Did you know just how versatile the refrigerator biscuit is? I had no idea myself until about a month ago. That’s when I saw a recipe on TV that used biscuits to make flat bread. It’s a recipe worth trying. Lincoln and I give it 2 thumbs up! And the kids don’t seem to mind having this for dinner.
Since finding that recipe, I have found 2 others that have become family favorites:
and
Who knew all the great things you can make with a tube of biscuits?!
One Month Old
She really is adored by all of her siblings!
After dinner we let the kids open the traditional Christmas Eve gift: pajamas! 
After that, the kids acted out the nativity. Lil' Miss was Mary, Lil' T was Joseph and Big T was everybody else. 
We put some fresh-made cookies (thank you, Pillsbury!) out for Santa and the kids went to bed. When we checked on the kids later, this is what we found:
Can't you just see the sugar plums? Big T was sweet and let Lil' T sleep on the top bunk with him.The boys slept until just before 7:00, which was the time we told them was allowed. However, we had to wake Lil' Miss and she was not thrilled. She had a hard time caring that "Claus" had been here. 
But she sure warmed up once she got downstairs! 
After opening gifts, the building began! Lincoln and the boys built Legos and built Legos and then built some more Legos! 
With the excitement of the morning over, we settled down to have a relaxing afternoon. That, however was not to be! At about 2:30, I began to have contractions. They were regular and starting to hurt a bit, so we called my parents to have them come down to be with the kids and made last minute preparations to go to the hospital. After some dinner, we made our way to the hospital at about 8:00. When the nurse checked me I hadn't progressed much from my appointment earlier that week, which was very strange. She called the doctor and we could hear her telling him, "Well, she's not in labor!" I was pretty sure I was! There was some concern over the baby's heartbeat, which was difficult to locate and seemed a little low. The doctor finally arrived and he decided that he would "augment" my labor. Before he started the pitocin he asked the nurse if she had felt the baby's head. She thought so, but he wasn't convinced and decided to do a quick ultrasound. Sure enough, her head was not down where it should be. The doctor then asked me, "Do you know what this means?" I was pretty sure it meant that I was having a C-section, but I still was worried that he was going to send me home. He meant that I was having a C-section. I was less than excited quite frankly. So the doctor got his team together and I had my very first C-section with the Babe being born at 11:44 on Christmas night! (Couldn't the doctor have waited 16 minutes?!) Oh well, she was healthy and that was the most important thing!
Merry Christmas to us!
Here is our official Halloween family picture! Normally Lincoln and I don't dress up. But this year he had a great idea for costumes:
Lil' Miss went as Little Red Riding Hood, Lincoln as the woodcutter and, being rather pregnant, I went as the wolf who ate granny. 
The boys both wanted to be Clone Troopers from Star Wars. (No, they are not Storm Troopers!) Big T wanted to be Commander Cody and Lil' T wanted to be Captain Rex. Since I am not creative or skilled enough to make Clone costumes, I ordered them online and we have had them since August.
Lil' Miss really enjoyed Halloween this year. I thought she would put up a fuss about wearing her costume since the last time she put it on, she didn't feel it was complete without an army helmet. But, when it was time to put on costumes, she happily put on all the parts and pieces without complaint. She also got the hang of trick-or-treating very quickly. She walked right up to the door each time, holding out her basket. 
The boys also enjoyed trick-or-treating. Lil' T was the best at saying the appropriate phrases: "Trick-or-treat" and "Thank you." There was however one house that the man at the door was a little scary. He was all dressed up with his face painted and he was yelling. At that house, Lil' T was hesitant to go to the door. When he did go, he placed his pumpkin on the doorstep hoping that the man would fill it for him. That was not to be. The man was letting the kids pick their own treat. After Lil' T realized that he would have to pick out his own candy, he got over his fear just enough to grab a candy and retreat. We only made it around our block before then the boys said they were tired and ready to be done. They're not hard-core trick-or-treaters apparently. Oh well, less sugar for them to consume!
The weather was surprisingly nice considering that it snowed earlier in the week. We didn't need coats over the kids' costumes! Yay! And I LOVE that daylight savings doesn't start until after Halloween! Someone was a genius! It was actually still light out when we started trick-or-treating at 6:00!
Haven't you ever wondered what some of the foods mentioned in Harry Potter taste like? I sure have (and I'm not talking about Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!) Here is a creative recipe:
Butterbeer
I want to try something like this, this time. Wouldn't they be yummy made out of red velvet cake?!!
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided4 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon shortening
1 package (4 3/4 ounces) chocolate ice cream sugar cones
Halloween sprinkles
12 thin chocolate wafers (2 1/4-inch diameter)
1. For mousse, in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup cream to a boil; remove from the heat. Stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Transfer to a bowl; cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
2. In a small mixing bowl, beat the remaining cream until stiff peaks form; fold into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt semisweet chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip pointed tips of ice cream cones a third of the way into melted chocolate; roll in sprinkles. Refrigerate until set.
4. Just before serving, spoon mousse into cones. Top each with a chocolate wafer. Invert onto a serving platter.
Serves 12
As I was looking for pictures and recipes for this post, I found this site you might want to check out. I might have to try the Vampire Bites in addition to the other delectable treats I have planned!
