SH-H-H... BIRTHDAY SURPRISES AHEAD

KF turns two tomorrow and all of her cousins are here to help celebrate. There will be 4 princesses and one rock star eating cupcakes for breakfast. Yep! For breakfast. A family tradition--on your birthday you wake up, blow out candles, open presents, and eat cake. And, our two kids think it's a good tradition to pass on to the next generation.

Those are Angelina Ballerina-type ribbons at the place settings. Just right for twirling. Big sister LG feels it's important to have the full effect if you're going to be a ballerina.

BOUNCING AND SLIDING

photos from Monkey Joe's website - not our actual grandchildren

This falls into the category of a terrorizing nightmare for me, but when you have visiting grandchildren in the dead of winter...

The three oldest kids go for a visit late morning and have a blast! It's definitely a place to arrive just at opening (10:00am) because it gets crowded as the day goes on. Both JA and KF are terrified of the Monkey Joe character. I don't blame them. He looks like a rat. JA keeps track of where the bear is in the building and makes sure to stay clear. KF places herself as far away and up high from the MJ person as she possibly can.

FAMILY

This is the first time that our entire family has been together in our home since LG was a baby. And, there are 4 additional grandchildren since that time. Starting with LG, they are 4-1/2, 2-3/4, 2, 10 months, and 11days.

It's crazy around here, but we're doing well. We even managed to prepare a meal tonight--Chili and Southern Corn Bread with honey. We make two pots--one spicey and one mild with some pasta added for the little ones.

NOTHING SWEETER: Noël Joy, Day 10

MAKING SCONES

dried blueberry/cranberry scones w/lemon zest and pecans

my other favorite pastry blender - LG

I don't need breakfast most mornings. Maybe because I'm up very early this a.m., by 9:00am I'm hankering for something really, really interesting. I almost default to peanut butter on toast, but then CA discovers that the Skippy Chunky is gone. Both jars empty and in the kitchen wastecan.

I have used a variety of scone recipes, but haven't commited to a basic recipe to add to my cookbook. This might be the one.