Fudgetastic!

Yesterday and today, I had a fudge adventure! Every Christmas, as our gift to Justin's side of the family, I bake. I decided this year that I wanted to bake something that would be special to Christmas and I'd only make it at Christmastime. 

After a HUGE fail at pumpkin spice cake balls, I decided fudge was the way to go. I've been making fudge with my mom since I was a little girl so I figured I could turn out some decent gift fudge. Since I view recipes as mere suggestions, I wanted to do a trial run so I decided to make a few batches for a ladies' retreat I'm going on this weekend. 

My flavors, you ask! Eggnog, peppermint mocha and chocolate peanut butter. 

I found this recipe when I Googled "Eggnog fudge recipes" and it worked great!! The eggnog fudge is amazing! 

I decided that since it turned out so good, I would just substitute some of the ingredients to make my other 2 flavors. For the peppermint mocha, I used 3/4 c peppermint mocha coffee creamer instead of the eggnog and a bag of milk chocolate chocolate chips instead of the white chocolate. It turned out yummy! The only thing I might do different next time is add some peppermint extract.

Our friend Becky makes the best peanut butter fudge on the planet! I make alot of things that Justin labels "The Best Ever!" but nothing has beaten Becky's peanut butter fudge. I was trying to come close but dang WalMart screwed me up!! All they had was a peanut butter/chocolate chip mix. So I got that and used it instead of the white chocolate in the recipe and instead of the 1/2c butter I used 1/2c peanut butter. It turned out really good, but it's definitely a chocolate/peanut butter fudge. I'm going to have to try again for the straight peanut butter version.

Some of My Secrets

In my free time (HAHA!), I like to cook/bake. Some of you may be thinking "Um excuse me? Don't you have 3 kids under 2 1/2? How does that even happen!?"

My answer is, Yup I do! And here are some of my secrets to being able to do something like cooking/baking when you have little ones:

**Move in with your amazing parents who are as dedicated to your kids as you are and support your parenting flawlessly.**

Okay, so I realize that's not a reality for everyone. But I was able to get stuff done even when I just had Eve and we lived by ourselves. Here are some of my REAL secrets:

1. Learn to do things fast! (Setting a timer for yourself helps with this. See how much you can get done in 1 minute) I naturally do everything fast but I had to learn to be precise and accurate with my speed. If you can do your tasks fast you can do what you're trying to accomplish, tend quickly to your babe and go back and forth. See #2!

2. Multitask! It's something I highly recommend for all moms. But know how and when to turn it off and on. If you're not a natural multitasker, there are some great books out there. Or chances are you have a friend who is ... call her!

3. Get used to letting your kids fuss. They WILL BE OKAY if they cry for a minute while you finish something up. Especially if they are clean and fed and all they want is your attention.

4. Your high chairs aren't just for mealtime anymore. I discovered this trick with Eve. A lot of the time she just wanted to be a part of what was going on, so I'd put her in her high chair, give her something to play with (if you're in the kitchen, plastic dishes work great!) and set her within site of the action. This way I could interact with her as well without worrying about her getting into what I was doing. Also, get your high chair out of the kitchen! This is a great trick for any room in the house.

5. When at all possible, involve them in what you're doing. Okay, this might go against #1 and definitely won't work with everything. I involve Eve (not so much the babies yet) in almost everything I'm doing. If I'm baking or cooking in the kitchen, I give her a bowl and spoon and let her do her own thing (usually it's make muffins or birthday soup). Or I sit her up on the counter and let her stir, pour, or supervise whatever I'm doing. This works best when you're not on a time crunch and you don't mind a bigger mess. This can also be applied to anything! I have her help me "fold" clothes, dust, do my makeup, sweep ... you can find a 2 year old version of just about anything!

This is probably the hardest one ...
6. Encourage and teach your kids to play independently and be patient. I understand this comes more naturally to some kids than others. I do think it's something that can be instilled in every child. With Eve, it's hit or miss. Sometimes she'll do one activity by herself for 30 minutes to an hour ... play in her room, draw, color, play outside. When she's "in the zone" I try to leave her alone :) or poke my head in and say "You're doing a wonderful job playing!!" I've also started to play a "game" with her where I set my timer for 15 seconds and we have to be really still and quiet. From the time Eve was old enough to start asking/demanding things, I started using the word "patience" with her. I know a patience song, too, that I would sing to her. Oddly enough, she would stop and listen. When she was started talking, "patience" became part of her vocabulary. Now she says "I'm doing a good job being patient." :)

Do you have any secrets?

And This Will Be All I Have to Say About This

When I was pregnant with my twins I thought I might be crazy because I wasn't scared or even worried about the future: delivering or taking care of 2 infants. It just was what it was. I knew there would be challenges but I was up for it!
I've decided that is the way I should be looking at the outcome of the recent presidental election. I didn't vote to reelect the President so I wasn't too thrilled with the outcome. So many die hard conservatives I know believe the next 4 years will be gloom and doom. I'm not convinced.  Times may get harder. They may stay the same. They may get easier. The bottom line is we just don't know.
But I have 3 beautiful daughters who deserve a beautiful world and a beautiful life. They look to me for life ques right now. I want them to respect our President and government. I want them to be able to see beauty in hardship and learn to work hard even when times are easy. I will not teach or model fear or hate or disrespect.
My God is in control of all. HE is my provider and my shield and my safe place.
This isn't a blog about political issues so this will probably be the first and last thing I'll say about it.

The Pretender

Eve has started pretending she's something or someone else. At some point every day I'll call her name, "Come here,Eve." To which I'll get the response "I'm not Eve. I'm ..." Usually it's Minnie Mouse. Sometimes she's Goofy, or just Goof. Once she was What (the cat). The other day she was an alien. It can last an hour or ALL DAY. She makes everyone call her by whoever she's pretending to be and corrects people if they call her Eve. I love it!!

My baby babies, more specifically Temperance, have discovered their favorite noise to make. A high pitch, high decibel shriek. Sometimes they do it for an hour! They're happy but sometimes we have to yell over them to have a conversation. My sweeties!

A Catch-You-Up (gesundheit!)

Once again, I'm attempting to revive my blog. I plan on using it to keep friends and family in the know about my growing girls but also to convey messages of hope and strength and inspiration. 

I'm sure most who read this are already updated on the Fam but just in case, here's the quick catch-you-up:

CHINA - I left off with a possible trip to China almost exactly a year ago. Well we went, we saw, we returned. It was a very challenging trip for both me and the Mister. We were there almost 90 days and he worked 12-15 hour days for 88 of them. About a week after Eve and I arrived, I got pregnant. I was so sick 24/7 for almost the entire trip. 

PREGNANCY - Our MADE IN CHINA babies were born on our 3 year wedding anniversary. Identical twin girls, Noomi and Temperance. No, twins don't run in our families. Yes, we were very shocked. No, we're not going to keep trying for a boy. Having 2 infants and a toddler has been another challenge, but one that is much more rewarding. Our girls are the light of my life!

THE MOVE - When we found out we were having twins, we decided to rent out our house and move in with my parents. One of the best decisions we could have made as far as our kids are concerned. JoJo and Granddaddy have been instrumental in giving Eve a smooth transition from only child to big sister and ing helping take care of the babies. Instead of having 1 completely exhausted, non-functioning, nervous breakdown mom, we've had 4 kinda tired, sometimes slightly impatient, functioning at about 90% capacity parents and grandparents.  

To sum up: The last year has been very challenging, rewarding, fulfilling, tiring and sweet.