Baby Fix

This last weekend I had to get a another baby fix. 2 of my cousins have babies that were at Thanksgiving. 1 baby however was missing - my youngest nephew Edison.

I called my sister and begged asked to come see them. They didn't want to be around a lot of people because Emerson had surgery on Monday. She said, "Come on over."

Mica and Isaak played with Evan and Elijah, while I held Edison. Emerson was in the room to, but he had bed head and no pants on, so he didn't get his photo taken.

What a cutie!

These are slightly out of focus, but he's still cute.

WW: Muscles by the Tree {Linky}

It Was Bound to Happen, but it Doesn't Mean I'm Happy About it

*Note don't read this while a small child is present.

Mica almost caught the Easter Bunny 2 years ago. He got up, and went to the bathroom when the Easter Bunny was in the middle of hiding things. The Easter Bunny dropped everything, and I said, "Mica you just missed the Easter Bunny. He hopped out the front door. Look at the mess he left!" He bought it. 

Last year he swore he saw Dad's shadow as Santa.

This year he kept going on about how the Elf on the Shelf isn't real, and asked me if Santa was real. Of course I said both of them were real.

I don't know who I was fooling. I wanted my kids to believe forever. St. Nickolas is in the encyclopedia after all. I know that probably doesn't mean much considering that they stopped making encyclopedias. We still have a set.

He looks a bit different in the encyclopedia though.

Source

Part of me just wanted the boys to figure our Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny on their own, and act like they believe for my sake. LOL 

But...when Mica couldn't shut up about questioning the man that lives in the North Pole I felt I needed to have a talk with him. I don't want him messing things up for Isaak. 

This morning, while Dad was in the shower, Isaak was still sleeping, and my TV was on I called Mica in my room to talk.

I just blurted out that Santa isn't real. He said, "You mean Dad is Santa?" I said, "Well kind of. It's more like Mom is Santa. I buy everything." 

Mica said, "I knew it." 

I said, "I know you knew it. That's why I'm telling you. Kids your age just figure it out. You still will get presents. I don't want you talking to other kids at school, or your brother about Mom being Santa. Some kids are younger than you are. They may not know about Santa."

He's in 3rd grade, but has an August birthday, so he could technically be in 4th grade.

Mica said with a big smile on his face, "Does that mean I get to be Santa for my kids?"

I said, "Yes it does." 

I said, "The reason that Mom brought a magic fairy dust dollar bill to Isaak was because I didn't see that idea when you lost your teeth."

Mica said, "You mean there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy?" 

Face Palm

Mica said, "You're the Easter Bunny to?"

I replied with, "Yes."

So he believed in a tiny fairy, and a bunny that hops throughout the house, but not a real jolly person named Santa.

Danish Dough Whisk Review

I mentioned a week or so ago that Isaak had his first Auntie Anne's pretzel, and he didn't know if it was bread or chicken. I said to Isaak, "We'll have to make pretzels similar to this at home." Isaak said, "You know how to make them?" I said, "Yep." He said, "I'd love that Mom."

I got a Danish Dough Whisk to review. I thought it was the perfect kitchen utensil to make homemade pretzels. 

Let me tell you the Danish Dough Whisk worked great!

Before I get into how to make pretzels here's a little information about the Danish Dough Whisk:

• It's rated 4 stars on Amazon. The cost is $17.90, but it's on sale for $9.95. There is a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of Kitchen Simple products.

• It's a 13.5 Dutch Style Stainless Steel whisk with a wooden handle.

• I like that it feels sturdy! When I used it I thought it wouldn't break things up, and would make a mess. Boy was I wrong. It's great for pizza dough, pastry, bread dough, homemade pasta, pretzel dough, and cookie dough.

• You can use it for baking and cooking. Many professionals use the Danish Dough Whisk as their secret weapon. 

• It's easy to clean! Most whisks are a pain in the butt to clean. I had no trouble at all cleaning this. 

Pretzel Time:

I haven't made pretzels in years. The kids loved making them, and eating them! I imagine they are healthier for you than store bought ones. I could have attempted gluten free all purpose flour, but stuck with the gluten this time. I didn't want to risk messing up the first attempt with the kids. 

All the mixing was done with the Danish Dough Whisk. You can see there is little mess. I used to use a wooden spoon for this, but the dough would stick to the spoon. This whisk was super easy to clean up! Isaak did some of the mixing.

Pretzel Recipe:

Pretzels

I let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. I put it in the lowest setting of our oven with a wet towel over the bowl. 

Take the dough out of the oven, and turn the heat up to 425 degrees. Knead the dough with 1/2 cup all purpose flour. 

I cut the dough into 12 pieces, and they each rolled the dough in their hands. Both boys loved making the pretzel shapes. They said they were making snakes. This was their favorite part! 

We made ribbon and pretzel shapes. It doesn't matter if they are a certain shape. They all taste the same.

Mica brushed on the egg mixture: 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon of water.

Isaak sprinkled on the  sesame seeds, and I sprinkled on the course salt. 

Cook until they are slight brown. About 20 minutes. They are so good!

You could opt to make a sweet pretzel. Just paint with the egg + water mixture, and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them. The ones I made do taste good dipped in a cheese dip. I didn't do all that, but it's good!

Have you ever made homemade pretzels before?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

ZP1-20 8" Green Earth Frying Pan by Ozeri Review

I was super excited to get a pan to review! Our old on the same size was getting a little lot worn.

The Green Earth Frying Pan is perfect for our every day cooking.

I cook our frozen homegrown chili peppers in olive oil, sometimes add sun dried tomatoes and/or ham. Once they are done cooking, I put the mix in eggs, and cook them. It's a great source of protein in the morning.

How do you like your eggs?

About the Green Earth Frying Pan:

Cost Value: $29.99, but on Sale for $21.00

It's an 8" Round Pan.

 

It's made by a company called Ozeri. They utilize GREBLON, which is an ultra-safe ceramic coating. Ozeri is on of the world's first frying pans to achieve non-stick perfection without harmful chemicals like PTFE, or PFOA. 

Many other ceramic cookware and conventional cookware brands achieve their non-stick performance through a coating of PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene), a synthetic substance that has waxy properties. High temperatures, PTFE starts to decompose and releases fumes. The fumes are so toxic, they can be lethal to small pets and birds, which is also harmful to humans.

In addition, traditional pans incorporating PTFE are often manufactured with the aid of PFOA (PerFluoroOctanoic Acid), which the EPA has classified as a 'persistent pollutant of the environment'.

With the Green Earth Pan's GREBLON ceramic from Germany, even under high temperatures, no toxic fumes are ever released into the environment. The Green Earth Pan utilizes a 100% ceramic coating inspired by nature - not a laboratory. The Green Earth Pan's ceramic coating is completely free of PTFE and PFOA, and far more durable and scratch-resistant than other non-stick surfaces. 

I noticed that the Green Earth Pan is easier to clean. It has a non-stick property. You can saute, fry, bake, boil, and braise with very little oil. 

The Green Earth Pan by Ozeri is made of the highest quality die-cast aluminum that allows for even cooking and fantastic browning without hot spots. It boasts a magnetized bottom for rapid heat transfer on induction stoves, and a heat resistant silicone coated handle. 

This version of the Green Earth Pan features a textured ceramic cooking surface. The elevations of the textured cooking surface create air pockets which distribute heat underneath food to enhance cooking performance. 

The pan comes with a protector just in case you want to stack it. We hand ours, so I'm not sure if this part will be used in our house. It's still nice they have it. 

The only thing this pan is missing is a lid. I like having a lid for my pans. We do have one that fits it.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. GREBLON ceramic made by Weilburger GmbH, Germany. Final assembly is in China. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Grandparent's Day

Grandparent's Day was awhile ago. I was waiting to post about it. I wanted to get the photo from the boy's school first. It took awhile to get it. The boy's school has the day once a year. 

Mica called my parents to invite them, and told them what's on the menu. He also called my Aunt, which the boy's both think of as a Grandma. She's at every family function. Their Apel Grandparents have always lived farther away, and can't attend events like this. When they are around they love seeing them to.

On this special day Isaak was in the bathroom for a really long time. I went in and saw him looking in the mirror trying to do his water sprayed hair. He looked up at me with his big sad eyes and said, "Mom I just can't get it to look good. I want to look good for Grandparent's Day." Now he had super short hair, and doesn't have to "do" his hair at all.

I thought it was sweet he wanted to look good for this day.

Grandparent's show up, eat lunch with the youngest kid, and the oldest kid gets to leave their classroom to eat with them to. Then they each show their Grandparent's their classrooms, and have a photo taken with them.

The photos have progressively gotten worse. I remember the first one, when Mica was in Kindergarten looking professional, and they gave us copies (one for us, and another for each set of Grandparent's that came). It's still nice that they give us something to remember.

Isaak looks so excited. It's not the best photo of Mica, but he was excited to.

In order it's my Aunt Becky, Isaak, my Mom, my Dad, and Mica.

What Did I End Up Bringing for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving went really well - except for the fact that Mica's eyes got all red from the cats. How I wish he didn't inherit that from me. I'm lucky my cousin is a pharmacist. I asked him if he could have 1/2 my Singular I had on me for an emergency. I'm still trying to take no allergy medicines. I was just getting immune to them. I seriously feel the same off them as I do on them. Mica could in fact take 1/2 my Singular, and a small dose of Benadryl. That took care of his eyes. He went on to play, and had a great time.

We had a ton of food. Everyone brings a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. I didn't take photos of all the stuff I brought.

Veggie Turkey Tray

I did take a photo of my veggie tray. Dad said that I already made enough things, but I wanted to make a veggie turkey. I bought a turkey craft set at Michaels, and used it for the tray. I cut up everything, and let Isaak place it around the blue plate. I always like using the big blue plate because it was my Grandmother's.

Stuffed Squash

I know my aunt that hosted the gathering loves squash. No one ever brings it, so I did. You can find the recipe here. I made it the same way, except peeled and cut the squash ahead of time. That way anyone could dig in without eating 1/2 a squash. I also replaced the brown sugar with coconut sugar, and did 1/2 pumpkin seeds and 1/2 sliced almonds. The below image looks pretty, but it isn't practical to eat the squash that way.

Source

Pilgrim Hat Muffins

I made pumpkin muffins. I used this recipe. It's so good. Then I topped the muffins with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, a Kebbler stripped cookie chocolate side up, another dollop of cream cheese frosting, and a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I piped yellow cream cheese frosting around the cookie and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. You can add a buckle to make it look more like a pilgrims hat. I didn't do the buckle part this year.

This is a photo from last year. I did just pilgrim hats this year with Kebler stripped cookies, and less piping. I actually liked them better this year. They were cleaner, and looked more like hats. No they are not good for you. I was expecting to have a lot of muffins left over, but only had 1 left. There were pies galore.

I also brought a bowl pomegrante seeds, which Isaak and I love.

The kids played with my cousin's kids. I talked with my aunts, my 1 girl cousin, oldest sister, and mom. Dad watched TV, and talked with my guy cousins. It was a good time.

It was freezing out, and the boys still played outside.

We got home at 7:15, and Mica put himself to sleep soon after. He had a food and drug coma going on. 

If I Was Hosting...

I'd seriously consider making this wonderful Balsamic Prime Rib with Pumpkin Gnocchi!

How did your Thanksgiving go?

I didn't do the Black Friday Shopping this year. We set up our Christmas tree instead. I even have a few gifts wrapped under it. 

Did you shop on Black Friday?

Random Tid Bits

I'm writing this on Monday so I can enjoy my Thanksgiving weekend. I hope you are enjoying yours!

1. At this point in time I'm still not sure about what I'm making for Thanksgiving. *Remember it's Monday. My extended family gets together for the day. I usually end up bringing something someone else has already brought. I don't want to veer off of Thanksgiving food, but I don't want to bring a repeat of something someone has brought either.
   
   I was thinking of bringing a veggie tray looking like a turkey - this is one I made last year
   
   
   
   
   A bowl of pomegrante seeds - because Isaak and I love them
   
   
   
   
   Pumpkin Humus *Daddy says it sounds gross, but I think it sounds good
   
   Pumpkin Crisp.
   
   I've been known to change my mind, so expect that. Daddy and Mica do not love pomegrante seeds, and I want to take stuff we all like. Even though there will be gobs of food from other people there.


2.  I dislike it when people are all grumpy during the holidays. I actually feel this way any time. If you're grumpy vent, or keep it to yourself. Some of you may remember a time where I talked about a guy at work that grunts when I walk in the door. Seriously a grunt is all I get. I smile and say, "Hi!" every time. Maybe that makes him grumpier. I believe in feeding kindness though. Today as we both walking in the break room I said, "It was so warm on Saturday, did you get a chance to ride your bike?" He gets excited about bike riding. He replies back with, "No I didn't, and I don't want to talk about it." Ok then! I wish people would see how others feel sometimes when they are grumpy. It's like my good mood was flushed down the toilet. I know it's unrealistic to be happy all the time. On the flip side it's a real downer if you're grumpy all the time!


3. The boys wrote out lists for our Elf on the Self. *Shaking my head! I had already bought most of their gifts. All the things I've bought are things they've talked about. They are getting a few things on their list, and other stuff they are now getting for their birthdays. You'd think I'd learn to wait, but I get shopping fever, and just want to get it all out of the way.


4. My youngest sister's clan won't be at our Thanksgiving celebration this year. :( I'm sad because my boys love playing with their cousins the same ages as them. Emerson is set to have surgery on a few things in December. The surgery was moved once. He had a double ear infection last week, and it may get moved again. There is a team of doctors that are doing different things to him. Moving surgery dates around isn't easy! He has to be well for awhile before being putting him out for surgery. They don't want to chance him getting sick. I don't blame them, but I'll miss them.


5. I hope you all had, or are going to have a great Thanksgiving! I know some people celebrate the weekend afterwards.