Lego-tastic

For a month or so now there have been ads on TV for a new Lego Castle exhibit at the Children's Museum. And for a month or so now I have listened to Spencer say such things as "Mom, maybe we could go see those Legos", or "Mommy, I think Joshie and I would have lots of fun there", and "Mommy, WE NEED TO GO TO THERE!!!"

So today we did.

It was Lego-tastic. The boys (including our good buddies Ashton and Dominic) spent well over an hour in the exhibit. (A record for them, I think.)

There were lots and lots of castles made of Legos.

There was the all-important Lego slide.

There was a Lego throne for our little princes.

There was a Lego dungeon, which Josh was inexplicably obsessed with.

There was a Lego catapault, which Spencer was understandably obsessed with.

There were a ton of other things, like Lego jousting and tons of Lego stations to build things at, but a mom can only take so many Lego pictures.

It was a great, Lego-rific day.

(Side note: this was one of the most painful posts I've ever had to write. Not that I have any horrific emotional issues with Legos. No, it's even worse - my laptop appears to be dying, making blogging (and everything else) terribly SSSSSLLLLLOOOOOWWWW and painful. Grrrrr. Seriously, I'm going nuts here.)

I Believe the Children are our Future

If your husband is similar to mine as far as the computer obsession goes (and I know many of them are!) then you'll really appreciate this.

Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

Bread of the Month - English Muffins

Because of today's holiday I thought it only fitting to make English muffins. Back in the day, ye olde English housewives used to bake English muffins on the hearth. Because of their proximity to the fire, bits of ash used to find its way on to the muffins and subsequently onto the hands and faces of hungry English kids and husbands. (Who apparently didn't care about a bit more carbon in their diet.) This phenomenon made English muffins a traditional breakfast and tea treat on Ash Wednesday and during Lent for many a pious Englishman. (At least until good ol' Henry VIII came around and started makin' his own religion and all.)

Okay, I totally just made all of that up.

I really just wanted to see what making English muffins would be like. And it happens to be Ash Wednesday. But I had you there for a minute, didn't I?

Let's just get started.

I decided to use the recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book. (Which, by the way, I got for free from my Better Homes and Gardens ad rep when I was working in the advertising world, so many moons and children ago. The pay for that job was terrible, but sometimes the perks were good.)

I decided to do only half the recipe because who needs a dozen English muffins? (Plus, the cooking method is a little time intensive, as you'll see.)

I started by scalding 1C of milk, 2 TBL butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 TBL sugar. I do it in the microwave because it's faster.


Then I added it to the 1 C of flour and 1 package of yeast that I had in my mixer.


Man, I love my mixer. Seriously. If I were a pioneer, I'd totally be luggin' that thing across the plains because I use it all the time. Wait...

So then I mixed and scraped on medium speed for 30 seconds, and then on high speed for three minutes. This helps the gluten in the flour get all... gluteny. Whatever, this is an important step in most yeast breads. Don't skip it.


Then I added two more cups of flour, mixed it, and then used the mixer to knead the dough.


For reals, I LOVE my mixer. It makes making bread so much easier. If you don't have one, start dropping hints now. Mother's Day is only a few month's off. (My dad gave me mine for my birthday one year. That's right, I have the world's best dad. And you don't.)

I let the machine do the work until the dough was nice and stiff but still elastic. (Again with the... glutenation.) At this point you're supposed to put the dough in a different, greased bowl. But I say, why create more dishes that you're gonna have to wash later? So this is what I do:


Yep, I let the dough stay on the hook while I spray the mixing bowl with cooking spray. (This is also a good way to tell if you've kneaded the dough enough; at least for stiff doughs.) Then I plopped the dough into the bowl and made sure that it got all nice and greasy.


Then I covered it and let it rise in a warm place for an hour.


After it had doubled in size I punched it down and let it rest for 10 minutes on a floured surface.


Now it was time to roll it out. Just a bit less than 1/2" thick. Pretty.


You're supposed to cut it out with a 4" biscuit cutter, but all I had was a 3.5" glass. Good enough for me!


At this point you're supposed to dip each side of the muffin in cornmeal. Mine were too dry, so the cornmeal wouldn't stick. No biggie - just brush each side with some water. Or, try my method, which is way faster and easier.


I'm all about being fast and easy. (That one's for you, roommate Stacey!)

So then I covered them with cornmeal...


and let them rise for another 30 minutes. (The huge one was just to see what a super-thick one would be like.)


In the meantime, I let Joshie play with the extra dough. Way fun, from a two year old's perspective! (Until I told him, no, he could not throw the dough into the living room. Because I'm mean like that.)


This is where English muffins get a little different. Instead of baking them in the oven, you cook them at 325 degrees on your electric skillet.


They cook for 25-30 minutes total, needing to be flipped every 5 minutes. (Making them a bit labor intensive, I think.)

They get all golden and crispy on the outside, and the cornmeal smells faintly of popcorn. Yum.


So they're cooked and golden and yummy and picture perfect.


Time to crack one of those bad boys open. But you don't use a knife - use a fork.


This makes all of those yummy nooks and crannies. Something's gotta soak up all the butter you're about to slather on.


At this point I must admit I tried the English muffin, plain. It was pretty good, but I could tell it would be pretty... plain... once they got cold. (Because let's be honest here, all hot, fresh bread is gonna taste pretty good.) Which is probably why even the recipe suggests toasting or broiling the halves. I think this is pretty interesting - usually toasting is saved for when bread gets old.

So I toasted a few halves.


And slathered on the aforementioned (and oh-so-important) butter. Mmm...


I mean seriously, doesn't this just make your mouth water?

Then it was time for the test: would the kids like it?


Yes, yes they would. With a little homemade strawberry/blueberry jam they were the perfect afternoon snack.

Final analysis: homemade English muffins are pretty tasty. But they're labor and time intensive, and in all honesty I think they're only slightly better than the storebought ones. Although if I made them a bit thicker I think they'd probably be a lot better than storebought ones. But will I be making them again? Meh. Probably not.

Self-Portrait Tuesday: Week 25

In case you're wondering that's a non-maternity shirt I'm wearing. Also in case you're wondering, this is probably the last time I'll wear it for a while - it's gettin' a little snug.

While I was taking my self-portrait two 'bored' little boys came scampering into the kitchen to see what I was up to.


Yes, they scampered. And yes, I mean 'bored' because I was a horribly mean mom today and made them play with things other than Wii and Computer games and even suggested they play outside. (The horror!) In fact, they did play outside for a good 30 minutes. I think they ran back and forth across the lawn the entire time, probably in an effort to stay warm. (Like I said, mean mom.) But at least they'll sleep well tonight!

This was my major project for the day: cleaning and reorganizing the closet in baby 3.0's room. Okay, so it'd be a lot more impressive with a before shot, but I forgot to take one. Oops.


What do you mean there's no baby stuff in it? I see a baby monitor, a changing pad... and a Boppy! And if the baby really wants them, he can inherit all of those stamps* that I inherited from my mom. That's plenty of baby stuff... in the baby closet...

What's a baby need a closet for anyway? When he starts making mortgage payments, then he can start complaining.

(*Side note: I seriously considered selling a bunch of stamps and such while I was cleaning today. I haven't really used any of it in well over a year. But I just couldn't do it. Even though my mom died almost five years ago and I know she really wouldn't care either way, part of me just can't part with my 'inheritance'. Give me another five years and we'll see. Is that weird?)

Reverence Effin' Ayche Eee

We have been using the new Nursery manual for our Family Home Evening lessons lately. (Or "Effin' Ayche Eee" as it's known in our house.) It actually works really well: the lessons are the perfect age for Josh, and I try to get Spencer to help as much as possible to make him feel older.

Tonight's topic: reverence. We've been a little... lacking in that department lately. More than lacking. Terrible. I had to drag Josh kicking and screaming out of Sacrament meeting yesterday. But we're working on it! So I decided to do this lesson.

The boys were perfect. They sat. They listened. They folded their arms. They vowed to be reverent at church and during prayers forevermore.

I'm lying. A lot.

They ran around. They yelled. They screamed. They wiggled and giggle and used potty humor. ("You're a potty face!" "No, you're a potty face!")

But inbetween all of that they did manage to sit for a few minutes, and perhaps a few things sunk in. I'm not saying they're going to be perfect angels next week at church. Or ever, at least until they're 19. But, like I said before, we're working on it.

After the lesson we decided to use the Valentine's Rice Crispie Treat kit that Grandpa and Grandma sent us. It was kind of a weird kit - instead of regular marshmallows it came with some marshmallow goo that you cooked and then mixed with the Rice Crispies. It didn't stick together very well, so instead of Valentine's hearts we made Valentine's ameobas and parameciums. Because that's how we roll.

Today I Am Thankful For...

• Moms who know when to step in
• Moms who know when they should stay out of it
• Kit-Kat
• Indoor plumbing (Could you imagine life without it? I don't like to.)
• Slow weeks - because sometimes you need some time off from a busy life!
• Pretty scarfs
• When Josh looked at his pruney hands after a bath and exclaimed, "Look at my hands! We need to buy new ones!"
• How high up our new mini van is - way easier for a pregnant momma to get in and out of!
• Belly buttons that aren't super sensitive to everything (I'm missing that right now!)
• Little boy belly buttons
  

Just Like Mommy

Christy's Craft Challenge: Barrettes

I got to participate in Christy's Craft Challenge again this month. (Here's a review of what that is, just in case you've forgotten.)

So here are the supplies I started out with:

Paisley wrapping paper
Pom-pom string (I have no idea what to call it)
Red tulle
Make-up remover pads
Fun Size Kit-Kat

Okay, the Kit-Kat wasn't part of the packet. But it should have been because it matches perfectly. And because I luuurrrvve Kit-Kat. I'm just sayin', Christy...

Okay, so no Kit-Kat.

*Nom-nom-nom*

I decided that my super-cool Hair Flair Holder was a little empty. (Mainly because Josh keeps stealing and losing stuff out of it.) So, this month's craft: big, poofy barrettes!

Not that I have any real need for big, poofy barrettes. I have 2.5 little boys, and a 31 year old pregnant lady would look a bit goofy in them. But who cares - not every craft has to be practical.

I cut a square of the tulle, cut off a pom-pom, trimmed a make-up remover, and then cut a piece of paper the same size.


I folded the tulle several times to make a square. Then I sewed it to the pom-pom.


Then I sewed the tulle and pom-pom to the paper and the make-up remover. Not that you can really see that in this picture, but I did.


Then I cut the paper and make-up remover into petals, to give it a more flowery look.


I found a couple of old barrettes that I never wear and decided to use them as the base.


A dab of Tacky Craft Glue to put it together. Okay, obviously I don't adhere to the "Just a dot, not a lot" preschool rule for glue. Hahaha! Adhere...


Then I made another barrette, just to see if I could. And because you can't have just one barrette. That's just insane.

So is the thought of showing my face with no make-up on a bad hair day. Here's the best you get.


So there you go. Big, poofy barrettes, courtesy of Christy's Craft Challege.

And now it's time for another Kit-Kat. *Nom*

Pampered Chef

Tonight I hosted a Pampered Chef party. (I totally thought of you, Christy!) I didn't get to take any pictures because I couldn't find my camera.

(Side note: weird, I know! I never lose my camera! I have two little suspects, but they are currently asleep. Plus, I'm a little afraid to find out where they put it. In the dryer? With the Transformers? Outside on the slide? Who knows - these are all plausible choices. End of side note.)

So the hostess benefit this month is getting any item I want 60% off. Awesome! Now I just have to decide what I want. (I'm being good and buying only things that I need - not something that just seems cool.) Here are a few things I'm contemplating:

The 7" Santoku Knife

The BBQ Grill Basket
The Collapsible Serving Bowl
Stoneware: Deep Covered Baker
Stoneware: Large Bar Pan

What do you think? What would you get?