Lah-Di-Dah

From My Valentine

2012-02-15T06:31:00.004-07:00

Here is this year's card

I love it! I look forward to Daniel's Valentine's Day card every year and he did not disappoint. (even though he's been working 18-hour days - That's real love!) I love you Daniel!

The Dane Show

2012-01-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Ours was nice and quiet. Here are some videos of Dane, mostly for the Grandmas.

This is Dane discovering his presents. It wasn't quite the reaction we were expecting.

Dane playing with his new fort from Grandpa

Dane loves to talk on the phone. Here he is chatting with Grandma one day.

Dane also loves suckers. Here are some pics of him enjoying one.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Love, Daniel, Emily & Dane

Christmas Crafting

2011-12-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

I felted an old wool sweater and made Dane a new tie.

We have to make our own snow around these parts.

Gingerbread houses (or sleighs) are a must during Christmas time. Maybe next year I'll try to make actual gingerbread...or maybe not.

Some fabric wrapped Christmas cones I made. They were so fun and easy to make. Well, the one on the left was more labor intensive because I cut the fabric in strips and ruffled it before gluing it around the cone.

I made Daniel an Advent Calendar. Not only is it fun, but functional as it decorates our very long and blank entry way wall.

Sneak Peak

2011-12-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

The amazingly talented Lanay, at Lanay Swanson Photography, took our family pictures at Thanksgiving. Here's a sneak peak of our Christmas Card with some of the photos.

I won 25 Christmas Cards from Shutterfly from Nike at Choose to Thrive. She has an awesome blog, go check it out!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Thanksgiving and a Ball of Yarn

2011-12-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving

We went to Allen / Princeton, TX for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time celebrating with my sister and Daniel's aunt, uncle, and cousins. I think there were 14 adults and 7 children in all; it was great to be surrounded by so much love! Here is a very short video clip Daniel took.

And the Yarn

I bought some yarn at Hobby Lobby and decided to get crafty. Here's project one (I used the yarn to wrap around the wreath form):

And here is project two, a baby hat I crocheted for a friend of ours who is having a baby in a couple weeks. Since the baby isn't here yet, the monkey had to model the hat....

Date Night!

2011-11-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, we aren't the best at having Date Night, but every once in a while we manage something. Several weeks ago we had some plants that needed re-potting so I decided to turn the task into a themed date night.

1.The Invitation, which I left on Daniel's dash board in the morning

2. Dinner - Dirty Rice

3. The Activity - some gardening in the dirt

4. The Movie - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

5. Dessert - "Dirt"

He's 18!

2011-11-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Months that is, but still! Last Sunday Dane went to Nursery for the first time at church and he was a pro; now it's to be seen if he'll remain so.

(Just a funny pic)

At his 18 month check-up he weighed in at 21.3 lbs and 30 inches high. Yes, he's still small (3%), but what he lacks in stature he makes up for in intellect :P

(I'm not really the bragging type, but this would be a pretty short post if I didn't do a little bragging.)

Dane is still the cutest little boy ever! He's so smart and is constantly surprising us with stuff we didn't even know he knew. He relishes every opportunity he gets to play outside and loves his daily walks to the mailbox with daddy. His favorite book is Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? His favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider. His favorite things to watch are home videos of himself (he points to the computer and says "baby" - which means he wants to watch videos of himself). His favorite words are "outside" and "let's go." His favorite toys are a football, a phone (there are several objects that can become phones), and a wooden stick that switches between being a baseball bat and a horse. His favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, grapes, and any kind of sugary treat :S. His best new trick (according to mommy) is putting garbage in the trash can when asked to; (according to daddy) he can work the iPad and get to what he wants; and (according to himself) climbing the back of the couch to stand on the counter.

Here's a video of recent pictures and videos. I have more that I may or may not get around to posting. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:57:00.000-06:00

We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween!

~From Grapes, Apple and Banana

Feed Me! Chili's Eggrolls

2011-10-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

A friend linked to this recipe on Facebook and it just sounded so good I had to try it out. I did make slight modifications (when don't I?), nothing major but you can see what I changed in the small print below.

(In place of fresh red pepper I used jarred fire roasted peppers because it was more economincal. In place of fresh jalapeno I used jarred, because I already had some. I used fresh spinach and just let it wilt in the heat-up process. I used dried parsely instead of fresh.)

I also made the dipping sauce (with no modifications) and it was very good. We had these twice and the second time I did change up the sauce. In place of all of the spices it calls for I just added 1/2 Tbsp of ranch dressing powder. We liked it our way better, but as I said the sauce recipe as written was very good.

Oh, and the most important modification was that I did NOT deep fry them. I just can't bring myself to fry things. For one thing, it's messy; secondly, it's not very healthy; and lastly, it's a waste of a lot of oil. So, I just lightly brushed some oil all over the rolls with a pastry brush and baked them at 450 for about 20 mins, flipping the rolls over every 5 mins.

My Favorite Things! Fall

2011-10-16T18:35:00.000-06:00

Fall is my favorite season, so one of the hardest parts about living here in Houston is not having a fall season, at least not the kind that I'm used to - the wind getting brisk, the smell of cold in the air, the leaves changing color (they're changing here but only because they are dead from the drought).

Here is one of my other favorite things. It's a wind chime. But not just any wind chime; a hand made by my brother Jared wind chime. It's not much to look at (no offense Jared), but the sound is divine. It's not your run of the mill whimsical tinkering chime (bleh, who needs those). It's got guts, this wind chime; a deep, earthy, nautical quality. And sometimes it even sounds eerie; a "something wicked this way comes" vibe. Perfect for the Halloween season. This wind chime is my fall.

Maybe I'll try to record the sound sometime, but I fear the magic would be lost in the translation. You'll just have to take my word for it.

It's Craft Time! Candy Monster

2011-10-09T15:34:00.000-06:00

I saw this awesomely cute tutorial recently, and the other day during Dane's nap I had an itch to be crafty, and I had an empty tissue box (I never have empty tissue boxes because I never buy actual "facial" tissue).

So using only supplies on hand*, this is what was created...our Halloween Candy Monster (because I plan on putting candy in it's mouth instead of tattles).

This would be a great craft to do with the kiddos! (maybe using good ole Elmers instead of hot glue).

*Originally I used cotton balls for the eyes, but quickly found out that they don't hold up so well, especially at the hands of a toddler. So I did go out and purchase some pom poms to replace the eyes.

Feed Me! Conference Breakfast

2011-10-02T12:59:00.000-06:00

Since it's General Conference weekend and we are watching from the comfort of our home, I thought that I should at least make something special for breakfast. I was going to make our favorite german pancakes with buttermilk syrup recipe, but I had some leftover banana oat muffins that were getting dry so I decided to make bread pudding instead. I used this recipe here and substituted muffins for half the bread.

This was the first time I've ever made bread pudding so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it was super simple and yummy - especially with the sauce drizzled on top. Ok, forget the bread pudding, you just really need to try this buttermilk syrup recipe (aka carmel sauce). We love it on the german pancakes and it was the star of the bread pudding too. Daniel, who is not a fan of carmel anything, loves this stuff.

Oh, you noticed the lovely fish pitcher in the picture did you? Well, that my friends is a GurglePot. It's my new favorite thing, compliments of my sister, Elizabeth.

Update

2011-09-24T21:16:00.002-06:00

So, I know it has been almost two months since I've posted anything on here. I thought I'd let you know that we are all alive and well. We finally closed on our house and have moved in (hence, the blog absence - it's been a lot of work cleaning and painting and cleaning and painting and packing and painting and moving and cleaning and unpacking and organizing and cleaning). Hopefully soon I'll get back to posting regularly - if not for your enjoyment, for mine :)

Pick 'o the Month

2011-07-23T09:00:00.004-06:00

Things that are addicting:

Electronic Handheld Yahtzee

Blue Bell "Cake and Ice cream"

Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam

Feed Me!

2011-07-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's time to Rock the Crock. Summer is well under way and that means warmer weather (actually, our summer here has been slightly cooler than our spring was - thank goodness). And warmer weather means that no one wants to turn on the oven. Enter the beloved slow cooker.

Here are two fantastically easy and delicious slow cooker recipies, compliments of A Year of Slow Cooking.

Rotisserie-Style Chicken. I never would have thought to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker, but it works; and it's delicious; and it's a great way to produce left-over cooked chicken to use in other recipies. Oh, and use the drippings to make an amazing gravy.

Pesto Spinach Lasagna. This one is also delicious and super easy. You don't have to pre-cook the noodles so it takes no time at all to throw everything together in the pot. I like to throw in extra vegetables like mushrooms or zuccini.

Let's Hear it For the Boy: Part 2

2011-07-09T09:45:00.000-06:00

One of Dane's new favorite activities is climbing into the cabinets. But he has't figured out how to get back out of them yet... You can see here how in dire need of a hair cut he was.

So I bought some clippers and went to work. I think it turned out pretty good for my first hair cut. Auntie Elizabeth came down for a 4th of July visit and brought these fun sparkly stars.

We decided last minute to go check out our city's fireworks display; they weren't too shabby. Despite getting eaten by fire ants and mosquitos (the last minuteness of our decision meant we forgot the repellent), we had fun and Dane really enjoyed oohing and ahhing at the fireworks.

Let's Hear it For the Boy

2011-07-09T08:00:00.002-06:00

Last month we went to Utah for Mat and Pearl's wedding. It was great to escape to cooler weather and hang out with family. Here are a couple of Dane with Grandma and Grandpa.

We've decided that Dane's official first word was da-da, which he learned around his first birthday. But he started talking much earlier than that and really his first word was a phrase, "what is it?" - at least that's what it sounds like. Now he also says "where is it?" Seriously the cutest thing ever!

It's Craft Time

2011-07-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

I came across this flip-flop tutorial from The Mother Huddle and I knew I had to try it. So, the other night when I was bored I pulled out some scrap fabric and my brown flips and went to work. Here is the result:

I think they turned out great!

Pick o' the Month

2011-06-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Such an important reminder:

Feed Me!

2011-06-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I know I really need some lessons on taking food pictures - mine never look good - but what's a post without a picture?

Here are a couple recipies I've tried lately featuring: VEGETABLES! Dane isn't a big veggie eater, so I try to squeeze them into whatever I can.

Carrot Sticks from Weelicious - a fabulous website I recently discovered. I doubled the recipe and used a combination of shredded carrots and apples, a combination of white flour and wheat flour, and did it all in the food processor as some of the reviewers suggested. They turned out more biscuity than crackery - I think because the apple added extra moisture. Verdict: It was easy to make, it made a lot (I put half of it in the freezer), and best of all Dane ate them!

Bean "Meat"balls from Dr. Oz. This recipe uses kidney beans and mushrooms instead of ground meat. I mostly followed the recipe, except I added some herbs and spices since there really wasn't any in the recipe. I added fennel, red pepper flakes and garlic. Verdict: I've tried a couple other meatless recipies and these had the best flavor. The consistancy was much softer than normal meatballs, even after I ended up adding about 1 cup additional breadcrumbs. But we liked them and Dane even ate them! They are a bit labor intensive though.

Let's Hear it For the Boy

2011-06-11T08:00:00.003-06:00

Yes, yes, we know how cute he is - and I don't know how we stand it!

Here's a video of him showcasing some of his musical skills:

It's Craft Time

2011-06-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

There is a group of moms in our apartment complex that gets together and does stuff (kids crafts, moms crafts, play dates, moms night out etc). Last month we made cake stands/tiers out of repurposed plates and candelstick holders. I got my supplies at The Goodwill and simply cleaned them up and then glued together with some gorilla glue. I really like the way it turned out and it was super easy (especially since I didn't paint anything).

You can find how-to's all of the internet for these - super easy, super fun, and super addicting (I want to make more!)

Videos

2011-05-22T19:57:00.003-06:00

Random Videos from our Ohio trip

Videos from Dane's Birthday

1 Year Stats

2011-05-15T08:43:00.002-06:00

At Dane's 12 month check-up he weighed in at 15 lb 15 oz (we were so hoping he had broken 16 lbs....oh well); height was 26.5 inches; head was 17.3 inches. That means he's still off the charts on all accounts (on the bottom end), but he is getting closer at least.

Birthday Boy!

2011-05-12T08:27:00.000-06:00

Dane turned 1 on the 6th. I can't believe he's been with us for a whole year - time sure flies! We love our Dane and are do blessed to have him in our family. We went to Ohio to visit Grandma Lynne. Here are some pictures of the birthday week.

We have some video as well that we will post soon.

The Picture

2011-04-17T20:34:00.001-06:00

Read the very large paragraph below (sorry, I didn't feel like retyping that whole thing just so it would space properly) for the rest of the story.

Our Saturday Night

2011-04-17T19:34:00.005-06:00

So, it was late - 10ish - and we had just finished reading our scriptures and were in the middle of prayer when we were ripped from our reverie by an ear-piercing shriek. There it was again, and again. It took me until the third or fourth shriek to realize what it was...the fire alarm. I was so confused; it wasn't our apartment alarm, it was the building alarm! At first Daniel was just annoyed that the noise would wake up Dane and he would surely start to cry. So, while Daniel ran in to get Dane I opened the front door to peak out and sure enough there was a smelly, smokey haze. That's when I started to panic. I yelled into the apartment that it was for real, slipped on some flip flops, grabbed a phone and my purse and followed Daniel and Dane out the door. We followed other residents down the stairs and onto level ground away from the building. Residents from both sides of our building as well as curious on-lookers from other buildings filled the parking lot. Daniel was barefoot and I realized that we didn't have any keys with us, hopefully we wouldn't need them. It took about 10 minutes for my heart to settle back down in my chest and start beating normally again. That's also about how long it took for the fire trucks (yes, that's plural) to arrive; one, two, three, four, five! Plus two SUVs and an ambulance. (I thought it was overkill) We watched as they pulled up, dequiped (it should be a word) their trucks, hooked up a hose to the firehydrant and went to work. Dane was absolutely fascinated by it all. He kept pointing to the flashing lights and watched intently as the firemen went back and forth. Fortunately the excitement lasted for only an hour and we were allowed back into our apartment to finally go to bed. It was a kitchen fire on the first floor that had been extinguished before the fire trucks even arrived, or so the occupant assured everyone. So I'm not entirely sure what all the goings-on was about. But it sure made for an eventful night. I'm just really grateful it wasn't a "real" emergency; and now I think we need to have a better plan of action in case something like this happens again.

A Bag Bag

2011-04-15T21:04:00.007-06:00

Iwanted a project to work on, so I chose this quick one (well, it should have been quick but my machine was acting up and took me three times as long as it should have). Anywho, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome; and I used scrap fabric so the only expense was for the elastic.

I love cheap, easy, practical projects!

We have a Tooth!

2011-04-15T16:01:00.002-06:00

Finally! I was feeding Dane some yogurt this afternoon and my eye caught sight of something on the bottom gum...upon a subsequent peek it was confirmed to be his first tooth!!! No pictures yet.

You Won't Believe It, Until You Do!

2011-04-13T19:02:00.004-06:00

So, I found this video from a link to a link to a link.

I was amazed. And then I found this video here that explains slowly in english how you do it. I tried it and it worked. I think I'm converted.

mmmm, Food

2011-03-31T20:58:00.004-06:00

Here are some recipies we've tried lately. In case you need inspiration.

Peanut Butter Brownies This is an amazing recipe that we both loved. Think rich chocolate, chocolate-chip brownies with a peanut butter cheesecake filling. Yeah, heaven!

Artichoke Pasta An easy and healthy slow cooker recipe that again we both liked. Despite neither one of us being green olive lovers, I added them anyway and we actually didn't mind them in this recipe.

Carrot Soup I liked this soup, but Daniel did not - mostly because of the dill; he's not a huge fan of dill. This link is to a recipe very similar to the one I made, but not exactly the same. I think the only complaint I had was that it was a little too fluffy. I'm not sure if that's because I blended it too much (used an immersion blender) and got too much air in it, or what.

A Different Kind of Ham

2011-03-20T20:40:00.005-06:00

Dane is so funny sometimes. When he's feeling particularly hammy, he likes to scrunch his whole face up into a squishy smile; like this:

Pass The Pig

2011-03-11T19:41:00.004-07:00

Note to self: do not cook a ham unless company is coming for dinner. Two people can only eat so much ham in one week....I've had to get creative with the leftovers.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Calzones

Ingredients:
1 recipe calzone dough (I used this one)

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 cup milk (better if warm)
2-3 slices swiss cheese, torn into pieces
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup cubed cooked ham

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter then whisk the flour into the butter and cook for a couple minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until well blended. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until thickened (about 5 mins). Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Add the chicken and ham and stir until combined.

Roll out the dough and divide the filling evenly onto each piece. Fold over and seal well (pressing edges with a fork if necessary). Brush with an egg wash if desired (one beaten egg mixed with a couple tsp of water). Poke the tops a couple times with a fork to vent and bake for 18-20 minutes.

And the cutest 10 month old that there ever was!

Squeals of Delight

2011-02-20T09:33:00.002-07:00

Dane is getting more and more mobile everyday. Last night he had a breakthrough in walking unaided and in falling down properly (he fell on his bum and hands instead of just towering over sideways).

He was so delighted with himself!

This, of course, is just bad news for me. Now I really won't be able to leave him out of my sight. (I mean, not that I did before, that would just make me a really bad parent ;)

My Valentines

2011-02-14T08:28:00.003-07:00

This year I am lucky enough to have TWO Valentines!

Aren't they handsome?!

Since last year's pop-up card was such a huge hit, Daniel made me

another one this year! Love it!And another picture of Dane in his new suit - isn't that the

cutest thing ever?! He looks happy, but no, he's crying.

Happy Valentine's Day!

9 Months!

2011-02-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it sounds so crazy to say that Dane is 9 months old! I look at the little newborn babies, and sometimes I miss him being so small, but not for very long (it was hard...it still is). I love that he is older and more interactive, and learning so much.

On Thursday, he took his first un-aided step. It wasn't very graceful. For now, he's mostly sticking to the walls and furniture, but every once in a while he'll try by himself. But man, he sure can get around. I probably shouldn't admit the following story, but I will anyway. The other day Dane was in the living room playing and I was in the kitchen (which looks into the living room) and after a little bit I realized that I didn't hear him anymore, so I came around the counter and he wasn't there, anywhere. I looked in the corners, I looked behind the couches - he wasn't there. I thought, is it possible for a baby to just disapear into thin air? I looked in our bedroom, called out his name, then finally I went into his bedroom and there he was picking the trash out of the wastebasket. He still doesn't crawl though, so at least I know that if I put him out of reach of anything he can pull up on, he will stay put.

We love our little guy, he brings smiles to our faces every day. And as promised I am sharing lots of pictures.

A Plethora of Pictures

2011-02-06T19:59:00.013-07:00

Fabulous Food

2011-01-17T11:35:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted any recipes...probably because it's been a while since I've tried anything new. Who has time to cook?

But here are a couple new things I've tried recently and I give both two enthusiastic thumbs up!

1. Oatmeal Pancakes (made with instant oatmeal packets). We have a lot of instant oatmeal packets; and while I love oatmeal, it can get boring. So I searched the internet and found this recipe and I love it!

2. Enchilada Casserole with Sweet Potatoes and Corn. I stumbled across this recipe and thought I'd try it because I love mexican food, I love sweet potatoes, and I was intrigued by the combination. It turned out great! I didn't roast corn, just used frozen corn; and I didn't use lime juice because I didn't have any.

8 Months

2011-01-08T09:35:00.002-07:00

so serious

Dane is now eight months old! So crazy how time flies. He's learning and growing! We went to our follow-up appointment with the dietician on Wednesday and he had gained about 10 oz since his first visit three weeks ago; and he grew in length too. She said that was good considering that he had gotten sick twice in those three weeks, but she would like it to be better. So we have one more follow-up in 6 weeks and then she'll probably call it good.

Fortunately Dane is eating food better. He loves yogurt the most, and bananas and rice cereal second. And that's about it. Ok, so he's not doing that much better at eating a variety of foods, but at least the quantity has increased. He still absolutely refuses to take anything from a bottle. The other night daniel tried to give him some milk that I had pumped and after about 15 minutes of screaming I finally just went in and took him and then after he calmed down I snuggled him close and gave him the bottle and he took it!!!! But never since :(

Dane is getting better and better at pulling himself up and standing. Sometimes he even lets go and stands on his own! And he's doing better on the floor too. He will try and figure his way out of being on his tummy a little more before getting mad. He still likes to use his voice and talk and sing. And best of all, in my opinion, is that he is naping better too. The first couple of days after we got home from Utah he literally slept all day (um, probably because he didn't sleep at all in Utah). Ever since he's taken two naps a day!!!!

Well, I wish I had more pictures to post, but I've been slacking. I promise more for next time.

Christmas

2011-01-05T20:38:00.009-07:00

We had a lovely Christmas. We opened gifts here on Christmas Eve morning because we flew out to Utah that evening to surprise Daniel's family. It was fun watching Dane open gifts - I'm sure it will be a hundred times more exciting when he's older next year. Here's a little video of the fun!

Our visit to Utah was great. It was wonderful to surprise the family - especially Daniel's mom; she was so excited to see us. Dane loved getting reaquainted with everyone. We got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Gerow on Christmas day; Grandpa passed away the next day. It was so great that we could be there for the funeral - what a beautiful tribute to a wonderful patriarch.

We didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but enjoy!

Dane on Christmas Day

Gee, do ya think they're related?

Dane playing with Grandma Laurie

The Year is Dying...

2010-12-31T20:38:00.004-07:00

...let him die. Not that it's been a horrible year, but there is something refreshing and exciting about a new start, a clean slate. Here's hoping that the feeling lasts and that New Year's resolutions become accomplished goals and not forgotten fantasies.

And the Goose's baby, well he needs to get fat

2010-12-17T13:12:00.004-07:00

So we went to the 6-month follow-up visit last week and Dane had only gained 1 oz during the previous month. So at the doctor's recommendation, we went to the dietician on Wednesday, and she's concerned. Dane is way off the charts, but it's not so much that he's small (he's always been small), it's that his rate of growth isn't normal (5 times less than what it should be).

So the plan is to continue to breastfeed and give him high calorie solids - basically put oil or butter in everything we give him. We're also supposed to give him at least 4 oz of concentrated formula every day. But, not thinking about the consequences, we haven't given him a bottle since shortly after we moved here and now he won't take one...argh! We've tried a sippy cup too and the most he'll do is chew on the spout. So I went and got some different brands to try, but I'm already feeling it's a lost cause.

We go back to the dietician in a month and if he still isn't growing then we'll see a GI doctor to make sure there isn't some sort of other problem, like a deficiency or absorbtion problem.

Everyone keeps telling me how healthy Dane looks and that he doesn't look too skinny, and I believe them, but we decided that we need to do everything we can just to make sure. So, if after all is said and done, he is still small and a slow grower, then we'll know it's not because of something we did(n't) do.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

2010-12-14T21:14:00.010-07:00

The goose in this case would be me. I need to exercise some serious self control around all the holiday treats; and I need to just exercise period.

We finally put up our tree on Sunday. We don't have many Christmas decorations, just the tree and this banner that I made the other week.

When Elizabeth was down for Thanksgiving she helped me learn how to make these snowflake ornaments, so I've been doing that in my spare moments. They are too big for our puny tree so I've been giving them away.

On Saturday we had a Ward Christmas Breakfast and Santa stopped by. I plopped Dane down on Santa's lap and snapped a quick photo just before he started to cry.

Happy Holidays!

The Feast

2010-11-28T13:53:00.015-07:00

Elizabeth came down for the weekend and we had a full-on Thanksgiving feast (with tons of leftovers!). I dubbed it the Food Network Feast after I realized that half of the recipes that I made were from the Food Network.

I made my first turkey (I forgot to take a picture of it, but it looked nice). Daniel carved his first turkey. Elizabeth made a fantastic gravy and two awesomely-delicious pies.

Dane felt neglected all day because I was running around trying to get everything ready. Cricket got underfoot and scavenged for any dropped food.

Elizabeth's pies (pecan and apple) - YUMMY! Here's the table spread - there was more than this but we had to spread it out on the counter: Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rainbow jello, olives, homemade cranberry sauce and homemade cranberry relish, and sparkling holiday punch. The only thing missing were the rolls. But we stuffed ourselves silly without them, so I don't think they were missed that much.

My favorite part of the meal was the stuffing. I used Anne Burrell's cornbread stuffing recipe and the only alteration I made was to leave out the cranberries. A close second was the sweet potatoes - which was Daniel's favorite part. I used the same recipe as I made last year from the Neely's but instead of maple syrup I used apple cider syrup.

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed and had fun. Well, Daniel took a test on Friday - his 3rd CPA test. Elizabeth helped me with a crochet pattern, we played games, watched movies, and had a grand ole time. Dane was sad to see Elizabeth go, they had so much fun playing together.

It was quite the experience doing a whole Thanksgiving feast for the first time. I told Daniel that I won't ever do it again unless I have more than one oven and a bigger kitchen. He said, that's why people invite other people over and assign them to bring something.

Good Intentions

2010-11-21T15:31:00.003-07:00

That is a piece of fudge. Not just any fudge mind you, "healthy" fudge, pinto bean fudge. Yes, that is correct, there are pinto beans in the fudge. While this fudge had every good intention of being, well, good and good-for-you, it just didn't deliver. It wasn't bad necessarily, it just wasn't good. In case you're interested in trying it out for yourself, here is the recipe.

Now that, is a deep-fried oreo. And oh, did it deliver!

6 Months

2010-11-14T16:25:00.008-07:00

It's hard to believe that Dane has been a part of our family for 6 months already!

He is so cute and it's so fun to see his personality emerge. His favorite things are eating (milk), playing with daddy, and taking baths. His dislikes include, eating (anything other than milk), taking naps, being on his tummy, and getting dressed.

He had his 6 month check-up this past week. He remains in the Feather-weight divsion at 11 lbs 14 oz and 23 inches tall. The doctor said he looked healthy, but wants him to start taking vitamins and eating more solid foods. Yeah, easier said than done, doc. He is sitting up really well, and loves to "walk around" while we hold him up. And the other day he discovered that he can pull himself up! But he still refuses to really roll-over on a regular basis. He'd prefer to cry until someone comes along to get him off his tummy...sigh. We are so blessed and thankful to have this adorable guy in our family!

Project #1 - Nursing Cover Clips

2010-11-06T09:51:00.008-06:00

The other day Dane took a nap just long enough for me to work on this little project. I've had intentions of getting a nursing cover but just never got around to it. Then I decided that this would be more practical because I could use it on whatever blanket I had and it takes up less space than a nursing cover.

Materiels:

1 piece of fabric about 16 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide

2 suspender clips

Directions:

Fold the fabric in half lengthwise (with the wrong side facing out) and sew up the open side.

Take a hot iron and press the seam flat.

Pull the tube of fabric right side out. (I put the tube over a crochet hook, tied some of the thread ends around the hook and then pulled the hook back through the fabric)

On each end, fold up the raw edge a 1/4 inch or so and press flat with a hot iron.

Then slip the suspender clip onto each end and fold up the folded edge once more around the suspender clip about a 1/2 inch and sew closed.

You can adjust the length of the fabric to your height and liking.

This was very easy to make for a beginner (me), and very inexpensive. I paid $1.99 for the suspender clips and used left over fabric I had from a different project. I had contemplated using 1 inch wide ribbon instead of the fabric, to make it even easier, but I wanted to do it for as cheap as possible so I stuck with the fabric that I already had. So after tax it only cost $2.15. Sure beats the $8-9 price tag to buy one online.

Let me know if you try this out yourself and if you have any other fun, easy, beginner projects, pass them on. I'm trying to expand my skill set.

Shout Out!

2010-11-01T11:45:00.005-06:00

I've had several people comment on our new family picture, so I have to give a big SHOUT OUT to our wonderful cousin, Lanay. As I mentioned before, we went to Dallas at the beginning of October and on a whim Lanay decided to take some pictures. She is exremely talented and we love our pictures! Check out more of her amazing work here and here.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T09:13:00.001-06:00

Finally

2010-10-23T08:29:00.001-06:00

Watch his funny face when he looks at the camera, so cute!

We'll see if he keeps it up this time around :)

October 22nd

2010-10-22T12:32:00.004-06:00

Today we went to the park. I wore shorts...I miss Fall.

Pickles anyone?

2010-10-07T13:03:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we went up north to visit my sister Elizabeth. We had a wonderful time and got the chance to taste some of her very own produce and canning creations. On Sunday morning we had a pickle tasting - yes, for breakfast (well, with breakfast).

On the left are the lemon pickles. They were very light and refreshing - they reminded me of the marinated cucumbers my grandma used to make, but not as vinegary.

In the middle are the bread and butter variety. They had a nice mustard flavor - they'd go great on a burger.

And finally on the right - the cinnamon pickles. Yes, I said cinnamon. They tasted, well, like cinnamon. These were Daniel's favorite because they tasted the least like a cucumber.

Thanks Elizabeth for the great time and great food!

Dane, Dane and more Dane

2010-09-26T16:17:00.010-06:00

To Houston

2010-09-26T16:03:00.006-06:00

We left Utah on September 9th. Here's Dane all ready to go.
This pretty much sums up the trip. Lots and lots of driving. Dane was so sick of his car seat.

We arrived in Houston 6 days later on the 14th. Dane's smile reflects all our delight at finally being in our new home.

In case you have no first hand knowledge, the drive from Utah to Houston isn't all that scenic. This is the only picture of the land we took - the famous Horse Head on Blue Mountain in Monticello UT. (it's just left of the light post)Really, the highlights of our trip were getting to see family. Grandma and Grandpa Christensen in Monticello, Kim and Mike in their new house in Las Cruces NM (and mom who was visiting as well), Elizabeth and the Swanson's in Allen TX.

StressedessertS

2010-09-07T07:56:00.004-06:00

Did you know desserts is stressed spelled backwards? What's the significance? Um, I think it has something to do with eating desserts to relieve stress - at least that's what I'm going to believe.

This is causing me to be stressed lately:

Our apartment has exploded and there's nothing I can do about it.

This is what I've done about it:
The other night we stopped at Sonic for a tasty treat and I tried a Cherry Limeade Chiller - YUMMY! A creamy and fruity and zippy blend of ice cream and cherry limeade complete with lime wedge and cherry on top. It was definitely a moment of stress-free indulgence.

Caught on Tape!

2010-08-27T13:54:00.001-06:00

Just too darn cute!

2010-08-23T14:09:00.003-06:00

(click to view larger)

Stir Fry

2010-08-20T20:27:00.003-06:00

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken cubed
oil or spray for cooking
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp 5-spice powder
minced garlic or garlic powder to taste
sesame oil (optional)
1 bag frozen veggies thawed

Directions:
Heat oil in a wok or skillet over high heat, add chicken and cook until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients (except for sesame oil) in a small bowl. (I actually sprinkled the 5-spice powder over the chicken as it was cooking to give the meat flavor)

Add the veggies and sauce to the cooked chicken and heat through (I used a "steam-in-the-bag" medley of broccoli, carrots and edamame that I cooked in the microwave before adding to the chicken and sauce).

Just before serving add your sesame oil if using (I added 1 tsp or so).

Serve over rice.

The original recipe was a slow cooker recipe using pork chops. We liked the sauce so much that I decided to try it in a wok with chicken and added the veggies and it turned out great - it's our new go-to stir fry sauce. In both cases we made a yummy fried rice with the left-overs.

3 Months

2010-08-07T08:25:00.016-06:00

Yesterday Dane turned 3 months old. He is growing so much - even in the last few days! He's slept throught he night 2 out of the last 3 nights (yeah!); he seems like a much happier baby smiling and talking a lot; he's starting to grab toys.

He loves attention - contantly needing to be talked to or played with. He hates to sit in the back of the car by himself (I think he feels neglected). He loves to just look around and explore his surroundings - especially in new places.

We are so happy to have him in our family! Enjoy these pictures from the last few weeks.

11 Weeks

2010-07-23T12:08:00.002-06:00

Dane is 11 weeks old and had his 2 month check-up today (although he is 2 months and 17 days). The doctor said he looks really good and while he is small, his rate of growth is right on track. Here are his stats:

height: 22 1/2 inches (13th percentile)
weight: 10 lbs (5th percentile)
head: 14.85 inches (3rd percentile) we think the nurse got a weird angle on the head measurement.

And of course he got some immunizations which didn't make him very happy at all - poor little guy. We lent our camera out so there are no pictures with this post, but we'll put some up as soon as we can.

Family Fun for the Fourth

2010-07-11T14:50:00.012-06:00

How's the for alliteration?

Emily's family had a reunion in Wisconsin over the 4th of July weekend. It was tons-o-fun and so good to see everyone. It's a miracle that so many were able to make it.

We started off the trip with Dane's first airplane ride to Milwaukee, WI via Las Vegas. He did amazingly well during the flights.
When we got to Milwaukee we picked up the rental car and started on the 4 hour drive to Pembine where the "cabin" is located. We were exhuasted when we got there, but it was worth the fun that awaited.

There was four-wheeling.

Plenty of chill time to catch up with each other.
Games of all sorts - one of the most popular was pass-the-baby.

A bunch of the gang went on a hike to the river.

Dane discovered the joy of reading on our trip (isn't this adorable?).

He's even being patriotic and sporting the red, white & blue.

On the last day of our trip Dane turned 2 months old.

It was a wonderful trip - we can't wait until the next reunion.

See you all in 2012!

Summer Grilling

2010-06-30T10:18:00.004-06:00

I love grillng in the summer because a) we don't have AC so it doesn't warm up the apartment like the oven does; and b) Daniel can help with dinner while I tend to the baby.

We first tried out this marinade last summer and revisted it again a couple weeks ago and fell in love with it all over again. The original recipe is to make chicken kabobs but we recently used it on a pork tenderloin with great success.

Rosemary Ranch Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar (whatever kind you have)
1 TBS minced fresh rosemary (0r 1 tsp dried)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 TBS white sugar, or to taste (optional)

Mix all ingredients well and let sit for a few minutes. Then pour over selected meat and/or veggies, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins. Then grill and enjoy!

We've enjoyed some really good kabobs with cubed chicken, peppers, onion and mushrooms (all marinated in the sauce); and as I mentioned above a delicious grilled tenderloin as well.

Smiles

2010-06-18T12:42:00.003-06:00

Dane is now 6 weeks old - I can't believe it! But it's so much fun to watch him grow and develop and become more alert. And the best thing is that he smiles and plays with mommy some instead of just staring off into space all the time.

Oh Happy Day

2010-06-18T12:21:00.005-06:00

I finally made it back to the gym this morning for the first time in over 2 months! And it was awesome. It felt so good to excerise my body since all I do is sit on the couch all day with the baby - not that spending time with Dane is not awesome too, it's just makes me feel lazy. It's also so nice to have my body back and fully functional - if not a little weaker than it used to be. The last time I was at the gym my body hurt too much to really do anything or enjoy it. Yeah for babies being outside the womb!

Lately

2010-06-11T11:49:00.005-06:00

I can't count the number of times I've sat down to try and write a post only to have Dane start crying and taking me away from my intended task. If fact, he sounds like he is about to wake up now... so I'll try to make this quick.

The last 5 weeks have been a blur - a sleepless, stressful blur. But wonderful too. Breastfeeding continues to be a work in progress, but Dane is gaining good weight which is the most important thing. At 4 1/2 weeks he weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz. Here's a full body shot. The beautiful quilt he is laying on is a present from his favorite Aunt Elizabeth (Note: in this case, favorite describes Aunt Elizabeth and not aunt :) He has lots of favorite aunts).

Here is a short video of face shots from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Blessing

2010-05-25T14:53:00.005-06:00

Dane's blessing was on Sunday. Daniel gave a beautiful blessing and we had a lovely time visiting with family afterwards. When we tried to take some pictures, Dane wasn't being very cooperative (he was sleeping) so we didn't get a really good one.

Later that day we took Dane over to meet his great-grandpa Gerow and we took this wonderful four generation photo.

Dane's two-week check up was last Friday. The pediatrician referred us to a lactation consultant because Dane's weight wasn't nearly where it should have been (birth weight was 6 lb 8 oz, but he was only at 6 lb 2 oz on day 15). She kindly informed me that I wasn't producing enough milk and was basically starving our poor child. So she sent us home with a pump and a list of instructions and it's apparently been working because he gained almost 1/2 lb in three days!

One Week Old

2010-05-13T12:46:00.002-06:00

Dane has had quite the first week of life - including 4 long days and nights under bili-lights for Jaundice, 5 nasty heel pokes to draw blood, a late night visit to the doctor's office, weight-loss, sleepless nights, fussy eating....

But the Jaundice is gone now, he's sleeping better, eating better, pooping better (I'm sure he'll thank me for publicizing that information when he's older). We are just loving having him here.

I'll relate some details surrounding the labor and birth - feel free to move on if you wish, but some people wanted to know.

I'd been having practice labor pretty consistantly for the last week or two before Dane was born. Early Wednesday morning I woke up and took note that the practice labor surges felt different than before. I could feel it more in my lower abdomen and back and not just the top of my uterus. I had a doctor's appt that morning and the doctor didn't report anything that led me to believe I would be having a baby any time soon. So I went to work and continued having the surges all day. By the time we went to bed Wednesday night, the surges had intesified and I couldn't really sleep. So I got up around 1:30 am and just went to the living room and tried to relax. Finally about 3:30 am I had decided that I wanted to head to the hospital. We arrived at 4 am and found out I was dilated to 3 1/2. But the nurse didn't feel comfortable letting me leave, so I stayed and in a couple more hours was at a 5 and they admitted me. A few more hours went by and I gave in and got the epidural. The back labor just became more than I could deal with. About 4 hours later I was complete and Dane was born at 1:56 pm on Thursday, May 6th.

I had posted before that I wanted to do a natural birth (as far as using no drugs) using Hypnobirthing. While I didn't quite succeed, I'm not disappointed with the way things went. I used the breathing and relaxation as long as I could and felt that I couldn't even have gotten as far as I did without them. I'm really glad we took the class and I plan on practicing it again for the next baby and having success.

Introducing Baby Gerow!

2010-05-07T11:27:00.004-06:00

Dane Edward Gerow

Born: 5/6/2010 at 1:56 pm

6 lbs 8 oz, 18.5 inches

(click for more pictures)

Update

2010-04-28T20:38:00.003-06:00

I guess there really is no update. I've been having Braxton-Hicks all day long for the last three days, but as of my appointment yesterday there's really no progress. Baby is still floating around and no dilation to speak of. But I guess that's ok because we still don't have the baby's room ready.

Pictures

2010-04-25T12:43:00.008-06:00

Here are a couple pictures from Daniel's triathlon. His final time was 1h 25m. I'm so proud of him!

But, I'm even more proud of him for this! It's been a long road, but he's finally done with school! But unfortunately not done with the studying. He's going to jump right into stuyding for his CPA - his goal is to complete all 4 tests this summer before we leave for Houston. I know he can do it!

3 Weeks and Counting!

2010-04-18T13:02:00.003-06:00

We are 37 weeks today, that means our little boy is coming soon! We are very excited. I will be even more excited when Daniel is finally done with all his finals and graduation so that we can get the room ready - that's stressing me out slightly.Last Saturday was the annual Gerow Kite Fly in Goshen. We had lovely weather - the wind could have been a little better.

Yesterday Daniel competed in the Telos Timp Tri (the same sprint triathlon we did in November). He did pretty well and today is definitely feeling the effects of not having trained. I'm not gonna lie - I can't wait to have my body back so I can do stuff like that again (sigh). I forgot my camera so resorted to the cell phone and if I can ever figure out how to get the pictures on to a computer I will post them.

Mostly we're just excited for Daniel's graduation and the arrival of our little boy!

Easter Fun

2010-04-06T19:55:00.004-06:00

Yes, Easter is over, but I had to share this awesome craft we did. I saw it on a blog last year and had to try it out this year. The idea came from Marth Stewart's website:Basically you take scraps of silk and wrap it around raw eggs and then cook 'em and the dye from the silk transfers to the eggs. We were so excited they turned out and kept the extra silk scraps for next year. I highly recommend trying this out! Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up!

Shower Fun

2010-04-03T15:11:00.015-06:00

34 week belly

Mom Gerow threw me a fabulous baby shower last weekend. Lots of frieds and family were able to come (about 30). Everyone had a great time thanks to mom's hard work.

Everyone got to guess the size of my belly by cutting a piece of yarn (grandma Gerow won - she was within a 1/4 inch!). We also played the candy bar game - always well received.

One of the activities that greeted guests as they walked in was to pick a letter of the alphabet and then draw a picture to correspond with the letter. The pictured pages are going into plastic sleeves in a binder for baby's first alphabet book. It's such a cute idea and I found out that I have a lot of talented friends and family.

Here's grandma Gerow working on her contribution.

My favorite activity was having the guests create pictures of what our child will look like (as an adult). There were three different face pictures each of me and Daniel cut up into foreheads, noses, mouths, chins and ears. Each group of people grabbed one of each face part at random and then put them together to create our child's face. It was oh so hilarious. Some of them looked normal and some of them were down-right frightening. I will have to posts pictures of them later.

Corrin and Amber drove up from AZ and NV. It was so much fun to have them here - even if it was just for a very short while. And of course getting to play with this little guy was a highlight of the weekend. Spencer is the cutest, happiest baby who loves to smile and giggle.

Here he is looking like a cool dude in his shades.

It's 4:30 in the Morning

2010-03-26T04:29:00.003-06:00

I've been up for the last two and a half-hours. "Up" as in not-in-bed. If we want to consider "up" as in awake - tack on an extra hour. I've been reading, catching up on blog entries I've missed this week, searching the internet, checking out Facebook updates, and generally feeling pretty fed-up with this. I really just want to be in bed sleeping. But I can't stand being in bed not sleeping so I figured I might as well be up, not sleeping. I think all the coughing may have caused a hernia . Is it normal to have a localized spot of intense pain in my belly every time I cough or blow my nose? Kind of like my muscles are being ripped apart? I didn't think so.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

2010-03-21T16:24:00.006-06:00

Dinner today was another experiment. I found a recipe in one of my books and tweaked it a bit. It wasn't too bad. Nothing to do cartwheels over, but not bad.

Ingredients:
16 jumbo pasta shells (cooked al dente)
2 cups prepared stuffing
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1/4 cup Miracle Whip (I used light)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)

Directions:
Mix prepared stuffing, chicken and Miracle Whip.
Stuff into shells and place in a 9x9 baking dish.
Mix soup, sour cream and enough water (about a half a can) to thin the mixture.
Pour soup mixture over shells and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

This recipe, like I said was decent. And it was pretty easy. I would have used homemade cream of chicken soup, but we didn't have milk. I think it would have been good with any kind of cheese too (swiss, cheddar, colby jack etc).

On being pregnant

2010-03-13T10:20:00.003-07:00

For the most part, after the first 14 weeks or so, being pregnant hasn't been that bad. Even the first trimester really wasn't that bad - I had it pretty easy, I know. The occassional discomfort pops-up here and there, but nothing that's been constant. Probably the hardest thing for me is just having to slow down.

"My Perspective"

"Not valid with any other offer"

2010-03-04T18:56:00.004-07:00

What exactly does that mean? I had three coupons for one small Arby's curly fry each. The coupon stated:

Free Small Curly Fries. Limit 1 with this coupon at participating Arby's restaurants. Not valid with any other offer, and not transferable. Valid through 3/31/2010.

No more. No less. I tried to get three free small curly fries, but the guy taking my money said I could only get one because the coupon says "Not valid with any other offer."

If I had used the curly fry coupon with a different coupon for a different product (say, buy one get one free beef & cheddar) what do you think they would have done then?

Usually coupons will say something like "limit one per visit per customer" if they don't want you to use multiple of the same coupon, but this one simply said "Limit 1 with this coupon." How does that limit how many coupons I can use?

We got two of these coupons in the mail on the same day which we gave away. The others were in the Daily Universe along with other Arby's coupons. The Daily Universe is the free campus newspaper which can be found all over campus including in the bathrooms, left on classroom desks, left on chairs, and left on the floor by students. Why did they send out thousands of these coupons to hungry students without more explicit wording, if they didn't intend to allow use of multiple coupons per person?

I want your opinion.

Here are the different possible meanings I came up with for "Not valid with any other offer"

1. Multiple coupons and/or discounts cannot be taken for the same product (in an attempt to get an even lower price than using just one), but multiple coupons or discounts can be used in the same purchase for different products; e.g. a coupon for 10% off and a coupon for $1.00 off cannot be used for the same gallon of milk, but the 10% off coupon could be used for the gallon of milk, and the $1.00 off coupon could be used for a can of peanuts.

2. Multiple coupons and/or discounts cannot be used in the same purchase; e.g., if a 10% off coupon is used for any item in a purchase, no other coupons can be used in that purchase, period.

Please comment and say which one you think it is. If you think it's number one, how does that apply to my situation with multiple valid coupons, each for one free small curly fry?

My Conversion Story

2010-03-03T17:04:00.003-07:00

Growing up I was anti. I didn't want anything to do with mushrooms. The very mention of them made me shudder. On my mission I was forced to get better aquainted with several varieties of the foul fungus. Our relationship became one of a tolerable co-existance, but I still wasn't sure if I wanted them to be a part of my life permanently. Then one day, my life changed forever. I was introduced to my cousin Renee's famous stuffed mushrooms and that's when it happened - I saw the light and became converted; I haven't regretted it.

(this isn't my picture - I forgot to take one, so I barrowed this from the internet.
but it's pretty much true to what they look like)

Ingredients
1 1/2 - 2 lbs fresh large mushrooms
2/3 lb sage sausage, Jimmy Dean
1/3 lb hot sausage, Jimmy Dean
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Optional topping: grated parmesan cheese, parsley, paprika

Directions
1. Wash, dry and de-stem mushrooms.
2. Combine oil and vinegar and toss with mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or no more than 2 hours).
3. Meanwhile, brown the meat together.
4. Add cream cheese, parmesan and parsley to cooked meat.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Place mushrooms in a baking dish (with sides) hole up. Stuff each mushroom hole with a mound of sausage and cream cheese mixture.
7. Sprinkle parmesan, parsley and paprika on top (if you want).
8. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.
9. Then broil for 5 min until tops are golden.

Enjoy!

Lent

2010-02-21T16:21:00.004-07:00

Last Tuesday night I decided to give up chocolate for Lent. I know, Mormons don't celebrate Lent, but why not?

According to the omniscient source of Internet verity - wikipedia - Lent is:

"the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer - through prayer, penitence, alms giving and self-denial - for the annual commemoration during Holy week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."

I had friends growing up celebrated Lent, but I never bothered to find out what it was all about until now. And I have to say that I'm a little sad that I didn't know about this holiday tradition sooner. What a beautiful way to remember our Savior and celebrate his death and resurrection - not just for one Sunday, but for 40 days.

This or That?

2010-02-18T07:36:00.003-07:00

So, I've had a few people ask me if I've registered yet. No, not really. I can figure most things out - onesies: check; car seat: check; diapers and wipes: check and check. But there are some things I don't know about.

What's a necessity and what's a luxery? Do I really need a diaper pail? If so, which one is the best one? What about pumps? Baby monitors? Bottles? Pacifiers? Nasal aspirators? I'm sure in some categories most items are created equal (I can't imagine there's that much difference from one nasal aspirator to another). But I don't know. Sure I can read online reviews until my eyes cross, but I'd rather hear from people I know and trust.

So, help me out all of you mothers....what items/brands are on your needs list? What items are a luxery that have become a necessity?

Inquiring mind wants to know.

♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥

2010-02-14T10:24:00.006-07:00

Daniel made me the cutest pop-up Valentine's Card - isn't he so talented!?

I made him some homemade chocolates. Don't be too impressed, they were actually quite easy. I made peanut clusters and almond toffee.

Peanut Clusters: melt equal amounts of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips together. Stir in desired amount of roasted peanuts and drop into mini muffin liners.

Sooo, easy and sooo tasty!

Almond Toffee: combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter and 1/4 water in saucepan and cook to the hard crack stage. Mix in 1/2 chopped almonds and spread onto a buttered baking dish or cookie sheet. Sprinkle with choclate chips and let them melt and then spread all over the toffee layer.

This was my first experience making any type of candy that had to be cooked to a "stage." I think I had beginner's luck because the toffee actually turned out o.k. even though I really had no idea what I was doing. At first I tried checking the temperature with the thermometer, but I'm not so sure my thermometer works because the temp never got above 200 degrees (the hard crack stage is 290). So I gave up the thermometer and just used the cold water test and it worked out!

Lately

2010-02-07T16:56:00.004-07:00

There really isn't much to write about lately - except for food. Daniel has been very busy with school work, so that means that I get kind of bored in the evenings while he's doing homework. I decided that I should probably try and do something productive instead of just remain bored, so I've been baking. Now, we can certainly argue about the "productivity" of baking, but at least it's keeping be occupied.

Here are a few of thing things I've made lately:

No Cook Peanut Butter Fudge - This was really easy to make and tasty, but definitely not the consistancy of real fudge. I felt like it would have been better rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate (a la Buckeyes) and so that's exactly what I did after a few days with the remaining fudge and it was delish.

Mom Gerow's Brownies - I'm not sure if she's actually given these tasty treats a name, but she came up with the recipe so that's what I'll call them for now. These became one of my all-time favorite treats the moment I tasted them (yes, they're that good). So, I made them for a co-worker's birthday this week and they were a hit.

Bottom layer: make a 9x13 pan of brownies (any box variety will do) except stir in 1/2 cup peanuts to the batter.

Middle layer: cream together 8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup (or more) peanut butter, 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Then fold in 8 oz whipped topping and spread over the cooled brownies.

Top layer: spread 8 oz whipped topping over the top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup each peanuts and mini chocolate chips.

Chill for at least 2 hours and then enjoy - and try not to eat the whole pan yourself!

Molten Chocolate Cakes - I've had these before but never made them myself so I thought I'd give it a try. There are lots of recipes out there, but I chose this one because I had all the ingredients and it was easy to scale down from the 8 serving size to a 2 serving size (see, I do have some self control). The recipe does call for 5 eggs which doesn't really divide nicely, but I just used 1 large egg and it seemed to turn out fine. And I made them in ramekins instead of muffin tins. Because I've never made these before, I wasn't sure how they were supposed to look when "done" so after the 8-10 minutes of baking time in the recipe, they still looked way under cooked to me, so I let them bake for about 2 more minutes.

I guess all of them were a success because Daniel ate them - but then again, there's not much that he won't eat - especially if it has sugar in it :)

Sorry I don't have any pictures, I forget until the foods already eaten.

Call Me Crazy

2010-01-24T16:07:00.003-07:00

I think even before I got pregnant I was drawn to the "crazy" idea of natural childbirth. Oh sure, I've heard the stories and the comments: "the epdiural was the best thing ever" "I would have died without the drugs" "God gave us the technology so why be stupid and not use it" etc., etc., etc.

Even so, there was this voice in the back of my head that said, "but...."

After doing a lot of thinking and some research, we decided to take a HypnoBirthing class (well, I pretty much decided but Daniel has been 100% supportive). HypnoBirthing teaches self-hypnosis and relaxtion to be able to have a comfortable and easy natural birth. We've gone to two classes already and we're both really excited about it and we've learned a lot of interesting things.

So, I'll let you know in three and a half months how it worked.

I Love Crockpots

2010-01-17T16:03:00.004-07:00

I do. They're so easy. There's nothing better than coming home after work knowing that I don't have to make dinner...it's all done. I stumbled across the website a while ago and I love it: http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I've only made a couple of things from it, but I love dreaming about all the recipes that I'm going to try someday.

Especially interesting to some of you (Brionne) will be to know that a lot of the recipes are Gluten Free.

Yesterday Matthew smoked a pork and we were invited to dinner (it was fantastic by-the-way). We decided to bring a side dish of potatoes. "Funeral" potatoes sounded particularly yummy, but Matthew doesn't like "cream of" soups. Then I remembered seeing a recipe on this website that mentioned a "cream of" soup alternative. So here they are, the Funeral Potatoes with NO "cream of" soups:

It was pretty easy to make (certainly longer than just opening a can of soup, but I had the time) and they tasted good. We didn't miss the "cream of" soup at all.

Curtis' Homecoming

2010-01-10T14:30:00.004-07:00

Curtis returned home on the 22nd of December 2009. It was exciting to see him again, but I'm not used to having three brothers . . . I love it! All of Christmas and new years was spent playing the new games we got for Christmas, just like the old days (sort of)! Here's a picture from the airport. Checkout Matthew's radioactive sweater!
-Daniel

Oh the Horror!

2010-01-03T16:26:00.002-07:00

I write this as a warning to my fellow consumers because I love you and those whose mouths you may be feeding. Do not make the same innocent mistake I made and assume that all canned enchilada sauces are created equal. Let me tell you...they are NOT.
If you attempt to buy this product in the grocery store, stop, retract your outstretched arm, turn, and run away as fast as you can. Then when you get home you can thank me for saving you and yours from a most horrifying dinning experience.

*please note that the green sauce from this brand is definitely edible.

Baby Gerow

2009-12-26T11:35:00.010-07:00

Well, 50% of you that voted were right...it's a Boy! And no, we don't have a name yet.

Here is a little foot and his profile:

These pictures were from the first ultrasound.*

These are from the second.*

His little feet together, 10 toes!

His cute profile again:

He had the hiccups during this ultrasound session...it was quite amusing to watch.

*During our first ultrasound they found a white spot in the heart - an Echogenic Intracardiac Focus (EIF). So they sent us to a perinatologist the next week for a follow-up ultrasound. The presence of an EIF with other abnormalites indicates a possible genetic problem, but found by itself isn't really cause for concern.

Fortunately both ultrasounds revealed that everything else with the baby looks normal so the doctors aren't concerned about it.

Next up: a profile picture of me :)

Merry Things

2009-12-20T09:08:00.006-07:00

My family's Christmas Traditions largely revolve around food - the baked kind. So this time of year I get the urge to bake like no other...since I'm not at home to have my mom do all the baking, I've got to get the fix somehow.

So what's on the baked goods menu this holiday season?

Pecan Tarts - heavenly mini pies
Swedish Pastel Cookies - light, flaky cookies with frosting
Chex Mix - our Family's special recipe

ahhhh, 'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Honest Blog

2009-12-06T18:40:00.002-07:00

I was tagged to do a post including 10 honest things about myself...here it goes:

1) One of my biggest pet peeves is when motorcyclists don't wear helmets.
2) I don't like the Twilight books (I've only ready the first one and that was out of obligation).
3) I really want Cletus to be a girl.
4) That's why I decided to definitely find out the gender - so if he is a boy, I can get used to it.
5) We put up our little Christmas tree a few days before Thanksgiving this year (I'm usually pretty adamant about waiting until after Thanksgiving to start the Christmas season).
6) I wrecked my mom's car when I was learning to drive (there was this light pole....).

i couldn't think of more so I decided to share this post with Daniel - here are his:

7) I heart spreadsheets.
8) One of my pet peeves are bad grammar.
9) I had ninja turtle pajamas when I was six.
10) I like pickled beets.

The Guessing Game

2009-12-06T18:12:00.002-07:00

We get to find out the gender pretty soon, so make sure to cast your vote!

Things are going well. I'm feeling much better and much chubbier. And I've started feeling the baby which is both very exciting and weird. Daniel is finishing up his next to last semester. Yahoo!

mmm, that's about it - we're pretty boring these days :)

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T18:35:00.005-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday here. Corrin, Adam, Amber, Stephan and Spencer (and Erma) all came up for the weekend. Dinner was fabulous. I made a new sweet potato recipe that everyone raved about. I got the recipe here. It was super easy and super yummy. After we stuffed ourselves we played some games and ate pie.

I made these cute party favors for each place setting. I got the idea here - they were very easy to make once I figured out how to steam them and they added a certain...je ne sais quoi.

On Friday we got together to go bowling. I got second lowest score and Daniel got second highest (yay!). Afterwards we went to eat at T.G.I. Fridays and saw Chad and Drew. That was lots of fun. Then it was on to the "Cousins" in Sandy for more visiting and pie.

Saturday was the big show down between BYU and Utah. We hosted a viewing at our apartment complete with lots of food to munch on throughout the evening. And we were victorious! Go Cougars!!!!

The star of the whole weekend, however was this little guy:

Spencer was such a delight to play with and make laugh. He especialy enjoyed smiling and laughing at Daniel. Soon enough we'll have one of our own!

Shout Out!

2009-11-17T13:46:00.004-07:00

I thought I'd give a shout out today to one of my favorite Blogs. My friend Laura introduced me to The Apron Stage earlier this year and I have been back to visit it every day since.

This Blog is run by 4 amazing women - only one of whom I have ever met - but after just one read, I'm sure you'll agree with me. They write about funny things, and sometimes sad things, every day things, and out of the ordinary things. They write about life and love and everything that those imply. But it never ceases to entertain me and always makes me think. Enjoy!

We Came, We Competed, We Conquered!

2009-11-08T18:21:00.006-07:00

Yesterday, Daniel and I competed in the 7th Annual T3 Triathlon at the Orem Rec Center. It was a beautiful day - we couldn't have asked for better weather. It started with a 3 mile run that went pretty well. Then on to the bike ride. It was gruelling for me - at least the uphill on 4th South. Everyone that we passed on the run, passed us on the bike. So by the time we got to the swim we had free range of the lanes.

I kept telling everyone that my goal was just to finish the race, but secretly I also wanted to make sure I did it in under 2 hours, and I did. I'm not sure of our exact times, but I think it was around 1:45. And Daniel stuck with me the whole way! He definitely could have done it much, much faster on his own, but I'm glad I had him by my side.

Sorry we don't have any pictures...we forgot the camera. But my Halloween costume below, was pretty close ;)

P.S. They are having another Sprint Triathlon in April, click on the picture above for more info.

Halloween Visualization

2009-11-01T15:26:00.005-07:00

So, our triathlon is a mere 6 days away -eek! I decided that to help me prepare beyond the physical training that we've been doing, I needed to get in the game mentally - be the triathlete, if you will.

Here is me being the triathlete...although hopefully on Saturday I won't have any scary pirates coming at me. On second thought, that might just help me go faster :)

Drum Roll Please.....

2009-10-25T17:30:00.004-06:00

Introducing:

Baby Gerow: affectionately know as Cletus the Fetus.

Arriving sometime on or around May 9, 2010!

Bikes and Mini Golf and Pasta

2009-10-19T19:25:00.005-06:00

teaser: we've got a super-duper post coming up, so be ready!

So Daniel and I took our "new" bikes out for the first time on Saturday. Let's just say that I'm now more worried about the bike portion of the triathlon than the swimming. We took on a monster hill and I thought my lungs would quit on me. It was tough! We didn't go very far, but then we also did some running and some swimming. That's the first time we've done all three in one day. Overall I think it went better than I expected though.

Saturday was such a beautiful fall day (it felt more June than October) that we decided to go minature golfing and we invited Jared and Khristen to come along. It was great fun. Here are some shots of the pro-putters (I thought I had taken more pictures -guess not).

And to finish off the night, a new recipe - and once again I forgot to take a picture until the meal had been devoured. We had Spinach Ziti for dinner tonight. I was a little worried because my last couple attempts at cooking something new kind of fell flat, but this one turned out to be a winner. It was very easy and pretty healthy. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little, of course. I used frozen spinach (from our garden) instead of fresh and doubled the cream cheese (used light) and we didn't have nutmeg so I just added some other herbs to the tomatoes (basil, oregano, garlic powder and fennel seed). It was quite tasty!

Harvest Time

2009-10-11T13:57:00.005-06:00

Last week we went to the garden. It was kind of sad - it wasn't as lush and green as it was the last time we saw it. The corn was all chopped down, the plants and vines were all turning yellow and brown. Those darned cucumbers were still growing!!! But we were there to finish the harvest -almost. We picked about a dozen butternut squash and pie pumpkins. Then we turned over some of the sweet potato vines to see if they had produced anything. Sure enough there were potatoes down there. It was too late in the day to dig them out, but we at least had peace of mind knowing there was something there to actually dig out.

Today (Monday) I turned one of these beautiful gourds into Curried Squash Soup. It was -interesting. I forgot to take a picture, but just imagine what baby food looks like.

I used this recipe from Pillsbury.com. It was very easy to make (aside from cutting up the squash) and had relatively few ingredients that were easy to find.

But, it wasn't fantastic. It was one of those foods where during the first couple bites you're thinking 'hey, this is pretty good.' Then during the next several bites your enthusiasm wanes. Finally you can't bring yourself to even finish the last little bit that's in your bowl.

I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out really thick - like pumpkin pie filling. I would definitely recommend this as a first course or as an accompaniment to a main dish. It doesn't hold it's own as a main dish. Small portions are best.

Daniel suggested that maybe it would have been better had we not pureed it and left it chunky and more soupy. Oh well, I'm glad we tried it. Now for a new, better butternut squash recipe...if you have any tried and true please pass them on. We've definitely got more squash.

Relaxing Weekend

2009-10-04T12:32:00.002-06:00

We have enjoyed a nice weekend of sleeping in and watching a great General Conference. There's nothing much else to note other than Daniel finally bought a bike yesterday. We have just over a month before the triathalon and I'm getting a little nervous. My training hasn't been going nearly as well as I had hoped, but it's still ok if I come in last place right?

Cobbler - not just a shoe maker

2009-09-27T17:56:00.003-06:00

We made some cobbler for a function the other night and got compliments on it so I thought I would post the recipe. The base recipe I got from allrecipes.com, but I tweaked it a bit.

1 (29 oz) Can sliced peaches
1 (29 oz) Can sliced pears
1 egg
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish. (I actually forgot this step and it turned out fine)(oh, and I used a 9x13 glass dish which worked just fine as well). Drain the peaches and pears and arrange the fruit in the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, beat egg, sugar, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (I also added a dash of allspice because I didn't have any nutmeg); stir into the egg mixture. Stir in vanilla and melted butter. Cover the fruit with the batter mixture.

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Cobbler should be bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm with vanilla icecream.