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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Who needs a nest egg?

We are just bursting at the seams with talent at Mama's house, as I've mentioned in a previous post.  The Bug, a dancer and singer, is grooming her young prodigy, Tootsie.  So, Handy Daddy and I have plenty of entertainment, as you can imagine.

The Bug is in her first year of dance, and imagine my delight when I found out they would dance to a Johnny Cash song for their recital.  I was like a giddy school girl for at least a week.  Mama loves her some Johnny Cash.

Here is the Bug struttin' her stuff.  And Tootsie.  Not real sure what Tootsie is doing, but she HAD to be in on the action.

All that frolicking...and with her shoes on the wrong feet.  Have you ever tried dancing with your shoes on the wrong feet?  That just goes to show what a tenacious performer she is -- toughing it out to bring joy to her audience.

Oh, and that singing voice -- refined and wholesome.  I wish I'd had this coverage to go with my previous post about Jesus' name.  It would've been perfect for that.  But, apparently, she was saving it for such a time as this.




Though I'm not familiar with this particular tune, I'm almost positive she's changed a few of the lyrics....her trademark style of singing. She's all about makin' in her own.  Dawg.

Now to just instill values in these kids so that when  they grow up, entertaining the multitudes and makin' all that coin, they will take good care of ole' Mama and Daddy.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Happy Birthday to the Man!

Yesterday was Handy Daddy's birthday - the big 4-2.  And I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "Mama, you don't look like you could be in your forties."  Well, that's very sweet of you, and you're absolutely right about that.  In fact, I'm nowhere near.  Because Handy Daddy is ten years older than me.

Had to get that out in the open straight away.

So, being the wonderful little wifey that I am, I let Handy Daddy sleep late while the girls and I baked blueberry muffins (one of his "favorites" -- he has many "favorites").

Tootsie and the Bug "helping" Mama make muffins.
Then he opened a few gifts.  The girls loved the hats I picked out.  Handy Daddy....not so much.  I know you can't tell by the expression on his face, but you could gift him with roadkill, and he would still have this expression.  It's weird. 






Then, I decided to invite some friends over for some chili and made one of Handy Daddy's favourite desserts.

No, I don't like to cook.

I do like to bake, but find it to be a little more difficult with children hanging on my legs.  That can be just a tad bit distracting, you know.

But I sucked it up and put on my big girl panties and worked it out so that my honey could have a good meal and a phat cake with some friends on his birthday.


This is us before the cake.


This is the top of the cake...

...and the side of the cake.


This is Tara AFTER the cake.
Actually, I'd like to blame it on the cake, but she and her honey fall asleep pretty much every time they have dinner with us.  Nice.

We played a rousing game of Battle of the Sexes.  Technically the guys won, but we all know in our hearts that the women really won.  I'll just leave it at that.



I made two batches of chili from Southern Living magazine.  The meaty chili called for a 12 oz. bottle of dark beer.  I haven't bought beer in about 10 years.  So that was weird.  And then the clerk didn't even card me when I bought it.  I was appalled!!  I texted my friends to tell them about my traumatic experience and David's response was "they don't card people with wrinkles."  Added insult to injury, he did.

On a completely unrelated note, my friend David does a great chinaman impression.  We call it the "Mit-tah Day-bid."

You asked for it, my friend.

So how 'bout that cake, huh?  I'm gonna just tell you -- it is THE BOMB.

I discovered it in the 2002 Southern Living Christmas book I got as a wedding gift, and have made it every year for Christmas since then.  Except last year, because I was cooking a turducken and having 20 people over for Christmas dinner.

NO, I really don't like to cook.  But when you're Southern, you just have no choice.  If you're Southern and can't cook, your chances of finding a mate are very slim indeed.  Unless you find a mate who cooks.  And I did not find that mate.  (He's not a cook, but he's very handy!)

...moving along...

Here's the recipe for the cake, and you're gonna want to try it.  I mean, look at that name...Lord, have mercy!

New Orleans Double-Chocolate Christmas Praline-Fudge Cake

1 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Ganache
Praline Frosting
Garnish:  Chopped pecans

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth; remove from heat.  Cool.
Beat buttermilk, 2 eggs, baking soda, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add butter mixture to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended.  Combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually add to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended.  (Batter will be thin.)
Coat 3 (8") round cake pans with cooking spray; line with wax paper.  Pour batter evenly into pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes or until set.  Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans, and cool layers completely.
Spread about 1/2 cup ganache between cake layers; spread remainder on sides of cake.  Chill cake 1/2 hour.  Pour frosting slowly over center of cake, spreading to edges, allowing some frosting to run over sides.  

Chocolate Ganache
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate morsels
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
Microwave chocolate morsels and cream in a glass bowl at MEDIUM (50%) power 2 to 3 minutes or until morsels are melted.  Whisk until smooth.  Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth.  Cool, whisking often, 15-20 minutes or until spreading consistency.  

Praline Frosting
(Do not prepare this frosting ahead because it'll harden very quickly.)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup whipping  cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring often; boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat, and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Add toasted pecans, stirring gently 2 to 5 minutes or until frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly.  Pour immediately over cake.

Bon Appetit!




Wednesday, January 19, 2011

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise. Psalm 8:2

I've just started a neighborhood Bible study in my home, and we're doing Jesus the One and Only by Beth Moore.  If you've never done a Beth Moore study, well, my friend, it is time to do one.  She will knock your socks off.

This is the third study of hers I've done.  The first, A Heart Like His, is about the life of King David.  Fascinating.  The second was Revelation, and it is BY FAR the most mind (and heart) blowing study I've ever done in my entire life.  It was amazing, and you HAVE TO do that study.  You just have to.  And I'm also about to do So Long Insecurity.

But, for now, I've just started Jesus the One and Only, and I was doing my homework today and sobbing (that's what her studies do to me -- but it was good sobbing, if you know what I mean).

So this is the part that really got me.  We're in week 1 of the study, so we're studying His birth.  She's talking about when Gabriel visited Mary to share with her the news that she will soon be with child.  And this Child will be the Son of the Most High.

...and you are to give Him the name Jesus.  (Luke 1:31)

And these are Beth's words:

"Do you realize this was the first proclamation of our Savior's personal name since the beginning of time?  Jesus.  The very name at which every knee will one day bow.  The very name that every tongue will one day confess.  A name that has no parallel in my vocabulary or yours.  A name I whispered into the ears of my infant daughters as I rocked them and sang lullabies of His love.  A name by which I've made every single prayerful petition of my life.  A name that has meant my absolute salvation, not only from eternal destruction, but from myself.  A name with power like no other name.  Jesus.  What a beautiful name."

Boy, could I relate to that.  

That Name is so precious to me.

He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Healer, my Love, my Strong Tower, my King...just to name a few.

I whispered that Name into the ears of my infant daughters as I rocked and sang to them.

And as I read this, and sobbed, this little picture came to my mind.

As I picked Tootsie up from our church nursery this weekend, they handed me this picture that she scribbled on with her crayon.

"Who is that?" I asked her.

"Thee-thuth,"  Tootsie said with a little grin.  

"Jesus."

 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:9-11)

Eighteen months old.  That's how old Tootsie is as I write this.  And she's already confessing His Name.

I went back to the Bug's baby book to see if I recorded the first time she said "Jesus."  I didn't write it down, but I did write down that at 28 months, she brought me her little toddler Bible and said, "Bye-bow [Bible].  That's God's Word.  Jesus is God's Word."

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (John 1:1)

How AMAZING is that??

It just blows my mind that these little children, with their limited vocabulary and seemingly limited understanding, know and love Him.  

And it blesses my heart so.

Lord, let the Name they utter so innocently now be more precious to them each and every day.

Amen.




Monday, January 17, 2011

Foreign body in the body

Isn't it amazing how, for the first child, you read a ginormous stack of books, follow them to the letter, never miss a well-baby visit, never fail to follow the doctor's instructions to the letter.....then the next baby comes along and all of that goes out the window and you just go into survival mode????  As long as that little person is alive, then you're doing A-okay.

Handy Daddy and I are both oldest children.  Then we had the Bug, and we were a home of three oldest children.

Then we had Tootsie.

And she has pretty much rocked our world.  The three of us oldest children collectively adore that little "baby," and it seems she is already getting away with everything.

The thing about oldest children, in our experience, is that the oldest child is more cautious, serious, orderly....just kind of a "by the book" kinda person.  Which is, I guess, why that ginormous stack of books was so applicable with our oldest.

Then we have Tootsie, the little daredevil, goofy, and "anything goes" child.  And she has really given us a run for our money.
This is her being all  Evel Knievel on the four-wheeler my dad gifted her with just 5 minutes earlier.

Her latest shenanigan went down on Saturday night.  She was sitting in her high chair, eating a bowl of popcorn.  Never mind the Bug wasn't allowed to eat popcorn until she was three years old, and Tootsie is only 18 months old.  Tootsie is the "baby" and, therefore, is invincible. 

So, she was eating a bowl of popcorn, and begins to let out these piercing screams.  Handy Daddy and I look at her like, "what the....???"  After several minutes of the screaming, I become quite annoyed concerned.  She was rubbing her nose a little, and Handy Daddy was worried she had put something up there.  I scoffed at the idea.  We have girls.  Girls don't do stuff like that.

I told him to pick her up, and she rested her head on his shoulder and cried for a good long while.  We then decided that she had to be teething.  That's why she was crying while she was eating.  Poor baby...her teeth hurt.  So we gave her some Tylenol and a teething ring and went outside to try to distract her from the pain.
This is her with her sister about 20 minutes after insertion and 10 minutes before discovery of the popcorn kernel.


After we were out there a while, she wanted to swing.  So I strapped her in and as she was on the upswing, I spotted something in her right nostril.

Popcorn kernel.

We head back into the house and try to suction it out with the suction bulb.  We push it so far in, we cannot see it anymore.  I called my neighbor, who is a pediatrician, and he suggested I take her to the ER, since he didn't have the proper tool at home to retrieve the popcorn kernel.

Thank the Good Lord, my cousin, who is a nurse in the Children's ER, was working and they slipped us in and out in 30 minutes.  No popcorn kernel was retrieved.  It seems Handy Daddy and I had pushed it all the way down and she swallowed it.  I wonder how much that ER visit cost us to figure that out?

I blamed the whole thing on Handy Daddy and said she got that from his side of the family.  He was quick to point out that it was MY siblings who did that sort of thing.  And his mother confirmed that he and his brothers never stuck any foreign bodies into their bodies.

He's right, you know.

I was the oldest child, so I never partook in any of this buffoonery.  But one of my brothers stuck M&Ms and rocks into his nose.  Another brother swallowed a gigantic button that had to be surgically removed from his esophagus.  And my baby sister put BBs into her ear.  They all took their own little trips to the ER.

I'm afraid.  I'm very afraid.

And I'm not having any more kids.

Monday, January 10, 2011

You are [hastily] and [tactlessly] made

The Bug got a little doll for Christmas from her Uncle Ben, that we all thought was quite sweet.

Here she is.


No, you don't need to adjust your screen and, no, I am not a terrible photographer.  This is actually my attempt to blur out her face so as to protect her true identity.  (Did it work?)  Because she would be horrified if you knew her true identity after you see the next photo of her.

While she is precious in the previous photo, I have another which portrays her in a much different light.

Warning:  The following image is slightly on the PG-13 side.

Here she is when you bend her legs for her to sit down.



Imagine our faces when we beheld this sight as the Bug innocently played with her doll on Christmas morning.

Okay, who are we kidding....we all know this is Tinkerbell, right?  Okay, moving along.

Is this "Four Corners" Tinkerbell?  Or "10cm and ready to push" Tinkerbell?

Who DESIGNED this toy????

In the countless hours it took to design and manufacture this thing.....NO ONE tried to bend this poor fairy's legs and said to themselves, "Uh-uh....that just don't look right."

For crying out loud, Mister Toy Manufacturer -- innocent children across the country are playing with this dreadful hoochie Tinkerbell!!!!

And I'm sure it was a "Mister" Toy Manufacturer, too.

Probably the same guy who invented the GoGirl.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

"I am not young enough to know everything." --Oscar Wilde



I don't understand why people say raising kids is so hard.

Personally, I find every moment of it enjoyable and fulfilling.

I don't mind at all that my kids won't eat a single meal I cook.  No, it doesn't bother me that I worked so hard to prepare and serve a meal, and they won't even take so much as a "no, thank you" bite.  I'm actually quite impressed by their ability to assert their independence.

And having the baby crying and hanging on my leg the entire time I cook dinner is actually quite touching.  It makes me feel so loved that she wants to spend that time with me.

When my preschooler screams "It's NOT FAIR!" at me when I ask her to wash her hands for dinner....well, that just shows me that I've instilled a sense of justice in my children.

I especially enjoy the screeches which come from the crib every 30 minutes throughout the night, because of that lost pacifier.  It makes me feel needed.

And when I have to wrestle the toddler on the floor to change her diaper -- well, I'm sure she's just concerned about being modest.  What a relief that is.

When my children fight over toys, I'm actually quite proud of their refusal to be pushovers.

Picking up those toys all day long has been a great help in getting my girlish figure back, too.

And those struggles in the morning to get my daughter to wear what I picked out for her....well, I guess she's just nurturing that budding sense of style.

No, I'd say parenting is really quite easy. 

Especially when you've got it all figured out like I do.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Open up and say "ahhhh"

If you're in need of a good laugh today, I have just the thing for you.

I only read a handful of blogs, but I discovered this wonderful blog It's Almost Naptime, thanks to another blogger friend, Jodie.  Well It's Almost Naptime's Missy and I obviously have the same sense of humor.  She cracks me up.  Click here to see her latest funny.

And, in an effort to give you something "original," i.e., something I found myself, I give you this:
(Spoiler Warning):  If you are not from Louisiana, you may need an interpreter.

























A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
 Proverbs 17:22