Halloween recap

Brit loves Halloween more than Christmas. . . and it seems as though Stratton is following suit. We do everything Halloween for a month solid and they still want more! It was fun having Halloween on a Saturday this year because J could be with us to celebrate. Halloween morning felt a little like Christmas at our house: Brit crawled into our bed early and asked, "Is it Halloween yet?" For breakfast I got the kids those old school "Monster Cereals" (Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry). Up until this point they've only known about Cheerios, Kix, Chex, Special K, and granola, so this was a whole new world to them. They thought that they were fun, but *hallelujah* they didn't love them (in fact, they didn't ask for them ever again. . .). The remainder of the day turned out to be perfect and it was fun just spending it with our little family of four. Jason took the kids trick-or-treating in the evening and they enjoyed the experience. Fortunately, we already had a bucket-load of candy from the ward trunk-or-treat earlier in the week, so Jason didn't feel obligated to make sure they got pails filled. (In reality, who's been eating their candy anyway? Not Brit! Not Stratty! Just big fat me!)














xoxo
lys

Halloween Crafties

The kiddos love magnets, so Brit came up with the great idea of making some Halloween magnets. We made a bunch of them by using small glass circles and modge-podging paper, glitter & confetti behind them. Others were made with foam cut-outs and stickers. The following evening we painted pumpkins. As always, when it comes to pumpkin-decorating, Jason's was the best. His is entitled "Jackson Pollock."

He's crafty. . . and he's just my type! He's crafty. . . (and I still love the Beastie Boys after all these years. . .)

xoxo

lys

Pumpka Patch

Looking at these pictures makes me sad that fall will soon be coming to an end. Fall is fine; winter is so ughhhhh.












xoxo
lys

But they won't eat mashed potatoes or PB&J

For my dad's birthday we went to the Brazilian steakhouse Rodizio Grill for dinner. It's a place where everyone is happy, even my vegetarian sis (grilled pineapple and great salad bar!). My kiddos will eat basically anything presented to them, but especially MEAT. They love it. Brit tried just about every meat available-- even chicken hearts!!! For some reason, though, both Brit and Stratty have a major aversion to mashed potatoes and, every once in a blue moon, when I try to feed them PB&J they will not eat it (C'mon, aren't all kids supposed to like peanut butter and jelly?!!!).

Brit in meat heaven:

Showing us how many chicken hearts he just ate:
Uncle Austin and Aunt Shli Shli
Stratty and Dad
Jo Jo and Jimbo (not prepared for the camera)
Shli Shli and Jo
Stratty gobbling his food with his "baby pumpka" he brought into the restaurant
The crew

Happy birthday to the best dad in the whole world! We're glad that we got to spend it with you!

xoxo

lys

The Jo Jo and Jimbo show

Jo Jo and Jimbo (aka Mom and Dad) were in town for a 10 days. It was really fun having them around. We kept very busy (as always!) and I have about 300 photos to go through. Here we are at the Mrs. Field's factory tour. Even though I stand at 5' 11" I feel like a shrimp in this picture. Aside from Jo Jo, I'm the shortest in the family.

I was really impressed by how much Stratty enjoyed wearing this hairnet:
xoxo
lys

Linda comes to visit!

Linda is one of my oldest and dearest friends. She and I have known each other since we were just out of diapers. I love spending time with her because no explanations are ever necessary. We know everything about each other's families and we know exactly how it was to grow up where we did. Her husband was in Utah on business and she decided to tag along. Our visit was brief, but I loved every minute of it. Oh how I wish she lived closer! It's so nice to have someone who just UNDERSTANDS. (And my kids really liked her too.)



xoxo
lys

Focaccia recipe

Here's the recipe several of you have asked me for:



Herb Focaccia
(By Ken Haedrich)

Ingredients
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2 tsps. salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups unbleached flour
• 5 Tbsps. (for dough) plus 1/3 cup (for herb drizzle) olive oil
• Cornmeal, for dusting
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• Coarse salt (optional)

Instructions
1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and set it aside for 5 minutes to dissolve. Note: If the yeast doesn't begin to bubble within 5 minutes, repeat the process with fresh ingredients.
2. Add the salt, 3 cups of the flour, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the yeast mixture and beat the ingredients with a wooden spoon for 100 strokes. Set the dough mixture aside for 10 minutes.
3. Add the remaining flour about 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough is too stiff to be stirred, turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Using floured hands, knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.
4. Pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into the bottom of a large mixing bowl, roll the dough around in the oil to coat it, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the dough aside in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead it for 1 minute, then cut the dough in half and knead each half into a rectangle. Flatten each one and set them aside on a floured surface to rest for 10 minutes.
6. While the dough is resting, lightly oil a large baking sheet, then sprinkle on a light coating of cornmeal.
7. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Press and stretch it into oblong shapes, about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick, leaving 2 inches between the loaves. Brush the tops of the loaves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Set the dough aside to rise for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 400° F.
8. In a measuring cup, combine the 1/3 cup of olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, and thyme, and stir.
9. Dimple the loaves with your fingertips, then spoon the oil-and-herb mixture over them, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle the loaves lightly with coarse salt, if you like.
10. Bake the focaccia on the center oven rack until the tops are golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack. To slice them for sandwiches, cut each loaf into quarters, then slice the pieces horizontally. Makes enough bread for 8 sandwiches.

xoxo
lys

Nope

One of the top stories on the news this morning: children need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine to be "fully" protected. One is enough for my kids. I am not waiting in line for another four hours to go to the ghetto-superstar "alt ake City blic Health Department" just so my kiddos can get another shot. Supposedly actions are being taken to make the flu shot process smoother with less wait, but we aren't going to do it. Bring it on, swine flu.




Ugh. Bad memories.

xoxo
lys

Belly

22 weeks:
23 weeks:

I'm trying to remember when I started to break out the maternity clothes with my other two pregnancies. (25 weeks?) I have a box of them sitting on the floor of my closet that I'm dreading opening. In reality, I'm still trying to process the fact that I'M ACTUALLY PREGNANT. Weird, I know. This morning at the gym, I practiced saying in my head over and over again, "I am pregnant. I'm pregnant! Hey, I am pregnant!" It's about time that I faced this fact. . . since my due date is a mere four months away.

xoxo

lys

My favorite new jewelry piece

I started seeing these keys from Tiffany a year or so ago. I didn't necessarily need the Tiffany name attached to it, but I really wanted one. My wish came true: Mama got one for me as a "Congrats, it's a girl!" gift. I love it.

xoxo

lys