Welcome Christmas Season!

 Talmage made this hat at school.  I had them pose for me when he got home from school.

 We went to Phoenix (Chandler/Gilbert) for Thanksgiving.  I made sure to go to Trader Joe's while we were there for my favorite Peppermint Joe Joe's.  Last Christmas they sold out of them!  I also discovered my new favorite treat. The MINTY MELTS.  Amazingly good!  Grab a box if your lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's!

This is what they look like. 

My two favorite recipes as of late!

www.keepingupcookbook.com

This cookbook is awesome!  It is put together by Grace Ivory Rock and her friend Amy Henriksen Foulger.  The Ivory girls are amazing cooks.  So really, any recipe in this book has to be good.  However,  these two recipes have been a hit at our house lately!  Hope you get a chance to try them.  

Chicken in tomato basil cream

1 1/2 pounds (about 18) chicken tenders

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

dash red pepper flakes(or more to taste)

2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 teasoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skilllet over medium-high heat.  In batches, brown chicken tenders on both sides, cooking until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and place in a 9"x13" baking dish.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the same skillet and cook onion,garlic and red pepper flakes until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in  cream and cook until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat.  Add basil, salt and pepper.


Pour tomato sauce over chicken in baking dish. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until bubbly.


Serve this delicious dish over your favorite hot pasta.  (I like angel hair)

www.crateandbarrel.com  Hint hint Mom!

I saw this in the crate and barrel catalog. This is on the top of my Christmas list;)
There is nothing better than homemade cookies! Here is our families favorite cookie lately from the same cook book. It is such a moist monster cookie(some monster cookies can be quite dry)


Monster Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats,ground to flour in blender
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups M&M's or chocolate chips


Cream together butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs, peanut butter and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.  Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
This recipe contains no flour, just ground rolled oats, which makes these cookies exceptionally moist and delicious.

Heart Rocks and Cake Pops

Collecting heart rocks has become one of my favorite things when we go on hikes with the boys.  Actually,  if I/we see a heart rock anywhere we pick it up.  I have a fun collection that I need to put into a fun apothecary.  

Yesterday morning as I was quickly making the boy's lunches for school, Talmage was sitting on the kitchen floor by me putting on his shoes (sometimes we have to dump pebbles out of his shoes from the school play ground).  Talmage said "Hey Mom... there is a heart rock in my shoe for you!"  I was hurrying so much that it took me a second to realize how sweet it was that he noticed and how excited he was.  It dawned on my that I needed to stop my rushing around and look at it.  Low and behold...the perfect little heart rock.  One day I will look at that little rock and remember my little first grader right by my side putting on his little shoes.  I think that that heart rock will have to go in my jewelry box or somewhere special.

Caught in the act of eating one of my favorite little snacks (at least it is blurry)

One of my favorite treats are the cake pops from Starbucks.  I also LOVE Starbucks hot caramel apple cider.  The boys love cake pops too! Try them, I hope you will like them.

These are a few of my favorite things!

 

 

Gratitiude

My five month old move has left me feeling grumpy when I wake in the mornings.  I miss terribly my perfect comfortable Henderson life.  I miss my dear friends so deeply that my heart aches daily!  There... I said it.  Nothing really takes the ache away except for time.  

Life is always changing.  My boys grow older EVERY day.  Wait...! :)  My Husband learns more with each day.  He becomes more knowledgeable and morphs into a neater Doctor.  His Hospital is minutes from our house.  I can drive over and catch glimpses of him whenever I need to.  My boys come home happy from school most days.  I get to go on walks around our block with Jonah riding his training wheel bike and huge helmet.  I looked at him peddling away the other day and wanted to freeze time! How can I freeze time, but be wishing my time away here?  

I decided, to wake up with gratitude instead of longing. Perhaps one day I will long for this time?  As I stumbled into the kitchen early yesterday morning, I looked out my front room window to this beautiful view!  The church bells where even chiming the hour. 

Gratitude that only 97 miles away my little paradise lays waiting.  My palm tree lined streets and my friends are not too far.

I am healthy!  My Family is healthy!  Today is a gift!  I have my dream trailer parked waiting for me on the side of my house too!

Gratitude!

Keeping up with the Jones!

I 

Dear Neighbors,

  

Thank you for being excited for us as my parents backed this trailer onto the side of our house.  I know I was screaming with pure delight.  You were probably screaming with horror.  Perhaps you have never heard of the University of Utah.  Go Utes!  My Mom laughed hysterically all the way from Salt Lake as they pulled this easy traveling little trailer behind them.  When they stopped for a bathroom break on the trip here, she thought she heard a lady tell her husband that that's why they got their education at the Y!  Just because that lady had a new airstream,  who did she think she was?!

 Do not worry!  Jared went out right when he got home from being at the hospital for 18 hours and sprayed the entire trailer for spiders.  (Just in case)  Then two days later he sprayed it again for spiders.  So there is no need to worry that it might be harboring spiders in it. 

 I will be out on the side of my house soon to sand all the old paint off.  I am sure it will not be messy. It should only take a few minutes.   My Dad offered me 20 cans of brown spray paint.  I don't know.  I think that is not the color that I am going for.  Whatever color I choose, I will try to spray it when it is not too windy.  Who knows maybe I will roll the paint on.  I still secretly want to paint the trailer pink.  To bad I am out numbered by 4 boys.  

     I plan to work on  this trailer all winter.  My hopes are for spring flowers and a pink trailer?!!  I really think it will add so much charm to our neighborhood.

I know that in these hard economic times it is hard to keep up with the Jones.  Just be glad that it is not a boat.  

   Now when we have company, they can sleep in our trailer.  It is okay that there is no bathroom in it. The back yard is pretty private.  

Thanks for being supportive!

Love, 

The Fairbanks

Seasons!

fashinbombdaily.com

Since I have moved to Kingman I have taken up eating.  Eating has always been a top hobby of mine. I have really enjoyed developing this talent!  Seriously, it has turned quite chilly here.  Wearing skirts every day is too cold.  Too bad I do not own a pair of pants that fit!  I poured myself into jeans the other day for Jacob's early morning soccer game.  When I returned to take them off for lack of circulation to my upper extremities, I realized that my poor jeans had torn next to my zipper for lack of give in their material. 

Now,  there is nothing worse than when your with someone who says "I am so fat".  It leaves the other person in a hard spot because they uncomfortably feel like they have to say, "No your not".  This is not what I am doing.  We all at times feel too fat for our jeans, right?  Well... not any more, I said the other day! Now, I am famished, and not use to not having pounds of chocolate each day.  It is so much harder than I expected, which leads me to this next thought.  When do we choose a size that "works" for us?  If a size 4 or 14 is too hard for us to attain physically, then why torture ourselves and those around us?  We each have our unique frames.  The spotlight is always on the beautiful stick skinny stars.  How can we really live up to this pressure?  I HAVE to  have energy from eating to chase my children around and clean my house and be a nice person.  Sometimes too skinny is unattractive right?  In my town, too skinny girls probably are on meth.  Ha!  The point I am trying to make here is,  be OUR best self's.  If a 10 is your best self, AWESOME. Especially if it gives us the feeling of fitting into our jeans , but still having energy to chase life!  I might have to buy new jeans!  Ti's the season for them.  I love warm fun clothes.