Tortilla Roll Ups

This is a quick and easy recipe for a great appetizer.

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
small can of green chilies
1 bunch of green onions
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1/4 cup salsa
Salt and pepper to taste
10-15 flour tortillas
Additional salsa for dipping

Combine the first seven ingredient in food processor and process until mostly smooth. Spread mixture on tortillas and roll up. Wrap rolled tortillas in damp paper towels. Place towel wrapped tortillas in a zip top bag and refrigerate at least a couple of hours but up to a couple of days. When ready to serve, unwrap from paper towels and cut tortillas in to 1 inch rolls. Serve with salsa for dipping.

A Star Is Born

Charlotte and Rehm performed in our church's children's choir performance of Nic at Night last month. It has taken me this long just to get this very simple post up. Sad but true. Mostly because I needed to download the pictures and I've been having major computer problems for the last week, but still.

The musical was very cute. It was the story or Nicodemus. They both did an excellent job and both seemed to have a great time. They performed on Saturday night and again on Wednesday afternoon. The twins were so excited to go to the "music show" or "you-si-cle." But of course kept getting squirmy and instited on going to the restroom at least three times during the hour long show.

Charlotte's choir performed a couple of songs at the beginning, one in the middle about the butterfly and sang the finale with all the choirs.


Rehm's choir had more singing and he was also in a little ensemble (yeah I have no real music terms here - I have no idea if it was an ensemble, a group, whatever). They had to go up three or four times and sing a little song with hand motions in addition to singing with the rest of their choir for other songs.

Of course, the occasion called for a special hairstyle for Charlotte. Since many of the decorations revolved around a star theme, we went with a star design in her hair. She looked darling.

Jenn

PS. All pictures except the last one were taken by Beth Bishop, not me.

My Mom

I'm a terrible daughter. I did nothing for my mother for Mother's Day. No gift, no card, nothing! I was feeling really terrible about this but of course it is too late to rectify the situation now as She lives in NC and I don't. So I decided the least I could do was give her a post on my blog. She deserves so much more than that, but it is the least I can do.

My Mom is a great mom. She has always been my advocate. When I was in elementary school, I had a hard time with school. She knew something was wrong, even though all of the teachers and professionals told her otherwise. She did not give up. She was right. I have dyslexia. If she had not stood up for me, I would not have been a successful student. I wonder if I would have graduated high school. I'm sure I would not have made it to college.

She has always been there to make sure I get what I need and take care of me. OK, so sometimes she tries a bit too hard to take care of me, especially when I am sick, and I'm not appreciative. She says I'm too stubborn and independent. Apparently she knows me well.

She is one of my dear friends. When I was in high school, I would skip class regularly and go have lunch with her and her coworkers. I can not believe she would let me do that but I loved those lunches. We have always had lots of fun spending time together. It is one of the things I miss about being in Texas. We don't get to have our Saturday morning breakfast and shopping trips. I guess the children would probably put a damper on those these days anyway. I talk to her on the phone at least every few days. Things seem out of sorts if I don't. I miss her.

Mom has always believed in me. She has always supported me in whatever I decided to do, even when she didn't like it or agree. She hated it when I played keeper in high school soccer. But she came to every game and didn't even say "I told you so" when I broke a bone (only a finger) my senior year. She really didn't like it when I moved to Texas, I always knew this but she never tried to talk me out of it or guilt me into moving back home.

Mom is a wonderful seamstress. She would disagree with me, but she would be wrong. She makes lots of wonderful quilts, bags, dresses and other things. And she is nice enough to share these things with my family. I have her quilts hanging in almost every room in my house. I carry purses she has made year round. And my girls wear dresses she makes frequently.

I wish I had saved all the letter she sent me my freshman year of college - you know before email was common, yikes! Every day I got the Walkertown News. It contained whatever random things had happened in my home town that day or that she just thought I might want to know. They were always so funny and made me feel like I wasn't so far away (I was only two hours away but it felt much further). I looked forward to getting the mail everyday because I knew there would be something from her and it would make me smile.

Before this gets too sappy I'll admit that Mom and I have had our share a disagreements and annoyances with each other. What two people haven't? We wouldn't be normal if we didn't occasionally. And there are times when I will say or do something and think I refuse to be my mother! Other times when I sound like her it makes me smile. Usually that is when someone has been looking for something right in front of them and I will tell them "it is right there, as big as cabbage!" That is definitely a Mom statement, but one that always makes me laugh. I actually heard Charlotte tell someone something was "as big as cabbage" recently and had a great laugh.

I could write lots more about Mom, but I won't as I'll probably need those stories next year when Mother's Day rolls around.

Mom I hope this present was at least better than the one I got you when I was ten! (That is the year I had an appendectomy on Mother's Day!)

I love you Mom. Have a great Mother's Day.
Jenn

Who's Who Controversy

Michael always argues with me about which girl is which in this series of photos. The first one was used for their announcements when they were born. Some people, I won't name names :), thought we shouldn't have used this picture because one girl was upset. I personally though it added nicely to the yin yang affect of the picture. And it ends up that knowing their personalities now, it is very fitting.

So here are several shots from that day. They were all taken by a friend, colleague and great photographer, Beth Bishop. She does awesome work. She snapped these for us while we were at a church retreat at Mo Ranch in just an impromptu five minute photo session. Yes we were a bit crazy - going on a retreat with 8 week old twins plus the other two children.

So what do you think? Who is who?

Curls for Charlotte

Isn't she adorable?

Charlotte has been asking repeatedly for me to curl her hair. Of course she usually waits until the morning to ask and it is not possible to get her hair curled then. She asked Tuesday night and at first I put her off. She was really sad and I realized there was not an alternate time to do it until at least the following week. So we compromised. I put her hair up in pin curls and she didn't get a story that night - there wasn't time to do both.

Shockingly we got a second day out of the curls. This morning I took sections of the front and twisted it and added ponies and then re-scrunched the back. Messy and not as nice as the first day but quick and it made the girl happy.

Already?

Yesterday, I took Charlotte to sign up for Kindergarten. In many ways I am ready for her to go to "Big School" and know she is, too. But in other ways I just can't believe it is time and am a little sad that she will be gone so many more hours during the week.

Outside the school - very excited

Not so sure anymore

Coloring a picture while we wait our turn

It is funny, I was not sad at all when Rehm signed up for "Big School" nor did I get teary when the first day rolled around. But I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I was very pregnant with twins on sign up day and had two, two month old girls for his first day of school. I was just thrilled to have one less person take care of for any portion of time. It is amazing how things have changed since then.

Rehm's First Day of School

Ruby (bottom) and Eliza Claire (top) at two months

I wonder what I'll be like when it is the twins turn?

Jenn

Look what finally made it to Texas

I went grocery shopping tonight. I needed hot sauce, Tabasco sauce, red pepper sauce, whatever you call it. I was shocked to see Texas Pete brand hot sauce. Texas Pete is made by TW Garner Food Company in Winston-Salem, NC. It has just now made it to my grocery store in Texas.

I did not know Texas Pete was made in my home town until I was in high school and had a field trip to their manufacturing site. I think it was for my economics class. I found it very interesting, especially giving the quantities they mixed in a single batch.

Sometime early in my relationship with Michael Texas Pete came up. I have no idea why or how. But he thought it was hilarious that a product with Texas in the name was made in North Carolina and that it was not even available for purchase in Texas. We also went round and round about the proper name for red pepper sauces. He says hot sauce is salsa and that red pepper sauce is Tabasco. Of course growing up with called all red pepper sauce Texas Pete because that is what was in our refrigerator and what was in any local restaurant when you asked for hot sauce. Which is probably how Texas Pete came up in the first place. We were probably eating something that could use a splash of hot sauce and I probably said something like, "this needs some Texas Pete." To which he said, "What is Texas Pete?" To which I would have said "Texas Pete - you know hot sauce." And then I'm sure he said, "You mean Tabasco?" To which I said, "No, I mean Texas Pete." You get the idea...

But after reveling in the fact that Texas Pete is now available at my local grocery store, I bought Red Devil (my normal brand choice in the Lone Star state) because it was about 40% cheaper. How sad is that?

Jenn

PS And yes, I took pictures in the grocery store, again.

Latest Hair Trials

I'm running out of names for my hair posts. Here are the latest.

Eliza has started asking for rainbow ponies. This means she wants to pick out 4-7 different colored ponytail holders and wants me to do something with them. I normally use most of them to make small ponies straight back and then figure out something to do to combine all the ponies together, like this.

This style came from Babes in Hairland and Hair for my Princess both. I love this. It is not hard, but it does take about 10 minutes to do. I've also done this style on Eliza Claire but didn't get any pictures that day. The original idea came from the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua. It is funny I find myself constantly pausing the TV to check out hairstyles now, trying to figure out how it was done and if I can make it work on the girls.



Ruby's do is not pretty. One morning she told me she wanted a diamond in her hair. Since she seems to be the one that doesn't get fancy hair regularly I wanted to humor her. I had no idea what to do to get a diamond in her hair. I decided I would do a diamond shaped part and then figure it out from there. This is what I came up with. She would not hold still so her diamond part is a bit wonky but it was the best I could do with a squirming two year old. In true Ruby fashion, the second I finished her hair, she proceeded to pitch a fit and try to rip out all the ponytail holders because she had decided she just wanted ponytails after all. I finally got her to realize she had ponytails and to leave it alone. Silly girl.



Make sure you check out the new blog roll on the right. It has all of the hair blogs I read on it. So if you ever want ideas or to find out more about a style I did you should be able to find it there.

Jenn

PS I just realized that Ruby's pictures are from the grocery store. Yeah, I know I'm a freak taking pictures of the kids at the store. You should see the looks I get sometimes. I was taking pictures of something else the girls were doing and realized I had not taken pictures of her "fancy" hairdo so quickly snapped those too.

Swine Flu Musings

While driving I was thinking about Swine Flu. Not in the sense that I was actually concerned about contracting the disease or my family contracting it, but in the sense of the name. Here's how the conversation in my head went.

Why Swine Flu? Why not Pig Flu? What is the difference between a pig and a swine? My grandfather would be very disappointed in me if he knew I didn't know the difference between the two. If he were still alive I'd ask him. But I know how the conversation would go...

Me: Papa, what is the difference between a swine and a pig?

Papa: Why, dummy, (one of my grandfather's favorite terms of endearment - right up there with well, stupid) a pig is blah, blah, blah (read that I have no clue what he would have said) and a swine is blah, blah, blah. Then you have your hog, which is blah, blah blah. And your sow, which is a female pig. The boar is the male pig. And the offspring are piglets.

This whole little interchange with myself made me smile, chuckle and miss my Papa. It also made me remember a similar discussion we had while sitting around the table one Sunday about proper terminology of cows. You've got your calf (baby), heifer (young cow that has not produced offspring), steer (castrated male), bull (non-castrated male, and cow (offspring bearing aged female). I don't remember what a female is called after calf bearing age. Well, it is probably called dinner, but you know what I mean. And I don't remember what a young male is called prior to being classified as a bull or steer.

Oh well, at least some of it stuck. But when I see a field with cattle, I don't say to the children, "oh, look, there are some heifers, steers, bulls, and cows!" I simply say, "look at the cows," and assume they know the cattle aren't all truly females of calf bearing age or that they really don't care.

I miss those wonderful afternoons sitting around the table talking with my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is amazing the things I learned and the wonderful family memories I have.

Miss you Papa,
Jenn

PS So I guess this really wasn't about swine full after all. And in case you are wondering a pig is a young swine and a hog is an older, heavier swine - well that is what I found when I googled it anyway...

Slurp

Rehm recently got a palette extender. He has a double cross bite that needs to be corrected. He did great having it put in. But now he talks a little funny and makes slurping noises every few minutes, especially when eating. Having the extender has made him eat much more slowly which is great!

Our nephew Griffin went through the palette extender process about six months ago. I am sure at least Charlotte will also get this lovely experience. The orthodontist sure scored when we walked in his office. Assuming we continue to love them as much as we do right now, they'll get our business for all four children.

Yes, I'm the crazy mom that takes pictures of her child while he is in the middle of a procedure. I'm sure everyone at the orthodontist office think I am a complete nut job. Oh wait, I am a nut job, does that mean it is OK that the ortho office thinks so? I'm not sure. Oh well, life is one big picture taking opportunity. If that makes me a nut job, so be it.

A Very Happy Boy

The shoes arrived today. They were on back order and I was afraid we were not going to be able to get them. Rehm has asked several times about when they would arrive since I ordered them. I was surprised they arrived today since I just got an email two days ago saying they were still back ordered.

He loves them. He is thrilled. He is not allowed to wear them until he finishes his school project that is due Monday.

I'm sure I'll have to write again about any reaction or lack of reaction they spark.
Jenn

Baked Ziti with Pesto

We had this for dinner earlier this week. Actually we are still having it for dinner as it made enough for leftovers - my favorite.

1 lb whole wheat ziti, cooked al dente according to package directions
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 shakes Worcestershire sauce
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce (or homemade, this week I used the jar)
16 oz part skim ricotta cheese
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pesto (homemade or store bought, this week it was store bought)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook onion, ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper (to taste) until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain and set aside. In a medium size bowl, mix together ricotta, cream cheese, parmesan, pesto, garlic, salt and pepper (to taste). Combine ziti, meat mixture, cheese mixture and spaghetti sauce and stir until everything is incorporated. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle mozzarella over top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chees is melted and pasta is heated through. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

Conversations with Two Year Olds

On Michael's birthday. We had cake after dinner. We even sang Happy Birthday and made him blow out candles! Right after blowing out the candles Eliza Claire says, "Daddy, you need to open your presents now!" Ruby looked at her and very seriously responded, "Liza, Daddy don't go not presents!"

She was correct and incorrect all at the same time. Michael had received his birthday gift, new sunglasses, a week early since he had to pick them out and that was when we had time to do so. So he got a birthday present, but he did not have anything to open on his actual birthday. Thus, the "Daddy don't got no presents" response.

-------------------------------

We have planned a summer trip to NC. We were talking about it in the van recently. Rehm was lamenting that we don't get to go to the beach this time, so we were talking about the things we would do and the people we would see. I started listing relatives, "we'll seeZander, Brady, Rosie, Riley, Zachary..."

Ruby interrupted me with, "Oh boy, we get to see our kitty cat!"

"No sweetheart. Not the kitty cat named Zachary. He died. He's in heaven. We get to see your cousin, The Boy Named Zachary."

It cracks me up that Ruby and Eliza Claire think we have shipped the cat off somewhere and that he is coming back. This is not the first conversation like this where they get all excited because they think we are going to see/go get him. I wonder when they will finally realize that he truly isn't coming back? And it just baffles me that they think we would just leave him somewhere for this long and not have him at home.

Sunday Style: Hair by Jenn, Clothing by Cici

Ruby is sporting a cute little French twist - I have to keep it simple, she won't hold still long, and a dress Cici made last year. She had a new Cici Creation but refused to wear it because she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and had to find something to be mad about and the new dress was the first thing she saw.

Front

Top

The Dress

Eliza Claire is sporting a cute little design that I don't remember where I saw it to give credit. Basically you make a part from ear to ear in front of the ears and pull everything behind it into a ponytail. Then you section the front into small ponytails and alternate braiding them in twist braids and regular braids. Finally, you combine all the little braids into the main ponytail. This has become her new favorite hair style. She asks for it most mornings.

Back/side view

Isn't she just adorable? I think this is the cutest dress Cici has made to date!

The pictures of Charlotte's hair don't do it justice. Again I saw this somewhere and now don't remember where. For this style you part the hair across in front of the ears from ear to ear. Take the center part of that hair and put it in a temporary pony. Now combine everything else into a regular pony tail. Place a headband over the part. Take the hair from the temporary pony and pull it back over the headband and incorporate it into the main pony. Then take two bobby pins and make an X to hold the hair in place. This is really easy and looks really cute in person. The pictures just don't do it justice.

I did a variation of this on Eliza Claire this week where I braided the front section before taking it over the headband and incorporating it into the main pony. Again, very easy and very cute. I think it would also be cute if you sectioned the front hair into three sections and braided each and the pulled them into the main pony.

Back, with a off kilter bow. I fixed the bow after taking the picture.

Front - terrible picture, rushing to get to church. If you look carefully you can see the headband, it was thin and very light in color so it doesn't show up well. This dress is an Old Navy sale rack find.

I am going to find all my hair blog links and put them in my sidebar, hopefully sometime this week.

Chicken Piccata

Here is my recipe for Chicken Piccata. It is not something I make often as it is such a rich dish. But it sure is yummy when I do.

Jenn’s Chicken Piccata

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ cup flour
1 egg
¼ cup water
½ cup bread crumbs
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
14 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
½ - 2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 jar capers, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
16 oz cooked fettuccine
Parsley

Put ½ cup flour in a shallow dish. Combine egg and water and beat well in a separate shallow dish. Put ½ cup bread crumbs in third shallow dish. Dredge chicken through each.

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons butter. When starts bubbling add garlic and three chicken breasts. Cook for 3 minutes and then flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove browned chicken from pan to a plate. Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter. Add other 3 breast, cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

Add mushrooms to pan and sauté. Add another 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in artichokes, capers, lemon juice, and broth. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Add chicken back in, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove Chicken to platter and briskly Wisk in remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter.

To serve: Put fettuccine on plate. Top with sauce, chicken and a bit more sauce. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

For other great recipes check out Tasty Thursday at Southern Fried Mama.

Shoes

Would you let your eight year old boy who loves the ocean wear these?


Rehm and I spotted these on our quest for Crocs this weekend. It is very hard to find size four crocs, even knock offs in boy colors. In one of the many stores we went in, Rehm spotted these Chuck Taylors. They did not have them in his size. He still really wants to find them. My first thought when I saw them was it's at shame they don't have a boy version of that shoe. But when he asked about them I had the if he wants them and would wear them do I really care? thought.

So would you let your son wear these? Just curious.

Bed Time Conversation with Ruby

Michael and I were talking to Ruby at bed time and asking her questions.

US: What is your name?

R: Ruby Caroline

US: What is Daddy's name?

R: Michael M.

US: What is Mommy's name?

R: Jennifer M.

US: How old are you?

R: Two.

US: When is your birthday?

R: June 26

US: Where do you live?

R: (paused to think a second) At my house!

US: Where is your house?

R: It very far away!

I guess she has figured that out by how long it takes us to get to school and such :)

Stubborn?

Michael went to check on Ruby because she was crying after bedtime. She had her foot stuck between the mattress and the bed frame of her bed. Eliza Claire had somehow caused that - don't ask me how, it is apparently at twin thing. Michael her got her unstuck. She starts crying harder and screaming.

Why?

Because she wanted Mommy to get her foot unstuck and was mad that Daddy had done it. She was so determined that I get her out that she kept trying to get her foot re-stuck, but couldn't do it by herself. Her father told her sister not to help her.

That was fifteen minutes ago. She is still screaming...

Think she might be stubborn?

I wonder where she got that trait. Any ideas?

Krispy Kreme

On the way home from school last week, the girls and I decided to stop at Krispy Kreme for an Easter treat. We stayed for about an hour, enjoying donuts and just being silly.


Charlotte and the girls came up with some game where they had to touch each of the pictures and jump over each of the water bottles. It kept them happy for at least 10 minutes and they were cute in the process.