Passing it on

So a couple weeks ago I bought Jamie Olivers Food Revolution. He asks in the beginning of the book to pass on the recipes to friends. So that is what I am doing. The cookbook is awesome and I recommend it, I have tried a few recipes now and I have loved everyone of them. The best part is that the kids have loved them as well.


This recipe says it will feed 4-6, I halved it and still had plenty of leftovers after feeding the three of us.


MACARONI AND CAULIFLOWER CHEESE BAKE
Half a head of cauliflower
Grate 8oz of Cheddar Cheese and 4oz of Parmesan cheese
Melting the cheese while the noodles and cauliflower cook

Getting ready for the cheese sauce

Cheese sauce with parsley mixed in

You can serve it just like this, or you can stick it under the broiler to make it all warm and bubbly. I sprinkled some garlic bread crumbs on the top for a little extra flavor

Yum

1/2 head of cauliflower

8 ounces Cheddar Cheese

4 ounces Parmesan cheese

a small bunch of fresh Italian parsley

sea salt

1 pound dried macaroni elbows

1 cup of sour cream

Remove the outer green leaves from the cauliflower and discard * Slice the end off the cauliflower stalk * Cut the head into small florets * Halve the thick stalk length ways, then slice thinly * Grate the cheddar and Parmesan into a large heatproof bowl * Finely chop the parsley.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil * Add the macaroni and all your cauliflower and cook according to the macaroni package directions * Place the bowl of cheese over the saucepan and add the sour cream * Carefully stir every so often until the cheese is smooth and melted * If the waters boils up beneath the bowl, turn down the heat a bit * Add all of the chopped parsley to the melted cheese and season with a pinch of salt and pepper * Carefully remove the bowl of cheese and set aside * Drain the macaroni in a colander over a bowl, reserving the cooking water * Return the pasta to the pan, pour the cheese on and stir * It should have a lovely, silky consistency, but if it is too thick add a splash of your cooking water to thin it out * At this point you can either serve it or finish it under the broiler to make it crispy and golden * Transfer it to your baking dish and place under the broiler *

Cow Complex

It all started last week when we were watching Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe was on a dairy farm and the show was about cows, how to clean them, milk them, and help them give birth including c-sections. It was pretty interesting and educational and the dirty humor went over their heads.
It showed how they put them all up on a big wheel and hook them up to pumps and milk them. We loved the part while they gave birth, they walk around with hooves and nose sticking out of them for a couple hours and then they lay down, mooo a lot and out comes the calf. I even got a little teary and Bear had lots of good questions. Then came the part where they had to give momma cow a C-section. They showed it all, cutting her skin and three layers of muscle and then the uterus. While they were doing this, I told Bear that this was how he was born. He looked at the screen wide eyed and then at me and then back at the screen, a look of pure horror spreading across his face. I knew then that I had made a mistake in sharing that information. But you can't unring a bell. So I explained to him how it didn't hurt at all and that was the only way he could of been born. It all worked out okay and mommy is fine. He then told me he was sorry. :(

So today we were riding in the car and driving past the cow farm on our way home. He randomly asked me if someday he could milk a cow. Here is how the conversation went from there:
Me: "sure, someday if we ever have the opportunity, you can milk a cow. Do you want to milk one to drink the milk?"
Silence for a good ten seconds.
Him: "No, why would I drink the milk?"
Me: "Because that is what you do when you milk a cow, you use that milk to drink."
Him(totally disgusted): "I do not want to drink cows milk."
Me: "You drink cows milk every day."
Him: "No I do not! I drink milk from the refrigerator!"
Me: "Where do you think that milk comes from?"
Him: "The store."

So now he has sworn off cows milk and he thinks it is so gross we drink milk from another animals "boo boos." Which I have to admit, after watching Dirty Jobs, I couldn't drink milk for a few days, I know that that is where milk comes from, but it still kind of grossed me out.

He did however inform me that he won't drink cows milk but if I could get some dinosaur milk for him he would drink that.

All by myself...

After four and a half years, my body is my own again. Since September of 2005, I have been growing children or breastfeeding, and for a little bit, I was doing both.

Like with Bear I swore I would let her wean herself. She would know when she was done. Bear went until 18 months when I was three months pregnant. She was at twenty months and still breastfeeding. It was just a morning feeding but it was 30 minutes long. For the big weekend away, I started to wean her. We went every other day. I would distract her in the mornings with a cup of milk or breakfast. It went well. She did fine. When I got back she asked for "boo boo" and I let her nurse, I did one side and was done. It hurt! So now we are done. She still asks for it every once in a while, usually when she is tired or gets hurt but is easily distracted with a cookie or something else.

The best part is? I get to wear pretty bras that don't have a clicky sound in them!

Sometimes I wonder if I share too much information on the internet. :)

There is no place like home...

I have been reconfirmed in my pure disdain of flying. Too many people. Too many things going on. Too many things that can go wrong. Lines. Teeny tiny little seats. Motion sickness. No taking a time out. Horrible little bathrooms. I could go on.
I decided that I am a road trip person. I don't care how long it takes me to get there. It is much better driving. I am in my own enviroment. I choose who I sit next to. I choose if I need to pull over and take a break. I control the sounds in my Jeep. I have a spacious heated seat that is really quite comfy. I guess the key word in there is control. I am a self proclaimed control freak. I like things done my way and in my time.
The trip was okay. I got to see Daphne and her family which was wonderful. Her kids are getting so big and they are so much fun. Our girls remind me a lot of each other. I think they would of been the best of friends getting into some mischief or another if they had grown up next to each other. :)
The retirement ceremony, the whole point of going, was beautiful. I have actually never been to a retirement before but I think this one was extra special. Tim was a mentor to me right after I made Second Class. He had a huge part in me becoming a strong second class and I believe making First class so quickly. He is a wonderful man that always put everyone in front of himself. He refers to me as his little sister. :)
I had a good time and even got to sleep in one day, but I was so glad to be home with my babies. I left early on Sunday and went standby on the way home getting me there five hours earlier. I got to put them to bed that night. Bear still keeps telling me that he missed me. And I think that Bug has been hugging me a little bit tighter since I have been home.

Imagine This

Her imagination lately has been really blossoming. She loves to make believe and she loves to play with her babies. She loves to put them to bed and feed them and make them talk on the phone. Today I caught her with all of her babies in the bathroom. They were all taking turns going "paw-e" on her little toilet. She has named her babies zucchini (nini), apple, noodle, and cookie.

Here is Bear playing Peter Pan:
And Bug got to be Hook:

Feeding her sheep at the plant:

She loves when I swaddle her babies, this is "Nini and Cookie"

That is Apple in the back that is talking on the phone:

Almost

She has been very much into dressing herself lately. We still have some work to do in that area though.

She is still learning the whole two legs holes = one for each leg. She would be golden if she were a mermaid though.

And she has got the putting on shoes thing down. Now we just have to work on matching the shoes first and using one left shoe and one right shoe.

She has also started showing great interest in the potty. Everytime Bear or myself goes, she has to get naked and sit on her potty too. She has yet to actually potty in the toilet, but I am intrigued at her interest in it. I know that it will be well over a year before we really start, and I am not going to push her into it, but when it is her idea, I am fine with playing along.

The icing on the cake

Finally got the chandelier up in her room. Now I just have to fix the paint thing and her room will be done! Isn't it pur-dy? It makes the room feel so-I can't even think of the word but I kind of want to put one in my room now!