Eggless Bread Pudding!!

I was looking at all of the crescent rolls that we had left over from Thanksgiving (about 15 or so) and thought that I should use them to make something yummy- and then it hit me!  Bread Pudding!  I made an eggless bread pudding with skim milk and it was yummy!

I preheated my oven to 350 degrees and then I tore up the rolls and placed them in a greased 9X13 pan.  After that, I took 1/2 cup of sugar and sprinkled it on top of the rolls.  Next, I poured 2 - 2 1/2 cups of skim milk on top of the rolls and added some semi sweet chocolate chips (1/3 cup) sprinkled on top.  I then 'squished' the bread down with the flat side of a fork so the rolls would soak up the milk.  I placed the pan in the hot oven for 40 - 45 min.  It will puff up some.

After taking it out, I made an icing of powdered sugar and a tiny, tiny bit of water (it should be as thick as icing that you drizzle).  Slice the bread pudding and pour the icing on to each ind. slice.  I hope that you all enjoy this as much as my husband and I did!  *side note- my husband said that it tasted even better the next day.  He warmed it up in the microwave and then did the icing.  Good luck and Enjoy!

~Casey

  

Thankful

It is funny how we all say how thankful we are for the people in our life right now and the loved ones that we have lost.  Instead, we should be thankful for all of the people in our lives, good or bad, because that has helped to shape and mold us into the people that we have become.  Maybe we have gained a bit more compassionate or even have the ability to stand up for ourselves.  I feel as though everyone has been placed in my life for a reason and I am grateful for the many relationships that I have had along the way.

My parents are a gift- God gave me the best parents in the world and the best brothers, too!  My husband is my ROCK and I am not sure where I would be without him.  Our little girl is a precious angel and because of her, I now know the true meaning of LOVE!  Our nieces are perfect and beautiful and our nephews are wonderful, too.  I am thankful for my sweet sister in law and am grateful that she makes my brother happy!   I have great cousins, aunts and uncles - I just wish that we could see each other more often.  My mother in law and father in law are fantastic, loving people and I am so happy that they are mine.  I am also thankful that Samantha has 4 grandparents and 2 great grandmothers that she knows and loves very much.

My friends~ the saying goes 'Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.'  For my family, this is very true.  I have had friends in my life for a long time, for a short time and for some time in the middle of life.  For everyone of you, whether we speak or not, I am thankful for you.  I have learned something from each of you that has helped me grow as a person.

I am going to end with a quote, but before I do, I hope that everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and has time to sit around the table to remember all of the people who have touched their lives.

'People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do'   -unknown

~Casey

The Great Pumpkin

When Samantha was diagnosed with her peanut/ tree nut allergy, so many thoughts ran through my head- How will I explain this to other parents? How will I be able to keep her safe when she is away from me? And then Halloween creeped up on us and 'OH MY GOODNESS WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO??'  "She can NOT go trick or treating!!" (that was my initial thought) But that is not the right way to handle the situation.  So, I was talking to a friend one day and she suggested that 'The Great Pumpkin' come and visit our house (kind of like Santa, Easter Bunny, etc).  AH HA! What a great idea!  So, now, Samantha goes trick or treating just like everyone else, the only difference is that I carry safe candy for her and her friends to eat while they are out together.  At the end of the evening, we give our candy to the other children.  By the next morning, 'The Great Pumpkin' has visited the house and left a little (non edible) gift for Samantha.  This seems to work well for us and I hope that it gives some parents a good idea for their children that deal with life threatening food allergies.

  

2009

2010

2011

It's been a while.... AGAIN!!

Writer's block!  Yep, that  is what I will call it!  I feel like every time I sit down to write something, I have no inspiration, well, that is until the other day.  I was thinking of ways to help me with my anxieties- journaling- check and daily prayer and meditation- check... What else could I do?  As I sit in my chair covered by an afghan that my Granny spent many hours crocheting for Kevin and I, it hits me- I should crochet!  My Granny taught me how to crochet when I was a little girl and what a great gift that was.  So, I got in my car and went to Hobby Lobby and picked out some yarn (boy are there a lot of choices)!  I came home and crocheted a pretty cream colored, curly scarf and I am going to give it to my Granny next weekend!

It is so nice to realize how loved we must have been and still are.  My Granny crocheted a blanket for every one of her grandchildren, her own children, their spouses and not too mention the extra blankets that she crocheted for our families 'just because'.   I can't even begin to imagine how many hours she spent making these blankets for us.  We never had a 'store bought' blanket in our home when I was growing up and God help you if you took one of your siblings afghans!

So, with that, I am excited to have made this scarf and bring it to my Granny- making it brought me so much happiness and wonderful memories.  People show affection in many different ways- and this was one way that my Granny showed us how much she loved us.  I will post pictures of Granny and her new scarf next weekend.

OH and the other reason for writing today- BLUE BELL'S HOMEMADE IN THE SHADE is back in the freezer!!  YAY!!  I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

~Casey

Granny and I

Mini Kolaches

So, I came home last night fully prepared to make mini kolaches for this morning.  I had the cream cheese, butter and flour all ready to go - when what to my wondering eyes should appear?? A blue, shiny can of Pillsbury biscuits in my refrigerator, rear (how do y'all like my poetry??)!  OK- no more rhyming, I promise!  So, I pre heated the oven to 450 degrees.  I then flattened ea. biscuit with my hands and used a pizza cutter to cut them in half.  I put a little smokie at the end of each half and rolled them up and set them on a cookie sheet that was lined with foil.  when the oven was heated and all of the sausages were snug in their biscuit roll, I put them in the oven for 8 min!  Yep, it was that easy and they are that yummy, too!  My husband wants me to make more to dip in spicy mustard now!  So, if you need something quick to make for breakfast or even a football party snack, try this!

Enjoy!!
 ~Casey

Just a couple of things....

So, I went to Target the other day with my Mom and grandmother.  I had to get a few things and then head home- when I was taking everything out of the car, I realized that my hand sanitizer was in the plastic tub that I had bought.  I checked the receipt and realized that I had not paid for it!  YIKES!  I called Target immediately (they giggled at my honesty) and today when I was there, I paid for that bottle of hand sanitizer!  I know you all must think that I am crazy for making such an ordeal out of this, but this is a very important lesson for everyone- especially our children.  I told Samantha not to use the hand sanitizer until Mommy paid for it and before I could finish telling her I was going to pay for it- she screamed 'You stole?!?! Momma you are in BIG trouble!' After her rant, I was able to explain to her that it was an honest mistake and that as soon as I figured out that it had not been paid for, I called the store immediately.  I was able to explain to her that everyone makes mistakes, but as long as you tell the truth and then fix the situation, everything will be OK!  She was very happy that I was not in BIG trouble, but more than that, I am happy that she learned an important lesson about telling the truth.

I also wanted everyone to know that this weekend we will be participating in the FAAN walk for food allergy awareness in Houston. Please see the link below to donate to Team Samantha!! FAAN is a great organization that has educated my family as we learn to live with our own food allergies.

http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR?team_id=74352&pg=team&fr_id=2250&et=iVS8Byy8G6PVSo2v_AQHzg&s_tafId=28662

I hope that everyone is having a great Wednesday!

Samantha, GG and Mommy! 

~ Casey

Bows, Bows and more BOWS!

If you have a girl, you will sympathize!  BOWS are everywhere!  We have 3 bow holders currently and they are all filled.  So, as I was walking through Hobby Lobby the other day and ran across these large white letters and I thought that would be a great base to add more than one ribbon onto for a BIG bow holder.  So, I bought it- of course- and then brought it home and painted it with 2 coats of acrylic paint.  After that, I added the polka dots and then the glitter (make sure the paint is still tacky to hold the glitter).  I let this dry completely and then I sprayed the whole letter with a clear spray (2 coats) to make sure the glitter stayed on and that the paint will not chip.  When that dried, I took some craft glue and adhered 3 ribbons separately. The first ribbon (about 12 in long), I connected the 2 ends together and glued the connected ends to the top, backside of the letter.  The second two ribbons (about 30 in ea) I connected to either side of the bottom of the backside of the letter.  Let it dry and HANG IT UP!!  Now we have room for all of the bows... I even think we could add a few more to Samantha's collection!

I hope that everyone is having a great day.   Remember to smile and don't forget to eat your ice cream!  OH YEAH! Birthday Cake ice cream by Blue Bell- YUMMY!!

~Casey

Growing up!

It's really funny how life changes- it seems as though it revolves in cycles. When I was a young girl, I really wanted to be around my family. They were my safety and I always felt secure around them. Then as I got into my late teen years, I felt safety in my own independence. I would go out on my own or with my friends- I had my own car, and at 18 yrs of age I was legal! I was finally able to vote, go to bars and I was even legal to order my own drinks!

After a few years, I had met the love of my life (early 20's) and we were starting to plan a future together! I realized then that I needed both my husband and the rest of my family! Whether it was for approval or just someone to model our life after, I needed all of them to be a huge part of our life. Fast forward a five + years.... Finding out that we were pregnant and planning for our new baby girl! This made me realize that I needed to be strong and independent to set not only a good example, but to make sure that Samantha was well taken care of. For many years, I have been extremely independent- as my good friend once told me "You have to put on your big girl pants and deal with it!". And that is exactly what I did for almost 6 years!

Now that Samantha is in school and doing well, I have a lot of time on my hands and I realized something... Yet again, I really miss my parents and my brothers and their families. I enjoy my parents visits a little bit more than I ever have before and I look forward to going 'home' to see my brothers and there families. It is nice to look back and remember the different points of my life and really think about what was happening and how it accounted for the independence that I had or that I didn't have at that time. I can't wait to see where the next few years take me, but I am ready for the ride!

My Dad and I

My Mom and I

This is my Dad holding me with my grandfather, cousin and older brother.

My sweet family!

Outside Projects

Outside projects are so much fun!  We enjoy writing with sidewalk chalk, painting on a canvas, painting bird houses, hula hooping, tie dying t-shirts and plenty of other fun outdoor projects/ hobbies! Samantha even came down the other day and wanted to go bird watching with her Daddy before dinner!  Not sure how many birds were spotted, but she got our family outside before dinner and it was nice to get out and breathe some fresh, although hot and humid, air!    

It is really hard to convince our children to step outside these days- we have all become so happy and content with being inside, in the comfort of our AC (not that it is a bad thing) but a little sunshine and playful imagination will go a long way with helping our children to become more well rounded- not to mention their happiness and health!

I hope that everyone is having a happy day and is enjoying their weekend!

~Casey

 

This is the tree that we hang our painted birdhouses from!

Tie Dying!

Bird watching with Daddy!

MAKE UP!!

I love MAKE UP!  I have been a very brand loyal customer until recently.  In my own opinion, there are certain parts of brands that can be interchanged with a lesser expensive version.  For example, I have always used Christian Dior Extase mascara or Bad Gal Lash mascara (both are around $27 a tube) until I tried the Ulta brand mascara, Lash Icon ($10 a tube), and I LOVE it!! It goes on smoothly and it makes my lashes look very long and full! The next thing I have tried is eye shadow.   Maybelline has a 24 hour cream eye shadow that I use just about everyday!  It is really great- I will even put a little on before I go to the gym and it does not sweat off.  I do, however, continue to love my Dior shadows and I have not found a powder eye shadow that is as soft as Dior's yet.  I have always used the Dior Airflash (air brush foundation) which cost $65 per can!  It is wonderful and I love it, but I was going thru it so fast.  I did find another air brush foundation called Aero Minerals, this was also found at Ulta.  It is a great substitute for the Dior Airflash and the Aero Minerals only cost $14.99!  I have tried and tried to find a good substitute for Bare Minerals powder- I have tried L'oreal, Revlon and Maybelline's mineral powder and there is no comparison- Bare Minerals powder, in my humble opinion, is still the best.  Eyeliner, I like to use gel eyeliner, it is smooth and it goes on with a brush so easy and it is so light on your eyes.  I have used Bobbi Brown, Dior and Maybelline's and believe it or not, the Maybelline brand went on the easiest and I did not have to keep reapplying to get the liner darker.  Maybelline also kept its moisture in the pot better than Bobbi Brown eyeliner.  Dior's liner stayed moist, but it need 3 or 4 applications before I could get it to the shade that I liked.  Lipstick- I think I have 50+ lipsticks at one time!  This is definitely my favorite part of make up.  I use Revlon, L'oreal, Dior, BUT my two favorite brands are Chanel (lipstick and gloss) and Buxom (lip plumping gloss)!  I have been purchasing the same color of Chanel lipstick and gloss since Samantha was born and the color never gets old!  I have tried a so many of the lip plumpers and I really think that Buxom outshines them all!  They have the best color selection and it really does plump your lips!       

Well, that is my 2 cents on make up.  I hope that you all enjoyed reading this and I also hope that if you know of a good brand to share, that you will share it with the rest of us!

Have a wonderful day and SMILE- it's contagious!

~Casey

Here are a few of my favorite 'deals'!  I also have in here the Sephora wrinkle filler.  It is wonderful!

Getting ready...

This is such a bitter sweet time for me, as well as most moms out there.  I look forward to the routine, but I will miss being whimsical and sleeping in if we 'feel like it'.  Summer break is coming to an end and another adventure is ahead - for us it will be 1st grade!

When Samantha was a little, tiny baby, we were told to enjoy every moment because they grow up so fast.   It does feel like we just brought her home from the hospital and instead we are starting 1st grade next week.  She is so excited to return to school, as I am sure most children are, to see her friends, find out who her new teacher will be and who will be in her class.  It is amazing to me how most children embrace the change and yet some of us parents have such a hard time with it.   

It is very funny to see the different emotions in the hallways; crying, laughter, nervous, quiet smiles, 'high fiving', etc., and that's the parents that I am talking about!   I will be on the crying side- as I always am- and Kevin will be telling me that I have to leave the parking lot..... Yep!  I am 'that' mom!

Good luck to all the parents out there who's children have started school and will be starting soon!  If you cry, know that you will be in good company- I will be right there with you!  And if you are the happy, 'high fiving' type- thank you, you guys take the edge off and make what seems so scary to some parents a little bit lighter.

Enjoy your babies, hug them tight!  They don't stay little for long (although I wish they would)!  Thank you to all of my friends who have held me up after dropping Samantha off at all of her first days of school, preschool and yes even mother's day out (I think I cried for 2 weeks all the while Samantha was having a blast).   Enjoy your year and I hope that all of the children make the best grades that they can!

~Casey

Samantha with her GG and Pop

Birthday time!!

What a great time of year this is for us! Six years ago on the 9th of August, our little miracle was born.  Kevin and I tried for 7 years to get pregnant and one hurricane and a major move to San Antonio, we found out that we were pregnant!  What an exciting time this was for us!  So many memories flood my mind- calling my parents and then calling Kevin's parent's- Honey even told me that Angelina and Brad (Pitt) had just announced that they were pregnant too!  So, I have to say this was a very joyous time and we all celebrated this miracle that we had been given. 

The due date was set for Sept. 14 and we thought that we had all the time in the world to prepare.  Little did we know that our little angel was going to make a surprise appearance on Aug 9 (only 4 days after her grandfather's, Sam, birthday).  She was beautiful and tiny and absolutely perfect for our new little family!

Happy birthday to my sweet, beautiful angel! 

Scheduling time with yourself

Thru these past few months, I have realized something very important- scheduling time with myself and for myself.  It seems so cliche', but it is something that we should all try and do.  I schedule appointments for Samantha, Kevin, Georgie and myself - Dr's appointments, haircuts, etc.- and they are never broken.  I feel like those appointments are important and then it hit me-I need to schedule an appointment with ME! I have found a time (for me it is 8:30am to about 10 am) that I have a standing appointment with myself everyday.  I know that everyday is not realistic for most people, but even if it was 3 times a week you make a standing appointment with yourself- it is your time to make yourself better.  I have done yoga and Pilates, I have walked on a treadmill, listened to beautiful, soothing music and prayed the Novenas that I have been wanting to pray for so long.  This is my special appointment and I make sure to not break it just like I would not break a Dr's appointment or even a hair appointment.  Our time is valuable- to others yes, but to ourselves, it is precious.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!      

~Casey

I LOVE TO MOP!!

I know- what is wrong with that girl??  Seriously, who enjoys mopping?  ME- I do!  I especially love how it makes my house smell after I finish.. it kind of reminds me of a song I once heard  'So fresh and so clean, clean'....  Ok, I am done with the silly humor.

I was mopping yesterday and I tried out a new mixture to see how it actually cleaned and smelled.  To go back a couple of years, a friend of mine turned me on to mopping with vinegar.  This is the cleanest that my floors have EVER been- the only problem is, that now my house smells like a pickle after I mop.  Yes, the vinegar smell evaporates- eventually, but I like my house to smell fabulous after I finish mopping.  So this is what I did-  I filled up a regular mop bucket 2/3 of the way with warm tap water.  I then added 1 cup of white vinegar, 3 - 4 drops of dish soap (I use Meyers) and 10 - 15 drops of essential oil (I used lavender).  My floors are CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN and my house smells so good!

The 3 products that I used to mop with.... oh yeah and my ice cream in the back ground-  of course it is Blue Bell's Homemade in the Shade- this is my treat for working so hard today!  ;-)

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

I was on Pinterest yesterday and I saw this idea and thought, "How cute is that?!?!"  It was a mason jar turned into a soap dispenser.  If you don't already know, I am obsessed with mason jars!  I love them- I have made cake in them; I store homemade sauces and jams in them- they are just GREAT- in my opinion, at least!  So, I got right up, went outside to my husbands tool box and borrowed a hammer and a long phillips head screwdriver - oh yeah, and I grabbed the kitchen soap and a mason jar on the way out!  I measured how large the hole had to be  (for the soap pump to fit through the top of the jar) and then I took the hammer to the top of the screwdriver and lightly tapped a hole into the top.  After the pump was set in place, I filled the jar with the hand soap, trimmed the 'straw' that comes from the pump and screwed on the top of the mason jar.  Next, I used a craft glue and adhered the top (part that would typically screw on to the soap bottle) to the flat surface of the mason jar. And voila`!  I now have the cutest soap dispenser at my kitchen sink!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  I also hope that you have all enjoyed some ice cream this weekend- I know that we have!

~Casey

Lunch box notes

Everyday (except for 1 day) last school year I sent a note in Samantha's lunchbox- and she looked forward to them everyday! Eventually her friends looked forward to them, too and her teacher even read them!

Getting ready for the new school year, I wanted to do something special with her notes and not just throw them into a box. So, I used ModPodge and adhered them to a canvas. I am going to hang it in her bathroom so every morning she knows how much she is loved and how proud we are of her!

I will be writing lunch notes again this year and will hang them year after year next to one another to remember the year past and all of her accomplishments!
 

It is so important for our children to know, everyday, how important they are to their family! Enjoy!

This is it finished, but still wet.  I will post another pic after it is dry and hung!

Party Cups

I love party cups! When I was in my sorority, I loved making these cups for anyone and everyone and guess what?? I still love making them & I make them for most holidays, birthdays, etc!

The 'rattle' that paint pen makes is music to my ears- I love to decorate the whole cup and add a little gift to the inside of the cups - pencils or crayons; candy; mini wine bottles or even better a scoop of ice cream for an ice cream social! Here are a few of the cups that I have made in the last year. Enjoy!

NAIL POLISH!

Girl's night in and Samantha and I were discussing what we should do over a plate of mac n cheese (best girl's night food ever!).  Recently, I saw where you can make your own nail polish by using eye shadow and clear polish- and what do you know..... I had everything here to do this project!

We took a small fork and broke small pieces out of the eye shadow and mixed 2 or three colors for each polish on a paper plate.  Next we made a funnel out of paper and added about 1/2 a tsp at a time into the clear polish until we reached the desired color.  *note: as you add the powder, tap the bottle on a counter to get the powder to fall so you can add more.  This was really fun and VERY simple!

Now, we are off to have some ice cream and watch a movie in bed!  I hope that you all have a great Monday evening! 

OH and P.S. The polish looks great on, too!  Nails and toes are done! :-)

To be a kid again!

This last week has been full of good news- my sister in law's surgery was successful, I had a good Dr's appt and last, but certainly not least, Samantha's appt at TX Children's went great- we met Samantha's new EP Dr and we all really liked him!

What a great ending to happy, yet very rainy week! We were able to go to the park and have fun- at least until the mosquitoes came out!

Since the rain started again, we took the party inside and decided to have an indoor 'camp out'.  Samantha had S' mores Mix and enjoyed a movie!  I love evenings like this!  I hope that everyone had a great Friday and has an even better weekend!

Monkey Bars!!

Enjoying her movie!