Weekending....

Well, it has been 21 days since my last post.  Yikes!  January is almost through and I am looking forward to the warm-ish temperatures we are having for this January thaw!  Our month has been relatively low-key which may explain my lack of posts.  Weekends have been busy of random things, including a trip for Jay to Alexandria for a bachelor party, then a trip for Ella and I to Morris the following weekend for a bridal shower.  This weekend, Jay was at a Gopher's game, so Ella and I saw the movie Paddington and loved it!  I made a delicious berry cobbler to enjoy over the weekend -and it was a huge hit!  Seriously easy and super yummy!  Cherry Berry Cobbler.  Try it!!  Recipe here 

Yesterday, I made a full turkey dinner.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade bread and even cooked carrots (believe me, it was a LONG day in the kitchen).  But it was worth it and now we have some leftovers so I don't have to think about what we're going to eat for a few nights.  :)

Yesterday afternoon, Ella spent some time taking Jay to a ball where they danced the day away.  :)  She had a lot of fun but those dress-up heels are slippery on wood floors!! 

This week at school, the kids are doing nursery rhyme presentations.  Ella has chosen Humpty Dumpty.  We finished her props and she practiced for us last night.  She will do great.  She had a fun time painting those props too!  Check back for a video of her presentation.  :)

Happy Monday!

Christmas on New Years!

Happy 2015!  We celebrated the Abbas Christmas on New Years Day and we hosted it this year!  Yikes!  It was a bit of prep work for me on New Years Eve, but we all had a good time and I think everything went pretty smoothly.  We did an Italian theme for the food, since everyone had already had their share of the holiday hams.  :)  I made homemade Italian meatball sliders using this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and they were super simple and delicious!  After the meatballs were done on the stove, I transferred them to a crockpot on low/warm until lunch was served.  Worked out perfectly!  I also made THREE pans of baked ziti.  We only ended up eating about one and 1/3 pans.  Lots of leftovers!  :)

I also made a new cake - Earthquake Cake - using this recipe.   My cake picture is below.  It was pretty good, but I was hoping it was going to knock the socks off of everyone.  It didn't really have that effect, but it was certainly tasty.  :)

There were lots of gifts to be opened by the little ones (Ella and Harrison)!

It was a fun day!

Weekending (post-Christmas style)....

Whew!  Happy 2015!!  We are hopeful for a wonderful year ahead.  This morning was a big wake up call - back to the routines people!!  I have a feeling this week will feel like a long one!  We had a good relaxing weekend.  Lots of time to snuggle in new blankets gifted to us and Ella had lots of time to enjoy her new toys!

Like singing karaoke on her new FROZEN karaoke machine....

Even singing duet with Dad!

And keeping warm in a super soft new robe WHILE singing karaoke!

And spending lots of time playing Sands Alive (a/k/a "squishy" sand)

I baked scratch cinnamon rolls using The Pioneer Woman's recipe!  Here is the link to the recipe.  I'm told the full recipe yields LOTS of rolls, so I halved it for my first attempt.  I was able to get 2 full pie pans plus 3 extra rolls.  :)  Here's a picture of my results - they were a yummy morning breakfast!