A Typical Morning

"Good Morning Mommy, Good Morning Daddy, HELLO Reflection!!!"

Peter's Piano Concerto No. 1

Pizza Photo

Last night, I made a pizza for dinner using my No-Rise Pizza Crust. As the pizza came out of the oven, Nathan insisted that I take a picture of it.It was topped with mozzarella, feta, and parmesan cheeses, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and sausage.

Nathan even lit a candle, apparently my pizza was worthy of it. It's in the sparkling cider bottle that I had at New Year's since I was pregnant and couldn't have champagne.

Homemade Ice Cream

My mom recently gave me a stack of "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbooks from the 1960s. I have had many laughs as I read about things that are very characteristic of the time, but have also come across some really good recipes. There is one section in the dessert book that features recipes for ice cream. There are different flavors and variations of how to make them. I had some extra heavy cream and decided to try one out. It was hard to take a picture, but trust me, it's delicious!


Chocolate-fleck Ice Cream
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

2 egg whites
1 tablespoon sugar
3 1-ounce squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated (I used chocolate chips)

Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating till light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Fold into whipped cream.

Beat egg whites until fluffy; add 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold into cream mixture; fold in chocolate. Pour into a bowl; freeze until firm.
Makes 6 servings.

Cake Bake-Off

Every year there is a Catholic Community Picnic. All of the Catholic churches in the area come together to have a huge picnic full of games, dunk tanks, tug of war, tons of food, and a baking competition. One year it was chili, another pies, and this year cake. Mom and I had decided to enter this year and started planning our cake weeks ago. After much thought, we chose to create a cake based on "The Unicorn Song" by Shel Silverstein (recorded by The Irish Rovers).

A long time ago, when the Earth was green

There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn

The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain"
He says, "Hey Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo,
and take some of those...

Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
Don't you forget My unicorns

Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched the animals two by two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Lord,

I've got green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn
I just can't find no unicorns"

And Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling
Oh, them silly unicorns

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is falling
And we just can't wait for no unicorns"

The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
That's why you never see unicorns to this very day

You'll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
You're never gonna see no unicorns

Mom made all of the animals out of gumpaste while I baked all 9 of the cakes. On Saturday, we brought everything together and decorated and assembled! We used fondant to cover the ark, buttercream frosting and piping gel for the water. After all of the work we put into it, we ended up winning.

Singing With Peter

Just this past week, we have discovered Peter's love of music (not that we don't encourage it). Whenever I sit down at the piano and start singing, he sings along. At first we thought it was just a coincidence but he has done it every time! I used my cell phone to record the video, so it isn't too clear.

No Rise Pizza Crust

I love making pizza but when a crust has to rise, it takes so long! I have been doing some experimenting with different recipes, and so far, this is my favorite. It rises beautifully in the oven and tastes just like a crust that would take hours to make!

1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour

1. Combine yeast, water, and sugar. Allow to sit for the yeast to activate.
2. Add salt, olive oil, and flours. Mix well.
3. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. (I do the entire thing in my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and let it do the kneading for me).
4. Allow dough to sit for 5-10 minutes.
5. Press onto large pizza pan or stone.
6. Add sauce and toppings. (I use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and add basil, oregano, and garlic powder instead of buying an expensive premade sauce).
7. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

I wanted to take a picture of the spinach and sun dried tomato pizza we had for dinner tonight...it disappeared before I could grab the camera.

The Cake Tradition

While I was growing up, my mother was constantly decorating cakes for birthdays, holidays, and special events. I was shocked the day I realized people bought their birthday cakes at the grocery store! Now with my own family and our own special events I've started feeling a need to continue this tradition.

For Peter's baptism I was determined to begin my cake decorating adventure. I borrowed all of my mom's supplies and books and started planning. I decided not to get too complicated and only perfect one technique per cake.









I ended up with a HUGE cake since we had several people attend the party. Half of the bottom was chocolate, the other was vanilla, and the cross was red velvet.

For Nathan's birthday I decided to use a cake pan I had sitting around (Betty Crocker's Bake 'n Fill). It was a chocolate cake with cherries in the middle. It turned out great! Since it's baseball season, it was only natural I had to turn it into a baseball!

Back to Normal?

What a whirlwind these last few months have been! Now that things have settled down, as per my mother's request, it's back to blogging!!

Since my last post, we have welcomed a little boy, Peter James, into the world and have been falling in love with him ever since. I have also quit my job and have been adjusting to the world of being a mom. All of a sudden, my marriage vocation has become so clear and I am finally able to begin seeing what my life will entail!

I'm sure there will be plenty of recipes (I cook/bake ALOT now), funny stories about Peter, and random ramblings to follow. Here's to life as a wife and mother!

Instant Craving Fix

Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.

Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate. Or skip the plate and eat right from the bowl!

Nesting?? Already!?!

Over the last several months I have been absolutely amazed with the crazy things my body has gone through. Now, with only 9 weeks to go, I'm starting to experience the nesting phase. Who would have thought my life could become so comical! I can't stop cleaning and the slightest mess makes me nuts. I became annoyed with the bathtub while I was showering and insisted that Nathan find me some papertowels before I could complete my shower. I have even thought about cleaning it several more times and it's already sparkling! Yesterday I had the urge to wash all of the windows. Granted we don't have many, but I went outside in 30 degree weather and cleaned the outside of them as well! Note: windex freezes, so it won't be as sparkling clean as you'd like. My table and coffee table get scrubbed atleast once a day, even if no one's been near them. I wouldn't believe these cleaning urges were possible if I wasn't experiencing them for myself!

Nathan's thoughts: "This is my favorite part of the pregnancy so far!"

Our Valentine's Day

There were high hopes set for us newlyweds this year as everyone asked how we would spend our first Valentine's Day together. Sorry to disappoint, but we opted out of the typical day. We spent a few evenings throwing around different ideas, but everything fell short of what we thought the day should be about.

When Nathan arrived home (around 2:45pm) from work we immediately decided we absolutely had to tackle the pile of dishes that had formed. Our work schedules have been really crazy lately with him waking me up for five minutes after arriving home at 9:45pm to say "Hi" and me getting up and leaving for work at 7:45am. Needless to say, dishes had not been on our immediate agenda. He washed the dishes while I scrubbed the refrigerator. We joked about how entertaining this scenario looked and had a chance to discuss our day and just enjoyed being together.

After really reflecting on this, we realized that we don't need the commercial aspects of Valentine's Day. This day should merely reflect the love you have for one another all year long. The flowers, the dinners, and the chocolate (this one might be debatable) may be a wonderful gesture, but it's the memories that will last. How did we spend our first Valentine's Day?? We washed dishes and cleaned out the refrigerator and it couldn't have been more perfect!

What Should Not Be Said

Since it has become public that I am pregnant, I have heard a variety of things that need quoting. There are of course some positive things that are said, but how do people come up with half the stuff they say?? Here are few that are the most memorable.

During the first trimester and dealing with morning sickness (this has been said by far too many):
Person 1: "How have you been feeling?"
Me: "Awful."
Person 1: "Have you tried (insert crazy remedy here) for the nausea?"
Me: "I've tried everything."
Person 1: "Well I vomited once, but after trying it I never did again!"
Note: How is that supposed to make someone feel better? Only once would be a miracle! Even if it was only once a day! I've tried all the remedies, they don't work.

Person 2: "Are you expecting a big baby?"
Me: "Umm, I don't think so. Why?"
Person 2: "Cause you've really popped!"
Note: Isn't that what's supposed to happen? Plus, how would I know if the baby's going to big?

Person 3: "How are you feeling?"
Me: "Exhausted, but I'll be ok."
Person 3: "It's just training for what's to come."
Note: Is this supposed to make me feel better?

Other than these, it's amazing how many people instantly discuss their own pregnancies. How much weight they gained, how awful the labor was, and any complications they may have had. It took me awhile, but I'm beginning to see the humor in these comments. Atleast at the end of it all I'll have a few good stories.

Boy or Girl??

Over the last few months I have found it entertaining how people love to guess whether the baby is a boy or a girl. So here's your chance to voice your thoughts! I have even included a picture for those of you who would like to see how I'm carrying.

The poll is on the right side of the page. Enjoy!

The First Sounds

For Christmas, my mother gave us a BebeSounds Prenatal Heart Listener. It's basically a high powered microphone that you can use to hear the heartbeat and movement. Unfortunately, it only works in the third trimester. After a few weeks of trying it out and hoping to hear something, we were finally able to hear the heartbeat last night! We connected it to the computer and recorded it.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the file directly into the blog as I had hoped. Feel free to click on the following link. You do not have to save the file, but can instead run it off of a temporary file. Enjoy!

Heartbeat

The Last Six Months

For the last several months I have thought of my blog as something "I'll get to." Recently however, I've decided that it needs to be more than just that. I truly enjoyed writing and have missed it. So here it is, the happenings of the last six months (in two short paragraphs!).

On July 26, 2008 Nathan and I happily entered the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. We could not have asked for a better day. In a month where we had seen rain almost everyday, there wasn't a drop in site. It was warm and humid, but happily welcomed by all. The mass was by far the most beautiful I have ever participated in and we were surprised when someone later told us it lasted an hour and a half! It is a day that we will forever remember and cherish.

Soon after our return from a relaxing and wonderful honeymoon in the Caribbean, we discovered the most beautiful gift of all; God had blessed us with a child. Just days into our marriage, He generously gave us the most perfect gift. Our little one is due to arrive at the end of April when we will finally be able to hold him/her in our arms.