Sam's Town

Day 29 - Big Boy

2012-01-30T20:50:00.004-07:00

Someone has officially graduated to a big boy twin bed. We have been trying to figure out how we were going to make the transition from the toddler bed since our crib mattress will soon be needed by Baby Girl. My sweet friend Tracy was getting rid of her oldest son's bed and asked if we wanted it. I think I may have screamed, "YES!!!"

Sam was very excited to bring home a "big bed" but we made him wait a week and a half while I sanded and repainted it. More on that later. Also, he still has a darling quilt coming his way to complete his new big boy room. Until I finish it, I'm letting him use the quilt my Grandma Dannelly made for Ben and I for our wedding.

I think someone might be just a little excited.

Day 28 - Beep

2012-01-30T20:44:00.002-07:00

Saturday was crazy busy for us so by the time we got to bed, both Ben and I were exhausted. At 1:30 am our peaceful slumber was disturbed by a beeping.

Why do smoke detector batteries always go out in the in middle of the night? Especially when you have super high vaulted ceilings and no ladder?

My smartie pants husband pulled our kitchen table into our bedroom and then placed a chair on it to reach the smoke detector. I'm glad he's so smart because in my sleep deprived state, my solution would have been to go sleep in the spare bedroom.

I did have the presence of mind to take a photo.

Day 27 - Stroller

2012-01-28T19:40:00.001-07:00

Ben's parents bought us a sit and stand stroller for Sam and the baby. I did tons of research and waited for a sale make the purchase. The night we went to buy it, I discovered the model I chose wouldn't work with my car seat. UGH! So after even more research, I found a stroller I liked even more. Ben put it together today and wheeled it out to the living room to show Sam. He immediately said, "Ellie's stroller!" It's good to hear all this baby talk is sinking in.

We then explained that the stroller was for both Sam and his baby sister. Right away, he made himself comfortable. In the baby's seat. With his blanket. Watching television. Apparently, we need to continue discussing the baby.

Day 26 - Two Points

2012-01-27T19:36:00.004-07:00

Sometimes it is 8:00 PM and I realize I don't have a photo. Then fate steps in a saves me.

Remember Sam's gambling habit? These little babies are all over my house, my car and apparently my child.

Day 25 - BOOM!

2012-01-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

So whenever Ben is right and I'm wrong, he points at me with both index fingers and says, "Boom!"

Imagine my immense pleasure when my 3 yr old imitated this at dinner tonight.

Please note the ninja sweat covering his body. We play way too much Fruit Ninja in this house.

Day 24 - Chuck E. Cheese

2012-01-26T19:14:00.001-07:00

Sam has been to a total of TWO kid's birthday parties in his life. His cousin Zaylee's last year and now Logan's.

For Logan's birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Our group consisted of me, Sam, Buddy, Logan and his two AWESOME brothers, Larson and Jackson. (We were of course sad that Ben, Tom and especially Jordan couldn't be with us.)

For all of you Chuck E. Cheese naysayers out there. You're wrong. Chuck E. Cheese it the BEST. The kids had so much fun. Sam and Logan were in heaven. It was clean. The games were fun. The food wasn't half bad. Sam ate ALL of his pizza. Also, it doesn't hurt that we were with our favorite playmates.

I would also like to point out to a couple of individuals that the photos I took yesterday weren't that great. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the photos taken yesterday by one of those individuals are MUCH better. :)

Cute friends riding a "roller coaster" together. So fun until it died.

Logan driving a monster truck. Sam trying to escape.

For a moment I couldn't find Sam. I looked over to the big kid games and spotted this.

Buddy and Logan laughing HYSTERICALLY while riding a Jurassic Park motion ride/game thing.

As always, we had so much fun with our friends. Now I just have to take Ben to Chuck E. Cheese.

Day 23 - Super Cool

2012-01-24T18:22:00.004-07:00

Ben wears hats a lot. Before he got his job at the University of Texas, I would say that he wore a hat 85% of the time. Sunday was practically the only day he didn't wear one. Now he mostly just wears them at night and on Saturdays.

Until recently, Sam has not been interested in wearing hats. He is, however, interested in picking out hats for Ben. Over the last few months he has also started to warm to the idea of wearing them. Ben encourages this by telling him he looks, "Super cool!"

This afternoon I came out of the office to find this little scene.

I said, "Nice hat Sam."

He responded, "Sam is SUPER cool!"

That you are little friend.

Day 22 - Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T20:33:00.001-07:00

Sam has the BEST teachers. Teachers that have mini-dance parties to Moves Like Jagger with Sam in the parking lot. :)

For Christmas, they gave all of the kids a sweet stuffed polar bear and a book. When Sam opened it he said, "Oh! It's so cute!" He repeats the sentiment whenever he hugs it.

For Chinese New Year, they gave all of the kids a fun red envelope. I handed it to Sam in the car before opening it. I heard him yell, "YAY!!! A ticket!" I was a little confused until I got him out and realized that his ticket was actually a dollar. According to my extensive internet research, the red envelopes are good luck and ward off evil spirits. Like I said, he has the BEST teachers.

When we got out, Sam insisted on carrying his envelope in his pocket. When he couldn't get it in his front pocket, he tried to put it down his shirt. Obviously that didn't work so well. (At the zoo, he tried to put a rock down his shirt. Strange child.) He was thrilled when I helped him put it in his back pocket.

Goodness, I love this kid.

In case you are wondering he is playing his favorite walking game in the photo. It consists of hitting different objects and saying, "Take that _____!" In this case he was talking to the AC unit. My favorite is when he hits the doorbell and says, "Take that ding-dong!"

Day 20 and 21 - Fruit Ninja

2012-01-22T18:46:00.004-07:00

Sam is really into video games. He is also really into Fruit Ninja on the iPod. He loved playing it with Uncle Berk when he was here this fall. Yesterday, Ben decided to buy it for the Kinnect.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Greatest $10 we ever spent. The kid is in love. He played all afternoon yesterday. He played last night while the babysitter was here. He woke up this morning and said, "Good morning Daddy. Play Fruit Ninja on TV." He played after church today.

Here he is yesterday while in the midst of a ninja frenzy.

The best part? The kid is jumping around like a maniac. It wears him out. He gets to play video games and get TONS o' exercise at the same time. As you can see below, the kid isn't afraid to play hard.

And he makes sound effects. Like "Hee-ya!" and "Boo-ya!" Yes, I said Boo-ya. It's awesome.

Here's a little video of our favorite ninja.

The only problem is he's not so good about playing with others. There is a 2-player mode. Nope, doesn't dig that. Mommy and Daddy can play maybe ONE game and then he says, "Sammy's turn!" He wouldn't even let the babysitter play. Little stinker.

Day 19 - Goats

2012-01-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Our friends Buddy and Logan invited us out for a fabulous day at the Austin Zoo. I use the term zoo very loosely. It more like a private animal sanctuary. A fun and kinda ghetto zoo. We loved it.

There are all sorts of random exhibits. Like a giant turkey wearing shoes (???) that I wouldn't go near. Scary turkey. I especially loved (NOT) the scary roosters walking around. They also had biggest pig I have ever seen in my life. I texted Ben a picture but it isn't real great. There were tons of monkeys, big cats and super fun goats. We had such a good time.

Buddy and I liked the animals.

Sam and Logan liked the sticks and the rocks. Go figure.

Here are the cuties posing in the duck cut-outs.

Attempting to get a picture in front of the lions. Sam was loving but less than cooperative. Logan wanted to go inside the cage with the lions.

My sweetie boy riding the most random train I have ever seen in my life. Cute but I wasn't quite sure why there were aliens, pirates, gnomes and half a rhino along the route. Whatever. It was a train. The boys loved it.

Cute friends holding hands while walking.

My very favorite part of the day was feeding the goats. Sam was totally into it and practically stuck his hands in the goats' mouths. Lovely. Buddy said at one point Sam pulled his hand away and she saw a trail of goat drool.

Logan on the other hand was more cautious. He would put the feed in their little troughs and then yell for them to come get it.

Here he is yelling, "Come here white horse!"

Hysterical.

We are sooooo lucky to have such good friends here in Austin. We can hardly wait for our next adventure!

Day 18 - Delightful

2012-01-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

My plan for the day was to post a picture of the darling blessing dress my friend Kristen gave me for Baby Girl. So CUTE and I'm so grateful that she thought of it! Such a sweet friend.

However, Sam was not about to be upstaged by a dress and proceeded to be super cute in his own way playing with all of his cars from the Cars movie. I love that he knows that it's time to smile when the camera comes out.

He has been particularly cute and delightful lately. His daily reports from school have been awesome. He's making amazing progress. Last night he even initiated going #2 on the potty! So exciting. Today I tried to put him down for a rest (aka nap) and he started to cry, "But I need snuuuuuuuggggggles."

With a face like this, there was not a chance of me resisting.

Day 17 - the betes

2012-01-19T19:08:00.001-07:00

Our Young Women activity put me behind last night.

Yesterday was the first day of finger stabbing. So far, so good. No above range readings. With my $100 worth of one month supplies (UGH!) I got a cute pink meter. For free. It's the little things people.

Day 16 - Indifference

2012-01-17T19:34:00.003-07:00

Today was the appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine. They are going to try to control my GD (Gestational Diabetes) with diet. For the first week we are just going to cut refined foods and sugar and see where we get. No carb counting and no medication. Just finger stabbing 4x's a day. My levels were good when they tested me so fingers crossed.

We also had another ultrasound. Baby Girl is definitely a girl and she still had all of her parts. She did not feel like letting us see her face. She kept covering it with her little hands. I'm 29.5 weeks and she is about 3.5 lbs so she is a little big. Sam always measured big so no big surprise there.

I had no idea they were going to do an ultrasound so it was a pleasant surprise. I was especially excited that Sam was going to get to see the baby. As you can see, he was sooooooo interested.

Day 15 - Coloring

2012-01-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Other than going to lunch with Ben, all we did today was snuggle, play and color.

Best MLK day ever.

Day 14 - My Handsome Hanson Support Crew

2012-01-15T19:32:00.002-07:00

When I was pregnant with Sam starting at 14 weeks we hard an extremely difficult time keeping my blood pressure under control even on medication. My edema was so bad that Ben would write words in my legs by pressing on them. The indentations wouldn't go away for at least 5 minutes. I lost 30 lbs in the 4 days I was in the hospital delivering Sam. That's a lot of water weight people.

I'm happy to report that my blood pressure with Baby Girl has been great. I have hardly any swelling. I'm still wearing my wedding ring and I wore some sassy high heels to church today . . . with my tent of a maternity dress. :)

My perfect pregnancy has just hit a speed bump. They diagnosed me with Gestational Diabetes this last week. Not fun for anyone but especially difficult since I have been a SUGAR FIEND with this baby. I go in Tuesday and we'll find out the game plan. However, since I'm obsessive I've already started reading up on the subject and figuring out what I need to do to minimize my risks. Obviously cutting sugar and carbs is part of it. Ben has graciously been devouring all of the junk in our house.

One of the other things they suggest is to walk after dinner. Now, if you know my hubby at all, making him walk is like pulling teeth. His parents are avid walkers and hikers. Somewhere along the line he developed a deep aversion to it. He'd rather go run on the treadmill. (which he does regularly) So tonight when I asked Sam if he wanted to go for a walk Ben let out a giant groan. I told him he didn't have to go but because he loves his wife and son he joined us.

I am so lucky to have a such a handsome support crew. Men who walk and consume large amounts of sugar for the women they love. What more could a girl ask for?

Day 13 - Bumputer

2012-01-14T22:05:00.002-07:00

Sam has his own login on the "bumputer". He perches on the stool, clicks on the doggie icon and then opens up Google Chrome to play his games. We've set them up on bookmarks so he can easily find them. My favorite part is when he suddenly jumps down to go potty. Sometimes he forgets to put his pants back on before he returns.

Day 12 - Tickets

2012-01-13T19:42:00.002-07:00

Our local grocery store, HEB, gives out "Buddy Bucks" to kids. They take the bucks to a machine where they spin for tickets. Each ticket has a number value and they can save them up for prizes. Sam just likes the number stickers. He sticks them to his clothes and his toys. Especially Clue.

Here's a little video of him at the machine. I'm starting to become a little concerned that he may develop a gambling habit later in life.

Day 11 - Books

2012-01-12T19:12:00.001-07:00

Sammy J. adores books. He is already reading the BOB Books and he's getting pretty good at recognizing simple sight words.

He especially LOVES Barnes and Noble.

Once Ben opens the door he shoots back to the Children's section and settles in with a book. The "Maisy's First Clock" is on of his favorites. He was on the bench reading it before I could even waddle my way back to him.

Ben an I both love to read so we are happy to see him so engaged in books. Hopefully this is the beginning of a lifetime love of reading,

Hey Grandpa Dannelly. I would like to point out the he is wearing his Caterpilar jacket and his "grandpa boots" all by his own choice. I think we may need to renew the search for a hat.

Day 10 - Snuggles

2012-01-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite parts of the day takes place after school and lunch but before nap. This is when I get quality snuggle time. Sam is a busy dude so I have to take advantage of every opportunity I get. Lately he has be crawling up into the chair to wedge himself between me and the arm of the chair. Usually he rests his arm on my bump. It's the only place he fits as Baby Sister has taken over Mom's lap. Sometimes we watch Mickey Mouse or Tinker Bell. Today he wanted to play iPad. Sometimes I think he knows that our time with just the two of us is almost over because it feels like he is squeezing in as much loving as possible these days.

Day 9 - Dad

2012-01-10T19:43:00.001-07:00

I can't compete with this business.

Sam loves me and I get lots of sweet snuggles and kisses. However, NOTHING competes with Dad. As soon as Ben walks in the door, Mom is out in the cold. When he hears the door open he says, "It's Daddy!!!"

This is usually followed by, "Daddy, let's play Mario."

The kid has priorities.

Today he wanted to play on the "bumputer" (computer) with Ben.

Usually he just wants to be close by his best buddy.

Some things never change.

Day 8 - Bad Day

2012-01-09T19:33:00.001-07:00

The "Poor Tracey" list of the day.

1. Doctor's appointment rescheduled while en route to the doctor. For the 2nd time.

2. Failed my 1 hour glucose test. I take the 3 hour test tomorrow. Ugh.

3. Iron is super low. Add another pill to the list.

4. Gained 8 lbs since last month's appointment. Oops. Dang Christmas.

5. Couldn't find Baby Girl's heartbeat for 10 minutes. Nerve wracking. Finally found it. Sigh.

6. Measuring BIG. Here's to another big baby.

7. Doctor looked at my glucose test results and said, "Yeah, you were REALLY high. You're probably not going to pass tomorrow." Thanks.

8. Blood pressure high. See #10.

9. Sam doesn't ever want me to go when he and Ben leave the house. Tonight's meltdown consisted of my crying child saying, "Mommy stay home!!!"

Finally . . .

10. I slid into a cute little family driving right before my doctor's appointment. They didn't speak English. As you can see, I had minimal damage. My tank took out their bumper. Sorry dudes.

Day 7 - Coconuts

2012-01-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Sam likes to tell jokes these days. The all have the same punchline.

"Hey Dad. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Coconuts."

"Sam, where is the baby going to sleep?"

"Coconuts."

"Who does Mommy love?"

"Coconuts."

I think you get the idea.

Day 6 - Pennies

2012-01-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Components of a perfect day.

Weather

Clear and 70

Breakfast

Chick-fila for Sam.

Breakfast tacos for Dad.

Chilaquiles for Mom.

Activities

Children's Museum

and most importantly

Throwing pennies in the fountain at breakfast.

Day 5 - Clue

2012-01-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

(This year the blog is about keeping the grandparents happy more than the actual photography so prepare for lots o' kid posts)

Since Thanksgiving we have worked with Sam on a couple big things at our house: using utensils, going potty and getting rid of the binky before Baby Sister makes her appearance. I am proud to say that he has managed to do all three things with relative ease.

The binky was the most daunting so I chose to do it the first week of Christmas vacation. Uncle Kent and his girlfriend Erika came to visit so when they left we just told him that Kent took the binkies back to Utah. While not thrilled about this, he had so much fun with Kent and Erika that he accepted the idea. Every once in awhile he still asks for one but we just say, "Sorry, it went home with Kent." and he goes on with his business. This could make our next trip to Utah interesting since Sam has an excellent memory. He'll probably ask Kent for his binky.

We also eased the transition by giving him a new friend to take to bed. Blue from Blue's Clues. In our house she (yup, watch the show, Blue is a girl) is referred to as "Clue". Every time we went to Barnes and Noble this fall Sam would hunt down Clue and carry her around. The last day that Kent and Erika were here we went to B&N and of course Sam found Clue. Knowing the plan for the binky, I bought her on the sly when Sam wasn't watching. He was very disappointed when he couldn't find her so he was SUPER excited that night when I brought her out at bedtime. Now Sam and Clue are inseparable.

Last night Sam decided he wanted to sleep with Clue and his Lightning McQueen Easter basket (?????) so imagine his excitement when I showed him that Clue could drive Lightning. Needless to say, Clue has been cruising the house in her race car all day.

I sure love age three.

Day 4 - Mario

2012-01-05T19:33:00.001-07:00

We have some serious Mario love going on in our house right now. Sam want play Mario constantly, especially with Ben. I'm no good so he usually ends up taking the controller away from me. We've had to limit the times that he can play. No Mario unless Daddy is home. When he is home they usually play between Daddy catching up on ESPN and dinner.

Here are a few of my favorite phrases that I often hear Sam say while they are playing.

"Go up Daddy!"

"Take that dudes!"

"Take that chumps"

"Yea! We did it!"

"Good job Daddy!"

"Ahhhh! So close"

"Letsa go!"

Day 3 - Besties

2012-01-04T16:33:00.002-07:00

Sam has a BFF.

His name is Logan.

They are the cutest little friends.

Since his mom and I are friends we often have little McDonald's lunch dates. For awhile when we would drive past McDonald's Sam would say, "Nuggets, fries, play with Logan!"

Logan came to play this afternoon. We had been talking about it for a couple of days. When I picked Sam up and drove towards our house instead of Logan's he had a major meltdown. Once I convinced him that the school bus was dropping Logan off at our house all was well. The bus driver said that the whole way to our house Logan was talking about going to Sam's house to play. They played cars, made me lunch in Sam's kitchen, had snacks and played Legos. I think they played with every single toy in my house. I'm so Sam has such a cute (and nice) little friend to play with.

Day 2 - Baking

2012-01-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Baby Girl isn't the only thing that is baking around here.

First of all, seriously? Could my stomach poke out anymore? Ben came home today and my shirt wasn't covering my stomach. My MATERNITY shirt. And I still have 87 days to go. I'm going to be employing my other prego friend Keri's plan of a mumu and Uggz before I know it. Seriously. So ridiculous.

The good news is that while I'm carrying the same way I did with Sam, straight out and high, this pregnancy could has been the complete opposite of my pregnancy with Sam. Blood pressure is great. No swelling. Minimal heartburn. I feel fabulous. I keep telling Ben that my body must prefer Baby Girls. And then I look at Sam and know that this cannot possibly be true.

In other baking news, all I want to do it cook. And eat. And cook some more.

Tonight's dinner:

Smokey Bean Soup with Ham

and

Homemade Ciabattas.

Both winners.

Day 1 - We're back

2012-01-03T19:16:00.003-07:00

Ok. So last year I made it something like 252 days. Not bad. I felt a little bummed that I didn't get all 365 but it's a new year and we are going to try again. Mostly because I've had a bunch of people ask when I was starting again.

Plus this will be a good way to record the transition of having a new baby in our house. We've been talking to Sam about Baby Sister a LOT so he won't be completely shocked when we bring her home.

To start off the year I'm going to post a video. We are going to be a little more flexible and use a combination of media this year. Here is a little conversation we have at least once a day. In case you can't tell, he is totally teasing me with some of his answers. He thinks it is HILARIOUS!

Don't mind my messy house it was New Years Day. Also, I can't talk. I'm pregnant. Leave me alone.

To clarify for those of you who don't know, we are naming her Dannelly (my maiden name) but I'm not huge on Danny for a girl so we are preemptively nicknaming her Elly. We'll see what we actually call her when she gets here.

And that Diet Coke Sam drank at the end . . . from the night before. So gross. How has his mother not cleaned off the side table?

Things made more difficult by pregnancy

2011-12-22T20:07:00.001-07:00

Sleeping
Rolling over
Sitting on the floor
Getting from a seated position on the floor
Getting up from any seated position
Shaving your legs
Getting out of the bath tub
Painting your toenails
Dressing a wiggly toddler
Parenting a wiggly toddler
Falling asleep
Staying awake
Blogging

The Story of Christ's Birth According to Sam

2011-12-04T10:51:00.001-07:00

When the Bible mentions the three kings at the birth of Christ, I'm pretty sure it wasn't referring to the three kings of the Piston Cup. Granted, I can see where Sam would be assume that they were talking about The King. But Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks? We may need to take his religious education a little bit more seriously.

Day ??? - Pumpkin Cake

2011-10-24T07:26:00.000-06:00

The goal of the week is to get this runaway train of a 365 back on track. To start it off, I would like to introduce you to my breakfast.

Pumpkin and I have an interesting relationship. I love pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread and pumpkin cake. I don't love pumpkin shakes. I despise pumpkin pie and gutting pumpkins. Gross.

However, when I stumbled on this recipe, I knew I had to make it. So do you. Really. I'm encouraging the world to revolt against pumpkin pie.

Make the world a better place
Try instead to make a cake.
(That was really terrible.)

Found on Not So Humble Pie

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

from Bake!: EssentialTechniques for Perfect Baking

yields 2 8" or 9" cake rounds

3 cupsall-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 cupgranulated sugar

2 teaspoonsbaking powder

2 teaspoonsbaking soda

3/4 teaspoonsalt

1 tablespoonground cinnamon

2 teaspoonsground ginger

2 teaspoonsfreshly ground nutmeg

1 cup goldenbrown sugar, firmly packed

2 cups cannedpumpkin puree

5 large eggs,at room temperature

1 1/4 cupvegetable oil

Preheat youroven to 350°F and prepare two 8" or 9" round cake pans with a lightcoating of non-stick spray and then line the bottoms with parchment.

In a largebowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda,salt and spices. Once sifted, give it a good mixing with a whisk to ensureeverything is evenly distributed and then set aside.

In a secondlarge bowl, add the brown sugar and a third of the pumpkin puree. Combine thetwo with a spatula, pressing firmly to ensure there are no rogue lumps ofsugar. Once lump free, add the remaining pumpkin and oil. Blend with awhisk and then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring with the whisk toincorporate after each addition.

Add the dryingredients a third at a time, blending after each addition.

Divide thebatter between your two pans and place into the oven on a lower-middlerack. Bake for 40-45 minutes until risen and firm to the touch.

Let the cakesstand in the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Then unmold onto theracks and turn right-side up to cool completely.

Once cool youcan begin on my whipped cream cheese frosting.

Ms. Humble's Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Yields enough to frost a 8" or 9" double layer cake.

1lb (16oz) fullfat cream cheese, softened but still cool

1 1/2 cupspowdered sugar

1 cup coldheavy cream (use the ultra heavy 40%+ cream if you can find it)

1 teaspoonvanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Siftthe powdered sugar and add the cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer with thepaddle attachment. Beat them thoroughly until fluffy and completely smooth/lumpfree. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks, then addthe whipped cream into the cheese mixture, scrape down the sides of your bowland quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.

Day 252 - The Muffin

2011-10-13T19:29:00.000-06:00

I realize that there are a couple of days missing but they are coming. Soon. For now, bear with while I talk about my favorite subject other than my boys. Food.

So Sam (you didn't think I was actually NOT going to talk about him did you?) really loves the show 3rd and Bird on the Disney Channel. This is funny because I am terrified of birds. My friend Kara sent me this today and I think it properly illustrates my feelings.

Anyway, back to Sam and the birds. There is a character on this show called Muffin that always refers to herself in third person. Super annoying but whatever, Sam loves it.

I think the show is backed by some muffin that is inserting subliminal messages into the program because I have been wanting to back muffins all week long.

So today I made these lovelies.

They were good, but not quite sweet enough.

Then my brilliant husband suggested a white chocolate glaze.

Which I made immediately after Sam went to bed.

Not the prettiest thing (or photo) but I'm sure I can perfect my technique because this sauce sealed the deal. Muffin perfection.

Cause I love ya, here's the recipe.

White Chocolate Glazed Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

Based on recipe found here.

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking poweder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries. Fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

White Chocolate Glaze

1/4 cup milk
1/4 white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Grease 12 muffin tin cups.

Heat oven to 400°.

In a large bowl mix the milk, butter and egg.

Stir in all remaining muffin ingredients except raspberries& vanilla chips.

Stir only until flour is moistened,then gently stir in theberries & vanilla chips.

Spoon the batter into the greased muffin tins.

Bake for 24-28 minutes or until golden brown.

Let muffins cool a little, then remove from pan.

Glaze Directions:

Over medium heat, bring butter, milk and sugar to a boil.
Boil for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in white chocolate chips until completely melted.
Drizzle (or liberally pour) over muffins.

Day 249 - Mexican Panaderia

2011-10-10T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ok, so there is a lot of food talk on this blog recently. It's the baby's fault. I seriously have the appetite of a 13 year old boy right now.

A couple of months ago, my friend Minda introduced me to a Mexican bakery here in Austin called Chuy's. (Not the Tex-Mex restaurant) She took me to have tortas for lunch. This was good because she ordered in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish. The tortas were divine. THEN I discovered the bakery on the other side of the restaurant. Oh. My. Heavens. Delightful.

Just this Saturday I took Ben there to buy bread bowls for the potato soup. Once he laid eyes on the baked goods laid out before him, he had to give them a try. We bought a churro, a sausage kolache, three bread bowls and a pound cake muffin thingey.
It cost us $4.50.
Angels sang.
I wept.
No one needed to speak Spanish.
Baked goods are a universal language.

So imagine my lack of surprise when this morning Ben asked me if I was going back to Chuy's today. Needless to say we did. We got a strawberry empanada (HEAVEN), yellow cake with coconut frosting, another churro and two more pound cake muffin thingeys. Ben didn't want to share the pound cake this time. All of this for a measly $3.50.

We did not eat it all. In fact, we just ate the empanada and the cake. I think Ben would have ate the muffin too.

Anyway, here is their yelp page.

Chuy's Bakery

If you are ever in Austin to see us, remind me to take you there.

Day 248 - Peanut Butter Pork

2011-10-09T19:43:00.000-06:00

Every once in awhile I have a cooking fail. While tonight's dinner was nowhere near a fail, there was something about it that just wasn't quite right. I liked it. Ben liked it, In fact, after dinner he kept eating the pork right off the cooking board so it must not have been too bad. Despite this evidence, I still think it was missing something. So. . . Here is the link to the recipe.

Asian Peanut Butter Pork

Will someone else please make it and tell me what it needs? Some heat? A sauce? More acid? Please people, I'm begging you. Solve the mystery of Asian Peanut Butter Pork. It'll help me sleep at night.

Baked Potato Soup

2011-10-09T09:04:00.002-06:00

In my last post I linked to the recipe that I used for Baked Potato Soup. Then I realized that like most things, I didn't really follow the recipe exactly. So here it is with a few minor Tracey changes.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

6 bacon strips, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups chicken broth
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed (
2 cup half-and-half cream
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. Bake potatoes in oven until cooked through.
2. In a large dutch oven. cook bacon until crisp.
3. Drain, leaving one 1 tablespoon drippings in the pan. Set bacon aside.
4. Saute onion andgarlic in the drippings until tender. I cook them FOREVER until almost caramelized. If you are aggressive while doing this you can get a lot of the burnt bacon off the bottom of the pan. That is, if you are like me and have burnt bacon bits on the bottom of the pan.
5. Make a roux by adding in some of the bacon fat and the flour. This should be brown and bubbly. It is hard to tell around the onions but just do you best in order to cook out the flour flavor. Unless it starts smoking you can't rook a roux too long.
6. Stir in salt, basil and pepper;mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. While stirring, finish using the liquid to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Get as much of that bacon goodness as you can.
7. Add half of the potatoes. At this point I used my immersion blender to blend the potatoes and onions into a creamy mixture. I like my soup kind of thick and we don't like onion chunks.
8. Add the rest of the potatoes, half of the bacon, half-and half cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil.
9. Garnishwith leftover bacon, cheese and parsley.

Day 247 - Fall

2011-10-08T19:10:00.002-06:00

As you will read in the next post, I just spent a lovely 5 days in New England. Fall days in New England. I wore a jacket and ate soup. I got rained on. I shot lots of photos.

Today it rained in Texas! It was very exciting. So since it is October and rainy, the only thing I could possibly do was make baked potato soup. Then as I was cooking I realized I was really hot. Possibly because it is still 82 degrees outside . . . in the rain . . . in October.

It was still delicious. Here's the recipe.

Baked Potato Soup

And We're Back!

2011-10-08T19:04:00.002-06:00

We are back from hiatus. The last two weeks have been filled to the brim so it was time to take a short photo break for the following:

Sam is in school now. Every morning, every day. We are thrilled. He has been making some wonderful progress and his speech is becoming clearer every day. He LOVES school and his lovely teachers.

Ben's parents came for a visit last weekend. Sam loved every second of it. I left town but they found plenty to do. Ben took them to the Farmer's Market where they picked up some persimmon and some pork chops. Random but apparently delicious. They also went to the Natural Bridge safari park. Apparently, this is not the place for me as there is a giant scary ostrich. I'm totally ok with missing that business. Here is a little video from their adventure.

Finally, I was able to go spend five lovely (and rainy) days in Concord, NH with my dear friend Shannon (known as Sister Harmon the missionary to you Nebraska folks) For the last couple of years, I have made an annual trip to do photos for her and her friends. They live on campus at St. Paul's School which could quite possibly be the most lovely campus on earth. I have 13 shoots scheduled. We had rain every day but for some reason I was super blessed and the rain stopped for most of our shoots. Although I have a million more photos to sort through, here are a couple of little samples from my trip.

Treatloaf

2011-09-22T20:05:00.000-06:00

I did not get a photo today, however I'm going to make up for it by posting one of our Hanson favorite (not to mention easiest) recipes: Treatloaf.

My mother hid Ben's cookbook for 6 months because she wanted to keep this recipe. My brother Kent requests it within 30 minutes of seeing Ben when we go to Utah. He also asks him to make two. Ben sends his brother taunting photos of Treatloaf when we have it for dinner. My sister Bethany insists that there is magic in it. There might be. I think it might just be cheese.

Treatload (aka Meatloaf)

1-1½ lbs hamburger (we do half hamburger, half ground pork)

1 cup cheese

1/3 cup milk

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp thyme

2 cups corn flakes

1 egg

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients by hand and shape into loaf at bottom of 9x13pan. Indent in the middle. Cover with 1 can cream of mushroom soup. Cook for 1-1½ hours

Day 246 - Big boy

2011-09-22T19:52:00.000-06:00

Sam got into a WONDERFUL preschool program provided by the school district for kids with speech delay. We could not be more thrilled. He goes Monday through Friday from 7:45 am to 11:45 am.

Fun for Sam.

Sad for Mom.

Good for Mom's chores.

Great for Mom and Sam's afternoon naps.

Wednesday was his first day of school. He loved it.

When I dropped him off in the morning, one of the little boys in his class exclaimed "Yea! Sam's here!"

When I picked him up he was super happy and they said he had a wonderful day. We love all of his teachers and feel so blessed that it is possible for him to participate in the program.

After school, we went and met Ben for lunch at Phil's Ice House. He was excited to see Dad, play on the playground and drink lots of root-beer. Every time I look at him, I can hardly believe how big he is getting

We are looking forward to many great things as our little guy continues to grow and develop.

Day 245 - Steak Pasta

2011-09-22T19:46:00.000-06:00

Ben's least favorite thing about me being pregnant is the way it wrecks our dinner schedule. We plan a month at a time but it seems like at least once a week I beg him for something off the plan.

This week it was Steak Gorgonzola from Olive Garden. There are two problems with this. First, Ben refuses to go to Olive Garden. Second, I'm not really supposed to eat Gorgonzola. Something about mold and soft cheese or something. Anyway, I fixated for three days and finally decided to make my own Non-Gorgonzola Steak Gorgonzola. Here's the recipe I used. (Loosely based on this recipe.)

Steak Gorgonzola (minus the Gorgonzola) for Crazy Pregnant Ladies

The Glaze
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Simmer until thickened, cool to room temperature.

The steak
1 lbs flat iron steak thinly sliced
1 bottle Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 TBSP rosemary

Dump it all in a Ziploc and marinade for an hour. About 5 minutes before the pasta is done, throw it on the grill and cook for 1-2 minutes per side

The Pasta
1 lbs fettuccine

Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil. Cook as directed. So easy.

The Sauce
2 TBSP butter (Tracey addition)
1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped (Tracey addition)
3 cloves of minced garlic (Tracey addition)
1 1/2 cup white milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup romano cheese, grated ( I didn't have Romano so I just used all Parmesan. It worked just fine)
5 egg yolks, fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper (LOTS of black pepper.

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onions and cook until slightly caramalized. Add garlic and cook until light golden brown. Stir in milk, cream and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. In a separate bowl, lighly beat the egg yolks. Slowly add sauce mixture to bring eggs up to temperature, stirring the entire time. Once the eggs have been tempered, add it to the rest of the sauce and cook over low for 5 minutes.

Assemble your pasta, sauce, steak and cheese. Garnish with glaze and chopped sundried tomatoes.

Day 244 - Spelling

2011-09-22T19:27:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure what this says about our parenting abilities. Either we are really great parents because Sam is spelling at the age of three.

Or we are really bad parents because we obviously let him watch WAY too much Pixar.

Day 243 - Goodbye feet

2011-09-18T20:12:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't noticed, I've really been slacking on the posting. I have a good reason though.

It seems that I have misplaced my brain.

And my balance.

Not to mention my appetite.

Wait, that's not true. I still have my appetite.

I've just lost the ability to keep the food I eat in my stomach.

I have also lost my ability to stay awake all day long without taking a nap.

And the ability to stay awake past 10 pm. This causes some blogging issues.

Finally, in the last few days I seem to have misplaced my feet.

While I'm not counting on it, I'm hoping to find all of the above around the end of March.

Maybe if I'm lucky, the little culprit pushing out my abdomen will also make an appearance around the same time.

Day 242 - Chex Mix

2011-09-18T19:59:00.000-06:00

This is what I was eating at 11:00 on Wednesday night. It's the gooiest, most delicious chex mix you have ever had.

And once I find the post-it that I wrote the recipe on, I will share it with you.

Day 241 - Mickey

2011-09-18T19:57:00.002-06:00

When Sam was 6 months old, Ben took me to Disneyland for my birthday without Sam. We had a LOVELY time. While we were there we bought Sam the cutest Mickey you have ever seen. It's a knit Mickey and we love it. They had all of the main characters but we failed to pick up the rest. Never again have we seen this line which is really too bad because Sam has taken to rotating sleeping between Mickey and Buzz every night.

Day 240 - Crepes

2011-09-18T19:53:00.004-06:00

After 3 days of craving crepes, I gave in on Tuesday and made them. This really boring photo was my delicious ham and cheese crepe.

What I really should have shown was the Nutella crepe topped with strawberry ice cream that I made later that night. DELICIOUS.

Delay of Game

2011-09-17T22:25:00.000-06:00

Hi all,

Just a quick check in. I've had a handful of messages expressing concern that I haven't updated the blog. We are just fine. I've been taking photos. There's just a little bit of craziness going on at our house right now. More on that soon. Like tomorrow. . . or Monday. Soon we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program. I promise.

Talk to you soon!
Tracey

Day 239 - Ice Cream

2011-09-12T20:26:00.000-06:00

Sam is a really picky eater so when we find things that he likes, we try to work them into the rotation as much as possible. Fortunately one of the things he love most is Costco cheese pizza. It's cheap. It's easy. I like it enough to split a slice with him. The funny part is that he only likes to eat pizza

at Costco.

Recently he added another item to the list of Sam approved items. Costco ice cream. Again, something that he only likes

at Costco.

Now, if I can just get him to eat hot dogs and chicken bakes, we will able to feed him the entire Costco menu.

Day 238 - Pudding

2011-09-12T20:20:00.000-06:00

Imagine my immense pleasure when I opened the fridge last night and found this . . .

Chocolate pudding from Rudy's BBQ that I bought on Friday night. So happy. So delicious.

Day 237 - Chuck

2011-09-10T20:45:00.004-06:00

Ben's family came this weekend for the BYU vs. Texas game. We are so excited to have them here.

The group includes his nearly identical twin brothers Nathan and Berkeley. Nathan's wife Kristy and Berk's oldest son Romney. Ben has always called Romney by his nickname, Chuck. Therefore I have always called him Chuck. However, I'm pretty sure Ben and I are the only people who call him Chuck. As you can imagine, this twin uncles and nickname situation has caused some major confusion for Sam.

To make matters even more hilarious, Sam LOVES Berkeley. Loves him. He wants Berk to play with him, hold him and carry him everywhere. They have a major Fruit Ninja connection going on. It is really very sweet.

You would think that Sam calling Berk by the wrong name would be natural with him having a twin an all. Except Sam doesn't call him Nathan.
He calls him Romney.
He refuses to call him Berkeley.

But what does Sam call Romney? Chuck, of course.

Don't you love the conflicting BYU and Texas gear? Such cute Hanson boys.

Day 236 - Bat Bridge

2011-09-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a picture of some of the Austin bats. My sister-in-law Kristy immediately replied that she DID NOT want to see the bats while in town this weekend.

Guess what we did last night?

Day 235 - Area Rug and Excuses

2011-09-08T19:55:00.001-06:00

I hate our carpet. DESPISE it. For months I have been trying to come up with a solution to keep it clean. We don't wear shoes in the house but unfortunately we have a little person living in our home who likes to toss sippy cups around. Grr. I've been eyeing area rugs for awhile but they are just so expensive and the thought of putting a rug on carpet seems so strange to me. I don't know why.

Luckily, Sam's birthday brought the perfect solution. If my house didn't look like a Toys R Us before, it certainly does now. But hey, it keeps the carpet clean.

In other news, my friend Shannon called today to check on us. Apparently the combination of the craziness of our lives right now, the fires all over Texas combined with the fact that I didn't post yesterday was enough to cause a little bit of concern. This is why I love her.

We are doing just fine. There aren't any fires in our immediate vicinity. However, I did pack a bag today just in case something happens and we need to evacuate. We are hoping that will not be the case but it is better to be prepared. Unfortunately there are many Texans who were caught by surprise and do not have the things that they need. My heart aches for the 1,386 families that have lost there homes in Bastrop just outside of Austin. We continue to pray for rain and hope that this dreadful drought will soon come to an end.

Day 234 - Boundaries

2011-09-06T21:04:00.001-06:00

As our friends were getting ready to go home today, Sam disappeared into the guest bedroom for a minute. Since Sam is busy and I'm suspicious, I went in to check out the situation. I was surprised to find this little scene.

Sam LOVED the baby and could not get enough of him. Every time someone would sit down with him, Sam needed to be on their lap as well checking out the situation. Sam would help pat the baby's back and give him his binky. He didn't even seem to mind when Ben or I would hold the baby. He especially liked to lay on the baby mat with him.

There may be hope for this kid yet. For the most part he did really well. He only tried to step on him once. He was even gentle. For Sam. In the last 2 days he heard, "Sam! Be gentle!" about a million times. Hopefully when we have another he will have learned some boundaries so we don't have to hide the baby . Not that we know anyone who has to do that. Right Mags?

Day 233 - Baby

2011-09-05T20:24:00.002-06:00

I'm a little behind this weekend due to us having guests.

Sam is enamored with the smallest guest.

I'm not sure he is as excited about Sam.

Unfortunately for our guests it is due to their home be evacuated because of the crazy Texas wildfires. About 4000 homes just down the road from us were evacuated on Sunday night and they won't be able to go home until Tuesday at noon. At the earliest. A good chunk of our church congregation lives in the community and many of our friends were displaced.

I think it time to start doing some rain dances.

Day 232 - Guests

2011-09-05T20:20:00.003-06:00

Again, we have guests at our house. One of them is furry. Sam is thrilled.

Day 230 - Sloooooow Cooker and Day 231 - Chile Verde

2011-09-05T20:17:00.000-06:00

You might remember my finger burning chile incident from last week. Well, since I still had Hatch peppers left. I needed to find something to do with them. So Ben bought me a giant 12 lbs pork shoulder at Costco. I cut off a fourth of it and decided to make green chile pork something. Well, it turned into this.

Which the next day turned into this:

Oh, how I love chile verde. Especially when I kind of make it by accident. My subconscious must be telling me something.

Day 229 - Sweet

2011-09-02T20:37:00.002-06:00

The only thing sweeter than a new baby is a sleeping new baby.

Or a sleeping new baby being held by a sweet daddy.

2011-08-31T20:32:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when a three year old discovers the camera on your phone.

I have 100's of photos of Sam's legs. Luckily, mine made it into this photo too. Ugh.

Day 227 - School

2011-08-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

Now that Sam is three, he is old enough to be evaluated for the speech program through the school district. Yesterday was his first day of school. He will go for 4 hours each morning all week.

He loves it.

I'm lonely.

I took his picture to document this momentous occasion. Of course he wouldn't look at me. Stinker.

He loves to wear his backpack and take his lunchbox. They have breakfast every morning in the cafeteria. Too bad he won't eat his food until I come to pick him up. He immediately asks for his lunch box so he can have a snack.

We have a our first meeting next week to start to determine what program he will be in. I'm really hoping he gets to stay in this class because we LOVE Ms. Laura.

Day 226 - Twiners

2011-08-29T20:01:00.000-06:00

I love dressing Sam like a little man. I love it even more when Ben and Sam inadvertently match.

I love it the most when they walk the same way while wearing matching man clothes.

Day 226 - Hatch Green Chiles

2011-08-29T19:58:00.001-06:00

In case you didn't know, Hatch green chiles are in season. Since moving to Texas I have developed a deep and abiding love for these little jewels.

Until last night.

I decided to make enchiladas last night. Sometimes I'm not so bright and I don't think things through.
Like the fact that I was cutting chiles.
With bare hands.

In case you were wondering, they will burn your hands.
I was so bitter about my burning hands that I couldn't even properly enjoy my enchiladas.
I will definitely be wearing gloves when I make green chile pork this week.

Day 224 - Cake

2011-08-27T21:09:00.000-06:00

Because of our super busy day yesterday, Sam's cake wasn't finished until today. He doesn't even like cake so he didn't seem to mind much. He just blew out the candle and ran back to play with his number/letter mats.

Ben and I sure enjoyed eating it though.

Day 223 - Haddy Dirfday (Happy Birthday)

2011-08-27T21:07:00.000-06:00

Our little guy turned three yesterday. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

We started the day with "tatos" from Chick-fila. They are his absolute FAVORITE. He ate 2 whole orders. Yeesh.

Later we went swimming with Sam's friend Logan (and my friend Logan's mom Buddy). We swam for two hours and he had a blast. Towards the end they were jumping in the pool holding hands. It was so cute. Logan gave Sam a WONDERFUL letter book. As soon as he opened it, we all lost his attention. He wouldn't even pose for a picture.

Luckily, Logan was much more accommodating.

After swimming we had his other favorite, McDonalds. He was so wiped he took a long nap. After his nap we had dinner with our friends the MacFarlane family. They gave him a huge present. The whole way home he kept saying, "Haddy Dirfday. GIANT present." When he opened it he was thrilled to find a GIANT set of foam floor mats. It covers most of my living room floor. But guess what are on the mats. Letters . . . and numbers. Yet another giant hit.

He loved all of his gifts.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 123 from Karen, Ryan and the girls.

Cars Duplos from Mom and Dad

From Grandma

The M&M Counting Book

A bike horn. (Thanks Mom!)

And construction cones. He loved them. As soon as he opened them he said, "Toy Story 2!" He likes the part where the toys cross the street in construction cones. He also stuck them on his head and said, "Haddy Dirfday!"

All in all he had a fabulous day! We are so grateful to have this little guy in our family and we can't wait to see what exciting things he learns (and does) in the next year.

Love you Sammy!

Day 222 - Haircut

2011-08-25T21:03:00.001-06:00

Dear Sam,

I think that after you haircut today, your eyelashes are officially longer than the hair on your head. If one day you end up wearing mascara when Daddy comes home, I cannot be held responsible.

XOX,
Mom

Day 221 - baby girl

2011-08-24T21:21:00.000-06:00

Ummmmm. Yeah. I really need a baby girl. Luckily, my friend Kristen let me play with her baby.

Day 220 - Daddy's Phone

2011-08-24T21:19:00.002-06:00

Sam loves Daddy's phone nearly as much as he loves Daddy.

Day 219 - Slide

2011-08-22T20:11:00.002-06:00

For family night tonight, we took Sam to EXTREME FUN.

As you can see, his fun was definitely extreme.

Day 218 - Cooking

2011-08-22T20:10:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say that Sam was cooking something on his own. Ben was helping make pancakes (yes, the frozen type) Really, he just likes to turn on the timer on the microwave.

And no, he's not up there alone. Ben was 2 ft behind him.

Day 217 - Bedhead

2011-08-20T19:55:00.002-06:00

I think it might be time for someone to get a haircut . . .

Day 216 - Playmate

2011-08-20T19:39:00.000-06:00

One of Sam's favorite playmates got to come over twice this week! He loves her so much. Daily I get requests to play with "Becca."

Day 215 - Bats

2011-08-19T19:57:00.000-06:00

The conversation we had in the car last night,

"Do you see that smoke? Where is it coming from?"

"Oh, never mind. It's just a giant colony of bats!"

Gross.

Day 214 - Migas

2011-08-17T21:44:00.001-06:00

Dear Austin,

I love you for a million reasons. However, it is quite possible that the best thing I've discovered while here is Migas. (Migas is a lovely little mix of eggs, cheese, salsa/pico de gallo and tortilla bits. It may also have chilis, black beans, refried beans, queso and guacamole. It ain't pretty but it is sooooooo good. Seriously, the best breakfast food ever. I ate it twice today.)

Austin, please know that you will always have a special place in my heart from bringing me and my one true egg-based love together.

XOX,
Tracey

Oh, here's a recipe for ya. Or you can do it the cheater way like me and just use a cup of salsa in your scrambled eggs.

Day 213 - Baby

2011-08-17T21:37:00.000-06:00

Sam LOVES babies. This means he also loves baby dolls. Since I'm an indulgent mother I bought him one. He loves it. Ben doesn't.

Apparently Ben's way of combating the girlishness of the doll is making the doll sleep in the dump truck. Whatever works.

Day 212 - Nigh Night Mom

2011-08-15T19:30:00.000-06:00

I love that Sam puts himself to bed. Until he decides to wake up at 7:00 am. Ugh.

Day 211 - Steak Sandwich

2011-08-15T18:51:00.000-06:00

Alright, so I'm a day behind on posting but I intend to catch up tonight. Or tomorrow. But first I have to tell you about our dinner last night.

Steak Sandwiches

So stinking good. Not to mention, SUPER easy to make.

The first think you need to know if that it is crucial that you buy the right bread. Lucky for you, I'm going to tell you where I found this bread. At Super Target. (WHAT?! Tracey likes Target? After spending 40 hours a week there for 8 years? Shocking, I know.) Back to the bread.
You want the soft french bread that sits on the little rack when you walk in. At least that is where it is at my Target. This bread is AMAZING for sandwiches. I crave this bread. I have bought 2 loaves within the last week. It's that good.

OK. Onto the steak. Thin sliced tri tip. We bought ours at (GASP) WalMart. I marinated the crud out of mine while at church. It was a lot of tossing and pouring of ingredients but basically it boils down to this.

Tracey's Random Marinade
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar if you aren't morally opposed to it.)
1 half onion. Quartered
3 clove garlic. Smashed
1 TBSP rosemary
1 TBSP thyme
A generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

After marinating for a couple of hours, have your darling husband throw it on the grill. For like 2 minutes. Maybe. This stuff cooks fast.

Then build you sandwich. We just did mayo and provolone (simple and perfect) this time but here are some other topping ideas:
Mayonaise.
Kraft Dijon Horseradish Mayo (SO GOOD)
Tomatoes
Arugula
Sun-dried tomato aoli
Red Onions
Caramelized onions
Melted Provolone
Fontina cheese (YUM)

Day 210 - Potty Training

2011-08-14T19:19:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Hanson Potty Training Boot Camp. The place where almost three year old boys don't wear pants for days on end. Overall things are going pretty well. Today we only had two minor accidents. Not too bad. The only problem is he will happily go whenever we remind him and take him but he has yet to tell us that he needs to go potty. When does this happen? Is this normal? How do I help him make the connection?

Day 209 - Red Shoes

2011-08-12T19:52:00.000-06:00

Sam refers to his shoes based on color. His flip flops are his red shoes.

I love that he picks out his shoes and then puts them on all by himself. I also love that when we get home he takes them off and puts them in the shoe basket. However, I think that we might need to work on the proper flip flop wearing technique. That and maybe distinguishing right and left shoes.

Day 208 - 'putah

2011-08-11T19:59:00.002-06:00

Sam is in love with the computer. When Ben is home, that is all he wants to do. They especially love a preschool program called ABC Mouse. My sister bought a membership and graciously allowed Sam to have one of the slots. He loves playing it and I feel good about it because he is learning something. Ben plays with him because Sam isn't very interested in using the mouse. The funny part is Ben (and Karen) both know which games give you the most tickets. Of course Ben tries to help Sam rack up tons of tickets so they can buy stuff. One day he logged in and Sam's avatar was dressed in a lizard suit. After questioning me, we concluded that my niece Kate must have been spending Sam's tickets for him. When I talked to Karen she verified that Kate had indeed gone shopping for Sam. Such a good cousin.

Day 207 - Nachos Bell Grande

2011-08-11T19:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's photo was forgotten until the last minute. Then artistic pride was compromised for a greater good. Me driving to get a nachos bell grande from Taco Bell at 9:59 pm.

Not gonna lie those nachos were totally worth only getting a crappy photo. In fact, if I thought I could talk him into it, I would try to go get Ben to buy me another tonight.

Day 206 - 56 days

2011-08-09T20:58:00.000-06:00

56 days of 100° or hotter. Bleh.

I lived in Vegas for years. I don't remember hating the heat this much. I must be getting wimpy in my old age.

Day 205 - Tracks

2011-08-08T20:08:00.000-06:00

Sam's latest art project. Railroad tracks. The men in my family should be so proud.

Day 204 - Sauce

2011-08-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

About two years ago my mother-in-law planted a jungle of tomatoes which she graciously shared with us. That's when I decided it was time to start experimenting with my own spaghetti sauce. It didn't take long for my husband to inform me that my homemade sauce is MUCH better than canned sauce. Then my sister told me the same thing. Then my brother's girlfriend. Now I feel obligated to make spaghetti sauce from scratch whenever possible. The best part is, it isn't that hard. So here's one variation of my recipe. We use it for spaghetti, lasagna and pizza. I'm not claiming to be Italian or the master of the kitchen but it is pretty good if I do say so myself.

Tracey's Sausage and Red Pepper Spaghetti Sauce

1 lbs Mild Italian Sausage
2 TBSP Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBSP Butter
1/2 Large Sweet Onion chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic minced
3 Cans of Stewed Tomatoes. I like either the type with Italian seasoning or garlic added in. I think they are the 14.5 oz cans
1 can of Tomato Paste
1 TBSP Dried Oregano
1 TBSP Dried Basil
1 TBSP Dried Parsley
1/8 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

1. In a large saucepan brown sausage. When cooked, transfer to plate with paper towel to drain.
2. In the same pan, add olive oil and butter to pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted add onions and peppers. Cook until the onions are almost translucent and the peppers are starting to soften, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is a light golden brown. About 3 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cover with lid and turn heat down to low (on my stove I usually cook is on 2 or 3) and let simmer for at least 15 minutes. The longer the better. I really like to give it at least 30 minutes.
4. About 5 minutes before serving, blend using a stick/immersion blender. I do this because we don't like chunky sauce. You could also use a regular blender, just be REALLY careful cause this stuff is HOT!
5. Once you've blended the sauce stir in the cooked sausage and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Again, the longer the better so feel free to let it go for a little while if you'd like.
6. Now eat!

Note: If sausage doesn't float your boat, you can always leave it out. You can also leave out the red bell peppers. I love this sauce because there are tons of variations. Sometimes I also like to add carrots and zucchini if I feel like my family needs some more veggies. The best part is when you blend it nobody cares. :)

Day 203 - Dude Stuff

2011-08-06T20:44:00.000-06:00

This morning I had the opportunity to take the youth from our church to the temple in San Antonio. That means Ben and Sam got to stay home and do "Dude Stuff" as Ben calls it.

Dude Stuff includes:

Getting "tatos" at "Chicka filet" (that's what my niece calls it)

Going to the park

Playing in the tent/tunnel

Playing on the 'puter

Playing the Nintendo DS together. By together, I mean Ben passes levels and gets a of bunch extra guys so Sam can kill them all while laughing hysterically each time Mario dies.

Day 202 - Whatcha doin'?

2011-08-05T20:38:00.000-06:00

I am so lucky to have such a good helper. Today while taking photos of my culinary adventure of the day, someone really felt like I needed an assistant.

Apparently I really needed the assistant while I was baking because this cake was a giant "Meh." Don't you worry though. I'm on the quest. It will be perfected.

Day 201 - Undies

2011-08-04T18:03:00.000-06:00

I know that I'm going to get in trouble for this photo but seriously, I couldn't resist! We are in the midst of potty training and today we switched from Pullups to undies. Sam did pretty well no major accidents. Just a little bit of well, uh, leaking. But hey, it was the first day. Anyway, back to the photo.

I can't decide which part I like best. His mini love handles or the undies themselves.

Day 200 - Stencils

2011-08-04T17:58:00.000-06:00

My carpet is littered with little pieces of plastic letters. Sam is in heaven.

A couple of months ago the cutest bride messaged me on Etsy asking if I could make reusable stencils that she could use to make wooden signs for her wedding. After a little bit of experimentation, I figured it out and we were in business. Literally, in business. Kristina is now selling her signs on Etsy and they are flying out the door like hot cakes. Which means I am cutting stencils like a crazy person. The signs are darling and to top it off Kristina is darling. So, if you are thinking about getting married or know someone who might be getting married, you really should go check out her stuff.

Sweet Wedding Details

Day 199 - Cream Puffs

2011-08-02T20:13:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I while texting my friend Kara, I told her that I was really tempted to make cream puffs.

Her response was, "Do you need a reason/excuse to make cream puffs? Moments like this I wish we were neighbors."

I wish you were my neighbor too Kara cause then Ben and I wouldn't eat all of these lovelies by ourselves.

Instead you are going to have to make your own. Or go buy some at Costco.
Here's the recipe anyway.

Cream Puffs

Ingredients

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Directions

Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

Day 198 - My View

2011-08-01T21:39:00.000-06:00

My couch has the best view in town. I can't imagine my life without these two.

Sam on the other hand would be perfectly content just to hang out with Ben (without me) all day long.
This comes in very handy when it is time to take him potty or put him to bed.

Day 197 - Sick

2011-07-31T19:36:00.001-06:00

Our kid is sick. Again.

Imagine our surprise during church today when Sam started vomiting in the middle of church. During the sacrament. When it was silent. Ben said every mother in the chapel whipped her head around to see who was puking. Meanwhile I caught the grossness. In my hand. Cause I'm a mom and that's what you do. It was awesome. We quickly cleaned him and the pew up and brought him home. I returned to church to go to Young Women armed with cleaner to disinfect that business. Cause I'm a mom and that's what you do.

Day 196 - One Track Mind

2011-07-30T19:48:00.001-06:00

Sam loves numbers.

He arranges his toys to make numbers all the time. Legos, cars, trains. Whatever he can get his hands on.

Sometimes I just wish he would use the crayons to write numbers instead of arranging them to look like numbers.

Day 195 - Old McDonald

2011-07-29T20:07:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week Sam discovered that he could sing "Old McDonald" using any animal he wanted. It was very exiciting. So far, Sam has informed us that on his farm he had a duck, cow, horse, cat, dog, frog, bat, lion and mouse. With a little bit of help from Ben in the car tonight, we learned that Old McDonald also has a Lightening McQueen with a "Ka-Chow" here and a Mater with a "Dad-gum" there.

We had to put that into action as soon as we got home. Hooray for pretend play!

Day 194 - Chippies

2011-07-28T21:02:00.002-06:00

No Mother, I have not been eating Doritos. Whatever would give you that idea?

My clothes? Some crazy lady took them after I played in the sink and soaked my shirt.

Frito Pie break

2011-07-27T19:43:00.001-06:00

We interrupt this 365 project so I can write a post for my mom. A post about Frito Pie the most ridiculously junkie and delicious food known to man. There is conflicting information about where Frito Pie originates. The most common belief is Texas. Which I believe. 'Cause you can buy it everywhere. I happened to be blessed with a wonderful mother who introduced me to Frito Pie in my youth. Even though we lived up North. In Nevada. I'm not sure she ever made it. I think she just bought it for us at Sonic . . .

Anyway. Tonight I received a call from my mom regarding other things, but she expressed her dismay that I had not posted a picture of last night's dinner of Frito Pie on the blog. We're friends on FB my mom and I. She read about dinner there. She also told me that I needed to give her instructions on how I made it. As it so happens, I had it again for lunch. I even took a picture. So here is it. It's pretty complex.

Frito Pie - Tracey Style

One bag of Fritos. (15 oz I think . . .)

One medium size can of Wolf Brand Chilli with beans.
(I don't know if you can buy this brand outside of the Midwest. You'll have to check. Believe me, this is the brand you want to use. So good. Order it on Amazon if you have to.)

2 cups (or more) of finely shredded cheddar jack cheese

Sour cream (optional)

Green onions or regular onions (optional)

Heat your chili in the microwave. Spread your chips on a small cookie sheet. Cover your chips with chili. Cover the chili with cheese. Stick under the broiler on low until you cheese melts. Remove from oven. Add onions. Add sour cream. Enjoy.

Note: I sprinkled some parsley on mine. I didn't have green onion but I thought is needed some color.

Day 193 - Sam

2011-07-27T19:20:00.001-06:00

This kid is delightful. He makes being a mom so stinking fun. I love that he is talking. He loves that he is talking. Over the last couple of days he has started to become quite the conversationalist. Here are a few of my favorites.

"Chippies please Mama."

If you look carefully you can see his face is covered in Dorito dust.

"It's dark in here."

"Hey, check it out."

"Ohhh, a treasure chest." Describing my recipe box.

"Gold doubloons!" For the treasure box, of course

"I can't find it." Regarding looking for the gold doubloons.

And my very favorite. "Stinky feet!"

Believe me. This kid really does have stinky (yet adorable) feet.

Day 192 - Sista's Shaved Ice

2011-07-26T20:26:00.000-06:00

Apparently talking about shaved ice is going to become a regular thing around here. Tonight we went to Sista's Shaved ice. Again, delicious. Not only is it delicious, it is also the most beautiful shaved ice I've ever seen. Ben practically ran it over to me so I could take a photo before it started to melt. The consistency isn't quite as smooth as the place we went the other night (GBJB's Shaved Ice) but I preferred the cherry/coconut I had tonight over the tropical punch I had the other night. Sista's also uses condensed milk as their "cream" and poured it liberally throughout the shaved ice. Both places were about the same price so we which one we visit will be determined by where we are when the hankering strikes.

As you can see, Sam is super stoked about this quest for shaved ice. He would rather have "nuggets and fries".

Day 191 - Blogs

2011-07-25T20:20:00.001-06:00

Ben has been coming up with t-shirt ideas for me to make. He comes up with things that I would NEVER think of. We brought this idea to life today.

My Mormon mommy's blog is better than your Mormon mommy's blog.

I really don't think my blog is any better than any other blog. Ben just thinks it is funny that Mormon women are so competitive. I think it is scary.

Wait until you see what is up next. . .

Day 190 - Lunch

2011-07-24T20:06:00.000-06:00

While super delicious, today's lunch took very little effort. Kinda like today's photo. I need some new ideas people . . .

Day 189 - Sun

2011-07-23T19:39:00.000-06:00

Sunshine is something we are not lacking around here. It seems to hit 100 degrees nearly every day. The sun isn't only outside at our house. Ben taught Sam how to draw a sun and it is now his favorite thing to draw. Other than letters and numbers.

Day 189 - Tater. Tot. Casserole

2011-07-22T19:34:00.000-06:00

WAAYYYYY back in November we took a jaunt to Spicewood, TX to try a BBQ place called Opie's BBQ. It was delightful but rushed as they were preparing for a wedding rehearsal dinner. It's Texas. Anyway, after three thwarted attempts to eat there again, we finally succeeded tonight. It was just as good as the first time. The best part is the Tatertot Casserole. I ate it so fast, I didn't even think to get a photo. I know this. It has hashbrowns, cheese, onions, onion straws and mushrooms in it. If someone thinks they have a recipe that resembles this, will you please send it to me? Pretty please?

Day 188 - Girls Camp

2011-07-22T19:01:00.002-06:00

Last night I got to head up to Girls Camp to see our YW. I sure love those girls! I got tons of cute (and hilarious) photos. However, since I try really hard to protect their privacy ( And their self-esteem. After all they've been at camp for a week) this is the only photo I'm posting until I have official permission.

Day 187 - Shaved Ice

2011-07-20T20:48:00.000-06:00

Ben and I love shaved ice.

It was a nightly ritual for us when we were engaged and the during the first summer we were married. The summer I was pregnant with Sam I couldn't get enough of it and I often made my coworkers go on shaved ice runs with me in the middle of the afternoon.

Luckily, shaved ice abounds in Austin due to the lovely heat. Since I'm not pregnant, it took us a little longer to get in the swing of summer this year. We had our first serving tonight. It was glorious.

Even ~~Grizzly Adams~~ Ben thought so.