Tortilla & iced coffee recipe

Two great recipes that I never want to forget.

First homemade tortillas.  The recipe and making them are extremely easy, but rolling out each tortilla is a little time consuming, but I have some tips!  Here's the link to the recipe I found and use http://www.cooks.com/recipe/b93hx9nf/easy-homemade-flour-tortillas.html.
Four ingredients! I love it!  Here are my tips from research and experience - when mixing the dough, start with the flour and salt and mix them together with your hands, then add the oil and mix with your hands until it's a crumbly consistency, add a little less than one cup if just warm water not hot and mix/knead with your hands.  You do not want the dough to be really sticky and tacky otherwise it makes the rolling out process ten times more frustrating.  I use my cutting board, put a little flour on it, pull off about a small fist full of dough and roll it into a ball and then use my fingers to pinch it out into an even consistency in the shape of a circle.  Pat it down on the cutting board and put a tiny bit of flour on top so as you roll it out it doesn't stick to your rolling pin.  Roll it out very thin.  In a preheated nonstick skillet (I have found right around the 7 setting is good but by the end I have to turn it down between 6 & 7) put your dough in and wait until you see air bubbles coming up, flatten them a little and flip and shortly it's done!  This recipe usually makes about 8-10 tortillas and they're good size.  They are really good for home made pizzas and garlic cheese sticks too! (For those I make a pizza with whatever sauce and toppings we want preheat oven to 425 degrees, bake 6 minutes and then put under low broil for 2-3 minutes).  While that may have sounded difficult, it's not, the tips I added have taken me several times of making these to learn and will help cut time significantly!

Okay iced coffee, my friend Gwen from church brought this to my house and it was amazing! Now I used a different coffee the her and mine did not turn out as tasty and I don't think added enough vanilla.  I plan to get the same coffee for next time! In a large container with a tight lid, like a big Preggo jar, that's what Gwen used and left with me so now I have a container just for iced coffee!  Put 6 heaping tablespoons of finely ground coffee (she used Walmart brand decaf).  Next add 3 heaping tablespoons of light brown sugar.  Add a dash of vanilla and a tiny shake of cinnamon.  Then add 3 1/4 cups cold water.  Seal it up tight, shake it up, and refrigerate over night.  In the morning shake it again strain it out (she uses a small sieve lined with a paper towel to keep the coffee grounds out).  And the creamer she gave me was so good with it, which is caramel macchiato! I've only made this once so far and it did not turn out as delicious as hers but like I said I used a different coffee and I thinks it was stronger but it was still very good.  Thanks Gwen for opening my eyes to delicious iced coffee and creamer!  It was so good I had to share the recipe!

Mushy Monday - Brothers and Sisters

Lots of crazy things happening around here lately.  We had an ultrasound last Thursday when I was right around 32 weeks pregnant and found out Ella is doing great.  She is looking on the bigger side at this point, in the 97th percentile at approximately 5lbs 6oz! Sheesh! I knew she felt large and strong! My doctor isn't concerned b/c she thinks Ella will even out to about the 70th percentile as time goes on, we'll check again when I'm 37 weeks pregnant. Again Ella did not cooperate for any cute pictures, she's camera shy.  The boys never looked that large in ultrasounds but we're thankful she's big and healthy!  Sleeping is getting more difficult, probably b/c she is so big.  She likes to squish my lungs way more than the boys ever did.  We're looking forward to meeting her but we're also thankful for a little more time to prepare for her arrival.  We plan to do something small and fun with the boys before our next ultrasound on August 22nd, just in case she's still ginormous and I have to be induced sooner than anticipated.

A couple of sweet memories I want to capture on here are of Tommy and Silas' growing friendship. Don't get me wrong here, they aren't always best friends or happy to play together, but there are times they really enjoy each other.  The other day Kyle and I saw Tommy chasing Silas through the house, and Tom was chasing Silas the way we chase him (Tommy).  He was going slower intentionally to give Silas a chance to get away and has his arms out wiggling his fingers like he was going to tickle him and going "aaaaaaaah" all the way down the hallway!  Silas was eating it up, giggling and running while to look back to see if his brother was gonna get him! One of the most precious things I have ever seen!  And then just a couple days ago Tom was sitting on the floor and Silas got his sippy cup and backed up and sat down in Tommy's lap.  I asked Tom if he was holding Silas and Tommy wrapped his arms around Silas and held on tight! So stinking cute! Then Silas wanted up right away b/c Tommy was holding too tight. Those brief moments of innocent brotherly love melt my heart! I don't want to make it sound like they don't usually get along, for the most part they really play well together but it's not always those cute "aaawwww" moments, make sense? Hopefully it does.

I've been trying to be intentional to stop and actually look at my boys and just appreciate their little faces.  I'm just amazed at how much Tommy has changed and how handsome he is, I LOVE when he flashes me a cheesy grin!  And Silas is growing up so fast, his baby look is fading into that of a little cute boy! He is learning the same cheesy grin of his brothers and it makes me want to eat him up!  Speaking of Silas I wanted to document that at this age, 14 months, he is getting really good at playing independently, starting to feed himself, and overall is feeling easier to handle (as far as not always needing my attention to be happy).  I don't know if this is the typical age for that or not, but I wanted to remember with Ella that it will get easier!

One last thing, the other night the women from our church got together to celebrate and say goodbye to one of the pastor's wives b/c they are moving away and while it was sad to say goodbye it was such a fun, sweet time with friends.  It had been far too long since I was able to participate in something like that and it made me feel so rejuvenated.  That may sound weird but I actually got to hang out with girl friends, with no kids, when I wasn't exhausted (b/c let's face it, Sunday mornings are exhausting and also consumed by your children so it's no where near the same).  I seriously don't know the last time I enjoyed myself so much.  I went home feeling like I was back in college, haha!  It was wonderful and it reminded me I need to be intentional to do more things like that, I think as a mom sometimes it can feel like you lose some of your personality b/c as smart as my kids are their sense of humor is me making a silly face and chasing them around the house like a monster.  That's fun and I wouldn't change it for the world, but I enjoy being able to laugh with adult friends and have real conversations. It was so fun!  I am very thankful for such sweet sisters in Christ!

Mushy Monday - Sweet seconds

So I've come to the realization that I have lived and currently live most of my life looking forward to the future.  As a little girl I couldn't wait to get married and have kids.  Once I was married I loved it because I love him, and then I couldn't wait to have kids.  Now that I have kids I keep looking forward to the things they'll do when they're a little bit older (i.e. sleep in, do chores, a better amount of two way communication, etc.)  Well I've come to realize thinking that way and looking forward to what are great things, means I'm not always appreciating what's happening right now.  So I've been praying for an attitude of gratefulness and contentment in enjoying what's currently happening.  I don't expect every second of every day to feel like this, I am definitely looking forward to when Silas has all his teeth, nothing wrong with that.  But I am trying to recognize the small things that happen now that will not happen in the future that I absolutely cherish.

Which gets us to some of the sweetest seconds of my day.  During most meals, where I pretty much feed the boys b/c Tommy no longer wants to feed himself since Silas is still being fed by mom, I mean how is that fair? What is he three years old or something ;) ?  Anyway meal times usually go one of two ways - extremely smooth with two fantastic eaters, or pretty rough where I can't wait for them to be done and mommy then needs a little space.  Sometimes a lot of encouragement, high fives, cheering, dancing, singing helps.  Well along the way Tommy and I have started a tradition.  He'll give me a couple of fives and then he lets me hold his hand for a few seconds.  Those are some of the sweetest seconds of my day.  I know he wants to be holding my hand b/c he has no problem taking it away when he's finished.  I love to hold his sweet tiny hand in mine.  It seriously feels like the world is standing still for just a second while my baby boy lets me love on him. 

The other thing about Tommy is his increasing enjoyment of me making silly faces.  This has been growing for a long time now but I LOVE IT! I love to make him laugh and to be able to do that by just making a stupid/goofy/frozen face - it's pretty fantastic.  And I love that it's something we can see the connection in his mind - he knows I'm being silly and he loves it.  A goofy face with tickling = a great belly laugh from Tom!

Silas baby is just growing into a little boy!  He started dancing this past week - just like his big brother dances! By spinning in circles!  It is so cute!  We always figured that he would follow in Tommy's dancing footsteps but we didn't know it would happen so soon.  Silas has some mad walking skills.  However this week has been pretty funny b/c he's been walking around like somebody slipped him some alcohol.  We're thinking he might have some fluid in his ears, Benadryl seems to be helping with his tipsy walk, hopefully it doesn't lead to an ear infection.  Silas has also grown extremely fond of Maggie and Maggie loves him the most of all us now, b/c he pays her the most attention.  He walks up to her all the time and pats her and says "dog".  He loves when she wags her tail and he's standing behind her and it's hitting him in the face. Haha! She is part Husky so her tail is fluffy and fans and tickles his face.  We've also been noticing that Silas' personality is very much like his daddy - I am his favorite person ;) (humble I know but I'm really just stating a fact) and he is definitely a homebody.  When he is in a crowd the boy clams up and looks very serious.  Kyle doesn't do that but he loves to be home and he is always exhausted after a social event.  I remember one of the things I loved about Kyle when we were dating was that he was quiet a lot around other people but he always talked a lot to me, and to this day it makes me feel very special to know he is so comfortable around me, I kind of like being his favorite person b/c he's mine too.

In other Kyle news we were finally able to go on a date! And I realized why we don't go on more.  Planning the logistics of a date is stressful to me.  Any other mamas feel that way?  Kyle thinks it's cake and doesn't understand why it stresses me out but that's probably b/c I have to think through the logistics more than him.  We saw a movie, had dinner, did a quick shopping trip, and got milkshakes.  It was really nice to have some uninterrupted time with him and is worth stressful planning.  It's crazy to think back to a time before Tommy and Silas and how easy it was to go on a date - that was a wonderful time too but I am always thankful to come back to my sweet baby boys, they make my life feel so much more meaningful!  So whatever stage of life you are in, single, married, without kids, with kids - there are perks to all of them - don't take them for granted and enjoy some sweet seconds in your day!