Adam Davinci

Adam has found his artistic side...it started with a marathon washer, dryer and wall writing session that started in the basement and ended in the kitchen. Adam got scolded, instructed to only write on paper and helped wash walls; this is all it took with my other children, not Adam.

He next found paper and drew on nearly every page in my primary binder and made a lovely picture on a sheet of choir music I had brought home to work on(When I sing I seek to blend in to the group as much as possible, won't I be lovely with my three year old decorated music). I guess I should have been more specific, I told him he had to ask Mom for the paper, I thought maybe he got it, he said, "Otay Mom." He didn't get it, we came home the other night to the Grandpa room (our name for our family room) walls covered with green marker pictures; this time Daddy got involved and yelled at Adam. Adam was so devastated that Daddy would yell at him that he ran to his room and cried for 20 minutes.

Next we found poor Buzz Light Year colored green I didn't bother with a lecture this time, I just tossed Buzz in the toy box, I figured it would give the other toys something to laugh about. Then Sunday morning I came home from an early meeting to discover Buzz, who had just recovered his voice from his last bath, washed clean; but, Adam's entire bed was decorated with lovely green scribbles, and his sheets, and his brothers bed, and the bedspreads. Again, as I washed the marker off his bed, I lectured him about paper and asking for Mom's help; I noticed he was very careful not to color on the walls... maybe we're getting through? I didn't have time to change the sheets before church and choir and a visit to Kaysville for a fun Christmas gathering with Richards, Uncle Dave and Aunt Linda, we got home late and put our sleepy boy in his bed. This morning when I got home from the gym I walked in the bedroom and found Adam, cuddled up with his Daddy, covered with marker, again! For a moment I panicked thinking perhaps he had got up in the night to add to his art work collection, no, just a transfer from his unchanged sheets.

Maybe this is how Leonardo got started?

Christmas Is Coming

I made Richard his fudge this morning. It's in a big Tupperware in the fridge, I start my Christmas baking with fudge because my husband loves it and because, unlike me, he can open the fridge eat a piece or two of his treats and make them last for two or three weeks. Thankfully, I am not tempted by fudge especially now that Adam walks around calling it pudge, I think I have all the pudge I can handle.

Closer to Christmas I will make Peanut Brittle and Toffee and Sugar Cookies and Molasses cookies, and Divinity and Carmel Popcorn... oh dear! I seem to be getting carried away with the visions of sugarplums dancing in my head.

I thought it would be fun to share my children's Christmas lists.

Jacob, 16 years.
A Drivers license (not until he gets the application filled out for his Eagle)
A Car (I just found out that our insurance goes up to, gasp, $500.00+ a month with the two we have, add, hyperventilate, gas to that!)
A Leather Jacket (hmm, possibly since walking is still going
to be his main form of transportation.)

Joshua, 15 years.
The Wii (This is the latest , greatest, electronic game system)
The Wii ( we told him he got one the day he was born. He told us, "Yes, but you won't let me play with it.")
The Wii. ( arghhmph! groan of exasperation.)
A baby Sister (OK, where do we get a Wii)

Jeremiah, 12 years.
"Jeremiah what do you want for Christmas this year?"
"I don't know"
" What?" (He always knows!)
" So, for sure we can't get a Wii?" (I told you he knows!)
" arghhmph!"
"OK I just want gloves and a Chocolate Orange (Then he ask
me if he could donate the thirty dollars or so in change, he has been
saving, to buy shoes for needy kids, proud tear.)

Benjamin, 10 years.
A game Boy DS Light.
Pokemon Diamond.
"um, Mom remember last year when I didn't get the only thing I wanted..."
"Last year when you cried from 5:00 am until 11:00 am Christmas morning? I remember!"

Isaac, 6 years.
A dresser (What? he is growing up and his clothes are getting bigger
and he needs more room!and then Joseph could have his dresser
that he has now and Adam could have the one he is sharing with
Joseph and... Isaac has a lengthy for explanation for everything.)
A Dinosaur (My, what a grown up toy)
A Pokemon Fire Red game
A Scooter
A Piggy Bank ( good thing, because mine will be empty.)
Mack-A-Mole Tower (no Joseph wants that, no they both want it, no,
he want Flipping Frogs Game,)
Molding Sand (maybe he'll settle for a moldy sandwich.)

Joseph 5 years on Dec. 22nd.
A dinosaur
Flipping Frogs Game
Thomas rail road stuff.
Spider man web blasters
Spider man
Super man
A Scooter
A piggy bank
A new bike
Play dough
A Horse
Pokemon beanies
Boots, and hat and gloves
(This list just keeps growing every day, No funny comments
because Joseph doesn't do funny!)

Adam 3 years old.
"Adam, what do you want for Christmas?"
"Dora and Boots, you idiot." (Idiot is used interchangeably as a term of affection or anger.)
"What else?"
"And Fwiper and iego. (Swiper and Diego, for those not familiar
with Nick Jr. cartoons or three year old speak.)
"Do you want anything else?"
"Fider man"
" What kind of Spider man?"
"Soup-Er-Man kind" (As he jumps from the chair to the ottoman to the couch to the love seat.)

So there you have it not a single Doll or Christmas dress or Barbie or Polly Pocket or Littlest Pet shop. Any one want to swap kids for the holidays?

Fudge

Last night Joseph was sitting at the bar, OK on the bar, eating celery and carrots dipped in ranch dressing, watching me make minestrone soup for dinner. He watched seriously (Joseph does nearly everything seriously) while I prepared all the veggies and opened cans and added spices. Finally, he asked me "Mom, what are you making?"
I answered, "Soup for dinner."
He replied, seriously, "I'm not eating any."
Isaac walks in and asks, "Mom, what are you making?"
Joseph answers, very seriously, "Isaac, It's soup and don't touch any of it its got tons of vegetables in it."
Do you think I should tell Joseph that his favorite foods, celery and salad are vegetables? Me neither I think that will be my little secret for a few more years.

The soup was 'to die for', you can find it if you go to www.recipezaar.com/77585

So for those of you who 'don't touch anything with tons of vegetables in it', here is a veggie free recipe for fudge.

Fantasy Fudge
3 c. sugar
3/4 c. margarine
2/3 c. evaporated milk
1 12 oz. package of s/sweet chocolate chips (nestle' is the best)
1 7 oz jar of marshmallow cream
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 t. vanilla

In a heavy sauce pan combine sugar, margarine and milk. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes over medium heat, stir, stir, stir. Remove from heat, add chocolate chips, stir until melted, add marshmallow cream, stir until well blended. Add nuts and vanilla stir until well blended. pour into a greased 13" x 9" pan. Cool at room temp. cut into squares. store covered.

Yummy, this is Richards favorite Christmas treat, I make a double batch, of course, and store it in the fridge in a large Tupperware.

Hiccups

Adam has had hiccups several times in the last few days and because he threw up with his last illness he thinks each time he hiccups that he's going to throw up.

So I'm loading Joseph and Adam in the car Thursday and Adam says,
"Mom I'm sick, I'm throwing up."
Joseph, who is trapped in his seat belt right next to Adam asks, Mom what's wrong with him?"
I reply, calmly, " It's just the hiccups."
Adam thinks really hard for a minute then says indignantly, "You shut the hiccup Mom."

Ahh life with Adam.

Rice Pudding

This Recipe is for my Brother-in-law Eric who, like me, looovesss the comfort foods.

Rice Pudding

2 c. cooked rice
2 c. milk
1 can (5 3/4 oz) evaporated milk
1 T. cornstarch
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/2 C. plus 2T. sugar
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins

In a heavy, 2-3 quart, saucepan scald the milks together. Measure raisins into a strainer and set over boiling water until plump. Combine corn starch, salt and sugar, blend well. Stir into hot milk mixture, cook, stirring constantly, over med. heat until thick and smooth. Add rice; reheat, stirring constantly, to a full boil, remove from heat. Pour a little of the hot mixture in eggs while stirring rapidly. Add egg mixture to hot milk and rice mixture stirring rapidly, return to heat 1 - 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in raisins, vanilla and spices. Makes eight 1/2 C. servings.

I always double this recipe, and I don't add the raisins because my family doesn't like them. I double the cinnamon...or double double if I'm doubling the recipe.

Stuff To Do

I should be doing laundry, I'm blogging. Earlier I should have been doing laundry, I heated a knife and a spoon and cut through green styrofoam to sculpt a 3D plant cell for my ninth grader. He did not ask me to do this for him, in fact he thought of printing a 3D picture off the internet and giving it to his teacher with 3D glasses, I decided to help him out because super sizing micro-biology seems so much more enjoyable than laundry.

I also need to wrap Christmas gifts; construct a list of what gifts I have and what I still need; finish decorating for Christmas so I can take the decoration boxes back to the storage unit and pick up the Primary manuals I need to put together for next year. I need to consider what picture I should use for Christmas cards and get them printed and mailed. As always, the house is an impressive mess; I still need to call my friend Lane and see if he will help me nail up the patch we created for the hole in the family room roof; oh! that reminds me of the cabinet that I need to buy and get installed in the basement bathroom, and the storage closet that needs de-junked so I can move my food storage in to it so that I'll have more room to keep things organized in my laundry room... and I'm back to laundry again.

Why do I always end up at laundry?

Snow

This weekend we got snow. We were to busy to enjoy it and get any fun pictures so I thought I'd post a picture I have been considering sending out as our Christmas card. It's of our dog Muffin on a snowy day this past January. Muffin returned to doggy heaven this year, due to old age and illness. We miss how she became a large snow ball each snow storm, kept our feet warm on cold snowy nights, cleaned up under the bar and table, and had to pee every two hours no matter how cold or late it was (um... I guess we don't miss that part much).