3 Candles on my Cake! 3 Wishes that I Make!

Unbelievably amazed at how much Holly has grown and learned in the past year! One morning, she pointed a flashlight at Anna, and remarked "Well, well. What do we have here?" Holly learns lighting fast and remembers everything. Even the Christmas parade from last year.

She does't have an appointment with the plastic surgeon for another 6 months, but all her scars are healing nicely. Most people don't even notice. Still having some milk allergy/lactose intolerance issues, but Zyrtec seems to make a big tremendous difference. (And if you are a parent of a newborn with a cleft, Holly can drink out of any ol' straw you give her! Hooray! Not that you'd think that is a big deal..but every success is Success Worth Celebrating!)

When I went to pick up her preschool pics, I was so overwhelmed at how far she has come. Grateful doesn't begin to describe it. Thank you for all your prayers for Holly Marie! And Thank you Jesus for blessing our family with a truly precious child!

Peanut Butter Brownies!

I love brownies, and really, really love this recipe. Probably because I usually have the ingredients on hand.

1 1/2 cups Bisquick (or any baking mix)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 oz melted chocolate, cooled

Mix all ingredients but the chocolate. Pour into a 9x13 greased pan, reserving 1 cup of the batter. Mix the chocolate with the reserved batter and spoon on top. Then use a knife to swirl.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins.
Yum!

Preschool!

Who is old enough for preschool?

It's Holly!

Anna and Holly ready to go in to school for the Open House

Ms. Bobbie Lynn and Holly, although Holly is more interested in the saw.

Here's the good stuff! Can you see she has already ditched her shoes?

A spot just for Holly :-)

The Open House was so fun! And what a walk down memory lane for me and Anna. She kept saying how she remembered everything but it used to be bigger.

Flashback! Anna at age 3 in the same classroom at Bethel

Holly loves talking about "Bethelo" and enjoyed seeing the classrooms and all the neat toys. One more week until preschool begins!

Sanity Returns

Somehow, we have reached the other side of the rainbow here and sanity has returned to our home. The house is neat and tidy, even if not altogether "clean".

All except one room. Can you guess? Yes, it's the two year old's room where chaos still reigns. I am quite happy to let her change her clothes three times a day, dump out all the stuffed animals and toys...in her room.

But this is about life in general, not just our Holly. When the other children were little, I used to pray that I would never forget how hard it is to have a baby in your life. Remembering to show mercy to other mothers of young ones. (I always congratulate a mom with a new born when I see them in church. That is an accomplishment!) Still, I forgot. How totally upside down a baby changes your life.

Things that used to be routine become huge obstacles: like how to get the whole family to Mass in a church with no childcare. Or go to the grocery store with an infant seat that takes up most of the grocery cart!

Now, two and a half years later, sanity has returned. For several days in a row, we have all managed to keep the dishes done, the floors picked up, complete school assignments, do a little laundry and even enjoy playing in the yard together.

Having a baby is totally worth the crazy that comes along. It helps to remember that every day they get older. And to pray not to forget. Maybe this time I won't.

One Step Forward...

You know the saying, "One step forward, two back?" That is where I have landed today. Sigh. It is moments like this that are very tempting to despair. Here's my favorite trick in a time like this: Stand in the corner of my yard and start counting blessings.

Maybe things aren't exactly going my way. Thank God for HIS way. No matter what.

E-Mealz comes through!

We had unexpected, but very welcome, guests this weekend. And e-mealz was there for me. I looked through the cabinets, and the menus, found all the ingredients for a Creamy Curry Chicken casserole as well as side dishes! Felt a little teeny bit like Martha Stewart.

Everything wasn't prefect in the house, but not having to drop everything to run to the store really helped alot. Thank you e-mealz. (The link in on the side bar. Check it out, if you are interested.)

A Year Ago?

I can't even remember what Holly was doing a year ago. She is so very NOW. As in everything is Right Now.
We went for our annual visit to the plastic surgeon and the ENT. Everything is fine. There is still a gap in the alveolar arch of Holly's gum which is causing some food to come through her nose. Mostly chocolate and cold stuff. Dr. David said there is not anything to do about it until she has that bone graft around age 9. I'll probably read about it a little and mostly not worry too much. Anyway, I hope that is my plan.

In this picture she is playing "hide and seek" during dinner. All you have to do to hide is close your eyes.

Her speech is way ahead of her age, and so are some of her behaviors. She is so adorable, I don't mind the bossy most times. Tonight she asked "Can I play cat?" Then jumped to the floor and began meowing like our Merlin.

That is totally priceless.

Long Time, No See

Hello, its been a while. Holly has taken over my computer watching Caillou and Dora on Netflix. A blessing and a curse at the same time, I suppose. I have been reduced to using this really old Windows 2000!) computer. Not my favorite place to type. The things we sacrifice for our children.

My sister is recovering from her heart surgery. Slowly. She had a couple of unexpected trips to the hospital this week, but seems to be back on track now.

Hope to sneak a few minutes later to post pictures.

Thank you,too, for the well wishes and prayers for my sis.

Rolled Buttercream Fondant

Over the past few weeks, I have done a bit of experimenting with fondant. You've seen the pictures of bows made from Wilton Fondant and molding chocolate. Next was the Easter Cake, that I was determined to make from a simple, tasty fondant recipe.


Tried Marshmellow Fondant, no thanks. That just did not work for me. Maybe the humidity, the extra "helpers" I had :-) or that I wasn't precise in my measuring? Which brings me back to the "simple, tasty" recipe.

I have blogged about the Dixie sugar "Fondantly Fun" recipe before, and hands down this is still my favorite. However, I was sure there was some other recipe that would be even better. Let's say more "professional". Seeking this better recipe I went to Allrecipes.com and Cake Central. Both listed the same formula for a "rolled buttercream fondant."

Do NOT ever waste your money on making this recipe. Is it that shortening no longer contains transfat? I do not know. But YUCK. It was as if the sugar and corn syrup were mixed with the shortening but not absorbed by it. It looked like shortening; it felt like shortening. Greasy. Even the picture on the Allrecipes.com website is shiny. Regular fondant is flat.

From here on, my go to recipe for simple, tasty homemade fondant : Fondantly Fun. You most likely have the ingredients on hand and if you don't they are sold everywhere. Unlike the ingredients for regular fondant (glycerin and glucose? Not available here.)

***The Dixie Crystal website no longer has the recipe, so here it is from the back of the box. Unbelievably, this rolls and shapes like fondant but made with butter!

Tips for success are: make the Fondantly Fun in advance. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, so fast! Wrap it in plastic and let it sit for a day or two. Add any extracts for flavor, 1t should be plenty. Double the recipe really doesn't fit in my mixer, so I make two batches to cover a 9x11 cake.

This is a much softer fondant than the regular store bought, therefore it can be harder to work with. Letting it sit, wrapped in plastic for a while helps alot. Roll the fondant out with lots of powdered sugar. Lightly brush off the excess sugar after you move it. Any remaining powder will be absorbed by the fondant. (May take a bit, but it will).

What prompted all this in depth analysis of fondant? These cookies:
were being sold for $7 EACH at a local bakery. Fondant covered sugar cookies. $7. EACH.

Prayer Request

My sister had a "minimally invasive robotic mitral valve " heart surgery this week. She is recovering, but still needing prayers. Would you add yours to mine, please?

Lord, please continue to guide the doctors and staff that are caring for my sister. Heal her through and through. Comfort her to give her peace so she can rest and recover. Protect her. Thank you for the miracle of this surgery. Amen.