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Trysha Hicks is April's featured ModMoms profile. Trysha has been an active participant on Modmomsclub for months. You can always count on her to chime in on a topic that is posted in our forums.  So, please take a minute to meet Trysha a.k.a. iScream4IceCream!

Tell us about yourself.
I'm a 40 year-old work-from-home mom.  I have a 9 year-old daughter Katie, 15 year-old stepson Shane, 17 year-old stepdaughter Justine, and 19 year-old stepdaughter Erica.  My husband and I actually met at a NASCAR race at Sears Point.  I was there with a friend, and he just happened to be "the guy in the next seat."  We chatted throughout the day, and he bet me on the outcome of the race.  I won the bet, so he owed me dinner.  The rest, as they say, is history!

What's your favorite family place?
Our whole family enjoys (tent) camping, especially at Pipi Campground in the El Dorado National Forest.  We go every summer with my cousins, and it amazes me how much fun my kids can have without electricity!  We also love Stockton Thunder Hockey games.  We've been season ticket holders since day one, and are anxiously awaiting the start of the playoff season!

What's your favorite place for yourself?
Believe it or not, my craft room.  I just recently moved my "empire" as I like to call it, into the spare bedroom upstairs.  I love being in there, and playing with all my "stuff".  I'm mostly into scrapbooking and paper crafts, and never get tired of it!

What's your favorite ritual with your kids?
We love to go geocaching together.  We never know what we'll see spending a day bouncing from spot to spot, digging under bushes and looking in trees, ha ha!  Some people haven't heard of the hobby, but most who try it, are quickly addicted!  I love it because it's something you can do alone or with a group, and there's no difference in the "preparation" involved.  All you need is a GPS and some coordinates.  We take the kids' friends sometimes too, and everyone has a blast!  Would you believe there are hundreds of geocaches hidden just in the Modesto area, and you're driving by them every day?  There is a great group of geocachers right here in the central valley and we've made some wonderful friends.

What did you eat for dinner last night?
Baked chicken and mushroom stuffing.

Can you share the recipe?
The chicken isn't so exciting, but my stuffing is!  I guess technically it's "dressing" since I don't stick it in a bird, right?

Casserole Mushroom Dressing ("stuffing")
¾ cup margarine or butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1½ cups chopped celery (with leaves)
¾ cup finely chopped onion
9 cups soft bread cubes (I use a mix of white and wheat sandwich bread)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. dried thyme (or 2 tsp. chopped fresh)
½ tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 375
Heat margarine or butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat
Cook mushrooms, celery, and onions for about 3 minutes
Remove from heat
Stir in remaining ingredients
Place stuffing in a 2-quart (or larger) casserole dish and cover
Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes

What’s on your iPod?
A better question is, "What's NOT on my iPod?"  I love music.  I truly have everything on there:  Rock, Pop, Country, Classical, Big Band, etc.  I've got everything from Coldplay to Aerosmith to Benny Goodman to Dwight Yoakam and of COURSE a TON of totally rad '80s music!  Right now, I'm listening to a lot of The Fray and Thriving Ivory--both bands' latest CDs are great--love almost every song on them!

What is your favorite TV show?
Can I make that plural?  I love "24", Lost, CSI, American Idol, and Survivor.  But I never watch anything in real time, because I hate commercials.  I Tivo all of it and start "late" so I can fast forward!  While on the topic of favorite shows, I have to say I still miss that CBS show "Jericho" that only lasted a season.  I am the only person I know who watched it, but it was awesome!

Finish this sentence" My kids hate it when I…”
...decide it's a family cleaning day, ha ha!  No matter how much stuff leaves the house, it seems more is always coming IN!  Every so often, I declare a day where each kid gets two garbage bags--one for recycling or trash and the other for stuff we can donate.  We're not done until those bags are full.  Not a lot of smiling in my house on those days!

If you know a mom we should profile, email me!