Easter 2011

First of all this post is mostly more about the fun side of Easter but we really are grateful for what Easter is really all about.

This year was a little more enjoyable for Andrew - He actually got to eat some candy that Grandma Lund sent and he got a ton of books and some money from Grandma and Grandpa Fleischman. Lots of clothes for summer time and Grandma Lund even sent a stuffed bunny she made which he promptly stuck in his mouth and then shared with the dogs too. He ended up getting quite the jackpot in his Easter basket.



For dinner since we don't have any family here we invited 2 of the girls from my office over, Jim from my office and Jared - James' best friend and Julie his fiance.
We had the yummiest dinner ever. Brisket and Sausage, Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Corn, Homemade Rolls, Baked Beans, Homemade Mac'n Cheese and Salad. We were all completely stuffed!
And then for dessert Catherine made the most delicious Red Velvet Strawberry Shortcake. And we had Snickers cookies and of course Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. I think I just gained 5 lbs listing off that dinner menu. Catherine and Jessica and I love to cook so potlucks at our office are always like this.

We were happy to share our Easter with all these fun folks and Andrew loved getting all the attention.

Andrew showing off his rocking horse in his cute Easter shirt.

Jessica and Grant

Catherine and John

Jim & Tyler (I forgot to get their pics before they left)
Jared and Julie (They are getting married on Memorial Day! Yea!)

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Andrew loves to play outside so after James finished mowing the yard we went out to play in it. Yes he is naked and of course he loved it!


Mattie always feels the need to get in my pictures even if it is just her butt lol.


Chasing the ball around.




James also bought me a couple of fruit trees that we planted in the back yard. We have a peach tree and an apple tree. Here are the first peaches.

The apple tree just has leaves for now.

Can't wait until I get some actual fruit on there. Hopefully I am better at keeping them alive than every other plant I try lol.

I Love Cupcakes!!

I always take cupcakes into clients offices to bribe them to buy more stuff from me. Seems to have paid off so far cause who doesn't love a cupcake right? So of course when I stop to get theirs I always have to get one for me and Andrew too right?




Why did I do this to myself?!?! Ugggh!

Prom

I offered a long time ago to help my girls at church with their makeup for prom. 2 of them took me up on it. I love doing makeup. Then I ended up doing hair too.
Before/During of Amanda


After of Amanda



After of Alex


And I sent them on their way to get where they were going and then put on the dresses and avoid wrinkles.

Amanda's hair stayed so well that it still looked like this at church the next morning when she wore her dress.
So much fun!

Boys Will Be Boys

I had Andrew home sick with an ear infection and I thought for sure he would be calm and I would be able to get some stuff done. Boy was I wrong! He refused to take his normal morning nap so he was just on a roll to begin with. After I finally gave in and went in to pick him up (He was ramming his crib into the wall so I couldn't ignore him) he is minus a diaper and had peed on the floor in front of his crib. Really!?!?!

He is quite the exhibitionist can you tell?


After I get him up he decides that while mommy was on the phone, he would crawl into the kitchen and somehow got my purse. And in my purse he found a bottle of nail polish which he proceeded to throw onto the tile floor shattering it. And then he crawled back and forth in it while I ran yelling "DON'T MOVE!!" from the other room. Luckily it was just the nail polish causing him to be red everywhere and he missed all of the glass pieces.



And then after a bath, a lot of nail polish remover to both the floor and Andrew he had a majorly poopy explosion and decided to "help" me change his diaper - all over the carpet. After cleaning that up he got to take a nap - whether he wanted to or not. Mom needed a sanity break lol!
It was one of those days where I was ready to give him back.
Luckily in retrospect I can think it is a heck of a story. I do miss my nail polish though!

Climbing the Stairs

Andrew has quite the upper body stregnth. The other day he pulled himself up on the bottom step and climbed all the way to the top. Now of course we have to do this every time.

Attempting Potty Conditioning

For the record I am not potty training - I am however trying to get Andrew used to the toilet so that he doesn't freak out when that time comes. And if he does use it he gets an M&M so hopefully he will be much more ready for it when the time comes. One of the babysitters I was interviewing has been doing this with her 8 month old and he will stand up and go in the potty so I thought why the heck not try it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. No consistency yet but he sure looks darn cute on the potty! And every time I ask him if he wants to go pee pee he points to his eye.....not really sure what that is about but obviously it means something to him.


Mom is holding on to this pic for blackmail. :-)

Recipe Request

The pizza was super easy to make. I just used a thin crust pizza dough recipe I found online - listed below. Then I used the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Creme - Garlic Flavor as the sauce and topped ith with mushrooms I had sauteed with olive oil and garlic, arugula, finely diced red onions and thin slices of prosciutto and then a combination of Mozzarella, Asiago and Parmesan Cheeses. It was phenomenal!

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

1 Mix a little sugar into the warm water.
2 Sprinkle yeast on top.
3 Wait for 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.
4 Pour into a large bowl.
5 Add flour, salt, olive oil.
6 Combine.
7 Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to).
8 Cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
9 Lightly grease two 12-inch pizza pans.
10 Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal.
11 Divide dough in half.
12 Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan.
13 Try to make it thicker around the edge.
14 If desired, pre-bake at 425 F for 10 minutes (I don't always do this).
15 Then spread with pizza sauce and use the toppings of your choice.
16 Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.
17 Makes 2 12-inch pizzas.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/pizza-dough-for-thin-crust-pizza-70165#ixzz1LXKgbaoy

The Chicken Cordon Bleu is also super easy. Take your chicken breasts and pound them very thin - as thin as you can go without them falling apart. Lay a piece of swiss cheese - or any similar cheese - I like Gouda - on top of the chicken breast. Then lay a thin sliced piece of ham or prosciutto that I had left from the pizza over the cheese. Roll the chicken, cheese and ham together in a spiral and poke a toothpick through the layers to hold it together. Roll it in an egg, and then in seasoned bread crumbs or Panko. Repeat that last step to ensure it is fully coated. Place in a greased pan and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Serve with Mustard Cream Sauce and Breaded Asparagus on the side.

Mustard Cream Sauce
½ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped spring onions
250ml PHILADELPHIA For Cooking
1 ½ tablespoons wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard, extra
Olive oil spray
Vegetables, for serving
Instructions BOIL wine and onions in a small saucepan for 2 minutes or until mixture is reduced to ½ cup. Whisk in PHILLY and mustard and boil for 3 minutes or until thickened to sauce consistency. Season, remove from heat and cover.

Breaded Asparagus

Simple - Lightly brush the asparagus with olive oil and then roll in the seasoned bread crumbs. Bake in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes. Serve with the mustard cream sauce as well.

Hope you all enjoy them as much as I did!

Lots of new posts coming

All of these posted a bit closer together than I thought so there are like 3 new posts below. I'll try to spread them out a bit better. :-)

I got selected by this website houseparty.com to host a party for Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Creme. They sent me a whole bunch of free stuff - some cool, most of it the junk I don't need to clutter up my house lol. But among the free things they sent me - a new stainless steel pan, coupons for free product and new wooden spoons.

Mainly I got to have fun coming up with new recipes and having people over. I went with St. Patricks Day - something green in ech dish - theme since it was a week away. I made a Prosciutto, Mushroom, Arugula and Red Onion pizza with cream sauce and I think that might have been my favorite dish. Then I made Breaded Asparagus and Chicken Cordon Bleu with a Mustard Cream Sauce and a Key Lime Cheesecake.







So I totally forgot to get any pictures of the actual food but my table looked pretty. :-)

Video at the Playground

Random Videos

Pushing the vacuum



Climbing the Slide