The Best Kind of Girl There Is

I always tell my sweet Kacie Beth, "You are the best kind of girl there is!" 
Today she turns 9.
She looks like she's 12 but she is only 9.
She is very tall for her age and in some aspects has grown up quickly but in many others, she is still so innocent and naive.

She still loves her stuffed animals and baby dolls yet has a new interest in zebra print.
How can this be???

When, how, and WHY did she have to get NINE years old?!?

Don't get me wrong, growing older is part of living and I totally get that, but the years just go by entirely too quick.

Kacie Beth has the biggest, most tender, COMPASSIONATE heart of any child I have ever known (and I have known my fair share of children).
She always has.
She is beautiful inside and out.
There is no one kinder, more considerate, and did I say compassionate???
This child rarely, if ever, has an ill word to say about anyone.
Umm....except maybe her little sister.  :)
It would break her heart if she thought she had anything to do with hurting someone's feelings.

And the best part of all...
She already has a genuine personal relationship with God.
What more could any mother ask for?
She asked me the other day if they asked Jesus if he was ready before they put the nails in his hands.
Then she asked me if I thought they gave him anything to numb Him.
I  l o v e  her.

I have always told her that she just tickles my heart.
She does.
Makes it swell inside my chest until I feel like it could just burst!
She has the sweetest smile, cutest little dimple, big 'ol eyes, and even longer eyelashes.
Happy 9th Birthday my sweet Kacie Beth...

YOU ARE THE BEST KIND OF GIRL THERE IS!!!!!!

 ****Just a little disclaimer, I do tell my sweet Megan that she is also the best kind of girl there is.  I am their mother and am allowed to say this.****

Valentine Chex Mix

You will fall in love with this week's recipe.  :)
Seriously...my family ate it faster than I could make it.

We were asked to bring snacks to work this week in honor of the Super Bowl.
I decided this would be great since I have been wanting to make it anyway.
The recipe was for half a batch and my family had the whole thing eaten before I could make the second batch.
I ended up making three batches in all.
It was quick and easy.
And did I mention, delicious?

The peanut butter/white chocolate combination in this mix is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l.

I found the recipe here.

Here is the recipe:

Valentine Chex Mix

4 1/2 cups Rice Chex® cereal

1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup red, white and pink candy-coated chocolate candies

2 tablespoons red or pink jimmies sprinkles (I left these out because I thought I had some and didn't)

 

• Place cereal in medium bowl. In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.
• 2 Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes.
• 3 Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes. 
• 4 In serving bowl, mix both cereal mixtures. Store in airtight container.  

 

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Trust me, this is one tasty little snack.  

 

It didn't last long at all at my house and I was thinking that it might make a nice little Valentine's snack for my girls' teachers.

 

To see more of my recipes due to my New Year's Resolution, check out my recipes label to the right.

 

Linking to:  Chic On A Shoestring

                  Serenity Now 

                  2805

                  Somewhat Simple 

                  Tatertots and Jello 

                  Shabby Nest 

 

Just Whatever...

One of my main reasons for starting this blog was to help me to remember things that happen in our every day, ordinary days.
I can't begin to say how much I just love ordinary days.

A couple weeks ago I had one of the worst.days.ever.
A coworker was having a bad day today and I shared the humor (or lack thereof) of the bad day I had a couple weeks ago.
You know... one of those days when the McDonald's Sweet Tea is so horrible you don't even bother taking it out of your car when you get to work and then when you get to work and go to the bathroom you have to ask another coworker whom you barely know to please give you toilet paper.   
She asks you if you want the toilet paper over or under the stall.
You know...that kind of day.
And that was just the beginning.
I will spare you the rest of the details.

As I told my coworker today, it was a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day".

Have you read that story?  :)  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The story is about a little boy that is having a terrible day.
I love it.
He threatens to move to Australia.
At the end, the little boy says "My Mom says some days are just like that, even in Australia."

I think those terrible days are what keeps me realizing just how wonderful and special my ordinary days really are.

Side note:  Have you seen the Seinfeld episode where Elaine begs for the lady in the next stall to just spare one square of toilet paper?  The lady refuses.  Funniest episode I have ever seen.

Just some random little happenings and quotes that have recently occurred during my "Ordinary Days"...

I walked in Megan's room to find this...
(terrible picture taken with my old camera)

I know...it looks like a mess but nothing makes me happier than when my girls get in "the zone" and start playing hard and using their imaginations.
These are the ingredients good, ordinary days are made of.

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We were getting ready to go on a trip and Megan was dying to start packing.  She asked me, "What's more importaner?  Doing work or helping your baby pack?"  she always says "What's more importaner?"  :)

Meg:  Mom, did you love carrying your suitcase around when you were a little girl?

Me:  No, I didn't have one when I was a little girl.

Meg:  Why? Were suitcases not invented yet?   Thanks Meg.

I tried to wake Kacie up to get ready for school...

Me:  What do you want for breakfast?

Kacie:  16

Me:  16 what?

Kacie :  Pickles.  Whaaaat????  :)

Kacie:  I don't want the puppy to lick my face because it's too close to my nose.

Me:  You don't like the way her breath smells?

Kacie:  No.

Meg:  It's smells like Petunia.... (tuna)  :)

Me:  Why did you use a puppy pad this morning instead of taking Bailey outside to potty?

Tim:  I won't use a pad tomorrow.  Today's Martin Luther King Day.  (And.....)

Tim:  If the worst problem you have with me is that I am a hypochondriac, then is it really that bad?

Me:  But Tim, you are a really BAD hypochondriac.

Tim:  Better than being a really BAD alcoholic isn't it?  (Umm....he has a point)

Kacie informed me that she had been thinking about the similarities and differences between Beauty and the Beast and Tangled.  She decided to make a Venn Diagram on her easel where she "compared and contrasted" the two movies.

I am absolutely positive 20 years from now my whole family will be able to remember hearing Megan shout from the bathroom, NO TOI-LETTTT PAA-PERR!!!!!!  Just about an every day occurrence.

Megan was so proud her of Iphone eraser she bought for $1 at the book fair.

She pretended to download music on it and talk to her friends all evening.

I went into the girls' room to tuck them in at bedtime.

They were face to face talking softly (not arguing)!

Megan had given Kacie her eraser and told Kacie she had another $1 and would buy one for herself the next day.

They were so pleased.

Next thing I knew, they were lying in bed hugging each other, not saying a word.

My heart swelled inside my chest.

So precious.

Pizza Dip

Thursday night's recipe was a hit!
I tried the pizza dip that I found here.

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Pizza Dip

A layered, hot cheesy dip with all of the great pizza flavors including pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, olives and green peppers. (we opted not to use olives or green peppers)

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

This recipe was very quick and easy.  
I had to purchase a few things that I didn't have on hand, but it didn't take much.

I ended up using flat bread and french bread with the dip.
Both breads were drizzled with olive oil and baked in the oven.
The flat bread was by far our favorite with the dip.


Tim and the girls loved the dip.
The girls kept saying, "Mom, you really outdid yourself this time!"  
So funny.
They are trying to be supportive of their Momma's New Year's Resolution to cook more.


This dip was devoured at our house and was completely gone except for maybe one little spoonful!!
I think it would be great to take somewhere if you needed to bring a dip.

Next Thursday night I will be trying a new desert recipe!

Linking to:  Chic on a Shoestring
                  Serenity Now
                  2805
                  Somewhat Simple  
                  Tatertots and Jello
                  33 Shades of Green 

Hot Dog

We've had Bailey for a month now and she has quickly become part of our family.
We are still working on house training and have SO much to learn about having an indoor dog.
I had no idea I would love having a puppy so much.
She can be a lot of work but she also brings a lot of joy and laughter to our home.
Who couldn't use that?

 

She had her first trip to the groomer Saturday and came back smelling like a sugar cookie.

It's a shame it doesn't stay that way!

Santa brought Bailey to the girls.

It was a total surprise and neither of them were expecting a puppy.

Megan wasn't even sure she ever wanted one.  

Every time Kacie asked if there was a good chance we would ever get a puppy, Megan would say something like, "Oh, no!  Are you STILL on the PUPPY thing?!?

To everyone's surprise, she loves Bailey, or Pup Pup as she calls her.

Here is a video I took with my phone of her singing with Bailey a couple days after we got her.

She is in her mismatched P.J.'s.

That's real life at our house.

 

Yes, she is actually singing, "Don't ya wish your puppy was hot like me?"

Don't you just love that accent?  :)

Let's Talk About the Elephant in the Room...

This "elephant in the room" would be our piano.
We are so thankful for a piano that was passed down to us for our girls to practice their piano lessons on.
While we are happy to have it, finding a place for it where it actually fits in has been another story.

When we first moved in our home 3 1/2 years ago we put it in the dining room.
It was okay, but our dining room is not that big so there she sat... like an elephant.

Then we moved it to the living room.
I put it on the back wall (where she looked like a mighty short elephant sitting under the peak of the vaulted ceilings) and we had to move our bookshelf to the garage to make a home for her.

We decided we wanted our bookshelves back in our living room and our sun room / family room was becoming a dumping ground of furniture we weren't sure what to do with so we moved it into there.

My husband's office has been temporarily, indefinitely (does that make sense?) (okay, not to me either...) moved to our home, specifically the sunroom.

Is sunroom one word or two?
My spell check always flags it when I use it as one word but two words look silly to me.
Oh well.
Back to the elephant, err...piano.

So Tim's favorite room in the house is the sun room/sunroom (now that spelling is really gonna bug me).
He decided he wanted the piano out (which caused me to panic) in order to make the room more functional (a post on this is coming soon).

Sooooo.....what to do....what to do???
He suggested the dining room again.
Not again......
I finally got the dining room semi how I wanted it.

The only place that it hadn't been that I could bear rearranging was our foyer.
Cringe.
Can people really put a piano in their foyer?
A foyer as small as mine??
I have no idea.
I guess people can do whatever they please in their foyers...BUT......

I liked our foyer the way it was!
However, I am not willing to part with this piano/elephant so a compromise is in order.
For now, the table has been moved out and the piano has been moved in.

So that's how it is right.this.minute.
And yes...I am playing around with my camera settings so the pictures are c-r-a-z-y.

I know... it is off center among many other things.
So here are my questions....

1.  Is it crazy here?  Does it stick out like a sore thumb/elephant?

2   If it stays, should I scoot it all the way down next to the coat closet for door clearance or should I do everything I can to get it as centered as I can (would keep the door from coming all the way back but shouldn't cause a big problem in every day coming and going.

3.  If it stays, I'm thinking we need to take the plunge and paint it.  Not only is it a huge piece of furniture, but it is lacking in...let's just say...detail.  Here's where I'm torn.  A nice simple, classy, versatile, "let's do our best to blend in color" like Sherwin Williams Dover white or a fun, quirky "make this elephant work for her precious space she is taking up" blue.  Yes, I just said blue.  A blue piano.  Why not?  It's already in the foyer? It's already quirky.  Let me show you what I'm talking about.

James Kroll Fine Woodworking

The Modern Cottage Company

Oh, and one more thing I should probably add.  My husband, who most likely will be doing a big part of the painting and winces every time "blue" comes up, has mildly threatened me... (insert grumpy, deep voice here)... "This is going to take me forever to paint.  It's not something you're going to be able to change easily.  You better paint it something you are going to be happy with for a LO-ONG time".  Poor guy. I think he's been burnt a few times.  :)

So what do you think?

a)  Leave it the foyer.
b)  Find another home for it?
c)  Center it or not?
d)  Paint it?  White?  Blue?  Something entirely different???

Homemade Butterfingers

If you remember, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to try more recipes and become a better cook.
I will be trying a new recipe every Thursday night and I will let you know how it goes!

Last night my recipe was for Homemade Butterfingers.

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Butterfingers
lb. candy corn
16oz jar peanut butter
16oz pkg. chocolate candy coating

Melt candy corn in microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking in 15-second intervals til melted, stirring after each interval. Stir in peanut butter. Spread mixture in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment. Cool completely. Cut into squares. Dip in melted chocolate candy coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.
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I was amazed that this recipe that only included three ingredients could produce something that tasted like a Butterfinger.
I had never heard of melting candy corn before.

I wasn't sure how to find candy corn this time of year.
My mom happened to tell me she had some leftover from Halloween.

I was a little nervous as I heated the candy corn mixture to melt it.
I didn't know where else I was going to find candy corn this time of year if I messed it up.
I was so afraid I was going to burn it.
I really think I didn't melt it enough.
Looking at this picture, I know I didn't melt it long enough.

When I combined the melted candy corn with the peanut butter, it clumped in places and started to set up before I was able to pour it into the pan.

I did, however, lick the bowl.
Of course, I licked the bowl.
I knew it was suppose to be a smoother consistency than what I had but I was still pleasantly surprised at the wonderful taste of the mixture and just how much it really did taste like the inside of a Butterfinger.

The original recipe didn't say how long to let the mixture set up.
I let it set for around an hour and got a little impatient so I put it in the freezer for around 30 minutes.
I cut it into squares (easier said than done since my mixture was extra lumpy).
My squares may have been trapezoids, parallelograms, and other unnamed shapes.

Then I dipped my "shapes" into the melted chocolate.
They were a little scary looking.
And big.
And gobby.

I barely tried a little piece last night but was a little disappointed in the way they turned out so didn't try much.
Tim said they had a good taste and Kacie liked them too but couldn't get past the fact they had candy corn in them.

I took them to work to share with my friends (whom I affectionately call my guinea pigs).
I fully expected them to tell me they were gonna draw the line right there and to toss them into the garbage (because that was my plan if I didn't take them to work).

One of my friends snarled at them and said they looked like cow patties.
Isn't that what friends are for?
She cautiously took a bite and then said something to the effect of, "I think you're on to something."
Slowly (and cautiously) they each tried them and actually liked them.
Maybe they were just really hungry???

They inspired me to try another one of them when I got home.
I still think they have a great taste and that maybe I just didn't melt the mixture long enough.
They are most definitely worth another try.
Tim told me he wanted me to make sure to try them again when I found more candy corn.

They are all gone and I am surprised.
I find myself looking forward to what I'm going to try next week.

My friends at work are already asking what is next!!

Linking to:     Thriving on Thursday

                     Chic on a Shoestring

                     20 Below Thursday

                     Serenity Now
                     Tatortots and Jello
                     The Artsygirl Connection 
                     33 Shades of Green

                    

Monday...

We had such a good day yesterday.
We had the day off due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Kacie wanted to see Beauty and the Beast (for the 536th time) since it was playing at the theater.
Megan could not bear to have to watch it again so she and her daddy went on a date to Cracker Barrel (at her request) and Kacie and I decided to go to the movie.

Kacie and I loved snuggling and watching the movie together.
It's rare when you get to spend quality time with just one of them so we both tried to soak it in and enjoy every single second of it.
As many times as I've seen Beauty and the Beast, I still think they rarely make movies that good anymore.
I think Kacie may really think she is Belle at times!

Megan tried to work out a deal on her Cracker Barrel date.
She tried to convince her daddy to let her buy something (toy) and let her just eat at home to save money to go toward her toy.
Ummm....I don't think that plan worked.
Or maybe it did.
She still had her pancakes and came home with the large checkerboard game.
Sucker.

This was Megan and her daddy before their date.
Tim was in rare form.

 And here is Kacie and I before the movies.
I can't even tell you the silly things he was saying to us as he took the picture.
We were cracking up.

When we got home we decided to tear our sun room apart and do some rearranging.

I'll be posting pictures of my sun room challenge one day next week.

One thing has led to another and we have more projects going now than we intended.

Isn't that the way it goes?

I am really thankful to have a job where I can be with my kids on their days off.

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Speaking of days off, I talked to my class today about Martin Luther King, Jr.since school was not in session yesterday.
We read a story about him.
When telling the story of him to a class full of 3-5 year olds, it was extemely hard to explain the way things were during Martin Luther King's lifetime and to explain the issues he fought for.
It was beyond their little imaginations that people could actually be so mean.
It was very touching to hear their comments about the events that took place.

I am so thankful for heroes that have paved the way for others' freedom!!

~This Little Word of Mine~ Do!!

Layla is having a word of the year party called "This Little Word of Mine".
I've been thinking about what word I want to be intentional about this year and I came up with my word pretty quickly.

It is wonderful to have great intentions and a to do list a mile long, but if none of these thoughts and intentions are put into action, it doesn't do much good.

My word for 2012 is do.

I do not want to sit back and let things happen to me this year and let circumstances determine things for me.

I want to do.

I want to stop thinking about it, and just do it!

In order to be successful at this, I may have to push myself.

I may have to push myself out of my comfort zone.

I may have to, gosh, believe in myself!

I want to stop feeling guilty about things that I should have done and didn't.

I want to just do it.

Stop thinking, wishing, hoping, mulling, wondering, worrying, fearing, dreaming, procrastinating, etc.

Stop overthinking and just do.

Colossians 3:23

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

1 Thess 5:14

"And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

***When I read the notes in the bottom of my Life Application Bible for this verse it said, "Don't loaf around with the idle; warn them.  Don't yell at the timid and weak; encourage and help them.  At times it's difficult to distinguish between idleness and timidity.  Two people may be doing nothing-one out of laziness and the other out of shyness or fear of doing something wrong.  The key to ministry is sensitivity:  sensing the condition of each person and offering the appropriate remedy for each situation.  You can't effectively help until you know the problem.  You can't apply the medicine until you know where the wound is.***

I loved this.  I think I often fall in both categories and I need to be aware of which category I am in during different situations.


2 Timothy 1:7

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."

 

This year it is time to DO.

Chicken and Dumplings

As part of my New Year's Resolutions, I am trying a new recipe every Thursday night.
Yesterday my recipe was for Chicken and Dumplings.
I used a recipe that I had pinned from Southern Hospitality.
This was a recipe that required me to cook a chicken breast and pick the meat off for the chicken and dumplings.
So I discussed the recipe briefly with my husband.

He informed me that he had just purchased a chicken and it was in the frig.
I dreaded it all week.
I finally tackled cooking the chicken the night before.
You can read those gory details here.

The recipe I found called for picking the chicken off the chicken breast and making your own stock using Knorr concentrated chicken stock.
Since I'm not much of a cook, I confess, I am terrible at reading directions.
When my husband told me I had to cook the chicken I immediately became fixated on it and tried to psyche myself up.
Needless to say, when I actually sat down to thoroughly read the recipe I couldn't believe that I could've gotten away with not having to cook the whole chicken!
I could've just cooked a breast and made my own stock.
So I will tell you how I altered the recipe but I will definitely be trying it with the Knorr chicken stock soon.

The first think I we did was to boil the chicken.
We put it in water and boiled it for around an hour, making sure to save the broth that was in it.
We then shredded the chicken meat and left it in the broth.
I placed it in the frig over night because I made it the night before.
The next day I put the broth/chicken on and heated it for about 30 minutes.
I mixed the ingredients to form the dough ball.
I slowly added the water to the flour, making sure not to get it too wet or sticky.

I placed the dough ball on a floured surface and then rolled the dough as thin as I could get it.
I then cut the dough into 3/4 in rectangles by slicing the dough vertically then horizontally.
(my dough had a much better consistency than it looks, Megan was helping me and kept putting the extra flour from the surface on top)

 

At this point, Megan had already starting moving some of the dough pieces around and placing them on a plate.

Then I added the dough into the broth one at a time, making sure to stir frequently so they didn't stick.
I let the mixture simmer on the stove for about 1/2 hour and then it was ready to eat!

My family loved it!!
The broth didn't seem as thick as my Mom's does (maybe I didn't let it sit long enough?) and it almost reminded me of homemade chicken noodle soup.
It must have been pretty good, the four of us finished it off!
Most definitely making again!!

Good 'ol Southern comfort food...it doesn't get much better than this!

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Original Recipe

 Iris’s Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cooked chicken breast (bone in) chopped & shredded
Water (approx. 1/4 cup) Add water a couple of tablespoons at a time until consistency forms a dough ball. Add a bit more water as needed. When dough ball is pliable without being too sticky, time to roll out.
Cook chicken breast in boiling/simmering water until done. Pull from the bone and chop/shred. Set aside
Add 2 Knorr’s chicken concentrate stock to 7 cups of boiling water. Simmer until time for the dumplings.
Flour a flat surface. Press dough ball on surface and begin rolling out with rolling pin. Go from side to side, back and forth until a round circle is formed, pressing down all around to make the edges even and flat. Roll as flat as you can.
Begin cutting strips on one side of the circle (approx. 3/4″ wide) all the way across the dough circle. Then, cut strips the opposite direction until you have cut through the complete circle and have little rectangles of dough strips ready to cook.
As chicken stock is simmering, bring to a boil and begin dropping in the dough strips, one at a time until they are all in the pot. Stir them around with a spoon making sure they are not sticking together. Add a bit of the flour that is on your surface, this will thicken up the broth. Bring to a slow boil, then turn down to simmer for around 10-15 minutes. Then add the cooked chicken, simmer another 10 minutes until stock has begun to thicken.
Serve hot and eat! Enjoy!

Linking to:  Thriving on Thursdays

                  33 Shades of Green  

                  Chic on a Shoestring

                  20 Below Thursday  
                  Serenity Now
                  The Tablescaper