Our Christmas at Home

This was the first year that it really felt like Christmas at home.  Last year Andrew was too young to know what was going on so we didn't really do much at home.  We went to our families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and had a great time, but we didn't really do anything special with just OUR family.  This year, having grown a year older and added another baby, we established some Christmas traditions of our own. 

Since we would be in Lincoln on Christmas Eve, we celebrated the night before as if it was our Christmas Eve. We had a nice candlelight dinner featuring lasagna, bread and Brussels sprouts.  When I was growing up it was our family tradition to have lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner so I think I'll keep that tradition going. 

  

I surprised myself at how excited I got that night.  I hadn't been that excited for Christmas since I was a kid.   I kept thinking about all the things that Andrew was going to experience and it brought back memories from my childhood...how excited my sisters and I would get sitting at the top of the stairs waiting for dad to make coffee and give us the go ahead to come down, then rushing down the stairs to see the presents waiting for us under the tree. 

On our Christmas morning Andrew found a big red wagon waiting for him.  And boy was he surprised!  He just loved pushing and pulling it around the house, opening and closing the door, and examining the wheels.  Present opening could have ended there and he would have been happy for the rest of the day, but we couldn't resist getting him a few more gifts. 

He got a tractor book that makes noises...

A magna doodle...

and Mater (from Cars) to go along with his Lightning McQueen

Jarod got coffee...

and some sports coats...

and I was very excited about my new ipad!

And Dominic was a good sport watching us all open our gifts. Next year, sweet child...just wait till next year!

Hey...That's MY toy!

Get used to it Andrew.  There will be lots of sharing in your future!

A little Christmas Baking

This Christmas I didn't get around to doing too much baking, but I did manage to make some delicious peanut butter balls.  It wouldn't be Christmas without them!  I have always been very hesitant to let children help me in the kitchen.  I love the idea of cooking with kids.  Letting them create something with their own hands, learning as they go. But when I cook I want things to be done the right way...chopped evenly, measured correctly...which is weird because I am definitely not a perfectionist in any other area of my life.  And I like to make as little of a mess as possible, probably because I really don't like to clean up afterwards.  Needless to say, when you cook with children, "perfect" and "clean" just doesn't happen.     

That being said, this Christmas I took a deep breath and asked Andrew if he wanted to help make peanut butter balls.  And boy did he ever!  He had so much fun stirring, dumping, and eating.  Every time he stirred, powdered sugar flew out of the bowl and rice krispees went all over the floor. 

I had a hard time keeping the spoon out of his mouth!

It took a little longer than usual, but we made some pretty good tasting peanut butter balls...and we both had a great time!

Later that day I came into the kitchen and found this - tin foil lifted up and one ball missing.  Smart little guy!  He is getting so tall that things on top of the counters are no longer safe.  It's amazing the things he can reach. 

Preparing for Christmas was a lot of fun this year.  The boys are still too young to understand everything, but we talked a lot about baby Jesus.  This nativity book became his favorite to read and he liked to point out Mary, Joseph and Jesus on the different nativity sets we have in the house.   

And look who started drooling and blowing spit bubbles! 

All Bundled Up

Last week the boys and I went to Lincoln while Jarod went Wild Hog hunting in Texas.  Andrew and Dominic spent some quality time with their cousins and I enjoyed doing my last bit of Christmas shopping and seeing my whole family.  I can actually say I got to see my "whole" family this time because at dinner one night we skyped Megan on Kristi's ipad.  Megan was getting ready to leave for her next adventure...living in Nicaragua, teaching massage therapy to the staff at a posh resort & spa.  After googling the place she is going to be staying, I am thinking Jarod and I might be in need of a Nicaraguan vacation sometime in the near future! 

Kristi and I always lament about the fact that I don't live in Lincoln.  Before I was married we lived just down the street from each other and could see each other any time.  We would go shopping and take walks together, they cooked me many dinners and I would babysit the kids.  Now that we are both stay at home moms I wish we lived close by.  We got a taste of what it would be like last week.  I love living in Norfolk, but nothing beats having family close by!

Andrew has a blast with his cousins.  He and Evelyn, who is just one year older than him, would chase each other around the house.  And with all of George's trains and cars laying around he was in HEAVEN!  One afternoon we went outside and played in the snow.  Up until now whenever we have taken him outside to play he just stands in the snow and looks at us like "What am I supposed to do now?".  But this time he took a few pointers from his cousins and really got into it!  He was crawling around in it, making snow angels, eating it, and having so much fun until his face was just about frozen!       

It was so nice to see him really playing with other kids. I'm so glad he has cousins his age on both sides of our family.  Kristi's new baby boy will only be three months younger than Dominic.  I have such good memories of growing up with my cousins and I know my boys will too.
 

Now, Megan, doesn't this make you want to start having kids!!!!

St. Nicholas Day

6 Wonderful Years

November 26th marked our 6 year wedding anniversary. Grandma & Grandpa Kastl babysat the boys so we could go on a date. It was so wonderful! We dropped them off in Wahoo and headed in to Omaha...just the two of us! Our date started off with a quick trip to the shopping mall. Some would say that is not a very romantic way to begin our anniversary date, but let me tell you, it was so nice to be able to walk around a store and not have to manuver a large stroller and chase after a screaming toddler whose goal is to knock every item in the store off the shelf.

Once our shopping was done, we went downtown to have dinner at Sullivan's Steakhouse. This is a fancy schmancy restaurant, one that you go to only on special occasions. We stayed for two hours soaking up every minute of the relaxing atmosphere, good wine and conversation. I love going out to dinner and having a real conversation, not just about what went on that day, but talking about things we've experienced and dreaming together about things we want to experience. And the food...Oh the food was unbelievably good. My scallops were the best I ever had and Jarod's rib eye was dry aged to perfection. We learned an important lesson that night...don't order from the chef's specials without first asking the price! Oh well, you only have your sixth anniversary once, right?

We ended the night with a trip back to our childhood. We went to see the new Muppets movie. There's something about the Muppets that just makes me smile. It was a perfect end to a perfect night.

Every year on our anniversary I dust off my wedding dress and wear it around the house. Every time I put it on memories from our wedding day come rushing back. I remember how I was feeling the first time I put it on and think of all the fun that happened that day. Sometimes I'll flip through our wedding pictures or watch the wedding video. This year I found my boquet in the back of the storage room so I brought that out as well.

This was the first year that I couldn't get it zipped. But that's ok because I just had a baby two months ago! We'll see if it fits next year!

We Give Thee Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving from our little turkey!

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite day of the year. I look forward to this feast all year long...not just eating it, but planning for it and preparing it as well. I love looking through cookbooks to get inspiration for new dishes, but most of my dishes are the same every year; Grandma Becky's stuffing, Grandma Gladys' noodles, turkey, cranberry sauce and the highlight of the meal, my bacon brussel sprouts. I found this recipe a few years ago on the food network and it has become my absolute favorite! A must have at my Thanksgiving table! I had a few complaints this year from Jarod that I didn't make green bean casserole (it can't be Thanksgiving without green bean casserole, he says) or gravy. I make lumpy gravy. It's horrible. I have tried a few times and I can never get it right. There must be a secret that I'm not aware of. Jarod's mom makes the best gravy, and even though I watch her carefully at least once a year as she is making it, I can never reproduce it.

My nice clean kitchen before...

and after baking (with my little helper in the background).

I love to bake and there is nothing better than homemade pie to finish off the best meal of the year! Every Thanksgiving I HAVE to bake pumpkin pie, apple cranberry pie, and pecan pie. My dad always talks about his grandma Elsie's famous pecan pie and how nobody could even come close to beating hers. Now, I don't think that I'll ever hear him say that mine is better, however, he does think mine is almost as good! I'll take that as high praise. I don't think Grandma Elsie would be proud of me this year, though. I forgot to turn the oven down after baking the crust and the burnt it to a crisp. The good news is the filling was still delicious, and once I cut off the charred crust it was enjoyed by the Kastl family.

This year I tried something new...pumpkin whoopie pies...just because I love their name.

Setting the table is so much fun. It's the one meal of the year that I get out Grandma & Grandpa Huppert's china and have a "fancy" table setting. Deciding on the decorations is the hard part. I get out my big box of thanksgiving decorations and move them around until it looks just right.

I had to laugh at the mountain of food Jarod had piled high on his plate. In his defense, he did use the salad plate!

Deliciousness!

Thank you Lord for all of the blessings you have given us this year. We are give you thanks for our two boys, health, family, friends, food and a loving home.

We are so blest.