Treats N Sweets

Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day

2011-08-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

Since I am so behind on my blogging I'm going back and catching up on things I've missed.

Easter family photo. I love that I was able to find a fun bright color for all of us to wear.

Discovering the goodies in his basket.

Me and my cuddle bug.

Hubby and JJ took me to eat at Red Lobster for Mother's Day.

Praying for our lunch.

JJ with his Daddy on Father's Day.

Looking as handsome as ever!

Crazy boy. :)

Our little family.

All Things Cupcake

2011-08-02T18:11:00.000-05:00

I've been doing some baking but haven't posted anything so this is dedicated to my new favorite thing to bake - cupcakes! How do you not love cupcakes? They're yummy and so fun to decorate!

This is a Cinnamon Mocha Cupcake with Whipped Mocha Frosting. Mmmm!

Grasshopper Fudge Cupcakes. These are one of my favorites and everyone who has ever had one loves them too!

Churro Cupcakes. This was a new one for me. Hubby needed a dessert to take to work for their Cinco de Mayo luncheon. Love it!

Moist Chocolate Cupcake with a Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting. So simple but so stinkin yummy! Always a favorite.

Cherry Almond Vanilla Cupcake. SO good! And I love how pretty it is!

So there are my recent cupcake experiences. I'm sure there will be more in my near future. I've been on a cupcake craze lately!

Three

2011-05-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am late getting things posted. JJ's birthday was on April 8th and his birthday party was on the 9th. The theme was Mickey Mouse since that is his current favorite cartoon. April can be an interesting month here in Oklahoma. It's usually pretty windy and can be rainy as well. JJ's 1st and 2nd birthday parties were both at a local park. We were lucky to have good weather on both occasions although it was very windy. This year I wanted to have it somewhere we could have it inside as well as out. Our house is too small for a party so we had it at my parents house. It was perfect! They live on 1 acre so there was plenty of room for the kids to run and we also were able to keep the food and gifts in the house. I'm sure we'll be having JJ's 4th birthday party at my parent's house again next year!

I wanted to have a nice birthday party without spending a fortune so with a little research I was able to make a lot of it.

This is what you saw when you entered the house. I made Mickey Mouse shaped rice krispie treats on a stick, MM ears for all of the kids, and a MM topiary. The picture of JJ is one side of his party invitation.

Here's where all the food went. I made 2 more MM topiaries for decorations and I also made the cupcakes. The empty space on the table is where the pizza went.

These are the goody bags I sent home with each kid. Lots of candy inside and MM memorabilia!

A closer pic of the cake. My friend, Rachael, has made every birthday cake for JJ so far. She always does such a good job!

A picture of my little bug before the party starts.

2 of the kids wearing the ears I made.

A bounce house we were fortunate to have. A friend and co-worker of my Dad's allowed us to borrow the bounce house for the day.

My Dad built JJ a sandbox last summer for JJ and it came in handy for the party. The kids loved it!

Time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles! This is his embarrassed face. I love it!

After having cake and cupcakes we went to a local horse farm. Before seeing the horses we all sat in a room and listened to James Bond (yes, that's his real name!) give the history of the horse farm and tell us what we'll be doing.

Learning how to brush the ponies.

Each child got to ride the pony cart a couple of times.

While some of the kids were riding the cart, the rest of us were petting the horses.

And JJ was running around like a crazy person!

My Mom talking to Oreo. He was such a sweet horse.

Getting back from a ride. He had each adult go on a quick ride while he explained how using the reigns on the horses relates to raising children. It was a very good little talk.
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Time to open presents! This present is from my parents.

This is from my in-laws.

haha! Guess he's not so sure about this one. :)

The end.

At the end of the day we were all exhausted but it was good day! My sweet boy had a fun, family and friend-filled party and I didn't have to spend a fortune to give it to him!

I still can't believe I have a 3 year old. I wish he would stop growing. Just for a little bit. I miss my baby.

Click here to read about JJ's 2nd birthday party and here to read about JJ turning 1.

February Randomness

2011-03-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

Here's more random pictures. They're too cute not to post and remember!

February Zoo Days

2011-03-29T22:29:00.000-05:00

Our local zoo has free entrance on Mondays during January and February. There were only 2 days that were nice enough to take advantage of this. On Valentine's Day and on the last day of the month. Both times my parents came along with us. Such fun days they were!

This group of pictures is from the first trip to the zoo.

Here's some pictures from the 2nd trip.

Science Museum

2011-03-29T21:56:00.000-05:00

Because of Snow-klahoma we had been stuck in the house forever (it seemed!) and were itching to get out. A couple friends and I braved the crazy roads and took our kids to the Science Museum. It was so great to spend time with friends and let the kids get rid of some of their energy!

Snow-klahoma

2011-03-29T21:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know. The title is cheesy but on February 1st, it was snow-klahoma around here. It was too cold to play outside for long but JJ wanted to go out so badly so we bundled him up and sent him out with Daddy and the dogs for a bit. He had such a great time!

January Randomness

2011-03-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

I've got too much catching up to do to post a blog for each individual thing that happened in January so this one will be filled with lots of randomness.

JJ and Daddy playing in the tent.

JJ's first bowling trip. Our Light Brigade had a Saturday field trip to the bowling alley so we brought JJ along.

Wearing Daddy's bowling shoes.

I love this sign in his room.

JJ's first NBA game. At a Thunder game!

I love his sweet profile. I took this one morning while he was still half asleep.

Sunday School

2011-03-29T21:20:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness it has been a while since I've posted anything. I've been without a computer for the last couple of months so I wasn't able to post. I still don't have a computer so who knows when then next chance I have to post will be!

I'm not sure how I forgot this but JJ's first time to go to Sunday School was January 2nd. What a great way to start out the year! I think it's a momentous occasion and worth remembering so here are a few pictures from that day.

He wasn't too excited about it at first. We stood outside the classroom door for awhile.

Still not so sure about this whole Sunday School thing.

He finally made it into the classroom. It took a bit for him to warm up but his teacher said he did great!

JJ hasn't had a problem going to Sunday School since then. In fact, he looks forward to it!

Later that day JJ found a party hat and had some fun with it.

His "Wady"

2011-01-18T19:08:00.000-06:00

It all started a couple weeks ago. When I talk to JJ about I'll say things like: Say hi to the nice lady! We're taking a lady some food. and The lady's foot hurts. One day he asked about his "wady" and I asked him who she was. He said, "You my wady!" and that's what I've been since then. Many times thoughout the day he'll remind me that I'm his "wady" and every time I hear it it's like the first time. I know my little man won't be this sweet forever so I cherish these moments we have and will always remember the days he called me his "wady".

Eggnog

2011-01-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

I have never been a fan of eggnog. I try drinking it every year thinking that maybe I'll like it but my dislike of eggnog has always remained the same. Until now. I used eggnog in the Eggnog Cheesecake I made for Christmas and have had quite a bit left. I hated to throw it away but certainly didn't want to drink it so I hung on to it hoping to find something to do with it. I looked at it the other day and noticed that the expiration date was coming up. That lit a fire under me and I searched for some good eggnog recipes.

I started with Eggnog Cupcakes. The recipe I used is from Annie's Eats. I remembered reading about it and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! These cupcakes are delicious. If you love the flavor and spices of eggnog, you'll love these cupcakes.

I made 2 batches of the cupcakes and still had some eggnog left. After finding such a great recipe I knew I couldn't throw the rest of the eggnog away. I had to put it to good use! Next are Eggnog Cookies. I found the recipe HERE. The only change I made to the recipe was to use 3 1/2 cups of flour instead of 4. These cookies are wonderful and addicting and I highly recommend them!

After these 2 recipes, I will never snub my nose at eggnog again. In fact, I plan on buying it every year so I can add these fabulous recipes to my Christmas baking!

The Season of...

2011-01-06T15:48:00.000-06:00

FOOD! You thought I was going to say giving, didn't ya? Well, Christmas is definitely the season for giving and for remembering Christ's birth (first and foremost) but I believe it is also fair to say that the Christmas season is also a season of food. Tons and tons of food. Yay for me! Anyway, it's been awile since I've posted about things I've made (gasp!) so here's an update.

The appetizer we had for our Christmas Eve dinner at my parents house was Festive Crab Cups. A new recipe for us. Mini phyllo cups are filled with a cream cheese crab mixture and topped with cranberries. Great combination!

One Christmas Eve dessert was Chocolaty Peppermint Cupcakes. They were rich but good. I'm not a fan of frosting (you're in shock, I know) so I didn't care for the frosting but I liked the peppermint and chocolate together.

Our other Christmas Eve dessert was this Eggnog Cheesecake. Another new recipe. It's a no-bake cheesecake and the texture is between a cheesecake and a pudding. Very good. Hubby LOVED it.

I took this Coffee Cheesecake to our Sunday School Christmas party. Coffee flavored cheesecake topped with ganache and chocolate covered espresso beans. Hello! You'll stay awake all night on that one! It was very good though and I got rave reviews.

My most favoritest (yes, I know that's not a word!) cookie. Orange Cranberry Cookies. So good, people. I can't even tell you. You have to taste them for yourselves. And everyone I've ever given them to loves them as well. I made these last Christmas too. Oh, I've never bothered with the glaze that the recipe calls for. They totally don't need it!

Lastly is another new recipe (surprised, anyone?). Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting. You can thank Amanda for this one. I saw it on her blog and knew I had to try it. I've never been a cookie dough eater but this. is. good. And I know I said I'm not a frosting person but I love this one! You must try it!

Christmas Day

2011-01-06T14:51:00.000-06:00

We had a sweet Christmas morning, just the 3 of us, and then went to Hubby's parents house later that afternoon. Another fun day!

Our Christmas tree before the damage was done. :)

Being so patient!

And his favorite gift was (surprise, surprise) the guitar!

Another favorite was the snow/leaf blower.

Opening the gift Uncle Joey and Uncle Nilo got him. Dinosaurs!

The gift he got from Mimi and Papa. Jungle animals!

Just being cute.

Playing on the floor with Uncle Nilo.

We, of course, had to bring his guitar with us. The picture doesn't show it but Uncle Joey is playing his guitar and singing and Uncle Nilo is singing as well. JJ joined in the jam session!

We were blessed with another good Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-06T13:56:00.004-06:00

Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with my Hubby's family. This year was much like any other year. Days spent with family, eating lots of food, and opening presents. And it was perfect.

Mom and I working on our Christmas meal. JJ stopped in for a quick visit (that's who Mom is making the funny face to).

Patiently waiting to open presents.

Hanging out with Uncle Andrew.

JJ's job was to pass the presents out.

His first piggy bank. I don't know what I was thinking (I guess I wasn't) but this is the only picture I have of him with a present. He received many more presents but I just don't have pictures of them.

Watching Grandma and Grandpa open their presents.

Mom made matching aprons for JJ and me. Everytime I'm in the kitchen (which is a lot!) JJ wants to be there "helping" so matching aprons are perfect!

My parents had a surprise for JJ this year. After opening up all of the gifts they told JJ to look under the tree outside. Of course, there was a gift waiting just for him.

Playing in the wrapping paper was just as much fun as opening the gifts!

JJ took these 2 photos.

Mom and I started the tradition this year of making Pecan Rolls at the end of the night. The next morning all we have to do is bake them and we'll have pecan rolls for our Christmas morning breakfast!

It was a wonderful day. I'm so glad my brother got to come home and spend Christmas with us. It wouldn't be the same without him. Last year we all spent the night due to a blizzard that came through. Fun memories. But I'm glad it didn't take us 6 1/2 hours again to get to my parents house this year!

December 2010 Family Photos

2011-01-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

A girl Jorge worked with years ago has recently started a photography business and offered to do some family pictures for us. We, of course, took her up on the offer and met up in Norman exactly one week before Christmas. We thought a picture of JJ from the photo shoot would be a great surprise present for our parents. It was very cold outside that day but I'm so glad we took the time to get them done. I didn't post all of them but there are still a lot of pictures here.

{this is the one we printed and framed for our parents}

Wishing You...

2010-12-23T15:45:00.000-06:00

a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I know I am a bit early but I probably won't have time to get online much the next couple of days. I hope everyone has wonderful days with family and friends and always remembers the true reason for Christmas.

Thanksgiving, Round 2!

2010-12-08T12:51:00.001-06:00

We put off our family Thanksgiving for a week so that Andrew could be a part of it. That was definitely okay with me. After eating so much on Thanksgiving Day, I don't think I could have done it again the next day at my parents house (the original plan). We celebrated Mom's birthday on that day as well. So much food! It was a great day spent with family!

Getting ready to devour our Thanksgiving feast!

JJ loved the drumsticks!

This is the only non-dessert item that I got an individual picture of. Our appetizer, stuffed mushrooms. Yum!

The cake I made for Mom's Birthday. Chocolate Harvest Cake. A creamy pumpkin filling sandwiched between 2 layers of moist, chocolate cake and topped with ganache and crumbled Heath bar. And it tastes better the longer it sits!

Traditional Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie. Gotta have those!

He's Back!

2010-12-08T12:24:00.000-06:00

My not-so-little brother has been working in Iraq since April. He came back a week ago for a 30-day vacation, just in time to spend Christmas with us! He returns to Iraq at the end of December for another 6 months but for now we are so glad to have him back home!

I (unfortunately) had to use the flash for the pics in the airport so please excuse the glare.

JJ watches his Grandma give Uncle Andrew a big hug.

Checking his Uncle Andrew out. Not quite sure about him yet.

That didn't take long. He warmed up to him right away.

Heading home!

Yep, they're weird. But we love them. :)

They were both laying under the Christmas tree. I was only able to snap this one picture. JJ wouldn't lay still long enough for me to try to get a good one.

Grandma's Helpers

2010-11-29T19:35:00.000-06:00

JJ and I went over to my parents house this past Friday to help with their Christmas decorating. JJ loved getting to hang ornaments on the tree and I was assigned the task of decorating their mantle. Yay, me! I love doing these kinds of things so I was pretty excited about it. It took me hours to do but I (and they) were very happy with the end result. Next time I go over there I'm going to be hanging up a couple wreaths in some windows. Hope those turn out just as cute!

Taking his job very seriously.

Think I know who Grandma's favorite helper is. Can't say that I blame her. ;)

The completed mantle. The garland and most of the ornaments on the garland were new this year. The wreath has been used for years but the color of the pointsettias and ribbon that were on the wreath were the wrong color so we had to buy new. Replacing the pointsettias was pretty easy. The ribbon was a bit harder. Making a bow that size was a bit of a challenge but we figured it out!

Thanksgiving Day

2010-11-28T16:18:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day this year. My brother, Andrew, is coming home from Iraq late Tuesday night so we decided to put off our family's Thanksgiving for another week so that he could be part of it. Thanksgiving Day was spent it with Jorge's parents and brothers. A lot of delicious food was eaten and a lot of football was watched (by the boys)! It was a good day spent with family. And I ate too much. :)

Sitting on Mimi and Papa's couch. Looking as cute as ever. :)

Nilo spent the day on the couch or on the floor. He had surgery on his foot the day before Thanksgiving.

JJ with his Mimi and Papa.

Watching TV with his Uncles.

Sharing some leftover turkey with Uncle Joey. Whatever Joey is eating JJ always wants some!

Playing video games with Uncle Joey.

JJ and His "Two"

2010-11-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

Now that we are in the holiday season our family has been doing a lot of shopping lately - food, gifts, clothes, decorations, and anything else that comes up. JJ has been tagging along each time and almost always does so well. One day last week JJ and I were out shopping at Hob Lob with my parents for some decorations for their house. My dad gave him a big fuzzy dog to carry around the store while we shopped. JJ behaved so well that my Dad decided JJ needed to take the dog home with him (like he needs an excuse to buy something for JJ! haha!). We asked JJ several times that night, and several times since then, what his dog's name is. Each time he said "Two!". So, "Two" it is. JJ loves his doggie and sleeps with him every night. Here is JJ's new friend...

JJ's Favorite Place To Be

2010-11-28T15:47:00.000-06:00

.....is outside. Since it's been colder lately he hasn't been able to go out as much. The other day we were getting into our car when he took off across the front of the yard running and laughing and playing in the leaves. You could tell he was loving it! I snapped a few pictures while he enjoyed the beautiful weather. Such a happy little boy he is.

Getting In The Mood...

2010-11-20T21:25:00.002-06:00

The the Christmas mood, that is! :) Nothing gets you in the Christmas spirit quicker than Christmas music and decorations. We decided last minute yesterday to put our Christmas decorations up. Jorge has been working a lot recently so we thought we'd better take advantage of some time off. I, of course, have been ready to put up Christmas decorations for a while so I was excited when he suggested we get it done last night. Don't get me wrong, it's a pain sometimes and can be tedious work but the end result is always so worth it. The ambiance it adds to the house makes you forget about all that work! I got most of it done last night but added some last touches to it today. I also made some ornaments. Some for me (of course!) and some as gifts for others. This is the time of year I'm thankful for a small home. I spend enough time and money decorating this one! I don't know how I'd handle a bigger one...yet, I'm sure I'd manage...haha! Here are some pictures from last night and today. Enjoy!

Warning: picture overload ahead!

My little Christmas helper.

I've made several changes to this year's decorations from last year's. The tree is pretty much the same as last year though.

The entry is a bit different. I added the ornaments hanging from the mirror and the ladder was on the fireplace last year.

Here is a close-up of the ornaments hanging from the mirror. These are some of the ornaments I made this morning.

Picture of the mess I made while making said ornaments. I don't have a work space so I use what I have - my floor! The next 7 ornament pictures are ones I made today.

Here's our mantle. My favorite place in the house (besides the kitchen, of course!). Several things are different from last year. The garland going across the top and down the sides of the mantle is a new thing and most of the decorations on it are new. The ornaments hanging from the ceiling are a new thing this year as well. I have to say that I love it!

I didn't include a picture of the back wall because I'm not finished with it yet. It's mostly done but there's something about it I'm just not happy with yet. When I figure it out I'll take pictures and post them!

Since we put up our Christmas decorations last night I had to do something with all the pumpkins we were using for our fall decorations. I threw the bad ones away but kept the good ones, cut out the meat, and boiled it last night while we decorated. This morning I pureed it all and now I have 15 cups of pumpkin puree in my freezer. Yay, me! I see lots of pumpkin baking in my near future!

Saturday Adventure

2010-11-15T22:51:00.000-06:00

My parents watched JJ while I was at Craft Night on Friday. After I left Heather's house, I went straight to my parents house and stayed there the rest of the night. After being up all night and getting to bed at 4:00 in the morning, I got to sleep in until 11:30. It was so nice! Jorge was in Dallas all weekend on a business trip and JJ and I had nothing else to do so we hung out with my parents all day Saturday. Almost exactly two years ago we went to Medicine Park, OK and the Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, OK. JJ was only 7 months old then. We've been talking about going back but had never made it. Until Saturday. We decided it was the perfect day to take a quick trip up there. The last time we went JJ was too little to do anything so he had to be held the whole time. This time he was able to walk around and explore! I think we'll make it a tradition to visit Medicine Park and the Wildlife Refuge every year. Such a beautiful place!

Looking at the ducks.

The sun's reflection on the water was beautiful!

More duck watching.

JJ and I sat at this same spot 2 years ago.

My Dad help JJ on this bridge 2 years ago as well.

My little hiker.

The overlook on Mt. Scott.

Yes, it was very cold up there!

Here are a few comparisons from the last time we made the trip...

Girls' Craft Night

2010-11-15T16:36:00.001-06:00

I have to say that I've got a great group of friends. We all love most of the same things and always have a wonderful time together. A while back someone suggested that we take one evening to make crafts for Christmas presents (and ourselves, of course!). After some planning our craft night was born. This past Friday night 6 of us got together at Heather's house and our crafting began. We bought tons of supplies and lots of food and planned on staying as long as it took to get it all done! I left about 3:00 Saturday morning and the other girls left around 5:00. And we didn't even get close to finishing our crafts! It took longer than we thought it would. That's okay, though. It gives us another excuse to get together! :)

Heather sewing one of the 2 pillowcases she made.

Here's the finished result of one of the pillowcases.

Kelly cutting out OU letters to sew to a pair of sweat pants.

Whitnee, Rachael, and Amy all hard at work.

Heather taking a break to talk (haha!) and Kelly still working.

Amy sewing a letter on a pair of pants.

This is what you get at 2:00 in the morning. haha!

Love these girls!

This is the necklace we made. I made this one a few days earlier so that we would have something to go by on Friday. We all loved them and want to make several more!

These are the pants that I made. LOVE it! I'm hooked and am totally going to make more. I also made JJ a pair but haven't taken a picture of them yet. They're dark gray sweats with an OU sewn on the side. So cute!

Thanks to Heather for letting us trash her house for the night. We definitely took advantage of all that space! I can't wait to get together again to finish our projects!

November Happenings

2010-11-14T16:10:00.000-06:00

We are half way through November (Oh. My. Gosh!) and I wanted to document some things that have happened so far. I've got a couple bigger events I will post about later but for now, here are some not-so-big November happenings.

Our Light Brigade program had Crazy Hair Night a few weeks ago. I realize this doesn't look too terribly crazy but it looked worse in person. Trust me.

My little bug looking through one of my cookbooks. I wonder where he gets it??? :)

My boy and me cuddling on the couch. Probably watching Elmo (it's his new favorite).

Sleeping on the floor with the dogs.

An angel (when he sleeps!).

Beautiful colors of fall seen in our backyard. I absolutely love when the trees turn colors!

Baking

2010-11-14T15:22:00.001-06:00

It's been awhile since I've posted about baking. I only have 4 to share today (I keep forgetting to take pictures!) so here they are...

Lemon Velvet Cream Pie. It's creamy and velvety and tastes just like it sounds!

Candy Corn Cookies. These are a simple sugar cookie made to look like candy corn. I took these to my kids class a couple Wednesday nights ago. They're bite-size and yummy!

Sweet Potato Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting. The spices in this cupcake are wonderful!

Letter Grahams. I took these to my kids class this past Wednesday. They taste like a graham cracker but aren't as crunchy. Yummy and easy!

That's all I've got for now. As the holidays get closer, I'm sure I will have several more baking posts to share.

Crock Pot Linky Party

2010-11-02T12:48:00.000-05:00

Life {Sweet}Life is hosting a crock pot recipe party. How can I not participate? I adore my crock pot and any crock pot recipe that I can find. I've been using it about once a week but now that the colder months are here, I plan on using it more often! I can't decide on only one recipe to post so I'll just give several.

When I first heard about this linky party I immediately knew I was going to post my Chicken Taco Soup recipe. But someone beat me to the punch. Go over to Details from the Decherios to get that recipe. I highly recommend it. It's our all-time favorite crock pot recipe. In fact, I plan on making it tomorrow!

Salsa Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel sweet corn
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Sprinkle chicken with salt. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Cook chicken in oil about 4 minutes, turning once, until brown.
In a slow cooker, mix salsa, beans, and corn. Top with chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until juice of chicken is clear when the center of the the thickest part is cut.
Sprinkle chicken and vegetable mixture with cilantro.
Serve with sour cream, guacamole, extra salsa, etc.

**May also use mexicorn with red and green pepper to add color.

Pork Chops with Sauce
(This is another great one. The meat is so tender it literally falls off the bone!)

Brown 4-8 pork chops will and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a crock pot and cover with any ONE of the following sauces. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours or high 4-5 hours.

Cream of Mushroom soup (the best sauce, in my opinion)
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Cream of Chicken soup
BBQ Sauce

Jambalaya
(When you're looking for something different, this is a great choice! It can also be made as spicy or non-spicy as you would like.)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound turkey sausage, sliced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, without juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and thyme.

Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Honey Garlic Chicken
(This is great with rice and another one I've made often.)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (or 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger)
1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved (may buy sliced pineapples and chop)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Pour honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and reserved pineapple juice into the slow cooker. Mix well. top with chicken breasts.
Cover and cook 2 hours on high and 1 hour on low. Stir in pineapple and cook 15 more minutes.
Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Remove chicken from the slow cooker. Blend the cornstarch mixture into the remaining sauce in the slow cooker to thicken. Serve sauce over the chicken.
*I've found it easier to put the cornstarch mixture into a small sauce pan and thicken it on the stove before blending it into the slow cooker.

Cheesy Multigrain Spaghetti Casserole

2 1/2 cups water
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz. dried multigrain spaghetti, broken
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a slow cooker whisk together the water and soup. Stir in undrained tomatoes, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3 1/2-4 hours. Gently stir in dry spaghetti noodles 30 minutes before serving.

Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Hopefully this helps your crock pot recipe collection. :) Enjoy!

Pumpkins and Apples

2010-11-01T02:40:00.001-05:00

A group of us got together Saturday afternoon to paint pumpkins and make caramel apples. Thanks to Amy for such a great idea! We were blessed with beautiful weather and great fellowship.

All geared up and ready to go.

You can tell by the smile on his face how much fun he was having!

Jorge even painted a pumpkin! (he looks excited, doesn't he???)

My little JJ's work in progress.

This is very serious business!

We were so excited to eat the caramel apples we made that we forgot to take pictures of the apples themselves so we decided that half-eaten apples would have to do. And I have to give credit to Jorge for coming up with our new title...haha!

JJ loved them too!

They were messy but they sure were good!

I decorated the fireplace with the pumpkins that we painted.

I painted this polka-dotted pumpking. Not very creative, I know. Give me a recipe and I'll whip it right up but when it comes to painting, I'm lost!

This is JJ's sweet little pumpkin. I really love how it turned out. I think the colors are beautiful!

This is Jorge's work of art. OU, of course! :)

I painted this one as well. I've been wanting a pumpkin with the initial of our last name so I decided this was the perfect opportunity for me to make one (instead of buy one!). It didn't come out as perfectly as I would have liked but I'm happy with it! (It's a V if you can't tell. Jorge said it looked like a bird flying in the clouds...sheesh!)

After our pumpkin and apple activity, the rest of our Saturday consisted of normal Saturday things: grocery shopping, cleaning, making supper, etc. Nothing too exciting. And tonight, after church, we had some friends over for pie and coffee (although it ended up being pizza and then pie and coffee!). I made a Lemon Velvet Cream Pie. Yum! I'll have to post pictures on that one. :)

Basketball Is In His Blood

2010-11-01T01:31:00.001-05:00

Friday evening we met up with some friends at a local church for their fall festival. We went last year as well. You can read about it here. JJ was dressed as a chicken last year. This year he went as a Spurs basketball player. And he was adorable! My husband is an avid Spurs fan and comes from a family of serious Spurs fans. JJ is destined to be one, too! haha!

Now doesn't he just look so cute?

Carrying his pumpkin around (again). The scratch on his cheek is from going down the slide on his tummy at the Orr Family Farm earlier in the day.

Like father, like son. I think JJ has no choice but to be a Spurs fan. ha! I love his expression. That's what I get when I tell him to smile for a picture. haha!

I threw on a Spurs shirt so we could all match for a family photo.

At the festival. Daddy getting a fake owie. JJ wanted nothing to do with it.

He did like the boat races though.

The only piece of candy he ate all night was this sucker. Thankfully he didn't eat more. He was bouncing off the walls!

Taking a break from all the fun to eat his goldfish and cheerios.

There were a lot more activities that I didn't get pictures of. After the festival we went to the home of friends of ours for snacks and games. It was a great day. And a very busy one!

Orr Family Farm

2010-11-01T01:14:00.000-05:00

We have had a very busy weekend so I've got several posts to write. On Friday, late morning, several of us girls took our kiddos to the Orr Family Farm. I had never been there but have heard about it and wanted to go. It is such a great place for kids and it was a beautiful day. JJ loves being outside so he was in heaven!

They, of course, have a playground. That was the first place we went. I'm sure JJ could have spent his entire day there.

They also have a petting zoo. The cutest little pig was there. I tried to get a picture but couldn't get a good one. I believe JJ is looking at rabbits in this picture.

A hay ride took us to the pumpkin patch. This is always my favorite part because of the great photo opportunities. JJ didn't take long finding the one he wanted.

My pumpkin holding his pumpkin.

The cutest little pumpkin in the patch. :)

We somehow managed to get the little kids to take a picture together. Not looking at the same camera, mind you, but at least they're all together. ha!

I just love my sweet little boy!

They have this awesome thing called a Jumping Pillow. I totally want one for my back yard. JJ was a little nervous about getting on it (there were so many kids and the pillow is HUGE) so I got on with him. He seemed to enjoy it then.

Next we climbed on the hay bales...

And went down the slide.

JJ was happy as could be playing on the hay bales.

It was such a fun and memorable day. I'm can't wait to take JJ back there again sometime!

Sugar Overload

2010-10-25T22:49:00.002-05:00

I've been busy. Busy with normal life, normal cooking and baking, and now the extra baking. I've got a sad obsession with recipes and I find new ones constantly which gives me new things to bake which puts me in the kitchen more often. I don't mind it though. Baking is a passion of mine so spending the day doing just that is a-okay with me! I've got a lot of pictures to post. So sit back and enjoy sugar overload!

First is a simple Banana Pudding. Thing is, it's the creamiest Banana Pudding I've ever had. This one was given to a customer. There was a little bit left that didn't fit in the bowl so Hubby and I gladly finished it off in a matter of minutes!

I've been making a lot of cheesecakes. I had no ideas I'd be getting so many orders for them. That's okay with me though. I've actually really started to like making cheesecakes. This one is a Snickers Cheesecake. It's basically a New York Cheesecake with chopped up Snickers Bars. Yum!

This is a basic New York Cheesecake...but it's fabulous...to die for! If you just want a plain cheesecake, this is the way to go.

This was a new one for me. Peanut Butter Cheesecake. The customer I sold it to loved it and said it was the best cheesecake he's ever eaten. I'll take his word for it. I know it definitely smelled yummy!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake. Not only is it pretty, it's delicious too! And this one was so fun to make. I want to put swirls in all of my cheesecakes now. :)

Chocolate Cheesecake with Caramel and Hot Fudge topping. Hello? How good is that?!?!

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake. I made this one for Father's Day this year as well. The thing about this one is that you can adjust the coffee taste - which I love. And the caramel topping is perfect!

These are Italian Cookies. I took them to our church's 32nd Anniversary International Dinner this year. They're a simple butter cookie topped with a yummy glaze and sprinkled with coconut or chocolate sprinkles.

Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread. Very yummy! I love the mixture of the two. Great combo!

I made these today. Brown Sugar Glazed Pumpkin Cookies. These are now my favorite pumpkin cookie. The glaze really adds a lot!

I love fall and one of my favorite things about fall is the baking that it brings. Nothing is better to me than pumpkin and spice aromas filling up your home!

Our Greatest Blessing

2010-10-25T22:01:00.003-05:00

This post is solely about my sweet two-and-a-half (oh my gosh!) year old. He is growing so quickly and is becoming quite a little man. He is our greatest blessing and we adore him!

Fair warming - this post is loaded with pictures. I've got a couple months worth of photos to catch up on though so you're lucky you're only getting this many! :)

First we have some pictures from our flight back to Oklahoma from Indiana. On our flight there he was very intent on helping me pull my luggage. The problem with that was that it was too heavy for him. While in Indiana I decided to find a little bag of his own to carry on the way home. I found one on wheels (even better!) and I cannot tell you how much he loved it! You could tell he felt like big stuff pulling his own suit case.

He also loved the plane ride. He's been talking about it ever since!

Driving his car around the yard. (Jorge took these pictures.)

Looking out the window at Bentley.

This one's a bit blurry but I love it!

We took JJ to his first football game recently. A local high school team was playing so we decided to go watch for a while. We got there about half time. JJ was smitten! He loved the sights and sounds that come with Friday night football!

He's watching the band here.

This is what I get when I tell JJ to smile for a picture. Not quite what I was looking for but still adorable!

This one just makes me laugh!

I love taking pictures from different angles and I love little feet.

This collage cracks me up. You can just see the thoughts going through his mind.

Just one more of my beautiful boy.

Grandpa

2010-10-25T21:19:00.002-05:00

I'd like to talk about my grandpa for a bit. Last time I wrote, he had been given 24-48 hours to live and JJ and I were flying out the next day. We actually flew out as planned but Grandpa held on a bit longer that we expected. Grandpa went to heaven on September 21st and the funeral was on the 25th. I have to say that his funeral was one of the least sad funerals I've ever been to. There were some tears, of course, but we were so happy for Grandpa that we couldn't be too sad. Grandpa's whole life was dedicated to his relationship with God and his deepest desire was to be with Him. How could we grieve that?!?! It was a sweet ceremony and a beautiful day outside. Perfect to say good-bye to Grandpa's earthly body one last time.

JJ at the church where the viewing and ceremony was held.

At the grave site. The flowers were so beautiful and JJ was enjoying them so I had to get a couple pictures.

I especially love this one.

I love you, Grandpa! So glad I get to see you again one day!

Taking Baking To Another Level

2010-10-07T23:02:00.001-05:00

Well, I have some exciting news...I've decided to start a baking business! It's something we've been talking about for quite awhile but never did anything about it. Baking is a big part of my life and it's something that I'm going to do anyway so I may as well make a little money! This has been the first week of business and so far I've sold 2 cheesecakes and a pie. Not a bad start, I say! One of the cheesecakes was sold to a lady who owns a tea room. It looks like I will be supplying her with cheesecakes now. What a great deal! I'm excited to see where this new adventure will take me (other than the kitchen, of course!). If you'd like to see my website click here.

And, of course, I can't have a post without pictures so here are a few of things I've made recently.

Apple & Spice Cookies. This was a new recipe that I made just today. It's a great fall recipe and I will definitely be making it again!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte. I made this tonight as well. It needs a bit of tweaking but has the potential to be so yummy!

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake. This cheesecake is amazing! The only problem with selling these is that I don't get to eat them! ha!

Pumpkin Blondies. Another great one. Took this to a surprise birthday party at our church this past Sunday night. Very moist, very pumpkin-y, very perfect!

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins. A healthier alternative but still so good! Was great with our morning coffee.

I do plan on posting about the business once in a while but feel free to check out my website or my business facebook page!

Playing Catch-Up

2010-09-16T12:50:00.002-05:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything but it's kinda hard to do when you don't have access to a computer very often. So much has happened since I last posted (about 2 months ago...sheesh!) so here's an update....

I've still been doing a lot of cooking and baking, of course. And now that fall is almost here, I'm so excited to get started with the fall baking!

Pizza on the Grill. Our new favorite way to eat pizza!

Pasta alla Marlboro Man (a Pioneer Woman recipe), Crusty Bread, and Fried Okra.

And I've been doing a lot of baking as well...surprise, surprise...
Oreo cupcakes. Aren't they cute?

Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Brownies.

Hummingbird Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars.

No Sugar Apple Pie. We love this! You can't tell that there's no sugar.

A new-found favorite. Mocha-Toffee Chocolate Cookies.

These next 3 were taken with my phone so the quality isn't as good. These are Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies.

Next, we have Strawberries N Cream Brownie Dessert. An oldie but a goodie.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. Can you say yum?!?!

I've made lots of other things but that's all the pictures I have. Hopefully I'll get better at remembering to take pictures of things I make!

We've had a pretty busy summer. I went to a youth conference/missions conference with our church one weekend and a couple weekends later several of us ladies went to a ladies retreat for a couple days. It was so much fun and I am so thankful I was able to go!

The girls that were able to go on the retreat. We had a blast!

JJ adores being in the water so we bought a small plastic pool for him to play in. He loves it!

And this one is my favorite. I caught him right as he was ready to spit the water out.

My mom, JJ, and I also took a 2 week trip to Indiana. We just got back a week and a half ago. It's about a 16 hour drive from OKC to Elkhart so we divided it up into 2 days. For our sake and for JJ's sake!

We took several breaks to let JJ get out and run. He needed to release some energy and we needed him to release energy! ha!

One of his favorite things to play with is his basketball so we were sure to bring it. It came in handy on our driving breaks.

One of the first things we did in IN is go visit my grandpa. We have 4 generations here (my mom's parents).

JJ and I stayed with my grandma (my dad's mom).

One of my biggest memories about my grandpa is that he was always reading the Bible. He can no longer read so when we visited him my Mom read him some verses. A lot of the time he would quote them with her.

Hearing the verses seemed to touch his heart. I love this moment that I captured.

Other times he would just sit and listen while Mom read.

And my grandma? Well, she fell asleep while this was going on. :) I had to capture this because if you know her at all, you know that this is so her. Hey, she's 93. I can't say that I blame her!

JJ also took a nap.

JJ and his grandma.

I think this is a great picture. We've got a 92 year old and a 2 year old being pushed down the hallway.

Me and my boy getting ready to leave for church.

We also went to my Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim's house for dinner one night (I brought the Strawberries N Cream Brownie Dessert that is shown above). JJ really took to Cameron, one of my cousin's sons.

Grandma and JJ playing in a box. It doesn't get any better than that!

My Uncle Dale hooked up the trailer to their riding lawnmower and took us for a ride around their 3-acre property. JJ loved it!

Later that night we had a bonfire on the back of the property.

JJ talking to Grandpa on the phone.

It was a great trip and I'm so glad we were able to go. My parents left a couple days ago to go back to IN. Mom told me last night that my grandpa was given 24-48 hours to live. JJ and I will be flying out tomorrow to be with the family. I am so thankful that we went when we did!

I think that's about it. I'm really hoping to blog more often now. I guess we'll see... :)

Oh, yeah. Yesterday I turned 32. Blah.

Computer-less and Catching Up

2010-06-29T14:46:00.002-05:00

Our computer died about a month ago so I've been without internet for a month. The only time I'm able to get on is when I'm at my parent's house which is about once a week. Which explains the lack of blog posts. I haven't had a lot of time to get online and when I do, I don't have much time to blog so this post is going to be pretty random.

My previous post showed a couple flip-flop flowers that I made. I've made several more since then. I made these, and the bag, as a birthday gift for one of my mom's friends. The fake flowers and fabric flowers are removable. You can switch them out!

I made these shoes for 2 little girls for their birthdays. I love them!

This is the gift bag and card I made for one of the little girls.

I've also done plenty of cooking and baking. I haven't taken as many pictures as I should have but here are a few things I've done lately. This is one of our favorite meals - Apricot Glazed Baked Chicken, Italian Peas, and Rice. Yum!

I made this cake for a going away party for one of our church families. It is a Grasshopper Fudge Cake. It's minty, chocolaty, and oh so yummy!

These are Chocolate Mint Candy Cookies. The cookies are more like brownies and Andes mints are placed on top as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. Once softened, swirl and let cool. Delish!

These are the Chocolate Mint Candy Cookies with vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between. Perfection!

That's all I've got food-wise. Every year our Sunday School class takes a weekend camping trip to the lake. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

Our little water baby could spend all day swimming.

Family photo on our first evening there.

JJ was exhausted. He fell asleep laying on the deck with Daddy.

The next day, Jorge was the main target for the kids at the camp out. I'd have to say that he loved it just as much as they did though! ha!

Now on to some JJ photos! (Saved the best for last!)

Helping Daddy mow the lawn.

Playing in the yard.

Watching TV with Daddy and eating popcorn.

Playing with Bentley and Brandi.

Holding baby Jett.

Running through the sprinkler with Grandpa.

All done playing now it's time to get to work!

Playing at the park with friends.

Our busy little boy wore himself out.

Feeling Crafty

2010-05-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

I've been in a crafty mood lately so this weekend I decided to give some old flip-flops a new life. I saw another blogger (I can't remember who) make these adorable rosettes and I knew immediately that I wanted to make some. And they're so stinkin' cute! What an easy way to give some zing to your wardrobe!

Turn this old, ugly shoe...

Into this. So much better!

These are my favorite so far.

I also made these rosettes but haven't bought flip-flops yet to go with them. I love them, too!

I'm sure I have many more rosettes ahead of me that I will be making. I can't wait to see what cute materials I can find!

I Love The Colors Of Spring!

2010-05-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

I love spring! And I would love it even more if it didn't come with the crazy Oklahoma tornado weather. ha! With spring comes the beautiful flowers that grown in my parents yard. I love their yard and would one day like to have one like it - if I can ever get myself to enjoy gardening....ha! They have beautiful gardens everywhere! I decided to start taking pictures of their yard so they can keep track of all of the beautiful flowers that have grown (and it gives me a good opportunity to practice my photography!). Here are a few that I took the other day. I edited some of them to add an interesting twist and love how they turned out. Enjoy!

Stuffed Strawberries

2010-05-14T15:35:00.000-05:00

I just tasted one of the best things ever - Stuffed Strawberries. I was at my parents house yesterday and we were going to make these but never got the chance. I had some leftover cream cheese at my house (lucky me!) and decided this afternoon to make the Stuffed Strawberries. I am so glad I did! They taste amazing and are extremely easy to make.

First, you need strawberries. Lots and lots of strawberries. Trust me. You'll want to make hundreds of these.

Cut off the stems and cut a hole into the center of the strawberry. Cut a small piece off of the bottom of the strawberry so that it will stand up.

Then mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Fill strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. Don't be afraid to fill to overflowing. The more, the better!

Melt chocolate chips or chocolate bark and drizzle over the tops of the strawberries. Mmmm...

The finished product - perfection!

This is a great easy summer dessert. And so yummy, too!

Family Pictures

2010-05-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

Before Andrew, my brother, left for Iraq we decided to get family photos done. We hadn't done them in years and decided it should be done again before he leaves. Kelly Shipley, a good friend and someone I go to church with, took the pictures for us. She did an amazing job! We were thrilled with how they turned out. Here are some of them. Enjoy!

Show Us Your Life: Your Child's Name

2010-05-07T22:20:00.001-05:00

This week Kelly's Korner is featuring baby names! How fun! I love this topic and am excited to share the story of how we came up with our son's name.

To make a long story short, I was about 15 weeks along before I found out I was pregnant (I know, sounds crazy!). Hubby and I had only been married for about 15 weeks and the thought of children hadn't crossed our minds yet so we hadn't had a discussion about childrens names. We found out 2 weeks later that we were having a boy. So began our name search. Hubby is Jorge Alberto II and the only name he wanted for our son would be after him and his father, which would make our son a III. I honestly have never, ever liked the generational I, II, III, etc. names. I wanted to include Hubby's name in our son's name I just didn't want him to be a III. So I came up with something else. April 8, 2008 came and our precious baby boy was born. We name him Joseph Jorge Alberto. While at the hospital, Hubby came up with the idea to call him J.J. (for Joseph Jorge) I looked down at the baby I was holding and knew instantly that JJ was the perfect name for him.

Hubby signing the birth certificate.

Our sweet boy, JJ.

Running

2010-04-21T23:37:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, Hubby has been doing a lot of running the past few months. He's actually lost about 30 pounds so far because of it. Well, not just because of running. He's also been watching what he eats. Yes, he has more will power than I. So he's been doing all of this running and is finally starting to use it for something. Two Sundays ago he ran in his first race - the Redbud Classic. It was a 10k (6.2 miles). He ran it in 55 minutes in 45 seconds which, in my opinion, is pretty great. His next event is the OKC Memorial Full-Marathon coming up this Sunday. It is 26.2 miles. Whew! I'm worn out just thinking about it! I'm proud of him though for working so hard toward something and then doing it well.

Here are a few pictures from the Redbud Classic.

JJ has also proven himself to be a runner. It's probably just part of being a toddler but when I look at these pictures you know what I see? I see his father. And I see a love of running. Oh, how my boy loves to run.

Now if I could just find the energy to join them...

Ah Fuff Foo

2010-04-20T14:59:00.002-05:00

I have been telling JJ that I love him since before he was born. Every day I make an effort to tell him that I love him. Well, JJ said "I love you" for the first time this past Wednesday! They are the most precious words a parent can hear from their child. Of course it isn't very clear but it makes it that much sweeter. I could listen to him say "ah fuff foo" all day long.

Ah fuff foo, too sweet boy!

Good-Bye Again

2010-04-20T00:21:00.000-05:00

A real quick post to ask a favor. My brother leaves early in the morning to begin his trip to Iraq. He will be gone 6 months, home for 1 month, then gone for another 6 months. Since he joined the military he's been gone a lot, it seems. We're tired of saying good-bye but we're proud of him. My family and I would greatly appreciate your prayers!

A Birthday Party

2010-04-20T00:07:00.002-05:00

One of JJ's most favorite things is, and has always been, doggies. It was also one of his very first words. So, I thought it would be a perfect theme for his birthday party this year. It was a beautiful day outside and was perfect for a party.

Since I'm involved in Stampin' Up this year I decided to make JJ's invitations instead of buy them I'm so glad I did! They turned out so cute and were much more fun than store-bought. Thank you to my amazing friend, Amy, for helping me with these. I couldn't have done it without you!

Since we went with a dog theme, I did everything "dog" that I possibly could. We had hotdogs, chips, and puppy chow for lunch.

I hand-stamped the tablecloths with a paw print. One had paws around the border and the other one looked like a dog walked across the table. A fun and inexpensive decoration!

Bentley and Brandi (our 2 golden retrievers) joined us for the party as well. Mom made homemade mini "puppy cookies" for the kids to give to the dogs. The kids seemed to love playing with the dogs!

The cake turned out beautifully! My fabulous friend, Rachael, made the cake for us. She made JJ's birthday cake last year, too. She also baked the cupcakes and I made the cookies. We both decorated them. I have to admit that I can bake just about anything but I'm pretty useless when it comes to decorating. Thank you, Rachael for teaching me how to decorate!

When it came time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candle, JJ was a bit hesitant. I tried showing him how to blow it out but it didn't work. In the end I blew it out for him. You can see the edge where he was picking at the frosting. He didn't care about the candle. All he wanted was cake!

I never got a picture of the favor bags but they were doggie bags filled with dog-related stickers, a large bone-shaped cookie, a chocolate sucker in the shape of a paw (I made them myself - yay!), and a dog coloring page.

We also had a face painting station. I thought it would be great to paint the kids faces to look like a dog. I have absolutely no talent in the painting/drawing department so Jorge asked his Dad to paint the kids faces for us. He did a great job and I think the kids really liked it! JJ didn't sit still long enough to finish getting his face painted but it was a start!

JJ received many wonderful gifts and this year he actually helped open them! Last year Jorge and I did all the work. ha! Our gift to JJ this year was a green and yellow four wheeler type thing. He just sits on it, pushes a button, and off he goes! He loves it!

It was a beautiful day filled with lots of fun, food, and friends. I am so thankful to have such great family and friends to share our special moments with!

I Heart Faces: DESSERT

2010-04-12T13:24:00.000-05:00

It's been forever since I've participated in an I Heart Faces photo contest but when I heard that the theme this week was desserts, I knew I had to join! How could I not, right? I have some decent pictures of desserts - nothing fabulous - but I thought it'd still be fun to enter. Check out I Heart Faces to see more great dessert pics!

These are the Peanut Butter Balls that have become a family tradition to make every Christmas. They're heavenly!

Today

2010-04-10T22:05:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrated our sweet JJ's 2nd birthday. It was beautiful outside and had many friends and family come celebrate with us! I will do a more detailed post later once I get the pictures downloaded.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Little Man!

2010-04-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

I am now the mother of a 2 year old. It is so hard to believe that JJ has been a part of our family for 2 years. It feels like he's always been with us but at the same time I can't believe how quickly 2 years have gone. They have been the best 2 years of my life. I love and adore my sweet baby boy and have loved watching him grow up. It is a privilege to be JJ's mommy and I thank God for this wonderful gift He has given me.

Sweet JJ,
You are a healthy, beautiful 2 year old little boy. Running everywhere, you are into everything and have more energy than I've seen in years! You keep us on our toes and make life a joy. Talking is one of your favorite things. You are saying 2 and 3 word sentences clearly and have quite a large vocabulary. You talk to anyone and everyone! More of your favorite things are balls, doggies, and books. A new favorite is Elmo. You don't watch much TV but you do watch Sesame Street almost every morning while you eat your breakfast. I'm excited about your birthday party this Saturday. We're doing a Dog theme party. I'm sure you'll have so much fun! You are such a blessing from God, my sweet boy, and I adore you! Being your Mommy is my greatest joy! Happy 2nd Birthday JJ Bug! I love you! ~ Mommy

April 8, 2008!

6 months old.

1 year old!

18 months old.

2 years old!

I Fell Off

2010-04-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I fell off the band wagon...so to speak...and in more ways than one. I haven't blogged in several weeks now (hangs head in shame) and I quit exercising (gasp!). I know, I know. I was only a couple days away from finishing my 30 Day Shred when life got busy and I got tired. Tired of exercising. I never have been one who liked exercising. I really wish I were. Hubby has been running the last few months and has lost 30 pounds! Pretty amazing, right? I totally wish I liked to run. But, of course, I don't. It's exercise afterall. Now that Spring is here, I would like to be more active and spend more time outside. It seems that life gets in the way of me doing the things I would like and I get stuck in the same old rut and I end up right back where I was...not exercising and not watching what I eat. Sigh. Will the cycle ever end?

Recent Yumminess

2010-03-15T13:09:00.001-05:00

Once again, it's been a while since I've posted. It's been a really busy couple of weeks. I have been doing some baking and cooking though so I thought I'd do a little food post.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (a favorite!)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (good when you want to change things up a bit)

Butter Pecan Cake (unbelievably yummy!)

Double Chocolate Orange Cookies (a citrus-y twist on traditional chocolate chip cookies - yum!)

Mini Cookie Birthday Cakes (turned out so cute but took a lot of work! It was worth it though)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (perfection! Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside!)

Mom's Strawberry Pie (I grew up on this pie and there is none better. Top with a bit of whipped cream and you have the perfect dessert!)

Feta-Topped Chicken (love it!)

Spinach and Sundried Tomato Penne Pasta (made this for the first time yesterday and it is delish!)

I may not have had much time for blogging lately but I have certainly had time for cooking! I'm sure I will always have time for that! :) Need a recipe? Just ask! I'm more than happy to share recipes (except the Strawberry Pie - sorry - that's a family recipe!)

Level 3

2010-03-03T14:39:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted anything recently (been too busy cleaning a rental house) but I did want to update that I am still doing The Shred and started Level 3 on Monday. Wow. It's a tough one but I like it because I feel like I'm getting a good workout. I haven't noticed any change in my body but I'm sure that has to do with the fact that I haven't really changed my eating habits much. That's the hard part for me. I do have more endurance though and I feel a bit better than I used to. Only 8 more days left of Level 3. After that, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do. I do plan to keep exercising though!

Kisses For My Valentine

2010-02-16T10:19:00.000-06:00

Instead of making Hubby the normal heart-shaped-cheesecake (like I did last year) I wanted to make something different and unexpected for Valentine's Day. I saw these on bakerella's site and knew I had to make them. Such a simple thing but tastes oh-so-yummy and looks cute, too!

I know this doesn't look very appetizing but trust me, after dipping them in chocolate and letting them harden in the fridge for a while, they're divine. Just ask hubby.

Here is the finished product. I had a hard time getting a decent picture but you get the idea.

Try them. You'll love them.

Making Valentines

2010-02-12T10:13:00.000-06:00

This year I made valentines for the kids in my Glimmers class and also for the kids in the nursery (from JJ). I got together with a couple girls this week to put our valentine's together. I called Amy (the leader of our stamp club) on Monday and asked if I could come over and put together some valentines. She said to come on over and join a couple other girls who had asked to make valentines as well. It was an impromptu valentine-making party. All of the little valentines turned out so cute! I have a feeling I will never be able to buy a regular card or gift again. I'm going to have to make it! Here are the valentines I made...

This is what I put together for my Glimmers class - a little baggie full of gummy heart candies.

This is what I made for JJ's nursery friends - a little baggie full of cheddar and pretzel goldfish. LOVE this one! The stamp says fishes, wishes, & kisses. How cute is that???

Thank you, Amy and Valerie for such awesome ideas! I loved them! I wish I would have gotten pictures of the other girls valentines. They were great as well. One week from tomorrow is our monthly Stamp Club meeting. The theme is Birthdays and I will be hosting. I've got a week to figure out what treats I will be bringing...

I've Made It To Level 2

2010-02-10T09:10:00.000-06:00

I have made it through 10 days of Level 1 of The 30 Day Shred and started Level 2 yesterday. It is quite a bit harder than Level 1 and works out different muscles. Thankfully, I am not sore today but I am feeling it a bit in my shoulders. I am so glad I have kept up with this workout so far. By no means am I one who likes to work out. I normally despise working out. This workout, however, has been fairly easy for me to stick with. The best thing about it? It's only 20 minutes a day! I think that's the one thing that keeps me interested. If I can get results in 20 minutes a day for 30 days, it's worth it to me! Well, I need to get off this thing and start Day 2 of Level 2.

The Super Bowl According To Me

2010-02-06T06:37:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a sports fan. Occasionally, I will watch a couple minutes or ask Hubby the score but that doesn't happen very often and is usually only for OU football games, Thunder basketball games, or Spurs basketball games. So this coming Sunday really has no meaning for me. It's just another Sunday. And then I saw these adorable Oreo Footballs.

They're great, right? I saw these on Bakerella's website and I just knew I needed to make them. I may not be a football fan but I know cute when I see it! So, Mom and I spent a couple hours putting these cuties together. This is the finished product...

They are definitely not as well-done as Bakerella's but I think they turned out pretty good. I'm sending them with Hubby tonight for guys night. So there you have it, the extent of my involvement with the Super Bowl this year. haha!

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-06T06:17:00.001-06:00

Well, I've been awake all night (literally) and this time JJ has nothing to do with it. I just can't sleep. For some unknown, crazy, ridiculous reason my brain won't shut off. So, I'm going to catch up on my blog.

We've had an unusual Oklahoma winter this year. So far we've had 2 snow/ice storms. Being from the North, I love all of the snow! The ice? Not so much. That's what makes everything miserable. It means we get to spend days stuck in the house. I guess it's worth it to me though if it means we get snow! I decided to try my hand at a few snowy pictures to see how they turned out. Not great, but not so bad either. Here are a few pictures from our snowy, wintry days.

This is the shed in our back yard when it first started snowing.

We decided to venture out at one point so Hubby could return some library books. I took advantage of the photo op. I never noticed this ballerina in front of the library before but it caught my eye that afternoon.

Our dogs love snow, too. They loved being outside and playing in it.

Here's our shed towards the end. Isn't it pretty?

I truly enjoy the peaceful, quiet feeling snow brings. I may have lived in the South most of my life but I was born and raised in the North and that comes with a natural love of snow. I can't help it. It's in my blood.

Simple Pleasures

2010-02-03T15:32:00.002-06:00

Kelly's Korner is hosting simple pleasures and I thought this one was a great one to participate in. My Simple Pleasures of life are:

Waking up in the morning to JJ's sweet voice calling for Mommy
Date night with hubby
JJ kisses
A hot cup of coffee in my favorite coffee cup
Going out for breakfast
The smell of JJ's hair after a bath (love it!)
Mom's home cooked meals
Freshly mowed grass
Clean, cool sheets
Nap time!
The way freshly baked good smell in the house
Crock pot
Playing piano
Going to sleep to the sound of rain
A long shower
Reading blogs
Girls night
Baking (oh, how I love to bake!)
Watching JJ eat (I don't know why but I adore watching him eat!)
Grocery shopping
Rocking JJ to sleep
Trying new recipes
Spending the day together as a family
Being snowed in
Fireplace
JJ's laugh (there's nothing better)
Good hair days
Stampin Up
Cooking/Baking with Mom (love you, Mom!)
Grey's Anatomy
Go to purchase something then finding out it's cheaper than you thought (how nice is that???)
Listening to my sweet boy sing (pure perfection)

Shuffling Has Replaced Walking...

2010-01-29T09:38:00.000-06:00

Enough said.

I've Officially Lost My Mind

2010-01-27T17:32:00.000-06:00

I figure I've lost my mind because I decided to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I know. Crazy, right? I bought the DVD and weights yesterday and last night I completed Level 1/Day 1. What was I thinking??? I could barely walk today without feeling every muscle in my legs scream and protest! And last night, after the workout, I literally almost collapsed to the floor trying to get to the kitchen for some water. I had to hang on to some chairs to keep from falling! What insanity have I gotten myself into??? I have absolutely NO idea how I'm going to complete today's exercise. I have a feeling the exercises will be very modified. ha! I knew I was out of shape but I didn't realize just how much until last night. Jillian kicked my butt! And I've got a long ways to go. If I get the results that I've heard so much about then this will all be worth it. I can look back a month from now and see just how far I've come. So now that I've posted all this information I figure it will help me be accountable and will help me stick with it. I can't wait to see what happens!

Valentines Creativity

2010-01-25T15:59:00.001-06:00

This past Saturday night was our monthly Stampin Up club. There are 7 of us in our group and we had such a great time together. I love spending time with the girls, talking, eating (of course!), and making pretty things. We made things for Valentines since it's next month. Here are pictures of what we made...

This is all the things we made that night. It took us several hours to make these but you have to remember that we're girls and we do a lot of talking! haha! So that took up a lot of time too. :)

This is a close up of the card we made. Isn't it pretty? And it was so simple to make!

This card was holding an individually wrapped Ghiradelli chocolate (nope, it didn't last long in our house...) but would also be a great gift card holder. So fun!

This one I loved. You can make and personalize your own bag of candy. How awesome is that??? And it's so much prettier than the bags of candy you would buy at any store.

This is another cute one. We simply put a large heart sucker inside of a decorated plastic bag and then we put this on the outside. Love it!

This was probably the easiest project of all. We took a large bar of chocolate, wrapped it in pretty paper, tied a bow around it and made a cute tag. My favorite! And no, this didn't last long in our house, either. haha!

All of these things were so easy to make. I love how more personal they are then just giving a bag or bar of candy to someone. And they're so pretty, too! Being part of the club requires you to spend a certain amount each month (it's not a lot) so that at the end of the club we will have a decent start to our Stampin Up collection. I ordered some cute birthday stamps that I think I will use to make JJ's birthday invitations. Can't wait!

Precious Memories

2010-01-15T09:35:00.000-06:00

While I rocked JJ to sleep last night, I was suddenly hit with how quickly my baby boy was turning into a little man. As I held him, I tried to memorize the feel of his little body against mine, the weight of him in my arms, his precious little features, and the slow, steady rhythm of his soft breaths. Because I know one day all-too-soon it will be my last day to rock and hold my son. Before I know it he will be an independent young man and he won't need me as he needs me now. One day in the future when my arms ache to hold my son just one more time I want to look back and have these precious memories to hold on to.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-01T13:59:00.000-06:00

We welcomed in the New Year at the Munson's house with a few other families. We all brought something to eat and had ourselves a feast. I brought Pina Colada Cake (yummy!) and Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos. The jalapenos were completely gone by the end of the night. We had some of the cake leftover but that was okay with me since it's so good! I just have to make sure I don't eat the rest of it by myself! We watched a Tim Hawkins DVD (a Christian comedian) and played a few different games. After midnight we cleaned up our mess and headed home.

Here's where the fun starts....JJ went to sleep about 12:45 but woke up at 2:15. I'd only been in bed for about 30 minutes by then. I let him fuss for a bit but once I realized he wasn't going back to sleep I went and got him. We rocked in the rocking chair for the next 2 and a half hours. It was so sad. He was so tired but wasn't able to sleep. Finally, he fell asleep and I laid him down at 4:45 this morning. Let me tell you, it was a long night. He got up this morning at about 8:45 so he still didn't get much sleep. I am really hoping he takes a good long nap today. He needs it. And I need it.

It may not have been the way I would have liked for things to happen last night but as I sat and rocked my little boy, I thanked God for being JJ's mommy and for having a healthy, happy child. 2009 was a good year. I got to watch JJ grow from a baby into a little boy and I look forward to watching him grow even more in the next year.
Happy 2010 everyone and may God bless you all!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

2009-12-30T19:48:00.002-06:00

Three of my favorite gifts that I received for Christmas this year would have to be my Pioneer Woman Cookbook (yay!), the platter and bowls that match my dish set, and the hat hubby got me.

I just purchased this piece to hold my cookbooks.. They were previously on my window sill which worked for a while but my window was soon full of cookbooks so I could barely see out the window anymore.

Here's my new favorite cookbook mixed in with all the rest.

My parents are the ones who got me PW's Cookbook. I found out that they stood in line for 3 hours to get her to sign the book for me. I was sooo excited when I opened it up to find a little message for me!

Here are the additions my parents got for my dish collection. I still love them and can't wait for the day I can use them all!

Last, but not least, I love the hat that hubby got for me. It's been a lifesaver! I basically haven't done my hair since that day. ha! Not really. I just haven't done it as much as I normally would. I believe I've worn this hat at least once a day since I've gotten it.

So hopefully you will start seeing picture of PW recipes on my pretty dishes and you won't only see me in a hat from now on!

Playing In The Snow

2009-12-29T22:06:00.000-06:00

It snowed last winter but it was the typical Oklahoma snow - dirty, slushy, and didn't last long. So, we're considering this year to be JJ's first snow. He even got to get out and play in it! Christmas morning we took JJ outside in my parents yard to play for a while before heading to the in-laws.

He wasn't so sure about it at first...

Then he decided that he definitely didn't like it.

As soon as we put him on the sidewalk he was happy as could be. I actually had a hard time getting him to come back in the house later on.

Hubby with Bentley.

Back inside, peeling off all of the layers. I love his rosy little cheeks!

Looking out the window with Brandi.

Bentley decides to join in and see what's going on.

Looking out the window one more time before going to Grandma and Grandpa V's house.

Christmas Blizzard of 2009

2009-12-29T20:43:00.001-06:00

I do realize this is after Christmas but I just haven't had time to post. I do hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families. We certainly did! It was definitely a different Christmas for us this year. The plan was to have Christmas with my parents and brother on Christmas Eve, our little family would have our Christmas on Christmas morning, and then we would spend the rest of Christmas day with Jorge's family. That was the plan. My, how things change.

I made Holiday Cheesecake and Autumn Surprise Pie to take to my parents on Christmas Eve. They both turned out very good! My favorite was the pie.

It was the first time I've made a lattice crust so I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I have finally figured out how to make a great crust (thanks to Pioneer Woman!) so now I love to make pies and this one had such great flavor. The spices were heavenly!

The cheesecake was very good as well. It was a basic cheesecake with a hint of orange topped with cranberries. I 'm not a big fan of cranberries so I could have done without the topping but everyone else seemed to like it.

We planned on leaving the house around 12:00 in the afternoon to head for my parents house (which is about 30 mins. away). It started sleeting the night before which turned into snow that afternoon. We knew we were supposed to get about a foot of snow and it would take longer to get to my parents house than normal (thinking maybe an hour) but we had no idea of the events that would follow. It wasn't too bad when we first got on the road. Traffic was slow but we were moving and heading in the right direction. After a while, we got stopped on the highway and sat, moved an inch or two, sat some more, etc. This went on for a couple hours. We eventually made it to an exit off of the highway (they closed down the highway) and found ourselves stuck in another huge mess. It was so surreal - like watching a movie. There were abandoned cars left in the middle of the road, people were walking, trying to get cars out of ditches and snow drifts. Thankfully, we were not part of any of these events. After several hours we decided to stop at a CVS to use the restroom and get some water and snacks. By this time it was starting to get dark and we thought we were going to have to spend the night in our vehicle. We were in contact with my parents this whole time to let them know what was going on. While we were at CVS my Dad decided that he was going to get into his work truck and start heading our way to see if we would even be able to make it to their house that night. He got to us within 30 minutes. From there, we followed him to their house and arrived about an hour and a half later. It took us a total of 6 1/2 hours. I never would have imagined that it would have taken us so long. We were so thankful to have arrived safely. There were many people involved in accidents, many people involved in getting stuck in the snow, and many even had to spend the night in their cars. A few people even died. I know God was watching over us and protecting us and we are so grateful.

We had our Christmas meal and opened presents with my family that night.

It was a wonderful evening together. We, as well as my brother, were not about to attempt to make it back home so we all spent the night at my parents house. The next morning I made the Pumpkin Goat-Cheese Cheesecake to take to my in-laws while Hubby and my Dad headed back to our house in Edmond to pick up some things.

We made it to the in-laws house about 5:00 that evening and spent the rest of the day there. JJ got a cute little OU Sooners hat and sweatshirt and a Cowboys outfit.

We didn't get to have our family Christmas on Christmas morning, as planned, so we had it on Saturday morning. We had a wonderful little family Christmas, just the 3 of us.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend. Didn't turn out exactly how we planned but we were able to spend time with family and no one was severely affected by the blizzard of 2009. And we got to have 3 Christmases! :)

It was definitely a memorable Christmas!

A Picture With Santa

2009-12-22T13:33:00.000-06:00

Last year we started the tradition of taking JJ to get his picture taken with santa. He did a great job and cooperated beautifully. This year was a different story. Last night we went to the mall to get his picture taken. I was so excited! I had him dressed in a cute little Christmas outfit and was imagining how precious he would be sitting on santa's lap. Boy, was I wrong. It definitely didn't turn out like I had imagined. I carried JJ to santa and tried to put him on his lap. JJ immediately stiffened up and clung on to me for dear life. I knew that that there was no way he was going to sit on santa's lap alone. We had the option of forcing him to sit on santa's lap and have a picture of a crying little boy or we could join in and have a family picture with santa. We chose the latter.

Waiting in line to see santa. See? Isn't his little Christmas outfit so cute???

Still waiting in line...

Our family picture with santa. As you can see, we weren't really dressed for the occasion. If I would have known, I would of had us all dress alike. Oh, well.

Maybe next year will be a different story and a different picture!

Christmas Cookie Decorating

2009-12-22T13:05:00.001-06:00

It is a tradition in our family to decorate Christmas cookies. We've done it for as long as I can remember and this year was no exception. Last Thursday our family got together to decorate our Christmas cookies. It was Jorge's first time so it was fun that we all got to do it together!

JJ was playing with the presents and the tree before we started decorating.

Here's our cookies and decorations. My brother looks thrilled. ha!

My Dad is the creative one. He always has been. He comes up with things that I would never think of!

Here's Hubby, our Rookie. Looks like JJ's helping!

My Mom is the one who started this tradition years ago and is the one who has kept it up. She is the glue that holds our family together.

Here's our Rookie again. Wow, he got creative on that one! ha!

Don't know why I look mad here. I'm not. I think I'm just concentrating. This is hard work! :)

Here's our finished products. We normally have about double the amount of cookies but we cut back this year. We decided we really don't need to eat that many cookies. ha!

Here's a plate with some of the better decorated cookies. The big one in the middle is one that Dad came up with. It's an upside down gingerbread man decorated to be santa in a hot air balloon. See, I told you he was creative! I never would have thought of something like that!

And this is Jorge's plate of cookies. We had to take a picture of his because this was his first time - a momentous occasion!

So there ya have it. Our 2009 decorated Christmas cookies. I think I get less and less creative every year. It's a great tradition though and one I am excited to share with JJ in the coming years!

More Christmas Decoration Pictures

2009-12-22T12:30:00.000-06:00

If you haven't noticed my posts have a reoccurring theme. I guess Christmas is what's on my mind these days (I guess it's on everyone's mind!) so I'm going to have a lot of Christmas posts. I have already posted pictures of my Christmas decorations but I took a few more pictures that I wanted to share. I just love the soft glow of the lights. It adds such a cozy feeling to the house.

I love the display of Christmas cards around the house. I always want to have them out so I can look at them at any time. This wall was quickly filled so I put some around the mirror in the hallway and also on the door.

The way presents fill up a tree is beautiful to me!

The house is going to be so bare after we take all of the Christmas decorations down. That's always one of the worst parts - the emptiness of the house after Christmas. But for now, I'll just enjoy it!

More Christmas Stuff

2009-12-21T11:30:00.002-06:00

Life has been ~~busy~~ hectic lately. There's been baking, shopping, activities, parties, sending Christmas cards, wrapping presents, and much more going on. It's been a constant thing. Thankfully, I have nothing planned for today other than clean and organize my house and stay home! I plan on doing nothing today because I've got a couple more busy days ahead of me. We will be spending Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with hubby's family. I am bringing 2 desserts to each family's house. I'm making Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecake and Double Chocolate Cookies for Christmas Day but I don't know yet what I'm making for Christmas Eve. I've really got to get that figured out. So that's what's coming up.

This past Saturday evening was our Sunday School's Christmas party. I spent most of the day Friday baking for it and spent all day Saturday at Kelly's house (the host of the party) with a few friends cooking and putting everything together for the party. To say the least, I was ready to sit down and eat when 5:00 rolled around. I brought my camera with me but didn't take any pictures. :( I wish I would have taken a picture of all of the food. My goodness, there was a ton of food and it was all so good! The only 2 pictures I took were of the 2 things I made early on Friday in preparation of the party. I made Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies and Reindeer Bites.

I also made Orange Cranberry Cookies on Friday to give to friends on Saturday and my Secret Sister on Sunday. This was a new recipe for me and is now my new favorite! I've been around so much chocolate lately that I'm kind of chocolated out - I know, crazy, right?? So these cookies were a great change for me. Plus, they are so good. The tartness of the cranberries blends beautifully with the sweetness of the orange. I will for sure be making this cookie again!

All in all, it's been a great weekend. Busy? Definitely yes but it was good. I love spending time with friends and family. I have been blessed with a wonderful church family who have become great friends. I hope you had a blessed, fun-filled weekend with family and friends as well!

Christmas Baking

2009-12-15T10:17:00.014-06:00

In my opinion, there is nothing better than Christmas baking. Getting together with family and making yummy, festive treats is one of the best things on earth. Baking Christmas cookies has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Cut-out Cookies and Peanut Butter Balls are made faithfully every year. This year we've made Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Sticks, Illian Bars, Cake Bites, Banana Chocolate Cake with Banana frosting, and Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter frosting as well. There will be much more baking going on until Christmas but here are pictures of what we've done so far. We haven't decorated the cut-out cookies yet so I don't have a picture of those but I will as soon as we get a chance to decorate them!

Crazy Cake with Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting - pretty good! The cake recipe is from depression times (has no eggs in it) and the frosting recipe was one that came highly recommended. If you love PB, you'll love this!

Banana Chocolate Cake with Banana Frosting - this is a new recipe I made for Mom's birthday. The cake was really good but I wasn't a big fan of the frosting.

Cake Bites - I helped Mom make these for their Sunday School Christmas Party. Very easy to make and turned out cute!

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks - if you love the salty/sweet combination, you'll like these! So easy to make and so festive!

And now, my favorites...Peanut Butter Balls - my Grandma Smith started this tradition. She has made these every Christmas for as long as I can remember. We moved from Indiana to Oklahoma about 16 years ago so we've had to continue the tradition and make them ourselves. They are time consuming but are SO worth it!

Want a recipe? Just let me know! I'll be more than happy to share!

Happy Christmas Baking!

I'm a Weiner! (as Pioneer Woman would say)

2009-12-14T23:40:00.006-06:00

Recently, I won one of Pioneer Woman's many contests. I enter just about every one of them and it finally paid off! I won a fabulous Pioneer Woman t-shirt! The colors are beautiful and I can't wait to wear it.

Now I need an autographed Pioneer Woman Cookbook...hmmm... Christmas present maybe??? I guess we shall see!

Christmas Decoration Re-Do

2009-12-05T19:00:00.009-06:00

I liked the way my tree was decorated before but I didn't love it. I thought it was missing something and needed a little more "oomph". I bought a couple things today and now, I LOVE it!

I started by replacing the plain red and green balls with small and large burgundy/brown and gold balls. I ran out of the ribbon but when I get more I will finish going around the tree with it.

I bought some ribbon and made a bow for the top and added some squiggly things (don't know what they're officially called).

Close up of one of the balls and a couple squiggly things.

I took the hope and peace signs off of the tree and put them on the stockings. I also added small balls to the wreath.

Here's both together. I'm in love!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T16:38:00.018-06:00

I do realize that this post is a week behind but I want to share our Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving was at my parents house this year. Every year I make the Green Bean Casserole and sometimes the Pecan Pie. This year I made both as well as the Pumpkin Pie. I was up late Wednesday night making both desserts and putting the casserole together. The Pecan Pie took much longer than normal because I punched out individual leaves in the pie dough and used them as the edge of the crust. It turned out really pretty but was very time consuming. By the time I got to the Pumpkin Pie I decided against the decorative edge and just put a couple decorations in the middle.

The Pecan Pie. You can see the leaf crust.

You can see the leaves better here. And you can probably see why I didn't do the same thing for the Pumpkin Pie! ha!

The middle decoration is 2 leaves and an acorn. I realized afterwards that it looks like a reindeer. Oh, well.

Both pies turned out yummy! I adore Pecan Pie but thought this one was a bit too sweet. I still ate it though!

It was a great day spent with family. This time of year really makes me miss our extended family. Most of my family is in Indiana and most of Hubby's family is in Texas; therefore, our holiday get-togethers are always small. We always have a wonderful time together and it definitely doesn't stop us from making and eating a lot of food! We always have more than enough to eat! This year, Mom tried something new - Pumpkin Soup. It was very yummy!

As I said, I also brought Green Bean Casserole - a staple at any holiday meal.

So, here's the spread. We certainly had more than enough to eat.

Getting kisses from Grandma.

Grandpa and his favorite little boy.

JJ and his Uncle Andrew. Cute, huh?

We are extremely blessed. And I am thankful.

Lookin' A Lot Like Christmas

2009-12-03T15:34:00.017-06:00

So where do I start? I've got several different things to talk about so I guess I'd better get started. Let's see...how 'bout Christmas decorating. I absolutely LOVE everything about Christmas. The decorations, the music, the food (of course!), the shopping, spending time with family and friends, and most importantly, the real reason for Christmas, Christ's birth. We were going to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate the house for Christmas but the Saturday before Hubby suggested we do it then. I, of course, was all for it. Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I couldn't get the decorations up soon enough! We put up the tree, decorated the fireplace and mantle, and the back wall table. Here are a few pictures.

This is looking from the bottom of our tree to the top. I just thought it was a neat view.

A fun shot. I like how it shows the tree and the fireplace decorations.

Hanging on the mirror in the entryway.

Decorations on the back wall. Not a whole lot going on. Have to keep things out of JJ's reach.

Hubby setting up the tree.

Helping Momma decorate.

Taking time out from his decorating to give Momma a kiss!

Busyness

2009-11-28T09:40:00.004-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything and it will be a little longer before I can again. I the love Thanksgiving and Christmas season but along with it comes busyness! And I have definitely been busy! Baking, eating, shopping, running errands, eating, shopping some more, etc. Anyway, don't think I've forgotten about blogging - I just haven't had time! I promise that I will get caught up though and I will have several different things to blog about - baking, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday to name a few. So, I'll see ya a bit later with some updates on what's going on in my life!