Truth

Life has been nuts. The laptop is having issues, and I feel wrong about blogging without photos. It's just incomplete. But we've had some fun times lately and I don't want to forget a single second of any of it. There is a calming peace in realizing that, even in the midst of crazy schedules, late nights, early mornings, loads of laundry, dirty floors, wild dogs and learning how to spread your time equally between two very different children whilst still being a wife...that you are absolutely happy. That when the going gets tough, there's a house full of people who love you for you, who appreciate you and don't mind if we eat the same thing two nights in a row followed by cereal for dinner when the time just runs out. Weekends get me through the week, and this week will be just as crazy as last week. But I am loved, and happy, and what else can possibly matter?

4 months old!

Time is going by too, too fast. How is Lila four months old already? She is developing such a personality and is just dying to be mobile. She's also paying a lot of attention to what we eat and how we communicate, and is doing her best to talk back to us!

We had her four-month check up and this time, the shots were a little harder on both of us. I was nursing her to help calm her down afterwards, but she's so wiggly and jerky that, everytime she'd get good and calm, she'd whack herself in the leg right where they put those mean ol' shots and start hysterics all over again. Bless her heart.

She's growing like a little weed, and is long and lean just like Hayden was. The doctor gave us the okay for solid foods, but I think we'll wait until the 6 month mark just like we did with Hayden.

Guiness Cake

Chocolate Guinness Cake 



■Prep time: 10 minutes■Cook time: 1 hourIngredients:

■1 cup stout or porter beer, such as Guinness

■10 tablespoons unsalted butter

■3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

■1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

■1/2 cups dark brown sugar

■3/4 cup sour cream

■2 eggs

■1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

■2 cups all-purpose flour

■2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

■1/4 teaspoon salt


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8 or 9-inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. (I used a bundt pan)

2. In a large saucepan place the beer and butter. Cook over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Add the cocoa powder and sugars and whisk together. Take off heat and allow to come to room temperature.

3. In another bowl beat together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract until very, very well combined. Add to the butter-beer mixture and whisk together.

4. In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the beer-butter mixture and whisk together until it just comes together. Pour into the prepared pan and give the pan a few short drops onto the counter top to shake the air pockets in the batter to the surface and out of the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pan and pop the ring off the spring form.

The original recipe called for cream cheese frosting, but instead I did a caramel glaze. I think it turned out pretty well!

Chicken Enchilada dip

I found this recipe on Pinterest and modified it slightly for the crock pot. It was a huge hit at our recent taco party, and I'm itching to make it again at home!

3 chicken breasts (uncooked)
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c sour cream
8 oz Mexican blend cheese
1 can diced green chiles
1 jalapeno, finely chopped

I tossed everything in the crock pot on low, minus half the cheese. Four hours later, I stirred everything together and shredded the chicken. I added the remaining half of the cheese to the top and left it on warm to melt it. Delicious!

Poor Papaw

Hayden, upon seeing his Papaw had a "boo-boo" on his leg:

Ok Papaw. I get this for you. But I need a knife and it will hurt. You look this way.

No doubt his little mind is remembering the Splinter Incident from a few weeks ago. The tweezers just didn't cut it.

Crock pot italian chicken

I tested out another Pinterest recipe the other night. This is one I've seen on everyone's page, and this week is hellacious at work so I needed something quick and easy, that I had all the ingredients for. I modified it slightly, since there are usually only two and a half of us eating.

3 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz cream cheese
1 packet dry italian dressing
1/2 c milk

6 hours on low. Serve over noodles. Voila! It turns out kind of like a tangy alfredo. I really liked it and so did Jay, Hayden just kept saying, "It's different. Everything is different!" But he's also on an eating strike so his opinion doesn't count.

Date night

Jay and I have had some unexpected date nights recently and it is definitely true what they say...you still need to date your husband once you have kids! A couple of weeks ago we went to a birthday party during the day but then made dinner plans for the evening. Since Lila was so kind as to set her bedtime at 7pm when she was 2 months old, we've decided not to mess with that. So we had my parents come over to watch the kids while we went out to dinner, and also decided to catch a movie. You know you're getting older when you say, "Gosh, a 9:30 movie? We won't get home until midnight!" But we had a great time at dinner and enjoyed The Avengers.

The next week, Jay surprised me with concert tickets to see Dierks Bentley and The Eli Young Band on a Friday night. This was especially exciting, since he works 3rd shift and we never get a date night on Friday because he's at work! We had a great time and the show was awesome! We had never been to White Oak Amphitheater before and I can't wait to go back. It's such a fun outdoor setting especially for that kind of concert. We love being parents and miss them when we're away from them, but sometimes a few hours away from the kids and time to appreciate each other is just what we need!

We loved the concert, despite the $9 beers, and the weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor concert. Hello, summer!