Fingerpaints

Ted and Sue got Aubrey some art supplies for her birthday. Wayne admitted that the fingerpaints won't get any use except when I'm home. He kind of hates mess. So, this afternoon, I decided to break them out.


It started innocently enough.

At this point, Wayne said, "this is HORRIBLE. Time for a bath."

I couldn't stop giggling as I snapped away.

Bath time! :)

Fiesta Egg Casserole

At Christmas, I made this egg casserole for our family. I'd say it was a hit. Sorry I don't have a picture for it.

Fiesta Egg Casserole

10 eggs
1 pound ground pork sausage, browned and fat drained

4 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1 can green chilies
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13"x9” casserole dish. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared dish. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is set, 35-45 minutes. Serve with Pico de Gallo or salsa.

Smoky Beef and Black Bean Chili

I ran across this recipe and since I had a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce sitting around I decided to try it. I like it. But, I am a sucker for that smoky flavor. It's a bit spicy for my kids, so you may want to take the seeds out of your chiles. I also read a tip today suggesting that you freeze your chiles, making them easier to chop up without the mess - and also keeping them from spoiling before you can use them.

Smoky Beef and Black Bean Chili

-Adapted from Cooking Pleasures/Melanie Barnard

1 pound ground beef chuck

1 large onion, chopped

1 large orange bell pepper, finely chopped

2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons adobo sauce

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 30-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

3 cups water

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Cook beef, onion and bell pepper over medium heat until the beef is browned. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in chiles, chili powder, adobo sauce and cumin; cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes and water; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer at least 10-15 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.

Garnish with shredded cheese, cilantro and sour cream if desired. I served it with mini cornbread muffins and broccoli in cheese sauce.

Aubrey is 2!

Time for a happy dance!

New Nephew!

Rachel, Hollins, and Jillian welcomed a new baby boy to their family last night at 11:29 pm,

Reid Matthew Showalter.

He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. What a cutie.

We are celebrating - so happy for his safe arrival!

Celebrating (almost) 2 years!

Wayne's sister, Rachel, was scheduled to be induced on January 15th - Aubrey's birthday! And since Ted and Sue would travel to be there, we celebrated this evening. They treated us to dinner at Gindi (Japanese and Thai food - yum)! Then we came back for presents and dessert.

First, a picture of Aubrey who has learned (this week) to climb up on the kitchen stools...of course, from the stool is access to the counter and cupboards...

Watching Sesame Street

Anyway, here she is, inspecting the Sesame Street themed wrapping paper. This kept her happy for quite awhile...but she did finally ask to open it.

Admiring her new finger paints.

Trying out her new watercolors.

Elmo and Cookie Monster Cupcakes. Not professional-looking, but at least Aubrey recognized who they were supposed to be. ;)

Getting ready to dig in.



While we were celebrating this evening, we got a call that Rachel is in labor! So, we're now excitedly anticipating the news of the birth of their new baby!

Christmas 2011

May I preface this post by saying that we did a poor job of documenting our holiday with pictures? OK - I needed that disclaimer.

This Christmas season, like many before, I came home from work, we hurriedly packed up the car, and began our journey to Indiana. We had a fairly uneventful trip. Aubrey hated her car seat for long periods, as expected. Overall, however, it went well.

Our first afternoon/evening we spent with Dave and Teneesa Stuckey's family. We enjoyed catching up while the kids played together.

And the dads and kids did a little last-minute "Christmas decorating." ;)

I just had to include this picture - Dave cracks me up.

Christmas was definitely different this year. My mom was in Thailand with Lynette and Rusty anxiously awaiting the birth of their new baby boy, Henry.  Needless to say, we were all anxiously awaiting his birth and were thrilled when he was born on December 27 (late evening on the 26th for us) at a healthy 8 pounds, 10 ounces.  We enjoyed staying connected with phone calls and Skyping.

Henry Miles Polinder

Isn't he just precious?

Tim, Carrie and family arrived on Christmas day. We had our traditional fondue meal that evening. Grandma Polly joined us, which we really enjoyed.


Fondue - December 25, 2011


I'm including this little video for Mom, Rusty and Lynette's sake since they couldn't be with us. (At least, that's why we took it).



We enjoyed some snow while we visited. After a little sledding, the Gator was put to good use. It reminds me of my childhood, when Dad would pull us on sleds behind the snowmobile.





Zion and Aubrey



Layla Grace

We spent a day in Decatur, visiting Wayne's Grandma, Billie, and got to enjoy seeing Uncle Max for lunch as well. Then we headed to Indianapolis for a few days to celebrate with the Stuckey side of the family.  We packed a lot of fun into those days. We enjoyed a morning at Monkey Joe's with loads of indoor inflatables. We did a little shopping, including a visit to the Lego store for Tyler. It was Trader Joe's for me. (I need connections...just some way to get a Trader Joe's in Wichita)! We enjoyed some delicious meals out, my favorite being a delicious family-style dinner at Maggiano's. Yum!

And of course, present opening.

Doesn't Hollins just make you smile? :)

We had such a good time. It's so good to reconnect and enjoy just being together. The celebratory spirit of Christmas doesn't hurt either.

Missing you all already.

23 Months

Little Miss Aubrey continues to change quickly. This month, some things I want to remember: 

* Aubrey can now say Tyler's name, or calls him "bubba."

* She recognizes most colors, and some numbers and letters. She has started her version of counting. "2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10"

* Often, her expression of agreement is "uh huh, do." For example, "Aubrey, do you want some milk?" Nodding, "Uh huh, do." She beckons with a wave and, "come on." But "thank you, Mommy" melts my heart.

* She loves anything soft and snuggly.

* She continues to love anything Sesame Street. Occasionally, she has yelled, "El...mo's...Song!" Though she is generally angry about something when she yells it, this always cracks me up.

* She loves reading books, doing puzzles, and dancing to music.

* She is still quite attached to her stuffed lamb, "Lambie." She has started pretend play - covering Lambie up, "feeding" Lambie, and sweetly talking to Lambie.

* She loves to paint, draw and color

* Aubrey is active, clearly independent, opinionated, and quite a sweetie pie.

Grandpa Henry

Photo by Lynette Polinder

Friday afternoon, my Grandpa Henry Yoder passed away in his home. This past week was especially rough. My Aunts and Uncle stayed with Grandpa and Grandma and gave lots of wonderful care. I was thankful for their frequent communication to the rest of the family, which made me feel like I was not so far away. I grieve especially for my Grandma Polly as she has lost her partner of 66 years. It's hard to imagine her without him.

I've been thinking about my memories of Grandpa, and I've been thinking a lot about childhood memories. Grandpa passed on his love of games, and I distinctly remember him teaching us to play games (specifically Rook). He liked to do tricks to amaze us, like "blowing up" his bicep. Or pulling a string between his nose and mouth. He was frugal, and I remember a reunion when he told us we could use one square of toilet paper for #1 and two squares for #2. Of course, there are lots more.

I enjoyed reading reflections by my mom and her siblings. 

I have appreciated my loving, supportive, generous, and down to earth family. We are blessed to have such a warm and supportive community here. Grandpa would be so happy.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels

I have a recipe to add to your holiday baking list. I saw it on Pinterest and made it this weekend. It's super easy. So easy, in fact, it's almost embarrassing. And, it doesn't take many ingredients. It's sweet, salty and crunchy. Addictive and delicious.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels

Ingredients:
1 bag of pretzels (16-18 oz)
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Pour pretzels into oil mixture. Stir until coated.
3. Microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir. Microwave 45 seconds more.
4. Spread pretzels evenly onto two cookie sheets.
5. While still warm, sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously.
6. Melt white chocolate (on low heat, be careful not to burn) and drizzle over cooled pretzels.
7. Store in an airtight container.