Show and Tell -- Cinnamon Rolls

When I was a little girl, my grandmother made us cinnamon rolls whenever we'd visit my grandparents or they'd visit us. She'd get up early in the morning to get the dough started, and work on them periodically throughout the day until they were ready around dinner time. It just always seemed that those cinnamon rolls would be piping hot just as soon as dinner was over. We loved those cinnamon rolls.

Approximately 20 or so years ago, my grandparents began to age and their trips to CA began to become fewer and farther between. Our trips to thier house dwindled to about once a year. The lack of regular visits made the cinnamon rolls even more coveted. My grandmother asked if I'd like for her to teach me how to make them myself...

and the rest is yummy herstory.

This week was my late grandfather's birthday. He passed while I was on bed rest last year. I figured that I would make some cinnamon rolls to help me remember some of the happier times with my family. I think it helped.

Anyway, for tonight's show and tell, the cinnamon roll.

the dough (just to affirm that I do make them from scratch)...

rolling the dough out...

cinnamon and sugar time...

rolling it up (my favorite part by the way)

slicing them extra thick...

on the pan (don't worry, they'll rise to meet each other)...

fresh from the oven (yes, I already ate one)...

up close and personal...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few pounds to put on tonight! :-)

Real People Food

Well, Thanksgiving (and the days of left overs) was a pretty interesting time for my boys. They got to try a lot of different things. Some were successful. Some were not. We finally got the boys to eat mashed potatoes. Of course we had to mix them up with baby food pears, but still, they ate them. Tonight, the boys ate pureed turkey (mixed with formula because I couldn't think of anything else to do). Not a huge success, but it went down and stayed there, so I'm calling it good. Here's our list of yays and nays for real people food:

• mashed potatoes - yay
• pureed turkey - yay (scared the shit of the boys when I turned the processor on--they cried for-ever on that one)
• pumpkin pie - yay
• squash - nay (interesting because they like baby food)
• fruit salad (kind of like ambrosia salad) - nay with puke (what is wrong with you guys? that stuff is good)
• sweet potato - nay (interesting because they like baby food)
• stuffing - nay with puke (at least I can understand that)
• mushed mixed fruit - yay
• yogurt - depends, sometimes yay and other times nay
• apple pie filling - OMG YAY (my picky boys became little birds with mouths wide open)
• eggs - can take them or leave them

Thankfully, they didn't have any funny reactions to anything and everything seems to be regular. The four day rule has now gone out the window.

I have some cottage cheese, pears, and bananas to try at some point in the not too distant future. I am going to leave the pear and bananas a lot chunkier than the baby food makes them. That ought to be fun.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the puking will be few and far between.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Okay. It just occurred to me that this was a totally useless post. Sorry.

Here's Our Dirties--I Mean Ditties...

This was us over the summer. We had a grand time in Beijing...

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This was us last night. I suppose you could call this a little dirty, most certainly it's obscene...

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Yay!!!

I did it! I did it! I am now an Iron Commenter. When the boys heard of my accomplishment, they did this for me...

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How nice is that? Tomorrow I'll post a little ditty that Is.aac and I put together to celebrate. (Thanks to Topcat for the idea.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for...far too much for us to ever accurately express with mere words. But thankful we are--so very, very thankful. Here's two of the reasons for a majority of all this thankfulness...

(No fancy outfit today. Instead, Is.aac and I decided to go old school and got all crafty. Meet my little Indians...er, um Native Americans...--they are 1/64 Indian you know.)

Ja.son wanted to hold Sh.awn's hand. Sh.awn wasn't all that interested in this plan, but he was overpowered...I see loads of this type of thing in our future!

Look at all them teeth!

Sh.awn did not like his head dress. Thank goodness he doesn't have to wear a helmet!

We hope your Thanksgiving was as fun as ours. May this next year bring even more to be thankful for than this for us all!

All Over the Place Yet Again...the Story of My Life

I get that there is a holiday tomorrow, and that it will be..like Thanksgiving and all, but the thing that really sets my nerve endings on fire has nothing to do with the holiday. The thing I'm most anxiously awaiting is a four day weekend. I. Can't. Wait. To. Stay. Home. That. Long!!!

On turkey day, we'll be heading over to my mom's house for dinner. She always goes all out with cooking, so that will be nice. I was in charge of the desserts. I had every intention of making one of my famous pumpkin pies but have settled for the Ba.ker's Sq.uare variety instead. Hey. Don't knock me. I will, however, make cinnamon rolls tonight, so at least I'll be contributing something made by my own two little hands.

Did I tell you it is a four day weekend? It is, it is, it is, it is!!

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Jeez, the kids at school were in rare form. It was a long day. Add to that the return trip to home I had to make to get Sh.awn's glasses before school (I was late before I had to come home) and the return trip I had to make to my mom's for Ja.son's helmet once I got home, and the day got even longer. Lastly, the physical therapist came to give the boys a work out, during which Sh.awn screamed almost the entire time and Ja.son played Mr. Limp. Fun times at my house.

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I am half way through the ICLW list. I still have a couple of comments to return (if yours is one, I'm sorry). I am trying to put everything I've got into becoming an Iron Commenter. Dude. I just went to get the link and read that I have until midnight EST! Crap. That shaves 3 hours off of my time! Must get busy then.

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I got the boys' early start evaluation today. I am having trouble getting myself to look at it. Bleh. I could be pleasantly surprised. I suspect I won't be. Sigh. My boys are being lazy as of late. That doesn't help I'm sure. Double sigh.

I have decided evaluations are evil.

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Went to the grocery store today and got the boys a bunch of real people food. I have to figure out a way to get them off of the baby food stage 3's. That stuff is majorly expensive. Multiplied by two, and I am about to be ate out of house and home. But, every time I try "real" food, everyone gets all upset and things go down hill from there. It isn't pretty.

Anyone have ideas to help this along?

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate the day! Mwah! :-)

More Random Things

Part 1

Part 2...

1. Right now, I am having a secret love affair with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Well, I suppose the discarded cup liners all over the house has outed my relationship. These tasty morsels of pure heaven call to me...beckon me to feast upon their unholy goodness...and mock my attempts to walk away. I have finished off a full bag of minis and all of the regular sized ones we have in the pantry. (don't ask why we have so many) How long did it take me? a day and a half. Sigh.
2. My favorite piece of clothing is a pair of jeans. I would wear them every day if I could. Top them with a big, comfy sweatshirt, and I am set.
3. I have absolutely no idea how to wear make-up. Yeah, sure, I get the basics of mascara and a little eye shadow, but I am afraid of anything with color--it's neutrals all the way. Foundation and lipstick, however, totally elude my abilities.
4. I am starting to think that maybe teaching isn't my lifetime passion/profession. I've been doing it for 12 years, now, and have never really thought that before now. It makes me wonder if I am going through some sort of mid-life crisis (early).
5. I need to finish remodeling my kitchen. Last August, the last thing I did to it was tile the back splash. All of the remodeling stopped when I went on bed rest. I haven't had the energy or desire to finish the job.
6. Speaking of remodeling, I am actually quite handy around the house. I have: changed and installed new electrical outlets; installed overhead light fixtures in all of the bedrooms and living room; installed kitchen cabinets; moved the gas line from one side of the kitchen to the other; installed windows; installed a oven hood, dishwasher, and sink; helped my mom re roof my parents' house (while my dad watched on the ground); drywalled, stuccoed, and painted walls; tore up carpeting and re tiled the dining room and kitchen (yes there was carpeting in the kitchen!); put linoleum throughout the rest of the house; and put up molding/chair railing in several rooms. Now, my dad was really good about directing me, so it wasn't like I just went for it by myself, but I did physically do it all. Don't get me started on what my dad made me do to cars. (and Is.aac always seems to disappear when stuff needs done around the house)
7. Hm. After reading all the stuff I've had to do to this house, it must of looked like crap when we first moved in! (it sort of did--but we could afford it, and in CA, that says something)
8. I love reading. Love it. Rarely get to do it nowadays.
9. I do not have a green thumb. I have the thumb of death. I have even killed cacti by not watering it enough. How does someone kill cacti?!!!? Leave it to me to find out. In my dirt garden, I have a sign that says, "Grow Dammit!" Nothing does.
10. My spelling absolutely sucks. Thank goodness for Spell Check. I have seen so many misspellings throughout my years of teaching that now I don't know what is correct anymore. Sigh.
11. I am allergic to most perfumes. It is so bad, I can't even walk down the laundry aisle at the grocery store.
12. I am a huge procrastinator. Huge. I always put things off to the last minute. I find if I do things early, I kill myself making changes to it until the last minute anyway. At least when I procrastinate, I don't have to think about it for so long. (someone once told me that this is a coping mechanism for a gifted mind. not sure if that is true, but I'm going with it)
13. I love artichokes. We're having them for Thanksgiving. What? This isn't part of the original celebration? They're not in season? Doesn't matter. I'm having them anyway. Mmmm...
14. I am not a big fan of sauces. When I was younger, there used to be a commercial on Saturday mornings that was all about not drowning your food. I guess I took that to heart!
15. My 20 year old niece just told us she is pregnant and due in March. The only way I've come up with to describe my feelings about this is...annoyed. I am totally annoyed about her being pregnant. Why does everyone else get pregnant so easily? (bitter much?)
16. I can pinch and pick things up with my toes. (shrugs) It's a gift. What can I say?
17. My favorite color is black, but I tell people that it's green. That is because everyone always gives me grief if I say black. Supposedly black isn't a color. Whatever.

That's all I can think of for tonight. Two days till Turkey Day! Yea!