Thanksgiving Treat

After seeing a Brie recipe on Pinterest, I decided that was one thing I'd bring to the Thanksgiving table. I love Brie & mix that with cranberries, sounds PERFECT for Thanksgiving. I used a pastry puff, whole cranberries cranberry sauce, brown sugar and an 8oz Brie. One thing I'd change is using dried cranberries instead of sauce. The Brie was a bit soupy when broken into.

Here's how to make this scrumptious appetizer:
Ingredients:
8oz Brie
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries (rehydrated by setting them in a bowl of water for 1-2 min)
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Pastry Puff

Egg-white wash
1 egg - egg white
1 Tbsp water

Directions
*Preheat oven to 350
*Grease baking sheet
*Lay pastry puff flat on baking sheet
*Put Brie in the center of the pastry puff, remove the wax layer on the top
*Put re-hydrated cranberries & brown sugar on top of Brie
*Fold corners of pastry puffs towards the center (make it look "pretty")
*If wanted put an egg white wash on the pastry puff before putting the entire thing in the oven for 30 min.  The pastry puff should be browned.

Frame Wall

I've been wanting to make a collage of frames above our couch in the living room.  The frames were laid out on the floor for weeks, so one day, I decided, I'm just going to put them up.  Brian is usually better at all this than I am, but he was busy.

Laying out the frames on the floor first is a great idea.  This way, you can see spacing and rearrange before your put holes in the wall.  Check out the finished product!  I can still add to it and change out the photos if I want.  Adding to the collage is in the plan, too.  I'd love the whole wall to be covered with pictures of family and friends.

Of course, now I see that some of the frames are just slightly off...sorry!

Weekend Fun

This is about a week old, but I'm still going to blog about it. 
The weekend before Halloween, Katie (and I) threw a costume party for her friends.  We met up at a park and got our blanket out to play on.  Slowly a few of Katie's baby friends showed up.  It was so fun to see the babies dressed up.  The think the mommies had fun chatting watching our little ones play together.  A few snacks (baby carrots with hummus and some amazing brownies that Danielle brought) to keep the mommies satisfied while the babies played.  It was a perfect afternoon for it.  The weather was perfect, not too hot, but not freezing, so the babies could wear their costumes while mommies didn't have to worry about their temps.

I made each child a special favor.  I found these pumpkin cups & used a permanent marker to write each child's name on the cup.  Super easy, cute & a keepsake of these babies first Halloween.

Brian's fun that weekend was taking down the shower doors & putting up a curtain.  I'm so glad he did!  Bath time with Katie is so much easier & more enjoyable for us all.  Many thanks to my father-in-law for all the hard work he did helping Brian take the doors down and re-grout/caulk the tub!

Fishing

This is my fishing pole. You may not think so. Some use it to open & close the shade on the skylight, but I use it to go fishing.

No bait is needed when I go on this fishing trip. Just need my trusty pole & I'm off. What do I fish for you may wonder...pacifiers!

Katie likes to drop her pacifiers on the side of the crib we cannot reach. As you can see, she gets quite a collection of fun things over there. We pondered what to do, move the bed, or just buy more pacis. Brian had the brilliant idea to use the skylight shade hook. I'm not sure if he or I first called the task of collecting missing pacis 'fishing', but it has definitely stuck!

We go 'fishing' every few days or so, depending on how often Katie's paci dropping habit dictates.  There have been the few occasions when the pacifiers end up on the other side of the crib.  I'm glad for those times (the two times it actually happened!).  Fishing for and washing pacis, just another task for the parents of Kaitlyn Grace!

Sometimes we 'catch' other items, like socks, if Katie decides to add them to her collections down there!  No boots yet, or tin cans...for now...
What a fun adventure!

Yummy apple muffins

I was just talking to my friend about apple picking, one of the fun activities to do in the fall. The conversation moved on to what we could make with apples: applesauce, apple crisp, & apple muffins to name a few.  After making a couple apple crisps recently, I wanted something a little different, so I made apple muffins yesterday.  We are really enjoying them. Cinnamon apple goodness!!!

My friend and I agreed, once apple season is over, pumpkins are next on the baking list.  Oh the delicious fall flavors!!!  Pumpkin bread is #1 on my list.  How about yours?

Here is the muffin recipe adapted from one on allrecipes.com.

Apple Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (room temp)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted (1/2 a stick)
1 medium apple - peeled, cored, & chopped 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
 

2. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, egg and butter. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold in chopped apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
 

3.Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Good parents

An excerpt from my devotional:
As Christian parents, we have the awesome responsibility to lovingly discipline our children (Prov. 13:24; 29:17; Heb. 12:9-11). As we impart God’s wisdom to them, we have the blessing of helping them develop into responsible, God-fearing adults.
-Our Daily Bread, 9/17/12, Correct Them by Marvin Williams

Boy this got me thinking and praying.  What a responsibility Brian and I have in raising Katie.  We knew this, but these words put the pressure on for me.  I guess the words, "helping them develop into responsible, God-fearing adults" really hit home.  God has blessed us with this little one.  It is our responsibility to raise Katie in the church and pray for her.  We are doing our best as we seek God's direction in raising this little girl.  What is right and when?  Only God knows and we have to trust Him.  I know there will be tough issues in the months and years to come.  Discipline for bad behavior and who knows what other things we'll be dealing with.  We'll always have to go to God for His direction as we raise Katie.  Does this make us good parents?  What makes a good parent?

This little cutie is too precious to not bring her before the Lord daily.  That is the best thing I can do!

Surprise!

We had a surprise party for Brian & my 30th birthday. I threw the party. Did I take any pictures?? NO!!! Wow. What is wrong with me? Being a mom has thrown off my photography game.

The party was fun even if I forgot to take pictures! We went swimming and enjoyed spending time with friends. The weather was not too hot, but ht enough to swim. Pretty much perfect!

Thanks to those who came and celebrated with us. We had fun.

Enjoying Family

Last Saturday was a day for enjoying the family. Katie took her morning nap with Brian, Charley & I.  All four of us snuggled on the couch for a nice relaxing way to spend our Saturday morning.  We had absolutely no plans, so it was nice to just spend time together.  We went out for breakfast after our lazy morning and spent the rest of the day hanging out together.  This means, playing with Katie on her blanket with all her toys strewn about.  It was so nice.  Especially since Brian left for a conference in San Francisco the next day.

I spent the week in CT with my family while Brian was gone.  Charley, Katie and I left early Sunday morning during Katie's morning nap. We got to my parent's church a little late, but got to hear most of the sermon!  It was nice to be with my parents and sisters for the week.  I knew being home would be tough since Brian wouldn't be around to help.  My mom was a huge help & I'm so thankful that she could take some days off to spend with me.  We even went to Six Flags (just my mom, me & Katie).  It was so fun!  Katie got to see her great-grandpa again.  Overall, good week, though we did miss having Brian around.

Summer is coming to a close, but we're still planning on some fun times!  Gotta enjoy the warm days while they last :) Just wait until my next post :)

Modern Techonology!

Skype & FaceTime are just wonderful new pieces of technology!  Ok, so these are not brand-spankin new, but newer...like we didn't have it when I went to college!  With a smartphone, which is new technology for me, Sykpe & FaceTime are so easy to use.

Anyway, these video chats make it possible for Katie to see & "talk" to her aunts, uncles, & grandparents.  We chatted this week with Grammy, Tito James & Tita Robbie.  Its nice that family can see how stinking cute Katie is, what types of "tricks" she's doing and how big she's getting.

Olympics!

I'm obsessed with watching the Olympics. I don't even care what event is on. I just want the TV on and tuned into something! Brian thinks I'm crazy. I don't blame him. I mean I even painted my toe nails red, white & blue. Go Team USA!!!

So, when reading the comics...it's been a very long time since I've done that...I found these. They made me smile, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

AH! The big 3...0...

Yes, Brian and I are now 30.  Here a short string of thoughts I have on this milestone:

I remember thinking being this old was OLD...not so much anymore.  I feel older, but not OLD.  Though I am a bit sad...I feel like I'm truly a mom and should wear mommy clothes and that I'm just not as cool as I used to be. (if I ever was cool)

My life pretty much revolves around Katie right now, so I guess my age doesn't matter.  She's my little buddy and doesn't even know what age is.  She doesn't care how old I am, why should I?  I'm going to enjoy what God's given me: a sweet husband, my dear baby girl, and a cutie pup!  This is the plan God has for my life and I'm going to choose not to dwell on being in the 30s, but dwell on enjoying the blessings in my life.  I've been blessed for the first 30 years of my life with loving parents and some great siblings & friends, now to enjoy the next 30, 40, 50, or however many more years I have!!!

Wedding Anniversary

We just celebrated 6 years of marriage. Some people are surprised that we only have one child who is 6 months old. Others say they're glad we had time to ourselves before adding kids to the mix. There are times I agree with the first group, then there are times I am totally in agreement with the second. A baby definitely changes the relationship between husband and wife. Love grows and deepens.

For Brian and I, we realize how much we need to depend on God's love, support & grace all the more as we raise a young soul. Talk about responsibility! Plus we need to extend that grace to each other as we need more patience with each other. Babies add stress to the relationship.

Our anniversary went well & we had a great family day (as seen in the pictures below)

Texas trip

I finally have a moment to reflect on our trip to Texas.  First of all, it was Katie's first plane ride! I was so nervous about the flight. I should have realized that security was just as nerve wracking! That was probably the worst part of the trip. Katie did well on the plane. She was quiet & played well in the little seat. Ok, when we landed back in Boston she did have a freak out moment. We were waiting at the gate for the cabin door to open & she started melting down. It was 11pm, she was tired, the bright lights came on. I don't blame her. The only way to quiet her was nursing. She nursed until everyone got off the plane & we could finally get off too!

The purpose of the trip was a wedding and to visit family. We'll talk wedding first. So amazing to be in Ft. Worth. We loved it. We loved hanging out with friends that feel like family.  There were a few wedding events we attended while in Fort Worth.  They were outside & it was HOT down there.  Becca enjoyed the heat, but Brian was ready for some AC!  We did have some time to enjoy ourselves as a family too & explore Fort Worth, like going to a brewery and seeing 150 years of Fort Worth in one room!
Here are some pictures of our time there.

Family time was AWESOME! I loved being around my cousins. Spending time with two cousins I don't get to see very often was such a delight. Another highlight was seeing our kids interact. That's right, we're all parents!!! It was so neat, even made me feel like a real adult! Here are a few photos that show only some of the great moments we had together.

A night without baby!

Ok, so this post is LATE. Forgive me.

That's right Brian and I experienced our first night without Katie. My mom came up with my sister to watch Katie and Charley on Brian's birthday, June 12.

How did I feel leaving her for the night you ask? I was nervous that she would cry all night or that my mom would somehow waste all my frozen breast milk. None of that happened. I missed Katie TONS.

Brian and I had a blast. It was nice to be alone with Brian. We did talk about Katie A LOT, but not the entire time. We were in Boston for an event at Fenway. Plus a hotel stay! Perhaps being only 40 minutes from home helped me feel so at ease.

Here are some pictures!

Unexpected, yet expected

Let me start with a quote from my devotional today, 'We may not know what the future holds, but we can trust the One who holds the future.'

I thought my weekend would contain CCA's graduation and a graduation party. God had other plans. Brian's grandma passed on Wednesday morning at 3am. This weekend will be spent with family remembering this loving woman and celebrating her life.

Here are some of Brian's reflections...
She/we are very thankful that all of her surviving family had been able to visit with her in the past few weeks. She also got to meet both of her GREAT grandchildren! When we (Brian, Becca & Katie) saw her it was such a blessing and sweet moment to see the big smiles on both her's and Katie's faces! We will cherish those memories.

Though we are sad that Grandma is no longer with us, we have the hope of seeing her again one day in heaven. Since Grandma was really sick towards the end (these last two weeks) we're glad she's not in pain anymore.

Please remember Brian, his siblings, mom, aunt & cousins in your prayers during this time. Thanks.

Here's a picture of a little bitty Brian and his brother with their grandma.

Growing so fast!

I'm talking about Katie. She has rolled over! First roll was on May 7th. She has been perfecting it ever since. Now she's rolling every chance she gets! I watched her roll one morning on the video monitor, then found her like this another morning.

June 1, Katie started rice cereal. The first try was a very watery version of rice cereal.  Much more breast milk than cereal.  The texture was new, but she did eat some of it and didn't totally reject it.  After only a few tries she's getting used to it. She is getting the hang of eating and her little stomach and intestines seem to be handling it well.  I don't know if you can see the rice on her chin or not, but its there!

I cannot believe how fast things are changing. About 19 weeks ago Katie was born and couldn't even old her head up. Now she's got great head/neck control.  She grasps at things & her fine motor skills are getting better every day.

Everyone says cherish these times. I could not truly know what they meant until I went through it myself!  Just look at this precious girl.  How could I not cherish the time I spend with her?! (just don't ask me about that when she's been crying for 40 minutes straight)

Mulched!

I'm so excited to announce: I mulched this weekend.

Weird...maybe....
but I like to have my flower gardens weed free and mulched.  So that's what I did on Saturday morning.  Weeded the two flower gardens and then mulched. They look so much more refined when there is mulch in there.  Plus, the cedar mulch smells so good!

Brian and I are extremely excited to see how our hydrangea will do this year.  Its super green and looks great so far.

For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I haven't gotten my bushes trimmed just yet.  Slow steps when it comes to outdoor chores.  I haven't quite figured out what to do with Katie while I do my yard work.  Ideas?

Baptism

This is almost a month late!  Katie was baptized on April 29, 2012.  This was a big event for the family.  As parents, we are committed to teach Katie our faith. We publicly committed to be examples to her of what it means to be a Christian and to bring her to church.

We're so grateful to everyone who was there supporting us.  I'm working on a video of the event for those who could not be in attendance.  Here are some pictures.

New Role

First of all, let me apologize that I haven't been able to blog as much as I hoped.  I'm kinda busy...with Katie.  I didn't think I'd be so busy with her.  When I'm not taking care of her (when she's napping), I'm cleaning or cooking or eating!  Life is just so different than I what I expected, yet not.  Its hard to describe, but let me try...

This is my new life: SAHM.  I'm no longer Mrs. Vienneau-Math Teacher.  I am a SAHM: Stay At Home Mom.  I love this new role, but WOW, it is very different from my old role.  My identity has changed.  I knew that would happen.  People talked about the change...but its nothing like I thought it would be.

Don't get me wrong.  I love my new life.  I love being a mom.  I just didn't know the feelings that I would experience as a took on my new role.  Katie can't say thanks every time I change her diaper or feed her or clean up her face from spit up.  Since I can't get them from her, I expected them from Brian.  He didn't even know how I was feeling because I wouldn't tell him.  I was just getting upset.  What a learning curve there is to being a SAHM!!!  Ok, now don't think that everything is awful here in the Vienneau household either.  Things are good.  We've just been getting hang of things over here.

Of course, I'll end with some pictures for you to enjoy.