Show and Tell: A Chocolate Pie Recipe and My New Apron

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing.

Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The kids had added "bake a pie" to our SUMMER FUN LIST and since we spent last week crossing off our last few items, we baked a pie! I let the kids choose what kind (as long as it didn't include birds!) and they wanted to make a chocolate pie. Since my mom is the Queen of Chocolate Pies, I asked her for a good recipe. She sent me one that was more of a brownie chocolate pie. 

Both my kids are "dough babies", so making the pie dough was their favorite part.

And just look at those crimped edges!

It took a lot of concentration.

I don't make meringue. For starters, it's hard to make and never seems to turn out right for this non-baker and it makes me think of calf slobber and I just plain don't like it! We made homemade whipped cream to top our pie instead.

The finished product was pretty good...although it did have a thin, crunchy chocolate "crust" on top. I'm not sure what I did wrong or if it's supposed to be that way. I didn't get too many complaints, though!

Here's the recipe:

Brownie Chocolate Pie

1 ½ c. sugar

2 T flour

2 T cocoa

¼ t salt

¾ c pet evaporated milk

2 eggs

2 T melted butter

1 t vanilla

1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all dry ingredients, add eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Add milk and butter. Pour into pie shell, bake at 300 about 1 hour. (I actually had to bake mine a lot longer because the middle was still pretty runny. Since I wasn't exactly sure what to look for, I deemed it done when it was kind of all puffed up and kind of bubbly and when I stuck a toothpick in the middle, it didn't come up with "wet" gook on the end. The "gook" looked more done. That's helpful, I know, but it's what I did.)

In addition to us all wearing purple ACU shirts and black yoga pants on this day (well, Eli's were more like "athletic pants" and not yoga pants, but they were still black), I wore my new apron that I *finally* finished. 

I had it all cut out way back at the beginning of June, I just hadn't sewed it all up. I'm so glad it's finished! I like it because it doesn't tie at the neck (which kinda drives me crazy) and wraps all the way around. And it's cute.

First Day of School

We have officially ended our first day of school 2012...and I am exhausted!  But that might have something to do with the fact that I was up waaaaaayyy too late last night alternating between sniffling that my baby was headed to kindergarten and excited for the new school year to start.  So I'm apologizing in advance if this post doesn't make too much sense...I really want to check it off my to-do list, but I'm a little giddy from lack of sleep.

After said staying up too late excited and crying, we hit the road running this morning. It's a big day when there's 3rd grade and kindergarten to start! We had all the obligatory photos to take on the porch. 

I loved seeing everyone's "back to school" photos today on Facebook. Since I sorta kinda forgot to take photos on my phone (and it takes too long to upload them from my camera), I'm just going to link up from here. I also didn't realize that I have so many friends who had children the same age as Phoebe.  It seemed like everybody was sending a baby off to kindergarten!

And the children's emotions were all over the board. From sad to scared to worried to excited to ecstatic. Phoebe was more on the excited/ecstatic end of the scale. She's been waiting for kindergarten for two years!  

I made our traditional first day of school SCHULTUTE for the teachers. These were kind of fun because the side of the paper I used for the outside said, "Keep Calm and Carry On" in all different fonts and on the inside (where it was black with white writing), it said, "Panic and Freak Out". I thought it fitting for the first day of school...for both teachers and students!

We headed off to school and dropped Eli off first. This is Mrs. Gjerde. She seems like a lot of fun and I have a good feeling about this year.

I'm pretty sure we're inching toward the time in Eli's life when he won't let me take his photo in his chair, but we're not there yet, so I snapped away.

A last hug good-bye.

And we were off to the kindergarten wing. I'm hoping Phoebe will never be old enough to think she's too cool to let me take her photo at her desk.

See? I was doing just fine. Really. I didn't cry this morning...at school. Had a little moment when I got home by myself, but luckily I had a really messy kitchen to attend to so it kept my mind off things.

This is Phoebe's teacher, Mrs. Boaz. We're excited to have her, too. I think it's going to be a great year!

One last photo with Dad, and the grown-ups were off to school's Boo Hoo Breakfast.

I couldn't wait to pick them up and hear about their day! Seriously, it was so much fun!  They were both pretty loquacious and I got so many fun details. Like the fact that Phoebe held hands with her new friend going down the double slide but she doesn't know her new friend's name and that Eli read a book about somebody getting ready for school...and it turned out to be the teacher!  I kind of wished I'd had a video recording of my whole afternoon because little tidbits kept popping up. It was awesome!

Now it's 8 o'clock and we are all soon to be tucked away in bed. And I mean all of us. This school stuff is hard! :) 

Twas The Night Before School...

I've had a bad case of writer's block this summer when it comes to my blog. Almost everyday I sit down at my computer and the words won't come. I'm still feeling and living and experiencing, but all the words seem to be in a jumbled up mess swirling about in my head. I still have so much summer stuff to post, but school starts tomorrow and when that happens it just seems a little silly to still be posting about summer stuff. But that's they way it'll have to be, I guess...especially since I'm kind of OCD and I'm not sure I can just not post about the stuff we did last week.

But you're gonna have to wait.

Because tomorrow is the first day of school.

And my baby goes to kindergarten.

And I found some words.

Really, there are two (emotional) parts to Phoebe going to kindergarten. The first is dealing with Phoebe, my baby girl, going to kindergarten. She's so big and bold and ready and I'm just flat-out not ready. But it's my nature to just put my big girl panties on and deal with it.  It isn't as if talking about it over and over and over again or crying about it is going to change things. Part of the "mom" condition is watching your children walk away. It's the way the whole system was designed. It's still hard and my heart still hurts, but it's still gonna happen. The second emotional part has to do with being a whole new kind of mommy. I'm not the mom to young children anymore. The toddler years have gone. I can't have any more and I'm nervous about who that makes me as a mom now and what role do I play and dealing with the feelings of not being needed in the same role anymore. There aren't handbooks for this and even if there were, I probably wouldn't fit them anyway! I'll figure it out, I'm sure (what other choice do I have?) and there might even be more posts...as long as I can still find my words. 

But that wasn't even what I wanted to write about tonight. I found THIS article while on Facebook this afternoon. It's beautiful and simple and wonderful...and it made me want to write letters to my children. But because it's 8:30 on the night before school, I settled with telling them these things as I tucked them into bed. But then I figured I could write them here and maybe some day they'll get to read them again. 

So here goes...

Dear Phoebe,

Tomorrow you are starting kindergarten! 

You have waited and waited for this day while I've mostly dreaded it and not wanted to talk about it. It's hard for a mommy to let go when it's time, but I know it will be wonderful for you because of who you are. I have prayed that God has filled you up through your dad and I and the people around you, that you are so full of Him that it just runs over and spills out onto everyone who gets near you. That you have found your identity in Him so that you don't get lost in the big, bad world searching for who you really are. 

There's a light and a sparkle about you that God has great plans for. I pray that you have eyes that see those He puts in front of you and a heart that's tender enough to hurt for them. You have an amazing capacity to hear music and a reason to celebrate in all circumstances and I hope you continue to hear it and feel it...especially at school. 

Selfishly, I pray that God protects you and your heart. I want this year to be good. I want you to find some good friends. I want everyday to be a good one. But I also know that you're in this time and this place because God wants you here. Whatever happens, He will love you more than I ever could...and I love you an awful lot!

Remember that you can do hard things and to be loving always.

I love you and you're my best girl,

Mommy

Dear Eli,

Third Grade. 

It's a big year. There will be so much to learn...both academically and socially. I know you aren't as excited about tomorrow as your sister.  You're a little older. You know that with the start of school comes lots of early mornings and lots of structure and lots of hard work. It's different for you.

But I'm praying for you. I pray that God can find a way to focus that stubborn spirit and warrior heart He gave you onto what is true and what is righteous. I pray that I remember that God gave them to you and He entrusted you to me for a reason, even when I want to bang my head on the wall in frustration! You are strong and you are fierce and I pray that God reveals to you who He wants you to protect and love this year at school. I pray that you know who you are in Him and that being who you need to be takes a lot of work and mistakes and choices every single day. You are up to the challenge and I pledge to you that I am, too. We are in this together and God gave us each other for reasons that I cannot fathom, but make sense to Him, and we need to remember that. 

You are my heart. "Whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same".

Remember that we can do hard things and to be loving always.

I love you more than Sonic Diet Cokes with lime and extra ice,

Mom

Show and Tell: Eli's New Quilts

Awhile back, Eli started telling us his room was a baby room, that he needed something new because he wasn't little anymore. I agreed with him and started thinking about what to do in that space. I decided his room needed to be gray and navy with a little bit of red thrown in for contrast. 

The first order of business? New quilts for his bed. I had made him one QUILT a few years ago, but felt like for this room re-do, he needed two. I'm not sure who thought he needed bunk beds, but making two quilts was kind of a doozy! I used THIS pattern, but made it twin-sized. 

And then I made another one!

Notice my little helper peeking out between the quilts! :) I love how the asymmetrical squares make it look a little modern without being being so over the top. 

I splurged on the backing for these quilts. I bought the PEZZY PRINT in navy and covered the entire back of both quilts.  It took 12 yards!! When I ordered it from FAT QUARTER SHOP, they sent me an entire bolt. I'd never bought an entire bolt of fabric before! 

The quilts look great on Eli's beds, too. He wanted them unstacked and I like it better this way, too. The gray quilts are from Target and the throw pillows are from Pottery Barn Kids. 

We haven't finished his room yet so I won't go into paint details and all that. I've given myself the deadline of October 1st to have it finished so hopefully I'll meet it. I'll post all about it then. But I couldn't wait on the quilt!

Cousins

I sorta kinda forgot to post the photos from our last little hurrah to Dallas to visit the cousins...and my parents and siblings, of course. :) I also sorta kinda forgot to take a whole lot of photos while we were there, too. So I pulled out the camera on Saturday when Ben and Sarah and crew came down and snapped some cousin photos.

Eli, Phoebe, Lincoln, and Isaac...it was kind of amazing that I got one with everyone "mostly" smiling.

My parents have a neighborhood pool around the corner from their house. It's awesome...and we spend a lot of time down there when we're visiting during the summer.

Don't be fooled by this innocent face...

She was all about splashing unsuspecting swimmers.

This was the result of trying to get a photo of Isaac, Uncle Ben, and Phoebe. There was lots of splashing!

I managed to get a cute one of Isaac and Ben, though.

After swimming, Aunt Sarah helped Phoebe make some cupcakes.

Sarah did not realize costumes were required for baking.

Lola, Phoebe, and Abby in matching dresses.

Don'tcha love Lincoln's expression?!

" A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." -- Marion C. Garretty

"A face without freckles is like a night without stars."

                                    -Natasha Beddingfield

I think this might be my favorite photo of my children this summer. There's always one that just breaks my heart, and this summer, it's this one. 

Family Camp 2012

We made our annual trip to Family Camp at CAMP BLUEHAVEN this past weekend. It's one of those things that I really don't enjoy, but I go because my children love it so much. I like it once I'm there. I enjoy visiting with friends and the slow pace of the weekend and the family time, but it's the packing and the organizing to get there that does me in...and then there's the unpacking! The laundry alone makes me faint!

But I digress.  We had a great weekend. I didn't take as many photos as I should have. We'll blame on the tummy bug I caught Saturday afternoon/evening. Family Camp is not as much fun when you're throwing up and running fever. But please enjoy the ones I did manage to take. :)

Eli and Dayton

Cade and Phoebe

Mason, Noah, Cade, Emma Kate, and Phoebe

On our family hike.

Phoebe and Brad working on our family craft. I don't usually enjoy these family crafts so Brad took over for me. He had some great help.

Emma Kate, Ellie, and Phoebe. I *love* this photo!

Eli and Dayton trying to catch a fish with their hands. Eli finally succeeded after many tries. Watch out, Bear Grylls!

The Bear Hunting Club. Every year they tell us that bears have been seen near camp and that we need to be careful. This group (headed by Ellie) decided they were going to spend the weekend hunting bears. They were unsuccessful.

Emma Kate, Phoebe, Ellie, Faith, Amy Kate, Dacie, JJ, Audrey, Cade, Noah

I linked up some of the other years we've been to Family Camp. There aren't photos of every year we've been because we started going when Eli was just a little over a year old. These are only the last four years, but I had a great time looking back at how my children (and everyone else's) have changed. Sweet and sad all at the same time. 

FAMILY CAMP 2008

FAMILY CAMP 2009

FAMILY CAMP 2010

FAMILY CAMP 2011 PART I & PART II