Ginger Bread Cookies

We made gingerbread cookies, from scratch, for the first time. I enjoy the flavor of ginger but realize that not everybody does. I searched the Internet for a recipe and there are many to choose from. I read reviews and tips and so forth and here's the recipe I decided to use:

INGREDIENTS
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

The dough was pretty easy to work with and the girls loved decorating them. They did not thoroughly enjoy eating them.

Color Your World

Ella and I enjoyed a little art project while McKenna was at school. Ella has always enjoyed peeling the wrappers off of crayons so I incorporated that into my planning.


First we took old, broken crayons and peeled the wrappers. Next we broke them into smaller pieces. Then we put them into muffin tins and melted them in the oven, let them harden again and viola-rainbow crayons.

This is how she rolls...

McKenna's school participates in a yearly magazine fundraiser. McKenna was blessed enough to have sold so many magazines that she qualified for the grand prize, a limo ride to Old Country Buffet for lunch.

Going over the "rules" of the limo ride

The coach sized limo

The leather interior

Yes, I volunteered to chaperoned this event!

Tom Turkey

McKenna's kindergarten class has a turkey. His name is Tom. Each day Tom Turkey goes home with a different student. That student is supposed to help Tom Turkey come up with a disguise so that he isn't found on someones plate for Thanksgiving. She was VERY excited about this project and came up with her own idea for his disguise. After creating his disguise, she had to explain what he should do, where he should go to blend in. She said, "Tom Turkey should hide in a Christmas tree."

As you can see, she colored Tom Turkey in red and green. Then we cut out a green Christmas tree and decorated it with glitter and jewels. We even attached a metal ornament hook to the top.

After the assignment, we pulled out the real tree and decorations! We're a festive bunch here!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

I made a homemade pumpkin pie from scratch (and I do mean that I picked the pumpkin!)-including the crust! I am a little proud of myself!

First Snow

We have had two snow falls in the past week. You will notice pictures from both this morning and last week. The first one didn't last much more than a few hours. This morning's snow may be on a the ground a bit! Of course, the girls and I got out in the snow. I looked around at my suit case that needed to be unpacked, 4 loads of laundry to be put away, dishes to be done, paperwork to complete....will all of those things matter in 15 years? No, not really. But creating a memory with my daughters before completing my tasks will matter in 15 years. So, out we went.

Time with Ella

Arthur was able to be home from work on Veterans day. McKenna still had to go to school, though. We decided to spend a little one on one time with Ella. We jetted to the Children's Museum while McKenna was at school. I think Ella really enjoyed herself.

Ella really enjoyed planting the flowers.

Water play is fun.

Ahh, for me?

Talk about cute!

Face painting. She painted her very own rainbow!

Foreign Objects

Yes, it happened...a trip to the doctor because a foreign object entered the nose. Here's the story:

Daddy had just left for work on this particular Monday morning. The rest of us were in our pajamas and hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I had just gotten in the night before from a weekend away.

At about 7:15 am Ella approached me with a small, clear, round, plastic bead (from a princess necklace, no doubt!), "Mom, I found a bead."

"Okay, Ella. A necklace broke last week. Please put the bead on the table and I will throw it away in a minute." (Our trash can has a safety lock, so she cannot throw something away without me opening it.)

"Otay Mom."

Ella hasn't conquered the phonetical "k" yet, hence the word "Otay."

I watched Ella turn around and walk towards the table. She took a few steps and then froze. Whines and whimpers were heard, then she turned around and looked at me with an expression of panic and fright. She was completely quiet.

"Ella? Where's the bead?"

Nothing!

"ELLA. Where is the bead? Did you put it on the table?"

I heard her mumble softly, "I don't know." (Apparently, I need to talk about truth and fiction with her, as well.)

At that point, I was quickly approaching her. "Ella. What did you do with the bead?"

She moved her hand towards her nose and stared at me.

"Ella. Is the bead in your nose?"

"Mommy, get it out."

At this point, she began to cry.

I looked in her nose and could barely see it. From the outside there was a small bump. She managed to push that little thing up there fairly high. I was pretty sure that I could not handle this on my own. I certainly didn't want to make matters worse.

She's so brave! I calmed her down and told her that I needed to call someone and ask for help. She was breathing fine. I could tell this was not life or death. I called my aunt, aka: my personal triage nurse and got no answer. I also called a doctor friend from church. Again, no answer. At this point she was growing impatient but still remaining calm. If I tried to touch it, she cried out in pain. I knew she was uncomfortable.

So, I called the clinic. It wasn't open but I knew someone could connect me to a triage nurse. Once that happened she told me I needed to come in. Thankfully, there was already a doctor there and I didn't have to go to the E.R.

Once we were in the room, the doctor pulled it out within seconds. She used some rubbery, triple length tweezers (that's my description of the tool, at least). Ella was still and brave and hardly cried.

Then we got "the talk" about small objects being kept out of reach, yada, yada, yada.

Here's a picture of Ella eating a poptart. We grabbed the easiest thing before we left the house.

McKenna and Ella played well in the waiting room. You'd never know that there was a foreign object stuck in her nose!

Hearts at Home

This past weekend I attended a women's conference in Rochester, MN. Hearts at Home, by name, has recharged me! It is a conference that focuses on equipping, professionalizing and recharging women in the areas of motherhood and wifedom! A large group (about 20) of women from church went. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn and ate at TGIF and Victoria's Italian Restaurant. We also enjoyed a little shopping!

My hotel roomies walking to the car. The fourth roomie is taking the picture.

The schedule was something like this:



Friday Night: Meet for dinner. We ate at TGIF and they managed to sit all 20 of us together at one LONG table. The waitress stood at one end and tried to take every one's orders for that place at the end of the LONG table. After shouting my beverage choice (Dr. Pepper) across all 20 women, I thought (along with those around me) that she should come down to our end of the table to take orders. She eventually did.


After dinner, we headed to the Mayo Convention Center for a large group session of praise and worship and skits and speakers. Cheri Keaggy and Go Fish were the musical guests for the weekend.



Once the session was over we headed back to the hotel. Some of us showered and put on pajamas. Most everyone congregated in one particular hotel room and found a chair, bed corner, or floor space. We chatted....for a long time. Men, have you been wondering what we women do in a hotel room until 1:00am? Well, here it is! Proof. Yes, we just sit around in a circle and talk. For a majority of the time we actually went around the circle and took turns talking. Topics included: politics, funny stories, something we admired/appreciated about our husband, our kids, favorite restaurants, alternate life/profession of choice (I mentioned that I would be the next Diane Sawyer in a different life. I think someone else mentioned a Rockette.) purchases from the conference, etc...



Here are some pictures from the hotel rooms...

Here everyone is laughing because somehow the bed broke. Yes, the support beam just gave way and the mattress and box spring fell.
Lisa is investigating!



Saturday:

The main session started a bit earlier than we would have liked. But, such is life. So, we headed to the main auditorium to sing praises, listen to a few brief speakers then went to our breakout sessions. The breakout sessions are my favorite part of the conference. I have been to Women of Faith and it was alright. It's hard to sit in the same chair for 8-10 hours. The breakout sessions allow for movement and a more personal/intimate setting. Also, you can pick topics that you are interested in learning about. My sessions? Chocolate Kisses for Couples, Education as a Way of Life, Family Fun Time

Saturday night we ate at Victoria's Italian Restaurant. Super yummy! I hope to return there! I had the Chicken Parmesan. Excellent! Then of course we all gathered in the hotel room and chatted some more!

Sunday was a slower paced day. We browsed the mall for a about 2 hours then headed home. I returned home to a loving husband and happy kids. I am grateful for my in-laws and my husband for taking care of the girls while I was gone. And, thanks to Carey for bringing a cute green purse stocked with gum!

Funny Story: Saturday we found a wasp in our room. Yes, a wasp. No, we didn't have our window open. We trapped the wasp under a glass. Then we all squealed a bit and summoned Lisa to our rescue. She came in and quickly grabbed the wasp in a paper towel (I think). she squished it so well....I heard its teeny bones crackle and its buggy insides explode. YUK!! That makes my skin crawl!

I walked away from the conference with 1 or 2 fresh ideas. Mostly, I was refueled and excited about my role in my family/home. I was reminded about the importance of being an intentional wife and an intentional parent. I was reminded about being intentional with words while I am doing an activity. I will probably organize a few of my notes and post them (probably to this post!).

Leave a comment! What did you walk away with!???

For another perspective click here or here.

Fall Leaves!

We have had some fun raking up the leaves in the yard! Though, if you were to look at our yard, I am not sure that you could tell we have been raking. For each leaf that we rake, 2 more fall in its place! The girls love it though.

That's a lot of leaves to rake!

Roly, poly! Tumble, bumble!

Look, a leaf angel!

I can do it!

Mommy, it's getting cold!