Stop being so jerky

For my birthday Cameron got me a Nesco Food Dehydrator.  It's something I had thought about, but had yet to put it on my wish list.  I really like when Cameron gets me a gift that he knows I would like even if it's not officially on my list.  He said that he saw how much I like my yogurt maker, and figured this would be another fun food projects gadget for me to enjoy.  He was right.  I'm really excited about it.

I haven't had the chance to use it yet.  The best way to use it is to buy something in bulk when there's a good sale, or to dry things you grow in your garden.  I haven't done that yet.  I'm looking forward to making fruit roll ups very soon though.  The one thing I did have already though was meat!  I happened to have a package of beef round roast in my freezer.  Coincidentally that is listed as one of the best cuts to use to make beef jerky.  There were some seasoning packages included with the dehydrator, so I figured I'd give it a go!

I have a nice food slicer so it was easy to slice my roast into nice and thin strips.  Then I mixed the jerky spice packets with a bit of water in a ziplock bag and added the meat to marinate.  I let it sit overnight.  This afternoon I set the beef strips on the trays of my dehydrator and plugged it in.  The air circulated at 160 degrees.  I was surprised that when I checked on it about 2 hours later it was already looking great.  The house smelled fabulous, too.  After about 5-6 hours I decided it was plenty dried and turned off the dehydrator.

I started out with a roast that was 2.35lbs.  When I cut off all the fat it was 1.85lbs.  Once it was turned into jerky it weighed about 11oz.  It fit nicely into a quart sized ziplock baggie.

What a fun thing!  This is my very first time making jerky and I'm shocked at how easy and FUN it is!  It tastes wonderful, too!  It makes me want to go buy a bunch more meat.  Luckily beef round often goes on sale for $1.99/lb.  Yay!  What a fun high protein snack to add to the list for the kids.

I can't wait to see what else I can do with this thing!   Fruit rolls, dried veggies, dried herbs... I am excited to try them all!

What's for Dinner?

It's been awhile since I visited this subject.  I've done some fun things for meals, and yet I don't feel like I was as adventurous these past three weeks as I want to be in terms of cooking new to me dishes.  Sometimes though, it's just important to make something even if it's not exotic or fun.  I did quite a few of those in the last month.  I'm going to pick and choose some of the meals so as to keep the post shorter.  So, without further ado, here is a visual taste of what was for dinner at our house these past 3 weeks.

Peanut Chicken - I have made this recipe many many times and it's a favorite of mine.  I have to watch it to be sure I don't make it too spicy for the kids, but other than that, it's a pretty safe dish to make here.  I am surprised every time at how quick it is to make.

Dean's Chili - I fed the sister missionaries for my church this day.  The chili was wicked spicy.  I felt bad.  I keep doing that!  I'm going to take a chili break for awhile I think.  I make my chili with cilantro, corn, green chilies, bell peppers, ground beef, tomatoes, and some various spices.  I use a recipe given to me by a member of my church from when we lived in Fountain Hills.  I love it, but again, I've recently been making it too spicy.  It's fabulous when it's not burning your tongue off though.  Oh, sorry, no pictures of this one.  I was distracted I guess.

Sausage Spaghetti - I didn't use a recipe for this one.  I've made marinara sauce so frequently that it's silly to pull out a recipe unless I'm trying something new with it.  I did make it with a sausage this time, which I don't normally do.  Frankly, the last time I used sausage i really liked it, but I used a different sausage this time and really didn't.  FAIL.  Oh well, the kids will eat practically anything with noodles.  I did compliment it with homemade french bread, so that's something right?

Chicken Noodle Soup - This is the second time I've made this recipe.  It's fantastic!  I even made the homemade stock.  YUM.  My favorite part though is the homemade egg noodles I made to go with it.  I even pulled out my pasta roller for the occasion.  It didn't fit around my counter in my last house, so this is the first time I've used it in a very long time.  It's so much fun!  Anyhow, I took soup to a friend that was sick, too.  It seemed to go over well there, too.

Shredded Pork - I used a recipe that wasn't my favorite (so I didn't write it down!  LOL), but it still tasted fabulous.  I used it for sandwiches one night for the kids (date night for Cam and I), and then we used it to make burritos, too.  It was better in the burritos I think.  Easy and delicious.  No pictures, sorry.

Cajun Chicken Pasta - I have had this on my "to make" list for literally years.  I just never got around to it until now.  I'm sorry I waited.  It is SO good.  My whole family loved it.  There was more sauce than needed, so I kept what was left and added fresh linguine the next day for lunch.  I could have SWORN I got a fabulous picture of this stuff, but can't find it on my computer.  :(

Chicken Tortilla Soup - I'm telling you, you have to try this.  I made it for the second time this month.  This time I added just a tad less lime.  We used fresh tortillas cut into strips.  That was the kids' favorite part.  It's really fast to make, too! I didn't dump the soup over the chicken.  I just mixed everything in the pot.  Turned out great.

Pizza - for the past 2 weeks I've been bored with plain pepperoni for our pizza and movie night.  So, I decided to make two pizzas.  Pepperoni for the kids, and a greek style for Cam and I.  I used some homemade yogurt cheese for the base (in place of sauce), I mixed with it some of the marinade from the artichoke hearts, and added some dried basil (I would just just put fresh basil on top if I'd had any on hand).  I topped with sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped artichoke hearts, and sliced green olives.  It really was fabulous.  The first week I made the pepperoni pizzas individual sized for the kids.  This past week I made it full sized so Cam could grab a slice, too.

Homemade mac 'n cheese - this is actually a staple, and a favorite in my house.  It is just too easy not to make when the kids ask.  I just boil whatever kind of pasta I have on hand.  Once it's at the right texture I put it in the strainer.  I melt about 2Tbsp butter in the saucepan.  I add about 2Tbsp flour to the melted butter.  I then add salt and pepper (and sometimes thyme if I'm in the mood).  I stir in around a cup or so of milk (give or take).  Once the sauce thickens a bit I add a good amount of grated cheddar cheese (we love Tillamook medium cheddar!).  I just taste it to see if it's cheesy enough.  I then stir in the noodles.  If the sauce is too thick I add a bit more milk.  Done.  LOVE IT.  I got some organic pasta from Costco a couple of weeks back that I am just loving, too.

Grilled Chicken Over Baby Spinach - I sort of used this recipe, but my brie was bad (too old), so I just put some boiled eggs on top instead.  The dressing was lovely though.  I made the recipe for lunch, and it was perfect for a mid-day meal.  Cameron really only likes salad for meals if there is some protein with it, otherwise it's not filling enough.  The chicken and eggs fulfilled that need very well.  I am hoping to make this again soon!

 I made some desserts here and there, but my favorite was for the past two pizza and movie nights I have split the dough that I would normally make two pizzas out of into three sections.  I made two slightly smaller pizzas with thinner crusts (which was great) and then I made a cinnamon sugar braid.  It tasted like cinnamon rolls and was super easy!  YUM.

I have planned out most of the next three weeks, though I do need to go grocery shopping.  Here's my tentative list of dinners:
Burgers and oven fries
Fish Tacos
Golden Rice Cakes with Sweet Potato Ginger Sauce
Grilled Sweet and Sour Chicken
Chili Lime Chicken Kababs
Pad Thai
Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
Spinach Stuffed Chicken
Chicken, Spinach, and mushroom Lasagna
Hamburger rolls
Chicken Quesadillas
French Dip sandwiches
Pizza
Roast Pork
Roast Beef

Looking forward to trying a few new recipes, too!  Hopefully this gives me enough ideas to shift around that I don't end up getting unplanned take out at all this month!  We'll see how I do.

Kitty Purse

For her birthday Britta received a bit of money from her great-grandparents.  It wasn't until about a week or so ago that she finally picked something out to get for herself.  We were actually in Gymboree returning something.  Britta found the cutest little kitty purse.  It is a plush kitten with a handle to make it a purse and a velcro opening on top to put things inside.  She loved it, asked if she could keep it, and it dawned on me that, yes, she could!  What a perfect thing for her to spend her money on.  It is SO Britta.

Of course, when we got into the car and started driving home I asked her if I could see it and she looked around and couldn't find her purse.  It cost her about $12, and I didn't want to see her money be wasted and her new purse gone.  I quickly turned the car around.  After we came out of the store, the kids had played in a little area with a merry-go-round and a few other things like that.  I figured she'd left it there.  I also figured that someone had probably already picked it up and carried it off.  I needed to put in one last ditch effort before giving up though.  I parked the car as close to the area as I could, locked the doors, and ran by myself as fast as I could to where I thought the purse might be.  Good thing I've been running on the treadmill a lot lately.  I was relieved to find the little kitty purse sitting right where Britta left it, waiting for her to come back. PHEW.  I've never been so glad to see a cat before.  It helps that I'm not allergic to this one.

Britta was happy to see her new purse again.  She hugged it close to her chest and meowed at for it when I handed it to her in the car.  I was then given my rightful title of, "The Best Mom Ever."  I've been waiting for that one.

Blown away

One of my very favorite things about our house, as I may have mentioned a dozen or two times, is our yard.  Our house sits on a bit under a half an acre.  We have around two dozen trees (I lost count around there) on our property.  It's beautiful, and so much fun!  However, one thing that has been a bit more overwhelming than I'd originally projected is the leaves.
We have big leaves, and we have small leaves.  They are everywhere!  I tried to rake them up last week and failed miserably.  I decided then that we either needed to finally give in and spend the money on a leaf blower, or we needed to hire someone to do our yardwork for us (a good portion of our neighbors do just that).

Since working in our yard gives us a nice sense of ownership and oneness with nature, I decided to go ahead and purchase the best blower I could find on Amazon for under $100.  We got a Toro 51599 Ultra 12 amp Variable-Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller.  I ordered it Wednesday morning, and with Amazon Prime I had the blower in hand by Thursday!  I love getting giant boxes from the UPS guy.

Normally when it comes to tools and such I let Cameron take the lead, but this time I decided to pull this thing out myself.  I have to admit I was a bit intimidated at first, but it was really straight forward.  I did realize pretty quickly though that there is a learning curve to using a blower.  It probably took me a good hour to really get the hang of it.  After that it was actually very fun.  I spent literally hours in the yard.  I was limited by our extension cord, unfortunately.  We only have a 50ft cord right now, so there is a nice leaf halo at the 50ft radius line.  I did the best I could.

After I used the blower, I played Transformers for a bit and switched it into a vacuum.  I was able to suck up all the leaves I had raked into a pile before buying the blower vac.  I was worried about sucking up rocks and sticks, but since they are heavier than leaves they didn't give me problems.  I did pick up any I saw though -- just in case.  River was my best helper.  He spent almost as much time in the yard as I did.  He picked up rocks, sticks, and toys for me.  It was fun to spend so much time outside.
I would have just kept going, but I had to pick up Cameron from work and make dinner before picking up our sitters so Cameron and I could drive to the San Antionio temple for our date night.  It pained me to stop.  I hate leaving a job half done.

Even half done, the yard already looks so much nicer.  Cameron is grabbing a 100ft extension cord so we can reach everywhere in our yard (I hope that's long enough!)  I plan on finishing up ASAP, provided the weather cooperates.  It's funny how a well manicured yard makes you want to work in your yard more.  I hope to put up my raised garden beds next week and start planting.  I am also going to put up the hammock Cameron gave me for my birthday.  Anything to invite us to spend more time enjoying this beautiful early spring-like weather!

Hats!

Maddy is quite the vocal performer.  She has been singing since she was able to talk.  Here's proof from April 2005.  She was 2 years old.

I'm pretty sure she sings as much as she does because her mother is always singing.  I guess singing is contagious.  Besides singing all the time, she also sings really well.  She carries a tune!  She sometimes will sing her bedtime song along with me.  She does awesome.  I'm thinking it's time to teach her harmony.  (only slightly joking)

I've been wanting her to have some experiences singing in choirs.  However, since we homeschool, the closest thing she has had yet is primary choir.  When we moved here to Round Rock though, I found out our bishop's wife does a little choir through the elementary school called, "Dynamic Dinos."  I was happy that Maddy was able to take part in that.  They practiced once a week for an hour or so at the school.  Tonight, after a little over a month, they had their first performance!  The show was named, "Hats!" and they did, indeed, wear a different hat for each song.  It was adorable.  Maddy is such a hoot.  The performance was in the cafeteria.  It was only about 20 minutes long, which was perfect for Britta and River.

I tried to get some pictures, but it was dim, and they were dancing around.  I did get a few clips of video feed.  The director recorded the show, so I'm hoping I can get a copy of the whole thing from her!  For now, here are a few clips of the show that I took with my camera. (Note: Maddy is on the front row, and has on a gold hat in the first video)

Ironically a good portion of the kids from the choir live in our circle!  It was fun to see so many familiar faces.  Maddy has a lot of friends that live close, so I was glad she was able to have that familiar comfort in the choir as well.  She loved going to the practices, and was very excited for the performance tonight.  She has one more tomorrow morning, but then she's done!  I do hope I can find another choir for her to participate in.  She is sure a shining star!

Delicious Surprise!

Today I received in the mail (or rather, from the UPS guy), a wonderful belated birthday surprise from my dad.  He had told me the morning of my birthday that I would be receiving something delicious from him, but I had let it slip my mind.  I ordered a few things online that I am expecting to be delivered, so when the UPS guy showed up I figured it was just one of those.
I was thoroughly confused when I brought in a box labeled  "Shari's Berries" in bright red fancy lettering.  I racked my brain and couldn't think of what it could be.  Then, "Lightbulb!"  I realized what wonderful individual had sent me a treat.

I opened it up and saw, to my amazement, a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries!  These weren't just ANY berries either!  These were the most colorful berries I had ever seen.  I was giggling with glee.  My children were surrounding me jumping up and down.  What a beautiful edible present!

Luckily I documented the treasure before beginning to devour it.  It was packaged so well.  What fabulous presentation.  I always knew my dad had fantastic taste.  This solidified it in my mind.

I was kind, and realizing I couldn't possibly eat all dozen... well, not without feeling bad... anyhow, I decided to share with my little family.  Everyone got to pick their favorite one.  The kids were delighted, but had a tough time choosing.  I didn't blame them one bit.  I was glad I was left with 7 berries so I didn't have to pick just one!

These things were awesome.  Juicy.  Flavorful.  Freaking DELICIOUS.  What a super fun gift.  I love my dad.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  Wish you were here to share them with.

I Love Costco

I am a very frugal person.  I am *NOT* cheap unlike a lot of people who seem to use the word frugal in place of the word cheap because it seems a bit more flattering.  I love a great deal, but I won't buy junk.  I won't buy the store brand peanut butter that tastes like mud even if it's free.  I don't need free mud.  I won't eat it.  I will pay more for quality.  I can pretty much use this as a blanket statement.

Now, I know Costco isn't cheap.  I have a seriously difficult time entering the giant metal doors of Costco and not spending over $100 before departing, heavy laden, to my car.  But, darn it, that place has some of the coolest stuff, and the best food, ever! I love that I can trust that if something is sold at Costco it's at least decent quality.  Usually though, it's great quality for a very reasonable price.  It's fun to shop at Costco for something I had budgeted for and then be able to use what I budgeted to buy that item in even better quality for the same price or less than I would have spent elsewhere.

I have mentioned before that I am so excited to try my hand at gardening!  The trick has been that I still needed to buy (or make) the garden plots.  I also needed to figure out the best way to compost.  Well, the other day we were walking through Costco and they had for sale Raised Garden Beds.  It was a pack of two 4'x4' garden beds!  The gardening that I want to do (and have dabbled in the past with) is square foot gardening, so these were perfect!  Also, right next to the garden beds they had a compost tumbler.  I had always figured it would be far cheaper and easier to just do an open compost pile in the corner of my yard, but these looked awesome!  Plus, they were half the price of the composters I had seen in the past, and it was being sold at Costco -- which says a lot to me!  We couldn't buy them while we were there because they wouldn't fit in the car with all of the kids with us.  We made a mental note to return ASAP.

Well, today was ASAP.  After Cameron came home from work I took him along with the kids and dropped them off at the YMCA.  Then I hopped in the car and headed to Costco.  Now, I said I love Costco.  However, there are a few things that I do not love, too.  I don't like Costco when it's busy (every single Saturday at my location, and most locations I've come across).  I dislike their website.  For such a great company you'd think they could make it easier to navigate and more comprehensive of what they sell in stores as well.  I also hate that they sell out of things quickly, and if it's a seasonal item, you may never see it again.  Tonight, I walked into my local Costco and found, to my horror, that in the 3 days since I'd last seen the Raised Garden Beds, they had already sold out completely.  Luckily, their employees are always pretty helpful.  They looked up the item for me and we discovered that the other Costco in the Austin area still had quite a few in stock.

I didn't have much time!  I had to be back to pick up my little family before too much longer, but I needed to accomplish my mission!  I called the other location just to be sure, and then headed south.  The South Austin Costco was supposed to be about 15 minutes away from the North Austin Costco.  However, my GPS didn't see the MASSIVE amount of traffic.  It took me probably double that time.  I HATE traffic.  I especially dislike it when it's in a city that I'm not as familiar with so I don't feel comfortable finding "short cuts" around it.

I rushed into the South Austin Costco and looked around for the garden beds.  I finally found them in the very back.  HUGE sigh of relief.  I loaded that and the compost tumbler onto my flat bed cart and headed out of the store.  If I had time I would have explored this location better.  I had never been there before, and they did have a few things that I hadn't seen at our usual location.  I found two things on my way out that I just had to have.  First, I bought some attachments for our hose.  We'd actually just purchased the hose a couple of weeks ago from Costco, and I figured it would be nice to give it some accessories.  I also found the coolest surprise for the kids!  It's a giant inflatable ball!  The coolest part about it is you can get inside the ball and roll around, too!  I just knew Cameron would think it was hillariously brilliant.  So, onto the cart it goes!

The child center at the YMCA closes at 8pm.  Normally Cameron and I go for just over an hour or so.  I dropped them off just after 5pm. I left Costco around 7pm.  I needed to hurry!  I prayed that the traffic would have magically dissolved.  My eta without any traffic was 7:25pm to be at home (I had to empty the car before picking up kids).  It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the YMCA from home.  I was nervous.  However, the fates were smiling down upon me.  I made it to the YMCA by 7:34pm!  NICE.

I do hate traffic.  I do hate frantic running around.  However, I do LOVE Costco.  So, while the process wasn't very much fun, the ending was good.  I am excited to set up my new gardening toys tomorrow, and maybe we inflate our Jumbo Fun Ball, too.

Fire Fire Fire!

In every house we have been in we have made sure to have a fire drill with the kids so they know what to do if that emergency ever came up.  We would map out our escape route, and talk about what to do in case there was a fire in our home.  The kids really enjoy this and it seems to make them feel more confident and less scared of the prospects.

Since moving to Round Rock and into our new house, we haven't taken the chance to do our fire drill.  Saturday we bought some new smoke alarms at Costco, and it reminded us we needed to kick it in gear and get the kids prepared for any fire that may occur here.  Madalyn is our pro when it comes to fire safety, so we suggested to her that for tonight's Family Home Evening she lead us all in a fire safety crash course.  She was thrilled at the prospect.

Ok... so perhaps it wasn't as green today as it is in this picture.

We did a mock evacuation.  Since we figure the trickiest part would be for the children to get outside from upstairs, we focused on that.  Maddy lead us all through what we would do.  She really knew her stuff.  After leading us all safely out of the house, we stood out by our mailbox, looking at our beautiful home pretend to burn to the ground.

We talked about all the little things we could think of, like not hiding from the firemen, and not going back into the house for your toys.  I'm pretty sure the kids "got it" as we spoke.  I'm often surprised on our children's grasp of the things we talk about with them.  That's not saying we won't have reviews of this stuff (probably an annual thing), but at least I can sleep that much easier.

It's scary to think of what it would be like to have a fire in our house.  I'm lucky enough never to have been through one myself.  I pray that my children are as lucky.  I'd much rather not have to worry at all about things like this.  Nobody really wants to experience a true emergency.  However, I think the only thing that would be worse than having to experience an emergency is not being prepared for it.  My children will be prepared.

After our fire preparedness night, we ate the most appropriate dessert we could think of: s'mores.  Delish.

A Sabbath from Heaven

Sundays are a mixed bag around here.  You really never know how things will go on any given one.  Sunday mornings are pretty much the same though (with some lovely exceptions, of course).  Things are often rushed first thing because Cameron has meetings early and arrives just in time (or not so much on time...) to get us to church before it starts.  It is no simple or easy task to get four people ready to go by 8:45am.  We are frequently rushing onto our bench (that Cameron was able to reserve for us when he was there earlier) in a bit of a frazzled state.  PHEW.  We made it though.  Church itself is most often pleasant.  The kids are pretty well behaved now (especially if we grade on the bell curve ;).  Everyone enjoys their classes.  I have even begun to relax more with my 8 year olds in Primary.  The drive home is pleasant enough.  We get to hear reports on how lessons went and who colored what picture.  Then, we get home.

All bets are off when we get home.  Sometimes it is chaos incarnate.  Other days it's relatively peaceful and even pleasant.  Oftentimes it's a mixture of both.  You just never know!  Today was one of those pleasant days.  I think the key was that Cameron and I stayed right there and involved with the kids from the moment we stepped into the house.  We had them change out of their nice Sunday clothes first thing.  Then we immediately gave them each a snack.  From there Cameron then set up the kids on the computer with games from the church's website.  It was great to have up on the television because it captured their attention very well.  Maddy was also able to listen to scripture stories from Cameron's laptop with her headphones on.  She was quite captivated by them, too.

It took me a little while, but then we ate tacos together for lunch.  I was surprised and pleased that the chaos level was so low at this point.  I realized once again that whining, screaming, and rowdy kids drain my energy.  Without those things I actually felt motivated and energized!  I didn't feel like curling up on my bed.  It was great!

Cameron and I decided we wanted to try doing ward choir this week.  Practice is from 4:15pm to 5:15pm at the church.  To accommodate that I wanted to have dinner before we left.  So, I stayed on top of things.  After lunch was eaten and cleaned up I took a short break, then jumped right in and prepared our roast.  I made a rub that, it retrospect, might not have been intended for a pork sirloin tip roast, but it was fabulous.  So juicy and delicious!  We finished dinner just after 4, and loaded the kids into the car so as to make the practice on time.  We were a bit nervous about taking the kids along, but I really wanted both of us to go so we figured we would give it a try.  The kids seemed relatively mellow, and since they had been pretty darn good at home, we were optimistic.

I was so glad we went!  Like most ward choirs I have had experience with, there were very few people there.  Actually, there was the conductor, the pianist (who I found out was subbing in), 3 men including Cameron, 2 other ladies, and myself.  One of the girls (my friend Heather actually) left a bit early, too.  So, it was pretty much like singing in a quartet!  I volunteered to sing soprano since the other two ladies were altos.  Oh how I wish I had warmed up better!  Anyhow... the kids were very good.  The conductor brought his young son (he is a single dad), and that took some pressure off of us.  We brought things for the kids to do like we would for sacrament meeting.  By the end of the hour I hadn't felt frustrated with any of my kids!  Yay!  That means we will likely become regular attendees at choir practice.  I'm looking forward to it.

It was really important that I get a peaceful Sunday today.  It is so easy for me to feel stressed that my kids aren't enabling a peaceful atmosphere.  It's difficult to come up with endless activities on which they can focus their energy.  I have a hard time dedicating my full attention to them -- especially when Cameron has additional meetings after church.  But today was great.  I was able to enjoy the whole day!  The kids were all doing things that were Sabbath appropriate.  I was even able to spend a bit of time making an extra little treat in the kitchen.

Now I just need to breathe it all in, and bask in this feeling.  It will give me hope on those Sundays where the kids are bouncing off the walls.  It will help get me through just to remember that peaceful Sundays are, indeed, possible -- even with my children still living at home.

Freezer Fun

My mother in law Marsha is one of the most thoughtful people I know.  This trait is especially apparent when it comes to birthdays and holidays.  You can always count on the fact that whatever she has given has been well thought out.  She is also one of the cutest people, too.  This quality often translates into her gifts, or at very least, to the packaging.  I was reminded of these things the other day for my birthday.

Marsha came for a visit this past December.  When she was here I remember standing in my kitchen with her and telling her that one of the things I would really like for my upcoming birthday was the popsicle molds made by Tuperware.  I had lost one of the pieces for my 6 piece set.  This made it especially difficult for my family since I have 3 kids.  One child only gets one popsicle, the other get two.  Cue the fight scene.  As I related this to Marsha she had a thoughtful look on her face, and I knew I'd told the right person.  I promptly forgot about the whole conversation.

Fast forward to this week.  Marsha had mailed a package with beautifully wrapped gifts for my birthday, and for the children as well.  The children opened their gifts a few days earlier (yay for colored paper and markers!), but I had to wait.  My birthday came and we had the gifts on the mantle.  Marsha had sent 3 separately wrapped gifts for me.  They were all wrapped in pretty red patterned foil paper.  As Cameron had me unwrap gifts throughout the day, the gifts were unwrapped hours apart.  I was tickled to find with each unwrapping, the same, and yet totally different presents.  She got me popsicle molds.  Not just any molds though, four different kinds of molds.  She got me the ones I asked for, of course, but she also got me a set of stainless steel molds (!), some colorful sipper popsicles, and a set designed for different frozen treat pops (with a picture of a baby on the front).  So cute!  SO Marsha!  The only people more excited than myself was my children.  They, of course, would reap the most benefit from this gift.

The very next day I had a few moments free and Britta insisted on making smoothie pops.  So, we went into the kitchen and began.  I made a smoothie just like I would for breakfast.  We added frozen watermelon, frozen cranberries, spinach, ground flax, yogurt, and apple juice.  After it was well blended, we poured.  And we poured.  And poured.  There was enough smoothie to fill 3 of the 4 different popsicle molds I'd received.  YUM.  Then, we made another little recipe for the last mold.  I added frozen blueberries, yogurt, and a bit of juice.  Britta accidentally turned the blender on without the lid.  Luckily it was before I added the yogurt.  Poor kid, scared her half to death!

The final result was a hit!  The kids ate one each and declared them a success!  I plan on keeping the freezer stocked with them from now and through the end of the warm weather.  I love that they are so healthy I can let the kids have free reign.  YUM.


 Thanks so much Marsha!  We will think of you every time we partake of this chilly fruity goodness.  We look forward to your next visit so you can indulge along side us.  Well done!

Tech Update

My husband works for Dell.  He is in their web analytics department.  He deals with optimizing their websites by supporting different programs and aspects of the site.  He is pretty darn tech savvy, no doubt about it.
Having that background, you will understand why it seems such a strange thing that today, Cameron and I received in the mail our very first brand new computer.  In the past we have had computers that were refurbished.  We had a laptop (that has long since gone the way of all the earth), and a single desktop since we got married.  The desktop is beyond ancient now -- probably close to 10 years old (we've had it for about 4 years).  When we moved to Texas we didn't expect the computer to awaken upon arrival.  Our prediction was seemingly true at first.  We couldn't get it to connect to the internet.  A computer that cannot connect to the internet is practically useless for our purposes.  A few weeks ago we tried a few things and were finally able to get the thing up and running... errr... I mean... walking... sort of.  It is the slowest computer I can remember using since the late 90's.  Unacceptable.  It is almost not worth having at all. 

So, for the past 7 months or so I have had no home computer.  A couple of months ago I replaced my Blackberry Smartphone with a Sprint Epic 4G.  I've been able to navigate the internet on a limited basis since then.  There are some serious limitations though.  For one, I can't edit Google Docs (I have limited ability to edit a spreadsheet, but it's tedious!).  As you can imagine, it's been a bit of a challenge for me.  Cameron, on the other hand, has had a laptop through work for the last 3 years.  His needs are primarily met.  He would also allow me to update the blog for a few minutes each day.  It's been a sacrifice, but we just didn't want to dedicate the funds to get a new computer.  Until now. 

After much research Cameron ordered a Dell Inspiron Zeno HD.  He added practically every feature you can think of to make this the perfect computer for our needs.  We've been wanting a computer that acts as a good media PC.  It's nice to be able to stream movies and TV shows from Hulu.  We don't watch very much, but convenience is important.  Cameron ordered it two weeks ago, but they have to build it before shipping.  The estimated ship date was February 21.  However, as a birthday present from Dell they shipped it yesterday!  It was here by 10 am this morning! 

I've mentioned before how much we like getting packages in the mail.  Well, we especially like getting new computers in the mail.  Cameron was so excited.  He couldn't wait to get that thing out of its box and set it up.  It was fun father son bonding time.  River likes anything with parts to it.  If it has to be assembled he is there to help!  Luckily Dad is okay with taking on an apprentice.  It was cute watching them get everything hooked up together.  I'm sure River is going to learn so much from watching Cameron and helping him over the years.

Once the thing was set up, I was surprised at how small it is!  Can you tell where it is on the entertainment center?  I'll bet you can't.  Go ahead and try to spot it...

Yes.  It's the small box on the right side beneath our sound bar.  It fits into my hand.  It's so cute!  We've only been using it for a few hours now, but I have high hopes for it.  We bought a wireless transmitter too, so we can toggle from the television to the computer monitor over on the desk.  It's a pretty sweet setup.  There's a small wireless keyboard and a remote control for it as well.  Awesome. 

After waiting and waiting, I'm glad we were able to buy something substantial.  I'm excited to have the kids learning to type and able to play games and send emails and look up answers to the million questions they have.  Maddy will be a pro in no time flat, I'm sure.  Hurray for an update in technology!  It only took us FOREVER to find the 21st century.