FOOD!!!

Ok, it's the holidays, and my old love for cooking is back! I was throwing up my toenails in the early stages of pregnancy last year so cooking was the last thing on my mind! :-} On a funny note, I made peppermint bark last year for gifts and was so nauseous that it didn't sound good, look good or taste good to me. Those that had it said that it was really good. I didn't believe them. I made some for this year last weekend. Then I tasted it. It was wonderful! Melted in your mouth and didn't taste anything like what I remembered! Wow! I must have been really out of commission for chocolate to taste bad! (Please note, I mean no bragging about my peppermint bark, all it requires is melting almond bark and chocolate chips, and hardening it again. Not difficult or bragworthy ~ just tasty! ;-)

So I love this website for cooking. Her beans and rice are just like mine, and I am dying to try her olive cheese loaf! It's kinda fun to look at the pictures of her cooking stages, makes it kinda like a cheaper version of the FOOD network!

On another note, things around here are gearing up for Christmas. Just about finished wrapping presents. I think we have finally finished all of our shopping. And I think this is the first year we don't have to collect a couple more gifts when we get to our destination! Progress!

Everyone around here is growing (hmmm... maybe I should eat less peppermint bark). I finally found a pediatrician. The baby is a mere 13.8 lbs. tiny in our terms, but doing fine (she is in the 25th percentile in weight and the 95th in height). I almost laughed when I saw her growth chart. I personally think it is funny that doctors put one tiny point on a graph and make a guess at how tall and big your kid will be in 18 years!!! ;-)

The puppy, however, is 56 lbs.!!! This means he has gained approximately 2.5 lbs a week since we got him! I hope he slows down, at that rate he will weigh 131 lbs at a year! ;-) I'm kidding ~ it is highly unlikely he will get that big! I think his momma weighs around 80 lbs.

Have a Merry Christmas!!!!

I got nuthin'...

Ok, so I realize it has been over a week since I posted. But there isn't anything happening. I took the baby to get her shots yesterday only to wait over an hour for them to tell me that the girl who gives shots was not there. So, I am now looking for a pediatrician, probably in a bigger town, enough with the small town Docs.

Um, it's about 78 degrees outside right now -- they gave us another chance for snow Tuesday night, so the girls and I played out and raked leaves this morning. I am convinced our neighbors are appalled at the state of our yard. We seem to have no time to work out there lately!

Yep, nuthin. I'll have to get back to you! ;-)

8 Things you probably don't know about me.....

Thanks to Robin, I have been tagged ;-). I am not near as exciting as she is, but thanks to her I now have "Friends are Friends Forever" stuck in my head, actually I think it was more like "Foreva", if I remember correctly! ;-) Ok, so here it goes.....

1. I will spend hours on the internet reading sites about dogs.

2. I hate the way babies look in bibs, to the point I would rather clean spit-up clothes than put a bib on her. (this drives Tom crazy, by the way)

3. I love the mountains, would move there in a heartbeat, but have no desire to ski!

4. I love Oreos and milk so much I have actually eaten myself sick on them. Recently. ;-)

5. My own husband never reads my blog! (maybe he will now, haha)

6. Um, um, let me look at Robin's again and see if it sparks any thoughts.......

7. I won rabbit showmanship 2 years in a row in 4-H in high school (if that wasn't bad enough, the prize was a massive gold and silver belt buckle that I actually wore...often -- and I still like it, although I don't wear it).

8. I don't like artificially flavored peach, or grape. I love cherry flavoring!

Ok, I made it to 8! Well, OK I fudged on 6, but I am completely blank, and you want this to be over too I am sure!

Tag: Bonnie, Elisabeth & Allison

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Dreaming of a White.........Thanksgiving?

The above photo is of our backyard at 7:30am Thanksgiving morning! The below photo is of our backyard at about 3:30 pm!!! We got about 6-8 inches of snow! It literally snowed all day, and it has snowed a little today, amazing! I think the last time I saw snow like this at my home was when I was about 6! Wow! The girls were amazed and loved playing in it! They also love having the dogs in the house! Ahh! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, the only problem with having a blog is that it means you think your life is exciting enough to post something new every so often. Well, mine isn't. I could go on and on about cooking, cleaning, laundry, diapers and the dog digging up the water pipe. But, I am not even that interested in all that, let alone my friends and family! ;-)

Anyways, we will be here at home for Thanksgiving this year. I am going to be attempting to cook the meal! I am excited to get to try with no pressure. Maybe someday we can host! The girls are excited and say they are going to help!

Tom's busy season should slow down soon (or at least that is what the rumor is...), so maybe we will make it to Christmas! That was our short-term goal, just survive until Christmas!

Congrats to Dad on his Big Buck this week! 9 points with 3 kickers/ringers (if you don't know what that means -- essentially 12 points to those of us who don't hunt :). All that sitting up in a tree paid off big! ;-)

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!!

Thanks for the good times!!!!!!

Ok, I am tired today.
After a fun-filled week of visiting family and going to "The Big City" I'm tired. But, we had a great time! Christmas shopping is well under way, I have had my fix of Starbucks and real restaurants (and Mom's French toast). By the way, if you want the best French toast in the world, go to my Mom's house -- I am totally biased, but if you have it, you'll know, it is the best ever made! It's worth driving 8+ hours in a car with 3 kids 4 and under to get! ;-)

AND we saw trees! Ahhh.... It's nice every once in a while to see trees and hills!

Thanks B for letting us hang in your adorable apartment! And, for the movies we pilfered. ;-) It was great -- the girls loved the "Belle" movie I think we might rent that tonight! Uncle Scott & Aunt B are the coolest thing since sliced bread!

So, I am off to unpack, drink more coffee and be as quiet as possible so everyone will keep sleeping until I am ready to face today!!!!!

Happy Reformation Day!

It's a beautiful day! I am here to challenge you today to do a little church history brush up! Today, October 31st, commemorates the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church.

You can start here with the basic overview of the Protestant Reformation and then head here and read Martin Luther's 95 theses for yourself. If you consider yourself Protestant you need to know where your beliefs came from, if you are Catholic you need to understand your church's history too! My challenge today is, look it up and read for yourself! Choose your beliefs based in God and the Bible -- not on just what someone told you!

Hey! You might even decide to dress up like a monk today! ;-)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

In Case Your Having a Bad Day....

This is a picture of our garage door today. Drink fell over when I stopped in the driveway. Took my foot off the brake -- must have thought it was in park, who knows. I was too busy making sure the drink didn't spill all over the van floor, when I heard, my oldest darling holler, "MOM, your hitting the garage!". Nice. It was a character building experience, and now it seems rather funny. The van is totally fine, Tom said the bugs all over the front of it kept it from scratching! Just thought I would share the real story of our lives!
Oh, and did I mention we just had this garage door put in a little over a month ago? ;-)

"General Lee"

Thanks to our great friends in Mississippi, we now have a new family member! His name is General Lee and we call him Lee. Our other dog Sallie is elated to have a playmate once again since we lost Belle last winter. He is being a great puppy and living up to the lazy hound dog reputation -- except during his photo shoot this morning! ;-)

Attention Moms...

I just found an interesting website for Moms of small kids. I found this out of a magazine and they say starting today they will have drawings for toys for Christmas gifts. All this may do is put you on every mailing list in the country, or it may actually get you a cool toy for free, who knows. I thought I would pass it along and you can decide for yourself! The site has some cool stuff on it anyway! ;-)

http://www.goodyblog.com/

Have fun! I will be posting pictures of our newest family member soon!

From the mouths of...oldest children.

So we are sitting at supper last night and Tom is trying to teach the girls some basic math. He was using cookies ~ always an attention getter. Our oldest was working the if-I-yell-louder-then-it-must-be-right theory, and was doing pretty well. 2+2=4, 3+1=4, etc. Tom finally asked what does 1+1=? So, my mind starts wandering (it often does when math is involved) about how 1+1 in life equals 3. And how sweet the kids are and so forth when she yells, "1+1= "I". Hmmm....how true.

Laundry

Wow! The move and subsequent birth of Mo has brought on an onslaught of laundry! And I haven't even started using cloth diapers yet! It seems Daddy's new job working outside, playing outside with Sallie, potty training, babyhood, and hard work, makes for tons of laundry! I think I have done 10 loads in the last 2 1/2 days! Ahhh!

So, the blog has to wait. Until I can get a handle on things! I only have approximately 2 more loads to do.... Then I can get to the housecleaning! Sigh....

Video

I found this in a round-about way via the internet. I thought it was cute and touching! My disclaimer, however, is I have a very touchy relationship with YouTube as every time one of their videos is recommended, I cringe hoping that it will be appropriate for watching! Eeek! This one is great! All of you Moms and Dads will appreciate his predicament!
Enjoy!

Pachelbel Bedtime

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This is a test, just to see if this blog is working....Further information to follow!