Saturday, December 20, 2008

A killer fudge recipe


Yesterday I had a hankering for fudge. I was out of all kinds of things I needed for it, and my car was a block of ice, so I improvised. It turned out to be the best peanut butter fudge I've ever had. So, I'm gonna share my recipe.


Rodiemom's Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
In a heavy pan, combine butter, sugars and milk over med-high heat. Heat to a rolling boil. Boil mixture for 5 min (exactly) stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and immediately add peanut butter and marshmallows. Stir vigorously until thoroughly combined and mixture no longer appears glossy. Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan and let set about 1 hour before cutting. Enjoy!
Calories don't count at Christmas, right?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Beware...

It'll suck your life away. I've tried to avoid the whole YouTube craze, but every once in a while I start and I just can't stop. So click at your own risk.

My Dad had a book by Thor Ramsey at his house and it intrigued me because Ramsey is my maiden name. Check him out. He's hilarious!

Monday, December 15, 2008

A Christmas Promise

I absolutely love Christmas! I'm not really big on the whole Santa thing. And I actually hate answering the question about what I want for Christmas. I think it kinda cheapens the whole giving something to someone to let them know they are loved thing. But I love gifts and trees and snow, if I'm not out in it. I love the carols, and the smell of the fire burning. I love that the whole family gets together and plays games and eats lots of goodies. It's just such a fun, familiar time of year.

When I was a kid, my favorite part of Christmas was the Christmas Eve service that always ended at midnight with the candles and everybody walking out of the church so quietly. It was just so peaceful. And the best Christmases were the ones when it was snowing as we walked home. We almost always lived next door to the church so we'd walk out in the snow and watch the sky for a few minutes. It's so neat to see the snowflakes falling from a starry sky. Then we'd walk in the house and crawl into bed. In the morning my Mom would have Grandma's coffee cake ready for breakfast. And my brother and I would race down the stairs to see the gifts under the tree. That was always a great part. I'm sure at the time the presents were what I looked forward to, but the Christmas Eve service is the part that I remember the most.

But Christmas is not just about presents and snow and trees and Santa. Those things are all fun and they all have their place. It's not even just about a baby born a long time ago. It's about a promise. The promise that God made to his people many years before Jesus and Joseph and Mary and the stable. A promise of a Savior. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise, the gift He gave all of us that first Christmas. He started His journey to the Cross that day in the stable.I think that's why I loved the Christmas Eve service so much. It was such a quiet reflective time, but it made everything feel like something BIG was about to happen. What could be bigger that the birth of the Savior? So let's remember that promise this Christmas. Remember that something big is about to happen. When we're shopping for that last great deal or getting all those goodies finished in the kitchen, let's remember that our God is in the business of keeping promises. He promised a Savior and He came. He promised He'll come back again. Don't forget, He keeps His promises. Merry Christmas everybody!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Reason for the Season

My MIL sent me this forward today. I thought it was worthy to share .

*Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!*
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone you meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!
Let's remember our Savior this Christmas.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Mother of Boys!

You know, I never wanted boys. I wanted girls. Don't judge me, I'm just being honest here. Now, really, I would never trade my two boys for anything. I'm so glad God knows better and He's in control. If I had my way, I would never have gotten Micah or Jadon and my life would never be as full and fun as it is right now.

That said, I never wanted boys. And here's why. Micah and Jadon have spent the morning chasing each other back and forth across the house. Smart mom of boys that I am, I sent Micah and Chloe to play out in the snow while I get Jadon ready for his nap. He's still little enough that a nap is what he really needs when he starts getting roudy.

Yesterday, after a similar episode, Micah and Chloe were told to hang up their coats and mittens and snowpants and put their boots away. I personally hung up Micah's snowpants and stuffed his mittens inside. So this afternoon, finding snow clothing should be no problem, right? Wrong! Boys do not work this way, at least not my boy. After his clothing had been hanging for several hours, I found Micah in the living room throwing one mitten in the air.

Mommy: Where did you get your mitten from?
Micah: (shrugs)
Mommy: Where is your other mitten now?
Micah: (shrugs)
Mommy: Please find your pants and put your mittens inside of them.
Micah: But I don't know where my pants are.

Mommy and Micah proceed to retrieve the snowpants and the other mitten. Mittens are returned to the pants.

Mommy: Please hang your pants on your hook in the hallway.
Micah: Yes, Mommy.

Now, I'm not sure about the exact wording, but that is pretty much how the conversation went. So today, at outside playtime, getting dressed should be a piece of cake. Right?

Again, not with my boy.

Mommy: Where are your snowpants?
Micah: In my pants drawer. (that makes sense, right?)
Mommy: Go get them and put them on, before you put your boots on. *note, he already had a boot on, and I'm not sure how the pants were going to fit over the boots
Micah: (retrieves pants and begins to put them on)
Mommy: Make sure you get your mittens out before you put your pants on.
Micah: But I don't know where my mittens are.
Mommy: (silently: AARRRRGGGHH!)

We eventually found the mittens under his bed. Don't ask me how they got there. But here is my problem. This is not a one time occurrence. I frequently find things in the weirdest places or don't find them where they should be because Micah has picked something up, wandered into another room, and put it down without ever realizing he has it in the first place.

Jadon discovered Daddy's comb in the toybox yesterday. I think that was his doing. Micah, when told to put his shoes and socks on loses his socks while looking for his shoes. Micah puts one ball away only to find another and begin tossing IT within seconds. When asked to carry his dishes into the kitchen, he walks directly into his bedroom with them. As I type this, I notice one of my socks on top of the computer monitor. I am certain I did not put it there and Jadon is not allowed in here unattended. My only explaination is that Micah found himself without a ball and my sock was handy.

I can definitely see how ADHD is so overly diagnosed in boys in this country. The attention span of a five year old boy is enough to drive any Mom crazy. Not to mention the wild, "hyperactive" behavior of most of them.

Of course, if I didn't have these boys, life would surely be more boring. I mean, is it really fun when everyone sits quietly in their seats? Or when no one is yelling and jumping up and down because they scored a homerun on Backyard Baseball? If I didn't have boys, I think I'd really miss the swordfights with turkey feathers and the giggling over Matchbox Car crashes.

So I guess God really did know what He was doing when He gave me boys. Maybe someday He'll give me a soundproof room to hide in every once in a while.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Mommy's Big Day

As a mother, I am often surprised at how quickly my kiddos are growing up. You'd think by the title that this post was about me. But it's not. My day was big only in that I spent the day waiting and (trying not to) worry while my dad took Chloe and Micah skiing. That's right, skiing. For those of you who don't remember, Chloe is just six years old and Micah just had his 5th birthday last month. And I know that there are kids out there who have been skiing since they were potty trained. But not mine. Mine are going to stay little for a very long time. My aversion to them skiing might just have a little something to do with how much I dislike skiing myself.


However, on the return trip, my Dad called to inform me of some bad news... I may have to decide to like skiing after all. Because, apparently, they loved it! I'm happy for them, I really am. And I'll probably decide that they should go a few more times this year.

My Dad, of course took some photos of the day. I didn't even ask him to. (Betcha you were all wondering where I got my photobug from) Their ski instructor for the morning was April. She met them when they walked in the door and spent the next three hours teaching the kids everything from how to put on their skis to how to make a "pizza" (with their skis, for those of you who have no idea). While the lesson did cost a pretty penny, my Dad said it was definitely worthwhile. He should know, it was his penny.

Chloe got the hang of the "pizza" pretty well and was turning and pulling herself up the tow rope. Micah, however, was a little distracted by all the snowballs he kept picking up. Not great when the snow is pretty much ice. But what else would anyone expect from my boy. I mean, he is a Rodie afterall.
Micah claims his favorite part was the magic carpet. Chloe never told me her favorite part, although I have a sneaking suspicion it was the hot chocolate break that she keeps talking about. She couldn't contain her glee while she was telling me about the day, despite the fact she was too exhausted to even eat supper. All in all, they had a great time, and I hope we can get some more use out of their new skis this year. It is only the beginning of winter and it promises to be filled with snow.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Fab 5 is FIVE!

Can you believe it? Luke and Caleb turned 5 yesterday. Remember when we started this journey? Now we have 5 big 5 year olds in this family. It's kinda funny that despite spanning only about 4 months, they still span two grade levels.




Luke and Caleb are definitely all boy, much like cousin Micah, their older cousin by a mere 3 weeks. While they are identical and often told apart by the fact that 90 percent of the time Luke is wearing blue, they are two distinctly different people. I'd get into that a little more except that I am now late for church so I'll just leave you with a couple pictures of the new 5 year olds.

Mom to four beautiful blessings including a brand new little guy. Laugh and cry with me as I navigate the joys and perils of motherhood and homeschooling.