Battle(s) with Bread...

I have to say my personal battle has been bread. Not the liking of bread, or the over-eating of bread - simply the baking of bread. 

I have tried a few times with less than stellar results - and frankly I want some stellar results.

 :-) so... 2010 is my year for bread. It's gonna happen - not asking for miracles, just want to make some decent rolls or something.

Morgan asked what we would do with the bread - to which I answered eat it, possibly, unless it's a fail and then - well then we will have to find some other use for it's industrial strength "orbage". Yes, orbage is not a word - but it fits - because the bread is like an orb - and it's also kind of like garbage when it goes bad, ha ha. In any case, I digress, she agreed with the eating of the bread and went on to discuss that we can eat bread for lunch, or dinner, or breakfast. Yes, bread - our versatile little friend from the oven.

So may the power of the flour be with our household.... May the gluten stay soft (or whatever state if should retain)... May the yeast proof long enough and at the right temperature... and may we never have to figure out what to do with bread "orbage".

Cookie Roundup

This weekend we had not only a troop meeting, but also were able to attend the Girl Scout cookie carnival. When we arrived the only way to explain it was - Oh My Gosh... Girls everywhere. I think for our little ones it was definitely overwhelming - their height lent to being like ants among giants. Luckily as the day went on it cleared out a little bit and they were better able to navigate the room and play the games. I think all had fun - and ALL (parents included) were definitely tired by the end.  

Unfortunately for Morgan she got a bloody nose during the carnival - luckily we were able to find a semi-hidden hallway to lay her down until it stopped. I felt so bad that she had the gusher happen during the event - but she took it all in stride and did not seem too bothered. Another piece of luck was that she got a t-shirt for attending the event that could cover her dirtied shirt. My poor little one and her ever-troubled nose. 

You Like Cookies....

Yes You Do... :-)  Girl scout cookies went on sale - Sunday January 10th. So... if you would like some cookies (and yes, we can ship them) let us know.  

We have:

Cost is $4.00 / box this year (I know it's a little pricey... But for every box .50 cents goes to the troop.

The Genetics of Shopping...

Yesterday I took Brandon shopping.... Now, it has been some time since I have been clothes shopping with Brandon, and for that matter a boy... What I can say is there is a HUGE difference between shopping with boys and girls. Shopping with Morgan looks like this:

Spending lots of time perusing all the various clothing options, commenting on the cuteness, piling up the "try on" pile and liking the idea of trying it on, examining each piece in the mirror (again commenting on the cuteness) and also future planning on which piece could go with which, neatly arranging each piece of clothing (placed back on the hangers), and budgeting every last available dollar - waste not want not! :-) 

Shopping with Brandon:

A clear hesitation to even shop in the first place, a general idea of what type of clothes he likes (e.g. sweatshirts, etc..), no clear preference on style / look - simply function , a look at you of "seriously???" when you direct him toward the fitting room. One word answers from the fitting room - 

how do they fit? ok.

ok good? or ok just ok could be better? um - good. 

do you like them? yeah. 

Followed by the exit of the fitting room with a piled up armful of clothes and a handful of hanger - what do I do with these? ha ha ha

SUCH a difference - not that I was unaware of the general male dislike of clothes shopping - I guess I just never realized it was some built in chromosome that comes along with the XY part of their make up.

OH - and the other HUGE part of shopping with a boy - money left over! He still has $20 left over that he chose to save - you know for later when his size changes, or the season changes... (yep this was his actual reasoning) That actually had to be the biggest difference of all.

While shopping may not be a favorite he still did well at the end of the day - oh and did have interest in one thing - a belt. He needed a belt - so a belt he purchased. Guys - simple, functional, streamlined shopping.

You Say Art Desk... I Say....

HOMEWORK space.... :-) It turns out the art desk is not only a perfect craft haven but also a fabulous space for homework! Have to love all thing multi-purpose.

Morgan is having a good week back in school and has a couple fun things on the horizon. First her class now gets to take bi-weekly trips to the library (the branch we usually frequent as well) - she loves the library and this way will get weekly trips. 

Second thing - she starts karate this week.  Her school offers a karate program (a local studio has a traveling dojo program) every week. She asked if she could join and given the fact that it is right there - why not I say. We'll see what she thinks after her first class, hopefully it meets her expectations.

Putting the "New" in the New Year...

New Years - To me too many people focus on all the bad around this time, all the things that were wrong with last year - all the things that we failed at and want to do better (not that there is anything wrong with trying for better) - but I think a 180 spin of thinking can make all the difference... In our case on January 1st we do not focus on what we will do differently based on

 what was bad the year before, but rather what we want to try and do that is new, New Years Day = New Activity.

This year our new activity was ice skating.  Morgan has been asking to ice skate for the last year and at 5 she was ready to try.  I thought not only was this a good "new activity" but it also seemed a good day given many people would be in recovery mode and therefore not up early enough for morning skate session AND the rink is outdoors - so a semi-greyish day can keep crowds at bay too!

We arrived around 10:30 and there were only a few people. The first go round was definitely sketchy - I have not skated in years and Morgan was getting used to the ice and therefore clinging to the wall. But after that first time we got used to the feel of the skates and the ice and quickly picked up pace. By the end of our morning she was skating away from the wall (holding on to my hand) and keeping a small amount of speed. I'm sure will go again before the end of the season.

We also ended up with two other "new things" sort of by coincidence - thing #1 - buffet. Morgan was hungry after skating and in thinking about where we could go I considered the buffet. She has never been, but I think is a fan. Choices, choices, choices and all the dessert you want - what kid would not. 

Thing #2 was the arrival of her Highlights magazine (thank you Auntie Ellen). She has never had a magazine subscription that arrives in the mail before and I think all kids are a fan of getting their own mail.  Not a bad tally for our day of new!

Lights with Sounds of TSO

On our way home Christmas night we drove around to look at some Christmas lights - one house in particular always has a big programmed show with lights and music. We sat outside the house (in our warm car) and watched three songs worth (at least).  Morgan thought it was fantastic - Lily was not so much a fan of people walking near the car (as you will hear in the background).