dinosaur eggs

Last night I made the first batch of Christmas cookies for this year. Whilst I wast busily engaged a little certain sneaky someone grabbed the carton of eggs off the counter and hid under the table. The sad thing is that it took us a good 5-6 minutes to realize that Benson was under that table waiting for his dinosaur eggs to hatch. It made me freak out a little (as he was jumping over the nest) but we couldn't stop laughing. And amazingly none were broken!

craziness

Has anyone else been following the story of the second grade teacher in sudan? Well the poor woman has been given 15 days in jail for allowing her class to name the class teddy bear Muhammad. I read one article that tried to put it in perspective by saying that we would react the same if a Muslim teacher allowed her class to name their teddy bear Jesus. I have to say i really don't think that is true. If Benson's teacher sent a letter home about naming their teddy bear Jesus I might find it inappropriate but I certainly would not call for the teacher to be put in jail, or given 40 lashes or killed! (as some are calling for now) It is sad to me that there are people who are really destroying the name of an otherwise (i think!) peaceful religion. I can't believe the number if Islamic extremists who make the news here in the US. Maybe it is just our country's fascination that causes us to search for these stories? I can't figure it out. Anyway this poor woman who made an honest mistake will now sit in jail for 15 days and I hope make it out of the country alive after that. What a crazy world we live in.

my jewels

This week the weather has turned cold and snowy, heralding the beginning of a new season. I am actually quite sad this year as I was really enjoying our 70 degree days. Fortunately with the cold weather came a change in Benson. He has decided to quit acting 2 for a little while and start being super sweet and funny. Last night some people came to get our piano and Benson cried the sweetest little tears and said, "I don't want them to take our piano. I want you to play nice 'nusic' for me to make me happy." Then he finished out the night with the cutest little prayer I have ever heard. It is nice to have days (or weeks!) like this because it helps to temper the weeks when he is just horrible to live with. For now he is the cutest and most intelligent little 2 year old I have ever seen. And Banks, well he's just so dang cute that I can't be upset with him even when he cries all the time. The presidency message for December put it so nicely, these little boys are "the jewels of my life."

Happy Thanksgiving

Well it is 2:15 and our Thanksgiving is pretty much over. We were too excited to eat our pies so we had Thanksgiving lunch instead of dinner. It was still pretty good though. I think next year we might do an all pie thanksgiving... pizza pies and blueberry pies. None of us really like the usual Thanksgiving fare anyway (except my Mom's orange cream jell-o!). I hope all who read this had as lovely a Thanksgiving as ours was. Now it is officially time to celebrate Christmas! Yaaaay!

One of Benson's "don't miss" weekly activities is watching the garbage man on Wednesday mornings. He always pulls over the piano bench and sits at the window while the garbage man goes around the cul-de-sac. This week he brought Banks with him and explained what was happening with the truck. I look forward to more moments like these as they grow up together.

pizza time

So everyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. (that is where the chicken fingers recipe comes from) Our latest love from the book is their recipe for deep dish pizza. It takes a little time to make but TRUST me, it is worth the effort. This is like pizza hut but better. We do his and hers with mine topped with spinach, sauteed mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes and Ben's with all kinds of meat. Wow. This cookbook continues to deliver the best ways (albeit sometimes complicated) to make our favorite foods. If you like to cook, this one should be on your Christmas list.

No, Benson!

Benson is getting too smart for his own good. He has recently discovered so many new ways to get into trouble that I find myself relating to the book "No David!" more and more. Some days I feel like all I do is tell him to stop doing naughty things. Anyway this one is a picture of one of my favorite new ideas that has come to him; if a stool helps you get higher, than a stool plus a pillow is twice as good. I'd love to get in his brain sometime.