Just Like Mama Made 'Em

It is a family tradition to have a "birthday dinner". Joe and I went to my parents house on the 16th for dinner. I asked my dad to make his beef enchiladas and I offered to bring my mom's apple dumpling recipe.

You can not begin to image how excited I was. I probably have only had these a handful of times since my mom passed. This is not the kind of recipe that you mix the batter and dump. It is more closely related to the work it would take to make cinnamon rolls ... but without requiring the dough to raise. Joe and I bought (organic) Fuji apples from costco. While he was doing his home teaching I made the dish. It LOOKED perfect ... something didn't smell right ... but we didn't think much of it. After dinner and games we were ready for dessert. I was nervous because of the smell so I took a small bite before anyone else could ... and they were rotten. I had used old Crisco -- but didn't notice until AFTER they were done and it was too late. I was hoping this minor detail wouldn't matter -- but obviously it ruined the whole dish.

I have been eating the apples here and there all week ... and last night I decided to recreate my "masterpiece". I went to the store, bought NEW Crisco and set to work. They finished at about 9 -- I took a bite ... HEAVEN! So now I have this whole pan of my mom's apple dumplings waiting for me at home! YUMMY ... :)

I Could Never Be a Military Wife

With the economy Joe and I are very grateful that he has a good job! He is valued, appreciated, and respected. His boss told him that they should duplicate him so he can get more done ... they need him that much! That being said ...

Joe has been gone since last Tuesday. It is starting to hit me hard. This is (tied) with the longest we have ever been apart. LAST time it was this long ... I wasn't pregnant and hormonal. It is amazing how much that makes a difference. I am so so ready for him to come home! Just to have someone to talk to ... and do NOTHING with! He is a good guy ... and I miss him.

Last night I was over at Joe's brother's house having dinner. I thought about complaining ... and had to stop myself when I realized that his dear wife had to live "single" for over a year. How in the world did she do it? I can barely go a week without going nuts! Then I thought about a friend in my ward who got pregnant WEEKS before her husband left for military leave. I believe that he was able to be home for the birth and blessing ... I am not sure. I could NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER do it! Hats off to you ladies that have! You have my deepest respect.

For now ... I just want Joe home!!

Child Care

Oh Boy! I have two dilemmas ... Child care for this year ... and child care for next.

It is very very possible that I will need to come back after my paid 6 weeks of maternity care. I just can't imagine how we would survive 4 weeks of a "no pay" salary. Here's why ... pardon the math!

I earn approximately $200 a day. I get paid about $145 a day because they spread out the payments across 12 months, not 10. If I were to take 4 weeks without pay ... I would not lose 20*145 ... but 20*200. My pay check would be 2900 for those 4 weeks, but I would loose 4000 ... therefore not only will I sacrifice the 2900 (I am TOTALLY okay with that!) but then I would owe the district BACK 1100 PLUS the cost of insurance for the month, (about 2000 total I am figuring). I totally didn't think about this until a dear friend of mine got trapped in the middle of it. JEEZE!

SO now I need to find a child care service for the end of the year. IF you know anyone close to me or my work ... any suggestions will be appreciated! He will be only 6 weeks old ... and it will be for 4 weeks.

I have been debating for quite some time whether or not I will return to school next year. It is such a hard decision. I have been going back and forth for months now. My mom stayed home -- and I loved having her there! I want to be home. BUT looking at our finances -- I don't know if I can yet. I am sure that we would be fine ... but if Joe lost his job, we would be sunk ... and fast! We have very very very very little in savings. Very little. (close to zilch). I don't feel comfortable leaving my job without more financial security at home. Joe and I will work on paying off the majority of our debts, (we are SO close to being done). We only want to owe on our car, house, and student loan. Next year we want to live on Joe's income (to see if we can do it) and save mine. If we can do this, we will have a huge savings account. A lot closer than almost zilch.

I got on the waiting list today to take the little monster to the day care at bingham high. I am on a waiting list for August. It is very difficult to get into, so I would like a back up. Any suggestions? This is crazy.

Happy Birthday to ME

So yesterday was my birthday ... and I made a dang good cake to celebrate. I thought that I would share the recipe! (Just because there are apples DOES NOT mean that the cake is healthy!!)

German Apple Cake

3 eggs
1 c oil
2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large apples, pealed & sliced
3/4 c diced walnuts

Mix eggs and oil until fluffy. Add sugar flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Dough will be stiff. Fold in apples and walnuts. Bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes.

Icing:
1 pkg cream cheese
3 Tbsp soft butter
1.5 c powdered sugar

Mix and spread on cooled cake.


IT IS WAY WAY YUMMY! I usually peel my apples and then cut into wedges. (Remove the core) and then slice them into little pieces. Each piece will look like a rounded trapezoid.

ENJOY

Our Favorites

Okay -- now that I know that you all think our kids will be ScArY looking -- (only joking) ... and some of you are not afraid to tell us ... :) Here is what we think about the "potential boucher crew" from the previous post.

#1 -- is cute ... but with funky ears.
#2 -- um .... ....
#3 -- my favorite potential boy.
#4 -- definitely looks like the mail man's baby!!
#5 -- our favorite to look at! He has an "I'm almost going to cry " face on. We think he looks human enough ... but a bit older than infant age.

It was fun playing around with these faces! I hope you enjoyed them. With only 20 weeks left ... we will be able to see if the one we are "making" will look anything like the ones posted.

German Engineering ...

You know those commercials for the Volkswagen Rouge? The one that proclaims ... "Have a baby for love ... not for German Engineering." I hate those commercials. They completely annoy me! A lot! WELL I was looking on the pregnancy.org website and found a link to the Volkswagon Rouge site. They have a program that allows you to "make a baby without making the baby". We put in pictures of Joe and I ... and it popped up what our future boy could look like. Which one do you like best?

Baby #1

Baby #2

Baby #3

Baby #4

Baby #5

Heaven HELP us in the looks department!!! They may need it! I don't know if these guys look like either one of us! They do look like the mail man though .... oops!