That Can't Be Comfortable

I LOVE my Mondays out of the house, but I am always so excited to see the kids when I get home. Anna was napping so I peeked in on her. How can they fall asleep like this?

Martha Cookie Review Part 2

Today was the day to try the Lemon Tassies. Basically they are little lemon cheesecakes. Tasty? Yes. Time consuming? Um, yes. Don't make them unless you are home alone. The time consuming part was forming the little crusts. The recipe was supposed to make 48 tassies. I had enough filling for 24ish. Oops. So I made the rest of the crust into cookies that I was going to frost. Oh dear. I just remembered that the cookies are still in the oven. I shut the oven off oh about eight hours ago. Totally forget they were in there. Now I'm afraid to look in the oven. I guess they didn't burn or I would've smelled them. Like I said, make these when you are ALONE and can concentrate.



It was a blustery day here, but we managed to bundle up and go for a little walk. Anna's still got a cough and runny nose, I was hoping the fresh air would do her good. After weeks of having Anna wake up every couple hours due to her cold- she slept 8 hours last night! Yay for me!

Flowers and Bugs

Aha! Finally a decent crocus picture. I was going to post one a week ago but it was blurry.


Adam had a little extra time in school today, so he was able to draw this picture he called Bug City. I loved it. Five minutes after he walked through the door he cut all the bugs apart. Bug City isn't even a town now. At least I have this picture of his picture.

Poor Shawn

Adam has been trying to thwart baths for a few weeks now. He is 5. Maybe that is normal kindergarten behavior, but I just always thought he would love to take baths.

Here is part of a conversation from this evening...

Me: "Adam, you are the last one - now get in the tub!"

Adam: "No! I had to take a bath the last time!"

Me: "You don't want to be the stinky kid in class!"

Adam: "Actually Shawn's the stinky kid in my class."

Busy Weekend

We had a fun-filled weekend- family and more family! Saturday my parents came for the afternoon, and on Sunday Casey's family spent the day with us. This is a pic of my dad carrying quite the load- Rachel is way to heavy for this stuff anymore, but grandpa would never tell her that.


Look at her go! Addie is going to be walking soon!


Here's our favorite little dude Liam giving Tommy a pat on the head. Liam is always giving somebody a smooch, he is the sweetest thing ever.


Things are sloooowly returning to normal here... Anna is feeling better even though her nose is still a little scabby and runny, and Casey is plugging along even though he has bloodshot eyes and a cough again.

A Success

Today I made the Iced Hermits from the Martha Stewart cookie book. Excellent. I know my picture looks like a bird flew over them as they came out of the oven, but try to get past that. They were fabulous. I did leave out the chunks of ginger that it called for, but who cares?!?!?! They were so good that the kids even ate them with raisins in them!

Cookies

I just had to say that I checked this out from the library today! Love it! I like how the cookies are in chapters like "soft and chewy" or "crisp and crunchy". I really don't like to be surprised by a cookies consistency, so this takes the mystery out of it. Well, as mysterious as a cookie can be...


Speaking of cookies, do any of you make lebkuchen? My step dad has fond memories of it and my mom rolls her eyes every time he mentions it, so if you have a tried and true recipe, pass it along to me!

Muffins

"Just a minute, Tommy- they're hot!"

He hates to wait.



***Tommy's Favorite Muffins***
(Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins)

3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Combine brown sugar and butter, add rest of wet ingredients.
Add dry ingredients, stir until just moistened. Add choc chips.
Bake 18-25 minutes (closer to 18 in my oven), cool 5 minutes, remove from pan. Makes about 18 regular size muffins.

Poor Poopsie

Anna was down for the count today. When she woke up in the middle of the night she was burning up, I ended up sleeping on the couch with her because she just wanted to be held. And that went on ALL day. It is very hard to get anything done when lugging a 7 month old around. I did manage to make some homemade hamburger buns, but the kids just wanted to eat them as rolls, the sloppy joes were a flop anyway. Why don't they taste as good as my mother-in-laws? Oh well. The jello salad was a hit, so it wasn't all failure. Here's to a better day tomorrow. And maybe a trip to the library. Alone. I think I'm starting to climb the walls here.

Bad Hair Week

This is how Anna woke up this morning. It was very difficult for Amanda to not comment on it... I was so proud of you!!!


This is how we've looked the past week (or two), but the cast of characters is ever changing. The symptoms have ranged from cough and congestion to fever and aching bodies.


Why can't Tommy fall asleep tonight? Maybe it's because he slept for FIVE hours this afternoon!


It's amazing how one smile can totally make your day.

Tommy's Birthday

My Tommy turned 4 on Monday. We celebrated on Sunday, which was a good thing because I got sick again Monday. Anyway, he loved his cake, his pajamas, and his matchbox cars. Happy Birthday Tommy! (Yes, Tracey, that is your platter. I will get it back to you as soon as possible. :)

The Perfect End to a Hectic Day

So I've been feeling a little frazzled the past 4 days. Casey has been sick, so that means I have to work a lot harder around this place. Tonight we had a family movie night at church. Casey was off to work, but the kids really wanted to go, so I took all but Anna- she stayed with Laurie and Dean. The kids were pretty good, but after the movie Tommy peed all over the back of his pants in the bathroom, and he was frantic about that. So I rushed back to Laurie's to grab the diaper bag and Anna and came back and got some clean clothes on him. After pizza and cake at church everyone needed baths when we got home. By that time I was irritated at everyone and wished that all were mute. But after our prayers Adam asked, "So how do I ask Jesus into my heart?" I explained why we do that and he said, "Well, how do I do it? I want to do it!" So he did it to the best of his ability, and I am just so happy that I had to blog about it.

So pray for Adam that he really understands what is going on. We have been having issues with name calling around here, so after he called Tommy a butt crack I explained that Jesus lives inside him now and Jesus would never call someone a name like that. Motherhood is much more difficult than I ever imagined. But as my friend Laura said recently (probably on her blog or someone else's) aren't we glad that it's not all up to us? God does have something to do with it. :)

Spring is Almost Here!

Whoever came up with the idea of yogurt in long flimsy plastic pouches should be shot. Imagine my 2 year old trying to get the remnants out. Disgusting.


How do I know spring is almost here? Well, sightings of Neighbor Kid (red shirt) would be my first clue.


Such a goof ball. At least she's color coordinated, which is more than I can say for most of us around here.

You Write the Caption

My friend Pam plays "You write the caption" on her blog once in a while. I think it is hilarious, and since I am very unoriginal I am going to play it here!!

This is Abby...

Anna

My baby will soon be 7 months old (on the 7th). She is LOVING "real" food. Tonight she tried prunes, and she loved them almost as much as sweet potatoes.
When I came home on my lunch hour today I discovered she is cutting a tooth! It looks like the bottom 2 are going to come in together. I am excited that there are more new babies coming at church so I can live vicariously through those new mommies. :)

Heads up 7-up

Rachel frequently gives me a blast from the past. Tonight she wanted to teach us a new game- Heads up 7-Up. I honestly couldn't remember how to play. And after tonight I still don't...


Casey is a good sport. OK, I made him play.


It was easy to figure out who tapped you- Adam would hit your hand and yell, "DING!" There is no secrecy in this house.


My favorite grin :)