Christmas Wishes

I'm just posting this for family members who may be wondering what the kids want for Christmas. They went through catalogues and wrote out their lists as a writing exercise, and we are going to send off our letters to Santa tomorrow at the parade. I just thought I'd post the lists here before we send them off! The kids know that they will definitely not be getting everything on their lists, so don't feel obligated, these are just ideas.  

Judith's List

• Slurpee Machine
• Angry Birds Stocking 
• Ice Skates 
• My Little Pony Princess Luna (I got this for her for her birthday) 
• Remote Control Thomas 
• Play Mobil Pegasus 
• Baby Butterscotch Pony 
• iPod 
• Cinderella Carriage and Horse 
• Toy 6V 4-wheeler (ride-on) 
• Guitar 
• Hello Kitty Karaoke 
• Hello Kitty Alarm Clock 
• Remote Control McQueen 
• Angry Birds Lego 
• Princess and the Pop Star (Barbie) DVD 
• Barbie and Tawny (horse) 
• Magic Set 
• My Little Pony Royal Castle (I got this for her for Christmas) 
• Disney Fairies 
• Bath Blast Finn McMissle 
• Star Wars Angry Birds 
• Rapunzel 
• Art Easel 
• Slinky 
• Rio Monkey and Jewel (I got her the Jewel) 
• Angry Birds Blue Slingshot 
• Angry Birds Backpack 
• Cat Stuffy 
• Horse Stuffy 
• Remote Control Plane or Helicopter   

Gideon's List

• Train Table 
• Car Garage 
• Cars (Disney) 
• Angry Birds (I got him a few space Angry Birds plush toys)
• Remote Control Thomas  

Ruthie's List

• Flashlight 
• Binoculars 
• Princess Dress and Shoes 
• Cash Register 
• Dolly 
• Plasma Car 
• Bike 
• Microphone 
• Barbie Princess 

Also, just fyi, for Judith's birthday we got her the Princess Luna and Zecora dolls from My Little Pony.  For Ruthie's birthday we got her Miss Cheerilee and the Cutie Mark Crusaders from My Little Pony, and a Magna Doodle.  For Christmas we got Judith the Royal Castle with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor (My Little Pony), Gideon a few plush Space Angry Birds (but we want to get him a ukulele), and Ruthie a Leaptop (Leapfrog laptop).

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

(Last Week)



(This Week)

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

(Last Week)


(This Week)

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



(Oh dear, this week is SO late!)

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



(Whoops, a bit late this week!)

Judith's To Do List

Today I was making up a big to-do list to try once again to start getting the house organized and de-cluttered. Of course Judith was orbiting me the entire time, as usual. Then she decided that she needed to come up with her own to-do list. She dictated her list to me and asked me to write it down. Here it is:

~Do an experiment with purple cabbage.

~Find out which things sink or float.

~Draw pictures that are THE BEST.

~Mommy have 10 more babies.

~Paint pictures that are also THE BEST.

~Draw a picture of our family.

~Make paper flowers.

~Paint a very cool picture that is purple with Gideon and Mommy.

~Make paper birdies.

~Learn about different birds and colour them.

~Make lots of new stuff.

~Make paper food.

~Dance with Tiergan another day.

~Make paper horses today and go ride real horses another day.

~Colour fishes and stuff.

~Catch and eat a gingerbread man. (<- That one had me in tears from laughing so hard!)

~Mix oil and water.

~Count the days until summer.

~Find out what is at the center of the earth, but don't touch it. Actually, let's just look it up on the internet.

~Draw a picture of My Little Pony and a frisbee.

~Play X's and O's.

She seriously came up with those things one right after another and I could barely keep up writing them down! The only reason she stopped was to play X's and O's with me right away, and then we never got back to her list.

It was too awesome not to post!

George Foreman Grill Cleaning Tip!

We were fortunate enough to receive a George Foreman grill as a wedding gift, almost 8 years ago. It has been a great little thing, and we have used it a lot. Even when we were vegan it was great for veggie burgers! The only thing I have always hated about it was cleaning it. It involved scraping off all the dried on bits, and then scrubbing it down. It generally took about 20 mins and was a huge pain in the butt. So much so, that it would often sit on the counter for days before I would get around to cleaning it.

Fast forward to this past Mother's Day. Dave was graciously cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes for me. It came time to do the George Foreman grill, and as any good nerd would, Dave ran to the computer to try and find an easier way to clean the thing. He found a site that gave him a "cleaning hack" for the grill, and voila! My life is now all the more worth living.

So, this is how it goes. Once you are finished using the grill, unplug it, and immediately get 3 or 4 squares of paper towel, layered on top of each other. Wet them, ring them out, and unfold them back out so they are back into their square shape. Then simply set them on the grill and close it. Enjoy your food while the grill cools.



Then simply open the grill (don't wait too long, an hour or so is fine), and use the paper towels to easily wipe off the grime. It does a surprisingly amazing job, with basically no effort! You don't need soap, and it's very gentle on the grill itself. Awesome! Yay for nerdy husbands!