It's all good . . .

Farewell to Fall

   I find that I am always very ready for a new season/holiday once one has ended.  I am really excited about December and Christmas this year, maybe it is because we are in a house now, or maybe because the air has a bite to it here that we rarely felt in Savannah - that cold edge to the air that makes it feel like winter.

That said, we did have a wonderful fall, and although November flew by faster than I could believe, it was full of wonderful times as a family.  AS I looked back on the month, I realized that there were a few little things that never quite made it into any posts, and so I thought i would include them before the Christmas festivities begin.

Since moving here, I have been going through withdrawals when it comes to photography.  I had been doing an average of two photo shoots a month, and have only had one in the six months I have lived here (and that was of a friend in Savannah).  Because of this, and my need to take pictures, I have had to stretch the other side of my photography skills, and have been taking pictures of something other than people :). 

It is something I have always loved to do, but didn't focus as much on when I was busy doing portraits.  A few weeks ago I had the best time capturing the cotton fields, and to see more of my pics, go to my photography site: www.thatbrowngirlphotography.blogspot.com.

One weekend this month, we also had a sweet little girl stay over as a favor for a woman that Kevin works with.  She is ten and Lily and Derek adored her!  She played so well with them, and even played Legend of Zelda for them on her Nintendo DS :). 

And then there was the last of our yard work for the year (or so I hope - we had a warm spell that might force me to weed again).  We had gorgeous weather on a Saturday and spent the day outside weeding, mowing, and getting the yard ready for winter.  The kids thought it was especially awesome when Kevin let them help him push the lawn mower :).  I guess he is starting them young - he he!

 

And then there was the day after Thanksgiving, the day that I am usually up at the crack of dawn to hit the sales.  Kevin and I had decided that we were not going to go this year - we would save our sanity and money.  However, after Derek woke me up at 6 am, I couldn't stop thinking about the tricycle I wanted for Derek at Target - I know, I am crazy. 

So, at 7:30, I turned to Kevin and said, "I keep thinking about that stuff at Target."  Being the awesome husband he is, he immediately got out of bed and went for me, bringing home, not only the tricycle, but some other fun stuff as well. 

 

I guess Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without the Black Friday sales :).  We spent the rest of that day hanging out with our friends, the Ek's.  The kids played, Kevin and Cameron went golfing, and Amy and I talked for hours - so fun!

It has been a wonderful autumn, and I am so grateful for all the amazing blessings we have.   But now I am ready to move on to Christmas.  In fact, the cards are in the mail, the presents are purchased, the lights are up outside, the tree is decorated, and the house is almost finished with all its touches.  But I'll say more about that later :)

Turkey Dinner, Turkey Dinner

Turkey Dinner, Turkey Dinner

Gather 'round, gather 'round

Who will get the drumstick?

Yummy yummy yumstick

All sit down, all sit down

Cornbread Muffin, Chestnut stuffing

Pudding Pie, one foot high

All of us were thinner

Until we came to dinner

Me, oh my, me oh, my

Song Lily performed with her first grade class this year

sung to the tune of "Are you Sleeping"

I love Thanksgiving, and although the food preparations are not nearly as fun without my mom or sisters here to help me cook, I still have a lot of fun with it.  Last year, inspired by my mother-in-law, I wrote out my Thanksgiving shopping list, recipes, and even an agenda for when I needed to cook what.  It sure made this year earlier just to pull out my Thanksgiving directions :). 

As I started cooking, I decided to document it all in pictures, so here goes:

Wednesday - Baking Day

I always make my pies the day before, because it makes things so much easier.  This year I cut back on my pie making, only making lemon and apple and leaving out the pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie.  (We have 6 pumpkin pies still in our freezer.)

Here is the pie crust - I thank my sister Cheryl for teaching me how to make pies, and my sister Wendy for giving me my crust recipe - so flaky and light!

Then there are the fillings, first apple . . .

Then the lemon pie (and you can see the finished apple pie in the background) . . .

I also make the finger jello the day before - this year the kids picked orange :).

Usually I make the roll dough the night before too and refrigerate it overnight, but this year I saved it for . . .

Thursday - or actual Thanksgiving

So I made the roll dough in the morning, and then I always have the rolls ready to go in the oven as soon as the turkey comes out.  I have so many great roll recipes, and this year I made Cousin Pat's recipe - yum!

Then it was time to take care of the turkey.  This year instead of just rubbing it with butter, I mixed some herbs in with the butter.  It tasted really yummy, but Lily was highly suspect of the green stuff on the turkey.  (And another funny thing, I bought a turkey breast again this year, instead of a whole turkey, but when I opened it up, it was a whole turkey, just missing the legs - I guess I should have payed attention to whether it was boneless.  The leglessness made it rather tricky to carve, but it's all good.)

I make the gravy once the turkey comes out, which is also when I put on the potatoes to boil.  I realized that I never got a picture of the fluffy finished potatoes - oh well - trust me, they were so good.  I even indulged and mixed in cream when I whipped them instead of milk - yum!

And then, after all that work, dinner is ready.  Yum!! 

 
 
All that great food, and my favorite part of the meal was playing the ABC's thankful game.  We started at "A" and had to take turns coming up with things we were grateful for each letter of the alphabet.   The kids were so sweet and cute, and reminded me that I have more things to be grateful for than I can count :).   

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast as well!

PS.  If you want a copy of my Thanksgiving plans, you can download them: Download Thanksgiving recipes

Fieldtrips, Programs, and Silly Kids

Last week both Lily and Derek had special things to make life just a little more exciting.  Derek had a preschool field trip, and Lily had a Thanksgiving program.  Not only was this fun for them, but it was especially fun for me, since I got to be there for it all :).

Derek's Field Trip

Last Wednesday, the four of us mom's took our kids on field trip to The Airborne and Special Operations Museum.  It was really cool, and although it had me rethinking the fact that Kevin is going to Airborne school, the kids loved it.  They ran from exhibit to exhibit, acting out the scenes from different battles.

After we finished at the museum, we drove to a park to have a picnic, but the rain decided to change our plans.  Instead, we went to Caroline's house and had our picnic.  It was so much fun and another successful field trip.

Lily's Thanksgiving Program

On Friday, all the families of first graders were invited to come to a Thanksgiving program and picnic.  Each of the classes took turns singing fun Thanksgiving songs, and then we got to have a picnic with our child out on the lawn.  Since Derek had a cold, and Kevin needed to stay with him, I was the only one who got to go, but it was still so fun.

Lily is my little drama queen, and she was so cute in her costume that she had been making for the past week.  I especially loved her little turkey drumstick that they held up in the song :).   I was a little mad at myself for forgetting the video camera, but at least I remembered my other camera to take pictures.  (And my neighbors videoed it for me - I just need to get around to getting it from them.) 

After they were done, we enjoyed the break in our rainy weather and ate our picnic of popcorn and apple slices with caramel dip.  (We were supposed to bring snacks the pilgrims might have eaten, and even though they probably didn't have the caramel, we thoroughly enjoyed it.)

Derek Randomness

Poor Derek got sick at the end of last week, and now has a full blown cough.  Poor little guy.  I noticed that he really wasn't feeling well, when on Friday morning he slept in until 6:45 am - unheard of - and then didn't want breakfast.  I should have know something was up, when on Thursday afternoon, he lay down on the floor next to me and fell sound asleep.

 

He is starting to feel better though, thank goodness :)

Lily Randomness

And Lily, she is as amazing and silly as ever.  Yesterday morning, before church, she decided that she was going to write her own cookbook.  It was so cute and fun that I scanned in the pages that she wrote so you can see them :).

Here is the cover . . .

This is the first page - I can't remember if the things listed in the box are different sections of the recipe book, or names of possible restaurants :).

The Dessert Pizza actually sounds pretty delicious.

The "Yum! Soup!" recipe is the one she told me she wants to try tonight :).  But hey, who can go wrong with frosting and candy, right?

 

What am I going to do with my Lily?  I especially loved the illustration she did for each recipe.  I sure do love those silly kids of mine :).

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

This morning as I was working on my Nursery lesson, and i happened upon this video on www.lds.org.  It definitely made me smile and realize how many things I have to be grateful for.  I hope you enjoy it as well :).  In the Spirit of Thanksgiving.

Sweet Success

My sister Holly has been working hard trying to put together a recipe book for our family.  You know, one of those books that has each families favorites and is so handy because everything you make is now in one book.  Well, because of this, for the last year, I have been scouring my recipe books to find any and every one of my favorites, and then furiously typing up my recipes so they could be included. 

I wanted to make sure this would be a great book for Lily and Derek to have - one that not only had family favorites, but also included basic recipes, like how to cook hamburgers or make mashed potatoes.  Something they could take to college or on their mission and be really set.  But I also wanted it to have some really fun things too, which really brings me to my story . . .

You see, I am a collector of recipes I would LOVE to try, but with my picky family and limited time, I rarely end up doing it.  And so, my list of untried recipes grows.  Well, with the deadline for getting my recipes to my sister looming, I looked at that stack and just knew there would be a diamond or two hidden in it that I would really want in that book. 

Because of that, I started experimenting.  I usually saved it for days when Kevin was in the field, but sometimes he got to try them too.  I had a few great winners, like the cheesy broccoli soup and the yummy cornbread, but I also had some sad failures - like the macaroni and cheese that was okay, but not at all worth all the work I put into, not to mention all that cheese that went, literally, down the drain. 

Soon I found myself down to a few days left and one last recipe - chocolate mousse.  I had found this Tyler Florence recipe one day when I was playing around on FoodNetwork.com, and it looked so good!  And, let me tell you, it was :).  It was definitely a sweet success, and worth the extra steps to have such a fun and yummy dessert.  And there were a lot of steps - melting chocolate, whipping meringue, whipping cream, and folding it together.

 

But it was totally worth it!  What a yummy reward :).  I am so glad I didn't give up on this final recipe.  (It was especially a favorite of Lily, who ate four servings of it - he he!)

 

Moments . . .

There are moments as parents, and particularly for me as a mother, where I am completely overcome by feelings of love for my children.  It can be sparked by something as simple as a smile, a hug, a snuggle, or the look of innocence on their face as they lie there sleeping. 

These feelings usually hit me hardest just after I tuck Derek and Lily into bed.  After sharing a special moment of reading a story, reading scriptures, and then hearing them pray, I can't help but be reminded that I have been entrusted with these precious souls.  That I am responsible to love and teach them, and that they came to Kevin and I straight from our Father in Heaven. 

In the October Visiting Teaching Message, I was particularly struck by a quote from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. . . . Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried" ("Words of the Living Prophet," Liahona, May 1998, 26–27).

Parenthood is a sacred responsibility, and it is so easy for me to forget that as I get caught up in the daily grind, and especially when I am frustrated or angry at my children.  And so, I am very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who allows me these moments where I remember, not only how much I love my children, but who they really are.

Here are a few of my moments from last week . . . We had just returned from some crazy errands, and upon returning home, Derek  immediately curled up on the couch and fell asleep.  The other was the night Kevin had to be at work the next day at 2 am, and so instead of him tucking Lily in, she read him to sleep.  I sure love those kids of mine!!

PS.  I am also very grateful for my fantastic husband, who blesses my life every day.
 

Happy Halloween 2009!

Why is it that Halloween doesn't just last one day, but seems to begin long before that, and so, by the time the actual holiday comes around, you are burnt out.  One year, Kevin and I didn't even take the kids trick-or-treating on actual Halloween because we had already been to 3 parties that year.  It has not been that bad this year, but it still feels like "the week of Halloween," beginning with . . .

Part 1: Pumpkin Carving

Although the pumpkins don't rot here as fast as in Georgia, we still waited until almost the last minute to carve them.  We split it up this year - the girls and the boys. 

Lily got this tiny pumpkin on her field trip on Monday, and planned exactly what she wanted it to look like.  In fact, she even decorated the whole thing with marker, so that all we had to do was cut it open, clean it out, and cut out the face.  Easier said than done, since it was so small I could barely get my hand inside, which meant Lily's tiny hands had to most of the dirty work.  It sure turned out cute though :).

Derek and Kevin did our big pumpkin, and decided it was more "Derek friendly" to do our pirate pumpkin kit.  It was perfect for him to help with, and also turned out super cute.

Here are the finished products side by side:

Part 2: High School Key Club Trunk-or-Treat

This was just a very small thing that the Key Club of the nearby high school did for Lily's school.  There weren't many kids there, but it was still fun for Derek and Lily.  (And Derek had already been wearing a costume from the play group party that morning anyway.)  Some of the high school girls were very impressed with Derek's Troy Bolton costume - he he! 

Part 3: Ward Trunk-or-Treat and Carnival

On Thursday night, we went to our ward Halloween party, which turned out to be really fun.  The youth put together some fun games for the kids and had some snacks to eat before the trick-or-treating began.  Lily and Derek had so much fun, and Derek especially liked the centerpieces on the tables, as they were each surrounded with candy corn, which he liberally helped himself to.

By the time they got to actually go around and get candy, the kids were getting pretty worn out, and Derek finally crashed from his sugar high.  Half way around the parking-lot he sat down on the ground and told me that he wanted to go home.  What???  I ended up carrying him the rest of the way, and then we went home early.  (It's all good though - I was pretty tired too, especially because Kevin was in the field again, and so wasn't there to help me with the kids.)

Part 4: Halloween!!

This is the first time, since Lily was a baby, that we have lived in a neighborhood that our kids could trick-or-treat for real.  (It also meant we had trick-or-treaters show up at our place, as well.) 

 The kids were really excited, however, after Derek decided to take a super late nap, he was done for the day, and decided to stay home with dad to pass out candy.  He just loved it though, and it wasn't like we needed the extra candy :).  (I do wish, however, that I had gotten a decent picture of him in his costume one of the other nights, but how was I to know that he would refuse to wear his costume on Halloween??  He passed out candy in his pajamas)

 

That left Lily and I to wander the neighborhood alone, and it was so much fun!  She was quite the trooper and walked a lot farther than I expected her to want to go, but she was so happy to be "real" trick-or-treating, she didn't want to stop. 

She was also very careful about approaching doors if they didn't have a pumpkin out front.  Sometimes it was obvious the people were giving out candy, but she didn't see a pumpkin, and so she wasn't sure if it was okay :).  I really had such a great time going, just the two of us.

Here is my little sheriff, posing away :).

 

Now it is over, we have way too much candy in the house, and I am pretty exhausted.  But hey, we had a great time.   Happy Halloween to all!!

The Highs, the Lows, the In-betweens

Over the past week we have had some highs, lows, and some in-betweens. 

Low:  Derek got really sick with something, and had a fever off and on for three days.  It was not fun, but could have been so much worse.

High: Derek did NOT have the swine flu.  Yea!!

Low: I have only one assistant in Nursery and 25 children.

High:  Kevin and a few moms helped me out last week, and this week we only had 11 kids show up (most were home sick) and so it was totally manageable.

In-between:  Saturday I had to bag groceries for Kevin's Battalion FRG.  I had a lot of fun talking to some of the other ladies, but I was totally reminded why I went to college so that my grocery bagging days would be over for good :).

High:  Going on a date with Kevin last Saturday.  We went to Jason's Deli for dinner, and then wandered around the mall until we found the perfect winter coat for Derek.  A little lame, yes, but that is what we do :).  Then we came home bearing treats for our friends who watched the kids, and had a blast with them while eating Cheesecake Factory cupcakes - courtesy of Barnes and Noble.

High:  Lily and Derek performed in the primary program, and we had some good friends come and watch.  Lily even sang a beautiful duet. 

Low:  The program went way overtime, lasting 1 1/2 hours.  Thank goodness Derek didn't dive off the stand, but he did gnaw on the banister like a puppy, sneak away from his class, and at one point he wandered through our entire primary greeting people as he tried to find his spot again - Kevin called it his "victory lap."

High:  I got to go to book club - I love having a book club again!!  We read The Chosen, by Chiam Potock - not my favorite, but a good book.

Low:  Derek's residual grumpiness from his illness.  Even though he is perfectly healthy now, he seems 100 times more whiny.

High:  Lily went on a field trip to a farm today, and came back with fun tales of picking out pumpkins, animal shows, hay rides, and homemade ice-cream.  I just wish I could have gone with her!  Can you imagine what cute pictures I could have of that?

Low:  Derek pushed Lily into the TV stand and cut her lip open.  It is still bleeding as I type this, and she wanted to make sure I added it (as she is reading over my shoulder as I write this).

High:  I discovered a recipe for BYU mint chocolate brownies and successfully made them.  If you went to the "Y", you know exactly what I am talking about.  YUM!!  (I posted the recipe below, just in case you need to make it too.)

BYU Brownies!!

If you went to BYU, you had to have tried these so very delicious chocolate mint brownies.  They have been around forever, and are served at every dance and event there.  The other day I found myself really wanting them, and decided that there had to be a recipe on the internet.  I found a few - one was the original recipe, created almost 50 years ago, and the other was the more modern one.  I decided to merge the two (frosting from the original, and brownies from the modern version), and found a very delicious result.  Enjoy!!

BYU Mint Brownies

 

Brownies

1 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts

 

Melt butter and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar until fluffy.  Add honey.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to egg mixture. Mix well. Mix in cocoa/butter mixture.  Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool. 

 

Frosting

 2½ cups powdered sugar

 ½ cup butter

 1-2 teaspoons milk

 1 teaspoon mint flavoring

 Green food coloring

 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (melted)

 

Stir powdered sugar, butter and milk together and divide frosting into ¹⁄₃ and ²⁄₃ amounts. Add 1 teaspoon mint flavoring and few drops green food coloring to ¹⁄₃ and frost brownies. Refrigerate until frosting has set. Add chocolate, melted, to the ²⁄₃ amount of frosting – you will probably need to add an extra teaspoon or so of milk. Spread over mint frosted layer after it has set.

For a printable version: Download BYU Chocolate Mint Brownies

Tiny Dancer

Lily's dance class this week was a "Parent Watch," and so my neighbor took Derek off my hands and I took her to dance with my camera and video camera in hand, ready for fun :).  (Although next time, i am bringing my good flash, as the lighting in there is awful.)

Those little girls are so cute, and I love how Lily would do a move and then look at me for approval.  Sometimes she was super serious about getting it right (more in ballet), while other times she just wanted to move and be silly (more in tap - probably something to do with the shoes).

 

Check out those adorable tap shoes!!  She has two really good friends from church in her class, which is great for us moms - it means we can carpool :).  One of my favorite moments of the class, other the cute tap moves, was when the girls practiced their leaps!  So cute!!

And just so you can all share in the fun, here she is in action . . .