Something fun to do in the snow

This morning we woke up to a blizzard. Aaaaaaah!
But, here's something fun to do in the snow:



I put colored water in a spray bottle and Eleyna sprayed the snow for an hour.

Little Birdies

Thanks to this fun website, we made these cute birds and yarn nests yesterday:



Even Eli liked them.

Yeast

Eli LOVES to help me in the kitchen. His favorite phrase is, "I want to help you!" He's so helpful. Really. I don't know how I ever cooked without him. Ha ha! Today he helped me make bread. It was so cute how he got down from the chair he was standing on, got his own measuring cup, and started scooping flour into the bowl. And then it was so cute how he just threw 4 almonds into the bowl and I didn't get one of them out until the end. And then how his little finger kept sneaking into the bowl to eat raw bread dough. Yum yum. And then it was so cute how he cried in misery when I put the lid on to knead it. So cute. Really.
As he was licking a spoon with bread dough, Evelyn says, "Mom, is he going to get bigger and bigger?" I asked her what she meant and she said, "You know, the yeast."
I thought that was so funny! It makes the dough bigger, why not the person eating it?

Are you kidding me?

We have been laying down with Eleyna to help her go to sleep every night for the last two years, ever since we moved her into bunk beds. She's just so scared of everything that we figured she needed us to lay with her until she feel asleep. It only takes a half hour on good nights, maybe more on bad nights.
Well the other night during my book club, Jake randomly decided that she could go to sleep by herself. Sure we've been dreaming of it for two years, but we never decided together that we were ready to help her through it.** She actually stayed in her bed about 15 minutes, crying the whole time, of course. Then she came downstairs to find us because she was "too scared". I went upstairs and talked to her for a few minutes. She clung to me with all her might and begged for me to sleep with her. My heart broke at how sad and scared she was (and under my breath I was grumbling at Jake for deciding to start this battle with her.) I left her screaming, and she came out immediately. So, I put her back in bed, thank you Supernanny, a few times. Finally she stayed in bed for 30 seconds, and I stood around the corner waiting for her to get up again. She came creeping out of her room until she saw me, and then darted back around the corner so I wouldn't know she was there. I put her in bed one more time, and she cried herself to sleep in defeat.
And now for the happy part of the story. SHE'S GONE TO SLEEP BY HERSELF EVERY DAY SINCE! With no crying! The first morning after she said, proud as can be, "I went to sleep by myself last night." Plus, she stayed in her bed all night. This morning she waited in her bed until I woke up at 8:00. 8:00!!!!! This is a girl who comes into our room every night and whispers "MOMMY!" every 10 minutes from 6:00 until the clock says 7:00, at which point I let her wake up.
I'm not counting on the morning part, but HALLELUJAH! at going to sleep by herself.
(On the other hand, Evelyn decided she's scared at night and came to sleep in our room in the middle of the night. Dang it!)

**I hesitated so much because getting Evelyn to sleep by herself was terrible. One night I put her back in her bed 67 times. (Only to find out later that she was sick, after we found her in bed with throw up all over her.)

The Recipes

And the winner is....
Blueberry Cheesecake (even with Jake voting twice for something else)
This recipe is from a friend in Houston. It is so delicious, especially the blueberry pie filling.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup melted butter 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sour cream		2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups frozen blueberries 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water dash cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 cup water

Directions
1.	Crust: Mix the crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and butter together. Spread in a 9" spring form pan. (or a large pie pan). Bake at 375 for 6 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2.	Filling 1: Cream the cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. Add 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, one at a time, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Pour onto baked crust. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. (or until firm enough to add the other filling on top.)
3.	Filling 2: Mix sour cream, 2 T sugar, and vanilla together. Spread gently on top of cheesecake. Bake an additional 5 minutes until firm. Cool and then chill 4 hours.
4.	Blueberry pie filling: Mix blueberries, sugar, water, cinnamon, and lemon juice together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Mix 1 1/2 T cornstarch in about 1/4 cup water. Add to blueberries. Return to a boil and stir until thickened.

Berries on a Cloud
1 recipe Meringue Crust
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 pkg raspberry Danish Dessert
1 pkg frozen raspberries

Prepare the Meringue Crust a day before serving.
Early, on the day of serving, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Whip cream. Gently fold whipped cream and marshmallows. Spread atop Meringue Crust. Refrigerate 12 hours.
Make raspberry Danish Dessert according to directions, but with 1 ½ cups water. Cool. Add partially thawed berries. Just before serving, spoon berry mixture onto meringue around the border. Cut kiwi in half and garnish.
Makes 8 servings.

Meringue Crust
6 egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar

Heat oven to 275. Grease a pizza pan. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Add salt. Gradually add sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy, about 15 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Pour onto greased pizza pan, hollowing slightly in center. Bake 40-45 minutes. Turn off oven. Do not open. Leave meringue crust in oven for 12 hours.

Blueberry Delight from Taste of Home

Ingredients
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk		1 3-oz package instant vanilla pudding mix 1 12-oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided 1 angel food cake, cut into 1-in cubes 1 quart blueberries, frozen or fresh

Directions
1.	In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add milk and pudding mix; mix well. Fold in 1 1/2 cups whipped topping.
2.	Place half of the cake cubes in a 3-qt glass bowl (or trifle bowl.) Layer with half of the berries and pudding mixture. Cover with remaining cake cubes. Layer with reamining berries and pudding mixture. Garnish with additional berries if desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Cookies:
I'm obsessed with biscotti lately. It's so crunchy and delicious. I like to dip the cookies in white or dark chocolate on one of the long sides.
Chocolate biscotti
Plain biscotti (I added about 1 cup of chopped toasted almonds)
Cranberry and pistachio biscotti

Pleas take my poll ASAP!!!!

This is very important! I'm having a book club on Wednesday and I need to decide what to make for dessert. So, please vote and help me make up my mind.
And if you're around, (and a woman) you're invited, too. We read a book called These is my words which I highly recommend. You don't even have to read the book to come.

Who will be my valentine?

The kids learned this little song from the library and have been singing it ever since then. Even Eli joins in the fun:
(to the tune of Mary had a little lamb)
Who will be my Valentine, Valentine, Valentine?
Who will be my Valentine?
He/She's ________ (describe them and guess who it is)

Okay, now imagine just me and Eleyna singing it for 30 minutes on the way to the hospital and 30 minutes on the way back. How, you may ask, did I keep sane? It was hard. I finally tried to distract her with a book, but she couldn't hold it so she kept saying, in distress, "This book is so Stupid!" Then I distracted her with I Spy, which we played for the other 30 minutes and ended up as, "I spy something red, white, and blue." a flag. "I spy something red white and blue." A flag. "I spy something red, white, and blue." a flag. (and on and on and on....)
You could say it was a long ride... I can't wait to go back next week to get the cast off. Ha ha ha.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess! (and me too)

Dr. Suess and I share a birthday. So, in honor of his birthday, Evelyn and I made a cat-in-the-hat hat. She loved it so much that she wore it to Red Robin that night.
(We found the instructions here.)
Thanks, Jake, for making my birthday so great!

Craft Crazy

The girls have been asking to do crafts daily ever since I gave Eleyna a ready-to-do craft box from Oriental Trading for Christmas. Those are my kind of crafts since the girls are still at the please-do-it-for-me stage of life. I really hate "doing a craft" with them and making it all myself. (Then again sometimes I have a hard time letting go and not insisting they look exactly how I think they should.)
Valentine's Day threw me into a craft crazed frenzy. We had a really fun week making these projects:



I threw the girls a Valentines party where we decorated purses for the girls and beanbags for the boys:


In my search for crafts, I found some really great craft websites, including these:

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/
http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/

Happy Birthday for Real

Eleyna's birthday started off rocky, but as soon as we started the party she cheered right up and has been pretty happy and doing really well ever since.
We started off with a treasure hunt to find her presents with clues like:

We love Eleyna because she is cute. Look inside a snow boot.
Eleyna is so funny. Go look by her bunny.
Eleyna is such a silly head. Go look in her bed.
We love Eleyna because she is sweet. Go look where you'd find a treat.
We love Eleyna even when she's a grouch. Go look in the couch.
We're glad Eleyna's at home. Look by the telephone.
We love Eleyna because she's pretty. Look underneath Hello Kitty.

She got a beautiful dress from her Grandma Susan that even fits with her cast:

a nightgown that we took an arm off for now



and some Littlest Pet Shops. She was going to get a Build-a-Bear on Saturday, but instead she and Jake had a great time going on Monday.


Next we had pizza and cake. Can you tell the girls helped with the cake? It's a Littlest Pet Shop...and Ariel... cake

She's been so happy with each get well card and present. On Saturday she got a big balloon/stuffed animal bouquet from Jared and Karen. You should have seen the smile on her face when that came! Sunday some of our friends brought her cards and a stuffed monkey, and she's gotten coloring books, sticker books, and even a bag of presents where she opens one a day until they're gone, at which point she'll hopefully feel a lot better.



She's really back to normal, playing dollies and hitting her brother with her good arm whenever he touches one of her new toys. Fun times all around.

An early birthday present for Eleyna

Yesterday Eleyna got a terrible birthday present- a broken arm.
We were at the park where Eleyna and I were having a great time playing a tickling game, when Eleyna lost her footing and fell off a waist-high playground platform. She landed right on her elbow and I knew right away from how her arm was laying on the ground that it was broken. My friend took the other kids and I rushed her to the doctor, who had me go straight to the ER. Poor girl had a terrible break clear through the bone a few inches above her elbow. They sent her to Primary Children's by ambulance so a pediatric orthopedic surgeon could operate on her. About 8 hours after the break, she was all put together with a full arm splint and 4 pins in her arm. We spent an uncomfortable night crammed in a teeny room in a packed hospital and came home this morning. Next week she'll get a cast when the swelling goes down.
I feel so sad because I was seconds away from catching her and preventing the whole thing. I can't imagine what awful pain she was in, and I don't know how she'll get over the fear of this when she's already afraid of so many things. She was a trooper through the whole thing, though, and she's doing alright considering.
So, Happy Birthday, Eleyna! I hope you enjoy your new bike... when your cast is off and you get the courage to ride it.

Winter

The Sky is Falling

Sweetest darling Eleyna often sometimes drives us crazy. We ask her to do something and she falls on the ground in despair because her legs don't work or she's too tired or she's scared or her finger is sore, or.... you get the picture. For example, today she hurt her arm because, "I was trying to dance cool." I laid her on my bed to rest and get better, and she said, "It's never going to feel better. Now I'll have to be in your bed even until my birthday." And believe me, she really meant it.
So today I was trying to clean the house.
(Obviously, only because we're having friends over tonight. It's their first time coming over, so I like it to be extra clean so they know that I can clean it. Next time they come over, it won't matter as much. I'm actually feeling more stressed because this is a lady who cleans ALL the time. I asked her once what she and her little 4-year old do during the day, and she said something like, "Mostly he just watches TV or plays by himself because he knows that I have so much cleaning to do." So now I feel like she'll notice every spot of dust or every splotch of dirt. She's a very nice person, so I probably don't need to worry.)
Anyway, most of the mess was Eleyna's, so I tried to get her to help. I bribed and threatened and yelled (yes, I may have yelled), only to meet groans and moans and "I can'ts". So, finally, I took a break from her and wouldn't play with her because, "If you don't want to help me, I don't want to play with you". Awhile later, when I was feeling nice again, we played a game where we acted out something in the room and the other person guessed it, then cleaned that thing up. The room was clean in less than 10 minutes.

How do you get your kids to clean?

(I just have to add this because I was dying laughing the other night. It's probably only funny because I was in a funny mood after we were playing charades and Jake acted out Princess Jasmine. We were trying to convince Eleyna that she could actually sleep in her bed and not die or be eaten by giants. She was trying to sleep as close to the edge as possible because I was sitting on the floor by her and she wanted to be as near to me as possible. But we didn't want her so close to the edge that she'd fall off. She said, in the most pitiful, sad little voice, "The other night I was on the edge and I fell off and it was awesome." Yes, awesome... )

It's so frustrating to be dumb

And that's all I have to say about that.

But look how cute this smartie pants is:

What was lost now is found

Evelyn found Eli's blanket this afternoon. It was in a little toy washing machine that we have. I checked it, I swear, but it was there. Jake and I talked about not giving it to him now that he's over it, but Evelyn was so excited and I couldn't make up my mind in the moment. She gave it to him and he was really happy to see it. All that lamenting for nothing...