Daily dose of cuteness!

Everyone can take a deep breath and relax now. Maggie Anne has assured me that she won't be getting married for a really, really, really long time. She really wants to know who she will marry and is quite convinced that I know who it is, but finally accepted that we have to wait and see.

I had several solid-color Old Navy shirts (and picked up a few more on sale) so that MIL Pam could work her magic and put amazing designs on them. They are all perfect, but Maggie Anne chose this one first because it has her "secret flower" on it. 

Our crew took to calling Magnolia trees "Maggie trees" long ago, so she recognizes the flowers easily and knew this shirt belonged to her. :-)

This morning we had snow flurries on the ride to school. When we got out of the van, I was showing Maggie Anne the beautiful perfect snowflakes that we falling (remember, we usually just get ice - these were actual snowflakes). She looked and told me, "Yes, but it can stop now."

I was not responding quickly enough to Maggie Anne's request for my presence in the bathroom just now.  In her frustration, she exclaimed, "Mama Anne Maher!" When I asked her what she said, she said, "Well, that's your name!"

Maggie Anne has affectionately named these things Crazy Sticks. They are like Maher-kid crack.

Updated Banana Ice Cream

I posted before my success with banana ice cream - you can find it by clicking the "Recipes" label at the bottom of this post - and tonight we made it even better. 

I processed the frozen bananas as usual, but then I added a heaping teaspoon of honey-flavored creamy peanut butter and a handful of chocolate chips. I processed the peanut butter until well combined, then Maggie Anne threw in the chocolate chips thru the lid of the processor. Some of the chips got broken up, but others stayed whole. It was some fun texture in there. Kids LOVED it!

Now any time we have bananas that are past their prime, I peel them and throw them in a freezer bag to freeze for this treat. 

There's a fun new show on Food Network called The Kitchen. Comes on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. Of course I don't watch it on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. . . . I don't watch anything live. :-) Takes about 3 days of my morning routine to get through a one hour show. Anyway, there are 5 Food Network personalities that work well together and it's a good balance of stuff I would actually do and the fancier fare. Check it out.

Jessie Anne got into the chocolates tonight and was especially feisty, so I thought it would be a good selfie opportunity. She did not disappoint.

Caught Maggie Anne climbing my dad's front porch. Yep, she made it to the top. Absolutely no fear in this one!

I was a bit curious when Boyd asked me to bring him the duct tape after the girls had gotten out of the bath the other night. This was his "fix." Couldn't stand to throw away a perfectly good diaper just because it had torn. 

I just discovered the Food52 has an iPad app. Cooking from the iPad has become one of my favorite things. I still LOVE cookbooks, but it's really cool to have so many recipes at your fingertips on the iPad.

Every so often I get particularly impressed with technology. Tonight we were redeeming an App Store gift card that Boyd received for Christmas and the iPad prompted us to take a picture of the code with its camera. We both said that we had to see how this worked and sure enough, the camera shot a picture of it and instantly credited that account. So cool.

New Food Website

Well, I don't know if it is exactly new, but it's new to me.

www.Food52.com

Beautiful pictures. Some of the recipes are more than I want to take on for our family, but I will say that I've cooked with a lot of new ingredients in the last 24 hours - rice flour and ground flaxseed specifically.

If you had told me that I would make muffins with wheat flour, ground flaxseed, oatmeal, buttermilk and blueberries (no, that's not all) AND that all of us would like them, I don't know that I would have believed you. I mean, SOMEBODY has to not like them just on principle.

I have not searched the site extensively, but I've found three VERY successful recipes (Lemon Posset is a MUST try) by going to the Contest Winners category of recipes. And I haven't even made it through a quarter of that list.

Oh, and you can register at the site with your email address and create a recipe box for an easier way to save the recipes.

Check it out!

Dalton wanted me to watch a video portion of his new video game. I was checking out the bad guy and commented that he only had four fingers. Dalton said, "Yeah, well it's only a video game." I'm going to remind him of that the next time he won't quit playing.

I'm not one for resolutions, but I like to share when I find things that I have found to add a little something to my life. One of these things is to use things that are special to you. Don't just leave them on a shelf, even if they are where you can see them. We get used to seeing these things every day and they blend in with everything else. 

When my Mammaw Pepper passed away and it was time to choose some remembrances of her, I chose some items that I remember Mammaw using in the kitchen and even using with her. I got a couple of mixing bowls and her measuring cups and a few pieces of her silverware that I remember using at the Ponderosa. I also got her rolling pin, since I did not have one. 

Well, we use these things often and I find myself smiling and thinking of her. One of those forks is Maggie's favorites to eat with. The other day, Maggie Anne and I used the rolling pin to make cookies. Maggie remembers Mammaw and thought it was special that we were using her rolling pin.

Use those special things that remind you of those you love.

Maggie and Boyd went to the store to get me a few ingredients to try some new recipes. I was offering Maggie a taste before bed and she told me that she would taste it in the morning. When Boyd asked her what would happen if he ate it all before the morning, she said, "You won't do that. Then it wouldn't be a recipe anymore."

For all parents out there, be aware that Santa will come back and pick up toys that kids are unable to share or play nicely with. Just leave them where he left them with a note and he will save them to bring back next year. Yep, that means the same toys next year.