I apologize, future Evan.

This was too hard to resist. When you and your sister came upstairs all pleased to show me the princess costumes you were wearing, well, I could not NOT grab my camera. And unfortunately, playing princess dress-up is just one of the hazards of having an older sister.

Plus, this whole smiling so big that you have to close your eyes smile is just cracking me up. It had to be documented.
Tonight I found a little note from Santa underneath the Christmas tree...I think Caroline thought that Santa would find it there. :) I think that we'll mail it to the big guy tomorrow...

The big things on her list this year? A penguin pillow pet and a "Julie" American Girl doll.
Speaking of gifts, I officially started Christmas shopping tonight. God bless internet shopping and free shipping, that's all I have to say. :)

Henry's doing better, but he did get sick again tonight after eating some bland rice. Poor kid! This is one nasty bug. He'll be staying home from school again tomorrow. Just waiting to see if the other kids catch it...Lysol and hand sanitizers are our best friends right now.

Well, that's one way...

to extend Thanksgiving break and get out of finishing his social studies project. ;) Henry just came down with the stomach flu. Poor kid. :(

Moxie has been quite worried about him. Every time he gets sick, she runs over to him, looks at him anxiously and tries to lick him. It's really a sweet thing to watch.

The way she has been acting reminds me of what my childhood dog, Schnitzel would do. We used to call Schnitzel "Nurse Nice" because of how attentive she was when we were sick. :)

I think that Miss Moxie has earned that title now.

She'll probably deserve her title even more by the end of the week...

I have a sinking feeling that with the way this norovirus spreads, she'll soon be attending to more sick kiddos.
Feel better soon, Henry, and good luck, Moxie!

It may not look like much...

...but this humble looking dish is my husband's favorite after-Thanksgiving meal. I actually think that this tetrazinni actually beats out the Thanksgiving day meal in his book. (I posted this recipe last year too.) I got the recipe from my friend, Georgia, and we both loved to serve it for family gatherings. It's easy to make the day before, keep it in the refrigerator overnight, and pop into the oven for a big family meal.

I do believe it will be what I make for our family Christmas meal this year.

Without further ado, here is......Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazinni!!!

Turkey (about the same amount as a whole roasted chicken)
1 lb. of linguine
1 very large can of chicken broth
1/2 cup of flour
3 sticks of butter
2 cups of milk
1 onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 celery stalks (diced)
10 fresh mushrooms (sliced)
1 roll of Ritz crackers
3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a very large pot, add turkey or chicken and broth. If using turkey, just cut up into bite-sized pieces before adding, and skip steps 2a, 2b and 2d. Bring to a boil.
2. a. Remove chicken from broth.
b. Remove chicken from bone. Cut into small pieces
c. Break linguine in half and add to the broth.
d. Add chicken back to broth.
e. Also add the chopped onion, chopped celery and sliced mushrooms.
3. Cook until past is Al dente. There should be very little broth left in the pot. Put lid on pot and turn off stove.
4. a. In a separate saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter.
b. Slowly add the flour.
c. Add milk.
d. Add mushroom soup.
e. Add one cup of cheese.
f. Keep stirring and cook until cheese is melted.
g. Add this mixture to the linguine pot and stir.
5. Spray 9 x 13" pan with Pam. Add the linguine mixture.
6. Sprinkle 2 cups of cheddar cheese on top.
7. In a separate saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter.
a. Take a roll of Ritz crackers and empty them into a large storage bag and seal.
b. Squeeze crackers in your hands until they are in small pieces.
c. Add to melted butter and mix well.
8. Sprinkle crackers on top of casserole.
9. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Three Christmas Classics

Starring the Noseks...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

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Can't resist a good JibJab!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Performed by the Nosek elves...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Here's how those same elves decked our halls today...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sweet Thanksgiving blessings to be thankful for this year...

a "Turkey Ball" playing husband (and a mudroom!)...

...a yummy turkey to enjoy with our family...
...adorable turkey cupcakes Aunt Nacibe brought to celebrate Evan's birthday...

...a healthy, happy new four year old surrounded by doting brothers, a sister and cousins...

...happy birthday wishes...


...fun new toys...


...cheers for a Thanksgiving meal by cute cousins...

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

...and being surrounded by the blessings of family on this special day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy birthday, EVAN!!

You are absolutely and positively our favorite 4 year old on this planet right now!
He remembered his new age and showed it off proudly as soon as he got out of bed this morning. :)
And he has spent a fun birthday morning playing with his new castle with everyone!


Here he is, live action...check out the voice he uses for his characters. Hahaha!

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

Evan's B-Day and T-Day Eve

It's not too much longer...
until this three year old opens up his eyes tomorrow as a brand spanking new 4 year old!! As we were rocking before bed tonight, we were discussing that when he wakes up tomorrow, he'll be 4. He LOVED that idea. We practiced holding up 4 fingers, talked about how excited he was to tell his preschool friends, how we were having a big party with our family tomorrow to celebrate his birthday (and Thanksgiving!). I am so thankful for this boy!

And when he wakes up and comes running out of his room to tell us that he's 4, here's what he'll see...his birthday present! Dave assembled it tonight, God bless him!
I made the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie tonight. The turkey's ready to go in the oven at 8:00 tomorrow morning. The boys helped me set the table, and Dave helped fold the napkins. (Fancy, huh? Fan-napkin folding is one of Dave's many talents.)

My brother-in-law brought me these beautiful flowers which will serve as a centerpiece tomorrow. (Thank you, Jim!)

And my mom made this gorgeous arrangement for our buffet table...

I do believe we are about ready for the big day!

More Cousin Fun

These cousins...they kept busy. They explored the nature area behind our house, played board games, mighty beans, hide and seek, football, Littlest Pet Shop, video games and watched movies. You name it, they did it.

Here's Dave with the kids playing Stratego (a favorite) on the table my in-laws gave us. (Thank you!)
They wore Evan out. He fell asleep watching Seth play a little Scribblenauts.
Look at my sweet almost 4 year old boy...
One of my favorite parts of their visit was giving my nieces and nephew their Christmas gifts. My sister told me that Will would probably like to have a football to play with here. (He has a football at home, but because of his love of the game, it's good to have a ball where ever he goes.) When his Dad got back from the store, Will asked him if he had bought a football for him. He hadn't, but my sister and I thought it would be the perfect time to pull out my gift. I brought it out for him, and you should have seen his smile. There are some gifts that are so much fun to give that you always remember them. I'll always remember giving that football to Will. :)
Miss you guys already!!!!!

Visit with Texas Cousins

My sister, Lisa, and her family came to visit yesterday. They all live down in Texas, and we hadn't seen them in FAR too long. Wow, did we miss them. Obviously, the cousins were pretty happy to be reunited. LOOK at those smiling faces!
We ate a very gourmet meal of take-out pizza...kids in the kitchen, adults in the dining room. We're fancy around here. :)

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jim gave Evan a set of superheroes, including his favorites, Ben 10 and the Hulk. It is a riot to watch Evan play with action figures. The voices he gives them and the story lines he creates entertained us all. Here he is playing with his cousin, Annie.

The kids watched a movie snuggled up together in our master bedroom. Here's Caroline with Callie...
And here's Henry with Will and Evie...
Then we had a big sleepover, with most of the cousins sleeping together in the basement.
Such a fabulous time! :)

Two Thumbs Up...Way up!!

I am so proud of my niece, Anabel!! She was a Cheshire Cat in a local theater's production of Alice in Wonderland. She's the cool cat on the right.
My niece is a budding young actress, and it has been so much fun to see her develop during the 4 productions she's been in. She is completely at home on stage, and is just a joy to watch.

Way to go, Anabel!

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

After Anabel's play, we headed over to Dave's brother and sister-in-law's house. Dave pretended to strap Evan to the top of the car, saying that he could ride up there. Evan actually believed him, and was holding on tight to the luggage rack. He was so disappointed when his Daddy said that he was just kidding.
We spent the rest of the day with our family enjoying good food and good company, as well as good entertainment. Our niece, Nadia, treated us to a piano recital featuring some beautiful Christmas music.

When we had to leave, our kids were all mourning the fact that they would have to wait 4 more days until they got to see their cousins on Thanksgiving at our house, lol.

Thanks for a fun day, Mark, Nacibe, Anabel and Nadia! :)

A sleepover and more small victories

Tonight I told Caroline and Evan that they could have a sleepover. They were sooooo excited, and planned to sleep in Caroline's bed. I thought that would work because Caroline's bed is a double, so there would be plenty of room for both of them. However, they changed their minds, and instead planned to spend the night in Evan's bed. Unfortunately, his does not have as much room as his is a TODDLER bed. They didn't seem to be bothered by that at all, and just cuddled up to read some books together. I asked if I could join them, but they just giggled. ;)

UPDATE: I just checked on them...Caroline's in Evan's bed, and Evan's on the floor. They're both sound asleep. AMAZING.

Read the rest of this post only if you'd like to see what Dave and I do for fun on a Friday night...

After we put the kids to bed, Dave hung the hooks in the kids' bathroom. Now the kids each have their own hook to hang their towels after their showers or baths. Hopefully, having the hooks will help us keep the bathroom neater and help cut down a little on laundry.
We hung some curtains in the dining room...
and the living room. We still have to put them on rings, raise the curtain rods a little higher, and perhaps press them a little. I might want to put a band of another fabric at the bottom of them someday. But maybe I've been watching too much HGTV... The Christmas tree will go in front of the middle window.
Yesterday my parents and I moved the couch away from the window to the wall where the buffet used to be, and then moved the buffet into the "dining room".
I think I'll pick up of couple of tall and skinny lamps for the buffet table to finish things off in this room.

But for now, I'm just going to bed. :)

More Progress

I ordered these folded Christmas cards tonight...

This is the inside of the card...
And the back...

And then, because I was feeling indecisive, I ordered some of these...
The inside...

And the back...

I love the websites like Kodak Gallery and Shutterfly for ordering Christmas cards...they make the process so much easier and do such a good job. I love that this job is done too, and off my list.

Normally we've had the tree in the family room, but because Moxie lives in there, we've decided that's not a good place for the tree. This year the tree will be going in the living room, which is gated off from the family room. Moxie won't be able to get anywhere near the presents and the tree, and that simple fix will preserve my sanity this Christmas. :)

My mom and dad came over today to help me get some things done. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) One of the things we did was to rearrange the living room to get ready for the Christmas tree, which will be going by the front window. I love rearranging rooms...everything looks so fresh and new. It looks great! I'll probably keep it that way even after the holidays.

I'm feeling great about our progress...I'm just cleaning the house tomorrow, and then we have a lot to look forward to with family and friends this weekend and next week! Yay!