2008 is going to great!

I can't get this cheesy cheer out of my head. Normally, I vow not to make resolutions but this year I have some exciting goals that I am looking forward to accomplishing! My plan is to divide them up each month with actions to make it happen. I'll share them along the way. I will be ringing in the new year at the hospital but I hope everyone else has a wonderful evening. Dale and the kids will be with friends and I still seem to miss the fun stuff. After switching to casual status working less, fewer week ends and holidays I still feel like I miss out on the fun stuff! Ahh, life of a nurse.

this is for age 4 and up - not age babies. Aiden's newest quote and he applies it to anything he wants to play, watch, and eat. Even if it's his sister's toy.

eagle park

Saturday we headed out to an eagle park in Deming. There was a little bit of snow on the ground and we brought a sled = super fun. Dale and I took turns running while pulling the sled. The kids loved it, even when Amelia got a face wash after a wipe out. There were a lot of eagles up in the tree and I didn't realize how noisy they could be!

roasted eggplant spread

this is from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I've changed it slightly to protect myself from copyright infringement, hee!hee! It's yummy and healthy. Nice this time of year as I am feeling close to maximum caloric consumption!
1 medium eggplant, peeled
2 red bell peppers, seeded (I've used combo of red,green,yellow whatever I have on hand and it turns out well, too)
1/2 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsps kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsps tomato paste
preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the eggplant, bell peppers and onion into 1 inch cubes. Toss in large bowl with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once through cooking. Cool slightly
Place the vegetables in food processor or blender, add tomato paste and pulse a few times to blend.(will be chunky) Add salt or pepper if needed.

better late than never

I finally got the Santa pictures today. Thanks for picking them up Jodi! Obviously, Amelia doesn't have any Santa issues. She sat on his lap and looked at the camera and smiled.

what's better than blowing bubbles in your milk...

blowing them in your cereal bowl! Silly kid.

Miss Melers at 11 months

today Amelia is eleven months! The baby stage is fading and she's getting ready to be a toddler. As sad as that is to me I'm excited for the next stage to see her little personality emerge and see her accomplish new tasks almost everyday. It seems like she will walk at any moment but it's been that way for months. She said "tree" pronounced "tee" and pointed to the Christmas tree the other day.
- her other words include mama, dada, baba (bottle), nana (banana), num,num night,night, uhoh, ooowee(sp) and wow
- she loves music and will start dancing whenever she hears a beat
- she loves to climb the stairs fast
- she still will eat any paper she can find
- she loves animals and always wants to grasp their fur and tails
- two upper teeth have popped through yesterday
- she likes to play peek a boo, pat a cake and itsy bitsy spider
- she scream/squeals a lot ( I'm hoping this stops as she learns more words)
- she naps twice a day for approx 2 hours (love it) I'm sure this won't last
- she doesn't seem to like baby food anymore and really wants what we are eating

hmmm..

I found out yesterday that a good friend is expecting baby #3. I wonder who it is....

christmas

We had a wonderful day and I hope your family did too! My parents arrived Christmas eve and we hung out eating too much food. All day Aiden talked about " tomorrow when I get my web blaster..." He was thought it was a sure thing and he was right! Santa brought him a web blaster! Can you believe it? Santa also brought a remote control tarantula that entertained the whole family until it suffered an unfortunate accident and now requires limb reattachment and hopefully just a battery transplant. Amelia got a doll from Santa that was okay but the spider was much more fascinating. My grandparents, sister and husband and stepbrother's family joined us for the day. It was great to have a houseful of people and see my family enjoying the day.

cutest little seagal

Amelia received a cute lil seahawks outfit for Christmas from her cousin. Go hawks!

transformer grandma!

too bad the video application isn't working. Grandma has a very special holiday greeting with her new transformer voice changing helmet!

crab finger

here's a pic of Aiden on Christmas eve enjoying his crab!

spice drawer

what happens when you are left at home on a rainy windy day. I need to pick up some more spice containers but I love an excuse to break out the label maker!

little monkeys's brother...

did this! I asked Aiden why he did this and he replied " to see the bugs in the wall." And then I asked how he did this and he replied "with my toenail." I think that is impossible. I'm still trying to think up a suitable punishment b/c we aren't a corporal punishment household and I think fixing it with daddy would be too much fun!

schtuff

today is one of those rainy cold days that you would just love to snuggle up on the couch and watch movies all day. I don't think my kids would last too long. And I do have those pesky errands I have been putting off for over a week . Dale left an hour ago to go snowboarding at Baker. I don't think he'll have a great day out there but he was excited just to be going! Amelia had big tears rolling down her cheeks when he left (she's such a daddy's girl). Had so much fun last night out with the girls. (sorry you missed it Tracy!) Dinner was great and I cried through the entire movie "ps I love you" Really liked it, lots of eye candy, foreign accents and love,love,love - definitely a chick flick!

ho! ho! ho!

A little Christmas cheer from our tub to yours! (They're supposed to be Santa bubble beards!)

little monkey

Amelia has started the "I won't look at the camera" stage. Before she would light up and smile on command. Bummer! Here's a few I tried this morning. The cute vintage pink ornaments on her tree were my mom's when she was a little girl!

crazy christmas lights

I swear this is the last of you tube from me. This is Aiden's favorite "that house sure has glitzy lights mommy!"YouTube - Frisco Christmas Lights - Wizards in Winter

new favorite song!

YouTube - Sara Bareilles-Love Song

blast from christmas past part 2

YouTube - Do they know it's christmas

blast from the past!

YouTube - Wham! - Last Christmas

chicken pot pie

I usually use the leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken!

2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 cups vegetables (frozen mixed or fresh sauteed until just tender) ie carrots, red peppers, onions, peas, corn, green beans
1 can of cream of mushrooom soup or cream of chkn/celery
4 oz cubed cream cheese
salt and pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 pie crust ( I buy the premade one that comes in the little tin pie plate)

Sautee fresh vegetables or frozen, add chkn, soup, cream cheese and seasonings. Cook until bubbly. Remove pie crust from tin plate, add filling to pie plate and top with pie crust. Cut vent holes in pie crust. Cook at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet for approx 35-45 minutes until crust is browned and filling bubbling. Serve with a salad!

bowl a rama!

I recieved a picture cd from my sister in law and wanted to share these cute bowling pics of the kids in ND. Anyone that knows Lexi knows that's a picture of her going off to pout!

busy week end

My parents came down Friday afternoon to stay for the week end! We had a Santa pancake breakfast at Aiden's school on Saturday morning. This was Amelia's first experience with Santa and she didn't seem to mind him at all. Hopefully, I can pick up the pictures this week! Then we rushed home in time to see the firetruck Santa stop in our neighborhood for a quick visit and collect donations for the food bank. Then it was time to pack up and say goodbye to the grandparents and kids as Dale and I headed down to Seattle for the night! Dale's party was at the Seattle Sheraton and we had a great time. The food was excellent and the company he works for is very generous. In the morning we headed down to Pike Place and had brunch at Etta's. Yum! Then we headed over to the market for some seafood for Christmas Eve and I picked up some flowers and a Christmas ornament. Funny how you start to like pink after having a baby girl! BTW: Dale and I didn't get lost in Seattle so I don't think Santa needs to bring the navigation system!

oops

Last Sunday after our company left, Dale asked Aiden to get something out of the closet in the basement. I had neglected to tell Dale that a top secret Santa gift had been hastily stashed in there before our party. Next thing we hear a scream of delight as Aiden has discovered "the spiderman web blaster, I've always wanted!" repeated several times! I felt sick to my stomach wondering how I could get out of this. I told Aiden that this present was for his cousin but if he wanted to write Santa a letter I could take some pictures so Santa would know exactly what Aiden wanted. Apparently, Aiden doesn't trust Santa's knowledge of the toy market b/c he made me take a picture of the front, back,sides and bottom! I would like to say that was enough for Aiden but he lay ed beside it on the floor for 20 minutes afterwards staring at it, taking in all the details. I finally had to grab it and run upstairs and hide it behind the couch and tell him the postman had come to pick it up to mail to his cousin. I have a feeling that any chance at the "Mom of the Year" title were ruined that day.

ornament organization

I bought these ornament storage boxes at Target a few years ago. I'm very happy how neatly and safely they store my items. The two I have fit inside a tote bin (probably 3 or 4 would fit) which of course is labeled and easy to find on our Christmas shelf in the garage. In October, Dale and I tackled the garage and three rolls of p-touch tape and several tote bins later we are very happy with how easy we can find things in there! (Maybe I should take some pictures,hmmm).

christmas cards

this is not a plea for cards. I took this picture at the beginning of December and was playing around today. I thought the frame was very fitting! I've had this old wooden window for quite awhile and I'm a little stumped how to use it. For now it's where we display our cards and I like that I can see all our holiday greetings each time I walk down the hall!

french toast raphael

a brunch favorite around here!
6 cups white bread, crusts removed cut into 1 inch cubes
6 oz cream cheese, cut into small cubes
6 eggs, well beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup syrup

place half the bread in a greased 8 inch square pan. Dot cheese on top. Cover with remaining bread. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over all. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove plastic and bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. It will be fluffy and golden. Serve immediately with extra syrup. Serves 6
* I usually double the recipe for company and cook in a 9 x 13 inch pan.

super swimmer!

Aiden passed his swimming level today! He has been working on Preschool 3 for close to a year now. Good work buddy! Kind of a funny picture but I can never remember to bring my camera to the pool.

the christmas donkey

after much discussion Aiden decided on being a donkey for his preschool concert. Check him out! Cute donkey, right? It was very cute and Aiden did a great job of standing still ands singing his songs. Don't worry grandparents Dale videotaped the performance. After the concert Applebee's waved their no animal policy so the donkey could enjoy lunch with his family!

winter pics

Went for a quick walk around the neighborhood this afternoon. Brrr! I think Aiden has outgrown his cute hat!