Don't try the dinner special

I'm nursing a bit of a cold, and apparently it has affected my ears. I was fixing dinner when Aiden asked, "Did you season the food?"

"Yep," I said.

Aiden looked puzzled and somewhat disgusted. Then he asked again, "Did you season it?"

Not sure why he felt the need to ask twice, I responded, "Of course! I always season the food."

At this point Jeremy felt compelled to intervene.

"He asked if you sneezed in the food."

Well, now. That's one seasoning I'd rather avoid.   

Potty talk

I re-enter the blogging world with a little bathroom humor. I took the kids fishing during spring break last week. We decided to try out a community pond we'd never visited before. On the way, Morgan inevitably felt nature's call. We were getting close, so I made her hold it. We arrived at the pond, and I hurried her out to the restroom. She spied the nice, modern facility and said, "Oh, good. I'm glad it's not a portapoopy."

Warning: contains images that may be disturbing to some viewers

There's some nut loose in my house. I leave the kitchen for a minute, and this is what I come back to...?

Just plain fun

I just finished reading Austenland by Shannon Hale, and as I set it down I did so with a smile on my face. Maybe more like a silly grin. I enjoyed it immensely in a guilty pleasure sort of way. I knew it had captured me upon opening to the dedication page:

For Colin Firth

You're a really great guy, but I'm married,

so I think we should just be friends.

Win! I was already a Hale fan, having read The Goose Girl and Princess Academy several years ago. In comparison, this book is geared toward a more adult crowd. [Read: lots of making out and, in the words of main character Jane, "Zings". Not really offensive, but not a kid book either.] Austenland assumes of its readers a fairly adequate knowledge of Jane Austen's [and other writers'] literary works. I must shamefacedly admit I was sub par in that regard, and at times it went over my head. And, of course, if you haven't watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, do that first or you'll really be lost. This book also lacks some of the lovely prose that won me in Hale's other books. In the end, however, I giggled a lot and read late into the night, happily tucked in my covers with this very recommend-able book that was such great fun.

The most wonderful time of the year

January is rough. I'm sitting here watching a nasty snow storm brewing outside. This after several days of rain and mud that got tracked all through the house. And this after some of the coldest temperatures I've ever experienced. I know, some Arctic dwellers are saying, "Waaahhh," but weeks of single digit degrees and me just don't get along. So I wish to take a mental departure and reflect on a few of my favorite Christmas things. Just a few. Humor me, please.

Now I know this is completely contradictory, but one thing I really enjoyed this year was our white Christmas. It snowed on Christmas Eve, so we woke to a winter wonderland. Of course, then I was done with it. But for the morning's ambiance, it was lovely. And moving on...

Ever since the kids were itty bitty, we have opened pajamas on Christmas Eve. I know this is a fairly typical tradition, but for me this hearkens back to my childhood when my grandma would make pajamas for all of her grandchildren under 12 years of age. I came closer to appreciating this feat -- she had 50-something grandkids -- when I saw a sale on fleece and decided to make p.j. bottoms for our family. Here was the final result:

Bonuses:
1) I could accommodate Caleb's freakishly long legs. Honestly, I don't think he'll ever be able to buy a pair of p.j.'s and have them fit properly.
2) Notice Aiden's shorts. He is always hot and won't wear pants to bed. So shorts it was.
3) Doesn't every grown man want dinosaur pajamas?
4) Oh, man, they're toasty. It's like wearing a blanket, without the embarrassment of being seen in a Snuggie.

A few years ago we decided to try something new for our Christmas Eve dinner. We picked a country, did some research, and planned a menu to represent that country. We also talked about how people celebrate Christmas there. I think we did Brazil that first year. Since then we've done Italy and Australia [I think that's it, but I may have forgotten one]. This year we did Argentina. That's where Jeremy went on his mission, and I was a little intimidated to try things he knew should taste a certain way. But I think we were pretty successful. The menu looked like this:

Appetizer: Empanadas
Main dish: Milanesas
Side dish: Ensalada Rusa
Dessert: Alfajores
Beverage: Ginger ale [cultural fail, I know, but oh well]

Here we are making our alfajores. They are basically cornstarch shortbread sandwich cookies spread with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. Yum!

[I know I need practice taking food pictures. Not so pretty, but tasty.]

You can see in the background of one of the above pictures another of my favorite Christmas things. It's this:

My wall o' Christmas cards! Okay, I know it's January 27th, but the cards are still hanging. They keep me happy in the midst of wailing winds and blistering cold and post-Christmas doldrums. I have immense guilt for not reciprocating Christmas cards this year. SORRY!!! I hope my prolonged enjoyment of everyone's cards makes up for my neglect.

After Christmas my parents and brother came to visit. They were heading to Idaho to take Spencer to college and stopped here for about a week. It was the first time I'd seen Spencer since his mission, so it was good to have them here and spend some time. Extra bonus: my mom and I finished a 1000 piece puzzle in record time. We stayed up way too late a few times, but we got it done.

Every year I think about making gingerbread houses, and every year I don't quite get around to it. This year we did it. Not real gingerbread. I'm not that ambitious. Graham crackers did the trick, and I tried out boiling sugar for the glue. It was like magic. Those puppies weren't going anywhere. Cleaning up the aftermath was not one of my favorite things, but the process was still worth it. I doubt it will become a tradition, but I would do it again.

So there you have it. A few of my favorite Christmas things...and then I don't feel so bad!

Books read in 2012

For my own record, here we go again. Just solidifying my reputation as a bookworm. I believe my favorites this year were These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, Vienna Prelude by Bodie and Brock Thoene, and Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax. I surprised myself that two of these are historical fiction. I never thought of myself as much of a history buff, but I guess if you cloak it in right story? It was also a privilege to read Little Sun, the first draft of the first novel written by my sister-in-law. She's currently looking for an agent, and I'm rooting for her. I also had a good experience last school year helping Marissa prepare for the battle of the books. She is very much not like me when it comes to books, so the only way I could get her to read what she needed to was to get up early every morning before school and take turns reading out loud. As a confirmed night-owl, this wasn't always my favorite thing, but very positive for both of us. Read on, now, if you care to. 

• The Book of Mormon
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
• No Apology by Mitt Romney
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
• A Light in the Window (The Mitford Years #2) by Jan Karon
• With Child by Laurie R. King
• Partials by Dan Wells
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
• The Final Warning (Maximum Ride #4) by Jamaes Patterson
• All But My Life by Gerda Weissman Klein
• Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride #3) by James Patterson
• Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders #2) by Brandon Mull
• School's Out--Forever (Maximum Ride #2) by James Patterson
• Little Sun by Ashley S.
• Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara
• The Scorcerer of the North (Ranger's Apprentice #5) by John Flanagan
• Vienna Prelude (Zion Covenant #1) by Bodie and Brock Thoene
• The Battle for Skandia (Ranger's Apprentice #4) by John Flanagan
• The Icebound Land (Ranger's Apprentice #3) by John Flanagan
• Strangely Normal by J Kevin Morris
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• The Burning Bridge (Ranger's Apprentice #2) by John Flanagan
• Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
• The White Mountains by John Christopher
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
• Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice #1) by John Flanagan
• Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
• Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax
• Villette by Charlotte Bronte