I know I should be blogging about Christmas and I will when I have a moment to download pics, but I just wanted to share a quick Erin funny.
As I was putting on my make up this morning Erin was with me chatting away. As I was putting on concealer she asked me" Mommy whats that?"
"It is concealer Erin"
"Why are you putting it on?"
"I am trying to hide the red blotches on my face" (This pregnancy is doing something weird to my skin)
She watches me for a moment more as I rub it in "Keep trying mommy, don't give up."
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Books
I have a bit of an addiction. It is called reading. This might not sound like a bad addiction but believe me any addiction can be bad. You see when I read a book the world around me can fall apart. My children are fed and only sometimes dressed when I am reading a book.
With that being said I have made modifications to my love of reading so I can be a better mother. Before I begin a book the house must be clean, I must have homemade freezer meals in the freezer to feed my family and there must be absolutely nothing important happening in the next few days (depending on the length of the book.) Thankfully most the books I read only take a day or two.
Anyways the reason I am writing this is because my mother asked me to do a post with some book reviews because she can never remember the books I have recently suggested to her. So I am going to post some of my favorites (at least most recent favorites) right now.
First my favorite book at the moment is The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. This is an excellent book filled with so much good and adventure it makes me want to burst. It is about a girl who lives in a small mining town. It is prophesied that the next princess (the girl who will marry the prince) will come from this town. So all the girls are pulled out of the life they know and must attend a Princess Academy to learn how to behave like a princess. Between a very mean head mistress and bandits who take all the girls for hostage, Miri (the main girl) must figure out how to save them all. Okay the book is much better than what I just made it sound like. I really even think boys would enjoy it if they could get over the title. It has a subtle hint of fantasy in it which makes it thoroughly magical. Other books I would suggest by Shannon Hale include The Goose Girl (it is a series), Book of a Thousand Days, and a non young adult book called Austinland.
Next on my fav list at the moment is a series called Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. These are not young adult books may I first say. but they are excellent. They are in the fantasy genre but would fit beautifully with adventure. These books are filled with magnificent twists and turns. I say magnificent because the more you think about the twists and turns the more you like them and the more meaningful they become, unlike other books (Dan Brown cough cough) where when you think about twists and turns the less sense they make and kinda ruin the book for you. I am not even going to give you a synopsis of these books because I can't even come close to giving them justice. just take my word for it, they are well worth it. Other books by Brandon Sanderson are Elantris, and Warbreaker.
Next I am going to talk about an author who has never let me down. Each time I read one of her books I am thoroughly impressed. There have been some movies made from some of her books and to that I say boo! The movies are very unimpressive. The author is Kate DiCamillo. My favorite book of hers just might be The Tale of Desperaux (remember the movie is blah the book is Rah!) As I would suggest any book written by her some of my other favorites are The Tiger Rising, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. She also wrote Because of Winn Dixie which is a very fun and good read as well.
Okay I have probably rambled on enough for one post. But there are many more I would love to share with you (if anyone cares). I am also always looking for another great book to read so let me know what some of your favorites are.
Next to review: Artemis Fowl, Stargirl, and Fablehaven.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Nov Catch Up
Okay So I have been a bit of a slacker and a ton has happened in the last few weeks so here is 5 blog posts in 1. Are you ready for the blog marathon? Warning: if you are hungry I would suggest waiting until after you have eaten something yummy.
First: the other day I was looking at my girls and I was once again blown away at how beautiful their eyes are. I am sorry the pics are a little fuzzy, but I just had to capture the moment so I can remember their shinning eyes forever.
Next: have I mentioned Lily has started gymnastics. I might would say she is a natural. She loves it and does very well. I had started her in a mom and tot class but no one else ever showed up so they moved her to the preschool class. Her body isn't quite ready to do everything the 3 and 4 yr olds are doing but I am amazed at how well she is keeping up. (My father expects to see Lily in the Olympics someday)
Here is one of those cute random moments that I love. Erin has a plush flower and decided to sleep with it one night. When I peeked at her before going to bed myself I laughed and thought Erin is growing a garden in her bed.
One of the biggest events of this Nov. (if not the biggest) was James' 30th birthday. I know I can't believe I am married to such an old man :). Anyways I decided it ought to be a bit more special than the average b-day so here's what we did. First James received 30 presents for his 30th birthday. (Granted a package of socks was separated to make 3 presents and a box of popcorn was separated to make 8 presents etc. it was still pretty exciting.)
Present #30 was pretty cool though. It was a childhood dream come true, a train to wrap around the Christmas tree.
I also made James his favorite dinner. Navajo Tacos. 
And instead of a birthday cake I made sugar cookies then decorated them to look like his favorite game "Settlers of Catan". If ever you are in the mood to play the game give James a call he would love it!
The day before Thanksgiving we had some old friends visit from out of town. So we gathered a bunch of us together and had a game night. It was so much fun and full of great laughs. I took a few pics of the games but I am not happy with any of those pics so you will have to settle for some of the snacks we had. First James loves cheese, so he put together this way yummy cheese board.
And I love chocolate so I made these Chocolate Almond Cheesecake bites. Just the thought of them makes me drool (I am serious, I have never drooled over a food until I met these little guys, mmmmmmmm)
And last but most certainly not least, THANKSGIVING!!! Okay I am pregnant so my life is revolved around food at the moment (if you haven't already noticed). So I am afraid you are only getting pics of food for this portions of the post. This was my first year hosting and cooking Thanksgiving dinner. James' parents and brother came so it was a small but good group. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. So step by step here is what I made:
First: the other day I was looking at my girls and I was once again blown away at how beautiful their eyes are. I am sorry the pics are a little fuzzy, but I just had to capture the moment so I can remember their shinning eyes forever.
Next: have I mentioned Lily has started gymnastics. I might would say she is a natural. She loves it and does very well. I had started her in a mom and tot class but no one else ever showed up so they moved her to the preschool class. Her body isn't quite ready to do everything the 3 and 4 yr olds are doing but I am amazed at how well she is keeping up. (My father expects to see Lily in the Olympics someday)Here is one of those cute random moments that I love. Erin has a plush flower and decided to sleep with it one night. When I peeked at her before going to bed myself I laughed and thought Erin is growing a garden in her bed.One of the biggest events of this Nov. (if not the biggest) was James' 30th birthday. I know I can't believe I am married to such an old man :). Anyways I decided it ought to be a bit more special than the average b-day so here's what we did. First James received 30 presents for his 30th birthday. (Granted a package of socks was separated to make 3 presents and a box of popcorn was separated to make 8 presents etc. it was still pretty exciting.)Present #30 was pretty cool though. It was a childhood dream come true, a train to wrap around the Christmas tree.I also made James his favorite dinner. Navajo Tacos. And instead of a birthday cake I made sugar cookies then decorated them to look like his favorite game "Settlers of Catan". If ever you are in the mood to play the game give James a call he would love it!The day before Thanksgiving we had some old friends visit from out of town. So we gathered a bunch of us together and had a game night. It was so much fun and full of great laughs. I took a few pics of the games but I am not happy with any of those pics so you will have to settle for some of the snacks we had. First James loves cheese, so he put together this way yummy cheese board.And I love chocolate so I made these Chocolate Almond Cheesecake bites. Just the thought of them makes me drool (I am serious, I have never drooled over a food until I met these little guys, mmmmmmmm)And last but most certainly not least, THANKSGIVING!!! Okay I am pregnant so my life is revolved around food at the moment (if you haven't already noticed). So I am afraid you are only getting pics of food for this portions of the post. This was my first year hosting and cooking Thanksgiving dinner. James' parents and brother came so it was a small but good group. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. So step by step here is what I made: Cranberry slush drink (a tradition at my families thanksgiving dinner) It is super easy and yummy, just freeze a cranberry juice, slice it up and add sprite. Yummy
I made this little appetizer (another Baird tradition) to snack on. A spinach artichoke cheese dip. Again it was yummy.
This is my favorite way to eat Broccoli. I swear I ate it at my Grandma Bairds once and that's is where I discovered it, but no one else I talk to seems to remember it there, so who knows. Anyway I just steam broccoli add some ranch dressing, peanuts and raisins. I love it.
This is my mothers famous dish and a Thanksgiving staple to me. Sweet Potatoe Pie. While it has enough butter, brown sugar and cream in it to be a dessert, we eat is a side dish.
And here is my favorite food. Mashed potatoes, just the thought of them makes me melt. Here is what I add to my mashed potatoes to make them so delicious: butter, buttermilk, ranch mix, chicken bullion, garlic, salt(not to much the bullion adds near enough) and pepper. I also add some regular milk if it needs a little more moisture.
Here is the first turkey I have ever made. It was so tender that it fell apart as we moved it from pan to platter. It was super easy. I just stuck a whole onion in the cavity for flavor, basted it with olive oil and put it in a roasting bag. Easy and delicious.
Now for pie. Yes glorious pie. James' fav and one of my favs is Coconut Cream Pie so it naturally made its way onto the menu. And yes is was as good as it looks.
I also made this Carmel Pecan Pumpkin pie. Oh I was excited to try this, but then I was a little put out. I think the nutmeg I used was to old and gave it a bit funky of a flavor. Of coarse after I found this recipe that adds cheese cake to the mix and sounds even yummier, so next time I try this I am using that recipe.
When all was said and done this is what the table looked like. Well I need to go eat something now. I am hungry again.
Hope you all had as great of a Nov. as we did. I am now getting super excited for Christmas!
I made this little appetizer (another Baird tradition) to snack on. A spinach artichoke cheese dip. Again it was yummy.This is my favorite way to eat Broccoli. I swear I ate it at my Grandma Bairds once and that's is where I discovered it, but no one else I talk to seems to remember it there, so who knows. Anyway I just steam broccoli add some ranch dressing, peanuts and raisins. I love it.This is my mothers famous dish and a Thanksgiving staple to me. Sweet Potatoe Pie. While it has enough butter, brown sugar and cream in it to be a dessert, we eat is a side dish.And here is my favorite food. Mashed potatoes, just the thought of them makes me melt. Here is what I add to my mashed potatoes to make them so delicious: butter, buttermilk, ranch mix, chicken bullion, garlic, salt(not to much the bullion adds near enough) and pepper. I also add some regular milk if it needs a little more moisture.Here is the first turkey I have ever made. It was so tender that it fell apart as we moved it from pan to platter. It was super easy. I just stuck a whole onion in the cavity for flavor, basted it with olive oil and put it in a roasting bag. Easy and delicious.Now for pie. Yes glorious pie. James' fav and one of my favs is Coconut Cream Pie so it naturally made its way onto the menu. And yes is was as good as it looks.I also made this Carmel Pecan Pumpkin pie. Oh I was excited to try this, but then I was a little put out. I think the nutmeg I used was to old and gave it a bit funky of a flavor. Of coarse after I found this recipe that adds cheese cake to the mix and sounds even yummier, so next time I try this I am using that recipe.When all was said and done this is what the table looked like. Well I need to go eat something now. I am hungry again.Hope you all had as great of a Nov. as we did. I am now getting super excited for Christmas!
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