Just hanging with Ollie on a lazy afternoon...

...always brings a smile to my face!

Keepin' It Real Wednesday

The Nielsons' "children's tree"





The Colemans' "children's tree"

'Tis the Season Polls, Week 4

First, the results of last week's poll:
Do you like eggnog?
Yes:8
No: 10
Still haven't tried it:2

I am finding out that I am not as normal as I thought I was :o) Oh, and thank you all for letting know you have tried it recently. I will sleep more soundly at night.

This week's poll won't be featured up in the corner there because it's not a voting poll - more of a little questionnaire.

When I was growing up, we saved all the Christmas goodies that our friends and family gave us through the month of December. On Christmas Eve, we brought them all out for a big Christmas pig-out. This was definitely the only time all year when I had summer sausage (which I loved), and one our favorite parts was the box of See's candies that our next door neighbor always gave us. We also took a drive around the town to see the Christmas lights - highlights (for you Blythonians) were always Earl Street and "Where's Waldo" in RBA. Some years we would also take treats to the widows that my dad "home-taught" and we would sing them some Christmas carols. More than once, my dad was called away at some point in the night to help a church member who was traveling through for the holidays and had car problems. We all got to open one present and then it was bedtime. I often got a new book for my present, so I would spend the night reading until my eyes drooped. We weren't allowed to get up until 6 am, and we always ended up congregating in one of the kids' rooms shortly before then so we could go wake my parents up together. I have a lot of wonderful Christmas Eve memories from growing up.

This is what we do now: We always get pizza and have it delivered so we can give the pizza man a fat tip. Then the kids open up a new pair of pajamas from Mom and Dad, and then one more present of their choice. After we get PJ's on, we load up in the van to drive around and look at lights. When we come home, we put out some cookies and milk (or eggnog) for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer. After that, we read a picture book about Jesus' birth, and then it is lights out for the little ones. We always put the baby gate up at the top of the stairs so no one can sneak down before 6 am.

So, dear readers, please do share - what are your Christmas Eve traditions?

'Tis the Season Polls, Week 3

The official results of last week's
'Tis the Season Poll:
Does Santa Wrap Your Presents?

Yes - 13 votes
No-7 votes
Santa who? - 1 vote

I have a feeling that most of the no votes came from my family members.

Now onto this week's poll:

Do you like eggnog?

The poll is open for voting in the top right corner. Please discuss below. Poll will close around noon on Friday.

And dear friends, being the egg nog fan that I am, and having three children who have guzzled the stuff since the first moment it touched their lips - I would like to know this:

If you don't like eggnog, when was the last time you actually tried it?

'Cause I kind of have this thing about adults who don't like foods that they haven't tried since they were, like, five.

Original eggnog poll can be found here.

Cooking with Colin

Colin was complaining about the after-school boredoms the other day while I was cleaning the kitchen, so I had a brilliant idea. I asked him if he wanted to make taco soup for dinner. He quickly said "yes" and, following my instructions, cooked the whole meal by himself. He did a great job! I am going to have to have him help me out more in the future.

In case you don't know this easy-enough-for-a-7-year-old taco soup recipe (that is sooo satisfying on a cold and lazy day), here it is:

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or turkey (we often use turkey)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 small can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning

Brown the meat in a big pot. Drain. Add all other ingredients, plus a can or two of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a low simmer. Simmer for however long you desire.

You could also add the browned meat and other ingredients to a crock pot and cook on low if you want.

Serve taco soup garnished with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, diced onions, or whatever your heart desires. Or, if you are like Chad, garnish your chips with taco soup ;o)

Because you have never seen Chad get down like this

'Tis the Season Polls, Week 2

First, the official results of last week's poll: Which do you prefer - artificial or real Christmas trees?

Real - 7 votes
Artificial - 10 votes
Neither - 1 vote (*cough cough Roy*)

I was pretty surprised by these results! In my heart of heart I vote for real....but my practical side votes with artificial. I think someday I will return to real trees, but for now, for the same reasons I don't have a pet, it's all fake for me.

So, onto this week's poll:

Does Santa wrap your presents?

He did not wrap my presents growing up, he did wrap Chad's. We have carried on my tradition. How about you? Are Santa's gifts in your house wrapped?

Vote in the poll in the right corner up there before noon on Friday!

Original poll found here.

What I will remember about tonight

Date Night with Dew: Cajun Queen

A couple of months ago, Living Social had a deal where you could spend $20 to get a gift certificate for $40 at Cajun Queen. I have wanted to try this restaurant since we first moved to Charlotte almost six years ago, so I jumped on it. We dropped the kids off with my parents last evening and tried it out.

Cajun Queen's atmosphere is just awesome. Couldn't get better in my opinion. It is a converted old house, and they have a excellent jazz band playing upstairs. We chose to sit up there, and I loved hearing it. Chad and I rarely go out at night, so I was soaking it all up.

Of course I scoured the menu before we went and looked at reviews. A lot of people said to try the fried green tomatoes, so we ordered that as our appetizer.

This dish was tasty, but not anything I would ever rave about. Really, it sounds harsh, but I was not impressed and neither was Chad. It was just dull, which you don't expect from your first bite of Cajun food.

Chad ordered the Diane with chicken. It was delicious - swimming with buttery, garlic-y mushrooms, fresh parsley, and tender chicken . It had a little bit of a kick that never got overwhelming.

I had the Etouffe with crawfish. It had a spicy, rich brown sauce and plentiful crawfish. It was spicy in a peppery way that crept up on you. It wasn't spicy like chilies can be, where you have to take a drink of milk after one bite and you start sweating. It built. I have a medium tolerance for heat, and after awhile I needed to stop and eat some bread to get my taste back. Then the next bite would be heavenly. I really enjoyed it.

Here's where my biggest complaint of the evening comes in. I knew, from looking at the menu, that each entree comes with your choice of jumbo or a side salad. Our waitress didn't mention this when she was taking our orders, and I didn't remember until I heard another couple ask about it. I thought maybe she would bring it up when she brought our appetizer. Nope. At that point we no longer had the menu's in front of us and I thought that maybe we had ordered something that didn't qualify for it. It was too awkward to bring it up after we already had our food, so I didn't. When I checked the menu this morning, yes, we were definitely supposed to get it. It really bothers me that the waitress didn't bring it up. Are you supposed to have to ask to get it? I think that is bad customer service. Maybe it sounds petty - but I would have loved to try their gumbo.

We had decided beforehand to go all out, so we even got dessert. For dessert we asked the waitress which was better, the bread pudding or the key lime pie (which people rave about online). She mentioned that they made their own bread pudding, and it had an amazing caramel sauce on top, so we got that.

Um, that's the amazing caramel sauce? We couldn't even taste it. The bread pudding was yummy though, and I thought it was nice and balanced - not overly sweet.

We had a very enjoyable evening. Will be go back again? Doubtful. We just never spend that much on dinner- even with our coupon, it was expensive. It was really nice to try though, and at least we were full at the end of the evening! I even had some leftovers for the boys to try. Ollie and Colin liked it (with lots of water) - Gabe did not.

As a side note, my kids had the time of their lives at Granny and Grandpa's. Thanks Mom and Dad (and Bryce!)

Christmas Countdown

We had a Souper Saturday a couple of weeks ago at the church. In case you aren't familiar with that phrase, all the women in our ward (congregation) gather together on a Saturday morning and complete a variety of different crafts that they have signed up for and that have been prepared for them. Then we pig out on soup. I brought Zuppa Toscana and it was a big fat hit. How can it not be- with bacon, Italian sausage, and cream?

Anyway, I had a great time. I am not a huge fan of having the same crafty things in my home as everyone else, but I also never make the effort to do anything creative like this on my own. So I am willing to be a typical mormon mommy if it means completely finishing two projects in one morning (while chatting with other women) and having no mess to clean up afterwards. I even went so far into the stereotype to choose two projects with, Dun dun dun......vinyl.

This one just makes me smile every time I see it. It is somewhat sloppy because I did it second and was in a hurry, but the kids and I adore it. It is a Christmas countdown. It is supposed to say countdown on the bottom, but the lady who did the vinyl accidentally made the word too big, so she is supposed to get us new ones. I used a blue Christmas theme so it would go perfectly in my front room, and I think it totally does. Yes, I am a big cheeseball.

Can you believe Christmas is so close? I am pretty thrilled about it, and it helps that I am totally on top of things and my shopping is almost done.

As a side note, I know that a lot of moms out there get all frustrated about the commercialization of Christmas and how it makes their kids get the gimmes, but I love it. The only time we buy our kids toys is Christmas and their birthdays, so it is always our chance to get them the things we know they have been wanting all year. We keep it under control too, because we have learned that if we get them too much they end up ignoring half of it. Santa gets them each a larger gift (something like a bike if they need it, but that is usually the biggest thing they will get unless it is a group gift like the trampoline last year) and then a smaller gift. Mom and Dad get them a medium size gift and a new pair of PJs. Even though we are about 10 times better off now than we were Colin's first Christmas, it worked then in our budget and it still works now. I like it. It is plenty because they also have grandparents who get them gifts.

Let me say here that this isn't some strong philosophy that I am dedicated to. If you go crazy at Christmas, or if you scale back even more, I am totally cool with that - I think every family finds something that works for them. And there may be some Christmas in the future where we will feel like doing something outrageous or a year when we know they kids need less. Just thought I would share what keeps this mommy happy and sane during the Christmas season.

Anyway, my Christmas lights are getting up in pieces every day and then on Sunday we will decorate our tree and watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional together. I am sure hot chocolate or egg nog will be involved. I love this time of the year!

Land O'Lakes Cocoa Classics

My sister Ashley brought me this hot chocolate when she came to visit. I just tried it for the first time yesterday, and I have already made three cups since then. Sooooo good. Definitely some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had. It doesn't hurt to stir in a splash of cream at the end, either. Thanks Ashley!

Don't forget to cast your vote in my 'Tis the Season poll in the top right corner of my blog!

Charlotte Bobcats Chinese Culture Night

The Bobcats were playing the Houston Rockets last Friday, which is the team Yao Ming is on (and Yao Ming is injured, so he ended up not being there!). With that in mind, they made it a Chinese Culture night and invited Smith Academy students to participate. The 4th grade students did a dance on the court beforehand, and the rest of the students got to go down there for some pictures. Can you spot Colin?

It was a good Daddy-Son night for Chad and Colin. Colin came home pumped up that the Bobcats won, and Chad said that he was actually paying attention to the game. He lasted the whole time - I think part of the fun of the evening was staying up past 10!

Yes, Colin is frowning in this picture that I took before they left. He thought they were taking LYNX and just found out that they weren't. And yes, Chad has a soda spill on his leg. Cherry Coke Zero, to be exact. Thank you Roy ;o)

'Tis the Season Polls, Week 1

Holiday Traditions-gotta love them.

We all have some different ideas about just what makes the holidays special.

Let's revive some old holiday polls, starting with the great debate:

REAL CHRISTMAS TREES
VS.
ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES

Vote on the right, and feel free to add any comments/arguments on this post. Voting ends on Friday at noon (my time)

Original Fake Vs. Real Poll found here

Still working on it.

At the Worldwide Leadership Training a couple of weeks ago, Elder Bednar talked about how he wished he could eliminate the word "meeting" from our vocabulary, and then he said this:

"....If members of families, as they come together, would think in terms of 'I'm preparing to participate in a revelatory experience with my family,' instead of 'going to a meeting',...I think we would prepare and act much differently."

Love it. Happy Sabbath!

Train ride and Imaginon

My sister Ashley came to visit for Thanksgiving with her husband Roy and three kids. Ashley has probably been to Charlotte 4 or 5 times now but had never been uptown, so we decided to take the kids on a little Lynx ride up to Imaginon. Imaginon houses a library and the Children's Theatre of Charlotte. It is also directly across the street from a Lynx station, so it was a good way to spend an afternoon with the kids and Granny (who is always a good sport about coming along and helping out). There are a couple of interactive play stations inside the library, and the kids were entertained for a good hour and a half. We rode the train back, hit McDonald's, and headed home pretty worn out.