First Tastes of Winter

Happy Thanksgiving! Oh wait..that was last week. Better late than never though, right?

We had a good trip to Georgia, although the drive did get a little long. The kids were troopers and probably watched more TV during those car rides than in an entire week at home. But, they never once complained.

We got home Saturday, worn out and cold! Apparently winter arrived while we were in Georgia. In fact Saturday morning at our hotel in Kansas City, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The kids were so excited! I can only imagine what they'll be like after it snows here this weekend...

Yep, that's right. Snow. This weekend. And yesterday when I took Ashlyn to school, it was 3 - THREE - outside, with a wind chill of -13. Today isn't so bad - 25 with a wind chill of 10. The wind is wicked outside today though. There are wind advisories out and they're predicting winds of 40+ MPH. Sounds like a good day to stay inside and bake some Christmas goodies.

The parades also start again this weekend, so if we can stand it, we'll be in Luverne for their Winterfest parade. But, we'll be prepared with layers upon layers of clothes, warm Mexican blankets and a thermos full of hot chocolate! Don't worry - I'll be sure to post pictures after this adventure of sitting in the snow watching a Christmas parade!

Is it time for Santa yet???

I Love Football!

And small towns and the fact that when the varsity team goes to state, the schools are closed for the day! The Dragons haven't been to state since 1997. There are signs all over wishing them luck! It reminds me of when Parkview went to the state championship when I was in high school and the "We Believe" signs were all over Lilburn.

At 8:00 this morning, the team left with an escort of siren-blaring ambulances, fire trucks and our one police car. I looked out the window to see what was going on and then it hit me - it was the team's send off! If we hadn't all been in our pajamas, we would've run out to wave and cheer as they drove past.

The Adrian Dragons played today in the semi-finals (and won 25-14) and next weekend will be playing in the Metrodome in Minneapolis. If we weren't traveling to Georgia, we'd be there. But, in consolation, since school is closed on Friday, we get to leave for Georgia Thursday afternoon instead of Friday, which means an extra day of resting there!

We'll be going to our old church on Sunday, so having an extra day between traveling and the start of what will be a busy week will be so nice - for us and the kids. And, while we'll physically be in Georgia on Saturday, our hearts may just be at the Metrodome cheering for the team.

Go Dragons!

A Kitty and A Combine

For Halloween this year, my kids got to pick their own costumes. Yes, last year I was one of those neurotic moms where they had to match, and I must say they were very adorable at Elastigirl and Dash from The Incredibles. This year however, I overcame my neurosis and let them decide what they wanted to be. The only mistake I made was telling them they could be whatever they wanted.

Ashlyn was easy. She picked a cat. So, one black leotard (which she already had for dance), some black pants (which were hand-me-downs from someone anyway), some makeup, ears and a tail - and we were all set. But, please note the bling on this kitty. A regular collar wouldn't do. It had to have jewelry! And she came up with it all on her own after sneaking into my jewelry box. I must say she is definitely related to her Aunt Pam!

Carter, on the other hand, decided early on that he wanted to be a combine. I'm not sure how this happened exactly, except I casually asked him one day if he wanted to be a tractor. (By the way - his initial idea for a halloween costume was a bunny. Ummm, a boy? As a bunny? On Halloween? I could just feel the decades of ridicule that would follow him). BUT, the offer of tractor was only made after careful research on the internet for pictures of other tractor costumes that I was sure I could copy - and copy well!

Anyway, as harvest progressed, so did Carter's ideas for his costume. First it went to a tractor with a wagon. There was no way this was even physically possible unless Ashlyn agreed to be the wagon. Nope - a kitty. So, then Carter got in his mind that he wanted to be a combine. Imagine me when I heard this. There are NO PICTURES - ANYWHERE - online of any other kid in a combine costume.

But after some careful examination of those tractor costumes and spending some time at the farm and driving down the road STARING at combines, I thought I could handle it. Until Carter told me that he wanted to be a RED combine. In Britney's family, that's equal to heresy. Luckily, Ashlyn saved us from being excommunicated by telling Carter that Uncle Jerry wouldn't give him any candy if he was a RED combine. He HAD to be a GREEN one.

So, I finished his costume on Monday and you can only imagine the fight I had on my hands the next two days trying to keep it somewhat together. I must have reattached the corn heads a thousand times - so many times that when it was finally time to leave to go trick or treating, he went with one missing, because I just couldn't do it again.

The night was pretty chilly, but we only went trick or treating on our street. That didn't take too long, but the kids were satisfied with their candy and pretty tuckered out.

I just want to end this post by saying that I am the world's coolest mom for coming up with the combine costume. All of the boys who saw Carter last night went nuts over his costume and I even had one lady stop us at the Fall Festival at Ashlyn's school to take a picture so she could show her husband! I ROCK!

By the way - you can check out all of our pictures from the Fall Festival and Halloween here. I'm not sure why there are NONE of Ashlyn at HER fall festival. I think Britney was too enthralled with Carter's costume...

Six Months Ago

We arrived in Minnesota six months ago today. Sometimes it feels like we've always lived here and some days it's very clear that we're still the newcomers in town. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord moved us here for a purpose - even if that purpose was just to move our kids to a school where the teachers actually care about them and the principle is visible EVERY DAY around the school either greeting kids in the morning or helping in the crosswalks in the afternoon. We've met some really incredible friends who have helped make the transition here a little easier when we're missing our family and friends in Georgia.

I have to admit that I am a little uncertain about the holidays. Starting tonight with Halloween, the kids are looking forward to visiting all of our friends on our block to get candy and visit for a little while. It's supposed to be cold though, so I don't know how long we'll stay out. We'll be going back to Georgia for Thanksgiving and already it looks like the trip is going to be too short! Christmas is the kicker though. Christmas has always been huge in my family - a whole day of being together, eating, opening presents, eating, watching movies, eating...You get the idea. But, we'll be in Minnesota this Christmas. I hope it's at least a white one. The kids would love that. And we'll still get to see my family, thanks to modern-day technology, as they hook up the webcam to my dad's movie theater screen and we connect ours to our TV. It won't be the same, but at least it'll be as close as we can get!

Anyway, in celebration of our six months here, I thought I would list ten things that I've learned about life in Minnesota in the last six months.
1. When the cashier asks you if you want to "drive up" at the grocery store, it's not for a donation - they really will carry your groceries out to your car, which you drive up to the curb! You better believe I'll be doing this when it turns cold!
2. Hog manure aka fertilizer - STINKS!
3. You can get a 3/4 pound Dragon burger at the local steakhouse for a whopping $6.50
4. Walking your kids to school is better than watching them get on the bus or driving them in the car any day - even in the rain!
5. Nothing beats summer on the lake in Minnesota!
6. I can pass a written driving exam, even at 30.
7. In a small town, people know about you before you know about them!
8. We've learned more about our neighbors in the six months that we've lived here than we knew in the 3.5 years in Suwanee.
9. You can WALK to the doctor's office when it's only 3 blocks away :) Definitely beats the hour + drive to John's Creek for an 8:30 a.m. appointment!
10. There are lots of great flea markets, yard sales and consignment stores where you can find some REALLY great bargains!!!

If you want to experience small town Minnesota life, just give us a call - we always have room for more!

Recipes

So, my last post generated a lot of questions - mostly people wanting to know my super secret recipes. Just kidding, but there were some requests for my recipes, so here are the bread, pancake and Christmas ornament ones.

Bread Machine Bread:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour (I usually do 2 cups bread flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
Makes a 2 lb. loaf in a bread machine.

Pancakes:
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Beat egg in medium bowl until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375. Grease griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook pancake until puffed and dry around edges. Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

Christmas Ornaments
1 cup ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 c. applesauce
Mix together dry ingredients. Add applesauce a little at a time. Mixture should have the consistency of playdoh so you are able to work it in your hands. If it is too dry, add 1-2 tbsp. applesauce; too wet, sprinkle surface and mixture with cinnamon. Roll out between waxed paper and cut out with cookie cutters. Poke hole for ribbon hanger. Air dry 4-5 days or set in low temp. oven overnight.

8 Random Cooking Things

I've been tagged by my friend Kathy to list 8 random things from my cooking life. They may not be all that interesting or informative, but here goes...

1. I mostly use Pampered Chef products. That's right. I'm still stringing my Pampered Chef business along, mostly for the free or cheap products. My favorites would have to be the Forged Cutlery, Garlic Press and Executive Cookware.

2. I love to use fresh garlic when I'm cooking. I made a pork loin last week and had to wash the sheets the next day because of how our house smelled :)

3. I make homemade bread now - no store bought stuff for us! We bought a bread maker shortly after we moved in because of how my friend Robin talked about her bread maker and how much she saved buy buying bulk flour, etc. and then making her own. We love it!

4. I usually procrastinate about what's for dinner until the last minute. I like to plan so that I don't have to make a million trips to the grocery store, but I always forget to take something out in the morning...

5. I love to bake! Enough said!

6. I make my kids pancakes from scratch almost every day. It's their new favorite and now they don't like the ones from the package at the store. Fine by me - less preservatives this way!

7. I'm the master of simple and delicious! This was a compliment someone gave me just last week!

8. I bake my own Christmas ornaments every year. You know, the ones with lots of cinnamon and spice so they make my house smell so nice.

There you go! Now I'm passing it on to Deanna, Lori and Melena!

The Dancing Diva!

Ashlyn had her dancing debut last Thursday at the high school football game. She did a great job, and I think her teacher was very smart to keep the dance so short. They had only practiced four weeks!

Uncle Monte flew in just in time for the game and Britney's uncle Jerry and aunt Mel ran (literally!) and got there just in time for the performance.

Enjoy!