MERRY CHRISTMAS

I admit it. I am lazy.  I had every intention of sending out Christmas Cards.
In fact, I even had our Family Portraits taken this summer, with the thought of making photo cards to send out to friends and family.  I imagined their faces as they opened the envelope, and out slid the uber cute McBride family. hmmmm.  Instead you get this:

Its the best I could come up with in a days time.

You know some of those uber sickly sweet form letters you get??Usually from the Overachieversons. They want everyone to know how PERFECT their family is. Out of 10 christmas letters, usually there is that ONE  that is over the top... Oh Muffy made the deans list for the 14th straight year in a row?? or Susan and Bob went on a tour around the world because they won the lottery.  Or Little Joey is just an absolute delight. ALl his friends and teachers say he is their favorite.  Such a popular little guy.

Well, here at the McBride household, there is no such nonsense.
So here is my letter:

This year Charles and Sarah hardly saw each other at all.  With Charles working nights, and Sarah Working days it is amazing they are still married.
Charles works for Sprint, yet dreams of going back to college AGAIN. He hates his job, but works to pay the bills and provide us with practically free cell phone service, insurance and other benefits.
Sarah went back to work Full time at Hair CLub for Men and Women.  She can honestly say she loves her job. Unfortunately her housework has been sorely neglected, and the kids are lucky if their socks match in the mornings.  At least they are both the same color. No one will know.
Sarah would LIKE to say she lost a bunch of weight this year, sadly 20 pounds was all she managed...but hey 20 is better than nothing.
Peter is doing well. His heart is amazing, and he has been feeling well and doing well.  He loves Battle Force 5, and Transformers. In fact he loves them so much he wants to legally change his name to Sherman or Stanford so he can be just like the BF5 team. He is in 4th grade this year and is bringing home math homework that is NOT taught the same was as when mom and dad were in school. He likes to watch movies, race Mario Karts and help cook.  he is an expert smoothie maker. Being 10 he is getting to the point where everything is "mom, dont embarass me".We would like to say he helps out around the house without complaining, but since we cant, then we wont mention it.
Finn is in 2nd grade and full of energy(read: waaayyyy too bubbly).  He is a joy and has such a zest for life.  He loves to write stories in his notebook (amazing ants, Hanukkah Goblins and more), play the wii, jump on the trampoline and eat eat eat.  he is growing so fast we can hardly keep clothes on him that fit. He does very well in school and is in the highest reading group. He also gets notes home from his teacher that are eerily reminiscent of the notes his mom used to get home from school (Finn is a social butterfly. Finn needs to work more and talk less. Finn needs to worry more about his own work and less about what other people are doing...).  Finn is a love bug.  Finn works hard around the house...if financial recompensation is in the works.  he is saving for a Nintendo DS and REALLY wants to save his allowance to buy it himself.

Skittles and Rusty are the two new additions to the family.  They were two little orange tabby cats that were found in a nearby neighborhood. We brought them home and they are an absolute joy.  They are so sweet and loving and CUTE as can be! Of course they are like CHILDREN and are into EVERYTHING.  I feel like I am constantly hearing Baging and skittering. Wonder if they will be as cute and sweet and loving when we take them to get "tutored".(snip snip boys!!).

This year we did lots of fun things: we went to Virginia Beach and saw and did lots of fun things. We went to Colonial Williamsburg (mom we're bored. This isnt cool. This is boring. We hate history....), air and space museum, Battleship Wisconsin and the Beach.  We went to the fireworks show here in Charlotte at the Baseball game and saw the largest 4th of July fireworks display in the Southeast.  It was amazing, as always.
We had to say goodbye to an old friend (my 1995 Mitsubishi Galant) and got 2 new ones(Hello VW Jetta and Kia Spectra).
We also got to Go up to Michigan and visit my aunt and uncle and Grandma. That was fun. We discovered the GIANT marshmellows make fantastic smores, that Vernors Gingerale is still as good as we remember and that 2 boys and 12 hours of driving do not mix well.
Thanksgiving was fun. All the Koch Children under one roof again for the first time in several years. Great food, fun times, and two nephews that are so grown up I feel like the crypt keeper I am getting so old...



All in all 2010 was a great year.  Looking forward to 2011 and all that it brings for us.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Sarah, Charles, Peter and Finn McBride

2 weeks of recipes. DAY 1 SNICKERDOODLES

It is the Holiday Season and so  this is the time of year I do a lot of baking.  I like to make a large variety of treats and put together goodie plates and take them around to friends and family.
This recipe, I believe I posted it last year, is always a super duper hit.  These are the most delicious snickerdoodles. They are just the right amount of sweetness, without being overly so.  They are puffy and crackle the right way on the top. They are moist and buttery and the cinnamon and sugar is just perfect.

Try them for yourself.

So for the next 2 weeks I will be posting various Holiday goodie recipes, please check back for more and let me know if you make anything and how they turn out!!


SNICKERDOODLES

1 cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Put flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.
gradually stir in flour mixture. Your dough will be stiff, yet slightly sticky.

On a plate combine 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 TBSP ground cinnamon.
Flour your hands and take heaping tsp of dough. Roll into balls and roll in the sugar mixture.

Place on baking sheet 2" apart. (I usually spray my pan with Pam first)
Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges have set and bottoms are a golden brown..

To keep these soft I place them in a gallon size ziplock with a slice of white bread.

Christmas Hair Bows

So I have discovered the joy of Bow Making.  I made a bunch for a girlfriend at school and she loved them so much. I have several more orders come in and am thinking about listing them on Etsy for Christmas.
I went to Michaels and their Christmas and Holiday ribbon was on sale for 50% off. I bought several kinds, all coordinating and went to town. Here are the ones I have made so far.

I really like the Loopy hair bows. I did make a few of the pinwheel type bows in various colors as well.

The backs are single prong clips:

All bows are made by stitching AND re-enforced with hot glue. I then sealed any visible ends with a flame, keeping it from fraying.
I have recently discovered Korker Bows:(I did not make this. This is from mybowlady.com)

I have a lot of grosgrain ribbon on the way to me. I will make the Korker ribbon, and if it is as easy at it sounds, I will make a tutorial. It SEEMS easy enough. I tried the redneck version using a candle, instead of a stove. It didnt work too well. The ribbon stayed Korkered, but there were scorch marks on it.

So I am thinking I will follow the correct directions and see how difficult it is.

Not that I have a ton of time on my hands, but I have lots of ideas swirling around. I have missed crafting and making these bows have been a fun thing for me to do while I watch TV at night when the boys go to bed.

 I can pull up my little table and just work away.

Happy Crafting!

yesterday was a baking day

So after losing my temper with he who shall not be named, I came home and baked and baked and baked.
I made rice krispie treats, peppermint chocolate chip brownies(from scratch, I dont use a mix for my brownies), shortbread cookies(see previous entry for recipe) and Mormon Monster Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My roommates and I perfected a brownie recipe that to this day I have found no equal.(Diane remember those?? E_____ made a batch for D______ and she ate too many and blamed us for stealing her brownies?? Anyhoo side tangent.)

I substituted the Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips for the second addition of chocolate chips.
Hallelujah, praise the Lord, Pass the Tax Rebate. They were FANTASTIC.

So in honor of the Christmas Spirit, here is the "Best Ever Brownie Recipe" with christmas alternative.


1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips, melted
1 cup chocolate chips, whole

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In mixing bowl combine butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beating well.
Add the melted chocolate chips and stir until all combined.
Gradually add the flour mixture and mix well. Add the whole chocolate chips and fold in gently. Batter will be thick.
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until done. cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional)

CHRISTMAS ALTERNATIVE: instead of adding a cup of whole chocolate chips at the end, add 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips.

I hope you enjoy. I have enjoyed posting many of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. I really love baking during the holidays, and this has been a perfect way for me to share that with all of you.
I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who stops by and reads my blog.
Although I dont have the time I used to, please know that I still keep up with everyones blog who is in my sidebar.

Happy Holidays to all! This will be my last post until after Christmas. I have a lot going on at school and trying to get ready for Christmas. I have a pile of gifts that still need to be wrapped(ugh). So in order to get everything done that needs to be done, I will forgo my usually blogging in the morning to make time for a few things that are a little higher on my priority list for now.

christmas shopping is done

It feels so good to be done. I dont have to go out again into the mob of madness, clawing my way through hundreds of people all in the same aisles, all with carts trying to maneuver, all wanting to grab that last transformer, or the only Wall*E remote control robot.
done. DONE. Done with a capital D, shouted from the rooftops, with triple exclamation points.

DONE!!!!! It feels so good to write that word.

My parents I got the Blurb photo book. Then I went to Souper! Salad! and bought them a bag of their gingerbread bread that they can mix up and make at home. It is my moms favorite bread there, she could make an entire meal out of it.


The boys got a Wii. They got Kung Fu Panda. They got a few little mini transformers, some puzzles, Guess Who (are you Clarence??), Lincoln Logs, and some fuzzy Pajama Pants. Yes, they wanted some fleecy pajama bottoms. Actually asked for them. Who asks for pajamas? I thought that was a gift, kind of like socks. no one asks for them, they just get them as a practical gift from Grammy. But they wanted them. So I obliged. I found these heavy super snuggly polar fleece pajama pants (One Transformers, One Spiderman. Peter and Finn respectively) Then we bought them a pair of flannel pajama pants as well. So they will be warm and toasty this winter.


Charles is getting _____________ (hah. Charles reads my blog.)
I almost dont want to get him anything. He makes gift giving un-fun.
When we were dating He was wearing a pair of transparent socks. You know they had gotten threadbare to the point of being able to see through the heels. he had mentioned that he needed more socks. So as joke I went out and bought him a package of tube socks. I gave them to him and he immediately guessed "socks?". he hadnt even unwrapped them yet.

Same for boardgames , movies, CD's etc. It can be triple wrapped in a wierd sized decoy box shaped like a giraffe, and he can be like "Is this an MP3 player? "(And it would be) It is as if he can smell whats inside. Monsier Nez of Christmas gifts.

One Christmas I got him the Deluxe anniversary edition of Risk. The kind with the pewter soldiers, the velvet drawstring bags, the gold foil edging on the cards etc. The real swanky frou frou set. Well I wrapped it and then on Christmas he picked it up and said "did you get me Risk??"
I yanked it back and threw the box across the room and dented the wall. Those poor foot soliders didnt stand a chance against the fury that is a ruined Christmas gift heave ho.
I screamed in no uncertain terms what he can do with his game of Risk and stomped off. I should have taken it back to the store, to teach him a lesson. So I dont even try anymore.
I might as well just toss it under the tree unwrapped. He already knows what it is.
i think last year was the first time he didnt guess. Maybe he is finally learning his lesson.

Or maybe he is tired of patching up holes in the wall.


Either way I am happy. no more shopping.
NOW I just have to wrap everything...but thats another rant for another day.

redwood table

The other day charles and I had to move something that looked like this (very similar) upstairs to our Piano room. It was our antique redwood slab coffee table. Charles parents got it in California back in the 60's. It is a giant slab of Redwood tree, polished, shines, shellacked and put on a base of more redwood tree. It is REALLY awesome and beautiful and unique. Our slab is thicker than the one shown here, and the base is a little shorter and a lot larger in diameter. Our table has lots or little natural holes that make little tunnels into the base section, which has lots of little caverns and slides. We picked up this table, which was approximately the weight of a newborn baby elephant and turned it sideways. We hear tumbling, and coins and more tumbling and out through the slides and holes and caverns of the base comes pouring out money, matchbox cars, marbles, magnets, candy, decorative vase rocks, paperclips...basically anything the boys could put down these holes and forgot to pull out. It was sick. I found a necklace that had gone missing, some bali silver beads that had gone the way of the Dodo, and about 22 broken crayon pieces....nice.

We struggled to get this behemoth table upstairs to the piano room. But we did it. It has a nice new home, looks beautiful and even more important, made room downstairs for THIS:

"God bless us, everyone".

Great Christmas Gift

I NEVER know what to get my parents for Christmas.
What do you get for the people who have everything? Honestly.

Every year I get my mom a sweater or shirt that never gets worn, or some pajamas that she says she wants that never get taken out of the box, or jewelry that she wears for promptly one day and then only breaks out every 6th year on months ending in "R".
Cookbooks? Dusty. Homemade Jams and Jellies? Uneaten. Handmade Bottle art (vinegar with the herbs and peppers in it)? undisplayed and unused.

And My dad...wow. He has a whole closet full of expensive ties that have never once been coordinated with his beautiful tailored suits. I have given him book gift certificates, which I KNOW have been re-gifted elsewhere, I tried getting him Golf coffee table Books, History Buff videos, make your own marinade kits etc. I always feel like a "Gift Failure".

I wish my dad could be like Lindseys dad, who giggles at the thought of a "Come to the Dark Side...We have Cookies" T-shirt, and who would willingly wear it in public.
Had I given my dad a T-shirt like that it would have been cut into strips and used to varnish their hardwood floors.

SO I really struggled this year to find the perfect gift for them. Something they would love and enjoy and use. One thing they LOVE are Peter and Finn. They have BOXES of pictures and are always asking for copies of pictures that we have taken and always want to see pictures from events etc. So the wheels started turning.
So THANK YOU to Heather, who told me about Blurb and showed me her Blog Book.
You can actually go onto Blurb and MAKE a book. You can make a Blog Book, (unfortunately Blurb no longer slurps from blogger, so you would have to cut and paste and add the pictures)
You can make your own cookbooks, photobooks, journals, wedding books and more.

So I made my parents a year in the life of the McBride family (mostly the boys).
It goes in Chronological Order up to the present, and I chose various picture formats for the different pages, added some captions and text, added titles for certain Pages, and voila.
A 50 page hardcover photobook that they can have for always. No gluing, no cutesy scrapbook tags and papers. Just upload the pictures, arrange, add text and submit.
It was super easy and fun. AND the perfect gift for them.

You can preview it HERE.

I think this is one gift that will get good use.

Worlds Greatest Christmas Tree

I got this email from Dawn. I laughed until I cried.

This is THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS TREE!!

This tree is made entirely from PVC Piping, wire and Mountain Dew cans.

They then string lights and red bulbs on it. The tree topper is a giant 2 liter bottle with a light in it.

Saving the World Made Simple

My 4 1/2 year old son, Chuckleberry Finn, is OBSESSED with Superheroes right now. He lives, breathes, sleeps and eats superheroes. Spiderman. Batman. Wolverine. Superman. It doesnt matter. If they fly, or fight the bad guys, they rock his little world. If they are 20 foot tall autobots, made of metal and transform with a cool "tsch tsch tsch" sound, he is tickled pink.
I fully expect to see him on season 28 of the Sci Fi Channels "Who Wants To Be A Superhero" with Cyborg Stan Lee. "I'm Superfinn!"

For Christmas this year, my Aunt Carol got him A Klutz Chicken Socks Book. "The Superhero Starter Kit. Saving the World Made Simple" It contains a shiny red cape. It also contains several punch out masks that you can wear to protect your secret identity, and It even comes with a couple of sets of superhero bracelets and stickers as the insignias.

Inside the book there are tips on how to run and jump so your cape flies the best. (jumping off the couch works the best). It shows the cape in action: spinning, hiding, swinging, running, jumping, falling etc.

There is a section on how to pick your superhero name . Basically take a really great adjective, such as Super, marverlous, fantastic, doctor, a color etc and pair it with something else. i.e. your first or middle name, fave food, your pet, an insect...whatever you can think of. So he is SUPERFINN!

There are Super Hero Do's (Stand up straight. No one trusts a sloppy hero)

And there are Super Hero Don'ts (Dont sneeze into you cape. It's just gross)

Then at the end of the book is your very own superhero ID card to fill out.

Just a CUTE book and the perfect gift for my OCD child with the overactive imagination.

Well , Finny Foo has been in superhero Nirvana. We put on the silky cape, cut out and strung up a mask to protect his secret identity and put on the matching cuffs and emblem. He whizzes around the house arm extended, singing his theme song, cape trailing and fluttering expertly behind him. What makes it even better is when he is just wearing his spiderman underwear and his cape and mask. I awoke the other morning and came downstairs. SuperFinn was sitting on the couch in his spiderman pajamas, decked out in full regalia and watching (you guessed it) Spiderman.

This was seriously the best gift he has ever received. Here is Superfinn all decked out:

(he was mid-pose in this picture. Usually his Left arm is curled up and his right arm is extended for better aerodynamics)

My favorite thing is to see him skulking around the house looking for injustice to correct, and wrongs to right.

The other morning he came up to me, cape draped spectacularly, mask on perfectly, cuffs gleaming and asked in all seriousness "You need a problem?"

Im so proud.

Just a side note: My Sons name is Charles Finn. We call him Finn. But many other times we call him chuckleberry Finn, Finny Foo, Finny, FinnFinn...you get the idea.