Coors Factory & Halloween: Day 2 of my Dad Visiting!

After breakfast today we all (my dad, John, Johnny, & me) went to the Coors Factory in Golden, CO (nestled up against the mountains and not far from the Mother Cabrini Shrine).  The Coors Factory offers a free tour to the public and up to three free beers at the end of the tour (to those 21 & older).  We had heard good things about the tour and since free beer is appealing to both John and my dad, it seemed like a good thing to do today.  Plus, we all wanted to see Golden (which is VERY beautiful and is a small town, which we relate to) and get into the mountains.  

(playing with the robotic hamster before we headed to the Coors Factory)

(The view of the mountains in Golden from the Coors Factory)

To get to the tour, you drive to a parking lot inside of Golden that is specifically for people who are going to the tour.  You get on a shuttle bus that takes you to the factory (a few minute drive).  Everything was fine until we got onto the shuttle bus.  The bus was crammed with people and once we sat down,  Johnny--who was sitting on Papa's lap--began to cry.  Really loud wails & sobs with fat tears rolling down his cheeks.  The reason for this was that as soon as we sat down everybody on the bus started staring at him.  And then, because everybody kept staring at him, he was unable to be consoled and just continued to sob.  I tried everything I could to get him to calm down but I couldn't blame the kid for continuing to cry when everybody on the bus was either staring at him or giving me scathing looks and the bus driver kept stopping his monologue (you could clearly hear her over the crying, so there wasn't any reason to stop) and kept talking about him over the speakers and drawing attention to it.  As we were getting off the bus, I apologized for the crying but really I wanted to deck half of the people across the face (the other half seemed understanding). 

 (John trying to console Johnny after we got off of the shuttle bus)

Once we were inside the tour they had us show our IDs in order to get a wristband that said we could have beer at the end (obviously Johnny was the only one who didn't get one).  They gave us these electronic keypads that you use throughout the tour--you type in the number of the section you are in and then hold them up to your ear to listen to the tour.  So, everybody gets to go at their own pace.  There was also a lot of visual displays and writing on the walls.  The tour itself was really interesting--it was cool to learn how beer is made, and more specifically Coors beer.  Johnny did good through the whole tour; content being carried by Papa or Daddy (he insisted on walking through part of it).  The end of the tour--the beer tasting--was by far John & my dad's favorite part.  Surprise, surprise.  Luckily for me they also served free soda too (I hate the taste of alcohol--including beer--and I have no real interest in drinking), so I just had a Dr. Pepper.  :)  They each only had one beer, even though you they could have had three each.  After that we had to ride the shuttle back to the parking lot where our car was parked.  Johnny didn't cry at all this time: there was only a few people on the shuttle and amazingly they didn't stare.  Imagine that. [Read with immense sarcasm]  Even more amazing was that my dad made it out of there alive without someone trying to destroy him & his Dallas Cowboys hat. :)

(My dad is listening to the audio tour pad & Johnny was holding his daddy's pad and copying Papa)

(Walking through the tour)

 

(John enjoying his Coors Light)

(My dad mocking me because I wanted to take a picture of him drinking his Killians beer--nice dad, huh?)

(The guys' beers & my Dr Pepper)

 

The drive home was nice (except that I had to drive since the guys had beer) and Johnny even fell asleep.  When we got back to our apartment John had to leave for work for a couple of hours & my dad and Johnny took a nap.  After their nap we ran to the grocery store really quick (and my dad got me a Pumpkin Spice Latte w/ soy from Starbucks--amazing as usual!!)  & then I made some homemade pizza (it was yummy) and salad for dinner.  Once John got home from work and we were done with dinner, we got Johnny in his lion Halloween costume (after layering him in sweatpants and sweatshirts) and I painted the nose & whiskers on his face (with my dark brown eyebrow pencil since the store ran out of face paint).  Johnny made an adorable lion!! :)  

(Johnny napping)

  

(My dad napping--heehee)

 

(Right after I drew on his whiskers & lion nose)

(Isn't he an adorable lion??)

(Johnny & his Papa)

(Right after he went to his very first house--he is smiling because they told him he was a cute lion)

(He wanted to walk by himself--he is carrying a blue glow stick which didn't show up really well with the flash)

 

With wagon, flashlight, pumpkin Trick-or-Treat bags, glow sticks, reflectors, camera, cell phone, binky,  and other assorted items in tow (never hurts to be prepared??), we were off to Trick-or-Treat!  Across the street from our apartment is a big new housing development with large houses, so we decided that was the best & easiest place to Trick-or-Treat.  Apparently all of the other people in the neighboring districts had the same idea, since it was crowded and many of the houses had already ran out of candy.  It was dark outside when we were finally able to go out so we made sure to be extra extra careful.  Johnny was excited about riding in his wagon at first and even let us take him up to the first couple of houses to get candy, but then it all went downhill.  He didn't want to ride in the wagon.  He didn't want to be carried.  He didn't want to hold hands.  He wanted to walk...no, run.  He just wanted to run and walk briskly down the sidewalk--passing by all the houses with candy.  He could care less about Trick-or-Treating, he just wanted to walk.  We managed to get him to go to a few other houses, but basically we walked up and down many blocks following a lion on a mission.  Until he got tired.  And grumpy.  Then we (re: Daddy) had to carry a kicking & screaming lion back down the many many blocks to our apartment (past all the very iffy looking people that came over from some iffy neighborhoods & the adults trick-or-treating).  

Now we are home safe (and warm), watching Young Frankenstein, because it is the BEST MOVIE EVER.  There is no disputing this, so don't even dare try. ;)  

  "DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME! DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME!"

" Roll, roll, roll in ze hay"

"PUT.THE CANDLE.BACK."

Dr. Frankenstein: "Damn your eyes."

Igor: "Too late."

Dr. Frankenstein: [singing] "If you're blue, and you don't know where to go, why don't you go where fashion sits..."

Monster: "'UTTIN ON THE IIIITZ"

Okay, okay, I'll stop with the movie quotes...I could quote the entire movie & every single one of the quotes would be hilarious. :)  Just two more words about this movie: Abby Normal. ;)  Hahahahaha...

I hope everybody had a fun & safe Halloween! :)  We didn't get a single Trick-or-Treater to our apartment (could it be the three flights of stairs??), but we did have fun going with Johnny for his first time Trick-or-Treating.  Tomorrow is day three with my dad (he flies home Monday morning) and we're planning on going to Boulder and visiting the Boulder History Museum for their free day (they even serve free ice cream sundaes at the end).  John has to work for four hours in the afternoon so we'll be going in the morning probably.  

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Day 1 of My Dad Visiting!

Today should be a blog post for "Flashback Friday", but it isn't.  The reason for this is that my dad flew into Denver today to spend Halloween weekend with all of us (mainly Johnny), so Flashback Friday is postponed until next Friday.  Sorry to disappoint anyone who came to this blog today expecting a Flashback Friday. :)  If you really need to read a Flashback Friday then visit Christopher & Tia.  (You should probably read some of their other posts too since they have a really awesome blog!)


We haven't seen my dad (or any other family or friends for that matter) in two months, so we were really excited that he was coming to visit for the weekend.  Also, Johnny & my dad (aka Papa) are best friends.  And I truly mean that in every sense of the word.  Those two were joined at the hip before we moved and once my parents left after helping us move, Johnny was sad and not quite himself for a couple of weeks.  He has definitely missed his Papa, but since he is so young I don't think it has affected him in any traumatic way (thanks be to God).  

This is Johnny playing before we headed to the airport this afternoon to pick up Papa:

(There is just something about little boys in coveralls that is adorable)

When we drove to the airport, we had to drive east to the middle of nowhere to get to the airport.  Luckily there were some great views of the Rockies--they were even blue with snow on them like on cans of Coors Beer (which is made in Golden, right outside of Denver at the mountains).  But the airport is huge and ugly.  I don't know what they were thinking, but their attempt at modern architecture (the airport was built in 1994) failed.  Epically.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the airport because I was distracted by the Disneyland-esque sized parking lot filled with cars and our need to find a parking spot. If you would like to see a picture of the airport, click here.  Once we found a parking lot (it took circling the gigantic mile long lot several times and stealing a spot after another car pulled out to find one), we had the difficulty of getting out of the vehicle...there was about four inches of standing water on the pavement from all of the snow melting (all two feet or more of it).  John stepped out first and his shoes completely filled with water.  Being that I don't like to have my shoes filled with water, I made my husband get the toddler and stroller out himself and then give me a piggy back ride from the car so I wouldn't have to walk through the lake.  :)  (Aren't I awful?)  

After our escapades with parking and lakes, we had the joy of trying to figure out how to get through the vast airport of Denver (a slight nightmare).  We did end up finding my dad pretty easily though.  Johnny was in his stroller when his Papa walked up and he immediately started smiling.  When we took him out of his stroller he clung to his Papa (which we know means he remembers him), but acted shy because I think he wasn't sure how to act after so long. :)  It was a really adorable moment. 

 

(Before we saw Papa)

  

(Awww)

  

(Happy to see his Papa)

  

(Acting shy)

On the way home Johnny was excited to sit next to his Papa.  He kept growling & being silly.  It was really cute. 

  

(grrrrrrrr)

 

(Wearing Papa's Cowboys hat in Broncos country--oh my!)

  

(We hit a lot of traffic on the way home...though this pic doesn't really reflect that--I think I was trying to get a picture of the Rockies)

Once we got home my dad gave Johnny a Halloween gift bag from his great-grandma Pat (my paternal grandmother).  It was a pumpkin bag with a Madagascar 2 coloring book, a Dinosaur book, a dinosaur toy, and a robotic hamster that walks around and squeaks (kind of like a rodent Furby that can scurry).  Johnny loved all of his gifts, especially the dinosaur toy! :)  Thanks great-grandma!!

   

 

(He was curious & a little nervous of the robotic hamster)

(Playing with the dinosaur together)

After visiting for a while and playing, we all went to dinner at Red Robin.  :) Johnny got a balloon and had a lot of fun playing with it.  We ended up leaving after eating because Johnny started crying--he got his feelings hurt because we told him to not be so loud (plus he didn't have a nap today).  

Once we got back to our apartment we all got into our pajamas and started watching a movie together.  Johnny has been playing with Papa (showing off, of course) and playing with his balloon. 

 

  

We are all looking forward to tomorrow when we go and see things in Denver and of course--Halloween! :)   And just a shout out to my mom--we miss you & wish you were here too! :)  Love you!

Snow & Russian Nesting Dolls

This is Denver today:

Disgusting, right?

It snowed all day and it is still snowing.  The news says that it will probably snow all tomorrow too but then melt on Friday since it is supposed to be really warm Friday and the weekend.  Bizarre, right?  What is crazy is that a city that commonly gets snow shuts down universities and the drivers FREAK OUT when it snows even a little.  This is nothing compared to winters back in Spokane.  During the snowstorms in Spokane the last two winters Gonzaga was only closed one day.  It took five feet of snow, teachers unable to drive to work, and semi-trucks skidding off the main road in town for things to start closing.  John's school closed down the whole university (including the library) this afternoon after a few inches of snow.  What the heck?  A couple inches of snow is nothing to freak out about...when you can't drive your car out of the driveway because the height of the snow is half the size of your car (or more) then you should worry.  Not that it isn't nice to have John's classes canceled every now and then...it will just get really aggravating if every time they get a couple inches of snow they shut down the city.  This isn't Seattle or anything where snow is uncommon...this is DENVER.  We were warned that they get a lot of snow.  Man up, Denver.  Good grief! [Just a side note: I would prefer if it did NOT snow again.  I would be perfectly happy. The end.]

On another note, my son found my old Russian nesting dolls that I've had since I was a kid.  They are handmade from Russia and my mom bought them for me when I was a lot younger.  The set is based on The Nutcracker.  I don't remember what the occasion was, but I do remember them being apart of my life for a long time.  Anyway, Johnny found them and has been OBSESSED with them ever since.  He likes to line them up by size and look at the intricate paintings on them (they really are amazing).   I am glad that he is getting a lot of enjoyment out of them.  I think he even knows how to count in an internal sort of way (not like counting out loud)...I would sneak the littlest nesting doll--a Christmas Tree--and he would look down and kind of count them to himself and knew when I took one.  Every time I did it.  It was really amusing.  :) He will have to be a little older before I let him keep them in his room because he has been a little rough on them and I don't want the paint chipped.  For now I have them in our room stashed away for emergencies or for those times when Johnny is being bratty and needs a good distraction. :)

 

And the last note: Johnny is getting to the age that he notices kissing.  He always has to break up John & I when we kiss, but today was the first day he noticed it in a movie and was grossed out.  We were watching Beauty & the Beast and at the end when the Beast turns back into the Prince and they kiss Johnny started pointing his finger at them and yelling in his toddler language.  I couldn't help it--it made me laugh.  But I'm not looking forward to when he thinks mommy kisses are "gross"... :(  So far those are the only kisses he likes!

Mother Cabrini Shrine

Today was the day we finally visited the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, CO.  This has been on our list since we moved here in August and since there were no free events going on that we knew of inside of Denver this weekend we decided to make the drive into the mountains to visit the shrine.  It is always nice to visit a piece of our Catholic history.

Nestled inside the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (30 to 40 min outside Denver), the Mother Cabrini Shrine is a place for peaceful prayer and pilgrimage.  It was established by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini for the purpose of spreading the gospel and providing a peaceful summer atmosphere for orphan children.  St. Frances Cabrini (aka Mother Cabrini) founded 67 hospitals, orphanages, and schools worldwide--one for every year of her life (wow). In 1909 she purchased the land in the foothills for a summer retreat/orphanage.  At the time this was an area that had barren to water and nobody really wanted anything to do with it.  As the story goes, Mother Cabrini trusted in God and found the exact place to dig that yielded a "cool miraculous spring" which has produced water to this day.  At the top of a hill at the shrine there is an arrangement of large white stones in the shape of a heart, surrounded by a smaller stone cross and a crown of thorns that Mother Cabrini made.  Also at the top of this hill is a giant statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (22 feet).  Leading up the hill from the base (where the Grotto & orphanage are all located) are 373 steps that are adorned by stations of the cross, the mysteries of the rosary, and the Ten Commandments.  The Queen of Heaven orphanage used the Stone House at the Mother Cabrini retreat during the summers until it was closed in 1967.  Once it was closed it became a year round retreat facility, open to the public.  The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart who worked at the shrine resided in the Stone House until their convent was built on the property in 1970.  Mass is held every day (Mon-Sun) at the shrine in the chapel at 7:30am and a second mass is held on Sundays at 11am.  If you would like to read more about the Mother Cabrini Shrine, click here.

Today was the perfect day to go the shrine this weekend since tomorrow it is supposed to rain & snow, and John has to work in the afternoon.  However, warm in Denver was not followed through at the shrine, which is up in the foothills.  It was windy, very windy, and downright cold.  When we first arrived at the shrine (after driving up a steep narrow dirt road) we were struck by two things: how brown everything was (because it is fall, not spring)--it looked a lot like Central WA--and all of the trees whipping around violently.  We had accidentally forgotten John's coat at home (re: I set the coat by the door for John & he forgot to grab it), so he was pretty much cold the entire time.  I just had my Northface fleece jacket & Johnny was still cold even with his coat and blanket.  The windiness grew exponentially the farther we climbed up the steps leading to the hill with the statue, which didn't help.  A couple of times I lost my balance because a gust of wind shoved me from the side.  Luckily John was carrying Johnny in the backpack carrier so Johnny wasn't attempting to walk up the stairs--he might have been blown away!  The views were spectacular from the hill though; we could even see the flatness of Denver and the plains. :) The hill was very steep so we got a good workout, but it was a little difficult for me to breathe with the cold wind.  We really enjoyed looking at all of the statues and views, but we wish it was a little less windy so we could have spent more time looking at things on the steps and at the top of the hill (we only spent a couple of minutes on the hill since it was SO windy it was painful).  

 

(he was excited at first)

 

(I really liked this one--this was a plaque found along the Meditation Walk)

 

(another favorite plaque along the Meditation Walk at the base of the hill)

 

(a chapel area where you can light Prayer Candles)

 

(They built a structure over the miraculous spring Mother Cabrini discovered & it now has spouts on it so they can control when the water flows and doesn't--they had cups where you could drink some of the water)

 

(In front of a crucifix outside the Grotto)

 

(A crucifix at the base of the steps leading up the hill)

(one of the 14 stations of the cross leading up the steps on the hill)

 

(one of the mysteries of the rosary--also leading up the steps of the hill)

 

(the original stone heart that Mother Cabrini made--protected in a glass barrier)

 

(the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue at the top of the hill--it was a HUGE hill that we hiked up)

 

(me in front of the statue--this is only half of the statue which puts how huge it is into perspective)

 

(one of the Ten Commandments that surrounded the top of the hill)

 

(statue of Mary at the top of the hill)

 

(a picture of my rosary as we hiked back down the steep hill)

 

(One of the views from the shrine--those buildings way off in the distance are the big buildings of downtown Denver)

We really enjoyed visiting the shrine and we hope to be able to go back in the spring and visit and maybe go to Mass at the chapel there. :)  If you're ever in the Denver area and want to do something a little more on the spiritual side, then check out the Mother Cabrini Shrine--it is open & free to the public every day of the year.  

 

 

Flashback Friday

I am continuing to participate in "Flashback Friday".  If you would like to see the host of this weekly event, please visit Christopher & Tia.

This is me probably around age 2.  Way back in the late '80s. ;)  The doll I'm holding in the photo was my best friend back then (who am I kidding? she slept on my bed until the day I got married...).  Her name is Jammie Pies.  No, I did not name her.  She apparently was part of a group of character dolls made by Playskool in the late '80s, based off some Hallmark ornaments.  If you would like to see more about Jammie Pies, click here (scroll down to the very bottom, mine is the last one...apparently her name is "Middy"--this is the first I have EVER heard of this!!  I always called her Jammie Pies since it was tattooed on her foot).

Anyway, my paternal grandmother gave me this doll when I was born & out of all of the many many stuffed animals I possessed as a small child (and I had A LOT), THIS was the doll that I chose to be my best friend.  My grandma also gave my brother one of the other Jammie Pies dolls (the one called "Spunkle" on the link) but he never really got into it.  

I carried Jammie Pies around everywhere.  When I was very small, apparently I would request my "pug", my "wug", and my "pies"...loosely translated: my "plug" (we call our son's a binky since a "plug" seems too much like you're shutting the child up), my "rug" (a cloth diaper that became a blankie since my parents' cloth diaper escapades lasted only a couple of days), and my "Jammie Pies".  I couldn't sleep or go anywhere without them, and after I was weaned off of the binky and blankie, it was Jammie Pies that became my emotional friend.  My mom tells me that whenever they would wash Jammie Pies (she became quite filthy being attached to a toddler) I would cry and sit in front of the washer and the dryer grumpy until she was done being cleaned.  I wouldn't let her out of my sight.  

Once when I was really young--probably not much older than me in the photo above--my mom thought it would make me happy if my grandma repainted the worn eyes on Jammie Pies when we were visiting them (my grandma is really crafty & good at painting).  The eyes were pretty much worn off completely, but as soon as I found out my grandma had painted the eyes to look like new I threw a huge fit (I actually do have memories of this) and ended up crying and scratching (yes I scratched my dolls eyes out...) the paint off so she looked like my Jammie Pies again.  Repainting of her eyes was never attempted again. 

Over the years she remained my best friend (that sounds pretty sad doesn't it?), though I didn't take her everywhere as I grew older.  She retained the special spot on my bed and she always came with me when I went somewhere else to stay the night.  When my brother and I were young (I was probably four or five and my brother was probably two or three) my dad got fed up with us not cleaning our room so he put all of our toys into bags and took them to his room as punishment.  And I mean every single one of our toys--except for both of our Jammie Pies (my dad knew that I would not be emotionally stable if he took her away & for some reason he thought the same for my brother, which was unfortunate since he had no emotional attachment to his Jammie Pies...he probably would've chosen a different toy if he could).  We actually did survive with just our beds and Jammie Pies for a month or two until my brother's birthday and then Christmas.  We didn't end up seeing the old toys until right before we were about to move and we really weren't all that excited to see them...most of the toys were broken or we had outgrown.  So, the world really didn't come to end by not having those toys around--though it might have if my dad had taken away Jammie Pies. :)

 I remember when I was eight or nine Jammie Pies went missing and I had no idea where she went and I was really upset about it.  She had been gone for weeks and I was at the point where I was coming to grips with the fact that she would probably be gone forever.  I was at one of my basketball games (basketball was my number one love in sports growing up) and during the half-time my grandma told me that she had someone held "hostage" at her house.  I had left her there when I had spent the night weeks before and she found her curled and wadded up inside a blanket.  I was elated that Jammie Pies wasn't lost and after that I was always a lot more careful about taking her anywhere.     

When I was in the eighth grade I went on a trip to Washington D.C. with some classmates and teachers for a spring break field trip.  I didn't take Jammie Pies with me because I was afraid she'd get lost fourteen and too old to need my doll to come with me.  My mom claims that I left Jammie Pies sitting in a window watching for me "to get home" during that trip, but honestly I really don't think I did that.  She'll claim up and down that I did, so we'll just let her have her way.  :)  (It's possible even though I don't remember)

In middle school and especially high school I didn't really spend a lot of time talking or playing with  Jammie Pies--she spent most of her time on my bed and slept with me at night.  She got me through nineteen years of emotions though: tantrums, tears, broken hearts, fights with friends, fights with family, joy, accomplishments, childhood imaginations, laughter, etc.  She slept on my bed until the day I was married.  The night before my wedding she was the one who I was cuddling with, and the next evening she was replaced by my husband.  I still have her to this day and I hope to introduce her to Johnny sometime soon, but for now she is safely put away (frankly my son is pretty rough on his stuffed animals, even his lovey Gator--I think that is a boy thing to cuddle & then wrestle with the same friend).  I will always remember Jammie Pies, and even though she is a little weird for a doll (which I really didn't even notice until my husband pointed it out to me when we were dating), I will be eternally grateful to her for being my best friend for the first nineteen years of my life.  We had some good times. :)  Even though my best friend is now an actual person--my husband (and Jesus)--she'll always be my first best friend.  I hope that my son will have just as many adventures with his best friend Gator throughout the years (so far they seem to really enjoy each others company):

 

(Johnny is about 8 months old here...Gator is about 9 months old then since we got him at our baby shower from my maternal grandma)

My husband also had a favorite stuffed animal that he grew up with and it was the only stuffed animal he kept (he also slept with it from time to time growing up though he probably wouldn't admit it): Pookie.  Pookie is an adorable and well-loved teddy bear that was actually John's dad's teddy bear when he was a kid.  It now resides in Johnny's room with the rest of his stuffed animals and Johnny does love it (his lovey is still Gator which just goes to show you can't choose your child's best friend).  It is a teddy bear on its third generation of John's, and we're hoping that it will make it to the bedroom of Johnny's firstborn son John too (we're assuming he will keep up the tradition of namesakes).  :)

Thank you to all of the many beloved stuffed best friends out there in the world.  Many lives are made better by your unconditional love & infinite potential for play.  A special thanks to Jammie Pies, Pookie, & Gator. :)

Baking with Johnny

A few nights ago I got excited about baking with Johnny.  I had lots of autumn & Halloween-themed cookie cutters and Johnny had been pulling the sugar cookie mix out of the cupboard every time I turned my back for the past week. So, I got up the courage to make sugar cookies with my two year old...I gathered the mix, the bowl, the cookie cutters, got Johnny immensely excited...only to discover that we were basically out of butter (which was aggravating since I'd just gone grocery shopping & John failed to let me know that he had used it all).  This was very disappointing.  In order to fulfill my promise that we would be baking a "treat", I decided to go with blueberry muffins instead since I had the ingredients needed for that.  Johnny tried to help, but ended up being more messy than helpful (are you surprised?).  In the end blueberry muffins came out of the oven and Johnny thought they were delicious--success!  He even ate one for breakfast with some fruit and loved it. :)  I didn't take any pictures of the blueberry process, so here are some other pictures of Johnny in the past few days...

(watching Finding Nemo--his favorite movie)

(Johnny had fun lining up his animals while his daddy was studying)

 

 

(They have a love/hate relationship...)

 

Today I was in the baking mood again and I'd been wanting to make banana bread for a while, so I decided to do that.  For those of you that don't know--Johnny is a banana fiend.  He will eat bananas all day if we let him...when we go grocery shopping, we have to distract him while the other person hides the bananas in the cart so he won't throw a tantrum and try to eat one in the grocery store.  Johnny wasn't really all that interested in helping make banana bread, so he ate a snack at the table while I blended all the ingredients.  By "ate a snack", I really mean: he poured his applesauce all over the table and had fun making applesauce "angels" with his arms and covering himself completely with it.  I knew baking would make a mess, but I had no clue that Johnny would bring unanticipated messes to the process...


I had never made banana bread from scratch before (I have made homemade bread before though), so I looked for a recipe online on a CafeMom group I am part of...I didn't have any vanilla extract on hand, so I chose the one recipe that didn't call for it.  Here is the recipe, if you're interested:


Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tspn baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed, very overripe bananas


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease 9x5 loaf pan.
3. In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In separate bowl, cream together butter & brown sugar.
5. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.
6. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.
7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let bread cool in pan 10 min, then turn onto a wire rack.


When I was making it, I didn't know what "cream together" meant, but I assumed that it meant mix together (note to self: don't "wing it" when you really aren't sure what a baking phrase means).  So, I started to mix the butter and brown sugar together only to find it wasn't mixing together well...when I looked it up it said that when you "cream together" you want the butter to be room temperature.  It figures that I had used straight-from-the-fridge butter.  It basically made mixing by hand or with a hand mixer extremely difficult and messy because the butter wasn't room temperature. So, if you attempt this recipe, make sure the butter is room temperature. :)  Once I mixed all of the ingredients together it seemed a little chunky to me, and that could be because my bananas weren't "very overripe"--they were brown and spotty but not completely brown (I was too impatient to freeze them overnight & resume baking tomorrow).  

In the end though the banana bread ended up delicious & it definitely tastes like bananas! I think if I had used "very overripe bananas" it might have tasted less like bananas?  It seemed more banana-ish (I realize this isn't a word) than regular banana bread.  Since I'm not a huge fan of bananas, I ate a little but wasn't head-over-heels in love with it.  Johnny (the banana lover) really liked it though and had some as a snack (since the applesauce ended up on the table and his clothes more so than in his tummy).  I'm sure John will love it just as much (also a banana lover) once he gets home from work. :)

 (yum!)

 

(He was already eating a big bite when he decided to inspect it)

Next up for baking will probably be sugar cookies.  I also have the ingredients needed to make caramel apples with Johnny.  Plus all of the other regular baking supplies & treats that I make from time to time.  Lately I've been really getting into baking & cooking, especially trying new recipes.  My love affair with my slow cooker has gotten serious. That is probably the nice part of having more time (because I'm not taking 18 credits and writing a senior thesis anymore)-- I can now at least pretend that I am developing some of my skills & hobbies. :)  I've been doing more with cooking, but I'm also researching sewing and hope to get really good at it.  I've been trying to teach myself how to make felt food for Johnny's play kitchen. I learned how to knit from a good friend in August and am hoping to get really good at that too (I eventually want to learn to crochet too).  Other interests that I have been developing over the years and hope I'll be able to do more with include: my art (sketching mainly--I really want to sketch Johnny, but I'd love to learn to paint on canvas), photography, journaling, scrapbooking & other crafty things.  I've been trying to learn as many ways to make homemade cleaners, laundry detergent, shampoo, etc. as well, and have been pretty successful too.  

On another note, Johnny has been particularly sweet today--constantly giving me hugs & kisses.  They have been greatly appreciated by me! :)  I also think it is adorable that he says "uh-oh" over and over when something happens that he thinks is abnormal or if he drops something.  

He has also been obsessed with taking all of our soup, vegetable, & tuna cans out of the cupboards and building towers with them on our coffee table.  It is quite impressive! :) 

And the neatest thing has happened!! John has figured out that we can hypnotize our son into sleeping.  I can hear all you skeptics out there, but in all seriousness it works!  A few days ago John was holding a grumpy, tired Johnny in his lap in the rocking chair, and he lifted him up in front of his face and just started saying "you're sleepy...you're going to go to sleep" very softly over & over to him (they'd been watching The Jungle Book A LOT lately).  Johnny's eyelids immediately started drooping and then he just laid his head down on John and fell asleep.  John has repeated it several times in the past couple of days.  Today I decided to give it a try.  I didn't want to wait until he was really grumpy & tired, so I waited until it was nap time and then started doing it and honestly, within seconds his eyelids were drooping and he laid his head down and fell asleep.  I don't know why this works but we wish we'd discovered it long before now.  Hopefully this will be the end to sleep battles. :) 


Well, that is all I have for updates for now.  I am making ranch pork chops for dinner and am looking forward to seeing John since when he gets home he'll have been gone for roughly thirteen hours.  I am planning to make Halloween decorations with Johnny in the next few days, so I'll keep you updated with what we come up with! Love & God's blessings to everyone! We miss all of you!!