For Marissa (and anyone else who wants it)

My dear Marissa,
I am a neglectful aunt for sure! But, I will try now to atone for my sins. Here is the much (too long) awaited recipe you have asked for!

Salsa De Tomate Por Miguel
Tomato Sauce by Miguel (I don't know who Miguel is, but I am sure he's a nice guy. He makes a pretty mean sauce anyway.)

"This is a delicious sauce that can be used in many different ways. You'll find that making a double batch is wise to save time in future recipes (Kelli: I don't think we doubled the recipe). You could freeze some too. Just remember that Argentina has 42% Italian population. This tomato sauce is the real Italian way to make it. Use it for spaghetti, lasagna, stuffed green peppers, noquis, mini-pizzas, etc. I use chicken, as you see, to give a better flavor to the sauce. Just remove the chicken after sauce is ready. Serve the chicken with a nice green salad and garlic bread. If you wish you can use 4 or 5 more pieces without needing to double the sauce recipe."

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 medium carrots, grated thin
5 bay leaves
1 green pepper, diced
salt, pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon whole oregano
1/4 cup dry white wine (Kelli: we omitted this, not sure if we substituted anything in its place)
? cup sugar (Kelli: sorry, my copy is smudged here. It looks to be either 1/4 or 1/2. Ann, could you help us out?)
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, chopped
2 28-ounce cans tomato sauce

Carefully brown chicken with bay leaves in oil in large pot. Add next 5 ingredients and cook lightly. Add rest of ingredients; and spices; cook over low heat and stir, making sure not to burn the bottom. Cook for about 1 hour.


As for the gnocchis, there isn't a recipe that we followed. We used Yukon gold potatoes, baked not boiled. Then we grated them really fine. All we added to them was flour and some salt. The trick is getting the right consistency so the gnocchi don't become mushy. We just experimented until they seemed right. We used Ann's cool gnocchi maker... but you can do them on a fork. Get some water boiling on the stove, then roll a few gnocchi from your dough, (I don't even know how to begin describing how to roll them in writing, maybe the picture above will help you get the idea...if I remember right you guys helped us do that part, right?) Then drop a couple into the water, they are done when they rise to the top. If they are falling apart you need more flour. You might sample a couple and see if the consistency seems right. Once you feel like you have the consistency right then roll the rest of them and boil them all until they float.

Put the gnocchis in a pan, cover them with sauce and cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy! The sauce is awesome, and I am sure would taste good on all kinds of pasta! Let me know how it turns out!

Carter's Busted Bracket

This was Carter's reaction when he checked his NCAA bracket this afternoon. He really wanted to pick where we go for ice cream (so far Mom is in the lead!).

And, just so you know that he can still smile, even with that disappointment, here is a little movie. How could he not smile when looking in the mirror, huh?

Princess Lips, "Ballerine Class", and the Nightcap

Little girls are different than little boys, I am learning that. There are certain things that come naturally to little girls, things Sydney does that I never taught her, she just does them. For example, the other day I came into my room and found a very proud Sydney who had just applied her "Princess Lips" (chapstick... if my boys ever hear it called that they will never put chapstick on again!) Here is a picture of Sydney and her "Princess Lips"...

Sydney loves to dance, she has since she could support her own weight on her legs. So, recently I enrolled her in a low-key Pre-Ballet class. She asked every day for weeks if it was time for her "Ballerine" class. Finally the day came and she donned her leotard and slippers (which she had been wearing every day anyway) and off we went. I was a little worried about how she would do, if she would be too scared to participate. I need not have worried. She sat right down where instructed and listened to the teacher... until she just couldn't stand it any longer and she stood up and announced to her teacher and all her classmates that she was a "ballerine" and she was going to do "this" and began doing some sort of jumping jack thing. Well this started a snowball effect and all the other little girls had to show off their moves too.



And finally, the nightcap. Jenni gave this cute little winter hat to Sydney. She loves it, and she calls it her nightcap. She wears it every time she goes outside, even when it is nearing 70 and sunny. The other day the boys were reveling in a beautiful day and, of course, Sydney followed them out, in this outfit. Please take note of her shoes, you might remember these shoes from an earlier post, they are still favorites though quite small now.

What a Talented Mother I Am!

Setting: Family Dinner Table
Gordon Family is discussing the upcoming "Gordon Family Talent Show" which will take place at the next Family Home Evening (this was decided upon at the last FHE when Sam showcased his newly acquired skills at piano playing and Spencer played his clarinet). Everyone is excitedly talking about what talent they plan on presenting.
Sam, with concern in his voice: "Mom, what will you do for your talent?"
Silence all around the table.
Sam, with eyes bright and relief now showing on his face: "I know! Laundry!"

Derby Champ!

Pinewood Derby time again! This year it was just Tyler since Spencer has now moved to 11 year old scouts. Tyler did a really great job on his car. He cut, sanded, painted and put the stickers on himself. Steve just helped him get the wheels on. Here is the finished product...
And here is Tyler with his first place ribbon! Congratulations Tyler, great job on your car!

Smiles

Having a new baby is pretty intense. Not a lot of sleep, and this cute little bundle of needs demanding to be held and fed and diapered. A mother might begin to feel like that cute little bundle doesn't even know who she is, or even care, and then they look that mother in the eyes and do something like this...





...and suddenly that mother remembers all over again why the late nights and re-adjusted schedule (no schedule:)) is all worth it.
By the way, Sydney is the one who inspired all the smiles above. Lucky boy gets a lot of love!

Carter's Cradle

About a week before Christmas a huge box showed up on my doorstep. It was so heavy I had to wait for Steve to get home to lug it inside for me. Turned out it was our Christmas box from my Mom and Dad. Now, I have always known I was their favorite (no need to keep this a secret from the rest of my siblings, I think they know the truth:)) but I really wasn't expecting a new flat screen TV like Dad told me it was.
Well, Christmas morning revealed that what was inside the box was something a lot better than a flat screen, I gotta tell you, the water works started when I saw this...
My Dad made this cradle for me and I have loved it, Carter loves it as well...

But, what really got the water works going was this...
Sydney received her very own twin version of the cradle for her babies. She enjoys taking care of her little baby. The funny thing about Sydney's baby is that she is older than I am as you can see here...
Born in 1969, she looks really good for her age. Sydney and I decided to give her a bath and clean her up a bit.

And then it was Carter's turn. While this used to be torture for him, he loves it now. We tried to get a picture with him smiling, but we have yet to capture one with the camera.

Pictures for Grandma

I am not keeping up on events here too well, but life is a little busy with a new baby! :) Carter did have his birthday... one month old! So I decided to take a picture to compare with when he was first born and see how he has changed. This picture was taken a couple of days after he was born...
and this one was taken on his one month birthday (not a very good picture, but oh well). The biggest difference I see is his hairline. Is is just me or is Carter suffering from Male Patterned Baldness already?
Carter is starting to show his little personality more and more. The kids and I keep trying to coax the smiles out of him, and while we definitely get some fun smiles and little conversations, the happiest little smiles I have seen from Carter came last night when I held him up in front of the mirror. I guess he finds himself much more amusing than any of us, or he was just pleased to see what a good-lookin' kid he is.
Grandma asked for more pictures again, so I decided to send a few of my favorite pieces of Carter. All these little pieces just get bigger so fast!
I absolutely love little baby hands, and there is something about Carter's little thumbs...
And of course, we can't forget the cute little toes...
And another shot for Grandma...
Sorry if I'm being overly sentimental here... I am post-partum you know, it comes with the territory! :)