Picture of the Day
(Wii) have really been enjoying our Wii.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

In honor of Dr. Suess' Birthday next week, Kyla's school is having a crazy hat day tomorrow. Tonight we went to the school to create her crazy hat and have some cake. It was a fun time.

Picture of the day...

Kyla skiing down our front hill...

Snow Day...

The snow started falling yesterday and we woke up to a Winter Wonderland this morning. School was 2 hours late so that meant no Kindergarten. We had a great day playing in the snow and sunshine. Later in the afternoon when the big kids got home from school a few of them joined up for some sledding. Kyla even put on her skis for a few runs down the hill. The road are just about clear now so I am sure we will have a full day of school tomorrow. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

Day 4...chores

Today you are treated to 2 pictures.


Jill takes her job feeding the dog quite seriously. She insists on hand feeding each piece to Maddie. Today when she finished she said "Feeding Maddie is hard work. I do not think I am old enough for this job. Maybe Daddy should do it."

Day 3....Sisters

pic of the day #2

The earth by Kyla

Picture of the day....

In honor of my birthday I have decided to post a picture a day for the next year. I have come across this on a lot of blogs I browse and thought it would be a fun thing to do. Life seems to be going by so fast and I want it to slow down so I can savour every moment with my girls and appreciate all the great things in my life. I hope you enjoy it as well. This picture is of Kyla playing the new Wii Ted gave me for my birthday. I love her Determintaion. I know we will have lots of fun with this new family game!

My birthday

Even though we have all been fighting the crud, Ted went the extra mile today and created a very special birthday for me. Thank you! Here are some pictures of our fabulous day. Next year I hope we will all be on the slopes skiing on my birthday. But for now our new Wii system will keep us busy and entertained.

Kyla writing in her journal....

This is what Kyla has been up to lately. These journals will definitely be great keepsakes.

The start of Birthday celebrations...

These last 2 pictures were from one of our walks.

For Valentine's weekend my mom and Gerrie took the girls for 3 days. I considered this an early b-day gift and was very grateful for the time off. Ted and I had so much fun eating out, sleeping in, going for long walks and just talking to each other. We ended the weekend with a family dinner and thankfully my sister Michelle was feeling well enough to join us. Thanks again for a great weekend!

Construction Site....

This is what our living room looks like. We have at least another week of the work left. But it's going to look great when it is done!!

Needing a little break...

You might have noticed the lack of posts. Well Ted and I had a fun and relaxing Valentine's weekend with the kids staying 3 days at my Mom and Gerrie's. Ted and I had such a fun time reconnecting and trying out new restaurants and even went to see 2 movies. Kyla says she had the "best vacation ever" and who wouldn't considering all the fun things they got to do. Thank you Mom and Gerrie. Thanks also to Grandpa Mike for his early birthday wishes and Valentine's cards for the girls. It made our day receiving our little treasures in the mail. And also a big thanks to Michelle for helping me celebrate an early b-day dinner. I am so glad you were feeling well enough to come help us celebrate.

And so we returned home with 2 sick girls and I spent 3 sleepless night tending to them. Now I of course have the crud and am feeling a bit under the weather. I haven't felt this tired since I had newborns. Yikes.
So we will be doing a little of this...

and that...
and not much blogging. I have a lot to update but will return when I am feeling a bit better.

I forgot to share this during the holidays. It was worth the wait.

This made me laugh.

Peanut Butter Temptations...

I am on the staff appreciation committee at Kyla's school and each month we try to do something special for the staff. For Valentine's Day we are bringing in treats all week for the teachers and staff to enjoy. I love being on this committee as it has encouraged me to try new recipes and be creative in all sorts of ways. In fact next year I am heading up the committee. I am really looking forward to celebrating all the hard work the staff at the school does for our kids.

Here is the recipe I made this week.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Stir in the peanut butter, then the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the peanut butter mixture until the dough comes together. Shape into 1 inch balls and press them into the cups of an unprepared mini muffin pan.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup down into the center of each cookie until only the top is showing. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from their pans.

Adorable...

Flying high...

This is what we call stair jumps. One of Ted's fun games. Yea!!

Kyla on the slopes...

Kyla had her first run off the chair lifts today and did great. She is really enjoying skiing. Here are a few shots.

Candy Cane Hearts

This is the perfect project for all those left over candy canes from the holidays. Just take 2 small candy canes and place together in the shape of a heart. Put in oven on lined baking sheet at 300 degrees for about 5 mins. Place lollipop stick at base and squeeze together at the base. Be Careful as the candy will be hot. Once cool, place in bags and tie. So cute and easy.

Sour Cream Lemon Cake

I am really into all things citrus right now and especially love lemon. This recipe is delightful.

Sour Cream Lemon Cake

2cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
grated zest of 1 large lemon
1 cup sour cream

LEMON GLAZE
1/4 cup melted butter
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Generously butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.

Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl with hand-held electric mixer, cream 1 cup butter and granulated sugar; beat at high speed until mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl frequently. Blend in lemon zest. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, adding each in 3 additions. Scrape sides of bowl frequently. Pour batter into prepared cake pan; bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine lemon glaze ingredients in a bowl, blending until smooth. Carefully turn cake out onto a platter; drizzle evenly with glaze.


Serves 12 or more, depending on size of servings.

I love Valentine's Day...

I love Valentine's Day! I love the hearts, the chocolate, and all the fun crafts that we make. We sent out a few care packages last week and have a few more to send out on Monday. I hope they all arrive in one piece. Here is one of the treats we made. Super Easy and fun! Just melt some white choc chips in the microwave, dip pretzel in choc and pour on the sprinkles. The girls had a ton of fun. More crafts to come.

Sick day....

We made Kyla stay home from skiing last Sunday in hopes she would fight the cold and not miss any school. So off she went Monday and Tuesday and even made it to gymnastics class yesterday. But at 5am this morning (it always happens with her in the 5am hour) she comes into our room wheezing, crying, panicking and coughing. Yep. That's right croup again. (This poor girls has had croup so many times I have lost count. Every doctor tells me she should have grown out of it by now. Another post all together.) So we did what we always do...give her some meds, take her into the shower and then outside to look at the stars. This routine works for us and always has. Once Kyla got settled and accepted the fact that she would have to miss school she decided today would be the perfect day to hand make all of her valentines for school. So off I was at 6:45am searching the craft closet for supplies and by 8:30am we had them all cut out and 6 of them addressed. Only 21 more to go. I love that she wants to make them herself and address them herself. What great writing practice. She pulled out the class directory and started addressing them all on her own. It just shocks me sometimes how quickly she is growing up. I am amazed by what she has learned and how much she has matured these past few months. School is so great for her and even her gymnastic classes have pushed her to do things she would have never been able to do just a few months ago. She is a great kid and I am so proud of her!

We also got to see the most beautiful sunrise. This is our view out of living window. Breathtaking!

Week in review...

Our week was filled with school, gymnastic classes, dress up, playdates with friends, a quick trip to Bothell and some room re-arranging. We moved the playroom up to the loft and am in the process of making the playroom into Mommy's room. Hooray. This will be our study, guest room, craft and hopefully someday sewing room. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. By the way...if anyone has a sewing machine they no longer use and want to recycle let me know. Kyla and Ted missed skiing today because both girls are sick with a cold. We are enjoying our Sunday here at home with lots of playtime and some movies. Hopefully everyone will be well enough for school tomorrow.