Fondue anyone?

So it's a chilly Tues afternoon, kids didn't have school bc
of the holidays, and I wasn't up for a big cook tonight. I
was online and inspired by this blog post about pizza
fondue.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/little-dipper-pizza-fondue-recipe.html

Very intriguing! Isabelle is a big dipper (she dips
everything from toast, cheese, meats, veggies, fruit, you
name it) - so I thought fondue would be right up her alley!
So tonight for dinner I made my own version of a pizza
fondue (minus the Prego - ha ha!) with some leftover gravy
from Christmas, mozzarella, garlic, white wine, etc.
Yumm-o! I made a pasta dish for me and Joe but left the
girl's pasta plain so they could dip that along with cubed
bread, breadsticks, cheese, chicken, etc. Isabelle had a
ball with it! I set it up on the floor so that everyone
could reach the pot without climbing on the table. I would
definitely do this again in the future. We talked about a
caramel fondue for fruits (they are big fans of apple
dippers) and Isabelle wanted to do it right there and
then!!! This was a nice change to a regular weeknight
dinner.

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Joe Wurzelbacher or Joe Marinello?

Day 6 with no dishwasher, Day 5 of attempted repairs. Finally.... success!!!!

Adding: Way to Go Joe! {Apparently my enthusiasm for his success was understated. He is looking for neon blinking thank you lights.}

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Playtime with the Cooks

The Cooks came over for lunch today - what a fun time! Even
Joseph was in the mix of things. He is getting ready to
walk any day now, so its so cute to see him follow around
the older kids and try to keep up with them!

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Thank you Everyone!

Thank you everyone for such a wonderful holiday this year.
It was great to see our family and friends, and the kids are
very thankful for all the generous gifts. Thank you!

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Adelina and Isabelle talent show: Grand Old Flag

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Future Rock Stars?

Future rock stars? Let's all hope so! :) Check out their
"world premier" music videos by clicking on our YouTube
videos link in the right column. They're pretty funny - ha
ha ha!

Thanks Aunt Geneen and Uncle Goo for the amazing stage!

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Christmas is over, I think

I think tonight was our final Christmas event of the 2008
season - ha ha ha! We celebrated with the Fratterolos and,
as always, the kids had a blast.

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Marinello Christmas Breakfast

This morning was the annual Marinello Christmas breakfast.
I think it went great! I'm not sure how, but Joseph slept
through the first two hours of it. The house was filled
with lots of friends and kids. Adelina said her favorite
part was having lots of friends sit together for breakfast.
She said "what a funny food for a party!". Isabelle's
favorite part was playing games to win fruit snacks - big
surprise there. Thanks for coming everyone!

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Joe the plumber, literally!

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! What a great day! Who would have thought
that the big hit presents this year would have been rubber
gloves (Isabelle) and a few lip glosses (Adelina). The kids
got so many great gifts, and Joseph was lucky enough to get
his own power quad (green, not pink!) from Mom-Mom and
Pop-Pop. One of my favorite parts of the day was watching
Adelina and Isabelle give make-up makeovers to Joyce and
Judy. They all had a ball!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

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Send a letter, get a letter

Can you believe Santa left us a letter?  We are so lucky!

Dear Adelina, Isabelle, and Joseph,

Merry Christmas!  I've been watching you from the North Pole and I see that you've been very good little girls and boys.  Is that true?  Thank you for the milk, cookie, candle, and the carrots for my reindeer.  That was very kind of you.  Your decorations look beautiful and I really love your kiddie tree downstairs – especially Cinderella on top!

Adelina, thank you for always helping mommy and cleaning up your room.  Don't forget to always listen to the rules and do your homework.  Keep up the great work in school!

Isabelle – what a great year for you – how exciting!  You are a very good helper with your baby brother.  Thank you for taking good care of him!  Always listen to mommy and daddy and make good choices, OK?  Great job!

Baby Joseph – Merry 1st Christmas!  I think you will be walking very soon.  Have fun with your sisters!

Because you all were so good I left you a few presents.  Enjoy them and always remember to share!

Love Always - Santa Clause

PS – I left a few surprises downstairs under your kiddie tree too!  They are surprises for all of you to enjoy together.  Merry Christmas!

 

By the way, I did NOT write the letter to Santa.  Well yes, I physically wrote it but Adelina dictated it to me.  I tried at least 4-5 times to redirect her on what she was trying to say about Isabelle but it was so darn cute that she wanted to make sure her sister got presents even though sometimes she is "bad" that I just went with it.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

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Santa Clause is coming to town

Another great Christmas Eve with family and friends at the
Lowry's. Kids had a ball when Santa arrived. Isabelle's
favorite gift so far is her pair of rubber gloves. She is
still talking about them. Thank you everyone for the
wonderful gifts!

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Early Christmas Presents

So far on Christmas Eve we've received a double ear infection for J5 and a bronchial asthma attack for Belle. Can't wait to see the rest of our presents!

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Finished houses!

I'm not sold on the whole concept of gingerbread houses. I mean really - are they worth the trouble? The one on the right was made the traditional way with icing and candy. Totally edible except it has a collapsing roof, is currently held together with string (curling ribbon actually), and has been held, broken, and massaged by at least 5 pairs of hands. Does that really qualify as edible anymore? The one on the left? Not edible. Held together with a hot glue gun. Candy and spinkles for decoration. 10 mins start to finish. No one can eat it and nope, it is not traditional. But it is still a gingerbread house in my book :)

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More handmade fun

I think my theme for this year is handmade. Not my normal
style but I am starting to think handmade gifts, treats, and
fun are so special. First it was my hand-made blankets that
I made for Christmas gifts. Then it was my holiday aprons
(to be completed in 2009). Today it was my Chocolate Nut
Clusters. And tonight... Aunt Geneen and Uncle Goo made
ornaments and a gingerbread house with Adelina and Isabelle.
What a fun time! If anyone knows how to get the roof of the
gingerbread house to actually stay in place for longer than
15 mins, please share :)

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Thank you Miss Jenn

Today mystery boxes arrived for the kids. They were from
Miss Jenn! What a treat. Thank you Miss Jenn. You are
much too generous, as always!!!!

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Chocolate Nut Clusters

One more holiday treat to make before Christmas Eve. This
time it was Chocolate Nut Clusters to give out to family and
friends. I found this great recipe online using my
crockpot - woo hoo!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-peanut-clusters.html

Adelina had a GREAT time making these with me but waiting is
now torture for her. In addition to the recipe, we added
nonpareils as the last step to make the clusters festive.
Once they are all cooled (hours!) we will wrap up to give
out on Christmas Eve and day. Yum!

PS - notice Adelina's holiday apron? Guess who made it for
her? ME! Another "talent" of mine :)

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First Day of Winter is December 21st

For those of you that visit just for the pictures, today is
officially the first day of Winter. I know, I know - it
seems like all of December should be "winter" but its not.
So today started the new web gallery of the "winter" photos.
All of the others are still there, just look under Fall,
Summer, or Spring. Enjoy!

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Holiday Fun with Friends

Had a great time tonight celebrating Christmas with the
D'Alessios and Schiffls. Aunt Michelle got the girls HSM
"husbands" (sitting pillow things) and both are dragging
them around like a puppy. Adelina brings it with her into
every room she goes! Thanks for dinner, fun, and the great
presents. Merry Christmas!

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The weather outside was frightful, but the cookies were so delightful

Tonight was our Annual Cookie Swap. Geneen was the big
winner with her Peanut Butter Smore's recipe. I'll ask her
for the recipe so I can post it here for prosperity sake -
ha ha ha!

Overall, the swap was a success. Adelina asked to come to
the "cookie party" and was very proud to show off the baking
she did and tell about all of her hard work. It was nice
that Geneen came this year - I guess now that she is married
she thinks she fits in more, or something like that. Plus
she won, and Geneen held that blue ribbon proudly!!!

It was disappointing to lose some our regular faces this
year, but great to have some new ones! I'm on the fence
about the swap for next year. On one hand I think it is
great to keep up a tradition (and very helpful to swap
cookies and save myself baking time around the holidays!)
On the other hand I think that part of the reason I like the
swap is because of the people. Don't get me wrong, new
faces are great and always welcome! But it is the regulars
that I look forward to chatting with and competing with for
"cookie of the year". It is the old friends that I want to
look back with and remember all of our swaps and funny
times. I'm not sure the tradition has the same meaning if
each year the room is filled with new people and new
stories. Or is it? I'm not sure.

I have 364 days to think about this until next year's swap
:)

Congratulations Geneen! I'm going to grab me a Peanut
Butter Smore and head up to bed. Bye bye!

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Deck the Halls

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Joy to the World

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Let it snow!

Yes, we had flurries and a few flakes in the past, but this
was Yesica and Joseph's first real snowfall. Fun!

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Traditions

Our Christmas Cookie exchange has become an annual
tradition. We alternate house's between here and Michelle's
each year. We have the usual attendees, the one-hit guests
(like a one-hit wonder?), the ones that always say they'll
come but never do, and then those that are too cool to trade
cookies? Ha ha ha!

Today, as I was holding a cell phone on one ear, my work
speakerphone was on the counter, and my hands were full of
flour I questioned why I really enjoy this. Is is the
baking? Nah - I can take it or leave that part. What I
really like is the tradition. As corny and old-lady as that
sounds, it is the truth. I like to tell Adelina about who
won "Cookie of the Year" the last few years, and I look
forward to showing Isabelle all of the pictures of the
cookies, my friends, etc.

Today after school Adelina walked in to a flour filled
kitchen and said "Mom, is tomorrow the cookie party?" She
was so excited for the "party". She actually remembers last
year when it was at our house and that everyone brings and
leaves with cookies. I distinctly remember her being upset
bc everyone was taking the cookies from our house - she
thought they were all for us!

So then I thought to myself "This is why I do this". So my
kids can have good memories of Christmas, family fun, warm
cookies, and good times sharing with others.

Within 2 minutes Adelina had her apron on and said "Where do
I stand mom?" Alas - I had a new assistant! She did really
great. Ad had made these before and was in her groove
pretty quickly - its like riding a bike, no? She made an
entire tray herself! She was so proud and then tired.
Adelina closed out her baking session with a dramatic
"Whew!" and a request for water - she was tired and thirsty
and it was time for the Backyardigans :)

When Isabelle got off the bus how could I not include her in
the fun? Although my kitchen was already clean and the
trays all put away, she smelled the cookies and wanted to
make some too. Thank goodness for my garage freezer -
instant cookies! Her cookies are now in the oven baking,
and she is standing here watching over my shoulder waiting
to see her pictures with her cookies. I think she may like
pictures more than me - is that even possible?

Merry Christmas and happy baking!

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The Best Peanut Butter Cookies. Period.

I'll have to try these too. My blog is becoming my online
recipe box so I can find things easily next time I need them
:)

http://bakingblonde.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/the-best-peanut-butter-cookies-period/

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Note to self

Try these next time you need a new cookie recipe:

http://bakingblonde.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/double-butterscotch-cookies/

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Baby Joseph is "in"

Who would have guessed the 2008 Name of the Year?

http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2008/12/the-2008-name-of-the-year

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Presents under the tree but what in the stockings?

I am not sure if anyone even reads my blog, but if you do
can you help me with a simple question. We all know that
presents go under the Christmas tree but what really goes in
the stockings? Is there a real tradition or history? I
searched online but found no good answer. When I was
growing up it was mostly girly things - a new hairbrush,
spray, lip-gloss, maybe a treat, candy, gum, etc. But what
should really go in the stocking or is there no "standard"
item? Is it really just meant for things that are small? I
think not bc a gift card to Target is small but it could be
$50 for example :)

So do tell - what should I put in the stockings this year?
Suggestions appreciated!

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Thanks and happy holidays!

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Santa and Christmas Cookies

What a fun day we had today! Melissa and John Paul invited
us to their house to wait for Santa - there was a "Santa
Stop" right outside their front door! While we waited the
girls decorated Christmas cookies - so so so cute! It took
a little longer than expected (ha ha ha!) but we finally saw
Santa. What a great day!

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