Christmas Cookies

I decided that I needed something to boost me into the holiday spirit so I had a cookie party. This is the first time I have ever made rolled and cut cookies.(I always take cupcakes to Nate's and El's parties) It was so much fun and the kids were so cute decorating the cookies. El made everyone she knew a cookie and then was expecting us to take the cookie to that person. She got a little upset when that did not happen. We will have to make more to go around the neighborhood. Nate was very precise in his cookie decorating. Afterwards we went over to our good friends Kelly and Danae's house for some homemade stew! Thanks Kelly, he even sent some home with us. Then later Danae and I went to see Blindside, great movie!! I will even admit I cried a little. Great friends +Great Day +Great Movie=Just what I needed!
Hard at work
Quality taste control!!Finished Product

Thanksgiving

What a wonderful time of the year. I love the holidays!!! We had a great thanksgiving weekend, decorated our house for Christmas and Travis and Casie had us over to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. Casie is an amazing cook and she did everything!!! I felt bad, but honestly every time I mentioned bringing anything she would say "really you guys just need to show up and eat." Two things I am pretty good at, showing up and eating! I of course forgot my camera. I always forget my camera, my poor kids are not going to have any documentation of events in their lives. I need help.

New Hardware!

Nate's glasses came today! I think he is a cutie but he is not showing much love for the glasses right now. He is very nervous about school tomorrow, he thinks everyone is going to make fun of him. I hope not, I know how mean kids can be though. I asked if he had any friends that wore glasses and he does have one...

Nate: yeah he wears glasses and everyone makes fun of him

Me: I sure hope you don't make fun of him
Nate: of course I don't make fun of him, he's my friend!!!!

Me: there you go, your friends won't make fun you

Nate: they probably will mom, you just don't know!

We are working on it, if you have any ideas on how to make this easier for Nate let me know.

funny moment the other day, Nate wanted to pack his lunch for school while I was getting myself and Ella ready, he did a good job and I told him to put his lunch box in his backpack so he would not forget it and he decided that he did not need to do that. Long story short he forgot is lunch box in the car and I took it to him at school. flash forward to the next week, driving to school and Nate says:

you were right mom I should have put my lunch box in my backpack. I did forget it. Thank you for bringing it to me at school that was awesome.

I said I know right because I am the best mom!

Nate says:

well you're not the best mom in the whole wide world but you make the top 5!

what???

Nate clarifies:

well to me and Ella you're the best mom but like in the whole world you are only in the top 5, I think your the best, but my friend Riley thinks his mom is the best and my other friend Houston thinks his mom is the best. Not all the moms can be number one, so even though you are the best to me, you're not the best to the world! But you are to me mom!

Nothing like having a six year old to keep your feet planted solidly on the ground!!!!!!:)

TGIF

Thursdays are my Fridays, and mostly Friday is my cleaning and errand day but since my wonderful husband has been cleaning the house for me this week I get to play! Yeah!!! Well I do have to do some laundry and grocery shopping and bank and post office runs but then I get to do this

one of my favorites on my list of things to do in the fall!! I might attempt to make some pumpkin seed brittle as well! Well have to see how ambitious I am feeling tomorrow.

Stop the mad please!

that is what I was told this morning as we were getting ready for the day. I was mad and maybe my voice was rising a bit but good lord why does it take so long to get out the door? It does not matter what time we get up, the last 5 min dash to the car is always so hectic and crazy!!!
Ella my sooo dramatic about clothes, hair, shoes what jacket she is going to wear, everything kid! She walks out of her bedroom wearing a surprisingly cute outfit( I can no longer pick out her clothes and most of the time what she wants to wear is, for a lack of a better word, hideous) and I make the mistake of telling her she looks cute. No that won't do she turns and goes back into her bedroom and changes. Hideous ensues!!! There is no time to change again, Nate's going to be late for school, I am going to be late for work, and I am embarrassed for Ella, who informed me that she did not want to be cute today, to been seen by her preschool teacher.
My blood pressure was up a bit and then Nate, Nate my easy going and laid back about everything kid, who never throws fits over clothes, wants to not wear his coat because he likes the cold and does not care if it is raining/snowing. I am now arguing with my six year old when my three year old says "stop the mad mom it's just a jacket"!!!!
I pray for patience!:)

Happy Halloween!

so Halloween week not the very best but we made it through! I had two sick kids, home from work and no school for a week!! Major stress over high temps and H1N1. We are now on the mend and all ok. Nate was really upset he missed his spelling test, his show n tell, two Halloween/birthday parties and his school harvest party. We did not do pumpkins and I was so tired from all the cleaning, disinfecting and laundry that I did not finish costumes. Luckily for them their fevers broke and were gone so they could still go trick or treating. We just went around the block but it was good enough for them! :)

Funny part of the evening: some friends came over to go trick or treating , they went around the block with us last year, and we have this house on our street that is done up like a mini spook house, the teenage son always dresses up like a werewolf and scares people as they go to the door to get candy. I think it's great fun but it does freak the kids out. So the majority of our little party say no way they are not going to go up to this house, Nate says I want candy but you have to go with me mom, Ella stays across the street with the rest of the gang. We walk up to the drive way and you can see the wolf slumped against some hay bales with his legs on the walk way to the door. Nate is rooted to the ground and then he finally says:

You scared me last year, I know who you are, you're not going to scare me so lay off!!

As we step over his legs he jerks them and Nate jumps about a mile. HA HA , I am a super mean mom because I think this is hilarious. Nate gets his candy and we walk back across the street where my friend is laughing, I think she is laughing about what happened with Nate but no she tells me Ella is standing there and was we walk up to the werewolf, she says

if that wolf does something to hurt my mom or my brother I am gonna kick it's butt!!

Ella our fierce protector all the way across the street.

Here are some of the pictures from Halloween, Nate was a knight ( I still have to upload those pics) and Ella was a princess of course.

Holy Cavities, Bad Mom!

So today Nate went to the dentist to get his cavities filled! That's right cavities, two to be exact. Apparently our flossing technique needs some work, ya know the whole we actually floss kind of technique! The Dr. wanted to do the gas thing, but Nate was a trooper and said he did not want to be gassed. He was awesome, bravely took the numbing shot, laid back and let the Dr. go to work, towards the end though he wanted out of that chair!! Patience it is a virtue.

Nate with is two missing teeth, food, and injury from the "pushing party" at school. it's the only picture I could get! Notice Ella trying to get in!

so I had to take her picture as well.

Pumpkin Doughnuts!

Nate's soccer and football is coming to an end. I will finally have time to update and get started on Halloween costumes!! This weekend Tim's aunt and uncle from Seattle stopped on their way to Vegas and aunt Cathy made some delicious pumpkin doughnuts on Sunday. Thought I would share a recipe! Enjoy!!!

Frosted Pumpkin Doughnuts Recipe Taste of Home Recipes

Shared via AddThis

Snow in October Not A FAN!!

I only like snow for Christmas!

Creamy Squash Soup Recipe

I may have mentioned, maybe once or twice how much I love the fall. One of the reasons is all the delicious food I get to make/eat!! Squash soup is one of my favs. Enjoy!



Creamy Squash Soup Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network: "Ingredients
2 pounds butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups diced onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 (13 3/4-ounce) cans chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light cream or heavy cream
Sour cream, for garnish
Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine squash, onion, carrots, broth and salt. Simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes. Puree soup in a blender or food processor with the butter. Whisk cream into soup. Serve in wide, shallow bowls with a dollop of sour cream, if desired."

Happy Fall!

Fall is my very favorite season. I love the warm days and chilly nights, snuggling up in blankets and drinking hot chocolate. I love football and soccer and breathing in the crisp air. I love harvesting and preserving, other people doing the harvesting and preserving not me! The super yummy squash soup my husband makes. Persimmon pudding and apple dumplings. I love making my gourmet carmel apple plates for friends and family. I love the leaves changing to all the beautiful hues of yellow, orange and red. I love pumpkin milkshakes, people who ever grew up with an Arctic Circle know what I am talking about, and hay rides. I love corn mazes, pumpkin patches, haunted houses and taking my kids out on Halloween.

I love, love, love the Fall.

Happy Fall everyone!

Whats been going on??

Well, I can not keep up with my blog! Too much going on and I just never seem to have the time to sit and write about it. Nate is now in 1st grade, and Ella in preschool. We have soccer, flag football and soon dance. Between all of that we work and then there is homework, chores and various other ongoings. I am tired but it is so much fun watching the kids grow. Every Friday night is family dinner and a movie night at home. The rule is one movie and both Nate and Ella have to agree on it, and the only candy is m&ms for in our popcorn.(so yummy for all you doubters try it I dare you!) I love this little tradition. We will probably have to change it to Saturday as the kids get older and Friday nights are for games or what ever but I feel like it is really important to our family. It is a great way to spend time and talk with our kids. For instance Nate is now questioning family dynamics. A little play friend that lives down the street has divorced parents as do many, myself included. He comes home one day after going to see if the little boy could play(he was told no that the boy was at his dad's for the weekend)and tells me that Tim and I could not break up because he just wouldn't like going from house to house! IF it were to happen, the "break up", he would live with me and visit Tim and he would do it but really,really not like it! So we can never, never break up! I really,really need a handbook or manual on how to respond to some of this stuff.

Ella's Camp Face

Love my Nate

Nate at Soccer

Happy 10 Years!!

Happy 10 year anniversary to us!!! Tim and I have been married for 10 years now! It seems as if we have been together forevvvver and yet at the same time I remember the first night we met like it was yesterday. . We did not plan anything and thought maybe we could get away with a spur of the moment weekend trip... ya know the kind that is the spontanous I think it would be fun if we just did this before we had kids and were able to do that, that kind. Somehow it just did not work out. :) I think I will have to start planning now for I am hoping that we take some big vacation on our 15th. Oh well it was a nice anniversary we just went out to dinner and had some much need alone time. Thanks Kelly and Danae. It was really good for us to revisit the past and why we fell in love and are still in love (really that is something that should be done everyday)!

I mean marriage is not always roses, there have been some pretty real down low moments that we have had to work through but I think it makes us appreciate even more what we have, a truly blessed life with two amazing beautiful kids!!!

Funny thing I was trying to find some pictures of when we first were dating and I realized that I did not have a digital camera back then. All our dating pictures are negatives in a box and I still need to scan them to a cd

Us 10 to 12 years ago.

12 years ago we had been dating a couple of months when this was taken.

This picture was actually taken six years ago in Paulsbo WA at Emily and Brad's wedding.I was going to post some wedding pictures but they are some of the ones I was talking about, still on negatives that I need to scan to a CD and how pathetically sad is it that the only pictures I have of us(Tim and I) together are from 6 to 12 years ago????? I need to work on that!

Holy Cow!

Where did the summer go? I just got on and realized that I have not been on here for over a month! Busy summer and some plain old lazy, I guess. So many things to cover that has happened since July 4th. I had to make a trip to the ER for a kidney infection. That took me out of commission for like a week and a half. I have never had a kidney infection before and I hope, hope I never get one again. It was so painful and completely wiped me out, Tim was super awesome taking care of me and the kids, handling everything while I was all drugged up and in bed. He was great. After I recovered I got to go on a girls get away. Some of my girlfriends and I went to Boise and had dinner at the melting pot and then went shopping the next day. So much fun!

At the end of July we took a family vacation to the Oregon coast with Tim's family. It was good to see everybody and we celebrated my nephews 1st birthday while we were there. Major shopping was done in Lincoln City at the outlet mall. I did all of Nate's back to school for little $$$. I love great deals and getting good stuff for fraction of cost! The coast has something for everyone. Tim, his brothers and dad were able to go out deep sea fishing and came back with some fantastic salmon. I'm not a big sea food lover and I actually liked the salmon. Vacationing on the coast is one of my favorite things to do, being on the beach, listening to the ocean, sooo relaxing! We always rent a house for the week and it really is nice to have the option of just doing what ever you want. Eating out, cooking, taking naps, stepping outside to walk on the beach, poking around the little coastal towns, everything is so wonderful. I highly recommend it to everyone. There are some great websites for renting beach houses, like bayshorerentals.com, oceanodyssey.com or VRBO.com. Start planning your next summer vacation. July and August are the best time to go.


Fun on the beach

My beautiful niece Anna and sister in law JennyThis hole was the most entertaining event on the beach for the girls.Shopping in Old Town Florence.Newport Aquarium

Baseball Over Please!

Nate just finished his first year of baseball (T-Ball) and all I have to say is thank goodness. It started out fun, quickly became not so much and finally it did not end soon enough. I like baseball probably just as much as the next person but come on, these are little 5 to 6 year olds not majors. It just got to be so annoying with all the parents constantly yelling at their kids. Teaching, coaching, I get that. Constructive criticism, at this point, maybe? but yelling at the kids because they did not make a certain play or they did not catch the ball? Whatever, the chances of making the big league is slim to zero so get over the fact your 5 year dropped a ball once in T-Ball!!!! WOW okay rant over!! Nate said he had a great time and loves it, can't wait until next year, I guess that is all that maters!

On to more important events like Nate had a birthday is now 6!! We had a party the weekend after his birthday. It was pretty low key, had some family and friends over, just went down to the neighborhood park and played, had cake, ya know usual birthday stuff. Then we went out to dinner with some good friends. Nate had a fun day. On his actual birthday he and I went to lunch and then a movie. He really, really wanted to see Transformers 2 but I dunno, I kind of wanted to see it first to find out how age appropriate it is. ( he has seen the 1st one but I fast fwd through all the stuff I don't think he needs to know about yet.) If anyone has seen it let me know!! anyway we went to Night of the Museum 2 and he liked that okay. Now he wants to see Ice Age 3 and Aliens in the Attic?? I love going to the movies with my kid.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!!!

Nate at TBallPartying with friends

Attitude!!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home! It was a little touch and go with a missed flight this morning, but we made it and now we are recouping. Texas was so much fun, it was great to see my Murphy clan, Tim was even serenaded by my uncles (Irish Rover)!! That was a fun night of shenanigans. And my two beautiful Aunts(Deb and Karen) made a special trip to take us out to lunch and then go see Papa Linams grave. They of course spoiled my kids with gifts and goodies. The whole time my kids were lovin life with the aunts! Anyway we were in Dallas for 5 days and we mostly just hung around the homestead and parked it poolside. There was an attempt to go the a Ranger/Blue Jay game but that was cancelled due to the severe thunder/lighting/tornado weather.(which Tim loved) The kids did not want to come home, we stayed our last night with my aunt Ellen who is the bestest! Nate and Ella just kept saying I don't want to leave, I wish we could live here forever. So even with all the weather and flight mishaps fun was defiantly had!!!!



This is what the kids wanted to do our whole vacation, swim, swim and swim some more.this is what El and I did our whole vacation, eat, eat and lay by the pool!!