Land of the Sick

I have been living in the land of the sick this week. Alex had a stomach bug on Monday, Tuesday night he had a fever, Wednesday he just laid around. Who knows what today will hold? He hasn't let me go, so I haven't been on the treadmill all week. I realized how much I missed it. I know I could walk during nap time, but I am so exhausted that I try to get a nap when he does. Last night I went to Zumba and was totally not into it. I had a great time though. It was nice just being around the girls. Alex did go outside to play yesterday. I think he wore himself out though. He was asleep in the bed with Brian when I got home at 5 til 8.

Yesterday I got my weekly Taste of Home email and was so excited to see one of the recipes in the newsletter. A couple of months ago Brianna and I went to Rocky River Coffee for a girl day. We got our drinks and had a slice of their lemon bread. It was so good. Brianna has talked about it since then. Well, there was a recipe for lemon bread in yesterday's TOH newsletter and I had all the ingredients in the house to make it! So, I whipped some up and Bri had it for snack when she got home. She was so excited and said it was better than the one at Rocky River Coffee, I think she was just glad that I cooked! Poor Bri has been so neglected by me this week, Alex has just demanded all my attention. Maybe we should plan a girl day or girl time this weekend? She probably needs the attention.

Bri and I are headed out tomorrow to take Flat Stanley around town. My friend Kate home schools her kids, she has 4 with number 5 on the way! Her daughter Emma has to report about Flat Stanley at her drama class every week. Sonya and Amos did a great job with Bri's Stanley, so Bri has a ton of ideas for Emma's. We even took a picture of him with our lemon bread yesterday. I told you she was excited about the bread. I will post some of the pictures after our trip out tomorrow.

Here's the recipe for the bread. It's more of a cross between a pound cake and a bread.

Golden Lemon Bread
from Taste of Home

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk.
Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack.
Combine the glaze ingredients; immediately pour over warm bread. Cook completely before removing from pan.

I think the next time I make this, I may add some lemon zest to the bread batter, just to give it a more lemon flavor. The glaze is tangy and delicious. This only has 125 mg of sodium, so it was okay for Brian to have! I love it when a recipe has the nutrition facts included! It took a little longer that 45 minutes to bake, so keep an eye on it.

Alex is wiggling in my lap, making it hard to type! So, I guess that's a sign that I'm finished.