Christmas 2011

Here are some highlights from our festive Christmas holiday

Grandma and Papa with all their grandkids

Tyler with 3 of his cousins on Christmas Eve and very excited I might add

Christmas Eve dinner at the "kid table" 

Dinner at the "adult table" 

On Christmas morning Tyler received a big box from Santa. After opening box after box after box he finally found the gift inside... an Ipod nano 6th generation! 

Here are some happy kids with their favorite toys! 

Rockin' out!

Tyler showing off his ipod and new bear tooth necklace that our hunting neighbor made for him. 

I got a little spoiled this year. I wanted a new bed realllllly bad because the other one spotted in THIS post was so rickety and unstable. Not to mention it put Tyler in the ER once. I'm so happy to have a solid stable wood bed that doesn't feel like an earthquake getting in and out of. Props to my husband for putting it together with the full blown flu!

Here was my surprise from my hubby on Christmas Eve. See what I mean by spoiled!? 

Since I am about 22 weeks pregnant I thought I would document what I looked like on Christmas. I felt good until my doctor told me 3 days later that I'm gaining too much weight. Dang fudge! 

Here is my family - parents and 5 of my 6 siblings. I have one more brother that wasn't able to make it out for the holidays. 

Hope your holiday was as just as wonderful! 

Homemade Snow Globes

We got the idea from Martha Stewart seen HERE. All you need for this project is:

- Mason Jar, baby food jar, or any jar really!

- Distilled water

- Glycerin

- Small figurines

- Large glitter

- Super glue

Directions: 

Glue the figurines to jar lid and let dry completely. Fill the jar up with distilled water, add a few drops of glycerin, and teaspoon of glitter. Lastly screw on the lid and you're done! You could super glue the lid closed but we decided not to in case something needs to be re-glued inside. The kids had a blast making this project and were extremely proud of the finished product. 

What to expect when you're expecting

Did you ever read the book "What to expect when you're expecting"? I did. I read it when I was pregnant with my son, Tyler, 8 years ago. Who would of thought that a guide through pregnancy could be made into a movie! It comes out the month I'm due (May) and I am definitely not missing it! It looks HILARIOUS!!

Love Chocolate? Love Peanut Butter?

This is what happens when chocolate and peanut butter get married. They create a sinful baby full of worthy calories.

Chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting, Reese's cup, chocolate drizzle. What's not to love?

Peanut Butter Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter softened

4 cup (2lbs) powdered sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream or till desired texture

Directions:

Cream together peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Alternate sugar and heavy cream into butter mixture. Apply to cooled cake! 

Ode to pumpkin

When you think of desserts on Thanksgiving what comes to mind? Most likely pumpkin pie, right? I know that people really really really love their pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving but for me I find it to be a little drab. This year I was in charge of desserts (which I usually am) and my family knows when they place that responsibility on me I don't stick to traditional. Our menu included a crisp apple pie with a dutch crumbled top, a delectable pumpkin crunch cake, and a pumpkin swirl cheesecake with a gingersnap/pecan crust. Yum.

You see, pumpkin can be transformed into a delicious masterpiece, why settle on plain pumpkin pie? So, without further ado: 

Pumpkin swirl cheesecake with a gingersnap/pecan crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
•  
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.
3. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
4. Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Spoiled kids make it hard for me to parent

I don't live in a rich area, I need to get that straight right now. Sure, we live in a nice area but I would classify our town as 'middle class', not upper class. Yet for some reason all the kids at my sons elementary school have cell phones, and ipods, and ipads, and probably credit cards for all I know. Mind you my son is eight. When I was eight I could distinctly remember asking for a tea set.... aaand probably a dog for Christmas BUT I always felt my lists to Santa were reasonable. This year Tyler thinks he deserves... no better yet, is entitled to a slew of items that are WAY beyond my budget. Well, even if I could afford it I wouldn't get him what he's asking for because what eight year old needs the following: 

Tyler's Christmas list to Santa:  

1) Please, a dirt bike

2) Please, an ipod

3) Please, an itouch

4) Please, an Xbox 360

5) Please, a cell phone

6) Please, a TV

7) Please, a ipad

I guess he figures if he says 'please' before each item that Santa will be more inclined to give it to him. When I asked him why he was asking for so many BIG items he said, "because all the kids at school have them". I explained that most of these items were unreasonable and he seemed to understand. It's just unfortunate to me that he thinks he needs them because his peers have them. Why do 3rd graders have cell phones???  I think I just need to find a way to humble my children while surrounded by so many spoiled kids. 

Here are a few funny comics I found on the subject :) 

Trip to Monterey Bay 2011

A few months ago I won tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium through a contest on trazzler.com. All I had to do was tweet my favorite sea creature and why. So first I had to create a twitter account which I swore I'd never do! The tweet couldn't be very long so I had to get very creative. It went something like this - "Sea horses. They're cute, delicate, majestic, and best of all the men are the ones who give birth". I didn't win the grand prize but I did win 2 tickets to the aquarium! This was very exciting because I had never been to Monterey AND I love any excuse to plan a trip :) 

Fisherman's Wharf

We went on a walk one morning and Tyler was HILARIOUS dancing down the street. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium 

Tyler loved the touch tanks 

The jelly fish were so mesmerizing! 

Tyler's height at age 8 compared to a newborn whale. 

This little kid saw us getting ready to take a picture then jumped in and wouldn't leave. It was kinda funny. 

My inspiration for my winning tweet! 

My beautiful pearls

I loved this tank. It looked like Finding Nemo! 

Ugh. I wish men could carry the babies for us too. Sea horses have it so easy! 

Tyler being a shark caught in a net 

Cannery Row

And what would a trip to Monterey be without eating at Bubba Gump's!

The build your own sundae for kids was so cute.

17 Mile Drive 

The views on this drive were absolutely amazing!

 I was so grateful for nice weather that afternoon. 

This big rock out in the water was COVERED with sea lions! I mean hundreds! It was quite stinky. 

Tyler trying to scare away the birds. 

Watching the horses along the beach. 

The Lone Cypress Tree. 

Fishing F-U-N! 

Deke reallllly wanted to catch a shark. It didn't happen.