Surviving Monday

I know, I know, I've made it to Thursday. But I have this laundry list of things to complain about. (Don't you just want to keep reading?!?!)
Speaking of laundry, my washer isn't spinning or rinsing the clothes right. There's a dead mole on my patio. I guess I could move it myself but that's the cat's job. River grabbed the roll of flab on my stomach yesterday. Our water is still hard despite my remarks to Jeremy and my hair has looked greasy for a week even though it's been washed. River has a runny nose again. And when people comment on it, I feel like it's somehow my fault even though he gets enough sleep, enough food, I have him wear a coat outside when it's cool. And I even give him a vitamin every day, shamelessly calling it candy.
The other day when Riv was supposed to be taking his nap, I kept hearing him coughing. So fearful that he might cough til he puked, I pulled a Florence Nightengale and decided to give him a spoonful of honey. He didn't even get a sip of honey down before he gagged and puked all over himself. This is why I'm not and never will be a nurse.
I have my favorite bars sitting on the counter which ordinarily would make me happy except for that comment above about getting my fat roll pinched.
I was driving into Fairbury the other day, thoroughly annoyed with life, when I heard the song "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA". It took that cheesy song to remind me that I do have a good life. I have 2 sweet kids. One hard working, good looking husband. Porch furniture. Books to read on the porch furniture. We're healthy. I have a few friends.
And really, I didn't want to do the laundry anyway.

 I know. Cute kids. Fun cousins. Iced coffee while reading a book. Cream cheese bars (from Heirloom Cookbook!). Life is good.

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Lady M

My sweet little girl! With her perpetual worried expression.
This little lady looks more like her mama's family...trust me on this.











Some of you are under the false impression that my kids look so much alike, to the point that I might get their baby pictures confused. That is, if I didn't notice the pink and flowery skirts and dresses v. the green, brown, orange, etc boy clothes. River is roughly the same age as Madeira in this picture and as you will note, they don't look similar except in coloring maybe. 
Genetics! I'm still holding out for a dark haired child because I'm pretty sure even if he/she looked like Jeremy, I would get the credit. :) And really, isn't that what having children is all about? (Sarcasm alert)

 After Jeremy said he was coming home for lunch today, I reached for my trusty new cookbook, full of my old favorites. I tried to go to another book but I wasn't feel real adventurous, not to mention I wasn't going to go shopping between last night and noon today. Enter cheesy sausage stromboli. I understand that stromboli doesn't really need a recipe (bread dough, meat, cheese, seasonings, roll up and bake. Done.), but this way you don't have to hunt down a bread recipe on your own. Of course, frozen bread works perfectly too.
Anyway, I think I've tried this dough in the bread machine before and it's fairly sticky and makes a decent amount. I'm pretty sure this is the dough that overfilled the bread machine and made this huge mess. Just a warning if you like your machine. :) So I used my kitchenaid mixer. The dough is a cinch to make if yeast dough scares you.
The recipe actually makes two loaves. Since I only need one I halved the filling, and I put the other half of the dough in the freezer. I've never frozen my own dough before so I'll see how this works out.
The original recipe says to roll out the dough into a 10 x 15 rectangle (see top picture), and to put the filling down one side, leaving a 1 inch margin, and then fold the dough over the filling. I left the recipe in the cookbook as it was originally, but the problem with making the stromboli that way is that you end with a hunk of bread on one side and all the filling on the other. Not ideal. So I made a braid.

 I put the filling down the center of the dough, and then used the pizza cutter to slice diagonal strips in the side. I didn't count the strips, I just made them roughly 1 inch wide. (I know, Martha Stewart, I am not.)

 My less than perfect braid.

 The braid after the second raising.

 I  have a little chef-in-training who likes to sit on the counter and "cook" with me. See that little hand in the top picture? He was actually messing with the faucet while I was cooking the sausage when I heard this crash. I thought it was a dish, but no, it was River in the sink full of dirty water and dishes. As you can tell from his expression, he didn't like it too much.

 But did he learn? Nope, he was back on the counter after I took his soggy clothes off. (BTW, he did have a welt on his back so it had to hurt.)

Finished stromboli. The less than perfect braiding is hardly noticeable anymore which is good for those of us that have to race through our baking. :(
I always serve this with marinara sauce (open a can of spaghetti sauce! :)).
This served 4 adults. I had one piece left after lunch. If I pause to think too long about the fact that I spent practically all morning getting lunch ready, only to have it inhaled in about 15 minutes, I might never want to cook again. But I don't like having leftovers. And I like cooking (usually).
Again, this is an heirloom cookbook recipe. If you get around to making it, and have questions, let me know!

Thoughts on Motherhood

 

"I unwrapped one tiny hand. As his small fingers closed around my pinky, I marveled at the intricacy of God's handiwork. Each knuckle was properly in place. Each nail was smooth and perfectly proportioned. There was no dirt on his yet unused fingers. He was all purity and perfection.

I was absolutely in awe! For the first time in my life I knew what it was to be completely overwhelmed. 

It was during those unique moments that I first felt like a mother. I would never "become" a mother again; this was my becoming. This most common phenomenon was gently enfolding me.

As I nuzzled my baby, my offspring, my son, the rest of the world faded away. We were alone in the universe. Motherhood felt comfortable, and in one moment, I had been made a wealthy woman."

Written by Margaret Nyman, Adapted from Focus on the Family

I couldn't say it any better than has already been written. (I would have injected girl in place of boy, but I figured everyone would know that's how it is with a girl as well.)

I love having my arms full!

 Radishes from my garden. Way more than we'll be able to eat on our own. Anyone need any?

This is probably my favorite salad dressing ever. I'm going to put in a plug for my new cookbook - dressing recipe is in there!

Every salad needs a little something crunchy. Ramen noodles toasted in butter with some slivered almonds. Not like ramen noodles aren't already fried...but these are just yummy.

Feta. My favorite salad cheese.

I used some fresh garden lettuce since I've got an abundance (happily) right now.
This salad is not to be believed in its deliciousness!
I had the salad first made by Mark and Natalie Schneider at a 4th of July get together. They served theirs with pea tendrils and other wonderful greens from the greenhouse and had all the food artistically arranged on their serving dish. I don't even remember all the stuff specifically anymore (I think maybe sunflower seeds and craisins) except that I dreamed about it for weeks after eating it. Seriously, it is that great.

Random Updates

A sweet picture of baby 1 and baby 2 on my new loveseat. :) So excited that Mad and Jayden will have each other!
My little Madders in a summer bubble suit. Love it!
A little brotherly love and sisterly tolerance.
River managed to snag a scissors from my studio and during snack time, he figured out he'd like to cut his gold fish rather than eat it.
I love having 2 kids. After hearing Mattie Kaeb's comment that she'd like to be in heaven taking care of babies, well, I thought that sounded like a good ending to life too. No runny noses in heaven!
In other news, I have laundry today. I saw a quote on Pinterest that said "My idea of getting lucky is to have someone do my laundry." So true.
A little bit of random luck: River was coughing this morning and then proceeded to cough til he puked. Fortunately for me, it landed on a book on the floor. Unfortunately for River, it happened to be Dumbo, which he loves to look at. All the same, I wasn't about to clean puke off the book (it was open so barf is now permanently stuck to the pages) so I tried to throw it away. And he kept trying to fish it out of the garbage. I think he got distracted enough that he won't remember to check the trash again. :)
I'm attempting to work on making some cards today what with graduation and mother's day coming up. For some reason, I can't get my printer to turn on. It's plugged in. There's juice in the outlet...annoying.