Ginger Bread 2009

As I finally sit down to review all the pictures that I took in the last year, it occurred to me, how terrible I've been at blogging. FOR SHAME!!

There is some gold in last year...and as I never DID get around to finishing my year book...I'll site technical difficulties...it's about time I caught up.

Over the Christmas Holidays, nearly 3 months ago, my folks came to visit and we absolutely did some of the things that have become tradition...for instance, our yearly Gingerbread offering...(remember 2008).

This year, we...ehem, I...was VERY ambitious. Grandma had bought us a kit, in the hope (I'm sure) that I wouldn't make her try to build another one (Silly Grandma).

I had EVERY intention of building another...and what was fabulous about the kit that grandma bought is that I could STEAL the pattern from already existent cookies...ni-ice. What's more, this particular kit had a gable situation that made it easier to stabilize the roof during the drying of the cement (I mean royal icing).

OOOOOooo, what a lovely house we would create...but first, I had to try my chops at cookies...I'd read a post on another blog that talked about pre-painting sugar cookies with kids, seemed like a great idea...so we gave that a whirl.

Here is the mess part of the sugar and gingy cookies...


And here are the girls painting the cookies. As you view the pictures on this post, I would draw your attention to Monkey-Face. Who knew, when I dubbed her Monkey-Face back in 2005, how TRUE the name would remain well into her fourth year...prophetic, I tell ya...





And here are the fruits of our labor...I somehow failed to get a picture of them all laid out. Bubba and my dad pretty much ate them all over the course of the month of December. The verdict being that the sugar cookies (the painted ones) were okay...but the gingies were REALLY good. Which was just fabulous in my mind, because now, I thought, I had an awesome Gingerbread House recipe...



Now as the day of the DECORATION loomed in, our recollection of the chaos of trying to set up last year's house came to the forefront. Grandma and I remembered how UNhappy the little girls were to wait for the house to dry before they could decorate. So we decided to get the business part of the houses taken care of during quiet time a few days before the big day.

Here is the kit house...it went together SO easy. Once we had it together, we stuck it in a perfect little shoe box to dry and then completely forgot to make the other one until the day before we were supposed to be decorating it. Yeah, not so good.



Here is the one we made...it DID NOT go together so easy...it wanted to break and buckle. I'm positive it's because I rolled it too thin...or maybe because I used the COOKIE recipe...I don't know...but hmmm...it was slightly less that perfect...but VERY tasty. When all the votes came in (you know there were 7 of us) it was well decided that although the kit house really stayed together, the homemade house was so yummy we pretty much ate the whole thing. That really was a vote in it's favor...so much less to throw away!!



Now if you look you'll notice the gable situation on the front and back of the house...the ORIGINAL kit house only had the gable on the front. But it was SO handy holding up the roof while it dried, on my copy I put a gable on the front and back...but, well see...I didn't take into account the roof needing to be shorter to take into account the gable section. So when I put that back roof on, it overlapped the front by 1/2 inch. "No worries," said I and whipped out my handy dandy serrated knife. And it actually WORKED...I was indeed able to shorten that roof. However, there was a structural issue with the thickness of the roof and in the midst of moving it back and forth, it split right down the center.

Not a terrible tragedy...we decided it was a sun-roof. The bigger problem came later when we discovered that the front roof also had the same issue....you'll see.



And then we decorated...BOY HOWDY, did we decorate...







There were concerns ALL through the decorating of the homemade house...for one thing we'd only given it a couple hours to set up before decorating...the kit house sat for about 3 days...the homemade house only about 3-4 hours...

We used MANY fingers to hold it up...We also used many fingers to POINT out issues....





Eventually we knew for certain that the roof was not going to make it without some SERIOUS help...



But we did finish them...and as much as the pictures don't show it, we laughed a lot at our predicament. And you can tell that the WHOLE family was in there because there are actually pictures of ME in there!! I don't think we'd win any prizes but it really was so much fun...

Needing a caption for this one, we thought and thought. Bubba thinks it should be "Location Location Location"...and an old friend who grew up to be a real estate agent suggested that one is "welcoming" and the other is "newly remodeled"



And here we all are...



In the interest of completing the "Monkey-Face" examples...I give you several OTHER pictures I could have chosen...



A true adventure...

See ya around...

Hiding and Seeking...

So it's winter here...and OH what a winter that we've had. I think I read that we've had 4 snowfalls so far this year. Now that may not seem like much to you, but trust me...for this area...it's huge. We've actually had enough snow that I'm not looking forward to any further snow, no matter how determined the weather man is to send me some, thank you very much! Mostly snow means mud, dry grass, wet-underdressed kids (note: we do not own snow clothes, nor snow pants, only one really warm jacket each etc) and hours of wondering what ELSE to do. You can really only eat so many bowls of blueberry syrup slathered snow before you just wish for a warmish day.

You northern people, hush. I'm well aware how much of a baby I am about the cold weather...but the reality is I've lived in the warmer climes since I was 9 years old...and that's...well that's...well suffice to say it's a really long time.

So what do my children do? Same as everyone else's children. They wish for the outdoors, and their bikes and scooters and sidewalk chalk. In other words, they run wild.

Hide and Seek is one of the few outside games that has made the transition inside at our house. It's a little sad because there just aren't that many places to hide...and what is available is known to all and sundry...and if you ARE the hider, you know it is only a matter of time before all 6 places are searched. When you are 4, this is a wonderful thing, because it means there is ACTUALLY a chance you might find them...but at the same time, you are almost always INSTANTLY found. It's a trade off she is learning to deal with...




This is the aftermath of a game that happened just before quiet time. See, Bear has discovered that she fits under the sink in the guest bathroom. Of course, to fit, it takes a little...ehem...remodeling. Hmmmm, wonder how long it took the seeker to find her. There were a FEW clues apparent to my untrained eye...



hmmmm...she didn't EXACTLY pick it up now, did she?



And so it goes in winter. It's far messier and louder than I would choose...however, methinks it's still pretty sweet...

See ya around...

Blessings...

Huh, s'been a long time again.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2010, my dad went to be with Jesus. I have a memorial post that is waiting in the wings...it involves several other people, at least one video and maybe an audio file...but it is taking time to gather and life has been going on around here...and I didn't want to WAIT for that post, before I could blog again. So I guess this is the announcement...and then we'll just move on, for now.

The title of this post is blessings. As hard as losing my dad is, this last two weeks has been incredibly full of blessing. (This is bound to be a long post so saddle up...or get a cuppa-whatever...or open a new tab... ;) )

For instance, I flew nearly immediately to Arizona to be with my mom but that left Bubba and the girls here to deal with school/work etc. It became clear within hours that we were going to NEED Bubba in Arizona to help us figure out some of the financial aspects of this loss. What to do? What to do?

I'd been talking to my friend (S.P. elsewhere on this blog) throughout the long night of surgery. She knew that we were going to need help regardless, so she started organizing in her own little head (she's like that) and called Bubba after I left and they worked out a plan between them. Seems that they love us so much that Camera King (her husband) was willing to take off work and drive S.P. and her girls the two days to our house to make this terrible week seem like more of a girlie trip.

While they were here they made the girls EAT, and NAP, and do a little school work...bossed them as needed...made them do chores and all the other things that are necessary to keep moving forward...check out the fun they had...







During the week they all went to a local-ish museum for a day of fun. The huge blessing from the momma perspective was that our family had recently paid for a membership to the museum and after explaining the situation to the staff at the museum and showing a companion membership to a museum in Colorada, they let them ALL in, no further questions asked. Kudos to the folks in Ft. Worth for making it even possible for them to go...





Here they all are once again...Topo, Coco, Monkey-Face, Gabby, Bear, Beanie and Tibbie...


And THEN, we got home. Another little blessing (well HUGE, considering how much I hate driving in precipitation) we flew through some snow...it seemed not that big a deal in the plane...a matter of moments really. Then we landed on dry pavement. Drove all the way home on dry pavement. Kissed our friends...kissed our girls...slept in our own beds and woke to this...



And it snowed like that for the entire day...and stayed snowy like that for another whole day...we got somewhere around 10 inches...I didn't measure, but them that did came in with numbers from 8 to 12 inches...and we PLAYED. Who has time for grief with this kind of stuff going on? Well, we still had time for it, but this was a welcome distraction.



I made blueberry syrup that pleased me GREATLY and we also had real maple syrup, a la Laura Ingalls...twas a terrific "snack" of colored snow...



We had a big ole snowball fight...



Here I am, BEFORE the snowball to the head...I think



A rare picture of our boys together...Bubba and Camera King with Monkey-Face, Tibbie and Beanie after our EPIC snowball fight...notice how wet they are...I was worse...well I was about the same as Beanie and Tibbie...my hair literally dripping...



And here is what Auntie S.P. was doing while we were flinging the white stuff...she was warm and dry (except for the one snowball that Bubba threw at her to make sure she was part of the "fun") and making sure we all got fed...these were so nummy...I'm not sure what I would have done without S.P. there reminding me in her quiet way that it was time to cook/clean/eat/live and DOING a lot of it for me when I just couldn't face it...


That night it snowed some more...and we played some more...



And then we relaxed...watched a movie...celebrated a birthday a little early...and that was a blessing too. The quiet...the peace.





It was a terrible reason to be together...but it was still a joy. God provided us the peace that we needed to feel "okay" again. As far as the sad...and what Bubba and I were doing during most of the time that our friends were with our kids...that's another post for a different day...


See you around...

Christmas is Coming,...The Goose is Getting Fat...

Huh, well THAT'S not terribly polite...especially since my children have started calling me "Elephant Mommy", (no, I have no idea why) still it's one of our favorite Christmas ditties...so good enough for a blog title.

Yes, my pretties, Christmas IS coming...and right soon.



When things are going well...our Christmas festivities start on Thanksgiving. I'd like to say that there was some major tradition here...but in the interest of honesty...it's more because Thanksgiving is a REEEEEAAAALLLLLYYYY slow weekend here. November is full full full of stuff...various sports...my birthday...end of season parties...AND our family doesn't come into town for Thanksgiving so we usually take it as an opportunity to hang out in our jammies eating far too much food off of pretty plates and decorating the tree.



Bubba, while a willing participant...is not usually EAGER. So imagine my surprise when, the night before thanksgiving, he announced that we would be getting a new tree this year, one with lights pre-installed.

Now it should be said, Bubba HATES putting up the tree and the lights. He does it...but we have to leave the room for the grumbling. The girls and I usually go and mess up the kitchen or something until that "business end" can be finished. Then he can stop worrying about someone stepping on or falling over things or picking up things and swinging them around like a lariat...and he can find his "joy". Over the years I have often put the tree up myself, just to avoid the worry and crab-attack that follows. (yes, I AM a relatively kind wife ;) ) Though I suppose there is a certain amount of worry in that too, as I have to use the ladder and am perhaps the clumsiest person on the planet...but I digress.

So on Wednesday night nothing must do but we all trudge off to the local home supply store and gaze up at the trees that, in their showcase placement, soar 15 feet in the air. Did you know that MOST of them look pretty good from that angle? We decided that our current tree must be a 6 footer...and we'd like it a little taller but not 9 feet. This one has lasted 15 years...we figured it's an investment but we'd rather not have to sell one of the children.

Turns out they didn't have the exact one we wanted. So, AGAIN, imagine my surprise when Bubba was the first one up and dressed on Friday morning and off to another localish home supply center, in search of the elusive ONE that will fill our needs.

He was back before 11:00am...tree in hand. The gregarious gargoyles gallivanted to their peering position with many a "Daddy, why?" and "Hey Dad, whassat?" ...


When setting up a brand new tree it is difficult to concentrate when being peppered with questions so it wasn't too awfully long before they were banished..."GET THEE BEHIND THE COUCH!"


Once it was up, then the fun could begin...


Since the lights were already pre-installed, I think Bubba felt a little left out...so he decided to arrange the ribbon on the tree. You know, we've never had ribbon on our tree before...it's really quite pretty. However, I'm starting to feel a little less sorry for him about the lights all those years...I though it was me...I wanted too many lights...I find now that it is actually HIM and his artistic eye.



After it was all said and done, the girls settled UNDER the tree to sing and listen to a chapter of Little Women.



It's nice to be getting in the spirit...

See ya around...

Clear the Deck...

As I said, I'm TRYING to work on my "Yearbook 2009" video. Well, I AM working on my video...but I take, easily, three hundred pictures for every one that shows up on my blog...so weeding through them is an onerous, odious, o-boggling task. Scatter-shot, the amateur digital photographer's bane.

Last night, as I sorted, and cropped, and straightened, and sharpened, and SAVED (very important step) I noticed a troubling pattern. My counters are never clear. Seriously...if you wanna know how the day that I took the picture was going, look BEHIND my children.

Here is an example...


Bean had decided to make an "experiment"...it was late-ish afternoon, sometime between 2:00 and 4:00pm. After lunch but before my 5:00pm "clean the kitchen before I make dinner" time slot. Now the stuff on the counter in front of her is stuff she is working with...but I draw your eyes behind her...note to self, either change the "clean the kitchen" time or stop taking pictures in the kitchen until the ten minutes per day that it IS clean.

Here is another one...


This is from our Girly Trip 2009. We were dancin to Jim Croce. Note the counter in the fore-ground. See all those apparent "medicine" jars? Those were there on purpose; we had seven kids between us all taking the same vitamins AND several of them had colds...so our herbal cold stuff is right out in the open for any 'ole mommy to grab...still looks messy, but understandable.

HOWEVER, see those spritzy bottles...the blue and the pink? That's how I untangle Bear from her curls each morning. It would appear that we got too busy dancing to find a proper home for those...and yes, they were pretty much there the entire Girly Trip.

And those clothes...I don't know what they are or what, on earth, they are doing on the counter.

There are more...so many more...most of the pictures of my kids at the kitchen table are very telling too...next time you see one, look behind them. My kids "clear the deck" to the next closest flat surface, and you know what, I often forget to notice.

I had a friend many years ago named George. He said that he suffered from an ailment called "Flat Surface Syndrome"...in other words, flat surfaces were there to pile STUFF on, so pile stuff on them, he did. I never really thought about it, but I, well, my whole family, seems to suffer the same malady. And it REALLY shows up in pictures.

How embarrassing...

Here now, I was going to show you a picture of my kitchen clean...so I dug around for the pictures I took to show my counters to a friend...so the counters are indeed clear...

From 02.2009.Pics

But there is another flat surface here...one that I don't think will ever be clear except for once every couple of months when I get up there and clean it...yep, the top of the fridge.

So, there it is, my failing laid bare. Now, when you see my pictures you can say..."Wow, look at all that stuff"...but you won't have to say, "Wonder if she knows that's there?"...cuz now you know, I do.

See ya around...

Oh Bother...

Look at that...another month gone...very few pictures taken...no blog posts...

I blame Facebook. It's an evil construct that promotes instant gratification...and I've fallen to the 420 character limit too many times...sigh.

But do you know what this REALLY means? It means I've made all my holiday stuff harder. See, last year I sent pictures and DVDs at the end of the year as Christmas cards / presents. It was pretty easy last year...I had all these blog posts and pictures to help me remember. This year? Not so much.

And this year, for my birthday, Bubba got me a new fancy-schmancy DVD maker software...and I'm really excited to use it. But my inspiration is lacking. Guess I need to figure out how to power through it, because if I don't, that fancy-schmancy software would go to waste...and we can't have that now, can we?

Here is a little sample of what my new software does, all by itself. Being an old techie, I, of course, have not yet read the manual...but I DID do a wizard with some pictures of Bear's newest lost tooth... Look what it did. (56 seconds)



It comes off pretty dramatic...but it was just the template that I chose...what is funny about it to me is just how goofy she was during the TAKING of the pictures.

Alright...so what is the moral here? That's right...Facebook is evil...Self-control has been lacking and Stack needs to get a grip. I think it also means that ya'll are about to get more blog posts...maybe (how's that for commitment). But you definitely have the potential of seeing more videos. Note that is a potential...not a promise.

I hope you all are having a wonderful autumn and are looking forward to Thanksgiving...

See ya around...

Color Change...

Haaarrrumph...well, I was trying to give my blog a more Autumnal color palette...but didn't realize that blogger wouldn't let me change their title bar color.

So after all was said and done...I tried to change it back...but now I can't find my original background color.

Oh well...welcome to my blog...I've re-decorated. Since I can't get my beige back...have some terra cota...I think I may try a hint of aubergine or celery on the next go-round...

Isn't aubergine and romantic color name???

Sorry, apparently I'm channeling Anne Shirley...

See ya around...