The Merriest Christmas

 

Homemade jam and salsa from Margo, can't wait!

chocolate first thing in the morning

pony rides for all

                                                                         

                                                    

                       

   

Live Nativity, the dogs were SOOOO embarassed

     Christmas was wonderful!  We spent Christmas Eve at the beach with lovely weather.  I remembered my camera but forgot my memory card, doh!  Emry, Andrew, Ezra, Kylee and Glenn surfed.  It was a fun and memorable way to celebrate the holidays.


I so loved being with my family and all those late nights were sure worth it.  Eating, playing cards, the beach, frozen yogurt, trying to solve the problems of the world, playing with the kids and dogs, good times.
We loved every minute of it MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!

Girlz

This was  a few weeks ago.  Emry attended a class at school titled "Beautiful You" and she came home with all sorts of recipes for homemade masks and beauty treatments.  Of course we had to try them ASAP.  They actually worked, my skin felt so soft afterward.  This picture is too Beautiful not to share!

Fiesta de Navidad

The girls annual 'Spanish Class Christmas Party' was a celebration of friendship, learning and tamales!  Their teacher Mrs. Griselda hosts a wonderfully fun and festive Christmas party every year for her students and this years was no exception.

Singing Christmas songs

Lila snuggling with Glenn

Ethan and I posing for our close-up

Griselda with her favorite students Lila and Emry.  She is such a wonderful and loving teacher, she makes all her students feel like they are her favorite!

The Wallworks

It's not a party without a PINATA!  GO Lila!

Emry does not mess around when it comes to candy.

Ethan is clearly a trustworthy boy.  Look how tightly his eyes are shut.

Candy's falling from the sky!!!  Every kid's dream.

Thank you Griselda for a fun-filled evening filled with music games and good food.  So good it was gone before I could even remember to take a picture.  What can I say, I was hungry & Mexican food IS my very favorite!!!!  Gracias y Feliz Navidad!

Ethan Soup

How do get a 5 year old who's favorite foods are grilled cheese, nachos and hot chocolate to eat a healthy, veggie-packed soup?  Why name it after him of course!  Soup is not only one of my favorite foods to eat, but making it could not be easier.


First gather whatever veggies you have on hand (bonus points if they're color coordinated). If the lentils match you can add them too!  Don't measure anything, just add it all in.

Saute onion, celery and all the baby carrots that were left over from the Thanksgiving veggie tray in oil for a few minutes.

 Add chicken stock, lentils, diced sweet potatoes, bell pepper and whatever seasoning you have on hand.  Leftover rosemary and thyme from Thanksgiving stuffing do nicely.  Will the leftovers ever end?

Bring this to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.  How easy is that. Since we're not measuring and all, just make sure you add enough liquid to cover everything.  You could stop there.  But you could also.......

Get fancy and partially blend it making for a creamier soup.  Ok, so it's not fancy, I could pretend big chunks of vegetables don't bug Ethan but he does seem to enjoy the fancier soup.  And you could also........


Look in your fridge and add in some quinoa, but only because it's red and goes with the whole color scheme. 

Now let that cook another 15 minutes and call your sister and tell her Soup's on.  Serve with freshly grated parmesan and leftover rolls from the Relief Society dinner (again with the leftovers). 



Ethan ate all his Ethan soup and said he loved it.  Not sure if he would've loved plain ol' lentil vegetable.  Also glad he hasn't caught on that I pretty much call all soup 'Ethan Soup'.



                                           

Wired

I consider myself pretty old fashioned and simple.  But my house tells another story.

5 I pods.  5!!!  I remember the good old days with my Mp3 player.  Actually the really really old days takes me back to running while holding a huge waterproof cassette player, I can't even think of what it was called, walkman, is that right?  I must say that I looooooove these.  I can't believe I used to run listening to commercials and needing some inspiration to keep me going only to hear an extremely bad slow song.  I remember at one point because of the hour I ran, I think 7 am exactly, I would hear nothing but news and commercials for 20 minutes, then a song or two, then some more commercials, then another song or two before my run was over, praying they would play a song I liked.  Oh how times have changed.

There may only be 2 computers visible but look closely.  To the right, that is another laptop.  And directly behind his big computer is another computer!  Is Glenn planning on ruling the world from our house?

I don't even know what to say.  I am at a complete loss of words.


Glenn asked me to help him organize this space because I loooooooove organizing, but I seriously don't even know where to begin.


He also just got a new workphone that is basically a camera, a radio, a movie theater,a calendar, a photo album, the internet, a maid and a wife.  


I am a simple girl who still uses postage stamps and somehow survives without a cell phone.  What has happened to my home?  And my children?  The girls favorite store at the mall is not the Disney store or Gap kids, it's the Apple store.  They can (and have) been in there hours playing with and  checking everything out.  Emry & Lila are saving their pennies because their goal is to buy an I pad.  At least they are staying focused and not spending it on $4 frappachino's.

Glenn can't take all the blame.  If I didn't have this computer and this blog where would I rant about technology?

What I feed the five

This post has been a long time coming.  I've put my 8 years in the restaurant business to good use in that every morning I am a short order cook.  I am not a pushover when it comes to breakfast, it's just that breakfast is so easy I really don't mind making different ones.

Ethan is usually pancakes (made in large batches and kept in the freezer), oatmeal or a bagel.
Lila Lou is a bagel or toast.
Emry is random.  Usually just fruit, but sometimes cold cereal or toast.
On the weekends it is usually crepes as this was my favorite breakfast growing up and now the children's as well.

Now for Lunch.  My children are such creatures of habit.  Ethan has nachos or grilled cheese.
Emry likes a mix of all the food groups.  Pita chips & hummus, boiled eggs, yogurt, nuts, string cheese and always fresh fruit.  Lila would love a 100% carb lunch but I lovingly suggest some fruit or yogurt to add to the mix. 

Emry's lunch.  Fruit, pumkin seeds, 1 boiled egg with salt, soft pretzel bites and juice.

Lila's lunch.  Croutons, pumpkin seeds, a persimmon, water and a little slice of her bday cake.

We eat dinner super early and it always varies.  Thai Chicken over rice (our favorite) 101 variations on soup, enchiladas, and lots of salads.

Sweet potatoes with sharp cheddar & bacon, mixed green salad.

White Chicken Chili

Thai Chicken, everyone's favorite.

Vegetable soup with quinoa and tofu

Oatmeal with almond butter and pumpkin butter

My daily lunch, salad!  I love it and never ever get sick of it.

Whole wheat banana muffins

Pumpkin, chocolate and peanut butter bread

Shrimp & Veggie Stir-Fry

I guess all the cookies will have to have their own post.  I better get in the kitchen.