I've made a list and now I'm checking it twice....

Halls Decked CHECK


Christmas Tree CHECK



Christmas Lights Up CHECK


Cards Sent CHECK


Presents for everyone Bought and Wrapped CHECK CHECK


Thank heaven's for Amazon!

Baking, baking and more baking CHECK CHECK CHECK



Christmas Carols sung, stories read, and movies watched CHECK CHECK CHECK




Christmas parties, Dance Recital and School Christmas Program
CHECK CHECK CHECK




Snow CHECK





Yup, we're ready! We made it!

Merry Christmas

Can I put myself in time-out?

I really need one. Not because I have been naughty, well maybe a little, but because the quiet, peaceful moment of just sitting sounds nice. I have been so overwhelmed by everything going on in my life lately. I am constantly on the go, pick a kid up here, run another one there, this one needs a nap, lunch time, groceries, help in her class, teach this class, and the list keeps going and going. I remember this poem my cute friend Julie gave me

The Girl in the Whirl

By “Dr. Sue” aka Vickie Gunther

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do if you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake, I upholster, I scrub, and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
I help in their classrooms! I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice! I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano! I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle! My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)
I’m taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.
I track my bad habits ’til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed! My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too. It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children! I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It’s the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each “lost lamb” on my Primary roll.
I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.
I write in my journal! I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write “thank you’s” to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A’s! And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car’s tires! I fix the sink’s leak!
I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years’ supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard; It’s good if you do them;
You can if you try! Just set goals and pursue them!
It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!
It’s easy!” she said…and then she dropped dead.


It seems like we as women have so much expected of us and we are pulled in so many directions. I don't know how to do it all and I surely don't want to drop dead. I have decided that I need to take some time for me or things aren't going to be so good.

I have had a gift certificate for a massage sitting on my desk for over a month and can't seem to find the time to do it, I think I need to make that appointment and schedule one weekly for the entire year.

I feel myself being incredibly grouchy and snappy with everyone around me. I think it is very important to take time for yourself and I am going to make it a goal to do that or I don't think I will have much to give.

A friend of mine had this link on her blog to this great article on the importance of "ME" time. I am going to try to implement some of the things into my life. I think it's important.

http://healthy-lifestyle.most-effective-solution.com/2008/09/10/the-importance-of-having-quality-time-for-yourself

I guess what I am trying to say, is take time for yourself.

I have had a hard time deciding what recipe to do this time. I have a really yummy butternut squash recipe and a pumpkin chocolate chip cake, oh what the heck, let's go for the sweet and fattening!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Maple Frosting
(Source: Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
Chocolate chunks or cholate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan, then dust will flour.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, fresh nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add in eggs one at a time, while mixing on low. On low, add flour and pumpkin mixtures in batches, begginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined, don't overmix. By hand, stir in the chocolate chunks. Spoon cake batter into pan. Pound the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Cook 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center of the cake. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Maple Brown Butter Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons maple flavoring

Directions:
Sift sugar and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn. Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl. Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
If too thick, use a splash of milk to thin it out.

Letters to Santa....

This year for the first time my girls wrote letters to Santa Claus. I thought it would be fun if they could get a letter back. I found this cute website www.freelettersfromsantaclaus.com where you can personalize and print a letter from Santa. I plan to put it in the mailbox myself and let them find it. They are really cute and fun! Happy Holidays!

Soccer

Gracie played soccer for the first time this fall and loved it. I told her she could only do one extra activity and she chose soccer and not dance. I was very surprised, especially since most of her friends are in dance. It turns out she is quite the little athlete; well we actually knew that already. She is way speedy and competetive. She had a good time and we had fun watching her.

A Very Eventful Fall...

We have had a very busy and fun fall so far. This is my favorite time of year and I try to enjoy every minute of it before the dreaded winter hits us! I haven't been very good to keep up on what's been going on so here it is in a nutshell!

Latest to Oldest.....

Annual Leaf Clean-up

I heard on the radio last week that the average tree has about 250,000 leaves, as I look at our yard I would estimate about 40 trees, very, very, large trees, so when it comes to leaves I would say we have like 7-8 million! Needless to say when it comes time to rake them all up and dispose of them it is a HUGE job. Last Saturday we stepped up to the task and actually had a good time! We even recruited my cute mom to help.




Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween this year. Gracie was an Egyptian Princess, Abi was a Mermaid, and Louk was a construction worker. Louk was hilarious trick-or-treating. He would get so excited every time we went up to a door, and he would start dancing, it was so funny. We did the traditional door-to-door thing, because Durke is boycotting trunk-or-treating.

Here's a few pics of the kiddos!




Pumpking Carving

It has become a tradition to carve pumpkins every year with the Gordon's(the pumpkins from the other tradition of going to the pumpkin patch... continue reading) This year we added dinner, chili and breadbowls, and watched "How to Train your Dragon".




What a creative bunch we have!

Beck Family Farms
Down in Gunnison, the Beck's have THE BEST pumpkin patch ever, and every year we go down with the Gordon's and everyone gets to pick their pumpkins right out of a humungous field. I also like to get some of their squash and different varieties of pumpkins for my porch. Gracie wanted a tall skinny one, Abi wanted a fat one, and we got Louk "the perfect pumpkin" with a really cool stem. I think total we came home with like 8 different kinds of pumpkins, and had a really great time!






Gracie also go to go to the pumpkin patch with her class on a fieldtrip. I went with her and it was really fun. I think she was most excited about getting to ride the school bus for the first time!






Gardner Village Witches
For UEA, we went up to my mom's for a few days and boy were we busy. We went to Gardner Village to see the witches this year. I hadn't ever been, and it really would have been fun if every other man, woman, and child hadn't decided to do the same thing. We did have fun and will probably do it again, just not over UEA.

The girls had their eyes painted and thought that was the greatest thing that could ever happen to them!





The witch displays are really cute. We had to get a picture with a few.





Hogle Zoo
We also went to the zoo one day and it was just as fun as I remembered it being as a kid. All of the kids were very entertained and the adults were too.






Hope you are enjoying your fall as much as we are!

Family Pics

Jason Stevens did our family pictures for us last week. I have wanted some nice pictures FOREVER and I am so thrilled with how they turned out. He is such an amazing photographer and already got all of our prints back to us. Here are a few of my favorites...