tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56356611424011726812024-02-07T20:42:41.622-06:00Wonderful Joy AheadNicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-14462722788850417292013-05-26T19:52:00.000-05:002013-05-26T19:52:46.623-05:00Spring has sprungWell, kind of. It's still chilly most days, but for a week or so we got those nice warm days and cool evenings that make eating dinner al fresco appealing. Some of my fondest memories of last summer are eating breakfast and dinner on our porch with LE.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instagram photo June 2012</td></tr>
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We had a couple of sunny days this week when we spent time on our front porch and driveway eating dinners, playing with chalk, and greeting our neighbors as they passed by. </div>
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The biggest challenge is keeping curious baby hands out of mischief. We (John) just redid the mulch, and H sprint-crawls to the mulch to try to get as many handfuls in her mouth before getting caught. The other day, we got home from a long stroller walk to find that she had squirreled away a fairly large piece of dyed mulch in her mouth for the entire walk.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">(P.S. I'm not sure if I'm going to be blogging again, but I did want to share these photos with those who aren't on FB.)</span>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-25950053001520102172013-01-28T08:54:00.000-06:002013-01-28T08:54:45.539-06:00Hannah at 4 to 5 Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hannah is 5 months old today.</div>
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I still don't see how it is possible for 5 months to have gone by already. Jeez.</div>
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I think the natural thing to do as parents is to compare your children's characteristics, especially when they are babies since the differences are all innate. It's not a matter of saying one is better than the other. They're just different.</div>
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Comparisons happen even before the baby is born. People ask how the pregnancy is compared to the last. For us, the real difference happened at birth. When the doctor placed Hannah on my chest right after she breathed her first breath, John and I looked down at her lovingly and said to ourselves, "Who are you?!"</div>
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She looked so different than LE. She still does. It's amazing how much we think LE's perfect and so, so beautiful. But yet, we think Hannah's perfect and impossibly cute.</div>
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Look at our little baby. Those cheeks and neck that make her give the widest smile when squished. Those lashes... the one thing she shares in common with her sister.</div>
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Hannah is loud and loves things that are loud. She wakes up happy but loud... yelling or screeching with excitement while slobbering on her hands or grasping for her toes. The sound of the vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, coffee grinder, or a running bathtub makes her flap her arms and legs with excitement. LE, on the other hand, is just getting over her fear of those noises and still clasps her ears in expectation of noises that aren't even that loud (<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmOPBHtx2paVjZpYakzmx6oqzJzvase7tZ1ZfqRxzo7Iz99M7PgA_7F-HfMcobmfBMqkO9PB0ZneQgwrPfIJYiyDlQk0UuBxBsTRumB8tUUHUUdVWJoar8GbmZ6kRu7wois1qTc3Pm6I/s1600/LE-helping-blog.jpg" target="_blank">like the Kitchenaid mixer on medium</a>).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWc5ws4L_539avmRyYoj9JFIWkS-iHuH7eWiEhUIg4HzMtoiU3iusE-UdT2O76DctFAyEwXENKxxZ3N623nGT8F96qTyyjuNoiyqCnxnhwMASohnJAOl0WbjaeEdQNhb0bv9ZIZsGlWs/s1600/IMG_4218beloved+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWc5ws4L_539avmRyYoj9JFIWkS-iHuH7eWiEhUIg4HzMtoiU3iusE-UdT2O76DctFAyEwXENKxxZ3N623nGT8F96qTyyjuNoiyqCnxnhwMASohnJAOl0WbjaeEdQNhb0bv9ZIZsGlWs/s1600/IMG_4218beloved+blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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Hannah concentrates very intently on bringing things in with her hands. She played contently in the jumperoo for 45 minutes the other day. Another day, she played on her play mat for the 40 minutes that LE and I worked on a craft for her daddy. </div>
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She's a happy baby who doesn't have to be held nonstop. My back thanks her. On the other hand, John and I are a little sad that she doesn't like to melt her whole body into us and snuggle a while. Sometimes I just squeeze her anyway even though she tries with her whole body to push up off of my chest in an effort to get out of the snuggle hold. I'm thankful that she doesn't need me to hold her constantly, though, and that when it's nap time, I'm able to put her down to do other things. </div>
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Despite not wanting to cuddle, she won't take a bottle (or pacifier, but I don't care about that). Sigh. I'm not giving up hope! Two weeks ago, we had Hannah's 4 month check-up and got the go-ahead with rice cereal. We're hoping that the cereal will be the gateway to the bottle. </div>
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Here she is right before her first bite (out of focus):</div>
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Success! She didn't hate it. She actually does quite well with it now, opening her mouth for bites.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGUS9heP9fvw4wC9CBHpULZthSDoXTbkXvCiGPv9JOf4BsYVVG6Kb5WLWnlE08fMmFT4o5eKMoFo2PhBagB7-1bk6BUBLegl6fuMG34JE-Vg6x7E3RE3mwP6_SyGSLksSy7WproRWCDc/s1600/IMG_4236blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGUS9heP9fvw4wC9CBHpULZthSDoXTbkXvCiGPv9JOf4BsYVVG6Kb5WLWnlE08fMmFT4o5eKMoFo2PhBagB7-1bk6BUBLegl6fuMG34JE-Vg6x7E3RE3mwP6_SyGSLksSy7WproRWCDc/s1600/IMG_4236blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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Sweet baby, Hannah. I can't smell her or squish her enough. Her coos are endearing, her arm flapping funny, and her giggles contagious. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws.com/8002202a548211e29ade22000a1f9bd0_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="550" src="http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws.com/8002202a548211e29ade22000a1f9bd0_7.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Instagram photo</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>(On a side note, Hannah is long and lean for her age. She's at around the 90th percentile for height (half inch taller than LE at this age), 50th for weight for age (LE was 40th), and 15th percentile for height to weight (LE was 11th). She's supposedly extra strong for her age and healthy all around.)</i></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-72457261081878332912013-01-25T07:00:00.000-06:002013-01-25T14:13:36.394-06:00Bits of Cheer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeotstnrlsCc2GYa8WI7adEaXGQ_OinDPHQPrUM2fLt680N0AeSX5PgmQTYPMWPP6brSCXkwAF9PwI1JioPQAF1LBRds-nY40G3F80V5JTt7m_1T70gqT7EpnLpgB2gz8lYykeldY5nc/s1600/IMG_4158blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeotstnrlsCc2GYa8WI7adEaXGQ_OinDPHQPrUM2fLt680N0AeSX5PgmQTYPMWPP6brSCXkwAF9PwI1JioPQAF1LBRds-nY40G3F80V5JTt7m_1T70gqT7EpnLpgB2gz8lYykeldY5nc/s1600/IMG_4158blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QiLGOCx2rgqLg37491ATWP-X41OEvIWPptJ1qUTFEReTx_laTPejOnzY0g9AnSSKJ9KZTT30DGr63Hb9o7Iq7tZhu1VzAIaYSvMymxmWie_Crj8CMqxFjAh1dABUUUIV7OkLpvD0hls/s1600/cheeryblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QiLGOCx2rgqLg37491ATWP-X41OEvIWPptJ1qUTFEReTx_laTPejOnzY0g9AnSSKJ9KZTT30DGr63Hb9o7Iq7tZhu1VzAIaYSvMymxmWie_Crj8CMqxFjAh1dABUUUIV7OkLpvD0hls/s1600/cheeryblog.jpg" /></a></div>
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I don't know why, but I find this moment quite sweet. </div>
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My little LE just after her long midday nap, curled up on the chair, sitting quietly eating a snack and looking out the window into the snow covered backyard. I love how the glass door lets in so much sunlight, especially when it reflects off of the white snow. On particularly cold days, little bits of cheer-- like the clementines in the teal bowl and the potted bright green parsley in the sunlight-- offer a quick boost of spirit that makes me smile to myself every time I stop to notice.</div>
<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-20467135272699841382013-01-24T07:00:00.000-06:002013-02-03T12:07:00.627-06:00Christmas recap, continued (baking edition part 3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure why, but I didn't do a good job documenting these cookies while I was making them. Maybe it's because I was trying to package these cookies up to give to neighbors. Maybe it's because I knew that I'd be revisiting them soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Y2C0WVvCMtJ097ozBrh8dEhyphenhyphen08ZsNio6esM91T5TfVvsP_jJVtzYbysaIuhzID9MlHkvY21cqaDaDOP5rhXh6rCRtp66CLn9nyPwBRY6dZ81v2CQ7k_x6qbUhcPejRm2PtsaE8dzz6o/s1600/IMG_3956blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Y2C0WVvCMtJ097ozBrh8dEhyphenhyphen08ZsNio6esM91T5TfVvsP_jJVtzYbysaIuhzID9MlHkvY21cqaDaDOP5rhXh6rCRtp66CLn9nyPwBRY6dZ81v2CQ7k_x6qbUhcPejRm2PtsaE8dzz6o/s1600/IMG_3956blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
Let me back up.<br />
<br />
I got it in my mind that I wanted to make lace cookies. I tend to trust Cook's Illustrated as the baking authority, thinking they've done way more testing than most others-- way more than I have! As far as baking goes, they have not steered me wrong yet.<br />
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On the other hand, I knew that we had John's late grandmother's recipe for lace cookies that I had never tried out. So, I did what every normal person would do-- I had a bake off and blind taste test.<br />
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LE and I started with Bebe's recipe, following it almost exactly. Even before they went in the oven, I declared them the winner for simplicity. Cook's Illustrated tends to overcomplicate most things, so I couldn't imagine their recipe being easier than this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmOPBHtx2paVjZpYakzmx6oqzJzvase7tZ1ZfqRxzo7Iz99M7PgA_7F-HfMcobmfBMqkO9PB0ZneQgwrPfIJYiyDlQk0UuBxBsTRumB8tUUHUUdVWJoar8GbmZ6kRu7wois1qTc3Pm6I/s1600/LE-helping-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmOPBHtx2paVjZpYakzmx6oqzJzvase7tZ1ZfqRxzo7Iz99M7PgA_7F-HfMcobmfBMqkO9PB0ZneQgwrPfIJYiyDlQk0UuBxBsTRumB8tUUHUUdVWJoar8GbmZ6kRu7wois1qTc3Pm6I/s1600/LE-helping-blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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The one fatal flaw in Bebe's recipe is that it says to bake them on foil, which creates a stuck-on mess after baking. Stick with parchment or a Silpat, and they'll turn out great. Secondly, I fiddled with the recipe's per-cookie dough size to yield a cookie closer in size to what John remembers.<br />
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The cookies have a traditional dough (it's the one pictured above that LE's scooping with the too big cookie portion scoop) and bake into a flat, delicate cookie that is easily crumbled. The middle is slightly chewy due to the oats, and the flavor is buttery and sweet (no surprise there, given the ingredients!). Their chip-like, airy texture makes them really hard to stop eating. We even got feedback from a neighbor that he's not a cookie person, but he likes these cookies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFy36qWitUt61CA3FEP2x4k-hQxKzE7gzhQaF3Yvj8F8km6Yom_pWkZ_dvExHlrfQBHkr7hAbTew0TpFCtnPDhRqw4mIbf3WYX5AsmCsG7sC46oEIfDt94jnQi2E8EKtOgCtx19rwmgY/s1600/IMG_3961blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFy36qWitUt61CA3FEP2x4k-hQxKzE7gzhQaF3Yvj8F8km6Yom_pWkZ_dvExHlrfQBHkr7hAbTew0TpFCtnPDhRqw4mIbf3WYX5AsmCsG7sC46oEIfDt94jnQi2E8EKtOgCtx19rwmgY/s1600/IMG_3961blog.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">B<span style="font-size: x-small;">ebe's cookie is the smaller cookie on the bottom left and the </span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cook's Illustrated</span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> lace cookie is the larger one with chocolate.</span></span></td></tr>
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By the time I started the CI recipe, I was a bit tired, which is probably why I didn't take any photos of the process. I plan to revisit this recipe soon, though, and I'll take plenty of photos along the way.<br />
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This recipe was noticeably different from the start; you don't use a mixer and heat it on the stove. The dough is syrupy instead of fluffy. Once again, I followed the recipe as written, and it was arguably just as simple as Bebe's. The cookie resulted in something like a very thin toffee, much like a Trader Joe's lace cookie. It's relatively sturdy and breaks into shards as opposed to crumbs.<br />
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Strangely, after eating countless Bebe lace cookies, I was not a fan of these CI cookies when they came out of the oven. I could taste the brown sugar more than I liked. John and I both declared Bebe's recipe the clear winner.<br />
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Interestingly, though, after I gave my tastebuds a sugar rest, I tasted the CI cookie again and loved them. Sandwiching a bit of ganache between two cookies led to a cookie that I ended up finding irresistible. I also like that you can get creative with the CI cookie; you can shape it into a tube and fill it with whipped cream, make it into a shell shape, or sandwich two together with chocolate, like I did. I'll definitely be revisiting these soon.<br />
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So, in the bake-off... it's a tie. To me, both cookies are good but too different to be compared. Maybe this verdict shouldn't be allowed, but both cookies are really tasty for different reasons.<br />
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If you're looking for a sweet, delicate cookie that doesn't need to be packaged up-- try out Bebe's recipe. If you're looking for a lace cookie that's a bit sturdier and similar to toffee-- go with the CI. Either way, you can't go wrong!<br />
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<div class="p1">
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>Bebe's<span class="s1"> </span>Lace<span class="s1"> </span>Cookies</b></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<i>Shared with permission.</i></div>
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<div class="p3">
1<span class="s2"> </span>stick<span class="s2"> </span>butter,<span class="s2"> </span>softened</div>
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¾<span class="s2"> </span>c<span class="s2"> </span>sugar</div>
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1 tbs<span class="s2"> </span>Flour</div>
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1<span class="s2"> </span>tsp<span class="s2"> </span>baking<span class="s2"> </span>powder</div>
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1<span class="s2"> </span>tsp<span class="s2"> </span>vanilla extract</div>
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1<span class="s2"> large </span>egg</div>
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1<span class="s2"> </span>c<span class="s2"> old fashioned oats (original recipe calls for quick oats)</span></div>
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Preheat<span class="s2"> </span>oven<span class="s2"> </span>to<span class="s2"> </span>350.</div>
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<div class="p3">
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat well. Drop<span class="s2"> </span>in 1/2-3/4<span class="s2"> </span>teaspoonfuls<span class="s2"> </span>onto<span class="s2"> </span>a parchment paper or Silpat lined<span class="s2"> </span>cookie<span class="s2"> </span>sheet,<span class="s2"> at least </span>2”<span class="s2"> </span>apart.</div>
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Bake<span class="s2"> </span>7<span class="s2"> </span>minutes on the center rack.<span class="s2"> Let cool for about 5 minutes and then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You'll be able to fit 8 cookies on a regular half-sheet baking sheet.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>Cook's Illustrated Lace Cookies</b></span><br />
<i>Make on a dry day to prevent chewy cookies; oats are traditional but this recipe calls for pecans. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>8 tbs unsalted butter<br />
1/2 c light corn syrup<br />
3/4 c dark brown sugar<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
6 tbs all purpose flour, sifted<br />
1 c pecans, chopped fine<br />
1 tbs heavy cream<br />
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Preheat oven to 350.<br />
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Bring butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup to a boil in a medium pot over medium heat (approx 6 min), stirring frequently. Take off heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Stir until smooth (or as smooth as you can with pecans in there!).<br />
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Drop syrupy batter onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet in teaspoonfuls, 3" apart. For a regular half-sheet baking sheet, you'll be able to fit 6 cookies. Bake on the center rack for approximately 7 minutes, looking for the cookies to spread thin, start to darken, and come close to stop bubbling.<br />
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Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before carefully transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. If you're going to shape into a tube, shell, or cone, let the cookies sit for a shorter period when taking them out of the oven. Then, carefully shape and let cool. If making ganache filled sandwiches, dollop about 3/4 tsp ganache in the center of a cooled cookie and gently press another cookie on top. Allow to harden completely before serving (you can refrigerate them to speed up that process).<br />
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Store plain cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to one month, though you have to really have a lot of will power to allow them to be in your home for that long. Decorate or fill with ganache up to a week in advance.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-68910109939960686072013-01-23T07:00:00.000-06:002013-01-23T07:00:12.355-06:00Christmas recap, continued (baking edition, part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6yHn8jHxh4PxXodezSD5pkEadJgGb4uroxv4gLP4hnQResr9YYJJ8F7NtQDk-GsJRHGSQifLS6U_uBZxFfClKX5jfG-hmn4yuQ5MT_GwH6u4vV68v5h62vuSkdcK37ffFwPcIJIMdT4/s1600/gingerbread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6yHn8jHxh4PxXodezSD5pkEadJgGb4uroxv4gLP4hnQResr9YYJJ8F7NtQDk-GsJRHGSQifLS6U_uBZxFfClKX5jfG-hmn4yuQ5MT_GwH6u4vV68v5h62vuSkdcK37ffFwPcIJIMdT4/s1600/gingerbread.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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After winning Bridget's book (from <a href="http://www.bakeat350.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bake at 350</a>) this December, I got a little excited to decorate cookies. Plus, I knew it would be a fun activity for LE and me to do. Once I started, I didn't want to stop. It was a lot of fun for me even though it kind of makes a bit of a mess during the prep.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp7dYBcXEi-rifJjYdE4ngOfLQNVJ2Zd30n7hdBEeGmBRNGfbnPCSRnW5thcO9Kni_E4TNXRL65g-6XgcxXbE4EX837fm1DtM3-n_FLsIxe8aGSHxA2CUgMkPdHvYRZ55qS3xzt2qzbU/s240/Decorating+Cookies+cover+500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp7dYBcXEi-rifJjYdE4ngOfLQNVJ2Zd30n7hdBEeGmBRNGfbnPCSRnW5thcO9Kni_E4TNXRL65g-6XgcxXbE4EX837fm1DtM3-n_FLsIxe8aGSHxA2CUgMkPdHvYRZ55qS3xzt2qzbU/s400/Decorating+Cookies+cover+500.jpg" width="340" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I didn't actually receive the book until January, but I was familiar with Bridget's recipes and website already. I coupled the recipe with some helpful tips that I have mentally filed away over time from a few different cookie blogs:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Use two clean yard sticks or wooden dowels on the counter to roll on so that your cookies come out perfectly uniform in thickness. You have to roll less dough at once, but it's foolproof.</li>
<li>Roll out your dough on top of wax paper/parchment/Silpat as well as with a piece of wax/parchment paper between the roller and dough in order to eliminate the need for flouring your surface.</li>
<li>Bake your cookies on day the day before you prep your icing and decorate to prevent energy burn out. Decorated roll out cookies create a lot of dishes and mess (especially if doing alongside a child). </li>
<li>Start with the right supplies to make it easy. For beginners, everything aside from the mixer can be purchased at a craft store, like Michaels, with coupons to make it inexpensive. Grab at least two squeeze bottles, disposable piping bags, some couplers, and piping tips (I used a size 1, 2, and 3). According to the cookie experts (not me), the AmeriColor gel food colorings and Ateco meringue powders are best in quality/taste, though you could definitely make do with the Wilton brand ones that you'll find at Michaels. </li>
<li>Use tall glasses with damp paper towels at the bottom to hold your piping bags when they're not in use.</li>
<li>Try to come up with designs that only use 2-3 colors to simplify how many bags/bottles/mess you'll create.</li>
<li>Freeze your cut out dough on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before it goes in the oven. This helps the cookie keep its shape while baking.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZwZ2FnUo8m8y6n1zaFY1oIFEeg-bar1twZnFaqKZ-LVXzR2WRszbLlI-kAmA3Fw2IzQsWBjq-8UFeNNPfG_9ugN54AvJhVSzy115SItZcVrLoTzFsaRXbPKUo4-cuB4cXZQgHom-SNk/s1600/IMG_4106blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZwZ2FnUo8m8y6n1zaFY1oIFEeg-bar1twZnFaqKZ-LVXzR2WRszbLlI-kAmA3Fw2IzQsWBjq-8UFeNNPfG_9ugN54AvJhVSzy115SItZcVrLoTzFsaRXbPKUo4-cuB4cXZQgHom-SNk/s1600/IMG_4106blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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These cookies were made with Bridget's<a href="http://www.bakeat350.blogspot.com/2012/12/simple-decorated-gingerbread-cookies.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> gingerbread recipe</a> and <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2010/01/royal-icing-102-or-201-or-whatever.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">royal icing recipe</a> (also found in her book), which is firm enough to package up and stack without crumbling yet still chewy and soft. I'm not a gingerbread cookie person (or so I thought), but I found myself enjoying these. </div>
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<a href="http://www.simplebites.net/gingerbread-101-giveaway-decorating-cookies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Simple Bite's </a>Aimee also reviewed the recipe on her blog, which is where I won the cookbook and got the idea to use this gingerbread recipe to begin with.</div>
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Also, LE decorated her own cookies next to me. She helped me roll out the dough and press down the cookie cutters. Then, she had her own baking sheet with a bowl of pink icing (surprise, surprise!), some sprinkles, and a spoon to pour the icing onto her cookies. This let our 2 1/2 year old do hers without needing help while I decorated mine.</div>
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<i>(Christmas recap, baking edition part 3 is coming tomorrow!)</i></div>
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-7275109226618579752013-01-22T10:48:00.001-06:002013-01-22T10:48:57.696-06:00Christmas recap, continued (Baking edition, part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjy4xG9AyEBuK9lfzWoUg2v-TGvzZsq9sq7C3WTrlNHp9dBlTeuHUHkbCfg2_WmuDm03X2JiYiIVbIOydAi19EajLj4CQQVPK6I8YIAxWWAQF2wxoIsxEpQ0vl_0fZ8dYR5xg8c1k4Tg/s1600/header2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">BAKING EDITION! (part 1)</span></div>
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We had a lot of fun baking in December, and I've been trying to make up excuses to do it all over again. Let's see... we have lots of birthdays, Valentine's Day, a couple of happy hours...</div>
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I <a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2012/12/chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-balls.html" target="_blank">already shared</a> with you these little balls:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4AAItV3OV9G33dR214LmL5ywqPk6jRpysTwpRgP9JK3myITlVbKOHbooYFoViRqBf8y-aCmhxGFBpuKEkB1GlaN3s3RerF2-kktxfGPZkFoS9xNA2on7ez-SwlBYvZ76cANaS3cgPBI/s1600/IMG_3891blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4AAItV3OV9G33dR214LmL5ywqPk6jRpysTwpRgP9JK3myITlVbKOHbooYFoViRqBf8y-aCmhxGFBpuKEkB1GlaN3s3RerF2-kktxfGPZkFoS9xNA2on7ez-SwlBYvZ76cANaS3cgPBI/s1600/IMG_3891blog.jpg" /></a></div>
A month later, and I still can't think of anything I'd do differently when making them. They're definite winners.<br />
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If you follow me on Instagram, you saw some of the chocolate mint ganache roll out cookies that I did for a cookie exchange that got cancelled.<br />
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John declared a few years back that he does not care for sugar cookies with royal icing. I was a little bummed to not get to play around with royal icing and cookie cutters, but I prefer other sweets anyway. I continued to follow two cookie decorating blogs-- <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sweet SugarBelle</a> and <a href="http://www.bakeat350.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bake at 350</a>-- filing away tips and advice with the hopes that one of us would magically change our minds.<br />
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Fast forward to this year when we were creating Christmas traditions. A good rollout cookie is imperative for memory making fun! The <i>Smitten Kitchen</i> cookbook arrived just in time for the holidays, providing a recipe for brownie roll out cookies. Awesome! At first bite, this cookie was declared our Christmas tradition cookie for our family. I'd share the recipe with you if the cookbook weren't so new or if I made some changes to it. I didn't. Sorry! On Pinterest, you can find plenty of chocolate rollout cookies with recipes quite different but from reputable bloggers out there. Actually, <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/08/a-quest-chocolate-roll-out-cookies-part-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sweet SugarBelle</a> did a trial batch of a few different recipes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7gRvGi-uEVgAHMWuJcD69MYBCMR4DTfye2GqRlxAAAUsK7rlOyKE0mGKRWBAOdJunUKbsiy-X6ails2GVn0BrBw7PjSHo0zg-oITnRsAH6CcXneQ9aQY706oXUT2COlMW_L9Z8PQRjc/s1600/star-cookies-bw-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7gRvGi-uEVgAHMWuJcD69MYBCMR4DTfye2GqRlxAAAUsK7rlOyKE0mGKRWBAOdJunUKbsiy-X6ails2GVn0BrBw7PjSHo0zg-oITnRsAH6CcXneQ9aQY706oXUT2COlMW_L9Z8PQRjc/s1600/star-cookies-bw-blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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The hardest part was figuring out when the dark cookies are ready to come out, and I found that I preferred to err on the side of taking them out too early. I made a quick mint ganache from a bag of Andes mint chips (found in the baking aisle), half a bag of 60% chips, and about 1/2 cup heavy cream. After some trial and error, I found it was easiest to pour the warm ganache into a squeeze bottle, outline the cookies, and then fill it in. The ganache was thick enough to not drip over the edges of the cookie, and the heat from your hand keeps you from having to reheat the ganache. </div>
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To add a crunch to the otherwise soft cookie, I went back and sprinkled a liberal amount of sugar sprinkles (or whatever they're officially called) over each, working in batches of about 5 cookies at a time. Doing this over a cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet made it super easy to clean up.</div>
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Since the exchange was cancelled, and I made so many, these managed to stay around the house for about a week before I packaged them up with the whole assortment of cookies for neighbors. I could taste a slight difference at that time, but not too much. These would be easy to make a few days in advance for a party. Oh, and I must add that the leftover ganache keeps for a long time as well (we finished it at about 2 weeks and there was absolutely no change in flavor or texture at that point); it makes a great, easy treat when spread over graham crackers. Don't ask me how I know that. ;)<br />
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As a little something to share during the cookie exchange, I quickly made these boozy little bourbon balls from the food blog, <i>A Year In Food</i> (<a href="http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/bourbon-balls/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">recipe was posted to etsy</a>). They were super strong the first day, but the Jack Daniels mellowed out after sitting plastic wrapped in the fridge for a day.<br />
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To make them without gunking up your hands, use a small portion scoop to dump a ball into a small piece of saran wrap. Then, wrap the saran wrap around the dough and roll in your hands like you would sans wrap. It took me way longer to type that than it did to make them-- it's really easy. And you stay clean.<br />
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Ok, that's all I have the energy for tonight. I'll continue with more cookies tomorrow!<br />
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-61178701510734665472013-01-20T15:44:00.001-06:002013-01-20T15:47:24.548-06:00Christmas recap continued again (family edition)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ok, I'm finally back to the recap! I'll start with family Christmas stuff and the next post will be about the baking that we did in December. :) </div>
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{Christmas photos were taken mostly with my phone or in very low light since it gets dark so early here and <i>someone</i> I know is wide awake before the sun rises in the morning.}</div>
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Butterfly wings and the red skirt are frequent accessories these days. </div>
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LE loved looking at the presents under the tree, excited to wait until Christmas. She actually burst into tears when I opened one early. (Admittedly, I'm not very good about waiting to open presents, but that one had an instruction to open in advance.)</div>
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As I mentioned before, we saw lots of family around Christmas. We opened presents with John's parents the Saturday afternoon before Christmas. <br />
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Almost all of the photos of LE around Christmas are of her looking down at a toy or present:</div>
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We opened many presents with just our family of four on Christmas Eve evening, and opened the rest of our presents on Christmas Day morning. It was dark outside, and we looked a little rough, so we didn't end up taking many photos of our family.<br />
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There are a couple of shots of LE exploring her new dollhouse that Santa brought her (for the record, we are still undecided on whether our house will have Santa). Looks oddly similar to the dollhouse <a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2010/12/we-won-dollhouse.html" target="_blank">I won a couple of years ago</a> that had lived on the top shelf of her closet. She has a ridiculously good memory and associates new things with other things she saw months ago, so I was completely surprised she didn't see the dollhouse and say, "That's just like the one that has been in my closet for 2 years!"<br />
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John was a good Santa and arranged other toys to go with her house for her to play with. </div>
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We had an enjoyable, low key day with just our family.</div>
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The following day, we drove down to Chicago to see my parents and the entire Heil family who were all visiting Chicago for Christmas. It was a special time since it had been many years since they had all gotten together, and none of them had met the girls before (except my parents, of course). Together, we all represented North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Somehow, I didn't get any photos of the group with my camera, but I know there are a lot coming to me from my parents' camera...</div>
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We only stayed in Chicago the night of the 26th. The 27th was a whirlwind of family! Separately, we saw my parents & all of the Heils, then my dad's parents (they live on the way home from Chicago), and then John's parents (who were back in Madison on their way home from northern Wisconsin). The only grandparent we missed out on seeing that day was my mom's dad, Gandaddy, who lives in Alabama. It was a fun but exhausting day! The girls did awesome, though!</div>
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This year, I was ready to get our tree early, but I was also ready to take it down early, too. On New Years Eve, we undressed the tree and hauled it outside. </div>
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I will not miss the pine needles. </div>
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This last photo is for those who wonder how we get our girls to take good photos. It's not always successful! The photo at the top of this post is ok... Hannah's not exactly chipper. It just went downhill from there. I think both girls were ready for their naps. ;)</div>
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-26435983846982132482013-01-07T16:42:00.001-06:002013-01-07T16:42:33.367-06:00Christmas recap (continued)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Lj2RkjymRr5WMKdej5xDZe3XQxFBq8ZA-5x3KrKrky79kTFOK2GNWorRo-na9u_nbRlCSt-vs_gB-x8l3BVXZv8PHYHf3AeFGoHsANpQ6rSnWJECE10xU18-UIftulDpaXx9HvznC5Q/s1600/header2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Lj2RkjymRr5WMKdej5xDZe3XQxFBq8ZA-5x3KrKrky79kTFOK2GNWorRo-na9u_nbRlCSt-vs_gB-x8l3BVXZv8PHYHf3AeFGoHsANpQ6rSnWJECE10xU18-UIftulDpaXx9HvznC5Q/s1600/header2.jpg" /></a></div>
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We had a blizzard which left all four of us housebound for a couple of days. We got 19 inches in a day.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUz73E5i9Qf9GUYljiHrXrBUHM8CMhFH1d9VPnihaIZ3VWAtMHohmZU09nfjyzI06irEzA2yqE_uOcGsXJWYjwCcnmrTz2lbE8uVRO4C7KUevCRGk7YzjN3aECI2uUwpKRGzv4EDVvlw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-06+at+2.42.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUz73E5i9Qf9GUYljiHrXrBUHM8CMhFH1d9VPnihaIZ3VWAtMHohmZU09nfjyzI06irEzA2yqE_uOcGsXJWYjwCcnmrTz2lbE8uVRO4C7KUevCRGk7YzjN3aECI2uUwpKRGzv4EDVvlw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-06+at+2.42.13+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Instagram photo taken from our 2nd floor</td></tr>
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We stayed inside and did things like make <a href="http://woodsidekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/clay-christmas-decorations.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">clay ornaments</a>. After they were dry, we colored Elmer's Glue with green food coloring and painted one of them green. The other two little ones were coated with plain Elmer's to protect them from grime over time.<br />
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LE had her first hot chocolate. She prefers it cold. Go figure.<br />
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LE made a Christmas tree from popsicle sticks that I trimmed with scissors (not easy to trim, mind you). She colored the sticks with a marker (you could use paint), coated it well with Elmer's, and then applied little decorations.<br />
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We also made a <a href="http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/boraxsnowflake.htm" target="_blank">Borax snowflake</a>. I recommend making ones smaller than what we did if you want to do this as well. Maybe do them 2 inches wide and use wide mouth canning jars? They are really easy.<br />
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After the winds from the blizzard died down, we took the girls out to sled in our backyard and make snow angels, something LE had been requesting since the last small snowfall melted. We got them both bundled up but thought we'd put LE's mittens on outside.<br />
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Hannah cried almost from the moment she got stuffed into the Baby Bjorn. I got this photo of John pushing LE on the disc, and the next moment, LE was crying because her hands were too cold. We all headed back inside, officially making our adventure a bust. We spent longer getting dressed than we did outside. Oh well!<br />
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We made lots and lots of cookies. LE is super sensitive to noises, so even the mixer was a little too loud for her. I'll do a separate post on the cookie details. One day, we conducted a bake-off between two recipes to figure out which is our favorite. Another day, I made loads of chocolate rollout cookies topped with a mint ganache and sprinkles for a cookie exchange that got cancelled by the blizzard. On Christmas Eve, we made gingerbread cookies and decorated with royal icing (I'll let you guess which ones were LE's!). It was lots of fun, and our neighbors received most of them. :)<br />
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My dad's parents came up to visit one day. As you may have seen on Instagram, we think Hannah looks a lot like Grandma U.<br />
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LE's Godfather, Michael, stopped for a last minute visit, too. LE had a fun time playing with him for the evening.<br />
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And John's parents stopped by on their way up and back from northern Wisconsin, where they spent Christmas. Of course, LE picked out her Cardinals shirt to wear for breakfast with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0sY6NLXg1auDQtJwgGKmX6IwgsH3Sg1BKDEnMGU_YoLgtmRFAtsmBA25FNBQwiGZneKWR_U4PlpTcwqa6uV8OqpzcqZs-BEhLYrIQ7tbjQJRg6Bgu8LJoHjJRZADJ_cwvQIJvwz3Mno/s1600/IMG_4009blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0sY6NLXg1auDQtJwgGKmX6IwgsH3Sg1BKDEnMGU_YoLgtmRFAtsmBA25FNBQwiGZneKWR_U4PlpTcwqa6uV8OqpzcqZs-BEhLYrIQ7tbjQJRg6Bgu8LJoHjJRZADJ_cwvQIJvwz3Mno/s1600/IMG_4009blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'll do a separate post on Christmas Day and the couple of days after. For now, this has already been an enormous post! December was a busy month!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-40890474022516967022013-01-06T16:35:00.004-06:002013-01-06T20:44:32.265-06:00Christmas recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is the 12th day of Christmas, which means that I am officially not too late to post about everything that we did for Advent and Christmas. At least that's the excuse I'm allowing myself for taking so long to get everything put together.<br />
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We had a busy month of seeing family, cooking, and activities! As a review, here's what I thought we would do this Advent:<br />
<ul>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Cut down/choose our Christmas tree </strike> <span style="color: orange;">check!</span> <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2012/12/picking-out-our-tree.html" target="_blank">Posted about here</a></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Decorate the tree</strike> <span style="color: orange;">check! <a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2012/12/trimming-tree-cookies-with-friends.html" target="_blank">Posted about here</a></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Decorate coffee mugs using porcelain pens <span style="color: orange;">Kind of a bust. My Porcelaine pen dried out so I tried a Sharpie like Pinterest recommends... and it wiped off in part in the dishwasher. Michaels doesn't carry those pens anymore, so I'm trying Martha Stewart paints. We'll see.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Watch a Christmas movie together in Mommy & Daddy's bed</strike><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: orange;">check! John and LE watched lots of old Christmas shows together before bedtime</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Make snow angels <span style="color: orange;">a big bust; post coming</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Go sledding <span style="color: orange;">also a bust; post coming</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Make snowman </strike><span style="color: orange;">check!</span> <a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2012/12/the-first-real-snow.html" target="_blank">Posted about here.</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Make mint scented playdough </strike><span style="color: orange;">check!</span> <span style="color: orange;">Did that just today</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Make <a href="http://woodsidekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/clay-christmas-decorations.html" style="text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">cornstarch ornaments</a> (like salt dough but comes out bright white) </strike><span style="color: orange;">check! post coming</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Decorate Christmas cookies with church </strike><span style="color: orange;">check! got cancelled due to our blizzard. Decorated with friends and at home instead</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Drive around to look at Christmas lights </strike><span style="color: orange;">check!</span> <span style="color: orange;">Lots of informal times with just LE, H, and me. LE loved it. But... when we went out intentionally as a family of 4, Hannah screamed the first time and LE decided she saw enough the second time.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Make s'mores in our fire pit<span style="color: orange;"> Not even close</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Decorate gingerbread houses or ice cream cone Christmas trees </strike><span style="color: orange;">check! we did gingerbread men, trees, and snowflakes instead (posts coming)</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Shop for a kid on the angel tree </strike><span style="color: orange;">check! It wasn't an angel tree, but it was for a little 2 1/2 year old homeless girl who we heard needed clothes</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>Make footprint Christmas trees and reindeer faces<span style="color: orange;"> </span></strike><span style="color: orange;">check!</span> <span style="color: orange;">Though I already packed them away without taking a picture of. Woops! Maybe I'll show you when we unpack them next year. ;) </span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><strike>(Truth in the Tinsel has daily crafts that correspond with the reading, too) </strike><span style="color: orange;">We only sort of did this and played with the nativity set a lot instead.</span></li>
</ul>
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So, all in all, we did a pretty good job, I think. I'll go into detail over the next few days sharing some of the highlights.<br />
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Hope you all had a great Christmas!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-28526316631502340782012-12-17T13:07:00.001-06:002012-12-17T13:07:53.037-06:00Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4AAItV3OV9G33dR214LmL5ywqPk6jRpysTwpRgP9JK3myITlVbKOHbooYFoViRqBf8y-aCmhxGFBpuKEkB1GlaN3s3RerF2-kktxfGPZkFoS9xNA2on7ez-SwlBYvZ76cANaS3cgPBI/s1600/IMG_3891blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4AAItV3OV9G33dR214LmL5ywqPk6jRpysTwpRgP9JK3myITlVbKOHbooYFoViRqBf8y-aCmhxGFBpuKEkB1GlaN3s3RerF2-kktxfGPZkFoS9xNA2on7ez-SwlBYvZ76cANaS3cgPBI/s1600/IMG_3891blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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Cookie exchanges are among us! I made these easy peanut butter balls as my contribution to cookie platters for the volunteer teachers who play with and teach LE for two hours on Thursdays. She adores them and often has to be dragged away when the two hours are up.</div>
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I found this recipe on Pinterest. Though it took a long time to patiently dip each ball, these were really easy to make and don't use the oven. The nice thing about these is that you can start and stop at any point without affecting the end product.</div>
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I imagine you could speed up the dipping process by doing it the way that the original poster does it-- get a big spoonful of chocolate and use your fingers to dip the ball. I'm not keen on using my hands all over the food I'm going to distribute, especially if it's uncooked. Even with washed hands, I feel dirty doing it. That's just me.</div>
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To get around rolling the balls in my hands, I quickly made all of the balls with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Small-Cookie-Scoop/dp/B0000CCY1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355496748&sr=8-1&keywords=oxo+portion+scoop+small" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a small portion scoop</a>. Then, I dipped them one by one by balancing a ball on a fork, dipping it into the chocolate, and scraping the bottom against the edge of the bowl or another fork to remove the excess chocolate.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zsR8XisrDO0NopyoZhbdwVKdZoZ4xYoPRHeLNjpWwV7Id9ixVlaGbk5IEo2LYBUaVsK12pZItwLamT85cQjkwiwafevol2SI3ZxDKJKuyjaOA14O7VxbBhioXPla2Q2Ok1YYCuiqnfw/s1600/IMG_1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zsR8XisrDO0NopyoZhbdwVKdZoZ4xYoPRHeLNjpWwV7Id9ixVlaGbk5IEo2LYBUaVsK12pZItwLamT85cQjkwiwafevol2SI3ZxDKJKuyjaOA14O7VxbBhioXPla2Q2Ok1YYCuiqnfw/s1600/IMG_1796.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Instagram phone photo)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls</span></div>
Adapted slightly from <a href="http://dacia-prayingtwice.blogspot.com/2011/12/chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-ball.html?spref=fb" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this recipe</a><br />
Makes approximately 70 balls<br />
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You can easily scale this down or up depending on your needs. It's wise to have some extra chocolate chips handy in the event that you run out. I used 1 3/4 bags total.<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
1 jar smooth peanut butter, 18 oz <i>(I used Simply Jif)</i><br />
4 tbs butter, melted<br />
1 lb (approx 3 cups) powdered sugar<br />
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal<br />
1 bag milk chocolate chips <i>(I used Ghirardelli)</i><br />
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips<i> (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
In a large bowl, mix together (by hand with a sturdy spoon or by electric mixer) peanut butter, melted butter, and powdered sugar. Add the cereal and stir/mix until a ball. Add more peanut butter if you need more glue or powdered sugar if it's too sticky. (I didn't need to do any adjustments.)<br />
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Scoop with a small 1 1/2 tsp portion scoop the peanut butter mixture onto a lined cookie sheet or two (parchment paper, wax paper, or Silpat all work). Alternatively, roll into a ball in your hands 1 1/2 tsp of the mixture.<br />
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In a heatproof small bowl, heat together half of each type of chocolate in the microwave. <i>Start at one minute on 50% power, stir, then 30 second 50% power increments until it's all completely melted and smooth. (Alternatively, use a double-boiler or glass bowl over a saucepan with barely simmering water).</i><br />
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Using a fork or your fingers, dip the balls one by one into the bowl, scrape and drip off the excess chocolate, and place on the lined cookie sheet. Continue with all the balls, reheating the chocolate as needed.<br />
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If you desire to add sprinkles, do a few at a time so that the chocolate isn't too soft (the sprinkles will slide down) or hard (they won't stick).<br />
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Refrigerate until the chocolate is completely firm then store in an airtight container in the fridge. These can be eaten at room temp or cold. These also freeze well.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-91695958375564649222012-12-13T18:29:00.000-06:002012-12-13T19:25:45.221-06:00Granola Nut Clusters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8m4yMvib52nK0bqHnmok2MaQ1J-feQ45ApnD0Z6kEvod5Pd481Lo3GN45XZuFSFOAzuwKg4kQ9DspgF04riADHsZfhargKRNrNV6NuD1YjD2eCs2gsW06u2gkYOV1ohyki59IUbwhMs/s1600/IMG_3883blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8m4yMvib52nK0bqHnmok2MaQ1J-feQ45ApnD0Z6kEvod5Pd481Lo3GN45XZuFSFOAzuwKg4kQ9DspgF04riADHsZfhargKRNrNV6NuD1YjD2eCs2gsW06u2gkYOV1ohyki59IUbwhMs/s1600/IMG_3883blog.jpg" /></a></div>
It's not secret that I follow the Smitten Kitchen blog and love almost all of the recipes that I've made from there. Deb recently posted the recipe for these granola nut clusters, and I have to spread the word. I made these 5 times in one week because everyone who had them said they loved them and wanted the recipe.<br />
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I was surprised by how fast and easy these were. It only takes a food processor, 5-10 minutes of hands on time, and 20-30 minutes in the oven. I like to save for breakfast the leftover granola that doesn't stick to the nut after baking. You could give these as neighbor gifts in lieu of sweets. I'm sure you'd be thanked!<br />
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Since I really didn't change the recipe from how it was written, I'm going to just send you to <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/11/granola-crusted-nuts/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen to see how they're done</a>.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-81422174203090502532012-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:002012-12-12T08:00:08.305-06:00the first (real) snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86GHaXvQqdeX-vK2TCgAB0xfKFEGOUkDD2wxxrRjPgKIPrG9MYpI9cNgBSADkT0oFiSwtNmYdiQ8cZiXfjZ7yR2IV2sEacxQsjjgQOkro6PGsyw3fTMmIsv9E8yKhoMYYZk825L4lqDE/s1600/IMG_0073_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86GHaXvQqdeX-vK2TCgAB0xfKFEGOUkDD2wxxrRjPgKIPrG9MYpI9cNgBSADkT0oFiSwtNmYdiQ8cZiXfjZ7yR2IV2sEacxQsjjgQOkro6PGsyw3fTMmIsv9E8yKhoMYYZk825L4lqDE/s1600/IMG_0073_2.jpg" /></a></div>
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It snowed our first real snow of the season on Sunday, December 9. We have had a couple of days of flurries before, but this was the first snow that actually accumulated.</div>
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John took Monday off of work since he has been traveling so much lately, and we got to build our first ever snowman. The snow packed well and was the perfect type for building a snowman.<br />
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LE had a wardrobe malfunction and lost her mittens. It looks like she's holding an invisible snowball here, but I really think she was just brushing the snow off of her hands.<br />
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Fast forward a ball or two, and here's John putting on the finishing touches! Coal for the eyes and buttons, a carrot for the nose, and cranberries for the mouth. We don't live near many trees, so we don't have arms yet. We did bring home some of LE's "trees" from the tree farm; maybe we could add those in later.<br />
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Here are the proud snowman creators with the finished product. The snowman looks really cute in our backyard.<br />
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Speaking of really cute, we can't forget Hannah! She was there, too. It's not really all that easy to take photos and try to rock a baby at the same time.<br />
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During LE's nap, John went out to buy a super tall ladder to put up our Christmas lights. H and I helped (mostly moral support mixed with a little ladder support). We snapped a couple of photos with our phone.<br />
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-26318170558729426182012-12-11T09:39:00.000-06:002012-12-11T09:39:49.208-06:00trimming the tree & cookies with friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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John left for a trip the day after we brought our glorious tree inside, so I set up the tripod to capture just a couple of photos of the girls and me. I wasn't going for award-winning photos here; I just wanted to document that I was, in fact, present, too! </div>
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LE and I decorated our tree together while Hannah napped. This was the only time that she was allowed to touch the tree. Surprisingly, this hasn't even been a temptation for her.</div>
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After the last ornament was hung, LE snatched up her whole collection of nativity kings and Christmas sock monkeys (she has 4) and demanded, "Take a picture!"</div>
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We then went to my friend Monica's house for a quick cookie decorating playdate. Monica has two kiddos-- Oliver and Natalie-- whom LE adores. "Olligar" is a year older than LE, and "Nallie" is a year younger. </div>
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In case you weren't aware, decorating cookies is very serious business.</div>
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Advent traditions are well underway!<br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-77632027255833437212012-12-10T21:41:00.001-06:002012-12-11T09:40:09.133-06:00Picking out our tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A couple of weeks ago, we went as a family to pick out our tree from a cute little tree farm just up the road. We have always gotten table top trees in the past, so this was our first year to go cut down our own. Actually, two years ago we went to this same farm to cut down a tree. It had just snowed and was beautiful, but the crowds coupled with sticker shock scared us away.<br />
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We went on a weekday this year, and we were the only ones there, which is a good thing because we had no idea what we wanted. LE picked out this "tree."<br />
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Hannah was unsure. ;)</div>
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We continued to look a little bit longer until we found the perfect one. </div>
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Here she is!</div>
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We made our way back to the barn.</div>
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One of us got a little distracted.</div>
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The lady there shared with us that if you have a nest fall from your tree, you'll have good luck.<br />
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We waited as the Shakee shook the loose needles and potential nests out of the tree.<br />
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Annnd, we got one! (LE doesn't care.)</div>
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John and the lady bound it up.<br />
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And got it on the car.<br />
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Success! </div>
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-43307509034459733032012-11-26T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-26T08:00:15.765-06:00how they'll remember Daddy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
John left today, Sunday, in the middle of the day to catch his flight to New York for work. It was a different feeling having him leave today instead of Monday morning. </div>
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People who know me personally know that John travels just about every week for work. Many kids grow up with a dad who is absent and tries to replace his time with gifts. That is not how our kids will remember their dad.</div>
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Even though John travels so much, he is more of a dad than most dads are who don't travel. He gives himself to our family 100% when he's home. </div>
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Our girls are going to remember a dad who </div>
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<ul>
<li>gets down on the floor to build intricate towers from Duplos. </li>
<li>isn't afraid to be dressed up with scarves and shimmery purses ready to crown his daughter Princess Gobah of the Land of Building Blocks and Measuring Tape. </li>
<li>throws epic parties with wooden cupcakes and made up songs. </li>
<li>eats soup made of magnetic letters and looks up recipes online on a computer that doesn't turn on.</li>
<li>looks them in the eye with an expression of eager anticipation of what's going to come out of their mouths. </li>
<li>flies them into their rooms having them flap their wings to get there</li>
<li>throws and kicks balls with them outside or up the stairs.</li>
<li>helps them jump over the moon.</li>
<li>shows creativity in the games they play and doesn't quash the creativity of his girls.</li>
<li>sweeps them up when they fall to give magical healing kisses or an ice pack "cold Elmo" to make things better.</li>
<li>remembers the order of obligatory songs each night and sings them as if it wasn't the millionth time.</li>
<li>helps overcome moments of shyness and fear by practicing how to be courageous.</li>
<li>cheers with pride when they do something for the first time.</li>
<li>stands by his word and follows through his promises.</li>
<li>plays hide and seek over and over. </li>
<li>throws dance parties to homemade xylophone music.</li>
<li>greets them with excitement every time they enter the room.</li>
<li>experiences life with them in the same sense of wonder that they have.</li>
<li>loves them deeply and unabashedly.</li>
</ul>
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Our girls are lucky to have a dad like John. And I'm blessed to have him as my husband.</div>
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-71933745991490452922012-11-25T15:17:00.000-06:002012-11-25T15:21:09.240-06:00celebrating Christmas all month long!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year, I somehow managed to get all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, leaving the month of December for us to concentrate on things other than worrying what to give to others. Yes, I love giving thoughtful gifts, but adding that on top of an already busy month makes it less fun than just shopping alone.<br />
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This year will be the first year that LE will start to enjoy the festivities of the season. I have a calendar [almost] full of activities for every day as well as an Advent scripture-based reading to do. There are some free Jesse Tree resources that I thought we'd do, but then I came across <a href="http://truthinthetinsel.com/" target="_blank">Truth in the Tinsel</a>, which is aimed at kids closer to LE's age. It has a daily craft and scripture reading. I'm really looking forward to it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://truthinthetinsel.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn115/purplesahm/cover_b-1-1.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://truthinthetinsel.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Image source</a></i></td></tr>
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We will be doing Elf on the Shelf (see <a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/12/elf-on-shelf-idea-roundup.html" target="_blank">last year's roundup</a> if you're doing that, too) for the first time, but with a little different twist than it's intended. Instead of the elf doing naughty antics or reporting back to Santa, she'll be a clue to what we're doing for the day. For example, if we're planning on watching a Christmas movie together, the elf will be on the DVD player reaching down to push play. Or, if we are going to do snow angels outside, LE will find the elf making a snow angel out of flour on the counter. If we are going to do a painting craft, the elf will be holding the supplies. Hopefully, the elf will be a fun game of hide and seek that LE will enjoy playing every day with the added bonus of an activity.<br />
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Here are some of our planned activities:<br />
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<li>Cut down/choose our Christmas tree</li>
<li>Decorate the tree</li>
<li>Decorate coffee mugs using porcelain pens</li>
<li>Watch a Christmas movie together in Mommy & Daddy's bed</li>
<li>Make snow angels</li>
<li>Go sledding</li>
<li>Make snowman</li>
<li>Make mint scented playdough</li>
<li>Make <a href="http://woodsidekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/clay-christmas-decorations.html" target="_blank">cornstarch ornaments</a> (like salt dough but comes out bright white)</li>
<li>Decorate Christmas cookies with church</li>
<li>Drive around to look at Christmas lights</li>
<li>Make s'mores in our fire pit</li>
<li>Decorate gingerbread houses or ice cream cone Christmas trees</li>
<li>Shop for a kid on the angel tree</li>
<li>Make footprint Christmas trees and reindeer faces</li>
<li>(Truth in the Tinsel has daily crafts that correspond with the reading, too)</li>
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Do you have a favorite tradition or activity for this time of year? Be sure to let me know if I missed something!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-10635567424587831252012-11-23T20:41:00.001-06:002012-11-23T20:44:14.035-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Thanksgiving! This year was our first time staying home and attempting to do the whole Thanksgiving meal thing by ourselves. I think John and I had Thanksgiving as just the two of us the first year that we were married. Even though that was only a few years ago, I feel like I've come a long way culinarily. I don't remember everything (yes, you read that correctly, John ;) ), but I do remember making turkey breasts and dressing. Neither turned out that well.</div>
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This year was <i>the</i> year to go all out just for us four. John thought of it as a good practice run for future years when we could potentially host others. So, I spent a few hours looking at recipes on Sunday evening, determining how to cook what and how long it'd take. I made a timeline for the week to prep certain things in advance, like chopping all of the onions, celery, etc. Then, it was game day (pun intended).</div>
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It started out really easy and peaceful. I did the stuffing and prepped the bird as I was supposed to and get her in the oven.</div>
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I cleaned up the kitchen in a few minutes...</div>
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and then went to see what the family was up to. At one point, John and LE were building towers downstairs while Hannah slept. At another point, I went upstairs to find them having a party with all of LE's dolls in a circle around toy cupcakes and brownies. LE was singing the alphabet to them all while playing the "violin."</div>
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A little earlier than planned, the turkey registered at the right temperature. It looked perfect!</div>
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The dance began of putting all of the things in the oven and on the stove at the right times. This was the hardest part but still not bad. </div>
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John carved the turkey and found that parts of the dark meat were not actually done yet, so we just set the dark meat aside to cook separately and went ahead with the white meat. I'm not sure what I'd do differently since I checked the internal temperature multiple times out of the oven. I must say that this allowed the white meat to not dry out, though, and it was well-flavored and moist. Woohoo!</div>
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LE had been patiently waiting all morning for her "'pecial lunch." Somehow that equated in her mind to PB&J. She burst into tears, and through sobs proclaimed over and over, "I wanted peanut butter and jellllly!" It was hard not to laugh. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZFEtYG6ZyBD8V8vdjVBEKHXRSpLmV13pXjqxRxyw1E9UvLSfRYz96xyDQx4fsvcyIr5TEW0FqUCz9hb5YHxxnDJJdhMhyphenhyphenHn8v8BED7eFMm06Mg9lPgKO_biAYO1T3_M1ZV1JlAtFDsI/s1600/IMG_3657boost+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZFEtYG6ZyBD8V8vdjVBEKHXRSpLmV13pXjqxRxyw1E9UvLSfRYz96xyDQx4fsvcyIr5TEW0FqUCz9hb5YHxxnDJJdhMhyphenhyphenHn8v8BED7eFMm06Mg9lPgKO_biAYO1T3_M1ZV1JlAtFDsI/s1600/IMG_3657boost+blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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With the promise of a PB&J after she finished her other special lunch, she liked everything, especially the "chicken" with ketchup. It's not Thanksgiving without the ketchup! </div>
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And little Hannah was held most of the meal until she pooped out of her diaper resulting in two of us needing to get changed. She promptly fell right to sleep in her swing after that. ;)</div>
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All in all, the dinner was great. The gravy was especially tasty, and the stuffing was best the next day. Turkey, mushroom and walnut stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and rolls. </div>
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And here's my favorite part, of course.</div>
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Happy Thanksgiving!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-29944168585671797152012-11-13T08:30:00.000-06:002012-11-13T20:45:03.191-06:002 Months: Hannah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Hannah and Lauren were both in great moods right before naptime, so I spread a blanket across the floor near the window in our master bedroom, opened the blinds, and put Hannah down on the blanket. Lauren instantly wanted to be next to her. I managed to get a couple of my favorite photos of the two together. These show just how much Lauren loves to be close to Hannah. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">None of Hannah’s big, gummy smiles were captured, but the look in her eyes commands me to stop and stare for a moment.</span></div>
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The photo spreads are taken from the photobook that I'm putting together, which makes the text hard to read in this format. In case you can't read the text above, I'll write it out again:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
at two months [Hannah]...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>
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<span class="s2">smiles and coos often, especially at family & a toy cow</span> </div>
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</ul>
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<li><div class="p1">
rolls over and holds her head up like a 4 month old </div>
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won’t take a pacifier or bottle </div>
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</ul>
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sleeps most of the day in her swing </div>
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<li><div class="p1">
wakes up every 2-3 hours to eat at night </div>
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</ul>
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<li><div class="p1">
comes in at the 48th percentile for weight (11.72lb) and 87th percentile for height (23.7in) /// (Lauren was 12.2lb and 23.5in) </div>
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<li><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">is getting over her painful evening gas in her belly & takes medicine for reflux</span> </div>
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-46804512238620930022012-11-12T18:45:00.002-06:002012-11-12T18:46:34.918-06:00my girls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-43750929155438905182012-10-29T14:31:00.000-05:002012-11-12T19:43:52.699-06:00Cranberry Almond Quinoa Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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John sent me a recipe a few weeks ago for cookies made in part with my relatively new favorite food, quinoa. If you're unfamiliar with quinoa, Google it and then come back. I'm sure you'll find that it's considered a super food and is packed with protein and amino acids. The directions I use for making fluffy quinoa is at <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-quinoa-63344?utm_campaign=topblock&utm_medium=web&utm_source=main-entry" target="_blank">The Kitchn</a>.</div>
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I have only seen quinoa used as a substitute for grains and never in cookies. My hope was that the cookies would be extra filling so that I wouldn't want to eat the whole batch.<br />
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These were really easy to make and turned out to be similar to muffin tops as far as flavor and texture go. They're a nice alternative to really sweet cookies, and I'll pretend that they're healthy since they are made with quinoa, oats, white whole wheat flour, and craisins. ;)<br />
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The recipe can be found at <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/01/almond-cranberry-quinoa-cookies" target="_blank">Bon Appetit</a>. My only tweaks for next time would be to add a crunchy nut (like walnut), cut back the salt to 3/4 tsp (instead of 1 tsp of Morton's Kosher, which is saltier than other Kosher salt), and perhaps add a big handful of white or dark chocolate chips.<br />
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If it's cold where you are, I highly recommend enjoying a couple with a cup of chai tea prepared with a splash of milk and honey.<br />
<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-41437627787777676812012-10-25T08:00:00.000-05:002012-10-25T08:00:11.321-05:00independent play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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LE has a big imagination. Did you know that she has a wolf named Wolfie who has lived under her tongue since just before H was born? He's invisible, so don't feel bad if you haven't seen him. She feeds him little bites of food. Sometimes LE uses two fingers to take Wolfie out of her mouth so that she can push him on her trike (he wears her helmet, of course).<br />
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I suppose some kids have imaginary friends and most probably have a whole collection of stuffed animals and dolls that are their friends as well. LE is no exception. Nonetheless, I still pause to secretly watch whenever I catch her talking with them.<br />
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A few times I've caught her singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes" with her doll, LeLe, moving LeLe's arms to the song.<br />
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When putting a shirt on LeLe, I overheard her say, "Find my fingers, WeWe. You found dem, WeWe! You found dem!" (I used to instruct LE to try to find my fingers as a way to help her figure out where the armholes are.)<br />
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LE continues to be really into hide and seek. I'm sure I'll post about that later since I have a few photos of her great hiding spots. When she's desperate to play, she'll sometimes play it with her toys and dolls. One time I heard her put LeLe like the closet, close the door, go away, count to 10, and then announce, "Here I tum!!" Then, she ran right to the closet to find LeLe: "I found you!!"</div>
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The photos in this post are from last weekend when she was playing by herself in her bedroom. I peeked in to find her tucking her animals in on the wagon and wrapping them carefully with a blanket, telling each of them exactly where she wanted them in the wagon. </div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-34852340116227479112012-10-23T21:34:00.004-05:002012-10-29T14:37:39.023-05:00pumpkin spice granola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I recently shared a trial batch of this pumpkin spice granola with a friend, and she liked it so much that she asked for a demo on granola making. She can now attest that granola isn't hard to make, it's so easy to customize, and the results are satisfying. I love being able to have exactly what I want in my pantry and not having to spend a lot of time, effort, or money.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mgdIBtBy_y2qQdnVMaRojxyF9is0_WC6044WKoaCO8A?feat=directlink" target="_blank">Click here for the printable recipe</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">Pumpkin Spice Granola</span></b><br />
<b>Makes approximately 2 quarts</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
3 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking or steel cut)<br />
2 tbs coconut oil<br />
1 tbs cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp cloves<br />
1/8 tsp nutmeg<br />
1/4 tsp salt, heaping<br />
1/3 cup Demerara sugar (cane sugar) or white sugar<br />
5 tbs pureed pumpkin<br />
1 tbs vanilla<br />
3/4 - 1 cup total raw pumpkin seeds and finely chopped pecans<br />
2-3 tbs ground flax seeds (optional)<br />
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Preheat your oven to 325 and line a large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.<br />
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In a 12 inch skillet over medium heat, lightly toast the oats for 4-6 minutes. Either remove the oats from the pan temporarily, or make room in the pan to add the oil, spices (cinnamon through salt), and sugar. Toast the spices and melt the sugar for about 30 seconds.<br />
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Off heat, add the pumpkin and vanilla to the spiced oil. Stir in the pecans and flax. Coat as best as you can and then stir everything with the oats.<br />
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Spread the mixture evenly over the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven when the granola appears fairly dry.<br />
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Compact the granola together to form a 1/2 inch thick granola slab. Let it cool completely, then store in an air-tight container for about a week or freeze indefinitely.<br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-10165618137049358912012-10-22T08:00:00.000-05:002012-10-22T12:09:52.618-05:00The little things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<i>Photos from when Hannah was 5-16 days old.</i></div>
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These days time has been so precious. I find myself almost constantly thinking that I want to record or document how soft Hannah's head is when she nestles her chubby cheek under my chin or the hilarious things that LE says and does. I don't want to forget all of the things that makes this time with them special.<br />
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There are so many moments that we can't capture on camera, like the millionth time before bed that John and I have taken turns singing duets with an eager, tone deaf LE in her specific order of "Ba Ba Black Sheep," "Twinkle Twinkle," "ABCD," "Skinamarinky Dinky Dink." If you ask LE, it goes, "Skaginkgink, skaginkgink doo... Eyes love you!" The last song she requests each night is "Baby's Boat" from John and "Hush Baby" from me. <br />
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We get kisses in her precise order, ranging from left cheek, right cheek, nose, then mouth. Sometimes we get a "baby kiss" on our nose, and we have to give a "teeny tiny" kiss on her nose. Sometimes we get our ears grabbed so she can move our head in the exact place that she wants it to be able to plant one.<br />
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All of her friends (Doggy, Soft Bwanket, Little Piwwow, Teddy Bear, Little Teddy, and whomever else happens to be nearby) get their assigned spots lined up in her bed. Sometimes her water sippies get a special spot on the bed; other times they sleep on her stool. Always they are exactly where she wants them, and there's no way for us to predict what she'll want that night.<br />
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I love to hear our little 2 1/2 year old say things that sound grown up, like her response to if she's ready for something: "Not quite yet" or "In a couple of minutes." Of course, I love when she says unprompted, "please," "thank you," "bless you," and her latest addition of "'cuse me." She picks up new phrases so quickly, like "That's what Daddy says." But then, she shows us how she is just a two year old by the way she confuses meals of the day and answers some questions with made up words, "a deedee and a go-bah."<br />
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I wish there was a way that I could explain, share, video, photograph all of the things that make this time special, but there's not. I'm thankful for our phones that capture some of the times that we didn't have our big camera around.<br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-90705894856388764282012-10-19T10:51:00.000-05:002012-10-19T10:51:00.364-05:00fall foods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The start of fall always bring in a renewed desire for cooking those warm comfort foods. The biggest thing in my way now is finding time. It's hard to plan cooking because who knows when H will decide to be super needy or that LE will opt out of napping for the day? Holy cats- how does anyone do anything with multiple young children? The time vaporizes.</div>
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Somehow-- mostly with John's help in corralling the kiddos-- I've made a few things that I've really enjoyed lately. I haven't taken photos of this year's new recipe trials yet, but some of last year's have shown up in our house again this year and are worth mentioning.</div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/07/strawberries-granola-and-ahhh-madison.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCVSxbCkxopt9MI9PvbpeKXTB8LgfD_6X8vQojmyEvNSjnZZHQ6AE9R3gYSaBMjACElGQ-r9U_aNuOfaf8yRRJsxPjZxQXh-JgtBwyBPrQzn1yYDz-YkYZYyw-PSc4tWu5wMeQ1lv1to/s1600/chai+granola+blog.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1691377638"></span><span id="goog_1691377639"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/07/strawberries-granola-and-ahhh-madison.html" target="_blank">Chai granola</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/09/cranberry-apple-pumpkin-muffins.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHp4uJams6kiXBLVcMkdqGTkZjF8a9lA6hwaGSK4F3RB2FuP58ZciGyTf-mdyQEuqZBHRGK_j6JESa3wC0vKzQ-VYvV4Vs6hqTRA6yGpt5z2Abac2dcVIHCn5I2zUVvDcc5Msd7Usoutw/s1600/IMG_2011+blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/09/cranberry-apple-pumpkin-muffins.html" target="_blank">Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Muffins</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwbARKLQazrSIdIRgESoQdanCXNu1JD4Af5LWlNN3mjHNkIT3e_GM5ouOpYL7xQeyEfCvGFYKkTrUoEUCVN18QTaDlgwQIIdop-YaZBPtoYPXh_TqUmcF3NnQpFjHt2QUmbvaFL5DqxU/s1600/IMG_2540+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwbARKLQazrSIdIRgESoQdanCXNu1JD4Af5LWlNN3mjHNkIT3e_GM5ouOpYL7xQeyEfCvGFYKkTrUoEUCVN18QTaDlgwQIIdop-YaZBPtoYPXh_TqUmcF3NnQpFjHt2QUmbvaFL5DqxU/s1600/IMG_2540+blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/12/easy-lemon-curd-pastries-with-sugared.html" target="_blank">Sugared Cranberries</a> (great when paired with pumpkin flavors)</div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/09/alright-i-get-it-fall-is-here_25.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxqnZhHOBXXPmqfIR_C9szVFgDczLBVIHcHesWLfnUbtX4bamDfnVzxPZECXO-Ao4zrWOtuelH5CP9h1Gz-l5ezpo6u9q865uAIMn_Xcw2hdZog-UU52tRYHyBDdg-NM1jUeRn8jICKY/s1600/IMG_1959-1+blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wonderfuljoyahead.com/2011/09/alright-i-get-it-fall-is-here_25.html" target="_blank">Pumpkin Spice Latte</a></div>
<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635661142401172681.post-25202033962709636462012-10-16T21:56:00.001-05:002012-10-16T21:56:49.824-05:00Fall is here / pumpkins & apples<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span class="s1">The weather started to cool down the last day of September. Leaves have turned bright reds, oranges, and golden yellow. Instead of receiving a huge bounty of tomatoes, peppers, and green beans from our CSA farm (where we get a box of vegetables biweekly), we have been receiving acorn and delicata squashes, russet and purple potatoes, garlic, leeks, and onions. It seems like everywhere is encouraging us to admit that summer has passed and autumn has arrived. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">So, we have conceded. John prepared the outside for the cold by fertilizing the grass, planting mums in the planter on our porch, and deflating the kiddie pool. Our tomato plants have died off, ending the seemingly endless production of cherry and grape tomatoes that they provided all summer. The first week in October is when fall scents returned to our kitchen through pumpkin pecan granola, pumpkin spice syrup for lattes, and hearty soups, stews, and curries. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">Just two weeks ago— the Saturday before the cold snap— it was way too warm to feel like fall. We skipped over the corn maze, pumpkins, hot cider, and caramel apples at our family trip to Schuster’s Farm. Our visit to Appleberry Farm, however, was rushed as we were slightly underdressed for the chill, wearing hooded sweatshirts as our warmest layer. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">Due to this summer’s drought and heat, apple production was too skimpy for the farm to allow customers to pick their own apples in the orchard. Instead, they offered bags of pre-picked apples in their little shop and pumpkins lined up out front. John and Lauren checked out the chickens outside as Hannah and I stayed inside to scope out what the shop offered. We left the farm with the pumpkin that Lauren proudly picked out, a carton of cider, a couple of cider-roasted grilled brats and freshly made cider donuts, and a half peck (5 lb bag) of apples destined to be turned into apple crisp. </span><br />
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339181534302026747noreply@blogger.com0