Merry Christmas 2010!

Chistmas Eve - we went to Pazzaluna











Christmas Morning:






Christmas Day with my family at our house:

















Merry Christmas and Happy New year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends!

Is thankful....

So Wednesday started out to be a hectic day. Mira has been battling a little sore throat and cold the last few days. I decided to keep her home and get her into the DR later that afternoon. Of course I had a million things to get done at work. We were having our Holiday Open house on Thursday at the salon! So the plan was to run a ton of errands drop them off at the salon and get back home so Mira could rest.
We are in Target getting a few things - i hear my phone. It is my work asking me if school has called there was an accident! I'm like what are you talking about? Tyler's teacher has been trying to get hold of me there has been an accident. I finally realize that i have about 2 missed phone calls from his teacher. I call his teacher and she states that Tyler was on the swing in his classroom and it came out of the ceiling - he fell 5 feet onto the floor on his back!!! The paramedics are there and are going to transport him to Children's! I grab Mira, leave my cart in the middle of Target and drive like a manic to his school. Of course I call Ron and have a freak out on the phone.
We get to school there are 2 ambulance's, a firetruck and the cops out front!! His teacher meets me at the front door and brings me to his class room. There is Tyler laying on his back crying and not moving! In my head I'm like great I have an autistic son who is now paralyzed!!!
The paramedics assure me that he is going to be OK - they need to bring him to Children's for xrays. He is moving his toes but we need to be cautious. They put a neck brace on him and put him on the stretcher. I call my dad knowing that my mom is working at United that day and asking if she can met us at the ER.
We get to the ER - he goes through numerous Xrays. He is fine - only has bruising and soreness!!! THANK GOD!!! He does need to do a follow up with his DR next week.
We are so thankful that he walked away from this situation with just a sore back, so far!!!
His teachers and para's have been so comforting and concerned for him - they did a great job with handling the situation and the other kids in his classroom.
As of yet I have not received a phone call from the principle or the school district!!! Which is abit concerning!
All in all we are so thankful that the outcome was what it was. There have been lots of extra hugs in our household this week!

Curried Butternut Squash and Pear soup

I found this recipe on All Recipes.com. It was pretty good - the pear incorporated was a little different.

1 (2 pound) butternut squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 firm ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch dice
1/2 cup half and half
Directions

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membrane. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven until very soft, about 45 minutes. Scoop the pulp from the peel, and reserve.
Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and salt. Cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, and bring to a boil. Stir in the pears and the reserved squash, and simmer until the pears are very soft, about 30 minutes.
Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender. Puree in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the half and half, and reheat.

Trick or Treat

This was the first year in a few that we have not hung out with the Youngs for Trick or Treating! It was hard but we survived.
We had some neighbors over and one couple prior to trick or treating for appetizers and drinks. We had a great time - oh, the kids had fun too!

I could not resist he was squatting in the right spot!



I guess our pumpkin got sick!



The kids with our neighbor boy!





Our neighbors right next to us and their yard! The kids love it!

Mira's One Mile

Mira joined fitness club with her little friend at school this year. Basically, it is just getting kids to move around, run, get them excited about exercise. The school enrolled in the one mile run at the Medtronic Run last weekend which is part of the TCM.
Despite a few obstacles to get there and get her registered. She ran one whole mile with stopping! That's my little lady!

Warming UP:




Here she is:


The group that ran First - Fourth Grade


Trying to Stay Warm:


She finished!


Mira and her running buddy!


Fueling up after the race:


That is not coffee:


Great job Mira!

A little face lift

We have 2 1/2 baths in our home - one full bath on our main floor, 1/2 bath on the upstairs and another full bath downstairs. The basement bathroom is the one we all share, is used everyday for showers, primping, etc! Not sure why we have just let it sit there looking, ugly, out dated, not very inviting.

So we decided to give the bathroom a little face lift or as Mira calls it "it has been recreated".
When Ron and I start a project it feels as though it takes us a month to just get things going from the color of paint, fixtures, etc. Thankfully we both have very similar tastes so we agree on most things.

We did not want to gut the bathroom basically we really did not want to invest thousands of dollars in the bathroom, we do have a kitchen that we are hoping to remodel in the next year. So, we had to work with the existing pale, tan/pinkish floor, the ugly brown doors. Surprisingly a fresh coat of paint, new light fixtures, new hardware and taking down an ugly shower door does a lot to freshen a room!

I did not take any pictures of the bathroom prior to the face lift but I did find this one. Tyler is so small! You can kind of see the ugly shower door, not too much to the bathroom.



We took out the ugly three bulb lights down and bought these beautiful light fixtures:





We also replaced all the ugly wood towels, toilet paper fixtures and light switch plates with oil bronzed fixtures:



The ugly scum filled shower door was replaced by this fun shower curtain:



Since it is the basement bathroom we did not want to put too dark of a color on the walls. We ended up painting the walls a lighter color and the ceiling a darker color:



Here is the full view:

Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes

I found this recipe on Simply Recipe Blog! This is a keeper - everyone loved it! I think my sister Rachel made it a few weeks ago - I have not heard her comments as of yet.



Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes Recipe
You can easily substitute ground chicken, beef or lamb for the ground turkey. The "curry" part of this recipe is flexible. Use your favorite curry powder, garam masala, or Indian spice mix.
INGREDIENTS
3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey (thigh meat if you can get it)
1 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 chopped fresh red chiles (optional)
A 1-inch piece of peeled ginger, grated fine
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp garam masala (or curry powder)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2-4 Roma or other plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro or parsley
METHOD
1 Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large pot with a lid. When the oil is hot, add the ground meat, spreading it out over the pan. Try not to crowd the meat (you may need to cook in batches). Cook the meat without stirring, until it begins to brown.
2 Add the chopped onion and chiles. Stir and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to color a bit. Sprinkle salt over everything.
3 Add the grated ginger and garlic, mix well and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
4 Mix in the spices, water, and the potatoes. Stir to combine and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
5 When the potatoes are tender, add the diced tomatoes and peas. Mix well and cover the pot. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add salt, if needed, to taste.
Right before you serve, mix in the chopped cilantro. Serve alone or with flatbread or white rice.
Serves 4.