Aebleskiver

In case you are wondering, that is a real word. I have been told that it is Danish. Whatever the origins, I am very happy that they were invented. To start at the beginning, which as we know, is a very good place to start...on Christmas morning one of the gifts I opened looked like this-------->
Steven explained that it was for making aebleskiver, which are Danish pancakes. I was a little skeptical, but excited to try something new. As a little side note, since receiving this gift I have discovered that my family has known about, and been enjoying this type of delectable cuisine for some time now without sharing it with me! Anyways, back to my story, Steven had not only found the pan, but of course he had found the ultimate recipe, or the closest he could to make the ideal aebleskiver. (He is a librarian and he can't leave any stone unturned) Well we finally got the chance to make the danish pancakes on Friday night. They turned out very good, and I ate way too many. The next time you come to visit we will make you some. I am hoping that a bribe might tempt at least one of you enough to actually come and see us! Here are a few pictures of our aebleskiver meal and preparation. If you are interested in making them, you first must find the pan, then I will be happy to share our recipe!

Christmas

So I am finally going to share some of our Christmas pictures. So I hope you enjoy them. We had a really fun Christmas. The girls are at the perfect age. They didn't wake up too early, but they couldn't wait to see what Santa brought.

New PJ's on Christmas Eve. Juliana, Me, Kathryn

Making Santa's cookies

So they aren't the most attractive cookies, but Santa must have liked them, because they disappeared! The carrots are for his reindeer.

My mom sent this to us and we added a different piece each night so on Christmas Eve we finally got to add Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus.

Santa found our house and brought the girls a scooter.

Our day was pretty much smiles and fun.
Hope you had a great Christmas too!

Christmas Stuff

We have been very busy this month doing all sorts of fun Christmas things so I thought I would share a few pictures to catch you all up on what we're doing.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to Steve's co-workers wedding. The girls were very excited to get all dressed up and see our friend Sarah in her wedding dress. Kathryn is on the left and Juliana is next to me.

Of course, we had to get the house ready for Christmas too. The girls loved it, but they were a little sad when we told them that Santa wasn't coming for a while!
Juliana and Kathryn

On Sunday we made a gingerbread house. It was a lot of fun, and we have some good ideas already for next year! There you have it. I do have more to post, but I have run out of time today. Enjoy your day and Happy Holidays.

I just had a "moment..."

You know, one of those when realization hits harder than normal and you wonder, "How did I get here?" I was just hustling around getting a few things done. Loading breakfast dishes into the washer, taking trash out. The girls bathroom mirror was all gross with hand prints, I had meant to clean it yesterday but somehow I got distracted, imagine that, and didn't do it. So I was in there cleaning and Juliana came to see what I was doing. I said, "I wonder who got this mirror all dirty?"
"Not me." was the reply.
"Oh really! You didn't put your hands all over it and make it messy?"
"No"
"I think you did. Mommy didn't do it."
At this moment I happened to glance in the mirror I was cleaning. All at once several things hit me. The first being you still look like you're 21. Then, you have two kids that are 4 1/2 and YOU are the mom. Running through these thoughts was that I had just sounded exactly like my mom, and I could totaly picture myself as Juliana and my mom as me. Wierd, scary, and maybe a little overwhelming. Just this morning I was thinking back to Christmases past, and remembering how my mom had it all together. She worked full time, and still the house was decked out, neighbors got some amazing delecacy from her kitchen each year, and prensents appreared magically under the tree. I was trying to figure out where I was going wrong, because I am home all day, and I am still not on top of everything. Now I realize that my vision of these events are slightly skewed at best. I know that my mom was probably stressed and overwhelmed just like I am. I am just wondering how she kept it under her hat, because mine all seems to leak out. In fact, I think that at this moment just around the corner my children are dismanteling the beautiful tree. I hear things dropping and I just don't have the courage to look and see what is going on. Maybe that is what I lack courage. So enough of my musings back to my hectick Holiday schedule and trying to keep up. May yours be wonderful and slow!

Christmas Quiz

So I borrowed this little quiz from Chloe. I thought it was fun. Hope you all enjoy.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper all the way, with lots of bows.
2. Real tree or artificial? Real. It's one thing that really makes it feel like Christmas for me. Growing up we always went and cut our own.
3. When do you put up the tree? In the week after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? Day after Christmas
5. Hot chocolate or apple cider? Is this even a valid question?
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I am not sure this was my favorite but I have always remember getting my kaboodle (sp?) one year. They were so it, and I was so glad to finally have one.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I will have some day, one of my favorite decor items for Christmas.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Parents
9. Easiest person to buy for? Kathryn and Juliana (I know I cheated by giving two, but they are twins, what did you expect?)
10 Worst Christmas gift ever received? I honestly can't think of anything that I've hated. Surely there have been things that didn't fit, but other than that nothing terrible.
11. Mail or email Christmas card? I love getting mail, but I would rather get e-letters rather than nothing. It's wonderful we can all communicate so easily now.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? For sure, Holiday Inn
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I don't have a set time, it just happens.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? This is a loaded question. One I can't really answer. Can you really pick just one thing??
16. Clear lights or colored? Colored
17. Favorite Christmas song? Again, there is no way I could pick just one, but I have to say the song Mistle Toe sung by BYU Men's Chorus always makes me smile.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I like being home with my kids, but I am not against traveling either.
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel or star on top of the tree? Star, we still need to find one for our family.