A Super Good Birthday

As I thought about what to do for Nathan’s upcoming 6th birthday, I tried to think of what would make him most happy. I know that he loves his friends, he loves superheroes and he loves Chuck E Cheese. So, we had a superhero party at Chuck E Cheese. This would be his first big birthday party so I wanted to make it special. Nathan helped me pick a fun cake design, I made personalized capes and we invited special friends. And this is what we came up with.

I’m really thankful for my talented friend Trina (whose super power is creating amazing cakes) who came and helped me create this ambitious cake. When the party was over, I asked Nathan what his favorite part of his birthday was and he replied “the cake”. Which makes me happy considering how much time Trina and I spent on it!

Even the little boys had fun, Austin shooting hoops with Daddy and Evan in the arms of Mommy.

Happy Birthday Nathan. You are a delight and joy to all who meet you. You have the biggest heart and are most kind. I am so thankful for you and I love you so much. May God give you many, many more happy birthdays.

Happy Birthday Nathan

A Proud Plug

The fast food industry. I’ve worked in it, we’ve all eaten it, it’s a necessary evil with kids. Lately, it’s been getting a lot of negative press (rightly so) for its injection of unhealthy diets into our meals and their sneaky ad campaigns.

Once in a while, fast food businesses go against the mainstream and do something right.

Even as a kid, I loved Chick-Fil-A. It was always a special treat and something about their food tasted extra good. As an adult, I love it even more. Because I know what a quality business it is. On the Chick-Fil-A Pearland facebook page this is listed as their mission,

"To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

When do you ever see the McDonalds franchise seeking to glorify God? Never. Well we witnessed CFA Pearland practiced what they believed this week. One of their ministry programs is the Cows Care program (how cute is that name). In this generous ministry, CFA delivers a meal to a family who has just had a new baby. THAT’S US! In their kindness and desire to glorify God, we received a delicious family size meal courtesy of our friends at CFA Pearland!

And it was DELICIOUS! So we proudly say, support Chick-Fil-A because they truly care about people and families.

EAT MORE CHIKIN’

2 Months Sure Goes Fast

 

I can’t believe my baby is already 2 months old! It seems like it was just yesterday I was holding him for the first time. The joy of working through labor and finally, finally getting to hold this little life that has been inside of you. He was big, warm and so snuggly, and still is! I keep telling him to stop growing but he isn’t listening to me.

At two months old, Evan is settling into a really good schedule. I can predict a little better what to expect each day. He is sleeping a solid chunk of time at night, usually waking only once to eat. For being my only baby born in the water, he sure hates his baths. It starts out fine and not too soon along the way, he lets me know its time to be done. His favorite sleepy time position is to be cradled in my arms with his special blanket (from Aunt Leilani) and a pacifier. The past month or so, the pacifier didn’t really help him but lately he’s taken to it. Let’s hope it sticks. I love a pacifier baby. He really loves it if the blanket is snuggled up to his face, which makes me nervous that he can’t breath but once he’s asleep, I will move it to the side. We’ve discovered that he naps the best in his infant carrier seat. I can only assume he still likes to be tucked up tight like when he was in my belly.

Even though he’s only 2 months old, he is wearing 6-9 months old clothes! Do you see why I ask him to stop growing? Good thing I saved all those clothes from his brothers. We had plus sizes already on hand. One of my favorite things he has started doing is smiling. He loves the sound of my voice and looks for me when he hears it. When I come close and lock with those big beautiful eyes, he just smiles as if nothing is wrong in the world. It’s really fun.

I love you Evan and I can no longer imagine this family without you. Like your brothers, you are precious to me. God has lavished kindness on me to give me such wonderful sons as you.

If You Give a Girl a Can of Chalkboard Paint…

Lately, I’ve been finding all kinds of great ideas that inspire me on Pinterest. You can find recipes, crafts, fashion advice and more. I love the DIY tutorials that make projects look so easy, even I could do them. So, I bought a can of this…

Chalkboard Paint. And decided to change this $14.99 poster frame (never mind the curious cat)…

into this…

a much needed message center in the kitchen. Now I can keep a weekly dinner menu for my family to see, keep the never ending grocery list and so on. But then, I practically had a whole can of paint left, so I decided to take this plain half bath…

 

and give it a funky graffiti wall…

The moral of the story is, be careful when you buy chalkboard paint, it’s addicting. And you’ll want to find new places to use it. Before you know it, it will be everywhere!

Extreme Goodness

 I recently found this recipe for a dessert that sounded amazing. It’s a combination of two very delectable foods, cookies and s’mores.  I tried it…and amazing it was! It may even become a new family favorite because each of us had more helpings than necessary!

First you make a batch of cookie dough except part of the flour is substituted for graham cracker crumbs, keeping with the s’mores theme. Dividing the dough in half, you spread it on the bottom of a greased pan.

The next step is to add the melted yummy goodness you find in the middle of the s’more…chocolate! The recipe says to lay the chocolate bars side by side but I separated mine and it was more than enough chocolate in the finished product.

Next comes the very naughty part…marshmallow crème, and lots of it!

Spread an even layer over the chocolate and top it all off with the remaining cookie dough. Bake it in the oven and this is what you get…

photo credit:Lovinintheoven.com

Extreme Goodness! After sampling this little beauty, Nathan said he no longer wants a cake for his birthday, he’d like S’mores Cookie Bars please! (I added the please part)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.