Rolls Rolls Rolls

So your husband's precious parents are coming for a visit. Do you:

a. clean your room where they will be sleeping
b. buy groceries so they have food to eat
c. make an insane amount of cinnamon rolls

c. you say? i think so, too. I woke up at 5:00am to make the cinnamon rolls I have been reading about on the Pioneer Woman's blog (same lady as the lasagna - she is seriously killing me with her fatty deliciousness). I felt...shall I say convicted? No, not convicted, but definitely led that these must be made immediately. And as the sweet tooth family gene begins with Jerry, I hoped they would turn out well for him.

So at 5:00am I start the rolls thinking that this will work so that Michael can have some before work. I am not usually this loving and kind with my sleep by the way. However, we have begun the Love Dare (aka Fireproof for all you Christian movie watching fans) this week, so I am trying to be more kind and considerate of my sweet husband for the next 40 days in hopes that it sticks.

Anyway, I start the whole process and about 1 1/2 hours into it, I have to throw away the first batch. If you are a baker, you know that yeast comes in a 3 pack. So I made my dough with all 8 cups of flour and it looks good, just like the pictures. Then I look on the counter and see that there are two packs of yeast left. Crap! the recipe called for 2 packs of yeast, I must have only put in 1! Not thinking, I just open one of the remaining pack in and dump it into my prepared dough hoping for the best. Michael is standing there saying, "i think you should dissolve in water first." I know that, but I am believing that this will magically work.

5 minutes later I scream, "Crap!" again, as I realize that the yeast I saw on the counter was the old/expired yeast packet that I had cleaned out of the cabinet this morning. I had made the dough correctly, and just now ruined it. I'm such a bonehead when I cook. My precious husband did not accuse me of being an idiot, but rather says so kindly, "its early," and then goes to buy me some more yeast, flour and a coffee.

All that to say... there is a beast of cinnamon roll dough growing in my trash can.

And now, let me tell you something else. These rolls are so awesome, I make myself want to cry. They are so good, I have decided to forfeit all other foods the rest of the day so that i can just eat cinnamon rolls. I am not going to eat all 8 pans, that would be excessive. I donated 3 pans - not the best ones though- to the Martinez' Sexy Taco YL fundraising party tomorrow night. The rest are sitting here now just waiting to be eaten. If you are in the neighborhood, come on over.

What? You say you don't want to come to Texas because of the swine flu? Let me just ask you this: pillows of light, buttery, cinnamon sugar drench in a sweet crystallized bath of icing, or just the slightest risk of a deadly flu (p.s. we only know one person with it. p-shaw to swine flu). I think I know which is the better choice. But you better hurry because Jerry, Michael and Frank are going to be here, too.

one last thing

Another lesson learned today: Do not, by any means leave a container of caramel chocolate crackers opened next to you while writing a blog.

Okay, I lied, one more thing to say. Have you ever absolutely loved a book so much, that you want to live inside it?

I remember in 5th grade after reading The Secret Garden, I stood up and talked to my class for 10 minutes straight about the book. When I was done, I stared into a sea of vacant, bored faces. I had no idea how long I had gone on. But I was just so into the book, I wanted everyone to love it like I did. My friend, Leigh, posted this book on her Wednesday Words blog. As she is a writer, and I am a big fan of her writing, I asked for it for Christmas. And what a gift.

I see now why Leigh put it on her blog, well... you just can't help it. Some sentences are so beautifully written, it makes you stop reading, so you can think about the beautiful images you have conjured in your mind. It is that good. I feel like you do when you see a good movie, cook a perfect recipe (pioneer woman lasagna), find a perfect cup of coffee - you just can't keep it quiet. I just want you to read it, okay...And here I am, just like in 5th grade.

Sorry it has been a while

I have not written this week for a number of reasons. The primary reason being that I have been feeling a bit sad. You see I am coming to the painful realization that people I have come to know and love as family in Houston are preparing to move. I have chosen to pretend this is not so - up until this week. I will not belabor this issue, but needless to say, it has been hard for me to be quippy and smart when I just don't feel like it.

However, yesterday I made a kickass lasagna and salad (thank you Pioneer Woman's blog), enjoyed dinner with Maggie and George and watched a great episode of LOST. So, I am feeling a little bit better.

I have had some suggestions from some of you 6 or 7 people who read this blog about what I should post. Myrna has suggested I post a picture of my bad hair. My small group has been studying humility lately, so in the spirit of humility, here is one of the worst pictures I have seen of myself in a long time.

I am also posting a picture of myself after getting ready for the day, because, I am not so humble that I can let you think I walk around like that other photo all of the time. Thank you Steph for reminding me about scarves.

Crawfish boil was last weekend. Good stuff this year. I am still thirsty.

I have about 6 things I would like to write about (consequences of not posting daily), but it is too much so I will leave it at that and end with a Frank story:

Frank and Jakob are on the playground. Jakob it seems has not done exactly what Frank wanted him to do. From the bench, I hear Frank say to Jakob, "you are not my friend."

Then he appears to remember that his dad has forbidden him from talking like that...
and he says a moment later, "You are not my sunshine."

Oh no! Its Angus! Cover your mouths!

Super sweet

Okay. are we done now?


It is now 1:30pm, Ford has already spit up 8 times today. Twice on my skirt, once on my shoulder, 8 times on himself. Seriously, how did we get so lucky in the vomit department?

****
Here is how I am going to tackle my laundry/cleaning problem:
1. prayer - my small group is helping me with this
2. punishment...of myself. I have told myself this week that i cannot go to the gym until the kitchen is clean, and that I cannot go shopping until the laundry is put away.
I did not make it to the gym on Monday. I did not make it shopping yesterday because it took so long to do that crappy laundry. But today, my house is almost clean, people. Hooray.

Here is how I am going to concur the sweet tooth:

1. Prayer, (I am just now adding this, because I had not thought to do that before, but as my friend says, God is in the details)
2. I am going to stop before I eat something sweet or junkie and say to myself, "Self?...will you feel better about yourself if you eat that 3rd bag of mini M&Ms? OR will you feel better about yourself if you don't?" (Last night this stopped me from going back for a second ice cream cone.
Dreyer's 1/2 fat Mint Chocolate Cookie. It is tasty stuff.)
3. Eating fruit and drinking lots of water

Ha look at me! Holding my head way up and to the right! I'll make a liar out of my mama every time.

Random stuff

Ford says, "thanks Aunt Stephanie, for this gift that keeps on giving."

Here are the reasons I hate my hair:

1. I trimmed my bangs myself a few weeks ago...i did okay across the board, except in one key spot that should be longer on the side, creating a "frame" of my face if you will. In order for Joseph to fix it, he must have had to cut them all really short. To sum up: current bangs=mousy, librarian look..

2. All of those pregnancy induced, hair-shining hormones are leaving me, and my hair is falling out in unbearable clumps that make me gag.

3. I have more gray hair than any 31 year old that I know. It is dry and crispy.

4. Due to the weird bangs, I can't wear my hair curly anymore because I look like I am that blond girlfriend in Spinal Tap, and that is worse than mousy librarian.

5. I, therefore, don't wash my hair often because it takes so long to wash, dry, straighten. So in the mornings and evenings, it is just pitiful. To quote my husband upon looking at me at the end of the day last week: "Are you just giving up?"

***
On a different note, Ford will go for a physical therapy evaluation next Wednesday. Though he is the perfect baby in every way, I am afraid that his neck muscles just don't seem right to me. I have compared pictures of him to Frank at this age and it is too big a difference in neck strength for me not to be concerned. He is regularly looking down and still fights looking to the right. So, after many hours of calling to work out the facility and insurance, we will go next week. I am very excited for him.

***
I have many ideas for future entries -- which is the most appealing to you? my battle with laundry - part 2? My new and improved attitude that is going to help me win the fight against my sweet tooth?
or maybe, we should discuss clothing and style for a stay at home mom of 2? What the heck is cool, but practical when you get spit up on 4 times a day? If you know it, tell it to me.

frank quotes and facepainting

"Why is daddy eating candy all the time?"

"because he likes it. sometimes daddy makes bad decisions. all that candy may make his teeth rot and fall out one day."

"I'm going to tell daddy when i wake up from my nap, not to eat so much candy."

"Well, you know, you can't tell daddy what to do. That's not for little boys to do."

"I am going to hurry and grow up to be a man so that then i can tell daddy what to do."

***
erin:"Frank, you need to try to go to the bathroom before we go to the park because they don't have a potty there."

frank: "I'm going to give you two options: If I am playing at the park and then I have to go potty, then I will...If I don't have to go potty at the park, then I won't."

(michael and i ask in parent speak "how does he know about options?")

michael: "Frank, what are options?"

frank: "Options are ideas."

****
This past Saturday was michael's company picnic. The last picnic has been scheduled last September, the same weekend that Hurricane Ike hit. This past Saturday was the equivalent of a Houston monsoon. I think I heard that we got 4 inches of rain that day. But the picnic had an indoor barn... so we were off to the picnic.

I was impressed by their efforts to still make it fun even though the petting zoo, pony rides and softball game were canceled. They had caricature artists, lots of door prizes, ping-pong, foozball, and a face painting lady. Being in a barn with people I don't know well, we tried to take advantage of it all. Because there were not so many people there, we got to eat our fill and we even won 4 door prizes. Frank won a collection of water guns and a 14 foot long jump rope. Michael got some crystal topped Texans' wine stoppers, and I got a ladies' pink Astros cap and shirt. We never win anything, so that was nice.

Frank then got his face painted (see photo) with Thomas the Tank Engine. Frank wanted me to get my face painted also. As there was nothing else for the face painting lady to do, I said okay.

Frank asks her to give me "Cars!" and she says, "let's do something pretty for your mom."
She proceeds to start to paint up over my eyes, down my cheek, onto my chin, my neck and down to the tip of my V-neck T-shirt. Then she whispers:"this is for your husband." I am half-smiling, thinking there is no way I can get out of this now. Then she says, "once I had a husband tell his wife that she needed to keep this on until they got home" wink wink.
What! how did I find the only sexy face painting lady in the world! When she shows me my face it is half covered in red, black and white Indian looking face paint...all the way down to my chest. Terrific. This is how I like to look at michael's company picnic. Shortly after, Michael's boss' wife comes to talk to me, followed by a host of other wives and co-workers. I started to try and explain that I did not ask her to paint this on my face, then I just gave up and pretended it wasn't there. I deleted the picture from my camera, because I was just too embarrassed to look at it.

Don't worry though, the company's picnic photographer took about 6 pictures of me. awesome.

1 Samuel 4

So I decided to start reading 1 Samuel to Frank at the breakfast table each morning. We are on the fourth chapter today, and each day, I have been moved by the words. I have been noting especially how much more I related to Eli's "worthless" sons than I want to. When the Israelites would come to worship the Lord at Shiloh, the priests (Eli's sons) would always take the choicest parts of the meat offering for themselves. They were getting fat off of the gifts meant for God. And when the Israelites were losing in battle with the Philistines, it was Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas who brought the Ark of the Covenant down to the battlefield. They knew the power of God, but they didn't revere him. It is such a picture of how I sometimes live my life. I know the mighty power of God, but my sin nature still wants all the best for me.

Well, I don't have to tell you what happens to Hophni and Phineas. They don't ever come home from the battlefield. And even though the mighty Ark of the Lord was at the battle, the Lord let the Israelites loose and the Ark to be captured. What of old Eli the 98 year old priest? He had served as a Israel's judge for 40 years, but he wasn't able to discipline his own sons. When he heard that the Ark had been captured, he fell off his chair, broke his neck and died. The Lord did not take their lack of reverence lightly.

What does he think now of me? I have every comfort that I could ever need or want, yet I want more. I have been blessed with an amazing family, wonderful friends, good health, and awesome children. Yet I still want more for me. I want the praise and respect for the good things that God has done. Eli's sons had their eyes on themselves, too. They probably thought that they would march into the battle with the Ark of the Covenant and be the big shot heroes. But God is holy and that is what they forgot. He knew that they did not revere Him, and he would not bless their selfish motives.

I am thankful today for grace.

Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redeption that is in Christ Jesus"

I am thankful that he walked in our shoes and knew the temptations we face. He knew our hunger and our desires to be self-important, and he had compassion on us. He didn't condone our sins, but he died for us to be free from them.
So simple and so complex.

Driving, brushing, rolling

Have you ever tried to put three carseats in the back of a sedan? If you can avoid it, I recommend doing so. Yesterday, we picked up our friends to go to the zoo. It was very fun and totally worth the labor, but man it is hard to wrangle all of those latches and buckles. Mini vans were invented for a reason. Perhaps someday my dream for the Odyssey will come true. (I can't believe I dream for a minivan.)

Two days ago, Frank was brushing his teeth. (sorry if this is too much information) As his supervisor, I was watching him and decided to go to the bathroom. I got the toilet paper off the roll and he just stared at me in shock.
"How do you not fall in?" he asked in amazement that I had taken my hands off the commode. "Well, I guess my bottom is big enough that I don't fall in," I said.
Frank says, "someday I will be big enough not to fall in, too."

I am struggling now with which stories are blogworthy. So much of my day is truly mundane that I don't think you really want to hear all of the gory details. e.g.: Ford crying before he falls asleep, frank throwing tantrums on the floor, the ongoing saga of how i can't stand my hair...do you really want to know all that? I think not.

I don't know how to make captions on here, but the picture of Ford looks identical to one of frank at the same age. He is growing too fast. Has rolled twice from tummy to back, and almost one time from back to tummy.

So many of you know my obsession with the Smitten Kitchen blog. (www.smittenkitchen.com) So much that I didn't list it in my "things I am into" posting, because - well- I didn't want to sound as obsessed as I truly am. Today, under the excuse that I need to take something to my friend who just had a baby, I have just made her caramel chocolate crack. It is in the fridge. I am drooley excited to eat. In fact, I shoved a sandwich in my mouth while it was baking, just so I wouldn't be that hungry when it was done. Too bad. Didn't work. In fact, I was so excited, doing my caramel chocolate cracker dance as I was putting it in the fridge, I knocked over my undrinken (sp?) cup of decaf coffee all over the kitchen.

Super happy the new floor is brown. I will mop after the crack is eaten.

happy tax day

So I have not entirely forfeited caffeinated beverages. I did switch to decaf coffee, but have had a soda the past two nights. I am a loser with zero willpower.

I have also temporarily given up the so-called "sleep training" so that I can get some sleep. We are only getting up once between 2-3am to eat, and now I get to sleep the rest of the night without making the poor boy cry.

As life was not terribly exciting yesterday, I will post some of the funnier things frank has said lately.

scene: Mama and Frank in the car. at the Starbucks drive thru:
F: "why do you like coffee all the time?"
M: "because i think it tastes good."
F: "and why are you getting maggie a coffee?"
M:"because Maggie likes coffee, too."
F: "so girls like coffee, and boys don't."
M:"well, lots of boys like coffee, too. just not your daddy."
F: "and me, I don't like coffee."
M: "that's right."
F:"why does Maggie want a tall, fat mocha?"
this conversation went on and on for another 5 minutes.

--Last week, my friend Robyn called on Sunday night. She said, "I'm sorry to call so late, but I just had to call you and tell you what your said did in the nursery at church today."
I was ready for something weird, or bad. Bracing myself, she goes on to say,
"well, Jakob wanted to play with some blocks that Benjamin was playing with. Naturally, Benjamin was not giving the blocks to Jakob and Jakob was upset. Frank turns to Jakob and sings: "You can't always get what you waaaant. You can't always get what you waaant."

--Frank, Isa (age 5), Roman and Myrna(her parents) are in the backyard. I am inside putting Ford to bed. I come out. Roman and Myrna say, "do you know what your son just did? He just pulled down his pants in the middle of the backyard and started peeing. Isa ran away to us. And when he was done, we asked him why he did that and he said, "my daddy told me to do that. That's what my daddy does."

(michael, for the record, does not pee in the middle of the yard)

it was a bowling miracle

why, might you ask, would the Lord be interested in my bowling game? well, I do not know, but what I witnessed last night, could be attributed to nothing more than the Lord.

I am not a good bowler. Despite my middle school and girl scout training in the game, I am really terrible. In fact, I have gotten worse with age. I often switch hands. I often switch balls. I have found that if I bowl with the heaviest ball I can throw - about 16 pounds (same weight as Ford), I have a better chance of not throwing it directly in the gutter. The heavy weight, combined with the very slow speed, sometimes keeps the ball in the lane. sometimes.

My first game I bowled a 37. I do not bowl to compete with others, only myself. My friend, who will remain nameless, bowled a 39 in her first game. My goal for the second game was to now beat 39. Not difficult you might say - but i like for my goals to be attainable. On the 9th frame, my score was 31. I rolled my first ball - got 7 pins. I then switched hands, threw my second ball, and watched it roll slowly down the lane. About 3/4 of the way down - as usual - it went into the gutter. Then the miracle... it bounced out. And in bouncing out of the gutter it knocked down the remaining 3 pins. amazing. I have never in my life seen a ball bounce out of the gutter, let alone to get me the spare and a score of 41!

A note on the pie. I am convinced that Mamaw left out an ingredient or a step in that pie. Perhaps it was an accident, or maybe it was intentional so that hers would always be awesome and would leave me scratching my head in wonderment. It was chocolate soup with meringue.
Never will I attempt it again. Only Stephanie could save that pie.

post Easter sugar crash.

 so many jellybeans, and enimans (as frank calls the M&M). I am hooked on the mini M&M. It is so cute and tiny. As your eating it you think, "this is so tiny, it can't be bad for you...well I guess I will have 4 tiny packs of them, then."

We did have a beautiful picnic/egg hunt. The sun came through after the storm, and it was perfect. A bit muddy for my heels, but they will clean. I will later post some pictures Myrna took of the family. She is my resident photographer. I am seriously blessed by that family, and I will suffer when they move to Mexico to start Young Life.

Today, I was able to go to a cardio-sculpt class at the Y. All I can say is that there were ladies in their fifties exercising in front of me, and they seriously kicked my butt.

I am attempting MaMaw's chocolate pie again for Anke's birthday. I'm a bit nervous as the first time it was chocolate soup with giant merinque. The second time I made it, it was perfect, but I forgot to write down what I did to make it so good. I'll let you know how the third time goes. Frank will be assisting me, which amounts to him eating all the ingredients on a stool next to me.

Inspired by the Easter egg hunting, Frank has taken to hiding all of his candies around the house. Snickers in the desk drawer, jellybeans under pillows. He laid out all of his jellybeans on my bathroom rug this morning planning which day and time he will eat each one. Where could he have developed such an obsession for all things sweet? Perhaps it is because his dad requires his own Easter basket full of candy each year? Perhaps when Frank shows me a piece of candy and says to me in all seriousness, "Daddy is not going to eat it, right?" that I should know we have issues. well, there are worse things in this world than loving candy, i suppose. I hope your Easters were blessed and wonderful.

aside note: decaf sucks

I forgot to mention the picture of the floor. It is our new kitchen floor that michael laid while i was in KC. thought the family would like to see it...the shoes are my new summer flats.