I'm Still Here Kickin!

I just realized I hadn't posted since the end of November.  That's terrible!  I really try to post every other day and I've been just too busy to mess with sitting down.  It's highly overrated.

First of all I pray your Thanksgiving was thankful.  I heard a joke on the radio Turkey Day that went like this,"Today I get to spend the entire day with people I hate, thanks a lot Pilgrims and Indians."  I couldn't help but giggle.  I hope that is the opposite of what you experienced!  We had our first smoked Thanksgiving turkey and it was AWESOME!  The best part about a smoked turkey is that left overs can be slathered in BBQ sauce and it makes it even better and tastes nothing like Thanksgiving :)  I set it to brine for two days and then smoked it for 6 hours.  It was the juiciest, tastiest turkey I've EVER eaten.  There were several comments from the fam and they agreed. 

Tomorrow we have our family gathering with the Altics.  It may seem late, since it's December, but better late than never!  I made a ton of bread yesterday for the event.  In the morning Dustin, Jessica and I will descend upon the Piper Craft fair singing our carols and then Dustin and I will head to Platte City to join the family around 1.

Today I started my first wedding cake.  I have half of the layers baked and am about to start the other half.  Yesterday I made dozens of adorable little white and dark chocolate swirled seashells.  The bride wants a beach theme, hence the shells.  I'll post pics as it starts to go together.  Jared and I will be delivering the cake to Arkansas Sunday afternoon and then heading back Sunday late.  We tossed around the idea of staying the night but I have work Monday.  It's okay though.  Mom is staying with the kids so we'll have 8 hours of uninterrupted conversation.  Not to mention, being forced to sit for a while would do me good.  It will be a blessing!

We're just about done with our Christmas shopping for the kids.  It's getting harder and harder to do their Christmas for the budget we set.  We typically have 3 gifts per child.  No reason for the number really, it's just how it's worked out.  This year they each have one big gift that zapped the bulk of their budget.  It's such a blessing to see how grateful they are each year.  They are a blessing and we are so very fortunate!

I pray you are all doing well.  I will try to check in again with pics of the cake.  The kids and I ate the rounded tops I shaved off the layers and it's delicious.  I was a little nervous since this is my first marbled cake, but it's SO good!  Relief!

Random

-I only have one more early morning!  Monday is the last one and I don't believe I'll agree to do it again multiple days in a row.  YUCK!  It's just too much with all my other responsibilities.  The good news is, we'll have Christmas for the kids and a little extra to get caught up on things.  Now that it's about over, I think it was worth it :)

-Black Friday was insane.  I left my house at a quarter to five and the Legends looked like a Friday night when the weather is 75 and sunny.  It was ridiculous!  I'm usually the only one at the gas station and you should have (and probably did) see all the sleep walkers staggering to the coffee like cattle to the trough.   Not so shocking however was the snails pace at the Y.  Very few people made their way to the gym the day after Gluttony Thanksgiving.  A quick shout out to the Moore family!  You guys made it!

-Hey all you "Keepin It Under Control" -ers.  How did you do over Thanksgiving?  Did you succeed?  I went to my moms and filled up on turkey and just had small portions of my favorite foods.  I had a little bit of her sweet potatos (MY FAV), and a tiny sliver of two different pies.  I didn't leave stuffed.  I was pleasantly full.  I pray you all achieved your goals and if not, recognize that jumping right back onto the wagon is what defines success!  Keep up the good work!

-Our Thanksgiving break from school is coming to an end and due to work it didn't feel like much of a break.  That kinda stinks, but honestly working a full 40 hour week and school would have been far worse.  The kids seemed to really be enjoying their time off.  Like any kid, school = torture.

-My mom is coming over today and I'm really looking forward to being out of the house and walking the Legends a bit.  We'll bundle up and let the kids burn some energy.   I pray you all have a blessed weekend!

Keepin It Under Control?

Hey guys, I thought I would check in real quick.

I've been working a lot and the blog hasn't been top priority.  Fortunately for you, my spouse is at the KU game tonight and I have a sec.

I started Weight Watcher's points the other day and I'm starving.  I know it's all in my head, but I'm just sure I'll waste away to practically nothing if I don't eat soon :)

The scale and I haven't met yet.  I've decided to have a few days of "being good" before I brave that reality.

How are you guys doing?

Working brings new challenges.  I have to prepare or I starve.  It's shocking how hungry I get when I start my day 4-5 hours early.  So far so good.  With the bad comes good, I don't have anything to snack on while at work and that helps.


In a total aside, It seems as if my little girl just might be potty trained.  We're on day two without accidents.  Today in fact, she went successfully and declined her M&M's.  She apparently doesn't need a bribe :)  Could I possibly be done with diapers?  I'm not sure what to think of that!

Beautiful Babies

My mom brought the boys a haunted house kit.  They loved it!

We're serious about eating bananas!

New Challenge Recipe #2!

This is another gluten free pumpkin recipe!  SO GOOD!

I have been drinking these nightly and can't get enough.  Unfortunately for the fair skinned, you do have to have some restraint.  Years ago I went through a barrage of tests checking everything from gall stones to pancreatic cancer.  I drank so many of these shakes that I looked jaundiced head to toe.  Come to find out I had the worst case of carotenmia the doc had ever seen.  He even requested a picture of the palm of my hands to show his med students.  As my sweet Alisa would say, "Neat!"

The pumpkin pie shake!

1 cup pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!)
1 TBS sugar free fat free vanilla pudding mix
1 cup of ice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup splenda
1tsp pumpkin pie spice

Blend it up and enjoy!  Top it off with a touch of fat free cool whip and you'll wonder why you ever ate a 9pt piece of pumpkin pie when you could have all this yummy goodness for 4pts!

New Challenge Recipe!

Pumpkin Pancakes!  Gluten Free no less!  AND THEY'RE DELISH!!!

You need 1 cup of oats (make sure it's guaranteed gluten free if gluten is an issue)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
3 eggs and 1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Put the oats in a blender until fine.  Add additional ingredients to blender until somewhat smooth.  It's a bit lumpy as you can see on the sides of the blender.

I poured mine out onto a griddle next to the "normal" pancakes.  The kids definition of course :)

They take longer to cook so don't try to flip them too soon or this will happen:

Have no fear, by then end I mastered it!

I topped them with some sugar free syrup and they were really good.  The outside was a bit crisp but the inside had the texture of pumpkin pie.  The only thing I would do differently is add a little splenda to the batter.  They just weren't quite sweet enough for me.

These are 100% Core or Filling foods for all you Weight Watchers out there.  I was really surprised at how moist and filling they are.  They are a great source of protein and fiber.  Let me know what you think!

Random

-D-D-D-D-D-Do-ra, my little girl LOVES Dora.  It's the cutest thing ever.  She walks around the house singing and once in a while asks for the BB (TV) to be turned to her favorite show.  She makes her request and then runs to the recliner, climbs in, and waits.

-Yesterday I wandered around Kohls and Wal-Mart sans kids.  I just window shopped but it was nice to take a break from everything and just be alone with all the Christmas shoppers :)  I really need to keep to our budget for the kids Christmas this year.  I could've done some damage yesterday for Anneliese's first real Christmas (she didn't pay much mind last year).  Just at Wal-Mart I found Dora pj's, a super soft pink polka-dot blanket (I think Zach has the blue version).  She loves clothes, and she LOVES soft blankies.  Then there was the Dora sippie cups.  It's just so hard to reign it in!  This is the first time I've been able to do this and it's crazy fun!  I walked out of Wal-Mart and Kohls without purchasing a thing.  That has to be some kind of record.

-We're heading to Great Grandma Jean's today.  She's having an issue with her computer.  Jared is going as tech support and we're going for Grandma support :)  When I told the kids this morning the were giddy.

-Speaking of Christmas gifts, Jared has so much fun each year getting the boys special little things.  He shops and shops online and different sales looking for the best deals on video games and other tech stuff they like.  I always buy them either sleep pants or a hoodie of some sort.  They're a lot like their mom and love soft clothes.  This year there may be socks and undies in their stockings.  They are growing like weeds and all our socks from last winter are worn out and tiny!  Our Tanner is wearing a 14 (he's 8)!  It won't be long before they're taller than I am.