potential e.coli has never tasted better.

When I picked up Liam was Preschool, I had forgotten about the pumpkin shaped cup in the backseat that (this morning) held cold chocolate. He found it and declares "Mamma! I found hot cocoa!" 

Cup was taken and immediately drained and washed at home. Happy Halloween, salmonella.

Baby Girl McCartney Guide

I am not a high maintenance. I do not love to shop. I do not own lipstick, a blow dryer, and most my clothes are from thrift stores. Therefore, going out and buying bows, tights, skirts, dresses, ruffly things, and those socks with the lace around the edges scares me to my very core. So, until Baby Girl is old enough to decide for herself how she wants to dress, we would prefer to keep things simple. Alright, so here are some examples of what Jerad and I like and do not like for girl clothes. And I will not put a gigantic headband bow on her head. Ever. Not even just for one picture. And don't even think about tutus. 

No. 

Approved.

No.

Approved. Animals are good.

This would be a no

per Jerad "nothing related to princess unless it pertains to Star Wars"

this girl is cute, but no giant bows please

This hat is cute, approved

No.

Approved

No.

Perfect!

Bronco Nation!

In case anyone did not know.....Boise State won its first game at Virginia Tech!! We take our BSU football very seriously here. Blue and orange everywhere!!

Pat's party

Final score on XM radio

sick day, but not from academia

My parents went home Friday morning, in time to miss Liam's cold. He stayed home from preschool Friday and is full of Benadryl, Motrin, 2 inhalers, and Vicks Vapo-rub today. He is feeling better though, in his pjs watching Bakugon and playing Bakugon on the Nintendo DS and also playing with actual Bakugon toys. Bakugon is the new Thomas. 

sick day

 He may have missed a day in school, but his mind is still there. I walked in the kitchen and he says "Look I spell ink!"

Quotes from a 4 year old

Molly "You have to wear a belt"

Liam "No I don't want to wear a belt"

Molly "Well your pants are gonna fall down unless you wear one. Your family is skinny and we all wear belts. Mamma wears a belt, your dad wears a belt, your papa wears a belt"

Liam "Papa isn't skinny so he wears....2 belts!"

Molly "Whatever you say, man"

He introduced me to a girl in his preschool class. "Hi kid! This is my best friend mom"

He also told me recently that kangaroos eat sharks.

PS. baby in utero is doing good. He rolls over and kicks all the time.

i will keep this forever

Liam decorated my assignment book :)

This is the usual attire for watching movies in this house.

hellllllo ladies

No pants? No shirt? Yoda hat? Baby, no problem.

"I'm a grasshopper!"

I had a quick visit to my OB/GYN yesterday morning and Liam tagged along. He grabbed some exam swabs (yes, that kind of swabs. at least  they were clean ones) and runs at me "mamma say AWWW!". When Dr. Klomp came in Liam put the swabs on his head and tells him "I'm a grasshopper!"

I stuck the swabs in his hat and then took a pictures (this needs to be documented) and he left the clinic being a grasshopper. I did however, take them out before he went to preschool "honey you can't wear gynecological swabs in your hat when you go to school" the things you think you'll never hear yourself say. 

When we picked up Jerad after work, Liam wanted to be a grasshopper again. I was OK with it, since it was really really funny. 

Pork chops, green beans, and onion rings

I simmered the meat in this mixture to make a glaze sauce:

apple cider vinegar, apple sauce, lemon juice, maple syrup, citrus marmalade (salt + pepper)

I added a little olive oil and stirred the liquid to cover the meat. Then put on a lid to simmer. 

onion ring batter: corn meal, rice flour, flax meal, savory spice mix

fried in canola oil

dinner!

GF Zucchini Muffins

Based on a recipe from the Babycakes NYC cookbook. Altered a little by me. 

You will need:

• either one cup of rice flour and one cup of tapioca, or one cup rice flour and one cup fava bean flour
• 1/2 Cup flax meal
• 2 Teaspoons baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 2+ Teaspoons ground cinnamon (I always add more)
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 Cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 Cup agave nectar, or 1 cup honey (will give it nice golden top). Sugar will do, add about 1/2 cup or more if you like things sweeter. 
• 3/4 Cup milk (cow, rice, almond, goat, whatever)
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (you can add 2 if you want, I prefer it with one)
• 3 Tablespoons applesauce (or you can use one banana)

1. Preheat oven to 375, prepare 12 cup muffin tin
2. Wisk flour, flax meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger
3. Add oil, egg, agave/honey/sugar, milk, and vanilla
4. Stir until smooth
5. Gently fold in zucchini and applesauce
6. Fill muffin cups until 1/3 full and bake for about 22 minutes (will vary by elevation, so stay nearby and check them often!)
7. Remove muffins and let them sit 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool. Store in airtight container up to three days. 

Tips:

• GF dries out fast, so adding banana or applesauce helps prolong the shelf life
• Agave and honey metabolize better than sugar and are better on the glycemic index, so if you are watching weight or your health its a good substitution. Honey is usually cheaper. 
• Muffins are often better GF than bread because the smaller shape is less crumbly and the paper or silicone cup will lock in moisture better.
• Avoid substituting GF All Purpose flour, you can use one cup of that and one cup rice flour. GF AP gets really dense and dry in baked goods.
• For egg allergy add more flax and xanthum gum.
• Poppy seeds are also good in this, or use lemon extract instead of (or with vanilla)
• Lemon or orange zest is also good and gives it a citrus twist. 
• If you plan on baking muffins often, I suggest investing in silicone muffin cups. I've had mine for four years and they are still in perfect condition. They are used several times a day during the holidays and i even use them to make corn bread, mini quiche, mini meatloafs, and or course cup cakes. They are about 6$ for 12. 

Liam's 4 year check up

Liam had his 4 year check up today, he had to get 2 shots (tears were shed) but is in good health.  A little on the skinny side, so I'm switching him to whole milk but he's otherwise doing fine. Good hearing, vision, and behavior.  Dr. Beauchaine listened to his heart and Liam said "my heart is strong and beautiful" Baby, I couldn't agree more.

 

Hey, Idaho

Want to know what's in season? The Idaho Preferred website has a printable calendar of our state's growing season. I have one hanging by my calendar.

Download a pdf free:

http://idahopreferred.com/assets/docs/Fresh%20Fruit-Vegetable%20Calendar.pdf

Shrimp scampi

You will need:

• 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp (just buy a bag)
• 1/4 Cup butter
• 1/2 Cup olive oil
• 8 shallots, chopped very fine
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Cup stewed tomatoes (I used canned)
• 1/2 Cup mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon salt (I don't recommend table salt, use kosher or sea salt)
• pepper, to taste (use a grinder, so much better)
• 1/3 Cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (fresh is nice, but you can add dry at the end of the recipe if its easier)

1. Clean the shrimp (unless you are a time saver and bought the clean ones). If you are feeling extra saucy, you can keep the shells in the freezer and make shrimp bisque later on (I will post a recipe for that soon)
2. Heat butter and oil in a pan. Then add shallot and garlic.
3. Saute, then add tomatoes and mushrooms.
4. Add salt and pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and shrimp
5. Heat mixture 10 minutes or until shrimp look done. 

Tips:

• Shrimp will go from a blue/gray color to pink when ready. Heating them too long makes them chewy. 
• This isn't a recipe you can walk away from, you will need to stay nearby
• Shrimp scampi is wonderful over white rice. The liquid mixture is great on bread. 

we added capers towards the end of the dish, they were delicious!

Liam would like to be with other kids.

I picked up Liam from preschool today and I guess he escaped the room. Not because he missed me or wasn't having a good time, but another class walked by on their way outside to play and Liam wanted to join them. He's done the same thing at the park with me, walked off and joined other families. 

I get him home today and he tells me "I can't eat my sandwich nice, I want to eat pickles"

We went to Sonic last night at 8pm and shared a banana split. Its one of the perks of having a pregnant mom.