Sugar Cookie Icing

Love love this icing!  It is very forgiving, corrects itself, and dries super shiny!  It isn't too hard or too soft and holds up very nicely!


Icing Recipe:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup and milk one teaspoon each at a time.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Hoping for a white Christmas!

Christmas plans have changed, and we are going to Texas for Christmas! It was quite a surprise, but we are very happy with the change!  It will make the time go by faster and help the hole in our hearts.  Chief is still doing fantastic, but his days are getting long. He just updated his blog today as well. www.livingthechieflife.blogspot.com We are in to our routine, and we have all adjusted quite well.  It has been a busy 2 weeks, and it is hard to believe it is mid December!  The kids have numerous activities going on at school....plays, speeches, school parties, birthday parties, winter concerts, etc.  I have been trying to get Christmas shopping completed, shopping for winter clothes, getting us packed, taking down our Christmas stuff, cleaning house, cooking, baking, laundry, wrapping presents, and taking care of the animals of course!  I am not sleeping well, so I take an occasional Advil PM to help me sleep at night.  I can't seem to turn off my brain because I have too much on my mind. 

We had exchanged Christmas presents this week with our Hawaii Ohana, and the kids also opened up their presents from my parents and a few from us.  Both kids got electric scooters and Nintendo DSi's.  They are over the moon about those! Monkey Doodle has already perfected his scooter skills, but Miss Priss is still working on balancing when it is going fast.  Here is a video of Monkey Doodle on his scooter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcskIz_3SE8

Don't ya just love the Hawaii weather in mid December?  I think I could stay here another 3 years!

Monkey Doodle also got a Paper Jam's Guitar and Miss Priss got a La La Loopsie Doll.  They love them as well! 

I just finished taking down all of our Christmas Decorations, and the house looks so bare now.  It was a lot of work (10 big boxes worth plus tree and decorations), and I sure missed Chief's help!  I did it though, and I feel very accomplished!  Ha! Well, I better get back to cleaning house because we leave tomorrow!

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

even if it is 80 degrees outside!  It is so hard to get in to the spirit with it being 80 degrees everyday and wearing slippers and shorts!  I am very envious of my friends that are experiencing cold weather and snow, but then they are envious of me because I live in paradise! 

The deployment is nearing way to fast, and Chief will be leaving us a few days after Turkey day.  It hit me like a ton of bricks this week, and I became completely overwhelmed.  I swear I have become his 3rd arm this week because I don't want to leave his side, but we are enjoying every second we can together.  It is so much harder this time because not only do I have to mend my broken heart, but I also have to mend Miss Priss and Monkey Doodle's hearts too.  At dinner this week, Monkey Doodle asked Chief is he was going to be gone a long time.  When Chief told him, "yes," Monkey got huge crocodile tears in his eyes and could barely finish his dinner.  My heart broke in to a million pieces!  Many tears have been shed by all of us this week, and we are having a our bad days and good days.

Today was a great day since we decorated for Christmas!  We wanted Chief to be able to enjoy the decorations and also decorate the tree as a family.  It was so much fun, and we made amazing memories tonight.  The kids really enjoyed decorating their trees that go in their room and also the main tree.  We did have a mishap while the kids were wrestling today, and Monkey Doodle ended up with 2 staples in his head.  This is the 2nd time he had to be sewn up in his short little life, and he never has shed a tear either.  The Dr. that did the staples today did not even give him any numbing medication and stapled straight in to his head without it!  Monkey Doodle has such a high pain tolerance and never even flinched.  He is such a tough 6 year old!

Well, here are the pictures of the inside Christmas decorations.  Hope you like them as much as we do!

I made it without losing it!

I cannot believe it, but I made it through Christmas Eve without losing it.  Christmas Eve is a bitter sweet day for us because it is our oldest son's birthday and the anniversary of his death.  Beckam would be 6 years old if he was still on this earth, but he was just to small to live.  He was Monkey Doodle's twin that I delivered at 21 weeks 5 days on Christmas Eve 2003.  It is a definitely a rare occurrence that I delivered my twins almost 6 weeks apart, and we have less than a 3% chance of having Monkey Doodle to make it to viability.

I still have my bad days, but it has gotten better over the last 6 years.  We still miss his terribly and hang a picture ornament of him on our tree every year at the time of his birth, 6:44 PM eastern time.  He blessed us on this earth for 2 1/2 hours while Chief read him The Christmas Story, and I held him in my arms and studied his little face, hands, and feet.  He was perfect, but just tiny.  I put the phone up to his ear so my family could tell him that they loved him and would miss him since they could not be there when he was born.  I remember every detail of that night, every little wimper, and every little sound as painful and sweet as they are.  I would do anything to see my sweet Beckam just one more time.  I know I will see him in heaven one day, and I take comfort that he is with our Father, enjoying the wondrous place I long to see after I am no longer on this earth.

My favorite saying is this.....

Hug your children a little closer, play with them a little longer, let the little things slide, and celebrate life with them a little more because it can all change in the blink of an eye.

1 Corinthians 15:52:
⁵² It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

Sugar overload!

I have spent the last couple of days making all kinds of Christmas goodies, but I am trying to be good and not eat them! I may have a small sample, but I am keeping that to a minimum. I have made cranberry chex mix, 5 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread men, cheeseroll (minimal carbs!), puppy chow, and ranch oyster crackers. I have to say that it hasn't been that hard to be around all of it and not eat it. It is really strange!!! Anyway, me, Chief, and some very good friends of ours spent the day icing 5 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread men.

My Cooking Calendar for Christmas Week

I had to make a list of dishes that I am cooking and baking for Christmas to keep everything straight and not forget anything! I thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I would share.  I have already made puppy chow, the sugar cookie dough, and gingerbread men. I still have dough left to make more though.

Monday

Ranch oyster crackers

Cranberry Chex Mix

Cheeseroll

Tuesday

Sugar Cookies (dough already mixed and in the fridge)

Gingerbread Cookies (dough already mixed and in the fridge)

Divinity

Wednesday

New York Cheesecake

Baby Green Chili Wonton Quiches

Beer Dip

Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake

Pimento Cheese Spread

Christmas Eve

Corn Bread for the dressing

Pecan Pies

Pie Crusts

Sausage Balls

Chili con queso

4 dozen Clover Leaf Potato Rolls

Twice Baked Potatoes

Christmas day

Corn Bread Dressing

Turkey Gravy

Green Bean casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Broccoli & Rice Casserole

Cranberry Dressing

Whipped cream

I am making all of this along with still preparing lunch and dinner for our family.  Thankfully, our friends fed us dinner, and we will have Chicken n Dumplings Monday night that I prepared for Sunday's dinner.   I think I will be in the kitchen a lot this week! I am ready to have a bigger kitchen because my small kitchen is for the birds!!!!