Grandma's Cookies

Grandma Knodel was always known for baking too many cookies at Christmas time and for giving everyone socks for Christmas.  We miss grandma very much this year and will also miss her cookie and socks traditions.  In rememberence of Grandma Knodel her cookie recipes live on... ;-)

Here is one of my FAVORITE cookie recipes from Grandma Knodel.

Kiss Cookies
1 1/4 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together until nice and creamy.  
Use a small or medium scoop and form cookie balls.  Dip or roll in colored sugar sprinkles, or cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Put on cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes.  Place pure chocolate kiss on top of cookie - press into the cookie just a little bit - then put back in oven for about 2 minutes.

Simple and delicious!  Thanks Grandma Knodel!

A-Team! You Go Girl!

Mariah has a new found love of throwing herself through the air.. yup, you guessed it.  She's a cheerleader.  This is her second year in cheerleading and she made the A-Team for both girls and boys season!  She had try-outs on Friday night and came home about 6pm with a smile from ear to ear.  Her and her good friend Paige will both be flippin' around with the 8th graders on the A-Team!  Great job Mariah! 

Merry Christmas!

Voge Christmas 2009

Every year a member of the Voge Family hosts the annual Christmas Party on the Saturday before Christmas.  This year it was our turn.  This was the second time that we hosted this large party.  Anyone that is a Voge somehow in relation is invited to this party.  We had an awesome turn out and everyone had a great time.  We spent many hours socializing and catching up with one another and enjoying delicious food and drinks.  The kids played video games and some of the adults played card games.  I learned how to play Speed and tied with Shannon on my very first game.  I posted a couple pictures on flickr, but here is one of Mariah and I acting goofy around midnight after the last couple people went home. 

Merry Christmas! :-)

What a Great Weekend!

This was a wonderful weekend.  We had so much fun with family and friends, the weather was wonderful for playing outside, the family was healthy... definitely a great time. 

On Friday I took a half vacation day and met up with my friend Lindsay (in town from Iowa).  We toured around Burlington and had a very nice lunch at Charcoal Grill.  After our lunch we did some shopping at Kohl's,  then found a nice coffee shop in downtown Burlington, and then went and got pedicures!  It was a very relaxing and much needed ladies-only adventure. 

On Saturday we went to Menards and bought some of the trim pieces for our basement.  Cory has been working hard putting up the drink ledge and trying to get it ready for our big Voge Family Christmas Party this coming Saturday!  Cory also bought a motion light projector for the front our our house... I am not a big fan, but Mariah and Cory were so excited about it and I couldn't tell them no.  It is a machine (small) that is in our front yard and projects images on our house (moving images).  Right now it is set to project large snowflakes that fall down the front of our house.  It is pretty, but I don't think we live in the right location for something like this.  People drive past our house too fast to be able to see the moving snowflakes.  Cory and Mariah seem to like it though, so I am sure it will be staying. 

On Sunday Cory went to church to continue getting the powerpoint and tvs working during the church services.  While he was at church, the kids and I got ready for the Bears v. Packers party at my brother's house.  The party started around 11:30am.  Scotty and Shannon had tons of people over and lots of great food and drinks.  We had a great time - even though the Bears lost - and some of the people even did some sledding after the game. 

Definitely a great weekend... now on to my week... :-)

Busy Night with the Kiddos!

Last night was Parent's Night at Mariah's school and Cowboy Christmas at Ethan's daycare!

First we went to Mariah's school and watched her cheer for the girls basketball game.  I know that people like to brag up their kids, but Mariah is AWESOME with cheerleading.  She seriously has talent!  I think I might have to look into getting her more involved in gymnastics and competitive cheerleading instead of soccer.  She definitely found something she is wonderful at and that she loves.  Great job Mariah. :-)

As soon as Mariah was done cheering we rushed over to Ethan's daycare for his Cowboy Christmas musical.  Cory and Ethan had to leave Mariah's game a little early so that Ethan could get ready for his big event.  Mariah and I met Cory and Grandpa Karl at the church (daycare) to watch Ethan.  Ethan did so good and sat so well in front of the church.  There were so many people and a couple kids were crying, but Ethan did fabulous!  He looked so handsome as a little cowboy. ;-)

Things That Scare Me!

Crazy drivers and Woodman’s!


Last night I was driving down to Hwy 50 after picking up Ethan from daycare. I was in a 55mph zone and going the speed limit. Out of nowhere a older car appeared behind me and was literally driving on my bumper. I was terrified that he was going to hit me. He was driving so close that I couldn't see him in my side view mirrors and when looking out my rear view mirror I could see right into his front window. He was pushing me to the point that I couldn't slow down and I had to drive about 70mph for fear that he would hit me. I couldn't pull over, couldn't turn... nothing... I was stuck! Ethan was in the back seat and I was so worried that this guy was going to cause us an accident. So.... "hello 911... there is a guy driving on the bumper of my car and he is swerving back and forth over the yellow and white lines on the road..." finally we got to an area of the road where there were two lanes. The guy quickly changed lanes and I was able to get (and report) his license plate number. I continued watching him swerve all over the road... I hope the police caught up with him!

After my frightening driving situation I continued to head to Woodman's grocery store/super scary large warehouse full of giant items... I know there are people that love Woodman's, but I have to admit that I am not one of them. The place scares me! I walk in and I have no idea where I am going. It is so huge and there are way too many items to chose from. Seriously it is a scary place. I told Cory that he has to go in there with me to protect me if I ever go back. It is overwhelming! I guess I am truly a small town girl.... I think I will continue to shop at the local Piggly Wiggly... the one and only grocery store in Union Grove. ;-)

What a great weekend

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful!  We had 4 days off work and school and plenty of time spent with family and friends!  Who could ask for anything more?!  On Thursday we all gathered together at my mom's house for a delicious Thanksgiving feast.  No one left hungry...!  There was so much food and lots of great conversation.  We all enjoyed relaxing and catching up with one another. 

On Friday my mom and I woke up bright and early (well it wasn't so bright...it was still the middle of the night) and we went SHOPPING!  We shopped from 4am - 11:30am!  This was our longest shopping adventure yet!  We got lots of great deals and shopped until we ran out of room in my Trailblazer. 

Then on Friday night our friends from Iowa stopped over for dinner and hang out time.  We had a great time with them and Ethan and Logan played so well together. 

Capturing this picture was truly a miracle.  I looked at Ethan and said E, go give Logan a hug.  Well Ethan walked right up and hugged Logan and Logan happily hugged Ethan right back and I managed to get the picture of this 5 second moment!  It was absolutely precious as you can see.  :-) 

Quickly after this picture... things started to change.  I wanted to get a picture of Lindsay and I holding our boys.  We have been taking pictures like this every year since we were pregnant with the boys.  Well this year Ethan wasn't a huge fan of being held and getting his picture taken....

Yes, I was holding on to Ethan with all my might and he was not at all happy about it. 

LOL better luck next year. :-) 

P.S. We miss you already McGowan Family.  Hope to see you again soon!

On Saturday the family and I went to church to decorate for the Christmas Season.  We watched the guys put the lights on the beautiful tree and Mariah helped hang ornaments.  Cory helped run the wiring for the new TV monitors and speakers around the church.  Mom and Ethan played in the toy room and Ethan learned how to scramble pretend eggs and feed a pretend baby.  I... well I walked around and took pictures. :-) Yes, that is one of my main jobs in life. 

Check out more pictures from November at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckbartlett/sets/72157622874192642/show/

On Sunday we woke up early, hung out around the house, then went to church.  Ethan is a handful in church and really has no understanding of "sit still".  He wants to climb under the pews, throw trucks, screech from time to time... and make sure that everyone knows that he is present.  I definitely think we have begun the terrible twos... oh our precious little man ;}

Thanksgiving!

This is another action packed week.  Mariah got her bottom braces on Monday.  After that appointment I took the kids to the doctor's office for their flu shots.  Guess Monday wasn't their favorite day, but the rest of the week gets better.  On Thursday we are going to my mom's house for lots of food and relaxing family time.  Then on Thursday night we break out the sales ads and plan our early morning hunt!!  This is a tradition that started a couple years ago and it's something that I look forward to every year.  I have my shopping list created and I am ready to find the best bargain. 

Not only is Black Friday an amazing shopping day, but it's also Cory and my 5 year engagement anniversary!

Ethan's Bedroom

Ethan's bedroom has a new look!  We painted over the light yellow walls and gave him "big boy" colors of brown and blue.  He is doing great with saying blue, but he keeps asking where the yellow went?

All the activity!

Oh the crazy days with kids, dogs, fish... and a husband! ;-) Cory was out of town for the past couple days and finally got back late last night. Managing the house without him seemed really difficult this time. Normally I do fine on my own, but this time was different. I don't know what made it different... the only thing that changed was that we have fish now. Really all I have to do is turn on their lights in the morning and feed them, but for some reason that was a bit too much to add to my early morning schedule; however, I managed!

This weekend I have two Pampered Chef parties! The first one is on Friday night and the second one is on Saturday morning. I am looking forward to the back-to-back shows and hope that they are both very successful parties! I also have two catalog parties going on right now and I just closed a large show this past Monday night. I am really loving selling PC. I wish I had more time to focus on it, but for now I am managing.

I haven't been completely happy with my day job lately. I was very frustrated for a while and ready to transfer in to a different position. Well, I've had two wonderful opportunities to transfer within the past month but I decided to pass on them both. I am at a point where I am learning to focus on the positive with my job. I will no longer let this job defeat me and get me down. I am looking at it as a challenge and doing the best that I can. I am pushing the negativity aside and running with my head held high. I began this new positive focus about a week ago and so far so good!

I also joined the Wellness Center that is two buildings down from my workplace. I adjusted my work hours to 6:30am - 3:30pm which allows me to take a 1 hour lunch for hitting the gym! I have my fitness assessment today and I am sure I will fail with flying colors! LOL I have gained so much weight this past year and am so out of shape. I really hope that this lunch hour work out is exactly what I need to help lift my spirits and get my back in shape! Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! :-)

I could go on and on with my posts today, but I will end it here. More from me later!
Kelly

Trick-or-Treat

Trick-or-treating started out as a family adventure this year, but quickly changed to an adventure with Mariah, her friends, and myself. Ethan was fighting a nasty cold and after about 15 minutes out in the cold air, we decided that Cory should take him back home. Hopefully next year we will all be healthy and able to share the experience as a family!

Active little MONSTER

So last night Cory, Ethan, and I went to the fish store to buy some gravel, salt, and a heater. We were there for about 10 minutes. Ethan goes crazy in the pet store because he loves animals and there are two cats that live in the store. Well we went and got the fish stuff we needed and set it on the counter. Then Cory went to look at heaters (for about 5 minutes) and I followed Ethan around... here is what happened... no touch, no touch, nice, no touch Ethan, careful please, gentle, okay, how about we play over here, oh... Ethan get down from the cat tree, yes... kitty... pet nice, good job Ethan, oh, don't rip kitty's tail off, okay no touch Ethan, put the glass fish bowl down, yes look at the kitty on the kitty tree (oh, dog collars... how much are these) SMASH.. oh crap... Ethan just broke a fish toy.... (I am picking up the fish toy now) Ethan, get down from the cat tree.... that was about 2 minutes of the 10 minutes that we were in the store!! WOW, boys are A-C-T-I-V-E!!!!
Then we stop over at my friend Jeni's house. Ethan was being very good and Cory and I were talking to Jeni and her new adorable baby, Giana. Before we knew it Ethan was walking on Jeni's picture frame which had glass on it. I snatched him up quick and handed him to Cory. Seriously... I looked away for a split second and he is trying to be destructive! Thank goodness he didn't break the glass... that could have been a really expensive evening.

My First PC Party

I had my first Pampered Chef party this past Friday night at my sister's house. There was a wonderful turn out and a lot of orders. I had a lot of fun with this party, but also learned a lot of things that I want and need to do differently. Lots to prepare and organize before my next party this coming Friday! One a week should be perfect for my schedule. Now I need to figure out what I want to use this extra money for... I am thinking a new bedroom set, new living room furniture, new TV for our bedroom and for the kitchen... there is always so much to buy! :-) I have a feeling I will be selling PC for a loooooooooong time!

Awww and HA!

Awww:
This weekend I looked at Ethan and put my finger by my eye and said "I"
Then I put my hand by my heart and said "LOVE"
Then HE pointed his finger at me and said "YOU"
ADORABLE!!!!

HA!:
I was asking Ethan to repeat the words that I was saying because we are trying to get him to talk more. Well randomly I said Ethan, can you say hippopotamus... and Ethan said "DADA". HAHAHA!!! Cory didn't think it was as funny as I thought it was! ;-)

Tired

I am getting tired. I have so many commitments all the time. Cory and I are always working on our house, at our jobs, at side jobs... We are missing out. Why do we keep doing this? We want so much in life and have so many goals. We are always trying to get more for less so we continue doing so much ourselves. We are pretty good at burning ourselves out, but I am not sure how happy we would be if we didn't do this. With that said.. I just needed to post this to say that I am tired. I feel like I don't have enought time for the kids, for myself, for my house... I am working full time, selling Pampered Chef party time, and still doing hair on the side for a handful of people. The extra money is nice and the time with friends is also great, but when is enough... enough?

Interesting Week...

My week started out wonderfully. I signed up as a consultant for The Pampered Chef on Sunday morning, then hung out and relaxed all day Sunday. Work has been nice all week long... not too busy, but busy enought to keep the day moving along. In the evenings I have been taking online classes for pampered chef and learning all about the company (I can't believe how organized that company is!). I have been trying new recipes from my PC cookbooks and loving everything that I have made so far! Overall my week started out wonderfully. Then as the week went on... things started to go down hill. I had a discussion with an old friend that brough up a lot of burried away hurt feelings... I totally bombed weight watchers for the week... and I tried to have the discussion again with Cory about having another baby. God how I wish he was on board... So, now it's Friday and I am actually wishing it was Monday again. Well... I wish I was back in Monday's mood anyways. Ugh... hopefully the weekend will be better.

Pampered Chef

I am now a consultant for The Pampered Chef! I am very excited about this and would love to have a show in your home!! If you would like to host a party please email me at kel.bartlett@yahoo.com. I will eventually have a Pampered Chef website, but don't have everything put together yet. I am looking for two more October bookings if anyone is interested! This is a great way to have a "ladies night" "family night" or just to get friends together. Significant others and children are always welcome, but I will let you make the final call. I would love for you to host a theme party or just a simple cooking show! October is a great month for asking your friends to arrive in costume! November would be a great month for "comfort food"... and there is always the option of "death by chocolate"!

Also, if you are looking to earn some extra income, reduce your full time working hours, become a SAHM, or even get out of the house 1+ nights per week... please talk to me about become an independent sales consultant. This is a great way to make money and stay connected with your friends and family!

Happy Baking!
Kelly ;-)

Dining room

Let the laughing and jokes begin... I am painting the dining room AGAIN. ;-) This time I am painting it red to match the kitchen. I love red! I will post pics on flickr when I am done.

Ethan's Vocabulary

Shoe or shoes
Mommy
Dada
Puppy or puppppeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyy
vroom (in a low and scary voice)
beep beep (he tries to drive everything)
rarrrrrrr (he thinks he's very scary)
WaWa (Mariah)
All Done
The End
Meow (cat)
Hat
Hair
Nose
Eyes (he says this very clearly)
Ears
Belly button (some times he points a little to low...)
Baby (he craddles his arms and rocks them when he says this and it sounds like Beebee)
Uh-oh
Mine
Mwahh (loves to give kisses)
Mmmmm (usually means he's hungry)
NO (usually yelling at the dogs)
He also makes monkey and elephant noises.
He is learning new words and sounds every day and everything he says is getting clearer and easier to understand. It is amazing watching him grow and develop.