Baked Stuffed French Toast

I got up a little early this morning, for a Sunday.  Iris was also awake.  So the two of us headed down stairs, made some coffee, and played for a little while.  I was hankering for something yummy for breakfast so I started looking up baked french toast recipes.  Most required that the mixture be made the night before, but I finally found one that I modified a bit to fit the ingredients I had in my home.  It turned out great so I thought I would share it.

Ingredients:
8 slices bread of your choice (I used light wheat - it was what I had on hand)
8 oz of Cream Cheese (I used Neufchatel)
1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit of your choice (We had frozen mixed berries)
6 eggs
1 cup of milk (I used 2 percent)
Ground Cinnamon
Confectionary Sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cube all slices of bread
Layer 1/2 of the bread cubes in the bottom of a baking dish
Cube cream cheese and layer on top of bread cubes
Layer fruit over the cream cheese
Top with the remaining cubes of bread

In a separate bowl, beat the 6 eggs and 1 cup of milk together, pour evenly over the bread layers.
Top with ground cinamon to taste.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes until the egg mixture is completely baked into the bread and the top has begun to brown.

Sprinkle with confectionary sugar and serve with maple syrup!

This dish is easy to assemble and is delicious!

Happy Halloween

 Eddie, Eli, Sage

Halloween has never really been one of my favorite holidays.  Many of my friends like to get all dressed up and have Halloween parties.  I have participated in a number of these over the years.  Generally, I throw a costume together at the last minute.  Halloween has been more fun since I had children.  It is fun to get the kids dressed up and go trick-or-treating.  But still, as a general rule, I much prefer Christmas and Thanksgiving.

But this year was different.  This year, I SO looked forward to Halloween.  Last year, I spent Halloween in a hospital.  I did not get to take my son trick-or-treating.  Eli and I were able to participate in the Halloween parade that the staff put on for the kids at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and I remain thankful to this day that we were invited to participate, but it just wasn't the same.  Eli had to be brought to me by a friend and I had to be pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse while my friend helped Eli through the parade.

This year, I volunteered to organize the Halloween Party for the Mothers of Multiples Club, I had all of my kids' costumes picked out by the last week in September, and I arranged our trick-or-treating plans weeks in advance of the actual day.  The party was a hit, and gave us an opportunity to get the girls dressed up in costume, as that was a morning event.  Trick-or-treating was fun!  The girls didn't quite make it, so Jesse brought them home, but Eli and I walked around our friends' neighborhood with their kids and another family.  I still threw together a very last minute costume (literally, Amanda gave me some devil ears, a devil tail, and that pitchfork thing that the devil carries just before we walked out the door...thanks Amanda!)  But how fun it was to take Eli door to door.  To see his excitement as he ran up each driveway screaming "Trick or Treat!"  It was a very cold night, but I couldn't have cared less.

So much I am thankful this year.  My experiences last fall make me appreciate every second of my life and my children's lives.  I still think of my time in the hospital almost daily.  The worry, the discomfort, the fear.  It was such a profound experience.  I thank God every day for the way things turned out and I appreciate the smallest things, like trick-or-treating with my son, in a way that I took for granted before.  

 Esme (Flower) & Iris (Butterfly)

 Iris

 Esme

Eli & Sage

 Eli, Eddie, & Sage

 Eddie, Eli, & Sage

Dori

Come On Eli, Its Time to Potty...Update

Just over a week ago, Eli finally gave up Pull-Ups at night.  Night times were our last bastion of potty training.  The first morning he woke up wet and cold, but there has been only one more night accident since then.  Potty training has been hard and a long road, but we finally made it.  That's not to say we don't have an accident here and there, but, Eli is three, its to be expected. 

Way to go Eli!  I am so proud of you!!!  Now only two more kids to go...

Fort Farrar-Stenbak

 

Fort Farrar-Stenbak  

So what can you build with a wheelbarrow, the lid to a sandbox, some firewood, a sheet, and some outdoor toys.  Well if you are Eddie and Eli you can build quite a fort to defend off invaders from my back yard! 

Eddie came for a visit a few weeks ago and he and Eli were playing quietly outside.  Amanda (Eddie's mom) and I were only half paying attention to the boys as they were playing well together and were pretty quiet.  We were instead watching the girls (Esme, Iris, and Amanda's daughter Dori), who were at the time requiring a lot of attention.  When we looked up to check on the boys, we realized that Eddie and Eli had built quite the contraption in the back yard.  I went out to investigate further.  The boys were so proud of their shelter building skills and begged me to let them sleep outside in the fort overnight.  It was a bit rickety, a lot unsafe for sleeping, and mostly open to the elements which makes for a cold night in October in Maine, so unfortunately, I had to say no.  The boys were disappointed, but the fort provided much entertainment for the remainder of the visit.

When Jesse got home later that night, I forgot to tell him about the new structure in the backyard.  I was running late, so I just headed out for work.  When I got up the next morning, Jesse looked at me and asked in a confused and somewhat amused manner, "So Tori, did the Lord of the Flies visit the backyard yesterday."  All I could do was laugh.

 

 

Eddie and Eli

 Cozied Up Inside Fort Farrar-Stenbak

 

Imagination Eli - What a Mind!

This past weekend we stayed at Colin and Nancy's (Jesse's bosses) camp in Falmouth on Highland Lake. It was beautiful. The cottage is cozy and the views were fantastic. Eli, of course, thought it was magnificent. He has been talking about the camp and going back to the camp since we came home on Monday.

So this morning he asked me if after I picked him up from school if we would go back to the camp. I tried to explain to him, in terms that he would understand, that we had just "borrowed" the camp for the weekend, and that we had to give it back to the owners because someone new was going to be "borrowing" it now. Well, this was not satisfactory to my little creative genius. Instead, he told me that he wanted to go to the camp and pick it up and bring it home.

This made me chuckle a little, as I imagined us putting a camp in our pocket and carrying it back to our house.  But this was not at all what Eli had in mind.  I replied to Eli, "Honey a camp is a type of house and that is too big to just pick up and bring home with us."  To which Eli responded, "Mom, lets get a bunch of cars and put it on top of the cars and the cars can drive it to our house.  This is a good idea, Mom?!"

What a genius little mind he has.  And what a funny vision that is, a camp on top of a bunch of cars driving down the road.  It is a good idea, Eli.  Maybe we should give it a try.  It is a nice camp...I wonder if Colin and Nancy would mind if we "borrowed" it just a little bit longer...?

Exciting Updates and Random News

So, this entry is just a chance for me to catch all of you up on what's been happening around the Stenbak household for the last few weeks.  I have been working an evening job, five nights a week, so needless to say, we have been super busy.  So here's whats been happening at our house:

Iris and Esme are growing like weeds.  They are now 9 months old.  We just had their well child checkup and the doctor described them as super healthy!  Both girls are almost 30 inches tall and are around 25lbs.  I think they outweigh most of their friends by at least 6 or 7 pounds!  In the last month they have started sitting very steadily and moving around the house.  They are not crawling yet, but they certainly get around.  Both girls can get up on their knees, but haven't tried yet to move forward.  It wont be long now and they will definitely be crawling.  Also, they can both clap their hands.  That is really cute to watch.  If I clap my hands they will mimic me.  They are both starting to move away from bottles and on to more foods.  Their formula intake has dropped dramatically and they are eating more and more table foods.  They can both eat finger foods now, like cheerios, black beans, bananas, and small vegetables.  They also really enjoy playing with toys and have even started stealing toys from each other.  I can't believe how big they are getting!

Talk about getting big, Eli started preschool this month.  He is attending Prides Corner Nursery School in Westbrook.  His program is Monday, Wednesday, Friday Mornings from 9-11:30.  He really loves his new teacher, Mrs. Philbrook.  We have already received the Scholastic Book Order form and received our first group of books.  It is so fun to see the projects he brings home and to see how excited he is when I drop him off in the morning.

Jesse celebrated 10 years with Portland Magazine this month.  He first started working at Portland Magazine just before we were married in October of 2000.  I remember when he was offered the job.  He was so excited, but a little nervous to tell them he would need his second week of work off because he was getting married.  His office threw a party for him with take out from Beal's St. BBQ and Ice Cream Sundaes.  Myself and the kids went in for the party.  He was then given the rest of the week off and Colin and Nancy, Jesse's bosses, graciously offered us their Lake Cabin in Falmouth for the weekend.  It is from there that I write this entry.  Also, Colin and Nancy announced that to celebrate 25 years in publication they would be taking Portland Magazine's full time employees plus one guest on a trip to Bermuda this coming March.  That's right folks, this March, Jesse and I will be taking an all-inclusive vacation to Bermuda WITHOUT our children.  My mom has already offered to babysit!  Let me tell you, I am all over that passport application!

This past Friday, I had my first night off from everything (work, kids, life in general), since my girls were born.  I had to take a business trip to Calais, Maine, which is about 4 hours from Portland.  Calais is located in Washington County, which is the down-east section of Maine, right on the Canadian border.  I drove up on Friday and stayed overnight at the Redclyffe Shore Motel in Robbinston, Maine.  The Motel sat right on the shore line.  I had a beautiful view from my room and from the restaurant.  I treated myself to a delicious dinner, a couple drinks, and chocolate raspberry cake for dessert!  I watched whatever I wanted on the TV and went to bed at 8:00.  But the best part was that I slept until 10:00 am the next morning.  I haven't had that much sleep in months!  It was WONDERFUL.

Lastly, I am currently discussing with my former law firm returning to practice after the first of the year.  What a wonderful year it has been being home with my kids.  I don't want to give that up entirely, so returning part-time will be perfect!  I don't know all of the logistics yet, but I am definitely excited by the prospects.

September has been a big month in the Stenbak Household!  And despite all of these goings on, I have managed for the first time ever to get all of my kids Halloween costumes figured out and ready before October has even fallen upon us!  I feel so organized.  I can't wait to see what October will bring!  Hopefully, I will be able to post some updated pics soon.

Potato Harvest

Jesse and Eli Harvesting Potatoes

This summer, we once again took a try growing our own vegetables.  We don't have a traditional garden, as our backyard is almost completely shaded.  In fact, the only really sunny area in our whole yard is our patio which is paved with concrete.  So we plant in pots.  This summer we planted potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli (which was completely eaten by the groundhogs who live under our shed), green peppers, and tomatoes.  Truth be told, we haven't really had much of a harvest.  We either have black thumbs or we just don't have a yard for growing things.  But, a few days ago, we harvested the potatoes.  We had planted yukon gold variety.  There were less than I was expecting, but the ones we got look fantastic.  So that night for dinner I made a Sheppard's Pie, with the potatoes from our harvest.  It was delicious!

Eli and Jesse Harvesting Potatoes

Our Potato Harvest

The Homemade Sheppard's Pie