Homemade Gifts

Dylan has a gift exchange coming up next week. They wanted inexpensive gifts from each kid. So, I put together a set for hot cocoa! I found a simple recipe online and made up a hot cocoa mix. Found mugs for only a $1! Once I got the mix made, Dylan helped me put them together. Here it all is from start to finish:

Weekend Review

Not a whole lot to report. We did get the tree up. I went to hang the stockings on the wall with my 3M hooks (I love those things). I then realized that I didn't have but 1 of the sticky things that hold the hook on the wall. So right now they are sharing a hook until I get back to Wally World. The only thing we did this weekend was go to the firehouse for the Christmas party. That night was....interesting. Is that the right word? Anyway, Ethan was quite fussy. He didn't want anyone talking to him or touching him. He was fussy through the meal. He didn't eat well. I don't know. There didn't seem to be any obvious reason for his crabbiness, but usually there isn't. Meal was over and the kids were all running around playing and Ethan ventured away from Ryan and I...a little. He didn't play with the other kids though. He just watched, and entertained himself. Right before we were getting ready to leave he fell off of a chair an busted the corner of his eye on the corner of the computer cpu. Nice. The next day, and still, it looks like he was punched in the eye. It is black and blue all around, not just in the corner. I swear that kid has gotten more bruises in the last 6 months than Dylan has in his 5 years! This was a good one though. I was honestly a little afraid to take him to the grocery today. You know how people can be. Ive got a little kid with a black eye. I was afraid of what they would assume. But you have to do what you have to do.
Tonight Dylan has his Christmas program at school. I am looking forward to it. Ryan's dad is going to come down and keep Ethan here at home. I know that boy will not sit through the program, and I really want to see the program. I don't want to have to go sit out in the car with Ethan. I plan to record the program though. I have the camcorder up and ready to go. So people will be able to see the program if they'd like to. Dylan knows all of his songs. Between the little bit of practicing they did in class and the practicing we did here at home, he's got them down.
On Wednesday, I hope to get the boys up to the firehouse to see Santa. I know that Ethan will not sit on his lap, but I still want Dylan to see Santa. So that is the plan as of now.
Here is the Christmas tree!

Dinner...YUM

So the lasagna I made last night turned out great. The hard part was letting it sit and cool a bit before we could eat it! The whole wheat noodles worked perfectly and I wouldn't use anything else in my lasagna again. Along side the lasagna I made breadsticks. But not just any ordinary breadsticks my friends. No, these breadsticks were modeled after Olive Garden's breadsticks! We all know how good those things are, right?! So there is this other blogger out there calling herself The Country Cook. And she shared this recipe to her readers. So I got the recipe from her. And if you want the recipe, that's where you should go. But if you email me I can always give it to you also. This was my first time making breadsticks. So I was a little unsure about how to go about shaping them. And the recipe warns, to watch how big you make them because they do rise...a lot. So here is my finished product:

So yeah...mine came out more like mini loaves instead of breadsticks, lol. BUT! they tasted great. They were soooo close to the original. Next time, I will start with a much much smaller stick that I did this first time. But hey, all that matters is how they tasted right?! Light, fluffy and sooooo good.

Ryan got the tree out of the basement and I got it put up last night. Today during naptime/quiet time, I got it decorated. All that is missing are the gifts underneath. Speaking of that, I need to finish my shopping. Not everyone is taken care of yet and this month is going by fast. I did take pictures of the tree, which I will share tomorrow. Today was the first time in weeks I even picked up my poor camera.

Food...

...that is all I am thinking about right now! I am so hungry or some reason. I ate lunch. Just hungry.
I feel productive this morning. I got a lasagna put together so that all I have to do tonight for dinner is toss it in the oven. I knew that if I didn't assemble it early, that I would never feel like doing it later. I made it with whole wheat noodles, which I have never done before. Actually I have only made lasagna once or twice, so its not like its every month. I'm excited for the whole wheat. Its bath night too, which is the perfect night to serve lasagna. I know Ethan will be a mess!
After the lasagna, I worked on making the hot cocoa mix that I am making for Dylan's gift exchange at school. I had enough ingredients to make quite a few batches so that each kid will get a decent amount of cocoa mix as their gifts. I will show you all the final product once it is ready. That took a while. You have to break the mix down into a very fine powder so that it will dissolve when you go to make your hot cocoa. And since I don't have a food processor, I used my blender. And had to do it in very small batches. I need to run it all through one more time I think. That will happen another morning. After Ethan went down for his nap and Dylan was in his room for quiet time, I bathed the dog. She wasn't thrilled, but neither was I. I don't think it helped much though. I need to find some sort of doggy perfume for her.
We finally have some sun today. We haven't seen that for a while. Its a nice change and helps improve the mood. I think that I am going to make Ryan drag the tree out of the basement this evening and help me put it up. This month is moving a lot faster than I thought it would. If I'm not careful, it will be Christmas before I know it, and I still wont have the tree up! He wont be thrilled about it, but I will bug him until he does.

Is there a Rewind button?

Long morning. Its been raining for 24 hours now and still going strong. I hate it. We didn't do much over the weekend. I did make it out yesterday and did a few things. I got the boys their Christmas ornaments. I had a list for each boy of which ornament I wanted. All that was left was last choice. Guess I need to go out around Halloween and buy their ornaments so I can get the ones that I want. I checked 3 stores that sells those Hallmark ornaments and most were gone. Whatever, at least I found something cute.
Again, long morning today. Ethan did not sleep well last night, which means that I did not sleep well last night. I have had a headache (again) since yesterday evening. The frickin thing will not go away! Getting ready to leave this morning, I fell and rolled my ankle. I don't know how I did it, but I did. It hurts all the way up to my hip. Surprisingly there is no swelling. Just pain. We all managed to get out the door though and on time. With all of the trips in and out of the car, I have been soaked many times today. Ethan was cranky all morning which didn't help things. The kid just needs to sleep when he is supposed to and we'd all be happy. Id like to start the day again, with out the rain and without the pain.
Tomorrow we have to leave the boys at home to take care of some family business. One of my Aunts (thanks Donna) is going to come up in the morning to stay with them. And as usual, I am worried about how Ethan will get a long. Will he cry for 10 minutes or 3 hours? Its a given that he will cry. Just how long, I don't know. And I'm not so much concerned with his crying. My concern is with who has to listen to it. Who has to try to calm him down. I feel bad putting all of the screaming on to someone else. I feel bad anytime I leave him with someone other than Ryan. I feel bad for the other person. Ethan needs to get used to being with other people though. He needs to be ok with me leaving him every now and again. My poor Aunt. She will be so tired of Ethan after tomorrow. Send him some "no crying" vibes. And send me some "stop worrying about it, there is nothing you can do" vibes.

Bissell Perfect Sweep

I was offered a chance to try out this new sweeper from Bissell. I already own a steam mop from Bissell that I love. We bought it years ago. So, knowing how good Bissell products are, I decided to give it a try! The Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo is a battery powered sweeper. Don't let the words "battery powered" scare you though. It is a rechargeable battery that offers 60 minutes of sweeping time! The sweeper takes up no storage room at all. When I got it, all I had to do was put the handle together. It took one minute to assemble! So easy. Then I let it charge. Really I couldn't wait to use it. Here's why:
We keep the dog's food in the corner of the kitchen. That dog can be so messy. The poor thing doesn't have much of a snout (she is a pug), so she tend to push food around quite a bit. So instead of having to pick up that food by hand or get out the big sweeper for a tiny mess, I used the Perfect Sweep to pick up the dog food! In less than a minute, the mess was gone. I also have found out that it is useful for the litter that the cat tends to track outside of the cat box. If for nothing else, that sweeper is worth gold cleaning up that cat litter! We only have one room in this whole house that has carpet. I will wear that sweeper out. You know another benefit to a small, lightweight sweeper? The upstairs. I struggle each time I have to lug the big sweeper up and down the stairs. Now, I have the Perfect Sweep, so that I don't have too. All we use the upstairs for is our bedroom. This sweeper is a fast and easy way to quickly clean the floors.
So once you clean up your little messes, it is easy to clean out the sweeper. The dirt container, simply pops off, you dump it in the trash, snap it back on and you are ready to go again. I have had this thing for about a week now. I love it. Really love it. I have used it in every room with a hard floor. It works great to pick up even the fine things like dog hair and cat hair.
You want to know what else is cool? YOU can save $5 off the price of the Perfect Sweep by going to Bissell.com and ordering the sweeper. At checkout just enter the code "perfectsweep" to get your $5 off!!! And, now, Bissell is offering free shipping with your sweeper purchase! You can also find the Perfect Sweep at Walmart, Kohls, Lowes, or Best Buy. But remember, if you want that $5 off, and free shipping, order from Bissell.com.
Here is my sweeper. Notice it does have dirt on it. I have been using it you know!

And here is the dirt container as I am pulling it off. So simple!

And a short video of me cleaning up a mess from the dog food. And of course my little shadow had to be right there. You will notice Ethan's toes haha!

If you want more details on the Perfect Sweep, check out Bissell's website HERE. You can also find Bissell on Facebook. And of course Twitter: @BISSELLclean.

Tis the Season

I can't believe that it is December already. This year has flown by. So now that December as begun, I am so ready for Christmas. I have an empty corner in the living room begging for a Christmas tree. It will probably be some time before we actually get it up though. For one, it is physically impossible for me to get that huge box up out of the basement by myself. So Ryan has to be here to do it. Also, I can't get all 3 pieces together without his help. And for another, I'm afraid if I rush getting it up, I will get tired of it by the time Christmas sets in or I will get tired of being after Ethan for not leaving it alone. Granted we will set up a gate around it, but still. Nothing is Ethanproof. I still need to get Christmas gifts for people. And stamps for my Christmas cards.
Speaking of Christmas gifts...I know that not everyone enjoys buying Christmas gifts. Just so happens, I do. I enjoy *thinking* about what to get people. I want them to like it, there for I do my best to put a lot of thought into each gift I give. I may not always succeed, but if I give you something, you best believe that it comes from my heart. All I want when I give a gift is for that person to be happy with what they get. It kind of makes me sad when someone doesn't put thought into gifts. You don't have to give someone a gift if you don't want to. So if you are going to, why not put some thought into it? Sometimes the effort is worth much much more than the gift itself.