I'd Like to File an Extension!

Our first Christmas in our new home was wonderful! Little R and Baby G had so much fun opening their gifts. Bran and I started a new tradition this year–"gold, frankincense, and myrrh" gifts... which translates as three gifts per person. The exception to the rule this year was my gift. Bran and Little R cleverly stole away to Best Buy and purchased a Sony Cyber-Shot for me. They came back with the Plants vs. Zombie's game (Little R loves it!), so I didn't question their motive. I wouldn't have suspected anything but Little R was so excited to get me a gift that she ran right up to me and said,"Momma, we got a Christmas gift!" Bran had instructed her in the car not to say anything to me. He should have known! When you tell a two-year-old not to say anything, you can expect them to say pretty much everything. I was still surprised by the gift to say the least.


This was Little R's third Christmas so she's really getting the hang of things. She opened her gifts and then helped the rest of us open ours. It's fun to see her enjoy it so much more now. Baby G seemed to take on the task of opening gifts like a pro. You'd never know that this was his first Christmas. He made out like a bandit. He has more Starwars loot than any not-even-one year old I know! Bran also got Starwars toys... so he could play with Baby G, of course.


The simple celebration was a wonderful way to give gifts without getting caught up in consumerism. Bran and I wanted the focus to be on Christ (the real reason for the celebration that many people are forgetting these days) and family. I feel we accomplished that. Little R understands that Santa is part of the spirit of "Merry Christmas" but that Christmas is for remembering Christ. I hope we can all remember him more and extend the joy we feel at Christmas throughout the year.

Um... Yum!

Normally we don't eat a ton of potatoes. I'm on my third potato meal this week and it's only Wednesday. We have been blessed to the inherit all of the perishable food from our friend's refrigerator's prior to their vacations... potatoes, cheese, eggs, spinach, onions, potatoes, sandwich meat, potatoes... and did I mention potatoes! I've never had so many potatoes! Last night's meal was the best. Creole seasoned tilapia and spinach with onion-roasted potatoes.


I used Emeril's Creole seasoning recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 Tbsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp cayenne
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme

This is going to be added to my recipe book!

Big Baby G

Baby G is growing so quickly. Faster than I can even keep up with. He stood up the other day and hit his head on the underside of the computer table. Something that, a week prior, he was too short to do. How does this happen? (I'm speaking rhetorically, of course. I know how people grow–I got a 4.0 in Anatomy and Physiology.) I've also noticed that he is crawling less and beginning to stand more and cruise around. Most things aren't out of reach anymore. He has also mastered beginner-level climbing. He seems so innocent, but he sure enjoys being naughty.



We've had to start placing things in his path to hinder his naughtiness. The plugs behind the computer are so tantalizing.

Baby G eats on his own most of the time now. Although, he finds using his fingers much more satisfying than utensils. Yogurt is his favorite. He also likes cereal, soup, crackers... pretty much anything is exciting as they are all new.



Well, at least he's getting a good variety. What? Jr. Mints aren't an essential part of a balanced diet? I'm pretty sure I remember my mom saying that mints and Diet Coke are necessary for survival. No? Oh, well. If nothing else, Baby G is learning what tastes good.

Who Says Life'Snow Fun?!

A week and a half ago, the first cumulative snow of the season fell. As strange as it may sound, I was actually looking forward to it. Kids make life so much better. Little R gets so excited when it snows. She says,"It's Merry Christmas!" Who could hate snow when someone so cute loves it so much?

By the way, the snowman/stickman was Little R's first. She and Bran were so proud of their creation.

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Bars!

Little R and I have been at it again. When a magazine has a section of recipes I pull them all out (Yes, I only do this to ones I own... Bran!) and stick them in to my handy-dandy recipe binder. It doesn't matter whether or not I've tried the recipe before, I just like to have lots of them on hand for days like today when I feel like trying something new. Today's experiment was from the April 2009 Parenting Magazine. I've been trying to get Little R to eat more veggies but all she seems to want to eat are "treats." This recipe for Monkey Bars seemed like the perfect solution for both of us. It's sort of a banana/veggie bread/oatmeal cookie bar hybrid. Rather than typing the whole recipe and instructions, check out this link if you're interested. All I have to say is Little R and I are both happy after this experience!

I'm Not a Fortune Teller...

...But, I see a big DIY project in our future. As I was getting ready this morning, taking my shower, the wall mounted soap dish thingy fell out of the wall! What the heck!? The shower wall itself is in disrepair as it is, but I never would have expected this:
We've been planning on remodeling in the bathroom... well, more like dreaming... but we never thought we'd be caught with our pants down (or off, in this case). Not sure of where to begin, I turned to the internet for information. For starters, I found this wonderful little video that makes me feel a bit more at ease about the whole project. We do have the shower downstairs so we aren't entirely up a creek... of course, being up a creek might allow for easier bathing...

The Whole Crew at the Zoo

Bran had this wonderful idea Saturday. He suggested that we spend the day at the zoo. He and I had been once before in the winter and there was no admission fee so we thought we'd try it again. It did end up costing us $7 but was totally worth it. It was around 3pm when we got there, close to closing time. We later found out that the combination of it being the off season, being cool out and being close to closing time was the golden ticket for a wonderful zoo experience. The animals were all active - we were lucky enough to have some close encounters. The kids weren't to excited to see it but even the octopus was right out in the open, clinging to the side of the tank, a rare sight for zoo patrons.

We were so jazzed about our zoo experience we wanted more! Inspired by Nessie on the Grand we decided to head into the city and check out the new Grand Rapids Art Museum. Also worth the cost even though it wasn't as enjoyable for the kids, I still think they got something out of the experience. Our night ended with dinner at The Pita House. One of Bran's old favorites he discovered while he was in college.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

We spent Black Friday as a family setting up our very first, new/old Christmas tree. It's actually the tree Bran's family used throughout his childhood. I couldn't decide whether to go with a theme or use the hodgepodge of Christmas decorations Bran and I have accumulated over the years. Because of the kids, I decided on colored lights and hodgepodge. It turned out beautifully. Who knew? Our living room glows lavender in the dim light, with speckles of rainbow light from the LED light strands we purchased yesterday. We accented it with discount pearl strands from Hobby Lobby. It's kind of a mess, but I like it. I got the star on top for a steal at TJ Max. It was originally $25. TJ Max price: $14.99. I got it for $8. It's like the icing on the cake. Although you can't see it in this picture, she's a beaut. I spent the rest of the evening refashioning hand-me-down decorations. We now have a lovely "new" wreath on the front door thanks to Bran's parents and some pearl garland I had left over from our wedding reception. The house is looking quite festive.

Thanksgiving Memories

As far as Thanksgiving's go, this was a fairly effortless event. All of the food was cooked on time. We only had one snafu... over-toasted marshmallows on the sweet potatoes - easily scraped off and replaced. The food all tasted wonderful and for dessert we drove down Holiday Road.
I highly recommend it! It's "the ultimate holiday light show - 14 houses with 200,000 lights synchronized to music." Little R loved it. Baby G was too small this year to really appreciate it. I'm not sure he was even tall enough to see out the window. The evening closed with some adorable photo ops via Bran, Baby G and Tucker (the cat). All in all, it was a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving. And now, to put up the Christmas tree!

My Little Pumpkin... Experiment

I have been trying to expand my cooking repertoire by testing a few new recipes each week. Focusing on dinner recipes, I decided to adventure out into the world of baking. Being as it's Thanksgiving week, I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes. I frosted them with cream cheese frosting and had Little R taste-test them for me. She seemed to like them... a lot. Between the two of us we polished off nine of the two dozen. I'm not going to divulge who ate the most, but let's just say I'm not too proud of myself.

The recipe was really easy. I got it from The New Cooking With 4 Ingredients book by Jean Coates.

Pumpkin cupcakes:

1 (18 ounce) package spice cake mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil

• With mixer, blend cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil and 1/3 cup water. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Fill 3/4 full.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You might want to spread with commercial icing.

I followed the recipe close but chose to add more pumpkin because I like the taste. After baking the first batch according to the directions they turned out a bit burned, so the second batch was baked for only 15 minutes. That turned out perfect. I liked this recipe because it was easy and Little R loved them, but I didn't care for them with the icing. I think they would be better without or with a light dusting of coarse sugar crystals sprinkled on top.

On the Wagon

Well, I've done it. I've become yet another passenger on the blogger bandwagon. I was hesitant at first because I wasn't sure I had anything to say that would be worth reading. There is no particular topic I've devoted this blog to, however, being a stay-at-home mom does limit the amount of interests I can pursue on a day-to-day basis. Even so, it will be an adventure to see where it will go.