Thursday, January 30, 2014

Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

My book club friends are in for a treat tonight because I made a Brown Sugar Bundt Cake with a Butterscotch Glaze. The recipe is from The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook. (Casey, it is the gift that keeps on giving.)

I have not cut a slice yet, but I did have a spoonful of the glaze. My word it is good. The cake is lightly flavored with ground cardamom and lemon zest. My home smelled amazing as it baked last night.


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Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday Morning

I can't seem to concentrate this morning. Lydia woke up in the middle of the night and had multiple long conversations with her lovies and stuffed animals. So, instead of working, I'll share some videos.

I found this video yesterday on a old (broken) iPhone that we use in Lydia's room as a sound machine. Who knew that pulling old clothes out of a bag could be so much fun? Lydia looks so tiny in this video!


Here's a quick one a took this weekend. Photographic evidence that my child eats broccoli. At least she did yesterday, smothered in yummy sesame seed dressing.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Kombucha Tea: My New Favorite




Have y'all tried it? This "Trilogy" flavor is good. Kombucha, raspberry juice, lemon juice, and ginger juice. I love the sour flavor.

According to multiple articles, the stuff is better for you than soft drinks.
http://www.refinery29.com/kombucha
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/09/30/226531998/kombucha-magical-health-elixir-or-just-funky-tea

Oh, and the pic is my desk at work today.

- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Play Time



The weather was insanely gorgeous on Monday, so we got outside for some playtime with Lydia. We have a long flat driveway that is going to be great for ride toys and such. We pushed her up and down the driveway on her puppy toy. My body hurts now just thinking about it.

Any recommendations for ride toys that can be easily pushed by parents but transition to kid-propelled?

- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Lydia and Walle

I'm not quite sure what got into Walle the other night. He actually let Lydia get within a foot of him, then he let her touch him. That's a big deal around here, folks, so I am glad I captured it. Usually Walle bolts quickly when he sees Lydia coming his way.
- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

Taking a Walk

Someone has finally figured out how to put her feet down and walk with our help! For the longest time Lydia always lifted her feet off the ground when we tried to practice walking with her. I think she finally has the hang of it!

- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

Monday, January 06, 2014

Christmas Vacation 2013

I'm enjoying my last couple of hours of Christmas vacation this morning. It is 14F outside right now, with a high of only 16F. Tonight it is supposed to be 7F. What a way to welcome me back to the working world!

I've had lots of time off with my baby girl, and it has been wonderful! Here's the recap.

The weekend before Christmas, Lydia ran fever all weekend. We didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with family because Lydia had the flu, so I was paranoid about her being sick for Christmas, too. I took her to the doctor on Monday, and all that was wrong was a sore throat. She ran fever on Christmas Eve morning, but was fever free by that evening. We had planned to go to church at 4 pm on Christmas Eve, but we ended up staying home. I did not want to expose her to any more germs or to expose the other kids to hers.

Christmas morning was fun. I made a breakfast casserole, baked some Millie Ray's orange rolls, and Chip made his wonderful cappuccinos (as always).


Lydia played with her toys from Santa and opened her gifts from Mom and Dad. Santa brought her bath drums, a shapes puzzle, a mallet toy, and some clothes. Mom and Dad gave her a quilt, art smocks, and some books. (Bear with me on the photos. Baby girl does not sit still much these days.)


After opening gifts we finished packing the car and headed to Chip's parents' house in Hinds County. Lydia was a hoot. She even sat through Christmas dinner in her high chair. She faded fast after dinner, and we had to put her to bed before she could open all her gifts. The good and bad thing about having a set bedtime every night (7:30 pm) is that she is does not like to vary from the routine. Around 7:15 pm we reach meltdown stage if she isn't already in her jammies reading a story with Mom or Dad.

On the 26th we headed to Sallis for my nephew Lawes' first birthday party. It was a pancake party for breakfast, which I thought was so much fun! At the end of the party all the kids got on ride toys and rode in circles around the pool table in my brother's rec room. A toddler derby! Lydia rode a train while I pushed her around. She loved going fast with the other children. My legs were killing me!


We went back to Chip's parents' house after the birthday party, then I worked from their home office on Friday. On Friday night we went back to Sallis for Cain family Christmas. It was a fun night. One of my uncle's grandchildren gave Lydia her first bite (a nibble really) on her finger. It was all very dramatic. She loved playing with all of the other children and had a ball in the middle of the floor playing with wrapping paper, tissue paper, boxes, bags, and bows.

Saturday was rainy so we ended up staying inside to play most of the day. Then, on Sunday it was time to come home. We headed to the barn just before we left to let Lydia pet the horses and her uncle Scott's dog Ernie.







I worked Monday, then was off the rest of the week. It has been so great to be a Mom for a week. We went to the library, went shopping, took walks, and played, played, played. I'm so sad to see my time off come to an end. Lord knows I will miss her today.

Friday, January 03, 2014

This Little Lady Has Stolen My Heart


I meant to write a 15-month post, but life has been moving in fast-forward and I haven't been motivated to blog lately. Fall was busy with football season, then in late November Lydia got sick with the flu, then it was a double ear infection, then a cold. She is finally well and is now cutting her sixteenth tooth. That means once this one has cut through we are done with teething until her four 2-year-old molars come in. Then we are DONE with teething. Yay!

This week has been a good one. I worked Monday and have been off work since Tuesday. I haven't done much but hang out with my little girl, and it has really recharged my batteries. Over the past two weeks there have been lots of hugs and snuggles, but the BEST PART is that my girl started giving us kisses. She started with Chip the week before Christmas. Long story, but I was putting her to bed each night. Chip would give her a kiss before bed, and she started leaning in to get Daddy's sugar. That progressed to open mouth kisses when we asked for one, which progressed to what I got tonight: five kisses in a row initiated by Lydia. We were playing kitty cat (where we both crawl around and meow... yeah, I'm trying to get the hang of this pretend play thing), and I guess Lydia must have really liked it because she crawled over to me and gave me a kiss, then another, then another. Five kisses. Then Daddy tried to get one, and she crawled away ;)

My eyes immediately welled up with tears, and for anyone that knows me even a little bit, crying is not something I do much. Ok, ever. But that little act of love from this child I work so hard for, well, it made my heart overflow.