Surprise! It's a baby! (Not long now!)

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hi Erin, Thanks for all your kind comments! I did freehand the fairies but I remember learning how to draw them from a great Usborne craft book. Did you take a photo of the turkish delight? It actually sounds good! I'm craving cherry jello now!

Here’s a pic of our Cherry Jell-o “Turkish Delight”:



Actually, looking at it now, it looks a little like Jell-o with mold growing on it! It tasted MUCH better than it looked! As you can see, the powdered sugar on the “Turkish Delight” kept melting because it didn’t occur to me that the Jell-o was moist and the liquid would make the sugar melt! Duh! Lesson learned! It was a fun little experiment, though!

Back to your PTR, I loved your “before” version of the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner! How cute! The plum pudding was a nice touch, as well. I think that it is great that the kids chose to where to donate their money. It is definitely never too early to teach children about giving! I am so happy that you post the links to the recipes that you use, because I really want to try that cheese soufflé! And the turkey leg glaze!

That is wonderful that your kids are on goodreads. My kids are into fantasy and sci-fi, so the books I would recommend are the Artemis Fowl series and the Percy Jackson series. I’m personally really enjoying Percy Jackson and I have read the first two books in the series so far, and I am waiting for my son to catch up to me so we can read the third book together! My daughter also likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I have never read that myself.

My goodness, you had two birthdays that close to Christmas and New Years… and you survived it all?!? Whew! Well, all of your craft projects look really cool and I like you Pirates night! What a wonderful Hobbit birthday party! I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I wouldn’t mind seeing all of the pictures that you took of the preparations! How is it that I hadn’t heard the LotR rumors yet??? Thank you so much for sharing that story! If Universal builds a LotR theme park, I just may never leave Orlando! My kids and I will just have to live there! Between that, WWoHP and Disney, there will be too much geeky-ness for us to handle!

I promise you that when my son leaves for university, along with all his math, science, English, French, politics, business, finance, history and art, he will also know how to hem a pair of pants, sew on loose buttons, iron his shirts, make a souffle and clean a toilet.

This. Yes. If only more parents taught their sons these skills! I love Robbie’s first craft! Aww! Your house rules are also very nice. The P&F day was cool, too! I think my son would like making that Perry treasure chest. Sorry for monopolizing your PTR! I had a lot to catch up on and I had to comment on everything because your movie nights were so cute!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

This. Yes. If only more parents taught their sons these skills!

I agree! I have pretty high expectations of my boys - they must make their beds daily, rooms neat at all times, stay on top of their laundry, dinner dished cleared and either washed or put in the dishwasher, etc. and then I throw in different daily life lessons on keeping a home, looking neat and presentable, financial planning, etc. When they groan and say why do we need to do all this, I always tell them, "So your wife will love me!"

 

[Alysa]

Here’s a pic of our Cherry Jell-o “Turkish Delight”:
Back to your PTR, I loved your “before” version of the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner! How cute! The plum pudding was a nice touch, as well. I think that it is great that the kids chose to where to donate their money. It is definitely never too early to teach children about giving! I am so happy that you post the links to the recipes that you use, because I really want to try that cheese soufflé! And the turkey leg glaze!
That is wonderful that your kids are on goodreads. My kids are into fantasy and sci-fi, so the books I would recommend are the Artemis Fowl series and the Percy Jackson series. I’m personally really enjoying Percy Jackson and I have read the first two books in the series so far, and I am waiting for my son to catch up to me so we can read the third book together! My daughter also likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I have never read that myself.
My goodness, you had two birthdays that close to Christmas and New Years… and you survived it all?!? Whew! Well, all of your craft projects look really cool and I like your Pirates night! What a wonderful Hobbit birthday party! I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I wouldn’t mind seeing all of the pictures that you took of the preparations! How is it that I hadn’t heard the LotR rumors yet??? Thank you so much for sharing that story! If Universal builds a LotR theme park, I just may never leave Orlando! My kids and I will just have to live there! Between that, WWoHP and Disney, there will be too much geeky-ness for us to handle!
This. Yes. If only more parents taught their sons these skills! I love Robbie’s first craft! Aww! Your house rules are also very nice. The P&F day was cool, too! I think my son would like making that Perry treasure chest. Sorry for monopolizing your PTR! I had a lot to catch up on and I had to comment on everything because your movie nights were so cute!

Love the jello! We haven't done any of the series you mentioned so I will order them at the library - thank you! The kids actually love doing the goodreads. If either of your kids are on, it might be fun for them to be friends there (I am always on with them so it would be very safe). We actually have 5 birthdays before the end of February: mine, Harold, Eveie and my brother. Thank you for all your nice comments!

I agree! I have pretty high expectations of my boys - they must make their beds daily, rooms neat at all times, stay on top of their laundry, dinner dished cleared and either washed or put in the dishwasher, etc. and then I throw in different daily life lessons on keeping a home, looking neat and presentable, financial planning, etc. When they groan and say why do we need to do all this, I always tell them, "So your wife will love me!"
Yes, that is exactly how it is with teenage boys and food. BTW, my youngest is a hockey player. When we went to Africa in October, my mom stayed with the boys for two weeks. She said everything was perfectly fine except all she did was feed them and drive them places, and they ate non-stop. I was like, yup! Love the big bird and little bird nicknames - too cute!

Love that!

Toby turned seven today (his official birthday, not the party from a few weeks ago)! How did that happen? I swear I just brought him home from the hospital a few days ago! We did Up for our movie night (his choice). I looked for grape pop in bottles but I had no luck so we did a birthday cake covered with smarties for the snack.

For the craft, we did a canvas with a blue background and a little tiny house painted on and Toby held Robert as he blobbed his fingers in a rainbow of colours to make the balloons. The colours in the photo are not reproducing well here. It is charming in real life.

It was a very quite birthday, I called it his "do whatever you want day" (I got the idea from his aunt). We had his favourite pizza for dinner and he played chess, lego and wii. His grandfather came and gave him walkie talkies for the park at Disney. He also got a copy of Spiderwick and some Ninjago Lego from us. Happy Birthday darling boy!

 

[emmysmommy]

Happy birthday to Toby! I love the idea of do whatever you want day... sounds like he had fun. The UP cake is adorable - your creativity flows so freely.

I had to get caught up so I had the pleasure of reading about the amazing Hobbit party - what an event! There must be a ton of kids that keep their eye on their calendars and can't wait to be invited to your kids' parties! I certainly would be. (Of course, I'd be the jealous parent that can't compete with your originality! )

Cars, Phineus & Ferb, and 101 Dalmations - all superb!

I hope the teething phase passes quickly, poor Robert.

Random comment here... my DH and I love to watch "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and he loves to recite the dialoge with that Scottish accent.

And last but not least, the house rules idea is wonderful. What a great reminder of the important (and sometimes whimsical) things to teach our kids. I'm certain that when your son goes to University he certainly be proficient at sewing a button, making a souffle, AND being able to host a pretty awesome themed party! He's learning from the BEST!

 

[Alysa]

Happy birthday to Toby! I love the idea of do whatever you want day... sounds like he had fun. The UP cake is adorable - your creativity flows so freely.

I had to get caught up so I had the pleasure of reading about the amazing Hobbit party - what an event! There must be a ton of kids that keep their eye on their calendars and can't wait to be invited to your kids' parties! I certainly would be. (Of course, I'd be the jealous parent that can't compete with your originality! )

Cars, Phineus & Ferb, and 101 Dalmations - all superb!

I hope the teething phase passes quickly, poor Robert.

Random comment here... my DH and I love to watch "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and he loves to recite the dialoge with that Scottish accent.

And last but not least, the house rules idea is wonderful. What a great reminder of the important (and sometimes whimsical) things to teach our kids. I'm certain that when your son goes to University he certainly be proficient at sewing a button, making a souffle, AND being able to host a pretty awesome themed party! He's learning from the BEST!

Brenda, sweet Brenda, so kind, so complimentary, so like... ed. Brenda, sweet Brenda.

I confess - we quote "So I Married an Axe Murderer" all the time. My favourite line is "You've turned into a right sexy wee *******. Do you know that?"

 

[Millie12591]

Thanks Millie, you are so sweet! That is my husband. I think he's pretty cute anyway!

I just made the house rules poster up myself - I can do a custom one for you and email it to you if you like!

That would be awesome!! But I know how full your hands are these days, please don't do it unless you truly have the time. Such a sweet offer.

And I had no idea that his eyes can truly be damaged by low light levels. Yikes!

Yes, I wish it weren't so. Hopefully you'll be able to get him to stop, I couldn't with Mackenzie. She's became an avid reader, I'm pretty sure you have one on your hands in Toby too. At least there's something good that comes out of it.

 

[Duzzygirl]

Thanks for stopping by my PTR!!

Holy cow you've had a lot go on in the year you've been planning!

Your movie nights are amazing, and that Hobbit party ... Fantastic!

 

[Alysa]

Thanks for stopping by my PTR!!
Holy cow you've had a lot go on in the year you've been planning!
Your movie nights are amazing, and that Hobbit party ... Fantastic!

Welcome and thank you!

Toby finished off our Chicken Little craft tonight. For dinner, we made my old standby, corn chowder (it's an excellent and inexpensive vegetarian comfort food).

I just sort of throw this together but here it is written out:
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery
1 Tablespoon butter
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
2 cups water
3 cups cream-style corn
3 cups frozen corn
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 cups half-and-half
Method:Saute the onion and celery in the pot for 5 minutes until just starting to brown. Add the other vegetables and cook, stirring for another 5 minutes. Pour in the water and corn. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender. Add the cream to the chowder just before serving.

For the craft, I just dropped a whole bunch of craft supplies and said, go ahead, make me a spaceship. This is what he used: a plastic bowl and tea plate, a clear plastic egg carton, acrylic paint, glow necklaces, hot glue, and a light up ice cube. This craft is great because you can just use whatever you've got on hand at home and get them to go crazy and use their imagination! We found a picture of the ship here and he played with it afterwards for hours! He used it in the family room with all the lights off to abduct lego guys.
Lights on:

And off:

 

[Alysa]

Okay, to all my Whovian Friends, so keeping in mind that this is a Disney pre-trip, did you know that Disney tried to buy Doctor Who in the late 80's when they bought ESPN? They planned to announce new Doctors filmed at a Tardis in Tomorrowland? And here is a link of Tom Baker (my Doctor) in character announcing movies on the UK's Disney Time (like "The Wonderful World of Disney" in Canada)

Anyway, here at our house we love Doctor Who so we added a Doctor Who weekend to our Disney Movie Nights. We watched "Eleventh Hour" and "Closing Time" with Matt Smith (the 11th Doctor) as well as "The Christmas Invasion" with David Tennant (10th Doctor). For dinner we had beans (Beans are evil. Bad bad beans.), bacon (You're Scottish, fry something!), bread and butter (And stay out!), yogurt (It's just stuff with bits in.) and apples (Apple's rubbish.), followed by fish custard (recipe here and the pound cake recipe here).

We watched these over the Christmas break but I only just now downloaded the photos. Toby made a Tardis paper craft from a pattern from here

and while we were at it I made a tea cup with a quote from the Christmas Invasion on it for myself. Here is the craft I made for Robert with my new found embroidery skills.

Don't worry if you don't get all these references. Just go grab the Christopher Eccleston series (9th doctor) and get watching!
<<We apologise for this BBC interruption. And now, back to our regularly scheduled Disney Pre-Trip report. >>

 

[MomiTo2SwtGuys]

Awwwh, you are in the same boat I was in. We had Disney planned for last June. Dining reservations made in December 2011 and then boom. Missed my period, took a test and there it was. My sons were 8 and 6. Shew......

We cancelled our trip and planned for a new life. He came into our world on August 30th this year. And he is amazing. And he will be taking his first Disney trip in June of this year. I can't wait to see what is in store for us!

 

[Alysa]

So good news is flights are finally out for August at Southwest for Disney and at a good price. We even have the points to cover a couple of the seats.
Bad news is that because Harold has still not found a tenure position and his contract is up in May, he says it would be irresponsible to book them at this time. Not to mention the fact that we may not be anywhere near Buffalo come August. I do understand but I am pretty downhearted, mostly that because of the economy, a brilliant man cannot find a tenure track position. He says he can remain in his lab until September and that he can easily secure another post-doc but that because of his academic age (42) that it will damage his career. We have many friends in finance who would hire him as an advisor in a second and he would make a lot of money but in his heart he wants to be a scientist and he has so much to offer, I would feel like a monster if I told him to just get a job. We actually laughed the other day because the auto wreckers near us where he went to get a part for our car is looking for people to dis-assemble cars and will pay him more than he makes as a lowly post-doc. Our new line is "Well, there is always the auto wreckers!" This is a cancer and vascular disease researcher who may have also cured hydrocephalus! He just got a new patent for the work he did on it and it's very exciting but without the lab space, he can't develop it. He's worked so hard for so long, it's breaking my heart.
We've been praying together as a family but I think we could really use some help. If you are out there, could you just say a little prayer for us, that Harold would find a job as a tenure track scientist? I'd really appreciate it. (And the kids would too because then we could finally book DISNEY!)

 

[Alysa]

On a happier note, we finally finished another movie night. We started our tangled night months ago, before we moved. It was a bit of a disaster. My niece came over and we made hazelnut soup. We made Eveie's without the nuts and kept hers away from everyone else's but that was quite stressful and I won't be doing that again. It was quite nice but not good in a nut-free house. Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Then we made flying lanterns. I found a site that tells you how to make them here. The kids drew the purple starbursts on them. They were beautiful. It took forever. I used a lot of expensive materials.

And this happened.

Yeah, not so much. They were however, the source of much hilarity on my brother-in-law's part.
But then, I was inspired! By DMGeurts. She sews and her bags are absolutely amazing! I know I could never hope to do as nice a job as she did but I thought we'd give it a try and do our best. I asked Eveie if she'd like to try sewing a park bag, and unsurprisingly she said "Yes, yes, yes, a Tangled one". I thought, "Hmmm, perhaps we can salvage that not so good movie night." So we went and got fabric. We had all the ribbons and lace leftover from an Elizabeth swan costume I made Eveie. I ordered a Pascal stuffed animal from the Disney store and when it arrived we got to work! I used the batting from the stocking I made Robert, I got Eveie to sew the straight seams each time once I figured out what I was doing. We unstuffed Pascal and sewed in a lining and a zipper and a super long tongue that we attached him to the bag with.

When we finished it off, she ran to assemble everything she would need to carry with her in the parks. Water, sunscreen, autograph book and pen, ipod with camera, sunglasses - it all fit. All we need now is the room key and annual pass and we are SET!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

So good news is flights are finally out for August at Southwest for Disney and at a good price. We even have the points to cover a couple of the seats.
Bad news is that because Harold has still not found a tenure position and his contract is up in May, he says it would be irresponsible to book them at this time. Not to mention the fact that we may not be anywhere near Buffalo come August. I do understand but I am pretty downhearted, mostly that because of the economy, a brilliant man cannot find a tenure track position. He says he can remain in his lab until September and that he can easily secure another post-doc but that because of his academic age (42) that it will damage his career. We have many friends in finance who would hire him as an advisor in a second and he would make a lot of money but in his heart he wants to be a scientist and he has so much to offer, I would feel like a monster if I told him to just get a job. We actually laughed the other day because the auto wreckers near us where he went to get a part for our car is looking for people to dis-assemble cars and will pay him more than he makes as a lowly post-doc. Our new line is "Well, there is always the auto wreckers!" This is a cancer and vascular disease researcher who may have also cured hydrocephalus! He just got a new patent for the work he did on it and it's very exciting but without the lab space, he can't develop it. He's worked so hard for so long, it's breaking my heart.
We've been praying together as a family but I think we could really use some help. If you are out there, could you just say a little prayer for us, that Harold would find a job as a tenure track scientist? I'd really appreciate it. (And the kids would too because then we could finally book DISNEY!)

Prayers said! I can imagine how frustrating and stressful it is to be so up in the air. But I agree with you...you do have to love your career and follow that path with the hope and belief that you can realize your dreams. It is comforting to know he has back-ups, but I can understand how you would use those only as a last resort. Slightly different, but along the same lines, DW had an opportunity to do a few hours of extra work each week for an insurance company - and it paid very well - $1,000+ a week for a few hours a night. But it quickly became apparent that this job was not going to mesh with her ethics and after a few weeks she had to give it up. We really weren't too torn up over it because even though that money would have been really nice, she couldn't, and I could never ask her to compromise her ethics and her desire to do the right thing.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

P.S. I continue to be blown away by your creativity and inspiration for your movie nights!

And WTG on that bag - between you and D, I am getting closer to dusting off my SIL's sewing machine that has been in our attic forever - I don't even know if she remembers it's there!

 

[lsenquiz]

I have been wanting to join your PTR for a while now but kept putting it off until I had time to read it through and get caught up. Well I finally did that today and let me just say I am exhausted.

I have no idea how you do it.. Your movie nights are amazing. Your children are very lucky.

Sending your way with hopes that you will be able to book your trip soon.

 

[Nichellebelle]

Hi!!! I am all caught up now on your report so far! You have the most kindest eyes! You seem like such a sweet person and your family is just adorable! I am going to start up movie nights soon to get us excited for the trip and you have given me some awesome ideas! We watched Atlantis last week but I did not make anything special for it. This week we are going to watch Treasure planet and I think I am going to try to make cupcakes like you made them! Loving your report so far and Congratulations on your new baby boy!!!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Oh Alysa,


I am sending prayers and all kinds of good thoughts your way...

I hope that something works out soon for Harold... He's sounds amazingly talented and I hope with all my heart that he finds a way to use that talent and get renumerated for it... Personally I'd like to think that people with those kind of brains are using them for the common good...

I continue to be impressed by your talent and would love to know what is in Hazelnut soup...

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Alysa, your Up cake was adorable! The corn chowder looks good. I think my kids would like that!

OK, so I just got to the episodes of Doctor Who with Matt Smith, so I get some of your references! I think I watched the first three episodes in that series. I must make fish custard!

I truly hope your husband can find a tenure position! I understand the need to do something you love rather than doing something just to pay the bills. He sounds very intelligent and talented! I'll keep hoping and praying that he won't have to work for the wreckers!

The Tangled bag you and Eveie made was amazing! That's it! I'm learning how to sew! That was a great idea to turn Pascal into a little zippered pouch!

 

[DMGeurts]

I am really late getting here... Sorry about that.

I must admit to only reading the last page - so I have NO idea what is going on... However, I do have a bit of commentary - surprised? LOL

So good news is flights are finally out for August at Southwest for Disney and at a good price. We even have the points to cover a couple of the seats.
Bad news is that because Harold has still not found a tenure position and his contract is up in May, he says it would be irresponsible to book them at this time. Not to mention the fact that we may not be anywhere near Buffalo come August. I do understand but I am pretty downhearted, mostly that because of the economy, a brilliant man cannot find a tenure track position. He says he can remain in his lab until September and that he can easily secure another post-doc but that because of his academic age (42) that it will damage his career. We have many friends in finance who would hire him as an advisor in a second and he would make a lot of money but in his heart he wants to be a scientist and he has so much to offer, I would feel like a monster if I told him to just get a job. We actually laughed the other day because the auto wreckers near us where he went to get a part for our car is looking for people to dis-assemble cars and will pay him more than he makes as a lowly post-doc. Our new line is "Well, there is always the auto wreckers!" This is a cancer and vascular disease researcher who may have also cured hydrocephalus! He just got a new patent for the work he did on it and it's very exciting but without the lab space, he can't develop it. He's worked so hard for so long, it's breaking my heart.
We've been praying together as a family but I think we could really use some help. If you are out there, could you just say a little prayer for us, that Harold would find a job as a tenure track scientist? I'd really appreciate it. (And the kids would too because then we could finally book DISNEY!)

OK - this totally caught my eye...

My brother is hydrocephalic - when he was born in 1977, they told my parents that he wouldn't live a week (I was only 2) - the hospital was nice enough to let me in to see him.

He is now 35 years old... To explain his life would be difficult at best, but the fact that your DH may have found a cure really tugs at my heart... I am sure that there is nothing that could be done for my brother at this point, but to save another family the heartache - that would be amazing.

With out going into a huge amount of detail, my brother has been in foster care since he first came home from the hospital... When he was 9 y/o, he moved in to his current foster home... This foster family has become an extention of my own - and we are so very fortunate that Jonathan has them, and we have them - as they have made his life as normal as possible.


I hope you don't mind - but I did want to share one picture of him with my girls - last winter - it's one of my favorite pictures of them together.

Anyways... I pray your DH is able to find a position that uses all of his many talents, because there are many families who could be drastically changed due to his meaningful work.

On a happier note, we finally finished another movie night. We started our tangled night months ago, before we moved. It was a bit of a disaster. My niece came over and we made hazelnut soup. We made Eveie's without the nuts and kept hers away from everyone else's but that was quite stressful and I won't be doing that again. It was quite nice but not good in a nut-free house. Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Then we made flying lanterns. I found a site that tells you how to make them here. The kids drew the purple starbursts on them. They were beautiful. It took forever. I used a lot of expensive materials.

And this happened.

Yeah, not so much. They were however, the source of much hilarity on my brother-in-law's part.
But then, I was inspired! By DMGeurts. She sews and her bags are absolutely amazing! I know I could never hope to do as nice a job as she did but I thought we'd give it a try and do our best. I asked Eveie if she'd like to try sewing a park bag, and unsurprisingly she said "Yes, yes, yes, a Tangled one". I thought, "Hmmm, perhaps we can salvage that not so good movie night." So we went and got fabric. We had all the ribbons and lace leftover from an Elizabeth swan costume I made Eveie. I ordered a Pascal stuffed animal from the Disney store and when it arrived we got to work! I used the batting from the stocking I made Robert, I got Eveie to sew the straight seams each time once I figured out what I was doing. We unstuffed Pascal and sewed in a lining and a zipper and a super long tongue that we attached him to the bag with.

When we finished it off, she ran to assemble everything she would need to carry with her in the parks. Water, sunscreen, autograph book and pen, ipod with camera, sunglasses - it all fit. All we need now is the room key and annual pass and we are SET!

Your bag turned out adorable! I love everything about it... It is actually very similar to one I have drawn up for myself - some day... WTG!!!!

P.S. I continue to be blown away by your creativity and inspiration for your movie nights!

And WTG on that bag - between you and D, I am getting closer to dusting off my SIL's sewing machine that has been in our attic forever - I don't even know if she remembers it's there!

I really think you should dust off that sewing machine and take her for a test drive.

D~

 

[reelmom]

I found your PTR today and I have had a great read this afternoon. I am amazed at the amount of creativity in your house. Your little ones are adorable, and I will be praying for your DH to find the job of his dreams so you can take the Disney trip of yours.