The Best Sugar Cookies

My favorite cookies of all time are sugar cookies. I use to love eating my Grandma's on Christmas Eve before I went vegan and decided to find a vegan recipe. I found this one called Just Like Granny B's on Vegweb and let me tell you...I think they are the best I've ever had! I took them to my my families holiday party and everyone loved them. Of course everyone is always hesitant to try any of our vegan food, even though they are always pleasantly surprised! I loved the look on their faces after taking a bite and asking about the recipe and I informed them that tofu is in them,haha.
My brother jokingly asked "there isn't any meat or anything in here is there?" being smart, of course. He took a bite, and I said "nope, just tofu" lol.
They are really soft too, which I love. I think I'll be making some again soon. The only problem is that I can't seem to stop eating them because they are so yummy!

Holy Freaking Cold

We attempted to go sledding today. K had a huge meltdown before we left and refused to wear his snow boots, said it was too sunny outside, you name it. Well, after showing him pictures of Gwen with her Mommy and Daddy sledding...he calmed down and decided he wanted to go sledding too...a box of cookies later and we were in the car and on our way!
When we got to the hill we realized that today probably wasn't the best day for sledding. It was 10 degrees outside and very windy. Unfortunately the hill faced the wind...ouch. It was painfully cold. Certainly not a good idea for a 2 year old. We went down a few times and then Kieran and I sat in the car while Josh and Nevin went down one more time before deciding they had enough.
Oh and I hurt my tail bone...badly. Nevin and I were sliding down together and hit a bump, went flying and my tail bone landed on part of the sled sticking out. I'm still in pain, hours later. I think Nev hit his too. The hills were more like ice than snow from being used a lot. So anyway, it was a fun, but very short time. We'll be going back on a not so windy day. ;)
This is the best picture I got..haha!!

Zoom!

Today I had my teeth professionally whitened with the Zoom! technology. They like to do four 15 min sessions, but I only made it throuh two. Boy am I ever glad I stopped at 2! The dentist told me it might tingle or burn a little and not everyone can made it through all 4 of the sessions. Well, they got me all set up and put the heating lamp on. Almost instantly I could feel a tingle that then turned into burning, towards the end it was getting pretty painful. Then he came back, asked how I was doing and applied more bleach for my 2nd session. The 2nd one got to where it was unbearable and after that was over I told him I had to stop. He told me there would be some sensitivity to my teeth and gums for a few days and that it was normal. He also told me not to eat anything with color for 48 hours...ummm...what? Haha.
So I came home and did some research online. The only things popping up in my Google searches were horror stories. Things like lips swelling and not going down, blisters, one lady mentioned parts of her gums turning black and eventually to yellow and them falling off with new gum underneath. Yuck, I thought...glad that didn't happen to me! Well, I was wrong...later on I looked in the mirror to find that parts of my gum(at the tips where my teeth meet) were dark brown to black! Luckily only on the sides and not the front so it's not so noticeable, but still! I also have some tiny blistering. The only thing that ticks me off is that at my consultation they didn't tell me any of this. They make you pay when you schedule your appt, so after going over everything at my consultation, we paid(and got a great price, btw). They only told me of some of these things after I already paid and right before they started. My teeth are whiter, though. So I'm happy about that. I really wish they would let you come back for the sessions you weren't able to finish, though since my teeth aren't as white as I'd like. They did send me home with trays and a home bleaching kit.
So, would I do this again or recommend it to a friend? Well, I'm torn. It seems to work well for some, but some people have had some serious complications. I think I'd suggest getting some molded trays and bleach for at home use from the dentist instead.

Nevin's 11th Birthday

I just love how he was so sweet to think of his brother. Kieran had said earlier that he wanted to blow the fire "please I blow fire?" and Nevin saved him a candle to blow. He really is the best big brother! I'm so proud of my sweet 11 year old boy.

Cinnamon and Applesauce Ornaments

The boys and I had a lot of fun making these and they smell oh so good!

Here's what you'll need:

Cinnamon- enough for about 2 cups
1 large jar of applesauce
Cookie cutters
Parchment or wax paper

Mix equal parts of applesauce and cinnamon in a bowl:

Have a little taste if you'd like:

Mix until it's a dough consistency:

Roll it out with your hands and/or rolling pin onto the wax or parchment paper:

Use cookie cutters to cut fun shapes:

Use a straw to make holes in the tops:

Then let dry over night:

After they dry, thread ribbon through the holes and hang from your Christmas tree!

With a Corncob Pipe and a Button Nose

Printable Address Labels

I was planning on ordering some Christmas return address labels... when a the thought crossed my mind that maybe, there are some free ones I could find online and print!
After many searches, I found some.
http://www.worldlabel.com/Pages/holidaytemplates.htm
This link above has many different kinds...as well as gift labels at the top.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC011001891033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101467671033
These are fun and festive too!
All you need is a printer, scissors and adhesive! I used my little Xyron, but a glue stick would work just a well.

Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

So I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of what we had for Thanksgiving!



We had Tofurky, stuffing, mashed potatoes,carrots, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, roasted veggies, mac and cheese, yams, rolls and last, but not least...pumpkin pie! It was all so good.

Happy Birthday Nevin!!

I can't believe my little 5lb 13oz baby boy is now 11 years old!!! It truly amazes me how fast the years have gone by. What a blessing he's been.

We are having a small get together tomorrow with pizza and cake, but we already gave him his present...a laptop! He's always wanting to borrow ours and since he learns at home...it seemed like a great idea and we got a great deal on it! He loves it.

Happy birthday my sweet boy!

Mama Num Num's Are Delicious!

This is Kieran's newest saying. He was nursing and out of the blue said "Mama num num's are delicious!". Usually he says "Mama num num's are so nummy!". It's so cute. He's been saying it for about a week now...at every nursing session. It's pretty rewarding to hear that... not to mention adorable!