Tradition, Tradition!

I am just starting to realize that I border on being obsessed with traditions. For me, every holiday is surrounded by traditions. For example, I make the same breakfast and lunch on Easter every year, and the lunch (on Easter Saturday) is a PICNIC, no if-ands-or-buts. Last year it was raining, so we spread a blanket on our living room floor and had a picnic on the floor in our apartment. And I loved it!

Christmas is the same way - I wouldn't dream of having a Christmas without all my wonderful traditions. It's ingrained in me - that's the way I grew up. We had a million traditions around Christmas time. All of the traditions on my list below are either Sterzer or Walker traditions that I am continuing with my family.

Homemade Candy...

Ahhhh, what is Christmas without homemade caramels, toffee, chocolate covered nuts, shortbread cookies, chex mix, caramel popcorn...? Not only enjoying the platters of goodies on Christmas Eve, but gathering together with family members to make, dip, frost, and wrap them. I've made caramels every year since we moved away from family. For me, that is the most essential Christmas candy of all. These are the treats I made this year:

Chocolate covered cashews, Almond Roca toffee, 4-layer snickers bars, chocolate covered caramels, and wrapped caramels.

Gingerbread Sleighs...

I posted pictures of our sleigh decorating party already. This is a Walker tradition that we will definitely keep alive in our family. We had a blast making them, and then we filled them up with homemade candy, added a little gingerbread-man tree ornament (made from the scraps of dough leftover from the sleighs), and delivered them to our neighbors.

New Ornament...

I like to get one special ornament for our family each year. A few days before Christmas I was telling Jed how I wanted to make this a tradition for our family. I told him I had an idea for our 2007 ornament, but I hadn't been able to find something like it at the stores. I thought it would be fun to have a gift ornament for this Christmas because we still have one remaining unopened gift this year: baby Eliza! She is our most exciting and wonderful Christmas gift of all!

Well, on Christmas Eve Jed surprised me with our 2007 ornament. He had made a little ring box into a present by carefully wrapping it up with Christmas paper. He even had a ribbon around the edges, and had a beautiful tiny bow on top. The present had a tag that read "Christmas 2007" in his own writing. And guess what! He made it so that it can still be opened up, and inside the box he made a little card that said "Eliza" that we are supposed to replace with a picture of her as a newborn when she arrives. I love it! It's perfect - she's our little belated Christmas gift this year, and you can snap open the ornament to see her little baby picture. Isn't this the cutest little ornament, and isn't my husband the sweetest?

Singing Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve & Reading Christmas Stories all month long...

I have a binder full of Christmas stories that I like to read as a family throughout December. My family always purposely saved these favorites for Christmas Eve: The Man Who Missed Christmas, Christmas Day in the Morning (well known - boy milks cows for dad), and The Solitary Gift. Growing up, we would sing and sing and then read a few stories, and then sing some more, and so forth. I love that!!

Chicken a la King...

Christmas Eve dinner has been and always will be Chicken a la King. It means "Chicken for the King" - it's like a thick delicious gravy with shredded chicken in it and other ingredients, and you serve it inside of "crowns" of bread that have been toasted in a muffin tin to resemble 4-pronged crowns. It's a perfect meal for the night before the birth of our King, and my family has served it on Christmas Eve for generations.

Christmas Breakfast...

We always have Christmas Eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, and orange juice for breakfast on Christmas morning. Christmas Eggs are delicious - we only have them once a year and that makes them even more special. You crack an egg in each hole in a greased muffin tin, sprinkle them with salt and pour 1 T. cream over each egg. Bake for about 12 or 13 minutes at 350, on a rack just one level higher than usual. They will still appear jiggly and undone, but they are actually cooked and perfect to serve. Ah, marvelous!Puzzle...
When we spend Christmas break with the Walkers we always set up a great big puzzle on Christmas day, and then we all work on it together for the next few days. We all just hang out in the basement - some people will be playing pool, others will be playing a game or talking, and a few of us will be working on the puzzle. It is so fun!

The day after Christmas Jed and I went to the store with Benny, and we picked out a 1,000 piece puzzle to do together during our Christmas break. We set it up at about 2pm, when we put Ben down for a nap. Well, thanks in part to my compulsiveness, we had it totally completed by 1 am that night! We worked on it together for hours, and when Jed got sick of it and left I still couldn't stop working on it, and because I was constantly pouring over it, Jed kept wandering over to work on it too. It was a blast! And isn't this a cool puzzle?

One brand new tradition that I would like to start with my family is to get Christmas PJs the first day of the Christmas season. I think I like that better than getting them on Christmas Eve, because then you can wear them and enjoy them the whole month leading up to the big day. (And since I didn't grow up with that particular tradition, it doesn't bother me to change it from the traditional Christmas Eve. I hope none of you are scandalized by my blatant disrespect for this generally accepted Christmas tradition! :) ) I think it would be fun to have a day filled with decorating for Christmas and listening to Christmas music for the first time that season, and then to top it off with a special pair of pajamas to celebrate the start of the holidays. It just so happened that that's the way it worked out this year with Benjamin since my parents were visiting over Thanksgiving, and I loved it.

Well, that's all that I'll mention - but don't think I don't have a bunch more! :) I love Christmas! All these fun traditions make it especially exciting and festive for me. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising your family with lots of family bonding traditions. The older I get the more I appreciate all these fun traditions that we did as a family.

Merry Christmas!

We have had a great Christmas - thank you to all of our sweet family that sent us gifts and talked to us on the phone today. We sure love you!

This video is a series of video clips taken today with our new video camera. (Well, the first one is of Christmas Eve while I was making Chicken a la King for our company.) Disclaimer: This is a long movie, and we are only posting it because we know that our parents will enjoy it, and perhaps a select few of our family members as well. :) But we don't expect anyone other than Benjamin's grandparents to watch it, so all the rest of our fellow bloggers are officially exempt. :)

Look at the talent!

This morning we decorated gingerbread sleighs together. This is a Walker family tradition - Jed says that every year they would all decorate sleighs together and then fill them up with homemade candy and take them to their neighbors. I think that is the cutest idea, so we are carrying on the tradition.

The preparation has a long timeline - I made the gingerbread dough one day, rolled it out and cut it using a pattern the next day, let it dry out a few days to make it nice and hard, assembled the sleighs with frosting on Friday, and then we decorated them today. For the recipe and patterns, go here: http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/12/gingerbread-sleighs-2. The frosting recipe is awesome - it dries like cement!

Jed is a pro at decorating these babies. Check out his awesome scenery.

We had such a blast! Benjamin helped Jed by finding the right colored skittles for his pattern, and eating a skittle between every one he handed to Jed. That kid ate more candy during our sleigh decorating than he has ever had in his life. Funny thing is, he would pick out an M&M, skittle, or smartie and say "This one, Momma?" to ask for permission to eat it. Jed and I usually said, "Eat a bite of your apple slice first, okay?" and he actually would put the candy down obediently and take a bite of apple. Then he would say again, "This one? This one, Momma?" It was so cute how he was asking us for permission, and dutifully eating his apple. (Of course, he also popped a lot of candies in his mouth without asking for permission. Don't get me wrong - he's no dummy! He knows to take advantage of candy-eating opportunities that come his way.) :)

Gingerbread Houses!

Benjamin and I decorated "gingerbread" houses today with Melody and Eirik. We had so much fun! Benjamin was especially helpful with the roof, putting smarties and redhots on the dabs of frosting that I made. Near the end I wouldn't let him eat any more candy because we were about to clean up and it was time to have lunch. Well, he disappeared somewhere while Melody and I were tidying up, and when I went to find him I discovered that he had locked himself in the bathroom with a Santa-topped Pez dispenser full of candy. He had eaten every single Pez in that thing by the time I found him. The little squirt! :)

The boys had a blast, and don't their houses look awesome? Alright, fine, I mean-- Melody and I had a blast making these colorful gingerbread houses, and the boys loved being surrounded by bowls of candy!

We had a blizzard for a few hours this morning, and when
it was over there was a blanket of powdery snow over everything. During breakfast Jed told Benny he would take him out to play in the snow after his nap. (Benjamin's record short nap of 1 1/2 hours might have been due to his excitement about going outside to 'run around in snow'.) I bundled him up with multiple layers and the two boys had a blast outside. Benjamin helped Jed shovel the porch and walkways, and then Jed pulled him around on our snow saucer for awhile. Benny was begging Jed to help him make a snowman, but he didn't understand that you have to have a certain type of snow to be able to pack it together. :) I was surprised that Benny lasted so long out there without getting cold. They were playing for at least an hour and a half, and he loved every second of it.

Which would you prefer - cookie dough or biscuit dough?

I made some biscuits to go along with dinner tonight. Benny and I decided to cut them out into christmas tree shapes. The last time we used a cookie cutter in rolled-out dough was Halloween, and we were making sugar cookies with yummy frosting. Well, Benny still had that experience in mind, and was very eager to help cut out this dough. While we were cutting them out, Benjamin would periodically put his finger in the flour on the counter and lick it off, and then he would say, "mmmm!" Soon he was trying to sneak tastes of the dough. He would pinch a bit off and pop it in his mouth while I was laying the biscuit on the pan. Then he would say, "mmmm! Good!" It was totally making me laugh that he thought he was snitching cookie dough. He seriously thought the biscuit dough was a treat!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Benjamin has been singing nonstop for weeks. He is constantly humming or singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or the ABCs. It's hilarious - he is like a broken record that keeps going all day long. :) It's really cute, and I finally pulled out the camera to record it. I love his little smile at the beginning when he realizes that the camera is recording. And in case you can't understand him at the end, he says, "no camera. no camera." I will have to try to record the ABCs another time.....

Rise and Shout! The Cougars are out!

Go BYU Cougars!!! The game today was AWESOME. We beat the U. Woooohooo!

My dad brought a BYU hat for Jed and a BYU shirt for Benjamin. My little boy can finally show some real BYU spirit during the football games now. And it doesn't even matter that the shirt is a 4T size and completely drowns him. We'll take anything with a 'Y' on it. :)

Today we drove to Lake Erie (not much of a drive considering it is only about 5 minutes away). We looked around a little children's museum that had fish and snakes that people can watch. Then we drove to the shore and took some pictures. It was pretty cold, so Benny was snuggling into my dad to keep warm.

Thanksgiving with Family!

Mom and Dad came to visit us for Thanksgiving this year. We have had so much fun with them already, in just the two days that they have been here so far. Thanksgiving dinner was delish - I loved all the help Mom gave me with everything! This was my first year using a brine for our turkey and it turned out really great. My mom stopped me from overcooking it, and I think that probably made just as much of a difference as the brine did. :)

Today we went downtown to the Detroit Institute of Art. It was their Grand Opening (after having been closed for renovations) and the admission was FREE. Score! We thought it was going to be super crowded, but it really wasn't too bad at all. The museum is beautiful, and we were able to walk through the Native American, Ancient Greek & Roman, Renaissance, and American Galleries. Even so, we only scratched the surface. It was a fun excursion.

This evening we put up all our Christmas decorations! Sometimes this is a bit overwhelming for me, but with my mom's help we got it all up in record time. Jed put on some Christmas music for us to add to the holiday spirit. Before I knew it, the clock said it was quarter to 9:00 and Benny was still awake and running around! Before we put him to bed, Mom gave him some Christmas pajamas because today is the first day of the Christmas season. He looked so cute in his reindeer pajamas that we had to take a few family pictures in front of our twinkling Christmas tree.

More on the shower....

Viola! This quilt was so fun to make. It's the first one I've done, and I can't wait to start another. We had it set up at the shower for part of the time, but we were having too much fun visiting, so we didn't get much work done on it. :)

And here are a few pictures from the baby shower that Melody emailed me. It was so fun!

Baby Shower!

Last night I hosted a baby shower for Melody. It was such a blast! Of course when you get 15 girlfriends together, it's bound to be a great party. :)
We had a baby quilt set up on stands that anyone could work on if they wanted to. We did horizontal hand stitched lines in it. I'm going to finish it up and bind the edges and then I'll give it to Melody. I'll post a picture of the finished quilt.

I took a few quick pics of the food before the party. Melody specifically requested Fruit Soup, so I served that along with a Cream Cheese Strudel, Cherry & Lemon Scones with a lemon glaze, and a Frozen Mango Cream Cake with a macadamia nut crust. I also asked Anona to make Coconut Almond Muffins and they turned out perfect (thanks Anona!).

A few friends wanted the recipe for the Cream Cheese Strudel, so here it is! Courtesy of my sister Melanie who gave me the recipe when I got married. :)

2 ¼ to 2 ¾ c. flour, divided

1 pkg yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

½ c. sour cream

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. water

¼ c. butter

½ tsp salt

1 beaten egg

1/3 c. sugar

4 oz cream cheese, softened (half of a package)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix 1 c. flour and yeast. In saucepan, heat and stir sour cream, ¼ c. sugar, water, butter (cut into small pieces) and salt until just warm, and butter almost melts. Mix into dry mixture along with the egg. Let sit 5 minutes. Beat for 30 seconds on low, then 3 minutes on high, scraping the bowl constantly. (I only beat it until it is a smooth consistency, definitely not for 3 minutes.) Using a wooden spoon (or standing mixer) stir in remaining flour until a soft dough is formed. Knead on floured surface until soft and smooth. Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and turn out on lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes. Make filling by mixing 1/3 c. sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Lightly grease a baking sheet (I prefer to line baking sheet with parchment paper). Roll out dough into 14x10 rectangle. Spread with filling and roll jellyroll style. Place seam side down on baking sheet. Make slits every 2 inches, ¼ inch deep. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes, covering with foil the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning. Cool on wire rack. I prefer to serve it with a cream cheese frosting, or you could drizzle with powdered sugar icing. Serve with fresh fruit.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

3 T. butter, softened

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 - 1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix and add milk and more powdered sugar to desired consistency. (You'll have some extra frosting.)

baby Eliza

Jed surprised me today with this beautiful baby bracelet. He took
Benjamin to a bead shop and actually designed and MADE this bracelet. He picked out garnet stones because that will be her birthstone. (I didn't even know that the garnet was the January stone. I LOVE garnets.) And the white stones in between are real crystals. You can't tell in this picture, but they are dazzling in the light. (In fact, this picture really doesn't do it any justice at all. It is such a beautiful tiny bracelet; I wish I could capture it better in a picture.) Most importantly, he put her name in the bracelet. That was half the surprise. I love the name Eliza, and I've been trying to talk Jed into liking it for a few months. But he just wasn't going for it. Well, I had resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn't be naming her Eliza, so I was very surprised when he gave me this bracelet! It was a double gift - a beautiful baby bracelet for our daughter made by her daddy, and a gift to me because he decided to like the name Eliza because I love it so much.
He is the sweetest husband. It is totally like him to think of something so perfect and special as to make a baby bracelet with her name in it, as a gift to me. I love him so much!

Extreme Room Makeover

Yesterday and today have been dedicated to painting the nursery. It was my first room-painting experience, so I felt very intimidated by the project. My wonderful friend, Melody, was a LIFESAVER. She helped me think of the design & pick out the paint, cut & paint & install the chair rail, and did nearly all of the painting. It took us all day yesterday and today. Yeah, she is a total sweetheart to help me so much!

Here are the BEFORE pictures. Yes, this room was painted in a psychedelic design. It made you dizzy standing in it! In case you can't tell in the picture, the side walls are lime green. And you can see in the mirror that the back wall is the same square design as the front wall. Our landlord had this room painted to match his 12-year old daughter's bedspread. (The squares are actually layers and layers of paint on top each other, so I had to spend hours sanding the edges down so the squares wouldn't be as obvious underneath our new paint.) Everything was incorporated into the paint job: the back of the door, the door and window moulding were blue and purple respectively, all the switchplates and outlets were painted, the closet was completely lime green including the ceiling, even the fire detector, fan blades, and actual lightswitch had been painted bright colors. Unfortunately, the baseboards were also partially painted, so we had to do major touch-up on the white edging throughout the room.


















Middle of the project pictures.
Here's Melody beginning the pomegranate-pink wall. We had already done a first coat of cream on the side wall. And here's Benjamin, getting into my lipstick while I put another coat of edging on all the walls this morning. He was being SO good, playing with toys and entertaining himself. After some time I realized I hadn't heard from him for awhile, so I went to investigate..... :)
He was an angel this afternoon - we painted for about two hours without interruption while Melody's little boy took a nap and Benjamin played in his room. I couldn't believe how great he was being!


And the finished product. In addition to the new walls, we repainted all the white trim, and added the white 'chair rail' (I can't remember what official name Melody used for it since it's up high, but it sounded much more elegant). The room has a whole new feel to it now. It's calm & inviting, but still feminine & playful. I love it! And it's so pristine with the brand new paint. Perfect for a brand new baby! :)

I can't wait to get the baby furniture in it, but we still have to use it for Jed's study for the next two months. I guess there's no point in putting up a crib and moving the changing table and glider in there already. But I really want to!






Here's a photo of the little 'sewing table' I bought at a garage sale for $8. I'll keep it in the baby's room. And see the fabric samples on top the table? That is my final fabric choices for the nursery bedding. (They are different patterns than what I displayed in my older post below. When I have the crib skirt, bumper pad, window valance, and closet curtain finished, I'll post pictures. Then you can see the cute fabric that I finally settled on. :) )

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Worn-out Fireman

We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat party tonight. Benjamin had a ton of fun for the first hour and a half, and then around his usual bedtime he just hit a brick wall. I think the big red bump on his head might have had something to do with it - he tripped as he was running in the gym and from that point on, he was worn out and just wanted to be held. As you can see from the picture and the video, he wouldn't crack a smile after 8 o'clock. He perked up a little when we went around the parking lot collecting candy. :) We made him say "Trick-or-Treat!" at every stop; it was pretty cute to hear him.

Here's a little video of him in the 'parade' across the stage. You can tell he was very tired at this point! He wasn't into having his hat on, but hopefully people understand from his coat that he is supposed to be a fireman. (I know there's a lot of my pregnant tummy in this footage... try to overlook that if you can!)

"sad pun-kin, happy pun-kin!"

On Monday of this week we went to the grocery store and picked out pumpkins to carve. That night for Family Home Evening we carved our pumpkins with Benjamin. He had fun fitting the tops on the Jack-o-lanterns; in fact, I could hardly empty out a spoonful of pumpkin insides without him trying to cover up the hole with the lid.
I carved a happy pumpkin and Jed made a sad one (see the pumpkin-seed tear?). Benjamin is always talking about the happy and sad pumpkins, and now sometimes when he is playing with toys he'll bring me one of his trucks or blocks and say it is sad. Thanks a lot, Jed!