Going to the Dogs!

 Today is my Abraham's birthday. Yes, he shares a birthday with another famous Abraham.  Yes, that's where he got his name. It helped that his "brother" we already had was named Eisenhower. Yes, I love politics, great presidents and sweet, sweet puppies. 

 So last night when I got home from teaching school all day---plus an evening of parent/teacher conferences, I wanted to make Abe (and Ike) a little treat. After all, it was almost Abe's birthday and the pair had been home alone for over 12 hours! 

 I had a couple of cute little dog bone cookie cutters I had bought in Target's dollar section at Christmas time, so I got them out and made the dogs some treats. The cookie cutters came with a recipe, so I just used that. I had everything but the whole wheat flour, but I did not mind getting back out to buy that for the pups. 

 The bone cookie cutter was just an average size and the recipe made 64 of these bones! That is a lot of treats. 

 I made the recipe exactly as the was called for, except the cooking time. The recipe said 40 minutes so the treats would be good and hard. I found that my treats were relatively hard much sooner. Like at about the 20-25 minute mark!  Maybe it is my oven. But if you make these, keep that in mind. Twenty minutes was all we needed. 

 The treats are made with canned pumpkin and a little cinnamon.  When they were cooking, our house smelled like pumpkin pies were cooking. 

 Let me assure you, the treats were big hits. Abe is the type of dog that will eat anything. He will scarf it down. Ike is a little more of a gentleman. He will examine his food first, smell it, then eat with manners. Both of the presidents approved though, no matter how they downed the treats! I text pictures of the treats in the oven to my children. None of them rolled their eyes (or emoticons) at me. One of my daughters suggested I make a batch and take them to the local dog shelter in honor of my pups. That's a great idea. I text my parents the same pic, and they did think I was a little crazy! ha! Hey, I even thought (later) that a heart cookie cutter would have been cute for Valentine's Day....

Abe's Birthday Treats

2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 Tbs. peanut butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 Tbs. water

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, mix (with an electric mixer) all the ingredients except the water. After the other ingredients are all mixed, add the water. You may add more water as needed/if needed, but the dough should be fairly dry and stiff and workable. Roll the dough out, use the cookie cutter of your choice and bake. Bake until hard. Mine took 25 minutes, (although the recipe said it could be 40 minutes).  Then give your dog a bone treat! 

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday

The Scoop

Wow Us Wednesday

Comfort Food

How about a "Best Of" Food Recap from 2012?  

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating. I cook all the time.

I have lots of children that still like to come home to eat.

I cook ....and rarely do I think about taking pictures of my food for the blog.

When I do think of it, the food is not "arranged" or "plated". 

I am just lucky to get a couple of pictures before it is devoured.

Keep this in mind when viewing the pics.

Just know...the food is good.

I have included the link back to each recipe.

Let me know when you try the recipes.

I love to hear what you think! 

SPASAGNA....one of my readers very favorite. So easy. SO good.

CHICKEN AND RICE...(and every thing nice. Creamy. Hmmm. Comfort food for sure)!

BEEFY ENCHILADA'S...My sons eat these faster than I can cook them..

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS...The delicious cousins to the beefy enchiladas....MMMMM.

APPLE BUTTERSCOTCH BARS WITH CARAMEL....Oh my wonderful goodness

MINI PUMPKIN CHEESECAKES...Another reader favorite. These were also featured on three other blogs. The funny thing is....I don't like pumpkin anything! ha! What do I know???

TURKEY COOKIES....SO much fun to make each year!

PINEAPPLE CREAM PIE....I always make two.  One is never enough. It. is. that. good!

 PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN INDIVIDUAL CAKES!! Yes, I love pineapple. These are cute and fun. 

 BIRTHDAY TREATS.....Two big cookies sandwiched with icing and then roll the edges in sprinkles... These are a quick treat that looks like you spent a lot longer on them. They are a step above cookies, and they are great for all ages!  There is really no recipe except Cookies+Icing+Sprinkles= Happy Birthday Treats!!

 MEATBALLS...SO easy. SO good. SO fun to watch them disappear!

 MINI PIES and RED WHITE AND BLUE CUPCAKES...Both from the same link. Picnics never tasted so good!!

SMOTHERED STEAK...The ultimate comfort food and SO easy. I had a reader (and friend) write me and say that she uses "Golden Mushroom" soup on this and it is equally as delicious. I know I use Golden on all my roasts. Now I need to try it on Smothered Steak. You will love this. Assured!

 And...there is no recipe for this on my blog...but today we always eat black-eyed peas with ham....There is probably more ham than black-eyed peas...but it is good. ........And of course, the source of all good luck each year! Right???

I did have other recipes last year as well..

and of course lots of other recipes throughout the years. Look under "food" in my labels.

As always...be expecting more food this year too! 

Linking to:

 Wow Us Wednesdays

On the Menu Monday
Foodie Friday

I Need More Hours in my Day and More Days in my Week!

When we made the decision to move back to our home state of Oklahoma four and a half years ago, 

we left behind a million friendships we had made from our almost 20 years of living in northeast Kansas.

It was a very hard decision to make, to leave everything behind

and start all over again, with new jobs, another house, and a HUGE move. 

Then I put together a post like this and I am reminded all over again

why we made the right decision. 

 I cannot even begin to think of myself living five or six hours away from this little girls that has stolen our hearts!  Sometimes living an hour away from her is too much! 

 Besides family things, I also used the cooler weather to bake.

I made a gianormous candy-corn cake (in looks only, not taste.)

 I used the cooler weather to have an excuse to make a turkey dinner on Saturday evening as well. We like turkey at our house anytime. 

 Two different days over the past few weeks we have gone wedding dress shopping for Annie. She thinks she found the one she LOVES.  

 This is it. With some other things done. She is having the train extended another foot (or two???). She is having a blush underlay (which is like a champagne color) put under all that tulle. The belt (you have to look closely) will also be the blush color. She is having sparkles put all over the tulle as well. You have to know Annie to appreciate it....(the more bling the better!) In this picture the dress had been hung up on the rack and the tulle was all smashed. On the "real" dress it will be fluffy and wonderful. Annie is happy. 

 Taylor tried on a bridesmaid dress. We did not pick this one, but I thought I would include Taylor in the post as well. Annie's wedding is blush and champagne colors. We are still on the hunt for the perfect bridesmaid dresses. (With the more bling the better mantra in mind!!) 

 A couple of weeks ago I went to a baby shower for my niece Libby. The theme was "tailgating", since it was held on a Saturday afternoon. Most Okies are glued to their TV's or actually at their respective favorite college on Saturday afternoons cheering on their teams, so a tailgating party was perfect. (Our team had a bye week, so we were good! ha!) 

 The hostess had the cutest party. There were pendants with the baby's name (Sullivan) all over the yard. She served chili dogs and Frito-chili pies in the Frito bags. Then of course the cute cupcakes were a hit. There were popcorn and peanuts on all the tables too. 

 Then there were these cute little flower pots that held mums. The hostess painted the flower pots to look like a football. Everything was very cute. 

 Two weeks ago we went to an engagement party for Annie and her beau. I will do an entire post on the party soon. It was extra-lovely. Annie got lots of fun presents and so many people came to wish the couple well. 

 Of course Leightyn was at the engagement party dressed in her leopard print finery! 

 One Friday we were off of school and Leightyn came up for me to babysit. I bought a walker for her and she was all over with our wooden floors. She had a great day and left very tired! 

 This past weekend we held a surprise 75th birthday party for my dad. (Can you tell Leightyn is always the center of attention?) 

 We are Scottish (Ferguson) and my boys all got kilts for the party. My Dad thought that was the bombdiggity. Luke (with the hat) has the plaid that most resembles the Ferguson plaid. Fielding (with the tie) has a plaid that represents firemen. Coulter's plaid is the Scottish National plaid. The tag that came with the kilts said, "If you wear underwear, it is a skirt. Real men wear kilts." Ha! Luke put a pair of underwear in his sporran (purse) and kept telling people he had them "just in case".  Really, they were all gentlemen and actually wore running shorts under their kilts. I thought they were cute (and I know I am not prejudiced at all!!)

 My Mom has fun at any party there is. My Dad is not big on parties. They are complete opposites. I think on Sunday though, they both had a great time. 

I said our family picture could be a Merry Christmas card picture. It is hard to get everyone together at the same time. So Merry Christmas!

We actually had someone come over and take a picture of the entire family so we would have everyone in it. Sullivan (my nieces son-to-be) is due in less than a month, so the picture will be outdated very quickly. I guess that is what happens with a growing family. 

We had people send us memories of my Dad and we put the letters and notes and tons of photographs in a book for him for his birthday. My sister did all the layout on Shutterfly. The book is actually very thick. Our goal was to have 75 people send in memories and we got more than that. The cover of the book was also very much what the invitation looked like. 

 My Dad looked through the book and read every single page. Several times. I think we found a present that he actually liked!! 

 I told him we needed to call the fire department for all the candles. It took three cakes to hold all the candles! He blew them all out with ease. I told him it was pretty good for an old man. 

 We had chocolate cake, German chocolate cake (my Dad's favorite) and caramel cake (my VERY favorite). We had them shipped in from a bakery in Mississippi that we love. Oh my gosh the goodness! 

The pictures are just a small sampling of the past three weeks of my life. Without a doubt, we needed to be back in Oklahoma around our children and extended family. The days are busy, busy, busy, but it is the very best kind! 

Simple Sundays

Gosh. How does 29 years go by so quickly? It's one of God's mysteries about raising children. The days (at times) seem long, but the years are just a whisper and they are gone. They add up so quickly....Toddlers are all of a sudden starting school; then school has become high school; then you glance again and the children are grown and on their own...And 29 years old and you are taking them wedding dress shopping. There is absolutely no way to explain it to a young mother. It has to be lived. Hug those babies, because those tiny feet will one day be stepping into a wedding dress....of her own. There is so much excitement about planning weddings. ....and a little reflection too! 

We're Off to See The...Quilt!

 A couple of weeks ago, one of my mother's best friends (and a friend of mine as well!), was down-sizing from her family home to a smaller apartment. She was having a big sale and getting rid of years worth of wonderful collections. My mom, being the savvy bargain hunter that she is, headed over to her friends house to check things out. Yes, my mom did buy several things (for me and herself!!). But it was this gift that absolutely made my day. Or week. Or month! 

 Our friend held this hand-stitched quilt out of the sale, and instead gifted it to me for becoming a grandmother. Wait till you see how sweet this baby quilt actually is! 

 Our friend cross-stitched the entire quilt herself. That makes it even more special in my book, because every time I think of it, I will think of sweet MFH. It is in absolutely perfect, mint condition (as was everything from her house.) 

 What makes it even more special is that the quilt is all about the Wizard of Oz. When my children were 1 to 8 years old,  I made Wizard of Oz costumes for the group. I stayed up the entire night before Halloween trying to get all five costumes done.  At the time I had never seen a "group" go in a themed costume set. I think it is more common now. That night, my little gang of five turned many heads. Luke (the 1 year old) was the scarecrow. Coulter (the 2 year old) was the lion. Taylor (the 5 year old was Dorothy (and carried Toto)). Annie, (then 7) was Glenda the Good Witch and Fielding (8 years old) was the  Tin Man. We lived in Oklahoma at the time and had no thoughts of moving. 

 Later on that year we did in fact make a move to Kansas (home of the Wizard of Oz, of course!). It was like it was fate. I had dressed my crew up as the Oz characters and then we moved 350 miles away to the Land of Oz, where we would live for the next 17 years. Every time we made the trek back to Oklahoma, we went through Sedan, Kansas, that has a huge memorial to the movie/book, replete with yellow brick roads and characters on Main Street. 

 So when my mom told me that MFH had given me a hand-made baby quilt I was very excited. When I saw it and realized it was the Wizard of Oz, I was just ecstatic...and touched. The small details in the quilt are just wonderful. The lion has a 3-D tail. Dorothy has 3-D braids. There is a yellow brick road throughout the quilt and yellow X's all around the edge. 

We have a bedroom at our house that will be "Leightyn's Room" (and all future granddaughters!). I have the cutest four poster twin beds for the room. I had not begun to decorate it yet, as I was waiting on Leightyn to get big enough to enjoy the room. I had not really thought about what I would put in to the room besides the cute beds. 

 Then I received this quilt and I knew instantly the colors of Leightyn's room at our house. This quilt will take center stage and the muted primaries will be my colors-of-choice. 

 How cute is the cowardly lion?

 And the scarecrow and tin man. Be still my heart. (Like that pun?)

 Even the mean-ole witch is not too mean looking. (Thank goodness!!) 

 The outside edge is finished with a double edge of ric-rac. Just as cute as can be. Can you see why I want to use the colors from the quilt for the room? 

 It will not be a Wizard of Oz room, but will just showcase the quilt which sets the color tones. 

The quilt is so exquisite, that I do not want to take away from it by bringing in any more Oz things..... Unless it was of course one certain picture.......

Of my own little Oz bunch!

Linking to:

Metamorphosis Monday

Thrifty Treasures

Wow Us Wednesday