Photo with Santa

Danny got to sit on Santa's knee and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Corinne was a happy little elf. Ben wasn't interested in getting too close to Santa, but with Mommy's help, he told Santa what presents he would like! Hey, at least no one cried.

Danny's Christmas party and the best baby ever

Danny's Pre-School Christmas party

Singing some songs:



Time to eat!

Best baby ever:

She was playing on the floor and I looked over and she was asleep. This child is a miracle. I've never had a kid who slept like this.

Head scratchers

We had a few head scratching moments here tonight. I decided to let the kids decorate some sugar cookies. I explained to them that often, when creating a piece of visual art, less is, in fact, more. I showed them an example (note my tasteful use of pink and purple sugar for the dress and some candies for the facial features):

Here was Danny's first cookie. He started off nicely with some green sugar for the wreath and some red for the bow. Then, he went completely berserk with the "ornaments" as he called them:

And here was Ben's. Okay, seriously, what is that, like 20 chocolate chips?:

Neither of them seemed to grasp the minimalist approach.



Corinne wasn't sure what to think of any of it:


Here they are. I would not eat one of these for a million dollars:

And, now for the last moment of confusion. I was wrapping presents and stepped into the other room to get a bow. When I came back, Ben had unrolled an entire roll of paper and said, "Take this back. There's nothing in it."

Here's Cori laughing!

Please excuse my singing :0)

Our tree

Picking out our tree yesterday:


Decorated tree:

Clark Connoley | A Dog Named Christmas

Hey everyone. Vote for Clark! Cutest dog contest!

Clark Connoley | A Dog Named Christmas

Perspective

Stolen from Mary Kathryn's blog:

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rock-a-bye, Lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek-peek-a-boo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing "Kanga" and this is my "Roo."
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rock-a-bye, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait 'til tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
~ Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, 1958

Corinne is three months old today!

Playing in the exersaucer, trying desperately to reach that purple guy:

Not tall enough to stand up without the pillow yet:

I love this one. She looks like she's saying, "Hello, world"!

Like father, like daughter:



Completely out cold:

Halloween '09

Luigi, Mario and Princess Peach:

Ready for trick-or-treating (see our Mario and Elmo jack-o-lanterns?)


Annual pose with the neighbors:


In front of a neighbor's nicely decorated house:


Yummy! Ben had already said several times, "I'm donna do home and eat my tandy wight now"!


Little Princess:


Sweet smile:

Happy 5th birthday, Danny!

Some recipes

People have been asking for these, so here we go:

Roast pork (brining it over night makes this roast so juicy, even if you end up having to cook it a little longer than planned)

1 cup water
1/4 cup each salt and sugar
1 heaping Tbsp pickling spices
3 cups apple juice or water
4 1/2 pound pork loin roast
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. The day before making roast, boil 1 cup water in a 2-qt saucepan. Stir in the salt, sugar and pickling spices. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes.

2. Add apple juice to pickling liquid. Combine brine with pork in large ziptop bag or lidded container. Refrigerate overnight.

3. Heat oven to 375 F. Remove pork from brine, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Rub oil over entire pork.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place pork in pan and cook all sides until browned. Transfer to a roasting pan and cook for 55 to 60 minutes or until temperature reaches 155 F. Remove from oven; cover with foil. Let rest 15 minutes.


Holly's Cream Cheese Dessert

2 cans crescent rolls
2 blocks cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and egg in medium bowl. In greased 9X13 pan, flatten one can of crescent rolls, pinching perforations. Spread cream cheese mixture onto crescent rolls. Top with other flattened can of crescent rolls. Mix ingredients for topping in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of crescent rolls. Bake in 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy and Sleepy

Happy baby Cori:



Bad diaper=bath in sink:


Post bath and crying fit...sleepy baby:



She loves to sleep in the swing:

Haircuts by Jennifer

So, I bought some clippers at Wal-Mart and I cut the boys' hair. I must say that I'm pretty impressed with how the cuts turned out and how easy it was to do. Their haircuts were $10 a piece at a salon, plus tip. I decided to give it a try and see if I could save us some money and I'm totally happy with the result!

Here's Danny:


Danny from the back:


Ben (he has a really strong cowlick right in the front that always looks kind of messy):

Another shot of Ben (he is perpetually naked):


Ben from the back (he was my first "victim" so I didn't get the back cut as nicely as I would like. Plus, he was getting pretty squirmy by the end. Still, though, it looks fine):

Hooray for me!

Crayons...

...were not meant for the couch, Benjamin.






He also colored on Danny's bed and the plug for the baby monitor. Why?

First day of Preschool '09

Danny had his first day of school today.

Here he is on the front porch, ready to go:

In front of the school:


Ben wanted his picture taken too:

Finding his seat with help from Mrs. Decker:

Coloring in between Levi and Jake:

So far so good. His teachers seem very nice and nurturing. Friday is "Take your favorite stuffed animal to school". I'm guessing Dora, the reindeer will be visiting school. Then, that night, Dora will be getting a bath in the washing machine :0)