My Little Life

In the Kitchen with Gram...4 Layer Dessert!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Friends, Danish Junket makes the world go 'round.

And it sure makes this dessert incredibly delicious!

This one is actually my great-aunt Jean's recipe, but Gram made a big (read: incredible!!) change to it...the original recipe called for a chocolate pudding layer, which Gram substituted with Danish Junket and raspberries.

Yum diggity.

What is "Danish Junket" you ask? Well, to my non-culinary trained eye, it appears as though it is some sort of raspberry flavored gelatin. I'm not sure what makes it Danish. Or junket (isn't that a bird?), but whatever it is, I'll take it...'cuz it is so yummy!

Okay, let's start with the crust.

Butter, flour and chopped pecans:

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake (it's not easy to spread, Gram says using your hands works best!):

As the crust bakes, cook your 3rd layer, which is the Danish Junket, cooked according to the package directions:

While the crust is cooling, mix up the 2nd layer, which is cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip:

When the crust and the junket are cool, assemble. The cream cheese mixture goes on top of the crust...be careful, the crust is not a solid, stable crust. It works best to plop the mixture into small mounds, then carefully spread it out from there!

Carefully being the key word.

Next up, raspberries:

Then, the junket over the top.

Now, you could do one of two things, cool the junket so it sets up completely before spreading with Cool Whip (the 4th layer) OR, do like we did and just dive in with the final layer of Cool Whip.

Which lead to some pink swirls on the Cool Whip...but hey! Pink swirls are all the rage now, so go for it! Wait. What? When did pink swirls become all the rage?

Now I'm confused. ;)

Chill for several hours, or overnight, cut into squares and enjoy!

Gram's 4 Layer Dessert
Printable Recipe

Crust:
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375*F. Combine all, spread into greased 9x13 pan and bake for 15 min. Allow to cool completely.

2nd layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. Cool Whip (save remainder of container for 4th layer)

Combine all, spread on cooled crust. Works best to "plop" little mounds of this layer onto crust and CAREFULLY spread out.

3rd layer:
2 packages Danish Junket cooked according to package. Cool.
2 c. fresh raspberries

Sprinkle raspberries on top of cream cheese layer, then poor cooled Danish Junket over raspberries.

4th layer:
Remaining Cool Whip

Spread Cool Whip over the top of the junket. For a "cleaner" (i.e. non-pink swirly) topping, allow junket to set up before spreading final Cool Whip layer on. If pink swirls are your kinda thing, then just immediately follow junket layer with Cool Whip layer.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight before spreading!

Enjoy!

Caught...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:57:00 +0000

The other night, my baby girl was supposed to be laying down in bed...and then I walked in, and found this:

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm in love with these photos! Concentrating so hard on the game she was playing...her face light by the light of the computer screen...I just love it!

Mostly, I just love her.

Five Question Friday! 5/17/13

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:08:00 +0000

Yikes. Ran out of time to get the 5QF Sneak Peek up, had to get to watch a school play, fold clothes, make lunch, wash laundry, fold laundry, get to work...sheesh, what a day!!

Anyway, I'll post this as soon as I finish, so any of you late nighters/early risers have a chance to get your posts up!

Today is my baby bro's birthday...in a couple of months, he will be moving out of state to attend dental school for three years. THREE YEARS!!!! Crazy.

He's growing up.

Okay, right to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are just dang busy.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 17th: (Special thanks to Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie and yours truly for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. Do you have a doppelgänger?

2. Do you keep your car cleaned up?

3. What is a current fashion that drives you crazy.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping?

5. What has been the best surprise of your life?

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1. Do you have a doppelgänger?

My dad just informed me that yes, I do, and she lives in the next big town over.

He said he was at the (dentist? mechanic? salon? I can't remember) and there was someone there that looked just like me and had my same mannerisms, right down to the eye rub that I never knew I did!

Crazy. I always wonder if people "recognize" their own doppelganger? You know, say I saw that some woman as my dad did, would I think "OMG! She looks like me?!" or do you not recognize your own features in someone else?

My baby girl has been doppelganged (can I verb that?) as a mini Reese Witherspoon. I've had so many people tell me that and then a barista at Caribou stopped in her tracks the other day and was all, "Oh my gosh. You are a tiny Reese Witherspoon!"...cracked me up! I've never had random strangers tell me that!

2. Do you keep your car cleaned up?

Um. Ahem. Ah. No.

Not at all.

I feel like I'm always responsible for bringing so much stuff in (purse, keys, mail, coffee cup, kids) that I don't have enough arm space to clean up the crap.

And my kids aren't good about it either. I don't really so much care, unless I'm driving someone around, then I try to get it cleaned up...and go get my oil changed at WalMart, cuz they give you a complimetary vacuum! Boom.

3. What is a current fashion that drives you crazy.

Ugh. So many. Skinny jeans, flowy shirts, hats...and only because I can't pull them off.

I love them on other people, but they just don't work on me!

Also, skinny jeans on men. Gross.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping?

I used to try to do one big grocery trip a month, then I had a whole slew of kids and grocery shopping with them became so much of a chore that I just avoided it and began just running in for "one or two things for supper" here and there when my oldest kids got old enough to hang out in the vehicle with the younger ones.

I know, Mother of the Year. But the oldest was old enough to baby sit, so I figure, really, he was just babysitting, in the car.

Or, at least, that's how I saw/see it! ;)

5. What has been the best surprise of your life?

I am going to say my oldest and youngest child. They were the biggest surprises of my life...my youngest seeming almost more so, sometimes...and I am so overwhelmed with joy that it sometimes makes me a little teary.

As many of you probably know, I really struggled when I found out I was pregnant with my baby girl. I was overwhelmed and tired and stressed and I just didn't think I could do it again.

And then? Well, then she turned out to be the perfect finale for our family. The icing on the cake. The most amazingly wonderful, spunky, stubborn, grumpy little love bug that I never knew I needed.

I thank God that he knew better than I did about what I REALLY needed.

Excuse me now, I need to go snuggle my baby.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

In the Kitchen With Gram...Creamy Cucumbers!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:06:00 +0000

Gram and I needed to postpone this week's cooking due to scheduling conflicts, so I'm reaching into our "bag of extras" (some recipes she and I cooked alongside some of the others, so that we'd have some back ups!) to bring you one of my very favorite things of all time.

Ladies and gentlemen...Behold the Creamy Cucumber:

My two Gram's make them very different from one another, I'll have to see if I can replicate my other Gram's creamy cukes, because they are something special, too!

These though? Delicious and super speedy to whip up! Perfect for a hot summer day.

First up, peel and slice your cukes. The less seedy they are the better (look for long, skinny cucumbers). A mandoline works great to get thin slices.

Now, for every cucumber you slice, put it in a bowl and generously salt over the top of them (so you're creating "cucumber, salt, cucumber, salt" layers).

What we're doing with the salt, is drawing out the water...it works great to put the sliced cukes into a colander, it allows the water to drain right out that way.

Next up, it's time to squeeze the heck out of those cucumbers! Gram uses a ricer...I don't have a ricer, so I use my hands, but just try to get out as much moisture from the cucumbers as possible!

They'll look like this when you're done. (So, don't mutilate them when you squeeze, just hard enough to get that water out!)

Now, season. (You'll see I don't give exact measurements, because it all depends on the number of cucumbers you use!)

Pepper:

Sugar:

And good ol' Miracle Whip, baby.

The cucumbers will still lose some moisture as they sit and your "sauce" will thin some, so make sure not to over do it with the Miracle Whip.

Wanna know a good ol' German secret? Mash some potatoes and serve creamy cucumbers over the top of them!!! Yum.

Gram's Creamy Cucumbers
Printable Recipe

Cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Miracle Whip

Generously salt cucumbers and allow them to sit (a good hour or more is best). Shortly before serving time, squeeze excess water out of cucumbers, discarding water. Add pepper and sugar to taste, then add Miracle Whip until cucumbers are just barely coated (the Miracle Whip will thin some as the cucumbers sit.) Serve with your favorite summer meal (or over mashed potatoes!) and enjoy!

Invitation Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:15:00 +0000

Help me out with this one, friends.

I need to know if I'm being unreasonable, or if (which just HAS to be the case) I'm right on the money.

Let me preface this with something...I am not Heloise or Ms. Manners or Dear Abby by any means. I'm not all on the up and up on the do's and don't's of all etiquette, but this one? This is one where I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) I'm right.

Ever since I was living on my own, or AT LEAST since I was married with children and a mortgage payment, it has irritated me to NO END when people attach a "note" to invite that is sent to my or the Mr's parents saying, "M and family are invited, too!".

I can't really tell if these people just think they're being nice, by inviting us, if they're just too damn lazy to do the foot work (which, these days is all of sending out a Facebook message) to find our address, or if they just want an extra gift but don't really want us there.

Whatever it is, it bugs the living daylights out of me.

I want to say, "Dude. I am married with my own family. I have NOT been living with my parents for nearly 15 years. I have a life of my own, I'm all grown up, and if you REALLY want me to come, SEND A DAMN INVITE." I honestly and truly do NOT consider myself invited unless I get an invitation. And nothing is really a valid excuse to me.

So...lemme hear it. Am I out of line? Am I justified in being irritated? Whaddya have to say?

Five Question Friday! 5/10/13

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:42:00 +0000

Happy Friday!! Once again, gonna be a busy one for us! Does life ever slow down? Seems not.

I'm missing my big girl like crazy...this afternoon can't come soon enough, when I can hug her like crazy and hear all about her field trip!

Okay, no more small talk, let's just get to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are distracted by the beautiful weather.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 3rd: (Special thanks to Gassy (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from Kate's Life, and lovable, furry ol' me for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

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1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?
Um. Hmmmm. Well, lemme think about that.

Gosh. I'm not really sure? I try not to poop in front of him. I mean, I would try not to poop in front of him, you know, if I pooped.

But sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and unfortunately for him, he occasionally walks into the bathroom at inopportune times.

Too bad for him! ;)

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

Oh gosh. Can I just say "everything"? Because I do love absolutely EVERYTHING about newborns.

But my favorite has to be that newborn "smell". They ALL have it. Trust me, I've sniffed enough newborn heads to know that regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or IQ, ALL newborns have "that scent".

Sometimes, you need to pay closer attention because the first "whiff" you get isn't always "that scent"...it's layered...sometimes a little concealed but it's there.

Also, I love those little grunts and squeaks.

And the silly, sleepy faces...I always wonder if a baby is dreaming of Heaven when they are smiling in their sleep. I DO NOT believe the "it's just gas" theory of newborn smiles. Some of those smiles are too blissful to be related to farts.

Man, I love babies.

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

Certainly anything less than middle school and in my opinion, anything less than high school. By high school I think kids have had enough "Internet Safety" education to be a little wiser about what they post on FB.

More importantly, no matter how "opposed" you are to social media, I strongly feel that if you have a kid on Facebook, you should also be on Facebook with the requirement that your child must be "your friend".

I've discovered so much by cruising Facebook that I think it's un-wise to let your child have free-range without any parental guidance.

Just my two cents, though.

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

We'll see if this actually happens...

A couple of months ago, I was in the mall and spied a lovely, distressed sign that had this quote:

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about."

And I fell in love with it! I'm not sure if you've seen the photos on wood that Photo Barn does, but I have one of each of my children...my favorite photo that I've taken of them over the years...and I want that sign in the middle with the photos of my kids hung around it, placed right on my fireplace.

I saw it, took a photo of it, texted it to my hubby with "Mother's Day, perhaps? At Wooden Hearts in the mall, similar one in upstairs of sporting goods store."

I mean, the only thing I DIDN'T do was buy the dang thing for him...my hopes aren't high, however. We have entered "busy season" in his job and he currently eat, sleeps, and breathes his job.

Doesn't leave much time for mother's day shopping.

But so help me, if I get another beef jerky and Pepsi (or worse, chocolate covered strawberries) gift, I might cry just a little. I'd rather just have a card that a "had to get something quick" gift. You know?

Or is that just my princessishness coming out?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

Okay, this is gonna take some thought...I remember taking some pretty awesome field trips...all day trips to "the big city" to the zoo or children's museum or other super fun place.

These days, field trips seem to be boring. Local parks. Walks to the DQ. Ho hum.

Our 5th graders have a long standing tradition of attending a three day field trip at Long Lake Conservation Center and they ALL love it! I remember when Pal went, and he loved it, talked with one of our religion kids and she said, "Oh, THAT was so fun!!!" and have heard through the grape vine that my Belle is enjoying herself immensely!

But, you know what I remember most about MY field trips?

The lunches.

My mom would take us shopping the night before, to get lunch stuff for the trip and always, ALWAYS I had to get a banana flip. Remember those? Twinkie-esque taco like thing flavored like banana with banana flavored filling? I lived for Banana Flips, you guys.

Do they even make those anymore?

Anyway, banana flips and my very own choice of pop, wrapped in aluminum foil. I don't remember the rest of the lunch because, BANANA FLIP.

All that mattered.

And now I want a banana flip like you wouldn't believe.

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And that's a wrap! Gonna try my hardest to bop around and check out your answers! Have a great weekend!

Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:56:00 +0000

I think I can safely say that spring has really, truly, positively arrived in Minnesota (and now, we'll have a snow storm next week, just 'cuz I said that)...the weather has been pleasant. Even the rain I'll take (over snow, anyway). This weekend is looking beautiful as well and we get to celebrate my cousin's wedding!

Fun stuff.

Anyway, I can hear my three youngest kiddos outside having a blast and getting dirty...my oldest is at a softball game and my big girl is at a 3 day (THREE DAYS!!!) field trip. I miss her.

Okay, let's get to the questions.

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are distracted by the beautiful weather.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 10th: (Special thanks to Gassy (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from Kate's Life, and lovable, furry ol' me for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

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See you right back here in the morning!

In the Kitchen with Gram...Chili Beef Mozzarella!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:32:00 +0000

My Gram told me about a little pizza joint we used to have in town, my mama worked there, actually, and she (my Gram) and her friends would sometimes go there on their lunch breaks and order this dish called "Chili Beef Mozzarella".

She reminisced about how delicious it was, and that the pizza joint closed shop and packed up their shingle and disappeared, leaving no one with the recipe to this delicious dish.

So, she suggested she and I try to recreate it. She experimented first, and I'll tell you where/what you could change things up for your preference!

But let me first tell you this: These buggers are TASTY! In fact, I'm lying here in bed, uncomfortably full from our meal of them tonight...I think I ate too much! *burp* Oops, excuse me.

Okay, so you'll need either some leftover chili or a fresh batch of chili. (Gram's Chili recipe here.)

For the filling, you'll need to brown some hamburger and onion:

Add some enchilada sauce:

And some green chilies:

And, some cheese, which I neglected to take photos of because I still don't have the hang of this whole food blogging thing. Yes, I am a Cotton-Headed Ninnymuggins. (Also, we added too much sauce initially, so we drained some out, which is why this looks so soupy and the next photo so...well, UN-soupy.)

Now, put a spoonful of filling mixture on a flour tortilla:

And roll them up.

Place a small amount of chili in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, then lay your tortilla rolls in the pan:

Cover with the remaining chili:

Then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake until heated through and the cheese is melted:

Serve 'em up and listen to your hungry family rave!

The second best thing about these (the first being their incredible deliciousness)? Holy easy, batman.

Oh my...yum.

Gram's Chili Beef Mozzarella

Printable Recipe

Chili (Recipe here, or use your own favorite recipe)

Filling:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion

salt and pepper

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 can chopped green chilies

Cheddar cheese

1 package flour tortillas (8" size)

Mozzarella cheese

Brown hamburger with onion, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add enchilada sauce, green chilies and cheese, mix well and cook until cheese is entirely melted and sauce has thickened. Place large spoonful of filling on tortilla and roll up. Spread about a cup of chili in bottom of 9x13 pan, placed tortilla rolls, seam side down, on top of chili and cover with remaining chili. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350*F until hot and bubbly and melty and yummy.

Enjoy!

Real Time...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:18:00 +0000

Know what I haven't done in a long time? A "Real Time" post.

Currently, in real time, I am listening to my baby snore beside me. And by "baby" I do indeed mean, literally, my baby. The Mr. is a working fool right now, so he's not even home!

Missing my man...this spring has set farmers way back in their planting, which wreaks havoc on the Mr.'s business as well and the guy's a worker. He won't let those farmers down and the customer service they provide is phenomenal.

Wow. Well, that just sounded like a commercial.

Anyway, continuing on...

Heard my big boy come in from watching the hockey game with my grandpa. Love the time he gets to spend with grandpa..

I'm hot. But I'm not complaining. After the winter we had, if any Minnesotan so much as complains about the heat AT ALL this summer, I will drop kick them and stick them in the freezer to remind them of what our winter was like.

You hear that, Minnesotans? NO TALKING BAD ABOUT THE HEAT.

Same goes for me...if you hear me complain, feel free to drop kick me. I'll totally understand.

I'm lamenting the super late and way to heavy meal we ate this evening...it was totally delicious (watch for it to be posted on Wednesday), but ugh. I ate too much!!

Guess that bar after supper didn't help, either...

Speaking of bars, did I tell you about the item we bid on and won at the last fundraiser we went to? It was "Monthly Homemade Baked Goods for a Year"...and wow. BEST ITEM EVER!! For those of you that love to bake, I highly suggest you consider donating something like this...so much fun!!

And, that just sounded like a PSA.

Sheesh.

With that, I'm signing off. My bladder is telling me it needs some attention. :)

Good night, sleep tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite...because there are leeterally meellions of dem! (Name that movie...that one's for you, Lindsay...)

Master Bedroom Redo REVEAL!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:05:00 +0000

Well, we finished the trim and the room is about as done as it's going to get for awhile. The closet doors still need to be ordered...I called Menard's to place our order, but apparently they don't do special orders over the phone?

Fer dumb.

Anyway, we have, indeed, decided to build a header for the closets, rather than spending the small fortune on uber tall closet doors that I'm not really fond of anyway. So, with that, and the fact that my husband's business has officially entered "insanity time" (think: accountants during tax season), the doors have been shelved until things quiet down for him.

So, for now, we just live with open closets.

Okay, are you ready?

Here are the before photos, excuse the mess, I remembered to take "before" photos as we were starting to clean out the room for the new flooring! (But let's be honest, it never was very clean before that...)

From the doorway (take note of the trim on the walls...for 8 1/2 years I've hated that trim, along with the red curtains, but apparently I needed a big nudge to change it. Also, the electric baseboard you see on the wall? Really hampered where we could put things, so we moved it. It's now underneath the other window.):

From the corner by the closets, take note of the nasty carpet:

And, the closet shot. Gross.

And the afters, in the same order as the "befores":

Ahhhhh...trim free, and that frame collage? I die. See also: new light fixture. What you can't see in the "befores" is an ugly, generic glass fixture. This? My style! Also, the lamp? The buttons have grown on me. I pretty sure that I like them! And the wood floors? LOVE. Crisp, clean, fresh and ALLERGEN FREE! (I have nasty allergies, one of the reasons we chose to put hardwood floors in our bedroom.)

I love the brown/greenish-blueish color scheme we've got going on. So peaceful and relaxing...I told the Mr. that it has a very "cottage-y" feeling to it and I feel like I'm on vacation when I'm in there!

(In other news: I hate that dresser...I REALLY want to paint it cream and distress it, but the Mr. keeps discouraging me...and I need to paint/change the frames of the photos I have on it...)

And...the closets. I may have to do what someone suggested and throw up a couple of curtains to cover it...but for now, it helps us keep our closets clean! ;)

Well? How did we do?

Five Question Friday!! 5/3/13

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:10:00 +0000

Happy, happy Friday!! I'm hoping that by Monday, I'll be able to show you our bedroom...FINALLY!!! Sans new closet doors, of course. Blergh.

Okay, right to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are so full from supper that they can't be bothered.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 3rd: (Special thanks to Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Megan (@megstidbits) from Tidbits from My World, Rachel (@RunningRachel) fromRunning Rachel, Mrs. Karen C (@Mrs_KarenC) from Dinosaur Superhero Mommy, and The Negs (@negs_ft_jackson) from The Negs-Relaxing at Fort Jackson for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What is your next home improvement goal?

2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? No religious texts (ie Bible, Quran, Torah, etc, etc)...

3. What is on top of your refrigerator?

4. What are your favorite or most used phone apps?

5. What's the one thing you hate most about your spouses job?

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1. What is your next home improvement goal?
Our kitchen/dining/living room/mudroom...aka "nearly our entire main level". Ugh...see what I mean when i say we should just plow 'er under and start fresh?

Except now I have this gorgeous bathroom and this amazing bedroom and yeah. Not gonna plow it under.

I have dreams for our kitchen. Dreams that will make it less 1970something and more modern with a better work flow. Sigh. I wish I was rich.

2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? No religious texts (ie Bible, Quran, Torah, etc, etc)...

Yikes. This is a hard one.

Hmmmm...I think I'd get tired of reading the same novel over and over...so, I dunno, maybe "Eat This Not That"? Or some sort of self help book?

Or...can I choose a series? Like, Harry Potter? 'Cuz I could totally swing that for the rest of my life.

3. What is on top of your refrigerator?

Dust.

A whole lot of dust and a couple of stray papers.

At our old house, we had VERY limited storage/cupboard space and the top of the fridge became a storage space. Paper towels, paper plates, large bowls...UGLY. It was one of the things I hated most about that house and I vowed to never let crap pile up on top of my fridge ever again.

I've stayed true to that...except for the dust.

Oh, my. The dust...

4. What are your favorite or most used phone apps?

Ooooh, lemme look and tell you...I love hearing what people's most favorite apps are!!

Okay, here are my "most used" apps: Facebook (duh), Pinterest, TweetCaster, Pandora, The Weather Channel, CANDY CRUSH!!!!!, Instagram, and Google Search.

My "most favorite" include the above and these lesser used ones: realtor.com (love dreaming about uber spendy houses in far off places), Groupon, zuilily, Craigslist, SnapChat, The Monster at the End of This Book.

I also like Google Earth, Living Earth, Caring Bridge, Food Network, Target.

Gosh. I think I'm naming every app I have. I'd better stop.

5. What's the one thing you hate most about your spouses job?

That his busiest times of the year are Spring and Fall...which are Minnesota's most gorgeous times of the year. Normally. This year? Not so much. Spring hasn't even arrived yet...unless you could those two days last weekend.

He works with farmers and it makes it hard to get away or do many family activities during the summer. :(

But, I also love that he is self employed and has more flexibility with being his own boss. Makes some things in life a bit easier (getting paid early, dealing with sick kids, etc.).

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Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:15:00 +0000

What a busy day! Didn't get home until 8pm when I hastily shoved food down my children's throats (well, not really) and then sent them to bed.

*Yawn*...and now it's my turn.

Tuckered. Out.

Anyway...I have a brand new niece!! My BIL and SIL had their third kiddo and FIRST GIRL!! this morning! So fun...looks like we'll get to meet her this weekend if all goes as planned!

Alright, straight to the questions so that I can rest my weary eyes!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are so full from supper that they can't be bothered.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 3rd: (Special thanks to Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Megan (@megstidbits) from Tidbits from My World, Rachel (@RunningRachel) from Running Rachel, Mrs. Karen C (@Mrs_KarenC) from Dinosaur Superhero Mommy, and The Negs (@negs_ft_jackson) from The Negs-Relaxing at Fort Jackson for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What is your next home improvement goal?

2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? No religious texts (ie Bible, Quran, Torah, etc, etc)...

3. What is on top of your refrigerator?

4. What are your favorite or most used phone apps?

5. What's the one thing you hate most about your spouses job?

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See y'all right back here tomorrow!!

I Just Have To Show You Something...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:13:00 +0000

This was last Mother's Day:

Now, I know we're a couple of weeks removed from Mother's Day (for the record these were taken on May 13th, so we're 11 days shy of the one year mark.), and I suppose I could be an ultra positive person and hope for this for Mother's Day...but, well, I guess I'm more of a realist.

'Specially since there aren't temps above 60 in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

Oh how I want green grass and leaves on trees and warm breezes and kids who can jump in the river.

Warm, sunny weather can NOT get here soon enough.

BHTV...Hot Roller Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Truth: If there's one thing I can NEVER get the hang of, it's using hot rollers. On me, on my girls, doesn't matter, I just can't figure them out. I always get kinked ends and a frizzy mess.

Well, guess what? I've been doing it alllll wrong! (Go figure, huh? With the results I was getting?!)

I always roll toward the face and try to start rolling from the end of the hair...who knew that there is a better (BEAUTIFUL!) way to do it?

Can NOT wait to try this on my Belle!

Also, there is a giveaway associated with this video! Watch it (it's quick) to see how to enter!

In the Kitchen with Gram...Bread Machine Coffee Cake!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:32:00 +0000

My Gram loves her bread machine and has adapted many of her doughs to be made on the "Dough" mode of her machine! This is one of them...her Apple Coffee Cake. So tender and light and YUMMY.

*burp*

Oops, excuse me...one too many pieces of coffee cake!

Okay, first up, get your machine out. ;)

Then...dry ingredients (FYI, we did a double batch, but I'm going to give you the recipe for a single batch):

And buttah. Mmmmmm...love the buttah.

Put the pan thingamajig into the bread machine, then add the wet ingredients, which are (prepare yourself for this long list): egg and water.

Phew. Didja get all that?

Pour it on top of the dry ingredients and then...

And then this is where I hail bread machine makers everywhere...the yeast compartment? INGENIOUS DUDES. Like, for real. Brilliant.

So, add the yeast to the yeast compartment doohickey:

Then, set your machine to "dough mode" and let 'er rip.

While your dough is being created for you, let's get to the filling.

Melt a glob of butter in a pan:

Cut up some apples into the hot butter:

Add desired amounts of sugar and cinnamon and a dash of salt and cook away. They will GREATLY reduce in size.

When your brilliant bread machine tells you to, take out your dough and put it in a greased bowl to "rest" and cover it with plastic wrap...allow it rise for about 20 minutes.

Grease a pan:

And make some icing.

To a bunch (1 cup? 1 1/2 cups?) of powdered sugar add a dash of salt:

A glob of butter:

And a generous splash of vanilla:

Then, add just enough milk to make it "drizzleable".

When your dough is ready, flour a work surface:

And turn the dough out onto it.

Work the dough just a bit, to get it manageable (it'll be quite sticky at first):

Then roll it out into a rectangle and spread your filling mixture on one half (short side) of the dough:

Gram says she finishes her coffee cake "Polish style...just flop it over and pinch the edges shut!"...we Pollack's aren't too fancy! ;)

Put the coffee cake into the buttered pan and bake away!

Glorious.

Now, drizzle on your icing while the cake is still warm so that the icing gets all melty and drippy. Yum.

Serve it up with a cup of coffee (or heck, as dessert, like we did tonight!) and enjoy!!

Gram's Bread Machine Apple Coffee Cake
Printable Recipe

Dough:
2 1/4 c bread flour
3 T sugar
1 tsp salt
2 T dry milk
2 1/2 T butter
1 egg + enough water to make 1 cup
1 tsp yeast

Filling:
2 T butter
1-2 tart apples, peeled cored and cut into approx 1 inch pieces
dash of salt
Sugar and cinnamon to taste (start with a smallish "gram handful" of sugar and a generous amount of cinnamon)

Icing:
Powered sugar (start with 1 c, add more powdered sugar and more milk if you need more icing)
dash of salt
2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla
Milk (enough to make the icing easy to drizzle)

In bread machine pan, combine first 5 ingredients, place pan in machine and add water and egg. Close machine and add yeast to yeast compartment. Set machine to dough mode and wait for signal that it is done. Remove from pan into greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make filling. Melt butter in pan over medium-medium high heat. Add remaining filling ingredients and cook until apples are tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat until ready to use.

When dough is done "resting" remove from bowl and work on floured surface until manageable (do not over work or your dough will get too elastic and springy). The dough will be quite sticky. Roll out into rectangle about 15 inches long and 7 inches wide. Place filling on one side (short side) of dough, fold other side over and pinch shut.

Allow to rest another 20 minutes, then bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top.

Remove from pan and drizzle with icing. Serve warm with a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Good Golly.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:35:00 +0000

So, y'all know we're nearing the end of our "Master Bedroom Redo", right? I mean, we're so close I can TASTE it.

Or, well, at least SEE it. ;)

Here's the hang up...our closets. Three of the closets in our home are floor to ceiling closets. Two of which are in our room. 8 feet of 1970's stained, hollow cored, bi-fold horror. WHOM EVER?!

Ugh.

Anyway, our dilemma: pay someone to come and make our closet openings "standard sized" or pay through the nose for custom order closet doors. And, remember, we're "sprucing" things up. Doing it the "right way"...so, we want 6 panel closet doors to match the doors we're putting on the bedrooms.

Wanna know how much it'll cost to replace the closet doors, JUST IN OUR ROOM?

Nearly $1,800.

EIGHTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS, people!!!!!

I'm in the wrong business. I need to go into closet door making, or something.

To put in standard sized doors?

One thousand dollars less.

Did you hear that? ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

And you guys, we're talking about stupid closet doors here.

I'm starting to think it would be more economical to just plow the place under and start over.

Prom. Prom? PROM!?

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:17:00 +0000

How am I old enough to have a child going to prom? Insane.

This last weekend was our school's prom and Pal took his girlfriend (remember, "Prom Traditions"?) with a bunch of his buddies. Gotta admit, it was really fun to see my boy all dressed up with his girl (who is the most adorable tomboy you've ever seen...seeing her all dolled up was awesome!).

Speaking of getting dolled up...isn't it unfair that this is what it takes for a guy to get ready?

Shower, get dressed, leave.

Sheesh.

So anyway, as per tradition, oodles of prom go'ers meet at a local "park" in town for photo ops after they're making the rounds to each other's families. I met "the kids" down by the mighty Mississippi and took TONS of pictures.

Holy smokes, guys, when did the girls become so...developed?! Gah. I don't remember all the cleavage at my prom!! And, the dresses????? Geepers, I feel like a prude, but DANG! Some of those girls needed a sweater!

We had tons of fun with the guys...here is one of my favorite photos of the guys:

The girls were a little more shy, not willing to loosen up as much as the guys!

And, some of my favorite photos of my boy and his girl.

What a fun day for them! I had a talk with Pal before he left I said, "I'll tell you what my mom said to us, 'No sex, no drugs, no booze'.", he laughed and said, "Hano (his teacher) told me, "Pal, 'No drugs, do dooies (DUI's), no grandkids', that's a good prom weekend!"...cracked us up!!

And, in a moment of "aw shucks"...I wore purple to my prom, as well!! :)

Five Question Friday! 4/26/13

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Ohmigosh. You guys.

Our curtains are up in our "new" bedroom...and they have pulled our room together in a way that I can't even begin to explain! I am SOOOOOOOOOO thrilled with how it's turning out...it feels so much more US. Can't believe it's taken us 8 years of living here to finally take stake in the house and start to make it OURS!

Anyway, time to get to the questions! We've gotta fun weekend...birthday party for our nephew/Godson, PROM (ohmigosh...my boy. In a tux? I might cry.), work...gonna be crazy busy!

So, let's get this party started!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are so full from supper that they can't be bothered.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, April 26th: (Special thanks to Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from ~Kate's Life~, Kristina (@KristinasCackle) from Kristina's Cackles, Lady Ga-Gas (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Megan (@megstidbits) from Tidbits from My World for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. Who drives when your family is together, you or your spouse?

2. Are you an introvert or extrovert?

3. Are you married to an introvert or extrovert?

4. What's your favorite type of social media?

5. What's your favorite way to "recharge"?

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1. Who drives when your family is together, you or your spouse?
Well, usually the Mr. does...buuuuut, I get car sick. AND I'm a horrible backseat driver ("You're going to fast!" "Take a left!" "Slow down!!"), so sometimes, I like to just drive myself.

Less martial strife that way.

But really, he's the driver...especially since I don't like to drive unless it's sunny and dry.

Why yes, I am an 80 year old woman, why do you ask?

2. Are you an introvert or extrovert?

Well, there was a time in my life that I would've exclaimed EXTROVERT!!!! But then, I had a bunch of kids and settled into married life and my social outings became so few and far between that I find it a little overwhelming to be "outgoing" sometimes.

Especially in crowds that I'm a little unsure of (Mr.'s work events, groups, etc.)...this could also stem from the fact that whenever I attend a function with the Mr., he's always doing some sort of networking and sort of forgets that I'm there and then I end up feeling like a cast off and not knowing what to talk to a venue full of farmers about.

I mean, I can usually hold my own with the best of them, but if there isn't some talk about babies or birth at some point, I run out of questions to ask.

Maybe I need to get out more?

3. Are you married to an introvert or extrovert?

He is definitely an introvert. Quiet and thoughtful...and if you don't pay attention you can miss some pretty hilarious stuff come out of his mouth! But he always keeps his little quips on the downlow, which makes them even funnier to me.

4. What's your favorite type of social media?

Like, if I had to give all but one up, which would I choose?

Twitter. No doubt.

I use twitter to connect with some pretty amazing people AND it keeps me abreast of the latest news. Without TV connection, Twitter is my access to the outside world.

I love the others, as well, but yeah, Twitter is definitely my favorite! (And my biggest time waster!)

5. What's your favorite way to "recharge"?

I love naps. The best "recharging" naps are the 20-30 minute power naps that I can sneak in...I try not to nap, because it only keeps me up at night, but sometimes (like the other night when I had CAH-RAZY dreams all stinkin' night long!!!), I feel like I just need to power up with a little nap to forge through the rest of my day!

When I'm feeling drained and just not kicking it, I like to take a little me time and do some shopping. Which is silly, really, because usually when I shop, I pick up more stuff for the kids than for myself, but I think it's just the time alone...the relative quiet of not hearing "mom?" "mom!" "HEY MOM!" 87 thousand times an hour.

Now that I have this wonderful bedroom to recharge in, I might need to recharge a little more often!! ;)

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I hope you all have fabulous weekends! I'll be sure to post some prom pics as soon as I can!

Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:31:00 +0000

Whoa nelly. Just got home from an impromptu dinner out with a business acquaintance of the Mr's...and I'm stuffed. *burp*

Anyway, patiently (okay, not really) waiting for my hubby to get home so that he can hang our new curtains in our room...I'm soooooooo excited to see it all come together! Eeeeeeek!

Well, since it's kinda late, let's get right to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are so full from supper that they can't be bothered.

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, April 26th: (Special thanks to Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from ~Kate's Life~, Kristina (@KristinasCackle) from Kristina's Cackles, Lady Ga-Gas (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Megan (@megstidbits) from Tidbits from My World for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday ~~shout out~~ plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. Who drives when your family is together, you or your spouse?

2. Are you an introvert or extrovert?

3. Are you married to an introvert or extrovert?

4. What's your favorite type of social media?

5. What's your favorite way to "recharge"?

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See you in the morning! Happy almost Friday!

The Master Bedroom Redo!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:13:00 +0000

I can't remember if I've mentioned this here, but we're "redoing" our "master" bedroom (and by "master" I mean, it has bigger closets than the rest of the bedrooms...1970's houses didn't come with the gorgeous master suites of the 2000's. Fer dumb.).

The flooring is done...the trim is being poly'd, and I'm starting to make it a "grown up" room, replete with decorations that fit MY decorating taste and not just hand-me-down decorations from my mom or grandma.

I just bought THE most amazing frame collage...I kinda want to decorate my entire house around it. SO FREAKING CUTE! I even have photos waiting for me at the local grocery store to put in it!

I needed a new lamp for my bedside table...and my best friend recently introduced me to HomeGoods (hello lover, I could spend all day with you...) and I made my second trip there in about as many weeks and wow...I just wish my pocket book were a little more plump! I did find a lamp...a lamp that I'm not entirely sure of, but I got it anyway, 'cuz I knew I could make it work.

Here it is:

What originally caught my eye was the buttons...but the buttons are what I'm not really sure of. I LOVE the color of the stand, and even the cute little ruffle, but...the buttons. Not sure if I love 'em or hate 'em but hey, if I decide I hate 'em I can buy a new shade, right? Or just whack 'em off?!

Anyway, I'm not going to show you photos until it's allllll done, so that I can give you the "WOW" factor! But it's coming together nicely!

Stay tuned...

In the Kitchen with Gram...Swedish Rusks!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:46:00 +0000

Turns out this recipe is my grandma's grandma's...which makes it my Great-great Grandma's recipe! Cool, huh?

Let me tell you something...a rusk appears to be some sort of middle ground between a cookie and biscotti. Crisp and delicious, but not quite as dense as biscotti. And dunked in coffee?

I die.

Anyway, let me show you how it's done!

Slivered almonds, chopped up just a bit...you'll need this in a bit.

Butter and sugar, cream 'em together!

A couple of eggs. (Does it make anyone else gag when you first start to mix eggs into a creamed mixture? It's all slimy and chunky and *shudder*...let's move on.)

Now, the recipe called for sour cream...but Gram decided to sour some cream, whatever floats your boat will work!

Alternately mix in your dry ingredients with your wet. Flour:

Salt and soda:

Now a little cream:

And the almond extract, whose photo mysteriously disappeared from my camera.

When it's all incorporated, add in the almonds:

The dough will be thick and sticky:

Divide it into precisely 6 parts. Or, you know, roughly 6 parts. ;) And shape the dough into long, skinny logs about 15 inches long...ours were just shy of 15 inches.

Then, the first round of baking...when they're fresh out of the oven, slice them into 3/4 inch strips:

And spread them apart on the sheet,

Then back into the oven they go for about 20 minutes (up to 30, our first batch got a bit dark at 24 minutes, we found 20 to be about right.).

Before and after. Yum.

Serve 'em up with coffee, because coffee and Swedish Rusks go together like...um, like...nuts and bolts? Er...nevermind. Just trust me on this.

Now, trust me on this, also...have a little Nutella layin' around? Try this:

And then this:

And yes, you're welcome.

Enjoy!

Gram's Swedish Rusks

Printable Recipe

1 c. softened butter

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

5 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. almond extract

1 c. sour cream

1 c. slivered almonds, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in remaining ingredients (except for almonds), alternating dry and wet ingredients. Lastly, mix in almonds. Divide dough into 6 parts, shape into 15" logs on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes. While still warm, diagonally slice logs into 3/4" slices, spread out on baking pan and bake for another 20-30 minutes (try 20 first).

Serve with hot coffee and a spread of Nutella! Or, just eat 'em as they are...sooooo delicious!

Let Me Tell Y'all About My Friday.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:49:00 +0000

Sooooo, as you know, that while the rest of North America is enjoying the fruits of spring (beautiful weather, flowers, birds, FLIP FLOPS), MinneSOOOOOta appears to be stuck on December.

Winter storm after winter storm after winter storm...we're currently on our 3rd "Winter Storm Advisory" in a week. No lie. Now, I know that MinneSOOOOta is often referred to as "MinneSNOWta", but even Winter Storms in April are unusual. Snow in April, sure...WINTER STORMS in April, not so much.

(Our driveway on Friday morning...)

Another one of these (hideous, unfortunate, ugly, disgusting, *insert your adjective of choice here*) storms dumped a foot of snow on us last Thursday night, and I had to work Friday.

A friend and I decided to follow one another (she had to work longer than I, which is why we didn't just drive together) to work, but she needed to drop her kids off at her aunt's first and I ended up being the "leader" of our two minivan caravan. I figured we were gonna be okay when the state highway was, while slow going and snow/ice packed, plowed and driveable, but when I turned off the highway onto a county road and saw ONE set of tracks...IN THE OPPOSITE LANE and the lane I was driving in hadn't even been driven on yet, I got a leedle skeered.

I plowed (literally, read on) on, listening to the bottom of my van scrape along the top of the snow and little by little I was going slower...and slower...and slower...even though I wasn't the one slowing my van down! NO WAY MAN!! I was pushing on that gas pedal 'cuz I knew if I stopped, it was all over.

But then...my van just...STOPPED. All that snow I had been "plowing" with the bottom of my van had built up in front of my van and just plain stopped me in my tracks. Which meant my friend, who was behind me and driving in MY tracks had to stop...which meant now we were both stuck.

In the middle of the freaking road. (Doesn't really look that bad, does it? Apparently I just couldn't get enough traction to get through?!)

I called my hubby. She called her hubby. I called my dad (he was less than a mile from where we were.) And I called work. Funny thing was, I had called work about 5 minutes before to tell them we were going to be "just a little late" because the roads needed some very close attention paying to them...when I called the second time, I was all, "Soooo, yeah. Um...we're gonna be a lot late now."

I got out of my car to inspect how badly I was stuck and because the weather gods hadn't had enough of a laugh yet, I must've leaned on the lock of my door and I LOCKED MYSELF OUT of my running, stuck in the middle of the road van.

I can't make this stuff up.

Here's where it pays to have some connections...so, my friend's husband works for the county and was out plowing the roads, so he called his other plow buddy and told him we were stuck...this is important in a bit.

My dad shows up, hauls us all to my friend's aunt's house to drop her kids off. When we get back, this was waiting for us:

Our own personal snow plow. ;) My hubby and the snow plower had already freed my van (just needed a little tug from a big, manly truck to get out) and were working on my friend's van.

Something about that whole situation...my husband, in snow covered "coveralls", and working hard to "save me"...was pretty sexy. I guess I do have a bit of a "princess syndrome" afterall. What can I say...I like to be rescued by my hot husband. :)

Now, excuse me, I've gotta go prepare for this newest storm that's coming.

If for no other reason...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:38:00 +0000

This:

Is what my 7 year old's wardrobe has been reduced to.

Count 'em...7, yes, SEVEN pairs of holy kneed jeans. We need warm weather, if for no other reason than so that I don't have to buy more jeans.

This boy of mine has a hard time walking...he prefers to SLIDE, on his KNEES whenever he has the opportunity. As evidenced by his jeans.

And here's my other boy...in his ever adorable Under Armour shirt, standing out in the middle of our (kinda wimpy) Winter Storm Warning. Up to 10 grody inches expected.

Please, please, PLEASE, Mother Nature, please send some warm weather this way.

Please.

Pretty please?

(PS...taking a break from 5QF this week. Lack of questions, lack of ambition...be back next week!)

The Terror in Boston.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:13:00 +0000

It somehow feels wrong to post about anything other than what happened in Boston yesterday...so I won't.

However, I have no words. Just a heaviness in my heart.

And prayers for those affected by this senseless act of terror.

The Never Ending Winter.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:01:00 +0000

"This is the never ending wi-inter! Ohwoh oh ohwoh oh ohwoh oh. The never ending wi-inter!" (Name that song...)

"This is the winter that never ends. Yes it goes on and on, my friends..." (Name that song...)

I'm sure the world is sick and tired of hearing us Midwesterners complain about our never ending winter. But dudes, this stinks. Usually by this time of the year, if we get snow, the previous snow had already melted and the current snow typically melts quickly.

This year? This year it's just snow upon snow upon more freakin' snow. Which really sucks.

Also, I'm sure you've all heard the "Remember last year, when we were mowing our yards by this point?" "Remember last year when it hit 80 degrees in March?!"...I've moved beyond wishing for last year's weather and have just starting pleading with Mother Nature for a "normal" year.

You know, highs in the 50-60s, rain, maybe an occasional snow shower.

Anyway, I'm writing this more for posterity's sake than anything else. For those "normal" Springs when the weather is acting appropriately and we MinnesOOOOOtan's are wishing for warmer weather and so we start to complain. Yes, this post is going to be for those days, to remind me how BAD it can really be.

If you hear me complain in the following years, please take me by the hand (or the ear...or the hair) and point me to this post.

Last April 5th, this is what our weather was like. Pay close attention to the clothing people are wearing and the background scenery.

And, photos I took just this morning, after yet another "Winter Storm Watch". With no warm up in sight...and with more snow on the horizon.

Snow plow at the ready...maybe we'll fend off any more snow just by being ready for it.

Same back yard as in the photos in the link above...just zoomed in so you can see our frozen over pond. Gross.

And, one other view of the yard. Look at all the ugly snow.

Please, Mother Nature, please let us see some green grass soon. Please.