Back to work

Rollie went back to work yesterday, November 1st. Don't feel too sorry for him, though, he's taking a week off at Thanksgiving and that's only 3 weeks away!

We had a great last day of his sabbatical on Halloween. Monday morning I took Lydia to Phoenix Children's Hospital for her check-up on her hips. She was born with hip dysplasia and had 3 different types of braces her first year, ending in a cast for 3 months which finally set her hips into the sockets. We hadn't been in a year and her x-ray showed that her hips basically look normal now! We don't have to go again for 2 more years. She'll be 5 1/2 then and I just can't fathom it :) Praise God for the way He has cared for Lydia through her hip issues. We're so thankful she doesn't need surgery, as this was a very real possibility a year ago.

Rollie and Lydia carved pumpkins. Lydia drew the face she wanted on the pumpkin and Rollie carved it. It turned out really well, we think! Her's is the one on the left below. We went trick or treating that night.

So, we're back at it. Rollie is back at work and the kids and I are getting into our normal routine. What will the Leemans do now that we're not on sabbatical anymore? We're going to see my family in Indiana for a week at Thanksgiving. I'm (Megan) training for the Phoenix Rock N Roll Half-Marathon again this year. Lydia is loving gymnastics and Ben is communicating more each day. We'll welcome our niece Hannah into the family sometime soon, thanks to Andy and Emily :) I'm excited to celebrate Christmas at our house this year and start some family traditions that we've had in mind for a while. Rollie and I would love to do a ski trip this year, as I haven't gone with him since we got pregnant with Lydia. In March we're taking a family vacation to Tybee Island near Savannah, GA with my parents and Andy and Emily and baby Hannah. Rollie and I would love to have a third Dr. Seuss character in our family sometime in the future. And I think this is the end of our blog... thanks for joining us the past 8 weeks!

Happy Halloween

our favorite characters!

We are very into Dr. Seuss at our house. So this year we decided that Lydia would be the Cat in the Hat and her baby dolls would be the Cat's sidekicks, Thing 1 and Thing 2. Little brother Ben continued the theme as Sam I Am with green eggs and ham. I made the costumes out of felt, starting the week before, and finished them about 3 hours before trick and treating!

after we trick or treated on our street we sat in the front yard and

handed out candy to the neighborhood kids

2 extra costumes to make!

Rollie and Lydia carved the pumpkins while Ben and I ran an errand that morning.

The pumpkin on the left is entirely Lydia's design. Love it!

I love this picture of Lydia seeing her costome for the first time

Surprise!

Let me just say that I REALLY don't like mustaches. But I REALLY love my husband :)

Sunday afternoon Lydia and I went to Costco right before going to church that night. While we were gone Rollie showered and shaved off his beard of one week... minus this furry friend. We were so busy unloading car and hurrying to church that I didn't notice until we were in the car. Too late!

Camping

This past weekend was Rollie's last weekend of his sabbatical. We went camping with 26 adults and kids from our small group at church! Friday morning we drove up to a campground near Camp Verde, AZ. We found a some sites that worked for our large group and started setting up. The weather was perfect during the day, around 80 degrees. It was pretty cold that night, hitting 37 degrees, quite a bit colder than anticipated. The beauty of living in the desert is that you can go camping at the end of October.

I think there were 12 kids on this trip, the oldest being 7 and the youngest was 2 months. I'm highly impressed with our friend Megan for camping with her 2 month old Caleb! Very few of the kids took naps that first day, and quite a few of them woke up during the night as well :(  The next day was much better, though. We had a fantastic time. Kids were filthy, cooking was an adventure, and there was plenty of time for the adults to sit back and relax around the campfire. Some went off-roading Saturday morning, some went hiking, and some stayed at camp and just talked. We played bocce ball during nap time. Here are pictures from our hike:

Alice and James

I LOVE this picture of the dads and their little guys!

The kids loved roasting marshmellows after dinner. Here's a silly video of Lydia and her "mashmellows":

Rollie and I both grew up camping and love doing it (I admit that it is A LOT of work to prepare for and clean up after, though). We camp several times a year as a family and can't wait go again next spring. Here are some random pics from our camping trip:

beautiful Mena, who knew how to get out of her tent :)

Clara

 Valerie and Toby

Owen and Judah

Chloe, Rollie and Ben

Ben, Lydia and James

normal life and new recipes

Well, we've been back for over a week now and we're settling into normal life. Rollie has 5 more days until he goes back to work on November 1st... then we'll really be back at normal life I guess :) Saturday Rollie helped a friend move in the morning so I took the kids to the zoo and picked up some Dunkin on our way.

Today Ben had his 18 month well check and he's doing really well. Almost 27 lbs and 33 inches tall. At 18 months he has passed up his petite "big" sister (3 1/2) in weight by 1lb. Then we took Lydia to gymnastics, which she missed so much (and repeatedly told us so) during our travels. I really like her gymnastics coach and the positive physical changes that we have seen in Lydia since she started gymnastics.

Ben took a 4 hour + nap today. From 11:45-4pm! WHAT? It must have been the shot he received at his well-check today. And he's cutting through his last 2 "I" teeth this week, so I'm not sure he's been sleeping super well at night, as I've heard him briefly cry out occasionally at night lately. Rollie was out golfing during nap time, trying to fit in a last round or two before going back to work next week.

SO during the kids nap time I tried a new recipe to take to playgroup tomorrow morning: Chai Tea Mini Cupcakes. You didn't know that toddlers liked chai? Well, this one is really more for the mommies :) They are good, but not as amazing as I had hoped. They have a lightly spiced cake with an evaporated milk glaze, makes for a good presentation. I would try making these again as they were VERY easy and pretty, but I would either get a stronger tea flavor or make sure I wasn't out of ground ginger. It was just missing a little something. I expected more punch. When Lydia woke up from her nap she helped to make the glaze and ate a cupcake with me, so that was really fun to have some extended time with just Lydia today.

Chai-Tea Mini Cupcakes

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

3/4 cup milk

2 bags black tea (such as Ceylon)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon course salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners. Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add tea bags, and let steep, covered, 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing the bags over the pan, and discard. Allow milk to cool completely. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, pepper and spices.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of tea-infused milk, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched and are pale golden, 10 - 12 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Cupcakes can be frozen up to 1 month in airtight containers.
4. To finish, dip top of each cupcake in icing, then turn over quickly, and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Condensed-Milk Icing

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (7 ounces)

Pinch of coarse salt

3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together butter, condensed milk, and salt until smooth. Whisk in confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup at a time until combined, then whisk on high speed until thick and smooth. Use immediately.

Then tonight for dinner I made Cashew Chicken from Martha's Everyday Food. This was so yummy and easy (only 10 minutes to cook everything!). Will definitely make this again. And again.

Cashew Chicken

Total Time 25 minutes, plus marinating
Yield Serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used thighs and would make it this way again)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Coarse salt
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup unsalted cashews, toasted
2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions
In a medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch; set sauce aside.

 In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add 1 teaspoon oil to skillet and cook remaining chicken (reduce heat if chicken is over-browning). Transfer to plate.

 To same skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, cashews, and scallion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cook until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with scallion greens and serve with rice.

Southern Cooking... Fried Chicken and our favorite Buttermilk Biscuits

I've never made fried chicken. I don't fry much food, just homemade french fries a couple of times a year with the skin on like my mom always did when we were growing up. But good fried chicken is SO good. So I decided to try making some! I used a recipe from Martha's Everyday Food and it was really good. Truly crispy skin and the chicken inside didn't feel like it was soaked in grease. Mmmm. I'll probably make this 1-2 times a year as a treat. It was delicious!!! Here's the recipe:

Classic Fried Chicken

Prep Time 45 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes, plus marinating
Yield Serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 quart buttermilk
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces, or 10 skin-on legs or thighs
3 cups vegetable oil

Directions
In a wide, shallow dish or pie plate, whisk together flour, cornstarch, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 1 1/4 cups flour mixture to an airtight container; set aside. In a large glass bowl, whisk together buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, then submerge in buttermilk mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours (or up to overnight).

Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees over medium (a small cube of bread should brown in less than 1 minute). Transfer reserved flour mixture to a wide, shallow dish. In batches, lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in flour mixture.

Fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 16 to 20 minutes per batch, flipping once (adjust heat if browning too quickly). With tongs, transfer chicken to rack to drain, 5 minutes, then serve.

I had a little trouble with some of the coating come off during frying. I'm not sure if it's the utensil I used to pick up the dredged chicken or because of the wire basket I used in the deep fryer (I have a cast iron deep fryer that you use on the stove.) After the coating stuck to the basket on my first batch I didn't use the basket for the other 2 batches, and some of the coating still came off during frying, but not as badly as with the basket. Any suggestions?

Since I was making fried chicken and had leftover buttermilk, I decided to go all out and make a whole southern meal. I made mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and our favorite "Best-Ever Buttermilk Biscuits" from Better Homes and Garden's New Baking Book. I've adapted the recipe to our liking, so here's my version, and it's very easy and very worth it.

Best-Ever Buttermilk Biscuits

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
2 t. granulated sugar
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 c. shortening (we use butter. better for you and better tasting!)
2/3 c. buttermilk (I use 1 whole cup of buttermilk. Lighter biscuits. May need a little more flour when patting out on counter.)

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Add buttermilk and stir just until moistened. Knead gently on floured surface only 10 or 12 times. Roll or pat out to 1/2 inch thickness, and use a biscuit cutter to make circles or a pizza cutter to make squares. Bake in 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Serve warm. (May keep 1 day in an airtight container)

Sometimes, to make these really easy, I add an extra 1/3 c. buttermilk (1 1/3 c total) and instead of patting out and cutting the dough, I drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and make "drop biscuits". You can't make sandwiches out of these though, but still good with butter and honey!

Pork and Chive Potstickers

Oh my YUM! We've been back in AZ for 4 days and I've had time to try a few new recipes. Wednesday night I made Pork and Chive Potstickers from Martha's Everyday Food. Rollie and I loved them and the kids enjoyed them too! The potstickers were totally different from the type of food I normally cook, so the variety was great.

 I stir-fried some vegetables to go with the potstickers

(red peppers, brocolli, carrots and onion)

The prep was easy with store-bought wonton wrappers. Next time I will make a double batch of potstickers and freeze half (before cooking) to make the next meal easier. The recipe says you can put the potstickers, frozen, right into the boiling water. It doesn't get much easier than that!



Pork and Chive Potstickers

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1 tablespoon minced chives
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 20 wonton wrappers (from a 12-ounce package)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine pork, chives, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon water.
2. Place a heaping teaspoon of pork mixture in center of a wonton wrapper. Lightly wet edge of wrapper, fold over, and press to seal. Repeat to form remaining dumplings (makes 20).
3. In two batches, cook dumplings in a large pot of boiling water until cooked through, 4 minutes; transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. In a large nonstick pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. In two batches, cook until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve with dipping sauce.

Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions
In a bowl, stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and sesame oil.

Freeze raw dumplings on a baking sheet, then store in bags, up to 3 months. Cook from frozen.

back home in AZ!

Well, we survived it and loved it all! After 3+ years of planning and saving for our sabbatical trip, traveling to 9 places in 33 days, we are back home in sunny, hot AZ. Monday, Oct. 17th we packed up our things one last time and Andy took us to the Atlanta airport to fly home to Phoenix. We arrived back here around noon on Monday to 100 degree weather (come on Arizona! Seriously?). Our friend Renee picked us up and took us home. It's good to be back.

Many, many thanks to all of our friends and family who hosted us, cared for us, and gave us your time, energy, and love. We have hundreds of priceless memories from this past month. We are thankful to God for this incredible opportunity and for the many ways He provided for us on this trip. It was awesome to go so many places and tell Lydia that God was with her wherever she went and that no matter where she was, He loved her, heard her prayers and knew her needs. I have to say that our kids were AMAZING on this long journey with constant changes and new places and people. They adjusted remarkably well and I'm so proud of them and so happy that we were able to make this trip as a family. Sheesh, I'm getting teary just writing this.

Here are some UN-expected things from our sabbatical trip:

• leaving "the Cat in the Hat" somewhere (?) yet AGAIN
• Lydia said several times on our trip "I really miss my friends". When we drove into our neighborhood on Monday she said "Hey! We're in our neighborhood! I don't miss my friends anymore" :)
• frying my hair with the flat iron in London - brilliant.
• Ben coming home with 3 (yikes!) new "I" teeth
• I didn't work out for an entire month
• Rollie and I both gained 5lbs (big surprise, given the above)
• So few issues on our trip. Things went SO smoothly.
• coming home with new ski jackets for Rollie and I. So now we're planning a ski trip this winter :)
• 33 days of mail...
• I don't feel like cooking. New recipes in my pile of magazines should get me excited, though!
• how easy it was to pick up with old friends and some family that we haven't seen in a long time. So thankful for those relationships and the opportunity to see the amazing way God is working in people's lives.
• Rollie and I were REALLY grumpy on Tuesday, our first full day back in AZ. Definitely a reality check when we have responsibilities again and no extra family members to play with our kids.
• Lydia came home with a MAJOR twang in her speech... thanks to all the time in IN, TN, and GA!
• How well the kids did with all the changes. And how well I did with all the changes :) I knew they would be OK, but 95% of the time they handled everything so well. I love you guys!
• I still want to spend time with Rollie. We were barely ever apart and I'm still so glad that he's going to be home with us for 2 more weeks.
• We can't wait to do it again! We're ready to start saving for our next trip in 6 years! We're thinking of a week in Italy sans kids, and maybe camping at some national parks with everyone.

We'll leave you with this picture as a final thought on our sabbatical trip:

THANK YOU for joining us on this journey!

(we'll still be doing blog updates these next few weeks before Rollie goes back to work

with our family shennanigans and new recipes)

Last stop!

We had SUCH a great time in Atlanta with Andy and Emily. Andy is my older brother (even though he says he is 23 :) They are expecting their first child around Thanksgiving. We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Hannah in a few months! Here is a pic of Andy and Emily:

We had a low-key visit with several trips to parks, movies at home for the kids, Rock Band (the kids went nuts over this!), playing with A & E's three cats, amazing grilled food courtesy of Andy... Poor Andy and Emily, they had the honor of being our last stop on our sabbatical trip, which meant that we had been on the road for 4 weeks with our 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year olds. We were holding up really well when we got there, but by Sunday when Ben was cutting his third "I" tooth of our trip, we were finally ready to head home :)

Our little rocker! Love this girl.

Oh yes, even Momma participated.

Um... microphones are the BEST thing ever for kids.

How does Ben know how to stand like a cool guy already?

Saturday afternoon Andy and Emily took us to the Georgia Aquarium. It was fantastic and we all had a great time. In one of the really large tanks there was a glass-walled tunnel that you rode a moving walk-way through. Incredible!

the kids loved all the giant walls of glass

Lydia wanted to see the sharks... and here they were!

this is from the tunnel we rode through. A whale shark and a sting ray.

seriously, this place is huge! These were beluga whales (I think!)

giant spider crabs

goofing off... somebody was fried after a couple of hours here :)

Lydia and the lobsters ("lob-lobsters" in Lydia-speak).

These are her favorite thing at our local grocery store...

After the acquarium and Andy and Emily took us to an AMAZING coal-fire pizza place in downtown Atlanta. I could have eaten the whole pizza myself... thankfully I didn't :) Here is a picture of all of us at dinner. It was a perfect evening to sit outside and enjoy good food, people-watching, and great company.

We love you Andy and Emily. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, for taking care of us, and for making us feel so loved. We greatly enjoyed our time with you. Can't wait to see you (and baby Hannah!) for our Creek family vacation in Savannah next spring!

Smokies to Atlanta

Thursday, Oct. 13th we packed up all of our things and headed to Atlanta, our last stop on this epic midwest roadtrip. We were going to Marietta to see my brother Andy and his wife Emily for 4 days before heading back home. Here are pics of the kids on our road trip. They ate lunch and then slept the rest of the way - easy drive!

What was I thinking giving our 1 1/2 yr old a PBJ sandwich and Cheetos in his car seat???

(Notice the sandwich is next to him...) He sure was happy about it though :)

car nap!

We made great time on our drive so my brother wasn't even home from work yet. We took the kids to a park by his house and he met us there soon after. The kids had TONS of energy to burn off after their naps and 4 hours in the car. And the Cheetos... Cheetos must have given them some energy, right? :)

Friday Andy took us to downtown Marietta where they have a great square with a park in the middle. The kids got to play on this fantastic train. Lydia loved "selling tickets" and telling the "conductor" to take her to the swimming pool :) After the park we wandered around the square and had a yummy lunch outside of a cafe.



The park had all these characters lying around, and Lydia LOVES her Dr. Suess characters!

Might have to do this for Halloween...