Saturday afternoon Noah read to her.
One of her favorites; Fancy Nancy Christmas.
Monday afternoon Isaiah bought her lunch.
(We are not buying McDonald's for the kids any more. They are hungry just an hour after eating their lunch, so to me, that = wasted money) Isaiah is home sick today, poor nose won't stop running. He was watching TV and ran to tell me that McDonald's has Nerf toys now. Neat, cool - I'm 10 pages away from finishing New Moon....
He later comes to tell me he wants lunch there. As I explain that money for 'lunch out' is not in the budget for the next 5 years. He asked if he can buy his own! I reminded him that Renae would be with us, as we needed to leave in 5 minutes to get her. So he ran upstairs and pulled out 10$ of his own money (when did he get to be so rich???) And asked if that would be enough for all of us to get lunch. I told him that was plenty to get him and Renae lunch there and I don't need any McDonald's today but that was sweet to think of us all.
Such sweet brothers she has. I hope she knows this as she grows up.
And trust me they aren't always this sweet...must be the Christmas spirit!!
Curious...do any of you know how I can get that annoying 'home, new blog temp' stuff off my header? I have tired all knowledge, which is not much!! I would love any ideas.
I love to be organized and clean...with 4 kids, 2 dogs and a husband...well, that is not always the case. But I loved how Marcia Ramsland pointed out how you can be ready for Christmas without the stress. To bad I just no found this...and to bad we aren't doing presents for anyone this year...but NEXT year it will be helpful!!!
How Many Weeks until Christmas?
Many people, including me, have used Thanksgiving to trigger serious action steps for
Christmas. It just didn’t seem right to commercialize Christmas by purchasing gifts before
Thanksgiving. But that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? Waiting until after Thanksgiving does
commercialize the holidays by putting us smack dab in the middle of a chaotic mall with
throngs of frenzied shoppers.
I also discovered that Thanksgiving is a “floating holiday.” Some years it falls four-and-ahalf
weeks before Christmas, and other years it comes as late as three-and-a-half weeks
before Christmas. That’s why you hear people say, “It seems like Christmas came early this
year.” Sometimes it does, since Thanksgiving is a floating holiday.
Discovery #1: The Best Date to Start
My personal turning point came when I stumbled onto a valuable insight. Every year, one particular event occurs exactly eight weeks before Christmas–it’s Halloween. If you kick off your holiday plan the next day, on November 1, every year you will have eight weeks from
October 31 until December 25 as a structure in which to easily organize and plan your
preparations. Even if you don’t begin exactly on November 1, you have a calendar structure
in which to note where you are whenever you do begin.
Taken from Simplify Your Holidays by Marcia Ramsland
For my 230 post, I wanted to post our favorite cookie recipe. I am making them now, for a special guy in my life, who is taking one for the team today.
Jose's Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Dr. Jose A. Bowen: Hook, Hants., England
1 1/2 C. Old Fashioned rolled oats
2 C. Flour
1t. baking powder
1t. baking soda
1t. salt
2 sticks (1C.) unsalted butter, softened
1C. granulated sugar
1C. packed light brown sugar
1T. vanilla extract
3/4 C peanut butter
2 large eggs
12 ounces bag, semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated
In a food processor pulse 1 cup oats until ground fine. In a large bowl stir together ground oats, remaining 1/2 c. whole oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla and peanut butter. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and grated chocolate, beating just until combined. Chill cookie dough, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.
Pre heat oven to 325F.
Form rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly.
Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven, 15 minutes, or until just pale golden. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely.
There is something about having to blog every day for a whole month that can set a bit of fear in you.
That thought that pops in your head. Did I remember today...oh ya, I did. It's just been a long day. Or the dreaded....OH no. I totally spaced.
Yesterday was a good day. We skipped church...going to hell I know...but we needed a morning to sleep in. We were up early Saturday, out of the house by 7. And we didn't really get home till 8:30 that night. We were tired. And this is not the time of year to push yourself or your kids into being sick.
Darren got home from an amazing Men's Retreat on Sunday. We were all glad to have him home!! Then we went to have a late lunch, early dinner with my Mom. It was good to see her. We have all been going 100 miles a minute. I love Sunday dinners with family. That's what Sunday's should be. Family and friends and long talks.
So did I get a sense of panic this morning. I did. But it's alright. We had a great day yesterday. And that's what it all boils down to in the long run.
