3 year olds...

I sat down in the rocking chair hoping to come up with something to write. Last week, I had many ideas for writing. The ideas were flowing. I just couldn't find the time to write them. This week - the ideas aren't so much there. I attribute this to my 3 year old. I love my smallest son, God I really do. He is my "bonus child". I never ever expected to have him. Tim and I had our 2 children - a boy and a girl. Tim was "done". I kinda thought I was "done", but never really for sure. From time to time, Savannah and I would gang up on Tim and try to convince him why we needed to have another baby in the house. He wasn't buying it. He even told me that if we just stuck with the two kids, I could tour Europe with Savannah when she was in high school. How is that for bargaining? Still, we would try to convince him every so often. More and more time went by and Savannah was now 5 years old. At this point, I wasn't so keen on starting over again. It wasn't completely out of my mind, but not nearly so close either. Then Debi died. Like all of our family, I was just so completely lost. I didn't know what to do most days. I felt like I was in a fog and I just couldn't get out. One short month after losing her, Tim woke me up on a Sunday morning. While we were laying there, he told me he thought we should have another baby. I really didn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't know what to think. So, I didn't think... I just agreed. By January, we were expecting Sebastian. Tim says he changed his mind because he was so worried about me and wanted to give me some hope. He wanted to help keep my mind busy and have something to hold onto. Well... my mind has been busy. So extremely busy since the day my beloved last child was conceived! There is absolutely no doubt about that. Nope - he keeps everyone one busy. He has my mind so occupied, that most days, I can not even add 2+2. In the past week or two, he has lit a match and blown it out, painted himself with the little paints that come in a paint by number thing, tried to test his blood with my sister's diabetic supplies (yes, he punctured his finger at least once with the lancet thingy), and the list goes on. Those were the most interesting things he has done, but he is always busy. The only time he isn't walking around trying to figure out something to do is when he is mastering a preschool game on the computer. Thank GOD for games on the computer or I may have to run away screaming for a moment of peace. This is one of the BIGGER reasons, my blog posts have been a bit sporadic this past week, month, etc. This was not what I came on to write about, but then I read Jen's blog at Amazing Trips. She is living what I live times three - 3 year olds. Her post so genuinely sums up a day in my life. I couldn't have written it better. So, go visit her blog. I promise you will love her writing.

"My milky ba is cussing!"

"My milky ba is cussing." Yes, that is what my 3 year old told me the other night. It all started with milk or more precisely Sebastian's problem with milk. He loves it. He really thinks he cannot live with out it. The thing is that milk and him just don't mix well. I wish they did. I have procrastinated on this milk thing for long enough. For those that don't like gross mommy talk - you may want to skip the next few sentences - Sebastian appears to be lactose intolerant. At least I am hoping that is the problem and not gluten intolerance. I took him off complete milk (well skim milk) cups before Christmas. That seemed to help with some of the huge quantity of poopy diapers. We basically give him a bottle of water with a few splashes of milk for color. It worked. He would drink it and it seemed to help with digestion. It still didn't fix his problems and unless we can get his poopy diapers under control, I don't think we will ever accomplish potty training. So... I decided to try splashing a bit of Silk Vanilla Soy Milk in his bottle of water. I put him to bed like I always do. Very soon he came out of his room and told me, "My milky ba is cussing!" over and over. I asked him to repeat himself slowly. Sure enough - he was saying "cussing". He was making all sorts of faces of digust too. The best I can figure is that we keep telling him "cussing" is "bad", so he somehow figured that word worked to describe how BAD is milky ba tasted. I guess! So, now we are going to try lactaid or some other kind of lactose free organic milk that my sister-in-law told me about. Pray he likes it and it works so we can get this potty training thing over with.

A new cast...

This past Friday, Savannah went to the doctor to get her stitches out and get a new cast. She was not really sure about the saw and cutting the cast. Then when the nurse started to take the stitches out, she really started to lose it. The doctor came in and suggested another way to take the stitches out. I don't know what the difference was, but it was better for her. I glanced over at her ankle and quickly looked away. I am NOT good with any medical stuff. When I say NOT GOOD - I should be saying AWFUL or whatever is worse than AWFUL - ummm... TERRIBLE - MOST AWFUL AND TERRIBLE. Well, you get the idea. I can't handle it. I literally started hyperventilating once when I saw a spot of blood on Tim's hospital gown from a surgery he had. I am a wimp. Anyway, back to my daughter. The doctor says she is doing good and her ankle looks good. I am glad he could tell me that because I didn't think it looked good at all. If he hadn't told me that, I would be hysterical right now thinking she would never walk again. We have to go back at the end of the month. He will do an xray without the cast on and decide if we can go with a shorter cast at that point. I sure hope that is how it works out.

The SAW! I had another picture of her using the saw, but Savannah looks scared to death in it. I don't think she would like that on my blog.

With the bandage it doesn't look nearly as frightening. It is what is UNDERNEATH the bandage that freaked me out quite a bit. I asked her if I could snap a picture for her dad, but she said no. I don't know if I could get a picture without actually looking anyway and I was NOT going to be looking.

This side shows how it is still swollen.

This is the very nice Dr. McCain. Savannah made him a very large painted THANK YOU picture. He told her he put it in his locker outside of surgery. He said when he has a bad day, he looks at it and remembers why he does what he does.

Valentine's Day

I have at least 3 blog topics floating around in my head and I just haven't made myself sit down to write them out. So, this morning, I am writing one of them. There is a homeschool group here that does a Valentine's party. I wasn't sure Savannah would want to go especially since they would be doing relay race type games. Still, I was thinking about it about how I used to take Savannah to the homeschool parties when she was just 3 years old. Timmy was 13 and really had no interest in the little homeschool parties that were going on. I just went so Savannah could play and have fun. All of a suddent it occurred to me that even if she didn't want to go, I should take Sebastian. Afterall, he would love to hand out Valentines and play games. As it turned out, Savannah was feeling much better and decided she would like to go. I was soon informed that all children from our family bring paint cans as their decorated containers. My brother-in-law owns a painting company. Years and years ago, Debi started this tradition with her kids. I got the kids two clean paint cans to decorate and they went to it. Sebastian had a lot of fun with this. I am glad I had unpacked all of our foam sticky things. The next day we went to the party. There were quite a few kids there. Oddly enough, there were an unusual amount of little boys from about ages 2 to 4. I am guessing about 8 or so! Sebastian was just amazed. He ran around with them like a crazy man. When we got home he told me he "had so much fun!" It was so cute to hear him say that. Savannah met up with a couple girls from scouts. They were so kind to her. They sat down and shared snacks together. When the games began, they included her by playing Red Light Green Light with her. She got to call out the Red and Green. She had a really great time considering she was new AND had a cast up to her bottom! I enjoyed talking with the other moms. The only thing I miss about Florida is talking to my other mom friends. (And Patrick - Timmy's best friend - he is my other kid.) It was nice to chat a bit with them. I did feel slightly strange in a twilight zone way. These moms are the same moms that Debi had this group with for the last 10 years before she died. So many times, I would here her say I was talking with so and so and she said this and that. Or so and so had a baby, etc. It was very surreal being with all these people that I knew in name, but not by their face. Then I just missed Debi. I know I write about that a lot, probably too much. It is just something I need to work through. Then there was comfort in knowing that this was the group she was involved with and I felt like there was a reason that my life had changed and put me in this place. It was a very DEEP Valentine's party! Oh... just kidding. These were all just fleeting thoughts. Anyway, they had a great time. I am hoping to see more of the group and get the kids out playing with more of the kids.

Aunt Karen's Amazing Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Sandwich Cake...

Twice when we visited in the past year, we were lucky enough to get a slice of Aunt Karen's Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Sandwich cake. The kids all call it something else that I can't seem to think of at the moment. This cake is SO GOOD! I mean like you will find yourself thinking you need a slice of it first thing in the morning, then again later and of course right before bedtime. It really is that good. I am sure it is really high in calories and fattening. I don't care. It is too good not to eat. Right after our move, the family had a game night. We decided to try to make this cake to share with everyone. Ours turned out pretty well. I think Aunt Karen's were better. One thing I think we didn't do quite right was allow enough time for it to freeze all together. It did seem to taste even better the next day. So, remember to leave enough time to freeze it all back together. This was the first "FUN" thing Savannah and I made on our brand new kitchen counter. And, yes, her feet are on the counter. I promise they didn't touch food and food didn't touch where her feet were. My niece, Karis, was just thrilled that I let Savannah sit on the counter like that!

Prep Time:
10 minTotal Time:
4 hr 10 minMakes:
12 servings
1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed,
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
8 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

1.POUR the fudge topping into a medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping with a wire whisk until it's well blended. The consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on what brand you purchase. If your fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, stir in 1/4 cup milk.

2. CHOP the OREO cookies roughly into chunks. They don't all have to be the same size. Stir into the pudding mixture.

3. ARRANGE 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side by side, on a 24x12-inch piece of foil; top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat the layers

4. TOP the pudding mixture with the remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. The layers create a neat striped effect when sliced.

5. FROST the top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. It doesn't have to look perfect.

6. BRING up the foil sides. Double fold the top and ends to loosely seal the packet. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before serving. Store leftover dessert in the freezer. Makes 12 servings.

My little pyros...

One of Tim's favorite things of moving here has been burning things. He has been burning boxes, garbage, pine needles, brush and logs. Now I don't want to make is sound as if TIM is the only one enjoying this. Uh uh - nope - no way! All three of my kids have the fire bug. They love that dad is burning things at least a couple nights a week and at least once every weekend. Savannah, sadly, can't make it down to the backyard right now. There is nothing keeping Sebastian inside though. He was out on Thursday night helping Tim clear the underbrush. I cannot tell you how nervous this child makes me! Tim really wanted me to hang out with him and talk, but my smallest pyro child was giving me fits! He would lay down on the ground and commando crawl to the fire with a stick. With all his might he would throw pine needles into the fire. He would catch the end of his stick on fire and then try to light another fire with it. I was screaming the whole time, but Tim just kept telling me he was watching him. I eventually calmed down and enjoyed the talking time with Tim. Saturday night, Tim sat outside burning more wood till the early morning hours. That was his 4th evening of fires in a week. You would have thought he had his fill. NOPE! He had Sebastian out there yesterday afternoon doing - you guessed it - burning more logs. It does give me a nice break except that I have to keep bathing the dirty, smoky smelling, happy boy each time he comes in. Oh well... I think his memories of fires with dad outweigh the work of lots of baths. Oh and remember this - "It's a pyro thing" ?

Cast pictures - FINALLY...

I finally got my usb picture thingy out. So, here are the pictures of Savannah's lovely cast. We went to the doctor on Friday. They took 3 xrays through her cast. So far, so good. Her cast is getting more loose each day. She will go back this Friday and get a whole new long cast. She says she still wants a white cast because it is better draw on. I *think* she will keep this next long cast for two weeks and then get a shorter cast for 2 more weeks. I think that is how it is, but I am not positive. Savannah is getting around a lot better on her crutches. She has girl scouts tomorrow afternoon. When she first got her cast she told me that there was no way that she could go to anything the whole time she had a cast. She was very afraid to walk with the crutches. Now she is doing a whole lot better. We went to the doctor on Friday morning, then we went to Walmart. She flew around in the wheelchair! She kept wheeling away from her Grandma. It was a much needed outing! Now she has decided that she can INDEED go to girl scouts tomorrow. I am glad. I really didn't want her to be a hermit for 6 weeks. I will take pictures of her getting her new cast next week.

So far...

We have been here for about 2.5 weeks. I went walking with Karen yesterday. Then I decided to walk around once more because it just felt like a good thing to do. As I walked around, I thought in my head SO FAR... So far, I am loving my house. It is a little cramped and cluttered, but I have in my head how it will look one day. So far, I love driving around this place that is new to me. I am just taken back when I see a place with lots of land and horses just grazing on it. They are just so pretty. So far, when I drive into the neighborhood, I love the part at the top of the hill where you look out over tons of trees. I remembered that I felt that way when I first drove here to visit Debi way back years ago. So far, I love the new Super Walmart. It is so quiet in there. Nothing like the one we had in Florida. So far, the Target is very nice here too. It is a little creepy quiet though. Tim and I wanted to start singing to add some noise while we were shopping. So far, I really like watching Tim "play" in his yard. It makes me happy to know he is enjoying that part of our house. So far, I love having my nieces and nephew come in and out. I love getting hug from one of them just out of the blue. So far, I love the friendship I have found in our family. It is nice to have people to sit and talk with or play a game of cards. It is nice to not have to go very far, just out your door and over a house or two to find a friendly face and a warm welcome. Oh, yes, there is one more so far that I can think of off the top of my head. I LOVE MY KITCHEN! I absolutely LOVE IT! I clean off my countertops and think I am so very glad Tim insisted we spend the money for the nicer ones. I just love them. I can't wait until the finishing touches are put on it. I am sure there are other things that I love so far. I just had these random ones rolling around in my head. The thing is that is has been stressful. With a surgery and a few whining kids (we aren't going to mention how my most whining one is my 18 year old), I am still feeling a lot of stress has gone away by just moving. So, I guess this is my rundown of how I feel SO FAR.

A little late at a Savannah update...

I am SO SORRY that I never came back to say her surgery went well. It took about an hour and a half. She has I think - 3 screws in her ankle. She will go back on Friday to have a look at her incisions and get a new cast. The cast is a long one - up to her bottom. I need to get some pictures of it. She is struggling a bit with pain and being afraid to get up on her crutches. I am hoping today will be a bit better. It is going to be a long 6 weeks! Well, maybe only 4. She will be in a full long cast for 4 weeks and then a shorter cast for 2 weeks. Keep her in your prayers.

Surgery update...

Savannah is set to go to surgery at 1pm today. They have to either put two pins or two screws into her ankle to attach the growth plate to the bones. I think. How is that for medical terms? The doctor is a very nice man. He says he has been here for 25 years and will take very good care of her. When he came in here yesterday, he explained what was going to happen and then he sat down with her and prayed for her. That gave me a lot of peace. Once again, please pray that the surgery goes well and that she heals quickly! Thanks!

Savannah could use some prayers...

Hi everyone! Savannah had an accident on the trampoline today. She came down on her ankle the wrong way and broke it in two places. Tonight we are having a mom/daughter sleep over at the hospital. Tomorrow (Thursday) - she will have a CAT Scan and then on Friday morning she will have surgery to reconstruct her ankle with a couple screws. She just had a little more pain medicine and seems to be doing better now. Timmy was her hero and carried her off the trampoline to the car and then from the car to the Urgent Care, then from there to the car, then to the hospital. He was AWESOME! So, if you could keep her in your prayers, it would be really great. I will post an update when I can!

Well, hello from SC...

I have Internet and cable! Is there anymore to life? Okay, I know there is, don't panic. I have yet to take any pictures while we have been here. We have gotten a lot unpacked, but there is still a lot more to go. I think the first week went way better than I expected. I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but it was not all that bad. There are a few things I can't find like remote controls and a laundry basket. I suspect they are in Timmy's car. It is amazing how you can just learn to live without these things until you can find them. Let's see... Sebastian is finally adjusting. He was a little whiny and into everything the first few days. Savannah has been playing, playing and playing some more. She did ask to call Elizabeth one night, but then something else happened and she never did make the call. I think it helped tremendously that she had family to move to. Timmy is not doing as well, but not bad. He misses his friends. I have noticed something. I moved away from my friends when I was 18, too. When I moved, it was like I was just cutoff. It was expensive to call friends back then. I was limited to who I could call and how long I could talk. I would plan my call for weeks and then call. In today's world, Timmy hears from his friends via cell phone, text messages, im (sent to his cell phone), My Space (also sent to his cell phone), pictures and email. He knows what his friends are doing almost at the time they are doing it. I think they do this to make him feel included, but at the same time I think it stings a bit. He knows they are out at the movies or Starbucks and it makes it all too clear that he ISN'T with them. I think it is a such a blessing in one way and not so much in another. I know he will be okay, I just sorta hurt for him. Tim started his new job last week and seems to like it well enough. It is hard work, but that was no surprise. It seems to be an easy employer to work for and that is always helpful. He spent a lot of time cutting down a path to the lake on Sunday. He does seem to love the yard we have. He also burned some more boxes and stuff. Did I mention he likes to burn things? My mom and sister, Michelle, are doing pretty good. My mom is looking for a house to buy. We know the right house will show up at the right time. Michelle found her health club and already went swimming last night. She has also been walking up the BIG HILL (I should post a picture of that) with the dog once a day. Then there is me. I am fine. A little overwhelmed with things finding their "home". I like everything to have a place. I am missing Debi. I love looking out the window or into my living room and seeing my nieces and nephews. It is a great feeling. Then I have moments where I miss Debi so much, my heart just hurts. I knew this would happen. I was prepared for it. I missed her in Florida and I knew that as soon as I moved, that I would wonder how I could be here and she wouldn't be. Like everything thing else, it will work out. It is just going to take some time. Today, I have big plans to unpack toys and craft supplies. Sounds exciting, huh? Some of them have been in storage since May. It may feel like Christmas finding them all again. Hopefully, this is my return to some routine blogging. Come back soon!

Finally, a post...

We are here. We are unpacking. We may dig out by spring. I would love to write a ton, but I don't have my own computer at the moment. The internet guy is coming on FRIDAY. Hopefully, by the weekend, I can sit back and blog for a bit. Come back soon.

I have packing ADD...

I haven't googled to see if this is a real disease, but I definitely have it. Packing ADD. It is where you get a box, take it into a room to pack it. Then you leave said room and go to another room with another box and begin to pack that one. Then the phone rings and you go answer it only to grab a box and begin packing that one. The next thing you know you can't remember what you were packing. You go back and find that you started on a box only you can't really remember actually beginning to pack that box. Then you try as hard as you can to remember what is under the other stuff that is on top. You want to mark the boxes with a little more than "office" because you may need that survey for closing later or Girl Scout books for a meeting soon, etc. Then you have to sorta dig through to refresh your memory on what is in there. AHA! You know now, so you can write it on the box only your marker is in ANOTHER room. You head for that other room and on the way start putting stuff in another box and forget you were headed to get the marker. Finally, you go to where the marker is and just start packing the box by the marker and forget to see what is already in that box. You wing it and write "OFFICE" on the side of the box because you are not opening that tape and look. And so... there you have it... PACKING ADD. I think I need a support group or medication or something. I guess chocolate will have to do.

Savannah's tears...

It is late and I am tired, but my heart just hurts. Today, we went to Savannah's girl scout meeting. I went just like it was any other day. Sure, I was happy to see my mom friends. It was on my mind that this would be my last Thursday of sitting with them chatting. I found myself thinking about it in the car on the way there. Savannah started scouts with these girls when she was just 3 going on 4 years old. In the beginning, I would stay, but there was not a lot of time to chat with Susie and Cindy. The girls were younger then and needed more direction. Time went on and we moved the meeting closer to home. We went from twice a month to every week. Since Sebastian has been with here, I have left him home with my mom or sister. I sorta viewed this as my "me time". I loved sitting and talking away a couple hours. I felt the ache in my heart knowing this was my last time to do this. I still walked into the meeting without seeing what was going to happen. I guess because my mind was full with so many things. Boxes, packing, cleaning, etc. The list seems endless. We noisy moms always get kicked out to the couch room once the official girl scout meeting starts. We talk too much. We grabbed our stuff and went to talk. Not too long into the meeting, Susie came to get me. Savannah was crying. Oh my heart just dropped! I went to her and she was just so sad. They had been discussing cookie sales and what they could do with the money they earned. There was talk of Sea World or a sleepover at the zoo. Things that she would miss. Why didn't I see that this was going to happen? How could I miss the pain that she was going to face? It was all I could do to hold back my tears. My poor baby girl. She had been with these girls for the last 5.5 years. Oh, why do things have to be so hard sometimes? I promised her that we could take a girls trip to meet them at Sea World or the zoo. After all, I am quite the pro at driving back and forth from SC to FL. We would just make it an adventure. That helped some, but soon the tears came even more. She managed to tell me that she as just going to miss them so much. I know there is nothing I can do to change the fact that she will no longer be at these meetings. I know that she will survive. I know all of these things, but it doesn't help the awful feeling that I have hurting my little girl's heart. I just so wish I could fix it. On our way home, I told her about my friend, Jorgena. She knows I have two best friends from childhood. First was Patty. I met her when I was two. She was always, always there. Then I met Jorgena (Jorge) when I was 12. She was and is my very best friend. We have lived apart for 17 years, but we still see each other when we can and talk often. I told her that when I was 9 years old like her, I couldn't have imagined that I would ever meet another person that would be my best friend like Patty was. I had a best friend and her name was Patty and that was that. At 9 years old, I would have said that was the end of the story. As God would have it, I was supposed to meet Jorge when I was 12 years old. My life was changed in such a wonderful way when we became friends. I told her that maybe God had a special plan for her to meet a wonderful friend. Or maybe that wonderful friend is her cousin, Karis. Then I think about how my next best friend to come into my life was Debi - Karis' mom. I met her when I was 16 and again my life was forever changed. I would like for nothing better than for Karis and Savannah to be as close as Debi and I were. I know that Debi is looking down from heaven and happy they will be together. So... tonight my heart is aching. I wish there were something I could do to shield my girl from what has to come. I guess I will have to leave it to God and pray that He has special plans for her friendships just as He did for me.

Laptop issues, etc...

Well, my laptop is acting crazy. I have been trying to save my pictures since yesterday. It won't copy them to a disc. It won't let me access the web. My next thought it to use Timmy's zip drive, but I keep forgetting to ask him. Once I save my pictures, I will probably need to wipe the thing clean and see if that helps. Did I mention I am moving in a week? Lots of packing going on. I have this magic closet. I keep taking stuff off the shelves and miraculously, things keep reappearing! I feel I may never be at the end of packing this one computer room. I did go buy some of those space bag thingies that you suck the air out of. My friend, Vickie, told me about them working so well. I got three jumbo ones. So far, I put ALL of my coat closet, two comforters and a pillow in ONE BAG! Amazing! I think I may love these bags. If only they could suck toys down and make them all lay flat. Oh, I also had two house showings yesterday. Neither seem to be interested, but at least that is a sign people are out and looking. I hope. Anyway, I would love to promise pictures and wonderful insightful posts soon, but the truth is my computer is being mean to me and I have lots of stuff to get done. I don't know when I will get to it all. Keep checking in and maybe you will be surprised! Oh and one more thing - how could I almost forget - My mom sold her place today! One house down, one to go! Keep praying!

Still here...

I sat down to load Christmas and New Year's pictures. When I hooked my card up to the computer - it said I had 357 pictures to download. That took a little longer than I had hoped. So... I just downloaded them and now I want to head to bed. The quick update is that I think I have a moving truck reserved, a rental company in mind, some boxes packed and a long, long list of other things to get done. I want to post the New Year's pictures though. I really, really do! Come back tomorrow, please!

My life is just getting CRAZIER...

I know I haven't been writing. I haven't had much computer access time. Anyway, I do have BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS! No... not that I sold my house. Not quite that big of BIG NEWS! I could only wish. No, this BIG NEWS is that Tim got a job here in South Carolina. He went out on Thursday and went to exactly ONE place. He walked in, talked to the guy, got a job with benefits, with a pay increase. I was waiting in the car at the time. You see we thought we would have to drive all around the area to find something. We don't know our way around that much, so I went to help navigate. This place is like 3 miles from our new house. I guess the guy has a mechanic leaving in a few weeks and Tim is supposed to start in 3 weeks! AHHHHHH!!! Did I mention that we are in SC for the rest of this week? Then I have to go home and find somebody to rent my house, pack and move! It will all work out, right? Please keep telling me that. Okay, I gotta get a shower and pick paint colors for the basement. I may be back with more news later. Stay tuned!

A message from another blog...

Today has been busy, busy. There was making sugar cookies, fudge, mashed potatoes bake (for Christmas Day) and the list goes on. Like I said - busy, busy! I did take some time this morning to read some blogs I enjoy. One of them is Sarah's In the Midst of It. I wrote about her blog last year. I was praying for her sweet little girl's health. Anyway, her husband is a pastor at a church in Texas. She linked to a sermon he gave last week. I went ahead and clicked... I was really glad I did! Here is the funny thing... at one point while he is speaking, he says, "It's not about you, Kari!" I was like.... whoa... that was weird! Even Savannah looked up from her playdough and asked if he was talking to me. Too funny! If you have a minute and want to be inspired check out this link. Tomorrow will also be busy, busy. There are more cookies to bake. Yes, more! There can never be enough cookies, can there? Then there is cleaning to do - since we are leaving the day after Christmas. Just in case somebody wants to come and buy my house while we are gone. I am sure the day will zip by and before I know it - it will be Christmas Eve. I am not going to promise a post between now and a day or so after Christmas. I am sure I have things to share, but I don't know how diligent I will be at getting my list done. Come back in and check on me.

Christmas and food...

Food has been a big discussion on my homeschool message board I read. Lots of questions about what people are serving for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day along with recipes for cookies, rolls, etc. Lots and lots of talk about food. I think most of us have traditions that we stick to for one reason or another. We make peanut butter blossom cookies. Sometimes I make them other times, but always at Christmas. I also make my mom's fudge (which is actually just the recipe on the marshmallow cream jar - recipe below). This will be my first year making a ham for Christmas Day. I don't love ham, so I just never found myself making one. I don't hate it either, I just prefer turkey over ham. My family happens to all love ham, so I am giving them a ham dinner this year. I had to go buy it today. I have never bought a ham before seeing as how I had never made one before. It was actually quite simple once I looked at the Honey Baked Ham site and saw how many pounds of ham feeds how many people. I opted to not spend $50 on a Honey Baked Ham when I could buy one from the store for about $15. I may end up regretting that decision, but I hope not. I have had the Honey Baked before. It was good, but not that good. Anyway, for Christmas Eve we started having Chinese several years ago. We all go to church and then go back to my mom's for Chinese. Actually, when we first started this we didn't just get Chinese. We got some biscuits and shrimp from Red Lobster and Italian Beef from a local deli. The idea was to have lots of the foods we loved without the work. Now that we don't have as many people, we just stick with the Chinese food. I love it and so does the rest of the family. All this thinking about food got me thinking back to when I was a kid. My mom always cooked dinner on Christmas Eve. It was just our immediate family and possibly my grandma. I can't remember a thing she cooked, but I know she cooked. On Christmas Day we had a brunch with the rest of the family. Egg quiche that I hated (still do). So, this one Christmas Eve was different. My mom always worked the Christmas Eve night shift in the ER. We would have dinner and then my dad would take us out for a drive, so Santa could come. Then we would open gifts. Now that I am a mom, I can see how overwhelming it must have been for my mom. She had 4 kids, dinner, presents, all the hoopla and then work all night. This one Christmas Eve, she broke down and ordered Pizza Hut. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. I was SO EXCITED! Okay, we didn't get fast food or pizza like my kids do today. It was a treat! A huge treat! I remember dancing around the living room waiting for the pizza guy to come. I can still remember the smell of the pizza and sitting around the table with my family. Ahhhh... it was the best! Here is the funny thing... I talked to my mom about this once. I told her how much I loved it. She went on to tell me that she felt so incredibly bad that she was just too tired to cook a big dinner. She felt like she was FAILING her children by not doing the traditional thing. Here she had no idea that I couldn't remember a single other dinner, but that one... that one pizza dinner had stuck in my mind all these years. Sometimes we think we need to plan the best meal and decorate the best cookies. Sometimes we want all the decorations in just the right place. Sometimes we get all wrapped up in all that is going on. Then there are those little things like an unexpected pizza that make it feel like Christmas! I am so glad that I thought about this today. I hope my kids can grab hold of a memory like that and remember it for years to come.

Fantasy Fudge Recipe

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
1 1/2pkg (12 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Chopped) OR 2 cups Semi-Sweet chips - I always use the chocolate chips.
1 jar (7 oz) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp vanilla

Line 9 inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over the sides of the pan; set aside. (I have never done this step!) Place sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent schorching. Remove from heat.
Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stire until completely melted. Add vanilla and optional nuts; mix well.
Pour immediately into prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1 inch squares. This recipe says to store at room temperature, but I alway keep it in the fridge. Otherwise it can get mushy. Enjoy!