Nothing breaks the silence like a good meal

Yes, I realize it has been over a year since my last post. I have officially entered the record books as the WORST blogger ever!! So much has happened in the past year and a half that I won't even try to talk about them all. Nicole left on her mission. . . Clayton turned one. . . Andelynn turned 5. . . Carys turned 3. . . Andelynn started kindergarten, with me as her teacher. . . Clayton turned 2. . .

Anyway, on to the real reason for this post. I have discovered a new recipe that is FANTASTIC!!! The family and I went out to dinner at one of our favorite spots (Garden Patch Pizza) and left with more than a full belly! Caleb, the guy who works there, gave us one of his new favorite meals. He called it "Stroganoff Sandwich" and gave me a brief explanation. I took his instructions, tweaked them, and made them my own!

And, thus, the "Philly Cheese Stroganoff Sanwich" was born!!! I thought about taking pictures, but it didn't happen- sorry!

PHILLY CHEESE STROGANOFF SANDWICH

1 1/2- 2 lbs hamburger

Garlic Salt, Seasoning Salt, Pepper (to taste)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

16oz sour cream

2 bell peppers, diced (I used one red and one green)

1-2 tomatoes, diced (I used a can of petite diced with the juice drained)

4-5 French Bread hogies (any hogie will work, but the french bread was SCRUMPTIOS!!)

Mozzarella Cheese

Cook the hamburger in a skillet and drain out the grease. Season with Garlic Salt, Seasoning Salt, Pepper, or other favorite spices, and the chopped onion. Cook a bit to soften the onion and add the sour cream. Mix well while continuing to cook. Cut open the hogies and place them, face up, on a foil covered cookie sheet. Spread meat mixture onto each hogie half. Springle diced peppers and tomatoes on top of meat mixture. Shred mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the bread is toasted, the cheese is melted, and the peppers are slightly crispy. ENJOY!!!

Catch-up

Well, Nicole wrote a blog, so I guess I have to now! Actually, I started this post at least a month ago, but blogger was so slow downloading the pictures that I ran out of time. I then forgot about it. This is a very brief recap of some of our summer.

This August we attended the Swanson Family Reunion in Island Park. I am NOT the picture taker of the family, so I have very few. The only pictures I took were of my beautiful niece Kyra and my handsome son Clayton. They enjoyed playing together and even got along most the time!!

We managed to attend the Kiddie Rodeo in Arco in mid-August. Andelynn and Carys got to try their hand at some good old mutton busting. Andelynn barely made it out the gate before losing her sheep.

Carys didn't even manage to make it out the gate. Where is her sheep. . ?

Clayton watching the events. It was very serious business.

The girls also participated in a money run where they chased a calf with dollar bills taped to it and a chicken throw (rubber chickens). Andelynn was robbed! She would have won the chicken throw, but one of the helpers knocked her chickens out of the bucket :(

Playing dress-up/house is a regular part of our day. On this particular day Andelynn was the mom. She got all dolled up (still in her jammies) and wanted her picture taken.

We've had some issues convincing Clayton that

he can eat real food. It doesn't matter what the food is, he pulls the same face. On this particular evening I was torturing him with apple sauce.

Once in a while he'll find something edible. Usually it involves vegetables (beans or peas) or a lot of flavor/seasoning (General Tso's Chicken). He has a very delicate sense of taste!!

It took us until he was almost 10 months old, but we finally found food he will eat: Sprout Organic Meals. Yes, my son prefers the organic foods. Mostly because they have babyfood with things like cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, and curry in them!! The curry lentils with glazed carrots and jasmine rice was a hit!

Andelynn also started preschool this fall. I do have pictures from her first day of school, but I have to find what card they're on. . . She absolutely loves her teacher and is learning a lot of things. It's nice for her to spend some time with children her own age for a change!

Carys is still a little Tsunami. She's into/onto everything and leaves disaster in her wake. She is constantly falling off of something or running into something and leaving bruises all over her body. She is full of life, fun, and mischief!

A Story. . .

Once upon a time there was a crazy mommy who had three beautiful children. In a fit of insanity, caused from lack of sunshine, that mommy allowed her two princesses to finger paint the bathtub with pudding.

A good time was had by all!

 Luckily, the mommy had a magical device called a diaper sprayer. It, combined with a hot shower, washed all memories of chocolate pudding down the drain.

The princess were once again sparkling clean.

The same, however, could not be said for their handsome little brother. Whilst he was innocently watching his sisters do "school work," someone (we won't mention any names:Andelynn, Carys) decided he would look much nicer with some tattoos. They quickly decorated his leg and arm.

 

Fortunately, he didn't mind one bit!

Then, because pudding finger painting is not crazy enough, the mommy allowed the girls to paper mache. Surprisingly, very little mess was made!

There was some injested, but luckily it was just flour and water!

After the paper mache project, the entire family went fishing. After some taco wagon at the dam, some rock throwing into the dam, and absolutely NO nibbles, the family decided to travel to a magical place where dreams come true: Kids Pond. This pond is located at the fish hatchery, so fish are plentiful.

After not much time at all, 4 beautiful fish were caught.

The children were happy, the parents were happy, and the day could end. Round two of baths (ok, round 3 for Carys) was completed and the beautiful angels finally went to bed.

At the end of the day, the messes and chaos were worth it.

What day that ends with fish and a beautiful craft isn't perfect?

Lasagna

I promised my sister I would post my new favorite recipe for lasagna. Enjoy!!

LASAGNA

Ingredients:


1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (or cooked chicken, Italian sausage, seafood, andouille, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
26 to 28 ounces (about 3 cups) pasta sauce
Salt and pepper
1 cup chicken stock
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
12 ounces (3 cups) freshly grated mozzarella
6 to 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups cooked, well-drained broccoli, spinach, peas, or other vegetables (optional)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) freshly grated parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Thoroughly cook the ground beef, garlic, and herbs in a large skillet, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Season to taste and add the red wine, if using. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add cream cheese, turn heat to low, and whisk until smooth, about 6 minutes. Season to taste and add the white wine, if using.

Spoon half the meat sauce into the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 cup grated mozzarella over the meat mixture. Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles. If using vegetables, toss them evenly over the noodles.

Pour the cream-cheese sauce over the noodles and cover with another cup of grated mozzarella. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles over the cheese, then spoon remaining meat mixture over noodles as evenly as possible. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and the grated parmesan. Bake until brown and bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. (You'll need the longer cooking time if you have made and chilled the lasagna in advance.) Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes or it will be too gloppy to cut well. That would drive you crazy this late in the game.

4-2-4

All three children went to the pediatrician yesterday for their well checks: 4 years, 2 years, 4 months.

Andelynn talked non-stop. I think the P.A. was probably glad for the silence when our appointment was over! She also kept asking for her shots because, "I can go to school after I get shots." Yes, that's right! I convinced Andelynn to be excited for shots by telling her they were required for preschool. She really wants to start preschool, so she willingly got the shots. She wasn't happy about it, but she didn't fight it, either. She is finally gaining some weight and actually made it clear to 34lbs!

Carys impressed the P.A. by 1-being basically potty-trained, and 2- stripping down to absolutely nothing during the appointment. No shirt, no pants, no panties, and no socks. She was 100% au naturale! She is weighing in at 27lbs.

Clayton was just a drooling cutie patootie. He spent the appointment blowing spit bubbles and grinning. He is growing strong and seems to have absolutely no need for a regressed age. Yay!! He weighed in at an even 16lbs.

 Clayton's new hair

She adores him!

Andelynn posing and Carys and Clayton watching T.V.

Lovin' the thumb

Pretty Girl

"Cheese!"

My Money Maker

Alert the presses! I have the next Taylor Swift living in my home!!

Andelynn loves to sing. She sings about EVERYTHING. She also loves Taylor Swift and models many of her songs after popular Taylor songs. This morning she was singing for me. I thought the song was so inspired, I decided to share it with all of you.

Stupid Old Man, Marry Me

True Love's Kiss, you never come true.

If you love me, I will marry you, stupid old man.

True love’s kiss you never come true,

stupid old man, I will marry you.

If you will marry me, stupid old man,

I will give you a wedding ring!



A LOT of catching up to do

This will be a post full of random information. A lot has happened since I last updated, so I am going to do my best to update ALL of it here!

April 17: Andelynn turned 4! She was very excited for her birthday- especially because it was Sunday and the primary sang to her. She wore her new dress, which she picked out on ebay. It's a little big, or she's a little small, but it worked!

Andelynn's Birthday Dress

  April 19: Carys had tubes put in her ears and her adnoids removed. We have dealt with constant ear and sinus infections since she turned 10 months and she has been sick non-stop since January.It was time to do something about it. My little girl was a trooper! She didn't cry, at all, and woke up feeling GREAT. She immediatly insisted on getting dressed and having breakfast. She hasn't stopped since! We have now gone over two weeks without a single fever- a miracle has occurred!

April 24: Easter! We decided, at the suggestion of Nicole, to have Easter dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Christina, Devin, and children were able to come and we had a great time. It was an interesting day with Grandma, but she enjoyed the company and that's all that matters. I also learned that Carys loves hardboiled eggs, but only if they're dyed. She was constantly stealing them out of the fridge and trying to eat them!!

Beautiful Kyra



Easter Egg Hunt



Carys gorging on left-over cabbage salad. She LOVED it!

April 29: Andelynn had her first dance recital. She was in tap and ballet, and had a wonderful time. Her teacher, Marie Cummins, is wonderful with all of her students! The recital went off without a hitch. Andelynn was nervous at first, but soon got over it- thank goodness! She HATED the noise of the locker room, so I took her out to watch the other dances. As soon as it started, she calmed down and wanted to perform. She was actually upset that she only got to perform three times: tap, intermission (hokey pokey), and ballet. 

Tap- posing before going on stage

Ballet- intently watching her teacher.

 April 30: We decided to have a joint birthday party for Andelynn and Carys. Their birthdays are only 4 weeks apart, so it makes sense to combine them in the middle. Both girls had a GREAT time and were exhausted by the end of the day. Aunt Nicole was here all week, so I had the time to get creative (with Nicole's help, of course). I actually successfully made both birthday cakes.

Andelynn's was a cherry chip mix with a homemade butter cream frosting (with chopped cherries) between the layers. I then topped it with fondant (thanks Christina for the recipe!) and decorated it as Princess and the Frog.

Princess and the Frog

 Carys's was a chocolate cake mix with chocolate pudding and chopped strawberries between the layers. It was covered in chocolate butter cream and topped with fondant. It was decorated with her favorite movie: Toy Story. She was beyond tickled with Buzz and Woody on her cake!

Toy Story



 Although Josh decided, at the last minute, to clean his entire shed in the backyard, we had a wonderful day. Grandma and Grandpa, Christina, Cortlynn, Tristan, Kyra, Sarabeth, Morgan, Hunter, and Samantha all attended. The kids had a great time playing with the dog and riding bikes outside. It was almost a nice day- I think the sun did shine for part of it!

Josh got in the way :(

To end the post, a picture of my beautiful little boy chillin' in his bouncy chair. I couldn't end a post without at least mentioning him! He's growing every day, and is somewhere around 15-16 pounds now. I'll update for sure after his 4 month appointment (May 16th). He is now eating rice/barley cereal and LOVING it! He had his first haircut the other night. Josh was threatening to buzz it, and it was long enough for pigtails, so I gave in and trimmed it. He now looks a lot older and a lot more like my brother! I will post a pic soon!