Benson, Tyler and a Tired Holly

Merry Christmas

My little Pirate Baby

Benson has crossed eyes. His eyes were straight when he was born and around 2 months they crossed and have never gotten better. In fact they have gotten a little worse as the months have gone by. He finally got into see a specialist and the big fancy name for what Benson has is called infantile esotropia. Look it up if you want a definition, but it just means he has crossed eyes basically. He is also almost exclusively using his left eye. So he right eye is becoming weak and needs to be strengthened. THUS, the eye patch. Wooh, it took a lot of words to get that out huh.

Benson wears this eye patch 2 hrs a day and hates every second of it, but I did catch a smile yesterday as he my little pirate was jumping away in the jumperoo. We go back to the Dr. in a month to reassess the situation. The scary part, at least for me as a Mom, is that it is inevitable that they will have to do surgery to straighten his eyes back out. After his right eye is stronger and working as well as the left, they will have to put my little man under and dis-attach a few muscles as the back of the eye. They straighten them out and then reattach the muscles. Crazy business.

I am getting a little tired of people asking me if I know that my babies eyes are crossed. Even family members will whisper their concerns about his crossed eyes to each other. So, I am more than happy that we can have it corrected. But, to be honest. Benson's crossed eyes give him such personality and I will be a little sad to see them go. Until then, I will enjoy my pirate man as much as I can.

Gimme Dat Food!

We had a little argument over the green beans. I think the green beans may have come out victorious. Or the baby, but I certainly wasn't the winner.

Still happy even with green beans in the eyes. Give him the bottle of water and he is grinnin' like a fool.

Cute!

Crackers . . . yes!

Eat, Eat, Eat.

Family Pics 2010

I had a lot of fun editing this one. I like it. Good job me!

Beautiful Bubberoonigus

Benson loves his Grandma so very much.

Is there a cuter 6 month old out there? I say NAY! This guy has it in the bag.

And Merry Christmas to all From Benson, Bryce, and Natali! WE Love YOU

What a Season

Those who know me well, or just know me a little, are aware that I love Christmas. And when I say love, I do not say it lightly. You know that feeling you get in the very heart of your stomach when you are excited about something? If you try to contain the swelling, this feeling spreads and oozes first into your chest and throat and might possibly come out as a little yelp or exclamation. Then, it makes its way to your face and forces a smile. You might try to keep it from getting the better of your extremities, but rather quickly it gathers in your arms and legs and you begin to hop and jig. It is a most delightful feeling, and I believe it is called excitement. . . or perhaps joy, or even jubilation. Whatever the name, I hope each of you is able to experience it often. I feel this way when the Christmas season nears and often let it get the best of me. I giggle at the sound of Ho Ho Ho, I twirl to Deck the Halls, I shout at the twinkly lights, I dance ridiculously with each jingle bell, and I make rather a fool of myself. I am also in hope that you all allow yourselves the opportunity to make fools of yourselves when this jubilation comes upon you. What a feeling. What a joy. What a season.

Applesauce Ornaments

I've had some requests for the recipe to make these delightful buggers. Here it is folks.

Applesauce Ornaments

1 C cinnamon
2 T nutmeg
2 T Cloves
2 T Allspice
1 T Ginger
2T Elmer's Glue (white school glue)
1 C Applesauce

*Combine all spices and then add applesauce until the dough is moldable like a playdough consistency. Sprinkle counter generously with cinnamon and roll dough until 1/4 inch thick. Cut and place on cookie sheet. Poke holes in tops of ornaments. Dry in 150* oven for 4-5 hours. OR, let them air dry for 2-5 days. Once dry, decorate with royal icing. (royal icing will dry very hard and stick to your ornaments well.) Sniff, sniff, cuz these puppies are aromatic. Enjoy!

The Craft Week

Yes, we will call this "The Week of Crafts." I have been needed to let the creative juices flow and I have done a few projects lately to release those said juices. Here they are for all to view!

This first pic is a craft called "Applesauce Ornaments." So super easy and they smell delicious. The not so easy part is the decorating of these little buggers. I am too much of a perfectionist and perfection and royal icing are not friends. Still, they turned out cute.

We three crafts of Natali are! Yes, I made all of these crafts from stuff I had at my house. I didn't have to go buy anything. Plus, don't you love that I let you all see my AirWick freshner too. Now that's class.

Tall and helter skelter tree. I still haven't derived a way to get this to stand on its own. I figured that is for Bryce because he is the mechanically minded one. The materials for this are old pieces of siding that got left at our house from the previous owners. Thanks!

Topsy Turvy 2x4 tree. So, it turns out that when you have a handyman husband who is finishing the basement, you have a surplus of odd sized 2x4's. And this tree is a product of that surplus. I an excited to make more of these. Cute huh!

My snowman is probably favorite. He is also made from discarded siding and his boots are again 2x4's that I sawed into the shape of boots. That's right, I used my husbands little circular saw and cut all my pieces for my crafts. I had tons of fun doing them. Too bad that my baby has been mildly neglected and so has my hygiene. Off to the showers!

Rolling Over

Benson Giggles @ Dad

No Words

Come Party With Me

Click on the picture to enlarge

Pumpkin Baby

Cheesy? Yes. Adorable? OF COURSE! Benson was not in a smiling mood. But, the pics are great nonetheless.

Happy Halloween

Family of doctors!

Tagged!

My Darling sister in law Haley tagged me on her blog. Yes, Haley, I do read your blog. And often. I just am the most horrible comment writer in the world. So, to let her know that I think of her and her family often, here are the answers to the questions she posted.

1. If time could stop for one day, and you could travel to anywhere in the entire world and have no consequences (as in, you could leave your kids and no one would even know you were gone), where would you travel?

New York. I would see every Broadway musical that I could and then go to the Sacred Grove. But then again I want to go to Ireland. Because what girl doesn't want to go to Ireland?

2. If you could choose one season to have all year-around, which would it be? (summer, fall, winter, spring)

Fall! FALL! I love the fall. I love the leaves and the crisp air. I get all giddy watching the school buses drive the kiddies to and from school. The colors are so lovely I can't help but grin at Mother Nature's genius. I especially love the anticipation of the holidays. I think I just might enjoy the months leading up to the holidays more than the holidays themselves. I can't contain my self from baking every pumpkin recipe I come across. And I don't even shed a tear when I say good bye to shorts and short sleeves to say hello to sweaters and fluffy socks.
*SIGH* Fall, you are my favorite thing.

3. What is the grossest food you've ever eaten?

I'm not that brave as far as food goes so I pretty much each what I know is going to please the old taster. But, if I think hard enough I do remember eating some chewy calamari that really turned the tummy.

4. What is your favorite dessert recipe? (please post the whole recipe if you can, then we can all make it too!)

OH, what I terrible question. I have a love affair with desserts and I can't choose just one. How do you think this will make all of the other delicious recipes that I adore feel. BUT, since it is October, and we all have orange on the brain, I will post my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. It really is the best pumpkin pie you have ever had.

Aunt Laurie's Pumpkin Pie:

1 unbaked pie crust (for an oversize pie pan)
1 30 oz. can pumpkin (I usually use about 3 cups fresh pureed pumpkin)
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (don't you dare get fat free)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup brown sugar

Make your crust first. Here is my Mother's crust recipe and it will never let you down.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 tablespoon sugar
ICE COLD water to form ball (2-3 tablespoons)
*Cut shortening into flour, salt and sugar. Add water gradually and fold gently until mixture forms a ball. Roll out using generous amounts of flour.

*Onto the pie instructions: Preheat oven to 425. In large mixer bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well on low speed. Pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp, to 350 and continue baking for 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool and serve with whipped cream!

5. Would you rather... have to keep your pointer finger in your nostril every time you enter a restaurant (for the entire time), OR have to slap everyone's bum every time you get in an elevator? (I love making up questions like this! Bahahahaha!)

I think I'll choose the bum smacking. Who doesn't enjoy a nice juicy piece of bum every now and again on an elevator ride.

6. If you could have a magic power for one day, what would you choose?

READ MY HUSBANDS MIND! That man doesn't talk feelings or thoughts to save his life. I would love to hear what actually goes on in that head of his.

7. Open your picture file on your computer, count across or down 10 pictures, and post that exact picture for all to see! I better see some good embarrassing ones, no cheating!!!
I totally cheated. I don't have that many pictures on my computer. They are all here on the blog or on the camera or on my other computer that is currently infested with a nasty virus and won't work. So, here is the closest to 10 across and down that I could come up with. Everyone is invited;)

8. If time travel were possible to you, and you could go back to any age for one week, what age would you choose and would you change anything that you did?

I think that I would want to go back to say . . . 7 or 8 and take piano lessons. I really wish I could play the piano.

I now tag . . . my Mom, My sisters three, and Char.

Its a Baby Shower . . . Cake

I volunteered to do a cake for a friends baby shower this weekend. I had a blast. I got a little obsessed. Now I can't wait to make another cake. HALLOWEEN CAKE HERE I COME!

Side view

rear view

Front View! FUN STUFF. I will now have my own TV show on TLC called . . . well I don't know what the name will be, but it will be awes.

A is for Apple

Seeing all the red, yellow, and green fall colored apples at the market (yes I called it a market. it just seemed appropriate) made my little mouth water with desire. I finally gave into the desire and uncovered this little jewel. The process of making the apple of your dreams is time consuming but, oh, what a treat. Plus, it kinda looks pretty too!

And yes, it was as divinely yummerific as it looks.

Make it Yourself:

Yields 5 Caramel Apples

5 Granny Smith Apples
Wooden Craft Sticks
1 (14 oz) bag individually wrapped caramels
2 T water
Milk and White Chocolate chips (or whatever feeds your fancy)
Chopped Nuts

1: AND THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT - believe me- Boil a large pot of water on the stove top. Using slotted spoon, dip each apple momentarily in boiling water. Removed promptly and quickly dry with clean towel. This removes excess wax and caramel will not stick well to apples this step is omitted.
2: Unwrap caramels and place in large microwave safe bowel. Add 2T water and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Continue melting in microwave for in 30 second intervals until caramels are smooth and drippy. Let cool for a few minutes so it give the apple a nice thick coat of caramel.
3: Stick wooden craft stick into core of apples and dip into caramel. Place on cookie sheet lined with greased wax paper. Roll in chopped nuts to coat. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
4:In the mean time, melt chocolate chips in microwave the same you the caramels were melted. (but without water) I also like to use a small Corelle bowl placed over a small pot of boiling water on the stove to make a double boiler. I can make sure the chips don't scald this way.
5: Remove apple from fridge and, using fork, sprinkle apple with chocolate. Refrigerate after each type of chocolate to prevent dripping and melting.
6: First take pictures of your beautiful creation and then . . . DIG IN! You deserve it.

Rice Cereal

Benson has been eating rice cereal for a few weeks now and he LOVES IT! He has never been that good of an eater and that has always made me a little nervous. But, since we started cereal he has been eating like a pro and getting bigger by the day. They say that starting solids too early can lead to obesity, but who the heck are "they" anyway. My guy is so much happier now during the days because of eating solids. He sleeps longer at nap time and at night. I think it is because he is more full and he is content not to eat every two hours.

However, it is a messy business. Thank goodness for bibs, the bumbo, and a couch that wipes clean easily.

Benson arches his back and tries to get out of the bumbo. He is an active little critter. He can actually get out of the bumbo now so I never leave him unattended while in his little green seat.

Try as I might, I can't keep his hands away from his mouth while eating. So, he gets double messy. Whatever right. It sure is cute.

Awww. Look at that adorable ragamuffin face.

He finally got a hold of the bowl and licked it clean, so to speak;)