December IS the beginning of WINTER!!

Thanksgiving week was SOOO much fun. I have pictures (coming) from other sources from the holiday, because I'm really bad about taking pictures... but here is a quick run down of my FAVORITE holiday:
Wednesday:
- Dirk arrived home from WY on Tuesday evening.
- The kids had a 1/2 day of school, officially "Grandparents Day" so Grandpa Alan
and Grandma Cleo got the honor of carpooling and attending class!
- Dirk, Liv and I bought our Christmas tree!! Thanks for planning ahead babe!
- Wed evening Lance, Gretchen, Tori and Logan arrived from Fargo, ND
- Logan (3) announced they were here to see his dad's brother... guess the rest
of us didn't count for much!?! (until later... he and Thor are great buds now!)
- Played "Settlers of Caanan" with Lance & Gretchen

Thanksgiving Day!
- We loaded up food, kids and more to Ted's home outside of Hot Springs
- Dinner was GREAT, as usual... Mom's stuffing recipe is the BEST
- Kids got to play a Thanksgiving Day Scavenger hunt... GREAT idea Gramma Jan!
- Ride-giving abounded: 4-wheelers, tractor, horseback...
- With such nice weather it was hard to stay inside long enough to play games
- Turkey Foot Dominoes was accomplished! 2 games at least...
- Someone was watching the football games, but it wasn't me...
- Played "Settlers of Caanan" with Lance & Gretchen

Friday:
- Made Gingerbread house cookie dough, and baked...
- The "boys" went to town for gun-store shopping & etc!
- Played "Settlers of Caanan" with Lance & Gretchen (we are HOOKED!)


Saturday:
- Made frosting for Gingerbread houses... started assembling the 6 houses
- The "boys" went to the RUSH hockey game!! Whoo hoo!! Rush won, of course!!
- Decorated the Gingerbread houses... and ate LOTS of candy...
- who needs supper after all that candy?





Dirk spend this past weekend in WY intending on working... but the temps dropped so fast and so low, he needed to spend a day getting the skirting on the camper. One day after work he came "home" to find the propane had run out... the camper was VERY cold... and the water had nearly froze ... he said the water came out in ice chucks at first, then flowed after a moment!! That was a CLOSE call!! PTL it was OK. But he needed to get the winterization process done! I think it looks pretty good for plain old plywood sheets!




Dirk says he is MUCH warmer now... and shouldn't have to worry about freezing anymore! Usually he's the one keeping ME warm at night!! Imagine how cold I am right now?! (just kidding... :)

Thanksgiving makes me thing of BAKING!!

Have to start with this: dirk is home!! yeah!!
Followed by this: new position in the company will keep him travelling for at least another year... so just get used to it people (I'm speaking to myself here)... He promises to be home more regularly (he keeps his promises very well), and will most likely be working out of WY and or UT for the coming year. We're just happy to have him home for the next week! Nothing too special planned, just family time.

Just put in my Pampered Chef order (way too much)... it will probably be my Christmas present to myself... but I NEED it before the holidays so I have all the right tools to do what I want/need to do!

Lefse: Planning a support group for my other lefse-phile friends... I love eating it, but it's a lot of work to make... so the new plan is to bribe a few friends into coming over to help. Benefits: we all get lefse to take home, and we have a lovely morning together chatting and catching up! We'll see if we can fit it into our schedules now!!

Thanksgiving & Holiday Cooking: My BFF in Seattle asked for holiday suggestions... which reminded me to get out my holiday planner (3 ring binder) I made last year. It was a "smart mommy" idea from Family Fun Magazine (online)... if anyone else wants to start one, the "forms" can be printed from their website.

Notes I made to myself for THIS year are:
- find a good Thanksgiving DVD, like Peanuts or??
Anyone have any suggestions?

- Make pumpkin pancakes & waffles all month! LOVE THEM!

- Lille Norge Fest the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving at Canyon Lk Sr. Center

- Take a family photo together sometime this month! Why is this so hard?

- Start collecting fun candies for the Gingerbread houses to be put together
the day after Thanksgiving

- Save some of the Halloween candy for the Gingerbread houses...
not like we need to eat it all now!!


Here are a couple of our new favorite recipes from last year:

Sweet & Sour Braised Cabbage
4 slices bacon
2 cups thinly sliced onion
3 cups chipped & peeled green/sour apples
10 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 bay leaf
3 whole cloves (optional) (I don't)

Cook bacon in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat until crisp. Set aside to cool, drain; then chop small. Take out all but 1 Tbs. of bacon grease, add onions; saute 3 minutes. Add apples; saute 2 minutes. Add cabbage; saute 2 minutes. Add cider, vinegar, salt, sugar, bay leaf & cloves. Bring combo to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally. Discard cloves & bay leaf. Sprinkle w/ bacon and serve hot or warm.

Good leftover and warmed again. Calories: 139 per 1/8 of batch, about 3/4 cup. (from Cooking Light December 2008)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
10 pounds white potatoes
1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
2 tsp. onion salt
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter

Cook potatoes & drain. Mash; add remaining ingredients (not butter) and mix well. Place potatoes in a pretty, oven-safe, freezer-safe dish. Dot with small pieces of butter. Keep refrigerated until 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the meal. (Can also be frozen, remove from freezer and set on your counter to thaw overnight). Bake at 350 degrees until heated through, might get slightly brown around the edges, which is kinda nice too. If you REALLY have to, you can warm up in microwave too... but you know what I think about microwaves... so don't do it... bake it in the oven... it's much better!

Carmel Apple Hot Cider
1 gallon Market Pantry(Target) Carmel Apple Apple Cider
2 cups orange juice
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
slices of lemon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until steaming. Serve. Makes 16-20 servings.

Optional: Heat all ingredients in a crock-pot, covered on high for 2 hrs until steaming, then turn to LOW to keep it warm all day.

If this isn't sweet enough for you, try this serving option:
Place 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a tall mug
fill mug w/ warm Carmel apple cider
drizzle w/ Carmel sauce before serving

YUM-O!!

Fall Fun!!

We are enjoying a GREAT Fall!! Except it feel more like winter?? Do I have the only family that jumps for joy and gets totally excited everytime it snows? The kids get so excited they can hardly eat their breakfast... they just want to get on the winter gear and go play!!! As you can see they made the most of our recent snow ... makeing a snowman with Grandpa Alan (kind of a tradition now...). Good thing they got right on it too... the snow was GONE by 3p.m that afternoon (Thursday, Oct. 8th).

We had a lovely long weekend -- Tante Carrie drove out for a visit. We made the MOST of the short time she was here... Bully's Blends for breakfast, a full day of shopping (with very cooperative kids! How did that happen?!). We went ice skating, watched Project Runway (fav show!!), made homemade pizza... Just had a great time!

Dirk update: I shouldn't even write updates, becuase everytime I write again, it makes me look like a liar.... So now he won't be back until the 2nd week of November. I guess I just need to start writing when he WON't be home... so far that part has been right EVERY time! He is coming home for a weekend visit this weekend...which we are all VERY happy about! :)

Potty Training? ? Again...

Well, I should preface this discussion by saying this is Liv's first attempted at being potty trained... The rest of the family, who were effectively potty trained somwhere between 11 months and 3 years of age are all STILL potty trained. (thank you Jesus!)

So this is not a commentary on the woes of backsliding... this is a mommy who was very happy to have two children well past the age of potty training, and not really super excited about potty training the 3rd. It's been a very relaxed approach. We've tried staying in just panties (her, not me) for the time we are home each day (mornings through early afternoon).

It nearly always resulted in an accident.... thus a deep cleaning of whatever surface was desecrated. I'm no "kate" (from Jon and Kate Plus Eight)... it's doesn't cause me to throw her and the affected items in the trash -- just the washing machine. (Well, Kate didn't throw her kids in the trash either.)

Three days of potty training under our belts, and there have only been 3 real "accidents." I actually consider that good progress. She does have a diaper on for naps and overnights (of course... this isn't my first 'rodeo!').

Even if I have to reminder her, and take her to the bathroom about every 90 minutes, the effort is worth only using 1-2 diapers a day!! YEAH!!

Liv-isms:
After she ate a large supper recently she let out a noise from the bottom of her belly... and asked me "aat was at mommy?"... then followed quickly by "oh, I durped!"

Sitting on the counter, "helping" me make supper, she said
"Please" (holding up a bag of chips)
"No, we're going to eat supper soon"

"Please" (holding up a granola bar)
"No, we're going to eat supper soon"

"Please" (holding up an apple)
"No, we're going to eat supper soon"

"Please" (holding up a banana)
"No, we're going to eat supper soon"

I wondered how long this would go on before she would start to whine...

"Please" (holding up the box of toothpicks)
"ummmm... NO... but supper IS ready... Let's eat!)

Fall Birthdays

September is one of the 'full' months when it comes to family birthdays! Dirk's Grandma Lillian had her special day on September 9th. It was her 90th Birthday -- turning 90 on 09.09.09!! Why didn't someone call the Today Show?!! We didn't make the big party this time, but heard it was a lovely family get together.

Friday afternoon Holli (my niece) was in town for her girls to attend gymnasics class at Just Gymnastics... so we decided to plan a girls-night-out! Alex and Jess (from MOPS) came over to babysit (they live about 5 minutes away in Piedmont! How great is that?!)... and we headed out to Ruby Tuesdays for supper. Salad bar was stupendous as always!! We were all done by 8p.m. and had the sitters booked until 10... so we headed to Borders to chat, look at books, etc. We found the Inspirational section - which actually has a very nice selection -- and was much bigger than I would have imagined, 3 rows long (3 sides, or 1 1/2 isles). With the Body Builder going out of business, it's nice to know there is a place we can find books IRL, rather than having to order everything online.


We found a book we just couldn't turn down... "Living With the Lutherans," by G Kieller (not sure if I'm spelling his last name right?? the Lake Wobeogone guy) We laughed until we cried. Holli decided her mom needed it for comic relief!

The next day we all packed up and headed for Hot Springs. There are 3 birthdays on my side of the family, nephew-in-law Jason (20th); sis-in-law Jan (21st) and brother Ted (27th). We spent a lovely afternoon and evening together on Saturday at Ted's place. Baked chicken, stuffing and the works for supper...along with spice cake and brownies for dessert.

Fall is here!?!

With 2 1/2 inches of rain on Saturday it is fully feeling like fall around here!! I love fall, always ready for a couple months of cooler weather before the snow sets in (thought we don't always get through Sept & Oct w/o snow.... but that is another blog....)

What's new for....
Dirk: customer in New Mexico is still using the rented machines from Butler Cat, and plans to keep using the machines until the end of Sept. Estimated "home" date now moved (again... sigh...) to the middle of October. This IS a repeating pattern for all you lovely family and friends who keep asking... it's been happening since the original "wrap up date" the end of April.... I'll count on it when I see his tools back in the garage (smiles.)!

Dirk is planning to be home for a long weekend toward the end of September. No permanent plans (meaning, we haven't purchased an airline ticket yet!).

Nancy: MOPS started on Tuesday this past week -- "Life on Planet Mom"... it's a great theme actually, as no other person can really relate to what life is like as a SAHM except another SAHP(parent).

Even more, I am loving our Mom's Coffee group at Dove - every Thursday. We just started a new book, "Growing Kids God's Way." It is rockin' my world!! I never knew how much I WASN'T getting as a parent.... my eyes are opening, and hopefully it means a better experience through the growing up years for all of us. It's not that our kids were terribly challenging kids, maybe more that I had forgotten how to "speak" to my kids about what God's Word says!! Lesson One, growing a heart that Loves God's ways in our children, was so important for all of us!!

Thor: Life in 4th grade has been good. He loves his teacher and loves her approach to teaching -- seems like everything is just more interesting this year! Good thing since the homework is a bit harder and responsibilities have increased too. No sports yet... I'm enjoying the "lull" until hockey starts in about a month. Of course the play date invitations never end... Dirk says we are just a family of social net workers!!

Anika: 1st grade brings daily homework. The first night Anika was really excited to sit at the kitchen table with Thor and do her homework. By night two she was DONE with the responsibility of homework!! Oh how quickly the novelty wears off, huh?? We've found happiness in the middle ground of not LOVING extra work, but realizing if she just does it when she gets home, it's over and she has the rest of the night for free time.... Anika is beginning to love cooking in the kitchen, as long as we pretend we are "Martha Stewart and guest" doing a TV show, telling our audience how to cook whatever the recipe of the day is.... Oh dear...??

Liv: I suppose potty training would be a good idea now that she is 2 1/2 ... but frankly I'm just not in a rush. I get too frustrated when there are accidents, mostly because I knew I forgot to take her to the potty when I should have. Her favorite play time is "tea party" out on the deck with her dollies.

Now I'm only a MONTH behind in my blogging!!!

What have I missed?
1. a few pics from our summer in NM
2. what we did here in RC the month of August (it's gone?? where did it go??)
3. first day of school (1st and 4th grade)
4. gallbladder surger (done!! yeah!!)
5. beginning September and the routine life again!

1. Thor at the Nuclear Museum, probably our favorite spot in Albequerqe... he's sitting next to the periodic table that is etched into the marble floor... element #90: Thorium (too cool!)


Liv and Anika loved the hands-on children's hall. The museum does a great job of making it a family friendly museum. The children's hall runs through the center of the other exhibits... so parents can take turns (like we did) viewing the various areas and still keeping the kids happy.

It was a rainy, cool summer by NM standards.... the flowers were gorgeous in the dessert and mountain areas. We saw 1000's of acres of wild iris (not an exaggeration), prickly pear, and many more I don't know the name of... we were told by locals it was one of the most beautiful summers they have had.





Just outside of Abq is a National Park, the Petroglyphs. Here you can see Thor and Anaika standing in front of 2 rocks that were used as "blank canvas" for native people probably 1000 years ago. Some rocks have markings that date back to the mid 1700's (are obviously Christian in nature, and are credited to the Spanish sheep hearders). I was curious how the markings could last so many years... what I learned was that the basalt rock (came from volcanos that errupted many, many years before) gets a "sunburn" as it sits out in the hot dessert sun year after year. The natives (and others) used a type of acid to etch through the sun-baked rock, to expose the natural color of the rock below. Whatever natural materials they used, also "blocked" the suns rays ... so as the petroglyphs age, the pictures actually look "better"... the basalt rock turns darker brown/maroon/black, and the drawings stay a sandy brown color.


The Abq Zoo was another highlight of the trip -
Thor and Anika got to feed Lorkeets, a jungle bird with a fuzzy tongue!


We saw all the usual zoo type animals, but enjoyed the experience more knowing WHEN to visit each exhibit. It's not as much fun to just walk past a deep "pen" of say, lions and watch them sleep in the sun. It's still amazing to see the size and so forth... but the zoo did a good job of letting visitors help with feeding times, or other interactive moments so the kids could really experience the animal "doing it's thing."

The last thing before we left, we took a train ride through the park, where Liv fell asleep in the first 60 seconds of the ride (well, maybe 5 minutes?)... but she was POOPED!!

We spent many other weekends exploring the mountains near the town of Grants, where the company provided a rental house for Dirk (and us by default!). To the north was Mt. Taylor and La Mosca Look Out ...





One of our most memorable weekend trips was to the Grand Canyon. Of course, I didn't have a functioning camera that day... so we got this LONE picture with Dirk's blackberry.

2: I don't even remember what we spent our time doing in August... it flew by so fast... Dirk had to get back to work in NM right away, so he flew back the Monday after we arrived (Sat. the 1st). I spent the first full week unpacking and re-organizing the house. Somehow living on a camper's worth of necessities made our home here in RC feel CLUTTERED and unnecessarily FULL OF JUNK!! Each of the kids rooms got a thorough purging, probably got about 1/2 the stuff our of each room (with more to go later, when I can have a garage sale or ???)

Thor had a late birthday party at Parkview pool with some buddies from school. It was our ONE AND ONLY pool date this summer?! How sad is that? We usually spend a day a week at the pool. For this year, it was OK.

Our last "hurrah" for summer was a camping trip to Spearfish with various families from our church. It was a full and FUN weekend -- Dirk flew home for 10 days vacation so he could be here for the event.

3: First Day of School: August 26th!! Zion Lutheran again this year... where we have been very happy with the whole school experience for our kids. Thor in 4th grade and Anika in 1st. Dirk was still on vacation at this point, which made it even more fun for the family... he was able to come to all the "start up" activities: the open house, 1st morning drop-off, and 1st chapel.





4: The next Friday. Aug 28th was surgery day for me, the day after my birthday??!
As a side note: I got a great birthday present!! I went to get new glasses before I renewed my drivers liscense and was told by the optomotrist that my eyes have been healed (not his words, he just said "got better")... and I now have 20/20 vision!! No glasses needed!! Isn't that awesome!!

So Friday morning Dirk took me to RCRH at 5:30 a.m. to meet Dr. Green at the pre-op area for out-patient surgery. All went just as it was supposed to, surgery started at 7a.m. and I was done by 8:10 or so. I rested in the post-op area for a few hours and was home by 2p.m.

I'm still moving a little slower than usual (1 week later), but feel like recovery has been very easy. Thanks to family and Dirk, I didn't have to do much all week -- meals were brought to my home each evening by the sweet mommies at Dove; Dirk had cleaned the whole house and done every speck of laundry; mom and dad were on hand for any other jobs, big or small this week. The only thing I did was pick the kids up from school each day at 3p.m.!


5: I'm excited about getting back into the routine of home, kids, school and church again. No matter how much I DON'T do, there is more than enough to fill every day. One thing I learned about myself while being in NM is that I liked doing a load of laundry each day vs. doing ALL the laundry in ONE day. In some ways it feels less effecient... on the other hand, if I get a day behind, I only have one extra load to pick up, rather than 10!! Besides, I never really got it all done in one day... so it was just a HUGE amount across 2-3 days... I do each person in the family on each of the week days -- then the towels and bedding on the weekends. It's also been easier to teach Thor and Anika to do thier own laundry by spreading it out like this too... just another way to delegate more work!! Yeah!!