My Little Fisherman

My little guy got a fishing pole for Christmas, so when we went to see Evi's horse yesterday he was so excited to get to use his fishing pole. We caught nothing though, but he had so much fun. It is so fun to see Red Rain grow and now she has winter fur and she looks fluffy. Juan, Sebastian and I were all fishing but I guess it was too cold. Maybe next time.

The craziness comes to an end

Most years people get crazy once the holidays come into sight. Traveling, cooking, spending money, kids and presents, and family.

We had a great time with my sister and her family for Christmas. Since no one wanted to dog sit we decided to not go to Mexico... Just kidding, we didn't go because of other reasons too, but we finally decided to stick around this year. It was a fun time, the kids get along with each other, the girls played Scrabble and the guys were doing who knows what.

This past weekend we went to Bartlesville to see family. We had lunch with one of my many Uncles and Aunts, the kids had so much fun playing with cousins and we had fun visiting with family. Evi spent the night with her second cousins and had a blast! She said she roller skated in the house, and wanted to know if we could get some skates. Afterwards we went to see Nanny and spent some time with her. I told Juan on our way home that I feel she is getting old. I want her to know that we love her. To me the holidays are not about presents or food, but it is about the memories you make with family.

This coming year I will try to make more of an effort to love my family unconditionally, because they are who God has placed in my life. I am glad that I can sleep at night knowing that I am at peace, I'm not in debt, my children love me, my husband is faithful, I have a roof over my head and food on the table and I am blessed! Hope everyone this year can see the family they have in a new light, and can love unconditionally.

Christmas

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas. Sebastian asked me why the boy in Polar Express got to see Santa and he didn't, so I had Juan take him to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa but he got cold feet and Evi was the only one who sat on Santa's lap this year.

Two recipes

Okay. Here is the recipe for the cinnamon rolls and the spicy crackers.

I use a bread machine, and this recipe is for rolls or bread, but I just rolled out the dough and put cinnamon on it for cinnamon rolls.

In your bread machine you put:

7 oz. of milk room temperature

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter softened

1 egg

3 1/4 c. flour

2 tbsp sugar (in one corner)

2 tsp yeast in another corner

1/4 c. water

Put your setting on dough, and when its risen once, put dough on floured surface, roll out spread with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar(You can add pecans or raisins if you like). Then roll and use string or dental floss to cut the dough. I placed in a 9x13 pan with melted butter, brown sugar and some corn syrup for a caramel sauce. Then you place in a warm place to rise(to about twice the size) and bake at 350 till golden brown.

To do dinner rolls or loaf, do the same. Except when it is done rising, punch down and either cut pieces off to make into rolls or take dough and roll into a loaf, let rise around 30 min. bake 400 for 10 min, or longer for loaf.

Spicy Crackers

Super easy, fast and a crowd pleaser.

3 pkgs of saltines ( in a gallon size zip-lock bag)

In tupperware mix:

1 cup canola oil

1 pkg ranch dip  mix

2 tbsp crushed red peppers

Mix together and pour over crackers. Let set and flip bag over and over till all is coated. Mixture will dry on crackers the longer it sits.

Memories....

I remember well my mother making cinnamon rolls. I think she is the best cook on the planet! But one thing I hated about those cinnamon rolls were the little cherries and candied fruit she would put on them. I would always pick them off. I'm sure she put them in the cinnamon rolls because they were red and green and after all she was making them for Christmas presents, but I wasn't crazy about them at all. So today I made some cinnamon rolls without the candied red and green fruit. I hope one day my kids don't say "Mom should have put some red and green candied fruit in those rolls to make them more Christmas-like". I asked the kids what we should cut the cinnamon rolls with. Evi suggested a knife, Sebastian scissors, and when I pulled out the string (like my mom did), they were amazed that I would try cutting something with string! I wonder if my mom used string because she didn't have a good knife, or maybe that's the way her mom taught her. Needless to say I will keep the tradition going!  

Freezing Toes

Both of the kids wanted to go out and play in the ice, not snow because there wasn't any, but the ice. So after getting them dressed nice and cozy, they went out to play. About 20 minutes later, Evi knocked on the back door, with boots in hand and in her socks. They had decided to jump on the trampoline and break the ice that had formed on it. I went out to get Sebastian and his shoes were off too. After a change of pants, and warm slippers on we started on our next project... cinnamon rolls.

My Birthday Boy

My baby just turned four! Last week was his actual birthday, but because I was having back issues we had to postpone it for today. So here is how our day went...

We went to church and had a jolly time. After church Juan asked Sebastian where he wanted to eat. Sebastian said he wanted the sushi train, but this weekend when passing by we noticed it is now a pub. So we suggested Texas Roadhouse, where we can throw peanuts on the floor and then crunch them with our feet, and you can ride on a saddle and have everyone sing you happy birthday. Nope the boy wanted sushi. After sushi we came home and got things ready for the party. He is really into spiderman, so I made him a cake and he opened one present then the camera died. But it was a fun time. Now that the kids are in bed, and the blog is updated, I will go and look at his baby pictures and thank God for the life of my son.

Christmas Program

Evi was a Sarah, Father Abraham's wife in the Christmas play. She had been practicing for weeks to get her lines down, and today after we left church she said she was glad that it was over. It was cute to see her wave to her cousin Liesel in the audience. I could tell she was glad her cousins were there. She did a fantastic job, and I see that she blossoms with an audience.

Sebastian was another story. I watched as all the little boys (about 25 of them) take the stage as little angels singing " Away in a Manger" and doing hand motions. My boy had his hands shoved in his pockets. I told him that I was sad that he didn't sing and he said " Well, I already sang that song in my class" and he wasn't gonna sing it again.

Sweet Boy

I was wondering if anyone was wanting to spend some quality time with this sweet boy. We are going to Mexico for Christmas, and are taking Ruby to her new parents, but need a place for this little guy. We may even bring a little treat back for the sitter who would like to watch him while we are gone :)

Another Blog Game

My friend Terra tagged me to play this game. First, 5 of my favorite things, and a little something about myself. Now I must challenge 5 people to do their favorite 5:

Jessica, Crosby, Yvonne, Charissa, Liesel.

1. I love the things my kids will do for a laugh. They are always saying or doing something to make us laugh.

2. I love my parents. I hope to one day be like my Mom.

3. I love my little boys snuggle first thing in the morning, when he climbs into bed with us.( Evi was never a snuggler)

4. I love assisting Mommas while they are welcoming their new little ones.

5. I love my hubby's kisses.

More blogging fun, a get to know me survey...

Who's Who?

What is your husbands name? Juan 

How long have you been married? 9 years & 7 months

How long did you date? From the time we met, to the time we got married it was 13 months.

How old is he? 32

Who is taller? He is, not by much though.

Who can sing best? Neither one of us really, but at least I can sing on key...

Who is smarter? He is, hands down!

Who does the laundry? I do, but he has tried before.

Who pays bills? I write the checks, he tells me what to pay.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If your looking at the bed, I do. It is closest to the door, and bathroom. Why is it only women that have to go in the middle of the night?

Who mows the lawn? He does, unless he's been mowing all day, and I feel like helping him out.

Who cooks the meals? I do unless I am in bed with back problems, then he does.

Who is first to admit when they are wrong? I usually do, cause he is usually right.

Who kissed who first? I think that was me.

Who wears the pants? He does, but I am the belt!

Go ahead try it out, it's fun to learn about each other!!

Christmas Pictures

Im curious as to how many people experience trouble taking family pictures of themselves. We were laughing this day because we were trying to get Sebastian not to make a silly face, Evi to smile naturally, and the dogs to look at the camera all while Juan is pushing the button and running into place. After maybe 15 shots, we finally decide to just pick one. Juan's legs were getting tired of sprinting, the dogs were wiggling, Evi was tired of smiling and we were done. I had to post this picture. As the eye behind the camera you can say "Quit making silly faces" and "Evi, move your hand!", but as we all were smiling for the camera, little did I know. That's why I love my digital camera! By the way, we did not use this for our Christmas cards this year.

On a totally different note, this past week I was in bed (yes.. all week) due to back problems. I think it was caused by that crazy long birth I had. The most frustrating thing is not being able to do anything for your family. I owe many thanks to my sweet hubby, who never complained of having to do dishes, bathe kids, do laundry, dinners & lunches, pick up the house and on top of all that still take care of me. Also, thanks Charissa for cleaning my house, and for the soups and bread, and for being willing to take Ava out of school to take me to Dr.'s visits, and just being willing to help, and to Sunny and Yvonne for all you did for me too. Thanks to all my friends & family for the phone calls to see how I was doing. I am blessed!