christmas & new year’s

Christmas morning came, and Nolan’s favorite present was a Veggie Tales book from his grandparents. It sings “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in Veggie character voices when you press the button, and he is in love.

 On Christmas Day, we took a two-hour drive to Steve’s aunt & uncle’s house. Nolan was impressed with the full Little People nativity set.

Wednesday brought us a snowstorm on the Ohio Turnpike—unplowed and gaining snow by the minute. So we spent the night in a hotel outside Cleveland. Upside—getting to eat at Applebee’s and shop at Target.

Nolan didn’t mind the snowstorm. He’s a good little boy in the car (most of the time).

We made it to our family party, which started off at Shoe’s Pizza—Valparaiso, Indiana!

Us with my mama and her husband Don.

Favorite picture of the trip—FOUR generations! My grandpa Dan is one of the sweetest, most generous people I will ever be blessed to meet.

my cousin Lindsay, me, cousin Dayna, and cousin-in-law Jaime

Next, we headed to Indianapolis. We had a great New Year’s Eve with my sister-in-law Dana’s family. The next morning, Nolan was very sick, so we spent the day on the couch together.

Nolan got to spend so much time with these two cute cousins! And we really enjoyed time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Nolan’s sickness transferred to his mommy & daddy today, so we are happy to be home after 2 weeks of traveling. We are very lucky that Steve has SIX weeks of Christmas break, so he won’t have to go back to class until the end of January.

I’ll spend tonight unpacking and writing down some of my goals for 2013, since I haven’t had a moment to dwell on the new year yet.

More pictures from the past two weeks to come tomorrow!

can’t leave alone bars

I found this recipe four years ago in a Gooseberry Patch Christmas cookbook that I borrowed from the library. They taste like a yellow cake meets a chocolate chip cookie, with a brownie texture! I put these bars and some other sweets on a tray for my (then-boyfriend) Steve’s family. I think that cookie platter was the reason they decided to keep me. ;)

Ingredients:

18 1/4 ounce package white cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs, and oil in a bowl; mix well. Press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Combine condensed milk, chocolate chips, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH for 45 seconds. Stir, and then microwave again for 45 to 60 seconds, or until the chips are melted. Stir until smooth—then pour over cake mixture in pan.

Drop remaining cake mixture by teaspoonfuls randomly over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Makes 3 dozen.

flashback to last november

 I am in full Thanksgiving mode tonight, and so I looked back on the photos we took last November.  We had a 2-month-old, and he was (and still is!) the apple of our eyes.

We went to the town that Steve’s parents and my parents live, and we had a very nice, low-key Thanksgiving.  Our Ivy girl was really sick that week, and that was super hard.  She had re-injured an old injury by running full speed into a glass door.  She had a difficult time bouncing back from that.  And we are thankful that she has recovered so well in the past year!

I can’t wait for the second Thanksgiving with this cute little guy!

raspberry custard kuchen

My Aunt Meg made us this amazing Raspberry Custard Kuchen (pronounced koo-kin) dessert a few summers ago, and I was so impressed with how fresh and delicious it is! You can tell that it's made from scratch, and the crust tastes like the most amazing pie crust you've ever had. The topping is creamy and soft with a burst of raspberry flavor. It's one of my favorite summer desserts, especially when it's served a la mode!

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 Tablespoons whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups fresh raspberries (I used a 12 ounce container)

For the topping:

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in whipping cream, and pat into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan.

Combine the sugar and remaining flour and sprinkle over the crust. 

Arrange raspberries over the crust.

For the topping, combine sugar and flour. Stir in eggs, whipping cream, and vanilla. Pour over the berries.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm, or chilled. (It's delicious with a scoop of vanilla on top!)

Store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

a braveheart halloween

 

Here is our little William Wallace.  

A little background as to why we wanted to dress up our 1-year-old in a Scottish kilt like Mel Gibson in a 1995 classic movie...

Summer camp played a special role in our lives, as it is where Steve and I fell in love.  Every week at camp, we would play a giant capture-the-flag style game across the whole property, a game called BRAVEHEART.  The campers would practically beg to play Braveheart, and I have to say, it probably is the best game I have ever played.  You get to wear face paint (red for English, blue for Scots), run around camp pulling people's flags and searching for medallions.  There is so much hype and energy around it, it's amazing. Needless to say, this costume has a lot of meaning to people in our camp circle!

 

I sewed the kilt and the wrap-around sash last night with $3 fabric from JoAnn's.  The face paint is Snazaroo, supposed to be really mild and safe for kids.  I got it at Michael's with a 50% off coupon.

Trick-or-treating in our town was canceled tonight because of Hurricane Sandy-related weather.  So we will have to wait until next year! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

crib sheet

Nolan was in need of a sheet, since he only had one that fit his bed well.  I stumbled upon a crib sheet tutorial, and decided that I would make him one, that way I could choose any fabric or pattern. 

"luvinthemommyhood.com" crib sheet tutorial

Something to watch out for with the tutorial:  It says that your 2 yards of fabric should be 45" wide, but at JoAnn's, all I saw were 43" and 44" fabrics.  I bought a 44" and it was still wide enough for the sheet, thank goodness.  Definitely buy the fabric on sale, or with a coupon, or you won't save any money by making your own. 

Also, the tutorial says you can leave your seams raw if you don't have a serger, but my seams started unraveling the minute I finished my casings for the elastic.  It was a mess.  I ended up putting "Fray Check" on everything, and sewing my heart out until I felt like it was going to stay.  I would try a zig-zag stitch over all of the raw edges next time.  So needless to say, the sewing I did was not very pretty.  But, it worked!  Proof it fit the mattress:

 

And he's been sleeping on it ever since. :)

Hannah's memorial dedication

After my beautiful, newly-17-year-old sister passed away from a horrible childhood cancer in 2001, half of her memorial money was given to her high school in Chicago.  The art teacher decided to design four mosaic benches to honor her memory.  The benches were finished within a year or two, but every time we contacted the high school, they told us that the benches weren't quite ready.  We did not forget about them, but eleven years later, the school contacted us because they wanted to install the benches and have an official dedication of them.  September 14th was chosen as the day, and friends and family showed up to remember Hannah and be a part of a beautiful tribute to her.  

 

Here were the benches, just before they were assembled.

 

 And now, all put together:

 

 

We had a good crowd of about 60 family members and friends.

 

My mother wrote lovely words to speak about Hannah. 

 

The current principal spoke as well.  Unfortunately, this dedication happened to be planned the very week that Chicago public teachers went on strike.  The art teacher who designed the benches was unable to come (almost all of Hannah's former teachers did not come).  But the principal read words that the art teacher had wanted to say herself, explaining the meaning behind each of the four benches.

 

Hand of support ;)

  Though it is a public school, we asked if it would be okay for my Uncle John to say a prayer, thanking God for Hannah, and for these new benches in the community.

Refreshments afterwards.

So grateful for all who came!

Three of my sister's gorgeous best friends. 

 Then Nolan stole the photographer's attention for a while.  This photo is with Great-Grandpa.

 

This visit was Nolan's first trip to Chicago, and the first time he laid eyes on my hometown and Aunt Hannah's hometown.   He will grow up to hear many stories about his vibrant aunt.

Nolan Bruce with Daddy and cousin Nathan Bruce.

 

My guys.

 

My mom and me.

 And then with my two aunts (Mom's sisters) Lori and Sally.

It was a very significant day in my life, and I hope that Hannah's benches receive many, many visitors, for years to come!