Pant + Britches = Branches

just a few updates. This will probably be a random post~ but I've been wanting to get some of our 'latest news' out to all our readers:

Ivy loves to give 'back- asausages'
She also refers to our pastor as 'password'
I used the words pants and britches one day and in Ivy's world it became 'branches'

Thea has just recently (as of this morning) lost one of her front teeth. I awoke to her frantically panicking & afraid that she had swallowed it, but later found it in the covers of her bed. She was so excited and she looks adorable!

Petra has continued to be an amazing little person (and cuter everyday) & there are two little boys in her class that think so too. She comes home with stories of their harassment on the playground and during lunchtime. Come to find out during PT conferences, she's not the perfect angel she's painted the picture to be and consistently engages in 'quiet-antagonism.'  I thought I had more time to prepare for this!

Our cat has decided that she's had enough of all the nonsense and took a flying leap off our balcony into the bushes and got away for one evening, and we now had the railing screened off to prevent any further suicide attempts (or escapes) Her one sole purpose is to provide us girls with furry-friendly emotional comfort--sorry Meow.

Andrew & I's schedules are crazy considering we have one car, work at our church which is apx. 45 min. away--keep up with private school schedules, fundraisers and activities--and somehow end the day with enough energy & grace  to pull off a family meal together (& not to mention the mountain of homework we both have to complete).  For example a typical evening looks like this: (& this just happens to be a ply-by-ply of this evening since it the freshest in my memory, but not much unlike any other) I arrive home from picking the girls up from school and making a quik stop to the Super-Walmart (which ended up being 1 hr, mainly because everyone has to take their afternoon 'poo' at different times) Ivy is riding her bicycle in the apt. with Petra who decides to chase her around the apartment with the scooter and ends up getting smashed in the face by Ivy's handle bar. So, I decide it's bath time for Ivy while I help nurse Petra's wounded nose. I set the table--check--dinner is ready--check--Andrew calls, he's riding his bike & almost home--check-- Thea is cooking a pretend meal in the play ktchen with dried beans and uncooked noodles--check-- Oh ya, get Ivy out of the tub. I walk into a lake in the bathroom as she is having her own 'tea party' on the ledge of the bathtub..I grab the towel and as I turn around she slides out of the tub face first (because Ivy does everything face first) into the toilet seat and busts her lip open.  Andrew walks in the door (drenched with sweat from riding as usual--bless his heart!) to Petra with an ice pack, on the couch crying about her busted nose--screaming from the bathroom because Ivy is 'blooding' everywhere (Ivy language--it really wasn't that bad)  and Thea trying to serve him a meal of raw beans & noodles--welcome home daddy!  Just a regular night at the Elrods!

I'll have pictures for you all tomorrow. Alls well now--everyone is sound asleep (praise the Lord) and I'm ready for that myself. We miss you, love you & pray for you.  Always ~Ami

The Criswell College Omelet

"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love"...

And in the autumn the thoughts of the resident Criswell mycophagist turns to things fungivorous and culinary.  It appears that there is a healthy mycorrhizal symbiosis at work amidst the roots of the pristine oaks in the Criswell campus courtyard.  A relationship that has born much fruit:

What is one to do with such gems as these fulvous fungi?  Such fine specimens of boletus deserve far better than to desiccate unnoticed among the fallen oak leaves.  They deserve to be in an honorary omelet, an omelet dedicated to the institution that nurtured them--a Criswell College Omelet.

[Disclaimer: Please do not eat any mushroom that you are not certain you have properly identified using several of your senses.  It is best to have an experienced forager show you the ropes before eating things you find growing in the woods--or the Criswell courtyard.  There are many poisonous mushroom species, and a few are even deadly.]

Step 1:  Clean and cut these blue-staining boletes.

 

Step 2:  Sauté in butter, and salt to taste.  (Some blue-staining boletus have been known to cause "intestinal distress" when not thoroughly cooked.  So cook them well just in case.)  No additional seasoning is necessary as these have a naturally pleasant, meaty flavor.

Step 3:  Add onions and continue to cook.

Step 4:  Add kale, continue to cook.  The kale may require additional salt--add to taste.

Step 5:  Prepare three eggs--beat 2 full eggs and 1 egg white.

Step 6:  Grate cheese.  I prefer an aged cheddar mixed with fresh mozzarella and a hint of havarti for this dish.

Step 7:  On medium heat add the eggs to the boletes, kale, and onion.  Flip once it has cooked through, add the cheese to the top and fold.

Step 8:  Plate it.  Attempt to draw the Criswell College "logos" shield in sriracha, and serve.

Step 9:  Bon appétit!

*******

How did it go?  I will not leave you in suspense.  The omelet was exquisite.  And I did not experience any side effects--beside a new layer of appreciation for the Criswell campus.

My Parents Have a New Trashman

A large brown bear got into my parent's trash the other night (they live in Colorado).

Here's a video of the incident: