"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." -randy pausch

Thursday, September 12, 2013

the latest and greatest from my kitchen to yours {moz basil tom avo sandwich}

my new favorite lunch.
dinner.
or snack.
whichever.
...
Mozarella Basil Tomato Avocado
Sourdough Sandwich
1. mayo on outside slice of sourdough, 
thinly sliced, 
mayo side down in the pan.
2. sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese in one layer over bread.
3. lay fresh basil leaves on top of cheese, 
load them up in one even layer.
4. lay TOMATO, sliced, preferably from a garden next. 
{the taste is just over the top amazing in this with a garden tomato}.
5. add avocado, sliced flat on top of tomato.
6. finish off with another layer of shredded mozzarella.
7. top with another slice of thinly sliced sourdough bread, 
again with mayo on the outside slice for toasting.
8. once both sides are golden brown {flip it nice and slow with a spatula and your hand so the insides don't fall out},
plate it and microwave for about 25 seconds.
9. slice in half, serve alone or with creamy tomato basil soup.
...
finding ways to use my garden tomatoes is a TASTY TASTY business folks!
and i'm sure a few slices of bacon wouldn't be too shabby on it either.
:):):)
bon appetite!

in the halloween spirit over here

{please note brennan picking his nose}
today brennan single handedly convinced max that she 
really did indeed 
want to be 
a pink zombie girl 
for halloween.
instead of princess merida.
he on the other hand has decided to be:
ben10 spider-monkey, no no no swampfire!
red ninja turtle
no blue ninja turtle "b/c he has TWO swords"
red power ranger b/c "red is my favorite color, no BLUE!"
green ninja
star wars blue lightsaber guy
navy seal
skylander spyro
no jet vac
zombie hunter
-cue pink zombie girl-
so pretty much we laughed for 20 minutes while he did this,
and then i patted him on the back 
and told him that it's not his fault he can't make up his mind.
he is my son after all.
with at least half of my DNA running through his veins.
and really,
how can a person decide on just ONE halloween costume
when the possibilities are so endless anyway.
gone are the days of me picking what they will be for halloween.
not to fret,
i have back up plans.
BACK
UP
PLANS:)
and at least one small gibson that still has no opinions about costumes yet.
get excited people.
GET EXCITED!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

maxine the 2nd {favorite things & a letter}

age: 3
favorite color: pink
favorite princess: belle
what do you want to be when you grow up: merida with merida shoes
favorite show: shark boy and lava girl
favorite thing to do: playing toys with chase and brennan and you
best friend: caitlyn
favorite holiday: purple holiday
favorite song: sofia the 1st
favorite drink: milk
favorite book: ariel
favorite treat: purple treats
favorite food: apple jacks
where do you want to live: at grandpa's house
favorite toy: tinker bell
favorite animal: bears
what is hard for you: climbing the big slide
what are you really good at doing: painting! i'm really good at painting!
what makes you happy: playing toys and looking at books
...
dear max,
on your first day of preschool you woke up at 6:30am.
you have never woken up so early in your entire life,
but you were hungry b/c you were tired from swimming the day before and didn't really eat a good dinner.
so you woke up at 6:30am and asked dad to get you a "bee-nana and milk."
you picked the shirt you wore out at target and the sparkles were in your hair, on your black skirt, and all over your face.
it was just so so cute.
you walked into school holding hope's hand,
and made it all the way into miss kim's hallway before you realized i wasn't there.
you burst into tears and so i walked downstairs into school with you.
then we played little people together for 5 minutes.
i told you i was going to leave and that miss kim would be here with you until i came back,
but that i would come back,
just like daniel tiger says.
you cried the song to me.
it was so sweet.
i left you sobbing on miss kim's lap.
i was so glad you were on miss kim's lap b/c i knew she would take good care of you.
she said you stopped crying later and had a great day.
except that you wouldn't do music time.
and you didn't want to do the parachute ball thing when i came to pick you up.
but i think that was mostly my fault,
b/c i was there early 
and you saw me 
and after that, you just wanted to get in the car with the boys to go to chick-fil-a.
{you told me the night before that after school you just wanted to go to chick-fil-a with caitlyn. how could i resist?!}
but you had a big smile on your face,
and said you had a really fun time,
and you told me that you cried.
your paper said you made a new friend, hope.
you played in the kitchen.
and that miss kim liked your sparkles.
i can't believe how grown up you looked,
and that you are already in preschool.
and i love your big pink backpack that was bigger than you.
i love you,
MOM
{brennan & cade holding hands, safety first!!! and max}
{max & caitlyn}
everybody needs a best friend:)

Monday, September 2, 2013

summer's last tease

labor day.
when you run out of your last ounce of sunscreen 
before you even spray one of your kid's arms,
and you have to dig deep down into your bag 
for the emergency bottle of lotion that you swore you'd only use 
if it was the last bottle of sunscreen on the planet.
and so you use it b/c it's better than a sunburn.
and you do not want a sunburn on labor day.
so you slather it on 
like the good friend that it's been to you for the last 4 months,
okay 3.
and you sit around all day talking with all of your friends and family 
about how you blinked and summer was over.
you eat good food.
you drink your last icy cold bottled coke by the pool,
because it's hot.
it's still really hot.
but the grass is cool.
in the shade.
and you look up at the mountains to see how many colors are changing on the trees already.
and you try to remember what week at the end of september brings the snow tips on.
or maybe it's early october.
you can't really remember.
and then,
you have to end your festivities early.
like 6:35pm early.
so you can shower your kids,
and have them in bed
before 8pm.
b/c they have school the next day.
painful.
absolutely and utterly painful.
not b/c you don't want your kids to go to school.
b/c you DO want your kids to go to school.
but b/c you want time to stop.
so that minute hand could sit on 6:30pm for just a little while longer,
while your babies swim in the evening light of the pool. 
it's like summer's last tease.
as if it's saying,
"hey, YO! 
you over there, 
lover of fall and winter!
yeah you, emily,
i'm
talking
to
YOU:)
i just to wanted to make sure you remember 
that all of your whining about the heat of summer was frivolous,
b/c summer just ain't so bad after all. see?"
and then i chirp back at it and go,
"hey you summer!
i'm out of sunscreen. 
yeah. so let's pick this up again next may.
'cause you know, like i said, i'm out of sunscreen.
and i'm pretty much foaming at the mouth for my
house to smell like pumpkin spice anyway."
and then we smile at each other and i wink,
letting summer know that it's really only enjoyable the very most
after a good snowy winter.
and then we agree,
mother nature and i,
that i will do my job of lusting after my favorite pants and long sleeved shirts 
that have been pushed back in the line ups of regulars in my closet 
until it finally does decide 
to fully calm itself down 
into something that will truly make me lust for summer again.
because right now,
i'm just out of sunscreen.
and i don't mean that in a whining way,
i just mean it in an
i'm out of sunscreen way.
and an i can't bring myself to buy another bottle in september kind of way.
b/c we are just so done with sunscreen.
you know?
you know:)
i fully plan on leaving my windows open tonight.
my way of
truly
blowing summer a kiss goodbye.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

CHICKEN BACON TOMATO ALFREDO PIZZA {don't let the 2 cubes of butter scare you away}

it was mostly because i wanted to eat bacon.
partly because we are in the midst of garden fresh tomatoes daily.
and ok really, it was because i had heavy cream in my fridge.
and cream cheese.
ok, ok, ok,
it was mostly about the bacon:)
i LOVE bacon.
it's like the universe was screaming at me to make this.
and how can you tell the universe no when it talks to you?
i give you,

CHICKEN BACON TOMATO ALFREDO PIZZA
--this recipe is for ONE pizza--i doubled it and made 2.--
{if you don't want to make your own dough, 
you can always buy dough from some grocery store bakeries, 
OR stop by your favorite pizza joint to buy raw dough from there. 
call before just to make sure they do that, but most do.}

THE DOUGH:
4 tsp yeast
2 cups warm water
4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
**for my whole wheat pizza dough recipe click here.**

1. yeast and sugar into the warm water. 
sit it your microwave for 10 minutes while the yeast rises. DO NOT COOK.
2. flour, salt, olive oil into your mixer. add water, 
yeast, and sugar mixture once yeast has turned 
yellow and bubbly {after about 10 minutes}.
3. mix with dough hook in your mixer 
or knead on counter top for about 5 minutes. 
i added about 3/4 cup water to it while it mixed.
click here and scroll down about halfway for tips 
about what your dough should look like.
4. put half of your dough into a greased bowl, 
cover and sit in the microwave for 45 min-1 hour. DO NOT COOK. 
{put the other half of the dough into a greased 
ziploc freezer bag and freeze if you are only making ONE pizza. 
you can thaw on your counter 
another day and let it rise as it thaws 
to make another pizza, 
but without all of the work of making your dough.}

-THE SAUCE-
1 cup heavy cream
{same thing as heavy whipping cream}
1 stick butter
{so if you double the recipe for 2 pizzas, you'll be using TWO CUBES OF BUTTER. 
don't let them scare you away. i promise, you won't regret it, nom nom nom!}
2 tbls cream cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, chopped OR 1 tsp garlic powder

1. in a medium sauce pan over meduim heat, 
stir together the cream, butter, and cream cheese until fully melted 
{the cream cheese took what felt like forever to melt, 
and it was lumpy/chunky until i had whisked everything in together at the end}.
2. stir in the Parmesan cheese, chopped garlic/garlic powder, 
and cook for 5-10 min on low heat until the sauce thickens.

-TOPPINGS-
{these toppings are for ONE pizza, i doubled this and made 2 pizzas}
1 chicken breast, boiled, and cubed
1/2 packaged of bacon, cooked to your liking, chopped
purple onion, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
garlic salt
1/2 cube of butter-ROOM TEMP!
{for butter garlic crust spread}

DIRECTIONS:
1. make your dough. let it rise.
2. boil your chicken, chop it, set it aside.
3. fry your bacon, cool on a paper towel, chop, set aside.
3. after your dough has risen, roll it out on the counter with lots of flour.
4. spray your pizza pan{s} with PAM and plate your dough.
i like a stuffed crust.
click here to see how i do that.
it will be awesome either way, i just LOOOOOVE a stuffed crust.
4. pour on sauce all over, lay your cheese around the edge 
if you're doing the stuffed crust, fold the sides in.
**if you're doing a regular pizza crust, then just lay your dough out and put your sauce down.**
5. sprinkle cheese, chicken, bacon, tomato, and onion all over evenly.
6. once all of your toppings are on, spread your room temperature butter on the crust all the way around,
then sprinkle with garlic salt. basically, you're turning your crust into garlic bread, and if you chose to stuff your crust, then you are turning your crust into cheesy garlic bread.
it's everything you've ever wanted in a pizza crust.
i promise:)
7. bake at 425* for 15-18 minutes.
sometimes i bake at 450*, but i make sure to REALLY keep an eye on it as it gets closer to 15 minutes so it doesn't over cook the crust. start with 425* the first time you cook it to see how your oven does. if you like a crispier crust, i would recommend 450*, but KEEP your eye on it;)
8. cool for 5-10 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

it's the most time consuming pizza i make,
BUT
IT'S THE 
MOST DELICIOUS PIZZA 
I'VE EVER MADE.
IN
MY
LIFE:)
worth every minute!

HELLO SHOE ORGANIZATION HEAVEN. {we've been looking for you}

no more searching for the other shoe in the pair,
only to switch halfway through your search b/c you're convinced the other shoe you just found will be easier to find,
at which point you drop the first shoe you were looking for,
and end up finding the mate to the first pair you had,
but lost when you gave up and started looking for the next.
three different pairs in three different sizes,
and they all need them before you can leave your house.
and
then
you
still
have
to
find
YOU OWN
shoes.
OH THE AGONY!!!
goodbye shoe basket,
HELLO SHOE ORGANIZATION HEAVEN:)
kids get the bottom drawer,
we get the top.
the rest of my shoes are in cubbies in my closet upstairs.
the ones i wear most often throughout the week get to bask in the glory of
the shoe dresser by the garage door.
THANK YOU IKEA.
$129.
the best piece of furniture we have EVER purchased.
buy
one
immediately.
you're welcome in advance.
:):):)

Friday, August 30, 2013

day 4 & 1/2 {first responder & hazmat crew}

day 4 & 1/2
1:05am-chase pukes milk all over me.
three times.
hair.
chest
legs.
and i had even showered less than 12 hours before.
pity.
i shower.
sean bathes chase.
change of clothes.
throw in load of laundry.
we watch barney in bed.
chase drinks blue powerade.
we all go back to bed.
except for me b/c i stay up coughing.
couldn't stop.

"somewhere in the middle of the night AM"-
max comes in wanting milk and a "bee-na-na."
sean takes her downstairs.
puts her back to bed.
she comes in again.
he goes to lay with her in her bed.
i start coughing again.
we all fall back asleep.

6:36am-chase pukes blue powerade all over me.
three times.
chest.
legs.
feet.
my hair was spared this time.
yesssss:)
i shower.
sean gives chase a bath.
we are a well oiled machine of puke clean up at this point.
i wipe down the floors.
put towels over and under the part that hit the edge of the bed.
put the first load of laundry into the dryer.
throw in a second load of laundry in.
we watch barney in bed.
i tickle/scratch chase's back until he's in a coma.
i think he is the cutest sweetest thing laying there all curled up on the pillow in our bed.
we put him back to bed.
i tell sean i'm a puke magnet.
b/c whenever one of our kids pukes,
i'm always covered in it.
he tells me that's because i'm the first responder,
and then he said that he's the hazmat crew.
we laugh really hard at this.
i slide up against him on his side of the bed, 
so i don't have to lay by the puke spot that hit my side of the bed 
{it really didn't smell, and i wasn't changing the sheets. i just wasn't.}
thank you king sized bed.
where one side is on a different planet from the other.
heaven sent.
i start coughing again.
we fall back asleep.
the alarm goes off to get brennan up for school.
FRIDAY BEGINS:)
i'd say we're off to a great start!
have mercy.
the good news: i know it's not an ear infection.
hip hip hooray!
seriously though, this is really exciting.
i've got to say, it IS pretty funny.
first responder and hazmat.
we make a good team.
HAPPY FRIDAY.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

growing pains {1st week of kindergarten}

the cherry tomatoes in the center of the bush are always the trickiest to get out.
i
love
sunflowers:)
welp, 
let's wrap up the first week of kindergarten so far...

day 1:
sad he's gone. 
put away every piece of laundry in my house.
everything is clean and quiet.
celebrate with chick-fil-a.
this is gonna be great!

day 2:
really, 8:15am again?
this is early.
yes, you can play at cade's house again.
max is bored out of her mind.
chase is teething and whining.
my house is a mess.
we watch tv all day.
go to ikea at night.
brennan goes into the play center.
i love ikea.
brennan and max stay up late laughing and playing in bed until after 9pm,
even though they were put to bed at 7:45.

day 3:
brennan doesn't want to go to school.
why does kindergarten have to be so early?
he wants to know why i signed him up for mornings, 
and when he can watch tv and play with a phone?
chase is teething and miserable.
he won't eat.
must be held.
fever hotter than Hades.
green poo.
i'm still sick with a cold.
going on day 8.
max is bored out of her mind.
she refuses to watch tv.
i drag brennan and cade to my house, 
promising them mac & cheese and an hour of lego batman on the wii.
brennan thinks i'm the meanest mom on the planet.
he and cade want to live together.
they are mad that susie and i won't let them.
i feel sad b/c i don't feel like i've seen brennan in 3 days.

day 4:
sean gets irritated with the safety patrol about the drop off rules for kindergartners.
we laugh about it when he gets home, and i am still in bed barely opening my eyes 
{i was up with chase and another Hades hot fever last night, so hot it burned my lips, i kid you not. gave him some motrin, rocked him for half an hour while his fever came down, 
and remembered how much i love holding a baby that sits on my chest 
all snuggled and sleeping--flashbacks of life before tubes.},
and then we talked about how he'd better just walk him in every day until brennan can walk by himself from one side of the school to the other from the drop off line to the kindergarten part of the school.
i complain to my friends about how i don't like the drop off and pick up routine 
while i'm visiting teaching, one says she saw sean this morning, 
we laugh about that, continue to gripe about how people get out of their cars 
and the pick up and drop off at the school is annoying.
then i left to pick up brennan and try to avoid going through the pick up line,
by parking on the street in front of the school,
behind another car that did the same thing
{i'm thinking that my luck is on today and that i must have hit it at JUST the right time
with all of these open front curb spots available. i was feeling SO awesome},
and then when i'm walking back with brennan, 
i see a motor officer 
writing 
me 
ticket:)
yep.
and i realize 
that the reason why no one was parking there 
was because it was illegal to park there.
he voids my ticket, 
i thank him profusely,
all in front of the principal and two kindergarten teachers,
and other parents following the pick up line rules.
--SO EMBARRASSING--
but not really b/c then i walk off with a smile 
b/c thank the heavens above!!!
for the first time in my entire life
i got a warning.
and
not
a
ticket.
and in my defense,
i really did believe it was ok to park there.
bless that motor officer for having pity on a 1st time kindergartner mom.
we come home,
brennan tells me i'm the meanest mom for not letting him play with cade,
even though they've played after school for 3 days in a row,
AND i make him tell me about school when he gets home instead of watching tv.
it feels good to be getting into a new routine.
our garden is bursting.
max is my gardening helper.
i love it.
but she is just mostly lonely for brennan.
he tells me he loves kindergarten,
he's learning the pledge of allegiance,
and they are supposed to wear red tomorrow.
i can already see he's more grown up today
than he was on monday.
i'm so proud and happy for him.
and he says he's really tired,
and doesn't want to go to morning kindergarten tomorrow.
i wonder what will happen on DAY 5?
...
this is the only picture i have of brennan from this entire week 
b/c i haven't seen him 
in 
days.
weird.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

SALSA CANNING RECIPE {no peeling necessary}

 SALSA CANNING RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
8 cups very ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped 
{do NOT peel or seed the tomatoes!--this is the BEST part of this recipe.
SAVES you steps, and gets your salsa going faster.}
2 1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups mild green Anaheim-type peppers, chopped
1 cup jalapeno peppers, minced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 tsp cumin {1tsp if you don't like spicy}
2tsp black pepper
2tbls canning salt {also called pickling salt--no iodine}
1/3 cup white vinegar
15 oz tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. you can hand chop everything as directed above OR you can use a higher quality blender. we have a ninja, and that it was we do to save on time. if you want a chunky CHUNKY salsa, do hand chopping. 
if you don't mind a medium chunk then make things easier for yourself and USE YOUR BLENDER:).
2. if you are USING YOUR BLENDER the key is to layer things in the right order so that it doesn't end up in a pure liquid, unless you want a pure liquid salsa, and then it doesn't matter.
ONIONS
ANAHEIM PEPPERS
JALAPENOS
TOMATOES
{i recommend hand chopping the garlic 
b/c it just doesn't get chopped up well when you're pulsing the salsa.}
**if it doesn't all fit in one blender you can split it up, 
layering each time, 
or just do one layered batch of everything, 
and one of just tomatoes, 
pulsing less with the tomatoes b/c they are do delicate and "mush" faster.**
3. in a NON-ALUMINUM pot, mix everything together except for the lime juice and cilantro.
4. bring the mixture to a boil. continue boiling 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.
6. fill six pint jars {or your choice of jars} with hot mixture 
{i prefer wide mouth pint jars for my salsa making}.
7. wipe rims and add lids and screw-bands.
8. process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes if you're doing pints,
or 25 minutes if you're doing quarts. 
{add 10 min. to either time if you live in utah for elevation.
for example: i process my pints for 25 minutes and my quarts for 35 minutes
click here for an elevation guide}.
{make sure the boiling water is deep enough to cover the jars by 
at least ONE INCH, and start timing when the water starts boiling after adding the jars.}
Click HERE for a CANNING "HOW TO"!
24 pints under our belt.
we want some more, we want some more!
my canning buddy is my favorite part.
church clothes, gloves, and all.
such a champ.
:):):)

Monday, August 26, 2013

i'm just a sucker for pomp and circumstance.

"i hope there's gonna be show and tell, 
'cause i love show and tell."
-brennan
...
age: 5
favorite color: blue
best friend: cade
favorite animal: tiger
what do you want to be when you grow up: policeman
where do you want to live: california
favorite sport: soccer
favorite food: macaroni and cheese
favorite thing about yourself: being myself
favorite movie: batman
favorite super hero: batman
favorite holiday: halloween and christmas
favorite song: phillip phillips
favorite tv show: batman
favorite day: every day
favorite treat: cookies
favorite drink: rootbeer soda
favorite number: 6
favorite toy: superman
what are you most happy about this summer: mom
favorite memory about summer: going to the zoo with cade and blake
what are you really good at doing: jumping
favorite thing to do at home: play toys with max
what super power do you wish you had: 
flying and strong b/c i like being strong and i've always wanted to fly
favorite book: lego star wars
what is hard for you: nothing
what makes you happy: a hug and a kiss, but from mom's that don't wear lipstick on sundays
i started to tear up when he gave me a hug and a kiss.
and again when he walked under that banner on the red carpet.
so i figured i'd better just walk fast to my car if i was going to cry.
but by the time i got to the car, 
i couldn't muster one lousy tear.
i'm just a sucker for pomp and circumstance i guess.
 ...
susie and i picked the boys up and took all of the kids to chick-fil-a.
where they told us that they read a story,
had recess,
found their bins,
were unsure if they had name tags on their desks or not,
and really, couldn't remember where their desks were anyway.
brennan told me he was sitting by a girl with hair.
clearly disappointing to him, which i thought was hilarious.
and then they ran off to play in the play zone.
 oh to be finished with your 1st day of kindergarten.
...
right before bed we couldn't find monkey anywhere.
all of a sudden brennan said he remembered where he was.
in
his
backpack.
and i was all, "why??!! monkey shouldn't be going to school!"
and he was like, "i sneaked him into my backpack."
and i was all, "how come?"
and he was like, "so i wouldn't be scared or sad at school."
at which point my heart melted,
my brows furrowed all puppy dog like,
and i had to climb into bed with him.
so i could hold his hand,
with monkey on his chest,
to watch him fall asleep.
thank heavens for little boys.