Day at the lake

The kids and I spent the day at the lake today. Tom was at a friend's house so we took a lunch and went early to get a table. It was not crowded at all, which surprised me. As the day went on, more people came but it still seemed sparse for such a hot day. Later on the Forringers joined us and that was really fun. I got a little too much sun, but I made sure the kids got sunscreen every 2 hours so they're just slightly pink. :) We got home around 4:30 and Taylor and I crashed. The boys however, have endless energy and never went to sleep! They are still playing in their room.... I'd better go get them in the bathtub now. :)

Putt putt

Taylor had a coupon from the library reading club rewards. On a side note, Taylor is doing so well with her summer reading. She reads so fast she read the required 20 books in a week and a half and she's almost to 40 books! And we're talking difficult, Chronicles of Narnia length books. She has a personal goal of 100 books this summer. I know she'll do it too. I'm so happy I'm raising a voracious reader!

So anywho... Yesterday evening, the kids and I took trip to putt putt. (Tom was helping Dave and couldn't come) It was so cute to watch Brayden, who ended up playing with my club the whole time. :) He'd stick out the tip of his tongue in concentration trying to get the ball in the hole. We didn't keep score, but there's no doubt that Taylor won. She made several hole in 2's! :)

The best shot of his little tongue... he was so cute!



He got this shot in the hole!

Letting go

Brayden was not happy about having to give up his ball. The second picture says it all. :) He's like, wait a minute, you want me to do what? lol He finally did it though, then he was happy. :)

Scissors 12/06-06/07

Taylor found Chandler's hamster, Scissors, dead in her cage just now. We have no idea why, she hasn't been sick or anything. It's really sad because Scissors was the one who was the most mild and sweet tempered of the two hamsters and the one we always played with. We nursed her back to health when she and her sister had been fighting and her eye was badly cut and infected. I got very attached to her because of that. Taylor seems to be handling it fine, other than being a little distraught over finding her dead and stiff when she thought she was just sleeping. I don't know how I'm going to tell Chandler. He's not particularly sensitive so he may not even react. He talks about dying a lot though and doesn't like the concept, so it may upset him.

As for me, I'm a basketcase. I feel silly, but I've had a bad week and it just pushed me over the edge. Like I said, I got very fond of Scissors while I was nursing her back to health. She was so sweet and never bit the kids. I'd go in at night and bring her out to play with Tom and me. I feel really bad because I hadn't gone in to check on them in a few days, so I don't know how long she's been dead. Taylor checks on them in the mornings, but she had thought Scissors was sleeping.

I wrapped her in a paper towel and put her in a small gift bag to bury her in the backyard tonight when Tom gets home... which is in a few minutes actually. It's a sad day for us. Please pray for wisdom for how to talk to Chandler about this. And for me to quite weeping for a hamster. :)

Speaking of Baked French Toast

It tickled me when Jaime brought up Baked French Toast casserole because I'd came across the same recipes a few days before. It was in an article on Christmas brunch (Yes, I'm already listening to Christmas music and starting my planning!) So I made it last night to have this morning, and BOY was it good! :) I tried taking a pic of it in the pan, but it didn't turn out very pretty, so here it is plated on my fancy schmancy paper plate. :) It was the only plain white plate I had... and food photographs so much better on white. :)


It is so rich and yummy. Cream cheese, butter, cream and maple syrup all go into the egg mixture to pour over the bread. The original recipe wasn't quite so indulgent. I can't ever just leave a recipe alone.. I had to tweak it to be able to call it my own. :) I added the butter and sugar and cinnamon and I used Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread instead of plain white to make it extra decadent. :) It isn't what you would call ADD diet approved... but I'm not going to feel guilty. We haven't started that yet. :)

Here's the recipe ... you know you want to try it!

French Toast Souffle

10 cups cinnamon swirl bread, cubed
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cinnamon
pinch of salt

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar


Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in milk, cream, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove souffle from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.

Early birds

Here's what my boys do when get up before us in the morning ... they take pictures. :) When I uploaded the pictures this morning, there was about 30 random pictures of the floor, Brayden's scowling face, and the computer.... lol Here's one of the best... Chandler's quite the little photographer. :)

Game night

I got Cranium Family Fun for my birthday from Stephanie. :) (Thank you!!) It's an easier version of Cranium so kids can play too. Taylor and I were on a team and she did really well. In the end though, Tom and Chandler won. It was funny to watch Chandler play since he's about 4 years younger than the minimum age. :) He did answer a few questions on his own though - what is a baby kangaroo called? He said he knew it from the Wiggles. lol He also got the humming a tune challenge.... it was the Scooby Doo song! :) :)

VBS

Should have been posted Thursday -- thanks Blogger! :)


All this week the kids have been going to VBS at Calvary Baptist Church. They've really enjoyed it. Today was the last day and they brought home all of their crafts. They got a certificate of completion and a coupon for Chickfila.. Our favorite! :)

Dancing and singing with friends... Chandler's favorite things!

Taylor playing a game with her group.

Performing their songs they learned at Parent's Night. Can you find Taylor and Chandler??? :)

Princess Party

This is a post that should have been up a week ago, but blogger saved it as a draft instead of posting it and I didn't catch it.... :-P

Taylor's friend, Sharon had a princess birthday party on Saturday. It was really fun for the girls. They dressed up, got their nails and makeup done, posed for pictures, had a tea (lemonade) party, and made a frame for their picture. We've been wanting to get over to this place for some time so I was glad to have an occasion to do it.

Photoshop magic

This was taken almost 3!!!! years ago. My, how time flies. It seems like only yesterday. This was our first Old Fashioned Family Day with the church and I was 6 months pg with Brayden. I wish I could rewind time; I really miss Chandler at this age. :( But I love this age with him too. It's quite an adventure seeing all the kids at different stages and their personalities developing. It goes by way too fast!

Whining

I've had THREE migraines in one week. As in: vision impairing, nauseating, head splitting, turn-off-all-the-lights-and-groan-on-the-couch migraines. (such a hoot when you remember I have 4 kids running around!!) Tylenol is just a joke at this point. Anyone have any natural remedies they'd like to share?? I'd be forever grateful!

Posing with the Chickfila cow

"Water park" trip...

This is about as close as we've gotten to going to the "water park" this year. Hopefully we'll get to the one in Canton at some point, but so far we're just too busy! Our quick trip to the rotary park we fun though. I don't know what it is and that park... I always run into overly friendly single dads there. Always talkative and just a tad uncomfortable.... I just want to play with my kids and be left alone!! :)

Chandler looks like a totally different child in this pic. Everytime I see him in a picture, he looks so grown up. I don't like it one little bit. :(

The water was a little cold I guess. :)

Father's Day doings

For Father's day I took the kids to Mudhut several weeks ago to make a grill plate for his gift. They had fun decorating the edge and then putting their handprints in the center. We even did a tiny one that says Baby Reagh. :)




Of course, I couldn't post the pics of that day until now since Tom checks my blog sometimes. :)





The finished product-- the kids were so proud of it! It says: Hands down, the best Dad in the World! Father's Day 2007 and their names by their hands.




Daddy loved his plate. On Sunday, we made daddy breakfast in bed -- pancakes, bacon and fried eggs.... a heart attack on a plate!! :) The kids gave him his present and card and his flowers in bed too. It was a little overwhelming. hehe



After church, we beat the rain to grill corn and chicken I'd marinated. I also made new potatoes. Mmmmm. Oh and Tom's favorite, cheesecake for dessert. Yum! I have to brag a little. Thanks some nifty tips I found on allrecipes.com, this was the BEST cheesecake I'd ever made! I was telling my sister, Vanessa, all of the tips and how pretty it was..... all I got were a few grunts out of her. She very sarcastically said "Oh I'm so proud!" then flatly... "Well I'm glad that makes you happy.... I could care less..." :) I know you other homemaker cooks are dying to know, so I'm sharing with you! :)

Tip #1 - Make sure your cream cheese is softened to room temp. This prevents over beating to work out lumps and makes for a denser, richer cake.

Tip #2 - Put foil around your springform pan place it in a large baking dish. Place in the preheated oven and add hot water until it comes halfway up the side of the spring form pan. This keeps the edges at a constant temp, helping the middle to cook as quickly as the edge, reducing overbrowning.

Then final tip - Once the edges are set and the middle is still a little wiggly, the cake is done. Turn the oven off and open the door a crack and let cool until the oven is cool. Then chill as directed. This prevents the cake from cracking. The final result is a beautiful dense cake with no cracks and no burned edges! And after all that I forgot to take a pic of mine! :)