Home Sweet Home

We are home. We got back yesterday evening and we had a great time. Reece loved everything about the beach and I learned a little about myself. I am planning on making a slide show of all our pictures and posting this weekend. Have a good one.

On The Road

We are on the road right now. Matt is driving and listening to random music. Reece is asleep in car seat facing forward for the very first time. And I of course am blogging. Have I mentioned how much I love my phone?
Matt and I saw the new Harry Potter movie last night and it was great. Thank you Shannon for watching Reece for us. Thanks also to the whole Esquivel family for watching our other little one while we are gone.
I will check in later in the week to let everyone know hoe Reece likes the beach. She will either love it or hate it. There is no inbetween for her. She has a mind of her own and knows what she wants.

Reece's New Friend

Reece loves all things Mickey Mouse. She has a stuffed Mickey that she sleeps with that my mom bought her. She also has a plastic Minnie Mouse that she dug out of a bin of toys at the Disney Store. She picked it up and handed it to me. I said, "That is Minnie Mouse" and put it back in the bin. She picked it up again and walked over to her Daddy---- we came home with it. She laughs and dances whenever she hears the theme music from the cartoons. So, when I saw a Minnie Mouse as big as her on sale for 40% off, I bought it. Granted I still payed more than I should have but can you really put a price on a new best friend?

Tasty Tuesday Treats

Rocky Road Bars

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® chocolate fudge or devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting


1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or lightly spray 13x9-inch pan.
2. In large bowl, stir together half of the dry cake mix, the melted butter, water, brown sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix and the nuts. Spread in pan. Bake 20 minutes (25 minutes for dark or nonstick pan); sprinkle with marshmallows.
3. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer (14 to 18 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until marshmallows are puffed and golden. In microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on High 15 seconds. Drizzle over bars. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For easier cutting, use plastic knife dipped in hot water. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered.

My treat this week was that Matt made these on Saturday night. It was his first baking experience and he did a great job.

Book Review - Spoiler Alert

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult and I have to say that it is not at all what I expected. It is definitely a page turner that hooks you from the very beginning and begs you not to put it down. However, that is the only good thing about the book. I have read sad books before but for some reason this one just got to me. Maybe it is because I am a new mom with a little girl, I am not sure but it really bothered me. I was very torn while reading and often related with the mother. What would I do in a situation like that? I pray that I never find out. I had a good cry last night after I finished reading it and went to bed with a very sick feeling in my stomach. It is not just that it obviously has a sad ending---- I think that what got me the most is that the author is a mom herself and I just can not understand how a mother can write a book like that. Part of me is a little mad at her.

On a completely different note--- if you are wondering where the Tuesday Treat is, come back later tonight (hopefully) I hope to post that tonight. I spent too much time last night finishing the book to do anything else. I also hope to make more jam tonight and start packing for our trip. We will see how much I get done. I am not Super Mom after all (I just think I am)

Please Pray

Please pray for my mother-in-law. We found out on Monday that she has cancer in one of her eyes. She went to the doctor at the first sign that something was wrong so it was caught early. I really don't have a ton of details. I know they are doing blood work and other tests now and radiation is most likely the next step. We are going to San Antonio to visit her on Sunday. I hope to get more details then but I think at this point we are waiting on the doctors. Please just say a little pray that this all goes away very very soon.
Have a good weekend.

Happy National Sugar Cookie Day!

That is right today is National Sugar Cookie Day.... you did not even know there was such a thing did you? I didn't either until I stumbled upon it on a July event calendar. What a fun day! So, in honor of this very special day I am going to share a very special recipe with you, my Grandmother's cookies. I would love to say that I am going to go home and bake and decorate cookies with Reece tonight but that is not going to happen. She does love them and will have plenty of time to make cookie memories just like I have. It is not Christmas at my house until the cookie snowmen, complete with their orange sprinkle noses are on that plate for Santa! These cookies were also the favors at my wedding, Reece's birthday party, and will be at my nephew's party in a couple of weeks. So here it is:

Sugar Cookies:

Sift together 4 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Cut in 1 cup shortening or butter. Stir in 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup milk.
Roll out and cut using your favorite cookie cutter. Bake in a greased cookie sheet at400 degrees for 10 -12 minutes.
Once they cool frost them.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Soften 1/4 cup butter and a package of cream cheese. Stir in 4 cups powdered sugar, 1teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Add canned milk a little at a time until you reach spreading consistency.

Have fun! And of course I have to share a picture of Reece with the bunny sugar cookie that the Easter Bunny left in her basket.

Tasty Tuesday Treats

7 up pound cake stars with berries

For the pound cake:
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs (adding one at a time)
3 cups UNSIFTED flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
Slowly add and mix well:
1 - 7oz 7UP

Pour into two greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cake cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes then invert onto a cake platter. Cut into slices length ways ans cut out star shapes using a cookie cutter.(or any shape you wanted)
Make a glaze using milk and powdered sugar.

To serve:
Place a couple of pound cake stars on a plate. Top with assorted berries. I used strawberries and blueberries. Then pour glaze over the berries and cake. Enjoy.

This is the dessert we had for the 4th of July. It looks very patriotic. I would share a picture but once again, I failed to take any 4th of July pictures.

A Little Summer Fun

If you are reading this then you have seen the new blog design. I thought it was time for a little summer fun. It is only temporary as I love my polk a dot background. I am getting excited about taking Reece on her very first family vacation. I hope there will be a million more in her future but I want the first one to be special. She loves the water so I am hoping she will love the ocean.
If you are wondering why I have not posted any 4th of July pictures it is because I did not take a single one. I know that is sad. We had some friends over and everything but I never got my camera. I even had hopes of a new family picture for the blog sidebar. We wore matching Old Navy flag shirts and looked cute. Maybe I will pack them and have my mom take a pictue of us on the beach in them. Anyway I hope everyone had a good 4th and that you enjoy the new design. It is like a little summer vacation when you visit the blog. I wish I could make the trees sway in the breeze and make it smell like salt water!