pizza friday

For the last several years Friday has been pizza night at our house. Everyone looks forward to it. Well, everyone but Emma. The only food Emma doesn't love is pizza. And because I am economical and health-conscious, I always make it myself. Years ago I got a recipe from Spencer's mom but I have modified it slightly over time. In fact, I think it's probably different every time I make it. But it's always good, and always has a thick crust. Which is the most important thing.

In case you want to be not-so-original like us and have homemade pizza every Friday night, here is my recipe. Pretty much. By the way, it also works well for cinnamon rolls if you have extra dough (and use vegetable oil instead of olive oil)...

Pizza Dough
2 1/2 cups very warm water
2 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
7 cups flour (throw in some whole wheat flour if you want, but not more than 3 cups)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or olive)

Mix water, yeast and sugar. Let rise for 35 minutes. Add salt, flour, and oil. Knead and let rise for 1 hour. Roll/stretch out dough onto a pan or stone. Add pasta/pizza/marinara sauce, mozzarella/provolone cheese, oregano and whatever toppings you want! Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes (check on it).

Makes enough for two large pizzas or three small (or two small...and cinnamon rolls!) I often half the recipe and just do one big pizza but I'm realizing that isn't going to fly any longer. I also have a recipe for white pizza sauce topped with tomato and basil if anyone is interested in that...

*Note: I read something the other day about how pizza should always be cooked at the highest temperature your oven will go to. Well, mine will go as high as I tell it to, so tonight I cooked our pizza at 450 for 8 minutes. I didn't notice a difference but maybe real foodies could have...?

The magic

I'm not gonna blog about all the barfing (you're welcome), all the lethargy, or even all the presents. Because what I want to remember from this Christmas is the pure magic. I don't know how long the magic will last, but I'm going to hold on to it as long as possible. I will give you one example that a few of us really enjoyed witnessing.

On Christmas Eve, as we left the house to see Christmas lights we had one really anxious little 6 year old boy who was so concerned we would miss Santa. We were even able to assure him that Santa was a safe distance away somewhere over the Atlantic (thanks NORAD), but he was still worried. As we flew under airplanes he at first would get anxious, but then would realize they were just airplanes and Santa was not coming yet. Later, as we drank hot chocolate and prepared to drive home he suddenly shouted "Look!" He ran to show us what was clearly Santa and his sleigh, red flashing light (nose) and all, flying quickly and silently through the sky. We were quiet as we watched it. Well, I should confess that I was watching Tyler. The look on his face was pricless. Tyler knew we had to get home; we ALL knew we had to get home.

What a fun thing Santa is; I love everything about him. I love how he no longer "tops" us in gifts, but leaves the fun stuff. I even love how Tanner pulls a face each time we talk about him. I mostly love that Santa came before all of us got sick.

Gotta be the good life

With all the chaos around me this week, my kids managed to bring me back to the true spirit of Christmas and what it's about. I've been so busy shopping, preparing for parties, YW lessons, nativities, neighbor gifts, class parties, etc. that I haven't spent a lot of time enjoying just thinking about Christmas and spending precious time with my little family.

It's easy to get caught up in the credit card, to buy something online in a matter of seconds with a memorized card number, and move on to the next thing. Last week Emma decided to spend every single dollar she had ($5) on Tyler when she found a gift she knew he would absolutely die to have. She had wanted to spend her money on some cute stuff at a boutique, for herself, but once she saw that thing for Tyler, she didn't even think twice. Better, she didn't ask me to chip in or help at all. She sacrificed her wants for her brother, and did it so happily.

All week Tyler has been asking me to take him shopping to buy Emma's Christmas present. It didn't work out to go at all this week because we just didn't have the chance, but I was free yesterday at 8 a.m. and he jumped at the opportunity. He had a whole $10 and he was determined to spend all of it on her. After choosing two really thoughtful and sweet things for her, he still had $3 left over and kept looking for something else to buy her. When we got home and he showed his dad his gifts for Emma he was absolutely beaming.  It really humbled me. Spencer was in awe at how genuinely happy Tyler was to be giving something to Emma that he had worked hard to save for, for two months. Sacrificing makes it all the more worth it. I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning when they open their gifts from each other.

Of course gift giving isn't the real reason for the holiday, but I feel like they brought me back to earth. I love having these selfless, pure children as my own.

However, lest you think it's roses and rainbows here all the time, let me remind you of our reality. Maybe my big kids are pretty darn near perfect children, but Tanner is a good balance and reminds me that no one is perfect. :) He's not a big fan of picture-taking, or anything else really...

But we did manage to get one where he wasn't crying, so it instantly became our Christmas card. A Christmas miracle indeed.

Merry Christmas, friends. May you remember what all the December chaos is really about.

sugar cookies

I've been telling people for years that my mom's sugar cookie recipe is the best. I've tried several others, including those ones with so much butter they are dense and...just taste like butter. Those ones might keep their shape perfectly, but I'd rather have one that tastes like perfection and maybe doesn't quite look like it. These are fluffy and soft and oh so good. Try them this Christmas! (Like I just did. The YW are decorating them tonight.)

A few months ago my mom asked for the recipe because she doesn't really use a recipe and goes by memory whenever she makes these. I sent it to her and she was clear in her response that the recipe is not hers. I can still vouch for her cookies being GOOD, but these ones are too and now I don't know where the credit goes. I guess it can go to me!

Sugar Cookies
3/4 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 spoon-sized dollop sour cream
3 1/4 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in cream cheese and sour cream. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix. Chill for several hours or overnight. Roll out in sections, using flour as necessary. Cut out with your favorite cookie cutters. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

Frost with canned frosting or homemade...up to you! (I do both.) Happy baking!

break

We decided to do our very own Thanksgiving this year. Maybe it is a fault of mine that I am selfish and like my little family all to myself. Maybe. We were going to do the whole week in the motorhome but because we tried to plan this little vacation just a month previous, RV parks were totally booked. So we did 2 days/nights in the motorhome and then 3 days/nights at a friend's house. That was perfect if you ask me.

You may remember that we have Spencer's parents' motorhome for the year. One place we have wanted to go for a while is Pinnacles. Very few people have heard of it but the things we have heard caught our interest. We knew it was primitive and in the middle of nowhere but we went for it anyway. This leg of our trip coincided with our 9th anniversary. Thankfully, I'm not an obsessive romantic and was totally fine camping in a motorhome with my family on our anniversary.

(do you like the crooked timer picture?)

On Tuesday morning we were going to pack up the motorhome and drive to the trailhead for a 6 mile hike to some of the caves. Funny - I was worried about the kids being able to walk that far. Well, for some reason the motorhome's battery was completely dead. The extra battery didn't fit. The slow charger was charging it too slow. We tried to make lemonade out of lemons (or maybe it was actually the opposite), and decided to walk from the campground, adding 4 additional miles. A few things saved us and made this crazy insane hike possible: 1) It was rather elevation-neutral - we only climbed about 300 feet so it was more of a walk than a hike. 2) It was perfect weather. 67 degrees made it so completely bearable and not hot. 3) My kids aren't big whiners (ok, Tanner totally is but he doesn't really count since he was in the backpack). It took us almost 3 hours to hike to the caves, but they sure were cool. I guess I was expecting to walk through the caves but it was more like scurrying up cold, wet rocks and through crevices in the pitch black. It was awesome, especially when the cold water dripped down my back and pants. :)

The last two miles were pretty awful - we were all dead on our feet and the kids were dragging. Emma and I were 10 minutes behind the boys because we had to make a bathroom stop and when we dragged our sorry selves into that campground and saw the motorhome actually running I could have cried. We cooked a frozen lasagne, laughed about how far we had walked, and all went to bed early.

The next day we hiked a relatively easy 4 miles to the other set of caves. These caves were longer/bigger and a little more easy to get through. The views were very cool, but we never saw any condors like we expected (but we did see wild turkeys, a wild pig, and 3 deer!). We packed up and started driving for the second half of our vacation.

Spencer works with a nice girl whose parents have a second home in Pismo Beach. I had never been so we decided to take them up on their incredibly generous offer to stay there (while they were in Hawaii!). The house was amazing...it is the 5th oldest home in the city but they recently bought it and restored most of it. It was a 10 minute walk to the pier and downtown shopping/restaurants and we had brought our bikes so we used them as our main form of transportation. Good thing too, with how we ate! I had the best panini of my life at a little pasta restaurant, and then had the best clam chowder of my life two nights later. We saw the Muppet movie, watched lots of other movies, and relaxed. We invited some friends to come spend the day with us on Friday and hung out at the beach, digging, swimming, and trying to ride these beach bikes. And of course Ticket to Ride was involved.

Our vacations aren't always super fun vacations since most of them end up being "trips" with no relaxation involved whatsoever. I can't decide what my favorite part was, but watching my boys dig in the sand for hours on end and being so tired at the end of our hike (limping in step with Emma) definitely top the list. A real thankful Thanksgiving break.

why I like it

I know the internet is all abuzz with Pinterest right now...but I'm going to tell you why I like it so much.

I heard about it a year ago and eventually had to request a login since I didn't know anyone who was already on it. After a while my invite arrived and it took me another few weeks to figure it all out. I love the great ideas, how it gets the creativity flowing, seeing what my friends like (and what they make!), etc. Oh, and how I can browse it on my phone when I'm at a red light. That is, perhaps, the best part.

But! My kids are also fascinated by it. Emma desperately wants her own Pinterest account. I have found that if I tell my kids that what we are having for dinner is something I found on Pinterest, they are a lot more likely to be excited about it. Spencer is the same way; he walked past the computer when I had a certain dish pulled up and he commented that it looked really good. Wham - that became his birthday dinner 3 days later!

I made this last night (broccoli chicken braid). I made my own whole wheat dough instead of using crescent rolls as a modification. Anyway, Tyler thought he had died and gone to heaven. And there are two cups of broccoli in it! He asked for more, twice, and then asked me to pack the leftovers in his lunch today (ew). Emma wasn't as in love, but according to her, if something is on Pinterest it must be good. So clearly the problem is hers.

I love that I can easily type in things I'm looking for and suddenly have hundreds of options. I love that it seems to be a mind-reader. Mostly, I love that my kids can now type in things they are looking for (crafts) and get great ideas. So aside from them eating more healthy, and being happy about it, it's just plain fun for all of us.