Learning a little more about me

I realized something about myself today after I read this quote:

I know a lot of morning people and I know a lot of night people but I have yet
to meet a late afternoon person.

I thought for a while that I was a morning person, but I hate getting up early. So I thought I must be a night person, but I get so tired after about 10. This quote has made me realize that I'm a late afternoon person. My favorite time of day is right after naptime between 4 and 6.

It's between these hours when I am happiest. I do my best shopping, my best reading, my best thinking, pretty much my best everything at this time of day. It's also when I am most likely to crank up the music and dance around the house with my children.

See, this is why I love good quotes. They make me think things about which I might not normally think.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

I'm trying to get this picture thing figured out still. But here a few photos of my girls at Halloween.

Ellie as a kitty


Makayla as a princess

We sure had a lot of fun trick or treating. Makayla managed a "trick or treat" or two while Ellie mostly looked around at everyone.

Eating your vegetables is good for you, right?

My quote for today is,

There is a great deal you can learn from your parents.
One is eating your vegetables. It's not that your parents are getting you to eat
them, it's that they are teaching you that not everything in life is going to be
sweet.

As a parent, I desparately want to shield my children from all things unpleasant. But I also realize that it's those unpleasant things that make us grow into strong, capable adults. And that's really what a parent's job is all about--making sure that those children left in our care are taught the right way to live.
So even though I make my girls eat their vegetables, and suffer through unpleasantries, I also make sure that there is enough sweetness to balance it all out.

My Celebrity Look-Alikes

Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake Follow Up

So, if you love pumpkin, and you love cheesecake; then this is the dessert for you. Yum-0!! It's so good. And suprisingly easy to make. Makayla had a blast helping me dump in ingredients and mix them together.

Why not try some this weekend?

Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake

I love to cook! and bake! and taste what I've cooked and baked. Tonight I have to make a pumpkin dessert to take to the church. I've settled on Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake. I've never tried it before, but I've chosen this recipe for 3 reasons. 1) it contains pumpkin which was a requirement for tonight's activity 2) We went to Olive Garden for my birthday--I'm turning 25 on Sunday. Crazy!!--and I was too full to try their Pumpkin Cheesecake. 3) I normally make a wicked cheesecake and I thought, how hard could it be to simply add pumpkin swirls to that?

Here's the recipe in case you all want to try some for yourselves. I'll let you know what I think about it after I've tried it myself.

Start with a graham cracker crust. Store bought or homemade. I use this version: 1 package crushed grahams, 2 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons melted butter (never margarine). Mix and press into 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:
2-8 oz packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well-blended. Add one egg at a time, mixing until smooth after each one. Reserve 1 cup of batter. Add 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg to remaining batter, and mix well. Spoon batter alternately over crust. Use a butter knife to cut the batter into a marbled effect. Bake 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Loosen cake from edge of pan. Refrigerate before removing rim.

Sounds simple enough to me. Hope you enjoy yours!

Catching Up

Ugh!! I've been without a computer for almost 3 weeks. Hence, the no posting. My husband and I went to Circuit City and purchased a brand-spankin' new computer. It's beautiful and wicked fast! The computer we had been using was a hand-me-down that was about 13 years old (or 80 in human years).

I just hooked it up yesterday and have been busy catching up on emails and missed episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Sadly, we don't have cable or satellite. It's one of those things that we really want, but never get around to doing. I figure, why pay for cable when my girls won't let me watch an entire show from start to finish, and my husband works so many hours a week that he barely finds time to eat and sleep. It's just a waste of money right now.

Here's something else I've been thinking about in the 3 weeks that I haven't blogged: not using nicknames and use our real names instead. I realize there's the whole security thing, but honestly, the 4 or 5 of you who actually read this blog already know me and all my secrets anyway. Plus, it would be fun to post pictures of my girls. They are so darn cute, and I want to share pictures with those who don't ever get to see them. Another thought, too, is that when I read other's blogs, it's the putting the names and faces and stories all together that is fun for me. So, I'm reintroducing me and my family. I'm Laura. My husband is Kasey. My daughters are Makayla and Ellie, in that order. Now, as soon as I get the picture thing figured out, you'll get to see us too.