Two More Gifts Done!

Well, last night I completed my Mom's wrist warmers. (This pattern on Rav.) I didn't do the shell because I'm making these for her to wear at work, and I figured it would be irritating to type all day with rufflies. I am very excited to make myself a pair if and when I get all of my gifts done!

I also finished Ari's VW Hat. (This pattern on Rav.) I've only got Melodie's left to do, then I'm done with the VW hats!

7 things

I was tagged by Lauria, Laux and Diana! I've got a head cold, so I'm going to stick with the 7.

The Rules
1) Link to your tagger and list all these rules in your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs
4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

1. I'm terrified of the dark.
2. I've got a green belt blue tip in Tae Kwon Do.
3. I cannot say the word "Clinton" properly.
4. I'm a very good target shooter.
5. I've been crocheting and knitting garter stitch since I was 4 and sewing since I was 7, but I just learned how to purl about 1 year ago.
6. I LOVE everything Star Wars.
7. My favorite soup is Campbell's Condensed Meatball Soup, and I dearly miss it and wish they would bring it back! I even went so far as to email them about it.

I tagged Jeannie I was going to tag more people, but they were all already tagged!

Yes Melodie, there is a Santa Claus.....

Yes Melodie, there is a Santa Claus.....
So, we have quite the dilemma this year. Melodie is in her 3rd/4th gifted class. She is the youngest one in her class. She is with some kids who are 10 or exceptionally close to it all day long. Should we, or should we not, tell her about Santa?

When I was a little girl, I believed until I was in 5th grade. I was relentlessly made fun of, but I believed with all my heart. I even knew I saw him one year. Apparently, when my dad was about 5 or 6, one of his older cousins outed the man in red, and my dad was devastated, and he didn't want that to happen to me. So, they let me get picked on. I don't want Melodie to be picked on. She has enough going for the being picked on thing on her own, regardless of believing in a fat guy in a red suit who brings presents to millions of kids in 12 hours.

Dan's afraid she'll ruin it for the little kids. Stealth and discretion are not Melodie's strong points. I don't want her to get made fun of. I say we at least get her through this Christmas. Next year, I'm on the fence. She'll be the fourth grader. I'm very tempted to let it slide then, too. In 5th grade, she'll go to middle school, and I'm thinking we should wait until then to tell her. I'm sure Ari will have figured it out by then. (She's already started with the questions....her and her little analytical mind.) And, I know they wouldn't want to make the boys sad, so I think they might be able to keep it a secret by then.

So, who got all their Christmas shopping done yesterday? I stayed home. I'm doing pretty good getting stuff, or I at least know what I want to get. It's all a matter of having the $$$ or not.

And, for all of you wondering about me being pagan and the Christmas references, we celebrate both. As I said, Melodie has enough going against her fitting in as it is. (We do encourage our kids to be free thinkers and individuals, and they are, but there's that fine line being an individual and being an outcast, and we try to pull her back from the edge!!) Anyway, we celebrate Winter Solstice as more of a religious day, and Christmas as more of an eat cookies, open presents, play games, and watch movies family fun kind of day, purely secular.

Back to the old grind

Well, we had a nice day yesterday. It took FOR-EV-ER to bake a 20 pound turkey, but god was it good! Dan outdid himself. Poor little Ari had the stomach flu. What a crappy day for the stomach flu! She's doing better today, though. Charlie had a blast. He now apparently loves sweet potatoes, especially mixed with marshmallows, brown sugar, and cinnamon. He also had some turkey, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and green bean casserole!

Dan battled the crowds for me this morning and picked up a few of the kids presents. (He has to get up at 4 AM every day for work anyway...this kept him on schedule!) He got Ari's Easy Bake Oven, which I am SO excited about. She said she wants to be a chef when she grows up. She helped me saute the veggies for my stuffing yesterday. She's a good helper in the kitchen.

Well, that's about all for me for today. I'm still trying to work. Tomorrow, we're going to bake cookies with my mom!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, today is obviously Thanksgiving. I've got to work, but we're still going to have a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner! Dan is a HUGE help on holidays. He takes care of alot of the cooking, or at least the watching. I get everything together, and he tends it. He also does all turkey washing and tending, and ham marinating on Christmas and Easter!!

Today is also my grandma's birthday! I'm going to hopefully get her a cake baked. My grandpa never remembers her birthday, and even when he does, I'm sure he doesn't get her a cake! So, I'm going to have the kids help make her one.

This evening, we will watch Christmas movies and put together a gingerbread house! (Our Thanksgiving tradition!)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Brownie Cookies Recipe

Yesterday was really fun. The girls had a blast. Charlie munched some pancakes. One of the head mothers of the PTA group gave Atley a big plate of sausage links to bring home. He was so excited! The girls were excited to take in the pilgrim hat cookies we made Monday night to share with their classes.

Today, we're going to Mcdonald's with my grandparents. Thank goodness work is slow holiday weeks. (Even though it sucks because this work week will be on my last check we get before Christmas because my checks are held.) :0(

Here is the recipe for the Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies I made the other night: (even one of the little boys in Melodie's class asked for the recipe!)

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:
• 1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 can Pillsbury® Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Directions:
1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg in medium bowl 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky).
2. DROP dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies; smooth edge of each to form round cookie.
3. MIX powdered sugar and peanut butter in small bowl with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.
4. BAKE 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.
5. SPREAD thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.
High Altitude (above 3500 ft.):
1. FLATTEN cookies slightly before baking. Bake at 350° F for 11 to 15 minutes.
Yield: 24 cookies

There's no place like home for the holidays

We stay home for the holidays. It's too hard to get (now) 4 kids to go anywhere and be away all day, especially with a baby. For the last 5 or 6 years or so, we've been staying home for all of the holidays. If people want to see us, they are more than welcome to stop over, but other than that, we stay at home. (Well, for Easter we usually try to go to a park or somewhere like that.) Thanksgiving, we will be eating at home, but it's my grandma's birthday, so we'll go see her in the evening. Plus, I usually have to work on holidays. That's the crappy thing about working at home. If it's not a Tuesday or Saturday, I usually have to work it. We went shopping yesterday for our Thanksgiving groceries (before my mom brought the kids home.) I've got a couple of things to pick up at the store down the street, and I'm still hoping to take Charlie to get his picture taken tomorrow, but sadly the vest will not be done. And, I'm probably going to take a picture at home of everyone and get prints made, so I don't have to worry about send out picture time at Walmart.

We're just homebodies, and besides, what kid wants to go all over hell all day long? I'm an only child, and my BIL and SIL have no kids, so it's not like they have cousins to play with. My dad said how horrible my mom's family was for always having get togethers on the holidays and how it was disrespectful to him (he's got issues, and thank god they're divorced now, so I only have to put up with his crap when I feel like it.) I was never so glad to get that email from him, though. See, he always gives me grief because we don't go over there for holiday dinners. When he emailed that, I said exactly, that's why we don't go anywhere. We want the kids to have fun. It's supposed to be special and fun for THEM. He let it drop then. (Sorry about the dad rant, but I'm probably going to have to see him Thursday at my grandma's....grrrr)

Cold, Cold, Cold

It's still SO cold outside! Last night was fun. Only one of my friends came back, and she kind of had to because we rode together and Dan and her husband went out together, so we had alot of cookies to eat! (I made brownie cookies.) Charlie had his first French fries. He LOVED them! Other people in the restaurant went out of their way to walk over and see the baby.

The kids had fun at my mom's. She took them out to Bob Evans for dinner, and they went to see "Bolt." They are off the wall right now. I just made them all sit down for silent reading time.

I am so tired. I was up way too late last night, and I have to get up extra early Tuesday to go in for the girls' pancake breakfast at school. Why do I volunteer for these things!?!

Parade Day!

Today is the annual Holiday Parade for our small town. We're going with my mom, and we will sit in Wendy's and eat yummy food and drink warm hot chocolate (the only day of the year they serve it.) Then, the children will beg, now that they're old enough to realize what's going on, and we will go outside to watch the end of the parade and get useless trinkets and unnecessary candy. This year, I will know that the children will want to go outside, and they (and I) will have warm coats, gloves, hats, and scarves so we will not freeze like we did last year. Oh, and bags. I'm still digging candy out of my coat pockets!

After the parade, my mom will take the big children to her house. She will do arts and crafts with them and make them whatever food they want because she is their personal short order cook (or microwaver...mom hates to cook.)

Then, I will go to my Girls Night Out!!!!!!!!!! Charlie will come, but I will bring him food and toys, and he will sit and eat and play and be happy, and I will be out of the house for a few hours! I may even invite the girls back to my place afterwards, if I can banish Dan to the garage and get the house cleaned in time. Maybe, I will even make a pan of brownies for us to eat.

It's still snowing

It's coming down again. We really haven't gotten more than a dusting here. It keeps falling and melting. Just about an hour north of us, they've got a foot in some places. Gotta love Ohio! We always say, if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it'll change.

Today is wear a shirt with words to read on it. (They're doing special days for book fair week.) Ari is wearing her Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix shirt! For any of you who don't know, Ari is a HUGE HP fan. She prefers to be called Hermione. Since she was about 3 1/2, she has been all about Harry. We are very sad we don't get to go to a movie opening night at midnight tonight! (Yes, I was going to take her and keep her out of school the next day. I know, I'm a bad mom.) Alas, we have to wait until July. :0( At least we get to go for our birthdays again. (For the OOTP, Dan and I shipped the other kids off to my mom's and took Ari out for a nice dinner and to see OOTP with just us. Her birthday is about a week and a half after mine, so we went as a combined treat for the 2 of us.) Plus, I've been trying to read her the books to get her caught up on everything, and to prepare her for sad things that happen at the end of #6. (I almost wrote the spoiler, but then it dawned on me that some people, if it's really possible, might not have read HP and the HBP. Oh, the blasphemy!)

I got a little more done on the vest last night. Small steps. I'm hoping to have it done by Tuesday so I can at least take Charlie for first Christmas pictures.

Today is also conference day at school. Of course, I wrote down the times of the conferences on my calendar....but not whose teacher was at what time! Ah well, you live, you learn. So, it looks like I have to call the secretary today. This is my first year for having to go to 2 conferences. Next year, I'll know better for 3!!

Picture Day

Yup, it's picture day, again. Today is holiday picture day. The girls dutifully donned their Christmas sweaters. Of course, the great big huge bright blue basket of hair implements is gone, so no one got any bows. Don't ask me where the basket went! We also had a slightly easier time of getting ready this morning. Everyone's hair was washed....with actual shampoo....this time! Melodie was still not happy, though. Apparently, she had no hot water, and was very unhappy. We got to school right on time, though!

Last time I had been outside, Dan hadn't put the seats back up in the Blazer after he got the mattress. I went outside this morning, cranky, because I just knew I had to put everything back....and to my surprise, not only were the seats up, but this time all the seat belts were properly through, and he even put the baby seat back in! Isn't it funny, how after kids, the dumbest things make your husband seem like the sexiest man alive? To me, that was more romantic than just about anything else. (The single, long stem red rose and half pound of my favorite chocolates he picked up 2 Fridays ago and surprised me with also melted my heart. I asked him why, and he said because I deserved it, and he felt bad because we didn't do anything for Sweetest Day!)

I actually, finally, am almost done with the sweater sleeve! I've got 1/2 an inch to do in st st, then I'll start the raglan shaping, then I can attach it, and I'll be done! Hopefully, tonight. I think I'm going to crochet the boys' vests. It will go so much quicker, and I found a cute sweater pattern in an old pamphlet I dug out, so I think I'm going to make that without the sleeves, and call it a day.

Here is a picture of our snow today. It's not much, but it's our first sticking snow of the year!

It's Snowing Again!

Yup, again. And, it's supposed to do it most of the week! It's even starting to stick a little bit!! The kids were so excited this morning. I love seeing the world through my kids' eyes. It really helps put things in perspective for me and to take a step back and look and see, maybe things aren't really as bad as I always make them out to be.

Atley was very excited this morning. He got a big boy bed last night. Charlie has been sleeping in a port-a-crib since he outgrew the bassinet. He was only about 4 inches off the floor, and with him being sick, I was getting worried. Atley had a little toddler's bed, which had the crib mattress in it, which is why we didn't want to get another crib mattress. For just a little more, we could have a regular mattress. Well, my mom bought Atley a mattress set yesterday. She had gotten the girls their bunk beds, too. So, last night we set up his bed. It's just a frame with a mattress set right now because we eventually plan on getting the boys bunk beds, too, but he was so happy! I picked him up a set of Spiderman sheets. Tuesday, we're going to get him a big boy pillow, because he has always used toddler pillows before. Then, Dan put the crib together last night. We were missing 4 locking nuts. So, he improvised, made it even more secure than it was, and Charlie got himself a new bed, too! He seemed so excited. He was laying on our bed watching so I could help Dan, and he smiled and kicked and cooed looking at it the whole time. He was nice and warm and seemed to sleep better, too. I'll get pictures up of the both of them later.

I FINALLY made some progress on the sleeve! Not much, mind you, but some. I decided Atley is small enough, he won't recognize a knit sleeve still OTN as part of his finished sweater, so I got it out yesterday afternoon while the kids were playing and Dan was fetching mattresses. It's about half way done. If I can get some good work done today, I'm hoping to be able to work on the sleeve tonight and finish it up!

The mattress purchasing was a trip in itself. I had seen advertised that this one place had twin mattresses for $39 a piece. So, I sent Dan, with the intention of just getting the mattress since you can't use box springs on bunk beds for whenever we get those. Well, it was $39 a piece...if you bought the mattress, box springs, and bed frame, but you couldn't buy them separately at all. Then, I called around some more. Sears had a 50% off mattress sale. With the 50% off, their cheapest mattress (not box springs too, just mattress) was $169!!! So, I finally got ahold of a different mattress store, who said they had the mattress and box spring set for $99, and I asked how late they were open, the whole schpiel. (By this time, after Dan understood my intentions with the just the mattress thing, he informed me the box springs were necessary.) So, he went to the much closer mattress store, and they told him they only had 1 in stock and it was reserved!!!!! Well, he gave them our sob story about the baby being sick and cold on the floor, etc., and apparently the lady felt so bad, she sold it to him!! For once, luck was finally on our side. (Though I do feel bad if the other people ever showed up last night to get it, though he did go about 2 hours before close.)

We also went to a couple of craft shows yesterday. The one especially was really crappy. The other was nice. There were some cute crocheted ponchos. The lady tried to sell them to me. I really just wanted to go to price how much people were selling things for. They also had a little rummage sale there, and I bought Atley a little tikes gas pump for his cozy coupe. He was so excited. I also got each of the kids a chocolate sucker. I LOVE those things. They all worked hard raking leaves Friday after school, so that was their treat. I'll try to post pictures of that later, too. I got a good one of Ari and Atley mid air while jumping into a pile of leaves with Ari's hair flying!

Full Moon

Well, I just saw on the calendar that tonight is a full moon. I wonder if that's why Melodie has been in prime form again lately? Ari said she got a tardy slip yesterday. I don't know whether to believe her or not. She did walk all the way to the back door, but her class had gotten inside before she got there, and the door was locked, so she had to go all the way back to the front. I saw her when I was walking Melodie across. Melodie said she didn't get one, and I don't see how Ari could have and Melodie not. I'm going to talk to the teacher about it at conferences next week, because poor little Ari was definitely on time. She came home with a hole in her tights. This is the second pair this week!

Well, I am NEVER going to get my sweater or vests done, and I'm at a loss of what to do. I fell asleep on the couch AGAIN last night! This time, I didn't even get Atley in bed first. He fell asleep on my legs. So, another night of no progress on anything yarn related!

Charlie LOVED the squash baby food. I didn't get the peas done last night. He gobbled up the squash, though! I was so proud of myself. I always wanted to make the other kids' baby food, but never did it.

Last night my grandma called me in the evening. My heart dropped because of the tone of her voice and the fact she was calling after 6. (After 4 is considered late to my grandparents. Calls after 5 are never for good reasons.) I was afraid she was calling to tell me something happened to my grandpa. He's got heart problems and last year he was diagnosed with skin cancer, but overall considering his age (he turned 80 this year), he's doing pretty good, but he's still no Jack Lalanne. Anyway, apparently his sister passed away yesterday. It was very unexpected. She is his younger sister. Also, she was in very good health. Her husband hasn't been doing well. He was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she was going strong. They think it was a brain aneurysm. I knew her very well because she lived right up the street from my grandparents growing up, but I wouldn't say we were close. We shared many differences of opinion, even as a small child. (She insulted my mom a few times to her face about being a working mother.) But, I'm still sad to hear of her passing. I guess my dad's cousin is just taking it horribly. Not only did his mother unexpectedly die, but he had to put his dad in a nursing home because he and his wife still work and can't take care of him, and he can't take care of himself. So, it looks like I'm going to have to try to get the boys to a funeral tomorrow, which I'm a little nervous about because Atley is funny about stuff like that. I mean, he is 4 after all, but you never know how certain things will affect him.