wow, it's been a while! the hubby had an interesting time at his training. he met people from several of the surrounding states. many were very interesting, some were a little freaky. he wasn't excited about going at first, but once he was there he was learning so much, he was actually really glad he went. he said the instructor told him "i'm sure i'll be seeing you in the near future. i can usually tell when someone is on the right track and you are on it". so hopefully they will be calling him back up there in the near future for more training...then he gets to go on to being a store or shop manager.

christmas was very hectic. we had my MIL's house on christmas eve, and then went to my aunt nancy's, hubby's aunt nancy's, and my grandma's house all on christmas day. it made for a very very long day, but the kids had a great time seeing all their cousins.

we have a scavenger hunt every year for the kids. they wake up in the morning and find santa's note, then all the clues that santa leaves through the house (and sometimes outside). they have a great time, and it makes it more fun. they don't get many presents at our house. just one from santa, one from us, and they each pick a name and buy a present for that brother or sister. this year alex bought for haley, haley bought for josh, grace bought for zack, josh bought for grace, and zack bought for alex. it makes it a little harder, you know, taking each one out to buy for one of the other kids...but they love it. they have a better time buying for each other, and watching them open up the present they picked out, than they do opening their own presents. i have to say, i have a better time watching them open the presents from their brothers and sisters than i do watching them open the ones i picked.

i have my first group meetings for 4H this coming week. one for the swine group, and one for the crochet group. i am a little nervous...well, a little more than a little. i am trying to make sure that i teach these kids what they need to know. but i'm not sure that i know enough to be teaching them anything. i have a kid in each group that has a parent that probably knows way more than i do...and yet i am in charge. the swine group i will probably not have that many meetings with. i just wanted to have one to kind of let them know what they need to have before they get their piglet, and what to look for in a piglet. but i don't really know that much about that either. the other girl's dad probably knows more than i do about that...so i think i will ask him to tell the kids what to look for. as for the crochet group, i need to teach them stitches...and i guess i will have them start with a simple single crochet. i just wish i had a project book that had beginners projects in it. i think i may just have them start out practicing some stitches, and then start a project at the next meeting. i know i will have to have at least one meeting a month for them. this way, if they want to try doing a project like a baby blanket, or a real blanket, well, they are going to need a little guidance.

well, i need to go and sanitize my house. i've had 2 sick babies at my house for the last week, and i need to get rid of all the germs. if they are going to be coming here on monday, i'd like to have the house germ-free.

merry christmas all! and happy new year too!

well, i took my hubby to meet up with 4 other guys going to chicago for training this morning. he won't be back until thursday evening. i now find myself extremely crabby. i didn't think it would bother me so much. not that i thought i wouldn't miss him, but i figured it would take me a little longer than the car ride to take him over there.

i finished up making the dough for the peanut butter blossoms. they are a peanut butter cookie that you bake as a ball and when you take them out of the oven, you push a hershey's kiss in the middle. very yummy. we've made these cookies all my life. (if you want the recipe, leave a comment and i'll post it) they are fantastically peanut-buttery. and there is nothing better than one about 5 minutes after they are out of the oven. the chocolate is still melty and the cookie is still warm...........yummmm!

the roosters are starting to crow. when we were leaving to take hubby to the meet-up, you could hear them. it's not the "cockle-doodle-doo" you would expect. it's more like a baby trying to talk. some of it you recognize...but not all of it. they are huge too. we have at least one that rooster that is not going to be shown. he has messed up toes (they bend all funny) and he has a pretty bad cross bite. i think it's a rooster...maybe it's a hen. it's hard to tell because it's a bearded polish crested chicken. i guess i should try to figure that out. to show hens at the fair, you have to have a matching pair, and other than haley's rhode island reds, i don't think we have a matching pair. the poultry superintendents have decided to order chicks from http://www.ideal-poultry.com/ this year. i think we may have to order some more...hubby will be so pleased. he may end up travelling more if i bring home more animals!

i still have some presents to buy. i have to take the little guys out to buy presents for grace and alex. i think that i still have to buy one for grace too. i think i'm just going to give some money to the rest of the nieces and nephews. i think that's all we have left to get. i hope that's all i have left to get! i am so done with shopping.

hello? anyone there?

hello there! well, it's been a busy week or so here at the zoo!

friday was our "breakfast for dinner with santa". i know, the name isn't the greatest. i have no idea why they couldn't come up with anything a little...um...snappy-er. but it is accurate. we had pancakes and sausage for dinner...and the kids were able to get their picture with santa. of course alex didn't want to go...so i didn't make him. i figured he got his "just desserts" by me not making dinner and his friends were all there having a great ol' time...and i let him know it. haley didn't want to look like a baby..even though a bunch of her friends had a big group picture with santa. i don't know what her deal was. but she was super helpful and i was so happy she was there. i pretty much talked the whole time i was there. well, until the work had to be done for the craft fair. we set up tables and chairs...we cleaned up...we brought in waters...it took a couple of hours. it probably wouldn't have taken as long if there wouldn't have been 10 kids (and one dad) playing basketball while we were trying to work. poor paul, he had been working out of town all week and came home just in time for his wife to have him come up and work setting up tables and measuring and well, work.

the craft fair went well. it looked very busy. i don't think it was as busy as we had hoped (another craft fair was going on at the same time across town...with santa arriving by HELICOPTER in the morning) but it was better than the first one we did. my sil did well with the doll clothes. i think there were other people that also did well...and there were people that didn't sell a darn thing. i got a couple of things. not much. i'm not sure i spent more that $20 but well, i can't see spending a bunch o'money on stuff i have no need for or that i can make myself. i worked there from 12:30 until about 5:30.

sunday we made cookies at my mil's house. i totally screwed up some snicker-doodles (added twice the amount of butter needed) but my sil fixed them and all was well. they actually turned out really good and fluffy looking. we cooked up there until 9, then i went home with the little guys. (hubby had already taken the older ones home) i love to make cookies. i really really do.

now i am getting ready for tomorrow...josh is joseph in his pre-k play and he has 2 lines in it. he is a little nervous and doesn't like to talk about it. the other kids were disappointed because it's at 11, and they don't get to see it. the girls are in their program on thursday too. haley is a narrator. she has more lines than any one else in the program. grace gets to sing. that is at 2 and again at 7. poor hubby, he has to miss all of them. he works 11 to close (like 9:30) and so he doesn't get to see anything. i'm going to get the video camera going and tape it (hopefully ) for him.

this friday the kids are supposed to spend the night at my dad's house and make cookies with my step mom's parents. well, haley has a girl scout christmas meeting that night. they are exchanging gifts and going caroling. so now i have to let my dad and stepmom know that she's not going to be there right away. hubby is off and i was planning on going out with him, but i'm not sure i will be able to since we may have to take haley over to grandma and grandpa's.

this sunday is the annual cookie bake at my grandma's house. it's also the day my hubby is going to chicago for training with work. i have to drop him off at 10 am sunday morning. he doesn't get back until sometime thursday evening. so i will be a single mom for almost 5 days. i am not looking forward to it. at least i will have lots of cookies to drown my sorrows in!

homemade gourmet #2

last night i tried the creamy italian casserole. it wasn't bad. not great. in fact, i didn't care for it (i have this weird thing with noodles...don't ask), but the kids ate it pretty well, and some even went back for seconds. hubby liked it, said it was a tad bland, but he liked it. he has such a sensitive stomach, bland is definitely better for him at dinner anyway.

it was these bigger noodles (kinda like mostaccioli) and the mix made a cream type of sauce. add chicken and cheese. not too bad. it was super easy. it took about an hour to cook, but it didn't take more than 10 minutes (if that) for prep. so great for nights when you don't have time to chop and saute and boil and well, you get my point.

so i would give it a thumb's up for ease, but for actual taste um.....a so-so. it was ok, but not something i would go out of my way to buy.