Honey, I Shrunk the Sandwich!

I found a recipe years ago for a BIG Sandwich. Acutally it was called "Sandwich for 12" but after making it for a superbowl party friends started calling it the BIG Sandwich and the name stuck, as well as the requests to make it. What really makes it special is the bread, but the size draws you in to try it. :) I make the bread on a pizza pan and then assemble the sandwich whole and then cut it into squares as much as a circle can be cut into squares anyway. Wedges are just to big and the bread tends to crumble some so squares are best for maxium eating pleasure.

I have often wondered, and been asked, if the sandwich could be made into smaller serving size sandwiches. Two weeks ago I was asked to bring enough deli sandwiches to church for an event. AhHA! I thought...this is the time, I'm trying it!


Result: possible
Review: will probably do again someday, but nothing beats the BIG Sandwich. The bread just wasn't quite the same. Maybe I should have divided the dough into more sandwiches than I did and made them bigger in diameter and not as thick. Who knows.

For those wanting to know the recipe...that's gonna have to be another post.
The bread is made using a HotRoll mix, oats, minced onion, a touch of garlic salt & sesame seeds. It is piled with lettuce, red onion, tomato, turkey, ham, swiss cheese, and green peppers and dressed with a mixture of Mayo and a touch of mustard.
Yummy Yummy Yummy!!!!

Baby K and Daddy

The other day after work Daddy laid down to play with Kaiya in the floor. He was also kind of resting.
Baby K thought Daddy's ear was fun to play with. It was pretty funny to watch her, she would play with her toys for a bit and then Daddy's ear, then her toys, then Daddy's ear, then she would try to pull his hair and squeeze his nose, then her toys, then his ear. Cute. Daddy is so sweet with her. Praise God for really great Daddys!

Dog Biscuits?

Today I walked into the dinning area to find a big surprise...Baby K eating dog biscuits! Well, she was putting them in her mouth, not really eating them. Gross! Funny!
I needed to go to the bathroom and Baby K was in the mood to be held. Not gonna work. The dog was outside sitting on the top step of the stairs outside our sliding glass door. She LOVES the dog...I thought I will just sit her here by the door, she can look at the dog and the pretty outdoors and I will be back in a min. Less than 2min later I return to find this! (I happened to see the camera on the counter just before I took her tasty treats from her - I HAD to take a picture, it was too funny!)
It's official - This kid really will eat ANYTHING!

Tea for Two...

Baby K and her friend Baby A had a little Tea party in the sunshine today.
I kept having to move the blanket and the babies into the shade - the sun was moving fast this morning! After about 20min we called it quits and came inside.
It is fun to see the girls playing together and becoming sweet friends. We play every Tuesday all day (with some naps of course).

Some things I've been up to...

Life has been busy! Erin & her sweet daughter stopped in for a visit. Then we went to Missouri to visit family for Memorial Day weekend. We took Baby K to Silver Dollar City and she was such a good girl! She is still NOT crawling but is getting stronger & more curious every day.
Baby K is a very well loved little girl and she sure loves her family & friends right back!
Check out the jumperoo I got for $10 at a garage sale!
Here are some pictures.


The highchair we have clamps to the table and it is strongly advised to NOT put a chair underneath it - a rule we follow at home - but you will see in a couple of pictures that while we were sitting with her we did put a chair underneath her to get the chair out of the way. Please do not send me ugly comments about endangering my child - she was never left alone w/ the chair. Thank you. :)

Did you miss me?

Mommy finally loaded some new pictures of me and promises to post them later today or tomorrow.

This cute face is so easy to miss! I miss you too!
I was eating some yummy sweet potatoes & chicken in this picture...I LOVE to eat!

More pictures and adventures to come.

Love,
Baby K & Mommy

Giveaway!

Do you need a haircut? A color? An eyebrow wax?
Do you live in or near my city?
I had to find a new salon and after much worry and anxiety I let someone new touch my hair. (Abbe and Judy...no one will ever be you!)

So I hunted down a Redkin Salon, feeling they could be the most trusted with my head. Turns out, I was right. I like the gal who did my hair (cut & color), they offered me coffee, tea, water, soda...gave me a scalp massage and generally made me feel like a princess.

When I left she gave me three $10 gift certificates to share with friends. (she gave me a 4th to use as a discount on my cut/color)

So the first 3 people to leave a comment that they want it, it's yours!

$10 Gift Certificate (expiration date June 30th, 2009)
with Jessie
at
The Fringe Salon at the Waterfront

Wiggly Wednesday Dates

There are new Wiggly Wednesday Playdates scheduled...
check it out!

www.wiggly-wednesday.blogspot.com

Hello Sunshine!

Finally, sunshine!

See my "snaggle tooth?" - I have 3 teeth & 2 on the way!

Justice, my buddy, she lets me pet her sometimes. I LOVE her!

GOTTCHA!

I'm trying to learn to crawl...but I don't love it.
This is a rare shot of me smiling while giving it a try.

Come Play With Me...

Baby K says come play with me & my friend Bren...and lots of other fun kids! If you live in the area we would love for you to join us for Wiggly Wednesdays! It's not every Wednesday, but at least once a month (and if you're lucky, sometimes twice a month).
This Wed we will be at the T.East Mall play area - playing indoors because the rain won't go away and has already made a muddy mess out of the outdoor playground we had originally thought we would be playing at.
Leave me a comment with your email address if you want/need more info. My friend Jess and I will get back to ya!

Oh...Baby K wants me to tell you that she will change out of her PJ's and into her play clothes before Wednesday's Play Date. :) See ya There!

Bow Give AWAY...and sweet orphans who need some lovin'

If you have seen pictures of Baby K you know she usually has a bow on her head. And almost every bow you see on her head is a bow from
www.sugarplumorphans.com
All proceeds go to help orphans.

Sugarplum is having a give away and you only have until 7pm tonight(central time) to enter!
All you have to do is leave a comment - how easy is that?!
There are other ways you can get your name entered to win more than just once...
check it out!
(honestly, if it wasn't for the orphans I wouldn't have posted this...I want to WIN and don't want to stack the odds against me - LOL)
Here is a link to some of the bows and barrettes she has made.
http://picasaweb.google.com/kendraneill/OnlineStoreKindOf#

Thanks Kendra for sharing your talent with us and for doing it for such a good cause!
Even if I don't win, I need to order a 4th of July bow - Baby K has the cutest outfit and needs a firecracker of a bow to go with it! :)

Look what I did!

My silly girl. She was playing on the couch next to me this morning while I checked my email. She started wiggling around and tugging on her shirt and then...pop she pulled her arm out. Eight months old and she can already undress herself - LOL.
She thought she was pretty funny.

Postponed

Well, it's raining and has been for days. The park is going to be a mess!
We will postpone the playgroup for a week.
So
Eastbrough Park
on May 6th
at 10am

Hoping for warm sunshine next week so we can play!

Baby K Easter Pictures

Honestly, these pictures were not taken on Easter day because it was such a rainy dark yucky day. She did wear this dress on Easter, although she also wore a white sweater and white socks with pretty ruffles on them instead of sandals.







It was sunny but very windy when I took these pictures. Here is a slide show of Baby K's Marilyn Monroe photo shoot. :)

Memories

I learned something wonderful this weekend. Well...it's wonderful to me.
I'm not a scrapbook person, they are great, but I don't want to spend my time cutting and glueing and journaling...I still have photos in a box from years ago because I'm too lazy or too busy to put them in a photo ablum.
Anyway, I learned that a gal at church publishes her blog each year into a hard back book! What a great idea, it has pictures - their whole year of activities, family outings, first things her kids have done, etc.
She uses a site called blurb.com
here is a link to the specific page that will give you details on publishing your blog
http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

When you make your blogbook you can add more pictures or delete posts you don't want in your book. Change slide shows to just pictures - or pictures in place of videos you published.

I am going to do this. This is great for people like me who love to blog but don't want to spend the time scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking - I love the result of those things but don't have the desire to put the time into them.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy knowing about this resource as well.
Finally, I promise to post some new pictures of Baby K. I'm really behind in doing that.

Easter Baking

I have spent the past week preparing for Easter Morning Children's Church. We had an egg hunt today, read the Easter Story (about Jesus not the Easter Bunny, of course) from a sweet children's book, decorated bags for the eggs, watched the Veggie Tale Easter Carol, etc. Last week I baked cross sugar cookies and then put each cookie in a clear plastic bag and tied them with a white ribbon and gave them to the children this morning. It was fun.

The other baking I did for Easter was bake Easter Bread. I found this recipe via Foodgawker and I am so glad I tried it. It will now become a family tradition for us! I wondered why it is called "Easter" bread, other than the fact that there is a dyed egg in the middle of it. Easter Bread is an Italian and Greek tradition because Bread means Life. Which we know because of the Bible and it's many references to bread and life. I read that there is an old peasant proverb "He who has bread has life" interesting since Jesus said the same thing when he was referring to Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:48). Imagine what that phrase means to a peasant, how deeply they who have little long for the necessities of life.
I decided that the egg can represent the New Life Jesus offers us - Eternal life with Him! And the Easter bread is sweet - because love is sweet. Maybe that is getting too cheesy for you, but I love the symbolism.
So I made the bread, with Baby K on my hip as I scooped out flour and other ingredients. She likes to "cook" with me. I enjoyed waiting for the dough to rise, growth takes patience. Then you have to punch the dough down, sometimes life bumps you around & can knock you down. Then you separate the dough into 12 small balls (Hey, Jesus had 12 disciples!). Next you roll the balls out into long ropes. Twist two ropes together and bring ends together to make round "nests." Place on a baking sheet and let rise. So you wait, and wait and after being patient again they double in size - again growth and more beautiful than before. Now, brush them with egg wash, sprinkle with brightly colored sprinkles, and nestle an Easter egg in the middle (no need to boil the egg before dying it, the egg will cook w/ the bread!). Bake in the oven for a bit and you will have beautiful Easter Bread. And the best part, aside from eating it....the aroma!!! Our house smelled of the wonderful sweet bread for hours! The bread was finished by 1pm and after returning home from a birthday party at 8pm our home still smelled amazing!
Huh...the aroma of Christ, I hope our family is the aroma of Christ to others. See, more symbolism!

Anyway, I hope to some how type this up more concise and purposeful, like in an activity format, with Bible verses for the different symbols, for our family to pull out and do together each year.

We wrapped each bread up in clear cellophane and tied with ribbon and gave them to neighbors and friends the day before Easter. Next year I would love to attach a card with the verse "I am the Bread of Life." John 6:48 and invite them to Easter Sunday Church with us. What a great way to be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Girl Time...no...Escape Time

I need some girl time. Make that Woman time.
No, what I really want is Escape Time.
I'm not looking for deep conversation. In fact, I would like to turn my brain OFF for a little while. No thinking,"What's for dinner?" or "Let's see I have 'X' amount of time until...baby needs food or nap or diaper change, etc." or "What can I learn from my Bible study today" or "What do I have to offer to this conversation?"

I'm realizing this because my husband is enjoying a weekend with the guys and I'm home caring for our sweet baby (who really has been sweet) and wondering when the last time was I had a really good laugh (that was not related to something my child was doing). Adam called last night to say good night and he and his buddy were cracking up - I'm jealous.

Anyway, I saw a trailer for a Movie coming out May 1st called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, staring Matthew McConaugh*ey and Jennifer Gar*ner. Looks like a total chick flick and a great way to just eat junk food and turn my mind off for 2 hours. I know it's a month away, but seriously, anyone else want to make a date of it? Any other mommies want to check out for 2 hours and eat buttery popcorn with me? I'm totally serious!

Who's in?

While I wait for May 1st, I am calling to make an appt to get a massage next week. I have a gift certificate from Valentine's Day and I'm cashing it in! :)

Tiny Friends

Baby AJ came to play today. We are having lots of fun with her. Everyone is napping now so I thought I would share some pictures from our day.

Half way and frustrated...

I have been cleaning and organizing today. I use to be a very clean neat person...everyone told me this would be hard after having a baby, i didn't believe them. I mean, really, how do you take the neatness out of a neat freak?
I'm frustrated because I realized that I seem to only get things half done these days. For example, Baby K's nursery feels half done - still have two pictures and her name letters to hang on the wall - but they just sit there waiting for me. I finally cleaned the master shower the other day (after like a month) but never got around to cleaning the sinks or the counter top. I vacuumed about 2 weeks ago but never got to the dusting then I dusted a week later but will I ever be in a house that is both vacuumed and dusted on the same day and with bathrooms all shiny with the smell of lemon all at the same time? Will my sock drawer ever be organized again, or my pj drawer?
I started a Beth Moore Bible study this Spring. Our group took a week off for spring break - but I am so behind I am afraid to pick up my book and see how far behind I am...but I want to catch up before Wed or at least get close...see another 1/2 done project around here.
We bought new furniture for upstairs when we finished our basement. I need to accessorize and make the upstairs look "complete" and cozy again, instead it all looks one color and needs some personality - see 1/2 done. grrrr....
So this is my rant. Thanks to a snow day we have been staying in. My husband helped with the vacuumming and I have cleaned the bathroom, done dishes, put laundry away, started more laundry, feed and changed the baby I don't know how many times, and all I need to do is dust. Some day I may get to organize a few things but for now I'll take a clean house.

More new favorites!

Ok, LOVE our new highchair - it's great, it is washable, it takes up little space and we can easily take it to grandma's in a little bag that came with it - perfection.

I happened to actually pay attention to the links on Simple Mom's blog and found this great site for baby food info...LOVE IT!
NurtureBaby
it is a great resource and such a cute blog/website.

Finally, I SO SO SO Love a new bakery find - a friend suggested them to me for some cookies for a baby shower - while I was there I looked at cakes they had out on display - amazing cakes for birthdays, weddings, showers, etc. They make beautiful (and soft & Yummy) cookies and I wanted to know if their cakes taste good or just look amazing so I bought a cupcake (I had to take one for the team, right?)
Anyway, I got a chocolate cupcake with mint creamcheese frosting - AMAZING! I think it will be a little pricey but I really want them to make Baby K's 1st Birthday cake - we'll see.
Check out Cheri's Bakery and know that the pictures on their site don't even do justice to what I saw in their shop today. YUM!