Baby K Helps...& a new recipe

Above is what it looks like when Baby K helps mommy wash dishes - she sits next to me while I work and last week discovered she can reach the paper towels and if she pulls they just keep coming! She loves it - it's cute for now. ;)
Dinner:

So here is the salad I made for dinner the other night - YUMMY! and Healthy!!!
It is a bed of baby spinach topped with craisins, red onion, mushrooms, almonds, feta crumbles and salmon - the best part was the salmon! Oh and I used Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (from Kraft).

This is how I cooked the Salmon:
2/3 c apple juice
2 tsp Old Bay spice

in a non stick pan I brought the juice and spice to a simmer at med-high heat.
I placed the salmon (which I got in 4 oz servings vacuum sealed at Dillons) in the skillet and put the lid on the skillet for 4 min.

After 4 min I turned the salmon over meat down on the heat - skin side up facing the lid and cooked it for 3 more min.
It was beautifully caramelized! And SO flavorful and took less than 10 min!

I let the salmon rest then cut the skin off and cut fish into strips to place on the salad.

I will make the salmon this way again and think I may serve it with a side of salad and a potato rather than as a topping to the salad.
Enjoy!

Memories that Still make you laugh out loud

Don't you just love it when a memory from several years back can randomly come to mind and make you laugh out loud?! I do...
Today, while filling out the Facebook "25 random things about me" thing, I was reminded of a memory I share with my dear friend "Joy" and honestly I have laughed out loud several times this morning because of it.
We were out to eat one day at a local restaurant and on their menu they had an advertisement for an offer called "Make it a Platter!"
The offer was for $1.99 you could add two sides and a drink to any sandwich order.
J asked the waitress if she could "Just make it a platter" after explaining herself a few times, she had stumped the waitress. Yep, J wanted to order two sides and a drink for $1.99 no sandwich. I still laugh at the look on the waitresses face when she realized what J was asking - finally deciding she didn't know the answer and would have to ask her manager.
In the end the answer was no. No you can not JUST make it a platter!

Why this is so funny I'm not totally sure but I think it was the looks on everyones's faces, my face, J's face, the waitress and I can only imagine her manager's face.

So Funny! Honestly, usually when J tries to work something like this...it works. She gets great deals and sometimes even free stuff because of her boldness to ask. I love her (for many more reasons than just this).

Swimming..

Baby K LOVES the bathtub! I think she is ready to try swimming. I want to take her to the YMCA and try it out and then last night at Targ*t they had swimming suits! Here she is modeling...

Serving

My wonderful husband was helping me in the preschool children's church class a few Sunday's ago. We have a toy workbench and some toy tools down there and he found that our drill was broken - not only was it broken, someone must have stepped on it and we were worried that small pieces may fall out of it! After both agreeing the toy was now dangerous, I said we should throw it away - he thought he could fix it.
Ok, so my idea of "fixing" it would be take out the small electrical pieces inside, throw them away, glue the plastic thing back together again and call it good.
My husband's idea of fixing it...is seen below in the slide show - he got out the superglue, the special small screwdrivers, and the soldering iron & wire. Not only did he put it back together but he was able to repair the electrical part of the toy so it completely works again - and it is almost as loud as a real drill which I'm sure the kids will love - but the volunteers may not! HA!

The adventures of a 4month old...

Baby K is days away from being 5 months old. This past month she has had 3 more shots, started trying rice cereal and other baby foods, ROLLED OVER from tummy to back, taken a few naps (and I mean few), enjoys her excersaucer with the help of a blanket (she's so long and lean that the seat is too big w/o the blanket), watched history in the making yesterday although she won't remember it, oh and many things I'm sure I've forgotten at the moment.
We have been so busy - the basement is almost finished - all we need is carpet I can't believe it! Children's church is now planned for the next two months, my bow party is over, my house is clean w/ the exception of laundry and holiday decorations have been put away, OH And I finally mailed all 140 Happy New Year Cards yesterday - what in the world!
Here are some pictures of our sweet Baby K

Justice gets a hair cut...

So I take our dog to the same wonderful groomer every time, I always pick her up to find our cocker shaved down to look like some kind of lab puppy - that's how I ask them to cut her. Sometimes they give her a more traditional cocker shave and leave some curls on her ears but no matter how they cut her hair she always has a bandanna around her neck when I pick her up.
Today was different. Today she had no bandanna, she looked like a princess dog, she looked like this:

Kiss

My cousin, Beth, and I are good friends even though we live miles apart and are years apart in age. In a lot of ways Beth is my personality clone. We talk often on the phone. When my husband and i were dating Beth would call and he would see her name on the caller id, and then proceed to sing the Kiss song "Beth I hear you calling." When his birthday rolled around Beth and I ordered a kiss doll off the internet, then purchased a build-a-bear voice box, recorded the song and put it inside the doll. When you would push his belly he would sing. Later when it was Beth's birthday we rerecorded on the voice box, Happy birthday and had her mom put the doll in her locker to surprise her. So the plan was made...the doll must continue to be passed around as our little family inside joke...well...Beth keeps forgetting to give the doll up and it's been 2 years people! So I have decided that I will just keep pranking her until she passes the doll back.

I've put the craziest looking stuffed Troll doll in her duffel bag with a note, and twice now I have changed the header on her blog (girl needs to change her password) and this last one was pretty funny, I crack myself up! :) She posted some pictures of the troll doll on her blog several weeks back, check my favorite blogs for "Fingerprints" you can visit her there.
Here is the header I posted last night...

My favorite part is I put her photo on the screen of the cell phones, oh and the gross chest hair is pretty funny too. You'll have to see the header on her actual blog to see how well it blends in. What a hoot.

Baby K & Daddy...

This is Baby K at 4mo old...
The previous post (Guess Who) is her daddy at 5 1/2 months old...

I think they look similar only their noses are different and of course Baby K looks like a girl and not a boy. :)

Guess Who...

Look at this cute kid!

An EASY meal

Want to make something tasty, healthy, easy and beautiful?
Here's a delightful meal.
Main Dish: Honey Orange Glazed Chicken (quick prep but cooks 45 min in oven, make sure to allow for cooking time)
Sides: Fresh Spinach Salad, greenbeans, potatoes (boiled new potatoes red or white are wonderful!)

Fresh Spinach Salad:
prewashed baby spinach leaves
dried cranberries
drained light mandarin oranges
toasted almond slices
feta cheese crumbled
store bought Balsamic Vinegrette Dressing

Greenbeans:
Just from the can but if you have a little bacon fat (I know not the healthiest ingred but just use a tiny bit and it will go a long way to add flavor)
add a few toasted almond slices for easy added flare!

Ok the Chicken:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Tb Olive Oil
4 green onions, chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
3Tb honey
4 Tb Orange Juice
1 Orange peeled and segmented
2 Tb light soy sauce

Preheat oven to 375
place chicken in a shallow pan, I use a 9x9 pan the chicken should just fit and not touch each other.
Heat oil in a small saucepan. Fry onions & garlic until soft. Add honey, OJ, orange segments, and soy sauce. heat until honey is dissolved.
Pour sauce over chicken & bake uncovered for 45min.
Remove from oven and cover dish tightly with foil and let set for 5-10min. This will lock in the juices of the chicken. Plus it will be too hot to eat right away.
Serve with sauce.

I'm Offically Crazy...or Stupid!

I love foodgawker (see my fav blogs) and I saw these really cute cookies I thought I would give a try. Now making sugar cookie dough, chilling it, rolling it, cooking it, making frosting, and then frosting them is quite a challenge with my non napping baby and the fact I keep forgetting about finishing my project in the evenings. Well today I finished what became a 2 week process, only to yield a minor 13 cookies! Really, that's all I was able to make with the dough recipe! Disappointing! In the end the cookies are cute and they taste good but the effort required did not win me over. Oh, I forgot to add that I bought fondant and colored it and made balls to make snowmen heads and "carrot" noses. After all this complaining here are the results...

Picture of the cookie I found on the internet:

Pictures of my final result:

Christmas

Here are some pictures of our Christmas so far. We still have Christmas with extended family to celebrate on Jan 1 and Jan 3!
Funny story - my family always tells the story of my first Christmas Eve service at church. I was 4 mo old and sucking on a pacifier or a bottle - anyway they were having prayer and it was very quiet. I started making loud funny sucking noises so my grandma pulled the pacifier out of my mouth so I wouldn't be loud during prayer - my response.....SCREAMING! So much for being quiet. :)
So my husband and I take our little angel to our Christmas Eve service. There was a group of gals doing special music - they are awesome. Baby K is sitting on her daddy's lap enjoying the music and movement on the stage. I guess she started dozing off, but we hadn't noticed. The gals hit a loud high note and baby K threw her hands up in the air and started SCREAMING her head off! I guess they startled her. It was hilarious. Daddy put her up over his shoulder and she went to sleep quickly so we made it until the end of church.
Like mother like daughter I guess.
Baby K and I got daddy a low profile floor jack he has been wanting. He was surprised and it looking forward to working on his 1974 GTO without worrying about hurting the cross something underneath it - I can't remember what he called it but he has scratched it up before with a jack that wasn't low enough. I had the jack delivered UPS to the house and then had to call a neighbor to help me get it in the house - I had no idea the thing would weigh 98 lbs!
We are loving our extra family time together this week and have had many chances to stop and reflect on how thankful we are for God's special gift of Grace and Love to His people and to be thankful for each other and the wonderful family he has given us. We are SO BLESSED!

The dreaded day has come...

What day is that? The day my child has her first fever! Ok, so it's not too serious, her fever was 100.1 when taken from her armpit. But still I have been hoping it would be a long time before our little girl was sick, really sick and now at just 15 weeks, she's sick. Poor baby!
She has been congested for over 2 wks now. The past 7 days she has been sleeping in her carseat in our room. Ever since she has been congested she has been sleeping with a humidifier on (in addition to the whole house humidifier we have. We have been giving her saline nasal drops and suctioning out her nose often. And then.....last night she got a fever, just when I thought we were about to kick this thing. I called the dr. he said we could give her some tyl*nol. I just couldn't sit and do nothing so I decided to give her a bath.
I drew her a bath of luke warm water and kept luke warm washcloths on her so she wouldn't get chilled. She relaxed in the tub for 30 min just as calm and happy as could be. By the time she was out of the bath and dressed again her temp was back to normal. She made it all night with no meds and no fever and then at 8am she had a fever again.
She is being such a trooper, still managing a smile and a laugh here and there but her eyes are a little glazed over and she cries like she is uncomfortable at times and she is napping more during the day. Luckily we don't need to leave the house for a few days so we can stay home and rest and get healthy. We may go to the dr tomorrow to rule out an ear infection.
My grandma said that 2 of her children started teething at 4mo old so maybe there are teeth on the way??? I hope not, I'm so not ready for teething yet! :)

Look alikes?

We think Baby K looks like her Grandma Susan. Baby K looks like her daddy and some say she has mommy's eyes but she does look some like grandma too! They even hold their hands the same. :)

SO Sweet!

Cinnadoodles!

I found this recipe via Foodgawker.

After weeks of searching for Cinnamon Chips I finally found some at the Niffty Nut House. My husband said last night, "These are the best snickerdoodles ever!" Then I learned that he doesn't even like snickerdoodles but he loves these.

(Pet Peeve! When Blogger changes the direction of my photo - Grrrrrrr!)

Cinnadoodles

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

2 3/4 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 c(2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2c sugar 2 large eggs At least 1c of cinnamon chips 3 Tb sugar 3tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Add in cinnamon chips.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into round balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Don't overbake. Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Gift Update & our Big Girl!

Ok - well my scrapblog turn traveling coffee mug worked! It would take a little explaining that I am too lazy to type but basically I exported my scrapblog as a .jpg and then plopped it into photoshop. In photo shop I changed my image size to fit the mug template and then made the canvas size 8x10 and had the 8x10 image printed at Walgre*ns then traced the template that came with the mug and inserted it! GG likes to buy coffee at McD*nalds when she travels so I am going to put a McD gift card inside - what a fun gift for the woman who has everything but who also loves her great granddaughter! I can't wait to see her open this gift! No one show GG this blog entry until after Christmas you hear! :)

Finally,
Until reading M&Em's connection I had kind of forgotten we had a Bumbo - so I pulled it out and Baby K had a great time hanging out in it for a while. I can't believe she is 14 weeks Big! We sure love our happy girl.

Gift Idea

I made this on Scrapblog.com and I am hoping to print it off and fit it in a travel coffee mug for Great Grandma and it will be what Baby K gives her GG for Christmas. GG loves to travel and usually keeps a small McDonald's coffee cup with her b/c it has a lid. I'm thinking this will make a cute upgrade from her McDonald's cup.

I found an 8oz travel tumbler on Bodum.com however it is out of stock and I'm not sure how long it will be until they have them. I can order a 16oz tumbler but GG likes small cups...but in the end all GG's like to show off pictures of their grandkids so maybe size doesn't matter.

Christmas is so close...maybe I'll just order the 16oz mug and call it good.

Help

So we took some pictures that I plan to use for a "Happy New Year" card
Some are really sweet, some are so-so...I can't decide for sure which are my absolute favorites so I thought maybe you could vote.
I need one of the family and one of Baby K by herself.
There are a few candid shots of the family so I could use more than 2, maybe 3-5 pictures total...can you tell I am undecided? I will need to crop some of the photos as well.
I tried to add captions to most of them so you can vote via the caption name. I would love some input.



**If you drag your mouse over the slide show you will see the Picasa tool bar, click on the album name or the multicolored circle and it will take you to a website for easier viewing of the pictures.

Thanksgiving & Dedication

Here are a few pics of our family with Baby K and pictures from her baby dedication.
So many friends and family came to be with us as we dedicated ourselves to teaching K about Jesus and are committed to praying she grow up to be a woman of God. Such a special day!

As we thought about what we would name our baby it was important that her name have special meaning. The meanings of her first and middle name mean
From the earth (created)
Forgiveness
and God is gracious

We found the perfect Bible verses to sum up the meanings of her name and our heart for her to know God.

Ephesians 2:8-10
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

We do believe that God has created baby K and pray that she will do good works for His kingdom, that she will know Jesus is her Savior and the forgiveness of God her Father. We pray she has a kind heart and loves others with the grace and forgiveness that God offers her.

Will Post...

Hopefully tomorrow I will post baby dedication pictures of Baby K.
We had a wonderful time spending the past few days with family and topped off our time with baby K's dedication. Several family and friends joined us today and we loved that you were all there to share this special day with Baby K.
Thank you for your support and love; we are SO blessed to have you in our lives!
Can't wait to share pictures of our little princess with you.

Merry Christmas from a Crazy Fan!

Ok, if you know me, you KNEW this post was coming! I'm not sure what I am fomore fond of; K-State football or Coach Snyder. It's strange, I am aware of this but for whatever reasons I am so fond of Coach, his integrity, his leadership, the way he seems to "father" the young men on his team. I actually had a dream after Prince was fired that Bill was rehired and I was appointed his administrative assistant. In my dream he pretty much thought I was awesome and although stressed I was learning to do my new job and be a great mommy too. Like I said - it was a dream and a crazy one at that!
I am totally going to a game in 2009 and dream of having season tickets once again... Bill if you are reading this I would love to have you and Sharon over for dinner.
Merry Christmas and GO CATS! Redemption is on the horizon! To the neh sayers I say - oh, it's not that bad and it's not that crazy that Coach is back - watch and see, we'll get some good coaches in there and restore some confidence to the players and off we'll go...winning seasons here we come.
As a disclaimer to those of you who don't know me, I still believe that Jesus is #1, the real gift of Christmas and spiritual truth is more important than football and that Coach Snyder is an imperfect human like the rest of us.
K-state football is my not so guilty pleasure and probably always will be. :)

Pumpkin Waffles - Oh Yeah!

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Pecan Apples!

I took a picture of the last quarter of my waffle because at this point I knew I HAD to share this recipe with you! These are heavenly! I made them for dinner tonight and served with bacon. I have been wanting to cook them for almost a year after finding the recipe on the food network website. So yummy and seasonal! Great for breakfast, brunch or anytime.

Waffles: 1 1/4cup flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup melted shortening, 1 large egg and 1 large egg white

Topping: 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 crisp apples peeled and sliced thinly, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I just used Aunt Jemima), 1/2 cup toasted pecans

For the waffles: Preheat a waffle iron to medium heat.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, spice and salt together in a large bowl.
Beat together the milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and melted shortening, egg and egg white, in a large measuring cup. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Whisk together to make a slightly lumpy batter.

For the topping: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and let cook until slightly browned, but still crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the maple syrup and pecans and toss to coat.

Pour and spread about 1 cup batter into the waffle iron. Cover and cook until crisp and a rich golden brown, about 7 minutes. (Try to resist the temptation to open the waffle iron too soon. Steam will puff out of the iron while the waffles cook, when this stops the waffle is cooked.) Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot with the apples.

Basement Project...

My Amazing Husband has been working away to finish our basement. He is so talented and such a hard worker. I only wish he could take a couple of weeks off work to work on it so it would get done faster. I am SO SO Proud of his hard work and you have got to check out these pictures of our fireplace mantle he made and his tile work!
It's still a work in progess but hopefully by January it will be done or close to it.

So sweet...

I just LOVE this girl!I'm sad that Blogger is posting this pic vertical and not horizontal. Bummer, it lost some cute factor.

Coffee and Fireworks?

This is not a picture from our date, but it will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

My Husband and I went out to eat for our anniversary - not so creative, but it was fun and we enjoyed dressing nice and eating at a nice place while some friends watched the baby.
At the end of our meal we ordered dessert coffee's and although not on the menu the waiter told us about Flaming Coffee and that it would involve a little show at our table.

I thought, cool. I also thought it would be some coffee with a little alcohol on top and they would light it on fire and then the flames would go out and ta da there ya go....

NOPE, that's not how it was...

SO they bring out this tray of "supplies" a carafe of coffee, tall wine glasses, cream, sugar cubes and a lighter. The wine glasses already had a little alcohol in them. The waiter takes a glass and tips it to the side and strikes it with a lighter. Blue flames swirl in the glass. He has also been hiding something in his right hand, clutched in a tight fist, as the flames are going he starts doing some fancy things with his hands, swirling the glass to make the flames dance around and tossing a dust, he has been hiding in his hand, directly in the flame causing gold sparks to fly around the glass - seriously it looked like gold fireworks in and around the glass. We figured out later that the "dust" was cinnamon. When the fireworks were over he poured coffee in the glass then sugar and cream and ta da the show was over - and the coffee was yummy! Although you do have to wait for the glass to cool down so you can hold it long enough to take a sip. You can eat one of their yummy desserts while you wait.

I'm telling you this was a fun end to a wonderful date. If you like coffee you should go check it out, impress someone you love, spice up a girls night, or if you don't like coffee invite someone who does so you can watch the show. I'm not sure why I am so excited about this, I think b/c someone did something with food that was cool and out of the ordinary.
Check it out.

2 Wonderful Years

Happy Anniversary!

In just 2 years we have....
gotten married

Gone on a fabulous honeymoon

Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up




And added a 3rd member to our little family

We've experienced a lot more and shared laughter and tears. I love our little family and couldn't think of a better man to share life with. You are a wonderful husband.

I love you!

10 Weeks

Terry Cloth

I just have to share with you Baby K's favorite things.
Mommy & Daddy
Smiling, smiling and smiling!!!
If you really want to see this kid come alive, get her ready for bath time. She loves loves LOVES being naked and then wrapped in a terry cloth towel.
Oh, she'll smile if wrapped in one of those hooded Carter brand towels but she has two homemade hooded towel made from big terry cloth towels and they are so much more fluffy and evidently Baby K loves fluffy textures because I am telling you she laughs and coos and totally comes alive when she can be naked and wrapped up in her favorite towel.

I love bath time with my baby girl.

Get Up and Dance

Well, if you know me you KNOW that I LOVE my old school Paula Abdul workout video.
I'm telling you no amount of going to the YMCA has ever trimmed up my hips and butt like this fun dance video. Plus the cool down at the end of the tape has an awesome (put killer) ab workout.

I keep intending to hang out with Paula 45min 3times a week and since having the baby I have only made it half way through the tape one time. I always have good intentions but then the baby has needs or I would rather make a cake or take a nap. :) Not helping!

Today, I did it! Baby K is always happiest in the morning so after she had breakfast and a clean diaper I placed her in the bouncy seat in front of the TV facing me and she watched her mommy "Get UP and Dance." Now I am sure it was comical and maybe horrifying at times but she hung in there with me. I laid her on the floor next to me while I did the cool down and she actually fell asleep for 15min. which is a fabulous nap!

Now I have to figure out how to take a shower...but I am on my way to shedding this baby weight. Old pants, I miss you and I'm determined to get you back on as soon as I shrink this bottom.

So Brave

Baby K had her 2 month dr. appt today. She did wonderful, shots and all.
Stats
weight: 11 lbs 56 percentile
height: 23" 76%
head circumference 14.5" 8% (little head - oh well, it is growing)

She screamed when she got her first shot, then she had 2 more and I was able to pick her up, she stopped crying as soon as I picked her up and has been happy ever since so I guess she was not too traumatized. :)
Mommy did not shed a tear - we were both really brave!

Surfing...

Time for Tummy Time
Baby K has always been good at holding her head up ever since the 1st week we were home from the hospital. So we have been working on tummy time, although she isn't too sure what she thinks about it. After about 5-10 min on her tummy I roll her over and she chill's on her surf board lying on her back.

Happy Halloween

These are some pictures my sister took on Halloween. We took a road trip to Pittsburg, saw friends and family and a PSU Football game. It was great to see everyone, wish we had more time.

NO!

I wish these girls were all standing up so you could really get a good idea of what we had in front of us as we watched the PSU football game yesterday. I honestly thought it was some kind of nod to Halloween until the other spectators around us assured me that no, they actually wear these outfits on a regular basis. Oh my! What a shame. These poor girls! The outfit was not flattering on one single dancer - not one! They looked horrible and inappropriate and several of them looked like they were going to fall out of their outfit one way or another. It was a relief at half time when they changed spots with the cheerleaders and went to the opposite side of the stadium. I really really really wanted to ask where their coach was and have a talk with her.
If by some crazy chance there is a crimson & gold dancer reading this - Honey, I am SO sorry someone makes you wear this red sparkle nightmare and I won't even comment on the boots.

Fast Fixin' Chocolate Cake

Today is my husband's birthday and he loves rich chocolate cake.
When I was a kid my mom found this chocolate cake recipe and it has been a family favorite ever since.

1 devil's food cake mix
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 (3.9oz) chocolate pudding mix
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tb flour (optional)
Powdered sugar to dust the top of the finished cooled cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pan(s) you can use one 9x13" pan or two 8" round pans or two 9" round pans. Grease whatever pan(s) you plan to use. You will have about 4 1/2 cups of cake batter so if you need to divide it into two pans then you can put about 2 1/4 cups of batter in each pan.

Ok - mix together the cake mix, oil, eggs, milk and pudding mix.
In a separate bowl toss the chocolate chips with the flour just to coat the chips - this will help them to stay spread out through out the cake and not sink to the bottom while baking. After the chips are dusted with flour add them to the batter and stir just until they are mixed in.

Pour batter in cake pan(s) and bake.
350 degrees for 30-45 min until cake is just pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

when cake is completely cooled sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake and serve.

Today since it was A's birthday I decided to try my hand at homemade Chocolate Buttercream frosting - YUMMY!
Here is the recipe I used
http://www.recipezaar.com/89207

I used the max amount of cocoa and I added some chocolate fudge ice cream topping we had in the fridge maybe 1/4 cup. SO AMAZING!!

I surprised A and brought the cake to his work, he didn't even know I was making a cake. Lots of people he works with came down to the lobby to have cake and to see the baby.

A said this is the best chocolate cake I have ever made - I think he has had a happy birthday so far.

BOO!

This isn't her halloween costume but I thought we would start getting in the spirit a few days early - BOO!
Of course I put a white shirt on my kid today and she had 2 diaper blowouts!
Now, she is in pink and hopefully she will keep the yuckies to a minimum tonight.
Maybe the ghost on her shirt scared the crap out of her - HA!
Ok - bad joke mom!

Happy Girl!

Baby K is full of smiles these days and is finding her "voice" learning to coo and aww. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Mexican Chicken Soup

Today was a rainy fall day and I made some soup. I really like this soup and thought I would share the recipe with you. Didn't take pictures, sorry. This soup is pretty mild, I don't find it spicy at all but you can cut back on the green chilies if you are worried about spicy foods.

3 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
1 1/2 lbs cooked & shredded Chicken (TIME SAVER: Buy an already cooked rotisserie chicken - about 2 - 2 1/2 cups of shredded chicken should be about right)
1/2c onion, chopped
1/2tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1Tb olive oil
1 (14.5oz)can of diced tomatoes
1 (8oz)can tomato sauce
1 (4oz)can green chilies
1/4c fresh cilantro
1tsp oregano (1TB if you use fresh not dried)
serve with shredded cheese

In a large saucepan warm the 1Tb OLIVE OIL. Cook the ONION, CUMIN, & GARLIC in the oil until the onion is tender. Now add the CHICKEN BROTH, undrained DICED TOMATOES, TOMATO SAUCE, GREEN CHILIES, CILANTRO, & OREGANO. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20min. Stir in SHREDDED CHICKEN

I serve with a little shredded cheese on each serving.
Also I love to make Cheese Quesadillas to serve with this soup.
Kind of a tex-mex twist on grill cheese sandwiches & tomato soup - in my opinion it's better b/c I don't like tomato soup (I know..that is so sad, I wish I liked it)

ENJOY!

Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples!!

I love Fall! I love Fall Food! I love making these yummy apples and giving them to friends and neighbors and of course we keep one for ourselves to eat. They are huge and have to be cut into wedges to eat them.
I will share with you how to make these but know they take time but are very rewarding. Also I have embedded a slide show of some of the process although I kept forgetting to take pictures as I went so some steps are missing. But hey, getting some pics is pretty amazing since I was making these while home alone with a 5 week old baby.

I just finished typing the directions and forgot how many steps there are - this is a little crazy. I've been doing it so long I just cruise right through it but some of you may think I am NUTS after you read this.

You will need:
Bamboo skewers
Apples: Granny Smith or HoneyCrip or Jonnygold (a tart apple) -look for ones that are nice and round, sit up straight and have no bruises
Caramels
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Crisco (the white kind NOT the Butter Flavor Yellow kind!)
Favorite Candy (mini M&M's, butterfinger, heath toffee, oreos, etc.)
White Chocolate Chips (or Almond Bark white melting chocolate)

How To:
Wash apples (duh) then put skewer in apple then I use scissors to score the bamboo about halfway down then I break it (otherwise it is way too long or tall)
Then I melt Caramels and add 1-2 tablespoons of cream or milk, whatever you have on hand is fine. Remember to melt slow - 30 sec in microwave, stir, 30 sec, stir, etc. until caramel is nicely melted.
Ok. - dip your apples
I put a cake pan in the fridge lined with wax paper that I have sprayed with spray cooking oil
place caramel apple in fridge to set up caramel.

If you are using mini M&M's then press them on the caramel apple as soon as the apple is cool to the touch. If you want to use another candy then beat the candy into small pieces and press on caramel apple. Put apples in fridge while you melt the chocolate.

While apples are in fridge, In a medium bowl melt your semi sweet chocolate chips & 1/2 -1 Tb crisco (I use the microwave to melt it, same way as before 30 sec, stir, 30 sec, stir, etc. the crisco makes the chocolate shinny and pretty)

In a small bowl melt about 1/2 cup of white chocolate and 1/2 teaspoon of crisco. BE CAREFUL - white chocolate easily overcooks - you'll know it when it balls up on you instead of being smooth and creamy. After the white chocolate is melted let it cool down some and pour into a ziplock sandwich bag (if it is too hot it will melt the bag) you will cut a small hole in one corner of the bag.

Dip your caramel & candy coated apple #1 in the semi-sweet chocolate and place in fridge.
Dip apple #2 in chocolate and place in fridge.
Take Apple #1 back out of fridge and drizzle with white chocolate
Dip apple #3 in chocolate, place in fridge
Take #2 out and drizzle with white chocolate
etc.

Good Luck!
Recently I have just been making them with mini M&M's but my absolute FAVORITE is to smear creamy peanutbutter on the caramel apple and then cover with tiny pieces of oreo cookies and then cover in the chocolate - crazy bad for you but crazy YUMMY!

Accessories - A MUST to finish any outfit

Seriously isn't she the cutest! I went to visit a friend who makes hair bows and headbands for little girls. She makes all different sizes. The bows are interchangeable on the headband and later can be worn just as a hair bow. I just laid some clothing on top of Baby K so she didn't have to put up with me dressing and undressing her several times today just so I could show of her new bows. I love accessorizing my little bald princess! :)
Check out sugarplumboutique blog if you want to see more cute bows or order some of your own.
If you live near Wichita I want to have a bow party probably in January. Sweet treats & cute bows are in store!! Let me know if you want an invite.
ok...now to unloading the dishwasher and starting dinner...what I really should have been doing this whole time.

Today

Rainy Day...

It is a rainy & cool day around these parts today. So Baby K and I are staying cozy in our PJ's and Mommy is enjoying the next best thing to a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte... coffee made with love by my husband and some $1.50 CoffeeMate Pumpkin Spice creamer....pretty yummy if I do say so myself. In the entry previous to this one you can see a slide show of Baby K in her PJ's. She is smiling now even when it's not gas! So cute. No pictures of mommy in her PJ's because mommy isn't as cute. :)

PJ Day

the answer is Yes

For those of you who had questions about my previous post...
Yes, it tastes just fine defrosted. We have frozen deli meat before - and we don't like leftovers so if we think it tastes fine my guess is you will agree. :)
Yes, Walmart or any grocery store should shave the meat for free. Although, Sams is the only place I've found a fully cooked turkey breast. But all grocery stores have fully cooked ham.
Happy Savings and happy lunches!

Savings!$!$!$! And a LOT of turkey!

Seriously, we buy a pound of deli turkey every week. My hubby doesn't care for ham so we buy turkey - currently at the grocery store and Walmart smoked deli turkey is $6.99/lb - crazy!
My friend Steph shared with me a while back about how she buys a ham or turkey that is already cooked and asks the deli to slice it for her - much cheaper. If your family will eat ham, you can get it around the holidays for 99cents a pound!
Anyway, yesterday I was at Sams and saw they had JenniO mesquite smoked turkey fully cooked for $3.28/lb! So I picked up a 9.62 lb turkey, rang the meat department bell and asked them to shave it for me - they did - no extra charge!
I found that one pound of turkey will fit in a ziplock sandwich bag so I divided it up and put it in the freezer. Now for more than 9 weeks I do not have to stand in line at the deli, I do not have to spend twice as much on the turkey, I can just go to the freezer and pull out a bag.

Ahhhhh.....it feels good to save money!
Thanks Steph for the FABULOUS idea!

Funny Pics

I took these pictures the other day while Baby K was chillin' in the chair. She was making funny faces and I was cracking up! What a sweetie.
She is 4 weeks old in these pictures.

I want to make these...

Strawberries cored and filled with cheesecake then dipped in chocolate - I must eat one soon! hee hee

Found this recipe on my beloved Foodgawker website.

http://tamiskitchentabletalk.blogspot.com/2008/09/cheesecake-filled-chocolate-covered.html

Unrelated info to this food post...
Baby K goes to the dr. for her 1month appt. I can't believe my baby is 4 weeks old. WOW!
Also, soda pop is now a no go for me. I don't drink it often but the last 2 times I've had it have been Baby K's worst days. The kid's tummy can't handle the stuff, I'm pretty sure.
Dang it! Even though I don't drink pop much, now that I need to avoid it I want it more than ever. :)

Exhausted Mother Saved by Exhaust Fan

My sweet baby is very unpredictable these days. One day she is a perfect angel and another day I think she will never stop screaming and eating.

For example on Tuesday I met up with some old friends for coffee at 10am we sat and enjoyed great conversation and coffee (decaf for me of course) and when we finally decided to check the time it was 1:45! My baby was just hanging out in her car seat sleeping and she ate once but was so quiet. Then we all went to a very late lunch and stayed there until 4 then I went to the grocery store - Baby K was perfect.

Two days later I went to the mall to find a dress for an upcoming event Baby K was having a great morning so I thought we would be fine. Turns out she hated the outing. She screamed pretty much the whole time we were in the mall. Even though I fed her in the parking lot before going in (hoping she would be full and asleep for my shopping) we ended up in the dressing room for more than 30 min. feeding her and then ended up leaving b/c the crying would not stop.

Yesterday evening she was the crying machine again. I think she may have had an upset stomach. Neither my husband or I could get her to relax and go to sleep. She really had not taken more than a 15 min. nap here or there during the day so I knew she was very tired.

A friend of mine had told me that when her son was crying a lot that they would swaddle him up, go to a dark room and turn on white noise and he would settle down.

We don't have a noise maker so I swaddled her up, went to the bathroom with the lights turned off and turned on the exhaust fan and in less than 30 seconds she was silent. I just stood there in the dark swaying back and forth and she was sound asleep in just a few min. We put an air purifier in our room that makes a similar noise and turned out the lights and she slept for 6 hours!! This morning she was not going down for a nap so we went to the bathroom again - works like a charm. I love that exhaust fan!

Maybe I will move her bassinet to the bathroom until I am able to go out and buy a noise maker. ha ha

Here is a picture of baby K learning to pose like a model. :)

Here is a picture of dad asleep with baby and the dog. (we had to touch up some spots on the back wall so the paint is a little crazy in the background)

K-State Fan...

Let the brainwashing begin...mommy is going to turn this little one into a K-State fan if she can.

She seems amused, doesn't she?

Daddy thinks the bow is a little over the top - mommy thinks it is cute and keeps strangers from thinking I'm a boy - Baby K doesn't mind the bow unless she hits it with her hand and it ends up over her eye like a pirate eye patch.

Mommy hopes K-State defense and coaching improve so it is easier to hold your head up high while supporting the Cats - these non conference games are making me nervous - what is up? I totally think they have the talent so why isn't it showing up on the field? hmmm...

Go State!

New Pictures

Photo Slide Show (click here)
Ok, well here is a link to a slide show of some pictures we had taken today. I just wanted to have a few pictures to capture how tiny our little girl is right now.
Baby K continues to be a joy and such a sweetheart.
How do I post a Picasa slide show in my blog? I can't figure it out....hmmmm....

A Fall Day...

It is a crisp fall day today. 58 degrees, a big blue sky with hardly any clouds - after days of rain.

The crisp air and sunny skies make me want:
A Pumpkin Spice Latte
A hayride in a pumpkin patch
A K-State home football game
White Chili & Cinnamon Rolls

I will settle for the latte and a nap and maybe a short walk around the block - oh and wearing a Kstate sweatshirt dreaming of a game day. :)

Our First Week

Here is a link for a slide show of some highlights of Baby K's first week.
http://www.members.cox.net/heather_jane/First_Week/

Some words from Baby K:
These new parents of mine are crazy about me & I am loving it!

Why Dad is great: He is the BEST at swaddling me! I love being swaddled as long as I can have at least one hand by my face - I love my hands! Yesterday mom and dad caught me interlocking my fingers and it looked like I was praying.
Dad is also an expert diaper changer now, I was the first baby he ever changed a diaper for.
I love to snuggle on Dad's chest, he gives me lots of kisses and tells me I'm beautiful.

Why Mom is great: She feeds me and I LOVE to eat! She rocks me and talks to me and we have nice late night and early morning chats when the house is quiet and it's just us. We love to cuddle and she also gives me lots of kisses and tells me I'm beautiful.

Some words from Mom:
Baby K is Great, Fabulous, Amazing! She is such a good baby. She cries when she has a need but then quiets as soon as her need is met - food, diaper change, to be swaddled, to be cuddled - that's it. Only a couple of times have we heard her be really upset or angry. She sleeps through the night and has since birth (although until she gains a little weight I do wake her in the night to eat, which she is always happy to do), she loves to just cuddle and stare at us. She has the most attentive eyes. She is making this new parent thing seem like a breeze and very low stress. I know she has lots of surprises and challenges in store of us but this week has been a dream and we are ready to love her through any challenge.

Pictures of Baby K

Baby K was born Saturday September 6th, 2008 at 2:34pm.

She weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 19 inches long.

Her heart rate started doing some funny things as my labor progressed so the doctors decided it was best to go ahead and do a c-section. This was a little scary because things went from going really great and "normal" or "typical" for labor and in less than 5 min. her heart rate started dropping and then coming back up and then dropping really low when I would have a strong contraction or when the doctors would touch the baby. I still had a few hours to go before delivery and the doctors felt the baby was under too much stress. For those of you who don't know her heart rate should have stayed in the 120-140 range give or take but during contractions she began to drop as low as into the 50's and 60's and once dropped into the high 40's! At this point I was like - get this baby out of me and make sure she is ok!! I didn't say that but I was thinking it when the dr. came over and told me they were going to go ahead with a c-section. I was so thankful they did.

After she was born she cried out like all healthy babies do, they checked her out and cleaned her up and her Apgar Scores were 8, 9 and 9 which is awesome! She has shown no signs of health concerns at all! Praise the Lord! The doctors are a little stumped as to what happened but think because she was over due the placenta may have been too old to support her when things got intense. It's a mystery I guess, but we are thankful for a healthy beautiful baby!!

My recovery is going pretty well - especially because I have been able to get a lot of sleep. Baby K is an amazing sleeper and eater! If she sleeps through the night this will be her 7th night in a row...she is 7 days old...Thank you Jesus!!! I do have to wake her up if it has been 4 hours since she last ate, but the dr. is checking her weight on Monday and if her weight is up then he said to stop waking her in the night and let her sleep until she wakes up wanting to be fed.

Here are some pictures of our sweet angel!

Here is one last look of Baby K in my tummy. :)



She's Here!

We are Loving every minute of it!!