Doopa

Adalin was baby-talking to Kira one day and called her Doopa. I think that she meant to say Loopa, because Ad and I often call Kira Loopy-Loo, but Doopa came out. It was sweet. Now that is what Adalin calls Kira all the time.

Here's are some pics of Doopa tonight after we stripped her down after dinner. She is so chunky, it is funny. We love her so much. She is the happiest child in the world. She constantly brings joy to our day and makes us smile. She continues to wave when we say hi to her, clap when we say yay, and play peek-a-boo. She almost crawled tonight too. She moved her knees like 3 or 4 times forward, but then collapsed... she will be crankin' around the house any day!

Adalin with Santa

She didn't cry this year! She was a little hesitant at first, but I bribed her with McDonald's and then she got up the guts to go sit on his lap. Santa gave her a wrapped gift, which she opened right after... a blue fuzzy purse. Oh, to describe the look on her face. Just like it was the only thing she ever dreamed of! It was cute.

A Long Tumble

#4 - Down the Sand Dune

One of the coolest things to see in my home state are the sand dunes of Lake Michigan. We took a family vacation there when I was little, like 5 or 6. We stayed in a cabin, swam, saw lighthouses and such. One day, all of us kids really wanted to take a couple-mile hike to this lighthouse that we hadn't seen before. This was a hike through sand, with a few trees and beach grass mixed in. I don't know what my parents were thinking consenting to take 4 small children on a (2 or 3 mile?) hike through sand. Anyway, we went and I had a little accident. I remember it mostly from watching it replay on our TV screen over and over and over as, you guessed it, we were watching home videos some random Sunday evening.

You see, I was fatigued and weak, from walking that far through sand when I slipped and tumbled down, head over foot, down about a 30 foot hill. After the series of summer-salts down this dune, I was crushed. I had sand in every orifice of my face, in my hair, eyes, ears, teeth, under my fingernails. Sand was in all my clothes, shoes, socks. It was awful. Not to mention the pain from falling, sliding, tumbling, whatever you want to call it, that far. I was embarrassed too. I cried.

To make matters worse, this (and the ice-skating episode, it was a tie) was my families' favorite home video. They would play it in slow motion over and over, watching me roll down this sand dune. They would have tears in their eyes b/c they thought it was so funny. For many years, I would run off to my room and cry b/c I was so embarrassed that I had such a nasty fall. Then, eventually, I began to laugh too. It was pretty funny, I guess.

Fish Stories

#3 - My Water World

I love the water. I always have! I remember being very little, swimming in lake Michigan for hours and hours. Exhausted, my mom and dad would tell me its time to go and I would be so disappointed. I never wanted to get out of the water, lakes, pools, ponds, you name it.

I swam for Edsel Ford HS in Dearborn, MI for 4 years, varsity. Swimming competitively was my "thing." I was decent at some other sports, but swimming was my passion, where I fit in the best, what I was the best at. Almost all of the people that I swam against had been swimming competitively since they were 5. Not me. That's what is a little ironic. My best friend, Kaileen convinced me to join the swim team with her in 7th grade. She knew the strokes b/c she had taken swimming lessons for years. Not me. I wouldn't have drowned in a sticky situation, but I didn't know how to swim correctly. So it started for me there, in the Stout Middle School pool. I am not sure how I learned the strokes. I remember Kaileen and Leslie helping me with technique, and my coach probably did too. I think that I mostly watched other people swimming and then did it myself. Anyway, I learned somehow and found myself to be good at it.
My middle school coach held time trials at practice. He made me do the 100 IM trial and I did not want to do it. (100 IM is 4 laps, one length of each stroke; Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle) Our best IMer was up on the blocks as well and I knew that she would just hate me if I beat her. I didn't pay much attention to her as I swam those 4 laps, I just swam the best I could. I knew I was ahead at the end and remember thinking about slowing down and purposely loosing just so the other swimmers wouldn't hate me. You know how middle school girls are. Nasty! Well, they did hate me after I came in first. In fact, we laugh about it now, but even my best friends, Kaileen and Leslie, joined the other mean girls in a revenge campaign. While swimming laps during practice for days after, they purposely did the Breaststroke (frog) kick when swimming the opposite direction and in the same lane, so that they could kick me in the ribs. Yes, true. They kicked me underneath the lane lines. That was just downright mean.
So anyway, it was there that I found out I could swim, fast.
High school swimming was a blast. I loved it. I loved it b/c I was good at it, it was challenging, ohhh, it was SO HARD sometimes. I worked my tail off. Morning practice 3-4 days/week. We would swim about 2-3,000 yards in the morning and then another 7-8,000 during practice after school, which was everyday, besides meet days. You know how far 10,000 yards is? That's 100 lengths of a football field, 5.68 miles, a long way. It was my passion though, even though it was difficult at times, it was so rewarding. I made varsity all 4 years, was a captain and MVP my senior year, and still hold a swimming record for the 400 IM Medley Relay at my high school. Adam makes fun of me that I still have my varsity jacket. I love that thing! The letter on the front is covered with my swimming medals, one sleeve has 4 chevrons, the other a star for being captain, and the back says "Edsel Ford Varsity Swimming." I felt like I was on top of the world wearing that thing in front of the underclassmen. I was the pimp! He just doesn't understand b/c the people that had varsity jackets in his HS were the nerds. That's Maine for you! :)
Needless to say, I was a lifeguard all through HS for the City of Dearborn. I worked at the indoor pool during the school year and at Dunworth Memorial Pool in the summer. IT WAS THE BEST JOB EVER!!! I went on to get certified as a WSI (water safety instructor) so that I could teach swim lessons, and an LGI (lifeguard instructor) so I could teach lifeguards, certify them, and do recerts for the city. Being an LGI and Head Guard at Dunworth was awesome. It's funny. Some lifeguards move on to bigger and better things and don't even miss the pool. Me, something stuck. I really loved those jobs, I was passionate about them, they were sweet. Kaileen, I know you are laughing, stop! You loved it too!

So there you have it, my fish stories.

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

Many people in Kirksville that read my blog have already sampled or made this soup, but it is blog-worthy and therefore I am posting it. I got this recipe from my mom who got it from someone in her church who made it for a chili cook-off one fall. It won and has since won an SAA cooking club and another chili cook-off in Fenton, MI. It is a great recipe! It is a fairly inexpensive meal too. So for all of you that haven't tried it, here it is:

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

Saute in 5 qt. sauce pan until onions are soft and translucent:
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves (or more) garlic

Add and saute for 1 minute:
2 cans diced green chilies
2 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. red pepper

Then add:
5 c. chicken broth
3 chicken breasts, cooked, chopped
3 cans white beans aka. Great Northern Beans, drained

Simmer for at least 10 minutes on med high heat.

Then add 16 oz. Mexican blend cheese slowly, stirring constantly until all cheese is well incorporated. You can add sour cream and/or cream cheese to soup, but I think that it is good w/o it.
Serve with homemade wheat rolls.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-6

Note: For you Kirksville people... don't use regular grated HyVee cheddar cheese in this. It doesn't melt very well and the cheese sticks to the chicken chunks and gets all globby. It was a mess when I used it. Use finely grated Kraft Mexican blend cheese or any combo of cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Cheddar Jack, etc. **Finely grated, and preferably Walmart or Kraft brand. Not mozzarella, too stringy when melted.

The Reindeer Romp and The Aftermath

Last Saturday, December 1st, Adam and I ran the Reindeer Romp here in town. It was miserable. There was an ice storm the night before, so everything was covered in ice. It was still raining, freezing and pretty much just the worst weather you could ask for for a race day. I wasn't planning on running b/c I had a church commitment that morning, but that got cancelled b/c of the bad weather. The race was still on, so I decided to just get out there and run. Adam and I quickly got a babysitter and off we went. I began to have 2nd thoughts as soon as I tried to make it down my porch steps and into the car w/o slipping and falling on the ice. I would have stopped there if it wasn't for my hubby saying, "Common' Meliss, you'll be fine, you won't fall!" He's right, I didn't fall once. We made it to the start and off we went. I only ran the 1 1/2 miler, Ad did the 4 mile race. It actually wasn't all that bad as we were running. My shoes got soaked through. I was running in my own private puddles hidden inside my sneakers. My pants were wet up to the knee. My sweatshirt was wet too, mostly my arms and shoulders, and my mittens were covered in snot. I didn't have the heart to blow a snot rocket or two during the race b/c there were always runners near me and really no where to go off to the side since all but one little path was not icy. So I used my mittens. Yuck. I finished and went inside the venue to the fireplace to wait for Adam. That was actually the only race that I have ever ran besides the Moab half marathon. Adam came in as the overall fastest runner over 200 lbs.! That was exciting. Good job Ad! That night I ran again to kind of punish myself for eating too much for dinner, and b/c DeAnne wanted to get out of the house and go to the TCC. I felt great after my long nap that afternoon, so I went. I ran another mile and a half...
The next day I began to feel a little feverish and my head started to hurt. Monday, I was just plain sick. Fever, sore throat, headache. Miserable. It took a week to get over too. Then Adam got the exact same thing. We don't know if we got sick from running in the freezing rain or not, but my guess is that that had something to do with it. Eh, it was a good little workout anyway.

Swedish Pancakes

Adam grew up on them. My sweet mother-in-law would make pancake after pancake some mornings for Adam and his brother Nathan. 30 Swedish Pancakes later, they would finally be full and probably a little sick too.
Swedish pancakes are very thin and crepe-like. Batter is mixed in a blender and poured into a hot skillet, swirled around until the pancake is large and thin, cooked to a light brown. Then you butter them, sprinkle powdered or granulated sugar, roll them up, and cut into bites. When Adam was little, he would butter and sugar the inside then sprinkle more sugar on top. Not healthy! They are so much of a tradition in the Franson family that they are made for breakfast at least once whenever any of the Fransons get together.
Adam has been sick the last few days and didn't feel his stomach could handle Fajitas, so he requested Swedish pancakes. OK... I always feel a little bit inadequate when I make these b/c I don't make them enough, so every time I do it again, the first one sticks to the pan & the batter is a little too thin. So I have to add more four, and I don't swirl them quite fast enough. By #2 or #3 I get the hang of it. I have to say I don't really enjoy making them sometimes b/c Adam has eaten thousands of these and I never feel like mine are quite the same as his mother's were. I am sure they are, but you know, Jeanine is the best at them.
Adalin LOVED them! Anything with straight sugar on it Adalin loves. She was acting like a sour puss when Ad first rolled her mini Swedish pancake up. She said she wanted something on it. Little did she know of the sweetness contained therein. They do look plain from the outside... but once she took the first bite, she was hooked! She ate 3.
I had mine with cinnamon and sugar inside. I tried to get Adam to try one like this. OK, so he is oneof the most stubborn people I know. He would not hear of preparing one any other way than the way he has for the last 20 years, butter and powdered sugar. I did get him to take one bite of mine, he said it was good, but just not the way they should be. I guess tradition is tradition.

Here's the recipe:

Swedish Pancakes

Heat your best non-stick skillet on stovetop on med-high heat.

Put in Blender:
2 1/2 c. milk
5 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour ( the recipe calls for 2 c. but I think I added about 1/4 c. extra tonight, so try this, maybe a little more?)
1/4 t. salt
2 T. butter

You may use cooking spray, but they are better if you don't and just use a good non-stick pan.
Pour enough batter to cover a little less than 1/2 of the pan, immediately tip the pan to swirl batter around to make a round, even pancake (good luck), until pancake is thin. Flip. Allow to slightly brown. Serve hot with butter and powdered sugar or any other toppings/fillings you would like (but sugar is the proper way ;) ). Roll up and cut into slices.

Fries and Chocolate

#2 - My Childhood Food Habits

When I was little I HATED french fries. I wouldn't touch them. It was something about the mushy, greasy potato on the inside of the crispy "crust." What kid doesn't like fries? Adalin loves them and would eat them with every meal of she had the choice. She doesn't get that from me. I like them now and even crave them every once and a while.
I have had a "sweet tooth" ever since I was a small child. I have always loved sugar, particularly chocolate. Adam is more the fruity sugar type, but me, ooh, the way to my heart is through that sweet creamy goodness. I love it, still. I used to eat myself sick with sweets when I was a child. Some things never change.

I've been tagged...

Which means that I have to share 6 things that you all probably don't know about me already. Sorry to my Mom, Dad, my sisters, Kaileen & Les, you may have already heard these!

#1 - "Blubber Buns"

My older sister, Lauren, and I took ice skating lessons when we were younger. My dad would often video-tape us during our class. My family has a tradition of watching these home videos when we are all at home, bored and need something to occupy our minds. Unfortunately, I fell during my lessons, a lot. I was like 6; do you blame me? I think that my fam and I have watched some of these movies a few too many times. I somehow acquired the nickname "Blubber Buns" because, watching one of these home videos in slow-mo, my sweet family noticed that I would bounce after each fall on the cold, hard ice. Kind of like when you drop a medicine ball, it bounces just a little, well so did I! So there you have it, interesting fact #1.

Thanks Rebecca for the tag!

ATSU Winter Formal

Adam and I went to the ATSU Winter Formal last night! It was fun to get all dressed up and get out with just him, no kids.

I have to admit that I felt a little out of my element walking into the TCC with my hair done up and wearing my old homecoming dress. Adam and I haven't dressed up like this in 4 years. The last time was to go to a dance in the Salt Lake Capitol Bldg. That was an amazing night. It was one of those monumental nights that I remember feeling so in love with Adam, I will never forget. Last night, being in the same dress with the same man, years later, made me remember past years with him and how much I truly love him and want my life no other way. I included a pic of my hair, done by the Franson Hair Institute. :)

Single, wild people always rip in married people like us because we seem not to know how to have fun anymore... well, this is what I have to say about that:

The wild and crazy life gets old eventually, maybe when you're 60, maybe 20 (like me). Seeing people make absolute fools of themselves for whatever reason last night confirmed in my mind that this kind of behavior is ridiculous and something I will never resort to. I had fun last night, but it was a different kind of fun than those who were plastering their faces to their beer cup... Dancing with Adam, arms around each other, was all I needed to consider the night a wonderful, fun, romantic one. We have so much together: a marriage, kids, our love, trials, a house, a great life. That's all I want. My life isn't boring. It's filled with more joy than I had ever hoped for back in my crazy days. Changing diapers? Not fun, but seeing my girls grow, learn, and express their love to me is more than I have dreamed of and worth every smelly diaper changed. My life has an undeniable purpose. I don't ever wonder what my purpose here is, I know that it's caring for these precious souls that have been entrusted to my care. Service, in my family and to others, is what brings me true happiness. The "fun" party life never did that for me. Nope, no true joy coming from that neck of the woods... There is just more to life than that.