Friday thoughts.....

*We have survived the first week of school- I feel like a taxi cab already, and it's so weird seeing my oldest walk into school with the big kids....

*I signed up for a freaking 5K, as Laura's school is having a race for a school fundraiser in two weeks... I am doing it with a friend. It's a flat course I believe, and I know it's for a good cause, but I am already dreading all the huffing and puffing I will be doing. I work out pretty often, but being on a cardio machine is a lot different then actually running on a street. Hey, I get a T-Shirt out of the deal, and since we have two birthday parties that day at least I will burn some calories....

*Laura and Rachel have their first fall ball t-ball practice tonight. They are on the team called the Tigers! We are hoping that our friends kids are on the same team. We may or may not have told a while lie that they are cousins to try to pull it off....

*I am so ready for Fall.... I actually am planning on pulling out the fall decorations this weekend. I am proud of myself for attempting to restrain myself and not pull everything out last weekend. I did think about holding off until after we have Emily's birthday party, but I am getting to antsy about it lol.

*I am making a trip to Walmart while all the kids are in school this morning. I have to buy a lot and I want to get the most bang for my buck. I am doing some deep breaths to get ready for this shopping adventure.

* I am planning on making a peanut butter sheet cake complete with peanut butter icing this evening, saw the recipe on Pinterest.com I am already hungry thinking about it!

First Day of School- Preschool

Today was Rachel and Emily's first day of preschool for the year. This was Emily's first day ever for school, and she was excited! The girls all got ready early this morning, and Emily pretty much pitched a fit asking when she was going to go, as she wanted to go right then and there! They only had school for an hour today, but never the less it was the first official day!

When we dropped them off at their classrooms, Emily did seem a little nervous, but she quickly warmed up when she saw the toys in the room. Rachel was a champ, and walked in like she owned the place =)

I can't believe that this is Rachel's last year at the preschool, and that my baby Emily has begun!

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Labor Day weekend treats....

It was a gorgeous labor day weekend, and we were pretty lazy around the house, but I was busy in the kitchen trying out a few different recipes.... We had some friends over Sunday night, and Monday we cooked out at a family members house. I broke out some new cookbooks from the awesome website: https://www.frpbooks.com/store/store.aspx From the cook book: Seaboard to Sideboard the Junior League of Wilmington North Caroline I made Southern Sweet Tea. This tastes a lot like an Arnold Palmer, and my children and husband (my husband normally hates tea), LOVED it...

To make the Tea you will need:

8 cups of water

12 small tea bags

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 12 ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate

Mint leaves for garnish (who I am kidding, we skipped this part)

Bring the water and tea bags to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, let steep for 5 minutes, remove the bags. Add the sugar and the lemonade concentrate and mix well. Pour into a 1 gallon container, and fill with cold water. We had quite a ordeal over figuring out what a gallon contanior looks like, and even ended up googling how many cups are in a gallon.... (16 just in case your on the edge of your seat wanting to know) I wanted to make sure the tea wasn't overly strong or too weak. The tea was really good though, and I will make this again very soon!

Yesterday from the cookbook: Your Invited Back: A second helping of Raleigh's Favorite Recipes from Raleigh's Junior League I made a dip called Deacon Dip. This is quick and easy as well, and involves no cooking.

Deacon Dip:

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sugar to taste

1 15 ounce can of black beans drained and rinsed

1 15 ounce can of white corn drained

1 10 ounce can of Rotel partially drained

4 ounces of Feta cheese crumbled

Mix the vinegar, oil, and a small amount of sugar in a small bowl. In a larger bowl combine the beans, corn, rotel, and cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat well. Store in the fridge for at least 8 hours, and serve with tortilla chips. (I didn't have 8 hours to let sit, BUT it still tasted good, however when I had some with my lunch the next day it was amazing! The flavors had all come together and it was really good!

I am thrilled with my newest cookbooks, and look forward to cooking more from them soon! To get your own copies of these cookbooks for 40% off, please check out this website https://www.frpbooks.com/store/store.aspx and remember to use the code NAP40 to get the discount!

When breakfast needs to taste like dessert.....

Upon the advice of a wonderful blog reader I decided to try a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks- My Mama Made that. (Get yours for 40% off from this website by using the code on my sidebar!) Baked Cinnamon French Toast on page 49! I thought this would be great to make for us to have Saturday morning. It needs to sit in the fridge overnight, so I thought it would be perfect to make it for us to wake up too, and for my husband to come home to after working all night.

I did make a slight change, and used wheat french bread, rather then white french bread... There was quite a sale on the wheat kind, and I figured it would be semi healthier....

You will need:

1 loaf of french bread

8 eggs

2 cups of milk (I used skim)

1 1/2 cups of half and half

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1teaspoon of cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons of light corn syrup

Cut the bread diagonally and arrange the slices in a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish. Beat the eggs, milk, half and half, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl until smooth. Pour over the bread, and chill covered for 8-10 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350, heat the butter, brown sugar, and syrup in a small saucepan until the butter melts and starts to all be bubbly. Pour over the bread and egg mixture, and bake uncovered for 40 min.

The recipe says it will serve 4, but it was more then enough for our family of 5 and we have leftovers. The girls and husband loved this and have asked me to make it again soon!

Oh goodness....

Meet the teacher day at preschool!

Not only did my oldest have a HUUUGGGEEE day going to Kindergarten for the first time, but after she was done with school, my other two had meet the teacher day at their preschool. Let's all have a moment of silence as this is my baby's first year of Preschool..... I can't believe Emily is old enough....It makes me so sad. But, she is so excited, and very proud, and I know her big sister Rachel will look after her.

Rachel is excited that there is a pet hamster in their class. Apparently during vacation and things like that the parents can take turns taking it home. I remember being sad I was never able to do that as my mom isn't a fan of animals like that, so I will make sure we sign up to take home the classroom pet.

Emily is excited about the play kitchen in her class room, and was happy to see her name on a bus on the wall. In tradition Emily sported the same apple dress and red maryjanes that her sisters all wore when they went to meet their teachers on their first day of school.... I will have to make some sort of cute shadow box with the dress and their pictures taken in it....

We finished the day with a fun lunch at Chickfila, and I fixed them a fun dessert when we got home! I can't believe my babies are growing up!

Laura's first day of Kindergarten!

Can it really be true that I child in Kindergarten???? Laura had a great first day, and I am so excited about the school she is going to... best decision ever!!!!