Everett's Baptism

This post is long over due, the Olympics takes a lot of extra time out of my day :) Earlier this month Everett was baptised and contrary to the lateness of this post, Brian and I were honored to be Godparents. Well, technically we were Christian Witnesses since we are not Catholic but his parents call us Godparents and I'm fairly certain God isn't hung up on denominations so Godparents we will be.
The whole family was in town for the occasion!
We shared the role of Godparents with Ken's brother Jeremy and wife Kristy.
This was my first Catholic baptism so it was an interesting experience. Everett was not allowed to wear his baptismal gown until he was actually baptised, so in the middle of the ceremony we stopped to dress a pretty ticked off baby.
Everett loves Auntie Rachel! This is pretty much how he felt about the whole day.

Mom's Lasagna

My mom makes the best lasagna! Unfortunately she brought the recipe to the grocery store and it never made it back in the cookbook. Then Betty Crocker chose to update her cookbook and replaced the recipe with one that is not nearly as good. Luckily many people missed this recipe and it wasn't hard to find. I'm putting it on the blog for safe keeping!In the spirit of my favorite cooking blog, here is a photo of the ingredients. (not pictured, oregano - oops.) Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb lean ground pork (I used spicy Italian sausage)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 T parsley flakes
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 t dried basil leaves
2 (12 oz) cartons cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 T parsley flakes
1 1/2 t salt
1 t oregano leaves
12 lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Cook ground beef, pork, onion and garlic in large sauce pan or dutch oven. Drain off all fat. Add tomatoes and break up with a fork. Stir in tomato sauce, 2 T parley flakes, sugar, 1 t salt and basil. Heat to boiling stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 1 hour or until the consistency of spaghetti sauce.

Mix cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1 T parsley flakes, 1 1/2 t salt and oregano.

Reserve 3/4 cup meat sauce for thin top layer.

In ungreased 9x13 pan layer 1/3 noodles, meat sauce and cottage cheese mixture. Repeat x2.

Spread reserved sauce on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Lasagna can be covered and refrigerated for several hours at this point.

Bake 45 minutes uncovered. Add 10 minutes extra if refrigerated.

Let stand 15 minutes for easier cutting.

Slumber Party

We had our niece and nephews over for a sleep over. This is the first year they were all brave enough to come (except Everett.) It is debatable who was more excited the kids or Brian and me.
Thanks Cousin Paul for passing on your playmobile and imanginext. They were a hit and we didn't have to be the aunt and uncle with lame toys. The living room floor covered with toys is a beautiful site!

Bianca, Sorry Sliders was fun too!
I was happy to have Hannah there this year so I could finally do some girly things.
Brian had fun doing boy things like exploring the woods behind our house.
We even got some parenting practice when we heard giggling in the guest room at 5:45 a.m.

White Rice and Vodka

Brian doesn't take life very seriously. A good match for me who takes life waaaaaaay too seriously. So, when asked to make a list of favorite meals for First Thursday he included white rice and vodka. First of all I've never seen Brian eat white rice and second (especially if you are following our adoption) Brian rarely drinks. Bernie did a great job making this meal work! Apparently there are several rice dishes that call for vodka, who knew?


Everett is 2 months old now and a fun addition to First Thursday!!