Nana’s Cinnamon Rolls

The words Nana and Cinnamon Rolls are inseparable.  You can’t have one without the other. 

If there’s one memory of Nana that ALL her grandchildren share, it’s her coming to visit and baking homemade cinnamon rolls.  Every single visit, she’d make the yummiest batch of cinnamon rolls, and oftentimes, a new batch for each day she was there.

As a child, these are some of my fondest memories, and literally a small taste of heaven.  A memory I wanted to capture forever and past down to my children, and their children.

Here’s Nana holding Rylee when she’s just a few weeks old.  Love!

The only hard part…is she never ever used a recipe…she’s that good!!!  And now that her memory is beginning to fade on the onset of Alzheimer's, she can’t tell you the exact measurements.  But thankfully, she’s been making them for so long, that she still knows how to do it, but relies on looks rather than measurements.

So this summer, I had her re-create the masterpieces with me…this time…measuring each ingredient along the way.  And I might add that it’s a “healthy” version as she typically made them with whole wheat flour too. 

Folks, here you have a family family!

Ingredients: 

• 2 C warm water
• 1/3 C sugar
• 2 T yeast
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 T oil
• 4 to 4 1/2 C flour (half whole wheat, half white flour)

Filling:

• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1/2 to 3/4 C brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:

• 1 stick of butter
• 2 C powdered sugar
• dash of salt
• a bit of milk until the right consistency – about 1T

Instructions:

1.  Mix water, sugar, and yeast together in small bowl.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast starts to rise and mixture is frothy.

2.  Gradually add up to 4 1/2 C of flour.  You’ll want to add enough flour so that you can knead the dough without it being too sticky, but be careful not to add too much. 

When we made the recipe, we used about 4 1/4 C of flour, but Nana said it can vary from 4-5 cups depending on the type of flour we use.  Typically, Nana used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour.  However, you don’t want to add too much flour – or else the cinnamon rolls will be heavy and dense, not light and fluffy like she makes them. So the less flour you add, the better.

3.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.  Put the dough back in mixing bowl with a dab of oil/salt smeared on top of the dough.  Cover and let rise in warm place (sunny window sill, next to heater/stove, or heated water bed ) until doubled in size.  The time it takes will vary, but it’s usually between 1-2 hours.

4.  Punch down and roll dough into a rectangle.  Spread melted butter over dough, and then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.  Roll dough and cut with into 1 inch slices.  Place into 9x13 pan.

5.  Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size.  The cinnamon rolls will rise quicker the second time, usually about 30mins to 1 hour.

6.  Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

7.  Frost with your favorite frosting!  The frosting was really hard to get her to measure correctly…so it may not be exactly the same as you remember.  Feel free to use your own instead.

Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Knickerbocker Wedding

So finally, the day had arrived, the day we had been hoping for ever since we first met Corinne nearly three years ago.  Jeremy had graciously offered to host Christmas for the ENTIRE family at his house in Chicago…but let’s be honest…Corinne did most the work.  She was amazing. She didn’t even know our family…but she went all out with the food, decorations, presents, everything was magical and magnificent. 

The day where I got to see Jeremy marry his best friend, and now, his better half :)

Just look at her, isn’t she beautiful?

We were ALL so excited to welcome her to the family!

Here’s a recap of some of my favorite moments from the weekend:

1.  Ceremony:  My Dad was able to marry Jeremy and Corinne.  Having never done it before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  And I’m sure Jeremy didn’t either as he heard the reemergence of Phing Phang Phong, a beloved character from Jeremy’s tales he would share on long, long car trips in an effort to keep all the little kids sane.  Well, Phing Phang Phong was brought back to life, equating it to the new chapter and stories that will be written and shared some advice for a “happier ever after” ending.  I’ll have to get a copy of my Dad’s speech.  It was pretty spectacular with many words of wisdom shared with a touch of comic relief here and there.  I wasn’t expecting to get emotional, but was swept away with the beauty and excitement for these two!

2.  Ring bearer: Tanner got to walk down the aisle, ringing a bell, and was supposed to bring the ring bearer.  Except he kept dropping them.  So Uncle Keith, standing behind him as Jeremy’s Best Man, held onto them.  When it was time to exchange rings, Keith handed them to Tanner, only to have them slip down the sleeve of his Tux shirt.  Personally, it was my favorite part of the wedding.  Who doesn’t love a little humor in the form of “wardrobe malfunctions” as Keith put it?

But being the ring bearer had a few perks… like riding around in style with the entire wedding party.

Capturing a few pics at Powell Gardens.  Love these cuties!!!

And a little man-to-man chat right before the deal was sealed :)

Jeremy and Corinne thought of every little detail making it fun for these kids.  At the rehearsal dinner the night before, they had gifts all lined up for them to make them feel big and important – and to made them take an “oath” and promise to be on their best behavior…it was hilarious!!!

3.  Dancing - I’m pretty sure I could devote an entire blogpost to all the dancing that was going on.  Everyone was partying it up all night long.  It didn’t matter if you were 1 or 80 --- there was dancing to be had!!!

First up, gotta love these pics of Jeremy and Corinne on the dance floor. 

Second, was my Mom and Jeremy dancing to “Memory” from the Cats musical – a favorite of my moms for sure.  But by the end of the song…my mom was practically on top of Jeremy…and there was not an inch between them.  Luckily, Corinne’s not the jealous type. :)

Then, there’s the kiddos. 

Seriously, Avery and Brittany were the life of the party.  And they were so cute and adorable…and just kept going ALL.NIGHT.LONG.  They were in heaven…and surely…it’ll be a night they never forget.  They danced more than anyone I know.

I always felt that Tanner had inherited my dancing skills, the poor guy.  Until we saw him on the dance floor – there may be more hope!  He was tearing it up too!  After hanging out with the Britt, Avery, and Mason, they taught him and he started pulling out some fancy moves .  I WISH WISH WISH I could have gotten this on video.  He was impersonating Michael Jackson with some of his turns and moves.  Love it!!!

And Scarlett, she was going strong too!  Katelynn was holding her…and she’d be fist-pumping to the music.  It was hard to get Scarlett to leave the dance floor.  Nothing cuter than mother daughter rocking out together!!!

Then the was the Anniversary Dance.  All couples lined up to dance to see who had been married the longest.  It was awesome to see both Corinne’s and my parents in the final 4. 

But guess who kept dancing and eventually won??  Nana and Papa.  60 years and counting, so they claimed.  The DJ yelled out that it was so UNBELIEVABLE!  All of us cousins turned and looked at each other—and Lisa said, “Yes, it actually is!!!”  But nonetheless, they’re an amazing example of love and forgiveness…so why not let them bask in the excitement!

And speaking of Nana, she was tearing it up on the dance floor too and not to be shown up by her grandchildren.  Hope that when I’m her age, I’m just as cool as she is!!!

And LOVE these pics of her and Brendan dancing the night away!

Seriously…the real question was…who wasn’t on the dance floor (besides by Dad’s side of the family – and myself ). 

They even played WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY!!!  If you haven’t heard it, you’re seriously missing out.  It’s hilarious, and I can’t help but rolling over laughing every time I hear it. 

Here’s my Uncle Steven and Aunt Lynda rocking it!

And a sight I don’t see very often – my parents on the dance floor!

And best of all, Anthony and I got to dance together.  Just having a newborn and house full of kiddos, there’s not much alone time to be had.  I cherished every second!!!

Food:

Jeremy and Corinne thought of every little detail.  The kids had a separate buffet line just for them…and it made some of the adults jealous.  The only way to get a chicken finger…thanks to the Nazi lady guarding over the line…was to show proof of your kid :)

There were also these amazing “Chocolate shots” that were these teeny tiny chocolate mouse cups topped with raspberries.  There was a debate going around whether there was alcohol in them.  But Lisa and I didn’t let it stop us.  I figured these were so tiny it would have been equivalent to eating anything made with vanilla extract.  But luckily, my instinct was right, there was NO alcohol, so my conscience could rest easily.

Family:

And sadly, I did a horrible job of capturing pics of all the family that came into down for the wedding!

We got to meet Collins’ girlfriend, Kirsten, for the first time.  She’s so sweet and so nice…we were all wondering…what is she doing dating Collin??  j/k!  We LOVE Collin too, but love the two of them together even more!!!

Over the weekend, we had a full house full of guests.  My cousin Lisa, Scott & Dayana, and my aunt Lynda stayed with us. 

On Saturday morning, we had a family brunch for all the extended family at house so we could mingle and spend more time together.  It was awesome to see my Dad’s side of the family and all my wonderful cousins (Amanda, Hiram, Elizabeth, Matt, along with part of their families, t00). Last time I saw them was a few years ago when my Grandpa Knick passed away. But this was a much more joyous occasion!

They shared some family pictures of us nearly 20+ years ago at my Grandpop Knick’s wedding to Barbara.  Crazy how much we’ve all changed…and how certain things haven’t (i.e.my mom’s hair).  But she’s looks practically the same, and if I could say the same of myself in 20 years, I’d be ecstatic!!!

Here’s my cousin Amanda handsome little boy…Rhys.  It was great to be able to spend more time with them and their two adorable kids.  It still seems like yesterday when I was in DC for their wedding.  Time needs to stop…

Kids

Let’s just make this simple.  3 kids, 2 parents. Welcome to being outnumbered. Not fun!

What are the odds that a newborn who hadn’t pooped in a week would choose to do so a few minutes before the wedding. Total blow-out! The dress was salvageable and we got done cleaning her just before the the ceremony started…it was a close call.

But of course, Miss Rylee didn’t want to miss any of the party either.  She HAD to be held the entire time.  Graciously, my mom offered to help so I could enjoy some dinner.  Love these two ladies!!!

All night long…we had to put up with Brooke’s whining for her bottle. We had left it at home…which resulted in her permanent ‘stink face.’  Not even food was cheering her up…

 

All the young girls were in matching dresses, but despite our best attempts at some cute pictures, this is as good as it gets.

Brooke was miserable…up until the moment we decided to take her home.  Then magically, she decided she wanted to stay.  Finally, she was smiling and having fun!!!  After all, who wouldn’t be smiling after a hug from Quincy!  That little Q is full of energy and life…and along with all the other kids…there was no stopping her on the dance floor!

Tanner was exhausted from the day-long adventures from limo ride, pictures, and ceremony, not to mention late night beforehand at the rehearsal dinner. I’m still not sure what exactly happened (something about touching a cupcake before he was supposed to) launched a major meltdown with him crying and hiding behind a table, inconsolable. Thankfully, it was short-lived, nothing food and friends couldn’t fix!

So…I don’t think I could really relax and begin having fun until the our kids headed home. While almost all the cousins and kids were having the time of their life, our kids were a tired cranky mess. They’re just shy, reserved, and not the partying type. So Anthony ran them home and Grammy took over from there. Thankfully!

There’s nothing like a wedding to remind me of your own love of your life. Marrying Anthony is hands down the best decision I’ve ever made! I’m so grateful for his love, devotion, and help he shows every.single.day!!

And in case you ever doubt it, just ask any of my family members. They’ll tell you how good I have it!!! My cousins were shocked when they stayed with us and learned Anthony gets up with the kids first thing in the morning and in the middle of the night – Brooke had a nervous melt down when she realized she had a visitor in her room :). And to top it off, he makes breakfast every Saturday. I know…I have it GOOD!!!