Sadly, my blog has been neglected this Fall. So here goes another of my long and random posts....
Okay - So I know this is old. But I never got a picture posted of Ethan's Halloween costume. I posted Tyler's robot getup months ago - So keeping with the box theme Ethan decided to be a present. A Christmas Present at Halloween. Original, eh? And speaking of presents - Ethan has given me a few lately. He's so sweet. The older he gets the better he gets. Seriously, I hope this gives all of you in the terrible two's hope - If he keeps going at this rate maybe the teen years won't be so scary. Here's a few of his most recent compliments
- "Mom, if I had a paint-able jacket. I would paint your face on it and wear it everyday."
-"If someone offered me all the toys in the whole store to trade in my mom...I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't trade my mom in for anything in the whole world."
(I overheard him telling Tyler. He then followed it with the statement that he would trade Tyler in for a Ring Pop. Nice.)
The kids and I enjoying our new fire pit. A new Christmas tradition...nightly fires and s'mores.
The man responsible for said fire-pit. I would like to say that this backyard has been a labor of love. But its Sunday and I'd hate to lie. I am thinking of writing a book about this back yard and I have a few titles in mind...
"Man Verses The Wild."
"How To Lose Your Mind and Your Bank Account. A 10 Step Guide"
"Everything I Know About Suffering I Learned From My Backyard."
Seriously, I could go on all day.I have to give some major praise to Preston. He has persisted when I would have probably throw up my arms, ran away and then paved the whole backyard with concrete. But not him...he has spent almost every night in that backyard working by spotlight, hauling, digging and working. Good Job, Preston! It's still not finished - but much closer - we are hopeful that it will be done sometime before Ethan returns from his mission. These pictures are pretty bad - I'll post some better ones soon.
Look at Jace's chubby cheeks. I could squeeze those -actually I do. Every. Time. I . See. Him!!
The Electric Light Parade...and Tyler's new favorite thing - Thumbs up!
You know you are old and boring when you not only take but post pictures of your lemon tree. Seriously, lets hope after nursing school starts I have more of a life. However, it was an exciting day around here - After 14 months of being a lemon tree owner, My little tree is fruitful. The kids have been threatened that if they pick the lemons prematurely their lives will forever change. Oh, and Riley needed to get her snout in there. Such a Diva!
Can you see it...no I am not talking about the deer in the head lights look - I am talking about his missing tooth. This is the best picture I could get! He lost his first tooth the day before Thanksgiving. He was so secretive about it- I think he thought he was going to be in trouble. I mean, if cutting moms blinds apart with scissors lands you major punishments - what is pulling out one of your teeth going to do? I found a trail of blood and certain that one or both of my children were mortally wounded, frantically began interrogating Ethan as to its source. He wouldn't speak ...When I came into the room he was writing "Mom, can I have a glass of chocolate milk?" Such a funny kid - he planned to communicate only with crayon.
He has 3 more teeth that are loose -I still can't get over the fact that he's old enough to lose teeth!
Ethan - Last night.
Preston was out to the movies with a friend and I was enjoying the rare experience of pure "aloneness." I am sure there is a better word for that... I had a warm blanket and a girl movie - pure heaven. Ethan kept coming down - threatening to ruin my solitude - and so I informed him that if he came down again there would be consequences. And wonder of wonder - he wasn't to be seen again. I finished my movie in peace and when I went up to bed I found this sight. Apparently, not wanting consequences, he chose to sleep on the stairs to be close. Ahhhhh - once again I was reminded how much I love this little guy. This makes up for all the times he screams that I am, "The MEANEST Mom EVER!!!!" It was a definite self esteem boost - I mean, When was the last time you had a guy sleep on stairs just to be near you? Pretty Sweet!
Tall and Creamy Cheesecake
Dorie Greenspan
For the crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two*
*I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter leftover)—and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.
Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides—this doesn’t have to be a precision job. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
Place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the cheesecake:
Put a kettle of water on to boil.
Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.
Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the brim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.
Serving:
Remove the sides of the springform pan— I use a hairdryer to do this (use the dryer to warm the sides of the pan and ever so slightly melt the edges of the cake)—and set the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a serving platter. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.
Storing:
Wrapped well, the cake will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to defrost the still-wrapped cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.
