Easy Peasy Brownie Pie

This is my super easy go to dessert when I don't have a lot of time and we need to bring dessert to dinner with friends.  We had a fun dinner with our Sunday school supper club and I needed something to bring and didn't have the time to make my favorite carrot cake recipe or something else time intensive.  So brownie pie it was.  This is also really good with cookie dough instead of brownie.

First you will take a box of Ghirardelli brownie mix of the flavor of your choosing, and make the mix according to the directions.

Put on some sort of entertainment for the baby.  Otherwise your house may be destroyed.  In this case we're watching Yo Gabba Gabba.

 For the pie crust the oreo brand is my favorite.  The chocolate graham cracker crusts don't come close.  So don't chance it. :)  Pour the mix into the pie crust.  Bake at 325.  It is going to take about an hour and 5-10 minutes to bake.  Check for doneness with a toothpick.

Make sure the baby is still in sight and a happy camper.

Tada.  You now have a delicious brownie pie.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (of course!)

Cabin Fever

Wow, this week has been quite the challenge!  We normally have jam packed weeks filled with activities, play dates, mother's day out, Bible study, walks, trips to the park and grocery shopping.  All of that came to a grinding halt on Tuesday.  I've always thought myself somewhat of a homebody, but I'm beginning to rethink that position.  It is really hard to entertain a toddler with her same old toys and books all day for four days straight!  Fortunately we were able to get out a couple of times this week.  We went a couple of streets over to play with Campbell and Ellis and got the kiddos good and tired out two mornings this week. On Thursday things appeared to be getting better so we went to the gym and met our trusty comrades at the mall for lunch.  Then today we found ourselves snowed in, but we got out as a family and enjoyed the snow for a bit.  Phil was home with us a couple of days this week but he had to lock himself away in the guest bedroom.  Too bad Lily knew he was home and was constantly trying to get back there and sit in his lap.  This girl is a daddy's girl, that is for sure.  On the flip side, it was nice having Phil around for a little more family time than we usually get.  He loves playing with Lily, and he even bundled her up and took her for a hike one day.

Setting off for an arctic hike

 Family play time.  Lily decided hangers were fun to play with.

The Texas Half

Usually every post on our blog is about Lily.  She has definitely taken over life and my day and schedule revolve around her for the most part.  That said, I've tried to maintain my own identity and not lose myself to motherhood.  I've been running since high school and I love how good I feel after a long run.  I started running long distance races in 2006 when I ran the DRC Half.  That lead to the Austin Marathon, then as time passed, three more halfs.  I don't always love running, but I enjoy having a goal to work towards and sometimes that is the only thing that will get me out there on a dreary day when I would rather stay inside than put my running shoes on.  I've never run the same half twice, which is kind of fun.  On Saturday I ran the Texas Half, which was my first long race since having Lily.  It was such a well organized event and they really did a fabulous job putting it on.  I remember thinking at some point after having Lily that I would truly never get back in shape again, so what a great feeling it was to not only finish this half but to have a PR.  I'm not that fast of a runner, but I did take about 9 minutes off of my previous PR, and I was pretty pumped about that!  If you've ever thought about doing a half marathon or a full marathon, I highly encourage you to do so.  It is a fun and challenging undertaking, and it is definitely more of a mental challenge than it is physical.  If I can do it, I promise that you can do it too.

Sticky Situations

I decided that a lollipop themed outing would be fun for my photography playgroup, so we all got together in a pretty meadow and let the kids play and eat their lollies.  I'm not really sure why I thought that a giant sucker would be a good thing to give to a teething, post school Lily, but it seemed like a good photo op, so what the heck.  She ended up dropping it, so I took it away, there were tears, she was sticky and angry.  But you can't really tell that in the pictures.  It was nice to get out and enjoy some relatively warm weather for once, fussy kiddo or not.

Pretty sure we'll be going to kindergarten with shushar (aka, the paci.)

 One of my favorite pictures in a while.  They are all such sweet kiddos and I love how it looks like they are conspiring about something!

 Sweet Havin and Lily.

 Here you go mama.  No thanks, I'm good little bug.

Shockingly Cute

My poor little muffin has the thinnest, finest hair.  Enter cold weather, a fleece top and a cozy coupe.

Peacocks and Horses

While Phil was off of work over the holidays, we decided to pass the time by taking Lily to the stables near our house.  They have peacocks running rampant, and obviously, horses (that aren't running rampant) too.  Lily loves animals so much.  She usually growls/roars or woofs at them.  I'm thinking with her love for animals and her love of dancing, she might have a future in the circus.

 

  

Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year with Lily being more aware of what was happening all around her.  We had a chaotic but nice service at our church on Christmas Eve.  Our pastor is an artist and he painted an amazing piece as part of the service.  It was hard to pay attention during the sermon because the little bug kept climbing over us, eating her raisins and crackers and wanting to sit in different people's laps (namely Emily and Hilary.)  Phil had to take her out for the last fifteen minutes but she did pretty well for most of the service.  I just love the end of the Christmas Eve service when all of the candles are lit and the lights are out and everyone sings Silent Night.  It is beautiful and a reminder that Christmas is about the birth of our Lord and King.

We stayed at our house on Christmas Eve and the bug woke us up at 6:15, bright and early.  I had to break out my flash to get some decent pictures, little stinker.  We are trying to keep Christmas reasonable, and we gave her two presents from us, one that each of us picked out.  A ball from Dada and a doll from Mama.  She also gets a cross ornament every year, but I'm a little behind and haven't ordered it yet!  There were many more presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles, so she was still spoiled rotten.  Later that morning, Phil's grandparents came over and rode with us to his parents house.  We celebrated with them and had a nice lunch, then came back home.  Our poor tree was so incredibly dry this year, and only half decorated due to the two and a half foot terror, so we ended up taking it down that night.  Normally we are sad to take down our tree, but this year we couldn't wait to get it out of the house, it was that bad!  We had such a wonderful Christmas and had so much fun watching Lily experience it all.  

Opening presents

Loves her new ball

 The doll is ok, but this bag is awesome

 Snuggles with Dada

Snacks for Thimba

 

Loves Pops

Mimi's snow village before it was destroyed by Lily

Thimba the prisoner