Christmas Pictures

'tis the time of year to share cheer and here are a few pictures I had taken to document Gabe at 5 months and of us all at christmas. enjoy!

5 months have passed by

The weekend started off with a bang! We woke up to see the eclipse and then Mommy went back to bed. Gabe is still enjoying eating at night more than the day and by saturday, I need to catch up on my rest. We had a busy weekend and I was not ready to face it. How do we let this time of year get so out of control? Maybe with the kids it feels like everyday is packed full enough as it is. Isn't this the time of year when we should be resting? I cant wait for the resting to begin....after 5 months of taking care of a baby and recovering physically from creating a life I really need it.

Big Sis enjoyed skiing and making cookies this weekend and spending time decorating and getting gifts ready for christmas. She really is enjoying the holidays this year and is looking forward to santa bringing her a pink dinosaur.
<santa if you are reading this, please tell those elfs to get working on it. pink dinosaurs are special in our house>

Lunar eclipse 12/10/11

Practicing "Pizza"



Rope tow with Daddy assist



Gabe had fun at the ski hill too watching all all the people wizz by. future skier? hope so!



Do they make baby ski goggles? until I can find them he can wear moms shades



Little Christmas Baker getting busy with sprinkles

Our little bantam silkie has finally turned into a hen-8 months old and she has laid her first egg. See below how it compairs to a standard (large sized) egg. Congratulations Ju-Ju Bee!! 

Gloria and Ju-Ju Eggs

TIMBERRRRR!

Another tree has succumbed to the Volpe Family tradition of harvesting a christmas tree out of the local forest. I am so greatful that we live by abundent forests that can usually give us a very special tree. This year, we trudged out on the weekend following thanksgiving, like we always do, and went looking for our tree. We packed everyone up and headed out hopeful of our prospects. As we drove in the 14 degree temps it started snowing. The roads had a snowpack and we got to a point where we didnt feel comfortable going any further and we stopped and Lou started hunting. Minutes later he came out of the woods with a frozen toddler, an imbommidable snowpup and a huge ass tree. He was determined that this was the best one and got a little sore after throwing up onto the car. Frannie had fun none the less. We also went to the Festival of trees and the kiddos went to see Santa. It was a festive weekend.

Staying warm in the car after a brief hike

One frozen little toddler

watching daddy lug the tree on top of the car

Gabe also is enjoying more time upright than not and spends a lot of time jumping.

busy in the jumper



"how you doin' -ya like my moves?"

kung-fu fighter-don't even think about taking him out

Big sister was feeling left out and decided to sneak into the jumper when I wasnt looking. At least she is supporting him and not acting like she is too good to play with baby toys...

Guess who was feeling left out of the action?

and it starts

Last night I went to the gym...first time in over a year. When I was pregnant, I didnt exercise like I did when I was pregnant with Francesca. The main factor in that is that I devoted all my free time to Frannie while she was my only. I knew that things would change when #2 showed up (and it has). That is also the reason why I delayed starting to take care of myself. I couldnt take it-I am tired of looking like a zombie and feeling flabby. Lou and I got a season pass (for two months) and we'll see where that goes. With the small kids and the cold, dark days, I just wasnt getting outside like I needed. And there is another reason, christmas. With christmas comes the carnage we know in our house as cookie making. I cant help it, I just bake, bake, bake all the time. Maybe it is all the sales on the baking crap or the reduced desire to freeze my toosh off outside. I love it, but at the same time I hate it. With the new little guy clinging to my torso, I will reduce the craziness of baking to make it manageable but cannot stop it altogether. The cajoling from my coworkings to bring in the goods is also making me want to bake. Their first request: fudge. here is the first recipe I am going to try-


chocolate-pistachio fudge
http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com/2011/04/chocolate-pistachio-fudge-my-way.html

print recipe

5 TB salted butter
1 TB butter to grease ceramic/glass dish
5 and ½ ounces high quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup cream
1 & ½ cup white sugar
1 ts high quality vanilla extract
Giant pinch of sea salt
1 or 1 ½ cup of salted, roasted pistachios (use as much or as little as you desire)

Remember this is hot sugar, never touch the hot sugar, never be tempted to taste test, and always use oven mits.
Butter an 8-by-8-inch or 8 x 9 baking dish, set aside. Get out a candy thermometer and clip onto pot.
In a large heavy duty pot (with high sides preferably) combine the butter, chocolate, cream, sugar, and salt. Place over a medium heat and stir constantly and CONSTANTLY scraping the bottom of pan. (You will be doing this for a while). Let it boil and cook until the temperature reaches around 247 -249 (soft ball stage). Once it hits this temperature remove from heat
And add in the vanilla extract (it will make a lot of noise and sizzle, just add in and stand back then stir in)
Once mixed, add in the pistachios, stir, then pour the hot mixture into your prepared buttered baking dish.
Let cool off at room temperature. Should take a couple hours to harden up.
Gently lift it out of baking dish and transfer to a wooden board or plastic cutting board. It might be hard to lift out, I just turned the dish upside down and let gravity pop it out.
Using a sharp knife to cut into little squares. You should get about 20-25 little square


Here is another one I am about to try:

HOLIDAY ROUNDS

Local honey gets the spotlight in ASAP’s Get Local campaign this January. Try using local honey in this recipe (especially with the recent news that some grocery store honey sometimes contains little in the way of actual honey). Find yours at area tailgate markets and at grocery stores that sell local foods. Visit FromHere.org to look for sources.

from Homemade Living: Keeping Bees © 2011 by Ashley English, Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Yield: Approximately 3-4 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
½ cup almonds
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
¼ cup butter
¼ cup honey
½ cup dried cranberries
2 tbs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
1 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste


Method:
Pulse the nuts and apricots in blender until the pieces form crumbles (don't overdo it, or you’ll end up with a nut and fruit butter).


Melt the butter in stainless-steel saucepan over medium heat.


Add the nut mixture.


Stir for about a minute, then add the honey. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.


Add cranberries, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is sticky.


Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.


Form mixture into small balls, a little under 1-inch in diameter.


Let them come to room temperature, and enjoy.