Merry Christmas

 Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

 

and shall bring forth a son,

 

 and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

 which being interpreted is, God with us. 

Matthew 1:23

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:14

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

I LOVE salted chocolate caramel anything! So, when I saw this recipe for Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark I knew I had to make it. And the good news (err, bad news?) is I always have these ingredients in my kitchen.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

1 Cup (2 Sticks) unsalted butter
1 Cup brown sugar
bag of mini pretzels (I used the snaps, the square checker board ones)
12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt or kosher salt


Wrap a jelly roll pan or four sided baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread pretzels in a single layer on greased foil (you probably won't use the whole bag). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small sauce pan bring butter and brown sugar to a slow simmer. Simmer slowly until mixture is nicely browned, stirring frequently. This will take about three to five minutes once it starts to simmer. Once mixture is browned pour evenly over the pretzels. Tilt pan and or use spatula to evenly spread over the pretzels. This can be hard to spread so try to pour the mixture from your pan as evenly as possible.

Place in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from oven and evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over hot pretzels. Allow to sit a minute while the chips soften. Once the chips have softened and started to melt spread the melted chocolate evenly over the caramelized pretzels. Lightly sprinkle the sea salt or kosher salt over the chocolate, more or less to your liking.

Once your baking sheet is cool enough to handle, place in refrigerator for one hour. Once the bark has cooled and hardened lift from pan and break into serving sized pieces. Store refrigerated in an air tight container.



*Recipe from here*

Cookies... Of a different kind

On my list of Christmas activities was to make cookies with the girl's. But not your traditional Christmas cookies, doggie cookies. My parents are coming to our house for Christmas and their puppies are coming too. The girl's love Patches and Paisley and talk about them often, and the puppies are so sweet and patient with the girls. So I knew the girls would get a kick out of making a treat for the puppies. 

I could not keep the girls out of the dough! The dog treats are made out of items in my kitchen, two of the ingredients being peanut butter and honey, so I'm sure the dough was sweet but it still have me the shivers watching the girls eat the dough. Just the thought!

We cut the dough into Christmas Tree and Stocking shapes. 

They turned out so cute! Now we just have to wait for the pups to arrive and taste test them!
We used this recipe if you're wondering.

*Because I know someone is wondering! :) Aubrey is wearing a Christmas dress with a matching hat. She thinks she is Santa! She decided to change back into her pajamas while the dough was in the fridge setting up. And also if you're wondering, yes we sometimes wear our pajamas until noon and yes our daytime wardrobe of choice is not normal clothing. I'm gonna be sad when Ashlyn starts kindergarten and has to wear normal clothes everyday. So boring! :)*

Moments Frozen In Time

There's a time in every little girl's life that she knows she is getting big. The day you have your first pig tails put in. It makes me giggle every time Aubrey is in pig tails! She will come and ask for "own-tail" also known as pony tails.

We love hot chocolate in the winter! It's an even better treat with Graham Crackers.

My little salad makers!

I had to run to Walmart last Sunday evening. Normally Ashlyn gets to go with Phillip or I if we are making a quick trip somewhere. But this time I took Aubrey. She loved it! Since it was after dinner the parking lot wasn't too full and we got a good parking spot. When I pulled in my spot she said "Mommy a O" I looked around and thought maybe she saw something on the van dash but then she said "Mommy a I". Then I looked up and saw the "Home and Living" on the side of Walmart. I was floored! What an observant little girl. She recognizes several letters but normally it's when I write them for her or when Ashlyn is practicing her handwriting. 

Making Memories

The past seven days we have been decorating for Christmas and making memories. 

The first thing we did was decorate the girl's Christmas tree in their room. They love it and are so proud of it. I decided not to go back and "fix" it like I do the main tree. It's their tree and it doesn't have to be the way I want it to be. It's perfect because they did it!

Aubrey liked to cluster her ornaments! :) 

I tried to get a picture of them together in front of their tree but Aubrey was too busy acting like a cat. Ashlyn kept trying to get her to stand up, but it wasn't working. 

The next day we decorated the tree in the living room. Ashlyn was a huge help fluffing out the branches, I was really surprised! 

Aubrey is always watching Ashlyn and soaking up everything she does. 

Today we baked and decorated a gingerbread house! I think I was more excited than the girls were. My mom always decorated a gingerbread house with my brother and I every Christmas and it is one of my favorite Christmas memories as a child. My mom gave me the mold she used so I could use it with my girls.
It was a special morning!

 Aubrey ate her weight in candy! Notice the red all over her chin? She was eating Red Hots like they were the best thing she's put in her mouth.

 

 

This is our finished masterpiece. I love all the imperfections! I love the messy gingerbread people painted with toothpicks by Ashlyn. I love the extra gumdrops in the "front yard" that Aubrey so proudly placed. I love that my piping on the front windows and door are a disaster because Aubrey was standing on the chair next to me lovingly patting me on the back causing me to shake.

This is my life

 *We ran to Target Saturday morning. Even though I only had to get one item I still grabbed my "normal" mommy shopping cart. It's just so easy to tote the girls in and they like it. Phillip's comment was "are you serious? You drive a mini van in the stores too??" He snapped a picture that is super blurry but I had to share it because it makes me laugh. Mommas do lots of uncool things because it makes life easier! Ha!

*It was cold last Thursday on our way to school. Aubrey insisted on wearing her new mittens although I knew she wouldn't like them. Two minutes into our drive Ashlyn hollers "Eww Aubrey, that's gross. Mooommm, Aubrey is sucking her thumb with her gloves on!". Then Aubrey hollers back "It not gross". These girls!!

*Christmas is in full swing at our house. We got the decorations out Friday and the empty boxes went back to the shed Monday morning. The girls had the best time! I have cute pictures to share another time. 

*My tree is the old fashioned kind. You know, it's not pre-lit and you have to put it together branch by branch. All of my pre-lit tree owner friends always complain about their lights going out so I don't mind doing it the long way. I'll stick with old faithful. Ashlyn was actually a huge help fluffing the branches out. I had it up in record time this year!

*Aubrey is officially in her big girl bed. Again, pictures to come later. She is such a stinker and won't stay in her bed! She gets several spankings a night! When we tuck her in we tell her "Aubrey, it's time to go to sleep. Don't get out of your bed". And she will respond "I get panking?". She totally understands! She's just sooo hard headed! 

*The first night she was in her new bed we found the girl's like this before we headed to bed. Aubrey crawled in bed with Ashlyn. We found out the next morning Ashlyn was already asleep when Aubrey did this and in the middle of the night Ashlyn woke Aubrey up and told her to get in her own bed. Poor Aubs!

*Tonight we had brownies for an after dinner treat. The girls had to finish their peas before they could have a brownie. Aubrey wouldn't eat a single pea. She fussed and carried on for a while then decided she'd had enough and left the table without eating a pea or brownie. I mean it, this girl is stubborn and wants her way!

*Last night was our Women's Christmas party at church. My friend Jenna (right behind me) brought her camera along so she got a picture of all of us. All of us (plus one more) are all in a Body Life Group together. Between all of us there are 2 teenagers, 10 kiddos 4 years and under and 3 on the way! This is such a fun season of life! These girls mean the world to me!!

*I am 99% done with my Christmas shopping. And a huge chunk of it was done before December 1st. Not too shabby!

*How is it that Ashlyn is going to be 5 in a couple weeks? 5 is just old.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Phillip's parents.  They recently bought their "retirement" house in a sweet little town called Mountain View. It is the cutest little town with mountains all around and a fun little down town area. And an added little bonus, the White River runs through their backyard!

We spent Thursday morning in the kitchen preparing our Thanksgiving lunch. It was delicious, of course! Then after everyone had a little nap we went outside for a walk. There are horses, chickens, guineas, and donkeys across the street in the neighbor's field. 

The horses and donkeys were very friendly and loved the attention.

Aubrey had quite the arm load, her baby and a guinea feather.  (I just love this age. They are such stinkers but are so cute and funny!)

The White River, upstream from my in-laws house.

 

 After our walk we headed inside for leftovers and baths. We then peeled, cored, and diced apples to make homemade apple butter in the crock pot. The girls love helping in the kitchen so this was right up their alley!

All ready to cook long and slow overnight. Yum!

The next morning while the biscuits were in the oven I caught Aubrey sneaking the last bit of Grandpa's coffee. The girls love to sneak the last bit of my coffee. Normally Ashlyn snatches it up so this was a treat for Aubs. 

Ashlyn always loves building with these blocks. They were Phillip and his siblings when they were growing up. She's been good at stacking and balancing these little blocks since she was pretty little. 

Aubrey giving her instructions on where to place the next one. :)

Friday night we built a fire out by the river and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Ashlyn had her fair share of marshmallows. She'll even tell you she ate so many that her tummy hurt.

Aubrey knows how to take warm and cozy up one notch up by sticking that thumb in her mouth! And don't forget the hair twirling. (Don't tell anyone but I think it's the cutest thing!)

My two cuties watching the fire.

We had such a wonderful time! I am so thankful for my family. For my little family of four and my parents and in-laws. We are so blessed to have parents that are still married and love us and our children to pieces!

Moments Frozen In Time

Whew, I feel like I have been two steps behind everyday this week. I would love about three more hours in the day to get stuff done! All my Thanksgiving pictures are still on my camera. I haven't sat at the computer long enough to mess with them. But, we don't have any commitments this weekend. Yep, no commitments, either one of us! I am so Thankful for a low key do whatever you want weekend!


We spent Thanksgiving with Phillip's parents. It was a long trip and Aubrey was pooped! On our way up there I looked back and they were holding hands. So sweet!

Ashlyn has wanted rain boots for a while. She and Aubrey got the cutest matching rain coats from their Great Aunt Jan last year and it caused Ashlyn's "need" for rain boots to grow even more. So the girl's are getting matching rain boots for Christmas. Aubrey's little size 5's made me laugh out loud!

I love all the Christmas movies that are on in the evenings. The girls love them too! They were all snuggled up together watching Rudolph after their bath. Can you see Aubs big girl mattress in the background? She officially moved over last night. She was sooo excited! I actually hear them waking up and it sounds like Aubrey is awake and playing. Normally she would be hollering to get out of bed. Oh how I love just a couple more minutes of quiet before the "morning rush" of milk and breakfast. ;)

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

*Phillip and I went on a date Saturday night. The girls went to Makenna and Brynlee's house. I'm pretty sure they didn't miss us at all, apparently they were too busy reenacting Tangled. On our date went to Crystal Bridges, then to dinner at Sushi King (oh man it was sooo good), then to our all time favorite- Kennedy's Coffee House.

*A couple weeks ago I planned a lot of new recipes for the week. I've been asked how they all turned out. A couple were good and a couple were not keepers, they were edible just not keepers. The Tuscan Garlic Chicken was good, and the crust from the Chicken Ranch pizza was awesome (the chicken ranch toppings wasn't the best, there was definitely something missing).

*I made Fish Tacos the other night and they were really really good. The name Fish Tacos sounds disgusting but trust me, they're good. I didn't fry the fish, instead I seasoned the filets heavily with S&P, garlic powder, and onion powder then baked them. A few less calories that way! ;)

*I also made Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash. It was good! I just love spaghetti squash though. It's a really good hearty, healthy, and filling meatless dish. The girls wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole though! Ha!

*I packed orange "smiles" in Ashlyn's lunch box Thursday. When I picked her up her white shirt was filthy. I said "goodness your shirt is a mess" and she said I know you forgot to pack me a napkin and the oranges made my hands messy. She's at the age where she thinks her clothing doubles as a napkin! Kids are so funny.

*I finished the girl's duvet covers. They turned out really cute! I'm anxious to see them ironed and on the beds.

*Aubrey's mattresses and headboard should be in two weeks from now. We're not sure what to expect out of her. A couple weeks ago we moved her crib into Ashlyn's room and turned her room into a play room. When Phillip was taking her crib apart to move it into the other room she started bawling saying "my bed, my bed". Poor girl thought she was being kicked out of the house! :(

*I was trying to get some cute pictures of the girls earlier this week. These two were not "keepers"! Haha!

(Disclaimer: Aubrey was not harmed in the making of these photos!)

*We have the best Small Group at church. We have made some some amazing friends! Out of our 10 years of marriage we have only had a handful of couple friends we were close to. Now there are six or seven couples in our group and we love all of them! I am so grateful God brought us to this church, we just "fit".

*My goal was to have most of my Christmas shopping done by December 1st. I've bought two gifts! TWO! It's ok though, the week after Thanksgiving my friend Beth and I are switching babysitting days to shop. It'll still be November.

*I'm having a hard time making decisions on the girl's Christmas gifts. Especially what Santa will be bringing. Aubrey likes toys that are older than her age range and Ashlyn likes everything she sees. It also doesn't help that I told Nana all my good ideas! I'll probably just stick to Princess everything and they'll both be thrilled! :) 

*Phillip changed the brakes and rotors on the van Sunday afternoon. I love how handy he is! He can fix most anything around the house! What a stud!

 *The girls thought he was pretty awesome too. They got the biggest kick out of him jacking the van up and removing the wheel. They also loved making a big fuss about how greasy and messy his hands were. 

*Phillip was laughing that changing your own brakes is a pretty manly job. But using an old Barbie box as a creeper is not quite so manly!

*I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this week and getting our Christmas decorations out!! Let the festivities begin!