Christmas Burnt, I mean Brunch

Was your Christmas wonderful? Was it picture perfect, like something from a Rockwell painting? Did your breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner come off flawlessly and taste absolutely perfect? Was your home decorated beautifully with seasonal candles burning away?

If so, congrats! If not, welcome to my club! The Christmas Burnt Brunch Club.

While, overall, our Christmas day was filled with family, good food & some cute pics, it wasn't perfect.

Anderson actually slept until 8:15 which was a Christmas miracle! We got him up, changed his diaper & jammies (so much for Christmas morning pics in his actual Christmas jammies...thanks leaky sposie!) and showed him his gifts. He was so sweet & was having so much fun! It was so fun to watch him play with his new toys and babble on about how great of parents we are who knows what!

In the midst of our Christmas morning Hubby caught a case of The Grinch. Yes, we began to "tiff". In fact, we were still "tiffing" when my in-laws arrived. Isn't that what everyone dreams about???

Thankfully we talked it out & Hubby apologized to everyone for being The Grinch. We moved on & not a minute too soon because team work was right around the corner.

You see, in years past we have alwasy spent the night with my parents on Christmas Eve & woken up to a delicious breakfast of Monkey Bread on Christmas morning. Well, actually, that didn't happen last year. I don't really remember what exactly happened last year as our Baby was 3 days old. Moving on...

So, since we were spending Christmas morning as just the 3 of us I decided I must make Monkey Bread. I lovingly prepped it the night before after getting home from my aunt's house. It was probably close to midnight before we went to bed due to breakfast prep & setting out the gifts.

I popped the monkey bread in the oven Christmas morning & hopped in the shower. My in-laws arrived and we were all talking when the oven timer went off. I opened the oven, excited & nervous to see the final product when smoke billowed out from my oven & a burning sound sizzled & popped on my oven floor.

I waved the smoke away & looked inside...The 2-piece tube pan had leaked the brown sugar/butter mixture all onto the bottom of the oven where it was solidifying into a carbon crust!!!

We determined the monkey bread was finished & set it aside to cool. Hubby shut the oven door to stop the smoke & opened the back door. We could have just kept the door closed & turned the oven off & ignored it for a bit except that I had two quiches I had made that had to go in because they would take 30 minutes to bake.

So, we turned the oven off, let it cool for a few minutes & then my dear hubby got to scraping away that carbon crust!

Yeah, Yuck.

At this point we were laughing. I mean, what else are you supposed to do?

After a good scrubbing we turned the oven back on proceeded to finish baking Christmas brunch!

The monkey bread wasn't perfect but it was pretty close & tasted yummy!

Thankfully the quiche came out great & Christmas brunch ended up being delicious! So, there we sat in our sweats with a pile of laundry on the couch, eating our barely-survived brunch watching our sweet boy walk around with his favorite Christmas gift: a $2 toothbrush.

Although the morning didn't go just as I had planned I thought about what Christmas was about & reminded myself that imperfections are the reasons there is Christmas. Christ came to die for us messy sinners who argue with our spouses, burn breakfast & leave unfolded piles of laundry lying about. Christ came to save us from all of our sins. No matter how great or small. And He is coming again. 

Oh, how I can't wait for that day!

When all is restored and set right. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanual!

One

                                          


One whole year of being a mother.

It's amazing how long the nights are. It's amazing how short the year was.

I can't help but be mushy & overly-sentimental when I reflect over this past year. Yes, it was hard getting him here and the first couple months were not exactly "fun" but after we got out of "survival" mode every day seemed to be a wonder.

Every new milestone was amazing. Even watching his hair grow longer was amazing. 

He made me a mother. He taught me how to love like a mother, how to breastfeed, how to be so completely connected with another human being that you are aware of their every move even outside of the womb.

Motherhood has truly been a joy. I'm not trying to pretend that every day was "the best day ever". True, there have been tears & frustrations on both sides of this relationship. But thankfully those moments were few & far between.

We made wonderful new friends this year and regardless of where life takes us I will always cherish these mamas & their sweet babies. I pray our friendships continue to grow.

The 1st MONTH I learned that AW & I were more of a team than we had ever been. Having a baby is a bond like no other!

The 2nd MONTH I learned that I can feed my baby. And I can actually enjoy it! What a gift breastfeeding is!

The 3rd MONTH I learned that cloth diapering is not as bad as I thought!

The 4th MONTH I learned that milestones are nothing short of amazing & a gift from God!

The 5th MONTH I learned to trust my "motherly instincts" & start my baby on food one month early!

The 6th MONTH I learned to go with the Baby Flow. He decided to go on a months-long food strike!

The 7th MONTH I learned how to travel with a baby!

The 8th MONTH I learned to just relax & give him whatever it is he would actually eat. His favorite foods are yogurt, bananas, black beans & just about any carb there is (he's his mama's boy with all that carb consumption)!

The 9th MONTH I learned how to baby-proof EVERYTHING with a little crawler on board!

The 10th MONTH I learned the frustrations of a sick baby. And what a blessing modern medicine is & how WONDERFUL tubes are!

The 11th MONTH I learned what fun holidays are with a child! 

The 12th MONTH I learned the terrors of having a new walker but the JOY of realizing we made it a whole year!

Thank you Anderson, for all you have taught me. Here's to another year of learning but most importantly loving.

--Mommy

Come On In!

It's Christmas time!

Of course last year was special with a Little One on the way but I'm so, so excited about this year!

He gets presents & we'll start our own little family of 3 traditions.

Our first tradition is decking the halls!

Hey, what's in here?

 These things are awesome! 

(He gave each ornament a hearty shake & a toss over his shoulder...I guess that means he approves.)

I then gave him my iPhone in an attempt to keep my ornaments in tact. This was a result.

He then found the cranberries and decided those were the most fun for wrapping oneself in.

But wonders of Christmas wonders was throwing paper everywhere! PAPER!!!

What you don't want me to do this?

 

So after Anderson wore himself out wrecking decking the halls we put him to bed & had a post-Thanksgiving feast before we got serious about decorating!

 

I just bought this ornament to represent last year & I love it! It's so perfect since he was our little Christmas gift!

This is our newest ornament for this year! I love collecting these!

The next morning he was quite curious about the little men hanging from the bottom of the tree. It's so cute to watch him play near the tree.

This year he got all new ornaments for his tree! I love it so much I'm using it at his birthday party (in just 2 short weeks!)

Here's our front door! I love the lighted garland!

Send me your Christmas cards! I've got a pinspired clothes pin wreath to hang them on!

And here is our  Christmas tree with the wonderful large-colored lights! Last night we just sat with only the tree & garland lit & listened to Christmas music on the radio. It was so peaceful!

And lastly here is our Christmas ribbon wreath! I did silver & gold so that I could keep it up through the New Year ;-) I love making these; they're super easy & satisfy my crafty desires without me getting in over my head!

LINK UP IN THE COMMENTS SECTION WITH YOUR
POSTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

What We're Reading

I'm always interested in what other people like to read. I'm always looking for a good book to get into. I thought I would share what we're currently reading & please share what book(s) you & your family are currently reading!

What I'M Reading:

Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery

I'm really liking this book. Believe it or not...*shock & awe*...I have never read it before. I decided to give it a try because my pediatrician (now Anderson's ped) was talking about how he went on a cruise and one of the stops was at Prince Edward Island and they offered tours of the Anne of Green Gables home. He declined the tour as it was $65 for a mythical character's home (and who can blame him?!) but it made me curious about the book so I made a trip to 2nd & Charles and have really enjoyed it.

What WE'RE Reading:

Forged in Faith
Rod Gragg

The author of this book spoke at our church over the summer and we began reading the book, as a family, then. But then our trip to South Carolina came & there was so much excitement that we fell off. We've decided to pick back up as it is Election Season. It's a wonderful book about why, how & by whom (who?...I never know) our country was founded.

Norman Rockwell America's Best Loved Illustrator
Joel H. Cohen

We are reading this in anticipation of going to see the exhibition at the Birmingham Art Museum! It's a short & simple biography on Norman Rockwell that I found in the children's department of the Vestavia Library. It's a fun read!

What ANDERSON is Reading:

Spot
Eric Hill

He loves all of the Spot board books! They are perfect for him because they have big, bright pictures, one sentence per page and he can turn the pages himself (his favorite)! He will sit in my lap for 30 minutes & let me read to him and I LOVE IT!!

What ANDREW is Reading:

My Text Messages
Laura Wilder, Wifey Extroidannaire

Ok, he is not much of a reader. He gets up at 5:30 to have his quiet time & hits the ground running all day long. By the time he gets home he plays with Anderson, helps me put him to bed and is so tired he falls asleep on the couch. Sweet, hard-working man!

So there you have it! That's what we're reading! 

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Baby Toys or Marketing Ploy?

As the consignment season has been upon us I've been hitting all the sales with my Christmas & birthday lists for Anderson. I've been on the look out for those special toys & books that I want him to have and that I know he'll love. 

With his birthday being 3 days before Christmas I'm trying to get a major jump on buying his gifts. I feel like I've been really successful and tomorrow I'm #52 to shop at Kid's Market!

Except here's the thing, the past few days he's really taken an interest in some things I haven't gotten at the consignment sales. 

One thing he really enjoys playing with that I didn't think to put on my list is CHEAP TOILET PAPER.

I mean, look at that cute chubbers. All those toys spread everywhere & what does he choose to chew on and play with? A SPOON!

And then this morning he crawled away from his toys to do this:

So now I'm left wondering...are all these baby toys & "educational" toys just a marketing ploy???

;)

Pancake Delight

So, Anderson does not like carrots. 

I've tried a few times. I've lovingly steamed the carrots. I've ever-so-sweetly pureed the carrots. I've portioned them out and made lots of silly faces trying to convince him that carrots are the most delightful of all the vegetables.

To no avail.

One evening we were having breakfast for dinner and in an attempt to jazz up our pancakes I mixed in some applesauce & cinnamon. It was a huge hit & Anderson gobbled it all up!

So you see where this is going....

I had an epiphany.

Suddenly the pancake became the vehicle for all fruits and vegetables that he will refuse.

And then the carrot cake pancake was made. And eaten! With much delight!

All I did was steam about 12-15 baby carrots, pureed them and added them to some really easy, cheap pancake mix. I then added about 1t. ground cinnamon and made the baby's pancake.

Seriously, he could not eat it fast enough.

Then for our pancakes I added 1/4t. ground nutmeg and 1/4t. ground clove.

It was yummy & perfect for fall! 

Maybe you've already made these before. Maybe Ihop has made them before. But I felt smart & original. For once! Now go make them, eat them & revel in the goodness that is fall flavor!