A new favorite. An old favorite. And pictures of half-eaten food.

I tried and new recipe over Thanksgiving and it's going to be a new staple each year.  In fact, I'm making it again for Christmas.  This is what was left less than 24 hours later...

It's the kind of pie that you don't mind eating for breakfast because it's that good.  This chocolate pecan pie originated from this Paula Deen recipe, but I adapted it a bit to incorporate what we had on hand.  It worked out so well that I don't think I'll ever need to try the original!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

• 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell (I used the frozen kind from WM)
• 1.5 cups chopped pecans
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cover bottom of pie crust with chopped pecans.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar and chocolate chips. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into the pie shell over the pecans and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for an additional *45 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

*After reading many of the original recipe's reviews, the chief complaint was that the original baking time (25min) was way too short.  I bumped it up to 45 minutes and eventually covered the crust with foil so it didn't brown too much and this worked perfectly for me.  You may have to play around with the time based on your oven.

And our old favorite...Pink Arctic Freeze!

My mom started making this years ago and I prefer it in place of cranberry sauce.  Sometimes I eat this for breakfast, too.  It has fruit in it, m'kay?

Pink Arctic Freeze

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 can crushed pineapple
• 1 can whole cranberry sauce
• 2 Tbs mayonnaise
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1/2 cup whipped cream

 
Directions

Mix together cream cheese and mayo.  Mix in pineapple, cranberry sauce and sugar.  Fold in whipped cream.  Pour in loaf pan and freeze at least 6 hours.  Cut in slices and serve.  Or just eat with a fork from the loaf pan for breakfast.  Whatev.


Yum!  Enjoy these goodies!

Oh-no-ments

Isn't that clever?  How I turned the word ornaments into oh-no-ments?
Gumshoe and I have some of the silliest ornaments in existence.  You know those ornaments that are old and silly, but totally sentimental?  We have a lot of those and as I was putting up the Christmas tree the other day, I realized how random our tree is.  I mean, really...

We've got the classic spray-painted macaroni ornament courtesy of me about 24 years ago:

Then there's the upside down ornament:

Everyone loves a good deceased-mouse-pun to hang on their tree...it's also safe for the kids to play with:

Then there's the knit mailbox circa 1981 (my favorite, actually):

It still has a little letter in it that I wrote to my family forever ago (misspelled words and all).  Do you love my free-hand scroll work on the top?  And the poetry...very Robert Frost-esque if I do say so myself:

And who doesn't have two members of a clothespin mariachi band painted with their sisters' names?  What?

We have a leterhosen-wearing teddy bear ornament:

A Hansel and Gretel/Jack and Jill/Apple tree Christmas ornament:

An ornament paying homage to Gumshoe's favorite football team growing up.  And no...neither of us have ever lived anywhere near Michigan.  He loved Barry Sanders and still quotes all of his stats to me as we watch our miserable football team play each Sunday.  Go Chiefs!

And finally, the shrunken elf-head ornament...the dog ate the rest of it and we thought it would be funny to keep this creepy memento:

And just for kicks...after I took all these pics, I looked over to find LG playing with his cars like so:

Someone's getting some smaller pants for Christmas!

Peas Please

Like father like son...this boy LOVES sugar snap peas. 

He loves to pick the peas out of the pods and eat them raw.  Then he loves to chew on the pod and spit it out.  Sometimes onto the dog.  Ummm...okay.  But it's about the only green vegetable he will voluntarily put in his mouth, so if he wants to spit out the pod...be my guest.

But that's not what this post is really about.  Let's get down to the nitty gritty and talk about how LG also likes to stick these peas up his nose.  It's a new trend we've noticed and he's getting very good at it.  So good, in fact, that I had to give my child an unorthodox version of mouth to mouth the other night.

Peas were on the menu for dinner and as I was cleaning up the kitchen, LG decided to shove one up his nostril.  I glanced over to see his finger disappearing up his nose and quickly deduced what he was doing.  I quickly removed him from the peas and held down his hands to avoid further travel of the pea while we went upstairs to do a pea extraction.

The method that Gumshoe used the other day (yes...this is the second time peas have made it up his nose) wasn't quite working.  That time, we just used a bobby pin and got behind the pea to pop it out.  This time, I was actually pushing the pea further into his nasal passage.  In fact, I couldn't even see it any longer and I had visions of a fossilized pea causing problems down the road.  I called Gumshoe at work to ask if he had any ideas so that I could avoid a trip to the doctor.  Luckily, he did...

"Just push one of his nostrils closed with your finger and put your mouth over his and blow.  The pea should pop right out."

Hmmm.  OK.  Let's try it...

"LG-this might be a little weird, but just trust me, mmmkay?"

As I awkwardly gave my child mouth to mouth, the pea popped right out just like Gumshoe said it would! Unfortunately for LG, I hadn't noticed it.  After the 7th attempt of blowing into my child's mouth while he flailed his arms at me yelling "Away! Away!" and "Dada!  Dada!" I kept thinking...please don't be your first memory...please don't be your first memory...

I finally noticed air coming out of LG's offending nostril as I blew so I realized the pea had to have come out.  After I spotted it on the floor, I began to cheer as LG pushed me out of his way, clearly disgusted. 

Moral of the story:  Remember this technique when your toddler shoves objects up his nose.  It will happen to you sometime, and this will save you a trip to the urgent care clinic.  It will not, however, save you or your child's dignity.

We can see it...

The light at the end of the tunnel!  We have finally caught a glimpse of it!  Now that we're moving on to updating the main part of the house...things are actually moving a lot more quickly.  We started this "home refresh" project back in January with the hopes of getting it done by the end of the year.  During the summer though, that goal made me laugh!  Now, it actually seems like we could do it, or at least finish by the end of January.

It's amazing how much paint changes my perspective.  For a while, Gumshoe and I wondered why we even bought this house.  We weren't very proud of it and we were kind of embarrassed by it.  Something drew us to it, but we were wondering what the heck it was.  We needed to put our stamp on it...make it ours.  Now, we're starting to remember what we loved about it in the first place.  It's charming and cute.  It's cozy and welcoming.  It has good curb appeal.  Our little family and lives fit perfectly inside and I'm starting to love it again!  Of course, it's not our dream house and we won't be able to fit in it forever, but it's perfect for right now and I'm so glad we're putting the effort into making it beautiful.

Here are some pictures of the progress.  Sorry about the quality...

BEFORE                                                                                        AFTER

BEFORE                                                                               AFTER

Next up is the trim in the upstairs hallway.  Then new lights, new 6 panel doors, new hardware, new light switches/plates...and on it goes!

Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Oreo-Brownie-Heaven

This dessert is ridonkulous.  It involves 3 layers of oven-baked goodness: Chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, Double Stuf Oreos in the middle and fudge brownies on top.  It's the perfect combo of gooey and chewy and chocolaty and amazing!

I got this recipe from Pinterest (here it is) and have made it twice for our church group.  The first time I made it we were a little nervous since we'd never tried it before.  Gumshoe described it as "taking an untested weapon into battle."  But really, how can something with these ingredients turn out badly?  And how can he manage to use a firearm analogy for every possible situation?  I dunno...he's a wordsmith genius. 

Anywhoo...the best compliment I received on this dessert was my father-in-law who tried it and said "this is so good, it's obscene!"  If that isn't a glowing review...I don't know what is.  So you HAVE to make this dessert.

Start with your chocolate chip cookie dough.  I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips, so I just made the cookie recipe on the back of the bag.

Then, layer your Double Stuf Oreos on top of the cookie dough.

After that, pour the fudge brownie batter on top.  FYI...You may want to double the brownie batter.  The first time I made this dessert, the batter completely covered the Oreos and this time, it didn't.  I think it depends on the brand??  This time I used Betty Crocker and last time I used Duncan Hines.

Bake it all at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and there you have it!

I couldn't take a picture of the inside because we had to take it to our group, but here's an original picture and I promise it looked just as good!

image via

Amazing!

You Know Married a Cop When...

You hear loud things rolling around in your dryer.
Notice anything off?

How about now?

In case you missed it, I'll zoom in...

I had a hunch that the culprit was a bullet, and as I approached the dryer I had visions of it blowing up in my face.  I opened the dryer and my suspicions were confirmed as I loudly said (a bit passive-aggressively) "Oh, lovely!  A bullet!"

I'm sure he read my mind, because Gumshoe yelled from upstairs "They can't explode in the dryer!"

Now I know!

On the Mend

Wow!  I feel like we have been dead to the world for the past several days.  Gumshoe and I were sick back to back, which equals about a week stuck inside.  On the bright side, LG managed to dodge the germs and has remained healthy.   Did I just jinx him?

Ironically, it was a very sweet time together as a little family.  We were forced to be closed off from everything for a little bit, but it was actually fun to spend so much time together without any obligations or distractions.  We felt pretty crummy, but not crummy enough to skip out on playing with LG, enjoying movies, cooking Gumshoe's famous jambalaya and even painting the house.  Seriously.  I guess we figured since we're stuck inside...we might as well get some stuff done.  I mean, with a little bit of Thera Flu, we were more  productive this week than we have been in a long time!  I think I'm going to start injecting it each morning.

There were car races...

Lots of resting...

Forts...

Art...

And the best picture of all...prepping and painting.  The sleeveless shirt.  The socks.  The duster.

But we're feeling much better and looking forward to rejoining the land of the living.  We're missing our Grandma and Grandpa, our Nana and PopPop, church, friends, daylight, showers, getting dressed each day... ahem. 

Hopefully I will soon have some pretty pictures of our painting progress.  Alliteration much?

Thera Flu Love

OK.  It's super-late.  Like 1:20am-type-late.  I'm NEVER up this late.  But I had a cough attack in bed.  The kind where you sit up and can't stop coughing and you wake your husband up with all your hacking.  And then he rolls over in a sleepy haze and he's clearly a little irritated and asks you what's going on and you say matter-of-factly, but kind of snotty-like "I'm coughing."

We're both sick.  I'm getting over it, but Gumshoe is in the thick of it.  Luckily, LG hasn't gotten it.  But in the midst of our sickness, we've become addicted to Thera Flu.  Have you tried this stuff?  AMAZING!  (Thank you mama Gumshoe for introducing us to it) And if you add honey to it.  Ugh!  Too good.  It just instantly makes you feel better and the nighttime stuff knocks you out!  So naturally, even though I feel a lot better, I have a cough attack and think...I need Thera Flu.  While I'm waiting for it to kick in and knock me out...I thought I'd reflect on something I've been feeling lately...

My deep love and awe for this guy:

I've been praying lately that I would really cherish this time he and I have together because I know that it is so precious and fleeting.  He's growing so fast and down the road, there will be more and I won't be able to lavish the attention on him that I can right now.  I'm trying to truly savor each moment with him and watch him learn and grow.  I know this sounds overkill...but I'm pretty much with him 24 hours a day and I left over the weekend just to run to the store and I missed him terribly!  I mean-I was gone for about 20 minutes, and was so excited to see him when I got home!  I meant for this to be a lot more heart-felt, but I'm getting drowsy...

I could go on and on about how expressive and funny he is and how sweet it is to hear him say "Sit, mama...sit!" as he pats the floor next to him, but I'm going to have to end this Thera Flu fueled love fest because it's kicking in and I have to go to sleep now.

Good Nighzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Jealous Much?

Aren't you jealous of our trash-bag-door?

Aren't you jealous of the fact that we have to go through our front door, then open our garage door in order to get to our car or throw trash out?

The good news is that we won't have a trash bag door for very long.  Gumshoe is fixing the door that required repair after this unfortunate incident.

Look...I know you wish you could have all of this going on in your home too...

But if you want your house to look this good...you're just going to have to do it yourself.  You're going to have to kick in your own door.  You're going to have to make your own paint sample artwork and you're going to have to get on a roll one day and paint half of your wall only to leave it unfinished for quite a while.  You know...because you're not in the mood anymore.

And go make your own ladder fort, too.  Because that's totally safe, I'm sure.  And it really helps to discourage playing on the ladder...

Oh!  And be sure to walk away for a second while your toddler is within grabbing distance of the drill.  And when you spot your child with a dangerous and sharp power tool, be sure to get your camera first instead of taking the drill...

I'm working on a parenting book.

Zebra Bootyliciousness

bootylicious image via

How do you even spell bootylicious?  Bootyliciousness?  

Why is there a large picture of a booty on this blog post you ask?  Because these are the exact jeans that a couple of 16 year old girls were trying to steal from the mall.  Can you believe these hideously-jewel-encrusted-zebra-patterned jeans are about $150? And they're all over the place!  I'm obviously missing something, but all this is beside the point.  The good part of the story is the way Gumshoe decided to handle this situation.

His approach made me realize that we are officially old.

It's that time of year again...remember this post?  It's that special season where Gumshoe has to take undercover shifts at the mall.  BLECH!
LG and I already made the treacherous pilgrimage to visit Gumshoe at the food court and I should have known.  I was asking for it, really, when I decided to approach the pretzel counter and request an order of pretzel bites.  $10 later...REALLY!?!?...I came back to the table and looked Gumshoe in the eyes and literally asked him: "How do you walk away from your mall shifts not questioning humanity?"   Dramatic?  Maybe...but the pretzel counter always brings out the worst in me.  Ironically, I've never asked him that question after he's worked a homicide...only after his shifts at the mall. 

Okay, back to the jeans...
The budding career criminals were escorted to the police office located within the mall and their stolen goods were laid out on the table in front of them.  This was actually their first offense and they were already very remorseful and a little scared at this point.  Gumshoe walked into the room and was a bit confused as he looked at the jeans.

Gusmhoe:  "Are these the jeans you were attempting to shoplift?"
Girls:  "Mmmhmm"
Gumshoe:  "These are completely hideous.  Why would you want to steal these?  Why would you want to look like a zebra?"

Upon hearing this, the girl who instigated the shoplifting began to tear up.  Her friend, who didn't really want the jeans in the first place just laughed at Gumshoe's question.

Gumshoe (as serious as a heart attack):  "Okay, here's what I'm going to do.  We're going to go a less conventional route for your consequence and I'm going to survey all of your friends.  I'm going to ask them one question...what are the dorkiest style of jeans in existence?  Whatever type of jeans they agree on, you will have to wear to school everyday until you graduate.  And maybe even your first year of college...we'll see."

Their faces indicated that this would clearly be the worst possible fate.

One of the girls piped up: "Can you take us to jail instead?"  :) 

High school lame-ness...a fate worse than jail!

Cousins!

LG and I had dinner a few nights ago with this special little lady...

Since Gumshoe has been working evenings this week, LG and I have been filling up our afternoon hours with fun to beat the boredom.  This time, it was dinner over at Nana and PopPop's.  Joining us was my 5 year old niece who was going to have a slumber party with Nana. 

This little miss had a Halloween party at her tai kwon do class around the same time we would be eating dinner, so she opted out of her party in order to eat dinner with LG.  Melt my heart!  And LG is just as excited about spending time with his cousin...he follows her everywhere and copies her every move.  It's so fun to watch these two together!

Cousin P met us at the door and LG followed her right in...

Then they played nicely together...it was all fun and games until LG spotted his cousin's milkshake...

LG got over it and then it was time for dinner.  They took turns washing hands...

And then some lively dinner conversation ensued...

After dinner, they moved their convo out onto the deck...

Then it was monkey see, monkey do.  You fall off the ottoman, I'm gonna fall off the ottoman...

You sit at the computer, I'm gonna sit at the computer...

You play cards, I'm gonna play cards...

Finally, a game of hide and seek.  This one didn't last long because, frankly, my child is a terrible hider...

Did you spot him?  :)