Cookies, cookies and more cookies!

I admit, I have taken the last two years off of baking. The Christmas before last I was pregnant and I had all I could do not to throw up on the 20 lb prime rib I made for Christmas eve. And last year the baby was about 5 months old. So baking took a back seat. I think we might have made chocolate covered pretzels.... but my mind is blurred, I can't remember.

This year however we are back with full cookie power! The kids are loving baking with me. The challenge this year is to actually have some LEFTOVER to give to others, or at least a small plate to bring to my mom's Christmas eve. These people I live with have eaten EVERY cookie I have baked so far. Actually last night was the FIRST night we had some leftover. The kids made some round sugar cookies and I did cut outs the night before so they could frost and decorate them all. Their little friend Olivia came over to help us and had a ball! Let me tell you, I forgot how ANNOYING cut outs are and how they BREAK or stick! That's a whole other story, lol. I was trying to think nice thoughts and not say bad words while cutting them out. I think I did pretty good.

I made a couple batches of ricotta cookies and THOSE are all gone too. Seriously. I had them in the FREEZER and these scavengers I live with are eating them FROZEN right out of my freezer!!! Apparently these came out real good, LOL! I need to make these again and HIDE them, maybe in the shed this time? And I'm going to make butter balls, which are my mom's favorite.

I'm getting the year off from hosting Christmas eve this year. I have hosted every year the last 7 years. It's bittersweet. I like our "tradition" of having it here and the kids keep asking why. But on the other hand it's nice that we will go to mom and dad's and have a nice meal. And I get to R E L A X. I know I have many entertaining years ahead of me (God willing) so I'm going to enjoy this one at my parents house! I usually have an egg bake in the fridge Christmas eve for Christmas morning. We are real LOW key on Christmas day. We open gifts, eat our yummy breakfast, relax and enjoy each other. Around 3 o'clock we go to my parents house (they are doing both this year!) and have dinner. Christmas Day attire usually consists of a jogging suit or something VERY comfortable. I have even taken a shower, done hair, make up and put back on a pair of PJ's and gone over there. We aren't real fancy, but very comfortable :)

It's hard to believe it's Christmas Eve already! I am wishing each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas. Have a GREAT day!

xoxo

Kristi

My new toy!

My birthday was last week. Actually, it was the 10th. I turned 37. Honestly I don't believe I'm 37 because I just turned 17 last year!!! :)

(photo from Nikon USA)

I have wanted a new camera for soooooooooooooooo long! And anyone who is my Facebook friend (God help them) listened to me agonize over which camera to buy for M O N T H S! And worse than my Facebook friends, my poor husband had to listen to me every. single. day. He must REALLY love me, that or really like to be tortured! Well I finally made a decision, fearing Christmas would come and go with no camera. I went with the Nikon D90! And while I have A L O T to learn, I am having fun with it.

Like for instance, I would have missed this shot if I didn't make a decision. This is Miss Moo moo after she discovered chocolate cake in the garbage. Yes, mother of the year award on that one. I couldn't imagine why she was ever so quiet. So did I stop her? Clean her up? NO, I took a picture! :)

And love the clarity of this picture of my chocolate covered cupcake! So I then moved her hair away from her eyes so you could see her boogers along with her chocolate covered face! Oh yes, pure art! LOL I'm having fun, can you tell?

So the moral of this story is, if your thinking of upgrading to a DSLR, DO IT!!! you will not regret it!

One of my blessings.....

I am not sure if I have blogged about this before. But I am going to today. My son Kristopher has PDD which stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (or Delay). It's a long word for mild autism. If you met Kristopher, you probably ( like everyone else) would say, are you SURE?

Yes, I am sure. :) He's a sweet, charming, smart little boy who loves his twin brother and his baby sister. He is so lucky to have Johnny and Johnny so lucky to have Kris.

I never imagined I would have a child with a disability, but it has changed my life completely and definately for the better. I see the world very differently because of this and I am glad. He has taught me things that I would have never known. I knew very early on that something was not quite right. I could see it around 18 or 19 months. Evaluation after evaluation the professionals would say "oh it's a speech delay" and definately not autism. Well then what is it? No one could answer me. My pediatrician told me to stop comparing him to the neighbors kids. The truth was, I wasn't comparing him to anyone. But he did have a typically developing twin brother that I noticed was doing different things from Kris. For example, Kris couldn't string a two word sentence together, but he could recite AND HANDWRITE the alphabet on his magnadoodle at a little over 2 yrs old. Finally when he was 3 1/2 yrs old he was diagnosed by a developmental pediatrician. It wasn't really sad that day, although I did cry. But it felt like a relief that I wasn't crazy and we had an answer for it. Even though he had already started therapy. Good thing I went behind our regular ped's back and did it. And I do love our ped, and he means well. Just didn't really know anything about autism at the time. Today it is so well known, it's different. And my son is one of the reasons they give parents a checklist at their child's 18 month appt now. So I am glad for that as well.

The one thing that has always been a stumbling block for us with Kris is his school placement. His two years of preschool went pretty well. But from K to now (3rd grade) have been rocky roads. Kris needs more than a mainstream classroom because I feel that even though he could probably "fit in" he wouldn't really be learning anything. But all the contained (special ed) classrooms just haven't been a really good fit for him. Which brings me to the point of my post, we are most likely going to start homeschooling in the next month or so. I have been researching, thinking and praying about this for a long time. I feel like this is the best option for him, although I need a little more confidence in myself! So please pray for me!

I am glad I can share this road with you. And I hope that some fellow homeschoolers will read this and GIVE ME SOME DIRECTION! LOL! Anyway, thanks for reading if you got this far and wish us luck! :)

Oh and I had to include this picture of "typical" Kris! When he got lost riding his bike during our camping vacation this summer he taped the park map to his bike so that wouldn't happen again! I had no idea what he was doing when he came in the camper asking for tape, lol!

How to have fun on a snow day!

Last week we had our first snow day of the season. We LOVE snow days around here. Not only are they fun, it totally skips over the morning routine which I really dislike!

The kids couldn't wait to play outside in the snow. So while they were playing, I baked up some Christmas ornaments from a super easy recipe. It was basically salt, flour and water. They took a couple of hours to set. But when they were done my boys and their friends had fun painting and decorating them. I could not find my vinyl tablecloth anywhere, so we improvised and used garbage bags. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

I was supposed to be baking cookies. Which I did a few days later. We ate all that I baked, lol. So I guess we'll do it again, maybe today or tomorrow. I tried Edie's shortbread chocolate chip cookie recipe and they did not disappoint! Big hit in our house. Definitely making those again!

So what do you like to do on snow days? That is if your lucky enough to have them! ;)

UGH!!!

Is it me or is Blogger extremely difficult to "edit"??? I will admit this is why I take so many lloooonnnng breaks between blogging. It drives me crazy so I give up! Yup, I'm a quitter! LOL ;)

My pictures come up backwards (in order) most of the time. I have gone to "help" and it never seems to answer the questions I am needing? Is this why I notice alot of bloggers move to other places? I can't even delete photo's from a post that I haven't posted yet. Is it just me or do others have these same problems. If you are reading this and know where I can get this information PLEASE leave a comment on where I can find help. Pretty please. Pretty please with sugar on top! Thanks!

A lil' bit of Christmas

We have a little bit of Christmas going on at our house. My 17 month old is having a GRAND ole time with the Christmas tree this year! So needless to say, we are going light on the decor this year. I figure instead of decorating, we'll do some more baking. The boys are SO excited to make cookies with mom. I am trying to narrow it down to four different kinds so that it is simple but yet has variety. I think I have a plan. I think. LOL

We also got our FIRST snowfall of the season! I LOVE SNOW! We are supposed to get more on Wednesday and Thursday. I will be SO happy to have a white Christmas!

Here are some pictures of our home this year. Very basic and plain but with a lot of love! I had to sneak in a picture of Miss Moo moo in her very festive dress! :)

ps- am I the only one that cannot figure how to arrange pictures the way I want them on blogger? Please tell me I am not that blonde!

Doing what you love....

If there is something I have learned in the last few years, it is do what you love TODAY. Tomorrow is a gift and not guaranteed to be there! Life is entirely too short to wait. I don't want to sound morbid, but after the passing of two very young people in my family in the last few years it has made me realize just how precious life is.

With that said, I am going to start riding again! I rode and competed for close to 20 years. It is something that has never "left" me, but actually has become a part of me. I have never "outgrown" it, yet knew I would always go back some day. I have both boys riding since they were five. But I haven't been on a horse in over 10 years! I am looking forward to the enjoyment, exercise and the fun that I always had riding. Riding horses (English anyway) is the original core training!

I'm glad I can share my continued journey here with you! Also, say a little prayer my ole' bod can take it! ;) I also wanted to add that in while keeping in the "do what you love" attitude I am also becoming the crazy lady who wears rhinestone hair barrettes, a lil' bit of crazy jewelry and more daring with clothes than I have been in a long time!!! I will say that this new outlook on life has made me feel more myself than I have in a LONG time! And it feels good! Do something for yourself today, you'll feel great and you'll thank me!

I'm baaaccckkkkkkkk!!!

Hi everyone! Actually, no one is probably reading since I took an EIGHT month break! We have just been busy with the kids and enjoying every moment. I realize everyday just how BLESSED we are! We recently went on the Polar Express and it was a great little trip! Actually 17 of my family members went. We are Italian, what can I say? ;)
I'm glad to be back and hopefully I will be a little more regular here! I have tried to read blogs here and there. I recently got a new computer which makes blogging, surfing and everything else SO much easier! My old one was 8 yrs old!!!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of our trip! I love the Christmas season and wish it was longer than it is!

Down for a dime

Thank you for all your sweet comments on Madi's room! It really was a labor of love, no pun intended! ;)

I'm sure you all know by now that I am a bargain girl. I wanted to share one of my favorite things to find when I'm out thrifting. DOWN! Where else can you get down pillows for $2-$5? I have an extensive collection of down pillows. I just got these 2 beauties from Goodwill a few days ago. I have throw pillows, bed pillows, neckrolls, featherbeds, comforters.... you name it and I've got it! Even if I find a pillow with a hideous print, if it's down inside I buy it and re-donate the cover. Recycling my friends!

I have a few bed pillows that will be going toward the project of a chair cushion that hopefully will be done soon! Oh and don't listen to the dry clean only instructions, I wash them and they are fine!

Ok, so I've shared just one of my kooky things to collect, what is one of your kooky guilty pleasures? Have a great weekend! :)

A Dreamy Nursery......

I will warn you now, it is PIC heavy!! Of course I still have a hard time putting pics where I want them, so you have probably noticed I have twenty-something pics in this post! I just couldn't narrow it down. I love this room! There is a lot of sentimental things in here. A lot of my own things are in here. I found the crib on Craigs list for $25, still in the box!!! The bookcase was John's grandma's and he painted it white and painted the inside pink. I picked up the side table at Salvation Army probably 3 or more years ago. I loved it then and still do now. My dear friend Pam made the pillows on the chair, the diaper stacker and the beautiful handpainted "M" above the chair. There are alot of things that make this room special. But the most special part of this room is the sweet baby girl who sleeps in here!!

I obviously enjoy decorating (ya think?). So stay tuned for the boys' room makeover. They were sweet enough to give their baby sister THIS room which used to be their room! But they got a cool room as well now! :)