Merry Christmas, Christ is born.

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!

Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born!

Oh night divine! Oh night! Oh night divine!

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,

and in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord, that ever, ever praise we.

Noel! Noel! Oh night;oh night divine!

Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

(original date, Dec 9, 2009)

If there were such a thing as a merit badge for vaccinating your almost 5 year old. .... I earned it today.

Let me start by saying, yes we vaccinate, I know you may not, but we choose to do so, on a spaced out schedule, but nonetheless, we vaccinate. Thats not without saying that I have had my freak outs about filling a 7 lb baby full of antibodies when she was just days old. I left crying and angry with myself that time. Hence the spaced out schedule.

Back to my morning.

1st round of h1n1 vaccine last month, a shot for Ruby and the mist for Parkey.

All was well, Rubes didnt even cry.

There is a learning curve with the mist, but this time around it went really well, no wrastleing to the ground forcing the liquid up the nose routine.

We went back today for the booster h1n1, a shot for Ruby and since there wasnt a mist, a shot for Parkey, but she didnt know this was going to be an option.

ok, let me say that I really try to do a great job at not cussing in front of my children, but today was a huge exercise in self control for not only myself but for SP as well.

Ruby was a champ, never even saw it coming. Looked at me with the expression of "what just happened, oh wait a sticker, ok great"

Sp started screaming, yes SCREAMING in the bathroom, not even in the patient room, telling me all about how she...

"was NOT getting a shot today"

"I will NOT do it"

"I wont stand up, I wont go back in that room, I will NOT let you hurt me"

"I'M gonna spank YOU Mama!"

and in my brain was : "oh no she DID'NT"

(this was the line for me, like I said, she's 5 and doesn't cuss, but this was as close to a cuss as she can get, you DONT tell Mama what's going to happen, and you definitely DONT tell Mama she is getting a spank)

well..... that didn't go over to well with me, I have long ago lost all sense of embarrassment with my children. Happened way to many times over and over, so I wasn't going to let this bother me, for the sake of saving face (because we as mothers know, there is no such thing), it was all about the attitude at this point.

Besides every time we go to the doctor some kid is crying, but I just dont remember those other kids being as articulate as mine was being at this moment. Coupled with the fact that we are in the bathroom, I know you all have sung in the shower at some point, so you can attest to how great the acoustics are in a tiled room, all that applies here as well.

Kicking me and still screaming at me, I pick her up and carried her back into the room, which is no small feat when your child is in the 99th percentile for height and weight. All the while telling her "get your ass into that room and put your big girl panties on we're getting that shot weather you like it or not" "take a deep breath, in your nose and out your mouth, deeeeep breaths, its going to be ok, this is how we protect you from germs, deeeep breaths."


which worked for about 17 seconds.

more kicking, screaming, limp fishing, hitting, yelling at the top of her lungs, restraining, until... it was over, and SHE DID'T EVEN KNOW IT HAPPENED.
the nurse of steel declared, "Done!"
and in the hallway, not so under her breath "good grief"
SP looked up at me and said "She did it? Its over?"
Me "yes, all done, what do you think?"
SP beaming with pride "I didnt even feel it!"
Me" Imagine that!" and on the inside, "well, this is a maybe on the list of future counseling sessions conversations for her" and "oh crap, Ruby! are you here?" (she was, I was just so caught up in how to exorcize the demon out of Parkey take care of my eldest, that I was lucky the youngest was just following me around in the room)

I know that as soon as we walked back out into the waiting room on our way out, we were given the "was that your child screaming/what kind of mother are you/cant control your child/ was it really that important?" kind of stares.

and me (again on the inside) "YES it was, worth every bit of not being sick for a week to ten days, with potential for hospitalization due to after effects of the swine flu, and no I do not feel one bit of remorse from doing what we feel is best to protect our children, and yes, I am apparently raising a super drama queen, but by God she is going to be a healthy one"

we're all about moderation at our house....can't you tell?

the day after Thanksgiving meal.

I know that I missed a meal in the mix of all the holiday food preparations. But to us, the night before Thanksgiving is a low key event, pizza, pb&j, sandwiches, etc... however, For the day after thanksgiving...... this adds a twist to a traditional mexican encheliadas with the cranberry sauce, Don't,  repeat dont let that throw you off.

before you begin to read this recipe, stop , go to your ipod/itunes/cd player/tape player/ and heaven forbid your record player/ and put on some cheery Christmas music, because like it or not {we, love it} its christmas time!!!

Layered Turkey Enchiladas.....yummooooieeee

ingredients

• 1  lb. turkey breast tenderloin, cut in bite-size strips
• 1  16-oz. pkg. frozen sweet peppers and onions stir-fry vegetables
• 1  10-oz. can enchilada sauce
• 1/2  cup whole berry cranberry sauce
• 9  6-inch corn tortillas, halved
• 1  8 oz. pkg. Mexican blend shredded cheese (2 cups)
•   Lime wedges (optional)
•   Cilantro sprigs (optional)

directions

1. Position oven rack toward top of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In extra-large skillet cook turkey in 1 tablespoon hot cooking oil over medium heat 4 minutes or until no longer pink. (I sub chicken all the time, and since you might have some left over turkey lying around, just use it) Add frozen vegetables, enchilada sauce, and cranberry sauces. Bring to boiling. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

2. In 2-quart baking dish layer one-third of the tortillas, then one-third of the cheese. Use a slotted spoon to layer half the turkey-vegetable mixture. Layer one-third tortillas, one-third cheese, remaining turkey-vegetables (with slotted spoon), and remaining tortillas. Spoon on remaining sauce from skillet; sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut in squares. Serve with lime and cilantro. Serves 4. {we serve this with sour cream & have rice as a side dish}

I'll be posting about our thanksgiving a later time..... still recovering, in a great way.
Thankful to all who read, and all who comment, and all that don't.
Freedom in it all, and thankful that we have that freedom.

Week of Thanksgiving meal #2

Olivia, this is for you girl.

This is 100% kid friendly meal, I realize that not all kids would eat the previous meal, so I am posting one that most will. This is super, and when I super, I mean extremely, easy. I substitute the beef strips for chicken that I have cubed, and then follow the rest of the recipe. I will say, that if you are anti bread, that substituting the pita for a large piece of lettuce would be scrumptious. And maybe even dare I say, more adult friendly.{original recipe by Parents Magazine}

Meal #2


Ingredients

• 1 pound beef stir-fry strips
• 2 teaspoon Greek seasoning
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 soft pita breads, warmed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup thin strips cucumber
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing

Directions

1. Cut beef into small pieces.( If necessary) and toss with Greek seasoning.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef, half at a time, and cook, stirring 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.

3. Divide beef among warmed pitas. Top with tomato, cucumber, and feta. Drizzle ranch dressing over filled pitas. Serve extra ranch dressing on the side, if desired

Thanksgiving week of food meal #1

I don't know about you all but I always have a hard time with making meals the week of Thanksgiving. I have this weird feeling of not wanting to make anything all that good in preparation for the upcoming feast. Some kind of self depravation, which is silly, but none the less, stays with me. I might never admit to it, but I think that maybe the meal on Thursday will taste even better, the butter smoother, the turkey juicer, and plumpier cranberries.

( I know its not a word, but it should be)

With that being said, I thought I'd post about the meals I will make this week in preparation for our gorging on Thursday.

Tonight I'll be making a Martha Stewart all in one bowl dish, the ingredients in this are not typical of a traditional Thanksgiving, so there shouldn't be much overlap with this meal and your Thanksgiving meal.

Tomato and Sausage Risotto

Let me start by saying wilted spinach is not a friend of my palette, but the flavors of this dish are o.u.t.s.t.a.n.d.i.n.g.

So fresh and warming, the perfect one bowl winter time dish.

Its easy to assemble, but take a wee bit of time just because your constantly adding water and stirring the Arborio rice. Which may I say, is so creamy in texture but not in taste.

(prep time is 10 minutes, totally time is 55 minutes)

If this dish doesn't wrap its arms around you and make you feel loved and cared for in the true sense of the phrase "comfort food" should, just don't bother ever making anything else I recommend, we have different taste in food.

ok, here we go.

Serves 4

• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, in juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed ( I use chicken sausage)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bunch flat-leaf spinach, (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 Cups)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4. Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired. (I recommend keeping the parmesan on the table to be grated in just before eating, the nutty flavor really complements the creaminess of the rice.)

Now the last step is while you are sitting at your dinner table, gently lean over your bowl and just smell the creation set before you, let the slight white wine tang resonate in your mind, and feel the love of good food.

Im having a bit of a blogging dilemma.

There are a few subjects/ideas that I would like to express my thoughts and opinions about/on, however, I have no desire to offend any potential reader.

The thoughts are not about specific people, so I feel safe in that. But they could be potentially loaded commentary and depending on a readers interpretation, could be to close to home.

any thoughts?