Snowy Valentine Party

I just can't come up with that perfect title today because so much went on today. First, I've got to ask you. What will a woman suffering from severe cabin fever do on a snowy day? She gets out on the snowy roads, while it's nice and wet in 29 degree weather. LOL!

For the past couple of days, we were forecasted to receive a dusting to 1 inch of snow. They said the snow would begin at 4 AM this morning. How disappointed I was to wake up at 6 AM to no snow. About an hour later, it made it's appearance but not too hard. By 9:30 AM, the snow was here and let everyone know it.

Katie had a blast playing in the cold wet snow with her daddy. Katie had to make a snow angel, while dad threw snow balls.

Today was Katie's Valentine's Day party at school. Those little kids had a blast at their Valentine's party. When I walked in at 10 AM, there were children running all over the place. Mrs. Katie didn't know what had gotten into the kids, to make them act so WILD. They were just so excited! As you know, Katie and I made Oreo Kisses and Red Velvet Bon-Bons for the party. I told Doug last night, I will never do that again. I mean, what was I thinking? Making two different desserts that require chocolate dipping, while I had both children in the house with me and no one watching them. I thought it could be done. Well, it got done, but I'm missing a few nerves, hair and I've got this wild look going on. When Doug walked into the house yesterday, took a look on the Dining Room table (all the bon-bons and cookies), Colton crying, Katie acting her wild self and me with my "I've lost my freakin' mind" look going on and he began laughing. Now, why he was laughing, I will never know. In fact, I don't think I want to know, I can just imagine. I think if Colton was a little older, Katie wouldn't act like a ADHD child, it may have gone a little better. It took me all day, but I got them made. I have say, THEY WERE A HIT! Laura - you were right. You can't eat just one Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bon. That's exactly what Mrs. Katie told me as she was eating her 8th one. (Just kidding) It was probably her 7th. HA HA! I wished the Oreo Kisses would have made more than just 33 cookies. I guess I know now, I'll have to make 2 batches for parties. Everyone had a fit when they found out that I made them. Of course, everyone asked me for the recipes. They couldn't get over how easy and simple they were. Mrs. Katie has nicknamed me "Martha Stewart." HA HA! If she only saw me the night before. Shew! I have just enough Red Velvet Bon Bons to give to mom, dad, Peggy, Millard, me and Doug. Katie really like the Oreo Kisses, but they went FAST.
Momma's little Betty Crocker

Mom's kitchen helper. How do you like our ensemble? I noticed on "Regis & Kelly", a guest baker wore a head scarf while cooking. Have you seen these? They are scarves glued on a plastic headband. They've been on for quite sometime. I like them, but have yet to buy one. Doug makes fun of me for I begin cooking because I put my hair up in a ponytail and then put on a cloth headband, to keep the rest of my hair off my face. Bottomline, it's just good sense to pull as much hair back as possible. Katie liked wearing her bandana until it began falling off. I must not have tied it on good enough. She was so excited to wear her apron that Alise gave her for Christmas. It's so cute with a ballerina on the front.
Here's my kiss. I think I made them too small because I cut the foil to the exact measured suggested and it just swolled up my kiss. Of well, this was my first try at it.
I stacked 4 layers of the Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons. I recommend them to any event!
Here's an example of some of the special Valentine's gift boxes, I assembled. The Oreo Kisses didn't look exactly like a Hershey's Kiss, but it will do. They tasted so much better than they looked.


All the children had to wait patiently for their Valentines from each child, holding their Valentine boxes in their laps.
A new little girl, Katie, joined our school classroom this semester. I asked Mrs. Katie, if it gets a little confusing with the room full of Katies. She smiled and agreed. All the kids call the new Katie "little Katie," but Little Katie announced to everyone that she's big now. LOL! I thought that was so sweet. She's such a little bitty thang. Of course, Katie is sitting by her best bud, Claire. So cute! Believe it or not, I do fix Katie's hair. She had a pink bow in her hair, but she told me that she didn't want to wear it. I tried straightening her hair this morning because it was going every where. There are some days (lots) where her hair has so much body in it that you can't do anything with it, except put it up in a ponytail.
After Katie's party, we dropped in on mom and dad. To wish them a wonderful Valentine's Day, we gave them a gift box filled with our yummy desserts. We visited a little while, until I could see outside that it was snowing much harder than earlier. I told mom, I wanted us to get home before it got any worse. On the news, they reported that we received just a trace of snow. Doug and I disagreed with them. We think, we got much more than just a trace. I'm sure, you will agree once you see the pictures.

Great Finds
Jello LiveActive is sugar free, 60 calories, 1 gram of fat and 3 grams of dietary fiber. It tastes just great and with my Weight Watchers, it's only 1 point.

2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver, British Columbia Canada February 12-28 NBC will be covering

I think I like the Winter Olympics much better than Summer. I like watching the Bobsledding Teams, Luge, Ski Competitions including Jumping, Alpine and Freestyle, and wowed by the Snowboarding. Since I was a little girl, I've always loved the couples Figure Skating. Below is a list of upcoming sporting events for this year's Winter Olympics, check it out: Let me know, what your favorites are.

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  Alpine Skiing
• 
  
  Biathlon
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  Bobsleigh
• 
  
  Cross-Country Skiing
• 
  
  Curling
• 
  
  Figure Skating
• 
  
  Freestyle Skiing
• 
  
  Ice Hockey
• 
  
  Luge
• 
  
  Nordic Combined
• 
  
  Short Track Speed Skating
• 
  
  Skeleton
• 
  
  Ski Jumping
• 
  
  Snowboard
• 
  
  Speed Skating
  

Cooking Minds Whatta Know
Tomorrow is the BIG day. I plan to start making "Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons" and "Oreo Kisses" tomorrow, while Katie is in school. I've already cut out my aluminum foil for the kisses. I would have loved to make the other Valentine desserts, but I have just a limited amount of time, money and weight control left. LOL! By the way, the weight loss is like a yo-yo. I'm not surprised!

I'm going to try my hand at the "Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons" this time instead of the "Chocolate Cake Bon-Bons." Peggy asked me to make them, she wants to see how they taste. I love Red Velvet cake, so I'm sure it's delish! Betty Crocker sells a "Buttercream" and "Cream Cheese" icings, so I bought both because I couldn't decide which would taste better with the Red Velvet cake. I think I've decided to go with the cream cheese. I don't know. I might call Peggy and see what flavor she would prefer. I'm excited to see how they turn out. Of course, be looking for pictures of the finished product.

Prayer Request Update

I have a praise report - Jon went back to the doctor and was dismissed. Susan said that the swelling is gone and the scar on the knee looks much better, almost disappeared. Baseball season has begun, so he is off practicing for the big tournament this week.

Barry B. and his family still needs your many prayers. Susan told me, the doctor found tumors in his lungs (I believe), but it's not good because it means the cancer is spreading. The doctor is preparing the family saying, he gives him a couple of months.

Mom's been experiencing floaties and one big fuzzy that has made it difficult to read. Her eye doctor said her retina detached, which is where the floaties and fuzzy is coming from. He said it could be one of two different kinds. I really don't understand, but this is what mom said. She went on to tell me that if it is one, it could be treated with medicine. If it is another, you can only wait to let the blood absorb back into the eye by itself. She'll find out this morning, which kind it is. This is driving my mother crazy because she has to really focus to look around the blood spots. She's wanting to just take a few pills and it will heal up automatically.

Roses are Red . . . Violets are Blue . . .

Katie had fun making out her Valentines tonight for her friends.


Flipping through one of my favorite magazines, "Better Homes and Gardens," it had tons of ways to brighten your Valentine's day. I liked the idea of making a Valentine card out of cupcake paper, construction paper and foam sheets. I asked Katie, if she would like to make a special card for Mrs. Katie. She liked the idea, so after I dropped her off at school, Colton and I ran into Walmart to get the supplies. My original idea was to cut out a picture of Katie and glue it inside the cupcake paper, but I liked the design some much that I left it alone. On the inside of the card, I wrote:
"Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I'm so glad my name's Katie too." I have to give kudos to Doug for coming up with the rhyme. I gave a sheet of Valentine stickers for Katie to go wild with. She stuck them all (15 count I believe) on the inside of the card. LOL! She loves her stickers. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

In the monthly school newsletter, it stated that each child should have a Valentine box made and they suggested a Kleenex box. Not doing this before, I thought this was an excellent idea and it wasn't difficult at all to make. Katie loves her Valentine's box, she just doesn't understand what it's purpose. She keeps asking me, "what's this for?"

This week is "Candy Gram" week. All the children (parents) can buy candy grams for other children, the parents' child or siblings for $1 each. At the end of the day, you receive the candy. Here are Katie's first candy grams, she received this year. I think Mrs. Katie got one a little mixed up on Lily's.


Colton eats his first cheese puff and he LOVES THEM!

I have a feeling, Colton is ready for the stages. He doesn't like baby food as much any more. It just really depends, if he will be in the mood to eat it or not. We've given him some normal human food like mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, etc. and he does real good with it. He did real good with the cheese puffs. I think ate about 5 or 6 without choking. I'm going to test him on the stages (finger foods) and see how he does, while he still has baby food in the cabinet.

Katie Makes Her Own Pizza

I think most all of the kids enjoyed this field trip to CiCi's Pizza. We walked in to a table full of raw pizzas, ready to be assembled and cooked. The owner took 5 children at a time to make their very own pizza. Some kids piled on all the toppings and then there were a few that would rather just have a cheese pizza. Here are a few pictures of the whole experience:

Katie dug right in and started putting on the toppings. Surprised, she wanted to put pineapple and mushrooms on her pizza.

We got to go back into the kitchen area and watch the pizza go into the 500 degree oven. Would you believe the lady asked us if we would like to push the pizza onto the conveyor belt? We passed on the experience of staying right by a boiling hot oven, didn't sound all that safe.

Katie really liked her pizza and it looks pretty good. She decided she didn't like the pineapples, but liked everything else. By the time she was finished, I was shocked to see that she ate half of it.

After all the children ate, they hit the game room. Katie had to try one of the games. Her and her friend, Me-Me aka Mary Holman, are pretending to drive.
The Twilight SeriesI finished "Breaking Dawn" and I have to say that it was a very good read. It did keep you in suspense all throughout the book. I have to admit that I did get my feathers ruffled from time to time until I found out later that it didn't end up the way I thought it would, suspense. I was cheering for Jacob up to the very end, but I guess over all he did get the girl per sa. I don't want to give everything away, so I'll leave it at that.
First, I have to get something that I've pondered off of my chest. We were at Bridge Street, doing a little shopping and waiting to be seated at P.F. Changs, when I went inside Barnes and Noble. I knew I wanted to get "Breaking Dawn", but I had a difficult time finding the thing under fictional romance. I even looked under horror, but nothing. I was beginning to wonder if they even sold the series. Then, there they were. What puzzles me is what makes publishers think this series is just for teens? For one thing, I wouldn't consider this a teenager's novel. In fact, I wouldn't encourage the read for teenagers. Is it because there are teenagers in the stories? I think kids have enough to think about with raging hormones. I don't know about boys, but girls fantasize a lot and some may have difficulty keeping fiction and non-fiction separate. I am glad that Stephanie Meyer kept some morals in the story. At least Edward and Bella got married before they became intimate with one another and I'm relieved Bella was practically dead before she was transformed into a vampire. Overall, I'm very pleased to have had the change to read the whole series. "New Moon" comes out on DVD March 20th, I believe, right before "Eclipse" comes to the theaters. I'm very excited to see how the movies will go along with the books.

Mom's Birthday Luncheon
We had a really nice lunch with mom yesterday. We all met up at "The All Steak Restaurant". Katie loved seeing Nia again. Robin and I have got to get the girls together more often because they love playing with one another. Katie gets upset when she doesn't get to play with Nia long enough. Here are a few pictures:






Tim Hawkins
Last night, I laid up on the bed, surfacing the web, while Doug was sleeping. I had both kids in bed sleeping, so I had time to myself. I checked out Max Lucado's daily devotional and his latest news. I remembered God Tube, so I pulled it up to see what was the most popular Christian video this week. I saw the name Tim Hawkins and it was listed that he was a Christian comedian. I thought I could really use a laugh, so I checked him out. I had my head phones on, but still managed to wake Doug up. I guess the bed was shaking so hard from me laughing. He is a comedian that takes older songs and changes the words. He is really good at it. To kick off Valentine's week, I decided to post this parody of two loves "Samson and Delilah."

Right away, I have to tell you that he's not gay. He's pretending to be a Sunday School Teacher, mixed with silliness. I'm so glad God allowed me to discover Tim. I will be excited to see more of his skits and musical parodies.

Tim Hawkins

I so needed this laugh today. He is so true! Enjoy

I don't know, if I could ever get use to the new Monopoly game. A round board game is unheard of. I mean where do you go to jail and how do you teach your child to count back money. I learned to count money by playing this game. Now, they use a credit card.

Field Trip
Well, tomorrow is Katie's field trip to the pizza place. Whoo hoo! Katie is so excited. She loves going on field trips. I'm just relieved that it's on a Friday, so Doug can watch Colton for me. I'll post the story and pictures as soon as I can. After lunch, Katie and I have a hair appointment. I'm having at least an inch cut off of Katie, I don't care what she says. My hair has gotten so long that I've got to get it trimmed up. I have to say I've enjoyed having my hair so long because it's easy to throw it up in a ponytail or clip and go in the mornings.

Surprise

Colton gave me a little surprise this morning. As you know, he has been teething again and it's been somewhat of a challenge. With all the swollen gums, red and tender to the touch has come to a rejoicing (temporary) end. For the past month, I've been keeping an eye on the little tooth that was expected to pop through at any time, next to his two top teeth. As I was acting silly to make him laugh, I noticed something that I wasn't expecting. Something white by his two bottom teeth. He cut a tiny white tooth through on the bottom. Yay! Automatically, I rubbed my finger across the area on the top of his mouth to check the tooth that has given him so much grief. My eyes all big, I could finally feel it. Yay! Colton has two new teeth, making 6 teeth total.

My Top 15 Favorite Romantic Movies
Love is in the air and this is the month to celebrate. I wanted to pass along 15 of my favorite love movies to you. I couldn't come up with just a top 10. In fact, my head kept coming up with more names, but I knew I couldn't list a top 100 favorites.
"An Affair to Remember" starring Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr
"Sleepless in Seattle" starring Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks
"In Love and War" starring Sandra Bullock & Chris O'Connell
"Return to Me" starring Minnie Driver & David Duchovny
"Made of Honor" starring Patrick Dempsey & Michelle Monaghan
"An Officer and A Gentleman" starring Richard Gere & Debra Winger
"Titanic" starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet
"While You Were Sleeping" starring Sandra Bullock & Bill Pullman
"Sabrina" starring Harrison Ford & Julia Ormond
"Roman Holiday" starring Audrey Hepburn & Cary Grant
"The Holiday" starring Cameron Diaz & Jude Law
"A Walk In The Clouds" starring Keanu Reeves & Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
"Pearl Habor" starring Ben Afflack & Kate Beckinsale
"The Wedding Planner" starring Matthew McConaughey & Jennifer Lopez
"The Proposal" starring Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds

I'd be very interested to see your list of favorite love stories. What would be on your top 15 favorites list?

Ruby Tuesday Valentine's Special
Three-Course Meal for Two $40
Your meal would include an appetizer, featured entrees and dessert to end the evening. I think this is a great opportunity for us. I think I'm going to call and see if I can take advantage of this deal, if they will let me "Get To Go."
This special deal will only last February 12-14. To view the featured menu, CLICK HERE.

Chocolate Cheerios Marshmallow Hearts

For you chocoholics, have you picked up your Chocolate Cheerios from the grocery store? It's delicious! Colton and I love them. I received a recipe from Betty Crocker this morning for a Valentine dessert called "Chocolate Cheerios Marshmallow Hearts."

Chocolate Cheerios Marshmallow Hearts Recipe
Crust
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup Chocolate Cheerios® cereal, crushed
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Topping
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag (11.5 ounces) milk chocolate chips
4 cups Chocolate Cheerios® cereal
Candy sprinkles, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with foil. In large bowl, mix all crust ingredients except marshmallows with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly. Press firmly into bottom of pan.
2. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with marshmallows. Return to oven; bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows just begin to puff. Cool while preparing topping.
3. In large saucepan, place all topping ingredients except cereal and sprinkles. Heat over medium-low heat just until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 4 cups cereal. Immediately spoon warm topping over marshmallows; spread to cover. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Cool completely, at least 1 hour.
4. Using foil to lift, remove mixture from pan; remove foil. With deep 2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 18 hearts. Store loosely covered.

Beth's New Book

The long wait has come to an end, Beth Moore's new book, "So Long, Insecurity" is out on bookshelves in stores today. She's got a book signing tour soon to Atlanta, Birmingham and Houston. According to her website, she'll be in Birmingham Wednesday, February 10th. To get dates and times of the book tour Click Here. I'd like to get a copy.


Colton UpdateI've got a real quick update on Colton. He just took 2 steps without holding on to anything or anyone. YAY!!! Katie and I applauded and cheered him on. He didn't know what was going on. Watching us both clap and cheer, he began clapping as well.

Six More Weeks of Winter Weather

According to Punxsutawney Phil, we have 6 more weeks of Winter weather because he saw his shadow this morning. I hate to hear this news because the South has underwent a very cold wet Fall and Winter months. I'm so ready to see some sunshine for longer then a few hours at a time, one day out of the week. Sometimes, I have to stop and remind myself that I'm not in Seattle, Washington.

It was a little sunny yesterday around 11:00, so I got to pick Katie up at Covenant's playground. Mrs. Katie giggled and asked me, "it's a little warm to get out for a few minutes. Right?" I think the temperature made up to 48 degrees. I laughed at her because all the children had on their Winter coats, playing around on the equipment. Us Alabamians are not use to the extended cold weather for so long. It's gotten to where my bones hurt, it's so cold here. My thing is, if it's going to be this cold then I want it to snow. Let it snow, melt and be done with it. The poor squirrels have our yard covered just about every day, getting food. I think I counted close to 10 just in our back yard one morning. They were scurrying around remembering where they buried that one acorn.

Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day in just in a few more day. Do you have your special someone a gift or plans for a romantic dinner? While Katie was in school, Colton and I took this opportunity to get our shopping finished. Yay!

Doug and I have been trying to get a hold of our diet and loose a few pounds, so I haven't been cooking per sa. I'm just afraid I'll loose control and there you go. I've lost a little weight, but not near enough because I haven't been able to get the kids out to do our walking. Ugh!

Saying that, Katie's Valentine party is the Friday before Valentine's weekend, February 12th I believe. I had planned to make her class message heart cookies, but went out on the wide world of web to look at all the different ideas. Oh my gosh! I had entirely too much fun. There are soooo many cute ideas out there that now I'm thinking about changing my mind. One of the blogs, I check in every now and then, Bakerella, had the best idea.
Are these cute or what? These delicious looking kisses are made with Oreo cookies, cream cheese and chocolate bark. So simple and your own personal touch. For the recipe and directions, click here.

These are too pretty to eat. Again, these will be so simple to make. The roses are made from colored rolled fondant. If you're not familiar with fondant, I would purchase the white and just get the food color dye that you would prefer. For the recipe and directions, click here.

I thought these Nutter Butter Balls just looked yummy. They are made with Nutter Butter cookies, cream cheese and chocolate bark. I think Doug would like these. For the recipe from Bakerella click here.

I'm getting really hungry right now. Can you tell? lol! I have to stay in control until it's time to cook at least one of these scrumptious looking desserts.

Emily

I just received some disturbing news. You might remember . . . a couple of years ago, I asked for prayers for a church member, Emily M., that received a lung transplant due to complications from dealing with Cystic Fibrosis. She healed great and was able to move back to Texas with her family.

Well, she came down with Pneumonia this past month. She wasn't getting any better, so she was flown to UAB Hospital for further treatment. Because she couldn't get over it in TX, they to put on a ventilator. Once at Birmingham, she seemed to improve. She had some issues with a blood clot in her pic line, some digestive issues, some bleeding in her stomach due to an ulcer. By the following Wednesday, January 27th, Emily's heart rate dipped really low. Couple of hours later, her heart rate went to 200 and her blood pressure sky rocketed. After the emergency crash team worked her, they were able to get her regulated. She was finally looking okay as far as her vitals, until a nurse came in 4 hrs later to check on her. She checked her pupils and the did not dilate or respond to the light. They immediately took her to do a CAT scan and discovered she had a brain hemorrhage. Emily had left this world to be with the Lord.

Emily fought a tough battle and won. You heard me, all she wanted to do was live her life with her family and be there for her little girl, but her body was so weak from the years of battles. She lived such an inspiring life. I would like to encourage you to read her blog about how she lived with C.F., relying on God and her faith. Click Here to read more. She has a new body form now. One that's not riddled with disease and complications. She's happy and in the presence of God Almighty. The ones that need your prayers right now is her husband, daughter, Faith, and other family and friends. Thank you!

Weekend
We had a few people over for supper Saturday night. Ryan is planning to leave for NC in a couple of days. We won't be able to see him again until sometime in July. When he'll start moving some of his possessions back home and getting ready to go back to school. He asked him and his parents over for supper, just to visit one more time. We had chicken tenders and fries, nothing real big.

Mom was sounding really down earlier that morning because the lens in her eye was acting weird. She had eye surgery not too long ago in both of her eyes. She has been so happy because she only needs reading glasses now. Well, she came down with a cold a few days ago and she feels that the cold got in her eye. Since then, she's had difficulty seeing. Looking out the one eye, she sees something fuzzy and it doesn't move. Along with the fuzzy, she has a lot of floaties. It very frustrating for her. She was going to get ahold of her doctor this morning. I told her that she needed to get her mind off of her eye, her and dad needed to come over and spend the day with us. We enjoyed every one's visit.

Sunday, Millard and Peggy took Katie to the movies. "Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakual" was playing. Katie really liked it! Her favorite part was when one of the chipmunks passed gas. FIGURES!