My attempt at Christmas pictures with Mad...

Troy was away this evening so I decided to try to take pictures of Madison in her Christmas dress that Granny Eva bought her. It was a disaster. Maddie was hyper and easily distracted and my camera is slow. I tried all different poses and even added Kaiser to the mix. Nothing worked. But I had to share the results. Sometimes the best pictures aren't the prettiest. haha!

California girl?

Santa Madison at Molbak's

Our first Christmas together, Troy and I decided that we wanted to start a family tradition of going to Molbak's in Woodinville to look at all the poinsettias, pick out a decoration, and hot chocolate from Starbuck's. Maddie loved all the lights and pretty things to look at. She loves to people watch, so Molbak's on a Saturday was a favorite for her. By the time we left, she was exhausted!

Christmas Cookies with Granny Lucy

We spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Lucy and Shawn's house. Lucy has the tradition of making Christmas cookies all day. So being that we love cookies and we love Lucy, Maddie and I decided to help out. We had a great time and Mad even got her first taste of a cookie. She wasn't sure about it at first but ended up loving it. She really is my daughter. haha!

Help Support Robin!!

A few weeks ago Troy's cousin Robin lost her sweet baby girl Georgia Mae due to congestive heart failure. It was devastating to us on so many levels. I am so proud of the strength and courage that Robin has shown through this tragedy. She has decided to run a half marathon in February in honor of Georgia Mae to support the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes an organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. I wasn't going to blog about this because it is a very private matter, but I wanted to spread the word to as many people as I could to support Robin and this cause. If you are interested in learning more about the March of Dimes go the their website www.marchofdimes.com or want to sponsor Robin go to http://fundraising.marathonguide.com/rmeguire.

Free admission to EMP

This happened a couple of months ago, but I never blogged about it so I thought I would now.

Troy heard on the radio that there were a bunch of museums in the Seattle area that were offering free admission on a certain Saturday. It was part of the National Smithsonian Day. We found out that EMP was one of the museums and decided to take advantage of a fun free activity. It was so fun to wander around looking at all the guitars, memorabilia, and read the history of the Seattle music scene. We even ran into our friends the Nelson's. All in all a fun day.

My First Thanksgiving By Madison Marie Linn

We had Thanksgiving at my Granny Lucy and Grandpa Shawn's house. My Mom and Dad didn't want to get out of bed that day so we didn't get to their house until it was pretty much time to eat. And eat we did. Boy was there a lot of food. Mom said that I could have some turkey before we got there, but she forgot my food grinder so I had to stick with mashed potatoes and gravy. Granny did sneak me some cranberry sauce, whipped cream, and sweet potatoes when no one was looking. It was a pretty fun day. Mom and I took a nap on the couch while Dad schooled the rest of the boys in poker. Whatever that means. Dad took a couple of pictures of me. Mom was a little ticked that we didn't take a family picture. She said that it was a waste of cute outfits. We had a great Thanksgiving. I can't wait for next year!! I'll get to eat anything I want and it won't matter if Mom brings the food grinder or not because I'll have TEETH! At least I better or I'm going to be really mad...

Waiting to eat!! Where is everyone?

And let the feasting begin!

My mom barely let me get a handful of mashed potatoes before she snatched the plate away! Rude! I hate that I don't have any teeth.

Bud and Flo

Madison got to spend a little time with her Great Grandparents this past week. My dad's parents came into to town for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time being with them. Maddie loved seeing Grandma Flo again and meeting Grandpa Bud. She thought Bud was so funny. And she loved to give Flo big kisses. I really loved seeing my baby with my Grandparents. So sweet.

WHERE DID THE TIME GO???

(She fell asleep "watching" her dad play video games and yes I still have her wear Halloween shirts. I can't help it! I love Halloween.)

SEVEN MONTHS OLD?? WTF! LOL!

Okay sorry that is an inside joke that Troy and I have. But seriously our Madison Marie Linn is practically a grown up. I mean I should just start calling her a one year old. She is more than half way now. I tell everyone that I'm almost 29 (holy crap!) already, so why can't she start saying that she is almost 1? Not that she can talk, but if she could, why not? She is wearing 12 month clothes now. I KNOW! No one told me that she would grow this fast. Okay maybe a lot of people told me that she would grow this fast, but I didn't believe them. She was so tiny and now look at her. She has practically outgrown her infant car seat. You know the one that she is supposed to fit in for another 5 months? Yeah that one. She is about three pound shy of the cut off and an inch passed it. Troy thinks we need to stop feeding her. ha! She has developed an obsession with Kaiser this month. She yells at him, giggles at him, pulls his fur, and lets him lick her face (sick!). She is completely ticklish. She fake coughs. She growls. She sleeps from 8 at night until 8 in the morning (sometimes 9 or 10), but takes two 30 minute naps during the day. She loves her Grandparents. All of them. She talks to herself all the time. She has no interest in learning how to crawl. In fact, she screams at me when I try to put her in the crawling position. She loves to stand. She can balance herself for a minute and loves it when she face plants onto the bed.

We sure love this crazy little girl. And we are so grateful to be her parents. It's a pretty humbling...

Gratitude

I am extremely grateful for the family that I was born into. They raised me to be strong, dependable, and compassionate. They taught me that my family is forever and we will together long after our life on earth has passed. They taught me to have faith when it's much easier to fear.

I'm proud to be a Gremmert.

I have been blessed to marry into a family that is much like my own. Strong, loyal, loving, and brave. They are amazing examples to me of courage, acceptance, and strength. I am grateful of their acceptance of me and the love that they have shown. I am amazed to learn of the experiences that individuals have persevered through and come out of a better, more purified version of themselves. Things that I think would cripple me, they conquer.

I'm so very proud to be a Linn.

Happy Halloween!!!

We are all sick today, so please ignore the unmade bed and messy house. Mom took the day off. Well honestly the last couple of days off because we have been sick since Thursday. Sorry that these are lame pictures, but I wanted to everyone to see Mad's cute ladybug costume. Granny Lucy got it for her and we were so excited for her to wear it. As you can tell in the pictures, Troy and I had no energy to get dressed up this year. Well let's be honest, Troy never dresses up. I really wanted to though. I did put on fake eyelashes, but that took all I had. I'll have to make it up next year!

Today I was reminded just how Valley we are...

Yep. I spent my afternoon at Cook's field and then had lunch at Duvall Ixtapa.

Pumpkin Scones

Earlier this week I made cinnamon rolls with pumpkin frosting. They were delicious, but I had a bunch of canned pumpkin left over. I really wanted to use it for something yummy and Troy wanted scones on his birthday so this is what I came up with...

I googled pumpkin scones and came up with the "Starbuck's Pumpkin Scone recipe". Now I have to tell you that Troy and I are HUGE fans of these at Starbucks. I crave them. Well these are better. I know! Can you believe it?! We were amazed. The link below is the recipe I used. I couldn't cut and paste it. Sorry. I hope the link works. If not email me and I'll email you the recipe.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Starbucks-Pumpkin-Scones-214051

Kimmy, I think I have an Abby.

Seriously Kim. She is the sweetest thing one minute and the next oh watch out! She loves to dance to Brad Paisley. She wants to drink diet coke. I'm not lying! You should see the look on her face when I won't share. It's like I'm the rudest mom EVER. She smiles at everyone. I mean everyone. She loves her binkie. She only spits it out to flirt. ha! She hits at my face. She laughs at whatever I'm laughing at. I just had to let you know. Is it possible to have two Abbys in this world?

(Sorry if no one else understands. I know Kim will.)

Karen's Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs!

I have had a craving for meatball subs lately. I have no idea why but they sound so GOOD! Last night I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't have the right bread for subs... Anyway they turned out amazing. I used Tyler's Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs from Foodnetwork.com. Super easy, super good. I even had some for lunch today and I almost want to say that they are better the next day. I didn't use the recipe for the Pomodoro sauce. I just made my own. And I did make 14 meatballs instead of 10 and they were still HUGE. I also had to bake them for about ten minutes longer than the recipe said. But honestly they were amazing. I can't wait to eat them again!

Tyler's Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup milk
4 thick slices firm white bread, crust removed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 large egg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups heated Pomodoro Sauce, recipe follows, or good quality jarred tomato sauce
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil
1 pound spaghetti

Directions

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool.
Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onions are cooling.

Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmigiano and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. (Hang onto the pan - you'll need it to cook the meatballs.) Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don't overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape them into 10 nice looking meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a 3-count of oil in the frying pan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 10 minutes. Put them into a baking dish and spoon about half of the tomato sauce over. Shower with the mozzarella and drizzle with olive oil. Put the meatballs in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and put it onto a large serving platter. Pour on the rest of the sauce and mix well. Spoon the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately along with extra cheese.

Pomodoro Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand, liquid reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes) and about 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring for a few minutes with a wooden spoon to further break up the tomatoes. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil and season again.

Yield: 4 cups

Crazy how time flies!

Madison Marie Linn is SIX MONTHS OLD today! I just can't get over it. You can tell it's her half birthday because she is being a little demanding today. haha! The poor girl's teeth just want to tease her. Nothing popping through. You'd never know it by the amount of drool coming out of her mouth or all the things being used as chew toys. Anywho, just thought I would post a couple of pictures of my SIX MONTH OLD!

































We had to have a outfit change in the middle....oops. Oh and please forgive the no makeup look. It's been one of those days.

I have a thing for bread...

I decided a couple of weeks ago to make bread. It turned out pretty good, so I decided to make cinnamon rolls for conference. They were amazing. So this morning I decided to try french bread again. This is my second attempt. I couldn't resist having a piece right out of the oven...

Montana

We headed to Montana last week to attend a memorial service for Troy's Great Aunt Doris. It wasn't the best of reasons for a trip out, but we had a great time none the less. We stayed with Aunt Vickie and Uncle Gerry. We ate great food, laughed a lot, and shopped too much. haha! Troy's cousin Robin is due with her first baby in December. She's having a girl too. I love that Maddie is going to have two girl cousins so close in age (Troy's other cousin Dani just had a baby girl last week). It was really fun to talk with her about all the things to do to prepare and all the tricks that we have learned so far. Maddie and I had such a great time visiting and getting to know everyone a little better. We definitely need to get out to Montana more often.

The only picture I took is a picture of Troy's Grandma Georgia's family. They had a table set up of old pictures of Great Aunt Doris and this was one of them. I'm too much like my parents not to take a digital picture of an old photo. ha!

Did you know that I am crafty?!!

I decided to try my hand at crafts. I got an idea from Amy to make something cute to put all of Madison's hair bows on. I'm addicted now! I'm making them for people I know that are having girls in the next little while. I also started making hair bows. I wanted to get some new ones for Maddie, but couldn't justify spending the money. I found a website online that has step by step instructions. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

I just realized that I spelled out Moi! hahaha! And yes I made all the hair bows that you see in this picture.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

I wanted to make cinnamon rolls today and I asked Tiffany for a recipe and this is what she sent me. They were amazing!!! Huge hit! I do have a little side story to tell. I started making these early this morning so they would be ready for breakfast. Well I either pulled a muscle in my neck or have a pinched nerve, either way I was unable to finish them. My wonderful husband stepped in and took over. So all the credit for these amazing cinnamon rolls goes to him. Thanks honey!!!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls
1 ¼ oz. active dry yeast
1 C warm milk
½ C sugar
1/3 C margarine melted
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 C flour

Filling
1 C brown sugar
2 ½ Tbs. cinnamon
1/3 C margarine, softened

Icing
½ C margarine softened
1 ½ C powdered sugar
¼ C or 2 oz. of cream cheese
½ tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, margarine, salt and eggs. Add flour and mix well

Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened margarine evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface.

Roll the dough from the top down to the bottom edge.

Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time evenly space in a lightly greased baking pan. Let rolls rise again for 30 minutes. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

For the icing mix all ingredients. Beat well until fluffy. Frost rolls when they get out of the oven.

Sweetheart!

He is seriously the best dog! The other day I had Madison sitting on the floor playing with toys and he came over, laid down next to her, and played with his tennis ball (he has a weird obsession with tennis balls). She quickly forgot about her toys and started pulling his fur. He didn't even care. He loves his baby Maddie. What a sweetheart!