Traveling Bug

7 months "Snapshot Sunday"

2012-01-29T22:35:00.004-05:00

Stop the Clocks!
Addy is 7 months old.

It's Friday Let's Celebrate! "Instagram photos"

2012-01-27T22:54:00.002-05:00

The weather has been extremely mild for January.

Today it was 65 degrees.

The trees think it is spring and are beginning to bloom.

I can never get enough of these sweet moments.

A very happy girl even at bedtime. She loves her bed.

Just a matter of time before she figures out how to go forward.

Well, if we can't have snow then these Rice Krispy Treat snowmen will have to do.

Life changing sauce and meatballs discovered at The Long Road to China blog.

So good my children licked their plates.

Eating this recipe was like going to Italy for the evening.

Well, It has been a great week here at our house. The children and I watched Dolphin Tales tonight.

A very cute story.

Have a lovely weekend!

January "Cornerview"

2012-01-24T23:26:00.003-05:00

Last Night the President of the United States gave his State of the Union Address. I didn't watch. I know I should be more political, but I was in the middle of putting children to bed. In the manner of the State of the Union Address, I thought I would give my own address.

The year so far has been good. I know it is only one month into the year, but so far things have shaped up much better than I had hoped. I made these brownies the other night. So yummy! The next day I started a health weight challenge. No Sugar for the next 8 weeks. I hope I can do it!

I am tired of being the fat girl. I want my old body back or at least a better body than what I have right now. Amazingly, I have managed to work out just about every day. I hate working out. The only thing I do like to do is Zumba, but the class schedule hasn't been working with mine.

Harris got his braces back on. He is now doing phase 2. He wouldn't let me take a photo of him. His mouth was so sore tonight. Poor guy! Winston get's his on next week.

I made these dolls with the help of my mother. I found the pattern on-line at a shop called Bit of Wimsey. Aren't they cute?

This month I managed to pack up three bags to take to the Salvation Army. It feels good starting the year off de-cluttering my house. I gave a bunch of baby equipement to a couple at church who are expecting their first child, and I also sent two boxes of baby clothes to New York to a friend who had a baby last month. It was a little bittersweet because I know there will not be any more babies in our home until one of our children has children. I am not rushing that one.

How's your January looking?

Lost Tooth

2012-01-20T22:29:00.001-05:00

Guess who came to our house last night?

The Tooth Fairy!

Kick up your Heels

2012-01-20T02:59:00.001-05:00

It's the Weekend!

So kick up your heels

idea found at lemonade making mama

and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa!

supplies for bar can be found at Ikea. Excluding food items this cost me $28. A steal in my book.
outfit supplied by H&M -won via Mali at Artic Mom. It is from their new Natural Collections. Isn't Addy adorable?

Have a Happy Weekend!

cornerview "Black and White"

2012-01-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

As an early Valentines gift, my husband bought me an new vacuum cleaner. Now, I know what you are thinking a "vacuum cleaner". Yes, and this means love to me. It arrived last night and I was so excited for it's arrival that I promptly took it out of the box and began vacuming. I have wanted a Miele for years; however ,it was never really in our budget. This baby is going to make my life so much easier because now I don't have to sweep up all the fallen food on the floor under the kitchen table and the dust before moping. Yahoo! Some may want flowers, but I wanted something that was going to make my life easier.

Monday

2012-01-16T18:33:00.002-05:00

No school today because it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Too cold outside to play today, but didn't want to be stuck in the house.
We headed to Monkey Jo's where the boys got rid of some of their energy.
Addy learned how to sit up. She is proud of herself.
A morning of playing was followed by pizza.
Ice cream was devoured too!

Happy Monday!

6 months

2012-01-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

HI! I am 6 months old now and that is a half a year old. My mommy can't believe how fast my first year is going by and she keeps telling me not to grow up so quick. Did I tell you that I finally mastered rolling over. I took my sweet time learning how to rollover, but I am really good at doing it and can even scoot myself around in circles by using my feet to turn myself in the direction I want to go. I am eating like a champ now too! I adore pears and plums, but not so keen on bananas; however, don't tell my papa because he loves bananas. They call me all kinds of names like Addy cakes, Peanut, sweet girl, and a few others. My brothers are still really in love with me, but I am sure that won't last for long once I am capable of getting into their things. My mommy thinks it is really cute when I purse my lip together and then make a sound similar to an elephant. I think she thinks whatever I do pretty cute. At my last doctor visit, I weighed 13.6 pounds and was 24 1/4 inches long.
I hope you are having a fantastic day! Talk to you later-
Adelaide

Ringing in the New "Cornerview"

2012-01-10T23:14:00.002-05:00

Ring Out, Wild Bells
Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease, Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. 1850 Alfred Tennyson

I love this poem. The poem has since been made into a song and is included in our song book at church. I love when the New Year falls close enough to Sunday that we sing this song. Have your heard it before? Isn't it lovely?

The last week or so I have seen a ton of posts in regards to resolutions. One blog talked about trying something for 30 days based off a talk by some inspirational guy who says if you try something for 30 days you are likely to change the habit you so desire to change. Other people pick a word which to focus on to help them change things in their lives such as Simplify or Gratitude. I have to say I am not one for making resolutions. For some reason, the concept sits with me negatively. Why?
I am not sure! Maybe because they don't seem to be taken too seriously. However, I am a goal setter, and I don't need to wait for a New Year to set goals. I set goals every day. Goals of being a better mother, A better person, and to try new things with the hope that at my end of my life I will have no regrets. I am sure I will make some mistakes along the way, but the journey only becomes sweeter from knowing sorrow. So, you are probably wondering what does ringing in the new have to do with beets, goat cheese, and walnuts. Well, I have been working on for the last month or so of eating more vegetables. Beets happen to be my favorite right now. I love how they are sweet! When combined with creamy tangy goat cheese, meaty walnuts, and a little salt and pepper they are just simply Divine. I am not necessarily going to become a vegan, but I want to be a better example for my family. Just maybe my boys will want to try some new things too. We are 11 days into the New Year and I hope the New Year it treating you well. Did you make resolutions?

Too see how others rang in the New visit Francisca who is hosting Cornerview for Jane.

The Weekend

2012-01-07T23:04:00.002-05:00

It has been a quiet weekend.

The boys went back to German School this morning after being off
the last 3 weeks for Christmas break.
Next weekend they will take their ATG test which is a test that measures their proficiency.

I am feeling kind of blah and uninspired. I don't know why.
We have had beautiful weather the last couple of days-65 degrees.
I went to the gym the last two mornings.
Yahoo!

We made Carmel popcorn today.
It is super easy to make
Pop 3 quarts of popcorn
lay popcorn out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
in a sauce pan mix 1/2 cups of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and
1/2 cup of corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon salt
bring to a boil and stir for 5 minutes.
add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and stir.
Then drizzle Carmel over popcorn until popcorn is coated.

The boys watched Harry Potter 7 part 2 in German.

I am reading Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.
Kind of a strange book.
Have you read it?
What do you think?

I am in love the the TV show Pan Am
Have you seen it?

I also watched the other night back to back all 7 episodes of Downton Abby.
Love it!
Have you seen it!
Season 2 starts on Sunday on PBS.

Other movies I have watched
Sarah's Key on DVD
based on the book. Very good! Sad!
Also, a movie called Arranged.
So interesting to learn how woman in other cultures view getting married
and how they come to terms with their religions in a modern world.

Hope you are having a Great Weekend!

Dear Hollywood

2012-01-05T22:25:00.003-05:00

Dear Hollywood, the other day I took my children to see the lovely movie The Adventures of TinTin and we loved it! The movie was fantastic and we were really impressed with all the amazing 3D graphics; however, we have a problem. See, when I went up to the ticket counter I almost had a heart attack when the agent announced that I owed him $49 for one adult and three children. I thought he had it wrong. How could it cost so much to go to the movies? He simply stated to me that since the movie was 3D that it was $12 a piece for the children and $13 dollars for me. I asked him if they were offering it not in 3D and he told me yes, but not until much later that evening. Of course they weren't offering it in 3D during the day because that would mean less money for them. I just about turned around and took the children home except I didn't want my children to cry since mommy had promised them we could go see a movie. I think you stink! You are counting on us moms not to walk away. The thing is though many moms who are much smarter than me are staying home because they simply just can't afford to take their children to the movies anymore. I counted the number of people in the theater and there were a total of 15 people with at least another 135 seats available. I guess you can't do the math, but that is a lot of tickets unsold. The theater should have been packed given it was opening week. I use to think it was the movie theatesr who were jacking up the prices until I read that the theaters make very little money from the actual movie and makes their profit from the concession stands. No wonder why it cost practically your first born child for a popcorn and drink. Here is a suggestion. Maybe, you don't need to hire famous actors for your cartoon movies. The children don't care who is behind the voice and actually the parents don't either. This should save you some money and you can pass the savings on to the movie goer. I grew up going to the movies. One of the first movies I remember seeing was Silver Streak with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. While it wasn't a childs movie I thought it was pretty funny. The next movie was Pete's Dragon we saw this for Valentines at a drive in movie theater. I can still hear Helen Reddy singing from the Lighthouse the song Candle on the Water, and I remember hanging on the edge of my seat for Bernard and Bianca who were trying to save Penny from the bad guys in the movie The Rescuers. I love going to the movies. It allows you to go on an adventure or visit another country without even having to own a passport. When I went to see Out of Africa, I traveled to Africa. When I saw Under the Tuscan Sun, I went to Tuscany and the movie NINE took me to Positano, Italy. Karate Kid took my children to China. While I am at it Hollywood, my husband and I can't really afford to go to movies anymore either. It simply is just to expensive by the time we pay for the babysitter. Tell me why Tom Cruise needs to make $15 million a film. That is more than some countries gross national product. Really how can he spend that much money in a lifetime. Maybe if actors in Hollywood would stop getting married and divorced every other day they wouldn't need to make so much money. Hollywood, I love going to the movies, but I think I saw my last movie at the theaters.

Sadly,

A movie lover!

Blog Design Giveaway

2012-01-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

I have recently discovered a cute blog called The Color Issue! Even better is Aarean is giving away a free blog makeover. I don't know about you, but mine could use one. I feel like it is a little drab or maybe it is the cold weather. In any case, I am dreaming about this summer in Europe and can't wait for summer to get here fast enough. First though, I better get baby girl's passport; otherwise, we aren't going to be going anywhere. So if you are looking for a free blog make over checkout Aarean at The Color Issue!

Happy New Years!

2012-01-01T15:45:00.004-05:00

Celebrating with Friends!

Ringing in the New Year is hard work! I am tired and ready to take a nap. How about you? We began New Year's Eve with an early dinner of beef fondue and chocolate lava cake sans children or at least most of the children. Addy kind of wiggled her way into our grown up moment, but she is so adorable that we don't mind. Have you ever had fondue? It is a tradition for us. We use to have it on Christmas Eve, but since we are usually traveling during the Christmas holidays we transferred the tradition to New Years Eve. Have you seen the big write up in the Wall Street Journal this week on the best places to eat fondue in Switzerland? If you haven't seen it, you should check it out! I always file these types of articles away so that when I go visit a country I have a list of places ready to go. Then for dessert we had chocolate Lava cake. My son has been begging me ever since we went on a cruise last year to make it. He was thrilled! Frank threw out his back a couple of days ago, so the rest of us spent the evening with our good friends Lucy and Stewart. Stewart made his delicious chili using his secret ingredient chocolate. I made a dip using 2 eight ounces of cream cheese, 4 ounces of blue cheese, a jar of bacon bits, 1 Tablespoon of garlic, 2 Tablespoons of chopped green onion and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Served with crackers and veggies it was so yummy! Sorry no picture of the dip, but it was so yummy it didn't last very long. We didn't make it to midnight. The children were getting loopy so I brought them home where later I rang in the New Year watching Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark drop the ball in New York City. Did you have a good Evening? I hope so! Anyway, we had early morning church today so I think a nap is in the works. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Salt Lake Wrap Up

2011-12-29T15:30:00.002-05:00

On Sunday after Church and dinner with our good friends Trish and Tom, we headed over to Temple Square to catch the Christmas lights and see their daughter Beth perform with her high school choir. Her choir did such a fantastic job. Roman let us know he was not thrilled at all with the cold. It seems like this year was colder than others. I love the statue of the Christus donated to the Church by a Danish sculptor. It calms my soul every time I see it! Also, while we were in Utah we were able to meet up with many good friends of ours. Roman had so much fun playing with Alex his heart friend that I met through a support group many years ago and with Kelsey whose mom I met through blogging while in Switzerland. Jessica invited me to their expat group and we have been friends ever since. It was fun catching up with Amy a friend of mine from high school who now lives in Provo and seeing Allison who I met many years ago at girls camp up in Alaska. Originally, we had many more things planned to see and do while we were in Utah, but coming down with the stomach flu kind of put a halt on some of those plans. I think in the end it turned out to be a good thing because it caused us to slow down a little and now we have some things to look forward to next time we go to Utah. Well, the New Year is just around the corner, and I hope you have a very Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best to come in 2012. Do you have any big plans for the evening. If so I would love to hear about them. I think this year we are going to just stay in and enjoy each others company.

Park City

2011-12-28T16:51:00.003-05:00

Just as we were about to get out of the car to go ice skating, it started to snow. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but it was snowing really heavy. We sat in the car for about 15 minutes to see if it would stop, but it only continued to snow. Maybe, if we didn't have the baby with us we might have given it a try, but the rink was outdoors and it was really cold outside. We thought about stopping at the free Olympic Museum, but with it snowing so heavy we began to worry about getting back to Salt Lake, so we scrapped our plans and began to head home. Then out of the corner of our eye on the side of the highway we saw a giant tubing park. This was something we could do that wouldn't take very long and would make everyone happy. Once we got out of the car, Roman refused to go. It was so cold! Nothing was going to stop the big boys though and so they headed up the hill with their rented tubes. They had a great time! Maybe, the next time we go to Utah we can go back to this tubing hill and just maybe it won't be so cold that Roman can feel the joy of riding on a tube down a very big hill. I have so many great memories of sledding in a child growing up in Alaska that I want all my children to feel that joy.

Post edit: I forgot earlier when I wrote this post to comment on how much Park City has changed. The first time I went to Park City I was 15 years old and was visiting a friend of mine in Utah for a week in summer. Her family took me to one of those tracks where you slide down the mountain on a sled but you don't need snow. I can't think of the English word for it at the moment. Anyway, Park City at the time resembled something of a old western town. I almost didn't recognize Park City because it has completely changed. I guess that is what hosting the Olympics does to a city. It hasn't completely lost all it's charm. Look closely enough and you will find the old Victorian homes. Park City is definately worth the 30 minute drive out of Salt Lake City.

The Living Planet Aquarium Salt Lake City

2011-12-27T22:38:00.004-05:00

One day while Papa and Winston were Skiing the children and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium located in Sandy, Utah which is just about 15-20 minutes south of SLC. While not a very big aquarium, the children had a good time. The big hit was getting shocked by the eel. The exhibit showed how you could get shocked and also showed how the eels produce enough electricity to light up the lights on a Christmas tree. What fun! I have to say Salt Lake City isn't really a walking city; especially, in the winter since it is so cold, but what is nice is that even if you don't ski there are enough activities to keep everyone happy.

A Day at the Slopes "Utah"

2011-12-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

One of these days, I am going to get back on my skis and ski (it's been 12 years), but until then I am going to enjoy watching my children become better skiers with each trip we make to Utah. We always go to Alta and the reason for this is that no snowboarders are allowed which makes for better snow and it is the highest ski resort in the Salt Lake area which means they usually have enough snow early on in the season. The valley can get pretty smoggy in the winter, but once you start climbing the mountain the sky becomes clearer and most of the time you are blessed with sunshine even if the temperatures are in the single digits. Harris graduated from ski school this trip and Winston is now on level 5. Winston went from being scared of the mountain to being super confident with a real desire to learn how to ski well. Unfortunately, Roman never got to go skiing since he caught the stomach flu. We also think that maybe 4 is just a little to early to start though we so many small children on the mountain. Next time!

Home in time for Christmas!

2011-12-24T23:05:00.003-05:00

The stockings were hung by the chimmney with care

while the children snuggled in their beds

with visions of ~~suger plums danced in their heads~~

Well, maybe not suger plums since we all at some point over the last 5 days had the stomach flu. Some of us are still sick, I say this is the answer to not gaining a gazillion pounds over the Christmas holiday. No one really wanted to eat Christmas Eve dinner since tummies still hurt, but the most important thing is that we are home safe. We had a great time in Utah, but are all very happy to be home in our own beds. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Bring on Winter

2011-12-22T21:16:00.001-05:00

Aristos

2011-12-21T21:10:00.003-05:00

If you love Greek food, then you should try Aristos. Located up by the University of Utah this restaurant is not only reasonably priced, but delicious. I have wanted to go to this restaurant for about two years now, and with the older children off skiing it was a perfect opportunity to try it out. So glad we did.

Gateway Children's Museum Salt Lake City

2011-12-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Frank took the day off from skiing and joined me with the littles at the Salt Lake City Children's Museum. I think he had just as much fun as Roman. Making their own animated film was a total hit along with the Beehive. It was a great place to hang out given that it is just way to cold to play outside this time of year. If you are ever in Salt Lake, you should check out the museum. I would say it is for ages 2-9.

Holiday Treats!

2011-12-19T21:56:00.002-05:00

I am sure you have seen these Holiday Pretzel Treats before, but just in case you haven't they are super simple to make and super addictive because you can't just have one. Seriously, if you are going to give these as a gift you better bag them up pretty fast or make sure you make extra. I had to keep the little hands off them. All you need are square pretzels, Hersey Kisses, and M&M's. Another alternative to this combination is Rollo's and Pecans on top of pretzels. Place pretzels on cookie sheet and top with Hersey Kiss or Rollo then place in the oven for 5 minutes at 170 degrees Fahrenheit. When the 5 minutes are up the candy should be soft but not runny. The top with M&M or Pecan. I don't think you could find a more simple treat to make and Holy Cow are they yummy! Are you ready for Christmas? Only 6 more days!

Snowy morning in Salt Lake City

2011-12-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

image borrowed from Google images

The ground is covered in a thin layer of fluffy white snow. The boys are thrilled despite the freezing temperatures. As I write, the boys are on their way up to the slopes. Ski school starts at 9:00 a.m. , so in order to get a spot you have to be there by 8:30 a.m. This meant they had to leave the hotel at 8:00 a.m. Roman is cuddled on the couch watching Nick Jr. as he waits for dad to return and his adventure to start. I think we might go to the Children's Museum or try out this Greek restaurant I have always wanted to go to. Roman will go skiing next week. We wanted to give him a couple of day to acclimate to the altitude which is nothing to take to lightly. Tip number one if you are going to go skiing and coming from a lower elevation: Give yourself a day to acclimate to the environment. Tip number two: drink plenty of water. Tip number three: go to bed early. Tip number four: Make sure you have your pain reliever of choice on hand just in case you do get a headache. The sooner you treat it the more enjoyable your vacation will be. Yesterday, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. The penguins are hilarious to watch. Harris and Roman had fun getting shocked by the electric eel and seeing how they create enough energy to light a Christmas tree. Did you know there are river stingrays? I didn't, and they they are really pretty. They are black with white spots. Afterwards, we went to my favorite Cafe in Salt Lake called Tulie. While we were at the Aquarium, Frank and Winston enjoyed a perfect day on the slopes. They couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Unfortunately, I left my camera cable back in Georgia, so I can't share any photos from our day. Ugh! How is your Friday shaping up? I am excited because tonight we are going to see a friend from our days at University. It has been 14 years since we have seen her. It will be fun to meet her husband and her three children. Have a Happy Friday!

December

2011-12-14T00:39:00.003-05:00

In a couple of hours, I will be getting on a plane for Salt Lake. It is just a little after midnight. I am so tired. Harris homework is just about killing me. What teacher expects a 12 year old to stay up till midnight to complete their homework. It hasn't been just one night. He has done this about 4 nights in a row.

Addy started eating solids last week. She doens't seem to love sweet potatoes as much as her brothers. She loves pear.

Addy weighs 12 pounds 7 ounces now. She was 11 pounds 4 ounces last month.

We went to the movies last weekend and saw Arthur Christmas. It is so cute! It is a must see and a new Christmas classic.

Winston performed this past weekend in the annual German school Christmas production. They sang a song called Weinachts Baeckeri. He really got into it this year. He is really doing great at school.

Roman finally can say the whole alphabet. He is starting to connect what sounds each letter makes too.

We have another red belt in the house. Winston was promoted in Karate on Monday night. He is so happy.
I hear it is snowing in Salt Lake. It should make for great snow on Thursday. Well, I better go. Incase, I don't get on the internet the next couple days, I hope you all have a fantastic week.

Stollen

2011-12-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

My husband loves Stollen. He will cut a slice off the loaf and then cut it into smaller pieces and proceed to dunk it into a glass of milk. Over the years his mommy would send us a loaf from Germany in our Christmas package along with other yummy treats. Unfortunately, the shipping cost have gotten way to expensive to send much of anything to us now. My husband has just about everything he really wants or needs, so I thought it would be nice to make him Stollen from scratch. It turns out it is much easier to make than I thought it would be, and according to my husband it is the best Stollen he has had in his 46 years of existence. I think he is just saying that to be nice, but I have to admit the Stollen I made wasn't too bad. There are several varieties of Stollen, but my favorite has marzipan in the dough. After looking at several recipes, I came up with my own.

Stollen
1 Tablespoon of yeast dissolved in 2/3 cup of warm milk plus one Tablespoon of sugar to feed the yeast. Once yeast is dissolved, add 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Add one beaten egg and 1/2 teaspoon of salt along with almost 6 Tablespoons of melted butter. Then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla or if you like 1 teaspoon of rum extract. Then add 2 1/2 cups of bread flour along with 1/3 cup of dried dates, 1/3 cut dried citron, and 1/3 cup currents, and 1/3 cup dried cherries then chop up 6 ounces of marzipan into bite size pieces and add to dough. Traditionally, you are suppose to roll the marzipan into a rope and fold the dough around the rope with the marzipan in the center. I like it throughout the dough. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. I forgot to add nuts, so if you like you can add 1/3 cup of chopped pecans or your favorite nut to the dough too. Dough will be slightly sticky so flour up you hands and kneed is ever so slightly. The place dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise for one hour . After an hour punch dough down shape into a free form loaf and place on baking sheet to rise a second time (about 1 hour). Bake loaf for 10 minutes at 350 degree and about 20 minutes at 300 degrees until loaf is golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow to cool, but just before it cools brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with powder sugar. Now you have a piece of Weinachten. The history of Stollen goes back to the year 1329, but may go back even further. Today the loaf is supposed to represent the baby Jesus. Originally, the recipe did not include butter or milk until the King of Germany petitioned the pope to drop the ban on using these ingredients during Advent season. Thank goodness, because I think this cake would have tasted like a brick. If you ever have a chances to go to Germany during the holiday season do it because the Christmas markets are so amazing.

Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-08T15:34:00.002-05:00

Here is the photo with Santa I spoke about the other day. I guess I worried for nothing because you can't even tell that Addy threw up all over her shirt. Though I think Roman looks kind of funny. I kind of wished I had spoken up more with the photographer and had Roman stand next to Santa. Roman came home from school on Tuesday and decided that we are Jewish. He told me that we needed to buy a Menorah. He sang the song dreidel dreidel dreidel we made it out of clay all day long. This made Winston very mad. He thought Heavenly Father would be mad at us because we believe in Jesus and Jewish people do not. I explained to him that it was OK to learn and celebrate other religions and cultures without having to give up our own. That this would make God happy.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-07T09:11:00.000-05:00

In exactly one week, we will be heading off to Utah for our annual family vacation. The boys are so excited to go skiing. Roman wants to go skiing, and so we will sign him up too. However, I am not sure if he will last the whole class or not. I guess we will just have to see. Anyway, 2011 has been an exciting year for our family. Our oldest son became a deacon in the church, we moved to a new house, my husband finished a major business project, and we added a new member to our family. I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring us though I am not sure it can top 2011. If only happiness and health knock on our door in 2012, I will be completely happy. I wish the same for all of you.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A blessing!

2011-12-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a very special day for our family. Addy was blessed and introduced into the church. Her dress was made by her grandmother using fabric from my wedding dress. Afterwards, we had our friends the Atkinson's over for dinner where we enjoyed a feast of ham, roasted potatoes, roasted green beans with Parmesan cheese, rolls, flourless chocolate cake, and sparkling cranberry juice. The children also decorated sugar cookies as we listened to Christmas music.

Genesis 49: 25

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the ^aAlmighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the ^bwomb:

Operation Christmas Insta-Frida photos

2011-12-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

The last few days we have been in full Operation Christmas mode. I think I am on sonic speed mode since I have so much to fit in before we leave for Utah to go skiing. It all began on Sunday with the lighting of the first candle for Advent. Christmas music filled the air, hot cocoa with marshmallows and the traditional gingerbread house was erected. Monday it was off to Joanne Fabrics to pick up craft supplies to complete a ribbon wreath I saw on the blog Little Birdie Secrets. I will keep one for our tree and one to give away for an ornament swap I signed up for on another blog. Unfortunately, I didn't find everything I need to complete the crafts I have in store, so it is off to Michael's. Christmas cards still hadn't arrived, so I spent some time on my knees praying that they would come the next day. Since we moved, I wanted to get my cards off early to let everyone know we moved. I spent much of Monday working on my craft. Tuesday, I worked on teacher gift, neighbor gifts, and gifts for people who provide our family service such as our pediatrician and cardiologist. This year I decided to go with Cookies in a jar and Homemade Hot Cocoa. Recipe for cookie idea came from Bakerella and the Homemade Hot Cocoa came once again from Little Birdie Secrets. I think by making homemade I saved about $100. Plus, I don't know about you, but don't you feel more appreciated when someone gives you something homemade. Tuesday evening our Christmas cards arrived and by some miracle the baby actually slept early that evening and I was able to get them all address. Wednesday, I completed the cards and was able to get them off in the mail. I feel like I can now rest a little. We went to our first Christmas party of the season for my sons Sunday school class and thankfully all the cookies disappeared. Thursday, Roman and Addy had there picture taken with Santa. Sadly, I am not sure if it is going to turn out. Roman has a rash around the bottom of his mouth from licking it with his tongue. Addy had her first baby acne and to top it off she pucked on her shirt. I thought of canceling the whole thing, but I am not sure we will have another chance to see Santa. Well, I have to just gross my fingers that the her wet shirt won't show and that the photographer can Photoshop out the rash and acne. Every day I am jamming out in my car to Christmas music. How about you? Are you listening to Christmas music yet? To say the least I am exhausted so I am off to bed. Good Night!

Finaly days in Orlando, Florida "JoY" cornerview

2011-12-01T11:09:00.001-05:00

Sorry, it is taking me a little longer to get to the computer these days. I have been working on getting my Christmas cards mailed and teacher and thank you gifts completed. I will share more on this on Friday, but I would like to share with you the rest of our vacation last week and some things that I learned. Wenesday we spent the day at the pool of our condo. Then later that afternoon we went to see the movie Hugo. I hadn't read the book, so I really didn't have any clue what the movie was about; however, I knew that this movie was one to be seen on the big screen. It did not disappoint. My 4 year old liked the movie, but I would have to say that this movie might be for a little bit older audience. There was nothing in the movie a 4 year old could not see, but the topic is pretty deep. Then we hung out at Downtown Disney. The boys loved the Lego store, but boy is it way to expensive to eat there. A child's meal at most of the restaurants will cost you around $10 and an adult meal $15 to $20 a plate. Ouch! Thursday we went to Universal Islands of Adventure with our good friends Marco, Simona, and their children. What I didn't know is that Universal Islands and Universal though located in the same place are two different parks and two different prices. If you have only one day, just pick one park because there is no way you can see both parks in one day. Even with a disability pass, we were not able to ride on all the rides at the park. The huge hit at Universal Islands of Adventure for the big kids was Harry Potter. They did a fantastic job of recreating Hog Smead. The children tried butter beer and chocolate frogs. Roman and Michaela met their hero Captain American and Spiderman. The park has a lot of water rides which is perfect for summer, but in November I made the mistake of going on one ride and came off completely soaked. Brr!!! Since it was Thanksgiving we ate at a restaurant located outside the gates. Yuck is all I can say. The food was terrible. On Friday, Winston went to see our friends son play in a soccer tournament at the ESPN Disney soccer stadium. Sadly, our team lost. Then it was time to pack up and head home. We had a great time.

First Advent

2011-11-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

We take a break in the schedule programing of Thanksgiving vacation to bring you a quick peek into First Advent. Sunday marked the beginning of Advent. We celebrated by decorating our house then decorating the gingerbread house. By the looks of the house, it looks like more made it into the mouths of my little ones. Once everyone was tucked into bed, I took advantage of all the great deals on-line and finished my shopping. Yahoo! Do you still have shopping left to do? Have you found any great deals?

Magic Kingdom

2011-11-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

The first thing Roman told me when I told him that we were going to Disney was that he wanted to go straight for the Buzz Lightyear ride. I am surprised that he remembered the ride since he was 2 the last time we went. Maybe he saw it on Tv? Anyway, we did just that. I only took Winston and Roman since Harris is getting a little old for Disney. He just wants to ride the big roller coasters, and well Addy is too little. Frank did a fantastic job of watching her while we were at the park. Amazingly, the crowds were not too bad. The boys had a great time. Roman rocked the roller coasters. We are so happy that his cardiologist gave him the OK to go on them. Yahoo! We ended the day with the electrical parade. I love it! While I wouldn't go so far as to say that Disney is the happiest place on earth, it comes pretty darn close.

Thanksgiving in Florida part One

2011-11-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hi! I am back. I hope you had a great week. Since the boys started school, we have never had the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so we took this as an opportunity to get away. Florida it was and it didn't disappoint with it's fantastic weather. We drove down on Sunday and arrived at our condo at the Westgate. A perfect location to all of the parks. Just 5 miles from Magic Kingdom and 3 miles from Universal. On Monday, Frank took the boys to Gatorland while I stayed back at the condo with Addy. Gatorland is a tradition when we go to Orlando. It is an Alligator park. The boys never get sick of seeing the alligator wrestling. A new addition to the park is a zipline course. The boys were beyond excited for the opportunity to try the zipline course. They loved it! Have you ever tried ziplining? I haven't. It seems a little scary, but at the same time I think I might like to try it some time.

Insta-Friday Gobble Gobble Mr. Turkey!

2011-11-18T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sunday Morning by the fire

Thanksgiving Pagent Preschool

new haircut

Grateful Tree

Some of the things the boys listed were

family, church, scriptures, friends, food, crepes, superheros

XBOX, TV, traveling, our home.

We are off to Florida for Thanksgiving Week!

We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

Oh MY!

2011-11-16T10:36:00.000-05:00

Oh My! These Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes are just way to Divine. I warn you if you make these make sure you have others to share them with because you just might find yourself eating more than your fair share. No joke! I ate 4 yesterday justifying it by the fact that I hadn't eaten breakfast.
Well, I am off to see my sons Thanksgiving program and to eat some most likely dry turkey. Hope you are having a great day. The week is half way over. Do you have any plans for the weekend? Do tell me! We are leaving for Florida.

Something to Share

2011-11-11T23:09:00.012-05:00

Hi! How are you? I hope you are having a great weekend. It is one of the first weekends in a long time that my son doesn't have a ton of homework. Do you hear the choir sing? Yahoo! It means we all can relax. Anyway, I bet you didn't know, but I wear glasses. I remember the day so clearly that I got my first pair of glasses. I was 12 years old. I was so nervous. I don't know why, but I guess I was scared what the other children at school might say. Would they call me four eyes? In the end, I didn't really have anything to be nervous about because noo one said anything. Infact, they thought they were pretty cool. I only need to wear them for reading. In college, I wore them all the time because I thought they made me look smarter. My husband wears glasses too! He can't see without them. He just got a new pair of rimless titanium glasses. I hardly recognize him. I keep having to take a second look at him. He went to work today and everyone gave him complements on his glasses. They love them! Anyway, I have something to share with you. It is a company called GlassesUSA.com . I know with Christmas around the corner we are all looking for a ways to save a few dollars. In this economy every penny counts. By buying my new eyeglasses from GlassesUSA.com, I am going to save big time, and with the extra money that I save I can use it to maybe buy an airplane ticket to Prague this summer when we are in Europe. If you are looking for cheap glasses, you should check this company out. They offer at all price point, famous designers, and many different multifocal glasses. Anyway, I thought you should know they are having a Fall Sale right now and if you enter the code Blog10 they will take a extra 10% OFF the purchase. They also ship for free. Who can beat that. Anyway, I couldn't keep this a secret. The savings are way to fantastic to pass up. I hope you are having a fantastic weekend.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GlassesUSA.com

The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the GlassesUSA.com

Friday Fragments

2011-11-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

Addy waiting patiently at the attorney's office while we refinance our home.

Libby pumpkin roll-so devine.

I know what I am making for Thanksgiving.

Early morning scriptures study.

Aren't I cute?

Happy Veterans Day!

Turkey, cream cheese, apricot jam, and slivered almonds

on whole wheat bread.

What I was doing at 11:11 on 11/11/11

Quess who is going to have carmel apples today?

At this moment-keeping it honest.

2011-11-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

I haven't been around much lately. Actually, I have been around, but not on my computer. Boy, has having another child rocked my world. I can't say I have transitioned very gracefully. I look like a mess most of the time. It is like I am a teenager again because my face has broken out. What's with that! I am freaken 40 years old and never really had a problem with acne. Yuck! Sweats are my friend. The biggest change more than the baby is our new school district. The schools my son is now attending is really tough. He has one teacher who has forgotten that these are middle school children. I am sure he will learn a ton from having her, but the poor kid isn't getting to bed some nights until midnight. I am in a pickle because I don't know if I should say something to her because I don't know if she realizes how much homework she is giving. Any how, I was cleaning out my 12 year old sons backpack and found a booklet that they had given in health on drug awareness. One the first page they had them fill out goals for the future. Here are his answers.
I want to...play drums or guitar
try out for...basketball
excel in...science
join...robotics club, science club and math club
participate in basketball and lacrosse
other... I want to start earning money by walking dogs and shovel snow.
By the time I leave high school, I'd like to
learn to..drive and play lacrosse
visit.... Paris, France, and Rome, Italy.
get a part-time job.... working at Game stop.
buy a... flat screen TV
have a good relationship with friends and family.
other...get a scholarship for M.I.T.
It was so fun reading his answers. Some of the answers are funny, but what makes me really happy is that he has the confidence to believe that all of these goals are achievable.

Menu #4

2011-11-08T11:36:00.002-05:00

Sunday: Pasta with sweet sausage, tomatoes, peas in a cream sauce
Monday: Meat loaf with mash potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday: Lasagna
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday:Out to lunch with my husband and his colleague at my favorite restaurant Barronda.
Friday: Sweat and Sour Chicken
Saturday: Hot Dogs because the husband is out of town.

Pumpkin Curry Soup
1 diced onion
1 cubed butternut squash
1 can of pumpkin puree 15ounce
1 diced apple
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of curry powder
2-3 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half
In a soup pot saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Then add apple, squash, pumpkin, curry powder, salt, pepper, and broth cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until squash is soft. Add half and half. Then puree in blender or food processor. I like mine a little chunky so I don't puree for very long. Serve with cinnamon croutons.

Dreams "cornerview" and Menu #3 what to do with that Halloween Candy

2011-11-02T09:54:00.000-04:00

When I think of the word Dreams the final words of the movie Pretty Woman pops into my head. "Hollywood, What's your dreams? Everyone has to have Dream." Funny how certain words trigger certain memories. Not having many dreams in the sense of dreaming these days, baby girl longest stretch of sleep is 4 hours. If anyone has any suggestions how I can get her to sleep long I would appreciate it. The problem is she eats abot 40% of her calories at night. Well, the good thing is I know this phase of life will not last forever and for that I am grateful. If I were to die today, I think I would be Ok with that because so many of my dreams have come true. I am truely blessed. It wasn't always that way, but at the moment I can say I have everything I ever wanted. What's your dream? To see more dreams around the globe you can visit cornerview.

So, don't know what to do with all that Halloween Candy? Around here, some of the local dentist will buy it off the children. Our PTA collected candy for the troops and I would say that about 50% of our candy went to support the troops, but we were still left with a ton of candy. Did you know you can freeze some candy like Snickerbars, Peanut Butter Cups, and so forth. Another idea is use it in your baking. One idea is to replace the chocolate chips in cookies with chopped up Snicker bars. I just made brownies for a collegue of my husbands who is flying in today from Italy. I just chopped up some Peanut Butter Cups and threw them in the batter. What were amazing brownies are now over the top brownies. I hope she like them.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
1 and 1/2 sticks of melted butter or 3/4 cups.
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of coco powder
6 chopped peanut butter cups.
Mix all wet ingredients then combine with dry ingredients. Then stir in peanut butter cups. Place in a buttered baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until done in the center. Let cool and cut! Enjoy!

Sunday: Cafe Rio copy cat dinner. What is that? A pork roast put in a crock pot with garlic salt, 2 cups of salsa, and a cup of brown sugar. Cook for 4-5 hours and then shred. Serve on tortillas with lettuce, corn chip strips, cilantro rice, tomatoes, and black beans.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Spaghetti Carbonara
Wednesday: Wilted Spinach Salad
Thursday:Curry Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Croutons
Friday: Mummy dogs and applesauce
Saturday: Church Halloween Party pulled pork with potato salad

Goblin Snot and Ghost Poo a Halloween Wrap Up!

2011-10-31T23:49:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness Halloween is over! I am sure I have gained a gazillion pounds and to be Frank I have had enough of this holiday. I write this as the smell of burnt pumpkin seeds permeates my house-yuck! I seriously almost burnt the house down. Oh well, I guess there is always next year for pumpkin seeds because there is no way that I am going to scrap another pumpkin clean this year. Today the boys had off from school, so how does a mom of three boys keep them out of trouble? She carves pumpkins with them, makes lanterns, and last but not least she makes Goblin Snot and Ghost poo with them. Thanks to Emily on the last one. It was a huge hit. She found the recipe here on this blog. The boys had fun carving their pumpkins. Winston made a traditional Jack O Lantern while Roman made one with a design of a haunted house on it and Harris made his with a XBOX logo on his pumpkin. The boys scored a ton of candy and were happy to give half of it away to the troops. So grateful to the PTA for that one. Yahoo! They were so happy to donate their candy to a good cause. Last year, I paid them a lump sum for their candy and my husband took it to work. Well, it has been a long week of very fun activities and I am one tired mommy, so it is off to bed for me. We hope you had a fun day.

Trunk or Treat 2011

2011-10-30T12:36:00.000-04:00

Roman as Captain America

Harris a Zombie and the ~~Winston~~ oops I mean Harry Potter

Addy and I "Meow"

Last night, the children and I participated in the church annual Trunk or Treat party. Frank was in Chicago for work. We had a great time. The food was fantastic! We ate pulled pork sandwhiches and potato salad. Afterwards the children played games then it was time for the parade, costume contest, and the finally Candy time. The boys had a great time. Addy wasn't so sure about the whole thing.

Insta-Friday

2011-10-28T16:04:00.002-04:00

It's Friday!

Happy Weekend!

At school this week the children participated in a hat parade.

Each student had to pick a word out of a hat,

and their hats had to reflect that work. His word was crooked

The boys participated in a Beyblade Championship

Harris is now on the road to black belt.

He earned his second strip on his red belt.

Sunday dinners are a favorite around our house.

Roman and Addy went to the Cardiologist this week

Addy's hole is almost closed.

Addy now weighs 11 pounds 3 ounces and is 23 inches long.

Roman's MRI report came back saying no surgery at least this year!

Winston is participating in the Battle of the Books at school.

A trip to Barnes and Nobles was needed to pick up more books to read.

Count Down to Halloween!

2011-10-28T00:20:00.001-04:00

You can never have too much frosting.

The architect didn't want to settle for using a milk cart

as a means of support. He designed his own house.

I think Winston's might be a Janpanese version???

Papa and Addy look on as the boys create their

versionsof Haunted Hauses.

Just setting the record straight, I hate haunted houses.

When I was little I got lost in one because somehow

I got seperated from my friends.

It was terrifying.

Halloween is just 4 days away. The children are excited. They can't wait for their class parties; especially, Winston because his class is using sling shots they made to shoot mini pumpkins. In preparation for Halloween, they boys made their versions of Haunted Houses. More candy made it in their mouths than on the house. Afterwards, we read the story Halloween Night. Such an adorable story. The count down will continue with watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown , Trunk or treat at the church, mummy dogs for dinner, and last but not least carving pumpkins.

In Awe

2011-10-25T16:59:00.001-04:00

Today we went on a walk with Roman's friend Andrew.

They found many treasures, and even found a dead snake-yuck!

My heart feels very heavy today. Yet, at the same time peace. The scenery all around me seems to be saying to me be still and know that I am God. I can't help be in awe. It is just so beautiful outside right now with the changing of leaves. A tapestry of color. Today, I went to the hospital to visit a friend whose daughter is in the hospital. She has a terrible disease called Mito short for Mitochondrial Disease. My heart is breaking for this family as they watch this disease steal the life of their beautiful little girl. It just doesn't seem very fair. Her sweet mother said that she feels so blessed to have been this little girls mother. I know that we have been better for knowing this sweet little girl. Last night, I ran into the mother of my son's best friend who past away two years ago. Mason was only 11 years old. He battled cancer for 3 years. He would be 13 in a couple of weeks had he not passed away. My son on the way home said, "Mom, I feel sad because I can hardly remember what Mason looks like." I told him that was OK, because the most important part was that we remember him. Mason had a great smile. Even until the last few minutes of his life Mason battled cancer with such dignity. He was always very positive. Showing more maturity than most grown men and woman. I found this quote today that touched my heart, and I hope it touches your heart. I also enjoyed reading this blog post.

"My plea is that we stop seeking out the storm and enjoy more full the sunlight.
I am suggestiong that as we go through life, we accentuate the positive.
I am asking that we look a little deeper for good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm,
that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort." Gordon B. Hinkley

Ok, well, I need to run a couple of boys to Boy Scouts, so thanks for letting me share what is on my heart today. My hope is that something awed you today.

Menu Week #2

2011-10-24T13:58:00.001-04:00

Fall Arrived!

Sunday: Pork Loin, roasted potatoes, mixed green salad with Pears, Pecans, and a Gorgonzola vinaigrette.

Monday: Butter Chicken Indian with Basmati Rice
Tuesday: Leftovers for grown-ups and Mac and Cheese for kiddos.
Wednesday: Apple Pie no joke we had apple pie.
Thursday: Apricot Chicken with Pistachio Couscous.
Friday: Went out to dinner Chipolte
Saturday: Chicken Pot Pie!

Coming up next week! Wilted Spinach with Bacon Salad

Ingredients: 2 bags or 5 ounces of baby spinach
10 ounces of cooked bacon chopped
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion minced
1 apple chopped in bite size pieces
2 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons of cider vinegar
3 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped or quartered
Fry up bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Once bacon is cooked remove from pan and pour off all but 4 Tablespoons of the fat. Then add the olive oil and return to heat until it comes to a simmer. Add onion, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is cooked. The remove from heat and add vinegar. Pour over spinach and then add egg, apple, and bacon and toss. Bon Appetite!

The Best Day Ever!

2011-10-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

Lance Armstrong watch out because here comes the next generation of bicycle riders. Today, Roman rode his brand new bike (bike from older brothers didn't survive) for the first time. He rode three miles. It seems like a lot, but that is pretty standard for our family. Our boys are known to ride about 16 miles on any given bike ride, but I think for a 4 year old 3 miles is pretty impressive. He has training wheels on his bike, but I don't think they will be on there for very long. On the way home, Roman whispered to his papa that it was the best day ever.

Tickles my Fancy-Cornerview and Communal Global

2011-10-18T22:21:00.002-04:00

Today we went with Romans class to the pumpkin patch
I have never seen him so excited about anything
Why I am not sure since we were there as a family a couple weeks ago
He was so excited he woke up in the middle night, and
got dressed in his clothes and went back to bed.
I am so tickled by his excitement.
I am tickled by watching his sweet interactions with his classmates.
I am tickled by my little girl in a orange black tutu.
On another note, Addy is 4 months old and weighs 11 pounds 3 ounces and is 23 inces long
Roman is obsessed with the alphabet and I love when he pronounces W he adds a Q to the ending.

Weekly Menu

2011-10-17T18:14:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am kind of sick of cooking. After 15 years of marriage, it had gotten to be more of a chore than something that I use to really love to do. So about a month or two, I started a search for new inspiration and new ideas to add to my weekly menu's. Each week, I am going to post my menu to help me remember what I have made and if in the process I inspire you to try something new than great. If you feel like it, you can leave me your menu too and or links to recipes. Maybe, your menu will make it into our kitchen. Do you remember the sweet potato donuts I made last week. They were inspired from a blog called On Hand Modern, but instead of using potato I thought they would taste even yummier using sweet potato. One tip in making this recipe is to cut it in half. It makes a gazillion donuts in which we ended up bring many to our neighbors because there were just to many for us to eat. OK so here was our menu last week.

Sunday: Pork tenderloin, homemade applesauce, broccoli and cauliflower steamed.
Monday: Cheese pizza using crust from Pioneer Woman
Tuesday: Pacific grilled salmon on a Ciabatta roll.
Wednesday: Baked french toast. My children thought I was a goddess for making this one.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chili and cornbread
Saturday: Chick fil A (a fast food restaurant)

What did you eat this last week?

It's Friday-hip hip hooorah

2011-10-14T14:10:00.002-04:00

So glad it is Firday! I am tired. It will be nice to sleep in tomorrow morning even though we still have German school in the morning. Today is a gorgeous day. The sun is shining after three days of solid rain. It is 76 degree, but perfect because there is very little huidity. The trees are just beginning to turn. On Wenesday, I made homemade sweet potato donuts they were delicious. The boys loved them. Pretty simple to make. Tried a new recipe for pizza dough from Pioneer Womans website. It was so simple and really tasty. Had a slummer party with my mom this week since my husband is out of town. We watched an old movie called Pillow Talk with Doris Day. How about you have your tried any new recipes this week. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Editing

2011-10-11T23:34:00.001-04:00

Lately, I have felt the need to Edit. I am not talking about the kind of edit you do with writing though that probably wouldn't hurt either because I have noticed many grammar and spelling errors in my blog post. That is what I get for writing past 10p most nights. Anyway, I am talking about the kind of editing one does with their life. So many good choices out there it is hard to choose; however, after flipping out on my children the other day I think I need to edit how I spend my time. I certainly would not win the Mother of the Year award for the way I acted the other day even though they kind of deserved it, and who can blame me given that I get only about 5 hours a sleep a day The problem is I am not very good at saying no or realizing I can't do it all. One would think by the age of 40 I would have it all figured out, but I guess not. I do realize that I am not alone in this problem, so I will not beat myself up too much. The thing is that at the end of the day what kind of relationship am I going to have with my children if all I do is end up yelling at them all them time because I am stressed out. I think they would much rather go to fewer places or not do as many fun things if the things we do are happy. Do you ever find yourself in this situation? Do you wake up with at long list of things you feel you need to do with your children like read certain books, play certain games with them, crafts you have seen on blogs, places to go on bucket list, and that is all on top of the things you need to just to maintain your home. Speaking of maintaining home, I am slowly learning it is OK not to have a house that looks like no one lives in it. This is a hard one for me because for years I have defined myself by having the cleanest house in the neighborhood. Also, not having a clean house has terrified me because it was just something that wasn't really a priority for my mother and it kind of embarrassed me. Writing this makes me feel like maybe I need to go to therapy. The thing is I am hoping by writing it that I will begin making the steps necessary to begin having a more balanced life. How do you find balance? How do you choose what activities make it into your day? Do you have any tips for me on how I can feel more balanced?
p.s. Roman learned how to write his name. He is now beginning to recognize the letter of the alphabet and can almost say the alphabet without making too many mistakes. I love how he writes the alphabet in the air with his finger.
p.s.s. he told me that witches creep him out after seeing a witch in a Halloween book
p.s.s.s. he told me I had great tricks when I made pizza dough last night from scratch. Boy do I love this kid. He is way too sweet!

Annual Camping Trip

2011-10-10T01:08:00.000-04:00

Going Camping is becoming and annual activity.
Thanks to Nana the big boys were able to stay.
I went home with the little kids.
They had a blast.

Last thing I learned "cornerview"

2011-10-05T05:10:00.000-04:00

The last thing I learned is that pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese frosting are amazing!

You begin making these yummy treats with two sticks of butter or 1 cup, then add two eggs, 2 cups of brown sugar and 1 can or 15 ounces of pumpkin puree, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. To that add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of cloves, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Then add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Once combined add three cups of flour.

Scoop out dough with a small ice cream scoop on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes. Should make about 14 generous sized pies. Scoop smaller and make smaller pies. Unless you are going to a function, I would suggest cutting recipe in half. These are very rich! Plus once you have one you will want another.

Now once cooled. Cream 4 ounces of cream cheese with 4 ounces of butter and add 1 teaspoon of maple extract or maple syrup. Assemble pies! So yummy!

A day at the pumpkin farm.

2011-10-03T14:03:00.002-04:00

Roman ran into his good friend Andrew while at the patch.

Addy cakes is what we call baby girl right now!

Nothing says fall like a trip to the pumpkin patch.
Harris unfortunately was too sick to go, but papa was able to join us this year-yahoo!

Cornerview Music

2011-09-28T16:33:00.001-04:00

When I was in the 4th grade, I tried to learn how to play the flute. We lived in Lake Tahoe, California at the time and the winters were very cold. I was so bad at playing the flute that my mom sent me outside to practice. I ended up quiting. In high school, I took a key board class. I learned how to play twinkle twinkle little star and green sleeves. My real love though is for singing. I am by far no American Idol, but I can hold my own. I enjoy singing in a choir. I still remember my first solo. I sang The Rose. I guess this kind of dates me doesn't it? Anyway, life kind of has it's own music. The swooshing sound of the treadmill, the little boy in the back seat who told me there were 3 Jacobs in his classroom. One with brown hair and two will yellow hair. Then by his side a red hair baby sucking her pacifier. The sizzling and cracking sound of schnitzel in the pan as I make lunch for my husband. The crinkling of paper as my mother cuts out Addy's blessing gown made from the fabric of my wedding dress. Sometimes the noise can be overwhelming; especially, since I grew up an only child and my house was pretty quiet. I wouldn't trade all this noise or music for anything. We lost two friends this week. One to cancer and another to an unexpected death for what should have been a routine surgery. One had children that just left for college and the other had small children still at home. A reminder that we should never take anything for granted.

3 months

2011-09-27T09:18:00.000-04:00

Addy turned 3 months old last week while we were in Seattle. She is still more like a 2 month old in her abilities. She is really a charmer and loves to smile and coo! She is a really good baby too except when it comes to bed time and refuses to sleep in her own bed. Gotta break her of this one because I am not getting much sleep.

Adelaide Goes to Seattle

2011-09-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

Adelaide went our her first airplane ride, and she was a perfect angel. All the passengers said that they didn't even no she was on the plane because she didn't make a peep. When we arrived in Seattle the weather greeted us as if we were special guest because it couldn't have been more perfect. Not too hot not too cold and the sun was out in all it's glory. We headed straight for west Seattle and went to one of my favorite bakeries Bakery Nouveau. We ate an amazing lunch of goat cheese pizza with carmelized onions and bbq pulled chicken with slaw on a brioche bun. The next day, I Addy and I visited with our good friend Jenna who took us to the Portage Bay Cafe. I am too scared to get on the scale after that breakfast. I had the Challah French Toast covered in fresh berries and cream. I seriously heard the choir of angels sing with this meal. Jenna was in heaven because they had plenty of gluten free options. Then off to do some shopping. On thursday, we went blackberry picking at a friends house which over looks the Seattle harbor. Boy do I miss that view, but not the weather. Then it was off to Tuta Bella for dinner. On Thursday, we went to the Seattle Aquarium,but not before we ate lunch at Agua Verde. I had the fish tacos. The aquarium is not very large, but they focus on local habitat. I love their collection of Starfish. Can't visit Seattle without a visit to Pike Place market. Wish we had one of these in Atlanta. Then we watched the sun set while eating dinner at Chinooks. I had the salmon pot pie. Seriously, if you love fresh fish. Seattle is your place; however, not very cheap, so a little saving may need to take place before visiting. Friday, we just chilled with friends all day and now we are home. Too short of a visit, but I will take what I can. It was so great visiting my friends and hanging out in all my old haunts.

Happy 40th Birthday to Me!

2011-09-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

Iconic "Cornerview" The Eiffel Tower

2011-09-14T12:06:00.000-04:00

This week I finally finished Addy's bedroom. It all started with a pair of sheets. They were just too adorable. Sadly the don't photograph very well, but they are really cute believe me. The a little girl with poodles and iconic French scenery. In the lightest colors of pink, coco, and raspberry. The the idea just built from there. I wanted her room to be classic, and something that would grow with her. So I added a light pink comforter, a blanket with her name on it and pink sheets for the crib, the lamp was an accident ( a happy one-I like the pop of green), the Eiffel tower vinyl, and the print found in France many years ago. I love her room. It makes me happy to be in there with her. It is like going on a mini-vacation -even if it is just in my mind.

Too see more cornerviews visit here. Hope you have a happy day!

Signs of Fall

2011-09-13T00:33:00.000-04:00

Slowly but surely Fall is on it's way

Trees are changing colors

The Temperature has dropped -thankfully!

I would say the garden was harvested, but the turtles from the creek at my cantaloupes, and the squirrels at the zucchine.

We are craving pumpkin.

Years ago when I lived in Michigan, I belonged to a German speaking group.

We met once a month and would speak German while eating yummy desserts.

Pumpkin Gooey Cake was one of the recipes shared with me.

Crust

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 stick of butter.

1 egg

mix together and with a fork press into a 9x13 baking pan.

Then in a bowl mix together:

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 8 ounce of cream cheese

4 cups of powder sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 stick of melted butter

2 eggs

once combined pour over first layer and bake in the oven for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Should be a little moist. So seriously yummy!

Happy Fall!

Indispensable "Cornerview"

2011-09-11T01:32:00.001-04:00

OK, I am just only 4 days late with cornerview this week; however, I have a very good reason for being late and that is my best friend flew in from Colorado Springs to visit me. She came to help me celebrate my 40th birthday. Before you start saying happy birthday I don't actually turn 40 until next Saturday. The first thing we did was go out to dinner at the Atlanta Fish Market. The Seafood is fantastic! Buffi had the Maryland Crab cakes and I had the Hong Kong Salmon. The next day it was off to get Pedicures. Once our toes were gorgeous, we celebrated my birthday with a group of my friends by the pool. The food was way to good. The friendship is indispensable. I don't know what I would do without good friends. They are so awesome. On Friday, Buffi and I went to Stone Mountain. Now I am sad because she had to go home. It just wasn't enough time together. I guess I need to look forward to the next time we can see each other. Thanks Buffi for coming and seeing me and to all my friends who came to celebrate with me.

In Remembrance

2011-09-05T22:50:00.001-04:00

It is hard to believe that a decade has gone by since September 11th because on that day I think maybe many of us didn't know how we would go on. It seems like yesterday. Do you remember what you were doing on that day? I sure do, I had just discovered that I was pregnant with my second child. We were living in East Lansing, Michigan. My husband was at work. I was feeling sick. We hadn't told our family yet, and were going to make the phone calls on that day. I had just gotten back home from dropping Harris off at preschool when I turned on the TV to Good Morning America. I couldn't believe my eyes. The first tower was on fire. What they were saying wasn't making sense in that they were reporting an airplane had crashed into the tower. My first thought was a small plane, but then they said it was a large commercial plane. It wasn't long after I turned on the TV that the second plane crashed into the second tower. I couldn't believe it. That was when I knew it wasn't an accident and I think maybe others did too. I was in shock. I sat their numb, not really knowing what to do next. My eyes were glued to the TV waiting for more news. While I didn't know any one who personally died that day. I have had many family members who have fought over in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, I was thinking that I don't want to simply just remember, but I want to do something good. Then then idea came to me to challenge you to do something good. It doesn't have to be anything big. Maybe take cookies to a neighbor or bring a meal to someone in need. Smile at someone or address the checkout person by name. Maybe you want to do something big. While we can't change the events of that day maybe just maybe by doing something good this week we can make this world a better place. Are you in????

Labor Day weekend Insta-Friday

2011-09-03T13:37:00.001-04:00

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was too busy and then when I finally had a moment to sit down. Well, I fell asleep. This is what we have been up to this week.

Harris and Winsto loved attending their friend Rohith's birthday at Andretti Speedway

They would have me take them every weekend if it were up to them.

They made me promise them that we could go back sometime.

A little bath fun includes lots of bubbles.

We have been on a smoothy kick wih the hot weather

we have been having it is still in the mid 90's every day.

Roman is still madly in love with Super Heros.

He and his friend Bryson had so much fun dressing up in costumes.

Look what we found in the back yard! A snake skin.

I wonder where the snake is????

We kicked off Labor Day by heating up the Grill.

Yummy!

Harris is reading the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle in school this week.

I thought I would join him and read it too. Afterwards, we had fun talking about the books theme.

Have you read this book?

Well the big boys are off at the other house cleaning up the yard.
We still haven't sold our other house.
I hope we sell it soon though I am losing a little hope in this economy.
Everyone want to buy a house for nothing. We just keep getting really low ball offers despite.
We refuse to go to the bank with a check.
Please pray we sell it soon.
I am off to take a shower.
Have a great weekend!

Change "Cornerview"

2011-08-30T22:36:00.001-04:00

Change is inevitable. Every day things change. Sometimes it is a subtle and sometimes it is drastic. Some people fear change and others embrace change. I see change as a miracle. I am one of those people who invites change. I am not scared to change my hairstyle or try a new dish. I love when one season changes into another, and I certainly don't believe in the clique that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. People can change. Tonight as a fun family activity we watched a liquid change into a solid in the making of ice cream. You don't need to have an ice cream maker to make ice cream. All you need is some ice, rock salt, Ziploc bags, and your food ingredients.

Shake Shake Shake Ice Cream

A large gallon Ziploc bag for each person making the ice cream

2 small sandwich bags per person

lots of ice and I mean a lot of ice

1/2 cup of rock salt per person

In a bowl mix together a 1/2 cup of half and half per person along with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla per person. Then pour mixture in the small sandwich bag and then bag it again in small sandwich bag. Place in large gallon Ziploc and fill with ice and salt. Shake for 15 to 20 minutes. If you want just a milk shake just shake for less time. Bonus is that this is a great way to get some energy out of children. Should look like soft serve ice cream when finished. Eat plain or top with your favorite toppings.

For more Tuesdays around the world check out Communal Global and for a Cornerview visit here!

Insta-Friday

2011-08-26T23:05:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness it is Friday! It has been a long week. Mostly just busy. One child got 6 stitches last weekend, but I am not allowed to say which child because he made me promise that I wouldn't post any pictures on the blog or say his name. He gets them out in the morning. This week I tried a new recipe for chicken called Roman Chicken. It was so good. The kids didn't like it so much, but at least I tried. Was able to clean out some of the basement this week by giving away the clothes from the boys. It was a little bit bittersweet because the clothes have so many good memories, but at the same time it feels good that someone else can get good use out of them. I was also able to catch up on all the thank you notes for gifts that have been given to us from Addy. It has been so much fun getting packages in the mail. It's like Christmas!

2 month appointment with the Pediatrician

Addy weighs 7 pounds 11 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

Smiled for the first time on Thursday

Love that we now live in the country.

I see these horses just about every day.

Too tired to make dinner, so I threw some fruit in the blender and made smoothies for the kiddos.

It was the best I have made. I think it was the 1/2 jar of freezer jam that I added to the mixture. I was too tired to cut strawberries, so I used some of the freezer jam that was in the fridge.

Passion "Cornerview"

2011-08-24T08:58:00.000-04:00

Photo borrowed from Google Images/Linson Photos

I can't really recall when I caught the Travel Bug.

It seems like I have been traveling all my life.

My first big trip was to Boston when I was 2!

Then we moved from California to Alaska when I was 10! We drove the whole way.

When I was 17 my mom took me to Europe for 10 weeks.

We went to England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Greece.

Then I moved to South Africa for three months.

When I was 18 I had a crush on an Australian and spent 5 weeks living with his parents. Kind of stupid of me, but I guess it was a learning experience and I got to visit Australia. The traveling just continued from there.

This next year will bring us to: Seattle, Washington ( 40th Birthday celebration), Orlando, Florida for Thanksgiving, Salt Lake City, Utah in December, Mannheim, Germany this summer and possibly Sicily, Italy if all things work out. Maybe, this post should really be titled Obsession because I think I am obsessed with traveling.

2 months tiny "Cornerview" and "InstaFriday"

2011-08-20T13:17:00.002-04:00

My friend Simona gave me these beautiful Antique roses when she came to visit me last week.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy!Two seperate friends came to visit me from the city. Simona and her children came for lunch, and then on a different day Marijan came to visit me with her daughter Sophia. Then Harris went with the youth of our church to go to to go boating on Lake Lanier and Winston went with his friend D to Lake Lanier Islands to go to the water park. Both had a blast. The boys started school last week on Thursday. Then last Saturday, we went to a coming of age party for our friends son Arrigo who turned 12. It was really special to share such a special event with his family. It seems like yesterday that Harris and Arrigo were 4 years old, and in preschool. School was in full swing this week and Harris had his first book report. Frank was gone this past week in San Antonio, Texas and we are all so happy to have him home. Thankfully, Nana came to help us out, or I am not sure the children would have made it to school. Most nights I am only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep. I went and saw two movies. The first was The Help. Loved this movies! They did a great job of staying true to the book. Then I saw One Day which was totally sad. You better bring a box of tissues if you are going to go see this movie. I also tried out a new recipe for cinnamon bread using a recipe from Giada Delarentis cook Book Giada at Home. You can find the recipe at Food Network. It was so good and easy to make. I think I am getting a hang on this bread making thing. Tiny is the word we here just about every where we go. Children say, "mommy look how tiny that baby is." Moms say she is so tiny compared to my babies. Addy is tiny in comparison to my other children who were 8 pounds 15 ounces, 7 pounds 12 ounces, and 8 pounds 6 ounces. I love it when grown men inquire how big Addy. No joke! Just last week a man in his late 60's stopped me in Costco to ask me how old Addy is, and then remarked at how tiny she is. Then an African American guy, who must have been about 6 and 1/2 feet tall, turned around after seeing her to take a look at her and tell me congratulations. I love how babies seem to bring smiles to just about every ones face. She is now 7 and 1/2 pounds. Addy turns two months old today. How is that possible? The boys have spoiled her by not letting her make a peep. They are constantly holding her. They even will change her diaper if I am busy and they do this without me even asking them too. It makes me so happy to see how much they love her. Hope you have a Happy Weekend!

Biking with the Guys!

2011-08-20T12:36:00.000-04:00

Free time is a precious commodity around our house. It is is even more precious for Frank who has for the last 15 years worked 6 days a week. I am lucky in that generally when my husband has free time he spends it with his family. He watches movies with the boys, goes for bike rides, and plays chess with them. Frank not only craves physical activity he needs it. It is hard to keep him in the house, but who would blame him when his work requires him to sit at a desk. While he has always enjoyed running and swimming just recently he has discovered biking. Two weeks ago, he went with a group of guys from church on a 16 mile bike ride in northern Georgia on a trail called Bull Mountain. 16 miles doesn't seem much when it is on the street, but I guess it is a whole different story when you are mountain biking. He had a great time! Afterwards, the guys went to Five Guys for Burgers and Fries. Not very healthy, but I guess one of the guys had one of those bands that measures the amount of calories burned on their ride and it said they had burnt up to 4,000 calories. I guess they earned their lunches.

I have to share!

2011-08-16T09:43:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't be a good friend or fellow blogger if I didn't share with you my mother's homemade recipe for enchilada sauce. It is fantastic! Once you try this recipe you will not go back to the stuff in the can. We also use t on top of enchiritos. Your children will like this because you control the spice level. In a sauce pan whisk together 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 2 Tablespoon flour once these are well incorporated add 1 8oz can of tomato sauce, 1 Table spoon chili powder or more if you like it spicy, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cumin and two cups of broth of your choice. Bring to a simmer and once the sauce has thickened remove from the heat. No go try this recipe. I promise you will love it!

First Day of School

2011-08-12T09:18:00.001-04:00

Even silly boys go to school.

Today was a sucess, everyone had a good first day.

Twins

There was no dressing this boy like his brothers.

We have had a fun summer, but now it is time to go back to school.

Last Hurrah!

2011-08-11T21:14:00.001-04:00

Winston

Winston and Jason on the Chattahoochee

Roman had a blast too!

The water was cold, but that didn't stop the children from going in the river.

It's back to school this week!

Time for one last hurrah!

Carolins final days in Georgia -Homeplace "Cornerview"

2011-08-10T13:10:00.002-04:00

Home is where the heart lies and for many years I considered my home to be Alaska or to be more exact Anchorage where I grew up. We moved to Anchorage the summer between 5th and 6th grade. I was almost eleven. My step-father had visions of a Grisly Adams life in his head and my mom was so in love with him that she followed with me in tow. Moving to Alaska was actually a good thing for our family as higher salaries awaited and a better education system too. Our previous home was California where I was born. Even many years after moving away from Alaska I considered it home, but now after living here in Georgia for 8 years I consider this home. My eyes swell when I hear the song Georgia and I feel a sense of pride that I get to live in such an amazing place. If you would have asked me when my husband and I first got married what I thought of living in Georgia would be like I couldn't imagine it. I had no idea of what life might be like in Georgia. I love it here. The weather is fantastic and there is always something to do. Carolin went home on Sunday after being with us this past month. She didn't leave though without getting to see this fantastic state. I hope she had a great time. Some consider home a place and others consider it where your family is, as for me it is both. I don't know if we will live here the rest of our lives, but one thing I know is that Georgia will "Always be on my Mind."

Never a dull moment when you live in Georgia. A visit to Six Flags, the Capitol building, or Martin Luther Kings home is just around the corner.

Roman, Winston, and I waiting for the Laser Show to begin

Carolin and the boys at Stone Mountain

Roman

Carolin

Summer Bucket List!

2011-08-07T22:46:00.000-04:00

This week we checked off a couple more items on our summer bucket list. I have always wanted to take the boys fishing. Shouldn't every little boy go fishing once. We are lucky that we have one of those fish farms not to far away from our home. They provide the pole, the bait, and will even clean the fish for you when you are done. Can't get any better than that plus everyone goes away happy. When we got there the attendant asked Winston if he wanted corn or worms. Winston being pretty smart asked which was better. The guy told him that is didn'r really matter because the fish liked both. Winston choose worms. The funny part to this story is that he didn't want to hook the worms on the hook. Harris saved the day and hooked all the worms on for everyone. An hour later we had 5 fish packed in ice ready to go home and be cooked. What I love is that no tears were shed. Today we had the fish for dinner. They were delicious! Do you make summer bucket list? If so what kind of things do you put on your list.

Happy Anniversary!

2011-08-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. It seems like yesterday that we met on Whitby Island. Now we have 4 children. Unfortunately, my husband had a big deadline yesterday for a project he was working on, so we were not able to go out to dinner. Plus it isn't that easy to go out with a newborn. By the time I prepare everything to go out I am exhausted. Happy Anniversary darling! I love you more with each day! Changing topics, I have been looking for a bread recipe for years. I have tried many, but it seems like the bread is always dry the next day. Not this new recipe I found, it is fantastic! Simple too!

Honey Wheat Bread!
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 package of yeast
1 tablespoon sugar to feed yeast
combine these together in a bowl and after the yeast is activated add
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cups of flour in addition to the first 6 cups. You can do this in a Kitchenaid, but I did it by hand. Knead dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic like. Then place in two greased bread pans to rise in a warm oven for one hour. Then bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Seriously, it is that simple. If you manage to have any bread the next day, it will still be soft and just as tasty as it was when you took it out the oven.

Got blueberries?

2011-07-29T15:24:00.001-04:00

This week was kind of a hit and miss week. Winston and Roman had a great time at Stone Mountain with Carolin , but when we tried out a new Mexican restaurant recommended in a local children's magazine the food was disappointing. We tried a local Gelato store called Pablo's this week. I have wanted to go there for about 2 years because it is totally famous; however, I found that while it transported me back to Italy for a few minutes the fact that you can only pay with cash and that they don't carry flavors like panne or something similar to vanilla makes it a place I just can't go to with my children. Carolin enjoyed seeing Martin Luther King's home and memorial and today she is enjoying the roller coasters at Six Flags with Harris. Yesterday, I tried to take the children blueberry picking but we were out of luck due to the lack of rain and hot temperatures leaving no blueberries to be harvested. This did not stop us from making the most amazing blueberry muffins. We just picked some up at Costco. You have to try this recipe which I adapted from the Junior League cookbook from Portland. I just swapped out the whole wheat flour out for white flour, but if you like wheat flour in your bake goods then just add 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white.
Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
1 egg
1/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
a p[inch of salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/3 cups white flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of blueberries

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. To die for! Oh, and isn't my little blueberry adorable. She had a visit with the cardiologist this week. It turns out she has a small hole in her heart, but they believe it will close up on it's own. When they weighed her she weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces. That is 2 pounds since her birth 5 weeks ago. She also grew 2 inches. I just adore her. I love how she listens to me so intently when I talk to her as if everything I am saying it so important. I love the greedy little noises she makes as she eats and how when she cries it sounds like a kitten.

Boy Scout Camp "Early Cornerview"

2011-07-24T11:12:00.002-04:00

This past week Harris spent the week at Boy Scout Camp with other boys from our church that came as far as Florida and Tennesee. He was so excited to go. While he was there we got an e-mail from a man who goes to church with us. This is what he wrote,"In today's day and age it is amazing that I can be sitting here at scout camp and type you an email. I wanted to let you know that Harris is having a great time here at camp. He decided to take on the challenge of completing the mile swim, which involves 5:30am start for four straight days. He is doing this with four other boys in the troop. Last night we had a troop family home evening program. As part of that program, Brother Lubin asked all of the boys to share an experience they have had at camp that will help them on their mission. Harris shared that his preparation for the mile swim is teaching him to work hard and endure to the end, and that will help him to be a successful missionary. It brought tears to my eyes to listen to him share this observation with the group. It has been a privilege for me to watch Harris grow into a fine young man as I have watched him transition from a restless primary boy to a young man in the Aaronic Priesthood. He has a great testimony, and is a wonderful example to the younger boys here at camp. You should be very proud of the decisions he is making. I know he will continue to make great decisions as he prepares to serve a full-time mission." On Friday, Harris completed the challenge with two other boys after a couple of the boys dropped out. I am so proud of him. I can't say that I would get up each morning at 5:30am to practice. Harris is now home and completely exhausted.

Through the eyes of a child the Aquarium "Cornerview"

2011-07-20T19:59:00.001-04:00

Before I had children, I went to the places like the beach or Disneyland it definitely was a lot easier. There was no whining or crying. No worries of did I pack everything I need such as diapers or wipes. However, it just isn't the same as when you have children. There is a certain magic that children bring with them when going places. Even when they have been many times to a place they see things with a different set of eyes. They find joy in the littlest things. Yesterday, the boys went to the aquarium with Carolin. While I didn't get to go with them, I was just as happy to hear about how much they enjoyed the aquarium and the new dolphin show. My suggestion is if you don't have a child then borrow one for the afternoon. You will not regret it because your day will be filled with magic.

I month old

2011-07-19T19:17:00.002-04:00

Oh sweet Addy, I can't believe you are a month old. It seems like yesterday that you were placed in my arms for the first time. Each day I treasure holding you in my arms and take in deep breaths of your yummy heavenly baby smell. I don't want to take one minute for granted because I know that before I know it you will no longer be a baby even though you will always be my baby. Papa and I gave you your first real bath this week. You actually didn't mind the water and were very patient with us. Your such a good baby.
Happy 1 month sweetheart!

Carolin visits

2011-07-17T15:37:00.002-04:00

We have had a busy week. Winston returned home from Germany last Saturday. Since he is not old enough to travel internationally alone nor would we let him travel alone, we were lucky to have a friend of the family "Carolin" volunteer to fly back home with him. Carolin is from Germany. It has been great having her here this past week and are lucky to have her stay with us for another three weeks. There is just no way we would be able to do any summer time activities without her extra set of hands. Baby girl is not nursing, so I am pumping for her. However, that means feeding take twice as long. I am lucky if I can get dressed before 10 am each day. On Monday, we went to the zoo. It was so hot and most of the animals were hiding. I am making a mental note not to visit the zoo on such a hot day. We left after two hours. She took the boys to see Mr. Popper's Penquins along with the final installment of Harry Potter. They loved both of the movies. On Thursday, we headed to the lake because they always have so much fun when they are there. On Saturday, my mom watched the baby and Roman and Carolin and I took Winston to the World of Coke. We tasted so many variety of Coke products that I felt sick when we left. I agree with the statistic that Coke is their number one product of the 500 brands they represent Some were just completely discusting. Yuck!

post card from my house cornerview

2011-07-12T21:05:00.001-04:00

Three weeks old
5 pounds 6 ounces

I love summer!

2011-07-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

I love summer!
I love hot summer days!
I love days filled with watermelon!
I love days filled with swimming!
I love summer nights filled with the music of crickets, frogs, cicadas, and fireflies!
There isn't much about summer I don't love!
I love summer!

Before and After Cornerview

2011-07-06T16:54:00.002-04:00

I have spent the morning racking my brain on what I should present for this weeks corner view challenge. Time is very limited these days with a brand new baby who thinks it is party time from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. I keep telling her she needs to change her ways, but she is a very disobedient baby. "Wink-Wink" I would have loved to show you my baby bump and post baby tummy, but baby couldn't wait to come to this world thus I never got any real baby pump photos. I thought I could show you what I look like with sleep and no sleep, but that is pretty scary. I could wait till Saturday when Winston gets home and do a before and after photo shoot with my boys getting haircuts (boy do they need them). Then I remembered a mock dessert using bananas. You take as many bananas as you like. Freeze them and then throw them in the blender with a splash of milk or soy milk. Out comes banana ice cream. Top with some chopped walnuts and a drizzle of chocolate syrup and walah you have a low calorie dessert that will not make your waistline grow. I don't know about you, but doesn't that sound perfect. I need to get back on the diet train if I ever want to fit back into my pants.

2 weeks

2011-07-06T14:35:00.002-04:00

Two weeks have come and gone since Addy has joined our family. I don't know if their is a more adored baby on the planet. She is very loved. We all have come up with our own set of nicknames for her. Harris calls her baguette. I call her moppet because she looks like a little muppet puppet. Her papa calls her schatzi, beautiful, or liebling. She rules the house. She thinks night time is party time. She is has already put on 6 ounces and her belly is starting to look more round. I think we will keep her.

Soccer Camp and The Segenberg Museum

2011-07-05T11:12:00.000-04:00

Winston is coming home in 4 days. We can't wait. We have missed him so much, but we are glad that he had the opportunity to spend the summer with his Oma and Opa in Germany and also to perfect his German. The last couple of weeks he has been keeping busy. He attended a week long soccer camp that was organized by a Swiss National Player which explains all the Swiss flags in the photos. He had a blast and Oma told me he came home home every day completely exhausted. Then this past week Oma took him and a Colombian exchange student that is staying with the neighbor to the Segenberg Museum which is the museum of natural history. 4 days and counting! Yahoo!

Finding Joy

2011-07-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but I often take the little things for granted. However, this week I am finding joy in the simple things. Joy that my feet are no longer swollen and actually look like feet. Joy in my blue nail polish titled Date with a Royal. Joy in making chocolate covered 4th of July graham crackers for smores with my son Roman. A sleeping baby. Watching her practice smiling in her sleep, and the sweet little noises she makes. Watching two great movies while feeding my baby- Princess Kaiulani and the Red Violin. Loving these amazing blankets given to my daughter one is by David Fussenegger and the other called a baby mink. To some these things might mean nothing, but to me they bring me joy. Hope you are having a great week. We are gearing up to celebrate the 4th of July on Monday with friends, and then just a few more days until our Winston returns from Germany. I can't wait to see that boy. I miss him. I miss his funny sense of humor.

One week

2011-06-27T20:34:00.003-04:00

Oh my! Where has the week gone? It has been a haze of feeding, diapers, and sleeping. This recovery has taken a little longer than the last time because I had an allergic reaction the epidural. Also because of the way she was laying in my belly which left me a little more bruised up from them turning her prior to the c-section. I guess if they didn't turn her she would have been traumatised in some way or another. I can't really remember the doctors explanation of why he had to turn her. Maybe something to do with her lungs? I have to say though this little girl is such a joy. Seriously sweet that it makes my heart melt with each day. Now I can understand why some people have mega families like the Duggars. It can be addicting. I can't imagine our family without Addy. She truly is a miracle! It is still a little strange having her here all ready. She wasn't suppose to come until the 19th of July which was the day I was scheduled for a c-section. If it wasn't for the pain to get out of bed or cough, I think I would forget that she is not in there kicking anymore. Yet, she is here and what a miracle it is. Last Monday, started off like any other day. I took my son Roman to school and came home to rest before going to the Perinatalogist. At 1:00p I got in my car and headed to his office totally oblivious to what was going to occur later that day. I was feeling fine. I was hot because it has been in the 90's since the beginning of May, but I was fine. I checked in and and was brought back to the ultrasound room where like every previous visit I hopped on the table and was asked how I was doing. I told the technician I was doing fine despite being really swollen, but that was nothing new. They asked me if the baby was kicking and I told them yes though maybe not as much as a couple of weeks ago which is not to abnormal in this stage of pregnancy. However, in comparison to my other pregnancies she was pretty quiet and would often have me freaked out by how quiet she was, but just when I would be about to pick up the phone to talk to the doctor she would prove she was still in there. Now looking back on the visit I think the technician did not let on that things were not right because when the perinatologist came in he said I would like to remeasure your fluids and the babies weight as opposed to saying everything looks within normal limits like previous visits. He remeasured and said to me that he just didn't feel comfortable leaving her in my tummy and that if he did he felt she might not make it. My amniotic fluid was very low and she had not gained any weight in the past two weeks. Despite the placenta looking normal and their being a great blood flow in the umbilical cord something had to be wrong because she just wasn't growing. As he left the room, he asked me to sit in the waiting room while he talked to my OB. Within a few minutes, his assistant came out and told me to drive myself to the hospital. I asked if I could go home first, and she told me no that I was to go straight to the hospital and to make sure I didn't eat or drink. I called my husband and told him to meet me at the hospital and then called my mother to have her come and watch the children. I was in such shock that after going out to my car I had to go back into the office to ask which hospital because I had planned on delivering at the hospital closest to my house; however, as I thought they had said they wanted me to go the hospital in the city because it has a better NICU. 35 minutes later I arrived at the labor and delivery where they checked me into my room. Thankfully, the nurse allowed me to take a shower before changing into a hospital gown. Then my husband arrived where we waited together until the took me back to the OR. My c-section was scheduled for 9:00 pm since they were waiting for my stomach to empty out a little. I had just eaten lunch before going to the doctor. I think both of us held our breath until the nurses announced that Adelaide was doing great and was breathing on her own. They told us that she would have to go to the NICU due to her size: but if she continued to breath on her own, could maintain her body temperature, and eat then she would soon be able to come to our room. We expected her to be there a week given her gestational age; however, 3 hours later she was released into my arms. It was the longest 3 hours of my life. I had been to the NICU before with Roman and it was something I didn't want to have to experience again. Now looking back at the pregnancy, it is strange to be so grateful that because of Roman's heart condition I was considered a high risk pregnancy and because of this I received extra medical attention where they able to see that she had stopped growing and that I had no amniotic fluid. Without the ultrasounds she appeared to be normal and not in distress and thus she could have possibly died in utero. We just got back from the pediatrician and Addy is now weighing 4 pounds 9 ounces. She is doing really well given that babies usually lose weight not gain weight the first weeks.

First Days in Photo

2011-06-24T22:37:00.001-04:00

Here are a few photos from the last couple of days. I am so tired and in a bit of pain. I promise to write her birth story tomorrow. Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Hello World!

She is well loved!

As big as a doll weighing in at 4 pounds 2 ounces

Or maybe she is a glow worm. Addy spent 2 days on Billi Lights.

Welcome!

2011-06-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

On Monday, June 20th at 9:21p.m. Via emergency c-section Adelaide Louisa was born to our adorning family. She is doing amazing despite being born 5 weeks early. She was 4 pounds 3 ounces. No NICU for this baby . Yahoo! Pics will be posted on Friday when get home from hospital.

Winston and Marc go to Leggoland

2011-06-20T12:04:00.000-04:00

On Friday, Winston and his Oma headed south to Stuttgart to hook up with his Aunt Martina and Cousin Marc. This weekend was much inticipated as Winston has been looking forward to going to Leggoland with his Oma and his cousin for years just like his brother Harris. Despite the weather on Saturday being yucky, the boys had a great time. Isn't that Albert Einstein made out of Leggo's cool? What did you do over the weekend?

Winston, Oma, Marc, and Martina

Oma with her boys!

Time to head Home!

The yummiest Father's Day ever!

2011-06-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

This year I have to say was one of the yummiest Father's Day ever. Everyone was licking their lips. We had braised short ribs lasagna rolls and for dessert we had frozen lemon mousse with strawberry puree (you can use lemon curd from the jar). Seriously, they were to die for, and this is one reason why I love to cook. There is nothing more gratifying than cooking a meal that not only fills every one's tummy's, but that they love too! Happy Father's Day Liebling! You are the best husband and father. I am so grateful to have you in my life. Thank you for working so hard for our family.

Backyard Triathon

2011-06-17T16:10:00.001-04:00

Last weekend Frank participated in the Backyard Triathlon. The triathlon is just a group of guys who get together every once in a while to compete against one another and blow off some steam. I don't think it is a full blown triathlon, but is considered a triathlon sprint. My husband did us proud! He finished 6 out of 15. He was by far the oldest. The winner was 14 years his junior. Watch out though next time he is going to change his strategy and who knows maybe he will come in first. He had a great time!

Other random things going on around here. Last weekend, I took Roman to see Kung Fu Panda 2 which was free because it was sponsored by Land O Lake for children with disabilities. He loved the movie. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. I also took Harris to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4. It was one of my favorites in the series. Harris also participated in a basketball camp and had a great time learning and improving his skills. As for me, I am spending my husbands money finishing off the babies room. It should be finished next week. I can't wait to show you! I tried a new recipe this week for an Enchilada Rice Bake, but it was not a sucess with the family. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. At least they tried it!

Win a trip to Paris

2011-06-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

I think when I am done being pregnant I will be ready for a trip somewhere and why not to Paris. Check out this blog because they are offering a chance to win a trip to Paris. Cross your fingers that I win, but if not I will be happy if one of you win too!

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris/

While we are speaking of Paris, have you seen this video clip. It is so darling.
http://private.stephanierausser.com/kiki_and_coco/

Hope you are having a great day! I am stuck in bed most of the day trying to keep this baby in for a couple more weeks. My amniotic fluid is low, so the doctor doesn't want me doing to much activity. While I wouldn't mind her coming, I don't really want her to stay in the NICU either. We have been there and done that and I think I will pass.

Atlanta Silverbacks

2011-06-09T09:57:00.000-04:00

Can you see me in the picture?
I am in the reflection of the glasses.

Perez #14

Yesterday after picking up Frank from the airport, we took Harris to Fritti one of our favorite Italian pizza places here in town, and then to see the Atlanta Silverbacks. It was a first for all three of us since none of us had been to a soccer game here in the states. Despite it being so hot it actually wasn't too bad. As soon as the sun set, a nice breeze blew in cooling us all off. In the end, our team won their first game of the season 2-1 against Montreal. Go Silverbacks! After the game, Harris was able to go down to the field to get autographs and shake the hands of the players. It turns out on of the players if from Switzerland. This morning, Harris said to me, "Mom thanks so much for taking me to the soccer game. I had so much fun!"

Destination "Cornerview"

2011-06-07T05:30:00.002-04:00

Despite our family being separated by over three thousand miles, it seems these day our destination is the Pool. Winston has been fortunate to have some nice weather in Germany allowing him to be able to go to the outdoor swimming pool, and we have had really hot weather here in Georgia that leaves us with no option but to go to the pool if we don't want to be stuck in the pool. Yesterday our little friend Andrew and his family came to play with us at the pool. The children had a great time. I enjoyed sipping my frozen strawberry lemonade.

A new do!

2011-06-03T09:39:00.000-04:00

My hair has been driving me crazy for months, but I just didn't know what to do about it. Cut it short? That would have been nice for this summer time heat, but my husband isn't too crazy about me with short hair and on top of that with the additional weight it might not be so flattering on the face. In the end, I ended up getting about 2 inches cut off and some long layers put in along with a refresh on the hair color. I love it! I am so glad that I didn't whack it off. Well, here is to another day of 95 degree weather. I am off to make some fresh fruit Popsicles and the pool. Hope you have a great weekend. What are you doing this weekend?

M is for menu "Corner View"

2011-06-01T10:06:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you put a pregnant lady together with very hot weather? A summer menu that is fast and easy to make. Today it is suppose to be 95 degrees. After I get my hair cut and colored, I am going to spend the rest of the day by the pool eating Italian Ice and Watermelon. Anyway, the other night I made this yummy pasta. It is so simple. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen a couple of years ago. Boil so pasta. I choose angel hair because it cooks fast. Then in a bowl mix one package of Boursin cheese (you could use goat if you like) with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and a Tablespoon of hot water from the pot. Mix until creamy. Drain pasta and add to the bowl. Add salt and pepper along with a couple tablespoons of lemon zest, toasted pine nuts, and some chopped parsley, and wham bam thank you mame you have a light fantastic summer dinner within minutes.

Yellow River Game Reserve

2011-05-31T22:54:00.001-04:00

It is crazy to think that it is just a matter of weeks before the baby arrives. I know that once she comes that it is going to be a little difficult to do the things we usually do for at least for a little while. I don't want the boys to feel like they just spent the summer stuck in the house. It is also my goal to try and find time to spend with each boy individually. Today I took Roman to the Yellow River Game Reserve. I am so glad we went despite the heat which has been in the 90's for the last couple of weeks. I think I must be complaining too much because I heard Roman say, "oh my back is killing me, and my feet." My feet don't look like feet anymore, but look like they belong to an elephant. Roman had a great time. He wanted to feed all the animals. As we entered we had purchased a bag of carrots, it didn't last long. Even though I had seen Buffalo from the road as we have traveled across the states, I was surprised at how large they are. They are massive. Roman enjoyed stroking the velvet on the horn of the deer. They are such gentle animals.

Let the fun begin!

2011-05-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

Kevin, Jonathan, Skyler, Sam, Harris, Austin, and Robert.

Harris's birthday is actually in February, but this year he asked us if he could wait until the end of the school year and have his party when it was warmer weather. He wanted a pool party. He couldn't have made a better decision. The party was fantastic! The weather has been so hot here which is unusual for May, but the boys totally enjoyed playing at the pool. The created their own version of the tv show Wipe Out. No one was hurt thankgoodness! Afterwards, the boys came back to the house and ate pizza, chips, candy, and cake chased down by a battle on XBOX Kinect Sports. I knew the party was a sucess when one of the boys said to me unpromted, "Mrs. ---- This party is so cool. Thanks!" Let the summer fun begin!

Preschool Days

2011-05-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

Naveen, Roman, Jack, Ashiti, Kaylee, Milli, Arnav, Natalie, Jasmine, and ?

On Friday, Roman finished his first year of Preschool. He loved going to school each day. I am kind of a little sad that he will not be going back to this school next year. He formed such close bonds to all of the children in his class. Upon leaving he gave each and everyone of his friends a big giant hug. He learned so much and had really great teachers Ms. Yulonda and Ms. Kathy. However, it is to far to drive. He will attend a school much closer to our house come fall. Now the summer adventures begin.

Thank you ! Plus Corner View

2011-05-25T05:23:00.003-04:00

4 Years ago, we were given an amazing gift. A rebirth of our son. At 5:30 am we handed over our son to the surgeon who would repair his heart. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever done in my life. What if he didn't make it? We held our breath until we got the call from the nurse saying he made it off by-pass. Then it was another two days before we knew everything was going to be OK. He was out of the woods. See, Roman was born with a Congenital Heart Disease called Tetrology of Fallot. This is a condition where not only is there a whole in the heart, but the pulmonary and aorta valve are not attached. Thankfully, this could be repaired. He still needs additional surgeries, but we are grateful for every day we have with this little boy. He is such a joy! I love when he makes up little songs and sings. I love how kind he is to everyone and his giant big smile. I love how he gets obsessed with an author like Dr. Seuss or Eric Carle and wants to read everything that author has written. He is totally obsessed with Super Hero's and the funny thing is he is my Super Hero. Thank you Heavenly Father for the gift of life!

Corner View

I love to read! I have been know to devour a novel in a day. In fact, I have to be careful about starting books because once I do I have a hard time putting them down which isn't a good thing when you are a mother of three children with one on the way. While some books are easily forgotten, I have read many good books that have touched me in one way or another. They linger like the scent of a perfume. They have touched my soul or changed me to be a better person. The Secret Life of Bees is one of those books that I could read over and over. Another favorite of mine is Water for Elephants. What is your favorite book?