Bed Rest & My Helpers

As our close family and Facebook friends know, we've had a few surprises come our way. At 30 weeks, this baby decided it was time to try and be born. Fortunately, after 5 days in the hospital, different medications to stop labor, and a blood transfusion, I was able to come home on bed rest and medication. Each day this little guy grows inside the womb is a victory.

Everyone, including my doctor and nurses, thinks bed rest is close to impossible with four kids. Boy, have I found out otherwise! This has been a wonderful opportunity for the kids to learn to serve those in need around us, especially right in our home! We've had to slightly alter our homeschool schedule but the things they are learning instead are much more valuable. In fact, I've actually been rather spoiled! Vince has taken this opportunity to grow his culinary skills. He doesn't pass up any opportunity to try a new dish, no matter how long it grounds him to the kitchen.

Since Friday night is pizza night, Vince challenged himself to make homemade pizzas by himself. We found a delicious recipe for a yeast-free quick whole wheat dough that uses baking powder instead. He made three pizzas like we normally do, chopping up all the vegetables and doing all the baking himself. I got up once to see if he was okay and he told me to lay back down! Dylan helped by grating all 2 pounds of cheese and while it's normally Faith's job to slice mushrooms, she wasn't feeling well so Vince did that too. Here's the finished product:
They were literally the best pizzas I've ever had! I liked this crust recipe better than my own! (Before you ask for the recipe, remember: it's a much higher calorie and fat crust than the other one. My doc said to fill up on as many calories as possible to grow this baby faster before he's born, so it worked out well for now!) Here's another dinner of his:

Without being able to go to the store, we had to improvise with what we had while Pete was at work and groceries were low. So I had Vince use leftover cream cheese/spinach filling from our vegetable wraps to make twice-baked stuffed potatoes. After baking them almost all the way, Vince scooped out most of the filling and mashed it with the cream cheese, chopped spinach, and garlic seasoning. After putting the filling back in the potatoes, he put shredded cheddar on top and broiled it until the cheese melted. They were absolutely delicious!

Aside from dinners, Vince has been making all of our breakfasts and lunches too. On a day when I said he could just make pb sandwiches for lunch, he chose instead to make homemade whole wheat pancakes with his homemade whipped cream! When he dished up my plate, he put extra whipped cream on it and said it was per the doctor's orders to get Malachi more calories!

Faith and Dylan have been wonderful at taking on extra chores along with their regular chores and schoolwork. Gabie just loves the fact that Mommy is available on the couch with a blanket for a good cuddle whenever he needs it. He also really loved his time with Daddy at home during the days I was in the hospital. It has caused him to officially make the transition to Daddy's boy now.

I love opportunities like this for our kids to learn how to serve and help others. They are doing a wonderful job and I am so thankful for my helpers. Even when things get complicated and a bit scary, it reminds me that everything can be a blessing when used the right way. As for baby Malachi, we have always known that God has a plan for him. We are thankful for God's love, care, and peace.

Spring Fun!

Before I say anything, I want to start out sharing how much we miss our friends and family in Minnesota. Nothing but God's will and His plan can keep us away from you all, and that seems to be the case for now. So since we have to live away from ya'll, we are SO thankful that it's somewhere warmer. I must say, however, that this year has been way too cold for Oklahoma. Last year by this time, we had multiple 70-degree days and one or two 80-degree days. Today's 70 degree day was definitely worth the wait! The kids are still outside in the backyard right now; it's so hard to come inside!
We got some cute shots of Gabie outside. Yeah, he could use a haircut, but he still couldn't be any cuter, hey?

This picture reminds me of a junior male hair model with that serious look. Love it!

Yay--basketball!!!! Time to put the basketball hoop and cul-de-sac to use again. It's a nice feature of our home being at the end of the road. Here's Faith using a volleyball for her basketball. (It's lighter so she can get it up higher:)

The kids got a shot of me playing some basketball too. I hope my specialist doc doesn't see this picture! I might get in trouble:)

Super athlete Dylan going up for a lay-up;

And Vince going for one too.

I thought I'd share my new view of my feet---THEY'RE GONE! This is my birds-eye view with the belly. Too funny not to share.

We all thought my brown shirt and belly went well with the basketball so here's a "shot" of that. (Cheesy pun, I know.) I think we're just about the same size, wouldn't you say? I'll have Vince take another picture like this in the next eight weeks before Malachi's born to see if we get bigger than my basketball!

Spinach Alfredo Pizza Recipe

For those of you that requested (or those that just would like it), here's the recipe for my spinach Alfredo and mushroom pizza on a whole wheat crust. I've been making it for a long time, so I don't have exact measurements, but I'll give it a shot. As delicious as it looks, I don't have a picture to share on here so you'll have to use your imagination:)

For the crust:
(makes enough dough for two large or three smaller pizzas--I make one regular crust on a large baking stone and one deep dish in a large jelly roll pan.)

4 1/2 tsp (or 2 pkts) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (about 110-115 degrees)
drizzle of honey (or 2 tsp of sugar)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups (plus more for kneading) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Place warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast in water; add honey and mix slightly with a fork. Set aside to let the yeast proof for 5-10 minutes.

While it's proofing, mix whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl. When the yeast/water mixture is done (it should have at least a 1/2" to 1" head on it), add it to the large bowl with the flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon, adding more all-purpose flour as needed until it forms a sticky ball. You can either continue adding the flour to the dough and knead inside the bowl like I do or turn it onto a floured surface and knead it that way too. Knead it for about 5 minutes. Spray the bowl with oil, place dough into it, cover, and let rise for an hour.

When it's doubled, punch it down and divide it onto greased pizza pans. Once it's spread out, you can either place the toppings on it as is or do what I do. I cover it with dishtowels and let it rise more while I prepare the toppings.

For the Alfredo sauce:

1 Tbsp butter
1 pint of heavy whipping cream (raw if possible)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan
1 tsp corn starch (non GMO)
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or less. Add the cream and turn up the heat slightly. Whisk it around while it bubbles and then add the Parmesan. Whisk and cook for another minute or two. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a teaspoon or two of water to make a slurry. Slowly add the pan while whisking at the same time. It will thicken fast. If necessary, make another small batch of cornstarch slurry to thicken. (The crust of your pizza will determine how thick you need the sauce to be; deep dish pizzas can hold a slightly-more runny sauce, while original or thin crust needs a thicker sauce.) Remove from heat when it's thickened and add the garlic salt and pepper.

For the pizzas:

Once your dough is ready, top with the sauce, LOTS of chopped fresh spinach and LOTS of fresh sliced mushrooms. These ingredients (the spinach and mushrooms) cook down A LOT so don't be afraid of using too much. We use about 1/2 pound of mushrooms for one big deep dish and about 2 packed cups of spinach.) If you'd like, top with other favorites like red onions, artichoke hearts, sliced Roma tomatoes, sliced zucchini, or whatever else you like! Cover with shredded mozzarella and bake at 425 until it's golden, bubbly, and delicious!

When you make yours, be sure to come back and leave a comment of how it turned out and any alterations you made to the recipe. Thanks!