Birthday Interview with a 6 year old!!!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A doctor

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

In an apartment on the top floor

Where do you want to go on vacation?

Tennessee

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?

Crafts

Daddy? 

Climb on him and eat food with him

Jillian? 

Have a sleepover and slumber party with her.

Drew?

Carry him and play with him and swim with him.  Help Mommy with him.

What is your favorite place to go for fun?

Totters Otterville

What would you do with a million dollars?

Buy American Girl Doll stuff and an American Girl Doll.  (What doll?)  McKenna (in the background, Jillian says McKenna is sold old Kaleigha).

What was the best thing about being 5?

 My family and my friends.

What are you going to do now that you are 6?

I can do handstands, it just takes a little bit more.  I have to do somersaults a little bit.

What did you learn about Jesus this past year?

I know what Christmas is all about.  It's about Jesus being born in Bethlehem.   And, Jesus died for our sins. 

What Grade are You In?

Kindergarten

Who is your teacher at school?

Mrs. Carr.  She has a boy baby in her stomach. 

What is your favorite thing to do at school?

Play on the playground

Who is your favorite person to see at school?

Jack (what about Mommy???)  And, Mommy :)

Who is your best friend?

I have a lot of best friends.  (best friend who is a girl?)  Anna and my best friend who is a boy is Jack. 

  

Favorites:

Store?

Kroger - Cookies, balloons, stickers, sample food and cheese! Yay!

Place to eat?

Cheesecake Factory - yummy bread!

Food?

 It's really hard to choose, because you know I like all kinds of food.  (If I gave you two things right now to eat, what would you pick?)  Cookies and Candy.  (Two healthy things)  Strawberries, Banana, Apples and all kinds of fruit.
 

Game?

 Five Little Monkey's Jumping on the bed

Color?

 Green

Toy?

American girl doll toys

Book?

Meet McKenna

Thing to wear?

Hello Kitty Clothes

Is there anything else you want to say at the end of this interview? 
I am turning 6 today on the Winter social (solstice, but she is calling it the winter social).  Today I had a birthday pancake.  Daddy lighted it.  Oh, I want you to write Dad.  I had an American Girl Doll Tea Party.  Everybody brought their dolls.  I brought Kit.  Grandma came over after the party.  We have a special tent that everybody had over their heads.  Everybody got their own food (was that special to get your own food?)  yeah.  I wore the dress that Grandma made me and Kit.  

 

Catch-up Post Drew turns one!

Drew turned one on October 10th.  I had a hard time with that one, as we plan on him being our last.  It's just so weird to think that we are moving out of the baby stage :(  We love our little Drew so much.  When he turned a year, he wasn't walking like his big sister Jillian was at a year.  In fact, he is now 14 months old and he still isn't walking!

He says some words:  more, hi, bye, thankyou (one word and hard to understand), mama, hida (hi Dad), Max, Snowball (the babysitter's dogs), Kaleigha (which he shouts and it sounds like k-yeah), Jill-Jill.

He still doesn't have much hair.  But, he has this soft little fuzz on his head.

He is so sweet and he loves to snuggle with us.  He is so very affectionate.

Drew loves ice cream and doesn't like drinking his milk cold (kind of a contradiction there... ha ha!)

His eyes are still a really dark color and when ever we are out, people always comment on how cute he is.  He has a super sweet dimple in his cheek that hasn't gone away.

For his birthday, we did a Vintage Circus Theme

My sweet little boy showing off his dimple :)

Ahhh, I just LOVE him so very much!!  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with his sweet little soul!

Creamy White Cheddar Cheese Mac

THIS IS YUMMY!!! 

To be made in the crockpot.  It could easily be modified for the oven though :)

















Creamy White Cheddar Cheese Mac:

16oz box of Pasta of choice
8 oz Vermont White Cheddar shredded (equals over 2 cups shredded)
10 oz of Velveeta Queso Blanco
2 - 3 T butter
1/3 c whole milk
2/3 c chicken stock
1/2 c sour cream
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Dash of Parsley for top

Boil the pasta for 6 minutes and then drain.

Melt the butter on med. high heat and then add cheese and Velveeta.  When the mixture has thickened into a sauce, add the milk and the stock to the mixture.  Put the pasta into the crockpot container and add the melted cheese mixture and then put the cream cheese on top of this.  Mix this well.  Sprinkle a dash of Parsley over the top and then place in crockpot on low for 2 1/2 hours. 

Chicken and Homemde Noodles

Chicken and Homemade Noodles

Great Sunday afternoon recipe, especially on a nice fall day like today.

Recipe:
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 cups of water
1 cup of shredded cooked chicken
1 carrot diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1 cube of chicken bouillon
dash of Lawry's Seasoning
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1/2 of Homemade Egg Noodles 

Combine everything but the noodles.  Cook for 30 minutes until cooked down.  Add noodles and cook for 6 minutes (homemade noodles cook fairly quickly).

Yum!  We all loved it and since I modified the recipe, I wanted to be able to save it :)

Mo Willems' Pigeon Birthday theme party

We had a Mo Willems Pigeon birthday party for Jillian when she turned 3 this past weekend.  We love the Mo Willems books - so we designed her birthday part around Mo Willems' books: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus & Pigeon Finds a Hotdog. 

We of course served hotdogs, brats and metts - with assorted hotdog toppings. 

Pigeon Puppets

Hotdog Cupcakes

"The Bus" from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

The bus was a hit with all the kids!

Happy 3rd (!!) birthday Jillian

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Doctor, when the doctor says no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

Ohio 

Where do you want to go on vacation?

To the restaurant

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?

Play with Mommy, because I like to jump around.

Daddy?

Play

Kaleigha?

Play with her, my toys.

Drew?

Play with his toys.

What is your favorite place to go for fun?

The ice cream place

What would you do with a million dollars?

Give it to the lady, the other one that we saw (?); Put it in the cash register.

What was the best thing about being 2?

Reading

What are you going to do now that you are 3?

I'm not your baby, I'm a big girl now.

What did you learn about Jesus this past year?

We pray to Jesus. 
Who does Jesus love?

All the little children.

What are you looking forward to about being 3?

Playing and ..... ?

Favorites:

Favorite Store?

 Target

Favorite Song:

"Jesus Loves Me, Yes, Jesus Loves me, Yes, Yes"

Place to eat?

Chic-fil-a

Food?

Um, peanut butter jelly sandwich

Color?

Orange and pink

Toy?

Baby ( a little soft doll that my Aunt Claire gave her when she was born)

Book?

Dora the Explorer & I Broke My Trunk

Thing to wear?

Pony 

Your pony tail in your hair?

um, yup

Is there anything else you want to say at the end of this interview?

Thank you for coming over to my party...  (pointing to the picture) Ha ha, you're right there Mommy!

Jillian, you have brought so much joy to our lives.  You are happy and so energetic.  You have such a zest and zeal for life.  You are passionate and determined.  Whatever you do little girl, I know you will do it with full force and strength.  Jillian, I am so blessed to be your mommy and I am glad that I get to watch God grow and develop my little girl.  We love you so very very much!

Reds Opening Day

We were going to go down to the parade for opening day.  But, of course I got a low grade fever last night, so I didn't feel like doing something like that this afternoon.  We still ate cracker jacks, hot dogs and peanuts for lunch and the kids were all decked out in their Reds wear.

Mother of a Boy

I read this article this morning about boys and combat that a friend had posted.  As a teacher, I discourage little boys from playing "war" on the playground. I actually hadn't thought about what I would allow my son to do when he gets older regarding guns etc.  One poster shared how she had envisioned raising her son to be peaceful with no toys guns.  She stated that he would turn his french fries into guns and legos into swords.   With a five year old daughter and (almost) three year old daughter they don't pretend to shoot, nor do I think they would even be interested in playing a war game.  Lest you think they are all about tea parties and pink boas - my Jillian is quite the climber, LOVES to wrestle and makes a good little car sound. 

This made me start thinking about all the other things that I would get to experience as a mother of a son.  When he gets married, I will get to have that mother/son dance.  His sweet dark blue eyes will turn from me being the most important woman to his bride.  (Made me say a short prayer that his future wife will be a blessing and love the Lord!)

It makes me wonder what my boy will be like when he goes through that awkward stage in junior high.  Will he still want to be around his mother or will he just want to hang out with dad? 

I also pictured a cute little six year old boy holding a too big bat stepping up to try to knock the ball off the T-ball stand.  Will he wear a blue hat?  or green?  red?  gray?  

Drew was dedicated this past week at church and we had to claim a life verse for him.  Josh and I chose 1 Chronicles 16:10-11... "Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.  Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."

Yes, little boy, seek His face always.  Get your strength from the Lord.  Glory in Him.  Grow up to be a lover of the Lord so you can also lead your family with truth, faithfulness and compassion as your father does. 

I love you, Drew. 

First haircut (at Salon)

Kaleigha got her first haircut today!  It is short and it looks so cute!  I will put the pictures up soon. 

Caramel Frosting to make Salted Caramel Cupcakes!

•  1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup  shortening
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the brown sugar and the salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.  Mix shortening and caramel mixture together until creamy.  Add powdered sugar and beat for 3 minutes.

 I drizzled melted Kisses over the frosting to add decorative detail & sprinkled with salt for salted caramel flavor!  You can kind of see the salt in this picture:

  Enjoy!  I know I did!!

See where I linked up:  Link Parties

Filled cupcake recipe

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the butter and shortening together.  After it is whipped together, add the sugar until it is completely mixed.  Add in the milk and vanilla and whip until it fluffy (about 3 minutes).

This is for 36 cupcakes to be filled.  I only wanted to fill 7 cupcakes... so I made frosting with the rest.  I used about 1/4 of the mixture to fill the cupcakes.  I added approximately 1/4 cup of cocoa to the remaining filling to make an awesome frosting.  I put the lot of it into my kitchen aid mixer bowl and let the wire whisk whip it for about 3 minutes.

I had a cupcake recipe that I had made and used it for these.

 

I seem to like taking pictures of my food almost as much as I enjoy eating it :)  I shared my photo's today on:  Sweet Shot Tuesday

Funny Things said by my Two Year Old:

I was teasing Jillian and tickling her and I said, "I'm going to nibble on your nose."
Jillian said, "Don't eat me, I am not your lunch."

About a week ago, she was whining (shocking that a 2 yo would whine!)  Josh started talking in a whiny voice back to her and she pointed her finger at him and said, "you no whine like me!"

I was getting her up from her nap with her little pony tail all cute and I said, "You're my little ice cream Sundae."  She said, "No, I'm not your ice cream Sundae.  I'm...  I'm...  I'm your little cupcake with sprinkles on top."  Oh my word - Love Her!!

Josh opened up a bottle of his favorite wing sauce and said, "yum."  Jillian yelled out:  "Drink it Daddy!"  Wouldn't that be interesting!

As, I am typing this she is repeating in a very calm voice, "that's enough, Mommy."   Sighing in between sentences.

I love my little Jilly.  She's got the most kissable little checks and a great personality.

Delicious Biscuits

We had Stew, so I wanted to make some biscuits to go with the stew.  I found this recipe.

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.  12 minutes into, pull the biscuits out and brush with melted butter, put back into oven for the remaining time.  
5. 
   

Cupcakes

I have been busy decorating and baking cupcakes!  Not the best gig for losing this baby weight ;)  I sold some of the cupcakes to the coffee shop that I sell my scones to.  After I dropped off the cupcakes, I tried a few more varieties.  I had a good time experimenting with the decorations.  Here are a few that I came up with:

 

 Recipes are coming!

I love my Drew-bug...

I love my little Drew-bug!  He is so cute!!!  But, I do not love the poochy looking stomach that was left behind after he was born.  I am within four pounds of my pre-preggo weight and I still look like I am about 3 months pregnant.  No good and serious bummer.  So, I bought a Bellefit girdle today.  Drew is 4 months old.  But, I figured better late than never to try it. 

Since we don't plan on having more kids - fingers are crossed that this does the trick and pulls my muscles back together!

Sick children...

Two weeks ago, my second daughter got sick.  What I thought would be this quick little cold from her turned into a miserable mess!  We had sick children for 9 days straight and one week later, my oldest sill has a runny nose. 

This is our summary:
Kaleigha: fever for 6 days, higest temp 103, possible pre-pnemonia & ear infection.
Jillian: double ear infection, one ruptured ear drum, fever & cough.
Drew: Bronchilitis, fever of 102.7, ear infection, cough & pitiful feeling.
6 doctors appointments, 1 urgent care visit and one visit to draw Drew's blood at Children's hosp.
We missed four days of work, three days of preschool missed and paid $200 in co-pays & $150 for childcare we didn't use.

It stunk.  But, my children are alright and healing up nice and healthy.  In the midst of this I learned of a friend from high school whose 8 year old daughter is battling cancer for the second time, with a grim prognosis.  Perspective, hmm.

Strawberry Chocolate Footballs

For the chocolate strawberries
*20 Hershey Kisses
*1 Tablespoon Crisco
*20 medium strawberries

For the lines:
*2 Tablespoon white chocolate chips
*1 teaspoon Crisco

These were super easy and fun to do.  I melted about 20 hershey kisses for a minute and mixed it together with a tablespoon of Crisco.  Stir until melted.  Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and then I place into the fridge to cool and then I pipe the lines on.

I put the white chocolate into a baggie and snip off the end of the bag to create a small hole.  This is easier than using a pastry bag :)

Sweet Shot: Kaleigha

The other day Kaleigha looked so cute with her dress and braids that I just had to take her picture...  problem was, she wasn't feeling it right away...

So, I asked her what she wanted me to take a picture of and I made a deal with her (yes, a bribe).  If she would let me take her picture, I would let her pick a picture for me to take...  hmm, what would she pick??

So, after said bribe  deal, I got these pictures:

And, after all that, she got to pick her shot.  She picked for me to take a picture of her.... feet:

And, one more because I thought she was being funny:

Linking up with:  Sweet Shot Tuesday 

Kale Chips - OH MY delish!!

Let me just say, I love Kale Chips!  Why I had to wait until I was a mother of three and in my 30's to try these, I do not know.  Josh loved them also :)

Simple ingredients & simply delicious!

See the browned edges?  Pull it out when it looks like this. 

Kale Chips: 
*One bunch Kale
*1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
*Salt, to season

Heat the oven to 350.  Tear the kale into bite size pieces (My pieces were the size of a large potato chip).  Mix the kale with the olive oil and dust with the salt.  Put the kale pieces on a large cookie sheet, so they aren't overlapping.  Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

I have read that the kale can go from being crisp to burnt pretty quickly.  I checked it around 10 minutes and mine was not done.  The key is to pull it out when you see the edges turn a nice brown color.

Heart Shaped Pizza Mini's

We had some little friends over the other day and with Valentines day approaching we decided to make some fun food.  So, we made Heart Shaped Pizza mini's. 

Recipe:

*Pizza dough (store bought works fine in a hurry)
*Pizza Sauce
*peperroni's
*mozzerella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 (or package directions).  Roll out pizza dough on floured surface.  Cut out desire shapes.  Put about a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each pizza mini; spread to the edges without going over.  Sprinkle with cheese and desired toppings. 

*If using store bought, the leftover dough is tricky to reshape, so we made it into a little pizza for my husband to eat :)