jingle jingle....

well, Christmas 2011 has come and gone. we had a great christmas. nice and chill. our family parties were spread out during 3 days and it was awesome. you'd think the chubbers would have stayed on his nap schedule, but nope. gotta love the holiday hustle and bustle.

the annual bell ringing at grandma's house

us. don't we look excited???

the hubbers and i made marshmallow guns for all of our nieces and nephews for Christmas. it was so much fun. they all got in a big war after and it was fun to see the kids and adults playing together.

Santa believes in safety first and always - that's why he brought the hubbers a new ski helmet for Christmas.

the chubbers got snow clothes for his Christmas. now maybe he can go outside when he's at grandma's.

having some tea with Kate

guess who is a year and a half now? sheesh. i feel old*er.

me and my boy.

here's this week's recipe. i'm going to try this on New Year's - can't wait!!!
Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip - from melskitchencafe.com

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, light or regular, softened
Crackers, for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Pulse the cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped (alternately, you can do this task by hand). Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a covered bowl or tupperware and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to overnight) so the flavors have time to develop and the cranberries lose a bit of their tartness.
When ready to serve, spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture, spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese.
Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

a little Christmas cheer

this is one of my favorite shirts that the chubbers has right now.





last week we made gingerbread houses with the fam -













whitta kept singing "picture a stable in Judea...." funny girl.





the next few are of our house we made - this first pic is before i added a few additional touches




here you can see the "brick" proch i added. we needed a nice backyard for all the BBQ's our gingerbread people have.



here is the star of david that the hubbers put on our house. if you want to hear a funny story sometime - ask me about the star of david story.

Santa's little helper.

this is how we wrap presents at our house. roll the paper out on the kitchen floor, walk on it, and then wrap your presents.

how long has it been since you played the game "operation"? a loooooooooong time. but - i was able to beat the hubbers at a three game tie-breaker.

Being this close to Christmas, i figure i'm o.k. to send out our Christmas wishes to everyone.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

i-fer, i-fer, i-fer!

well, i never thought i'd be posting about something like this - so early in my son's life. i'm knew something like this would happen someday - just not when he was this young. thank goodness i came home when i did. i know that a BIG prayer of protection was on our home.

my son could have caused a fire last night.

i got home from work and went upstairs to change out of my work clothes.
it smelled funny in our bedroom - kind of smokey, kind of plastic-y.
i looked around and saw that the lamp on my nightstand was on - no big deal - the chubbers loves to play with it. it's a touch lamp so it turns on whenever you touch it. he LOVES to play with it cause it's so magical for someone his age.



well, bad for us - we don't always know when it's on. so he had been playing with it and he bends it down whenever he hits it. so it had been bent down and was so close to my alarm clock that it did this:






yep - the lightbulb was so hot next to the alarm clock that it melted right through to the circuit board. given enough time, i'm sure it would have started on fire.

we'll be replacing this lamp with a non-touch lamp. it'll make the chubbers mad - but it'll make me happy not having to worry about a fire hazard being within his reach.

the saddest part of this story - i've had that alarm clock for over 20 years.
not kidding.
i've had it longer than probably any other thing in my life.
except maybe my sense of humor.

this is the end of an era. they just don't make things like they used to. goodbye 1980's alarm clock - you've served me well.

moral of the story: NO ONE TOLD ME THAT BEING A PARENT WAS GOING TO BE SUCH A TRIP! i knew there were going to be unexpected things - but things like this?

and now - i'd like to give a HUGE shout-out to my babysitters - thank you for watching my son. i hope he doesn't burn down your house on accident.

the days go by -

"ma - is my coat too big?"

"how about now?"

"i love spending time with dad - he gives me chocolate"

"is it bath time?"

notice how our tree doesn't have anything on it? yep. we're smarter parents these days. we'll be decorating it very simply this year.

this week's recipe: toffee
i promise - you should make this. and then eat all of it.
it's so delicious.

1 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
boil on medium for 7 minutes - stirring constantly

pour into a pre-greased 9 x 9 glass pan
immediately put about a cup of chocolate chips on top and spread with a knife to spread it all over.

i'm going to go home and make this again.
i made it on saturday - and most of it is gone.
i promise - the hubbers and chubbers helped me eat it.
i just love it a lot more than they do.
:)

busy little elves

sorry for the hiatus - we've been busy the past few weeks.
it all started with our anniversary, then thanksgiving, then Festival.
and now it's all over.

sad story:
this is the floor of my car. no, that's not throw up. it's slush. or was slush.

i was being so careful and put it in ziplocks in a big bowl on the floor of my car to transport it. i didn't account for an idiot driver pulling out in front of me and me having to apply sudden pressure to my brakes.
i was not a happy camper.


the chubbers loves feeding himself. can you say bath time?

we went to see the lights with my family. it was a super cold night, but so fun to see the lights.



then we had Festival week.
it has come and gone again for another year.
and it was awesome.
the chubbers came to visit me a few times while i was working at the Festival. what's that on his back, you ask?

it is his new monkey friend - who just happens to have a leash attached to him, which is attached to the chubbers, which is awesome to use to keep him close in a crowded place.

hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving and are looking forward to the Christmas season. we will be decorating our Christmas tree this year with toys instead of anything that could be thrown or broken easily. we figure that way, the chubbers will just keep playing with his toys and throwing them around instead of ornaments. :)

1 +1 + 1 = awesome!

yes, i can count.
i'm counting the years we've been married and wondering how it has only been 3 - but seems like more than that. i guess we're having too much fun in life. :)
and - i can understand why - with this little guy around, there is never a dull moment.



see - the chubbers even enjoyed a slice of our anniversary cake.

happy anniversary hubbers - i sure do *heart* you!

the fun -

well, the hubber's birthday has come and gone for another year.
we had a nice, relaxing night at home with a scrumptious dinner, a movie, and then a HUGE banana split. we had a great night and everyone went to bed early, too.

guess who thinks that the stairs are his new toy?

"for reals, mom and dad? i'm supposed to be home in bed right now."

"o.k. fine - i'll smile for a picture"

our little gangster. he did this pose all on his own.

chillin with the homies

happy birthday 'ol man!