2008 Ice Cream Olympiade

This summer Beijing hosted the 2008 summer Olympics while our house hosted the 2008 ice cream Olympics. Thousand of athletes competed in Beijing and here it was only me, but the competition was stiff. I spent weeks in rigorous training and the hard work paid off. I finally mastered the art of custard based ice cream, you know, the smooth, creamy, delicious, full-bodied kind of ice cream, not grainy or bland. Four of my Sundae creations competed against each other for the gold medal. It was a very close race, especially between the gold and silver medals. Here are the results from the very discriminating judges (me, Mike, and the kids).

The gold medal and highest honor goes to.....

Almond Joy Sundae: (this creation was inspired by one of my favorite candy bars) Sweet and creamy coconut custard ice cream topped with rich homemade fudge sauce, flaky toasted coconut and crunchy almonds. Taste of the tropics in a chilled cup.

At a very close second with the silver......

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Parfait: This one was inspired by my sister in law Kim who found a recipe on her favorite blog and made it for us. I just took it up a notch from the original recipe. This concoction is strawberry cheesecake swirl custard, layered with sugary butter pretzel crunch and fresh sliced strawberries. Very berry. We loved the creaminess of the custard against the sweet and salty crunch of the pretzels.

And the bronze goes to........

Pistachio Ice Cream with Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti: This one was very mellow, creamy, and nutty. The biscotti was the perfect accompaniment. The sprinkling of toasted pistachios on the top was the just the right finish.

And honorable mention goes to.....



Pumpkin Ice Cream Sundae: This was rich and spicy pumpkin ice cream a-top homemade molasses gingerbread, drizzled with thick caramel sauce and sprinkled with chopped candied ginger. This one tasted like fall and had intense flavor, but the texture of the custard wasn't our favorite so this one didn't make the medal stand. It's not like we had to force it down though, so it deserves a mention.

I had a great time creating these Sundaes and we, of course, enjoyed consuming them. It was a perfect project for summer. The only thing bad about it is the contribution to our waistlines! I'm not going to offer any recipes on this blog because they're long and involved and would take forever to type up. Plus, there are a few techniques to be mastered in the process. If anyone is interested in perfecting homemade ice cream, here is the book and ice cream freezer I would recommend. You still have a few more weeks of summer, so start churning!

Two good "mommy moments", one sweet, one funny

This week has been LONG. Lots of hard work in the mommy department. When things get like this, I try to focus on the moments that seem to make all the hard work worth it. Here are two...

















Monday was Mary Kate's first day of school. (See photos) I practically had to block the door so she wouldn't leave and get to school too early. After school she burst in, so eager to tell me about how totally awesome her day was. After relating all the exciting details, she decided to go over to Brooklyn's to play. As she was bounding out the door, she stopped and blurted "Mommy, I love you! I don't know why I said that, I just felt like it!"
How sweet is that!
It's not like we never say "I love you." I try to say it to her everyday and she usually responds in kind, but this time it was so energetic and spontaneous. She said it because she felt it.

Sweet mommy moment!

A few days later, I'm sitting on the deck reading an "In Style" magazine, more specifically an article entitled "Fall Fashion Fever: Best Trends and How to Wear Them." I hear the boys call my name and turn around to see this....



















And this........




Now there is some fall fashion! A Santa hat and an apron (or "cooking dress" as the boys call it) paired with filthy clothing, all accessorized with some deep nose picking and dirty faces. Beat that, In Style magazine!

Funny mommy moment!

That Shakespeare was up in the night!

"Parting is such sweet sorrow" says Juliet to Romeo in Act two. That is bull. There is nothing sweet about parting with loved ones. It's just plain sorrow.

Our closest friends in the neighborhood, the Johnstons, moved to Canada. Darin, Kim, and family drove back to Pennsylvania after being here for 2 months (just long enough for us to get seriously attached), and cousin Marc flew off to India. All of this in one week. We're feeling completely abandoned!

Sobs and sniffles from Mary Kate, poor girl! She lost her best friend to the great white north and her cousins to the far away east. She has declared that life is NOT FAIR! I agree.

We've had so many family and friends move away over the years, you'd think we'd be used to it by now. But it's painful every time.

We just need to quit getting so attached to people. Then maybe they wouldn't leave such a hole when they leave?

"You're not my friend anymore!"

This is a phrase we hear constantly around the house these days.
A few weeks ago Jeffrey sat on Jonathan's head in the bathtub. Understandably Jonathan was not happy about it and declared loudly that Jeffrey was not going to be his friend ANYMORE! This threat elicited a horrified and tearful response, "Then who's going to be my friend!" There was at least another half hour of crying and pleading after the bath, as Jeffrey tried to convince Jonathan to reconsider their friendship.

The boys have discovered that this threat is very effective when used on each other, so they've decided it must be equally effective on the rest of us. If Mike, Mary Kate, or I do anything the boys don't relish, such as say no to their plea for a Popsicle, we hear adamantly, "Then I'm not goin' be your friend anymore!" It doesn't seem to have the same effect on us, but they still persist.

Having twin boys has had it's challenges for sure, but if someone were to ask me what I liked about it, I would have to say that it is absolutely heart melting to see how much the boys love each other. They are definitively the best of friends. They HATE being separated. We've tried to spend time with the boys separately to give them that "one on one" we are sure they need, but they can't handle it. They just whine the whole time that we forgot the other one and we must go home immediately and get him. They enjoy each other's company, understand each other, and look out for each other. They're little com padres and I love it. One of my deepest wishes as their mother is that it will always be like that, despite the constant threats we're hearing around the house.

Dogs as Prozac......Yes, I said Prozac

Those of you who know me well know that I've ingested my fair share of the over prescribed drug mentioned in this title, and it has been a life saver at times (literally), but I've now replaced my daily dose of Prozac with a little dog named Winnie. Since the day we brought that tiny, quivering, furry pooch home, my serotonin levels have been rising and I feel like they've reached an all time high. She just tickles my happy place in a way that no drug can. (See video)

While I'm talking about my current favorite dog, I feel like giving a shout out to my other favorite dogs who have raised the feel good chemical in my brain over the years.......

First we have Juanita.....




she was a little chihuahua belonging to my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. The poor dog was completely traumatized by all the gazillions of grand kids chasing her through the house, but if I could catch her, she would eventually settle down for a nap in my lap as I rocked in Grandma's chair. She liked the salty taste of my skin. Before napping she would lick my arms and hands thoroughly.
( I know, it's gross, but I was a kid)



Me and my brother Andrew with two of Juanita's puppies

Next we have Rais.......


the dog my mom shocked us all by bringing home. He was a sweet, docile dog and a calming influence on everyone in our house. If we raised our voices when fighting with each other he would get agitated and circle around us, barking. Since no one wanted to cause our sweet boy any stress, fighting was greatly reduced. Rais heard about all of my teenage woes and never passed judgement.
Then came Maggie.....



Maggie was CRAZY! She had some serious energy. Luckily Mike and I were young and spry and could keep up with her, barely. Border Collies like Maggie are great at herding. I so wish I still had her to keep my boys out of the street, but alas, she is herding the children of another family somewhere in Cache Valley. We miss you Maggie Woo Woo!

And last but not least, Tasha the Wonder Dog.....





Tasha was my biggest fan when I entered the Dickey family as Mike's wife. She and I got along well. Once when Mike and I were taking care of Tasha while the rest of the family was in Yellowstone, she got herself lost. After a sleepless night I finally found her wandering aimlessly through the parking lot of the local Thriftway. Our reunion was something out of a scene from a Lassie movie complete with tears and lots of tail wagging. It's a good thing I found her or Mike and I might not still be considered part of the Dickey family.


So, if any of you are out there feeling like your brain chemistry could use a boost, might I recommend a dog. They can be much cheaper than a therapist, don't have the side effects of drugs and in my opinion can be more effective than both. Still not convinced, just watch the video below. (Meredith, give Sprout a scratch behind the ears for me. I'm so glad you've joined the ranks of dog lovers around the world.)