Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  I definitely had a blast.  I'll share more after I share these delicious blueberry muffin recipe.  I found it on Pinterest, of course.  They are soooo good.  I had some buttermilk leftover from a salad dressing I made and I bought a large container of blueberries at Costco, so while searching for a blueberry muffin recipe, I came across this one that would use up my leftover buttermilk.  Perfect!  It's definitely a keeper and going in my recipe box.  I hope you like it, too!

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

from Heather's French Press blog

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1/4 cup of melted butter
• 1 cup of blueberries tossed with 1/4 cup of flour topping
• 1/2 cup of four
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 4 tbsp cold butter

Instructions

• line muffin pans
• combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar
• add the egg, buttermilk, and butter
• mixing only until everything is damp
• gently stir in the blueberries
• spoon into the muffin pan
• make the topping:
• combine the flour/sugar and cut in the butter
• crumble into pea size pieces
• spoon onto muffin batter
• bake @375 for 20 - 25 minutes 
• Enjoy!

I enjoy Mother's Day more than my birthday!  I love being a mom and I take the job very seriously.  I soak up all the love I get for the hard work and sacrifices I make all year for my family.  I also enjoy giving that love to my mom and fellow moms.  It's the best day ever.  :)  

My weekend started with Adam, Kyle, and Aubrie getting up on Saturday and going to Chick-fil-a to get me some chicken minis for breakfast.  Emilie and I enjoyed sleeping in.  After breakfast, Adam ran to Lowes and bought an electric hedge trimmer and we trimmed the front hedges.  Our front beds have about 12 hedges of different kinds.  It's a task we always put off because it is so hard raking the leaves out of the beds without raking out all the mulch.  They look really good and I'm glad we did it.  That evening we went to Burger Up in Cool Springs and enjoyed delicious hamburgers.  On Sunday the children gave me their gifts and we went to church.  I wanted to eat at Carabbas but the food didn't taste that good because Kyle was so tired and was screaming and going boneless at the table.  Emilie decided she didn't want spaghetti and meatballs after all, and Aubrie needed my constant attention while she colored.  Constant.  Adam said that one day we'll enjoy a nice meal out.  :)  When we got home, Adam wanted to take a family picture.  We even got Petey involved, even though he's in trouble.  (He found my container with cilantro and emptied it and chewed up the pot.  Bad dog.)

The girls waiting for a table at the restaurant.

Tired Kyle who won't sleep.  He won't give the nursery workers at church a break, neither.  He shows up, screams as soon as we hand him over.  It's like he says, "Hey, watch this.  If I scream really loud, they'll let me leave the room and walk me around this place during the entire service."

My mother's day loot.  The kids picked their own gift bags.  The card was horrible but Adam said it is the one the kids wanted and Kyle started to melt down.  It says something like if I turn out weird, it's because I take after you, mom.  haha.  Adam takes the kids to Target and sets them loose.  I got a butter dish, a note pad, a trashy magazine, a black beaded necklace, and biscuit cutters.  Adam also got me some rain boots, but they didn't arrive on time.  He ordered them a while ago and when he called to check on the order and found out they wouldn't arrive on time, he told the lady on the phone that she single handedly ruined mother's day.  lol.

One more treat was that we found some wingback chairs for a steal on craigslist and we got them.  I had some that needed re-upholstered but these were way better and don't need fixed.  So if anyone is interested in a re-upholstering project, I've got two chairs for you!

 It rained on Friday and I enjoyed staying in with the kids all day and enjoying them.  They sure are a lot of fun!

Lastly and most importantly, I would like to wish my dear sweet mother a very Happy Mother's Day.  I love her oodles and I wish I got to see her more often.  She's made my experiences of becoming a mother...having a baby, recovering, raising the baby, having more babies....so memorable.  She's so encouraging and supportive of me.  She makes me look forward to being there for my girls when they start their families.  I love you madre.  Muchisimo!

Dad was bragging about all of mom's medals from running so we had her go put them on and show them off.   Never a dull moment at the Walker house.

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Hug a teacher!!

Today is laundry day.  I didn't always have one day devoted to laundry.  I did it as it accumulated or was needed.  The problem became that laundry became impossible.  I would get it done and it would lay in a pile at the end of the bed, begging to be folded.  Or I would start a load and forget about it until the next day and have to wash it again.  The task was becoming impossible.  Then a friend mentioned she had laundry day and I thought I would give it a try and it turned out to be amazing.  I hated having piles of laundry laying around all week long with laundry baskets in every room.  With laundry day, I got ALL the laundry done, folded, and put away for the rest of the week.  It made the house look tidier and eased my mind.  Also, it helps me remember to wash towels and sheets.  Some weeks I would look at the kids' beds and think, "whens the last time I changed her sheets?!"

Now the challenge is not getting caught up in a project or cleaning something else and forgetting to put clothes in the dryer and start a new load.  I'm so scattered sometimes.  I'll walk in the bathroom with the Windex to wash the mirrors, but see that Aubrie and Emilie have left toys in my bathroom so I'll pick them up and take them to the living room and start picking up other toys and realize that the toy box is too full and I need to take some toys back upstairs and then I get upstairs and realize I forgot to put extra toilet paper in the bathroom and....before you know it, I'm headed to brush my teeth at the end of the day and there's the Windex sitting on the counter and I never DID clean those mirrors.

I just listened to a radio broadcast on Focus on the Family about His Brain, Her Brain by Dr. Walt and Barb Larimore.  They talked about understanding the differences in how our brains are made for men and women and how to use that knowledge to strengthen your marriage.  They made some very interesting points that not only helps me understand Adam, but will help me when parenting Kyle.  Women can process up to 7 things at once and men can only process 1 thing at a time.  If the tv is on, and you're telling your husband about a school program that he needs to put in his calendar, well forget it.  He can't hear you.  I joked with Adam that he was anxious for me to hear this broadcast so he now has an excuse for not being a good listener, which I tell him ALL THE TIME.

We downloaded Focus on the Family's radio app from ITunes and we both try to listen to it and then discuss it.  I love that we do it together.  Some things appeal to us, some things don't.  Some things we agree with, other's we don't.  We get a lot of good out of the broadcasts and you might would enjoy it, too.  Every day we are reminded of how hard it is to raise children and not only that, but be mindful of each other and keep the foundation of this family strong, which is our marriage.  Divorce is ugly and has taken over so many couples.  Marriage constantly needs our attention and work.  Maybe you can get a chance to download the app or go online and listen to a broadcast here or there.  You might find something you like.  (or maybe not!)  :)

Man, it's been busy around here.  The girls went to their first dentist appointment this past month.  They both did very well.  We went to Dr. Buzz in Franklin.

 Super dad's schedule is a little more flexible and he's been able to stay home a little later in the morning and he makes time to make oatmeal for the girls.  What a great dad.  They like peanut butter oatmeal (which they call cowboy oatmeal because that's how Poppy makes it).

 I've been working out in the yard quite a bit.  Our garden looks good and the flower beds are beautiful.  I've drug the crew to Lowes and Home Depot several times for flowers and other supplies.  Last time I took them, the girls were dressed up in their old Halloween costumes and didn't want to take them off.  I figured, hey! lady bugs and bumble bees like flowers.  Why not?

They were so helpful!!!  (they are not helpful)

I know some of you are concerned about Petey.  I don't talk about the family dog much anymore.  He's fine.  Don't you worry. 

He's so lazy.  I'm constantly finding tennis balls at the back of the yard that we have thrown and he failed to retrieve while I'm mowing.  There is also the obese bunny that just saunters right up to our back door and looks for treats.  I'm going to have to put a fence around my garden.  We'll let Petey out and he ignores the bunny completely.  He's also chosey about what table scraps he wants.  Lazy dog.  

The other day I had Camp Kellie.  I had the Kindred boys (Teague and Trace) over after school and the kids had a blast playing outside.  

Trace seeks out this string of pearls every time he comes over.   It doesn't make dad very thrilled, but it's quite funny how he insists on wearing them.  We call them his power necklace.  It gives him super strength!  (aren't his eyelashes ridiculously long?!?!)

Handsome Teague.  He and Aubrie have gone to school together for 3 years!

 This next sequence of pictures we will call the many faces of Emilie.  She's still 2.  Won't potty train to save my life.  Sometimes she'll go and she likes to dial her dad up on the phone and yell at the top of her lungs that's she's gone in the potty for him and all his co-workers to hear.  She's so stubborn and has a mind of her own.  Right now she's big into thinking that things are scary.  She'll run into the room and yell, "AHH!  Something scared me!" or she won't sit in her chair during breakfast because there is something scary on her chair.  It's driving me nuts.

Emi and her pal.  Some nights she will only eat for him.  She'll say, "Dad?  Can I sit by YOUUU??!"

This is my little helper.  She's got the sweet tooth and you can bribe her with cookies or candy.  That's the only reason why she is potty trained.  She really is a lot of help.  Kyle will be fussing in his high chair and I'll be upstairs wrestling Emilie to get dressed and I can yell down and ask her to entertain Kyle and she will make him laugh or hand him his juice cup.  She's getting so big.  She's going to be 5 in February, and I know that is a ways away, but it's going so fast.  She's so bright and talented in many ways.  She's got the kindest heart.  

This guy right here is into table foods.  And I mean, all of it.  He eats pancakes, bacon, any kind of bread, chicken, turkey burgers, lasagna meat sauce and pasta, watermelon, cantelope, peas, cheese, hummus, bell peppers, avocados, sweet potato fries, bananas, tacos, beans, rice, and he can down a chick fil a kids meal faster than his sisters.  He'll mow that chicken down, suck up the applesauce, and be looking around for more.  After spending the last year or so negotiating with Emilie to eat and take one more bite, it is nice to have our own little Hoover Vacuum at the table.  :)

Look at this face!  Don't you want to eat it?!!

Here he is flirting with me while I'm ironing.  I can't get work done with this guy flirting with me!! He now says Mama and that is really all that matters.  He still isn't crawling.  He's just now getting on all 4s and rocking.  He can scooch backwards quite a ways.  It won't be long.  Watch out Pete!

Yesterday we had Funday Monday with Marcie and her sister Michelle.  We went to the adventure science center.  Katie and I like to make things exciting and ride together.  We pile 5 car seats into the Tahoe and drive down to Murfreesboro.  Having Higgs in the car is always an adventure for the girls!

Teague and Aubrie were so funny.  Michelle snapped this picture of them.  It's absolutely perfect.  Teague's legs are right and everything!  He's working on the car and Aubrie's checking on him.

I think Aubrie has a thing for guys in uniforms!  :)  

Thanks moms for all the fun.

I hope everyone else is enjoying this spring weather and having fun.  Mother's Day Out is almost over and we've got a busy summer ahead of us.  Don't forget that this week is teacher appreciation week!  Go hug and thank you kids' teacher!  They are amazing!  I found a cute idea on Pinterest and made some changes to come up with some baskets for the girls' teachers.  The note says:  Orange you glad it's almost summer? Too cute.  Love our teachers!  And you all!  Until next time...

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Risotto and Mac n Cheese

I know some of you are wondering if I still cook.  I do, I promise.  I have proof.  It just takes me so long to sit down and blog.  Usually while the kids are napping, I'm cleaning the house or doing some prepping for dinner.  Or let's be honest.  I may or may not be staring at the back of my eye lids.  BUT, I have two gems to share with you.  Let's start off with this delicious mac n cheese!!  It was so good.  Really, anytime you add bacon to something, it turns out deliciously!! And you can't go wrong with caramelized onions! :)

Butternut Squash Mac N Cheese

from pinch of yum

• ½ box whole grain elbow macaroni (about 2.5 cups dry)
• 1 cup canned butternut squash puree
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
• ¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 oz low fat cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup onions, sliced thinly
• 1 large crispy apple, chopped or grated
• 4 tablespoons crumbled bacon

Instructions

1. Heat butter in a skillet over low heat. When melted, add onions and let caramelize for at least 30 minutes for the best flavor. Keep heat on low/low-medium.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butternut squash, chicken broth, evaporated milk, and cream cheese. When combined, add in salt.
3. Add onions and apples to the pasta. Stir to combine and add a tablespoon more broth or milk if needed.
4. Just before serving, mix in cheese and stir until melted. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon bacon.

 Enjoy!

The other recipe was my favorite!  This Risotto was so tasty and once again...bacon.  Mmm!  The kids loved it.  It was actually my first time making risotto and I made it with brown rice so the texture was a little off.  But the taste was still there.  This is a must make, people.  Make it!

Sweet Pea and Crispy Bacon Risotto

from diethood.com

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups white long grain rice
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can (15 oz.) sweet peas, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Instructions

• Place the bacon in a large frying pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until as crispy as desired, turning once.
• Remove bacon, drain on paper towels, and crumble it; set aside; do not discard bacon drippings.
• Put the chopped onions in the same frying pan and cook until softened, stirring occasionally; about 3 minutes.
• Add the garlic and rice; continue to cook until rice is translucent, stirring frequently.
• Pour in half of the chicken broth; stir and cook until almost all the liquid is absorbed.
• Pour in the rest of the broth and continue to cook until all liquid is absorbed.
• Repeat the same process with the water.
• Once the water has been absorbed, pour in half of the heavy cream and continue to cook, stirring frequently until all liquid is absorbed.
• Pour in the rest of the cream, stir until two-thirds of the liquid is absorbed.
• Stir in the peas and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through.
• Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Add bacon and shredded cheese.
• Serve immediately.

Adam and I have been fighting over him taking all the good food to lunch with him.  He's been leaving me with nothing.  I hate eating a sandwich and like a hot lunch.  But one day I looked into the pantry and saw we had some chips so I thought I would survive yet another peanut butter and jelly with the kids.  I opened up the bag and this is what I got out of it:

Who does that??!!!
(Adam???)

I still love him.  Even though he starves me.  I love these pictures he took when he took the girls to the zoo.  Kyle and I stayed home.  But they had a blast with their daddy. 

Our family's favorite...the mingos.

 And I had to share this one last picture of Kyle and his friend Rhett sharing a swing at the park.  So sweet.  Love to all!

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Applesauce on the walls

I don't even know where to begin.  It feels like I've been trapped in the house for a very long time.  Let's see...my mom made the girls matching dresses and Kyle a shirt.
 

Emilie is SOO 2 and will not cooperate at all.  For anything.  She likes to hand me her shoe and yell, "there's somebody in my shoe!" instead of there's someTHING in my shoe.  Don't correct her though.  You'll get the death glare.

 Since my last post we had Easter!

 We don't tell the kids that the Bunny brought them the baskets, he just hides our eggs.  We just say the baskets are from us.  But really, they didn't care WHO they were from.  They just cared about what was in them!

 Adam's parents are school teachers and their spring break usually falls around Easter so they came down for a week and brought along Grandpa and Grandma Huhnke.  We enjoyed a nice Easter service and that evening we had a wonderful ham dinner.  Adam's mom made the girls' dresses for Kyle's baptism and the girls wore them again for Easter.  It's been so crazy, I haven't had a chance to introduce you to Amanda's new fiance, Nick!!  He will be joining the family in November!

 The kids enjoyed having Granny and Gaga staying at our house.  They got plenty of attention and spoiling. 

 Guess what else lands around Easter?!  Adam's birthday!!  The big guy celebrated early with his family and on the day, I threw him a party at...Taco Bell!!  Laugh.  Do it.  But I did it.  And you can't say it was a surprise party because nobody yelled surprise.  There were no decorations.  All his friends just happened to be dining there that evening and someone just happened to have a cake in their car.  Adam was pretty mad at me for that one.  But it was good to see everyone.

But then....we got the stomach bug.

Emilie got the worst of it.  She's been out of commission for about a week.  This look pretty much explains how she has felt all week.  Both Adam and I had the pleasure of being thrown up on. The stomach bug brought on some additional unrelated problems for her that are just now gone.  I'll be honest.  Our children have NEVER had the stomach bug.  Aubrie got sick once when she was about 1 year old and she felt better right away and nobody else got sick.  So it must of been something she ate.  I knew this stomach bug was going around.  During spring break, I purposely went NOWHERE.  I didn't want to chance catching the bug by taking the kids to fun places where germs would be generously shared.  So I found things to do at home to keep them busy. 

Super Mega Cheeseeeeeee

So Emilie had it Sunday and then not until Thursday did Aubrie get it.  I got ready for bed and went upstairs to check the thermostat and something told me to go check on Aubrie.  I peeked in and her eyes were open and she was groaning and then the smell slapped me in the face.  She managed to get sick everywhere.  I mean, her bed needed dismantled and I had to steam-vac the mattress AND box springs.  She ended up sleeping in our room on a blow up mattress and was up every hour.  The good thing that came from that was by the end of it all, she had learned to sit up and hit the bucket.  What a big girl!  (It's the small things, people.)

Adam stayed home on Friday to help with all the sickos and then it happened.  The big guy went down.  And folks, when this guy goes down.  It's bad.  It's a mutated version that could kill innocent women and children.  Luckily, he was pretty tough and was only sick for 24 hours.  Kyle and I were still in the clear...kind of.

Starting Monday, Kyle had a cough and congestion and by Thursday evening, he was running a fever.  So by Sunday, he was so beat down and his temperature wasn't going away, so we took him to the pediatrician and it turns out he has a double ear infection.  He's already feeling better and perking up after 24 hours of the medicine.  Check out those bottom teeth!!

But then it happened.  The Eagle went down.  I repeat, code red.  Eagle is down.  I got the bug on Saturday night.  Luckily it wasn't bad.  It is really weird.  Each of us were affected differently.  God had protection over us and thankfully we all didn't have it at the same time and could take care of each other.  I'm so happy that everyone is doing better and back on their feet!  I need to get out of this house!

It's just been crazy around here.  We are longing for a normal weekend!

So, I had applesauce on my walls.  It was 6 feet high.  Here's my side of the story.  I had the applesauce out and was using it to mix with an avocado and some ham for Kyle in the blender.  I set the lid on the top of the bottle and moved it aside when I was done with it.  Well, the girls saw the applesauce and wanted some so when Adam came home and the girls finished their dinner, he said he would give them some.  He grabbed the jar by the lid and launched it high and it hurled forward and fell on the floor and splattered everywhere.  Luckily the jar was plastic.  But it was EVERYWHERE.  In his defense, who just sets lids on jars, right??  In my defense, who grabs jars by the lids and launches them into the sky?? Needless to say, the next day I was mopping the floor and discovered the applesauce on the walls.  I was rather impressed how high it splashed!

When Adam's parents were here, he took the week off so he can spend time with his family and we both wanted to stain the fence.  We thought we would knock it out in 2 days.  bahahaha.  No.  We worked so hard for a full day, doing it by hand, we thought we were going down.  It was such hard work and we only got 1/5 of the fence done.

Adam came inside and took a shower and passed out on the floor while playing with the girls.  Emilie thought he needed a doll to snuggle with.

Our pathetic progress

So we did some research and rented a sprayer and the next day we knocked it out in no time using a sprayer.  We're such geniuses. 

Before

After

So much better.  Good project done. :)

I hope everyone else is doing well.  I hope you have stayed clear from the stomach bug and if not, I hope it doesn't hit you hard.  Stay home if you have it.  It's the one time in life you should NOT be a good sharer!  :)

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