A sweet little treat

Well if you didn't know it before (most of you do know), I LOVE food. And not even that in itself, I tend to have this fascination with cooking shows and recipes, and gadgets. I tear them out, download them, and ooh and awe over them in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or better yet-Sur la Table. I'm always so intrigued by what latest recipe may be in the magazine at the checkout stand or better yet, on Food Network that afternoon. I have a few of my fav shows that I have been very loyal to this summer while doing nothing ( another yeah right, ha ha). Yes, I admit I'm not too particular when it comes to food but I have a horrible sweet tooth. I just can't stay away. I'm totally and utterly addicted to the sweets. Mostly any will do, but the ones that tend to be in the form of cakes, cookies, brownies, .... are you seeing the pattern yet? While I love me some candy too, it doesn't hold a candle against anything that may involve being moist and fresh out of the oven. Who's with me? Maybe not, some of you are "salty" people. I'm with ya there too, but sugar holds a special place with me. Always has.

So...while watching one of my favorite celebrity chefs, she had these muffins she was making and I just had to try them out. I was sooo glad I did. I LOVE them! They have become a new favorite, over cinnamon or blueberry. I'm going to share it with you because I think these little babies are so great. By the way, I've made them twice in the last week and they didn't last long. I wasn't the only one who ate them all either. Ok, here we go:

Banana Marscapone Cream Cheese Muffins:

Muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions
Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

**These are really easy and probably will become something frequented in this house. I'm not a huge banana eater. I love banana bread but not so much the banana by itself. Something else I can tell you...I wasn't familiar with the marscapone cc before this but I found it in the section of my grocery store where they keep all the different cheeses- not by the sandwich cheese. It's usually in a small container, like regular cream cheese, but you may not find it near the dairy.

Make them if you have time and let me know what you thought!

our new best friend...

Orajel! Well, and ibuprofen too, but let me just say a few things....

Dear Evil Tooth Fairy,
Teething stinks. I know that teeth are a necessary thing to have, but they are a necessary evil when they make their presence known. Our little man has been cutting his one year molars and these last 3 weeks have not been fun. I miss my happy, giggly little boy who LOVES to eat.

Why is it that my kids get all their molars at once? Why is it that you are making them so very uncomfortable? Riley got all of hers back to back too. It's like you have devised a plan to make them all erupt one after another and do nothing but cause pure discomfort and agony to my sweet little boy. He's been so cranky some days I wonder if it was this bad the first time you struck on my sweet chubby little girl. I honestly can't remember. I'm stuck in the blur of the moment hoping that someday REAL soon you will allow the fourth to break through and all will be better. And then you can find somewhere else to go. You are not welcome in this house anymore. At least your other, more friendly half leaves money for the kids under their pillows. At least you could offer something to make up for what you have caused him. Don't you know that he has a very cute white piggy bank on his dresser?

This poor little man has been crying, I mean screaming, not wanting to eat anything but maybe yogurt or a banana (if I'm lucky.) You have made him so irritable. Have you heard him? You must have since you've been sticking around this house. He has the most high pitch deafening scream. I'm sure even the neighbors have heard his agony. I think I am going to start screaming with him so we can drown each other out. You have deprived him of his love for eating a whole banana in one sitting. Or what about all those other foods he used to enjoy?

Last week he drank a gallon of milk in four days all by himself just for the sheer fact that it's filling and requires no force on his gums. I get that it's cheaper than buying formula, but c'mon! Poor thing I bet he's starving. He resists trying to eat, squirms & turns his head. Now why would you do this to a sweet, innocent, precious little boy? Especially mine? (Don't answer... that was rhetorical.) He's been wanting to do nothing but cling to me or Brian. He's not been sleeping worth a darn either coupled with sore gums...makes for a no bueno situation. He's become the ever-present drool monster. He's soaked in no time and he walks around slobbering all over his toys. Yuck. I've never seen anyone drool more...except maybe a bulldog. No exaggeration. It's like an overflow. Good thing he is so dern cute or I might just be at my wits end. I would say go bother someone else, but I'm pretty confident in saying you won't be welcome there either. So listen here, take your wings and get yourself on a move. You've worn out your welcome.

Love,
Cole's mommy



(I caught him in a rare moment a few days ago- let's make note that this was AFTER I applied the Orajel & he had his ibuprofen. I guess somewhere in that cute little head of his he figures that chewing on the Orajel tube also helps him feel better. Don't judge. I assure you there wasn't but maybe a drop left in it.)

Our little man is 1!

This last Saturday our little man turned 1! Today I took him for his 1 yr. exam which was great until he got his three shots, which was awful. My heart breaks when they scream like that. He weighed in at 21 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 29 1/4 in. so he has definitely made lots of progress in the growth department and has leveled out with his weight.

This last year has flown by, in a blur, but they say every year goes faster and faster. Seems like not that long ago I was in agony hugging the walls of the labor & delivery ward. He has filled our lives with a lot of laughter and smiles. Cole is such a blessing in our lives and makes us laugh with his antics daily. We celebrated his birthday this past weekend with great friends and family. Here are a few highlights from the day:


Cousin Blayke discovered the much coveted Cozy Coupe and decides she wants to ride....

What a gentleman, he opens her door.

She says, " Ok, stop right there. Thanks for opening my door but I prefer to ride alone."

Seems he wasn't going to let her have her way so he climbs right in too. (Don't worry Blayke, he does this to Riley too. )

Blayke: " Well if you insist on riding with me, you better scoot over! I'm driving."

Cole and Jake- I love their expressions.

Loving playing in the water....

Cole didn't really know what to think of his cake. I thought he'd be all over it since he normally will eat just about anything that you put in front of him. He stuck his hand in it, looked at it, and decided he wanted nothing more to do with it. I'm not even sure he got a bite of it on his own. But he did eat mine off of my fork. Maybe he figures it tastes better when it's somebody else's.

His new ride, Tow Mater the truck. Super cute and now he doesn't have to ride his sister's Little Mermaid car.

Uncle Chance and Brittni gave him a yard set with a rake and shovel and this little man carries one of them around all the time, when he's not on Towmater. No exaggeration there. He really loves anything that he can push or pull.

These two crack me up! Reese and Riley- It just made me wonder what they were saying or who they were talking to. They both have such vivid imaginations.

Thank you to all of our friends and fam who came out to celebrate with us! We love ya'll!

finally!

You may rememeber a few months back our old mailbox...I am happy to say that as of yesterday our new one is bigger and better! Thank you garbage men for hitting our mailbox. I really mean that. After a very frustrating couple months with processing the insurance claim we got it resolved! Sometimes insurance claims go quick, sometimes they nit pick every little detail. We experienced the latter. Sending multiple bids, calling and emailing and not getting return phone calls or emails for that matter (all stretched out over two and a half months), debating with the insurance whether the old one was repairable v. replaceable. Not to mention the insurance co. handling the claim for our garbage servicer was in Florida. Ugh! This happened in April, if you'll remember. I sure do because I looked at that cracked and tilted mailbox everyday. May not seem like a big deal, but when things are broken I hate waiting to have them fixed.

So yesterday a crew showed up and built us this...made out of limestone. I loved the fact that when Brian and Chris went to demo the old one on Thursday they hooked a chain up to the hitch on the back of the truck and pulled it over. I tried to get a pic but when I snapped it my camera so nicely gave me the message, " No memory stick." Dern. I forgot it in the printer. Some may call their demo technique redneck style- I call it efficient. Then we found out once on the ground, no wonder it's been leaning all these years. The jippos who built the old one layed no foundation under it, they just built brick on dirt. I'm no expert but I think I would have known better. I can say it didn't surprise me with everything else in this house we have fixed. Just one more thing to laugh about. And then make right for whoever buys our house next.

Did I mention I really love the limestone? It totally reminds me of the hill country. Wow! I never knew I could write so much about a mailbox. Ha ha.

A few of the many

We are back and had a great trip from visiting Andy, Candice, and Abishai! I had to choose just a few of the pics to post...otherwise, you'd probably fall asleep before they were all done. Maryland is very different from TX but I can say it has many perks. We were gone 5 days and spent one in D.C. and the next day took the kids to the beach not too far from the house. Riley loved it- neither of them had ever been so it was an experience. Everyone else had the same idea apparently on a holiday weekend because it was packed. Cole didn't much prefer the sand and wanted to be held instead of walking in it. The weather was fantastic...no exaggeration. I just wish Texas had weather like that in July!

We spent Friday evening in a small town called St. Mary's where the college is on the bay. They have free concerts every Friday where you can bring your chairs and set up a nice little spot overlooking the water with all the boats. It was gorgeous. Great spot for sunsets! We got there early to get a good spot for the fireworks. It was nice to catch a breeze off the water and watch fireworks right over head. The guys stood in line for ice cream for what seemed like forever but Riley loved her berry flavored sorbet. It was bright blue and all over her face!

Sadly 5 days went very fast but we are glad to be settling in at home again.

Hello from D.C!

We spent the day today doing the tourist thing and wore ourselves out! All the kiddos did exceptionally well. We went through the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian ( very cool, and I am not a history buff), then walked our way over towards the National Monument, down to the World War II Memorial, and past the Reflection Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. After all that walking we decided to take a new trek back to the Metro and looped back around by the Vietnam Memorial and White House. 

I haven't seen any of these since I was 5. I remember Abe looking ginormous- and he's still that way. I remember seeing the names on the wall when I was a kid, but it was overwhelming to see it all now. Did you know there are 80 pieces to the Vietnam Memorial wall? All covered in those who lost their lives. I do remember being there but you appreciate it more now- especially after seeing all the history at the museum first. The only thing we didn't make it to was the Capitol and Arlington National Cemetary because they are both on opposite ends of downtown from where we were. 

These are just two of the MANY from today. More to come later....

Brian being goofy...use your imagination.