14 Years!

Holy cow 14 years! My hubby and I have been married for 14 years and quite honestly it feels like we've only just begun. Like most married couples we have been through our share of ups and downs. Each time we had one of those downs we came out stronger than before, stronger in love and in faith. Our ups have been amazing and we know there are so many more to come. We've brought 5 beautiful daughters into this world and there's no one I'd rather raise them with.

So here's to another 14 years (and more) together and more getting to know each other, the best is certainly yet to come.

Favorite Eats: Poutine

You may be wondering what the heck is Poutine or you may be thinking YES! I love me some poutine! Either way this dish is so so yummy and I'm excited to say my hubby and I created the recipe on our own!

For those of you that don't know, Poutine is traditionally a Canadian dish with french fries topped with cheese curds and a brown gravy. There are several variations of the dish, if you are lucky to find a restaurant that serves poutine; first way to go and second do yourself a favor and order it!


The base of the dish is fresh cut french fries here's how we make them...

French Fries:

1-2 pounds (we use 3-5 pounds for a family of 12) yukon gold potatoes (or any variation of "gold" potatoes)

1. slice potatoes about an inch thick (think steak fries)
2. Place potatoes in a a water bath after slicing. This is important to keeping potatoes crisp during frying
3. While slicing potatoes begin heating oil in deep fryer set temperature to 325 degrees
4. Once oil is heated begin frying potatoes in small batches.
5. Fry each batch for 5-7 minutes, the fries should look slightly brown

6. Remove fries to towel and let cool while grease absorbs to towel. 

7. Continue to fry potatoes until all are done. 

8. Increase heat on deep fryer to 375 degrees

9. This will be your "second fry" fry potatoes another 5-7 minutes or until potatoes look crisp and brown. 

10. Remove to towel and let cool

Gravy (recipe adapted {and modified} from ricardocusinie.com)

I recommend starting the gravy when you are half way through your second fry of the french fries.

2 tbs cornstarch

2 tbs water

6 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

32 ounces beef stock

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

1. In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch in the water, set aside

2. Make Roux - In saucepan, melt butter, add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until the mixture turns golden brown. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

3. Add beef stock bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk. Stir in vinegar and cornstarch/water mixture and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce thickens 

4. season with pepper 

Plating

Place fries in single layer on plate, top with cheese curd, and gravy. 

A few tips...

I like to chop my cheese curds so they aren't so large and they will begin to melt when topped with gravy. 

Try your best to serve warm so the fries do not get soggy from sitting too long. 

Variations

We sometimes add shredded pork to our poutine. I simply put a 2-3 pound pork tenderloin in the crock pot season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I cook on low 4-6 hours our until it shreds easily with a fork. You can also reserve some of the juice from the crock pot to add to your gravy (add when you are adding beef stock). 

This meal does take a good hour to prepare depending on the amount of potatoes you use, but I promise you it is so so worth it!!  

I hope you love this meal and recipe as much as we do!! 

Parker ~ 5 months

It's hard to believe our little girl is already 5 months! And let's be honest she's not so little any more. Baby girl loves to eat (as always) and with the addition of cereal and some other baby food thrown in there she is one happy baby.

Typically I would talk about all the fun changes we have seen in this little one since she turned 4 months. However, this month  I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about something that's been on my mind and heart lately.

As mothers (and parents) we see our children as perfect and rightfully so. They are our babies and we carried them with us for 9-10 months. During that time things like sitting up, crawling, talking, or the next milestone didn't matter. And honestly, we didn't even worry about those things; we just wanted our baby to be healthy.

But then our baby is born and we begin to compare (maybe not right away, but soon enough) and worry about all the things society tells us is normal. We hear things like, shouldn't she be sitting up by now? Why isn't he crawling yet? Are you sure there's nothing wrong? Or we are told we aren't doing something right or we did something wrong ... Why didn't you have a c-section? Why did you have a c-section? Why didn't you tell her pediatrician about that? And on and on... We sometimes feel like we are alone in our daily struggles and battles. We are afraid of being judged simply because our baby didn't walk by age one or our baby needs a helmet all because of something out of our control. Maybe all of these things make you feel alone and that no one understands how you feel. But from one mom to another, one parent to another I want you to know you are not alone and your baby IS perfect. Your child is normal; normal is what you make it; your child only needs you to be there, to show her the way. And sometimes as parents that is all we can do. Our children will love and respect us for being the best version of ourselves we can be. So hold your head high moms and dads you are doing a great job!



5 month photo dump....

We love you Parker! 

Happy 3rd Birthday Charlie & Livy

I don't even know where to begin to describe what this last year has been like with these two crazy wonderful twins. Everyday it felt like there was something new for us to love about them from their silly antics to their love of their family. I took a quick glimpse of their two year birthday post and I couldn't believe they were once so little.

It's funny how each year on the day before their birthday I think about how I was feeling that night, feeling them wiggle and move not knowing that it was going to be one of the last times. Going into the hospital thinking that I may be sent home again only to hear my doctor say it was time to meet our girls. Now here we are three years later and I can't help but feel so much love for these girls. Finding out we were having twins was such a surprise and each day we thank God we were picked to be their parents.


Charlotte - Our baby B our Charlotte Ann Faith... just ask Olivia and she will tell you. Charlotte is still very much entertainment for us, she is always finding something to make us laugh from her silly faces to her crazy dance moves. She surprises us daily with what she has picked up and learned just from our normal conversations. One day she just rambled off her A, B, C's mixed in with twinkle twinkle little star. She loves to count and trick mama with skipping 4 and going straight to 5; she loves to say eleven and twelve mixed in with her other numbers and laughs about it every time. She had surgery to remove a possible left over pice of a tic she had on her shoulder, everything turned out fine and she did great handling the surgery. She got her first hair cut complete with bangs and looked so darn adorable. She loves to tumble and practice gymnastics moves that Madison has taught her and has even tried out some moves she has seen during the olympics. She is adventurous and very willing to try new things so much so that we have found her climbing in chairs and on the shelf in the pantry. At times she can be seen as the "leader" of the twins giving instructions on what to do and how to do it and other times she follows after Olivia. She loves to draw and I smile when I can see her creative mind at work. She is great at using her imagination while playing with her sisters and we often hear her pretending she is mom to Livy. This girl is so full of life and love we just can't imagine our lives without her.

We love you so much Charlotte Happy 3rd Birthday!

Olivia - Baby Girl A - Olivia Marie Grace our smallest baby girl. She continues to be our little one

but you would never guess she was born 5 week early and weighed only 4 pounds. She is full of energy and runs around the house with her "livy bounce" and her blond curls bouncing right along. She loves to pretend she is batman while Charlotte is superman and they are both here to rescue us all. She is the quiet one, usually because she is observing what is going on around her before she decides if she wants to join in. She has a sensitive side that can lead to some tears when she doesn't get to make the decisions. She is a mama's girl when it comes to mama going shopping or leaving the house and a daddys' girl when it comes to bed time and the opportunity to cuddle. Miss Olivia is still very outspoken and will let you know when she is not happy, she loves to do things for herself so you better ask her before you do something for her. She is not much of a morning girl and loves to cuddle when she wakes up. She loves her dolphin pillow and her minnie blanket. Livy also loves to draw and color, she asks pretty much every single day if she can color. She has also come to love books and would have us read all night long if she could. She has a powerful imagination right along side Charlotte which leads to some very creative play between the two of them. Olivia brings so much joy and laughter to our lives, we are so blessed to have her as part of our family. 

Happiest of Birthday's Olivia we love you!

 

Together these two girls experienced many firsts during their 3rd year of life, they had their first hair cuts and their first dentist appointment and even swam for the first time. They gave up their pacifiers and became completely potty trained. The started sleeping in big girl beds and became big sisters. 

One the best things about twins is seeing them interact with each other. Knowing that these girls will always have a best friend to grow with makes our hearts so unbelievably happy. They are great sisters to each other and their other three sisters our lives have surely been blessed by having them in it. We love you so much baby girls!