Lots of 'ness

Cuteness-

Naomi doesn't like going to bed for naps.

But she still needs naps, most of the time.

She will lay down on the couch and rest.

I put RoseMarie with her because she was sleeping.

But she woke up when I laid her down. 

Does that count as quality time with her big sister?

Yumminess-

I made German pancakes for dinner.

Some of us like it in the big glass pans...

some of us like the muffins.

They are just so delicious looking when they come out of the oven,

all puffy and yummy looking.

The rest of Christmas Day activities

Marissa's passion truly is drawing,

so she took advantage of time off from school

to do some drawing! 

Emily's passion is baking

(among other things)

so she was more than happy to help me

in the kitchen, with the cornish hens.

Dad was more than happy to play with the other kids.

Unfortunately, I just assumed the guns would need AA batteries,

but they actually need AAA, 

so Kevin had to go out and buy the right kind of batteries,

so they could enjoy the lazer tag game.

And boy did they enjoy it!

All day long!

Group shots

to satisfy me

and my desire to "capture" the moment.

The littlest girls weren't into shooting others,

so they read and colored together.

Time for lunner!

We ate our traditional meal of cornish hens,

rolls, stuffing, fruit/marshmallow salad, and sweet potatoes.

I keep forgetting to open a couple cans of cranberry sauce.

We also remembered to get egg nog!

My wonderfully fantastic plate!

Dessert was cherry parfaits instead of pie.

Different but delicious!

Ready to enjoy!

It all turned out great!

 I received the meat pie recipe from Carol Mahar a while back and finally decided to try it, since our freezer is now full of ground pork and that's what it calls for. I followed the recipe, cooked the meat for 3 hours and made the pie crust and it all turned out perfectly! I was so happy with the way it looked and was even more please with how it tasted! I guess I'll be making this more often!

We also enjoyed pumpkin soup (a recipe from my brother),

 broccoli salad (recipe from Aunt Angie)

 and sliced apples (from the fridge). 

It was very pleasing to my eye and my tummy.

(But, I will admit, some of the kids didn't like it.)

Love nursing my baby!

 Sweet happy little girl!

4 weeks old!

This is the onesie that Grandma Graham gave to her!

Smart and Strong Like my Mom

My take on Hot Mama Chicken Balls

My brother makes some awesome Hot Mama Chicken Balls - flatten chicken that has been marinated in Italian dressing, lay jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese inside, roll it up and then wrap bacon around it, secured with toothpicks and covered in bbq sauce, grilled to perfection. They are amazing! I decided it took too much time so I altered it a bit. I cut the marinated chicken into strips, wrapped the bacon around, covered in bbq sauce and broiled in the oven, turning to cook both sides, topped with shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers on Kevin's pieces. It was sooo good! There were no left overs and the kids were actually asking for more! So very yummy, but I'm not sure it's any less time consuming than the balls. Just making it work and tasty at the same time! We call them picken strips and you should try them!

Out to dinner!

Chris treated us all to dinner at Olive Garden. Everyone enjoys the bread sticks!

Family Tradition

When we visit Kevin's family, we always go out to dinner. And we always go to Olive Garden! It's my favorite and since we never really go out, that's the place I always want to go. Fortunately, for me, everyone agrees so we have a great meal together! (We don't have to cook or do the dishes - bonus!)





I can't remember what everyone had, but I'm sure you're interested in what my family ate. Three of the kids had macaroni and cheese. Two of them had chicken fingers. I had the cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce. Kevin had a sea food dish, with shrimp, muscles, clams, veggies and pasta. Domonique loved the bread sticks and ate a little bit of the mac and cheese, and some spaghetti. The girls all enjoyed chocolate milk, while Ben had a raspberry lemonade. I always order dessert - black tie mousse cake! Delicious!