Happy New Year!

We have had a whirlwind holiday over here. I apologize for neglecting you! I promise to post some pics in the coming week. I hope that everyone has a happy and healthy New Year! Toodles and be safe....

Bedtime Stories

I'm copying JoLynn and sharing a bedtime story involving my kiddos. Sunday night I went to the walk-in clinic with strep throat. I arrived home just in time for the bedtime shenanigans. They were put to bed and one of innocents emerged not even five minutes later with a "sore throat" (a sympathetic one, of course). I proceeded to tell them that sleep is the best medicine for sore throats. The reply was, "Yeh, but MY sore throat said that it doesn't want to sleep." That's how it goes sometimes in my house; kids won't go to bed and ailments SPEAK!

Christmas Comfort

Yahoo, the Christmas cards just arrived. I was getting kind of nervous, because it had been almost two weeks since I ordered them. (I thought that I was going to be early this year! haha...) We finally put a tree up also. We usually get a real tree, but this year we changed things up and bought a fake one.




(Beware, I am still a really junky picture taker)


Last night I also made these....

You know that I love chocolate. These are a chocolate take on the ordinary peanut butter kiss cookie. My husband had me make them so he could take them to work. Here's the recipe:


Brownie Kiss Cookies
1 (13x9 size) Box brownie mix that comes with a packet of Hershey syrup with it
66 Hershey Caramel kisses
1/4 c. cocoa
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. water
1 c. ground pecans
2 tsp. milk

Lightly grease cookie sheets. Mix together until well blended the brownie mix, syrup packet, cocoa, eggs, oil and water. Refrigerate for 1 hour (dough will be sticky). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 48 (1 inch) balls. Roll in pecans (I only rolled the bottoms in pecans and the recipe said that they are optional, but they did help with the stickiness.) Gently press thumb in center. Bake 9 - 11 minutes. Cool completely. In microwavable bowl, combine 18 caramel kisses and milk. Microwave for 30 seconds, and then 1o second intervals until melted. Put 1/4 tsp. of melted chocolate on each cookie and then press a whole caramel kiss on top.


I have a few admissions to make. I didn't have the brownie mix with the hershey syrup. I ended up adding some chocolate syrup that I had in the frig. I also added a little more oil and water (since I didn't have the correct brownie mix). My husband wasn't able to find the caramel kisses, but he did find some super yummy mint filled dark chocolate kisses that I used instead. So if you are a rebel like me and want to make these cookies on a blizzardy night and don't have the right ingredients...it can be done! Happy Tuesday to all and to all a good chocolate cookie recipe!

You Can Pick Your Nose, You Can Pick Your Toes...

Is there a rule about picking your baby sister's toes???

Baby Feet

6 Things That You Might Not Know About Me....

1. I once shook the hand of Prince Charles. (Does that make me royalty? I'd like to think so!) It was the highlight of my week back when I was studying abroad in England. I had actually forgotten about it until just recently. From what I can remember I think he was kind of short and not heart palpitatingly handsome.
2. I love the smell of this antimicrobial "juice" that we put in one of our incubators at work. It is just a really nice clean smell that I would love to replicate in a household cleaner. (Too bad I wasn't a chemist!)
3. I love my sauna. Many of you who know me already know this, but I had to include it because I love it so much! I detest being cold coming out of a shower. My husband even installed a heat lamp for me in my bathroom, but that still doesn't cut it. I often turn on my sauna every night just for the warm shower. (I know that you green folk out there probably wouldn't approve of my selfish use of electricity, but I am not sure that I can live without it!)
4. My dream job would be as a food taster for competitive chef shows! I love to cook, but I think that I love eating more. I would have to go back to school to be a chef (who has time for that?), plus I hate cleaning up. I think that I would be an even better chef (and mother) if I knew that I wouldn't have to clean up the mess I created!
5. I hate my feet. I love baby feet.
6. I might be related to Elvis. I thought that my mom said once that someone that she was related to had a fling with Elvis...but then again it could have just been a dream! Either way it makes for an interesting topic. Maybe that is why I love to sing (even if it is horribly). Have a good day and toodles!

eta. since it is the season for giving, I wanted to give you, my reader, a seventh little known fact about me. So here it is....

• I love chocolate. I can eat it straight out of the bag, and the darker the better. However, I sneeze almost every time that I eat it. It must be an inherited trait, because my two year old loves chocolate also (she is always digging in the baking cupboard). She sneezes also, and I am left with a chocolate spray to clean up!

My Little Nutcracker

This little girl was talking my ear off this afternoon while the other nuts were napping. When the other kids are up, she follows them around and mimics them, but when they are not around...she's a dandy (who wants a phone and a "puter" for Christmas...too bad that Santa already did his shopping!)

My Life in a Nutshell

Wow, December is here, and I have been kind of neglecting this blog. I know that I have let down all of my dedicated fans. My deepest apologies. Much has happened. I will ramble randomly to fill you in on my newsworthy life! My family was all home for Thanksgiving this year. I cooked the big turkey-lurkey (and no one fell ill that I know of!). I re-entered the work force a couple of times since my last post. I usually try to pick up a couple of shifts a month to keep up to date. Kali had her first Christmas program at school. It was so cute to see a bunch of little kids so pumped to sing Christmas songs. Bruce and I went Christmas shopping; I think that we are done. For those of you waiting for my Christmas card, it is coming. I am slow as usual. We just got a new camera. My husband didn't think that I was ready for the SLR. Now that I have my new point and shoot, I may have to admit that he was right. I just won't say it too loud! I have been using a very old digital camera, and have been and probably will break all of the rules in photography, but I am having fun learning!

I have been trying to bake more of these...

with these clowns...

and this one who always wants pancakes for breakfast...

and this one who likes to eat artwork...

and that is my life in a nutshell! Toodles.

To Go or Not To Go...

I think that my baby has an ear infection. She has a cold in her nose and eyes and was up most of the night. (She was pulling on her ears last night and had a low grade fever.) So, I sit here pondering if I should try to wait it out or if I should bring her in. I know that she will get antibiotics if I bring her in, but I am not sure that is the right answer. Of course, this all happens just before a major holiday when her pediatrician left the area about a month ago...
I just put some garlic oil in her ears, and I am crossing my fingers. Any other home remedies out there that have worked for you?

Thankful

These are some of the things that I am thankful for today....

1. The wonderful meal that I got to share with great friends last night.
2. My sleeping infant.
3. The job that my husband still has (even despite recent news).
4. Edible playdough (it kept the kids busy for almost an hour!)
5. Snow falling (well, I might be trying to use reverse psychology on this one)

Another Month

Wow, where did the month go? Tonight is my supper club night again. We are doing a mixed up Thanksgiving meal. I should be starving myself for the meal, but in all reality I will still eat the same amount! So here's what we are doing. First, everyone chose a course. I picked dessert. Then we put the traditional Thanksgiving dinner ingredients (ie. turkey, pumpkin, bread, cranberries, etc) in a hat and drew one. Luckily I picked pumpkin (and not turkey)! My house smells wonderful right now. I just made pumpkin bread, with which I am going to make a pumpkin trifle. I got the idea from this month's bhg magazine. I am also going to try to make my own caramel sauce...wish me luck!

Remember When....

Elbs...remember when you took me for a ride on the freeway in your sweet car (the one that the roof was falling off of!)



Julie...remember all of our adventures in the grocery-getter! The rolling stops at my house...



Becca...remember all of those late nights at your house (rook), that required the rolling stops at my house!



Elizabeth...remember when we had hours in the MUB to discuss...well everything!



Cyndi and Jen...remember when you were regulars at my parents pad. Cyndi, I can still remember the smile on your face after you were arriving to my house after one of your dates with John!



Amy L....remember when you invited Bruce and I to your camp "before" we were dating!



Carol...remember when you lent me a smoke in your car! sputter, sputter....



Thank you for all of these great memories!

Advice

...as in I need some help over here. We are in need of a new camera. Where do I start looking? Should I get a point and shoot, or an SLR? Up until now, I haven't been much of a picture taker, but since I have started this blog I am starting to take more (and I am enjoying it). So talk to me people, and tell me what you like or dislike about your cameras.

Introducing....

My thumb-sucking princess....

My donkey riding prince....

and my funny-faced joker...

A Huntin' He Will Go....

This is for all of you hunting widows out there. I can barely call myself a hunting widow, because my husband up until this point really hasn't spent a lot time hunting. This year, however, he bought a new gun and is determined to get one. I just have a hard time any time that he leaves. He spends a lot of time away because of the demands of his job (which we are thankful that he has), and I deal with it. But hunting??!! I just can't share the same excitement with him, and it would have been cheaper to have went out and bought a COW! Oh well, let's just hope that he gets one and we can move on. So go get um honey...and I will be planning a shopping trip all weekend while you are gone. (Kelly...are you out there? Can you hear me...SHOPPING!)

Yum....

My baby is now five months old. I caught her chewing on this the other day, and I figured that maybe it was time to start feeding her cereal...

I am not sure if she was impressed with the cereal or if she would have preferred the slipper!

She kept opening her mouth, but she would crinkle her nose and shudder every time it got to her tongue. We'll see how ambitious I am at trying to keep giving it to her...

This one has a very sophisticated palette, too!

It's Raining, It's snowing....

I am trying to focus on the beautiful weather that we had this week...as it is starting to snow now!

Food 911

I really enjoyed the main dish that my friend Kathryn made for crockpot night. I thought of another friend, a lurker, whom I will only address as "food 9-1-1", when I received this recipe. Girlfriend, this might be a good one for you to try...

Cherried Pork Roast

Boneless pork roast (sirloin is best)
2 T. cooking oil
1 T. quick cooking tapioca
1 T. snipped fresh thyme or 1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
3 to 4 cups hot cooked rice or noodles

1. Trim fat from meat. (Sirloin will probably not have much, so don't bother.) In a large skillet, brown meat on all sides in hot oil.

2. Transfer meat to slow cooker. Sprinkle tapioca, dried thyme (if using), and pepper over meat. Add onion and dried cherries. Pour apple juice or cider over all.

3. Cover. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.

4. Serve meat and cooking juices with hot cooked rice or noodles.

Someone's been keeping me up at night....

heh...the little stinker is cutting a tooth, so I guess that she has an excuse. Of course she is smiling now after I took her for pictures today, and she wouldn't smile for anything. Although, I am not sure that I would have smiled either if I had someone waving a yucky old feather duster in my face! Poor thing...her mother took her to one of those low budget places!

Dreams...

This is what I am dreaming of right now....naptime

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon-Mustard Dressing

The dressing smelled REALLY strong (vinegar) when I was making it, but I think that it tasted pretty good in the end.

Here's the recipe

1 (10 oz.) bag spinach leaves
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 strips crisp bacon, crumbled
10 oz. shredded Swiss ( I used smoked gouda--very good)
1/2 c. toasted sliced almonds (I used toasted pecans)

1 T. olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
1/3 c. Dijon mustard
1/3 c. honey
2 strips crisp bacon, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots and garlic, and cook until softened and translucent. Whisk in vinegar, mustard, honey, and 2 strips of crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper, then cook until hot.
2. Enjoy!

We're BACK!!!

Holy Cow! Can you believe it?!! We made it through about 3 weeks (maybe more) without an internet connection at home. Well, I barely made it, but that is another story. I am feeling almost a little bit backwards, because it has been so long since I posted. Lots happened, too!

**My husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. My dear parents babysat so that Bruce and I could share a lunch out together before he had to go to work. Every year can't be as exciting as last when he *surprised* me with a 4-wheeler trip (just think color seaon on the trails) to a hotel for a night. My husband is the planner in this family. Someday dear...I will have a plan!

**We had another great supper club night. This month we had crockpot night at my house. This was not a one-pot meal, oh noooo, this was an 8-pot meal! Yum...and I made the salad...like I said before--they love me. okay, okay I stuck to the guidelines and kept the dressing warm in the crockpot. I made a spinach salad with warm bacon-mustard dressing. I might just post the recipe later in the week.

This is my sweet little home-girl (thanks to her big bro). The other day he had his hockey elbow pads on her arms...

man, this baby life is rough...

Please, no more photos...I have more important things to do!

And finally, here are my punks all dressed up...

Thank you and good night!

Harummph....

I am sorry to announce that now the popcorn machine is down, too! The computer is still offline, and I am missing it sorely. I'll try to not get too teary eyed talking about it over here, but...boooohooooo. I will give a little update while I am "visiting" at my sister's. (teeheee) The kiddos are still in the business of entertaining (me and anyone who will pay any attention to them). Kali is loving school and has figured out how to spell her name forward (as opposed to backward). Kyle likes to "thoot" chipmunks in the yard and check the deer stand with his dad. Carmyn, my intellectual one, asks me questions like "When (did) you marry dad?" and "Why" all the time. She is also my disciplinarian and has no problem whopping anyone she thinks is out of line with her blanket. Claire is starting to look like her mom....double chin and thick thighs...bless her little heart (poor thing). She is starting to giggle when you tickle her under her chins!

Well, cross your fingers for me that this computer drought ends very soon. Until then....toodles and kisses!

Intermission

Sorry about the unannounced intermission folks. Popcorn will be free until we are back online! Our computer should be back hopefully by the end of the week. It was officially broken, and I am officially lost without it. Until then....toodles

GO BUD....

So I guess we call Kyle "Bud" a lot. Lately Carmyn has been calling him Bud, too. Come onnnn....Buddd. Let's go Buudd. I sounds pretty funny when they start saying things that you say. She also ends her sentences with--or something. Like....Mom get me juice or something!

Here's the kids car...all I can say is that I don't look forward to the real driving days!

Grandma....take note of the hats! I think that there was a breeze that day...or something :)

Leftovers....

These two are the "leftovers," as I call them, when their big sister goes to school. The show must go on without her. It is kind of fun watching them play together. On this particular day, Carmyn was going to go to school; while Kyle was bird huntin'....

Tilapia Baked in Couscous

So here's the recipe that I promised.....

10 oz. couscous
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes (I just used a couple of fresh roma tom.)
1 T. cumin
salt & pepper
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 lemon sliced thinly
4 (8oz.) tilapia fillets (I used 8 (4oz.) fillets from the frozen section)
2 1/2 c. water
3 T. flat leaf parsley chopped
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine couscous, almonds, tomatoes, and cumin. Season this with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in 1/4 c. olive oil and lemon juice
4. Drizzle 1 T. olive oil over bottom of 9x13 pan. Arrange fillets in single layer. Season well with salt & pepper. Drizzle 1 T. oil over the top of them.
5. Cover fish with the couscous mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and put lemon slices on top. (I would say the lemon slices weren't really necessary)
6. Pour water around fish, cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes
7. Top with chopped parsley (I didn't have this either--still was good)

I'M Still Here....

Okay, so I have had some computer difficulties this week. The power cord on this dumb thing works when it feels like it. So I will just give you my week in review. I woke up...blah...blah...blah, I fed the little stars....I changed blue poop diapers...blah, blah, blah....yes, blue poop! My husband bought Gushers that proudly advertised on the box that they would turn tongues blue. Well sheesh, they should advertise the blue butt aftermath that they also cause! Great week, hey...let's see...what else. Oh yeh, my favorite highlight was my monthly outing with my supper club. Yummmm. Basically, it is a themed dinner party that we take turns hosting. We each bring a course, and we eat and laugh and eat some more! This was our first party since taking the summer off. The other girls were a little "out of shape" for eating so much food---wimps. Not me, I kept up with the regimen all summer! Our theme this month was the colors of the rainbow. We each picked a course, and then we were randomly assigned a color...ROYGBIV....haha....somehow I got WHITE!!! They love me. I made tilapia with couscous. I will post the recipe next week. I thought that it was pretty good...quick and simple one dish meal.

...and in other news....here is Kali's first day of school picture

Happy Birthday Bro

If you see this guy today...wish him a Happy Birthday! Hope that you have a good day

Our Princess

Okay, so I was feeling like a pretty neglectful mother last night when I was searching for pics of my littlest star. I also wasn't about to wake her up for her big debut to the world. (I don't get paid enough to pull a stunt like that.) So today she will have the stage all to herself....

Hello World

Welcome to my crazy pen.com! I have been inspired by many to take my life to the open road of this modern day world. This will be a free peak (for now--haha).

Now for the stars of the show.....


hey wait...did someone let them out of their pen!!! Oh well, I hope that you read our disclaimer when you logged on (something, something, something....blah, blah, blah...we are not responsible for any injuries...yada, yada, yada...poop stains on your carpet...blah, blah, blah..and that sort of thing...)

Having said that, we call the tall one with the fleas "Whima." She is a cross between a whiner and a drama queen. We thought that she was really rare, but I am coming to find out that almost every family has at least one of these. We were going to trade her in...until we found out that she can write her name completely backwards! (I bet you would pay to see that...someday, someday...don't push your luck now)

"Shorty" in the middle has some amazing talents, too. She can drink a glass of 50-50 (1/2 water 1/2 juice) in 10.2 seconds......without taking a breath. She has performed this trick numerous times. In fact, we are beginning to think that she is a wee bit of an addict, because she can get pretty ugly if she doesn't get her "juiceeee"!

"Slugger"...yeh, he looks innocent and all, but...his talent really is sluggin' the girls and making them cry. He kind of has a sideshow all of his own that he works on during his days off.

Now this show has something really rare, that people far and wide want to see, of course. No, it is not a zedonk or a liger or an albino raccoon...sheesh, you are a tough crowd to please. We just call her "Mo" (short for Mohawk, naturally)



She requires a lot of personal grooming, that is why the poor thing hasn't had her picture taken in over a month! What kind of operation is this you are asking yourself.....

WELCOME TO OUR CRAZY PEN! Let the show begin.