Holiday Decorating

Every year a Christmas grows closer I start to think about decorating. This will be Captain and Mine's 6th Christmas together, and we still don't have many decorations. This is mostly due to the fact that we've spent the holidays with our family. But! now that we have a family of our own i think I should probably start decoration our own house. So these are the things I'm planning on making between now and ... well whenever I get done really. Let's face it Harvey is only 2 what does he care if the house is decorated other than a Christmas tree.

Anyways I really only have 3 things I want to make right now.

• Christmas Stockings. For these I'm thinking about doing a white silk doupioni stocking with a red velvet cuff. I know, its crazy to make something that can't be washed, but I love how classic and elegant they would look. Also, I'm thinking about doing a Star inset onto these, same fabric, but with the nap of the fabric changing with every point.
• Tree skirt. Something that matches the stocking, but with more decorations. Maybe i could embroider "Smith" onto it, or "Christ". I haven't decided yet really.
  
• Ornaments. I've seen Paper Balls done with circles, or Stars done with long fabric strips, and felt ornaments all of which are cute. I'm just not sure where to start. Feel free to give input!
  

SO if you have links to decorating ideas you think I'd like PLEASE share them with me.
Seriously I need help with this, last year I put my jewelry on the Christmas tree to try and help fill it up.

Failure to Nap

Let me start by saying this. Harvey has always napped well. He LOVES naps. When I try to push his 10 am nap back to 11, he finds his "gankie" curls up and reminds me to put him in his crib. That being said Harvey is to the age where he no longer needs 2 naps, but since he refuses to delay his morning nap, he is cranky at 5pm.

So 3 pm rolls around, formerly a good nap time, now usually a quiet time. Either way I get a good hour of chores done. Until Monday. I come in after putting Harvey down for his afternoon nap, which for the record this time he really did need. Up at 5 am, first nap at 9. Daylight savings, ect.




This is what I came back to less than an hour later. Harvey had stripped completely, including removing his diaper.



He was bouncing up and down. His crib was a good 2 feet away from the wall.



And he was having the time of his life.

Harvey is 2!!!

Here are some pics from Harvey's 2nd b-day. You can't tell from the pic, but Harvey has twice as many toys now.



Anyways, we just had Harvey's friends over. It was a small party, but a lot of fun.

We did face painting, made puppy hats and played pin the tail on the puppy. Harvey did everything except wear a hat.

Harvey now has 2 tricycles, 2 puppy dogs, (one of which wags her tail and he calls "Roxy") 2 bull dossers, an airplane, and some bath toys. He LOVES them all. Thanks everyone for making Harvey's birthday so special.

Zoo Trip

Harvey's grandpa came to visit us for Halloween and the following Monday we decided to visit the zoo with some friends.

Grampa Doug and Harvey looking at some big cats. It took Harvey like 3 minutes to actually see them, but he thought they were pretty cool in the end.

Not as cool as the granola bar though.



Harvey and Owen checking out some zebras. Honestly though they were more interested in standing on the fence.




Owen Loves snakes. He saw this, stared in disbelief for a few moments then promptly sat down and said "My snake." He screamed when we left the statue.

Grampa and Harvey checking out the Penguins. They liked it when the penguins dove into the water.

Owen and Harvey plating with the globe that showed where the penguins could be found on the earth.

The zoo is pretty nice, they have peacocks and peahens that just wander around. Owen and Harvey kept trying to catch this set.


Jennie and the Boys on a gorilla statue. Neither of the boys wanted to stay on the thing. They just wanted to run.

In the end we had a very nice time. When Harvey and I came home and looked through these he said "papa" when the picks of grandpa showed up. it was pretty sweet.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone. I just wanted to share some pics of our totally awesome costumes this year. My dad came to visit so we did a star wars theme.


Captain was Han Solo. My dad was Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I was Princess Leia.
Can you guess what Harvey went as?



Thanks right !! He was Yoda. Have you ever seen such a cute ball hogging Yoda?


Here is a shot of my boys all together, and the last time you'll see Harvey with his green ears.

Here are my two Jedi Knights together.


We went to our ward trunk-or-treat, and I was in charge of the doughnut bobbing activity. The kids (and adults) really got a kick out of it.

I also made some awesome vampire bite and mummy cupcakes for dessert after dinner.

And here we all are at the very end. You can tell Harvey enjoyed his all you can eat chocolate binge.

Daring Bakers: Doughnuts

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Yeast Doughnuts:

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 25 minutes
Rising time - 1.5 hours total
Cooking time - 12 minutes

Yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size

Ingredients
Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml
Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz
Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
Eggs, Large, beaten 2
White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz
Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz
Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz
All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

They turned out beautifully. I made a half batch cause cold doughnuts aint no good.


We glazed some, filled some with lemon curd, and covered some in cinnamon and sugar.

Lemon Filling
makes about 2 cups

1 0.25 ounce packet unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the warm water and let it sit for a few minutes to soften. Beat the egg yolks in another small bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and cornstarch, then gradually whisk in the water and gelatin. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and boils. Boil for about a minute, then remove from heat and pour a little into the egg yolks. Beat together then gradually add back into the gelatin mixture. Return to the heat and simmer for about a minute. Remove from the heat and beat in butter and lemon juice until smooth.

This will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Moments with Harvey

So today, I ran into the grocery store to get two things. That was it. A quick in and out trip. Harvey was with me, and I had put him in one of those car carts. He loves them, they have a steering wheel and make noises. So again I was in a hurry and as we went past the deli Harvey LEANS out the car and starts pointing frantically. He wanted a cookie. Our grocery store give out free cookies to kids who ask nicely. But I mean Harvey isn't even 2 and he's only had a cookie once before when our friend (who happens to work there) got one for him. SO HOW IN THE WORLD DID DID THIS KID REMEMBER ABOUT THE COOKIE?

But anyways Harvey very nicely said "Cookie" to the lady behind the counter, and when I prompted him to say please, he yells out "DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE" Everyone in the entire store was able to hear that boy's need for cookies. Needless to say he got his cookie, I got my yogurt and we got out of there.