My all time favorite scrambled eggs!

I'm not sure if it's because it the holiday season, or if it's because of what I am going through right now health wise, heck, it might be both, but I've been thinking about my Grandma Murphy a lot lately. I think most of my family has. So many things are happening to us right now, good and bad, that we can't help but think of her and the calm that she would bring to everything. A few weekends ago, during one of my Grandma moments, I whipped up these scrambled eggs for us. They aren't anything special and I'm sure you are wondering why in the heck I'm posting a recipe for scrambled eggs but I am. Mainly to remember, to remember all of the good times our family has shared eating these eggs. They remind me of Grandma and all of the early mornings I spent with my Uncle Dan and Aunt Robin, sitting in their camper on one of our family camping trips eating these eggs along with a piece of peanut butter toast drinking a big ol' glass of orange juice, because apparently everyone needs a healthy dose of vitamin D, or is it C. I still can't get my peanut butter toast to taste like my Aunt Robins...she must have a secret butter to peanut butter ratio that I am not aware of and sadly, my days of drinking a big ol' glass of orange juice are long gone thanks to my disease but these eggs...there is no screwing them up. And even if it was for a few short minutes, I was a little girl again, huddled around the campers kitchen table, surrounded by my favorite people at one of our favorite places.

Murphy's Scrambled Eggs

~Source: The Murphy's

Ingredients:

10 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

6 slices of bacon, finely diced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.) In a large skillet, fry finely diced bacon. Once browned remove from pan and allow to cool on a paper towel lined dish, dispose of bacon grease.

2.) In the same skillet add a tablespoon of butter or so to help prevent eggs from sticking. Add your scrambled egg mixture, which includes salt, pepper, and your milk. Add cooked bacon to the egg mixture half way through the cooking process. Personally I like my eggs well done...no slimy eggs for this gal.

3.) Serve alongside a piece of two of peanut butter toast, and your big ol' glass of orange juice and you have yourself a pretty good breakfast.

Baked Ziti

Man do I have a recipe for you today. Recently I have been trying out quite a few new recipes and let me tell, none have knocked my socks off until last night. That is saying a lot coming from someone who has zero appetite the majority of the time because of my Crohns disease and the ugly flare that I am battling. This recipe though, oh my goodness, it was delicious. So delicious that my Mom had two helpings as did my dear husband. Daniel started off with his regular portion size and for round two he came back to the table with a heap of ziti on his plate. This will definitely go into rotation at our house, especially since it was so easy to put together. Seeing as by most evenings I've hit my maximum energy level and have started going downhill, easy is always best for me. It's always a plus that easy also equals totally awesome! Serve alongside some hot from the oven garlic bread, a fresh green salad, and a tall glass of wine and you my friends, would have a lovely date night dinner.

Baked Ziti

~Source: allrecipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-ziti-iv/detail.aspx

Ingredients:

1 lb. dry ziti pasta

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork sausage

1 1/2 jars (26oz) spaghetti sauce

salt to taste

1 (6oz.) package of provolone cheese, sliced

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1 (6oz.) package mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

2.) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.

3.) Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and parmesan cheese.

5.) Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.

* Since we all know I can't follow directions well enough to save my life, here we go with how I made this dish. First of all, I cooked the onion and garlic along with the meat mixture also meaning I didn't need the olive oil the recipe called for. I omitted the rosemary for the simple fact of I just don't like the stuff. Also, I did two layers of the cheeses, sour cream, and cottage cheese. I just split all of it in half. Lastly, just in case you wondered, I used probably about 3/4 of a 45 oz. jar of Prego Meat Sauce.

I can't stress to you guys enough that you must try this dish. As I sit here typing up this post, at almost midnight thank you...why is this Mother not in bed, I am salivating at the thought of having this for lunch tomorrow. Yes folks, it is that good!

Holiday Crunch

I can't believe I am actually sharing this recipe with the blogging world. My Mom made this dish for us growing up so often that there came a point in time that I hated it. At the mere mention of it I would cringe and then would quickly start begging and pleading that she make something else instead.

There is nothing special about this dish. There are no fancy ingredients or cooking techniques and why my family loves it so much is beyond me. They love it so much that there were many Christmas Eve dinners where my Mom wanted to serve it as the main course. It was on those Christmas Eve's where because of my hatred for it, that I offered to make the entire Christmas Eve dinner just so that we wouldn't have to endure Holiday Crunch.

I have no clue where my Mom got the recipe, nor do I know why it's called Holiday Crunch. I get where the crunch comes from but not the holiday part. What I also don't get is why after all of these years my hatred for it has turned into love. My love for it has grown so much that for the first time ever, I actually made it for dinner the other night. Never in a million years did I see myself eating this stuff again, let alone make it and serve it to my little family. I just know my Mom was secretly laughing inside the night I made this for us. All of those years that I did nothing but moan and groan when she would make it and here I am craving the stuff. It's horrible I tell you, absolutely horrible. Mom-1, Katie-0...lol.

Holiday Crunch

~Source: My Mother

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese, add an extra half a bag if you like it cheesy.

1 lg. container French's Fried Onions

Directions:

1.) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked elbow macaroni, browned ground beef, cream of mushroom soups, and shredded cheese.

3.) Transfer to a greased, deep baking dish. Top with fried onions.

4.) Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and onions are lightly browned.

I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine.

*I apologize for the way my posts are appearing. I promise that I put in the proper spaces and what have you but for whatever reason when I publish the post using our lap top, everything scrunches together. When I do it on our desktop everything looks fine. Unfortunately, my Mom has gotten virus' on both of our desk top computers...as in ours won't even turn on. This means I'm stuck using the lap top until the desktops are repaired.

Easy Turkey Tetrazzini

I actually have a few recipes to share with everyone that I've been holding onto for a few weeks now. I just haven't had the motivation required to blog. Some of you may already be aware of my health problems and for those of you who aren't, if you jump over to my baby blog you can find out whats going on with me right now. I am having some serious Crohns issues that is going to require surgery. I'm not looking forward to it is all I'll say about that.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I shared this recipe this week because its a great way to use up leftover turkey for your holiday lunches/dinners. This is a dish that Daniel's Mom made for him growing up and he's asked me before to make it for him, I never got around to it but I finally decided to give it a spin a few weeks ago. I bought a frozen turkey breast and roasted it up with mashed potatoes for dinner one night and for the second night I used the leftover turkey and made this meal. We all really enjoyed it, even with the mushrooms. I used fresh mushrooms by the way!

(Sorry for the less than stellar picture...I took it with my phone.)

Easy Turkey Tetrazzini~

Compliments of: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package cooked egg noodles

2 tbsp. butter

1 (6oz.) can sliced mushrooms, I used fresh sliced mushrooms and sauteed them in the butter.

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cups chopped cooked turkey

1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

2.) Melt butter in a large heavy skillet. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in turkey, condensed soup, and sour cream. Place cooked noodles in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

3.) Bake in a preheated oven for 20 t0 25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling.

*I mixed the noodles and the sauce together instead of layering everything.

I hope you enjoy...I know we did!!

Scooter's Spaghetti

Anyone notice a change with the blog? Not only have I given it a minor face lift I've made the decision to combine Babies make Three and Four together with Katie's Korner. I figured with as little as I blog between the two there was really no need to keep them separate. Now the goal is to get really creative and come up with a new blog title...lol. Suggestions???


Anyway, can you believe I have another recipe to share with you? I originally saw this recipe over at Cassie Craves where she had included it on one of her weekly menus. Go figure right? Cassie Craves and Kaitlin in the Kitchen are becoming what allrecipes.com used to be to me...lol.


I thought it looked really good then, but was hesitant to give it a try mainly because I figured everyone would freak when I served them spaghetti with the fried onions on top. Well after then seeing it on my new favorite website Pinterest, I figured why not. So...I gave it a try, used a little more spaghetti then the recipe called for, how Katie like right? It's was a little dry for my liking BUT it was because I used to much spaghetti. I will say though, as leftovers, it was delicious.

This is a recipe that will definitely be made again, this time either using the correct amount of spaghetti or adding extra sauce but either way, it's gonna be made again, and don't fret about the fried onions...they were totally awesome on top!!


Scooter's Spaghetti~
Compliments of: Salad in a jar

Ingredients:
8 ounces cooked spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 oz.)
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped green peppers (I used red peppers)
1/3 cup chopped onion
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
French Fried Onions (small can)

Directions:
1.) Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
2.) Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3.) Combine onions, peppers, and butter in a small glass bowl. Cover and microwave four minutes on high until soft.
4.) Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well.
5.) Using a 10x6 dish, assemble in the following order: thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish, spaghetti, cream cheese/vegetable mixture, remaining spaghetti sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Add the fried onions to the top during the last five minutes of cooking.
6.) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remember, top with the fried onions and then bake for another five minutes. That's thirty minutes of baking total...just helping you all out...lol.

The author of Salad in a jar says this is a great dish to make ahead and refrigerate or even freeze. She does recommend doing so without adding the fried onions though, just add those during the baking process.



Looks yummy right? Her picture is even better so please scoot on over to her site to check it out!

Copycat Chili's Salsa

Boy do I have a recipe for you...

I don't know about everyone else but when we go to our local Mexican restaurant the thing I enjoy most is the free chips and salsa. I usually get so full on that stuff that I very rarely finish my dinner. Normally in this house I make my pico de galla but when I saw this recipe over at Kaitlin in the Kitchen I knew I had to give it a try because it looked so similar to the stuff you get at the restaurant. I doubled all of my ingredients and used an entire bunch of cilantro because, well, we love cilantro in this house. I'm so glad I made a big batch because Daniel took some into work and ended up sharing with a few people. They loved it so much that I sent the rest in with him the next day and one lady went as far as drinking it out of a cup because she didn't have chips.

While I don't think it's good enough to drink out of a glass, it was pretty darn good. It has a bit of a kick too it which I could do without because I'm a wuss like that, but the kick didn't slow me down one bit...the stuff is addicting. Even my Mom was eating it and she hates spicy stuff even more so than I do...lol.

Copycat Chili's Salsa~

Compliments of: Kaitlin in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

1- 1o oz. can tomatoes and green chilies

1- 14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes, use juice as well

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1.) In a blender add all of your ingredients and mix until everything is chopped up and fine.

2.) Put in an air tight container and allow to sit for 24 hours.

Once again blogger isn't allowing me to link up to Kaitlin's blog. If you go to the bottom of my blog you will find a link to her blog where you can find the original post. I'm honestly starting to consider moving away from blogger and combining both of my blogs into one. I wonder how much something like that would cost me? LOL

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Since I'm still feeling pretty good I decided to whip up a batch of no bake cookies last night for Daniel, Addie, and my Mom. I'll admit I had one to make sure they were edible for my family but other than that I'm gonna have to stay away from them. I'm not allowed to have a lot of fiber so the oats aren't very friendly to me right now.

I attempted to make no bake cookies once before when I was in high school or something and if I remember correctly they didn't turn out. Tonight's turned out pretty good even though all the times I watched my step-mom make them I don't recall her putting peanut butter in them. Maybe that's why the first batch I ever made failed to turn out correctly?

Anyway, I grabbed the recipe off line and now I'm sharing it with you!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies~

Source: blisstree.com

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp. vanilla

3 cups oats

Directions:

1.) In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk. Allow to boil for one minute. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats.

2.) Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper until cooled and hardened.

*I was trying to get dinner ready and keep a certain toddler out of trouble while making these so I didn't have time to make actual cookies. I lightly sprayed a baking sheet and spread the mixture out evenly in the pan. After it cooled I cut them into bars.

Seriously, what is going on with blogger? One minute I can't link up to anything and the next I can. I'm also having problems with spacing...am I the only one having this problem or what?

Salsa Ranch Burgers

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on the blog since July. Can you tell I've been sick? I just completed my second four day hospital stay for a perforated colon and between it and my Crohns disease and other complications, I have been under the weather for a few months now. There for awhile I was living on sherbet, popsicles, and pudding and have managed to lose close to thirty pounds. It's weight I've needed to lose but its most definitely not the way in which to do it.

Anyway, while I have been cooking it's not been things that are blog worthy. Since I hadn't been eating the stuff, I've been making quick and easy meals to satisfy Daniel and Addie.

Today was a good health day for me so we did a nice big grocery trip and I decided on making these burgers for dinner. It's yet another recipe that I've snagged from Cassie Craves and I must say it became a favorite. The one thing I hate about making new recipes is that I can't always trust that Daniel will enjoy it, which is the majority of the time. This recipe was another story though. He took one bite, looked up, and said "this is pretty good". We went out for dinner Friday night for my 28th birthday and he said tonight's burger was better than the burger he ordered at the restaurant. I think that makes this burger a winner and one that will show up on the menu again!!

Salsa Ranch Burgers~

Compliments of: Cassie Craves via Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chuck

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup shredded colby-jack cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper (I used regular black pepper out of the container)

Shredded cheese, salsa, and ranch dressing

Directions:

1.) In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chuck, 1/2 cup salsa, shredded cheese, cumin, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Mix by hand and form into four patties.

2.) Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray it with cooking spray. Carefully lay the patties in the skillet and cook over medium heat for several minutes on each side, until done.

3.) Combine equal parts salsa and ranch dressing. Place burgers on bun and top with shredded cheese and the salsa/ranch dressing sauce.

Does it not look amazing? Daniel added a slice of onion to his but I'm trying really hard to take it easy with stuff. I figured adding an onion to my burger would be overkill for my digestive system right now. Once again blogger isn't allowing me to link up with Cassie's but you can find her blog at the bottom of mine and then look under burgers and you can locate the recipe there.

Free Fallin'

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I've had a rough couple of months with my Crohns disease which unfortunately involved a four day hospital stay about two weeks ago. I don't even want to know what that bills going to look like. I was diagnosed with a perforated colon which as serious as it sounds was the least of their worries. Because of the perforation, and two back to back pregnancies, my hemoglobin level was a six. The normal range for women is twelve to fifteen. Needless to say I required three blood transfusions and because I have such small veins they had to insert a picc line in my upper arm leading into my heart in order to even get the transfusions accomplished. I went to the ER Thursday morning and they inserted the picc line Friday morning. I lost count of how many times they did/attempted blood draws on my arms during that period of time. It finally got to the point where as soon as a tech would come in to do a blood draw I would just start crying. I swear getting blood out of me is like trying to milk a cow using your feet...it's near impossible. I'll admit I did have a mini, OK, major, panic attack when they came in to do the picc line. No one had told me why they were doing it so I automatically assume they are prepping me for surgery and of course because it's early in the morning, none of my family was with me. Thankfully my Aunt works at the hospital so when I sent my Mom, Dad, husband, and sister the "somebody get here now" text, my Mom called her and sent her my way to figure out what was going on and to calm me down. I don't think it helped that the only other times that I had experienced picc lines involved my Grandma's who were on their death beds. Both of their picc lines were in their chests and it involved stitches and everything. Now had I have known from the get go that this was only involving my upper arm, didn't require sutures, and involved three shots of a numbing agent I sure wouldn't have freaked out like I did. It was seriously a piece of cake, even though having it was uncomfortable at times.

Anyway, not only did I require the blood transfusions, but I had/still have a massive infection raging in my body. That tends to happen when you have crap, literally, leaking into your body. As of today, I have four more days of anti-biotics to take and after yet another blood draw to determine whether the infection is gone or not, I will finally begin the process of treating the severe inflammation I have in my digestive system. Unfortunately, all of the drugs they use to treat my Crohns disease, specifically the inflammation, lower my bodies immune system. This means that we haven't been able to treat the disease just yet so I'm still suffering quite a bit. I am currently on several different prescriptions. I am on two maintenance drugs for my Crohns which do not interfere with my immune system, I am on Tylenol 3's for the pain, anti-nausea meds because I'm nausea's all of the time, a new med for GERD, and my anti-biotic. Two weeks from Monday we will begin the new med for my Crohns disease as the maintenance meds I have been on have obviously not been working. This new med is actually an injection that I will administer once a week in either my thighs or stomach and when I say "I", I actually mean Daniel or my Mom because let's face it, my fear of needles and IV's has now gotten so bad that I honestly don't think I could do it. It's bad enough they have to do it because from everyone who I've talked to who have taken them, they hurt like a bitch. I just keep telling myself a few minutes of pain afterwards will be worth finally going into remission with this disease.

Now that you know my reasoning for not blogging here's a quick update on the girls.

Addison is now officially eighteen months old and getting smarter every single day. These past few weeks her vocabulary has really picked up. We've noticed the past few days that she's talking in what appears to be full sentences. We can't understand a single word, but they sound like complete senteces...lol. She currently has four molars coming in and to say it's been a nightmare would be an understatement. She loves animals, especially the dogs and horses, and loves to be outside. Her favorite foods involve pretty much anything with pasta, goldfish crackers, cheerios and milk, cheese of any kind, scrambled eggs and sausage, and just the other week I made her a deconstructed soft taco and she loved it. Beverages of any kind are not safe in her presence and because of this we go through a lot of cups during the day. It doesn't matter if she has the same drink in her sippy cup or not, she would rather drink from our cups.

Cadence is now six months old and she is currently sporting six to twelve month clothing. She's wearing Addison's twelve month pajamas and I can see in a few months them being too small. She's all over the place but still not crawling. She rolls everywhere and loves being in the middle of all the toys with her sister. She contines to be a happy little girl although she's not shy when it comes to letting us know she's wearing a dirty diaper, is hungry, or needs a nap. She hates being left alone, but unfortnately I can't take both girls with me when I go to use the bathroom. This means she's stuck in her excersaucer for a few minutes and she cries hysterically to let me know it's not ok. We're still working on getting her to sleep through the night but I'm starting to think I have another Addison on my hands. They probably won't sleep through the night until their 18 and in college.

And because no post in complete without a picture...here you go!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Man, oh man, do I have a recipe for you tonight. I made this casserole for dinner tonight and it was definitely a winner. Both Daniel and myself had two helpings and even my Mom had a piece. You know it's good if my Mom eats it. She pickier than most toddlers when it comes to eating. This was quick and very simple to pull together which is what I like. I think next time I might add some onion and maybe even a small can of the tomato with green chile's. Even without those additions it was a winner and it will be made again!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Source: Cassie Craves

http://cassiecraves.blogspot.com/2011/02/chicken-enchilada-casserole.html

(Sorry, blogger wouldn't allow me to do the link up properly)

Ingredients:

3 C. cooked & shredded chicken

1 packet taco seasoning

2 C. salsa verde

9 small flour tortillas (I used the ten inch tortillas and ended up using nine for each layer.)

1 15.5 oz. can of refried beans, warmed

8 oz. sour cream

3 C. shredded colby jack cheese

Directions:

1.) Heat oven to 35o. Mix together shredded chicken, taco seasoning, 1/2 cup water, and salsa verde in a skillet. Simmer for ten minutes.

2.) In a 9x13 baking pan spray with non-stick cooking spray. Layer bottom with three tortillas, or in my case, six tortillas. Top with half of cooked chicken mixture. Cover with another three or six tortillas, depending on size. Combine beans and sour cream and spread on layer of tortillas.

3.) Sprinkle half of the cheese over top the bean and sour cream mixture. Top with remaining tortillas. Top with remaining chicken mixture and then remaining amount of cheese. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until bubbly.

Enjoy, I know we did!!!

17 months old, where's my tissue??

I haven't done an update on Addie since her first birthday, I think, so since she is up to so much I figured I would give everyone a little update!

Addie, today you turned seventeen months old. In seven months you will be two years old, lord help me. You are such an amazing little girl and I can't help but smile each and every time I look at you.

Your next appointment isn't until next month so I do know your official stats but you are getting so tall and you are thinning out so much. You still have a little bit of your chunky baby thighs left which I appreciate so much. It allows me to still think of you as a baby even though your are all toddler now.

I adore hearing you talk and you are learning new words each and every day. One of my other favorite things is sitting back and watching you run. When you snatch things you know you shouldn't have, you take off running knowing that I'm not far behind to take the item from you. We run, and run, and run around the house, you trying to outsmart me and stay just a few steps ahead of me and I purposely stay those few steps behind you all because I love watching you. You just laugh and giggle the entire time and I love when I finally snatch the item from your cute little hands, that I can grab you and cuddle you and blow into your neck and make silly noises and make the loss of your item worth it.

Daddy and I both love this age so much. You are big enough that we can do things with you and watch you as you try so many firsts such as your first trip on a merry-go-round, yet you are still small enough that we can cuddle and hold you as if you were just born.

You love being outside. You are just like your Daddy on that aspect and it just tickles him to death. I know he is secretly counting down the days until he can take you out in the canoe and out fishing. You are our little tomboy and while we are just fine with that, I would really like to be able to do your hair once in awhile. Is a ponytail really that bad child? I don't take you outside much for one reason. You are a busy body!! We live on ten acres out here that is only fenced in for horse pastures. We go outside and you take off straight for the barn to see your horseys, which by the way, is one of your new favorite words and it's the most adorable thing ever!! We go from the barn to the pastures to check out the spring, and then we circle back around to the house, and then back to the barn. You wear me out child! Daddy is always taking you for a ride in your wagon around the farm and you love it. I can't wait until Sissy is big enough that she can sit opposite you in the wagon.

One of the reasons why I wish so badly you would let me do your hair is because it's everywhere. You have so much hair and it's always in your face. After I cut your hair prior to your birthday and got so much grief from the family, I'm not a beautician here people, I was afraid to attempt to trim your bangs. Since Mamaw use to cut hair I gave her permission to give it a go. This picture was right when she started and it was before your complete meltdown. You hate getting your nails cut, and apparently you hate having your hair cut...your going to have to work with me child. We did manage to get the majority of your bangs cut that day and Grandma snipped a piece a few days ago that was driving her crazy but I honestly don't know what we are going to do when they are back in your eyes. Letting Mommy put your hair up would solve this problem...just sayin'!

You have gotten to swim a few times this summer and you really seem to enjoy it as long as you have someone to play with. You love playing with cousin Dylan in the pool and just think, next year your sissy will be big enough to play with you as well.

Speaking of sissy...you love her so much. Whenever Mommy or Daddy are holding her you run up to us with your arms outreached wanting to hold her. When she's laying on her playmat you run over to her and try picking her up. During the day I stick her in her swing to feed her because she is such a slow eater. When we actually hold her to feed her nothing gets accomplished because she farts around laughing and smiling at us the entire time...lol. So now Mommy sticks her in the swing with a towel or blanket to help prop the bottle up. You are such a good little Mommy that whenever she's in her swing now and she starts crying you grab the nearest bottle and shove it in her mouth and then you grab a towel or blanket and throw it on top of her. You have also started to help feed her her solids. I give her the actual food and then when I sit down the little container and spoon you grab them and start trying to feed her....so cute!!

You still aren't the greatest of eaters. One day you will eat both Daddy and I under the table and the next you will hardly touch anything. You love to snack...gee I wonder where you get that from? You love when I make scrambled eggs with a piece of cheese melted over top of them for you and it isn't unusual that you eat three eggs. You love to eat whatever we're eating. I could serve you the same exact meal but you would still rather have us feed you off of our plates. It's like you think we're holding out on you.

You are finally sleeping through the night...praise God. Every now and then you have a bad night where you are up once or twice but it's typically on the weekends when we have run around nonstop and it's affected your naps. Grandma says its because you are reliving your day and it causes nightmares or something...who knows.

You have become a little monkey. You are climbing onto everything. A few weeks ago we caught you sitting in Cadence's bumbo seat on top of the kitchen table. You had pulled out a chair and scaled up onto the table...lol. So far you have not found a way out of your crib yet but I know the day is coming.

Let's see, what else...you love bath time, especially when we take a bath together. You love it when I slide you down my tummy onto my legs and you love the deep water so long as you have my legs to hang onto. Our days of bathing together are coming to end though because the tub is only so big and you keep on growing...maybe if Mommy could lose a few inches around her middle we could buy some more time together. Also, you love your Grandma, it drives me crazy. When she walks out of room without you, you scream hysterically. I honestly don't know that we will ever be able to move out...lol. You also love your Mamaw, you are always spending the night at her house and doing fun stuff together. I can't tell you how much I miss you during those times. I look at your pictures the entire time because I feel as if I can't remember what you look like...lol. My love for you is bad, it's like I'm a drug addict, expect I'm an Addie addict, I just can't get enough of you.

That's it for now baby girl, happy seventeen month birthday!!!

Five months old!

Cadence, you are now officially five months old. I can't believe how quickly you are changing and growing. Where did my little bitty baby go? Not much has changed since your four month post. We have started you on some solids and you are doing pretty good with them, so much better than what your sister did.

You aren't big into sleeping. You do all right at night still getting up every three to four hours, sometimes two when you're trying to do me in. Naps during the day...yeah, well you could do without them. It's a struggle to get you to take a good nap. If you could stop getting up at night I will allow the no naps during the day...it's all about compromise baby girl, COMPROMISE!!

You are all over the place. We finally got your crib set up and your bedding ordered and put in this past month or so. I will put you in one spot in your crib and seconds later walk back into the room to check on you and you are in a completely different spot. You move quick! Lord help me when I have two of you walking around this place.

You love me!!! I walk out of the room and you cry, I put you down...you cry. It does a Mommy's heart good to know that you love me so much.

You also love your sister and the feeling is mutual. She loves helping me take care of you and she is always wanting to hold you and be up in your face. I am so blessed that even at such a young age there is no jealousy involved in her relationship with you. I can't wait until you are older and able to actual interact with her. I am going to enjoy watching the two of you play together. I AM NOT going to enjoy watching you both gang up on me...lol.

Not sure what your latest weight and height are. I still haven't made your four month appointment. If I actually made these appointments on time Daddy and Grandma might think there was something seriously wrong with me. Procrastination...it's how Mommy rolls!!!

Anyway, there you have it. Five months old and counting and each day I shake my head because I just can't believe it. How quickly you little babies grow. In about eight months you will no longer be the baby of the family. Aunt Nikki is giving you and Addie another cousin and she is due towards the end of February, possibly the early part of March. Papaw made it known that we should pick another month to have babies in. He isn't thrilled with another winter baby. I think the blizzard that your sister arrived in did him in. We're so excited for the newest member of the family but it amazes us that Dylan will be two and a half when his new brother or sister arrives, Addie will be two, and you will be one. How does that happen? I can handle these small numbers, but seriously, when you all start driving it may just do me in.

One word...CRAP

Goodness gracious we have had a rough couple of weeks. I've posted before about our delicate financial situation and I thought we had finally gotten things figured out when crap hit the fan last week. I don't want to go into details because it was a low blow for us but we can finally rest assured that things with our situation can't get any worse. I truly don't see how it could get any worse. We have officially lost everything we owned of any importance. I thank god everyday that we have the Mom's that we do because without them I have no idea where we would be. My Mom is providing us with a roof over our head and now she is providing us with a vehicle to drive.

I honestly just wanted to give up last week. I don't know how much more a couple can take before they break. I know that if Daniel and I can make it through this struggle then there will be nothing than can tear us apart...NOTHING! I know that God doesn't hand you anything that you can't handle...I'm flattered he has such confidence in me, but in all seriousness...I need a break, I need for things to go right for us. My sanity needs it, my marriage needs it, my daughters need it, and my family needs it. When we suffer they suffer...well most of them anyway. Apparently some of them think we need to overcome our failure like big kids and that nothing is deserved in life. I agree with this one hundred percent but I really wish certain people would just keep their opinions to their selves. Especially those that have not earned the right to comment.

I told Daniel last week that we've hit rock bottom, it's all up from here...it has to be, and it will be as long as we hold it together and stand side by side. I'll tell you remaining positive during this dark cloud that we're under is hard at times but then I am reminded of something that can't be taken away from us because of our financial situation...our amazing little girls. I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through this time without them. They are the reasons why I get up every morning and the reasons why Daniel and I keep on trucking without looking behind.

Addison Grace and Cadence Leah, you mean more to us that any silly house or vehicle and as long as we have both of you we are the richest people in the world.

Further proof that we're incredibly blessed...

Cadence with Aunt Nikki...my babies are so loved!

Four months old and going strong!!

Today my little baby turned four months old. My Mom and I were just discussing it last night and even she said she can't believe that this little girl has only been in our lives for a short sixteen weeks. I feel like she has been a part of our family since Addison became a part of our lives.

I never got around to doing a post for her three month birthday so since both girls are currently napping...praise the Lord, I figured I better post about her four month birthday before I forgot.

What are you up to now little one?

* You are the happiest little girl ever. All we have to do is look at you and you flash your big grin and giggle. You crack us up because as soon as Addison starts crying or getting mad about something you start smiling like it's no ones business. I think you take pleasure in her pain and I can already see how bad that's going to be when the two of you get older.

* When we had you weighed a month ago you were a little over 13 pounds and you were knocking on 24 inches long. I wouldn't be surprised if you are up to 15 pounds now and I am not even going to guess your length because I can already tell you are going to be taller than your sister. At four months old you are already wearing some of the clothing your big sister wore when she was six and seven months old because nothing else is long enough.

* You look nothing like me or my side of the family. You look so much like your Daddy and his side of the family it's unreal. I swear had I have not been awake when you were born I would question whether or not you came from my body. This also means you do not look like your sister at all since she resembles me and my family. It's hard to believe you two came from the same set of parents sometimes.

*A few weeks ago you started rolling from your front to your back which we got the biggest kick out of. Now you have started rolling from your back to your front...of course that doesn't happen quite as often.

* You love to talk to us which just melts my heart. I could listen to both you and your sister all day long, which as a stay at home Mom, I guess I do. What is just as amazing is how you recognize your sister. She hangs all over you when you are in your swing and you just smile the entire time. You even smiled the time she ended up climbing on the swing with you even though you were underneath her!

* You drink about four to five ounces every three hours or so and we are slowly trying to get you to start eating cereal before bed. Daddy and I feel terrible because every night at dinner we plop you in your bumbo chair and sit you in the middle of the table. You just stare at us while we eat our dinner and every so often I catch you licking your lips. I promise baby girl, we all did our time with formula as are you...one day you will be eating grilled chicken and corn on the cob with the rest of us.

* You love being held or sat up right. Just today I sat you up right next to me on the couch while I uploaded your four month photos. You just sat there playing with the strap on my camera bag and since you had been crying beforehand you must have enjoyed it because you immediately stopped crying.

* We have also started putting you in the excersaucer to help build your leg muscles and you actually enjoy it. If I remember correctly it took awhile before your sissy started to enjoy it.

I continue to count my blessings every single day. A year ago at this time I was just finding out I was pregnant with you. It took years to have your sister so you can imagine my surprise when it took only about six weeks to get pregnant with you. I was so scared that if I tried to prevent a pregnancy so soon after having your sister that I may never have another child so we decided to let whatever happens happen. We were prepared for it to take a year or so, at least that's what we were hoping since we didn't want you and Addison so close together in age. I am so glad that God thought otherwise because I was thrilled when I found out I was pregnant and I continue to be thrilled everyday that I wake up to you and your sister. I love watching you two interact with each other and I know that the thrills will only get better as you both get older. I love you Cadence Leah more than you will ever know!

Roasted Corn on the Cob

We made the best corn on the cob this past weekend and it was so good that I knew I had to share the recipe with everyone. If you love corn on the cob the good ol' fashion way then you are going to adore it this way. Daniel and I both had two ears a piece and Addison ate an ear all by herself...she loved it. I made some changes to the original recipe which you will find below but if you are interested in seeing the original then click on the link below!

Roasted Corn on the Cob

Source: allrecipes.com

5 ears of corn, husked and silks removed

5 tbsp. butter, melted

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 tsp. brown mustard

5 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions:

1.) In a small mixing bowl mix together melted butter, pepper, salt, paprika, brown mustard and minced garlic.

2.) On one piece of aluminum foil add butter and about two tablespoons of butter mixture. Wrap tightly. Repeat for the remaining pieces of corn.

3.) Grill for about 20 to 25 minutes. Un-wrap each piece of corn carefully and grill directly over the heat until the corn has a few grill marks. Serve immediately.

I told you she loved it!

We served ours alongside some grilled Chipotle & Lime chicken. We recently discovered this marinade after I clipped a $1 off coupon for a KC Masterpiece product. So far it's become one of my favorite store bought marinades. I highly recommend it!

Hello ninety degree weather!

In case you aren't currently located in the state of Ohio I thought I would let you know...IT'S HOTT OUTSIDE. Yes I am aware that hot does not include two t's...it's just so hot outside that I thought it deserved two for this post.

One minute we're complaining that it's freezing cold outside, and then we're complaining about all of the rain we received over the last two months, and now here I am complaining about how hot it is outside. I'm all about spring and fall around here and it seems like we skipped both this past year.

Anyway, since some days are so unbearably hot Addison has spent some time swimming around. She swam most of our Memorial Day weekend when we were taking turns at all of the grandparents houses and I figured it's time we bought a pool for her here at the house. We made sure it was plenty big so that the hubby and I could at least soak in it.

Here she is in our pool. The bathing suit was cold and damp from swimming after nap time so she just free birded it after dinner.

Here are some shots from our Memorial Day weekend. She was thrilled when we bought our pool because she had the hose all to herself and there was no risk of being sprayed by someone. Dylan, my nephew, took over the hose at my Dad's house and Addison was made aware of it on several different occasions.

Here is another shot from Memorial Day. We celebrated my brother Matt's college graduation on Memorial Day this year so my step-dad and his girlfriend Kathy made sure there were plenty of pools for the kids to enjoy. My brother Steve is shown in the picture. It's funny because last year at this time we were celebrating his graduation and Addison swam then...more like sat...but she was in the water. I can't believe how much she has grown over this past year. I wish I had those pictures saved to the lap top but their on our desk top and I just don't have it in me to go downstairs and add them to this post.

She enjoys being in the water but I'm not sure if it's something she's really going to enjoy. She's in and out all of the time but I wonder how much of it's because she has nobody to play with in ours. Her Sissy needs to hurry and grow up so that they can be splash buddies!!

Mommy's little helper and her baby sister!

I've been cooking a lot more lately which is a good thing for my blog and the new cooking page I have created on facebook. It feels so good to get out in the kitchen and make new things and more often than not I have a little helper along for the ride. She doesn't really help me, but she is out there. Pulling all of the can goods out of the lazy susan, taking the pots and pans out of their cabinet, and pulling the cereal boxes out of their home. That list could go on but I'm tired and don't feel like writing it all down. Let's just say that after we clean the dinner mess we have to go around the house and pick up every single item Addison dragged out. It makes me tired just typing that...lol.

Here's Mommy's little helper making an italian love cake which was a big flop in our house. Don't you hate getting all excited for a recipe, spending precious money to buy the ingredients, and then you end up throwing most of it away because the family just wasn't feeling it? I hate that! Money around here is a precious thing since I'm no longer working and five dollars here and there really does add up. Especially when you have two kids in diapers and one on formula.


Here she is from Monday night, or maybe it was Tuesday, lord who knows. Anyway, we were making lasagna buns which I stumbled across over at Cassie Craves. I'll post the recipe on the food blog eventually...I hope. Did I mention I am really tired tonight? LMAO

If stacking cups keeps her entertained, then by all means, stack away. She actually pulled these all out the package and made one stack with them. I thought it was really cute, notice the tongue sticking out? She's concentrating so hard!


Below you will find her in one of her two favorite spots lately. For awhile she was taking over the bouncy seat and now she's taking over the swing. Even though she is about 97% at being really good with her baby sister, she still has her moments. Like the other night when I was on the floor with Cadence and Addison came up and kicked her in the head. She got in trouble for that and then she stopped crying long enough to come over and dangle her foot over the top of Cadence's head as if she was going to stomp on it at any second. The girl is only fifteen months old and I know already I am going to have my hands full with her growing up. She LOVES to try our patience and I know that she knows the meaning of the word no even though when we say it she looks at us like she's dumber than a box of rocks, gives us a good glare, and then keeps on doing what she was just being told what not to do. God help us when the terrible twos start!


Here's my other precious child. I know I have mentioned it before but seriously, the first month and a half of her life, I honestly thought I was going to have to kill myself. She cried ALL.OF.THE.TIME! There was no consoling this child and I can't tell you how many times I got so frustrated I just cried right along with her.

Now she is a completely different child. She's so happy and she is always smiling and talking to us. It just melts my heart at how precious and wonderful she is. I am reminded every single day how blessed I am to have these two little girls in my life. My only complaint with her is how noisy she is. She wakes us up every single morning talking to herself. It's so loud that my Mom asked me yesterday to start shutting our bedroom door because she can hear her talking in her room...lol.
This is her chatting in the morning! It's cute and I love hearing it, but we are not morning people around her. It's take Mommy and her big Sissy a little while to wake up, we don't wake up all bright and sunshiny like she apparently does. I'm hoping one day she can turn it down a notch or two!

And then because this is one of the best pictures I have ever taken, my little Miss Sunshine!

If that picture doesn't melt your heart, then there's just no help for you!

Triple Threat Brownies

Looking for something sweet to make that's easy to throw together? You must try these brownies. They hit the spot without being overly sweet.

Triple Threat Brownies

Source: Me

Ingredients:

1 box of Better Crocker Fudgy Brownies, the 13x9 family size

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup caramel bits

Directions:

1.) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Mix brownies according to the back of the box. To mixture add the pecans, white chocolate chips, and the caramel bits.

3.) Add mixture to a greased 13x9 baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool before cutting or else your brownies will crumble upon taking them out like the picture shows. Somebody, OK me, couldn't wait for them to cool before taking one for a test drive.

Serves with a nice big glass of ice cold milk and you have a heck of a dessert on your hands!

Coca-Cola Roast

What is it about certain foods that qualify them as being comfort foods? Is it their cooked all day, from scratch taste? Or maybe it's their ability to take you right back to your Grandmother's kitchen as if it were yesterday?

No matter why, I for one love comfort foods. Especially when they were made by my Grandma Murphy. Man how I would love to be able to sit at her kitchen table right about now and gobble up some of her fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and her boiled cabbage. I still haven't met anyone who could match her skills in the kitchen.

One of my comfort foods is pot roast. Not only do I enjoy the roast itself but the vegetables thrown along with it. I stumbled this fantastic recipe for pot roast awhile back but never blogged about it. At least I don't think I did. If I did I enjoy it so much it won't hurt to post about it twice.
Coca-Cola Pot Roast
Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
4 lb. beef sirloin roast
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 packet of dry brown gravy mix
2 tbsp. water
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup, I used the golden mushroom soup and we all know why!
1o oz. cola flavored carbonated beverage, aka...coca-cola

I also added five small to medium size potatoes, chopped

Directions:
1.) Place roast in a crockpot followed by all of the vegetables.
2.) In a small bowl combine the gravy mix and water, mixing into a smooth paste. Add onion soup mix, mushroom soup and cola flavored beverage. Pour over the roast and the vegetables.
3.) Cover crockpot and cook on low for eight to ten hours.

Low and slow is the answer to a tender piece of meat!!
The original recipe calls for it to be done in the oven. Its so much easier in the crockpot!



A little girl I know really enjoyed pot roast night. So glad I could satisfy her need for some comfort food right along with me!

"Yummy delicious Momma!"

A funeral...

This week was a pretty crummy one for us. Daniel's Dad passed away this past Saturday. There is no preparing for that phone call, even when you expect to receive it at any moment. I think the hardest part about getting older is that the older you get, the older your parents get. I know the day will come when I have to say good-bye to them, but I pray that it is a long ways off. I can't imagine living life without my parents or even my siblings but that's life for you. Daniel is thirty three years old and he just said good-bye to his Dad. My heart aches for him, as well as for my daughters since they will never know how great their Poppy was. I know that there are others who have had to say good-bye to parents at an even younger age, how blessed they are to have guardian angels, but how sad that they have to go through life without the people who would support and guide them most.

Daniel with his oldest brother Chuck along with his baby brother, by ten and a half months, Dustin. Just look at those smiles will ya!

Death has a funny way of bringing you together with loved ones that are still living. It reminds you of the value of family and what being together as one does for your spirit. Daniel's oldest brother lives in Kentucky along with his two youngest children and their families. We made a vow on Tuesday before we sent them off that we would try harder to be more of a family. No more of this only getting together for weddings or a funeral.

Here is another picture of the boys along with their Mom, Sue, a few of the grandkids, and three of the great-grand kids. The two baby boys are great-grandkids, while Addison and Cadence are grand-kids.

I think we are all holding up pretty well given the fact we just lost the patriarch of the Blankenship family. I think it helped a little that Charlie had been in a nursing home for the past year or so. We had gotten used to visiting Mamaw without Poppy being there at home with her so it won't feel all that unusual to us when we continue to visit without him being there. We would love to still have him there but we all know that he is better off. Charlie fought a hell of a battle these past few years, especially this last one, and it's reassuring for us to know he's finally at peace and in complete comfort.

Rest in peace Poppy! Please watch over my babies and help me to keep them safe from harm.

Charles E. Blankenship Sr.

June 15, 1934 to May 14, 2011.

Jalapeno Bites

I got this recipe from my soon to be sister-in-law Paula this past Monday. I would have loved to have gotten the recipe under better circumstances but what can you do. On Saturday, Daniel's Dad passed away and on Tuesday we held his viewing. Monday night all the immediate family gathered at our place for dinner and some much needed time together. Isn't it sad that the only time you see family that's in another state is for funerals or a wedding? We made a vow to spend more time together and I hope it's one that we all stick to.

Anyway, the hubs loved these. When I say loved I mean he ate a ton on Monday, then ate a ton more after the viewing on Tuesday, and then was saying how he could eat some more on Wednesday. These will definitely be made again and he's already thinking of ways to kick them up a notch.

Jalapeno Bites

~Paula Harris

Ingredients:

12 jalapeno peppers

1 8oz. block of cream cheese, softened

1 C. parmesan cheese

1 lb. bulk sausage

Directions:

1.) Pre-heat oven to 350.

2.) Brown sausage in a medium skillet over medium high heat.

3.) Slice each pepper lengthwise to make 24 while browning sausage. Scrape out all of the seeds and set aside.

4.) In a small bowl mix together browned sausage, softened cream cheese, and parmesan cheese.

5.) Stuff about a tablespoon or so into each pepper half.

6.) Bake peppers in oven until bubbly and golden brown.

Paula advised that you can also use the zesty sausage and grill the peppers if you would like. Daniel is looking forward to wrapping a piece of bacon around them and grilling them.

This and that thrown all together...

Somebody has been a horrible, horrible blogger but what can I say other than you all should be used to it by now. I have been updating the food blog more so take what you can get from me...lol.

We have had a very busy month since I last posted, Cadence turned two months old, we celebrated Easter, Mothers Day, and a few nice days outside when it wasn't raining...which seemed to happen this entire month. We live right along a river which means when it rains like this we flood, and we flood bad. There are only three or four ways to our house on a normal non flooded day, but the flooding this month has been so bad we've been forced down to one and that was pushing it on one day in particular when Daniel thought he might have to turn around and stay at his Mom's. Seriously, I had to go to another town to do my shopping and it was no fun.

On a more fun note here are a few pictures that I have taken during the past month or so. They are backwards from earliest to latest in the month but folks, it's eleven o'clock at night, Addison has kept me up the past several nights, and I'm working on the lap top which makes things more challenging when it comes to rearranging everything. I'm sure you'll forgive me once you see all of the adorableness of my daughters. Is adorableness a word??


First up from tonight's dinner, sister was loving her fajitas and cottage cheese. Do all children get this messy when they eat? We're about to the point that we just strip her down to her diaper because without fail, she gets food everywhere. I actually found chunks of dinner in her diaper when I changed her.
And from before dinner...my precious little baby sporting her very first pony tail. I can't believe how grown up she looks when her hairs pulled back. I sent a picture of her to my sister via cell phones tonight and she didn't even realize it was Addison at first. Yeah Nikki, I'm sending you a picture of some random child I picked up and titled it...her first pony tail...lmao!

Next up, Mother's day. Mother's day was so special for me this year. Last year money was extremely tight for us and Daniel wasn't able to buy anything in advance, he did buy me a gorgeous ring while I waited in the food court at the mall, but I guess I had my first Mother's day all hyped up in my head and what happened wasn't what I imagined. He was able to do so much better this year. He bought me a family bible. There's something about having a bible meant just for your little family with the date of when you became man and wife, births, and deaths that really makes this whole family thing real. I will cherish it for the rest of my life. We spent Sunday evening with my Mom and my siblings and we can't get together without playing a couple rounds of cards. Addison crashed half way through dinner so she didn't join us, but Cadence stuck around to make sure nobody was cheating.

Earlier on Mother's day we spent some time with Daniel's Mom. Instead of going out and fighting off the crowds at some restaurant we picked up some broasted chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and mac and cheese. We had a nice lunch just being together and not dealing with other people. It was during this lunch that Addison was introduced to her very first chicken leg. The child cracks me up.

Next up, the weekend after Easter. We spent that Saturday evening at my Aunt Robin's and Uncle Dan's for my cousin Heathers birthday. We decided to go over early because they live right across the street from a school with a really nice playground. What kills me is that this school is my old school, and this playground is the very same one that I grew up playing on. Who knew all those years ago when we were playing pretend during recess, that so and so was married to this guy, and a couple of us were their kids, that I would actually be standing there watching my own real children play on it. It tends to remind you that you're getting older.

Heather took this family shot of us which I LOVE. Part of the reason why we went over early, besides to play on the playground, was so that I could take pictures of her boyfriends children. I am so glad she was able to get a good one of us...I took lots of good ones of them.

Here's Addison going down the big kid slide...check out her hair.

Prior to us leaving, Cadence thought she would try her hand at the Wii. Don't you just love that little smirk? If you look closely there is a little hand at the bottom right of the picture. What you don't see is that Addison had just snatched Cadence's bottle and was talking to her as if she was reassuring her it was all right. I can imagine Cadence was smirking because she knew she had just back washed in it prior to Addison taking it...lol.

Next up to bat....Easter. I am so upset about Easter I can hardly talk about it. I had been sick with another Crohns flare the previous few weeks and of course Easter was no exception. I barely ate and was in no mood to do anything but wish the day would hurry up so that I could get home. Can you believe that I took no pictures of the girls and their Easter baskets? I feel like such a horrible Mother. I did manage to take this one only because it was to funny not to. This was after my daughter, who has you can see from the beginning of the post, has no table manners, had stuffed an entire deviled egg into her mouth. Once again, the child cracks me up!

Next, Cadence's two month birthday. I can't believe how different she looks from birth and her one month photo. Her eyes are getting bluer and her cheeks are starting to fill out. She has calmed down so much these past few weeks that we are actually able to really enjoy her. She's smiling at us big time and about two weeks ago she started to giggle. She loves her big sister and as you can see below the feeling is mutual. Addison is so loving towards her...well most of the time anyway. Addison tries to feed her her bottle, give her her gas drops, and likes to help pat her on the back to burp. Addison loves to say Sissy and first thing every morning when I put her down from her crib she waddles over to the pack and play and on tip toes peers in on her "Sissy". She also likes to snatch Cadence's blankets off of her when she's in the swing and then tries covering her back up. Of course we have to make adjustments because the blanket usually winds up over her sisters face. Addison has also started trying to share her toys with her Sissy. We look over and there lays a stuffed animal or something on Cadence in the swing. I pray that these two continue to love one other and that they grow up being best friends.

The official two month shot. Just look at that hair, and those eyes, oh those eyes just melt me into a million pieces.

Another loving moment between sisters.

And last but not least, family time. Daniel's Dad is in very bad shape. We expect the call letting us know he's went to be with our Lord any day now. Daniel's Dad was in his forties when Daniel was hatched so he's in his mid-seventies now. Between strokes and a few heart attacks he's been dealt a pretty crappy hand. My heart aches not only for my husband who is so proud of his daughters and wishes his Dad could be around to watch them grow up, but it aches for my daughters and future children as well. I am saddened that they will never truly remember him or that he won't be able to watch them grow. The relationship that I had with my Grandma Murphy is so precious to me, but I had her for twenty four years, even though I feel anger towards the fact her other grandchildren had her for much longer but appreciated and loved her much less. Addison and Cadence and their future brothers or sisters won't have any time with him and Daniel will no longer have his father. I can't imagine a time when I won't have one of my parents. To be honest I can't even think about it without giving myself a panic attack. The thought of death, especially my own, is something that's been bothering me a lot lately.

Anyway, since Charlie won't be around to watch them grow, I wanted to make sure they had something to remember him by and to remind them that they did have him for a little while. During our latest trip to the nursing home I made sure to cart my camera with us so that I could snatch a family shot. Here it is...I hope not only Daniel, but the girls as well, will treasure it.

Well, that's been our month in a nut shell. I promise I will try to do a little better with updates. I feel like the girls are growing by leaps and bounds so I really need to keep caught up with their everyday shenanigans.