Christmas Card Love

December 24, 2011 By

Chaos, travels and budget prevented me from sending our annual Christmas newsletter. But if we had, it would have looked something like this.

Which is only a little bit better than this Puerto Rican mayor’s card that went viral last week.


Huh?

But definitely no worse than the card my brother Pat sent.

A coincidence it’s from the Johnsons?

On a MUCH different note, l recently read about the Fosters who have been making a holiday video in lieu of Christmas cards (watch past Christmas videos posted on the sidebar). It’s just simply charming. The talented husband works in video production so if you’re in Arizona, I’d look them up. I know it’s been a lean year for them financially.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/32954901 w=400&h=225]

Jingle Bells – Christmas Video Greeting 2011 from Jared Foster on Vimeo.

For a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the production process (two days hard at work), go here.

And last but not least, the Kelser family Christmas video. Had to chuckle at the parody of the annoying Target lady but I love that the ENTIRE extended family got involved (no way I could convince Jamie’s family to do this; they already think I’m that crazy Target lady).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5NdkINAGgM]

But I’m thinking we need to step it up next year for our Christmas cards.

If 2012 doesn’t swallow us whole (see top photo).

Merry Christmas!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: holidays

Naughty or Nice? You decide!

December 21, 2011 By

The Food

We’ve crammed a lot in the past two weeks, including baking and delivering all of these goodies to our friends and neighbors (offerings included Christmas French vanilla cake pops, caramel toffee squares, Almond Rocha and whipped shortbread).

We’ve done this for several years now and when my neighbor Monica opened the door, she exclaimed, “I really like this Johnson family tradition!)
She’s not the only one (7,000 calories later).

The Nice Hadley

Hadley has been participating in her class choir after school to perform Christmas carols at a local retirement home. She had a lot of fun singing, dancing and kickin’ it with the boys (see bottom right corner).

But what I was most proud of her for was the way she worked the room afterward, meeting and delighting the seniors. The girl knows how to work it when she wants to.

I had a memorable chat with a sharp-as-a-whip, respectful, funny 95-year-old man, Cliff. He was a college professor for a number of years and has been a guest columnist for the Denver Post this past year. We made a great connection and Bode and I plan to start visiting him regularly to play board games (Bode is obsessed).

With board games, not Cliff. But guaranteed, Cliff isn’t going to be the kind of guy to let him win.

The Bad Hadley

Hadley and Bode get along really well most of the time. Except for when they don’t. They both value their personal space so last week, each of them wrote messages on the white boards in their rooms, banning the other from entering.

Bode’s said something along the lines of “No Hadley.”

Keep in mind the kindergartner’s writing abilities are a bit limited.

Hadley, on the other hand, wrote a soliloquy about why Bode should not enter her room. Ever the artist, she also illustrated it.

Me: “Is that a picture of you KICKING BODE?!!!”
Her: “Yes, I’m kicking him out of my room.”
Me: “Maybe that’s not very nice.”

But I didn’t interfere. A couple of days later, she erased the picture on her own and I praised her for it.

Me: “I’m proud that you removed that picture. It’s not nice to even joke about things like that.”
Her: “But I wasn’t joking.”

Jury is still out if she made Santa’s “nice” list this year.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor

Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding (However the Crap It’s Made)

December 20, 2011 By

If there is anything my family does well, it is making…and eating food. Not just quality but also quantity.

Our Christmas menu is embarrassingly (and deliciously) expansive. On Sunday we planned out our menu and I RAVED about the Figgy Pudding my sister-in-law Tammy made last year. Because it was out-of-this-world amazing, I volunteered to make it with a disclaimer.

Me: “It’s not something I would have EVER tried. I mean, what is Figgy Pudding made out of? Prunes? Dates?”

Them: “Errr, figs.”

Blame it on the blonde.

============

But here’s the funny thing about it all: IT WAS ACTUALLY DATE PUDDING! So maybe I’m not so blonde and off-kilter as I thought. Seriously, try this. I don’t EVER eat dates but it was so delicious.

Sticky Date Pudding
From the Dalvay by the Sea Inn
Pudding
1 3/4 c. packed pitted dates – about 10 ounces
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
3 large eggs
Coarsely chop dates. Place in saucepan and simmer uncovered in water about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in baking soda. Let foaming mixture stand for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In another separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time and beat well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating after each addition until just combined. Add date mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Pour batter into a buttered and floured baking pan and set pan in a larger baking pan. Add enough hot water in larger pan to reach halfway up side of smaller pan. Bake at 375 degrees about 70 min. (or more), until an inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean. Remove smaller pan from water bath and cool slightly to a warm temperature.


Toffee Sauce

3/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over moderate heat and add brown sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and stir in cream and vanilla. Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Cool sauce slightly to a warm temperature.
Cut warm pudding into squares. Serve with warm sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Foodie, holidays, Humor Tagged With:

The Christmas Mystery of the Missing Dinosaur Egg

December 19, 2011 By

My family has had quite a year of multiple hospital visits (heart surgery, anyone?) and ongoing misfortunes that would render even Murphy (as in the “Law”) speechless.

I resolved to kick 2011 to the curb by doing my holiday shopping and preparations early so I could feel like I had at least something under control.

Oh, how wrong I was.

To support our elementary school, I decided to have my kids purchase gifts for each other at the two-day traveling holiday toy store. The idea was to send them to school with money and let them pick out a gift for each other.

Sound easy? Apparently The Easy Button does not exist for Murphy’s Law.

My son Bode goes to morning kindergarten. The toy shop was in the afternoon. No problem, I just brought him back to school and had him pick out his sister Hadley’s gift. He ignored my suggestions of jewelery and went straight for a dinosaur egg that hatches in water

Gotta give the boy credit: he’s looking for a win-win gift.

However the other problem was that Hadley had the money for both presents and she had not yet done her shopping. The nice volunteer assured us they would set Bode’s gift to the side, ring it up with her purchases and then discreetly put Bode’s gift to his sister in his teacher Mrs. C’s** box for him to later bring home.

I forgot about it until last week when I was putting the finishing touches on all our presents and realized Bode had never received the gift.

I called the school secretary Mrs. M.** and explained the case of the missing dinosaur egg. She promised she would call Mrs. C. and also gave me the name of the volunteer who ran the toy store.

Not even 15 minutes later, Secretary M. called back.

“We found out what happened,” she said in her best sleuth voice. Turns out instead of delivering the dinosaur egg to Mrs. C.’s box, the volunteer had put it in the same bag as Hadley’s gift to her brother.

As Hadley was riding on the bus home from school, she found it. Knowing it wasn’t hers, she gave it to the eager boy sitting next to her.

Now this is where the story gets really suspicious. The boy to whom she gave the dinosaur egg just happened to be Mrs. C.’s son.

Coincidence or conspiracy?

Mrs. C. came home that day to find the dinosaur hatched in a glass of water. Her son divulged Hadley gave it to him and she thought nothing of it. Until she received the phone call from me.

I was relaying the escapade to my husband Jamie later that day and he queried, “How many of JeffCo’s tax dollars were wasted from all the time it took to chase that dinosaur egg down?”

I’m part of the blame for the $20 million deficit.

In the end, Secretary M. was extremely remorseful. “I’m really sorry. There’s not much we can do about it at this point. The Egg has been opened.”

That’s school code for “The Mission Has Been Compromised.”

But let it be known that I’m onto them.

**Note: Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Or guilty.

Filed Under: Bode, Favorite Posts, Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With:

This Family’s Week of Thanksgiving Gratitudes

November 22, 2011 By

I’ve been forthcoming about my “Bah Humbug” Thanksgiving attitude and I’m continually peeved that day has become an excuse to stuff our faces and watch football instead of making it a meaningful time of self-reflection and gratitude.

This year, I decided to do something about it.

I designated last week my family’s week to serve because I can’t think of a better way to express gratitude than to give back. I started with just a few things on our schedule and I was astounded at the onslaught of opportunities we were given.

It was a humbling lesson that when we look beyond ourselves and stop making excuses like “I don’t have enough money or time,” that there are so many people in need. And we, in turn, didn’t spend a dime, were blessed 100-fold, and feel closer together than ever. Last week I/we:

  • Visited a widow in our congregation.
  • Babysat four kids throughout the week, giving their mamas a much-needed break.
  • Volunteered with Hadley at the local food bank and helped prep for Thanksgiving baskets.
  • Gave a large box of Bode’s old clothes to a little guy in need (I’ve been holding off on donating them to the thrift store because I felt someone needed them and I’m so glad I waited).
  • Organized a large blogging event at Sephora and asked all those in attendance to bring a contribution to a mama who recently lost her husband. I was inspired by the many women who reached out to help, many of whom did not have much to spare.
  • Found a way through Haddie’s beautiful artwork to uplift and fellowship a man who has severe social anxieties. We have set a weekly goal to continue this service.

    • The culmination of our week was on Saturday when we volunteered to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Irving Street Women’s Residence, a residential and support program designed to serve chronically homeless women. Volunteers of America recently implemented a family program where kids of all ages are invited to serve and I jumped at the chance because most community service opportunities are for older kids.

    I’m so glad I did because I gained a new appreciation for each member of my family.

    I get a bit teary-eyed thinking about Jamie (slightly out of his comfort zone) reaching out and entertaining these women. And yes, pumpkin stories were in abundance.

    I relished preparing our portion of the meal with Hadley and watching her pride whenever she received compliments on her hard work. She also made some of the most beautiful holiday cards we later gave to the patrons.

    I laughed when Bode volunteered to be the caller in BINGO and blazed through those numbers like a seasoned pro. As the youngest volunteer, he carried himself with a maturity beyond his years.

    At least to age 7. :)

    Our crummy year was forgotten as we uplifted and entertained these women so down on their luck. Many were mothers and grandmothers. Others were single and will probably only know loneliness. But we had one thing in common: gratitude for being brought together that afternoon.

    “I’ll never forget you guys,” one of the women promised as we said our good-byes.

    And this is one Thanksgiving we’ll never forget.

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: Family, holidays

    Halloween defined chez nous

    November 1, 2011 By

    It was a pumpkin carvin’





    Jell-o competition eatin’

    White Witch and dinosaur posin’


    Fire station partying

    Neighborhood parade strolling

    And candy dreamin’ kind of Halloween.
    Hope you had a happy one!

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays Tagged With:

    Halloween partying, popularity, horror & my insanity

    October 31, 2011 By

    Halloween Partying

    I did double-duty at the school on Friday that started with the costume parade and class parties.
    I’ll have better pictures of the kiddos later but we opted on a dinosaur costume for Bode and Hadley went as the White Witch (Narnia is her favorite movie).

    Jamie would like me to add he was not a part of the dinosaur choice because he said it was too “cutesy.”

    I say what is a KINDERGARTNER if not cute?!

    My horror

    As I was waiting for the kids’ costume parade in the gym, I struck up a conversation to the gal next to me whom I swear I’ve never seen before. A few minutes into talking, she mentioned her twins–one boy and one girl.

    And then it slowly started coming to me. You know the one: the dreadful feeling when you realize you somehow know that person but had forgotten them. I tried to cover my tracks by saying, “Wait a minute. You live in my neighborhood and our kids were at the same bus stop last year.” Nice.

    But it got worse. The woman knew everything about me. “I saw you on The Marriage Ref and you totally should have won etc. etc. etc.”

    My bad memory and Jamie’s pumpkin are ruining my life.

    Norm

    And the most popular kid in second grade is…

    Bode.

    You know. My kindergartner.

    Going to school with that kid is like going to school with Norm from Cheers. His besties in kindergarten adore him and after volunteering in Haddie’s class, he and I eat in the lunchroom with her. This time, I kid you not, the second grade boys fought over who got to sit with him. Then, afterward, they begged me to let him stay and play Yoshi on the playground. As they were lining up, they insisted Bode give them all high-fives.

    I guess sometimes, nice guys do finish first.

    My Insanity

    My friend posted a fabulous tutorial on how to make Halloween cake pops. If you’ve never heard of them, allow me to enlighten you: these little cakes on a stick are nothing short of moist and amazing (this, from a non-cake eater). And so I thought they’d be fun to make for the kids’ Halloween party.

    There was nothing fun about making them.

    Really, it was my fault. Between the kids’ two classes, there were 50 pops. And then my ward’s trunk-or-treat was that night and I’d signed up to bring a treat. Add in the women I visit teach and I was well over a hundred.

    And so I made three different cakes: red velvet, vanilla and spice and spent the entire day slaving in the kitchen. I’m not exaggerating: THESE LITTLE GHOSTS TOOK ME SEVEN HOURS TO MAKE.
    The positive: They were met with many rave reviews.
    The negative: Some kids took them but didn’t bother eating them. I wanted to grab their little sugar-stuffed cheeks and scream,”DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THOSE TOOK ME TO MAKE?”

    Perhaps becoming emotionally invested in a treat is dangerous on many levels.

    After spending seven hours on my still-recovering knee, I could barely walk. But the caveat came when I was carrying the laundry down the stairs later that day. Workers had been there cleaning our carpet and the floors were still damp. I slipped. I slammed. I slid. I threw out my back and injured my arm.

    I’m going as myself for Halloween this year.

    Because that is scary enough.

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With:

    Redemption on Memorial Day

    May 31, 2011 By

    We had a gloriously low-key Memorial Day, the highlight of which was attending our ward’s Memorial Day picnic at a private lake. Conditions were really windy (thus summarizing our entire spring in Colorado) but we decided to take the kids for a ride in the canoe.

    Now, let me preface this by saying our last adventure in a canoe a few years ago did not end well. In fact, I had a good chuckle reminiscing about Camping, Capsizing and Crying (all in a weekend at play).

    Not-so chuckle-worthy? The addendum at the bottom of that post about my near-nervous breakdown.

    But I am proud to say we did not come even close to capsizing this time around and I was thrilled to see how far we’ve come.

    At least until our next attempt at camping this summer.

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: holidays, Humor

    The Easter That Wasn’t

    April 27, 2011 By

    As for the belated Easter update, welp, I acquired a cold on Saturday, Jamie had a killer rheumatism attack and Haddie got the stomach flu.

    It’s a wonder I’m even alive, much less updating this blog.

    Oh, and for anyone keeping track of how many times I’ve been sick this year, don’t bother. I’ve stopped counting.

    Our normal Easter celebrations were downsized. We had a simple egg hunt in the morning, smoked brisket for dinner and gorged on Haddie’s bunny cake for dessert (this was her first attempt at making and decorating it by herself). There was no church or cute Easter outfits, just moping around by the parents.



    And chocolate. A whole lotta chocolate.

    Fortunately we had already done a lot of revelries the week prior that included Easter cookie decorating.
    Disclaimer: Don’t ask me how the kids convinced me dolphins should be included in the mix. But think of how much more interesting it would be if a marine mammal somehow delivered Easter spoils instead of a bunny.

    We also decorated eggs with Aunt Lisa.

    And The Great Pumpkin, of course, made an appearance.


    We’ve already shown this is a year-round obsession.
    Tune in tomorrow for additional evidence.

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With:

    The Hunt for the Golden Egg & A Mother’s Shame

    April 25, 2011 By

    My family has been attending our city’s Easter Egg Hunt since my children were toddlers. The Hunt has always been eventful. There was the year when Hadley thought the eggs were balls and launched them in the air.

    Oh, and I can’t forget when the organizers setup the course around the playground and Haddie preferred to play on the slide.

    Or the time they passed over the eggs and ran in circles.

    And then there was last year’s communist society Easter Egg Hunt where each child was only allowed to retrieve five eggs.
    But this was our year. There were no quotas, the eggs were scattered on an open field and at ages 6 and 4 respectively, Hadley and Bode are in their prime. My competitive husband Jamie coached them to the point they were getting so riled up that I chastised him to chill out.


    We ran into our friend Andrew from church whose toddler was in possession of the elusive Golden Egg that contains a special prize. Every year, there is just one of them placed in The Hunt for each age group and I was curious as to how they scored it.

    “We were on the far side of the field when we saw the Golden Egg,” Andrew divulged, “It was sitting next to a 10-year-old boy who looked like he was going to swipe it but we snagged it first.”

    Good thing, too. Andrew is an attorney and that kid could have faced repercussions.

    When Bode was up to bat with his fellow 4 and 5 year olds, our little thoroughbred was the first off the starting block and snagged an impressive haul of eggs.

    Next, it was Haddie’s turn (and this is where it gets ugly).


    She was with some older kids–up to age 8– but I knew she would do well. She’s competitive like her dad and most importantly, she’s fast. She lined up and waited for the good word.

    Then a lady came up to me and I blame her for my demise. “Do you see it out there?” she hissed. “The Golden Egg is directly in front of you at the other end. If your little girl runs straight, she will grab it.”

    The rest is a blur. I spotted the Golden Egg glimmering in the sun and I showed Jack…err Hadley how to navigate the beanstalk to get it. Somewhere in the mix, the signal was given and kids raced to the field. Frantic at missing the start, I gave her a gentle push in the direction of our family’s future.

    Only it wasn’t so gentle. Much to my horror, it was a full-blown shove and Hadley landed face-first on the grass.

    “That’s OK, that’s OK!” I picked her up and sent her off but by then it was too late. The Golden Egg was clutched from its rightful owners (us) and Haddie only had a half-full basket of eggs to show for her efforts.

    And a killer glare aimed right at me.

    Next year, I’ll leave The Easter Egg Hunt coaching up to Jamie.

    (Originally published at MILEHIGHMAMAS.COM.

    © Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
    Filed Under: Hadley, holidays, Humor, Jamie Tagged With:
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