Banana Bread

Cooking Time: 50-60 minutes
Servings: 10
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar (brown or white)
2 eggs
1 c banana, mashed
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1/2 c milk + 1/2 T vinegar or 1/2 c buttermilk
1 t cinnamon

Optional Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c sugar

Directions
If making your own buttermilk put 1/2 T vinegar in 1/2 C measuring cup and fill the rest of the way with milk, set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add in banana, egg, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add half of dry ingredients and mix and then half of milk and mix. Repeat. Pour into greased loaf pan or muffin tin. This can be made into 4 mini loafs, 1 large loaf, or approx 20 muffins. Sprinkle top of loafs or muffins generously with cinnamon sugar topping before baking. Bake at 350 degrees. For mini loaves bake for 30-40 minutes, large loaf bake for 50-60 minutes or muffins 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

You Found Her Where?

In the kitchen drawer.

That's right, folks. I found my daughter inside a drawer. It wasn't closed, so don't go calling child protective services. I was making dinner, and Sydney was playing with some toys/kitchen gadgets I keep in a drawer in the corner of the kitchen just for her. To date, she's only pulled the items in the drawer out onto the kitchen floor, played with them, and then - when I'm especially lucky - returned them to the drawer.

However, tonight, she took a different approach. Tom had called, so I was making dinner and talking on the phone, turned around, and there she was: sitting in the drawer! I immediately removed her. AS IF! She made it very clear that my action was totally unacceptable. Anyway, I let her do it again so I could snap some pictures - for your enjoyment, of course. As always, there are plenty more pictures of her hijinks on the Picasa Web site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J0LEvoeU6WM8JRnvmk8wug?feat=directlink
We'll be babyproofing the drawers this weekend.

Testing 1, 2, 3...

It felt like summer this past weekend - for a couple hours at least. Lorraine recently bought a new bathing suit and wanted to test it out. She stopped by during Syd's nap, and the two of us worshiped the sun for a couple hours. It was *really* nice, and we got a little color too. Lorraine brought along Chego, who wasn't as excited about laying in the sun as us... he kept his distance and napped in the shade of the trees. Anyway, it felt like a nice test run of Bergemuda for this summer. I can't wait for the pool to open on April 30! Until then, I'm looking forward to this weekend: it's supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees both days.

Men Working (Really!)

This weekend marked the beginning of construction on Sydney's new playground. Although the work started slowly on Saturday, things really picked up on Sunday. On Saturday, Tom moved all the boxes (I think there were 13 in all) from the garage to the pool deck. He also constructed the fort platform. On Sunday, the grandpas arrived. My dad came over from 9 am to 11 am and helped construct the fort side walls and move the fort from the pool deck to the playground's final resting place in the backyard. After my dad left, Tom's dad came over, and they continued construction. After several hours, they had constructed the entire fort and the ladder. Things are really looking good, and no one got hurt. It may be a playground construction miracle (although it's not finished, so there's still time to make a trip to the ER)! Check out the Picasa site for *lots* more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/tbergeman/SydneySPlayground?feat=directlink

Stay tuned for more updates.

Baby Gate Claims Another Victim

The new baby gate's vicious rampage continues. The gate claimed another victim when it attacked me this evening on my way from the kitchen to the bedroom. It was the fourth violent attack in as many days. The gate started its rampage when it attacked Tom last Thursday - his injuries included a suspected broken sternum. After a couple quiet evenings, the gate struck again last night and again this evening.

Officials in Bergemuda are urging guests to take care when moving around the first floor, especially after dusk, when the gate is most likely to attack.

The gate's first victim, Tom, is in a crappy, but stable mood. His injuries were the first non-self-inflicted wounds he's sustained in years.

Officials in Bergemuda have decided to continue plans for a grand opening on April 30, 2009. They said they would continue warnings and take all necessary precautions.

Happy Easter

What a fabulous day. The Easter bunny visited our house and Jodi's house! Sydney started off this morning with her Easter basket here at the house. She received a book and a tea set. At her Aunt Jodi's house, everyone got baskets! We enjoyed brunch and played with Easter toys and ate way too much candy. Later, we hosted both sets of grandparents, Aunt Lorraine, and Uncle Tom here at the house. It turns out that the bunny stopped by Aunt Lorraine's place as well and left her a very generous Easter basket for me! Woo hoo!


Although we were unable to attend church this weekend because of a scheduling miscue, we are very aware of why we celebrate today. After reading all the Easter wishes on Facebook, I think my favorite was from our friend Liz Zurn: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Happy Easter friends! :)


It was so nice to celebrate Easter with our family. We are incredibly thankful to have our families so close and to be able to spend time with them. We are blessed!

An Expose': The Truth About the Bunny

Yesterday, Sarah, Jodi, and I went to the salon for pedicures. While waiting for our toes to dry, the subject of the Easter Bunny came up. Here are some little-known truths about the bunny (and some other good information to know):

- Apparently, the bunny travels with bunny ninja protectors.
- The bunnies at the mall are representatives of the big guy himself.
- According to Sarah, the bunny is 4 ft tall (he's 6 ft according to Julia and 2 ft according to Jodi).
- The bunny is naked (scandalous!): he's got white fur and pink ears and carries a basket.
- He eats magic carrots and transports from house to house on Easter morning.
- In the off season, the bunny and his BFF cupid hang out at the pool (occasionally, they invite Santa to join them).
- Also in the off season, the bunny and cupid go to Mr. MacGregor's garden where the bunny snacks on carrots and cupid shoots arrows at Mr. MacGregor.

I think that basically covers it. Now you know the rest of the story.

Baby Gates Installed, 1 Person Injured

As you know, Sydney's been crawling for months. She's learned how to climb up the stairs by herself, and she can now climb down the stairs as well. She's taking steps and will be walking by herself any day now. However, all these new abilities have made Sydney a true menace to society. She's getting into all kinds of things she shouldn't be getting into, playing on the stairs, and just making her mommy a worried wreck. As Cesar Milan might say, it's time for some boundaries, rules, and limitations!

So - I finally gave in and bought baby gates. At first, Sydney made it very clear that the gates were unacceptable. She tried to climb through them, rattled the bars, and voiced her frustration. However, she seems to be getting used to them. Daddy - on the other hand - is having serious problems getting used to the gates. Yesterday, after he'd put Sydney to sleep, she apparently let out a "blood curdling" scream. He immediately dropped everything and went running to her aid. However, he forgot about the baby gate and had a tremendously unfortunate collision. Apparently, the baby gate went flying, and daddy landed on top of it. Needless to say, he's got bruises to back up his story.

When I returned home last night, I worked with Tom to re-install the gate. Everything was just about getting back to normal, when Tom managed to bust through the gate again! He says he's just not used to it and that he's not necessarily looking down when he walks through the hallway. So - Sydney and I erected a sign to help him (see picture). We're really hoping that this new sign will help prevent any future injuries.

Meet the Twins

This weekend, we got to meet the Bergeman Family's newest additions: Steve and Kerry's twins: Lylla and Harper. Born back in December, the girls are now about 3 months old. In this picture Harper's on the left, and Lylla's on the right (I think). Anyway, the girls were super sweet, and it was great getting to meet them. It's hard to believe that Sydney was that small just a year ago! It's amazing how quickly they grow. We're looking forward to seeing them again in May at their baptism in Ocean City.

Company is Coming!

A huge influx of visitors are on their way... Great Grandma Bergeman, Aunt Terry, and Great Aunt Rae are coming to visit in May. We've got several family events planned, including the twins' baptism in Ocean City and Sarah's first communion in Purcellville. Sydney's getting geared up to meet her relatives, and we're hoping that Great Aunt Rae brings some sunshine and warmer temperatures with her from the Villages!