JAMSquared

This year’s Christmas party occurred on the afternoon of the 20th, a little later than years past. I thought I might need some extra time to prepare. It worked out great, since the cookie baking extravaganza was the weekend before our party and the girls let me take more of the cookies than they did, so I could stock the party buffet. And boy was it a well-stocked party buffet. Besides the 7 different kinds of cookies, we had steak and cheese empanadas (Costco), cocktail franks in a blanket (Costco), spinach florentine dip, queso, chips, veggie/fruit tray, cheese/cracker/summer sausage tray, rolls (Aric), Valdosta Nut Blend (snack mix containing pecans with sweet cranberrieds, black pepper and orange zest from Costco), pecan brittle (Kristy), and a Chocolate Mint Torte. Aric and Kristy came over early so Kristy could help me set up the buffet. We are truly blessed to have such good friends.

The turn out was really great. We had 23 adults and 9 kids, not counting ourselves, join us for the come-and-go festivities. It is so nice to get together and visit with family and friends. Jessica enjoyed the party, even though she was asleep for most of it; first on Stephanie’s shoulder and then on Evalyn’s shoulder. She wore her Christmas outfit and it was probably a bit warm, so that combined with the comfy shoulders made for a sleepy Jessica.

On the 12th, my best friend Kristy hosted a baby shower for me at her house. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to see everyone.

Evalyn made a beautiful cake that had all the baby animals that are found in the bedding we picked out for the nursery. She is so talented.

We played three games. For the first game, we were given about 24 animals and what their babies are called and we had to match them up. Did you know that a baby turkey is called a poult? My sister won that game. Then we played a game with 10 diapers that had different kitchen condiments in them and you had to guess the condiment. Kristy used such condiments as vanilla, apricot jelly, soy sauce, minced garlic. It was definitely a game for your sense of smell. The final game was guess the pregnant woman’s girth. I stood in center of the room and everyone cut ribbon from a spool to indicate how big around I was. My co-worker Caroline guessed the closest. I think my Mom was the furthest off.

James’ parents and nephew Dawson came into town last weekend. While James, his Dad, and Dawson went to see Aliens in the Attic Saturday afternoon, us girls went to my first baby shower. It was hosted by my friend and co-worker, Adriana, who had help from Gisel, Amitis, and Claudia to make it a rousing success. It was a lot of fun.  We enjoyed a lunch of soup, sandwiches and a variety of little snacks.

The first game was a trivia game. Gisel came up with 10 questions that everyone had to answer. My favorite was 1) Where was Baby JAM conceived? a) Midland, TX b) Bathroom of airplane (flying back from Tahiti) c) Kitchen or d) Bedroom. Patricia and my MIL tied for getting the most right with 7 correct answers.

The second game was insanely entertaining and hilarious. It was like musical chairs, but instead of circling a group of chairs, you had to pass a cucumber between your knees. I ended up winning that one.

The third game involved seeing how many clothespins you could pick up with one hand while naming a baby item for each clothespin. Patricia won with 13 clothespins in one hand.

After all the games, we had cake. It was a delicious carrot cake with apricot creme filling.

Afterward, I opened gifts. Baby JAM is going to be one stylish little girl. She received a number of adorable little outfits.

Thank you everyone for making me feel special. Special thanks to my hostessess with the mostess and Kristy for playing photographer.

Recently, James and I attended a couples baby shower for my brother Jason and his wife Julia. Their baby is due August 9th.

To prepare for the shower, I started shopping quite a while back. In fact, back in February while I was at Target for some other reason, I was browsing the baby section and came across this adorable little pink dress with stars on it and two-tone sleeves. I knew this was perfect for Jason and Julia’s baby, so I bought it. Then I asked my good friend, Jillan, owner-extraordinaire of Beany Bling, for advice on fashion accessories. Beany Bling was born when Jillan’s daughter was born a little over two years ago. She makes leg warmers and hair-bows to go with any outfit. The hair-bows can be purchased with cloth headbands that don’t pinch at the baby’s head for those hairless babies. The headbands are pretty neat in that you can interchange the bow and get multiple looks with the same headband. The below picture is the outfit with the leg warmers and matching bow. I also couldn’t resist this cute little brown and pink bow so hopefully Julia has another outfit or two that will coordinate with it.

The idea for the second part of the gift was born when I read this post at Cool Mom Picks. However, I wanted to put together my own labor delivery bag for Julia. So I bought the diaper bag she registered for and then I bought the following items to put in it.

• Lansinoh Ultra Soft Nursing Pads, 36-count
• Lansinoh Lanolin Topical Breast Cream, 2-oz.
• Earth Mama Angel Baby New Mama Bottom Spray, 4-oz. bottle
• Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Stretch Oil, 4-oz. bottle
• Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil, 0.15-oz. tube
• Avon Naturals Shower Gel – Gardenia, 1.7-oz. bottle
• Avon Naturals Body Lotion – Gardenia, 1.7-oz. bottle

Another item I had thought about including was Preggie Pops, but I didn’t end up remembering to look for them at Wal-greens. Now, Julia has a number of recommended items for her labor recovery process in one convenient location. I’ve since then bought the stretch oil for myself and it smells and works great.

The shower was a lot of fun. It was held at Julia’s Dad’s house and was hosted by her Dad’s friend who lives out of town. The light dinner included these little smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches that were utterly tasty. We played a game where we had to guess the flavor of baby food. James being the picky eater that he is declined to play, but I had fun. Joe and Sara, two of Jason and Julia’s friends who organized the game, bought 8 different flavors of baby food, some of which were combo flavors such as Pineapple, Ham & Rice. Then we were to taste-test and write down what we thought they were. I didn’t win, but I got half correct, so I feel that I did pretty decent.

The Sunday before last, I hosted a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law, Julia. Julia and I have a really good relationship and I’m looking forward to her joining the family in 11 days. The shower had a small turnout as most of Julia’s friends have moved away from Austin since graduating from college, but we had a really great time.

Below are two versions of invitations I made. I decided to go with the option without spokes to the umbrella. The umbrella I made by drawing onto pasteboard and cutting out. I then traced it on the designer paper and free-handed the handle with a white gel pen.

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Big on Spring; Stampabilities Sophie Alpha Lower
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Summer Sun, Wild Wasabi
Designer Paper: Certainly Celery Prints
Ink: Stampin’ Up Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Stickles yellow, purple turquoise and Xmas red; white gel pen

The shower was a Pampered Chef shower. My consultant Virginia Bettis did an awesome job. She had Julia try out and demonstrate a number of the products Julia had registered for, which was really cool as we got to see how they worked. The picture to the left is Julia modeling her new Pampered Chef apron that I decorated with her new name and kitchen checklist using colored Sharpies Virginia brought and we all signed and wrote a little best wishes note.

I had planned to make a cake for the shower, but I didn’t want to go overboard since the number of people expected to be somewhat low. My hubby tells me I have a tendency to do that. He’s probably right, but you didn’t hear me say that. The Melon Fruit Slush was delicious. My Mom liked it so much she plans to make it for the “sip and see” she wants to host to show off her first grandbaby, my nephew. The recipe makes a lot, so I actually have half of it in my freezer for a later date. The Ham Florentine Wreath got rave reviews. I have made it once before and it was just as tasty as the first time I made it a few years ago. The Salmon Tartlets was a new recipe I tried. They were delicious the day of the shower, but as leftovers the next day they were kind of dry. The Blond Toffee Brownies is a recipe my Dad often requests from my Mom.

Melon Fruit Slush

Source: Reiman Publication insert

Ingredients:

• 1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple
• 1 10-oz. package frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
• 4 medium ripe bananas, cut into chunks
• 1 cup cubed cantaloupe
• 1 cup cubed honeydew
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 3/4 cup lemonade concentrate
• 6 liters lemon-lime soda, chilled

Directions:

In a blender, process the fruit in batches until smooth. Pour into a 3-quart bowl, preferably one with a spout. Stir in the water and concentrates. Divide into two freezer containers. Cover and freeze until icy. To serve, spoon 1/2 cup into a glass; add about 1 cup soda.

Yield: 20-25 servings

Ham Florentine Wreath

Source: Pampered Chef Season’s Best Spring/Summer 2001

Ingredients:

• 2 8-oz. packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 8 ounces thickly sliced deli ham, diced (to save time, I used cubed ham)
• 1/4 cup green onions with tops, thinly sliced
• 5 ounces Swiss cheese, grated (I used a 2 cup bag of already shredded cheese)
• 1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes, sliced (I used grape tomatoes, halved)
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a large round stone. Corners of wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond edge of baking stone. Arrange 8 remaining triangles in center, matching wide ends. Seal seams. (Points will overlap in center; do not seal.)

In a mixing bowl, combine ham, green onions, 1 cup of the cheese, spinach, mayonnaise and black pepper. Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle. Arrange tomatoes in an overlapping circular pattern over filling; top with remaining cheese. Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangles slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

In a small bowl, beat egg white lightly; brush over dough using pastry brush. Sprinkle chopped almonds over wreath. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 10 servings

Salmon Tartlets

Source: Reiman Publication insert

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 3-oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used less)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 14.75-oz. can salmon, drained and bones removed (I just realized I only used half the salmon called for. Maybe that was why it was a little dry.)
• 1 green onion, sliced

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and flour until smooth. Shape tablespoons of dough into bowls; press onto bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups.

In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, butter and lemon juice. Stir in crumbs, parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Fold in salmon and onion. Spoon into shells. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until browned.

Yield: 2 dozen

Blonde Toffee Brownies

Source: my mother

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in toffee bits. Spread evenely into a greased 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen