IN OTHER NEWS

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics were Friday night...

and, as we all know, I'm a bit of a weird, over-excited, almost embarrassing Olympic FANATIC!

So... it was a big deal

When I mentioned to Brinlee that the olympics were starting, she said "Fun! What's the olympics?"

Sheesh.  I can't have questions like that in my house!!!  So, I decided we'd better get into the spirit a little.  

Starting with food, of course.  

How do you like our olympic ring lunch plate?  

And our decorations? 

For dinner we decided to go Rio style and try our hand at some Brazilian cuisine.  And it turned out really yummy!  We had mocqueca de camaroes, feijao e arroz, sumo de manga, and bolinhos de chuva. Translation (thank you translate.google.com): We had Brazilian shrimp stew, beans and rice, mango juice, and Brazilian raindrop donuts.
Delicious.
I was more proud of it than I should have been...

McKenna was in bed before anything started, and Brinlee didn't even sit still long enough for me to take a picture.  Once the ceremonies started and she saw what they were, and then realized we weren't actually going to Brazil, well then she had had enough. But she did wear her "America flag" shorts. And it did seem to put her in a go-get-em spirit.  She volunteered to finish up the dinner mess, and then did an awesome job! The gold medal for dishwashing definitely goes to this darling little champion.

We're pretty pumped for the next two weeks!
Ok, well at least I am...
Woo!
Go Team USA!

And as long as we're traveling the world from home, why not hit Ireland next?  

Dublin Ohio does an Irish Festival every year that we figured we should probably go check out.

Now this is rare footage here.

A sight not seen very often these days.

Proof that Tim and I do actually get out of the house together once in a while without kids,

and still do occasionally do fun things!

Irish things, in this case.

This moment was brought to you by our fabulous friends/neighbors/babysitters extraordinaire!

Thank goodness for date night!

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Lookie lookie!!

Ignoring the fact that neither of us know what we are doing at all, we went ahead and planted a garden this spring.  And would you believe it's actually doing something!

A few weeks ago we pulled some radishes, this last week we cut a bunch of lettuce and kale, we've had a couple peppers, some yummy peas, we have several cucumbers almost ready, some tomatoes starting to turn red, and some carrots almost ready for munching!  There's something so satisfying about eating food you grew yourself. And it's been really fun watching Brinlee get excited about "our cute little plants"... even though she keeps telling me to be careful going outside because there's probably a giant at the top of our beanstalks.  Who knows, maybe she's right!

Baking Buddies

Last night we finished dinner surprisingly early, daddy ran off to scouts, and the girls and I found ourselves with a whole evening to fill.  I was in the mood for a tasty treat, as always. So after tubbies we headed to the kitchen to bake up something sweet!  Can I just say, these two girls are simply the best little buddies!!  Brinlee was so cute and so fun, and actually an impressive helper!

This one was totally curious about everything happening, but was most interested in rolling (yes rolling! more to come on that later) all over the kitchen floor.

It was the perfect evening.  I feel 100% confident in saying that I am the luckiest mama ever!

I have the best little baking buddies ever to come along.

And I LOVE them!

Dinner For Breakfast

I think I've mentioned before that Brinlee isn't the best eater.  She'll sit all night if the dinner option isn't something she loves.  Or even if it is something she loves but her mood isn't right.  It's frustrating.  So we started setting her a timer.  If she hasn't finished by the time she hears the ding, then we get her down and she gets to try again in the morning.

Dinner for breakfast. Yum.

Last night was a night she wouldn't eat.  So this morning she was awake, super hungry, and up to the table with that dinner in front of her by 6:15.  At 9:22, after I had gotten McKenna up and fed, started some laundry, bathed and dressed McKenna, taken my own shower, and put McKenna down for nap, I came down to find an empty plate and this...

It took her three hours, and tuckered her right out, but she did eat that dinner!
Poor thing.
It's tough being little.

Mary Poppins Parenting

Green Smoothie Face...

vs JELL-O Face.

You know what they say (or at least what Julie Andrews says anyway), 

"a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"  :)

Dieting?

Just about every morning for the past month I've told Tim we need to eat better and are going to be starting a diet.  He's learned to tune me out.  Apparently, for me, "starting a diet" means eating oatmeal for breakfast, skipping lunch (because healthy options take way too much work), and totally abandoning ship for dinner because I'm A: too tired, or B: too lazy.  Just last week I gave my morning soapbox speech yet again, and that very night we had pizza for dinner, the next day we made brownies, and the night after that, Tim ran to the store for nothing but Twinkies and Cupcakes.  

Yes, we were thrilled to see Hostess make a comeback and we are not ashamed to admit it.  I know, I know, they're terrible for you.  But my goodness, it's childhood in a wrapper!  I used to live for a trip to that day-old Hostess store and can still smell the sweet scent that hit you at the door.  Every kid needs to experience a Twinkie!  I guess we're still just kids at heart.  The boxes were empty the next day...

I am hoping to stay motivated about better food one of these days.  Anyone have any good tips or meal ideas?  Pizza is just too tempting for us.

Counter-Top Cooking Companion

I was pretty young when I started climbing up on the counter to help my mom in the kitchen and I remember loving it.  So, it only seemed natural to start Brinlee young too.  And so far, she loves it.  The kitchen is just so cool!  

Yesterday evening we made a salad.  I always thought I knew how.  But Brin's 3 step salad plan is way more fun than mine.

Step 1: Examine your head of lettuce thoroughly

Step 2: Make sure you check its durability

Step 3: Definitely taste it a few times

And voila!

Today we ventured back into the kitchen and Brinlee had her first go at wheat bread making.

 

She didn't think the dough actually felt as cool as it looked.  In fact, she was a little weirded out.  But it made for a super cute little loaf.

If cooking wasn't fun before, it sure is now.  I have the world's best little kitchen companion!

Pizza and Fondue and Smores, Oh My!

As promised, photo proof that we are dating and love it!

Week One: Home Made Pizza
Even down to the crust and sauce, yes sir this was a true blue homemade pizza!



Week Two: Theme Night
Tim did all the planning on this one and I was treated to a Night in Italy, complete with fondue (which may actually be French...), Pavarotti, and the movie Letters To Juliet.  So fun! 

Week Three: Smores
How convenient that for Christmas we got marshmallow roasting sticks.  Tonight we pulled those bad boys out, fired up the stove, and enjoyed a huge sticky mess.

Huge coincidence that so far, all of our dates have been food related...
We haven't picked yet for week four, but I'm finding myself a little giddy about it!  This new year's resolution may actually go all the way.

And now the how-to's, so you can date too.

Pizza Crust:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pizza Sauce:

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

6 fluid ounces warm water

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Fondue:
1/2 pound shredded swiss cheese

1/2 pound shredded Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup milk and a splash of lemon juice as needed for texture

Simmer milk and lemon juice in fondue pot. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, 1/4 pound at a time. Stir after each addition of cheese until melted. Stir in flour. When all the cheese has melted, stir in salt and nutmeg. Serve with cut-up French bread.

Kitchen Mishaps

I have heard it said (not by anyone specifically) that a woman's place is in the kitchen... either that is not true, or I am not a true woman because lately, every time I'm in the kitchen, something bad happens.

The other night we mixed up a batch of cookies but discovered we had no eggs.  So Tim jumped online to look up egg substitutes.  I should have known we were doomed to fail when the first one that came up called for two egg whites... obviously that would have been my first choice, but given we had no eggs (hence the original dilemma), we tried the next one...

Unfortunately that night we had no cookies.

The next day we emptied a pitcher of juice, and given that we have a dishwasher now (which I love!), I loaded that sucker in there and ran a load only to come out an hour later with this.

Apparently that wasn't dishwasher safe. Good to know.

And tonight while baby girl was in her chair at the counter helping me with dishes, she had a major blowout that somehow ended up all over the kitchen counter.... so gross.  I'm not including picture evidence of that as per request by the perpetrator herself, she was a little embarrassed.

The kitchen hasn't all been disaster though.  Brinlee had a successful (and messy) go at cereal and consequently had a super fun bath in a tubby just her size.

So Brinlee has figured it out and made up for her kitchen fail, it's mom and dad that need to get with the program.  Hopefully we break the kitchen fail streak soon.

Mallows

My mom informed me this morning that today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day!  Fantastic!!!  And how do you pass up toasted marshmallow day without enjoying some sticky white goodness?!

We followed the instructions from this childhood favorite here (highly recommended... both the treat and the movie that is) and voila!

Happy Mallow Day one and all!

What's New?

Extra Extra Read All About It!  Hot off the press, a
Borup Family Update: 

Our little family has been super busy lately with quite a bit of new and exciting stuff!  I am now a workin' woman.  That's right, I have a New Job!!!  It's my first real nursing job actually, so I've been learning my way around the hospital for the last few weeks and am trying to get a hang of things.  But so far I am loving it!  The twelve hour shifts get a little long, but the New Numbers in our savings account are wonderful!

Plus, I've been able to justify a few New Additions to my wardrobe.  My New Tennis Shoes are getting a workout, and I went and bought some New Scrubs, which are super cute, but unfortunately may not fit for much longer thanks to my New and Increased Belly Size.

Baby girl is 35 weeks along now and still busy growing!  Which is good, but we've had to experiment with some New Sleeping Arrangements... namely lots of pillows.  :)

The man of the house has had quite a schedule as well.  A couple weeks ago Tim went to Utah and presented a New Batch of Research at a conference, for which we bought him a New (and quite dashing looking) Pair of Slacks.  Last week he finished up finals and now has some New Grades on his transcripts, and this week he has been enjoying some New Free Time while he waits to start a New Semester on Tuesday. 

On a non-academic note, Tim has discovered a New Love for cooking!  Actually, he probably would not agree with that... but after a long day at work I sure love it!

In other news, we have discovered a  New Favorite Treat and in the last two and a half weeks have shamefully devoured three batches of caramel corn...

The New Springy Weather finally showing its face is perfect for a New Hobby though.  We had a fun park picnic and have gone on a few sunny walks. which burns calories, right? ... so I say bring on the carmel corn!

We have a New Lamp in our living room, and actually now have a completely New Apartment Set-Up conveniently conducive to the soon-to-be New Baby (more info on that forthcoming).  My sister got married last weekend and we now have a New Member of the Family!  Big congratulations to the Stanford's and warm welcomes to David, we look forward to the memories!

And we just got our New Favorite Movie in the mail!  We Bought a Zoo - Highly recommend it.

And that's all for now I think.  Stay tuned for the next
Borup Family Update!