Afternoon Time

So thankfully T.L. Rhodes returned my precious girl to me on that first day with a smile and plenty of stories about her first day.  She saw old friends and made some new ones and truly liked her new teacher.  So far so good!

We went to the grocery store that day to get supplies because it was her turn to bring snacks for class the next day since it was her birthday on that Monday.  I chose to make some delicious cupcakes that my friend Shannon made for work before.  They were strawberry and creamcheese and did not have to have icing if we didn't want any.  My little assistant got started on the batter.  The recipe for them is here: 






Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

For the cupcakes

28 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix

1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup crushed fresh strawberries (5 - 6 large strawberries)

3 large eggs

For the filling

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese at room temp

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 28 cupcake cups with paper liners and set the pans aside.

2. Make the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, and flour in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the milk, oil, strawberries, and 3 eggs and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Set the batter aside.

3. Make the filling: Place the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and 1 egg in a medium size bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is creamy, 1 minute.

4. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of cupcake batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 26 - 28 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any) Spoon a generous tablespoon of the cheesecake filling over each cupcake.

5. Place the pans on the center rack of the oven. If both pans do not fit on one oven rack, it's fine to let a pan sit on the counter while the first batch of cupcakes bake. Bake the cupcakes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 20 - 25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and plan on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes longer before frosting.

6. Meanwhile, make a cream cheese frosting to top them with when cooled.

I found that the baking time is closer to 18 to 20 minutes if you are using the convection setting.  These things were super yummy and Albree said everyone loved them.  Here is before we iced them.  I forgot to take a pic of them after icing.  I also topped each with a Whole strawberry that had the top cut off for some nutritional value. 

That night for dinner we had potato chip coated chicken nuggets.  Once again my little assistant was happy to lend a helping hand.

First we cut up the chicken breasts and coated them with seasoning.  (You can see our choice of seasoning haha)

Next we whisked 2 eggs and some milk together for the coating.  Then is the fun part.  You get to crunch up a bunch of potato chips in a bag until they are very fine.  Toss the chicken in the egg mixture and then the crushed potato chips and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and Voila!  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Later that evening we had a brief sprinkle but Albree was dressed for the part as exemplified here:

She and her daddy finished the evening with a game of catch and our other child sat there like a perfect angel and watched the game though he wanted to chase the ball SOOOO bad. Got to love and cherish these moments.

I trust you will treat her well

I know a part of me is rejoicing at these 6 hours a day I have just to myself to complete all of the things I need to get done but a bigger part of me (a much bigger part) is mourning right now the loss of my little girl.  Now of course she is still my daughter and she gets to come home to me every night but now she isn't totally her mommy and daddy's little girl. She is a kindergartener in Mrs. Saucier's class and the Bossier Parrish School Board mandates that Monday through Friday from 7:50-2:25 she is theirs.  It is such a different feeling when before it was always a choice if she went anywhere and now it is required.  If we just want to stay cuddled in our beds, that can only happen on Saturdays and Sundays.  I miss her, I truly do and I am afraid that I'm going to lose that innocent, wonderful, wholehearted, genuine little girl that I love more than anything in the world.  I truly love the person she is.  I joke that she should work in public relations because she is always complimenting the people around her and making you feel good about your self.  Nobody is allowed to have low self esteem around that girl.  Though I don't feel that I am, I hear at least 10 times a day from here that I am wonderful and beautiful.  How can you not love that? Yesterday on the way home she told me that Daddy and I were the best because we always know what to say to make her happy yet it is her who is always the one complimenting us.  Needless to say she is just my most favorite person to be around.  What I'm afraid of is that now she is going to know that the world isn't perfect and sometimes people aren't always nice.  In our home she was the center of the world but at school she is just another student.  Right now she believes us wholeheartedly when we tell her she is the best, smartest, and prettiest little girl in the world but I am afraid that as the school year goes on she will start to doubt that and it breaks my heart.  I could be totally wrong and I pray to God that I am but nobody can deny that sometime school can be rough.  There is a poem written that put so beautifully the way I'm feeling inside.   It's called: I trust you'll treat her well

Dear World:

I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long.. and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sun when she runs.I trust you'll treat her well.She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning...and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine.Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Goodbye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.Now she'll learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells...and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip...and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy 'cross the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And now she'll learn to be jealous. And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside. And now she'll learn how not to cry.No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew. No, now she'll worry about those important things...like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friends is whose. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls. And now she'll find new heroes.For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and mother and friend. Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers ...which is only right. But no longer will I be the smartest woman in the whole world. Today when that school bell rings for the first time...she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.Today she'll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.I trust you'll treat her well.




This is definately a time to of joy as she starts this new path in her life but the past has been so wonderful that I'm just a little sad to let it go :(


Now on to the happier parts of back to school.  First is the outfit.  We chose this :

Then we got tucked into bed and read some bedtime books

The next morning started with a breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits.  YUM! Then we got her all ready and had to take the traditional picture outside.  

Her daddy and I then made the 10 minute journey to T.L. Rhodes.  And there she goes taking that first big step into a whole new world

We walked her in and I did really good, no crying and I didn't linger.  Now her daddy on the other hand did not do so well.  He was teary eyed and didn't want to leave.  I practically had to pull him out of there.  She is definitely the apple of his eye. 

So we let her go whether we liked it or not with the hopes that the world would treat her well.

Who Needs Sleep

So as I write this tonight, I have had 2 hours of sleep in the past 30 hours. Remarkably, I'm not that tired.  I spent the day with my favorite girl and am happy to report that I have been abiding by my policy of not staying on my phone or computer when she wants my attention.  She was SOOO funny with her constant referral to me today as "girl" with statements such as "Patience, girl" and "Let me tell you girl".  Of course everytime I tell her to stop calling me girl, I'm laughing and so in turn, she is laughing and I continue to be called girl. Oh well, I guess there are much worse things that she could call me.  On a totally inappropriate note, my daughter ended the night lying on my chest while we were snuggled in her bed and she lifted her head up, fluffed my right breast like a pillow and laid her head back down. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.  She honestly is a constant source of entertainment. Never a dull moment with that one.

I am going to finally post about something to do with one of my favorite hobbies: cooking. I'm not talking about baking exotic worldly items but instead southern cooking, Paula Deen style.  Tonight was flatbread cheeseburgers which consisted of a hamburger concoction on top of a fried biscuit. YUM! To make it you take 1lb of ground beef and brown in skillet. I seasoned with salt, pepper, worstershire sauce, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder and Tony's.  Drain grease from beef. Then saute some onions and minced garlic in skillet. Return beef to skillet and mix in 1/2 cup of ketchup and 2 tablespoons of mustard. The original recipe called for onion soup mix, water and apple cider vinegar mixed in with it but I didn't have any and it turned out fine without it.  Put mixture on medium low heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.  While meat is cooking, take a can of Grands biscuits and roll each out to a 6 inch circle. In a seperate skillet fry each biscuit on each side 30 seconds to 1 minute. You can use a little bit of oil in pan if you want a crispier crust.  Top each biscuit with some of the hamburger mixture and some shredded cheddar cheese and Voila!

Other things that kept me busy this past week included replanting flower beds (I know now is not the time but everything died while we were on vacation). 

I also tried desperately to repair a hummingbird feeder that I have already returned once. I used super glue, monkey glue and plumber's putty with no luck. The bottom is cracked and clearly still leaking.

I also have been consumed with planning Albree's 5th Birthday and was super pumped to find this cute cake stand

And sadly I had to buy my little baby girl's kindergarten uniforms and backpack (which I proudly got for $3.25 instead of buying the $45 one from Pottery Barn that we really wanted).  Can't believe we are at this stage already. 

 Lastly I have to share this pic of my other child. Since he has not gotten in trouble in over 2 weeks, I am feeling overly affectionate towards him. In all honesty I LOVE this dog. Taylor and I will spend hours making up conversations we believe he is saying. Lame but I wouldnt want my life any other way!

Microbiology Lesson for the day

To all parents and future parents, heed my warning.  There is about a 75% chance that any illness your little munchkin catches, you will end up with.  Last night, we went out for family night to Buffalo Wild Wings and then to the movies to see Cars 2 (Taylor and Albree's choice). At dinner I really didn't have an appetite and I started feeling kind of queasy.  I then remain nauseated throughout the movie, and then ended it at home nauseated and feeling febrile with chills tucked under my blankets with a blue cleaning bucket next to me in the event that my nausea progressed.  Luckily, the bucket was never used, but I now get to go to the endodontist in about 2 hours for a root canal revision.  Yay because the first time wasn't fun enough that I want to do it all over again.  On a good note, my sweet lovie just walked in with a breakfast she made all by herself for me.  On one side I'm ecstatic at the lovely gift, but on the other I'm crying inside at the thought that my baby just made me breakfast in bed completely unassisted (as a safety note none of the items required cooking).   Wow, really starting to feel like life is speeding up and I want it to slooooooowwww down.  I'm not ready for her to be this grown up yet but it looks like I have no choice but to embrace it.  Well I'm off to enjoy my yummy breakfast.

Sick

Taking care of sick kids is one of the things I am most passionate about however I am very selfish in that I want those sick children to be any child but mine.  Unfortunately today, that was not the case. I got the call this morning that while I spent the night caring for 2 other children, my little girl spent the night in the bathroom vomiting at her Nana and papa's house.  Finally at 7:00 this morning she didn't have anything left and was just producing clear flym.  I felt so guilty like I was cheating on her.  I know logically I shouldn't but I do.  Now the 2 kids last night were technically more acute than her but as a mother I don't care.  There is a fine line between being a nurse and a mom and maybe that is why I love my job so much because I truly love being a mom. But I felt like though my two patients last night needed me to care for them, Albree will always be my first priority.  Her nana did an amazing job with her but I was supposed to be the one there with her.  I know that at some point it crossed her mine that she wanted her mommy and I wasn't there and that kills me.  I did however jump into action this morning and work on a care plan to get her better which involved a prescription for some Zofran.  One of the perks of my job is that I work with some great doctors that offer their pharmaceutical remedies to our little ones so with script in hand I was headed to Walgreens.
As I was headed into my inlaws, I could hear her sweet little voice saying Momma. My sweet girl was curled up in bed looking pitiful.  You could tell she had a long night.  She got her first dose of the antiemetic and was tucked backed in bed. I crouched down next to the bed and laid my head next to hers and then that amazing little girl started to stroke my cheek. After she spent the night over a toilet bowl she was trying to comfort me.  She really is the most loving and nurturing person I have ever met.  I truly am doing her a great injustice by keeping her as an only child because her sibling(s) would be loved and cared for beyond belief. I then had to deal with the fact that I was going to have to leave her to go let our big baby at home out and give him his breakfast. Luckily my amazing father in law volunteered to go so that I could stay exactly where I needed to be.  We spent the next couple hours snuggled in bed at which time she got up and vomitted once more while I was sleeping right next to her. A lot of help I was:( I woke up at 1:30 with her wide awake next to me saying that she was trying to be real quiet so that she didn't wake me up. Once again her selflessness is remarkable. Luckily the vomitting stopped but unfortunately led to diarrhea. The poor thing went through 4 sets of panties because she was having trouble making it to the commode in time.  I even walked in on her one time sitting on the toilet, bent over trying to clean up some of her diarrhea off the floor with a wipey. I immediately got teary eyed at the site and told her mommy would of cleaned that up and she responded that she wanted to be a big girl.  AMAZING. I am really not trying to gloat on how great my daughter is but it is moments like this that define life for me.  To see her in a situation where she should be grumpy and down right miserable yet that sunshine she emits can not be extinguished.  I get so excited thinking about watching her grow because I know the end result is going to be a truly kind hearted, unique, amazing individual.
As for now, baby girl is curled up next to her daddy in our bed (because she asked me if she could sleep with us tonight followed by the comment "You want me to get better, don't you?") Luckily the diarrhea and vomitting has stopped and she is just keeping a low grade temp of 100.7. She hasn't eaten much but has been drinking her blue Gatorade.  Hopefully we only have 2 hours left out of a 24 hour bug and she will be back to her old self in the am.  Guess I'm going to go snuggle up next to her because like she said I do want her to get better and there is no better remedy than a good snuggle

Sore Loser

I played Bunko tonight and confirmed the fact that I HATE to lose. I don't cry or throw things or get all moody but I really DO NOT enjoy it. Guess it is my competitive side coming out. But then I came home and realized that I have the greatest gift of all.  Albree Lyn greeted me at the door with the invitation of a back massage. SCORE!!! My sweet lovey rubbed my shoulders and then we curled up on the couch under my favorite blue blanket and watched the rest of Despicable Me. It was perfect. She was half way laying on my chest and sandwiched between me and the couch and that is how she slipped off to sleep. I love and cherish these moments.   I showered her head with kisses before I finally decided that for the sake of the circulation in my left arm I should take her to her bed.  I tucked her in which is probably not a routine I had at this age.  I'm so very thankful that by the grace of God I have arrived at this place in my life. The cycle of neglect and disappointment will not continue with me.  I know I'm not going to be the perfect parent or nowhere close but I do feel confident that my child will have a better childhood than I did and she will NEVER have her mother leave her.  Didn't mean to get quite so deep but this blogging is proving to be very therapeutic!

Truly Blessed but yet sometimes I forget

This morning when I arrived at my in-laws from a rather challenging evening, I was greeted by God's greatest gift to me. My little brown eye beauty met me at the door with hugs, kisses and multiple terms of endearment.  When I sunk into their chair and a half and began to relay to my fil the events of the evening my sweet lovey got up off her papa's lap, came over and covered me with a blanket and told me she would take care of me. I have to admit I almost took her up on it because that little girl is an amazing caregiver but I just told her all I needed was her snuggling and I would be good to go.  Up until this point everything sounds wonderful and bradybunch like, but unfortunately from this point on my sleepiness lead to me being short with my sweet girl. It started with brushing teeth.  Every time I tell her it's time to brush her teeth, she asks me to go into the bathroom with her so that she won't be scared however, my laziness has been ruling out over my mothering skills.  I just don't have the umph to get out of the big comfy chair so I just sit there and tell her that she is a big girl and that she needs to go brush her teeth. Why do I do this? I know in the back of my mind that these moments are going to be gone before I know it and there will come a time when I yearn for her to want me around yet I stay planted in my chair and off she goes sad and let down.  1st failure of the day and its only 7:48. Next comes getting her hair into a bun for princess camp. This is NEVER a fun thing and always ends up with both of us in bad moods. 2nd failure at 7:52. We then leave so we can go to Academy for new ballet shoes before camp. I call her daddy on the way there and did my biggest failure of the day. Since both of us were still in sour moods because of the hair bun issue I said to her dad that we were on our way to princess camp so that Albree could learn to be nice. I then carried on with my conversation for another minute and went to hand the phone to Albree and saw that the angel I was suppose to protect was crying.  3rd Failure at 8:02. My thoughtless words had really hurt her feelings. She wasn't throwing a fit but quietly crying because I had done real damage. I quickly tried to do damage control and explain to her that I was just kidding and I really didn't feel that way. And of course her being the sweet girl she is totally and whole heartedly accepted my apology without an ounce of hesitation. I guess that is the true beauty of a child. All they want is our love and they hold no grudges. This morning made me really think about the fact that I really am blessed. Not only do I get to be a mother, but I get to be a mother to a truly good hearted, wonderful person.  All she wants is my attention and this morning made me realize it is time to put the iphone down and turn the computer off and start making some real memories with my baby girl who will not be a baby much longer.