Best Advent Calendar Ever

My brother texted me a photo of a beer advent calendar and I just about smacked myself upside the head for not thinking of this myself sooner.  What a fabulous idea!

Here are a few examples I found online.  I'm definitely doing this next year.  I'll take a trip to the Craft Beer Cellar next year during Thanksgiving break and stock up!

The first two are super easy to make.

And the last one is already done for me...I think I'd rather choose my own, though, or have someone go and choose for me so it's a surprise (and I'll pay for it!).

A Few More Recipes...for Safe Keeping

I am not trying to turn this into a cooking blog, but I have a few more recipes for things that I make all the time right now that I want to make sure I have in one place.  My recipes are not organized (mostly they are ripped out of magazines or written on scraps of paper or found online) so I can never find what I want.


Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

• 2 lbs raw boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 12 oz bottle of Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Wing Sauce)
• 1 oz packet of dry Ranch mix (I used Hidden Valley)
• 2 tbsp light butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced

1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker.
2. Pour the bottle of wing sauce over the top of the chicken.
3. Sprinkle the packet of ranch mix over the top of the wing sauce.
4. Add your minced garlic to the slow cooker, making sure to cover it with sauce.
5. Place the lid on your slow cooker.
6. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until meat shreds easily.
7. Remove meat and shred it using two forks.
8. Return shredded meat to the sauce and add the butter.
9. Stir to combine.
10. Continue to cook on low for another hour so the meat can soak up the sauce.

Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 15 ounce can  black beans

• 1 15 ounce can  pinto beans

• 1 10 ounce can  tomatoes with green chilies

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 12 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)

• 1 bag  (about 10 ounces) corn chips, such as Fritos
• 
  

1. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook for 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the beans, with their liquid, and the tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in the cilantro, then top with the cheese, cover and let stand until the cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. Place a handful of corn chips in each of 4 bowls. Top with the chili and serve.

No-Bake Energy Bites

• 1 Cup Rolled Oats

• 1 Cup Coconut Flakes

• ½ Cup Ground Flaxseed

• ½ Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

• ½ Cup Raisins

• ½ Cup Peanut Butter (or other nut/non-nut butter)

• ⅓ Cup Honey

• 1 tsp Vanilla

1. In a medium bowl, add oatmeal, coconut flakes, flax seed, mini chocolate chips and raisins.
2. In a small bowl, whisk peanut butter, honey and vanilla.
3. Pour wet mix into dry bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 pinch clove

• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk ( can be any kind)

• 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

• 1 egg
• 
  

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg.
3. Fold mixture into dry ingredients.
4. Spray or grease a skillet and heat over medium heat: pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.
5. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. Serve with butter and syrup.
6. Makes about six 6-inch pancakes.

Settling Back into the Routine

I always get a little down after the holidays.  I love fall and early winter and the traditions that come with the seasons, despite the fact the weather is getting cooler and the days shorter,   After Halloween I love looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas--it's such a festive, fun-filled, family-oriented, tradition-minded time of year.  Then boom.  There's nothing to look forward to until late March/April and, in my book, Easter and my birthday are not really all that exciting.  Winter is a long haul, and reality sets in after the last Christmas gifts are opened, the holiday parties are over, and my clothes don't fit from all the holiday treats.

I'm glad, at least, to have Carlos home for a few days on vacation with me.  He took this Thursday and Friday off so that he basically has a 5-day weekend.  We've been out and about and having fun with the boys.

First off, let me back-track a little.  My post on Christmas Day didn't include my visit to my dad's in the evening because I wrote it during the boys' nap time.  But as usual, it was a really nice time.  He goes overboard with really nice gifts which usually include something for the kitchen (at least for the past 2 years) and Talbots clothes for me.  He buys me really nice stuff because he has great taste!  So this year, I received a nice pinstriped Oxford shirt, a black quilted jacket, and a tweed blazer.  We got a framed picture of the boys (which we hung up in the playroom), a Vitamix (yeah!!!  great for salsas and smoothies!), and a box of Golden Books.  I collect vintage ones when I find them cheap enough.  We also saw some good family friends who showed up at his house.  The boys were pretty good considering they were overtired and had a lot of energy.  It's so hard to take them anywhere these days, though.  This is the only picture I have from the evening because we were too busy running after them trying to keep them out of trouble!

One of the best gifts of the night was an airedale statue.  We've had it for as long as I can remember--at least since we had Pippi when I was a child.  My dad thought we should have it now.  It made me cry.  It IS so much easier without Lexi, and I admit to feeling relief that we no longer have to take her out in the rain and snow, but I do miss her.  She was such a sweet, pathetic, loyal little thing.   The boys were so excited about the statue that they were all over it trying to hug and kiss it.  They wanted to hold it and pet it.  I think they really thought it was Lexi.

 Adrian loves the balancing cactus that Santa brought them.  He likes to put the pieces in and then knock it down.

As he was concentrating on putting the pieces in, he happily turned to me and said, "I'm making it!" So cute!

Sebastian continues to play a lot with the Thomas trains.

Here, the boys both decided they would take a nap and declared "night, night!"

Sebastian will now tell me, occasionally, when he has poop and wants to be changed.  If I talk about pooping, he'll go sit on the potty.  But he does it with his clothes on and he doesn't actually poop while he's sitting there.  We're getting there, though...I guess!

Today, we went to Joann Fabrics in Raynham so I could see if they had any good Christmas clearance stuff.  They didn't.  Then we went to the Silver City Galleria so that I could get the jeweler to take a few links out of the beautiful watch Carlos got me for Christmas.  I will post pictures of it later!

The mall wasn't open yet when we got there, but we went in anyway and let the boys run around.  We did a lap around the entire mall with them running pretty much the whole way--they had so much energy to burn off!  They were in their glory!

This afternoon we went to BJs to get some diapers, wipes, and groceries, and Sebastian was mad that the "choo-choo hiding" (the Lionel one that was on display before Christmas) and kept saying, "Choo-choo, VEN!" which means "Come here, Choo-choo" in English.  And the boys enjoyed, as usual, eating all the free samples--various times.  Carlos has no shame about basically feeding them at the store.

That's it for now.  The house is all undecorated now.  Everything but the tree and the two wreaths we have is down and put away.  Sad, but having the decorations up after Christmas actually makes me sadder.  It just reminds me that the season is over every time I see them!

Christmas Day 2013

The boys woke up at 6:15-ish and we gave them a bath and some yogurt smoothie before we went into the living room to open presents (they didn't have a bath last night--P.U.!).

The boys didn't really seem to understand the idea of opening presents.  And, Carlos had them open the Thomas presents first.  They got so excited about each Thomas present that then they didn't want to open anything else; they just wanted to play with the trains.  It was cute that they were so excited!

They quickly went crazy in the living room, too, moving from playing with Thomas to wanting to pull the wine bottles out of the bar so we moved most of the recently-unwrapped toys to the play area.

At around 9am, mom, dad, and Jim, Jen, and James came over for brunch.  We opened presents--I have no pictures because I was in the kitchen most of the time--and then ate around 10.   Then we went to the play room.  James had a great time eating the banana and crayons from these color sorting set.

As always, Sebastian had a good time trying to kiss poor Baby James, who was a good sport about it.

Carlos modeled his new slippers from last night's Yankee Trade...

The boys tried out and fought over their new balance bike.

And now they are napping.  After naps we are off to my dad's to open presents there and have dinner. Busy day!  I think we will need to make an early night of it because of the boys' sleep deprivation!  Back to the routine tomorrow, I hope!

And, we still have half the presents under the tree to open!  Maybe we'll open the rest of them tomorrow and give them 2 Christmas mornings.  It's only the small stuff left, but they don't really know any better...

Tomorrow and Friday Carlos is off.  The electrician will come tomorrow to fix the dishwasher situation.  I hope to do some post-holiday shopping.  I might want to buy another artificial tree for next year...I'd like one for the basement play area as well that we can decorate with all the sentimental ornaments we have.  I'd also like Christmas craft supplies.  It's hard to shop and accomplish anything with the boys, though.

Celebrating the holidays for the first time in our new house was a great experience.  I love this house and the space is great for the boys.  Plus, our living room is the perfect Christmas living room!  Santa seemed to like it...

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Eve

The boys and I stayed in all Christmas Eve morning and played.  We had fun playing trains, watching a little Thomas, playing with the Little People, and reading.  I stuffed them full with fish sticks (their favorite--yuck) for lunch so that they would nap well.  And while they were down, I packed everything we'd need for the trip to Auntie Carol and "Kitchen's" house.

We got to Auntie Carol's around 3:30 and immediately set out to eat all the yummy appetizers.  The boys hung out with Grumpy.

The boys were fascinated with Kitchen's Lego City.  Christian was so patient with them, letting Sebastian play with his lego ambulance (with a man on a stretcher inside).  He also let them run the train.  They followed him around, particularly Sebastian--he has a man crush on his cousin.

Christian is SO good with the boys.  All day yesterday they kept saying "Kitchen 'ouse" over and over and over.

During and after dinner we had to break out the Thomas DVD.  It worked on Sebastian but not on Adrian.  He is super ADD and fussy lately.  Nothing makes him happy.

We did a Yankee Swap, but I forgot to take pictures.  I brought the same stuff I took to the Christmas party at Nick's: a big BJs bag of pistachios from Carlos with homemade salted caramel pretzel bark and Philosophy shampoo/bubble bath/shower gel and pretzel bark.  Plus each bag had photo ornaments of the boys.  Auntie Carol ended up with the Philosophy, and I am not sure who took home the pistachios!  I got white chocolate Godiva Liqueur and Carlos got slipper dusters and fuzzy women's socks.  hahaha!

After dinner we put the boys in their PJs.  We took some final photos with Kitchen.

We left Auntie Carol's around 7:30...Sebastian slept in the car after a while and Adrian was awake the whole ride home, so he didn't go to bed until around 9pm last night.  Given he hasn't been napping that well lately and is getting over a minor cold, I was afraid he'd be horrible Christmas morning.  He wasn't great, but he wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

Anyway, when we got home, Carlos and I made the brunch recipes for Christmas Day.  We made french toast casserole and sausage and egg casserole because they have to sit in the fridge over night.  You can get the recipes for these here--I make them often.

I should have edited this photo but forgot and now I am too lazy...

Finally, I took some pictures of what the living room looked like after Santa came and went to bed.  Phew!

This is all the loot from Christmas Eve at Auntie Carol's.  As always, she and Kitchen were extremely generous with their gifts to the boys.  We are lucky that Christian also loved Thomas!  ;-)

Merry Christmas Eve to all!