April 29, 2010

The Middle Wife

My cousins wife told me about this little story. I couldn't find it. Luckily a friend sent it to me a few days later! So funny. I've never had an experience quite like this...luckily. So funny.

The Middle Wife
by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself,
but the best "birth" story I know is the one I saw in my own second
grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions
with my students.. It helps them get over shyness and usually,
show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model
airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that And I never,
ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it
in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid,
takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow
stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother,
and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put
a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine
months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to
laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her
in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh,
Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked
around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing
a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't
have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie
down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the
wall)

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case
he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like
psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming
water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.
They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a
sudden, out comes my brother.. He was covered in yucky stuff that they
all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a
lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him
for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat
I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's
show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle
Wife' comes along.

April 13, 2010

Race for the Cure 2010

Why do we Race?

feet.jpg

  • Because the greatest risk factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older.
  • Because breast cancer knows no boundaries..age, gender, socioeconomic status or geographic location.
  • Because one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
  • Because we are making a difference!! The number of survivors at the race each year are a testament to our success. Together we can realize our promise, to save lives and end breast cancer forever.

It is that time of year again...

Time to register for the Race for the Cure!

The race is Saturday May 8th this year and begins at 8:30am.

This is the Saturday before mother's day.

I love the race being this day because I feel like it is such a great way to honor my amazing mother who passed away from breast cancer four and a half years ago. And to honor all those other mothers, sisters, wives, friends, daughters and anyone else who may be fighting or faught breast cancer. It is a great way for friends and family to come together for a good cause. I love running this race with all of my family. I feel like every year it brings us closer together as we celebrate the life of our wonderful mom.

Please join our team and invite your friends to do the same!

This year it is all on-line and your shirts will be mailed directly to you.

{instructions attached}

You must be registered by April 30th!

Team Bell'in Rosa is usually on of the largest participating teams.

Let's get it even larger this year!

Let me know if you have any questions.

I am happy to help!

How to Register...

Race for the Cure 2010 – Team Bell’in Rosa

The 14th annual Komen Salt Lake City Race for the Cure will be held onSaturday, May 8that The Gateway Mall. The 5K (3.1 miles) run and walk and the 1 mile fun run/walk will start at 8:30am.Both events will start at 300 W and North Temple heading north, and come back to end at the Gateway Legacy Fountain.

Registering on team Bell’in Rosa Instructions:

Go to komenslc.org

Click on ‘Register Now’

Fill in personal information

Pick ‘Participation Type’

Choose ‘Fundraiser Goal’ (can be left at 0)

Under ‘Role’ choose ‘Join a Team’

Under ‘Select a Team’ go toFriends and Family

Find and choose Bell’in Rosa

Continue to next step

Pick shirt size

Pay and complete registration

This year the shirts are going to be mailed to each participant.

If you want to join us, some people will be meeting at the Bott home {2010 South Main Street in Bountiful} at 7:00amfor carpools and pictures.

On-line Registration must be completed by April 30th

April 6, 2010

Sephora...in Salt Lake!


For those of you who know me, I mean really know me, you know I love make-up, shopping, and fashion. I may not show it all the time (especially these days) but it's true. I love all of it. One of my favorite stores is Sephora. It's a whole store of hair products, make-up, perfume, etc. Needless to day, you can pretty much find anything your little heart desires. I went to Fashion Place Mall on Saturday with Jess and when I saw that Sephora is coming I about passed out. It's true. Our very own little piece of New York heaven right here in Murray Utah. It opens in June. You can bet I'll be there!!!

March 29, 2010

March 17, 2010

St. Patrick's Day

One of the many luxuries of being a teacher. Look at this yummiest green cake ball sucker! Thanks Calee!

February 24, 2010

Sweetest Thing


My husband is the sweetest thing. I was sick this weekend with some sort of flu/stomach bug. It was not fun on top of being pregnant. He brought the best bunch of oragne gerber daisies home to me. They brightened my heart. I love you Ben!

February 22, 2010

Taylor the Latte Boy

I love Kristin Chenoweth. So when Ben's sister Haylee showed these to me last night I realized I just have to share. Hilarious. Watch both of them. Enjoy! (ps don't you love her hair!)




February 20, 2010

My Next Cupcake Adventure...


Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Let Them Eat Cake & BFMHTY, Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For red velvet cupcakes
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces of red food coloring
2 (heaping) tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

For cheesecake
Four 8-ounce boxes cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream (or combo of both)

cream cheese frosting (canned or favorite recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS

To make red velvet cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

In a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, cream shortening, sugar and eggs until well combined. Add red food coloring to cocoa to create a paste. Add to shortening mixture. Add cake flour alternatively with buttermilk, starting and ending with dry cake flour. Then add salt and vanilla. Mix together the vinegar and baking soda and fold into your batter mixture.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely, then wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to assemble. (Chilling is easier for the assembly process.)

To make cheesecake—
In a stand mixer (or hand mixer), fitted with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft, about 4 minutes. While mixer is till running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition to produce a well aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.

Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.

Use a rubber spatula to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Put the roasting pan with springform in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.

After 1 hour, carefully pull the cheesecake out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster. (Warning: Be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil.) Remove the foil and let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, chill the cake in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better. Remove the sides of the springform.

To assemble cupcakes—
Remove cupcakes from freezer and discard plastic wrap and liner. Using a clean, sharp knife cut each cupcake in half. Set aside. Using a 2-1/2″ diameter cookie cutter, cut circles out of the cheesecake. (Depending on how thick you want the cheesecake section you might want to cut the circles in half horizontally.)

Frost each cupcake half with your favorite cream cheese frosting. (Think of this as the glue that holds everything together.) Place the cheesecake circle between the 2 cupcake halves and pipe more cream cheese frosting on top!


February 8, 2010

Banana Cream Pie Cheesecake

To make this divine cheesecake I just followed the Lion House recipe for their cheesecake (minus the sour cream topping). Then I topped it with banana pudding mixed with whipping cream, bananas, more whipping cream, and a nilla wafer. Thanks Cheesecake Factory for the inspiration!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pint sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix graham-cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter. Press firmly into a 10-inch deep-dish pie pan or springform pan, lining the bottom and sides. Set aside.
To make filling, place cream cheese in a large mixer bowl and beat well. Add 1 cup sugar a little at a time. Add eggs one at a time. Add 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Combine thoroughly. Pour filling into crust; fill to within 1/2 inch of top to allow room for topping. Bake 55 to 60 minutes at 300 degrees. While cheesecake is baking, prepare topping.


Directions

Topping: Place sour cream in small mixer bowl and whip; add 3 tablespoons sugar gradually. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Pour filling over top of cheesecake and return to oven; bake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 10-12 servings.