I've made a few batches of doughnuts from recipes I've found online and they all originated from the Top Pot Hand Forged Doughnuts cookbook. So I made a little mental note and dropped a few hints that I wanted the cookbook for Christmas. My sister pulled through for me! And so far I've made blueberry cake:
And apple fritters:
We all loved them. Especially Ruby and Jack. We had the apple fritters for dessert last night and there was one left. Bobby and I were cleaning up the kitchen and I heard some commotion from the kiddos in the family room. I turned to see Jack running like mad around the sofa, apple fritter in hand....Ruby chasing after him screaming, "I want a bite! Can I have a bite?!"
Nearly every time I make dinner Jack has a meltdown. He just loves to eat and can't stand that there is something food related going on that he's not a part of. So on Christmas Eve when I was getting dinner ready he took matters into his own hands. He busted into one of the suckers that a friend had given us. And he was content.
We had such a beautiful little a Christmas this year, just our family, and it was wonderful. The festivities started on Christmas Eve with a couple last minute grocery and Santa shopping trips. Bobby wanted prime rib for our big dinner, so we had that and it was delicious! First time I had made it and I was a little proud of myself that it turned out so good.
And of course we had cream puffs for dessert. Ruby helped make them and was very excited to eat them....
With her sucker too....
And there was one little boy who couldn't get enough of his.
We ended our evening by reading about Jesus' birth in Luke and singing carols. Then we had a round of finding the pickle on the tree. (A German tradition my family's been doing for awhile.). The kids went to bed eagerly awaiting Santa....he made it safely, probably due to the fact that Ruby made sure Bobby asked for his safe arrival during our dinner prayer.
Bobby and I heard Ruby creeping down the stairs in the morning and find her stash. A trumpet!
And Jack had fun too.
But then the kids saw that Santa left a note that he left them something in the basement. Opening presents from family came a little while later.
We had such a great time and the rest of the day was spent playing and being together. Ruby was right, it was the best day ever.
I decided this year to start a tradition to have each kid pick out their own ornament every year. Then they'll have a little collection to take with them when they're grown up. So I took Ruby to Hobby Lobby and said she could pick out whichever one she wanted. I thought the poor girl would never be able to choose. There was so much sparkle and glitter and pink that she was in heaven.
And she finally chose....this:
Ummm...what is it? Why it's a Jellyfish Ballerina Princess, of course.
It's been freezing the past week but along with the sub-zero temperatures came a bit of snow. This was Jack's very first time playing in the snow and he and Ruby were super excited about it.
I gave Ruby a little talk about it before hand that went something like this: "This is Jack's first time playing in the snow, so you need to be very nice to him. No snow on his head or his face. Okay?"
And she said okay and that she would take good care of him.
Seven or eight minutes into their playing I heard Jack screaming and looked out to see Ruby sitting on him and pushing his face into the snow. Seriously?! So Jack's first snow adventure was very short. And traumatic. And just a little fun.
We had a blast for Thanksgiving...eating, playing with friends and spending time with each other. We have so much to be grateful for. Ruby had a lot of fun, but what she was really looking forward to was the day after Thanksgiving. Because that's when we decorate for Christmas.
So we pulled out the Christmas tree and ornaments and went to work.
And then we found the kids' nativity. Let's just say that Away in a Manger has been playing nonstop. And the kids can't hold still long enough to take a decent picture.
And then we decorated Ruby's little tree for her room. It just has a few glass ornaments and a tree topper. The girl was pretty worn out after all the morning's festivities and took a nap during quiet time. This is how we found her when we went to wake her up:
Yup, no clothes and clutching her tree topper. She makes us laugh. Every. Single. Day.
We've slowly (emphasis on slowly) been chipping away at the project list that resides in my brain. Our house is feeling more and more like us. But that list in my head? Wow, it's long. And expensive. And time consuming.
Our latest task? Painting the doors and window sills in the kitchen and family room. When we moved in I think you might remember that it looked like this:
And then we painted the walls to look like this:
Here you can see our problem....the doors and trim were painted a pretty horrible pale peachy tan. You didn't notice it as much when the walls were terracotta, but man oh man it was bad.
I'd been putting this off for awhile, because I wasn't looking forward to the tediousness of this project, but I was sick of looking at it. So I bought some paint...Jack thought the paint store was awesome. Ruby loves the paint store and now Jack does too. Good children.
And over the course of a week transformed it to this:
So.much.better.
Next big project? Refinishing all the banisters and railings and spindles in this house. That will be another tedious task, so I'm taking a week off before I start.
