P-P-P-P-P Panda Love

I just finished this panda hat for the daughter of Matt's co-worker,

I think it turned out to be pretty damn cute, but I may be biased.

Also, now Alice insists that she and Izzy need one too

(so they can match, naturally).

Guess I know what my next two craft projects are going to be.

I only wish I could see the look on the face of the little girl I

made this for when she sees it for the first time.

I like to think it will look something like this,

minus the jazz hand.

Best Valentine's Day Dinner EVER

Cottage cheese pancakes...mmmm...be jealous.

In Two Weeks Time

I have a feeling Alice is going to be a lot more comfortable. On the 21st she's going in to have her tonsils and adenoids removed because they are both chronically enlarged. They aren't as bad as some, but they are large enough that they cause her to snore, she always sounds nasally, her pronunciation is impaired, and I'd be willing to bet they are making sleep hard for her (we had the option to do a sleep study before surgery, but declined because I don't really need one to tell me that her tonsils need to come out). So pretty soon these monsters she's been lugging around with her all her life will finally be out, and hopefully we notice a difference in her right away!

Speaking of Alice, she's been doing a lot better in the behavior department lately. We busted out the marble jar again, except this time she's earning marbles to put towards having tv time. The kid is obsessed with tv and this was a good way to curb her tv watching habits and her bad behavior all at the same time. So far it's been working (along with a few other changes we've made in how we deal with her) and she hasn't gone batty wanting to watch her stories. Pray that this trend continues, she's actually pleasant to be around and I'm really starting to get used to it!

Told You I'd Be Back

Didn't believe me, did you?

The snow fell - it's hard to say how much we got due to the incredible drifts. The weather man said about 18 to 20 inches in our area.

The wind blew - Aurora had sustained winds of 50mph and gusts up to 70mph.

And it didn't stop until the morning. We were pounded with snow for a solid 17+ hours and yet we didn't have to shovel our driveway - one of the few perks of condo living. To give you an idea of just how bad the drifts here are, I can see some of the grass peeking through in my back yard, yet there are waist high drifts in the middle of our front yard. The rooftops look like the snow is already starting to melt, but in reality it just never stayed there very long thanks to the winds. I have truly never seen anything like it.

(click pics to enlarge)

Getting ready to finish gearing up to play in the snow!

Those windows above the garage? That's us.
Notice the snow drifts covering most of our windows?

Neighbors across the street didn't get plowed
since they left their car in the driveway.
At least the plow company came back this afternoon.

The snow depth was so random, it was hard to gauge where to step.

Daddy taught Izzy about the wonders of eating snow.
I think she liked it.

She REALLY didn't want to come inside.

I didn't get many pics of Alice, she was too busy to sit still
so I had to take advantage of the times she fell in the snow.
I told her to sing "Climb Every Mountain."

She didn't get the reference.

Snowed In?

If you're my family, then the answer for about 80% of you is YES (I'm counting Bathjes as well). For the rest of you, just in case you haven't heard yet, most of the midwest is dealing with lots of horrible winter weather right now. We're in the middle of a blizzard here in Chicagoland, and I don't expect we'll be out and about again until Thursday at the earliest. The snow has been falling so heavily, but I have no idea how much we have yet because the wind has been blowing so badly. Anyway, for those of you who are snowed in I thought I'd share this fabulous hot chocolate recipe I finally tried tonight. It's so good that it doesn't even need marshmallows.

INGREDIENTS
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)

PROCEDURE
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler
Boil the water, and stir in the sugar, salt, and cornstarch until dissolved. Add the cayenne pepper, if desired.
Pour over the chocolate and stir thoroughly.
Scald the milk, pour it into the mixture, and add the vanilla.
Reheat the mixture almost to boiling and whip it with an eggbeater until frothy.
Makes 4 cups.

Also, many of you have asked me to come back to my blog and update again. I decided last month that I was going to take January off and come back again in February, though I won't post every day like I did before. So please come back and check up on me from time to time. I'm going to keep this blog address even though I'm done with the 365 project, I'll probably just change the name in the blog header. Anyone have any suggestions?

Look back here tomorrow - I'm hoping to get some snow pics once it lets up a bit. Stay safe and warm everyone!

I MADE IT!!! (365/365)

Can you believe it?! ME, Becky Iblogonceeverytwomonths Bathje completed my goal of posting once every day for a whole year? I know I'm surprised!! There were days when I was VERY close to not posting in time, and days when I was SO not in the mood to sit down and write a post (can you say four day hospital visit), but I'm so proud of myself for doing it.

People have asked me if I plan on continuing now that my year is complete, the answer to that is no, I don't intend to do another year of daily posts. However, I do plan on posting more often now that it's become a habit. I haven't yet decided if I'll just keep this blog or if I'll create a new one, but I will certainly let you know.

So for now . . .

Keep it movin' -- there's nothing to see here, folks!

Thank You, JJ! (364/365)

I'm at a Trans Liberian, I mean Siberian, Orchestra concert in St.
Louis with three of my favorite people. Thank you, JJ for inviting me!

Also, I love Stacey. :)

Dinner at the Diner (363/365)

Cindy and Tori were off in St. Louis for the annual Rappe girls
shopping excursion, so Dad and I decided the rest of us should go out
to eat at BJ's - a Jacksonville staple. The food was pretty good (I
should know better than to try something new. I had a pork tenderloin
horseshoe when I should have stuck with what I know tastes good -
hamburger), the company was great, and both girls took turns playing
peek-a-boo with Uncle Chuck's hat!

Only TWO days left!! Can you believe it?!

Guess Who Barely Touched Her Dinner…(362/365)

But easily polished off the last of the chocolate pie?

Oh, Isabel.

Can You Guess What They're Doing? (361/365)

All three of them were in a trance watching The Simpsons.

Miss you Ry (and double N)!

Knitters Row (360/365)

We're all such old ladies…and we love it!

Merry Quack Quack! (359/365)

Matt and I started our day bright and early at 6am.
After we had showered and changed, I decided to wake the girls with my camera.
"Mommy, it hurts my eyes!"
Wish I could have actually seen where I was pointing the camera,
but you get the point.

Izzy was out like a light and couldn't have cared less about my flash!

Once she got up though she was in awe of all the presents!
(This was definitely the first Christmas I've ever had that started before sunrise!)

Can you tell she just woke up? She couldn't wait to dig into her stocking.

She's such a happy girl, the duck kazoo helped, I think.

I wonder what my sister got for me for Christmas!

A NEW HELLO KITTY CALENDAR!!!
I don't believe it!

I had so much fun watching Izzy open presents.

This was one of the big reasons why!!

What's this? We still have ONE more present to open?
And it's for MEEEEEEE??
I wonder what it is . . .

It's a scooter (not pictured, you'll just have to trust me), just what I always wanted!!!

Then we went to Mom and Dad's for breakfast and the rest of the day's festivities.
Unfortunately my camera decided to crap out and I have to send it back in to Canon.
Needless to say this was not the highlight of my Christmas.

I blame Patrick. ;)

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

Christmas is Coming! (358/365)

• We've been to mass (with Auntie Annie).
• There is snow on the ground (and it's still falling).
• My belly is full of cookies (oops).
• Presents are around the tree (and weighing down the stockings).
• We're packed and ready to leave for Jville on the 26th.
• Matt and I finished our Bathje grab bag ornaments (I'll have to take
pics of the ones the girls made - SO cute!)
• O'Henry's Full House is on the TV.

I'd say we're ready for Christmas to get here (though I'm not looking
forward to getting up at 6am)!!!

Merry Christmas!

What's Christmas with out Foldovers? (357/365)

I actually had the dough for these in the fridge for a while, but I
had been putting off making them because they aren't exactly my
favorite things to make. It's probably a good thing that I waited
until today to finish them because while they may not be my favorite
things to make, I sure do love eating them! Had I made them last
week, my stock would surely be depleted by now!

Riiiiiiiiicola!!!! (356/365)

Empty wrapping paper tubes are good for many things,

including pretending you are from the mountains of Switzerland.

Oh, and for calling moose.