Bryson in Asia: My Cowgirl and The Little Workers

Mollie and I have been a little at odds with ourselves now that Baylor is in preschool in the morning.  Most days we end up going to the grocery store to pick up a few things and ride Sandy, the penny mechanical horse at the entrance to Meijer.  Mollie even took Sally for a ride one day!

We also end up at Minds in Motion quite a bit, mostly because we have a few kids' birthdays to shop for at the beginning of October.  One day while I was there, I noticed they had kids' rakes on clearance, so I scooped them up in hopes that the kids would help me tackle the enormous carpet of leaves we had on our front lawn.  

They gave it a try, to be sure.

But the help was short-lived, and they ended up mostly wandering around nearly hitting each other in the face with their rakes.

Oh well, maybe next year.  For now they make handy landscape rakes!

Baylor's First Field Trip!

On October 15th, Baylor got to go on his first school field trip!  We met up with the rest of his class and his teachers at Schwallier's Country Basket in Sparta.  The morning was quite cold, but Baylor's excitement - even in spite of a cold - made it seem less so.  Once nearly everyone was there (one kiddo was late because his mom told his grandpa to take him to a different orchard ... oops!), we headed to the barn to learn about the apple cycle and different kinds of apples and to have a snack.  

"Learning about different kinds of apples" was a little ... weird.  And kinda racist at one point.

Apple juice and a pumpkin spice doughnut for a snack ... pretty awesome!

After the lesson and snack in the barn, the kids were supposed to climb through this little barn filled with bales of hay.  Baylor was having none of that.  Then they were supposed to pet bunnies; struck out with that one, too.  And there was no way in the world Baylor was going to pet the goats in the little red barn.  But a slide down the giant PVC pipe slide?  Oh yeah!

Though he was a bit scared of it at first, it eventually got the Baylor smile of approval.

After going down it a few more times ...

... we headed off to another part of the property to feed goats and sheep.  One look at Baylor and I knew that wasn't happening.

He was content just to watch from the sidelines, and knowing how scared he is of livestock I was okay with that.

The lone sheep in the pen was actually kind of freaking me out too; just look at how differently colored he is!  I had never seen a sheep so clearly divided color-wise.  It was a bit off-putting.

After we didn't feed the goats, we went over to pick out a pumpkin.  They were instructed to find a small one, and luckily there was a plethora of them to choose from.  Of course, Baylor became a bit fascinated by one of the ones that had broken open.

He finally picked a pumpkin then informed me he had to go to the bathroom.  *sigh*

So it was off to the port-a-potty we went!  There's nothing quite like a disgusting port-a-potty on a freezing autumn day.

Once we caught back up with the group, we discovered the field trip was over.  Baylor was not content to let things end like that, though, so we made our way inside to the gift shop and bought some black raspberry preserves and apple cinnamon pancake mix.

All in all, it was an awesome first field trip, and Baylor is already psyched for his next one!

Bryson in Asia: Homework and Family Fun

As I mentioned previously, Baylor has homework about once a week now that he's in preschool, and he finally got an assignment that he was more than willing to sink his teeth into ... draw your favorite apple!

One must have his tongue just right to complete the assignment.

Of course, he drew way more than one apple, and all of them had long stems so they ended up looking more like cherries by the end of it.  But he was so proud of what he had drawn!

Mollie, bless her heart, wants to do homework, too.

I encourage Baylor to write his name on his homework on the poem side, and this particular time he did a nice gradient-sized lettering.

Once he finished, he was a very happy camper.

While Bryson was away, we spent a lot of time at my parents' house; it was a nice break for me to have some other adults around, and the kids always enjoy spending time with Oma, Grandpa E, and Aunt Christine.

Dad even taught Baylor how to thumb wrestle, though I think Dad had a distinct advantage.

Christine made a delicious vanilla wacky cake for us to enjoy after dinner.

Sadly, Mollie just isn't into sweets and only ate the whipped cream off the top of hers before losing interest entirely.

I am so thankful we have family nearby to help out and share in the kids' lives.

Low Sodium Life: Chicken Nugget Recipe and Applesauce Update

I rarely get to toot my own horn when it comes to dinners, but tonight's went particularly well for non-favorite foods (e.g., tortellini or pizza) so I wanted to share.  I made homemade chicken nuggets based on a recipe out of my 500 Low Sodium Recipes cookbook, hash browns, homemade applesauce, and carrot sticks.  The kids initially freaked out at the nuggets; they had just had some at Wendy's a couple days ago and these most certainly did not look like Wendy's nuggets.  But Bryson explained that these were dinner chicken nuggets, and they were satisfied enough with that explanation to proceed happily.  The hash browns, however, were totally new to them and at first they flat-out refused to eat them.  Once they tried them, though, they asked for seconds and thirds.  Music to a mother's ears, I tell you.

So here is the chicken nugget recipe!  As I mentioned previously, I got it from Dick Logue's 500 Low Sodium Recipes cookbook (an awesome one if you're in need of some low sodium recipes) and it was a total hit.

Chicken Nuggets

1 pound boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup cornflakes, crushed   (I did not have these and used Panko breadcrumbs instead, making it even lower in sodium)
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 egg, beaten

Cut chicken into nugget-size pieces.  Mix together cornflakes (breadcrumbs), dry milk, and spices in a resealable plastic bag.  Dip chicken pieces in egg, then place in bag.*  Shake to coat evenly.  Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick vegetable oil spray.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until chicken is done and coating is crispy, about 20 minutes.

* After you dip the chicken, make sure you let most of the excess egg drip off before you put it into the bag otherwise the dry ingredients tend to clump together and won't coat things well.

Previously I wrote about how I make homemade applesauce ... cut apples, cook apples, puree with immersion blender, enjoy.  Last year for Christmas, though, Bryson's grandma got a food mill for me; she heard I liked to make my own applesauce on occasion and decided to get one for me.  I'll admit, I was really skeptical at first; her applesauce was fantastic and she uses one of these, but she also leaves the peel on and I didn't know how things would go if I didn't do the same.  Then we had a few terrible frosts this spring that killed off most of the local apples, making apples a lot more expensive than usual around here.  I finally gathered up enough "second" apples from the bags I was buying and made a batch using the food mill.  It basically went the same as before, except instead of pureeing with the immersion blender in the pot, I scooped the hot, mushy apples into the food mill and cranked away.  Surprisingly, it was easier and more fool-proof than the immersion blender.

As for the hash browns, I used the directions on the side of the OreIda bag:  1/2 a bag of frozen hash browns, 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, heat in skillet until browned, flip, brown, enjoy.  Next time I think I'm going to try to add onions for a little more flavor.  Oh, and an interesting fact ... the name "OreIda" comes from the fact that they get their potatoes from Oregon and Idaho.  Pretty cool, huh?

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy these foods as much as we did!

Scrumptious Saturday: Baked Penne with Spinach

In a moment of what-in-the-world-are-we-having-for-dinner-tonight desperation, I went online to find a way to dress up plain old pasta.  I never make baked pasta dishes because Bryson inevitably tells me they are a lot like goulash (and he hates goulash).  But I found one that was meat-free and looked pretty Italian, so I got his blessing and gave it a try.  The original recipe was quite basic and I wanted some additional nutrients, so I decided to add some chopped spinach; Baylor might disagree, but I thought it was a great addition.

So here it is, baked penne with spinach.  (Originally it was called "baked ziti" and can be found here on Recipe.com.)

Baked Penne with Spinach

1 jar (24 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce  (I used Prego Heart Smart Traditional.)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
5 cups cooked and drained penne pasta (about 4 cups uncooked)
1/4 cup shredded spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Stir the penne, pasta sauce, spinach, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese in a large bowl.
2.  Spoon the mixture into a 2 quart (about 9"x 9") shallow baking dish.
3.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.


If you want to know how to freeze this dish for later consumption, please visit the website linked above.

It was thoroughly delicious, but Baylor was pretty upset about the arrival of spinach into his food so I ended up telling him that it might just be spices.  (To this he replied that the only spice he likes is "cinnamon sugar"  and that the spice in this dish made it taste "funky".)

Regardless, we liked it and hope you enjoy it as well!

That's What They Said: Good Food, Good Words, and Good Times

(After looking in his bowl and seeing the sprinkles I had put in there ...)
Baylor:  How delightful!


Baylor:  Mommy, have you ever had bressert?
Me:  What's bressert?
Baylor:  Breakfast for dessert!  Do you want some?!
Me:  (smiling)  Sure!
Baylor:  Okay, I'll make pancakes!


Me:  Baylor, what are your three favorite words?
Baylor:  (without hesitation and with a huge grin)  Elevator, escalator, stairs.
Me:  Mollie, what about you?  What are your three favorite words?
Amalia: Ma.
Me:  Okay.
Amalia:  Va.
Me:  Well, that's really more of a syllable ...
Amalia:  Da.  Ga.
Me:  Ooookay.
Baylor:  (to Mollie)  Don't you like elevators?


Baylor:  (running in to show me something he built, smiling)  Mom, am I chubby with these toys?
Me:  Are you chubby?
Baylor:  Yeah.
Me:  No.  You're not chubby?
Baylor: (smiling)  Yeah, I am!  I am chubby with these toys.
Me:  Baylor, do you like that word?
Baylor:  (grinning ear to ear)  Yeah, chubby.  Chubby, chubby, chubby.


Amalia:  On trick or treat, I gonna say, "Smell my feet, give my feet back!  Ah hahahahaha!"
Baylor:  Well, I'm gonna say, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, put some candy on my feet!"

Bryson in Asia: Fall Fun

Fall in Michigan is just spectacular.  The colors of the leaves are brilliant beyond compare, and we are lucky enough to have two of the most beautiful trees right in our front yard.  Bryson was convinced that they wouldn't drop many leaves while he was away ... he was wrong.  But before they dropped, they were gorgeous.

Okay, even on the ground they still looked amazing.

Mollie decided to pick up a few, even though they were quite wet.

After naps, we went to Sietsema Orchards to snag some pumpkins.  

After checking out the main store, we went pumpkin picking.

Brave soul that I am, I ventured into the patch to do the picking.  The worst I encountered was deer poop and I got to see some pretty cool pumpkins in the process, so I can't complain.  (Interesting note:  some pumpkins have what appeared to be tiny thorns on their stems.  You learn something new every day.)

Baylor really wanted to hug his pumpkin, but it was a little wet and dirty and he had heard about the tiny thorns.

Same with Mollie.

I found this awesome pumpkin with green warts all over it, and it was a hit!  Nothing says "Halloween" quite like green warts, you know?

While Mom and I got the pumpkins weighed and loaded into the car, Christine entertained the kids on the porch swing.

And the kids got to choose tiny pumpkins as a special treat.

Getting to experience all these fall activities with the kids is a joy and a real privilege; I'm so thankful that Bryson goes to work for us (even if it's to the other side of the world), so I can stay home with the kiddos.