Katie's best friend, Claire, celebrated her 5th birthday on New Year's Eve night. I've never been to Christy and Charlie's (Claire's parents)house, so I got directions. Christy called me, after I left her a message that we would be there, to give me directions. Wow! I'm glad she did because there are a lot of turns from our house to hers. HA HA! She suggested getting on MapQuest to make sure the directions she gave me were correct. Later, I got on Google and printed out exact directions. Of course, it's not good enough for Doug. He insisted I use his Garmin. He even tried it out the day before to make sure it worked just fine. The only thing that made me nervous, I knew we would be out at night. I'm happy to report that we got there in one piece. The Garmin sent me down a dead end street twice. Poor Katie was so worried because I had to go around a block or two. I've got to pay more attention to what I say to myself because Katie keeps her ears wide open.
The party was a great success. Christy and Charlie had their garage all decorated up for the kids. It was so cute - "Strawberry Shortcake." They had a little bowling alley, putt-putt golf, football rings and Rocking Guitar (whatever it's called) set up. Claire and Katie danced around singing Hannah Montana songs. Christy's mom, Toni, painted all the children's faces. Katie wanted a rainbow kitty. It turned out pretty cute, it matched her outfit.
Katie's never been on a "Sit 'n Spin," so Claire was showing her how to do it. They were having lots of fun. Poor Katie, she tried to be lady like and sit side saddle on the "Sit 'n Spin."
Claire got all kinds of neat stuff. Katie gave her a new Barbie mermaid that came out just before Christmas. Claire seemed to like it. I think she had a very nice party. We left soon after she opened up her gifts from everyone. I think it was around 9 PM before we got home.
As soon as we got home, Katie got her New Year's Eve party hat and blowers, while I got our party tray ready with all sorts of snacks. We all piled up on the bed and watched the new year come in. I had a terrible time getting Katie to calm down and stay in bed. I guess she got too much sugar. HA HA!
. . . You Know What Happens Next?
Katie has gotten into this storytelling kick. Instead of me reading to her for once, she wants to read the story (pretend). Last week, she wanted to tell me the bedtime story. She got me so tickled because she would try to remember some stories, but she kept forgetting the character's names. She would stop mid-sentence, wrinkle up her face with her finger on her jaw as to say that she's thinking and finally ask me "now what was that name again?" As soon as I guessed the correct name, she'd say "yeah, that's it." She got back to telling me the story and every few breaths, she'd say "you know what happened next?" It was cute.
The other day she told me she wanted to read, so I took it as literally. Let me back up, for Christmas I got her a "Dick and Jane" book. All excited, I grabbed her first reading books, "Biscuit" and "Dick and Jane." I wanted her to look at the word and repeat. I've done this to her before a few weeks ago and it went fairly good. Thinking we were headed down the same road, I pointed to the word "Biscuit" and asked her to repeat after me. I sounded out all the letters and slowly reading her the word. Well, she said the word, but only once. So, I brought out the other book and pointed to the word "Spot" and did the same thing. Yeah, well she's not exactly ready. She refused to look at the word, so I calmly put the book down and went on about my business. Apparently, she wanted to pretend read. Hopefully, we'll have another opportunity on down the road.
Colton's First Birthday Plans
Can you believe Colton will be a year old in three months? It's hard to imagine! Now that everything came to a close at the end of the year, I'm back in full force to organize the next big event. Yeah, you've got it - Colton's 1st Birthday party. I know, but what got my wheels turning in my head was my daily "Betty Crocker" e-mail news. I began perusing their birthday ideas. Well, I came across the Barnyard birthday party. I feel in love! After seeing the video on how to make a barn and their farm animals, I remembered seeing a Barnyard birthday party supplies from Celebrate Express. PERFECT!
I just love it! Of course Katie doesn't like the Barnyard Birthday theme. Her vote was on a "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" theme. I told her that sounds more like a baby shower theme. She told me that she thought Colton would like the stars more than animals. Her face was all wrinkled up while she was telling me this. Oh well, she'll have to get over it.
Twilight Series
I finished reading "New Moon" the other day. I didn't like it as much as the first book; however, I did like the ending. I won't tell you what happened because I don't want to spoil things just in case you haven't read it yet. I am excited to see the movie now. Thank you Allison for inviting me with you to the "Girl's Night Out." I might have to take you up on the offer. You'll have to tell me what night you girls are going, so I can see if Doug will be home or if I'll have a babysitter that night. Doug started to get me the next book, "Eclipse." I told him to wait because he picked up a $14 hardcover. I'll wait and get the paperback another time.
We spent our Christmas Eve at Tim and Susan's house. We had such a good time and pleasantly surprised to see Chase sitting on the couch, as we walked in. As you know, he survived a very serious car accident not too long ago. He still has to watch every step he makes, so he doesn't fall or cause any more stress on his liver. I asked him if they put him in a big bubble in order for him to come over. He has a great sense of humor.
Katie and Colton received so many nice gifts from their aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. I think they loved everything. Katie had to sleep with her new Barbie Hairdresser and wear her Princess Tiana necklace on Christmas morning. Colton received the cutest black Converse tenny shoes. They are adorable.
The dirty santa was a lot of fun. My Bama blanket was in more of a demand that I first thought. This year's rules were that the third person that possessed an item, automatically froze it. This rule caused our game to end short because it wasn't long before all the good gifts were frozen. It was still fun. In the end, Tim froze my blanket and he gave it to Chase because he knew what a big Bama fan he was. I thought that was sweet because Chase was sick knowing the blanket was frozen before he had a chance to get it. There were all kinds of nice prizes like gift cards to Academy, Victoria Secret, Cracker Barrel and Smith Farms Meat. Every nice gift I picked out, Victoria Secret and Cracker Barrel, everyone kept snatching it. I still got a nice gift - a houndstooth boggin and an Alabama Football ornament.
Christmas Day
We got up Christmas morning to find all sorts of neat gifts under the tree. Santa was good to us once again. Katie and Colton's presents from Santa were nicely displayed by the tree, greeting them on Christmas morning. Of course, Colton didn't know what was going on at the time. He just knew there was something different. He tried his best to get a closer look at Katie's Barbie Camper. HA! I had an awful time keeping him away from it (little stinker).
We waited as long as we could, but I knew the time we were facing. If we were going to get to Millard and Peggy's by noon, I had to get the ball-a-rolling and get Katie out of bed. She would sleep every morning until 9:00-10:00 AM, if I let her. I don't care what time she went to bed the night before. She is so much like me and a lot of my family members, we love to sleep. As soon as Colton and I woke her up, surprisingly it didn't take much persuading her to get in the Living Room to see what Santa brought. Santa was too good to her this year. He remembered how she loved to watch the cuckoo clocks at the German store in town and he brought her one. It doesn't cuckoo, thank goodness. It's sweet - a little dutch girl swings back and forth, while a blue bird rocks to the beat. She loves it! She loves music boxes, so I got her a manual music box to "The Silent Nutcracker." It's one of her favorite songs. I'm really hoping next year to be able to take her to the ballet. Of course, she received what she'd been begging for a Barbie Camper. It's pretty cool. Both of the sides open for lots of room. There is a dining area, bed, kitchen & bathroom. It comes with all sorts of accessories including campfire sticks with marshmallows on the top for Barbie. The toilet makes a flushing sound when you press a button. Another button makes all kinds of noise like crickets chirping and crackling fire. So neat! Colton likes his toys as well. He is all the time swiping dad's remote control, so we got Colton his very own Sesame Street Remote Control. He loves it! He and I played with the barn. I noticed that everytime, I put his animals in the loft of the barn, he would knock them off. I guess he didn't like them up there. Who knows!
Santa was good to Doug and I as well. I received my favorite perfume, Beautiful Love; makeup; "The Proposal" and "Gone With The Wind" Blu-Ray DVDs; and a new cell-phone. Doug received a Nick Saban autographed Alabama Football book; Polo Black cologne; and new TV. More importantly, God has blessed us so much this year. We have Colton in our lives, Doug received his degree, his job is doing good, we've all been very healthy and happy.
We finally got to Millard and Peggy's a little later. It was nice to sit back and just go with the flow. Katie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw what grandma and paw-paw got her for Christmas. It was the Polly Pocket Roller Coaster that she also asked for. How nice! She was fired up, ready for daddy to put it together on kitchen table.
You talk about a challenge for Doug and Millard to put this thing together. As you can, there are a lot of pieces, but it's pretty cool. The cart cranks up the ladder just like a real roller coaster. It comes with SEVERAL accessories including a tiki bar & disco ball. HA!
Millard and Peggy found at the "Tractor Supply" store the cutest John Deere ATV Scooter for Colton. At home, he likes to get on his knees and push the four-wheeler all over the Living Room floor. He seems to really like it & he looks so darn cute.
The Twilight Saga
As you may know, Leslie and Susan were talking to me awhile back about the "Twilight Series." They were telling me how good these books are and in fact Leslie was on the fourth novel. I never picked it up because I figured it would be the same ol' same ol' vampire story. I was very mistaken! After great deliberation, I got the book and read it during the Christmas weekend. Yeah, I read the book within three days. Oh my my my! What a great book. I had the hardest time putting it down. Doug even allowed me to spend a whole day on my book, kind of a "me day." It was nice to just get completely lost in this book.
When you mention vampires, I think of blood and obscene gestures. Not at all! It was a sweet romance between two very shy people that will do anything for the people they love the most. How the head of the coven, Carlisle, was the son of a minister from London. He was bitten and he had the hardest time accepting the fact. He tried his best to fulfill his father's footsteps just to be given this curse. After great depths of ridding his life to finally accept what he had become and making something that is so evil into good. He realized how he could survive off of animal's blood rather than human. He became a doctor to heal the sick. His companions were only those who were on their death beds, waiting for their turn to pass on to another life. I was surprised how Carlisle tells Bella that he believes in God. What a refreshing new look on vampires and their life. I loved the romantic scenes, it melted my heart several times and absolutely nothing immoral. I applaud Stephanie Meyer for the way she delicately embraced these two teens, absolutely nothing obscene. It's a very innocent and beautiful story. When I finished the book, I was thirsty for more. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into "New Moon." So, Katie, Colton and I jumped in the truck yesterday and headed for the Movie Gallery. Yes, they had the movie "Twilight" in Blu-ray. That night, I watched it and still loved it. Yeah, the movie varied somewhat from the book, but it pretty much stayed with the book (no big variations). I also stopped by Walmart and grabbed "New Moon." Last night, I read ten chapters. I can't force my hand down, I had to find out what happened next. I didn't go to bed until after 1 AM this morning. While I took a break today from daily chores, I killed another chapter. This book is so emotional for me. Last night, I teared up a few times. Oh, I feel so bad for Bella. The questions keep piling up in my head. Like, has Bella really lost Edward forever? Will she ever get over him? Will Edward have the strength to stay away from Bella, knowing that her life could be in danger? Will Bella fall for Jacob in order to fill that void in her chest? Will Edward & Jacob be able to protect Bella before Victoria is able to avenge her mate's death? What will happen next? PLEASE DON'T TELL ME! I plan to read a few more chapters tonight before going to bed. I can't wait!
Movies In Review
The Hangover
Doug read reviews about this movie. He thought it would be such a good movie to watch. Please don't waste your time even renting this movie. STUPID! Unfortunately for us, Doug bought the Blu-ray. Ugh!
The Proposal
I love this movie. It is such a good romantic movie with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Let's not forget how funny Betty White is in this film. This is one reason I wanted Doug to buy me this movie for Christmas. It is so good!
Gone With The Wind
Some of you know that one of my all time favorite classic movies is "Gone With The Wind." Well, Doug found one on Blu-ray and it's awesome. I couldn't believe how clear it was! If you like the movie, you've got to see it in Blu-ray.
I hope you don't mind, but I took some time off from blogging. I'm back and ready to share stories, recipes and lots of pictures with you.
Wow! We've had a very blessed Christmas week. We spent a lot of time, shopping, and preparing for our traditional Christmas parties with our familes. We seem to have a tradition to have our photo taken in front of the Christmas tree every year, since Katie was born. This year was very special because we got to include our new little addition to the family photo. Colton seems to be a natural in front of the camera.
Katie and I have been the Betty Crocker cookie makers this year. (lol!) Katie has discovered, she likes to help mom in the kitchen. I let her do a little more to help me out this year compared to last. I'd measure out all the ingredients and let her help me pour them into the bowl. On a couple of occasions, I'd bake the cookies and she would decorate them. Laura - you and Alise hit the nail right on the head by getting Katie an apron. She loves it! I let her open Alise's presents the day before Christmas Eve. Of course, she had me put the apron in the wash right away. She wants it to be clean and ready for the next time, we make cookies. HA HA!
The snowflake sugar cookies, we made, seem to be the hit at the parties. God bless him, Chase, told Leslie they were too pretty to eat. I knew I liked him for some reason. (HA HA!)
I'd never used Meringue powder until this year instead of my regular recipe for Royal Icing, which calls for egg whites. Wow! It really opened up my eyes because I only had to use 3 ingredients in order to create the icing. I flooded the cookies with a Winter blue icing. The pearly looking balls are made of sugar.
We cut out all sorts of different designs of snowflakes and piped even more creative patterns. I had lots of fun making them. I think we ended up with close to 3 dozen or more.
These are the "Holiday Cake Bon-Bons," I'd talked about before. They were delicious! The batch, we made, ended up being a little over 2 dozen. I was afraid Kevin and Pat would make fun of the small size bon-bons that's why you see them a little bigger than normal. I created them and Katie put the sprinkles on them. She had lots of fun doing the sprinkles. Below is the recipe:
Holiday Cake Bon-Bons
1 box cake mix (any flavor)(water, vegetable oil & eggs called for on cake mix box)
1 container frosting
3 oz. vanilla or chocolate-flavored candy coating
Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9" pan with baking spray with flour. Prepare cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil & eggs. pour into pan. Bake 30-33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, crumble the warm cake; stir in the frosting until well blended. Refridgerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Shape into balls. (If mixture is too sticky, refrigerate until firm enough to shape.) Freeze 30 minutes.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave candy coating on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Dip the balls, one at a time, in candy coating using a wooden skewer or fork to hold them. Place on aluminum foil-covered cookie sheet. Decorate as desired. Refridgerate cake balls about 10 minutes or until coating is set. Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container.
Katie did such a good job decorating her cupcakes for her party. She's been quite the little helper in the Kitchen. She helps me mix all the ingredients together. She even tells me if I didn't put in enough of a specific ingredient. I've been using this as a learning tool (too much or not enough and which is greater).
By the way, Mrs. Katie gave a little semester test to all the students and she was happy to report that Katie is doing great. We've been working on her letter recognition and Mrs. Katie can see a huge improvement since the beginning of school. I've been quizzing her (making it a game) about her letter sounds with pictures. I quizzed her one time in front of Millard and she got them all correct. I've been teaching her small words like "at, cat, bat, mat, pat, etc." She liked that game "what words can you make out of 'at'?" I'm thinking about purchasing a new fridge magnet that helps you spell out words. I'll wait until closer to Easter before getting it because I think she'll be ready by then.
Mrs. Katie posing with Katie and the Christmas card she gave her. I hate it that I forgot to take a picture of the Apple sign. She's got it hanging up in her classroom where she can see it. 
Colton all bundled up on a cold 33 degree morning, heading to Katie's Christmas party. Poor baby is still trying to get over his cold.
