New Treats and Recipes!

Have you ever had a GIANT chocolate Costco muffin? Aren't they just yummy! Well I just love, love, love these muffins, but they are so big and I have a hard time stopping once I've started eating one that I end up eating the whole thing. This is SO not good for me, but I have stumbled onto a way to make my very own Costco chocolate chip muffins, but I make them normal sized. They are SO YUMMY! I won't be buying Costco's muffins anymore, because not only are they better tasting, but they cost way less. And if any of you know me, I'm all about frugal things and finding ways to make, and get things cheaper.Aren't they beautiful? Tasty too! So here's a really great recipe for making these:

devil's food cake mix

small box of chocolate pudding

3/4 c of sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c of water

1/2 c of oil(I used a little less than this though)

3 eggs

2 c. of chocolate chips(semi-sweet works best)

Mix all the ingred. together except choc. chips. Then add chips. I put liners in my muffin pans and filled them about 3/4 of the way. I baked them at 375 degrees for 17-20 minutes and voila!

You have 24 small, but GREAT chocolate muffins! Enjoy!

This is what I made for Sunday night's dessert. Every Sunday we have an extravagant dessert. I made dark chocolate brownies(from a mix-Ghirardeli)with chocolate chips, homemade vanilla ice cream drenched with Old Fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce. YUMMMM! I don't like store bought fudge sauce due to I think it is too heavy so I've monkeyed around with making my own over the years and this recipe is the one I like best. It is very light, but oh so chocolaty!

Oh man! Just look at that chocolaty goodness! Here's my recipe for this yummy goodness:
2 c sugar
4 Tbs. flour
2/3 c of cocoa(I use ghirardelli cocoa and choc mix)
2 c milk
4 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Whisk dry ingredients and set aside. Combine milk, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Add the dry ingredients and boil until the sauce has thickened and is smooth-about five minutes. Cool down for about five minutes-it will thicken a little more, and ENJOY!

A Spotlight on me, but really it's all for Christian!

I love this blog because this mom speaks to me and she features other moms on her blog. It's a great way to see how other mothers, mother and live their lives. I simply love this one special weekly feature she does called Real Mommies/Real Challenges. She features moms that live their lives while dealing with different challenges. Well she saw that I am a follower and checked out my blog and asked me if she could feature me in one of her spotlights. To say the least I was flabber gasted and so didn't think I was worthy to be put in this feature. Afterall I am not mothering my children with a disability or some other extreme challenge, but she thought I am a real mommy with a real challenge. So... my spotlight(or as Eric calls it my two minutes of fame, not really, but haha) about my lovely son and family is tomorrow on her cute little blog. Check it out if you want, but check out her blog more to see her other moms that are featured too. Go to http://littletotsbigideas.blogspot.com/2010/04/real-mommies-real-challenges.html This is such a cool, and so unexpected little honor! Thank you Tina! This one is for you my little man, Christian Eric!

Putting The Cart Before the Horse!

This is what Eric calls our new adventure. We are definately "putting the cart before the horse." We have decided to both register for a 5K and we only have about 10 weeks until race day. Neither one of us is in the best shape, but we're gonna get ourselves there or at least die trying, haha! He says he needs something like this to make him get in shape, so I did it folks. We are registered for our first 5K together. Ready, set, GO! June 19th at 6:30 in the morning. Oh man, I better get walking, running, and a training if I want to not die on race day. I use to run with my dad, but that was way before I gave my body over to the 7 kids I've had. Hopefully all the training will get my body back in shape or at least set it on the right track to getting back in shape. Wish us luck and I'll try to get some pictures posted of race day, hey maybe I'll even post before and after of us throughout this process!

Dino Fun!

We are having so much fun with our passes for Thanksgiving Point, thanks again dad, we have visited the Dino Museum twice in less than a week. I took the kids with my dad last Wednesday and Eric surprised us by meeting us there and we all had a blast. My dad has never been and he was amazed at how big the place was. The kids had a blast dragging him around showing him everything. They love it so much they want to go back with him and see one of the 3D movies they play there. We then went back a few days later so the kids could play and hang out with some cousins. Eric's brother is in town and with the kids out of school still we decided to go see more dinos. We had more fun and took some cute pics both times we went so warning there are quite a few:

Laney posing in the cave
Laney and Noah having a "roaring" good time.

Baby Carter-as my kids call their little cuz, having a blast in the cave.
Trying to get a "good" picture of all the cousins, but I just wasn't quick enough to get one of everyone. Still a cute attempt at one.

One of Noah's favorite display of dinosaurs. He goes "raw" everytime he sees this one.

The girls all posing and Alexis very unhappy she can't get on the dino too. A little sibling rivalry going on here that day. This was the outcome of their little drama, Alexis pouting to the side. HILARIOUS, if I don't say myself. Sometimes that girl just puts me into stitches with her attitude and the way she rects to stuff. Gotta love being a mom to a "tween" right, RIGHT?

Easter

We had a very good Easter this year. It was nice and relaxing just lounging around and listening to Conference-at least trying to amid the commotion of 6 kids. I don't remember another Easter when it was also General Conference so I was happy to not leave and go to Church in the morning. The kids actually got to enjoy what the Easter Bunny brought them and not worry about getting ready for church. I like church and all it's just nice to have a quiet, relaxed Sunday. This is also the first year that we didn't get the kids new Easter outfits. I just figured the younger ones have so many hand me down dresses and outfits and Alexis just got a new "springy" skirt and shirt, why buy anything new since we aren't even going to church. So with the $$ we would have spent on outfits Eric and I got the kids a present they all would love. We got them a basketball hoop for outside. It's a pretty dang nice one. It's a Lifetime one and can be adjusted all the way to 10'. They were all thrilled and I made them work for it. I sent them throughout the house on a scavenger hunt to find the present. I sent them upstairs, down in the basement, on the main floor and up and down, up and down, you get the picture. I put clues from one area to the next and they had a blast running around. It all led to the garage where we had it covered with a big bow on it and they all hopped up and down with glee. I just love making their day, especially when it's so easy!

We had a fun dinner with just us and my dad over. The usual ham, potatoes, rolls, green beans and strawberries. I made name cards and the day before the kids helped me make these:

Cute little birdie nests to go on everyone's place. I made the other treat which I only make at Easter. Delicious homemade coconut eggs(Eric calls them my home made almond joys, only way better tasting). They were snarffed up by everyone and we also had easter eclairs too. I don't have any pics of those due to the fact they are gone now. Much enjoyed by the crazy bunch and my dad. It was a fun Easter and we enjoyed our long lazy weekend taking in the spiritual word of our leaders.

Bella is now 10 months!

Our little lovely turned 10 months this last Friday and wow has she changed! She is movin' and a groovin' all over the place. This little bugger just doesn't sit still and she keeps trying to stand and although she hasn't mastered it yet, she keeps on a tryin' falls and all. She is a pure joy and her giggly smile is the cutest thing ever. Oh I could just love on her all day! She has five teeth and four more have reared their painful little heads almost out. Poor girl, she is having one heck of a time with the teething, but she keeps on smilin' just not sleeping much- but what's new with that. She is definately not one for much sleep, unfortunately her momma sure would like some.I love this smiley grin. She is like this most of the day. So cute and really a GORGEOUS girl. I wonder where she came from. Heck, I wonder where all my cute kids came from. Crazy, I'm seven for seven and God help Eric with his four pretty girls. I think he's thinking about storing a gun to keep the boys away from his daughters, haha!
She's always trying to get away with something and then checks to see if I'm looking. We call her our little vacuum, because no matter how many times I vacuum she still finds the tiniest little thing on the carpet and it goes straight into her mouth. She is ALWAYS looking for stuff to put in her mouth. Silly girl and a fast one at that. She is standing with almost no support now and I know it's only gonna be a few weeks before she is cruisin' around my furniture. Why, oh why do they have to grow SO fast? Don't they know I'm not ready yet, sheesh!
So here's a few tidbits about Bella that I want to remember:

She loves to eat-still trying veggies over and over because she has no love for them
Finally got her to take 2 oz. of juice from a bottle- hasn't done it again though
Rocks back and forth up on her knees trying to crawl normally
She can really haul crawling army style
Will stand up with just a little support
Loves, loves, loves Logan
Is drawn to musical toys and music playing
Smacks her lips everytime after nursing and then smiles up at me
She is squealing and sucking in her breath to make noises and get laughs
She knows she's funny and does stuff to get laughs
Loves to crawl over to the kitchen when I'm in there
She loves, loves her bouncing rainforest bouncer-the girl can really bounce!

I love her tons and tons and I am glad to see her growing even if I'm not ready for it. She is a happy baby and she is a joy to have in our family. I can't wait to see what she will do next and how she will do it. All our kids keep surprising me with what and how they do things and Bella has joined them. Oh the joys of motherhood and how I do love it all-the good, the bad and the ugly!

Mother Nature's April Fool's Joke

So, are you sure it is SPRING? Well mother nature sure doesn't think so, but I actually love it! This is what I get to see every morning I wake up and go down our stairs. This gorgeous view and WOW, what a lovely surprise to wake up to-SNOW! I know most of you just want the sun and warmer temps. and I do too, but I love a good storm and my trees covered in snow.I mean c'mon, don't you just love how these trees look. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! Unfortuantely, my husband so DOES NOT agree with me. He hates the snow on the ground and just wants the sun out. At least he does until he remembers how much he hates keeping up with our yard work. Luckily I'll be taking over the upkeep for awhile this summer. I can't wait to get out and rip it all up and re-design our garden and landscape the rest of the yard. I finally can since I'm not pregnant this summer and I'll be done nursing the baby. Yay! I so wanted to get my hands dirty last spring, but couldn't because of stupid, stupid bed rest!
I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our trees! And all that lovely snow! I thoroughly enjoyed mother nature's April Fool's joke this year, how about you?