Pool Party!

PRAISE the LORD for a better day as far as my arthritis was concerned. I can't even tell you how much better I felt today than I have in weeks. And it was great timing because today we had a pool party at our house that has been planned since last year! This party was for our former Sunday School class, Cornerstone. I say former because the affinity groups changed at church, and Cornerstone is no longer officially a Sunday School class. But we will carry on and fun will be had! And the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a day in the pool!

We started with lunch. BBQ, potato salad, baked beans, chips, can you say YUM? The kids ate at the kid table and shared their food with each other. How sweet they were! And the rest of us ate at the adult table. That's so strange that we are now the adults and not the kids. Where did time go?Then, we headed outside for some pool time. The guys (Frank in particular) thought it was a good idea to put the baby pool in the big pool, like a mini island. Seriously? And here is the only shot of me from the day, thanks to Big Jen and her camera. Me and my little water baby. Little really did great today at kicking in the water. I was so proud!
After pool time, we went inside to eat a little more before calling it naptime. I sure do miss our class but am so glad we can all still get together and hang out.

Little and Isaac

Lately, I've been a bit down and out with my RA (which explains the lack of blog posts and the lack of group playdates at our house), so Big Jen and Isaac were gracious enough to come keep us some company yesterday. You can tell here that Little was so happy to see her boyfriend. And he, as usual, was not quite as interested in her as she was in him. Oh, Isaac, always playing hard to get. That's probably why she likes him.

Surprise! Happy Birthday to Me!

I haven't blogged in a few days, and boy have we been busy. Wednesday, we went to a playdate at Big Jen's house. Thursday, we had a huge 5 hour electrical storm in North AL that seriously caused us to fear for our safety. We lost power for almost a whole day, so Little and I spent the night at my parents' house. But the most exciting thing that happened recently was my surprise 30th birthday party today! Frank went over and above on this one. I am truly impressed and just overwhelmed by how much he loves me. If love is an action, he showed me love in a big way today, down to every last little detail and surprise.

I had no clue, and this is the first time anybody has ever surprised me like this. I can't remember anyone ever doing something so sweet and thoughtful for me. I was definitely overwhelmed with emotion, so much that I couldn't even walk in the room after I came in the front door. I was in tears!

I'll start at the beginning. My mom asked me if I'd like for her to take me shopping for a pair of pants for my birthday (since I don't have any that fit). So I said "of course" and she picked me up at 9 AM so we could get breakfast on the way to Bridge Street. Little did I know what was happening at my house in the meantime. And if I had I just might have fixed my hair and worn a cuter outfit. We didn't find any pants but decided to go to Anthropologie to look for some tops. I called Frank to let him know I'd found a couple of tops and that we'd be heading home soon. Again, little did I know that people were in the background at my house decorating and preparing for the big shindig! We left Bridge Street at about 11 AM to head home, and on our way I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to stop by Michael's to get something for a craft I'm going to make. She said we better wait until next week because Frank and my dad will be ready for us to get home to go to lunch. Great story, mom! So I thought we were going to go to lunch with my dad and then after Little's afternoon nap, we were going to take her over to spend the night with my parents while we met a small group of friends at Bonefish Grill for dinner. This story was very elaborate, down to me having an outfit picked out and what time we'd pick up Little in the morning at my parents' house. You just never know who you can trust, do you?

We pulled up at home and there were cars outside my house. Because nothing was really on my radar, I still didn't clue in as to what was going on. I noticed Leah's car and wondered if maybe just a couple of people were inside. Frank was sitting on the front porch waiting for me and handed me a necklace to put on. It said "Why Grow Up?" and had big 30's on it...the same necklace I bought for Leah last year when she turned 30.

As soon as we walked in the door, there were decorations hanging from the ceiling, balloons all over the place, and people...lots and lots of people! I was shocked and just turned around and buried my head in Frank's chest and cried. How blessed I am! I couldn't stop crying for a minute. Then, I tried to hold myself together and then I noticed who all was here. And immediately I saw Daniel! My sweet brother-in-law who was supposedly halfway across the world! What a surprise! And then I saw some of my other dear friends! How special that everybody had been planning this for me and keeping this secret for so long! Then, more surprises just kept happening. Some of my dearest friends showed up from out of town. Casey came from Birmingham with her two kids. Shannon came from Birmingham. Jackson came from Montgomery and even made me a homemade carrot cake...my absolute favorite! I hadn't seen Jackson in years and years! And come to find out that he met Frank (for the very first time) a couple of days before to drop off the carrot cake on his way to Nashville. I am amazed at all the planning that went into this party. And there were even more surprises. Frank ordered my favorite food from Birmingham, Full Moon BBQ, and ordered a strawberry cake from Edgar's, a bakery in Birmingham. If you've never had either of these things, you are missing out! The strawberry cake was for the party because the carrot cake (made by Jackson) was strictly for me. I had to stand back after the candles were lit because they were dangerous! Can we say "Sparklers in the house"? And Frank made a playlist for the IPOD to play at the party that included songs in order by year from 1981-2011 of all the songs that were #1 on my birthday. How sweet is he! And those of you that know me best will be glad to know that Baby Got Back was one of those songs.And what party would be complete without a little fire? Casey decided to fix herself a plate of food after the party was over. Let me explain that the plates had metallic decorations on them. So, she put her barbecue in the microwave and next thing you know, she'll yelling "My plate is on fire!" And seriously, it was! Not just a small fire. I even got the fire extinguisher out, but by that time she had stifled the fire. We laughed and laughed and all I could say was "I sure wish I had my camera in here!" Frank came downstairs and was disappointed that he missed seeing the fire. What a typical guy! Casey said "They should really put a warning on these plates." And then she turned the plate over and here's what she saw. Awesome! What a great story to tell!

Have I mentioned how much I love this man? I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband who tells me and shows me how much he cares for me every day. I am so thankful for him. I'm beginning to think 30 is going to be a great year!

A Weekend of Celebrating

This weekend we celebrated Frank's birthday. His parents came to town on Friday afternoon, and we had a wonderful dinner at our house. Frank has lately become the best steak chef, and I have been raving about his steaks to his mom. So, she brought some filets and Frank cooked them. He does a special dry rub on the steaks and then pan sears in a skillet and then finishes them off in the oven. He also makes a red wine reduction to go with the steaks. They are oh so juicy. I handled the sides for the birthday dinner. We had steamed green peas and baked sweet potatoes with cinnamon and brown sugar. And of course, we all had a piece of the Boston Cream Pie that I made on Thursday night. On Saturday we did some more celebrating. All week Frank told me that he didn't want to make a big deal about his birthday. But as the week went on, we had several friends ask what we were going to do and mention that they would love to get together. So, we threw together a last minute birthday lunch. We are so thankful for our sweet family and friends that made this such a special birthday.Originally, Frank's parents had planned to go back home after lunch, but we talked them into staying another night and just spending the whole weekend with us. After the birthday lunch, we all rested and then went out for some Little Pea Adventures. Frank and his dad headed to the Hunting and Fishing Expo, and Frank's mom and I waited for Little to wake up from her nap and then headed to Huntsville to go shoe shopping and to meet the guys for dinner.

On Sunday we all went to church and then lunch with friends. It was a great birthday weekend. Stay tuned because next weekend we'll have ANOTHER birthday weekend. This one will be my big 3-0!!!

Mollie's New Friend

This cat showed up at our house a few days ago. She is so sweet and clearly an indoor cat. She must live in a house with a dog because she is not the least bit scared of Mollie. Actually, she was rubbing up against Mollie. Normally, Mollie does not like cats and would chase them, but with this cat she is different. I think she is just confused because this cat doesn't run from her and is the same size. Because she's been hanging around so much, we named her Alley (as in Alley Cat) and we've been giving her dog food (we don't have cat food around these parts) and water until we can locate her owner. We've posted on our neighborhood online forum, so hopefully we'll find her home soon.

Little's One Year Photo Shoot

Today my sweet friend, Anne, came and took pictures of Little. Though she is 13 months old now, we are still calling this her One year photo shoot. We are just running a little behind due to vacations, birthdays, etc. Most of these were taken on our front porch, which is also where Little's newborn pictures were taken. My how things have changed. I love looking back through all her pictures to see how she has grown and turned from a baby into a little girl. What sweet memories! I'd love to post all of the photos, but here are just a few.
These two love each other...And a couple of pictures with Momma...

Boston Cream Pie...Oh My!

Frank's favorite dessert is homemade apple pie...or so I thought. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake, I asked him if he would even eat whatever I made because he's been on a work-out/diet routine. He said there was only one kind of dessert that would make him crash his diet...Boston Cream Pie. I had no clue what he was talking about, but from what he described, it did not sound good. Nevertheless, I began a search for a recipe. Some were way too complicated. Some were way too easy. But I found one that was just right. And let me tell you...it is delectable! I even impressed myself with this one. So, I thought I'd share the goodness. This recipe was found online at a Paula Deen forum, and then I changed it up just a bit.

First, I'll let you know that I spared no expense on the fat content of this cake. Normally I would use 1% milk and light sour cream, but NOT this time! I used whole milk and regular sour cream. And wait until you see the rest of the ingredients. This dessert is rich! One thing I really liked about this recipe is that the actual "cake" part of the dessert is a cake mix. I did not want to have to make a cake from scratch. And with all the other richness of the dessert, you seriously cannot tell that the cake is not made from scratch. Trust me. Or just come by and taste a piece of Frank's birthday cake.

There are three parts to the cake.

Step one: First part is the yellow cake. Use 1 box of yellow cake mix and prepare according to the directions on the box for a round cake. FYI: You only need one layer, so you can either make something else with the rest or throw it away. The only change I made to the box directions is that I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil in my batter. When your cake is done baking, cool completely.

Step two: The chocolate ganache topping. This is good to make as soon as you put your cake in the oven because after you make the chocolate topping, you have to put it in the fridge to cool.

Ingredients:

6 1oz squares of Baker's unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups confectioners sugar

Use a double boiler and melt the chocolate and the cream together. I do not own a double boiler, but you can see in the picture that you can easily make one yourself by putting a glass mixing bowl in a saucepan. Be sure to stir regularly so as not to burn the chocolate.
Once the mixture is smooth whisk in the sugar and keep whisking until it is smooth.
Put the ganache in the fridge and let it cool until it is a spreadable consistency or about 30 minutes.
Step 3: The filling

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together the pudding, cream, confectioners’ sugar, milk, and sour cream.
Beat at medium speed until stiff peaks form - should be the consistency of thick pudding.

Once your cake is cooled, you are ready to assemble. Cut the cake in half. The best way to do this evenly is to first make a 2 inch cut around the outer edge of the cake. Then you can cut all the way through. I used a fish filet knife because of how long and sharp it was, and it worked perfectly! Slide the top layer onto another plate so you can put the filling on the bottom layer. Then, slide the top layer back on. By this time, your ganache should be ready to spread over the top.

Word of advice...this dessert is too rich to have with a glass of milk. I'd stick with water! Enjoy!