Freezing Our Eggs Off

What happened to our 60+ degree weather? Today it will reach 40 and the forecast is saying that dreaded word again: SNOW

Today we are having my family over for a be-lated Easter celebration since we were taking off a couple weeks ago. I planned to grill out, but in this kind of weather? I think not! And what about our annual egg hunt? Again, not happening. It's all about being flexible, right? So I got a ham instead.

And on our menu for dessert: FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE I tried it out this week and, oh boy, soooooo decadent and yummy! Top it off with ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream and you got yourself one delicious tower of chocolate gluten-free goodness. I had to share:

12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate; chopped

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar Confectioners' sugar and/or cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch spring form pan. Put the chocolate, butter, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted.

Beat the eggs and sugar with a standing or handheld mixer until light and thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs until evenly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out wet but not gooey, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack.

When ready to serve remove ring from spring form mold. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder.

Happy Hearts Day

Steve and I are not big "card holiday" celebrators. I can't remember a Valentine's Day when we made plans for a date and Sweetest Day usually passes with both of us forgetting about it. Our expectations are pretty low, huh? Tonight we may do Outback's curbside take-out. (Matt loves their ribs and if my boys are happy, we are happy.) Besides, I am a firm believer in every day should be Valentine's Day......or Mother's Day or Sweetest Day or Father's Day......

Yesterday I slaved over making treats for Matt's class party: gluten free sugar cookies (Pictured here) Pamela's mix never fails!

And if anyone has advice on how I can keep Mark from stripping down to his bare bottom before he goes to sleep, please fill me in. Finding him in a pool of urine these past few mornings isn't pleasant -- for him or me! Last night I checked him before Steve and I hit the hay. Again, he was naked as a jaybird (bed dry, thank God) and half asleep while I put his PJ's back on. He apologized, "Sorry, mommy, pants stay on." I tell you, this kid......

So I hope your Valentine's Day is a good one. HUGS!

Down From A Holiday High

Our Christmas celebrations went without a hitch. We enjoyed a service at church Sunday night. Time with families. Sang carols. ATE ATE & ATE!!! And I am still figuring out where to put all the new stuff given by everyone. So far Mark can't part with this garbage truck given by Nana and Papa H. Matt is hooked on his new Xbox 360 games and is practicing on becoming the next Stacker Champion. And my mind is already jumping to next week when this house will be de-greened and back to normal. But let us not forget throughout the year....

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!!"

(Taken at our home with Matt's cousins during our 2nd annual PJ party.)

May You Be Blessed...I Know I Am!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!

My Yuletide 12

So this meme, uh sorry, HOOPLA is going around asking bloggers to reveal 12 random things about yourself that relates to the Christmas season. Thanks, Sheryl, for tagging me! (And to those that have already done it, I've enjoyed reading yours.)

1. When I was young a Christmas Eve tradition for my family was eating at Pizza Hut before going to nighttime mass. The restaurant was always empty, so we never worried if our laughter or storytelling got a little too loud.

2. There is one holiday song I just do not understand: Dominick the Donkey (The Italian Christmas Donkey) My eyes are rolling just thinking about it. It's darn right obnoxious!

3. On the subject of Christmas music, my two favorites are O, Holy Night and Silent Night.

4. One Christmas season that wasn't so joyful was when my brother, Mike, had to have jaw reconstruction surgery during his college break. It was scheduled a few days before Christmas Day and we weren't sure if they would release him in time to come home and celebrate. His mouth was wired shut and looked like a chipmunk all swollen up -- not to mention he was on a liquid diet for 6 weeks. Christmas just wasn't the same that year.

5. We always celebrate with my side of the family Christmas Eve and Steve's side Christmas Day.

6. My mom started this one: when singing the 12 Days of Christmas we divide the "days" and each person has to act their phrase. Watching my father do "9 Ladies Dancing" one year was priceless!

7. We play poker with nickles and dimes with Steve's family. One year I ended up almost $4 richer. And that won't even pay for a venti coffee now -- Starbucks, you are overpriced!

8. I keep all the presents hidden in our basement until Christmas morning. My kids have no idea was to expect!

9. Every year my boys get new sets of PJs. This year Matt begged for Transformers and thankfully I found them online somewhere (Kohls, Target, Amazon, Walmart and even Penney's were out).

10. My mom made Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus out of glass bottles and paper mache 30+ years ago. To this day someone brings in baby Jesus to his crib of hay while everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to our Savior.

11. One of our pre-lit garland strands that wrap around our porch is out. Our local Walmarts does not have any in stock and Steve hasn't had the time to perform the dreaded task of pulling each light out to find the culprit. You should see how this situation is making me feel. You know, Mrs. Everything-Has-To-Be-Balanced-And-Right!!!!!!!!

12. Every year I pray everyone is healthy so we can celebrate Christmas fully. So far this week I've battled a stomach bug (or possibly food poisoning thanks to McD's Southwest Chicken Salad), which also decided to hit me on the way home from our church's candlelight service Wednesday night. I had to pull over twice to, well, you know, and I'll leave it at that. And Matt has Fifth Disease. His cheeks look rosy red as Santa's!!! As long as it's before the 24th, I'm ok.

Now I tag Sunny Side of the Street. Have a great weekend everyone! I will be staying away from all retail stores if possible.

"Please, come in!"

I hope you feel welcome as you view areas of our home that make our family's Christmas season special.

Our living room's tree and family room's mantle with more goodies. Perfect to sit by and read my favorite magazine or plan a holiday party.

Matt makes sure to put up the day's "star" every morning. And what I love to gaze upon is our photo wreath. Can some of you spot yours? It will be full by the 25th and my challenge is to arrange the photos so they all fit.

Visit BooMama for more tours and thanks for stopping by!!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas 2005

Please accept my apology in advance if I do not get to your page. I am frantically searching for our mini-DV which has Mark's birth on it. Talk about dealing with major guilt!

Promos A-Go-Go

Last night Steve and I decided to wrap the boys Christmas presents. No TV on, just us. It was a time to talk and share. To be honest, we rarely do this after the kids are in bed. Usually we fall down on a couch and start our DVR. So this was a special treat and one that needs to be done more often then not.

While hard at work chatting and wrapping I commented that majority of the gifts were purchased online. Thanks to companies like Amazon and Target, who offer free shipping, it made our gift buying much easier. I also found other sites like All Aboard Toys and The Toy Hunt which had active promotional coupons that saved me more money than if I drove out to our local Walmart. (HINT: Google the site and "promotional code" before checking out. You are bound to find something!) Oh the feeling when you open your front door and find a box in your PJs -- talk about convenience!

Ok, Mark's breathing treatment is almost done. Yes, he started another cold yesterday and like always I have to be on top of any asthma reaction because of it. Thanks a zillion, Caillou, for making breathing treatments sooooo easy! Do you think we can go two weeks without another illness hitting a member of this family? I sure hope so!

More Turkey Sandwiches Anyone?

We had a good time stuffing our faces with more turkey Saturday. It felt good to drag Thanksgiving out a little longer. And my contributions were well accepted and, oh, so good.

Matt sure looks scary, but it's hard to get anything serious outta him when Uncle Jeff is around. A good turkey and all the trimmings does a family good -- as you can see! (And thanks to Matt, who took majority of the snapshots you see here....and SOOOO much more.)

When we left we were surprised with a major ice storm. With the help of a sledgehammer and large ice scraper, Steve managed to get our minivan up our steep driveway. Talk about slick!

Check Your Local Listings!

I remember when I was a child my dad would get out his stash of Orville Redenbacher popcorn, warm up the kettle's oil and get ready to pop a batch of fresh popcorn -- never that microwave stuff, trust me, there is a difference! My mom would get out the reused yellow butter tubs and my brothers and I would pop-a-squat in front of our family room's TV and watch numerous Christmas specials like The Grinch, Rudolph and The Peanuts Gang. How many of you cried when Frosty melted away? I know I was traumatized for days!

I have carried this tradition on to my family, but I admit using microwave popcorn this time around. Come on, it's just easier! And what an inexpensive way to celebrate the holiday season and make lasting memories. Here are some of ours already:

For more inexpensive ideas on how we make our Christmas season fun CLICK HERE!

Poker Alice

After reading my last couple posts, I completely forgot to mention how much fun we had with Steve's family Thanksgiving Day. (We will celebrate Thanksgiving again with my side of the family this Saturday.)

Every holiday with my in-laws requires a game or two of some type of casino card game -- like Texas Hold'em or regular poker. Here's a glimpse of one in action. It's as if we are speaking a different language! See if you can follow......

Busy As an Elf

Signing off until the stockings are hung, our Nativity is set and the pine needles are vacuumed. Plus, I felt adventurous and conquered some Day-After-Thanksgiving sales. YIPPEE!!

UPDATE: We are set for the holidays! Photo to come....

A New Day

In the past few days many things proved to be true:

• You can't plan everything accordingly.


• Worrying can really make you sick.


• My parents are the best ever.


• Sleep is healing.

I never mentioned that last week on Friday night Matt came down with the horrible stomach flu. To me that is the worst sickness ever. It spreads and breeds and is so messy to clean up when it happens in a child's bed. Days passed and I thought all of us were in the clear.

Steve was out of town at a school saftey workshop and on his way back Tuesday that dreaded virus hit him. He was able to hold off until he walked in the door. Then Mark complained about his tummy that afternoon. He never threw up, but I was changing lots of diapers if you catch my drift.

So while everyone was dropping like flies in my home, I started to worry about myself. I had to bake brownies for Matt's class party. I was the room mother for Wednesday. Matt was so excited to have him mommy in class and I feared I wouldn't be there. And since my parents' nieghborhood lacks small children, they usually come over Halloween day for a meal and help pass out candy. I had all these plans and my tummy was sick with anxiety that all wasn't going to work out.

I was up all night before Halloween worrying about Steve. Worrying about Mark. Worrying that I could possibly be knocked down sick. Mark slept all night and Steve was fine. I was in knots for no reason! I think I slept a couple hours and woke up with a headache.

My parents arrived so I could leave for Matt's party. That was medicine for my soul. I helped with costumes, organized games and passed out gluten free frosted brownies which the class all agreed were the "best brownies ever." That compliment totally made my day. I needed that! And Matt was prouder than ever to introduce me as his mom.

I arrived back home and in a couple hours it was trick or treating time. Since a few people in this home weren't ready for my menu of meatloaf and tator tot casserole, everyone made their own sandwich. While Steve relaxed with my parents handing out candy, I took the boys out and Mark caught on quickly. You don't have to train a child to take candy, right? After walking around our main street I met up with some neighborhood friends and Matt was off with his buddies while I took Mark home. This mommy was ready to crash herself!

In a nutshell: Matt came back home, the boys took their baths, went to bed at their usual time of 8pm and Steve and I did the same. This morning I feel refreshed and normal again. Mark is eating French toast and I had my morning coffee. It's a new day and all is well again. Throughout this ordeal God reminded me:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

By the way Matt was Anakin Skywalker with the wise counsel of Yoda on the side.

No Masks Required

So Halloween is tomorrow. Our family isn't too keen on this grave-loving holiday. Steve detests it really. Houses decorated with zombies, skeletons, ghosts and coffins is just too morbid if you really think about it enough. All the horror movie promos give me the chills and I just don't like that. So here is our way of saying Happy Halloween without spooky masks or Dracula fangs. Just our goofy faces!

A Yoda Mark Will Be

Today at our library's storytime they had a Halloween celebration. All the kids came in costume and as you can see this year Mark is Yoda. (Hum....I wonder what Matt will be? Any guesses?)

He had so much fun. They read stories, sang songs and marched around the library waving "hello" to all the visitors. Afterwards they made a craft and on the way out were given a treat. Mark decided to shove the whole chocolate coin he received in his mouth -- typical Mark! I think it took 10 minutes to finally melt down and chew. To finish our special day I asked Mark where he wanted to go for lunch. "B sicks," he hollered. (Breadsticks) Soooooo.......

We headed for Target to eat at the food court where they serve one of Mark's favorite eats: Pizza Hut's breadsticks! And after lunch we used the extra time to shop for last minute items I need to prepare for Matt's class party this Wednesday. It's my first attempt being a room mom this year and I can't wait!

Happy Birthday, America!!!

Did you know...

• John Hancock is the first and largest signature on the Declaration of Independence
• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the future presidents who signed as well.
• "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott
• The original US flag hoisted in June 1777 contained 13 stars symbolizing the 13 colonies.
• New York City and Philadelphia were the US capitals before Washington DC

I hope all of you have a safe and happy 4th of July!!!!

Memorial Day 2006

• Did you know Memorial Day was first celebrated in 1868?
• The number of U.S. armed forces personnel who served in World War II between Dec. 1, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946 was 16.1 million.
• The average length of active-duty by U.S. military personnel during WWII was 33 months.
• The proportion of U.S. military personnel who served abroad during WWII was 73 percent.
• A total of 292,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were killed in battle in WWII.
• The estimated number of women in 2002 who were WWII veterans was 210,000. These women comprised 4.4 percent of WWII vets.

Let us not forget...