Category: General News

Dec. 9: We had a big, beautiful snowfall today.  Most of the day we spent being cozy indoors.  That was helped by our wonderful neighbor Jenni who snowplowed our driveway for us while we watched from the windows.  THANKS, Jenni!
Mid-afternoon, I took the kids out for a foray into the snow.  Sylvia got to ride in a baby sled in our back yard and up and down the driveway.  Meanwhile, Andrew shoveled for me.  We had fun!

Dec. 5: As part of his now-retired lifestyle, Terry’s been taking some long driving trips.  He just left for a two-month trip out west (some of which will be spent with his family in Oregon).  Michael set Terry up with a website so he can share stories and photos from his travels.  Thought you might like to check it out!
It’s an easy website to remember: terryhaller.com

Dec. 5:  I can’t decide!  Which photo should I enclose in this year’s Christmas card?  I am planning on this one:

But then I think, “No, do something more fun, more memorable!”
This one will make people smile:

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Votes?  I think I’ll order them tonight.

Dec. 5: Sylvia has been sleeping for about 40 minutes.  We’ll see if she can make it past the 45 minute wake-up.  The other day, I let her cry for an hour after both her morning and afternoon naps after she woke at the 45 minute mark.  The next day, she took an hour-and-a-half nap…and then a 45 minuter.  But maybe, just maybe we’re making progress.
She sure was grumpy this morning.  She didn’t want me to put her down.  When I got dressed, I laid her on the bed when she sobbed until I picked her up again.  Then when I put in my contacts I laid her down on the floor where she sobbed until I picked her up again.  I think it was just a must-be-held kind of morning.
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to share a wonderful recipe with you, not to again regale you with the details of my girl-child’s sleeping schedule.
Jessica just asked me for my overnight, yeasty waffle recipe, and since I typed out to send to her, I thought I would share it with you all.  It’s so good.  I love these waffles.  My tummy is rumbling for them right now.  Take my word for them.  Make the batter tonight and eat them for breakfast in the morning.  If you really don’t like the idea of separating the eggs and beating the egg whites, you can skip that step and they’ll still be good.  Mmmm mmmm

Overnight Waffles
from: Mark Bittman’s, How To Cook Everything

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon Instant yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk
8 tablespoon butter melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
2 eggs
Oil for brushing on waffle iron

Before going to bed, combine the dry ingredients and stir in the milk, then the butter and vanilla. The mixture will be loose. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight at room temperature.

Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs and stir the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter.

Pour batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

Note: This recipe is supposed to serve four, but, er, it feeds me
and Bryan and Andrew with maybe one left over (assuming we don’t have sausage or eggs or anything extra).  When we have friends over, we make a double batch.  They freeze well. A quick toast in the toaster oven crisps them up again.

Dec. 2: Ahh, home again.  Andrew bundled up in his snow gear this morning and tromped around our yard, making tracks in the snow.  Our flight home yesterday was smooth.  Sylvia only had a few crying moments, and Andrew was again as good as good can be.  That said, traveling is tiring in general, and with two little ones it’s more than slightly exhausting.  Bryan and I were both dragging by the time we met my dad at the airport.
We’re enjoying a quiet day at home.  Sylvia woke up from her nap after 40 minutes, so I’ve decided to let her cry until she falls back asleep.  She’s currently not very happy with this decision.
Andrew and I played his new Sequence for Kids game, and he’s now playing with his basket of animals, all curled next to me in blankets on the sofa.
The photo here is one I considered for our Christmas card since it captures a certain element of our life right now, but decided I’d go with something a little more calm instead:)

Dec. 2: While we were in Texas, we had some family photos taken.  The last ones we had done were when Andrew was (exactly) Sylvia’s age.  A very narrowed-down selection are in the gallery.

 

Dec. 1:  We’re heading home today.  It’s been a wonderful visit.  Andrew just adores everyone here, and Sylvia had a great time exploring and expanding her skill-set (she’s learned how to walk while pushing a small chair!).
As you might guess, I took more than just a few (OK, 300) pictures while we were here.  A narrowed down, but still substantial set are in the gallery.
The weather was often in the 60s or 70s…today a north wind kicked in and chilled it down a bit.
We took a nice walk at a nearby forest earlier in the week.  Andrew played nearly constantly with Melanie or Grandad or Ben or Granny.  He especially liked the Lincoln Logs, Grandad’s animals, and the great 1970s Fisher Price toys.

Granny provided several amazing meals.  Thanksgiving dinner was amazing.  Then we also had a lasagna (Mom’s recipe) and fettucini alfredo dinner.  Last night, we did Mexican buffet, with tostadas, nachos, and soft tacos.  Yum, yum!  Sylvia loved everything.  She’s willing to eat just about everything so long as she can gum it!

We played a poker tournament, and we all had fun trying out Mark’s new crokinole board.  He learned how to play with his grandad when he was a little boy, and we all enjoyed flicking the disks across the board.  Some more than others…I was a relatively terrible player:)

Sylvia started pointing at things this week.  When we ask her where Ginger the horse is, she looks at it and points!  Photos of her riding Ginger are in the gallery.  Too cute!

The kids are both on the tail-end of being sick, but unfortunately we passed their cold on to their grandparents.  They seem to be only mildly affected, though, so that’s a good thing.  Sick kids can get everyone sick!

We’re supposed to be home by 9pm tonight, so I hope all our travel goes well.  Now, it’s Christmas time!

Nov. 27: We’ve finished an amazing Thanksgiving feast created by LuAnn. MmmmMMmmm good. Sylvia really enjoyed the food – especially the pumpkin pie!
Here’s a video of the kids on this fun holiday.

Andrew’s poem (from preschool) goes:
“The turkey is a funny bird, his head goes wobble wobble. And just one thing he says is gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble!”
Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov. 26: For reasons not clear even to me, I have not spent the last hour outdoors enjoying some beautiful Texan weather.  Instead I’ve been catching up on photo editing and uploading.  It’s an obsession, I tell you!
Anyway, the result is that there are now photos from throughout November in the gallery.  Enjoy!
Nov. 1-21 and Nov. 22-25.

Nov. 25: We’re happily writing to you from Texas.  It’s calm, it’s relaxing.  And our day of travel wasn’t bad.  Sylvia did very well.  She only cried for a few minutes here and there (once when the arm rest fell and clonked her on the head).  Andrew’s a rock as a traveler.
And now I’m off to Walgreens to purchase new toiletries.  Oops.
Happy Thanksgiving!