Thanked Out

Just got back from another full Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I have had an abundance of sinful food over that last two days. So much so that if Matt squeezes me really hard, butter comes out of my tear ducts. That might be cool for a few party tricks so I've got that going for me.

My mom begged and cried for me to get one of those "perfect Christmas shots" of all her grandchildren today. I was given a cute bunch of kids but one was really pissed off at me because he needed lunch and a nap not a photo shoot.

Can you tell what was that is?

Then it even got worse.

And then down right ugly.

Don't you love how everyone else just ignores the distressed child? JC Penny Portrait Studio's here we come!

I'm Stuffed

To full to write. (stop)

Must post tonight. (stop)

Pants cutting into my waist. (stop)

Must find sweat pants. (stop)

If I die in my sleep, tell the coroner's office that it was my mom's sweet potatoes that killed me. (stop)

Stef and her girls made these sweet napkin rings for the table.

Phoebe Claire

Maisie Josephine

The newest member of the family, Woodrow (Woody).

My momma

Too much sweetness: Stefanie and Ruby

Self portrait: me and my man

Ruby and Woody sharing a moment. Trivia question: Who's tongue is it?

This is the fifth picture I took of Tobin. He kept dodging the camera or sabotaging the pictures. I told him if he didn't give me a good shot he'd have to eat the broccoli. It worked!

And good news, Phoebe likes cranberries.

Hope In A Box

About this time of year, way back when I was 8 or 9 I remember an unexpected knock at the door. My mother and I rushing to see who came to visit on a Novembers day. It was a stranger holding a cardboard box. He handed my mother the heavy box and said something like, "I know things are hard and I hope this helps". My mom's chin quivered and tears came easy. The box was filled with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast. I don't remember if the kindness came from our Church family or a local mission in town and it doesn't matter. Our needs were met. It would be a few years later when I watched my mom take a bag of groceries over to the neighbor's house. Asking my mom why she did that she simply said, "everyone needs a little help sometimes". Today I open up my pantry door and see this.

Blessings in cans, jars and boxes. And I am reminded to be thankful that my basic needs are being met. That my children have never known hunger. And that if I should ever face hunger I've got five pounds of reserve on each thigh that should last me a month or so. Amen.

Snap!

Do you ever just kick yourself when you hear of a new invention that seems so obvious you question your own intelligence for not coming up with it first? The millions made from the no slip hangers, the Snuggie (which I believe has been around for centuries only know by its prehistoric name, the ROBE), or those clever purses that have a light inside when you open them. All obvious ideas that I discovered only seconds after seeing them on TV. Smitten Kitchen had one of those "why didn't I think of that" recipes. A classic rice crispy treat is a crowd pleaser yes but sometime the sweetness is just too much after four or five squares. A real problem. Solution: Salt! Yes, that's what rice crispy treats have been missing all these years. You must try Smitten Kitchen's, Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats. I won big mommy points when I served these babies. Now you too can eat an entire pan without getting board of gooey sweetness.

The True Meaning of Christmas

The holiday hype has begun, but before you get too merry I wanted to remind all you mommies out there not to get your hopes up. Here is an educational You Tube video to remind us all what we can look forward to.

I don't mean to be a hater but some parts of this are so true! Ho Ho Ho!

Sunday Open House: Closed for Cleaning

Sorry guys no open house tonight. Maybe I'll try to squeeze one in this week.

Christmas cards. Tis the season to be thinking about this chore. Getting that "perfect" shot of three children (who obviously have better things to do) really does take a Christmas miracle. Lately it seem like utter torture for them to sit down for five seconds and LOOK at the camera and dear lord please could you just smile or give some expression that doesn't look like you're trying to send a message with your eyes that you need someone to send help because you're being beaten. I miss the good ole days when I just had one little guy and my problem was WHAT adorable, cute picture I should send out.

All I had to do back then was put him in charming Gymboree out fits and click away.

Or place him by the fire with a vintage toy. . . ahh
Or shove him in a box and plop a bow on his head. Pure peace on Earth.

I Heart Costco

Matt is out protecting the city and I have spent the evening catching up on TiVo and folding laundry. It's 11:45 and I've really pushed procrastination to a new all time low. As I was thinking about my day and what I should write about, I thought about our family trip to Costco. I must say we are nuts for doing warehouse shopping on a Saturday afternoon with all the spawns, but it really turned out to be delightful. All do to the fact that we hit the sample time just perfect. They ate enough that we got to skip lunch, and my picky Tobin gets brave and tries new things, (bonus, bonus)!
So I thought I'd tell you bloggers about some of my favorite Costco finds.

1. Uncooked tortillas. You find these in the refrigerated section and they are fabulous. Sure one more step to cook them but you can't beat the soft fresh taste. (They also freeze great)

2. 100% Juice Capri Suns. I keep a box of these in the van for thirsty kids after park play.

3. Organic Kirkland Peanut Butter. We go though a lot of peanut butter at our house and I love that this stuff has no sugar or preservatives. Never gets too hard in the fridge like other brands can. And as a little tip, because you have to stir the oils in natural peanut butter, I like to store my new jars upside down in the pantry so that the oil is at the bottom. Less mess when mixing.

4. Krikland Hamburger meat. I really don't know or care if I am getting a good price on this brand of beef. All I know is it come pre-packaged into one pound tubes so I don't have to ever spend an hour dividing and repackaging raw meat again.

5. Carter jammies. My kids only get dressed if we are leaving the house. It's true and I don't care who knows it. Jammies are warm and great to play in so we have lots at our house. Costco has the best price hands down.

6. Books. As mentioned by our last MOPS speaker and fellow blogger Stephanie, Costco has great buyer for books and unbeatable prices.

7. Baby Wipes. ( I first wrote whips. hehe) Pop-up, alcohol free, hypo allergenic, cheap. I have a stash of these in every room and I don't think my obsession will stop even though the twins don't need them on their bottoms any more.

8. Frozen corn and peas. Can't beat the convenience of having these two resealable bags right in your freezer to make no excuses to have vegetables at every meal.

What are some of your favorite Costco finds?