Trick-or-Treating: Round One

Ethan and Madeline got to go trick-or-treating a day early this year. Todd's office invited the employee's kids to come for an hour this morning and trick-or-treat around the office!
This year, Ethan is Percy the Green Engine:

Here is a better close-up shot of Percy. I had to take a picture of just the costume because I made it and I admit I'm likin' how it turned out:

And Miss Madeline was a Pixy Princess. She may or may not be the same thing tomorrow . . . I made her pixy skirt too, but it's been around since last year:

We sure had fun. There weren't a lot of people, but there was a lot of treats.

Now that they've got this figured out, they are even more excited for tomorrow than before. Hmmm, we are going to have way too much candy!

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

The snow yesterday inspired me to do some baking. The gingerbread made my house smell so wonderful and it tasted every bit as good as it smelled. I have officially decided that baking is one of the best things about cold weather!

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
From the Gourmet Cookbook

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
1 stick (8 TBLS) unsalted butter
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup molasses
2/3 cup hot water

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.

Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at med-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture, then add water and mix until batter is smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour batter in baking pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted in middle comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes and serve warm.

Cute Pictures and Random Thoughts

Madeline is now 21 months old. Can you say almost 2? Woah! She's practicing to be 2 too! Some of her favorites words are: no way, me, mine, my, and NOW! But she's got me wrapped around her finger and all I can do is laugh. She definitely has a sweet side too:

And she LOVES her brother . . . I am grateful every day that they are friends!

And as a non related side note: the SNOW outside is making me undeniably and supremely happy! As we ran through the blizzard today from the library to our car, Ethan kept saying, "I hate the snow Mom, I really hate it. It's too cold and it's hitting my face."

I couldn't help but laugh, and then I sang some Christmas songs!

U2 Concert

On Friday, Todd and I went with Todd’s parents to Vegas to the U2 concert. What can I say? It was awesome. I loved the music, and the stage and set up were amazing. We had the best time, got to bed that night at 2am, and then got up the next morning to drive home. I’m still a little tired, but it was well worth it. We've been waiting a long time to go to a U2 concert. Last time they toured we had tickets, but then found out we were expecting Ethan the week of the concert. We sold those ones and have been waiting for this tour ever since. It was worth the wait!

You can see the giant claw looking stage behind us - complete with huge speakers, lights, and a 360 degree screen

Sticks

Playing with sticks in the backyard is always lots of fun:

Especially if you wave them back and forth while singing, "doo doo doo doo doo".

Glad I Got Tricked

From the time I was very young, I was smitten with guys that could sing. All through high school and into college having the guy I married sing was number 1 on my list of perks. In college, ward choir was always a good place to meets guys that could sing. And that’s where I really met Todd. It was perfect! Attractive, fun, smart, AND could sing . . . how could it be possible?! Turns out it wasn’t. My husband does not sing. He was just being supportive of his roommate who was ward choir director. So there you have it; I didn’t get my singer. Todd tricked me. But you know what? I am way so glad he did!

This story is brought to you by Emmy Mom, who has a linky on her blog. Give it a click and enjoy lots of "how they first met" stories.

And speaking of Emmy Mom, she gave me this award:

I received this award for being a loyal commenter on her blog. And who wouldn't want to be. Emmy's blog is awesome. Thanks Em!

Swimming

We pay no attention to the cold weather outside. When we want to swim, we swim!
All the water animals decided to join us as well.

And we had a lot of fun doing diving competitions too!

Madeline also impressed us with her runway diva look: