February - good riddance!

2010 has started out pretty busy around here - I started on a new post to the blog 20 days ago and got distracted.

I am amazed and quite thankful that February is nearly over. Spring is almost here, at least we're down to weeks away instead of months away. I tossed the half-dead poinsettias and splurged on a $3 pot of pretty purple crocuses and as small as they are they brighten up the kitchen table. They are in the perfect spot to get a little morning sun which must have done the trick - when I left the house this morning there was one bloom and tonight I came home to three! Hopefully, I can keep the plant alive until it's time to plant bulbs.

Happy New Year!

It's not quite January but I'm ready to start 2010. It's not that 2009 wasn't a decent year, I'm just ready for spring and 2009 just won't get any warmer. Here's a quick recap of 2009 -- soccer, soccer and more soccer, a nice little family vacation, brought home Rommel (our puppy who is now 5 months old and weighs 50 pounds), three work trips for me to Phoenix, Boston and Atlanta, a motorcycle for Erik, and last but not least, a new nephew in December.

2010 will start out pretty busy and will likely stay busy all year. I have two classes starting the week of January 11th. The girls will start another round of activities before long. We plan to squeeze in a long weekend away with the girls and Erik and I hope to get away for our very own vacation.

Here are a few photos from Christmas.

The girls on Christmas Eve at the Faust House. I never realized how similar their smiles are.

Katie holding 11 day old Joe on Christmas Day. Joe is grandchild number ten for the King family so it was only fitting that he weighed ten pounds. :o)

Gretchen loves to play dress-up and was lucky that Grandma King found this beautiful dress.

New Pictures

Through the kitchen window, 15 inches of snow and lots of wind.

Katie being stylish.

Rommel.

Blond Ninja is her super hero name.

Our favorite coffee shop had a Toys for Tots event complete with Spider Man and Star Wars reinactors (see Princess Lea above Katie's head). The Marines in the background were real, not reinactors.

We are snowed in today, I think the official snowfall was around 15 inches and as far as I'm concerned that is enough to last all winter. It's funny, the wind has been so strong that we have 4-5 feet tall drifts in our yard and also patches where you can see the grass. It has been a pretty good day, the girls are getting along fabulously, I've been productive and managed to avoid the major shoveling. Somehow I have managed to not have snow boots - which makes the shovel avoiding pretty easy. They are on my to-buy list, as much as I would enjoy, it wouldn't be fair for me to not shovel all winter.

Next Wednesday is Katie's church Christmas program and this year each family has been asked to bring a dozen snacks. I made a half-batch of chocolate chip cookies and a dozen of those went in the freezer, the other dozen left out for us to eat. Half-batches of cookies are my absolute favorite, they don't take any time at all and as long as the original recipe includes an even number of eggs you can split it in half.

I also started on round three of Christmas baking - fudge and almond bark pretzels are in the freezer, dough for molasses ginger cookie is in the resting in the fridge. After dinner, I'll roll it out, cut into stars and bake. That's a new recipe so hopefully it turns out okay. The last round will be krumkake - a Swedish cookie Erik's Grandma Joy used to make. They require a special baking iron and turn out to be crispy cookies that are shaped into cones while they are warm and filled with whipped cream or fruit just before eating. As yummy as they are, I can't make the krumkake until about the 23rd - they do not freeze well.

Baking is about the only thing we're doing to prepare for Christmas and I'm really quite content with that. We are avoiding the stress of the puppy eating the tree by not putting it up and I'm not sure that I'll even send out cards. We did put lights on the bushes in front of the house and the advent calendar is up - and the days divvied up by the girls. Shopping is almost complete, just a few things left to gather. I'm hoping to spend lots of time with family and friends this holiday season, that's all I asked for from Santa.

Mr. Rommel

So here is the tiny puppy we brought home at the end of August. This picture is from a few weeks ago, now he's 4 months old and 31 pounds. He has grown so tall that I no longer have to bend over to pat his head.

He's an awfully good puppy most of the time. He sleeps most of the way through the night and is mostly potty trained. Notice the emphasis on most.

Once in awhile he's terribly rotten, stays up most of the night and has accidents. We are trying our very best to remember that he's still a puppy and will be for quite awhile. That he won't chew on the girls' toys if they keep them picked up, that he won't rummage through the basement if we keep the baby gate up and that he won't try to take our food if we eat at the kitchen table. Basically, he's teaching us to be cleaner humans that don't eat in front of the tv.

He's trying his best to turn me into a dog person by quietly snuggling up to me and lying down on the kitchen rug while I'm busy making dinner and cleaning. I'm trying to be a dog person by sitting quietly when he's trying to snuggle up to me and not kicking him out of the kitchen.

Halloween 2009

Friday night was Beggar's Night in our neck of the woods. My brother Dan and his family came to our house to have dinner and go trick or treating. It was cold and windy so they were done in about half an hour. This year we had about a dozen trick or treaters, which was a new record for us - way up from the 1 we had three years ago. Here are a few pictures from the night.

From the left, Katie the 70s girl, Gretchen the bat, Paul the Army guy (complete with an authentic boonie hat courtesy of Uncle Erik), and Charlie the pumpkin, minus his hat.

The boys, digging into their popcorn from a neighbor.

Gretchen and Paul enjoying their loot.

After Dan, Sara and the boys went home and our girls went to bed, Rommel picked up every tiny popcorn and cupcake crumb that I missed.

**Update** The first time I made this was as a double batch with a whole parsnip. The second time I made a single batch and the parsnip was way too much parsnip. I think I'll leave it out next time.

This recipe was in the latest issue of Women's Day magazine and is really easy and really good. I made it without chicken as a side dish and it was quite filling. The original recipe called for fresh dill, I didn't use it but feel free to add it. Also, having never cooked with parsnip before I was a little leery but it ended up adding a nice texture and herby flavor. Hope you like it!

Chicken Noodle Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (whatever you like)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped baby carrots
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups uncooked medium egg noodles

Put broth, chicken, celery, onion, carrots, parsnip, garlic, bay leaf and pepper in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes, or until chicken in cooked and vegetables are tender.
Discard bay leaf. Remove chicken to a plate and cool slightly. Add noodles to soup; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, shred chicken with fingers or 2 forks and add back to the soup. Simmer to heat the chicken through again.

Gretchen attends a parochial preschool and apparently this week they have been discussing prayer. Last night I sent the girls upstairs to brush their teeth, wash their faces and get ready for bed. A short while later I followed upstairs to tuck them in and read books.

Rather than hopping into bed, Gretchen was standing in the middle of her room. I asked what she was doing and she said she wanted to show me her prayer spot. On the floor next to the wall was a travel size pillow. She kneeled down and started right in, 'In the name of the Father, ..." then she started to say something and but stopped and said that she was going to say her prayer. Gretchen prayed "Bless us oh Lord and these our gifts..." You know the Prayer Before Meals, at 8:15pm, about 2 hours after dinner.