March 09 Picture of the Month

March is here with a big chill. We woke up this morning to temps in the mid 30s. Friday it was in was 85 degrees.

Gotta love these Texas winters ;~)

SPICE

Bailey has been accepted into SPICE!!!
SPICE (Special People In a Creative Environment) is Humble ISD’s special gifted and talented program designed to service students in K-1-2 who excel in the areas of creative and critical thinking. All kindergarten students are automatically screened for SPICE in the spring of each year. Those who qualify remain in the program for grades 1 and 2. We are so proud!!

Pretty In Purple

Bailey, dressed in purple, poses with a big grin for the camera!

Ten Year Wedding Anniversary

Ten years ago today, Christian and I got married at the little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas. We were very blessed to have family with us for the big event. We stayed at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. Dinner and a magic show at Caesars Palace topped off the night. We also went to see the Grand Canyon.

Here is our engagement picture. Let My Love Open the Door by Peter Townsend is our song. Hard to believe that ten years have gone by so fast and so much has happened in that time.

We are truly blessed!

Mini Fluted Pan

My new favorite thing is the Mini Fluted Stoneware Pan from Pampered Chef. It makes six 4 ½ inch mini cakes. I made blueberry muffins in them the other day and placed them on my white SLAH upside down cake plate. Christian didn’t eat one because “they looked so pretty, I thought you were going to take them some where.” The muffins were just out of a box, but they were delicious!

Mardi Gras Cookies & Hats

The kids and I made some sugar cookies and use purple, green and yellow sprinkles to make them Mardi Gras cookies. We also made hats out of paper plates.

Jack made this cute hat at school.

House Numbers

Since we have moved into our house, I have wanted a nice sign with our house numbers on it. Christian, my wonderful husband, must have been listening. For Valentine's Day he got me this beautiful new plaque. We put it up yesterday with everyone's help. Jack had out his Handy Manny tools and was helping daddy hang the sign. Bailey just wanted to be "Vana" in the picture.

Birthday Magic

The kids went to a Magic Birthday Party yesterday for their friend Jack's 6th birthday. They had a jumpy slide, face painter and a magician! I thought the rabbit coming out of the hat for the cake was just so cute!

Brown Paper Fun

2 kids + 30 feet of brown paper = 1Hour of FUN!!

What do your kids turn into toys?

Bailey's Butterfly

Bailey made this beautiful butterfly picture at school. You can't tell from the photo, but the butterfly is 3D.

PTA Reflections Winners

Both, Bailey and Jack won an Award of Excellence in the PTA Reflections art contest. The theme for 2009 was WOW. I tried to take pictures of their artwork with the ribbons. They are on display behind glass at school and they didn't turn out so great, but you get the idea.

Bailey called her picture "WOW! City Lights At Night"

Jack picture was called

RainboW
Of
Wonder

The program offers students the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. Students in preschool through grade 12 are encouraged to create and submit works of art in six areas: literature, musical composition, photography, the visual arts, dance choreography, and film/video. In its more than 30-year history, the program has encouraged millions of students across the nation and in American schools overseas to create works of art. Each year, the Reflections Program challenges students to create art that interprets a specific theme.

Happy Jack Barger

Isn't this the biggest smile you ever saw? What a happy boy!

JB and Thomas

Here are a couple shots of Jack playing with Thomas the Tank Engine and all the other engines from the Island of Sodor.

So glad we spent the money on that fancy train table ;~)

Holiday Party Mix

A friend asked me to make some of my snack mix for Valentine's Day. This is a great recipe and you can include candy to match any holiday or event. It is very similar to Cracker Jack's.

9 cups oven-toasted corn cereal squares
4 cups popped popcorn
1 ½ cups dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp, vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking soda
1 ¾ cups M&M or chocolate chips
1 ½ cups of white chocolate covered pretzels

Preheat oven to 250o. Grease large roasting pan.
Mix cereal, popped popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring for 5 minutes. Removed from heat; stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. Pour evenly over cereal mixture: stir to coat evenly. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring ever 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan, stirring frequently to break apart mixture. Stir in M&M and Choc. Pretzels. Store in airtight container. Makes about 5 quarts.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

For Valentine's Day I made a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. It was so yummy, I thought I would share the recipe.

Graham cracker crust (recipe follows)
3 pkgs 8oz cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 2/3 cup (10 oz. package) Peanut Butter Chips
¼ cup milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups mini chips

Graham cracker crust: heat oven to 325o. In small bowl, stir together 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I use choc. Graham crackers), 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven.Heat oven to 450o. In large mixer bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar; beat on medium speed of electric mixer until smooth. In small microwave-safe bowl, place peanut butter chips with milk. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at HIGH an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Blend peanut butter chip mixture into cream cheese mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and mini chips. Pour mixture over crust. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 250o; continue baking 40 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack; loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool completely; remove rim. Cover; refrigerate leftovers.

SWEET Valentine

Jack brought home this SWEET Valentine from school. It is a cup cake paper, white tissue paper, red glitter glue and pom pom. What a cute cup cake!

Amish Friendship Bread

A preschool mom brought me a loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and the Starter to make more. It was so yummy! I could hardly wait the ten days to make my own. Well, the ten days are up and I made mine in a bunt pan. Took some slices of the bread and the starters to work. If you want some the next time around, just let me know ;~)

1cup Starter
3 eggs
1 cup oil
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
1.5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 large box of Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 cup chopped nuts optional

Sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar and ½ tsp of cinnamon in the bottom of 2 loaf pans
Bake at 325o for 1 hour

Valentine Chalk

This Valentine’s Day we’re giving out chalk! That’s right, CHALK! Jack’s class has some kids on restricted diets, so, candy is out. We put six pieces of sidewalk chalk into a bag with the label attached that says “Hope this “chalks” up to be a great Valentine’s Day!” Turned out so sweet and very low cal ;~)

Cold Hands...Warm Heart

Jack brought this cute craft home from school today.

I just love hand print crafts!

ALL IN

The Kingwood Poker Club meets once a month for Texas Hold’em Tournament at our place. Last night, Jack wanted in on the action. Looks like he's going ALL IN!