tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29925508223322602222024-03-13T00:15:21.168-07:00One Musical Mom's LifeKristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-52154484169843677912009-09-05T15:32:00.004-07:002009-09-05T15:58:56.808-07:00Delicious Sour Cream Berry Scones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQjUG-w6aU-BqSNH35kbZjilv6ZVe2KALcTKEMa2mVncPvCoQ77qx5Sl9nExdC1pxOWCJUdqfhRwA9EgSuUFt9v3jr4q8PmpcB7zs3uWntjkHaYFuz2HWSOmk-6m8CvJYUsdqpjWp-88/s1600-h/scones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQjUG-w6aU-BqSNH35kbZjilv6ZVe2KALcTKEMa2mVncPvCoQ77qx5Sl9nExdC1pxOWCJUdqfhRwA9EgSuUFt9v3jr4q8PmpcB7zs3uWntjkHaYFuz2HWSOmk-6m8CvJYUsdqpjWp-88/s200/scones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378117257792838018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've never been a big fan of scones, since most tend to be dry & really crumbly. It wasn't until we were at a friend's house, and her mom made some homemade blueberry scones that were to die for, that I decided to give them a second chance. After stuffing myself with 3 of them, I begged her to tell me her secret. She said, "Sour cream".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">So today when I was looking for something yummy to make, I decided to search the web for a sour cream berry scone recipe. The following is what I found, and if it's any indication of how good they are, my family could have easily eaten the whole batch in one sitting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Delicious Sour Cream Berry Scones</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">recipe from Recipezaar--Kittencal's Jumbo Bakery Shop Blueberry Sour Cream Scones</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Serves 12</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ingredients:</span><br /><ul style="font-family: verdana;"><li> 1 cup <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=147">sour cream</a> </li><li> 1 large <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=142">egg</a>, slightly beaten </li><li> 1/2 teaspoon <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=350">vanilla</a> </li><li> 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or use 1 teaspoon vanilla)--this is what I did as I don't care for almond </li><li> 1 teaspoon <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=7">baking soda</a> </li><li> 4 cups <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=64">all-purpose flour</a> (measured 4 cups exactly) </li><li> 1 cup <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=139">sugar</a> (can use a few tablespoons more) </li><li> 2 1/2 teaspoons <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=6">baking powder</a> (or use 2 semi-heaping teaspoons)</li><li> 1/4 teaspoon <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=478">cream of tartar</a> </li><li> 1 teaspoon <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=359">salt</a> </li><li> 1/2-1 teaspoon <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=324">cinnamon</a> (optional)--I used 1/2 teaspoon & it was great! </li><li> 1 cup very cold <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=141">butter</a> (cut into small cubes) </li><li> 1 cup <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=67">fresh blueberries</a>--can also use frozen berries, and a mixture of berries </li><li> vanilla glaze (optional) </li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">Directions:</span><br /><ol style="font-family: verdana;"><li>Set oven to 350 degrees F.</li><li>Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.</li><li>In a small bowl blend the sour cream with the egg, vanilla and baking soda; set aside while making the rest of the recipe.</li><li>In a large bowl mix together the flour with sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon (if using).</li><li>Using a pastry blender cut in cold butter cubes.</li><li>Add in the sour cream mixture; mix JUST until moistened.</li><li>Gently mix in the fresh blueberries.</li><li>Roll or pat the dough into about a 1 to 1-1/2-inch thick round.</li><li>Cut dough into 12 even wedges.</li><li>Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet about 2-inches apart.</li><li>Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the the bottoms are browned.</li><li>Drizzle the top of each warm scone with glaze if desired or when the scones are cooled dust lightly with confectioners sugar.</li></ol><span style="font-family: verdana;">I dare you to be able to eat just one :-) Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-6207795695059788102009-08-25T22:10:00.002-07:002009-08-25T22:36:13.434-07:00Classic Berry Crisp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryKxCguB0A56KGI-MIdivXz6mwcw-p4DR6wER__4EJPlzgO43qV89HYujnKwyStpv_S29_ceeDC5dKK3VRi8htuv6J1LnOuWcarnfoG9pdRYYv32tXrEDDj2b0NQPiUaze0OMXRPdYu8/s1600-h/blueberry_crisp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryKxCguB0A56KGI-MIdivXz6mwcw-p4DR6wER__4EJPlzgO43qV89HYujnKwyStpv_S29_ceeDC5dKK3VRi8htuv6J1LnOuWcarnfoG9pdRYYv32tXrEDDj2b0NQPiUaze0OMXRPdYu8/s200/blueberry_crisp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374141965111794018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other day we were looking for something to do, so we decided to go pick raspberries at our local U-pick garden. Unfortunately, their fall raspberry crop was just getting started, so the pickings were pretty slim. However, their blackberries were in full force. As a general rule, I have a hard time paying for blackberries, since they're practically the state's weed. But we were there, really wanting berries, and they were thorn-less, so that in itself, was worth it. We ended up picking around 8 lbs of big, juicy berries in little less than 2 1/2 hours--not bad. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">We brought them home, and decided to make homemade blackberry jam. We used the little 8 oz jelly jars, and made 9 beautiful garnet colored jars of yummy jam. Then we noticed there were still berries left over, but not enough to make another batch. So, without further ado, one Berry Crisp, coming up! And here's the recipe, so you can make your own delicious crisp. Enjoy!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Classic Berry Crisp</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prep time: 10 minutes</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cook time: 45 minutes</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Serves 6</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ingredients:</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 cups of berries, washed--we used blackberries, but you could use any combination of</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 tablespoon lemon juice</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/3 cup granulated sugar</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/3 cup flour</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/3 cup packed brown sugar</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/2 teaspoon cinnamon</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 tablespoons soft butter</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Directions:</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place berries in a greased, deep baking dish. Sprinkle them with lemon juice and granulated sugar. In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon & oats. Cut in butter until mixture is evenly blended and crumbly. Spread mixture on berries, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite ice cream or whipped cream.</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-69042427238062030082009-06-17T12:28:00.002-07:002009-06-17T12:52:35.132-07:00Homemade Strawberries & Cream frappuccino<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eC8gmvxR3-ZQc8mPrmwG47JfS_qtJKD5VXwrpkkjbnit3oRdojJtnLwE0jlwA3kB-ypNSvRG5GMAPEmeTFLO3Ami1nsVTxdl4gMayJ_kHsUzpMslaVzbcqPHMt4U4Bvr01xqb5WRBFs/s1600-h/frap+pic.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 98px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eC8gmvxR3-ZQc8mPrmwG47JfS_qtJKD5VXwrpkkjbnit3oRdojJtnLwE0jlwA3kB-ypNSvRG5GMAPEmeTFLO3Ami1nsVTxdl4gMayJ_kHsUzpMslaVzbcqPHMt4U4Bvr01xqb5WRBFs/s200/frap+pic.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348386742641033266" border="0" /></a>In my quest to avoid caffeine, which by the way, is not going very well :-(, I decided to investigate some of the other things Starbucks has to offer, as I didn't want to give up the whole "going to coffee" thing. I noticed they also made frappuccinos, and one of them even had no coffee---the strawberries & cream frappuccino. Okay, this is just heaven in a glass! Unfortunately, it's also major calories--not a great trade-off.<br /><br />So I decided to go home, and try to make a homemade version that's a little less bad for you...Besides it's fruit, right? This is what I came up with:<br /><br />Homemade Strawberries & Cream Frappuccino<br />Serves 2<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />2 containers of strawberries, washed & hulled<br />1/2 cup of milk--I used 1%<br />3 large ice cubes<br />1 cup whipped cream---I made my own from 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, a couple teaspoons of sugar and a couple teaspoons of vanilla, whipped with a hand mixer until firm---you will have some left over. For a quicker option, you could also use Ready Whip or Cool Whip.<br /><br />Method:<br /><br />Place all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. I prefer the cream mixed in with the rest of the ingredients, but you could add it to the top after blending if you'd like. You might also want to add a little bit of sugar or Splenda, if you like your drinks a little sweeter. Enjoy!Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-18123582507689956192009-06-10T13:30:00.006-07:002009-06-10T13:59:41.853-07:00Yummy Chicken Burritos with Black Beans & Chicken Nachos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJxojoKeYL0R_l2lwAVSlk7lCPNyBibr-KyViWNG9cICHXu-2KbmiJJ2LQd18TzkzcdgXXZ0XLQuSAJPMNzfaTmgqxr3vskonE5dRd40LS_CIxyi4wwmlMw_2TkFqIwqeznl09Ie4FkU/s1600-h/Chicken+Nachos+%28Large%29+%28Custom%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJxojoKeYL0R_l2lwAVSlk7lCPNyBibr-KyViWNG9cICHXu-2KbmiJJ2LQd18TzkzcdgXXZ0XLQuSAJPMNzfaTmgqxr3vskonE5dRd40LS_CIxyi4wwmlMw_2TkFqIwqeznl09Ie4FkU/s200/Chicken+Nachos+%28Large%29+%28Custom%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345805461791595346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">It's been awhile since I've posted any recipes, but I just finished eating these amazing nachos, using the leftover filling from the chicken burritos I made up last night, and thought I'd share the recipe with you. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Yummy Chicken Burritos with Black Bean</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Serves 4</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ingredients:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Burrito filling:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 cup shredded cooked chicken</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 tsp cumin--I added more since we love cumin</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 tsp pepper</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 tsp kosher salt---I added a couple dashes of garlic salt instead since we love garlic</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">8 flour tortillas---we used the mini ones, so it actually made up 10 burritos</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Nonstick cooking spray</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Tortilla chips</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">**you can also add any of your other favorite nacho fixins', like olives or onions, to this recipe...it's very forgiving :-)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Method:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large cookie sheet generously with cooking spray. Coat it well enough to see a thin layer of oil. In a medium mixing bowl, combine black beans, chicken, cheese and spices. Heat tortillas in microwave for 20 seconds so they don't break when you fold them. Divide mixture evenly among tortillas. Roll tortillas around filling and hold together with toothpicks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Place on prepared cookie sheet. Spray tops of burritos generously with cooking spray. Bake 6 minutes. Turn burritos over and bake another 6-8 minutes until golden. Remove toothpicks and serve. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To make into nachos:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Place tortilla chips on microwavable plate and cover with burrito filling mix. Put in microwave on High for 30 seconds, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-41258802584863136822009-05-12T11:00:00.000-07:002009-05-12T11:06:55.929-07:00May Day 2009<span style="font-family:verdana;">Last year we started a new tradition in our family: the celebration of May Day--see previous post </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://knhamann.blogspot.com/2008/05/may-day-marigolds.html">here</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. So when May 1st came around this year, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kyra</span> and I once again went to Michael's to get our craftiness on. And like last year, we delivered baskets to the neighbors on either side of us, as well as both Grandmas. One funny thing: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kyra</span> really got into the "ringing the doorbell, and running and hiding thing" this year. And now every time we go visit our neighbors, she says we should ring the bell, and run and hide...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here are some pictures from that day:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkw7eQ4IQcLOhQotNChhKSqlMSMvC2yNqY_bZGzpVRwlLwzg3dBS6r8J-1BBfjd-gb0OGACLhyphenhyphenY17QGYkeK_Ze3cauD_UJLRSz_LPpJ0Aj4CFI4sbPEDeH4cruSVCmkW6bKGTonOzPbSM/s1600-h/IMG_1743.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkw7eQ4IQcLOhQotNChhKSqlMSMvC2yNqY_bZGzpVRwlLwzg3dBS6r8J-1BBfjd-gb0OGACLhyphenhyphenY17QGYkeK_Ze3cauD_UJLRSz_LPpJ0Aj4CFI4sbPEDeH4cruSVCmkW6bKGTonOzPbSM/s200/IMG_1743.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335000244716104850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdQuOkaMh_tpwyg9C3Hk552_PNOThyphenhyphenyaZi2hXPBrOnExBZj6oTrMOmBVjc0TuZYSyItMUyRHueuGkiarUqCp2Jt0iBNDnLRlC5wrLr3klNc9NebRlBqrO_schAa3GVpZECEE1qUnSnlw/s1600-h/IMG_1752.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdQuOkaMh_tpwyg9C3Hk552_PNOThyphenhyphenyaZi2hXPBrOnExBZj6oTrMOmBVjc0TuZYSyItMUyRHueuGkiarUqCp2Jt0iBNDnLRlC5wrLr3klNc9NebRlBqrO_schAa3GVpZECEE1qUnSnlw/s200/IMG_1752.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334999578433855362" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHeDXEqqCf_1bvfQj03chglit3siv0f7jfRxtQPlaquPRVeYOa7SeIxb0PGAEICI_1CSMGOvUcUvR-1DzEOYteyJlkhVUUa-jBJ5koty_8CYo2sRCFi2BDaO4lNEvkFsxUKci69VdrGY/s1600-h/IMG_1754.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHeDXEqqCf_1bvfQj03chglit3siv0f7jfRxtQPlaquPRVeYOa7SeIxb0PGAEICI_1CSMGOvUcUvR-1DzEOYteyJlkhVUUa-jBJ5koty_8CYo2sRCFi2BDaO4lNEvkFsxUKci69VdrGY/s200/IMG_1754.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334344181931316098" border="0" /></a>Flowers for Grandma A.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cStA87L1m38ItnCnbNn6XtaOYdv67qPghoLU5x07Tu1Lun2yqrq-o5slcAogPyvADgDPBRvHTsYmbvPinZ1iRhHmVOb6LafGFvVbi7O1lCn2S3qBm9D04Nd0IWyhcwyKVhHSRwwHp38/s1600-h/IMGP1898.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cStA87L1m38ItnCnbNn6XtaOYdv67qPghoLU5x07Tu1Lun2yqrq-o5slcAogPyvADgDPBRvHTsYmbvPinZ1iRhHmVOb6LafGFvVbi7O1lCn2S3qBm9D04Nd0IWyhcwyKVhHSRwwHp38/s200/IMGP1898.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334343350166370018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Flowers for Grandma H.</span><br /></div>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-46467715869143095232009-05-12T10:00:00.002-07:002009-05-12T10:33:12.589-07:00Supermarket Saver<span style="font-family: verdana;">We've all been there, or have been witness to this: The harried parent in the grocery store, just trying to survive the trip. The children, if not currently screaming, are pulling items off the shelves or taking "samples" from the bulk bins, trying to climb out of the cart, or finding new and improved ways of tormenting their brother or sister.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">After several trips like this, I decided to search the web for a creative solution to save my sanity. I was so excited when I found the following at Parents magazine's site: Supermarket Bingo cards that you can print out right from your computer. Brilliant! You can find the link to the article and Adobe PDF </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.parents.com/fun/games-printables/other/print-it-bingo-cards/">here</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">. You may need to create a free online account with them before you can actually download the cards. Sorry about that, but they also have lots of good info, as well as special offers from time to time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Good luck, and here's hoping your future visits to the grocery store will be much more pleasant for everyone!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-66196503299147890972009-04-30T22:32:00.001-07:002009-04-30T22:38:31.831-07:00Hopping for fruit<span style="font-family:verdana;">We consider ourselves quite lucky, because our dear daughter loves fruit. So when I found this adorable Fruity Frog recipe on Family Fun.com, I was very excited: not only is it super-cute but she'll actually eat it :-)<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Fruity Frog</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><table face="verdana" class="ingredients" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="ingredientBullet"><img src="http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/familyfun2005/images/COMMON/bullet_small.gif" width="4" border="0" height="4" /></td> <td> Green apple (such as a Granny Smith) </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="ingredientBullet"><img src="http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/familyfun2005/images/COMMON/bullet_small.gif" width="4" border="0" height="4" /></td> <td> Cream cheese </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="ingredientBullet"><img src="http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/familyfun2005/images/COMMON/bullet_small.gif" width="4" border="0" height="4" /></td> <td> Chocolate chips </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="ingredientBullet"><img src="http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/familyfun2005/images/COMMON/bullet_small.gif" width="4" border="0" height="4" /></td> <td> Green grapes </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="step" style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1.</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Cut a thin wedge from one quarter for a mouth. For the eyes, shape cream cheese into two half-inch balls, and set them in place. Insert a chocolate chip, point-side in, into each cream cheese ball. </span> <span class="step" style="font-family:verdana;">2.</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Use the grapes, cut in half, for the legs and feet. Slice four halves to create toes. Arrange the pieces as shown and serve on a paper lily pad--I just used a green napkin. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here's our girl & her frog:</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHB6oUSV_HR1TAjFrhsNGfllqWhTl5a0cDxBlrPJY2dd-ysaD_9yWJeMJfoWGhg-1MQ-e2KX_iBaGlx_63u-Itrp_a8AZ-gcdMfiaFMFV2u60JqX5KeKYozRJfX-9B4iAqzLNoc94fcE/s1600-h/IMG_1738.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHB6oUSV_HR1TAjFrhsNGfllqWhTl5a0cDxBlrPJY2dd-ysaD_9yWJeMJfoWGhg-1MQ-e2KX_iBaGlx_63u-Itrp_a8AZ-gcdMfiaFMFV2u60JqX5KeKYozRJfX-9B4iAqzLNoc94fcE/s200/IMG_1738.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330723084638273330" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05DzWF0uPCfOHMNsIuGwGJdty5gFcd1GuuxTRzVuGaPKibjbuYWFVbcjPM9WcHAN8npkAQu8-UKENJ3BzeKYuuSXrK42hyiWgEl_zNMIptQoCjo8UAMX8b2gMOmsjtmeYpA4jhiKqqds/s1600-h/IMG_1739.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05DzWF0uPCfOHMNsIuGwGJdty5gFcd1GuuxTRzVuGaPKibjbuYWFVbcjPM9WcHAN8npkAQu8-UKENJ3BzeKYuuSXrK42hyiWgEl_zNMIptQoCjo8UAMX8b2gMOmsjtmeYpA4jhiKqqds/s200/IMG_1739.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330723876999750162" border="0" /></a>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-58996103055404415862009-04-25T18:15:00.000-07:002009-04-25T18:17:46.037-07:00Yummy Smoothie Fruit Salad<span style="font-family: verdana;">The year was 1995. The first </span>Zuka<span style="font-family: verdana;"> Juice smoothie bar opened up in Provo, Utah, the brain child of several </span>BYU<span style="font-family: verdana;"> students who realized they could make great drinks using real fruit, and make some serious money. The Smoothie movement was born and </span>Zuka<span style="font-family: verdana;"> Juice was everywhere. Then in 2000, </span>Zuka<span style="font-family: verdana;"> was sold to </span>Jamba<span style="font-family: verdana;"> Juice, an inferior chain, in my opinion, and the commercially produced smoothie treat lost its appeal for me. However, my love for the home-blended version was still very much alive, and remains to this day. And I've passed on this love to our daughter, who would eat them 24-7 if she could.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">So the other day I was looking for a good side dish to go along with our delicious BBQ pork loin, and realized I had the makings of a great fruit salad, using smoothie ingredients as the base. And it was super easy!!! Best of all, I thought I'd pass it on to you, so here it is:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yummy Smoothie Fruit Salad</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ingredients:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 cups of your choice of fruit, peeled, chopped and/or sliced--can also use frozen fruit</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/2 cup of plain yogurt</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">orange juice</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prepare fruit and place in a large bowl. Place the yogurt in a measuring cup that holds at least 2 cups. Then add enough of the orange juice to the yogurt to bring the mixture to the 1 cup mark, and stir to combine. Add this mixture to the fruit in the large bowl, and toss gently. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enjoy!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-36138098872779453352009-04-16T20:23:00.000-07:002009-04-16T20:23:17.830-07:00On being 3...<span style="font-family: verdana;">"I'm NOT sleepy! I don't WANT to go to bed!", said the hysterical, shrieking little girl. This after being sent to her room, not once, but twice during dinner, for repeatedly getting out of her seat, throwing food and being generally naughty. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">On days like today, when no sleep happens during rest/nap time, it's a pretty good bet that around 6pm, all you-know-what breaks loose. Unfortunately this also happens to be dinner time, so you can imagine all the fun that </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;">that</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> generates. The good news is, when she finally settles down enough to catch her breath, she's usually out in a matter of minutes. It seems sleep IS what she needed after all. And tomorrow is a new day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be sure to get out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">K~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-30282285731757601912009-04-02T19:49:00.001-07:002009-04-02T20:04:19.557-07:00Mind your Ps and Q (tips)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3EQhyxrCDujGo2ukz3PxzN8XxSK7-sK0wSrHHfsxkfgJCqFhQJLQG-Gw6qNc8xvDSTtgXRh-ym8KJAcq7YgKaCodZLYJnSoD6Ea4HslikReBiOX1yef1Gk9Pt-2XbbWXYYr6tNQ-Jg/s1600-h/qtips.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3EQhyxrCDujGo2ukz3PxzN8XxSK7-sK0wSrHHfsxkfgJCqFhQJLQG-Gw6qNc8xvDSTtgXRh-ym8KJAcq7YgKaCodZLYJnSoD6Ea4HslikReBiOX1yef1Gk9Pt-2XbbWXYYr6tNQ-Jg/s200/qtips.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320292048199378114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Recently </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">while on a cross-country</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> car trip to Wisconsin, for a family member's funeral, we found that if we stayed in motels that also had swimming pools, we could preserve what little of our sanity that we had left, by taking nightly swims. There was a downside to all that swimming, however. Besides our skin retaining that oh-so-lovely smell of chlorine, my poor ears had built up quite the reservoir of water. Finally on the second to last day I couldn't stand it anymore, and decided to take some action. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I grabbed a Q-tip and swabbed the inside of my ear. When I was done, I took it out, and noticed the cotton tip was no longer on the end!!! I looked around on the floor, in my hair, down the back of my shirt, but it was nowhere to be seen. I asked David to look in my ear, on the off chance that it had lodged there, although it didn't feel like it was in there. He looked, and didn't see anything, so I just assumed it had gone flying under a chair or something.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Fast forward to yesterday. My ear kept feeling really funny, not really painful, but just like there was something in there, like wax or something. David felt obliged to suggest it might be a bug like in the Wrath of Khan, which I promptly put a stop to that talk! I even tried putting some rubbing alcohol in my ear, as that used to work when we'd get </span>swimmer's<span style="font-family:verdana;"> ear from swimming all summer, but with no success. I finally decided to call the doctor and make an appointment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> When I saw the doctor, I sheepishly told her I'd been cleaning out my ears with a Q-tip, after swimming, and that the tip had broken off, but it couldn't possibly be </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >in my ear</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">! She took one look, and said, "THERE IT IS!" So she got to play with her long, skinny tweezers, and pulled it right out. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Needless to say, I felt like the kid with a button up its nose, but at least she was able to get it out fairly easily. And I guess that will teach me not to use cheap Q-tips from now on! </span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-18178247089551378742009-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:002009-03-16T21:03:07.876-07:00Left out...<span style="font-family: verdana;">Recently I decided to eliminate all forms of caffeine, including decaf coffee, most teas & even chocolate (GASP!) from my daily life, as it was doing some really lousy things to my system. Now if you've ever tried to "quit" something you really enjoy, you know how hard it is, to stay with it. It's only been a week and a couple days, and already I'm finding myself craving a delicious mocha, or even just plain hot chocolate...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">But what I'm finding to be the hardest part is the whole culture that seems to surround caffeine consumption. Take for instance: getting together with a friend. How many times have you been asked to "go get some water"? No, it's "Let's get coffee sometime, or get a Coke." And admit it, don't you feel part of the in-crowd, as you balance your triple-shot, no-foam, Venti cappuccino in one hand, and your laptop in the other???</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I guess all I can say is, in the long run, I should feel better,health-wise, and my bank account will probably thank me. In the meantime, I will just have to be satisfied with enjoying the wonderful aroma of the coffee shops, while trying to find a decent herbal tea that doesn't taste like feet. Wish me luck!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-89314899310189804552009-03-10T12:58:00.001-07:002009-03-10T12:58:58.293-07:00Birds of a Feather<span style="font-family: verdana;">As a parent, it's always a challenge to find something fun to do with little ones that doesn't require taking out a second mortgage on your house. So, when I find something that fits the bill, I need to make a better effort of sharing it with my other mommy friends.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">That said, the other day we were looking for something fun to do, around town, on a day David had off from work. After checking out Oregon Live's events page, we found this great little field trip/ adventure near the Delta Park/Jantzen Beach area called the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.macawlanding.org/refuge.html">Macaw Landing Wildlife Refuge and Environmental Learning Center.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Along with its big name, the curator, Jack has an even bigger heart for these beautiful birds. In addition to the more than 90 macaws that call this place home, you will also get to meet all the goats, chickens, a donkey named Speckles and a great rescued horse named Atticus. When it comes to visiting the macaws themselves, Jack hands you a pair of earplugs, and if you're brave enough, you can walk right into their huge "flight", which is a fancy name for really big bird area--kinda of like a large shop. Now if you're not a big fan of bird flybys, or birds over your head, or you avoid the Lorikeet display at the Oregon Zoo like the plague (yes, Laura, I'm talking about you!), this is probably not the place for you. However, most people, after they get over the initial shock/noise, will really like this little gem of a place.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">One thing to note: In order to give the birds (and the curator), a little semblance of normalcy, this is not a drop-in place. They do however, give tours seven days a week at 12 and 2pm, by calling 503-286-0882 to make a reservation. They also ask for a $5 minimum donation, per person, but I would bet once you visit, you'll find that's money well spent.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'll leave you with some pictures from our visit---notice the macaw on the wall in the second picture---I happened to turn my back on him for just a second, and he decided my jacket was something to snack on...at least it wasn't my hair!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweaGzWBU7P_HZzaIfdnijohELPL_9vYp9AdxMl-frTgTet1oZPOajt8oKTviG3VuLLTF1MnQHh7d5IG-STnbhD2LUxpQKR1PAmXr_ra7AlRg0KuuVKomHTcMf4BIlB8pzr1yNBJZtFJA/s1600-h/IMG_1517.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweaGzWBU7P_HZzaIfdnijohELPL_9vYp9AdxMl-frTgTet1oZPOajt8oKTviG3VuLLTF1MnQHh7d5IG-STnbhD2LUxpQKR1PAmXr_ra7AlRg0KuuVKomHTcMf4BIlB8pzr1yNBJZtFJA/s200/IMG_1517.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311650178003556690" border="0" /></a>Scarlet, the first macaw<br />at the Reserve<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpeG634KQyQI2jshk7lbujYrH_oDOhe5ig8la8nSqH1U3cvT6QyhOzpKU4613dmQfz3FFucOiN_tFBJnaSX2Y94B_SJMEUFkujA96gAH78xySJeeiT4dSzxuc1p43c80e0kCUOdZVwiQ/s1600-h/IMG_1519.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpeG634KQyQI2jshk7lbujYrH_oDOhe5ig8la8nSqH1U3cvT6QyhOzpKU4613dmQfz3FFucOiN_tFBJnaSX2Y94B_SJMEUFkujA96gAH78xySJeeiT4dSzxuc1p43c80e0kCUOdZVwiQ/s200/IMG_1519.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311649778585613666" border="0" /></a>Kyra is not sure about that bird!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Happy Tuesday friends!</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">K~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-61492238373748737062009-02-24T15:22:00.003-08:002009-02-24T15:25:58.407-08:00I finally did it!<span style="font-family: verdana;">I finally got the missing pictures in our Birthdays & Christmas 2008 post, so go check them out </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://knhamann.blogspot.com/2009/01/birthdays-christmas-2008.html">here</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">...</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-42514499757313867222009-02-14T19:32:00.000-08:002009-02-14T19:33:04.885-08:00A Very Different Valentine's Day<span style="font-family: verdana;">Valentine's Day. For some people, the mere mention of this holiday makes them break out in hives. Others look forward to it all year long. Of course these are most likely the florists, chocolatiers, and card companies who can literally make it or break it based on this annual winter event. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I know for me, growing up, I tended to be a lot more enthusiastic about Valentine's Day when there was that special someone. Although I'll admit, having a special someone around that time didn't always guarantee a happy occasion. In fact, I can remember one especially memorable Valentine's Day that was during our church youth group's winter weekend camp. Everything started out great. I had a boyfriend who was also going on the trip, there was lots of snow promised, and it was looking like it was going to be a fabulous weekend! Then said boyfriend decided, on Valentine's Day, to break up with me! Nice, huh? Oh well, his loss.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then in college, my best friend Kippy and I decided we were going to boycott Valentine's Day, as it was a silly holiday---too much pressure for those who had someone, and too painful for those who didn't. So we started a new tradition of wearing all black, instead of the normal red, pink, etc., in protest. Scary thing was, it kinda caught on, once we explained what we were doing, and why.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also remember working downtown in a big office building, after graduating from college, and seeing the wave after wave of balloon bouquets, flowers and boxes of chocolates being delivered all over, and just wishing that for once, there would be one for me. It also didn't seem to matter if Valentine's Day fell on a weekend. It just meant that Friday would be delivery day instead, but the amount of loot was just the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This year, like the last several years, I'm a stay-at-home mom, with a young daughter who is not yet in school. So Valentine's Day looks very different than in years past. We made homemade valentines with construction paper, markers & stickers, baked heart-shaped sugar cookies from scratch with Daddy, and David & I went out to dinner last night to avoid the "day-of" restaurant rush. Funny thing was, we chose what we thought was mostly a non-kid-friendly restaurant, Benihana's, as we hadn't gone there in a long time, and had a babysitter :-) We knew it wasn't going to be a quiet, intimate experience since we were a party of two, and you're always going to be seated with 6 total strangers, surrounding a large grill, and its loud exhaust hood. But we were surprised at how many young kids were there, even babies! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now it's Valentine's Day proper, and we've just finished dinner at home, all three of us--poached salmon, steamed rice and applesauce. And in a little while, we'll have a little ice cream & a couple of our cookies for dessert. Sounds like a great way to celebrate to me :-) AND, I'm wearing red!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Happy Valentine's Day friends!</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">k~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-28900854983042158472009-02-11T18:29:00.003-08:002009-02-11T18:57:29.092-08:00The Great Scallop Debate<span style="font-family:verdana;">As I'm typing this, our 3yr old daughter is slouched down in her seat, at the table, all by herself, engaged in what we have now named, "The Great Scallop Debate". Both David & I like scallops, and also try and introduce new things to Kyra now and then, so she will have a more varied palate then just mac & cheese and peanut butter & honey--things she'd live on if she could. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So the other day David went grocery shopping and picked up these big beautiful scallops from the seafood department, and tonight I found a recipe for them. It turns out it was not one of our favorite scallop recipes, as the marinara sauce really overpowered the delicateness of the scallops. However, both my husband & I ate our fair share, and paired with green beans & pasta, it made a good dinner, at least from the adults' point of view. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra, on the other hand, has refused to even try the scallops, and is saying, "I don't like them, I don't like scallops." And we're saying, "How do you know if you like them or not? You haven't even tried them. All you need to take is just one bite."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So now the scallops are cold, she sits alone at the table, and has been told there will be no getting up from the table until she takes one bite...She doesn't even need to eat the whole scallop, just one stinking bite! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I know when I was growing up, we always had to have what my parents called a "No thank-you" portion. Basically we had to at least try it. I also remember my sister trying to feed our cat her lima beans because she did not want to finish them. And I know all the parent guidebooks say don't make a big deal about food, because you will have kids with food issues when they grow up. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">And I know they also say pick your battles. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So here is a little snip-it of her pleading her case, and our responses:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra: I don't want to eat all my dinner....Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, I don't want to eat all my dinner. I don't want to eat all my dinner, Mama. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Me: Just one bite of scallop, and you can be done.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">David: Don't you want to read Curious George? Just eat one bite.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra: MOMMY, are you listening to me? I didn't eat it. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">David: You don't have to finish it all, just one scallop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra: Mommy, Mommy, Mommy I don't want to eat all my scallops. Is there ONION in here? I don't like onions! May I please be excused?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Me: No, Kyra. Get back in your seat, and eat your one bite of scallop, and then you can be excused. Just one bite.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra (getting down from the table): I'm done eating. I DO not like scallops! I'm not done eating, you can't eat ice cream if I'm not done.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Me: Get back in your seat, and eat your scallop bite. 1...2....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">David: Ok, Kyra. I'll eat this half, and you eat the other half---just a little piece. If you eat this I'll get you that popsicle you wanted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Okay! We now have progress. The scallop piece is in her mouth. Of course, the hysterical crying and moaning has also started--her modus operandi when she has something in her mouth she doesn't care for.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, we sorta caved. We promised dessert if she would eat it, which is also a big no-no according to all the experts, but she ate the scallop!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Does anyone out there have a good tip or two for getting kids to eat things they're not really enthusiastic about? Would love to hear from you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Take care friends!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">K~</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">P.S. Now she just said she loves scallops---Don't you just love 3 yr olds?!?!?</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-78261632710556663682009-01-21T14:52:00.001-08:002009-02-24T15:22:30.917-08:00Birthdays & Christmas 2008<span style="font-family:verdana;">I know, it's the middle of January, but I just realized I'd never written about this year's Christmas & Birthday marathon, so here we go.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In my family the birthday/Christmas whirlwind that is December and January, begins on December 12 which is David's Dad's birthday. Next is my birthday on the 23rd of December, then of course Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, then </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra's</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> birthday on the 29</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" style="font-family:verdana;">th</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> of December, then New Year's Eve & Day, then David's birthday on January 3rd, and then finally David's brother's birthday on January 4</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" style="font-family:verdana;">th</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. Let me tell you, that's a whole lot of celebrating! We have a joke in our family that we have 5 weeks of birthday cake :-)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">However, this year's celebrating was a little different due to a certain snowstorm and a prophetic statement made a full year ago--more on that later. It started with my birthday. David & I were going to go downtown to the Melting Pot for a nice quiet dinner, just the two of us. But with the icy streets, we decided to forgo that plan, and made fondue at home instead! We also got to use our fondue set that we got for a wedding gift, so that was fun. </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> wasn't too thrilled with the whole idea, as she said the cheese was "too sour & too hot", but she liked the bread :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2cTadOxrDZUek_Vfgc4NKKLOxDuzhCJYaNoKLDgIOk9p8MMMd58sMd6P2ImRyfAButljFEYcuBCCrxLxAMN3-N7H1EYThgt15Nzi4xyZbakhz0W8Js0TyJuKvZprEy-j1TLb2Gub5Aw/s1600-h/IMG_1313.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2cTadOxrDZUek_Vfgc4NKKLOxDuzhCJYaNoKLDgIOk9p8MMMd58sMd6P2ImRyfAButljFEYcuBCCrxLxAMN3-N7H1EYThgt15Nzi4xyZbakhz0W8Js0TyJuKvZprEy-j1TLb2Gub5Aw/s200/IMG_1313.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306483933639057330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next up was Christmas. Typically we've spent Christmas Eve at my parents' and Christmas Day at David's folks---we got lucky in that our two families had celebrated like that forever, and both sets of parents live in town. And this </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" style="font-family:verdana;">arrangement</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> worked fine for the many years we were just us, no kids. But as any parent knows, dragging little children around from place to place, missing naps & regular bedtimes does not make for a very happy time. So after last year, David looked at me the day after Christmas and said, "</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" style="font-family:verdana;">Ok</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. You have 365 days to get ready for Christmas AT OUR HOUSE next year."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">One thing you need to know about me. When God was handing out the spiritual gift of hospitality, I must have been absent that day. In fact, I read somewhere regarding spiritual gifts that you'll know if something is your spiritual gift if the pleasure of doing it, outweighs the work it takes to do it. For me, having people over is very difficult. So when David said that, I said, "Well, that will never happen. I have 365 days to change his mind."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Well God must have been doing some big work in me over this past year, because we did have Christmas Day dinner at our house. We still had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house, because my mom insisted, which was fine, and really nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7xf0SQJd_uUPER-L7qPToVELB6u6hLprAtAfE_R6ZZvyEdA8PHwYtB4RNVn1WaQl9DiY28TeSmPx5LvM5tHFNI9HLFHl8op7Q7K-nM9urqVZjdAr01z6qNrffcP7iL88fDrSutrur2M/s1600-h/IMG_1370.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7xf0SQJd_uUPER-L7qPToVELB6u6hLprAtAfE_R6ZZvyEdA8PHwYtB4RNVn1WaQl9DiY28TeSmPx5LvM5tHFNI9HLFHl8op7Q7K-nM9urqVZjdAr01z6qNrffcP7iL88fDrSutrur2M/s200/IMG_1370.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306488498083118098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLywIcYkPl6hrI1YGTdHHf_ObY2wXdMSod9HcHf_8ez-mvqlBbuwxC1M4-IcQ4BNmMuPhKxkAtWotGhIFD0OZwWc7EJGwd20gngMzIXmqDUluKcJLgfS9_nIVXIdWWuKcgm0UlYSV4nE/s1600-h/IMG_1335.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLywIcYkPl6hrI1YGTdHHf_ObY2wXdMSod9HcHf_8ez-mvqlBbuwxC1M4-IcQ4BNmMuPhKxkAtWotGhIFD0OZwWc7EJGwd20gngMzIXmqDUluKcJLgfS9_nIVXIdWWuKcgm0UlYSV4nE/s200/IMG_1335.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306488170764871666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFGTVrh7mdQciW-lN5GHg_-NdmkRowXqc2NZUL61MQ0rCGTgwvglggeuETjNgybtYeKt830F02Q-WIwKbFdJwcyPv7dDZV2Y8KoBZH5BylOpz9BVzDy6LjNjfImhNhdJ52MZeGkv35Jg/s1600-h/IMG_1333.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFGTVrh7mdQciW-lN5GHg_-NdmkRowXqc2NZUL61MQ0rCGTgwvglggeuETjNgybtYeKt830F02Q-WIwKbFdJwcyPv7dDZV2Y8KoBZH5BylOpz9BVzDy6LjNjfImhNhdJ52MZeGkv35Jg/s200/IMG_1333.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306487892863525010" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">All in all, Christmas day dinner went well. However, I still struggled, because although I did ask people to bring something, I still ended up putting together a pretty elaborate sit-down meal using my good china & wine goblets, of beef tenderloin, risotto & sauteed green beans, none of which could be done up ahead of time. This meant I was stuck in the kitchen, while everyone else got to visit. Yes, this is partly my fault. I could have ordered take out Chinese, or pizza, but some part of me wanted to make it nice for everyone--pride maybe?? Anyway, it was a nice gift for my husband, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15qgaCPrVlmgWos1bBzHtdKJuJWnusS9EI17wd6KVAb-_3kNsy5Eu85_2R4P3N3I3Qb3EbKg23-pzbpemnfLko_FfK73wVSw9Adhoc1sSt198xUtKNxDi9ipka7JXJm29WS9Ix5HX0-k/s1600-h/IMG_1425.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15qgaCPrVlmgWos1bBzHtdKJuJWnusS9EI17wd6KVAb-_3kNsy5Eu85_2R4P3N3I3Qb3EbKg23-pzbpemnfLko_FfK73wVSw9Adhoc1sSt198xUtKNxDi9ipka7JXJm29WS9Ix5HX0-k/s200/IMG_1425.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306501009832808770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FG2Q4p_ZZJgk1RlDJlOa-6pggBJrJIsCdHMTNdUIFEzN7e3d3YuD0LCZN5hizurv7OBpbWvrmGYhgZLhXmXojCkOzzS9IzFHEpcKh08NmXuIYuqESZ3VQQppu2maurY0OZ1AvdihLf8/s1600-h/IMG_1421.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FG2Q4p_ZZJgk1RlDJlOa-6pggBJrJIsCdHMTNdUIFEzN7e3d3YuD0LCZN5hizurv7OBpbWvrmGYhgZLhXmXojCkOzzS9IzFHEpcKh08NmXuIYuqESZ3VQQppu2maurY0OZ1AvdihLf8/s200/IMG_1421.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306500789017068994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6nHdTRGrAvk0M1CsmfuDDuzvWB1ZeJKYLjDGJxk9V6gHiwFMOg_lZ_RtGvvOji6bq1h7JTJdeBNUzleUR6mGoGCsRNzLVK0ZgSKD8rGDMr-k2iY4WgnLxZwySOKVR-sEdTRccyTY4eI/s1600-h/IMG_1417.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6nHdTRGrAvk0M1CsmfuDDuzvWB1ZeJKYLjDGJxk9V6gHiwFMOg_lZ_RtGvvOji6bq1h7JTJdeBNUzleUR6mGoGCsRNzLVK0ZgSKD8rGDMr-k2iY4WgnLxZwySOKVR-sEdTRccyTY4eI/s200/IMG_1417.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306500543719076050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Nlt3M6vlbRI0vVY8XUObQ_padut4YuQzCNbv1ONjogtW8bVS1FXuy7FR4sTqBWCBDmJaZNQBG7nXJpZ3ybkTWVSZ8d961x2J6UDgNHQZbqHFX_Srd906r-tWiqABfdZvoejmLTcYFQ/s1600-h/IMG_1414.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Nlt3M6vlbRI0vVY8XUObQ_padut4YuQzCNbv1ONjogtW8bVS1FXuy7FR4sTqBWCBDmJaZNQBG7nXJpZ3ybkTWVSZ8d961x2J6UDgNHQZbqHFX_Srd906r-tWiqABfdZvoejmLTcYFQ/s200/IMG_1414.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306499820840097346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA-Om8mg0FyeRCx2iTUjNfxUMc0OhPvPFiZh-v3Au6PcsSBOIJq2QBTrK8wEwnp_R6TBntVyiWXmz8mmvFXJRZiHmAFAjkbm_1I9IVlUAL1Z7M46XQ9Iffxp9rMtkAKNAHTKjl7Ghgvc/s1600-h/IMG_1409.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA-Om8mg0FyeRCx2iTUjNfxUMc0OhPvPFiZh-v3Au6PcsSBOIJq2QBTrK8wEwnp_R6TBntVyiWXmz8mmvFXJRZiHmAFAjkbm_1I9IVlUAL1Z7M46XQ9Iffxp9rMtkAKNAHTKjl7Ghgvc/s200/IMG_1409.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306498858731356706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDvp6CtAnbtR6bRGMsSkiLmOYGMeMsaPye1Yu9FOwR0XRRSvfOGk0h10tu915CPlsKXiJCuo1nLRuiqQqrWowwSyYskvJjNsd2vTb2OdpIPnIff6AzLFRaUdC_ZWfEMFTjjkQ49CNp_w/s1600-h/IMG_1408.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDvp6CtAnbtR6bRGMsSkiLmOYGMeMsaPye1Yu9FOwR0XRRSvfOGk0h10tu915CPlsKXiJCuo1nLRuiqQqrWowwSyYskvJjNsd2vTb2OdpIPnIff6AzLFRaUdC_ZWfEMFTjjkQ49CNp_w/s200/IMG_1408.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306498581678080722" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then came </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra's</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> 3rd birthday. Awhile back she had asked me if I was making a Pooh Bear cake for her birthday this year (see last year's birthday post </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://knhamann.blogspot.com/2008/01/look-whos-2.html">here</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">). I said, "No, we'll do something else this year. What would you like? How about Veggie Tales?" This little girl lives and breathes these vegetables. So she says, "Bob & Larry?! And Junior, and Laura, and Archibald, and Madame Blueberry!?! That's a LOT of cake". And then she just cracks me up, because she goes on to say, "We're going to have to invite a LOT of people!"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So after searching online for a Bob & Larry cake pan, which I found out they don't make anymore, I found a site where people had posted their own Veggie Tales cakes. Using that as a guide, we did a pretty good job of making our own---It turned out so cute! And this time, like in past years, we ordered pizza for everyone, nice and simple :-)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNuMtQSbCTrliP_JicwNh9cjnvrVpGUx68hhaYH8JPxt9VJocSX2tW-_DhyIA5X2f6tJITwqgrcU54dmB35JNR_ppOnbzLkkrds8aOXJcYTSREG4NLt0QGJu9ETTQcL4pK4sOVHgNceM/s1600-h/IMG_1428.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNuMtQSbCTrliP_JicwNh9cjnvrVpGUx68hhaYH8JPxt9VJocSX2tW-_DhyIA5X2f6tJITwqgrcU54dmB35JNR_ppOnbzLkkrds8aOXJcYTSREG4NLt0QGJu9ETTQcL4pK4sOVHgNceM/s200/IMG_1428.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306504955632902034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQWq7zwmyrMLBNOj35ErQxz0mwg60PFGCVqftgHeBsIN5ezknQSalGKABu2_FsVMzksTD7CLG90D5f59eA5J30xi5lloAL8hPynibk4lnHIlVzFlljka7pxKz7bc94Nlv5t5ErlJ8Gdc/s1600-h/IMG_1436.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQWq7zwmyrMLBNOj35ErQxz0mwg60PFGCVqftgHeBsIN5ezknQSalGKABu2_FsVMzksTD7CLG90D5f59eA5J30xi5lloAL8hPynibk4lnHIlVzFlljka7pxKz7bc94Nlv5t5ErlJ8Gdc/s200/IMG_1436.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306504728888109714" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekGSo4KSh98iX4SMS53wI1nnthOOXROFE8EytOQYygqDYvcH1B_ZNzfSqc79Fpf3St1Sk24RxO8U50rWqx9JM6OOwrk_ne5NZVQLDJDi3Cz8MysSPJ4mrWy5PZXzQ3uqeb2D2bPoxLa8/s1600-h/IMG_1438.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekGSo4KSh98iX4SMS53wI1nnthOOXROFE8EytOQYygqDYvcH1B_ZNzfSqc79Fpf3St1Sk24RxO8U50rWqx9JM6OOwrk_ne5NZVQLDJDi3Cz8MysSPJ4mrWy5PZXzQ3uqeb2D2bPoxLa8/s200/IMG_1438.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306504533616358098" border="0" /></a></span>Someone does not care for the<br />Birthday song...<br /><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIChVEVkBnvZh98auvZ5xa3vhPs4wj7DjWL1e6mV1qNA2ijMI9k69i2E7FqRmjr17f01Jrr91w4mbx9UcVUm_tYnNceXnU_-nSTZChTvAEaqEmhg7GiVKzgIRo_D0KU-e2lS83rql4ZTE/s1600-h/IMG_1440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIChVEVkBnvZh98auvZ5xa3vhPs4wj7DjWL1e6mV1qNA2ijMI9k69i2E7FqRmjr17f01Jrr91w4mbx9UcVUm_tYnNceXnU_-nSTZChTvAEaqEmhg7GiVKzgIRo_D0KU-e2lS83rql4ZTE/s200/IMG_1440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306504283854363010" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc7dqiR_7CWxGd3HKmKJxCnfZqjgFbVIawvBqi6QLqd1OhF04NzDBonM40JwWFCphkSs9qGrecUwXYRCCPtFQo5o5Jrn0l_LTPYHgVspNVOAPAV0eqx6RvFs2YcTHkkQhNWoQ23-wwas/s1600-h/IMG_1452.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc7dqiR_7CWxGd3HKmKJxCnfZqjgFbVIawvBqi6QLqd1OhF04NzDBonM40JwWFCphkSs9qGrecUwXYRCCPtFQo5o5Jrn0l_LTPYHgVspNVOAPAV0eqx6RvFs2YcTHkkQhNWoQ23-wwas/s200/IMG_1452.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306503260547781426" border="0" /></a></span>Kyra & her good friend M<br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Finally David & his brother typically don't make a big deal about celebrating their birthdays, as they're only one day apart, so no big parties were planned. This year, David wanted to go fishing for his birthday, and I said I would go with him. Now remember, it was still extremely cold, and most of the local rivers were flooding, but I was willing to go anyway, to spend time with him. We even had a babysitter lined up for </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. At the last minute, he decided he didn't want to go fishing, and we ended up touring the </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" style="font-family:verdana;">wintery</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Columbia Gorge with </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---much more fun, in my opinion :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpW_YH8Z_idNMmo3iKr8iEpkAHx6RPzQXctlQjmsfcAkMSJbM8lWJwfHB1vrprJUipzVQmbWTSNvra9gu65tKzSjjIJT9bQIoinmA7kzZRbBmPgGT2fZN1nLfmiqHg0Nb28m9SKGBXJc/s1600-h/IMG_1457.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpW_YH8Z_idNMmo3iKr8iEpkAHx6RPzQXctlQjmsfcAkMSJbM8lWJwfHB1vrprJUipzVQmbWTSNvra9gu65tKzSjjIJT9bQIoinmA7kzZRbBmPgGT2fZN1nLfmiqHg0Nb28m9SKGBXJc/s200/IMG_1457.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306508018411645010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY5INSSyst5glY_LEuJu1zSzJ_Zv5KnCFLWTbDIisscnrTCjYR4fmat_raARTciG9xfLbJeunabjNiPB5byjWkHi7SMBAzh_CykaLUEJrLDJxyEZWTKSof-vT83-alwQR_zvsUT7b1Gs/s1600-h/IMG_1472.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY5INSSyst5glY_LEuJu1zSzJ_Zv5KnCFLWTbDIisscnrTCjYR4fmat_raARTciG9xfLbJeunabjNiPB5byjWkHi7SMBAzh_CykaLUEJrLDJxyEZWTKSof-vT83-alwQR_zvsUT7b1Gs/s200/IMG_1472.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306507814579453074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg112rQDKuPypoKDIQWUxO7g0kvgwsG2l-IgyH2vAeDJwXmJNTnClkhbau0OsSjOaj3ZnxGYQVqJoMfQyZseXxb5zoTh3lVyuQCaOS5LiCp2qhImwMg-ae2uR957OXXuqP9KqHovdmtkd0/s1600-h/IMG_1484.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg112rQDKuPypoKDIQWUxO7g0kvgwsG2l-IgyH2vAeDJwXmJNTnClkhbau0OsSjOaj3ZnxGYQVqJoMfQyZseXxb5zoTh3lVyuQCaOS5LiCp2qhImwMg-ae2uR957OXXuqP9KqHovdmtkd0/s200/IMG_1484.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306507564428440834" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So there you have it--our birthday/Christmas Celebration for 2008 and part of 2009. Enjoy this beautiful sunshine!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">K~</span></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-69534645400334643752009-01-17T11:00:00.003-08:002009-01-17T11:04:34.787-08:00A Helpful tool<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hSrMezXAClX5kB7zadeXUWLjEfh1yPoojSnmPmI1J-KFe2-4_WctLdigrDthmpGBrVt_wCdUSrSGqXTtNjQ0ojKQZ1JXIIlg2xPNJqbgffZEVhk-YpVcofOMjyDRBnnOc8uj0LeX9iU/s1600-h/meltdowns.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hSrMezXAClX5kB7zadeXUWLjEfh1yPoojSnmPmI1J-KFe2-4_WctLdigrDthmpGBrVt_wCdUSrSGqXTtNjQ0ojKQZ1JXIIlg2xPNJqbgffZEVhk-YpVcofOMjyDRBnnOc8uj0LeX9iU/s200/meltdowns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292335400056413650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ever have one of those days where you think, "If I get through this day with everyone still alive, it'll be a miracle!"?? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm guessing if you're a parent of small children, this can be a daily mantra for you. Whether it's realizing your child has just discovered Sharpie markers make great eyeliner pencils, or your Dry Clean Only bedspread was the recipient of a stubborn child who refuses to use the big-girl potty, we've all been there. That moment where you become a raving lunatic, eyes bulging, face turning bright red, and noises coming out of your mouth that you thought only wild animals could make.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Luckily I've found a great book that has helped me tremendously in navigating this journey with our wonderful little spunky and spirited girl. It's written by two moms, Michelle Nicholasen & Barbara O'Neal, who have been there & done that, and have survived! Everything from throwing food to potty training, it's in there. <br /><br />What I really appreciate about this book though is that it's written in such a way that if you need a quick reference, the table of contents is designed to jump quickly to a particular topic/conflict, instead of having to wade through a bunch of pages to find what you need. <br /><br />And yes, like most self-help books, some of the language or phrases they suggest you use while in the middle of a situation sound a little Psychology 101, like you couldn't ever see yourself saying that. However, I find because I have to slow down to "talk like that" because it's not natural, it gives me that extra few seconds to reign my temper in, and catch my breath, if you will.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is currently in the middle of the toddler/preschool years, and would even go so far as to give it as a baby shower gift, because those days are coming sooner than you think :-)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Have a great weekend, friends and be sure to get out and enjoy this beautiful sunshine!</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">And, Hang in there!</span> :-)<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">K~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-65182151301804573582008-12-19T16:13:00.002-08:002008-12-19T16:17:06.062-08:00A Day of Firsts<span style="font-family:verdana;">The other day I was getting ready to send some pictures to be developed, and realized I'd never posted many of them--GASP!!! So in the next couple days I'll try to get caught up :-)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">These were from this past Veteran's Day, when David had the day off, and we decided to go to the beach. Usually we go to </span>Manzanita<span style="font-family:verdana;"> or Cannon Beach, and avoid the more touristy places like Seaside. But I'd heard from some friends that the Aquarium at Seaside was a good place to take little kids, as they could feed the sea lions, as well as see lots of things, and it was indoors---the weather didn't look very promising so this was a good thing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">On the way, we stopped at a park which used to have the tallest </span>Sitka<span style="font-family:verdana;"> Spruce tree in the world, because we wanted to see what it looked like after last year's storm--we had heard it'd been split in two by a lightning strike. If it's any indication, they no longer advertise it as the tallest </span>Sitka Spruce, but as a Heritage tree. This was the first of our Firsts that day, because Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> had never seen trees that tall before, or walked underneath a tree (see below).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPpLJmwUloFcLUXK4cyjOe35GB9mXfVGsOLg14qmTchyphenhyphenk__yABXerSOaCnWHbtAoK1iJW27ss-OaiPPs0uejEcBIaeMg5ker6vH8k8-3g9TIsnXFFb3QzPn1rXhcQhPl5XXLHJeiB2g8/s1600-h/IMG_0993.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPpLJmwUloFcLUXK4cyjOe35GB9mXfVGsOLg14qmTchyphenhyphenk__yABXerSOaCnWHbtAoK1iJW27ss-OaiPPs0uejEcBIaeMg5ker6vH8k8-3g9TIsnXFFb3QzPn1rXhcQhPl5XXLHJeiB2g8/s200/IMG_0993.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281639794950302050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">We continued on to Seaside, with it raining most of the way. However, when we got there, the sun was shining, which was a very nice surprise.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLzbDSihxjE7EAZGxrpk06C40W3skY41UgeifJ8XG5qUliZN6uMZwltjE-iQz9cJl1RsqYmMTnSQY8KJvHMmnlodq4XiBoBXyFvD8MAB75E73vKSOY8IrPndLQU-5EcngLVYgAC-qF74/s1600-h/IMG_1015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLzbDSihxjE7EAZGxrpk06C40W3skY41UgeifJ8XG5qUliZN6uMZwltjE-iQz9cJl1RsqYmMTnSQY8KJvHMmnlodq4XiBoBXyFvD8MAB75E73vKSOY8IrPndLQU-5EcngLVYgAC-qF74/s200/IMG_1015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281643653985160770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then we headed to the aquarium, where </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> wanted nothing to do with feeding the sea lions, so I got the smelly task--yuck! But she loved looking at all the fish, the octopus was really cool, and she got to touch the sea anemones and other animals in the touch tank, which was a big hit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Afterwards, we walked on the beach a little bit, and then we decided to go ride the Carousel, as this was also something </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> had never done (#2 of the Firsts). I've always liked carousels as I remember riding them with my grandma when I was </span>Kyra's<span style="font-family:verdana;"> age. My great uncle George (my grandma's brother) either worked with, or was the owner of Rainier Shows, a traveling carnival--I'm not sure which. Anyway, at the time, Rainier Shows were set up at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle Washington, and I remember Uncle George letting us ride the carousel. Good times.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">At first </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> was a little reluctant to get on the carousel, but by the end of the ride, I could hardly get her off her horse. David tried to take a couple pictures, and as you can see below, </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> is hanging on for dear life :-)</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-LWFEAgvWYGtDPco63sFGTIPSemv06S0GyhN696nDMkvD4dvotqATObapG45u1pkpCs3DBpbfHS0WCJM2zheP08jv77hijpmfwY2f0Hou-BiqaYu19oAYWjikbH51vDI7QvX_5-msnE/s1600-h/IMG_1021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-LWFEAgvWYGtDPco63sFGTIPSemv06S0GyhN696nDMkvD4dvotqATObapG45u1pkpCs3DBpbfHS0WCJM2zheP08jv77hijpmfwY2f0Hou-BiqaYu19oAYWjikbH51vDI7QvX_5-msnE/s200/IMG_1021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281654769658341154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After the carousel ride, we were starting to get hungry. We had packed a picnic lunch, so we decided to drive down to </span>Ecola<span style="font-family:verdana;"> State Park and eat there. This was another First, as I had never been there before. The weather was beautiful, but really windy. While we ate, a herd of elk came and grazed right by the parking lot, which was really cool, and </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> got to hold her first--yep, #4--woolly bear caterpillar. There were tons of them everywhere, so of course, we had to stop and pick up each one of them.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKVA66gsHupZmozcZX4UOY9WryzsQkPjjBsBMtn81irMlT5VLvd_G-x562bFl7K-HzlCyNpPXM-_WYOngMilNGNENWs6qcTEEJ2IgZT0PAiIJZdxy4pcrfg1OpJyZptnfmf1FexMhtI4/s1600-h/IMG_1037.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKVA66gsHupZmozcZX4UOY9WryzsQkPjjBsBMtn81irMlT5VLvd_G-x562bFl7K-HzlCyNpPXM-_WYOngMilNGNENWs6qcTEEJ2IgZT0PAiIJZdxy4pcrfg1OpJyZptnfmf1FexMhtI4/s200/IMG_1037.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281656562936333218" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmNGLv7-yszk75NnO3slymwzM9dhjg7QtRik59i_1HLa6z-H5W3B4__iqw5lGThNE7LlB56X4eKa50OlP-3-KLnICxtOmHN3tsD_lB1f1PnCPSelt7wwScKEH5gyPCc5tG8RKKYdAljM/s1600-h/IMG_1065.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmNGLv7-yszk75NnO3slymwzM9dhjg7QtRik59i_1HLa6z-H5W3B4__iqw5lGThNE7LlB56X4eKa50OlP-3-KLnICxtOmHN3tsD_lB1f1PnCPSelt7wwScKEH5gyPCc5tG8RKKYdAljM/s200/IMG_1065.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281656930765900498" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrGVvPBYvgBpj4t77Q8H2aHCWE4J-Na6PoYQxLLVXM3dKR_h0mvbtxzcAr-o_AHgnLBHXBTMCz__HCjedd_q9Ax7Ms_pcPtBkNXiw2leWqCP7gsbeuC3OXz2CVBeBn1GDGdUwBZ4JIOY/s1600-h/IMG_1073.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrGVvPBYvgBpj4t77Q8H2aHCWE4J-Na6PoYQxLLVXM3dKR_h0mvbtxzcAr-o_AHgnLBHXBTMCz__HCjedd_q9Ax7Ms_pcPtBkNXiw2leWqCP7gsbeuC3OXz2CVBeBn1GDGdUwBZ4JIOY/s200/IMG_1073.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281657923329234066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">This one's my favorite...</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">She's so excited about the caterpillars!</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After that, we headed into Cannon Beach, stopped at the yummy bakery for some sweet treats and coffee, and then headed for home. It was a great day, and one we'll remember for a long time!</span><br /></div></div>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-69201102248743196292008-12-17T14:40:00.001-08:002008-12-17T14:45:59.237-08:00Cute Christmas Craft Project--Homemade Advent Calendar<span style="font-family:verdana;">On my previous post, I mentioned that I have a Craft Disorder, so the fact that I was able to pull this next thing together, which was from the Queen of All Crafts, Martha--yes, that Martha, still amazes me. And I realize we're already 17 days into December, so you might want to wait until next year to try it. Or if you have more than one child, you could have them catch up by taking turns opening up multiple days. Anyway, I apologize for posting this so late, but if any of you are just dying for something to cure your Cabin Fever, you could try it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Like my friend </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://allimckenney.blogspot.com/2008/12/snowmen-12-days-idea.html">Allison</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> has been posting, it's often hard to help children get the concept of waiting until Christmas Day for all the presents. So this year since </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> is old enough to understand presents, but doesn't quite get the waiting, I thought it might be nice to have an Advent Calendar. That way, we can count down the days until Christmas, as well as practice counting numbers, and if we're very lucky, even get a little sweet or treat as well.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So around November 29</span>th<span style="font-family:verdana;"> or so--nothing like planning ahead, right???--I started looking in the stores for an Advent Calendar, but never found just the right one. Either they were way too old for our 2 yr old, or really, really expensive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I decided to search online for "homemade advent calendars" because you can find anything on the </span>internet<span style="font-family:verdana;">, and lo and behold, hundreds of sites popped up. Some were so beyond me though, I thought, "Yikes, that would take me the whole month just to complete"--remember NOT crafty!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">But then I stumbled onto a mom-friendly site that had lots of different calendar options, one of which was a link to an old Martha Stewart</span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baby-sock-advent-calendar?autonomy_kw=Advent%20Calendar&rsc=header_2"> article</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">, which used baby socks, ribbon, mini-clothespins, and stickers to make the most adorable advent calendar. Finally, something I could do! And best of all, the only things I had to go out and buy were the mini-clothespins (found them at Michael's), and the ribbon. And amazingly enough, I still had 24 baby socks of </span>Kyra's<span style="font-family:verdana;"> that she'd outgrown, and that hadn't found their way to the consignment shop!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This was a great family project, because David hung the ribbon for us, using a few small nails every so often along the length, and </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> helped me put the number stickers on each sock--good counting practice! Then we attached each sock to the ribbon, using the little clothes pins.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Now what would an advent calendar be, without a treat for each day??? When we were growing up, ours always had chocolate behind every door. This was my intent as well, so I went to Costco and bought their bag of truffles, because I knew everyone liked them. Then during </span>Kyra's<span style="font-family:verdana;"> nap, I filled each sock with a truffle, and we were set.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">December 1st came, and </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> opened Sock #1. She squealed with delight as she found the chocolate inside. Then the practical Mommy side of me woke up, and said, "Do I really want to give this child 24 days of chocolate?" So the following day we needed to go to Fred Meyer anyway for some groceries, and there I bought some small candy canes, little hair barrettes and a couple of cute bracelets to mix things up a little bit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Day 2 came, and </span>Kyra<span style="font-family:verdana;"> was again so excited to open up that day's sock. However, this time it was a set of hair barrettes. You should have seen her little face...."Where's the chocolate?!?!", as the tears were rolling down her face. So I explained that not every day will have chocolate; some days there will be other really fun stuff. I don't think she bought it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Anyway, here we are at Day 17, and the Advent Calendar fun is still going strong--today was a Chocolate day, so we were especially excited :-) I've posted a couple pictures below so you can see our little calendar. And the best thing is you can use it year after year.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGpM11fcyS_iBMkLC8QYFB0xQlTqi52S5RhaEuBE9S5q24sDEtQDIjtP-q2hP6gk3n69vCxPYTDZ3v_k9an5dUjeL881ny18_sE6R1qockFVSk-yVwum_y8EYVfvfc69DpdXUYW8BpBw/s1600-h/IMG_1129.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGpM11fcyS_iBMkLC8QYFB0xQlTqi52S5RhaEuBE9S5q24sDEtQDIjtP-q2hP6gk3n69vCxPYTDZ3v_k9an5dUjeL881ny18_sE6R1qockFVSk-yVwum_y8EYVfvfc69DpdXUYW8BpBw/s200/IMG_1129.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280891789964959810" border="0" /></a><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIY90g-Xe1XUkXbG6EOw_URdUZ9j6c9Ry8lt258Bl9iKY2y3IX4FfYBT_Ws8U0Lm2LQRjhWuX-KaIzQNnMnTk6tO8oMaQJSB6Ai0UdrXbZFObKnui-bf6-NSEB9rHGNJfLEH_FRDk7m8/s1600-h/IMG_1128.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIY90g-Xe1XUkXbG6EOw_URdUZ9j6c9Ry8lt258Bl9iKY2y3IX4FfYBT_Ws8U0Lm2LQRjhWuX-KaIzQNnMnTk6tO8oMaQJSB6Ai0UdrXbZFObKnui-bf6-NSEB9rHGNJfLEH_FRDk7m8/s200/IMG_1128.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280891443309837634" border="0" /></a><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXMGtP5PmpNWsWHdnIgzJBT2Yu_5cRIucyOdY4bbljh8tfNvbOqE6zP40qZwPys6UI36yhU94lhGbGvlI1b-9nqMsR5FgyA2T7sW796aVS6GOybAESlVB7aMu-Jeb-lYV3RXZiBkfXVU/s1600-h/IMG_1132.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXMGtP5PmpNWsWHdnIgzJBT2Yu_5cRIucyOdY4bbljh8tfNvbOqE6zP40qZwPys6UI36yhU94lhGbGvlI1b-9nqMsR5FgyA2T7sW796aVS6GOybAESlVB7aMu-Jeb-lYV3RXZiBkfXVU/s200/IMG_1132.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280892215971776610" border="0" /></a>Check out the frown...<br />No more pictures, Mom, just let me eat the chocolate!<br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Enjoy the snow, and stay dry & warm!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">k~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-55095467993610594212008-12-11T15:16:00.003-08:002008-12-11T15:33:06.183-08:00Double-Sided No Sew Tied Fleece Blanket<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DfL-T2P6IhFCQYuNj-V29r1DfWXsaa__5NJLZ4B1Btf86zQ-0A1vjS6Q00V_Ai_YDcXjfNYOfstfNry9RRaQUUmDWYF5GbdTo43R09wP3qAnqDuA7C3xRduYkEhX2An3XOUAAEm6lt8/s1600-h/no+sew+fleece+blanket.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DfL-T2P6IhFCQYuNj-V29r1DfWXsaa__5NJLZ4B1Btf86zQ-0A1vjS6Q00V_Ai_YDcXjfNYOfstfNry9RRaQUUmDWYF5GbdTo43R09wP3qAnqDuA7C3xRduYkEhX2An3XOUAAEm6lt8/s200/no+sew+fleece+blanket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278676322047071666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I will be the first to admit I have a Craft Disorder. Now don't get me wrong, I've tried on many occasions to "catch the bug" by hanging out with my good buddies who live for scrapbooking, or make their own cards or jewelry, or anything else that would make Martha Stewart proud. Even my own mother has tried to help me get over my craft shortcomings, as she makes beautiful homemade cards & sews like you wouldn't believe.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />So last year when I was wracking my brain trying to come up with thoughtful Christmas gifts for people--I was ahead of the curve for the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.adventconspiracy.org/">Advent Conspiracy</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> :-), I remembered we had received one of those No Sew Tied Fleece blankets as a shower gift for Kyra from David's cousin, and I thought, "Now that's something even someone like me can do!"<br /><br />So I went online, and after much searching, I found a pattern published by a fabric store in Illinois called </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/store/catalog/index.html">Vogue Fabrics</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. Needless to say, I was very excited, but still a little nervous. I decided to call one of my very good friends, Diane, who sews beautiful quilts, and begged her to go with me to the fabric store. She was a great help, and soon I was on my way, with fleece in hand, and ready to conquer my fear/disorder.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After it was all said and done, my SEVEN blankets turned out rather well, and everyone loved them! I've also just recently made another one, a baby blanket, for an upcoming silent auction, which is really cute--it's yellow, blue & green, with little frogs & ducks.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So if you're looking for a great homemade gift for this Christmas, I'd highly recommend making one (or two or five) of these wonderful blankets. And once you get the hang of it, you can complete the whole thing (minus the pre-washing/drying of the fabric time), in just a couple short hours. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Double Sided No Sew Fleece Tied Blanket</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br />Materials Needed:<br /><br />2 pieces of fleece (see below)<br />sharp scissors<br />large safety pins<br /><br />Choose two 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 yard pieces of fleece</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---For an adult sized blanket, use 2 1/2 yards for each piece of fleece. If you're making a baby's blanket, use 1 1/2 yards for each piece of fleece. Also try to find anti-pill fleece as the blanket tends to hold up better. I also tend to use one patterned piece, and one coordinating solid color, so as to cut down on any pattern clashes. Of course, you can use any fleece color/pattern combination you wish--it's your choice!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Prewash & dry the material before starting</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---This ensures your material is clean, and you'll have your final blanket size to work with, without worrying about shrinking.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Cut selvage from edges of fleece</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---For those of you who aren't familiar with sewing terms, the selvage is the rough part along the left and right-hand edges where the pattern or weave may be different, often making it unusable. Sometimes the selvage will also have the pattern name, or dye color examples, or may be all white, which will get in the way of your solid color or fleece pattern.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Place the two pieces of fleece back to back, with the Right sides out</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---This took me awhile to figure out what the "right" side of the fleece was. </span><span><span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The right side of your fleece fabric can be the one you like best. But if you want to use the true right side of the fabric, it is the one that the selvage naturally rolls towards when lightly stretched</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Trim up any excess on all sides so both pieces of fleece are the same width & length</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---This will be important when you go to tie the strips, as it's easier to tie them if they are both the same length.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Pin the two pieces of fleece together</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---I use large safety pins, because they are easier to use than stick pins. Also by pinning the fleece together, this helps to keep the two pieces in place when you are cutting the strips. I also like to place my patterned fleece on the bottom, and my solid piece on the top, so when I'm cutting, I don't get distracted by the pattern---this is just my preference.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Cut a square out of each corner of the fabric</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---If you're making an adult sized blanket, cut a 5" square. For a baby blanket, cut a 4" square. This will make things easier when tying the strips.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Cut strips into the sides that are 2" wide by 5" deep, like you're making fringe</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---Don't worry if they're not exactly 2" wide, or 5" deep. The key is to make them long enough to tie. There's nothing worse than trying to tie a strip that's too short.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Tie one of the strips from the top fabric to the coordinating strip of the bottom fabric</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">---If you search online, you will find many opinions as to the best kind of knot or tie. I've found a double knot works best. Also if you tie every other fringe, then flip the blanket over to tie the remaining strips, it tends to look cleaner.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">There you have it. As I mentioned before, these make great gifts for Christmas, or baby showers, or just for yourself, during these long cold winter nights. And if you're lucky enough to catch a sale on fleece, they can be made for around $20! Enjoy friends~k</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-68107108083561118162008-12-11T13:36:00.005-08:002008-12-11T13:57:38.132-08:00Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYufx-Q3kgnMQJXHpsa_0HcftFroY65Aw7fMvy2dp6T0Fmy5yKMezmysDmgqb0Wj07BFwN28CW5vmzVueYKxK2n78FoSBWjpej0MmIthXs0DsjqF3TifJDopd9TbEzURiT8mP0KISwxgQ/s1600-h/chocolate-peanut-butter-truffles-re.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYufx-Q3kgnMQJXHpsa_0HcftFroY65Aw7fMvy2dp6T0Fmy5yKMezmysDmgqb0Wj07BFwN28CW5vmzVueYKxK2n78FoSBWjpej0MmIthXs0DsjqF3TifJDopd9TbEzURiT8mP0KISwxgQ/s200/chocolate-peanut-butter-truffles-re.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278654716076347938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >I'm back! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last blogged, but I blame it on the fact we recently got a new photo software program, and I'm still trying to figure out how it works...And since I'm still not 100% comfortable with it, I'll follow through with my promise to my friend, Heather K, and post my super easy, absolutely delicious truffle recipe :-) Also I have to give credit to Kraft's Food & Family magazine for these yummy treats, as they were the ones who originally published it. So without further ado, here it is:</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Prep: 20 min.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Total: 1 hour, 20 min. (including refrigerating)</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br />Ingredients:</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br />1 package (8 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" ><br />1/2 cup peanut butter</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Truffle topping options--You can make all the truffles the same with just one topping, or mix & match for variety:</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1/4 cup powdered sugar</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1/4 cup finely chopped nuts</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1/4 cup toasted coconut</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1/4 cup grated white baking chocolate</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >1/4 cup finely crushed Nabisco cookies</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" ><br />Preparation:</span> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >Microwave chocolate in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in peanut butter until well blended. Cool to room temperature. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate 1 hour. Scoop peanut butter mixture with melon baller or teaspoon, then shape into 1-inch balls--be prepared to get your hands messy! Roll in preferred topping. Store in refrigerator.</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br />Makes 3 dozen</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >These make great hostess gifts or holiday desserts. Enjoy!</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-34462999719679473532008-11-01T15:47:00.001-07:002008-11-01T15:48:54.586-07:00Halloween 2008<span style="font-family:verdana;">Halloween this year was interesting, because <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kyra's</span> at that age where she kind of understands what's going on, but in many ways is still just a little, bitty girl. </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />For instance, she loved the whole idea of dressing up, and couldn't wait to put on her fairy princess costume, complete with crown, wings (thanks Katie!), tutu and wand. However, when it came time to actually go door-to-door, it was a little overwhelming for her. She loved ringing the doorbell, but then when someone she didn't know answered the door, she didn't quite know what to do--we only went around to our neighbors' houses, but it wasn't like ringing the doorbell at Grandma & Grandpa's.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The very cool thing was, even as late as that morning, the skies had continued to pour rain, and the evening forecast didn't look much better--</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Showers</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">, instead of just plain rain. But about 3 o'clock, the clouds went away and the sun actually came out! And miracle of miracles, it stayed dry & was even fairly warm! How often does that happen here? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">All in all, she had a great time, looked absolutely adorable, and we have more candy than should be legal---it turned out we didn't have anybody come to our door because we were out with her during the prime candy hunting time, so the 2 very large bags of Costco candy we had bought to hand out, is unfortunately still here! Boo!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here are some pictures from our pumpkin carving party and the cutest fairy princess you'll ever see:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAOkbCk5fnL8BYvQ883s38a0pTWtY2OH0gC7cJ2s-DiSAo5MM5UYryHMvbOvx_pFHNuxqbNvtgaVjwjlyXLtyCBonLNoFKL4gKV6dxphTsC5E8TFWy55S2vd-YQh2rfX7Lm1xxK4-bFo/s1600-h/IMG_0965.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAOkbCk5fnL8BYvQ883s38a0pTWtY2OH0gC7cJ2s-DiSAo5MM5UYryHMvbOvx_pFHNuxqbNvtgaVjwjlyXLtyCBonLNoFKL4gKV6dxphTsC5E8TFWy55S2vd-YQh2rfX7Lm1xxK4-bFo/s200/IMG_0965.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263823562664908338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM70d6KsOXe0QjlGx75bFjYDOrzz2QhtaE47WRLxXhEqQaly0Fm1UhIaWr8lgRS3qNOk7JC9jhApVtCNlTMg-ZGUV_459qMoI-9NcQ1TyWWF1t6xgljWqQjqwc-Ef7Atzv-cit7TBH4Q4/s1600-h/IMG_0974.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM70d6KsOXe0QjlGx75bFjYDOrzz2QhtaE47WRLxXhEqQaly0Fm1UhIaWr8lgRS3qNOk7JC9jhApVtCNlTMg-ZGUV_459qMoI-9NcQ1TyWWF1t6xgljWqQjqwc-Ef7Atzv-cit7TBH4Q4/s200/IMG_0974.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263823558693003010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwwjKzi6UIV0wo4BVqRWzLW_eakLJ0AGO-tgeBJI8AQt4vPkAchE1JScIvcAIEbr6VLWNFblI5nUqQ5eofrHi4KU_Msek3JeGU9vV5ifQ63mlTzaPXsJ3UxaQfTp7wZMNiG7re3anMss/s1600-h/IMG_0979.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwwjKzi6UIV0wo4BVqRWzLW_eakLJ0AGO-tgeBJI8AQt4vPkAchE1JScIvcAIEbr6VLWNFblI5nUqQ5eofrHi4KU_Msek3JeGU9vV5ifQ63mlTzaPXsJ3UxaQfTp7wZMNiG7re3anMss/s200/IMG_0979.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263823555825223650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6m8c5M-e-zgc0DeTjbFmnCYdug3vjrspWPUEzNMiAdophlpWXbmggHFD9XHIa55C_XwvZjeW8T0oLZIDuHBy5gnOPu0WFgqXcskxbfV99OUlJHHWSb62dzoq7YE6Bsdsd1cjds5t5V7k/s1600-h/IMG_0982.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6m8c5M-e-zgc0DeTjbFmnCYdug3vjrspWPUEzNMiAdophlpWXbmggHFD9XHIa55C_XwvZjeW8T0oLZIDuHBy5gnOPu0WFgqXcskxbfV99OUlJHHWSb62dzoq7YE6Bsdsd1cjds5t5V7k/s200/IMG_0982.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263823545935797010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVKlPYSBrDvXJcg2hSH_GIvek3YTXlcZUV6E0LxsUYtVm3Ln6-_Sd_Cisa2Odjxsr_sFtWJB7HsMsClfZFQbps15wPwuAtdR5RVcjZ9gN_q5Mk_p0ElEDaL5tgMs6ZpytKJWIiKqTBi0/s1600-h/IMG_0986.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVKlPYSBrDvXJcg2hSH_GIvek3YTXlcZUV6E0LxsUYtVm3Ln6-_Sd_Cisa2Odjxsr_sFtWJB7HsMsClfZFQbps15wPwuAtdR5RVcjZ9gN_q5Mk_p0ElEDaL5tgMs6ZpytKJWIiKqTBi0/s200/IMG_0986.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263823543238834690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFarsGgwJBPyJQE9Pw1nXuG05DCFxUusqGxB04g0A1h5pSgpLA9eLnT_VfT1-jJLqy6wBloECxKsRp6Fru2ZGHrzyEThbiTwMdNxfPnI0KxSoarmtrpm7dXPzOZmZa3pz4RbWOJ5_cb9s/s1600-h/IMG_0987.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFarsGgwJBPyJQE9Pw1nXuG05DCFxUusqGxB04g0A1h5pSgpLA9eLnT_VfT1-jJLqy6wBloECxKsRp6Fru2ZGHrzyEThbiTwMdNxfPnI0KxSoarmtrpm7dXPzOZmZa3pz4RbWOJ5_cb9s/s200/IMG_0987.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263822655276292386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdwGvIAXrNu05IH_vlVt17LqcHNefXXitmGsimU6-7iIwA9pG8CdEtICQzp5oqaTjER6ek9Ar8HrFJDuJvzKuj6cwl6XKrlkgzBdO_Maig37ZUa1neD-eYdnaKFNL6qxaRVejatG4vOA/s1600-h/IMGP1751.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdwGvIAXrNu05IH_vlVt17LqcHNefXXitmGsimU6-7iIwA9pG8CdEtICQzp5oqaTjER6ek9Ar8HrFJDuJvzKuj6cwl6XKrlkgzBdO_Maig37ZUa1neD-eYdnaKFNL6qxaRVejatG4vOA/s200/IMGP1751.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263822639936644690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK88v2REC-k4__-7RhBjxUqhehML6pfbl69UIyyAojaNZiLJZroYrOdwv1rj2BiQRafSUO7MKPAFJDLw7kFDtIDQK2ActfXmcSFV9BS0RUrOg8E0VaA6PDLTxnpPcpKz4cvceZhc48hG0/s1600-h/IMGP1754.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK88v2REC-k4__-7RhBjxUqhehML6pfbl69UIyyAojaNZiLJZroYrOdwv1rj2BiQRafSUO7MKPAFJDLw7kFDtIDQK2ActfXmcSFV9BS0RUrOg8E0VaA6PDLTxnpPcpKz4cvceZhc48hG0/s200/IMGP1754.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263822632861020114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6Jec7uDQB-lrMj5hoBVKOln8ruJuP60c9JcS_Ei9KhLGG0EpJr0m9QKgigyo7vEfYvT1DyZ7uiHnTm0ztoX6WAwS8jiF6SfIL0sEKuzGZ0kfSegaT5CWOly1qi-yHNLkSOX6OFCsnf8/s1600-h/IMGP1759.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6Jec7uDQB-lrMj5hoBVKOln8ruJuP60c9JcS_Ei9KhLGG0EpJr0m9QKgigyo7vEfYvT1DyZ7uiHnTm0ztoX6WAwS8jiF6SfIL0sEKuzGZ0kfSegaT5CWOly1qi-yHNLkSOX6OFCsnf8/s200/IMGP1759.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263822628837274514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXqYZav9gszcaHTMP5bn4_IaD-Z-kXLCIcGeQ56rooeQmKJrvJozN1DmMczD0e3voS0LXkmfZcOnnfPh0Pp7kwcn-IaoV_3iHx4cEnhhVD3aIX_1VS4d13NvKVvHS8ymXqrsUeO8zuGE/s1600-h/IMGP1761.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXqYZav9gszcaHTMP5bn4_IaD-Z-kXLCIcGeQ56rooeQmKJrvJozN1DmMczD0e3voS0LXkmfZcOnnfPh0Pp7kwcn-IaoV_3iHx4cEnhhVD3aIX_1VS4d13NvKVvHS8ymXqrsUeO8zuGE/s200/IMGP1761.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263822625331509826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8Fo8eBlcgNxwFIbofI9OBy7AYK-Vl9tB6yq8wEVyWWGWKKNMfFoT6237fAI_34G2EgIUlr9d23k__PTWtUV99sc1mdlKVFnwH59D_45c3csL3cU4RG8KUa8oAyxYV4t-V5q6rIoLqGA/s1600-h/IMGP1764.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8Fo8eBlcgNxwFIbofI9OBy7AYK-Vl9tB6yq8wEVyWWGWKKNMfFoT6237fAI_34G2EgIUlr9d23k__PTWtUV99sc1mdlKVFnwH59D_45c3csL3cU4RG8KUa8oAyxYV4t-V5q6rIoLqGA/s200/IMGP1764.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263821896370129730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHinPZnJCiHjrbXLWhYJzJzvoPjUtk_CtIdzkne6m9Idc_mqomxLaiykEEbalrlrvIQnBvjq_A3VSOMl7M1OgG2jq7Gk7-crUXZAVAftW_ELk6pxEmnv9F2UaUP5PALJBMYWARKoUFjy8/s1600-h/IMGP1766.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHinPZnJCiHjrbXLWhYJzJzvoPjUtk_CtIdzkne6m9Idc_mqomxLaiykEEbalrlrvIQnBvjq_A3VSOMl7M1OgG2jq7Gk7-crUXZAVAftW_ELk6pxEmnv9F2UaUP5PALJBMYWARKoUFjy8/s200/IMGP1766.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263821788737949474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRao4HSygklRNTRlVsyW3kWB6mcU5gOSds2ES-Z8B8nm1CSi3CvqaJ-hUG9adA6WTl8j6QuHsnNhpYb-AzWcz8Uh4PzK-WNRx2ZHPogRaMEdrL8UwU1Xsts6HDoE5uR13T0-_LsYItnVI/s1600-h/IMGP1772.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRao4HSygklRNTRlVsyW3kWB6mcU5gOSds2ES-Z8B8nm1CSi3CvqaJ-hUG9adA6WTl8j6QuHsnNhpYb-AzWcz8Uh4PzK-WNRx2ZHPogRaMEdrL8UwU1Xsts6HDoE5uR13T0-_LsYItnVI/s200/IMGP1772.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263821637604079250" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jCONteAU6WDz4tfA1YgVWrBy2uD42rbOdgAfGFFFLvlYdttRTcMdvBBFqHjFhAWPAJiE_jpgqM9Bd0zWOlA8bUQG8l5gldwccMSUOnHZmj-buv_h3EVWnjsvDGo3ojcwYfGZqH_BVEo/s1600-h/IMGP1777.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jCONteAU6WDz4tfA1YgVWrBy2uD42rbOdgAfGFFFLvlYdttRTcMdvBBFqHjFhAWPAJiE_jpgqM9Bd0zWOlA8bUQG8l5gldwccMSUOnHZmj-buv_h3EVWnjsvDGo3ojcwYfGZqH_BVEo/s200/IMGP1777.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263821137860386578" border="0" /></a><br />Blessings friends!<br />k~<br /></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-80544707745452550782008-10-17T14:36:00.005-07:002008-10-17T14:44:53.292-07:00True Love<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZH-pjXcsRABdtbVIGGozRYtXqe5hyV2AFG93Kv-H473PXEaRKM6UQHSt_QQKxjB3Gu8UyAMUkcgKf_L-eAUun_LM2UIBgIeZP8PlgPLCEMUPNompyiUyYvF1zjYLQOdk0gWTtDBFs68/s1600-h/cherrychapstick.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZH-pjXcsRABdtbVIGGozRYtXqe5hyV2AFG93Kv-H473PXEaRKM6UQHSt_QQKxjB3Gu8UyAMUkcgKf_L-eAUun_LM2UIBgIeZP8PlgPLCEMUPNompyiUyYvF1zjYLQOdk0gWTtDBFs68/s200/cherrychapstick.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258241407480429058" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Want to know what true love is? Just ask a two-year-old. This was the conversation that Kyra & I had in the car this morning:</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Mommy: Kyra, I love you. Do you know how much Mommy loves you?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Kyra: You love me a whole bunch because you share your cherry Chapstick with me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Priceless!</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Happy Friday friends!</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">K~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-41095589799007445322008-10-14T15:01:00.003-07:002008-10-14T15:22:55.963-07:00Need Recipes?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHR_IdFFSGS243k_jXW91LFBZM5y6tVtgQkszdCxQVRBzXblUy1BgkUEIasEfKv4TArifcmZE_34f3OD94dSK5k_fL8lx-dlrQsq3Ei02X4glz6iU5fq6yUVqkb0-VYa6AnBgAquixKc/s1600-h/cooking.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHR_IdFFSGS243k_jXW91LFBZM5y6tVtgQkszdCxQVRBzXblUy1BgkUEIasEfKv4TArifcmZE_34f3OD94dSK5k_fL8lx-dlrQsq3Ei02X4glz6iU5fq6yUVqkb0-VYa6AnBgAquixKc/s200/cooking.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257138455675900962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">My dear friend Katie posted on her </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://jenisonnews.blogspot.com/2008/10/dinner-dilemma.html">blog </a><span style="font-family:verdana;">today that she is in search of some variety in their dinner menu, and believe me, I've been in that same position on many occasions!!! </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />It's 5 o'clock, and although the kids would love macaroni & cheese with hot dogs for the 3rd time this week, your stomach, not to mention your diet, just can't handle it. You're desperately looking for something quick & healthy, that also tastes half-way decent, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg to make.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.jenniclayville.com/">Jenni</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> commented on Katie's blog, one of the things I've come to rely heavily on is the sharing of recipes, either from friends or other online sources. </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.elise.com/recipes/">Simply Recipes</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> is one of my absolute favorite food blogs, and I find a majority of our meals come from recipes posted there.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It so happens I'd also been in the habit of posting my favorite recipes here, once a week, labeled as Culinary Delights, but then lost my link list one time when I was changing my background, and never got back into it.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">So today, I decided to resurrect my recipes list, and change its section title to something a little more simple: "Favorite Recipes". Enjoy, and Katie, I hope this helps :-)</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Happy Eating friends!</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">K~</span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992550822332260222.post-51074035111366354022008-10-12T23:27:00.014-07:002008-10-13T00:17:53.838-07:00The Great Pumpkin Caper 2008<span style="font-family:verdana;">Yesterday was a perfect day for a pumpkin hunt--blue skies, warm sun, and best of all, family to share it with. We went back to the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.plumperpumpkins.com/">Plumper Pumpkin Patch</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">, (see <a href="http://knhamann.blogspot.com/2007/10/visiting-great-pumpkin.html">here</a> for a peek at last year's adventure--I can't believe how much Kyra has changed!) and had an absolute blast!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here are some pictures from our day.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDaMiH-LX3DNRjq0v2n0-PPEx2LSzQmsAmfrI1BGZ_iqdd3xW1HWQEudgJgE3T0fKRFhlopmmP5PVG2lQsRdmy6Wk53f_P8KRQmI5erggrCDRgfSktIbOCO78PiRNoLtf5vzyIcRnmxA/s1600-h/IMG_0909.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDaMiH-LX3DNRjq0v2n0-PPEx2LSzQmsAmfrI1BGZ_iqdd3xW1HWQEudgJgE3T0fKRFhlopmmP5PVG2lQsRdmy6Wk53f_P8KRQmI5erggrCDRgfSktIbOCO78PiRNoLtf5vzyIcRnmxA/s200/IMG_0909.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256523610985151490" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYDzkhDBkhFjORqKbpsd7erurjSF9sgHhyobntoNy56qg1UyvAP114xnlw3GumsN7Icb9B8H1KmiqnG7JB0nyPuSMzL3txBFeCbiE2Uqgr3buaNJ0OysBn9lmxUfXm2RDUIxpQeRckNI/s1600-h/IMGP1730.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYDzkhDBkhFjORqKbpsd7erurjSF9sgHhyobntoNy56qg1UyvAP114xnlw3GumsN7Icb9B8H1KmiqnG7JB0nyPuSMzL3txBFeCbiE2Uqgr3buaNJ0OysBn9lmxUfXm2RDUIxpQeRckNI/s200/IMGP1730.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256523878265700546" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4i0mOFHlBT_ya-wKneUCSQ3O3S7G9S0IjVfWDiOpmtLKcsxyGK0rCHGL-5_C0I5GnRd9dddEXD6D0RXB41AJ956z9o7944jZDv97eE0jk0G5GgEhsVC1KHVLAQvvo8sn75UXIpPHHBKw/s1600-h/IMG_0910.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4i0mOFHlBT_ya-wKneUCSQ3O3S7G9S0IjVfWDiOpmtLKcsxyGK0rCHGL-5_C0I5GnRd9dddEXD6D0RXB41AJ956z9o7944jZDv97eE0jk0G5GgEhsVC1KHVLAQvvo8sn75UXIpPHHBKw/s200/IMG_0910.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256527564228189282" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOb56a9qag0umfIGSk4VZsmJH5avldYZkHAcVxmMJcXJ_GcEOIHK79edhPI7RSPKfZx23H4DFdvrMtt91EJ7nueSFH-cE1sAT00BrH6bByh91GLOKj8WE1JBxFuxirDhfzZLcQpluUOQ/s1600-h/IMGP1729.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOb56a9qag0umfIGSk4VZsmJH5avldYZkHAcVxmMJcXJ_GcEOIHK79edhPI7RSPKfZx23H4DFdvrMtt91EJ7nueSFH-cE1sAT00BrH6bByh91GLOKj8WE1JBxFuxirDhfzZLcQpluUOQ/s200/IMGP1729.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256527030789241362" border="0" /></a>I think we should get this one, Grandpa!<br /></div><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga78nyuOkCMm4Sk3mKyGRYGBcullCrDSHRrneDTUlrdAkdq5A_g-8ZVFQy3C9S-dDEbffNp06mi6oypBhyXvkahiZCmVLmnutFUhAGV6qUSxITK743DKvGbwZPwQejyDfsE8wEZwTZA7U/s1600-h/IMG_0918.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga78nyuOkCMm4Sk3mKyGRYGBcullCrDSHRrneDTUlrdAkdq5A_g-8ZVFQy3C9S-dDEbffNp06mi6oypBhyXvkahiZCmVLmnutFUhAGV6qUSxITK743DKvGbwZPwQejyDfsE8wEZwTZA7U/s200/IMG_0918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256529034910694386" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGVIlZMIacpO3Uz-Z0tvUwrsE7jDaRHPTBgPToi8blHsTVqoBZGBYd4FR3OqYwpaeubGLJoxiCfxxsU2HAwbzztZQLapc5wYfnAhHZSpRHkugcSpaZcZ6GEkIUYxo_PyzNqgD2hFbVYs/s1600-h/IMG_0913.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGVIlZMIacpO3Uz-Z0tvUwrsE7jDaRHPTBgPToi8blHsTVqoBZGBYd4FR3OqYwpaeubGLJoxiCfxxsU2HAwbzztZQLapc5wYfnAhHZSpRHkugcSpaZcZ6GEkIUYxo_PyzNqgD2hFbVYs/s200/IMG_0913.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256528602659414898" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLhkO_aC2CRhypI_RPMrd1mD3XPEbKGU3_-Z0RDAq11WwfoJOZ8J7uAoO62kD89RHx0Wa4cZJfHPNcFmoLEyKJhYIGRfqL1kPdeOCqeT7dl87dzED1yozCAEBR4Om_QbRGhXioUuW4SM/s1600-h/IMG_0919.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLhkO_aC2CRhypI_RPMrd1mD3XPEbKGU3_-Z0RDAq11WwfoJOZ8J7uAoO62kD89RHx0Wa4cZJfHPNcFmoLEyKJhYIGRfqL1kPdeOCqeT7dl87dzED1yozCAEBR4Om_QbRGhXioUuW4SM/s200/IMG_0919.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256529328416345858" border="0" /></a>All smiles at lunch<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDH2g2mxNMQhj8WzhY2yhJ4qqbVitvOL_k6tQydzMDbDgIYuyiPAbFM39qpl1ZjhkQgqBMPeKJg2xki5cQpfdQ2cSehoof3jyP9vlrPqDM75Emv5tbgMSkl-bznzGjAw2FySqatlzDdE/s1600-h/IMG_0922.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDH2g2mxNMQhj8WzhY2yhJ4qqbVitvOL_k6tQydzMDbDgIYuyiPAbFM39qpl1ZjhkQgqBMPeKJg2xki5cQpfdQ2cSehoof3jyP9vlrPqDM75Emv5tbgMSkl-bznzGjAw2FySqatlzDdE/s200/IMG_0922.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256529956667971730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Daddy & Kyra</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">removing muddy shoes on the porch</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Have a great week friends!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">k~</span><br /></div></div>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06862600705935179289noreply@blogger.com0