Snow in the Backyard

Yes. We are fun parents. For our Holiday Open House we got snow and made a sledding ramp. It rocked. Big time. The girls couldn't stay off of it and sledded until there was snow no more.

Because your parents having snow delivered to your own backyard is "Two Thumbs Up!"

Christmas Day 2009

Fun times in our house for Christmas. The big man in the red suit came and delivered. And he delivered well. A Handy Manny workbench, blankets, candy canes, DSi and more.

Great quotes of the day include.
"He came. He brought presents!!!" Delanie
"I asked for thaaaaaaaaaaat! I got my tool beeeeeeeench" Delanie
"Canny Canes - I love Canny Canes." Aubrie

And as always - a pictures speaks volumes.

The Loot

When you ask Santa for Candy Canes, Santa brings Candy Canes.

Santa knows what a girl with bad eczema will appreciate. (And trust me, she really was excited!)

We so played her - she had NO idea she would get the new DSi.Smurf Toy complete with a Smurfs DVD from Uncle Tinny. What a guy!

McKenzie figuring out the clues and realizing she gets to go on a Spring Break cruise with her cousins!

Tamale Making

The Corral/Carlson's have a Christmas Tradition. TAMALES. They are tons of work, but the payoff is so worth it. The rule is that if you want to eat Christmas Dinner you have to make at least one tamale. So the girls and I headed over to Papa and BooBoo's to make our share of tamales. The Briggs also joined us (as is tradition) and we got those tamales knocked out in no time.

Papa & McKenzie getting the masa ready.

Delanie making sure the masa is perfect.Making her first tamale of the day.
Even Aubrie got to make tamales!
Perfection.BooBoo - the Tamale Beast. (Family joke going back to my grandpa, long story.) What better way to spend a morning than with family, friends and making more memories?

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with the Monaco's and boy did the girls have fun. We had a delicious dinner(traditional Fettuccine Alfredo) and dessert (some death by chocolate cake) and tons of fun watching the girls open their gifts. We also had a special treat and Matt's cousin Kathleen spent Christmas with us. It was a wonderful, wonderful night. The only thing missing from our night was McKenzie. She spent Christmas with her dad and while we missed her - we know she was having a blast!

Does she look excited or what?

Stocking Time! Lots of candy and goodies.Slippers anyone?Stay tuned for Christmas Morning - now that was FUN!

Gingerbread Decorating

Christmas isn't complete without decorating some Gingerbread Men. So a couple of weeks ago the girls and I decided to dive right in and make a mess of it. Well, they made a mess and I did what I do best - sit back and take pictures. Oh and clean up after they're done. :)

Christmas Circa 2008

While working on some various things I went back a year to take a little look at Christmas 2008. What a fun day that was. Christmas Eve making tamales and hanging out at Matt's brothers - then Christmas Day at our house. And boy did the girls clean up - Santa was sure good to them. It's always nice to take a trip down memory lane.

Now don't they look ready for Santa?

Great Holiday Gift!

Great gift for our troops and their loved ones. And they're only $6.99 - get them now at AllAngelGifts.com.

Cake Fun

Yesterday McKenzie's school had a Winter Social. At said Winter Social there was a cake walk, in which I signed up to bring a cake and cupcakes. Needless to say my cake making on Monday did not go as planned - as Monday sucked and I was fighting off a migraine, among other things. But I stuck with it and got everything baked, then on Tuesday morning before we left for the day I frosted and decorated. They weren't the best, but certainly not the worst. And they were blue, pretty and full of wintery delight. And they tasted great, which really is all that matters, right?

Tile Dust

Is not my friend and is an unwelcome guest in my home right now. I guess that is what happens when tiles get chipped and cracked and Matt decides that yesterday was the day to fix them. The only saving grace is that I KNOW this will be a quick project, you know, since I'm having a party in 2 WEEKS! Enough of that, I have to clean!

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

I like me house to be clean - so yes, even though I have a housekeeper that comes once a week, I clean. A lot. Not over the top OCD style cleaning - but picking up, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the counters, laundry - you know, the normal stuff. With 5 people and 2 dogs (that shed like crazy) in our house - things get pretty messing and I'm mopping up spills and wiping down counters quite a bit. OK, A LOT. This being said, cleaning products can get pretty expensive. And being that I have kids and pets, I don't want really strong chemical cleaning products. I normally use the Method brand, but let's face it - it gets expensive. So I decided to start making my own cleaning products - yes one more thing to add to my list. I know, I know. Now let's move on. I've had some friends ask for some recipes and what I use - here they are. :)

Homemade Spray Cleaner
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. water

Put it in a spray bottle and clean away. This works great for cleaning the counters, bathrooms and cleaning up spills.

A good trick for hard to clean bathroom surfaces - try this. Heat up the mixture until barely hot. Then spray on your hard to clean surfaces and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. Then scrub and rinse - the heat of the mixture helps loosen up the yuckies, making it easier for you to clean.

White Vinegar
Put 1 c. in the rinse cycle of your wash instead of fabric softener. The white vinegar will soften your clothes AND cut the detergent residue. Great for those of us who have kiddos who suffer from sensitive skin.

Baking Soda
Sprinkle a little baking soda in a sink and use a little water and clean with a soft cloth. It'll make your sink shine.

For those cloth diaper users - mix it in with your laundry to help clean out the smell.

Glass Cleaner (I haven't made this yet, as I still have LOTS of Windex.)
1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Put it in a sprayer and go to town.

Furniture Polish (I haven't used this yet - but will be soon.)

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Put in a sprayer bottle.

Shake well and apply a small amount to a flannel cleaning rag or cleaning cloth. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.

Cleaning Grout Lines

White vinegar/water spray, some baking soda, nail brush or toothbrush and some elbow grease. It takes awhile, but you will be amazed at how the dirt just melts away from the grout. And trust me on this - with 2 dogs and 3 kids our grout lines were pretty dirty and when I used this to do some of our tile today, WOW they were really dirty. Yuck. I have lots of tile in my house, so I'm not done yet, but wowza the back section of tile looks FANTASTIC!

So there you go - some of the tried and true stuff I've been using and LOVING.