Proud as a Peacock

Okay, okay...I know I shouldn't brag, but our little man is growing up and has taken some big steps in his little life this past month.

1. Eli is fully day trained, and I feel I can say it with confidence as he's been accident free for a full month. He has even stayed dry at school! You go, boy!
2. Eli completed a week of preschool successfully. We got nothing but thumbs ups and good reports about his first week of school. He's very happy and despite being a little younger than his peers, he's hanging in there and keeping up.
   

I cannot express the joy I feel when I look at him and all that he is accomplishing; all the new things he is trying and challenges he is tackling. He's growing up on us, pretty fast...as much as I don't want him to, it is incredibly fun to watch.

Way to go, Eli! Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you!

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On a totally different note, Eli and I have been doing another new book. I decided to do a little less as we were both going back to school and our schedules were different and very full (see my Scatterbrained post.) We decided on We're Going On a Bear Hunt since I ended up getting around to making a felt board for us. All my those bulletin boards I covered in fabric as a sorority girl sure came in handy making this a quick, and pretty simple project.
I bought an inexpensive bulletin board (but you could easily use a sturdy piece of cardboard...we wanted to be able to use it as a bulletin board later after its life as a felt board is over) and 1 yard of felt (you can also use flannel.) Then after cutting the felt down so that there was 1/2 to 1 inch of fabric reaching past the cork, I tucked the felt under the frame using a butter knife. I then tacked each corner with a staple to keep the felt from sliding around. And that's it. Simple, right?

Finally, I downloaded some fun felt patterns for several books and used spray adhesive to glue them to a panel of felt, cut around the patterns, and "Ta-da-dah!" (as Eli would say!) A super cute story set for our book.

Eli has thoroughly enjoyed using the story set on the felt board to retell and recall the events in the order they happen in the story. We both enjoyed the rhythm and pattern of this book. Eli quickly picked up on the repetition, and we even did some hand motions to go along with it. I can remember "going on a bear hunt" around the campfire at summer camp. It brings back fun and happy memories.

I am looking forward to making more story sets. This was a project I was excited about and still am!

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Next random topic....I left my "good camera's" battery charger at the beach last month. Thinking we would be back soon (and were supposed to, but Matt's super busy month at work preempted any quick getaways....), I wasn't worried. Needless to say, the battery went dead, and I had rely on my little Canon Powershot in the meantime. I took significantly less pictures this month due to that and probably some laziness on my part. Feel free to check out the ones I did manage to take.

Link to August's pictures

What's For Dinner?

A recipe to share with you from my friend, Donny P.

Shrimp and Bowtie Pasta

This is a great summer dish to share with a group of family or friends. Fresh veggies, tasty shrimp, all mixed together in a beautiful pasta salad. I made it several times this summer, and it was always gobbled up.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 –2 lbs medium or large Shrimp

Bowtie or Farfalle pasta ( 4 cups cooked )

Capers - small bottle with the juice too... (if you leave this out: add salt & your favorite herb)

Fresh Dill ( a handful for boiling w/ shrimp and a little finely chopped for dressing)

4-5 bay leaves

Lemon Juice +/- 3-4 large lemons

1/8 cup cider vinegar

Olive Oil (to taste…I use about 1/2 cup)

Fresh Cucumber 2 large

Celery (3 stalks FINELY chopped)

1 medium Sweet onion thinly sliced

2 medium Summer Squash 1/8 inch thick cut rounds cut in half (rinse well after chop)

Zest of 1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1- Boil (w/ dill & Bay Leaves) drain and cool Shrimp in Fridge or on ice

2- Boil drain & cool Pasta (salt & pepper & little olive oil after drain)

3- Combine Lemon Zest, lemon juice, oil, vinegar, little chopped dill & whisk together then add capers and stir together.

4- Chop your veggies and chill.

5-Mix it all together (season a little) and serve ... or put in fridge to serve later...

(For some reason, I can never find a bowl big enough to mix it without making a mess all over my counter. The last time I made it, I put it in a GIANT Ziploc bag and shook it up. Great way to store the leftovers too.)

Serves a LOT! We always have leftovers!

You can substitute other herbs...tarragon is another good one.

The flavor gets stronger as it warms, so be careful when it is cold....or eat it fast!

As I mentioned, I have made it several times for family and friends. Most recently, I made it for company and paired it with a Lemon-Lime Mousse for dessert. It turned out to be a fun end-of-summer meal. Hope you have time to try this one as summer comes to a close.
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Back to School

It is official, we are Back To School!

We had a rough time going back to school this week, but probably not for the reasons you would expect. Eli was very excited about going to orientation yesterday. He got up, got dressed, picked his shoes, and made his way to the car. Sometimes these things are not easy for Eli to do...especially after a summer of lazy mornings around the house...but he did super. We had packed our breakfast TO GO and as we hit the road, Eli ate his banana and then asked for his granola bar. After fighting the back-to-school traffic in our neighborhood, we were out on the main road and on our way. From the back seat, I hear a cough and then the words, "I barfied, Mommy." I will spare you the gory & vivid details of what I saw in the rear-view mirror as he continued to be sick. Poor thing. Mommy was crying and trying to find a side road to pull over on. Realizing I didn't have much with me to clean, I decided we were close enough to home to head back. Needless to say, we did not make it in to school for orientation.

The rest of the day, Eli was puny and took a champion nap (4 hours!!! ...and I finally woke him up.) By the evening, he was back to his normal, energy-filled self, and then some. It was as if all of the energy he normally has throughout the day was crammed into a couple hours that evening. Whew!

And since he only got sick once and never ran a fever, we passed the "24 hour with no symptoms" rule and were able to go to our first day of school today.

Eli was very excited! Again, he got up and dressed easily. Ate breakfast at home this time!

And we made it! It was gradual entry day, so I stayed with him for the shortened school day and tomorrow he will officially be on his own. He loves school and has truly grown up there. He feels very comfortable, supported, loved, and safe at school. I know he will do super on his own tomorrow.

Here's to, what? 15 more "First Days of School." WOW!

Scatterbrained

That's how I have been feeling this week, and today is no different. Because I'm feeling so scatterbrained, this is likely to be an all-over-the-place post.

First, the reason I'm scatterbrained....well, today I can chalk it up to running on empty. I didn't get much sleep last night. When Boy has a rough night...Mama has a rough night. He woke up several times complaining of a pain in his foot. I got about 3 hours of sleep before I was too awake to go back to sleep. Thankfully, this morning, he had no recollection of any foot pain and all the pain was magically gone. Too bad I had to lose sleep over it, right?

And can you believe that summer is over? That's right, summer is O V E R as of this week for me as I headed back to work for planning...another reason I'm so scatterbrained. We are slowly transitioning back into a work schedule after a go-with-the-flow kind of summer. Hard to believe the summer that was creeping by and being savored is gone. Just like that. In the blink of an eye. June took its time, and July flew....then there's August....with the thought of heading back to school looming, it is hard to truly enjoy those final days. But we sure tried to make the most of them.

One of the final weekends, we had an impromptu little pool party and BBQ. Eli couldn't wait to get into the pool, and wasted no time climbing in....despite not having his suit on yet.

Such a silly boy!

Can you believe our silly boy is going to be in a preschool class this year? I am so excited that he will be at school with me again this year...only this time, he'll be part of the preschool class. He had a visit from his teacher last week, he and is just so excited about school and having a teacher. I have been trying not to bring to school with me much this week to help him transition to being part of a class starting next week, but he did have to come with me on Monday. It was a delight to watch him give hugs to all the adults he's missed all summer and play on the playground with some older children. It truly is a place Eli feels safe and loved. As we drove away, he said from the backseat, "I miss my school." He's going to love this year!

And onto other random, yet not so silly thoughts....

Eli has been talking more and more about Jesus these days. It is truly a joy to hear your child speak about Jesus and His love for us. Since he was a baby, we have been bringing Eli to Mass with us. We have always felt that it is important to share this experience and the celebration of the Eucharist with him. As he has gotten older, it has become more and more difficult for him to "behave" during Mass. I know, some would argue that it isn't developmentally appropriate for him to participate or be expected to sit, listen, and "behave" at 2 and a 1/2 years old. Overall, we are committed to our decision of having him at Mass with us, and I think he does well. (Note, he does act better when his godfather is saying the Mass. Eli loves finding Fr. Chris on the altar and listening to him talk...for a couple minutes at least!)

One of my tactics to help him prepare for Mass and act appropriately is to talk to him about what is happening. This means we talk about what the Eucharist is, what the prayers mean, why we are doing what we are doing, and what the readings are talking about...in toddler terms, of course. Most of the time, it goes right over his head, I'm sure of it. But I am also sure that a lot is sticking too. I know this because for at least a year, as Eli eats his peas, he offers one to me and says, "Body of Christ," as if offering me Communion. He knows many of the Mass parts and enjoys singing and praying along with the congregation. He also loves to say the blessing before meals and does the sign of the cross. And then of course, he has his bedtime prayers that he can now say on his own.

Eli's most recent fascination has been with the idea the Jesus died for us. He'll pause, mid-bedtime prayers, and say with a quizzical look on his face, "Jesus died for me?" Only now it is more of a statement, as in, "Didn't you know?" This leads me to the fact that we have definitely entered the "WHY?" stage because the first time he asked me, he then followed it with a...

"Why?"

"Because He loves you."

"Why?"

And then, we try our darnedest to explain Jesus' unexplainable AGAPE love for us. Several why's later, we respond, "Ask your godfather!" So, look out, Fr. Chris...be prepared for a barrage of questions about Jesus' love for us.

Lastly, while eating cheese crackers, Eli took a little bite of the triangle, careful to make it into a quadrangle (4-sided figure), and then looked up at me and said, "This is Jesus, Mommy." As I probed deeper trying to understand where that came from and why he would think that the cracker (with 4 sides, mind you...) was Jesus. All I could deduce was that it looked like a piece of a host to him.

There is a lot going on in that head of his. I love getting a sneak peek into his thoughts like this. I know there is so much more to teach him about God's love for us and scripture, but hey...not a bad place to start.

And P.S. ..... he is still no angel in church despite my sincere efforts to help him understand and be a part of the Mass. Constant reminders and proof that he is only 2...just in case we needed some.

The Most AMAZING Cupcakes I Have Ever Had!

OK...I'm not kidding...these cupcakes are truly out-of-this-world good. BUT,

1. you have to like cookie dough,


2. you have to think they will be worth all of the effort, and


3. you have to have a killer sweet tooth to truly enjoy......

COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES!

That's right, you read correctly: Cookie dough and a cupcake combined to create the pinnacle of goodness. After reading in a friend's Facebook status that she was going to make cupcakes with cookie dough, I had to see what she was talking about. I then hunted around on the handy dandy internet and found some great recipes posted. After much reading (and drooling...), I finally decided to go with the recipe posted on Hello Baker! due to the presentation just being so darn CUTE!

photo courtesy of Hello Baker!

Don't they look amazing? Now you know why I couldn't wait, and made them that same weekend. Luckily, I had a dinner to which I could volunteer to bring some.

The first of several steps in this divine cupcake making process, I decided, was to make the cookie dough I would be putting in the middle of my cupcakes. I also used this dough to make the teeny tiny little cookies to add as a garnish to the finished product. I have my favorite cookie recipe that I make all the time now, but I figured I'd try Alton Brown's "Chewy" recipe out. I made the dough the night before as it has to chill and the balls of dough for the cupcake centers has to be completely frozen.

(Recipe from Alton Brown)

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2-1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

**The dough placed in the cupcakes MUST be frozen in order to produce that nice gooey cookie dough center. You DO NOT want the dough to actually bake into a cookie. Also remember to save some of the dough for your mini chocolate chip cookies to be used as decoration at the end!**

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
   
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
   
3. Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

For the dough center: Place dough in the freezer until it is firm enough to be rolled up into nice little balls. Take dough out, roll them into whatever size you desire (mine were probably as large as How To Eat A Cupcake’s) and then place back into freezer until completely frozen.

For the mini cookies: I rolled up tiny balls of cookie dough and watched them closely while baking. It took about 8-10 minutes until they were golden brown. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Here are a couple of pics to get an idea of how small I made my mini cookies:

Next time I make these cupcakes...and trust me, there will be a next time!....I will either use my go-to recipe or just use store bought cookie dough as other recipes called for. I figured that the first time with the recipe, I would go all out. The dough for the cupcake centers was deeelicious, don't get me wrong...but I like the way my cookie recipe tastes a little bit more, so I'd like to try it and see how it does. The reason for going with store bought cookie dough is simply that it is a time saver and easier. There are several steps to this cupcake process, and it might be nice to one less recipe to make.

Ok...on to the next step. After your cookie dough centers are completely frozen, you are ready to make the cupcake batter. Again, I stuck with Hello Baker!'s suggestion and used the Brown Sugar Cupcake recipe. MMMmmmm!

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

(Recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop. Makes about 12 cupcakes)

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds after each.
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
6. Measure out milk and vanilla together.
7. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
8. Add about one third the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until combined.
9. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
10. Fill each liner about half way full and then place the previously frozen balls of cookie dough into the center of each one. This should bring each one to about three quarters of the way full.
    

11. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. (Testing by using a toothpick would be insufficient because of the gooey cookie dough in the center). I kept a close eye on them in the final minutes to be sure they cooked until just the right done-ness.

And this is what they looked like after baking:

Several recipe commenters on the different sites I visited mentioned that their cookie dough centers actually cooked a bit (or all the way.) Mine did not, but the commenters also mentioned that if they did cook a bit, it did not affect the tastiness of the finished product. Good to know, right?

Next, it is time for the cookie dough frosting! Now, you are not supposed to eat raw cookie dough because of the raw eggs in the dough. This hasn't stopped many of us from sampling batter as we bake, but eating a bunch could be a bad idea. To be sure you don't get sick from the cookie dough frosting, you can use the eggless cookie dough recipe below to mix into your frosting.

Cookie Dough Frosting

(Recipe from The Cupcake Review. Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes....supposedly, but I ran out! BOO! Maybe I sampled it a little too much, or maybe I should have used it a bit more sparingly.)

• 1-3/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Eggless cookie dough (recipe below)

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
2. Add milk and continue mixing until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary. With the mixer running, slowly add remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, mix until well combined.
3. At this point you can mix in the eggless cookie dough. Mix in enough cookie dough to suit your taste. Any cookie dough leftover you can gladly eat! There are no eggs in it so it is safe. Yum!

Eggless Cookie Dough

(Recipe from How To Eat A Cupcake)

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add water and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt and stir to combine. Stir in mini chocolate chips (optional).
   
2. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
   

After all of these steps, you are finally ready to completely assemble your tasty little treats. I actually tried piping my frosting for the first time ever...didn't turn out as pretty as a picture, but I was happy with them just the same. What they lacked in professional frosting and appearance, they definitely made up for in taste.

STEPS TO COMPLETE THE CUPCAKES:

1. Make the cookie dough and freeze some in balls for the cupcake centers. Use some of the leftovers for mini cookies (optional).
   
2. Make the cupcakes and place a frozen ball of cookie dough in the center of each one.
3. Make the eggless cookie dough and buttercream frosting.
4. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely and pipe on the frosting.
5. Decorate with mini chips and a mini cookie (optional).

And VOILA!

I had been sampling and nibbling all day long in the process of making these cupcakes. Honestly, my sweet taste buds were on total overload. I had to go to my official taste tester (a.k.a. hubby) to get some feedback. He took one bite and didn't say anything. I was sure hoping he was speechless in a good way, but had to know...were they as good as I had hoped and wished they'd be? And when he could finally speak, this is what he said: "They're stupid!" Stupid good is a good thing. After quickly devouring his half (Eli was tasting the other half), he spun around with wide eyes looking for another one to devour savor, but sadly I had only frosted the one. Being the kind wife that I am, I frosted another for us to share. Though the recipe only made 12, they lasted a few days and were shared with a couple friends. Everyone that tasted them gave the recipe 2 thumbs up, but did comment about how rich and sweet they were. And despite those comments about being super rich and super sweet....everyone finished one.

They are truly a cookie dough lover's delight....and worth all the effort, in my opinion. Try them; you won't be sorry!

Nine

Happy 9th Anniversary to my wonderful and loving husband.

I don't have a scanner and we didn't have a digital camera when we got married,

so this one will have to do...only married for 1 1/2 years here.
We look so little and young! :) I thought I was aging well until I found this picture. WOW!

In honor of our 9 years, here are 9 things I love about my husband:

1. He loves the Lord.

2. He loves me.

3. He loves our boy.

4. He loves his family and mine.

5. He loves the Gators.

6. He loves music.

7. He loves my cooking.

8. He loves lazing on the couch and watching mindless tv with me.

9. He loves coming home to our little family and getting hugs and kisses from both me and the boy.

It was delightfully easy to come up with the list, but surprisingly challenging to narrow it down to only 9....so he (and all of you...) should know that these 9 things are just the tip of the iceberg-of-LOVE I have for my man.

photo courtesy of Michael Johnston

Thanks for being a my best friend, my husband, my baby's daddy, and a servant of our Lord. You are the best thing I could have asked for or expected. I am so glad God had you in mind for me! He always knows just what He's doing.

I LOVE YOU!

How Does OUR Garden Grow?

Look at our garden and how big it has gotten.

The watermelon and tomato plants are thriving. Those watermelon vines are running everywhere and running out of places to go...I had to pull one tendril out of the grass this morning and redirect it up the fence.

And if you look V E R Y carefully, you can see the teeny tiny little tomatoes just starting to pop. These wee fellas are about the size of the tip of my pinky....just to give you the scale here.

Very exciting stuff....my boys have green thumbs!

(On another totally random, non-related, yet still exciting side note....I have discovered a new "tasty treat" that I plan to blog about and share with you all later this week. Get ready to have your taste buds tickled!)