Toothless

Over the Christmas break, Reina announced that she had a loose tooth.  When we responded with enthusiasm and excitement, she announced that she didn't want to lose her tooth because she didn't want it to hurt.  Keep in mind, this is the kid who's had blood drawn a few times and didn't even flinch.  The tooth became looser (more loose?) and looser and we tried not to make too big of a deal about it.  Last Thursday, Reina cried for about an hour because the tooth was so loose that it was making a weird noise (her perspective) and she went back and forth between wanting to leave it in there indefinitely or letting Daddy pull it out.  She was also bothered because she could feel the new tooth coming in behind it.  She finally decided to leave it in there and I figured the tooth would eventually just walk out of her mouth on it's own.

 

Fast forward to today and when I arrive to pick up Will and Reina from the after school program, I'm greeted by a beaming Reina who announces that SHE PULLED HER OWN TOOTH OUT AT SCHOOL.  Hooray! 

Look at that big girl! 

Cookie crumbs and all. My new camera is pretty cool. 

She's written a note to the Tooth Fairy and her tooth sits in a little bag under her pillow.  As I was tucking her in tonight, she told me that she doesn't want anymore loose teeth ever again because she doesn't like how it feels.  Oh kiddo.  Welcome to Big Kid-ville. 

Basketball

The football season might have come to a screeching halt tonight but hey, we still have basketball!  Yesterday we piled into the car for a quick trip to Laramie and a Cowboy's basketball game.  A great time was had by all, mostly because the Cowboys won but also because the kiddos are finally old enough to enjoy the game.  Will watched the whole thing, sitting next to me, clutching his giant foam finger.  Reina cheered and clapped at the appropriate times and also entertained herself by dancing, writing in her diary ("Mom, how do you spell 'snowflake'?") and walking up and down the empty rows of seats behind us.  So really, more of us were interested in basketball than last year, but not quite ALL of us, at least all of the time. 

Wyo Girl shaking her pom-pom and the rest of the gang saying cheese.  That's not a stuffed chicken in Glenn's lap, as someone asked on Facebook.  It's Reina's puppy, Belle, who also enjoyed the basketball game.

There's the giant foam finger! 

 Before the game, the kids and I spent way too long at the UW store picking out new Cowboys shirts.  Will outgrew his from last year and Reina was not interested in wearing a brown, boy's shirt out in public.  After looking at every shirt made for kids sizes 6 to 10 (on the big side, but it works), we finally found a few that fit the bill.  Will has just as strong opinions about clothing as his sister. In fact, he's as concerned about color, logo color, logo size and the material used in the construction of the shirt as he is with whether or not it looks like a "girl's" shirt. 

And... it's time for a haircut already. 

The Cowboys are off to a pretty good start and at the risk of jinxing everything I'll just stop raving about them now.  We can't wait for our next game! 

My birthday

My something-something birthday was Saturday and it was just a really nice day.  Reina had asked me a few days before if I was having a party with my friends, but no such plans like that this year.  She probably hoped we were going to rent some bouncy houses or get our nails painted.  Don't forget the goody bags. 

On the morning of my birthday, I slept in for a few extra minutes and when I came downstairs, I had smiling faces and presents waiting for me.  The night before, Reina had been telling me about seeing a scary doll at the mall. I wasn't sure what she was talking about but then she told me, "I saw the vampire doll when I was on the super secret shopping trip with daddy."  Oh... unbeknownst to me, Glenn came home from work early on Friday and took the kids to the mall. All. By. Him. Self. 

So back to my birthday.  I unwrapped a new Broncs hat from Will - it's orange!  Reina gave me the first season of Downton Abbey and pointed out that lady who looks like the teacher from Harry Potter. I wonder if Maggie Smith likes that she's known to a whole generation as that lady from Harry Potter?  Glenn gave me a bigger lens for my camera which I'm super excited about.  Close up pictures of school programs and sporting events, watch out!  Grandma gave me a cool little gadget that attaches to the lens cap of the camera and keeps it from getting lost.  There was also a card from Pop-pop and a happy birthday check.  Yah! 

Later in the morning, I jogged and then the girls in the family met Baby Cousin and Aunt Vicky for lunch where I got even more presents and a delicious meal.  And some smiles from Baby C. 

Saturday night, Vicky and Matt and Ainsley came over for bbq and we all watched football for a while.  It was a nice start to what I hope will be a very happy year.   

Pauley Christmas cookies

I've had this post sitting in the queue for a few weeks and I'd better finish it before it's time for a Valentine's Day post or something.  For the last several years, maybe since we got married (?), I've baked a few different Christmas cookies from recipes that belonged to Glenn's grandma.  I've probably posted about this before and (frankly I'm a little too lazy to go look it up right now) so if that's the case, consider this my annual post about German Christmas cookies.  

 

First up, we have the spritz.  Up until this year, I haven't been able to get my cookie press to work so I've rolled out this cookies and  cut them into shapes.  But this year, I pulled out the cookie press, brought in some muscle (Glenn) and voila!  Spritz the way they are supposed to look, although Glenn tells me that his grandma used to decorate the spritz with a candied cherry in the middle.  Things to remember for next year. 

Spritz artfully arranged on a cookie sheet.  Or spritz pulled out of the oven and the cook thinks, "Oh hey, I should take a picture of this."

Next up, we have the hazelnut macaroons.  In previous years, I had to search high and low to find hazelnut flour. I even had to order it on the internet once or twice.  Now I can find it at health food stores and sometimes even here in town.  These cookies are simple, egg whites, hazelnut flour and powdered sugar.  They are supposed to be decorated with a hazelnut on the top but I don't even know what a whole hazelnut looks like, much less where to find one.  These are delicious and they don't often last the entire holiday season because we gobble them up so fast.   

Food blog, this ain't.  Hi, crinkled parchment paper and randomly arranged cookies. 

I also make lepkugen and I finally know of someone else around my age who also makes lepkugen.  We need to get our recipes together some year to prepare.  A cross between gingerbread and fruitcake, it's full of spice and candied fruit with a light glaze. 

I wasn't paying enough attention to the oven and this year's batch is a little darker than it should be.  Not burned, just a little browned. 

I also made a batch of buttery S's, which are exactly what they sound like.  A butter cookie shaped into a little "s."  It's time consuming to shape each one and decorate the top with chopped nuts but they are also delicious.  Pictures of those next year, maybe? 

I also like to make cornflake wreaths that are a little globs of marshmallows, green food coloring, cornflakes and red hots. Guaranteed to turn your mouth green and crack a filling on a red hot but delicious nonetheless.  They also barely last 24 hours, not because they get stale but because they get grabbed by hands of all ages they minute they are cool enough to eat. 

So there we have it, another year of holiday baking in the books. The diet starts tomorrow. 

A post-Christmas interview

You've heard my version of the Christmas recap.  So let's hear from the rest of the family. 

What was your favorite Christmas present:
W: Probably that (pointing towards giant lego set).  I also really liked the Nike socks.
R:  The Elsa castle.  (Seeing that I'm typing more for everybody else Reina adds), I liked the bird Aunt Vicky gave me and the palace pet I got, and the Frozen clothes.
G: I liked all of them - the baseball glove, the Cabela's giftcard and the KUIU giftcard.

What was the favorite thing you ate for Christmas break so far:
W: I don't know probably turkey. 
R: I didn't eat anything.  Mom, I haven't eaten anything for Christmas.  Well, we did have a dinner.
G:  The stew you made yesterday.  (What a diplomat.)

So now both kids have left the room and Glenn's busy working on the giant lego set mentioned in Question #1.  I'd like to mention that it's -17.7 degrees outside and that's without the wind chill.  We have a bit of a cold snap going on right now.

What's been your favorite activity during the break so far:
W:  I don't know.  Probably building my legos. 
R:  Making my lego (okay, now she's just openly repeating what other people are saying.)
G:  Opening presents. 

How many more days of vacation do you wish you had?
W:  100
R:  100
G:  5

What else would you like to do before vacation is over with:
W:  Probably just ... I don't know.
R:  I would like to make the gingerbread house (that I bought at the beginning of vacation) and make snowflakes. 
G:  Not work. 

What are your resolutions for the New Year?
W: Probably building my legos.
R: Learning more Christmas carols, what's the prize?
G: Be more sensitive. (Seriously, Mr. Diplomat?)

So there you have it.  Christmas through the eyes of the other three-quarters of this blog.

One night with Baby Cousin

 A few weeks ago, we had a chance to babysit Baby Cousin for an evening.  She was still recovering from RSV and looks a little peaked in these pictures but we had a lot of fun with her.   

 

Eating cheerios like a champ!

Who, me?  I said "say cheese!"

Ignore the dirty kitchen in the background. I really need to get some photo editing software so I can pretend that the kitchen in all of these shots is perfectly cleaned and organized. 

Big cousin helping Baby Cousin even though Baby Cousin doesn't really need the help. 

Besides eating and feeding each other, we also played with some toys, played with some cousins, and read some stories.  We also played the "do you want to go to Uncle Glenn" game that's featured in the Christmas Even pictures.  Baby Cousin is so much fun right now - even when she's not sleepy and not interested in napping before Mom and Dad come pick her up.  

Christmas Eve

Before the excitement of Christmas Day, we had the excitement of Christmas Eve.  Glenn and I both took the day off and we had a lot of last minute errands to run.  We did a little shopping, a lot of grocery shopping, a little cleaning and a lot of scrambling.  We had two wound up kiddos on our hands who both kept asking if it was bedtime yet. 

 

Per our tradition, we went to church with the Fry's and then went over to their house afterward for a delicious dinner.  We had lots of good food and some quality time with Baby Cousin. 

After eating and running around for a few minutes, the big cousins entertained themselves on the floor of Baby Cousin's room.  I have no idea what the game involved but I'm sure there were battles and good guys. 

I spent most of my time sitting by Baby Cousin and being entertained by her Baby Cousin-ness. 

This is picture is as rare as a sighting of the Loch Ness monster.  Glenn holding Baby Cousin and Baby Cousin not hollering.  Such benevolence on Christmas Eve. 

And .... the moment has passed.

The Fry's have one of the best Christmas decorations in Cheyenne.  Santa in an Airstream.  Reina likes it but is a tiny bit scared of it.

On the way home, we looked at a few Christmas lights.  Once home, we put out cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer and then put two kids to bed on the easiest night to put kids to bed all year.  Neither one of them will as willingly hit the sack for the next 365 days.