Christmas 2010

Christmas morning was great fun. We actually moved everything up by a day because Ellie was going to be at her Dads this year but it worked out great. December 23rd was our Christmas Eve and we tried to make it kind of special and incorporate a few family traditions, opening one gift being the favorite of course. Ellie put a lot of thought into what to leave Santa and his reindeers to snack on and had a really hard time falling asleep due to the excitement of Santa coming. The next morning Ellie and Scarlett woke up bright and early and we headed up stairs to check out the loot. It was a good year at our house. I think everyone got what they wanted and more thanks to all our generous families and friends. The girls had a great time opening presents and I had a great time eating too many cinnamon rolls. Robert even held off on cleaning up all the wrapping paper and boxes until after all the presents where open. As usual he bought me great gifts and I was reminded what a great thoughtful gift giver he is. One of my favorite things is going into mine and Robert's bedroom and watching him layout all his new gifts on the bed and leave them out all day to look at. My mom scored the best gift for Robert, a small dust buster vacuum that he took great joy in using that morning by vacuuming under all the furniture, but it didn't end there he went outside and raked some leaves and then washed the outside windows on the house and all before I had moved off the couch from eating food and organizing the gifts. I think my head would explode if I had that much energy and motivation to do stuff. Laying around in pajamas all day playing with kids and new stuff is where it is at. I took full advantage of the day and even Robert was able to relax and hang out.

We had a nice dinner at Robert's parents house that night and then sadly dropped Ellie off at her Dads. Not having her on holidays sucks especially when it is also my birthday but doing everything early worked out great. By the 25th we were done with Christmas and onto my birthday which I was dreading but Robert made it a great day. He took care of Mame all day so I got to sleep in, spend time with him laying around, read, watch movies, nap and eat take out chinese food on the floor while watching t.v. I was thrilled to receive many calls and texts wishing me a Happy Birthday. All in all it was a fun, happy and low key week.

As a small side note I want to mention that 2 days before Christmas our garbage disposal broke. With everything going on and moving our Christmas up a day we just left it until today when I couldn't take it anymore and went to Home Depot to buy a new one. Robert and I were hoping we could install it ourselves but when I got it home I realized it was going to be more than a 20 minute deal and not really Robert's thing so I decided to try and fix the broken one instead. Pliers, a screwdriver and then one funky allen wrench later I FIXED IT. No one in my house even saw me laying on my back under the kitchen sink tinkering around. Sucks. I want a picture. When Robert heard it going he ran upstairs and there were high fives all around. I knew Robert married me for a reason and now I can go return the new one and get my hundred dollars back. I rock.

Christmas 2010

Christmas festivities started out on a good note this year. For the first time ever in my lifetime we went to pick out our Christmas tree on a Sunday afternoon and it was sunny and warm enough that we didn't need to wear jackets let alone hats and gloves. Ellie and I fought over which tree to get but in the end I bullied her into picking mine and it was all good. I am still a fan of buying real trees because I love the smell in the house. We had a great time decorating even with my strong opinion on where all the lights and ornaments should go. Scarlett for some reason would not let me put her down so out came the Baby Bjorn which worked pretty well. If you noticed there are no pictures of Robert because his idea of decorating the tree is sitting downstairs watching football but since he took us to get the tree, paid for it, and brought all the decorations upstairs for us I excused him as long as he checked in on us every once in awhile. Tree decorating, hot chocolate, christmas music and the Grinch movie = a great night.

Thanksgiving in Washington

We headed up to Leavenworth, Washington for Thanksgiving this year. Robert's brother and wife recently moved up there and built this fabulous new house so all the Wrays went up to celebrate and see the new house and more importantly new baby Leo. It is quite a trek to get to Leavenworth especially in a snow storm but after flying into Seattle and driving 2 hours or so east we made it. Leavenworth is a really small town of about 4000 people and it looks like a small Swiss village. I think it is called "Little Bavaria" and lives up to that name. We had a great time with the Wray and Clennon (Cory's family) families. Good food, good drinks and good company not to mention large beautiful homes to spread out in. The only thing missing and it was a big thing was Ellie. She spent the holiday in California with her Dad and cousins but was sorely missed.

After a couple days in Leavenworth we headed down to Seattle to enjoy the city. The weather was great, sunny and not very cold, and we even had a fireplace in our hotel room and a water view. We shopped some great stores and Scarlett got to go on her first carousal ride. It was a nice little get away for the 3 of us.

Recipes and Randomness

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of my delightful daughters. They are so in love with each other it is crazy. Mame waits for Ellie to come home from school and then goes crazy. They love to kiss and hug and play. I love it and am convinced I need one more so anyone who wants to be a surrogate or knows of a surrogate let me know. Anyway, some of the pictures are from our afternoon at the Aquarium. The little brunette head you see in one picture is Landon (Ellie's brother) who was thrilled to hang with us for awhile plus he is a shark fanatic and they have some there. Scarlett was sort of scared and mesmerised at the same time. She is getting so grown up, as you can see pretty close to walking and her hard to miss giant front teeth. She really is Robert's child.

As per requested here is the Chicken Pot Pie recipe

Olive oil 3 T

chicken 1 pound, diced

yellow onion 1/2 chopped

carrots 2, chopped

small baking potatoes 2, peeled and diced

flour 3 T

chicken broth or vegetable broth, 4 cups

salt and pepper to taste

heavy cream 1/2 cup

frozen green peas 1 cup

frozen puff pastry 1 sheet, thawed

butter 2T, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook until transluscent, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables evenly. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes (I have to add a little extra flour to thicken it up but ok if it doesn't get very thick). Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream, the reserved chicken, and the peas. Stir until just heated through. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, on a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into a large rectangle. Using a 3 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds (I use a small bowl or rim of a large drinking glass). Using a small cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out a hole in top of each round to let out steam (I just free hand cut out shapes mostly to differentiate between veggie and chicken pies). Ladle the chicken mixture into six 1 cup oven proof dishes (ramekins). Top with the pastry rounds, pinching around the edge to secure. Brush the tops with melted butter.

Bake the potpies until the crust is puffed and golden, 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Makes 6 potpies

The perfect thing to go with this or anytime you want to impress people make this restaurant like fabulous salad. I made it for my book club with pesto, mozzarella, and tomato paninis. It was a huge hit. It is great for fall because of the ingredients.

Chopped Apple Salad with Toasted Walnuts, Blue Cheese, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Pomegranate Vinaigrette -

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

2 T red wine vinegar

1 heaping T Dijon

1 T honey or more to taste (I add an extra T)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad -

4 apples, 2 Granny Smith, 2 Gala or Fuji, skin left on, core removed and cut into 1/2 inch dice

4 cups baby mixed greens (you can use whatever kind and amount of lettuce you want but I

think this is the best)

1 cup toasted coarsely chopped walnuts

3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

Combine the apples, lettuce, walnuts and blue cheese in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This is the official recipe but you can obviously use whatever amounts you like of the apples, walnuts, and cheese depending on what you like.

As they sat on the Food Network "Good Eats everyone."

Halloween 2010

As you can see we had a great Halloween. Ellie was the only Statue of Liberty in her elementary school and Mame loved her costume. She wore it all day and was the hit of Ellie's class party. The weather was dry and not to cold for a change until early evening when it started pouring rain but to our luck it stopped from 7 to 9 and we went for it. After hitting up a few neighbors, Robert and Scarlett stayed home to do door duty and Ellie and I went over to the upscale neighborhood where most of her friends including Sara pictured above in her sailor costume (her dad is the one who recently died)live as well as some of my classmates from high school. Yuck! I shouldn't complain though because the candy was great, the houses where decked out and a million kids and parents were running around. It was almost like a big block party. Pretty fun and entertaining. By the way did I mention that Ellie got glasses. Fortunately she only really needs them at school because now that the novelty wore off she isn't loving wearing them. All in all it was a good day even though a bit hectic. Maybe I'll take a year off from being in charge of Ellie's class Halloween party.

WINTER . . . CRAP!

It has been 2 days of bad weather and I am already at my wits end. Only 7 more months to go of cold and dreary. I'm sure Robert is thrilled to see me back in sweats and fuzzy slippers everyday. We had to buy Scarlett a huge coat and boots, totally depressing but what I am really here to write about with this cold weather coming on is one of our family's favorite comfort foods . . .

Chicken Pot Pie (unless you are vegetarian, then it is Veggie Pot Pie). We make both at our diverse house.

Ellie got a great cookbook for Christmas a few years back from William Sonoma. It is for kids and adults to cook together so all the recipes are pretty fast and easy but delish especially the Pot Pie Recipe. If I can't move to the sun then I guess I'll just comfort eat. Where is the Donut Plant when you need one?

P.S. Ellie's soccer team finished the season undefeated and to top that off no one even scored a goal against her team either. She obviously gets her energy and athleticism from me.

Sometimes Life is Unfair

I have spent the last few days feeling lucky and sad at the same time. Ellie's best friends dad died on Wednesday. He was only 36 years old and diagnosed 15 months ago with melanoma. I did not know him well but this has hit me harder than I would have expected. He has a 9 year old daughter and 4 and 6 year old sons. Our kids took swimming lessons together this summer and I was able to become better friends with his wife. She kept telling me that when Ben gets better they really want to have more kids. I actually went to my high school graduation dance with his older brother. They are an awesome family.

As I sit and play with my kids I can't even fathom telling them goodbye or trying to explain why I have to leave them forever or wondering if they will remember me or have a good life. I can't imagine not being able to comfort them when they are sad or help them when they are troubled. I am so sad for his daughter Sarah who I know well and really love. She is a bright, creative, kind, a bit odd, spiritual girl who adores her dad and now she will never see him again in this life.

I am grateful for my belief in the after life and wonder how hard it would be for people to lose a loved one with no beliefs about life and death and God. Life is unfair and unexplainable sometimes but I believe we will understand how and why someday.

I was so impressed with the positive outlook Ben had that I want to quote from his obituary in which they had put one of his last journal entries.

"I now begin to move sooner than I would like toward the end of this journey but to the beginning of what will surely be an exciting new journey without the pain and stress of the past few months. I shall very much miss my family and friends and hope I will be allowed an occasional "hall pass" to observe from afar the significant future events in the lives of my family."

It is hard to see a young, righteous, dedicated father and husband die but it does help put things in perspective and has made me more grateful for my health and the time I have on this earth with my family which I hope is going to be for much longer.

Goodbye Ben, you will be missed.

New York

Robert and I finally ditched the kids and made it to New York to celebrate my 40th birthday

(9 months late but we wanted to wait for fall). It was a whirlwind trip to say the least. We took the red eye and went straight to Emily's fantastic apartment in Brooklyn to catch a little sleep before heading over to the U.S. Open. It was awesome even though the first hour I think we were sort of in a half sleep daze. The weather wasn't as warm as we hoped but nothing was going to ruin our trip. We saw both women's semi finals and the men's doubles final. It is a great event and fascinating to see and I hope to go many more times in the future.

I can't described how psyched I was to find out we were going to be in town for Fashion Night Out. It was fabuloso. We went straight from tennis in Queens to Barneys on 5th Avenue so we were tired and hungry but it was worth it. I should have taken more pictures but it was super crowded and kind of overwhelming but we saw celebrities (Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosario Dawson, just to name a few) and GREAT window displays and fun fashion. All kinds of people and parties. Loved it. Wishing we could have stayed for the entire fashion week and snuck into some shows if that is even possible.

We spent one day with the Allens and were lucky enough to meet baby Lucie. Love her and her super cute big brother Jonah. We rowed boats in Central Park, ate at the Shake Shack and just enjoyed their company while we wondered around the city. That night we saw "Wicked" and it was everything it was hyped up to be. I loved it and I'm pretty sure Robert enjoyed himself after taking a small nap at the beginning of the show. He can sleep anywhere at anytime. He just has to sit down which he rarely does and it makes me want to punch him sometimes as I lay awake staring at the walls. Walking around Times Square at midnight on a Saturday is pretty fun as well. Good people watching.

Sunday was cold and rainy so I of course slept in while Robert went running in Central Park. Hard to believe I know. Emily met up with us in the lower east side and took us to a great little place for brunch and introduced us to some of her friends. I think seeing the barber shop "Tommy Guns" and chatting with the owner was one of the trip highlights for Robert. We had reservations to go on a bike tour of Manhattan and over the Brooklyn bridge which I was totally excited for but it got rained out so to make myself feel better we went to the Donut Plant and I had the best Vanilla Bean donut ever. YUM. Emily was a great tour guide and it was fun to see and catch up with her. With the bike ride cancelled we decided to go last minute and got an insane deal on tickets to "American Idiot" which Robert really wanted to see, followed by a delicious Italian dinner so the day/night worked out great anyway.

Our last day was a mad rush to shop (loving H & M) and pick up a few things for the girls and Mom, the wonderful babysitter. It is so nice to go on a vacation and not worry about your kids back home because they are with a loving, fun, fantastic grandma who doesn't mind moving into your house for 4 days and playing Mom. Thanks Lynne.

The trip was perfect and having no kids and a cool city with millions of things to see and do at your finger tips was incredible and a much needed break for us. We just barely cracked the surface with so many things we wanted to see but will be back for more soon. We are addicted and I realize how much I miss my family and wish we lived closer. Thanks Mike, Erin and Emily for a great time. If we ever live somewhere cool you are welcome to come visit and see the sights.

Year One.

Scarlett's 1st birthday

We celebrated Scarlett's 1st birthday tonight and as you can see her red velvet snail cake (not my best) was a hit at least with her. It was a small family affair mostly because we have hardly any family living close by which is starting to get annoying by the way. Thank goodness for Stefan and Teresa. Little Mame is still little (15 1/2 lbs.) but is finally crawling around and trying to stand up. I fear she won't be able to get a new forward facing car seat for awhile which is going to really tick her off but we'll ask Dr. Baar next week. She loves every fruit imaginable and tries to pull the strawberries off the shelf at the grocery store. The only indicator that she is mine... her love of strawberries. She is a big fan of cheese as well and edamame with a little toast and couscous thrown in. She has brought so much joy to our lives and puts huge smiles on our faces a million times a day. She adores her big sister but who wouldn't when she is as awesome as Ellie. I can't believe she has been in our lives for a year. It still brings me to tears at times. Even tonight as I was trying to find a blank video tape to film the party I came across the video of her in the hospital the day she was born and started bawling. HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet baby Mame!

SUMMER TIME

We have really been enjoying the summer and have spent the past few weeks trying to pack in a lot of activities. Must take advantage of the warm weather because it will end sooner than we want and last FOREVER. We saw RUSH in concert (don't get jealous), went to the Park City Arts Festival, saw the symphony play all Led Zeppelin songs on the mountain in Deer Valley, dressed Mame up in Ellie's Build a Bear hawaiian girl outfit, swam, played marbles and Blackjack and Robert's favorite, watched the Tour of Utah bike race. We got a picture of Robert and Mame with Bob Roll (a celebrity in the biking world).

Every year is suppose to be our last winter in Utah but alas... life doesn't always go as planned. School starts next week and Mame will be one year old soon. Crazy how time seems to move faster the older you get.

Let me end on a funnier note. Robert was working in the library a few days ago and this sort of sleezy woman from a modeling agency approached him and told him he should model. The best part is her name was Nanda and she told him if he lost her card it was no big deal just think of Panda. I am sure it is a totally legit and classy agency. When I told Ellie the story she looked at me and said, "How did you get him?" I think we can all agree that the real story is, "How did he get me?" Believe me I made sure Ellie got it right.

BOOBALICIOUS

Today was the greatest day of my life besides getting married and the birth of my 2 girls because I found out I have been wearing the wrong bra size forever. I went to Victoria's Secret at Robert's request because my panties were looking a little grim 5 years later and while there decided for the first time to have my boobs professionally measured and fitted for a bra. I highly recommend it especially after having a baby. I was sad and afraid to hear the words double A especially after my latest nursing venture so when I heard the words 34 B I almost fell over and jumped for joy at the same time. You heard correctly. They may be empty sacs of skin that I have to roll up into the bra but hey better than nothing. It's a miracle and now that my bras aren't completely uncomfortable and embarrassingly small I might wear them more often. I almost feel like a woman. If this is too much information for you sorry but I know this would be worth sharing if you had the same experience. Ellie, as usual was very helpful in picking out the perfect bra and matching panties for me. I might share a little too much with my 9 year old.

One question, if you wear a size 4 and that equals a medium in panties what size must you be to wear the extra small panties?

Massage Night

Ellie came up with a way for her to earn some extra money..... MASSAGE NIGHT. Every other Wednesday Ellie turns her room into a massage parlor with candles, flowers, water and of course an assortment of lotions. It is fabulous and she really rocks the customer service. I love the menu on her dry erase board with body parts and prices. How can you not love this girl.