Thursday, February 27, 2014

the old man {click to view}

This afternoon I spied the old man basking in the warmth of the sun.
I was caught.  I am not worthy of his catlike prowess.
I grow tired of your presence human.
I shall retire to my meditation
I look so cute and cuddly and quite handsome in this perfect light.
You are still here?  Now I ask of you to please go away.

Monday, February 24, 2014

8/52

We got you a bubble gun for Valentine's Day.  You ran out of bubbles the first day you played with it.  I bought a few gallons worth of bubble mix a few days later and you have been playing with that gun all week.  This day in particular, you bubbled yourself from head to toe.  This is an image I took from the kitchen as I was preparing dinner.  I love the bubble kissing your cheek.

Monday, February 17, 2014

7/52

Enjoying the bird's eye view
This week I taught you how to climb a tree.  You've been climbing for the past three days now.  You lounge on the perfectly placed branches basking in the warmth of the sun all the while eating your afternoon snacks.  I hope this becomes a trend.

Monday, February 10, 2014

6/52

"Mom, can you stop taking pictures of me?!?"
We started the week off with the great treat of going to a sing-a-long at the movie theater.  Mid-week you caught a nasty stomach bug.  By the end of the week you were back to your wild self.  And you did ask if I would stop taking pictures of you and I said, never in a million years.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

cream cheese swirl brownies

It seems like we celebrated my husband's birthday all week last week.  Wednesday, his actual birthday, was celebrated at a pizza parlor between a meeting and his night class.  He opened his gifts over chicken wings and pepperoni-which I must admit is not too shabby.

Thursday, I made his birthday dinner-the ever predictable, annually requested, birthday pot roast with buttermilk mashed potatoes.  And I'll admit this little nugget as well...that pot roast was "AMAZEBALLS."  And that was from the Hubs himself, however he was using "amazeballs" snarkily.  I'd bet one meeeellion dollars that he would want me to clarify that he never uses that word.  I'd also bet one meeeellion dollars that he just found out about amazeballs because it has never crept out of his mouth before last night.  So yes folks, that birthday pot roast was tender, full of flavor and amazeballs.

Friday we went to my MIL's for a bit of nostalgia.  At every one of her son's birthdays she invites the family over to celebrate.  Whichever son is celebrating a birthday gets to choose the dinner for that night and tonight Hubs threw in a casserole from childhood.  I am making buttermilk pound cake (remember Hubs does not like birthday cake) and bringing cream cheese swirl brownies to the party.  He struggled between the two desserts, so I thought why not make both.  It is his special day and he is pretty amazeballs if I do say so myself.

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
makes 9

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
2 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly butter an 8 x 8 inch baking pan.  Line with parchment leaving a 2 inch overhang and butter parchment.
  2. In a bowl of a standing mixer, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, eggs yolks, and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla.  Mix in the mini chocolate chips.
  3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda; set aside.  In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt 8 tablespoon butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips, let cool to room temperate.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup sugar.  Stir in half of the flour mixture.  Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla; stir to combine.  Mix in the remaining flour mixture.  Remove 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture, and place in a plastic sandwich bag.
  4. Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading the batter evenly with a small off-set spatula.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate batter, spreading to the edges.  Clip a corner of the bagged chocolate batter and pipe the batter on top of the cream cheese mixture.  Run a knife through the mixture to swirl.
  5. Bake until set and golden brown about 45 minutes.  Remover from oven, and cool on a wire rack.  Cut into squares, and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Monday, February 3, 2014

5/52

This week you:
  • picked your dad's birthday gift all by yourself-a yellow "work" shirt, a hammer and a yo-yo
  • celebrated Dad's birthday at Nanie's and played with your cousins
  • had a sports spectator weekend-watched one cousin complete at a swim meet, two cousins compete in a free throw challenge and watched your dad play soccer
  • had the best school day yet, according to your teacher
  • got you hair cut