Feliz Navitoss!

I am very happy to make mention of the fact that it is the last day of November and I will no longer be a slave to my blog. Wootwoot!

Today we are going to pick up a Christmas tree and let the decorating begin! I'm excited (I think). Decorating is not a cost effective way to celebrate Christmas but really, most things "Christmas" aren't exactly cost effective. And no, I'm not talking about the true meaning of Christmas (I've got that figured out people) but more the retail holiday. It's fun all the same. I love to create a fun atmosphere for my kids. However, Taylor let us know this morning that Santa is not real. Apparently people sneak into our house and do his bidding. I had to set him straight and let him know that Santa doesn't come to children who don't believe in him. And now, wouldn't you know it, Santa is real again. Ahh to be 5 again.

Yesterday I was having blog dialogue with my sister-in-law Jenn about our world today and all the political correctness and "change the world for the minority" mentality. Not to mention, heaven forbid our little boys play cops and robbers and cowboys and indians, wielding the most dangerous weapon of all, their little gun-shaped hand. My sister-in-law Natalie sent this link to me. You need to click on the stoplight to get it to start. I love it! It's just so true and definitely how I feel. My favorite- Feliz Navitoss! Thanks Natalie!

Merry Christmas everyone! Let the festivities begin!

oops

I really didn't mean to mess up. Today I will attempt to post twice to make up for my mistake. In all my spare time, I didn't get a moment to post yesterday... Thanks for calling me out SUE! Anyway, here's a recipe for today. I made these things for Thanksgiving and they were a hit.

Rolo Turtles

1 bag mini pretzels (I used the square pretzels)
1 bag rolo candies
1 bag pecan halves

Put as many pretzels as you can on a cookie sheet (I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper). It's ok if they are touching, just don't overlap them.

Place a Rolo on each pretzel. Place in oven at 300 degrees. When chocolate gets shiny, take the cookie sheet out (usually 5 - 10 minutes - if the Rolos start to split, it's been to long. They are still salvagable, but won't look as pretty).

Immediately press a pecan half into each Rolo. Cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes or until firm enough to stack on a dish.

Alright, I'm off to re-write and re-assign parts for our primary program that was supposed to be Oct 28 but then they split our ward the week before (yes, we were ready, assigned, practiced, the works) and told us we had to do it on Dec 16. No, I'm not bitter...

Things are getting a bit racy around here

When we first started our blog, we were "G" rated (please scroll to the bottom of our blog if you don't believe me). Apparently saying "poop" 9x and "punch" 1x are leading us down a deluded path of filth.

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Just when I thought I had washed it all...

I guess I blog a lot about laundry. That should tell you something. I really think I am drowning in it. For those of you who came to my house for Thanksgiving and went into my bedroom, you can confirm that yes, in fact, I am drowning in laundry. So you're thinking- what can be post-worthy when it comes to laundry? Other than complaining about it, or patting myself on the back for actually being caught up (a rarety, I assure you), I don't think that it really is postworthy. That is, until I opened the dryer tonight.

I've washed a lot of things. Last week, for instance, I washed a disposable diaper. I don't recommend trying that one. Not pretty. Tonight I opened the dryer (don't ask me how I got this far without noticing anything) and the first thing that came out of the dryer was a brown blob- it fell on the floor- I ignored it. But then I started to notice an odor and as I'm pulling out more clothes, an even bigger brown blob drops to the floor. I pick it up, take a sniff (I know, what was I thinking?) and HELLO- poop in the laundry. This might insite a riot in some households but in mine, poop and peep, whether I like it or not, just seem to be something I can't avoid. Most people only have one shadow, I have three. I know, you are wondering about the poop (and if you're not, you should be)- it was hard as a rock. But really, where did this poop come from and how did I not notice it until it had finished baking its aroma into my laundry? We will never know people, we will never know. We pulled out all the clothes and sure enough, poop marks here and there around the barrel.

I'm sure at this point Dave was thinking "How the heck did Natalie just wash poop but more importantly, how many of my clothes have been compromised?" I just couldn't get past the "How am I going to clean poop out of the dryer?" Not to mention, "Where exactly did this poop come from?"

Anyway, for those of you who are now traumatized, I can only give you these words of reassurance- I live for bleach. We take strolls in the park, walks along the beach, all that kind of stuff.

I'm trying to think of a moral to this story. Really, I've got nothin'. It's easy enough to say "Don't throw poop in with your laundry" but then I would be the master of the obvious and that's no fun. Some things you just can't be prepared for and you just have to roll with it. So I guess the moral to this story would be- "Roll with it people, just not in it."

Gingerbread House

Tonight for our FHE activity we put together a gingerbread house. The kids had a fun time doing it- asking the whole time when we were going to eat it. They aren't so much into the idea of it being a decoration. We ate, we built, we conquered. Here she is in all her glory (and yes, she is a girl because a boy would never be this accessorized):


The kids showing off their hard work. Actually, they are just showing off. Period.

Happiness is...

Things that are making me happy today:

• My baby and her sweet kisses
• Sara being so snuggly
• Taylor being so smart
• Dave hiding Christmas gifts in the garage rafters for me
• Christmas dresses for my girls (even though Sara got glitter finger nail polish on hers- we don't even own glitter finger nail polish. Dang neighbor kids!
• A healthy family
• A fun Thanksgiving holiday with my family
• Down coats
• Photographs
• Christmas lights
• Cupboards to hide all my junk
• No mice in our house (knock on wood)
• Bleach- oh how I do love bleach
• online shopping and free shipping
• warm beds for my family to sleep in
• Christmas books, really any children's books
• Online coloring pages of all the things my kids love that I can print and bring to church
• Laundry that is folded and put away
• The Elvis guitar coin holder that Dave brought home from Big Lots- I'll have to post a picture.
• Spaghetti Squash- a little butter and s&p- I think I've died and gone to heaven
• Almost being done with my Christmas shopping!
• Holiday traditions

Thanksgiving place cards

These are the place cards I made for Thanksgiving. I stamped the cards for the kids and put buttons and brads on the adults. They turned out pretty good- not exactly as fabulous as I had hoped but it was late when I made them and I just didn't care anymore. Having name cards made everything a little less hectic when it was time to sit at the table. Plus, everyone loved seeing their face. So fun! Here are the ones I made for my kids: