John Paul-isms

John Paul is one funny kid! Everyday Doug and I catch ourselves saying, "Did you hear what JP came up with today?" So I thought I'd list a few of our John Paul-isms!

Neighbor: "John Paul is such a pretty name! Tell me, are you named after the Pope?"
JP: "Yep, can you guess which one?"

******

Neighbor: "John Paul, you have the prettiest blue eyes! What color eyes does Ryan have?"
JP: "Brown"
Neighbor: "What color eyes does Kyle have?"
JP: "Blue"
Neigbor: "What color eyes does Daniel have?"
JP: "Blue"
Neighbor: "O.K., so that's one brown and three blue eyes."
JP: "NO! Danny has TWO blue eyes, not THREE!"

*******

Me: "John Paul, were you a good boy at baby sitting today?"
JP: "Yes, I was very good....I didn't sit on any babies!"

*******

Neighbor: "John Paul, what does your mommy do at her work?"
JP: "She's a nurse....and she sells babies!"
(Thank goodness Ryan was there and clarified that I *deliver* babies, not sell them!)

*******

Friend: She noticed his St. Rita medal and said, "John Paul, are you a Catholic?"
JP: "Yes.....but just a little bit."

*******

Some things you might not know about JP:
If John Paul doesn't like something, he'll tell you he's "allergic" to it.
He loves, loves, LOVES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, his lunchbox, and money.
Little Danny is his BEST friend.
When he's outside, he digs in any dirt he can find!

My silly boy:

The Godfather (not the movie!)

We had a joyful day yesterday! Doug was honored in being named godfather to precious baby Rhapsody Brigid! The ceremony was just lovely in welcoming this newest child of God, and both Doug and I couldn't get enough of the wonderful smell of chrism (mixed with the scent of sweet baby head!)
The D. family along with godparents Cindy H. and Doug. Father Torres performed the Sacrament:

Proud godfather!

Dinner at our house tonight

Here's what's for dinner at our house tonight (much to the dismay of the kids!)

Check out our babies!

This week my plants bloomed and now we have "babies" in the garden!
With all the rain and warm temps, my plants have just exploded! Here are the latest pics:


Zucchini and squash:
(from my endless hours of watching FoodTV, I understand that filling the zucchini blossoms with rich ricotta or marscapone cheeses and then frying them is quite the delicasy!)




My first tomato!


Little pollinators at work:


Here's our watermelon patch. This is the SECOND time I've planted it! The first time I didn't use the black plastic and the weeds over took my seedlings. The second time I did it right, but looks like we won't be enjoying watermelon until August!


Yeah, I'm a big nerd......BUT I'M A NERD WITH A ROCKIN' GARDEN!

Happy Earth Day!

The Creamer family celebrated Earth Day by firing up the grill, and spreading weed & feed and ant poison over the yard!

Here's the Grill Master at work:

Focaccia Bread

This snack is extremely fast, easy and CHEAP! You can use it for sandwiches, snacks or as a dinner bread. Very versatile as you can use whatever is in your spice cabinet or left over in your fridge! I used the following recipe and added some ground flax seeds (for a healthy omega 3,6, and 9 boost!) I had to add extra water as well due to the seeds. We topped ours with garlic powder, dried italian herbs, freshly ground pepper and parmasean cheese!



INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 package active dry yeast OR 2 1/4 tsp. if using from bulk
2/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3-4 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Turn dough out onto a baking stone/sheet dusted with cornmeal or sprayed lightly with oil. Push dough out using your fingertips to the edges of your baking surface. Brush lightly with olive oil and top with cheese, herbs, and seasonings.
Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you'll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

Garden update!

Thought it was time to give a little update on my "other babies!"
Our vegetable garden is coming along well, everything is is green and growing SO fast with all the rain and warm weather we've been having.


Here is a pic of my zucchini, squash and green beans. I'm going to construct a trellis from 2X2's and chicken wire so these plants can grow up instead of out. It'll make it easier at harvesting time as well as keep the plants off the ground so they won't be so susceptable to fungus, snails, etc...


Our fig tree has also come to life! It seems like overnight it was covered in those beautiful thick green leaves! I cannot wait to make lots of fig and strawberry preserves this summer (yes, you mix them together! It's divine!)

Haircut!

Little Danny was looking like a "Danielle" so I decided to give him a haircut! This is only the second haircut he has received and he is 2.3 years old! This kiddo seriously lacks in the hair growing department (but totally makes up for it with those beautiful big blue eyes!) John Paul thought it was quite novel that I was cutting his hair with scissors because when I cut the bigger boy's hair I do it with clippers. I'm just not ready to buzz off Danny's beautiful red locks!

Before:


...and after:

Good Friday

Virtual Pilgrimage
to the Stations of the Cross
in Jerusalem

http://www.jerusalemviacrucis.org/

Batter up!

This weekend was opening day for Minor League here in town. This is Kyle's first year on a *real* team. We've played baseball for years at the YMCA, but now Kyle is old enough (and talented enough, if I do say so myself!) to mix it up with the big boys! His team is the Astros and he could not be more proud! His first game he got a base hit and stole TWO bases! We skunked the other team 12 to 1!
Here's my boy in action:

First day of spring...

I'm like a kid with a new toy! Gardening is making me absolutely giddy! My kids jokingly complain that I care more about my seedlings than I do about THEM (Bah, rotten kids! ;-P ) So here is an update to my gardening adventures. I planted my tomato plants and set seeds the 21st. Here it is the 27th and everything has sprouted. I still have peppers and eggplant in peat pots on the porch. It'll be another week or so until they're ready to join the rest of the garden. Now the battle begins to keep the critters away!

We have carrots, cucumber, pickles, green and lima beans, squash, zucchini, okra, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

My green beans and lima beans:

Life's a beach...

We took a little homeschooling "field trip" last week to see a replica of the Nina, Christopher Columbus' 1492 ship, which was docked in Matagorda harbor. It was an incredible little ship...and yes, I do mean little! It was approximately the length of five cars parked end to end. It's amazing that a ship that size could cross the Atlantic!
True to history, the replica ship was built entirely by hand — without using power tools — in Bahia, Brazil, by the Columbus Foundation based in the British Virgin Islands. The Nina’s seven-person crew works, sleeps and eats on the ship and has logged thousands of miles around North and Central America.
It was a great hands on history lesson for the kids!


We then went for a picnic lunch at the beach. The weather was wonderful, but the water was ice cold! There was lots of driftwood and seaweed on the beach from the recent storms, but that didn't stop the kids from having a great time!

More bread!

So many people emailed me about the bread recipe that I thought I'd post another one of our favorites!

Pita Bread

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet instant yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to activate it. Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.
Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.
When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces (I do this with a pizza cutter!) Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.


While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.
(Just a note here: You can buy unglazed terracotta floor tiles at Home Depot for under two bucks. They work just as well if not better than high priced baking stones AND you can just leave them in your oven all the time...we do!)

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.


Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes.


That's it. They should keep pretty well, but we almost always eat them as soon as they come out of the oven!


Good with homemade hummus:
Place the following ingredients in food processor and grind until smooth:
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste-on the Asian foods aisle!)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, halved
Some variations are to add artichoke hearts, jalapenos, black olives, or roasted red peppers!

For thou hast been a refuge from the storm ~Isaiah 25:4

We have had quite a bout with storms the past two days, luckily the only damage we suffered was just a couple of fallen branches an a few hours with no electricity!
I had sent Ryan out to the van to retrieve some potting soil in between storms. Shorty, the neighborhood dog, ran out to meet him. All of the sudden there was a really bright flash of lightning and LOUD clap of thunder, before I knew it, Shorty made a B-line for the house and ran right inside! Poor thing was scared to death, shivering and wimpering. So we let him stay inside until the storm passed. I was busy potting my tomato seedlings into bigger containers, but I later found these two snuggled up on the couch:

We haven't had a dog in the house since Mickey died, and I have to admit it was really nice to have him there! The kids cuddled and kissed Shorty, fed him breakfast scraps, and even put on the movie "The Shaggy Dog" for him!
When the storm was over, I had gone to our back porch to put out my seedlings for a little sunshine. Shorty followed me out, sniffed the air, and decided it was safe to leave...not so much as a "thank you" or "good bye!"
My seedlings are coming along nicely! Just waiting for them to get a little bigger to plant them in the garden! It's quite windy out there and they need to be able to hold their own, so to speak. I have about 28 plants (3 varieties) guess I was a little over zealous in my planting...but that's ok, I'm sure the neighbors will be happy to take some of these off my hands!

Farmer Dan

Today little Danny and I got our hands dirty! The weather has been absolutely beautiful so we transplanted the herb seedlings into our big half barrel that we are using for our kitchen herb garden. So far we planted lemon basil, sweet basil, dill, oregano, sage and garlic chives. Doug purchased a cilantro and rosemary plant the other day, so we added those too (we go through a LOT of cilantro and rosemary!)

In the background of the picture, you can see my tomato seedlings growing as well as my "frugal greenhouse." This great idea came from this website:
http://www.gardengrapevine.com/GreenhouseMini.html
My peppers are starting in there. I have a carnival mix (yellow, orange, red and PURPLE bells!), standard green bells, jalapeno and banana peppers. I'm still waiting for my shipment of hot Thai chili seeds to arrive!
Danny boy loves gardening! He was completely entertained with a garden trowell and a pot full of dirt for HOURS! When he was done playing, I showed him how to poke holes in the dirt with his fingers and put in a sunflower seed. His favorite part of the whole process was watering the seeds and making "nasty mud."

There's my little Farmer Dan!