Here's another link for you guys to check out: Sunday Baker
I've already used several of her recipes and they've worked out great! I love that she does more than just desserts, because it's sometimes hard to find good, family tested dinner recipes!
From now until Christmas she's going to be having giveaways, so make sure you check it out and enter your name!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
New Toy
"hmm, what is this?"
"whoa, that was pretty cool..."
"this is fun!"
"holy cow, that's not fun, that's HYSTERICAL!"
"boys, do you SEE how crazy fun this is?!?!"
So she got her Christmas present a wee bit early, but do you blame us? She doesn't know what day it is (or isn't) anyway....
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Backtrack Post
I forgot to do these last month, so I'm filling in. From our Athens trip, these tow heads are R's cousin Missy's boys. They are both one year older than my two boys, respectively. It makes for some wild get togethers.
We have one ham (as usual)
one who is only thinking about going on the big slide again
and the other two were not very interested at all in being photographed. We had to do a fair amount of cajoling to even get them all together for this long.
B is saying, "I REALLY want to go back to the slide."
G is saying, "Hurry up because we're going to Dub's next."
C is saying, "Ahhh! I'm a dork!"
T is saying, "Cheese!" in the cheesiest way possible.
They were actually mimicking R and I making fun of this local portrait studio in town, because we always say that it looks like the place Deb from Napoleon Dynamite would get her picture taken. You have to watch the movie to get that one, sorry. And then we do the pose. So this one is our fault. LOL
We have one ham (as usual)
one who is only thinking about going on the big slide again
and the other two were not very interested at all in being photographed. We had to do a fair amount of cajoling to even get them all together for this long.
B is saying, "I REALLY want to go back to the slide."
G is saying, "Hurry up because we're going to Dub's next."
C is saying, "Ahhh! I'm a dork!"
T is saying, "Cheese!" in the cheesiest way possible.
They were actually mimicking R and I making fun of this local portrait studio in town, because we always say that it looks like the place Deb from Napoleon Dynamite would get her picture taken. You have to watch the movie to get that one, sorry. And then we do the pose. So this one is our fault. LOL
Monday, November 03, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Baking Yummy
How do we make Cake Truffles?
Take one mom and two helpers:
photo by C, my other helper
bake a cake from Betty Crocker and let it cool.
Now comes the fun part: break it up. Mix it with a can of frosting of your choice (we used vanilla buttercream, yum!)
then roll the mixture into little balls:
chill these little guys awhile in the fridge or a few minutes in the freezer to get them to harden a bit. We accidentally left ours in the freezer for a few hours but they were just fine. I let them thaw on the counter for 10 minutes before going on to the next phase:
coat the little guys in chocolate bark. this can get messy, especially with little helpers! melt a few pieces of the bark in a microwaveable bowl at a time, because it hardens quickly. and I suggest using clean bowls for each batch because sometimes little bits of cake get into your chocolate, which makes it not quite as smooth when it hardens (because of the crumbs). if you don't mind crumbs, then don't worry about it, they still taste AWESOME. oh and another note: if you don't get them completely covered in the chocolate, as you can see in some of ours, don't worry! just let it dry and then redunk in your chocolate bark. it'll be fine. then transfer to aluminum foil sheets or wax paper to dry a few minutes.
then spoon leftover frosting into ziploc bags and add food coloring. I only used 3/4 of the frosting can to mix with the cake. Maybe a bit more. That way I had some left over to make the pink and green. Snip off the corner and pipe on in cool designs. Store in an airtight container, or in your belly.
These are going to a neighborhood party tonight, but we've already sampled a few. Just the ugly ones! If the pretty ones are as tasty as the "ugly" ones, then we're in for a treat!
recipe from bakerella.blogspot.com, my new baking guru
Take one mom and two helpers:
photo by C, my other helper
bake a cake from Betty Crocker and let it cool.
Now comes the fun part: break it up. Mix it with a can of frosting of your choice (we used vanilla buttercream, yum!)
then roll the mixture into little balls:
chill these little guys awhile in the fridge or a few minutes in the freezer to get them to harden a bit. We accidentally left ours in the freezer for a few hours but they were just fine. I let them thaw on the counter for 10 minutes before going on to the next phase:
coat the little guys in chocolate bark. this can get messy, especially with little helpers! melt a few pieces of the bark in a microwaveable bowl at a time, because it hardens quickly. and I suggest using clean bowls for each batch because sometimes little bits of cake get into your chocolate, which makes it not quite as smooth when it hardens (because of the crumbs). if you don't mind crumbs, then don't worry about it, they still taste AWESOME. oh and another note: if you don't get them completely covered in the chocolate, as you can see in some of ours, don't worry! just let it dry and then redunk in your chocolate bark. it'll be fine. then transfer to aluminum foil sheets or wax paper to dry a few minutes.
then spoon leftover frosting into ziploc bags and add food coloring. I only used 3/4 of the frosting can to mix with the cake. Maybe a bit more. That way I had some left over to make the pink and green. Snip off the corner and pipe on in cool designs. Store in an airtight container, or in your belly.
These are going to a neighborhood party tonight, but we've already sampled a few. Just the ugly ones! If the pretty ones are as tasty as the "ugly" ones, then we're in for a treat!
recipe from bakerella.blogspot.com, my new baking guru
Halloween Night
Did you have a Happy Hallowe'en? We had a blast. T was, of course, a pirate. A blue-haired pirate at that. C was a motocross racer, complete with eye-poking helmet. Fun!
T showing off some blue streaks.
"Mom, when can we GET STARTED??"
We met up with some friends in the neighborhood while walking around, and this is the only good picture I got. Pushing a stroller full of crying baby and trying to adjust a camera to night time pictures is apparently out of my scope. I hate that the pictures of Molly, Victoria and Valerie didn't turn out, but here is one of C's best friends, Kaylen. Her mom made that costume!
A was most unimpressed by the night's festivities once she learned she would not be partaking in any of the candy eating later. Although plenty of people offered her sweets! I couldn't believe how many people tried to put suckers and things into her stroller! She was one cute kitty cat though, when she wasn't crying.
Afterwards, I settled into the cul de sac with the other neighbors to start handing out our treats. The boys joined the neighbor kids on the trailer to ride around the neighborhood and continue trick or treating. Fun!
Looking at their loot, I can't believe how generous people are these days! At least in our neighborhood! At least 20 houses gave out ziploc bags FULL of candy and treats like bubbles and whistles. Crazy!
T showing off some blue streaks.
"Mom, when can we GET STARTED??"
We met up with some friends in the neighborhood while walking around, and this is the only good picture I got. Pushing a stroller full of crying baby and trying to adjust a camera to night time pictures is apparently out of my scope. I hate that the pictures of Molly, Victoria and Valerie didn't turn out, but here is one of C's best friends, Kaylen. Her mom made that costume!
A was most unimpressed by the night's festivities once she learned she would not be partaking in any of the candy eating later. Although plenty of people offered her sweets! I couldn't believe how many people tried to put suckers and things into her stroller! She was one cute kitty cat though, when she wasn't crying.
Afterwards, I settled into the cul de sac with the other neighbors to start handing out our treats. The boys joined the neighbor kids on the trailer to ride around the neighborhood and continue trick or treating. Fun!
Looking at their loot, I can't believe how generous people are these days! At least in our neighborhood! At least 20 houses gave out ziploc bags FULL of candy and treats like bubbles and whistles. Crazy!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
More Baby Girl
I hate that by the time you have a third, your time is cut so drastically. I swore I'd never be one of those parents who took oodles of pictures of the firstborn and then none of the subsequent, but the truth is we did take more pictures of C than the youngest two. You just simply have more time, more awe, and more free hands! lol
So we've been a bit slack on pictures with A, even though I think we take more pictures than the average person, for sure. I'm trying to do better. She's just such a good baby, quiet and serene, and so far hasn't done much more than sleep and stare at the kooky people she will have to call family. I'm hoping for more smiles and interaction soon and then I will have something more to show you all.
Either way, today you get these. More sleepy baby pictures. She loves her bouncy seat! I remember with T we called it the potty chair because EVERY time we sat him in it he blew up his diaper. Not A, though. She likes watching the animals on the toy bar move up and down and occassionally we catch her giving those rare, precious smiles to the monkey and bird who are entertaining her! I admit we get jealous of that because full on smiles for US have been so few.
So we've been a bit slack on pictures with A, even though I think we take more pictures than the average person, for sure. I'm trying to do better. She's just such a good baby, quiet and serene, and so far hasn't done much more than sleep and stare at the kooky people she will have to call family. I'm hoping for more smiles and interaction soon and then I will have something more to show you all.
Either way, today you get these. More sleepy baby pictures. She loves her bouncy seat! I remember with T we called it the potty chair because EVERY time we sat him in it he blew up his diaper. Not A, though. She likes watching the animals on the toy bar move up and down and occassionally we catch her giving those rare, precious smiles to the monkey and bird who are entertaining her! I admit we get jealous of that because full on smiles for US have been so few.
But I'm happy that she's happy.
We do get this, however, which is what we call "Happy Face". Not really a smile, but definitely happy eyes and contentment. This is the face she makes most of the time when we talk to her; she gets very excited and kicks her legs and moves her arms and lights up. So even though we aren't getting full on gummy smiles, we know she's a happy girl.
Then the rest of the time, this is what we have. Mom or Dad holding her, messing with her, talking to her, trying to get a smile and her giving us the "What is wrong with you people?" face. LOL
We do get this, however, which is what we call "Happy Face". Not really a smile, but definitely happy eyes and contentment. This is the face she makes most of the time when we talk to her; she gets very excited and kicks her legs and moves her arms and lights up. So even though we aren't getting full on gummy smiles, we know she's a happy girl.
Then the rest of the time, this is what we have. Mom or Dad holding her, messing with her, talking to her, trying to get a smile and her giving us the "What is wrong with you people?" face. LOL
Meow!
This is As Halloween outfit. Not really a costume, but pretty cute nonetheless. I made the tutu, it was super easy! It only took about an hour and was maybe $2, tops. So fun!
Last weekend we took the boys to a Fall Festival at church and they wore their costumes there, but my camera was out of batteries so I didn't get any good pictures. They had a blast though! Tons of those bounce houses and games and yummy food. On Friday we are taking the kids trick or treating in the neighborhood, then to our friend Candus' house for a kids Halloween party. That should be a hoot, because Candus and her hubby Blair REALLY get into Halloween! Then on Saturday night we have a sitter coming because there is an adult party (also thrown by Candus!) in our cul de sac that we are going to attend. So fun! This will be the first time we've had a sitter for Addie, but I will literally be 20 feet away from our front door so if she needs anything she knows she can just yell. This way I will get some adult time but not feel too guilty about leaving my newborn! And it's a costume party so it should be super fun!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
We can't resist
So last week we had some more good beach weather, and decided to take advantage of it again. The breeze was perfect for kite flying! T got his in the air and we looped it on the chair and it stayed up the entire time we were there. R and T looked for more good shells and played in the surf. A and I took a sun nap and then she stuck her feet in the sand for the first time! She was NOT impressed though. Poor baby.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Weekend in Athens
We decided to take the boys on a little trip to Athens, Alabama to see R's family there. Although it's a bit of a drive (7 hours with three kids!), we love going there to relax and visit with family. It always seems so peaceful there! It's truly a "small town" where everyone knows everyone and is just adorable. R's cousin Missy and her husband own the local burger joint, which has been in the family for many years. We sat in the back of the diner with Granny, Missy, her boys Guy and Ben, and her mother in law and had some yummy burgers and chicken.
We really do feel like we're in a time warp in this town, but it's a sweet feeling rather than strange.
The boys enjoyed Granny's leaf pile
We really do feel like we're in a time warp in this town, but it's a sweet feeling rather than strange.
The boys enjoyed Granny's leaf pile
R's cousin Matt still had an inflatable slide from his son's birthday party last weekend and invited us over to play. Look how huge!
Dad even got in on some upside-down-and-backwards action
Friday, October 10, 2008
Last good beach days
Thursday afternoon just looked like perfect weather for walking on the beach. It was warm but a bit cloudy, and we decided to take a quick trip and soak up some peacefulness. There's just something calming about sitting on the beach, even with three kids. They love running along the waters edge, looking for shells and crabs (and finding big shark jaws, which they did yesterday!) and even A seems to zone out peacefully on our laps just soaking up a bit of sun and hearing the waves crash.
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