Ahhh, the Snow Day

The thing I hate about snow days is that you never know for sure that it is a snow day till the day of. So you still have to go to bed early, get up early, get everything ready the day before so you can go to school. Why can't they just declare it the night before so we can all sleep in. I got a text at 6:30 am telling me no school. I mean, really, what was so different at 6:30 am that they couldn't have predicted at 10:00 pm the night before. I don't mean to complain because I am really enjoying my day, I just wish I hadn't spent the day doing homework and getting ready yesterday. If I had known, I could have put it off till tomorrow. What does that say about me?

Oh boy, am I tired. I don't think I am going to like Mondays very much. But the thing that keeps me going every day...well, scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the blogspot. I can do this for another, well however many days there are. Mark your calenders. May 9th will be a happy day (if I pass astronomy and math of course).

Nice change for Breakfast

Found this recipe on the Food Network site. It's a great thing to have when you wake up in the morning. Nice warm breakfast. I do dried apples and cinnamon to change it up. It would be wonderful with all sorts of variations.

Ingredients
8 cups water
2 cups steel-cut oats (see Ingredient note)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Directions
Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, dried apricots and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours. Stovetop Variation Halve the above recipe to accommodate the size of most double boilers: Combine 4 cups water, 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 tablespoons dried cranberries, 3 tablespoons dried apricots and 1/8 teaspoon salt in the top of a double boiler. Cover and cook over boiling water for about 1 1/2 hours, checking the water level in the bottom of the double boiler from time to time.

Ingredient note: Steel-cut oats, sometimes labeled "Irish oatmeal," look like small pebbles. They are toasted oat groats—the oat kernel that has been removed from the husk that have been cut in 2 or 3 pieces. Do not substitute regular rolled oats, which have a shorter cooking time, in the slow-cooker oatmeal recipe.

Cousins

One of the favorite occasions in our household is when Holly and Lindsey come for a visit. Last night was one of those occasions. Sydney babysat the 2 girls so their mom and dad could go on a date. We were also going out with some friends so we didn't even get to see them very long. But before we left I got these sweet pic's of big cousin Sydney painting cute little Holly's fingernails. I'm so glad they have had this short time to bond. What a special thing to have cousins.

Honesty, huh

Well, I've been tagged by my new friend Erica. This is a toughy. I've done other tags before but they just want information, not depth. So I'm supposed to tell 10 HONEST things about myself. And I want to tag everyone who reads this. I did it, you can too.

1. I am a terrible back-seat driver. For anyone who's been in a car with me while my husband's driving they know this too well. It's like my paranoia kicks in overdrive and I just know we are going to die. That's why you will usually see me behind the wheel when we go places.
2. I still watch soap operas sometimes if I'm home in the day. I can't help it. I sit down to eat lunch and I just have to know what Erica Cain is up to these days. She hasn't changed a whole lot since I watched them as a child at my grandmother's house. I know they are ridiculous, but I love them.
3. I think people are mad at me all the time. I am always afraid I have offended. I am still self-centered enough to think it is "all about me". True story.
4. I have been known to take a full pan of brownies to bed with me on more than one occasion and eat the entire thing. I usually don't feel so great afterward, but when it's happening it feels oh so good.
5. When I'm really tired but I can't fall asleep I ask my husband deep scientific questions, like how DNA works or how light travels. He gets really excited thinking we are going to have a deep discussion and I'm lulled to sleep by information that's so far over my head I can't concentrate on it. Don't tell him, though, or he'll stop talking me to sleep.
6. I switched over to the dark side and I voted for a Democrat. I am sure everyone knows this by now, but just in case you didn't I am sure you are SHOCKED!!
7. I am terrified of confrontation. Hate it, hate it, hate it! Even when it comes to things with my kids. I will never be the mom at the park that approaches the other mom if her kid hits mine. I will always just say "stay away from them if they hit you". I would rather fail a class than have to argue for a grade. I would rather drive away with a dinged door than get out of the car and deal with the person who just slammed their door into my car. Just can't handle it. I cry if Jesse makes me call the utility companies or banks or anything else, because they run right over me. I have to get over this.
8. Sometimes I really think I should have just not gone back to school (and acquired a great deal of debt to do it) and instead just started a party planning business. I think about it all the time and keep trying to figure out ways I can do it while I am also an SLP.
9. I love baking. I don't necessarily love it because I want to eat it all. I would just as soon give it all away when I am done. It's the act of baking that makes me happy. It's like a release of creative energy even if I'm not being creative.
10. I hate putting my hands in raw hamburger meat so I have taught my kids (especially Katie) how to mix up the meatloaf and make meatballs so I don't have to do it. I also refuse to kill bugs. I used to make Sydney kill cockroaches when I lived in this really old house in Dallas. She was 3-4 years old at the time. We had a dead mouse in our house one day (the cat brought it home to us) and I made Katie get it with the broom. I helped, but she really did the part that could have potentially led to contact with the dead mouse. What kind of mom does that make me? Not good.

Bread Pudding Recipe for Alicia

Butter a 2qt baking dish. Cut into 1 inch squares about 4 to 5 cups of white bread, stale but not hard. I used a french baguette that was about a week old. This caused me to double everything so use half to stay with these measurements. Spread bread evenly in baking dish and sprinkle about 3/4 cup of raisins.
Whisk together 4 large eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk in 3 cups of whole milk, low-fat milk, 1/2 and 1/2, or whatever combination of milks you desire. Pour milk mixture over bread and let stand for about 30 minutes. Press bread into mixture periodically throughout 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Bake in a water bath for a moist,evenly cooked bread pudding. It is done when it is firm and puffed up in the center, about 1 1/4 hours.
Many sauces and toppings can be used for bread pudding. I chose to make a cinnamon sauce. 1 cup of water, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 2 tbls. whipping cream, milk, half and half, or evaporated milk, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon. Combine 1 cup of water and brown sugar in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil until the syrup reduces to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream and cinnamon. Keep the syrup warm. (The syrup can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Re-warm before serving.)

Hope it turns out great for you!!

Now I'm the happiest wife in the world

So, I have probably mentioned to a few of you that I am taking 18 hours this semester. I can not emphasize enough how incredibly stressed I am about this course load. I have 8 separate classes I have to attend plus a 30 minute clinic assignment where I will do therapy twice a week. But it will all be over in 3 months and 2 weeks (that's what I keep telling myself). You may be asking yourself how I plan to get through this. Well, I am soooooo excited. I found a wonderful, dear, wonderful woman who is going to start cleaning my house once a week. I'll pay her of course for this incredible gift of cleanliness. But it feels like a gift even though there will be money changing hands. I have wanted to find someone during the previous semesters but it is hard to open your door to just anyone and this is a person I know and trust. Not to mention my house gets a little dirty during the semester and my pride really hates the idea of someone outside the family seeing just how filthy we really are. Now, I don't know how long it will last. She may get sick of us real quick, but in the meantime I feel that the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. So I am the happiest wife in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!

Katie the cupcake maker

Katie comes in the other day with her cupcake maker and all her new baking gear because she wanted to make cupcakes with Aunt Amy. She is the cutest thing. And poor Aunt Amy was trying really hard to get out the door. But she stopped packing and loading so she could make cupcakes with the niece who adores her oh so much.

My new favorite thing

For Christmas I got silicone baking cups from Bitsy. I used them to make Katie cupcakes to take to school for her birthday. They are awesome. I was leery of the silicone bakeware, but I am now a believer. Get some today!!

Aunt Amy comes for a visit

We are really trying to sell Aunt Amy on the idea that she should come live with us for a few months. She has been here since Sunday and talking about leaving soon. We really don't want her to go. Please don't go Aunt Amy. We neeeeeeeed you.


She brought all of us birthday presents. This is her sporting the glasses she gave Jack.


Oh Jesse, what a hottie you are!!!



Katie got an assortment of toy animals representing the ranch animals so she doesn't have to miss them. Here is Silver's donkey and Luna Moon.

Katie is 5

My baby is 5 years old. I feel really old and sooooo sad. She is growing way too fast. This is her sleeping with her stuffed horse nestled in her arms.



Grandy got Katie a couple of really cute outfits for her birthday. This is one. She came in on her birthday and asked when all the presents were going to get here (we don't actually do presents until the summer). I told Grandy and she had to get her a present. The girl is rotten.



I took cupcakes to her school. I made incredible blueberry lemon cupcakes with fresh blueberries and lemon icing. Half the kids threw them in the trash. Katie devoured hers. I had one and all I can say is those kids just don't know what a good cupcake is.

The fans are finally gone

Since we moved in this house,which I love, there have been a few things I haven't loved. The ceiling fans, particularly the ones in the front living room, to name a few. We finally got them changed out for new ones. Many of you have commented that you never noticed my ceiling fans so I thought I would share pictures so you could see what a wonderful change we have made.

Old



New

Christmas Eve

This t-shirt was from Jack's sisters. A more perfect t-shirt was never created!

Check out the Darth Vader slippers.

Now Jesse is in charge of breakfast.

Katie loves her horses.

Jack picked out this hat for Sydney. She looks so cute in it.

Cookies for Santa

Every year we make cookies for Santa.
Katie is concentrating hard on her sprinkles.

Ivy's taking a cookie break.

Morgan shows off her fantastic creation.

The Happiest Husband on the Planet

So we went out Christmas shopping today but we made the mistake of stopping off at Circuit City. Only 3 days left until the doors are closed for good. As we are parking the car Jesse says to me "I don't know why we're here. We're not going to by one anyway". "Yes, dear" I said.

We walk in the store and immediately to the T.V. he's being eying for months. He's one of those types that thoroughly researches every purchase, especially electronics. Then he searches until he finds the best possible deal on exactly what he wants. Today was his lucky day because it was there for the price he was willing to give.

This is what we got.



Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color

Did I mention he is the happiest man on the planet?

I'm finally done!

With this semester anyway. This had to be the longest semester ever. And to have a final on Friday of finals week at the latest time a final could be scheduled is just ridiculous.
So now my house is clean and I have a stack of books I plan to read before starting next semester (which is my last as an undergrad!!). I plan to read Dracula, Heart of Darkness, The Invisible Man, and we'll see if I get to anything else.
The best part of my first official day off was this morning when I asked my husband what the plan for the day was and his reply was "Go shopping". I about fell over because those words have never been uttered by this wonderful man. So my day is officially off to a beautiful start. Wish me well fighting the other crazies out shopping right before Christmas.

Happy 51st Birthday, Dear Old Dad

Dad when he was just a wee little baby boy


Wasn't he the cutest little cowboy


Just a little history about my dad. I didn't actually get him till I was 8 years old. It took us a little while to find the right one. He's one of those rare men that can love another's like his own. I feel so blessed everytime I think about what a great gift he has been to my mom, myself and my three sisters. He always tells people he's as close to perfect as he can get without just being translated straight to Heaven and I think he's right. I love my Daddy!! I wish I could just give you a big hug right now.

P.S. Your B-day card is on the way. Katie picked it out and that will be very obvious when you open it. It was from the heart.

Sid's New Do

Sydney cut her hair off even shorter yesterday. I wasn't guite sure at first but I've decided she can pull it off. She is too dang cute.

Bragging rights

I often wonder how I could get this incredible daughter who is not afraid of standing in front of people and performing. I was sooooo terrified of anything like that as a kid and still am as an adult. And I have been blessed with this daughter who sings and performs in front of hundreds of people and doesn't even seem fazed by the experience. Today she auditioned for the solo in "I'll Be Home for Christmas" that will be performed with her choir. She made it to the final four and will have another opportunity tomorrow to try out again. I hope she gets the part she wants but honestly the most impressive part for me is that she is willing to try. I would never have had the courage to do that when I was her age and wouldn't do it now.

PS She didn't get the part. It went to the 8th grader. But she wasn't too sad. She'll try again next time.

Poor cat

I think Jesse's little brother hates cats. Last year for Christmas he gave Katie a whole bag of cat outfits. I didn't even know they made such a thing. Sure, dogs have clothes, but cats? Our poor cat has been dressed like an angel, a "rock star" and right now she gets to wear a Santa suit. I don't know how Katie gets these outfits on, but it usually ends with a few tears and scratches. The sad thing is when the cat gets outside in one of these get-ups. You know she has to feel utterly humiliated roaming the neighborhood all dressed up. Poor cat!!





The crazy thing is this cat somehow gets herself out of these clothes. They are very difficult to get on, but she can squeeze out in no time.