fat pizza...

Tonight for dinner I made home made pizza. After it had been in the oven for a while I told Annie to go and see if it looked done. She walked over, looked in the oven and said "oh yeah mom, it's done. It's looking really fat, just like your tummy and that's FAT."

Thanks for the reality check, Annie!

christmas lights...

Last night we went with Preston's sister to Thanksgiving Point to ride through the lights. They were nothing spectacular but the kids had a GREAT time! We piled some blankets into the back of their truck and off we went.

day six - toffee...

I have always loved toffee but I have just been too scared to make it. This year I bit the bullet, bought a candy thermometer and decided to dive in head first. After stirring until my arm fell off and then for another 15 minutes after that, the toffee part was finished. I wasn't so sure it was going to turn out but I'm pretty impressed with myself - and it doesn't taste half bad either.

day five - cookies...

Annie has been BEGGING me for weeks to make sugar cookies. I finally bit the bullet and she was so excited to start decorating them. This activity more than others really tests my quest for perfection and design. It takes every ounce of control I can muster just to let her do it her own way - but I did. The cookies turned out great and I wouldn't have it any other way. She was one happy girl! Even dad got in on the action and turned out some pretty "cute" cookies!

sweetest thing...

I don't know how it happened or what I did but I have the sweetest 5 year old on the planet! It is no single event or happening that makes me say this, it is just a bunch of constant thoughtful actions on her part.

Today she asked me if she could go outside and play in the snow. Sure. So she got herself dressed in her coat and boots and headed outside to play. As she was walking out the door I told her to "stay by our house". When I looked out the window there were a bunch of kids her age playing on a snow mound but I didn't see Annie. I went downstairs and opened the garage door to see her standing in the driveway. I asked her why she wasn't playing over with the other kids and she said "because you told me to stay by our house".

The other night I had just had a really long day and I had lost my patience. I was being shorter with Annie than I should have been and when she asked me a question I told her to go to her room and figure it out and I'd be there in a minute. Well, a minute turned into about 10 and when I finally made it into her room I found her fast asleep in her bed. She had gotten herself into her pajamas, turned on her night light, turned on her music, put a few books by the side of her bed and fallen asleep before I made it in.

Most kids get a treat and want to eat the entire thing themselves, not Annie. One of the first things she does when she gets a treat is ask if she can share some with Halle (or whoever is around). She has always been such a good sharer. She is the best sister to Halle and is always concerned about Halle before herself. She is always willing to help me do whatever it is I need and she CONSTANTLY reminds me what it means to be loving and forgiving. She is definitely the kinder and gentler spirit in this house. I love her so much and every day I'm grateful that I'm lucky enough to be her mom - though I'm not exactly sure who is raising who.

in lieu of a christmas card...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

day four - cake balls

I came across this recipe from one of my favorite new websites http://www.bakerella.com/. All the reviews said they were easy and delicious (not to mention cute to look at) so I decided to give them a try. These little gems were neither easy nor delicious but here they are none the less. For this recipe I used dark chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. IF I make these in the future I think I'll try something like chocolate cake and chocolate frosting or german chocolate frosting.

if games were won...

If games were won by who had the cutest fans, UTAH definitely would have taken the cake today. It's a shame they lost but at least I had some moral support from the cutest fans in the league since I have to live in a sea of blue.

funny side note - I got Preston tickets to the game and while we were sitting at home getting ready to watch the game on TV, Annie started complaining that she wanted to go to the game. I told her that wasn't an option but that we could look on the TV and see if we could see dad anywhere. She thought I meant that he was playing IN the game. It wasn't until several minutes in that she finally asked which number he was and I told her we should look for him in the stands.

day three - thankful turkey

I was trying to come up with a little craft that Annie could do while she was waiting for dinner to get finished tomorrow and I came up with these little "thankful turkeys". Annie cut out the feathers and I did the head and then we wrote what we were thankful for on each feather. I think they turned out pretty cute and they were SO EASY! I also thought I could have used a potato but I had a whole bunch of apples just laying around so I went with those. What a cute table decoration too!

funny annie...

We got Annie's hair cut today. We went to the Cookie Cutters by our house. When it was Annie's turn a guy sat her in the chair and asked her how she wanted it cut. She said "I want it a little bit long and a little bit short. After clearing that up he proceeded to cut her hair. She instantly got this look of sheer terror on her face (I wish I had taken a picture). When her hair was all finished I asked if she liked it and she excitedly said that she did. It wasn't until we got home that she said, "mom, I didn't know that boys cut hair so I thought he was going to cut me some boy hair". No wonder she had sheer terror on her face - I would to if I thought I was going to get a boy hair cut. Then she goes, "mom, if he had cut me a boy haircut dad would have come home and said "who is this boy girl and where is Annie".

Oh, I love having conversations with a five year old!!!

25 things...

I'm sure most people saw this when I posted it on Facebook but I've gotten in "trouble" for not blogging lately, so I'm putting this on my blog too. They're just 25 random things you might not know about me...

1. I love dry humor. Speaking of which...I'm really funny!

2. I love politics. I got really into politics in college and now I'm a junkie. Not only do I love it but I'm always right.

3. I can't speak in any foreign accent. When I try I sound like I have a mental disability.

4. When I was in college I wore a size 9 shoe. After I had my first daughter my feet grew to a size 10. Now, after having my baby my feet ballooned into a size 11. In case you're wondering, they don't make cute shoes in size 11.

5. I am into homeopathic remedies. I haven't sworn off modern medicine and doctors but my kids aren't immunized and I think everyone should have a bottle of silver on hand.

6. I wish that people would randomly drop treats off on my doorstep. Maybe I would like to actually know who it was that was bringing them to me so I would feel comfortable eating the treats but how fabulous would it be to have people just show up with a plate full of treats?

7. I'm just not sensitive at all. I don't believe in sugar coating things. If you feel a certain way - say it. People just need to grow thicker skin.

8. I like old movies and music. Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, The Letterman, Doris Day, Bing Crosby - all good artists. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Snowball Express, Holiday Inn, Apple Dumpling Gang, The King and I, Breakfast at Tiffany's - all good movies!

9. I am awesome at parallel parking. I don't know what it is and how it happens but I can fit any car into any space and end up 2 inches away from the curb on the first try. I impress myself with that talent all the time.

10. I would secretly like to be a journalist, scratch that, an editorial columnist. I want people to hear what I have to say not write about what someone else is thinking.

11. I am attracted to geeky guys (except my husband, he's AWESOME and not geeky at all). I would totally date Ross from Friends.

12. I hate war movies. My husband loves them. Therein lies the conflict.

13. When I go to Cafe Rio I order the pork salad. When I go to Chili's I order the Buffalo Chicken Salad. When I go to Paradise Bakery I order the Turkey and Artichoke Panini. When I go to Pei Wei I order the Pei Wei Spicy. When I go to Red Robin I order the Teriyaki Chicken Burger. When I go to California Pizza Kitchen I order the BBQ Chicken Salad. I love to eat out.

14. I like to learn and use big words. My new favorite words are tangentially and proclivity.

15. I have a zillion projects floating through my head at any given moment. I always have really good intentions of starting at least one or two of them - but rarely do. But trust me, they are REALLY good ideas, and cute too!

16. I love bargain shopping. I don't buy anything unless it is on sale and if it is more than $10 then I probably won't buy it. I'm really good at finding deals.

17. I wish I could play the guitar.

18. I worked at Thanksgiving Point on the beverage cart at the golf course for 2 years. It was a great job and I love golfing. I wish I got to play more but children and golfing are not cohesive.

19. If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be chocolate cake - that's a food right?

20. I hate swimming in the ocean. I like being near the ocean but not actually IN there.

21. I have a series of strange, non life threatening disorders - one of which is costalcondritis which is the inflamation of the cartlidge around the ribs.

22. I love Disneyland. It is a newer obsession of mine. In the last 3 years I have been 14 times.

23. I am a horrible example to my daughter. I am constantly telling her not to say words like stupid, hate, idiot and dumb yet my top 4 most uttered words are stupid, hate, idiot and dumb.

24. Before I got pregnant with Halle I had ZERO cavities. After I had her I had 16 cavities. And YES, I brushed my teeth.

25. I love to garden but I'm awful at it and I kill everything I try to grow!

let me in...

I don't understand parents when they say that their kids don't like to get in the tub. Mine have the exact opposite problem. Annie would take a bath 3 times a day if I would let her and Halle is following suit. I wish that that last sentence had said "is following IN a suit" becuase this is what I found the other day...