Coconut....mmmmm.

Had to share the macaroons. They are by far my favorite, and one that I can eat. Well, kind of. If you pretend there is no dairy. ;) But for sure no gluten, and that is one I have to avoid. I know there are about 100 people on this planet that hate coconut, and I feel really bad for you. You are missing out people. Big time. I could eat it 24 hours a day and still love it. So here is the receipe since I've had a few peeps ask for it. Guess where I found it? People magazine. Yep. People. What?!?! Random I know, but it works and is by far the best macaroon receipe I've ever tried to date. I will add that chocolate chips work good for melting to dip, but if you want it to dry quicker and look a little better, I'd say go with the baking chocolate. And not the unsweetened kind you used to find in your moms cupboard and think you were sneaky, take a bite, and proceed to wash your mouth out for the next 10 minutes. I'm thinking the kind WITH sugar.

Coconut Macaroons (Courtesy of People Magazine)
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbsp. sugar
1 can sweetened cond. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
20 oz. sweetened shredded coconut (About a bag and a half)
7 oz. dark chocolate (I did white choc. as well and used more than 7 oz.)


Preheat oven to 325. Beat egg whites in electric mixer on low. Once whites are broken up, add
cream of tartar and sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until whites are frothy. Love that word. Frothy. Shut off mixer and fold in sweetened cond. milk and vanilla. Add coconut and mix until well incorporated. Let mixture sit for 2-3 minutes. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop 12 heaping tablespoons of the batter on each tray. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Dip half of each macaroon into chocolate. Place on tray and allow to set. Enjoy!

And a picture of my coconut macaroon eating partner in crime......there is no better way to check the mail than in goggles and ear muffs. I'm just sayin'. You are ready for snow or swimming at a moments notice.

Plugging Along

We are plugging along this week. Crazy busy with school trying to fit in tests in every subject in the next 6 days. Ahhh....I think for the first time I am actually more ready for this break than the kids. Sleeping in, no homework, no activities outside of school, and smelling the yummy tree while drinking hot chocolate with the kids sounds blissful. We are on track with the holidays. Yay me. Tree has been up since Sunday, decorations are on display all over the house, cookie lists are ready to go, yummy candles are burning, and I've even wrapped ONE present. I think I am done buying too. I think. I always get sucked into those last minute "just in case" gifts though.

A wise woman gave me a pep talk yesterday. A talk I knew deep down, I needed. She told me to use the word "NO" more. Not commit to so many things. I have a tendency to always say "YES", and although that is great sometimes, there are other times things fall to the wayside because my priorities are not in order. So today, when the school called to ask me to work in the library, I said....wait for it....NO! And it felt wonderful. ;) I am currently sitting in my PJ's, working on Christmas cards, laundry, and maybe even a homecooked meal tonight. Part of my goal for 2011 is to not spread myself so thin in so many places. To be organized. I mean really organized this time. No more piles. More time spent on what goes on inside this house rather than what goes on outside of it. And, to be thankful for wise "older" people who love you enough to tell you things you need to hear.

Family Photo

We survived! The heat almost did us in...especially since we were dressed as though it was fall, and it was almost 90 degrees. Jack behaved, the kids behaved, daddy behaved. Ahhhh....I love it when things actually work out. This is one of my favorite shots. Kind of cheesy, yes, but kind of cool too. All of us connected. Holding on. Our little family unit of 5. I love our little family unit.......

This is a "sneak peak". Those totally lucky one's will get to see more in December. ;) I know, the suspense is almost too much isn't it? It was SOOO hard to pick only a few for the card. I like to pretend everyone wants to see a mini-album of our family every year, but then Drew informs me they don't. Well, the "grandma's" do, maybe an aunt or uncle, but that's it. Bummer.

It Came!

The first installment of our "Family Blog" came yesterday. I began this crazy blog in January of 2009, so I went ahead and had the whole first year made into a book. There are lots of reasons I started this journey, but the most important one to us was to show our children we are invested in their little lives. That we notice the little moments along with the huge ones. That we SEE them. And frankly, I love the little moments a little bit more. The ones that I most likely will not remember in 20 years without a little bit of prompting.

And this has become a little form of memory keeping/scrapbooking for us. I would love to say I am caught up on all the scrapbooking pictures I have in piles all over our office, but that is something I fear I will always feel behind on. With three kids, it's kind of hard to stay caught up. And I am totally ok with that. My view of scrapbooking has changed some, and become more realistic. I absolutely will get some moments down on paper because I will always love the feel of paper and embellishments and creating a memory that way, but I also now have an easy way to write down things about what makes us a family. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The moments I want my kids to look back on someday and see that although mommy may have seemed to have it together, I was so far from "together". I want my girls to see that being a mom is such a blessing, but also one of the greatest challenges in life. And sometimes not having the answers is just as it should be. It forces us to stay on our knees and pray to the one who has ALL the answers. So, for now this fits our family. This crazy little blog that it turns out people actually read! Who would have thought starting an entry about syrup almost 2 years ago would be so interesting. Here is the website I used to print our first book.

Mmmmm....dinner.

Since it's Thursday....I decided I would actually cook a meal this week. ;) I think this has been one of the busiest weeks for the kids with homework, especially poor Caleb. He had a science quiz, science test, spelling test, bible verse test, hanging mobile book report due, math poster dealing with conversions of the metric and standard system, and had to make a barometer. Yes. That is just Caleb. Let's not even get into the girls. He is being stretched in ways I never dreamt possible. Which means mommy and daddy are as well. Daddy realized this week he is excellent at making barometer's, and making a mobile book report. I read the book along with Caleb and helped him with listing all the information, and daddy got to help him put it all together. I think I got the easier task. :) The three of us have had LOTS of bonding time this week from 7-8:30 every night after daddy gets home. But, I am thankful we are in this as a team. Thankful for a husband who comes home from a loooong day at work, changes his clothes, and jumps into homework if I need him to. And he loves it.

So, tonight we are going to sit down as a family and eat together. No gymnastics, church, or after school activites. I am making one of daddy's favorites (white chicken enchiladas) courtesy of the Pioneer Woman. Modified to work with my "no fun" new dietary habits. He doesn't even realize the cheese is not even cheese.....shhhhh! :) One more day until Friday, and I think all of us deserve a break this weekend from school. The weather is to die for around here!! So, we will be outside...hopefully golfing or fishing....as a family.

Rock Climbing

In a last ditch effort to beat the heat yesterday, we decided to take the kids rock-climbing. It was a bonus of being indoors, and making them REALLY tired. It was hilarious. From the moment we walked in and they told Drew and I we both had to wear harnesses to spot the kids, I knew there were going to be some laughs. Mostly of both of us in harnesses. ;) Had I known that I would have dressed a little more like a rock-climber if you know what I mean. So, after the laughing and pointed were done, we helped the kids climb and climb and climb. And then when we thought we were done, we climbed some more. Maddie has come a long way. Last year she was the girl who wouldn't go more than 9 ft off the ground. Yesterday she went all the way to the top, and it was really high. So proud of her! Caleb was his goofy, funny self and made it up and down the wall lots of times...which was no surprise. Grace loves to rock-climb. Always has since she took a class at Lifetime in Austin. She loves it. Talks about it. Draws about it. Dreams about it. You get the picture. So, she was bursting with excitement from the moment we stepped in the door. And she did not disappoint. I think she climbed up and down the wall about 50 times. Worked her little behind off, and was one happy girl when we left. Drew got a burst of energy and tackled a wall towards the end. Hilarous. Three tired kids equal two happy parents. And of course, dinner at their favorite Texas Roadhouse topped off the day. Go team Ward!!