Picnik

I found the coolest thing!   It's called "Picnik" and it's kind of like photoshop, but not as advanced (right up my alley).  I've taken some "ok" pictures, and done some awesome things with them.   It's a free program and you can download it on www.picnik.com.  

Just look at this picture of me and Dylan from this summer- I still like the original,  but I also turned it into an old fashioned looking postcard.  

I already have the condensed version of Photoshop that doesn't do a whole lot,  and confuses me when I try to use it.  Someday,  I'd like to get the REAL photoshop....but until then,  I shall Picnik..  

Family Photo Shoot 2008

Hooray - more pictures from our  photo shoot with Shawni!   I'm totally excited to get these printed and framed.  We haven't had  pictures taken of our family since Hallie was 2 or 3.  Tragic, I know...I'd say it was about time!  Here are some of my favorites :

Facebook

Well, after hearing all kinds of people talk about Facebook, Mike and I finally joined today.  I can see how people can get addicted to it.  I don't think I'll be one of those- but it IS fun to find people you haven't seen forever.  

FYI- I'm trying to figure out how to put video on this blog.  There are some "gems" from the latest "Talent Show".   I think others might be entertained by my kids- they're all total hams!  Stay tuned!

Dylan

Since Dylan kind of got cheated in the picture department of my last post, he gets his very own. We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago by my friend, Shawni, and these were my favorite of Dylan.  It's amazing she got some good shots of him, he was being stinker.  Good thing he is such a handsome little guy-love him!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Enjoying our dinner-Hallie set the table, too bad you can't see how great it looked in this picture!

I really like Thanksgiving...and I was really looking forward to THIS Thanksgiving for a couple of reasons:

1.  The delicious food.  I needed some treats, and I was totally feeling the urge to make it all.  I enjoy cooking for holidays, I'm not one of those people who stresses about it.  

2. For the past few years my parents have come and spent Thanksgiving with us, and it's always nice to have them here-but, to top it off, they  were nice enough to stay a few extra days so Mike and I could get away for the weekend (we went to Cabo).

3. I can put up all my Christmas decorations (my favorite!)

4.  The kids put on their annual "Greding Family Talent Show"  (my other favorite!)

A couple weeks ago, I was  feeling totally stressed out- I had a lot of projects I was trying to organize, I was doing this retarded diet, the kids were  getting to me, and I felt like I was going to go insane.  I told Mike I felt like Marie Osmond, and I wanted to just take off and  be alone for a little while (remember, she left her kids with a babysitter and vanished for a few days).  So he secretly talked to my mom and dad, and then booked us a quick trip to Cabo for the weekend.  (Yeah, he does great things like that, lucky, aren't I?)  We basically laid by the pool and lounged on the beach for 2 days, enjoying being just the two of us.  It was nice.  I still missed my babies, though!  They make me crazy, but it's hard to be away from them.  I'm SO thankful for my parents for being willing to watch them so we could get away.  The kids had Grandma and Grandpa totally exhausted by the time we got home on Monday!

The pool area

The view from our room

That night, for Family Home Evening, we had the famous Talent Show.  Always entertaining.  Hallie totally gets the award for "Best Costume Designer".  My favorite was the reindeer antlers she made for her and Emily...and then secured them directly to Emily's head with TAPE and BOBBYPINS (see photo of a closeup of Em's head).   It was hilarious and ingenious.  She also made a cotton ball beard for Spencer (I mean, Santa) also using tape, and a padded suit.  Hallie is always coming up with great crafty ideas...watch out, Martha!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

WOW!  I'm not crazy for pumpkin things, but these muffins are super delicious!  (Also, not a food photographer, but don't they look good?) I made these spectacular little gems awhile ago, but I didn't eat any.  I occasionally get the uncontrollable desire to make something, even if I don't eat it.   I just enjoy making it, and my house smells good.  It fills a void for me when I'm dieting.   Mike thinks it's wierd-whatever.  So, this one day, a few weeks ago, it was pumpkin.  I had bought some pie pumpkins for Halloween decorations, and wanted to roast them and use that instead of canned pumpkin in some kind of baked good...just for kicks and giggles.  After internet and magazine searching, I combined a few recipes to come up with my final version.  I found a delicious sounding pumpkin cheesecake, too, on allrecipes.com.  I'm making it for Thanksgiving instead of plain pumpkin pie.  Enjoy!  The little piggies at my house sure did!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel Topping

Muffins:

3 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

dash ground ginger

1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

4 eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or a 15 oz can)

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 TBSP butter, softened

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

5 TBSP cold butter, cubed

1  1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 28 muffins cups with paper liners or 24 cups and grease a mini loaf pan (*see note).  Prepare filling by beating cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter  until smooth and combined.  Set aside.

Make streusel topping by combining all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix together with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Keep in fridge until ready to use.

For muffins, combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl, and whisk together.  In another medium bowl of a mixer, combine eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, sugars, and pumpkin.  Mix well.  Slowly add dry ingredients, on low speed, and mix just until combined.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 of the way with batter, top with a spoonful of cream cheese, then fill the rest of the way, almost to the top with batter.  Sprinkle muffins with streusel.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool completely before eating.  Can be frozen and warmed in microwave.

**My note-  Because this is a combination of recipes, the amount of batter is wierd.  It makes 28 muffins or 24 muffins plus a mini bread loaf.  I did the mini loaf both times, and added white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, and chopped pecans.  I baked it for 5-10 more minutes after the muffins came out--and, mmm,  a  little bit of heaven!

Ice Skating

Watch out!  Last Thursday, "the girls" started ice skating lessons at a rink that just opened near our house.  When I say "the girls", I mean Hallie, Emily, AND me.  It started out just being Hallie, but then I was looking over the schedule of classes and saw there was one for Emily's age at the same time, and an adult/teen class right after that, and decided it would be fun for all of us to do it.

And fun it was!  Hallie loved it, and did really great.  She  wants to go back teveryday for public skate.  Emily wasn't sure about it, because she fell (that's what people do when they are on a slippery surface), but then she was asking when she could come back.   I DIDN'T fall (wow!) and I had a really fun time.  And, there were only 4 people in my class, which was nice-- me, a cute teenage girl, another adult, and a "girl"  that was probably 12 or 13.  She had an almost buzz haircut and boy clothes, yet a name tag that said "Jenny".  It confused me.  Jenny wasn't really listening to our instructor, she was doing her own thing and kept saying "I just want to play hockey" (it makes a little more sense now).  Poor Jenny.  I don't know if she'll be back.  

The one girl that was maybe 14,  was catching on SUPER quick.  It was taking longer for us others. I guess it's easier when you're young.  Me and the other "older person", a hilarious chubby black lady, were providing good entertainment for the spectators.  This one couple (the 14 year old parents) were dying laughing most of our class.  Afterward her mom came and apologized to me because she said she felt bad.  She said she couldn't  ice skate either, so she really shouldn't be laughing, but it was hard not to.  I told her I would probably laugh at us too if I was on the other side of the glass.  I'm not that insecure about myself.  Plus, I'll only get better from here on, right?  And,  it's great exercise for the thighs and glutes!  Can't wait for next week!

P.S-Thanks Julie for the picture help, we all know I'm not so computer saavy!