a new find!

I was excited to find this new recipe. It's SO easy, the kids love to help unwrap the candy, and best of all they're totally DONE within 20-25 minutes. I think they'd look cute on a holiday plate of goodies...if I ever did those! ;)

Easy, Festive Chocolate Holiday Pretzels

1 bag pretzel snaps
1 bag Hershey's HUGS
1 bag Hershey's KISSES
1 bag holiday M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
2. Open the bag of pretzels and remove all the unbroken pretzels.
3. Place them on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets in a single layer.
4. Unwrap Hugs, place one on each pretzel, repeat for an entire cookie sheet.
5. DO ONLY ONE TYPE OF CANDY PER SHEET, as the Hugs melt much quicker than the Kisses.
6. Repeat using the Hershey Kisses.
7. Place cookie sheet/s in the preheated oven, bake for 4 MINUTES FOR THE SHEET OF pretzels and HUGS, 5-6 minutes for the pretzels and Kisses.
8. Immediately upon removing from the oven, place one M-n-M on top of each pretzel/chocolate.
9. Place cookie sheet in freezer for 8-10 minutes, to allow chocolate to harden.

cheese

This week is our last week of school before Christmas break. What that means for a mother of school-aged children is that there are CONSTANT requests for this or that to be brought to school, gifts for the "adopted families", volunteers to help out for parties. Not to mention, the wrapping-up of projects and what that means to moms everywhere.

So, I was not surprised to get an email about what Eliza's teacher needed for her holiday party. She's WAY into parties and is providing lunch for the entire class, having the kids bring things to make sandwiches. She had on her list of things she needed American and Swiss cheese.

So, I shot her back an email with this response, "I'll send in the cheeses...but I'll probably add some cheddar too. Swiss, American and Cheddar. I'm all over it."

When I went in for my math group volunteer time this week the teacher gave me a hard time about how picky I am about cheese.

I told her this, "If I could do one thing for America, I would get rid of American cheese." It's one person at a time in their own spheres of influence that can make a difference. ;)

reflecting

This seems a little anti-climatic, but I did want to document what a wonderful Thanksgiving we had! From the roadtrip to Nauvoo (15+ hours each way) to the family we got to see to the downtime and relaxation, this hands down has got to be the BEST Thanksgiving we've had in a VERY long time.

Nauvoo was beautiful! The weather was gorgeous. James and Dad were actually able to golf with Uncle Randy one of the days. While they golfed, Mom and I took the kids to see things at the Family Living Center (how the early pioneers baked bread, made rope, sculpted pottery, etc.) and then they got to throw rocks into the Mississippi River. Take a guess at which was their favorite? ;)

The temple was truly breathtaking--it seemed as though we were stepping back in time as we entered. What gorgeous furnishings awaited us inside and a sweet group of people and spirit.

We were able to visit with my grandparents and a few cousins, their kids and my aunt and uncle. The Thanksgiving meal was delicious...isn't it always when you aren't responsible for making the entire thing? James even played his hand at Tripoley for the first time ever and smoked us all.

Of course there was football and movies and breaking in grandpa and grandma's new house for the kids. I think they found all of the wonderful new hiding places. Uncle Brad was usually a good sport playing with them. We ended the week by spending some time at the Adventure Zone. What a GREAT place to have a lot of fun. My kudos to Uncle Randy and Aunt Kathy for building such a fun, fun place. We could've stayed there all day!

But, best of all, we returned home feeling REALLY REFRESHED!! It was just what we needed, especially with Christmas just around the corner. James has finished what has got to be his busiest year at Cooley. I am so grateful we were able to take a whole week off and get away!!

just what you've been waiting for

Welcome to Mom and Dad's new home in Nauvoo! I hope you enjoy my picture tour...

the picture wall lives on.

going down to the basement. (note the antique sewing machine. what a beauty!)

the kitchen windows from the outside.

the cool storage areas outside in the atrium

french doors from the walk-out basement.

french doors leading to the library/piano room.

the view when you walk in through the front door. I LOVE the mantle.

the view on your left from inside the front door. Dang cool clock.

the eat-in kitchen from the inside.

the view standing on the new curbs that were poured while we were there.

Okay, could those pictures be in a more random order??? I had so much trouble with blogger deleting pictures while trying to put captions, but in the end I think I've got all the pix posted.

This house boasts some of my favorite things: side entry garage, double oven, Corian countertops, jetted tub, frieze carpet, antique brass hardware throughout (looks black), GREAT lighting fixtures throughout, master suite on main level and 5 (yes, 5!!) bedrooms in the finished basement, french doors off the master suite overlooking the atrium outside, fruit trees planted last year, gorgeous front door...the list could go on and on. Hope this helps you when you go home for Christmas, Marci!

And more on our visit to Nauvoo, Thanksgiving, etc. to come...

our halloween in pictures

what a party!

Eliza's party this year was the best birthday party we've thrown! She invited 11 friends to come to our luau at the new rec center and ALL of them showed up. Eliza was so sweet, and as it started she was welcoming each of them with a lei and saying, "Aloha!" We played limbo (wish we'd taken pictures, but James and I were the ones holding the stick) and then the girls rocked out to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack. It was so cute to see them all jamming! Then, everyone was changed and ready to swim. They had a GREAT time going down the slide and whirlpool/lazy river.

BUT...what made this party so great was that it wasn't at our house, we didn't have to do the clean up (except remove all of our stuff) and there was REAL fun involved. We had a babysitter for the younger kids, so James and I were able to ride the slide with the girls and even sat in the hot tub for a few minutes. I've never had a birthday party that I've thrown where I actually enjoyed it and felt like it was truly something FUN. Parties usually just stress me out.

ONE year already?!

We can't believe a year has gone by since Carrie joined our family! It has been so wonderful to see how she has brought a sparkle to our days. I have really enjoyed this little sweetheart. The older kids all love to help her--whether it's feeding her or practicing to walk next to her or reading her a story. She has brought us all much joy this year!

Here are some of the moods we caught a glimpse of on Carrie's big day: PRIDE...it's MY birthday!

JOY...it's great to be alive!

ANTICIPATION...when do I get to eat that cake?

and FEAR...(she does have some of me in her, after all! :)

And other random pictures...including a few taken today to document our doctor's appointment and diagnosis of Chicken Pox. Yep...that's right! Some kids actually DO still get Chicken Pox, and Caroline was one of those lucky ones who got it just under the wire. She was due for the vaccination in just 3 months. But anyway...I had noticed a few spots yesterday, and today when she woke up they had spread all over the side of her head and neck. Now I'm starting to see faint spots on her legs and wrist...oh boy.

Her stats:
Weight: 22 lbs. 4 oz.--75th %
Height: 30.1"--90th %
Head: 47.4 cm--95th %





(And...a note to those of you who have realized my sin of omission here. Yes, it was Eliza's birthday this week also, and since her party is tomorrow, I thought I'd wait and post her birthday highlights after we finish celebrating!)

why she likes babysitters

We were eating lunch today and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the scoop on how things had gone with the babysitter we had over the weekend. Not that I was worried--this was our favorite babysitter, and she's GREAT with kids and does remarkably well with all four of ours--but I just wanted a few details.

So, as I ate my leftover stew, I asked Rachel how they behaved for Nicole. She said they were good. I asked if she fussed at her a lot. Nope, none of that. (Phew...) She told me they played Blokus while Eliza was practicing the piano. She and the babysitter watched Seth play Star Wars LEGOS. She then confessed that she and Eliza had eaten 2 Chips Ahoy cookies. No big shocker. I'd already noticed that there was a dent in those.

Rachel told me that the babysitter let Caroline crawl under the kitchen table. Ewww...but that's only my fault that it hadn't been freshly mopped.

What got me (and was the impetus for the post) was our last point of discussion. I asked her why she liked having a babysitter. She told me she was nice. I said, "Well, I'm nice. Dad's nice." She agreed. Then we got to the heart of the matter. She hushed her voice and leaned across the table and told me, "Mom...I hate to tell you this, but when we have a babysitter, we get to do whatever we want."

Oh, the honesty of a 5 year old. I hope she can stay as open with me when she's 15.

west potomac park

What a gorgeous fall afternoon to take a quick trip into DC! We decided the kids and I deserved to see the new DC office where James has worked so hard over the past 2 weeks to have the technology ready for opening day. So, after posing with George Mason, we headed to see the Jefferson Memorial--one we had not seen to date. It was such a beautiful setting, right there next to the Potomac! I think this one has become our favorite!

(Pleeease...if anyone knows how to rotate pictures in Blogger, let me know. I HATE not being able to post vertical pictures...it's so limiting. :)