Catching up - a little bit anyway

So it's been several months since I've updated the blog. That is mainly due to the fact that I have been pretty sick with the pregnancy and not really up to writing anything coherent. We have lots of pictures to share in future posts (Jacob's birthday, Halloween, house renovations).

Our house is currently a little bit of a disaster zone. One, I've felt too sick to do much other than lay on the couch. Two, we are replacing the boiler with a new high-efficiency boiler. The current boiler is located in our dining room. The new boiler will be located in the basement meaning we will be gaining quite a bit of space upstairs to enlarge the dining room and laundry room. It also means we had to dig out some of the crawl space to make room for the installers to work. Which means a layer of dirt/dust over everything. I am not going to clean it until all the construction work is done - there's no point!

Yesterday we got to see the baby for the first time. Our doctor scheduled the ultrasound early (I'm 14 weeks) because I had been so sick. She wanted to rule out the possibility of twins. The ultrasound definitely showed only one baby. It was too early to be able to see whether it's a boy or girl, but everything else looked good. We could see the stomach, kidneys, bladder, spine, fingers, legs... it was awesome to get to meet this little person! Here is one of the first pictures. hopefully, we'll have another ultrasound closer to Christmas where we will be able to tell whether we are having Josiah Lucas or Elsa(Ellie) Kay.

Happy Birthday!

September 11 has become a day that holds many meanings for our family. David and I remember the attacks and exactly what we were doing when they occurred. I had just started college and was getting ready for block with my roommates with the morning news on like always. I remember watching in disbelief as the second plane hit the towers, not really understanding what was going on. Today will always be a day of remembrance for our country.

But it is also a day of celebration for us. Today our little boy turns 2! Happy birthday Jacob - your mommy and daddy love you very much! We are very proud of the little boy you are growing into and are excited to watch you continue to grow and develop and learn. Thanks for teaching us that sticks and rocks are more fun than toys and that little boys are tough when they fall down as long as there is a band-aid with Elmo on it nearby.

So while we remember we also celebrate. May you celebrate the life around you today and remember those who have made it possible.

New Steps

The step to our back door has been crumbling since we moved into our house two years ago. It was in pretty bad shape. One of our neighbors said it has been there as long as he can remember and they moved into their house in the 1950s! It was definitely time for a change! So last Saturday, David and my dad built some new steps for our door. Of course, we had to pick the hottest day of the year to do it! They did a great job and it is so much nicer. Below are the before and after shots and one with the family.

Before

After

Big Mess!

This is what I found when I got Jacob up from his nap yesterday. It was the second time he had gotten into the powder. Hopefully, there won't be a third time!

Big Boy Bed

Jacob is now in a toddler bed. He is staying in it pretty well and was very excited to sleep in a bed like Mommy and Daddy. Here are a few pics from today's nap. You'll notice the papers next to him. Everyday he finds something else in his room in his reach that he just has to sleep with. One day it was the CD player, another a pair of shoes. In other news, we are headed to Mancelona Camp for the next week where we will be serving as co/assistant directors of the youth program. It will be great to be at camp, but probably not as relaxing as in past years. Jacob is sure to have a great time with the sticks and the bugs and the dirt. What little boy wouldn't? :)

More Pics

Lately I haven't felt like I have anything particularly witty or inspiring to say, so I haven't written anything. This will be another mainly pictures blog. Why? Cuz it's so much easier and less time consuming. A few of these are from our mini-vacation to Kentucky/Indiana for a wedding and to go to Mammoth Cave for a day. The rest are from our yard today trying to beat the heat!

Our life in pictures for the last month...

Mel's Graduation

Memorial Day Parade

Anniversary rose bush
Flowers we planted at our house
Dow Gardens - traditional yearly waterfall pictures

Hearing Test

Yesterday was Jacob's hearing test. We are being cautious due to the family history (David has hearing loss and one of his sisters has a cochlear implant). Jacob did really well through the testing. And the results? Normal! No reason for concern! They want to see him every six months to make sure no problems develop, but for now everything is good. Yay!

Busy

I haven't blogged in awhile mainly because we've been so busy lately. I am still doing a recipe a week in our meals, but I just haven't found the time to blog about them. One week we did Crock pot barbecued chicken which absolutely yummy! Maybe I'll be able to get back into the regular blogging swing again(but don't count on it!). With summer quickly approaching, weddings, graduations, youth stuff, Mancelona Camp, etc. we just don't have a lot of free time.

Jacob is continuing to talk and learn new words daily. His latest favorite toy (besides his trucks) is his babies. I got out two of my old dolls for him and he is very sweet with them. He puts them in bed and pushes them around in his little wagon. Very cute! He has also discovered the joy of watercolor painting. I will post some pictures when I have a few more minutes. We are taking him to have his hearing checked a week from Monday. David and one of his sisters have hearing loss that may be genetic in nature. David's hearing began to deteriorate at the age of 7 and then stopped. His sister was born with a hearing loss that continued to worsen. She is basically deaf and she has a cochlear implant. We have not seen any signs of hearing loss with Jacob, but we are being cautious. The doctor recommended we get him checked because of the family history and it will help us establish a baseline of his hearing which we can compare with later on to see if it is changing. Hopefully everything will turn up normal!

Easter Pictures

Somehow, we managed not to get a picture of Jacob in his Easter outfit. Grandma Kissinger did however, so we will have to get a copy from her. Take my word for it - he was super cute and my little man in his tie and vest. Here are a few pictures of the Easter egg hunts and Easter basket hunts we did over the weekend.

At our house with the neighbor girl

At the Masonic Home Easter Egg hunt
Super crazy with lots of kids in a small space!
Easter baskets at Mom and Dad Kissinger's
Easter eggs at Grandma Koeppen's
Easter eggs at Mom and Dad Shidler's
Completely tired out!

Mmmm...

We decided to color Easter eggs last Saturday. The eggs were all ready and we were dissolving the tablets into the vinegar. I put a spoon into each cup to stir them and help them dissolve faster. Jacob crawled up into one of our dining table chairs and was "helping." All of a sudden, we hear this sound coming from his direction - "mmmmmm." What?!?! He had one of the spoons in his mouth and a strange look on his face. His lips were a disturbing shade of orange. And he still says "mmm". We've been trying to get him to try new foods and we'll say "yum" when we put it in his mouth. Apparently, he decided to try it for himself, starting with colored vinegar. What else do you do with a spoon but put it in your mouth? :-)

ROTW: Sue's Stuffed Shells

This recipe came out of the Midland Missionary Church cookbook. It was brought to my attention by David's cousin Aimee who recommended that we try it. Here it is!

1 (3 lb.) carton cottage cheese
8 oz. sharp shredded cheese (I used mild because I like it better)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 (12 oz.) package jumbo shells
1 32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

Precook jumbo shells in boiling water until semi-soft, not fully cooked. While shells cook, mix cottage cheese, sharp, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese, oregano and pepper. Drain shells and rinse with cool water; fill with cheese mixture. Place in 9 x 12 baking pan; cover with spaghetti sauce. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

First of all, this made way more than fit into my 9 x 13 pan. I ended up making two pans, the 9 x 13 and a square 8 inch. Maybe I just didn't do it right. It also took much longer in the oven to get up to temperature. I ended up increasing the heat to 375 and left in for almost a half hour. It tasted wonderful, but was a little frustrating with the cooking times and temperature. If I made it again, I would probably sprinkle a little cheese on top to make it look a little nicer. All in all we give this recipe a 4 out 5 spoons.

ROTW: Pate Bege (Haitian)

This recipe is from my Aunt Anne's cookbook again. Her family were missionaries to Haiti in the early 1980's. Her note at the beginning of the recipe is as follows: "These beef patties are sold all over Haiti in markets and roadside stands. They can also be filled with codfish or chicken. The most popular filling is beef."
PASTRY:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. shortening
10 T. cold water

FILLING:
1 lb. hamburger
1 can tomato paste
4 T. onion chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic
salt and pepper

In a bowl combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until crumbly. Gradually add water and mix until dough holds together. Roll dough flat and shape into round circles (I made it into 8 smaller circles).
Cook hamburger and drain. Add the rest of the filling ingredients. Put on circles of dough. Fold in half and seal the ends by pressing together. Fry in oil, turning to brown on both sides OR bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, the at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

These end up looking like half moons. I baked them to make them healthier. The pasty was very light and flaky. Jacob almost ate a whole one himself! When I make it the next time, I am going to add a few more seasonings to the filling. I may also use a can of tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. The possibilities for fillings are almost endless here! We give this recipe a 4 1/2 spoons out of 5.

Smile for the day

Last night we got Taco Bell for supper. Jacob had a burrito. He started eating it really nicely - he was picking it up and eating off of one end. All of a sudden, he flipped it around and was going to take a bite out of the other end. David and I didn't really want him to do this (since it would be a big mess!) so we told him "no". That started a huge crying fit. When Jacob calmed down, he started to do the same thing again. Again, we told him no. Again more crying. After he calmed down, David and I decided it was more important that he eat and we would clean up the mess later. Jacob went to flip the burrito around again. He looked at the nice folded end, then told himself "no" and proceeded to the crying tantrum phase again. David and I could not stop laughing! Supper was pretty much a lost cause after that. :)

ROTW: Corn Dogs

This recipe is from cooks.com. It is not the healthiest recipe this week - but it is pretty kids friendly.

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
2 T. oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Add milk, oil and egg. Mix well. Dry hot dogs and dip in batter; fry in hot fat until brown.

This recipe makes about 10-12 hot dogs. We put the ones we didn't eat into the freezer for a quick meal some other time. I didn't sift the ingredients together - I just dumped them in a bowl and mixed it before adding the wet ingredients. We did not put the hot dogs on sticks. I didn't want to take the time or buy the sticks. We fried them in our deep fryer at about 400 degrees. They cook in about 4 minutes. Jacob liked this recipe, but he would not eat the breading with the hot dog. He peeled it off and ate both separately. We give this recipe a 4 out of 5 spoons.

Doctor's Visit

Jacob is officially back on the weight charts! He had his 18 month check-up today, where we learned that he weighs 23.1 pounds. This puts him at the 25th percentile. He gained 3 pounds since January! He is staying on the curve height wise. He was 35 inches tall. The weight is very good news - the doctor is no longer concerned about it and making us feel like we starve our child! He is exactly where he should be developmentally - he is talking non-stop! Although in public, you would never know because he turns shy. We are blessed to have a healthy, happy, growing little boy!

ROTW: Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Thanks to my Aunt Anne Amstutz for the recipe for this week. It is out of the cookbook she wrote titled "Seasoned with Time". The cookbook is full of old family recipes and I am very excited to have it!

8 oz. tube or spiral pasta
1 lb. ground beef
6 bacon strips
1 can tomato soup
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. Drain and place in a bowl. In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Drain pasta and add to the skillet. Add beef, bacon, and tomato soup; heat through. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook until cheese melts.

This recipe was very easy. A few things I did:
1. I cut the bacon into about 1 inch pieces before I fried it up. I think it's easier to do it that way than after it's cooked.
2. I used more cheese than a cup - we really like cheese!
3. I used the colored spiral pasta. It worked well, but I think used more than 8 oz. I definitely had more pasta than was needed! Along with that, the pasta absorbed all the liquid from the condensed soup. If I make it again I will probably add some water and ketchup to make it a little saucier. David really likes sauce.
All in all, this recipe was very easy and budget-friendly. We give this recipe a 4 out of 5 spoons.

More pics

Working hard with Daddy

Doing the dishesHe loves it because he can splash in the water.Wrestling on the couch with Daddy.

ROTW: Taco Meatball Ring

This recipe is from the February/March issue of Taste of Home magazine. It is a recipe sent in from Brenda Johnson in Davison, MI!

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 T. water
2 to 4 T. taco seasoning
1/2 lb. ground beef
2 tubes (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls (use Pillsbury, really! see note to follow)
1/2 medium head lettuce, shredded
1 medium tomato, chopped
4 green onions, sliced (didn't use)
1/2 c. sliced ripe olives (didn't use)
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced (didn't use)
Sour cream and salsa, optional

In a large bowl combine 1 cup cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 16 balls. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees or until meat is no longer pink. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Arrange crescent rolls on a greased 15 inch pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of the pan and wide ends overlapping. (Thus forming a ring in the center) Place 1 meatball on each crescent roll; fold point over meatball and tuck under the wide end of the roll. Meatball will still be visible. Do this for each roll. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Transfer to a serving platter (I didn't bother). Fill the center of the ring with lettuce, tomato, onions, olives, jalapenos, remaining cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

OUR THOUGHTS:

• Make sure and use Pillsbury crescent rolls. I bought a generic and they wouldn't unroll at all and just crumbled into a big mess. They tasted fine, but they were a headache to use and required reconstruction to make them into crescent shaped rolls. Splurge and buy name brand here. Seriously.
• I didn't bother to move it to a serving dish, nor did I fill the center of the ring. Yes, it would have looked nice but it was too much hassle for me to mess with. We only used lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream which we mixed together on our own plates. If you want to go fancy, feel free! I'm sure it looks very pretty and I may do that sometime for a party, but not for an everyday dinner.
• This recipe doesn't use a whole envelope of taco seasoning. It also only uses 1/2 pound of ground beef. I always freeze my burger in 1 pound packages. So I took the extra 1/2 pound of meat and fried it up in a skillet. Then I put the rest of the seasoning packet on it with some water and made extra taco meat which I put in the freezer for another night. Just a quick tip for another supper later on!
• This recipe tasted really, really good. Jacob used his own fork to eat by himself and ate one crescent roll. I had two and David had 4! I think it was a hit! It is a great new take on tacos that is fairly easy. It seems to be a pretty kid-friendly recipe. All in all, we give this recipe 5 out of 5 spoons.

ROTW: Honey Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 c. apple juice
1 T. honey
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen Chinese style stir-fry vegetables with seasonings
1 T. cooking oil
3 green onions, bias-sliced into 1 inch pieces
chow mein noodles or rice (optional)

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. For sauce, stir together apple juice, honey, mustard, cornstarch and seasoning packet. Set sauce mixture aside.
Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Stir fry vegetables and onions in oil for 3-4 minutes or until crisp tender. (I cooked them longer so they would be softer for Jacob to eat.)Remove vegetables from pan.
Add chicken to the pan (along with more oil if needed). Stir fry until no longer pink (4 or 5 minutes). Push to the side of your pan. Stir the sauce, then add to the center of the pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to the pan; toss to coat with sauce. Cook and stir for 1 minute more or until heated through. Serve over chow mein noodles or rice. (we didn't put it over either.)

The chicken had a really nice sweet flavor. I made it in my new Pampered Chef stir-fry skillet which was really nice! I'm not personally a huge fan of stir-fry, but it was pretty good. David thought it was pretty good. We also couldn't find the vegetables with a seasoning packet so we bought Meijer vegetables for $1 and a stir fry seasoning packet from the international food aisle. The only thing is that you could probably omit the additional cornstarch in the recipe. I had to keep adding water because it thickened too fast (read that instantly!). All in all, we give this a 4 out of 5 spoons.

Some February Pics

We have been super busy the last few weeks with youth stuff and are now finding the time to catch our breaths. The youth put on a Valentine's banquet which David and I were in charge of. We planned the menu, figured out a program, kept track of the money and registrations, and promoted it to the kids and adults. We ended up with about 45 people coming to the banquet and 15 kids helping. The kids did a great job with the food and decorating, performed some funny skits, and also helped tremendously with the clean-up. Thanks also to Grace, Dan, and Laurie for helping in the kitchen, organize the kids, and doing whatever needed done! So here are a few pictures from the Valentine's Banquet. Jacob was wonderful the whole day. He was worn out by 5 pm from playing so hard with all the kids, but managed to hang in there until we were on our way home at 9. One of the skits the youth did called for an old man and an old lady. Two of our guys did the skit and the wig in the picture is one they debated on using. Jacob and several other youth appropriated it for some practical jokes. Enjoy!

Jacob and the wig

Gene and the wig, scaring his wife

Pastor Fred (our senior pastor) with the wig, scaring Mike (and everybody else!)

Isaac and Tyler performing the old couple skit