Happy 4th Birthday Adam

Happy Birthday buddy!

Sorry your cake was lopsided, but you didn't seem to mind.

Check out the girls' scores on the first frame (right side). All spares!

You're growing so much.

I can't wait to see you what this year brings!

I love you.

Thanksgiving food notes

So here's what I need to remember for the next time I host a Thanksgiving dinner for 9. If I put it here, I can't lose it. If you don't care about my notes, ignore this post.

Roast turkey EARLY - like maybe the day before. 18 pounds took about 6 hours this year. And "fresh" just means they thaw it for you, so it still might have some ice inside.

Meringue pies aren't worth it if you have to make it the day before (and remember to bake crust before filling)

Make a double recipe of potatoes (use 10 pounds next time). These can be made a day early and warmed in the oven.

Make a half recipe of sweet potatoes (use 2-3 big potatoes instead of 5).

Two recipes of rolls (24 total rolls) was a good amount. Some leftover, but not too many.

Single recipe of green bean casserole was enough.

Skip the bag of stuffing. The kids like it a little, but not enough and the leftovers aren't great.

Molasses cookies were a hit.

Thanksgiving 2012: a comedy of errors

It all started with the lemon meringue pie I made yesterday. Lemon and meringue looked and tasted lovely, but as I removed it from the oven, I noticed the crust was much lighter than the pumpkin pie crust and I wondered how it cooked in such a short time. Well, a review of the recipe showed me those special little words "baked pastry shell" and I realized my mistake. So, we had weepy, day-old, raw crusted lemon meringue pie today and everyone raved about it! I have nice family!

Next, my turkey wasn't done until 1 1/2 hours after expected. I could sense unrest, so we actually ate lunch without it after it became painfully clear that waiting that long wasn't really an option. Everyone assured me it wasn't missed too much and we enjoyed the meat with dinner instead. I have nice family!

And lastly (so far), I moved the oven rack for Adam's birthday cake, which is a sheet cake, and accidentally inserted it lopsided. So now he has a ski slope birthday cake with an inch of frosting and crispy cake on one side and moist, chewy cake just barely covered with frosting on the other. Take your pick! We all agreed that Adam wouldn't care a bit and will enjoy it immensely tomorrow. I have nice family!

I am officially thankful for my patient, caring, encouraging family!

picture from a while ago...

New(est) purse

How awesome is my sister? I picked out this material and a pattern and she made me a purse in one afternoon! And she used my machine, which is a huge step down from her fancy one at home. That really blows my mind. I'm really happy with the purse, and it is exactly what I was wanting. She even modified the pattern to add a zipper. What a lucky sister I am! Thank you Kim!

Happy Halloween! 2012

When I asked what they wanted to be for Halloween about 2 months ago, they both knew instantly and never wavered once.

Laura spent one sleepless night anxiously trying to decide between a snowy owl and a great horned owl, but was always going to be an owl. Why? I can't tell you. Its not a favorite character in a book or TV show, never even been an animal she talked about particularly. But there you have it. An OWL!

And just like Laura, Adam knew instantly that he wanted to be a tornado. He's always been fascinated with them. Actually, it started out to be more of a fear of them, but has turned into an interest. For a while, I think he thought they were alive and something that you could talk to or kill. I think he's getting the idea now, though. He wasn't sure he liked wearing it at first because it's pretty poofy. But after his school parade, I think he was proud of it. It is such a novel costume that he got a lot of attention from the adults. Its nice to see him receiving positive attention, and it made him fell really good. I particularly like the houses, cows, cars and trees swirling around him, though I'm not sure he completely understood why they were there. 

Now that Halloween is over, what do I do with homemade owl and tornado costumes?