Remembering

Yesterday it was 11 years since my mom went to heaven and 8 years since her dad, my Grandpa Ken joined her there. We all miss them so much. Both my mom and grandpa were really influential in shaping who I've become and most my siblings and other family members would probably say the same thing. I took the picture above from my sister Michele's blog. I love this picture of my mom and dad and us five kids. I bet Phil (her 5th child) wasn't much more than 6 months old here and mom is rockin' a tube top! I know this because there are other pictures of that same day when you can see her stomach and she looks amazing! I was blessed with many of her genes, but that whole showing my stomach after having children is not one of them!

I have been reflecting a little in the past couple months about what I want to be when I grow up. It sounds funny right. Well, I never chose a career path that I was really passionate about, never finished my degree, etc. I am taking online classes right now just to finish up my 2 year transfer degree and my Theatre professor sent out an email to everyone about finding a job that you are passionate about. I kind of felt stupid because I didn't have that drive and here I am almost 30 and I am still trying to figure out what I want to be. One way she said to find out what that was, was to remember back to when you were a kid and what you most liked to play. I immediately thought of playing house with my dolls and barbies. I also set up houses out in the woods with my brothers, I made plates and bowls out of the clay I dug out of the creek, I picked weeds that resembled wheat and ground them up to pretend to make bread. I don't think I was an ordinary little girl playing with dolls because when all the other girls had moved on to other things as we got older, I still wanted to play with my dolls! I thought about all this for a while before I realized that I HAVE found what I am most passionate about, being a wife, mother and homemaker. That may seem a little old fashioned to some, but I am the most content when I can do those things well. I feel so fortunate that I am content being a stay at home mom because I know some women find it hard to be home all the time. I realize that my mom taught me these things. She showed me how to be a good mom and a good homemaker and to take joy in the domestic things :) Now I know that at some point I will get a job which is why I am slowly finishing up college. But I have a feeling I won't veer too far from what I am doing right now :)

So last week I was having some neighborhood ladies over for coffee. I sat down and looked through some recipes to figure out what I would make for that morning and this recipe stood out to me. I haven't made it in a really long time, but it is so good. After mom died, I was living in 29 Palms and I called my Grandma Alma for this recipe. It was one mom made often, especially when she had my dad's side of the family over for coffee on a Sunday night. So last Monday night, after the kids went to bed, I made this Applesauce Raisin Cake and thought of my mom the whole time.

Applesauce Raisin Cake

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup warm water

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves

1 cup raisins

nuts, optional

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs. Beat well, add applesauce and water. Mix flour, soda and spices. Add to butter mixture. Add raisins and nuts (if using). Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Penuche Frosting (SO YUMMY)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup milk

1 3/4 -2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan, add sugar, boil over low heat for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in milk and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until thick.

Orange Chicken

I will start by saying how much Lane LOVES Orange Chicken. His love for it began when I bought a frozen box of it from Costco. He always requested it. I am not much of a frozen food kind of girl so I would always cringe just a little when I served it, although it was good! So when I found this recipe while I was doing weight watchers, I was really excited to find a healthier version of Orange Chicken. Served with some brown rice and edamame, this meal is a favorite of my family. I got it from this blog http://www.pointlessmeals.blogspot.com
And this is Estelle after she's eaten her orange chicken, she loves it! In fact this is what got her eating some chicken despite her vegetarian tendencies.
And on a side note, Lane had to "dress up" a potato last week for school. Kind of a funny project, but fun. I asked him what he would like to dress it up as and of course he wanted it to be in camouflage. So we made a ghillie suit for this little potato. For those of you who don't know what a ghillie suit is, it's a suit that snipers wear and they can blend completely into their surroundings, like this for example...

So we strung some leaves on him and stuck in some stick arms. We went through Lane's army guy stuff and found a good hat and a pair of tiny binoculars that hung from his potatoes arm. He was pretty proud of it, who knows if his teacher knew what a ghillie suit is. What is important is that Lane knows what it is :) Lane is doing so great in school, I am really proud not only his grades but also the way he conducts himself at school. Hopefully he can pass down these things to his sister... hopefully.

Another Baseball Season

Baseball season is upon us again. This is Lane's third year playing baseball. This year he has moved up to CAPS which means they hit off a pitching machine. This has taken some getting used to, but Lane is doing really well. He is quite the homebody so getting him out of the house to go to practice or a game can sometimes be hard, but once he gets there he is very intense and focused.

I don't really get to watch the game, I am too busy watching Estelle. From picking up cigarette butts to climbing under the bleachers, she is keeping me busy.
Lane is a great hitter. This year with the machine, it's trickier. I hope he is able to get some great hits at his games. During one practice he hit a grand slam. Go Lane!
Look at him looking at the runner on first. Very intimidating :) That kid was a giant by the way and so was his twin brother and two other large boys on the other team!

When we went into this baseball season we did not know anyone on his team. Many of them already knew each other and I wondered how that would go. The more practices and games I go to, the more I like the people (parents and kids) on the team. Actually, one of the moms is an assistant pastor at the church we have been going to (but have not gotten involved in). I got to talking with her the other day and she told me about the woman's bible study she leads at our church. I went to it for the first time today and it was really great. Turns out three other moms from the team go to it, as well as a neighbor of mine that I have recently met. I am thankful that I have found a way to get involved in the church we are attending and get to know some more Christian women. Funny how God works these things out :)

Random Pictures

This is something I want to remember, so I thought I'd blog about it. A couple nights ago Lane said, "I don't need to tell Estelle I love you tonight because I left something in her room for her." So the next time I went upstairs this is what I found. He had gotten some stickers in a valentine and decorated her door with them. So sweet.
We have been making some trips to a little park that has been updated in our neighborhood. Lane calls it the "country park." When Estelle gets a little cranky in the afternoon, we take a little walk and she gets to run around outside.

I love this little mushroom table and her favorite thing to do at the park is to sit at it :)
We've also gone down to the beach every once in a while. Estelle has become so much more interested in the sand. She loves running her fingers across it.