Out on the Boat

Okay, well he wasn't out on the boat. But he is so darn cute these days. Gotta love crazy Aiden.

Speaking of cute, have you seen Mr. Handsome lately? (That was for you, Scotty.) Well, he is, as usual, Mr. Handsome. He has also become Joe Cool, as you can tell from the Fisher-Price sunglasses.

And William is not the only cutie around here. Katy and Izzy had a blast swimming around while Daddy finished his work underwater. Check out Izzy's front teeth. No, don't, they aren't there! Good thing Christmas is a-comin', OH, all I want for Chrithmuth is my two front teeth...

Aww, just the guys. William thinks being in the water with his dad is heaven on earth. A very wet, salty heaven.

Food Show 2010

Shawn and I went to Sacramento for our annual Food Show participation. It was not as much fun as last year (we were new then) but it was busier. We hope it was worthwhile sales-wise, but it is always good experience.

Southern Cross Sea Farms' president, chief shmoozer at the cocktail party, and booth assistant, Shawn Stephenson.

Our cute little clams, flown across the country, picked up at the cargo area, and placed on a bed of kale and parsley. Lemon cutting courtesy of me, and my many years at Shrimp Landing. I always knew that little trick would come in handy. Shawn said no, it would take hours. 1 lemon, 1 borrowed paring knife, and 2 minutes later, VOILA! (Or wah-la, you people know who you are.)

The host company always puts on a fabulous display...
or they just want to make ours look like crap.
That's okay, we had our booth down in five minutes flat, and were off to a fabulous dinner. So there.

Cool fish, some I don't even recognize.

Fame or Fortune

I advertised one of my listings (a house that Shawn and I once fixed up and sold) on the front page of the Real Estate Book, which is in all the little boxes around Citrus and Levy County. I thought it looked cute. And it has worked, I've had six calls from it already and it's only been out a week or less. This weekend is our Seafood Festival so I am planning to be at the office, helping Sarah with retail at Southern Cross, and plugging real estate for all I'm worth!

Maybe it'll bring me fame. Or fortune. Or at least mild entertainment for a short period of time.

YUM.

I made something awesome. Well, I made it but I didn't come up with the recipe. The recipe is from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which I picked up a signed copy of at Tavern in LA. Dinner there was wonderful, but I am even happier with some of the recipes I have made at home from the cookbook. In part because at the restaurant, SHE gets all the praise. At home, I reign supreme. At least in Shawn's eyes. He almost fell out of his chair when I put dinner on the table. He said we should take a picture, so we did.

Melon with Prosciutto, Figs, Arugula, and Mint Cream.

Fee-nomenal.

Served with Pan-Roasted Rib-eye Steaks with Marchand de Vin (red wine, shallot, and butter sauce)

Shawn said it was life-changing good. Something so simple, yet A-mazing.

I know you're jealous, I am too, because we ate it all and we don't have any left. If you want the recipe, let me know and I will send it. But beware, you might be expected to cook like this again.
Which won't be hard to do if you have that handy cookbook around. $23 on Amazon could get you a lifetime of kudos.
Now, all this blogging (it's like exercise, once you stop it is hard to start up again) is making me hungry.
What do we have to eat?

Aww, What A Cutie!

William's Easter get-up.  He has growling for ALL of the other pictures we took.  It's tough being a dinosaur!

Izzy up at bat!  She happened to hit a double right here, got to second base and turned around, giving me a big thumbs up!  Who knew that little body could hit that hard?!

Lots Of Fun

We took a trip to Busch Gardens on the first Sunday in March.

Busch Gardens

And More...

Sarah and Katy

Katy and Shawn

Sarah, Shawn and Katy

Isabelle

Lindall Heyer's Granola

In honor of the start of the Olympics, I made a double batch of Lindall Heyer's granola. The recipe is one from my mom's collection, but it originated in a 1970's newspaper. Lindall Heyer was a member of the US Olympic team in the 70s, and this is her recipe. It is very good. The only changes I made have been noted.

Lindall Heyer's Granola

1/4 c. canola oil (original called for 1/2 c veg oil, just seemed like too much for today's cooking)
1/2 c. honey
1 T vanilla extract
2 c. old fashioned rolled oats (not steel-cut)
2 c. Wheaties cereal (can use Total bran flakes as well)
1 c. sunflower seeds, raw unsalted
3/4 c. sesame seeds, raw
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or nut of your choice or combination

Heat oil, honey, and vanilla in large saucepan till well blended. (I do this in a large dutch oven) Remove from heat. Add other ingredients EXCEPT raisins. (Learning the hard way will result--raisins get hard and yucky burnt when put in the oven). Spread in GREASED 9x13 " pan, I use a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degress for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, add raisins and stir. Stir two or three times while cooling to prevent sticking and clumping. Serve plain, with milk, or on yogurt. Delicious!

This was a staple item growing up in the Gill household, and I believe that most of us continue to make it now and then today. Maybe your family will like it too. As for me, I am going to vegetate on the couch. The Olympics should be starting pretty soon...

Rosie Gets Some Lovin'

Since Shawn and I cleaned out the garage, there's been some little ones who just wanna ride in there. They EZ Roller away, having a good ole time. Willie's even figured out his plasma car, so they cruise in a relatively small circle. This morning, I came out to find all the kids and two of their friends, rolling around the garage. Willie was sitting quietly on the clam bags, holding Rosie and looking so adorable, I just HAD to grab my camera. Amazingly, they were still sitting like that when I got back with it.

Before Surgery

Katy's surgery went great. This video is her after taking "happy juice" which is meant to relax them so they will accept the anesthesia better. She was drunk. A happy drunk, though.

Willie Says The Darndest Things...

Last night, Momma insisted on Izzy and Willie taking a shower. Willie is still stuffy, and a hot shower might help loosen that goop up. Three minutes into it, I had just gotten shampoo poured into Izzy's hand, and some into my hand. Willie says, I want some! So I try to flip the cap back open and he comes running toward me. Too fast. He slips, falls face first, and smacks his forehead on the hard slate tile. He screams for Daddy, (that's a new one) and has a big welt. Shawn takes him out and gets him in his jammies. I finish Izzy's hair and get us out and dressed. I take Willie into my arms on my bed, checking his forehead gingerly. I tell him I'm so sorry he hurt his head. He looks at me with a bit of aggravation on his face, rolls his eyes ever so slightly, and says, "Momma. Momma. I falled down in da showa. Iss jus not a big DEAWL." :) Heehee!

Willie and the Hopper

All four kids now have hoppers. (I cannot explain to you that they are large bouncy balls because my brothers are sick. Truly sick.) Anyway, they require a bit of coordination and a surprising amount of energy. The favored path in the house is the circle around the kitchen island. All four of them get going on these things, bouncing higher and higher, moving forward at the same time. It is quite a sight.

Mr. Sweetness still loves those two fingers. That's a shark stamp on his cheek, leftover from Shark Pride Day.

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue. (Want one for your little one? Dollar General has the cheap kind, like this one. The girls have the more expensive ones 55cm Hoppers from Amazon, which supposedly can take up to 600 pounds. Um, I don't wanna see no 600 pounds on a Hopper. I really, really don't. And I don't think the Hopper wants to see that either.)

While he's bouncing, Willie sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth (must be for balance, heehee) in a very Izzy-esque kind of way. She does the same thing, even when she's running from base to base in Tball! Well, they surely don't get it from me!

Probably our most unique Christmas present, from dear Aunt Twopy. His name is Inside Out (check out his arms if you're wondering why) and he hangs around here, making his way from place to place. He is an adorable sock creature. You can make one, too. But you would have to ask Twopy. I don't sew. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that on this blog, but now you know. I don't sew. I just don't. And I don't want to. So don't try and make me.

Happy Birthday, William!

January 22, 2010 was William's third birthday. Hard to believe. He had been feeling poorly the two days prior to his birthday, and other family members had other obligations (Shawn clamming and Sarah at a basketball game), so we put it off until Saturday. Of course, as these things tend to go, he awoke from a restless night with a stuffy nose and a barking cough. He sounded rough but was still functional, so we proceeded with the birthday plan. Momma made the usual double layer chocolate cake with fudge frosting. While the cakes were cooling, she whipped up a batch of pizza crust (thanks, Pioneer Woman!) which was super easy (Momma is notoriously bad about bread dough stuff.) She then moved on to homemade Pizza Sauce (thanks Cooks Illustrated!). Thankfully, Boars Head make a lovely pepperoni already sliced (phew!) and we mixed PollyO mozzarella (our fave) with Kraft preshredded cheese (gotta cut corners somewhere.) We made rectangular pizzas in rimmed cookie sheets with very thin crusts and they were BEAU-TEE-ful. And most importantly, they tasted good. Our friends, The Telgens (Doug, Linda, Kira, Patrick, and Phillip) stopped by and partied with us. (They are practically immune to all creeping crud we might give them :) ) It was a simple, simple party, but a lot of fun.

Willie works on candle #3 (it was a toughie!) Not sure what happened to the icing, but it sure was thick and not shiny like usual. Hmm. It tasted good though.

Mr. Shy Boy getting his cake delivered in front of him by Daddy.

Wheee! A (mercifully soft) bat with it's own foam-like ball! He swings it like a golf club. Please, don't be a Tiger.

Singing Happy Birthday to Willie, asking if he likes his cake, he says "Yes, I like dat."

His birthday presents were bat and ball, bubble machine (big hit), ScoobyDoo and Ice Age movies, and Stomp Rockets (if you haven't seen those, they make awesome bday presents, there's a junior version and a bigger kids version. No batteries, no noise, just pure fun. All the older kids used it the rest of the afternoon.) The Telgens brought him a little Nerf gun with foam bullets that have suction cups, very handy for shooting the sliding glass doors and having the bullets stick! He tried one out at their house and adored it. Patrick (5th grade) adores Willie and wanted to take money out of his savings account to buy him the present himself. Isn't that sweet? Willie adores all of them as well. He watches for Mr. Doug's big diesel truck (and he used to call him Bug instead of Doug which we always found hilarious) and shouts out, "I see Mr. Doug!" Ms. Linda always lets Willie have treats, he knows to ask her for whatever he wants. When she sees him, she scoops him up in a big hug and he always hugs her right back. Kira carries Willie everywhere he wants to go and he never gets enough! And the boys, well, there's nothing like a little rough-housing to get Willie going. He jumps on their backs and roars right alongside the other two. The older kids ended up spending the night in the new fort (photos coming soon) and had a great time. We all enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. And Willie, sweet Willie, went down for a nap at 4 and woke up the next morning at 9:30! One pooped little fella!

Willie Is Sick

Poor Willie. He is so sad and gooky. He has a stuffy/runny nose and his little nose is just raw from him wiping it so much. He has a horrible cough. I took him to the pediatrician yesterday, waiting in the office for over an hour. Grr. Dr. Carter couldn't hear any crackles in his chest, but he would not take a deep breath, it was all very shallow. Given his cough, she expected to hear some crackles. So she thinks he is borderline pneumonia, and he has a left ear infection, though it's not raging. She prescribed antibiotics (amoxicillin). Unfortunately, he does not eat, and he really does not drink much, which concerns me. I tried to give him his medicine last night, he screamed bloody murder and he threw up most of it once I forced it down (with Shawn's help). I called the pharmacist who said she had to do this with her own three year old. She suggested doing it drop by drop because then they don't have enough to really spit it out. I will try that when Shawn gets home. Currently, William has not left the couch for three days. He drank a grand total of one sippy cup of juice yesterday. We're trying Gatorade today. If he doesn't start getting better by Friday, she said to bring him back. (Or immediately if he gets worse.) Please, I've just had enough hospitals for one month, couldn't he just take the doggone medicine? It really doesn't taste that bad. Guess he hates bubblegum flavor. Maybe I could make my own Hubba Bubba with gooey filling and inject medicine into the middle of a piece of gum... Wow, am I getting desperate or what? Any suggestions are always appreciated. We have tried pudding, ice cream, juice, and yogurt mixins. No go. I'm going to go try M&M bribes. Don't think that'll get me anywhere, but I'll try.