Study Buddies

The water bottle. Never did I show up at class without this.

Feeling stressed about school....

This semester would truly not have been doable if it wasn't for my study group. I somehow lucked out and got into the most "sought after" study group in the entire class. Amy, Sara, Erin, Heidi and Amanda grew to be my best buddies. We have had so much fun, and shared some serious stressful times. I've learned so much about everyone's funny little quirks, likes and dislikes in such a short amount of time. They would tease me as I'd show up to study group totally unprepared and pooping my pants from stress, and then I'd always do well on the tests. I couldn't have done it without them!






When we weren't having big study group, Amanda and Heidi would come to my house quite often. The week before finals, they spent the night at my house from Saturday night until Wednesday. It was so much fun, and we got so much done. I love those girls so much! It has been such a blessing having people who were willing to work around my schedule as a mom. Our best study time occurs when Hazen naps, so we study on my bed so we don't wake him up. Amanda was always super patient with me when I needed to take a cat nap in the middle of our work.

Weely Feature: Grilled Pizza

This week's Pizza was my attempt to make a "non-chick" Pizza. I was informed that it was, indeed, still a chick Pizza, but it was delicious nonetheless.

As I'm in California, I don't have access to the cookbook for the recipe, but I can still tell you what was on it!! I'll post the recipe as an addendum to this post later on.

This Pizza had sauteed shrimp, pesto, tomato sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, red onions, and mozzarella cheese. I personally liked the Brie and Asparagus pizza the best- and we had them the same day, but everyone else was fanatical about this pizza.

I'm telling you- if you want eating out to be ruined for the rest of your life- start grilling pizza at home. You'll learn that you can make things better than you can pay money for!

Weekly Feature: Grilled Pizza

The Asparago

Ingredients:

1 bunch (1 lb) fresh asparagus
Pinch of salt
2 Tbs EVOO
1 Grilled Pizza Crust
1 Tbs grated Parmesan
1 C shredded mossarella
1/2 c Pesto
4 oz (or more if you like!) Brie, cut into small slices

Garnish

1 Tbs pine nuts, toasted

Instructions:

1. Cut about 2 inches off the ends of the asparagus stems, and then cut into 2-inch pieces. Wash the asparagus under cold running water, and leave wet. The moisture will help steam them in the pan. Sprinkle with salt.

2. Heat 1 Tbs of EVOO in a skillet on medium-high. Add the asparagus and sprinkle again with salt. Saute briefly for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus, until it becomes slightly limp.

3. Brush the grilled side of the pizza crust with the remaining Tbs of EVOO and dust with the Parmesan. Sprinkle with the mozzarella, then drop spoonfuls of the Pesto onto the pizza. Add the asparagus pieces and lay the slices of Brie beside the asparagus.

4. Grill. Garnish with the pine nuts before serving.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this was AMAZING. Absolutely incredible, delicious, and something that I'm going to crave again and again. I can't begin to explain how amazing the meld of flavors was- it was such a pleasant surprise! Even the boys who didn't think that it would taste very good were huge fans!

A few notes to address the questions that I've received about grilling pizza. You can buy store bought, frozen dough, buy it from a Pizzeria, or make it. I've just bought the dough from the Pizza Factory every time, because it's super easy, and only $3/pizza. When grilling, you're going to want to grill the first side of the dough for about 5 minutes, or until it looks "rustic". Don't have the grill on high- and if you can manage indirect heat, that's even better. Just take it to your BBQ outside, and be prepared for something delicious!

When you finish grilling the first side, flip it over, brush with the EVOO, and begin to garnish your pizza. DON'T overload the Pizza, or else it will be lame, and not as awesome as my pizzas. When you're adding the sauces, listen to me, and DROP the spoonfuls of, and DON'T spread it. People sitting in your kitchen will ask you why you're not spreading it. Your husband will encourage you to spread it. Smile politely, and, while thinking rude things in your head, remind them that you know what's up, and to get out of your kitchen. Not spreading the sauce allows for you to get a unique flavor in every bite. It's delicious and amazing.

There. You have your recipe. Comment, and you'll get the recipe for next week!

Hmmmm.

The other day, I walked in the door from a long day at school, and gasped in horror at the sight that I was seeing. My baby, my sweet, darling, innocent baby, had a Hawaiian luau throw up on him. When I saw him, I audibly let out a cry of surprise and dismay. "DID YOU TAKE HIM OUT IN PUBLIC????" I asked?


The answer? Yes. To many places. And the park. And possibly places that he could be identified as my child. In Jason's defense, he thought that since both the shorts and shirt were tropical, it was an acceptable outfit decision. I informed him that since both the shorts and shirt were tropical, it was exactly why they should NOT be put together! Next time Jason asks me to pick out something for Boy to wear, I'll reflect on this outfit, and not complain.

NICU Reunion 2009

One of the events in the year that I really look forward to most is the NICU Reunion. It is such a wonderful chance to see the nurses and doctors that helped us through such a hard time, and not only thank them for what they have done, but show Hazen's prognosis and how big and strong he's becoming. It's also so truly humbling to see some of the other babies that were there at the same time as Hazen, and, in some cases, see how prematuraty has affected them. Another bonus? Cotton Candy, and lots of it.

This year? The reunion was a total let down. I am still so disappointed, I can't completely explain it. There were maybe 4 nurses total there, none of which ever had Hazen in their care. Considering the fact that we were there for over 2 months, this is a big deal! When I am a nurse, I will go out of my way to make sure that I am at the reunion to support the families. None of the doctors he had were there, and Charlene, his NNP, had a family obligation, so she couldn't come. What a bummer!! Needless to say, Hazen was cute, I was cute, and I got my Cotton Candy.

Fun times with Friends!

Josh's first time holding a newborn

Do YOU have friends that love your kids almost as much as you do?

We've been finding quite a bit of time for fun around here in between studying. I'm so grateful that we have a few core friends that we love to spend time with! The Robisons are always willing to put up with us, and we die laughing every time that we do anything together. Josh and Kirsten Krason are so fun and nice enough to drive over to play with us pretty much at the drop of a hat. My friend Amanda, from school, cracks me up, and we do a ton of fun stuff while we're taking study breaks.




I guess I'm at the season of my life where I need to be able to look back and remember that it wasn't all tests, studying, staying up late doing homework, and crying because of stress. There was a lot of wonderful friends who helped get us through all of it. I've always wanted to have a home that could be filled with laughter and fun, and our incredible friends help give me that. I'm also so blessed to have such amazing people in my life that I can pick up the phone and talk with for hours if time allows! Life is hard right now. I don't want to forget that- if I make it seem like every moment is a breeze, it in some ways, cheapens the hard work that is being put forth to achieve the end result of successful careers.

Thank you, peeps, for being such wonderful friends, and putting up with me when I have anxiety attacks about school, or when my head explodes after the superbowl (true story), or when my kid throws books at you. I'll love you forever. :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was last week. Hazen and I took our obligatory Mother/Son picture together. Hazen wasn't feeling it. I wasn't feeling having a hellion for a son that day. But, I guess I can handle having my baby be a holy terror ONE day a year when he's a ray of golden sunshine every other day, right?

Weekly Feature: Grilled Pizza

The Biancan

I suppose at this point, the only reason that I'm doing the weekly feature is to remind myself about how awesome I am, because no one comments. Boooooo, Google Reader.

Anyway, this week, we made the Biancan. It was sauteed spinach and mushrooms, ricotta, mozzarella, and feta cheese. I loved this. I'm pretty sure I love all grilled Pizzas, though. Of all of the Pizzas that we've had thus far, this was Jason's least favorite, but he still thought that it was really good. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the reason that he didn't like this one as well was because of the lack of meat. Oh well, it was still as delicious as can be!

I'm raising a junkie

I have to be careful where I leave my computer these days, because anytime that it's within Hazen's reach, you can easily find him sprawling out and typing things on the keyboard. I wonder if he's trying to network with friends on Facebook, or trying to pick up on cute girls out there on LDSSingles.org. Regardless, he's starting to become quite the junkie. He knows that you can get Firefighting videos on YouTube, and whenever he's be a computer, he asks nicely, "Again, Please?" Hazen also knows that the remote control holds the power to giving him "The Backyardigans". While this practice is slightly humorous, it's also super irritating because he is a remote hog! I guess I'd better kiss watching "Gossip Girl" while he's awake goodbye!

The Burn House (Picture Heavy)

Last Saturday, we had a really fun experience. The PGFD has been training on an old 5 bedroom house right by our condos for a few months now, and it was time to burn it down! Someone donated the house to the Fire Department, because it was less expensive to let the Department burn it down than it would have been for the developer to pay for the destruction and clean up. Jason's really enjoyed going over to the house for training every chance that he had. He would come home smelling like smoke, talking a mile a minute about the exciting things that he had just done. He finally got to break in his turnouts!

Hazen and I headed over to the house on Saturday morning about 25 minutes after they had set fire to the building. Jason was in charge of lighting one of the flairs, and loves telling people that he got to burn down a house. It was insane how quickly the entire house was engulfed in flames! When we turned down the gravel road to walk towards the house, there was SOME fire, but nothing big. By the time that we got to where the Engines were, it was fully engulfed. Just goes to show how quickly someone could lose their home. Hazen got to have Daddy hold him while Jason was taking a break from manning the hose, but it quickly got too hot, and we had to back up so we were much further away from the house.

After the house had burned to the ground- something that took less than 2 hours, Hazen got to have a go at the hose. Both he and Jason were as happy as can be. Hazen couldn't stop talking about "Daddy, Weeooo-weeooo, love you", for the rest of the day. I think we might just have another little firefighter on our hands.