Late-Over

I am not a fan of sleep-overs, especially for my young kids. So, on Tuesday, Ro came over for a late-over. We watched a movie and had snacks in our pjs. It was a great start to our Thanksgiving break.

Hot Chocolate

We love hot chocolate at our house. And, because I like to cook, I make the mix myself. It is so fun and so easy and so tasty, too! Here is the recipe I use, courtesy of the Better Homes and Gardens plaid cookbook:

3 1/2 c nonfat dry milk powder

2 c sifted powdered sugar

1 c powdered nondairy creamer

1/2 c sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

• In a bowl combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
• For each serving, place 1/3 cup of the mix in a mug and add 3/4 cup boiling water.

Now here is where you can have fun. Nondairy creamers come in all sorts of flavors. The mix pictured above is Pumpkin Spice Cocoa. I've also made Hazelnut, French Vanilla, and Caramel. When I bought the Pumpkin Spice creamer, they also had Gingerbread. Now that would be festive.

Wouldn't this make a great teacher or neighbor gift? Make up some delicious cocoa mix, make a cute bag to put it in, and then put it in a darling mug. How great is that?

Personally, I like to drink it from my favorite mug with some marshmallows on top. Yum.

Thursday Already?

I just got home from the doctor. The baby has turned and is face down, which is a worry off my mind. My belly is still measuring right on schedule, so the doctor is wondering if the huge baby in the ultrasound a few weeks ago wasn't just the result of a growth spurt. If so, that follows closely with the other O'Kigin kids, who grow for a couple of days, and then stay that way for months and months.

In non baby news, we have colds at our house. Scratchy throats, runny noses, and coughs are just par for the course right now. So far, I am untouched. Let's hope it stays that way! I am drinking plenty of fluids (and chomping tons of ice), and trying to get enough rest. And, between my studio space in the basement and Flower's new attic bedroom, I get a lot of exercise going up and down 3 flights of stairs.

I have been busy filling all my Christmas Molly Patch orders. I have also had a little time to work on some Christmas things for my kids. The Molly Patch things will be done around Thanksgiving, and hopefully the rest will follow quickly. But, if not, Christmas comes without packages, boxes, or bags. Do you think my kids will be content to just join hands around the Christmas tree and sing "Davoo doores" a la the Whos down in Whoville? Me neither.

Photography

Have you met Amelia? She is fantastic. Go to her site, and give her some love. And not because she did an entire post on me. Actually, that's a pretty decent reason. She is a talented photographer and has a way with words.

Happy Veteran's Day!

This is my Mother-in-law in 1968. She was an Army Physical Therapist stationed in Japan during the Vietnam War. That's where she met my Father-in-law. He was an accountant, also stationed in Japan. Sorry the picture is so small, but hopefully you can see how young and in love they were. And don't you just love Judy's uniforms? So stylish!

Good Looking Kids

Before church on Sunday, I took a few pics of the kids. They were stylin' in their shades. I just love how you can see my reflection in the lenses.

Kid's Room

Even though I wouldn't count the kid's room as "done," I thought I would post some "almost there" shots.

We need to hang some hooks on the back of the door for the towels. Also, the green dresser doesn't seem so dark in person.

The bedspreads from the former room (which was pink/purple) look really good against the French Silver. It is a tad unfortunate that Patch is sleeping under a girlie bedspread, but he'll survive. I have plans of making two bed quilts using the same pattern and 3 colors that are the same, and then each one would have 2-3 other colors to make it more gender specific. I think it could be really cool.

Still to do in this room:

Organize clothes

Hang things on the wall

Take out green check chair, which will go in the nursery

Put shelves and books in bookshelf

Other than that, it's good to go!