Ben's Man Cave

Let me just start by saying that every man AND woman needs a "Man Cave". Ever since we have bought this house, Ben has been saying that he NEEDS a "man cave". A place he can go to with his books and Playstation 3 and call his room. A place that he can shut the door and not be disturbed by everyone else in the house. I always joked around and said, "Can I have a woman cave too???" The reality is that the kids find me everywhere. As most mothers know, there is no place of refuge when you have young kids.

Anyway, after Christmas, his dream became a reality. He moved his PS3 into a room and we found a great deal on some Chaise lounge chairs at Costco. I have always thought that this would benefit Ben but I never knew how much I would enjoy it! I love that he has a place to watch ESPN, Pawn Stars, Mythbusters, etc... I love that he can play Assassins Creed and I don't have to know the entire storyline and what level he is on. I love that he can be down there for an hour before the kids start asking, "where's daddy?" I love that I can do the dishes or clean the kitchen or fold laundry and watch Biggest Loser, Oprah, Grey's Anatomy, etc... and not have him rolling his eyes. I always joked around that Tivos/DVR's saved our marriage but now I can say that the "man cave" is also improving it. I have learned that the more things a man has to help him unwind, the better husband and father he will be. Not every man needs a motorcycle, too many pocket knives, too many guns, PS3, and a man cave to do it-but it has all benefited our family tremendously.

So...for all the women out there- I highly recommend "The Man Cave!"


BEN'S MAN CAVE

Snow Trip 2010

We are so blessed to live so close to snow but that we do not have to live in it! We love taking one day a year to go sledding. This year, was not the best time we have had. It was freezing, we got stuck in traffic and after about 10 minutes, Logan wet his pants. Look at all he is wearing!!! So, Logan and I spent most of the time in the van watching a movie while Ben went sledding with the girls. Everyone did get some fun out of it but we are hoping for a better trip next year!

Christmas 2010

As our Holidays come to an end, I will take a moment to reflect on the fun we have had. We started the Holiday Season off by heading to the Bay Area. We got a chance to visit with Monica's family, Danielle, and Travis' family. We all had a really good time. The girls enjoyed ice skating and Logan loved hanging out with grandpa.

We came back home and got to see a movie and hang out with Ben's family. It was a perfect Christmas. Here are my favorite pictures.

You can enjoy this slide show as well.

http://www.slide.com/r/onAtz9OA0T8NYbJWuOvWJAS26_nAfkIT?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

The Piano Project

A long time ago, Ben took on a project that he has finally finished. When Madison was born, Ben stripped and stained my parents piano. We have the piano now and he decided to rekey it. I had posted the befores a long time ago but I will post them again so you can see the before and after shots. It looks really nice. Now we will get it tuned and Madison will start lessons. She is so excited!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

O' Christmas Tree...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I started the morning off with a 10k Turkey Trot and had so much fun. (So much better than the half marathon!) We then headed over to Ben's parents house and enjoyed appetizers, football, food, games, and more food. It was a wonderful day.

On Friday, we did our annual tradition of going to Indian Rock Tree Farm and found our Christmas tree. The kids were so excited to see there was snow on the ground and had fun throwing it at each other. It is always a fun occasion.

The next Sunday the kids wanted to wear their new Christmas clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Brown. They looked really cute and were very excited. They cannot wait for Christmas!

My Madison

Madison makes me laugh sometimes. The other day, she had a spelling assignment that she needed to write a letter using 10 of her 18 spelling words. She was giggling while she was writing and then told me she was done. Here is her final product: (bold words are the spelling words)

Dear Mrs. Stuebing,

It's Thursday! Saturday is horrible. I have a carton of milk. Are you thirsty? I did all my chores. How's your life going? Mine is quite a scare. Do you have a turtle? I don't. Vinny and Skylar are perfect though. Bye for now.

From, Madison

Well, I guess she did the assignment. She did it in the fewest sentences you could do it in:) She makes me laugh. She is so much fun.

We had parent/teacher conferences and the only thing the teacher said that Madison needs to work on is that she puts too much pressure on herself. Very cute!

Red Pepper Jam

I had this recipe at a baby shower and have been on the hunt for it ever since. I LOVE this. You spread this jam on top of a block of cream cheese and dig in with crackers. So good and worth the effort!!!

2 cups chopped up red peppers (take the seeds out first)
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
3/4 tsp lemon juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch certo (pectin) - 1/2 cup

Chop peppers fine. You can use a chopper or food processor. Measure 2 cups peppers and juice in a large pot. Add vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10 minutes until tender. Stir in the sugar, return to a rolling boil and boil, uncovered for 1 minute. Make sure you do not let it foam up. Just get the sugar to dissolve. Otherwise, the sugar will caramelize. Remove from heat and immediately stir in Certo. Stir for 5 minutes to blend. Pour jelly into sterilized jars and seal. I used the Ziploc containers. Serve over cream cheese with crackers. Yum!