Santa Came to Town!!!

Saturday night was the annual Christmas light parade here in SJ.  Even though the wind was blowing really HARD and it was FREEZING we went.  Last year Conner and Josh got to ride in the SRP fire truck.  They decided they wanted to ride again so Grandpa made a few calls and they got their wish.  That left only Riley to brave the wind and cold to collect candy.  We parked in front of the grocery store and waited in the back of my expedition.  The wonderful candy distributors did not make my baby climb out in the cold to get his candy.  They brought the candy to him.  Let me tell you that is the only way to collect candy in the wind and cold. 

After the parade was over we went to Barth Hall and checked out all of the activities the chamber put on.  The boys all decorated a sugar cookie.  Riley and Conner sat and talked to SANTA.  (Josh was tooooo COOL) 

 

Riley told me before we got there he was NOT going to sit on Santa's lap, he wanted to stand next to him to tell him what he wants for Christmas.  When we got to the hall he walked up to Santa and climbed on his lap and then proceeded to list at least 6 things he wants.

 

Conner was a different story he said from the beginning he was going to sit on Santa's lap.  He jumped right on up and listed countless items he wants for Christmas.  Most of which I could not hear because it was loud in the hall.  Hopefully Santa was listening because our Christmas shopping is done.  Yeah!!!  Now I just need to start wrapping it all.  YUCK

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Roasting Marshmallows

Some people roast marshmallows while camping. Not us. We like to roast marshmallows in our backyard. The boys love marshmallows and it was cold outside so we started a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows.

Riley really likes roasting the marshmallows but not eating them after they are roasted. He prefers his marshmallows RAW. Since he likes to roast them the rest of us are FORCED to eat them for him.

Conner has mastered the art of a beautiful golden brown marshmallow. He really likes to eat them and would have stood there all day and eaten them if I let him. He is amazingly patient with his marshmallows.

Josh on the other hand has NO patience. He puts his marshmallow straight into the flame and lights them on fire. He claims he likes them burned but I think he just doesn't want to wait for them to brown so he burns them. After all it is faster. He hasn't figured out that he still gets the same number of marshmallows as his brothers. I can count after all.

We had a great time roasting marshmallows in our backyard. What more can a kid ask for on a cold Sunday afternoon.

COOKIE EXCHANGE??

Ok so this isn't a typical cookie exchange.  I don't want you all to bake cookies and show up at my house.  What I want is new cookie recipes.  I always make the same ones.  Chocolate chip, snicker doodles, caramel bars and carrot/orange cookies. 

Instead of exchanging cookies I want to trade recipes with everyone.  So please post your favorite cookie recipes.  I want all of you to gain your allotted 5 pounds of holiday weight with me. 

Here is my all time favorite cookie recipe. 

CARAMEL BARS

 

I did not have a picture so I took this one off of the web. 

1 ½ Cups flour

1 ½ Cups oatmeal

1 ¼ Cups brown sugar

¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 ½ sticks melted butter

1 package craft caramels

1 ½ Cups chocolate chips

8 tbsp milk

Mix together all but the last three ingredients. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture for the topping. Press remaining mixture into greased 9 X 13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

While that is baking mix caramels and milk, melt in microwave stirring frequently.

After the bottom layer is done baking sprinkle it with the chocolate chips, pour on caramel/milk mix, then sprinkle the reserved topping over it all.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Cool COMPLETELY before cutting or the caramel will run all over, or so I've been told.  I would never be in such a hurry to eat one that I would cut into them before they cooled.  I have more self control than that, most of the time.

Now it is your turn to wow me with your cookie recipes.  I want something new and out of the ordinary.  I challenge all of you to surprise me with your recipes. 

Polar Express

We went to the Polar Express the beginning of the month. The boys were excited before we got on the train. Just look at Conner, he can hardly stand it.

They all got dressed up in their PJ's for the train ride, but it was pretty cold so they had to wear their coats with their jammies. After the ride to the north pole Santa got on the train and gave all of the kids a sleigh bell. Conner is sure that Santa gave away all of the bells and won't have any left for his reindeer. It has been a point of discussion in our home for some time now.

Riley and Santa can be friends as long as Riley can sit on mommy's lap. When we got done with the train ride we went back into the hotel lobby and took this family picture in front of the fire they had going. It is probably the closest thing to a family portrait that I will get for a long time.


The boys were hungry after we got done (big surprise) so we went back up to our room and ordered pizza and wings. After that they were off to dream land. They all keep asking when we get to go on another train ride. I have a feeling they will keep asking until Christmas and then hopefully they will find something else to focus on.

Sewer issues

We are currently unable to use our bathrooms and kitchen. This afternoon one of the toilets plugged up, or so I thought. Then, a little while later one of the other toilets plugged up. Then, to my suprise, the bathtubs backed up. I will not give you any of the gross details about what keeps coming up in my bathtubs. Let me just say, I will be filling them with pure bleach for a few days before we will be using them again. We called the city and they came out and tried to unclog the line. Unfortunately, we can't find the clean outs for our house and we have no idea which way the line runs.

Without the use of the kitchen sink I did not cook dinner. The kids and I went to El Camino while Michael went to a planning and zoning meeting. When we got home I tried flushing one of the toilets and it worked. So we flushed another and it to worked. Yeah.

I decided I did not want to take the chance and flood the house, so I took the boys to grandma's to shower. Josh was finishing up taking out the trash, so I told him to come to grandma's when he was done. When he got there he told me that the bathtub in one bathroom was half way full and the toilet in the other was about to over flow.

I ran home to check, and sure enough there was water backing up into the house. Nothing has actually over flowed onto the floor, yet. But I had to take water out of one of the toilets so it did not spill out onto the floor. Yuck.

We have called the city, again and Smoke, the great guy that he is, went to city hall and figured out where our sewer line runs. They are currently working to unclog it. I am hope full that we will be able to flush a toilet again soon. If not we will be doing a lot of walking back and forth to grandma's house to use the facilities.

Some day we will look back at this and laugh right???

Raining eggs?

Has it ever rained eggs in your kitchen? I think that must be what happened in mine today.


Riley and I went out and collected eggs. We found 2 and brought them in the house. I realized the carton in the fridge was already full and searched in the pantry for an empty one. When I found one I dropped it on the kitchen floor. Riley decided to put the eggs in the carton by himself. Lets just say that 2 eggs, 1 carton and 3 year old hands don't work. As you can see one of the eggs did not make it to the carton. Oh well, I needed to clean the kitchen floor again.

Here is a closer look incase you were wondering what a fresh egg really looks like up close and personal. I still can't get over how yellow the yolks are compared to store bought eggs.

Help American Farmers Every Day

Some time ago I was sent a link to this website that is helping raise money for the National FFA organization. I was an active FFA member in high school. All you have to do is visit this website once a day and click on the barn to help out. It only takes a few seconds and benefits a great organization. I added this website to my favorites and I click on the barn every morning. Please take the time to help out.

http://www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/supporting.aspx

PS. Will one of you please tell me how to make this into a click here button instead of having to post the web address/link. I would love to be able to say click here and not have to copy the entire address into the post.