Foccacia Bread Recipe

A couple of friends have requested this recipe, so here it is!

However you say it, this stuff's good! I have enjoyed this recipe for the last 10 years since I was introduced to it at my first Pampered Chef party. It works great for summer lunches or dinners. My kids will eat it!

Fantastic Foccacia Bread


1 Tbsp. (scant) yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. honey
3 ½- 4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Mix in bread machine on dough setting or in a Bosch or KitchenAid mixer. Divide dough in half. Roll each half of dough into a 12 inch circle.
Toppings:
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, I believe we end up using more than this
2/3 cups (2 oz) Romano or parmesan cheese
2 tsp. oregano leaves, dried - we use Italian Seasoning instead
2 firm plum tomatoes (Roma), sliced thin - if you use garden tomatoes, the taste is heavenly!

Place dough on cookie sheets or baking stones. Spread garlic evenly over crusts. Sprinkle half of Romano cheese on crusts, then half of Mozzarella and half oregano. Arrange tomato slices in single layer over cheese. Top w/ remaining mozzarella, oregano, and romano. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly (time varies depending on your oven). Cut into squares. Serves 8.

*If I don’t have Romano cheese, I just use extra Parmesan and it’s still great!
Thanks, Pampered Chef!

Whoa, Baby!

It is time for an announcement: We're expecting! Even if I was trying to keep this a secret, it would be impossible. There's no denying this protruding belly. I no longer fit in my normal pants- unless I do the rubber band trick.

I went to see the doctor last Tuesday and when he checked my uterus, he said, "Whoa! You have a larger than normal uterus. We'd better make sure that's not twins." Okay, maybe he didn't say, "Whoa" but he may as well have.

So at this point, I was kind of excited (okay, and scared) because my friend from high school is due to have her 3rd the same day as me, January 12, and she just found out that she is pregnant with twins! What would be the odds of us BOTH having twins on the same day?

We looked at the ultrasound, and this is what we found:

Only one little ant (don't you think he looks like one, with the sections?) The head is the ball on the right, and the body is the one on the left. We could see his little arms and legs flittering as well as the heartbeat. I'm actually due a little earlier than I thought. Yeah! A few weeks for free! According to the size of the baby, I'm due on December 31st. Wouldn't that be a great party? Happy New Year!

It's too early to tell, but wouldn't it be neat to have a complete basketball team of 5 boys? If it is a girl, then she could play basketball, too. :)

For now, I will refer to him as a boy, since the odds seem to lean that way. This pregnancy has felt the same as any. Jared's sisters both have all boys - One with two and one with four. There are no girl grandchildren in the family. So with these statistics, I welcome your vote as to what you think we will have. Good luck! I hope your vote wins! :) We will find out in a few months!

As for my vote, I'm voting for a healthy baby. I am SO grateful that we've been blessed with good pregnancies and healthy, strong babies so far; here's to another healthy bundle of sweetness!

Super Mom

Ever feel like you can never measure up to be what you want to be?

Today, Lance came to me and said,

"Mom, I want you to be a Super-Mom."

What do you do with that? Say, "um no, I'm just not SuperMom material. I'm sorry I got grumpy with you earlier today, I will try to do better?"

Nonetheless, Lance saved my self-image today. He handed me a "cape", put his "cape" on, and we ran all over the house being "Super"!

Now I know what to do when I am having a not-so-super-feeling-day. I'll just ask Lance for my "cape".

My Favorite Pun

I have to share this. Every time I put a pun in my blog, I remember this joke and can't suppress a smile. Jared's good friend from high school is an awesome joke teller. Every time our families are together, he keeps me laughing. He even sends out an email every week with a couple jokes and an uplifting story. He reminds me of the hymn, "Have I Done Any Good in the World today?" which, by the way, is Jared's favorite hymn. He and Jared used to double date together a lot and plan the least expensive, most fun dates they could think of.

Anyway, here is my favorite pun. I have to tell you, there were two straight days that I couldn't NOT laugh every time I remembered it. Jared got a kick out of just watching me be so silly. It's probably more funny to me :) But nevertheless, I must share it!




A friend of mine entered a pun contest. He sent in ten different entries hoping
one would win, but unfortunately no pun in ten did.




Thanks for putting up with it.

Saturday Cont'd.

The Medical Spouse Association had a closing social - we went bowling!

Yup, that's me. I figure the higher I keep my back leg up, the better chance of a strike. Jace had a ball. No pun intended.

Check this out! They had these nice ramps for the little kids! Lance couldn't wait 'til it was his turn again! Kyle is hanging loose with Grandma Judy's necklace on. It was so nice to have Judy with us for the fun, and to help with the kids -- the kids...where'd Kyle go?

Kyle, you're not s'posed to walk there! Maybe he thought it was a runway.

Saturday

I love Saturdays. It's the only day, besides Sunday, that we have all the kids together, with us, all day. Last Saturday we decided to go on a hike. We took the Bob stroller, mainly for Kyle, Lance hiked most of it himself, and headed up to Red Butte Gardens with some friends. Again, I am so glad we live close to this!

All we need is our fishing rods!

Kyle is checking this one out. I think it jumped out of the water right when I snapped this photo! (click on it to enlarge)

Hangin' with the gecko. Jace picked this one specifically to sit on. He and Gramma Tilton have exchanged a few letters about the gecko that lives outside her house. Someday I think this kid's going to need one of his own! (In a cage, of course).

Elsa and Lance enjoying the cute baby ducks. Can you see them following their mom? They were SO cute!

Erik, Lance, Elsa, and Kyle buddying up inside the children's house.

This concluded our morning outing. Now it was home for quicky naps (for the little ones) and then up again for some bowling!

"The Sun Did Not Shine..."

"... It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. I sat there with [Kyle], we sat there, we two. And I said, 'How I wish we had something to do!' Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all. So all we could do was to sit!

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

And we did not like it. Not one little bit." (Well, maybe a little bit!)
- "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Suess - my favorite book to read to the kids. I find myself begging to read it again, and Lance is like, "No, not again!" We know it so well, we recite it in the van together, finishing each other's sentences.

Kyle kept his post by the window a lot of today. By the way, Lance wrapped him in this blanket while he sat there, and he kept it! So sweet.
Later on, Lance and I were in the bedroom organizing the bookshelf when last I heard from Jared about Kyle was that he was just there by the window, looking out. Poor kid! Next thing I knew, I went to check on Kyle, and he had put himself down for his nap, on the floor, by the window, blanket and all! I was so shocked I forgot to get the picture. So here he is, soundly in his crib once I moved him. That window watching must be exhausting! (BTW, Gramma Tilton made this quilt and pillowcase :O) Thanks Gramma!)

It is hard to believe we had just gone on this hike the day before:

Kyle is singing some more sounds of music in the hills. Lance is obviously having the time of his life. He called this a "special hike". This was our first time venturing this trail. We found this patch of yellow and decided to stop and take it in. Can you believe these flowers?!

May Memories

Jared has completed his last classroom exam of 2nd year today. Hurray! Now if we could just get those darned Boards out of the way...

So his computer is available to me today, with its pictures and all. (We have a huge stack of negatives, from back in the pre-digital days, that are in the process of being scanned into Jared's computer.) I was going through and looking at our 2004 pictures, and realized that these two are from May, 4 years ago! Evan is 2 and Jace is 3, soon to be 4.

I remember taking this picture. I found Jace and Evan sitting in the grass, like this, in our backyard and ran to grab my camera. Thankfully, they stayed there! I love looking at this picture and laughing at Evan's inside-out hat. He did things like that all the time. My Gramma Tilton tells the story about a time when we were at their house in California, and Evan had 2 different shoes on.

Jared asked me, "Why does he have two different shoes on?".

"That's how he wanted it." He specifically wanted that shoe and that one. Why not give the kid what he wants?

This is another random picture of Evan that I love. Again, in the backyard. His hair got really blonde in the summer. He and Jace were always outside getting tan and blonde. I couldn't think of a better nickname for him than "Happy". Since he was a baby, it seemed like he always smiled when his eyes met anyone else's.

Lance Speaks

Lance gave this talk in church last Sunday, themed "I can strengthen my family". He's obviously at home in the comfort of his own pajamas, but he gave it basically the same in church. All two weeks ( he was sick the first Sunday and couldn't give his talk - he was bummed) he looked forward to it SO MUCH. Finally, it was Sunday again, and he gave the whole talk without help and had so much fun doing it! I think we have a future public speaker.
But he didn't keep the fun to himself, he wanted to share it! So when he finished giving his talk, he let me have a turn.

"Give My Regards to Broadway..."

I felt like I was going to burst with pride as I watched Jace being a star. His 2nd grade class performed an opera, and Jace's solo was the Grande Finale. Here, the class begins singing, "A Promise...(to keep one is a must)", followed by Jace's solo. I had no idea Jace had this kind of a voice. I hear him sing by me in church, but never like this. His teachers told me I ought to put him in choir. So many opportunities ahead for this performer!

Purple (and yellow) Mountain Grandeur

Spring is finally here! Today we took a hike in the mountains above us. Okay, and yesterday we also took the same hike, the outfits will tell. (Yesterday they wore red)

(Below Left) Kyle is singing, "How Great Thou Art". Just kidding, but wouldn't that have been perfect?

(Below Right) Beauty in one hand, food in the other.... What more could a guy want? (You can't see it here, but if you click on this photo, the enlargement will show you the crumb on his cheek.)

Both yesterday and today, Lance asked if we were picking these for Grandma Schauerhamer, who passed away a few months ago. Last year we actually did hike into the mountains to pick some yellow flowers for her. So today we picked some for Grandma.

Lance loves his brother so much, sometimes he almost chokes him!

By the way, it is complete coincidence that these mountains lined up together like that. Fun!

Here's to many more happy, vibrant, wonderful Spring days!

End of Soccer Season

2 Martin Soccer Dudes complete a season and proudly hold on to their trophies. It was an exciting, fun season for both! I think the outlook is good for future soccer seasons.

Love at Home

2 Happy Boys: 4 Happy Boys expressing love in the best possible male way.

(Note: Kyle's head is really quite safe, the display case is behind him)

Any similiarities?

Lance is on his way to get that much needed haircut. He's carrying the case with the shears inside. What a good sport. Usually when we go out, we put gel in his hair to tame it down a bit. But sometimes, if I'm running late, he gets to go with his own natural look. I remember taking him in to the doctor a while back for a routine visit when the good-natured doctor called him, "Fluffy" or "Fuzzy" or something like that. Not many kids get hair that creates its own style like this.

By the way, this Chia pet was a blast for the kids to grow in their bedroom within the last several months. And those little potted plants are from popcorn, grown by Lance himself in preschool.

We love our Lance, fuzz and all!

Zoo Field Trip

Lance and his preschool friends at the zoo, and their little siblings: one per preschooler.

Kyle was so funny today. I took my single umbrella stroller for him to ride in and he would not have anything to do with it. So I put him in his friend, Josh's double stroller, and he was all about that, completely content. I guess the kid isn't used to having his own things. He's accustomed to sharing. So at lunch time, he's at it again. He decided that his friend must have some of his sandwich. Hey, you share, I'll share.

What are Little Boys Made of?

...Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tails,

That's what Little Boys are made of.

Here is living proof. Lance caught this snail at Gramma Kimmy's house and took it home in a baby food jar. Perfect place for a pet snail... unless it is left unopened at the edge of the kitchen table. Jared and I were in the other room when we heard it. The snail must have slimed up the side of the jar until it's weight tipped it over. We think the lid might have been off to promote the snail's escape... and escape he did! Here he is, all in one piece, well, with a few extra pieces around him. But nonetheless, alive to tell the story.

I think we'll use peanut butter jars from now on.

Table Manners or Moments?

Jace: Proud artist of this creation at the dinner table.

Can't wait to be like his Dad

Maybe if I wear the shoes, I'll grow into them faster.

Firefighter for a Day

Lance and his preschool group had a field trip to the Firestation. Lance knows all too well what sound the fire truck makes. It took him a while to uncover his ears just for this picture. He's got them close by if he needs them! (the fireman pictured here is actually a friend of Jared's from Viewmont High and also I worked with him for a while in Ogden 8 years ago! Small world!)

Lance and his preschool buddies being firefighters.