There WILL be a white Christmas at my house!

What's that saying? A sucker is born every minute?

Well, my friends, my minute has come.

I realized this after I clicked "order" on this site.

Yes, while most of the country is trying to dig themselves out of that snowy mess, I am ordering "Snow in Seconds." Come on though, how awesome is this stuff? You can sprinkle it outside and it will look all snowy-like. In a few days, it will dehydrate but all you have to do is spray it with more water and BLAMMO! Snowy again!

I'm totally sold. I bought the big-boy pack.

My Dad will probably scold me when he sees it and whip out a massive stash of it yeah he totally is THAT Dad. I distinctly remember him drinking orange soda out of beakers when we were growing up. We were quite possibly the only kids in the neighborhood that had hazmat spills in our garage.

I am totally stoked to get this stuff in the mail. I am possibly MORE excited than the kids will be.

MAGIC SNOW!!!!!!

**All of you who are cursing me and my "warm" weather can hush...or move here. Yes, YOU. You know who you are.

Beautiul Christmas Wall Art & SITSMAS!!

First and foremost, Merry SITSmas!! Head on over to the SITS girls' site and link up for some bloggy love.

My hunt for all things Christmas knows no bounds. I found this fab little idea on Lowe's website. Yeah, I browse the Lowe's website. I must be perfectly honest with you here: I did not make this project. My good friend Ali did. She works at a lumber yard and had to work last Saturday. I knew it was gonna be slow due to the cold, yucky weather that was forecast so I emailed her the link and suggested it as a way to pass the time.

You probably have most, if not all of the needed items at home!

The only thing she did differently is that instead of building a frame and using a drop cloth for the base of the project, she simply re purposed some old artwork from her college days! I was none too happy with her for painting over her artwork, but it's already done! As an art major, she has a bunch of old paintings on canvas. She said it took her about 1/2 hr to complete the project. She bought a string of lights from the dollar store that have 8 different settings! It really makes the snowflake look awesome, AND it's fun to change it up with the different light patterns.

The first of our children to see this hanging on the wall just stood there screaming "OH MY GOSH!!!" They LOVE it, and so do we.

Peppermint Marshmallows

I know, right? Why do I opt to do baking/cooking/crafty things when I very well should be cleaning or something? I dunno, but I do.

I did all kinds of productive things this weekend. And by productive, I mean in the sense that it's productive for my sanity...not so much in the productive for my home's aesthetic appearance sort of way.

Friday night we got snow. Ok, that is perhaps a lie. The surrounding areas got snow. We got a lot of really cold rain. BUT, around 11pm there was a patch of snow on the radar that was making it's way our direction. Unfortunately I could not keep my little eyes open to wait and see if it actually snowed. Whatevs.

In any event, it was cold. I introduced the kids to hot chocolate. What goes better with hot chocolate than marshmallows!! Even better still? Peppermint marshmallows!!

I had seen a recipe for marshmallows on RootsandWingsCo WAAAYY back around Easter time (I wonder if they consider me a stalker?? lol). I had full intention of making their chocolate covered Easter egg marshmallows, but that never happened. I did, however, save the recipe.

3 envelopes of Knox gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons pulverized candy cane

Powdered sugar for dredging

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pot on the stove, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Pour boiling mixture into dissolved gelatin. Whip on high speed for 12 minutes, adding salt and vanilla. Here is where I strayed.

I have a TON of those giant candy canes. I broke one in half and pulverized the son of a gun in my magic bullet. I added about 2 Tablespoons to the marshmallow mixture.

Transfer mixture to a foil lined pan that has been sprayed with Pam. It also helps to spray your spatula or spoon. I took of my rings, sprayed my hands with Pam and spread evenly into the pan. Cover with a sheet of foil (again sprayed with Pam) and allow to set for an hour or so.

**NOTE** do NOT run your stand mixer on high during a very important Saints game, as they narrowly hold on to their perfect season. It will most definitely upset your husband.

After removing the top foil I sifted powdered sugar all over the top. Be liberal here people. Turn pan over onto cutting board and peel off bottom foil. Sift more powdered sugar. At this point my kitchen had a white haze floating about. It was kinda nice, lol. Made me happy!

Using a large kitchen knife, cut into cubes. You're going to need A LOT more powdered sugar to keep 'em from sticking to your knife. Toss all of the marshmallows in powdered sugar.

OH THE YUMMINESS!

The Land of Milk and Honey...Balls

Oh how I love some good balls.

Tis the season for various balls of yumminess.

Get your minds out of the gutter people!

Since I found this recipe on Mr. Breakfast, I've made them 3 times (only found the recipe last Sunday). Seriously, The Dude loves these and so do the kids, soooooo why not? They're super easy, nutritious, and a quick breakfast.

Milk & Honey Balls

1 Cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, your choice)

1 Cup honey

2 Cups oats

2 Cups nonfat instant dry milk

Combine all ingredients in medium sized bowl. You can mash it all up with your hands or with a spoon, whatever you fancy. I think I used about one Tablespoon per ball. Shoot for about a one inch ball. Your hands will be sticky...deal with it.

The add-in possibilities are endless: chopped dates, raisins, mini chocolate chips, nuts, coconut (toasted or not), and dried fruit actually. I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there.

These are a little sticky to eat. Actually, sticky is a strong word. There is an ever so slight stick to them. You could easily remedy this by rolled them in toasted coconut, crushed pretzels, crushed cereal, nuts, whatever. I like them just how they are.

Nutrition Facts (per ball)
Serving Size 35 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories
95
Calories from Fat
38
% Daily Value*
Total Fat
4.2g
6%
Saturated Fat
1.0g
5%
Cholesterol
1mg
0%
Sodium
39mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates
12.9g
4%
Dietary Fiber
0.9g
4%
Sugars
9.1g
Protein
2.9g
Vitamin A 1%
•
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 2%
•
Iron 2%
Nutrition Grade B
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

A Very Special Thought on the Pot Thursday

You know, like a "very special episode of Home Improvement." Seriously? You're gonna take on serious subject matter on "Home Improvement?" Well yes, this Thursday's installment is semi-serious. Not serious in the "oh crap my arm just fell off" off sort of way, but in the "well that just sucks" kinda way.

My twinkies just turned 4. On Tuesday we had their 4 yr old checkup. We did the complete physical, including vision checks, blood draws, urinalysis and a hearing check. That last one was where we had a problem. Twin A all but failed her hearing test.

I stood just outside the door of the tiny room where they were giving the test. I could only see her little legs casually kicking as the nurse stood in front of her, operating the machine.

"Raise your hand when you hear a beep."

Nothing

"Come on hunny, let me know when you hear it."

Still nothing.

"You can't hear that?"

"What about this?"

At this point tears are streaming down my face. The nurse looks back at me and says,

"We're gonna close the door now and try this again."

Twin B looks up at me and say, "I could hear it Mama. Why can't she hear it?"

I had suspected that Twin A had some sort of hearing problem but ignored my instincts and let other people, ahem, tell me that it was nothing.

All of those times that she asked for a song or the movie to be turned louder, I told her to simply pay attention more.

All of those times she'd respond to my questions with a "what?" or "huh?" I'd brushed off as her being inattentive.

The speech problems, I let people tell me that it was normal and that she'd grow out of it.

"Don't compare the girls. They are different and will develop at different rates." But I knew something was off. I wish I had done something about it sooner.

Twin B came home and proudly recited The Pledge of Allegiance. When I asked Twin A if she wanted to do it to, she looked at me blankly and said, "I've never heard that before." Cripes, how much has she been missing?

How many times did she go to time out for "not listening," all the while, she simply couldn't.

I'm fairly certain I won't be getting any Mother of the Year awards this year. What can ya do? She more than likely will not remember all of this stuff when she's an adult, but I will. Ah yes, nothing like parental guilt.

So yeah, these were my Thoughts on the Pot today...actually, they've been my thoughts since Tuesday morning.

I realize this is not a fatal diagnosis. I realize that there are other children with much more serious issues, but this is MY kid so it's a big deal to me.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Perhaps cold is too strong of a word. It was mild outside today. Puts me in the mood for some nice soup. Hot soup with some fresh baked bread puts me in a super good mood.

I have a friend from college who is now a personal chef/caterer. I know what you're thinking, "She went to colleg??" I dabbled a bit. Anyway, she is always posting pictures of these fabulous things she makes and sometimes shares her recipes! This one is for Tomato Basil Soup. And away we go!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

8-10 Roma totatoes, halved

2 large onions, quartered

4 large cloves of garlic, whole (I used an entire head of garlic)

2 cans of tomatoes (juice and all, kids)

1 Cup fresh basil or 1/4 Cup frozen (apparently Trader Joe's sells frozen basil, I have personally, never seen it)

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 quart chicken stock/broth (or vegetable stock for vegans)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl, toss tomatoes, onions, and garlic with olive oil (she uses 5-6 Tablespoons, I did not use nearly that much. Just coat them all really well). Season with salt and pepper. Spread out onto a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Add the roasted veggies and remaining ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes.

Using a hand blender, blend ingredients well, or do this can be done in a standard blender in a few batches (please let it cool down a bit before doing this, otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands!).

You can serve as is, or run it through food mill to get a smoother soup. Straining it would also work. I just served mind as is and it was wonderful. You can garnish it with some fresh cream and it would be fab! Enjoy!

OOooh-Rah!

Happy 234th Birthday Marines!

Oooh-Rah, Teufel Hundin!

Much love to all of the Marines out there, especially to MY Marine. Love you babe.