Snickerdoodles

For the past six years, I (and now "the boys") spend countless hours in the kitchen baking cookies the month prior to Christmas. We sample a few of each recipe and put the remainder in the freezer. Closer to Christmas we love giving our goodies to our friends and family. I love testing out new recipes, but we remain "faithful" to a few of our favorite cookies each year. Snickerdoodles definitely fall into our faithful category. Frankly, I do not recall where I got this recipe from...it is a winner, though!

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix shortening, sugar, and egg till creamy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to creamed mixture and chill dough 1 hour. Roll dough into balls, place on wax paper, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Mommy Knows Best

If you glance over at our gender poll you will see one lone vote cast for a baby boy. I, personally, casted that vote. My mommy instincts were spot on...we will welcome our fourth boy into our family in March 2010. It was pure delight to see our baby boy via ultrasound...he is absolutely perfect! While taking her measurements during the ultrasound, the tech exclaimed at one point "Look at those biceps!". Yes, at approximately 11 ounces our baby has biceps! Perhaps we are having another Garrett;)

While "Baby Yamaha" makes a cute nick name, we have decided on the name Hudson Robert for our newest addition. Hudson is name we liked while pregnant with Ryder; however, when Ryder was born he looked more like, well....a Ryder. In keeping with the tradition of using family names as middle names, Robert is for both of Eric's grandfathers. Let's hope Hudson is born with blonde hair. For some odd reason, I picture the name on a little blonde.

Halloween 2009

We hope all of you had a fabulous Halloween! The boys were stoked to go Trick-or-Treating (although, truth be told they did not need more candy after their classroom parties, treat from family members, etc). Halloween brought blustery winds to our area....brrrr! Needless to say if the kiddos look bulkier than usual they have on two-three layers under their costumes;)

My attempt at a group shot...Ryder is not impressed!

Meet Mr. Incredible and Our Motocross Star...

Yea, so have I told you Garrett has been working out;)
He was so full of life while out Trick-or-Treating. I can say
with certainty I did not see another child with so much
enthusiasm all night long.

Parker knew right away he wanted to be a dirt bike
rider and thought we were going to buy him a costume.
Dude, you have real gear to sport!
As an added bonus we did not have to buy him a costume...cha-ching!

Ryder...our little frog!
We lucked out and did not have to buy a costume for
him either. This is a hand me down for Parker. It is
very fitting since he has always been our little frog.
He got called a girl (and a beautiful one at that)
about fifteen times while out Trick-or-Treating.
He is awfully cute!

Pumpkins, Cats, and Cute Little Boys...Oh, My!

Finally, this week we took the boys to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. We told each of the boys they could pick out a pumpkin for carving and a smaller pumpkin for their "friend" (Panda Wanda, Kitty-Kat, and Monkey...their Webkinz). Truthfully, all three boys were more interested in the cats running around. See below...

Jason's Pumpkin Patch is a local farm located just out of town.
Years ago, it was started by a teenager who wanted to earn money for college.
Currently, Jason is attending Ohio State:)

Ryder...Mommy's Mini Me!
I am fairly certain my parents and grandparents would agree this could
be a picture of me when I was younger...big eyes, crazy hair, grabbing a cat.
I LOVE this picture! He is getting to big, though:(

If I must I will choose a pumpkin.

Garrett (always the animal lover) put one of the cats in our
truck when it was time to leave. I promise one day
they will a cat/dog (or two). However, I know right now
I do not have the time/attention to devote to the needs of an animal.

Parker got in on the cat action as well. Yes, their little "friends" go
with them pretty much everywhere.

A rather annoyed Ryder...darn cat made his way up the tree!
It made for a funny picture, though;)

One day they will tell me I can no longer dress them alike.
Until then I will continue on with my matching obsession.

Ryder amongst pumpkins.
The pumpkin on his left (looking at the computer) Eric
and I purchased for ourselves. It is a tad bit ugly and we felt
the need to rescue it.

Parker and one of his pumpkins.

Garrett and one of his pumpkins.

Oh, how I love all of the "boys" in my life...even the little
one SCREAMING his head off (due to being taken away from the
cat, of course).

Happy Fall!!!!

Morning Walk to School

Yes, Ryder is typically sporting pj's during our AM walk.
Yes, his hat and blanket are usually thrown to the ground.
Garrett is so not amused!

Stopping to pick up acorns...every morning.

...grabbing a few more!

Good morning, school bus!

Look, Mama!

Parker's backpack is slowly starting to fall off.
Normally, Garrett is our leader.

Crossing the street...the crossing guards LOVE our kiddos as the boys ALWAYS
say "Thank you!" for helping them out!

Stopping to make a wish!

See you after school, Parker! Love you!

Ryder yells, "Bye" to Parker every morning...accompanied with
a friendly wave!

Get Your Vote In...Win a Set of Handmade Cards

Some of you have already noticed the poll I have up within the right column of my blog. Do you think Baby Yamaha will be a boy? A girl? Make sure you cast your vote (if you haven't already)! Leave me a comment on this post stating your vote and you could win a set of handmade Christmas cards (created by yours truly).

I will take all of the "correct" comments and enter them in a random drawing to win the cards. Our ultrasound is scheduled for November 9th so get your vote in...comment section will close at 8am EST 11/9/2009.

Redeeming Myself

I am attempting to redeem myself for my previous post...here is what I put into the crock pot this morning.

Homemade Vegetable Soup with Ground Turkey

It smells heavenly and perhaps there is hope for Baby Yamaha yet!