Summer Lovin'

from martawrites

Summer is fast ending. Not the hot, muggy, humid monsoon summer weather but quality (and not so quality) time with my kids. Here is what I have observed happening when kids know that the summer is ending and they have to go back to school: chaos! The bickering seems to escalate, the clamor for computer game time increases, the moping makes an appearance. Ah, lovely family time...Soon I will have all of my kids in full-time school. Friends keep asking me what I am going to do with myself.  Hmm, the house may be a little cleaner, I may be a little bit more well read, I might be more organized and there is always the possibility of a good dinner on the table every night. Honestly, I am not sure what lies ahead for me. I've thought about trying to find a part-time gig, We could definitely use the money with braces not far on the horizon. Maybe I will volunteer at the schools like a supermom every day or work on developing some of  my dormant talents.  Only time will tell.

Hugs & Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am hoping to be able to convince my Valentine to stay up late & watch one of my favorite romance movies.  Either this one

or this one

My kiddies will be getting some yummy homemade goodies with these darling tags from  Hello, Good Gravy attached today.

My main squeeze will be getting a personalized love note written on this stunner from Eighteen 25.

 

What are your plans?

2011 Script

I really hate making New Year's Resolutions.  The fact is, I never remember them and I feel like they are just another thing I do to torture myself.  I am also not really into the blog trend of choosing a  "word theme" and basing my life around a word for the next 12 months.  My life is more than one word.  Anyway, I have decided to try and get a couple of things done this year and they fit into two general categories. The first is to preserve my family history, old school family photos, kids necessary documents and papers (like report cards) and just generally be better about saving what is important and getting rid of that which isn't.  The other thing is to work on conservation. I'm not talking about recycling our glass, paper and plastic (we already do that) but about being a better steward over the hard earned dollars my dear husband brings home. I am determined to decrease my family's spending on clothes and eating out and to be more conscious about where our funds are going.  I am depending on you all to help me out a little.  Help me be accountable to myself and my family. Thank you very much.  This week I haven't been Target once and I was able to do some more research on Walter Edgar Malloy, a mysterious and quite elusive long-lost relative.  I have some good leads and hope to bring him to justice soon. :)  Now  that would be great year.  Here's to 2011!

Taking Down Christmas

Alex and I just finished taking down Christmas.  He was unhappy about it and a few skirmishes occurred. Sorry, baby, but the lights have got to go.  The house does seem rather bare now.  Taking down Christmas always makes me feel a little blue.  I am currently detoxing from the overload of sugar I ingested over the month of December but thought I would share this gem of a cookie with you.  I had my cookie party and the cookies were the best ever.  Lots of keepers.  This was one of my favorites from Jill. So, so good!

Cranberry Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons orange juice or orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier) or 

1/2 teaspoon orange extract plus 1-1/2 tablespoon water
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2-1/2 cups coarsely chopped frozen or fresh
cranberries, or dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease baking sheets. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Stir in milk, orange juice and egg. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in nuts and cranberries.
Drop dough by tablespoons about 2" apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

Sam's Town

I'm sitting here at the computer, freezing and wondering why we haven't turned the darn heater on yet. Winter finally arrived and it's cold! At least this Arizona girl is!! Anyway, the holidays have come and gone. The kids started back up at school today. Sleeping in is nil. I have to get off my big behind and start exercising again. I kinda forgot to take a lot of pictures this month so I'll post a few and narrarate the rest. Christmas was great this year. We toned down the gift giving to give our wallets a mandatory rest and honestly it was one my favorite Christmases to date. We did some fun things like visiting Winterhaven, making the traditional goodies and hanging out with family. Meghan and I are going to see Wicked in a few weeks thanks to my awesome mom who got us tickets. Can't wait! My great in-laws helped me out in the wardrobe department. There is nothing better than getting a giftcard and then going to the store and shopping when everything is 40% off. Seriously. For New Year's Matt, the two older kids and I went via Las Vegas to Alamo, Nevada and got a short vacay on our friends ranch where we were introduced to the Settlers of Catan of which I won on the first game play. Boo-yah! On the way home we lunched at Sam's Town, yes THE Sam's Town. Duh-da, Duh-da. Enjoy the pix.

Holding my new nephew.

My nephew Henry's first birthday party.

Christmas Eve.  The kids left gingersnaps and lukewarm 7-up out for Santa.

What a delight. :(

I made this fleecy blanket for Meghan. She is into penguins right now. :)

First pocket knife.

Loving the expression on Ethan's face.

Grandma always comes through for Alex.

Ghosts In The House

This is our new kids Halloween book this year.  It has the cutest illustrations and the right amount of Halloween flair without the scary, gory stuff.  Thank you, Kazuno Kahora for a delightful Halloween read!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

I have been craving something pumpkin the past few days and made this healthy recipe. Who says healthy has to be bland and yucky?  I made them without the craisins to avoid the sugar content but they were yummy even without them.  The buttermilk can be fattening but you can find it fat-free.  Try them out!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts

2 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 C. pumpkin puree (I use canned)
2 T. oil
3/4 C. honey
2 eggs
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sweetened dried cranberries (like Craisins)
1/2 C. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a standard or mini muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, honey, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.