A Beautiful Addition to a Wonderful Family...

I have had the pleasure of photographing this family for a couple years now.  It is always a lot of fun.

They are all very photogenic which makes my job very easy... 

In January they added a new addition to their family... 

And I was given the opportunity to photograph the little guy as well. 

He is such a good baby... 

Love the little yawns... 

We all had a lot of laughs during this picture.  He decided to go potty on his daddy.  I still laugh when I see this picture... 

Proud big brother and sister... 

Cooking With the Girls...

The other night Brad went to help my uncle sell hogs which left me home alone with two very grumpy little girls.

So I decided to do what I always do when I am having a bad day.  We baked.

B saw these at the grocery store and wanted to make them....

Now I'm not a fan of stuffed food.  I think it is the sinking your teeth into the unknown is what freaks me out, but I gave in and I am glad that I did because it kept them entertained and there was no fighting for a whole 15 minutes.

They started out by placing cupcake liners in the pans...

(I'm not really sure why my counter top cleaner is placed this close to food.  Please pretend like you don't see this.)

Next B poured in the water...

I added a couple eggs and the girls mixed it all up...

Love them....

Fill the cupcake liners half full with mix.  Then top with the filling.

Then add the rest of the mix...

The girls enjoyed watching them rise in the oven...

Now I have to admit, these were not our favorite.  B burnt her tongue because she didn't listen to me when I told her the filling would be hot.

She had to leave a note for Brad that read, "Dad, the filling was too hot."  I guess that was his warning!

Wordless Wednesday:Curlers

Goodies From California...

 Last week I received the goodies that I won from my friend Ellen over at Life on a Real California Dairy Farm.

It was filled with all kinds of food grown in California including butter and cheese... 

Not just any cheese. Cabernet soaked cheese!  Delicious! 

Let me just say that these Nippy Dilly Beans are heaven in a jar... 

I canned some this summer, but these have just the right amount of kick to them!  The jar is almost gone and I am hoping I can find some around here.  I'm crossing my fingers.  If not, it might be worth a trip to California just to get some.

The girls were pretty excited about the milk straws... 

They already have the flavoring in the straws so you just sip away. 

Ellen included chocolate and strawberry.  The girls decided strawberry was their favorite!

Thank you Ellen for sending these goodies.  We have definitely enjoyed them.

Head on over to Ellen's blog and check it out!  She is one great lady!

A Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration....

Early last week B asked me if I remembered that March 2nd was Dr. Seuss' birthday.

My reply was, "Yes.", but in my head I was thinking, "Oh that is Friday.  I had better get my rear in gear and plan some stuff."

I was glad that she remembered from last year.

Her only request was that we didn't make a hat pizza because she did NOT like it.  Although, if I recall correctly, she ate it!

We made hat cookies out of oreos, red gummie life savers and icing...

Someone said they saw this on Pinterest and made them also, but I actually came up with the idea all by myself.  I was pretty proud of my little invention.  For once I was able to think of something on my own without the help of Pinterest! 

Mel didn't really care to join in the fun this year.  She definitely has a mind of her own most days.  If she doesn't want to do it, you can't make her.  So she ate all the life saver gummies that we didn't use.

Okay, maybe not all of them.  I'm not that bad of a parent.;0) 

I printed off some coloring pages from Apples 4 The Teacher... 

Once again, Mel chose not to participate.

Instead she did this... 

I printed Grinch masks from Apples 4 the Teacher also...

B made a hat in school... 

On Wednesday, B decided that she would like a Cat in the Hat cake.

A cake decorater I am NOT so please don't judge!!! 

B thought it was great and that's all that matters!

Brad told me that it was a good thing I didn't rely on my cake decorating skills for our income!

I'll just leave the cake decorating to my cousin Denise! 

After supper we headed to The Burg and saw The Lorax...

It is a great movie for parents and kids with a great lesson.

It was a great day and I love that B looks forward to it every year.

Note-I realize that B is in mismatched PJs.  We had some storms on Friday and, right as she walked off the bus, it started pouring.  She was soaked!  I told her to just put on her PJs and this is what she came up with!  I did make her change before we went to the movies!  We were lucky and didn't have any severe weather, but my thoughts are with the people in the southern part of the state.

Yes I work! I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom!!!!

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The subject of this post has been brewing inside my noggin for quite some time now, but it is finally coming to life after a recent encounter I had at a business last week.

Brad and I were talking with a salesman and the "job subject" was brought up.  The salesman asked if I worked (or something along those lines...I can't remember the exact words).

 I get this question a lot especially from people I haven't seen in a while. 
They typically ask, "Do you work?" and my response is always the same, "No.  I'm a stay-at-home mom."  Most people say, "Oh how lucky."...or something along those lines.

This time it was different.

When I said my usual response, "Nope.  I'm a stay-at-home mom."

His response was, "Wow!  I want your gig!" 
I could immediately see the thought bubbles forming above his head.

I tried to shoot back, as quick as I could with, "Yeah I work!  I'm a stay-at-home mom!", but I was too late!

I knew what he was thinking. 

Man it must be nice to stay home.  I could sleep in.  Sit on the couch and watch TV all day.  Eat whatever I want.

The Lonestar song Mr. Mom popped into my head.  I couldn't upload the video, but maybe you've heard it.
The dad loses his job and the wife goes to work until he finds another job.
He has plans to sleep in but the kids are up at the crack of dawn.
The kids trash the house.
It's been a while since I've heard the song, but you get the gist.
Being a stay-at-home dad is totally not what he expected.




Now I'm not giving all the guys out there a bad wrap because I know there are tons of very understanding men out there.  I happen to be married to one of them.  But this guy just didn't get it.

What I wanted to tell him was that I don't get to sleep in.  I have a daughter in Kindergarten who has to be up in time to eat breakfast, get dressed and make it to the bus on time.  Our other daughter, is a lot like her dad and likes to see the sun come up every morning.

I hardly ever sit down.  I am usually on my feet for most of the day.

When I do find time to sit down, it isn't for long as one of the kids usually need something.

I have about one hour to get all of the "me time" stuff done.  Whether it be checking emails, photography work, blogging, showering. 

I make lunch everyday and when the guys are in the fields, I deliver lunch everyday!

There is always laundry to be done.

Floors need swept and mopped.

Toilets need scrubbed.

Beds need made.

The grass needs mowed.

And there could be vomit in some corner of my house that needs to be cleaned up as we have been battling the flu around here!

Kids need loved on.

The list goes on and on and is never done!

I am definitely not complaining.  I love being a stay-at-home mom and am thankful every single day that I get to do this "gig". 

However, from now on when people ask me if I work I am proudly going to say, "Yeah I work.  I'm a stay-at-home mom!"



Sugar Cream Cake...

The recipe I am sharing with you today is an easy one, but one that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.  I'm sure a lot of you already have this one in your recipe box. 

Sugar Cream Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 C. softened butter

1 box powdered sugar (16 oz or 4 1/2 cups)

1-8 oz. package cream cheese

Beat cake mix, 2 eggs, and butter together.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

Beat sugar, cream cheese and remaining eggs together.

Pour over first layer.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Crazy for Crust