Lemon Curd Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Directions

1. In the top of a double boiler, beat eggs and sugar. Stir in lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Cook over simmering water for 15 minutes or until thickened.

TIPS: I didn't use a double boiler, just a heavy pan. I just stirred constantly on low.  This was SOO good. You can use it for pie filling, a RICH pudding, on cookies, on scones. 

Spring Break

QT & I spent a week in Idaho with my mom. It was her spring break and she spent the entire week running errands with me. I don't think she got a single thing done for herself.  What a selfless mom. It was a fun visit with cousins and aunts & uncles. One day we drove to Rexburg and had my grandma give us a rundown on geneology. We spent about 5 hours with her and I still feel like I don't know what to do.
Yesterday I spent the day puking. Its the third time this pregnancy I've gotten sick from meat. I just read yesterday that pregnant women are supposed stay away from processed meats.  I wish I would have known that 6 months ago.  It has made me glad, however, that I don't get sick during my pregnancies. I don't know if I would have more children if my whole nine months was spent throwing up like some women I know.
Quinn lost his last binky today. I guess its as good a day as any to quit binkies. I'm just REALLY not looking forward to it though.
Today was the first day of Thurm's spring break. We got a ton done. Let me just give a hint to all the wives out there. Yerbe Mate. Its a sort of herbal tea that Thurm's dad & brother started drinking on their missions in Argentina.  It has a healthier/different version of caffeine in it.  But when Thurm drinks that in the morning he is like a mad man working all day, getting tons done. I guess I could just buy him Mt. Dew, but this works too.  We got lots of yard work done and little tasks that we've been meaning to do.  YAY! So I'm making sure this entire spring break he drinks mate every morning so we get alot done : ) We are hoping to get all the beams in our attic finished this week.  We have been bulking up the beams in our attic so we can insulate and sheet rock and make it into a bedroom.  And the sooner we get that done, the sooner we can start working on our bathroom and kitchen, which is what I REALLY want to be doing.

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

• This was a great breakfast recipe.  You can make it the night before and then bake it the next morning.  I used whole oats and subbed applesauce for the vegetable oil and cut the white sugar to 1/2 cup to make it a little healthier. It was still really good! Quinn kept calling it cake.  We tried it three ways: plain, with butter on top, and with milk poured over it.  I preferred the butter. We ate it warm, but I read it was good cold too.  
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• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Beat together oil and sugar. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, oatmeal. Beat well then stir in raisins. Pour into a lightly grease pie pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight.
2. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Bake in preheated oven until firm, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 378 | Total Fat: 17.8g | Cholesterol: 55mg

I bought sugar today.

This "no shopping" adventure is getting rough. We are down to 2 cups of sugar and NO chocolate chips.  Thurm wants to make lemon bars which would use all our sugar. Should we do it?  Sugar is one of my four food groups, I don't know if I can make it!

This month we decided not to go grocery shopping except for milk, eggs & bananas (Quinn needs his bananas).  We are trying to live off of what we have in the house already. Its been surprisingly easy so far. But we are half way through the month and supplies are dwindling. Good thing I get to leave for Idaho in a week and eat my mom's food. I'll be interested to hear what Thurm eats for the rest of the month.

Quinn just had an entire adult conversation with me:

Quinn: Hi!
Mom: Hi.
Quinn: How are you?
Mom: (laughs) How are you?
Quinn: I happy.

Baby Names

When we named Quinn, it was easy because we had it picked before we were even married. There was a conversation in the ocean waves on a beach in Thailand(romantic, huh).   We thought we were going to have a girl this time and had a few names picked out.  But now we are having trouble naming another boy.  So off to the left are some names we like in order of preference.  Well, almost. Thurm rated "Sal" as 3rd, but I've basically vetoed it. Its just on there to humor him. He knows very well I'll end up naming all our babies, but I try to make it seem like he has a say in it.   Not that anyone's opinion will probably sway mine, but lets hear your vote.

Jens is in my family ancestry- its from Denmark.  Neils is a family name---its in our history as well as my little brother's middle name.  And Calvin...because I love Calvin and Hobbes. And Quinn totally looks like Calvin, so if the next baby does too, then it might have to be Calvin.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

• This was really yummy and so EASY!
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• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions

1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

***I added a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Also in the reviews for this recipe alot of people said they had to cook the biscuits for an hour and a half. I guess my crockpot is pretty hot, because I only had to do the 30 minutes.  

I've promised the new baby that I will buy a baby book and keep a record of his life. Because all Quinn has is this blog. Someday I'll make it into a book for him.

Quinn wakes up every morning and lays down in front of his door and when he's ready for someone to come get him, he kicks the door. I don't know why.  But today Thurm opened the door and Quinn was lying on the floor waiting with sun glasses on.  It made us both laugh pretty hard.

My mom told me when her kids all turned two she wrote a list of their vocabulary for their baby books. So I'm going to start that list now so I don't forget some words. (Don't feel obligated to read this)

Quinn's Vocabulary at 20 months

baba (sippy cup)
mink (drink)
hi
bye
mama
dada
baby
dog
woof
moo
meow
cat
cow
yose (horse)
bee (means bird, butterfly, bee)
fly
binky
reach
up
walk
wash
pants
leg
eat
arm
eye
poke
again
more
nose
toe
foot
hand
yeah
no
owie
dory(Dora)
Mo(Nemo)
watch
read
ring
tummy
amen
tree
wee(slide)
swing
house
whiner no whiney
fish
ear
bum
toot
poop
pee
clock
shoe
sock
coat
hat
snake
ssssssss
one
two
Quinn
boo
teeth
light
off
on
cheese
toast
orange
lala (banana)
bonk
soup
egg
block
ey-yo (Chinese exclamation!)
soap
sit
blue
potty
chip
snack
treat
milk
juice
bike
cracker
phone
honey
money
pretzel
bean
star
sun
cool
cute
ok
YAY! 100
car
truck
choo choo
night night
kiss
me
horry(sorry)
happy
helping

Fabric Starching

This is the coolest craft I've done so far. The train is fabric dipped in a mixture of cornstarch and water and then wallpapered to the wall.  A woman online re-covered her kitchen cabinets this way. Its so cool because its easy to peel off when you get sick of it, and its an easy way to decorate.  Sort of like vinyl, but with way more options of fabric!  I think this train is the cutest craft I've ever done. I love it. 

I'm not sure if I love the one in my kitchen.  I like the fabric, but I don't know about the design.  When I picked out the fabric, Quinn looked at it and said "Coot! (cute)"