Dresses for Pea

My niece, Pea, Grunt, and I went to Joanns and faced the craziness that is Joanns the day before Christmas- and we scored some major deals! Pea fell in love with a couple fabrics, and she asked ever so sweetly if I would make her pretty dresses with it. So, here are the couple dresses that I worked on over the weekend. I'll try to get some pics of Pea in the dresses, but she is very very busy with her new Lite-Brite :).  (Oh, and don't mind the huge belly behind the pics--- at 30 wks it's a little hard to hide)

Mealtime Monday

Monday
B- Banana and Flax Seed Bread with Yogurt
L- Chick Fil A with my nephews!
D- Hungarian Goulash, Egg Noodles, and Green Beans

Tuesday
B- Yogurt, PB, Berries, and Flax Seed Smoothies
L- Leftovers
D- Spicy Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice

Wednesday
B- Eggs and Toast
L- Grilled Cheese and Carrots
D- Smothered Aussie Chicken with Broccoli

Thursday
B- Applesauce Oatmeal Bread and Yogurt
L- Leftovers
D- Chili and Corn Bread

Friday
B- Simple Soaked Pancakes and Blueberry Sauce
L- Chili-getti
D- Dining out! Using one of the great gift cards we received for Christmas!

Saturday
Brunch- Scrambled Eggs and Ham Casserole with Whole Wheat Biscuits and Jelly
D- Pork and Sauerkraut for the New Year!

Sunday
B- At church
L- Leftovers
D- BBQ Brisket (from last week- we didn't get to it), and smashed sweet potatoes

Mealtime Monday

This might just be my favorite week of meal planning- EVER! We are going to be eating good this week!!! YUM!

Monday
B- Yogurt Smoothies
L- Leftovers
D- Pork Roast with Apples and Carrots
Tuesday
B- Yogurt and Homemade Apple Cranberry Granola
L- Popcorn Chicken and Carrots
D- Butternut Squash Lasagna, Garlic Italian Herb Bread (using leftover French Bread)

Wednesday
B- Fried Eggs and Toast with Homemade Apple Butter
L- Leftovers
D- Carolina Pork BBQ Sandwiches with leftover Pork Roast
To Do: Bake 2 batches of Hefekranz for Friday

Thursday
B- Oatmeal and Fruit
L- Fish Sticks and Broccoli/Cauliflower
D- BBQ Brisket, homemade French Bread, spinach salad
Friday
Brunch- Christmas Breakfast with Family- "Egg Stuff", Hashbrown Casserole, Hefekranz, Fruit Salad
D- Leftovers

Saturday
B- Soaked Pancakes with Apple Pie Topping
L- Leftovers
D- Christmas Dinner with Family

Sunday
B- Overnight Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake
L- Leftovers
D- Christmas Dinner with Family

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

I've had the normal Oreo Truffles/Oreo Balls, whatever you want to call them- and they're AMAZING! But, this year, I tried something different... Candy Cane Oreo Balls. The perfect mixture of mint and chocolate goodness. Sadly, Oreo only makes their candy cane/peppermint Oreos during the holidays... but here's the recipe!

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles
1 bag Candy Cane Oreos
1 brick cream cheese (8oz)
Chocolate (white or semi-sweet) for dipping
Peppermint Sprinkles

Directions:
1. Crush up the whole bag of oreos. (I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer, so I don't have a big mess to clean up afterward :).)
2. Mix in the brick of cream cheese. (once again, using the mixer... I just let it mix forever)
3. Refrigerate for about an hour (This helps it stick together, not on your hands)
4. Roll into balls (we use our 1 Tbs scooper as a measure, then roll it into nice balls.)
5. Dip completely in melted chocolate
6. Sprinkle with Peppermint Sprinkles while chocolate is still wet
7. Allow to dry- we put ours back in the fridge/freezer.
8. EAT! :)

**These freeze very well-- we made extra last year just so we had some to eat for a couple months, lol**

Sometime soon I'll get on the ball and take pictures. Everyone's blogs look so beautiful with pictures on every post, but I just can't seem to remember to do it!

Mealtime Monday

Monday
B- Oatmeal and Fruit
L- Leftover Pizza and Carrots
D- Lentil Soup

Tuesday
B- Breakfast Cookies
L- Leftover Lentil Soup or Chili
D- Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan and Green Beans

Wednesday
B- Eggs and Toast
L- English Muffin Pizzas
D- Christmas Party with C-Life

Thursday
B- Smoothies
L- Healthy Mac n Cheese and fruit
D- Leftovers

Friday
B- Yogurt and Homemade Granola
L- Cheddar Chicken and Rice Soup
D- Spicy Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice

Saturday
B- Cinnamon Banana Bread
L-Leftovers
D- Baked Ham, Sweet Potato Casserole, and Buttermilk Biscuits

Sunday
B- At Church!
L- leftovers
D-Mom's B-day Celebration Dinner

2010 Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? can't choose...I use both

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, at least while we have little ones. The allergies/mold/dust that come with real trees just aren't worth it! Plus... Grunt would pick off EVERY SINGLE pine needle. I can already imagine the mess.

3. When do you put up the tree? Sometime after Thanksgiving- Just depends on our schedule and when the hubby is home for us to do it all together.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime after New Year- Once again, depends on when the hubby is home to do it together.

5. Do you like eggnog? YUM! Love Eggnog! And I love Eggnog Chai's from Starbucks.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My very own English riding saddle and boots.

5. Hardest person to buy for? extended in-law family

6. Easiest person to buy for? Pea- she loves EVERYTHING!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yup- but it's not up. Just don't have the perfect place to put it that Grunt will leave it alone.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail – already done
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Outdated clothing???? Not sure... don't really think much about that.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf or How the Grinch Stole Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Kind of all year, but most of my shopping is done on Black Friday or after.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope

15. Favorite special thing to eat during the holidays? Dusen Confections- Special German Cookie Recipe handed down for generations in my family. Also LOVE Hefekranz-- another German family recipe.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, this year was the first year to use our new LED Pre-lit Christmas tree- It was soooo much easier!

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Prefer to stay home in the morning then visit in the afternoon.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? nope.
20. Angel on the tree top or star? angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas day with the kiddos, but the hubby and I usually exchange our gifts on Christmas Eve once the kids are asleep in bed.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Too much to do and not enough time to just "be"

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Owls, jingle bells... silver and blue

24. Favorite foods for Christmas dinner? My Sister's stuffing

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Don't really know... I'd love to get the nursery ready for the baby--- still lots to do!

Family Pics!

Thanks to our WONDERFUL photographer Kimmy Howard , we have some new pics to share with you. My favorite thing about working with Kimmy is how patient she is with our kiddos (And us ;)) during out sessions. She takes hours out of her day to make sure that we have the best pictures, and for that, we are so grateful. So, out of the hundreds that she took... here are our favorites!

Mealtime Monday!

Monday
B-Oatmeal and Bananas
L-Vegetable Soup and Crackers
D-Margarita Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

Tuesday
B- Eggs and Toast
L- Popcorn Chicken and Carrots
D- Mom's Night Out! Daddy's on his own with the kiddos for dinner :)

Wednesday
B- Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffins and Yogurt
L- Leftovers
D- Potluck with Clife

Thursday
B- Sweet Potato Pancakes and Yogurt Smoothies
L- Chicken and Noodles with Carrots and Celery
D- Manicotti and Garlic Bread

Friday
B- Homemade Granola Bars
L- Shredded Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas
D- Christmas Party with Nathaniel's Work

Saturday
Brunch- Egg Casserole, Hashbrowns, and Fruit Salad
D- Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes

Sunday
B- At Church
L- Shredded Beef Burritos (using leftover roast) and guacamole
D- Hubby's on his own for Dinner- It's Cookie Day with the Girls!!!

Cookies for Adoption!

Looking for an easy way to get your Christmas cookies finished up? Hate rolling out/cutting out sugar cookies? (I DO!) Buy your Christmas cookies here, it's for a great cause!

http://malotshope.blogspot.com/2010/12/cookies-for-adoption.html