Baby Shower and Birthday

Today was a busy and cold day for our family.  I say cold because I think this is the coldest day we have had all winter.  The high was around 30.  On top of that, our heat stopped working last night...when it was colder than 30!  Luckily, it was just the downstairs' unit and so the girls' room were warm.  Adam and I had to bust out some extra blankets to keep warm.  Getting out of bed this morning to go shower was quite a task.  I hated leaving me warm bed.  :)

Katie and I threw a baby shower for our friends, Andrew and Ashleigh, this morning.  Ashleigh is expecting a little girl in March.  Luckily, the shower was at Katie's house so we all got out of the house right after breakfast and headed over to Sunny and Katie's warm house.  On the menu was fruit, hash brown casserole, french toast casserole, sausage cups, banana pudding muffins, punch, coffee, and orange juice.  It was a pretty good spread.  We had a nice little crowd and it was good to get together to celebrate this next stage in their lives.  I can't wait to meet their little girl!  I'm going to share a couple of things that were on the menu today and hopefully a couple tomorrow.  I've got to get Katie's muffin recipe and I've misplaced her french toast recipe.  Me?  Lose things??!  No. 

Hash brown casserole...so delicious, rivals Cracker Barrel's!

Hash brown Casserole

from Katie's mom, Kay

2 lbs. frozen hash browns, thawed a bit
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 pint sour cream
10 oz grated cheddar cheese (medium)
2 c. crushed corn flakes or cheezits (Katie used cheezits!)

Mix all except butter & cornflakes (cheezits)  Put in 9" x 13" buttered pan.  Crush cornflakes or cheezits and mix with butter.  Cover top of  casserole and bake 30 minutes at 350 uncovered.

Sausage cups.  A crowd pleaser because they are so small and pack a surprising punch with some spice!

Sausage Cups

from Miranda, a bible study pal

1 lb hot sausage
2 tsp butter
6 green onions
1 small can of mushroom stems and pieces
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boxes of phyllo cups
4 Tbsp flour
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, brown the sausage and then set sausage aside.  In same skillet, melt butter and saute onions and mushrooms.  Add flour, cream, salt and pepper and stir until it bubbles and thickens.  Quickly add the sausage and take it off the heat.  Spoon into cups and then sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Our fruit display. 

Future mom and dad

Aubrie loving on Higgs.

Katie had some fruity cheerios and the kids crowded around the plate like a trough and grazed.  Yes, maybe fought a little, too. 

Adam was super dad today.  I left the house before him and he came later with the girls.  Then he left the shower early to get Aubrie to her friend's birthday party.  Her boyfriend, Teague, from school actually turned 3 on February 4th.  So they are only a day apart.  But they didn't have his party until this weekend because they have family in town to see the boys get dedicated at church tomorrow.  So she had to get to her party and Adam took both girls and headed that way while I helped Katie clean up.  I got to Teague's party just in time to see him open gifts.  He's such a sweet boy and a good host.  The girls had an awesome time.  I, of course, walked right in and made myself a bowl of Marcie's chili and chowed down on a cupcake.  Delicious food and good company.  Today was a reminder of how blessed we are to have such good friends!

Before I go, I wanted to share my two latest projects.  I made a hat for Andrew and Ashleigh's little girl and one for Teague.  I really enjoy making these hats because I think of the sweet little heads that will be kept warm. :)

By the way, our heat is now working.

Love to all!

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Big News!!

Let's see if you can figure it out...

Ok, hold your signs up!

Petey's bored.

We've lost interest.

Go catch Aubrie.

Hurry, take the picture!!!

Yes, it is true.  We are expecting baby #3!  We went in today for a check up and it looks like our due date is around August 19th.  We heard the heartbeat and everything seems to be going well.  For those of you who thought maybe we had Aubrie and Emilie a little too close (21 months), take a big sigh of relief!  Emilie and this baby will be 22 months apart.  :)

(These photos were taken to tell the news to Adam's parents.  So, no longer a secret.)

We are so excited.  We found out before Christmas and it was a perfect gift.  For those of you who have run into me in the past 5 weeks, now you know why I've looked like I've had the flu or why I've been dressing like a homeless person.  I've been sick as a dog!  I cannot believe how tired I've been.  I'll sleep 10 hours at night and take a SOLID 2 hour nap during the day.  I was so happy to have Mother's Day Out to send the girls to so I could get in even more sleep.  The nausea was delightful... I still experience a little in the evenings.  The house has suffered and so has the cooking.  This helps explains why I haven't been blogging in a while.  Food has looked and tasted gross.  I'm just now getting back to cooking and cleaning.  Today I even mopped the floors and did laundry and I'm still up at 9:30!  Hopefully I'll get back to cooking again, because I have missed it. 

We are so happy and we feel so blessed to be able to bring one more baby into this world.  Love to all!

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Aubrie Jane is 3!!

How did this happen?  My baby is 3!  I know, same old lame saying, but it really does seem like yesterday that she entered our lives and turned it upside down.  I never thought I would sleep again.

Ready to go outside for a walk

Also, 3 means two more years before she is entering Kindergarten.  I will be sitting outside the school building, crying, the whole first day.  But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy her just like we have been.  Both her and Emilie have been fun little handfuls. 

We had a little festivity here at the house.  Her first two guests were her boyfriends from school, Teague and Holden.  Holden's mom let him raid the Target dollar bins and he picked out her gifts all by himself.  She got bath fizz, a fake rose, strawberries to grow, nail polish, and chapstick, along with some other things.  Teague was right behind Holden with a bouquet of fresh flowers for the birthday girl.  They are too sweet and those three are really close.  This is the second year they've been at Mother's Day Out together.  She often grabs them by the neck and kisses their cheeks when they depart from each other.  On top of that, Aubrie's new friend from school, Ryan, came in next with a homemade card and gift for her as well.  She thought she was in heaven!  Her other friends all showed up and they all had a good time.  The playroom saw some serious action yesterday.  Thank you to everyone who made her day special.  She had a blast!  We are so blessed to have such great friends who are there to celebrate life's special occasions with us.  :)

I had a brilliant idea to make mini ice-cream cone cupcakes.  I saw online where someone made their own pan by cutting holes into a disposable pan, so I did the same, which worked perfectly!  But once I poured batter into them and put them in the oven, they all got too heavy for the pan and fell over or burnt like you can see.  But I salvaged some.  My mom gave me a delicious chocolate mousse recipe for the top.  They were pretty cute and delicious, but quite a pain.  I recommend buying the pan that you can find online here.

This is one of my favorite photos.  This is Holden straightening his hair with Aubrie's play hair and make-up stuff.  It was fun watching all her boyfriends play with her girly toys.  :)

The birthday girl eating an ice-cream cone cupcake.

Holden and Teague

She also got a piece of cake and then used the number 3 candle as a chip and kept scooping frosting off the cake to eat. Granny decorated the cake the night before and did a beautiful job!   

Here's Ryan getting a treat bag.  She told her friends thanks for coming and passed out bags. 

K-Sue and Kelly made it!!

Granny and Gaga made the trip with Lana and Adrian for the party.  Granny's birthday is February 18th so we surprised her with a birthday cake and she and Aubrie blew out the candles together later that night.  Aunt Paula Jane Huhnke, Lana's sister, was also born on February 5th, so it is very special that Aubrie celebrates on the same day and shares her name.  We lost Paula to cancer in 2004. 

Chocolate smile

This morning Aubrie got her gift from Adam, Emilie, and I.  She got her first bike!  What a big girl!  She calls the helmet a Helmont (like Belmont).

And now that big sister has new wheels, that means Emilie owns the tricycle!  Score Emilie!!

Sorry there are so many pictures.  There are a lot more that I'll probably post to facebook.  I hope everyone enjoys Super Bowl Sunday!  Love to all!

ps.  Belmont beat Lipscomb 84-58.  :)

AND for those who wanted recipes from yesterday's food, you can read about the Turkey Burgers here and I'll try to post the mousse and corn salad soon! Pin It Now!

Go Belmont!

Today is a special day (other than it being the Battle of the Boulevard) because Jese Snyder is going to be home from Afghanistan today!  I'm so excited for him, his wife, and his family.  It will be so good to have him back on American soil!  I am diligently checking my facebook for updates from Casey and hopefully pictures of them back together.  YAY!!!

Jese.  For those of you who need a refresher, Jese played basketball at Belmont with Adam.  They call each other "brother."

 As I mentioned above, today is the Battle of the Boulevard.  This happens twice during the basketball season, once at Belmont, and once at Lipscomb (Belmont's rival).  This rivalry is dated back to 1953 with the two schools only 2.7 miles apart, both located on Belmont Boulevard.  Both schools were NAIA powerhouses and the rivalry stopped when Belmont went to the NCAA is 1997.  It was rekindled in 2004 after Lipscomb joined Belmont in the NCAA in 2000.  I will never forget the game, at Lipscomb, Adam's senior year.  Their crowd was huge and wild.  They had a LIFE SIZE doll of Adam (#44) that they were tossing around in the stands and beating on.  It was a wild game and Belmont squeaked by with the win.

My little bruins.

 And that is exactly why I hate going to the game at Lipscomb.  Every year Belmont is a better team.  More talented, better record, everything.  And every year, if Belmont wins, they BARELY win.  It's always over time or a buzzer shot.  And usually, if it is a buzzer beater, it is usually some nobody from Lipscomb's bench that only scored 2 points the whole game, who heaves the ball from half-court and immediately becomes the school's hero.  Their student section believes this game to be their national championship, because this is the only significant win they'll get all season.  So they'll storm the court and their obnoxious sound system will blare loud music on their horrible speakers and you end up leaving with frustration and a headache.  You'll later find Belmont winning their conference championship with Lipscomb licking their wounds from a first round loss.  And really, that's what makes it a good rivalry.  The opposing school drives you nuts.

So with all that said, Go BELMONT!  I'll be enjoying the game from my quiet living room.  And don't forget to guard that guy that you didn't even know existed on the bench because he'll probably score on you at a time when we just don't need it.  :)

Last night I grilled out because it was such a beautiful day.  We've really been enjoying some spring weather here in Nashville.  I tried a new recipe from Pinterest.  It was Garlic Parmesan Fries.  Check it out.

Garlic Parmesan Fries

from Pinterest

3 Russet potatoes
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Panko crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
pepper
garlic salt
optional: Italian parsley (I used dried parsley flakes)

Roughly peel potatoes, leaving on some skin.  Cut into 1/4 inch pieces and toss in a bowl.  Pour olive oil over the top and toss the potatoes.  Add remaining ingredients and toss.  Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 12-18 minutes.

They were pretty good.  Emilie ate a lot of them!  The girls also enjoyed some yogurt with strawberries after dinner.

I hope your mealtimes are just as fun as ours!
Love to all!

ps.  What was with the giant picture of pasta salad in my last post??  Sorry.  I fixed it.  Pin It Now!