"You can do it Mom!"

I have a cheerleader!...a child who likes offering encouragement whenever he can, and he demonstrated it this morning. My Oldest was off at a sleep-over Birthday party for a friend of his last night, leaving my Youngest, my Husband and I at home this morning. My husband was off to work at 6:30 this morning like usually, so my Youngest and I got to sleep in as late as we wanted. This morning he got up at 8:45 and came in to the room to convince me it was time for me to get up too. I was dragging this morning...I wanted nothing more than to roll over and fall back to sleep, but he was persistent that it was time to get up. I said "I know honey, I'm just having a little trouble getting up"...which was his cue to cheer me on with..."Come on Mom, I know you can do it! Fight that sleep off and get up! Come on...I know you can do it...just a little further! Yeah, Mom you did it!" Isn't this a fun way to get out of bed in the morning even when you're dragging!

1st Band Concert

Last night my Oldest had his 1st band concert! He's been practicing everyday to get ready for it and he was very good last night...for someone who's only been playing the clarinet for little over a month! He began with the oboe, but he was struggling so his teacher moved him to the clarinet. The sixth graders have only been playing for about 3 months so the fact that they could play music and have it recognizable is amazing to me (who is tone deaf and NOT musically inclined...good thing his daddy and aunt can sing!)
He looks so grown up here. His school mascot is The Lions, that's why he's posing with a lion.

One of his good friends plays the trombone...they look nice up there together. They dress up nice (when they try! :-)

On stage after the concert. His class only has about 30 band students, and only about 8 clarinets. I am hoping he goes back to the oboe or if his hands grow the bassoon (which he really wants to play!) next year.

They grow up so fast! I'm proud of you!

My favorites at Christmas time

My favorites at Christmas time:

Top 5 favorite Christmas songs:
1. "Little Drummer Boy"
2. "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"---a true Christmas classic :-)
3. "Grandma Got ran over by a Reindeer"
4. "Silent Night"
5. "O, Little Town of Bethlehem"

Top 3 Christmas Movies:
1. "Rocky Mountain Christmas" with Dolly Parton---I used to see myself as the children, now I visualize myself in the roll of "Mother" in the movie.
2. "The Santa Clause"
3. "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer"---a classic

Favorite Christmas Tradition:
We buy a new family ornament every year at the Craft Show the day after Thanksgiving. My husband and I were looking over the 12 years of ornaments we have hanging on the tree and we were remembering when each child came into the picture.

Favorite Stocking Stuffer:
The boys get color tablets that when they're put into the bath water they turn the water different colors. The boys love changing the colors daily.

Favorite Present (given to you):
Gift cards to book stores are always appreciated.

Favorite Present (given away):
I love baking and giving the goodies away at Christmas.

Favorite Breakfast served on Christmas morning:
Monkey bread with sausage...easy and yummy!

Favorite Christmas Meal:
We reserve the turkey for Thanksgiving and the ham for New Years, so we usually have a nice beef roast of some sort...I like changing the seasonings every year.

A few Christmas traditions dear to my heart. What are some that you enjoy?

Sleeping...in a box!

My husband and Oldest son went to a Scout lock-in last Friday night, leaving me and my Youngest at home by ourselves. We bought a new lawn mower a couple of weeks ago to finish our lawn before the cold set in, so we didn't have frozen weeds up to our knees. It came in a large box that I drug into the house, knowing my 12 and 5 yr old boys love boxes. Friday night my Youngest received permission to sleep in that box!

They are so adorable when they sleep. I thought about packing him up and over-nighting him to his Aunt, Grandmother or Grandfather's house for Christmas, but I decided to keep him...he is just too much fun!

My Youngest's Christmas Program at School

Last Friday, my Youngest's Pre-K class put on a small program during their morning Friday Focus (this is when the kids put on programs, get awards such as attendance, or TERRIFIC Kids, or just come together for some school spirit!).

Their program consisted of several nursery rhymes they've learned along with a couple of Christmas songs, such as: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "Jack, be Nimble", "Little Jack Horner", "Jingle Bells", "S A N T A" sung to Bingo and "We wish you a Merry Christmas". They were all very cute, very sweet and non of them all that shy!
My son is a natural on stage! He had the songs and rhymes down pat...he's been practicing them at home for weeks now, and he knew all actions and gestures to go with the songs and rhymes. I will not be surprised if he sings, dances or acts on stage every chance he gets. He's got Charisma!

A Picture from After...he seems very pleased with himself! I send Kudos out to his teacher, who was able to wrangle 16 kids aged 4-5 years old and put on such a great performance. Congratulations Mrs. Barrett!

Menu Plan Monday

I've been posting my menu's on Mondays in a sporadic way, so I thought I would get a little more serious. I found the site orgjunkie.com which hosts a Menu Plan Monday site, which I'm going to try and link this post too.

Throughout the month of November I was trying new recipes left and right and came up disappointed too many times to count, so I've gone back to several of my tried and true recipes and I might only add one new recipe each week or so. This is a busy week for us with Scouts on Monday and Tuesday and Saturday evenings, a Band concert on Thursday evening, and a Holiday work party on Sunday afternoon, so my menu this week is very easy and uncomplicated.

Menu for the week of December 7-13, 2009

Monday---Chicken Sandwich w/Noodles and Salad
Tuesday---Red wine Pork Roast w/Rice, Carrots and Green Beans
Wednesday---Onion burgers w/Onion Rings and Pasta Salad
Thursday---Clam Chowder w/Cheesy Biscuits
Friday---Salzbury Hamburger w/Mashed Potatoes and Butter Corn
Saturday---Pizza Rolls w/Salad
Sunday---Bacon-wrapped Chicken w/Fried Potato and Salad

Happy St. Nikolaus Day!

To all my German and non-German friends out there: HAPPY ST. NIKOLAUS DAY! My boys and I have been studying German culture the last couple of days and so this year we decided to celebrate this German holiday in our home.

We put our shoes out by the door hoping for a visit from St. Nikolaus. He brought us Christmas pajamas and candy! I guess this means we've been good boys and girl this year!
Then I cooked a traditional meal:

Sauerbraten, Green Beans, Parsley Potatoes, Red Cabbage and Salad with Sweet and Sour Dressing.

My plate. It was surprisingly sweet and very good! Even the cabbage which is not one of my favorite vegetables.

Christmas Tree is Up!

The Christmas Tree has been up for a week now. I was actually late getting it up, the Friday after Thanksgiving being the day I usually set it up. This year I postponed it until Saturday. Thanksgiving really wore me out this year.

I love this tree. It's not huge, just the right size for our tiny house, but what I really love is the decorations. I've made some, our family gets a new dough one every year from the first Craft Show of the season. My mother made several and when she downgraded her tree several years ago she gave me some of my favorites to put on the tree.

There's just something about a lit tree that brightens the Winter, so here's wishing everyone a happy Holiday Season!

Cookies and Cards

Went and played cards with my Mother (middle), her friend (left) and my friend (right) last night at her house. This is not a picture from last night since I forgot to take the camera, but the same ladies and the same game. We had a lot of fun, it was nice being able to get away from the kids and husband for a few hours and just relax.

I made the chocolate mint cookies from my last post for last night and let me tell you they were delicious. They taste almost exactly like Girl Scout Thin Mints (which are my most favorite cookie ever), so I'm going back to Target and stocking up on the morsels. I can have the taste of thin mints whenever I feel like it!

New Nestle Morsels and Recipe

Out Christmas shopping the other day at Target, I stumbled across this bag of Nestle Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels. I love it when new types come out so I always grab a couple of bags and try the recipes on the back. I'm going to try this recipe this afternoon:

Mint Chocolate Delights (recipe on back of bag)

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 2/3 c. baking cooca
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 c. granulated sugar
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 bag Nestle Dark Chocolate and Mint morsels

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine: flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
5. Stir in morsels.
6. Drop by rounded tbsp. onto ungreased baking sheets
7. Bake 11-13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set.
8. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, remove to wire rack and cool completely.

These look really good and I can't wait to try them.

Winter has Arrived!

For the last 2 1/2 months, we've had very weird weather! The summer was normal enough...100+ for several days in July and August...normal weather. September arrived and the weather again normal...it dropped 20 degrees on average and nothing seemed strange. Then October arrived and so did the strangeness. It got chilly here...the normal is in the low 70's during the day and 50's at night...very mild. Not this year! 60 degrees was our average high...and cloud cover...I think the clouds covered about 20 of the 31 days in the month...this is not normal! They were comparing our weather to Seattle's weather...and if it came any where close...I'm glad I do not live in Seattle. It drizzled... A LOT...it was depressing...I'm glad it's over.

November dawned bright and warm. We had October's usual weather in November this year. The word that comes is mild...all month, little to no rain...very mild. Only 2 light freezes at the end of the month...the average day for a hard freeze is mid-November, but we haven't had one yet. Winter arrived today...about 2 weeks late. Cold rain last night turned to snow showers this morning (a mix of snow and rain...at the same time!), the wind is blowing 25+mph and the temperatures have dropped 20 degrees from that which we saw in November. It's going to be colder tomorrow and our hard freeze will be tonight or tomorrow night.

It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas...ah, weather in the Heartland.

Advent Calenders

I brought out another German Christmas tradition today and introduced it to my boys: the Advent Calender! I remember learning about these when I took German in Highschool so many years ago and was glad I could bring the fun to my boys this season. They used to be hard to find and at one time my hometown had a German store that my husband and I would go into to buy our calenders and many German goodies. We miss that store! Now you can find the calenders in places like Michaels and Target, and although they are not as fun or as decorative as making your own (note to self...make advent calenders next year :-) they will still be fun.

I'm looking forward to sharing St. Nicholas day with them on Sunday. Remember to put your shoes outside your doors on Saturday evening and hope St. Nicholas brings goodies, not twigs or switches! (my boy's might be getting switches... :-)