True"man" vs. Food

Tonight in the Trueman home we did it Man vs, Food True"man" style! We have been watching the show Man vs. Food where the host, Adam, goes all over the US to different cities trying out the food in restaurants and also does eating challenges. The kids love the show. I like it, but it makes me hungry and want to EAT! Paul likes it since he has been to most of the cities. I want to check out some of these places. I like the fact that they are normal, regular priced places that we would go.

On the Minneapolis show Adam went to two restaurants who claimed to have the best juicy lucy. A juicy lucy is a hamburger with cheese in the middle. So basically 2 patties sealed together with cheese in the middle. The kids begged to have it for dinner this week. Alyssa was even asking this morning that if we ever to go Minneapolis if we could go to dinner at the 5-8 club and try it out. Too funny.

Ours is a bit different since we are using turkey meat instead, but DELICIOUS none the less!

Here is the finished product.

Oozing with cheese

fries on the side or on top- YUM!

So True"Man" vs. Food family what was you thoughts on the dinner?

Paul- "That didn't suck!"

Xander- "It was better than in-n-out." (Sorry Xander- nothing is better than in-n-out)

Alyssa- "The best burger!"

Lisette- "The cheese on the inside makes it sooo moist inside!"

Positive Reinforcement

Enough already is the way Paul and I have been feeling just before the kids bedtime lately! As soon as it is time to go up and brush they have to

• pet the dog,
• hug the dog,
• complain about how tired they are
• and don't want to brush,
• slowly take o- n- e s -t -a -i -r at a time
• only to get upstairs and argue over who brushes first,
• argue about just anything
• jump on my bed
• run around like spazzes
• and become so wound up it is hard to calm them back down

It is painful and aggravating and we are fed up with the who thing! By the time we are back down stairs my blood pressure is much higher and I am SO glad the day is over. It just puts a bad vibe to the end of a usually good day.

For video go here: http://truemantwins.blogspot.com/2009/06/brushing-teeth.html

My sister told me about how my brother in law brings up 2 quarters each night for the kids and if they do a good job they get to put the money into a jar. When the jar is full they get to go out to eat, the movies or something fun like that. I loved the idea!

We tweaked it a bit for Xander and Lissy. Each week they have the potential to earn $1.00 more than their allowance. They will earn 10 cents each night and if they do a good job EVERY night they get a 30 cent bonus. Since we started last night towards the end of the week I told them they could each earn a quarter. I tell ya it worked like a charm! It was such a pleasant wrap up to the evening- no frustration, no yelling, or threats just peace and harmony.

Some may call it bribery, but I choose to call it positive reinforcement for good behavior. While it lasts I will enjoy it. Each and every peaceful minute of it!

1. Paul making it safely home this morning

2. Friday

3. Juicy Lucy's for dinner tonight

Enough already!

There are SO many reasons why it needs to STOP snowing for the rest of this season:

1. I bake when it snows and then I eat what I bake.

Today it was banana bread which sounds healthy but I think the 2 bananas are outweighed by the 1 1/2 cups of sugar. At least I used applesauce instead of butter, but 3 pieces later....

2. I am sick of sludge, sand and grit!

Swept out the basement and garage too many times to count. And need to do it again.

3. I want to lounge by the pool and be HOT enough to jump in. Not look out and see this-

4. I want to be outside for longer than a quick walk or 40 minute run.

5. I almost have forgotten what it is like to wear short sleeves without a sweat jacket.

6. I am sick of my winter clothes!

7. Sadly 45 degrees feels really nice. Just when we were finding our grass on Monday here were are again buried in snow.

8. Did I mention sludge, sand and grit???

9. It really stinks to take the dog for a walk in the sludge.

10. I miss these-

Okay now I am thoroughly depressed that winter is still out my window at least it is pretty. Until mud season is here. Oh can't we just skip it until June?

Note to self- NO MORE BANANA BREAD. Do cookies count?

Okay now for a few good snow things-

1. it's pretty

2. school was delayed and thankfully NOT cancelled today

3. the kids really love to play in it.

Preserving Sanity

Yes, this is how I felt the first 2 days of vacation when A & A were arguing about E V E R Y T H I N G!!!!

A little something every day on winter break= SANITY SAVER

• Monday- Movies with cousins- Percy Jackson and the lightning thief- great movie
• Tuesday- sledding and snow boarding with cousins and lots of friends at school
• Wednesday- 2 hours of swimming (wear 'em out!)
• Thursday- roller skating and Xander has a friend sleeping over
• Friday- friend over until after lunch- then grocery shopping

Lots of whines about grocery shopping. Really I must get something done at least one of the days. It cracked me up this afternoon Xander was SO MAD at Alyssa because she wouldn't listen to him. TOTAL payback for the first 2 days of this week where they felt no need to listen to ME!

A good vacation all in all, but it will be just fine for them to go back tomorrow!

1. a week of fun

2. not having to do homework, lunches, rush

3. friends to enjoy it with

Feelin' the love!

We got a package from Grandma Barbara today.

Good things are ALWAYS in the package from Grandma B!

Here is our Valentine's Day stash!

Since Grandma is a dog groomer there is always a bandanna that goes along with the holiday!

Here is Lola sportin' her new look.

Unfortunately she isn't as pleased with it as we are.

Thanks Grandma B!

This is how we feel after opening and eating a lot of things from the package!

We love you too!!!

1. valentine's candy

2. fun cards

3. a package in the mail (We probably should have let the kids open it, but we couldn't wait. We did wait to eat it with them though, if that counts for anything.)

Mormon militia?

Last night was Elder Mcavoy's last dinner in our home. He has served his mission here in MA for the past two years and now it is time to go home and figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

Paul even let him come over even though it was Superbowl Sunday, but the agreement was they had to be out by 6 since kickoff was at 6:30. Elder Mcavoy, being the huge football fan that he is, totally understood.

As in typical fashion at the Trueman home it all started with Xander collecting his arsenal of Nerf guns for the big "mormon militia" battle. This has been a tradition every time they come over for the past year or so.

Everyone got in on the action-

shooting,

throwing the ammo when it took to long to load,

hiding behind chairs and big guns,

eating the ammo- oh wait that was only Lola,

and laughing REALLY HARD!

I took the behind the scenes photographer roll, but still had a quite enjoyable time. The part I liked most was it would be silent during the stalking phase and then serious laughter busting out. What a fun time!

After the gun fight it was time to sit down to Superbowl style dinner- nachos, buffalo wings, chex mix and soda with some veggies on the side. Of course there was applesauce cake for dessert.

Alyssa made a nice card for Elder Mcavoy. He has been in our ward for a long time and we have all enjoyed his company. It did help greatly that he was a Cowboys fan too! Best of luck!

1. fun times in the Trueman home

2. the kids giving the missionary thought from their lesson

3. not being upset who won or lost the Superbowl

My new favorite cake!

I wanted to bake something for the kids that would be hot and hopefully delicious when they got off the bus yesterday. I found this wonderful and easy recipe on Everyday Food from Martha Stewart. No don't turn away since I mentioned Martha! This is a really easy no fru fru recipe. Well it isn't with my adaptations!

Here is the original recipe and I'll post the changes I made to it at the bottom-

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups Basic Applesauce, or store-bought chunky applesauce
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Confectioners' sugar, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Beat in applesauce.
3. Generously coat a nonstick 9-inch tube pan with cooking spray. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (but slightly wet), 50 to 60 minutes.
4. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto a cutting board or baking sheet; invert cake onto rack, top side up. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired.

Here are my changes- since you all know butter and I don't get along!

• I used butter flavor crisco plus 6 teaspoons of water instead of 1 cup butter
• I don't own cardamon. Unfortunately had to look it up. I have heard of it, but wasn't sure of the flavor. So I just omitted it!
• used cinnamon applesauce without chunks
• I didn't sprinkle powered sugar on the outside since it didn't need anything extra.
• I also baked it in a bundt pan.

End result- a seriously moist cake on the outside and crunchy outer crust. OH MY SO DELICIOUS! It was a hit and everyone in the house LOVED it! We finished most of it yesterday and had only a bit left today. I must say that the crunchy outer layer softened up overnight in the tupperware, but it was still delicious! I think the crisco was what made the crust so deliciously crisp.

This is going to be my "go to" easy and delicious cake recipe from now on! If you bake it with the butter let me know how the outer layer turns out please!

ENJOY!!!

1. out to lunch with the hubby 2 days in a row

2. Lola feeling better

3. Paul getting a promotion and not laid off!!!