Merry Christmas to All. . .

Everyone home for Christmas.  I have struggled this holiday season, with Mom breaking her hip and having surgery at the day before Thanksgiving and all of the rehab she had to do, plus my insane work schedule.  I must give kudos to my manager she really worked with me over Thanksgiving so that I could be there for my Mom.  We have been short staffed for a year now and we now have two in training so I will be back to my regular part time schedule soon.  

With all that has been going on I have not really been in the Christmas/Holiday spirit, it has been a struggle for me.  I did get a little bit of it back when someone put out a plea for Christmas lights for a local nursing facility.  The hubbs and I went to the store and bought a bunch of lights to donate for their outdoor Winter Wonderland they were going to have for their residents.  They also had an angel tree for their residents and I decided to adopt two for Christmas.  The hubs and I shopped for them and delivered the lights and gifts not too long after Thanksgiving.  That really perked me up but I was not 100 % in that Christmas spirit just yet.  My very sweet hubby has worked so hard to get me in the spirit and on Christmas morning Santa had delivered a few very cool Christmas CDs.  Yes, I still listen to CD's on my drive to work.  Bing Crosby and Elvis Christmas albums,  the Eagles greatest hits,  ABBA greatest hits, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, and Ray Stevens greatest hits.   Bing can really put you in the Christmas spirit.  

My fellas saw to it that I had a comfort Christmas this year:  Socks (big fluffy comfy), blankets,  gloves and scarves.  Big T, my little hypochondriac, gave me a first aid kit filled with an assortment of bandaids, neosporin, and gauze pads.  He said he was just getting me ready for lacrosse season.  

Photo upload:

 

Sprat Sporting his new ECD Lax Christmas Sweater

The Hubbs being goofy 

The Cousins 

Shopping with the Hubby. . . and Other Things . . .

The hubbs took the day off and we went shopping today, this is the third day he has taken me shopping.  We have almost knocked out our Christmas shopping.  I love Christmas, it is probably my favorite holiday.  I love shopping for presents, looking for that extra special gift for that extra special person.  Our families have gotten older and we do not do gifts anymore, it kind of makes me depressed.  I do still get to buy my boys and my very sweet husband gifts.  My company is helping a family in need this year so I will get to buy gifts for two little boys and a special Mom.   I am looking forward to shopping for them.
My very sweet husband has taken me shopping three days now and bless him he is a trooper.  This is what true love looks like people, in case you have any doubt about your person.  This very sweet man has trucked me all over to find gifts for the boys and shoes (not Christmas gifts) for me.   Today we did the Mall yes, he took me to the Mall.  He did not complain once and I was trying on shoes and everything.   This is the best man on the planet, he is mine and there is no other like him. 
This has been an interesting look in to what our empty nester life would look like, I think I kinda like it. 
We went to Big T's exhibition at school last night, he did a great job and we enjoyed seeing him present and watching the other kids present.  It is exciting to meet these kids and see all of the cool things they are learning and hearing about what they want to do when they grow up.  These kids are taking  high school classes and college classes at the same time.  One of the kids Sprat's age that went to this school has gone in to the military and because he graduated high school with an associates degree he went in to the Army at a higher level than someone just out of high school and he is now studying to be a registered nurse.  This school opens up so many doors for these kids and gives them opportunities to try things out with job shadow and internships.  Big T was invited to go to the middle school to talk about his school along with the principal.  They are doing that next week, he is kind of excited about it.  They will be sharing what all they get to do and the fun things they are learning.
Stay tuned for tells from MA and tells from NC. 

Homemade Ice Cream, Pickles, and Ticks. . .

Our office is open 365 days a year 24/7, we do not close for anything, not even bad weather.   When you work in the medical field you learn that this is just how it is.  Your family must also adjust.  I do not mind it because I know I am making a difference in someones life, I usually do not get to see the end result but sometimes we get to hear wonderful stories of our recipients connecting with our donor families and that is amazing.  That is what gets me through adjusting Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations with my family. 
We do not do things traditionally in my household.  This year  I wanted to do the 4th more traditional.  I had to work the night of the 3rd so,  I slept most of the morning of the 4th but I had bought an ice cream churn that week and we were going to have homemade ice cream for the 4th.  I told the hubbs about my idea and he grumbled, naturally, he does not like homemade ice cream.  He says it is always runny and gross and he only liked chocolate.   It was my mission to make the best homemade chocolate ice cream ever.  I searched the internet all over to find what I thought was a good recipe.  Turns out, I am the bomb when it comes to making ice cream, I even wowed the hubby.  Best ever chocolate ice cream, it tasted and had the consistency of a Wendy's frosty.  Yummm!!  I bought a Hamilton Beach traditional ice cream churn and it worked wonders.   I will do this again, it was easy and not messy at all, there was a little bit of a learning curve since I had never actually done this before.  I will share my recipe later in this post.
We are getting cucumbers by the baskets full and I have made four jars of fridge pickles, I will share that recipe too.  It is easy and no cook but you have to keep them in the fridge.  We have eaten two jars and I gave one jar away and I made another jar yesterday.   I also eat cucumbers just by themselves and I add them to my water with a little lemon.  I have used a couple that got to big to eat on my eyes.  LOL!!  We do not waste in this house.
In between lacrosse and doing yard work for the ladies in the area Sprat has been fishing with his friends.  They have evidently been fishing near a tick Hilton, Sprat has come home with several ticks on him each evening.   On the 4th he came home with one attached to his shin, yuck!!  He came to me and said,  "Mama is this one attached?"  I put my glasses on so I could see the little bugger and sure enough it was attached.  I got the Vaseline and coated the tick, hoping it would let go, he did not.  I worked on this bugger for a good bit before I got him off of my Sprat.  The last time Big T had a tick I was not sure what kind it was so I took him and the tick to the doctor and they said it is there standard procedure to give anyone that has had a tick attached antibiotics.  I scheduled Sprat an appointment to see the doctor.  Sure enough they wanted to give him antibiotics.  Sprat is allergic to almost all antibiotics and I have not been real keen on him taking any type of antibiotic.   They wrote a prescription for one they did not have record of him being allergic.  The hubbs and I worried and fretted over whether to give it to him or not.  His reactions were not breathing trouble but that could be the next one.  Long story short we are on day 3 of antibiotic with no reaction so far.  Sprat is taking benadryl with the antibiotic to try and reduce any reaction he might have.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will make it through  this regimen. 


On to the recipes:

Chocolate ice cream

3 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
2 cups whole milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix dry ingredients first then add water, whole milk, half and half, and heavy cream
Get your churn set up and add your ice cream mixture.  The churn said it would run for 20-40 minutes and cut off on it's own.  Mine did not cut off so I checked it after about an hour and it was so fluffy and wonderful.  I think it was fluffy and creamy because of the heavy cream and half and half.

Decorations. . . .

In record time I have my tree up and lights on, no decorations just yet but those will be coming this week.  The hubbs and I enjoyed a breakfast date and then came home to decorate the outside of the house this past Friday.  With Sprat coming home for a long Christmas break, the hubbs wanted to  have everything just right.  So much to be thankful for this year, so many blessings on our home and family.  I will post another picture of the tree all decorated later.  

Work has been a little crazy with folks sick and family illness so I have been working a lot more than usual.  Very thankful for the extra hours especially at this time of year.  Sprat will be home in a couple of weeks and I cannot wait.  Prayers for all of those facing finals these next weeks, that is such a stressful time.  

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I hope every one has a wonderful day.   Do you get your kids Valentines?  I do, my Dad always gave my sister and I a little box of chocolate for Valentines and I have carried that tradition to my boys.  I know I have posted about that before because last year I ate their chocolates and put money in their boxes.  This year they actually got chocolate.   Do you have a tradition from your childhood that you have carried on to your kids?  I would love to hear your stories.
I like having little traditions to pass along to my kids.  I even mentioned this to Sprat this morning as he was eating breakfast.   My dear hubby balks at Valentines day, he says, like every other male on the planet that it is a made up holiday by the greeting card and floral industry.  The hubbs is a bit of a tightwad but, I do love him just the same.  He went so far as to tell me his thoughts on this holiday before we ever started dating, which by the way, was almost twenty-five years ago.  With all of his backwards thinking he is a romantic at heart or at least he used to be.  Our first Valentines together was quite romantic, he surprised me with a treasure hunt for all of my goodies.  He had stashed candy, cards and flowers around his apartment and left clues for me to find them.  I was very surprised especially after he had informed me he did not believe in Valentines.  
We do not buy each other gifts for Valentines but we do get each other cards and sometimes chocolate.  Sometimes we get to go out for a nice dinner, I hope we can fit that in between what the kids have going on this week.  Love and family it is all good.
Stay tuned Lacrosse season is gearing up, things are going to get interesting around here.

Merry Christmas . . .

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season.   We have a couple Christmas traditions I would like to share.   We go to our Christmas eve Lovefeast service at Church and now that Sprat is a Diener (someone who helps serve Lovefeast) it makes this service even more special.  I am very proud that Sprat has taken this leadership role in our Church.  The hubbs and I were Dieners when we were first married.
When I was growing up we did not have a Christmas Eve service at out Church.   We spent the evening together as a family and then opened our gifts from each other after dinner.  I have lots of fun memories rushing everyone through the evening meal so that we could open gifts.   I was always the first one up on Christmas day, usually about 4 or 5 am.  I could not sleep on Christmas Eve because I was so excited about Santa.   Christmas day, we drove up to my grandmothers and spent the day with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I remember the dessert table especially, it was full of the most fantastic cakes, brownies, fudge, and pies.  I come from a distinguished group of phenomenal cooks and bakers.
The hubbs and I have some traditions that are unique to our family.   We have a Christmas pickle.  This is a German tradition, the ceramic pickle is the last ornament hung on Christmas Eve, there is a special gift under the tree marked "the pickle".   When the boys come down on Christmas morning the first one to find the pickle gets the extra "pickle" gift.  This is supposed to make the kids appreciate the beauty of the tree and each ornament before they dive in and start opening gifts.  
The boys have been getting Christmas ornaments each year from their grandparents and some they have made at school.   When I am decorating the tree I set those ornaments aside and they put their own ornaments on the tree.  I hope they appreciate the ornaments they have been given, my tree might be naked when they leave to make their own homes.
The hubbs likes to decorate right after Thanksgiving but he also likes to take everything down by January 1st.  I personally like to enjoy my Christmas decorations a little longer.
These are just a couple traditions we enjoy during the Christmas season.  I would love to hear about your family traditions.
Stay tuned lots will be going on in 2017, I will have a high school senior and a freshman.

Christmas and Dave Ramsey. . .

No I am not spending Christmas with Dave Ramsey but I am using his principles this season.   Dear hubby and I have tried to save each year for Christmas and pay cash.  We have been doing that for around nine or ten years.  We would take $20 each week and put it in a cup and that would be our savings for Christmas.  There were always weeks we did not put that money aside but for the most part we stayed on schedule.   You don't have to follow Dave Ramsey to follow how that works out.   I feel great relief at the end of the Christmas season knowing that I did not blow our budget out of the water.   There are always things that come up and we end up using our debit (NOT CREDIT) card and that's ok because we had been using our cash up to that point.  Another good point of paying cash for everything is, you don't have to worry about those unscrupulous folks out there trying to steal your account numbers.  One couple in my Dave Ramsey class had their debit card number stolen while they were at the Beach.  A waiter where they had eaten was using it to pay for his car repairs.  The gentleman has friends in the police department and they were able to trace it back to their waiter.  They tracked him down and found he had a notebook with many other credit card and debit card numbers from other people just like you and I.   Another good reason to pay cash when eating out. 
Now back to Christmas, we have been saving this year for our Christmas giving and I hope we don't have to dip into the old checking account.  If we do though, it won't be that big of a hit.  Dave also has a special Christmas budget work sheet he has put on his webiste.  You can down load it for free.  www.daveramsey.com   and no I am not getting kick backs for recommending him, I just believe in what he is doing and want to share with everyone how great it is when you don't have huge debt looming over you all the time.   He has great articles on his website too.  If you are interested in his books you can find them at your local Library or at used book stores.   I am hoping this year will be a wonderful Christmas for all and a debt free one as well.   Christmas is only a little over 5 weeks away.

July 4th at the Lake

We actually spent July 3rd at the Lake.  We had a wonderful time; the kids played in the water and of course faught the whole time with each other and one of their older cousins.   They wore themselves out.  We grilled out, of course, and had ice cream sundaes thanks to Marks' sister.  Yeah!!!!  She always knows what the kids like.  We ate all day long and then had ice cream on top of that.   I was so tired I know my kids were.  They played in the water most of the time.   We did not get home till very late and the kids stayed awake till we got home.  Of course they went right off to sleep once they got in the bed.   Poor little things, they were just tuckered out. 
They were a bear getting them up for Church the next morning.  But, we made it.  Sunday night we sat out on our deck and had ice cream again and watched the fireworks around our neighborhood.  It was a nice evening.  I had some sparklers left over from last year and so I got those out.  The kids had a ball with these sparklers that I got at the dollar store, I think.   They ran around the yard  waving their arms.  It looked like we were trying to send up smoke signals it was so smokey from those things.  The kids had fun though and that is all that matters.