River

My girlfriend and I took our kids to the river with John a couple of weeks ago. It was a nice clear day. Too clear for me. THE FISH!!!! I may never swim at the river again. Seriously.

*I keep asking both of my brothers and families to come and visit. Begging even. Please disregard this post*

Baby Dayne

Here is the thing about dayne. She is amazing and the most frustrating person I know. Truly. I hoping the naughty thing is more about being three and less about her.

  

The other day she told me that she had "scratchy-foot-ites". Yesterday she told me that she had turf toe. She also complained of having achey eye lashes. Sunday she overheard us talking about taking an adult only trip. She wanted reasons why kids weren't allowed to come. Finally I explained, "It's not a kids trip. It wouldn't be any fun!" Her reply, "It would be, If I came!"

Big Cookie

After making 70 cupcakes for Crewe's party we were caked out. So for his actual birthday we made a big cookie. It was very fast and easy. I found the recipe from this Blog, My Kitchen Cafe. It has the BEST recipes. And it is run by a friend of mine, Mel.  The Big Cookie was a hit. We sliced it up and served it with ice cream.  Help yourself.....

*Makes 1 giant cookie

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a large (11X17-inch) baking pan with foil and press the cookie into a circle. I press my cookie into a 9-inch circle, about 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick. When it bakes, it spreads to about 11 inches, which fits perfectly onto a 12-inch round cardboard circle you can find at most craft stores.

If desired, top the cookie with M&M’s or any other garnishes. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the cookie is lightly golden brown. Let the cookie cool completely on the baking pan – this helps the cookie stabilize and set so it can be easily lifted off the pan. Once cool, gently use the foil to lift the cookie off the pan.

Crewe hits 7

 When I first titled this I wrote that Crewe was turning is 6. Oh how I wish!Crewe turned 7 and we threw him a huge pool party the week before. It was hot and we had lots of friends and family attend. It was a great time. Seven things we dig about Crewe:

1. He still runs. If you ever have been around him for more than a day, you know what I mean.

2. He  jumps and bounces when he plays video games.

3. Crewe is an AWESOME swimmer.

4. He loves books and reading. He has taken to sneaking books to bed with him. I can't bring myself to tell him that I know and don't care.

5. He still lives on grapes and cheese.

6. He is so funny. He has many catch phrases and loves to shout them out, at great points.

7. He is still thoughtful and kind. 

WE LOVE CREWE!

happy birthday

 

First of Firsts

Baby Dayne started preschool this week. YES, we still call her Baby Dayne. I like it. And she liked school. We are doing a year of a program at people's homes.  I am a little unsure of the whole thing but figure we will try it. She loved the first day. She told Rich, "The best part? WE ATE RASINS!" 

Crewe started First Grade. First Grade. Why is he getting so big? He goes to school from 8:10 to 2:50. It's too long for my liking but not Crewe's. He told me, "Mom, I miss you. But school is just so fun". Gotta love that. 

The Year Of Books

The  end of my book readying year has come. This year I  read 83 Books. Not bad. 

This year I really branched out in trying new genres.  I read a lot of sci-fi, Vampire, future flying, made up worlds  and new areas. Here were a few of my favorites. Three of the book that made my top were part of a series. I will read almost anything if it is part of a series.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. It's the first in a sci fi series. It was a jump for me to read this series. And I loved it. Added bonus, the books are a funny size. Very cool.

Caprise Crane is an author that I happened to own a lot of ( green covers, I have a thing for book covers that I are definite colors).  I really enjoyed, Forget About It. It is chic lit but also weird and quirky. Perfect.

Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz. This is the second book in a Vampire series.  Very hip and different take on Vampires.

Secret Society Girls is a 4 book YA series. I loved three of them and just liked the second book. It took me a while to get to book three and it was my favorite.  The Rites of Spring Break.  Easy reading,  murder mystery and well written. Very good.