A day in the life of a little boy...

Edward is 2! 

His birthday was yesterday.  It was a beautiful fall day (sunny and in the mid-70's!), full of the rich colors of autumn and lots of sunshine.  We took advantage it and had a family BBQ at Clarks Reservation.

Do you see all the cars on the table? It seemed to be the unspoken theme of the day. Everyone in our family knows that Edward is into cars and trucks, big time.

His "cake" was actually a giant chocolate chip cookie. He's not a big cake eater, so I decided to make the giant cookie instead, since cookies are his favorite dessert. It turned out really good!

It was a great day - great party, great food, great company, great gifts. What more can you ask for?

So, in honor of my baby boy's birthday, I thought I would do a line of photos that show you what Edward is all about.  He makes me crazy on a daily basis, but oh, how I love that little boy anyway...

"I'm big - don't believe me? Watch me mow this lawn"

Splashing in puddles is one of his favorite pasttimes.

"It's important to wear at least HALF of your food."

Nothing beats making a big ole' mess for Mom to clean up. This is powdered sugar. When I came in, he was sticking his fingers in it and licking them over and over.

He spent a lot of time this summer playing with this car - not so much riding in it, but pushing it instead. He also loves to push his own stroller around, and our little toy strollers. If it's got wheels, he's pushin' it.

He's a brute - he likes to show how strong he is by picking up big stuff and knocking it over. Show off. :)

He gets himself into a lot of trouble. See the bandage on the arm? That's from a bad run-in with the grill. He burned about a third of the side of his arm.

"Here's a good rule - after you are done pouring orange juice in your cereal bowl and all over the table..."

"...make sure you put the cap back on - that's important."

"Oh, and when you have finished dumping black raspberries all over the kitchen floor (hard to see on the dark floor, but they are EVERYWHERE in front of him), use the container as a hat. It will make Mom laugh and forgive you."

He loves hanging out with Mama...

...and Daddy, too (maybe Daddy a bit more)

"I make these look good. Tom Cruise aint got nothin' on me."

He loves milk - especially chocolate almond milk. 

This face is what we lovingly call the "Eddie Scowl"  He makes this face a lot.

He's secure in his manhood - he has no problem sporting his sister's pink boots.

 

He loves to climb trees, and play with rocks and dirt - yep, he's a boy all right.

He LOVES to walk the dog. Here he is trying to untie her at his birthday party.

...aaaaaand they're off!

Trucks are his passion right now. He like all things with wheels - cars, planes and trains, too, but trucks are his favorite, and the bigger, the better.

 

He cleans up good!

Well, sort of - he's still a 2-year-old, after all. :)

So that's our Edward - rough and tumble, mess-making, outdoor playing, truck lovin' little boy.  He's added a whole new element to our family after two girls, and we love it.

Happy Birthday, Edward!

Cool as a cucumber...sandwich

I had book group earlier this week.  We read Austenland - adorable book, by the way - (thanks, CD for the recommendation!) - and since it takes place mostly in Regency England, I thought it only fitting that the food match the occasion.  So we had tea and cookies - I love themes like this, so I was all excited. A friend of mine suggested adding cucumber sandwiches to the menu (second shout-out, CD!), and I thought this was a terrrific idea.

Up until this occasion, I had only had cucumber sandwiches once in my life (this is shout-out #3 to CD:), and they were really yummy (made on white bread with creme fraiche), but I wondered what an actual authentic English cucumber sandwich was made of - so I googled it.

After some searching, I came upon a blog where a couple of fellows had already been down this road and done all my researching for me - sweet.  The basic recipe is pretty easy - white bread (crusts removed), cucumbers (skins removed), and butter.  But there are a couple of tips to make them a bit more tasty.  If you click here , you will find 2 fabulous recipes for authentic English cucumber sandwiches.  The first recipe was more mild tasting (that's the one my girls liked better), and the second has a bit of a saltier taste (the one that I like a bit better) - they are both very VERY yummy.  I actually kind of fell in love with them - it must be the English in me. :)

Here's the pics of my cute little sandwiches:

This is the more mild of the two.

C'mon, they're cute, right?  Little finger sandwiches - love it.

These are the saltier version, cut into triangles so I could tell which recipe was which.  I served both at the party.  One of my guest said that the triangles were better because all sandwiches cut into triangles are yummier.  I don't know about that, but they were quite delicious, and a big hit at book group.  Not one sandwich was left at the end of the night, and I made quite a few.  I love these sandwiches because they are so light and cool and refreshing.  The perfect little light something to go with tea.  I was so excited to be serving food like this - so many times I had pretend tea parties when I was a little girl - now I was actually doing it!

I do have some tips for making these sandwiches that I learned while making them, but I won't bore you all with the details here - if you ever have the inkling to make these, email or FB me and I'll share the tips I learned along the way.

Anyhow, back to the party.  Of course we had to have cookies, too.  I made three kinds - mini pecan-caramel tarts, pepper-lemon cookies (no, not made from the stuff you put on chicken...), and cinnamon strips.

The pepper lemon cookies have a marvelous crumbly texture, thanks to the cornmeal and pepper, and a big lemon taste, thanks to the 1/4 cup of lemon zest in them.

The cinnamon strips are topped with chopped walnuts, and have a terrific chewy texture to them, a nice contrast to the lemon cookies.

The pecan-caramel tarts are not pictured here because what little were left after the party, my husband and kids finished off the next morning.  They were a huge hit, but I will tell you, I don't see myself making them again - a HUGE pain in the butt, and all of them stuck to the pan and were a nightmare to get out.  They didn't look too pretty when they were out of their tins, but man, were they ever tasty.  Hence why there are none left.

Do you know what this is a picture of?  Tea and crumpets.  That's right - I can officially say that I served tea and crumpets, and I for some reason find that absolutely hilarious. 

The day before the party, Lou asked what I was serving, and I told him herbal tea and cookies and cucumber sandwiches.  He asked, teasingly, "Are you serving crumpets?".  I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and replied that no, we would not be having crumpets.  I didn't even know what the heck a crumpet was.  "No crumpets with your tea?!  This party's gonna suck."  He said this tongue in cheek, of course - we laughed and I blew it off.

Well, lo and behold, I was in the grocery store later that morning, and was perusing the British section of their international isle (gotta love Wegmans), and saw a package of crumpets.  I laughed out loud, and put them in my cart.  It was meant to be. 

As I mentioned earlier, before this occasion, I didn't even know what a crumpet was.  They are quite tasty.  Kind of a cross between an English muffin and a pancake.  Quite nice, really.  You are supposed to toast them, and serve them with honey or jam.  So that's what I did.

And here they are - crumpets.  The one on the left has honey on it, and raspberry jam on the right.  If you ever have a chance to buy them - do it!  They're kind of neat.  And if you have them with tea, then you, too, will be able to say that you've had tea and crumpets.  And then you will be happy, just like me. :)

Here's to cucumber sandwiches and crumpets and all things new!

What do I DO with all these tomatoes?!

We do a garden every year - correction - Lou does a garden every year.  I just pick the fruits of his labors and enjoy them. 

Anyhow, anyone who has ever grown tomatoes has probably experienced having waaaay too many and trying to find ways to use them.  I've sauteed them with garlic and olive oil and basil and put them over pasta (sooo good).  I've made bruschetta with them, I've baked them with roasted chicken, I've used them to make Gazpacho, and I've canned TONS of salsa (as in, 14 quarts worth).  I'm not a big fan of canning tomatoes (don't know why, I just don't like doing it), and I don't eat them raw (yuck - I want to like them raw, I just can't), so I was trying to find a new way to use the many that we have leftover.

I got an idea from an article in the newspaper - roast them.
This, my friends, has changed my life. :)

It is sooooo easy and the results are mouth-watering.  It intensifies the flavor of the tomatoes and make them super yummy.  You need only three ingredients:  tomatoes, olive oil, and basil (fresh or dried - it doesn't matter for this recipe).

1.  Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.

2.  Get out a 9x13 glass baking pan (I wouldn't use metal - I think it might do weird stuff with the tomato acid), or an 11x6 or 8x8 or whatever, depending on how many tomatoes you have.

3.  Get out a whole bunch of tomatoes and wash them.

4.  Core and seed the tomatoes (but leave the skins on!), then cut them in half.  For beefsteak tomatoes, cut the in half horizontally, for plum tomatoes (which is what we grow), cut them in half vertically, so you have two oblong shaped halves.  Place tomatoes in the glass baking dish as you go until it is full.

5.  Drizzle 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil  over the tomatoes (I don't even measure it - I just drizzle it over generously till I think it looks good).

6.  Sprinkle with basil as desired.  (I don't have a measurement for this one - just eyeball it).  Like I said earlier, you can used fresh minced or dried.  I've used both, and honestly, with this recipe, I don't see much of a difference.

7.  Put in the oven for 30 minutes.  Then lower the temperature to 300-degrees and roast for 30-60 more minutes (it depends on the size of the tomatoes), or until the tomatoes start to collapse.

8.  Eat right away, or put them in the fridge (with the oil!), or you can even freeze them for later use (again, keep them in some of their oil to do this).

Here's what they end up looking like:

 

What, you may ask, would I do with roasted tomatoes?  The possibilites are endless, but here are a few suggestions that I've done with them:

1.  Put them on pizza (warmed up, preferably)

2.  Put them on an egg sandwich with some mozzerella (I swear to you, this is good).

3.  Put them on some Italian bread, a toasted english muffin or whole-wheat toast for a snack (simple, but very tasty)

4.  Top grilled or baked chicken with them

5.  Chop up a bunch of these, and toss them with some pasta (I think they would work well with bow-tie), along with the olive oil you roasted them in.  Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

6.  Make a sandwich with them (one of my favorite options)

• Whole wheat toast, roasted tomatoes and slices of mozzerella
•  Whole wheat toast (or untoasted - I just have a thing for toasted sandwiches) with mozzerella melted onto one slice, roasted tomatoes, turkey (roasted OR deli-style) and lettuce.  If you have one of those fancy panini thingys you could make a yummy panini-style sandwich with these ingredients. 

Here's a pic of a sandwich I made with them:

It's kind of hard to see the melted mozzerella, but it's in there, and oh, it is good...

I forgot to put the turkey on before I took the picture, but oh well - just pretend it's there.  Oh, and I burned the toast a little bit - don't do that.

P.S.  The olive oil that these are roasted in should NOT be discarded!!  It becomes infused with tomato flavor as they roast, and becomes tomato-flavored olive oil - delicious!!  Not only should you store the tomatoes in some so they don't dry out, you can use the extra oil to:

1.  Dip Italian or French bread in

2.  Mix with Balsamic Viniagrette for a simple but tasty home-made salad dressing

Here - have one last look if you still need convincing:

Mmmmmm...roasted tomato goodness.  You WANT these in your life - trust me.  It's a quick and easy way to use up all those extra tomatoes from your garden that you don't know what else to do with, and they can be enjoyed in so many ways!  So go, give 'em a try - you won't regret it. :)

Proud to be the "Mrs."

No, it's not our anniversary or anything.  I just have a question for all my friends out there.  Why is our generation so uncomfortable with the formal title of "Mr./Mrs." and "Brother/Sister"?  It's something that's always puzzled me. 

Lou and I had to fight to get married - no one in our families wanted us to, and they spent a LOT of time trying to talk us out of it.  We did it anyway.  We were young.  It was crazy.  But it worked. 

I was so excited the first time I was called by my new name, "Mrs. DeGaetano".  I was in the waiting room of a hospital (Lou had to have surgery on his hand soon after we were married to repair an injury he had sustained right before the wedding), and the doctor came out after the surgery and called out "Mrs. DeGaetano?"  I jumped right up with this big smile on my face, full of pride (the newlywed sparkle was still on), as if to say "Yep, that's me - I'm Mrs. DeGaetano!!"  I loved my new title.

I know so many women who cringe at the thought of being called "Mrs." or "Sister" (as we do in church).  They all want to be on a first name basis only, and the most common reason for this that I have heard is that "Mrs./Sister" makes them feel old.

I don't get it - why does that make you old?  I was married at 18 - not old by anyone's standards (insane, maybe, but certainly not old).  Did being called "Mrs." magically make me an old house frau wearing a housecoat and curlers?  No, obviously not.  "Mrs." and "Sister" are terms of respect and acknowledgement, having absolutely nothing with age.  And being married and staying married in this day in age is quite an accomplishment, if you ask me, worthy of acknowledgment 

Don't you remember hearing your whole life "When you're a grown up you can..." - fill in the blank -  "eat whatever you want", "stay up as late as you want" "make your own rules", etc.  I couldn't wait to be a "grown-up", and I think that most of us were probably like that as kids - so why is it that we don't want the title that goes along with it?  The title that says "I've arrived.  I'm a grown-up.  I take care of myself (and others, most of the time).  I deserve respect"

Now I'm not talking about calling your friend "Mrs. Smith" instead of Susie, or anything like that.  That's just weird.  I'm talking about how children or teenagers address us.  My whole life growing up, I would never have dared to call my friends' Moms "Carol" or "Suzanne" - they were Mrs. Veit and Mrs. Greason to me thank-you-very-much.  And that's they way it was with everyone.  My mom was Mrs. Riddel.  It was acknowledging that they were the adults and we were the kids, that they were the ones with the authority and we were not.  That they were due extra respect, not to be treated like our peers, because they weren't.

I just feel like it's sad that some of the formality has gone out of our society because I think that with it has gone some of the respect, too.  I don't think that we should walk around like a bunch of stiffs (anyone who knows me well knows that is soooo not my personality), I just think that there are just times and places where we should give titles of respect where they are due.  Can you imagine meeting the president and calling him "Barack" instead of Mr. President?  No way!  Can you imagine meeting President Monson and referring to him as "Thomas" or "Tommy"?  Not a chance.  It would be so disrespectful.  LIke I said, those titles are there to give respect, and shouldn't we give respect where respect is due?  And don't you think you are due some, too?  And lest you think I am being an old fogey about this, you will notice that in formal meetings  (and private meetings, too, from what I've heard), the priesthood leaders refer to one another as "Sister" and "Brother", not as Neil or Julie.   

There are, of course, exceptions.  Sometimes there are adults who are so close to your children that it might feel awkward for said adult to be called "Mrs." or "Sister".  But in general, in church or around the neighborhood, I like to be called "Mrs. DeGaetano" (or Mrs. D, as some of the kids call me), and "Sister DeGaetano".  It doesn't make me feel old.  It's an acknowledgement that I am a married adult, something that used to be given distinction in this society, but I feel has fallen a bit by the wayside as the institution of marriage is attacked and broken down more and more (have you ever heard the term "starter marriages?"  Google it.  Scary).  I am proud that I am married and reasonably successful at this "grown-up" thing. :)

To my friends I am, obviously, Robyn (and it would be totally weird if they called me anything else, unless it was to address me in front of the primary kids or Young Women in church).  But I enjoy being called "Mrs./Sister DeGaetano", too, and I just don't understand why being addressed this way makes so many people uncomfortable.  Why are we so afraid to be addressed as adults?

Now, disclaimer:  I am NOT trying to start some huge debate (as I have accidentally done more than once on my blog and on Facebook).  I am just curious to hear your thoughts on this topic.  No judgment (and don't think that I've had snotty thoughts about you if your kids have called me "Robyn", cuz I haven't) - just curious.

The proud Mr. And Mrs. :)

The Great Outdoors

Here are the pics from our annual family camping trip.  And as an extra special treat, I rearranged my playlist a bit, and have mine and Josephine's new favorite song 1st on the list.  So turn up the volume on your speakers and just TRY to not bob your head along with the beat. :)



Edward driving the boat

Tired of all this fishing nonsense - time for a snack.

My awesome Mom

 

We did some canoeing (that's my Pops in front)

...and some hanging out on the rafts (that's my baby sister Christie)

Edward drove his dumptruck around in the water

 

My big sister Melanie, trying to coax her scaredy cat dog into the water

Fun in the sand, and yep, that's our dog, Daisy, on the shore

You can't really see my Dad and Maria too well in this pic, but I posted it because man, look at that view - nothing but mountains and sky - gorgeous.

 Most of our pics are of us in or on the water because the weather was so sunny and hot, that's what we spent most of our time doing!

It was pouring rain the day we left (you can see where the drops got on the lense - see how Maria's face is cloudy?), so our usual church devotional/family brunch had to be modified, but we worked it out. :) 

Good times up in the Adirondacks.  This trip is one of the highlights of my summer every year.  I am so grateful to be close enough to family to do it.