Happy December!!!

It's been a busy beginning of December for us here in the Hodge house. Unfortunately busy doesn't always mean that a lot has been accomplished, but at least our days have been full! Daddy has been working 50 hour weeks, so we don't see him a lot. When he gets home he usually starts prepping for either Sunday or Wednesday. He's been working so much that I have to keep him moving if I don't want him to fall asleep. He's my hard-working man!
Sonya Joy is growing! She's got to be about 9lbs now! We went to the cardiologist about a month ago, and they said that although she still has a little bit of an abnormal heart beat, it sounds like she's growing out of it. They're going to see her again in February, but I was told not to worry to much.
Her smiles are becoming more and more frequent! And, oh, it's a cute one!

 She's still has a little bit of tummy problems, but she is learning to have a better attitude about it! She's almost three months old and I'm finally getting her birth announcements out! I am the worst mother ever! But I do love my little girl!

I haven't done as much baking this month as I would like, and I find that when I do, it's usually the simplest recipe I can find. I made whole wheat chocolate chip muffins - that I would not make again... I made twice baked potatoes for the first time, which weren't half bad, and I've been trying a lot more recipes that have ginger in them.





Here's one recipe I would make again:

Cranberry Apple Cider:

- 2 large bottles of apple juice
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 stick of cinnamon
(ground cinnamon works too)
- 2 cut up apples
- 1 cup of cranberries

I love this recipe, because there is nothing technical about it! You just throw it all together, turn on your crockpot, and let it do it's own thing. Not only that, it smells just like the holidays should! Spicy and warm!