A Thankful Christmas!

We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and that the birth of Jesus was close to your heart. I know it's hard to stray from the true meaning of Christmas and we try to remind our children at this time of the year that it's not about the presents, but the eternal gift that is the true present at Christmas time! This year yes we all got some really nice gifts and even had Brian's older sister Tonia and her husband Greg in town from New Mexico so that was a treat!
But now the dazzle is over and we are back to work....Brian tiling the bathroom in the basement and me cleaning up after the two bambinos and their toys:-)

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful cards and letters! And we hope you all have a safe, healthy, and blessed new year in 2010!

Catching Aria as she opens her eyes to see her gift from Grandma and Grandpa. Now if that was me at her age...oh my gosh my mouth would be dropped and I would have been running. I would have LOVED to have something like this when I was a little girl. She loved it don't get me wrong I guess she is a little more reserved than I was:-).

Grandpa made this by hand in his workshop! Her own play stable....and Grandma helped paint it and put it together. What a great gift! I can't wait to play with it! It's still at their house till our basement is done. As you will see Kaden liked it too so we have to make sure we can place it high enough so he can't get into it.

Oh and did you notice the top of the barn; how it comes off! So cool; your the best Grandpa and Grandma!

Up close...

Aria showing Aunt Tonia her new toy...

Kaden getting in on our horse action....

They even found a muck and tack trunk that we placed in the barn. Now Aria wants to get some horse manure....I told her we could get some granola. I don't know maybe they do make play manure????

Kaden got drums...just what the boy needs so he can stop banging things on my kitchen cabinets:-)

And Daddy got an awesome electric guitar and amp set!

Daddy with his new guitar....

Yep you didn't see me in any of these; I got some really nice gifts though; thank you everyone! Another year without a horse:-) That will be the year you see me with my mouth dropped. But I have a feeling that dream will have to wait for a long time. That's ok, I have enough with three kids to keep me busy for awhile.

It's A BOY!!!

Christmas Eve was a very long day....I didn't sleep well the night before; a mother of excited anticipation to find out whether I would be expecting what I thought to be a boy or a girl. I knew that if it was a boy I would also have a task on hand of convincing Aria that having two brothers is cool and making her extra special. She really wanted a girl, or so she thinks. I knew I was having a boy but of course I was praying for God's will not mine and that either way our children would love each other and be very close. Aria was ok when she heard the news, and I think she is warming up to the idea. It was a family affair, we all trekked into the Radiology office at 830am; Brian, Aria, Kaden, Aunt Shari (Brian's younger sister), and I. It was nice to have everyone there.

We are still working on a name so stay tuned for that as we get closer to the due date of May 26. For now, here are some pics of the little guy we already love and adore!

WOW....Is All I Can Say

OK I am really liking Giada's new cookbook...I just made two recipes from the book for dinner last night and all that came out of all of our mouths was "WOW." And although Kaden can't talk he ate all his orzo! So I decided to make the Chicken Scaloppine with Saffron Cream Sauce. Oh my gosh this was delicious! I wish I had more sauce I would be drizzling it on everything. And the saffron threads add a very nice taste to it all.

I did not find the recipe online so if you want it, of course I would suggest buying the book, or just email me and I will gladly forward it to you. I made a side salad and of course we used up more of the Ciabatta bread that I bought. We all had seconds on the orzo and we had left over sauce so we poured that on over the orzo....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm SO GOOD. Must I say anymore? Hope you get a chance to make this one.

Saffron threads are in the spice isle. They are the most expensice spice in the world; and trust me after you try this recipe you will know why. And also due to the fact that it takes 14,000 threads to make one ounce. And each crocus flower, where it derives, yields 3 of those threads. So do the math and it takes 5,000 crocuses to yield one ounce of this amazing spice!

I did my shopping at Wegmans of course and I was directed to this cheap dry white wine as a great cooking wine. It was $5! And yes I tried it, and I have to say it was very smooth and delicious....if I wasn't pregnant I probably would have drank half the bottle:-)

Up close of the saffron threads.

THE SAUCE.....

Dinner....I know the picutre does no justification but all I can say it we ALL LOVED IT.

This is my favorite salad; baby spinach with tomatoes topped with sea salt, olive oil, and fresh parmesan. I buy the orange, red, and yellow tomatoes and alternate it's a great way to get a variety of veggies in our diet.

A New Recipe To Add To Your Cold Days....

So I was out yesterday buying all the things I needed for Christmas Eve dinner at our home and decided to also try some recipes from my new cookbook that I got signed at the DC Cooking event. Yep Giada's New Italian Favorites. So my first recipe I decided to try was the Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup which you can get by clicking on the name. One reason why I love Giada's recipes is because she has a mix; some with a lot of ingredients and many with very little but they all turn out SO DELICIOUS. And this was another one. I think this will be a staple in our home during the cold days. Everyone ate it all up and the ciabatta bread was a perfect compliment. I also made a side salad of yellow tomatoes and cucumbers topped with olive oil and fresh parmesan cheese!!!!! Definitely worth a try whether you have company or just having a simple dinner at home.

I used a blender instead of the food processor, much easier to use than a big processor for just some soup. It worked great. And I only used one shallot vs two because Brian's tummy can't handle too many onions. It still turned out amazing, very smooth taste, healthy, and was a cure to a cold and empty tummy.

I had Giada sign it for both Aria and I.

This is the book; some great kids' meals are in here too. A great book to have around...

The Damage Is Done...

This was the site this morning out the front door; which I slowly opened so the snow wouldn't crash in the house! So sirene, quite, and beautiful with the sunrise in the background. It was a normal morning....airplanes taking off at regular time:-) Yep that is my alarm clock these days. It's not loud but it's the first ring to my ears at 6-6:30am. I can't imagine what Dulles Airport was like yesterday; all flights cancelled in and out. I didn't measure the snow yet but I am going to guess we got at least 3'.

We all woke up, had breakfast and outside we went. As you will see the kids were properly attired this time! We don't normally get snow this early in the winter so I was caught off gaurd. I guess next year I will learn my lesson and be better prepared and have all that stuff on hand after Thanksgiving.

It was fun, Kaden really liked being pulled on the sled. Aria enjoyed just being outside. And poor Daddy was stuck shoveling the whole time as you can see. I told him to go snowboarding but he has a feeling the slopes are going to be packed today so probably best to go after the rush. I think he is right. It's so pretty, I love it and I am thankful that God tossed this beautiful blanket of snow just in time for Christmas Day!

Looking out the front door.

This was actually taken last night...Daddy shoveled the driveway twice during the snowfall. Good thing because it sure made it easier for him to finish it this morning.

Side view of house. The drywall guys were scheduled to work today but we were not sure if they were going to make it and they did! So they are working hard right now.

Aria dressed in her new suit. I went to the thrift store but there were none left in her size. But I did find Kaden a nice LL Bean one so I saved on that one:-)

Front of the house as we passed on our little morning walk.

Looking down the court.

Kaden in his new outfit in the sled.

Aria doing her snow angel...

A White Christmas Our Way

Being raised on a gorgeous Southern California beach doesn't keep snow off my favorite list....there is something peaceful and beautiful about snow laden land. I love the snow and although I have never picked up any snow sports due to some fear of going so fast down the slopes I can's stop. I know silly fear from a girl who rides motorcycles and has done other "dangerous" sports. There is just something about sitting at home and watching the white stuff come down from the clouds. Right now it's so windy and coming down so hard I don't even want to go out but I am looking forward to it stopping so I can go play in it with the kids. The weather has it snowing all day and in to Sunday morning. Right now we have over 1.5' of snow so I would not be surprised if we go over 2' mark. We will see....

I went out last night and got the kids a snow suit, but all the snow gloves were sold out! I went to three different stores and by 8pm I was exhausted and the kids were ready to get out of the truck so we went home with out gloves. Luckily Amazon has them and well we will just wait patiently for them to arrive and in the meantime the kids will just have to wear their cotton gloves for now. For all our CA family...wish you were here with us to enjoy the sight and beauty of this winter wonderland:-)

The American Flag in our front yard; snow at about 1' right there. I am using that as my snow marker so keep checking back. Once the snow stops I will take another picture of it for final results.

I peeked out the front door...

Backyard view....

We Passed!

All the inspections for our almost finished basement....So we have been IMMENSLEY blessed this year and we are also very blessed to have Brian who pretty much knows how to do ANYTHING around the house including building decks, patios, basements, and much more. No I didn't marry him to save money on home improvements and auto maintenance, but he has surely saved us thousands of dollards over the years. (Just wanted to give him kudos for all the neat things he does for our home)

Brian and I opted not to have the builder finish our basement; at a price of $30k no way! We didn't have that kind of money....so a few weeks ago after getting some quotes Brian decided he was going to have to take on this task on himself. Mind you just buying the materials saves us more than 75% over what a contractor would charge us! So we designed our basement, with a long term vision in mind, and off Brian went to framing. After almost 3 weeks of laboring nights after work and on weekends he is done! The county inspectors came out this week and passed his work for electrical, HVAC, framing, and plumbing. Of course he took a night off here and there to play with the kids but Brian is not the type to take breaks; he likes to finish a task quickly and efficiently...taking a break is allowed after the job is done:-)

When you walk down from inside of house you walk into the gym, go through doorway where there will be a open rec room or kid play area for now. Then we made a guest room 11x17' with a walk in closet and the door which exits to the backyard. Then we put a full bath, movie theatre, and a storage room. See pics below...

Looking at gym from kid play area. We decided not to put a door on it although Brian framed it for that; it would cost us another $200 so we decided to keep it open.

Full bath between theater and bedroom.

Walk in closet for guest room.

Guest room looking out to kid play area.

Movie theater, where the floor lamp is; that wall will be where the projector will project to.

Movie theater; Brian built a little deck for a couch to go on to give it a theater type seating. We have a couch to place on that but at some point we will like to add another couch on the ground level.

Storage room with more storage under the stairs! We will need that!

Looking at guest room.

Looking at basement from main entrance.

What A Mess! But Well Worth It....

As if I am not already tired by trying to get all my Christmas gifts together so I can ship them to CA in time....I decided to make a complete mess of my kitchen and let the kids have some sugary floury fun! Oh and they did. It was cool. I have not made sugar cookies in SO long but I was in the holiday cheer and thought it would be great fun for my kids and my neighbors kids.

We had Elise and Harrison join us to help make the cookies. Their mom was home with her other two kids but was able to join us for the fun part of decorating! Thanks Theresa...we had a lot of fun! I found this sugar cookie recipe by doing an extensive search on the best recipe and IT WAS THE BEST I have ever had. Then I found this icing recipe and thought it was the BEST too. I am not a fan of sugar cookies, because the one's I have had were too hard and I HATE hard cookies:-) So now I have a rekindled my likeness for sugar cookies, oh boy these are SO good. Sorry but I would love to share them with you....guess you have to make them for yourself now:-)

I rolled out the dough and the kids took off cutting....

I really watched the cookies, so they wouldn't burn or even slightly brown I think that is what made them so great.

Kaden ready to take over....

Harrison, Aria and Elise...we are so lucky to have such great neighbors!

Kaden trying to do some cutting.

As you can see everytime I rolled the dough out everyone was so excited to start cutting. Good job kids!

Kaden, when I wasn't looking, managed to grab a ball of dough and shoved it in his mouth!!!

Ta Da! OK they may look like a bunch of icing and sprinkles ran into each other but let me tell you they were so delicious I couldn't get my hands off them:-)