Just wanted to share a few teaser pics from a Klejka/Kenny girl photo shoot today. I was snapping some for Christina to make their Christmas card and dressed the girls up in hope I could get some of them, and glad that I did! Here are a few teasers to get you excited about your Christmas card that will be in your mailbox soon!
This picture is a result of having the girls sit with the Klejka family to distract Matty. When they would get down, so did Matty, so I stuck em up their for a quick distraction. In essence, I captured what may be a little foreshadowing for the Klejka's. They look good as a family of 5, regardless of what Matt's face says!
Due to a terrible director (myself) you may not recognize Cara. She is on the right side in a black shirt and pants. She's a pilgrim woman so listen for "mercy me!". Try to ignore my first "huuah!". This is more for me though, may bore most of you :)
Let me start this post, by clarifying to those who have known me my entire life and assume my feelings on football. I admit I was never a fan, only cheering for myself on Super Bowl Sunday to win $1,000. But three years ago, Chris and I declared ourselves the biggest Falcon's fans. We have yet to see that to fruition, but I will say that I have become quite a big fan. There are way bigger fans, even a lot that go to actual games, but I have let me heart fill up a little bit with the Falcon's. And with that comes all the natural stages of love: excitement, disappointment, emptiness, bitterness, surprise, bliss, so on and so forth. So I know it probably seems funny to most, but I have grown to love football. And after many years of flying (like what I did there?) under the radar, the Falcon's have managed a lot of wins this season and I'm so happy that we signed Cara up with their Jr. Falcons cheer leading program this year. I mean, who wants to cheer for losers? She will be cheering a Holiday inspired cheer during the halftime of the December 16th Giants game. I am so excited to see my little girl stand in the middle of the field, beneath 70,000 football fans and perform! They run this camp each year for young girls to boost self-esteem and I am so on board. I think after Cara experiences performing for 70,000 people, it will be hard to feel insecure. What an incredible experience they are offering, and one I think Cara will never forget!
This past Saturday was the practice in the actual Dome. I will admit, that it felt smaller than it looks on TV. Then again, it was empty. I'm sure once all the people fill it up, standing on that field won't feel very small. But as a bonus, we were able to get on the field, run around (maybe pretend we were running a long drive), and take lots of pictures. Had I known in advance I may have brought an actual camera. So it's just mobile pics, but I think they capture our giddiness. More so Chris and I. Cara was exhausted from a 2.5 hour practice and Sam was bored out of her mind. She was all "Let's go Falcon's!" and then 5 minutes later it was just "Let's go!". It was a fun morning that we won't forget anytime soon. Plus, I think we added some good luck to that field because the very next day my team brought home their 9th win of the season. Barely and sloppily, but they won.
Quickly followed by...
Trunk or Treat at Discovery Point, followed by Cara's first spend the night out at Olivia's house.
Boo at the Zoo with Joslyn from school and her mom.
Max's 1st Birthday party at Swift-Cantrell.
The Crawford's annual Halloween Party.
Emmy's 5th Birthday lunch at American Girl Doll Bistro.
Let's just say, the girls had a fab weekend, and I'm one tired Momma.
Some nights, when it's just me and the girls, I like to be super girly! I mean, why not! So last night we opened up the game boo boo gave the girls, Angelina Ballerina, AND had a pedicure session. I also let the girls dress up in their ballet stuff to make it as super girly as possible. I however, remained in my regular clothes. You're welcome. It was fun! Sometimes I like to surprise the girls with random super fun week nights!
{warning: pictures were taken with my phone, without any light}
Minnie Mouse and Candy Corn toes!
Last Friday was my Mom's birthday and in honor of her, I wore a shawl around my head to embarrass my husband while driving in the jeep. It seemed like something my mother would do!
{Pumpkin Roll}
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree
3 eggs
{Filling}
8 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbls. melted butter
Last Fall, I started baking. I suppose I have baked before last Fall but never with success, so I count last year as when I started. Fall was a perfect time because it was pumpkin season and I really wanted to make a pumpkin roll. I found a recipe online and as I read through the directions it had this whole towel scenario with words like "no sticking" and "carefully wrap", so I made pumpkin cheesecake muffins. They were fantastic! Then I tried my hand at pumpkin cupcakes and made hand whipped cream for the first time ever. My two girlfriends loved them, so my confidence grew. I found myself back at the pumpkin roll recipe, and one random weeknight, I went for it. Best decision ever. Not only did I successfully roll it, but Chris loved it. And since I've mentioned his pickiness for dessert before, that is a big deal for me. Christina also loved the pumpkin roll, so in honor of Matt cooking us lobster cakes tonight and Chris having to travel this week, I thought I'd surprise my boo's with a yummy treat!
My trusty sidekick in action, mixing up the first five dry ingredients.
Then we added the pumpkin puree and eggs for COLOR!
You're supposed to use a 10x15 jelly roll pan that you grease up, but I only have 12x17 pans, so I don't use the whole pan when I spread out the batter.
As it bakes for 14 minutes in a 350 degree oven, you take a picture of the cutest little helper!
I didn't take any pictures of rolling it up because it took both of my hands, and has to be done quick so the wax paper pulls off without tearing up the pumpkin-y goodness. Basically you spread out a towel and dump a lot of powdered sugar on it. Then you remove the roll from the pan and flip it over onto the towel. Remove the wax paper slowly, and then roll it up with the towel and let cool. It may not sound all the difficult now...
As it cooled, we started to whip up the filling. Hey, if you ever want a three year old out of your hair, have them scoop cream cheese into a bowl. It takes foooooorever. "It keeps sticking Mommy!" yelled Sam. (note to self: this is awesome!)
Add the remaining filling ingredients, for a yummy, whipped cream cheese-y delight!
Once the roll has cooled, spoon on the filling and roll back up. Then take pictures of the beautiful pumpkin spiral!
Since we are surprising Chris and Christina, we didn't taste test it, so again no "Sam" of approval...yet. I know she will be digging in tonight. Finally, another attempt at a food blogger picture.
Cara had her first official sleepover this past weekend! Her little BFF from school, Olivia, was over for the party and requested a longer visit, so her mom and I worked out a plan for her to spend the night. Cara was thrilled! I was pretty happy too, because they got along so well! They had snacks, played with the new birthday toys and talked and talked and then talked some more! We loved having her over and look forward to more slumber parties in the future.
