The Nativity Thief

Last year we had a large accordion gate/playpen encircling the fireplace and Christmas tree to protect them from the mobile 8-month old that was cruising around any and all things that stood still. This year I decided I didn't like how cluttered it made the living room feel, and Melanie is old enough to start learning that some things are off limits, so we took it down before Christmas. I set one of my nativity sets up on the hearth of the fireplace since that seemed to be the best place for it. With nothing to protect the nativity set, Melanie was instantly drawn to it (with it having animals and all - I think the sheep were the initial draw) and spent much of December rearranging who sat next to what animal and vice versa, but overall playing very nicely with it for a 20 month old. Mostly she just liked carrying them around with her. More than once we couldn't leave the house without Baby Jesus or Joseph in tow (we seldom leave the house empty-handed these days) I did however see a Fisher Price Little People nativity set in a catalog and we may be requesting one of those for next year, since there were a few minor injuries that took place (a camel lost his head, Joseph lost a hand and baby Jesus was detached from the manger) but nothing a little super glue couldn't fix.

Here are a few pictures of Melanie enjoying the nativity set

She seemed to group like-shaped items together. The shepherd and Mary were kept together since they are both kneeling, and the cow and donkey often went together since they're both lying down.

Joseph and Baby Jesus were the favorites by far

Apparently not in the mood to have her picture taken...

How to Make Egg Noodles

Homemade egg noodles from scratch is a Greenlee tradition at Thanksgiving and Christmas. When I was a kid my Great-Grandma Gebhardt would make them for those special meals, but was rather secretive about the recipe and technique. They were always magically yellow, which bewildered my mom when she married into the family since she saw the raw noodles and knew they weren't yellow to begin with, and the chicken broth they were cooked in wasn't yellow either (grandma was hiding a bottle of yellow food coloring in her apron pocket she later found out).

Well Great-Grandma passed away when I was a pre-teen, and a couple years ago I was talking about the noodles and Matt's Grandma Palmer offered to show me how she made her egg noodles, an offer I eagerly took her up on.

When word got out to the family that I had learned the secrets of homemade egg noodles, I was appointed the noodle-maker for the holiday meals. My mom had made noodles for a few of the in between years, but her recipe was one she found actually written down in a cookbook, and everybody knows that if something is actually written down for mass publication that it just isn't as good as the stuff you just know how to make because a family member taught you (even though I thought mom's tasted just fine), so they had switched to using the frozen Reames noodles, which are more convenient but I still don't particularly care for (too thick for my taste).

I made noodles for Thanksgiving since we would be spending it with dad's side of the family, but informed dad that I wouldn't be making them for Christmas since they aren't a tradition with mom's side of the family. This made him a bit sad, since he really likes his egg noodles. So as a surprise I made a smaller batch for his birthday dinner (not the usual full dozen eggs worth that I make for the holidays). He was very happy, and there were even some leftovers, so he got to enjoy them for a few days afterwards.

Since noodle making is a dying art (if you want to call it that) I figured I'd share my knowledge with anyone that may happen to actually read this (so basically Michelle, I would guess :) )

Beat together by hand 2 eggs, 1/2 eggshell of water (2 tbs. maybe? I've never tried to put an actual measurement on it) and a bit of salt

(Matt's grandma uses 1/8 tsp., but I usually just shake in a tiny bit. You'll get

more salt from the chicken broth when you cook them)

Well-beaten egg mixture

Incorporate as much flour into the egg mixture as you can with your fork. The dough may be sticky still, but you won't be able to mix any more in without using your hands.

Divide dough in half and knead in as much flour as you can to form a dough that is no longer sticky-firm but not tough - and can be rolled out on a well floured surface. Roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Repeat with 2nd half of dough.

Put a generous amount of flour on the dough disks and roll the flattened dough jellyroll style. If you don't put enough flour on the dough it may be difficult to unroll later on. (This is 6 eggs worth of noodles)

Slice the rolls with a sharp knife using a rocking motion so you don't stretch out the dough, making slices to desired width (mine are usually between 1/4 to 3/8 inch wide)

Unroll the sliced noodles (this is a good place for kids or spouses to help out!)

Toss the unrolled noodles with flour to prevent the cut sides from sticking and spread them out into basically a single layer. Allow noodles to rest and dry out a bit on the counter, covered in a clean tea towel.

You can make these noodles in the morning and use them that evening for chicken and noodles, or once stiff to the touch they can be bagged up in a freezer bag and frozen for use at a later date. If you want to use them in soup don't keep the tossing flour in the bag with the noodles, if you want them to be in a thicker sauce keep the flour for when you cook the noodles.

Matt's grandma doesn't do the jellyroll part of the process, she just leaves the rolled out dough to dry and then slices her noodles from that. I don't have good luck with cutting my noodles from the flat dry dough - I tend to crack the noodles and end up with lots of short little pieces (I'm sure it's just a mental block I have since I was raised doing the jellyroll technique ) plus I think the tossing of the noodles when they're moist gives them more shape for later on - it all comes down to personal preference and if the extra steps are worth it to you.

I don't recommend making more than 2 eggs worth at a time since you're mixing everything by hand and it gets hard to incorporate the flour into a larger number of eggs. I just do 2 eggs worth at a time, let the bowl soak while I knead and roll, and then clean it out for the next batch.

What Not To Do When You're Pregnant

When you are pregnant, especially when you're around the 7 month mark and your belly begins to look like you're smuggling sporting goods under your shirt, it is inadvisable that you fall when walking on ice. If you should happen to find yourself loosing your balance, you should try to catch yourself or maneuver to a position that will cause the least injury when you do make contact with the ground. The preferred method of catching yourself would be with your hands, or even falling on your knees would suffice. If you can finagle a way to turn to land on your rump that wold be the best option of all. Whatever you do, do not do as I did and use your protruding stomach to catch yourself.

Belly flopping on ice is not a pleasant experience, for yourself or your growing baby. It will result in increased worry about the well-being of your baby, as well as a likely discomfort in your ribs and a general achiness all over your body for several days. You will undoubtedly be told to go to the hospital, where you and your baby will be hooked up to monitors for 4-6 hours to be sure that you haven't cause the onset of labor. A sonogram will likely be performed to be sure that there isn't any blood pooling in your uterus and to ensure that the placenta hasn't detached itself from the uterine wall. A pelvic check will be performed to check that you aren't dilating, and after you are given the all clear you will then be released to go home around 2 a.m. to pick your child up from your parents house, feeling sore from your bruised ribs and stupid for having fallen victim to one of the most common of winter injuries.

If you do have to go out on the ice this winter, I suggest wearing cleats. And always be sure your husband is prepared with crossword puzzles to keep you amused while you whittle away the hours, praying that your baby is ok. There are no T.V.s in the perinatal observation rooms, so you will have to have alternative forms of entertainment available. But when all is said and done, you will be grateful that your mind was put at ease with the knowledge that your growing baby will be ok.