Our first "Real" Tree

In front of our tree before we cut it down

In years past, our Christmas tree has been a small 3 ft "fake" tree that I was given in High School by my mother. As kids my brother and I got a new Christmas ornament each year from our Grandmother. By the time I got into High School my mom thought it best if we had our own little tree for our rooms since we couldn't fit all of the ornaments on our family tree. After that we got to pick one from our collection for the family tree and the rest we used on our own little tree. That tree and those ornaments went to college with me. Decorating my dorm rooms and bringing me joy.

At the tree farm

 And when Mark and I moved in together we not only had a tree that fit into our teeny tiny apartment but ornaments to decorate with. :) It served us well. In my opinion at least. Mark my have other thoughts on the matter. I grew up with artificial trees. Never once in my memory did we have a live tree. Mark on the other hand grew up with live trees. They went out each year to cut them from a tree farm.When the farm they got there tree stop doing DIY cutting they would go buy them from their lot. So, I think, not having a "real" tree bothered Mark somewhat.

Mark and I at the tree farm

 Sadly in Kansas we lived in such tight spaces that anything larger than our 3ft tree won't have fit very well. And the advantage of that little "fake" tree was that we could sit it on top of the entertainment center or bookshelf; away from crawling babies and little fingers. Once we moved to Indiana we talked about getting a "real" tree. That first Christmas here we traveled to Kansas over Christmas, thus making getting a live tree seem pointless. After all we wouldn't be here to enjoy it or take care of it. Last year we traveled to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with Mark's extended family. Same thoughts.

Ian and Cai running among the trees

 So this year when we realized we would be home for Christmas we decided it was time to get that "real" tree we had been talking about for what felt like years. We bundled up the boys and went out to Eby's Evergreen Plantation.

Aiden having just woken up got to ride on Dad's shoulders

We got lost trying to find the place, but after what felt like "forever" to the boys (Aiden fell asleep poor boy) we got there. The boys loved running between the trees and playing hind and seek. Oh and don't forget all the awesome sticks and tree limbs lying around. I swear Cai had a stick in hand almost the whole time.

Cai and his sticks

 It took us awhile to find the perfect tree. In fact in the end it wasn't the perfect tree but we were still pretty pleased with it.

putting it on the van to take back up front to pay and prepare to take home

 As Mark took care of getting the bottom drilled to go on our stand and then put it on the van, the boys and I enjoyed hot cocoa and a visit with Santa. Aiden wanted Santa to bring him a snowman. At that point in time we hadn't seen any snow. To be honest I can't remember what the other two told Santa they wanted. I think Ian said something about the Knex Mario track he really really wanted. In the end it was all a pleasant experience.

all set up!

 Once we got home and got the tree up I was surprised the worse the cats did was sniff and chew on the ends of the needles alittle. Really they have been doing very well.

Our First "Real" Tree with our brand new Star on top :)

We decorated the next day.Sadly I have no pictures of us decorating. Just the finished product.

The whole "dinning half" of our large room

 To be honest I feel the tree is alittle on the big side. Mark says it's just right. Either way it's our First "REAL" Tree. And that is something to be excited about. Even weeks later.

The boys won't all look at me so this is the best we got. 

Menu Plan Monday- Dec 24th, 2012

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

I hope everyone's Christmas Day was as joyous as ours. It was wonderful to have my little brother Josh here to celebrate with us. I hosted Christmas dinner this year, a first for me. I was pretty nervous about it, but I think it all went very smoothly. Of course Mark and Josh helped me get everything ready so that was a tremendous help. 

Our extended table with all the leaves in 

The big boys table

Mark and I made ham using coca-cola and bourbon as the marinade. We soaked it over night and then cooked it Christmas day.We bought the ham from Mattern's Meats and Deli I made my mom's broccoli and rice casserole. And between Josh and I we made mashed potatoes and gravy. My mother-in-law brought over a pork roast (tradition dish for their family), homemade cranberry sauce, and whipped sweet potatoes. My sister-in-law brought over a butternut squash dish. Plus apple crisp and an orange cranberry pie. Somehow the pumpkin got forgotten at their house but that's okay we had plenty. I made a gluten free blueberry crisp, using the canned blueberries from this summer. :) Add to that sliced veggies and salad and we had a feast. Mark made a layered jello but we never pulled it out of the fridge. We have been enjoying it today though. The food was all delicious. And everyone had a great time. 

We take Josh to the airport on Thursday. Mark is taking the day off and after we drop Josh off we are all going to the Field Museum of Chicago. It should be a good day. As long as the weather is okay. It's been snowing all day today. Which is nice cause we have snow on the ground now. The boys enjoyed playing outside. But I'm not sure I want to drive in snow tomorrow. We'll see. Okay I'll move onto listing our menu. I'll write some other posts about our other Christmas adventures. 

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Big Family Christmas Dinner 

Wednesday: Christmas dinner leftovers

Thursday: Eating out in Chicago

Friday: Ham and Bean soup?

Saturday: Shepard Pie

Sunday: Leftovers or popcorn

For more menus head over to Organizing Junkie. 

Menu Post Monday- 12/17/12

It's hard to believe that there is only a week till Christmas. I'm almost ready. I think. On the bright side, my brother gets in on Thursday. I'm so very much looking forward to seeing him and having him here for a week. It will be great fun. Assuming he doesn't become exhausted by the boys. I'm needing to go start dinner so I'll keep this short. Here is the menu this week.

Monday: Leftover Green Lentil Soup with Coconut milk
Tuesday: Homemade Hamburger Helper -using  these Gluten Free noodles
Wednesday: Winter Squash Risotto
Thursday:  Chili
Friday: Pizza Rice Casserole (More with Less cookbook)
Saturday and Sunday: I'll decided when we get there. I'm not sure what our weekend is going to look like right now so I figure it might be better to decided our meals once we know rather than before. :)

For more menus visit Organizing Junkie. Happy Meal Planning!

Menu Plan Monday- 12/10/12

It may be Wednesday, but I thought I would post my menu anyway. Half way into the second week of Advent and already I feel way behind. I had such good intentions has to having more prepared for Christmas. I still haven't finished decorating. Although really all that is left is our stockings (which I need to get hooks for) and some greenery that I want to hang (branches we cut off our tree that I thought would look nice in other places). So I guess the decorating could be considered done, even if there is more I want to do.  I've currently got cutout cookie dough in the fridge to cut out here in a few minutes. So while there are alot of other cookies I want and still plan on making, I've at least started the list. :) And with the exception of my brother I think I have everyone's gift figured out even if they are not purchased/made yet. Can I blame Ian? He has been home sick since Monday. Monday and Tuesday he had a fever. It finally broke sometime during the night last night but since his temp was still 100 when he went to bed we kept him home today.Poor kid. Being sick is no fun.

Ian and Cai looking at pictures on the computer. Can't you just see how yucky he feels

Especially when the first snow on the ground was yesterday and while his brothers got to go out and troop through the dusting of snow, I made him stay indoors. I'm so mean.

The list dusting of snow we got- taken in the morning

On another note, it was awfully cute watching Aiden make foot prints and raking snow with a stick he found. Oh and don't forget eating any he could get on his mittens. Which of course translates to eating dirt as well cause really there wasn't that much there.

Aiden raking with his stick he found

 It was mostly gone by afternoon and today you can hardly tell it had snowed at all. It's sorta a weird winter thus far. That lack of snow is disconcerting  Not to mention just plane disappointing for little boys who look forward to it every year.

The boys in the afternoon- eating snow off the grill and fence

Okay on to our menu.

Monday: Chicken noodle soup- using these Gluten Free egg noodles  

Tuesday: pancakes (Ian's choice)

Wednesday: Mid Week meal at Church- cookie bake- I'm taking Gluten Free cut out cookies pre-baked so kids can decorate. The hope is that it keeps Cai busy and away from the tons of gluten cookie dough. Plus then he has a treat to eat in the end too :)

Thursday: Green Lentil Soup with Coconut milk

Friday:  Sweet Potato and black bean taco salad

Saturday: Leftovers or simple soup

Sunday: Popcorn and apples 

For more menus be sure to visit Organizing Junkie. 

Thanksgiving

The table I set at my mom's house for Thanksgiving day  dinner

I had meant to write the post over a week ago. But time seems to have gotten away from me. Resting for the past week after spraining my back and reading book 2 and 3 of the Hunger Games Trilogy (yes I put it off for quite awhile I know) I just seemed to overlook it. (shrugs) Well here is it. A few comments on our trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving, along with what I was thankful for while there. 

The trip itself went really well. And considering we drove the 14 hours in one day rather than two that's saying something. We even got up in time to head to Newton for church at Shalom Mennonite. It was nice to visit and see friends. I think the rest I'll just write as a list.

Things I was thankful for this Thanksgiving

• Friends who welcome you home after months of being away, all  while preserving the feeling that you were never really gone
• Happy dances and joyful faces after showing up unannounced at a friends door.
•  The Nifty Nut House and the joy on little boys faces when Grandma tells them they can pick out their own candy



it's about as big as his head!

• My mother and stepfather who wake up and feed boys while I get a few minutes more rest in bed
• Cousins so happy to play with the boys and boys so happy to play with older cousins



Hannah and Ian looking at the hippo 

• My dad and stepmom who try so hard to coordinate their visits with mine so that we might spend the holiday together. 



My dad and Cai while at the zoo

• Grandparents on both sides 



4 generations :)

• Aunts and Uncles



My Uncle Curt hiding his face and making Aiden laugh

• The joy of having my step-sister and her family celebrate with us. Her twin were so cute. 
• Food. Glorous food. Prepared my loving hands. 



The feast my mom made for Thanksgiving Day. I helped out here and there

• Warm Sunny days and a trip to the zoo



Grace and Aiden at the zoo

• Family traditions- especially the Drennen trip to the Wichita Botanica Illuminations



A display at the gardens

• My little brother and all his quirks



Josh. Who has decided he has to be weird in all pictures. Or something

• A wonderful husband who puts up with (and loves) my quirky family
• My boys and their wonderful minds. 

Finally I'll leave you with an exchange from Ian and Cai on Thanksgiving day while watching the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade. 

          Cai: I don't like commercials

          Ian: But commercials are important..................... so we can go to the bathroom. 

Menu Plan Monday- 11/26/12

Just got back from Kansas on Saturday. Despite the fact I left the house clean and we got everything unpacked and put away yesterday, I still feel unsettled. Why does it take time to resettle after traveling? You can dive right back into routines and still not feel the flow that your left. :( Oh well. Maybe tomorrow it will feel normal again. Maybe not. On the bright side, my mother sent home 15 lbs of ground beef, stews meat and leftover Thanksgiving ham. I'm a happy woman. And in celebration we had Cheese Burger Potato Soup tonight. I really love this recipe. It's just potato soup with ground beef and cheese added, but it's yummy. I don't make it often because I usually have something else planned for my beef. I don't buy it but once a month or so. Groundnut stew usually wins out. Anyway it's exciting to think about all the things we can eat with so much beef. Although I'm sure I'll try to stretch it, it's just who I am. :) Anyway here is the menu for the week.

Monday: Cheeseburger Potato Soup (from Simply in Season)
Tuesday: Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry
Wednesday: Fried Rice with Ham
Thursday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Simple meal or Popcorn and cheese

As always be sure to visit Organizing Junkie for other menus. Happy Meal Planning!

Menu Post- 11/5/12

Yes, I know it's Wednesday. I thought about posting yesterday. But since I had nothing profound to say about the election, it felt weird to think about posting a mundane menu post. Weird? Sure. Silly? Probably. But hey that's how I think sometimes. So here I am posting now. Don't have much else to share right now, so I think I'll just go straight to my menu.

Monday: Great Green Pasta (Simply in Season)), corn, chocolate gluten free cupcakes with blue icing- Aiden's choice for his birthday
Tuesday: Green Lentil Soup with Coconut milk and roasted sliced potatoes.
Wednesday: dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's
Thursday: Salsa Chicken with rice and beans
Friday: soup- probably some sorta winter squash soup. I have sweet potatoes, butternut and pumpkin to use
Saturday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito Salad (Simple in Season- served over tortilla chips rather than backed in tortillas)
Sunday: simple supper- most likely popcorn, cheese and apples.

For more menu's be sure to visit Organizing Junkie. Happy cooking and menu planning!!!