It's Spooky In Here

We were very excited for Halloween this year since Harper finally gets it.  We're also a little bit worried because when we practiced Trick-or-Treating with her, the most common phrase was "Give me more candy."  I had originally planned on the babies being Link and Zelda for Halloween, and had even made Noah's costume, but Harper was adamant about being Minnie Mouse.  Noah, obviously, would have to be Mickey. 

I wasn't thrilled with any of the store-bought Mickey and Minnie costumes so I made a tutu for Harper and hemmed some red pants for Noah.  All together, I spent around $35 between the tulle and the ears.  I was pretty impressed with how they turned out, if I do say so myself. 

 

Kaelin picked out a butterfly costume from Walmart back in September.  Unfortunately, she had a growth spurt and her costume was a little bit, um, on the short side.  She wound up wearing her Renaissance Faire dress, but wasn't too happy about it. 

Jason took the kids out while I stayed home and handed out candy to the few kids who came by.  It was kind of disappointing after all the kids we had at our old house, especially after all the time we put into decorating.  Oh well, at least the house looked awesome! 

Pumpkin Muffin Recipes

Every fall, I make pumpkin muffins.  This year, I was tasked with making muffins for the Men's Breakfast that the PTSA holds so, of course, they would be of the pumpkin variety.  I made my standby Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and decided to try a new recipe, Cinnamon Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins.  The new muffins were a hit, so much so that Jason stole quite a few before I was able to wrap them up for school.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (makes ~18 large muffins)
Filling
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Muffins
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs
2 cups (15 oz) pumpkin
1 1/4 cup light olive oil
pumpkin seeds or chopped nuts (optional)

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Mix ingredients for muffins until smooth.
3.  In separate bowl, mix ingredients for filling.
4.  Fill muffin tins half full.  Spoon 1 tbsp of filling onto the muffin mixture.  Add more muffin mixture until tin is full.
5.  Sprinkle with seeds or nuts if desired.
6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins (makes ~18 large muffins)
Topping
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp sugar
pumpkin seeds or chopped nuts (optional)

Filling
8 oz cream cheese
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp brown sugar

Muffins
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups (15 oz) pumpkin
1/3 cup light olive oil

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375.
2.  Mix ingredients for muffins until smooth.
3.  In separate bowl, mix ingredients for filling.
4.  In separate bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork until mixture crumbles.
5.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.  Add 1 tbsp of cream cheese filling.  Sprinkle on ~1/2 tbsp of the topping.
6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.


Tips for muffins:  Allow cream cheese to warm at room temperature for a bit before mixing it.  Completely filling the muffin tins creates larger "domed" muffins.  If you want smaller muffins, fill the tins ~2/3 of the way.  I use muffin liners and spray them with oil to keep the muffins from tearing when the paper is removed.

A Year's Difference

The picture on the left was taken 4 months after Noah was born.  The picture on the right was taken exactly one year later. 

The difference is 141 miles and 20 pounds. 

Normally, I hate pictures of myself, especially those where I'm not wearing makeup and have runner's hair.  Yet, I'm proud of this picture.  Yes, I still have a lot of work to do, but my ankles are smaller.  My calves are stronger.  My midsection isn't hanging over my waistband. 

My goal for the next year?  First and foremost, I need to rehab my meniscus tear.  I'd also be okay with another 20 pound weight loss. 

Homemade Laundry Powder

We've been using homemade cleaners for a while, but finally took the plunge and tried out homemade laundry powder.  There are a ton of different recipes on the internet, but the ingredients tend to be the same:  soap, washing soda, and Borax.  I used Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap because it's organic, but next time I'll probably use something cheaper if the babies can tolerate it.  You can also add baking soda or Oxiclean to the mix.  I played around with the ratios until I came up with a mixture that worked for us.  I absolutely love this stuff; clothes smell so fresh and even Jason's uniforms got clean!

Three Little Embrys Laundry Powder

1 cup washing soda

1 cup Borax

1 bar soap

1/2 cup baking soda

Grate one bar of soap (~5 oz) with a cheese grater or food processor.  Mix ingredients together and stir thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container.  Use 1-2 tbsp of powder per load.  Makes ~32 oz of detergent (32-64 loads).

Cost Breakdown
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 55 oz - $3.24 ($0.47/cup)
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 4 lb - $2.12 ($0.27/cup)
20 Mule Team Borax, 76 oz - $2.98 ($0.31/cup)
Ivory, 3.1 oz - $0.25 ($0.40/5oz)
Dr. Bronner's, 5 oz $4.04

A batch using Dr. Bronner's cost $4.95 ($0.08/load) whereas Ivory would cost $1.32 ($0.02/load).  We had been using Tide Pods ($0.25/load) and since we do about 10 loads of laundry a week, not counting  diapers, the savings is pretty substantial.  For comparison, the cheapest detergent at the commissary is $0.12/load.

Basically, we can save $120 a year by making our own detergent that works just as well as Tide.

Crispy Eggplant with Spicy Marinara and Feta

Ingredients
1 eggplant, about 1 lb, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp dry basil
2 cups marinara
1 cup feta cheese

Directions
1.  Mix milk and eggs in a small bowl.  Mix wheat germ, parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper in a second bowl.
2.  Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, then coat both sides in the wheat germ mixture.  
3.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Eggplant should be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
4.  Add red pepper to the marinara and warm over low medium heat.
5.  Top eggplant with marinara and feta cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Vegetarian Cooking for Today (1993).

Immanuel's House Race for a Place 5k

Yesterday, my family ran their first 5k race.  Sort of.  We were all registered.  Jason drove up the night before with the jogging stroller. 

And then I tore the meniscus in my left knee. 

Well, I was determined to earn my t-shirt, so I packed the babies in the stroller and was set to walk it with Kaelin and my mom.  But when we got to the race, it turned out to be on a massively steep trail that wasn't really jogging stroller friendly.  Plus, Noah puked all over himself (and the stroller) as soon as we got there. 

Oh well.  I helped out the other volunteers and cheered on the finishers.  I guess that means I can wear the shirt, right?

My dad, mom, and Jason finished.  Kaelin didn't.  I was disappointed that she didn't at least walk it, but it was much warmer than usual and we weren't expecting the hill.  At least she tried.  She would have been the youngest finisher in the race's history, though. 

Flat area to the finish. (26:08 and 26:11)

Crossing the finish line. (45:41)

Homeowners

It's official.  We now owe more money to Wells Fargo than we do to the federal government. 

Yay?

Anyways, I'm completely in love with this house.  The location is perfect.  Six playgrounds within 2 miles.  Starbucks is two minutes away.  You've got the interstate, grocery stores, and a mall in one direction.  Farmland and orchards in the other.  The front is a quiet cul-de-sac with lots of kids.  The back overlooks the water.

The move... not so much love there.  We were scheduled to close on Monday morning and we were going to get a U-Haul on Friday.  Jason and his work friends were supposed to be off for a long weekend and I hearts me some free labor.  Then the Navy changed it's mind and took back the day off.  Jason requested leave to help me move, but it was denied.  Well, I wasn't about to move by myself.  I mean, I'm pretty buff and all, but I'm not carrying furniture up stairs by myself.  Especially with three kids clinging to my ankles.  Plus, my treadmill weighs something like 8 tons.  
I broke down and hired movers.  Scheduled them for Tuesday morning.  Everything was packed up and we were sitting on boxes waiting.  I called the company and was told the truck was on it's way.  Waited some more.  And more.  Called back and was informed that we were actually on the books for a Thursday move and our liason was no longer working with the company.

WTF?

After some screaming (and maybe a little crying), some movers show up at 5 PM.  It took 3 guys 6 hours to load up the truck and another 4 to get to the new house and unload.  The best part is that all of this cost twice as much as we were quoted because we had to pay overtime.  It cost us $1,000 more to move across town than it did to move from Kansas to Virginia.  I was not happy, but at 3 AM, there was no management available to talk to me and I was too tired to put up much of a fight. 

We still love the house, though.