Whitley Ann

This morning while Naylor and Lalon were at school, Whitley Ann and I began tackling the closet rearranging to go along with the room switcheroo.  Whitley Ann was quickly bored with my game and started doing her own thing.  I came back to this room to find she had brought the cat food in to feed her babies and had set them up like this.  She later told me, "Doggie hungry.  Eat Kitty, eat!"

She is just the best.

Best. Neighbors. Ever.

We are so fortunate to live where we do - a great area, surrounded by great folks.  Our house is in the center of the other homes with kids late in elementary school and as a result, we hit the jack pot on hand-me-downs more often than not!  We love playing with all of our little friends and the things they have shared have continued to bring smiles and laughter.  I'm grateful every day for all of our blessings and this street with these neighbors is certainly one of them!

Whitley Ann (wearing a shared princess gown) sitting with Naylor in their new chair - so sweet!

Super silly Naylor sporting his new Superman outfit... he didn't believe me that the blue pants went on first then the red underwear part, so he just skipped the pants altogether.  The red piece was a tiny bit too big, so on his own, he grabbed his suspenders so that he could rock this awesome outfit... 

Some of our friends playing Ring around the Rosies with the girls - when I snapped this, they had all turned to listen to Naylor sing a song.  :)  

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes via Recipe Girl

 I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day and knew I'd be trying it soon.  Do click on the link because the lady tells you exactly what to do (and what not!) - they were really great and everyone ate them up.  The only thing I did differently was that I had some softened butter, so I used that instead of melting butter and I dare say it worked perfectly because I didn't have to keep mixing to reincorporate the butter to the sugar swirl mixture.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes, from Recipe Girl

We made them again when Dimitris was here and he swirled the kids' initial in theirs - they thought that was the bee's knees!

This was my first batch and an example of what can happen if you swirl too close to the edge!
My second batch looked more like they should and tasty!

Double Up

In what may come to be one of my worst decisions ever, I decided to needlessly move the girls to one room.  Why you may ask?  I have no real compelling reason other than boredom and the desire to have space that's my own again...

So, last week we skipped naps and played hard all day.  Late in the afternoon, I began the process of musical furniture and shuffled dressers, toys and beds around and got both beds in Lalon's room.  The girls were pretty excited and Naylor wanted to know if he could bring his bed in there as well - so sweet - and no, I didn't.

They were excited by the new and stayed up for a bit and while I was watching tv, they snuck downstairs.  I took them back up, tucked them in and this time locked the door.  Within a few minutes, it was quiet all around.

Overall, they have done really great, surprisingly so and occasionally I will stagger the lying down depending on who's the most exhausted and will zonk out the quickest.  So far, so good.

While Dimitris was here this weekend, I had he and Brian move the gigantic desk from the 3rd floor to the 2nd, so there's no going back now!

I'll post some follow-up pics of both rooms as they are completed, but that may be a work in progress!

Naylor adding his signature pose of the year.

Getting ready for bed!

Not sleeping!!

all tucked in

Pancake breakfast to celebrate while Naylor slept in.

Whitley Ann having all the Batman and Robin's double up on the castle horses for a quick run.  :) 

Wintry Mix

It hasn't been that cold of a winter here in NC, but over the past month, we've had a few threats of "wintry mix".  We had a 'snow' day last week (here in NC that qualifies as it may or may not snow / sleet / ice - prepare for Armageddon by stocking your home with milk, bread and alcohol), so we did lots of arts and crafts in the morning and then later had a movie day upstairs.  Here's a few pics of the kiddos... needless to say, Lalon had not had her hair done and the air was very dry!

Salted Chocolate Truffles

So Dimitris and I have been attempting to make these for several months now, and this weekend we finally did it!  He's been following this gal, The Londoner, for quite some time and this heavenly recipe was one of the first that drew him to her blog.

As is our rule, we always try the recipe the first time as is written without changing, but we both agreed next time we'll sprinkle just a teensy tiny bit of crispy bacon along with the salt.  You may be thinking, "Blech, that sounds gross!", silly, silly folks - trust us, it will be a taste sensation!

Salted Chocolate Balls, from The Londoner's Blog

for quick reference, here's a great link to convert your measurements: Conversion Chart

Better than Anything Cake

To go with our incredible meal, we made this chocolate caramel poke cake - yummy!  Found this recipe on Pinterest of course and will certainly make it again.


Better than Anything Cake from the Chef in Training's blog (click here to see original and lots of other goodies)

Ingredients: 

• 1 box chocolate cake mix and any ingredients it requires 
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 (16 oz) jar caramel topping 
• 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip, thawed to room temp
• 3-6 Heath candy bars, chopped 

Instructions:

• Bake cake according to directions in a 9 x 13 pan.
• Let cake cool for about 5 mins
• Poke holes in cake with the handle end of a wooden spoon.
• While cake is still warm, slowly pour over sweetened condensed milk over the top, making sure to get in the holes.
• Next drizzle the caramel topping in the same fashion.
• Spread Cool Whip evenly 
• Sprinkle with chopped Heath bar

ENJOY!!

Ours during the making process - this is cake, poked and double drizzled.  We were too busy eating to take an after picture!

an afterthought of a picture...

Butternut Squash soup

Dimitris was here this weekend and you all know what that means... LOTS of cooking and maybe a project or two!  :)  When the guys arrived from VA Friday night I suddenly was not feeling great, a quick stomach bug had knocked me out.  Saturday was better, but slow going and that evening I rallied, but the guys did the lion's share of the cooking.  We tried three new recipes: butternut squash soup, a flank steak roll and a poke cake.  Lots of great things!

First off was the soup; we've had a butternut squash lingering here and finally pulled the plug and used it!  It was delicious and the only thing that would have made it better would have been the crostini we forgot... oops.

Delicious and perfect for the wintry mix weather we had over the weekend.

Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese Crostini - via Giada / Food Network

Ingredients

Soup:

• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 7 to 8 cups)
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crostini:

• 1/2 baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 cup (2 ounces) grated fontina cheese
• Kosher salt

Directions

Soup: In a 8-quart stockpot, melt the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the squash and chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the sage and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat.

Crostini: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sage. Sprinkle the cheese on top and season with salt, to taste. Bake until the cheese has melted and the bread is light golden, about 6 to 8 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cheese crostini.

Cook's Note: The cooked vegetable mixture can also be pureed by ladling, in batches, into a food processor or blender and blended until smooth.

On the blog again...

To say I've been absent is the understatement of the past year... after much friend given grief and hounding, I'm hoping to resume blogging.  And I too have missed the 'scrapbook' I had going for our family.  If I ever find free time, I may back track and hit the highlights of the second half of 2012, but for now, I'm just trying to start it off and maintain in 2013.

Here's to a new year full of adventures!

Oh Naylor...

Tough love around here today... Naylor was crying because the girls broke his "tent" (aka pile of pillows) and I told him to quit crying and work it out with them, they could rebuild. His response, 'I'm not crying, I'm sweating from my eyes'. So creative!

Oh Lalon...

After a MAJOR tantrum from Lalon prior to bedtime because she didn't finish her coloring, we had a discussion on not stomping / screaming / pouting and calmly using our words as to why we are sad. As we agreed and she's in bed giving snuggles the following conversation takes place:

Lalon: (as she snuggles) Mommy, I love your pretty hair (now we all know she's trying to butter me up here, especially if you've seen me today).

Me: Oh thank you Lalon, that's so nice. I really love your hair; it's so beautiful.

Lalon: Yeah, I know. I brush it all day long.

Me: (walks quietly out of room with no response when I've been continuously outsmarted by 3 year old over the past 30 minutes).

I'm truly nervous of what's to come... she's only 3 and there's so much of me in her... that's not necessarily the best thing either!! 

Family Fun

The Hargroves came up to stay the weekend and the weather was so great on Sunday, we spent a lot of time outside.  Of course, the bouncy house came out and the kids were having fun... then suddenly, the dads were having fun, then the kids were crying.  That's because the dads accidentally broke the bounce house by running at full speed to see if they could clear the top and land inside like Olympians.  Needless to say, they have a few more years of practice before making the Olympic trials!  A fun weekend all around - it's always a fun time when we're with family!

QUICK Museum Trip

We didn't allow enough time to go to the Museum of Natural Sciences AT ALL, but we went anyway and saw some fun things and got the kids out of the house.  Brian and I agreed that we'd have to plan better and spend a day there in the near future.  I'm very interested in seeing the Titanic exhibit before it wraps up in the next month or two, so maybe that will get us back soon.  Here are just a few cute pictures from the day.

Took a picture of this Red Drum because it's what Pa's always fishing for when he goes out... Naylor took that as Pa caught THIS fish!  I sent the pic to Pa and he said that was way back before they had rules, now if it's too big, you aren't allowed to bring it in, you have to let it go.