PACY FREE!!!

As of today, Griffin has been pacifier free for a whole week!!! WHOO-HOO! Over the past week he had about 3 episodes of crying when I put him down to bed, but overall he did really well. And there was NO night-waking, which is what I was dreading most. On the flip side, he has decided to climb out of the crib a little more frequently!! We are planning on moving him to a toddler bed the first of march, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Trash Can

When our children are whining or fussy, we tell them that we are "going to throw them in the trash can." Not sure where the phrase originated from it has become a commonly heard household threat.

Griffy thinks this is really funny and loves when Brent pretends to throw him in the trashcan. I worked on Saturday and Brent had the kids - and this is what they were up to...while the cat's away, the mice will play!

Pasta Fagioli

Brent got me a cookbook for Christmas - "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" - its a cookbook written by the lady who spent 2007 writing the blog 365 Days of slow cooking. Anyway, I love my crock pot - it seems to be the best and least stressful means of getting a hot meal on the table! I'll post some of the recipes as I try them out.

Pasta Fagioli
1 lb ground beef, browned
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes with their juice
16.5 oz jar pasta sauce
4 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano
1 TBSP Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup dried pasta (I used bowtie because I had a little left from another recipe)
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Dump everything in except the pasta. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high 4 hours. Stir in dry pasta about 1 hour before serving. Garnish with Parmesan.

I served this yesterday with drop biscuits - and it was perfect for a winter day! Next time I will leave the Tabasco out and let people add it to their own dishes because it was a little spicy for the kids. Also, it makes a lot so I am going to freeze it for another meal!

Arts and Crafts

Knowing that we were going to be in "close corridors" with lots of people and potentially really cold weather, we knew that we would need some "organized activities" to do with the kids. That being said, Aunt Anna planned several craft activities for the kids to do. Aunt Hannah and Uncle Pooks were great sports and wonderful assistants! Here they are decorating Christmas trees with foam stickers....

Addie's was loaded down!

Hayride!

During the day on Christmas Eve we all piled in the trailer and had a hayride. We bundled up and wrapped up in quilts, and Big Daddy drove us around Shady Dale. We sang every Christmas carol ever written - we even had songbooks printed out! It was really cold but we enjoyed it. Both of our kids asked for another hayride every day we were there...

After the hayride, we had a weenie roast and made smores! YUM!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa (secretly known as Big Daddy) made a surprise visit to the cabin on Christmas Eve. Most of the kids were thrilled, a few were terrified! Santa brought a bag a presents and each child got to sit on his lap (or as close as we could con them into getting) while opening their gift. Their reactions (both the excitement and the terror) were hysterical to see. I'm including a picture of each of the grandchildren for you to see....

Patrick, 5 years old

Avery, 3 1/2 years

Aeneas, 2 1/2 years old

Addison, 2 1/2 years old

Greenlee, 2 years old

Griffin, 2 years old

Kale, 11 weeks old

Saeran, 8 weeks old

Away in a Manger

In the McBrayer household, Christmas Eve has almost always held more significance and tradition than Christmas Day has. Growing up, we never attended a Christmas Eve service at church - instead, we had our own "worship service" where each of us participated in some form or fashion...we read/wrote poems, sang songs, played Christmas songs on the piano, read through Luke 2, etc. As long as I can remember, we've had fondue (cheese, oil, or chocolate) and sparkling grape juice for dinner. And then we spend hours opening gifts - one person at a time, taking turns starting with the youngest.



This was the first year that our children were able to participate in the festivities. All of the grandchildren acted out the Christmas story as Uncle Dooney read through it. It was pretty priceless to see. Avery really got into her role as Mary - she plays shy but really likes the spot-light. And Griffin made a precious king! This year the kids didn't participate in fondue - hot oil and Griffin don't mix - so they had an early dinner of macaroni and jello jigglers! Avery, Addie, Greenlee and Patrick did stay up long enough to have their first chocolate fondue.

the whole crew in action

Kale (as baby Jesus) and an adoring King

Patrick (as Joseph) and Avery (as Mary)

Aeneas (a shepherd), Avery, Patrick, and our little angels Greenlee and Addie

enjoying chocolate fondue