TidBit Tuesday

Food has always been a major tradition maker in my family. As a small child I remember specific events, holidays, and occasion marked with certain food items. My mom is an incredible cook and baker! Here are three of the food traditions that she had, and that I have continued to carry over into my own family to some degree! Thanks Mom - you're the best!

#1: General Conference = Cinnamon Rolls: Nothing says General Conference (a worldwide broadcast from the LDS church leaders to the entire membership of the church - we get a chance to hear from the prophet and apostles and recieve guidance on issues that affect us today) more than yummy, hot sticky cinnamon rolls dripping with frosting and a cold glass of milk. EVERY General Conference we eat cinnamon and Shawn doesn't mind a bit that I feel that this is a tradition worth continuing! So if you happen to be around our house this Saturday or Sunday, you'll be able to sample one these favorite treats. If not, here's the recipe:

Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls
2 Tblsp yeast
½ cup warm water
1 Tblsp sugar
Mix and let rise in a cup

¾ cup sugar
1-2 Tbsp salt
¼ cup butter
2 cups scalded milk
4 slightly beaten eggs
6 cups flour
Mix sugar, butter, milk, and salt. Add eggs to cool. After cooled add yeast mixture. Add flour and let rise for 1-2 hours. Roll dough out using flour generously, the dough will be very sticky. Melt ½ cube of butter and spread on dough. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Roll and slice. Dip rolls in ½ cube of butter and place on a cookie sheet. Let rise for ½ hour. Bake at 375 for 22 minutes.

#2: Scone Day = Scones of Course! Every Wednesday was my mom's day off from work and she would cook us lunch, which consisted of a main course and scones from her homemade bread dough on the side. This special day was one that I always loved as a child and one that grew in popularity, as we began bringing our friends over to eat lunch with us! By the time I was a junior in high school, my older brother and I had 30-40 people eating lunch with us every Wednesday! Seriously it is crazy now that I consider the number of people my mom graciously fed each Wednesday! I love my mom especially for this tradition - she always loved us and our friends and makes anyone who enters our home feel welcome. I don't have scones every Wednesday - to Shawn's dismay - but if I ever make bread, I will always set aside some dough and fry scones with it. As my boys get to be school age I hope to be able to carry this tradition on to them. Here's the bread dough recipe (which by the way makes INCREDIBLE! bread) and you just take the dough and fry it in vegetable oil until cooked through and serve hot, with honey butter!!

Mom’s Homemade Bread
½ cup warm water
2 Tblsp yeast
1 Tblsp sugar
Mix ingredients together, let yeast react. Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl.

¾ cup sugar
¾ cup oil
2 Tblsp salt
5 cups hot water
8 cups flour

Mix and add yeast mixture. Add 4-6 more cups of flour. Work dough until no longer sticks to hands. Grease bowl with oil, let dough rise for 1 hour. Makes 5-6 loaves (raise in loaf pans for an additional 30 minutes) Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Coat top with butter when done.

#3: Leg of Lamb = Easter: Most people might have ham for Easter, not us! My mom's father was a sheep rancher and therefore, we grew up eating lamb (and in some cases raising the lambs and then eating them at adulthood! Sick, I know!) Leg of lamb, lamb chops, lamb stew... you get the idea. Lamb is definetly a specific tasting meat and when cooked well, is DELICIOUS!! My favorite gravy comes from a good lamb roast - and for my entire life I've had lamb on Easter in some shape or form. Lamb is also pretty expensive, so I choose to go for the chops right now which are most cost effective for our little family. But nothing beats a good leg of lamb! Here's the recipe and if you feeling a need to branch out and explore this would be a good try!

Leg of Lamb

Coat roast with salt, pepper, and heavy garlic. Cook at 325 for 3 hours, use drippings for gravy.

What are some of your food traditions? I'd love to hear!

Saturday Soup

Things are growing here at the Summers' - Jack is growing, the daffidols are growing, my realization how out of shape I am is growing, & the love between the two boys is growing. Now for the explanation:
Jack had his 6 month check-up (a little late) he was 18 lbs.(75%) & 26 1/2 inches (50%). The doctor kept on emphasizing how fat he was and how he could stand to miss a few meals. Everything else was great! He is eating all sorts of yummy baby food - he gags down his peas, but really would prefer to eat steak and potatoes! He has also recently discovered his tongue. He must like the way it feels against his teeth and has been sticking it out on a regular basis.

I planted daffodil bulbs last fall in hopes that they would grow. Sam had other plans and turned by flower garden into his construction's dig site, so my hopes for them actually growing was dashed. However, the little buggers have withstood the test of time and some (not all) are starting to shoot through the ground!!

My sister Katie (NUTS - yes, nuts is a running machine! and a good one at that) asked me to run the Wasatch Back relay (156 miles from Logan to Park City, UT) assuring me it would be really fun, since you run it in legs with 12 other people. I said yes - and after about a week of trying to "run" (the parenthesis are necessary b/c if anyone were to see me "running" they'd pull off the road in a fit of laughter) I have realized how out of shape I am. My lungs are burning, my legs are burning, my ears ache, my butt aches, basically its not pretty! Hopefully my body will start to recall the good old days of prime fitness sooner than later...
My boys have become buddies. Who wouldn't want a buddy that is the perfect size of cargo for your John Deere pedal tractor? Jack is the perfect size and Sam loves carting him to and fro. They also like to swing together and Jack just adores about anything Sam does. There is one thing that I found he doesn't like - when Sam growls (which is frequent). This makes Jack cry, and Sam growl even more! We hope you are having a great week - its snowing right now! Spring where did you go?? Sam has learned to turn his frown upside down and loves it!!

TidBit Tuesday

#1: Drive In Movie! This is such a fun idea, and one that I did when I was in Primary, so you know it has to be good if I remember it!
You get cardboard boxes and convert them into a car. We did really simple ones for date night last month, just gluing on wheels and headlights, making personalized license plates and using pipe cleaners to make a steering wheel. When I did this for primary as a child we spray painted our cars and cut the boxes to make doors and the whole nine yards. Pop some popcorn and park them infront of the TV!


#2: Books with C/D for Kids. Sam LOVES these! We have Limu the Blue Turtle and he listens to it all of the time in the car, and if I need him to just sit still for 10 minutes, these are awesome. You can get a pretty good selection from the library as well, and they are great for your kids.


#3: Modest Swimming Suits! Yes you heard me - I found this AWESOME site that sells the cutest tankinis and one-pieces, and better yet the bottoms are modest as well. I have had a battle for the past 5 years to find a swimsuit that wasn't cut so low that even if I didn't have cleavage, I did (you know what I mean). These suits are super cute and cut to cover!! Hurray!

Saturday Soup - Spring Break

Sam was on "spring break" this week - so we took advantage of this excuse to go and play. It all started last Saturday at the Mall of America in Minneapolis! They have an amusement park inside the mall and Sam had a blast on the rides! He even braved the log ride, and came out saying that was a little scary. It was really nice to be inside and not worry about the wind or cold. Sam was overly excited to stay in a hotel and was up pretty late soaking in all the things that being a hotel means - complimentary soap, lots of TV channels, sleeping in his sleeping bag, oh yeah babe! While in Minneapolis we drove to Hennepin County Medical Center, where Shawn will be doing a rotation at in July. It is right downtown Minneapolis and will really be a good learning experience for Shawn. Shawn also dropped by at the house he had reserved a spot to stay in for that month, and lets just say he is going to continue looking at other options! The house was like 100 years old, with a wooden fire escape (nice engineering, huh). The guy that answered the door was like someone who stepped out of a good sitcom episode. He had just rolled out of bed, had a killer European accent, and really pessimistic attitude about life in general. If you're wondering how Shawn was able to gather all this information in a 5 minute visit, we'll say that Shawn's future roommate was VERY vocal about telling him how cold the weather and the people in Minnesota were and how "retarded" the fraternity and sorirety occupants were - basically he gave Shawn the heads up that he'd be miserable for 4 weeks! It was so funny, Shawn and I laughed about this for the entire car ride, and SHawn does a really sweet impersonation of him. After that adventure - we headed off to Storm Lake, IA to an indoor waterpark at King's Pointe Resort. This was also a huge hit with Sammy. I was SO excited that he finally decided to try the waterslide! Here's his reaction -

He spent nearly 2 hours going on the slide non-stop. The car ride to and from all these places was long, but fun for us and we played many a "I-spy" game. Shawn also recieved a speeding ticket for his efforts to get the fun to us quicker! Oh, well that's what we get for following the other two speedsters the cop pulled over with us. Seriously the police officer pulled 3 cars over and gave each of us a ticket! We were all confused as to why we were there! I guess the old idea of a rabbit car isn't true after all. We stopped at Blue Earth, Minnesota for lunch one day and found this awesome statue!!! Ho,ho,ho..... After getting home we had a super fun St. Patty's day party at our house, but I have no photage of that. Just imagine about 20 (yes 20) little kids dressed in green, running all over the back yard (it was 70 degrees that day), and 8 adults trying to keep them contained in my yard, there really wasn't time to even grab the camera. The food and company was great! The rest of the week we've continued to play, play, play! Jack's crib became a fort this week and Sam's teddy bears had graduated to "big boys"- very nice touch! Here's evidence of a SUPER dad! I couldn't quit laughing and Shawn is such a ham when he knows he's been filmed! What a stud! Jack got another tooth - totally 4 in all! This week sleep has been a little hit and miss, but overall he's done really great. He is such a happy boy and makes the funniest faces ever. Sometimes I really wonder if he looks at us like, "Man I can't believe I'm stuck with these goof balls." Here's a new trick of Jack's, sorry its not a very good video but you'll get the idea! Sam has been going through a "stage" we'll call it that, but he is extremely bossy, and likes to use this mean voice to command his servants (us). He also has discovered this scary look, where he rolls his eyes up into his head -and we'll just say it borders on funny and possessed! YIKES. I caught this moment on film yesterday. Someone help me.....

TidBit Tuesday

#1: Green Decorations: Okay, okay enough of the vinyl letter signs already! Hey, they are super easy and a super great way to decorate for any and all holidays! I get my vinyl from http://www.iasign.com/

#2: Green Food:
Roasted Asparagus
Trim asparagus, and lay in a cookie sheet pan. Coat with olive oil and aggressively season with salt and pepper. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, tossing after the first 10 minutes.

Brocolli Grape Salad
4 cups broccoli florets
1 cup red grapes (Substitute Green grapes for the Holiday)
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup diced celery
8 slices crisp bacon, crumbled

Mix and add the following dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/3 sugar
2 tsp vinegar

*Also can add red onion, sunflower seeds, and grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese.

Green Eggs and Ham à la Sam-I-Am (from http://www.suessville.com/)
1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
4 slices of ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1-2 drops of green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1. With an adult's help, melt a teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add sliced ham and brown until edges are slightly crisp. Remove the ham from the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.
2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat with a whisk until frothy. Then add 1-2 drops of green food coloring until you reach the desired shade of green.
3. With an adult's help, heat a tablespoon of butter or margarine in a large frying pan over medium heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Then add the egg mixture to the pan.
4. Stir the egg mixture with a spatula until the eggs are firm and not too runny.
5. Transfer the eggs to individual plates. Garnish with a sprig of parsley. Add the ham prepared earlier. Serve with toast or warm rolls.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone! Don't get pinched!!!

Mascara Giveaway - Okay not really a giveaway, but I can't use these anymore and they've never been used or opened, and I'm just seeing if anyone would want them before they go in the trash. Why is this? I had been battling a bad case of constant raccoon eyes for over a year, and I couldn't figure out why. Finally my sister told me she had the same problem and her solution was Covergirl. It turns out my eyelashes are only "compatible" with certain mascaras, and these aren't them - I'm a Covergirl, its for sure not Maybelline or Kirkland brand! Wierd I know... I have 2 Maybelline Great Lash Mascaras (very black) and 1 Kirkland Signature Lash Defining Mascara (black)...... let me know if you want them!

Saturday Soup - Early Bird Portion

Sam's best friend, Carter, is our backyard neighbor. These two literally wait for each other to make an appearance, and then they are both outside running around and having all sorts of funny "deep talks". This first started when we moved here two 1/2 years ago, they would pass each other bits of grass and talk about pb&j sandwiches. As you can see not much has changed, only their grass has turned to baseball bats, and their conversation is a lot louder and a little more in depth. We love Carter and Sam will be so sad when he won't have his fellow fence chaser to hang out with!























Jack got another tooth! His right top front tooth, and the left one is quickly following. We have also been working on getting him on a nap schedule (I know, I know, I should have done this from the beginning, but I didn't!) Luckily he has taken to it pretty well and I think that it is helping him and me:)



















Sam filled out all of his stickers on his chart and he requested ROLLERSKATES! Lightning McQueen ones of course. Sorry for the motion picture, but he hasn't gotten his rollerskating skills perfected yet! This is so funny to me, but I love that he likes random, off the beaten path things.
Both boys got a haircut this past week, Sam's is a little more obvious. Jack got a little trim to even out the 20+ visible strands of hair he has. The cold temps continue to hang on and the boys were pretty bored.






2 Hampers quickly turned into 2 Pirate Ships - Arrrrgh.... We're off to Minneapolis for the weekend to escape the cold in the Mall of America and an indoor swimming resort! We can't wait. Have a great weekend.

TidBit Tuesday

#1: I married an Artist! That's right Shawn is an artist. He got his degree in Visual Arts at BYU and he has done some amazing work. Here are three examples of some of his work, but there are about 8 others he has done for our families. He is SOOOOOO Talented! Sometimes to a fault.... it really is no fun to try to draw things for Sam, when Shawn will come home and redo my interpretation so well that it makes mine look like a 3 year old drawing.
Pencil Drawing of Me and Sam Stained Glass of Sam's Name
Oil of random old man!


#2: The Cousin Encyclopedia! Again my very creative family came up with this idea that we all love. It is a spiral bound book of Sam and Jack and all their cousins. My sister in law, Lisa, had each child answer 20 questions of favorites, likes, etc., and had us all send a current picture of them, and then they put it together from youngest to oldest and wholla... a book that we are always looking at! It is especially fun because we are so far away that the boys can remember their cousins better.
#3: Baby "play" Blanket: Nathalie close your eyes if you're looking at this... this one is coming to Rogan. My friend at church had one of these that she had made for her baby and I thought what a great idea. So here's what you need:
1/2 yard of 2 pieces of fabric (it will make three - I used a couple pieces of different soft fabric in this one, just because I like to break up the the pattern and use different textured cloth.)
1-3 spools of 1 inch matching ribbon.
I sewed it like a pillow and then flipped the material inside out and then sewed the rest up by hand.... sorry Nath, I'm not the greatest hand sewer. It was really fun and easy - it has to be easy for me to be able to sew it together!

Saturday Soup

Sunshine - blessed Sunshine!! Oh yeah babe, we enjoyed the BEST Thursday of the year. We had temps in the 70's, a trip to the zoo and park, and the best part...... Shawn was able to soak it all up with us. (This is a rare event as of late!) At the park Sam enjoyed fishing (poking the water with a stick) and scaling the rock wall. I have to say I was super impressed with his mad climbing skills. He seems to have a natural ability to navigate up the wall. We have also been trying to help Sam brave water a little more and so we got him some goggles. He was really excited about them, even wanted to put his swimsuit on in the bathtub and everything, but when it came time to put his face in, he wouldn't do it. Oh, well... the googles were still really cute! Jack is a Mamma's Boy! This is a both a joy and a pain, especially at night. We're trying to get him to only wake up 1 time at night, so Shawn's been making the stoic attempt to rock him back to sleep at night. Lets just say after 20 minutes of hearing Jack cry I go into the room, and he quiets down within 5 minutes and I'm able to rock him to sleep. Part of me LOVES this, the other part is crying for more sleep and wondering why he won't be more cooperative for his daddy! We've given him carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes so far. Jack has really taken to eating. The initial feeding is always so funny because he gives us the nastiest face! But he really would prefer to eat table food... and I'm bad because I give in to his little whines for a taste (don't tell my doctor!) Have a Happy Saturday and we hope that you had at least one SUNNY day this week. Right now I hear the buzz of the clippers, next week Sam will probably have no hair, how sad:(