{Life is Sweet}

so this is what we woke up to the other day in st. george!  Wow... we were so excited to see snow that actually stuck!  Some of you that live where it snows every winter are probably thinking big deal.. but it was serious business around here :)  they even cancelled school for the day :) Also i had NEVER made a snowman before so i thought it would be fun to play in the snow with maddie for a bit... i think it was most fun for me ... i even had a carrot nose on the snowman that got eaten soon after when maddie got hungry :)

-6 cups flour ( plus more for work surface)

-1 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

-1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

-4 tsp ground ginger

-4 tsp ground cinnamon

-1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

-1 tsp pepper

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

-2 large eggs

-1 cup unsulphured mollasses

Royal icing (directions below)

Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1.  sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.

2. put butter and brown sugar in the  bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix med. speed until fluffy.  Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and mollasses.  reduce speed to low.  add flour mixture; mix until just combined.  divide into thirds and wrap each third in plastic.  refrigerate until cold, about an hour.  

3. preheat to 350*.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick.  cut out shapes.  i used a snowflake shape.  space 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, about 15 min. 

4.  bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12-14 min.  let cool on wire racks.  

5.  after cookies are fully cooled, ice and let icing set at room temperature about an hour.... then you can package as you like :)

-1 lb powdered sugar

-5 tablespoons of meringue powder (can be found in cake decorating isle)

Mix sugar, powder, and 1/2 cup water .  mix on low for 7 min ... if icing to thick add water tiny bits at a time ( easy to add too much water!)  if too thin i just added more powdered sugar until it was not runny.  

Shawn and I began a family tradition the first year we were married and that is to go and cut down our own christmas tree!  We look forward each year getting into our warm clothes and driving up the mountain with christmas music and hot chocolate to find the perfect tree.  this year we got a late start on going and by the time we got there we had no more light and we realized all we had was a tiny wind up flashlight :)  we were dead set on finding our tree still so we drove up one of the canyons in cedar slowly so our headlights could hopefully spot it.. i thought for sure our tree would be less than perfect this year, but luckily we found it in pretty good time and as usual i feel like our tree gets prettier every year!  It was a fun warner tree hunt this 2008!

so here it is!  i am really happy with how it turned out ... shawn is the best handyman ever!  i love the walls and the paint, he did such a great job :)  I think maddie likes her new room too. She is transitioning into a big girl bed fairly good.  She gets in like an angel at night and at nap time, but it seems that each night she is finding her way into our bed a little earlier :) the first night was 7 am (what a cutie climbing into our bed).  the second night was at 6 (still cute but be quiet maddie it's still early for mommy). the third and fourth night has been at 2 am (NOT CUTE!  GO BACK TO SLEEP MADDIE)  so i have had to get her back into her bed and inch my way out for two nights now... love her, but i value my sleepy time :)  if anybody has any advice please speak up!  up next is Mia's room :)