I'm so excited..

And I just can't hide it.. lalalala.. *great Pointer's Sister song*..

I found out Monday I'm going to be a YaYa to another "Little" boy!! I was at the Zoo with Courtney when I got the phone call.. I'm pretty sure I started an elephant stampeed with my yelling.. I'm also pretty sure Courtney was less than impressed with it.. oh well, it is, what it is.. and I'm a loud YaYa!

Congratulations to Rik and Cindy!! Their first son is due in Feb...

Can't wait until October to find out if Courtney will have another boy, or girl!!

Yes, This YaYa is excited!! What a blessing !!!

Lions and Tigers. and Bears...

Oh my! Well, Lions and bears.. as in Polar Bear.. being lazy.. Monday Courtney and I took the boys to the NC Zoo.. LOVE! What a perfect day.. not too hot.. not too cold.. just right.. Yes, I had to go there with the whole goldilocks reference.. haha.. We got there early and stayed until afternoon.. such a fun day.. I think we were all worn out! Can't wait to go again!

And.. it's called.. SOCCER!...

These kids are so cute!! What a great way to spend an afternoon.. well, 30 minutes of an afternoon!

I'm leaving on a Jet Plane...

... not really.. but I do like that song..
last Monday Courtney took the boys and me to the RDU observation park. Zeke had his 2nd birthday party there so I had been once before.. what a great thing for parents of young kids, heck.. for parent's, grandparents, young and old folks alike! It was fun watching the planes take off and land.. Courtney is always prepared and brought a few toys for the boys to play with.. although I don't think she ment for the soccer ball to end up on the ground.. Zeke saved the day with YaYa watching closely... After a few laps around the kid sized landing strip it was time to go home! What a fun day!!

On a Fall Day.. or almost a Fall Day..

there is nothing better than homemade soup to chase the chill away. I love fall.. everything about fall.. the smells, the chill in the air, the rustling of leaves as you walk along, the colors, crisp apples, pumpkins, apple butter, Brunswick stew.. cider.. you name it.. I love it.. most especially because I know fall will be followed by.. wait for it.. W.I.N.T.E.R.!!! Yes, I am "One of THOSE" people.. I love winter.. L.O.V.E. it.. everything about it.. but until then.. I will enjoy Fall.. so.. BRING IT ON! I'm ready!

I'm thinking of branching out...

AGAIN... hahah...

I need to help generate some funds in this household so I'm considering making cakes, pies, cookies and candies for the holidays to sell. I've done this in past years to help out around the holidays and it seems this year the need is there again... I'll be offering high quality, homebaked goods and gifts for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Look for the flyer to be posted soon with price list.
oh, and wish me luck...

The Boys are back in Town...

Last Wed Courtney's 2 boys, Zeke and Ben came to spend time with YaYa and PawPaw.. how much fun can we possibly have?? LOTS.. We played in the basement.. gathered eggs, walked the goats, climbed the rocks.. baked muffins.. and just had a great time!! I love having my grandkids spend the night!!

Proud YaYa moment...

Maddie was named artist of the week at school !!! I'm bustin' my buttons!

Watch out St. Mark's Preschool...

Sophia Amelie Little is on the way.. that could be a good thing.. or a bad thing.. depends on her mood!

Have fun Sophia.. YaYa loves you!!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Anyone?

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 package (3.5 ounce size) instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
***Topping***
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons cinnamon
***Frosting***
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk




PREPARATION:
In small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside. Yeast should bubble. In large bowl, make pudding mix according to package directions. Mix until slightly thickened. Add butter, eggs, salt; mix well. Add yeast. Blend. Gradually add flour and knead until smooth.

Place in large greased bowl. Cover and let rise in warm draft free place until double in size, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise again, about 45 minutes. On lightly floured surface, roll out to 34" x 21" rectangle. Spread 1/2 c melted butter over surface.

In small bowl, mix topping (brown sugar and cinnamon). Sprinkle over top of dough. Starting at the long edge of the dough, roll up very tightly. With a knife, put a notch every 2 inches. With string or thread place under roll by notch and cross cross over to cut roll.

Place 4 rolls each into 8 or 9-inch square baking pans, 2" apart. Cover and let rise in warm draft free place until double. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, remove when golden brown.

Combine all frosting ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread on warm rolls. Serve warm.

***My notes***
I read online you need to add 1 tsp maple syrup to the frosting.. I'm not sure that's correct so I made half batch with and half batch without. I'll let you know which was best. I personally think Cream Cheese Frosting without any extra flavorings is good on anything.. even tree bark!

I will say this is a very sticky dough.. be prepared.. it's soft and gooey.. I don't think I rolled it as thinly as I needed to but.. hey.. it's a learning process... although I have made these before.. it's been a while.. and I have to learn.. all.. over... again.. each time I make them...

I have also chopped pecans and sprinkled them in with the cinnamon/sugar mixture but that will make them NOT a cinnabon knock-off.. it's your choice.. I like pecans in mine.. however, since I'm not eating these I didn't add them.

I got 24 rolls from this recipe.. I didn't need that many at once so I froze a dozen of them. I'll take them out of the freezer and let them thaw, rise and then bake as directed in the original recipe when I decide to use them. I'll also update the post when I do this to let you all know if that was successful or not. Wish me luck!

Kitchen Aid Revamp.. Revisited..

As you know, or maybe you don't know .. I have decided my Kitchen Aid mixer needed some dressing up. I used a scroll pattern found on one of my cricut cartridges and went to work... Did NOT like it.. at all.. so, I added a bit more... nope.. still not doing anything for me.. so, I added my name Cyndi in Red.. nada.. how about YaYa in fat font and red? Loved the YaYa .. because that's what I am.. but on the mixer.. Nope.. so, I removed those.. UGH.. wasted vinyl because it didn't peel off as nicely as stated on the packaging.. I don't believe for one minute this stuff can be easily removed for up to 2 years.. 2 weeks and I had a mess. I had to use the trusty razor blade to scrape it off.. anyway, back to the revamp, revisited... I used the Martha Stewart Circle cutter I had purchased with a 55% coupon so thank goodness I haven't wasted too much money.. because I DID NOT LIKE IT.. one bit.. That thing gave me a terrible headache and will be donated to some lucky person.. soon. Maybe it was operator error and whoever receives it will have better luck.. Moving on.. I purchased 2 different size circle punches on sale at Michaels.. perfect.. and proceeded to punch red and black circles out of vinyl.. Cut my initials out of the same vinyl in the monogrammed fashion and applied it all to the mixer.. polka dots in random order Monogram in the center.. on one side.. I might go back and put the monogram on the other side.. I like symmetry.. I'm cool like that.. haha..

Trying to save a buck...

Lately I've been interested in making homemade's... you know, homemade dishwashing detergent, homemade laundry detergent, homemade baby wipes..
Not impressed with the dishwashing detergent. I used it a couple of times without bad results.. the last time I used it there was a white film left on all the dishes. it took 3 full washes to get it off using "store bought" stuff... I'm still using the homemade laundry detergent and so far am not disappointed in it.. I've been using white vinegar as my fabric softener and while some things aren't as soft as with Downy they're not too bad.. so, I say that's a win.. My latest attempt is baby wipes.. I know, I know, I should use cloth wash clothes.. but .. I'm hooked... addicted... to wipes.. I have them in all bedrooms, the Livingroom and all bathrooms.. see.. I told you.. Addicted... so, why not try to make my own, right?
I'll tell you why.. it's messy.. annoying.. frustrating.. and .. did I say messy?
As in paper bits flying all over.. which is NOT good if you have allergies and the bits go up your nose.. That being said.. here is what I did

1. One roll of "select a size" Bounty paper towels
2. One empty wipes container
3. baby oil
4. baby shampoo
5. 2 cups water that was boiled and cooled

Using a serated knife cut the roll of paper towels in half. (Messy.. annoying.. messy!) I folded the paper towels in a back and forth motion until I had the amount I wanted... you may tear them apart, leave them as is in the roll shape,remove the cardboard tube and use a container that you can sit this down in and pull from center when using. I chose to fold them because of the container I was using.

Boil 2 cups of water and cool completely. To this add 2 Tbls baby shampoo and 2 Tsp baby oil. Mix well. Pour over paper towels, flip the paper towels and pour the rest of the mixture over that side. I only use half of the mixture in the container because the whole amount was way too much. I had an extra container so I made 2. I still need to cover these containers with cute paper.. but that's another project... for another day...

So far, I've liked the way these have worked.. everything smells baby fresh and they've worked extremely well. I have heard you should refrigerate these containers because the stuff molds.. or gets a musty smell. on other sites I have heard nothing but glowing reports leaving it out.. I'm opting for leaving it out. I can not imagine going to the refrigerator every time I need a wipe.. that would defeat the convience part... haha.. I'll post a review of these jewels in 2 weeks to let everyone know if I think in the end they're worth the effort. *not that anyone is reading these posts*