Last Month

Well, February just flew by.
Here's a bit of what went on at the Entz house.

Ryan's 40th birthday.
We were so busy, nothing special happened.
I made him lemon pound cake.
My first time ever to make it.

He said: Do I like this?
Me: Umm. You've asked me to make it before.
Him: I have? Huh...

He really likes Starbucks' version.
I don't think this was quite as good.
Good, just not quite the same.
Ryan liked it, though.

We weren't home for supper the evening of his birthday.
But the next day, I made his favorite.
Tuna steak.

He was definitely more excited about that than the pound cake.

Valentine's Day was low key also.
Dinner at home with the family.

With a few things that the kiddos love.

Plus a rose from Daddy for his little girl.

 Dessert.

We have had a couple of date nights.

We went to an opera.

Ryan got free tickets.

It was in English.

And even then, it was difficult to understand sometimes.

It was...ok.

We left at intermission.

We also went to an event for Girl Scouts.
It's always a fun one.
Different restaurants/businesses/candy shops
create a dessert using Girl Scout cookies.
We get to sample all of them.
If we want.
And I want.
Then we vote on the best.
I must make an informed decision.

Sugar overload.
But delicious.

I got this $140 dress for $21.
Then I had to buy some shoes to go with it.
It's hard to see, but these have some coral on them.
Super cute.

I didn't even know Ryan was posing.
Doesn't he look dapper?

We've already had an event in March too.
No pics, though.
I've had fun getting spiffy lately.

I have a new nephew.
Again.
Ryan's older brother had another boy.
Welcome to our family little Wyatt.

That makes 8 grandsons for Ryan's parents.

And one granddaughter.

We love all those boys.

But we're so thankful for our 1 girl.

Brookie is still hoping for a girl cousin on the Entz side.

Big brother wasn't too sure about things.

Brookie finally got to hold Wyatt the other day.
We weren't allowed into the hospital.
And then the snow came.
They live out in the country.
It was nearly impossible to get to their house.

Pretty precious.

That's our February.
Besides all the snow...

Marshmallow Snowmen

I have another new nephew.
That makes two in four weeks.
Meet Brody Zane.His big brother Tyson is all of 21 months old.
Jobie and I thought we would give their mommy a little break.
So we stole Tyson for a bit the other day.We took him with us to storytime.Then fed him lunch.And made a little craft.The hats look a bit like witch's hats.
But by the time Ezzie got home from school,
I had been to Dillon's and purchased some Rolos.
And some pretzels too.
I get all my good ideas after the fact.
Well, Rolos and pretzels aren't amazing ideas really.
I'm sure most of you would have thought of them much earlier.
Jobe and Tyson didn't miss them.
But Ezzie was glad I had them.
He even asked for pretzels before I pulled them out.Marshmallow snowman.
Good enough to eat.
Poor thing didn't make it to supper.

Good Stuff

Another cookie recipe.
I'm beginning to think I'm the queen of cookies.
I make them A LOT.

These make me feel good.
They are a little healthier.
Fresh cranberries.
Fresh squeezed orange juice.
Orange zest.
Walnuts.

Orange-Frosted Cranberry Cookies

Cookies
1 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 c butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 T orange juice
1 egg
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c coarsely chopped frest cranberries
1/2 c chopped nuts

Orange Frosting
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
2 to 3 T orange juice

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, orange peel, orange juice and egg with mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges and bottoms of cookies are light golden brown. Cool completely on baking rack, about 30 minutes.

In small bowl. stir all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Frost cookies.

Makes about 4 dozen.I used walnuts.
Cuz walnuts and cranberries just go together in my mind.
And I had to laugh at "packed brown sugar."
Is there any other way to measure it?
I smash that brown sugar in the measuring cup everytime.
The more brown sugar the better.

Speaking of sugar.
Here's a little extra sweetness.Jobie loves his new cousin.
And it looks like his new cousin loves him too.

Birthday Party

Ryan's mom turned 65 Friday.
We had a surprise party for her Saturday.
She thought Dad was taking her out for supper.
Instead they ended up at our house.
She walked in saying:
I don't know what's going on here.
So cute!

It began with just family.
And Chinese food from Dillons.
It's not PF Changs.
But it's cheap.
And local.
And fast.
And pretty good.

We got three family meals.
$19.99 each.
Comes with tons of food.
One family meal feeds my family of 7.
With lunch leftovers for me.
Perfect.

My sisters-in-law and I made desserts.
And six more people "showed up".

Everytime someone else walked in the house,
she would say: Oh, what a surprise!
It was so much fun.

I remembered to take pictures.
After Lara (who was out of town) called and said:
Don't forget to take pictures.

Cousins.
Tyson is about 20 months old now.
He weighs two pounds less than Jobe.
Jobe is 40 months.
My tiny baby.My mom and my sis-in-law.
(Not my mom's daughter-in-law though.
She's married to Ryan's older brother.)
And my new little nephew.
19 days old.Adorable.My little boys wrestling on our new couch.
We finally found one.
I love it.
No fabric.
It's blended leather.
No stains.
I can just wipe off snot smears.
Plus the whole family can sit on it together.The birthday girl opening a few gifts.Happy birthday, Mom!
Thanks for giving us a reason to celebrate.
We love you!

Mail

Scary mail.
Why am I getting mail like this?Do they know something I don't know?
I get formula samples.
Diaper coupons.
Pamphlets about planning for my pregnancy.
Makes me panic a little.
Maybe even gag.

Not that each little one isn't a blessing.
I've just had enough blessings of that sort.
And my body certainly has had enough of those blessings.

Moving on now.
Non-scary mail.Germany mail.
Yummy mail.
Yummy Germany chocolate mail.It's apparently considered chocolate for kids.
But, oh my, it's good.
My favorite were the Happy Hippos.
Thin crunchy cookie on the outside.
Some kind of heavenly creamy filling inside.
All in the shape of a hippo.
Too bad they don't come in walrus shapes.
Then I might have understood
where Jobie's comment the other day came from.

The little boys like the chocolate eggs.
Crack them open.
There's a plastic yellow "yoke".
With little toys like these inside.Adorable.
The little dinosaur's head even wiggles.

Host a German student if you want some for yourself.
My kids will not share.
And I'm pretty sure I won't either.
We're selfish people.
When it comes to our chocolate.