I know I know

I know I need to update this, I just haven't been feeling it when I've actually had time to do it. So here's a quick synopsis on what's been going on. Pictures will come later.

Since Bryce's birthday, we've celebrated Halloween. Isabella was Snow White, thanks to Aunt Linda who made the dress. Bryce was a super-hero. He wasn't too sure about the cape and such but he was all about the candy. We went trick-or-treating at the local mall. It was busy but not horrendous. The kids were done after about 15 minutes. We lasted probably 45 minutes before we left to head over to Grandma and Grandpa Gallahan's house. We had stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Dixon's house on the way to the mall.

We also celebrated Thanksgiving. We had dinner over at Ken's sister, Teresa's, house. It was nice and there was tons of food. Unfortunately, Bryce wasn't feeling too great so he wasn't the best of company the whole time. At least this year we didn't end up at the emergency room like last year. He'd been sick with a cold all week. He decided to share and by the end of the weekend, Isabella and I came down with the cold. We had to go to the doctor anyways the following Wednesday so they checked them out. Bryce was good but a monster...98th percentile for height and 97th for weight. We had Isabella all geared up for shots and then, lo and behold, she got an ear infection courtesy of the cold that Bryce shared. So no shots and Mom and Dad get to take turns wrestling her down to take her antibiotic. She'll have to go back in a few weeks to get shots. By Saturday, I was feeling really bad and the cough from the cold had gotten worse, and I ended up at Urgent Care. Sure enough...bronchitis. Go figure, Bryce shares a minor cold, and Isabella and I get something more. Anyways, so I'm on an antibiotic now as well, which unfortunately, loosened everything else up and I was having major ear and neck pain. I sent a note to my doctor to make sure it wasn't something completely oddball, but she said it was just drainage. So after four days on antibiotics, I'm feeling a little better, still a little neck pain.

Now we're just getting ready for Christmas. You can read about our tree decorating here. I'm actually ready for the holidays to be over already.

Bryce's 2nd Birthday

Again, a long time coming. But here are a few highlights from Bryce's birthday. Again, we took it easy and did cupcakes. Lots of fun was had by all. Bryce is getting so big. He's growing so much. Its amazing to me every day how much more he understands and how much more he talks. He is my little love-bug. He will just run up to me randomly through the day, climb on my lap and give me a big hug or kiss. Sometimes he'll just love to sit on my lap and cuddle. He also can be a terror when he wants to be, but he is definitely lots of fun. I look forward to seeing what the next year brings with my little monkey.

Isabella's 4th Birthday

I know this is a long time coming. Its been a busy few months. Here are a few highlights from Isabella's birthday.





I decided to take it easy this year and just did cupcakes. I did color some "shrinky dinks" that were Little Mermaid and taped them to some popsicle sticks and stuck them in the cupcakes. All the shrinky dinks had holes in them, so the kids could wear them as necklaces later. It was a fun day and I know Isabella enjoyed it. I can't believe she's four years old.

Princess Camp

So Isabella went to "Princess Camp" this week at our local recreation center. I know, what the heck is Princess Camp, right? Well, you're about to find out.

On Monday, we had a little Princess Belle. That day they did puzzles, made tiaras, played "Pass the Tiara" (like hot potato), painted pictures, and read princess stories. Here's Isabella before she went and with her treasures when she got home.


Bryce wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, so this is how he spent the first morning.


Tuesday we had a Cinderella (or as she insisted - Cinderella Isabella). They made a different Tiara, made edible wands out of pretzel rods, made wands to bring home, did new pictures, played a game and read stories.


Wednesday brought around Princess Tiana. She made a Princess necklace (which she wants to wear all the time now), they made Princess cone hats, had Princess fruit snacks, played with fairy dust, and played "Who has the magic slipper?"


Thursday, she was Jasmine (thanks to Aunt Margie and cousin Katlyn). They made cupcakes from scratch and decorated and ate them, they made princess door hangers, made sashes for their tea party, and had a Princess Dance Party.


Friday was the final day of Princess Camp and Isabella got to wear the dress she'd been begging to wear since it arrived on Monday - Snow White. Today they made magic mirrors and got ready for their tea party. Parents were invited to the tea party as well. Ken was off work today so he was able to go too.

We saved this one for Friday because we knew they were having their tea party today and it is washable, unlike the other ones. Aunt Linda was very nice and made this beautiful Snow White dress for Isabella. It came in the mail on Monday. Linda sent it to us un-hemmed, so I spent the afternoon hemming it and fixing a few other things. Here's a picture before it was hemmed



Ready for the last day of camp. She didn't wear the cape to camp because we figured it would get in the way and it was a little big around the neck.



Dancing for their parents. They all twirled a little too much and kept falling down.



Waiting in line to play pin the tiara on the picture.



Enjoying her cookie during the Tea Party.


Saying goodbye to Miss Ellen.



Saying goodbye to Miss Amber.



Showing off her goodies from today.


And I had to include this one cause it was just funny.


All in all, I think she had a blast. But it was definitely a long busy week. And unfortunately it ended as the hottest week this year with a heat index of 120 degrees today.

Bathtime

Bryce was a little excited about bath time last night and jumped in fully clothed...socks and all.

Candy making

So I'm a little crazy and decided to make some candy of my own. I started off trying to make Milky Way bars. They didn't turn out horrendous. The nougat part was easier than I thought it would be to make. My problem was when it came to dip the nougat/caramel into chocolate. I had forgotten that I had greased the pan with the nougat/caramel, so the chocolate ended up not sticking very well, as you can see. I also ended up dipping them in semi-sweet chocolate, which I'm not a huge fan of. They were good, but very rich, and as you can see, very messy.




So yesterday, I decided to try again, but without the caramel this time, so they were more like 3 Musketeers. Here's the nougat before being dipped in milk chocolate.....and of course, the final product. They were super yummy and worked out better this time.



One main thing I figured out after the first time. Freeze the "innards" for a couple of hours prior to dipping them in chocolate. They stay together much better. And this time, I did that, but by the time I got to the last of them, they'd warmed up a little too much and started to fall apart. So next time, I'll pull only a few out of the freezer at a time.

A few people asked for the recipe, so here goes:

You will need a candy thermometer!

2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
2/3 cups water
2 egg whites, room temperature
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I didn't add this even though it was part of the recipe, but I used the chocolate malt powder)
1/3 cup malted milk powder (chocolate or original - I used Ovaltine, which is easy to find)
1/8 tsp salt

1 - Prepare 8X8 pan by lining it with foil and spraying the foil with a nonstick cooking spray.

2 - Place sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, and insert candy thermometer. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 260 degrees. While you wait for the correct temperature, prepare the other ingredients.

3 - Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in microwave safe bowl. Microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to prevent burning. Stir until completely smooth, then set aside to cool slightly.

4 - Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the syrup reaches 250 degrees, begin to beat the egg whites on medium speed.

5 - Once the syrup reaches 260 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. Pouring the syrup into a measuring cup with a spout (pyrex cups are great since they can withstand the heat) helps with the next step.

6 - Turn the mixer to high speed and slowly stream the syrup down the side of the bowl. Continue beating on high for about 5 minutes, until the egg whites are shiny, white, and stiff. Turn the mixer down and add the melted chocolate, malted milk powder, and salt. Mix until well combined and smooth. Turn mixer off and scrape down sides of the bowl.

7 - Scrape the nougat into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Allow it cool at room temperature until completely set. This may take a few hours. Cut into small squares or bars.


You may melt down caramel and pour a layer of caramel (for Milky Ways). I suggest freezing for a few hours before trying to dip them - see my comment above.

To dip them in chocolate....I fashion a double-boiler with a glass bowl and saucepan. Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in the saucepan, then place the bowl on top. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Melt whatever kind of chocolate you want (I prefer milk or white myself) a little at a time until it is all melted. Add a small amount of vegetable oil (not butter or margarine) to help keep it smooth. Then one at a time, dip the nougat pieces into the chocolate. A fork or two is helpful to fish the pieces out and help the excess chocolate off. Put the dipped pieces on a tray lined with wax paper. I put the pieces in the fridge to set, but they should set at room temperature as well, it just takes longer.

Then enjoy!

Bad influence

Isabella loves to "camp out" in the living room. Ken will pull pillows and sleeping bags down and camp out in the living room with her. Last night, Ken had to work and he didn't get home until about midnight. He checked on Isabella and she was about to fall out of her bed, so he moved her, which woke her up. Then he was still too wired to go to sleep so he decided to go down and watch some tv to unwind. Then he walks into Isabella's room and asks, "Are you awake?" She answered. He asked her, "Do you wanna go down and watch some TV?" She replies with, "Oh sure." Duh, like she's gonna say no. So at 12:30am, Ken brought Isabella down to "camp out" and watch some TV. He's such a bad influence.

Pride and Prejudice

Recently I've been on a kick for Pride and Prejudice. I have now watched three different versions and read the book and have a few opinions.

I watched this one before I read the book:



It was the one with Keira Knightley (who I'm not a huge fan of).

Then I read the book and really didn't like that version. It really didn't do the story justice.

Then I watched the old BBC version on Netflix (love Netflix!):



It was pretty good and stuck to the story really well.

Then I finally found a copy of this version:



Loved this version. Even though they took a few liberties with the story line and such, it was by far my favorite of the three.

Another Jane Austen one I like is Emma. The book was good and the only movie version I've seen is the one with Gwyneth Paltrow. It was pretty good, but sometime I'd like to see the BBC Miniseries.

I have also loved the mini-series North & South:


Again, I watched this on Netflix. It was one of their suggestions for me, so I watched it. It was very good. Then I read the book by Elizabeth Cleghord Gaskell. I know, backwards, but I tend to pick apart a movie if I read the book first. It was very good. A couple odd changes from the book, but very very good. (Note this is not the North & South with Patrick Swayze that was about the Civil War.)

So if you need a couple suggestions for things to watch, here you go:
Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth
Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow
and North & South with Daniella Denby-Ashe

Run Forest Run

So Ken and I have decided that we need to do something to get in shape. We figured running was the easiest because you don't really need any special equipment. We already have a treadmill, which is a necessity with the summer humidity here. I do need to get some good running shoes, but that will come soon enough. I started running, and then my knee was bothering me so much that sometimes it hurt to walk. So I stopped and let my knee recover. I started running again this week and so far so good....no knee pain. We plan on signing up for a 5K in September so that we have a goal we're working towards. Now hopefully we keep it up and hopefully no more knee problems.

The many faces of Bryce

So Bryce is our resident goofball.  (He learned well from his Daddy.)  You never know what you'll find with him if you leave a room and come back.  He gets into everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, and has no fear.  His latest favorite is to sit, and sometimes stand, on the arm of the couch.  Sometimes he even jumps off.  He loves to be shirtless and tries to take his shirt off frequently, which is funny to us since his almost 4 year old sister still won't get undressed without help.  He gets very excited by the music on Disney Junior.  He especially loves their short clips of Mousekercise.  He really loves to dance and cracks me up with dancing.  Most of the time, he is happy go lucky.  He is crazy but loveable.  Yup, we sure do love him.

Brother and Sister

They really do love each other.  This is Isabella playing games on the DS and Bryce watching.



Mother's Day

So I've often heard mothers over the years complain and say that they really don't like or get Mother's Day.  Well I'm starting to understand what they mean.  And I figured where's a better place to complain/whine about it than here.  See, Mother's Day isn't really a "break" for me.  Luckily, this year my husband didn't have to leave to head to meetings at church until 9:30, usually he's gone before the kids even wake up (except Bryce, who seems to be an early bird lately).  So since he's gone, that means I have to get the kids and myself ready for church, make sure I have everything we need in the diaper bag, make sure I have everything I need for church, and get out the door and to the church.  Then I have to lug everything into the church.  I teach the music time for the children ages 3-12 and they are always expected to sing during the congregational portion of church on Mother's Day and Father's Day.  This is not cute or even remotely relaxing for me.  I always get super nervous for the kids and myself.  I don't know why, I just do.  So I can't relax until after they sing.  Luckily they do try to have them sing relatively early in the meeting.  Then I still have to go teach music time, twice, since the kids are split in half.  Not always easy, and this year we were starting to learn a pretty hard song for little kids today.  Then we end up running all over to "celebrate" the day with both mine and Ken's family.  The kids end up worn out and we're worn out.  I mean, I got some really pretty flowers and some candy and a beautiful card from my husband and kids, but I would love that any day of the year.  I think I would love it even more so out-of-the-blue than when they feel they "have" to do it.  This year, I saw many things that said that we need to shower our mother with gifts to show her how special she is.  So what's wrong with telling her that any other day of the year.

So now the kids are in bed and Ken is in bed, so what am I doing?  I'm finally enjoying my Mother's Day . . . I guess.  Who knows, maybe I'll think differently about Mother's Day as I get older and my kid's get older, but from my friends who have held the position a lot longer than me, I'm not holding my breath on that.  And maybe I'm just in a bad mood today.  Maybe I'm out of sorts from not having a kitchen most of the week.  I don't know, maybe I'll be just fine tomorrow when its no longer Mother's Day.

Kitchen redo

So a month or so ago, our fridge died and we found it necessary to buy a new one.  We got a great deal on a french-door fridge with two freezer drawers.  It is a great fridge and we are loving it.  There was one problem, however, that the fridge was just a tad bigger than the space available.  We were able to make space for it by removing the countertop in that corner of the kitchen.  Ken decided that he wanted to tile a new countertop instead of going to Ikea and buying some laminate.  He was able to get that one corner tiled last week and I grouted it on Saturday and sealed it on Tuesday.  It looks really good.  He decided Tuesday night to rip out the large section of counter, which meant removing the kitchen sink.  He got it tiled yesterday and I grouted today.  We'll be able to seal it on Saturday and put the sink in by Saturday evening and actually use the sink on Sunday (you can't get the area wet for 12 hours after sealing even though its traffic ready after 2 hours).  It looks really nice.  We still have the backsplash to do whenever we decide for sure what we plan on doing for that.  And we're going to eventually paint the cabinets and replace their hardware.  But here are some sneak peaks of the process and what it looks like for now.

Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt Teresa's

We went over to have Easter dinner at Teresa's house.  After dinner, they did an Easter egg hunt with the kids.  Bryce had fun just carrying the eggs around.  Isabella ended up with so many in her basket that they kept falling out.

Easter Outfits

Of course, I forgot to get pictures of the kids finding their eggs on Easter morning.  Oh well.  Here's them in their Easter outfits.  Heaven forbid I get a normal picture of Bryce.

My little cuddlebug

Not the greatest picture but that's okay.  He was coming in for a hug.  This is my little cuddlebug.  He loves to just sit and lean against me or sit on my lap.  And he will randomly run up to me to give me a great big hug.  And he gives great hugs...he just wraps his arms around my neck (or legs) and squeezes as tight as he can.  How can you not love that?