Your Presence is our Present

No presents for us please. I've been dreading bringing this up, because so many people show love through gift-giving and receiving, and I don't want to hurt their feelings. Look, we're all making sacrifices to get together, and if we can come away from it with happy memories, an extra five pounds, and maybe, just maybe, a swell family picture, that is good enough for me. For us, the big wall-to-wall toy fest is birthday time. So, please don't feel like you are expected to haul anything to Texas, and let's face it, you probably won't have much to haul back.

Camp Christmas!

Okay folks, you know who you are! Two grandparents, Four parents, two sisters, four kidlets. In a three-bedroom house! We've had some great suggestions so far by phone and email such as getting a family photo done while we're together and looking for someone in need of a house-sitter. I know there are lots of things to think about (sleeping arrangements, eating arrangements, gift-giving, and entertainment). This week, let's focus on entertainment. Here are some things we could do:
Make big Signs for Santa
Nativity story
Dreidle with gold coins or candies (yeah, I know it's Jewish, but it's fun)
Service project (scavenger hunt, go caroling)
Christmas carols
Quilt a denim quilt
Gingerbread houses (graham crackers or the real deal)
Santa Lucia tradition
Family History or Personal history storytelling (maybe video a grandparents interview?)
Seminars or Workshops where we share something we've learned this year. Galveston (cookout on the beach, old Kemah boardwalk, Moody Gardens $$$)
Sidewalk chalk, fun backyard stuff, Arwen in kennel in backyard?
Talent show (Anyone seen Dan in Real Life? Go rent it right now!)
Couple dates (take an afternoon off, leave kids at the homestead, take car)
Sports day at the park (tennis, basketball, soccer)
Rent some bikes and go for a bike ride through the forest ($)
Boats on the lake ($)
Nasa
Also, our Museum of Natural Science is having a huge Chronicles of Narnia exhibit. It would be about $20 per person, so unless you're all nuts about it, we don't have to do it. (I think Elizabeth and I should sneak down there though)

I know when you're traveling, you are more tired than normal, so I'm not saying we have to do all of this by any means. (Is it too ambitious to have at least 2 activities scheduled per day?).

Come back often to see more updates and toss in your 2 cents.

Spicy sundried tomato pasta

This is one of those recipes you can dress up or down. I've cut out a ton of fat from the original recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It called for prosciutto to be cooked with the onion but if you can stand to save 6 bucks, I don't think the splurge is as necessary as the sun-dried tomatoes.

2 T butter, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, pinch (or more) of red pepper flakes. Cook until onion is clear. Add salt and 1 t garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Stir in 2 T tomato paste and 2 oz. sundried tomatoes. Cook and stir for 2 min, then add 1/4 cup water mixed with 1 T balsamic vinegar. Also dump in a can of crushed tomatoes (14 oz). Simmer partially covered 25 min, or until spoon leaves a trail. So this would be the time to start the pasta water and relax.

Once you are happy with the consistency, you have a few options: 1. add 1/2 cup cream and 1 T basil or 2. add 1 T basil, remove bay leaf and blend it into a smooth kid-friendly sauce that clings to all kinds of pasta. Plus, the sundried tomatoes can be kinda fugly looking, so pulverizing them in a blender brings us back to our happy Disney-like dinner.

Now, if you're like me, you're looking at those opened jars of sundried tomatoes and tomato paste like "now what?" Well, this may not be the most creative way to use up resources, but you could always quadruple the ingredients and it would use up a whole can of tomato paste and the 8-oz can of sundried tomatoes I buy. If you don't put cream in this, I would imagine it would freeze beautifully. It would probably make 3-4 pounds of sauce!

Baby Food Success!!!

After six weeks of cajoling, Charlotte has finally swallowed a spoonful of solid food! We tried every day (what's that, 42 tries?) with rice cereal, jars of carrots and squash, until finally I broke down. My baby will only eat homemade warm vanilla pudding!

So, that's what I feed her.

It's kind of like saying, "My infant will only fall asleep to the sounds of Eminem blaring in his room. So that's what I play."

Ohh the sickness. She's doomed DOOMED to unhealthiness...

Although, at least she has good taste. I do whip up some mighty fine vanilla pudding.

Cool parenting idea and a giveaway

Sterling and I read this great book called Discovering your Child's Strengths. In it, it suggested keeping a strengths journal of your children. I had been keeping a journal of my kids but it was more like, "today you had your first haircut" or "this is something cute you said." It was nice, but it was a little fluffy...and when things seem meaningless or froo froo I find many excuses to avoid them. But having the main theme of the journal be strengths finding and talent spotting, both my husband and I are having more fun writing in the journals.

One of my favorite people in the world (though she probably doesn't know this) is Erin Mylroie. My first experience with Erin was last August when my husband's grandfather passed away in St. George UT. We were literally homeless and jobless and I was newly pregnant (hence kinda sick). We happened to be on the way to UT so I could live with my family for a few weeks while Sterling found a place to live or a job or something. Erin's husband is my Sterling's cousin on his mom's side. So basically she opened her home to six adults and three children who were barely related to her for an event that was not even close to related to her. Oh and this was with 30 hours of notice, maybe less. AND she already had plans for that weekend because we woke up to find that her friend fom Alpine had come in for the weekend. My mortification turned to amazement as she handled the oodles of people with grace and love. Oh and did I mention the super delicious food she shared with us? She shares them with the world on her blog. Every recipe I've tried of hers has been awesome! Check out her orange chicken posted in January.

She runs the blog Prudence Pennywise and I probably spend more time checking her blog than my own. Right now she is doing my favorite thing of the year, "Cookie Bookie Week". Plus, if you visit and leave a comment you will be entered into a gift certificate giveaway. So go click on her link on the right.