Mini Me

What can I say?  Kate has learned from the best.

When I brought my chocolates home, Dave sampled one, giving Kate a little taste.

Then she dumped Dad and went straight to the source (the chocolates are in those boxes).

Notice how her tongue is already out.

Also notice her cute little ruffle bum.

Here's the wonderful little contraption we received from someone in our ward:

It's an M&M dispenser.

An M&M from one side.

An M&M from the other.

I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that they only come out one at a time.

Confession: sometimes I just unscrew the lid.

But Kate, well, she wasted no time figuring it out:

If I accidentally leave it out, I often a find a very happy little munchkin with red and green drool.

P.S. I just realized I haven't posted anything about Christmas on this blog.  It's like I'm a Scrooge or something!  But I promise I really do have the Christmas spirit - head over to Everyday Families (my other blog) if you don't believe me!

P.P.S. My favorite are my nativities - please be sure to take a look - click here!

Delinquency

For those of you out there who read my blog, I have a LOT of excuses up my sleeve as to why I haven't posted for so long.  For example,

My dog ate my computer.

He is NOT as innocent as he looks.

I needed a mental health week.

Is it that obvious?

I have a solar-powered computer and it was cloudy.

Honest, it was.

I was kidnapped by terrorists and they only just let me go, so I didn't have time to do it.

 Look at the bright side, at least they let me go.

Or, it could be that I've been really busy.

Cleaning up after Kate.

Decorating for Christmas.

Christmas shopping!

 Watching Law & Order (at least I can admit I have a problem).

Seeing White Christmas at Pioneer Theater!  I'm gleeful about this :)

Working on a secret project that I will reveal soon.  And, if you don't already, after seeing this, you will think I'm awesome!

Anyway, please forgive my delinquency.  Please! Please!

With a cherry on top.

No, with three cherries on top.

I knew you'd forgive me.

Now, on to other matters.  I will be posting soon: some new recipes, book reviews, and a current event that's been on my mind.  And we all know how you've been dying to know what's on my mind.

Like literally, dying.

So stay tuned!

Marathon

 Image from marathondynamics.com

Running 26 miles . . . I don't think so.  The marathon I'm talking about is my Thanksgiving eating marathon.  I'm already training - trying to eat lots of extra food these next few days so that my stomach will be a little bigger on Turkey Day.

Part of my motivation stems from the fact that I was almost 8 months pregnant over Thanksgiving last year.  Not exactly conducive to eating your heart out, when your baby is squishing every organ you have (including your heart), and you can't eat more than about five bites in a sitting.  It's like having your stomach stapled shut.  Except worse, because you also have to go to the bathroom every five minutes.

So, I'm determined to make up for it this year.  I'm going to down food like there's no tomorrow.  Because you never know, there might not be.  Besides, 'tis the season to gain weight, right?

Here are my "keys to success" for Thanksgiving Day:

1 - Do NOT skip breakfast.  Trust me, I've tried it before.  It just shrinks your stomach . . . which is only good if you're trying not to eat a lot.  Not me.

2 - DO exercise in the morning, if possible.  This will boost your appetite.  If you're doing all the cooking, that pretty much counts as a full work-out.

3 - DO take a very large first helping of everything.  If there's a large group, you never know whether you're going to get seconds.

4 - DON'T worry about saving room for pie.  In case you didn't know, there's a dessert door that opens up (and is still empty) after you eat a meal.  It doesn't matter how full you thought you were.

Especially once you see this:

picture from kraftrecipes.com

5 - Make sure you get to take a nap.  Stake out your napping territory early, especially if there's a crowd.  You might even consider putting up a "reserved" sign.

picture from aaronpublishing.com