Monday, December 31, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everyone out there has a safe and happy new year's. We are having a nice, quiet evening at home. Camille has conked out already, but Celeste and Kait are staying up with us to ring in the new year.

What a year this has been! We've had soo many good things happen this year. We finally got good news from USCIS (formally INS) for Craig, we welcomed our baby Camille to our family, Celeste started Kindergarten, Kaitlyn continues to do well in school and was invited to join the Tri-M Music Honor Society for band and more recently, we've gone from a one-income family to two incomes.

I am looking forward to the new year, the new challenges and happy things that will come with it. Happy New Year everyone!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

And THIS is why I hate living in Florida...



Saturday, it's 80+ degrees outside. We're wearing shorts, short sleeve shirts and flip flops. Washing the car, riding bikes, playing outside. It all sounds lovely, yes? NO! It's December, it's supposed to be cold!

Yeah, well fast forward to Monday - it's 34 degrees outside in the morning. Sigh. This is why people get sick, the constant up and down with the temps wreak havok on a body's immune system.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Holiday Traditions Festival - Week 3

Christmas Cookie Baking ensued this weekend at our household. We made lots of yummylicious (that's a Celeste word, btw) goodies. We also made some banana bread that made our whole house smell delicious. They should make a candle that smells that good, maybe then I'd actually light candles.


Tada! Our finished cookies:


Another holiday tradition in our family is the countdown. We make a paper link chain and take one chain off each night before bed. Some years, I fancy it up and put little activities for us to enjoy together on the back of some of the rings. Not this year, though. It seems there's not enough time to breath, let alone be creative.


And last, but certainly not least - thanks to a suggestion from Shannon at Gabi's World, I was able to get a picture of our outside lights. :) Thanks, Shannon.


The countdown is offically on - only 8 days until Christmas! Anyone else out there totally and completely unprepared? We have hardly anything purchased as far as presents go, I'm way behind on my holiday crocheting, nothing is wrapped. At the rate I'm going, I might be ready by the time NEXT Christmas rolls around. At least the decorations and baking are done. :)


Head over to Melissa's blog for more Holiday Traditions!

Menu Plan Monday

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas, that this year is nearly over!?! It seems silly to say "where does the time go?", but really, where does it go? How is it possible that just yesterday, I was complaining about still being pregnant and now my baby is almost 8 months old? How is it possible that just last week, I was watching my little girl take her first steps and now she is 5 years old? How is it possible that just last month, I was watching my big girl walk into Kindergarten for the very first time and now she is 2 weeks away from 14?

Sigh.

Onto the weekly menu-

Monday: Kaitlyn has a concert for band tonight, so we will be having something quick and easy - either frozen dinners or we'll order a pizza.

Tuesday: Ham Steaks with buttered egg noddles and corn on the cob.

Wednesday: Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots.

Thursday: Vege-Spaghetti with salad and garlic bread.

Friday: Chicken (left-overs) with steamed rice and black beans.

Saturday: Free Night - no plans. Hubby and I will probably be shopping this weekend.

Sunday: Dinner at mom's house. We usually do our Christmas at mom's on Christmas Eve, buy hubby has to work, so we are going Sunday and the kids are sleeping over so that we can finish wrapping and preparing for Christmas.

Have a great week, everyone! Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Friday, December 14, 2007

In keeping with the "Goin' Old School" theme here...

I thought I'd share a story with you from when my oldest (now 13) was almost 8.

I was newly pregnant with Celeste and we had recently had "THE" talk with Kaitlyn about where babies come from and how they get there, etc, etc. She and I were driving in the car one day and she made an off-handed comment about wishing she never had twins. When I questioned why, she replied that she wouldn't be able to feed them both. I assured her that yes, if she had twins, she would be able to feed them, that is after-all why we have TWO breasts. She sat quietly in the car for a moment and then quipped "well, then I hope I never have triplets!" lol

I've been reminiscing a LOT lately. My oldest will be 14 next month. Fourteen. I realized this morning that I could potentially be a grandmother in 10 years time. Eeek!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wordless Wednesday - Goin' Old School

Taken May 2002, look at how teeny, tiny my girls were.



For more, visit the Wordless Wednesday Headquarters.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Happy Day!

Happy birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday toooooo meeeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!


OK, now that I got that out of my system, in case you didn't know - today is my birfday. And to celebrate I went yarn shopping the other day. I got some yummy fingering weight yarn in a pastel purple that will go towards something for Camille, a worsted weight pastel purple that will go towards something for Celeste and a gorgeous teal colored aran weight yarn that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with.


And then, as an added bonus, I got a package in the mail yesterday from a yarn exchange that I was taking part of and I got THIS yummylicious sock yarn from ShiBui Knits. *drool*

Monday, December 10, 2007

Holiday Traditions Festival - Week 2


We got our outside lights up over the weekend. The baby was napping and the two older girls were playing together (and *not* fighting - !!!), so hubby and had a nice chance to catch up from the week and just talk and relax together. We tried to get pictures, but it was way too dark when the pictures were taken, so all you can see is the outline of the lights! lol

Every year, I love to bake, bake, bake and bake some more. I always make way too much sweet stuff and end up bringing a bunch to work. Hey, they’re not complaining so why change. Here’s a few of the tasty treats I make each year.

Pecan Tassies - These were always my grandma’s favorite and are a favorite of my dad as well.

Peanut Butter Cookies - Just the recipe off of the PB jar.

Banana Bread - I add a splash of vanilla to this recipe and it is so yummy.

Oatmeal Cookies - Craig and Celeste both LOVE these, especially when I add raisins.

For some reason, I can NEVER get sugar cookies just right, so this year we’re going to try a new recipe from Pioneer Woman - Fingers crossed that they come out well.

I think I’m going to try these this year as well. They look scrumptious!

And I really want to try making gingerbread cookies, but I haven’t found a recipe yet and I think I’ve got enough going on, so that will get pushed to the back-burner.

I will be sure to post some pictures once all of our delectable treats are complete.


Head on over to Melissa's blog to see more Holiday traditions and ideas, or to join in and share your holiday traditions!

Menu Plan Monday

Going with a pretty easy week here. Still trying to get used to hubby not being here in the evenings, luckily littlest one takes a nap right about 5:30 every day, so I have time to prepare dinner.

This week we'll be starting Holiday baking. Will post more details on that later.

Monday: Vege-tacos with all the fixin’s.

Tuesday: Italian style sausage with steamed rice and broccoli.

Wednesday: WW Spaghetti with crusty bread and salad.

Thursday: Strip steaks with baked taters and green beans.

Friday: Homemade vege-chili over rice for me and grilled cheese with fruit for the girls.

Saturday: BBQ chicken with garlic roasted potatoes and corn on the cob.

Sunday: Free Night!


For more menu ideas, head on over to Organizing Junkie.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Blog Reviews

I haven't ever taken the time to make a linked-list of blogs I visit regularly, so I'm just going to share a few with you here.

Melissa at Banana Migraine and I met through an AP message board that we are both still a part of. It's amazing how much has changed in the years that I've been posting there and how close I feel to all of these wonderful mamas that I haven't had the pleasure to meet in real life yet. Plus she's got the Holiday Traditions Festival going on right now, and I love reading about other people's holiday traditions. But the real reason I stalk her blog is to catch new pictures of her A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E children. Seriously.

InsaKnity is a blog for the knitters from the above mentioned AP message board. Although I don't knit, I appreciate the time, care and effort that goes into their works and I love looking at their beautiful finished works of art.

Another Melissa at Inner Child Crochet was soo helpful to me when I first started crocheting again. I was having a serious brain-fart moment and did a search for crochet help. Her blog came up and I sent her a random email asking for help about a hat, she was soo kind and helpful and responded to my many, many questions. She is an amazingly talented crocheter and has several patterns on her site.

I first came upon Green Style Mom's blog through the Menu Plan Mondays. I love reading her product reviews, as I am always on th elookout for more "green" products, toys, etc. Plus she lives in a co-housing community and I've always thought that would be neat.

And, last but not least, I found Bitter Sweet's blog through a pattern from Ravelry. She takes amazing photograghs, is a crazy talented crocheter/knitter and writes the funniest, wittiest blog posts.

Care to share your favorite blogs?

Monday, December 3, 2007

Holiday Traditions Festival


Melissa over at Banana Migraine is hosting the Holiday Traditions Festival, a fun way for everyone to share their family's holiday traditions. Head on over to her blog to see more traditions and ideas, or to join in and share your holiday traditions!

Every year, one of the first things we do to get in the holiday spirit is to decorate the tree and house, while listening to Christmas music. I always like to try and do this the first weekend in December.

So, this past weekend we dusted off the A Pooh Christmas CD and put up the tree while listening to Pooh and friend's version of The Twelve Days of Chirstmas. We weren't able to get the outside lights up yet, so we'll do that this weekend coming up. I think next year, I'll be asking Santa for some new ornaments and tree decorations. We've had the same decorations and tree since our first Christmas together, in 1998. We will be keeping our angel though. She's always the last thing that Craig adds to the tree. The girls and I sit on the couch and ooh and ahh over the lights while Craig reaches up on tippy toes to position her just right. I can't imagine a different tree topper for our family tree.



Here is a picture of our table decoration. I love snowmen and have collected several different ones. The teddy bears music box is from my childhood - it still works! Celeste loves to listen to it. And an added bonus - in the backround is a photo from our wedding. :)


Menu Plan Monday

This week's menu will mostly be items we already have on hand. Trying to watch the budget. Since Craig's new job will have him away from home at dinner-time, I'll be able to make more vegetarian meals throughout the week.

Monday: Vege-Spaghettti with salad and bread.

Tuesday: Seasoned chicken, steamed rice and green beans.

Wednesday: Stuffed baked potatoes with steamed broccoli.

Thursday: Oven-fried chicken srumsticks with mashed taters and corn on the cob.

Friday: Left-overs.

Saturday: Home-made pizzas, using this recipe for the dough. So easy and tasty.

Sunday: Free night.


I've started getting into my holiday baking mode. Yesterday, I made home-made bread for the girls' sandwiches for lunch and it is delicious, if I do say so. I plan on making some more bread, some of my favorite mini-quiches and probably some rice-krispy treat for the girls.


For more menu ideas, head on over to Organizing Junkie!

Saturday, December 1, 2007

It is complete...

And I am going to go cry now. I wish I had taken before pictures, it was beautiful. Gorgeous, soft, even stitches, just a few ruffly edges. I thought, no big, it's made from 100% wool yarn, I'll block it to get the edges flat. Biggest mistake ever. Getting maried at 17 to the biggest ass-wipe in the world was a good idea in comparison.


It is now all stretched out, completely lost it's shape and, the kicker, it stinks. Horribly. Like one of those non-shaving hair removal products bad, Veet or Nair I think it's called. It's RANK.


My darling husband, being the ever so NOT understanding gentleman that he is, scolded me for about 5 minutes on how unbelievably emotional I was acting over something so trivial. I think he lost a few fingers in the act, but he helped me squish it back into a remotely similar shape, we sprayed it thoroughly with Fabreeze and threw a towel over it to dry.


I am HOPING and praying that when it is dry, it will once again resemble the blanket I loved before blocking.