Turkey Cake

I used the same cake recipe I did to make Dora. I then used Betty Crocker’s Turkey Cake design.

Not bad, huh?

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!

After we voted, the kids and I rode our bikes down to our local Starbucks to get our free cup of coffee.  Could the morning have been any better??

So now it’s your turn.  Did you vote?  Are you voting absentee?  Do tell!

I voted. Did you?

Smiling Kids: BC giving the choke hold to eClaire one year ago.

BC and eCaire today. BC’s tooth is back! And eClaire has hair, lots of it!!

eClaire sporting her green dress and beads one year ago.

eClaire sporting her green jingle hair scrunchies and eating Hank & Willie’s delicious banana bread.

Saint Patrick’s Day

*(I added Kayla, my dog, per my brother’s comment.)

My loves

eClaire: AHHHHHHHH

BC: OK Santa, I know I wrote you, but I want some Lightning McQueen water shoes.…Ice Skates… NOT a Barbie Princess Doll!!  But you can give that to my sister.…..

eClaire: AHHHHHHHHHH

BC: And.…Also.….One more thing.…

eClaire: AHHHHHHHHHH

The Santa Torture

eClaire got a refurbished trike. (Basket, tassels, and bell added for the ‘girly effect’)

Santa brought eClaire a dolly this year for Christmas.

BC got a bike. It was SO much fun!

You just can’t beat a nice 72º Christmas in San Diego!

Hubby and I really enjoy playing Santa!

The perks are great!!

Merry Christmas

This is NOT our Christmas Tree.

Nope, neither is this one!

You see, last year we went and cut down our own tree. We loved the experience. We decided that this would be our family’s tradition.

Then Hubby had surgery on his arm. And the whole ‘let’s saw down a tree and throw it on top of our man-van’ idea went out the window. So our family headed to our local Home Depot yesterday to pick out our own small 3–4 foot tall tree.

Hubby was feeling better so he came too.

His eyes got big.

Really big.

He needed a 6–7 foot tree.

We decided on the one pictured above. It was the one! Beautiful, full, no holes. Perfect.

Now, step two. How do we get it home?

We decided that I could bat my eyes and Hubby could flash his arm sling at the young guys at the front and maybe they would throw it on top of our man-van for us.

Our plan was devised, pictures documenting the tree hunt were taken and we began lugging this perfect tree up to the register.

BUT half way to the register, Hubby stopped.

He changed his mind. He decided that we should go this weekend to a tree farm after all to cut down that tree.

He had to go!

After much minimal good hearted griping on my part, we turned around and put the beautiful noble fur back with the others.

BC and eClaire were so confused.

“Change of plans guys!! You get to pick out a potted Christmas tree!! Find the perfect one! GO!” (what the kids didn’t know is that the ‘potted Christmas tree’ was really a rosemary bush shaped like a tree! shhh don’t tell!)

So off BC and eClaire went on a hunt for the new perfect tree to bring home and decorate.

What do you think of the kids rosemary bush Christmas tree?

The Christmas Tree Hunt

Homemade stockings=Christmas.

A few years ago, I continued the tradition my mom began and took up knitting to make my family our own knit stockings using the same basic pattern my mom used.

Jump forward to last year around this time, one of my sister-in-laws took me up on my offer to make her family their own stockings. I ended up only getting one stocking done before Christmas. But I made a promise to finish the other three before the next Christmas… the one in just over a month

Jump forward to September. I had one of those, Oh Sh*t moments when I realized that I had three stockings to go and only three months to complete the project.

Making these stockings has been quite enjoyable. I’m so excited that Hubby’s sister’s family will have something handmade for them to use for every Christmas to come.

By Monday I’d finished the rest of the stockings and just needed to stitch the following names on the three stockings.

MOM

DAD

CADE

Nice, huh?

Notice anything wrong?

Anything?

Ohhhh, What?? I said CADE, but made COLE??

Do you think my SIL will notice my silly little mistake?? I mean what’s a few letters anyway?? I got the C and E correct. Just messed up on the A and the D…

You know what’s totally crazy? I wrote COLE on the stocking on MONDAY. MONDAY PEOPLE!! And I have shown this stocking to three family members aside from me who knew the baby’s name is CADE and it was only last night when another SIL of mine said, “COLE? Didn’t you mean CADE?”

To which I responded, “Sh*t. Sh*t! SH*T!!!” and then burst out in hysterical laughter. I couldn’t believe my mistake.

Last night I stayed up until very late and was forced to watch The Practice and Kitchen Nightmares in order to correct my mistake. And today I am finally done!

Only 8 months late, Happy last Christmas SIL!!

If you are just totally enamored by my knitting skillz and want the pattern I created for this stocking, just send me an email!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brain for sale…want a new one.

You wake up at 4:00 A.M. without really sleeping at all. (alarm is set for 5:15)

You drive to work and are sitting at your desk by 5:45 A.M.

Your husband calls and just holds up the phone so you can ‘experience with him’ the joys of raising two toddlers. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA x 2

When your husband calls to say that he’s on his way to Costco with the kids to buy you a Christmas gift, you realize that you didn’t just think, but said aloud, “Make sure you don’t buy me a bunch of junk this year for Christmas…” and then proceed to name off multiple things he’s bought for you in the past that you deemed “junk.”

You’re sitting in the staff room during lunch telling a story and realize everyone’s is looking at you sideways and it dawns on you that you arn’t actually speaking in coherent or complete sentences.

You realize that your day is only half over.

Ya, it’s been one of those days.

Just one of those days

No, that’s not her. You see as it turns out my darling, almost two year old, daughter recently decided that she has a mind of her own. Grrreat. She wouldn’t wear it. Period. No negotiation, no reasoning, she just. wouldn’t. put. it. on.

As my dad so kindly pointed out, if we can’t control her now, Lord only knows what we have in store down the road.

So anyways, eClaire was more than happy to be a firefighter along with her brother BC.

Halloween this year was a blast.  We can’t wait until next year!

Smiling Mom and Hubby…A little bit rock an roll and our firefighting children.

That darn dragon costume…