green family

My college friend DeAun now lives in the Seattle area, but by amazing coincidence some of her family moved to Tallahasee and I got to see her when she came to visit them. She is one of those friends who is so easy to be with, it's as if a decade hasn't passed since college graduation. I love friends like that.

I think we might be living parallel lives in opposite parts of the country, with a baby and a preschooler and days filled with diapers, feedings, naps, and trips to the library and park. (Luke's blue eyes! Beautiful!)

Meg was delighted to have Logan to play with. After they left she kept asking, "where are the little boys?"

christmas '09 (in 10 memories)

1. Christmas cookie decorating.

2. Someone's funny haircut. Not naming names.
3. Fierce yo-yo competition.
4. Meg dancing like crazy during the Christmas Eve church service.
5. Singing carols around the piano.

6. IMAX safari movie (too scary for some).
7. Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Twice.
8. Guitar Hero.
9. Santa Sleigh-tinis. (mmm!)
10. 9 sweet kids and lots of love.

christmas '09

Christmas gets even better when you have your own little family to make memories with.

We got to spend ours with our family in Atlanta - all in all there were 8 adults and 9 kids all in one house!

Not one person got sick. A true Christmas miracle.

Meg opens her presents S-L-O-W-L-Y.

And sweet Katie is 7 months old already. I think she is storing up nuts for the winter in those cheeks.

[Thank you, Christie, for the pictures!!]

christmas cookies

I went to a Christmas cookie exchange with some girlfriends and came home with a new favorite. My friend Jessica R. made these and they were so good! I attempted to make them "Christmas-y" by adding red food coloring (Can't tell? Neither can I.) and 1/2 t. mint extract in the icing.

Here's the recipe (thank you Jessica R.!):
CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES

2 packages devil's food cake mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red and/or green food coloring, optional

In a mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil. (batter will be very stiff) Roll in 1 inch balls; place on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly.
Bake at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool.

In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth.
If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining half of cookies.
Yield: 4 dozen

the thinga-majig

I have no idea what this thing is called, but I really like it.

I can't knit or crochet so this is an easy alternative. I've been calling it a "hand loom" because that's sort of how it works. Just take the bottom thread and pull it up over the nail and on top of the top thread.

While I hate to disappoint those of you who badly want a scarf for Christmas, this scarf will not be finished in 2009.

crayon storage

Every time Meg sits down to color she ends up doing this...

...instead of actually coloring.

It takes a lot of quiet time to stuff all those crayons in there so I'm fine with it.

japanese maple

Christmastime in North Florida means it's time to rake.

I think this is a Japanese Magnolia in our backyard. You can't see it out of any of our windows so it has gone unappreciated the past 3 years. It is unbelievably bright red...I couldn't do it justice with my poor camerawork. (UPDATE: thanks to all the people who informed me this is NOT a Japanese Magnolia but a Japanese MAPLE. You guys have eagle eyes!)

belting it out

Meg's preschool class had their holiday music program this morning. They looked like tiny little babies up in front of that church! You know how there's always that one kid who belts out the songs? It turns out Meg is that one kid.

stumps

We had dinner with some friends last night, and we started talking about Christmas traditions in our families - the families we grew up in and the families we are starting ourselves. It was fun and got me thinking. Mark and I adopted a tradition from his aunt and uncle: saving the Christmas tree stumps from each year.

caroline ferguson

My super-talented friend Caroline came over and took photos of the girls a few weeks ago. As much as I try to mess around with my camera, I can never get something like this. Thank you, Caroline!

cousins, cousins everywhere

gingerbread house

I was fascinated with gingerbread houses when I was little, so it was fun watching the girls make one over Thanksgiving. Wouldn't want to eat it, but it was fun watching the construction.

Sophie's hat is so funny- is that a pink wizard? I think she stayed in dress-up clothes the entire week.

thanksgiving

comeback kids

My pansies should not be alive. I did everything wrong with them this year: I bought the last scraggly ones available at Wal-Mart (couldn't find them anywhere else), and they were too leggy and all blooming, which is no good. Then, they waited almost an entire week outside the house before I could plant them. By then they were completely root-bound and almost brown! And then, we had some hot weather (bad news for pansies - I should have waited another month).

Somehow most of these guys are still surviving - unbelievable. That's my kind of flower.

pumpkin cookies

I love the fall because it gives me excuses to cook with pumpkin. I tried this recipe this morning - they are great and make the house smell wonderful.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

toenail pollege

One of our favorite people came by for lunch today. Mireille did not fail to deliver on her promise to paint Meg's nails - it was so sweet.

Meg has never let anyone put "toenail pollege" on her before, and I have never attempted it. Meg is loving every minute - you can see it in her eyes...

This is a pretty great job on a wiggly 2-year-old...

butternut and sweet potato bisque

This soup has been a fall staple for us for the last few years. It is so good! It freezes well, so buy a big butternut squash and make a double batch. I need Mark to use his muscles to cut the squash, but other than that it's super easy to make. [And make it with these brussels sprouts! They are addictive!]

Here's the recipe:
1.5 t. olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
4 c. peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 med. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 c. corn kernels (may be frozen)
2 T. minced ginger
1.5 t. light brown sugar
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1. Heat oil over med. high heat. Saute onion 3-5 mins., until it begins to brown.
2. Add all ingredients, plus 3 c. water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until squash is tender (15-20 mins.)
4. With slotted spoon, transfer solids to blender and process to a smooth puree. Return puree to saucepan and stir to blend with liquid remaining in pan.

And, we just discovered these rolls and love them! They only have 5 ingredients...none of the funny stuff.

one-foot salute

Katie has a unique characteristic:

She will just hang out with one or both feet sticking straight up in the air! We call them her antennae - she will just be sitting in her bouncy seat and we will look over and see one or two little legs sticking straight up. She must have some strong abs under that baby chub.

family time

No plans.
Beautiful weather.
Great Saturday.

taming the rooster

We've nicknamed Meg's daily bedhead "the rooster tail". So in the mornings when she eats breakfast I tell her I am "taming the rooster" by wetting it and combing it down. Now if I forget, I hear a little voice calling out from the dining room, "Tame the rooster, Mama!"

totaled

It's official: the car that was in the accident last week is totaled. (It doesn't look like a totaled car, does it?) We went to get our stuff from the car and said our final good-byes. I am so grateful the car was sturdy enough to hold up so well and keep Mark safe. (His airbag didn't go off but the passenger side one did...the force of it was so explosive it cracked the windshield - can you imagine that hitting you in the face?)

squirrel and the nut

I started these dresses weeks ago but I couldn't decide how to finish them. Pumpkins? Pockets? Then I realized that the girls are little so they won't remember wearing these no matter what they look like. So I forged ahead and got it done before they can outgrow them...or learn to have an opinion about what they wear.

halloween

Meg had her first trick-or-treating experience last night - it was 90% fun and 10% scary for her. Our neighborhood gets really into Halloween - they blockade the street for trick-or-treaters and have house-decorating contests. One house was so scary that Meg wouldn't go to the door. She put her bag in front of her face (for protection) and started backing away.

I had Katie in the bjorn and as two women passed us I overheard one woman say to the other, "See? It IS a real baby!" I thought that was really funny.

We ran out of our massive candy supply within an hour. So we had to recycle Meg's candy! After we picked out our favorites, of course.

the marks

Two good things happened with the Marks in my life since the last post. My Mark survived a bad car accident without a scratch yesterday. And it was bad. Car-flipping-upside-down-on-its-hood bad. That kind of news makes my stomach drop and so grateful for another day with him.

And, my brother Mark passed the Bar! He will be totally embarrassed to read this here but I am a PROUD little sister! Waiting to hear Bar Exam results is one of the longest and worst waits possible. I know he is feeling good to have it finally be over. Great job!!!

halloween parade

Meg had a Halloween parade at her preschool today. I don't think the kids had much of a clue about what was going on but it was funny for the parents to watch! Meg veered off course when she saw me.

Meg looooves her bumblebee costume - she didn't want to take it off.

representin'

At least one member of our family (meaning Mark or me...and lately, just Mark) has run the Tallahassee Half-Marathon every year for the past 5 years. When I was pregnant he continued our streak, and now that Mark is giving his knee a break from long-distance running, it's my turn to represent the Webbs in 2010. My training plan is unorthodox but tried and true: run most weekdays for 1/2 hour, and each Saturday run 1 more mile than the Saturday before. Repeat 13 times.

cooing

Katie is in the cooing phase. This is the face she makes when she coos...her eyebrows shoot way up and her eyes look like she is trying to say, "Please look at me! I am trying to talk to you!"

I will talk to you, Katie. I can't resist.