Merry and bright.

Before the unwrapping began

Christmas Eve events:

• Skiing in the morning (Sage went down her first blue and rode the chair lift solo!)
  
• Sage hunted for the baby Jesus while dressed in shepherd's clothes (she even slept in them)
  
• We ate good grub: Roast Leg of Lamb, Butterhorn Rolls, Rainbow Quinoa, Carrot Souffle and Parmesan Broccoli
• Read "The Night Before Christmas" and the Christmas story from Luke
• Forgot to set out cookies and milk for Santa..shoot!
  

Sage wanted Shane to open the first present....a sports movie (Hoosiers) from her.


Micah surrounded by some of the goods

Christmas Day:

• Ate waffles with whipped cream and berries and waaaay too much sausage
• Napped and played and did absolutely nuthin' else
• Sage watched Finding Nemo all the way through (usually she gets to watch half a movie on movie days---I try not to let her languish too long in front of the boob tube)
  

Trying out her new wheels. Santa also brought that hula hoop and jump rope you see in the picture.


Micah and his sock monkey from grandma. We decided he needs a lovey so that when he starts sleeping through the night (ahem...soon) he'll have a buddy.


Dress from Grandma S. And quacker from Grandma M....most annoying toy ever but she loves it.

Favorite presents?

Shane: Don't laugh but we got him a box of Honey Nut Cheerios (the fake, organic kind)...he hasn't had them in years and he had about 6 bowls in a few short hours.
Sage: harmonica (she takes that thing everywhere)
Micah: Shape sorter
Alicia: Best present hands down was from Shane. Long story short but we lost a bunch of pictures (about 5000 of them) when our computer crashed months ago. Most of them were from Sage's babyhood. I was very sad about it but resigned to it. Shane magically got all of our pictures restored. I cried and Sage looked pretty confused (why in the world would somebody cry over a gift?).

A wonderful Christmas time.

Sage and her best buddy, Aurora, getting ready to make molasses cookies

This Christmas is definitely going to be a lot more fun than last Christmas. Last year we were friendless (we'd only lived here 4 weeks), homeless (still living in a vacation condo) and jobless (still hashing out contract details). Oy....glad that time is past.

This year is off to a good start. Christmas tunes playing, tree decorated, lights hung outside and presents wrapped and under the tree.

Sage and I made a different kind of cookie every day this week. We used our cookie scoop to make little dough balls, placed them on a cookie sheet, froze them for an hour and popped them into ziploc baggies. Now our freezer is full and ready for baking and cookie deliveries this coming week.

We're serious about our treat making. This was the line-up:

Monday: Gingerbread men (for our tree)
Tuesday: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Wednesday: Peanut Butter Cookies
Thursday: Em's Sugar Cookies (divine!)
Friday: Molasses Cookies
Saturday: Buckeyes


CCC and Buckeyes for a neighborhood cookie exchange today.

The Buckeyes are kind of like a Reese's Cup for grown-ups (hence the sea salt sprinkled on top). Delicious and addictive.

{buckeyes}

via smitten kitchen

Yield: 36 to 42 tablespoon-sized candies (we got about 52)

1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 7 graham crackers)
1/2 teaspoon salt ( if you use natural pb this is a must!)
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees) while you shape the peanut butter centers.

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling (I used a scoop that made them a little smaller) and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that the entire candy is coated. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes. Buckeyes will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Happy (sort of) Halloween

This Halloween we had: a sick Sage, a costume that never got finished (mea culpa Sage!) and a pumpkin eaten by squirrels. Oy.

Luckily Sage felt well enough to go to our friend's Halloween party last night, she happily agreed to a last minute costume (a repeat of 2 years ago) and we replaced our pumpkin.

Halloween is pretty much over for us now except for carving that pumpkin today and the traditional english muffin pizzas tonight.

All's well that ends well.

Daddy Day

Yesterday around 1 PM*

Around this house we think Shane is pretty great so we decided to spoil him today. This is what he ate:

• German pancakes with fresh raspberries and strawberries and fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast.
• A Chicken Pot Pie for lunch---courtesy of the Farmer's Market. I think that Chicken Pot Pie is repulsive so I never make it but I'm always happy to buy one for Shaner.
• Steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms for dinner. Chocolate mousse and strawberries for dessert.

And this is what he unwrapped:

A B.O.B. stroller for runs with Micah

A lovely painting created by Sage

And last but not least...a nose hair trimmer. Just what he's always wanted.

We were so happy to have a day to celebrate our favorite man.

*If you look closely at that picture you'll see Micah all strapped down and blindfolded. No this is not a POW camp...it's our bedroom. He gets strapped in for sleep to prevent him from scratching otherwise we wake up to a bloody baby. And the blindfold helps him sleep longer...no lie. Why he sleeps on a mattress on the floor is a story for another day.

At the Boulder Creek Festival

Flying down the Super Slide



Climbing the rock wall. We promised her that if she reached the top she'd get....



Ice Cream...only the 2nd scoop of her lifetime

The Christmas Rundown

For Family Night this week we told Sage that we'd be celebrating two birthdays but we didn't tell her who. We made birthday hats (check out the photo above) and even a birthday cake (brownies). Then we played a guessing game to find out who had a birthday. Can you guess? Joseph Smith and the Savior!




Le Jeep looks good in white no? Just in time for Christmas! Woohoo!

A lovely mom in our new ward invited us to Christmas Eve. Kaly has the most beautiful house and it's perfect for hosting parties. Sage met 2 other 4 1/2 year olds and ate more goodies in one sitting than she's probably had in her entire life. When Shane told her to try a doughnut she asked, "What's a doughnut?"

After eating, playing, acting out the Christmas story with all the other kids and listening to "The Night Before Christmas" she was hungry again. With all of the yummy food around Sage chose an apple...atta girl!




Sage thought Santa would enjoy some cookies and tomatoes, the carrot is for the reindeer.
She wanted to serve Santa two beverages...milk and orange juice. No oranges so we squeezed tangerines. Santa loooved the tangerine juice and thinks we should serve it more often.

Sage's letter to Santa (she wrote it out herself):

Hello Santa Claus. This food is for you. The carrot is for the reindeer.

On the back she provided a food key (you can see in the photo up above). She drew and colored pictures of each food item and then labeled them.




Favorite Gifts:

Sage: Dark Chocolate Reindeer
Micah: wrapping paper (hours of fun)
Shane and Alicia: Sage's 7:30 wake-up time




Santa ran out of sleds so he left this IOU for Sage. We'll take her tomorrow to find one. Shane... errr Santa tried to disguise his handwriting and wrote in lower case. It's been almost a decade since he's used lower case. I about died laughing when I saw his t's....if you click on the picture you'll see what I mean.





Would you believe it if I told you that a hot dog is a big treat around here? We decided that dogs and fries and kombucha would make a great Christmas dinner. The ultimate low key holiday meal eh?

Joy to the world!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Men

We're a little (read:waaay) behind this year in the Christmas department. We haven't even decorated our tree yet except for a few stray candy canes. This morning we finally got around to our tradition of baking gingerbread men for decorations. The popcorn and cranberry strands will have to wait until next year!

{gingerbread men}

• 3 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed (I used 1/4 c. succanat)
  
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: If you're planning to use these little men for your tree you'll need to do the following:

• bake cookies for 13-15 minutes (til crispy)
• as soon as they come out of the oven, make a good size hole (using a toothpick) where you want to thread your ribbon through
• leave cookies out for a day or so until they are nice and stale
• thread some skinny red ribbon through the cookie hole, tie a bow using both ends and hang it up!

Halloween

One little punkin and a cowgirl (who was oft mistaken for a cowboy--poor kiddo).

Total cost? Nada.

Shirt, hat, bandana and pumpkin costume: borrowed

Vest: I turned a paper sack inside out, cut out a pattern and stapled the pieces together. Then I soaked it in water, crumpled it in a ball and let it dry in the sun to give it a weathered leather look.

And in the grand tradition of the S. family Sage carried a pillowcase to stash her candy in.

Yeehaw!































Shane was out of town in Colorado. He missed seeing our kiddos all dressed up but he did catch a Halloween parade. Here's our favorite costume from that night:
























P.S. Pretty sure that name tag says "Brother Locos" as in in "Brother Crazy." Ha! He's loco if he doesn't know that he's holding a treasure in his hands.

Better Late Than Never (Easter)

Egg hunt #1 at J's house...low-key fun

Egg Hunt #3
A free event put on by a local church...our first (and probably last) time there...chaos reigned

Easter Dinner


Lamb Chops, Fresh Aspargus, Whole Wheat Rolls and Potatoes & Carrots
and
Deep Dark Chocolate Cake for dessert

Believe me when I say that this is the best "All dressed up for Easter Sunday" shot that we got

This year we tried something new. Saturday morning Sage woke up to gifts (a board game, a Magic Tree House book and some treats). She hunted for eggs and then we had a delicious Easter breakfast of Puffed Pancake with Strawberries. Later in the day Sage and I baked up rolls and chocolate cake. We enjoyed our Easter dinner that night and we were done. Come Sunday we had nothing to do all day but teach Sage about the true meaning of Easter.

And polish off that chocolate cake.

Firsts

Christmas was lots of fun. We traveled to Oregon and enjoyed the snow (and the food and a darling little cottage) in the beautiful town of Ashland. Next on to Grandma and Grandpa's in Northern California to enjoy yummy food and lots of laughs.

Lots of firsts this trip:

First underdog from a kid...not just any kid but her super humanly strong cousin Nathaniel

First time painting her own face (at the San Jose Kid's Museum)

First sled ride (in Oregon)

First snowman

A Little Shepherd Gave Us The Best Gift of All

Christmas 2007

One little tradition we have is to hide a star and manger, dress Sage up like a shepherd and have her go and find the Baby Jesus. This year Shane and I co-starred as Mary and Joseph (as per her request).

When Sage found the manger (her baby cradle stuffed with hay) we told her the news about the baby. Later that night Shane and I wrote down her response:

"Are you teasing?"

"Awww...ohhhh...can I touch your belly?"

"Did you just put it in there today?"

"You never had a baby in your belly before."

Telling Sage was definitely our favorite part of Christmas.

Christmas Dinner

True to the F. family way we celebrate special occasions whenever it's convenient. Since we plan to drive to Northern California on the 24th the 23rd has become Christmas Eve and the 24th will be Christmas morning. So much the better for Sage with one less day to wait.

We're having a special little dinner on Tuesday night: Cheese Fondue and Deep Dark Chocolate Tart (they'll be some greens somewhere in that meal too).

This pie is a favorite around here. No added sugar, whole wheat crust but still delicious and rich as can be.

Deep Dark Chocolate Tart

½ cup whole milk
7 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (we use 77%)
1 large egg yolk
7.5 ounces crème fraîche (I buy it at Trader Joe's)
1 Whole Wheat Pastry Shell

Lightly whip egg yolk with the crème fraîche and set aside. Bring milk to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn off heat and add chocolate to milk. Stir mixture until chocolate is completely melted. Slowly add egg and crème fraîche mixture to chocolate mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Place chocolate mix in pastry shell and place in preheated oven at 325° oven for 25 minutes.

Remove tart from oven and cool to room temperature. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

Turkey Day

I love a good feast and Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse for going a little crazy. Here's what we'll be making and then chowing on:

Appetizers

• Hummus
• Christmas Guacamole
• Beduinos (bacon wrapped dates)
  

The Real Feast

• Brined Turkey (soaked overnight in salt water)
• Cornbread Stuffing w/Sausage & Apples
• Sweet Potato & Carmelized Onion Casserole
• Feather Light Overnight Whole Wheat Rolls
• Green Beans w/Almonds & Thyme
• Lemon-Cranberry Sauce
• Spinach & Persimmon Salad
  

Grand Finale

• Roasted Sweet Potato Cheesecake
• Paper Bag Apple Pie ala mode
• Pumpkin Pie

Sage and I are going to be cooking up a storm these next two days.

Halloween

Door decor courtesy of Sage...notice she gave her witch a smiley face

A trip to the pumpkin farm...we took a wagon ride

There was a petting zoo too

Murder Mystery Party
UPS driver and secretary--we met on the job of course
(thanks for the duds C. and for the great party M!)

Carving the pumpkin

Can you tell who's mom is the make-up artist?

What the....?

All done for the night

The loot...she spread it all out and gloated over the sugary goodness

Just like last year Sage got to save 3 pieces. She chose a Tootsie Roll Pop, Milk Duds and M&M's. And I'm proud to say that this year, this mama did not salvage candy from the trash after her toddler went to bed.

Labor Day

Laguna Beach was a sea of umbrellas

New suits for Shane (finally!) and Sage...both brown.

Life is always better at the beach

Free For All

A dozen little ones and hundreds of plastic eggs. We spent the morning at the home of my lovely friend Jeanine. She just (in her words) "bought a yard." Yes, a house came with it but her yard is the stuff of OC mommy dreams; almost an acre. The rest of us have patios or strips of grass that pass for a yard. But I digress.

We hunted for Easter eggs in the aforementioned yard. Oh what fun for all the little kiddies! Even Sage joined in the candy orgy...until her Mama realized what was happening and confiscated the goods.