A Quiet Spot

In every home I've lived in since I've been married there has been a quiet spot that I love.  It's usually small, simple, and easy to keep clean.  It's a spot where I could just stand and exhale and find a little peace and calmness to my crazy life.

In our newlywed apartment it was a corner in the kitchen, on top of the small bookshelf that held all of my cookbooks.  A large plant hung from the ceiling right above and the top of the bookshelf was full of potted plants and had a small Mikasa glass clock.  It was serene and pretty and I loved it.

In our second apartment the spot was our bathroom.  The bathroom was totally 60's retro, with tile and glass everywhere.  Only in white, not all of the hideous colors the 60's are usually associated with. And there was a frosted window; I love windows in bathrooms. I loved that bathroom.

In our third apartment (the one we were in while Lance was a grad student), I didn't have a spot.  I HATED that apartment, and refuse to dedicate any more space to it.  Blech.

And here?  It's in my bedroom, on top of my dresser. 

Why yes, that is a stuffed frog.  His name is Blinker, and I've had him since college.  He used to help me study and keep perspective.  (Because even if it was the middle of the night and I wasn't even halfway done studying, how bad could life be if I had a stuffed frog on my desk?  Answer: not terribly.)  He's sitting on a tea saucer from my wedding china.  Why do I have a stuffed frog on some china?  Long story.  Not really.

Because the saucer was accidentally left out after a fancy dinner a few years ago and I put it there to remember to put it away but I'm lazy and never did.  And now I like being able to see my wedding china every day.  And Blinker is up there for his own safety because I couldn't bear to see my kiddos destroy him, but I also couldn't bear to see him packed away in some box in the attic.

But Blinker and the saucer aren't the main reasons I like this spot.

I also really like this music box I inherited after my mom died.  Her mom got it, I think, on some trip to England or something.  It plays "La Vie En Rose", although not very well because it's pretty old and needs a tune-up.  (Wait - do music boxes get tune-ups?)  My mom kept it on her dresser for a long time and it reminds me of her. 

I also like my spot because of these pictures of the kiddos.  They're of the times I love my babies best -

 - when they're sleeping.  I think it's cute.  Can you tell which baby is which?  When I'm having a bad day with the kids I can look at these pictures and remember when they were tiny and didn't talk back or throw toys or pout or whine or break my chairs. (That's another post coming soon.)

Cole, apparently, has his own quiet spots, too.  Over the past few days I keep finding him in these two spots:

1) Under the piano bench.  He loves it.  Even though he always ends up bonking his head and crying, he keeps going back to it.

2) Next to the fireplace.  I think he really likes looking at his reflection.  And getting his fingers pinched in the door.  Pesky baby.

Self-portrait Tuesday: Wabbit Season

I started the morning fully intent on spending several hours on yard work.  See?  I've got my gardening hat on - that means business!

But I got to work and it was WINDY.  Which made things difficult.  Then I realized that I was out of yard work garbage bags, and basically all I was planning on doing this morning was cleaning up from winter.  Dang.  And then Josh and I discovered this in the back yard.

That's right, my friends.

A bunny.

Two bunnies, to be exact.  Can you see it's sibling kinda sitting on top of him?  Josh was hoeing in the garden and nearly chopped one of these bunnies in half.  (How traumatic would that have been?)  I was so surprised I didn't know what else to do other than take a picture.

Then I got to thinking.  Bunnies... not good.  Not for gardeners anyway.  As I was thinking of ways to catch them, Josh decided it was wabbit season.  He started chasing one of the bunnies around like a natural-born coon hound, hollering to wake the dead.  It was the time of his life.  Cole was sitting in the middle of the yard, loving this wonderful show and laughing his head off.  It was the time of his life, too.

I gave up on the idea of catching the bunnies, at least with Mr. Joshie around.  I finished up what yard work I could and then started filling up all the bunny hiding places with rocks.  (Like behind the fence posts.)  By then Josh had chased one of the bunnies out of our fence (is it unrealistic to think it won't be back?) and had lost the other one.  (I decided not to stop up the two places I'm pretty sure they come in and out of yard through - I don't want to trap them in.  I want to make sure all bunnies are out first!)

Josh was so excited about the bunnies that we had to call Lance at work and tell him all about them.  And it was the first thing out of his mouth when we picked Spencer up from school.  Spencer got into it and started coming up with elaborate plans to catch a bunny.  It was pretty fun to listen to.  (My favorite was Spencer's idea of just hiding in a box and then jumping out to grab the bunny once the bunny got close enough.  Simple, but funny.) 

After lunch we had a couple of kids from church come over to play.  (Their mom had to take their brother to the doctor and didn't need the entourage.  I completely understood and was more than willing to help out!)  Ashley, who is Spencer's age and good friend in Primary, was very excited at the prospect of catching a bunny.  I sent all of the kids in the back yard on a bunny hunt, never dreaming that they would actually catch one - but they did!

We spotted the bunny, chased him around a bit, and then as I prodded him out of a hiding spot Ashley was quick enough to catch him.  I was (and still am) quite impressed, because that bunny was fast.

The kids were quite put out that I wouldn't let the bunny in the house.  So we compromised and made a makeshift (and very temporary!) home for him.

Poor bunny.  He was really man-handled there for a while.  I finally decided he had been tortured enough, so I put a terra cotta pot in the box and made the kiddos put him in there, where he hid for several hours.

I made it very clear from the get-go that this was NOT a pet bunny and that he needed to go back "home" to the field just north of our home.  So after dinner we loaded the bunny into the wagon and walked up to the field.  With the wagon and the stroller and three little kids it was like a little parade.

Once we got to the field I asked Lance to gently let the bunny go.  Here's what he did.  Meanie.

Man oh man.  This was all pretty exciting, but I don't want bunnies in my back yard.  Anyone have any advice?  Until I know what to do, I guess Spencer and Josh will just have to be on continual bunny alert.

Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon and Cream

I have been thoroughly chastised for not posting this recipe sooner.  (Emails, comments, phone calls even.  Sheesh!)  Sorry about that.  I was afraid I might get in trouble for posting something that is so blatantly bad for your health.  Seriously, this is NOT diet food.  It is the polar opposite of diet food.

And that is exactly why it is so dang good.

Let's first give credit where credit is due - Chef Frank Farmer.  At least, I'm assuming it's his recipe, since there were no other credits on the recipe sheet I received during class.  I couldn't find a website for him, but here's his brief bio from KitchenArt: "Chef Frank Farmer is a culinary graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. He has worked at several restaurants, including McGraw’s Steak, Chop, and Fish House; Frank’s Café West; and Sarge Oak on Main; and, was a teaching assistant in the culinary department at Johnson and Wales. Currently, Chef Frank is the executive chef for several fraternity and sorority houses at Purdue University."  

Very impressive, Frank.  Just like these potatoes.  

Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon and Cream

4 TBL butter

1 onion (1/4" diced)

3 TBL flour

2 C heavy cream (Thou shalt NOT sin and try to substitute something with less fat.)

Pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1 1/2 C cooked bacon, diced (Thou shalt NOT use cheapo gross bacon.  It's worth the extra $ to buy something decent!)

3 C russet potatoes, peeled and 1/4" diced

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 TBL fine breadcrumbs

1. Preheat a heavy dutch oven on the stone.  Add the butter and melt.  (I used medium heat.)

2. Saute the onion until translucent.

3. Stir in the flour, and cook for 3-5 minutes.  (Be careful not to let the butter or the flour burn!)

4. Gradually add in the cream, stirring constantly until thickened.

5. Season with the pepper and salt.  (Be generous with the salt - potatoes need it!)

6. Stir in the bacon and potatoes, and coat well.

7. Sprinkle the cheese and breadcrumbs on top.

8. Cover, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  (And be sure you follow the directions - because now I know why our potatoes were a little undercooked.  I forgot to cover them and I had the oven at 375.  Oops.  But you know what?  They were still great!)

Eat, enjoy, and make sure you keep a working defibrillator nearby.

Happy Easter!

As I've mentioned before, the Easter Bunny comes to our house on Saturdays.  (Much easier than dealing with sugar-crazed children at church on Sunday morning!)

So on Saturday I woke up to the sounds of Spencer and Josh discovering what the Easter Bunny had left for them.  I didn't rush out of bed because on holidays like this I like to listen to their happy and loud play-by-play conversations.  "Look!  Eggs everywhere!"  "Ooooh!  A pie kit!"  (It was actually a musical instrument kit... not sure where the pies came from.) "Lambs!  Lambs for everyone!"  (Each boy got a cute plush lamb.)  "Chocolate bunnies!  And SpongeBob toothpaste!"  (That part's correct.)

Once the excitement from the goodies in the bags had died down, it was time to get down to some serious egg hunting.

And then it was time to count their loot.  Mr. E. Bunny was very generous this year.

The boys had lots of fun with their new toys.  Josh got a fishing game.

Spencer got a rather loud rocket balloon kit.  (The balloons usually fly more than they do in this video.)

And Cole got some cute books (Thanks, Utah Easter bunnies!) and a Slinky.  Because all babies love Slinkies.

I offered to make breakfast, which was absolutely ridiculous because of all the sugar that had already been consumed.  Such as Josh, downing 2 Reese's Peanut Butter Bunnies before 8:30am.  Blech.

The rest of the day was spent trying to calm and be patient with the sugar-addled and sleep-deprived brains of a 3 and 6 year old.  (Sounds easier than it is.)  There were several tantrums, wrestling matches, lots of tears, and chocolate fingerprints all over the house - all signs of a very successful Easter.

Today was a lot calmer.  We stayed home and watched conference, which is always great.  I decided to take it easy this year and not have a big Easter dinner with guests over.  I'm lazy like that.  But we still had a yummy dinner of ham, roasted asparagus, Grandma Roper Rolls, and Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon and Cream.

So the potatoes?  (Remember, I mentioned them the other day?)  SO GOOD.  Seriously.  Loved them.  Delish.

And the rest of the dinner?  Yummy as well.  I mean, even Josh and Spencer ate, and that's really saying something.  (They NEVER eat dinner, no matter what I serve.)  And we discovered that Cole likes ham, which proves he's truly a Madsen man.

It was a truly Happy Easter!

New Blog Look

I know many of you probably read this blog via Google Reader, so I thought I'd let you know that I finally got around to updating my blog's look.  What can I say?  It's been a busy couple of years.  Anywho, I designed it this weekend and my super-IT husband did all the HTML junk.  (Thanks, Lance!)  So take a look when you have a chance and let me know what you think.

Hooray for pretty blogs!

Return of the Prodigal Measuring Cup

Remember this heart-breaking post?

Cry no more, my friends - my 1/2 c measuring cup has returned!

He had been hiding in the very back of the dishwasher, on the bottom under the heating element.  He was somehow magically camouflaged because we didn't see him for his entire two month hiatus.  But I randomly decided to clean the dishwasher today and found him there.

Oh happy day!

KitchenArt Class... Learning and Yearning

Last night I went to a KitchenArt cooking class.  (KitchenArt is a local gourmet cooking shop.  I luuurve it.) This class was about Le Crueset cooking.  Actually, it was more about cooking with cast iron cookware, but it was hosted by Le Crueset, the king of enameled cast iron cookware.  It was not a two hour sales pitch, which was nice.

At KitchenArt cooking classes a professional chef comes and shows you how to prepare several dishes.  It's fun to learn the kitchen tricks they have picked up over the years.  Last night's chef was Frank Farmer, of local fame.  He was pretty good and friendly, although he didn't really seem that prepared, which was a little disappointing.  (Sorry, Frank.)

The best part of the class is that you get to taste everything that is made - and the food is always excellent.  Last night's menu included:

• Buttermilk cornbread
• Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon and Cream
• Chicken Chasseur (Hunter-Style Chicken)
• Shrimp Gumbo
• Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

The best, hands down, were the potatoes.  Oh mercy, were they good.  I think they might be replacing our traditional 'funeral' potatoes that I usually make on holidays.  With bacon, cream, cheese, and potatoes, is it any wonder that they were so good?

Along with the wonderful food we also got a small goody bag.  In it included a Le Crueset catalog (no surprise there!), a Le Crueset Silicone Spatula (mine is red), and a Le Crueset Petite Au Gratin Dish (mine is white).

There was also a drawing for a stoneware baking dish (nice, but I have some stoneware), and a 5 1/2 quart enameled cast iron French oven.  In red.  My favorite.

Oh. My.

I wanted that French oven So. Very. Much.

Want want want.  Lust lust lust.  Mine mine mine.  Yearn yearn yearn.

This was a piece of cookware that would last literally for generations.  I could use it every day for the rest of my life (and I would have!), and still been able to pass it on to my grandchildren.

Ohhhhhh I wanted that pot.  Because at $230 I just couldn't justify buying it for myself that night. (Pesky children needing food and clothes and such.)  I wanted to win it.  I thought good thoughts and crossed my fingers and imagined myself winning it and hoped and, well, I don't know that I prayed to win it, but I really wanted to.  That's how much I Wanted. That. Pot.

But I didn't win. 

Sadness.  Crushing, crushing sadness.  Oh, the bitter disappointment!

I cried all the way home.

Okay, no I didn't.  I drove home thinking about those potatoes and how I just had to make them for Easter this year.  I also thought about wants versus needs and how some day I might be able to justify buying that pot or maybe someday I wouldn't even have to justify it, I might just be able to buy it and not even have to worry about dropping $200 on a single pot.  But until then I'll just have to wait.  And I'm okay with that.

Wait and yearn.