Mariah's Family 3rd Birthday Party

Thanks so much to my family for coming to my house November 22 (Sunday) to celebrate my little girl's 3rd birthday. We had so much fun with all the grandkids and aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas on BOTH sides of the family! We definitely had a packed house, but it was so fun for everyone to be there. We love you all! Mariah really racked up the presents this year; among them were her kitchen with an apron I made with Marilyn's HUGE help, a v-motion video game, a guitar from Aunt Katie, a tool bench and box from Aunt Beth, and her favorite, the art easel from Grandma Nancy. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it! Expecially painting. Here are some pics (thanks again Kim, seriously you save us all the time!) from the big day. Note: that snowman cake took roughly 3 hours to make. Now someone not as novice as myself could have done it in 1/4 of the time I am sure. But I had fun making it for Mariah! For weeks before her birthday, all she kept asking for was a pink birthday cake and chocolate ice cream and pink balloons. So I talked her into wanting a snowman cake who was holding balloon cupcakes. Anyway, it turned out pretty cute! And thanks to Grandma Nancy, she also got her chocolate ice cream:)

Family Pics

It's that time of year again! The time where I stress and buy TONS of clothes for all of my family members so I can try to coordinate our outfits for the beloved family pictures. Once I have FINALLY chosen the perfect outfit for all 3 of us, I return all unused clothes and let the fun begin! This year we had my sister-in-law Kim do our pictures for us. Let me tell you, she is the most TALENTED girl I know! It is sometimes intimidating having married into the same family she married into. I am sure everyone expects me to cook, bake, decorate, sew, take pictures, craft, etc. like she does. Well, at least the Harris's got one super-talented in-law! So Kim came up to Highland and we went tons of different places to get several different "backgrounds". My favorite was a place up Suncrest that I love to go trail running. It was fun to have my family with me to show them where I love to trail run, and it made the setting so personal for me. (We even were taking pictures next to mine and Max's very footprints from our run in the snow the morning before!) Anyway, thanks Kimbo for sharing your time and talent. You made it MUCH simpler this year for us and we LOVE the way the pics turned out!

The Best 4-Layer Healthy Lasagna

For those of you who don't know, I am quite the ingenious inventor when it comes to making healhy recipes (not to toot my own horn, but TOOT! TOOT!). So this morning I thought to myself, "Self, I have this butternut squash, fresh sage, and whole head of cauliflower that I need to use up quickly before it heads to compost land, and a half package of already cooked whole wheat lasagna. Let's get creative!" So creative I got. This is what I came up with:

Layer 1: I peeled my half of my butternut squash and cut it into small cubes along with the whole head of cauliflower so they would cook quickly for me in boiling water. I did this in a large pan on the stove, and I added salt, black pepper, finely chopped fresh sage to taste, a little ground nutmeg, and a little chinese five spice (the five spices are cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and 2 others that I can't remember. Anyway it is a sweet cinnamon-y licorice-y harvest combo. No chinese 5? No biggy. Just sub in A LITTLE cinnamon and clove.) A little goes a long way with the spices, especially the chinese 5. So be light-handed.
Once this mixture was nice and soft, I blended it until smooth in a blender along with some fat free evaporated milk. This adds a creamy texture with a delicate sweetness in the background that blends nicely with the spices. (FF evaporated milk is a great low cal fake out option to use in place of cream or half and half or even milk. Just 25 cal per 2 Tbsp.) Taste it. If is needs more of anything, add more. Layer 1, check!

On to layer 2:
Spray some olive oil cooking spray in a pan and brown up some reduced fat sausage, any kind you like, usually comes in a 12 ounce tube. No need to drain when you use reduced fat. Once browned, take the meat out and add to the hot pan about 1.5 Tbsp butter and make a rue with equal amount of flour, whisking constantly for about 1 minute. Then, while continuing to whisk constantly, add about 1 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk. (Again, LF buttermilk is a great fake out. Adds creamy texture and a sour cream-like tartness to the sauce. Only 100 Cal per cup. No buttermilk? No biggy. Sub in some FF or LF sour cream for a similar taste and texture.) As your sauce bubbles and thickens, add some ground nutmeg, salt, and black pepper to taste. Add ground sausage back in to white sauce. Taste it. If it needs more of anything, add more. Layer 2, check!

On to layer 3:
The half box of whole wheat lasagna noodles, pre-cooked according to package. Layer 3, check!

On to layer 4:
Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese. About maybe 1 cup total, more or less depending on how much you like. Layer 4, check!

Okay, got your 4 layers; time to assemble. Get your baking pan, smaller if you want a taller lasagna and bigger if you want a lower lasagna. (The one I used was a 2 L glass pan, about 11 by 6 inches or so. The layers filled it up nicely.) Start with a layer of the butternut squash mixture just so noodles don't stick to the pan. Then add a layer of noodles. Then add some more butternut squash, then the white creamy and sausage layer, then some mozzarella cheese. That is your first round. Now do it again, this time starting with noodles, butternut squash, cream and sausage, cheese. Repeat this process until everything is used or you have no more room in your pan. Add a final layer of the mozzarella so your lasagna looks nice and bubbly when it is all finished. Then cover with foil and bake at 350 about 20 minutes, just to heat everything through and melt the cheese. Uncover for 10 more minutes until the cheese is nice and golden brown and bubbly. LET IT COOL for at least 15 minutes so everything sets up. Serve with a simple mixed baby green salad with low-cal honey dijon salad dressing and enjoy!!!!

And just an extra tip: If I hadn't just ran out of LF cottage cheese, this would have been 5 layer lasagna. Just mix about 1-2 cups cottage cheese with 1 egg or 2 egg whites or egg substitute to help the cottage cheese set. Add this in at whatever part of the layering process you think best! Seriously the lasagna was AWESOME without layer 5 (Ben and our friend Ryan and I thought) but just something to try if ya want!

Santa Claus Success!

Yesterday my sis Katie and I decided to take our girls to the Christmas Show at the fair grounds in Salt Lake. We figured we could kill at least an hour there, and being free of charge, we figured it would be worth it. Little did we know Santa was going to be there! Now, last year we took Mariah to see St. Nick at Thanksgiving Point, and after a 2 hour long wait during which Mariah kept saying how excited she was to see Santa, she unfortunately lost all courage upon seeing the big scary man with all the hair and the big fluffy red outfit. Needless to say, no pictures with M and Santa were worth publishing last year. Fast forward one year, and here we were, in front of the big man himself, without ANY wait. Now was the time. Mariah slowly, hesitantly, left the safe clutch of my hand, and willed herself forward to this right-of-passage moment. The moment all kids simultaneously fear and anticipate, the moment where the man who holds the key to your very happiness in his hands is there for one brief second to hear what you want, no NEED, in order to live a fulfilling and worthwhile existence...Take a deep breath, don't show your fear, and then out came the words, "Santa, can I please want a little dolly house?" There, I have done it!!!! Now it is up to him. But just in case he needs a little persuading, I will give him a big hug. Oh, and this couldn't hurt, "Here Annie, have some candy Santa gave to me!" There, that outta seal the deal! Dolly house here I come!!!! Needless to say, our free excursion was definitely worth it right Kate?!?!?!? Don't worry, next year will be Annie Frannie's right of passage...

My Little Girl

Soooo, it has been a long time, I know. But here I am, in spite of my lack of knowledge about taking pictures off the camera to post on this page, finally writing about my HILARIOUS favorite kid. My "baby", as she prefers to be referred to, is now 3 years and 1 day old. I just wanted to write quickly about the person she is becoming. Firstly, she starts every morning with an episode of Mickey while I do my thing either outside with my dog or inside on my treadmill. When Max and I go out together, we always drive away from my house and start our run somewhere new and exciting. (After living in the same place for over 5 and 1/2 years and running probably 95% of the days, I have finally become burnt out of any route I can possibly come up with that starts at my humble abode.) Anyway, when Mariah hears the garage door opening up signalling our return home from our run, she immediately runs to the door and opens it up and, wearing only panties, yells in her loudest voice, "Mom, do you have my dog with you?" To which I of course reply, "Yes Miss Ma'Loo, Max is with me!" Then I get inside and she gives me a big Mariah hug and tells me she is hungry. Once I shoot down her first suggestions for breakfast, which usually include popcorn or cookies, she finally settles down to her bowl of "ut"meal or, if she is REALLY lucky (or I am really lazy), a bowl of "Cap'n blue Berries with mommy's pink milk!" She is really the typical girl when is comes to her color choices. Everything has to be pink, even the lid of milk. (Ben's 2% variety has a blue lid and is therefore unacceptable to be poured into her pink bowl of cereal or oatmeal and her 2 spoons!)
However, when is comes to athletic ability, this girl is certainly NOT typical. She has been able to swim (fearlessly) for a good 6 months at least. Yes, that is right. We get to the pool and I swim out 15 yards or so and she jumps in and swims to me with a smile on her face! When she reaches me, she leaves her head under the water until she is good and ready to come up for air, and then she looks at me with those goggled eyes and yells, "AGAIN!" Okay, My Girl, we can do this all day!
And then there is the weekly (at least) Harris Family Circus. We do the gravitron, (only you know what that is Katie:) ), and she stands on top of my hands like a cheerleader and giggles and giggles and giggles. She could seriously balance on a rolling ball this kid. We do the tilt a whirl and I get dizzy doing it over and over just so I can hear her laugh! And she can climb up walls and mountains (running, not walking.) She literally goes on runs with me already. I bring the jogging stroller for when she gets winded, but otherwise she is out by my side with her running shoes and clothes. Who does that starting at 2.5 years old???
Then comes her love, no, OBSESSION, with school. No exaggerating, she at least 30 times a day says, "Mommy, can I PLEASE go the school?" Every time she is about to go to sleep, either for a nap or bedtime at night, she has to ask this question. I was finally able to register her for preschool at the "Big School" right by my house that she has been DYING and begging to go to. She starts December 2nd, but that is not soon enough for her.
She loves her 2 favorite kids, Grady (Thomas J) and Annie Frannie, her adorable cousin. They laugh and laugh and laugh. No toys, just each other. I am so glad they could come play at her party at Jungle Jims with us along with her friend Bailee.
To end this for now, My Mariah I ADORE YOU SO MUCH! I couldn't have made a better-suited kid for me. You are so very much like me in almost every way. Seeing myself in you has helped me to also see the good qualities about me. You are my joy and my buddy and my daughter. I am so thankful you came to me when you did, and that you were quick about it at that!!!! I will cherish our night last night together, staying up until 11:11 PM on your 3rd birthday, watching "Up" with you in my arms (while daddy was too tired to watch with us!). I prayed that the "dogs that are too scary for (you)" wouldn't give you nightmares. You are so smart and funny and energetic and happy and full of life. The thought of you fulfills me. Having you has made these past couple of challenging years trying to get you a brother or a sister not only bearable, but unbelievable. I hope we get you those 2 sisters you ask for every day (Heidi and Sasha you tell me consistently) and the twin boys I even have you convinced that we are going to have. You are BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, and FABULOUS!!!! I can't wait to see you in the morning so "we can go play" together. What a life, just me and My Girl! Sleep well Sis and I can't wait to hear your little knock in the morning and then your feet running as fast as you can back to your rocking chair while you wait for me to let you out and let the day begin. See you in the morning Girly Twirly! Love, Mommy Marie Harris