Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks.  Ironically, the recipe included neither orange nor poppy seeds!  So, I added them myself.  I suspect grated orange peel would also be yummy, but I didn't have any real oranges on hand!  They have a very light flavor and texture. 

Teresa and I made a thin orange juice and powdered sugar glaze to top them.

 

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup oil

1 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice (prepared--NOT solid concentrate)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1-2 T poppy seeds (depending on your preference)

 

Mix sugar and eggs in a medium-sized bowl; add oil.  Add remaining ingredients to the batter.  Scoop into greased or lined muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  You can also bake it in 2 greased loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

No Words

We returned home Saturday night with the type of message on our voice mail that no one ever wants to get.  Friends of ours lost their 10-month-old granddaughter, daughter, niece, and sister in an accident earlier that day.  Little Amaya.  We had not met, but she was born about a week after our Rachel.  My dear friend Dianne's grandbaby.
Too close to home.
Today we went to their home, although we had missed seeing them.  We did get to visit with family and Amaya's big brothers.
I used to think I had to say something in these situations.
I don't feel that way anymore.
When Luke died, I learned that words don't matter.  Actions do.  I remember so many faces, some completely unexpected, at his prayer service and funeral or arriving at the door.  I hardly remember a word that was said. 
Words weren't important.
Hugs were.
Smiles were.
Tears were.
So, today we showed up, as hundreds will, and left our humble offering of prayer, support, and bottled water. 
It's a good thing that words don't matter anymore because I didn't have any anyway.  I haven't had any since we first heard the news.
No one can fix.
No one knows what to say.
Thank God that we don't have to.
He has it all under His control.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

So Long, Thomas & Percy!

I was pregnant with Teresa when my friend Claudia came out one summer afternoon to help me paint Thomas & Percy (with the help of an overhead projector) on the boys' new basement bedroom wall.  A few months later, I added the stripes.  I told Landen that they were "Monster Stripes" to scare the monsters away, but I don't know if he ever really fell for that one, even at four years old.
The boys asked me to repaint their room and had quite elaborate ideas for murals that I should incorporate on the walls.  I suggested this--I will paint a solid color and they can choose the posters for their walls.  Landen already had this great world map.  Done.  Nathan wants a shark poster for his wall.  We will have to look for that soon. 
I have to say that I like this elephantine shade of gray.  It feels nice and cozy.  I am waiting for a new curtain and new green comforters.  The others were not big investments (either from my college days or the OLD Aberdeen Walmart), so it is time to spruce everything up in there.
The best part of this project was probably getting the boys to clean out under their beds.  Landen isn't too bad (mostly books and newspaper clippings), but Nathan stashes all sorts of treasures and wrappers under his. 
I had been missing my Reese's Peanut Butter eggs that I stashed in the pantry last spring.  (One day, I went for one as a treat and found an empty box!)  I never did find wrappers under his bed . . . I found them as I was organizing his closet last week! 
I'm afraid that kid is an incurable sneaky snacker!  Next time we are at a store together, he owes this mama a candy bar.  :o)

Good Times

The Rochester road trip was a success! 

I didn't even have time for a People crossword puzzle.  My sister was my roommate and we did some serious power shopping on Saturday before and after Kevin & Christine's wedding.  Our mom taught us well.  (Our dad is SO proud!)

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Kallas! 

On the Road Again

Tomorrow as the pheasant hunters pour into South Dakota, I will be heading out of here to Minnesota! 
Thanks to my husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law who will be handing most of the kiddo duties, I am able to go to my cousin Kevin's wedding as he marries his fiance Christine in Rochester.  I am so excited!  Kallas weddings are always fun.  Kevin is a great guy and Christine will be an awesome addition to the family.  We closed down the pizza place when we met them for supper after Rachel's appointments in July. 
I am reminded of the movie Date Night (and Tina Fey's fantasy) as I think of what I am looking forward to this weekend . . . remember this one?

"if anything, I fantasize about being alone! Just on my worst day. . . I'd like to run away . . . get a hotel room just so I can sit in a room by myself and eat my lunch . . . with a Diet Sprite."

Sure, the wedding is the main event and I am looking forward to kicking back and having a few drinks with my extended family.  But do you know what else I am SO looking forward to? 

A good book, the People crossword puzzle, and a quiet, quiet, quiet hotel room.  (I don't do Diet Sprite, but hopefully the hotel will have good coffee in the morning.)  :o)
I know.  This fantasy makes me sound SO old.  But, I don't feel old.  I still feel . . . eh . . . 28 or so.  I'm just TIRED, people!  Mostly my EARS are tired, God love these verbal, out-loud-thinking treasures with which He has filled this family. 
An introspective mama's gotta regroup in some silence now and again!
With her FULL attention on the People crossword puzzle. 
No interruptions.
That is, if I don't fall asleep before I finish it.

I Like it Big, Too.

I read I Like It Big today and felt much the same as its author.  Bigger families seem to be the norm around here.  Another one of our couple friends had their #4 last week.  As I keep telling my mom, "Four is the new two!"
Earlier in this parenting adventure, many veteran parents told us, "If you can handle three, you can handle any number."  I found this to be true in our family as well.  When we got married, we wanted four children, we planned on four children, we had three . . . and then this mama found herself struggling to stay afloat for a good three years. 
As I have posted before, being open to God blessing us with a fourth child was a HUGE leap of faith.  I thank God every day for reaching both of our hearts--separately, but at the same time.  We were each sitting around our kitchen table at meals feeling as though someone was missing, and we didn't know the other had been feeling the same way.  Now that empty place is filled by our smiley red head who can't shovel food into her little mouth fast enough!
I can honestly say I LOVE having four children.  Life is actually easier now than it was with three--even two--little ones.  When our "big three" can't agree on anything else, they can agree that they love their baby sister.  She kicks her legs and squeals when she sees any one of her siblings enter the room.  I LOVE to see their LOVE for each other.
Sure, it isn't the idyllic Waltons existence I thought a bigger family would be.  Having four children has taught me that this parenting gig is not for the faint of heart and I can be pretty darn faint of heart at times!  Having a larger family brings plenty of chaos, yelling, screaming, and crying.  Sometimes the kids even do those things, too. 
I know our family can be an acquired taste to some who are blessed with our presence.  I am well aware of when we are in a place where our brand of energy--and size--isn't particularly appreciated.  But, I am also aware of when we are in a place where we ARE appreciated, and thankfully we find ourselves in those places much more often than not.
Having a larger family may mean bigger grocery bills, more dirty shoes strung around the entry, and more lost socks and mittens, but that's OK. 
We will just have more children to return the favor by taking care of us when we are old. 
Landen's farming career, Nathan's salary as a professional athlete, Teresa's income as Princess of Whoknowswhere and Rachel's career as a neurosurgeon will all assure we are in the best possible nursing home our children's money can buy. 
Until then, I'll keep their tummies full, their feet warm, and their fingers covered.

Life is good. :o)

The Girls and Me

Here's a little peek at what we've been up to lately.  I spent most of last week fluffing up our nest and preparing it for winter.  I swear I have the instincts of a bird . . . or maybe a bear.  All last week, all I wanted to do was organize closets, eat hot soup, and crawl into a nice warm bed at the end of the day! 
David's cousin Ashley was haivng a baby shower a couple hours away on Saturday and I planned to take the girls on a little road trip.  On Thursday, David's aunt Darla called and asked if we would be interested in going a day early and staying overnight with Grandma and Grandpa Neises. 
The boys were good with that, so we girls hit the road early Friday morning!
Here's a little of what we did.  First of all, NO ONE was allowed to get hungry.  Grandma (as any good grandma does) made sure of that.  Uncle Dann brought in the miniature horses so Teresa could get a 4-wheeler ride and ride a horse for a bit.  Then, she and Darla treated the horse to a snack.  Grandpa's workworking shop is not far away, so we popped in to check out his latest project.  He is making a replica of the church where the Knights of Columbus was started.  He just uses pictures as a pattern and has built many beautiful houses, landscapes, buildings, and churches this way.  It seems someone in the family always has a standing order with him.  (Landen is hoping for a shop right now.)  :o)  Then we ran back to Grandma and Grandpa's house in time for--what else?--a snack, got ready for the "baby wash" as Teresa called it, and partied until Rachel fell asleep while simulaneously eating pudding dessert.
A successful road trip?
Yes.  Yes, I think so! 

Power Tool

 

My mom gave me this handy apple corer/parer/slicer a couple of years ago.  I hadn't had an abundance of apples since then and I even forgot I had it! 

I pulled it out this morning and Nathan said he just how to use it because that's what Mrs. Mitchell used to make applesauce in their class last year!  With the boys' help, we had it up and running in no time.  They helped me make an apple crisp and another batch of crock pot applesauce.  For payment, they got all the peelings they could eat!

They were so excited at lunch time to show Dad the new apple tool and how it works. 

That works for me!

An Apple (or Two) a Day

It was Apple Week at our house!  We were blessed with some friends' abundance of apples.  We enjoyed fresh apples, an apple pie, two batches of crock pot applesauce, and an apple cake.  My first experiment with hot water bath canning apple pie filling was a success, although I only tried four pints.  I also baked an apple crisp and stuck it in the freezer for later. 

Even with all of that apple baking, I still had enough left to fill this basket.  My intention is to make one final batch of crock pot applesauce, but other things have to get done, too, so they are still waiting for me!

It was only a matter of time before our curious little turtle found them.  While I was working at the table this morning, Rachel was behind me eating her first apple "like a big girl" as Teresa says. 

See all of those bites out of the apple she's holding?  Yep.  She did that all by herself with her 8 chompers!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Yesterday David turned the big 3-5!  We had the usual birthday birthday coffee in the morning with some aunts, uncles, cousins and his parents.  Then he spent the rest of his day finishing up Harvest 2012! 

We all went out for prime rib last night, so we got home too late for cake.  Teresa couldn't wait for Daddy to have his cake after lunch today.  As I was getting my camera, she said, "This is so exciting!!"   

In this photo, the big 3 are singing, "Have you ever been kissed by a slimy old fish?" 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Monster Cookie Dip

This is another recipe I made for the Open House.  My friend Tonya shared this with me last summer and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!  A friend of hers found this on Pinterest.  I have not yet jumped into Pinterest.  I leave the searching up to others and glean my favorite ideas and recipes from them! 

You will also be happy to see that this dip is nearly fat and calorie free!  :o)

 

Monster Cookie Dip

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup mini M&M's (3 tubes from the candy aisle)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

 

Mix together and enjoy.  Serve with graham crackers, pretzels, or eat by the spoonful.  Store in the refrigerator.

 

(Sorry . . . no photo again!  If it turns out looking like cookie dough, you've done it right.)  :o)

Almond Joys

The 2nd Celebrating Fall Open House was a success!  We were blessed with a beautiful day outside and in and many wonderful guests joined us for the afternoon.  My main goal for the day has always been for area women to come together to visit, eat, and shop if they wish.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and there were guests from all age ranges--even one tiny guest who was not even a week old!

After I line up the vendors, my main focus becomes the refreshment table.  I love to bake and the open house gives me the opportunity to try real things.  One of the treats I featured this year were Almond Joys. 

 I unfortunately do not have a photo to share.  There was just one left at the conclusion of the day.  Just as I was about to pluck it off the tray and pop it into my mouth, Landen came around the corner and asked if he could have it.  Oh, the things we sacrifice for our children!  :o)

Even though I don't have a photo, I did promise that I would share the recipe.  I tweaked one I found online and this was the result:

Almond Joys

1 bag sweetened coconut (in the baking aisle)

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

about 1/2 cup powdered sugar

whole almonds (about 24)

1/2 bag chocolate chips

1 tsp shortening

Mix together coconut, milk, and sugar and roll into balls.  Place on a cookie sheet or baking pan.  Put an almond on the top of each one and press down slightly.  Then melt 1/2 bag chocolate chips with 1 tsp. shortening.  Stir until chocolate is smooth and drizzle on the top of each almond. 

Enjoy!