RACHEL RAY GIVE AWAY!!!!

Do you LOVE the cute bakeware that Rachel Ray uses on her shows?! If so, now is your chance to win a 2 piece set of bubble and brown bakeware in LIME GREEN! All you have to do is visit http://simplecreativeinspiration.blogspot.com/ and enter to win! Hurry, entries have to be received by April 26th!!

Red Velvet Cake

RED VELVET CAKE

RECIPCE COMPLIMENTS OF BEKERELLA

INSPIRATION COMPLIMENTS OF MY SISTER IN LAW, NICOLE

Have you ever checked out Bakerellas website? I discovered her probably close to two years ago now, and have been ooooohhhhing and aaaahhhing over everything she creates ever since! One of her more recent posts was on red velvet cake. Something I have heard of, but had never tasted or attempted to make myself. Well, one day about two weeks ago, my sister in law, Nicole called me and told me that SHE had made a red velvet cake and I had to come try it, so I did. I mean, really, who am I to turn down sweets....let alone FREE SWEETS prepared by one of our cities best pastry chefs! Yes, I am "lucky" enough to have not only a sister in law who is a pastry chef, but my brother in law (her husband) is a chef as well. I say "lucky" because I think the real luck is that I haven't gained my weight in the delicious foods they've prepared over the past few years!!! Anyway, back to the cake. So, I tried hers, I liked it, and she inspired me to make my very own cake. It was not complicated, but it wasn't easy either. And by easy I mean, opening a box, adding eggs, oil, and water and mixing. Oh no. This baby was made from scratch....ALL THE WAY. Below you will find the recipe, compliments of Bakerella. Enjoy the cake (I stored mine in the fridge and served it with COLD milk!), and Bakerellas website, http://www.bakerella.com/

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
Then make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar

Sift sugar and set aside.
Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla.
Then, add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition.
And frost away.

What a year we had!

It's hard to believe that a year ago tomorrow, Lucy was facing hospitalization due to RSV. We battled that silly virus several times last winter, but January's was by far the worst! Luckily, after many return visits to the doctor, a trip to the ER, and lots of breathing treatments at home, she was A-OK! We've been lucky enough this winter to have NO illnesses, and thanks to the tubes we had put in her ears last fall, no ear infections either! Who would have thought that a little five minute operation would have helped her this much?!?! I cried longer than it took to have the tubes put in her ears - I guess that's what happens when you have an emotional mommy! :-)

Lucy is growing up so fast, right before our eyes. With each new day, she becomes a little more independent. She now loves to watch Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends (she would probably watch this every waking moment if we allowed her to), she is able to feed herself with a fork and spoon (thanks to grandma for getting her those - she LOVES them!), she tries to take her shirts off and put her coat on by herself, she can take her shoes off, she runs, walks, climbs on things, tries to climb the stairs foot over foot (rather than crawling up them), she can say a small dictionary of words (hi, bye-bye, mimi - Silas's mom, night night, mama, daddy, Jessie - our day care providers daughters name, thank you, ~ just to give a few examples) she can point to an apple and say the word, she is beginning to recognize her grandma and her mimi and BobPa (Silas's step dad). She's at such a fun age!

I wish she was able to have a relationship with my dad and his wife, but he got upset with me a year ago because we didn't phone him on his birthday and sent him an e-card instead of a physical card (yes, this was the same time that Lucy was so sick she was faced with hospitalization) and refuses to be part of our lives. His reason for not wanting to talk with us is so petty, and I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. I realize he is doing the same thing to his children and grand children that his parents did to him. So, he's only doing what he knows how to do, and that is to shut people out, over react, and take things far more personally than they were ever intended. One day, he'll realize he's missed out on one of the greatest gifts anyone could ever ask for, the unconditional love of a child. I also know he reads this blog, and will see this, so hopefully he'll know we are thinking of him on his birthday and maybe one day he will decide that a birthday card isn't worth sacrificing the love of his children and grand children.

Thee years is a LONG time!

I look at this picture a lot. It's one of our sweet daughter and my brothers daughter, walking hand in hand, being the best friends and cousins they know how to be at their young age. Being almost ten years older than my brother, I never really thought he was that cool. I viewed him as being immature and sometimes just an out right dork! That all changed when he joined the Army. I began to understand him more and really respect him for the young man and the soldier he was becoming. Now he's a husband and a dad and NOT the pesky little brother he used to be. I long to have him home with us, telling me goofy stories, making me laugh over the silliest and most trivial things. He got a three year tour in England, and they are half way done! I cannot wait for him to come back to the States, not only so I can see him and tell him in person how awesome, brave, amazing, courageous, selfless, and yes, even cool, that I think he is - but so Lucy can go about playing with her sweet cousin A and we can snap some more adorable photos like the one below of them together. I miss you D and can't wait for your return. XOXO~c

Mr. Rebates

For those of you that know me, you know I love a good bargain! In fact, I'd almost call myself the queen of bargains. I love nothing more than to know I am saving my family money and one way I have learned to do this is through a website called Mr. Rebates. It's so easy to do. It's free to sign up and there are a boat load of online stores you can shop at. Once you sign up, you visit the site, enter the store you are looking for in the search engine, visit the store through the Mr. Rebates site, and earn a percentage of your purchases back. The money is deposited in to your Mr. Rebates account where you can withdraw it at any time (once posted to your account). If you refer a friend, and they sign up giving your email address, Mr. Rebates will give you a 20% rebate on their purchases, at no cost or rebate loss to them! I like to buy clothes for Lucy on Ebay, and as luck would have it, Ebay is one of the sites that gives a rebate! Every penny counts. If you want to sign up, click on the link to the right. Feel free list me as your referral (silasandchrisi@yahoo.com). Let's start shopping and save some money!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas is finally over and done with and we had a BALL! Lucy got a new Pottery Barn Kids table and chair set from Mimi, and TONS of fun things from grandma. She is getting to be SUCH a big girl, and it was so much fun for me to watch her eyes light up when she discovered something new! Here's a beautiful scrap book page made by my mother in law - she's SO talented it makes me sick!

We have so much to be thankful for and we hope everyone has a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

I HATE you Santa!

My office held a Santa party for the children of employees this past Friday. I was one of the party planners, and was so happy that Lucy would be able to join us in the festivities. My Mother-in-Love picked her up from daycare and brought her down to the office where we had snacks galore, presents for the kids, and of course Santa! When the jolly old fella walked in that was it! Lucy made a b-line for the back of the room, screaming the entire way. She wanted nothing to do with him, his jingle bells, or his ho, ho ho'ing. She did finally sit on his lap with a little urging from mommy, but I am fairly confident that she has nothing but Hate for the man in red. I will post a photo when I have a chance. Her reaction was just priceless. Lucy may not like you right now Santa, but I sure do and I know in time she'll learn to love you too!