Sam's favorite mashed potatoes

And mine too. Oh my goodness.
Thanks Tyler!

Ingredients
4 pounds golden creamer potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
Put the potatoes into a large pot, add the bay leaf, 2 tablespoons salt, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain them well and remove the bay leaf. Meanwhile, heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan. Put the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a bowl. Add the hot cream and season with salt and pepper. Mix together with a spoon.

Another yummy recipe

Crockpot meatballs.  Couldn't be much easier, and they're super tasty!

Christmas Crafts!

Carol, Justin, Kaden, and I (well, Darrell made one too) spent an hour or so making button ornaments today.  I originally saw the idea on Pinterest, and had hoped to make enough to send to everyone for Christmas gifts since our two income household became a one income household.  But now that I'll be gainfully employed soon, we're keeping most of them for ourselves.

Anyway, it's super easy.  The hardest part is finding the right buttons.  I found mine here.  I wish the average size was larger; we ran out of the big ones long before using up the small ones.  But, it was a fun and easy craft, even for Kaden.

I bought long pipe cleaners from Walmart and folded them in half.  Used the two ends to go through the buttons, then twisted the very ends for the loop to hang on the tree branch.  Ta-da!

Can't go wrong with cheese and bacon.

Bacon and Cheese Chicken.  Who would have thought to pair teriyaki with cheese/bacon?  Not me, but I'm glad she did.

Thank you, Anne.

You will most definitely be missed.

Promotion?

 

The annual E8 board has concluded and results will be released early next year.  Darrell's had a few chances at this promotion, but hasn't been selected.  Last year, out of over two hundred eligible 11Cs, five were selected.  With those numbers, you'd have to be BFFs with a board member or walk on water to be selected.

With the economy in the tubes, many senior NCOs have chosen to stay in the Army longer than they planned.  Since they're not getting out, there aren't as many openings for the rank below to be promoted.  This is the situation we're stuck in now.

However, the Army has started to make it more difficult to just stick around a few more years.  Soldiers with 20+ years in are finally leaving; whether by choice or not, it opens up higher probabilities that Darrell will make the list this next time.  As the Army draws down, his chances will likely improve each year.  But dang, he's been a Sergeant First Class for quite some time now.  We're hoping for better luck this time.

Pretty smart guy.

• Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. 
• Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. 
• If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. 
• It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer. 
• In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. 
• I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. 
• If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? 
• Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results. 
• I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be. 
• Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. 
• A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for. 
• The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. 

These are attributed to Albert Einstein. No idea if he actually said all or any of them.

Meet: Riley

Riley is our new-to-us boxer dog.  We've waited YEARS to get a dog; it never seemed to be the right time.

Well, our waiting is over.

We have many friends with boxers and we knew we wanted to adopt from a rescue organization that fosters their dogs to families rather than keeps them at a shelter somewhere.  Since we have younger kids and a cat, we had to wait a while before a dog became available that wouldn't harass one or the other.

Riley was found as a stray.  He's an estimated three years old and was super skinny when brought into the rescue.  He still has about ten pounds or so to gain to fill out all the way, but we're getting him there.

At some point in the near-ish future, we'll probably get another one.  We'll wait until the time is right, and until then continue to get to know Riley.

Kaden and the Wiggle Seat

Kaden is in kindergarten.  His birthday is only a few days before the cutoff.  Kaden is a boy.

Therefore, it is not too surprising that Kaden is having difficulty sitting still in class.  He's a very young kindergartner and he has a first year teacher.  His teacher is not young; she has a few children of her own.  However, she doesn't yet have a lot of experience in a kindergarten classroom.  It's been pretty challenging, and on the advice of friends with more experience than the teacher and I have, we're going to try out the Wiggle Seat.

From Google's first search result link:

If your child is full of energy and fidgets and wiggles, sitting in a desk chair for prolonged periods of time may be a particular challenge. Kids who have trouble sitting still may wobble their desks, rock their chairs, spring out of their seats, or otherwise do things to annoy the teacher without even realizing they're doing it. How to keep your child comfy on that unforgiving wooden slab? Here are five quick solutions to talk over with your child's teacher and try for everybody's relief.

Solution number one is a cushion generally called a Wiggle Seat.

Anyone who has been around Kaden more than a day or two knows his favorite color is yellow.  So, I Amazon-ed us a yellow wiggle cushion.  He'll bring it with him to class after thanksgiving break is over, but I figured we'd try it out at home during mealtime in the interim.

I'll keep ya posted.

Thanksgiving without Sam

For the first time in many years, we won't be going to my best friend's house for Thanksgiving. (Sob!) We're on our own! Yikes! My sister will be coming to visit, but it'll still be a smaller dinner than we've gotten accustomed to.

On the menu: turkey, ham, homemade mashed potatoes (using Sam's favorite recipe), stuffing (Stove Top), gravy, corn, honey carrots, rolls, pickles/olives, cheesecake, and apple pie. Darrell might toss in some sweet potatoes and store-bought pumpkin pie. I plan to brine the turkey (a la Alton Brown).

It's our first turkey at home since, I believe, our first Thanksgiving after we got married. If all fails, Pizza Hut is open - right?