MMMM Donuts!

We had a new donut shop open up here in Dayton. The donuts are delicious...and overpriced. My solution: make homemade potato donuts. I have had this recipe since Jr. High, but I only made it the one time for homework. That did not turn out well. My dad convinced me it would work to use leftover mashed potatoes (from who knows how long ago) and my grandma told me to crank up the oil because it wasn't boiling (without anything in it). Needless to say I ended up with blackened, gooey, potato lumps. Yum.
Round two went sooo much better! I started the dough last night because it has to raise for 2 hours and then another hour after cutting out the shapes. Max even helped out with the mixing. He really loves "cooking" and I need to find the patience to let him help more.
So here's the recipe from 8th grade Home Ec (thanks Bev!):
Scald and cool 1 cup of milk
In the meantime:
dissolve 1 T yeast in 1/4 C warm water, set aside
Combine cooled milk, 1/4 C sugar, 1t salt, and 1/4 C shortening
Stir in 3/4C mashed potatoes (mash 'em good) and 2 eggs
Add yeast/water. Stir until combined
Add enough flour to make a soft dough. The softer the dough, the lighter the donuts. However, it has to be sturdy enough to roll and cut out shapes.
Let rise 1.5 to 2 hours
Roll out 1/2 thick. Cut into shapes (I discovered it's much easier to do smaller shapes, kind of donut hole size) Some of my big hearts looked like those lovely sacs people hang from their tow hitchs when I finally got them into the fryer. mmmm schwety balls.
Place on well greased cookie sheet and let rise another hour. Or put them in the fridge until you want to make them and let them rise after you take them out.
Deep fat fry (sooo healthy) until just golden brown on both sides.
Let cool until you can handle them. Shake in cinnamon/sugar or frost. Joey said to add the banana as a part of your complete breakfast

Chocolate fudge frosting (This makes a lot so be prepared to eat spoonfuls from the bowl afterwards mmmm)
3 C powdered sugar
1/3C cocoa powder (I'm generous on this one)
1/3C melted butter
1/4C boiling water
1/4t vanilla
blend until smooth

It was a big hit and we are all sick from sugar overload. Happy Valentines Day!

Sweater Party

We look forward to our annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party almost as much as Christmas itself. We are like kids in a candy store when we search for the perfect sweater. It does get a little awkward as we stand in Goodwill almost peeing our pants over the ridiculous sweaters when another person is checking out the same holiday selection in all seriousness.

This year was almost a disaster due to an annoying blizzard. At first, I just thought the Gambles were just being babies like usual. Then as the snow got worse, I realized it wasn't worth putting our guests in mortal peril just for some cookies and old lady sweaters. We reluctantly rescheduled for the next weekend, leaving out two couples who promised to be our toughest competition. Where are your priorities, people?! Surgery?? Hawaii?? Seriously, I think we all know which is more important! Ugly Christmas Sweaters!! Oh well, maybe next year the Johnsons will get to lose in person... that is unless one of them decides to remove another organ. Thanks to our friends who came and made it another successful party!

The Lights enjoying the sweet taste of victory... again!!

The newest editions to Sweater scene. Sorry Jensens, we take no mercy on newbies!

Sibling rivalry rears it's ugly head... or sweater in this case.

Kudos to Jamin for being man enough to wear what only can be described as a hot pad on a mini dress.

All in all, everyone brought their "A" game, unfortunatly that's not enough when you are facing the Lights! Booyah!

Christmas

We spent Christmas with just the four of us this year. We decided it's time to start our own traditions. Joey was worried it might be boring... I guess that tells you what he thinks of my company. Anyway, we blended the old with the new. We had to have hamburger soup (shut up, it's good) and decorated cookies Christmas Eve. Well, we tried to decorate cookies. Max didn't make it through his first cookie before he gobbled it up along with a ton or red (what was I thinking??) frosting. Then, hopped up on sugary frosting, he attempted to crawl across the table with a crazed look in his eyes after the rest of the cookies. We also decorated ornaments this year for our tree. Max really got into painting and covered his plaster bear with about fifty, thick, gooey coats of all the colors available. I don't think Max ever really understood the concept of Christmas, but it was still fun to spend the day together as a family. Maybe next year we'll try to work in more of the spiritual aspect.

Here is Max on Christmas morning, mildly impressed with his presents. He actually loves his easel now, even though it turned out to be a piece of junk!

We did get to visit the newest Pyrah Christmas night. Sam sure is tiny, but hopefully he can catch up to Luke before Luke squashes him.

Stay tuned for pictures of the infamous sweater party.

Jumping into Christmas

I wonder when exactly Max will understand what Christmas is all about. Right now, he understands that Christmas lights are really "purty" and punching the ornaments on the tree makes a great sound. I tried to tell him about Santa, but he just started repeating everything I said, which is a great indicator he has no idea what I'm talking about, but he'll humor me. I am actually grateful for this because he has no demands for gifts, and I'm fairly positive he'll go bonkers over the box of dinosaur bandaids I bought at the dollar store for his stocking.
On the other hand, I'm excited for my kids to be excited about Christmas. Both boys got to meet Santa at our ward party and both were less than impressed. All that waiting for a candy cane? You can't quite make out Max's expression, but he's furrowing his brow and glaring at Santa.Joey and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary today. I'm pretty sure Joey was demanding 4 years ago that we take a cruise on our 5th anniversary... yeah, that didn't happen. Instead he's working nights right now and I'm blogging. Normally, I'd be pretty upset we didn't get to go on a date, but things are a little different now. I'm just really glad he's got a few full nights of work this week. I've tried (not always successfully) to think of it positively. It really makes you get your priorities straight when every penny counts. I really think it's made us pull in tighter and appreciate more family time.
Luke had his 4 month checkup this week. He's 97th percentile for height and 75th for weight. I can't help being shocked at the difference between Luke and Max in size. I think it took Max about 9 months to reach Luke's 16.5 lbs. Luke has a healthy appetite and is all around a great baby. I am also happy to say the barfing has significantly decreased. Here's Luke in his jumper (thanks Aunt Sarah for letting us borrow it for a while). I didn't think he was old enough for a jumper, but he constantly tries to jump while standing on our laps. And the kid is a porker so our arms were dying! As you can see, he's a pro...I'm thinking future circus trapeze performer. Oh and if you're wondering why he's in the bathroom, it kept him occupied while I gave Max a bath.

I'm a big kid now!

I've been dreading taking Max out of his crib ever since it dawned on me that we'd need the crib for Luke. I put it off as long as possible, but after many nights of Luke getting his fat arms stuck in the slats of his all too small cradle, I knew it was time. I figured it wouldn't be too much of a shock to Max since he's so accustomed to climbing in and out of his crib. We finally got everything sanded and painted last night. Max was pretty eager to help set up the bed and immediately took the first jumps on it... too bad the mattress wasn't on the frame yet. He also threw a big fit when I made him get off to put on the sheets. Even with all his excitement, I thought he might make several trips out to the living room after being put to bed. I am happy to say he didn't make a peep all night! He even went down for a nap just now without a fight. I wish I could say the same for Luke, what a stinker!If I've learned anything about Max these past two years, he can't be pushed into anything. He wanted a big boy bed, so he went willingly. I'm sure if I had tried this a few months earlier, he would have fought me tooth and nail. That's not to say he didn't immediately climb into Luke's new crib and throw a fit about it being his bed too. I'll choose my battles.


Luke had a first this week also. He started cereal. I thought he'd be more excited about it than he was. Everyday at dinner he wants to be up at the table with us and smacks his lips as he watches us eat. I guess I forgot how disgusting rice cereal is. Why do they make everything for babies so nasty? Even the smell of formula is revolting.

So here is the before. Look how excited he is

During...Poor Guy!

And After. Guess it's not that bad after all.

Ow, my freakin' ears!

While watching "Destroyed in Seconds" with his father moments ago, Max exclaimed, "Oh crap!"

It's a fine moment in the Light house.

Playing catch up again

Seems like it's getting harder and harder to keep up with this blog. I can't believe Luke is almost 4 months old. He's getting so big! He's rolled over 3 times from his belly to his back. He can hold his head up like a champ, especially if he's watching TV. He also loves to sit up straight and refuses to lean back and relax. He's such a happy baby and loves to snuggle with his mommy. He also seems to be working on his bottom front teeth. He growls and gnaws on my knuckle like there's no tomorrow. Now if only we could get him to stop puking! Not only does he spit up like a bubbling volcano all day long, but he hates the car and cries to the point of puking... it makes trips real fun.
I forgot to post a picture of the boys' Halloween costumes. I made Max's costume from scratch (He's Max from Where the Wild Things Are, in case you live under a rock. And FYI he's Max from the book, not the movie). Whenever I do a sewing project, about half way through I ask myself, why did I want to do this? I broke my needle and being the resourceful rural woman that I am, I used hot glue to finish it. Joey's costume was a little impromtu tribute to life in Dayton. Oh, and Luke is a horse, not a cow... it was a common misconception during the trick or treating process.

Max went pee pee on the potty yesterday for the first time! He loves sitting on his potty, and makes lots of great grunting noises. He also says, "cool," with a sheepish grin everytime he toots on the potty, something he does not get from me. He still likes to climb anything he can get his hands on. He's also pretty big into his train. No one taught him to say, "All aboard!" like this, but I ask him to say it when I need a good laugh.