Going to Bed

29 March 2008

A few weeks ago, Tyler called me from his bed to tell me that his tooth was loose. I came in to find him jumping all over the place and being really silly.

I got a good grip on his bottom front tooth with a washcloth and pulled and pulled (it wasn't really all that loose) and finally it popped out! Yay! Tyler lost another tooth. He got another $1.25 but this time the dollar bill was folded into a flower that holds the quarter in its center. I keep forgetting to take pictures of the dollars.
Apparently Derek wanted his tooth pulled out too so he helped himself to some nitrious oxide that he found just lying around.
Fortunately, he snapped out of it just in time to cuddle himself to sleep in his sleeper with his Home Depo Pez dispenser car, his Thomas the Tank Engine book, 2 sippy cups filled with water and 1 million blankets.

Tyler's 6th Birthday!!!

21 Mar 2008
Tyler made out very well for his 6th Birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Cooper gave him a cowboy costume to match the cowboy hat and horse he got for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa James bought lots of cool sciencey stuff they found at the planetarium, including a chemistry kit, bubbles, and color-changing slime. Tyler's Mom and Dad got him an official, Star Wars lightsaber (this one lights up in either Sith or Jedi colors, and these sweet blades shoot out of the sides of the hilt when you press a secret button!), and the dart gun shown above. There's no better way to describe the gun than to just hit 'play.'

Kay's Postcard Quiz

We're really proud of how Kay's illustration career is taking off and now she even has her very own website! Some of you may have received postcards in the mail advertising the site. When we received ours, we thought it was beautiful AND thought-provoking!This is the thought that it provoked, please vote and lend your voice!

Pita Pockets

2 Mar 2008

I know that my pizza dough recipe makes good pizza crust but Joseph suggested that it also might make good pita pockets. I baked three pizza crusts in a row and they all poofed up like balloons. I think Joseph might be right. I got the recipe from my new favorite cookbook "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook." It quite litterally is the perfect cook book. Though the recipies are not for the faint of heart, they make the best food I've ever tasted. Here is the pizza dough recipe:

4 c. flour

2 & 1/4 tsp. rapid-rise yeast

1 & 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbl. olive oil

1 & 3/4 c. very warm (almost hot) water

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixer with the dough hook attachment and all the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup. Turn on the mixer and drizzle in the wet ingredients. Knead in the mixer for 5 minutes - add flour 1 Tbl at a time if needed. The dough should stick to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides. Make the dough into a ball and put back in the bowl with plastic wrap on the top. I turn on the oven to 350 and let the dough rise on the top of the stove for 1 hour. Turn the oven up to 500 and make sure you have a baking stone inside. Divide the dough into balls and roll out about 1/4 inch thick. To make a pizza crust make sure to poke a lot of holes in the dough with a fork or put on the toppings before you bake. For the pitas, just plop it in on the stone as is (no holes). Sprinkle the baking stone with corn meal - flour will burn - the corn meal does too but not as much as flour. Bake for about 5 min.

Welcome RALPHIE!

1 Mar 2008

Yesterday we picked up our new puppy Ralphie. He is a Bichon Frise and he is such a good dog! He came already paper trained and is starting to like is crate more and more and care about his new collar less and less - and after only 1 day. He and Derek are pretty much soul mates and take turns leading each other all around the house. Earlier today, I saw them each chewing on different corners of Derek's favorite blanket. Tyler likes to organize all of Ralphie's toys and make sure that he gets to play with each and every one. Here are some photos:

This is Ralphie.

Tyler and Derek are so excited to have a dog!

More excitement.

Dad was not so much excited as he was sleepy.

Cute little video of our cute little dog.