memories

I just had one of those weekends I will remember forever. It was sogood! I don't know if it was the fact that everyone was together, or that for the first time, Ellie really enjoyed herself, but I just loved it! Everything was low-key. Lots of food and games and fireplaces.

The big girls took such good care of Ellie and were so patient with her. She wants to be with them allthetime and I am sure she got to be a little pesky, but they let her in on their fun. She even got to fall asleep with them. At 1:30 am. Yup. She's a crazy girl. I think 10:30 was the earliest she got to sleep all weekend. Yesterday when we were watching the Colts, Ellie got really quiet upstairs and when I went to go check on her, she had made a little nest on our bed and was conked out! That never happens.

On Friday night, we left all the kids at home and went to a nearby golf course for drinks and dancing. This is the first time the big girls (12 & 13) have been old enough to watch Ellie.

Us adults had a great time. My family is fun!

Here we are cutting a rug.

Me and my Daddy.

Group shot. There are about 5 people in this shot we don't even know. They were just invited to join the shot.

Molesting a statue.

Lots of love...


So, thanks family. It was swell.
Oh. And by the way, I was Gin champion 2009. THANKYOUVERYMUCH!!

thanksgiving in pictures

It was a lovely day. Even though is started with a UTI and a fender bender. Yeah. Don't ask. I am feeling better and the car is getting fixed so lets commence!

Paige's pretty table.

My husband watching some football.

Where I sat most of the day.

Wayne Me Andy. My fam.

Our delicious turkey!

Ellie and her 2 fave people on planet earth!

Dudes watching football. Thanksgiving staple I guess.

Time for prayer. See my mom? I do!

Ellie's dinner consisted of blueberries, cheese, a roll, and carrots. She does not like stuff mixed up.

I really wish there had been something sweet to eat afterwards. Ha!

and so it starts!

Just a very few things I am thankful for, I could go on and on:

My husband
My daughter
My family
My house
Holidays
Christmas music
Turkey bacon
Cute toddler girl clothes
The fact my jeans are fitting again (for now)
Woodchuck beer
The play area at the grocery

The holidays are in full swing around here. It's going to be a busy weekend so just in case I don't get back until next week...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

so proud!

If you remember, last year, my kid was terrified of Santa. We had to incorporate a 12 step program to get her through the holiday. It was bad.

We were at the mall on Saturday. He was there of course and Ellie saw him and preceded to totally ignore him. Ok, she was still scared. Got it. We mentioned how nice Santa was and if you told him what you wanted for Christmas, he would bring it for you. Then we left it alone.

Apparently, her little brain was cranking away, because right before we left, she decided she wanted to talk to him, but on no uncertain terms, was she going to sit on his lap (and I don't really blame her on that one). Also, I was not to leave her side. Check.

So we got in line, her little hand sweaty in mine. I kept telling her we could wait, but she insisted she was fine. Here we are discussing what she is going to ask for.

Then is was almost our turn!

God bless this Santa. He could see she was a little scared and really put her at ease. He asked for a high five...

then they got down to the serious business of gifts. She asked for a movie, a drum (??) and a ball. She decided she wanted to keep the fact that she wants a pet lizard a secret.

Then Santa told Chris to come in and get a good picture, even though you aren't supposed to do that. You are supposed to pay thousands of dollars for a 5X7. What a nice Santa.


So yea for Ellie! She has conquered her Santa fear. Now I need to find a drum. I already got her the cutest little guitar. Think that will work?

Sidenote: on the way out, I bought the best bag of cotton candy I have ever had in my life. It was strawberry banana and totally delicious!

scenes from an ice cream store

There are no words. You just had to be there.

bad morning

It started when I had to wake her up. That is never pretty.

Then she realized she had wet the bed and was very upset. I kept telling her it was ok, just an accident, but she was devastated.

Then I told her we didn't have time for peach oatmeal. We were running late. It was going to be a granola bar and a banana.

Then I realized we had time for peach oatmeal.

Then she burned her mouth on the first bite.

Then she spilled some on her shirt (and she HATES to be dirty).

Then she wouldn't wear her warm coat.

Then she wanted to wear sandals.

Then she lost her "most specialist quarter" in the car.

Then I dropped her off at preschool with a big kiss and hug...

and ran away as fast as I could.

Hopefully, when I pick her up, she will be her usual happy self.

Hopefully.

turkey cookies

Aren't these just the cutest! We made some to take to Ellie's preschool teachers tomorrow. We also have some for friends.

I had to wrap them all up so I wouldn't eat them right away. They are really, really good.

Ok, I kept 3 out for dessert tonight.

You can do it too! Check the link below.

http://www.guideposts.com/story/recipe-thanksgiving-turkey-cookies

Happy early Thanksgiving!

crafting

Ellie and I had a lazy day yesterday. Something is amiss in my back and I just didn't feel like doing much. We didn't even get out of our pajamas and every time she asked me for a cookie I said yes cause I just didn't want to fight it. Ever have those days? So after 3 straight hours of tv (yeah, so?) we decided to craft. We decided on a Christmas theme. Cause, well, you know, it's getting closer!

Gluing some snowflakes on the tree.

Taking a break for a funny face.

Practicing her cutting.

Our finished trees. I have to admit that I LOVE doing stuff like this. I have the craftiness of a 5 year old so I have a few more years until hers looks better than mine.

Her snowman. Every time I see this, I crack up. We like to call him "skeleman"

Crafting carnage. This is the unfun part. I forgot how messy glitter is. How do you forget something like that?


Anyhoo. It killed a few hours. It was fun. We have some new Christmas decorations to put up in a few weeks. Sweet!

can i just say...

that I adore my husband.

I really do.

We had a date night (which happens entirely to infrequently)on Friday and I got the chance to remember how much I adore him. Good food. Good conversation. Good wine. Good night.

It's hard to take the time between dinner, baths, story's, meltdowns, etc, in the day-to-day to remember that.

But Friday I remembered.

how funny!

I look back occasionally through my pictures to see what we were doing on this day last year. Yesterday when I did it, I realized that we played with Enzo in the leaves on this exact day last year. What are the odds?

Of course, this time we had storm trooper and buzz lightyear costumes to make it more fun...and for the life of me, I couldn't get a shot of them smiling together and looking at the camera. They were just runnin' fools.

So Jen, November 12, 2010, we need to play in leaves...

November 12, 2008

November 12, 2009

my book club girls are insane

So I had book club last night. We were talking about recent books we had read and loved lately and Twilight came up. Then I discovered that NO ONE in my book club (and there were 9 of there last night) thinks that Edward Cullen is good looking.

Are you freaking kidding me? C'mon girls!

He is insanely gorgeous.

I am very dissappointed in these girls.

Seriously.

So I need your opinion. Do you think he is good looking? I posted a poll on the right side of my blog. Vote!

home

We had a whirlwind trip home to Indiana this weekend where we:

visited
played
hackeyed
held kitties
watched some football
got a haircut
golfed
shopped
visited some more
ate some cookies

It was wonderful.

bread pudding

My mom was a fantastic cook. She always made very simple things but they were always so good. She was also a very healthy cook.

I remember the first time Chris came over for chili. We were newly dating (and very young!) and she plopped his bowl down in front of him. After a few bites, he said..."Liz, I hate to break it too you but this is not chili. It is vegetable soup!" And it was true. She was always adding veggies to stuff. Like cottage cheese and pasta dishes. I remember thinking she was so weird. She was just totally ahead of her time.

Now that I am a mom I appreciate her cooking even more. She worked as a high school librarian, but I had a hot breakfast every single morning and she cooked every night regardless of how tired she might be. There are days where I call Chris around 4 and say "not cookin, we are going out!" Maybe it is just the times, or maybe I am just lazy.

One of my favorite things that she made was bread pudding. She made it about 4 times a year and the nights I realized she was making it, I was in heaven. I could barely make it through the meal in excitement.

Imagine my joy when I ran across her recipe (in her writing) in a cookbook I have. I didn't think there even was a recipe. I remember her just throwing stuff in a bowl and baking it and making the chocolate syrup in a pan on the stove. I use the term "recipe" lightly because it is just ingredients, no amounts. It says stuff like, "add lots of bread" and "add a little butter." Not so helpful.

I tried to make it soon after she died and it was a diaster. I was in that horrible heartwrenchingmissingher phase and I felt like I had let her down. I remember breaking down in tears in my little apartment thinking I would never taste her wonderful bread pudding again. Such a small thing, but very important at the time.

6 years have passed and last night I was ready to try it again. I have much more cooking experience now (meaning, I actually cook on a regular basis and am willing to make things other than mac and cheese and tomato soup.) I got out the recipe, called Paige for her opinion, checked online to try and see what other bread pudding recipes called for and dove right in.

I was nervous. Isn't that crazy? I wanted to be able to make it like hers. I want Ellie to know what Tee Tee's bread pudding tastes like.

I used 1 ingredient not listed (eggs) and hoped for the best. The hour it was cooking I kept checking and checking. It smelled right. Good. But is it supposed to look like that? Man, I wished I could just call her and ask her how she made it.

The chocolate sauce that goes on top was a piece of cake. I wasn't worried about that at all. Sugar, cocoa, water, and cornstarch. How hard is that?

Finally, the moment came. I set a bowl down in front of Chris and nervously took my first bite.

Pure bliss!

I had done it!

As a matter of fact, I think it was even better than hers. (Sorry, mom, but it was, even Chris said so.)

Don't even think about asking for the recipe. I am not ready to give it up yet. It is mine! I am happy to make you some though. Anytime. Just come on over. Because it is GOOD!

Oh, and Ellie hasn't tried it yet. The allure of left over halloween candy was to great last night. And she wasn't getting bread pudding and a hershey bar so close to bedtime.

halloweening

We had a great halloween. It was a perfectly cloudy, windy, spooky day. It started with a terrific breakfast (if I do say so myself).

Then we moved onto pumpkin carving. One last hug before we dig into the guts...

and as soon as she saw the guts, she skedaddled. It should also be noted that this is the FIRST pumpkin that Chris ever carved. How is that even possible? I did not know this until this afternoon.

Then we all took a long nap which was heaveanly and then ordered some pizza to eat with the Jones Peslers. Ellie told me to get a pic of her "thinking" so I did.

Finally, almost time to Trick or Treat! Here is Ellie with Jeffafa and her Ellie pumpkin. Same costume as last year. I pulled it out to sell it on Craigslist and she put it on and declared she would be a kitty AGAIN THIS YEAR. Bonus.

and then, finally! Off to the first door!

and here we are moving right along.

This is how insane our neighborhood gets. We ran out of candy with 10 minutes left. Oops. And I bought a ton!

Here we are passing out the candy before we ran out. I think Ellie liked this better than getting her own!

and finally, the pumpkins, were the last to say goodnight.


Another Halloween come and gone. A good day indeed.