Tessa turned 2. . .

a month ago!

Life has been crazy and so I'm behind, but since it is snowing a lot today, I'm postponing my errands for the day and I'll attempt to recap a few blog-worthy items.
All Tess asked for for her birthday was Elmo. But since she doesn't play with toys much at all, I didn't want more than a small Elmo for her. . . ended up being a fantastic decision because she has given Elmo about 4 minutes of her life. She *loves* blowing out candles, so the cake was the highlight of her birthday.Saying "ooooooooooooooooooooo" about new beady socks from Camille, Mary and Alexa. They were a hit!Since she is such a busy busy girl, we decided a trike would be something she'd take to. WRONG!! After a few minutes of trying to ride it, she demanded "No work, take it back!" She couldn't figure out how to peddle. . . still hasn't since she won't touch it! On the other hand, those cute little pink boots from Grandma and Grandpa Porter have been an absolute favorite. Getting her to church in something besides the boots has been a bit tricky. I'll give you one guess as to what she is getting for Christmas. . .yes, clothes and shoes. She loves and plays with those a lot more than toys. She comes out from her nap dressed in lovely little creations (guess I should be a good blogging mommy and take a few pictures!)

Now just a few Tessaisms for my own record:
She is getting pretty good at using words such as "why not?", "maybe", "probably", "actually", "never mind". Pretty funny most of the times when she says them.

At her 2 year old appointment she only weighed 18lbs. 4ozs. Okay, to be in the 5th percentile she should be 22 1/2 lbs. Thankfully she has been a pretty healthy girl otherwise her weight would be even more of an issue.

While she is running away, she says "Come back here, Dessa." or as she is climbing to unreasonable heights for a 2 year old she says, "Careful, Dessa." And as she is getting into something she shouldn't she says, "No, no, no, Dessa."

One day after only a 40 minute nap, Tess woke up screaming. I debated whether to go into her or not because I really wanted her to sleep longer, but she didn't stop crying so I went into her. So glad I did! Her little hand was swollen and purple. She had taken out both hair bands and wrapped both of them around her wrist. Now she doesn't go for a nap at all with hair bands in. We also have to watch her in the car seat and other times she is bored because inevitably they come out and then get put on her wrist.

She has learned all the shopping lingo for a girl "Oh, this is so cute!" "I like this one!" "So cute!" "Want one of these!" "I love this!" And she LOVES to go shopping. . .I think I'm in trouble!

Thanksgiving with Kramer

Grandma Waddoups' friend and neighbor, Debbie, challenged all of the kids to a race with her goat, Kramer. If they could beat him, they got a lovely grand prize (although, I can't remember what it was!) It started out looking good for the kids, but it didn't turn out as well for them by the end.No matter, all the kids had a great time! (Nate ended up beating him after a few heats after Kramer lost his stamina. He maybe got an extra piece of pie!)

PS. . .while we were there, Debbie informed me that she liked reading my blog, but had a bit of a hard time finding it at first because she had been typing in "abigmomma.blogspot.com". . .I think she should have found it under that since that is so fitting these days!

Primary Children's Service Projects

We have been quite heavily involved in our ward's service project for Primary Children's Hospital. It was such a great project that I hope our ward does it again next year (in lieu of a sub for Santa tree because it allowed my kids to be involved a lot more).

Tom was in charge of a Duty to God activity in the teacher's quorum in November and we helped the boys tie a quilt for the hospital. While it wasn't grandly accepted at first, the boys all pitched in and did their part. Then, thankfully to my mom, it got bound.As a family we made pillow cases and medical dolls (don't have pictures of the latter). The boys were able to help quite a bit with both projects. (they loved the serging part!)I was also involved in the Primary portion of the activity. The kids worked on these service charts for about 5 weeks before the activity. (on the back of each chart was a list of ideas of things the kids could do for each box)At the ward Christmas party, they came to the "Helping Hands Gift Shop" to purchase items for the hospital with their service chart. Each chart was worth $1 and each item in the store was worth $1. (all of the store items were donated by people in our ward--you can see they were very generous!) Then they got to make a card to go on their gift(s). It was such a wonderful project because everyone in the ward from the Primary up was involved in service.

Christmas Day Surprises

{sorry this is so long with very bad and few pictures}

I grew up with a Christmas tradition that I can't replicate. It started out (I think) as a plan to keep us kids in bed a little longer on Christmas morning and blossomed into a very big deal. Every year my dad set a 'Christmas Trap'. They ranged in the early years from a simple fish line strung across the doorway connected to some pots and pans to complex mechanical devices that told us to get back to bed or that lit up or gave us a little scare or we faced false walls, decoys etc. . . . As kids we spent hours planning ways to get through the traps. We planned ways to communicate between bedrooms, stashed scissors, wire cutters, flashlights, knives etc. in our bedrooms so that we would be able to get passed or disarm whatever got in our way. In many ways the traps were more anticipated (and remembered) than the presents we gave or received. I wish I had some pictures to share, but I made an album last year for my dad about the traps and don't have any pictures left. So you'll just have to use your imaginations.

While we lived in Preston, we often spent Christmas Eve night with my parents so the boys got a few experiences with the traps. When we moved away, I knew we couldn't continue the traps because we're not nearly as resourceful or smart as my dad. But I wanted a fun, but doable for us, Christmas tradition. So Tom and I have come up with a Christmas Day surprises tradition. What does this mean? Who knows. . . but each year we try to make things just a little different and crazy. I'll share a few things we've done thus far to give you an idea.

First off, I have to note that we came across a *wonderful* tradition for us as parents, the kids have grown to like it, but that isn't to say it was well accepted at first. . .but at 8:30 on Christmas Eve, the kids are sent to bed in our room. They get the PlayStation, books, snacks and a cell phone. They are NOT to come out on any condition (but they don't need to since they have access to a bathroom, food, phone and fun.) That way we can get to work on all of our stuff at an early hour. I tell you, this idea has been genius for our family. I will ever thank Whitney Barrett for sharing their family tradition with me. Anyway, back to the Christmas Day Surprises. . .

We started out small the first year we did it. . . it was a search and find type of thing for one of their gifts. They each got numerous small gifts for their collections--Cache dice, Caleb marbles (Chan just got a small Lego set) that were all wrapped individually in the same paper and they had to hunt all over the house until they found all 50 or so items before they could open them. It ended up taking quite a bit of time and they had a lot of fun with it.

The next year Christmas was on a Sunday so we didn't plan something long and extensive. That year we got a ping pong table that we set up downstairs then we wrapped a lot of ping pong balls in shimmery paper and tied them with curly ribbon on the ends to make them look like candy. Then we hung them from the ceiling. Two of the balls were orange and at the end of the Christmas unwrapping that day we started opening ping pong balls one at a time. Whoever got the orange balls had to clean up. Caleb and Tom were the (un?)lucky finders. We sent Caleb downstairs with a large load of things to put away and he was the one to discover the ping pong table. (the bragging rights from the find made the cleaning up woes suddenly okay!)

The next year we hid their stockings, but left each boy a different color of yarn strung ALL OVER the house that they had to wind up to find their stocking. This was one of their favorites. (the whole house looked this tangled!)

Last year we got a little more involved with it. . . first off, the boys woke up to no presents under the tree, the old Christmas stockings were the only things under the tree, with nothing in them but a very large nail (like 5" long) with a poem about Christ's atonement. After a little devotional, they each got an envelope. In the envelope was a paper with bunch of numbers on them. Small dot stickers were stuck all over the main living area of the house. They had to collect the small dot stickers of their color to put on the numbers which created a dot to dot picture of the place where they would find a clue as to where their stocking was. (one picture made a drawing of the ceiling fan). Once they found their stockings, they had to find the presents. They were all stashed in the bathtub. After hauling them back under the tree we started the unwrapping festivities as usual.

This year we have gone even crazier, but I'm not going to say what we are doing in case I've got some blog reading children. I'll post about it after Christmas.

What are your traditions? I love to hear about what other people do. I was talking to our neighbors and it is interesting how vastly different everyone does Christmas morning. Please share!

Advent Calendars

We have an advent calendar for each kid in our family . . . They rotate between them so they each get a chance to do each one. They are a fun tradition so I thought I'd share.

#1:
This one we've had *forever*! I grew up with one very similar and I think many of my siblings have one too. I loved it growing up! It has 24 pockets with mini ornaments in them and each day an ornament gets hung on the tree.#2:
This is just a picture from Deseret Book that is put on a sheet of magnet (adhesive backed). Then it is cut into 24 squares. One square is put up each day. On the back of each square there is a piece of paper glued to it telling us a scripture to read or a song to sing.#3:
This is from the December 2000 Friend. I put the pieces that make up the Nativity picture on a sheet magnet then cut them out. The main sheet contains a scripture and an activity to do each day. (both #2 and #3 hang on our fridge and we do these advent calendars in lieu of daily scripture reading for the month of December. )
#4:
I just made this one this year (I think we used a throw away one last year). I looked at a lot of different advent calendars available on Etsy and then went from there. Had I not made it up as I went along, it would have saved me *a lot* of time, but as it was, I ended up becoming better friends with a seam ripper than I ever wished. Oh well, it is done and I'm mostly happy with it. For the numbers and letters, I used my foam stamps with fabric paint. Worked swell :). It has magnets sewn in it so that it hangs on the door going out to the garage. Each contrasting fabric piece is frayed a bit and puffed up with a little batting. In each pocket there is one mini candy bar and 5 M&M's. The person whose turn it is to open the pocket gets the candy bar, everyone else in the family gets an M&M!

Almond Joy Bars

Although there are quite a few steps in making these, they are really quite easy and well worth the effort. While these are irresistible just as they are, they are even more so just 5 or so minutes out of the deep freeze. To steal a phrase from the Pioneer Woman, Major Yum.
Almond Joy Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp soda
1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix flour, sugar and soda. Set aside. In saucepan mix butter, water and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Pour over flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Bake @ 375 for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling:
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 powdered sugar
14 oz. coconut
1 tsp vanilla
Mix milk and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar then add coconut. Spread evenly over cooled bars. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped almonds.

Frosting:
1/2 cup-1 cup butter **
2 cups chocolate chips
Melt butter and chocolate. Drizzle over bars then spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

**note: The more butter you add, the more of a 'glaze' you'll get. I tend to like it (if I'm not worrying about butter amounts!) a little thinner, but some of my kids like it better with a thicker, more chocolaty topping. (which is what is in the photo)

Orange Rolls

These yummy little things have become a Christmas morning tradition. I throw the dough ingredients into my bread machine on Christmas Eve, put the dough in the refrigerator until the next day, then I quickly roll them out on Christmas morning. (The dough is so soft that it needs to be refrigerated before working with it anyway so it works out well.) But whether you make these or not on Christmas Day, they are still way, way yummy! (sorry this is such a terrible picture, I promise IRL they look fantastic!)
Orange Rolls
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
4 TBSP softened butter
4 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 TBSP yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine and select dough setting. Refrigerate. When ready to roll out, spread with orange past (below) and cut out as you would cinnamon rolls. Bake in muffin tins or on a cookie sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. Glaze while still hot.

Orange Paste:
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
grated rind of 1 orange

Glaze:
Squeeze juice from 1/2 of orange and blend well with /2 cup cream cheese frosting. (I just use the frosting in the tub.)

The roll in the picture was baked in a 9x13 pan, but my absolute favorite is baking them in silicone muffin cups. For some reason, those make orange rolls to die for!

Neighbor Gifts

I like to keep my neighbor gifts simple, without spending a lot of time or money but letting those around me know that I appreciate their friendship. While these ideas are not grand, they may give you a starting place for an idea. If you don't like to spend your time making neighbor gifts, check out this site for things you can just purchase and put a tag on.

{Disclaimer: If you are my neighbor, please keep your yawns and sighs to yourself when you think "Been there, done that, received this years ago.". . . . Give me a little break as my brain is not working at full power these days!}

Hot Plate Tiles:
I hadn't thought of these being a cheap, simple neighbor gift until my sister Danna told me that she was making them for her neighbor gifts this year. She also gave me the idea of putting a little piece of cork or felt (use self adhesive kinds) on the bottom for a little padding. Works swell! Get some tiles from Home Depot, Staz On ink and some stamps. Super easy, fast and cute. In addition to these that I posted back in April, I also made a two more with more of a Christmas theme for this post.This one could be for any time of the year, but using red and green kind of gives it a Christmas feel. It's got a fun, abstract look. The green, btw, on this is done with a Slick marker; I just added it after stamping to enhance the image.I really like how this one turned out, although you need to pretend with me that this is centered. Stamping on a tile with texture gives a little more control (no slipping). To make it, I placed a circle template on the tile and stamped a few random flowers to create my circle, (this is where you need to be more careful than me in centering it!) then I removed it and filled it in to make a wreath. All of the stamps are little individual flower stamps. Then I used a dot stamp to make some berries. Turned out really fun!
Soap Dispensers:
I have made these for a couple of years because they are cute and practical. In the past I have used rub ons on the front to put a greeting. But this year I decided they are just as cute without the greeting (hence saves time and money!). I also have gone from using a brad for attaching the flower to using a button and just stitch it on. It takes just a minute longer, but buttons don't rust so if the receiver wants to refill it, they can use it for quite a while. This year I also thought about putting hand sanitizer in them, which is nice because it is clear instead of slightly colored. Just make sure if you use sanitizer, you let the recipient know it isn't soap. Or if you like the clear soap option, Clorox now makes a clear dish soap. It is a little pricey, but you might decide it is worth it. (I found that with white flowers, the clearer soap looks better.) These make great teacher gifts too. To make them, cut a piece of texture template the size of your soap bottle (make a pattern first), sew your button and flower on, roll up the texture template and put it in the bottle, use a chopstick or something of the sort to help it unroll if neccessary.

CD and Ornament
This is the neighbor gifts I did last year. (the talk I put on the CD is wonderful! You should listen just for your own listening pleasure!)

Hand Exfoliater
You're going to have to use your imaginations on this one as I don't have a sample to show because I haven't been able to get any travel size containers the right size (Wal-Mart is always out). But here is a picture of the type of container I'm looking for. It needs to be a small wide-mouth type container because this mixture needs to be stirred well before each use. Then you would tie a ribbon around it, stamp or put a rub on put on the lid etc. Then make a little tag with the instructions. This exfoliater works marvelously and is very easy to make.

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup glycerin (pharmacys have it)
1 tsp Aloe Vera gel (in the travel size section)
2-3 drops of scented oil (by the potpourri) Don't go overboard, start with 2 drops and add more if desired.
Coloring if desired, again, use very little to start with, 1 drop is too much, add with a toothpick

Mix well.

To use, put 1 tsp on hands or feet. Massage in well and rinse in warm water. It tends to dry out your skin a little so use a good lotion right after.

I love the feel of my hands and feet after I use this! It really is an awesome recipe!

Journals/Calendars
These are really easy to make and make a nice gift for a girlfriend. For the journals I just buy a regular notebook. This one is about a 5x7. I create the entire cover how I want it then I use Wonder tape (or a knock off brand) to adhere it. I put the tape as close to the edge as I can get it and go all the way around. For the calendar, I just buy a calendar and decorate it. (most you would do the same as a journal, but this one had a plastic cover then I slipped my decorated paper inside.) The calendars can be used for anything, but I make a new one for myself every year that I write down what happens each day. Since the space is small, it only takes a few minutes, but it makes me keep a daily record.

And as always, click on pictures to see them larger if you want and *please* share other ideas you have! Thanks for reading!

Christmas Service Ideas

Every year I like to get my kids involved in a couple of service projects. They are a great way to bring our family together and service is always good. While this list isn't grand, it can be a starting point if you need ideas. And please, share ideas that you do so the rest of us can benefit also.

Humanitarian Projects: Check out the church's website for needed projects; many of them lend themselves well to an evening or weekend of family service. The year Tess was born we didn't take her out at all so we tied a quilt. It was so fun to do as a family.

Food Bank donations: It always seems local food banks are low at this time of year. Different ideas to implement this are to give each child a certain amount of money and a list of most needed items and let them choose some things to buy to take to the food bank. Or organize a neighborhood food bank donation day. Some people in our neighborhood do this every year and they provide a movie on a big screen outside and hot chocolate and other things if you bring some items.

School Donations: Teachers and schools often need supplies. Many schools could use basic supplies such as pencils, paper and crayons. Others would benefit more from volunteer hours. As a teacher I could always use help cutting things out, sorting papers, mending books etc. A phone call to your local school could easily give you ideas of service projects.

Nursing Homes: Most people there would just enjoy a visit. But here is a list of good ideas of other things you could do.

Something in your neighborhood: Is there a single mom in your neighborhood? Offer to take her kids for an evening so she can relax or shop for Christmas. While you have the kids, take them shopping for something for their mom, or help them make something for her. Is there a family in your neighborhood with a few small children that would have to hire a sitter in order to do their Christmas shopping? Offer to take the kids for an evening while they get out. The year we did this we had tea parties with the kids and did other crafts. It was so fun!

Hospitals: Look at this list of needs of Primary Children's Medical Center. The list just makes me excited because there are so many ways to help them. Since our ward is involved in a service project for them this year, they sent a packet with back ground information and a DVD. One thing they said is that the quilts they receive only last 3 months because of the disinfecting washes they go through, so they are always in need of those. Check the hospitals in your area for needs they have. (see my journals below that I made for the hospital)

I know there are a lot of other ideas out there so please share any ideas you have so we all can benefit. I'd love to hear them!

Healing

I had a terribly hard week last week. I just felt so broken. It didn't help that I spent most of the week very exhausted from a busy toddler and running on empty because of lack of sleep. There were other issues and I won't go into the details, but I hate to admit that I also gave into a terrible case of pity party blues. {And those are always hard to kick.} This week I have found answers in President Uchtdorf's talk from the General RS meeting in September. When he gave it, I knew first hand of the truths he presented because of how they have healed me in the past, but applying them when you are feeling a bit sorry for yourself is definitely a challenge.

President Uchtdorf suggests that the way women can experience joy and happiness amidst life's pressures is through service and creativity. It is so true! Making something beautiful brings so much joy and giving of ourselves pushes us outside of our little world to see other's needs which brings our challenges into perspective. Thankfully I found a project that met both purposes. Our ward is doing a Christmas service project for Primary Children's Medical Center and one thing on the list of things to donate was journals. I decided that I could make some nice journals for girls with all of the scrapbook stuff I have around. So I picked up a dozen notebooks and got to work. I got part way finished and Caleb asked how come I didn't have any for boys. So I ended up making some that boys might like and some neutral ones. I had so much fun that I'm sad that my notebooks are all used up. (But I've got other projects up my sleeve so it is time to move on!) I love how healing service and creativity are to a weary soul! I'm thankful for wise counsel to remind me when I needed it oh so much.And all of these supplies came from my odd-n-ends/scrapbox! How exciting to use some of those up too!

Daily Christmas Activities

This is one of our family's favorite traditions, but it has taken a few years of tweaking and evolving to get to what we do now. My suggestion, if you like this idea, is to start small and then add to it each year. Basically, what we do is each day during the month of December we have one family Christmas activity. Some are as simple as telling a Christmas joke or singing a song, but others require more time and preparation. To make it fit in, we print out a blank December calendar each year then write in programs, recitals, parties etc. and on those day we write in our simplest activities. On the days we have more time, we schedule ones that require more time. Sometimes we have a whole week of telling Christmas jokes or singing, and we are often trading them around as the month moves on, but we still make sure we do it just to keep the tradition up.

Last year our ward Christmas party was all about sharing traditions. I did a table display and made this layout and an explanation sheet hand-out to go with my odd collection of display items. (A laundry basket, a bunch of wadded up pieces of paper and a can of shaving cream need a bit of explanation especially amongst cute stuff like gingerbread houses, Santa, nutcracker and ornament collections don't you think?!?) Sorry for not providing a text version of the activity explanation, but I guess it didn't get transferred to the new computer so it was easier just for me to post a scan. I think you should be able to read it. (you will have to click to enlarge them though)
Each year we come across new activities that become possibilities and they get added to the master list (atm, I'm just writing them on the back of my layout). Ones that have been added for possibilities are: have a camp out around the Christmas tree, have a Jerusalem picnic, and since we have a little girly girl now we will be adding things like 'turn on Christmas music and dance' or 'have a Christmas parade' where we will wear Santa hats and march with instruments to a Christmas song. (okay, we're a little on the weird side, but we have fun!)

If you want explanations for other activities, let me know (I'll be posting our list of service ideas next week.) OR! if you do Christmas activities, please share, I'd love to expand my list!

Thankful

Yesterday I did laundry. Lots of it. And then I did more. While I was throwing one batch into the washer I thought about something that Tom always says (and it comes from his parents): He always reminds us that we 'get' to do something instead of 'have' to do it. And it is true. I get to do laundry. What a blessing!! Think about all of the things that could impair me from having such an opportunity. I could not have a family to care for. We could not have clothes. I could be disabled so as to not physically be able to perform the task. I could live in a different generation which would make doing laundry a greater task than throwing into a machine that does it for me. Think of all of my blessings surrounding an enormous pile of laundry!! Thinking in this perspective changes so much on things that otherwise seem mundane or burdensome! I get to drive Cache to and from school. I get to make meals, and clean up afterward. I get to help children with homework. I get to witness a toddler have large amounts of energy. I get to see my husband and family off each morning to their wonderful opportunities and then welcome them back again. I get to treasure a new life growing inside of me. I get to wipe up a lot of things (unless I'm thinking right, this is one that easily gets to me; but I'm thankful that the surfaces I wipe are much easier to clean than the ones previous generations had and I have many products available that make it minimal work!) I am TRULY blessed!

I don't want to skip over Thanksgiving, but I am going to start posting ideas for Christmas service projects, neighbor gifts, family activities, recipes etc. over the next few weeks so that if any of my ideas are ones you can use, you have time to implement them. I have gained so many ideas from blogs and other online sources that it is time for me to give back!

Halloween Pics

Don't let the following pictures fool you. Deep, deep down I'm a true Halloween Humbug. Personally, I just can't stand to spend money on the holiday. I don't love to dress up and I don't like to spend my energy dressing up the young ones. But my little Chan LOVES to dress up; always has and probably always will. From a very young age he has found things around the house to make costumes and ways to be different characters. In fact, I made this layout a couple of years ago about how he loved to dress up everyday. So when he started asking (since summer) to be this Lego guy, how could I possibly make an excuse? I couldn't. So we went to DI, got some blue pants and shirt and I managed to iron a bit of silvery and green fabric to them. Then we made this little ID tag for his pants. When it was finished, it is an understatement to say he was thrilled. As for Tess, I had a very nice sister come to my rescue and send me a costume for her. She made me look REALLY good! (thanks Andi) Everywhere we went, Tess was just doted over because she looked so adorable. And it helped that she had a very cute "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you". The only problem with her trick or treating antics was she wanted to go in to everyone's house. . .not just stepping in, but all the way in! One house she hurried in and tried to shut the door behind her. It was just too funny.Tessa saying "BOO!"I have to admit, it was actually fun. I can't promise pull off similar results another year, but at least we have one year of this Halloween Humbug mom softening.

Food for College

Each of our boys have got some eating quirks that merit recording; some come about because of pickiness and others stem from an extreme liking of certain foods. We always tease them about what they will need to have in order to survive college (and missions) without Mom's cooking.

In order for Cache to survive without me, he will need to take a rice cooker and a bread machine. All other foods are secondary. With rice you can get frozen egg rolls and a little soy sauce and call it an outstanding meal. There are oriental sauces and mixes you can buy and whip up quickly if you have rice handy. With bread (store-bought bread just doesn't seem to do) you can make peanut butter toast, grilled cheese and other sandwiches. He could thrive off of these two items.

In order for Caleb to survive, he will need a LARGE selection of condiments, sauces and spices. This will include, but not be limited to season salt, garlic salt, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, poppy seed dressing, vinegar types of dressings, soy sauce, Teriyaki sauce, Tabasco sauce, Tabasco Chipolte Sauce, A-1 Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Taco Time taco sauce. . . okay, you get the picture. ANYTHING can be made edible if the sauce/spice selection is adequate!

In order for Chandler to survive, he will need a can opener, a bunch of canned fruit and a subscription to a Fruit of the Month Club.

Tessa hasn't shown her colors yet, but so far, she is leaning to needing a rice cooker also.