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Tree of Love



Since Love Day is right round the corner, I thought this was an easy Valentine's craft for me and my little fashion queen to make together. She helped pick out red and pink pages from magazines. I cut out hearts from those pages. Then I traced her pudgy little hand onto a green page. I glued all of the pieces to a sheet of card stock. Easy peasy. I love these kind of keepsakes. I now need to find a yummy Valentine dessert to make. Let me get on that.



Being pooped after a long day.


Dear Lillie's Valentine's Link Party

Baby Alive and Well

We were sound asleep yesterday morning, and I heard a loud knock on the door. I looked at the clock and it was 7:51 a.m. in the morning, on Sunday, mind you. I made William get up and run to the door. Then, I heard my dad's voice. My dad had driven up to see us on a complete whim. I was super surprised.  He missed his little Adrienne too much. The sweetest thing was when my dad went to wake her up, she opened her eyes and said, "Hey, Pappy!" Adorable. I wish I would have gotten it on video. Think ahead, Jade, think ahead.


We ate breakfast, had some coffee, and did some coloring before Pappy took Adrienne to go pick out a new toy. Maybe that's why she thinks Pappy is Santa. It's becoming clear now. 

So, we headed to the store. My child is a seasoned shopper, mind you. She knows what she wants when she sees it. After looking up and down the toy aisles, she picked out some kind of Baby Alive. This doll needs to be fed her bottle, needs her teeth brushed, then wets her diaper. All the expectations one could ever want out of a baby doll. At least she doesn't talk. Plus, my little mommy loves her.



This made me think of my Baby Alive. The very first one that pooped and peed. I was in kindergarten, and a first grader had one. There were so many envious kids surrounding her, ooing and ahhing over the doll with a dirty diaper. Including me. I went straight home and demanded a Baby Alive. When I finally got one (probably a few hours later) I hated the thing. I hated the way the food smelled when you fed her. I hated waiting for her to go number 2.  I hated the way I had to hold her over the bathroom sink, while the water ran into her mouth and out her bottom to clean her insides. Because, you know, I had to keep my baby tidy. My mom made me. Ugh. What work for a five year old. 

Anypoopingtoysarentfun, in a previous post, I listed some toys I had from my childhood. Here is the next batch of memories. Oh, to be a kid again...

Sparkly pink Caboodles makeup carrier case from the 80's. I actually still have mine underneath my vanity.

Cherry Merry Muffin dolls were produced in 1988-90 by Mattel. They smelled so flippin good!!

 Don't Break the Ice 1980's version. Loved this game. Skill and strategy at it's finest.

Flip 'n Fancy was produced by Playskool in 1991. I remember getting one of these at a Toys"R"Us and being amazed by it. Oh, the simple things.

This Krystal Princess was produced by Playskool in 1992. It was just a little figure that could sit in her own snow globe. I had a few different ones, brushed their hair, and they got old after a minute.

Li'l Miss Makeup by Mattel in 1989. Loved this doll. She looked so fancy. You could wet an eye-shadow brush and glide it across certain areas of her face, and voila, makeup appeared. Amaze.ing.

Little Pretty animals were produced by Mattel from 1989-91. I remember the pink kitty vividly. These were similar to My Little Ponies. Same concept, I guess.

Lost 'n Founds were produced by Galoob in 1989. One of my earliest stuffed animal memories. Or maybe I remember it because there are photos of me at Christmas with it? I dunno. But, I do know that this little guy cried wet tears when you gave him a bottle. Him's so sweet!!

Do you remember any of these toys?!

Happy Shabby Chic Sunday

Today was a good day. Long, but really good. I have the best family. I'll gab about it tomorrow. Goodnight my loves!









My Blog Etiquette:
I have tons and tons of images stored on my computer, and I can't always find their source. So,
if you are the owner of a particular photo on my blog and wish to claim credit or have
the photo removed, just let me know. I'll be happy to edit or change the photo. 
Unless otherwise specified, I do not claim ownership of all the photos
shown on my blog. There are a lot I wish were mine.. One day. One. Day.

Christmas Love

 I am finally putting some pictures up from over the Christmas holidays. It is so hard to pick and choose. 
We took our little fashion queen to go see the Christmas parade downtown. It was one of the coldest nights we've had this winter. She had on two layers of clothes and that huge fur coat. She could barely move. A total Christmas Story moment.



 She loved the marching bands. If it has anything to do with music, she's game. We also had two new visitors this year. Elfie and Peppermint. The whole Elf On The Shelf craze got a little out of hand, but I like the concept. Plus, the little movie about it had my child enthralled. I think it's the first movie she wanted to watch ten times in a row. At least it was only thirty minutes long.


She wasn't too fond of Old Saint Nick this year.. Or maybe it's the camera she doesn't like anymore. This is the face she usually gives me. Straight deer in headlights. 


Opening presents on Christmas Eve. We went ahead and tried it this year my way. Open presents from us on Christmas Eve, and Santa presents on Christmas Day. It just makes sense. 



 Our tree, our newest ornie, and a snowman that Adrienne fell in love with.



Christmas Eve finger foods before driving around to look at lights. Hot chocolate for the ride? Check.


Getting shots for the Christmas cards. These pictures obvs aren't in chronological order. I tried.



Christmas steak dinner with the fam. My favorite time.



Opening more gifts. Uncle "Buh" and Aunt "May" got her a mini drum-set! And the Rody Pony our friends gave to her! She was so excited about it.




Fin.


Sorry For The Cheesiness

I have been absent from my blogging the past few days. I apologize. We have had a family emergency to deal with. Keep sending me the good energy, cause it's working. My brother is doing so much better. 

On a much lighter note, I made the most delish macaroni and cheese dish the other night. You just have to try this. It makes a ton, and leftovers are just as good. Make sure to put a wet paper towel over your plate of macaroni when you microwave the leftovers!


Five Cheese with Bacon Macaroni 
Adapted from a recipe in the Family Circle magazine

|| ingredients ||
1 lb bag Macaroni Noodles
6 Bacon Slices, crumbled
1 tbs unsalted Butter
3 tbs All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
1/2 tsp Dried Onion Flakes
1/4 tsp Salt 
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 lb shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup shredded Colby-Jack Cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
8 slices of Kraft American Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 3-quart broiler-safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I sadly don't have a dutch oven, so I used my Pampered Chef stoneware baking bowl. It is both retired and non-broiler safe. So, I just had to deal. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

- Cook macaroni for about 8 minutes in boiling water, then drain. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer onto paper towels. Carefully pour off drippings, returning a tablespoon to the pan. Add the butter.

- Whisk in flour until smooth. Then whisk in milk. Stir in onion flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. 

- In a large boil, toss together cheddar, colby-jack, and mozzarella. 

- Remove milk mixture from heat. Whisk in American cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the shredded cheddar mixture. Then toss bacon pieces in shredded cheese mixture.

- In pasta pot, combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half into the baking dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the bacon-cheese mixture. Repeat layer.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil (if you have a broiler safe pan, which I didn't) and broil 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Yum.O.

UPDATE: Didn't have bacon when I made this again, so I substituted it with bacon bits and chopped up chicken. Delish. I also added minced garlic to the butter. Yummo times deux.





















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