Cupcake Pops/Bites and Cake Bites

This is the long awaited simple recipe for the lovely little things. Lol! Pictures!!! And here is how they work:

Ingredients:

1 boxed cake mix (chocolate or red velvet are best)

1 can cream cheese frosting
chocolate bark

vanilla chocolate bark

decorations (m&ms, chocolate chips, sprinkles, or whatever you please!)

Directions:

1. Bake cake according to directions on box. Allow to cool. Crumble the cake up. Add can of cream cheese frosting to the cake crumbles. Roll into balls (about a tablespoon big). I cooled the mixture before trying to roll it...made it easier. And rinse your hands often. That makes it easier too.

2. Chill in freezer or refrigerator (freezer if in a hurry). If making the cupcake shape there is an extra step. After chilling, roll into log shape and chill again for awhile. Take the log shape and push it into a small flower or star shaped cookie cutter. This gives it that muffin top/ridged look for the "cupcake liner."

3. Melt the chocolate bark according to directions on the bag. If making the cake bites, just roll it around in the chocolate. You can use your hand or a spoon. A spoon is a little less messy =) If doing the cupcake bites, dip the bottom half ("liner") into the chocolate bark. And chill before dipping the top into the vanilla chocolate bark.

4. For either the cake or cupcake bites, make sure to decorate as you go, before the chocolate/vanilla bark has time to set. If making pops, did one lollipop stick end into chocolate bark and poke the bite.

5. Serve chilled =)

Cinnamon Rolls

Thanks to a friend I've never met, http://lindsayelaineadams.blogspot.com/, I have an EXTREMELY tasty cinnamon roll recipe for you all. Unfortunately no picture...these guys are huge though! Bigger than cinnabon! Amazing for the tongue too =)

Ingredients:
4 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup veggie oil

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp cinnamon
(I didn't have enough cinnamon for both this and the delish cinnamon vanilla frosting so I subbed in some nutmeg. So awesome! I'm a sucker for nutmeg. I put in almost a full tsp. Took out a tsp of cinnamon to put towards my frosting.)

Butter

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and 1/3 cup sugar in warm water. Stir in salt and 2 cups flour. Beat mixture for 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and oil. Stir in the remaining flour a 1/2 cups at a time, beating while after each addition.
2. When dough has pulled together, turn out onto floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.
Cover and let rise in warm place until about double in size (40 minutes). In another bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar with brown sugar and cinnamon (and possibly nutmeg).
3. Roll out dough into large rectangle. Somewhat melt a little butter (use your own descretion as to how much). Use your hands to spread the butter over all the dough. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture all over dough. Roll into a large log. Cut into inch thick slices. Place into greased baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until golden.

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 to 3 tbsp milk

Directions:
1. Mix together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add in vanilla. Add milk in a tbsp at a time. Be careful with how much you add! Too much will make the frosting super runny.
Frost these fresh out of the oven...so tasty! Enjoy peeps!

Too Cute Tuesday

Haven't done it in awhile and I should...cuz my daughter is just TOO CUTE!!! =)

School and Such

Brent found, what we believe, is the perfect school. It's online. He can earn his Associate's in Computer Science in about 2 1/2 years. It's called Devry University. It is pretty awesome. It is also pretty expensive. Well...not in comparison to some schools. But in comparison to what my education cost me...expensive. He applied to the school and tomorrow he finds out what the next steps are: financial assistance and signing up for classes. We are praying that somehow he gets some grants or scholarships. We already have the FAFSA ready to go. But it wouldn't be enough. Things will be tight. Thank the Lord that for now we are living in Calvin's (brother-in-law) house for free. But that's only until December, at the latest. A student loan may be necessary. It's awesome that I work at a credit union where I can get an oh-so-awesome deal on a loan, but...Oh!...all donations from parents are greatly appreciated. lol! Thought I would throw that out since almost all my parents read this blog. Just keep in mind: this is to better our lives and it's only for a season. =)
Anywho...my new job is going great! I've never had a job where I worked with so many other Christians. It is so encouraging! It will definately "keep me on my toes" when it comes to living out my faith. It seems easier to me to live out my faith when I'm the only Christian around. You just naturally stand out. But when other Christians are living their faith too...hard. I now have accountability to shine as bright as they do. Do ya'll understand what I'm saying? Maybe it's the opposite for you? Brent said it's the opposite for him. What do you guys think?

Angel Face

The new job is going great! It has definately been hard to be away from my sweet baby though. It was hard on her too. Last week she went 4 whole days without giving me a smile...just a grumpy face. Talk about hard on the heart! It broke mine. For the first couple of weeks, I cried every day I left. But how could I not? Have you seen that face?! Look up...adorable! So yes, I am a mother...I am hormonal...I cried. I still sometimes get teary. It's way easier now to leave her because I know she'll be with daddy all day. It really relieves stress. Not that I don't trust my sister or my father-in-law (babysitters for 2 weeks), but ya know...

So my little princess is growing! Although to a ton of people she still looks newborn. Nope! She is just long and thin...a model in the making. =) She also has such a little attitude sometimes! And she knows it...but it is totally cute at the same time. Here's a picture painted for you: she's mad, doesn't want to smile, but we tickle her...so she squeals a little and stuffs her smiling face into her washcloth (which is her fav toy, btw) so we can't see her smile. What a stinker!

She's also a blabber mouth, which comes from both Brent and me for sure...no hope there.

So Brent is currently in search of the best school he can find. If he can't find it this semester, CNM is it. But he's hoping to find an online school. Pray with us on this one. We really don't want to send Autumn to daycare. It really well...it's not an option. I don't want it to be anyways. I really don't like daycares. And for those of you who think it's my germaphobia talking...no. It's the fact that I think a baby needs to be held by her parents more than just a hour a day. I think that the ratio of sitter to baby is horrible in daycares...not enough people to give enough love to the little guys. Anywho...so we need prayer that he'll find the right school so he can stay home with Autumn and do school at the same time. =)

Well...that's my update! Enjoy all! haha!

Long in Coming

Wow! It's been an incredibly long time since I have updated my blog. I guess I should. Our family is doing wonderful. Living in our brother's house is such a blessing! It's nice and roomy and rent free! I just wish it wasn't so temporary. I mean the house thing...rent is inevitable. Lol!

I'm currently in the process of looking for a job. Brent wants to go back to school full time in the fall. He's going to study computer programming. I fully support that! The house can wait...haha!

Autumn is getting big so fast. Although most will say she's still tiny, she's getting big in my eyes. I notice the leg rolls and her fingers getting pudgy. She talks all the time! And she still enjoys her tongue so much. Now she uses it to blow raspberries more than anything else. It's awesome! I love just sitting with her in the morning and talking to her. She likes to try to copy sounds I make and I love it! I have been wondering if she'll skip rolling over all together. She doesn't like her tummy. She doesn't mind rolling to the side but to get all the way over hasn't quite happened yet. Oh well...I'm sure it'll happen when I'm not looking. She's a ham like that.

So there's a quick update for ya'll who read this and don't know every detail of our lives already. I'll try to keep up from now on. Lol!

Too Cute Tuesday...

with my cousin Tara http://taytay9385.blogspot.com/ (loved your picture today, Tara!)

This was Autumn's special first Easter dress. Isn't she cute?! I know the tights are huge. They were the smallest ones we had too. But the little bloomers that went with it we WAY bigger than the tights. She had to have something to cover her little bottom! =)

Too Cute Tuesdays

Isn't he just too cute?! This is my nephew Memphis...making a dirty little mess. But I'm sure he had tons of fun doing it. I really wish I lived closer to my sister so I could enjoy moments like these with her. Lol!

Snickerdoodle Fun

Snickerdoodle Duo (from Bakerella)
These were so much fun to make! It did take me all day (only because I had a my little cupcake to take care of), but it was well worth it! Here are the recipes if you're interested. Oh! And for the icing I used a vanilla buttercream, but the original recipe was a meringue. If you like meringues, go for it! =)

Snickerdoodles:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, room temp
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375. Sift together first 4 ingredients. In separate bowl, cream sugar with shortening and butter. Add egg. Mix flour mixture with creamed mixture. (Oh, I use a wooden spoon when making cookies...just cuz.) In another bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Use about 1/2 tablespoon dough to achieve the correct size. Roll in cinnamon sugar. Bake for 8-8 1/2 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk, room temp
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tray with liners. Sift together first 4 ingredients. In separate bowl, cream butter and sugar for about 2 minutes on low speed. Add eggs in one at a time. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture in 4 parts to creamed mixture. With two of these parts, alternate adding with milk. Fill cupcake liners to about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from trays and let cool.

Oh! And to decorate! Pipe! haha...and sprinkle the top with your leftover cinnamon sugar! =D

It's Too Cute Tuesday...

...with my cousin Tara http://taytay9385.blogspot.com/ Join our fun!
The little ham on the left is my nephew Cameron. And the goofy little guy on the right is my little brother. This was a couple years ago. We went for a short visit to see my sister and her little men. I'm so glad I caught this moment on film cuz Micah (bro) and Cameron (nephew) weren't really getting along. A slight age difference led to a really annoyed Micah. But it was great fun anyways!

2nd Anniversary Poem

I wrote this poem for Brent a couple days ago. Thought I would share:

I love you so much -

This much is true.

Wherever you're headed,

I'm headed there too.

Your love is so tender;

Your love is so true.

My love I've surrendered

Forever to you.

Two years married together,

Many more to come.

Because our love is forever,

We'll live forever as one.

Our love keeps on growing

As the time passes.

We'll live forever knowing

That our love surpassed:

The mountain's height,

The ocean's wave,

The bird's flight,

And, finally, death's grave.

Song of Songs 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it."

Cupcakes and a Cute Girl

The first picture...well, isn't she just so darn cute?! Couldn't help myself...she's my little cupcake!

Finally made my cupcakes today. They are just for me. My reward to myself...actually more like I needed to satisfy this craving or I would die. Lol! I did take the time to decorate them. Nothing special though. Oh, the adventure I had with the frosting...let me tell you! It took 3 times before the frosting worked. The first two times, well...those people's recipes were jacked up! WAY too much butter and/or milk. So I adjusted. Anyways, here is the outcome...very yumm-o!

Too Cute Tuesday

I joined my cousin in this too cute tuesday! It's just a picture that I believe is too cute!!! This was taken at about 1 week. I didn't put it on facebook because I don't want to get in trouble for having partial nudity on there...even if it's just a baby. But she was just sunbathing and enjoying it so much. My mom said this looks like an Anne Gedes picture. I think Aveeno baby should pay me for this picture. Lol! Enjoy!

Baking...

completely relaxes me. This is why I studied it. This is why I earned my Certificate in Baking. Because whenever I feel stressed, I know baking something completely mouthwatering will make me feel better. Autumn was having a rough afternoon yesterday. Fighting sleep is a common thing for her around 2-6pm, depending on the day. I put her in her crib and she was crying, but I needed some time. So I put some headphones in, listened to my ipod and started baking. Is this mean? I think it depends on the type of mom you are. It's not mean if it means that you are not going to lose your patience with the baby. So, it wasn't mean. And it was, again, completely relaxing to listen to Buble while baking Banana Crumb Muffins. YUMMMM! And even now as I sit here drinking my coffee and eating a muffin, I feel completely relaxed. =)

Because I have had many requests...

I'm going to share my labor and delivery story. So many people have asked me about it. I'm not going to mention anything nasty or anything like that. But I don't know if men necessarily want to read. I know Brent probably wouldn't choose to read something like this. lol!

I walked into my labor and delivery room at 4pm on the Feb 11th. All the procedures that were to take place were explained to me in complete detail. By the way, I have to say this: Pres is the BEST hospital in Albuquerque. I don't care what anybody else thinks on this matter. haha! At around 5pm, they gave me the first dosage of med that was supposed to soften and stretch my cervix. I was 1cm dialated at the time. The med was a pill that went straight into my cervix, not through an IV. I was supposed to get a dosage of that every 4 hours for 10-12 hours. Then they were going to start the Pitocin to induce contractions. Well, I didn't need that.

My contractions started almost immediately. They didn't start to hurt until about 9 or 10pm. They gave me some pain meds through an IV that would not affect Autumn at all. In fact, it helped me for only about 30 minutes. It was supposed to help for 2 hours...no way!

Around 2am I got myself an epidural. There was no way I was going to go through needless pain and I needed sleep. I was 3cm dialated. While putting the epidural in, most doctors will send out all family. Well, that didn't happen. Brent wasn't watching. He was holding my hand as they were putting it in, but he peeked at the end. Not seeing anything, he still knew what was going on. He got really white and almost passed out! Stupid doctors for not sending him out of the room! They made him sit down and drink some juice and I said, "Breathe through this contraction with me. It will make you feel better." And so he did. lol! He felt better a little while later.

I fell asleep. Yay...except all the machine beeping and freaking out woke me up quite often. Around 8am a nurse came in to check on me. I was 10+cm dialated, ready to practice push. After one "practice" push, we realized I was ready to push. She saw the head. I pushed for an hour. I was told I was a great pusher. Yay me! I had to get an oxygen mask because mine and the baby's oxygen dropped while I was pushing. It helped! I'll remember that for the next time. They had to start a small drip of Pitocin because when I started to push, the contractions slowed down. Weird, huh? Yeah. They asked me, "Would you like to touch the head?" My answer: "No! Gross!" lol! Brent was asked to cut the umbilical cord. He had told me before he didn't want to. I didn't mind. It was his choice. So when asked, " Would you like to cut the cord?" His answer: "No!" All the people in the room except for me started to give him a hard time. Then I got on them, "Don't make him!" My own mother cut the cord. Oh! People that were present: a midwife (my OB was called to an emergency c-section), a nurse, Brent, my mom and my step-mom.

Autumn Grace Conner was born at 9:01am on Feb 12. 4lb. 13oz. 18 1/2 in.

Insurance Woes and Worries

I called Insure New Mexico call center today about Autumn's future health insurance. They were no help at all. I have Pres State Coverage. So I asked them how the process goes about for getting the baby insurance before she comes so that the her first appts are covered and I can get her a pediatrician. They said you can't. That was it: "you can't apply until you have the baby's social security number and birth certificate." Um...that won't be for about a month after she's born! Hello! What do I do in the mean time? "Go to the appts and if you are approved for medicaid/premium coverage for kids then we'll have back pay." If not... "You have to pay the bills out of pocket." As if! (Such a 90s phrase, but at that moment I wanted to say it. I did not, however, say it.) I just hung up the phone instead, after saying thank you. (For nothing went through my mind.) I can't get her a pediatrician without insurance. I can't do anything without insurance. So, when I go to my next WIC (women, infants, children food program) appt, I'll ask to see the woman there who works with medicaid. Maybe she will be able to give me more answers or help me with the process. My friend has medicaid for her baby and she said she had it the moment he needed it, so the logic is just a little off base somehow.
Funny that yesterday in church my pastor talked about anxiety. He said that in the United States 3% of Americans have an anxiety disorder. In New Mexico, 11-14% have an anxiety disorder. Do we have to wonder why when we have to deal with 1. stupid drivers, 2. people shooting people in a movie theatre (happened the other day), and 3. just dumb people in general? I find that God always gives me the message I need to hear...quite clearly. Well, I will give my anxieties to God. He will take care of everything. In the mean time, if anyone has any advice, I would welcome it.

Update

Since my last post was over 3 months ago, I figured I should give some sort of update. Although I'm sure most of you know all of my updates, I'll still give them in a short run down. Pregnancy is going fine. I am currently 8 months. I have mixed feelings about it being over soon. I do not want the back pain, leg cramps, and heartburn anymore. But I really do enjoy feeling the baby kick and how healthy it has made me the past seven months. For those of you who don't know, I struggle with IBS and I haven't had to worry about it the whole time I've been pregnant. And it is so nice! I really can't wait to meet Autumn Grace though! So, those are my current feelings.
I had placenta previa for a short time, but the placenta moved and everything is going great now. Autumn is a small baby, but hey...look at me, friends. I'm tiny too. And her daddy isn't a chunky monkey either. But we continue to get an ultrasound every month just to check her growth patterns. Autumn's room is almost all set up. Although a lot of stuff was given to me, there is a ton more that is needed. And that's what baby showers are for! lol! My baby shower is about a month away. The invitations should be coming out soon. And I'm stoked! I remember hosting a baby shower for my friend Maria. It was so much fun! The best shower ever! It looked like fun opening a ton of gifts that are not for me, but for the baby who would arrive soon.
Anyways, other updates: I graduated with my Certificate in Baking. I know I'm going to miss going to classes. I already do. With a baby coming soon, I'm not even attempting taking classes this semester. But maybe in a year or so, I'll go back. I've been praying about it and I honestly haven't felt God speak to me about a yay or a nay. So, we'll play it by ear.
Okay, my dog is begging me for breakfast so I had better quit. I just wanted to give updates to those few of you who read my blog. Sorry it took so long for anything to come out of it.