Buttermilk Banana Bread, Baby Blanket & Bum-chafing

It's what I'm eating.  It's what I'm making.  It's what I'm feeling.  Let's start with the buttermilk banana bread that came out of the oven only minutes ago. 

 It's sweet, soft and warm - perfect for this winter weather we've had today!  Believe it or not, it's frigid here in Kirksville!  It may very well be that we've been so accustomed to the warm/hot/blistering summer that this sudden dip seem outrageously cold, but I stepped out of the house this morning and I didn't smell autumn anymore.  I don't know how many people out there are like this too, but I identify with the seasons based on smell.  Every three months or so the smell of the air starts to change.  One whiff and I know where we're at in the year.  And, a whiff is about all we got of autumn, the best season of them all, and then BAM! Winter. :(  Anyways, this bread settling down nicely and deeply in my stomach, pudging me up for the coming cold months.  I found the recipe in a cookbook made a few years back by the spouses and partners of the medical students, and it truly is a fool-proof recipe, one of those recipes that you get perfect on the first try.  If anyone is interested, here is the pretty simple recipe:

Buttermilk Banana Bread
 2 eggs
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. mashed banana
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 325.  Spray one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.  Blend together eggs, butter, buttermilk, vanilla and bananas.  Sift sugar, flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to banana mixture.  Mix well.  Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

- - From "SenSAAtional Favorites: just what the D.O.ctor ordered", by Jessica Crapo, 2008 

FYI: if you do make it, don't get scared when it's been in the oven for an hour and the edges are all starting to look really dark.  It's not burnt!

In addition to becoming a comfort food connoisseur, I have also been turning into a granny. . . a granny-square maker, that is.  For those unfamiliar with granny squares, have a look at the pictures.  I'm making a blanket for Gabe's room.  I wasn't going to unveil it until I was done, but knowing me and my crafting skills, it is highly likely that this blanket will not turn out the way I envisioned.  So, I'll show it in progress.

This last picture is where I'm at today.  I found instructions and a tutorial on how to make granny squares here.  I got the idea for joining them together here.  And inspiration came from here.  It's nice to sit down and have something to work on after Gabe's gone to bed and while Phil is still at the library.

As for the bum-chafing, I went to my first spinning class this morning.  Exercise group started this week, which means that every morning at 8:30 I drop Gabe off in the basement of the gym along with another couple dozen of children who get babysat while their moms go workout for an hour.  All the moms take turns babysitting (my day is Tuesday).  Gabe has a lot of fun.  I was able to observe him yesterday while I was babysitting, and he just crawls and crawls and crawls.  Sometimes he'll pick up a toy and put it in his mouth.  Sometimes he'll sit up for a minute and laugh (at what, I have no idea). But for the most part, he just crawls.  By the end of the hour, though, he's usually ready to go.  I went in to get him after class today, and he was being held and had tear stains down his cheeks.  He went to sleep on the way home.
Anyway, I had my first taste of spin this morning, and it kicked my butt!  Or, should I say, chafed my butt.  Not only was the workout grueling, but I had never realized before why hard-core bikers wear padded shorts.  Now I know.  Rather than type away about this further, I will show you some pictures (not of the chafing!) of Gabe from today. He's got some major double-chinnage in this one.

 

 I tried to get him to stand up by the fire hydrant, but he wasn't having it. 

Block Tests & BBQ

Phil had his first round of block testing today.  He'll find out the scores of his exam tomorrow, but feels that he did alright.  After the test, he was a free man for an afternoon.  Since all of the material covered in the last few weeks was covered on the exam, everything after today will be new, so he had nothing to study.  We celebrated by going to the BBQ at the park, put on by the school.  Good food, good friends, and several dogs, which appealed to Gabe. PS. Mom, Gabe petted a dog that looked just like Sebastian. :)

Sunday Porch Photo Shoot

I love this boy more and more every day!

Robots & Spaceships

Today is not my little sister's birthday.  Her official birthday was last Saturday, but today, one week later, is her long-awaited Robot Birthday Party!  Mitra and my mom have been planning this party for months.  I mean months and months. A little side note: my mom is the party-planning queen!  There will be cool games like Shoot Space Gun Discs Through The Robot's Mouth, Use The Clampy Robot Arm/Fingers To Grab Moon Rocks & Run Them Down To The Other Side Of The Room, Scavenger Hunt For Robot Parts (NASA had an incident :)), and TWO Awesome Pinatas!  Oh, and all of the food is space food.  I wish I were there for it!

This 7-year-old has changed a TON over the years. 

From this . . . 

To this . . . 

To today . . .

Have lots of fun today!

Generic Diapers

Don't do it!  I used to think, "No big deal.  They're all the same. Generic is cheaper and just as good; therefore, two plus two is four." Not true.  We recently bought a generic brand from a store that I will not name and we have had more blow-outs (or run-up-the-backs), less absorbancy and more diaper rashes than we've ever had. 
Generic diapers may be cheaper, but they are not worth the extra diapers you have to use each day because they don't hold as much.  Nor are they worth all of the baby soap and shampoo (yes, people, it's been getting in the hair), the extra wipes and Boudreaux's Butt Paste necessary to offset the diaper rashes.  And, they are definitely not worth the headache. 

Rather than share with you an image from our generic diaper mishaps, I'll just show you a cute backside. P.S. He pulled himself up to the couch on his own here.

Yogurt Time!

Yogurt Time is what I affectionately call mine and Gabe's daily ritual of sharing yogurt.  Yogurt Time happens (almost) every day between the hours of 3 and 5 in the afternoon, when Gabe (and I) start to get the pre-dinner munchies.  

Here are the ingredients for a really great and successful Yogurt Time:

-clothes off

-Dannon Oikos Greek Vanilla Yogurt

-spoon

-wet wash rag or baby wipes

Yogurt Time is Gabe's emotional peak of the day, as it is both joyous and devastating.  He never gets quite as excited during any other activity.  He flails his arms and bounces up and down and lunges for the spoon whenever I get too slow.  However, when the yogurt is gone, he freaks out. . . The only other time I've heard him scream louder than at the end of Yogurt Time is when he's fallen off the couch.  Sometimes I let him lick the Dannon cup clean, and then he cries the whole way as he follows me to the garbage can to throw it away.

Yogurt Time - Try it in your own home today!

Destination: Truman State

Truman State University is Kirksville's liberal arts college.  Founded in 1867, it came into being just a couple decades before A.T. Still University.  Just a mere two blocks from our duplex, Truman State is a common destination for Gabe and me when we go on our walks.  The campus is beautiful, as you will see from the pictures. 

 

Truman State wasn't always Truman State.  In fact, that name has only been around since 1996.   The school has gone through several name changes throughout the years.

  

There are tons of trees on campus (hello, we're in Missouri!), and the buildings are all covered in plants.  Most of the buildings look a lot like this one - old, stately, intellectual.

All of the buildings have these brick/stone pillars in front of them with the name of the building inscribed on them.  A good compass for new students.

Apparently, the picture below is of "the quad."  According to Wikipedia, this spot once held a pond which was pumped dry to try and put out a fire in the library back in the 20's.  The dry pond was filled with dirt and covered with grass - ta-da.

Here's Gabe, looking smart.  Alumni of 2030-something (I'm guessing).  Will we be calling them the 30's like the last century?

Environmentally and economically-minded :), Truman students save by posting announcements in chalk.

We're not at BYU anymore. . .

Purple Pride:  Phil says the Bulldogs are not the most winningest team in Division II/III; but if that's true, you can't argue that they have school spirit. 

Gabe needed to catch his breath, so we rested in one of the gazebos on campus.  The entire campus is really well-manicured: trees are trimmed, grass cut, flowers vibrant.

I thought this statement is similar to BYU's "Enter to learn, go forth to serve."

Thank you for joining us on our little destination.  Stay tuned for more adventures in Kirksville!