Must Have!

Black & Decker Paint Stick

I told my husband to blog this but he said he "doesn't blog." Well for those of you who don't know my husband you should know that he doesn't often have high reviews of gadgets. You know, the gadgets that are suppose to make a job easier and are good in thought but fail in design. He's an engineer and is irritated by poor design and poor productivity. Makes sense right.

Well we need to paint the baby room. I love to paint but physically am not able to do it right now. My husband is not a fan of painting but will do it (and does a great job) when it's required or if I beg enough. LOL

He found this product online last night and decided to give it a try.

Husband Review: REALLY LIKES IT! I'd say he'd give it 4.5 stars out of 5

Price reasonable. Functionality great. Time saver. We will not likely paint a room without this ever again. Clean up takes some time but not bad.

Too Cute!

I just love it when food (especially sweets) are aesthetically pleasing.

Because of this picture I saw on foodgawker posted by the blog La Casserole

I now MUST buy valentine peeps and make some hot chocolate - I just HAVE to - how could you not want to make something this cute?

On another note I read a cute idea for a Valentine treat the other day. I can't wait to have a reason for Baby K to give this Valentine.

A mom mixed up some rice crispy treats & rather than pressing them out in a cake pan she took the warm mixture and molded portions in a small funnel and then placed on a pan to cool. This made the treats look like "kisses." When they were cool she wrapped each one in foil and added a little strip of paper to each one that read, "A Kiss from (insert child's name)"

Oh my goodness it's just the cutest idea I've heard in awhile and I can't wait to try it someday.

Pancake Poll

I'm taking an opinion poll...
Which do you and your family enjoy more

Buttermilk Pancakes

or

Sour Cream Pancakes?

I rarely eat pancakes, I'm more of a waffle girl. But my family likes pancakes and I've been making them more. I have a buttermilk recipe that works great but I've found some recipes for Sour Cream based pancakes and want to know if they are better, are they as fluffy?

Thanks!

PS - I may not like to eat pancakes but I sure am loving making my sweet daughter "Jungle Pancakes" I got some molds that make Monkey, Lion and Elephant pancakes and they are pretty dang cute! Not sure Baby K really appreciates the cute factor but she does like to eat them & I always show her the "animal" before we cut it up. Last week the Lion had some blue pox - blueberries will do that to a lion you know. hee hee

Cheesecake day...

Today I taught a friend how to make a cheesecake. I've been learning for years and practicing a lot to get the texture and flavor and yumminess of a cheesecake just right. I'm not perfect. I'm not the Cheesecake Fac*tory by any means but I do like to make them and people seem to enjoy eating them.

So because today I shared with a friend some key tips in making a great cheesecake, I thought I would share a few tips on my blog.

Here are my Top 3 Tips (I have more but I can't share all my secrets now can I?)

#1 - smooth batter is key, the best way to soften cream cheese is to place the packets in the oven while you are preheating it for baking your crust. Also, use eggs that have been at room temp if they are cold they will chill parts of the cream cheese and keep the batter from being smooth
#2 - no matter what recipe I am using I always add 2Tb of flour to the cheesecake batter if the recipe doesn't already call for it.
#3 - bake it in a water bath - worth the extra work (it's not that much extra), it will require a little extra cooking time (at least this has been my experience) but it is SO worth it. I tell you this is KEY to having no cracks in the top of your cheesecake, bakes beautiful & even every time.

Stuck

I think it would be fun to blog something new, however I have no idea what to blog about. We are finally having Christmas with my sister and brother-in-law this weekend so there will be pictures for sure. :)

In the meantime I have just been busy being mommy, cleaning up toys, making meals, etc. I have also been in nesting mode/list making mode.

I am itching to paint the baby room. I started it a little but didn't get far. If you're bored and you are a good clean painter then come on over. I'd love some help.

Picture Comparison

For those of you who wanted to see 3D sono pictures of Baby K from 2008 and compare them to the 3D sono pictures of Baby E here are 3 pictures of
Baby K

Introducing Baby E

Here is a slide show of some 3D pictures of Baby E at 29 weeks.
If you double click on the slide show it should link you to the actual scanned pictures and you can view them larger.

In one picture he is holding his big toe with his hand. He had his tongue out in a few pictures but you may not be able to notice since they are a little small. I just want to scoop him up and kiss him but I think for now I will let him stay safe inside me, where he is also quiet and easy to please. ;)

Baby E: Photo shoot and more

Ok, so I'm going to try & scan/post the 3D sono pictures we got of Baby E today.
I have to say, "MAN! Our kids look like their daddy and that's all there is to it!"
Baby E is definitely a boy if there was any doubt about it, there is no more (note: I will not be posting the proof of this of which I'm sure Baby E will thank me one day!)
Not only does he look like his daddy he also looks very much like his big sister,

Also I would like to say Craig*slist is awesome. I found the double stroller we need by posting a WTB (Want To Buy) ad on there and someone read it, had one in good condition and with extra seat covers and for much less than the sale retail of a new one and after checking it out yesterday we are now the proud crazy owners of a double stroller! WooHoo!

I went shopping this afternoon and found several clothing items marked 75-85% off and bought items for $3.00 or less for our little man to wear. Things from newborn to 12 months and hopefully seasonally appropriate, unless he starts packing on the pounds too fast. ;)

Now we just need to paint the baby room & order a crib. Oh, and change out the pink ribbon and lace on the bassinet for the little guy.

More Christmas Pics

Here are pictures of Baby K enjoying our Christmas celebration at Grandma & Grandpa W's house.
We had a lot of fun.

Oh My Oh My...

If you are not a fan of the blog Cake Wrecks then I'm pretty sure you are missing out.
Today's post was about Baby Shower Cakes and since I am pregnant I just had to share these with you...
Seriously, who comes up with these ideas? Who actually gives these cakes to their friends??? Is the mother-to-be suppose to act like she loves the idea or the "creativity" or is she suppose to laugh? I think it would be difficult to mask my thoughts about receiving a cake like these, and maybe even more difficult to eat a piece.
She has several past posts about baby shower cakes if you want to do a search. Seriously, there is a post from several months ago where someone ordered a C-Section cake! (looks like mommy's belly with incision & baby coming out - WEIRD!!!!)
Ok here is the cake post from today...
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/01/labor-of-love.html

Perspective

Well I really need to post pictures from the rest of our Christmas Celebrations. We had Christmas with my husband's family after New Years. We had fun hanging out with family and Baby K had a BLAST running around with her cousins. I will load the pictures soon. I just keep forgetting to bring the camera downstairs.


Anyway,
I saw this picture on a blog today and I thought it was fitting as an illustration of some thoughts I've had recently. I may ruffle some feathers with this one. Oh well.
I found it sad that the media & those the media interviewed New Year's eve (and the days that followed) all of the responses seemed to be something along the lines of, "Thank God 2009 and this whole last decade are OVER! They were the worst!" "Bring on 2010 - it is going to be amazing! It has to get better than last year, right?"


WHAT?! Agreed, some horrible things happened in the last 10 years. Terrorists, War, Death, Economy tanks, etc. But really the WORST ever? Maybe I feel this way because I'm sitting her in my warm heated home while it is freezing outside (and only getting colder). I wish I had Oprah's cash flow so I could buy out stores and stores of long underwear, blankets, hats, gloves, warm hotel rooms, food, and send people out to warm up the homeless and rescue them from this awful Artic cold. People are on hard times, no jobs, no money, no home. People have loved ones fighting against terror & hate. Agreed these are all horrible things. But do we let them drown out all the good things? Is life really that bad?

We still have freedom(s), we still have people who have money and food and jobs and homes who are sharing with others. Most of us are living on less than before but on the other hand most of us are not hoping against hope we survive living on nothing. Most people in America can find clean water to drink. Food to eat (even if it's not your choice of food, it's food). Most of us have shoes, even if they have holes in them, still they are shoes.
Most important, no one is telling us we can't worship Jesus. No one is stopping us from trusting God to provide for us. Most of us have someone who loves us, who shares their possessions or time or talents with us. I'm confident that as a whole, our 2009, even our past decade, most of us have had it better than the majority of the human race.


So my question is, why are most of us ungrateful for what we did have and only looking on to what we might have in the near future? Why are we so entitled to have a better 2010?
I am looking forward to what good things God has planned for 2010. I love stories and experiences of reconciliation, repentance, hope, love, joy, peace, life, provision, etc. I hope when the bad things come (because they will) that God gives me eyes to see what I do have and that my heart & mind have the strength to believe that's enough.

Fun Easy Treat!

FOUND: Impressive treat that is easy, cute and sweet!

Check out what I found at the Decorated Cookie

She suggests making these for New Years party, I also think how wonderful these would be for a girls birthday party, carnival theme children's party, a princess themed birthday party, a baby shower, a bridal shower, etc. Oh the possibilities! Love it!
I also think what a fun activity to make with your kids! You could even do this with 2 yr olds (if you can keep them from eating themselves into serious hyper activity! LOL).

Directions for glittery marshmallows:
Skewer marshmallows or put on lollipop sticks.
Working with one marshmallow at a time, very quickly dip a marshmallow into the water, remove immediately, blot on a paper towel and immediately sprinkle with the sprinkles to coat. Let dry.

New Floor & Christmas Pics

Here are some before and after pictures of our new kitchen/dinning room floor. I took the "after" pictures before the trim and quarter-round was up so it's not really a true "after" picture but you can see the difference!
Also there is a slide show of Baby K on Christmas morning and a few days after. She LOVES her new chair and her baby dolls. The toy baby stroller is a new toy at GG's house and she sure had fun with that.

Sweet Pics

We finally got around to having 1 yr pictures taken of our sweet girl and some holiday pictures as well. Sadly daddy isn't in any of the pictures because he was called out of town for work. Looking forward to family pictures this spring after Baby E arrives!

ALL TIME FAVORITE COOKIES!!!!

Ok people - I LOVE baked goods. I have some favortie cookies. But I stumbled on a new cookie recipe a couple of weeks ago and it is now (and maybe forever) my

ALL TIME FAVORITE!

So soft, so chewy, so athesticaly pleasing, Yummy, yummy, yummy. I would compare the texture to that of a soft warm brownie, a turtle brownie.
So get your baking groove on and whip up this yummy cookie.

Turtle Thumbprints

Adapted from Better Homes and Garden
Posted on Foodgawker by Elizabeth's Edible Experience (thank you Elizabeth!)

Cookie Ingredients:
1 egg (separated)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (all used for rolling dough in)

Filling Ingredients:
16 chewy caramels, unwrapped (like Werther's)
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping Ingreds:
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening

Directions:
1. Separate egg; place yolk and white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white until needed. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat well. Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
2. In another bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a small saucepan heat and stir caramels, vanilla and whipping cream over low heat until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
4. Slightly beat reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in egg white, then in pecans to coat. Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. If cookie centers puff during baking (which they most likely will), repress with your measuring spoon. Spoon melted caramel mixture into indentations of cookies using a teaspoon.
Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. (If necessary, reheat caramel mixture to keep it spoonable.) 6. In another saucepan heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate mixture over tops of cookies using a fork and a quick back and forth motion as the chocolate drips.

Let stand until chocolate is set. Makes about 30 cookies.

Snap Shots

Here is a little slide show of some cute pics we have been able to take over the last month or two.

(If you think Baby K has the cutest winter hat on, click on the Sugarplum Boutique button on the right side of my blog - you can buy one too, lots of colors/flowers/bows to choose from & you can help orphans.)

Recently the memory in my laptop quit working so we are now a one computer home at least for a while. Honestly, I'm kind of liking it. I spend less time on the computer and more time doing other things. However, the downfall is that I keep forgetting to update our blog and I needed to transfer some pictures so I could share them with you!
Thanks for your patience!
More pictures to come. We had some professional pictures taken of Baby K and we pick them up Wednesday. They are one year old pictures (at 15 months but hey, we got 'em! LOL) and some shots of her in her Christmas dress.

As for our little family, we are doing great. preparing for Christmas festivities with friends and family. Preparing for Baby E who will be here in less than 100 days! crazy! And hoping for a beautiful snow the weather man is promising this week. Praying it is a beautiful snow and not a crazy blizzard.

Giveaway for Wichitans!

Shorty Smalls gift certificates
I have 4 to giveaway.

Here's the scoop:
They are only redeemable at the Shorty Smalls in Wichita.
Each Certificate is a $10 value and can only be redeemed with a min $25 food purchase.
Can only be used Mon - Thurs.
Expire 12/13/10 (so you have a whole year to use them!)

I have the certificates because I was given $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com from Motherhood maternity when I bought some shirts this weekend. Problem - only restaurant anywhere close to us that is offered was Shorty Smalls. We are going to use one of the 5 vertificates I was able to get but it is far from our house and we just won't go that much.

So I am sharing my "good fortune?" with you. :)

How to win:
Leave a comment
first 4 people to leave a comment get a certificate
if less than 4 people leave a comment before Wednesday then I will divide the 4 certificates between those who replied. So it's possible you may get 2 or you may get all 4.

Isn't this exciting? Hee hee

Christmas Traditions & Controversy...

Oh my, Oh my...I have found in the past few days that people are really passionate about how they celebrate the "holidays."
So before I share some thoughts about what our family would like to set in place for tradition, let me just say - You do what is best for your family and we will do what is best for our family - K. :)
I really don't think any of my readers are going to leave heated comments about our way being "wrong" or "magic stealing" but on the off chance that someone finds this through an internet search - I say to them, "Relax! I'm not asking you to celebrate our way."

I once read an article that stuck with me. The author was saying that they couldn't bring themselves to tell their children that Santa (or any other fictional character) was real and also teach their children that Jesus is real and then later tell them the truth that Santa isn't real, but even though you can't physically see Jesus, He is in fact real. I agree with that. Even though I was raised believing both were real, found out the truth and it did not taint my belief in Jesus.
But I'm not sure I can teach my children that lying is wrong and then manipulate them to believe in a Jolly Fat man who drops presents off at our house and then later tell them I was tricking them to believe. I'm not mad or tainted because that's how I was raised but as a parent I cannot bring myself to do this, I just can't.

So after a couple of years of playing around with some ideas our family has decided we would like to celebrate Christmas in the following way. I have ordered two children's books about the story of who St. Nicholas was and how his story has moved on to become "Santa." We want our children to know that St. Nicholas was a good man, a real man, who loved God and Jesus very much and who used his good fortune to bless others around him. We want to teach our children that a fun way to remember what God & St. Nicholas would like us to do is remember the great love of God and to share our blessings with others. Ways we can remember these things are to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Read the Christmas story. Spend time as a family celebrating Advent with an Advent Calendar &/or a Jesse Tree (http://www.eriercd.org/jessetree.htm). I want to bake a birthday cake for Jesus with our kids on Christmas Eve and then eat it on Christmas day. Find ways to give to and bless others with time, talents, or money God has blessed your family with. And finally, we would like to play the "game" Santa with our family. Yes, "Santa" will bring our children gifts. Yes, they will know it is a game. Yes, we will tell them other families play the game by not telling their children it is a game and part of the game is to help their mommies and daddies keep the secret. We will teach our children that St. Nicholas would have wanted children to be kind of heart and to listen and obey God and their parents, so only "good boys and girls" will be given a gift in this game.
My husband and I will pray that our way doesn't ruin the fun of other families who like to keep the secret from their children. I'm sure we may encounter families who are not happy with our decision. I pray our children are able to keep the secret.

When I was searching for books about St. Nicholas I was reading reviews people had shared about the books. This is how I learned people can be very passionate about how Christmas "should" be celebrated. People either LOVED the books or they down right hated them!
One review I read the reader said something along the lines of, "Why are you people stealing the magic of Christmas? Let your kids believe in Santa and when they are older you can transfer the magic of Christmas from the story of Santa to the story of Jesus."
I found this comment SHOCKING! Like just tell them about Santa until their 9 or something and then switch the meaning of Christmas to Jesus later. PUKE! (Here I go - being just as passionate! opps)
I did find one book called The True Story of Santa, I don't know much about it but evidently it tells the story of Santa going to visit Jesus at the manger - WHAT?! One review read, "This is a great book if you want to LIE to your children about the true meaning of Christmas. Someone should tell this author what the definition of "true" is."
I'm telling you this is a subject many are passionate about!

I'm sure over the years our family traditions will grow and we will learn more about how God would draw us to Worship and Celebrate the birth of His Son - the most wonderful Gift of ALL!

If you are interested in the books I found here is a list. I have only seen these online and look forward to reading them and reviewing them when they arrive. I hope they are what I am expecting them to be.

The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving by Dandi Daley Mackall
Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer
The Legend of the Christmas Stocking: An Inspirational Story of a Wish Come True by Rick Osborne

A giveaway for little girls (and big girls)

Want to win a cute bow for your little princess?
Check out www.sugarplumorphans.com to see how you can win. There is also a button for Sugarplum Boutique on the right side roll of my blog.
Kendra makes so many wonderful, beautiful, cute things - you will certainly have a hard time choosing. She can also do custom orders (but hurry quick to place a custom order for the holidays).
If you live in the same town I do then she is right here - if not you can order from her Etsy shop or Ebay - info at www.sugarplumorphans.com

God gave our little princess a lot of natural cuteness - but when we really want to sweeten her up we top her cuteness off with a bow. :)
Most of the bows (and hats) we have were purchased from one place - and the profit from the bow sale goes to help orphans overseas - how much of the profit? ALL of it! Why not buy a bow, love some orphans and top your cute sweet daughter off with more cuteness?

My Cute "Helper"

This cheesy grin was just too cute not to post. Silly girl.

Here are some pics I took this week. We have two little ones who LOVE to be in the kitchen if I am cooking or just opening the fridge or walking through. They want food - or to look at the food - but usually to eat the food if I will pass it out.
Who are these two little ones? Baby K and our dog Justice.
They can be anywhere in the house and KNOW that I am in the kitchen and appear at a moments notice. If I open the fridge, Baby K has to look inside - and I mean she HAS to. She does not like it if you won't give her a peek.
Here are some pictures of what happens if you need to leave the door open to take out more than one item.

It makes her whole day if I will let her climb in and out of the fridge like this. It doesn't happen often but she does get to every now and then if I am pulling several things out to prepare a meal.
It's the simple things.