Christmas at Home

Since we always end up traveling for the holidays, we've never enjoyed a Christmas morning at home with our kids. So this year, we decided to try something different. I told Pumpkin that I sent Santa Claus a letter explaining our predicament and got special permission from him to open our own gifts a few days before Christmas Day. I explained to Pumpkin that we were only opening the gifts we gave each other, and that they still had to wait until Christmas Day to open whatever gifts Santa brings. Pumpkin was soooo excited!

Friday night, we dressed the kids in their new Christmas pj's and put them to bed. Then, QT & I stayed up for a few more hours wrapping gifts, assembling toys, cleaning up, and getting food ready for the next morning. It wasn't so bad. We were probably in bed by 2:30 AM at the latest.

In the morning, well...I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Even Sunshine got a gift (and loved it!) as you'll see. Merry Christmas Everyone! We're looking forward to the nice, warm, Texas weather. :)

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pumpkin's Christmas Program

The song is 'Tis Christmas.




Here's Giggles watching her big brother. Enraptured. Good snacks too!







Pumpkin's BFF came to see him perform, and he was just delighted.



And, finally, here's a shot of the 4 of us after the show.



Last weekend, on a whim, we decided to take the kids to the Railroad Museum to visit with Santa Claus and ride the trains. It was nice to be able to spend some time outside after the cold weather we recently had, and both kids seemed to really enjoy themselves. Pumpkin even agreed to visit with Santa to let him know that he'd written him a letter; however, Giggles wasn't too thrilled with the meeting.

Letter to Santa

This is Pumpkin's first-ever letter to Santa. I helped him a bit with the wording whenever he asked, but mostly, he composed and wrote this letter by himself. And, because his sister is still a baby and unable to write, he wanted to include her in his letter so that Santa would know what to get her. He even signed her name to the letter. Awww....he is SUCH a sweet brother.

Key:
Norfolk S. Locos = Norfolk Southern Locomotives
Baby Movie = Baby Einstein DVD

p.s. That line about his sister having been good...I'm not sure if that's entirely true, but I don't think Santa will count it against him. ;)

I'm Just Phoning It In Now

We just returned from watching the Christmas Parade of Lights in downtown Denver, and I realized that I haven't even posted pictures from our Halloween yet. Pre-Halloween parties, yes, but nothing after that. Here goes then.


Mario, Wario, and Giggles cruising through Southlands Mall on Halloween day. Notice that Giggles is holding a beaker--already following in her daddy's Mad Scientist footsteps! We actually went there to get lunch. In the 2nd picture, Giggles is doing a pretty good job of coloring her kids menu.

Halloween Night. Super Mario takes his dog, the Court Jester, for a walk before we head out trick-or-treating. Pumpkin had a blast being Super Mario. When other kids recognized him, they'd call out "Super Mario!" and Pumpkin would reply very nonchalantly, "Hey" and kind of even give them subtle little wave or point with his finger. Very cool. Very The Fonz.

In case you're wondering why there aren't pictures of Giggles in her costume, it's because she was down for the count by about 5PM, well before any trick-or-treating had started on our street. Better luck next year.


Now for this last picture...we took the kids to a birthday party the following day at a roller skating place, and Pumpkin insisted on wearing his Super Mario costume from the day before. SInce the costume was already in the laundry hamper, I put together a "disguise" for Super Mario to wear to the party so that he could attend without attracting too much attention from the paparazzi. His shirt is still red, only this time, it's striped with blue! Ingenious, no?

Please Help!

Y'all might recall hearing me talk about a good friend of mine whose baby daughter was diagnosed with leukemia last year (was it really just last year?!!). Well, the baby, who is now 2, is hanging tough and doing much better, but the family still needs our help.

My close friend Melissa had to quit her job to care for her little girl throughout all her hospital stays last year and this year. Meanwhile, Dad hasn't had much luck finding work as a contractor. I guess it might be because of the current economic situation around here, where the zip code that abuts ours was recently reported to have the highest rate of defaults and foreclosures IN THE COUNTRY! Anyway, the family has been struggling to keep their heads above water, but unfortunately, their situation has not improved much since all this began, and they are now in danger of losing their home. They need all the help they can get. Please take a look at the slideshow below and give what you can. They have been through so much already.

To see the full screen, click on the little square within a square below the video.


To read more about Avery, click here to visit her Caring Bridge site.

Update: Click here to read a related article on the Denver Egotist, where their tagline is "Helping Denver Suck Less, Daily." Well said. :)

Another way to help!
Click here to visit the C.O.L.E.S. Foundation website and cast your vote for Avery in the Christmas Cash giveaway! Families must qualify to enter the contest, and the winner receives a monetary prize to help them out for the holidays.

Birthdays Galore

This month, Pumpkin and I took Giggles sledding for the first time. Getting there proved to be a bit of a logistical challenge because the sidewalks were dry, but the park was covered with snow so I couldn't pull them there in their sleds, but I also couldn't pull them all the way in the wagon because it wouldn't make it. I ended up having to load both kids in the wagon, carry 1 of the sleds, and have Pumpkin pull the other sled behind him. By the time we arrived at the park entrance (1 block away), I was beginning to think it might have been a bad idea to try this on my own, but I persevered.


I parked (read: abandoned) our wagon at the park entrance, and we proceeded from there via sled. The park entrance is shady, and thus very icy and slippery, and I nearly fell once or twice, but we finally made it to the hill. Giggles was very excited to be out in the snow, but unfortunately, her cute little snowsuit didn't quite stand up to the elements as well as I'd expected. Before I realized what was happening, the feet on her little suit had gotten soaked, and Giggles' own feet were very, very cold. Thankfully, a friend had brought her kids over to sled with us so I was able to leave Pumpkin with her while I rushed Giggles back home to change her into some warm, dry clothes. And yes, I had to pull her back to the park entrance in the sled, then transfer her over to the wagon, then walk home as quickly as possible without slipping, then shuck our wet clothes and boots at the door, then dry and warm her up, then rush upstairs to find new clothes, then dress her, then pull our coats back on, then load her back up in the wagon....well, I'm sure you get the picture. Needless to say, I was a fried and sweaty mess by the time our sledding adventure was over that day, haha. But it was fun!

November was also a busy month for us birthday-wise. We celebrated mine in the usual style (as per QT's incredible planning), and we celebrated friends' birthdays at the usual spots (Chuck E Cheese, kid gyms, Chuck E Cheese, etc), and we ate lots of cake.

Updated Video of Downtown Laredo

The picture quality wasn't coming out that great so I fixed the video up a bit. Consequently, the link in the previous post no longer works. Here's the new one.



Ajua! Viva Laredo!

Costume Parties, Downtown Laredo, and More!

Last year, I decided that, rather than go home for Thanksgiving, we'd go for Halloween instead from now on. By the time Halloween rolled around this year, though, I'd changed my mind and had decided to stay and enjoy all the cool goings-on around here instead.

Fortunately, Pumpkin and my family prevailed, and off to Texas I went with my kiddos. Unfortunately, Pumpkin came down with croup again shortly after we arrived, but he healed rapidly this time and a good time was had by all. (BTW, thanks again, Lulu, for helping him get better. Love ya!!)

I took the kids' warm weather costumes with us to Texas, and Pumpkin got to use his more than once, which was neat. To start with, we had a costume party at my parents' house the day after we arrived in Texas. It was really, really last minute, but it worked out great! Everyone wore a costume, we all pitched in with fun Halloween food, and the kids had a blast goofing off together! Here are some pics from that night. Pumpkin was a soldier, and Giggles was a ballerina (thanks again for the duds, Oz!).

Joining us were a princess, a corpse bride, some sort of death, a ghost, a dog, Dona Florinda, a medieval knight, a pig, a jockey, a ketchup bottle, a camper from Camp Rock, and a transformer. Oh, and my brother, the red grinch who stole Halloween. ;)

























Pumpkin spent most of the party on the trampoline at the house next door. ;)

A couple of days later, my sisters and I (and mom, and Coach Vic, and the boys) went on a Haunted Historic House tour that was being presented via trolley by the Webb County Heritage Foundation (pictured above). I think the boys were expecting something slightly scarier, but we all agreed it was a fascinating tour nonetheless. Below are pictures taken before the trolley arrived for us.



Wednesday, Grandma Toni took the kids to Peter Piper Pizza while I enjoyed lunch with a girlfriend at La India Packing Company. Yummy mole! Mmmm.

On Thursday, I took Pumpkin and his cousin D downtown to ride the free trolley just for kicks. We hung around the plaza for an hour, but the trolley never materialized! While we waited, we walked over to QT's grandparents' old house, which was sold about a year ago to a development company that's hoping to revitalize the San Agustin Plaza area downtown. I believe the house was never officially designated an historic property; however, repairs could still not be undertaken without approval from the Historic Building department. Their backyard had a stone wall that is supposedly the last remaining structure from a Presidio that stood here back when Laredo was still under Spanish rule circa 1700's. It looked to me like whoever bought the house was doing a nice job of fixing it up. Seeing it anew made me wish we could've done that ourselves, which is what QT had wanted to do.

After that, we headed back to the plaza, where I finally found out from the doorman at La Posada Hotel that the trolley had stopped running some months before, probably due to lack of funds. Well, pfffttt! Rather than call it quits and go home, the boys and I took off on a short shopping spree in the downtown shops. They picked up some nice loot then we headed out to visit the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center at LCC, site of the former Fort McIntosh and home to many an historic building of its own. There, we saw alligators, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, turtles, fish, and a javalin (um...I think that's wild boar in English, but I'd have to verify). They also had some interesting displays on the Rio Grande River watershed that Pumpkin and I enjoyed...though D perhaps not so much. ;)



Later that day, Pumpkin accompanied his cousins Van and Cass to a trunk-or-treating event at their school. They attend a private school, and I've gotta say, those private school parents hand out good loot because Pumpkin came home with a big bagful of all his favorite candy!

In between our running around, we ate most of our meals at my parents' restaurant and the afternoons and evenings hanging out with my sibs and their kids. Friday afternoon, my brother, his wife, and little D drove us back to San Antonio to catch our flight back to Denver. The boys played their Nintendo DS's all the way there, and I'm glad Pumpkin got to spend his last couple of hours in Texas playing with D, who's become a really good friend to him this year.

The Price of Negligence

We found out today that Pumpkin has 9 cavities! I think they said 9..maybe it was 7. I can really only remember 5 of them, but either way, it was a lot! At least 5 or 7 or 9 more than I would've expected. Four of them are where his molars touch, which boils down to 2 for the price of 1 since those 2 cavities end up affecting 4 teeth,

Because there are so many cavities to repair, Pumpkin will need to be sedated for the procedure. Because he has a history of RAD, the procedure can only be done in a hospital setting instead of at the dentist's office. So, the cost of our negligent parenting is whatever the cost will be for the hospital room, the anesthesiologist or whoever does the sedation, plus of course, the dentist herself. I'm still paying off the hospital bill from when Giggles was born, and now this. Damn.

My Favorite Things

This was Giggles' first time traveling via airplane. I rue the day.

Downtown Denver Outing

My Pumpkin and his pumpkin


Just for fun, we invited some friends to join us for lunch in downtown Denver. Naturally, we rode the light rail because...well, what else would we do? The day was so nice that we took a short stroll after lunch. Then, we boarded the free Mall Ride for a spin "around the block" before heading back home.

Halloween Recipes

I'm posting this for the fam, but anyone's welcome to use these recipes! I got them from various sources.

MUMMY DOGS
INGREDIENTS
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
2 1/2 slices American cheese, quartered (2.5 oz)
10 large hot dogs
Cooking spray
Mustard or ketchup, if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
3. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
4. Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate "bandages" so hot dog shows through for "face." On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with cooking spray.
5. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on "face."

Pumpkin Shaped Ham-n-Cheese Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
1 box (15 oz) refrigerated pie crusts
6 oz sliced Black Forest or Virginia ham
8 oz sliced extra-sharp Cheddar, Swiss or Gruyère cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 425ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil.

2. Unroll pie crust and cut each of the two crusts into 12 pumpkin shapes with a 3-in. pumpkin cookie cutter. Using a 2-in. round cutter, cut 24 rounds from the sliced ham and 24 rounds from the sliced Cheddar.

3. Put 2 slices each ham and Cheddar in the center of each of 12 pumpkins. Brush beaten egg around edges.

4. Top with remaining pumpkins, carefully pressing on edges to seal. Using a spoon, make ridges on pumpkins by pressing into tops in a few places. With a small knife, pierce ridges in a couple of places to vent.

5. Place on prepared pan. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden.

Bewitching Brownies
INGREDIENTS
1 box (1 lb, 6.5 oz) brownie mix, prepared and baked according to package directions
Violet, red and white tube decorating icing
1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
1 can (16 oz) dark chocolate frosting
Wilton jumbo confetti and Halloween confetti sprinkles
White fondant

PREPARATION
1. Cut prepared and cooled brownies into eight coffin shapes, using a 3-in. coffin-shaped cookie cutter. Using a 2 1/2-in. round cookie cutter, cut six brownies into rounds for vampire faces.

2. To decorate coffins: Pipe on rim of coffins with violet and red decorating icing. Pipe "RIP" using white decorating icing.

3. To decorate vampires: Spread top of circles with vanilla frosting. Pipe on hair and eyebrows using the chocolate frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a #3 tip. Use jumbo confetti sprinkles for eyes and Halloween confetti sprinkles for pupils. (You can also pipe on the pupils with some of the chocolate frosting.) Using fingers, form fondant into ears, nose, and fang shapes; attach to face. Pipe on mouths using red decorating icing.

Ghostly Shepard's Pie
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 bag (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables
2 C. diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained (from 28-oz can)
1 jar (12 oz) beef gravy
1 3/4 C. water
2 Tbsp. butter/margarine
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 C. milk
2 1/4 C. Potato Buds mashed potatoes (dry) or any other dried potatoes
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add beef and onion; cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

2. Set 12 peas (from frozen vegetables) aside for garnish. Add remaining frozen vegetables, tomatoes and gravy to beef mixture. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

3. In 2-quart saucepan, heat water, butter and garlic powder to boiling. Remove from heat; add milk. Stir in dry potatoes and cheese. Add egg; blend well.

4. Spoon beef mixture into ungreased 2 - 2 1/2 quart baking dish. With large spoon, make 6 mounds of potato mixture on top of beef mixture to resemble ghosts. Place 2 reserved peas on each mound to resemble eyes.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are set and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Green Goblins
Ingredients:
6 C. Kix Cereal
1 package marshmallows (about 40 large)
3 Tbs. butter or margarine
4 drops green food coloring
Wax Paper
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1 package circus peanuts (you need 2 per goblin)
1 can Pillsbury vanilla icing
assorted candies

Directions:
Put Marshmallows and butter in large mirowave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave 1 additional minute. Remove from microwave and stir in green food coloring.

Place Kix cereal into your cauldron...I mean large bowl...
Pour marshmallow mixture over Kix and stir well. Let cool for 3-5 minutes.

After mixture has cooled slightly but is still moldable, spray hands generously with cooking spray (otherwise you'll get VERY sticky!). Scoop out 3/4 C. of the mixture and shape into a firm ball. Place on wax paper to harden. After the Goblin Bodies are set (about 30 minutes), place on top of two Circus Peanut candies. Your Goblins are ready to decorate.

Spiderweb Cheese Pizzas
INGREDIENTS
1 pkg (10 oz) prebaked mini 8-in pizza crusts (we used Boboli)
1/3 cup pizza sauce
2 (1 oz each) mozzarella string cheese
3 large pitted black olives

PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 450°F. Place crusts on a baking sheet; top with sauce. Pull cheese into thin strips; place on pizzas in the shape of a web.

2. Bake pizza for 8 to 10 minutes until cheese melts. Cool 3 minutes.

3. Cut off one end of 2 olives for spider heads. Halve remaining olives lengthwise. Use one half for body; cut remaining pieces into strips for legs. Assemble spider on each pizza.

Spooky Spinach Dip in Cauldron
INGREDIENTS

[u]Dip[/u]
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup shredded carrots
Wilton leaf green icing color (optional)

[u]Cauldron[/u]
2 refrigerated breadsticks (from an 11-oz can)
Wilton black icing color
1 round loaf pumpernickel bread
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese

PREPARATION
1. To make Dip: In medium bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, basil, black pepper, garlic powder and salt; mix well. Stir in spinach, scallions and carrots; blend well. Tint green with icing color if desired. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight for flavors to develop.

2. To make Cauldron: Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll 2 attached breadsticks from package of refrigerated breadsticks. Twist and form into handle shape. Insert toothpick into each end and bake as package directs. (You can bake the remaining breadsticks as well and serve them as an accompaniment to dip. Make sure to bake them immediately after opening the package.)

3. Remove to rack to cool completely. Paint handle with black icing color. Cut top off bread and hollow out to form a bowl. Insert handle into top of bread bowl.

4. In a small bowl, tint cream cheese black with icing color. Transfer to ziptop bag. Snip 1/2-in. hole from one corner of bag. Pipe around top of cauldron. Spoon dip into top of cauldron. Serve with Pumpkin-Shaped Tortilla Dippers and raw vegetables.[/quote]


This came from [url=http://www.x-entertainment.com/halloween/2006/september28/]X-E's 2006 Halloween Countdown[/url]. It may not be pretty, but the article is hilarious!

To make this pizza, use a Boboli crust and cut the top an bottom to make it look more pumpkin-shaped. In the picture, he used pepperoni, green peppers, yellow peppers and black olives to decorate. I used more orange cheese and fewer pepperoni on top.

For smaller bite-size or kid-size version of the pumpkin shaped pizzas, use English muffins in place of pizza crust. Green pepper for the stem, orangey cheese for color. Cut pepperoni and/or yellow peppers into triangles and half-circle pieces for eyes and mouth.


KITTY LITTER CAKE

This one's very realistic looking, haha.

INGREDIENTS
New kitty box
new kitty box scoop (both totally worth buying for this cake!)
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix (or vanilla for more flavor)
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (or you can use chocolate for a"used" kitty box)
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies (I use nilla wafers)
3 drops green food coloring (optional, but does make a big difference)
1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

DIRECTIONS (put a bib on a kid over age 1 and have them help!)
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (any size pan, whatever cooks quickest).
Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.
Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often (or give it to a small child in double ziplocs and a wooden spoon). Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.
When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.
Line kitty litter box with the kitty litter liner if desired (liner not necessary, but does make clean up easier). Put cake mixture into new and clean box.
Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.
Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread all but one randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang the remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs. Serve with the pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.


Jack-O-Lantern Layered Mexican Dip

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients
1 - 16 oz. can of refried beans
1 - 4.5 oz. can of chopped green chiles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 avocadoes, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup Stonewall Kitchen Black Bean Salsa
4 scallions, chopped
2 cups shredded orange cheddar cheese
Blue corn tortilla chips, triangle shape
Sliced black olives, drained
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a greased deep pie dish, spread the refried beans and then layer the green chiles.
For the next layer combine the sour cream and the mayonnaise and spread over the chiles. Continue layering the avocadoes, lemon juice, Stonewall Kitchen Black Bean Salsa, scallions, and cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until heated through and bubbly.
Decorate top of dip with three tortilla chips forming the eyes and nose of the jack-o-lantern. Use the sliced black olives to form a mouth.
Serve hot with additional tortilla chips.


SKELETON DIP

Assemble skeleton with your favorite veggies and serve with any dip of your choosing. SUPER EASY!










Edible Eyeballs (recipe card is the next picture)