Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Howdy friends! How is your Monday treating you?

I have been in a baking mood recently. Pinterest, cooking shows, magazines, almost everywhere I look I find inspiration to make something DELICIOUS. This is not very good when I also am trying to work out and get in shape! Counter productive much? 

This weekend we went out to hang out with my parents. My mom and I went to HEB to get some things for dinner, and I decided we needed something good for dessert. I usually go for anything chocolate, but my dad gets migraines and John and Taylor are not big chocolate fans either. 

So enter scene - Strawberry Shortcake . One of mom's favorites also. Win, win, win. :)

I googled some different recipes and took a variety of what I found to make my own. 

There are different variations of Strawberry Shortcake, some use a sponge cake, some use pound cake, and some use a biscuit type cake which is what we will be using today. My favorite! :)

What You Will Need:

For the biscuits:

-2 cups flour

- 1 tbsp baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt 

-3 tablespoons sugar

-1 stick butter (chilled)

-3/4 cup milk

For the strawberries:

-2 lb container strawberries
-1/4 cup sugar

-cool whip or whipped cream for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse, drain, and slice berries.

Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you want them to taste.
Mix well and refrigerate.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
*Tip - if you do not have a whisk you can use a fork*

Cut your stick of butter into about 8 or 9 pieces and add to the mixture.
Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the mixture.

Your mixture will be coarse, with small chunks of butter still remaining.
Next, make a well in the center and add your milk.

Slowly stir it together, until it is just mixed and the dough is moist. It will still be very crumbly and not hold together really well. Let the dough stand for a minute.

Next, turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a flat piece about 3/4 inches thick.
Remember at this point of mixing and kneading, the less you handle the dough, the better.

Take a round biscuit cutter and cut out your biscuits and transfer to a cookie sheet.

(It helps to have an adorable little helper ;))

Next, brush on a little milk on the tops and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with your strawberries and whip cream and ENJOY!

Dear Four Year Old Taylor...

My baby girl, 

Where do I begin? First I guess I should say you are technically not a "baby" any longer. You can swim all by yourself, pick your own outfits and matching hairclips.



You can recite and write the alphabet, spell and write your own name, and so much more.

You are growing up so quickly, I feel like I just blinked and you went from rocking in my arms, to swinging from the monkey bars.
I am so blessed by your sweet and sensitive heart. You are very eager to obey your momma and daddy and I thank my sweet Jesus for your precious spirit.
If I ask you to clean your room, you are very quick to do it.
You are always ready to help your momma with anything, whether it be cleaning, cooking, or helping me get something for Bubby.
You are definitely momma's little helper.
You do have a sassy side and sometimes your sassiness can get you in trouble. That is usually the only reason you get into trouble, and when you do, the sensitive side comes out and you just get heartbroken (and so does momma).

I love your cute, over the top attitude. You LOVE the disney princesses and you are definitely a little princess yourself.



 I love that you can spend hours in your room (you usually lock your brother out) and I like to stand at the door and listen to your imagination playing out in the lives of your Barbies and baby dolls.

I love that you sing songs at the top of your lungs, no matter if you just learned the words, or know it by heart, you sing. You are always singing. You have such a joyful spirit.

 You love to color, and you are an excellent artist. You also love to do mazes, connect the dots, and color by number.
 You are so smart and mommy is so proud of you. It is hard to believe that in just one year you will be starting school, but I know that you will be more than ready.
You love to dance, and play softball with your daddy.
You love to take care of your baby brother. It makes your mommy's heart happy to see you both getting along.

I love that no matter how much you have grown, there are still parts about you that remind me you are still my baby girl.
You still say "sirsty" for thirsty and you call pretzels "prenzels. You like for me to scratch your back and play with your hair before you go to sleep. Every morning you crawl into my bed to snuggle.
Right now, I am just breathing in every moment with you. They are going by so quickly. 

Baby doll, I love you so much and I am so proud of the little girl that you are growing up to be. 

All my love always, 

Momma

Dear Two Year Old Wyatt...

My Sweet Boy, 

You just turned two and I am still blinking my eyes wondering where the time went. It seems like yesterday I was holding your tiny (9 lb 12 oz) body in my arms, wrapped up in a cotton receiving blanket, and barely fitting into a newborn onesie. OK, so in terms of newborns, perhaps tiny is not the word to describe it, but you will always be little in my eyes. 

You are so full of life and at such a fun age. I love your little independent voice telling me "I do it, I do it" for every little thing, like climbing stairs, getting into your carseat, or using your own fork and spoon. It makes me sad and happy all at the same time.

(You are even adorable when you tell me that you don't want your picture taken) 

I love that you get so excited to see your favorite things...Like how the world stands still for a minute so that we can watch a tractor drive by.
Or how your face lights up when Taylor or Coco come into the room.

Or how you run screaming at the door that Daddy is home (and fall to tears if he is leaving).
I love when you tell me your juice is "gol gone" and when you find something you say "air it is!"
 I love that when you hear "Life Is A Highway" you scream CARS, and can watch the movie every day just like its the first time you've seen it.

I love that when we walk through a parking lot, you would rather hold Taylor's hand and form a train, then for me to carry you. (even though it makes me sad that I can't hold you like a baby...)

When I found out I was having a boy, a lot of people had many things to tell me about what it would be like to have a boy, how much of an adventure it would be. And let me tell you sweet baby, it has been the best adventure. You love your tractors, trains, and cars. 

You are energetic and fearless. 

You refuse to wear your floaties in the pool, and would rather just dive right in. 

You jump off the furniture, pull the dogs tail, and love to smash bugs on the porch.

You love to go play in the dirt and chase frogs with Coco.

You are ALL boy.

Yes, everyone told me all about the rough and tumble lifestyle I was about to take on, but one thing that they didn't tell me was the chance that the rough and tumble boy, would have an incredibly soft and loving heart for his momma.

When you are older and reading this I know that you will not like to be labeled a "momma's boy" but that is just the way it is. And I love it.

No matter what way you say it, whether you are crying "mommmmmaaaaa" or "mommy, mommy, mommy" or "MOM-MA!" I will always answer. 

The other day we were at the pool and you saw a bee in the water, and you grabbed my leg to push me back away from the edge and said "momma, atch out" 

Sweet boy, you know how to melt your momma's heart. 

You are only two years old, and your sweet protective innocence just overwhelms me with love and thankfulness. I could not have prayed for a better son. I love you always my sweet boy. Happy 2nd Birthday. :)

Love, Momma

Happy Mother's Day!

FOUR months since my last post. Wow.

That is a tad bit sad. I feel like I write a "catch up" post a little too often. But hey. Life has a way of being busy. 

Today was a beautiful, wonderful day. I had a moment that stopped me in my tracks, and brought tears to my eyes. I was sitting with Taylor and she climbed into my lap and gave me a hug. I hugged her close and told her that I loved her so much, and that because of her and Wyatt I get to celebrate Mommy's Day and that I was so thankful for them.

In response, she told me "Mommy, I don't want to grow up." 

I said "Well why do you say that?"

-"I don't know." 

-"Well everybody grows up."

-"But will you still hold me like this and love me?"

Where does this girl come up with these questions?! I said of course baby, I will love you forever. 

-"Even when I am Paige's age?"

She loves her cousin Paige. She is 16, and drives a car, and still takes time to play Barbies with her. She is SO cool. ;)

-"Even when you are old baby, I will always love you." 

It brought tears to my eyes, and at that moment I remembered something my mom used to always tell me growing up.
"You will understand one day. You will be a mom and you will get it." 

I am here to say that I do get it. I never could have imagined how much love my heart could hold for another human being, how thankful I am to be called to raise my two babies. They light up my life and give me such joy and peace. With them I know that everything is alright. 

So on this day, I celebrate being a mom to two precious angels.

I celebrate my mom who has taught me and shaped me into who I am today, who constantly shows me the meaning of selfless love, in my life and my babies lives.

I celebrate my Grandma Clen and cherish each day I have to spend with her. 

I look forward to the day that I get to see Grandma Wetz again. I miss her more than words can describe.

I celebrate my Mom in law, for raising a wonderful, caring son and being a wonderful grandmother to my children.

I celebrate my Sister's in law, for being wonderful mothers, friends, and aunts.
I celebrate my friends, who have joined me on this wonderful journey, and those are soon to be joining me, congratulations. :)
I celebrate my cousin Shelley, who is like a sister to me, and is a wonderful mommy to her babies. I wish I lived about 200 miles closer to you!

And I celebrate you, any mom's out there who might be reading this, 

Happy Mother's Day to you all! I pray you have a blessed day. :)

(I love my family ;))

Car Wash... A Scary Place?

Who knew... That a car wash could be so frightening! I certainly didn't. But I was soon to find out that my sweet Wyatt was NOT a fan of the car wash. Last week we had the first sunny day in a long time. I took advantage of that and went to the car wash! I expected Taylor to cover her ears as usual...

 But, I wasn't prepared for Wyatt's reaction! 

Bawling. Tears. Begging for me to hold his little hand.

So for the length of the wash, I sat back and held his little hand. 

Poor baby. 

I think I will spare him the car washes for a while. 

When we got home, I still wanted to clean the inside, and a few spots on the outside, and for that I had some fabulous little helpers. Wyatt liked washing cars from the outside. 

Coco even dunked her head in the bucket.

And tah dah! Finally clean! 

Before we got in it to head out this weekend, I told John "Look... My car looks and smells nice. Let's enjoy it while it lasts!" Ha ha... 

I think I would like a dust buster for my car! 

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you have a fabulous week :) 

Time to catch up!

Hi friends! 

I have been missing my little blog here. SO many things that I have been itching to write about, pictures I want to record, and everything in between, but somehow...life gets in the way of writing. So I am just going to pick up with today, and catch you up as best as I can. My last post was the most difficult one to write to date. I am still missing my grandma. I don't think there will come a day that I do not miss her. I still have my moments of breaking down in tears, and lots of moments that it still does not feel real to me. But we are managing. The Lord is surely giving me the strength to carry on. 

So... our life in the past couple of weeks. The day before my grandma passed away, we got a puppy. Meet Coco. 

The day after she came home she stopped eating. She was with us for 5 days before she passed away. We found out that she had Parvo. {right about now, I was thinking, can I please write a country song???} 

We contacted the breeder and she had another litter of puppies that would be ready Christmas Eve. EEE! I was freaked out by the possibility of another sick puppy. The weeks leading up to getting our new puppy were nerve wracking. I bleached my house up and down, to make sure everything was clean for the new little one. My exact words to John were "I don't want to bring ANOTHER puppy here, JUST to die!" Being the sweet man he is, he put bleach in his little outdoor sprayer, and sprayed the entire perimeter of the house and yard. I just love him. 

December 23 our puppy was ready to come to our home. Right before we were going to let the kids see, we put her in a box, with a little Christmas bow on her neck, and let the kids "open" their present. Sheer joy crossed Taylor's face as she shouted "Coco! Your back! Oh I missed you Coco! Your back!"

So........Meet Coco [2]! 

John and I debated on  how to tell Taylor about the puppy, and she kind of solved our dilemma. Coco is back. And we are happy. 

She came to us at 7.5 weeks, smaller than our chihuahua Fifi, at just under 5 pounds. 

Today she is 11 weeks old, and is 13 pounds! 

We had a wonderfully blessed Christmas with our family, spent New Years Eve at home, letting Taylor and Wyatt set off fireworks. Taylor was a lot braver this year than she was last year. (She cried inside the house last year.) This year she had a blast! Wyatt loved them too. 

I started my second year of Project 365 on my Facebook page, and I am debating on doing a weekly update of the photos on the blog here! 

My babies are growing up SO fast. Taylor is getting so smart, she recognizes numbers and letters, she carries on full on conversations on the phone, she remembers places and events. She has the most tender heart. She loves to play with her princess barbies. She gets in her own little world, talking to them, and  mothering them. She takes care of her little brother like he is her own. She loves onion chips (sour cream and onion) and dip (french onion). I love that she still has a little bit of baby language left in her vocabulary. Like... 

sirsty for thirsty

broler for brother

using only the pronouns him, her, and us. 

For example. "Wyatt is bothering me! Him won't leave me a lone!"

"Thank you for us food, and for us family."

"Coco is sleeping, her not want to play."

I love it. And I am proud but I get sad when she learns the correct way to pronounce something.

 Like the day that she stopped saying "Mc-Don-Youlds" like it was some french cuisine, haha! And finally said Mc-DON-alds. Momma was a little sad.

And my baby boy. My momma's boy. He knows how to melt your heart, make you furious, and fall in love with him, all at the same time. He is the type that will grin at you as he is stuffing your toilet full of toilet paper. He will take off giggling as he gets into the bathroom cabinet, running off with the toothpaste for the umpteenth time. He will flash that cheesy smile with you as he runs away naked when you are in the middle of changing his diaper. 

 He is also starting to talk more. The other night, John got after him because he drug his step stool into the kitchen and was standing up on it, trying to get onto the kitchen counter. Wyatt came bawling to me, and I asked him what was wrong. And in the clearest voice he told me, "wanna snack!" It was precious. 

He is a smart cookie too. I struggle as a mom knowing that my baby should not go to bed with his sippy cup, but I have been trying so hard to get him to drink water before bed but he will only have milk. 

If I give him water, he will look at it through the cup, stare and study it for some time, and if he seems to think that its not white milk, he hands it back to me. The other night he was crying after I gave him his water and I was trying to see if he would settle down. After a couple of minutes I went in there and gave him a cup of milk. As soon as I handed it to him, he told me "thank you!" in the sweetest, most grateful tone. That's the night I decided that he will win this battle for now. He overpowered me with his smile and those sweet manners! 

Tonight he was drinking his milk and playing with his car before bed, and then I heard him start fussing a little so I went in there and said what's wrong? What do you need? And he handed up to me his cup and said "milk". The boy knows what he wants, when he wants it. So another cup of milk, and another thank you later, he is peacefully sleeping away.  

Today was a wonderfully sunny day. It was nice break from the colder temps we have been having recently. We spent most of our day playing outside and enjoying the fresh air.

Well it feels good to catch up. Hopefully I can remain a little more diligent about writing! That is what I love about my Project 365, it makes me slow down a little, to find something-anything, to appreciate about the day. And I have already looked back at my 2011 album and found so many priceless memories that would probably have gone unnoticed.

 Like a 6th tooth coming in. 

A shopping trip with my girl.

A snow day 

New haircuts

Even the sick days.

  

Random acts of kindness ;)

Precious memories

So I encourage you! Make every day worth remembering. :)