Bedtime Storytime

This is by far my favorite time of day. Not because I am putting Dace to bed but because I love getting all cozy and snuggly in our rocker and reading a couple stories before lights out. Dace is in love with Dr. Seuss. This is my childhood copy looking a little shabby. He adores the Cat in the Hat and last night we read Green Eggs and Ham, my all time favorite, and it was a hit too.

I am so grateful he loves books and reading.

Dada the barber

And now we will return to our normal programming of Dacebook being all about Dace...well, for the most part. Dallin gave Dace a holiday haircut Saturday night. I think sitting in front of the mirror really helped since he could see what was buzzing around his head. Sunday morning all dressed in his christmas vest I asked him if I could take a picture and he shook his head over and over. I caught this one in mid shake.

I Made Stocking!

If you have never seen Cast Away, my title makes no sense. But if you have, remember the scene where he finally gets his fire going and joyfully exclaims "I...made....FIRE!" Well, that is how I felt after completing these two projects. See, I wanted to get Dace a train stocking, one that would be used for his whole childhood. They have a gorgeous one at PotteryBarn kids but for $26? Thanks, but maybe next year when we're millionaires. So I had to whip one up myself. Thanks to a 3 part video tutorial on youtube (if you're interested, search "Etsy how-to sew a christmas stocking) this turned out beautifully, complete with a seamless liner! It was a huge confidence booster for me in the sewing department. So with that newfound confidence, I decided to tackle making Dace a train quilt. I had these two panels given to me last year and I had kept them with the possibility that Dace might be into trains one day. Talk about intuition. Now, the thing the chalk full of flaws, mostly in the form of bunched seams and sections but it is still cute and was a good practice run for me. By the time I make mission quilts, they will be flawless masterpieces of artistic genius. ;)

And finally, I will let you in on a little secret. I started off 2009 with one overall goal summed up in one word- CREATE. As I sit here, looking at this blanket, the last of projects for Christmas and probably this year, I realize how much I have created and how much fun I have had doing so and all the things I have learned along the way. It's been a good year in that regard. Next year will be even bigger and better. But for now, this is the last of my brag blog. Adieu.

Chistmas Candyland

Well I think I just might be done my holiday baking. Phew! that was a close one. I was almost starting to dread the kitchen. Be still my beating heart! Here is the evidence of my hardwork. And for the record, I think I might be more pleased with how pretty these pictures turned out than the actual candy itself.

These might be the prettiest cookies I have ever made. Chocolate christmas cookies, recipe by Nigella Lawson, posted on Oprah.com

Turtles, turtles, ra ra ra! Shoutout to my mom, the original Turtle master. Holla!!!!

English toffee. Think Skor or Heath but better!

Truffles- from the back: topped with Heath bits, sea salt and plain.

Pralines- a true Southern treat.

The sweetest sweet of all.

Christmas party

First off- a comparison. Last year at the party.....
... And this year at the party. Oh how the year went by!

Everyone was loving the tartan bum. Little st. Nick with the belly to match!

Dace was awestruck by the snoglobe. This is the closest any of us will be snow this year.

Do you think this flash is a little overbearing? just a little. Dace loves being on dada's shoulders.

Here's lookin' at you, Gramma!

Comforting Dace from the aftermath of Santa. We tried to get a picture but I don't think his butt even landed on the guy's lap. Next year.

Last Week in the Kitchen

It was a big week in my kitchen full of new recipes and lots of sweets for parties. This is the chocolate mint cake I made for the ward party. We start with mint buttercream nestled in between 4 moist layers of chocolate fudge cake....

Add some homemade ganache (sorry for the out of focus)....

A bag of these bad boys...

And presto! Chocolate mint cake. It went like hotcakes off the buffet table. I love the finished look of the ganache glaze. So professional.

Doesn't this look amazingly tasty? These pics really don't do it justice. I was thrilled how it turned out and had many compliments as well as purchasing questions.

Chicken florentine. Our new favorite. So rich and creamy and easy to make. I might do a tutorial on this one later. But isn't it pretty too?

And this is the chocolate raspberry trifle I whipped up for our girls night out christmas party. Another crowd pleaser. The layers consist of (from the bottom up): dark chocolate cake, ganache, fresh raspberries and strawberries, whipped cream, skor bits, cake, ganache, whipped cream, raspberries and ganache to top it off with a bit of flair. Yup, we'll be making this again too.

And lastly, I started the week off by making 2 batches of caramel apple sticky buns. The second batch on Monday I added some pecans which made them even better. They come out of the oven looking like this.....

Then you flip them over onto your platter et voila!

This week- candy making.

My Little Kitchen Helper

Dace loves helping with dishes. This started months ago. As soon as he would hear the clattering of me putting them away, he'd run in wanting to help me do it. At first, I was hesitant because it takes more time, fork by fork, plate by plate. But then I recognized the teaching opportunity and bonding time and so now I call for him every time dishes need to be put away. He loves it and I have fun letting him help and realize we're building a lifelong healthy habit of liking to do dishes.

But he also cleans floors! Here is a story from last week that blew my mind: we were sitting together watching tv once we got home from the church last wednesday and eating some snacks. I gave Dace half an M&M. He ended up dribbling a bit of colored drool onto the carpet and exclaimed "ah-oh!" I looked down and thought nothing of it. I could wipe it up when I cleaned up later. He got up and took off to the kitchen and came back with a washcloth, sat down in front of the spot and started rubbing it away. I sat there watching with my mouth gaping open. What the heck?! This kid is amazing! I never said anything to him about cleaning it up. I remember a few times while we were in the kitchen teaching him to wipe up his drink spills but that was months ago. Wow! So the boy is an avid cleaner. He also cleans up his own toys and messes and now he does carpets too. Who knew? Last night, he drooled on dad's shirt and sure enough he went to the kitchen for a cloth and came back and patted daddy's shirt clean. It is so true- teach them while they are young, and they are never too young to learn.
Dace samples the chocolate cake for the trifle. Trifle will be posted later...