Papa and the Boys

Papa Gordie and his two youngest grand-babies.

Question of the day

Does he look more like Marlon Brando or James Dean?

Dirt Cake

I got the idea for a dirt cake while browsing Food for Thought on Like Merchant Ships. Someone put a chocolate cake in the back of a dump truck.  The perfect cake for Mo, was my thought.

Mo informed me just before his party that he didn't want a dump truck cake.  He wanted a monster truck cake.  Rather than scratch the whole idea, I decided to continue with my chocolate dirt cake idea, only make it into a mound of dirt for a monster truck to drive on.

It may not look professional, but I think it's cute, and it tasted good.  There are no secrets to making it.  I made 2 9inch round cakes.  I cut one of the rounds into a half moon, using the bottom of the pan as a template, so that it would fit up against the round.  I frosted the round fitted with the half moon.  Then I took part of what remained and stacked it on top of the round, and frosted that.  Finally I crushed chocolate sandwich cookies up, and sprinkled them on top.  To finish I took the remaining cake and crumbled it over the cake.  It was a yummy mess of chocolate!

Photos from the Weekend

The first three photos are courtesy of my dad.  More photos by Dana will be posted later.

Bryce

Brendon

And the star of our show, Mo!

It was a great party, with lots of friends and family.  It was so much fun that someone was completely pooped on Sunday during worship.

I took this photo while he slept on my lap the entire service.  It's tough being 4!

Big Boy

He is a connoisseur of monster trucks, has every Hot Wheels commercial memorized, and is the local expert on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.  He also turns 4 today!

Happy Birthday to our Big Boy, Mo!

Tonight we have pizza for dinner to celebrate (Mo's choice) and Saturday he has a birthday party complete with a dirt cake.

We Keep Her Flyin'

2 teeth, 2 days.  The tooth fairy is one busy lady!

She's Lost It!

Her tooth that is.  Kaia's first tooth fell out yesterday.  In spite of her 100+ degree temperature, she jumped up and called both sets of grandparents, and rushed out to show her daddy when he got home.

Excuse the chocolate in her teeth.  She decided she needed a bite-sized candy bar for breakfast.  This morning the tooth fairy left her $3 under the magnet on the fridge where her tooth had been in an envelope. 

Happy Half Birthday Boys!

One year and 12 days ago we received the news that we were adding babies to our family.  Today they are 6 months old.  I'm still not sure how the first 6 months went so fast.  I think maybe time goes by faster when you live in chaos.  But it's a great chaos!

Photos courtesy of Grammy and Papa.

 Taken on their 6 month birthday

The Story of the Stolen Menu and the Big Ol' Potato

I have a menu plan all written out for this week.  Excuse me, I had such a menu, but a 6 year old girl decided to teach me a lesson and stole it.  Silly me, I told her that she could not get on the internet this morning because it was time to leave the house.  So to exact her revenge, she stole the menu out of my purse while I ran back in the house to grab a coat.  That'll show me, right?!  Oh wait, did I mention I told her she would now have to eat slop because I don't know what to cook? She quickly sneered at me and said that I knew what I was cooking.  Surprisingly, I do.

Part of my menu was inspired by this:

A Big Ol' Potato.  I had no idea when I bought a 10 lb bag of potatoes a few weeks ago, that 5 of those pounds would be in 2 giant potatoes.  That sucker was hard to peel, hard to chop, but tasty to eat.

Monday:
Cream of Potato Soup and salad
Take 1 Big Ol' Potato, peel and chop.  Saute onion and celery in a big pot with oil.  Add a bit of butter or margarine for flavor.  Add flour to make a roux once celery and onion soften.  Then add 2 cups of beef broth (or chicken, or vegetable) and 2 cups of milk that you have to use right away as it is past the expiration.  Then add all your potato and some chopped ham. Add salt and pepper to taste.  A dash of hot sauce is good too. Cook on medium until potatoes are soft. 

Tuesday:
Baked Mexican Chicken (bought pre-marinated from Fiesta Foods), Pasta Salad

Wednesday:
Easy Huevos Rancheros

Thursday:
Baked Ham, Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli and Cauliflower with ranch for dipping

Friday:
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and veggies

Saturday:
Chef Salad
This may not happen as it is my nephew's birthday, and we are eating at his party at 3 p.m.

Sunday:
Free Day (or Chef Salad if we don't have it Saturday)

Some of the recipes are in an attempt to use the last of some milk.  I always get the half gallon size with WIC because it stays fresh longer.  Good thing, as the milk we are drinking has a date of April 4th.  But since Lucerne guarantees freshness for 7 days after, and due to it being in cardboard, it is still fresh.  I found boneless ham for 1.28 a pound at Fiesta.  After this week's menu I'll still have enough ham for a future dinner.  Also lettuce was 50 cents a head at Fiesta, and many veggies were on sale (cauliflower and broccoli were both 59 cents a pound).  We are still working our way through some of Fiesta's medium eggs that I split with my cousin, and some farm fresh eggs that were brought to the church for people to help themselves to.

What have you had excess of lately?  What are you cooking to avoid wasting it?

The Rest of the Story

So after my box of clothing and toiletries arrived in Fort Worth, I had a fantastic time.  I meant to update the blog while I was there, but by the time I arrived on the 13th floor, my head would start spinning from the vertigo and I couldn't do much on the computer.

Shortly after my clothing arrived, Danielle did as well!  We had so much fun together, it was like we'd been friends for years, which we have, just this was the first time chatting in person.  We had lunch together, then I went to a session, then we went out for dinner at a barbeque place.  We walked around downtown Fort Worth before the cold wind sent us back up to the hotel and to bed!

Thursday the huge Art Festival opened up.  Several people planned to go down after our sessions ended and stroll around.  I was pretty tired and my vertigo was definitely getting to me.  I worked out, and then headed out to browse the booths.  I didn't see any of the people I'd talked to, I was getting hungry and decided to find a place to eat.  Most places were busy, or super expensive, so I ended up going into a place called Taverna.  They advertised Risotto and Pizza, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I ended up eating the best meal!  It was the Special Risotto.  Asparagus and mushroom risotto with lamb.  I had to take a photo it was so yummy.

Friday was the last full day.  I still had not gone to the Stockyards.  So after a workout in the fitness center, I met a colleague from San Diego and we headed out.  We had dinner at a steakhouse, and then went to Billy Bob's.  We watched bull-riding, country dancing, and just hung out. 

Saturday was my day to head home.  I talked one of the vendors out of a duffle bag.  I promised to buy some incentives from him, and crammed everything into the little bag.  It was an uneventful trip home, and for that I'm thankful!  I enjoyed my time away, and learned a lot, but it is so nice to be home.  Even if the boys are screaming and Mo is being ornery, and Kaia is sick.

Scattered was an understatment

Jen was so kind to say that I'm not an idiot, but "scattered."  After today, I think brain dead may be a better explanation.  I got up, got ready, and was out the door by 3:55 AM.  After an hour and a half drive, I got to the airport and went to grab my suitcase, but it wasn't in the car.  I carried it out to the car before coming in to give hugs and kisses goodbye.  All I did was carry it into the garage, and never put it in the car. 

Here I sit in Salt Lake City, with my purse and my briefcase.  They will be all I have until tomorrow some time after Dana spends a fortune overnighting my toiletiries and a few dresses.  I almost cried, I really wanted to when I realized my mistake.  But now, I just find it funny.  Even if most (if not all) of my spending money will be spent shipping my essentials.  Danielle is also kind enough to do a bit of shopping for me, as Dana couldn't ship everything. 

I'm currently looking for a good babysitter.  Must be able to make reservations, put luggage in the car, and generally ensure that this 32 year old doesn't wander off unattended.

Hello, I am an idiot!

You didn't know that?  Really?  Because today Danielle pointed out to me that I'm flying in to Texas on Tuesday.  What?!  No wait, I was supposed to fly in on Wednesday.  At least I swear I booked a flight for Wednesday.

Somehow in my shopping around for the best price, I ended up flying in a day earlier.  Nice... So now I have to cancel or reschedule my massage, talk to everyone helping me care for the kids, make shuttle reservations, and spend the weekend packing because I have to leave at 4 a.m. on Tuesday not Wednesday.

Crap!