I am The Face

Wow, I didn't know that such a day existed.



I am still having a difficult time dealing with the loss of mine and my husbands first child together. It's coming up on a year that we had to live through this experience. November 30, 2009.



I still cry about it. I look at some babies and think that is how big he or she should be. Our child should be learning to roll and be smiling and happy and with us and in our arms. But God had a different plan.



It's hard to trust that everything happens for a reason and that some things are a part of God's plan especially when you want that one thing so desperately. After we miscarried, our world was completely rocked. Neither of us knew how to deal with this loss, we didn't know how to comfort eachother or talk about it. We both dealt with it in different ways, we shut down, we tried to forget, we over-worked ourselves to keep our minds off of it. It nearly ruined our family.



Praise God that we have been able to make it through these trials. We have grown closer to eachother and closer to Christ. We are blessed with a healthy growing baby boy that is due December 30, 2010. But that first baby will never be forgotten. I don't know where my emotions will be on November 30 as I remember what happened that day... but I will remember our precious child.

Candy-corn Wreath

My mom (hi mom!) has a subscription to Woman's Day mag. When I saw the cover for October I was drawn to it. It has so much orange and that is my favorite color. Also, there is alot of candy-corn on that cover. With all things Halloween coming up and everyone is baking and decorating awesomeness I thought to myself, "I want to be that mom". I want to have traditions and build memories that my kids will look back and remember or look forward to. So, now that I have recently become a full-time stay-at-home-mama (I get so giddy just typing that out!) I have decided now is the time for me to get crafty and do awesome mommy things that I wouldn't be able to do if I was working full-time.




So here it is! The Candy-Corn Halloween Wreath!

What you'll need:

A Styrofoam Wreath (any size will do, you pick!)
Wide Black Ribbon
Candy corn
A Hot Glue Gun (I think I used 3-4 glue sticks)
A finishing spray


Here's what you'll do:

Hot glue the end of the ribbon to your styrofoam and begin wrapping it around tightly. I would add hot glue here and there to make sure the ribbon stayed in place. Once you have wrapped the styrofoam completely in ribbon then hot glue the end.



Honestly, I didn't line up any of the candy-corn before I started gluing them down... I just went at it! You'll want to do a row at a time, first row pointing left. Once you have glued them all down you are ready for your next row! The next row needs to point in the opposite direction. I did not put candy corn on the backside of the wreath. I figured it'd be against my door anyways. But if you feel the need to put them all the way around, more power to ya!



Now that you have all of the candy corn glued on and it has had time to sit, spray it with a clear finishing spray. It gives it a pretty shine and I'm hoping will protect it a bit! Let dry!



Get your wide ribbon again and wrap through the wreath. You can leave it as a knot and let the ends hang, or you can tie it in a bow! Your call! Make it cute ;)

(Note: please excuse the horrible pictures. They were taken on my phone and my camera's pictures aren't any better! One day I will have a nice camera!)



The project took me a few hours to complete (there were a few distractions including a dropped candy with hot glue on it which landed on my leg and gave me a lovely little burn!). It was a quick, fun, easy project! And now I have tons of candy corn left over to enjoy!





What fun stuff are you making for your home for Halloween? Send me a link!

Monster Cookies!

I'm beginning a new baking adventure: Cookie Decorating.
Who can resist adorably decorated cookies?
As a pregnant mama... I can't resist them!
They are the perfect remedy for my sweet tooth!

I've tried a few sugar cookie recipes... some from Martha, some from BH&G, and even Williams & Sonoma, this recipe is mine and my husbands favorite so far! LOVE THEM! And on the plus side the recipe is super easy!

Here is the yummy recipe for some tasty sugar cookies!

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 c sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl (especially the bottom).

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Decorate with Royal Icing!

I hope you love these cookies as much as my family did!

I need to give credit where credit is due:

I got the idea for these cookies here

the decorated cookie

The recipe from here

and I followed the tutorial for the icing here

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Transitions

Lately the best thing I get to hear my almost 4 year old little boy say is: Daddy. In any sentence it makes my heart melt...
"Daddy I love you."
"Daddy, will you play with me?"
"Look, Daddy."


Yes, most children start calling their fathers daddy much sooner, mine just started and I'm loving it.


Phillip and I met when Iden was only 8 months old. Iden has a father and he was sort of a part of his life at the time and I never wanted him to be confused about who was 'dad'. Phillip at the time was always referred to as "Phill". No other name was ever brought up and we never forced or taught him to call Phillip anything else.


Shortly after Iden turned 2, Phillip and I got married. A few days after we got married, Iden started calling Phillip "Papa". It was as if he knew that we were a family at this point. We didn't tell him to call Phillip this new name... we had never even said anything like that around him. It stuck and it was wonderful. Hearing my son calling my husband 'Papa' would bring a big smile on my face. We thought that he would always be 'Papa'... but Iden decided to change that.


Now that we have been married for almost 2 years and have a baby on the way, Iden has decided to give Phillip a new name... Daddy. Sometimes it's just Dad but majority of the time it's Daddy. I LOVE IT! He made this transition on his own... we didn't force him or teach him to say this. I don't know if he's heard his friends at school say "Daddy" but regardless we love it. It was all on his timing.

On another note, I found these really great sites that are just encouraging. Check them out when you get a chance and let me know what you think. I truly feel that we as parents need to use more resources to raise our children. Read blogs and see what parenting tricks are working for other mamas, parenting books and classes are wonderful and most importantly have a strong support groups of other mama's that can help you through the hard parenting moments (because we all have them!) Hugs!

09/09/09 through 09/12/09 Believe it or not Meant a ton to me

Hi Every one It has been a while since I've had a minute to right about something other than school related topics. Today and the next few days are very special to me. I did not realize how emotional I would be. This day, September 9 last year of 2009 I was due to have my sweetpie Auburn Rose. I was so prepared and I nested way before and way past the nesting period ;) I was also on a not so sweet note, miserable, huge fat pregnant, 168 lbs on a 4 11 frame to be exact on that Huge fat part, and I was in a lot of pain, I hadnt slept in months, I could not eat a thing blech the heartburn was unbearable... and I remember going into the Doctors office and the nurse said, how are we feeling? I Burst into sobbing hysterical tears and told her please help me.. Im due today and my body wont go into labor, i feel like my tummy is gonna rip off my body because of the weight, She said, This is normal and sometimes the baby doesnt want to go by the due date, lets see what the dr says to get a better idea, she may let you go past at least 2 weeks. SOBBING way more now, the dr came in and scheduled an induction for the 15th and let me tell you, I was fuming and cursing the whole world. I could have easily jumped across the room and sat on her lungs to let her see what carrying this felt like. I was seriously concerned about Auburn too. She was not moving like normal. I voiced my concerns and I was completely ignored. They told me dont worry only go to triage if you are for sure shes not moving. Well Heres a pic of Auburn and I on 09/09/09 when she was supposed to make her entry into this world. I will be telling the rest of our fun birth story in a few days on her bday. I am really fascinated by how much this day and the next few days had felt and meant to me last year, and how now i feel the same emotional tie to these days. They meant a great deal to me than, and even more now, I am really sad she is already 1 but feel so honored that I got be hers. Have a great week. Auburn Rose you are my one and only DREAM come True and what an amazing opportunity it is to be your mom. You have no clue the anxiety and anticipation that was running through me at this moment, 365 days ago.

Yummy Two-Tone Banana Bread!

Hello G.U.M Followers! Wow, we are some busy mama's over here! So busy that none of us has blogged in over a month! Hopefully we'll kick that habit and get back in gear!

I've been given the opportunity to work less and be home more. My dreams of being a SAHM are so close I can't stand it! This was my first week going from working full time and being extremely exhausted... to now only working 15 and still be exhausted from all this baby growing! I now get to spend more time with my husband, my wonderful son and doing some things that I love: Baking, reading & organizing! I seriously have baked every day this week except for today! Here is one of the yummy tasty treats I baked for my family...

It's really easy! I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as mine did!

Two-Tone Banana Bread
(I got this recipe from Better Homes & Gardens: Holiday Baking magazine 2008)

Prep: 25 minutes
Bake:55 minutes
Cool: 10 minutes
Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted (I use unsalted)
1 tablespoon dark rum or milk
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled


1. Preheat oven to 350 (F). Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, lemon peel, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, melted butter, and rum. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Transfer one-third of the batter (about 1 1/4 cups) to a medium bowl; fold in melted chocolate.

3. Drop alternanting spoonfuls of plain and chocolate batters into the prepared pan. Using a table knife or narrow metal spatula, gently swirl through batters to marble.

4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary, cover loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

5. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

This bread makes your house smell wonderful! And the swirl effect that comes out when you slice it... is awesome!


Happy Baking!

Guest Blogger!!!

At the very beginning of last school year we had our Parent Meeting with the teacher. All of the parents met in the classroom with the teacher and she went over the curriculum and how we could be involved as parents. You all know, I try my best to be involved as much as possible. I do work full time and I am a single mom so it's not always possible but I do my best and I'm there more than a lot of the SAHM's. Anyway - I signed up that day to read to the class in November. She didn't mention times or even an actual date. It was just a sheet you put your name on and they were to contact you a couple of weeks prior to confirm the date. Well apparently she sent home the note not too long after that with Katelyn telling me the time/date I needed to come in to read. Then as Katelyn and I are walking through Target spending way too much money as usual having a girls day we have the following conversation:

"Mom I'm REALLY mad at you today!"

"Is it because I wouldn't let you eat 32 tootsie rolls for dinner last night?"

(at this point I'm giggling because usually when she says she's mad it's something like that)

"NO MOM. You were supposed to read to my class today and you didn't SHOW UP!!!"

(at this point I felt like a big LOSER)

I really can't even tell you what was said after that because I felt SO bad. I totally let her down. I do know I asked her how I was supposed to know the day when the teacher never contacted me? She said that a note came home. Once we got home I pulled everything out of her backpack and sure enough it was crumbled up in the bottom. Generally everything is in her folder - apparently this note made it's way out of the folder. Ugh! Apparently I need to be more efficient in checking the contents of her backpack!

I sent a note to school today apologizing for sucking at this thing called motherhood (I didn't really say that!)and asked to reschedule. I'm not so much worried about what her teacher thinks. Just sucks that my daughter who normally knows me as perfect (no really! she does! haha!) now thinks I suck!

Lesson learned. Moms can't be perfect all the time!


Michelle