Mmmm... Apple Crisp!

Whew - what a busy weekend! My friend Katie and her 7-month-old son Steven came to visit from South Dakota. It was lots of fun - and a very crazy household with three kids and a yapping dog running around! (Well, Teddy just lays there and Steven only crawls.. but you know what I mean!) Seriously, Steven is just adorable and so full of energy. Like I told Katie, the one word I would use to describe him is delightful!

So, we had some friends over on Friday night for drinks and appetizers. We sat outside to enjoy the great weather, although the bugs were terrible. Still, it was nice considering that was probably the last warm stretch we'll get for months and months.

We had a bunch of apples at our house, so I decided to make apple crisp for Friday night. I found a "healthier" recipe from Cooking Light, which was just delish. My friend Julie requested it, so I thought I'd post it in our blog if anyone else wanted to give it a try.

Apple Crisp

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup regular oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons chopped pecans

7 cups sliced peeled apples (about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, oats, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is crumbly. Stir in pecans. Combine apple and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Spoon apple mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish or 1 1/2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Thomas Mania Strikes!

Move over WonderPets, Henry is now officially obsessed with Thomas the Train. This development happened pretty quickly... in the past 2-3 weeks he went from knowing nothing about the "Really Useful Engine" to a 24/7 obsession that leads him to shout "Thomas! Gordon! Percy! Toppem Hat! ALL ABOOOOARD!" at the top of his lungs at all hours of the day. It's pretty amazing how he can pick out all the characters just by sight. Maybe it's a girl thing, but they all look the same to me!

In short, the kids looooves Thomas, as you can see from the Thomas paraphernalia we have at home. We have a cute little train set that my mom picked up at a garage sale, along with some Thomas books and a Thomas pillow that Henry sleeps with every night (thanks, Rena!). Even a singing Thomas toothbrush - which I have to admit, has made brushing his teeth much easier!

So, hoping to get Henry his Thomas fix, I took the boys to the Barnes and Noble at Eden Prairie Center yesterday, since they have a Thomas the Train table that I thought Henry would like to play with. Well, he loved it... and I was thankful to sit in a chair and rest for a while as Teddy slept in the stroller.

Henry played and was in Thomas heaven. The table has everything - lots of train bridges, a roundhouse and other fun things - which for the posted bargain price of $800 for the whole set, I guess it should! However, after about 45 minutes, we had a few other errands to run and had to pack up and leave. As you can guess, that didn't go over very well with Henry! He started crying immediately and scooped up all the trains to take with him. After asking nicely, I had to pry them from his little fingers and explain that we would go home and play with his trains, but we couldn't take these with us. Well, he wasn't having it. So I had to pick him up and carry him out, all the while he was shouting "Thomas, Edward, Bertie!!" throughout the store. Thankfully, the tantrum stopped pretty quickly and we were able to do our errands without any more tears.

Honestly, I felt bad to tear him away from his beloved trains, but it was kind of humorous - I just wonder what everyone else in the store thought was going on! We must have been a sight to see. I guess if they have little boys that love trains, they hopefully understand!

A House Divided

With a little more than a month to the presidential election, we're often talking politics in the Lechner household. Which has gotten a bit more interesting this political season, since I - gasp! - definitely have more of a liberal leaning this time around. It makes for some interesting conversations between Matt and myself... which I'm sure will continue over the coming weeks. Hmm... wondering if I should get an "Obama Mama" shirt? I guess we'll see..

Our little family of four...

Hi everyone... this is Becky, checking into the blog.

I'm a bit late to the blog-scene, but have been reading a few other "mommy" blogs for the past few months and have gotten sucked in. I figured - with the addition of little Teddy to our family - now would be a great time to update our own blog with new pics of Henry and Teddy, so friends and family can check in from time to time. I'm hoping to do this on a somewhat regular basis, although I guess we'll see how it goes! Although, I can promise you, I won't be blogging about sports, like my hubs does. :)

When Teddy turned 2 weeks old, we had a professional photographer come out to our house for some family pictures. I figured it would be easier to have someone come to us - rather than pack up the kids and go to a studio. I think it was easier on us... but I'm not sure about the photographer! Henry was a bit, um... rambunctious that day, although Wendy with Swaddlebee Photography still managed to get some great shots. I think photographing a toddler must be one of the most difficult jobs out there!

Here are a few sample pics. As you can see, Henry was excited to hold Teddy for the first time (under a lot of supervision!). When he wants to hold Teddy, he says, "Take it". As in, I'll take the baby. Pretty cute, but we mostly keep the brotherly love to kisses on the head. :) Both boys are such cuties, although I guess I'm a bit biased! We'll be sending out birth announcements soon and I'm so excited to use these pictures!

Greatest Single Day in Sports?

Question for you: Is the first day of the NCAA basketball tourney the greatest single sports day of the year?

You're darn right it is.

No other sporting event whips people into a frenzy more than the Big Dance. Some might argue the Super Bowl is greater. To that I would say you're wrong. First, you're not guaranteed a good game. Second, you don't always like the teams, sometimes there's even a touch of hatred. In the big dance only one team gets the gas face, say it with me, Duke! Lastly, too many people get hyped up for the commercials during the Super Bowl. Remember commercials? The things you fast-forward through with your DVR.

What about the final day at the Masters? Here's another question, what if Tiger Woods isn't in the hunt. The debate ends there.

World Cup final? If you're nodding your head yes in agreement, get out of my country.

NASCAR at Daytona? The kick-off to the NASCAR season is always a big deal. I do enjoy NASCAR, but the causal sports fan does not. Rubbing might be racing, but interest in racing ain't rubbing off on the woman in the cubicle next to your (unless you work in the South).

Baseball's Opening Day? Another great sports day. Perhaps #2 on this list. But what comes after opening day? 161 more games! Wake me up in October.

Hockey? Tennis? Ahhh, no!

Moving on.

The Olympics (Summer and Winter games)? This one got me thinking. The opening ceremony always makes me feel proud to be an American. The problem, no events take place on opening day. I would argue the Olympics are the greatest two+ weeks in sports.

The first day of the Big Dance usually brings with it unpredictability, camaraderie and a seemingly endless amount of hoops. It's not uncommon to hear bracket chit-chat at the office, at the local tavern and yes, even from your wife. The Big Dance brings the causal fan into the action, mostly because of the brackets, but regardless, they're there. And at what other time do you hear, now where's Siena? How about American? And Davidson is where? (if you notice, the answer will inevitably come back..."I think out East somewhere, or maybe in Indiana.")

And I'll leave you will this thought, the best part of the opening day of the NCAA Tourney, the next day is the exactly the same. And the basketball doesn't stop until Sunday night. Then guess what, it starts up again the next Thursday.

I gots myself a basketball jones.

Down the Tubes!

Big H got his tubes yesterday and it went great. The boy was so good it's amazing. He let the doctors and nurses poke and probe him and he didn't fuss at all. He's the best!

Hopefully his ear infections are history. Isn't medical technology great?

What the hell am I doing?

You know me, Mr. Conservative, Mr. Prepared, Mr. In Control; to put it bluntly I'm set in my ways and I like it that way. But on 2/23/08 that changed. And to be honest, it was great.

This all started with a phone call many months ago. I picked up my Blackberry phone and said hello. On the other line, an excited and well-rested Chris Larsen. I could tell he was ready to talk, so I listened. He said something like, "We're getting a hunt together and want you to come along." Keep in mind, I have about the same amount of hunting experience as the president of PETA.

Then Chris divulged his plan for me; he wanted me to videotape the "real" hunters shooting at pheasants. If you don't know Chris, he watches hunting video like most men watch pornography. I said sure, knowing that Chris and his wife Jenny were ready to have their first child. I honestly didn't think it would happen. But it did.

Fast forward a couple months to Saturday, Feb. 23rd. The alarm was set for 5:30 a.m. The South Beloit sun was still sleeping, and so was I. That was until a wide awake Chris knocked on my door. It was 5:15 a.m. It's amazing what a hunt does to a hunter. Chris, sleep deprived from the late night feedings and early morning wake up calls courtesy of son Jack, was as ready as a gun with its safety off.

I tried to catch-up with Chris. Both in the amount of clothing he was wearing and the enthusiasm he was wearing on his sleeve. I put on clothes, but my enthusiasm still didn't match his.

We get to where we're going and four men familiar with guns start to load up. I make sure the camera is ready. Point, click, capture the moment. Got it. Off went the birds, off we went.

After about an hour and half of videotaping (and stumbling through mounds of snow up to my knees) I was holding a different point and click machine, a 12 gauge shotgun. I hadn't planned on this. I was holding a gun again. It had been a while. The thought of actually shooting at a bird, never really crossed my mind. That was until Chris reminded me how to handle a weapon. Here I was tracking through the snow with a new found purpose. I was hunting.

It didn't matter that I didn't kill anything this day (I did fire one shot, the bird was out of range as they say), I was doing something out of my comfort zone. Mr. Anti-spontaneity had done something spontaneous, and loved every minute of it.

I don't recommend everyone walk around five hours with a shotgun, but try something different sometimes.

You see that book over there with the ugly cover, it's actually pretty good.

Thanks Chris for letting me hunt for more than just good pictures.