Apron models

Santa baby

Rock you like a hurricane

Thomas discovered that he could play Rock Band which my cousins got for Christmas. I don't know if I should have been happy or disturbed when he beat my father's score. In Dad's defense he was playing the guitar while Thomas was on the drums and it did happen to be a song where the red and yellow colors were dominant and those are the ones that he likes to beat, but still.

Two chickens and one honorary chicken

My mother has three chickens in her backyard. The dog, who is now 13, has always suffered from a bit of an identity crisis. When he was young he thought he was a cat as we had a cat. With the cat having been gone for years now he is now convinced he is a chicken. In the morning you will see three chickens and a dog eating raw rice and chicken scratch out on the porch.

Dog pajamas

My mother tried to make certain that the family is outfitted in matching Christmas dog pajamas for Christmas. I think she succeeded.

Jelly Beans

So my parents love to go up to Shaver Lake in their motor home. (Or as Thomas likes to call it the "mo home") At their campground they have bear themed everything. There are wooden bears that are cut into just about everything. With that in mind, what did I think that my father needed for Christmas?

A bear themed Jelly Bean dispenser! How does it work you ask. Well you push on the head and out come Jelly Beans that are stored inside. It also answers the question that has always been posed. What do bears do in the woods? My sister thought it was great. She'll be getting one next year.

Fun with aprons

So Thomas got an apron, measuring cups, and a cookbook for Christmas all of which he loves.



Ruthann got an apron as well, as seen below. My sister got an apron also and figured that pictures needed to be taken of both her and Thomas in their new aprons.

Do you think Jenny was surprised?

Jenny and I usually don't get each other presents. I decided to give her one this year as a surprise. I think I succeeded.

Thomas's new apron

Ruthann's new apron

Thomas unwraps presents

Christmas with the Aunt Geek and Ruthann

Cranberry Pie

Thomas take pictures

Thomas figures that if Dada can take pictures, he can take pictures too. Of course Dada used a tripod AND camera while Thomas only used a tripod. He did make everyone smile so that their picture could be taken.

Hanging with Aunt Geek

Grandma and Aunt Renee

Commitment is . . .

finishing a gallon-sized jug of soy sauce. Monday was our 7th anniversary. In many ways, it doesn't seem that long ago, but there's been a lot of life lived since this picture was taken.

Thomas's World

Why does Dada work? "Dada go work. Buy more O's." (Yep, gotta earn that buck ninety-nine.)
Why is he wrapping his play colander in a beach towel? "Thomas make col-der feel better."
What are you making in the play kitchen? "Thomas cook pasta. Thomas make milk." He also talks about making juice, popcorn, chicken, & cupcakes. Oh, and tea. Lots of tea. With milk.
"I luv you, Mama." "I love you, too, Thomas." "I luv you, one, Mama."
"One, two, free, five, nine, ten, eleven. ELEVEN!!!"
"Here you go, Thomas." "Fank you, welcome."
"No ride Mama's car! Ride Dada's BW (BMW) car! PCW car." (Kid's got taste.)
"R, S, T, W, car, Y" (more BMW's)
Playing with Ruthann: "Peep-by-you, Roo-fan!"
When he's feeling lazy and wants carried: "Thomas no want walk on floor!"
"Mama, music a bit loud."

Pudding

I love warm pudding. It just tastes like comfort. It's also fast and easy and you don't need to keep a dorky box of mix around. Here's my recipe that I just made up.

Fast Chocolate Pudding (with a minimum of dirty dishes)
Equipment: Small pot, whisk, 1/4 c measure
1. Whisk together 1/2 c sugar (i.e. 2 of your 1/4 cups), 1/4 c cornstarch, 1/4 c cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in the small pot. Make sure to break up all the lumps in the cocoa.

2. Stir in 2 c milk (I just use the 1/4 c measure and count to 8) and a splash of vanilla. Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. You'll be left with a foam of cocoa powder floating on the top.

3. Turn the heat on to high or medium-high and whisk constantly. Don't let gunk accumulate in the corners of the pot. The cocoa powder will dissolve when the milk gets warm. When it comes to a boil, the cornstarch will activate and it will get very thick very fast. Turn off the heat.

4. Gently whisk in another cup of milk to cool the pudding to the proper warm temp for eating. If you like it chilled, pour it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep the wrap touching the surface of the pudding to avoid forming a skin. Stash in fridge until cool. But really, it's better warm.

I was in the mood for Mexican chocolate, so I added a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to step 1.

Other ideas: add in some chopped chocolate after step 3 for added decadence. Replace some of the milk with cold coffee for a mocha flavor. Leave out the cocoa for a vanilla pudding. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper are all possibilities. Vanilla + nutmeg = eggnog flavor. Replace some of the milk with fruit juice (may want to reduce the sugar). Chocolate orange maybe? Imagination is so tasty! Just don't add lemon or lime juice or the milk will curdle (not good eats).

And now my bowl is empty. It's time for a refill. I'm going to warm it up on the stove a bit first. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!

I don't know what to say.