Christmas Day

I really enjoyed our first Christmas at our own house this year. The kids woke up and got to open their stockings before breakfast. I think Millie's favorite toy of the day was a Spider-Man yo yo Rick and I won as a gag gift at the Bowen Christmas party. Well, the gag is on you because I knew Millie would love it as I stole it from another employee at the party.


I treated the kids to powdered doughnuts for breakfast (after they ate their bananas first) and they were big fans of the doughnuts. I may never get them to eat a healthy breakfast again.



Gifts came after that. We usually don't get the kids too much for Christmas but we had to do a little more this year because it would be more obvious without attending 5 different family Christmas gatherings over 2 days as we usually do. They still didn't get much but Rick made a beautiful barn for Reed. It is made out of a cherry tree from my dad's farm that we had sawed into lumber about 5 years ago. The wood has been drying in my dad's barn since then and we finally decided to do something with it. Reed got a cool farm truck to go with it and I am sure a few more tractors will be coming over the next few months.




Millie's big gift was a Razor scooter. She has wanted one for a while because all the boys in our neighborhood gang have them. They are all several years older than her but she still plays baseball with them and can keep up. She has borrowed theirs several times and I knew she could handle one. Fortunately it was about 53 degrees on Christmas Day so she got to go out and enjoy it.



Christmas night the kids got to try to finish off the gingerbread house. Millie was well on her way to eating the entire front of the house but I stopped her before she got sick. Reed was doing a good job devouring the roof.




I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and were able to take the time and enjoy the day.

My First Holiday Meal

The first Holiday meal I have ever had to provide was a success. We started with an appetizer of shrimp cocktail. It was paired with champagne (a gift) for Rick and I and sparkling grape juice for the kids. They both loved it.



Reed really enjoyed the shrimp too.



The prime rib was very good but definitely rare. I cooked it how long it said but those must have been minimum cooking times. I still feel okay 5 hours later so I guess it was 'done' enough.


The prime rib had a nice horseradish sauce and that all joined sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle' and cheesy broccoli.


Dessert was going to be bread pudding and cream sauce but we were so full, I am going to bake it tomorrow.

The kiddos got to open one gift before we went to 8pm mass. They got Pj's. I have to admidt, I wrapped up a pair of hand me downs for Reed. I thought it was crazy to buy the boy a new pair of pj's when he has about 8 pair. They were new to him so he didn't know. Millie wanted a green pair of pj's that covered her whole body, I actually found some at Old Navy. She was thrilled.


I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow. I am looking forward to the kids waking up in their own house and getting to enjoy stocking gifts and just chilling in our own home for the first time. I miss seeing more family during the Holidays but a time comes when you have to start your own family traditions and we sure had a nice start today.

Gingerbread House

This is the first Christmas since Rick and I were married that we have been at our own house during Christmas. We both thought it was time we started our own traditions, in our house, with our kids and we just could not do those little things when we were never home. So, this year, we are trying to make a few fun traditions and fill 2 days with interesting things so the kids will have a fun, and not lonely, Christmas.



This morning (Christmas Eve) we made a Gingerbread House. I have never made one before, or even eaten Gingerbread for that matter but I thought Millie would enjoy it so I picked up an idiot proof kit at the store. I didn't even have to make the gingerbread, the pieces were already in there, perfect for me :-) It went together easily but the icing continued to moved the entire time. I had a flash back to my college Fluid Mechanics class where we learned that everything is actually a fluid, slowly moving over time. This is why the glass windows in old building is always wavy looking. Glass is a fluid slowly moving and that is why they are ripply looking. Anyway...the icing did not want to stay put so we had to quickly get our decorations on before they all slid off. It put a damper on the pretzel rail fence I wanted to build and the other accessories I had in mind.


Reed didn't really help build it but he did enjoy cleaning up scraps along the way. He also managed to eat the fence I was going to build.

When You Realize It Is Too Quiet

Mom's, you know what this is all about. You are busy working on something and then you think..."Where are the kids, why is it so quiet?" Reed and Millie are free to roam the house. I don't worry because Reed is never far from Millie and she would be the first to tell me when he is doing something he is not supposed to. Normally they are in the room with me but once in a while Millie will go to her room or they will be in my room playing. I was going through photos when I realized how quite it was. I yelled for them to come back and Millie and Reed dutifully returned. Their faces were covered in stickers. They both thought they were hilarious. It was funny until I had to take them all off and they hurt. Those were some really sticky stickers. I still bet even though they were both crying when I peeled them off, they will do it again tomorrow...

Christmas Program

Millie was an angel this year in her Preschool Christmas Program. Last year she was a sheep with upside down ears, here is last year video. She sang the songs but was much more into it last year. I think her halo was giving her troubles this year.


Afterward, she sat on Santa's lap. We don't really talk about Santa at our house but she sat on his lap anyway. I read her mind..."I don't know who this guy is but all my friends came up here and they got a candy cane. I better get a candy cane from this crazy looking dude."

Fire Bombs

Millie now calls her shoes Fire Bombs. She said because fire makes you go fast and bombs go fast and they make me go fast.

She has a point, she is REALLY fast.

Snow Pictures 2 Weeks Late

We woke up 2 weeks ago to a snow covered neighborhood. The nice thing about snow in East TN is that it comes, it is pretty, then it goes away just as fast. Millie had a basketball game at 10am so we were not able to play in it before we left. When we got back, this is all that was left. The yard was clear but at least the deck still has some on it.





Millie immediately started licking it off the chair, that is her favorite thing to do with snow...eat it. Reed was not sure what to think. I think he is like me and just thought..."This is cold, let's go in".

Not much going on...

Well, there is I guess but I have not had my camera out so I figure there is no point in blogging if I don't have a photo. It did snow the other day which is a big deal for us here in Knoxville. Even when it does snow, it is usually not enough to go out and play in. Millie just wanted to eat it and Reed was not sure what to think.

Reed is trying to talk more these days. If you ask him to say "I love you" he says "Uh Vu"...it is really cute. He loves blowing kisses and giving high fives. He still spends most of his time playing trains with Millie. He has left the Christmas Tree alone, much to my surprise.

Millie is playing basketball at the YMCA right now and I am coaching, which is why I don't have photos. I am going to have to teach Rick how to use it so he can take a few photos at the next game.

I have been trying to find ideas to keep our Christmas day full of fun for the kids since this is the first year we will not be going to Indiana for Christmas. I want to try to make it seem like a really special day and not just another Saturday. Any ideas would be appreciated.

A Day Trip To The Smokies

We missed the peak color of the leaves by about a week or 2 but we still enjoyed a gorgeous day in the Smokies a few weeks ago. The kids had a lot of fun exploring an old farm we stopped at for a few hours.

A Total Technology Makeover

My slight computer addiction has now been freed to reach an entire new level. I am giving Comcast the boot and I now have Verizon Wireless internet. We are also getting rid of Comcast cable (our only choice where we live) and going old school with 'rabbit ears'. Although antennas of the 21st century, I have learned, no longer look like rabbit ears but are small little silver stylish looking things so it may not be too bad to live with.

I have 30 days to try it out and see if I think I may go over my usage. Between running 2 blogs, uploading all my photos to Kodak.com and the photos I have on my personal AND business Facebook page, I may be pushing it. So for the next 30 days, I am going to have to use and upload a lot of photos to make sure in my busiest month, I will not have to worry about going over my usage allotment.

The last phase of my total technology makeover will come in a few months when I send my computer to the trash heap and go Mac. The screen is holding on about like my loose teeth used to when I was little, by one root, or wire in this case. At any moment, my screen could snap off and I will be left in the dark. But, considering how...frugal...I am, I will not buy a new one until this one bites the dust.

I hope to see you on the 'world's largest 3G network'...can you hear me now???

My First Stamping Workshop

I drove to Nashville, IN this weekend to attend a workshop presented by Michelle Zindorf. I have been a fan of her work for over a year, she makes beautiful sunset and scenery cards starting with a blank piece of white paper. Please see her blog here, you will be amazed. Many of her cards are created using a tool called a brayer which is a hand held rubber roller. By rolling the brayer in ink used for stamping, she colors her backgrounds and creates beautiful realistic scenes.


In the workshop, we were taught how to use a brayer and a few sponges to create 3 cards. We got a great set of stamps, the brayer, a white gel pen and a stamping pad for attending the class. I am very glad I finally attended one of her workshops because she was a great teacher and I am sure I will be able to put my new brayer to good use.