Xmas Tree Truth

Ok, for those of you who read about my adorable Tucker decorating my tree...well the bottom 2 feet of my tree...it has been "re-distributed". Is that how I would say it without hurting any one's feelings? The controlling, picky, perfectionist in me just couldn't take it anymore. But I must be honest, I delegated (imagine that) the job to Matt and let him finish the decorating. I'm just being realistic, I wouldn't have gotten to it! I have 800 other things I think about during the day and that's just not one of them. Plus, when am I supposed to re-distribute the ornaments when I'm nursing a 5 month old non-stop? Bottom line, our tree is beautiful and finished! Thanks Matt!

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Pump It Up Jr.

I have found the BEST place to get your child to run like a maniac, have fun and act like a kid yourself! It's called Pump It Up Jr and it's out HWY 26 and Cornell/Bethany Rd. It's the best $7.00 we have spent in a while. The place is clean and the inflatables are smaller (made for the 6 and under crowd). They also have special jump times for 3 and under which is a great time to take the younger kids so they aren't getting trampled by more aggressive kids. We went to a similar type place in Louisiana, but all the inflatables were full size and Tucker was scared of all but one of them. Pump It Up Jr. has all smaller inflatables and he went in every single one. They had 2 slides and an obstacle course one and many more. We will be going back very soon, maybe even Friday. Diego will be there to play with the kids. I'm not sure if that will scare Tucker or not, but he does like Go Diego Go, so we will see! Check this place out, it's great!

Christmas Tree Decorated by Tucker

We finally got the tree out of the garage...yes, we are THOSE people who have a fake tree. Maybe slightly pathetic because we live in Oregon and we have a fake tree, but other than missing the great pine tree smell throughout the house...I really don't miss real trees. I don't forget to water the poor thing, we can set it up on December 1st and we don't have a brown tree on New Year's Eve and the best part is that I don't have to pester Matt about how many lights we should have and where they should go. I know that this fake, pre-lit tree eliminates many holiday fights between us (I'm a picky perfectionist and he just wants the job finished)! After we got the tree set up and lights on, Tucker told us that this was the biggest Christmas tree he had ever seen. We didn't try to explain that this is the same tree we had last year! So we got the tree branches spread out and it was time for Tucker to put on some ornaments. I handed over the ornaments and let him put them on anywhere he wanted. He had so much fun and really seemed very proud of the good work he was doing. It was adorable. He is really excited about Christmas for the first time, which makes it so much more fun for me. Getting off track here...so, check out the tree decorating Tucker did tonight!

These ornaments are hanging from the lighting....all 8 ornaments!

We are lucky this branch is actually reinforced wire because there are about 10 ornaments on that one branch! I kept telling him to find a new branch, but I guess these few lucky branches were the only ones good enough to get ornaments!!

1 pan, 1 pot and 30 minutes

A friend of mine recently posted a yummy looking recipe on her blog and it made me want to share one of our favorites. It's very tasty, extremely quick and has several veggies mixed in. I got this recipe from my friend Marta in Louisiana, but no, it's not Cajun. We call it "noodle and sausage dinner" although I wish it had a fancy name. It take 30-35 minutes from start to finish. Measurements aren't exact because I don't enjoy cooking as much when I have to follow specific directions...just go with your gut feeling and make changes next time if you want to!

Let me know what you think of it when you try it!

Ingredients:

Approx. 1/2 box of penne noodles

1 lb Italian Sausage

olive oil

1 spoon of chopped garlic (or to your taste)

1 sweet onion-cut into wedges

2 peppers (our favs are orange and red) cut into chunks

1 bag fresh spinach

At the same time, preheat a pan for your sausage AND start your water to boil. Brown your sausage. Whenever your water boils, dump in about 1/2 the box of noodles. When your sausage is completely cooked, set it aside in a bowl. In your sausage pan, put the garlic, onions and about 4 swirls of olive oil.(use your judgement, but use enough olive oil so everything will be coated...you can always add more later) Get your onions almost brown and add the chopped peppers. Cook your peppers until you like them (a little bit soft or crunchy). Add your cooked sausage back into the pan. Add raw spinach to the pan and cook it down, use as much or little as you prefer. I usually don't even bother dirtying the colander, so I scoop the noodles from the pot into the pan using a slotted spoon. Scoop noodles in until you like the ratio of meat and veggies to noodles. Add more olive oil if you think you need it.

Also makes good leftovers.

Also try: tomatoes cooked in, and/or shredded Parmesan on top

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I have so much to be thankful for...

My helpful, loving husband who is also a wonderful and playful father. Who is not in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I am thankful for those soldiers that ARE in Iraq or Afghanistan. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. I'm praying for your quick and safe return.

My two beautiful and loving children. I'm not sure who I would be without them. (well I can think of a few things I would be...thinner and well rested are the first things that comes to mind) but every second and pound is worth it.

My parents. I'm not even sure how to say how thankful I am. After having Tucker and Addie I now understand the kind of love and work that they put into making me who I am. What a hard job! I really didn't have a clue! Thank you!

I am especially thankful for my Mother-in-law who is sacrificing so much to help house us and keep us from starving while we are unemployed and job hunting. Thank you Michele for all you are doing for us and letting us take over your life and home.

My friends, you are the ones who keep me sane, inspired, and laughing. I would not be the person that I am without you in my life. I wish I could spend more time with all of you. I treasure each of you so much.

Today I found my Chi

I have been courageous in the last week and have tried some group exercise classes at the gym we recently joined. My goal is to try each class they offer, at least once. Unfortunately for the other participants, this includes Latin Impact!!! Don't worry, I will be sure to share how I shake my groove thang in that class.

On Monday, I went to Hip Hop...yeah baby, you heard me. Let's just say I'm not enough of cheerleader to really hack it in that class. Although that was the most fun I've ever had while making a complete fool out of myself (while sober). It was pretty challenging for my out of shape body and mind. I haven't had too many activities in the last 3 years that have challenged my ability to remember much more than 2 things at a time. (anyone out there relate?) And other than the fear of re-injuring my right knee, I think I would be brave enough to try again. Although I will never be able to remember the routine...I will always be the idiot in class.

Today was a different story, I found my Chi. I went to my first yoga class. I never thought standing still in funny positions to the relaxing sounds of elevator music could be exercise! Although I'm looking for my younger, leaner, firmer body, my favorite part of yoga was my "meditation". I was instructed to lay flat on the floor, concentrate on relaxing every muscle, and close my eyes. At first, my mind was racing with all the busyness of the day and then I thought to myself, "Self, this lady is telling you to sit down, shut up and chill out...LISTEN TO HER!!" Those were the most beautiful moments of my day. I usually only relax like that when I'm sleeping, but I'm not conscious to enjoy it. I have some reservations about my return to Hip Hop, but yoga lady can count on me because no matter how hard "finding my tree position" might be, I will come back for meditation.