Belated Friday Funnies...

So this week's funnies are late, but here nonetheless! The last week has been somewhat of a whirlwind around here. Uncle Pully (Andrew) came to visit last week and was here for Christmas. It was great to have him around and the boys absolutely LOVE having him here! Christmas Eve was just as busy as the 4 days after... and I'd say there were SEVERAL funnies mixed in there!

Christmas Eve day Joe had to work, but after that we opened Christmas Eve gifts (our new pjs), went out to dinner for our traditional Chinese dinner, and then we were SUPPOSED to go right to church after that. Being the little piggies we are, we had an hour to spare in between dinner and church... if we went home we knew we wouldnt make it back out! So we decided to drive around (in the freezing rain) and look at Christmas lights (which lights here CERTAINLY do not compare to those living south of us!). While we drove around we listened to "walking in a winter wonderland".... all of a sudden RYAN pipes up and says " Dad, where's wonderland?"

As our Christmas Eve continued on, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve service at North. We finally arrived home and put our anxious children in bed and they were out! I still had wrapping to do for our 3 big gifts... and as Joe pulls out the box (11pm) to put together Ryan's smart cycle, he says "oh no... we need 4 D batteries." We were both shocked since this plugs into the tv that it needed batteries, but it did. SOOO lo and behold I ran out to the ONLY gas station left open, and prayed they would have batteries! And they did - for $13.00!!! Now it's funny, then not as much.:)

We made it to Christmas morning and Ryan was so excited to open the gifts! Keeping him away from Logan's gifts was a bit of a struggle. Logan enjoyed it, but had no real emotion until his big gift which was his Elmo chair. The emotion we expected with Ryan was not there at all as he calmly opened his gift and said " here's my bike". He already knew! Guess I now have to be careful about little ears listening!!! Once he saw the bike out he was definitely excited. BUT the big funny for me was when I asked Ryan if he wanted to play his new video game, he asked me so politely " when do we have to take it back to Blockbuster?".... I laughed and said " we don't, it's all yours!". .... Ryan SQUEALED with delight, jumped into my arms hugging me and said "It's really all mine?!!!"

Ryan is becoming So much more curious than he has been and has started in with asking WHY to everything!

Logan is my baby. My lovable boy --- but is growing fast and becoming quite independent. He squeals and will yell "STOP IT!" if he doesnt want you to hug or hold him. He is also my little musical man. He can hum several tunes after only hearing them once or twice. This weekend we attended a birthday party, so the newest song around here is "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". Before that it was "What's gonna work? Teamwork..." (from the wonderpets) and ABC's, and Twinkle Twinkle Little star.

These boys keep me going! I'm glad we can laugh together along the way...

Christmas 2008

Creamy Choc Covered Oreos...

YEAH FOR NEW RECIPES!
In starting my new job this week I have been able to share a few recipes, and also gain a few! You know how that makes me happy. So my trainer Lil offered a new recipe for
Creamy Chocolate Covered Oreos.

Here is the recipe SOOOOO simple and DELICIOUS! And if you are going to the cookie swap Sunday... DO NOT REPEAT THIS RECIPE because there will be duplicate recipes if so! :)

Ingredients:
One bag oreo cookies
12 oz cream cheese
1/2 bag choc chips (can change to almond or peppermint bark, white, milk, or dark chocolate - be creative!)
Once again be creative and choose one - coconut, red sprinkles, crushed candy cane.

Crush the entire bag of oreos and break up the cream cheese. Stir together well. Let dough sit in fridge for 1 hour.
Remove dough from fridge and roll into approximately 28 balls.
Melt chocolate chips (or bark) and dip each ball into the chocolate one at a time.
Place on wax paper and sprinkle with chosen candy.


YUUMMMY!

Friday Funnies...

So this week has been hard for me. I realized on Wednesday that I had NO Friday funnies for the week... not because the boys aren't funny, but because I haven't been around! I am a little sad right now, even knowing I am where I am supposed to be with this new job. For the last 4 years, I have not once worked full time... allowing ample room for the "funny stuff" to be heard. Then tonight... I had been a little emotional, and talking to God quietly as I wandered the house doing chores. Lo and behold - God gives me a funny. May sound trivial, but these boys every move has been my life for 4 years!! Sometimes I only survived the day, minute, or hour because of something funny these little men said. So here it is:

Joe was sitting on the couch with Ryan. Joe looks over to me and says "wow Ryan's breath smells.".... at that very moment Ryan said "hey dad" (joe turns around) and Ryan is right in Joe's face blowing his breath on daddy and laughing devilishly. Yeah... it was funny. It's totally something Joe would do to be obnoxious and "funny". I laughed a good bit.

Thank you God for your sense of humor, and for allowing us to have one!

Friday Funnies....

So this week we seemed to be more interactive in conversation than normal with the boys. Maybe it's because of Logan's drastic change in his ability to speak! That brings me to the funny parts of the week... our conversations.

Logan's newest words: hot dog, NO No Ryan, BB (our dog), STOP IT (I wonder who that could possibly be said to OVER AND OVER), Moo, Quack Quack, balloon, Blue, Apple.... and my favorite is MAMA!!

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WARNING: (A BIT LENGTHY)

So I am sure this could bring about controversy and many opinions... but here goes. After several discussions, and some thought Joe and I have agreed to tell Ryan the truth about Santa now. For me I didnt completely agree at first... I thought it was harmless. I wasnt told about Santa until I was older and do not feel "betrayed" or lied to ... just something we participated in for fun. Joe has made good points to me about this - good enough for me to support this. So what we have told Ryan is that Santa is pretend, just like Batman, Spiderman, etc. This is something he can relate to, and is ok and acceptable pretenses for a 3 yr old. Our theme around the house the last month or so has been "God is real, Santa is pretend." Not to ruin his fun - he is still allowed to participate, as long as he knows the truth. That brings me to our funny part of the story. I got nervous when we had some friends over (who do not have children) and Ryan kindly told them - ok very bluntly told them - "GOD IS REAL, SANTA IS PRETEND". I got nervous because I dont want him going to other children and saying this... especially if their parents either aren't in agreement, or their parents aren't around to explain what Ryan is talking about. So I told Joe we needed to find a way to approach this part of this. Joe and Ryan drove to blockbuster and had a conversation where Joe told Ryan " Yes, Santa is pretend. Santa was a real person a LONG LONG time ago. His name was St. Nicholas. But some people still believe he is real today. We know he is not, but you should not go around telling that to other people... they may not understand. That was their conversation.

The funny part: When the boys got home Joe wanted me to know what they had talked about. So, he said " Ryan what did we talk about in the car?"

Ryan: umm, you said I could eat cold pizza if thats how I like it.

Joe: NO... what else.

Ryan: ummm... Candy!?

Joe: Well we talked about that , but what else.

I chimed in " Ry, it starts with an "S" and has a big belly"...

Ryan: DAD! DAD STARTS WITH S AND HAS A BIG BELLY! ( I think we need to work on our letters...:))

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Joe and Ryan cooked dinner for me on our family night this week. It was very nice. While Joe and Ryan were cracking the eggs open, the first one cracked and Ryan said

" Hey, I thought there was a birdie in there. Where is he?"

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I continue to be amazed by my children - their childlike faith, and their funnies!

Menu Planning 12/5 - 12/19

SO I'm sure some of you are wondering why I am posting our personal meal plan for the next two weeks, but several of my friends have told me " I just dont have any ideas of what to cook".... there is the whole world of internet cookbooks, but many just dont want to do the searching. So here is our layout.... take what you want and make it your own!



1. Enchilada casserole (beef) - in my recipe box*

2.Cream Baked Chicken - in my r box*

3.Sweet and Sour Chicken (dieter's cookbook - under kids favorite section)

4.Meatloaf and Mashed potatoes*

5.Chili (from Flylady - recipe in my box)

6.Eggplant Supper soup - found at http://allrecipes.com

7.Veggie Mac N' Cheese - found at http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com

8. ONE OPEN SPOT FOR A NEW RECIPE OF CHOICE. (will post what that is before shopping!)

9.Tricolor casserole (recipe box)

10. Sausage/Corn Chowder (in my recipe box)

11. Spaghetti Wednesdays ( x2 ) this our Wednesday recipe due to the crazy schedule on Wednesday nights.... I switch it occasionally for a crockpot recipe, but usually remains SPAGHETTI WEDNESDAYS.

12. Salsa Chicken Quesadillas*

13. Smothered Porkchops with Rice and a vegetable of choice.*

You may see some repeats, but I have remaining ingredients from the last two weeks due to the Thanksgiving holidays. The meals with a * are the ones we should eat up first to keep all ingredients as fresh as possible.