happy father's day!

Father's day gets me emotional..like more emotional than Mother's day..weird? But I'm incredibly lucky to have so many great father's in my life! 

 I think one of the reasons my Mom married my Dad is because she knew he'd be an amazing father. One of my parents' first dates was a "study date" (super productive I'm sure). My Dad danced frosted animal cookies across my Mom's books before eating them. Right there she probably thought, "This guy is a total dweeb, and he's also pretty endearing and hilarious." That's exactly how I'd describe him anyway- endearing and hilarious..and maybe also partly dweeb ;-) Today as we were face-timing with him back home, I couldn't help but giggle to myself as he and my Mom were singing "I love you a bushel and a peck" to Jillian in silly, off-key voices just to provoke a smile out of her.

I've also loved watching my father-in-law grow into a Grandpa, or "Gumpa" as Jillian says. Today at dinner he was trying to coax Jillian into eating a bite of her chicken by pretending to feed it to her pet fishy, but telling her the fishy didn't like it, so she had to eat it.  Jillian was kind of slow to warm up to him at first, but now she begs to see him! 

And of course, last but not least, the father of my own child and other future kiddos. Even though he's pretty busy between school and work, he will always squeeze time in with her- and boy does she soak it up. I think Jillian defines a new level of "Daddy's girl". Every day when he gets home from work, she squeals and runs to the door to give him a hug. Then she immediately says "go get mail?" Their latest ritual is going to the mailbox together, haha. I love the way he looks at her- it's still the way he looked at her when they first met! I always say this, but I knew James would be a good father, but he has far exceeded any of my expectations- and for that, I am so grateful!

Happy Father's Day! 

goin' green

My little sister is officially in the mission field!! For any non-Mormons out there, that just means she has left the Missionary Training Center in Utah and is now in her assigned area to start teaching and preaching as a missionary for our church. And where is that assigned area? Martha's Vineyard! I'm beyond jealous...she said it's gorgeous! 

When missionaries are new, they're called "greenies"...I'm not really sure why, haha, that's just their nickname. So this week I made Michaela a GREEN package to send her. At first I thought finding all green things in the store would be tricky, but when you're looking for a certain color in the grocery store, suddenly EVERYTHING is that color! I wonder if the cashier noticed...

My "green" package included: lime flavored wheat thins, green PostIt notes, cherry limeade drink mix, lip balm, mouth wash, Trident mint gum, pocket sized Kleenex, mint Oreos, travel size Clorox wipes, War Heads sour candies, Mike and Ike candies, cocoa roasted almonds 100 calorie packs, lotion, Clinique face scrub and moisturizer, a pocket sized mirror, hand sanitizer, and sour cream and onion Pringles (not pictured).

I also found this awesome poem that I typed up a copy of and tossed in as well:

I'm so proud of my sister and I'm excited to send her more fun packages in the future!

one amazing cake and a birthday

Today is James' birthday! I can't believe he's already 28! (That's two years away from THIRTY!!!!) We are getting old. 

According to him, the highlights of year 27 were: getting accepted into grad school, and getting a new job with Goldman Sachs. In his 28th year of life his goals are: "to make it through school and work." :-) Awe, he's cute. (I'm hoping he makes it through too!)

I asked what kind of birthday cake he wanted me to make for him, and he requested German chocolate cake. Wouldn't of been my first choice, but it's not my birthday. I found a recipe that looked promising (and a little tricky) on Pinterest, and since no plans were on today's agenda, we (Jillian and I, but mostly I) got to bakin'. 

Of course I sampled as I went, and about two "tastes" in I knew I'd been converted to German chocolate cake...because HOLY CRAP this one is DELICIOUS. Usually when I think of German chocolate cake, the cake is dry and the filling is overly sweet with waayy too much coconut. THIS one couldn't be any different.

If you're not a believer, give this one a try.

German Chocolate Cake

(recipe from Sass & Verocity) 

For the cake...
2 c. sugar
1-3/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. natural unsweetened cocoa
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 lg. eggs
1 c. whole milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. boiling water
 

For the filling...
7 oz. sweetened shredded coconut (about 2 c.)
4 oz. chopped almonds (about 1 c.)
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 T vanilla
1/4-1/2 c. heavy cream

For the topping...
2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter (1-1/4 c.)
10 oz. semisweet chocolate
3 T light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the coconut on one baking sheet, and the chopped
nuts on another. Bake for about 15 minutes or until coconut is just beginning to brown and nuts are aromatic. Remove from oven, and stir, then set aside.

Turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees F and prepare two 8" x 3" cake pans by lightlyoiling, lining the bottoms with parchment, oiling again, then lightly dusting with flour. Set them on a large cookie sheet if you can. Heat some water to the boiling point -- you'll need to add it to the batter.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt. Whisk a few times to blend well. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, and beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Pour the boiling water into the mixture and mix well.
Pour batter into the prepared cake pans and place them in the oven to bake for 40-45
minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center is clean after removed.

Cool the layers in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove them and cool on the
racks completely. When the layers are completely cool, cut each in half horizontally to
create four layers. Remove all parchment.

To prepare the filling, after removing the cake layers from the oven, turn the temperature up to 425 degrees F. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a casserole dish that will fit inside a larger pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan to reach half way up the sides of the casserole. Cover the entire set up with foil and seal well. Bake for 45 minutes. At that point, remove the foil with extreme caution as steam will be released, and check the water level. Add more hot water to reach half way up the sides of the casserole again, seal well with foil and place back in the oven for an additional 45 minutes. The milk should be thick and the color of a rich caramel. Stir, and keep warm and covered.

To prepare the topping, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Remove it from the heat and add
the chocolate in small pieces, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the corn syrup.
Reserve 1 cup in a bowl and place it in the fridge to thicken, about 1 hour. Stir well
occasionally until it reaches a spreadable point. Keep the remainder of the chocolate mixture at room temperature.

To assemble the cake, mix the dulce de leche, most of the coconut (save some for
decoration if you wish), nuts and vanilla and stir well. The mixture must be spreadable. Pour in just enough heavy cream to achieve the desired consistency and mix well.
Place the first cake layer on a piece of cardboard cut for the cake, or the removable metal bottom of a cake pan and place it over a baking rack set above a baking sheet to collect excess glaze when the topping goes on. Divide the filling into three equal quantities. Mound 1/3 of the filling onto the first layer and spread with an offset spatula that has been dipped in water. Continue until all layers are assembled.
 

Cover the sides and top of the cake with the chilled chocolate. If it's too firm, put it in the microwave for 5 seconds and stir until it softens, but do not over use the microwave or you'll ruin the chocolate. Make sure the warm chocolate is pourable, reheating over an extremely low flame briefly, and then stirring until glossy and smooth. Pour over the center of the cake, and with an offset spatula, gently push it to the sides and over, smoothing as you go as little as possible. Warm water to dip the spatula in works wonders for this. Allow to sit until the chocolate is finished dripping, and remove to a cake platter then refrigerate until serving. To slice, warm a knife in hot water.

oh, hey june.

It's a week into June which means I officially survived May! It was a crazy one (May that is). In the life of a teacher it means end of year testing. Because I'm the lead teacher for Provo's online school, I had to coordinate and proctor the tests for ALL of the online students in 3rd-12th grade. I usually work from home, but the whole month of May I was gone 4 days week from 7:30-5. Talk about exhausting...I don't think I could go back to teaching in the classroom full-time again. Even the thought of it makes me want to just take a nap.

But we're done! And it's officially summer. Between me and you, I get a little nervous when there is absolutely NOTHING on the agenda. A whole three months of nothing to do?! I'm the thrive-off-of-a-schedule kind of person. But to be honest, so far it's been fantastic!  

We've had lots of play dates, played at the splash pad, built a mini-sandbox, cooked up some yummy recipes, planned lots of home improvement projects, and I've actually stayed (mostly) caught up with laundry! See? Fantastic! 

one fish and two snails later...

It's been rainy and cold 'round these parts lately...which is super confusing because it's the middle of May. So that means instead of spending time outside, Jillian and I were confined inside, which lasts all of 2 hours before we're both bored and annoying each other. Sooo Field trip time! I had an errand to run at Lowe's and saw that Petsmart was right next door. With all of the pets they have out on display, I figured it'd be like a mini zoo experience. And I was right! Jillian loved it and freaked out over all of the fish tanks. She even got to hold a few kittens! 

I think we spent a total of almost an hour just looking at all of the critters in their cages. But what fun is going to a pet store if you don't  come home with a pet?! After talking to one of the employees, I realized the easiest pet to take care of would be a beta fish, so home with a beta fish (and a snail just for fun) we went. 

Jillian LOVES it! Unfortunately snail #1 died within about 30 minutes of being home (lame), but thanks to Petsmart 14 day guarantee we just went back and got another one! We did have a bit of a "Darla from Nemo" experience where Jillian kept wanting to bang on the tank, scoop the fish out with her fingers, dump half a bottle of food in the tank, etc. It's a work in progress. 

I've been trying to convince James into getting Jillian a kitten or puppy for her 2nd birthday this summer, so the fish is the first step. ;-) 

Welcome home fishy!  

mother's day

Up until 2 years ago, I always spent Mother's day thinking primarily about my own mom. It's kind of weird when you realize this day now includes and celebrates you. Being a mom ain't no joke. You're tired, your house is often messy, counters sticky, laundry in piles on your bedroom floor, you go through concealer really quickly, sometimes you forget to put on deodorant, or brush your teeth, and mostly you really just want to pee without anyone else coming into the bathroom. 

But you're also grateful, and unimaginably fulfilled. You have a million and one reasons to smile and you laugh when you find a tiny sock stuck in one of your shirts from all that laundry you didn't fold. All of your needs become secondary.

I'm so thankful for my own Mom who put my needs before her own, because now I really understand what that means and sometimes how much of a sacrifice that can be, but also how rewarding it is. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you hard workin' mamas out there- old, new, and soon to be!

april showers bring may flowers

For some reason we have never been to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point until this year. After going, it will definitely become an annual event for us as long as we live here. There were 250,000 tulips! I've never seen so many flowers at once. It was absolutely gorgeous. I told James that I think that's what heaven must look like- flowers, fields, lots of green grass. He said it was missing a few soccer fields.. ;-)

a bitter sweet trip to florida

The three of us finally went to Florida ALL together! We headed out for a last hoorah with Michaela before she left on her 18 month mission to Peru (hence the bitter sweet). I love spending time with my family and especially other friends and extended family back in Lake Butler. It's a good recharge for the soul.

I must say that I'm pretty impressed with Jillian's traveling skills. She only fussed for about 20 minutes on the second flight, about 45 minutes before we landed. It was 11pm, so girlfriend had a right to be cranky. I feel like I should do a "tips for traveling with toddlers" post since we've done it a few times now. There are definitely some do's and dont's. 

But our time there was very well spent. Jillian was thrilled to see her cousins, Milly and Eliza. She wasn't so thrilled when Eliza was equally as excited to see her and frequently expressed that excitement through death-gripping bear hugs. But it was so fun to watch them play together! 

Since we were all together, naturally my mom arranged for some family pictures. Thanks to the wonderfully talented Amy Buchanan, we got some great shots! The behind-the-scenes of these pictures actually includes Ryan making funny faces to keep Jillian from screaming (it was bed time), bribing all the girls with M&Ms if they would sit still and smile, and me singing random songs from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while dancing a stuffed Mickey on top of Amy's head to get them to look at the camera. I can't imagine what family pictures will be like when there are many more kids in the mix. Aye aye aye.  

  

We said adios to Michaela at the airport on Tuesday morning. We ended up talking too long in the lobby, so she had to run through security and to her plane with shoes in hand. She went into the Provo MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday, where she will be until she gets her visa to go to Peru. It's already so weird that I can't just pick up the phone and call her, or text her something funny I saw on Pinterest or facebook. But I know she will be an amazing missionary that will bring many people to Christ!  

 Wednesday after everyone left and things had quieted down, we went with my Mom and Grandma to check out the butterfly museum. It was so cool! Jillian loved spotting the butterflies, but didn't like so much when they flew right up to her. (Really? Who is scared of butterflies?!)

We came back happy, stuffed, tired, and sunburned. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

me want cookies!!!!

I have a sweets problem. Aka, I want something sweet, like everyday. There should probably be some kind of rehab for people like me. 

Today was definitely one of those days. I purposely don't buy things like chocolate chips anymore just to have around to bake cookies whenever, because even if I don't end up making cookies, you betta' believe I'm still eating those chocolate chips. 

See? Problem...

As I was thinking about my chocolate chip lacking pantry, I remembered seeing a recipe on Pinterest for "healthy breakfast cookies" that only required a few ingredients..healthy?.. cookies?   o_0

 

 

 I found that recipe, but then stumbled across another that had many more ingredients, but definitely seemed more "cookie" than just smashed up bananas. The kicker is that these cookies are still called "healthy breakfast cookies"...someone should probably tell her they are actually just cookies with a lot of stuff in them, and not so much "healthy" or very "breakfast" like. Then again...people eat Poptarts and Toaster Strudels these days and call that breakfast...Some poor sucker is going to eat 5 of these for breakfast and think they're on a great start to their 5th diet attempt this week.

I made several substitutions from the original recipe, to ease up on the butter and also cause I didn't have a few things sitting around, so I will call them the "Happy Accident Cookies". Hit my sweet spot and were really unlike any cookie I've made before. If a monster cookie, macaroon, and oatmeal raisin cookie all had a baby together, a cookie baby, this would be that cookie baby. 

Whatcha need:

• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup of peanut butter, preferably all natural
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Toast the coconut and pecans on a cookie sheet for about 5 minutes.
3. In a large sized bowl beat together the butter, yogurt, sugar and peanut butter for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in vanilla.
4. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated (the batter will be sticky). Stir in the nuts, cranberries, coconut, and chocolate chips.
5. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Flatten the cookies slightly.
6. Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes. Let them REST on the baking sheet (preferably baking stone...don't ever use baking sheets, actually) for about 2 minutes before you remove them.
7. Let them cool on a wire rack, or just your counter. :-)
   

My inner fat-kid is happy. And after eating 5 of these actually, inner-fat kid might not be so "inner" tomorrow.

i've had diarrhea since easters!

...Not really...but it's always a good idea to quote Nacho Libre. 

 Easter weekend included shopping for new flowers to plant, Jillian helping water (drown) said flowers with her new Mickey Mouse watering can, homemade carrot cake, and trying to convince Jillian that looking for Easter eggs is both fun and rewarding. Our efforts were mostly in vain.

She didn't really get that she was supposed to "look" for the eggs, so we mostly just tossed them in front of her and she'd put them in her bucket...haha. We also found out she's not one for sugar- jelly beans, peeps, suckers- she spit them all out. She's a big fan of chocolate though (takes after her mama).

I some how made it through the holiday with only buying ONE bag of Cadbury eggs! Truly an Easter miracle.