Pumpkin Squares {recipe}

I had a can of pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving that I wanted to use up.  So I went through my pins on Pinterest and came across "Paul's Pumpkin Bars".
It looked up and it was pretty easy.  I read the reviews and made some changes (per their suggestions) and here's what I ended up with.

They are cake-like, but you can still eat it with your hands.
They aren't overly sweet, but the frosting adds that hint of sweetness for each bite.

Pumpkin Squares

Adapted from "Paul's Pumpkin Bars" on AllRecipes.com

4 eggs

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 (15 oz) can pumkpin puree

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

1 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar (approx 1 cup)

Mix eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin together well.  

Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined.

Spread evenly into an ungreased 10x15 jellyroll pan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once it cools cut into squares.  (I ended up with 40 squares.)

Frosting:  Cream together the cream cheese and butter.

Stir in vanilla.

Add powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Scoop frosting into a ziplock bag.  Seal and cut a tiny bit of one corner off.

Swirl frosting over the cooled, cut squares.

Like this:

Yes, I need to work on my swirls.  =)
But they taste great all the same!

Tornado Warning

Today started out wonderful.
How can it not, when you have a happy boy?

Rylan's been missing his second nap for the day and I wanted to get him back on track.
We were supposed to have thunderstorms today (and it was warm . . .  I love that combo!) so it was a good day to stay home and be intentional with Rylan's naps.
But he had other plans.
It took me TWO HOURS to get him down for his first nap (which is usually a breeze).
I had to take a picture when he finally fell asleep.  Isn't he sweet?

That nap lasted only an hour.
Which was fine because we had a tornado watch.  Then a tornado warning.
(Watch - weather conditions are right and we "could" have a tornado)
(Warning - there is a tornado that has touched down in the area)
So down to the basement we went.
Funny Side Note:  Craig and Sasha (my in-laws) were at Target and they had to stop shopping and stand in the back of the store in a specific area with everyone who was in Target for 45 minutes while the tornado was coming.

Thank goodness Chris was working from home today.
The tornado was heading straight for our house.

Which was weird because it was calm and dry outside.

Then all of the sudden the skies opened up and the rain down poured.

My mom asked if I was scared and I wasn't.
I just wish the kids (Dylan and Payton) were home with me instead of being at school.
They had to curl up in a ball next to the walls in the hallways at school (for 3-1/2 hours Dylan said - I'm sure it was more like 1 hour, but hey - that's got to be hard for an 8 year old boy!).
The tornado got pretty close to us then headed north.
So we just got the wind, rain and thunder.
Oh yeah, and the second nap for Rylan???  That took me another 2 hours to get him down and he only slept for 30 minutes.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow!

Praising God for his protection for all of us and praying for the family who lost a loved one yesterday due to the tornado.

Karate Class

Dylan played photographer while Chris and I were in class.
There were only 3 of us tonight.  We were missing 2 other students.
Man were we pooped!

But still laughing and had a great time.

Sweaty = a GREAT karate class!

If you are local to Canton come join us for classes.
Championship Martial Arts - Canton

100

Today marked Payton's 100th day at school.

They asked the students to dress up like a hundred year old.
So we put Payton in a dress
with tights
and tennis shoes
and a sweater
and a necklace
and drew wrinkles on her face (she was so excited to be wearing makeup)

and of course her hair in a bun.

Here's to being 100 days smarter Payton!

Infectious

This laugh is infectious.

And did you see how Payton started copying what Dylan was doing?

That is happening ALL THE TIME.

We call them "Pete and Repeat".

We had the kick off to our community group tonight.

(Don't you love the dog's eyes?)

It looks like we are going to have a REALLY fun group this semester!

The Funky Paintbrush

I went with some ladies from my Community Group last night to The Funky Paintbrush for a Girls Night Out.
Mind you, I have NO artistic bone in my body . . .  daisies, hearts, stars and stick figures is the extent of what I can draw.  But I figured it would be fun enough hanging out with them while THEY had fun painting.
Here's Jamie

And Evelyn

And Kim

And our instructor Julian.
He loved the word "texture".
Which is great, when your artistic.  But when your me???  I kept thinking "Huh?"

Our first stroke of paint.

We were all nervous.

And kept thinking that we messed it up already.

We ended up having a great time.

Chris texted me about 30 minutes before the class ended and I had to leave (Rylan woke up and was screaming).  So they finished up my painting for me.
Here is the progression of my painting.

The middle bottom is my final painting.  I did 98% of it.
And the bottom right is what it was it was supposed to look like!
It was a really fun night.  I can't wait to do it again!

What I Ate...

Sunday - Jersey Mike's Italian Sub Sandwich
Cool Ranch Doritos
M&M Cookie (ok, and a chocolate chip cookie as well!)

Tuesday - No Peek Beef
Blue Cheese & Apple Salad
Carrots

Wednesday - Homemade Pepperoni & Olive Pizza
Carrots

Thursday - Perfect Chicken
Au Gratin Potatoes (I like to call them "Rotten" Potatoes)

I got the Perfect Chicken recipe from Pinterest and won't be making it again.  It is going on my "Eeh, not so great" board.  =)

Friday - Chicken Pot Pie
Carrots with Blue Cheese Dressing

Saturday - Burritos (with ground Turkey)
Chips

No School

I woke up this morning to find that school was closed today.
We were supposed to have an ice storm and this ended up being the extent of it.
(Although I am glad Dylan didn't ride on the bus today.)

We went outside to check it out and it was FREEZING!

P and Ry looking out the window to see it.

He is SO scrumptious!
 
So we stayed in our jammies all day long.
Dylan played with his jenga and legos.

We made Playgroup Granola Bars.

Then made Carob Bites.

Lunchtime!

Daddy worked and Dylan read.

Payton played dress up.

She got a little tired and asked to snuggle until she fell asleep.
How could I say no?

Little man crawled down the hallway.

And got a bath.

We had family movie night and I caught Rylan snuggling up on Dylan.

Then he pulled his hair.

Although we didn't get a HUGE storm.  It was fun to have the kiddos home!

I'm in Trouble

Mommy didn't know that I can reach the second drawer now . . .

Fruity Breakfast Burrito

I saw this on Pinterest.

Source: piarecipes.blogspot.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

It looked super good so I gave it a shot (with some minor changes) and it was yummy!

Here's what I did:

Fruity Breakfast Burrito

1 soft taco tortilla

natural peanut butter

banana slices

strawberry slices

(homemade) granola

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter all over the tortilla.  

Layer banana and strawberry slices on top of the peanut butter.

Sprinkle with granola.

Roll up like a burrito and enjoy!

Nine Months

Rylan is full of new things.  This past month he:
loved to give kisses (open mouth, wet and slobbery)
cruised while holding onto things
loved to play peek-a-boo
said "Dada", "Momma" and "Dog Dog" (but non on command)
still didn't sleep through the night {yawn!}
is OBSESSED with Dada (seriously, it's borderline stalking)
is standing on his own

(This video was from Sunday.)
Happy 9 Month Birthday Ry Guy!

UPDATED 01.23.13:  Took Rylan to the doctors today for his well check and he is:
18 lbs 14 oz
27" tall
18.74" head circumference

My Boys

How is this even comfortable?

Yes, he is sitting in the car.  Crazy boy.
Rylan was sporting the "rockabilly" hair today.

So thankful for my boys!

Learning Lessons

My little man all ready to go to church today.

Isn't he so cute?

So, yesterday I posted about taking Payton and Rylan to a birthday party.
But I neglected to tell you what else we did that day . . .
Check out our "new to us" ride.

Oh, yeah, we are rockin' the {gulp} minivan.
I know this adds so much to our cool points!

There are actually lessons that I am learning in all this.  I had told Chris (years ago):
(1) Never move me out of Orange County and (2) I will never drive a minivan.
Oh, how God must have laughed when I said each of those things.
Funny how my heart started changing when I sought after HIS will instead of my own.
Lessons learned?  (1) Never say never (2) Seek the Lord's will always.
Here's a good reminder.  Go read Matthew 6:25-34.
I need to read it.  Every day.  Sometimes multiple times a day.

Can I tell you a secret though?
I actually am liking the minivan.  But don't tell anyone m-kay? {wink}