What's on your kitchen table?

Or who?
Ed's learned how to climb the chairs, and thus scale the kitchen table.
He's got the bruises on his face to prove it, too.
Although I think he's only fallen from the kitchen chair, and these bruises he got elsewhere.
He brings me his shoes and jacket in the morning so he can take the kids to the bus.
His intelligible words are: cracker, shoe, mmmmm--which means milk, and ball.
He wants to drop his morning nap.
He doesn't sit still for the camera.
He likes to dance. 

Five for Five

I am not quite sure why anyone would choose the floor over a bed, but . . .

In the past 6 or 7 weeks, each child in our household has had a fever. Bryn's was the shortest, and only lasted 18 hours. Ed's was the longest, and was 5 days. I took him to the doctor on day 4--they told me to wait a little longer.
Now they've all had it, we are done. I will take a virus that is fever and fatigue.

The funniest part of the sickness was watching Caitlin, overcome it. She had it on TH and FR. She did not want to miss a birthday party on Saturday, so Friday afternoon she said, "I'm going to be like Colin from the Secret Garden. I CHOOSE to get better!"

Well, she got better, and went to the party. CHOOSING works.

Spring is breaking

Found in my front yard yesterday

Flowers I did not plant . . . . lovely

My Pizza crust

This is a compilation of two really great pizza crust recipes . . . so I am calling it mine. But I want you to have it because my search for a great recipe is over.

1 1/2 C warm water
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
3 C unbleached flour
1/2 C cornmeal
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

1) Mix all ingredients in mixer. Knead about 10 minutes. (It will be very sticky). Scrape into in oiled bowl, cover and let rise until double, or about 1 hour.

2)Preheat oven to 425. Spray olive oil on 12 by 18 inch baking sheet, and sprinkle with about 1/2 Tbsp cornmeal.

3)Oil a spot of your counter about the size of your baking sheet. Turn dough out onto counter, and stretch gently with hands. Leave 5 min. Transfer to baking sheet, stretching and rolling out to fit pan.

4)Brush the top with olive oil, make dents to prevent bubbling, let rest 5 minutes.

5)Add sauce and toppings.

6)Bake for 20-25 minutes until crust is browned and cheese melted.

(Sidenotes: I found the recipe I started with while visiting teaching. It comes from Simply Recipes. Of course I am keeping the Chicago Deep dish recipe I found last month--which supplied the extra inspiration. It is just not for everyday use. Special occasions and requests only).

In 2010

This year we:

welcomed Ed to our family
started a new job
moved a thousand miles
drove several thousand more
finished the Book of Mormon as a family
attended the temple one more time than last year (in three states)
knit a hat
wrote a grant
published in a book
competed in Lego robotics
took gymnastics for the first time
lost some teeth
one for the first time
speaking of teeth, 8 brand new
cultivated tomatoes & basil on our porch
sewed one dress
three skirts
two bathing suits
and lots of pajamas
started running on Mondays with friends
paid over $1500 in auto repairs
not a dime on an auto loan
took swimming lessons
learned how to use goggles
bought 4 snow shovels
attended two professional conferences
said goodbye to friends in TX
were welcomed by friends and family in a new place
skipped kindergarten and started first grade
potty-trained
nursed a baby
canned over 100 pints and quarts of food
took one organ lesson
recorded baking 108 loaves of bread
(I think more were made . .. . none were recorded from July-mid September, none in November due to the Kitchen aid passing away)
reduced our student loan debt by 5.6%
wrote over 35 pages of journal
wrote 67 pages of journal from April on . . . (so more than 67)
celebrated 12 years of marriage
and
one took his first steps.

The End.

May 2011 be another wonderful year!

Very merry

From our house to yours--we wish you a merry Christmas!

Branching out (times 3)

1)I don't refashion clothing that often, but this week I completed something quite darling for Diana. If you want to read more, click here:
Before:

After:

2)This time we tried sorbet.

Delish.

3) The Bosch arrived and works well.

CHANGE IS GOOD.