Busy Weekend

I had just typed up my entire post, minus the pictures, when my PC locked up and I had to power it off and on just to get typing again.  I just feel sick!  I thought was I had written was kinda funny and insightful.  OK, so probably not, but it could have been.  My recap now is going to be bullet points.

Friday

• Miche Bag Party – If you’ve never seen one, they’re super cute.  I got one small bag and two shells. (Sidney in red and Jodi).  You’ll have to go to the website to see what I mean.
• Movies with Kristi after the bag party.  Husbands home with the kids, so why the heck not?  If you haven’t already, make sure you see The Blind Side. Great story, and Sandra Bullock’s character is a hoot!  Not a big special effects movie, so I recommend Netflix.

Saturday

• Errands… Bank, Library & Costco
• Jason and I got to go to my friend Rhonda’s house to celebrate her birthday. : )  Happy Birthday Rhonda!
• Skating with the kids

You probably thought Chase was falling here, but the second picture was his recovery!

 

Sunday – My Baby is 16!

• Bowling for Taylor’s birthday with the Aston’s.

Taylor & his Aunt Lyndsey

And last, but not least, Chase playing dress up with Sydney.  I know Jason is going to love this!

Have a great week everyone!

The Bad Economy is finally reaching my house!

I can honestly say I’ve been hiding my head in the sand when it comes to the state of the economy.  Now, my place of employment is trying to pass a bill to make most state employees take one furlough day a month through next summer.  At first, the possibility of having a day off (even without pay) was pretty exciting.  Now, reality is setting in and I have to figure out where to cut back that one day’s salary.  There’s even talk about making some of us take two days off, but I’m being optimistic and praying that it’s only one.

I’ve recently made two change in areas where I have previously spent a ton of money.  I’m a major coffee consumer. I have been known to visit Starbucks almost ever day for weeks and sometimes more than once a day.  Throw in a couple of kid’s hot chocolates every now and then and you’ve got a car payment!  Now, I make a pot of coffee every morning.  That should help, right?

Secondly, I’ve rediscovered the Public Library.  There is no telling how much I’ve spent on books for me and the kids over the past couple of years. What was I thinking??? A friend from work reminded me that the library was just around the corner from my office and said she had started downloading books on MP3 for no charge. I think I spent over $20 on my last book on CD. Why didn’t I think of this?

So… Here’s my question.  What else am I missing?  I need to cut another hundred dollars or so out of my budget each month.  Any ideas? 

By the way, my little ones loved the library, but didn’t quite understand that, unlike Borders or Barnes & Noble, the library is a QUIET place! This will take some practice for us.  We’re such a loud bunch around here. : )

Ready for Spring

OK, so I know it’s a little early for a Spring blog header, but I am just so ready for cheery and bright again.  I’ve been in the Pacific Northwest for 15 1/2 years and this is the first year I remember longing for winter to end.  I can’t complain too much since it hasn’t been a brutal winter like last year.

I’m also starting some Spring cleaning around my house and tossing/giving stuff away. It’s time to clear out all the stuff we haven’t used in years and make the house brighter (and lighter).  Don’t get me wrong.  I love Fall and Winter. I love the feeling of a warm fire, a cozy sweater or a big fluffy blanket. But, I also love Spring. I also love letting fresh air come through my bedroom window, the crocuses staring to bloom in my front yard and an hour or two of daylight after I leave work. 

So, step 1… brighten up my blog…. Check!

My Baby Girl is *5*

I can’t believe my baby girl is 5 years old.  It seems like only yesterday we were running around trying to start my labor before January 1st so we could have an extra dependent to claim on our 2004 taxes. And sure enough, along came Sydney at around 5am on December 31st, 2004.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Wow… that’s the fastest 5 years ever!  Happy Birthday Sydney!

Favorite Christmas Recipes

This year I made all new desserts and side dishes for our Christmas dinner.  We had the traditional ham, but that was it.  Nothing else was our “norm”.  There were a few dishes that I probably won’t be making again, but there were a few that I really liked that I thought I’d share.  I got both of these from Paula Deen.

*Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies* – these were awesome little cookies that were easy to make, plus they stayed soft for a least two days.  They may have lasted even longer, but I have none left to test that theory. : )

*Spinach Stuffed Zucchini* – Jason helped with these a bit. He scooped out the zucchini pulp while I mixed the other ingredients together.  We used zucchini, but I bet it would be good with yellow squash, too.  They even reheated two days later and were just as yummy.

If you have a favorite recipe (peanut-free please), please feel free to share.  I’m always on the lookout for something new.  It feels like we eat the same old things all time.  I’m getting a little tired of spaghetti and backed chicken.

Happy Cooking!

It was a Merry Christmas!

I don’t know about you, but I just love Christmas morning.  I was awaken by the best Christmas gift I could have gotten.  Jason came home safely from his shift at work this morning.  We shared a few minutes of peace, quiet and a cup of coffee before the kids got up.

Sydney was the first to rise.  She was excited and while she saw all the cool stuff under and around the tree, she wanted to open the gift from her Gran & Papa.  It had been under the tree for a day or two and obviously taunting her.  This turned out to be one of her favorite presents.  Tomorrow, we’ll have to go find a way to store all these beads! (She also got beads from Santa and Aunt Lisa/Uncle Mike).

 

Chase also loved his gift from Gran & Papa. He had seen this little dinosaur a month or so ago in a store and I knew he would love it.  He was a little surprised when it spit water at him, but then he thought it was pretty funny.

Taylor has always been my hardest to buy for.  He wouldn’t even give me an idea of what he wanted, so I had to guess.  He’s really gotten into music and YouTube and he’s been using my MP3 player for so long I’ve forgotten what music I had put on it.  A co-worker has been showing me how cool his iPod Touch is, so I decided it would be the perfect gift for Taylor…. and I was right.  He loves it! I’m sure what he’s saying in this pictures is “Dude… this is awesome!” and “I love you Mom”.

Of course, this was the last interaction we had with Taylor today.  He was consumed by technology for the rest of the morning.

 

We also had one of my favorite Christmas movies playing in the background all morning.  Can you guess which movie it is?

 

Here are a few more shots from the morning.  The kids got everything they asked Santa for and then some.  Sydney only asked for a camera and Chase wanted a dump truck.

 

 

 

And here’s a few of those cookies I was talking about in my last post.  They were delish!

Christmas Eve Madness

It’s been a crazy day. Jason had to work, so it’s just been me and the kids. My Dad kindly called around 8am this morning to wake me up and I’ve been running ever since.  I don’t know what possesses me to kill myself baking all day, but I seem to do it every year.  Not to mention the tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve to buy the ingredients for my cookies, breads and Christmas dinner. 

This year, I decided to make everything different.  In previous year, I’ve been all about the “traditions” of the holidays, but I’m so tired of the same old thing that I decided to everything new.  I’ve been teased over the years for trying crazy new recipes I find on the internet, mostly because some of them have totally bombed.  Not sure it it’s the recipes, my inability to cook, or maybe a little of both.

Instead of sugar cookies, molasses cookies and chocolate chip, I made lemon cookies, chocolate gooey butter cookies, coconut macaroons, banana sour cream bread and my favorite, orange cranberry bread. It seems like 90% of Christmas cookies contain nuts or peanut butter.  With Chase’s allergies, I have to look a little harder for a cool new recipe.

We’ve also watched the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies and The Christmas story twice tonight. I love The Christmas Story.  I can always count on TBS to show it for 24 hours straight on Christmas. : )  Not that it matters since I have it on DVD.

We’ve been watching Santa’s journey tonight on the NORAD Santa Tracker and he’s currently in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Gosh that’s close.  I’d better get my monkeys to bed so Santa can get their gifts delivered. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! And at least a few hours sleep tonight!