A Bunch of Wights

simple reminder

2012-02-08T10:30:00.001-08:00

anytime i get swamped with my own little life, i read my friend's blog as a reminder that life is so much bigger than me.

http://oliverpalmer.blogspot.com/2012/01/valentines-day-lets-share-love.html

follow this sweet little angel's example and brighten your life

Drift wood

2012-01-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

This past weekend some of our fabulous friends were out here on the coast. We joined them on the beach for an afternoon. Because of all the rain, wind and flooding, there was a TON of driftwood. They put together this amazing fort! We just got to join in and play after they did all the work :)

Not quite ready...

2012-01-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

(https://tinypants.wordpress.com/tag/vintage-kindergarten-chairs/)

This past week I've been helping out at the elementary school in E's kindergarten classroom. The first day I had Heidi with me she did awesome! She sat at a table, answered questions, followed instructions and blended right in with the class. I was thinking I had a super advanced three year old that I should petition to start school early.

The second day was a different story. I was leading a shape and color bingo game for the class while the teacher was doing one on one testing with the kids. Heidi was sitting at a table in the front of the classroom. I called out, "red-circle". Heidi called out, "I have to pee!" I asked E to take her to the bathroom so I could continue with the game. A few minutes later they came back, Heidi stood in front of the class and unabashedly gave me a full report of her visit to the restroom.

The next thing I knew, a teacher's aid knocked on the door with Heidi standing by her side. She asked if this little lost girl belonged in the Kindergarten classroom because she was out wandering the halls. I didn't even see her leave the room! We were nearly done with the game when I glanced over at Heidi to make sure she was still in her seat. She wasn't. She was standing in the middle of the classroom holding her dress up around her waist and her tights and undies were pulled down around her ankles.

I ran over to her and asked, "What are you doing?!?"
Heidi, looking at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, answered, "I have to pee."
"In the middle of the classroom?"
Shoulder shrug.
I pulled up her undies, pulled down her dress and gently excused myself and my distracting child from the classroom...grateful I hadn't started an application for early admission.

Lemon head Fred

2012-01-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

Leah found this in the bag of lemons we had in the fridge. Her creative little mind went right to work and turned a lemon into a fish! I thought it turned out pretty cute :)

Chicken Herding

2012-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

We have some friends. They have some chickens. Together, we had some fun.

Leah and our friend R holding a chicken

Naomi attempting to keep the chickens in the coop

One moment of weakness....

and he escaped!

"egg beaks"

A little bit of wind

2012-01-23T13:34:00.000-08:00

This past week we've had a bit of wind and rain. And when I say a bit I mean 109 mph wind and 9 inches of rain in three days. This is the fence in our backyard. This is also when I become really glad that we are renting :)

The Breakfast of Champions

2012-01-21T19:21:00.000-08:00

This morning while I was showering, Heidi made herself breakfast. What else, but a plate of powdered sugar. That's my girl.

FM-Group 4 Recipes

2012-01-20T12:50:00.000-08:00

Group 4

Meat Loaf
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nJVvAd__00SBXtRdQkC6l9sOX40hQZtrDfOk-_Q2OcA/edit?hl=en_US#
I prefer to make "meatloaf muffins". Make the meatloaf mixture and then cook in a muffin tin. That way you can take a few out at a time.

Pop-Over Tacos
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zZbx1-AMFXk3kBC2G4YgiPf23jt_ZGN3p-LevigLoGM/edit?hl=en_US#

Macaroni Toss
(The file for this is currently MIA. I'll try to track it down)
You could actually just replace it with meatballs.
http://wightbunch.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-6.html#!/2011/12/day-6.html
Leave out making the sauce. This way you can use the meatballs for spaghetti, swedish meatballs, or sweet and sour meatballs.

Cornbread Skillet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U2YUEfG4HKz_NnBvUXiKmsJgvEIo8Y2_hOtXjifLotQ/edit?hl=en_US#

FM-Group 3 Recipes

2012-01-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

Group 3
**Meal can be made without meat

Sloppy Joes
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-X8mQqOVkztcka55bxlAKtL9twq2La9gD5jQKf5NLMg/edit?hl=en_US#

Lazy Man's Lasagna**
http://wightbunch.blogspot.com/#!/2012/01/it-was-baking-kind-of-day.html
You can make a regular lasagna in a metal or disposable pan and freeze it. To make it "lazy", make the sauce, cheese mixture and cook a bag of mini lasagna noodles or egg noodles. Mix everything together in a big bowl and freeze in bags. It tastes the same, just doesn't take as long (or look as pretty).

Meat Pie
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JRMUVVvRffJ20xrsrHKqyvYhnlwUnfEvH72GS7pdUP0/edit?hl=en_US#

Taco Soup**
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s9FtyvctIRKmURi7Q0qO2ih9r1lKalTGsw8utK8hXd0/edit?hl=en_US#

FM- Group 2 Recipes

2012-01-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Group 2
**Recipe can be made without meat

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6097368413826966903#editor/target=post;postID=7653326546484697679
Italian Wedding Soup**
http://www.thecookingphotographer.com/search?q=italian+wedding+soup
Chili**
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zX7mJcHXJPTJheqCCMYYW8JVWI5_jr6ical3K-LY2wA/edit?hl=en_US#
Spaghetti Sauce**
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1jxChQoYMBq-tkVsQz3DWEUonqgKdM6I3y2uUvn90ihbr9IBabEcLH6remnWr&hl=en_US
Short Sharp Chops
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1p16OtWmDSslOjXI14gVyEjzAPGBXfNi1B9YxOpjlZOio1fSC8tlPb0On3hag&hl=en_US

FM- Schedule and Group 1 Recipes

2012-01-20T12:25:00.001-08:00

Cooking schedule
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlsTAFm_DUCFdDRpQXpUdDAyb3lfMEQxUTJmaC1iMlE&hl=en_US#gid=0

Recipes-Group 1
**Many of these recipies can be made vegetarian**

Pizza Pockets**
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NnIIn2nv_bPjStbGWBeOl8rSddoAYSrYNclo-ecwkAk/edit#
Chicken Pot Pie
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JLlxekuIjh_KI44k9Uo-8trzaGaMjn7AID1_qSSJBVI/edit?hl=en_US#
Fajitas**
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14EoDiXh0vg3klz_2z2TK7hZwe3R1mjlgFOflHX9rYUA/edit#
Stir Fry**
http://dinnerforeveryone.com/?p=134#more-134
Chicken Noodle Soup
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w5FqK9tBhg8KP766Ipb_SmNUJ0AqyWnmHOGO7zVk6OE/edit?hl=en_US#
Mulligatawny Soup
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IsRdRJCFtucKP-QUeLo-4JKFAgRgFj9pHJvJjhZEJYE/edit?hl=en_US#

Freezer Meals

2012-01-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

Back when I only had two young babies my friend introduced me to the concept of Freezer Meals, or "Meals for a Month". Four of us young mothers would get together, let our babies slobber on each other, and plan out 14 meals, a shopping list, a prep list and decide on a weekend to cook. On a Thursday we would go shopping and divide the food. Friday was our prep day at our own houses. Depending on what items we had, we would each chop veggies, cook chicken, brown massive quantities of hamburger etc. Saturday we would get together for the whole day and cook until we were sick of it and then order out pizza for dinner.

We have all since moved to different parts of the country, but I have continued making freezer meals from time to time. Now that all my friends and I have larger families it doesn't make as much sense to have a group of four. I usually do this on my own or with one other friend with an equal-ish sized family. These recipes are divided to do cooking on two different days; chicken and pork on one day, and beef on the next. I'll give you my recipes but feel free to adjust them depending on your families preferences or replace them with recipes of your own.

Recognition to my sisters for their help in organizing, typing, testing and providing some of these recipes. Love ya!

Step 1
Print out all recipes and cooking schedule

Step 2
Make a complete shopping list for all your recipes. This is done most easily if you make categories. Meat, Dairy, Vegetables, Fruit, Canned, Boxed, Frozen, Misc. **REMEMBER TO INCLUDE FREEZER BAGS OR CONTAINERS TO STORE YOUR MEALS IN**

You may want to hold off buying some things on the list. Example: Fajitas. You would want to buy the meat and veggies to make the fajita filling, but hold off buying the tortillas, and toppings until a few days before you eat this meal. With Pulled Pork Sandwiches, buy the pork, onion and BBQ sauce, but hold off buying the buns. You get the idea...

Step 3
Prep your house. Do your dishes, clean off your counters and work surfaces, sharpen your knives, find all the pieces to your food processor, clean out your fridge and freezer to make room for your shopping and meals. Doing all these things ahead of time will make the whole production more efficient. Look through your cupboards and fridge to determine if you already have any ingredients on your list.

Step 4
Go shopping WITHOUT KIDS!
If buying this much food at once seems overwhelming, do it in two different runs. You can shop one day for all the non-perishable items and veggies. If you have energy when you get home, go ahead and prep all your veggies. The next day go buy your perishable and frozen items. Prep all your meat.
**A note about prepping your food...It's easiest to chop all of one type of food at a time and it helps avoid cross contamination. Chop all your onions and put in a zip bag. One medium onion is equal to about 1/2 c chopped, one large onion is about 1 c chopped.

Step 5
Cooking-Groups 1 and 2

Step 6
Cooking-Groups 3 and 4

Step 7
Order out for dinner and relax knowing you won't have to make dinner for a whole month!

It was a baking kind of day...

2012-01-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday school was canceled because of the weather. Apparently the administration thought it would be mean to make kindergartners stand at the bus stop with rain blowing sideways at 60 mph. That left us at home to cozy on in for the day. First order of business was to take care of our drafty door...ghetto style.

Yes. Yes that IS red duck tape around my door and I did indeed tape my scarf to the door as well. It's not usually so drafty, but the wind was blowing directly from the south and directly through my door.

After that we figured we would warm up the house by turning on the oven and doing a bit of baking :)

We discovered banana bread is really good warm with Nutella.

Cream 1 c sugar, 1 c butter and 2 eggs

Mix in 3 ripe bananas, 1 T milk, 1 T ground cinnamon and 1/4 t nutmeg

Mix in 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, 1 t salt and 2 c flour

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 325 for an hour.

Lasagna with sausage, mushrooms and spinach.

Saute one onion, chopped
8 oz chopped mushrooms
1 lb sausage
Stir in one can diced tomatoes and 28 oz spaghetti sauce

In another bowl mix ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, one package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained and 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese.

Layer in 9x13 pan
sauce
lasagna noodles
1/3 ricotta mixture
sauce
mozzarella cheese
noodles
ricotta
sauce etc.
Bake covered at 375 for an hour-ish.

No Fail French Bread. Seriously. You can't mess this recipe up.

In your mixing bowl put in 6 c flour, 1 T salt, 2 T yeast 3 T sugar. Mix. Pour in 1/3 c oil and 2-21/2 c hot water. Mix for 5 minutes. Cover and let double. Divide dough in half. Roll each half out to a rectangle. Roll up and slash across the top with a knife. Bake at 375 for 15ish minutes.

Basketball Star

2012-01-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Naomi had her first basketball game. She's never played before. Her team only had two "practices" before their game during which there was no explanation of rules, objective or expectations except to "go out there and have fun." I was shocked to watch Naomi go out on the court and start dribbling, blocking and shooting like she's been playing organized ball for years. She made her first shot and scored the first points of the season. This picture is right after she scored. She was SO happy! I was pretty excited too :)

Phases of the moon

2012-01-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

Just as the moon goes through phases, Heidi's potty training went through phases as well.

New Moon: The new, tiny little bum of sweet baby Heidi in a diaper.

Waxing Crescent: At 2 years old, Heidi stayed dry through the night...a clear sign that she MUST be ready to potty train. (I'll admit I was a little anxious knowing once she was toilet trained I would never have to change my own kid's diaper again.)

First Quarter: At 2 1/2 I first attempted to but Heidi on the potty in hopes of spurring some excitement. I might have dropped her in the frigid toilet water quickly reversing all positive effects...but I don't really remember :/

Waxing Gibbous: Just before she turned 3 I thought buying Pull-Ups might encourage her again. She liked wearing them. So much in fact that she didn't want to pee in them. So Heidi would wear them all day, staying dry, and when she knew she needed to wet, she would bring me a diaper, take off her pull up and lie down so I could put the diaper on her. When I did, she would take care of business, take the diaper off, put it in the garbage and then put her Pull-Up back on.

Full Moon: At 3 I thought buying undies would encourage Heidi to at least SIT on the toilet again. I got her cute little Dora undies and got rid of the diapers. Well, now she would wear her undies until she had to wet, then she would put on a Pull-Up, fill it, take it off , put it in the trash and put her undies back on.

Waning Gibbous: Any time I tried to get Heidi anywhere near the toilet she would scream. I started thinking some therapy might be in order...for BOTH of us.

Last Quarter: Heidi refuse to wear Pull-Ups and still refused to use the toilet. After one accident at my friend's house, Natalie my friend's 10 year old daughter took it upon herself to potty train Heidi. She gave Heidi a Hershey's kiss every time she sat on the toilet. Natalie got Heidi to use the toilet twice. When we got home, Heidi insisted she would only use Natalie's potty and continued to pee on my floor.

Waning Crescent: Heidi figured out peeing her pants multiple times a day really wasn't any fun...especially when we made her clean up her own mess. Her compromise was to strip down, stand over the bath tub with one foot on either side ledge and pee. That way she didn't get a drip on her AND she didn't have to clean up the floor. As an added bonus...my bathtub has never been scrubbed so many times in a week.

NEW Moon: At 2 am Heidi woke up whimpering that she needed to use the potty. I was too tired to play her game and she must have been too tired to fight because I just plunked her on the toilet and she took care of business. She's been going on her own IN the toilet ever since!!!!! Happy day!

Pulled Pork and Cabbage Slaw

2012-01-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

Throw this in the crock pot and freeze the left overs.

2 lbs. pork loin
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 onion, thinly sliced

Put pork and onion in crock pot. Cover with 2/3 bottle BBQ sauce and 1/2 c water. Turn on low setting and let cook for 6-8 hours. When the meat is soft enough, pull apart with two forks and mix with remaining BBQ sauce. Serve on toasted buns.

Cabbage Slaw*

4 c finely shredded cabbage
2 T chopped green onions
2 T mayo
2 T sour cream
1 T Miso paste (optional but delicious)
2 t lemon juice
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 t olive oil
1 t agave nectar or honey
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder

Put shredded cabbage and green onions in a bowl. In another bowl mix all other ingredients. Pour over cabbage and mix. Let sit in the fridge all day. Serve on the side or INside the pulled pork sandwich.

*If you want this to be vegan, use 4 T Vegenaise and leave out the sour cream...and don't eat it with meat :) It's flavorful enough to stand on it's own! (Did I mention I made it up?)

Chicken Pomodoro

2012-01-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

This is seriously one of the easiest meals to make. It's a great go-to recipe when the cupboards are bare because it only has a few ingredients :)

2 T butter
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 lb chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 small zucchini, 1 c chopped spinach or 1/4 c fresh parsley
Fettuccine noodles
Boil water and cook fettuccine noodles.

Melt butter in a skillet. Brown garlic in the butter. Add chicken and let cook a few minutes on each side. Pour in tomato juice from can and cover chicken, letting it steam until cooked. When cooked through, take chicken out of pan and chop. Put zucchini, spinach or parsley in skillet and let cook a minute until tender. Stir in cheese, canned tomatoes and put chicken back in. Let simmer until noodles are cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken mixture over fettuccine noodles.

TMI !!!!

2012-01-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

Leah's been getting a bit more observant recently and therefore more curious about life and how it's created. We've had several plutonic discussions before about the differences between boys and girls etc. This past discussion she kept asking more detailed questions, so I kept answering them. After a rather "informative" conversation, she kept coming back to me with one concern, "But I just don't get how babies are made." I didn't want to be too straight forward, but clearly my more gentle explanations just weren't doing the trick. I told her. I told her just how babies are made. I gave her enough details to make her blush and declare that was disgusting and she was NEVER going to do that. I told her to keep that opinion until she was thirty.

Later that night after I had sent all the girls to bed, Leah came out of her room and said to me, "Something is really creeping me out...you know, about how babies are made? I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

MY American Dream

2012-01-09T08:46:00.001-08:00

^{When Lars got his job teaching I was amazed and grateful and felt very blessed. I still do. But I can't lie, after about a month I started thinking, "Is this really 'it'?" We've worked our whole marriage to obtain an education and full time employment, good schools for our girls and reliable transportation. While I am happy to have those things...a mini van just doesn't inspire me. These feelings have nothing to do with "Keeping up with the Joneses". I don't care what car I drive, what house I live in or even where I live. I want to live an inspired life, full of creativity and opportunity.}
^{The thought of buying a house and living in it for 30 years freaks me out. I don't give a rip about having the newest, the biggest or the best. I crave new adventures, freedom, beauty and nature.}

^{Lars and I have been talking a lot about this recently and decided we are going to dream the big dream. Lars wants to be a writer. Always has. I want to be an artist/photographer/graphic designer. Always have. So we're going to do it. After this school year is over, Lars is taking a break from teaching and we are going to work our hearts out doing what we love. Obviously we are going to be responsible parents and make sure our kids have food, clothing and shelter, but why not give it a shot?!? We only get one life to live and I don't want to look back at mine and say, "I wish I would have......."}

^{I've started a new photography blog. I'm a bit hesitant to do this now before I really}
^{feel like I know what I'm doing, but it's all part of the learning process right?}
^{Check it out and give me any feedback. http://birdhousephoto.blogspot.com/}

^{So here's to a new year, a new plan and hopefully greater happiness, fulfilment and success.}

^Cheers

Over and Out

2012-01-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

While watching a show where the characters were using walking talkies, Leah asked, "Why do they have to say 'Roger that'? Why can't they say 'Tom' or something?!"

Guaranteed Goal Success

2012-01-01T22:51:00.001-08:00

Generally for my New Year's resolutions I choose something I am absolutely sure I can achieve so I don't feel like a failure come December 31st. I am proud to announce that I accomplished my goal for 2011 which was...

Avoid getting trampled by a herd of angry water buffalo.

This year I am making two goals.

1. Brush my teeth at least once. (Now every time I brush more than that, I will feel like an OVER achiever! See, it's all about building self confidence which I will need for my second, more ambitious goal.)
2. Use my fear as a catalyst for greatness.

Life is brewing up some great opportunities and I don't want to get in my own way.

you pirate

2011-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Emilia had a friend over and they weren't including Heidi. I could hear them fighting so I snuck to the door with the camera and I caught Heidi dishing out her worst insults!

(wouldn't upload my video, so you're going to have to go to my FB page to see it)

***For those of you not fluent in "Heidi," here is a translation.

"You're ruining my life. You're ruining my life. You're ruining my life Emilia. You're ruining my life pirate! You're ruining my life you pirate on a ship!"

Christmas Eve and Day

2011-12-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday we got to drive up to Portland and spend the evening with Lars's brother and family. Apparently I didn't get a single picture of them...but I did get one of them sporting their new p.j. pants from grandma Ingrid :)

Santa came to our house and brought the girls some toys and boots. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the girls as well. Our favorites were the adorable aprons that my sister made for us. I wore mine ALL day while I was cooking. Thanks Elizabeth! :)

That afternoon we had our friends over to share a traditional Swedish Smorgasbord...sans pickled herring and liver patte. We had ham, orange rolls, Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce, yams and apples, braised cabbage, pickled beets, roasted brussel sprouts, salad, crackers and cheese, veggies and spiced cider.

After dinner the girls and their friends made Ramses a throne and a crown. Here is photographic proof that we got a very tolerant cat. I still won't be surprised if he ever tries to escape out the bathroom window. I've been tempted a few times myself :)

Day 12-Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

On the twelfth day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my favorite roll recipe...

Feather Rolls or Ingrid's Orange Rolls
(It is no surprise that this recipe also came from my MIL)

Mix and let stand
1/2 c warm water
2 T yeast
1 T sugar

1 c milk, scalded
1/2 c butter, melted in the milk
1/3 c sugar
2 t salt
2 eggs, well beaten
Mix and add into yeast mixture. Beat in 4 1/2 c flour. Let mix for several minutes. The dough will be very sticky. Cover and put it in the fridge overnight.

Two hours before eating, knead dough and divide in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle. Melt 1/2 c butter and stir in the zest of an orange. Spread melted butter on dough, roll up, and cut into 12 rolls.

Put the rolls in muffin tins and let rise a bit before baking in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Day 11

2011-12-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this today because we'll be gone most of tomorrow, so here you go...
On the eleventh day of Christmas my gift to you from me are some more cookie recipies. (Just what everybody needs right?)

Toffee Diamonds

1 c butter
1 c brown sugar
Beat until fluffy. Add in
1 t vanilla
1 egg yolk
Mix again and then stir in
2 c flour
Mix. Add in
1 c mini choco chips

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Press dough into pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. While still warm, cut into 2" diamonds. Make frosting.

Melt in a sauce pan
1/4 c chocolate chips
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
Add in milk 1 t as a time until mixture is a thick, spreading consistency.

Dot each diamond with a drop of frosting and top with a walnut.

Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix until light and fluffy
1 c butter
2/3 c sugar
Add in
2 egg yolks
1 lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 t vanilla extract
Mix in
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
and finally add
2 1/4 c flour

Scoop out balls of dough. Use your thumb, or dip 1/2 t measuring spoon in powdered sugar and press into cookie dough.

Mix together 1/2 c jam, any flavor, and 1 t lemon juice. Fill cookies with 1/2 t jam. Bake for 20-ish minutes until golden brown.

Day 10

2011-12-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

On the tenth day of Christmas my gift to you from me are my favorite side dish recipes...

Garlic Green Beans

2 lbs. green beans, fresh or frozen
2 T butter
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 t coarse sea salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Met butter in large sauce pan melt 1 T butter and saute minced garlic until brown. Add in green beans and toss with butter and garlic. Add a bit of water and steam green beans until crisp-tender. Drain any water and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.

Roasted Sesame Asparagus

1 1/2 lbs. asparagus spears
1 1/2 t. dark sesame oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 t sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 t crushed red pepper
salt
pepper
shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle or brush asparagus with sesame oil. Bake for 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Take pan out of oven and add vinegar, sesame seed and red pepper, tossing gently to coat. Put asparagus in your serving dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with cheese if you are using it.

(I stole the pictures this time...is that proper documentation?)

Elvis is on the "Naughty List"

2011-12-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

I walked Emilia over to her little friend's house to play. She walked in, hugged her friend, gave Elvis the dog a friendly pat and he jumped up and bit her cheek! Emilia covered her face and tried to stop crying so she could stay and play, but once I saw the blood dripping down her cheek I said sorry sister and hauled her home. While Dad got the bleeding to stop, I sat with my head between my knees. I get woozy at the initial injury, but then I can pull it together. Lars gets woozy at needles, and we figured there would be a few of them, so I was nominated to pack E up and take her to the E.R.

She was a champ! The nurse was great with her and had E helping with whatever she could. The doctor was kind and efficient. I got to lay on the bed with her the whole time and hold her hand and read her a book. They numbed up her cheek, cleaned out the puncture wound really well and then he put two stitches in her cheek. It wasn't a big wound thankfully, it was just jagged. It looks great so far. We were in and out in an hour...which is rather amazing.

Of course I had to take E to get an ice cream cone and a fairy doll after the whole affair and in my mind she totally deserved it. As we were leaving the hospital, Emilia said to me, "I don't care if I have stitches in my cheek because I'm still cute.....and I'm alive."

I'm glad she has her priorities straight.

FINALLY!!!

2011-12-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

We finally got an impromptu family picture as we were out at Seal Rock with my sister in law and her kids. Where did you find snow, you ask?? No where. It's sea foam...it just looks like snow. :)

We almost got one with everybody looking. :p

Day 9

2011-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

On the ninth day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my ninth favorite recipe...

"Green Lemonade"
recipe by Natalia Rose

This is a GREAT way to start your day. Drink one of these bad boys for breakfast and you will have an amazing amount of energy. Yum!!

1 head Romain lettuce
6 stalks kale
2 organic Fuji apples
1 lemon, peeled
1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled

Press all through a juicer, one fruit/veggie at a time. Drink it down. Go brush your teeth. You don't want green teeth :D

If you want it sweeter, add another apple or some sweet organic carrots.

Day 8

2011-12-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

On the 8th day of Christmas my gift to you from me are another two of my favorite recipes :)

These are both Swedish recipes (surprise) we make each year to celebrate St. Lucia

Engelska Pepparkakor

(these are like a thinner, crispier gingerbread)

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

3/4 c dark syrup *

2/3 stick butter

2 t cinnamon

2 t ginger

1/2 t cloves

1/2 t cardamom

1 t grated orange peel

1 1/2 t baking soda

Combine all and mix well.

3/4 c heavy cream or half and half

Beat until lightly foamy and add to sugar mixture.

5 1/4 c flour

Add to spicy mixture. Work the dough until shiny and pliable on table adding more flour if needed. Divide the dough into two halves. Pat out to a disk, wrap and refrigerate over night, or a few hours if you can't wait that long. Roll out to 1/8" thin and cut with a cookie cutter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. The most traditional Swedish shapes are pigs, goat and apples. These taste fabulous with egg nog, hot cider or hot chocolate.

*Dark syrup is dark corn syrup, however you can use molasses. It just makes the cookies softer rather than crispy. The flavor remains pretty much the same because of the other spices.

The traditional recipe is Saffron bread or "Lussekatter". If you've ever looked, you will know that Saffron is obscenely expensive. So I've adopted this recipe of

Buttered Sweet Potato Knot Rolls

1 T yeast
1 c warm milk
3/4 c mashed sweet potatoes, canned or fresh
1 T butter
1 1/4 t salt
2 large egg yolks
5 c bread flour

Dissolve yeast in milk. Let stand 5 minutes and then add sweet potatoes, butter, salt and egg yolks. Mix with a whisk. Add 4 1/2 c flour and stir until dough forms. Knead and add remaining flour. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down and let rest 5 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. Working with one at a time, roll dough into a "snake", tie into a knot and tuck ends underneath. Put 12 rolls on each baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls (uncovered) for 12-15 minutes. Brush with butter while still warm.

Day 7

2011-12-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

On the seventh day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my seventh favorite recipe...

Today you get my two favorite Sauces
Thai Peanut Sauce

3 T peanut butter
2 cloves garlic
2 t hot chili oil
2 T maple syrup or honey
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 c water
peanuts

Mix all in a saucepan over med heat. Stir until peanut butter has melted and all ingredients are combined. Serve over stir fried or sauteed veggies and rice. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
I usually double the recipe. It's good on everything!

*As a Raw recipe, mix all and puree.

Hot Fudge Sauce
(This is my mom's recipe, for all of you who have ever had this and wanted the recipe)

3/4 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
2/3 c evaporated milk
1/3 c light corn syrup
1/3 c butter
1 t vanilla

Combine sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Blend in evaporated milk and corn syrup. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture boils. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Makes about 2 cups. Serve warm or cold over ice cream, brownies, cake or with a straw. :)

Puddle Jumping- Oregon Coast Style

2011-12-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

It was a picture perfect day

Day 6

2011-12-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

On the 6th day of Christmas my gift to you from me, is my 6th favorite recipe...

Swedish Meatballs (once again from my Swedish mother in law)

1 c water
1 egg
In a small bowl, add together and mix well. Stir in
1/2 c bread crumbs OR 1 medium potato, cooked, cooled and mashed
Let mixture stand while you are grating
1/2 yellow onion
Stir into bread crumbs with
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Add in 1 lb. lean ground beef* and
1/2 lb. ground pork (plain, not seasoned)

Knead in the meat until all the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Shape into 1" balls.
If you want the meatballs to stay round, place on a baking sheet in the fridge for an hour before cooking.
Over high heat in a heavy skillet, melt some butter and oil. Add the meat balls 8-10 at a time. Reduce heat to medium and fry the meatballs on all sides. Transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in a 200 degree oven while cooking the rest of the meat balls.
After the meatballs are cooked, use the same skillet and pour off the fat. Add water and a little cream. slowly add 1 T of flour mixed with some water until smooth and whisk it over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until you have a smooth gravy. Add beef bouillon or more cream to taste.
Pour gravy over cooked meatballs in baking dish.

Serve with mashed potatoes, pickled beets and lingonberry jam.

I use a mixture of ground turkey and ground pork. I like the flavor better and they aren't as dense.

5th Recipe

2011-12-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

On the 5th day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my fifth favorite recipe...

Sneaky Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
(I made up this recipe to sneak more veggies onto my kid's plate. They loved it!)

1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 summer squash, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1-8 oz can tomato sauce
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes
1-6 oz tomato paste
salt
pepper
bay leaves

Saute onion, zucchini, summer squash and garlic in olive oil. When soft, take off heat and pour into blender or food processor with 8 oz tomato sauce.

In a large pot or crock pot, pour in puree, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with salt, pepper and bay leaves to taste. Let simmer allowing flavors to blend... the longer the better.

If you have carnivores living in your house, you can add sausage and mushrooms, ground beef or ground turkey as well.

4th Recipe

2011-12-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

On the fourth day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my fourth favorite recipe...
Scandinavian Almond Bars (this is my mother in law's recipe)

1 c butter
2 c sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 t almond extract
3 1/2 c flour
milk
1 c sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

Almond Icing
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 t almond extract
3-4 t milk

Beat butter in large bowl for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat well. Add egg and almond extract; beat until well combined. Mix in flour. divide dough into 8 sections. One at a time, roll into 12 inch "snakes". Put two at a time on a cookie sheet. Flatten to 3 inch width. Brush cookie dough with pink and sprinkle with almonds.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. While cookies are still warm, cut diagonally into 1 inch strips. Cool on a wire rack.

Make almond icing by combining all three ingredients. Drizzle over cookies.

3rd recipe

2011-12-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

On the third day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my third favorite recipe...

Almond Cardamom Stars

6 c flour
3c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t ground cardamom
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
3/4 c almond paste (NOT marzipan), crumbled (1-8 oz can)
3 T butter, cold
1 c fresh orange juice
9 T vegetable oil

Icing
4 c powdered sugar
6 T orange juice

Mix flour, sugar, soda, cardamom and salt until blended. Add almond paste and butter. Slowly add juice and oil. Divide dough into three sections. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

One section at a time, roll out between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut with a star-shaped cookie cutter and cook for 8 minutes.

To make icing, mix powdered sugar and orange juice. Spoon over warm cookies.

*You can also just chill the dough in logs, then slice them and bake circles instead of rolling out the dough etc.

Recipe 2

2011-12-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

On the second day of Christmas my gift to you from me is my second favorite recipe...

Sliced Potato Soup

1 onion chopped
6 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin
2 cubes chicken bouillon
and enough water to cover potatoes by an inch
1 cup kale or spinach, roughly chopped
1 lb. ham, bacon or spicy ground sausage (optional)
1/2 c fat free sour cream
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
2 T Dijon mustard
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes

Chop onion and saute in butter or oil in a large soup pot. Add in sliced potatoes, chicken bouillon and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in sour cream, cheese and mustard. Add meat (if using) and chopped kale or spinach. Season with salt pepper and red pepper flakes.

12 Recipes of Christmas

2011-12-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

On the first day of Christmas, my gift to you from me is my first favorite recipe.

Sioux Indian Fry Bread

2 c warm water
2 T yeast
1/4 c sugar
Mix and let rise.
In a bowl mix together
4 c flour
1/4 t salt
Pour in yeast mixture and 1/4 c oil. Mix until completely combined. Will be sticky. Cover and let rise for one hour. (If you are impatient or in a hurry, it also works if you don't let it rise.)
Heat some oil in a cast iron skillet. Pinch off a small portion of dough. Flatten it out with your hands or a rolling pin. Fry in pan until brown and crispy, flip over and fry the other side.
Serve with any meal, use as a soft taco, or dredge in butter and cinnamon and sugar for a treat.

Christmasy Things

2011-12-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been a bit slow with the whole Christmas thing this year, but we are finally getting on track. Last week we all piled in the van and drove out to get a tree. The tree lot we went to was closed, so rather than drive around and find a new one, Lars drove to the local grocery store and picked out a Christmas tree as the rest of us sat in the car holding hands and singing Christmas carols. (Did you believe that last part even for a minute? Yeah, I'm a lousy liar.)

After we got it home we realized we needed to saw off the bottom to make it even. We couldn't find our saw. In fact, we haven't seen a lot of things since we moved here. This move was the first time I didn't stick around and supervise what actually made it into the truck and I'm starting to think that half of it got left behind! Anyway, we ended up borrowing a lousy saw from our neighbors and it only took about an hour, a wedge, a hammer and finally a log splitter to get through the trunk of the tree. No, we did not choose a 50 ft evergreen, we just had bad tools and poor lighting.

Eventually we got the tree inside and decorated, complete with a "shooting star" on top. :)

N putting the star on top

L trying

E taking a turn

H finally getting the star on

...sort of :)

Thanksgiving Leftovers

2011-11-30T14:02:00.000-08:00

We had a rather impromptu Thanksgiving dinner this year. We had planned to eat at our friend's house but they had a family emergency so we gracefully uninvited ourselves.

Lars thinks the best part of Thanksgiving are the left-overs, so even though we had other plans, he still bought a turkey. Lars got it in the brine around 11 and in the oven around 4. Needless to say, we didn't sit down to eat until 7:30 p.m. I had already made whipped sweet potatoes with hazelnut struessel, roasted brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce with orange and ginger, and apple crisp. I made stuffing, mashed potatoes. dill carrots and a pumpkin pie. Lars finished the turkey and made gravy and we ate a feast! It was delicious and we had a wonderful day cooking and being together as a family.

I just got my camera back from being fixed (HOORAY!!) in time to document my leftover Turkey Sandwich creation.

Rosemary Turkey Salad Sandwiches

1/2 c olive oil mayo
1/2 c fat free sour cream
1 t lemon juice
2-3 t chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1 t dried minced onion
1 stalk celery minced
Mix all. Add more or less of anything to your own taste.
Stir into 4 cups chopped turkey.

Serve on bread or croissants with left over cranberry sauce!
(If you don't have any cranberry sauce stir some Craisins in with the turkey salad.)

Devil's Churn

2011-11-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

L and E at the top of the hike.

Down at Devil's Churn

E and myself carrying H back up

E, L, H, Lars and N. always have to have one happy camper :)

Cape Perpetua lookout

About 15 miles south of us is an amazing area of Oregon called Devil's Churn and Cape Perpetua. On Saturday we went as a family for the nice little hike down to the water and then up to the lookout. Naomi wouldn't get near the water and was freaking out the whole time that Lars was going to fall in while he was taking pictures. She stayed on the trail and wailed until he Dad came away from the edge and back up to her. It was kind of sweet...I guess. After the hike Lars treated us all to ice cream. it was a great afternoon together. :)

Mr. Owl, How many licks does it take?

2011-11-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Leah, the world WILL know...

Half Wheat Bread

2011-11-15T12:53:00.000-08:00

So I came across this recipe for "No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread". Made me laugh because it's actually only half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. I suppose Whole Wheat bread sounds better than Half Wheat Bread. :)

No-Knead (Half) Whole Wheat Bread
(Taste of Home's Holiday Get-Together Cookbook)

1 T dry yeast
1 1/4 c warm water
2 T honey*
2 T butter
1 t salt
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in honey; add butter, salt and whole wheat flour. beat on low speed until well-blended. Stir in all-purpose flour. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Pour batter into a greased bread pan. cover and let rise in a warm place until batter reaches edge of pan, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

*My girls didn't like the honey taste so I just used brown sugar instead. I think it has a better taste with honey, but my opinion just doesn't count in this vote.

Apology

2011-11-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

Heidi was sitting at the kitchen table coloring with a marker. I was by the stove making dinner.
"Sorry 'bout that!"
I look over, "Sorry 'bout what Heidi?"
"Sorry 'bout coloring on the table!"
Upon closer inspection, I noticed Heidi was sitting at the kitchen table coloring with a marker, ON the table. (While smiling and batting her eyes at me...and continuing to color on the table.)
Apparently an apology absolves you of any misdeed, even mid-offense.
Love that girl.

400 cookies

2011-11-14T15:47:00.001-08:00

This is officially my 400th blog post. Who knew I had so much to say? (Don't answer that.)

Today for my baking adventure I was jonesin' for some Molasses cookies, but I wanted pumpkin in them. I found a recipe for molasses cookies on food.com and made my own adjustments to it. They turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. :)

Soft Molasses Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light colored and fluffy. Add in pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
Beat in molasses and eggs; set mixture aside.
Dump in salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.
Add in flour. Mix.
Scoop out 1 1/2 inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet.
Pour a bit of white sugar in a bowl. Dip the bottom of a cup into the sugar and press the cookies flat.
Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes. Do not over bake!

Let the baking begin

2011-11-14T15:44:00.000-08:00

Seems like once November hits, I get the baking bug. There aren't many complaints when this bug comes to stay, aside from tight pants. My first experiment was a layered pumpkin cake.

It was actually a very simple cake with ingredients I already had on hand. The only thing I didn't have was whipping cream for the ganche, so I used canned milk and it worked out just fine. :)

Pumpkin Sandwich Cake from Better Homes and Gardens, November 2008

3/4 c flour
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 eggs
1 c sugar
3/4 c canned pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease bottoms and sides of two 8 inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper. In bowl combine flour, spice powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a second bowl beat eggs and sugar until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Spread cake batter in prepared pans. Bake 16-18 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove and cool thoroughly.
(My layers were pretty thin, so I repeated steps 1&2 to have 4 layers of cake.)

Filling
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 c whipping cream

3. For filling, whip cream to soft peaks. In another bowl mix cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in whipped cream.
(I doubled the filling for 4 layers of cake.)

To assemble cake, place on layer on a serving platter. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over bottom cake layer. Top with second layer of cake. Spread with c.c. mixture, repeat with 3rd and 4th layers. Place in fridge while preparing chocolate ganache.

Ganache
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c bittersweet or semisweet chocolate pieces
(I doubled this as well.)

4. In small saucepan bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove. Pour over chocolate pieces in medium b owl (do not stir). Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Cool 15 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake.

Store loosely covered in the fridge.

I will conveniently "forget" to include to nutritional content of this cake. Remember it's fat free as long as you are giving it away. :)

The end of the season

2011-11-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

Naomi had her last soccer game on Nov. 5th. They actually had two games that day. She scored the last goal of the season! I've never seen Naomi so ecstatic about something. She wasn't jumping around like a crazy person, she just had the biggest glowing smile on her face and she looked so happy I thought she would cry. (Of course, I didn't get a picture of this because I dropped the camera...yes, the one I just bought...in a mud puddle and jammed the lens.) But here are a few picts from the season.

front and center, ready for kick off

Halloween

2011-11-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

The library had an evening activity for the kids with Halloween stories, tattoos, candy bags and a pumpkin to decorate.

L was a tiger, N was a Gothic vampire, E was a cowgirl and H was a butterfly fairy.

H was SO excited to go trick-or-treating. She had been practicing for days! After every house that gave them candy, H would come back to Lars and me and say, "Wow! That guy had candy!"

Happy Birthday E!

2011-11-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

For her 6th birthday, Emilia wanted a Tinkerbell Tea Party.

Then of course there was dancing...

chocolate cup cakes...

and presents.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2011-10-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Heidi has apparently inherited my green thumb

yes. that IS duck tape

Million Dollar Baby

2011-10-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Move over Hilary Swank, Heidi's in town.

Puppet shows

2011-10-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Heidi has not taken to the idea that all of her sisters get to go to school and she has to stay home all day with boring old mom. The one thing that gets her through the day is to play with her puppets.

Halloween cookies

2011-10-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Had a bit of fun yesterday with the girls :)

naomi and her candy corn cat

my tray of ghosts

leah

heidi

emilia

Dodged a Bullet

2011-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was in Salem for a Dr. appointment, so of course I had to spend some time in Monmouth. I decided to get my hair cut by a gal that cut my hair once before. I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half. When I came in she was super chatty and asked me how my last haircut was. Good, I answered kind of surprised that she would remember me after so long. I sat down in the chair and she started cutting. As she was cutting and talking I suspected that she might be thinking I was someone else. The more she cut, the more I was sure of it.

When she chopped the side this short, I stopped her and asked just exactly how she was cutting my hair. She said she thought I just wanted to repeat my last haircut. Well, my last hair cut from her was shoulder length, but apparently whoever she thought I was had a pixie cut and that was what she was starting to give me! Fortunately for me I have thick hair and she only cut the bottom layer on the side.

The top was still long enough that I could cover it up without it being horribly obvious.

I explained to her what haircut I actually wanted and she fixed up what she could. I guess it turned out all right. I always get a bit nervous when the only people who compliment my hair are over 65. So far that's been the case, but hey...it's just hair right? :)

A couple gems

2011-10-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Heidi had a pile of cherry tomatoes fresh out of Grandma's garden, so I asked her, "Heidi can I have a TOmato?" Not wanting to share, Heidi answered, "No, you can have a ONEmato."

After running around outside E came in and said, "I just need a drink of water to un-dry my mouth."

I was chopping onions for dinner. Leah came up to the counter and stood really close to the onion until her eyes started watering. I asked her what in the world she was doing. "I'm just having a staring contest with an onion." Uh huh...

Heidi calls eye brows, "ear brows".

E was running around the house with nothing on except two pair of undies. I asked her why she was wearing two pair. As if it were the most obvious thing in the world she answered, "To keep my bum warm."

H is becoming a bit more dramatic. The other day she was standing in the living room pouting. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I feeling sad. I need to sing a song. (singing) Twinkle Twinkle little star, up-a up-a world so high Twinkle Twinkle little star." Long dramatic sigh...

Soccer mom

2011-10-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I have arrived. Not only do I drive a mini-van, but I am now driving said vehicle to Naomi's soccer practices and games. I got roped into being an assistant coach and I love it! Go Cosmos!

A blessing in disguise

2011-10-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

Friday I went back down to Waldport with Naomi to enroll the girls in school. While we were inside, some lady came in and said, "Does anyone drive a white mini van?" I do. She informed me that she backed into it. She drove a suburban with a trailer hitch. I don't know how fast she was backing out because she managed to do $1800 of damage to my car. Oh yeah...she was driving without insurance.

Turns out, you really ARE in good hands with Allstate. They came out and appraised the damage to the car and wrote us a check to cover the damages. I told the guy we didn't really want to put that much money into the car because we were probably going to get a new car in the next few months anyway. He told us we could actually do whatever we wanted with the money. We could use some of it to fix the car or take it and go to Disneyland. While we actually DO want to go to Disneyland :) we decided to just use the money for a down payment on a new car.

So, thanks uninsured motorist and Allstate for your generous donation to our new vehicle.

welcome home...aaaaand good bye

2011-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Lars picked us up from the airport Wednesday night and we drove straight back to Newport. Well, if we're going to be honest, Lars drove and the rest of us passed out from exhaustion.

Over the summer Lars had been informed that he would be transferred down to Waldport (a LITTLE town 16 miles south) to teach for the next school year. (In Oregon, the district hires teachers, not schools. That way they can move the new teachers around whenever and wherever they need them. Very convenient for the district...not so much for the teachers.) We had been weighing the pros and cons of moving down to Waldport or just staying put in Newport. We decided we would take a look down in Waldport and see if there were any houses available to rent, check out the schools etc. etc.
So Thursday morning after we had all roused ourselves out of bed, we hauled off down to Waldport and looked at a house. It's was a cute little three bedroom house in a neighborhood with a yard. We decided it would work for us and would save us gobs of money between cheaper rent, gas for traveling and no longer needing a second car.

Lars suggested taking our time with the move, after all, we still had to give our 30 day notice. I demanded...i mean, suggested that we move before school started so we didn't have a repeat of last year. It was really tough on the girls, especially Leah, to be in transition the whole first month of school and it really affected her school work. We decided to move the next Saturday.
Somehow I was able to get boxes, sort and pack my entire house in one week. I'm pretty sure there were angels helping me because I'm not sure how it all got done. Thankfully we still had a few weeks in the Newport house to clean and paint over the marker murals that Heidi so generously created on the walls, so I didn't have to worry about that right away. We had tons of help moving out, moving in a cleaning from our friends in Newport and new friends in Waldport.

travel log-week3

2011-10-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Friday the 19th my sister Steph watched my girls so that Amy and I could go to the Iowa State Fair to see a concert...and the champion boar of course. This is me and "Tiny" with all his 1, 196 pounds of piggy, whiskery goodness.

Train and Maroon 5 put on an AMAZING concert.

Adam Lavine with Maroon 5

Patrick Monahan with Train

After the show we were going to get a real taste of the fair by having a deep fat fried Oreo cookie. One thing stopped us...the girl who was slumped down next to the booth barfing. We figured we could try it another year.

Amy and me taking pictures of our reflection in the bus window on the shuttle back to our car.

Saturday the 20th
We woke up and started packing up all our stuff, cleaning out the car and washing it. I convinced my sister Becca to drive over from Muscatine so I could spend one more day with her. All of a sudden I felt kind of crampy and before long I was doubled over thinking I was dying. If I didn't already have my appendix out I would have thought it had ruptured I was in so much pain. Eventually I made my way to the bathroom where I sat on the throne with a garbage can on my lap while it felt like someone was wringing my intestines dry. Needless to say, I didn't get to spend much quality time with my sister. :(

Sunday the 21st
Even though I still felt like death warmed over, we packed up the car and drove to Iowa City to see Amy and Andrew one more time. I could hardly walk, or sit up straight for that matter, but somehow we made it home.

Monday the 22nd
My Mom and I had already bought tickets to see the "Body Works" exhibit at the OMSI in Des Moines. It was fascinating. I thought it might be a little creepy, but it was amazing.

Tuesday I got to spend time with another friend and her beautiful daughter. We packed up the car and got ready for our trip back to Oregon.
Wednesday the 24th
Dad and Mom drove us back to Omaha, Nebraska. We stopped at Winter Quarters and the girls got to see the historical site there and dress up in pioneer clothes before we went to the airport to fly home.

Blowing kisses to Grandma and Grandpa.

Thanks for a great trip!

travel log - week 2

2011-10-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening we (the siblings) decided to have a sleep over at Steph's house, so we pawned off as many kids as we could and put the rest to bed. We all piled into my sister's giant van and took off to get some ice cream. About five minutes into our adventure Steph got a text from her hubby who was home with all the kids. Two words, "Emilia barfed." We went home. After messes were cleaned up, kids bathed and put back to bed, we watched an amazing Midwestern thunder storm on the porch and then played games until the wee hours of the morn.

Sunday August 7th
We drove back up to Cedar Falls to Grandma and Grandpa's house. E and N spent the day on the couch with fevers and the barfies.

We hung out in CF for the week. Grandpa took us to the Pool and splash park. I got to see my dear friend from High School and her sweet girls. We ate Iowa sweet corn, roasted marshmallows in the fire pit, ate cupcakes at my friend's shop downtown and just had a great time!

(This is where the remainder of my pictures are still on my memory card in the lost camera so I'm stealing from everyone else)

Friday the 12th we went back down to Nauvoo, Illinois for my sister's sister-in-law's wedding. After the occassion we went down to Muscatine and spent the night at my sister Becca's house.
Saturday the 13th we went with Becca, her Hubby Matt and their son Garrick and checked out the Button Museum, the river, the train and the playground. On our way back up to CF we passed through Iowa City. They were having their "Sand in the City" celebration where the city dumps literally tons of sand on the street and groups come in and build amazing sand castles and structures. There was also a giant pile of sand for the kids to play in, a bouncy house and of course snow cones, cotton candy and the likes. Grandpa and Grandma spoiled the girls by letting them get a rainbow snow cone as big as their head. :)

Sunday evening my good friends the Palmers came over for dinner. We spent the evening laughing so hard our guts hurt...just like we've done since the 5th grade :)

Monday, August 15th
We drove down to Iowa City and met up with my brother Andrew. He took us to a playground and splash area down town.

We spent the night at my sister Amy's house. The girls played with their cousins and I got to love on my new nephew Everett and his delicious fatty legs.

Tuesday, August 16th
We went boating with Amy's in-laws. They had a giant tube they pulled behind their boat that fit six people at a time. I thought the girls might be freaked out being on it...but I was wrong. They all thought I was tons of fun, especially Heidi who all but refused to get off when her turn was over.

Amy's husband Brett thought it would be hilarious to try and flip Amy and me off the tube. We got all the kids in the boat and Brett drove like a maniac trying to give us whip-lash, skip us across the water like a rock or drown us...whichever came first. It was so much fun, but the best part was watching Naomi. (This is mean, but I could laugh because I knew I wasn't in any real danger). Naomi thought we were going to die. For real. She was sobbing and reaching out to us and screaming to her sisters, "Who is going to take us back to Oregon?"

When we got back to land, alive and in one piece, the girls played in the water until Heidi decided to be a party pooper. Literally.

After we got that lovely mess cleaned up, we headed back down to my sister Steph's house in Sigourney for the rest of the week.

travel log- week 1

2011-10-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 31- Tuesday August 2 Portland Oregon.
One last picture with Daddy before our trip.

August 2nd- The girls brought their Broadway production of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" to the Portland airport.

We flew to Omaha, Nebraska where my parents picked us up and we drove 4 hours to my sister's house in Sigourney, Iowa.

Wednesday, August 3
Hung out in Sigourney with Steph and Elizabeth's families

Thursday, August 4
Drove down to Nauvoo, Illinois and spent the day with the whole family.

my sister Becca, Amy, my Grandma and me :)
We went to the temple with my sisters, brother in laws, parents and grandma.
Then we all down to the Mississippi river.

Cousins

Grandma M and Naomi
Shortly after this photo, Naomi lost her sandal in the water and Uncle Shawn rescued it; immediately upgrading his status from Uncle to "Hero".

Friday, August 5
Drove over to Muscatine, Iowa for a baby shower for my sister Becca.

Luau theme...see, good thing I had those coconut bras :)

Saturday, August 6
My sister Elizabeth organized our first Fagersten Family Fun Day.
Which deserves it's own post....or two.

FFFD-2

2011-10-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Heidi took a moment to tell Grandpa a story...

Then it was time for a story from Great Grandma Mathusek

We celebrated Andrew's 26th birthday!

Of course Heidi couldn't let someone else have their own birthday celebration when hers was so close...so we had a cake for her too.

Next we had a talent show!
Grandpa carried on the tradition of his amazing magic act, making his finger disappear!

All of the siblings sang while my parents acted out "A boy and a girl in a little canoe"
It was an impromptu performance but amazingly well done :)

After that we had a "hobby display"
And then came the water games!!

which of course turned into a water fight

The older cousins set up a face painting table

Becca got the kids building marshmallow towers

while the siblings played "minute to win it"

(apparently the coconut bra was a good luck charm???)

We had closing ceremonies and over all it was an AMAZING day!!!

Fagersten Family Fun Day-part1

2011-10-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 6th
My sister Elizabeth organized our first Fagersten Family Fun Day.
We had opening ceremonies

Family photos

Everyone all together

Our REAL family photo

all the grand kids

siblings...minus 2 brothers on missions

Then on to the activities! Each sibling and our parents had and hour that they were in charge of an activity.
Dad and Mom did "Family Jeopardy"

The Marshalls did Relay Races

For my hour we did shell printing

For Jacob's activity, he introduced his nieces and nephews to the amazing combination of a 2 litre bottle of Coke and some Mentos.

Elizabeth's hour was making file folder games for the Tsunami victims in japan

Changing Gears

2011-09-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

For some reason the thought of blogging my travels this summer is still overwhelming, so I'll warm up with something else...like the amazing dinner I made tonight.

For my girls I made peanut butter, cinnamon and mini-chocolate chip paninis. :)

(i stole this picture because i no longer have a camera)

For Lars and myself I went off a recipe for Shrimp Po’ Boys from Bon Appétit, June 2011 but of course changed a few things based on what I had.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 shots Tabasco
1 1/2 pounds baby shrimp

2 tsp oil
2-French Baguettes
Butter
Swiss cheese
mayonnaise
lettuce
sliced tomatoes

Instructions:
Slice baguettes in half and lengthwise. Spread butter on each roll and place on a baking sheet. Toast under the broiler until crispy.

In a bowl, whisk together the first 8 ingredients. Add the shrimp and Tabasco sauce and coat all of the shrimp with the spice mix.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread a layer of mayonnaise on each roll, Swiss cheese, top with hot shrimp, then lettuce and tomatoes.
Serves 4.

It was super fast, easy and DELICIOUS!

Packing Issues

2011-09-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Before I left for girls camp, I drank a cup of Yogi tea. Printed on my tea bag tab were the words, "Live light, travel light, share the light, be the light." It was inspiration in a cup. I thought that was just the answer to my anxiety about packing for my trip to Iowa the day after I got home from girls camp. I would only bring one suitcase.

I told my dear friend Nicole, who is very thorough and organized, about my stress relieving plan. She kindly offered to print me off a copy of her packing list, just in case I wanted to use it. I politely decline having complete faith in my traveling inspiration sent via Egyptian Licorice Tea.

I got home from camp Friday evening and in my half dazed-auto-sleep deprived mode, threw together one suitcase of clothes for all four girls and myself and all the small gifts and trinkies I had been collecting throughout the summer that I wanted to bring for my family. Last minute I decided to bring out a duffel bag of baby girl clothes for my sister so I didn't have to ship them out when I got back.

Our flight to Iowa didn't leave until Tuesday, but Lars had Scout Camp bright and early Monday morning, so Sunday Lars drove us up to Portland and we stayed with our friends Eric and Angela until Tuesday.

Angela is one of my favorite people. :) She asked me why I only had two bags. I told her I wanted to travel light. She reminded me that when I go on trips, I usually accumulate more items while I'm there. I could not disagree. She suggested that we open my suitcases and repack them using an additional one that she would loan to me. I was so tired I wanted to curl up in the suitcase and go to sleep, but I did it anyway. The look on her face was priceless when I started pulling everything out that I had crammed into that one suitcase.

4 grass skirts and 4 coconut bras-check
plastic flowers to make matching hair clips-check
a peanut butter jar full of sea shells-check
card games-check
1 plastic snake and 4 plastic sharks-check
hair bows for my nieces-check
tuna fish and licorice-check
toothbrushes-check
clothes for Heidi-check
clothes for Emilia-check
clothes for Naomi-um....shirts only
clothes for Leah-...also going without pants
dresses for church-Nada
jeans and sweatshirts for the sweltering Iowa heat-check and double check
jackets -check
stuffed monkeys-two
batman cape-check

I checked three suitcases.

Apprently "traveling light" has a different meaning if you have children...and sleep.

Maglight Mishap

2011-09-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Girls camp ran Monday-Friday. We had to leave Newport Monday morning at 6:30 am to get to Camp Alpine before anyone else since we were in charge of the whole shin dig. Each day had a full schedule of events starting at 7 am until lights out at 10:30 pm...which really meant 11:30pm...or 1:30am...so by Thursday you can imagine how tired I was!

Thursday night we had a bonfire going and were having a great discussion, not paying attention to how late it was. At some point, Elaine snuck off to the tent and went to bed unannounced. Around 2 am the rest of us started filing off to bed as well. I couldn't find my flashlight, so I grabbed some one's Maglight off the picnic table and went to the tent.

I got into the front part of our tent and was rifling around for my pajama pants. I couldn't find anything holding a twenty pound Maglight, so I tossed it onto the cot in front of me. Um, remember how I mentioned Elaine went to bed early? Yeah, I actually tossed the Maglight onto her shins. Like it was out of a movie, Elaine jolted awake howling and flailing her arms.

I have a problem called, I laugh when someone gets hurt. And if it's after midnight, I pretty much laugh at everything...so when the scene registered in my giddy, tired mind, I lost it. I collapsed onto the ground in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. I couldn't stop. I laughed until I wet my pants. Yes, I really did just write that.

This is where I'm supposed to say I've never been so embarrassed in my life...but that would be a lie.

Out of breath!

2011-09-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been running a million miles per hour since school got out in June. I immediately started working nearly every day for six weeks. Then I went to girls camp for a week, came home, packed (sort of), flew with the girls to Iowa for a three + week vacation, got home on a Wednesday at midnight and on Thursday we looked at a new house in Waldport and decided to move. Friday I went down to Crestview Heights Elementary School to enroll the girls and a lady backed into my car in the parking lot. Monday Lars started working in Walport and I packed up the house to be moved on Saturday. Tuesday Leah started 4th grade, Naomi started 2nd grade and Emilia started afternoon kindergarten. I've been trying to unpack this house and go back up to Newport to clean the other house. The last two nights I passed out on the couch at 8:30 and didn't wake up until the morning. I keep telling myself things will slow down soon and I hope they do...at least a little bit, but Naomi starts soccer practice tomorrow, Dr. appointment on Friday, soccer game on Saturday and then it starts all over again the next week!

So basically that was a really long winded explanation (mostly to myself) of why I'm so tired and still haven't blogged about my amazing summer vacation. Not to mention we lost the camera...which makes posting pictures a bit more difficult. Anyway, I'll catch up as I can. :)

Girls Camp

2011-09-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Since January I have been on a committee at church putting together a girls camp that took place the last week of July this year. Young women ages 12-18 from Newport, Corvallis, Waldport and Philomath all attended. I think there ended up being around 110 girls plus 40-ish adults in attendance.

My part of the planning was arranging a service project and, you'll never guess....the crafts. :) I got in contact with a local non-profit organization called The Children's Advocacy Center. It is a center that provides counseling and teaches skills to children and families that deal with abuse/abandonment issues. It is a fantastic organization that does SO much for the community.

Our service project was building a play house to put on their property. We actually, ended up building a second one to leave at Camp Alpine.

This is a picture of Elaine and me, gracefully hammering on the roof.

A group of girls moving one of the houses to the trailer, after securing the walls to the foundation.

The beautiful finished product!!!!!

For crafts, I wanted to do something productive as well as fun. The girls cut out and assembled sets of emotion cards to be given to families in therapy in the CAC. Then they all made file folder games to be used in play therapy at the CAC as well.

Making the file folder games.

Making the emotion cards.

For the "just for fun" crafts, the girls made flower hair bows and washer necklaces.

Working

2011-07-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my blog. All of my creativity has been sucked out every other facet of my life and syphoned into the Nye Beach Market where I've been working this summer.

I love, love, love working there...and I'm not just saying that because my boss reads my blog. (Hi Judy!)

I have learned SO much since the beginning of the summer. I can now flip eggs in a pan without a spatula. Oh yeah. I also learned how to make polenta, biscuits and gravy, clam chowder and I'm perfecting and inventing new scones every day. I can also make Huevos Rancheros (this picture is Judy's...but she taught me how.) :)

The down side of working around food is that I'm around it so much that I forget to buy it for my own home. I get into my own kitchen and expect to see all the food I know is in the fridge at work. I can't even tell you how many times I've thought, "I KNOW we just bought butter!" and then I remember...that was for the Market.

On the up side, I've tried lots of new food and learned many great new recipes. It's so fun working with Judy because we cook alike. As in...we make everything up and don't measure stuff. Everyday you will hear this conversation.
Me-"Judy, how much (insert ingredient here) do we need for this recipe?"
Judy- "Some"
Me-I throw "some" into the pot
Judy will either say, "That looks about right" or "Add some more"

One difference in our cooking style is that she ALWAYS remembers to set the timer. Me...not so much. One day I made a sour cream coffee cake and put it in the oven. We had a breakfast rush and when it was over I remembered the cake! I pulled the cake out of the oven and it was BLACK!

Judy took one look at it and said, "We'll just say it's Southern Blackened Cake and serve it with shrimp and okra." (Did I mention we have the same sense of humor?) I'm really not trying to schmooze my boss here...I just really love her. We have so much fun together!

Hey Judy, can I have a raise? Just kidding.
Can I?
;)

Mother's Intuition

2011-07-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Leah, I would have bet my life that I was having a boy. Clearly she's a girl. I also thought Emilia was going to be a boy....and Heidi too. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I tend to over react to little things, and blow off big things...like broken bones. In fact, I have pretty much just decided that I was in the restroom in heaven when they were handing out "Mother's Intuition" because I didn't think I had any.

There may be hope yet! Sunday evening Heidi came down with a fever. She barfed all day Monday and has been laying around miserable since then. Her fever has been between 100 and 104, up and down. High enough to scare me, but not enough to get me running to the E.R.

Last night her fever spiked pretty high. Our not completely reliable ear thermometer said 106.1, which I don't think was quite accurate, but it gave us a good scare. Lars and I gave Heidi a cool bath and some Tylenol and it brought her temp down to 101. She was still really lethargic all day today with a pretty steady temp of 103. When I got home from work I was holding H and she wet in her diaper. My motherly instincts kicked in and I know this sounds weird, but her urine smelled "off". Then the thought came to me, maybe she has a bladder infection. At that point I realized if that was indeed the problem, it wasn't going to go away on it's own. It would only get worse and spread to her kidneys and then her blood.

So at 6:30 tonight I brought H into the E.R. They had to get some urine from her to run tests so they tried to put a catheter in. Heidi wasn't having any of that and ended up peeing all over the table. Miraculously the nurse caught some in her little tube and sent it to the lab. They brought Heidi some clean p.j.'s since her dress was now soaking and the nurse brought her in a teddy bear. Heidi would NOT take the bear. In fact, she wouldn't even touch the bear the entire time we were there. :)

Two hours later, the nurse realized that although they had sent the urine to the lab, the test order was never sent. Thirty minutes after that they confirmed that Heidi did indeed have a pretty advanced urinary tract infection and brought in her first dose of anti-biotics.

Heidi was SO good the whole time. While we were waiting forever, we just curled up on the bed together and took a nap. I'm pretty sure I was snoring when the Dr. came in. Anyway, we got little Heidi taken care of and hopefully this UTI will clear up quickly and she'll be back to her old self again soon. I miss her dancing a round the house, jumping off furniture, changing her clothes three thousand times a day, hitting her sisters and then feigning innocence and her sweet little voice and laugh.

Lincoln County Fair

2011-07-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

This year the Wight women introduced Lincoln County to our amazing artistic talents. ;) Leah, Naomi, Emilia, Heidi and I each submitted art to the competition and ALL of us won prizes!

Naomi by her painting "Pink Studio" and Leah by her sketch "Lighthouse"

Naomi also won the "Judge's Choice" award

Leah with her collage and sketch

Leah painted sand dollars and glued sand to her board

"Light house" up close

Heidi, Emilia and Leah's on display

Emilia's crab painting

Heidi's painting "Stripes!" (She named it herself)

Me and my first blue ribbon EVER :)

July the 4th

2011-07-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

So I really didn't make a big deal about my birthday this year. I mostly just wanted to spend it with my little family, which I did, so it was quite pleasant. Leah had spent the week before with her friends in Monmouth where we used to live so we drove out Sunday to pick her up. We stayed at our good friend's house over night and enjoyed the activities and parade there on the 4th.

That evening when we came back, Lars and the girls cleaned the house for me, did the dishes, vacuumed...all while I took a nap. Best. Present. Ever. :) When it got dark we watched fireworks over the Newport bridge. It was a beautiful night and a wonderful birthday.

Our friend Hannah helping Heidi up the giant inflatable slide

Heidi sliding down on her own

Heidi, Emilia (not sure why she was wearing boots and a fleece blanket), Naomi, friend Lilli and Leah

Some kids came by with Super Soakers to cool down the crowd

They got the girls pretty wet!

E wasn't exactly thrilled about it

And this is the only pict I got of myself on my birthday...Man my nose looks good for 32! ;)

Practice makes perfect

2011-07-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Emilia becomes attached to random things. Today it was a piece of ribbon.

While we were on our walk Heidi somehow confiscated the ribbon and was running around flailing it in front of E. Naturally E didn't appreciate this and started to cry and stomp around. I told her that wasn't the right way to get it back and she needed to ask Heidi kindly for it. Emilia insisted that it wouldn't matter how she asked because Heidi would say "NO!". I encouraged her to ask kindly anyway because Heidi needed to practice being nice and taking turns. Naomi, who had been a silent observer up to that point piped in. "Heidi could be practicing saying 'NO!'"

Touche

SLUGBUG

2011-07-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gipRGr8Y9Ko&feature=related

My girls are obsessed with playing SLUGBUG! The only problem is...they don't know which cars are VW Beetles, so they just slug you for any car they see. Even H has joined in on the fun. The only problem is...her height. She's just tall enough that if I were a man, every time she threw a right jab I would be in a lot of pain, if you catch my drift. E gets really into it if her older sisters are around. She's not about to lose just because she's younger. The only problem is...she's merciless.

Today walking home from the post office I was holding E's hand. She spied a Beetle and called out, "Yellow one!" and slugged me in the stomach. N just happened to say it at the same time, so to make sure I knew she won, E called out "Yellow one!" again and punctuated her victory with a second slug to my gut. I got it.

Athletically Declined

2011-06-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Naomi- Mom, will you sign me up for sports?
Me- Sure. What do you want to do?
N- I want to do "Catch".
Me- You mean softball?
N- No, Catch. When you wear a glove and throw the ball to each other.
Me- That's part of softball. The other part is hitting the ball with a bat.
N- I don't like bats.
Me- Well, that's part of the game.
N- .........Can you sign me up for soccer?

Birthday and Father's Day

2011-06-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Lars's birthday was Saturday and today was Father's Day, so we had a great celebration for both. The girls wanted to make a special dinner and have it be like a restaurant. Leah decided it would be called "The Phat Viking". The girls cleaned, vacuumed and made centerpieces. Naomi set the table and even folded the napkins into origami boats!

The centerpiece and a careful examination of the napkin boat :)

Naturally, I was the cook and Naomi was the waitress. She went around taking every body's order. We feasted on Danish Pork Loin, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, green beans, and homemade french bread.

N taking L's order

N taking E's order and H wearing the boat napkin as a hat

After dinner we sang Happy Birthday and ate a very rich Chocolate Orange cake layered with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate orange ganache. (My own creation.)

It was a wonderful dinner! We had such a great time. Then the girls gave their Daddy his Father's Day present, a movie night in a bag. They each picked out a box of candy, some popcorn and a movie.

Happy Father's Day Lars! We love you

Performance Review

2011-06-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

"Don't eat me! Wait for my sissy. She's much more tasty!" - Smallest Billy Goat

This past week the Wight girls introduced the world to their creative theater production of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". The setting was non-traditional, transforming common pieces of furniture into cliffs, bridges and water. This stunning performance was accentuated with costume designer Leah Wight's newest line of goat and troll accessories. Exceptional acting and emotion was conveyed in every line delivered, especially from the two year old.

Don't miss this opportunity for fine entertainment. Performances are being held daily, sometimes hourly. Tickets available at the door.

The Cast-Smallest Billy Goat, Medium Billy Goat, Large Billy Goat and the Grumpy Old Troll

The Smallest Billy Goat crossing the bridge

The Middle Sized Billy Goat crossing the brigde

The Large Billy Goat bucking the Grumpy Old Troll off of the bridge

The Grumpy Old Troll in the "water"

Pick up etiquette

2011-06-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

This morning I was working at The Market and these two teenage boys came in to order a couple coffees. Aside from taking their order, and "Be careful, it's hot" we didn't talk to each other. They didn't say a word as they left either, but did leave me a crumpled up napkin and this cup with a phone number and a tempting invitation.

They looked pretty young and seemed inexperienced since they overlooked some very obvious "Pickup Rules".

Rule #1 Check for a RING! Rookie mistake.

Rule #2 Talk to the girl. (Unless of course you are in the midst of a voice change, which I'm pretty sure they were, and don't want to risk sounding half man and half school girl.)

Rule #3 Leave your name with your number. There were two of them. How do I know if I'm calling the cute one?

Rule #4 Know your own phone number. Although I suppose it's better cross it out and correct it rather than handing out your mom's number on accident.

All mishaps aside...he had guts enough to leave his number...maybe I should give him a call. I do need a babysitter for Saturday night.

Tangled

2011-06-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Last night we saw that in Lincoln City, there would be rice paper and bamboo lanterns lit and launched over the river. I was hoping for a re-creation of my favorite scene from the Disney movie "Tangled". Lars and I rounded up the girls and told them we were going to do something really fun and loaded them all into the car. The whole twenty miles to Lincoln City they were trying to guess what we were doing. A lot of the guesses included McDonald's and ice cream cones.

When we got there, we explained what was going on and watched as the lanterns were being lit and launched. We stayed up along the road rather than trying to find a parking spot up close, so we were a little way away, but the lanterns were still beautiful...although not as plentiful as in the movie.

After a few minutes E turned to me and asked, "Is this the really fun thing you said we were going to do?" "Yes." I answered. "Is it fun?" E pursed her lips, shook her head and said, "Not so much."

Lunch Discussion

2011-06-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Lars was reading off the school hot lunch menu to Naomi.
L- Corn Dogs
N- EWWWW
L- Pizza
N- EWWWW
L- Turkey sandwich
N- EWWWW
L- "Naomi, every time I say something about food, you always say 'EWWW'".
N-"Nuh Uh, sometimes I say 'BLECH!'"

One more birthday surprise

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Gpa and Gma F sent the birthday girl one more present. And it couldn't have been a better one!

Little Miss Independent

2011-06-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's better just to ask for help.

Let's go fly a kite...with 120 third graders

2011-06-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

It is tradition for the third grade classes to decorate a kite like the cover of their favorite book. Leah chose "Millions of Cats". We all boarded buses at 10:30 am, rode down to Ona Beach where it is ALWAYS windy and had a picnic lunch, played games and flew kites until the end of the school day.

what? i was cold

Leah flying her kite

Happy 7th Birthday my sweet Naomi!

2011-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

6:30 am

Heidi tried to open Naomi's first present. Naomi opened it, Heidi cried. Naomi declared it the best birthday ever.

7:30 am
Naomi realized that she couldn't wear the pink shoes that would match her outfit to school because she had P.E. and they would slip off. She melted down and declared today, the worst birthday ever.

6:30 pm

Naomi opened presents at her birthday party. Heidi sobbed. After surveying her loot, Naomi decided that it actually was the best birthday ever.

Never get tired of this

2011-06-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and bought batteries for the camera. I think I was subconsciously hoping that if I didn't have a working camera, I would be more likely to buy the $600 one that I really want. Somehow the three dollar battery replacements won out....lame. Anyway, I enjoyed another AMAZING sunset the other night. Enjoy :)

Over Yaquina View Light House

Pre School Graduation

2011-06-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday E graduated from Cubby Pre School. She did NOT want to wear the robe, but after some tears and coaxing, she finally put one on. The cap? Forget it. She refused to take the bow out of her hair.

Me, L and the graduate

What's graduation without some cake? Especially if it will turn your whole mouth blue?!?

E with Teacher Ginger

E with teacher Mrs. Harget

I'm not gonna lie...I got a little teary eyed. But I'm hoping you stopped reading before you got the the end of the post so you don't actually know that.

Lunch

2011-06-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Heidi prefers her sandwiches on Wight, not wheat.

Do you like my hat?

2011-06-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

All you fashionistas out there know that hats are all the rage. Not to brag or anything, but my girls have been sporting some pretty creative and stylish hats of their own. Eat your heart out fashion world!

The "Orange Play Dough" Hat. Comfortable, form fitting and hides any hair faux pas.

The "Couch Cushion" hat. Soft and secure with a wide brim for your protection.

The "Floral Panty" hat. Always a hit! Great conversation starter. Perfect for pig tails.

I really need to get these girls an agent.

my poor legs

2011-05-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

These are both my own fault and were obtained because I was lacking in common sense. However, I feel entitled to gripe about it...so here goes.

Injury 1
A couple weeks ago I read a book about a woman who had four daughters and was dying. In the book she said she wished she would have played with her kids more at the play ground rather than sitting on the bench and watching them. I decided I was going to play more as well. We went to the park the next day and I was helping the girls go across the bars when I thought I would impress them and pull an old trick out of my bag.

When I was in elementary school, we would hook one leg over the bar, wrap our arms under the bar and over our ankle and then spin until we were so dizzy we couldn't stand up straight. I thought I would give it a try and show my girls I was a really cool Mom.

I did it. My girls were impressed. I had a moment of irreverent pride and got the biggest, darkest bruise on the back of my knee. Apparently tricks like that should be left to those weighing less than 55 pounds.

Injury 2

No, thankfully that's not me (but it's funny)

Last week was sunny for most of five days in a row. (That's amazing.) I wanted to soak it up as much as I could. I spent many hours tide pooling, collecting shells, playing on the beach and at the park with my girls and going on walks. One afternoon, however, I decided to lay on my deck and read a book. Now, in Newport, sunny does NOT mean warm. I wrapped a blanket around the top half of me and decided to let my legs get some sun. I fell asleep. Three hours later I crawled inside. The backs of my legs from above my knee to my ankle are FRIED. Even now, three days later, I want to cry every time I have to bend my knees. My girls keep giving me hugs of sympathy and saying, "I wish you didn't have that sunburn Mom." Me too...but now I have a great reminder to stock up on sunscreen for this summer.

Bunny

2011-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Lars has carried on a tradition that his dad used to do.  As soon as stores start stocking them, he will buy each of the girls a chocolate bunny and they are allowed to take one bite a day until Easter. Heidi, being two and a chocolate fiend, didn't really grasp this concept so each day when the other girls would take a small bite, to ensure their bunnies lasted until Easter, Heidi would take the biggest bite she could and cry for more.

Coincidentally, after Heidi had finished her own bunny, our friend gave us a GIANT chocolate Easter bunny. Heidi kept asking to have it and I kept saying No. I put it on the counter and went of to do something else. A while later I realized it was too quiet and I hadn't seen Heidi in a while.  I was pretty sure what was going on, so I tiptoed around trying to find her and catch her red handed.

When I snuck upstairs, I came upon Heidi sitting in the middle of the floor with the bunny completely unwrapped. She had already gnawed the face off. Stifling my laughter, I approached her and said, "Heidi.  Mama told you not to eat the chocolate bunny."  Heidi innocently responded, "I not eating it. I LICKING it!"

Random...and completely inappropriate

2011-05-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Naomi and Leah were jumping around on the couch. Leah accidentally landed between Naomi's legs. Naomi grabbed herself and yelled, "You just hit me in the nutz!" Leah countered. "You don't have any nutz."

I would like to thank the influence of public school for this contribution. :)

Art Exhibit

2011-05-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Leah and Naomi both entered an art piece into the Lincoln County School Art Show.

Naomi's piece won and artistic excellence award. They selected four students from K-4th grade based on skill...and a bunch of other stuff (see...not remembering). Anyway, she got a fancy certificate and a gold sticker next to her piece in the gallery.

Leah's artwork showed up in the local newspaper. http://www.newportnewstimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=79&story_id=27787

And here are a couple other pictures from the Gallery Open House and the walk home.

Leah, Naomi, Heidi, Yaya

Cheesy Heidi

Yaya

Heidi stopping to smell the...tulips

Easter

2011-04-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

The girls rescued their Easter baskets from the rain outside.

H, E, L and N exploring the contents of their baskets.

H with her bubble gum eggs and blue eyes!

E found the "dollar egg". L was jealous

H, E, N and H with rock candy from our friend Judy.

A very "Good Friday"

2011-04-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday my friend Nicole, her son Mitch, Emilia, Heidi and I spent the whole morning outside in the sunshine! We drove south to Seal Rock and explored the tide pools and rocks there.

Heidi

Mitch and E

After that we went up to Ona Beach and searched for agates and fossils. It's amazing at low tide!!!

Later Friday night we dyed eggs and frosted Easter cookies with all the girls and a few friends.

You may notice the half eaten egg next to Heidi. This is because it is her first egg that she attempted to dye. I told her to pick one and put it in a cup. Well, she THREW it into the cup. The dye splashed everywhere and the egg was completely cracked. Needless to say, she got a snack, I got a new painting shirt and my kitchen got a cleaning :)

Donation

2011-04-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

My sweet Leah decided she wanted me to cut her hair so she could donate it to Locks of Love.

We cut off nine inches.

Then she came up with a new use for it. :)

an amazing gift

2011-04-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago when Lars and I got married, my sister Stephanie started this quilt for our wedding present. She finished it last week :) Over the years this has kind of been a running joke. I'll talk about wanting to paint my bedroom and buy a new comforter and she will say, "Don't do it! I'm working on your quilt!" So I never did. We have been using Lars's ugly (but very comfy) blanket that he had on his bed all through high school.

My sister Steph in now pregnant with her seventh baby and still managed to finish this quilt. I was SO excited to get it in the mail today!!! You can ask anyone, I don't get emotionally attached to many things. Art work and of course photos are about all I would care to save in a fire...but this blanket is now on the list. It came with a history! I could be leaving some places out, but I know that the pieces of this quilt have moved with my sister from Iowa, to Missouri, to New York, back to Missouri, to Colorado and back to Iowa. Steph has somehow found time and for some reason made it a priority to piece this blanket together amidst home schooling her six children, moving, gardening, cooking, cleaning, traveling, being a mother, daughter, auntie, sister and friend.

I'm not even coming close to expressing how much love I feel from this gift from my sister whom I love and admire so much. I am so blessed to have a relationship with such an amazing woman, to know of her love for me, and to have it expressed so beautifully in this quilt. Thank you my sister for sewing all of those feelings, emotions and experiences into my blanket. I LOVE it and I love you.

Hair Cut...and not mine

2011-04-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

My five year old E has beautiful, fine, red hair. It is silky and smooth...when she lets me brush it. Which is never. My constant threat is "brush it or I'll cut it." E doesn't respond to threats. She responds more to coercion. I found some pictures of her with short hair and started raving about how cute she is with short hair, and how much I loved that hair cut. Her sisters chimed in. Of course the only one not jumping on board was Daddy who thinks all girls should have long hair.

The very next morning E had the most amazing bed head I have ever seen with hair as long as hers. I really should have taken a picture. It had to have been sticking out a good four inches. Lars took one look at it and said, "I think she needs her hair cut!" I told him he had to make a big deal about it because she wasn't going to cut her hair as long as she thought Dad wanted her to have long hair. So after Lars told her he thought she would look so cute with short hair again, E was super excited to get her hair cut!

It was kind of a bitter sweet. Once I actually got it washed and all brushed out, it looked so pretty that I wanted her to keep it long. Then I remembered that it doesn't ever look like that, so I cut it.

Before

After

I love it short!

A SUNNY Weekend!

2011-04-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Although spring break was just two weeks ago, the girls had another five day weekend due to parent/teacher conferences. This is a whole new dynamic for us since Lars IS a teacher. He didn't get a break...but we did. :)
On Friday the sun was shining so the girls and I went with a group of friends down to Cape Perpetua. It's about a 45 minute drive south from Newport. WOW! I have never been there before and it is amazing!! These pictures don't even do it justice. I can't wait to go back with Lars and spend more time walking on the trails and enjoying the beauty of this area.

Lava rocks and tide pools down below

the coast line view...

"devil's churn" down below

Saturday I took the girls down to the beach. We played around for 2 1/2 hours! Naomi built an amazing sand castle, Leah expanded her collection of random "beachy" things, and Emilia found one seagull feather that immediately became her prized possession. Heidi taught me the proper way to build a sand castle. 1. Fill your bucket with sand. 2. Step on the sand in your bucket. 3. Flip the bucket over. 4. Sit on the bucket. 5. Remove bucket. Clap and squeal with delight. 6. Demolish sand castle. 7. Repeat steps 1-6 until the sun sets or your mother drags you home kicking and screaming...which ever comes first.

Two Books

2011-04-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

I have been reading these two books as part of my "Retrain your Brain" plight in life. They are spectacular!
I enthusiastically recommend them to anyone wanting a better understanding of brain processes and how it effects EVERY part of your life and health.

Painting

2011-04-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a pict. of the painting I just finished. It is acrylic on canvas. The birds and trees are newspaper that I collaged onto it and painted over. Unfortunately the lighting up here is very blue. The picture is much warmer than it looks. I'll see if I can manipulate the image a bit to make it look more true to itself. Anyway, it's my first time back with my paints since before H was born. It's nice to have that outlet again!