Favorite Kid's Books

I LOVE reading to my kiddos.

Over the years it has become our special bonding time ♥

Every night, after baths, tooth brushing and jammies, we crawl onto my daughter's bed (she has a double bed, so we can all fit), snuggle in, and read.

It is my favorite time of the day.

(and it has nothing to do with me knowing that very shortly I will finally have a peaceful moment to myself...I swear;))

So...

I thought I would share a few of our favorite books!

Santa put this one in the little girl's stocking this past Christmas.

We read it every Sunday evening.

It contains a short little prayer for each day of the week.

It is a nice way to end/start the week.

If you read my blog frequently, you know that my son is autistic.

It is pretty difficult to get him really involved in any particular book.

BUT...

He really enjoys the Magic Tree House series.

He is becoming quite a history buff, and these books feed his love of anything historical.

I like that we can take turns reading, becuase they are fairly simple.

Now...

This is the little girls ALL TIME FAVORITE can't-go-more-than-a-week-without-reading-it book!!!

(I used to read this to her two or three times a DAY!!!)

If you have a little girl, and she is in love with the color pink, and cupcakes, you must buy this one.

BUT...

I must warn you...

Be prepared to read it A LOT!



Finally...

This one is my all time favorite.

I remember reading it when I was eight.

I just ordered the boxed set of ALL the Ramona books from Amazon...

And I plan on reading them, one chapter at a time, every night for the next ten years (probably won't take that long...I hope).

What are some of your favorite books to read with your kids? Or nieces, nephews, friends kids...?

Happy Monday ☺

Jessie

Lemon Bars and Saturday Supper



I have been craving lemon bars for a few weeks now.

And when I went grocery shopping yesterday, lemons were on sale...

So...

I gave to the crave!

(pretend there is a cute little bag of powdered sugar squeezed in next to the lemons)

I will post the link to my recipe at the end of the post ☺

First, combine the butter, flour and powdered sugar.

I like to put all three in a large bowl and bled with my hand mixer until crumbly.

Place the crust mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Press crust mixture firmly into the pan with your hands (or sometimes I use the bottom of a glass).

Pop into a 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes.

Meanwhile...

Put the eggs, lemon juice (fresh squeezed will give you the best flavor), sugar and 6 Tbsp of flour into a large bowl (I use my KA stand mixer).  Mix until frothy.

If you are using a stand mixer, use the beater attachment. The paddle won't work well for this.

Let stand until crust is baked.

After the crust comes out of the oven...

I like to butter the sides of the pan. This will keep the lemon filling from sticking to the sides of the pan.

CAUTION: PAN WILL BE HOT! DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!

(I, being in a yank, did this once)

Carefully pour the filling over the hot crust.

Another little tidbit about this...

Do NOT pour to fast. It can create a hole in the crust (and a big ol' mess in the bottom of the pan).

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until middle appears done.

For some odd reason a big bubble formed in the middle of mine today...

Which turned into a crater after about fifteen minutes of cooling.

Oh well;)

Let cool completely before cutting.

Meanwhile again...

I fixed our supa dupa Saturday supper.

And the best chicken marinade recipe ever right here.

And...

After we chowed down on that...

Dessert.

Finally!

Mmmmmmmmm!!!!

 Unfortunately, these went down alot like the pazcki. This was my THIRD one! 

I really do need to learn a little self control;)

Here is the link I promised for the lemon bar recipe. It is my custom version of an Allrecipes submission.

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine (or at least some spring-like weather)!

Jessie

Not Our Time

Well guys...

Sadly, we did not get the house :(

I am trying not to let this get me down...

BUT...

IT SO IS!

There were multiple CASH offers.

Obviously we do not have enough cash on hand to buy a house outright.

So..

I am sad.

And I might be for a few days...

BUT

I will not lose faith.

The LORD is GOOD!!!

And when our time comes...

I will shout it from the rooftop of our perfect home;)

Jessie

Sneaky Peeky

I am gonna be a busy girl the next few weeks (or months...who am I kidding).

Here is a little sneak peek into some upcoming projects that I have planned!

(I recently realized that I am an annoying exclamation point overuser!!)

We started this over ten years ago...

Like those cute floral 90's knobs?

I had never heard of this stuff until I discovered blogland.

I was strangely drawn to this fabric...

So there are still several possibilities for this one.

AND

guess

who

stole



my

 camera

Again!

Happy Tuesday ☺

Jessie

Offer In!

I just got back from our Realtor's office...

Where we submitted an offer on this very charming little bungalow.



However...

I am trying to contain my joy.

This one is a dreaded short sale.

We went through one of these last summer, only to lose the house at the last minute.

AND

This house will probably have several offers, because it was being shown all weekend!

I am sooooo nervous!

This is the first house that I have walked into and actually felt like I was home♥

I am having decorating dreams already...

Don't tell my husband;)

He doesn't want me to get too attached to a "long shot".

Wish us luck!

And lots of prayers♥

Hope you are having a super Monday!

Jessie

Awesome Dress Deal

I have been eyeing up this cute dress over at The Limited for quite a while.

My wonderful hubby is being baptized and receiving his Sacraments at the Easter Vigil Mass, on April 23.

So...

I was thinking that on such a special occasion, I should get a new Easter dress.

(I already ordered the kiddos and hubby their awesome attire!)

When I saw this sheath dress I fell in LOVE.

It is versatile enough that I can wear it anywhere I need to be a little dressy. I can add accessories, cardis, belts...

The possibilities are endless!

BUT...

I really couldn't afford the $80 price tag right now. Especially after buying the rest of the fam their outfits.

BUMMER!

Then, by some miracle...

(Actually I was stalking the site hoping for a sale.)

It went on SALE for 40% off!!!

It is now $47.94!

AND...

It gets better...

I found a coupon code here, that gave me another 25% off!

So I used it, and brought my total down to $35.95!

I should have just stopped there and ordered...

But...

I thought it needed a belt.

So...

I added it to my shopping cart.

Then I looked here again, to see if could get a better deal on both.

And wouldn't ya know...

I found a $20 off a $60 purchase, coupon code!
(which is marked on retailmenot.com as a $30 off a $90, but works as a $20 off $60 also)

Score!
(you can't use both codes together, but the $20 off was a slightly better deal)

I got both items for...


$47.84

Plus tax and shipping...


$60.20!!!

I know...

If I was a real thrifty gal I would have just stopped at the dress.

I'm trying ☺

A Little Sugar

I just realized that I haven't blogged about my business in quite a while!

It has been a tad slow since the first initial rush of orders...

But recently things have picked up ☺

Here are a few of my faves.

(and if you are new to my blog, or just stopping by, you can catch up here and here)

I am having a blast with this!

(sometimes I get a little stressed when the kids are screaming and the dog is barking and my icing is melting...but other than that, a blast)

It just goes to show that everyone of us has some undiscovered skill.

Two years ago I didn't have a clue how to bake a cake from scratch...

And I was an awful cake decorator...

With a little determination the possibilities are endless.

Happy Monday!

Jessie