Isaac The Fearless Visits The ER

Well, Isaac the Fearless was the first to make a visit to the emergency room. He split his chin, and while it clearly wasn't really bad, we still needed a doctor to take a look. Since we couldn't get into the doctor's office today, we headed to the emergency room.

Isaac had a 1 cm cut that left a nice little gap, even though it wasn't very deep. The docs put him back together with a little super glue (Dermabond) and pronounced him good as new.

Isaac shows off his repaired wound. Please ignore the supper on his chin.

Isaac wasn't even acting like a daredevil when the accident happened. We *think* he cut his chin on the panel door of our built-in cabinets in the family room after he slipped on some toys. I say think because there's always a lot going on in the playroom, so we didn't really see everything. In fact, it didn't bleed all that much, and Grandpa D. was the one who really noticed it was more than a little bump a short while after the crying had ended.

Our trip to the ER was pretty uneventful. The ER was very quiet, so Isaac enjoyed walking up and down the hallways and watching cartoons while we waited. He HATED the life-sized dancing Santa Claus they had in the hall, and gave it a very wide berth after one of the nurses turned it on for him.

Of course, Isaac was hollering mad after the docs glued him back together. I had to help hold him so they could do their job, and boy was he upset with me. Seriously. He wouldn't even let me pick him up. He sat on the bed and screamed. Then when I tried to pick him up he gave me a very mad look and screamed even harder. Eventually we made up, thanks to a peace offering of a bottle.

Personally, I consider it a minor miracle that we made it to almost 15 months before we had to take one of the boys to the ER. And I'm glad it was for a pretty minor injury. I just worry that we're being warmed up for bigger things to come, though I certainly hope not!

Tomorrow we'll move on to happier things when I can post the photos of our visit with Grandma and Grandpa D. and Uncle Jacob.

Water Parks and Breakfast Casseroles

So what do water parks and breakfast casseroles have to do with each other? Not much, really, it's just that I had planned a completely different post full of pictures from our afternoon playing at the indoor water park with Grandma and Grandpa D. and Uncle Jacob.

But, I left the camera at the hotel, so that post will have to wait. At least the camera still works, unlike the cell phone I dropped in my apron pocket yesterday...and then washed. UGH.

So, in lieu of fun pictures of everyone splashing around, here's what's for brunch at my house tomorrow before we celebrate an early Christmas with the grands and Uncle Jacob. (Amelia, by the way, thinks celebrating more than once is the best idea EVER.)

This is my all-time favorite breakfast casserole. I love that the potato crowns never get mushy like bread sometimes can. And don't skip the mustard, even if you don't think you like mustard. Trust me, it's what puts this over the top.

Ham and Potato Strata
1/2 package potato crowns (think flat tater tots)
1 16-oz package frozen cut broccoli
1 cup chopped ham
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Grease a 13x9" baking dish. Arrange frozen broccoli evenly over bottom, and sprinkle evenly with ham.

Cover with a layer of potato crowns.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk and mustard until smooth. Please don't skip the mustard, I beg you! It's what makes the dish, and I say that as someone who doesn't really like mustard. If you don't have ground mustard, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard. Pour egg mixture evenly over the potato mix in your baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Perfect by itself! Add a little fresh fruit and coffee cake or muffins, and you've got a very nice brunch fit for celebrating the holidays with family and friends or just for treating yourself.

Tomorrow, pictures of the water bugs. In the meantime, enjoy!

There's Still Time To Make Christmas Toffee!

We are five days away from Christmas, but there's still time to make a little candy to add to your holiday goodie plates.

Don't worry, no candy thermometers or dipping in chocolate here. This recipe is easy. All you need are three ingredients, a little stamina and some guts.

The three ingredients are butter, sugar and plain Hershey bars. The stamina is required for stirring CONSTANTLY. The guts? Well, you've got to cook the butter and sugar together on HIGH heat until the sugar caramelizes. You can't wimp out and turn down the heat.

Ready?

Take a deep breath and go for it! You can make it with or without nuts.

Chocolate-covered Toffee

Butter a cookie sheet and sprinkle evenly with walnut or pecan pieces, if using.

Unwrap 4-5 plain Hershey bars, depending on how much chocolate you like on your toffee. You can omit the chocolate if you want to, but why would you want to?

In a large heavy-bottomed kettle (this stuff really expands!) cook together over HIGH heat, stirring CONSTANTLY:
2 C. white sugar
2 C. butter

Do NOT chicken out by turning the burner down. If it smokes, turn on the fan. Keep stirring.

Cook until the mixture turns a nice caramel brown color, like dark brown sugar. Then take it off the heat and quickly pour it evenly into buttered pan. If it continues to cook, it will burn.

Use a spatula to spread the toffee out, if necessary. Place Hershey bars on top. Spread chocolate evenly after it melts.

Refrigerate to cool, and then break into pieces.

A half recipe makes a pie tin or an 8x8 pan of slightly thicker toffee.

Enjoy!

Look, It's Santa Claus!

Since Santa's elves have their own to-do lists, we've been busy here trying to get our list accomplished before Christmas. On our list Tuesday was Amelia's preschool party.

The party was at a local play area full of bouncy houses, slides, mazes and more. Amelia had a blast! There was pizza, but she happily skipped the food in favor of more playtime.

We took the boys and they played for a little while in the baby area, but they weren't too sure what to think of it. Isaac, our fearless one, was the first to dive in. Alex was OK, and Sam wailed. Eventually Sam warmed up to the idea and was laughing as he bounced. But by then, Isaac was running out of steam and getting unhappy. They all probably enjoyed running around that big place more than being on the any of the rides, though the slide was a pretty big hit with everyone.

When we got to the party, Santa was already there. This is the first time the boys have seen Santa since they were just ten weeks old at Christmas last year and they had the chicken pox.

Reactions were...mixed.

Alex: It's good. This guy gave me food!

Isaac: Are you sure we should be doing this?

Sam: Get me outta here!

Amelia wouldn't get near Santa last year, barely conceding to let me hold her (away from Santa, mind you) for a picture. This year she wasn't any more excited about seeing the big guy.

Actually, Amelia talked a big game beforehand, but once Santa was there in person she got very shy and scared. She did stand next to me and tell Santa what she wanted, and she was very willing to sit on Daddy's lap for a family photo with Santa.

Christmas 2009

Not bad at all! Don't we look like a family that's been very good this year?

Amelia's New Baby Jesus

We've been talking a lot about the Baby Jesus as we get ready for Christmas. We have our nativity set up on the mantel, well out of reach of little hands, and Amelia has this very cute soft nativity that she can handle as much as she wants.

She's been playing with all the pieces, asking which is Jesus' mom and which is his dad, marching the camel and donkey around the room, and flapping the wings right off the angel.

Today she asked me for a Band-aid for Baby Jesus. "She has an owie."

I went and got a Band-aid, expecting her to present me with the Baby Jesus from her nativity set to patch up. Instead she presented me with the baby doll she got for Christmas last year.

I asked, "Where's the Baby Jesus?"

"Right here," said Amelia. "She has an owie." (Yep. SHE.)

I took her baby doll, previously only known as Baby, from her. "This baby?"

"Yes," said Amelia emphatically. "Baby Jesus. Say 'Gee-zuss.' Isn't that a good name, Mom?"

Chuckling, I agreed that it was.

Amelia, like most kids, has a pretty good collection of stuffed animals and dolls. But very, very few of them have names. For the longest time just two stuffed dogs had names. One was a bright yellow poodle pup that Amelia got right after we kept a friend's puppy for the weekend. The live puppy was Bella, so the stuffed puppy became Bella. The other came from our neighbors, who gave Amelia a stuffed pup that looked just like their dog. Their dog is named Carmel, so naturally, the stuffed pup became Carmel, too.

In the last month, another stuffed dog has gotten a name: Peanut. Now, apparently we have a new addition to the Named status. Baby has been officially named Baby Jesus.

I can't wait to see if this one lasts. And I have a sneaking suspicion it will lead to more church stories (like the ones about Samuel and the Pledge of Allegiance and the nuns) down the road.

A Recipe From My Baking Coma

This weekend was a flurry of Christmas baking. I made raspberry jam thumbprint cookies, walnut crescents, fudge, toffee, and a yummy and super-easy mock turtle candy.

Once I come out of my current sugar-butter-induced coma, I'll finish up with sugar cookies, caramels and spritz. My best-ever baking helper, Amelia, will enjoy the sugar cookies and spritz since they require sprinkles -- her favorite part of any baking project!

Amelia was a little disappointed when Saturday morning's cookie dough became jam thumbprints, not chocolate chip cookies. She really wanted a cookie, and finally tried the jam cookies, but decided she didn't like them. (Not a problem. More for me!) Luckily, I had some chocolate chip cookies in the freezer, so she got one warm from the microwave and all was right with the world again.

When I posted my recipe for walnut crescents I promised you a few more of my Christmas favorites. So from the depths of my baking coma, here's an easy one.

Mock Turtles

48 mini pretzel twists or square snaps
48 Rolo candies
48 pecan halves

1. Place the pretzels on cookie sheets. I usually do two pans of 24 each, so the pretzels aren't too crowded together. This is important for step four.

2. Unwrap the Rolos and place one on top of each pretzel. Kids love to do this. Just don't count on having 48 Rolos when they are done! Husbands can also be recruited, for the price of a few Rolos.

3. Put your cookie sheets full of pretzels and Rolos into a 200 degree oven. Watch them carefully and remove from the oven when the chocolate on the Rolos starts to look melted, about 2-3 minutes. I almost always go a full 3 minutes. It makes the next step a little easier. But don't let the melting get out of hand or you'll have a big mess.

4. After you remove your pretzels from the oven, quickly use pecan halve to press the melting Rolos down over the pretzel. Don't worry too much if you break a few pretzels. The melted chocolate and caramel will almost always hold things together. If the Rolos start to harden back up, you can pop the pans back in the oven for a minute. (But remove your finished candies first, please!) Let cool and remove from pans.

That's it. You've got caramel, chocolate, pecans, and my fave -- something salty to go with the sweet. These Mock Turtles are fast and easy to make, and always seem to disappear quickly. Of course, the number that I eat by myself may have something to do with that...

Ah well, swimsuit season is a long way off. Enjoy!

Who Needs Toys? We've Got Tupperware!

The other day the boys were fighting over a Tupperware lid, so I gave them each one. They had so much fun I wondered why they even needed toys.

Here's the video. You might want to make sure that your sound isn't turned up too loud for this one!



Maybe Santa will bring them containers to go with their lids!