way too long to do laundry and so had to spend all evening folding all of this.  It was way more than the picture shows...

Guess who got new glasses?  These are my old ones.

And my new pair.

And my second pair.  I tried to get something really different for a change.

Guess who is a sweet little smiler?

Guess who has grown so much so fast?  Seriously, the boy is getting way too big for me.

Guess who didn't want her stuffed animals to miss out on watching Sesame Street this morning?

And I'm sure Mike's been doing stuff too.  We just don't see him as much!  :)

Top O The Mornin' to You

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We decided to make it a 2 day party since St. Pat's was on a Sunday this year.  Yesterday we listened to the Irish Descendants while cleaning the house, had a mini dance party (with a few solo numbers by Andrew that are pretty amusing), and Mike and I watched part of a documentary about Irish pubs while we folded laundry.  I know.  We're party animals.  Click on this link to see Mike and the 2 oldest kids dancing.  Pretty darn cute and funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y_EQdmjWW0&feature=youtu.be

And today we had green eggs, Irish porridge, green apples, and toast for breakfast.

FYI, that's cheese on the eggs.  (Orange and green - English and Irish.  Ha, I love me.) 

 

We had a fun surprise this morning when we realized we were out of propane.  Fun stuff, maynard.  I was pretty bummed and wondered how we were going to cook today without a stove and oven.  We do use the microwave sometimes, but you know.  My smarty little husband remembered that we had a propane stove set aside for emergency preparedness.  It worked just fine to cook breakfast as well as dinner.  I'm grateful we were prepared!  That's what it's all about, right?  I'm glad when the prophet said to store food and prepare for disasters, etc that we listened.  It's a little thing, but it's a good thing.

Irish porridge is basically steel oats.  Tastes just like regular oatmeal, only chewier.  And somehow, Irishy-er.  (Not a real word.)

I picked up this little guy a couple years ago at a yard sale for a couple bucks.  I thought he was so cute!  Emily apparently agreed.  "Woah!  Das coooool!"

Here's our nod to a little rainbow.  Turns out, my kids love decorations, and I really don't have any St. Pat's decorations.  So we got inventive.

Emmie's hair for church today.  Stinking adorable, I gotta say.

Mike and Emily won the "Most Festive Award" here around the house for wearing tons of green.  Andrew did his part with his coat.  It was good I could find green clothes for the kids.  Like I've said before, it'd be a real shame to have to pinch your own kids.  :)  (I'm kidding.  Please don't call the cops on me.) 

And our dinner!  Corned beef and cabbage.  Turns out, it is REALLY hard to get a decent picture of corned beef and cabbage.  I failed.  But it tasted really good!

And lime popsicles for dessert.  Andrew called them icicles, which I thought was mighty cute.  Charlie is looking cute and tiny here, too.

 

The menu for the day.  I was impressed that we made all of this (minus the soda bread) without the use of our stove and oven.  Well, Go Braugh or Go Home.

How did you spend your day?

 

Amish Baked Oatmeal

I made Amish Baked Oatmeal the other day and it was AMAZING.  I like oatmeal, but definitely don't have a Bert-like devotion to the stuff.  It seems like a very simple recipe (and it is) but it is....incredible!  Try it!  Now!

(This isn't the recipe I used, but I didn't take any photos, and this is basically what mine looked like)

Amish Baked Oatmeal
1/3 c butter
2 large eggs
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg or cinnamon (I used cinnamon)
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 tbsp. milk
3 c. oatmeal

Melt butter.  Grease 1 1/2 quart baking dish and drop in eggs.  Beat well.  Add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.  Mix well with no lumps.  (I just used a fork.)  Whisk in butter and both measures of milk, then add oats.  Stir well and refrigerate overnight.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until set in the middle.  Serve hot with warm milk poured over. (We just used cold milk, and it was good.) 

It's also good eaten cold.  It's good no matter how you eat it.  Just be sure you eat it, cause it is really really good.  It might just make me understand my old pal Bert just a little more.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

I guess I should say "what I'm making for dinner."  Things are pretty crazy around here, but I've been able to make some pretty yummy, yet easy meals around here.  One of the things I made was rolls.  For the first time, ever!  And they were really good!  It was a really easy recipe and the whole thing only took a little over an hour.  It would have been even simpler if I had a stand mixer (I had to do them by hand, but it worked out pretty well.)  Here's the link to the site I got the recipe from.  http://jamiecooksitup.net/2010/10/fluffy-dinner-rolls/

 

Notice how I'm showing the food but conveniently not showing any part of the house?  That's because when I do one thing, everything else goes to pot.    I'm also not posting any pictures of the kids covered in flour.  Nor will I post any of Emily eating said flour.  (Cause I don't have any, otherwise I so would.)  I've been trying so hard to keep the house clean, organized, and sane like I was able to do before little Charlie came along. I know it's not as important as taking care of the actual family, but it would be nice to live in order again. Mike does a great job helping, but he can't do it all either.  Making a delicious dinner makes me feel normal, so I love it.  :)  Anyway, enough whining.

Also pictured here is the broccoli cheese soup I made.  It was a Cooking Light recipe and it is so so good.  And easy.

 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

 

Cooking Spray

1 c. Chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 c chicken broth

1 (16 oz) package broccoli florets

2 1/2 c milk

1/3 c flour

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz Velveeta

 

1.  Heat large saucepan over medium high heat; coat with cooking spray.  Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender.  Add broth and broccoli.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.

2.  Combine milk and flour, stirring with whisk until well blended.  Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture.  Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.  Stir in pepper.  Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

3.  Place 1/3 of soup in blender or food processor.  Process until smooth.  (Or use an immersion blender like I did)  Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

As you can see from the tiny Emily-sized fingers coming in to steal my roll, this whole meal was a success.  I love cooking for my family.

And then another night I made Simple Creamy Carrot Soup.  This is super healthy, super easy, and really hard to photograph and make it look appetizing.  Soup is hard like that.  Here's the link to that recipe.  http://picky-palate.com/2012/02/27/simple-creamy-carrot-soup/  Her picture looks way more edible than mine.  Sorry.  One suggestion I do have on this soup is to let the carrots caramelize rather than just cook through.  I've made it both ways and my way is better.  :)  I let the carrots cook on low with a bit of salt for 2- 2 1/2 hours even.  And alone they are to die for.  Yum. 

 

Again I say, yum. 

One Month

  It seems like just yesterday that we met our little Charlie, but it has already been a month!  He is such a sweet little guy, and we have really enjoyed watching him turn from a brand newborn to a slightly more mature newborn.  :) 
  He definitely knows what he likes and he definitely (!) knows what he doesn't. 
        Likes:  Eating, snuggling, being sung to, watching lights and the fan, watching his Mommy and Daddy.  (He is a bit wary of big bro and sis....understandably.)
        Dislikes:  Being put down, having a wet or dirty diaper (instantly starts freaking out.  He really really hates it), getting into his carseat, and not being snuggled. 

I know this is blurry.  My camera was almost out of batteries.  This is our little guy on Sunday for his first day at church.  He was a big hit in his little hat, shoes, and sweater.

  What can I say?  He's a sweet little snuggle-pumpkin.

Sleepy Babies

I LOVE my babies.

 

Three Weeks

Our little Charlie boy is 3 weeks old now!  (Plus 2 days - this having 3 kids stuff is busy stuff.)  I can't believe how fast he's growing up.  We're doing well, although we are sleep deprived and super busy. For instance, this post is taking forever.  There were interruptions such as feeding the baby, wiping the 3 year old, and fishing half a roll of toilet paper out of the john.  To name a couple...   Here are a few pictures. 

 

Not quite sure what face this is, but it cracked me up.

After Stake Conference on Sunday.  And yes, I am as tired as I look.