Joseph's Sprinkle (Baby Shower for the Dad)

Thanks to the Process Improvement Team at Phillips for "sprinkling" Joseph and our future baby with such wonderful gifts!  We are so grateful to you!  Besides darling outfits, genius burp clothes, yummy cookies & ice cream, cozy sleepers, I really appreciate the NUDGE for a van.  That is one of the things that I look forward to most with an addition to the family - a new van!  :)

Thanks Team for being so great!  Joseph has never liked a job so much and its largely due to the people he has to work with.  So thank you from the wife who gets to greet him every evening.  He now comes home happy and not so grumpy.

You are GREAT!

Flower Girl Dresses

Here are the outfits for the upcoming Aunt Brooke Wedding for the nieces and nephew.  Weeks of hunting for the perfect color has finally paid off - thanks Grandma Jo!  These are darling!  Now I just have to find little sweaters to make them perfect for a May Wedding.

Avannie is THRILLED about the rosette dress!  She can hardly wait.  What a little fashionista I have!

Home Sweet Home - even in the winter

This is after the first storm of February.

We have had three since then - the snow banks are taller than I am in some places.  I am ready for summer.

Stroopwaffles (delicious Dutch cookies)

STROOPWAFELS 
from Henny and Stijne Verhoof (real Dutch people)

Wafel Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water with a tsp of sugar

Dissolve the yeast in the warm sugar water.  In large bowl, cut butter into the flour until crumbly. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, eggs and yeast. Mix well and set aside to rise for 30-60 minutes. When the dough has risen, preheat a pizzelle waffle iron or waffle-cone iron.  Spoon dough by the walnut-size scoop and place in hot iron.  Bake for 30-60 seconds until the steam stops coming out the sides.  As soon as the wafel is done cooking, take it off the iron and slice it in the middle to make two very thin wafels.  Beware, this is very hot, but very important to do while hot.  Set aside to cool.

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp dark corn syrup
1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts (optional)

In a sauce pan, melt everything together and bring to a boil until the soft ball stage (234-240 degrees) or boil hard for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the hazel nuts.  Spoon the filling onto the cookie and make a sandwich.  Let it cool.

Beware:  these are VERY addicting.  :)

Note:  because I am a Celiac, I substitutes straight GF flour for the regular flour and they came out delicious!  They just didn't rise like the others.

A day that didn't go as planned....

The day was well-planned and had LOTS to accomplish:

- Home Depot to buy a new shovel (our snowblower died on us and the best shovel broke the night before while Joseph tried to shovel off the inch and a half of ice) and wood glue for the "new" (from Craigs List) dresser that Joseph is trying to finish.

- take the snow blower to the guy down the street to have fixed

- shovel a path from the wood pile/garbage can to the house (after 2 HUGE storms, there is about 10 inches of snow, CRUSTED in the ice)

- Kemp makes Brazilian beans for International Dinner

- Bring wood in to heat the house

- Kemp finish making Dutch cookies

- Kemp gather all the decorations and be to the church to set up at 3:30.

- Clean the house.

Yes we had a busy day planned.  And first on the list was a trip to Home Depot.  As Joseph pulled out of the driveway, the power steering went out.  As he drove past our neighbor's house, something rattled and then fell out of the car.  Crap.

  

Needless to say, our whole day was altered.  Joseph was in a very crappy mood as we have already put HUNDREDS of dollars into this car this year alone!.  So after YouTubing several fix-it videos and printing off a map of bands and belts (notice its under the hood), not much was happening after a few hours.  Joseph called one of the investigators who we know to be an auto mechanic.  After he was here for 15 minutes every thing was back in place and instead of paying a lot of money to repair the car, it only cost $50 for new belts and three cookies to pay our friend.  And thankfully, it was snowing just lightly during all of this.  The next storm didn't hit until later that night.

And the car is working alright again.  

February 15, 2014

Sick Day

Both girls have been hit with the flu.  Its a day of PJs, movies, and throw-up bowls.

But they don't want to be in their room, so we created camp in the kitchen.

Notice our pile of movies: Magic School Bus and two different shows about numbers.  Avannie, who doesn't like or even cares to learn about numbers, turns to me and asks, "Mom, is this suppose to help me learn numbers?"  I returned it with a question, "Do you want it too?"  "NO!"   Then a few seconds later, she mumbles, "Oh I guess it will be okay."

Score!  If she won't learn numbers from me, Leap Frog's Math Adventures to the Moon certainly will!

Other Fun Moments from January 2014

Potty Training for Sadie!  After having 3 days of frustration, I read the potty-training section from Glen Latham's Positive Parenting book.  Sadie was trained in TWO days.  It was awesome.  I learned that sticker charts don't work for her.  A smarty-candy worked for the #2s.  What worked was having a chart where we would draw smiley faces because "when Sadie goes in the potty, it makes Mommy very happy."  It worked!  Now she is teaching her dolls.  :)

Also, Avannie has learned the value of swim goggles.  These have never been in the pool, yet I use them ALL the time.

Ice Castles at Loon Mtn, NH

One of my favorite ways to give Christmas presents is through "giving a memory".  Something that creates memories.  Our parents are great at this so this year, Joseph received a trip to the ice castles from his Queen and two Princesses.

It was really cool!  Especially because of all the cool lighting that was inside of the ice structures.  It was really well done.  If you are interested, look for the Groupon coupon for next year!

Joseph and Sadie coming out the ice-tunnel-slide.

As we were leaving, Joseph got something in his eye, under the contact.  My thought, "dang.  I am going to have to drive home and the storm is coming in fast!"  I was pretty nervous.  The roads were getting bad.  But through the power of prayer, Joseph's eye was made better so that he could drive and my nerves were calmed so that I could be a pleasant passenger sitting next to Joseph.  :)

Cinnamon Rolls every January 12th

Eight years ago, I married one incredible guy.  Wow, how did I get so lucky?  I still wonder!

And for 8 years, every anniversary that comes, we make cinnamon rolls (as our wedding cake was a tower of cinnamon rolls).  This year, we had two very special helpers who are learning quickly from their dad to double the sugar and the cinnamon.  :)

And because our anniversary was on a Sunday, I didn't expect flowers.  But the next day, this was the email that Joseph received:

you know...  Because yesterday was a Sunday I didn't expect to see flowers for our anniversary.  And today, I don't expect them either.  BUT if you wanted the happiest wife, you might think about it - especially because this wife is having to deal with two very tired little girls and still trying to cooperate with them for a preschool lesson instead of putting them both down for a desperately needed nap. Avannie is crabby.  So instead of putting her to bed, I am "teaching" / "taming-the-tantrums."

Joseph:  Good work! Push through it and remember she is 4. hahahaha

Kemper:  You are rotten.

Joseph:  But you love me…….;)   Love you too

And this is what my sweetheart comes home with.  He is one wonderful guy - with the right prodding.  :)

Disney on Ice

Thanks to Grandma Abby for tickets to go see one awesome show!  Sadie is now obsessed with "pin-sis" (princesses) and will start singing like one as she tries to skate across my kitchen.  Avannie still tells me all the details of what happened.  As for Joseph and I, we really liked it, but the most magical part of the whole show was to watch the reactions of the girls.  It was priceless.

 

Nothing like a little helper for the new bathroom

Over hearing one of Avannie's Conversations with a Friend

Avannie: do you want to get married?
Tommy: i'm a little nervous to get married.
Avannie: well, you wont be when we grow up.
Tommy: okay then.