Our link chain to count down the days....

Our link chain to count down the days...., originally uploaded by tommiea1.

This is the paper chain we made to count down the days. Rather than deal with the fight of who would cut each one off each day, each kid made their own. I am all about eliminating as many whiney fits as I can. Of course there is the token 'crazy face' pic for Dad. I can hardly get them to take a normal one now.

here's Manic Monday, hosted by Lisa


What is your least favorite day of the week and why?
None really, but if I have to pick just one, I'd say Thursday....it's not quite the weekend, and if it has been a long week, it just seems to go on forever…



What’s the best way to end the day?
Relaxing - catching up on whatever DVRd fluff I have that isn't kid appropriate.


Which animal would you have left out of the ark?
Definitely scorpians! Also exactly why the Orkin man comes out every month.

Happy Thanksgiving all....the kids and I are off to the land of no internet....Yes, there are still people who still don't have it, even dial up. I am related to them!

Conversation with Will tonight

Beach house, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Tonight while putting Will to bed, he asks, "Mom can we go to our other house?"

I am wondering if he is talking about when we lived in KS....or even CA. I know he remembers going to a Wiggles concert when we lived there. I said, "Which house are you talking about, baby?"

Will: "Our beach house!" Like I am three degrees of crazy that I don't know what he is talking about!

I had to explain to him that we only rented that house this past summer. It is not ours! Boy that was not the right answer. He finally settled down after I told him we could go back when Daddy got home.

This picture is a some of the little houses that were just to the right of the one we rented.

I guess we will be making a beach trip in the spring before we move! I would hate to disappoint him and I know Husband would love to go with us this time!

Muffin Monday......blond brownies

Muffin Monday......blond brownies, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Oh my ......these were simply delicious.

Just a little background on Muffin Monday: I am a diligent follower of Flylady. Just as Mike left in October 2006, Flylady issued a challenge to get rid of cookbook clutter. I had narrowed things down once before, but wondered if I could really get rid of anymore cookbooks. So I told myself that if didn't use a cookbook for at least three recipes I would get rid of it. I would put the recipes I used it for on cards or in my recipe notebook.....and out it goes.

There were a couple of cookbooks that were very sentimental but I only used one or two recipes in it....so I looked through the muffin recipes thinking I could make one or two and get to keep that cookbook. Kind of like bargaining with myself.

Muffins are actually pretty easy to make with the kids....who were only 2 and 3 at the time! Livi could measure the dry stuff. Will could do the wet stuff......wallahh, mix, scoop and bake. We could be done in 45 minutes from start to finish.

Also since we used mini muffins, they only take 10-13 minutes to bake. We had lots and lots of muffins.....so we started to share with out neighbors. We have tried sweet, savory, spicy, and every flavor in between.

Now we are running out of muffin recipes. This month in Better Homes and Gardens, I saw a recipe for Cranberry Blondies with Cinnamon Whipped Cream. They were awesome! It said to let them cool for an hour...well, that didn't happen. But today I tried a little piece, and it was better today. I guess we should have waited.

Happy Tuesday.....

edited to add recipe: (my notes in red)

Nonstick cooking spray

1/2 cup buttered, softened (leave it out on the counter for a few hours prior to baking...makes it really easy to mix with the sugars)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour (I use half wheat and half all-purpose flour.)

1/2 dried cranberries

1/2 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate (I just used white chocolate chips, since I couldn't find a bar.)

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 recipe Cinnamon Whipped Cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 11x7x1 1/2 inch or 9x9x2 baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray and and set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl beat butter with wire whisk or electric mixer until softened. Beat in sugars. baking powder, soda, and salt. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. On low speed, beat in flour.

3. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. Spread batter in pan. Sprinkle with fresh cranberries; press in lightly with spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. (I didn't read the part about pressing the cranberries, so I just mixed them in the batter...which is VERY thick. They turned out fine.)

4. Cool on wire rack for one hour. Lift with foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars. Serve with Cinnamon whipped cream. (Did NOT cool for an hour....still turned out fine, though the whipped cream did melt a bit)

Makes 12 bars

cinnamon whipped cream

In a chilled mixing bowl combine 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/4 t. cinnamon, beat with electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. (Or just use Cool whip and cinnamon)...

Gobble gobble

Gobble gobble, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

I saw a quote in the paper this morning that summed up Veteran's Day for me: "Thank a service member for giving up the comfort of friends and family to fight for freedom. Thank those veterans who came before us." -Brigadier General Christopher Tucker.

Before Husband left thirteen months and three days ago, I never thought of all that these soldiers give up for a year to fifteen months. Even the comfort of sleeping in a bed without springs poking up in your back. As hard as this year has been, I know Husband is doing what he joined the military for...he has always wanted to be a soldier and is great at his job! So, thanks Husband....but hurry home now!!

On a much lighter note, this little turkey came home with me yesterday. I got it from the same vender as the rooster I got a while back. There is a craft bazaar here that kind of kicks off the holiday season.

I was able to find the ornaments that we exchange with Mike's sisters as well. Whew hoo!! Another thing I can check off my list.

Happy Sunday!

crazy pj day

crazy pj day, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Yesterday the kids had "Wear your pj's to school" day. Just as I was lining them up at the door, I grabbed my camera...For some freaky reason as soon as I did, both of them started busting out the moves. Livi was dancing like a crazy chick and she says, "I've got skills!"

Okay, to be honest, even in a wine-induced state, I have NEVER said that to either child. I just cracked up laughing.

Just after this pic was taken, Will starts with the Harry Met Sally "white-man-overbite" moves.

Nice....I've got Skillz and a Goofball!

Happy Saturday!

Friday fill in

1. Plans and schedules keep me sane.

2. I'm happy when things go according to my schedule .

3. The last thing I drank was diet Dr Pepper.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is family.

5. I like spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives on my pizza.

6. Dear November, you are whacky....what is up with the 85 degrees today?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating pizza with the kids and the neighbors, tomorrow my plans include craft fair and get Will a haircut, and Sunday, I want to sleep in and just veg.

Happy Birthday, Husband

Happy Birthday, Husband! Month's ago we put Mike's picture on his chair at the dining room table. Tonight, we decorated his chair, sang happy birthday, and blew out candles. I had the tall blue ones, and Livi insisted we put the chunky number one on there. Anyhow, happy birthday, Husband.....I love you!

Thank you.....

for making me laugh when no one else can.

for being confident in who I am as a wife, mother, and friend.

for knowing good manners and expecting them from the kids...even when they were just 2 and three...

for being respectful.

for standing up for what you believe in....

for being sensitive to my feelings and needs

for asking what I want and like even though you think I might return them!

for not only telling me you trust me, but believing it and putting your trust in me.

for sharing your life with me.

Hurry home husband, I can't wait to start being with you again! Hope you can have a happy birthday.....

Livi's "sewing"....I should hire her out

Livi's sewing....I should hire her out, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

It has been chilly today....in the mid-50's. Kind of wacky since yesterday it was in the 80s. Welcome to Texas!

Between the time change and the cold weather, Livi is worn out. She has a croupy cough. I put one of those Sudafed plug ins in her room along with a humidifier. First off, her room smells like a menthol factory....but she is breathing without the barking cough. Second the humidifier I bought sounded like a jet landing on an air craft carrier. It was so loud. I am really surprised she slept at all last night. Surprisingly she stayed asleep all night! I couldn't even keep the baby monitor on because it was so loud!!

So......between the cough and the chilly weather, we had to break out some indoor activities to occupy them this afternoon. Livi choose 'sewing'. I really should hire her out to Gap or who was it just accused of hiring child labor?? LOL I kid!!

I really liked the big pic of her here. She was so intense and quiet while she worked. The key word here being quiet. She has always been quite the talker. Many many times, I have to just tune her out because the child even talks in her sleep. Maybe we should sew every day!

The other thing these pictures made me think about was how long her hair has gotten. When Mike left thirteen months ago, she was still wearing a bow band. For those of you NOT in the south, it is basically a headband that goes all the way around her head with a little loop on the top. A bow clips onto that loop...and wallaaa, a bow headed baby for a baby with no hair. So even at the age of two, she barely had any hair! It is still growing in along the hairline in the front, but I can gather enough in a tiny piggy to clip her bows onto now.

Happy Tuesday y'all....

Will's no bake cookies

Will's no bake cookies, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Okay, can i just say I love this little thingy on Flickr....? It came in handy again tonight when I wanted to do a sequence with Will's cookie pics.

The time change is wrecking havoc on Livi's schedule. She asked to lay down at preschool this morning. I pick them up at at 12:30....last week she was napping at this time. She literally crashed as soon as I laid her down on her bed.

So Will and I got to make his cookies. Normally I am so paranoid about letting him eat raw cookie dough. I guess somewhere along the years someone convinced me if I ever ate cookie dough with raw eggs I would die some unimaginable death. Since this is a no-egg recipe....he got to lick away.

Sad to say by dinner time they didn't harden up like they normally do. I am sure the neighbors don't want gooyey no bake cookies. Oh well, the kids still ate them!

ps, just a little note on that vanilla in the first picture. My friend Andrena got that for me years ago when she went to Mexico. That was several moves ago....since the military doesn't always move open spices and liquids like that, we have packed it up with other kitchen essentials and moved it in our personal vehicle. It's that good!

My orange month

My orange month, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

I just how to learned how to do this handy dandy little trick through Flickr so I thought I would put it to good use during this post-once-a-day thing.

Just some fun pics from October.

We didn't do the cookies today. I should have known the kids would have no clue about the time change. So needless to say Will woke up at 5:30AM...I tried to get him to lay back down at least until the sun came up. But that wasn't happening.

You would think being up before dawn he might be a bit tired by the afternoon. I was waiting for a lull....the lull never came.

Oh well, we can make them tomorrow instead of making muffins.

happy Sunday

First day for flannel sheets

I get up every day and do the same old routine:

1. Get up and weigh. Whew hoo! Not bad, despite bloating from being a woman!

2. Shower and get dressed, including hair and face.

3. While you are in the bathroom Swish and Swipe.

4. Grab a load of laundry and start the washer.

5. Check your calendar for today's activities...not much, just make no-bake cookies for Will, and mail anniversary card to Husband.

6. Empty dishwasher to start your day.

7. Eat something good for you and take allergy medicine and vitamin.

8. Drink your water BEFORE coffee.

Yes, this is straight from Flylady. I don't do shoes in the house, she is all about wearing lace up shoes. But I don't need shoes to feel done if I am just veggin' at home.

So, my big thing for the day was #4....see my bed...see that tiny bit of cream sticking out from the back? I put flannel sheets on this morning! I love flannel sheets. We got these years ago from Mike's parents the first year we were in Alaska...(so that makes them almost 9 years old....and they are so soft!!!) I have a mattress pad with a brain (it has warmer coils near the feet, a few in the middle and just a little one near the chest area). I love to turn it on while I am brusing my teeth and washing my face. When I crawl in bed it will be all nice and toasty!! But I leave Mike's side turned off...so if I get too hot, I can scooch my toes to his side and cool down.

It is all a very exact science!!

I can't wait to go to bed tonight! Happy Saturday...