Tasty Christmas Treats!

Last night when I got home from work, Mike & I scurried around the kitchen like little elves & made three tasty treats to share for Christmas!



The first is a recipe I stole, I mean borrowed from a nurse where I work. She baked about fifteen different tedious cookie recipes & this was the one everyone raved about the most. And it just so happened to be the easiest recipe of all. I do easy!



All you do is place a Rolos caramel, chocolate candy onto a mini pretzel twist, bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for four minutes at 200 degrees & press the candy down with a pecan half when immediately removed from the oven.



Recruit your hubby, friend or child to unwrap each Rolo & it's that much easier!



Chill in the fridge for about fifteen minutes to set & it's just that easy to have a delish pretzel turtle which everyone will swoon over!



The next recipe was Oreo truffles also known as Oreo balls, but I think Oreo truffles rolls off the tongue a little sweeter! As the recipe states, you can't go wrong with Oreos, cream cheese & chocolate! Click here & you won't be sorry you made these! Unless you don't like to get your hands all choco-licous! And in that case you can again recruit your hubby, friend or child to do the dirty work for you!



These are very rich so a little goes a long way. I packed a container to bring for Christmas & stuck some in the freezer to share on New Years Eve.



Finally, we moved on to the classic Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe which is utterly delightful & that's why we make it every year. We doubled the recipe & like the Oreo truffles, froze half for New Years Eve. Click here for the recipe.



I picked up these cute Christmas Chinese takeout containers from Michael's so I could share the treats we made with family & friends.



Merry Christmas Eve to all! I hope this day finds everyone happy, healthy & surrounded with people you love!

House of Horrors/Hellish Evening

Excluding maybe one Sunday of the NFL football season, we've had a get together at our house with a small group of fellow football fan friends. We make a different meal each week whether it be chili, meatballs, sloppy joes, Italian beef or crock pot chicken tacos as we did yesterday. It's a nice way to spend the day catching up with friends & helping to avoid the dreaded Sunday blues of facing another hectic work week.

So you might be confused with the negativity of the title of my post, but it'll make sense in a second. Well, Cameron has been quite the handful lately; extremely difficult to discipline, won't listen, skips naps & jumps around his crib for an hour & a half instead of sleeping. The absolute worst part is the disrespect he's been showing. He runs around like a deranged animal, spills toys all over, smacks at not only us but the pets & laughs hysterically while doing so. I cannot tell you how maddening, frustrating & confusing it's been for us. The sad part is, he's a good kid with a big heart so we have no idea why he's acting out like this. And after being a terror, he'll turn around & do something so sweet & loving you can't understand how it could be the same child.

We're going to crack down & attack this situation head-on since the last thing we're going to allow is our two-year old to destroy our house & bully us. Anyway, after skipping his nap yesterday, he was acting goofy yet again & knocked my entire plate of food out of my hands & onto the carpet. Whoosh, went my tacos complete with sour cream, taco sauce & cheese. Cameron's response to the wreck was laughter & I was this close to losing it. I seriously thought my head was going to spin around Excorcist-style. But instead I semi-calmly picked him up, put him in his room & shut the door. I still don't think he felt very much remorse for what he did, but I really wasn't sure how else to handle the situation.

Shortly after scrubbing the rug with our mini steam cleaner as tears of frustration & humiliation streamed down my face while my guests filled the room, the fun just kept on coming... After corralling our Pug in our bedroom while everyone ate, I saw Leah coming out of our room holding something. Next thing I realize, she's proudly handing her mom a big log of CRAP! Oh yes, you read that correctly, Demps took a huge dump in our room to spite us & Leah felt she should handle the situation by giving her mom the whole load! OMG, I wasn't sure if I should burst into tears or laugh hysterically. Mike immediately took the mess from Kelly as she ushered Leah to the bathroom to scour her hands. Thank goodness when I went to apologize to Kelly she laughed her head off which made me join in & choose laughter over tears.

Sometimes you just have to laugh about the chaos of a situation since it's more fun than crying! Anyway, the majority of the day was fun & here are the pictures to prove it!





Lauren & Kelly sharing a Snuggy!







Love my sweet lil' Leah Marie!

What's For Dinner?

As much as I adore cooking, I haven't been able to do much of it lately with our hectic schedules. We've also had a rough few days with Cam not cooperating, so cooking hasn't been a top priority of mine recently. But, the good news is that we had a really great evening with Cam & he even ate well at the kitchen table! Hallelujah! He also went to bed with zero fuss & we had an awesome time singing songs & laughing like we had up until last week when he decided he'd freak when it was time for bed. Pair that with a hormonal/emotional me & a pretty picture that did not make!

Anyway, I thought cooking a decent meal would help lift my spirits & it really did! I decided to make rosemary roasted potatoes that I saw on Barefoot in London on the Food Network this past weekend. They're not your average roasted potato by the way they're sliced nearly through, making a really nice presentation. Click here for the recipe.



I apologize for the crummy pictures but the lighting wasn't great & neither is our camera. Anyway, if you make this side, I definitely suggest you slice the potato on a spoon as the recipe suggests since the edges of the spoon will prevent you from cutting through the potato. I'd also add ten minutes of cooking time for a total of 40 minutes as our potatoes were a tad underdone but still absolutely delish!



These potatoes definitely made more of a statement than your typical sliced/roasted potatoes. We served them along side a panko-breaded fish with a lemon/garlic aioli I whipped up by mixing mayo, lemon juice, grated garlic, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. We also made microwave steamer veggies that you throw in for four minutes to steam in their own bag. Couldn't have been easier!

On Display

Since I adore receiving Christmas cards but don't love clutter, I wanted to come up with a way of displaying our cards this year...



So I hit the dollar store, grabbed some sparkly ribbon, push pins & small red/green paper clips for about $3 total & viola! I have a cute way of displaying our cards!



As we continue to receive more, I'll just add another row of cards above or below this one.

Now I can enjoy our cards every day & be thankful of the wonderful people we have in our lives!

Patience

Being the parent of a toddler is not always easy. Wow. Not at all. There are some days I just want to pull my hair out in frustration over the the whining, tantrums & lack of listening. I try my best to keep my patience & be the best mom I can be, but some days it's a struggle. Since Cam is our only child as of now & he didn't happen to come with an instruction manual, I'm trying to use my best judgment & discipline him as best as possible. I read parenting books/magazines when I have time, but kids throw you for a loop regardless of how many things your read or watch. Luckily Mike is an amazingly wonderful dad & we're constantly bouncing ideas & thoughts off each other when it comes to disciplining Cam.

Lately Cam has really been trying our patience when it comes to taking a nap without a fuss, getting into the bath without a fuss & going to bed without a fuss. Forget eating at the kitchen table since he certainly doesn't want to bother with that. I know he doesn't always have it easy since he spends so many hours each week at daycare, so I do try to cut him some slack without being a pushover. But it's a very fine line & not always easy to keep the balance or know I'm doing the right or wrong thing. I want Cam to take me seriously as a parent, so I don't want to say something & then back down, letting him get his way. And I'm always wondering, Is Cam a normal two year old or is he extra whiny?

It's also been interesting to find that since becoming a parent, I've noticed that so many random people feel inclined to give advice or pass judgment on the way Cam happens to be behaving (or rather, misbehaving). Some of this may be in my head since I can be sensitive, but other times people are down right rude. I can be my own worse critic & since being a mom is my most important job, I'm constantly scrutinizing my performance & questioning my decisions. But, I realize that despite all the advice or books or parenting magazines I read, it's going to come down to trial & error & taking it one day at a time & one challenge at a time. I just hope & pray that when Cam is an adult, he'll be able to look back at his childhood & honestly say, Wow, my mom did a really great job. I want him to respect me as not only a parent, but a person. And I want him to grow to be a wonderful person with strong values & respect for others. And it's my job to help guide him in that direction.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Oh how I love Christmas and all that goes with it! My favorite part? Coming home to a glowy, cozy home at the end of the day!



Since we've been married, we always put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving.



Listen to Christmas music, sip wine & end the night by watching Christmas Vacation. Heaven!



And I present to you, drum roll, the 2010 Pernecky Christmas tree!



This year I decided to fill my hurricane glass with ornaments as well as lights & I absolutely love this look. If you happen to be interested, and I'm so sure you are, you can click here to see my decorations from last year.



Like last year, I filled our trifle bowl with ornaments & pine cones as a centerpiece on our kitchen table.



And hung ornaments from the light fixture with clear fishing line.




And the cold weather we've been loving is putting us in the Christmas spirit! No matter how many years I live in Florida, it'll never feel quite like Christmas when it's 80 degrees outside. So we're savoring the chill in the air; it was a high of 53 today & a low of 35 tonight. Ahhh! As you can see, our teeny three & a half pound Chihuahua is just a tad spoiled & enjoys sleeping on a cozy heating pad! She is a princess after all!

A Pernecky Family Christmas Tree

Friday we happily headed out to Ergle Christmas Tree Farm to pick out our tree. It was the second time Mike, Mel & the girls joined us & I was thrilled they could come again this year!



As usual, the cousins had an awesome time together!





Maddy found her perfect tree! Unfortunately Mike & Mel didn't agree!









This is the second year we've gone with a Douglas Fir tree vs. a Florida grown tree since Florida's soil just doesn't grow the prettiest of trees! It would be more fun if we were able to cut down our own tree, but I much prefer the ones that are shipped here.


It was another successful trip as we left with the perfect tree! I love that we've made a tradition of going to this place each year! Happy Christmas time!

So Much To Be Thankful For!

Oh how I love Thanksgiving! The food, the family, reflecting on what we're thankful for...



This is our fourth year hosting Thanksgiving & as much work as it is, I absolutely love it! We've started the tradition of my mom & dad coming up the evening before to spend time as we prep for the big day. It's such a joy to have that time with them since it's so rare with our busy schedules.



Mike enjoys baking a pumpkin pie each year, but this year I convinced him to try a pumpkin cheesecake with a homemade pecan/gingersnap crust.



Everyone enjoyed the heck out of it! Click here for the recipe.



Thanksgiving morning we enjoyed our breakfast casserole as we always do & this little man chowed down! And speaking of this "little" man, I was looking at my Thanksgiving post from last year & was amazed to see how much he's grown. He had just started walking at that time & now he's running all over the place. How time flies! Click here to see last year's post.



Our breakfast casserole is finger licking good (just see above) & so incredibly easy to whip up! Click here for the recipe.



My dad takes great pleasure in grossing us out with his "giblets" which he claims to love but I have a sneaking suspicion he only eats for shock value!





And much to my dad's dismay, Stella finally warmed up to him. I say dismay because he also takes great pleasure in griping about how nasty Stella is! One less thing for him to complain about! Ha! Although, on a side note, not a half hour after this picture was taken, Stella snapped at my dad yet again. And I may not be a doctor, but I diagnose her as bipolar!



Since we ate later than usual, we were able to nibble on a bunch of appetizers. My sister whipped up some tasty Asian lettuce wraps by sauteing ground chicken with frozen peppers & onions in a Szechwan sauce.





Mel made her awesome deviled eggs. YUM!



I put out a cheese & fruit platter with a bulb of sweet, spreadable roasted garlic. How very European of me!



The best part of Thanksgiving is spending the day with family!











The day was warmer than I had liked, but it was gorgeous in the shade.





And thank goodness for my mom as she was an awesome help & did most of the dishes throughout the day!



Turkey's done! It looks dark in this picture but I can assure you that it wasn't burned!





Having a four day weekend with Cam was AWESOME!



I am so incredibly thankful for my wonderful family & friends!

Hop over to Cam's blog to see more pictures of his cousins!