The Property

My parents have almost 400 acres and are currently building a log house (The Lodge, as we like to call it). We are doing most of the work ourselves and occasionlly con other people into coming down and helping us work on it. This past weekend, Jeff Moore and his little girl Ella came down. I am pretty sure they had a good time. The weather was good, even hot and the kids wore themselves out. Patrick and my Ella LOVE the "property" and ask to go about every other day. Long, exploratory walks, target practice, fishing, hunting and building things are all things we like to do down there, although I think throwing rocks in the water ranks #1 with the kids.

Museum of Transportation

At playgroup last Friday, we went to the Museum of Transportation. The kids had a great time looking at all the old, wonderful trains and even getting to get in a few. There were also some old cars and we took one we knew daddy would like best, the '69 Mustang.

Grandparents and Botanical Gardens

This week we got to have Grandma and Grandpa Bloom stay with us for a couple of days. The kids have been looking forward to this for weeks! We had such a wonderful time with them. On Wednesday the weather was sunny and 80, so we took a trip to St. Louis' Botanical (or Shaw's) Gardens. This place is truly amazing and beautiful and one of my favorite places in St. Louis. I love bringing visitors there, they all love it.

Tagged......

1. What is your occupation? wife and mother

2. What color are your socks right now? white

3. What are you listening to right now? my kids playing "spiderman"

4. What was the last thing you ate? dinner, soft tacos and taco salad

5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? bluegreen (hee, hee, i cheated!)

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my mother

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes!

10. Favorite drink? umm,i love all sorts of drinks, but sometimes i just need a coke.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? st louis cardinals baseball, 2006 world champions!!!

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? many, many times

13. Pets? thankfully, no.

14. What is your favorite food? sorry, i cant pick just one, i am obsessed.

15. What was the last movie you watched? in the theater? Night at the musuem, rental? little miss sunshine. i am not much for movies

16. Favorite day of the year? my kids birthdays

17. What do you do to vent anger? steam and call someone to vent

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? i dont remember a favorite toy, but i still have my blanket!

19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? spring

20. Hugs or kisses? from who?

21. Cherries or Blueberries? marachino cherries

22. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes

23. Who is most likely to respond? shawna

24. Who is least likely to respond? my busy far away friends, ann and danielle (love you!)

25. Living arrangements? 4 bedroom house with husband and 2 kids

26. When was the last time you cried? Out of sadness or despair? in despair, when i walked into the kids bathroom and stepped in ella's urine on the floor, socks and everything.(she and i had had a rough evening and morning)

27. What is on the floor of your closet? plastic clothes bins and shoes

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? elana

29. What did you do last night? cleaned out both kids toys and rooms and closets, boy did that feel good!

31. What inspires you? to see other people excel where i fail .

32. What are you afraid of at this point in your life? if i told you i would get the 'most vain' award

33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? spicy cheeseburger!

34. Favorite dog breed? i dont know, they are all hairy and slobbery and smelly.

35. Number of keys on your key ring? umm, too many to count, someone told me it was bad for my ignition to have that many hanging on there.

36. How many years at your current job? wife-7, mother-5

37. What would be the title of a book you wrote? How to Never Make up Your Mind about Anything

38. How many states have you lived in? 1 (boy am i boring)

39. Favorite holidays? christmas

40. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? yes! tractors, at turkey hill (ruth, you have too!) and at my parents property.
this was fun! elana, to keep you on a roll, you have been tagged!

Food!!

OOey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 (18.25oz) package devil's food cake mix
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 (7oz) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine 1/4cup condensed milk, butter and next 3 ingredients(batter will be very stiff). Coat bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Press two-thirds of batter into prepared pan using floured hands; pat evenly (layer will be thin).
3. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup condensed milk and marshmallow cream in a bowl; stir in chips. Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over brownie layer. Carefully drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
yield:2 dozen

I made these today and they are so good. I didn't use all the fat free stuff though.

Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Basil Cream Sauce (below)
8 oz Mozzarella cheese
3 med size tomatoes,coarsly chopped
fresh basil for garnish

Basil Cream Sauce: in a small bowl, mix 1/2cup mayo, 3 TBSP milk, 1 TBSP chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 ts pepper, 1/4tsp salt.
1. Cook or bake chicken any way you want.2. Prepare basil cream sauce. 3. Arrange chicken, cheese and tomatoes on platter. Drizzle with Basil Cream Sauce.
I had this today at a friends house for lunch. It was delicious!