Christmas, Part 2

Our Christmas in pictures.

Terrible picture of me but I wanted to remember that I was actually there too!

Wiped out after a full day.

Happy Father's Day

Our weekend was packed with celebration and it was so much fun.  The boys got into the spirit in their own ways.  Colin has become an avid artist and could spend hours perfecting 20 masterpieces.  He colors so determindly and with such effort.  I'm anxious to show you one of the pieces he made me for my birthday but I'll save that for another day.  He wanted to create Wes a wreath for Father's Day.  I drew the hearts, he colored and cut them out and taped them on a wreath he cut out himself.  Where the wreath idea came from I have no idea but there's no changing his mind when he gets an idea.  I love his determination! 

I also found the most adorable printables from Kiki and Company - superhero!  Since Colin's birthday party theme is going to be superheroes and I'm not sure who is more excited about that, Wes or Colin, I knew these would be a hit.  We printed out a coupon book for dad and Colin helped me with some of the pages.  He wrote all the words on his pages and I think he did a great job! 

"U picking me up from school."

"A salad made by me."

"I love you for anything."

The signature page.

Sawyer's way of celebrating is with his new found vocabulary.  Without being prompted, he wished me a "Happy Birtday" and Wes a "Happy Fafer's Day!"  He continued to wish us happy days throughout the day and every time we eat cake or whenever he sees the cake carrier on the counter.  He associates the cake carrier with birthday cake and therefore calls anything inside "happy birtday."  It really is the cutest thing ever!

My dad was with his sister in Eastern Kentucky, so we exchanged our happys over the phone.  I couldn't imagine 2 better men to celebrate on Father's Day!  Such great role models and upstanding men.  I love you both immensely! 

Belated Happy Father's Day

I'm taking a small break in my catch up posts to wish my dad and my children's dad a belated Happy Father's Day.  They are both incredible men who give themselves unselfishly to their children.  Not to overshadow my Dad's merits, I want to brag on Wes for a minute.

Being a dad means being a role model.  It means teaching and learning as you go.  It means loving unconditionally, giving everything you have, and being there for your family.  Wes does all that and so much more.  He works from home part time so that he can be here with the boys.  He occupies them every Sunday afternoon so that I can prepare dinner in peace.  He plays soccer, baseball, basketball, human gorilla, karate, wrestling and a whole host of other activities that boys are supposed to do.  He has taught Colin to thank me for the meals I prepare and to tell me I look pretty.  He holds Sawyer when we're out to give my back a break.  He reads books and has passed his love of books on to Colin (and probably Sawyer eventually).  He lets Sawyer sleep on his chest or lay cuddled up next to him on our bed.  He shows the boys his love with lots of hugs and kisses.  The boys are lucky to have such a terrific dad!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Moving right along, next up was my Dad's birthday.  Between the end of May and the middle of July, we have 6 birthdays in my immediate family - 3 of which are in my little family alone!

My dad is a no-frills type of person.  It's hard to buy for him, hard to surprise him, hard to impress him, but easy to love him!  There are 2 thing he loves that I always try to incorporate into his birthday - his grandkids and nuts!  What a combination.

This cake was a conglomeration of 2 recipes and my own style.  I had every intention of making this Butterscotch Cake, until I read it and realized I didn't have butterscotch chips and the author didn't speak too highly of the outcome.  Just goes to show you that looks can be deceiving.

I decided on yet another yellow cake recipe and then looked to Annie from Annie's Eats for icing inspiration.  I had bookmarked her Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Filling recipe last fall and decided that was the perfect icing/filling combo.

After making the filling and seeing how much it made, I started to reconsider her frosting.  Time for some alterations.  I wanted the frosting to be more like buttercream or cream cheese frosting, so I went that direction instead.  I've linked to the 2 original cakes but I have to say that my final rendition was pretty darn delicious!  Since I had just finished Granny's cake a week prior, it was easy to compare and I have to say this one won in my book.

Butterscotch Cake
adapted from Annie's Eats & Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Old-Fashioned Yellow Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 + 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl sift flour and sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add butter, milk and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides of bowl.
4. Add eggs, beat for 2 more minutes.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally among both. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Turn out and cool thoroughly on wire racks. Frost with cream cheese or whip cream frosting. If using whip cream frosting the cake must be refrigerated.

Butterscotch Filling:

¾ cup heavy cream

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp. lemon juice

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 – 1 oz. pieces

To make the filling, heat the cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot (do not allow to boil or simmer).  Combine sugar and lemon juice in a separate saucepan and stir with a whisk to combine (the sugar will resemble moist sand).  Caramelize the sugar for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to break up any lumps.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Add the hot cream, one half at a time (be sure you are stirring as you're adding or the caramel will harden).  Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring to incorporate completely before adding the next piece.  Cool in the refrigerator 45 minutes.  Place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 2 minutes, until light (but not fluffy).  Set aside.

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting:

2-3 cups powdered sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness

6 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

5 T. butter, softened

1/2 - 1 cup leftover filling

Begin assembling the cake by spreading the filling in between the 2 cake layers, leaving 1/2 -1 cup for the frosting.  In the same bowl, add the cream cheese and butter and mix until fluffy.  Gradually add the powdered sugar until you reach your desired level of sweetness.  (I never measure so the 2-3 cups was just a guess.)  Frost the entire cake and garnish with LOTS of nuts.  Enjoy!

Christmas Recap

Santa's elves got a break this year at our house.  We didn't have a single toy to assemble.  With such requests as a kite, a boat, an airplane, and Toy Story 3, there's not much assembly required.  I was a little sad Wes didn't get to don his handyman hat (that is hilarious for anyone who knows him because a handyman he is not) because he enjoyed it so much last year.  It was like a rite of passage to becoming a father.  Instead, I was in bed by 10 and he was soon to follow (with our hoot owl, we try to get our sleep whenever we can!).  

The next morning, Colin was up by 7.  Surprisingly, he didn't ask to hurry downstairs - further proof he really didn't get the whole Santa concept.  Instead, he went about his normal routine of watching cartoons and barking his breakfast orders to me.  It wasn't long before Wes must have planted the seed because Colin was ready to go down to see what Santa had brought him.  I was feeding Sawyer, so I missed the initial excitement.  Wes was in charge of the camera and we had left the "good" camera at my mom's the night before.  Therefore, these pictures aren't the greatest of quality but in a case like this, it's more about preserving the memories.

Here's our Christmas in pictures (and a few words since I have diarrhea of the mouth).  These first 2 are actually from Christmas Eve when he got to open 2 gifts.  One was from my friend and the other was our new tradition of pjs.

Christmas morning.

The first present from Santa, the kite.

 FOOD!  No surprise, this was one of the favorite gifts.

 And to complete the outfit, all chefs need a hat.

Our elf, Poof Guy, had to get in on the giving too.  He left a gift for Colin and one for the family - Super Why computer game for Colin and CandyLand for the family.  Wes took on the role all by himself, completely unprompted.  What a guy!

This is an adorable mohawk-style hat Wes' family gave Colin but Colin hated it.  He refused to wear it and would say, "I told you I don't like it" every time we asked him if he wanted to wear it.  It was later exchanged for some corduroy pants that he liked much better.

Sawyer got one too, a little different though.  His thoughts were similar to Colin's but his was TOO darn cute to return!  He has since accepted it.

Some family shots.

Colin hugging Granny.

Helping Buff open her present.

Grandpa reading "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  His eyebrows are starting to look sort of grinch-ish!

Poor Sawyer is going to have a life of hand-me-downs.  I think he had 2 gifts under the tree but like he knew the difference.  I'm frugal, remember?  He did get 3 of the same toy from 3 different people.  I guess the glow worm was a popular gift this year!

 Just look at my precious baby!

I've saved the best for last.  This could be the only picture I'll ever have of the boys willingly holding hands.  Wes said we'll look back on this picture in 20 years and wonder what happened to our little boys.  And on that tear-jerker note, I'll conclude our Christmas 2010 slideshow.

Christmas Eve

This was the first Christmas Eve in many years that I haven't had to work.  It was a real treat to wake up and get to spend the entire day with my family.  After 8 hours though, I was ready for a change of scenery. We headed over to my mom and dad's for dinner.

After a yummy, belly-filling dinner, we exchanged gifts with my sister and her family.  It was organized chaos as paper flew, boxes were ripped open, and thank you's were exchanged.  It was all over in a matter of minutes and the kids were off playing with their new toys.  I prefer the one-at-a-time routine but there was none of that going on.

Everyone had a good time though and before we knew it, it was time to head home to get in bed so Santa could come.

Here are a few pictures from the melee, I mean festivities.

My beautiful nieces.

Colin with one of his favorite people, Grandpa!

Sawyer enjoying his after dinner snack - daddy's thumb.

Elise showing Foxx how to ride his new bike/car.

Sawyer fighting to stay awake on comfy Buff.

Weekend Fun

What does a beautiful, sunny, and warm weekend equal?  Lots of time spent outdoors!  Ah to be young again and oblivious to the scorching temperatures.  This past weekend begins our week of unseasonably warm temps.  The kind where the minute you walk out your door you feel like you're going to melt and wonder why you bothered with your hair or makeup!  Colin was pouring sweat, yet still happy as a clam.

Future (Dr.) John Wall

A.D.D. sets in and the basketball is quickly replaced with the bike.

Safety first.  Can't forget the helmet.

Riding with his beloved Grandpa!  Poor Grandpa still in his church clothes braving the 90 degree weather.

Our neighborhood pool opens next weekend and although I don't relish the thought of spandex on this belly, the cold water is definitely tempting.  Colin has been practicing his swimming techniques in the bathtub so hopefully he'll do the same in the real pool!