All things Gale: June 2010

Oma's House

I took the kids to Oma's house to visit with Oma and their cousins all day. While I was changing Leo into a bathing suit to splash in the sprinkler, he got away from me and ran na.ke.d down her front path toward the driveway. Then, very deliberately, he pe.e.d.

(photo deleted by me)

Shhh - don't tell Oma.

600 calories...what now?

I am about half way through my weight loss journey. I have worked hard to lose these 13 pounds. We go on a 2.5 mile walk 3-4 mornings a week and sometimes include a trip to the grocery store for fresh veggies and fruit. I log all my calories each day on http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. I LOVE that site. I previously had success on Weight Watchers, but I needed to switch it up when I got lazy.

Last night, Leo was down for bed and I was snuggling Elena to sleep. I mentioned to Jason that I somehow still had 600 calories left for the day. In the weight loss world, this is like being at a casino and finding a $100 in your pocket at the end of the night when you should be leaving. Usually when I have this many calories, I'll run to the store and grab some sort of ice cream. I put Elena down for bed and when I came downstairs, I found Jason halfway through preparations for the worlds Best Chocolate Chip cookie.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rated:

Submitted By: Dora

Photo By: Rita

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour

Servings: 24

"Crisp edges, chewy middles."

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3.	Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/30/2010

I have prepared these cookies 3 times in the last month. They are phenomenal. I have never met a chocolate chip cookie I didn't like, but after eating this cookie, I might just be a cookie snob! One thing I change is I skip dissolving the baking soda in water and just add extra vanilla. I made whipped cream to put on top of the cookie (like it needed it!!) and I had my 600 calorie dessert. Today, however, I will probably not end up with 600 extra calories and I have 20 cookies left over...great...

The Miracle Blanket

When we had Leo, we lasted 3 sleepless weeks until we finally went searching for help. Walking up and down the aisles of the expensive baby store we were sure we would find something that would help him sleep (or that would help us sleep through his crying...kidding.)

Suddenly all the lights went out, angels started singing and the spotlight directed us to "The Miracle Blanket." With promises like "Your baby will sleep better, longer and will be less fussy since he/she will finally get the sleep they (and you) so desperately need" we were sold.

http://www.miracleblanket.com/indexb.htm

I don't remember how much we spent for this miracle but it was worth every penny! Leo loved his blanket and we had to swaddle him at night until he was 7 or 8 months old!

Elena is a fan as well. We let her sleep on her own a few times last week to see if she needed it and she woke up in 1/2 the time. So she is now swaddled every night. If you are wondering how it works, here you go:

First, arms in. Then, legs in.

Then wrap the long portion of the blanket

*DISCLAIMER*

The blanket should be rolled around the child, not the other way around ... Jason

this time last year...

Have I mentioned that I take too many photos? Well, I do. So, I decided to start something fun. Every so often, I am going to post a photo from this time last year. I think it will be fun to go back a little in time and see how everyone has changed or how life has changed in general.

We were watching SpongeBob and eating cheerios - not much has changed!!

Wearing onesies without pants was acceptable...definitely not anymore :(

He's still darn cute though :)

Feel free to use this logo on your own site if you would like to do this as well!!

Copy and Paste Code

I take entirely too many pictures

But sometimes they come out soooo cute...

Big boy

After a little Ferdinand the Bull action (thank you Uncle Jeremiah & Aunt Jeanette!!)

We say our big boy prayers.

(but not to Spongebob! Jesus is located a little higher on the wall.)

The beginning of it all

I am extremely new to the blogging world and I started this blog with the basic template. Through my blog travels I noticed that many blogs have their own personalized banner at the top that is unique to their blog. So, I set to work making one just for our blog.

The story behind the main blog photo for All things Gale is pretty cool. It is a photo from the first couple minutes of our very first date. Jason and I attended Franciscan University in Ohio together and a few weeks after we met he and his two best friends invited me to go hiking with them. His two friends were teasing us that this was our first date of many (we hoped). After a couple hours of walking around, we got very VERY lost in the mountains of Pennsylvania, we were shot at by deer hunters, a rock was thrown through the car window and our wallets were stolen. The day just got weirder and weirder with a Halloween party at our dorm and a trip to the local bar with a bunch of rowdy women bikers.

Looking back, I am so glad that his two friends joined us for our first "date" because we now have some great photo memories of the weirdest day ever.

This is us at the beginning of the date:

And here we are after the hike...

(I'm biting my lip to keep from laughing. Jason is a much better actor.)

After seeing how the other dealt with stress, we knew we were a match made in heaven.

Eyebrow raising talent

Yup. Just learned how to raise and lower my eyebrows.

Watch me now!!

(Not really, but we applaud and scream like he's done something amazing.)

How we roll

This very well may be illegal in all 50 states

Cherry Tomato pickin

Leo just opened the deck door and handed me the cherry tomatoes he took the initiative to pick. A little green, but hey, it's the thought that counts.

So tiny...

Leo used to live in this sling. Elena never gets a turn. She needs more turns.

Healthy living

With all the great veggies coming from our CSA and our very own garden, I have been exploring with different healthy foods. I grew up eating brown rice. By that I mean, we had brown rice all...the...time... I just can't do it! I know it is healthy but I can't make it a staple in our house because I overdid it as a kid.

I love/hate white rice. It's so darn tasty but doesn't offer much by way of nutrition.

I found this next to the couscous the other day and had to give it a try!

The most exciting thing about Bulgur Wheat are the ingredients: Cracked Bulgur Wheat, Roasted Soy Chips. WHAT?! Food in a BOX with only 2 ingredients listed? I'll be so upset it I find out that they didn't list the other 60 ingredients because there were only trace amounts, but for right now, I'll trust the box.

I cooked it with some butter and chicken broth. It was soo delicious. My mom will laugh at me because it is basically chopped up brown rice, but in my head, it's something new and interesting.

Notice the two bowls with their respective cups: one for me and one for Leo. I ended up eating both after chasing him around the house to try another bite. He did try bite #1 but that was it for him. I'm going to try again and again with him and hopefully one day he'll see Bulgur Wheat in the grocery store and shudder at the thought of eating...AGAIN!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!!

At least I feel like I'm at a Monster Truck Rally at church on Sunday mornings now.

My son used to be fairly mild-mannered at church. He was so shy that being around that many people made him want to sit quietly. He is now 2 years old and not nearly as shy. I feel like the beat up car under a huge monster truck trying to reason with it why it shouldn't crush me.

Whether we are prying him off his sister, telling him that Jesus doesn't talk through mass so neither should he or pulling his fingers out of the kneeler (how did he even do that?!) it's like being in the middle of a tornado for an hour.

The funnier thing is that I pay more attention now than I did in my single days. Usually I was daydreaming through mass or distracted by people. But now I know I'm only going to catch a little of it so pay attention wherever possible.

Thank you to all those who glance back while my son is screaming "outsise?" and just giggle or give me the "I've been there" smile. I know my kids are disruptive but it is nice to know that most people try to lend a kind face.

And to all the other moms of toddlers: WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!?! I seriously think I was one of 2 moms of toddlers in the entire church. If we flood the church with children, no one will know that it is my child making the most noise!!

Showing off!!

4-months old and already trying to sit up on her own!!

(Her belly is so chubby she can hardly fall to any direction!!)

My heaven is filled with angel food cake

No seriously, it just so happens that Angel Food Cake is my favorite and I am on a perpetual diet so I suppose I win. However, when one consumes half the cake in one sitting, all bets are off.

I never understood how Angel Food Cake made from the box does not call for egg whites. Isn't that the basis for the cake? So, I decided to try it from scratch with real egg whites and it was worth every last bit of effort!!

Heavenly Angel Food Cake

Rated:

Submitted By: Fayrene De Koker

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Ready In: 50 Minutes

Servings: 20

"'This light, moist cake is my favorite,' shares Fayrene De Koker of Auburn, Washington. 'It tastes heavenly and is special enough for most any occasion.'"

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

Directions:

Separate eggs; discard yolks or refrigerate for another use. Measure egg whites, adding or removing whites as needed to equal 1-1/2 cups. Place in a mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift confectioners' sugar and flour together three times; set aside. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Fold in flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert pan; cool completely before removing cake from pan.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/27/2010

By the way, if you send your husband to pick up "Cream of Tartar," don't send him to the dressings aisle - it's in the spices aisle!! Who knew?!

Top it with Supreme Strawberry Sauce and enjoy!!!

(Perhaps I should have titled this "Gone in 60 Seconds!")

Strong Man

When Leo was around 1 year old, he started to entertain the masses by flexing every muscle in his body to the point that his hands and face would shake.

Jason dubbed it "The Strong Man"

A few days ago, after over a 6-month hiatus, The Strong Man made a come-back. We are ecstatic.

And also considering getting him checked out for mental problems...

Sillyband Craze...

...hit our house. The person who invented these is a genius!!!

(This one was donated by my niece.)

CSA Friday!

Every other Friday we head over to Sycamore Spring Farm http://www.sycamorespringfarm.org/ for our local crop share. Leo loves our trips to the farm so he can see all the animals. Check out her new miniature horse!!

We ran to the back to see the bunny rabbits. Cute, furry, fuzzy bunny rabbits.

While we were checking out the bunnies, the turkeys were gobbling away. Apparently, one of their friends was taken away earlier this week. Needless to say, they are a little on edge. Shortly after this photo was taken, I snatched Leo up and we ran out through the gate. The turkey in front was less than 2 feet away from Leo and still charging!

(Leo is telling the turkey to stay where he is...it didn't work)

We got out safely and with our bag full of delicious veggies.

LEO! Don't shoot your sister!

All good Texans must own a gun right? It's usually not a big deal until he gets a bitten by the crazy bug. I found myself yelling "LEO! Nice and gentle with the gun, okay buddy? Don't shoot your sister!" Soooo many things wrong with that entire sequence.

Dinner with the Gales

I am so darn proud of Jason's garden. These are sauteed green beans and summer squash picked fresh from our yard.

It was a few levels beyond delicious. We also had salad with feta, parmesan, cherry tomatoes (ours) and cucumber. Lastly, barbeque grilled chicken legs. What's not to like, right?

Apparently everything if you're a Leo. He's got a bit of a cold or allergies or he is teething. Who knows, but he politely declined to eat everything we offered him. And, after a short bit of time, hunger kicked in along with temper tantrums galore.

I improvised to get him to eat a little. And it worked!! He spent the rest of his evening wearing Jason and I out :)

Cuteness

A lot has happened in 2 years!

A couple years ago, I would have considered myself a computer guru. I knew a lot about a lot. But in the last few years it all got away from me. With the inception of this blog, I started looking around for other interesting blogs and interesting people. Then I started thinking to myself, how am I going to remember all of these awesome blog sites??

I started an email thread to myself...(please don't laugh at me) and every time I found another good site, I would reply to the email and send that to myself. The email started to become large and chaotic. I knew there was no way to keep up. If only there existed a way to keep track of it all??

Then, I pressed this funny looking button on a blog site.

WHAT?!?!

I'm a little slow, I know. Well, now all of my favorite blogs are stored way nicely in my Google Blog Reader. I love it.

But there is something really fun about not being "hip" or "with the times." My nieces and nephews love when we make ourselves look stupid by saying "LAUGH OUT LOUD" when they say something funny, or calling their Ripstick a "waverunner."

Getting older is awesome. There is not nearly as much pressure to know everything. And I'm a few years away from making ridiculous statements in public and people calling me a cute old lady instead of screaming about how ignorant I am.

My poor children. They have no idea the things Jason and I are going to do to embarrass them when they are older. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

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