Out of the Mouths of Babes...

This ornery little boy had me wanting to crawl into a hole and...well, you know the rest. Today was Coop's field trip to Central Dairy for an ice cream treat. Tasty! So, being the overachieving parent that I am, I volunteered to drive and help out. In addition to Cooper, I had one of his classmates AND his teacher. On the way back to school (downtown) I scooted through a yellow light...because it was lunch time and a ZOO. As I scoot through thinking no one will notice, my child exclaims (at the TOP of his lungs), "Son of a B*#@&!" Lovely. So glad I took off work for that one!

Happy Birthday Sadie Girl!

Sadie turned 2 today! Holy cow, how time flies when you're having fun! This weekend we had a brunch for the Princess, complete with yummy breakfast, fresh squeezed juice, cake pops and cupcakes!

I caught her opening gifts before the party. She said, "I finded my prizes!"

She was adorable opening gifts and is really excited about her new (old) desk from Papa Ronnie and MamMaw Bicky.

Thanks to everyone for making her birthday so special!

BRRR...

I'm about ready to pack up and move to Hawaii. Or Mexico. Or Bora Bora.

It has been SO cold here.

And we've had a ridiculous amount of snow.

Here's some pictures of the 10 whole minutes they've been able to play outside.

I love Sadie's camo bibs.

Cameo Cupcakes!

So, since my kitchen for the

last year has looked like this...

I thought it would be fitting to blog about it.

Check it out here...

Cameo Cupcakes

Baking has always been a bit of a hobby

and is now a bit of a business.

A side business.

A YUMMY side business.

Check me out!

The Biggest Cookie...EVER.

Check out this no-bake cookie we had at Great Wolf Lodge.

Who ever thought to make your no-bake cookies this big?

I never have.

But I might start.

I would feel so much better eating one, than the 3 I normally eat!

These were served cold too.

Yummy!

High School

These are my girls from high school.

Still awesome.

Still looking good.

Still the best of friends.

Still the ones I call on.

Still the ones I giggle with and can't wait to chat with.

Still love these girls.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Well, maybe not a few but definitely one of my new FAVORITE things! This cookbook was a Christmas gift from Ryan's Mom and I have read it and re-read it and tried LOTS of the recipes...so fun! My kids love "her" version of Egg-in-A-Hole and I'm in LOVE with the French Breakfast Puffs. Try them out, I swear they will not fail you! I'm taking her advise and freezing the leftovers, I will let you know how that works out!

Sunday is usually a big meal night and this Sunday was no exception...and we did it Pioneer Woman style. As a side note, Cooper will eat ANYTHING out of this cookbook because she's a rancher's wife...and she cooks for COWBOYS. Anyway, Sunday night I made her Perfect Pot Roast, PW's Creamy Mashed Potatoes AND Life by Chocolate Cupcakes!

Oh. My. Goodness. I know, roast? Who gets excited about roast? But really, make this the next time you have company...it was amazing! The mashed potatoes were great too, but we probably couldn't have eaten 1/2 the recipe...so don't make the full batch unless you are feeding your entire neighborhood. The cupcakes made 18 and I could have used 1/2 of the ganache...you can't possibly use the whole recipe unless you are slathering your body in it. Hope you enjoy...we did!

Perfect Pot Roast

3 to 5 pound chuck roast (generously salt on both sides)

2 onions (peel paper and chop in half)

8 carrots (rough chop...don't peel)

2 to 2 1/2 cups beef stock

4 fresh rosemary sprigs

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Heat large pot and at 2 T. olive oil...get really hot.
3. Toss onions in and brown about a minute on both sides...remove.
4. Toss in carrots, brown about a minute on both sides and remove.
5. Get pot hot again and add another T. olive oil.
6. Place meat in and sear on both sides about 1 minute each and remove.
7. Deglaze pot with 1 cup of beef stock and then add meet back in with carrots and onions.
8. Pour in more stock to cover meat halfway.
9. Put it thyme and rosemary.
10. Cover and roast 3 to 5 hours, depending on size of roast.

PW's Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Here's the ingredients...I don't think you can mess up the preparation, but if you need exact recipe let me know!

5 pounds russet or Yukon gold (peeled and boiled)

12 T. Butter

8 oz. Cream Cheese

3/4 C. half-and-half

1/2 teas. seasoned salt

salt and pepper to taste

Wild Child

This is her new thing. Strip down..."Sadie Nake-Ed."

And climb on things.

Very safe and warm...not so much.

This is how Sadie cooks.

With accessories.

This is how Sadie colors.

Sometimes on the paper, but mostly on her hands, face, clothes and walls.

I think she's my "free spirit."

Love it.

Great Wolf Lodge

Dexter the Dinosaur at T-Rex Cafe

Cooper checking out the Sprayer

The BIG Bucket

Sadie getting her splash on!

A couple of weekends ago we decided to head out of town to celebrate Cooper's 5th birthday. We went to Kansas City and started our weekend out at Cooper's favorite store, Cabela's. From there we visited T-Rex Cafe and then it was on to Great Wolf Lodge and their indoor water park. What a fun thing to do...especially when it's 15 degrees outside! All of us had a great time, including NaNa and GaGa! We stayed in a Kiddy Kabin that was complete with a kid's space and bunk beds...very cute! Happy Birthday Cooper Man!