Crazytown- Population: 2

Hi friends! It has been quite a whirlwind around these parts. We are working on getting our Christmas decorations up, getting presents ready, the house ready all while we continue our daily activities. We started our new family tradition of getting our tree! Growing up, we had both fake and real trees-but we mostly had fake ones with my mom. They were easier for us I think so they just stuck. John grew up with real trees, so we decided to carry on that idea with our own family. This year we were able to go and cut down a tree instead of picking it up from Home Depot. Don't get me wrong-those trees were fine-but this was new. We got to hunt for the perfect tree, pick it out and even support local-all wins in my book! We went to Sneads Farm in Fredericksburg and it was wonderful!

They actually were hosting a USO event that we didn't know about but got to check it out. They were providing military families with a free tree, stand, decorations, wrapping paper, lunch all sorts of wonderful things all for free! You enter into a drawing and you get your voucher emailed to you if you were picked-but we were able to still participate. It was amazing! Not to mention the farm had fresh kettle corn...and if you know me-I love my popcorn.  Kaden had a blast, we have a perfect tree and all we need is for Santa to come down our chimney!

One of the great things about the Marine Corps is the friendships that we get to make. Granted we only get to stay (geographically) close for a few years at a time but with all the jobs stationed around the world (literally) you're bound to come across one another again-but if you're lucky enough to become friends with a few of these amazing people-then you get to plan a get together! One of my good friends from Twentynine Palms was here visiting family while her husband was training and we were so lucky that we got to have her and her wonderful daughter over! Kaden and Aleyna are 4 days apart and Laura and I were working together and pregnant together at the same time. It was amazing to see her and her little one. We joke that we already have our kids' marriage arranged so we'll see each other all the time. Kaden and Aleyna truly had the best time together- these pictures are about a year apart (exactly) look how big they are now!

I had some of our kickball ladies over with their little ones to decorate salt dough ornaments last week. We had lots of baked goods, coffee, kids running around playing and adult conversation-all amazing things in my book! We also had a holiday get together and bunco night the other night with the same ladies-a much needed 'mom's night out'! I'm so glad I joined this team of ladies-we all have different stories but we all have things in common and having our lifestyle- we usually have family far away so we get to 'make' our own family and that is an amazing feeling.

We have a crazy week ahead of us with Christmas fast approaching. Kaden has his LAST developmental NICU follow up!! (insert happy dance here) I can honestly say I'm not as worried about this appointment as I was the last rounds-this kid is a parrot and repeats (or tries to) every word out of your mouth. He is learning new things every day and he's growing and getting through every stage of toddler-hood we can have-all while I'm pulling my hair. But I wouldn't change it for anything-he's doing what he needs to do and I am truly grateful for it.
My mom is coming to visit! I haven't seen her since last Christmas! This is the longest gap that we've gone not seeing each other, which is weird-but I know she's excited to come and see Kaden (and me too maybe...) She's coming from the warm weather of Arizona-and we're expecting snow soon-she's in for a surprise.
So between a big appointment, my mom coming and a few play dates scattered throughout the week. We have our hands full. One thing I do want to share with you is I just received this amazing new cookbook from the Birchbox Book Club that I am a part of- Homemade Decadence by Joy the Baker. Let me tell you-it looks amazing. I can't wait to share the recipes with you! I hope to share them on a regular basis with you all because I want to make everything. SO if you're local, get in touch with me because I need to share all of these baked goods with you.

I'm going to make it my mission to be better with my posts with you all-probably starting with a delicious baked good. Until then, I'm going to go enjoy watching "The Holiday" on Lifetime and mentally prepare myself for the crazy week we have ahead of us! 

Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake

Every other Friday, Kaden and I head over to our local MOPS group that we joined this past late summer. If you're a mom with little ones, I highly recommend checking your local chapter out. There has been a lot of negative social media about 'mom' life and there has been a lot of moms tearing each other down. This group comes together to build each other up and provide words of encouragement to each other. Our table had to bring our breakfast/brunch items for this week's meeting and what I made turned out to be a hit (yay!) and I want to share it with all of you! I made this delicious Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake. It's as good as it sounds, I promise. The last time I made this, I was fighting off contractions right before Kaden was born, which makes me chuckle now. Well shall we get started? 

To make this, you'll need:
9x13 pan (I used a foil pan since I was worried I would possibly drop this while chasing/carrying a toddler and didn't want to shatter my glass pan-but either works!)
1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used butter)
2 cans of cinnamon rolls with icing
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used milk instead)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Gather all of your ingredients and preheat the oven to 350.
2. Melt your butter and pour it in the pan.
3. Open and chop up the cinnamon rolls. The recipe I used said to cut them into 4 pieces, but I made them smaller.
4. Once both cans are chopped up and spread out evenly in the pan, combine the eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla together in a bowl and pour them over the chopped rolls.

5. Pop the tray into the oven for 25-30 minutes.
6. Once they're done (resist the urge to take a bite) melt the icing that came with the rolls a little bit so it is easier to pour- and pour that sugary delicious treat over the rolls. 

 And there you go! It smells amazing, tastes amazing, looks amazing and is perfect with a hot cup of coffee. This doesn't take much to get together and would be perfect for the upcoming holiday with family! Happy weekend friends!

S'mores Bar Deliciousness

I love a good s'more. There's no other way to put it. It is a perfect summer treat, but sometimes it just isn't the best time to bust out the fire pit and make a s'more. Enter s'mores bars! These are are pretty much my 'go to' dessert when I am making something for a get together (or just because).

The other week I was getting ready for a get together with a fantastic group of ladies-my kickball team-and they requested s'mores bars be made and I was happy to comply with their requests. I seem to always have the ingredients in the pantry, ready to make these at any notice. I followed this recipe from Wit and Whistle and it works amazingly. The only thing I change is I add a little more marshmallow fluff, only because I am a marshmallow lover.  

You will need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)* I use about 2 cups*

These are pretty simple to make-here's what you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. 4. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

5. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. 

6. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single.

7. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. 

8. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (I found it to be easier if you  flatten the dough into small shingles and laying them together).

9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

                                                 

I was making these a few hours before our get together and I also had a 'No-Nap-Ninja' on my hands...so a large iced coffee was much needed as well as a fluffer-nutter sandwich. Now please tell me you all have tried this wonderful creation? If not, it is simply peanut butter and marshmallow fluff! Now since you probably have peanut butter...and you obviously have marshmallow fluff...give it a whirl and you can thank me later. 

After these have cooled, carefully cut them as big (or as small) as you would like, grab a few napkins and enjoy! Let me know if you love these as much as we do-

xox