Christmas Recap

We had a very wonderful Christmas. 12 of the 14 kids were home. It was a bit chaotic at times but the kids were great and the daughters were a huge help in keeping things in control and with the clean up chores! It really was amazing how well it went with so many people. It was so heart warming to see everyone having so much fun together.

Happy 20th Birthday Brett!

Looks like I need to take more pics of Brett. This is about all I could find. Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas

I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Things are starting to hop around here. Two families have arrived already. My Mom and Dad should be in this afternoon and two more families will be coming in Wednesday night. A bit of chaos, but happy chaos!! I may or may not be on here the rest of the week. I've got Danny off to school and now I'm heading out shopping before the house wakes up!

Girls Birthday

Kaitlin had Angel Food Cake and Strawberries and Gretchen had cheese cake with strawberry sauce. This is the only picture that turned out that I took. This may be the first birthday ever we actually celebrated on their birthday.

Happy Birthday Girls!

Can you believe it? The twins are 18 today! Happy Birthday Gretchen and Kaitlin! P.S. Stir the wings occasionally if you're around. (you too Molly when you get home)

Dan's Birthday Cake

Guess Who's 14 Today?

Happy Birthday Dan! About a month ago he was saying he wants seafood for his birthday supper. He said he wanted, "Shrimp, crab legs, robster........" Then he changed it to barbeque ribs. Well, Dad and Brad have church cleaning tonight so they won't be here for supper. When he got up this morning, I told him that Dad and Brad won't be here for supper so should him and I just go out to eat? His face lit up and he said, Yes!" I asked him where he wanted to go and he immediately responded, "McDonalds!" What an easy guy!!! I'll make him his Saunders Cake and everyone can come for cake and ice cream this evening. (Maybe I'll take him to Gus's for ribs.)

Sunday School Program

Tonight was the Sunday School Program. Jeanie and Danny both had a piece to recite this year. Danny sort of memorized his but read it at the program.

Yay!! Gretchy!

Okay, now if all the kids would read this and learn how to live life within their means and use cash and acquire no debt!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. We had a very enjoyable one. Only 13 of us this year.

I made too many pies. I tried a Walnut Streusel Sour Cream Apple Pie. I thought it sounded so good and I accidentally had to double it. (I added so many apples to the filling that it didn't fit in one pie pan so I had to double the filling and make another crust.) It wasn't very good. I'll have to try it again tomorrow when I'm not so full and hopefully it will have improved! I also made a raspberry baked pie which didn't get touched. Larissa made Blueberry Delight and only one piece of that was gone. The biggest hit was the French Silk Pie from our family cookbook. I made Lisa's recipe. It was awesome! So I sent the dessert back with Larissa and put the raspberry pie in the freezer.

I've found a job! I'm cooking at a Alzheimer and Dementia Home. I'll be working two days during the week and every other weekend. I trained in last week. I think I'll really like it. There are only 11 residents there right now so I only have to cook for about 15 people. The staff eats with the residents. I get to cook pretty much what I want and use my own recipes. The noon meal is the big meal of the day and then I make a light supper. Once the supper is done, I can leave. I also make beds and vacuum. I start once Jeanie gets on the bus and should be done by 5:00.

Dan Tries Gun Hunting

Brett took Danny gun hunting today. When they got home I asked him:

Me: Dan, did you see anything?

Danny: No, just squirrels

Me: Was it fun or was it boring?

Danny: Half (I think he meant, half fun and half boring)

Me: Did you go up in a tree or stay on the ground?

Danny: Up in a tree

Me: Did you get up in Brett's tree stand?

Danny: Hardly.............(I guess he must have but it probably wasn't easy. The boys were wondering whether he'd be able to get up and in it.)

Come Visit Circle Boutique

Our Etsy Shop, Circle Boutique, is up and running. Click on the link in the upper right hand corner to go straight to the shop.

Mittens

I've been busy making mittens. These mittens are made out of wool sweaters and lined with fleece. I'm in a craft show tomorrow. I only have 29 mittens made. I'm hoping to finish five more tonight that I have cut out. It may be wishful thinking as Jeanie also has a soccer game. I'm sharing a booth with Julie L. she has tons of crocheted hats. Stop by if you're in the area. The craft show is in Julie's town at the school behind the ski hill. Next week I hope to have some up on Etsy. Three of my daughters and I have opened Circle Boutique on Etsy. Only Sara has listed so far.

The Baby Turns 11!

Jeanie turned 11 yesterday. We had Grandma's Chicken Wings, Junie's Fantastic Potatoes and Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake. Happy Birthday Beans!

Special Olympics Fundraiser

As most of you readers know, Danny participates in Special Olympics. Because of his Down Syndrome he is unable to compete in regular sports. He absolutely LOVES Special Olympics. Our local chapter offers several sports such as bowling, swimming, basketball, soccer, skiing, snowshoeing, track, vollyball, golf and softball. Oh, and I can not forget cheerleading! (Most of the cheerleaders are between 25 and 35 years old but I've never seen a more enthusiastic bunch of cheerleaders in my life!) Danny chooses to swim and play basketball. These sports are offered to our athletes free of charge. Fundraising is the only way that we can make this happen. As there are many fees involved, such as building rentals, equipment purchases, uniforms for state competitions, bussing and lodging for state meets,etc. these fundraisers are so important. (All coaches and assistants are non-paying, volunteer postitions.)

I know many of you, like myself, purchase poinsettias for the holidays. If you are planning on buying them this year, please think about purchasing them from Special Olympics. We also have wreaths, garland and flavored coffee. (See chart below for sizes and price.)

I NEED ALL ORDERS AND MONEY BY THURSDAY! (I'll be picking them up a week from Saturday, November 21st.)IF YOU LOCAL READERS ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS, CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL OR PHONE BY THURSDAY.

Special Olympics Michigan

Livingston County Area 27

COFFEE & POINSETTIA SALE

Last Day to Order: November 13th

(I'll pick them up on November 21st)

*PRE-ORDER ONLY*

Poinsettia Colors(do not come with bows):

• Red
  
• White
• Pink
  

Wreath Bow Colors - Red or Burgandy

Coffee Flavors:

• Colombian (decaf)
• Dark Capital Blend
• Hazelnut
• French Vanilla
• Holiday Blend (Butter Rum, Caramel, Almond)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Area 27 Special Olympics Fundraiser: Poinsettia Sale Order Form

Description	Cost	Quantity	Color of Flower/ Bow Color for wreath	Total
10 inch Poinsettia	$40.00
7.5 inch Poinsettia	$20.00
6 inch Poinsettia	$12.00
4 inch Poinsettia	$8.00
Wreath 24 inch	$26.00
Wreath 36 inch	$42.00
Wreath 60 inch	$100.00
Garland 25 ft	$30.00
Coffee 12 oz	$10.00

Making Pasties Thursday

I'm making pasty on Thursday. If you want to order, let me know. $3.50 each.

Done For Another Year

Sara's kids above and Jen's below.

I forgot to take a picture of Danny and Jeanie before we left home. Karen took this at Lisa's. That's Danny in the back and Jeanie is an artist. She is holding her paint palette upside down. Half way through she ditched the boots for tennis shoes. Danny wore the mask for the first two houses, then I carried it. Paul and Luke D. had already took off before this picture. Danny got tired after the first hour so Lisa ran him to her house. He played Play Station until we were done. (Glenn was home.) They got a haul. Unfortunately, their discard pile was almost as big as the pile they kept. I won't tell you how much I ate today. Hopefully the twins will help get the pile down!

Halloween Party

Monday was the Busy Bee's Halloween Party. Jeanie has been sick with the flu since last Thursday. The school's are saying it's the H1N1. It's a weird flu as she seems to be better than relapses. Monday she claimed she was feeling fine so she went to the party. Tuesday morning she felt sick and stayed home but later in the day she was fine. I sent her to school on Wednesday and she ended up in the office at about 10:30. She came home and slept. I kept her home yesterday and she seemed perfectly fine last night but since it's Friday anyway, I think I'll just keep her home to be safe.

Bread Bags

Any one know where I can buy bread bags? I bought 1000 bags from GFS about three years ago and they are finally gone. They were a little too small and not as thick for freezing as I'd like. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

A Good Read

This is my new favorite book! It is fiction but it's about the author's great-great grandmother so it's based on real life. It starts out in Ireland during the potato famine. An excellent read!

Also, I just finished another one of John Dunning's books. A Cliff Janeway series book. I really, really enjoy his books. Truthfully, I've mostly listened to them on CD's. He has an excellent reader. Cliff is a ex-cop who is now a bookseller of rare books. They're "who done it?" mysteries but enjoyable reads.

Happy Birthday Matt and Wade

Yesterday we celebrated Matt's and Wade's 31st and 23rd birthday. Wade had his usual ice cream cake and Matt had Miami Beach Cake.

"I Like It"

I received a call last week from Danny's teacher. An eighth grade technology class has to do a research paper on disabilities. One group is doing Down Syndrome and they asked their teacher if they could interview Danny. She said she will send home the questions so I can help Danny answer them. This group is going to video tape the interview. Danny is so excited, he told me, "I'm going to be in the movies!"

The first question was, "What's it like to have Down Syndrome?" When I asked him, he thought for a minute and then said, "This is hard." I told him to just think about it for awhile. So he sat there thinking for a minute and then said, "Fine. It's good. I like it."

Visitors

Adrian and his parents came to visit. This little guy is either sleeping or smiling. He's such a smiley baby! It was so fun to see them. (I can't get that bottom picture bigger.)

Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup

I found this recipe on Jennifer's favorite food site, foodgawker.com. I went on there and searched Turkey Soup. It was very tasty! I made my sister Kristin's Reiska from the family cookbook to go with it.

Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup
Courtesy of The Recipe Girl

1 Tbls. vegetable oil
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken or turkey stock or broth
1 can diced green chilies, drained
2 cups milk
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
2 cups shredded turkey
¾ cup corn, fresh or frozen
3 Tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Add chilies.

2. In a bowl, whisk together milk, flour, salt, chili powder and cumin. Increase heat to high and whisk milk mixture into soup. Stir until thick and bubbly, about five minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add turkey, corn, cilantro and cheese; stir until cheese is melted and soup is hot, 5 to 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made Matt's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies from the family cookbook this weekend. They are very good. You roll the cookie in sugar before you bake them. I didn't have enough regular chocolate chips so I used part milk chocolate chips. Next time I think I'll use all milk chocolate chips. Like Jeanie said, "They taste like those cookies you make at Christmas with the candy kiss on it."

Danny Goes Hunting

These pictures didn't come out too good......Brad took Danny hunting last night. He was pumped! I was trying to take a picture before he had the face mask on and he had such a goofy grin going that I told him, "don't smile". He kept grinning and said, "I can't help it, I'm so excited!"

I thought he might get bored but he loved it. Brad said he was a good hunter. Very quiet. They didn't see anything but heard coyote. In fact by the time they were coming in, Brad said it sounded like they were surrounded by coyotes. As they were walking in, Danny says, "I'm just curious.......Do coyote bite and eat people?" The funny thing is, he wasn't a bit scared. I guess he felt safe with his big brother there to protect him.

Cookbook Corrections

Here is an updated list of corrections to the cookbook. Some are minor some are a "little bit important".

Page 17- Nacho Dip - Should say to brown and drain the sausage & hamburger.

Page 21 - Puppy Chow - add 1/4 cup butter to ingredients

Page 67 - Susan's Vinaigrette Potato Salad - should be 3 pts per cup, not 8

Page 69 – Mom’s Christmas Eve Fruit Salad - Directions should say – Combine sugar and flour and mix with remaining ingredients up to cream.

Page 79 – Red Skin Potatoes - Should say 1 T. Johnny’s Garlic Spread (or minced garlic)

Page 85 - Asparagus Pasta Toss - should say chicken Italian sausage in the notes with no comma between chicken and Italian sausage

Page 87 - Uncle Niilos Corn on the Cob - should be, bring water to a boil before adding cobs, boil for 7 minutes

Page 119 - Mexican Curry - add 1 can (tomato sauce can) water to ingredients

Page 129 – Anne’s Spaghetti Sauce - Ingredient list should be – 1 lb. ground beef, 1 lg. onion, 2 tsp. minced fresh oregano or ¾ tsp. dried oregano

Page 135 - Corned Beef Hot dish - Should also have 1 c. American cheese

Page 201 – Blueberry French Toast - To ingredient list, add 12 eggs and 2 cups milk

Page 255 – Peaches and Cream Dessert - Crust ingredients were left out: ¼ cup melted butter, 1 ½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs (appx. 38 wafers). Combine melted butter and wafer crumbs, reserving ½ cup to sprinkle on top, and press in 9 x 9 pan.

Page 316 - Mint Brownies - should be 3 eggs and add 2 cups brown sugar to ingredients.

Page 317 - Caramel Bars - should say, save ¾ cup for topping, first baking time should be 10 minutes not 40.

Page 332 - Mom’s Fudge - add to ingredients, 1 teaspoon vanilla

Page 338 - Country Style Hot Dog Relish - total celery seed should be 1 T. (it's listed twice). FYI: 12 green pepper = 13 cups & 10 tomatoes = 10 cups

Latest corrections:

Page 268 -Everyday Cake -Add 3 eggs to ingredients

Page 324 - Pineapple Bars - Add 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons corn starch to filling

Page 300 - Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies -Add to ingredients: 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 6 (oz.) package chocolate chips, 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk and 4 tsp. cherry juice