The sledding was fun! The kids had a blast and didn't want to go home...even after an hour and a half. I, on the other hand, was freezing and finally lured them home with a promise of hot chocolate.

I went down a couple of times but the snow flying up my pants and in my face kind of made me, well, cold. So I opted to take pictures instead. So now I guess the snow is worthwhile...for sledding anyways!

enough snow already...

I'm ready for some warmth. The plan is to go sledding and snowboarding tomorrow. Maybe that will make all this snow worthwhile.

How long 'til summer? :)

We got the Wii.

It's not only for the kids, but for us adults too. The kids play the kids, the adults play the kids and even the adults play the adults. It's such an interactive game that's really a lot of family fun.

So, we love the Wii. And the Wii loves us. And now to find it a permanent home in the game room. I know how hard it was to find this little system this holiday season and we're very thankful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MADISON! She turned 8 yesterday, we had the girl party today. Party place? A spa of course. Pedicures and pretty toes were the highlight of these little girls' day. They all had a blast with all this pampering. I think they all want more. Isn't being a girl great!!

GAME ON. TONIGHT. MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. VIKINGS VS. BEARS.

The brats are on, the chips and dip are waiting and the TV is ready to rock. It's a big game for us Vikings fans (minus the Packer-roid of the house) :)

My brother is a huge Bears fan so we'll be on the phone tomorrow saying either better luck next year or congrats.

I hope the Vikes can get another win. We'll be here cheering them on!

GO VIKES!

Tonight we took a break from all the hustle and bustle of the season and invited our friends over for a Christmas party. I got out the Christmas dishes I got last year and never used along with all the other holiday plates and decorative dinnerware. My table looked pretty cool. I wish coming up with a menu was that easy. At the last minute, I decided to make it easy and cook up 3 different kinds of pasta, two different kinds of sauces, grilled chicken bites to throw in the sauce if desired, Rani's awesome crab rangoons and breadsticks. Heidi brought the dessert and appetizers. We fed the kids first so our sauces were kind of cold and the breadsticks were left in the oven a bit too long but hey, those were some pretty dishes! HA! The kids disappeared together and us adults had some good laughs over supper, wine and beer. A fun way to end the week before a busy weekend and a great way to just spend time with friends. Even if it wasn't the perfect meal!

My 7 yr. old asked me if I was grumpy today. Her question made me stop and think. Yes. I am grumpy. I must have shown it if she asked me. I felt guilty for feeling grumpy. I tried to smile and told her the grumpy monster is bugging me today. She said she knows the feeling.

Unfortunately, the nagging monster didn't go away. I thought I'd make a list of why I am grumpy, thinking maybe it will help make me beat the mood:

1. Too much multi-tasking, trying to get too many things done in too short of time.
2. After literally running on the treadmill and from store to store, my son coming home from basketball wondering where supper was.
3. My daughters arguing again over who said what.
4. My son's eyes rolling when I told him what was for supper.
5. My dog being right in front of my feet at all times.
6. Decided to watch Christmas Vacation to lighten the mood...ended up with daughters arguing again before the opening tune even began.
7. Took older daughter to time away, listened to some crying, some negotiating and finally, let her come back to movie time.
8. Son wanting help with math homework. I had no idea how to show him, he got frustrated, finally finished on his own.
9. Ended up turning movie off after disagreements continued and putting kids to bed.
10.Decided I need to not multi-task so much as this is where the monster begin to rear his ugly head.
11. Going to bed to put the monster to sleep for good. Here's to a new happy day tomorrow!

Sigh!

This is a little past due since Thanksgiving was a couple weeks ago already. But here is my masterpiece of the dinner.

It's not the turkey, not the potatoes but this pumpkin pie. What makes it so special? Well, this was my first attempt (actually 2nd) at making a pie from scratch. My first attempt was about 10 years ago and it failed miserably. I gave up the effort until this year. This year I said the pie deserves another try. And it was good. So good, there were no leftovers. So good my son is asking for another. If you look real close, you can see where it almost spilled over the edge and the many pie "checks" in the middle. See the knife marks? If it comes out clean, it's done. So I kept checking. Not perfect looking, but good.

I have found a new love in pie baking. Who knows, maybe I'll get really crazy and try one of those merangue pies. (I can't even spell it) Then again, maybe i'll just stick to pumpkin for awhile. It's a safe bet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EMERSON!

She turned 6 yrs. old yesterday and we had the party inspite of the ice storm. The snow didn't put a damper on the fun these little girls had together. Doesn't being 6 look like so much fun?!?