Eclair Tips and Tricks

My chocolate-glazed raspberry eclairs were the Taste of Home Bakeable challenge this month!  I decided to make them again so I could share some pictures and tips with their Facebook group.  I'll share them here, too!

You need a very, very large piping tip or you need to cut off the edge of your piping bag.

These are all things that are delicious in the pastry cream filling: vanilla bean paste, citrus zest and juice, chopped chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel.

I always make eclairs on parchment paper because you can trace the length!

The batter needs to have this "v-shape" consistency when you pull it out of your dough.

It's a lot easier to fill a piping bag if you put it inside a drinking glass.

                                        

If you don't have a piping bag, you can also use a freezer bag with the end cut off!

I usually fill my eclairs by cutting them open, but you can also fill holes from the bottom!

                                        

I like to put the glaze in a pie plate.  Wide and shallow is always a lot easier for me to glaze with.

My final raspberry batch. I decorated some of them with freeze-dried raspberries and some with fresh.

I had to try out all of the fillings!  They are salted caramel, vanilla bean, chocolate, passion fruit, lemon, and peanut butter.  We cut each one into fifths so we could all have some and it would be basically impossible to pick a favorite.

Sledding Adventures

Our school district has been adding a lot of days off of school this year because A) our poor teachers are overworked and B) the state changed the minimum number of yearly school days.  On one of our recent days off, we decided to do something fun and go sledding at Soldier Hollow.

A lot of the rest of our school district had the same idea and it was busy!  There was a while that the lines were so bad that you had to go up and around.  This wouldn't have been a big deal but it was extremely icy and dangerous to go on that part.  They luckily opened up another run and that fixed that problem.

We also don't recommend trying to skip the people mover and climb up the hill when it's icy.  It was a hard walk and that was fine on its own, but then someone dropped their tube.  It knocked Miles over and made us lose our tubes.  The people mover seems slower, but it's better in the long run.

The sledding runs were very, very fast!

We were all hungry after, so we took a field trip to Heber Valley Creamery for cheese and ice cream.  

When the scoops are expensive, you just buy the half gallon and eat it at your table!

Contortionist Tricks

It's well established that Miles is much more flexible than 99% of people.  It turns out he can also use his combination of unusual skills, skinny arms, and loose pajama sleeves to convincingly look like he's lost his arms below his elbows.  It's fairly disconcerting in person!

Super Stuffies Party

Life right now means that even your very best plans don't always get to be reality.  Elliott was really excited to have a birthday party with his friends from his Primary class this year.  Elliott picked a stuffed animal theme and the two of us planned all the games.  I bought animal stickers and fuzzy animal posters, and planned to buy Teddy Grahams and gummy bears.  I bought adorable clip art to make invitations.  I started planning decorations.

And then, two weeks before his birthday, the Omicron wave hit.  It hit our ward especially hard.  I realized pretty quickly that almost all the kids in his class were sick.  I was also afraid that we would plan the party and then we would get sick, have to cancel, and disappoint a bunch of kids.  I made the hard, hard decision to not have a friend party for Elliott this year.

Luckily, our family stepped up big time!  My parents, John, and Brooke all showed up ready to have an awesome stuffed animal party :)  Elliott made out like a bandit with awesome presents...games, craft kits, books, and stuffed animals. 

 We still got to play the games he was most excited about!

This game involved blindfolding everyone and making them guess what stuffie they were holding.  Elliott, in case you were wondering, knew all of his toys immediately.  Embarrassingly, I did some of the worst.  In fairness, I had a toy we don't play with very often and a cow is harder to guess than you might think!

We also played stuffed animal charades and it was lots of fun.

Elliott wanted to be part of the bag of stuffies we were using to select our charades animals.

Elliott's first idea had been to do three small cakes that looked like stuffed animals, but I was able to talk him into just one teddy bear cake.  I did his favorite blueberry cake and used caramel frosting so it would be teddy bear-colored.

It may not have been the party we wanted but we still had a very, very happy little boy!

Elliott at Seven

Elliott is seven years old!  Here's a little bit about what he's like right now:

*Elliott is so funny!  He makes me laugh and smile all of the time.  Sometimes this is intentionally by doing something silly, and some of this is because he sees the world in a straightforward and humorous way. He gets this mischievous gleam in his eye, his dimples show up, and you know that you're in for something silly. I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

*He loves to read.  He got two graphic novels for his birthday and then didn't want to do anything else until he finished them.  He curls up on the couch with me to read chapter books and reads himself picture books.  Library is his very favorite specialty class at school.

*Elliott is such a kind hearted boy who always wants everyone around him to be happy.  Case in point:  Molly really wanted to do one of the little dog sewing projects that Brooke gave Elliott for his birthday.  He said "Molly, you can pick whichever one you want.  You can have it even if it's my favorite!" It was the sweetest thing, and luckily, Molly also insisted that she would pick any one except for his favorite.

*First grade started out as a little bit of a rough transition, but it's going better now.  It was just a really, really long day for him and he missed being home and having his toys.  He had extra-short preschool and kindergarten because of Covid so it was even harder than usual. He's good buddies with the school custodian from him opening the door for us for the last three years at Knowledge Bowl, and the custodian confirms for me that Elliott is a lot happier and more cheerful at school now.

*Elliott loves to build things.  His favorite is K'Nex.  He mostly makes himself fidget toys, but loved making an airplane at Christmas.  He builds with blocks most mornings before school, and is always thrilled when his Kiwi Crates involve some sort of building project.

*He's just the cuddliest, sweetest kid.  He always gives me hugs and snuggles and extends those hugs to his stuffies.

                                                  

*Elliott thinks Miles and Molly are the coolest people around.  If his siblings love something, so does he.  That means he watches all their favorite shows, plays their favorite games, and is game for just about anything they suggest.

Here are some of his favorite things:

Friends: Reese, London, Tasen, Cameron, Sydney, Roman 

Favorite books: InvestiGators and Press Start

Favorite things to do:  Reading, jumping and spinning and dance-spinning, playing games, Kiwi Crate

Favorite toys: Dino and all the stuffies, K'Nex

Favorite foods: Tacos, ice cream, cake, pancakes, cuties, blueberries

Favorite place to go: Sweeto Burrito, Grandma's house, school

Favorite clothes: Pajamas

Favorite animal: Dogs 

Favorite show: 9 Years to Neptune

Favorite Scripture Story: Nephi

Favorite restaurant: Sweeto Burrito

Favorite song: Super Idol 

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite game: Bloons Tower Defense 2 and Connect Four and Tower Defense Simulator

Squishable City

Molly and Elliott are both incredibly dedicated to their stuffies.  They are also both incredibly creative and love building new things.  Sometimes, those loves combine and they create and build things for their stuffies.  I present their recent creation, Squishable City.

Yes, that is every pillow in our house, taking up our whole couch, to make homes for their Squishables. We all got to sit on the floor until bedtime :)

Miles’s First Talk

Miles gave his very first sacrament meeting talk!  He was nervous and not really sure where to start.  They didn't give him a topic, so the two of us sat down with the Standards for Youth booklet to brainstorm topics.  Miles decided he was interested in giving his talk on accountability and agency.

Our next step was to research. I showed him how to find stories and General Conference talks on the church websites.  He looked at a bunch and picked out his favorites, and then I helped him figure out which of the information he wanted in his talk.

He did a great job!  He said he was really nervous beforehand, so he said a prayer.  Heavenly Father helped him feel calm during his talk and then felt nervous again as soon as he was done.  Here's his full talk!

Hi! My name is Miles Larsen. I’m twelve years old and I’m in seventh grade.

I have a younger sister and a younger brother.  I like computers, reading,

and cooking.  This week, I chose to do my French homework.  I found out

that only 18% of my classmates chose to do the homework.  Because I did

my homework, not only did I understand how to say things I like to do in

French, I was also one of six kids who got awesome candy. I also repeatedly

made the choice to stay up too late talking too late to my little brother, and

then usually in the morning I was too tired to move. These are just some of

the choices I made this week. 

In the Standards for Youth, we learn that “Heavenly Father has given you

agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for yourself.” 

Sometimes it is easy to make the right choice, but sometimes it is harder. 

For example, I want to go to bed on time, but it’s more fun to talk to my

brother and I have a hard time falling asleep.  Luckily, God can help you

make good choices.  You can pray to Heavenly Father for help making good

choices. We can use grace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ to help

us do hard things.  The Holy Ghost can help us know if a choice is a good

one or not.

Elder Shayne M. Bowen told a story in General Conference.  He said, “

There is a story told of an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil: he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good: he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,

humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion,

and faith. The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other

person too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,

“Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

We can use our agency to make bad choices or to make good choices,

and the choices that we make will change us.

We can choose our actions but we can’t choose our consequences. 

In 2 Nephi 2:27, Lehi says “Wherefore, men are afree according to the

bflesh; and call things are dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And

they are free to echoose fliberty and eternal glife, through the great Mediator

of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and

power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be hmiserable like unto

himself.” If we choose good things, we get liberty and eternal life.  If we make

bad choices, we get captivity, death, and misery.  This sounds worse than

prison to me.

True freedom comes from using your agency to choose obedience. Elder

Von Keetch told a story in General Conference that teaches us why

obedience helps keep us safe and free. “

Some time ago while visiting Australia, I traveled to a beautiful horseshoe

bay renowned for its surfing. As I walked along the beach, I was enthralled

by the magnificence of the large crashing waves breaking just outside the

bay and the smaller waves rolling in closer to shore.

As I continued my stroll, I encountered a group of American surfers. They

were obviously upset about something, talking loudly and gesturing toward

the sea. When I asked them what was wrong, they pointed to just outside

the bay where the big waves were breaking.

“Look out there,” one of them angrily told me. “Can you see the barrier?”

Looking more closely now, I could indeed see a barrier stretching across

the entire mouth of the bay, right where the large, enticing waves were

breaking. The barrier appeared to be made of a heavy mesh and was

supported by floats on top of the water. According to the surfers, it dropped

all the way down to the ocean floor.

The American surfer continued, “We are here on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to

surf these big waves. We can surf the smaller ones breaking within the bay

itself, but the barrier makes it impossible for us to surf the big ones. We have

no idea why the barrier is there. All we know is that it has totally spoiled our

trip.”

As the American surfers became more animated, my attention was drawn to

another nearby surfer—an older man and obviously a local. He seemed to

be growing impatient as he listened to the ever-increasing complaints about

the barrier.

Finally he rose and walked over to the group. Without saying anything, he pulled

a pair of binoculars from his backpack and handed them to one of the surfers,

pointing out toward the barrier. Each of the surfers looked through the binoculars.

When my turn came, with the help of magnification, I could see something

that I had not been able to see before: dorsal fins—large sharks feeding near

the reef on the other side of the barrier.

The group quickly became subdued. The old surfer retrieved his binoculars

and turned to walk away. As he did, he said words I will never forget: “Don’t

be too critical of the barrier,” he said. “It’s the only thing that’s keeping you

from being devoured.”

As we stood on that beautiful beach, our perspective had suddenly changed.

A barrier that had seemed rigid and restrictive—that seemed to curtail the

fun and excitement of riding the really big waves—had become something

very different. With our new understanding of the danger that lurked just

below the surface, the barrier now offered protection, safety, and peace.”

When we use our agency to keep the commandments, we have joy and we

know what to do. I know Heavenly Father loves us and he gave us agency

so we can become like Him.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ

Amen.

The Junior High Spelling Bee

Miles took a qualifying test for the spelling bee a few months ago.  You had to get at least 18 out of 20 questions correct.  He got all 20 because he claims they were "really easy", and then brought home a list of official spelling words.  We practiced a little bit and at least got through all the hard words, but I didn't necessarily think he would go very far.  I've seen the movie Spellbound and I know how intense some people can get about spelling bees!

Luckily, the spelling bee was on one of Gerrit's days off so we both got to go.  They had 20 + 7th and 8th graders, including Miles's friend Oliver and lots of kids from his English/History classes.

He made it through the first few rounds, which I had figured he would do well with.  By the seventh round, there were about 12 kids left.  All the other boys got out in round seven, so he was the last boy standing with seven speller left to go!  The first few rounds had only gotten a few kids out at a time, but then all of a sudden four kids got out in the eighth round and Miles was in the final three.

In the final three, there was one round where everyone spelled their words correctly.  His next word was d'orsay.  All he could remember was that we studied it and he didn't know how to spell it then, either!  The girl next to him got out also, and then the other girl spelled a word correctly to win.  They had a spell-off for second place because the school sends two kids to the regional bee, and Miles spelled "derrick" correctly to win second!  He got a trophy, a t-shirt that fits Gerrit, and the chance to compete again in March.  He felt a little jealous that the girls who tied for fourth got a Snickers, so we took him for his choice of a Slurpee after the bee.

                                               

                                                

                                                    

A Day in the Life: January 20th

There wasn't anything particularly interesting about this day, but I do think it gives you a good idea of what it looks like to balance the junior high schedule, the elementary schedule, and my work schedule!

5:20

Wake up and change into exercise clothes

5:25

Time for scripture study!  I’m reading a General Conference talk about being more like Christ,

especially focusing on being humble and having courage today.  I also read Come,

Follow Me about Adam and Enoch.

5:45

I peel myself off the couch and start up my YouTube workout videos.  First up is a

no-equipment full-body workout.  This translates to a LOT of plank work, squats, and lunges. 

It’s tough!

6:20

I start my next video, a boxing workout.  I am somewhat dismayed when this also ends up

involving a lot of plank work and squats.  I am very tired by the end of it!

6:45

Miles wakes himself up right as I was about to head upstairs and get him, so I get to work

packing his lunch.  He gets crackers, beef jerky, hummus, dried fruit, and pistachios.

6:50

I check some daily headlines while Miles gets dressed and washes his face so we have

something to talk about in the car.

7:00

Miles grabs a box of Chex and we start doing our morning word puzzles.  First up,

Wordle!  We manage to get “Robot” in three tries!

7:03

We move to the crossword, which is not too hard, and the mini, which is also not too bad.

7:10

We’re doing the Spelling Bee and Miles easily gets the pangram “amicably” while I am

stuck trying to make the letters turn into “monosyllabic.”

7:13

Gerrit comes downstairs to work on the dishes and I realize that Miles is now eating a

popsicle.  I tell him he needs to get his shoes on and pack his A day backpack.  It turns

out all of these things are more challenging to do when you’re also eating a popsicle,

for some reason.

7:20

Out the door to school!  Miles and I chat about 5G, carbon dioxide, baloney, and the

excellent children’s book Baloney and Friends and the wonder of our favorite character,

Krabbit.

7:27

I drop Miles off at the church parking lot near the junior high because the actual junior

high parking lot is a nightmare.

7:35 

Back home!  Gerrit and I chat about how my book club is canceled tonight because the

girl who picked the book tested positive for Covid the day before.  I’m afraid that if we

wait for all of us to be healthy, it’s going to be a while!

7:40

No work email!  No news is always good news.

7:42

I grade some group assignments about young offenders and some of the life factors

that have led them to delinquent activity.

7:50

I quickly check my gradebooks to see if anyone has taken the exam so I can add their

extra credit from attending my review session earlier this week.

7:52

Now I’m working on our weekly discussion board.  This week’s is about predictive

analytics and sentencing.  It’s more interesting than it sounds like from the title, I

promise :)

8:02

I’m done for the moment so I head over for my Cheerios and protein shake.

8:05

I check social media and blogs.  Gerrit has me check an Amazon order of nasal

spray.  It says they delivered on Monday.  Was it stolen? Misdelivered? We

definitely don’t have it.

8:15

I wake up Molly and Elliott and get them some breakfast ready

8:20

Just enough time for a quick shower!

8:30

Molly follows me while I’m getting dressed so she can tell me about how they had

to have inside recess yesterday because of the inversion (blech) and also the entire

plot to the book she just finished last night.

8:40

Molly and I run outside to take some pictures of a shirt I made her last week.

8:50

Elliott is still not dressed because he’s been building with Lego this whole time, so I quickly

help him get dressed.

8:55

Out the door!  Molly tells me the rest of the plot to her book.

9:05

I drop the kids off at school.

9:20

I need some thread so I run into Jo-Ann.  They’re out of my color but the one next to it should

be close enough.

9:35

Now a quick run to Target for cleaning supplies.  I was trying to get a physical gift card for my

brother, but they don’t have the one I need.  I see Valentines near the gift cards and decide

to pick those up while I’m here. I check the toy department to see if there’s anything Elliott

might want for his birthday, but I don’t see anything.

9:55

I figure I’ll just run to Best Buy while I’m out because they also carry the gift card I need.

10:00

It turns out Best Buy opens at 11.  I give up.

10:05 

As I’m driving home, I realize that it’s not just Elliott’s birthday soon, but also my

mother-in-law, my dad, and my nephew. (Later note: the next day, I also realized that it was

my brother-in-law's birthday).  I call Gerrit to vent about the gift card and pick his brain for

gift ideas.

10:10

Back home, and back to work.  I’m about to work when I get a text from the stake Primary

president.  Apparently I can now assign a member of my presidency to help families prepare

their children for baptism and another member of presidency to help families prepare their

children for temple and priesthood.  I’ll need to talk to my presidency about this…but my

counselors both have Covid right now so it’s going to be a little while :)

10:14

Okay, now it’s time to work for real!  I need to grade some topic lists.  My students needed

to brainstorm five ideas that they would want to use for their semester research project and

I give really detailed feedback to make sure they get off on the right foot.

10:45

My counselor calls me to ask how last Sunday went and if she should find a substitute for one

of our classes that doesn’t have teachers called yet.  She’s still sick and can’t be there on

Sunday, and wanted to do what she could to help by making phone calls.  I really have the

most wonderful Primary counselors, and have been blessed with the best counselors for the

entire last almost-four years.

10:55

Back to work!

11:30

I’m done with grading and now I need lunch.  I grab some frozen omelet bites, some turkey,

an apple, and some carrot sticks.

11:35

I post the picture I took earlier to Instagram and scroll for a little while I eat my lunch

11:45

I head upstairs to clean the bathrooms and do some tidying in the bedrooms.

12:05

Our Knowledge Bowl practice is tomorrow, so I print out all of the papers we need for practice

and make a Jeopardy board for our review game.

12:25

And now for some fun downstairs cleaning!  I tidy, clean the kitchen counters, sweep,

clean the downstairs bathroom, and clean the windows.

12:55

Finally time to sew!  I’m sewing down the facings and hem on my new cardigan.  I have a

brief difficult moment with the back neckline facing, but I work it out.

2:00

Time to drive to the junior high and pick up Miles! I read a little Cytonic while I wait.

2:25

Miles gets in the car and tells me about his day.  It was a good day but he’s going to have

a LOT of homework.

2:40

Miles gets to work on an assignment about cells and a writing assignment for English.  I

stay nearby and answer some work emails so I’m available if he has questions.

3:20

Time to pick up Molly and Elliott!

3:33

Molly gets in the car and tells me about her friend that got a concussion.

3:35

Elliott gets in the car and tells me all about the difference between facts and opinions. 

We drive over to my parents’ house.

3:40

The kids get situated with some candy and popsicles while I chat to my mom.  She tells me

my sister and her family are sick.

3:55

I’m back home, so I call my sister and leave a message to see how I can help.  I then call

Gerrit and I find out that his youngest sister is sick and so are about half his coworkers. 

There is just SO much sickness everywhere right now.

4:05

I make some chicken sausage and basil pasta for supper.  It’s an easy dinner, thankfully!

4:50

I head back to my parents to pick the kids up.

4:55

My sister calls right as I reach my parents so I sit in their driveway so I can talk to her and

see how they’re doing.

5:10

The kids are happily playing a round of No Dragons are Out Tonight and it’s hard to pull them

away!

5:30

We get home and start eating the pasta. Elliott hates it but everyone else likes it.

5:40

We discover the sugar devotion account on Instagram and coo over the cutest macarons

in the universe. I mean...seriously, look at these:

5:45

Miles turns on music while he does his math homework so the rest of us have a dance

party. Miles calls us all cringe, but we’re having a great time.

5:50

I try to read while Molly works on her book report, but Elliott piles on blankets so we’ll

cuddle instead.

6:20

I take Molly and Elliott to the library and make sure Miles is set up to research his history

paper.

6:25

We have to go see if our favorite book snowflakes are up in the window. They are! I pick

up our holds…three books for Elliott and the new Space Jam movie.

6:30

Miss Kammi is reading squirrel stories tonight. It turns out our family actually has a lot of

well-loved books about squirrels. Who would have guessed? 

7:20

We're back home and I'm surprised to not see Gerrit, since I thought they had Dungeons

& Dragons tonight. It turns out they had to cancel.

7:30

Since they don't have D&D, we can watch the latest episode of Amazing Race instead!

Switzerland is just super-beautiful.

8:30

We send Molly and Elliott to bed and Gerrit and I watch The Book of Boba Fett with Miles.

This is not particularly my thing, but I know Gerrit and Miles like it.

9:30

I chat to Gerrit for a few minutes while Miles heads up to bed.

9:45

I do a few logic puzzles and head to sleep!