To be, or not to be

Today at lunch, George looked around the table and said, "We have five people in our family. When we have Sam, we will have 6." Sam, of course, is our next baby. Now to clarify, I am not pregnant and I don't know when I will be.... George has just been talking about Sam since the day I had Henry. He talks about him like he's as real as you and me. He just hasn't gotten here yet. But he's coming. And we will share our toys with him just like we do with Henry.

Before I had Henry, I had a thought- maybe a feeling or just an idea - I don't know exactly what - that I would have 4 boys. George, Ben, Henry, and Sam. So when I got pregnant with Henry I really felt like I knew it was a boy and he would be Henry. And of course, he was. Given the track record of the Prince family, I'm betting the odds are pretty high that the next baby will be our little Sam. George talks about him so much that I almost feel like I know him already. He really likes dragons and knights and wants to eat watermelon. He just doesn't exist yet.

It'll be really interesting to see what happens.

Sewing and Thinking

I really like to sew. I don't do it as often as I should, but when I do I am reminded again of why I love it. Part of it is the sense of accomplishment. Knowing I made something beautiful all by myself. Even the idea of starting something and finishing something when my life is full of jobs that never seem finished. Another draw is the uninterrupted time to sit and think. I love watching the material pass by and hearing the drone of the machine. Quality time.

The other day I was sewing some pillow covers for my living room. I had told my friend Sarah that I wanted to make some pillow covers for my living room and she called me and told me there were some lovely kitchen towels at Target that sounded just like what I was explaining to her. I went, and they were perfect! So as I sat there piecing them together, I just kept thinking how excited I was to have them and how beautiful they were. As the project wore on, it also struck me that they looked vaguely familiar... more on that in a minute...

A seemingly unrelated thought: as a child, it always bothered me how people in the 70's could possibly think that those greens, browns, oranges and yellows were in any way attractive. HOW?? It bothered me for years. I just thought the whole decade should just be trashed. Everything was so ugly. I even hated visiting old church buildings that had the pews done in that nasty orange color. Who in their right mind had chosen that?? I remember wondering what had possessed my parents to buy that ugly yellow 1976 toyota corolla, or that avocado green fridge. I remember especially hating orange and brown together. I had a hand-me-down outfit in orange and brown and I remember being ashamed to wear it. Worst combination ever.

Now for a few pieces of evidence against me, as we put the above thoughts together:

Exhibit A: The corolla I thought was so ugly: (one like unto it)





Exhibit B: The dreaded green fridge. (one like unto it)


















Exhibit C: recently remodeled upstairs boys bathroom:
















Exhibit D: The rug by my back door.















and finally
Exhibit E: My new pillows. Note the color combination of the pillows, as well as the color of the couch and the curtains. And what shade of green is that in the rug?














































Hm. Well. There you go. Guess they weren't so crazy after all :)

Tonight's fare

Mexican Spaghetti Sauce

TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 jar (26 ounces) meatless spaghetti sauce
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen gold and white corn, thawed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Hot cooked spaghetti

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
In a large saucepan, combine the spaghetti sauce, beans, tomatoes, corn, salsa, chilies, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir in beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Serve with spaghetti. Yield: 10 servings.

This recipe was huge! Everyone liked it, including Henry!! Enjoy!

It has fruit in it, that makes it healthy

2 delicious things I made this week:

1. Banana Bread. This recipe is unlike any I've ever tried and I love it. My sister-in-law Patti gave it to me, and it has become a favorite. Which is saying a lot since for the most part I make most recipes once and almost never again. This recipe is twice as good if you make it into muffins. You get more surface area when you make muffins, and that is the best part of this recipe: the sugary goodness of the crust.

2 c sugar
4 tbsp sour cream
3 large bananas
2 c flour
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c nuts (I never put nuts in)

Mix all and bake at 350. For bread it's about an hour (check with a toothpick) and muffins it's more like 30 min. or so.


2. Cherry "Pie." We got this from a children's book we got at the library, about King Bing who is trying to get Queen Bea to marry him by giving her a pie. This recipe is at the end, purportedly King Bing's recipe, but it's doubtful since in the illustrations it's a double crust cherry pie and this is more like a cherry crisp ;)

1 1/4 c. oats
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 20 ounce can cherry pie filling

Combine the oats,brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir. Cut in the butter. Mix it all together with your hands (it's more fun that way) until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Empty cherry pie filling into a greased pie plate and top with crumbly mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375.

As many of you know, I try new recipes all the time. There are so many great recipes in the world, and I love food so much (faaaar too much) that I feel like I'm missing out on the joys of this world if I waste my time always eating the same few meals. So we're always trying new things. In fact, the reason I started this blog (since I've always been anti-blog ;) ) was to post recipes I've liked. So, my little blog is finally fulfilling the measure of its creation with my first recipe post.

Veggie Nachos

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef ( I used ground buffalo meat)
  
• 3/4 c. water
  
• 1 envelope taco seasoning (I made my own: 1 tbsp. chili powder, 2 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. each ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, powdered oregano and sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt. yum.)
  
• 1 medium bunch broccoli, broken into small florets
• 1 medium head cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1 package (15-1/2 ounces) bite-size tortilla chips (I used baked tostitos)
  
• 1 can (11 ounces) condensed nacho cheese soup, undiluted (I made my own with 1 c. milk, 1 1/2 c. cheese, 2 tbsp. butter)
  
• 1/2 cup milk (only if you use the canned cheese sauce)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions:

Chop all your veggies and set aside.

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain. Add 3/4 cup water and taco seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make cheese sauce.

Just load up all the veggies and meat on your chips and drizzle cheese sauce over top.

I served it with corn bread.

I changed it to make it as healthy as I thought nachos could be. But still deeelicious. It's a winner.






Everyone ate it and loved it. In my book that's a good recipe.

Why I like being a mom

Because older siblings will dress up younger siblings, now and forever....



Because it's so exciting to go swimming that they can't even wait to go upstairs to put on swimsuits.....




Because of the allure of stylish eyewear....




Because of brotherly love. (Ben did all the work...)



Because Batman capes (and goggles) are more fun than I could have imagined...








Because eating is sooo exciting...



Because life is never boring around such funny little guys!!

a little bragging.... sew what?

a couple years ago i fixed a dress for my friend karen. it was a really simple fix, literally requiring only a 4 inch square of fabric. a couple months ago she told her sister-in-law kirsten that i am really good at tailoring dresses. so kirsten calls me up and says that she needs me to fix a dress for her. no problem. then she shows up with a completely strapless dress that is also about 3 inches too long for her, one yard of lining material and a sheer shawl one yard long and about 18 inches wide. @#$%@^$??? i pretend it would be no problem and then spend the next few days *kind of* freaking out and wondering what i got myself into. this seriously kept me up at night. for several nights.

but eventually the stars aligned, the hem came out straight (the piece was over 20 feet long when i finally cut it off), and the dress turned out beautiful. i was really proud of it.










these pictures are from the final fitting... there are still basting stitches in the pleats and pins in the back, but they're the only pictures i have. *sigh* good job, melissa...