Happy Birthday to All of Us!

 A couple of weeks ago, we had a little birthday celebration lunch with Jake & Mallory's class.  Five of the seven kids in the class have summer birthdays, so I wanted them to get to have a school party with their friends!  With Chick Fil A, cupcakes & a present for everyone, I think it was a success!

Sweet, smiley girl

Jake's best "bad guy" face

Fun times!  They all especially enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Us! Beau of course got to join in the festivities.

I love spending my days with these guys!

Yummy to My Tummy: Yeast Rolls

*These rolls are delicious with either all white flour or half white/half wheat.  This dough is used in the cinnamon rolls & orange rolls posted earlier today.  Original recipe, titled Refrigerator Rolls, contributed by Mrs. Lloyd Nix to the 25th Anniversary Edition of Cotton Country Cooking.  Enjoy!

Yeast Rolls

1 C water
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
1/2 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 C warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 packages dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
6 C all purpose flour

Boil 1 cup water in saucepan.  Set off stove.  Add butter & shortening; stir until melted.  Add sugar & salt.  Cool to lukewarm.
In large bowl, put 1 cup warm water.  Sprinkle yeast over & stir to dissolve.
Add butter-sugar-shortening mixture & eggs to dissolved yeast.  Add 6 cups flour or enough to make a thick dough, & mix thoroughly.  Cover & put in refrigerator overnight.
About 2-2.5 hours before serving rolls, turn dough out on floured surface, roll to desired thickness, cut & shape. (For Parker House rolls, roll dough to a thickness of about 1/3 to 1/4 inch, cut with round biscuit cutter & fold in half.)  Place on greased pan.  Let rise about 1.5-2 hours.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes until well browned. (Mine only take 11 minutes.)
Once cooled, you can toss these into large freezer bags & then take out as many as you need later.  They'll reheat nicely in just a few minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Yummy to My Tummy: Cinnamon Rolls & Orange Rolls

*These are a Chamblee family favorite & are so nice to keep in the freezer.  You can pull out as many as you need & just microwave for a few seconds.  Delicious!  These require homemade yeast roll dough, which I thought I had posted before but apparently haven't.  I'll add that next! Original recipe contributed by Mrs. Lloyd Nix to the 25th Anniversary Edition of Cotton Country Cooking.

Cinnamon Rolls

1/2 recipe of yeast roll dough  
1 stick butter, softened 
1/2 C sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
2 C powdered sugar
3-4 T milk
1-2 tsp more cinnamon

Turn half recipe of yeast roll dough out onto a well-floured surface.  Split dough in half again.  Knead each portion & roll into a 12x8 inch rectangle.
Stir together softened butter, sugar & 3 tsp cinnamon.  Spread half of this mixture over each rectangle.  Roll up each rectangle of dough like a jellyroll, beginning with the long side.  Slice each roll into about 18 slices. (I prefer placing the long rolls on a cutting board in the freezer for a few minutes before slicing with a bread knife for easier slicing.)
Place each slice into a paper muffin cup in muffin pans or glass pyrex dishes.
Let rolls rise for about 1.5-2 hours in a warm spot.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Combine powdered sugar, milk & 1-2 tsp cinnamon.  Drizzle over warm rolls to glaze.
Serve immediately, or place in large freezer bags when rolls are completely cool.

Orange Rolls

1/2 recipe of yeast roll dough
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C sugar
3 tsp grated orange rind
2 C powdered sugar
3-4 T orange juice
1-2 tsp more grated orange rind

(Same process as cinnamon rolls)
Turn half recipe of yeast roll dough out onto a well-floured surface.  Split dough in half again.  Knead each portion & roll into a 12x8 inch rectangle.
Stir together softened butter, sugar & 3 tsp orange rind.  Spread half of this mixture over each rectangle.  Roll up each rectangle of dough like a jellyroll, beginning with the long side.  Slice each roll into about 18 slices.  (I prefer placing the long rolls on a cutting board in the freezer for a few minutes before slicing with a bread knife for easier slicing.)
Place each slice into a paper muffin cup in muffin pans or glass pyrex dishes.
Let rolls rise for about 1.5-2 hours in a warm spot.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Combine powdered sugar, orange juice & 1-2 tsp orange rind.  Drizzle over warm rolls to glaze.
Serve immediately, or place in large freezer bags when rolls are completely cool.

What a Week!

I feel like I've run a marathon this week, and it's only Thursday afternoon.  It definitely hasn't been an all-bad week, just chaotic & full of unexpected things.  So under the weight of the week thus far, I'm feeling the need to write, to document reality instead of just the awesome stuff.  And doing so always helps me to be thankful & find joy in the craziness.

Sunday was busy with church, lunch with friends, naps squeezed in for the kids & watching Jake's soccer game.  As we enjoyed a bit of unscheduled time at home that evening, Jake's "bad guy" playing got a bit too physical, & Mallory ran into the kitchen wailing that he'd hurt her.  We determined from both their accounts of the event that he had grabbed & twisted her arm, but a quick exam by me & J didn't turn up any evidence of damage.  Jake was reprimanded, he apologized, & we went on with the evening.  It wasn't until Mal was up throughout the night crying & refused to use her left arm Monday morning that I thought we needed to see the doctor.  So after taking the offender to school, I headed with Beau & Mal in tow to the pediatrician.  A few hours & several x-rays later, the diagnosis was no broken bones but a dislocated elbow.  A quick but painful manipulation by the doc fixed her right up & she's now good as new.  Jake is serving out his sentence of doing Mal's chores for her this week "while her arm heals."

Having my Monday taken up with doctor visits was not my original plan, but I figured I could take care of the errands I hadn't accomplished on Tuesday during my kid-free hours after ladies' class.  Wrong.  Beau started feeling feverish Monday afternoon & then started complaining that his tongue hurt.  I first thought he had just bitten it, but no such luck.  The little red dots that appeared that evening on his legs clued me in:  hand, foot & mouth disease.  Lovely.  Beau has been a bear for the last two days, my sleep has been interrupted and abbreviated, & Jake now has this virus as well, courtesy of Little Brother. 

 Mal got to go school today, but Jake had to miss out.  Small group couldn't meet at our house last night due to this current plague.  And even though our dear friends Karson & Sharon have been staying with us all week while their floors are replaced, it hasn't exactly been the scene I was anticipating.  I had looked forward to this time with them to have our kids get to know each other & enjoy playing together.  Instead, we've tried to live in close proximity while not letting my kids anywhere near her kids.

 But even with all this, if I stop myself to look at the bigger picture, we are so blessed.  I always know this, of course, but sometimes in the mess of life, I forget.  Tell me I'm not alone in this!  In the midst of the chaos this week, there has been plenty of good.  Jake scored two goals at his game, totally face-planting in the dirt to achieve one of them.  Sharon & I have had some great conversations & way more face time than we ever get since we normally live 45 minutes apart.  It's been fun to have her & Karson join us for several family meals, including one awesome one that they cooked.  Kids who've needed soothing have allotted me extra cuddles.  And in the grand scheme of things, a dislocated elbow & a couple cases of hand, foot & mouth disease really aren't that huge.  I think the trick to getting through the not-so-perfect weeks is to acknowledge that these momentary things really do feel like the weight of the world right now, and then to give thanks for them anyway.  Thank you, Lord, for these reminders.