Check it out!  You could win a $100 gift card to Olive Garden!  And if you win, I am happy to go along!

Invitations

Decorations – I made the flags last year for each of his parties (Maria has a pastel more girly version for her parties). This balloon idea debuted this year after some similar inspiration from pinterest.

Of course we had dump trucks to play with! This was his favorite. His Uncle Mike’s from the 1970s — Note to Parents: big metal trucks can be rough on walls and kitchen cabinets!

Cake – We also had cupcakes with some dump truck toppers that I forgot to photograph.

Party Favors – Kit Kat’s with special Dump Truck wrappers.

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to this little boy!

More pictures here.  Photography in the midst of entertaining is not my strength…

Charlie at 2 loves cars and trains (choo choos). He loves books, especially books about dump trucks. He loves balls and being outside! Blocks are great fun as he figures out how they fit together. It’s fun to watch him as he solves a “problem”.

He loves his sister and his bum-pas and bum-mas (grandparents). He also loves Elmo and Curious George.

He is also independent and pretty fearless. He does not mind being dropped off at the church nursery or the YMCA kidstuff to play for an hour or so. He jumps right into activities that look fun.

He does not like to sit in the shopping cart but prefers to walk when we’re out. His vocabulary is exploding and it is fun to see how he associates different things from memory.

Although he has his “two year old” moments and part of me fears that his two’s will be more terrible than his big sister’s, we still think he’s pretty great! And looking forward to the times ahead and trying new things as our family of 4 gets more and more “mobile” every day!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. It took me a long time to get through it, but if the size of it intimidates you, know that almost the last 100 pages were annotations.

Story of an Olympic athelete who is drafted into WWII. His plane goes down over the Pacific and survives in a raft, then ends up in Japanese POW camps. I knew very little about the Japanese POW camps or how the war was staged over the Pacific. The book had a lot of history with the story, so that is why it probably felt a little slow, but I appreciated that too.

I would recommend.

View all my reviews

So the last time I wrote we had finally gotten some snow.  Well that snow has gone. A little more came, but now that snow is gone too.  

Maria has also recovered from her tonsilectomy. She is doing well. Even had a cold that did not turn into an ear infection!  And she is sleeping and just generally seems to be feeling well overall.  She is sleeping well. Wondering if we have a growth spurt on our hands. As they say this is likely with her body finally feeling on par!  She is all about writing notes, primarily Love notes “I Love you Mommy”, “I love you Grandpa”.  And also cutting and coloring and taping!  

Charlie has also grown. The kid is walking around in short pants. Oh and he’s talking a lot more in just the last month. He amazes us.  He loves his dumptruck and will be 2 next week!  We are having a dump truck themed party. If you ask him how old he will be on his birthday, he whispers “ump-tuck”.    ha! 

Will try and add some pictures later tonight (no promises… I’m just saying..)

1 can of rotel
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
2 frozen chicken breasts
8 oz cream cheese
1 packet dry ranch dressing
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
shredded cheddar

Put all ingredients except cheese in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours on low. Shred chicken. Serve with cheese and enjoy!

You can also cook this on high for 3-4 hours, but don’t add the cream cheese until the last hour.

This weekend, Chad’s parents came over to visit Maria after her tonsilectomy and it was his mom’s birthday, so instead of cake, we made a trifle and used the Gingerbread cake from the freezer!  How about that?! I wasn’t sure about the flavors of gingerbread and raspberries, but it was excellent!  I highly recommend!

Gingerbread Trifle

FOR THE VANILLA CUSTARD:
9 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar and
1/4 cup flour
3 cups whole milk
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
FOR THE FILLING AND GARNISH:
3 (12-ounce) packages frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and drained
1 cup chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar and
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
AND
Gingerbread – a 9×9 or 9″ round cake.

Make the Custard:
Divide the egg yolks and whites by carefully tipping each yolk back and forth between the shell halves, letting the whites spill into a bowl. Place the yolks in a separate bowl. In a large bowl with an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the yolks and sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Slowly pour half the milk into the egg mixture and beat until blended then pour the mixture into the remaining milk in the pan. Over medium heat, bring the ingredients to a boil while whisking constantly. Allow the custard to boil for 1 minute as you continue to whisk. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Let the custard cool slightly, then cover its surface with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let the custard cool completely, then refrigerate it until ready to use (up to three days).

Assemble the Trifle:
In a medium bowl, toss the thawed raspberries and sugar. Cut the cake into cubes.

Arrange a layer of cake over the bottom of a 2 1/2-quart bowl. Spoon and spread 3/4 cup of the raspberry mixture over the cake, then top the fruit with 1 cup of custard. Repeat the layering 2-3 more times depending on the size of your bowl with the remaining ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours to let the flavors meld (the dessert can be stored overnight).

Before serving, make the whipped cream. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Use a spatula to spread the whipped cream on top of the trifle, and garnish it with the fresh raspberries.