a valentines day quicky

first off, get your brain out of the gutter! *confession: i titled it that so your brain would go to the gutter and then i would get to call you back from said gutter!* i know it's two days late, but hey that's how i roll. so yeah. if you don't want to read ooey gooey, mushy, lovey stuff you can just high tail it outta here!

we spent most of the day basking in the loving glow that is our family. we gazed lovingly into each other's eyes and said things like "you complete me" and "i can not imagine my life without you in it." the baby went down perfectly and dave and i had perfect husband wife time.

wait, what? oh, i'm sorry. i must have started typing out the synopsis of my sure-to-be-a-blockbuster chick flick. that is sooooo not how our day went down.

i actually spent the day in my pajamas with a little that did the same. we had two diaper blowouts and a leaky nap time pee diaper. i hadn't had a shower in two days and i can't remember if i brushed my teeth or not. it was pure elegance in that you-better-tell-me-i'm-elegant-or-i'm-going-to-rip-your-face-off type of way. at least i got a good kiss that morning!

dave went out later that day to pick up his check. i wasn't expecting anything, but this dude sure made my day! he gets me in a way that no one else does. and boy does he listen! he remembers things that i say that i don't even remember saying. like how i only like zero bars when i have a&w root beer to drink with it. and how pink and purple are my favorite colors and that i can't decide which one i like better. and how daisies are friendly flowers. and nerd candy is my secret obsession.

anyway i hear his truck pull into the driveway and in he walks. he closes all the blinds and tells me to sit on the couch and not move. he comes and gets me a few minutes later. this is what i saw!

pink and yellow gerber daisies, my favorite coffee (whole bean eight o'clock coffee - french roast), heavy whipping cream for my coffee, and my secret coffee splurge (starbucks frappuccino).

i'm not a rose kind of girl. they are lovely, but if you're going to get me flowers, daisies are the way to go. i never buy whole bean coffee and whipping cream anymore. that's what a tight budget will do. i will always love the coffee ritual of grinding your own beans, waiting for the machine to stop brewing (or actually just brew enough to pour a cup) and then mixing in the heavy whipping cream. if you have never used whipping cream as creamer, you are missing out. and secret splurges are just that. only certain people know that you like them. i'm not a coffee snob, but normally i don't go for the sweet, sweet stuff. but he knows i like them every now and then.

he's a keeper!

chocolate peanut butter bomb

i first threw this together for a church potluck. it has since become my husband's favorite dessert. so for valentine's day, i made it for him. it's super creamy and rich and gooey and oh my goodness wonderful! hope you enjoy!

warning: the following dessert is high sugar, high fat, and is so rich that you'll probably be sky high. just saying! :o) don't say i didn't warn you!

ingredients

brownie layer:
1 brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup light oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

pudding layer:
2 packages chocolate instant pudding
1 3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 container of whipped topping
1/2 cup peanut butter

directions

brownies:
1. preheat oven and prepare pan according to brownie mix directions.
2. beat all brownie layer ingredients together until smooth. the batter will be sort of thick.
3. bake according to box directions.
4. allow to cool completely.
5. cut into bite size chunks.

pudding:
1. empty packages of pudding mix into large mixing bowl
2. add milk and whipping cream and whisk until smooth
3. add peanut butter and whisk again
4. fold in whipped topping
(the pudding will be thicker than normal pudding)

select your container (trifle dish, wine goblets, whatever) and start layering. i start with the pudding, then brownies, then whipped topping, repeat until you get to the top. you can serve right away, or chill until ready to serve. i think it would look extra awesome with some shaved chocolate on the top!

we start early around here!

is this real life?

i am working very hard at not feeling guilty, but then i end up feeling guilty because i feel guilty...it's a vicious cycle.

take right now for example. i'm feeling guilty because i am taking a few minutes to myself. the little is asleep, the poet is at work, and i should be doing the dishes or homework or sweeping my horrible floors or doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom or reading for school or a million other things that i could easily come up with. i need someone to invent a machine that will stop time so that i can get everything accomplished and still have time to be a loving wife and mother. please? anyone? i don't have much money to pay, but i can make a fantastic chocolate peanut butter bomb!

i struggle with a lot of things. right now i'm struggling with who i actually am. i've got all these hats and labels and when i try to put them all together they clash horribly, like a fiery red head wearing cotton candy pink (no offense fiery red heads with an affinity for pink). i try to be a mom and wife and homemaker and student. it's not working out so well for me. let's put it this way, i have one assignment due tonight, my floors are begging to be swept and mopped (i will not tell you the last time that they actually got swept and mopped...i don't want to look that bad), and i have no idea what we are having for dinner.

i try to make lists and cross things off. that works sometimes, except i hate when i can't just go straight down the list. i hate when i have to skip something and come back to it later.

i have no idea why i'm even writing this. maybe just getting it out there into the void will clear some space in my head.

speaking of lists, maybe writing one will get things out of my brain.

-being a mom is hard.
-being a graduate student is hard.
-being a wife is hard.
-putting those three together is REALLY hard.
-i'm trying to find joy in the fact that not running my dryer is saving me money, but i loathe doing laundry without one. it takes FOREVER.
-i need some chocolate.
-coffee sounds good right now, but i don't need the caffeine this late. decaf is just an abomination.
-i can't spell to save my life. good thing i'm cute.
-i wish i could just have one day of doing absolutely nothing. laying around watching movies, eating ice cream all day kind of nothing.
-anyone want to come clean my house?
-i am almost out of underwear. guess i need to do my own laundry.
-that is all.

i'm done.

Dear God,

i love coffee. i really do. it is my sanity first thing in the morning. i am so thankful that you gave whoever it was the idea to grind coffee beans and brew them. thank you for heavy whipping cream that makes my beverage a wonderfully creamy brown. thank you for my wonderful coffee pot that keeps up with my needs and doesn't complain.

i hate to complain about anything. i really do, but my hands are in a constant state of frozen. recently, i have taken to holding my mug for extended periods of time so that my hands can thaw. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could we please have some iced coffee weather? weather that allows my hands to be normal body temperature and allows me to enjoy a wonderfully ice filled coffee? i would really appreciate that.

i do understand, though, if that's not your will for the middle of febuary, but i've been taught to come to you with my concerns.

thank you God,
sarah

teething cookies

so a couple of weeks ago i found myself with a a can of baby cereal that was about to expire (the can says to discard after it has been open 30 days) and i didn't know what i was going to do with it. my little decided he didn't like it anymore. he was refusing to eat oatmeal in the mornings, and i wasn't going to force it on him. so here i am, wondering what in the world i can do with all this cereal. i didn't want it to go to waste, but i knew he wasn't interested.

so i racked my brain. and racked some more. then i was like COOKIES! surely it works like flour does, but The Poet wasn't too thrilled about eating baby cereal cookies. actually, neither was i. so then i thought, babies like to chew on things, especially if it tastes good!

so i threw together a quick recipe to make the little some cookies to enjoy. (if you are worried about a gluten allergy, these do have flour in them. I'm not sure what you would use as a substitute for flour though.)

Teething Cookies

1 cup baby cereal (i used oatmeal)

1 cup flour

1 cup fruit juice (i used 4 ounces pear and 4 ounces apple because that's what i had on hand)

1 cup fruit baby food (you could use veggies i guess. i just went with a fruit flavor...banana)

1. combine all the ingredients until a dough forms. (the dough is quite sticky and not a typical cookie dough consistency. that's cool. don't worry!)

2. flour your work surface, your hands, and your rolling pin (i used wax paper over my counters so there wouldn't be as much of a mess)

3. roll out dough to desired thickness (made mine as think as i could go). i was constantly sprinkling extra cereal so it wouldn't stick to my hands, rolling pin, and work surface.

4. using a pizza cutter, cut into rectangles (you could use cookie cutters i guess. i didn't fish any out though)

5. place on cookie sheet. they don't spread very much at all, so you can cram as many on there as you want.

6. they sort of puff up (learned this after the first tray already went in) so prick each cookie with a fork several times so that air can escape. this reduces air pockets.

7. bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 25 minutes.

they were pretty easy to make and they freeze really well. I've made several different batches now with whatever fruit juice and baby food i have on hand. the little is really enjoying them lately. at first he was all like "what do i do with this?" but as you can see, he's figured it out!