Happy once, Happy Twice, Happy Chicken Soup with Rice.

It is COLD here. 

The high today was 20 degrees.

It was -3 when I took Hoot to preschool this morning.

And I have two little girls with runny noses and the sniffles.

After we picked up Hoot, the girls and I made an executive decision to go home, do puzzles, take a nap, play Christmas play dough and have something cozy for dinner.

 (Yes, my kid was wearing jammies all day.  Judge away. LOL)

 

We came to the conclusion that between the frigid weather and the sniffles that chicken soup was in order.

Chicken Soup with Rice, to be exact. 

Do you remember that book? Whether you do or you don't click HERE.  We have been singing this song all afternoon.  It's a catchy little tune. :-)

Did you click it?  Did it remind you that it is your snowman's anniversary?

Don't worry, you don't need that cake.

Because I am going to tell you my recipe for kid-friendly Chicken Soup with Rice.  It doesn't have many ingredients or interesting things because it is one that I really want my girls to eat.   The Bug LOVES soup.  She is a soup eating fool.  Hoots like her soup basic - chicken, carrots, broth.  She is my picky sister and I just want something that will feed my sniffly little girl - so it's nothing fancy.  Just good, simple food.  And it is healthy too! :-)

So here you go.

 

Allison's (cookin' once, cookin' twice, cookin') Chicken Soup with Rice

You will need:

• Some olive oil
• 1 big bag of carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 big white onion, peeled and diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• Fresh or dried sage, rosemary, thyme to taste (I just dump a little handful/pinch of each in. I know - annoying in a recipe, but it will be fine.)
• 1/4 c. flour
• A sprinkle of salt
• 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 4 quarts of chicken stock
• 1.5 cups of brown rice
• A little bit of water
• 1 pound of fresh green beans, snapped into 1 inch pieces

Start with some olive oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions. Add herbs and garlic. Sprinkle with salt.  Sweat the veggies until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until golden brown. Add the chicken stock, stir, and crank up the heat.  Toss in the chicken - you don't have to cut it or anything.  Just dump it in whole.  When it gets to boiling, turn it down on medium-low.  Let it simmer for a couple of hours, until the chicken is falling apart, sort of shredding itself. Easy peezy.  1 hour before serving, add the rice.  Let the soup cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is done.  This is where you might need to add some water - the rice soaks the soupy part up, so the water will make more broth. Add a cup or two - as many as you need to make it soup again. If it is thin enough for you, skip the water. 10 minutes before serving, add the green beans.  Cook on low until the beans are tender crisp.

And there you go. 

Whoopy once, whoopy twice, whoopy chicken soup with rice!!


Both of my girls chowed down on this soup - and so did their Daddy and Gramma and Papa and I.  Hopefully it makes their colds feel better.  And hopefully you get cozy and make some, too - if you do, leave me a comment below and tell me what you think. :-)

The first Friday in December every year, our small town has a big Christmas tree lighting ceremony downtown.  This was a highlight of my childhood - you bundle up and head downtown, meet up with everyone you know, and countdown until the big moment.   Then you get to mingle around, walk over to City Hall to see the lights, enjoy a cookie and some cocoa.

The Christmas Tree Lighting is something from my childhood that I will never forget.

Now I get to share that with my girls.

This year was complete with fireworks!!  That was a first! We were super close and they were really beautiful, lighting up downtown.

We had one kid who thought they were GREAT.

And one who REALLY didn't.

 But the lights and the soap bubble snow were enjoyed by all.

 

 

 

 

We all had so much fun - and this morning when we woke up, we had a big surprise....

 



SNOW!!!!

 

The world was white out there!  We all couldn't wait to play in it!

 

So, we braved the cold and went exploring.

 

 

 

 

Tilly was loving it, too.

 



Daddy helped build a snowman.

And it turned out ADORABLE. 

(But not as adorable as the little girls who made it! :-)

Hello, Christmas!!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Where did this year GO? 

My girls are ready for Christmas.  They already know what they want to ask Santa for - Hoot wants the "Olivia's House" Lego Friends set and Bug is asking for a talking Doc McStuffins clinic.  We put up our trees (we have three!) yesterday and have started reading the Christmas books and watching the Christmas movies.  They are loving it.

Actually, I am ready for Christmas too.  Fall has been kind of hard on this family.  We lost my beloved Aunt Diane a week before Thanksgiving after a very long, very heroic battle with cancer.  She was a woman of grace and class - with the kindest, most patient heart you will ever come across. She played as big of a part I raising my brothers and I as my own parents did, and my most of my fondest childhood memories include her and her beautiful smile. She was one in a zillion and she is missed every day - and will be forever.  We are all just putting one foot in front of the other, breathing in and out, and turning toward each other for comfort. 

So when I say that I am ready for Christmas, I mean it - I am ready for some joy, ready for some smiles.  Ready to turn a corner.   I am planning on baking cookies, snuggling, giggling, and most of all counting our blessings and making two little girl's dreams come true.

This afternoon, I took some pictures of my girls in hopes of taking advantage of some "Cyber Monday" deals on Christmas cards. Am I the only one on Earth that sees the 55% off deal and buys the outfits and takes the pictures on the same day with zero real planning so that she doesn't miss it?  It is so chaotic.  But what in my world isn't chaotic?  It wouldn't seem like "me" if I did it in a more organized way. LOL

The girls were as cooperative as can be expected.  Which means not really at all. Oh well. Here is a Christmas Card Preview.  Enjoy!

 

Some Fall Fun

Yesterday was the first day of Daylight Saving Time, AKA The Bain of Every Parent's Existence.

It starts getting dark so early here now, and will only be getting dark earlier for a while now.  Plus, it is getting to be cold outside in the afternoons. 

Sigh. Gone are the days of long, lingering afternoons and evenings outside, enjoying fresh air and sunshine - and here are the days of me coming up with a few indoor activities each week to keep my girls happy and prevent endless hours and hours of watching Disney Jr. and to keep them from driving me insane.

My girls LOVE playdough. 

I am a mean mom.  I HATE playdough.  It is messy and annoying.  The store bought stuff is especially gross and smelly.  My kids bug me almost every single day to play with some play dough - and like I said, I am mean - I make up some excuse as to why we cannot possibly do playdough today (or tomorrow or for the rest of their lives the week) and hope that they forget that they asked. 

Today I decided that I would just get over myself and let them have dough!  Homemade pumpkiny fally scented dough, no less.  (I got this idea HERE   and the recipe HERE.)
What did we do before Pinterest?!  It is such a never ending well of activities for everyone, especially kids! A mom's best friend!!!)

I ended up taking the idea from the link above and putting my own spin on it. 

I made a double batch of the dough, so that there would be a good sized ball for each girl.  This dough smells super good, too.  Like Pumpkin Pie.  It is even the color of Pumpkin Pie. And it is soft and stretchy and not at all crumbly or messy. Best dough ever. For reals.  :-)

Next I went out in the yard and gathered up a bunch of "fally" items from nature - sticks, leaves, pinecones, pine needles, little nut things - whatever I could find.

I laid all of these things out on cookie sheets and let the girls have at them.

It was love at first sight.  The smell of the dough and the items from nature were immediate hits. 

 

As I type, they have been playing with this project for MORE THAN TWO HOURS. With no fighting!  Anyone with a two and a three year old knows hat that NEVER happens! LOL! 

 

They have made cakes, cookies, a dragon, a turkey, a porcupine, and a million other amazing things!  My dad even dropped by (He brought us some awesome soup that he made and got me off the hook for making dinner! SCORE! Thanks, Dad! My hero!) and got in on the fun by helping make a sweet grasshopper.  Nothing like a pumpkin pie scented grasshopper made by your Papa to make a fun afternoon even better! :-)

 

The only downside of this project is going to be dealing with the fallout here in a little bit when I have them that it is time to clean up! LOL  I think I will give them just a few more minutes.....  I don't have the heart to break up the sister love and the Fall fun just yet. :-) Perhaps I should change my no playdough policy? 

Holy Terrible Twos, Batman!

I came in from working out this morning to this lovely surprise:

(Not pictured:  The couch and ottoman that are as coated in diaper rash cream as the kid that is pictured.)

 

 

When I asked her what she was doing with the diaper rash cream and why it was smeared on everything in the room, she had a fair answer: "Pretending it was yipstick.  And lotion. And paint. And shampoo."

 

I stood there - mostly trying not to laugh out loud.

 

She thought I was going to get mad, so she started to cry.

 

Poor Bug. 

 

Her Terrible Twos were showing.

 

Again.

 

You see, this isn't an uncommon occurrence for my little Bugster. 

 

For every bit of ornery trouble that Hoot gave me when we were in the throws of the dreaded Terrible Twos, her sister multiplies it by ten fold.  This kid is the ultimate benchmark for the Terrible Twos.

 

She gets into EVERYTHING.  She makes EPIC messes.  She wants to do everything "ALL BY MYSELF!" in her own way and her own time.  She picks her own clothes, her own lunch, her own toys, her own everything - and any one else's help or opinion is met with EXTREME opposition.

 

And, HOLY COW - can this child ever throw a temper tantrum.  Loud. Long. Dramatic.  Unlike anything you have ever seen.  She has an IRON WILL.

 

Having patience with her is my biggest struggle most days.

 

But on the other hand, look at that face. 

 

She may be the strongest willed human being alive, and she may have a shriek that could shatter glass (and eardrums) and she may have an uncanny knack for getting into trouble - but she is also adorable.  And snuggly.  And SO funny - my little comedian. 

 

And it's a dang good thing - because her Terrible Twos are shaping up to be LEDENDARY.