Snowy Days

Here in the Northeast we have been having my dream winter-- lots of snow! In January it was a bit too cold for the kids to really get out and play-- especially for the baby! But yesterday, we had perfect "movie" snow descend upon us. It was absolutely lovely to watch as we did our school (only 60 days left which means we will be done sometime in April).

Look a my sweet baby and his eyelashes catching the snowflakes! So precious! This was her first time out to play in the snow. And he didn't like it which was sad, but I think it was because the snow was so wet and kept getting into his eyes and that is the only reason he didn't enjoy this lovely gift descending from above!

I did take all four for a quick little walk up and down the snowy street before I decided that my neighbors had had their fill of loud kids and a screaming baby. Plus, we had to shovel (which mr. D actually enjoyed watching us shovel more than anything else we did outside...hmmm) and shoveling led to snow ball fights. Of course.

Since we are still enjoying life without our tv, we have surprisingly still not missed or even noticed it gone even with all this extra time in doors.

The kids and I have enjoyed crafts, reading, and of course snuggles. And the ipad. We aren't a very gadgety family but this is our weakness. Thankfully mine has a lot of educational games on there and their time is limited. In the evenings we hit up our stash of board games!

Our favorites are Catan Jr., Monopoly, UNO, pick up sticks, and here we are playing the Enchanted Forrest. So much fun staying cozy and warm and snowed in! What do you like to do when you get snowed in?

Pirate Theme Dinner and Aunt Rose's Cheesecake

Last week we had our impromptu tea party themed dinner, but tonight we planned this one out a bit more. We actually began thinking and talking about it during school and then even got a book out from the library on pirate food this morning as well. I like that we knew it was coming all day and had fun "planning" our special dinner. It really is what we would have normally had but we added some pirate planks (aka breadsticks) and made a dessert as well. Well, not just any dessert, my great aunt Rose's Cheesecake. Only we made it with clean foods and healthier ingredients and I can't even lie, the kids were literally licking their plates clean at the end (which is a little embarrassing to admit). I also have to confess that I havent been making desserts for my husband and the kids that I dont care for, but this cheesecake had me weak with desire! First things first, put your bowl and beaters in the freezer. Set out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften and bring to room temperature. Now, move onto the crust. For the crust: In your food processor combine 3/4 cup of pretzels, 1/2 cup of flour, and 3-4 tbs of butter. Pulse until its a nice blended powder. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a pan and bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before adding filling. For the filling, you will need the 2 cream cheeses. Start whipping them in your bowl fresh from the freezer. Add in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream or we actually used organic 2% milk. Whip until it becomes fluffy and foamy. Add 4 1/2 tbs of sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Mix until blended, but do not over mix. Pour mixture into shell and freeze until set. At least 2 hours. On a side note, make sure you take it out to be soft and yummy-- I was afraid mine hadn't set and left it in the freezer till the last possible minute and they had like an ice cream cheesecake but they still licked their plates and said it was super yummy! For decorations, we kept it simple and fun. We had some red streamers on hand from someones birthday party and hung a few. Then we looked on BING for some free pirate printables and got these http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=free+pirate+printables&qpvt=free+pirate+printables&FORM=IGRE. We also printed out some pirate coloring pages and the kids colored those nand we hung those up in preparation. Really simple, but it def. added a special touch of fun. For dinner, we had our Greek stuffed peppers and fish (because that seemed like something pirates would eat and toothpicks stuck into everything really easily!). For those recipes, you can check them out at http://bsharks26.blogspot.com/2013/02/greek-stuffed-peppers.html. Our library book suggested breadsticks for Pirate walk the planks and so we whipped up some yummy homemade ones and they were awesome! We got the recipe from http://straightupgoodfood.blogspot.com/2011/10/honey-whole-wheat-breadsticks-with.html. Instead of the honey glaze on top, I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled some parmesean cheese on top-- very yummy! Now, are you ready to see how our special dessert turned out? It was divine! We added some fresh berries to the top and voila! A perfect ending to our Pirate themed dinner! Heres our happy Band of Pirates! It was a fun night and we look forward to our next family themed dinner night!

"Oh my man I love him so...

... He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is
I am his
forever more
Oh my man I love him so
He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is
I am his forever more


LOVE, LOVE this song from Funny Girl one of my all time favorite movies. Love the song. Love my husband.

He is my biggest fan and support system, and I hope I am his because I think he rocks. He does-- love this picture of him playing guitar for our son with the light hitting them both-- perfect.



Now, i don't want you to thinkn our marriage is perfect-- it's not. Quirky would be the more appropriate word. He does this thing where he insists on leaving his socks on at night and then he kicks them off and leaves them under the covers-- deep, deep down at the bottom.

And when I change the sheets, I find what I affectionately like to call a little bunny family all nestled together made up of stinky socks (okay, they don't really stink, but they are still socks).

But, quirks and all I love him and he loves me forever. And, he is a great father to my kids :) So, go give your man a hug and coax him into watching Funny Girl. You'll love it, and if not, at least you got some snuggle time in ;)

Daddy- Daughter date time

My husband works weird and not your typical 9-5 job, but he loves his kids and tries to get creative with each of them. We have one daughter in between two boys and we want to be sensitive to her needs but also making sure that she is well, daddy's little girl. I want her to one day say, I want to marry a man who loves Jesus just like my daddy does.

Now that she is getting older and much more in to girly things she gets the idea of a "date night" much more. So, here are some ideas:

- going to a local restaurant when its not as
- a trip to the park for a bike ride, hike, time on the swings...
- ice skating or roller skating
- shopping at a more girly store and then maybe a daddy store so she can be well rounded ;)

I'm sure you get the idea. It is our prayer also to get some things set up through our church, so please pray as we take the lead on something new. Blessings,

Becky

p.s. here are some more ideas

http://theideadoor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=458