The Yucky Trifle

Maybe Yucky is too strong of a word. It wasn't that it was bad... it just wasn't good. I'm glad I didn't have the feeling of, "Let me spit this out of my mouth..." but I just didn't want more.

I made this Trifle for our annual Thanksgiving dinner at the McCord's house. I was so excited because I found this recipe in my Rachel Ray magazine and Jeff doesn't like pumpkin, so I could never make it just for us at our house... but I decided I could make it for this. I am a huge fan of pumpkin pie, or I have been in the past... so I thought for sure I'd like this. I didn't. I'm not quite sure what I didn't like about it... it DID taste like pumpkin pie, but I don't know. Maybe I didn't do something right. I'm not very good at 'folding' things in gently... so I could have killed the cream and that is what was wrong with it...

It still looked pretty. Not as pretty as the picture, but I like to think that's because I don't have a trifle dish... and I am SO glad I didn't go out and buy one just for this. I'm not sure if I'll try my hand at a trifle again!

Church Buggy

On Sunday, they opened the new Children's building at our church. Too bad Brady's classroom is as far as it could possibly be from our classroom! As we were walking to pick him up on Sunday after Bible Fellowship, we passed all of the buggies that the volunteers take kids on rides with during sunday school. We always see kids we know on them and think they're so funny, but we had never seen Brady on one. We know he's been on one before but we had never gotten to see how funny hew would look.

Well, little did we know that Sunday was going to be our day! We were a little early to pick him up so he was still out on the buggy. Thankfully, Jeff had his phone with him to take some pictures of Brady and Miss Kate McAdams on the buggy!! They're so cute.

Christmas Tree Lighting

On Saturday night, Prestonwood had their 'Christmas Tree Lighting' ceremony. The Children's Choir sings and does some 'choreography' as we Baptists call it, and then they light the Christmas tree. Of course they do it all over again the next night too. Anyway, even though it was super cold outside, we decided to bundle the Bug up and head on out there.

Here are some of our pics from the night. We went with our friends Ryan and Lindsay, but not without some Starbucks first! (It's the only way to do it, right?!) I love the picture of Brady on Jeff's shoulders... he was MESMERIZED with the little kids singing!!!

Brady Meets Miss Wright!

My dear friend from college, Wright, came in town this weekend and got to meet Mr. Brady for the very first time! She flew in on Friday night and we kept the Bug up long enough to play a bit with her, and then Jeff stayed at home while I enjoyed a little girl time and catch up with Wright at Gloria's! It was such a fun surprise for me and we had a wonderful time. Now if we could only get her to move here....

How Did You Get There???

I have a feeling that I'm going to be asking this question a lot more in the coming weeks. Yesterday, I left Brady sitting up in his room playing with some toys while I went to the restroom. I heard him all the while talking and grunting at his toys and I didn't hear a long stretch of silence or any new sounds so I completely expected to come back and see him right where I left him, but no. He was all the way across the room. How did he get there?

He rolls, yes. But I have NEVER seen him roll as if he were trying to get somewhere. It's more like rolling over when he wants to get on his tummy or when he wants to get on his back. It's not a means of mobility for him, or at least it hasn't been.

He does not crawl. Last week, Miss Sydney Atkinson was graciously trying to show Brady how to crawl, and it was the first time that he got up on his knees and not only maintained that position, but he rocked! But since that night, whenever I put his knees up underneath him, he face plants. Occasionally he'll stay for a moment or two until he wants something in front of him and then he tries to 'swim' there, as Jerica puts it. He falls flat on his tummy, lifts his legs and his arms and flails them about as if that's going to thrust him forward!

So the ONLY explanation I came up with is that he pushed himself there. He is very good at pushing himself backward, and he can do it fast. I'm not quite sure he knows what he is doing yet, but he's very good at it. I'm very anxious for the crawling FORWARD but I know that when the moment it comes, I will wish for the stationary days again.

Swinging Away.

On Sunday afternoon, we were trying to kill some time before the Cowboys game so we went on a walk to the Park. Jeff's never been to the Park with us to swing, so he had a great time pushing Brady. When we were leaving Jeff told me he thought that Brady would 'like' it but he had no idea how much! Brady and I try to go whenever we're home in the afternoons, but sometimes the Park is too crowded and I don't like waiting for the swings, and of course we can't do anything else there yet, so we'll just walk a little longer.

Treat #3 - Chocolate Cream Cheese Truffles

These were especially good, and of course have endless possibilities but they required a little trial and error on my part. The first few that I tried, the chocolate wasn't hard enough so they ended up kind of flattening out on me. Then I put the chocolate in the freezer for 30 minutes or so and went back to it and they did much better.

I dipped mine in white chocolate - and I wouldn't recommend it, at least not on the first try. The chocolate in the truffle kind of melted when I 'quickly' dipped it in the white chocolate and then it would get kind of gritty and messy. I think if you dipped it in regular chocolate or even dark chocolate it wouldn't make as much of a difference. The ones that I did in the Cocoa Powder like the recipe calls for are definitely not as good as the ones dipped in the chocolate bark.

Also... one other change I made, is that I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. I've had bad experiences with unsweetened in the past where it turned out kind of bitter, even after adding all the sugar. So I was worried that they may turn out too sweet, but that wasn't the case. I just only used 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar instead of 3 1/2.

Enjoy! (Sorry so many pictures, I got a little carried away!)

Ingredients:

3.5 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces softened cream cheese
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa powder, for rolling
Preparation:

1. Pour the cocoa powder into a shallow pie pan and set aside.

2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and microwave it until melted, stirring after every 45 seconds to prevent overheating. Set the chocolate aside.

3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat the mixture on medium speed for a minute or two, until well-combined.

4. Stop the mixer and add the melted chocolate. Beat until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover it with cling wrap, and refrigerate until the candy is firm enough to scoop, about 20-30 minutes. (I put my in the freezer because the first time it wasn't hard enough).

6. Once the candy is firm but not hard, scoop it into small balls using a teaspoon or candy scoop. Roll the balls in the cocoa powder and place on a plate or into an airtight container. When stored properly in the refrigerator, these truffles will keep for up to a week. For best taste and texture, serve these truffles at room temperature.

Christmas is Coming.

One of my MOST favorite things during the Christmas season is enjoying a holiday Popcorn Tin. I remember all growing up we'd get a popcorn tin while we were decorating the Christmas tree... so of course on Jeff and I's first Christmas together, we enjoyed a Popcorn Tin from Kroger while putting up the tree. We have some silly Christmas traditions that have developed over the 3 Christmases we've spent married, which I'm sure I'll share as they come about, but this one is serious. No popcorn tin? No tree. That's it. Plain and simple.

Sometimes our tin doesn't last us very long so we end up with more than one for the season, and this year that will definitely happen, as Jeff surprised me with one this weekend when I wasn't feeling well. You better believe that on Sunday when my tummy was better, I had no problem digging in during the Cowboys game!!

Tell me one thing, though. Why do they put the butter popcorn in there? My favorite is the cheese, so I wish that it was half cheese and half carmel... I mean, the butter doesn't taste NEAR as good as freshly popped popcorn!!! Does anyone agree?

Poor Georgia

On Saturday somebody, who shall remain nameless, decided to cut Georgia's hair. It was getting a bit long around her face and she had a few matts, so it did need to be trimmed up a bit, but I'd like to call this a butcher job. I have to say that it was with the BEST of intentions What do you think? Do you think I let Brady have scissors at 7 months old? No... but I think that's maybe what it looks like.

The Boys are Back, Baby!

That's all I wanted to say. Go Cowboys!

BLOG UPDATE PART 4: There are no sick days in this job.

I realized this week that there are no sick days in mommyhood. On Tuesday I started feeling really sick to my stomach and was up bright and early Wednesday morning in the bathroom. I don't think it was the stomach flu because I didn't have a fever and didn't feel achy or anything like that. I don't know if it was something that I ate but I felt better on Thursday but once I ate something it came right back to see me! Yesterday was awful again! I never realized how hard it is to take care of a baby when you are not feeling good yourself! Thankfully my hubby was home today and took care of things all day for me! I'm feeling much better now!

Earlier this week while Brady was playing in the jumper, I came in to discover a big wet mess on the ground. I couldn't believe he spit up that much, but it turned out that somehow his diaper had come off and was on one leg! It was funny to see it! I can't even imagine how it got this way! (Although I have noticed him looking down at his diaper and pulling at it).





Today, in the spirit of it being cold outside, we put on the ski hat and mittens Crazy Uncle Cam gave Brady last Christmas before he was even born. I thought they'd be huge on him, but fit pretty good! He looked too cute in them to pass up the opportunity to take pictures!!!

So now that I'm feeling better, we are back up to date in the blogging world. Be sure to read the first three updates!!

Happy Blogging!

BLOG UPDATE PART 3:Treat #2

Last week I made my second treat... and this one is an oldie but a goodie in my house.

It's Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie and It's SUPER simple and easy. I whipped this up in 10 minutes for our friends the McCords last week and Jeff missed it so much that I made another one on Monday for us. It's a recipe I got from my aunt and it's delicious!!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick margarine, softened
1 c. pecans (I used chopped)
1 c. chocolate chips (sometimes I put in more!)
1 pillsbury pie crust

Preheat oven to 325. Mix flour and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and margarine. Mix well. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into pie crust. Bake 45-55 minutes. Yummy!

I'll add the pictures when I get them on my computer!

BLOG UPDATE PART 2: Treat #1

So in preparation for the holidays, I've decided to try to make a new treat every week (if not more than once a week!) until Christmas! I LOVE the way our house smells when there is something baking in the oven and in our old house, our oven was never calibrated right so I could never bake anything. (I mean, it would melt the Stoffer's Lasagna thing in 30 minutes when I set it to 200 degrees!!) So now I LOVE to bake... especially when it comes to chocolate.

A few weeks ago I made some cake balls which took a LOT longer to make than I ever anticipated and they didn't look pretty when they were done... but they were still yummy. I decided that I was going to keep track of these (good and bad) for our first holiday season with the Bug. We want to make this a family tradition and family event! Maybe next year Brady can help decorate cupcakes?

So the treat I made two weeks ago were S'MORE BROWNIES... It's a Paula Deen recipe, but I kind of made my own variation.

Instead of making the brownie part from scratch, I just used a boxed brownie mix. It still tasted GREAT. The foil in the pan is a trick I've tried before with brownies because I never have good luck with brownies whatsoever... but this time I used the Heavy Duty foil. My mom introduced that to me a few weeks ago and I LOVE it. It is my one indulgence at the grocery store right now. It's soooo much better than the cheaper stuff!! Oh, and I just discovered that they have graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle. I just made my own, but it would be so much easier to use the pre-made ones. Oh, and I used small marshmallows instead of big ones just because that's what I had on hand!

This one was YUMMY.

BLOG UPDATE PART 1: Like Father, Like Son

Last Saturday Mimi and Pappa Ron kept Brady overnight for us. Jeff went out with his friends and I was looking forward to a night at home by myself! I hadn't had one since before Brady was born so I was very MUCH looking forward to this. I was looking forward to relaxing, eating a frozen pizza, indulging in some girlie movie and taking a hot bath. Did I do any of those things? No. Ok, I did eat my frozen pizza, but I did it while I was standing in the kitchen making baby food! Goodness, gracious! It's hard to do 'nothing' when you are so used to multitasking all day long for 7 months!

Anyway, I get a phone call around 8:00 from Jeff when he's on his way to Plano Super Bowl from dinner. He gets 'upset' with me for not sitting down and he wants me to put away the baby food and relax! Okay! So I finally sit down with the last piece of my pizza and my movie. Then I get another phone call. Jeff has locked his keys in his car. I had no problem making the 30 minute drive each way out to Plano Super Bowl to drop off his extra key, because I just used it as an excuse to go to Pokey-O's! Yummy!!!

Now, I have to back track here for a second. Ever since Jeff and I got together in high school, we've ALWAYS had trouble with his keys. He would leave them places, he would lock them in his car, he would lose them... it was never really a big deal, but kind of became a joke. So after about a year of dating, I began to keep up with his keys for him (and still do) so it's kind of funny that the one night he's out with the guys, he locks them in his car. (Jeff is WAY more responsible than me in a lot of things, but this just isn't one of them, sorry Honey!)

So, this story makes it a lot more funny to tell you what happened on Sunday.

We were meeting Jeff's parents on Sunday morning before church to pick up Brady so we could check him into the nursery and get his carseat back, etc. but when we pulled into the parking lot, we couldn't find them. Jeff called Ron on his phone and this is the end of the conversation that I heard.

"Hey dad, where are ya'll?"..... "Oh, he is? Is he okay?"..... "They are on their way?"..... "But he's okay?"..... "We'll see you in a sec."

Jeff turns to me immediately, "Okay Becky, don't freak out. I'm kind of freaking out." Again, not a great way to start a conversation.

He then proceeded to tell me that Brady had gotten locked in the car with the car running with the keys in the car. MUCH less worse than I thought... especially since it was a cool morning outside. He told me the fire department was on their way to get him out.

So Brady got to meet his first real firemen. They came to church in the big red firetruck with their sirens on. (You'd think for a situation like this that they could just come in a regular truck or something). Pappa Ron felt horrible but Jeff and I were really able to laugh it off, because it could happen to anyone. I'm surprised it hasn't happened to us yet!! But Brady asked me to write this letter to his Pappa Ron before he went to bed on Sunday night:

Papa Ron,
I just wanted to tell you that I had so much fun with you this weekend. I really like to laugh with you and when you feed me my bottle. I like to ride in the car with you. I really liked meeting the firemen today and seeing the big red fire truck! Please do not feel bad! I really had a fun time, I promise! And my mommy and daddy are laughing about it, they aren't upset at all!! Thank you for taking me for walks and pushing me in the swing! My mommy doesn't push me as high as you do! I am so lucky that I get to play with you every week!! You are the best Papa Ron!
I can't wait to see you on Thursday so we can play outside!!
Love,
Brady

Here are some pictures of Brady with the firemen:

All About Leaves!

We went to the park this morning to take our family picture for the Leach Family Christmas Card. Darlene is actually sending out a Thanksgiving card this year instead of Christmas, so we went a little early, in our fall colors to find a fall backdrop. I won't spoil the surprise with the actual pictures she's thinking about sending out, but I will share these cute pictures we took of Brady playing with the leaves.

Happy Saturday!

7 Month Photo Shoot

Today marks Brady's 7-Month Birthday! We're already on the downhill side of a year! I can't believe it. If you would have told me (like so many people did) that it goes by fast 6 months ago, I would not have believed you. I would have looked at you like you were crazy and responded with... "Are you kidding? We're counting the days until a full night's sleep, and a smile, and play time!"

But now, 5 or so months have gone by with the majority of nights being full of sleep. We've started solid foods. We eat puffs, sweet potatoes, avocados and we're working on the green beans. We play outside. We splash in the bath tub. We watch Sesame Street and we say DaDa. This 'fall' has gone by incredibly fast and this will be the first time I have said this, but this is SUCH a fun age. Every day we have a new sound that we make. Sometimes we think he sounds like that Velocoraptor from Jurassic Park. He laughs at the weirdest things and I think he understands 'no'. I think he knows his name and he recognizes Elmo's voice. We love Veggie Tales Songs and Praise Baby Music. We like Dora and Diego and we like to dance and sing songs on the front porch. We still have no teeth yet, and we have days that I am praying they will break through at any moment. Brady LOVES his daddy and gets all wiggly and giggly when he comes home from work. He LOVES his bed. He's pretty good in the car... and he misses Georgia when she's not in the mood to play.

He follows her (with his eyes and his head) all day long. If he is in his exersaucer and I'm throwing the toy for Georgia, he will make a full 360 to keep his eyes on her when she runs back and forth. He reaches for her, kicks her and pulls her hair and she puts up with all of it... looking at me all the while with the silent words, "Help, Mommy." I love that dog, even though she may not feel it as much she did before B. came.

We do NOT crawl and we do NOT have an interest in crawling, although I make sure to have 'tummy time' every play time just to give him a chance. He doesn't move forward, instead he moves in a 360. Somehow, he manages to kick his legs and move his arms that makes him move in a circle, but not forward. He'll occasionally push himself backward. When he tries to pull his knees up under him, he face plants into the ground. He just can't do both at the same time!! I love to watch him try to figure it out... he gets so frustrated. He's just like his daddy in that way. I love that.

Today I took the Bug to White Rock to take some pictures. It's such a pretty day outside. Cool, but not cold, with a brilliantly clear sky. Brady loved being outside so he didn't mind. I'm trying to learn how to use my camera better and how to edit better, and the pictures I've taken inside just simply aren't as good as the ones you can take outside. So... there are a lot of pictures, but I wanted to post them all for the grandparents.