Holiday Cheer

So, I would love to show you pictures of my new house all decked out for Christmas. Or maybe a shot of my precious child in his new Christmas jammies (let’s be honest, we have about 5 pairs of holiday jammies to rotate through). I mean, I could even post a photo from Thanksgiving or of the little half bathroom we are almost finished renovating.

But…

In order to do so, my camera battery would have to ‘work.’  As in, not dead.

So instead, I thought we could talk about Christmas cookies. How does that sound?

Growing up my mom made amazing sugar cookies, cut out into trees, stars and geese. She made the frosting herself and carefully iced each one and then let my brothers and I decorate them with sprinkles (basically ruining her beautiful creations as we dumped sprinkles all over her hard work, but she was a good sport). Over the years, she has made a variety of other cookies and treats, but those have always been the constant. Cookie swap? Sugar cookies all the way. Last minute gift for a friend? Sugar Cookies.

I’ve decided that I need a trademark holiday treat. I’ve been scouring magazines and cookbooks, blogs and recipe sites, but nothing has really hit me. In the last couple of years I’ve made a really yummy chocolate shortbread cookie, hello dolly bars, pecan bars, my mom’s sugar cookies and some amazing lemon sandwich cookies that I found on the Martha Stewart web site. I would stick with the lemon cookies because they are divine, but lemon just doesn’t say Christmas to me.

So tell me, what are your holiday treat traditions? Do you have something you make every year? Any suggestions for what I should make? (hint hint)

Check Me Out

Have you ever checked out Bodies in Motivation? It’s a great site dedicated to excercise, healthy eating, gear reviews and funny intersting women who blog about everything from training for a marathon to their weight loss journey and everything in between.

If you need a little motivation, like I do sometimes, it’s a great place to get some.

I have a guest post up. Check it out.

You can read all about my ramblings on postpartum fitness and my never-ending battle to give up the cookies.

A Happy Thanksgiving

On this day I am thankful for:

A healthy and happy family.

The sweet smile of my little boy.

Delicious food simmering in the oven.

Lots of aunts and uncles, grandparents and other extended family who love on Jack (and us).

A chance to sleep in and rest while Aaron got up with Jack at 5:30am this morning!

The Christmas season about to begin! Let it snow.

Happy Thanksgiving.

It’s Not Too Early!

When I mentioned we had an adventure over the weekend hunting for a Christmas tree; I wasn’t kidding!

Thank goodness for this big-ass truck our friend’s borrowed. Aaron was drooling over it the entire time. We literally would not have been able to get to our ’spot’ without that baby, because the snow was WAY to deep.

Jack looks pretty serious/unhappy, but I promise he had a great time. He loved the snow! He loved watching Aaron cut down the Christmas tree and Rem run around like a lunatic.

We tried to get Rem in the picture, but this was the best we could do. He was way to busy running, jumping and doing back flips into the snow. That dog goes seriously crazy for snow.

Aaron and I were talking on the way back into town that we are really looking forward to years down the road when we have a whole car full of kiddos and we set out for these little adventures. I’m sure someone will be crying or whining or both, (just like I was as a kid) but I love starting these traditions and I can’t wait to share them with Jack and whatever phantom siblings he eventually has. Our friend’s girls had a blast playing in the snow, throwing snowballs and making snow angels. Their wonder at the snow and mountains made it that much more magical.

As I write this, my mother’s family recipe for creamed onions (sounds so gross but is seriously amazing) is simmering on the stove top and tomorrow morning bright and early I will be finishing up my Thanksgiving dishes so we can load the car and head out to spend the weekend with family.

It’s moments like these, when I’m cozy in my house, looking at pictures of my beautiful little family, that my heart is overwhelmed with thanksgiving. I wish you the same this holiday, that you are overflowing with thanksgiving for all the good things in your life.

A Boy And His Dad

Oh man. So dang cute. Seriously.

Power tools are awesome Dada!

These two are peas in a pod. Jack was enthralled with Aaron’s project and after bravely reaching out to touch the drill, after watching quietly for several minutes, he decided it would just be easier to sit in Dada’s lap and ‘help.’

So cute.

In other cabinet related news, Jack isn’t too excited about the babyproofing. He walks around the kitchen trying to open all the cabinets at least 20 times a day. Which is hilarious; at least to me.

Shoot!

Darn it, I seemed to have completely forgotten about my little blog. So much for posting every day this month. It has been surprisingly harder than I thought it would be.

A shout out to my littlest brother who turned a very old and legal 21 this weekend. Can’t wait to celebrate all over again at Christmas! (And see if you can keep up with your older siblings!)

We got our Christmas tree today! We blazed a snowy trail and almost got stuck a few times but had an absolute blast. Yakima got its first snow of the season and the adorable neighbor kids built a huge snowman in their front yard. By 2pm this afternoon, all the snow had melted but that snowman is still there! I can’t wait until Jack is old enough to build snowmen in the front yard.

Also, we (meaning Aaron) babyproofed the kitchen cabinets this weekend (I can hear my mother breathing a huge sigh of relief all the way from Utah right now). It’s amazing how much easier life is after just 24 hours. Somebody should have told me sooner!

And finally, we succumbed.

We are now an iphone family. My old phone hadn’t rung in at least three months and Aaron has been borrowing a co-workers phone because his old phone was a work one.  We basically spent the entire weekend geeking out like acne-prone middle school students. Any free moment was spent downloading apps, taking photos and surfing the internet. Or playing checkers. And losing. The iphone is better at checkers than I am.

So, I have lots of pictures to share and Thanksgiving dishes to prepare and of course a little boy to snuggle and play with, but I thought I would give the quick rundown of our weekend.

How was yours? Did you do anything fun? Did it snow?

Pictures of the Day

Jack loves books! Aaron loves to tease that he doesn’t know if Jack is his son, when he catches him ‘reading.’ (Aaron isn’t a huge reader). But, I LOVE to read and usually have at least two or three books going at once, so I would love to add another bookworm to our family.

Also, I stooped to new lows today. I rearranged our furniture to block the kiddo into the tv room. Jack was not happy about it but it saved me from chasing him down the hall, having to take sharp kitchen objects out of his hands, and trying to keep him from getting into every drawer/cupboard in this kitchen while I make dinner/unload the dishwasher/take out the garbage.

(Yes; I do realize we could just put child locks on our cupboards and that would make life so much easier. But, those cabinets are still shiny and new and we just aren’t ready to drill holes into them yet. Soon. Really Soon.) 

And finally, our favorite time of day: when Daddy comes home! Lots of hugs and kisses are doled out and we all know that Daddy is way better at playing cars and wrestling and giving baths. Yea!

The Best Dang Spaghetti Sauce Ever

I know. It’s a bold statement. But, I’m throwing it out there. It’s the best. Go ahead, prove me wrong!

Now, my mother makes a mean marinara sauce. And this recipe is reminiscent of hers, but with a few changes to make it all my own.

Best Dang Spaghetti Sauce Ever:

• I pound sweet italian turkey sausage
• 1 jar ‘garden vegetable combo’ marinara sauce (I buy whatever is on sale, the brand doesn’t matter, it just serves as a base. Although, personally, the chunkier the better).
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped 
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• glug of red wine (1/4 cup?)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
• red pepper flakes to taste (I use about a tablespoon, maybe a little more)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Time is of the essence with this sauce.  Meaning, you need some time. It’s quick to throw together but the key to it being really good is to let it simmer on your stove top or in your oven for several hours. The longer all those flavors mesh together, the better the sauce is.

Brown turkey sausage on medium high heat. While sausage cooks dice onion and garlic. Add onion and garlic to sausage. Saute until onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). In a large pot, combine marinara sauce, tomatoes with the juice, vinegar, sugar, wine, salt, pepper, italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. When the sausage, onion and garlic are done cooking, add to pot.

Initially, the sauce will be a bit watery from the wine and tomatoes, but trust me, just cover the pot, turn the heat to low and let it do its thing for a couple of hours. Stir occasionally. About an hour before you plan on serving dinner, chop the fresh basil and stir into the sauce.

The fresh basil is important. It adds great depth of flavor and gives the sauce a freshness that is so wonderful, especially on these cold and dreary fall days. I have two small basil plants that sit in my kitchen windowsill, that not only give off great fragrance, but make it easy and cheap for me to add fresh herbs to dishes.

Make sure to taste periodically and tweak as you need to. Maybe a little more salt, a little less red pepper flakes.  Whatever works for you.

When it’s time, boil up a big pot of your favorite noodles, we love linguine noodles, and garnish with some parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

In the Mood…for Christmas!

I don’t know if it’s because Thanksgiving is a little late this year or the fact that Target is completely decked out for Christmas but I am itching to get my holiday decorations out. Aaron and I went looking for a Christmas tree over the weekend, but unfortunately none fit our criteria (full but not too full, no major holes, preferably prickly so the baby will be less inclined to climb it).

Which, by the way, can I still call Jack a baby? He walks, scratch that, practically runs all over the house. He wears shoes and climbs on the fireplace, opens and closes doors, throws tantrums, eats spaghetti for dinner and I swear is about a month away from being able to completely out smart Aaron and I. At the same time, he still wears fuzzy footie pajamas, and his hair smells like a baby, and his pudgy little cheeks and hands are so kissable I could just eat him. So, it’s hard to decide; baby or not? Somewhere in between?

Anyway, Aaron and I have decided to simplify Christmas this year. No blowing the budget out of the water. No extra splurges. Both of us really want to get to the heart of what Christmas is really about. And overspending and overbuying and the stress that comes with it take away from what we are truly celebrating.

We want Jack to enjoy everything about Christmas, from the itchy gaudy sweaters, to the parties and family gatherings, and of course, Santa filling his stocking on Christmas eve. But, more than anything we want him to know that all that stuff is just a way to celebrate Jesus’s birth. This incredible miracle. It’s an opportunity to slow down, spend time as a family and take a moment to reflect on all of life’s rich blessings.

Jackson, 6 weeks old, Dec. 08

I am eagerly waiting to decorate my house and fill it with the sights, sounds and smells of the season. I’m making my shopping list, planning menus and looking forward to gathering with friends and family, but this year I am doing it from a mindset of simplicity.

Simple food.

Simple gifts.

Simply wonderful.

Do You Eggnog?

We had a heated discussion around the dinner table tonight debating the merits of eggnog.

Aaron loves it poured into a tall glass. He’ll drink it with a splash of alcohol, in a ‘punch,’ with a cookie or all by itself.

Personally, I drink a small amount during the holiday season but I prefer my eggnog as a splash in my coffee or cut with milk in a latte. I do love it, but it’s pretty rich.

Our friend’s were united in their disgust of the thick yellow nog.

So, that makes me wonder, what is your favorite holiday treat? What do you look forward to all year?

I love an eggnog latte from Starbucks and my grandmother always used to make nanaimo bars at Christmas, that although I’ve tried, have never been able to recreate just right. Also, my dad makes incredible cinnamon rolls that is a recipe from my mother’s side of the family. One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on the counter watching him roll out the dough. I always begged him to let me sprinkle on the brown sugar and raisins and being the good dad that he was, he always let me. Just thinking about those rolls takes me right back.

 Apparently, I have a few favorites!