Banket

If you're Dutch, then you should know what banket is (pronounced "Bon-ket"). It is one of my favorite baked goodies that we have at Christmas time. This year my mom didn't make it so I thought I'd give it a try. I've always been nervous to try to bake it because it is one of my mom's specialties and she is a master at making it. Today I decided to make some. I made the dough last night since it has to sit in the fridge overnight. The rest I put together this afternoon. They didn't turn out as nice as my mom's, but for my first try I'd say they turned out pretty good...they at least taste like the should. I did have a couple sticks that the almond paste exploded out the side, but they still tasted fine. I'll have to ask my mom for her tips on how you stop that from happening. So here are the pictures of how I made banket.

Here is the recipe for those who want it.
1 lb butter
4 cups flour
1 cup water - ice cold
Mix and refrigerate overnight so dough is firm. (My mom says it's best to mix by hand, I did it the easy way and used my kitchen aid mixer)

1 lb almond paste (grated - just break it into little pieces by hand)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs (beaten)
Mix and chill overnight. (You have to mix this in your mixer or use a hand mixer to beat it up)

Divide dough equally into 8 parts. Roll out dough to roughly 14 x 5 inches. With fingers, lay a section of filling down the length of dough. Wet ends of dough and flip over filling. Wet all remaining edges and roll loosely to seal stick. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Prick with fork every inch (although after I made mine I was told to cut slits in the top and that stops the almond paste from exploding out the side). Bake on greased jelly roll pan in a 400-425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Watch carefully so that it doesn't get too brown. (I did mine at 400 for 20 minutes and that was just right). Makes 8 sticks.

The dough before rolling it out.

Dough rolled out. Then put almond paste along edge.

Rolled it up and then brushed egg white on top and poked with fork.

Here is the end result after they have been baked.
(Some of my almond filling spilled out from the inside, so that's
why it looks funny. It still tasted good though.)

Ice Cold Winter

It's been a bitterly cold winter week with temps below zero and wind chills of -30. Monday we woke up to everything being frozen over. We had a bad ice storm where the rain came and instantly froze to everything. It hasn't been warm enough for any of it to melt. Lots of people have been without power and with the freezing temps that is not fun. Thankfully our has stayed on. As you can see from the pictures trees have cracked in half and branches have broken off from the stress of the heavy ice on them. It is quite a mess. When I was walking outside to take some pictures I didn't even sink into the snow and didn't make any footprints because the snow was so frozen. Our backyard is like an ice rink. We have stayed inside most of the time this week so to fill our time we made cookies and reorganized some things. Isaac likes to dig in my cabinets so since he was pulling everything out and even got into one of the cabinets, I decided it would be a good time to reorganize them.
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and are able to safely get to/from family and friends this week. Stay warm!

It's Snowing!!!

It's snowing again! The snow is so pretty outside, falling slowly and gently to the ground. Isaac keeps looking at it saying "Whazzat?" He is so amazed by it all. We went out and tried out his new sled. He loved it! Here are a few pictures and a video for you to see.

Isaac loves the snow!

Isaac saying "Whazzat?"

Busy, busy, busy...

Seems to be a common excuse for things, but that is just what it's been like around here..busy. I keep thinking that I need to post something, but between working and running errands and getting Christmas cards out and sewing some gifts and taking care of Isaac and babysitting..... I just haven't had time to think. I just got my little boy in bed and it's been a long day. The little boy I watch on Wednesdays ended up being sick today. Between a diaper explosion (I won't go into detail, but it was so awful I had to wash his clothes and give him a bath to wash him down..ick) and him throwing up it was quite gross...but it wasn't too bad since most of it was "contained." Then later after dinner Isaac must have come down with something. It's amazing how he was playing and acting normal one minute and then throwing up the next. After three episodes and me trying not to puke myself (this is the first time I've had to clean up throw up like this and I could hardly stomach it)...it was about all my stomach could handle. So anyways...it's been a crazy day. I feel so bad for Isaac because he doesn't know what is going on. Poor little guy. We'll see how tonight goes. I'm hoping this is it for the evening, but I have a feeling it could be a long night.
(Sorry for all the icky talk, but that's how it is with little ones...right? I'll try to clean up my next post for you and make it not so gross :)

Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for:
God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
Family, Joe, Isaac
Good food, good wine (Riesling is my favorite)
Fresh layer of snow
Christmas Music
A good book
Hot cocoa
Soft blankets
Snuggling (with my husband or son)
Our home

These are just a few things I've thought of while sitting here with Isaac on my lap. There are so many things for which to be thankful for that my list could go on forever. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Isaac's New Groove

As you will be able to see, Isaac gets his dancing abilities from his mommy and daddy (we don't have any). He just loves music lately and starts wiggling his arms and legs every time he hears music playing that has a beat to it.

Isaac Walking

Here is Isaac walking. This was last week and he is getting faster and more daring each day. Also in the beginning of the video clip you will hear his latest animal sound... enjoy!

Pictures from Isaac's Birthday Party....Finally!

I finally am able to load my pictures (thanks to some helpful advice from some friends to buy a memory card reader)...Yay!!! So here are pictures from Isaac's bday party. Enjoy.

The Clifford cake I made. (It must have been good enough that Isaac knew what it was..he would make a "oof, oof" sound when he saw it :)

Isaac mostly just smashed it and only ate it when I put it in his mouth.

He loved his new sled!

Playing with his cousins. They all loved Isaac's new toys!

Isaac in the Snow

Here is Isaac having fun for the first time in the snow. I actually had to go to the dentist yesterday morning so he went to a friend's house. She has three kids of her own and was watching three others. I'm a bit bummed I didn't get to see it, but he was so fluffy in his snow suit that he couldn't walk....he just stood there and smiled. I was going to take him out in his sled in the afternoon but most of the snow had melted. We will just have to wait until the next snow fall. I can't wait!

Isaac in the snow

He looks stuck here, doesn't he :)

Isaac and his friends

First Snow

I got up this morning and looked out the window and was surprised to see a layer of white snow on the ground. I was surprised because I thought the snow was predicted for the areas farther North of us (I guess you never can believe what those weather people say). As I'm eating my breakfast this morning I'm sitting there watching the little flurries fall to the ground. The site is so beautiful because the snow is untouched and there are no car tracks or foot prints messing it up. The snow on the branches of the trees and covering everything...it's just a beautiful site. It's quiet in the house this morning. School has a 2 hour delay, so my husband is taking advantage of that and sleeping in. When I asked if he was going to go out and shovel the driveway his reply was "It will melt." I thought that was kind of funny. He needs his sleep...he has had way too many late evenings out lately between a class he is taking, school meetings and church meetings. Isaac was up at 5:30am (due to teething I'm sure...he is cutting several molars and at least one if not two of his eye teeth), but is now fast asleep and sleeping later than usual. I on the other hand and up and getting ready. I get to go to the dentist today and get a cavity filled. This is only the fourth in my lifetime. I'm hoping the roads aren't too bad...I guess I'll just be sure to leave a little early. I can't wait to get home this afternoon and take Isaac out in his new sled he got for his birthday. He's going to love it. I'm going to love seeing the look on his face when he figures out what snow is :) It's going to be so much fun.

My poor little guy...

Today I had to take Isaac to get is 1 year immunizations. I wondered how it was going to be since he is understanding things more and more lately. We signed in and then went to the nurse's office. When we walked in she was in the process of giving a little girl her shots and the poor girl was crying. Isaac saw her and started crying too, like he knew something was wrong. So we walked out and waited until the girl stopped crying. Then we went in and waited for the nurse to get the shots ready. While waiting we looked at all the fun pictures of Winnie the Pooh and Scooby and babies...Isaac loved it. Then the nurse had me sit him on my lap and pull his pants down. He thought it was funny and started tickling his legs and laughing. I felt like crying, knowing what was going to happen to my poor little boy. The nurse then gave him 4 shots and he screamed. She then presented him with a sucker and that seemed to help. He was still upset, but it stopped his screaming. It all made me feel like a terrible mom. But I know it's for his own good. I'm so glad that we won't have to go back to that place for awhile. I don't like putting my little boy through that.

1 year pictures

Happy Birthday Isaac!

I can't believe our little boy is 1 year old already! I still remember one year ago at 6:01am he was born and we were holding him in our arms and looking at our little blessing. He was 3 days early and it was 14 hours of labor...but he was totally worth it. Since that day we have been truly blessed and he is the joy of our lives. We couldn't imagine our life without him.
To celebrate this special day he went to my friend who watches him on Fridays (I sadly had to work). I did skip out of work during my break and brought puppy dog cupcakes for the kids to eat and the little girls sang Happy Birthday to him. He loved his cupcake and was full of frosting. It was simply adorable. I then had to head back to work, but skipped out an hour early and then went home and dressed him in his Winnie the Pooh costume that a girl at the bank gave us to borrow, so I brought him in the bank so they could see him. I also stopped at a friends house for a bit and then we went home to greet all the trick or treaters (we get around 200+ in our neighborhood..it's a bit crazy).
We are now enjoying a nice evening home with just our family. Isaac has been learning to walk and takes 3-4 steps on his own and then topples over. He is getting more and more daring though. Soon he'll be walking all over the place and into even more stuff :) I keep thinking that I blinked and this past year flew by. People keep telling me that I'll blink and he'll be 15...I can't even imagine.
We just want to thank God for blessing us with such a sweet little boy. Above is a picture of our Pooh Bear. :) Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Sewing Projects

I've recently completed some sewing projects. I have to admit that I am not an avid sewer and have just recently tackled a few things I thought were easy enough for me to handle. The first is a towel with a little hood and the second item is a little snugly blanket that is small enough to take with and stuff in a diaper bag instead of carrying a big blanket around (it's especially nice for kids that are attached to their blankies and need a little something to hang on to). Both were a gift for a friend that is due to have a baby girl on Christmas Eve.

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is here! We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon and it sure was chilly. We had a lot of fun though. They had a little animals you could pet, pony rides, and a hayride that takes you out to the pumpkin patch where you get to pick your pumpkin. Isaac just stared at everything. His older cousins enjoyed it too. This morning we went outside and I had to take a picture of Isaac with his pumpkin and with the fallen leaves. You can tell he loves it :) Hope you are all enjoying the Fall weather (unless your on vacation in Hawaii like some friends of ours...then you won't be experiencing the beautiful Fall weather right now :)

Isaac looking thrilled to be out side.

Okay mom, enough with the pictures already.

Charissa and Maya

Elliot and Carolyn

Me and Isaac

Our little saxophone player

Don't you love our little saxophone player? We are biased, but we think he's quite cute. He loves playing the blues although bubbles actually come out of his instrument. Just thought you'd like to see our little up and coming musician.

Why buy toys...when you have Tupperware!

Isaac LOVES to get into my Tupperware. These are recent pictures of him having so much fun taking out all my containers. He loves taking them out of the cabinet and tossing them. Quite often he ends up part way inside the cabinet trying to get out all he can. It made me realize I had WAY too many containers and got rid of some of them. I guess it's his way of "helping" me organize my cabinet. I do wonder why he needs any toys at all since he loves to get into everything and doesn't really care too much for his toys....maybe he's bored with them??? His birthday is coming up soon, so he'll have plenty of new things to play with then....although he probably will enjoy the boxes and tissue paper more than the presents :) I love how kids just keep things simple :) I should keep that in mind....just keep life simple.

Crazy Weekend

Well, this weekend has been a bit crazier than usual. I work on Saturdays until noon and that is Father/Son bonding time for Joe and Isaac. When I got home from work Joe had a horrible toothache and a swollen mouth. I called the doctor to get some pain medication for him hoping that would help until we could get him into a dentist. Of course, we don't have dental insurance and haven't gone to a dentist because of it (I know that's very bad...but we've been trying to avoid it and now it has come back to haunt us). So we got Joe the pain meds which then made him feel dizzy and he ended up getting sick from them. So he stopped taking them Sunday morning and he was sick (like flu sick...I'll spare you the details) the rest of the day...couldn't keep anything down. Then I get a call Sunday afternoon that my friend who watches Isaac on Fridays...a little girl that she watches came down with a fever while she was watching her and over the weekend also came down with a rash. Her mom thought it might be the measels, which is very contagious, so I didn't got to work today since Isaac goes to a friend who has a boy 2 mos younger than Isaac. (This is sounding like a work a lot, but I only work Monday, Friday and half day Saturday.) So this morning I was up at 7am calling dentists trying to get Joe an appt and figuring out the most cost effective way to take care of this ...since we know it's going to be a heafty bill. I then also made a cleaning appt for myself while I was at it. I guess it's best to take care of it all at once. I'm still wondering why dentists can charge so much for stuff like this. But there really isn't anything we can do about it. We ended up getting this dental discount plan that will save us a bundle and Joe will go to the dentist tomorrow at 8am. Hopefully he will be feeling back to normal soon. Poor guy has been miserable all weekend.
Oh and I just got a call that the little girl only has a virus...thankfully it's not the measels. Things are falling into place. I get myself all worked up and I know I shouldn't. Even with things like this, God has a plan and it will all work out. I need to just learn to put my trust in Him and realize that me worrying about it doesn't help anything at all.
Thanks for listening to me rant about my weekend. Hope you all had a better one.

Our Messy Monster

Here are a few photos of Isaac recently learning to like table food. He will only touch and eat certain foods on his own. If he doesn't like the texture then I end up having to spoon it into his mouth for him, and sometimes even then he doesn't want it. Here he was snacking on several of his favorite things: grapes, baked corn puffs and a piece of a homemade chocolate chip cookie. He made quite a mess!

Yummy!

Finger lickin' good!

So big! (as pieces of food fall into his hair)

Wouldn't you like to give me a kiss!

A Typical Thursday

It's Thursday morning and Isaac and I just had breakfast. Now he's crawling around the house finding things he can get into. He is quite curious. We don't have much planned for the day. Maybe run to a garage sale or two, then nap time for Isaac and I get to clean up the house. Every other Thursday I make two homemade pizzas: one for Friday night dinner and the other goes in the freezer for the following Friday. I work on Fridays so I never feel like coming home and cooking dinner and homemade pizza is so much cheaper than ordering it in (although we do splurge sometimes and order pizza from a local restaurant that has awesome pizza and delicious garlic rolls..yum!). So I making pizzas today.
It is a lovely, crisp, Fall day. Isaac and I will have to bundle up and enjoy the sunshine and go for a walk today. It has been difficult to go out lately because the mosquitoes have been terrible lately. Hopefully the cold has gotten rid of them.
Well, hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. Here is a picture of my homemade pizza. Can't wait for dinner tomorrow night!

It's Tuesday...

Not too much going on here today. Isaac & I ran errands this morning. I bought him part of his birthday gift and I kind of let him pick it out. Kohls had these Curious George books and you could buy the stuffed animal to go with them ($5 for each and they donated the money to a charity). So I decided to see if he liked the dalmatian or the monkey better and he didn't want to let go of the dalmatian and cried when I had to hand it to the cashier. I'm glad he'll like his gift when he opens it in a few weeks.
We also went to Target and got a few things there. While in the checkout lane a lady came behind me with her two little boys. One of them was maybe 6 months old and was not very happy. The cashier was already ringing up my stuff and I guess this lady had been in this checkout lane a few minutes before and she started complaining about how she thought Target had good customer service and how they could have gotten someone to go get this off the shelf for her. As her little boy kept fussing she finally just said "forget it, we'll just go" and left. The cashier you could tell was quite frazzled by the whole ordeal and didn't say much at all. I didn't know what had all transpired, so I didn't say anything either. I kind of felt bad for the lady with the crying baby...because I totally understand that situation. But I also felt bad for the cashier because she couldn't help that the lady's baby was crying. It was a very awkward situation. And Isaac was just happily chatting away the entire time (I was thankful he wasn't crying).
We got home a little after lunch and it has been cloudy and rainy all afternoon. We were going to go to the last boys home soccer game of the season, but I don't think it would be good to take Isaac out in the cold and the rain. So we are sitting home enjoying each others company and will soon start getting supper ready. Hope you all are having a happy Tuesday!

Blog Poll

Just wanted to draw your attention to the poll I am doing on my blog. (see the right margin). I am wondering what people celebrate October 31st as. It is Isaac's birthday that day. I've been discussing it a bit with people at work and they all take their kids out and dress them up so they can go around the neighborhood and collect candy. None of them really know the history of Halloween and I'm just curious what others think of "Halloween" or what reformed people also call Oct. 31 - "Reformation Day". What should we be celebrating that day?

My "handy" husband

This blog post is dedicated to my dear husband. He is quite brilliant when it comes to things such as politics, theology and sports (as he often says himself...he has a mind for those types of things.) When it comes down to mechanics....well, lets just say it takes a bit longer than a man who is mechanically inclined. I am always proud of him when he accomplishes something along those lines and often have to stay out of the way and try not to state my opinion because that doesn't help matters. I took this picture of him of his most recent mechanical accomplishment - assembling his new edger. I have to say I was quite surprised to see how excited he was when we went to buy it. He assembled it while I was out of town (as I said it is much easier when I'm not around). So here is my wonderful, dear husband reading the manual for his new spiffy edger. (It was too cute not to post...hopefully he doesn't mind). I love you honey!

NW Indiana Flood Zone

As many of you have probably seen on the news in the past week, NW Indiana and parts of Chicago were hit by heavy rains from remnants of Hurricane Ike. Please pray for the residents who had to evacuate their homes because of the flooding. Also many roadways are closed due to the flooding so it is very difficult for people to get where they need to go. Here is a video from a local news station for more info.
We also need to keep in mind those who were affected by Hurrican Ike in Texas as well. Many people may feel lost and without hope. May they look to our great God for comfort. He controlled the powerful storms and he will give us hope in trying times.
I have to admit that when we first experienced flooding it was when we lived in Washington. We never thought we would have flooding like that here in this area. It is quite a site to see.

It was a long trip...

After being the car for 12 hours Isaac was still in a good mood. We were almost to our destination and Isaac started acting silly. He figured out he could make a funny noise with his lips and thought it was pretty hilarious. His mommy was just getting sick of traveling and was going bit crazy herself. Please enjoy this video of our little boy who loves to laugh.

Tired Little Boy

It was so sweet watching him drift off to sleep in his high chair. Poor little guy...he was so tired (he was up at 5:15am so it threw off his nap schedule and made him really tired while he was eating lunch). I thought about leaving him there and letting him sleep, but couldn't let him sit there all dirty. So I had to clean him up...which he hardly noticed (normally he can't stand getting his face washed...it is the worst thing in the world according to him) and then I put him in bed for his nap. I have to say...he is one sweet little boy.

Road Trip to NW Iowa

Michelle, Levi, Tim, Bryce, Isaac & Rachael

Cousins: Levi, Bryce & Isaac


Isaac & I went along with Uncle Tim, Aunt Laurie & Bryce to visit Aunt Michelle, Uncle Joel & Levi in Doon, Iowa. It was a long trip to and from Iowa, but the two little boys did great. We were so happy they traveled so well. We had a lot of fun the 3 days we were out there. We drove all day Thursday to get there. On Friday we went to a few consignment shops and got some good deals. We also went out for lunch to the cafe in Doon. Friday night Isaac and I were able to visit our friends who recently moved to Sanborn, IA. Saturday morning we had French toast for breakfast and then headed to Sioux Falls, SD to go to a cookout at our cousin's house. We even stayed there for dinner and ate pizza from Pizza Ranch (Joe thinks this is the best pizza ever...too bad he wasn't with so he could have some). Sunday we went to Doon PRC with the family and Michelle made a delicious meal for lunch. We also had stuffed shells that night after the evening service. We left for home on Monday morning...but first stopped at a pancake breakfast at the local school. Needless to say I probably gained about 10 pounds from all the good food we ate. We had such a great time visiting with family and Isaac especially loved playing with his cousins. We look forward to seeing them again when they come out this way for Thanksgiving.

Nasty Bugs and a little Humor

I took Isaac outside last night for about 5 minutes while I watered our plants in the front of the house. I put him on a blanket and a minute later I noticed a pesky mosquito biting his head. I hurried up and finished and brought him inside and didn't notice any bites last night. Although, when I gave him a bath there was a mosquito in his diaper. This morning he woke up and there were 3 big bites on his forehead and one on his neck....I didn't see any on his bum. I hate mosquitoes and I really don't like that they attacked my little boy.
For a good laugh go to my friends blog and read her post called Just For Laughs. You'll have tears rolling down your face after you read the second blog :) It's worth your time to read it and if you have boys (or are married) you'll totally understand. Enjoy! :)

They Grow Up So Fast...

9 months old - He is getting so big!

Mommy & Isaac


He thought he was pretty funny!We took 77 pictures just to get a few good ones. It isn't very easy to get a 9 month old to look at the camera and smile when he is more interested in the plants and the grass and everything else that is around him. All he wants to do is crawl around and explore...he doesn't understand that his mommy and his auntie are trying to get a nice picture of him. I wonder if it will get easier as he gets older or more difficult? I'm just amazed at how fast he is growing up. Each stage is so fun, but I do miss his infant days when he fit on my chest all curled up in a ball. He is getting too active to cuddle with mommy these days. I'll just keep treasuring those moments I get because as everyone keeps saying...time will go by and before you know it they are in high school or married....I can't even imagine that yet.