It's not over yet!

How was your Christmas? From what I can tell on FB, and from actually talking to people everybody has had a good one. Our's was fantastic!



I was spoiled beyond all belief. In Addition to Tim adding the 2 bands to my wedding Ring, he also got me a Bulova Watch, and 2 big Costco size boxes of French Truffles. I felt like Tim got the short end of the stick because all I got for him was The Bourne Identity and another Nun chuck for the Wii. However that Nun chuck will come in handy since he also got Donkey Kong from my parents, and we can now play it together :)

The girls received SO much, I doubt I can list it all. But I am VERY proud of the presents we got them. They got talking Woody and Jessie dolls from Toy Story. We were so excited about their gifts, that some of our other friends got us some pretty special presents. Tim got a talking Buzz, and I got the COOLEST Rex I have EVER seen!!!! I now have a mission to get all the Toy story gang. High on my list is Slink, Ham, the Potato Heads (and it HAS to be the Toy story ones), and the Pizza Planet Aliens. I'd love to get a Bullseye, but I'm having trouble locating the kind I REALLY want, so we'll see.

I don't feel like my Christmas will end until late January. On January 11th we're all flying down to visit my family!!! I haven't seen my parents in 2 years! It occurred to me the last time they saw Nicole she wasn't walking, wasn't talking, and was incredibly bald. She now has quite the personality, and some hair.

Our next big thing though is West of Paris on New years Eve! I am VERY excited, and just hoping that I can finish all the food put in front of me! I love getting all dressed up (yes, I go to West of Paris somewhat Formal). We are also hoping to have the girls spend the night with their Aunts, so that Tim and I can properly recover from our food coma.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Christmas!!

We have officially decorated our little apartment for Christmas. I love it! 

As much as I look forward to one day owning a house, I love that our apartment is perfect for the Charlie Brown Christmas trees. I'll miss them when we can accommodate HUGE trees.

I forgot to get more wall hooks for our stockings, and the girls kept playing with them so I used Thumbtacks and made them our window decorations. 

I also keep slacking on the Advent Calender. So for the 4th year in a row, Santa is counting down the days for us. 

I tried a new candy last night. They are Peanut butter Fudge Drops. Not very pretty...but I've eaten 4 today. They are quite delicious.

I'm REALLY excited about Christmas this year. It's fun that the girls are really into it. Riley even told me that she wants us to make a cake and put candles in it, since it's Jesus birthday. I love my little girl.

Happy Thanksgiving

We just had our first Thanksgiving in our apartment. We hosted, and split the menu with friends. It was a grand afternoon and evening filled with Turkey, Ham, Cranberry sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Bean casserole, Broccoli and cheese, Rolls, Pistachio Salad, Deviled Eggs, with a variety of Olives, cheese, baguettes, pickles, and baby Tomatoes. Wine and beer. Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Ice cream, freshly whipped Cream, coffee and Eggnog. My apartment was filled with laughter and love, and it was almost overwhelming in one of the best ways. There are many things I am thankful for...but 2 things that I normally wouldn't think of is 1-having a new windshield, and 2-  that we got home soon enough for me to see my keys in the parking lot before they were buried in the snow. I am currently waiting for Midnight to see if I can get the girls Christmas Present off the Walmart website for less, because I know I'm not making it to Walmart early, and I have no faith in them having enough Toy Story dolls stocked. I will still have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, I'm determined to get a good chunk of my Christmas shopping done.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! :)

Gotta keep going!

I'm sick. I can't remember the last time I had a real cold. I've often had that "inkling" that I was getting sick, but it was always gone the next day. Not this time. I've got the runny nose, congestion, head feeling like it will explode, and no relief with decongestants and antihistamines. What makes it more fun is that it happened just a few days before we have friends over for Thanksgiving. So I can't just lay around and do nothing, I HAVE to clean. I was going to call in some reinforcements, but the crazy snow yesterday has prevented them from coming today. But you know, it's an ok thing. I had a nice list ready on Sunday, specifying what I would do on each day this week to prevent me from going in total overload. And I'm getting it done! All that's left for today is to vacuum the living room, and that's it! I'm finished! Leaves the bathroom for tomorrow (Which Tim prefers to do anyway...did I marry the greatest guy or what!?!?!?) and some minor cooking. I love that a little organization can make sick days that much better! Now to get well before Turkey day (colds tend to take away my appetite, and I want to have a full one on Thursday), and Black Friday!

Ready yet?

So are you ready for the holidays yet? Oh Thanksgiving I'm not worried about at all. We're spending it with some friends, splitting up the menu, and most everything I plan on making I've made many times before, so I know it will be alright.

Christmas on the other hand....yea....we have a ways to go there :) Nicole however, seems totally ready for the holidays.

Still not there

Tonight after I put the girls down the bed I began my usual "lets straighten this place up so I'm not set into a depression first thing in the morning". And of course, just as I was hitting a rhythm I hear "Mom!!" Once again, my children needed a drink at bedtime. I give in because, to be perfectly honest, I never think to give them one BEFORE bed. Instead of a quick drink I took the easy route and tossed them their sippy cups. They were only halfway full anyways. As soon as I head out of the room I hear Riley again "Mom!!". I go back in there and she says "There is juice in here". My initial reaction is annoyance. Wouldn't you think my child would be happy for her drink? The next thing she said hit me hard "I need water because you said we can't have juice in bed". I emptied the juice from her cup, put fresh water in there, gave it back, and thanked her for telling me she needed water instead. I then proceeded to the living room to cry. I hate that my first reaction to my child wasn't one with an open and loving heart. 4 years, 2 kids, and I still have so much to learn. Thank you Lord for my children, who often show me in the most humbling ways what I need to work on.

Computerless

Wednesday afternoon our computer got sick. Tim took it to EMSI on Thursday morning, hoping one of the guys here could fix it for us, they can, but it won't be ready until next week.

Not having a computer definitely has it's up's and down's.

The downs, I'm not able to keep up with my family on FB, a lot of the recipes I like are still online, and Tim and I aren't able to watch Chuck.

The up's, this has caused me to realize exactly how much time I was wasting. I've been keeping the apartment clean, I did 4 loads of laundry yesterday including folding, putting away, AND ironing. And as sad as it is to admit, I'm spending more time with my kids.

As a stay at home mom it's so easy to say "I just need a few minutes to myself", and to say it many times a day, and act on it. At least it is for me. I'm exhausted at the end of every day, no matter how much or how little seems to get done. And I always seem to think it's because I don't have enough time to "breathe". That's a very lame excuse. At least it was in my case (not for everybody, but DEFINITELY for me). No, it's because I was spending too much time focusing on "me".

Yesterday Riley really wanted me make "cakes" with her. I was in the middle of deep cleaning my room. I remembered reading something online once where a parent set a timer for 20 minutes, and told the child that when the timer went off they would set it again for 15 minutes and spend that entire time with them. When the timer went off again, it was time to clean more and they would once again set the timer. So I decided to give it a shot. It was easy to finish my room within the 20 minutes, and it was nice just sitting with Riley and having her serve me her circle cakes that she so carefully had assembled for me. That's how the next few hours went until the apartment was cleaned. The rest of the day was spent just being with them By the time the girls went down for the naps they had full love tanks, and I had a clean apartment, and truly time just for myself. The computer wasn't used at any point to keep my girls happy, it was all me.  It occurred to me how often I not only used the computer to entertain myself, but the girls as well. It's embarrassing, but the truth.

I find that I am loving our new schedule. The girls are happier, I'm happier. Now I'm not saying that I won't be happy when our computer is returned home (I'm currently at EMSI with Tim and the girls), it's great for keeping up with my family and friends, great for new recipes, great for relaxation with my hubby. But I won't be turning it on until my checklist is complete, and I've had some good 1 on 1 time with each of my girls.

Walmart Super Center

I had every intention of going to the new Pullman Walmart Super center yesterday, but it was just a bad day. My kids are still sick, and are only capable of one outing a day before completely falling apart, and getting my Mother in law a birthday present was our trip yesterday.

I finally made it out to Walmart today. I am so glad we went. It's been tough these past few weeks with the former Moscow Walmart not re-stocking their shelves. I pretty much refuse to buy Ziploc bags, foil, plastic wrap, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and any personal or medical items anywhere else but Walmart. It costs SO much more everywhere else. It was a sad day when I had to buy Walgreen brand shaving foam. That's right, foam! I haven't bought foam in YEARS!! I'm a strict gel kinda gal. Anyways, back to the new Walmart.

It's big, it's beautiful. The bathroom in the front of the store has a nice short sink and soap dispenser for small children (YES!!!), plus a family bathroom in the back (we didn't make it back there to that one) It also has the wonderful 2 seat carts with a full size basket. It's well organized (not once did I feel like "oh crap!"), and the employees were smiling and greeting throughout the entire store. Yes, I know it's only the second day, but I recognized quite a few employees from the Moscow Walmart, and they were always friendly anyways.

I have been a loyal Winco customer for the past 5 years. I've always loved their low prices, and the fact that they show the price per ounce. It may appear cheaper, but in reality...you're paying  more. Walmart is doing that. Some of my favorite finds I've been getting for months, and even years. The Great Value 64oz 94oz No sugar added Apple Juice is only $1.98, and they've had select Malt O Meal 44oz packages of cereal for $2.50 for a while now (that's about 5.7 cents an ounce. Far cheaper than anything at Winco, even the bulk stuff!) I even noticed today that the Great Value cereals are right about the same price as the Winco bulk ones. You may not get the same choices, but that's fine by me! Plus, their 27% ground beef was only $1.98!!!!  Pretty much everything I saw was either the same price, or LESS than Winco. And with No grocery tax in Washington, I'll be doing most of my grocery shopping there. There are a few things I may get just at Winco, but over all I was very very pleased with the Walmart prices.

I love the idea of getting everything done at once. I've always hated getting house and personal supplies at Walmart, then having to make a second trip to Winco. Since Tim and I are sharing a car, it's not like I can up and go whenever I please. There are a few days a week where I just don't have transportation, and that's fine. Those are great laundry and cleaning days! But the few days I have the car, I'd like to be able to use at least one of them to take the girls to do something fun. Because errands, and fun trips just don't happen in the same day. We get way too tired (ok, I get too tired).

Moscow, you really lost out by not allowing a Super Walmart here. Otto's has already closed, Walmart had nothing to do with that. As a mother of 2 small kidlets, one shopping trip makes much more sense than two.

Dinner: Potato soup and Breadsticks.

I'm a big fan of buying those 10 lb bags of potatoes at Winco. You can't really get a better deal for 2 bucks (at least I think it's 2 bucks...my brain is a bit fuzzy this morning). The problem I've had in the past is finding ways to use them all up before they go bad. Well, thankfully Fall is here! Hooray for cool weather, the perfect excuse to make massive amounts of different types of soup with those potatoes. I haven't been using a recipe, mostly because I don't have everything on hand that I need for that particular recipe. So I've just been winging it. I do believe that last night was my greatest creation yet. I ended up with a yummy, cheesy, potato soup which I served with Breadsticks (also very yummy). The soup consisted of the following.

5 Potatoes, cut into a bit less than 1 inch chunks.
2 Carrots, cut up.
Just a bit of chopped onion
About 2 1/4 cup of Chicken broth.
Milk
Cheese
1-2 TBSP of flour.

I cooked my veggies in the chicken broth until tender, and grated the cheese and left it sitting out while the veggies were cooking. Letting your cheese get closer to Room temperature before adding it to your soup will get rid of that grainy texture a lot of cheese soups have. I probably had about a cup of cheese. Once the veggies were done cooking I added my milk. I honestly have no clue how much I added, just enough to make it soupy and the right color (for me). Then I added my cheese and stirred until it melted. Take a bit of the broth out after that, place it in a separate bowl, and whisk in the flour until smooth. Add that to the rest of the pot, it was a great thickness for me. And yes, I'm kinda guessing on the flour amount...like I said..I just wing it these days.

The breadsticks made me very happy.

1 recipe Pizza dough
Olive oil
Parmasan cheese
Oregano
Salt
Garlic Powder

Prepare pizza dough, and roll it out. Brush with Olive Oil, and top with your favorite toppings. Once again, I didn't measure. Just kinda sprinkled to my hearts delight :) I ended up cutting them in 1 in. strips with my pizza roller, and placing them on a greased cookie sheet. They stretched during the transfer from my counter to the sheet, then looking funky as I smooshed them to fit in my sheet. So I think next time I'll probably press the dough into the pan, or just roll it out on my pizza stone, and cut it while it's on there. Anyways, bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. They looked funny, but tasted yummy!

I had pictures of all this, but my camera met a sad end last night after being dropped on the floor by a child. Oh well, I wanted a new one anyways ;)

Comfort Clothes

When I was 12, my parents moved out into the middle of nowhere. It took us 30 minutes to get to "town", and about 10 to get to the closest gas station (which happened to be our Saturday treat). Not long after we moved though, my Grandma built a house right next door to ours. I LOVED having Grandma next door. She dedicated the upstairs of her house to us kids. It had a TV and the nintendo system. A bunch of games, toys, a small air hockey table, and the COOLEST outfits from the 70's.


One of my favorite things though, was Grandmas closet. That's where she kept her jewelry boxes (she had a nice walk in closet), and I could sit there for hours just staring at her stuff. She had rings, earrings, necklaces, pins...they were all so pretty.

One day, when I was looking through her stuff Grandma was cleaning out her chest of drawers in her bedroom. She asked me to come in, she had something she wanted to show me. It was a purple, cable knit sweater that belonged to my Great Grandmother. Great Grandma passed away when I was 8, on Christmas day. I loved her so much, and the rest of my life has been spent loving anything that was connected to her. Grandma gave me that sweater, probably 11 years ago, and I pulled it out for the first time this year today.

 I've noticed over the years that this purple sweater has been a huge comfort item for me, and it gives a warm fuzzy feeling inside and out whenever I wear it. It reminds me of my Great Grandmother, and Grandmother who have been through so much and never lost their faith in Christ. As a young child it never occurred to me that my Great Grandmother was so ill, she still had a smile on her face and time to play Go-Fish with me.

There is a lot going on right now, and it's good for me to have this reminder. I'm not sure how old this sweater is, I can tell that it's thinned out a bit the past
 11 years, it's still thick enough that you can't see through it though. How many New sweaters can have that said about them? :)

So here we go....

I often find myself wanting to say more than just your average facebook status...and for some reason doing the notes annoys me. Can't explain it...just how it is. So, this will be my attempt to write whatever comes up in my head. Whether it be whats for dinner, a new cleaning strategy, or something crazy my kids are doing. Who knows, perhaps I'll have the occasional cool thought :) Anyway, bear with me...my blogs in the past have been total duds so I'm hoping maybe by now I've matured enough to make one worth reading.