Coast Trip - February 2010

We went to the coast last weekend with our bestEST friends. We had such a blast. Stayed at a 5 star resort with the ocean crashing right outside our balcony. Kids played and loved every minute. It was to short of a stay! Our camera battery died right after we took pictures of the ocean and so we are lucky my best friend's sister took these! Thanks!
Izzie loved running from the waves - we DID get SOAKING wet!

Matthew with his buddy Austin making mud pies.

My best buddy Tiff (with her niece). The coast was beautiful!

Oatmeal Wheat Pancakes

I haven't posted a recipe in a while. Sorry I have had blog issues, which have been resolved- thank goodness. But this recipe is a must! Next time I will make two batches and freeze one.


Oatmeal Pancake Mix (by my kitchen cafe)

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don't break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a side note, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it's worth keeping it around!

I put my mix in a freezer baggy and write the directions on the bag. It is so easy in the mornings and hardly any clean up. These pancakes were so good my niece said they are the BEST and better than any chocolate chip pancakes. And she is one picky eater! Try them and let me know. I haven't had any complaints on these babies and I feed 17 people daily!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Mermaid or a Whale?

I got this from my sister-in-law and thought it was so funny! Do you want to be a mermaid or a whale - me WHALE! (Remember the book, Blubber by Judy Blume?)

Recently, in a large city in France , a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.


To Whom It May Concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia , the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia .

Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human?

They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex?

Just look at them ... where is IT? Therefore, they don't have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads

the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, When I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨

Thanks!

Thank you for helping me with my blog! It worked!

Blogging Issues

Is any one else having blogging problems. My biggest problem is posting. I can't COPY/PASTE on my posts any more. If someone out there can help me out - please! I am to lazy to rewrite my recipes or jokes.

Matthew J.

I thought I would post a little on Matthew today. (I have been so bad about taking pictures I don't have any up to date pics of him - this is from November '09)

He started preschool this month and is loving it. Although he doesn't love to get up early to get ready (he has always been our good sleeper). He is bouncing out the front door to get to school. There is two Matthew in his class so he is being called Matthew J. Which just makes me laugh, because I will ask him what his name is and he will say, "Matthew J." He is learning new songs, nursery rhythms, doing tons of art work and learning so much that it make me know it is worth the money.

He also started Sunbeams in Primary and is so glad to be out of nursery. He likes to take his Book of Mormon with him and is trying to learn the new songs in sharing time. My little guy is growing up so fast. I love seeing him grow and learn, but I still want to kiss the heck out of those sweet cheeks. If only he would let me.

Izzie Update

I can't get enough of this little girl. She is so DELICIOUS! And she gives us such challenges and joys. For the past month she has been so sick, double ear infection, cough, runny nose, high fever and teething. I feel so bad for her...... and us! When she is sick, we get about an average of 5 hours of sleep a night. It is a killer. She screams and cries at night and John and I want to do the same. It is lucky that Matthew can sleep through all of it -(HOW?!! he is two feet from her). But now she is better (thank you drugs) and we are getting our rest. Back to 8 hours-thankfully. Izzie just started nursery (from missing so much from sickness) and hated it! She would scream bloody murder. So Grandma Stewart decided to go to nursery with Izzie and now she is doing so much better. She is growing into a little girl and I am amazed. She is doing really well with pointing to all her body parts and now is starting to talk. This girl would not and still sometimes will not talk! However you tell her something and she knows what you are saying and will go and do it. So now she is starting to talk! She says, Mama, Papa, Bye, Piper, Bubba (Matthew), up, and some other words we can't figure out, but I am so happy. We keep trying Daddy and all she will do is point to him. She knows who everyone is. If you say where is Matthew or Aunt Jen she knows! She loves her Aunt Jen so much. She will run to her as soon as we walk in the door and if she is busy, Izzie will make it known that she wants Jen NOW! Izzie will now nod her head yes or no if you ask her a question. I love it. Communication helps so much! She is so adorable with her personality and I love her dearly. I just wish she would let me take a decent picture of her!