Giving Thanks

So, I don't post as often as I did for a while. I have been REALLY busy just having FUN with my family! We went to Disneyland twice before our passes expired and were treated to the Christmas Parade and all of the holiday decorations! Gavin had a piano recital, and Ella and I have been to the library for story time! We got started on our holiday decorations and best of all, we have spent time with FAMILY!

Thanksgiving was GREAT! We celebrated at Andy's parents house and the Arizona Huffakers (Matt, Rebecca, Noah, Sam and Madelyn) were there with us (along with Jack, Sharon and Great Gramma!). I spent ALL of Wednesday cooking, so that I could just enjoy the fun on Thanksgiving Day. I made the casseroles: Green Bean (poo poo on Martha who thinks this is "not classy"... that might be true but it tastes SOOOO good!), Dressing (it was not put into the bird, so you cannot call it stuffing), Pecan Yams and a Chocolate Pie. I am not a fan of pumpkin and Yes, I have tried it (lots of times). I just don't like it! My Aunt Jeannette makes this AMAZING Chocolate Pie for the holidays and so, now, I too have taken up her tradition! The Yams too have become something of a "signature dish" although I cannot claim rights to them. They were made by a ministerial intern at our church a few years back and they are affectionatly reffered to as "John's Yams" in that circle. Apprently, my brother-in-law Matt just calls them INCREDIBLE. I admit, I have to agree!

Yams are something that I have detested since the first day that my mother scooped up a spoonful from a jar of Gerber's and placed it lovingly into my mouth, only to have it spewed back at her in a mud gyser like fashion! They are simply put, "Gross". However, the year that John made them at our church, I went through the buffet line and found them plopped onto my plate. Of course, I would not eat THOSE, I thought to myself. But, they did have this yummy looking topping made of pecans and brown sugar, so I picked at that a little and when some of the yam came with it, I realized that THIS was no ordinary yam dish! THIS was delicious! I procured the recipie and decided to make them for the holidays. They have been a hit ever since. I will admit that I make mine a bit thinner in the yam department and a bit thicker in the topping, but hey.... they are good!

The Chocolate Pie has been known to dissapear mysteriously from the fridge during the course of the Thanksgiving Day and my Aunt usually makes 6 or so, just to cover that problem. My cousin Laura and I sat gabbing in the motorhome one year and served ourselves a slice, and then a second. Eventually, Laura got up, grabbed the tin and some forks and we finished off an ENTIRE pie. We played dumb when questioned about the missing pie, but I suspect that my aunt figured it out by the chocolate at the corners of our mouths and the bloated, rather green look on our faces! Chocolate Pie also makes a wonderful breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, just serve with a glass of milk!

Thanksgiving was full of activity, with 5 kids running around! Well, Maddie just kind of scoots right now... We did sand paintings, and playdough and the big kids played with Star Wars figures from Andy and Matt's childhood. Andy got a chance to golf with his brother, the boys played Wii, we went to the movies, we bought a Christmas tree, we watched a movie at home -curled up on the couch enjoying fire, we played in the park, took family photos and had a second dinner together! On Sunday, after church, my Aunt Marie came over and we made Christmas Cookies! We decorated until sundown and now have a nice stash of cookies put away in our freezers! Ella even made her very first cookie! It was busy and lots of fun!

Here are the recipies for those two dishes, I hope that you try them and enjoy them as much as we do! ( I would have taken pictures of the dishes, but they were gobbled up pretty quickly!)

Aunt Jeannette's Chocolate Pie

1 pre-baked pie crust
1 small cool whip

Cream together:
1 stick of salted butter
3/4 c. sugar

Add:
2 squares of melted unsweetened chocolate (not too hot, make sure it is cool)
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs - ONE at a time, beat for 5 minutes after each egg

Fold in:
1/2 container of cool whip
Pour into shell and refrigerate, serve with remaining cool whip.
(guard with your life...or hide in a closet with a fork and pie, take a napkin and enjoy!)


Pecan Yams
the original recipie made 12-15 servings, and I have cut that down to 6-8...feel free to increase!

Topping
1 1/2 c. pecans
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. butter
8 T. flour
Put all ingredients into food processor and pulse until even, crumbly consistency. Do not over process. Set aside. (you CAN use a blender for this, or chop nuts and then cut in butter)

Yams
32 oz. canned yams with liquid drained off (I think that the can really comes in a 28 oz? just get whatever is closest...it's ok to go a little over, or under)
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 t. vanilla
Put yams and milk in processor and blend until smooth. Add additional ingredients and mis until blended. It should resemble thick cake batter. Pour into ungreased 9x9 inch pan and spread topping over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned.

A Happy Dance

Ella did this silly little "Happy Sandwich Dance" and we thought that it might just brighten someones day, it brightened ours!

Clean Freaks

So, I know that what we do and how we act influences our children, but I am always surprised at what that REALLY looks like. A few months ago, I heard Ella banging around in her toy kitchen. She was slamming pots and pans down and stirring vigorously while mumbling to herself. Suddenly she turns to her baby doll, and says with a very harsh tone, "No! That is not 'asceptable'. You have time out!". She proceeds to slam her dolly into a chair and tells her to stay there. Next, Ella turns and grabs her vacuum cleaner and while erratically swishing it back and forth over the carpet she gripes, "I have to clean up this messy house!". "Ugh, Wow, Yeesh!", I think to myself. Is THAT what I look like? It made me think about what I teach, when I don't know that I am teaching. It is pretty funny, looking back at it and quite honestly, it could have been worse! She did not hit her baby and she did not use any curse words!

About a week ago, Ella came to me and said, "Momma, I cannot properly do my chores, if there is not a broom my size!". Now, this child has NOT been given the chore of sweeping, helping to make her bed, clear the table, pick up toys and put her clothes in the hamper, yes...sweep, no. Nonetheless, who can argue when a child asks for a pint sized broom, so...I bought a whole cleaning set. My kids went CRAZY! They saw it on my bed and BEGGED me to open it! They quickly filled the spray bottle with water and went off to clean EVERYTHING. Gavin discovered that water does not clean windows very well, so he asked for Windex. I obliged and he proceeded to clean ALL of the windows in the family room. AND...they look GOOD! Ella got her cloth and sprayed down everything that she could reach and wiped away more dirt than I care to admit was there. They made a huge clean spot on the kitchen floor and before I knew it, I was cleaning too. Not a bad thing, really, BUT it was 7:30 at night and there were dishes to do, bills to pay and LOTS of other Mommy jobs. Cleaning the kitchen floor, wiping up puddles of water and finsihing off the windows were NOT on my list. It turned into a cleaning frenzy and at the height of it, I heard myself say, "That is ENOUGH cleaning! I can't take it anymore! Turn in your tools and go take a bath!". I did snap some photos so that I have proof to show them that they once liked cleaning and helping mom! It was a bit crazy, but a lot fun!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was my birthday last week and I have now officially completed my 30's. Wow! This is my 40th year in this world! THAT is really hard to beleive! (The grey hairs have a way of making me a believer) My mom and stepdad took us out to dinner at Roadhouse Grill. The meal was o.k. but the kids were wild monkeys. Andy is the BEST husband ever and made me a cake called "Chocolate Indulgence". It was super, duper moist and yummy and REALLY chocolaty! It was almost like brownie batter, firmed up a bit. WOW! He also wrote an awesome poem for me, complete with photos. It was really touching, but he asked that I not post the entire thing on my blog. AND he bought me a copy of "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. (Check it out on the link below!) It is fantastic and I am loving it. I secretly want to stay home alone one day, curl up on the couch with a mug of cocoa and a roaring fire and read the whole thing in one afternoon. (well, it isn't a secret anymore!) I had lunch with my boss at Chili's.. yummy Chicken Fried Steak, and then she took me for our annual trip to See's Candy where I get to hand pick my own 1 pound box of chocolates! Yipeeeee! It was a great birthday and I am reminded of the love and blessings that surround me! Thank you.

My kids walk all over me

Enough said!

Trick or Treat

Yeah... it took me this long to get Halloween on the blog. Busy life...

We had a great time, even though this was our first year all alone. Andy's brother and family used to join us and last year we had a friend and her kids with us. We had Andy's mom, dad and gramma over for dinner which was really nice and then the kids changed into costumes (which I had only just finished up hours before!). The time change was pushed back this year and we didn't realize that it was getting late, but not getting dark. We didn't head out until 6:30 (usually 5:30) and that put us home pretty late too! Andy's dad joined us for the walk around our neighborhood. It was really fun and we ran into a lot of people that we knew. We love where we live, it is sooooo 1950's. We stopped in so that Great Gramma could see the kids in costume and took some breaks to visit with neighbors along the way. When we got home there was just enough time to read a few spooky stories and have a caramel apple before going off to bed. The kids even had to wait to dump out their loot until the next day. They scored and had a great evening!

Princess Fantasy and Grand Adventure

One of the joys of living in Southern California is having access to LOTS of attractions, both natural and "man made". One of the grandest of these is of course, Disneyland! We have been blessed with the gift of passes during the last year and have used them a LOT. We are sad that they will be expiring soon, and we will not be renewing them this year, but the break will just make it all the more special when we return. We have been going as much as possible during the fall since it is our favorite time there. We also decided to spend a little quality and private time with each of the kids. They each planned out their own special day and went with JUST Mommy and Daddy for a day of fun.

Ella had a Princess Fantasy day. We went to the Coronation Ceremony, we shopped for princess dresses and accessories, we rode the carousel and visited Snow White on her adventure. The biggest treat that day was a special lunch where we were visited by 6 princesses right at our table. Ella loved the private time, special treatment and the princesses.

Gavin opted for a Day of Adventure. We went on the Jungle Cruise, Star Tours, and spent a great deal of time running around on Tom Sawyer's Island which has been recently revamped with a pirate theme and has some awesome special surprises. We had lunch at the Bengal Barbeque where all of your food is served on a stick. Gavin also had the opportunity to attend the Jedi Training Acadamy and fight Darth Vader, he is now officially a Padawan. Gavin really loved being able to just hang out with us and we loved being with him (and being stroller free).

Lots of fun... and more to be had, we will be making our last trip out in a week and plan to do a LONG day, catching as much Disney spirit as we can stand.