Oh My Goodness, We Are Going to Get a Dog

First of all, we had a wonderful Christmas. I woke up Christmas eve morning early and went swimming, Adam and Jeff chopped wood. I stopped over all wet and hatted and visited the Caterers and Pete and Sheila—then we loaded up and headed over to my folks to eat not one, but two meals and spend the day together. We have a fun little tradition that my mom started called the code. Instead of labeling who the gifts are for, we make up some kind of combination code of whatever and label the presents as such. The kids and now the adults have to figure it out to know who each gift is for. Funny thing this year is that I did my own code and it was very similar to the one my mom did on her gifts. We must be on the same wavelength. The highlight for me was watching Johnny and David's expressions when they found out that they are going to be going to THAILAND with my mom in February. As follows: confusion, shock and in Johnny's case, fear. They are going to have a life altering experience and I can't wait for them to to come home and tell me all about it. The low point was telling all the kids constantly to stay away from the food dye. We are trying to do this together as a family, but it is not fun. We also popped out for a bit to look at a house for Lee and Chelsy. I hope they end up close by!

We woke up Christmas morning and I had one present wrapped for the kids. A giant dog toy and some pictures of newfoundland puppies. The kids are pumped. Then we headed up to Adam's folks for the day and opened gifts, spent time with family, Adam loves to play sheepshead and cribbage with his grandparents and brothers. I love to load up my prime rib with as much horseradish as possible. I always eat too much. 

So for the last two weeks I have been calling and emailing all sorts of breeders and doing research on what we think is the breed we want, a Newfoundland. I have admired these dogs for years and it finally feels like the right time to get one. I know that because I am probably wanting it just as much as the kids. What a switch! Anyhow, it could take months or we could have a pup in the next couple weeks. We will see! I investigated some dogs that were rescued and brought to an animal shelter, they seemed like they had some issues though and we were really hoping for a puppy. Just hoping that we find a great dog that will be great with our family.

Buckeye Balls

Over the last ten years or so I have made buckeye balls for Christmas in honor of my Gramma O'Malley. She has been gone 9 years this past week. I remember them as my favorite part of her very glamorous cookie tray. Who knew that creating a cookie tray could be such a work of art! It has been one of my favorite things to create over the holidays. This year is tough, we decided no food dye at all. White frosting, holly wreaths that look like cornflakes? not as fun.

During my Gramma's last months we spent a lot of time with her. My mom and I would head up to WI with toddler Anna and baby David. During one of these visits we planned and hosted a bridge party for her and her friends. I will always remember this party as a lesson in "how it's done". I got to see them sit and plan, and what dishes to use and how to decorate the mantle, center pieces, prepare food and delight the guests. My gramma was wonderful at this and so were her daughters. Whenever I host an event I think back to my bridge party lesson. 

Buckeye Balls

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

cups confectioners' sugar

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Mix peanut butter, melted butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar and chill for 1 hour. 

Roll balls and chill

Melt chocolate and dip with a toothpick and let chocolate harden on wax paper.

A Good Game

Monday night David had a basketball game. His team was up against another undefeated team and it was the closest game yet. The final score was only 10-6. 5 of our points were David's—I was a proud mama.

A couple of month’s ago David tried out for the feeder team for the high school. The first year is fourth grade. At first when he tried out, I thought there was a lot of boys and that our chances weren’t that great, but as the week progressed and I watched how hard David played, I thought that his chances were good and we were getting excited. It was heartbreaking when he didn’t make it. I probably took it harder than he did. But I was so proud of his attitude and it has made this year of working and focusing on basketball a lot sweeter. He is really improving and I am watching the whole process with a big smile on my face.

The Soup is Good

Right before the barn sale we had to do a hard stop and finish our 25 meat birds. It was nuts. We had been so busy with so many more details to take care of that it was actually comical. Adam had Jeff and his buddy Brian come over. Brian brought his kids and together with our kids, they got the rhythm down and we wrapped it up by about 10:00. These birds were so much bigger than our summer birds and we took them a week earlier. The heat this summer was just so brutal. But combined with our fall birds, three families were able to go home with a freezer full of chicken.

I have been so busy lately that I have not made many things. Today I woke up with no huge tasks that had to be completed and I felt a little bit lost. This is when I start to bake. I got down the bread machine and continued to make stock from the chicken carcass that we had for dinner last night and then went out to the garden and got some kale. It is so warm this December. I love making stuff from scratch, just need life to slow down a bit for me to do it.

37! Marshmellow Competition and Basketball Shoes

This Friday Adam turned 37. We had a fun time. Sushi in the city with Lee, Chelsy, Lee’s roomate and Jeff. My folks had the kids all weekend, so we got to totally check out from our normal duties. They took the kids to their games and everything. We did get to see Anna score 6 points in her very first basketball game. Speaking of basketball, we are all in it this year. 4 kids and three games every Saturday. I managed to get Hudson and Johnny onto the same team for sanity. I enjoy watching the kids play whatever sport we are into at the moment. They all are growing and I love watching them develop through them all. In this past week, I had to buy 4 pairs of basketball shoes. They are not cheap and the bigger the feet the less I can find cheap shoes.

Last night was Luke and Elissa’s annual Christmas party. Chelsy and I rallied at the end of the marshmellow tower building competition, but we couldn’t pull it off—I am still strategizing about it. I did however guess the wheel of fortune answer that stumped most people. Earned myself a $25 gift card to the spa for that one.

Anna Gets an Ipod

Yesterday was Anna’s “Day of All Days”. She turned 11. For years my mom and I have taken her downtown on a girls shopping day and it has become our tradition. I typically do family activities in lue of birthday parties. (Last year was the exception, we had an eighties party for Anna’s 10th.)

This year we had a new member in our party. Miss Hailey joined us and wanted to take Anna to American Girl. It was sweet to visit the store with Hailey. Anna brought her doll and enjoyed looking at all of the cool things with her. I was nostalgic, knowing that my time in this phase was done. It was sweet to look back on the years and recall all of the memories that we had created together on these birthday outings. We eat at fun restaurants and bring treats in the car. Anna dresses up and we enjoy the time together. When we went to Bloomingdales my mom reminded us that this is where we had gone on my 10th birthday. At the end of the day we had a nice big dinner at Stoney River and I caved and she got an ipod—confirming the transition from little girl to big one. We ended the day at TJMaxx and Target—very typical for us and I brought home one extremely excited and tired eleven-year-old.

Phew!

Well, it is over. I have officially completed my first barn sale. I said in an earlier post that it wasn’t the most intense thing I have ever done. I am going to revise that. It is right up there with home birth and ironman. The 35 mph winds we had on Friday threw us all off, the wood burner would not start and we froze all day in 39 degree temps with drafts. Regardless, we still had a steady flow of people and so many of my friends came up to show support. My parents gave their ALL in support. Saturday was beautiful. It was a success and I feel as if I learned so much! Hopefully Heritage Beam & Board has gained exposure and momentum. I just might have to do it again.

Tagging, Signing, Painting, Posting

Working on a big sign for the front of the barn

Working on making some signs—harder than it looks

We are 9 days out from our barn sale and that is why I have not done any posts for quite a bit. All my extra energy has gone into trying to market and prepare for our sale next week. Either way—it will be over at 6:00 on November 24th and I can rest. This is not the most intense thing I have ever done, by any means, but it is a lot of pressure not knowing how it is going to go. I am excited though and at the end of the day I will know that I did everything I could.

I started to watch Alias again on netflix. That show was such a ride the first time around. I am enjoying watching it again in the background of doing projects. 

Laura Got Married!

Lee, Myself and Luke at Laura's Wedding

We had a lovely day as a family last Saturday at Laura's Wedding. We started early and packed all our stuff to head to a cold soccer game and then straight up to Adam's folks to drop our kids, get ready and head up to Baraboo. On Friday I had no idea what to wear and then remembered that I had my Gramma O'Malley's black crepe dress. Perfect. I had a friend talk me in to wearing red lipstick for the first time in my life. I had earrings from Anna's costume bin and a fun yellow bag that Stef and I got at the flea market a couple of years ago. I was proud of myself that the only thing I spent money on was the lipstick.

I enjoyed visiting with Lee and Chelsy and Luke and Elissa—it’s just fun to be together. The wedding was beautiful. Laura was a doll. I wish them the very best! Can’t wait to chat with her about her new life and the adventure of being married.

Johnny's Sketches

Even though the subject matter is a little dark, I smile when I see Johnny's sketches. The dynamic way that he depicts the scene is really impressive to me.

Fancy Day

Yesterday morning Johnny woke up right away without any sort of fall out and reminded me that it was fancy day at school. It was very important to him that he had a tie and a belt and the right coat. I was really surprised that he even wanted to take part. I had to convince Anna that since she is part of student council that she absolutely had to participate, but Johnny didn't second guess himself in the least. It was fun. Johnny looked handsome.

Lakefront Marathon

I had a great day at the Lakefront Marathon up in Milwaukee, WI. The weather was absolutely perfect for running and I definitely rested into it loaded with carbs. Alex and I headed up Saturday afternoon, listening to 90’s radio which brought back all sorts of odd memories. We went to the expo, checked out the logistics, had dinner and went to bed. That morning I was excited to see that the temps were just above 40 degrees, making it comfortable. We went and parked and loaded onto the shuttle bus—the funny thing about this race is that they bus you out 26.2 miles and then let you run the way back. We started at a high school and were able to hang out indoors which I thought was really nice. It reminded me of Cary March Madness. About 3000 runners lined up for a 7:30 start. I had done just enough training for this. Not enough to have wild expectations, but enough to be solid. The only marathons I have run have been in 80 degree temps, so I was curious if this cooler weather would give me the boost I needed to break 4 hours, even though my training wasn’t really there for it. As soon as we started I loved it—the trees were gorgeous, the scenery was interesting and it wasn’t overwhelmingly crowded with people. I didn’t feel like I had to zigzag around. There was enough crowd support to keep you motivated. At about 10 miles, I tried to lock in my pace and settle in. The one thing that stunk was that when I hit my garmin at the start line, it didn’t start. I didn’t realize this until about a 1/2 mile in. So I never had my exact time or pace during the race. Anyhow, I chugged along feeling okay. The course wasn’t perfectly flat, but the rolling hills were not anything to be concerned about. I mentally just hack the mileage down and do a gu every 5 miles or so. I did take a couple of salt tablets just for good measure. About 22 miles I felt my pace fall off a bit, but then I had a good mile in there at 23. For whatever reason I just could not keep quite where I needed to be. I think it would have been helpful to get another 20 mile training run, but with the shin injury from the summer I was just happy to be out there with the training I had. There was a fun descent going back into Milwaukee and we ran right on the Lakefront. I finished hard and I feel like I gave what I had for the day. I actually felt horrible right after the race, but pulled it together and went to the massage tent. I still didn't know my final time. After Alex finished and we both were treated by the massage tent people we gimped to the shuttle bus to take us home. Hilariously the 40 degree temp difference only made a 49 second difference in my last marathon time. Still a PR though!

My Hudson is 6

Hudson just born

I laugh every time I think of Hudson’s birth story. I was a wreck mentally. I had opted for a home birth and he was 14 days past my due date. As my fourth child, I could not imagine that he would be late and I was certain of my due date. In my head I had been running a race to the finish line and the finish line just kept moving further and further away from me the closer I thought I was to reaching it. I finally decided that I should just go on with my life and the baby would probably never come.

Saturday October 7th was a beautiful day. My friend Amy called me to see if I wanted to meet her to swim (I swam the entire pregnancy in a giant blue speedo). But I decided that I would just take a walk to the local farmer’s market with Adam and the kids instead. I remember Adam telling me to hurry up so that we could go and then feeling like maybe I shouldn’t go after all. From there things fell into place. I called Stef who was going to be my doula and Amy and my Mom. My mom and dad took the kids and I went to my room and was able to focus and relax. I remember Adam running out for Jimmy Johns. When the Dr. arrived I was already at 8 cm. The birth was amazing, my best friends were there one was holding my hand and the other was praying. My mom was there for it all too. Luckily Adam made it back from Jimmy Johns on time to grab my other hand. It was a boy! Hudson Taylor who had to be weighed on a musky scale wrapped in a towel because he was too big for the first scale the Dr. tried to weigh him on—10 lbs. 5 oz. A couple hours later the kids were brought to meet their new baby brother after they had napped at my folks house. It is a precious memory in my mind and one of my most favorite days on this earth.

Heritage Beam & Board

We are going full-bore getting the barn wood salvage business going. This week I have been working a ton and getting things tweaked up, brochures ready and what not. Tuesday night we headed up to WI to get a photo of both the families. The barn sale is a go and that will be a fun focus for the next two months. Adam is up with Seth building more furniture pieces and finishing up the big table that they have been working on. This weekend is the Lakefront Marathon and Hudson’s 6th birthday. My house is a mess. There is a lot of work to do.

Flea Market Day.

Stef and our only sustenance

car loaded

I have a thing about the flea market. It is one of my favorite days. Stef and I go every year and we always have a good time. Some years are better than others, but I have never ever not enjoyed myself. This year the summer was so packed that we decided to do the end of September one that was nicely paired with my birthday. I went to get Stef, we got coffee and some cash and headed up for the day. I love not being rushed and just being able to chat thoroughly and be inspired by different people’s creativity. Stef and I never even come close to seeing all the stuff. We spend the day looking and thinking about our families and fun things we can do to be a little more organized or just create something cool. This year we didn’t even eat anything other than popcorn the entire day. You forget about food when there is so much to see. At the end of the day we had wheeled and dealed, filled the car with stuff and headed back. This morning as I was walking around me house I was smiling because I have flea market finds of years past everywhere I look—having fun with my best friend is simply the best way to decorate.

34! 34! 34!

Birthday sign made by David

Typically I stay up late the night before the kids’ birthdays and I make signs and a cake. Often I cut out the number of their years and put it up around the house so they can be celebrated as they walk around for the day. When I went to bed last thursday night, I was a bit restless—around 2:00 am I heard voices and knew the kids were executing some sort of plan. The morning of my birthday I got up to run with Brittany and as I opened the door there was a birthday sign taped across the doorway. I stepped under it not wanting to break through it, as is the typical procedure, and saw that all down the hall were signs and notes from the kids. They had a paper chain made from notebook paper, streamers and the whole works. There was a note exclaiming that they did it all and “DAD DID NOT HELP!”. The part that made me laugh were all the numbers 34! 34! 34! everywhere reminding me to be excited about my new age.

20 Miles and 3 Games

This morning I was up at 4:40. The kids were at my folks and I was getting ready to go get a friend and head to Busse Woods for the 20 miler. The run went well! Weather was gorgeous and I was able to hold a steady pace and pick it up the last 5 miles. I am feeling more encouraged after the last couple of weeks despite the fact that my training as a whole has been pretty poor with my injury. When that was done, I headed straight to LITH to pick up the kids. Anna scored today! We popped in the house so I could rinse all the salt off myself and quickly headed to Hudson's flag football. We met some friends there as well who were going to help me pull off the conflicting game schedules. Then, just as his game started I had to jet to David and Johnny's game up in Huntley. (At this point, I still had not eaten and would get dizzy every time I tried to stand up quickly.) David had a great shot on goal which when he missed, he still attacked it and got another shot. It's going to work for him soon. He had the assist on the only goal for their team and hustled the entire time. Johnny had some good runs out there too, at one point he got the wind knocked out of him. I got a text that Hudson scored a touchdown from our friends. After the games, we were starved and went out to a little Mexican restaurant. I am totally wiped out. Good day. Adam just needs to get a deer tonight.

The Viola is Here and Other News

My computer has been at the shop. I was having to haul it up and down the stairs almost daily to get it to start and it became an emergency. I am happy to be back at my seat reporting life’s details.

I have been busy doing graphics work which has been lovely. I have discovered audio books and that has also been lovely.

The kids have all started their sports seasons. We had the first saturday of juggling game schedules last week. They all did great and I was cheering freakishly. David scored. Upon our return, there was an incredibly sad scene on the front lawn—a hawk was feasting on our favorite chicken, Buttercup, right there on the grass, feathers everywhere.

Other news:
Adam made 20 jars of salsa
Another melon has been growing in the garden
25 new meat birds arrived yesterday
New plates on the van and a horrible new driver’s license picture
The van door has been fixed
Anna made student council
Marathon training is back on—20 miles tomorrow
Adam is bow hunting opening weekend
I finally got the kids art pictures hung up in the hall
Anna’s viola came home with her from school today

I Like How Johnny Draws

Air Force John (8 years old)

I have been going to the school a lot this week to open house nights. Last night was Johnny’s class. I sat in his seat which was right up front surrounded by girls—perfect. On his desk was a list of his favorite things including a line that asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. I phonetically decoded the words Air Force and flipped the page to see this guy looking up at me. Johnny has been drawing these very detailed things lately from memory. The other day on his folder he drew a shark jumping out of the water and you would have thought he had to have had a picture right in front of him. I like it.

On Sale!

Today my mom and I headed north so that I could show her the Hanson’s barn and we could discuss the winter market. I knew she would love the site—it is awesome. We bopped around to some local shops and ate lunch having discussions of what and who we should have as vendors, what needed to be accomplished, how much work it would be and then how cool it could be. I think we both left the day excited and focused on the task. I will absolutely need her to help me pull this off, but I am looking forward to doing something visually inspiring again—especially with my mom. The hope (and prayer) is that this sale could generate momentum and excitement for Herititage Beam & Board. There are so many possibilities for this company. We just need to make it happen.

Here is a pic of the super fun ice cream sign that we picked up for the sale. While it waits, it can sit over my desktop making me smile.

No More Melons

This weekend we cut open the last of our watermelons, saving the biggest for last. It weighed in at 24lbs! Adam saved the seeds for planting a ton more next year. Last week we even sold one of our melons. This morning we walked out and I was a little disappointed that we didn't have any more melons to inspect. We did see some buds from the lettuce we replanted and the 2nd planting of radishes is coming along. Those little yellow cherry tomato plants are awesome. Every couple of days we have a ton more to pick and they are so yummy. The mini bell peppers are beautiful—bright orange and red all over the short little plants. On the making list for this week: Hot Pepper Giardiniera, Dill Pickles and Salsa. I hope to keep freezing veggies too for soups this winter. I make a soup per week and I would love to have supplies on hand from our summer produce.

This weekend Adam hosted his brothers down for a campout, I raced the Batavia Half Marathon (It was hot) and Luke and Elissa hosted their fantasy football draft. Kids are back in school and I have work to do pouring my mom’s book.

Goodbye to Bugeye

It is with a sad sigh that I am writing about the loss of our rooster, Bugeye. Last night I mentioned to Adam that I hadn’t seen him all day—he and David then went out to look for him. We have so many chickens now that he may have been with any of the groupings, but in the evenings they all seem to gather on the front lawn and that is when I was concerned. There was no sign of him. A few days ago we saw a very large hawk overhead and there is also the possibility that the neighbors’ dog got him, but I am sure that they would have mentioned it. Sad, but we are assuming that he died a brave man protecting his girls from enemies. He did his job. Even after my run in with him earlier this summer, I have grown to like him. All the kids could pick him up and he was definitely nicer than Marilyn. He will be missed.

This couldn’t have happened at a more opportune time for the 6 or 7 young roosters that are set to be butchered. We will have to see which one is chosen to be the next big man on campus.

Making Pickles

First batch of pickles

Right now Adam, Anna and I are sitting in the kitchen making soup and pickles. Anna is playing DJ and serenading us while we work. Today has been gorgeous and I love not having any place else to go. Yesterday the kids worked together to make a race track for their bikes. This morning Adam did a second planting of lettuce, radishes and turnips while I attempted my first long run after being injured for a couple weeks. Hoping that I can get in a good rhythm for the rest of the the training. I have a bit of catching up to do, but if I steer clear of any more injuries I should be fine for October 7th—hopefully!

Hudson Goes to Kindergarten

Lunch for Four

Kids waiting for the bus 

This date has been on my radar for a few years now. I knew that one day all of my kids would go to school and I wondered how it would be. We had a fantastic summer and we haven’t been thinking about school too much. The day came quickly. I stayed up the night before and made lunches and worked on a chart to help them get the school day rhythm going smoothly. The lunch bag days are really close to being over. But just so Hudson doesn’t miss out and also because I haven’t bought lunch boxes, I packed their lunches and decorated their names. Four lunches is a lot to make every night. I heard a tip last year—make a bunch of sandwiches and put them in the freezer and then grab and bag rather than make, grab and bag. I’m trying it. This year is the last year I get to have all of my kids at the same school. I am going to enjoy them all being together at the bus stop and all running down the driveway when they get home. Hudson was more than ready yesterday morning, first one up, teeth brushed, backpack on and so ready to go. His best friend from school had a seat waiting for him on the bus and his smile couldn’t have been bigger.

Watermelon!

Adam and I decided to go out and dig up some of the potatoes from the plants that were not looking great. On our way in we checked and melons and one was ready! We are always excited when it comes time to cut open our first watermelon. This is an Orangello melon and like its name implies, it is orange. We have played around with growing melons for a few years now, but both Adam and I agreed that this was our best one yet. Really juicy and sweet, very crisp. Totally awesome. We collected the seeds to dry and plant next year.

Amy and Bella Came to Visit

Me, Chelsy, Amy, Bella and Mom

Last night I got to go and pick up Amy and Bella and keep them until today. I had never met Bella! She is a doll! It went so fast and we didn’t have any specific plans so we just did whatever we happened upon. Fortunately for us it ended up that we scored a lovely dinner out at Boulder Ridge with my folks and Lee and Chelsy. The evening even included an adventuresome golf cart ride. It was fun for me to introduce Amy to Chelsy and for her to catch up with my Mom and Dad. We came home and hung out with Adam; laughed and stayed up super late. This morning we had eggs, tomato and kale and I am convinced that this is the true breakfast of champions. If I had a restaurant, I would serve these three items and charge some bucks. Stef and kids came soon after and I was smiles ear to ear that I had both of these girls that are so precious to me sitting in my kitchen. We tried to commemorate the occasion with a photo—funny how long it took. Before I knew it they were gone. Time goes by too quickly. Looking forward to Christmas time when her entire crew will come and stay!

Here is a her recipe that I can’t wait to try:

Amy’s Kale Salad
6-8 cups kale leaves

4 tbs olive oil

Two  juiced lemon

2 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper

Red pep flakes or cayenne pepper

Shake

Parmesan cheese 

Crumbled bread crumb

Our Last Week of Summer

Hudson and our garden pick 

This is our last week before school. We dropped off all of the supplies yesterday and Hudson was able to meet his teacher. We accomplished our summer goals minus me being consistent with the chart, but I am okay with that. Johnny came in the other night to tell me that he taught Hudson to ride his bike. It took no time at all. The day that we went to Great America Hudson practiced even more and now he is a full fledged independent rider—just like that. wow. All my kids are mobile on two wheels.

The kids have been going to VBS in the evenings. Hudson came home last night with 500 pieces of candy because of all the kids he guessed how many where in the jar. I can only imagine what kind of smile was on his face when they called his name out as the winner (as well as my other kid’s faces knowing they would get a share of the loot).

We have been hunkered down here a bit this week really trying to work out meals and such with what we have. It has been an interesting challenge. Fortunately for us, it is peak of garden season. We have been eating like kings by most of the world’s standard. Adam canned tomatoes the other night and I made more zucchini bread to eat and freeze. I am still really fascinated by the idea of getting a goat. One could really do a lot with it. Butter, milk, cheese, yogurt... The garden has been a highlight of this year for us. And I am so glad that we are learning how to time it up and use what it is providing. It really is awesome. Unfortunately the chickens found our tomatoes the other day. We will need to figure something out there so we wont have any more gorgeous red tomatoes all pecked up and on the ground.

Garden Update

It is August 6th and we are now into tomato season! They are so delicious and beautiful. Yesterday I made and egg dish with huge tomato chunks and last night spanish rice with cilantro and tomato to go along with venison Adam cooked on the grill. Our fridge is comically empty, but who needs to go to the store when you have all of these gorgeous tomatoes! Our watermelons are getting huge and the cantaloupes should be ready in the next week. Beans are also starting to come. We did a replant on the radishes last week as well. Adam took some of his folk’s horseradish and made some fresh jars with it—very excited about that. I saw him eating it straight with tortilla chips last night. I left a jar of it in my parents fridge with a note on it for my dad. My thinking is that it will be gone within the week... We have been eating a lot of cucumbers these last few weeks, here has been my favorite recipe for them. It reminds me of the summer I spent in Russia way back in 1998.

• Crispy Cucumbers and Tomatoes in Dill Dressing
  • www.allrecipes.com
  • 
    
  • Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar (and 1 Tbls. balsamic vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cucumbers, sliced
  • 1 cup sliced red onion (I just used the ones from our garden)
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (I add extra tomato)
  • (I also add a couple of Tbls. of greek yogurt)
  Directions
  1. In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, pepper, and oil. Add cucumbers, onion, and tomatoes. Toss, and let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

We Have Our Girl Back

Anna and her horse Mack

On Friday afternoon we headed up to WI to fish for a bit with the boys and visit with Adam’s folks. Adam was excited to bring up one of our chickens and a bunch of veggies to share with them. It was a gorgeous evening and we sat outside while the kids played in the pool and just relaxed—at least I did, Adam was a little busier doing the cooking.

Saturday morning was our day to pick up Anna. We had a little stress with our van door not shutting just as we were about to leave, but thankfully we got it shut and made it there just a tiny bit after we were hoping for. There was a big closing celebration and because we were a little late we stood at the back and I couldn’t see her. We sent David down to find her. She was so cute when I saw her! Her hair  was in a french braid that must have been done a day (or two) before. I was glad that we were all there, that we got to go and pick out a sweatshirt with her and meet her horse. She had a great week and she continues to impress Adam and I with how mature she has become. Of course one of my first questions to her was how she did on the swim test :)

We Had Such a GREAT Time!

Boys in Line for Raging Bull

The kids earn Great America tickets from a school reading program. I had two tickets which expire this Saturday. Our summer has been so jam packed I have been really struggling with when I could go. Anna is off at camp so I didn't feel bad about using her ticket for Johnny. The deal was this: David had two days to read the book Woods Runner by Gary Paulson. It is about 160 pages which is significant for David. If he could complete the book by the deadline, I would take him and Johnny to Great America. Johnny also had to complete a reading challenge in order to qualify. Both boys did it, so I had to get my act together and find a way to make it happen. Even with the free tickets it is still not cheap. We packed our own food and tried to be as conservative as possible. We stopped at Walgreens on the way and each of the boys picked out some shades for the day. When we got there I forced them to eat an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Johnny protested, but later in the day said that it was amazing how that sandwich really held him over. Lesson for the day—Just listen to your mom... We started off big on the Raging Bull. I wanted Johnny to do the hardest coaster first so that he wouldn't be afraid of any of the others. It worked—he loved it and we conquered coaster after coaster for the rest of the day; all the while fueling ourselves on refills of lemonade and popcorn. David had a goal to do the Giant Drop and this was the only ride Johnny wasn't into. He made us laugh the whole line though and even when I was buckled in next to David I was looking down on him wondering what in the world he was saying to everyone around him. David and I dropped gigantically and I was laughing because it took my breath away. We finished out the night with one last ride on the Eagle. I heard a rumor that it might be the last year to ride it. When we got back to our car we chowed on all our food that we never went back to the car to eat, laughing that red hots make you feel alive and all sorts of other silly conversation.

A Whole Lot of Camping

Anna had a reading challenge from my mom where she had to read 5 specific books in a period of time with a set due date. Upon her completion of the assignment she would receive a surprise. Anna has been working on the goal for weeks, but still had quite a bit of reading to do before this Thursday’s deadline. She ended up having to read about 100 pages on her last day. She called my mom and opened up a flower tin with a little note saying that she was going to camp! HORSE CAMP! She left this afternoon. Adam dropped her off, but I have been working on getting her all set these past few days. Prep for camp is one of my favorite childhood memories and I think it is a sweet thing to be able to use the things that you picked out with your mom on a special trip beforehand. We have been so busy this week that it wasn’t exactly the outing together that I would have envisioned, but we got it done and still had fun doing it—picking out a color combo of towels, her own toothpaste, sunscreen and so forth. I hope that right now she is finding the note I left for her in her bag and that she has a good night’s sleep and makes good friends. I hope that she is further rooted in her faith. She is getting to be such a big girl and she is a lovely one. I am going to miss her this week!

In other camping news, we hosted not one, but TWO campouts at our house this week. Adam had a group of high school boys here on Wednesday night and did all sorts of activities with them. On Friday we hosted some friends from our old neighborhood and triathlon girls that I love and rarely get to see. Tonight the boys are camping with Adam which makes A Whole Lot of Camping.

Conference Champs!

Anna taking a break with a twizzler

Last night we officially wrapped up our swim season. Such a busy weekend and Saturday was our conference meet. I packed a ton of food and even purchased a pop up tent. Last year we didn’t go to conference because I was racing up in Door County. This year I was absolutely committed to making sure the kids got to experience this. The morning started off SO rough. I don’t want to remember the details so I will just leave it out. Anyhow, we made it to the meet on time and set up our area and our new little tent. It was sort of like a camping/picnicking type thing since the pool was indoors, but we all had to hang out outside because there wasn’t enough room. Anna’s first race was the 200 medley relay and she was supposed to swim backstroke. She had just gotten moved up to the A relay and this was really her first time doing backstroke this year, so I was concerned for her. No problem—she did just GREAT. Anna also swam the 100 IM, and 50 fly also doing very well. David’s 50 free sent me through the roof. He cranked his arms so hard and won his heat! Ended up 7th in his age division. I was so excited for him and might have lost my voice during that race. Johnny is Mr. Social at swim team. I am glad for him to have a place where he feels he has tons of buddies, but sometimes I wondered if he even cared about his swims. Once I saw him go back outside JUST before his race and I had to leap and run to grab him. The officials even held the start. ugh. But he did have an awesome 50 free and I KNOW he really enjoyed the experience as a whole. David had strong races in all his events, the 50 back and the 50 fly. Unfortunately on the 50 fly he forgot which stroke he was swimming and did one freestyle pull therefore disqualifying himself, but a great effort! So proud of him. The loudest things got was for Anna’s 200 free relay. Anna swam third and had a solid swim, they were behind and their last girl was cranking, caught up and JUST out touched the other girl for second place. It was so fun to watch and such a great race. The best part of the whole thing was that their team WON THE CONFERENCE! The kids are so excited and I am so glad that we were a part of it. Last night was the banquet where everyone got awards and ribbons. I hoped that the satisfaction of this accomplishment paired with all of the work it took to get there really stays with them. Next year we get to move up to A Conference! 

13 Years Krauklis

On Lake Geneva celebrating with friends

13 years is seeming like a milestone to me. On our 10 year we hardly did anything to celebrate, I think we ordered Rosati’s pizza and ate it with the kids. However, unlike birthdays, anniversary’s are seeming sweeter to me because we can look back on our lives together and take a moment to celebrate what we have been though, how we have changed over the years and who we have become as a family. Adam and I met when I was 19 years old. I was incredibly impulsive and unfocused, but God was gracious when he gave me Adam. We have grown up together and I feel a strong sense of family and home being with him. He is peaceful and lighthearted and life on the earth is sweeter because of him. It is an honor to watch him become the man the God intends for him to be and I am proud that I get to call him mine. xo

Oh and we have our first sunflower.

Chicken Dinner

"Beer Can Chicken" done on the grill

And here it is—the fruit of our labor sitting upright on a beer can. We didn’t eat dinner until 10:30 last night because we were waiting for the chicken to be done to perfection. That is one thing about doing your own chickens, you have a respect for the meat and want to make sure that you prepare it to the best of your ability. Adam did a fantastic job. Along with the chicken we at zucchini roasted on the grill with italian dressing, roasted kale and roasted beets, rutabagas and ONE potato. The reason I call out the ONE potato is because it was the only thing that we didn’t have a hand in producing. Everything else including the dressing and the marinades we made. Everything except for the ONE potato. Oh well. 19 chickens left in our freezer.

Finishing the Meat Birds

Anna and I right before we were about to start

All along we thought we would be sending the meat chickens out for butchering. We could wave good bye when we dropped them off and come back to retrieve the perfectly packaged chicken ready for our freezer. Well, when we realized the cost was a lot higher than we initially thought, the plans changed and we decided that we as a family could finish what we started. We prepped the kids mentally this past week and set the day for Sunday. All week it sort of loomed. I even wore black to church yesterday. On our way home, I grabbed fun and easy things for lunch and dinner as well as some cherries and freeze pops. We were going to need some treats to help us get this done. Adam and I prepped and thought it through a bit that morning and the evening before. 20 birds. I didn't really second guess my kids involvement in is because I have vivid memories of doing this at my grandparents house at probably 6 or 7 years old. It is good to know where your food comes from and what is involved in that process. Plus I was excited that we could figure this out together as a family and finish this together. We started about 1:00 and didn't get done until about 10:00 last night. The kids did great and we really did need them. We all started out very tentatively with gloves and by the end of the day we just got right in there and did what needed to be done. I vacuum sealed them all and now there are 20 packaged birds one freezer and I am actually glad that we just didn't go and pick them up that way.

Yummy Things Part 3: Zucchini Bread

Last of the sweets postings... Yesterday we had a couple of zuchinnis hanging around and I wanted to make something to bring to a dinner at my folks with Matt and Deb Stowell. I found this recipe and it was a hit. I ate it, so I know it was good.

Mom’s Zucchini Bread
by V Monte via allrecipes.com


Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 
  
• Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

After 15 minutes of baking time, top the bread with a crumb topping and return to the oven for the remainder of the baking time. So good!

(Crumb Topping: 1/2 c. regular oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. flour, 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/4 c. butter.)

Yummy Things Part 2: Homemade Ice Cream

To go with the pie I made homemade ice cream. This ended up being a lot more tedious than it had to be because I tried to make two kinds of ice cream and couldn’t get the freezer container of the ice cream maker to refreeze fast enough. I kept trying to do the second batch and it wouldn’t crystallize. Third time was the charm though and I learned the patience lesson once again. The ice cream was really yummy; especially when you use eggs from your chickens and vanilla bean paste as ingredients!

Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream
from Mary Thompson via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 cups whipping cream

• 2 cups half-and-half cream

• 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 
  

• Directions

In a heavy saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon and reaches at least 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat; cool quickly by setting pan in ice and stirring the mixture. Cover and let the mixture cool in the fridge prior to puting into an ice cream maker. When ready to freeze, pour custard and vanilla into the cylinder of an ice cream freezer. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

Yummy Things Part 1: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Last weekend I made my first strawberry rhubarb pie in honor of my dad’s birthday. Adam told me it was good, so I will post the recipe that I used. I LOVE rhubarb by the way. This was also my first time using minute tapioca as an ingredient. Pies have always been the thing Adam has tackled. I think I felt the need to add them to my baking roster.

Grandma's Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe courtesy Valarie Enters, Sanford, Florida

Show: Food Network Challenge

Episode: Great American Pie Cook-Off

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional flour as needed, up to 1/4 cup
• 1/2 cup cake flour (recommended: Soft As Silk)
• 3 teaspoons sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening (recommended: Crisco)
• 1/4 cup salted butter
• Pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1/4 cup ice cold water

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh
• 2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 cups for high altitude)
• 2 tablespoons minute tapioca
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons butter, cubed small
• 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• Large granule sugar

Crust Preparation:

Directions

Using 2 pastry blenders, blend the flours, sugar, shortening, butter and salt. Whisk the egg, vinegar and water in a 2-cup measure and pour over the dry ingredients incorporating all the liquid without overworking the dough. Toss the additional flour over the ball of dough and chill if possible. Divide the dough into 2 disks. Roll out 1 piece of dough to make a bottom crust. Place into a pie dish. Put dish in refrigerator to chill.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Filling Preparation:

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into chilled crust. Dot the top of the filling with the butter. Brush edges of pie crust with egg white wash. Roll out the other piece of dough and place over filling. Crimp to seal edges. Brush with egg white wash and garnish with large granule sugar. Collar with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling. Higher altitude will take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees F respectively. Let cool before serving.

Daddy Daughter Day

Hi from Anna!! Me and my dad had an awesome night together. It all started early September while my dad, my brothers, my dad’s best friend and his kids and I were camping... I couldn’t sleep and my dad was also awake in the tent, so we decided to build a conversation. I thought it would be fun to have a daddy daughter day!! We agreed. We’ve been trying to find a perfect day, but we didn’t have one until mid July. CRAZY!!!!

So our day/night went like this. First, me and my dad stopped at my grammas. There I swam and talked with my family/gramma. After that we went to the campsite and set up our camp. Later we ate dinner, we listened to music and looked up at the stars. It was so magical.

Well me and my dad had a great time!! Hey do you want to know a secret? My dad wanted me to hear this song, and in my mind I refused. But when I heard the words I cried, but I tried to hide the tears from my dad. I LOVE U DAD!!!

Zucchini and Beets

Golden Beets and Five Color Silver Beet

My mom and dad took the kids for two nights! Adam and I have just been hanging out bopping around to places that are closed because it's the fourth of July (oh well...) but it has been so quiet and we can enjoy this beautiful place we have to live and our garden and chickens and so forth. I really wanted to visit this local farm in Elburn (one of the places that was closed). They do outdoor events and I wanted inspiration for the wedding. Plus they do bees and lots of other fun stuff that I am totally into. My fridge is again EMPTY, but the garden is starting to boom and I want to live like that is our fridge and use up very bit of it. We picked the rest of the radishes. We used all of them and I feel good about it. Today the zucchini and beets have entered the roster. They are currently roasting in my oven with the remnant of the radishes. I love all the greens that my family is eating. Every day we have something and I think the kids are starting to get used to them as part of their diet. I also love to give them away! So fun for me to share. Our meat birds will be ready to go in the next week. Adam had to butcher one who hurt its leg the other night. We are going to enjoy it with friends on Friday. We went to a movie last night after a fun dinner at Big Bowl. I finally got to see Hunger Games and Adam went to his first movie in probably 8 years. It wasn't exactly easy getting him there, but we had fun. Tonight is yummy garden dinner, movie rented from the Hampshire video store (yes, there is still such a thing) and kiddos back tomorrow. I am anticipating a fun get together with Jeff, Alanna, Andy and Abby this Friday. I also am riding Madison on Saturday which I am a little scared about. My dad is speaking this Sunday and we are going to host a birthday cookout for him after the service.

We are Hosting the Wedding!!!

Lee, Chelsy, my mom and dad stopped by on Saturday morning. We cruised the property, assessed all the weeding and clean up chores to be done, but as they left Chelsy seemed to be pretty sure that on May 18th of next year we will be throwing our biggest party yet! Mom and I buzzed all day with ideas and thoughts. We had to make a trip to home goods that afternoon for inspiration. Chelsy has posted some wonderful ideas on her pinterest page, so that was excellent for getting the feel for what she is hoping for. I am nervous and extremely excited! Hopeful that this process will be a wonderful experience for our family as we welcome Chelsy into it. Oh, and they got a new dog. Cute as a button--I think they are naming him Norman.

Swimsational

This week was about swimming. We had two meets and practice every morning. Tuesday night Anna swam her 1st 100 IM and got first! It was very exciting for us. The boys continue to improve and gain confidence—they work really hard and I am so proud of them. Even though they give me a bit of grief when I get them up for practice. David even got a bee sting in practice the other day and just kept going with the workout. Johnny cranks through the water when he races. I asked him last night what he thinks about when he swims and he said, “Michael Phelps, and being the fastest swimmer in the world.” Of course that is what Johnny is thinking. My biggest goal for him last night was to not look around at all the other swimmers during his race. David continues to get tough events, he is improving a ton as well. The kids are growing up and pushing through and it is very cool to watch. However, Johnny did loose about 4 pairs of goggles this week. Things seem to really be coming together for Anna though. Last night I watched her race her heart out in her 2nd go at the 100 IM. This time the competition was a little tougher and she came in fourth place. 13 seconds off of her Tuesday’s time!!!! Holy Smokes—I was a little bit teary. I need to get a grip. This time together working on the same things has been so sweet to me. Can’t wait for Hudson to join us!

What to Do with Radishes

Roast them! Or make a radish dip... Our radishes are ready and I am determined to eat them until they are gone. I love them roasted in mojo (I posted about that a few days ago), but I decided to take it in another direction and make a dip for an appetizer at Hailey and David's birthday party this weekend. It was super easy, a little garlic, a little radish, a little sea salt and some cream cheese. I served it with crackers and veggies. I'm not exactly sure how it tasted since I can’t do the cream cheese, but I heard that it was "good" as well as “interesting”. I will have to have Adam try it when he gets home so I can really know how it is. My deviled eggs went over really well though. I sure made a mess making them and they were SO ugly. I guess they tasted good though because they were gone in the first half hour. 

Adam and the boys come home in a bit and Anna and I made a raspberry pound cake with our berries. Bugeye was staring me down a bit while I was picking them so I had to go in intervals. After our early morning incident a few days ago we havent been so close. I wish I could just go talk to him and work it out.

Oh and I raced the Twin Lakes Triathlon this morning. My dad even got up super early to come out and watch! I LOVE racing on the bike. Results were good. I didn't finish as well as last year, 6 OA female and 2nd AG. But hey, all things considered, I’m super happy with that.